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(Adriana) Change of Heart
Author: Bill Weasley
Date: 07-12-14 07:16
The book Ivanova had procured for Adriana was open on her desk. For well over a month now, she had debated whether to cast the spell her predecessor had very successfully used on Christina Sorcha all those years ago. Although Adriana knew she had Christina's forced cooperation and doubted Christina would do anything to jeopardize her son's safety, Adriana also knew the spell was the only way to guarantee her control over the other woman. The voice inside her head had been telling her to use the spell ever since the book fell into her possession.
Adriana's own voice, usually suppressed by the spell cast upon her at conception, balked at turning her old friend into a mindless robot.
It usually happened infrequently that her old self came to the forefront of her mind, but lately the flashes appeared more often. Adriana usually withdrew to her chambers then, where she suffered the weight of all she had done in her role as Voldemort's successor and waited for the unbearable moment to pass. In those brief moments of clarity, she wished she had died in Romania like she had pretended.
She stared at the book and continued to wrestle with her emotions on what to do about Christina.
It so happened that Christina was due in to report on updates at the Ministry of Magic, and she arrived at the abbey perfectly on time. Ivanova saw her into the room. He, being the closest to Adriana, had sensed her unrest but he did not know the extent of her troubles.
"Sorcha here to see you, my Lady," he announced.
Adriana looked up and said, "Yes, thank you, Ivanova."
She casually shut the book and stowed it away in a drawer, and then she got up and walked around her desk to greet Christina.
"Good morning, Christina. What do you have for me today?"
"Wycomb earned the promotion he's been after, so he's in a much more influential position in the legal department. He should have no problem releasing whomever you want freed from Azakban, and he can probably arrange any other legalities that will support your interests."
"Good. What else?"
"The rumors about Harry Potter being your Ministry of Magic spy are still making the rounds. Not everyone believes it, of course, but there are plenty who do."
"What else?"
Christina's face fell a little. "I still haven't found him."
Adriana frowned. After all this time, there still weren't any clues regarding the location of Voldemort's body.
"It must be a heavily guarded secret," she finally murmured.
She remained silent for a moment, pondering things, and then looked at Christina. "It's time to say goodbye."
Christina looked startled and flinched when Adriana produced her wand. Was this it? Was Adriana finally going to kill her for failing to provide her with information?
No.
Adriana said, "Obliviate!" and then cupped Christina's face with her hands.
"You are going to go home to your family and tell them all about the archaeological dig that kept you away from home for so long. You have no knowledge about me, this place, or anything I had you do at the Ministry of Magic. Okay?"
Christina nodded dumbly, looking as if she had just woken up from a deep sleep and didn't yet have her full faculties.
"Good."
Adriana stepped back and said, "Stupefy!"
Christina crumpled to the floor.
Adriana stepped out into the hall and called Ivanova into the room. "Leave her somewhere out of the way, but near her home."
"My lady?" Ivanova asked, puzzled by the request.
"She is out of my service…"
Ivanova simply nodded and plucked Christina's limp body from the floor.
Adriana watched him go and added, "…for now."
A Lady of Leisure
Author: Bronwyn Dewhurst
Date: 07-12-14 09:49
Bronwyn lounged in her backyard in a bikini and attempted to get an early start on her summer tan. Beside her on a small, wrought-iron table sat a stack of fashion magazines, clothing store catalogues, and the letter she had received from Sagitta earlier in the week. The soon-to-be second year Hogwarts student had kindly asked if Bronwyn would take her and Remedy shopping again this summer. Bronwyn had also received a similar letter from Orion.
How could she say no? She loved shopping, and it simply wouldn't do to have Sagitta wearing last season's styles, especially if they didn't fit anymore.
It's not like she didn't have anything better or more pressing to do, anyway. Bronwyn still didn't have a job. While she was at it, she probably should make sure Karma had everything she needed while she continued to recover from the unexpected loss of her husband. After all, a new outfit or accessory always brightened Bronwyn's day.
Bronwyn heard the back door open, but instead of the single pair of footfalls she expected, she heard two sets. Opening her eyes, she saw Toby standing over her with Chance at his side.
