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(Patricia) Gobstones
Author: Sophie McCourt
Date: 11-12-15 15:20
Belinda passed by the castle's main door, holding a broomstick on her hand. She was not alone: a boy walked at her side, also carrying a broomstick. For a moment Patricia hesitated but she decided to advance. She placed herself in front of her sister and the unknown boy.
"Belinda, I need your help."
"Does it have to be now? We want to go to the Quidditch workshop."
"You made it to the Quidditch team. Obviously you don't need to go to any workshops."
"That's not true," Belinda replied. But she knew Patricia wouldn't let her and Hercules to go to the pitch until at least she learned what her sister wanted. "What sort of help do you need?"
"I was thinking now it would be the right time for you to teach me how to play Gobstones." She pulled a couple of books out of her bag. "I brought these from the library, to guide us."
Belinda and her friend started to laugh. Patricia looked at them, her mouth twitching with fury. Why were they teasing her? Belinda then explained that Gobstones was not a complex game and the rules were very simple. Soon they were on a grassy area, under some trees. The broomsticks were put aside and Hercules had made a quick run to the Gryffindor tower to fetch his own set of marbles. Patricia had one that used to belong to Sophie, when she was younger, and she asked her father to send it to her by owl.
Patricia lent her marbles to her sister and she watched Belinda playing Gobstones against Hercules. They were right, the game was very simple, which surprised her. Caleb appreciated such game so much, and so she thought it would be complex, a little bit like Wizarding Chess. Beyond simple, the game was disgusting. The stinky putrid liquid that had hit Belinda right in her glasses was just awful. The boy named Hercules had a stain of it in his shirt.
"Don't you want to try it?" Belinda asked, using the tip of her sleeve to clean her glasses. Patricia thought she would have to teach her sister to use a proper cleaning spell, one of these days.
"No, thank you."
"But you are in the Gobstones club. You will have to play at some point!"
Patricia had joined the Gobstones club for two reasons. The first was because Caleb had been recruiting for new members during Club Day, and she couldn't say no to him. The second was because it was the only club he was in, besides Book Group. Patricia had joined Book Group last year, and so did Susan. She barely read any of the suggested books, and she got tired of having Susan asking her all time whether she had read the book or not, and what she thought about this or that character.
"I don't like playing. I prefer to watch," she said, but even after a while she got bored. She picked one of the books she had taken from the library and started to read it. The history of the game was more interesting than watching Belinda and Hercules getting dirty with putrid liquid.
The two of them left when they finished playing, still wanting to check the Quidditch workshop. Patricia kept reading. Some of the things Caleb had told her during Club Day started to make sense such as the Jack Stone and the Snake Pit game. The more she read, the more she admitted there were a few interesting things about the game. Belinda and Hercules had only showed her the basics. She only stopped reading when her stomach protested. It was lunch time. She collected her books and the marbles and marched to the Great Hall, wondering if she would be able to catch Caleb alone at the Ravenclaw common room later tonight, so that she could discuss Gobstones with him.
On Duty
Author: S Snape
Date: 11-12-15 20:50
Severus strides through Hogsmeade briskly enough that his black professorial robe billows slightly behind him but not so quickly as to miss any untoward activity taking place around him. He turns on the narrow lane that leads to the Hog's Head Pub. Throwing the door open wide, he steps in, not pulling the door shut behind him. He only plans to be a moment.
The proprietor holds two students by the scruff, two Slytherin students. He lets them go as Severus reaches to grab each by the back of the collar. Marching them out Severus throws a, "Thank you for the alert, Aberforth," over his shoulder.
Once outside, the door to the pub now shut, Severus gives each a shake. "Attempting to convince Mr. Dumbledore you're old enough to drink fire whiskey. Being disrespectful to him. Devolving into a brawling with each other. Do you deny these statements?"
"No, sir."
"No, Professor Snape, but "
Severus gives that one another shake. "If I care for an elaboration I shall ask."
His stony stare is so hard and, apparently, frightening, that one of the boys audibly gulps.
"You will return to Hogwarts immediately. You will go straight to Slytherin House, to your dormitory, where you will await my summons. If you diverge from my instructions in the slightest, I shall know."
One nods until Severus's continued glare has him stammering, "Yyyyes, ppprofessor," while the other sticks to his previous simple, "Yes, sir."
"Go. Now."
They scurry away, one venturing a look back. At Severus's dark expression he picks up his pace. Severus takes a deep breath, mulling over what their fates will be. Unquestionably there will be detention with him. The questions are what drudgery he will assign and for how long. There is also the question of points. Severus is loath to subtract points from his own house's total but he must give taking points due consideration.
He gives a single, almost violent, shake of his head. His patrol shift cannot end soon enough to suit him. This entire day for that matter.
