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Tiring Day, Rewarding End
Author: Lawrence Masterson
Date: 06-27-08 19:22
Sliding the key into the lock of his flat, he would let himself in, shutting the door behind him and hanging up his coat. He'd just come from the Diagon Alley branch of Gringotts, having spent the last hour rerouting his funds to his account in Sydney due to the closures that would be happening within the next couple of weeks of both the Diagon Alley and the Hogsmeade branches of Gringotts bank.
"Something so simple, should not have taken over an hour." He muttered, hand coming to massage at his temples where the buddings of a migraine were forming. He checked his watch, Ariella was coming over for dinner in a couple of hours. Maybe a headache potion and a nap would do him wonders.
"Eloise." No sooner had the house elf's name left his mouth did the stout little creature appear.
"Master needs something?" She said, toying with the dress she wore made out of a hodgepodge of old dishtowel scraps.
"A headache potion and a small bite to eat. Then, I am going to take a nap before Ariella arrives for dinner. Please, ensure that everything is ready?" He said moving into his bedroom and changing into a pair of jersey material pajama pants and laying down in bed. His only movement was to shift into a seated position to take the potion and eat the sandwich that Eloise had brought him.
"Eloise will take care of everything Master!" She assured him before leaving the room with a "POP!" that sent his head thudding for a few minutes. Dimming the lights in the room and drawing the curtains he settled for a nap (something he rarely did in the middle of the day).
He woke when Eloise came to wake him as asked, with enough time to shower and change. He'd no sooner finished dressing in a pair of khaki pants and a white linen button down shirt, than there was a knock on the door. He answered it with a smile. "Evening Ariella."
He allowed her to come in, took her coat and pressed a kiss to her lips in greeting.
Traveling
Author: Ariella Beck
Date: 06-28-08 09:19
"Hi," Ariella murmured, after gently pulling away from Lawrence's embrace.
"Hi," he replied, a small smile touching his lips. "I'm glad you come make it."
"I couldn't pass up the opportunity to indulge in another one of Eloise's meals. She's a very good cook." Ariella, eyes twinkling, led Lawrence into the dining nook in his own flat and smiled at the sight of the table arrangement. Eloise had draped a crimson table cloth over the table and set it for two with plain white china, polished silverware, and wine glasses. A magically chilled bottle of wine stood on a nearby serving cart. For the centerpieces, Eloise had lit a white candle and placed several red roses into a small, crystal vase.
"One of many reasons why I keep her around," Lawrence remarked admiringly, going around to one of the chairs to seat Ariella before sitting down himself.
Eloise served as waitress, bringing the happy couple course after course. They stuffed themselves silly and then relaxed on the sofa and discussed their travel plans for the following day.
The next morning, Lawrence arrived at the Beck residence bright and early. He brought with him the itinerary he and Ariella had drawn up when they'd first started planning their trip to Sydney and Brisbane. They would apparate short distances, and would stay the night in at least two wizarding inns in other countries before finally making in to Australia.
Bags packed, lightened, and shrunken to a more manageable size, Lawrence and Ariella apparated from Manchester to London, London to Paris, Paris to Vienna, and so on.
With Lisette
Author: Briar Rose
Date: 06-28-08 16:22
Lisette Valentine looks down her nose at the little girl clothes offered in Gladrags. Under her breath she cattily states, "It's a wonder the woman hasn't gone out of business, and I don't mean from the current state of things for businesses."
Briar, holding a cute little robe of peach and pale green with flowers and bunnies embroidered on it, doesn't bother looking over at Lisette. "The clothes here are perfectly nice."
With a disgusted flick of pastels trimmed with lace, Lisette gives a derisive snort. "You clearly inherited your father's sense of taste in clothing. I'm going to do what I wanted to do in the first place, commission one of the designers at Narcissa's."
Repressing a sigh, Briar flatly states, "It's your money to waste."
"Don't talk of money," Lisette fairly growls. "Those beasts at Gringotts are making things bloody difficult. Isn't that overly small for Grace?"
"It's for Charlotte. Grace and she are wanting matching outfits." Briar reaches for a pair of sturdy shorts. "These look to be Caerwyn's size. That boy's grown three inches."
"I knew he'd grown but, goodness, I had no idea he'd grown that much."
Briar thumbs through the rack of clothes for boys in Caerwyn's age range. "Julian's glad he had Caerwyn's school robes made with a wide hem. The hem will have to be adjusted on all of the robes now but he's waiting until nearer to school starting."
Lisette starts prattling on about how she'll get the Narcissa's designer to make Caerwyn a few things. It's easy for Briar to shut the woman out but all that accomplishes is a niggling little voice nagging Briar to ask Lisette a question she's had for a long while now.