"You have a visitor," Toby announced, grinning down at his oh-so-busy wife.
Bronwyn sat up and indicated to the nearby lounge chair. "Chance, what brings you to the neighborhood?"
"Oh, I was in town for an appointment at St. Mungo's and thought I would swing by for a visit. I hope you don't mind."
"Not at all! Can Toby get you a drink?"
"He already offered," Chance replied with a smile to both him and Bronwyn.
Toby said, "I'll leave you two to your girl talk," and vanished inside the house.
Chance made herself comfortable on the chair and said, "I had a nice chat with Ariella last weekend."
"That's great! I knew you two would hit it off."
"Yeah. It's nice going through a pregnancy the same time as someone else."
"I can imagine."
"What about you?" Chance asked, with a grin on her face. "When are you going to start having kids?"
"And ruin this body?" Bronwyn asked, indicating to her flat tummy. She shook her head. "I don't think we're ready yet, anyway. Sometimes it still seems like we're kids at Hogwarts."
"I guess it wasn't all that long ago that we were," Chance said.
"I know," Bronwyn agreed. She sighed and shut her eyes again. "Sometimes I wish we still were."
"Being a grown-up can be tough," Chance concurred, "but it's nice being able to make your own decisions."
"Don't I know it!" Bronwyn exclaimed. "I still remember itching to get out from under my parents' roof after graduating from Hogwarts, all because they didn't like who I was dating at the time."
"That was that older guy, wasn't it? And that's when we all became roommates and lived over the pet shoppe in Hogsmeade."
"Yeah," Bronwyn said, nodding. "That was fun."
"Whatever happened to that guy?" Chance asked. "I remember you two broke up the Christmas before I moved to New York. Did you ever hear from him again?"
Bronwyn didn't immediately answer. It had been years since their break-up before she ever saw Kristos again, when they'd both enrolled in the memory study at St. Mungo's. And now he was dead.
"We bumped into each other a few times in recent years," Bronwyn finally said, "but he was actually killed last December. It was super shocking."
"Oh my goodness!" Chance exclaimed.
"Yeah."
They both fell silent, mulling over how much things had changed in the ensuing years and how people they both used to know were no longer in their lives for one reason or another.
It was during their quiet reflections that an owl swooped down over Bronwyn and deposited a letter on her stomach. It was from the WWN. Curious, she broke the seal and quickly scanned the contents of the letter.
"What the…?" she finally exclaimed.
"What is it?" Chance asked.
Bronwyn looked over to her friend. "They offered me the job after all."
(Kate) Disagreement
Author: Bronwyn Dewhurst
Date: 07-12-14 10:28
"It's just not right!" exclaimed Gus for about the thousandth time ever since finding out that Hufflepuff would advance to the Quidditch championship instead of Slytherin.
Kate suppressed a smile. Out of all her Slytherin friends, Gus was the most worked up about the fact that her house and his had tied for points earned during all Quidditch matches and that simply because Hufflepuff had beaten Slytherin during their match-up, Hufflepuff had a chance at winning the Quidditch Cup and Slytherin didn't.
Johanna spoke up on her behalf and said, "Just think of it this way. Now we can support Hufflepuff and not feel like we have any divided loyalties."
"No offense Kate and Hugo," Gus said, "but I really wanted Slytherin in the final. There should have been a different means for deciding which of us would be there and not just the silly outcome of the Slytherin vs Hufflepuff match."
Kate couldn't hide her smile any longer and shrugged her shoulders. "No offense taken," she said. Hugo nodded his agreement. "It just shows that Hufflepuff and Slytherin were well matched this year. If not for Ravenclaw playing a bit better, than perhaps it would have been Hufflepuff and Slytherin vying for the cup."
"Still," Gus began, "I think we should have had a real tie breaker, like a special match to determine who should advance." He spotted Mark down the street, hand in hand with Capri Brycin, and scowled, "He should have argued with Krum about it instead of taking it like the pansy he is. Oi, Farnon!"
"Gus, stop," Johanna urged, fearing a duel on High Street.
Gus wouldn't listen, though, and stalked off toward where Mark had stopped and turned to see who had called him.
