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(Adriana) The End
Author: Bill Weasley
Date: 06-23-17 09:38
Adriana entered the library, where she found the Dark Lord seated behind the desk she had once called her own. Old newspapers and documents were arranged in neat piles on the antique surface, and more were organized in the bookshelves and on the sideboard. Voldemort had made great strides in catching up on what he'd missed during his lengthy absence. He'd also made careful notes for himself on the things he wanted to research more thoroughly.
"You called, my Lord?" Adriana asked. She stopped just within the doorway, waiting for his permission to approach.
"Adriana," Lord Voldemort began, setting down his quill and beckoning her forward. He indicated for her to sit in the chair opposite his desk and once she was seated said, "I never told you how grateful I am for all you've done, not just for me but for the Death Eaters. You saved me much time and effort."
Adriana felt pride well up inside her and beamed. "You have my utmost loyalty."
Voldemort waited a beat and then commented, "Only because your mother willed it so."
Adriana was taken aback, but she shook her head and stated, "Be that as it may, I want to serve you, and it is my intention to remain loyal to you always."
Voldemort rose and silently walked around to the back of her chair. He wrapped his long, spindly fingers around her shoulders and said, "You have my trust. Without you, I would not have returned. Without you, my followers would not have reunited." He squeezed her shoulders. "I believe you would serve me faithfully till your dying breath."
"Something's wrong," Adriana said. She could feel it. Voldemort was unhappy about something, and she wasn't sure why but she suspected that she was the cause.
"Most parents want their children to have a better life than their own," he said. "They wish for them more successes than what they themselves have achieved."
"I stepped aside for you," Adriana urgently replied. "It was my plan all along. Surely you believe me. I would never try to wrest power back from you."
"I do not question your intended role among the Death Eaters," Voldemort answered. He squeezed her shoulders again in a sign of reassurance and went on, "I do not believe that you'll hunger for your old position or attempt to usurp my place."
"Then what?" Adriana asked, growing increasingly nervous. She could feel her heart pounding rapidly in her chest. It felt as if it would burst out of her skin and land in a bloody mass on the surface of Voldemort's very organized desk.
"In order to achieve my very best, I must take something from you," he calmly said.
"What? I freely give you anything you wish to take!" Adriana answered in a rush.
Voldemort had her stand and face him. He moved the chair out from between them and pulled her into his embrace. He ran his fingers through her long, brown hair and said, "Thank you, Daughter."
He let go of her then, took a step back, and in a flash had the wand he'd gotten from Jimmy Kiddell in his hand. Before Adriana could even process what was happening, Voldemort uttered the Killing Curse. Bright green light enveloped her moments before she collapsed onto the floor of the library.
Voldemort stood over her body for a long time. What a shame it was that he'd had to kill her. She was not only his Spiritual Daughter, but she was also the reason for his current existence and a competent and reliable follower. If not for one complication, he would have let her live.
He knelt by her body and passed his hand over her open eyes, shutting them so that she appeared to be sleeping rather than dead. Then he reached into the pocket of her red robes. He wrapped his hand around the Elder Wand, which was now his.
Workshop
Author: Ellis
Date: 06-23-17 18:37
Daphne and Emily headed down to the Quidditch Pitch together. As first years (almost second years!), they weren't eligible to go to Hogsmeade. They understood this to be the very last Hogsmeade trip of the school year, which also meant it was the very last flying and Quidditch workshop of the school year too.
Both had raced in the Broom Racing events in Colorado––Daphne in Obstacle 1 and Emily in Obstacle 2. Neither had placed, but they'd both had loads of fun. They were eager to get back on broomsticks to practice flying because next year they both wanted to try out for the Gryffindor Quidditch team.
Conrad had gotten on the Hufflepuff team in his first year, so surely they could both earns spots as second years. They just weren't sure what position they might like to play. They'd probably try out for everything, since that would give them a better chance of getting onto the team.
Neither girl was certain what positions would be open when they tried out next year, though. They hadn't been at Hogwarts the last time Gryffindor had had a team, and Conrad was a useless source for information. Maybe he didn't want to tell them anything since they'd be his rivals in the air if they did make the Gryffindor team.
When Daphne and Emily got to the Pitch, they found their brother already there. He was doing sprints with some of the other participants. Conrad also wasn't yet elgible to go to Hogsmeade, but he'd get to go next year, assuming the Ellis parents signed his permission slip. Since they'd signed the ones for Alys and Blakeney, it seemed likely they'd let Conrad venture into the village too.
One other thing that would be different for Conrad next school year was the fact that he'd be adding two more classes to his schedule. He'd selected Arithmancy & Divination and Care of Magical Creatures as his electives, and he still planned on taking Fitness & Athletics as an optional class.