Briar has periodically had dreams similar to the ones she began having before Grace was born. Her mother still alive. Briar married and with a child but a boy. Those things are the same with the rest of the dreams having a number of variations, such as Chyler being present or Helena.
Briar's husband in the dream is a man named Griffin. The only Griffin Briar can think of is one who used to be a Hogswarts student and whom Briar has seen around a few times since he left there. He's far too young to be the one from her dream nor does he resemble the man in her dreams in the slightest.
"Have you been listening to a word I said?" Lisette asks, sounding snappish.
"Yes, you were debating what you'd have the designer make for Caerwyn, running down a list of outfits you want made for Grace, and said it's about time for a tea break."
"You looked very far away."
"Lisette, when my parents were alive, was there anyone they, the Stratfords, Tiberius and you knew who had a son named Griffin?"
"Of course. The McQuillens. Why do you ask?"
Letting the name roll through her mind, Briar shakes her head and smiles at Lisette. "No reason really. The name popped into my head recently and I knew I should know it but couldn't place it. What became of them?"
Lisette elegently shrugs. "They moved somewhere in Asia. Haven't heard from them since. To tea now?"
"Yes, just let me pay for these clothes."
Don't Need A Broom
Author: Zabrynna
Date: 06-28-08 18:38
Margretta Ravensdale turns from looking at a rack of dress robes to admonish, "Stop fidgeting, Zabrynna."
"If I were staying at Durmstrang, I wouldn't need to be fitted for new robes and you wouldn't have to nag me about standing still, Mum."
"If you were attending Durmstrang in the fall, your father and I would have a summer of you whining about how cold and dank that school is."
"It is. Forgive me if I prefer the known, with friends I've had for years now, to the unknown."
"Tone, young lady."
Zabrynna rolls her eyes, something she gets away with only because Margretta's back is turned. "Sorry. Hogwarts is way north. How do I know it's not dank and cold too?"
"The weather can be cold there but the castle isn't dank."
"How do you know? It's been a century since you attended."
"If you use that sassy tone with me again today, you won't be going to the beach this weekend. I also don't appreciate the century remark."
Margretta again turns from the rack of dress robes to remark, "If you had made an effort to make the SAT team when it was Hogwarts turn to host, you would know what the school is like."
"I wasn't old enough for the mock trial and broom racing is of no interest to me."
"Speaking of brooms, your father wants you to have a new one. That one of your grandfather's isn't all that safe to fly anymore."
Stepping off the dias and handing the Madam Malkin's seamstress the robe that was being fitted, Zabrynna shudders at the mention of brooms. She hadn't even liked to say broom racing much less hear her mother talk about them. Zabrynna HATES brooms. Okay, not the brooms so much as the flying.
Zabrynna gets horribly air sick. There's a potion she can take but it's a right pain in the arse. Has to be taken in advance for it to be effective. Still only works so so. Has a really bitter aftertaste that lingers for about as long as the potion works.
Then there's the getting buffeted about by wind or having the sun be even more sweltering or getting pelted by raindrops that sting the exposed skin even if flying at a really low speed.
If that's not enough there's the constant sensation of potentially falling off the broom at any moment. Zabrynna's imagination is all too willing to give her a very vivid mental image of what she'd look like falling from a great height and splatting the ground too quickly to react with a cushioning charm or braking spell. In fact, when picturing it, Zabrynna's mind usually has her losing her wand as she falls, making her unable to do anything about falling anyway.
Zabrynna joins her mother at the rack of dress robes. "I don't have to have a broom, Mum. It's not as if I'll be trying for Quidditch or anything like that."
"We know you don't need a broom, dear. We want you to have one because you never know when one will come in handy. Do you like any of these?"
"The sapphire one is nice."
"Go try it on. I want you to have two new sets of dress robes. We'll check Narcissa's and I believe Gladrags in Hogsmeade is still open."
"We never go to Hogsmeade."
"With you attending Hogwarts, we can find the time to visit Hogsmeade though we won't go today if get what we need here. Now hurry up and try on these robes. Our Diagon Alley to-do list is still long."
Hoping the sapphire robes look as good on her as they do on the hanger, Zabrynna steps into one of the dressing rooms, trying not to think about the broom shopping part of the to-do list.
(Elfrida) Broken-Hearted
Author: Hermione Granger
Date: 06-29-08 07:45
Community 14-15-14 was located on a small, rocky island somewhere off the eastern coast of Ireland. The compound consisted of a single, rectangular building, three stories high, and made of splintery old wood. It stood in the very center of the small island and was constantly besieged by frothy waves from the very turbulent sea. An invisible, magical barrier surrounded the island several meters off its coast, thereby allowing the community members to fish and hunt for clams while also preventing them from any attempts at escape. With the sea what it was and the distance to any other solid piece of land great, a person would most certainly drown if he or she tried to leave the island.
