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A Day of Rest - Final Free Friday
Author: Charisma Stone
Date: 07-05-10 02:55
It was just after midnight when Isma, Blake, Eric and the rest of the second year Gryffindors got back to the tower - their final final finished. Astronomy had gone from ten thirty until midnight. The fourth years were already filing into the Astronomy Tower as the third years made their way out. You'd think after an entire school year of late night Astronomy classes they'd be used to it, but they were all still bleary eyed.
"I think I am going to sleep until noon." Isma said as they filed into the common room, and began parting ways toward their respective rooms.
"You and me both. I'll see you later..." Eric said, as he headed up to the boy's dorms with Blake not too far behind after bidding Isma good night. They had no exams today - Friday - which meant that they could get away with being lazy for a little while which included sleeping in.
"Later..." Isma said, rubbing her eyes, before heading to her room. She'd managed to change into her pjs, and climb into bed before falling into a deep sleep.
Not having pulled the curtains around her bed had been a horrid mistake - especially since her bed was right near the window. Muttering as she pushed herself up, and checked the clock. Nine am. Well, she couldn't be too mad that she'd not slept until noon, nine worked, and she soon pushed herself out of bed, surprised to see that her roommates were already up and out of the room.
After a shower, she began slowly working on packing her things in her trunk, ready for the feast tomorrow and the return to King's Cross Station in London the day after. At least this year, she'd actually be making it to King's Cross and that was a relief in and of itself.
(Anthony) New Case
Author: Beck
Date: 07-05-10 11:54
Anthony went into work late this morning to allow for the dinner party Plum had thrown for his birthday yesterday evening. It had all been worked out with his manager earlier in the week and proved to have been the right thing to do since it had turned into a later night than usual for him and he'd needed the extra hour or so of sleep the next morning.
The whole family had made it to the dinner party last night, as had a number of Anthony's friends. It had been a fun evening, and the food Plum had prepared had been absolutely delicious. Anthony had brought some of the leftovers, including birthday cake, for lunch.
Desdemona was already at her desk in the Auror Office when Anthony arrived to work. The assignment concerning the kidnapping of Arlington J. Montgomery, his subsequent discovery as well as that of his missing sister Fallon, and the arrest of their father and some of his ranchhands had ended. What remained with regards to that case rested in the hands of the Americans now.
Desi looked like she wished she were still sleeping and had a giant thermos of coffee at her elbow. Anthony smiled his greeting to her and was immediately intercepted by Geoffrey Blackwell.
"There's been a report of the discovery of a mass grave in Muggle Hillington. Get ready to head out with us. I'm just going to notify a couple of obliviators to come along with us."
"What's our involvement if it's in the Muggle world?" Anthony asked to Geoffrey's retreating back.
Geoffrey turned for half a second. "Some of the victims may be wizards, and it's likely the murderer is as well."
He hurried off to collect a few other wizards. Anthony, meanwhile, unloaded some items at his desk and then got ready to set out with Geoffrey and the others.
Not long thereafter, he found himself standing over a ditch in the eastern London borough of Hillington. Water had collected around a mound obstructing the ditch, which had become exposed to reveal several arms and legs. At least one head was visible, from the shoulders up, and displayed a clean cut on the neck. The stink of death was awful.
Muggle police and gawkers had already come out to inspect the site. The obliviators immediately set to work adjusting their memories and sending them on their way.
"I've seen this before," Geoffrey said quietly, coming up beside Anthony.
"You have?" Anthony asked, bewildered. He'd never seen anything like it before.
"Must have been..." Geoffrey thought back. "...three years ago, maybe? The victims had all had their throats cut, magically, I would wager, based on the precision. The killer was never found."
"You think this is the same wizard's handiwork?" Anthony asked.
"Or a copycat, but since no arrest had been made then, it stands to reason that the same wizard has struck again."
"A serial killer," Anthony mused.
"A very twisted individual, that's for sure."
Each body was carefully excavated from the mound until six women lay side by side, each with their throats cut and their bodies entirely drained of blood. They were all somewhat young, in their 20s or perhaps early 30s.
Now Anthony found himself with the task of trying to identify the bodies and ascertain whether or not they were witches or Muggles.
Not in Hogsmeade Anymore
Author: Lysander Stratford
Date: 07-05-10 12:37
Lysander woke up the next morning with a throbbing headache and stiff limbs. He realized very quickly that he wasn't at home in his bed but bound to a chair in the middle of a one-room shack. He could hear seagulls squawking and the ocean waves rolling ashore, so he knew he was somewhere on a coast, but where exactly?
