|
|
Who Would Do This (AJ?)
Author: Furnella Hodfuffer
Date: 05-24-13 19:17
Mariposa had two different study groups scheduled today at St. Emrys, planning to be home in time for a late lunch. AJ took one of the morning shifts on patrol around Hogsmeade then did a little shopping, particularly at the Magic Neep. Home again he'd put everything away, made a pot of homemade soup then leaving it on to simmer he'd put a thick jumper on the dog, Malta. They'd gone for a walk, the Maltese mix enjoying romping in the snow, experimentally crunching on ice, and basking in the attention of the students they encountered.
As Malta and AJ approach the house, both looking forward to the warmth of a fire, AJ sees someone leaning against the front door. "Declan?"
Declan straightens and turns, his expression a mixture of relief, anguish, and anger. He says nothing as AJ and Malta close the distance to the porch. Taking the steps AJ asks, "What's wrong?"
Still saying nothing Declan thrusts an envelope at him. He accepts it but puts his curiosity aside long enough to continue past Declan to open the front door. He waits until Declan is inside and until he's removed Malta's leash and bent down to remove the little sweater emblazoned with the Hogwarts crest.
"Come in and sit," AJ says, going to the mini bar and pouring Declan a shot of whiskey. He has not idea yet what's wrong but his friend looks as if he could use it. After handing the glass to Declan, AJ stokes the fire then goes into the kitchen to check smaller fireplace there to make sure the soup is still simmering and not burning. Only then does he go in and sit as well, examining the envelope then removing its contents.
Unfolding the parchment to find it's three page, AJ quickly takes in the top sheet with its somewhat cryptic, unsigned note. An article for tomorrow's paper. Even before he moves on to the second page AJ knows what he's going to read.
He reads through the article once then again before looking across at Declan. "Who?"
"No idea," Declan replies, speaking for the first time since AJ had gotten home.
"Do you think that this unnamed source in the article is who sent it to you?"
"As Rita Skeeter didn't send you a preview or one to any of the others she's written about, or as far as I know that is, yes, I think it's whoever her source is."
"What about the charm? Never mind. I remember now. It was only for a year and a half."
AJ looks down again at the copy of the article. "Even without it in play, those who know would never want this made public."
"Wouldn't want what made public?" Mariposa asks, coming into the room, still in her coat and carrying a book satchel. And closely followed by Zabrynna.
The Dead Girl
Author: Wendy Mills
Date: 05-25-13 06:20
Wendy had planned to take the flying and Quidditch workshop. Unlike most she didn't really like riding a broom very much but she was determinate to at least master the basics. You never know when it could be handy. When she saw Anton Avery seated in a rock nearby the path that lead to the Quidditch pitch Wendy knew she was about to be ambushed. Here he was, ready for his revenge just when she thought he had forgotten about her and that episode at the Fitness & Athletics class.
Anton was not alone: next to him was his always faithful follower, Titus Nott. However, Titus didn't seem as comfortable as Anton. He looked in every direction trying to avoid looking at Wendy. Anton wasn't looking at her as well. He was inspecting his wand as if trying to find an imperfection on the well polished and elegant wood. Many had been the times he had spoken about his wand during classes and how it had cost his parents a fortune but Ollivander had assured him that the blackthorn wood suited him and he was going to accomplish great things in life with it. Or so Anton said.
Wendy decided to keep walking and ignore the pair of Slytherins. However, Anton stood up with Titus a bit behind him.
"Off to the Quidditch pitch, Mills?" Anton asked. "I have seen you flying, you know? I think maybe you will be able to lift 35 centimeters from the ground perhaps when we are on our seventh year. That's 6 centimeters per year."
He laughed and so did Titus.
"That's a good one," the Nott boy complimented his friend.
"It's actually 5 centimeters," Wendy corrected them. "You never had mathematics in your life, did you?"
