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(Mockridge Townhouse) An Unpopular Idea
Author: Cassandra Catesby
Date: 04-26-13 04:57
As it had in previous months, the period around the full moon saw Cassandra staying once more at the Mockridge townhouse. The blue-eyed black cat prowled along Nephele's workbench, winding sinuously between bottles of potion ingredients: armadillo bile, powdered bicorn horn, fluxweed and pufferfish eyes.
She peered over her friend's arm and gave an inquisitive yowl.
Nephele looked up from the journal she was skimming through. "There's not much here, Cass. I'm starting to wonder if this is like those old curses we read about, the ones Muggles turned into their fairy tales," she said. "It would be a sufficiently vindictive move, to cast a curse that required not only true love, as that presumably would've been broken immediately, but perhaps something more like the two lines coming together in true love. It would certainly explain why it's lasted this long."
The blonde ran a hand through her hair. The idea sounded ludicrous to her own ears but it was the only solution that she hadn't been able to rule out. And it would explain why the curse hadn't faded with time.
Cassandra hissed softly. Blue eyes narrowed. This was her life, dammit! Not a tale by Beedle the Bard.
"I know, it sounds bloody impossible, but Cass, I've ruled out everything else. Isn't that how it goes, once you've ruled out all other options, it has to be the impossible?" Nephele asked, laying the book down.
The feline grumble made it clear that her friend was still far from happy. Vindictive was an understatement. True love or even that and marriage to break the curse?! Okay, she liked Kirley, but the manipulativeness of such an idea made her hackles rise. Literally, since she was in cat form.
She stalked over to Nephele's potion books and swatted them with a paw before giving the blonde an imperious look. Admittedly the last potion she'd brewed up had tasted vile, but there had to be others they could try.
"If that last one had no effect, it's highly unlikely any others will. Inventing one could take years and there's no guarantee it would even work, Cass," Nephele said. "I'm not giving up, not by any means. We can continue to try various potions, I just think we need to accept that the only solution may be the impossible."
The cat sat down abruptly. The stiff pose and imperious eyes could have come from an Ancient Egyptian tomb wall-painting. An entirely illogical anger flamed through her. Hadn't it been Nephele's idea to try? Hadn't she been the one to insist? And now she was what? Giving up after only a few months? Cassandra fought the urge to pace restlessly. She was angry with herself too. Angry for letting herself hope when she knew better. She'd been a fool, and she hated to be foolish.
She looked back at Nephele and a wave of frustration rolled over her. She hated this. Absolutely hated it. Unable to communicate except in purrs and a crude kind of sign language. With a frustrated huff, she leapt off the workbench and on to the floor.
Nephele shook her head and jotted down notes on what she wanted to try to capture in the next potion. This one, she would have to invent, and capturing the elements of the impossible might be beyond her skills.
Friday Morning (Tamsin)
Author: Josie
Date: 04-26-13 12:37
Despite the early hour, it was possible to feel the excitement at the Great Hall: the weekend was almost here and Ravenclaw and Slytherin's Quidditch teams were going to play against each other tomorrow. Most of the students were bubbling with enthusiasm.
Valentine 's Day was also approaching and it was possible to hear the whispered conversations about who was going to invite who to the event organized by the school. I was not really preoccupied if someone was going to invite me or not and my main concern at the moment was the Potions class with the Slytherin house. It was not the best class to have first thing in the morning.
The owls invaded the Great Hall and I received two letters, one from my mother and another from one of my brothers, Calum. I had four older brothers and ironically I was the only witch in the family. Sometimes I wished my brothers would be at Hogwarts with me. I am pretty sure Calum would love to play Quidditch while Edwin would love to brew potions. Theon would probably enjoy jinxing people all the time, since he liked pranks, while Jack would love Care of Magical Creatures. But my brothers were Muggles and even if when we were together I tried to teach them everything I could about the wizarding world, they would have some sort of trouble to understand it.
When I joined Hogwarts and after learning about each one of the houses, I even tried to sort out my brothers into them. I had decided that Calum would be a Gryffindor, just like me. While Edwin, always the good student would be a Ravenclaw. Theon, as much as I hated to admit, would be a Slytherin. I had also put Jack in Gryffindor.
I used to daydream during my first year, that Dumbledore would call me to his office and tell me there has been a mistake and after all my brothers were also wizards. And that they were already on their way to the castle. With the time I learned that such thing was never going to happen and I would just have to accept that at home I was the different one, while at Hogwarts my brothers were the ones who were in minority.
"Good morning Tamsin," Alcmene greeted sitting next to me. She had just arrived to the Gryffindor table with Luke. The two of them had been hanging together a lot and my friend from Ravenclaw, Penny, had even asked me if they dated. I told her that it didn't seem to be the case because I never seen them holding hands or kissing. They were just friends.
