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Broken
Author: Zabrynna 
Date:   07-28-11 16:22

"And there you have the full tour," Mariposa tells Zabrynna as they enter the kitchen of the West Lane house Mariposa is renting with AJ Hodfuffer.

"It's all very nice," Zabrynna says, following her sister out a door from the kitchen to the side yard.

"This is a great spot for a little vegetable garden. As you can see I've gotten started with it. And around here," Mariposa says, turning towards the backyard, "are flower beds."

Mariposa points out another garden area in the backyard. "I think that was a vegetable garden at one time. We're thinking of planting something else there though, but haven't decided what."

"Sounds very cozy and long term."

"Why shouldn't we think long term? Are you implying AJ and I won't last?"

"No, only that as this is a rental, you might not want to stick with it."

"Oh. Sorry, I didn't mean to jump to a conclusion."

"That's all right. I know how it sounded."

There's a moment of awkward silence before Mariposa says, "It's good to make plans no matter what the future ends up bringing. We want to make this place feel like home for as long as we're here."

"I can understand that."

By this time they have reached a small ornamental koi pond. "This had been drained while the house was vacant. We've gotten a couple of fish for it but AJ's wanting to get more."

Mariposa sits down on a bench facing the pond and pats the space beside her as Zabrynna says, "This is very pretty."

"Where are your two sidekicks this morning?"

"Philippa had something of a breakfast date with another seventh year, Orion Patterson, and Anne went to get Indigo McFusty to set a definite date for going out."

"I hadn't noticed that Anne likes Indigo," Mariposa dryly replies, elicitiing a laugh from Zabrynna. "I don't hear you laugh much anymore."

"I don't have much to laugh about these days."

"Only because you won't let yourself."

"I committed a criminal act, Mariposa."

"And you've paid for that crime. Learn from the mistake but you have to move on. We're all so worried about you."

"Not my mum."

"The one exception. MY mother is concerned as is my stepfather. Dad. AJ. Everyone who knows but your mum. Even Declan Douglass is concerned for you."

"You say that and he's said it, but I still find that hard to believe. To accept."

"Because you continue to let this eat away at you. This is why I want to make sure the therapy is helping. If it's not, then it's time to change therapists. When term's over, let's do that. I'll help you."

As she spoke Mariposa had taken one of Zabrynna's hands and twined their fingers together. Zabrynna leans into her sister and gives her a gentle nudge. "You know, you aren't always so bad for a big sister."

"While you are still a brat, brat."

Both look up at the sound of the door leading from the living area to the backyard opening. AJ Hodfuffer stands there, a box in one hand. "I come bearing gifts from Briar's Bakery."

Mariposa stands and starts towards the patio. "I didn't think I was hungry but the thought of whatever you have in that box is making me famished. It's so nice, let's sit out here."

Zabrynna, a few paces behind her sister, joins them at a wrought iron table with matching chairs. "Professor Hodfuffer, the color of this table, the chairs and cushions make me think of Gryffindor House."

"The owners, Australia Gregorovitch and her brother Brett Kingston, were both Gryffindors. It's just us here and as we aren't at school, and you are so close to being a graduate, what say you drop the professor and just call me AJ?"

"I'll try but it might take a few times. It's habit you know."

AJ is holding the bakery box open towards her so Zabrynna selects as fruit tart that turns out to have a wonderful almond custard layer under the fruit. The bakery goods are wonderful as expected and the conversation is pleasant but Zabrynna can't help but keeps thinking about how she seems to be broken and even with all the therapy she's had to date, she doesn't seem to have mended much. Mariposa might be right. It may be time to seek help elsewhere as she really doesn't want to go through her first year at university as depressed and lonely as she's felt these past few. She also thinks again about telling Anne and Philippa, knowing that one big factor has always been this lie she's kept from her two best friends.

"Would you like another?" Mariposa asks, cutting into Zabrynna's thoughts.

"Yes, thanks," she answers, taking this time what looks like a Napoleon.