Feeling insulted, Anton pointed his hand to her. Titus did the same, but he didn't seem to be particularly aiming at her. He was just copying his partner.
"Any last words?" Anton teased.
Wendy looked around in the hope help would come. But there weren't any students or teachers passing by. In the few seconds she had left she tried to think of a spell to cast, but nothing seemed to come to her mind. And so she did the only thing her instincts told her to do: run.
"Coward!" she heard Anton saying, as he tried to hit her with whatever spell he cast.
But Wendy managed to dodge them as she ran back to the castle. Her destination was the Ravenclaw common room and she just hoped the riddle given by the bronze knocker wouldn't be a hard one to guess. She heard Anton and Titus' steps behind her and knowing she was being chased she tried to move faster.
"Come back here, Mills!"
Wendy ignored the rule of not running inside the castle's corridors. A portrait of a witch started to protest because Wendy and the boys' noise had woken up the sleeping baby she had in her arms and whose crying was now invading the whole floor.
By mistake, at the second floor, she turned left instead of right and she almost bumped with Estine Mignon from Hufflepuff. Wendy muttered an apologize, while it was possible to hear Anton and Titus just around the corner.
"You can't escape us! This leads to a dead end! Hurry Titus!"
Wendy soon realized Anton was right and that in fact there was no escape possible. She reached her pocket, nervous. It was her first duel ever and this time it was two against one. However Estine seemed to have other plans. She pulled Wendy by her robes and pointed to the door that led to the girl's bathroom.
"Over here," she said in a whisper as they entered the empty division.
Wendy wanted to tell Estine that Anton and Titus would have no issues in invading the girl's bathroom. But she didn't say a word because her shoes stepped the wet tiles and she remembered this was Moaning Myrtle's territory. Estine put a finger to her lips demanding silence and then she make a sign to Wendy so they could hide inside one of the stalls. The door was closed and she closed her eyes, wondering when the furious ghost would appear to give them a lecture. But there was nothing but the sound of the water running down the open taps filling up the sinks.
The bathroom door was opened once again.
"Anton, I don't think we should be here…it's the girls' bathroom we can't get a detention!"
"Don't be a coward, Titus."
And then he called for Wendy's name.
"I know you are here Mills. Come out and play…"
"Er…Anton?"
"What?!" There was irritation in the young wizard's voice. Titus was interrupting Anton's hunt and he didn't like that.
"I think Wendy is dead…"
"For Melin's sake, Titus. Stop fooling around. "
"Seriously…there's a girl over there. A ghost. She is looking at us…"
"What?"
"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING HERE?! GET OUT OF MY BATHROOM! NOW!"
There were screams and Anton and Titus run away from the bathroom. Estine started to laugh and Wendy followed her example feeling relieved. They left the stall and Wendy splashed her face with some water, noticing it was impossible to close the taps. The two girls then left the bathroom before Myrtle could start screaming at them as well.
"Thank you so much!" Wendy told Estine.
There was no sign of the two Slytherin boys; however their wet footprints were all over the corridor. At this hour they were probably locked at their common room not sure what had just happened inside the bathroom.
Discovery
Author: Lysander Stratford
Date: 05-25-13 09:54
Charlotte pressed her nose to the cool glass pane and stared out at the snowflakes lazily drifting to the ground. She saw her mother's approaching reflection in the glass and asked, "Can I go out and play? The snow is pretty right now."
"No, Charlotte," Aralyn replied, picking up used dishes from the various surfaces in the living room. "You'll catch a cold."
Charlotte turned around to face her mother and said, "My daddy says that's an old wives' tale."
"Oh, yeah?" Aralyn murmured, frowning when she discovered a cup adhered to its saucer as if someone had used a permanent sticking charm on it. "What else does your daddy say?"
In the silence that followed, when Charlotte turned back to the window and Aralyn continued collecting dishes in desperate need of washing, they both thought about the last visit with Lysander. It had been on Valentine's Day night, and had been unlike any other visit since Charlotte had joined the Fox household.
