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Palm Reading
Author: Marzipan
Date: 05-28-10 16:45
Hogsmeade weekends were typically for students and a time when they didn't want to be anywhere near their teachers. Marzi usually left them to their own devices unless Professor Dumbledore or Professor McGonagall specifically asked her to chaperone, which usually didn't happen on normal Hogsmeade trips. Today, however, she felt the need to wander the village, and with her husband by her side did just that.
The pair were just drawing up to Briar's Bakery, when they found a crowd gathered around a street vendor. Marzi didn't see too many of them in Hogsmeade usually, though they weren't uncommon here either. It was just that she was more used to seeing the various stands and peddlers in Diagon Alley rather than in the village. Perhaps this one came to Hogsmeade today knowing it would be crowded with Hogwarts students visiting.
Weston gently guided his wife to an area where they could better see what the peddler was selling. They discovered she was a gypsy, or perhaps someone pretending to be, sitting at a portable table arranged with a crystal ball, tarot cards, and other fortune-telling artifacts.
Marzi laughed at the sight and turned to her husband. "I wonder how many of these students are in Saffron's Arithmancy & Divination class? Surely they don't all need a fortune teller to tell them what the future holds."
"I think it's one thing to divine the future in a classroom setting than to hear it from a gypsy. Anyway, I'm sure not everyone here knows how to read tea leaves."
"I suppose you're right," Marzi replied. "It does look fun."
At this, the fortune teller looked up and searched the crowd around her, as if she had just had a vision about someone specific and was seeking that person out. Her black eyes found Marzi's, and she waved her over.
"Come closer, young lady. There is something important I need to tell you."
The students standing in front of Marzi and Weston turned and some of them snickered when the "young lady" in question was a teacher. They parted to allow Marzi through, who gave her hand to the gypsy's outstretched one. The gypsy made a show of reading Marzi's palm and then declared, "You will be a mother by year's end."
Marzi's eyes widened, not so much out of surprise but out of amusement. Well, it wasn't like she didn't want to have kids. She and Weston just hadn't decided to have any yet. If it happened, great. If not, no big deal.
She took her hand back and thanked the gypsy for her time. Weston handed the street peddler a few coins and then took Marzi's hand. As he led her to the bakery he said, "So do you believe her?"
"Let me do the math. The end of the year is only half a year away, which means for that prophecy to be true, I'd have to be pregnant already, and if I am, I'm certainly not that far along."
"So was it a waste of your time and my money?" Weston asked, somewhat jokingly.
"No. It was still fun, though a longer and more in depth reading would have been better."
They stepped into the bakery, which was crowded. They had to wait in line for a little while, but by the time they reached the counter, they had already made their selections. With their sweets and two cups of coffee in hand, they headed outside to the park.
Excitement on a Slow Day
Author: Hermione Granger
Date: 05-29-10 11:06
On some days, St. Mungo's bustled with activity. Patients needed to be seen and treated, family members needed to be informed or consoled, and the day to day behind-the-scenes hospital work needed to get done. On other days, however, St. Mungo's seemed utterly deserted and uneventful.
Today appeared to be one of those days where Hermione had to work very hard to find something to keep herself busy. She didn't care for idleness when she was supposed to be engaged in learning something new or using her vast knowledge to help a patient recover from an illness or injury.
Unfortunately, it seemed like she couldn't even find menial tasks with which to keep herself occupied today. If only she'd brought one of her school books with her. Then she could at least sit in a corner and get a little reading done while waiting for something more productive to do.
She stood around the nurse's station on the Magical Bugs floor with her fellow interns Imogene, Philomena and Orson. Her friends usually didn't mind shooting the breeze rather than working, though it had come to the point where they were starting to get a little bored. Anytime something came up, the four fought over who would take on the job.
They looked up when Magenta Hunter came in, looking rather bored herself but not so much that she wanted to take on the task that had just opened up. She held up a clipboard and said, "A shipment of supplies from Vitruvian, Inc. just arrived. Usually an aide or a nurse takes care of it, but we're a bit short on them today. Anyone want to unpack boxes?"
Hermione's hand shot up high in the air. It might be menial work, but it was something and besides, Hermione liked organizing things.
"Fine, it's all yours Granger."
