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Unexpected Duo
Author: Ethan Somerset
Date: 11-05-10 18:22
Like many of the professors and other staff members at Hogwarts, Ethan had shifts at some of the booths in the Great Hall and outside on the grounds. Currently, he was in charge of the Bowling Game. The Bowling Game consisted of 10 pins arranged at the end of a lane. The object was to knock down as many pins as possible with a ball, which the player would roll down the lane.
"Mind if I give it a try?"
Ethan turned from just having set up all the pins again after one of his students managed to knock them all down for a prize.
"Rosamond! What are you doing here?" he asked, planting a quick kiss on her cheek.
"I finished all my paperwork and left early," she replied. She worked the ticketing office for the Ministry of Magic's Department of Magical Games and Sports. Typically, she worked weekdays, but sometimes she went in on weekends to make up time or finish up a project that couldn't get done during the week.
"I'm glad you came," Ethan said, handing her the ball. "Just roll it down the lane and see what you can hit."
Rosamond grinned. "This will be easy," she said. She swung her arm back and then let the ball fly on the forward swing. Ethan watched as it made the journey to the pins, but at the last minute, a witch standing near the end of the lane caught his full attention.
She had long, straight glossy dark hair with a fringe. She was dressed in nice jeans, a cream-colored cable-knit sweater and boots with high, pointed heels. The witch was Meadow O'Guinn, and she was talking to none other than Penn Ellison.
"Ethan? Did you see?" Rosamond asked, jarring him away from the odd couple across the room.
Ethan looked at the mess of pins on the floor and shot Rosamond a grin. "You did it on the first try. I'm impressed."
"You didn't think I could do it, didn't you?" Rosamond teased.
"Go get yourself a prize and then do me a quick favor, will you?"
He had Rosamond temporarily man the Bowling Game booth while he went to investigate just what Meadow was doing at Hogwarts and why she was talking to Penn of all people. When he approached, she had the expected reaction. The last time she had seen Ethan had been when he'd pretended to seduce her for the book she had stolen from his Greenwich duplex.
Meadow looked both surprised and suspicious to see him. "I didn't realize you were a Hogwarts professor," she said. "I don't think I ever got your name."
"That's because I didn't give it to you," he replied, flicking his gaze between Meadow and Penn, who looked up at him with his patent expressionless gaze.
"My name is Ethan Somerset, and I'm Penn's Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher," Ethan said to Meadow. "Are you a relation of his?"
"I'm his aunt," Meadow replied. "His parents couldn't make it today, so I've come in their stead."
"That's nice of you. I'm sure Penn appreciates your company."
Penn nodded. "Aunt Meadow is my favorite aunt," he said.
"Wonderful," Ethan replied.
"So, did you like your book? I guess it makes sense that you would want it if you teach DADA," Meadow queried.
"Yes, thank you. I would be interested in reading the paper you wrote about it for that course you took at St. Emrys, if you still have it, that is," Ethan said.
"Oh, I threw it out. Sorry."
Ethan shrugged. "Oh, well." He looked at Penn, who continued to watch the exchange between the two adults without any sign of what he was really thinking evident on his face.
"I'll let you two alone now," Ethan said. "Enjoy the rest of the day."
"Thank you, Professor," Penn said.
Ethan cast one last look at Meadow and then turned away from her to return to the Bowling Game booth, where, he noted, Rosamond was watching him curiously.
"Oh, and Ethan," Meadow said, causing him to pause and look over his shoulder at him. "Tell Callum I said hello."
Ethan tried to keep his expression as blank as Penn's. He resumed his journey back to Rosamond's side, though how he got there with his mind full of other thoughts, he didn't know. So Meadow knew exactly who he was. Or had she always known?
"What was that all about?" Rosamond asked.
Ethan shook his head. "I'll tell you everything later."
Family Gathering
Author: Emerald Green
Date: 11-05-10 21:04
Hunter tugs on Uncle Woody's arm. "We want to ride THAT!" he excitedly announces.
"Yeah!" Jade enthuses alongside her twin.
"Go right ahead," Woody tells them.
"We want you to go with us," Olive explains.
Samuel Greene, Woody's father, chuckles. "That's what you get for bragging earlier about your iron stomach."
Woody stops walking so he can get a really good look at the ride in question. It's the most thrilling of the thrill rides at the Hogwarts Fall Fair and more than a few have exited the ride much paler than when they'd gotten on it. Blythe gives him a nudge in the side. "Going to pretend they didn't say anything?" she asks, her tone almost teasing.