Lysander and Charlotte had been overjoyed at seeing each other, of course, but there had been something between them, as if they shared a new secret. Aralyn had noticed, but Kristos had not. Away from his precious relic, Kristos could only think of it and nothing else.
Since that evening, Aralyn had wondered what had changed to make the father and daughter appear more mellow. Had Lysander perhaps promised Charlotte something when Aralyn had turned her back? Did Charlotte falsely believe that she would soon return to her old home? It was the only possibility of which Aralyn could think.
She abandoned her load of dishes in the kitchen and moved to the bedrooms next. Aralyn and Kristos were not the most organized or cleanliest of wizards. They tended to wash dishes and do laundry when they ran out of clean things.
She started in Charlotte's room, since unlike them, Charlotte tended to bring her used dishes into the kitchen when she was finished. Aralyn figured she could conduct a quick sweep of the room and then move on to her bedroom next, when scraps of parchment protruding from underneath Charlotte's mattress drew her attention.
Curious, she went over to the bed and pulled out one of the parchments. It was a mere scrap and read, I miss you in Charlotte's handwriting.
Aralyn furrowed her brow and pulled out another parchment. It was also a scrap, but a slightly larger one. It read, When will we see each other again? and Tell Grace I said Hi and Hug Dexter for me.
Aralyn lowered her hand and stared at a blank space on the wall, wondering what the parchments meant. She threw the two scraps onto the bed and pulled out a few more parchments. All of them were short statements or questions relating to Charlotte's old home life, though a few appeared to refer to her time there.
Her cooking is a little better now, one scrap said, while another said, I hardly see him. He is always downstairs.
Aralyn lifted the mattress up and saw several blank sheets of parchment. One was torn but unwritten on.
Aralyn dropped the mattress back into place and gathered up the scraps in her hands. She left Charlotte's bedroom and went to the living room, where she found her daughter still at the window.
"What is the meaning of this?" Aralyn asked.
Charlotte turned around, and upon seeing the parchment pieces in her mother's hands, her eyes widened into saucers.
"Charlotte, answer me," Aralyn demanded. "What is all this?"
Charlotte got up and walked past Aralyn to her bedroom door. She peered into the room and studied it for a long moment.
Aralyn had moved behind her and stated, "Yes. I found them. Now tell me what this is all about, Charlotte. Tell me now."
The expression on Charlotte's face was unreadable, which infuriated Aralyn even more.
Charlotte looked up at her mother and replied, "I pretend to have conversations with Daddy. I pretend like he is asking me questions, and I write out my answers."
Aralyn studied Charlotte's face for an intense minute and then softened. She held out the parchment scraps and said, "I know you miss him. Maybe we can arrange another meeting soon."
Charlotte took the scraps back and carried them to her bed. Instead of stuffing them underneath her mattress, however, she carefully stacked them on her duvet.
"I would like that," she said, "very much."
"I know. I will talk to Kristos about arranging it," Aralyn said. She hesitated and then said, "I'm sorry for putting you on the spot like that."
Charlotte looked up. "You were afraid I was talking to him for real."
Aralyn shook her head. "No, it's not that," she lied. "I just wasn't sure what you were doing."
Charlotte's gaze remained unwavering. She knew better.
Aralyn hastily changed the subject, "I'm going to finish cleaning up."
"Okay."
Aralyn slipped from Charlotte's room and went into her own room to begin collecting dirty dishes. She felt a small pang of regret for Charlotte, since it was obvious the young girl missed her father terribly. At least Charlotte had found a coping mechanism to deal with her separation from Lysander. The parchment scraps were odd, but at least they were nothing over which Aralyn should worry.