Conrad wasn't sure he liked the idea of being in class more than he had been these past two years, but he was kind of looking forward to learning how to tell the future and caring for magical creatures.
Genie was still being stabled at Hogwarts, but she would get transferred to his family's home in County Clare sometime over the summer. Supposedly Hagrid would be doing the transporting, or perhaps the groundskeeper was merely making the arrangements. Either way, the Ellis family was prepared for the new addition. They'd spruced up an old barn already on the property and had found a place that sells feed and other essentials the Granian will need.
Upon reaching the Pitch, Daphne and Emily each grabbed a school broom, which they mounted, and then they shot into the air to do sprints alongside their older brother.
Depressed
Author: Declan
Date: 06-23-17 20:04
Rand got up late enough that he nearly missed breakfast, not that he was all that hungry. Oliver and the other roomies had already left their room and he saw none of them in the Great Hall. Probably at the pitch or in the commons or something. He wouldn't be surprised if Oliver and Grace walked to the pitch together. Both had talked of going to today's workshop though they all would have preferred getting to go into Hogsmeade along with the older students.
Rand will go but he's in no hurry. He may even go back to bed for awhile. Close the bed curtains. Snuggle under the covers. Shut out the world.
He'd been so excited for Easter holiday and his mum's visit. He wasn't going to ask her about the odd letters. All that mattered was that she would be there to spend time with him.
The woman who showed up looks like his mother. That's about it. He heard one of the other adults say Melanie was robotic. Rand didn't know what that meant so he looked it up, learning it's a Muggle word. It's a good description for the Not Melanie that came.
Rand was a little depressed before then. Since then he's been increasingly so though he's tried to hide it from Declan and Zabrynna, from his teachers, and from his friends. The letters the woman has sent since Easter have been just as off tone and, now that he knows the word, robotic to Rand. Even how she reacts to things he's shared with her are off. There was a time that if Rand had told his mum that he'd participated in something like the Rings of the Broom Racing contest but only came in 11th, Melanie would have been enthusiastic and supportive. Non-Melanie's response was Clearly you needed more practice.
Leaving half the food on his plate, which hadn't had much to begin with, Rand shuffles out of the Great Hall turning to go back to Gryffindor Tower and bed rather than go join his friends just yet at the pitch.
(Asher) Team Delta Echo
Author: Jolyon
Date: 06-24-17 08:18
Asher crossed through the village gates and made his way up to High Street, where he got in line at the bakery. The place often had a line out the door on Hogsmeade Saturdays. At least the weather was decent. The sun shone brightly and the air was warm.
After getting a pastry and an iced chocolate drink, Asher casually backtracked to the lone lane that led to up to the Shrieking Shack. He glanced around, making sure nobody was paying him any mind, and then he followed the path up to the run-down building.
Asher threw another look over his shoulder and then walked up to the house. He peered into one of the dirty window panes and could see the blurred outline of movement within one of the rooms. Asher cast his gaze around again and then made for the door. He raised his hand to knock, but before he could, he heard a muffled voice ask, "Password?"
"Unforgivable Curse," Asher said.
The door swung open, revealing Malden. Malden gave Asher a once-over, and Asher did likewise before crossing over the threshold. Asher had never been inside of the Shrieking Shack before, and he quickly discovered that the place really was a dump as part of the name implied. He had to step over a small, ragged hole in the floorboards to fully enter the room.
Malden shut the door behind him and asked, "Did anybody follow you?" He looked tired. There were bags under his eyes and his hair was unkempt, as if he'd literally rolled out of bed to host this meeting.
"I checked, but I didn't see anyone." Asher looked past Malden and saw Bruno Tate leaning against a wall, munching on a bagel with cream cheese. Maurice Kilman was also in the room, drinking from a thermos.
"While we've been waiting for everyone to arrive, we've been trying to come up with a name for our group," Maurice said.
"I suggested Dark Army," Bruno said.
"Wouldn't that imply that we're up to no good?" Asher asked. "It's a good name, but I think it gives too much away."
"So what would you suggest?" Bruno asked.
Asher shrugged. By now he knew that their little group of like minds was being groomed to support and potentially one-day become Death Eaters. It had never been said in so blatant of terms, but with each meeting, the purpose of the group became more and more obvious.
"We need a more innocuous name," Asher said. "Something that won't draw attention to ourselves."
"What about Team Delta Echo?" Maurice suggested.
Bruno snorted. "That's random."
"It's not, actually. It's a phonetic alphabet. Team D-E."
Asher said, "If you know what it means, don't you think others would figure it out too?"