"Hello!" I greeted the two of them with a smile.
"If Professor Weasley asks us to work in a trio would you like to join us? We don't want to end up with someone from Slytherin," Alcmene invited.
I accepted the invitation and then I finished my breakfast reading the letters from home at the same time.
Under the Weather
Author: Griet
Date: 04-26-13 17:18
Tucker climbed out of bed and padded to the doorway of Griet's bedroom, when she stirred and came to the realization that her bedmate had left.
"Just getting some water," Tucker said to her, knowing she would ask where he'd gone.
She kept her eyes tightly shut and managed something like a moan. It was the night of the full moon and Griet felt wretched. Tucker also didn't feel his best, but he always seemed to handle the time around the full moon much better than Griet.
He slipped out of the bedroom and made his way to the kitchen, when there was a knock on the door. From the bedroom, Griet made a noise of complaint. The knock hadn't been terribly loud but her hearing felt especially sensitive around this time of the month.
Tucker was wearing a pair of flannel pajama pants and nothing else. He approached the front door unlocked and opened it to see who stood on the other side. It was Clover Blakely.
"Hi," she said tentatively, giving his bare chest a glance. "Is Griet… busy?"
"She's a bit under the weather, I'm afraid, and even if she weren't, I'm not sure she would want to talk to you."
"I know. I keep telling myself to just let her go but then I think about how close we used to be and I start to miss that. I know it's a lot to ask, but I wish she would forgive me and be my friend again."
"She's fairly adamant she doesn't want you in your life. I'm sorry," Tucker said, being the kind of guy who could be nice even to the worst of people.
He started to shut the door, when Clover held up a hand and said, "Wait. Can I give you something."
At the look on his face, Clover hurriedly added, "It's just some homemade chicken noodle soup. I know Griet gets sick around the full moon and I thought some soup might make her feel a little better." She looked over her shoulder, and it was then that Tucker saw Oberon Smith standing in the stairwell. He was holding a sack.
Oberon went as far as Clover and handed the sack to her. His gaze burned into Tucker's.
Clover held out the sack for Tucker to take. "I hope she feels better."
Tucker felt reluctant to take the sack, but he did it, if only to get the odd pair off Griet's doorstep. "Thanks." With a final glance at Oberon, Tucker shut the door and went to the kitchen, where he abandoned the sack on the counter and went to the retrieve a glass of water.
A moment later he padded back into Griet's bedroom and sank onto the edge of the bed.
"Who was that?" Griet murmured.
Tucker debated whether to tell her. He knew it would upset her to know that Clover had come by the flat again, and this time with Oberon in tow. He also knew that Griet had seen the pair together once before, but would she find it surprising that they still kept each other's company?
"Tucker? Who was it?" Griet repeated groggily.
He sighed and climbed back under the covers, wrapping his arm around her middle. "Clover and Oberon."
Griet's eyes flashed open. "What?"
"Don't you worry about it. They're gone now."
"What did they want?"
"Clover wanted to talk, I guess. And to give you some soup. I put it in the kitchen. We can toss it out later."
"And Oberon?"
"I don't think he wanted anything," Tucker said.
"Do you think they're together together?"
"I don't know. Maybe. Does it matter?"
Griet didn't reply immediately, but not because she didn't know how to answer the question. She had gotten over Oberon long ago, but it still bothered her that he would date Clover, if they were even dating, after what she'd done.
"No, I just can't believe it," Griet finally said. She rolled to her other side, so that they were nose and nose. "How much longer do we have till nightfall?"
"Many hours yet. Get your rest. I'll wake you when it's time to go downstairs."
Griet shut her eyes again and attempted to nap, but all she could think about was Clover and Oberon together.
No Diplomat
Author: Desdemona Diamond
Date: 04-27-13 01:31
It was terrible for me to wait this long, but with everything going on, I've had no time. So, the first truly free moment I had, I went to Driver's bar. It was still early, but I figured on a Friday, he's still doing work in the bar. So, I knocked on the door. There was a pause before the door opened.
"Oh," Driver said in surprise, but moved aside.
Once I was inside, and he closed the door, he finally said, "Hey Des."
I looked around the bar while I said, "I hear you're avoiding your family." I finished looking around by finally turning to look right at Driver. He had moved to the bar by then. He looked at me for a moment, before his gaze went to the bar top.
"Been avoiding everyone I guess," He said.
I walked up next to him at the bar, "Why?" I simply asked.
"Does it matter?" He sighs, "I dunno, not up to being around anyone I know anymore."
"Driver, I'm here because Dex is worried about you. He didn't send me, but someone needs to put a boot in your ass."