(Adriana) Two Hands
Author: Bill Weasley
Date: 05-25-13 10:44
Screams echoed throughout the abbey ruin. Most came from one prisoner, but occasionally they came in tandem from both wizards held at the abbey. After Adriana had secured Berthold Beatenberg, she'd had Hans Freitag brought in for questioning. Since he and Berthold had come into her service together, she questioned the younger wizard's loyalty. His loss would be a great shame, in her opinion, since Hans had excellent taste in home furnishings and was also quite handsome.
For his part, Berthold had not revealed any involvement Hans may have had in the plot to kill Adriana. Even under extreme duress, he refused to implicate the younger wizard.
Ivanova swept into the cloisters, where a light snow drifted down onto the wild landscaping, and approached Adriana. She never seemed bothered by the cold, which seemed both unnatural and a sign of strength.
"I wonder if we should amputate," he said, referring to Berthold's dead appendages. The tissue in his hands had died last weekend, due to the tightening of the bonds around his wrists. If he survived, which he likely wouldn't, then he would never be able to use them again. Never could he hold a wand.
"Let him suffer with them a bit longer," Adriana replied, "before we do him the favor of removing his dead weight."
"Yes, my lady," Ivanova said. "Shall I see how Xiomara is fairing with Freitag?"
"Yes, do that."
Ivanova turned and went to another portion of the old abbey, where Hans Freitag remained in captivity.
Adriana, meanwhile, headed inside to check on Berthold. After a brutal week, he looked roughly the same size but haggard in appearance. Even though it was cold, sweat poured down his face. His hands, still tied behind his back, were mostly black.
The sight reminded Adriana of Dumbledore.
She moved so that he could see her and bent so that her face was level with his. "How the mighty have fallen," she said. "Gone is the great Berthold Beatenberg, most loyal servant to the has been that was Gellert Grindelwald."
Even experiencing the most discomfort in his entire life, Berthold fixed his steely gaze on hers and ground out, "Not gone yet."
"No, I suppose not," she agreed, rising to her full height, "but you are looking really rough."
"I wonder why that might be," he remarked with surprising sarcasm.
"I don't know if this will disappoint you or please you, but you're not going to die yet. I won't do you that favor."
"This doesn't surprise me," Berthold replied. "You will torture me until I break, and when you've gotten all you can from me, you will finally release me."
"So you will break?" Adriana asked. "You do have something to tell me."
"No, there is nothing," Berthold said, "but everyone has a breaking point. Even you."
"I'm not the one in that chair with unusable hands," Adriana retorted. She smiled then, "But you know what might be fun? What if I set you loose with a pair of stumps?"
"I will accept anything to escape the torture of your yammering."
Adriana laughed. "Oh, you think you're so smooth, but I know what you're thinking. I know what's going on in that sweaty, disheveled head of yours." She bent to his level again. "You're scared. You're in pain. You're this close to begging for your life." She held her fingers up with barely any space between them.
Berthold spit in her face.
Adriana stood up quickly and swiped the sleeve of her robe over her face. There was a stormy look in her eyes. She pulled out her wand and pointed it at his chest.
"That," she stated, "was disgusting, and a very, very wrong move." She jabbed the wand forward and exclaimed, "Crucio!"
Berthold cried out and squirmed in his seat. Adriana turned her wrist in a slow, deliberate way as if she had her hand wrapped around his heart and twisted it as she squeezed. Tears rolled down his cheeks, mixing with the sweat and grime already there.
Adriana held on for what felt like an eternity and then let go.
Berthold fell forward, his shoulders heaving.
"Let that be a lesson to you not to disrespect me!" Adriana hissed.
With that, she swept from the room.
Just a Feeling
Author: Bronwyn Dewhurst
Date: 05-25-13 11:17
Bronwyn strolled down Diagon Alley, her hands clutching more shopping bags than she ought to be able to carry. They were, of course, charmed with featherweight spells, but they were still bulging and awkward in shape. If she bought anything else, which she very well might, then she would probably need to cast a shrinking spell on everything.
