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Competition
Author: Ariella Beck
Date: 02-22-07 19:35
Ariella clapped enthusiastically for Alanna, who'd just placed third in the last round of competition. While the photographer snapped photos of the winners, Professor McGonagall had Ariella and her co-competitior from Hogwarts, Hank, rise from their seats and gather with the other students in group 6 who would soon take to the stage for their own competition.
Unlike Alanna, Ariella found herself not the first in line alphabetically, but second. She found this a great relief, because she wanted someone else to go first, even though she'd seen five other rounds of competition already and more or less already knew what to expect from the moderator.
The first student, Asita Amadi changed her eyebrow from black to red and back again. Then Ariella had to grow her thumb nail and then return it to its normal length. The tournament went on and on until students started dropping out. Each time Ariella came up, she tried not to get to nervous. She'd heard that a way to block out the nerves was to imagine the audience in their underwear or naked. She found the notion too distracting and instead simply tried to pretend that she wasn't standing before a crowd, that she was, instead, alone in her dormitory, talking to herself in the mirror.
Suddenly, only three students remained, among them Ariella and Hank and Francis Obi from Okapi. Hank was the first of the three to bow out of the competition. To Ariella's surprise, Francis fudged his next attempt at transfiguration, which rendered Ariella the overall winner from her group. She could hear Alanna cheering the loudest in the crowd.
Ariella accepted her trophy for first place and posed for photographs, grinning from ear to ear.
Hanging Out
Author: Bronwyn Dewhurst
Date: 02-23-07 08:55
Bronwyn sat on a sofa at the Wyrding Way with Hunter MacRoth. She had a small caramel frappuccino in her hand, which she occasionally drank from with a straw. Hunter, ever reasonable, had a steaming cup of black coffee.
"I don't know how you can drink something cold when it's freezing outside," Hunter mused aloud, grinning.
Bronwyn poked at her frappuccino with her straw and shrugged her shoulders. "It's too good to avoid, even on a cold day. Besides," she continued, shooting Hunter a smile, "don't you ever eat ice cream when it's cold outside? Ice cream is good all year round!"
"I agree that ice cream is very good, but I have some self-control, Bronwyn," Hunter teased. "I can hold off eating the freezing stuff until the weather warms up again."
"You're a true champion, going without ice cream for half a year." Bronwyn stuck her tongue out at Hunter and then sucked down some more of her icy drink.
Hunter chuckled. "So, have you heard from Toby recently?"
Bronwyn nodded. "He wrote me last week. Said he'd wanted to go down to the Congo to see Ariella and Alanna at that SAT thing but he had a practice he couldn't miss or something. What about you?"
"Not for a few weeks. He mentioned wanting to come up for Easter or having some of us come out to see him in Brisbane. Would you be game for that?"
"Absolutely!" Bronwyn exclaimed. "I've never been to Australia before, and I'm curious to see how Toby lives over there."
"Australia's really nice," said a new voice.
Bronwyn and Hunter looked up and saw Theodore Nott standing in front of their sofa. He held a cup of coffee in one hand, while the other one was in the pocket of his pants.
"Sorry, I couldn't help overhearing. Mind if I join you?"
"Not at all," Bronwyn said, gesturing to a nearby armchair. She felt Hunter shift uncomfortably on the sofa.
"Hunter, do you remember Theodore Nott from Hogwarts? He was a year behind you," Bronwyn said. "This is Hunter MacRoth. He was in Hufflepuff with me."
Before sitting down in the armchair, Theodore offered his hand to Hunter. Hunter took it, albeit with a little caution.
"Nice to meet you again," Theodore said with a smile. He sat down and crossed an ankle over his knee. "So, how did last term go for you, Bronwyn?"
"Well enough," she replied, "but I still haven't declared my major. I guess I should get on that."
Theodore chuckled. "Indeed."
"And yours?"
"Also well. I'm looking forward to graduating at the end of next term."
"Do you have a job lined up already?"
"No," Theodore answered, "but I have a good prospect on the horizon."
"Oh, really?" Bronwyn asked, interested.
"Yes. A position of power."
"I'm not sure I'm a leader," Bronwyn admitted. "I think I'm more of a follower."
"That's not true," Hunter said, with a shake of his head. "You're a strong, independent woman."