Magenta handed Hermione the clipboard, which had the packing slip clipped to it.
"They're already in the storage room on this level. Just unpack them, sort the items, and put them where they belong. Got it?"
"Got it," Hermione murmured, already moving towards the storage room in question.
A few minutes later, she went into the storage room and found three medium-sized boxes stacked one on top of the other not too far away from the doorway. She shook her head and reached for the top one. It proved heavier than she anticipated, so she got out her wand and said, "Wingardium Leviosa!"
The top box lifted a few inches over the top of the one directly under it and moved with Hermione's guidance to the floor.
It was then that Hermione noticed that she wasn't alone in the room. A figure was bent on the floor in the corner, stirring in a sluggish manner at the sound of someone else being in the room with him.
Hermione didn't have to see his face to know that it was Fletcher Harrison, doped up on medicinal potions again. She immediately backed out of the storage room and went to where she had last seen Magenta. Before she even reached the nurse's station where the other iterns still idled, she found the healer exiting a patient's room.
Hermione said rather urgently, "You need to see this."
Without questioning her, Magenta followed Hermione back to the storage room. Fletcher had made it to the middle of the room, but he was still down on the ground. He tried climbing to his feet when he saw both Hermione and Magenta in the storage room with him, but he couldn't make it.
"What happened?" Magenta asked, kneeling beside Fletcher.
"He's addicted to potions," Hermione explained. "This isn't the first time I've found him like this."
Magenta looked up at Hermione in surprise. "Why didn't you tell anyone?"
"The first time I found him was right before I went into hiding two years ago." And the only other time she'd really seen him be out of it had been at Diagon Alley, not at the hospital.
"So this has been going on for a while," Magenta murmured, shaking her head. To Fletcher she said, "We're going to have to put you through treatment, and I'm afraid you'll probably be suspended from the program..."
"No!" Fletcher said, scrambling to his feet and knocking over potions and other supplies in the process. He somehow managed to remain standing and pushed past both Magenta and Hermione.
"We need to stop him," Hermione told Magenta, and she followed Fletcher out of the storage room. Magenta was right on her heels. Hermione raised her wand, ready to stun him if she needed to but before she could, he grabbed a nurse coming down the hallway and spun her around so that she blocked him. He had his wand in his hand and pressed the tip to the nurse's neck.
"Don't come any closer!" Fletcher shouted. "Don't you even think about it or I'll hurt her!"
Hermione gently lowered her wand and stuck it back in her pocket. She held up her empty hands, and Magenta did the same.
"Just calm down, Fletcher," Hermione said. "It doesn't have to go this way."
"Yes it does!" Fletcher yelled, prodding the poor nurse in the neck with his wand. She started crying.
"This is all your fault Granger!" he spat.
"So maybe you should let her go and take out your anger on me," Hermione suggested calmly.
"Nice try," Fletcher said, smiling. With his hooded eyes and gaunt features, he looked very disturbed when he smiled.
Suddenly, his whole body became rigid. The nurse shrieked as she was prodded in the neck again, but Fletcher hadn't meant to do it this time. He fell backwards, taking the nurse with him, and landed with a loud, solid thump on the floor.
Orson stood behind him with his wand out.
"Though you could use the help," he offered.
"Thanks," Hermione and Magenta said together.
They all rushed forward to help untangle the nurse from her captor. Magenta sent Orson off to notify the authorities, and Hermione helped get Fletcher to a hospital bed.
An Offer
Author: Bronwyn Dewhurst
Date: 05-29-10 12:13
"Why did you bring me here, Bronwyn?" Sebastian asked, after he emerged from one of the fireplaces at St. Emrys University.
Bronwyn stifled a yawn and turned to him. "You need to get out more, and I figured I'd give you the opportunity to see the university from the inside instead of just the grounds."
She had worked all night and would have liked to have gone straight to bed, as she often did after her night shift ended, but her old boss Dylan Cornfoot had asked that she stop by the studio today. She wondered if he was offering her a job. Maybe his job?
"It looks like a school," Seb surmised, after a few minutes of Bronwyn leading her down the familiar corridors to where the WWN studio was located.
"Genius," Bronwyn commented with a laugh. "They'll have to accept you, no question."
