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Making A Trip {Deely}
Author: Skyler
Date: 06-30-07 03:12
After the laughter subsided Kordelia smiled and looked at Sky.
"Guess what?" she said. Sky looked at her then shrugged and shook her head.
"What?" she replied. Deely handed her an envelope and sat back. Sky opened it up and read the letter.
"You found out my last address?" Sky said looking up shocked. Deely nodded.
"Yeah, and the family that lives there now says they moved all your belonings to the basement and we can come look through it whenever we like," Deely told her. Sky smiled and nodded.
"Let's go now" Deely added. Sky nodded again unable to find her words. The two freshened up and headed for Skyler's home. They took the bus and arrived almost an hour later. Sky stood in the doorway. Deely knocked on the door. The two waited for an answer. They were about to leave when the door opened up.
"Can I help you girls?" the woman asked. They both nodded.
"Yeah, I'm Kordelia Krewlin and this is Skyler Jamesin. Skyler used to live here..." The woman cut in.
"Oh yes, yes. You wrote the letter. Come in, please. I'm Littya. Oh, and please keep your voices down. I just put the baby down for a nap," she said sweetly. Sky and Deely followed her inside, and Sky gazed. Something's were the same. The color on the walls and the general set up.
"Would you like tea, water, juice?" she asked.
"No, thank you" Deely answered. Sky hesitated.
"Uh, no. No, thank you," she finally answered. She got herself some tea then sat at the table and asked them to sit with her.
"So are you the young lady that used to live here?" she asked. Skyler nodded and swallowed hard. Bits and pieces of her childhood flooded her.
"May I ask what happened?" Littya asked. Sky looked to Deely for help. She couldn't keep her mind focused and Deely understood and took over.
"Of course. Skyler's mother died when she was seven. We lived in the orphanage together until I left and now she lives with me. Sky doesn't know any of her family. Not a name, nothing. That's why we are here to see if Sky can find her father or an aunt or uncle. You know, some kind of family member," Deely answered for her.
"Oh you poor dear," Littya said, then looked at her watch. "I'll show you the basement and I inisist you two stay for dinner. Make yourselves comfortable and don't hesitate to ask for anything you need," she informed them as she showed them the door leading down to the basement.
"Thank you," Skyler finally managed. Littya smiled.
"You are more than welcome darling. I'll be in the kitchen starting dinner if you need me." The girls nodded and thanked her before she left them.
"You ready?" Deely asked. Skyler nodded and the two descened into the basement.
Wedding Reception
Author: Illyria
Date: 06-30-07 11:24
The new Mr. and Mrs. Crumm glided across the dance floor, all smiles and laughter as they celebrated their first few moments together as husband and wife. Illyria sat at one of the round tables in the reception hall and sipped on a glass of champagne. Her bridesmaid gown was slate gray with tiny spaghetti straps that might have snapped already, had she not put a special fortifying charm in place.
Her sisters, Erigone, Olympia and Urania sat with her. Of the four unmarried Jones girls, only two had brought dates who sat with them at the same table. Illyria hadn't gone out with anybody in well over a year––not since her breakup with long-term boyfriend Roland Gray. She wasn't sorry she didn't have anyone to share the night with because she knew that Urania would probably go stag too. Urania still wasn't quite over Caden, who'd not only broken her heart but had only too recently been discovered murdered.
Urania, the maid of honor, seemed in good spirits though. Many eligible bachelors were present at the wedding and all seemed to take a liking towards the youngest Jones girl.
"Might I have this dance?" one asked Urania, extending his hand towards her.
"Of course!" she exclaimed. She slipped her hand into his and allowed him to led her onto the dance floor.
Illyria watched the dancers with a smile on her face, glad that everyone was having a good time. She was certainly enjoying herself as well.
Deciding to make her next drink non-alcholic, Illyria got up and went to the punch bowl. She'd just started to lift the ladle when a gentle hand closed over hers and said, "Allow me."
She looked up into a pair of startling blue eyes. "Oh, thank you," she said.
The attractive man who must have been around thirty years of age poured her a cup of punch and then handed it to her. "My name is Nathan. I'm one of the groom's guests. I know you're one of the bride's sisters, but I'm afraid I don't know which one."