Woody looks from the ride to his wife, to Samuel, then to Jade, Olive, and Hunter. "I'll ride if Blythe and Dad ride."
Blythe gives an unconcerned shrug. "Count me in."
"I suppose I can try it once," Samuel gamely says.
"YAY!" Jade jumps up and down then swings around to her older sister. "You too, Emmie!"
"Sure, why not. Phin?"
"I've ridden similar rides and had fun each time so yeah."
Hunter breaks into a broad grin. "Hogwarts is so much better than the schools back home. The school fairs there were also sort of lame and they would never have had a cool Halloween feast with costumes and a dance after the feast."
At the beginning of the week the twins had eagerly anticipated their first Hogwarts Halloween feast and were thrilled they could wear costumes. Olive had gone as a Muggle version of a fairy princess in a glittery green and silver dress with wings. Hunter had dressed as a bull fighter and had a stuffed toy bull that Uncle Woody had charmed for him. Jade went in a period costume from early 1800s and figured out a way to rig a wooden frame around her so that she was a moving portrait. That same night Emerald and Phin had also attended a costume party, going as Bonnie and Clyde, which of course meant Emerald had to explain a number of times who Bonnie and Clyde were.
Olive nods at Hunter's assessment of the schools back home where they'd live in the United States and then going along with the same train of thought said, "And just think, the first IQT match will be here before we know it!"
"You're coming, right?" Jade asks their aunt and uncle.
"Wouldn't miss seeing Olive play or you two in your first match," Blythe assures them.
"Samuel? Will you come?" Hunter asks hopefully.
"I definitely will."
"Mum's coming too," Woody tells them of his mother Candace.
"I'm so excited for it to get here!" Hunter tells him, sounding almost giddy at the thought of just how close it is to the date of the first match."
Emerald asks, "Do you know the starting line-up yet or how the substitutions will be done?"
"No, not yet," Olive tells her, "but shouldn't be too much longer before Coach Batuti fills us in."
By that time the group has reached the line for the ride. The eight of them go silent as they watch those already on the ride, taking in the wide eyed expressions of many and listening to the screams, some in fright and some in the joy of being on a thrill ride. Blythe breaks the group silence by grinning at Woody and saying, "It's not too late for you to back out."
"I said I'd ride it and I'm going to. Might not do it but the once, mind you, but I will do it."
Shortly after that, the Greenes, the Greens, and the one Hodfuffer of their group board the ride with Woody hoping that the iron stomach he bragged about earlier holds up.
Family Can Be So Much Fun
Author: Fionna
Date: 11-06-10 10:13
"Why can't Hogwarts have a fair when it's not so bleeding cold out?" Leslie Amherst asks no one in particular, her tone not quite whiny.
Fergus throws his arm around his cousin. "Admit it, Les, that's just another way of whinging about breaking up with Mole Face."
Leslie elbows Fergus. Hard. "Stop calling him that! And no, I'm not whinging about it in a round about way."
Fionna rolls her eyes and says with exasperation. "Are too."
Leslie snaps, "I don't see your precious Jericho here with you, Fionna."
"Right. Because he and the rest of Dragon are setting up over there to do a set for all these lovely Fall Fair goers. Mole Face isn't here at all."
Catriona breaks in with, "Why is he called Mole Face."
Leslie swings around and glares at Cat. "HE'S NOT CALLED MOLE FACE!" Just as quickly she swings back around and dismissively says, "Why are you even lolling around after us, Cat? Bugger off with your little friends."
Fergus reminds, "WE invited Cat, Les."
"Sister and cousin time, you said," Fionna adds.
Cat, looking a little wounded, says, "I'll go find Bianca and Polly, or Christopher. Was good seeing you, Fionna and Angus."
Leslie turns once again to face her little sister. "What is with you and that Christopher lad anyway?"
"He's my best friend. That is, he's one of them. Bianca and Polly are also my best friends."
"Is he your boyfriend?"
"I guess. We hang out together and when there's a school dance we go together and spend part of Hogsmeade weekends together,"
"And see each other on holidays," Leslie states.
"Yeah."
"You're too young to have a steady already. Date some other boys."
Cat frowns. "I'm not really interested in other boys. I like Christopher."
"That's beside the point."