He quickly assessed his surroundings. The shack had a patchy roof, and rays of light shone into the otherwise unlit building. The floor consisted of dirt with bits of sand sprinkled here and there, probably tracked in from the beach. The walls looked just as splintery as the unkept roof and also emitted light through its cracks. There was one small window on either side of Lysander. He could see the ocean through one, and civilization in the form of a small town through the other.
A chair scraped behind him, and Lysander realized he wasn't alone.
"I worried you might never wake," said a voice that didn't yet sound familiar, but which would the more Lysander heard it. It belonged to a man, and it had a subtle Middle Eastern accent.
"Who are you and what do you want?" Lysander asked. He guessed that the person behind the threatening notes had finally made his move, but who was he and what did he have to do with Aralyn Fox?
"We've met only once before," the man said, "several years ago. We were never meant to have a second meeting, and yet you eluded my plans for you. This time I will not be so careless."
Lysander wracked his brain. The kernel of a memory started to form in his mind, and it wasn't at all what he anticipated. If he was right, and he was beginning to think he was, then his attacker wasn't Aralyn Fox or anyone associated with her at all. He was someone altogether different. Someone Astrid would never had thought of to investigate, if only because Lysander had never told her that story. Unlike some others, it wasn't a story that involved him murdering someone else. It was one he could have certainly told her without hesitation, but it wasn't one that had ever come up in conversation.
"Why me?" Lysander asked.
"You put your nose where it didn't belong."
Lysander frowned, unsure of what the speaker even meant.
The man shook his head, but Lysander couldn't see because he still stood behind his chair. "You and Weasley are just alike."
"We are nothing alike," Lysander retorted, resentful of the comparison to a wizard he absolutely loathed.
"The both of you get involved in matters that don't concern you and ultimately jeopardize my plans! And then you always escape my traps! It won't happen this time, I assure you Mr. Stratford. You will die, as I intended you to when I lured you to my warehouse nearly three years ago! Do you remember the occasion I speak of?"
Lysander remembered it quite well. He had been hired by Hermione Granger to find a book that had a cure for an illness Bill Weasley had contracted after being attacked in an alley in Hogsmeade. The book had been rare and most difficult to find, although there had been several copies. Each book had been stolen by its owner, who had been murdered as well, and stashed in a warehouse in West Irian Jaya, New Guinea.
Lysander realized that one of the windows looked out on the warehouse district where he'd nearly starved to death and been burned alive. He must be on the island again.
"Ah," Lysander said, a puzzling thought coming to mind. "The letters you sent me suggested you knew of something terrible I'd done."
"Yes. I feel that everyone has a secret they don't want found out. I was simply preying on your conscience. It worked, didn't it?"
Lysander deigned not to give the man a response.
"Well, now it's time for me to say goodbye. We will not meet again, Mr. Stratford, for you will shortly be dead."
The man finally came around and faced Lysander.
"Goodbye, Mr. Stratford," said Allah Al-Khidad as Lysander had known him, or Khalid Adallah as he was actually known.
Visit from Bridget
Author: Jolyon
Date: 07-05-10 13:17
"Time's up, all. Please hand in your tests," Professor Kent stated to the small group of sixth years seated at one of the picnic tables right outside the barn. It was such a lovely day that Jolyon figured it would be nice for them to sit outside, though the fact that the beautiful day could serve as a distraction did cross his mind. His students had appeared able to concentrate, however, and dutifully completed and handed in their tests.
"Have a great summer. See you at the feast tomorrow night!" Professor Kent exclaimed after dismissing his sixth years for the very last time.
"Bye, Professor" and "See you next year" were some of the things said to him as the handful of students picked up their things and set off towards the castle.
The sixth year final exam was the very last one on his schedule. He planned on using the rest of the day to mark them so that they could get handed in to Professor McGonagall in time for the end of term, which officially wrapped up with tomorrow night's End of Term Feast. Jolyon rather looked forward to the close of the school year. He didn't have any great plans for summer, but he did want to get some things done such as look over his lesson plans for next term and see if any adjustments ought to be made.
He decided to mark the exams right then and there on the picnic bench so that he, too, could bask in the lovely summer weather. Jolyon summoned a quill and a bottle of red ink and set to work reading Albert Duff's written exam when a shadow fell over the parchment. He looked up to find his mother standing before him.
