|
|
First Hogsmeade Weekend (Kurt, Bran, Estella)
Author: Saffron
Date: 11-10-15 19:54
Kurt and Bran stand just outside the gates on the path leading from Hogwarts to Hogsmeade. They look at each other and grin, the grins rapidly turning into a laughter that sounds more akin to giggles than chuckles or guffaws. Estella, pulling up short behind them, rolls her eyes. "You two."
"We can't help it, Stell," Kurt tells her. "We finally get to do Hogsmeade weekends."
"For the zillionth time, don't call me Stell." She steps around them, sending a glare in Kurt's direction. "It's not as if you've never been to Hogsmeade before."
Bran throws an arm around Estella's shoulders. "But we've never been without an adult telling us what we can and can't do."
She gives him a pitying look. "You do know there are professors and others who will be walking around making sure you don't do things you shouldn't, don't you?"
"Estella, Estella, Estella," Kurt starts only to get sidetracked. "Stell would be so much easier to say three times."
She pokes him, hard, in the ribs."
"You don't have to stab me, I'm just saying." Kurt shakes his head then backtracks to where he'd gotten off topic. "Having a professor walking around to make sure no one gets into fights or goes off into the bushes to snog or whatever is not the same and you know it. We can play wizarding laser tag for so long that if we don't come out until it starts getting dark, we'll still be squinting because the light will seem too bright. We can eat as many sweets as we want without being told we've had enough, we have to eat real food first."
"I suppose you have a point."
Bran snickers. Estella directs her earlier glare for Kurt to him. "What?"
"Nothing."
"It's not nothing. You're laughing at me for some reason."
"Am not."
Kurt, unable to help himself, blurts, "Are too," before Estella is able. This causes all three of them to start laughing.
When they've gained control of themselves again, Kurt and Bran challenge each other to a foot race for the rest of the way into the village. Choosing not to join in, Estella meanders into Hogsmeade, wondering if roommate Alys is already there and whether Gryffindor classmate Finley was able to get her permission slip signed, something she kept forgetting to ask Finley all week when Estella first began giving serious thought to coming into the village today.
At The Three Broomsticks
Author: Rowan Westwick
Date: 11-11-15 08:23
Rowan, Lon, and Beatrix shared a table at The Three Broomsticks and debated where they wanted to visit next. It was a bit nippy out but with the sun shining brightly, it wasn't too miserable a day for being outdoors. For the time being, they were quite content to sit in the pub, talk, and eat a hearty brunch since all three had skipped breakfast.
"I want to get some tea from Botanicals & Beyond," Rowan said.
"I could use some new quills," said Lon. "I've never had to write so many essays in all my years at Hogwarts as I do now."
"We should go to Honeydukes, too," Rowan added. "I overheard someone in the library say Pepper Imps were a surefire way to stay alert and energized while writing a terribly long, boring essay." She wasn't joking about having overheard it said, but she found it funny that someone thought Pepper Imps were a miracle sweet.
Lon chuckled. "It's worth the experiment."
Rowan looked over at Beatrix, who had been largely silent since arriving at the pub. Beatrix worked on cutting a waffle into tiny squares and didn't notice that the conversation had stopped.
"What about you, Beatrix?" Rowan asked. "Is there anywhere in particular you want to go while we're in town?"
Beatrix tuned in at the sound of her name and shook her head. "Not really, no. There's nothing I really need, but I suppose I might find something I like somewhere." Then she went back to cutting up her waffle.
Rowan frowned. She didn't know what had Beatrix so glum and contemplative, but if she had to venture a guess, then Rowan suspected that Beatrix was feeling very much like the third wheel and that she was missing Ash.
A kernel of an idea started to form in Rowan's mind. Could Beatrix ever get over the idea of being with Ash? What if Rowan set Beatrix up with someone else? Like Lon said about the Pepper Imps, it was worth the experiment.
Rowan scanned The Three Broomsticks for a prospect and smiled when her eyes landed on a boy from their own year and house. Pablo Carioca was British born but with a Spanish father and blessed with slightly exotic looks. He had dark hair and eyes and olive-toned skin. He was exactly the type of boy Beatrix would notice, if she wasn't stuck on somebody else.
"Challenge accepted," Rowan said, not realizing she'd said it aloud until Lon asked, "Hmm?"
Rowan grinned at him and then indicated her head at Beatrix, who was still too busy working on her food to notice anything else, and then across the room where Pablo sat with his buddy Ichabod Hawkins and Ichabod's on again-off again girlfriend Sarah Edwards. Lon quirked an eyebrow and then grinned.
Now to figure out how to get Pablo interested in Beatrix and to see if Beatrix can forget about Ash long enough to get to know Pablo better.
