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Madoc McGonagall
Author: Minerva McGonagall 
Date:   08-03-10 17:33

Madoc McGonagall was a boy of eleven with brown hair and brown eyes. He had a brother named Malden, who looked like a younger version of himself, only Malden's hair was half a shade lighter in color. Most of the time, Madoc and Malden got along quite well, but there were times when Madoc felt like there were more than just two years between them in age.

He felt their differences especially this summer. Madoc had recently received his letter from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, while Malden hadn't because he was too young.

The letter's arrival had come as a bit of a surprise to Madoc. He knew he was magical, as both of his parents were, but he'd not known that a school like Hogwarts even existed. His father, Myron, hadn't gone to Hogwarts. He had been homeschooled by his parents.

However, Madoc's mother had gone. Cate McGonagall, née Adams, had gone to Hogwarts years back and been a member of Hufflepuff House. For no reason in particular, she'd never mentioned Hogwarts to either of her sons. Now that Madoc's letter had arrived, though, she told them everything she could remember about it.

Madoc wondered if he would also join Hufflepuff House, like his mother had. He also wondered which house his father might have been in, had he actually gone to Hogwarts. He wondered why his grandparents hadn't sent him to the school, or had he simply never received his letter? It was something to ask them the next time he saw them.

What Madoc wondered about the most, though, was the witch who'd sent him his letter. Her name was Minerva McGonagall. He didn't know of any relative by that name, and neither did her father Myron. Madoc's mother remembered Professor McGonagall from her years at Hogwarts, but it had been a long time since she'd last seen her, and she doubted very much that Professor McGonagall even remembered who she was.

Madoc didn't know if McGonagall was a common name. Maybe this Minerva McGonagall was a long lost relative, or maybe it was just a coincidence that they shared a surname. Either way, Madoc looked forward to meeting her.

He was rather excited about attending Hogwarts, especially after everything his mother had told him about it. He begged everyday for his parents to take him to Diagon Alley to buy his school supplies, and finally, they relented.

One by one, they went via floo, first Myron, then Malden, then Cate, and finally Madoc. Madoc had been to Diagon Alley many times and already knew the procedure for getting there through The Leaky Cauldron. His father had already opened the gateway, and gestured for his son to lead the way to the first store.

Business In Diagon Alley
Author: Briar Rose 
Date:   08-03-10 19:38

The woman sitting opposite Briar slides a stack of parchment across the table. "Standard contract, just as discussed. Sign here.

Here.

Here.

And here." She takes half the stack and hands it to Briar. "Your copy. And here are the keys."

"Thank you. Anything else?"

"Just the meeting at Gringotts to arrange for the full payment."

"Still on for tomorrow morning?"

"Yes, at 9, at the Hogsmeade branch as you asked."

"Excellent. Thank you again."

"With a bakery open again so close to my office, I can already feel added inches to my waist line."

Both women laugh then chit chat for another minute before Briar is left alone in what had been Lori Sutton's Diagon Alley bakery, The Flour Shoppe. It is now Briar's. She'd been thinking about buying it for some time and recently decided to go ahead with it. She moves to stand out into the lane to stare at the bakery's windows, trying to decide whether to keep the current name, name it the same as her bakery in Hogsmeade, or go with something else entirely.

Briar turns at the sound of a familiar voice saying, "What a nice surprise. I didn't expect to find you standing in the middle of Diagon Alley in the middle of the day."

"Hi, Matthew. I wasn't expecting to see you either. On business again?"

Matthew McQuillen starts to nod then starts to shake his head before finally settling on, "Yes and no. I'm moving back for good and Mum and my stepdad have decided to as well. She and I are meeting with an estate agent in a bit. We've been window shopping, though she's doing some actual shopping. Ah, here she is now.

A striking woman coming from the direction of Runic Boutique spots Matthew, smiles, and walks over to join them. Briar thinks she would have recognized her even without Matthew there. His smile goes wider as he puts an arm around his mother's shoulders. "Mum, this is Briar Rose, whom you would remember as Rosalyn Burnshire. Briar, I'm happy to finally introduce you to my mother, Kristen Leach.

