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Happy Halloween Hopers
Author: Lucius Malfoy
Date: 08-20-08 18:10
Three month old Carina coos at Lucius as he shifts her from his shoulder to cradle her in his arms. She's decked out in her first dress robes in the the traditional black and orange of All Hallow's Eve. Before stepping outside, Lucius tucks the corners a fleece baby blanket around the child to protect her from the wintery chill so pervasive at City of Hope. It's still October but the island of Foula, where the community is located, is northeast of Scotland and lies on the same latitude as St. Petersburg, Russia.
Walking in the brisk wind to the dining hall, Lucius skirts around some of the City of Hopers who haven't yet gone in for the evening meal. Most have filed into the hall and are in one of the two food service lines. Lucius goes straight to the podium area that's there for making announcements. He keeps the blanket snug around Carina, as it's rather chilly in the dining hall. Stepping onto the podium, Lucius clears his throat.
The din created by utensils, cups, plates, and people talking dies down. Lucius uses one hand to gesture to the festive decor that went up this morning. "As you can tell it's October 31st. Halloween is an occassion that calls for a feast. Those of you who've already gone through the food lines have, by now, noticed the extra portions you've received. My gift to you on this fine holiday. Enjoy!"
His little announcement over, Lucius steps off the podium. He and Carina are quickly out the door and headed back to his office from where they'll floo to join Draco and others for a true Halloween feast. Back in the dining hall, the Hopers who have gotten their food, stare at their plates, wondering if extra helpings of soggy fish and mushy, tasteless peas can be construed as a feast.
(Callum) Confusion
Author: Ethan Somerset
Date: 08-20-08 18:23
After flipping off the light with the switch just inside his office, Callum closed the door behind him and pressed down on the handle to make sure he locked it. Then, carrying a briefcase in one hand and his jacket over his shoulder, he walked down the corridor to the lift. He pressed the down button and waited.
Suddenly, the phone in his pocket vibrated. Callum hastily rearranged the items he carried and fished the phone out, flipping it open to see who was calling. As always when the phone rang, he hoped it would be Meadow, but it never was. The last time he'd seen her was the day they'd gone to Ethan's flat in Greenwich.
He'd pulled the car to the curb in front of the duplex and cut the engine. Meadow climbed out quickly and strode purposefully to the front door. Callum had been hard pressed to keep up with her. He eventually joined her on the front stoop. She'd knocked, as if anticipating Ethan would come to the door even though everything Callum had told her indicated that Ethan had gone missing quite some time ago. She could guess why and gave a cursory glance at the man standing next to her.
"I do have a key," Callum said, misinterpreting her expression. He pulled his own set of keys from his pocket and sorted through them until he found the one he'd marked with an E. Ethan had given each of his family members a key to the duplex, even though it seemed unlikely they would ever stop by if he weren't already home.
Meadow snatched it from his hand and inserted it into the key hole. She turned the key, heard a loud click, and pushed down on the door handle as she shoved open the front door. She stepped inside, leaving the key in the lock for Callum to deal with, and swept her eyes around the place. Ethan was neater than most men she knew, though a few things were strewn about the rooms haphazardly.
"Let's split up and look around," she instructed Callum, and she moved away before he could even protest.
Callum didn't get why she wanted her journal so much, especially when she could just get a new one to write in, but the feeling of despair he felt at not knowing what had happened to Ethan overshadowed his confusion. He looked around Ethan's home, searching for anything that might point him to Ethan's current whereabouts. Unfortunately, nothing seemed out of order. It didn't look like someone had left in a hurry. The only sign that no one had been there for some time was the dust on the surfaces. Callum ran his index finger along the coffee table, collecting the dirty particles onto his fingertip.
"Did you sneeze?" he called out to Meadow when he heard something like a sneeze from the landing above him. He started to walk toward the staircase. "I thought I heard an achoo."
Meadow nearly collided into him from the stairwell. She clutched the journal to her chest.
"Oh," Callum remarked in surprise. "You found it."
"Yeah," Meadow replied. She brushed past him. "I'm done here." And she was out the door before Callum could respond.
Callum shook his head. It was obvious that he wasn't going to find out anything about Ethan right now, especially since he didn't spot any clues to where Ethan might have gone or what might have happened to him. Callum sighed, casting one last look around the place, and then followed Meadow outside. Callum locked the door, stuffed the keys back into his pocket and headed for the car.
When he turned around he realized Meadow wasn't waiting in the passenger seat. She wasn't on the sidewalk or on the street. It was as if she'd vanished into thin air.