"Mum! I didn't hear you approach." He took in her black robes and somber expression and asked, "What's the matter?"
Bridget Kent seated herself next to her son on the bench and sighed deeply. "It's your father."
By father, Jolyon was sure she meant her husband and not Jolyon's biological father. He wondered if he was dead.
"What about him?" Jolyon questioned gently.
"We're supposed to attend a funeral in a little while. Apparently one of his former work colleagues committed suicide."
"Oh, that's terrible," Jolyon murmured. "Any reason why he would do such a thing?"
"Evidently he left a note. I don't know all of the contents but something was said about how he'd pinned the blame on some major mishap at work on your father and that he regretted ever doing so. It was just one thing on the list and surely not the whole cause for him deciding to kill himself."
Jolyon was suddenly reminded of something his father had said to him when Emanuel had still been pretending to be on his death bed at St. Mungo's.
"That man who just visited me confessed one of his darkest secrets to me, and believe you me, I intend to collect on what he owes me. He's not the only to come clean to me over the last few weeks. People are brutally honest to dying men. I've learned things. Bad things. Good things. All things that will benefit me in the end."
Only moments earlier, Jolyon had eavesdropped on the man in question saying, I'm sorry, I really am, but I was so near my retirement and I didn't want to get sacked. So I fibbed a little to the boss, and you seemed the easiest person to pin the blame on. I would have come forward earlier, but... It only seemed right that I confess to you now on your deathbed.
Bridget pulled Jolyon from his thoughts. "Evidently he left your father a large sum of money. I didn't think they were that close, but I suppose the guilt was just too heavy and..." She tapered off, unsure of what else to say.
"Where's Dad now?" Jolyon asked. He had the urge to give the man a piece of his mind, having a feeling his father had done something to cause his former coworker to want to kill himself and leave him a vast sum of money.
"He's too broken up about everything. He's still at home getting changed. He didn't want me to console him so I decided to get out of the house for a while and pay you a visit. You don't come home enough, you know."
That was mostly due to not wanting to hang around the man who'd raised him.
"Term's officially over after tomorrow, or Sunday, really, when the kids go home, so I will get to spend more time with you if that's what you want."
"I won't force you into anything, Jolly..."
Jolyon put his arm around his mother and pulled her close to him. "I'd be delighted to spend more time with you. You're my mum and I love you."
Bridget patted her son on the hand and said, "You're such a good boy."
"I'm 40 years old!" he exclaimed, laughing.
"You're still my boy, and will be even when you're 100!" Bridget patted his hand. "I suppose I ought to collect your father or we'll be late for the funeral. See you later?"
"Definitely."
He watched his mother go and then got back to work marking exam papers.
Ice Cream & Conversation
Author: Jared
Date: 07-05-10 15:47
Jared sets hot fudge sundae in front of Sage then sits down with his banana split. Sage shoves the society section of the Daily Prophet away with one hand while pulling the hot fudge sundae closer with the other. Jared nods at the paper. "How was the party? What's not in the write-up that has you so grumpy this morning."
"The party was okay. We still have no idea why Da made such a big deal about us being there. If I'd known it was just another case of Da being overly dramatic, I would have skipped going."
"Aw, but then you would have missed out on seeing the lovely Esperanza."
"Lovely she might be but that doesn't mean I want to spend time with her."
"That bad is she?"
"She's pretty, has a decent personality, and is funny but there's something desperate about her. It's like she doesn't consider herself whole unless she's with a guy so she's constantly throwing herself at men, even when she knows they aren't available. Last night she even tried to entice a guy who is flaming gay and was there with his husband."
That last part has Jared laughing so hard he accidently snorts some of the whipped cream on his banana split. A female voice says, "Oh, now that's attraction. No wonder Alanna can't resist you."
Looking just past Sage, Jared flashes a smile that's brought on as much by Sage massively rolling his eyes as it is by anything else. "Hi, Aubrey."
"Hi! Not going to speak, Sage?" she playfully taps Sage on the shoulder.
Sage makes a show of sucking down the last of his sundae before saying, "Sorry. Mouth was sort of full."
Aubrey Abercrombie slides into a chair, putting herself between Jared and Sage. "Ice cream sounds fabulous. I've not had any in ages. Watching the figure you know. Sydney's summer collections are being rolled out soon and I'm doing several swimsuit runways. I'm doing winter wools and heavy coats here for winter collections but down there, they are showing for spring and summer. It's so much fun!"