Kate looked over at Baltus, who had stopped kissing Felicia (how they did that while walking and still managed to see where they were going, she had no idea!), and silently urged him to go after Gus. Baltus took the hint.
By then, Gus was in Mark's face, pointing his index finger at Mark's chest. "It's all your fault," he said. "Maybe if you actually gave a care about your team, we'd have managed to go all the way."
"You don't know what you're talking about, Gus," Mark stated. "Back off."
Gus didn't want to, but Baltus was already at his side, urging him to let it go and walk back to the others.
Other students had stopped to look, but they dispersed when a teacher noticed what was happening. Gus allowed himself to get dragged away then, but not before muttering just loud enough for Mark to hear, "This isn't over."
Back at Kate's side, Gus seethed. "It's just not right!" he said again.
Kate pointed at The Three Broomsticks and said, "Let's get drinks."
The group moved in the direction of the pub, but before Kate stepped inside the building, she threw a look over her shoulder at Mark and saw that he was looking straight at her. She gave a start, but then she felt a light touch against her back. It was only Hugo, escorting her inside the pub. Kate crossed the threshold and made her way to the table her friends had already selected.
Frenetic Day
Author: Briar Rose
Date: 07-12-14 14:41
Hogwarts Hogsmeade Saturdays are always frenetic from well before any student reaches the village until the last of them is on the path back to the school and the bakery has gone through its procedures for closing that including cleaning and prepping for the next day's business. For the most part, Briar doesn't mind being so busy on these days though there is some guilt at being unable to give Grace more than a few minutes here or there. It's a good thing students can't come to the village more often through the school year.
Today at least Briar doesn't have to worry about Grace quite as much. At the moment she's with Aegean, and possibly Charlotte also, at Julian's house, giving Xaviar and Jasmine attention while waiting to see Caerwyn. Grace will then go to a friend's for a birthday party outing that includes sleeping over. The twin, who are unbelievably coming up on their third birthday and doing remarkably well considering how life started for them, have a playdate that Aegean will take them to. Caerwyn will most likely be into the bakery two or three times, probably with Gus Hodfuffer at least once, over the course of the day.
Briar knows she shouldn't feel overly guilty about not seeing Grace much today. She does spend a great deal of time with her daughter. In addition to two bakery locations and an energetic, highly intelligent ten year old, Briar helps with Xavier and Jasmine, overseeing some of their playdates, often upstairs above the bakery. The climbing, crawling play area Aegean and she put together for Grace is still very much in use. There are also a dog and a cat at Briar's house, both acquired through MacFusty's, the dog being one of Indigo's puppy mill rescues.
Leaving others to wait on those in line, Briar takes stock of what's in the display cases. Going into the kitchen she loads a tray with various various cakes, muffins, tartlets, pastries and biscuits to restock the case. More than one trip is required including some to bring out whole cakes, pies, and tarts to be sold by the slice, half, or whole.
She's no sooner placed a prettily decorated checkerboard cake in one of the cases when an assistant says, "I need half of that packaged up, please."
Still bent, Briar nods, reaching for a box. She carefully cuts the cake in two then just as carefully uses her wand to lift one side into the box. Standing, she places it on the counter to close. That's when she sees who the assistant is ringing up.
Briar's breath catches. Unless she's mistaken the man is Kellen Fitzmorris, the mystery wizard in some of the photos Kristen Leach had given her. The person who no one else in those photographs still living had any memory off and who had to be identified for Kristen and Briar by Albus Dumbledore.
She quickly looks away, sliding the box down the counter without making eye contact with him or even her assistant. Instead, she looks to the next person in line, a Hogwarts student. "Hi, may I help you?"
"A chocolate fairy cake and a slice of lemon tart, please. Oh, and two glasses of milk."
Briar smiles, making quick work of the order. She waits on three more customers before looking around the shoppe, feeling extreme relief at not seeing Fitzmorris still inside.