"With no direction in life," Bronwyn commented sourly. "I'm glad I still have a year of schooling left, because I really have no clue what I really want to do when school ends."
"You'll figure something out," Hunter said.
"Don't you like your WWN program? Could you see yourself doing something like that professionally?" Theodore asked.
Bronwyn nodded. "Maybe. I suppose we'll see what will happen."
McMerlin's
Author: Carys
Date: 02-23-07 09:28
Carys had managed to get a part-time job at a new fast food chain in the wizarding world, McMerlin's. Rumor had it that a McMerlin's would open in every major city in the United Kingdom, though the franchise had not yet made it to the two major wizarding hubs in the UK, Diagon Alley or Hogsmeade village. From the moment she stepped into the restaurant and put on her yellow uniform, she loathed the job. She hadn't been the type to be overly cheery in a long time. Her supervisor had already said that her customer service skills left something to be desired.
Nonetheless, Carys tried to smile at each customer she addressed.
"Hi, welcome to McMerlin's. May I take your order?"
A particularly rotund wizard with a handlebar mustache looked at the menu over Carys' head and scratched his many chins.
"Let's see. I want a jumbo Merlin burger with extra large chips. Get me a large butterbeer, one hot fudge sundae aaaaaaaaand... a chocolate chip cookie, the largest one you've got."
Carys took the man's order and turned around to help one of her coworkers, a fairly portly older witch, fulfill the request. After seeing what was on his tray, the man decided to order a chocolate shake as well. Carys told him how much it would cost him and took his money, giving back a few knuts change. Then the fat wizard waddled off to a table. Carys watched as he tried to squeeze into a chair. She wondered whether it would buckle beneath him, but it seemed to be quite sturdy.
She sighed quietly to herself. What she wouldn't give to go back to Hogwarts and finish her schooling so that she could have a real job. She didn't wish that Tristan had never been born, but she knew that her life would be so much better and simpler without him. Why had she let herself spiral so out of control?
At least she could try to get her life back on track again, if not for her sake, then for her son's. He deserved a good life.
Another enormous person approached the counter.
Carys put on her smile and said, "Hi, welcome to McMerlin's. May I take your order?"
A Gift For Hermione
Author: Harry Potter
Date: 02-23-07 11:03
Harry waits to be seen. He set up the appointment a few days ago, slightly surprised to be given a Sunday time. He wouldn't have thought administrators kept weekend hours. The secretary certainly acts as though she has other places she'd rather be for her weekend.
The secretary looks at Harry as though she knows he's just had a thought about her. "Mr. Porch will see you know."
Harry gets up and walks into the office marked Burkhart Porch, Director of Interests and Accounts. The man behind a massive desk rises. He's wearing a striped robe, one color the lime green associated with St. Mungo's and the other a bright banana yellow. Burkhart Porch has a massive girth and clearly has never been told that horizontal stripes make a person look even wider.
"Harry Potter! That scar really does look like a lightening bolt, doesn't it? I thought maybe the paper doctored the photos."
For a man with so much excess flesh, Harry had thought Porch's grip would be soft but as they shake hands the man has a strong, firm grip.
"Nice to meet you, Mr. Porch," Harry says as they shake.
"Have a seat. Call me Burkhart, Harry. Get you something to drink?"
"No, I'm fine thank you."
"What brings you to the Interests and Accounts department, Harry? Not a problem I hope."
"No, sir, not a problem. I want to pay for at least one year of medical expenses for the father of my friend Hermione Granger. He's on the fourth floor, Ward 49. That's the Janus Thickey Ward."
Burkhart takes down Mr. Granger's name along with the other information then asks his secretary to pull the file. When he has everything he needs in front of him, Burkhart does the necessary calculations. Giving Harry the total, Burkhart asks, "Are you sure about this? It's a great deal of money for a young man."
"Positive. I owe Hermione my life so the least I can do is help reduce some of the stress she's under. Not having to worry about the finances required for her father's care will help a great deal. I hope anyway. I'll pay for one year in advance and when payment is due again, I'll come visit you again."