"Hello?" Callum asked, speaking into the phone. It wasn't Meadow, the woman who'd disappeared on him after getting her hands on the journal she so desperately needed, but another woman he knew who'd invited him to a Halloween party at a club in town.
The lift dinged on his floor and the doors slid open.
"I'm leaving work now. I'll be by to get you shortly. See you then."
He took the phone from his ear, flipped it shut, and stuffed it back into his pocket as he stepped into the elevator.
(Jason) Slaving Away
Author: Hermione Granger
Date: 08-21-08 17:21
Jason wiped the sweat from his brow with the back of his arm. It was the middle of the afternoon wherever he was. He stood on a ladder propped up against an orange tree and collected each ripe fruit by hand. The oranges went into a basket on the ladder's fold-down tray. Despite having picked oranges and a variety of other fruit since arriving at community Q for nons, Jason suprisingly wasn't sick of the citrus smell yet. He was sick of the labor and desperately homesick.
He missed Elfrida more than anything. Jason thought of her often and wondered where she was. Since she wasn't at community Q, he knew there must be at least one other community somewhere in the world. At least, he hoped that was the case as the alternatives were too horrible to fathom.
As he had all the time in the world for thinking, even with all his busy work, Jason couldn't help but fear for the worst, though. What if Elfrida had been held captive at St. Mungo's or some new clinic for nons? What if something had gone wrong with her pregnancy, and that's why she wasn't at community Q with him? What if she'd died in childbirth? What if the child, a baby Jason had yet to meet, had died too?
Reason told him that there simply had to be another, perhaps several more communities out there. The whole of the non population in the wizarding world wasn't at community Q, and even though he could hardly believe he was where he was doing what he was doing, Jason really couldn't imagine the Ministry of Magic ordering for the slaughter of thousands of nons. The group of weary, worn-out nons at community Q couldn't be the last of their kind... could they?
He carefully placed another orange into the basket, not wanting to bruise one for fear of punishment. He climbed down a few steps, heaved up the now-full basket of oranges, and carried it to the ground, where several other full and empty baskets were positioned. Jason then glanced up at the tree, spying so many more oranges in the boughs. He sighed, repositioned the ladder, and picked up an empty basket. Time to pick more oranges.
(Georgia) All Hallows Eve
Author: Marzipan
Date: 08-22-08 09:07
Georgia stood in front of the window, watching as her adult children lit jack-o'-lanterns in the yard. It wasn't long before the orange glow of the carved pumpkins brightened the deep blackness of the coming night. There was a sudden blast, and bits of pumpkin splattered against the window. Georgia exhaled in disgust, hearing her son's boisterous laugh and her daughter's giggle echo through the otherwise quiet evening.
She turned away from the window and slunk over to the sofa. Georgia sank into its overstuffed cushions and reached for the mimosa on the side table. She sipped from the glass and then looked up with a start.
"What are you doing here?" she asked sharply.
Weston stepped into the room and dropped into the nearby armchair. "Marius let me in. I thought we might talk... about Marzipan."
Georgia's expression remained hard for a long moment, but she couldn't hold onto it. She softened and asked, "What about her?"
Weston gazed at her imploringly. "Don't you want to know where she is? If she's well? If she lives anymore?"
Georgia sipped her drink again. "Perhaps she's better off wherever she is."
"You don't know that!" Weston fairly shouted. "You don't know what she might be going through. None of us do. What if she's ill or dying? Don't you even care? She's your daughter."
"I have another," Georgia remarked casually.
"So Marzi truly means nothing to you." Weston rose. "I guess you never really did care for her, since you left her after having her and didn't bother keeping tabs on her to see how she was raised. Apparently, she was better off not having you in her life."
He turned abruptly and strode to the door.
Georgia clutched the stem of her glass more tightly now and squeezed her eyes shut. "Wait," she said through gritted teeth.
Weston stopped but didn't turn.
"Don't go," Georgia said, setting the glass down on the side table. She rose and took a few tentative steps towards Weston. "Do you know anything that could help us find her?"
Weston turned slowly and appraised Marzi's mother for a moment. Then he sighed and shook his head, "No. Nothing. But perhaps if we put our heads together, we can figure something out."
Georgia nodded and beckoned for Weston to take a seat.
Resistance Broadcast
Author: Majandra
Date: 08-22-08 13:12
In what for now is a safe location in the wizarding world, Majandra gathers with family members and friends around a wizard's wireless. Her father Paul taps it several times with his wand and utters the necessary password, "Hagrid."