Maurice shrugged. "Maybe, but we could make up an alternate reason for using it. D-E could stand for Damned Extraordinary."
"Dashing and Extinguished."
"Daring, Enterprising."
Malden held up his hands. "We'll put it up to a vote when the others get here."
Asher took a sip of his iced chocolate drink and wondered how Malden had managed to slip away from Arielle to attend this latest meeting of Team Delta Echo. What lies had he told her this time? At least Arielle was too dumb to suss out the truth, at least that's what Asher thought about his twin.
(Sadie) Wrong Place, Wrong Time
Author: Griet
Date: 06-24-17 14:54
Sadie arrived at the Ministry of Magic via one of the fireplaces in the Atrium and moved out of the way to avoid getting hit by someone else. Although it was a Saturday and much less busy than during the week, the Ministry of Magic was never not an active place.
Since January, Sadie had been working a paid internship in the Department of Magical Games & Sports, specifically the British and Irish Quidditch League. Her role as intern mainly comprised of clerking, but the department was aware of what she was reading at the university and did its best to give her some experience in her chosen field of study.
On occasion, Sadie was sent out with fitness trainers or sports healers to observe them in action with members of the various professional Quidditch teams. She loved going on field trips and getting a feel for what she would be doing, if she got hired on after her internship ended. The internship was set to wrap at the end of next month, coinciding with the end of her very last term at St. Emrys. Sadie could hardly believe that she was almost a university graduate.
She went over to the snack cart to get a coffee and then started to head for the lifts, when she spotted her cousin Griet and Griet's fiancé Valentijn emerge from the bank of fireplaces. They had moved out of the way a bit and were in the process of dusting themselves off, when Sadie caught their attention.
She moved towards them to find out what they were both doing there on a Saturday morning (getting a marriage license, she would later find out), only to find herself tripped up when someone shot out of a neighboring fireplace. She hadn't realized that she'd been in the line of fire. Her coffee when flying, but fortunately it didn't land on her or anybody else. It just exploded spectacularly on the shiny tiles of the Atrium floor.
Sadie fell to the ground herself, but she managed to catch herself with her hands and avoid injury. Whoever had bumped her had landed on her legs, though. Griet and Valentijn rushed over to help Sadie and the other person up. Griet pulled Sadie out from under the other person, who was unmoving. Valentijn rolled the witch, who was wearing bright red robes and had long brown hair, over onto her back. He jerked upright suddenly and took several steps back.
Griet and Sadie looked over, and then another witch nearby started to scream. There were more shouts and yells around the Atrium as recognition and realization dawned, and hysteria began to set in. Sadie looked at the unmoving witch and gasped. It was the country's most wanted witch, Adriana Fairchild, and she appeared to be dead.
Accused and News
Author: Lysander Stratford
Date: 06-25-17 08:56
Twice Told Tales was busy, since there was an influx of students from Hogwarts visiting Hogsmeade. It was also weeks before the end of year exams, and a lot of students were coming in requesting test guides. Some were in a downright panic, but then there were others who figured now was the time to finally get down to business.
Lysander and Julian were both helping customers, when the doorbell chimed. It had already dinged so much that morning that they hardly noticed it anymore. It wasn't until Axel stood right in front of Lysander that he realized someone wanted him for something other than books.
"Can we talk?" Axel asked in a clipped tone of voice.
It was busy enough that Lysander didn't want to step away from the counter, but he could sense there was urgency in Axel's request. Julian, overhearing, waved Lysander off to take a break.
Lysander led Axel to the office and shut the door so they could have some privacy.
"What's up?" he asked.
"Did you sleep with my wife?"
Lysander blinked. "We used to date."
"I know that, but what I'm asking is did you sleep with my wife after I married her?"
When Lysander didn't immediately answer, Axel started pacing the small space and went on, "The reason I ask is because I recently came to the realization that my son and your son look an awful lot alike. You have the world thinking that they share a mother, but you and I know better. Astrid is not Dylan's mother."
"I admitted as much," Lysander said. "What's your point?"
"My point is if Astrid is not the common parent, then you must be."
"You have no proof."
"Not yet," Axel said, "but I will soon."
"And if you're wrong?"
"Then I guess it's just a coincidence that our sons resemble each other, but I don't think that's it," Axel said. "I think you and Astrid carried on an affair behind my back and for all I know you still are."
Lysander scoffed. "I can promise you she and I are not together in any way, shape or form. I really can't stand her at the moment, to be honest."
"So you say, but you can't be trusted. All you do is lie."
That much was true. Lysander lied about a lot of things. It was how he tried avoiding trouble, though sometimes it created consequences he didn't anticipate.