Sage pushes away from the table. "It's nice you still like modeling, Aubrey. Sorry I can't stay longer but Ezra, my step-brother, is due in Hogsmeade within the half-hour and I should be there to meet him."
"Coming for a visit?"
"Just for the afternoon then he's going to a school chum's for some big weekend birthday bash taking place here in London. Nice seeing you. Catch you later, Jared. Tell Alanna I'm sorry I missed getting to see her today. Georgia wants us all to go to lunch or dinner early next week so be sure to find out what's good for Alanna, all right?"
"Yeah, will do."
Sage leaves and while Jared knows that Ezra really is coming, he thinks Sage left earlier than he needed simply because of Aubrey showing up. Dipping the spoon into what's left of his banana split he asks her, "Can I get you anything?"
"I was thinking of grabbing a salad soon if you'd like to have lunch with me."
"I'm sorry but I'm meeting Alanna for lunch. I was just killing some time with a snack."
"I don't know how you can eat that big banana split and then go off for lunch," she says with a laugh and a shake of her head.
"Mum says she thinks I'm still growing because I'm hungry so much. Dad didn't stop growing until he was 22 so I suppose Mum could be right."
Aubrey gives a decidely unfeminine snort. "I bet Euan wishes he were still growing. In his mind he's half a foot taller, has far more muscles, and a devastingly, deeply dimpled smile that has women swooning left and right."
"Sounds like the Euan we all know and love," Jared laughs.
"Are Sage and Georgia serious?"
The question is out of the blue and takes Jared by surprise. He feels somewhat slackjawed before getting out, "Pardon?"
"I just don't get it. What does he see in her? Georgia Copperpot is a silly, vacuous twit."
Jared's even more taken aback now. Of all people to call someone silly, vacuous, and a twit. Aubrey is a nice person for the most part but she's also very self centered and loves nothing more than to talk about herself, clothes, modeling, and how great she is at anything she tries.
Even before the words are out of his mouth, Jared knows how lame the reply sounds yet he still gives it. "Georgia's really nice." As if that explains why Sage dates Georgia.
"And?"
"And what?"
"What does he see in her? When I first came back to London I was going to give Sage another chance "
"Wait. What? Give him another chance? You broke up with him, not the other way around."
"So I didn't choose the best phrasing. Anyway, I am tired of wasting my time if he's not going to be available."
"He's not going to be."
"But why? Why would he pick her when he could have me?"
"Oh, I don't know, Aubrey, maybe because she has no known plans to dump him with no warning and no reason."
"Milan couldn't wait."
"That meant dumping him the way you did?"
"I needed my options open."
"Sage has no plans for breaking up with Georgia as far as I know and I don't sense from her that she's planning on dropping him either so looks like your options are still open, Aubrey." Jared stands up, "Now, if you'll excuse me, Alanna only has a limited time for lunch and I don't want to keep her waiting."
Jared walks away without actually saying goodbye, seething a little at Aubrey's audacity and wondering if he should tell Sage. He'll tell Alanna and get her opinion, afterall, she used to be one of Aubrey's good friends.
Smiley
Author: Hermione Granger
Date: 07-06-10 17:29
Fat, juicy sausage links and whole chickens slowly cooked on the grill while Molly set about preparing corn and Hermione sliced up potatoes which she would later season and then roast in the oven. She hadn't had to work today and had gone over to the Burrow early in the afternoon to help prepare supper for anyone who wanted to drop by for a visit.
Hermione dumped the potato wedges into a bowl and went to the spice rack to make a selection. She turned back around with two small jars in one hand and a decorative bottle of oil in the other.
Molly had finished cutting the corn off of the cob and had been staring at the back of Hermione's head with a faraway look in her eyes and a wistful smile on her face. The expression remained on her face long enough for Hermione to notice it when she turned back around to season the potatoes.
"What has you smiling like that?" Hermione asked curiously.
"Hmm?" Molly realized she'd been caught thinking about the conversation she and Ron had recently had and didn't want to accidentally spoil anything he might have planned by spilling the beans to Hermione. "Oh, nothing at all, dear. I was just thinking..."
"Yes?" Hermione prompted, as she shook each spice jar over the bowl and then liberally dowsed everything with the oil.