She didn't get the impression that Seb necessarily wanted to go back to school, but maybe attending classes would take his mind off of Arley. Bronwyn knew very well that Desi and Anthony were traveling the world right now in search of Seb's best friend and lover, but what if they were unsuccessful? What if Mr. Montgomery did exactly what he said he would do if the search continued?
Realizing she was frowing and not wanting to remind Seb of all his troubles, Bronwyn gestured to the WWN studio door. "This is where I used to work."
Seb followed Bronwyn inside and immediately met her old boss Dylan. He invited them both into his office and offered them something to drink.
"So, why did you ask me here today?" Bronwyn asked.
"I was wondering if you would like to participate in Emrys Fest this year," Dylan said. "You always did such a good job in the past and I could really use your help."
Bronwyn lit up. "That would be great. I love Emrys Fest."
"I had a feeling you wouldn't say no. Of course, I'll pay you for your time."
"Even better!" Bronwyn exclaimed, thinking about all the shopping she could do with the extra cash.
She looked to Seb, who looked far away. Dylan noticed it too and asked, "Are you all right?"
Bronwyn started to open her mouth to answer for Seb but he replied, "I was just remembering Emrys Fest from last year. I had a good time."
Bronwyn realized then that both Seb and Arley had attended Emrys Fest last year. She wasn't holding her breath that both would get to go again this year, but she really, really hoped so.
(Anthony) The Old Barn
Author: Beck
Date: 05-29-10 14:01
After pursuing all possible leads in Seattle, Anthony and Desi went to the one place left, Texas. Arley had been born in Texas and had spent many years in his home state before moving northwest to Washington state. As far as Desi knew, Arley still had family in Texas, family that could hopefully lead them to where he might currently be.
As it happened, Anthony and Desi learned that Arley's father had recently purchased a ranch in west Texas. The property consisted of a large tract of land on which sat a home and two barns, one that looked like fairly new construction. With local agents on hand, Anthony and Desi stormed the premises.
While Desi focused on the house, Anthony put his attention on the older of the two barns. It looked rather dilapidated, which was probably cause for the newer barn's existence. Whereas the new barn was beautifully painted in red and white, the old barn looked somewhat gray in color and upon closer inspection consisted of rotting boards.
His team encircled the building, looking for the different ways to enter. Anthony took the front, which comprised of a set of double doors that hung off hinge so that they didn't shut properly. He was afraid that if he touched them, they would topple over. As it was, there was a gap large enough for him to slip through. He silently lit his wand and entered the barn.
It was dark in the barn, with the only real light coming from the gap in the doors and a hole in the roof. Elsewhere, little strings of light could be seen where the wood had rotten through or where time had just caused the building to shift in places.
The ground was strewn with a light dusting of hay. Bigger piles were found in some corners, where bits of old machinery was also stowed. There were several stalls, all of them empty.
The barn also had a loft, but there didn't appear to be a way up. It was silent in the barn, so Anthony almost believed that he and the Texan specialists were alone, but he didn't want to leave without checking the loft first.
He looked around and found a broken, wooden ladder fixed on one of the walls. With the help of another wizard, he set it up so that it reached the loft. He put his wand between his teeth and carefully scaled the ladder, mindful that it was very weak in places and completely broken in others.
When he reached the top, the glow of his wand illuminated the loft. It was also lined with hay. There was no railing, so anyone walking up there needed to be careful lest they fall over the side. The floor of the loft also had a few holes and weak spots, so Anthony had to be very careful where he stepped. He took a few cautious steps forward and then with his wand held out before him, came upon a most startling slight. Against the wall, seated back to back on two rickety old chairs was a young man and a young woman, and they looked very much worse for wear.
Plotting and Planning
Author: Lawrence Masterson
Date: 05-29-10 18:07
Lawrence headed down from the Castle, he had no obligations this weekend, and it was the last free weekend aside from the Quidditch cup coming up in the next week or so. He knew that Ariella was going to be buckling down to finally take her NEWT exams through the program at St. Emry's and he wanted to do something special for her. He currently was heading further into the village, he was going to meet Ariella after her shift at Briar's and then he had a weekend of destress planned for them both.
He met her just as she came out of the bakery and slid his arms around her wrapping her in a hug. "How was work?" He asked, having secretly arranged with management to ensure that she only had the early morning shift - which had her getting off at about eleven thirty or twelve at the latest.