Nichole's First Hogsmeade Weekend
Author: Araxie Loren
Date: 11-11-15 09:26
Nichole and Araxie had spent a few minutes standing at the gates, just outside them once they'd both turned in their permission slips and started heading toward the village.
"Where are we going first?" Araxie asked as they headed down the pathway toward the village.
"I'm thinking maybe something to eat at Three Broomsticks, for brunch since we both slept through breakfast. Then maybe wander about and grab things we need or want. I mean everyone made sure we had enough money to spend on the trips."
Araxie nodded her head lightly and linked her arm around one of Nichole's.
"Sounds absolutely perfect. I'm absolutely famished, and I'm thinking some waffles sound like a fantastic breakfast along with maybe some sausages or some bacon."
"That sounds good too. Though I think I might get a full English and share what I don't eat with you."
The pair laughed for a few minutes before ultimately ducking into the warmth of the pub and waiting for a table to settle down at. It seems that they weren't the only ones that had slept through breakfast at the Castle before heading down to the village.
Finally situated at a table, orders placed and drinks obtained the pair began planning out the remaining time they had in the village. They would be making stops at Gladrags, McBloom and McMuck, McFusty's, Clutch's & Trinkitt's, Honeydukes, and Muggle Mayhem as well as a few other places wherever their interest takes them. They'd also planned a somewhat late dinner at either Burger Wizard or Crown & Cauldron, they'd not decided yet, but that would ultimately be their last stop before having to head back to the Castle.
Zoe Jane Brycin
Author: Isolde
Date: 11-11-15 12:04
Zoe Jane Brycin did nothing but cry, sleep, and eat. Mark had known little about babies prior to her arrival and still felt extremely inexperienced now that she was here, but what he had learned in the last few days was that his own sleep was precious and that newborn babies were kind of boring.
Right now, Zoe was in the crook of his arm, staring up at him with wide blue eyes. Saliva dribbled from her lips. She wore tiny pink long-sleeved footie pajamas.
Capri had asked him to watch Zoe while she showered. Usually, Capri took advantage of Zoe's naps to do something for herself, like shower, but not this time. Since Mark wasn't at work (though he'd been tempted to put in overtime), it was the perfect opportunity for Zoe to bond with the wizard she would likely grow up believing to be her father.
He wasn't, though. Both Capri and Mark had doubted that he was Zoe's biological father, and a paternity test had proven it once and for all. The news came as a welcome relief to Mark, though he was careful not to show his elation to Capri. Things were still very rocky between them.
There were times when he thought he should just leave. Their relationship didn't seem to be getting any better, though it also hadn't gotten any worse. The fact that Zoe wasn't his daughter meant there really wasn't any reason for him to stay with Capri.
But if he left them, then what would happen to Zoe? He wasn't particularly attached to the baby, but he also wasn't cruel. Mark knew that Capri's family offered her little, if no support. Sure, Capri could get another job to provide for her daughter, but single parenting couldn't be easy, and Zoe shouldn't have to be raised by a daycare.
Why did he feel so responsible for them? Mark looked down at the baby who continued to stare at him and drool onto the front of her pajamas. There had been a time when he hadn't cared for anyone but himself, but Kate had changed all that. He couldn't blame her for trapping him with Capri and Zoe, because he had free will, but if it hadn't been for her, then he would probably still be an arrogant jerk and not the much more considerate man he was today.
Zoe opened her mouth and emitted a giant yawn. Her eyes grew heavy and she fell asleep moments before Capri came out of the shower. Capri dried her hair with a towel and watched Mark with Zoe. It was a nice scene, but deep down she knew they weren't and probably would never be a happy little family.
Lunch
Author: Tiberius Nott
Date: 11-11-15 12:43
It was the first trip to Hogsmeade of the school year and so the village was filled with students. Tiberius waited for Titus at the Crown & Cauldron door. They had agreed to have lunch together, with the permission of Judith Foxcastle, of course. Finally he was able to spot his brother, who walked in his direction with fast steps. Titus gave him a short hug, probably not wanting to be seen doing so in public.
The two of them entered the establishment. Judith was already inside, at a lonely table. Although she was not going to sit with them, one of the conditions she had imposed to Tiberius was that she would be present in the restaurant. Tiberius agreed. He and Titus sat together at another table, far enough so Judith wouldn't be able to listen them. Tiberius couldn't help to notice how Titus had grown up since the last time had seen each other. He seemed more mature than before, his childish features almost gone from his face.