"Well..." Molly began, as if fishing for a way to finish her sentence. "I'm just so proud of all my children. They've accomplished so much since leaving home. Some have their own businesses, some are so driven that they are working multiple jobs, some have started their own families... I simply couldn't be more pleased with how all of them turned out!"
"Ron has certainly impressed me in recent years," Hermione said, thinking back to how lazy he used to be at Hogwarts, and how their relationship had briefly come to an end not all that long ago.
"Hasn't he?" Molly murmured, smiling again. "He really loves you, you know."
Hermione smiled. "I know."
She had been mixing the potatoes so that they all became properly covered by the seasoning and then dumped the whole mess onto a baking sheet. Molly came around and took the pan to the oven.
She turned around to say something else to Hermione, but what Hermione never knew because in that moment Ron entered the kitchen, having just gotten home from work. He kissed first Hermione and then his mother and then Hermione again before slipping one arm around her shoulders.
"Smells good in here."
"Hungry after a long day at work?" Molly asked.
"Starved. When can we eat?"
Hermione laughed. "Dinner's not ready yet, and not everyone who said they would come is here yet. Come on, let's go for a short walk in the backyard."
She took him by the hand and led him outside, not noticing that Molly had a dreamy smile on her face again.
Medicinal Potion
Author: Majandra
Date: 07-06-10 18:38
"We hardly use it so it should be on the students' ingredient list. Why should the school pay for something used in limited quantities by a very small segment of the student population?"
"That's a good point and it's not as the we're talking about something expensive. It goes on the ingredients list for second, third, and sixth years." Majandra makes a note of this decision asking Severus as she does, "Anything else that you can think of?"
"No, I don't believe so."
"I'll get these revisions to Professor McGonagall before I leave, which will be soon. You should come to the Burrow with me. Molly's roasting enough chicken to feed a small army."
"Or just all the Weasley family." Severus says this with a smirk but there is no snide condescension in his tone. "Why is there such a strong cinnamon smell right now?" he asks, turning his head to follow the direction the strong scent is coming from.
"I'm experimenting with a medicinal potion. Isolde had another setback."
"Yes, I was sorry to hear about that."
Severus rises to follow the heavy cinnamon aroma through the door that adjoins Maj's office to her classroom. Reaching a simmering cauldron he peers in, studying the liquid that's slowing turning from a dark amythest purple to a pale green that when done should have a washed out aspergus color. "Making any progress?"
"I think so but what there is has been tediously slow. Here are my notes if you'd like to look them over."
Severus accepts the sheefs of parchment Maj hands him, quietly studying them for several minutes. As he does this, Maj returns to her office to get the paperwork to turn into Minerva McGonagall, to grab her things, and to extinguish the office light. She locks the door to the hallway then pulls the one from the office to the classroom shut as well and also locks it.
"I might suggest increasing slightly the amount of ground plaintain seed."
"I was thinking about that or making an extract and using that instead."
"Yes, that might do well. Plaintain is a highly effective haemostatic that I think is grossly underused by the healing community. Do you mind if I make a copy of your notes to study further?"
"No, not at all. Here's some blank parchment, ink, and a quill."
Moments later, after using a copying spell that made short work of reproducing Maj's notes, they exit the classroom, leaving the potion simmering. They talk about other ingredients in the potion and the Maj's thoughts behind using each but upon reaching the dungeon stairs Severus asks, "How bad is Miss Farnon's condition?"
"Bad enough that there's a wedding soon. She told Pyrrhus she wanted to get married and didn't want to wait long to do it. I've offered to make her dress but Isolde hasn't decided yet. If she does want me to, I have some dresses in partial stages that will be easy to alter to a wedding dress."
"I'm sure she will be most appreciative of your efforts if she decides to have you make the dress."
"I hope so. It's not as though Isolde and I are especially close but then, my brother and I haven't ever been especially close either. We are much closer these days but sometimes I think it's only because he's found he loves being an uncle to Miranda and Georgie. Speaking of those two, I should get our revisions to Professor McGonagall leave to meet them and George in Hogsmeade before going to the Burrow together. Do come. We can talk more about the potion."
"I don't want to intrude on a family gathering. Let's meet early before the End of Term Feast."
"I still think you should come to the Burrow but all right."
By then they are walking along the hallway to the nearest stairs where they part ways with Severus continuing on to some ground floor destination and Majandra taking the stairs to go up to Professor McGonagall's first floor office.