Harry came prepared. He has the paperwork necessary to transfer funds from his Gringotts account to St. Mungo's. Harry fills in the blanks spots then Burkhart and he both sign. Together the two men pay a quick visit to Gringotts in Diagon Alley. When each man has a stamped copy of the papers in hand verifying the bank is transferring the funds, Burkhart and Harry return to St. Mungo's where Burkhart gives Harry a receipt for the payment.
Shaking hands once more, Harry thanks Burkhart then leaves St. Mungo's while trying to figure out exactly how to tell Hermione about what he's done for her father and her.
A Mouse Surprise!
Author: Thessily
Date: 02-23-07 11:33
Listening to the WWN, I sat at the window seat looking out over the ground. It was a beautiful day outside. It was a little cold outside, but still very beautiful. On any other day I would be outside enjoying the beauty of nature. I was such a nature girl it wasn’t funny. But instead today, I couldn’t stop thinking about my mother and how I wished there was something I could do to bring her back. Even though I knew there wasn’t anything I could do to bring her back. I wanted her back so bad it hurt.
I felt tiny tears come into my eyes and quickly dashed them away. I pulled out my book that was in front of me and slowly began to read. Only to once again have tears running down my cheeks.
At this, I pulled up my knees and hugged them. Why couldn’t I just let her go? I wondered. She had been since I was eight. I was almost seventeen. That was almost ten years ago.
“ Meow!” I suddenly heard my little kitten cry and then felt her pounce up onto my lap. “ Meow!” She cried again and I stared at her blankly for a few moments. It seemed to me that Krystal and my cat always knew when I was upset. “ Meow!” She cried again.
“ What?” I asked through tears as I picked her up into my arms. It was then that I realized she was holding a little black thing in her mouth. Uh-oh. I thought instantly dropping the cat onto the floor and shuffling back a scream. When Chloe brought the mouse back up to me and dropped it in my lap.
“ Meow!” She said and pranced away perfectly pleased she had caught me a mouse. I shuffled back a small whimper as I picked up the dead black thing and opened up the window. Looking around to make sure Chloe wasn’t near by, I dropped the mouse out the window hoping no one was near the window when it landed on the ground.
Then I shut the window and let out a little laugh. Leave it to Krystal and Chloe to make me smile when I was depressed. I thought whipping away my tears and smiling.
Third Place (Hank Hillier)
Author: Rolf Haaken
Date: 02-23-07 12:02
Third place.
Third place!
Hank accepts his award and grins like a fool for all the pictures.
Third place. That will show Jane she's not the only one in the family who can win awards.
Rolf too.
Hank might have been cheated out of a point earning place in Dueling but he sure showed his stuff today and finally got the praise and accolades he deserves. Sure, third isn't first but it's something.
Hank struts off the stage, joining Isidora du Bourg in the stands. He grins at the sight of the gorgeous girl. Rolf's not the only one with a French girlfriend now. Gabriella might actually be slightly prettier in looks but Isidora, with her coal black hair is more Hank's type.
Sliding an arm around Isidora's shoulders, Hank smugly watches as the last group of the tournament takes to the stage.
(Caden) Argument with Urania
Author: Ronan Eastwick
Date: 02-23-07 14:11
Caden walked purposefully down Diagon Alley and took the bend into Knockturn Alley, when a light hand fell onto his arm. He whirled around with one fist clenched, fully prepared to pummel whoever thought it his business to lay a hand on him, when he found himself face to face with Urania. Her eyes were both narrowed and full of concern and fear.
"Were you following me?" Caden asked gruffly, easily pulling his arm from Urania's grasp. He stepped back into Diagon Alley, where there was more light.
She shook her head. "No, I happened to see you as I came out of a shop. Imagine my surprise when I saw you turn into Knockturn Alley. Why would you want to go there, after what happened to us? What possible purpose do you even have for going there?"
"It's no business of yours," Caden replied hotly.
"How can you want to be with me if you won't even trust me?" Urania replied angrily. "I thought you were serious about us."
"I am serious about us, but that doesn't mean that I have to tell you every little detail about my life. I certainly don't know everything about yours."
"Then ask me questions and I'll tell you what you want to know. I have nothing to hide. You never talk to me anymore, so it's really no wonder you feel like you don't know me. I certainly feel like I don't know you anymore."
Caden shook his head. "I don't have time for this conversation." He started to move back into Knockturn Alley, when Urania seized his hand.