After ordering the food, Tiberius asked Titus how he was. He told him a little bit about his classes, and life at the school. How he had joined the school choir, against his will, but the encounters were better than he expected. He brought some photographs he had taken, meant for the Photography club, and showed them to Tiberius. He asked to keep one of them that showed the Hogwarts castle, reflected at the lake. Titus agreed and Tiberius announced he would display it at home. Then it was Titus' turn to ask about Tiberius.
"You mentioned a job in your last letter."
"Yes. I work at St. Mungo's now, as a welcome wizard."
Tiberius had never had a job before in his life. His first weeks at St. Mungo's had been intense and not for the obvious reasons, such as getting used to a daily routine and receiving orders. He started working right before the attack at the Ministry of Magic had happened, and it had been difficult for him to deal with all the worried relatives of the victims. The first day had been chaotic as the list with patients arrived and he had to ask people to be patient. Sometimes the information regarding patients was incomplete or wasn't updated, and more than once the witches and wizards on the other side of the desk blamed him for that. Once, an old witch happened to read his name on the identification plaque on his chest, and she tried to hex him.
"Have you infiltrating here as well, to finish what you started, haven't you?" she yelled, as Tiberius hid under the desk and a couple of securities disarmed the witch. It was true that the Nott family had been involved with several criminal acts in the past, and that was what made the old witch assume he was here under the orders of Adriana Fairchild, to kill all the survivors from the attack. But as far as he knew, no Nott had taken her side yet.
For the rest of the month he had been advised to change the name on his plaque. He started using his middle name and his mother's maiden name and was now known as Carnaby Nott.
"How about your NEWT results?" Titus asked, when the food was served. They both had asked for lamb chops with roasted potatoes, and for drink, two butter beers.
"I have received a letter from the Ministry of Magic. Because of the attack, a lot of their records had been destroyed, including the one with the results of those who had retaken their exams. But they have access to the notes written by those who corrected the exams, and they are compiling everything again. "
"I'm glad you don't have to retake them a third time. That would suck."
Tiberius noticed Judith Foxcastle glancing at their table as they ate. He wanted to tell Titus not to trust that woman, and he also wanted to share with him the conversation he had with his father the last time he went to visit him at Azkaban. He had told Tiberius that maybe it was time to be more aggressive. That he should take Titus out of Hogwarts, and flee from the country. They had more than enough money to settle elsewhere and the best way to do it would be during a Hogsmeade trip. But it seemed like Titus was under a tight watch, and Tiberius suspected Judith had ways to know if he left the school's perimeter. Tiberius wanted to ask his brother what he felt about the idea of leaving the country, but he thought this was not the right moment to do so.
Moreover, he didn't want to admit it out loud, but he was starting to get used to his new life. Even if it was supposed to be a decoy, to delude Judith, Tiberius had already got used to his shifts at St. Mungo's, and to the people there. There was a group of workers who had invited him for a drink at the Leaky Cauldron and he was thinking about going. He felt that if he took Titus away from the country he would forever loose his chance to have a relatively normal life.
Hogsmeade Saturday
Author: Lysander Stratford
Date: 11-11-15 17:45
It being a Hogsmeade Saturday, Twice Told Tales was busier than normal. There were plenty of students who still read for pleasure, even on top of homework and less interesting required readings for their school subjects. Since Lysander and Julian often gave out freebies, and not tacky or unuseful ones either, students usually stopped in and at the very least browsed the bookshelves or hung out in the comfortable seating around the shoppe.
A deep growl alerted Lysander to the fact that Scarlet was within Dexter's presence. He looked over and saw Dexter crouched on the corner of the counter, gazing down at the intruder, who had made herself quite at home since arriving at the bookshoppe. She was used to being an only cat, and while Dexter made it almost impossible for her to ignore him, she managed to stay aloof. She flounced over to a student carrying a bag with fringes dangling temptingly from the bottom, rolled onto her back, and used all four of her paws to swat at the fringes.
Lysander suddenly had the feeling he was being watched and looked around the room. His eyes landed on Brudha, his aunt's house-elf, who was holding nearly one year old Dylan. Lysander had never owned a house-elf, not as a child living under his parents' roof or later on as an adult himself. He'd never needed one, but now that he had one, at least for as long as his aunt remained in prison, which might very well be forever, he saw the use of having one.
Brudha did everything he asked. It took a while to get used to telling Brudha to run this or that errand, since Lysander was used to himself, Julian or one of their employees handling all the associated business for the bookshoppe. Personal errands were also something Lysander typically handled himself, but now Brudha did a lot of those things for him. It was both liberating and time-saving.
At the same time, Brudha was an odd little thing. He'd been employed by a Death Eater couple who later divorced. Brudha had heard, seen, and probably done all sorts of despicable things. During their first meeting, Lysander had asked basic questions of Brudha, trying to gage just why the house-elf was sent to serve him. Lysander wanted to know if Death Eaters might turn up on behalf of his aunt for whatever reason, or if Brudha would be required to do bad things for the Death Eater cause, even with his mistress behind bars.