Before he could retort, he observed a commotion outside the office window. Lysander opened the door and stepped out into the store, where a group of students and some adults were listening to a news report on the WWN, which Julian had turned the volume up on so everybody could hear it.
According to the announcer, Adriana Fairchild was dead. Lysander felt a wave of relief crash over him, because now he'd never have to worry about her stopping by to assign him a job or take Dylan away from him.
Axel forgot about his grievance against Lysander for the time-being and listened with great interest to the newscast, which didn't have a lot of information to share at the moment. It posed an important question, though: who had killed her and was that witch or wizard leading the Death Eaters now?
Being Informed
Author: Ethan Somerset
Date: 06-26-17 17:54
Ethan took an afternoon patrol shift in Hogsmeade. He'd spent the morning in Bristol with his parents, who were watching Lilly while he was at work. The plan was to reconvene at their house in the evening, where there would be dinner before Ethan and Lilly returned to Greenwich. Ethan had invited Briar to come along, but he hadn't yet gotten confirmation that she would make it. He knew that Hogsmeade Saturdays were especially busy, and she might find herself too tired to go out tonight.
He stopped to look into the show window at McBloom and McMuck, when a familiar reflection appeared next to him. Ethan turned and greeted his friend and colleague Geoffrey Blackwell, who grinned and said, "Is this work or play?"
"Work, technically," Ethan replied, "and you? Are you officially patrolling or shopping in the village in which you live?"
"I'm working as well," Geoffrey said. "I'm a bit surprised I haven't been called back to the Ministry, given the news."
"What news?" Ethan asked. Despite the wave of gossip that had traveled the length of the High, he'd somehow escaped hearing any of it.
"Oh, you haven't heard?" Geoffrey asked, a bit shocked. "Fairchild's body turned up at the Ministry this morning."
"Her body?" Ethan asked, stunned. "She's dead?"
"That's what the reports are saying."
"What else have you heard?"
"Nothing, really, which is why I'm dying to get back to the office. The lucky bastards who are there are getting to have all the fun."
"So we don't know who did it or why?" Ethan asked. "Do we know how?"
"Killing Curse, I heard, though we'll know for sure when the autopsy is done."
"And we're certain it's actually her?" Ethan asked. By now, everybody knew that she'd faked her death before.
"Seems likely," Geoffrey answered.
Ethan turned back to the shoe display and thought about what Adriana's death meant for him. The rumor that she wanted to start up Project 25 again came to mind, but now that she was supposedly dead, it seemed like he and the others no longer had anything to worry about. They'd probably want to meet soon to discuss matters.
Sunny
Author: Jared
Date: 06-26-17 19:43
"We should have come another time," Gawain says as Jared, Abigail, and he wait for a stream of students coming out of a shoppe so that they can enter.
"I told you I'd do this on my own," Abigail reminds over her shoulder.
Gawain doesn't respond, just gives Jared a knowing look. Abigail may have said that but she'd find some way to bring up having to go on her own to look for a wedding gift for a long time friend of Gawain's who had been a confirmed bachelor until six months ago. Now, he's not only getting married but is gaining five step-children.
In her mind, Abigail would only bring up the gift buying if necessary. She doesn't actually mind being the one who does most of the gift shopping and buying. What she minds is that Gawain can be so damned vague at times. Like this gift today, because both the bride and groom to be had had their own homes for years Gawain scratched his head and said, "Not sure what to get them, Abs. She likes yellow."
Good thing the couple has registered a few places and that Abigail knows him well and has been getting to know her over these last few months. Gawain would have ignored the registries and gone and found something yellow, such as a big fluffy yellow towel or, as in the last shoppe they visited a set of yellow smiley faced sun shaped candles.
She'd been going to shop on her own but Jared, who'd been by for breakfast, offered to come along, which prompted Gawain to say he was coming along as well. Etta had something going today with Deak, whom she still claims is just a good friend, or she'd have made it a full family outing. That would have been nice. They don't do enough together anymore. Jared has only recently even begun being social again. Incidents like that day in Diagon Alley when Etta and he saw Alanna tend to make him want to revert to sitting at home by himself.
At the sound of her husband's voice, she turns from studying the items on this store's wedding registry. Gawain is holding up a small yellow frying pan that has what look like sun rays around the edge. "What about this, Abs? You know, for eggs sunny side up?" He laughs, showing he's only half serious.
She returns his smile and gives him a quick kiss. "If not for the fact you married me, I think I'd wonder about your taste."
Jared smirks at them then turns away, the smirk turning to a frown, thinking he once had that sort of relationship, or thought he did. Shaking his head to dispel the dark thought he picks up the frying pan his father has just put down. "I need a small sunny colored and shaped frying pan. If you're just dying to get it, Dad, you can get it for me."