"I'm Illyria, in the middle."
Nathan grinned, showing off a flawless white smile. "I don't know you at all, Illryia, but you seem to be well adjusted for being the middle child."
Illyria laughed. "My sisters might beg to differ, but I think I turned out all right. What do you do for a living, Nathan?"
"I'm an architect in the Muggle world. What about you?" He gently took her by the elbow to guide her away from the punch bowl, because a small line had formed and they were in the way.
Illyria's elbow tingled at his touch and she flushed. "I teach Astronomy at Hogwarts."
"Do you really?" asked Nathan, hardly noticing the change of color in her face. "I'd like to hear more about that. Do you want to go out onto the balcony? It's a bit stuffy and noisy in here."
"I'd like that," Illyria replied, smiling. She followed Nathan out onto the balcony and answered his questions and asked him a few of her own.
Practice for the Plymouth Polliwogs
Author: Isolde
Date: 06-30-07 11:56
Isolde stood on the sidelines at Plymouth Pitch with a clipboard in hand. The tryouts for the Polliwogs Little League Quidditch team had been several weeks ago. Isolde had accepted 14 children to comprise the very first team members. Their ages ranged between 7 and 10, with the fair majority older than younger.
During the first few practices, she had them rotate positions to determine what their strengths and weaknesses were. Some showed great skill in only one position, while others seemed talented in any position they played. It was during today's practice that Isolde would make the final decisions in terms of positions, so that they could spend the next month practicing hard in anticipation of the very first Quidditch match in September.
She got into the habit of calling the children by the last name. They seemed to like it, because it made them feel as if they were professional Quidditch players.
"We're going to try a scrimmage match. I will place you in certain positions and rotate you as I see fit. Henderson, Wood and Bell. You will play chaser for the green team. Henderson––that's Waylon––" She had a set of twins, Jamie and Waylon on the team, whom she couldn't call by surname alone. "––and Pease. You'll play beater on the same team. Runnels, you're seeker. Houston, you're keeper." She tossed them all plain green jerseys to wear over their street clothes.
"The rest of you will play white," Isolde continued. The leftover children grabbed white jerseys and donned them over their clothes. "Clark, Lubbock and Murrah. You'll be chasers. Hamilton and Throckmorton, beaters. Davis, you'll play seeker, and that leaves Coke as keeper. Understand?"
"Yes, Coach Farnon."
"Okay, take your positions..."
She used her wand to send the trunk of Quidditch balls over to her feet. Another flick of her wand opened the trunk. She released the soft bludgers first, then the snitch and finally tossed the quaffle into the air.
After the Burial
Author: Ronan Eastwick
Date: 06-30-07 15:01
Ronan had his hand on the stone sarcophagus that bore the name Caden Donovan Eastwick and the dates January 5, 1974-June 21, 2001. Caden had been laid to rest in the St. James' Park Wizarding Mausoleum in London. The only guests had been Ronan, his mother Enid, Urania Jones and her sister, Ronan's Astronomy professor, Illyria Jones. It had been several weeks ago, yet Ronan remembered it as if it were yesterday.
Ronan and Enid had gone to St. Mungo's to collect Caden's body from the morgue, where it had waited for the short weeks Ronan had remained at Hogwarts following Caden's murder. They'd arranged for the internment and, at Ronan's request, had invited Urania and anyone she wanted to bring to attend the funeral service a few days later. Caden was laid to rest next to the man he'd believed to be his father until only recently, Bertram.
Ronan turned when he heard the sound of rustling robes and saw his mother approaching. "I thought you would be here," she said. She took him gently by the wrist, removing his hand from Caden's tomb. "Every day since the funeral, you spend more time with Caden than you do with me."
"I miss him," Ronan said simply.
"I know," replied Enid. She led him out of the mauselum and up onto the sunny surface of St. James' Park. They stepped off the grass and strolled hand in hand down the various footpaths.
"Why did you leave us after father died?" Ronan asked, no longer able to keep all the questions he had for his mother silent.
"I had to, Ronan."
"Why? Did you have something to do with his death?"