In the end, Lysander believed Auntie Synn was just looking out for her house-elf and cat, who had no where else to go. He felt it in his gut, but he couldn't help but wonder if Brudha would link him to the Death Eaters in some way. As far as he was concerned, he was done with all of them, especially Adriana.
Dylan reached out and tugged on one of Brudha's long ears. The house-elf showed no emotion, but that didn't seem to bother the baby at all. He tugged and tugged happily, while just a few feet away, Scarlet still batted at the fringes dangling so enticingly from the bottom of a student's bag.
First Hogsmeade of the Year
Author: Lawrence Masterson
Date: 11-11-15 18:11
Lawrence was out earlier in the day, because there were a few errands he needed to run, so he'd picked up an early patrol shift for Hogsmeade Saturday. The first of the term, and he knew that things could get hectic. He currently had Karina in a sling on his chest, rather than being pushed in a pram. There was absolutely no chance taken with his daughter in the village today.
Several of his students that he stopped to talk to cooed and fussed over Karina who smiled brightly and giggled at the attention. Lawrence had a few bags hanging from one hand, and shifted Karina slightly in her sling. He still had another couple of hours on his patrol shift and he was idly considering grabbing a bite to eat, though maybe he would surprise Ariella with a homemade lunch once he settled Karina into her crib for a nap.
There were a few other stops that he made, while he was on his patrol. Karina drifting off to sleep in her sling, as he walked through the village. He knew Josefine's birthday was coming soon as well as one of his colleague's so he popped briefly in to Twice Told Tales and picked up an book for Filius, whose birthday was on the seventeenth. He opted for something a bit more elegant and unique for Josefine, a necklace and earring set in white gold with emeralds in them. He would tuck those parcels in his bags, which would be shrunk small enough to be manageable.
Thankfully, he only had to break up two snogging sessions and mediate one brief dispute between a couple of third years during his time on patrol. Finally, his shift ended and he headed back to the castle, intent on getting Karina in her crib for the remainder of her nap and making a simple lunch for he and Ariella, as well as wrap the birthday gifts he'd picked up.
Something To Do (Jaclyn)
Author: Saffron
Date: 11-11-15 18:24
Slowly making their way down to the pitch Jaclyn says to Edwina, "Tell me again why we're going to the workshop."
"Something to do," Edwina replies with a shrug in her voice.
"Neither of us takes Fitness & Athletics. We're doing flying lessons because we have to," Jaclyn points out.
"It's not that I don't like it. Flying I mean. I'm a little afraid of heights," Edwina admits. "I'm getting better though and I do enjoy watching Quidditch."
"Do you ever play with your brother?" Jaclyn asks of Sylvestor who not only tried out for Slytherin House but now has a spot on the team.
"A little but to use my mum's words, he's in a phase where he wants to pretend he doesn't have a sister. I'm not that good at Quidditch but maybe that's because I've not had much flying before now. What about you?"
"Some with family and friends but I'm all thumbs and can't catch, can't hit, and I'm always worrying I'll fall off the broom. So far flying lessons haven't fixed that. It's not a heights thing either. I can be hovering just inches off the ground and feel like I'm going to fall off."
"Maybe you have an ear problem."
"Maybe, but whenever I've had checkups or an earache, the healer never said anything, at least not where I could hear."
Reaching the pitch they spot other friends, going over to join Grace Valentine, who has long known Edwina and is Jaclyn's roommate in Ravenclaw. Unlike the two of them, Grace is taking F&A and from the first day of flying lessons has seemed, to Jaclyn, fairly good on a broom.
"Just watching?" Jaclyn asks her.
"Taking a break," Grace says with a shake of her head. Spotting Rex Applewhite across the pitch doing sprints of some sort with a group, Grace says, "I've been meaning to ask for the longest time, Jaclyn, your last name is Rex and your cousin's first name is Rex. Is that ever confusing?"
"Only if a bunch of the family is together and someone starts referring to another by last name. Rex doesn't always know he's not the one being called or spoken to."
Edwina looks to Rex then back at Jaclyn. "Your dad and his mum are who's related. Did I remember that right?"
"Yeah, exactly."
They talk for another couple of minutes then Grace leaves them to watch the different aspects of the workshop as she rejoins a group that's working on flying through different sized spinning hoops. After awhile, Jaclyn admits, "This is better than sitting around in the castle."
"Maybe next time we'll even join in."
"Maybe," Jaclyn says, though next time the weather will surely be frigid and she'll want to stay inside drinking something warm while sitting near a fire.