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Promotional Opportunity
Author: Hermione Granger
Date: 05-06-07 19:55
Hermione had some downtime at work and spent it conducting more research for Bill, though she probably ought to have used it to study for her finals for her classes at both Oxford and St. Emrys. Her decision to quit Oxford stood, but Hermione fully-intended on completing the term and doing it with good marks, should she ever decide to finish medical school in the future. She simply knew that she couldn't continue to do both. Next fall, she would begin her first clinical rotation at St. Mungo's, and she would put all her effort into being the best healer-in-training she could be.
Although her initial drive to become a healer had vanished with the death of her father, Hermione hadn't lost the desire to help others who'd suffered at the hands of dark wizards. She thumbed through a book on poisons, jotting down the names of all powders she found therein, and put an asterix next to the more rare ones to research further in case one was the mystery poison that had infected Bill.
A shadow fell over her book. Hermione looked up, expecting to see Henry, but she found Alistair standing over her instead. He normally worked weekdays, and in fact had only come into the laboratory to pick up some paperwork he'd left behind on Friday.
"Hermione, I've been wanting to ask you if you've given any thought to applying for Henry's position? I think you'd be perfect for it."
Hermione honestly hadn't given it any thought. "Does it matter that I will have to quit when my rotations start?"
"That's almost half a year from now," answered Alistair. "When the time comes, we'll find someone new. This is a student position anyway, so I don't expect you to stay in it forever. I simply think you're cut out for more than just being a lab assistant. I see a manager in you. Think about it, all right? It's better pay, and it will look good on your resume."
He smiled at Hermione and then went into his office to pick up his paperwork.
Hermione didn't have to think about it too much. It wouldn't hurt to apply and if she got the position, she certainly wouldn't mind having a little more money in her Gringotts vault. She was doing okay these days, but a bigger income would help tremendously. If she worked full-time over the summer and up until her first rotation, she could earn quite a bit.
"Yes, I think I will apply for it," she said to herself.
"Glad to hear it," Alistair said, walking by behind her. "Have a good day, Hermione!"
"You too," she replied, smiling.
Studying - sort of
Author: Janine Fox
Date: 05-07-07 18:27
Janine sat outside with a textbook propped on her lap. It was warm enough in her backyard to wear her bikini top and shorts. Her intention had been to study, but the tempting warm sun had her soon ignoring her book and lying back instead. With her eyes closed, thoughts began to run through her head. Next week exams would be starting. Because of her set backs during the past three years, Janine wouldn’t be graduating at the end of term. She would have to return again for probably another full year in order to pick up on the courses she had failed or done poorly on. Failing was not something that Janine did often – in Hogwarts she had been top in her school house! – and because of that she felt slightly embarrassed about returning to St Emery’s next school year.
“Do you want a drink Miss Janine?”
Janine looked up to see the eager face of Pinky next to her, waiting to grant her wishes. Smiling she said, “Only if it pleases you to get it. A drink would be lovely, but I can get it myself.”
“No, no! Pinky happy to serve Janine. Makes Pinky feel important. Special!”
Janine smiled. “As I’ve said – over and over and over again – you don’t need to serve me or Harry in order to be appreciated. We both love having you around. It’s your company we appreciate.”
If a house elf could blush, Janine imagined that was what Pinky would be doing now as he bashfully hid his grin and looked at the ground. “Miss Janine is too kind to Pinky. Pinky is honored to get Miss Janine a drink.”
Janine was about to lecture Pinky again, but he had already dashed away to the kitchen. Sinking back in her chair, her thoughts returned to school. Harry would be finished at the end of term, and then would be starting his new job officially with Stanford & Howard. Janine felt a slight twinge of nervousness thinking of Harry in such a dangerous job, but she also knew that Harry would never be someone who would be content pushing papers behind a desk. Although, Janine thought wishfully, it would have been interesting if he had become a professional Quidditch player. There was something exciting about dating a professional athlete…
As Janine’s thoughts drifted into daydreams, she was shocked back to reality when a cold drink was set on her bare middle. “Pinky!” she automatically exclaimed before she realized Harry was the culprit.
Looking past Harry (who was grinning like a mischief child!) Janine saw an agitated Pinky standing behind him. He squeaked, “I told Harry that Miss Janine wanted Pinky to bring her the drink, but Harry said it would be funny if he did it, but Miss Janine isn’t laughing. Pinky told Harry not to…”
“She’s not mad Pinky, right Miss Janine?” Harry said, barely holding in his laughter.