"See what I mean?" she started to say, when her fingers ran over the scar on Caden's hand. After all this time, she'd never noticed it. He'd hidden it well.
She managed to pull his hand into the light before he could pull away.
"What was that?" Urania asked Caden, looking him in the eyes.
Caden pulled the cuff of his sleeve down over his hand so that the pentagram remained hidden from view. "It's nothing."
"How long have you had that?" Urania asked. "How did you get it?"
"Damn it, Urania," Caden shouted. "Leave it be."
And with that, he stormed into Knockturn Alley.
Urania didn't try to follow. She remained where she stood for a long moment. It wasn't until she turned around and saw that they'd drawn a small crowd, that she felt the first tears fall from her eyes.
"What are you all looking at?" she shouted, and then she hurried away towards the Leaky Cauldron.
Caden continued down Knockturn Alley, until he entered the Hanged Man. He went straight for the loos and stepped into the very last one, where the mark of the pentagram had been painted onto the wall in blood. He pressed his palm to it and waited a moment until the doorway opened. Then Caden stepped over the threshold and entered his domain.
"What's wrong with you, boss?" Henry Hamm asked, after Caden stomped into the room and sat down heavily into a chair.
"Woman trouble," Caden growled.
"Want me to have a talk with your lady?" Hamm questioned, a little too eagerly.
"Do that and I'll have you killed," Caden answered gruffly. Even though things with Urania weren't smooth sailing lately, he loved her and wouldn't want anything to happen to her. If only she could get off of his back and leave him be! He had enough on his mind already without adding his relationship troubles to the mix.
Caden was still trying to wrap his mind around the fact that Bertram hadn't been his birth father, that Enid was actually his flesh and blood. She'd known about the prophecy all along and had, in many ways, set things into motion for its coming to pass. She'd asked Caden not to tell Ronan the truth. Let the boy keep the past he knew, she'd said. He doesn't need to worry about either of us.
Although Ronan was the closest person to Caden and Caden hated lying to him, he knew it was for the best. Ronan didn't need to know about Caden's new life. He didn't need to know about how his mother and half-brother were both murderers.
Ignorance truly was bliss.
What About Another Book Fair?
Author: Bambi Fandango
Date: 02-23-07 15:08
Lars walks into the library, seeking out his wife. "Hallo, gorgeous. I've missed you."
Bambi can't help but giggle when replying, "It's only been ten minutes."
"But it was a looooong ten minutes," he grins down at her.
"Thank you for helping."
"It was a pleasure. Now, what else do you need?"
"Harkin's long overdue for a break. Spell him off at the desk?"
Lars drops a kiss on Bambi's nose then goes to the front desk. Harkin thanks Lars and leaves the man to sit waiting for a student in need of checking out a book. He randomly picks a book from a stack to read while waiting. Lars doesn't mind sitting here helping out though he much prefers helping in other ways, like the errand he just did for instance. One of the seventh years had checked out a number of books. She tried carrying them all but found she couldn't get far. Stressed from NEWT preparation, the girl sat down and didn't move again until Lars picked everything up, including the girl, and upon learning she was from the same house he'd been in while at Hogwarts, walked her to the house's portal.
"We have a new assistant librarian? Harkin and Dororthy are prettier."
Lars looks up to laugh at his brother. AJ has his arms full of the usual stacks of files, handful of quills, and bottles of ink poking out of pockets. "Working on a novel or something Ancient Runes related?"
"A little of both. I've got a few homework papers left to grade to hand back, a couple of quizes to draw up, and research for the current novel."
Bambi comes up to the desk, learning on it. "Working here or in your secret room of inspiration?"
"I might work there, mainly because that's where I've got that book you loaned me. The one that's the bound scrolls."
Bambi nods then asks, "What do you two think of another book fair? The one just before Christmas was a success."
"I think it's excellent," AJ replies.
"Me too. I'm not student or staff but thanks to my wife who happens to be a librarian I found some nice gifts at that last one," Lars says with a grin.
"You have a very intelligent wife for putting on an excellent book fair," Bambi comments.
AJ chuckles, "You are right there. Lars does have an intelligent wife and one who is exceedingly attractive I might add. I'm still trying to figure out how he managed that."
Lars reaches over and shoves AJ in the arm. "Hey, I'm a great catch."