Briar offers her hand to shake, saying as she does, "It's so nice to see you again, Mrs. Leach."

"Please, call me Kristen. The last time I saw you was just before your parents... "

"Stupidly tried to take on half the Ministry's law enforcement division?" Briar's tone is mainly jesting with mild sarcasm.

"Our whole group had certain ideas with some doing far more to actively show their fervent support. Other than being vocal about what I then thought of pureblood superiority, I never participate in anything illicit. After your parents died, and we all thought you had as well, I remember thinking how horrible it was of them to bring the fight home, dragging you into the middle of it. That was when I started thinking that maybe we were all wrong. I don't know why it was that indicent and none of the others before it, perhaps because a child I personally knew and cared about was involved."

Neither Matthew nor Briar had expected such a speech from Kristen there in the middle of Diagon Alley seconds after Briar and she met again after so many years. Briar isn't exactly sure how to respond so says the first thing that comes into her head. "That's behind us now. I've heard you've been doing humanitarian work all over Asia since leaving Britain. With moving back are you giving that up?

"Semi-retiring. I'll still do some work and will continue to personally oversee two of my charities. One huge advantage of being a witch is that I can live here and still do work there weekly. Matthew tells me you have a daughter who is simply adorable."

"Mum, how about we go somewhere to sit down with a drink if you want to catch up. Or do you need to go, Briar? Are we keeping you from anything?

"I have time for a drink but then do need to get back to work. I've just bought this building and need to get it ready to reopen while still overseeing my Hogsmeade bakery."

Matthew starts to say something then snaps his fingers. "The estate agent appointment.

"If not time for tea right now, then dinner tonight? Or tomorrow? Kristen suggests.

"Tonight is fine with me."

The three take a couple of minutes to decide where and when to meet for supper, picking a place that they as adults would like but that Grace would like as well. Re-entering The Flour Shoppe to do another walk-through of the entire space, Briar can't help but feel a little nervous about supper tonight though she doesn't know why.

Basketball Camp
Author: Ronan Eastwick 
Date:   08-04-10 17:29

All week, Ronan had found himself at a basketball camp sponsored by the British Basketball League. The week-long camp had been a Christmas gift from Professor Majandra Weasley.

Ronan stood at the free throw line with a basketball in his hands. He moved it to his more dominant hand, allowing the ball to rest against his finger tips, while his other hand supported the side of the ball. Ronan raised his arms and jumped, straightening his shooting arm as he did so. The ball arced high in the air, bounced off the backboard, and sailed through the hoop.

Others in the camp were also practicing their throws at different hoops in the gym. Some of the professional basketball players and coaches who were leading the camp roved around, but for the most part, the attendees were working on independent exercises.

Ronan heard clapping near him and turned to see someone he didn't expect. Artemis Fitzgerald was sitting in the bleachers off to Ronan's left. He picked up his ball from the rebound and jogged over to where she was sitting.

"Artemis, what are you doing here? How did you know to find me here?" Ronan asked, glad to see her and interested to hear what she had to say for herself. He sat down next to her, but not too closely, since he'd worked up a lot of sweat.

"You wrote in your last letter that you would be attending basketball camp this week," she said.

"Yeah, but I don't think I mentioned where."

"No," Artemis admitted, "but I did some sleuthing. Are you mad?"

On the contrary. Although Artemis had forgiven him for missing their date in Hogsmeade towards the end of term, they'd hardly seen each other all summer long. As an actual couple, Ronan figured they would seen each other more, but he really didn't know where they stood with each other.

"No, I'm really glad to see you, actually," Ronan told her honestly.

"Good," Artemis said, breathing a sigh of relief. "I wasn't sure if I would be intruding."

"Not at all. Actually, my day is almost over. How about we go out for supper tonight?"

Artemis brightened. "It's a date!"

"Great. I'm going to shoot some more hoops... " Ronan grinned and got off the bleachers. He nearly tripped over his feet as he headed back over to the court.