Janine sat up and glared at Harry. Then turning a beaming smile at Pinky she replied, “Certainly not with Pinky.” And handing over her textbook none to gently to Harry, she sat up and sipped her lemonade, still idly imagining Harry as a superstar Quidditch player.
Family Picnic
Author: Isolde
Date: 05-07-07 20:03
Isolde and Pyrrhus apparated to Cornwall for an afternoon picnic at the house of Gorman and Iseult Farnon. Other members of the Farnon clan were set to attend, including Isolde's cousin Mark who hoped to receive his Hogwarts letter this summer. Mark was the son of Meirchion Farnon, Gorman's younger brother. Mark's mother had died during childbirth.
Pyrrhus carried a tray of summer fruits into the backyard, where several tables had been arranged. Isolde hugged her mother and then her father and then made a circuit around the yard, introducing Pyrrhus to the relatives he hadn't yet met and reacquainting him with some he'd had occasion to meet but had perhaps not seen recently or very regularly at all.
More than one relative asked Isolde when she and Pyrrhus planned on getting married. Isolde always answered the same way: "We're very happy with the way our relationship is right now, but someday we'll marry."
She talked about her new job a lot, too, though she didn't really have that many stories to tell yet. Once the Quidditch season started, she imagined she'd have plenty more to talk about. Mark was particularly interested in hearing about the new Little League team, so Isolde to him what she could and then bent his ear about playing Quidditch at Hogwarts. Pyrrhus contributed to that conversation and also told Mark all about playing for the Humbatas.
Isolde finally sat down at a picnic table, becoming tired from standing for too long. Pyrrhus brought her a plate of food, and then he sat down on one side of her while Mark sat down on the other and asked more questions about Quidditch.
Presenting Their Case
Author: Fionna
Date: 05-08-07 10:46
Fionna hadn't really wanted to speak first yet at the same time she doesn't want it to look as though Siegfried is the "leader" who's gone first leaving someone else to rush through the conclusion as their paltry fifteen minutes run out. As long as they win something Fionna supposes it doesn't matter. She's already scored a victory of sorts by having now attended as a competitor at least one SAT event at Hogwarts and at the other six host schools.
Fionna hopes she exudes an air of confidence as she steps up to the podium and begins speaking, the podium with a built in charm similar to the Sonorous one to allow everyone in the large gymnasium to hear the speaker's voice. Looking straight ahead to make eye contact with each of the three judges Fionna glances at the notecard she'd written off stage to remind herself of the order in which she wants to present things and, which in turn, sets up for Siegfried's part of the presentation.
"The laws in every country are very clear regarding the use of the Unforgiveable curses: life in prison or, in some countries, execution. If the fifteen year old is of sound mind, then his actions are accountable and the laws would be applied to the fullest. There are, however, precedences for extenuating circumstances."
Fionna points out the extenuating circumstances, which include being under duress such as the victim of an Unforgiveable himself. Fionna also addresses the sound mind issue and the laws that would apply if the fifteen year old were found to be mentally challenged. During all this, Fionna is highly conscious of the time. She's got to get her portion done in a manner that's logical and flows and gives Siegfried plenty of itme to do his part. There's a huge penalty if both members of the team don't do presentations and there's a penalty if they haven't concluded their argument when the fifteen minutes ends.
Wrapping up her part of the case, Fionna quickly steps aside to allow Siegfried his turn at the podium. Siegfried's going to speak about the crime being committed before Muggles and do the conclusion to tie everything together. When he's done, Fionna smiles and uncharacteristically claps Siegfried on the back as they walk from the presentation area. They both know they did well, hopefully setting the bar high enough that the remaining five teams will struggle to pass it.
Snuffling Girl
Author: Lucius Malfoy
Date: 05-08-07 15:53
Stirring cream into his tea, Lucius watches the people passing by. Diagon Alley has a certain plebeian charm but given a choice Lucius would prefer having a cuppa and people watching along an avenue in Vienna or Rome or anywhere on the continent. Even cities and towns in Easter Europe with Wizarding communities are much better than London and its Diagon Alley. Lucius might even be tempted to say that Hogsmeade has more appeal for just sitting and watching the world go by. Might being the operative word.