There has been the absurdity of someone shopping while on patrol and carrying a child about in a sling. Severus can think of no other time he observed a professor, or anyone else assisting with Hogsmeade Weekend patrols, shopping while on duty much less carrying about a small child. Until today, those he knows did their shopping and family time either before coming on duty or after the patrol shift had ended.
What if a crisis had arisen?
Shaking his head again, though only slightly, Severus steps onto the High, debating for all of a quarter second whether to go right or left.
Along with the absurd today has been the unsettling. Not ten minutes after he'd arrived in the village someone he'd not seen in years stepped into view from beside one of the buildings, beckoning to him. She'd led Severus towards the back of the building before stopping to speak. She gave no greeting, no expression of cordiality.
"The Knights of Walpurgis are coming about of the shadows, Severus."
"You're sure of this, Vespasia?"
"With absolute certainty. Yours is a name being considered for a list."
"Mine? A list for what reason?"
Deeply auburn curls shook as she indicated she does not know. "Recruitment. Revenge. Something else. I'm still trying to learn that vital piece of information."
"If you are able to discern the reason for the list, you will let me know?"
"We may only be distantly related and extremely distant at that, Severus, and we may rarely have contact or communication but that does not mean I wish to see you a victim of the Knights should it come to that."
"And if the list is for recruitment?"
A small, but elegant, one shouldered shrug. "I should not like to see you join their ranks but with our histories I cannot judge or give criticism were you to become a member. We have both put those pasts behind us and moved on to better. Become better."
There seemed nothing else to say other than, "Thank you, Vespasia."
She tilted her head in an equally elegant nod then, taking a step back, disapparated. Severus had stood there a few minutes longer letting sink in this disturbing news that the Knights of Walpurgis are once again becoming active. Once he is done with Hogsmeade Saturday, he will need to contact Michael Turin. He should also send an owl to Dierna ní Cíaran.
Returning to the High Severus had the additional thought that he should say something to Ethan Somerset, who has had ties with the Turins.
Now, with his patrol three-quarters of the over, Severus walks through the village at a slower pace, keeping a vigilant eye out for unacceptable behavior and any threats that might arise from the likes Fairchild and her people, or from others. While he walks he's mentally tossing about the detention for his two wayward Slytherins. When his patrol duty ends, he makes for Hogwarts to give sentence to those two and then send off some owls regarding the Knights.
(Bowen) Hogsmeade
Author: Nathaniel Ross
Date: 11-13-15 13:56
Besides three short visits to Diagon Alley, Bowen had never been to any other place in the wizarding world, that wasn't Hogwarts. As a third year, he was now old enough to be allowed to visit Hogsmeade. He went to the village with his friend Pelinore, and they spent the entire morning exploring the place. Most of the shops were incredible, and Bo liked the freedom of being able to go anywhere he wanted without having an adult on his side. Now and then, they would see one of the school teachers patrolling the area, but it was easy to ignore them.
They stopped at The Three Broomsticks where Bowen tasted his very first butter beer. To Pelinore such drink wasn't new. Alice Acker, and the Jones twins Mulberry and Abernathy, joined them, all of them carrying shopping bags.
"Isn't this place amazing?" Alice asked. Bowen and Pelinore nodded in agreement.
"Just too bad the next trip is more than a month away," Mulberry complained. "Wouldn't it be great if we could go to Hogsmeade every weekend?"
"Then it wouldn't be as special," her sister replied.
"And we wouldn't have time to come here all the time. There's the Quidditch matches and we would need time for homework," Bowen reminded them. As third years, they had to take two new subjects, which meant they had more homework and had to spend more time studying.
"You sound like my sister talking," Mulberry teased. Abernathy was the only Ravenclaw at the table. The rest of them were all Gryffindors.
"What did you bought?" Bowen asked, changing subject.
Alice showed them her new set of ink pots, which she acquired at Scrivenschaft's. They were all fluorescent inks, and one of them even contained glitter. Pelinore asked her if she planned to use that on her essays. Bowen imagined some of his teachers' expressions when they read Alice's homework, written in bright orange, the title decorated in glitter. But Alice said these inks were for personal use only, to take notes in classes and write down her own notes when she was studying. She said the colors helped her to memorize things better.
Abernathy had bought a new pair of protective gloves for Herbology, since she had ripped hers last class by accident, with a gardening scissor. She also bought a large package of Bertie Boot's beans at Honeydukes. Her sister explained to Bowen and Pelinore that NAME had the really strange habit of eating the beans and recording its flavor on a notebook, after registering its color. She wanted to be the first person ever to have tasted all the flavors.
Mulberry had also done some shopping at Honeydukes, but instead of the beans she had bought Chocolate Frogs. She asked if either Bowen or Pelinore collected the cards. Bowen shook his head, while Pelinore told Mulberry he had tons of cards in the dormitory and if she was interested in trading some then she should be free to show up at any time.