She stays focused on the conversation and makes herself participate and before she knows it, it's time to head back to High Street for a little shopping with her sister before going to meet up with Anne and Philippa.

Discovery
Author: Bill Weasley 
Date:   07-28-11 17:34

Victoire sat perched on her father's shoulders and took in the sights and sounds of Hogwarts students in the village. Often, Bill worked on Hogsmeade Saturdays to help students access their vaults, but Mrs. Davies had insisted on working this time so that Bill could enjoy time off with his family.

Fleur and Dominique were at home. Dominique had been up more than down during the night, which had left the whole family, with the exception of Victoire, tired in the morning. When Bill left the house with his daughter on his shoulders, Fleur had been catnapping on the sofa with Dominique dozing on her chest.

Although Bill really wanted a strong cup of coffee, he decided instead to walk from one edge of the village to the other in an attempt to wake himself up and to give Victoire a chance to see everything.

She held onto his hair and drew a lot of attention from passersby. Victoire was 1/8 veela and had that same alluring quality as everybody with a drop of veela blood running through their veins. Bill wasn't looking forward to her teenage years.

They turned off a path leading to a less populated part of the village and walked until it turned into dirt and grass. Bill started to turn back around when Adriana popped up from the rocks just ahead. She carried a pail and her wand.

"Bill and Victoire! What are you two doing out here?" Adriana asked, climbing down from the rocks to approach them.

"Just out for a walk. What are you doing?" Bill asked, looking at the red pail she carried.

"Hi!" Victoire exlaimed.

"Hi, Big girl." And to Bill: "Hunting for clams."

"Clams?"

"Yeah! I don't know if it's true or not, but I heard there might be clams in the lake. I thought I might be able to find some on the rocks down below. Problem is, I can't find a good way down without risking killing myself."

"I've never heard that there are clams in the lake," Bill said, "but if you're really that curious, you should just go to the lakeshore rather than attempt to get down from the cliffs. Honestly speaking, you're better off going to a seafood market."

"Where's the fun in that?" Adriana exclaimed with a youthful grin on her face. She turned and headed along the edge of the rocks, looking for a good place to climb.

Bill followed, but he stayed on level ground with Victoire when Adriana began to mount the jagged boulders.

"Be careful!" Bill urged.

"Stop being such a spoilsport, Bill," Adriana called to him over his shoulder. She crept dangerously close to the cliff face, which made Bill extremely nervous. If he didn't have Victoire perched on his shoulders, he would certainly go after Adriana, if only to pull her back to safety.

Adriana crouched on the top of the rocks and glanced down to find a good place to start her descent. Then she gasped and turned around to look down at Bill.

"There's a body down there!"

"What?" Bill asked, alarmed. He really wished he didn't have Victoire with him now.

Adriana turned back around to look again. She squinted, as if it would help her see better, but the body was too far down for her to see it clearly.

"It's on the rocks down below!" she shouted. "I think it's a wizard."

Bill said, "I'll call for help." He carefully held onto one of Victoire's legs with one hand and reached into his pocket for the other. Bill produced his wand and raised it high in the air, where it shot red sparks into the sky.

Adriana was still studying the body on the rocks down below. "I think he's still alive!" she suddenly exclaimed. "I think he might be breathing."

Bill couldn't imagine anyone taking a fall like that still being alive, but wizards sometimes survived where Muggles did not.

"Is he awake?" Bill questioned up to Adriana.

"I don't think so," Adriana shouted back. "His eyes look closed. He's probably unconscious."

Bill marveled that Victoire remained calm. Often children sensed their parents' anxieties.

It wasn't long before help arrived.

Paint Ball (Hunter Rabnott)
Author: Aaron Miller 
Date:   07-28-11 19:01

Crouching behind what looks like a white washed picket fence, Hunter Rabnott peers through a crack in the slats. He discerns movement just slightly off from straight ahead. Gripping the paint ball wand more tightly he holds his position, breathing as shallowly and quietly as possible.