This past week had been just as amusing as Lucius had thought it might be. The accusations and finger pointing over who is responsible for the security breach that allowed a break-in at Azkaban followed by a mass breakout. The prison warden has certainly been raked over the coals in the effort to find a scapegoat on which to lay the entire blame. Lucius, in his opinion, had done an excellent job of acting shocked and dismayed that Rodolphus and Fenrir are once more among the free. Lucius did an even better job at showing outrage that someone as dangerous as Bellatrix is still on the loose and orchestrated the entire affair.
Hadden Overby walks past in a herky jerky fashion. Lucius, pulled from his reverie of the amusing meetings over the last week, sees the reason for Overby's lurching gaite is because of that young woman from the Ministry who seems to be hovering around Overby a great deal of late. Overby comes to a full stop near enough to Lucius's outdoor table at Delia's Deli and Restaurant to overhear clearly.
Overby very heatedly tells the girl, "For the last time, leave me be. I am NOT interested in you romantically. I am in fact on my way to meet my former wife. We are seeing each other again and I'm hoping to patch things up and get remarried. Go away, Cecily."
The young woman, Cecily, sighs. "Fine. All right. You're making a mistake though, Hadden."
Overby's already red face goes even more scarlet. Lucius doesn't have to work very hard to imagine what it would be like if steam began pouring from Overby's ears. Hadden Overby looks around and spotting Lucius points to him. "You're my witness to this, Lucius. You've seen the girl making a pest of herself before and she's clearly stepped over the line." To Cecily the angry man states through gritted teeth, "You are fired from my department. I shall make it official in writing on Monday but don't bother showing up for work and don't expect a letter of reference."
Overby stalks off leaving the girl in tears. She takes a few steps to reach one of the empty chairs at Lucius's table and collapses into it. Tears rolling down her face she looks across at Lucius. "I can't help that I fell in love with him."
Lucius, his tone cool, replies, "No, but you are responsible for your actions."
The girl snuffles, backhanding the tears from her cheeks. "I know. I didn't mean to be a pest. I just love him so much I let myself get carried away."
Never having had a daughter and never having had to hand hold Draco through rough patches in his son's love life, Lucius has no idea what one says when attempting to console someone, particularly someone who brought on the events herself. Lucius rejects several things before saying with a hint of optimism. "Stiff upper lip, girl. It could be worse you know. Overby could have led you on before breaking your heart and firing you."
Still snuffling the girl nods then between the sniffles says, "I'm Cecily Wright by the way. I know who you are, Mr. Malfoy."
"Wright? Any relation to Griselda Wright of Narcissa's?"
"Cousins. She and my father are first cousins."
"Ah, well, go pop in on Griselda and tell her I said it would be all right for you to pick out something to cheer you up."
Cecily brightens. "Really? That's very sweet of you, Mr. Malfoy."
"Think nothing of it. Now off with you."
Lucius would have offered the girl a one of a kind designer original from the dress shoppe if it meant she'd take her runny snuffling nose elsewhere. Cecily out of his line of view, Lucius goes back to people watching, refreshes his tea, and thinks back to more of the amusing meetings at the Ministry that came about with the Azkaban ruckus.
DADA Curse
Author: Kissy Isuki
Date: 05-08-07 18:32
Skulking from shadowy corner to a half walled barrier, AJ comments, "This is fun. Wish we'd had something like this when we were in school."
"Have you played either paint ball or laser tag at Blossom's?" Kissy asks.
"Not yet. I plan to though. They're like this?"
"A maze of protective cover in a large variety to use both defensively and offensively."
"That would be a yes then," AJ chuckles.
Kissy looks up from the half wall she's debating on changing and laughs as well. "That would be a yes. I'm glad there are two games there that require strategic thinking. At least some of my students will get some workouts over the summer holiday."
"May I ask you something?" AJ inquires from the upright barrel he's just climbed into.
"Sure. What is it?" Kissy flicks her wand to change the half-wall into slightly taller wall but one that has a severely angled tilt.
"At that career day before you were hired on here, you acted sort of star struck with me. Why is that? We were both at Hogwarts at the same time so it's not as though I was a total stranger."
AJ's attempting to climb out of the barrel but is finding it's not as easy as he had thought. Kissy softly giggles as she gets rid of a tall, broad barrier that blocks the path enough that it's find another way around or climb over it. She waits until it's gone before answering.