She was on her own; Toby was in the Czech Republic for a match and Desi was dealing with the situation with Driver.
Although Bronwyn loved shopping with others, especially with the girls, she did her best and most excessive purchasing when she didn't have anybody tagging along and keeping her in check. She had quite possibly outdone herself today, but then there had been numerous sales going on in the various stores in Diagon Alley. How could she not have taken advantage of them?
Bronwyn debated her next course of action (visit another shop, get something to drink and/or eat, or go home?) when she suddenly had the feeling that someone was watching her. She looked around but didn't see anybody paying her any attention, other than to step out of her way to avoid colliding with her many shopping bags. Bronwyn took up an exorbitant amount of space on the cobbled road, especially in places where there were street vendors or an arrangement of tables and chairs.
Not seeing anyone suspicious, she set off towards The Leaky Cauldron, and shrugged off the strange feeling she felt to not having eaten anything since her very late breakfast. She conducted a bit of window shopping along the way to the pub but refrained from entering any more stores. Bronwyn got as far as the wigmaker's shop when she felt uneasy again. Another survey of her surroundings didn't reveal anything alarming.
She continued walking, this time without eyeing the tempting window displays. Staying vigilant, Bronwyn made it all the way to the pub without incident. She entered The Leaky Cauldron and wondered if the sensation of being watched had all been in her head. It must have been, she decided as soon as she reached home, and it was soon forgotten.
I Wanna Be Sedated…No More (Driver)
Author: Arlington J Montgomery
Date: 05-25-13 19:55
Driver had been drifting in and out of consciousness for the past week; his physician had kept him sedated so he could heal. Every time he awoke, moved the wrong way, his wounds were aggravated; keeping him knocked out was a better option. It had been a week since he was admitted, the Muggle doctors unaware of who, or what he was.
As he lay in the stark hospital room, his subconscious mind wandered. Thoughts of his recent life had been tugging at him, there were feelings he could not shake. As he slept, the dreams returned stronger than ever. Everyone said he worked too much, they said he should not fight, should not care about certain things, certain people, but Drive knew what felt right, he couldn't-would not change it. His thoughts had shifted to the present condition he was in.
Was anyone looking for him? Could someone find him? By now, his family had to know something was up, and he had left Desi that note, the only scrap of a clue that something had happened.
The beeping of the heart monitor sped up, suddenly Driver tensed, someone was in his room. He could hear the doctor's voice, but someone was with him. The doctor stepped out of the room, and the sound of Desi's familiar voice instantly soothed him, his heart rate returned to normal.
"What are we going to do with you?" Her voice was soft, maybe concerned even.
"Des…" Driver struggled to open his eyes to look at her, his left eye that had been horribly swollen after the fight was healing nicely now, and he could see out of it a little better. "Hey. I look like crap huh?" He reached out a hand for hers. "Stay, please?"
Just then, the doctor came back in. "I see you've gotten him to wake up. He must know you, Miss Desi."
Driver attempted to sit up, took in a sharp intake of breath as pain radiated through his chest, bad idea. Desi frowned and looked to the doctor as Driver laid back down, a whimper slipped past his lips.
"He's still in rough shape, I am afraid it will be awhile until he can be moved anywhere, or even thought about sending him home. You're welcome to stay here as often as you'd like Desi; I know it is hard to see your fiancé like this."
Did she just say fiancé? Driver glanced at Desi again after he calmed down, a light smile playing on his lips.
Desi rolled her eyes at the man, but nodded lightly to the doctor. Driver sighed; he was not used to feeling so weak, so helpless. There were benefits to being a wizard, and although he preferred to live in the Muggle world, being so severely injured, he would have been in and out of St. Mungo's completely healed in the blink of an eye compared to this.
He reached for her hand again to give a weak squeeze. "Des, will you stay, honey? Please?" His voice was so quiet as he pleaded with her to not leave his side.