Happily Humming
Author: Ginny Weasley 
Date:   08-04-10 19:04

Ginny enters the Harpies dressing room, a smile on her lips and humming a jaunty little tune. Teammate Niki Marks sits down on the bench in front of her locker and starts pulling off her practice shoes and shin guards. She grins over at Ginny who's now doing the same. "You've been in an extremely good mood all practice."

"I am?"

"You've been smiling so much it's made my own face hurt and you've not stopped humming since you first got here this morning."

"I've been humming? I had no idea!" Ginny laughs at herself.

"If I were to place a wager on what has you so perky, I'd say there's a man involved."

"You would win your wager."

Ginny peels off her practice robe and tosses it into a bag at the bottom of her locker. She debates whether to strip off the now sticky, damp clothes she had on underneath and taking a shower here or just going on home and cleaning up there. Either way, she's got errands to do after getting showered and changed and then she's promised to help at Blossom's gaming center.

Tonight she's got a date. A date with Harry. It's just dinner but it will be just the two of them. After Ginny's, "About that," remark they'd hardly had a chance to say much what with the music and all the people around them. Neither felt like it was a good time to leave, as that would have had everyone wanting to know why they were each leaving early and by unspoken agreement Harry and Ginny decided not to say anything yet to anyone else.

They are going to a Muggle restaurant recommended to Harry by his cousin Dudley. When deciding where to go, Harry said Pinky would be at his house and would be nosy. Given that far too many of her family members have the bad habit of dropping in unannounced, especially Ron, Ginny didn't want to have this all important dinner with Harry at her place. A Muggle restaurant in Norfolk, in Hull sounded very appealing to both of them.

Just thinking about tonight has Ginny merrily humming again without realizing it. She hums all the way to the showers and back, thinking about what she'll wear and telling herself all the while that the fact Harry's wanting dinner alone with her means what he'd said in jest about it being too bad they hadn't worked out before and how she thinks of him as a brother now, wasn't really in jest at all.

Generic Apology
Author: Kody 
Date:   08-05-10 19:30

"The band sounded really good at Emrys Fest."

Never having heard anyone approaching, the sound of a voice startles Kody enough that he nearly falls out of the hammock he's been lounging on with the newest edition of Quidditch Weekly. The fact that the voice belongs to one of the last people he expected to see has him uncharateristically flustered. It takes him several seconds to get his balance and right himself well enough to swing his legs out of the hammock and rise from it.

When he's finally got firm footing, Kody speaks but all he says, in response to the compliment about the band is, "Thanks."

Daria nods but doesn't say anything. Kody stands there not saying anything either. The silence between them stretches on to the point of awkwardness. Daria finally colors a little then says as she starts swinging around the other direction, "I shouldn't have come."

Kody drops the magazine onto the hammock, his long legs already moving forward to cover the short distance between them. "Why did you come, Daria?"

She stops walking but doesn't turn back around. At first she says nothing and Kody begins to think she might not, that she would go on and leave without answering the question. Just when he was certain that's what she was going to do, Daria slowly turns, shrugging, her hands going up turning up in a classic I don't know gesture.

Daria starts to say something, stops, then shrugs once more. Kody stands watching her, not saying anything, not moving. He's waiting her out. When she jerks a thumb at a set of black wrought iron chairs grouped around a matching table and asks, "Mind if I sit?" Kody is the one shrugging. "Go ahead."

She walks quickly to the nearest chair without looking to see if he's coming. Reaching it, she arranges it so she won't be sitting with the sun directly in her eyes. Kody walks a slower pace but with his much longer stride he's not far behind her getting to another of the chairs. He sits across from her to better see her, angling himself to put both feet up on a third chair and then once more he waits, not saying anything. He notes how she fidgets, crossing one foot over the other then back the other way, a finger twirling the ponytail she's wearing her long hair in today.

Kody also can't help but see how Daria's mouth keeps twisting, how she keeps nibbling her lower lip while having whatever internal debate she's having that's brought her here but has her, as yet, saying nothing. Merlin, he misses kissing those lips.

"I'm sorry."