"We weren't strangers, that's true. We also we're bosom buddies who'd lost touch after leaving Hogwarts. We weren't in the same year and never socialized to speak of while students. There's also the fact that the day we were re-introduced, I wasn't seeing you as Asterjoylian Hodfuffer, someone I vaguely knew from school. I was seeing world famous, award winning mystery novelist AJ Hundle."
As Kissy puts a new obstacle in place of the large barrier, this time what looks like a brick wall with something jagged at the top and a locked metal gate as an access point - when in a running duel, opening locked doors and gates can be challenging - AJ mulls over what she's said. When he speaks again, he's out of the barrel finally and come over to inspect the new obstacle.
"Ask another question?"
Kissy says the same thing she had a moment before, "Sure, what is it?" Then adds, "Walk this direction while you ask. The seventh years I've been redoing this course for should be in the hallway, ready to get a practice session in."
AJ hurries over to walk at Kissy's side. "Are you worried at all about the DADA curse?"
Kissy shrugs. "Maybe a little."
"Since Harry Potter started at Hogwarts, there's not been the same DADA professor two years running. As my friend, I'm concerned for you."
Kissy stops walking to turn and face AJ, putting a hand on one of his shoulders. "I know and thank you. If we dwell on it though and make a fuss over it, then we'll cause something to happen. Let's not do that."
AJ frowns and Kissy laughs at him. "I know what you're thinking," she says. "That's easier said than done."
"That's exactly right," AJ grumbles.
They step into the hallway where they're greated by several of the seventh years so Kissy doesn't reply to AJ. She greets her students and gets their practice session going. With NEWTs looming so near, the fifth years and seventh years are really buckling down to prepare for their written and practical exams. If working out on the DADA training courses helps out, then Kissy doesn't mind spending the bulk of her Sunday aiding them. Also, it does help her not think about the DADA curse and what might befall her if it strikes again this year.
SAT Over
Author: Marzipan
Date: 05-08-07 20:24
After the very last duo left the stage following a presentation on the illegal sale of dragon eggs, the judges conferred and tallied their score cards while all of the spectators and participants in the gymnasium at La Escuela de Hechiceria waited for the results. Marzi, along with the other delegates from Hogwarts, had her fingers crossed for the four participants from Hogwarts, Daria and Charity, and Fionna and Siegfried.
At last, Judge Newton rose and said loudly and clearly so that everyone could hear, "We have had fourteen fine presentations today. I see twenty-eight future solicitors, law enforcement officers, or politicians in the making. Before I announce the winners, I want to congratulate you all for a job well-done. Join me in a round of applause for our contestants." She put her hands together, and everyone else in the gym followed suit.
"Now, for the moment you have been waiting for..."
Judge Stradivarius handed Judge Newton a card. "The first round of awards goes to the younger group who participated today. In third place, we have Irina Ivanova and Tamara Popov from Durmstrang Institute."
The Durmstrang students and staff clapped and cheered while Irinia and Tamara stepped on stage to receive their trophies and pose for phtographs.
"Second place goes to Daria Matthews and Charity Douglas of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."
Marzi clapped hard and put her fingers in her mouth to whistle loudly. Daria and Charitiy stepped on stage, graciously accepted their trophies, and smiled for the camera.
Judge Newton finished, "And first place goes to Cherish King and Madison King from Watling's Wizarding Academy! Good job, girls!"
The King sisters stepped on stage to grand applause. After they left, Judge Newton accepted a card from Judge de la Peña.
"The second and last round of awards goes to the older group who participated today. In third place, we have Alicia Perez and Marisol Ruiz of La Escuela de Hechiceria."
The applause for Alicia and Marisol was louder than it had been for any other team, though it certainly helped that they had all of La Escuela de Hechiceria present to cheer them on.
"Second place goes to Basil Dropkin and Ester Fellows of Sydney's School of Wizardry..."
"...and first place goes to Fionna Gairden and Siegfried Dewhurst of Hogwarts. Congratulations!"
Marzi clapped enthusiastically and whistled again.
When the applause finally died down, all of the Headmasters from the seven schools of magic that had participated in the Scholastic Aptitude Tournament came forward. They spoke in succession about how wonderful it had been to meet each other and compete together in a friendly and educational tournament. The British contingents all knew one thing: Hogwarts had far outperformed the other schools at the SAT!