"No, Ronan. The same people who are responsible for your brother's death were responsible for your father's."
"Does that mean I'm in danger? Is that why you left? Because your life was in danger too?"
Enid said nothing, and simply stroked her thumb over Ronan's hand, leaving him to believe that she'd fled because she was afraid and a coward. "You should have taken us with you," Ronan finally said. "Maybe Caden would still be alive if you'd had." He didn't sound angry or terribly upset, but he was both.
"I didn't expect him to die," Enid said, and for the first time Ronan detected sorrow in her voice.
It took him by surprise because she'd seemed to calm and stoic, almost indifferent or uncaring lately, and now she sounded as if she'd lost her whole world with Caden's death.
It was only later when they'd returned home that Ronan realized that Enid had indicated that she knew something about Caden's death that even the authorities knew nothing about. The same people who are responsible for your brother's death were responsible for your father's, she'd said. How did she know that? Ronan wondered. All that had been known about Bertram's death was that he'd died outside a pub in Knockturn Alley. The murderer had been identified as a mugger, but beyond that, nothing else was known about him.
No arrests had been made regarding Caden's murder or the murders of the girls found with him in the mass grave. There'd been no direct clues in the matter, though past records had shown that such deaths as the ones the girls had suffered had occured before in the past. What did Enid know about Caden's death?
Ronan wanted to ask, but realized that Enid probably hadn't meant to say what she'd had. She'd slipped up and Ronan had caught her. Could he find out the truth from her without her realizing that he was fishing for information? Was there more to his mother than Ronan ever realized? And where had she been all these years?
So many questions, and yet so few answers.
Summer, Summer Time - Part One
Author: Oreileah McCoi
Date: 06-30-07 15:39
Orei sat, curled on one of the chairs by the pool...her parents had the pool installed upon their property shortly before the school year had ended, and it was quite delightful, Orei was even getting the startings of a rather nice tan to go back to school with in September.
Currently she was basking in the sunlight, grumbling as a few clouds filtered over it here and there, but all in all it was a rather delightful day. She was currently thumbing through the latest issue of Magical Style Magazine, that her Mother had a subscription to. They also received a variety of newspapers for her dad. There were copies of Wizarding Today and Oracle sent over from America, both of which were for her dad as possibly some of the information would be concerning the communication company that he was CEO of. There were also muggle papers that came to the house as well as of course The Daily Prophet.
Maybe she'd be able to floo over to Aussie and Yuri's later, and go to Three Broomsticks for a late lunch...maybe see if Brett was in Hogsmeade...she could always floo to Diagon Alley and eat there as well as start getting a jump on the purchase of her school supplies. She needed to spend some time soon with Brett, because the start of August she'd be gone for the better part of the month because she and Mom were going to Ireland.
The copy of Magical Style Magazine was soon closed, set upon the side table, weighted down with small, crystalline orb-shaped paperweight, as Orei stood, stretching and moving toward the diving board at the deep end of the pool. Moving toward the edge, toes would curl about it for but a moment before spring of the board would launch her up and soon a smooth, linear descent would begin...piercing water's surface without a splash, she would begin swimming a few laps from one end to the other.
"Orei...come in and get dressed, we are going to Delia's for lunch..." Mom called out the porch door.
Soon Orei was showered and dressed in an ankle length skirt and short sleeve blouse, and the two were off to Diagon Alley and Delia's Deli.
Taking Care Of A Few Details (Euphemia Smythe-Jones)
Author: Harry Potter
Date: 06-30-07 16:14
Euphemia, enjoying the summer sun and a cooling breeze out on her terrace, thoughtfully taps one of her perfectly manicured fingernails against her chin. She's made decisions on most of the positions to be filled and sent out letters as Eloise Sylvia Jaccard but there are still a few positions still to be filled. The positions filled and the letters informing the applicants of their good fortune sent include Herbology with Lawrence Masterson, Ancient Runes and Urmaleen Closterbod, and Transfiguration with Nina Whitehorn.