Elfrida Bisbee Verona stood on the slippery rocks and looked out to sea. She held in her hands a net one of the other community members had painstakingly made. The spray of the ocean had long soaked her robes, which had once been black but were now a faded gray color.
It seemed that Elfrida was never dry anymore. Anytime she went outside, the waves hit her. She'd fallen a number times from the impact or simply by slipping on the rocks. One time she even got swept into the ocean, but the magical barrier had prevented her from going very far.
Even indoors Elfrida felt wet. The wood of the building had been beaten and battered so many times from the neverending waves. Moisture leaked through the thinning walls, and water often swept in through the windows and outer doors.
Elfrida had long started hating the ocean.
She stared out at its neverending waters, not for the first time wishing that a boat would appear and carry her away from 14-15-14. Elfrida wanted to be reunited with her husband, Jason, and her parents and brothers. More than anything, she wanted her baby back.
Elfrida had given birth to a little girl, Violet Anne Verona, on April 12, 2002, just a month after first arriving at 14-15-14. She'd been miserable leading up to the birth, but nothing had been more painful than the moments afterwards, when Violet had been ripped from her arms and sent away as a ward of the Ministry of Magic. After all, it had been decreed that Nons couldn't have children and no exception had been made for those Nons already expecting when the law came into effect.
Ever since that day, Elfrida had mourned the loss of her child. Deep down, she knew Violet, if that was still her name, still lived. Simply the fact that Elfrida could not raise her own child, her first and only child, broke her heart into millions of pieces.
Elfrida wouldn't give up, though. She realized how easy it was to just lay down on the rocks and let the warden kill her and throw her out to sea. But on the off chance that things one day changed in the world, if killed, Elfrida would definitely never be reunited with her family, and her little girl, again.
She clutched at the net in her hands and then, adjusting her hold to the rope attached to one end, she tossed the net out to sea, hoping for a good catch.
Slow Day
Author: Don Thomas
Date: 06-29-08 14:03
The sun seemed to taunt Don through her bedroom window as she read and then reread Nate's newest letter. Middleton Magic had started their classes. Now Nate would make new friends. His life would go on without her. This thought rattled Don, but there was nothing she could do about it. She pushed the letter into her art box and picked up her messenger bag.
Jimi stared at Don from his cage as she walked through the kitchen. He made a small noise, but Don didn't pay attention. Instead, she grabbed a crimson apple from the kitchen counter and sunk her teeth into it. Madeline watched, knowing that Middleton had started it's new term. She smiled what seemed to be like a sympathetic smile.
"You'll be in school in no time. Then you'll make new friends."
Don shook her head. "Not like Nate. That kid was the best."
"Well, you and Stephen seem to be hitting it off."
"He doesn't know me. Only Nate knows me."
It was a fact. Stephen had not yet met the real Don. She had not been her smart assed, sarcastic, Muggle loving self around him. Not that she thought he'd care much if she was. He seemed to hate the pairing and even missed his old friends that seemed to have been 'snatched' like Dede Delancy.
Don could not talk to Stephen the way she talked to Nate. She could tell Nate anything and everything, and he wouldn't hold any of it against her. They had everything in common. From their love of the Muggle lifestyle to Don's hate for her own birth father.
Madeline must have felt this pain, or at least known it. Don and Nate had been best friends since their age of 11. She sighed a deep sigh as she looked at her daughter. She then pointed her direction to a letter she had received from Hogwarts earlier that day. She smiled.
"Jimi has been approved at Hogwarts."
"Fascinating," Don said as she took another bite of her apple.
As she turned her attention back to her mother, a knock was heard on the door. Don knew it was Stephen. As if like a drone, Don stood up and left the apartment, without even saying goodbye.
Boredom
Author: Johanna Steele
Date: 06-29-08 15:49
Life at Happy Haven was getting a bit boring. After the initial shock Johanna started to become a little bored.
They’ve token all the wands. Brooms weren’t allowed. There was no contact with the exterior of the school. No quiddicth games. No houses or any sort of competition.
She found herself wishing that the classes begun soon. At least then her mind would be occupied with homework and essays.
“Earth to Johanna…” Felicia’s voice made her return to reality.
“I’m sorry Felicia. I was just thinking. “
“What were you thinking?”
“How this is becoming really boring… and sad too.”
“I agree with you. “
They left the girls dormitory.
“Hey! Why did you take so long? Let’s go outside.” It was Gus who was waiting for them.
They sat on the grass.
“We were saying how boring we were.”
“Bored? Yes me too. I’ve never imagine that come the day when I wish to start classes.”
They laughed and for a while the boredom was left behind.
Traveling
Author: Lawrence Masterson
Date: 06-30-08 05:26
Lawrence and Ariella made their first stop at a wizarding inn in Greece. After checking in they had a quiet dinner at an intimate restaraunt. They made plans to leave early in the morning after the night in the Inn.