Daniel Gelson slowly creeps around an obstacle in the form of a tree, paint ball wand at the ready. Hadrian relaxes but only slightly. Daniel and he are on the same time but that doesn't mean he should let his guard down. Hadrian suddenly appears to the right, paint ball wand ready to fire at Daniel. Hunter springs up and fires at Hadrian, a huge splotch of orange paint appearing on his brother's chest.

Hunter sprints along the line of the fence diving for a big bush of some sort. He just makes it when part of the bush explodes on a shower of pale blue paint. Quickly scanning he spots Damian Lampwick darting behind another of the trees. Hunter drops to his belly, snaking his way towards a dog house looking structure.

A rustling from a different direction has him crawling into the doghouse itself. Recognizing the shoes that Wiggy Hodfuffer has one, Hunter goes utterly still again, waiting for Wiggy to pass before leaning out of the dog house to shoot a ball of orange paint at Wiggy. At the same time he's scrambling to move from the dog house to move along, not wanting to stay in any one spot overly long.

As they are not playing elimination this round but rather which team gets the most hits, Wiggy and Hadrian are still very much in this and both are very close by. Losing team has to buy the winning team bags of sweets from Honeydukes and Hunter already knows what he's going to have the blue team buy him. Coming to a stop behind a storage shed looking structure, Hunter stays crouched down, watching and listening as he thinks about the candy he'll soon be eating.

Answering A Distress Signal
Author: Charlie Weasley 
Date:   07-29-11 12:23

The Lupin family is at Charlie's and Hendrika's with Teddy, Schuyler, and Artie playing in the yard. At table in a patch of sun with Ava in a bassinet, the four adults are sitting around talking when the boys suddenly stop playing. All three are looking up and excitedly pointing. Bursts of red sparks are in the air. All four adults are immediately on their feet, recognizing a call for help.

Charlie nods at Hendrika and starts across the yard without saying anything. Hedrika tells Tonks and Remus, "Go! I'll watch Teddy."

They shoots her grateful smiles and take off after Charlie, the three of them running by they time they actually hit the lane. A trail of sparks are still visible in the air, helping them hone in on the source location. They catch up to Geoffrey Blackwell, another Auror who lives in the West Lane who had been outside as well when the call was sent up.

They arrive at some of the cliffs overlooking a narrow, extremely rocky strip along water's edge. "Bill!" Charlie calls when his older brother comes into view.

"There's someone down on the rocks," the oldest Weasley brother tells them. "I'm going to take Victoire home. Be right back." The words are hardly out of Bill's mouth before he disapparates.

Adriana Fairchild is precariously close to the cliff's edge, peering down. Without turning to see if it's only Charlie or if there are others with him she says, "We think he might be alive but ." Adriana turns then a noise low in her throat as she makes a gesture down below.

"But?" Remus prompts, moving to get a good look. "Oh, I see."

Geoffrey, Charlie, and Tonks are stretched out along the precipace, looking at the figure below. Geoffrey asks of no one in particular, "Brooms be the best way you think?"

"If only to get in and assess him, I would think so," Charlie agrees.

Tonks is already moving to a more open spot away from cliff's edge to get them some brooms. Adriana, now on her stomach to allow her to peer over even more, says, "We should get a healer here."

"I'm betting Bill was going to see if Hermione's home after he dropped Victoire off," Charlie tells her.

As if on cue Hermione and Bill appear a few feet away, Hermione's hand in Bill's so that she'd be certain of coming to the right place. Seconds later Hermione, Bill, and Charlie are flying brooms down to where the male is splayed out rocks jutting from the cliff face a good twenty feet above that narrow patch of land below.

Getting their first close up of the man Charlie asks with astonishment, "Isn't that ?" "Kristos Fox," Bill finishes.

Wizard's Wonderful Wellness Spa
Author: Bronwyn Dewhurst 
Date:   07-29-11 14:33

Bronwyn and Desi relaxed side-by-side in tubs filled to the brim with mud. Normally, Bron wouldn't be caught dead caked in dirt, but this was different. They were at Wizard's Wonderful Wellness Spa.