When the twins and Lee Jordan first began their wireless broadcasts, the decision was made not to tune in from Majandra's Muggle grandparents' house or any other Muggle location. Although the only magic involved is extremely minimal, such a minute amount was deemed too dangerous to perform in a Muggle setting. The Ministry would be on the lookout for even the most subtle, barely there indications of magic performed where it shouldn't be.
Seconds after the password has been given, Lee Jordan's voice fills the small room. "River* here. Happy Halloween and welcome to The Resistance. As always, we begin with an announcement. Lavender wants everyone to know her gardens are looking lovely. She's just put in a new bird house that looks like a castle. Friends are invited to a party to view her autumnal gardens on Tuesday the 5th at 7 am. For those unable to attend the breakfast party, Lavender is hosting an afternoon tea at 5 that same day as well. She'll be offering a whopping 55 different kinds of tea.
Now a word from regular correspondent Thing 1."
Whenever the codenames Thing 1 and Thing 2 are given, Majandra can't help but smile. About the time the twins and Lee were organizing their first broadcast, George and Fred overhead Maj reading The Cat in the Hat to Miranda and the triplets. They found the antics of Thing 1 and Thing 2 so amusing they decided to use those names as their broadcast codenames.
Fred's voice replaces Lee's. "We've had a very important tip. That evil, foul - kiddies, cover your ears - bitch at the Ministry has put a jinx into effect that will allow the RAC to track anyone who mentions her name or title. This makes her the new You-Know-Who. I repeat, do NOT mention You-Know-Who's name or title unless you want trackers - kiddies, cover your ears - up your arse. Now with the latest Snatcher news, Thing 2."
"Sources tell us that tomorrow Snatchers will blanket Lambeth and Pimlico. Saturday will see them out of the London area, over to Canterbury. Sunday, they'll be hitting King's Lynn and, if they don't deviate from our sources' information, on Monday parts of Derby will be fouled by the Snatchers."
For the next half hour George, Fred, and Lee share information gathered from a number of sources as well as give announcements. The broadcast ends with, "We'll be watching the sun for announcements, tips, and other news. We'll be back on Monday at our usual time. Until then, beware of fwoopers with no silencing charms. River out."
If Maj didn't already know that the reference to the sun meant the ad listings in the London paper The Sun, she would have been able to guess it anyway. Maj and everyone else gathered with her tonight to hear the broadcast also know that Monday's password to pick up the program is fwooper. Additionally, any of them who want to go to the next meeting of those against what the Ministry's doing have that information from the first announcement made - Lavender Gardens, Tuesday, November the 5th. One meeting at 7 am and the other at 5 pm. The location is #55.
*River is Lee Jordan's codename for the Potterwatch broadcasts in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
A Nicer Halloween Feast
Author: Zabrynna
Date: 08-22-08 19:25
Zabrynna reaches for a platter of grill roasted vegetables, forking onto her plate asparagus spears and carrots. Savoring the crunchiness of one of the roasted carrot slices, Zabrynna lets her eyes roam around the Great Hall. The large room is decorted from floor to ceiling and the night is clear enough that the enchanted ceiling is dotted with stars. The tables are laden with too many different types of food for Zabrynna to count and that's doesn't include any desserts, which haven't yet made an appearance.
"I have to say this about Hogwarts, they sure do a better Halloween feast than Durmstrang ever thought about."
"What's that?" Anne Kendrick, Zabrynna's roommate asks.
"Talking to myself. I was thinking about Halloweens at Durmstrang compared to this one."
"And?"
"This is nicer. Warmer too."
"You've mentioned how fires weren't allowed for heating purposes." Anne gives a shiver. "I don't want to think about how cold it must be inside the castle there in the worst of winter."
"My parents never believed it was as bad as I would describe. My mother would laugh and tell me that since they never received a report of me getting frostbite, inside the Durmstrang castle or out, it couldn't be all that bad. Dad would add his two knuts worth and tell me such experiences are character building."
Anne's eyes have grown wide and round at this tidbit of information. "Really?"
"Really," Zabrynna nods, spearing another slice of carrot.
"I've never asked before because I don't want to seem rude or nosy, but why would your Hogwarts educated parents send you off to Durmstrang?"
Zabrynna matter of factly replies, "Because they are elitist snobs."
"Elitist snobs?" Anne repeats with a questioning tone at the exact same moment that it registers with her what Zabrynna means. "No Muggle borns or mixed bloods there."
"Exactly."
"And with Hogwarts being only purebloods now," Anne's sentence trails off.
Zabrynna nods again, repeats, "Exactly," then requests, "Pass that platter of brisket, please."