"Busy, but good. Didn't expect to see you just yet, thought we were meeting at Crown & Cauldron for lunch?" She said watching him curiously.
"Oh, well, there's been a slight change of plans. But, rest assured, I'm fairly certain that you will love it." He said with his usual impish grin.
"Is that so..." She mused and allowed him to guide her back up to the Castle to change out of her work clothes.
Once she was changed, they headed back out to be able to apparate from the village. He'd earlier this morning had his houseelf transfer the bags he'd packed to their hotel room, which had already been booked a couple of weeks ago in Paris.
"So where are we going..." She asked, before he whispered in her ear the location, and they were both off with a loud POP.
Not Wanting To Have A Certain Discussion Just Yet
Author: Emerald Green
Date: 05-29-10 22:35
Emerald had gotten into Hogsmeade fairly early this morning but hadn't met up with Phin until mid-morning. She'd spent the time in between grabbing a bite of to eat from the bakery then sitting at The Three Broomsticks with some of the other seventh years to have a celebratory butterbeer. Mainly they were rejoicing that the end is near even if they first have to get through the hell that is the N.E.W.T.s. They were, however, also somewhat nostalgic at times because the end if near. This is their last Hogsmeade weekend as students unless, God forbid or as Emerald has come to know in the Wizarding world, Merlin forbid, unless classes are failed and N.E.W.T.s are not passed. Few think they will fail their classes but many are worried enough about the N.E.W.T.s that even the most confident among them expresses doubts of making high marks on them.
After the group parted ways to spend the rest of the day enjoying their time in the village, Emerald had visited some of the shops. She needed more ink and wanted to get a suppliment that was recently released for one of her N.E.W.T study guides. Although primarily a second hand bookshop, Twice Told Tales has a limited stock of new releases for reading pleasure and an extremely good assortment of study guides and other useleff references students might need. Some of the items are used but many more are new. With the study guides, if buying used, the trick is to look for ones not overly marked in already. Or at least that's what Emerald has done. Her roommate Olivia O'Toole has bought a few used ones that were heavily marked but any notations she didn't find useful she simply used a spell to clean up the pages.
Once Emerald had gotten the supplies she needed, and had even bought Jade and Hunter gifts of ink that matches their names as presents for starting at Hogwarts in the fall, she'd made her way to the Crown & Cauldron where Phin was going to be working while waiting for her to arrive. Emerald found her steps dragging, not because she doesn't want to see Phin but because she doesn't want to face the awkwardness of talking about Phin's wanting to take the big step of getting engaged and then married all sometime within the 12 months following her graduation from Hogwarts.
Stepping into the restaurant and catching her first sight of Phin, Emerald once again understands what people mean when they say their hearts fluttered and they felt weak in the knees whenever seeing the ones they loved. She has had that reaction to Phin for a long time now. She still recalls how intense those feelings were upon seeing him for the first time after being in two different prison communities. Emerald has never experience these feelings for any other male. Sure, she's seen guys and thought them cute or hot but none make her feel all swoony, warm, and gooey inside.
Emerald has no doubt she loves Phin. Her doubts about getting engaged and married stem from the fact that she practically went from being in one prison community to being confined at Hogwarts for this past year. After being sent first to Happy Haven and then to City of Hope, Emerald would like to truly experience freedom. She wants to travel a little and maybe defer starting college for a semester or trimester or whatever system the school where she ends up has. Heck, she's not even certain right now if she wants to go to a Muggle university or to one of the few Wizarding ones and if Wizarding if she'll go with St. Emerys.
Emerald doesn't want to think of engagement and marriage as being tied down but it does seem a somewhat apt description to someone who, after graduation, wants to be a tiny bit of a free spirit. Somehow, thinking of Phin as her boyfriend doesn't have the same restrictive sense to her as thinking of him as her fiance or husband does. She would never step out on him but to Emerald, having him as a fiance or a husband so soon would carry with it an obligation to him that being just his girlfriend. That doesn't mean, of course, that if she were to travel a little, she wouldn't check in with him regularly or even invite him along. It also doesn't mean she won't miss him like crazy if he's not around every day, something she knows all about even from being at Hogwarts and him not. There's also the fact that even with the methods of transportation and communication used in the Wizarding world, if she were to go to school abroad, like to her mother's alma mater Duke University, with Phin in school at St. Emrys and Duke being Muggle, they would not get to be together every single day and probably not even get to speak every day. That isn't the way to start an engagement much less a marriage. It does make Emerald wish things like cell phones worked well in Wizarding locations.