"Dex needs to worry about his own family, not me," He said, before slumping onto a barstool. "I needed some time to myself, just to avoid people. Everyone I know reminds me of you… so, I avoid."
I sighed, "You're part of his family too. And Ember's. You need to get out of this funk. What's happened has happened, and you need to move on," I smiled a little, and in a lighter tone I said, "If you don't you will feel one of my steel-toe combat boots where the sun don't shine."
"Dex just likes having attention, he could care less about what's going on with me…" He paused for a moment, "Yeah, well I can't move on." He grabs a bottle of something dark and takes a long swig from it. "Doesn't matter, I'd probably like that."
I smacked the bottle out of his hand, letting it break on the floor. I narrowed my eyes at him. "Dex may like attention, but he's worried about you. Not just him. Everyone else is too. They're just too scared to face you."
He growls under his breath, and looks over at the bottles behind the bar, but doesn't grab anything. "Will, like I said, it doesn't matter anymore. I'm better off alone."
"I don't have time to fight with you Driver. Not right now. So, before I lose my temper and pound you into the bar, I'm going to go." I turned and headed for the door. Half way there, I stopped, then turned back to him. "Driver, no one deserves to be alone. You just have to keep going, till you find someone."
"It's fine Des. Sorry I'm such a jerk. No wonder you hated me. Look, I don't want to be with anyone anymore, it's hard enough with the dreams…"
I marched right up to him, unable to completely stop myself, and I slapped him. Hard.
"Now, you listen here Driver, I have never hated you. Ever. I have been mad at you, and at worst, creeped out because of the dreams, but that's it. Never hate. " I stood there a moment longer, but couldn't get my thoughts straight enough to make sense. So, I spun on my heel and marched out of the bar, slamming the door shut behind me.
(Snodgrass Manor) The Truth
Author: Andreva
Date: 04-27-13 11:50
For the first time in her life Andreva entered Snodgrass Manor. Everything about it was different than her father's estate. It was darker than McCray Manor, which had bright decor. But it was to be assumed - from the stories she heard, the Snodgrasses were a dark and calculating bunch. Quite the opposite than the McCrays, who were kind and wise. And yet she had still felt drawn to the Snodgrasses.
Since her joining them she had thought back, about the times her father grumbled of his enemies. She had no true enmity toward them, and she sort of agreed with them - much more than she had ever agreed with her father. Whilst she never once mentioned this to him, she had sensed that he knew. The more she thought about it, the more she believed that it played a huge role in their silent battle.
She knew that was the truth, even though her father might deny it. Sometimes she had thought that he wasn't truly her father, rather someone who wanted to change her for the worse. Someone who didn't want her to be herself. He didn't even let her know a thing about her family, and yet, he told Roisin nearly everything about them.
It wasn't fair; Andreva was Ailbe's daughter and Roisin was the daughter of a disgraced McCray. Surely her father could not favour her cousin over herself. And yet he did. Perhaps that only fueled her against him even more.
Last Minute Customer
Author: Travis
Date: 04-27-13 19:09
Travis enters the main greenhouse attached to Botanicals & Beyond to find Neville repotting some Mentha piperita, more commonly known as peppermint. Somewhat surprised to see him there she asks, "Don't you have plans with Hannah tonight?"
Looking up from his work, Neville starts a head shake only to realize it's later than he'd realized. "Bloody hell! I lost track of time. Again."
Travis reaches out to take the small spade from him. "Go. If need be, blame your tardiness on me."
Neville grins, already moving towards the door. "Thanks!"
Travis finishes the repotting as there was only one more in addition to the pot Neville had been working on. After moving to another section of the greenhouse to retrieve a little tarragon for the sauce she's making for some salmon, which is tonight's dinner. As everyone else has left for the day, Travis had been keeping an ear open that someone had come into the shoppe but it's not until she's back from the greenhouse that anyone else comes in.
Julian Valentine comes straight to the counter. "Sorry to come in when you're probably trying to close but I just remembered I never picked up some ice cream I'd promised Grace."
"You know, Julian, you're always welcome to just come up the stairs and knock if it's after hours."
"I know, but I hate to do that if I don't have to."
Travis gestures Julian over to the ice cream case. "Which one is it?"
"If you have it, some of that cinnamon, apple, and walnut. I'm not sure of your name for it."
"I like to call it A Taste of Autumn but Theo and Neville jokingly call it WAC, spelled W-A-C."
Julian selects the size of container to be filled and as Travis starts scooping he notes, "You know, you were just enough behind me at Hogwarts, I had no idea you were interested enough in Herbology to make it a career."