AJ chuckles again, "Nah. Bambi should have thrown you back."
Bambi laughs as the two brothers continue their back and forth banter. Moving behind the desk she starts working on a list of what needs to be done to hold another book fair, not the least of which is determining a good date or dates to have it.
Last Group
Author: Fionna
Date: 02-23-07 17:22
When Group 7's session starts, Fionna is in the fifth chair. Her Hogwarts competition is in the first chair. Fionna is very happy that Ebalus Alba has to go first each round he's in. First one for the whole group as a matter of fact. Having all eyes on you wondering if you'll flub being the first one up for a group's session would be nerve wracking.
Fionna wouldn't mind at all if Ebalus's nerves got wracked. Not only is he a fecking Gryffindor, he's got a bloody stupid name. Ebalus. It's horrid to say. Not a pleasant sensation for the mouth to work around. Did his parents hate him at birth? Caught one site of him and thought, "Well, he's ickle and bloody awful. Let's call him Ebalus." Fionna knows she wanted to barf the first time she ever saw him and that was before she knew his name or that he'd be sorted into Gryffindork.
With the current round of the session, Ebalus is still first but with Misha Dvorák's elimination last round, Fionna now goes fourth. Intially there had been nine others after Fionna. Now there are only six, Neo Noor also getting eliminated last round and both Marisol Ruiz and Gregori Slovak the round prior to that one.
Ebalus gets up and is asked to not just change his eyebrow color but to make each one two colors. And not just any two colors. Moderator Johansson specifies that each eyebrow is to be stark white on the left and midnight black on the right. Fionna finds herself holding her breath while wishing Ebalus to fail.
When the dork is completes the task with no real visible effort beyond a slight frown, Fionna curses him under her breath. Giselle Fournier hears but Fionna doesn't know and doesn't care of the Okapi stupents undertands what she said. Moments later when Giselle is eliminated, Fionna hides a smile behind a hand as she pretends to cough on her way to the table.
The moderator seems to have a theme this round of asking for things to be changed with two colors. Fionna gets asked to make half her hair a strawberry red shade and the other half blueberry blue. She lets her smile show then, first changing the right side blue then the left side the red. Fionna retakes her seat thinking it's a good thing she's forever playing around changing her hair color while she sits in her room studying.
Andrea Ross is out this round when she can't get a white rabbit's fur to be half yellow and half green. She gets the green but struggles with the yellow and ends up with another shade of green. Then Brian Wilson gets eliminated when he can't transfigure the moderator's mustache into purple and white.
The remaining contestants have no idea if each of the nexts rounds will have themes or not. The ones before this one didn't. The next round does have a theme and Maria Moreno gets eliminated. As the round after that begins, Fionna thinks Johansson is just lulling them into thinking that once they know what Ebalus is being requested to do, the others will think they know what to expect and be more mentally prepared.
Ebalus gets up and does his task. Marie Durand gets up and does hers successfully, a task that's similar to Ebalus. Sure enough though when it gets to the person now going third, Fionna, she's asked to do something entirely different. Ebalus and Marie had had to transfigure one mammal into three mammals of another type. Fionna is given the task of conjuring a set of books.
Two rounds later and it's down to Ebalus, Marie, Fionna, Genevive Lafayette, and Jack Thorpe. Ebalus gets up, looking as though he's more than ready to let someone else have the first turn of a round. Fionna hides a gleeful grin when he gets what he apparently wished for. Ebalus is eliminated which means someone else will definately go first in the next round.
That someone is Marie when she completes her task to the moderator's satisfaction. Jack doesn't make it through the round so now it's down to three young women - Marie, Fionna, and Genevive.
Marie gets asked to do not just change her hair into two colors but to make two three stripes of each color. She can't seem to get more than two no matter how hard she tries. Eliminated and with both the other two completing their tasks to Johansson's satisfaction, Marie takes third place.
Fionna gets up to start the next round off. Another conjuring spell but this time with a really large slug. Fionna takes a deep breath and does the necessary spell, then sits back down extremely happy to have done it perfectly right. Genevive gets up and is asked to also do a conjuring spell, hers with a clam. She focuses and nearly has it. She focuses again but nothing happens.
Fionna nearly leaps from her seat. She's just taken first in the Transfiguration Tournament!