"Do you want to grab a few souviners while we are here? The markets are still open for a few more hours." Lawrence asked as they strolled back toward the inn from the restaraunt.
"I think so." Ariella said, and they turned toward the market place that was a short distance from the inn. A few small trinkets for everyone later, they were back in the room in the inn.
"Do you know if Alanna got Prefect again this coming term?" He asked, knowing that the letters for the term were due to arrive either shortly before they left or shortly after and the Prefect letters usually came in at about the same time.
"She did. Though, I'm not quite sure she's as happy about it as she would have been under normal circumstances." She said curling against him as they listened to WNN catching some of the latest news in the wizarding world.
"I know. I am just glad I managed to get the time off to still take the trip with you, but then again, I had all the basic kits made within my first three or four days. Since they are only going to the pures." He held her close and eventually they drifted off to sleep.
~~~
They left after a hearty breakfast, that the inn keeper insisted upon cooking for them. Traveling short distances and coming ever closer to their ultimate destinations of Sydeny and Brisbane Australia.
"I'd like to try and get to Australia today. At least to an inn on the west coast, in say Dampier, Broome, or Derby. That way we will have shorter distance to travel tomorrow. Also, it should be safe to owl Toby and Bronwyn when we get into Australia, let them know we are coming."
Ariella nodded, knowing that it wouldn't take them much longer to reach the west coast of Australia, considering by midday they were in Indonysia, and stopping for a meal. Over lunch they decided to get to Broome or even as far in as Alice Springs in the Northern Territory.
(Siegfried) Five Minute Freedom
Author: Bronwyn Dewhurst
Date: 06-30-08 07:42
Siegfried stood up when the door at the end of the hallway clanked open. He walked the few steps it took to reach the gate of his cell from his bed and looked out the bars, trying not to show the excitement he felt. After six long months in Azkaban, the day had finally come for his release. Of course, while not completely ignorant of what had been happening outside the prison walls since his incarceration began, there'd been enough isolation from the real world that Siegfried didn't realize how bad it truly was.
He didn't know that his mother had been Snatched or that Bronwyn lived in exile in Australia with Toby. Siegfried didn't know that wizards from the Relocation Assistance Committee waited outside for him. He didn't know that he wouldn't step foot in his home for the first time in six months, but that he'd wind up in a community with other nons just like him.
The guard opened his cell and said, "Congratulations," with just a hint of sarcasm in his voice, which Siegfried didn't at all understand.
"Thanks," he replied, somewhat uncertainly, though the excitement he felt threatened quickly overwhelmed any other.
He shot a look across the hall at Professors Somerset and Snape, who watched him with two very different expressions. Ethan, smiling, seemed genuinely happy for Siegfried, though an underlying worry was evident in his eyes.
"Good luck," he called out, "and take care of yourself, Siegfried."
"Thanks," Siegfried replied, with a nod at Ethan. "You too."
Snape said nothing. Siegfried held his gaze for a moment, nodded to him, and then walked out of the cell block with the guard. They traveled through many corridors and stairwells before they reached the bottom level of the prison, where Siegfried locked eyes on someone he hadn't seen in half a year.
"Dad!"
"Siegfried!"
But neither wizard had the chance of getting close enough to hug each other, as both desperately wanted. The RAC stepped in, with wands exposed, and apprehended Siegfried.
Wotan, noting a wand pointed at his chest, made no effort to come to his son's aid. He knew Siegfried would be taken today and had wanted to at least see his son before losing him as he'd lost his wife.
"What's happening?" Siegfried asked, no longer excited to be free but frightened and unsure.
"Please, don't take him!" Wotan pleaded with the RAC.
"You know the rules," one of the apprehenders responded very unsympathetically.
"Dad?! What's going on?"
Wotan turned to his son, shoulders slumped and face drawn. "They're taking you away, as they did your mother."
"Bronwyn?"
"I don't know. Safe, I hope."
Wotan knew Bronwyn and Toby had gone to Brisbane, and he figured the RAC weren't dumb enough not to figure that out for themselves, but it didn't seem like the Ministry of Magic wanted to expend the resources necessary to collect all British citizens from exile. And because Wotan didn't have confirmation that Bronwyn had made it safely, he knew that the RAC couldn't force the information from him, if they were so inclined.
He looked at Siegfried sorrowfully, who looked as if he'd been dealt another hard blow in life, and indeed he had. "I'm sorry. If you see your mother... tell her I love her and I miss her."
"Where are you taking him?" Wotan then asked the RAC members.
As expected, they refused to answer him. Why would a pureblood want anything to do with nons anyway?
Wotan stepped aside as the RAC started to drag Siegfried away, Siegfried calling out, "Dad?! Dad?! DAD?!!!" the entire time. After his last glimpse of his panicking son, Wotan broke down and cried.