"How about you boys? I see you're not carrying any bags," Alice pointed out.
"Well, we didn't want to spend the entire day carrying bags. So we decided to take a look at all the shops first, and then buy whatever we want at the end, "Bowen explained.
"Don't delay your shopping for too long. Most of the shops have huge lines and you might not have time to buy everything you want," Abernathy warned them.
Bowen and Pelinore nodded, thanking Abernathy for the warning. They finished the butter beers and then Alice invited them for some laser tag. They agreed, forgetting all about their shopping. Later, when they returned to the castle, they must have been one of the few third years who crossed the school gates with empty hands.
Visiting Hogsmeade
Author: Finley
Date: 11-13-15 18:20
Finley stared at the different broomstick models at Krum's Completely Quidditch and wished she had the money to buy one. The school brooms really weren't so bad, but it was nicer having one's own, especially when one didn't have many possessions to begin with.
Phoebus looked at her sympathetically and said, "Come on. Let's go get something to eat."
"But––"
"I told you already that Mum gave me enough money to feed us both. Come on," Phoebus insisted, giving her arm a tug toward the door.
Finley followed, feeling both abashed and grateful. That she was even in Hogsmeade at all astonished and amazed her. Mrs. Gill had received the letter with Finley's permission slip, after Phoebus had sent it along with his to his parents. Finley had thought Mrs. Yewbeam would mail it via Muggle post to the orphanage, but Phoebus' mother had actually delivered it in person, convinced Mrs. Gill to sign it, and sent the signed permission slip back to Hogwarts via Owl Post.
It was wishful thinking to hope for a little spending money in addition to the signed permission slip, but Finley couldn't complain. She felt lucky to be in Hogsmeade and fortunate that the Yewbeams were generous enough to let her eat in the village instead of back at the castle.
She saw many other things she wished she could buy, besides a new broomstick, but Finley was used to having nothing. Phoebus bought a few things, but not very much, and most of it was candy. Finley suspected he wasn't going hogwild for her sake. She wanted to tell him not to worry about her feelings, but she couldn't quite bring herself to say anything. She also knew that he would claim he didn't know what she was talking about.
"So, where do you want to go?" Phoebus asked, as they entered High Street and began walking without a particular destination in mind.
"I don't know," Finley said. "Remind me what our choices are again."
"Let's see," Phoebus said, raising his hand to tick off the different eateries with his fingers. "There's Burger Wizard, Crown & Cauldron, The Three Broomsticks, Brews & Stews…"
Finley found the choices, as slight as they were, overwhelming. "I don't know… What do you think?"
Phoebus shrugged. "It really doesn't matter to me."
"Umm… the first one, then?"
"Burger Wizard? Yeah, okay."
They went nearly to the end of the street and entered the fast food restaurant, which was a little crowded since it was lunchtime. They queued up and stared at the giant menu behind the counter. Finley went with one of the cheaper options, though nothing on the menu was terribly expensive. When they had their orders in hand, they searched for a place to sit.
Phoebus nodded his head in the direction of a table that had occupants but a few empty chairs. Finley walked over with him and sat when Estella Finch glanced up and said, "Join us" before they could even ask.
The others at the table, Alys and Chip, moved their trays out of the way to make more room.
"Thanks," Finley said. She sat down and ate her lunch, listening as the others talked about what they had seen and done during the Hogsmeade visit so far.
Alys, Blakeney, Conrad
Author: Ellis
Date: 11-14-15 13:09
After lunch, Alys, Chip, and Estella parted ways from Finley and Phoebus. Chip left the girls a short while later to play laser tag with some of his roommates. Alys and Estella stepped into Clutch's & Trinkitt's, where the former hoped to find the crystal headband she owed her sister from losing their bet about Conrad.
Blakeney, meanwhile, sat in the stands at the Pitch and watched the Quidditch and flying workshop. She would have much preferred to have gone to Hogsmeade with Alys and Chip, but she wasn't yet old enough to visit the village. Instead of hang around her dorm room or the Commons, she opted to watch Tessa and Conrad participate in Professor Krum's workshop.
Blakeney herself had no interest in flying or Quidditch, other than from a spectator's standpoint, though attending any sports event wasn't at the top of her list of things to do. Shopping was much more preferable, and shopping with Chip? Even better. She sighed to herself and wondered what he was doing at that very moment. She also felt a little jealous that Alys got to spend time with him when she could not. Blakeney had no idea that Alys and Chip weren't even together at the moment.
Down on the field, Conrad stretched out with one of the school brooms next to him and watched some of the action in the sky as if he were watching clouds pass on a nice day. He couldn't believe he had made the Hufflepuff Quidditch team and that Blakeney's BFF Tessa was his co-beater. Both being new to the team, they were still learning each other's styles and how everyone else played, but things were gradually coming together.