The Price of a Name
Author: Abdul Hazrat AlGunud
Date: 07-12-14 19:11
The morning promised to be a trying experience. His captors were most persistent in their questioning. They seemed to be interested in his origin, as well as his powers. Of late, the frequency of questioning had increased. His interrogators seemed to be in a hurry to obtain answers, almost desperate. They had come every day for the past five days. Always immediately after breakfast. If one could call it breakfast, curried rice not being to his taste. He hungered for meat, raw and bloody. He had asked for such, but for the past five days all he had received was rice flavored with curry. His appendages growled; hungry for hot, fresh blood.
The oval-shaped door swung open, to admit the silent attendant who both brought and removed the breakfast tray. Behind the purple robe of the attendant, stood Akhirom and Tilgath. Once the tray had been removed, they entered. They sat on a couch opposite the divan upon which he sprawled. Four others arranged themselves along the walls.
"Let us go over what you know again."
"This is pointless."
"Nevertheless we shall do so. The alternatives are both unpleasant and probably counterproductive."
He reflected upon the truth in that statement. At some point, they would decide these sessions were no longer useful. Then it would be a return to torture, experimental amputations or worse. He had been rationing his answers so as to prolong this period of relative freedom. It was time to provide his questioners another morsel of information. Never enough to sate them, just enough to whet their appetites for additional sessions.
"Very well. I recall nothing save the void. There is only blackness."
"What of the others?"
"They speak but not with words. Like whispers heard in the distance. Listen only at your peril."
He shivered trying to throw off the memory, but it held him fast. The horrid whispers had held him, caressing his mind like some loathsome leech. Sucking at his memories and sanity. Surely there had been something before the void? No flash of insight or memory existed. Whatever had come before was a mystery.
"What do the whispers say?"
Forcing his attention back to his questioner, he replied, "I do not know how to describe what they say. Save for that you would do well not pay heed."
"Why do you say that?"
In a dark corner of his mind, something stretched. It sent forth a tendril of thought to his consciousness. "Because what they have to relate might drive you mad."
"Let us be the judge of that, oh nameless one."
"Anast."
"What?"
"Anast, it is my name."
A period of silence followed, as the inquisitors exchanged glances. They asked some other questions, but ended the session shortly thereafter.
Once he was alone again, he had time to ponder this most recent turn of events. From whence had come this name? The faintest of murmurs reached him. Glancing about, he could not determine the source. They seemed to come from everywhere. Suddenly, he knew with dreadful certainty. The voiceless ones had found him. Perhaps he was only imagining their presence. He tried to shy away from the information they sought to impart, but they were implacable. He twisted his mind to and fro, seeking to throw off their yoke. He was conscious of sweat rolling down his back. With an act of will, he erected a barrier between his consciousness and the dark tendril of thought that sought to consume him. He could feel it, gnawing at the mental block. His time was growing short, in more than one sense of the word.
Relaxing in the Village
Author: Adina Blackwood
Date: 07-12-14 19:28
"Are we still gonna end up at your mom's?" Arthur asked, as he slipped his arm around my waist, pulling me against him while we walked away from the Castle and into the village.
"More than likely. Kida and Whitney needed to get some stuff done early in the day, and I think Sorina is going to be meeting up with Tris for a little while." I leaned against him, sighing contently.
"I can't believe this year is almost over. Seriously, we've got OWLs coming up soon and then we'll be sixth years..." I said, as we pondered where we were going to head first.
"You hungry yet or want to simply wander around for a little while?" Arthur asked.
"I think I want to grab maybe a fairy cake from Briar's to nibble on while we walk, and maybe shop a bit before we actually grab something substantial to eat?"
"Sounds like a plan to me, what kind of fairy cake do you want?"
We headed toward the bakery, venturing in and joining the already growing line for the wonderful, sugary confections served within the bakery.
"I don't know, I might be feeling a bit adventurous and try something new today."
Arthur grinned and brushed a kiss against my cheek, as we slowly progressed toward the counter so we could place and pay for our orders. Finally reaching the counter, we ordered a pair of fairy cakes - Arthur's was a strawberry cake, filled with strawberries, and topped with a chocolate frosting. Mine, was a lime cake, with a coconut creme filling, and topped with a coconut lime frosting.
We ventured out of the bakery and started wandering, lingering a few minutes here and there at some of the vendors that lined the streets. By the time we decided to sit for a little while, we'd each bought a few things form the street car vendors.