Phin's Uncle Lars greeted Emerald when she walked in and suggested she go sit at one of the garden tables while Phin wrapped up what he was doing. Emerald had thanked him and done just that, ordering a lime ice to drink, enjoying the biting citrus flavor and fruity goodness of the slushie type beverage. Phin joined her about five minutes later and after a hug and a kiss, being mindful that they are in his family's place of business even if outside in the garden, they sat and have been sitting mainly in silence listening to a band playing a soft, almost haunting, melodic tune.
When the song ends Emerald sighs, "I wish Dynamic Duo was playing today even though this band is really good."
"Yeah, I know. Anthony's not even in the country though I guess the rest of us could have gone on without him. It just wouldn't have been the same. They all played together without me but then they were a band before I came along so that's sort of different."
"Are you guys doing Emrys Fest this summer?"
"I don't know yet. We've been invited to play but we've not sat down and discussed it. I hope we do. It's always a blast."
They listen more to the music while quietly discussing what to get for lunch. Once Phin's personally put their order in and replenished her lime ice, Phin moves his chair a little closer to Emerald's and takes one of her hands in his. Although they do need to have the conversation she knows without doubt is coming, Emerald can't help but wish she could put it off a teensy bit longer.
On the Observation Deck
Author: Illyria
Date: 05-30-10 11:14
"Why aren't you in Hogsmeade? It's your last trip ever as a student. You don't want to miss that, do you?" Illyria asked Ronan, when he found her on top of the Astronomy tower.
She'd almost taken breakfast in her quarters but at the last minute had gone down to the Great Hall. The dining room hadn't been as crowded as usual, since most of the student body had planned on buying breakfast somewhere in the village. She hadn't seen Ronan there, but then she hadn't really looked for him either.
All Illyria could think about was seeing her bodyguard's corpse where Diagon Alley and Knockturn Alley met. The vision haunted her both day and night.
After breakfast, she sought refuge from everything on the observation deck of the Astronomy tower. Illyria stood at the stone veranda that encircled the deck and looked out over the Hogwarts grounds.
"I just wanted to see how you were doing," Ronan said, taking his place beside her. He put both hands on the smooth stone banister and looked out towards Hogsmeade, where he did plan on going later. "Do you want to talk about it?"
Illyria shook her head. "I'd rather not even think about it, but it's hard to shake from my mind." She sighed and turned around, nearly perching on the edge of the banister. "I wish it hadn't happened at all, any of it. I regret helping Roland out. I really do. If he hadn't approached me, none of this would have ever happened."
"Is it certain, then, that Eccleston's death is related to Roland's troubles?" Ronan asked, "and has there been any word as to where he might be or what may have happened to him?"
"No, and no," Illyria replied, heaving another heavy sigh. "It makes all of this all the more frustrating and frightening."
Ronan turned toward his former guardian and put a hand on top of hers. "A lead has to come up sometime."
"I hope so." She nodded her head toward the staircase. "You should get going before you miss your whole day."
Ronan said, "I don't have to go if you want the company."
"Don't you have a date?"
Ronan smiled. "Something like that. Artemis said she had other plans for the first half of the day, but we're supposed to meet up later."
"So go. And have fun, kid." Illyria gave him a friendly push toward the stairs and then turned back around to survey the grounds some more. She wasn't really looking at anything in particular, just whatever happened to catch her eye. She saw a winged horse fly low over the tops of the trees in the Forbidden Forest. She saw a pair of owls head toward the owlery. She saw students down below hanging out in the grass or heading off somewhere, like to the village or the banks of the lake.
She wasn't sure how much time had passed when she heard footsteps on the staircase. When she heard them on the landing of the deck she said without turning, "I thought you had a date with Artemis."
"I don't know who this Artemis is, but I'm sure she's quite lovely," said an unfamiliar voice.
Illyria turned abruptly and saw a wizard standing across the deck from her, one she had never seen before in all her life.