Neither was above attending Professor Krum's workshop. As it was somewhat uncommon for a first year to make any house team, Conrad knew he had a lot to prove. He also knew that being only a first year meant he was one of the most inexperienced members of the team. Any practice time for flying and playing Quidditch was something he just didn't want to pass on, and Tessa, a year ahead of him but also new to the team, felt the exact same way.
Conrad did wish he could visit Hogsmeade, too, and was especially sorry that he had to wait two whole years before he could. At least there was something worthwhile to do while he waited!
Spy Games
Author: Ethan Somerset
Date: 11-14-15 15:18
After covering an afternoon shift patrolling Hogsmeade, Ethan ducked into the Hogsmeade Inn to meet with Mundungus Fletcher, who had reserved one of the rooms with the pretense of conducting shifty business, though in reality, it was all a ruse.
Not too long ago, Ethan was called into Professor McGonagall's office, where he met not only with her but with the Minister of Magic himself, as well as a few others. Minister Shaklebolt told Ethan about how it was discovered that Adriana Fairchild had asked one of her followers to spy on him and others at Hogwarts. Kingsley also revealed that the Death Eaters had recently been infiltrated with a spy loyal to him.
The main reason for calling Ethan to the meeting was to ask for his cooperation. Would he be willing to let Kingsley's spy share information about him with Fairchild? The information would be false and staged, of course, but it was all meant to keep her interested and hopefully lure her and the other Death Eaters into a situation that would eventually see them all captured, or killed, if there was no other option.
The fact that Adriana was interested in him at all brought back all of Ethan's initial fears. Would she start up Project 25 again? Would she draft all the original members or start fresh with children? Would Ethan even be considered after what happened the last time, or was he a liability that should be dealt with swiftly and conclusively?
His initial reluctance to help the Minister of Magic faded almost instantaneously when he realized that Lilly's safety would be in jeopardy no matter what he decided. Adriana was interested in him already. He might as well help stop her, or Lilly would never be safe.
Ethan agreed to help and promptly shipped Lilly off to his parents in Bristol, where she would be among family and away from the wizarding world.
He entered the room Dung had booked. The other wizard walked with a cane, though after all this time he really didn't need one. The injury sustained during the attack on the Ministry was mostly healed, but he pretended as if it wasn't so as part of his ruse with Ethan.
The idea was he had found himself a supplier of pain management potions acquired without a healer's prescription. Dung used them to deal with the curse taken to his side. Ethan pretended to want them to deal with the splitting headaches he got, which were supposed to stem from a voice in his head.
Bill Weasley was also in the room when Ethan arrived. He had been drafted to take a few photographs, which would be given to the Minister's spy, who would then deliver them to Fairchild.
First, the three wizards discussed how to stage the evidence. When it was all said and done, there was a photo of Ethan waiting outside the closed door of the room. One of Dung appearing in the doorway's open slit. One of a sack of coins being shoved into Dung's hand, and one of Ethan leaving with an unmarked paper bag. Bill deliberately made the photos slightly off center and not always the best of shots, if only to make it seem more realistic that they were taken by someone not in plain sight of the intended targets.
Back in the room, the wizards all shook hands and then Ethan departed, first to pick up Briar, and then to go with her to Bristol for supper with his parents and Lilly.
On Patrol and A Surprise Purchased
Author: Karma Davyd
Date: 11-14-15 16:18
The girls were currently with their favorite babysitter and playing at the park while I did my patrol in the village during this week's trip. I'd promised them some after dinner sweets from Briar's after I finished my patrol. I'd told them I'd be back shortly after dinner, early enough to get them ready for bed.
Currently, I wandered down High Street, letting my gaze travel over the students that were milling about in the fading daylight. Finishing last minute purchases, eating a last minute meal at one of the dining establishments. I had dressed simply in a tan skirt, pair of heeled boots, and a burgundy cashmere sweater beneath my professional robes that shifted slightly around my legs as I walked. Thick, dark hair was left free to hang down around my features and trail down my back.
Fingers pushed through my hair a moment, before stopping to have a conversation with a couple of students who were debating on where they wanted to eat dinner before they headed back to the Castle. Ultimately they were reminded of the time they still had left on the trip and that it would not do well for them to be late on the first trip of the school year. They figured out where they wanted to go for a bite to eat, and I continued moving along High Street.
I was ultimately glad when the first Hogsmeade trip of the year came to an end. I did make two stops before I went home for the evening, Krum's Completely Quidditch and Briar's Bakery. Sweets for the girls, and a possible gift for a student. As the sunlight faded fully from the sky, I got home, paid the sitter and the girls each got their sweet and were bathed, teeth brushed, and tucked into bed.