Yesterday, Bronwyn had been at the office quite later than usual. Unexpectedly, Desi had shown up, looking more like her twin sister than herself. Bronwyn had been more than a little surprised to see her, considering Desi had claimed to want to spend the next three months on her own, coping with everything she'd been through lately. The fact that she looked more like Bianca then herself was a different kind of shock altogether.

"Where are we going?" Bronwyn had asked Desi, after Desi had insisted that she abandon work for the rest of the afternoon.

"That's for me to know and you to find out!" Desi had quipped. "Quit dawdling and grab your stuff."

"Will I need anything?"

"Your bag's already packed."

"Just one?"

Desi had given Bron a very pointed look about the same time Milla had wandered over, her mouth agape. "Your..." she started, pointing at Desi. Then she turned to Bron. "She's..."

Bron had rolled her eyes and grabbed Desi by the hand. "Let's get out of here."

"Now you're talking!" Desi had exclaimed.

As the two women had moved for the exit, Milla had shouted, "I knew you knew what's going on with Xavier Schoonmaker and his wife, Bronwyn! I knew it!"

That afternoon, Desi had side-along apparated with Bron to the spa, where they'd gotten back massages and exfoliating facials. This morning they'd gotten hot stone massages and now were relaxing in their mud baths. They planned on lounging in the sauna later.

"This is the life," Bronwyn commented blissfully.

"I actually agree with you," Desi murmured with her eyes closed.

Neither had said much about Bianca, Xavier and all the rest since yesterday afternoon, with the exception of when Desi had made it clear that she was not mad at Bronwyn for opening her mouth to Anthony and that she never had been. Desi wasn't mad at Anthony either.

Bronwyn felt a little reassured, but only just.

Desi didn't ask too much about Bronwyn's quest to remember what had happened to her four years ago. She wanted to make this weekend as relaxing as possible, which meant shelving real life for the present.

And actually, Bronwyn was pretty okay with that. Real life could wait.

Emergency
Author: Hermione Granger 
Date:   07-29-11 14:55

Hermione had been attempting to give Crookshanks a bath when Bill pounded on her door. Crookshanks was typically fairly laid back, but the suddeness and sharpness of the knocking startled him. He scrambled out of the tub, spraying water all over Hermione. She didn't even bother chasing him down to dry him off, but she did use her wand on herself.

At the door, she found Bill looking somewhat harried. "We need your help. There's a body at the cliffs," he said in one quick rush.

Hermione didn't even wait to find out more. She took Bill's hand, so that he could side-along apparate with her to the correct location.

Without even thinking about it, she mounted the proffered broomstick and flew up and over the rocky cliff face to the broken body on the rocks below. Hermione didn't have a problem with flying, but she was afraid of heights. Her fears never crossed her mind, though, as she was busy wondering how to help the wizard, if he still lived.

She carefully dismounted on the rock on which Kristos Fox lay and handed her broomstick to Charlie. Then she knelt next to Kristos. First she checked for a pulse.

"He's definitely still alive, but his heart rate is slow."

She did a quick assessment of his injuries without touching him too much. Hermione sensed that he had broken a lot of bones and probably had severe internal injuries. His breathing seemed a bit off, suggesting he might have punctured a lung.

"We need to get him to St. Mungo's right away. I think we should conjure a stretcher and fly him to the top. From there it will be easier to transport him to the hospital."

Bill wasted no time conjuring the stretcher. Hermione took her broom so that Charlie could hold one end of the stretcher, while Bill held onto the other. Very carefully, Hermione levitated Kristos off the rock and onto the stretcher and then she murmured a spell to make him and the stretcher easier to bear. Bill and Charlie were careful to rise together to the top of the cliff, which was no easy feat. Hermione beat them to the top and waited for them to come over the side to level ground.

By then, quite a crowd had gathered to see what had happened.

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