Daria blurts this out so suddenly that Kody has trouble processing that she's even spoken again. He blinks at her, mind a confused swirl. She's giving him such an expectant look that he finally asks, "Pardon?"

"I said I'm sorry."

"Sorry."

"Yes."

"For what exactly?"

"What do you mean?"

"I need to explain?"

Daria colors again and looks away. "No, I don't guess you do."

"So it's a general, all encompassing apology? Or are you apologizing for one specific thing?"

"Are you meaning to be an ass?"

"No, not at all. I'm trying to understand."

"If you were doing it on purpose, I suppose I could't really blame you. I deserve it."

Kody doesn't reply. After a beat Daria says, "So, not going to try and convince me I don't deserve it?"

"Nope."

"I walked into that one."

"You came to say you're sorry, which I am taking to be a general apology since you've not elaborated. Anything or can I go back to the hammock?"

"You're not making this easy."

"Why should I?"

"Point taken."

Kody pulls his legs off the one chair and sits up straight, leaning forward across the table, looking intently at Daria. "Seriously, generic apology aside, why are you here?"

School Shopping
Author: Adina Blackwood 
Date:   08-06-10 11:29

She knew she still had a couple of weeks before she would be heading to Kings Cross Station to take the station in Hogsmeade and meet current and other new students that will be attending Hogwarts in the fall. At the moment, she was weaving through the expanse of Diagon Alley, she had plans to meet Marlow and her sister and her Mum at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor in about an hour and a half, which meant she had time to go to her robe fitting at Madam Malkin's Robes For All Occassions for her school robes, and then over to Narcissa's for her formal robes which she was getting made new.

At the moment she had her Aunt's House Elf, Adonas, who was currently carrying bags of various items. There were quills, parchments, inks, cauldron, and her books that would be needed for the term. "Take things home. I don't need you any more today. I've my robe fittings and then am meeting a friend at the ice cream parlor." She dismissed Adonas and headed into Madam Malkin's and met with the tailor, getting her school robes situated. The only thing she didn't know is what her house colors would be, that is something she'd see when she was sorted into her house.

Once she finished at Madam Malkin's she headed down to Narcissa's, she had two sets of formal robes set to be made before she left for Hogwarts. She had a few other things measured before she would leave the shop, with a bag that had a few new pairs of jeans and a couple of shirts. Now, she headed to the ice cream parlor to meet up with Marlow.

Here Comes the Bride
Author: Isolde 
Date:   08-06-10 14:19

The home and grounds of the Farnon household in Cornwall had been transformed to host a small wedding party. Since the weather was pleasant, the ceremony itself would be held outdoors. A few rows of white folding chairs had been arranged with an aisle in the center, where a silk pathway led from the house to an arched trellis that was covered with morning glory. The blooms were a deep purple and matched Isolde's wedding colors perfectly.

When the music started––played by a single violinist who was a friend of Isolde's mother––Azaelia Bramble emerged from the house. She wore a strapless, tea-length, deep purple gown and carried a bouquet of fragrant white lilies in her hand. Azaelia was Isolde's maid of honor. She walked down the aisle, and beamed at Pyrrhus and his best man Mason, who stood to the right of the officiant under the arch. Azaelia took her place on the left and turned to face the house.

Little Georgie Weasley emerged from the house next. He held in his hands a purple pillow, on which were a pair of rings. Georgie stood at the end of the aisle and looked at everybody sitting in the folding chairs. His parents waved for him to walk towards the front, but Georgie just stood there and took everything in. Then, after some more encouragement, he started to walk forward. It was a long journey to the front, with multiple stops, but eventually he made it.

Then came Miranda, the flower girl. She wore a girlish purple dress. The wicker basket she carried had a matching ribbon around it. She sprinkled rose petals down the aisle and then took her place near Azaelia.

The music changed to the traditional wedding march. The door swung open to reveal the bride and her father. She carried a bouquet similar to Azaelia's, only bigger and with some purple blossoms mixed in with the white.

All of the guests stood up and watched as she made her way down the aisle on the arm of her father. At the front, he lifted her veil and gave her a kiss, and then handed her over to the man who in a few short moments would become her husband.

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