Euphemia has three positions left. Or four if you count the one non-teaching position. There's the Flying Instructor to hire. Euphemia's got it narrowed to two choices, both of whom have Quidditch experience, a definate bonus. She's got three names to choose from for Astronomy, a very tough decision because all three are strong candidates. The third as yet unfilled position is Divination. Narrowed to two but she likes them equally both for the job.
Euphemia has the applications for her finalists for Divination in front of her along with the notes she took during her interviews with them as Jessice Rome. She reads over everything on Bathurst Askew and then reads Biance Kincaide's. Ten minutes later Euphemia's made her decision and is penning off a letter. Bathurst Askew is getting the job solely because with everything else being equal he is an extremely nice looking young man.
Another forty-five minutes later, Euphemia has made decisions for Astronomy and Flying and written letters to her choices. She calls a House Elf to her to send all three letters off by owl. Checking the time, Euphemia goes in to change and freshen up for a meeting with the person she very much hopes will take the non-teaching position, Harriet Snider.
Fencing With Randy
Author: Harry Potter
Date: 06-30-07 18:50
Randolph Patrick corrects Harry's stance then instructs, "All right, again."
Harry lifts the fencing foil, ready to start the drill again. He drops the point though and looks at Randy. "Tell me again why I need to know at least the basics?"
"You never know when you will be forced to fight. You might not always have your wand. Using fists or some of the martial arts will help but you'd be surprised at how many times an agent has ended up with in some sort of sword fight."
Harry chuckles. "I'll have to imagine myself in a tuxedo, sword in hand, trying to find an opening to use some nifty device Q created for James Bond."
Randy looks quizzically at Harry. "Q? James Bond?"
Harry chuckles again. "When we take a break I'll explain."
Harry quickly runs through the rest of the drills with the foil, listening intently to Randy's advice and critique. When Randy finally says, "Good job. Take a break then change for some hand-to-hand."
Harry goes on and changes, grabbing some ice water to drink to cool off. Sitting down on a mat against the wall next to where Randy's already sitting and drinking water, Harry asks, "Really want to know about Q and James Bond?"
"You have me slightly intrigued so yes, tell me."
Harry takes a big swig of water then starts explaining all about the Muggle author Ian Fleming, his series of James Bond books, and the many movies with James Bond as the hero that have been made.
New Hire
Author: Minerva McGonagall
Date: 07-01-07 09:57
Minerva was pleased with the way the interview with Ivy Whitmen went and since she had no other applicants for the position and the new school year was just around the corner, she decided to go ahead and offer the position to Ms. Whitmen. It would allow Ivy just over a month to prepare for term––with or without Professor Dumbledore as Headmaster.
Minerva frowned slightly.
"Is something wrong?"
Coming to her senses, Minerva realized that Ms. Whitmen was watching her curiously and that she had probably gotten the wrong idea from Professor McGonagall's facial expression.
"I am hoping you will be able to meet with Professor Dumbledore. He is our Headmaster, but as of late has been away from the castle. Unfortunately, I do not know when he will return."
Minerva put a smile on her face after that and said, "I would like to offer you the position of History of Magic professor. Do you accept?"
Ivy's face broke out into a big smile. "Yes, I accept. Thank you!"
"You're quite welcome. I have some paperwork for you to sign and then I will show you to your quarters and your classroom and introduce you to some of the other staff at Hogwarts. You may move in at Hogwarts immediately."
After taking care of the paperwork, Minerva gave Ivy a tour of the castle. She knew very well that Hogwarts could be a very overwhelming place at first but Ivy seemed to have a very good memory and could easily retrace her steps back to Minerva's office and to the front of the castle.
They stopped by the staff lounge, where they found a couple of the other Hogwarts professors sipping on tea and reading the Daily Prophet.
"Allow me to introduce Professor Ivy Whitmen, our new History of Magic professor," Minerva announced. She pointed to each person in turn, starting with a young blond woman. "This is Marzipan FitzRoy, our Herbology instructor."
"How do you do?" Marzipan greeted, shaking Ivy's hand.
"This is Filius Flitwick. He teaches Charms and is head of Ravenclaw House."
"Pleased to meet you!" Professor Flitwick squeaked.
After chatting with the other professors for a short while, Minerva continued to show Ivy around the castle.