End Of Hogsmeade Saturday (Baron, Hydrangea, Glori, & Wiggy)
Author: Phinfilius
Date: 05-25-13 20:06
In a darkened corner of the Wizarding laser tag labyrinth Baron Marchbanks and Vinny Xardel recline side by side against a wall. Both are breathing heavily after a one-on-one game that ended when they simultaneously hit each other in one of the "kill" spots. Fishing several wrapped chocolates from a pocket Baron offers a couple to Vinny before panting, "Another round?"
Foil crackles as Vinny unwraps one of the chocolates. "Yeah, I'm game if we have time."
They sit for another few seconds, catching their breaths and eating the chocolates. After making sure they'd not dropped any of the wrappers on the floor, they make their way through the maze of obstacles, dodging around others playing laser tag, returning to the desk where, after checking the time, they pay for another match and get their gear reset. After that they go back into the labyrinth, each taking a different entrance, and immediately going on guard, searching for the other, Vinny and Baron both determined that this round will not be a stalemate.
While Baron is getting in more laser tag before needing to return to Hogwarts castle, his sister Hydrangea is strolling the High with cousin and classmate Glori. Buttoning her coat against the dropping temperature and pulling out a scarf from one pocket, Hydrangea goodnaturedly asserts, "Gryffindor will win."
Glori starts to snicker but the cold air catches in her throat, making her want to cough so her snicker comes out sounding more like a croupy snort. When she can actually speak again, though a little hoarse at that point, she gives a shake of her head. "Hufflepuff will take the match."
"If I were playing, we'd win for sure. If Wiggy were still with us, we'd win."
Glori starts to snicker again but after nearly choking herself a moment ago she just counters with, "You aren't playing and even if you were, nope, we'd win. If Wiggy were still with the Gryffindor team, the only way he'd ensure winning is if he and the other two chasers were able to run up the score so much that the other team getting the snitch wouldn't matter."
"You simply don't want to admit that Gryffindor will win. Want some hot chocolate or something else warm before we make the walk back to school?"
"You are in denial that Hufflepuff is going to win. Something hot would be heavenly."
Briar's Bakery is nearest so that's where they go, deciding they will also split a slice of something to go with their hot beverages.
Passing Glori and Hydrangea as they come out of the bakery, Jack and Wiggy, along with Deak Bennett, turn in the direction of Brews & Stews for supper to go with the dessert they'd just eaten, even though Wiggy and Jack will probably both eat something more when they return to Hogwarts. Deak too though at his brother Drake's where he's due before very long.
Puddlemere had had am away match scheduled for this morning but a blizzard forced a cancellation. The Puddlemere head coach decided that instead of using the time to practice he'd give the team the day off. Wiggy wishes the match could have gone on this morning but wasn't at all unhappy to get to spend a Hogsmeade Saturday with his two best friends.
A short time later as Wiggy, Jack, and Deak walk along the lane, which has a surprising number of students still milling about, Wiggy spots a face in the gloom he hadn't expected to see. Without explanation to his friends he takes off walking at a fast clip, going right past the turn off leading to Hogwarts. He continues past the lane where the Shrieking Shack is located slowing only when he's just past the park, front of the library. Swiveling around in a full circle, Wiggy swears aloud.
He does another turn, much slower, keeping eyes peeled. When Jack and Deak reach him a few second later one asks, "What's wrong?" and the other wants to know, "What was that all about?"
Wiggy scans the surroundings again, eyes narrowing in the dim light of High Street, wondering where the hell she went or if he was imagining things. Frowning as he faces back the way they need to go for Hogwarts, he tells them, "I thought I saw Bradana. If it was her, she was closer than the restraining order allows."
Neither Jack nor Deak had seen anyone they thought might be her. By the time they are at the gates to Hogwarts from which Deak will apparate to his brother's, Wiggy has convinced himself he was simply seeing things in the darkened street, that whomever he was wasn't Bradana at all.