Fergus cuts in, "Les, this isn't really the time or place and besides, you're only in a snit because of your bust up."
Leslie looks directly at Fergus and frankly asks, "Do you think it's a good idea for a fourteen year old to have already had an exclusive boyfriend for three years and no plans or interest in dating anyone else?"
"Not really but it's like that for some people."
"Like what?" Leslie demands.
Fergus shrugs. "They meet THE ONE early on and never have eyes for anyone else."
"That's bollocks," Leslie says with a wave of her hand.
Fionna says, "Just because you've never experienced anything like that, Leslie, doesn't mean it can't happen to someone."
"So you're saying you not only believe in love at first sight for an eleven year old, because that's how long Cat here has been good friends with Christopher, but that you approve of her never testing the waters to see what it's like dating other boys?"
Fionna sighs. "Clearly this is a no-win conversation with you, Leslie. Rather than even attempt talking about this more with you, I'm going to go see if Jericho and the band need any help."
Cat, who looks near to tears, tells her two cousins and Leslie, "I think I will do as Leslie hatefully suggest and bugger off as well. Maybe see you around later."
Cat quickly scampers off in search of her friends leaving Leslie fuming, Fergus wishing he'd hooked up with that gorgeous bird he'd been flirting with while they ate lunch earlier, and Fionna walking in the direction of the temporary bandstand.
Shooting Range Challenge
Author: Johanna Steele
Date: 11-06-10 14:11
The Fall Fair was one of Johanna’s favorite events at Hogwarts. There was always something to do and the fun never ended. Her parents couldn’t make it to the Fair but still she was having fun alone.
More than once a girl came to her asking where Gus was. Johanna shrugged her shoulders annoyed. This horde of fan girls was starting to cross the line. At the Halloween party there had been a list of who would dance with Gus. When Johanna told Joanna Porter, the girl who was organizing this list, that she was not going to put her name there because she was Gus’ friend and she would dance with him if she liked, a duel didn’t start between the girls in the bathroom because the bell rang and neither of them wanted to arrive late to their respective classes.
More and more it was hard to be with Gus without having giggling girls behind them. Some even sighed when Gus walked down the corridors. Johanna’s friend loved all this attention towards him and he was still unaware of what these girls really wanted.
Someone patted Johanna’s shoulder and she said abruptly not even bothering to look behind:
“No I don't know where Gus Van Tassel is.”
“I wasn’t looking for Van Tassel.” She turned back and found herself in front of Roger Gesner. He had danced with her at the Halloween Party, claiming all the other girls were after Gus and he had no one else to dance with. Johanna didn’t know if this was a pathetic excuse for him to dance with her or if he was being sincere. But she was also alone so she accepted his invitation.
Now that she recalled Mark was available to dance but she was not going to put herself in Kate’s way. She had no clue if the two of them had actually danced together, because she had a lot of fun with Roger that night.
He was a competitive third year Ravenclaw, who was always trying to beat her at History of Magic classes when Professor Binns asked a question. Johanna remembered once Gus started to write down who answered faster and correctly and they had reached a tie. He had a medium height, with blond sandy hair and brown eyes. He also had been at Happy Haven so he had the same age as Johanna.
“So who were you looking for?”She asked him.
“No one. It just happens I found you.”
Johanna rolled her eyes not really believing him. Roger than told her his family couldn’t come today and that all his friends from Ravenclaw whose family didn’t come too, were stalking Gus.
“Even the boys?” She asked, starting to walk towards a zone where they could do a shooting range challenge with their wands.
Roger didn’t answer, instead seeing the game Johanna had choose he challenge her to see who had the best aim. Johanna took off her wand from her pocket and looked to the targets.
“Ladies first.” Roger said to the wizard who was in charge of the game. The man nodded and he said to Johanna she could start whenever she felt ready. The young witch nodded and after taking a deep breath she started to cast the Congrintto spell in the direction of the targets.
Roger clapped his hands once she ended saying her performance was ‘not bad at all’. Johanna challenged him to do better. He told her to watch and learn. But in the end his performance was worse than hers. Johanna teased him and Roger admitted he had been too cocky.
Then far away Johanna spotted her cousin Luke with his parents. She excused herself to Roger, and walked towards aunt Angela who asked right away who was that young man she had been talking to.
“Just a Ravanclaw who thought he was better than me. But I managed to put him in his place.” She explained with a smile, watching Roger disappearing inside the castle. She wondered when she would see him again.