Tapping down the ice cream in the container so far Travis tells Julian what she'd said a number of times just under two weeks ago at the Hogwarts Career Day. "I very much liked Herbology. I love finding ways to use all sorts of plants and just growing them for sale or just using them to brew potiions wasn't enough. I know some would say that selling blends of tea, or making ice cream or selling botanical related items isn't much but some of those teas are a unique blend of regular told teas and plants known to our world but not the Muggle one. Experimenting with teas, ice creams, biscuits, breads, and so on is fun. Experimenting with plants, creating hybrids is fun. That miniature rose plant there," Travis gestures with the ice cream scoop to the plant in queston, "isn't one you'll find yet anywhere else." The miniature roses on the plant slowly shift through a spectrum of colors.
"I've known you all these years and never knew this about you."
Travis hands him the now full container of ice cream. "It's sort of boring, really, when you think about it."
"I don't think so. It's better than how I got into the book business."
"Which is?"
Julian hands Travis some coins as he explains, "I was overly bored with the life of leisure of the disgustingly rich. I wanted more. I think it's why Dad worked as well. Mum has all her clubs and charities but doing the endless rounds of those never interested me. Lysander and Chyler were wanting something as well. We put our heads together and as all of us had a great love of books, particularly of the vintage variety, we decided to open a shoppe together."
"I understand not wanting to make a life that revolves about social clubs and charities. If Mum had had her way, all three of us would live that life. She does not at all understand wanting something beyond that."
Travis gives Julian his change. Pocketing it he grins, "There are times I wonder if my mother and yours aren't related."
Travis gives an amused, if somewhat unattractive snort. "The bloodlines both of our families have, I am sure we can several instances of cross overs."
"You're dead on there," Julian says with a grin. He wags the ice cream container. "Thanks again for not telling me to leave as soon as I came in. Have a good night."
"You too, Julian."
Travis locks up behind Julian, flipping the open sign to closed. A quick walk through of the shoppe to look for anything in need of straighening, then she closes out the register. A short time later Travis makes her way up the inner staircase to her flat to get that salmon started for dinner.
Slapped (Driver)
Author: Arlington J Montgomery
Date: 04-27-13 19:46
Friday afternoons were always uneventful at the bar, but today was an exception. Driver had been going over a few bills when there was a knock upon the door. He slipped off his seldom seen glasses, and hoped up to see who had shown up.
He froze for a moment when he realized just who was standing on the other side of the heavy wooden door. For a moment he hesitated, but unlocked the door.
"Oh," there was a hint of utter surprise in his voice, but he stepped aside so she could enter.
"Hey Des." He slowly closed the door behind him and moved back towards his bar.
Hey knew instantly by the look on her face that Desi meant business, that couldn't be good. For a few minutes they talked, until Drive had sat down and took a long swig from a bottle of whiskey. Desi knocked it out of his hand, and the bottle shattered on the floor. He growled at the realization he had to clean that up later, but more in frustration that he had been called out on his family avoidance. Dexter had been right, Driver hadn't stepped a foot out of the bar unless he was on a run with the dogs. He sighed and leaned back against his seat. That's when she said she didn't want to fight with him, not now.
"It's fine Des. Sorry I'm such a jerk. No wonder you hated me. Look, I don't want to be with anyone anymore, it's hard enough with the dreams…" Driver barely had time to think about his next words before Desi was right next to him, and her palm had smacked his cheek. Hard. Driver just stared at her for a moment; a slightly dazed look flickered across his face. That was the last thing he expected, and it had caught him off guard. He wanted to apologize for being so rude, but at the moment he couldn't. Desi stomped out of the bar and slammed the door shut behind her.
Driver watched her go, then stood slowly and turned to the large mirrored wall behind the liquor. His cheek stung, and started aching from that slap. He traced his fingers along the prominent hand-shaped print on his face. It was going to bruise; Desdemona Diamond had left a mark on Driver Morgan today, in more ways than one.
~
A little while later, Dexter had been at home, reading when an owl had dropped a letter in his lap. He quickly opened it and quirked an eyebrow as he read it over.
Your brother is an ass.
The note wasn't signed, but he knew it had to be from Desi, she must have talked to the older Morgan boy today about his recent behavior. "I bet that went over well." He said sarcastically out loud. He decided to pen a quick letter in response.
Hey Desi,
I Take it you had a chat with Drive today. Went as well as I suspected, I bet. Thanks for talking to him, I'm sorry he's been an ass. The guy still loves you, can't change that... Now, enough about Mr. Antisocial. I was thinking, we haven't really ever hung out aside from the wedding, what would you say about you and Orion coming to mine and Karma's house for dinner maybe tomorrow evening? We can do it another day if that would work better for you guys.
Thanks again,
Dex
He sealed the letter and sent it back with the owl that had delivered it.