Nothing Fishy Here
Author: Harry Potter 
Date:   08-14-10 11:53

To a Muggle's eye, the building isn't much to look at and in fact, isn't worth the bother of even a glance. A short distance down the road is Westgate-On-Sea and it, along with other spots along this section of the Kent coast, has much more scenic views than what this ramshackle of a building offers. Even building's view of the sea doesn't seem as nice, as pretty, as inviting as other stretches along here. As a result, Muggles never give the building a second thought and quite often forget it's even there.

For the proprietress Witch of The Fish Tail the lack of Muggle custom is just fine with her. On the rare occassion that one does wander in, she walks them back outside and points in the direction of Westgate-On-Sea and sends them on there way knowing that by the time they get wherever they're going, they will generally have forgotten having been here at all.

For the local Wizarding population, The Fish Tale is a popular destination with the tavern offering excellent food, great drinks, and very nice views of the water. With the location, there are enough visiting Witches and Wizards who drop in so when Griffin Price walks in, stops, asseses the main room, then indicates to a waitress a table at the back, no one gives him a second glance other than some women who admire his good looks. Shortly after that when Harry enters, he quickly spots Griff and moves to join him at the table. After pulling out a chair and dropping down to sit, he says in a low voice, "I never saw anyone suspicious from my vantage point."

"Me either," Griff replies, his eyes going to the waitress who's just walked up.

"Wot can I get you gents?"

"Tea for me and one of those fish'n chip specials I saw on the board as I came in."

"Same for me," Harry tells her.

"Be right out," she cheerily says, already turning to go.

Alone again Harry asks, "You think he'll show?"

"After we each spent an hour and a half watching for signs of an ambush and each of us having a load of other work in need of doing, I certainly hope so."

"You mean things like chasing after one's nudity loving son?"

Griff rolls his eyes. "I don't know why he's decided that's so bloody fun and amusing."

"Don't all little kids go through something like that?"

"I don't know. If I did, I don't remember it and my only sibling was older so if he did, I don't remember that either."

"I have a memory of running around the front yard without a stich on and Aunt Petunia squacking behind me trying to catch me to get me dressed again. Uncle Vernon must not have been there because I don't remember him yelling or having a stroke on the spot."

"Sometimes I wonder if Tristan's doing it in hopes of getting more attention from Carys but then I reject that idea because I'm the one he does it most with."

"Ever think you want more kids?"

"Yeah, I do and I know who I'd like to have them with but I'm not holding my breath on that. What about you? Hold that thought. That looks like the guy in the photo Sinead head."

This meeting had been set up by a third party and all Griff and Harry have to go on as far as what Perry Heath looks like is a grainy photo taken from a long distance that Sinead Keddle had had in her Rufus Henshaw file.

The man is on the tall side, lean, heavily tanned, with salt and pepper dark brown hair. His nose has the sort of mangled, off kilter appearance of someone who's nose has been broken a number of times and never properly any of those times. Even though he's still across the dining room from them, his eyes stand out as being large yet very piercing and of a light color.

The contact had told Griff and Harry that one was to wear a Chudley Cannons shirt and the other one for the Kenmare Kestrals. Harry could easily have come up with a Cannons shirt as Ron is still a huge fan but Griff and he used shirts from a sort of closet their department has, each checking one out to use just before leaving the Ministry for here earlier this afternoon. Perry Heath sees them and walking like someone trying to make himself appear shorter, crosses the room to where Griff and Harry each occupy chairs that touch a wall. Harry is facing the front and can see most of the room, while Griff can see the whole room, including the doors into the kitchen.

Heath doesn't look all that pleased about having to sit with his back to any of the room but having agreed to this meeting, he's hestitant to leave without first learning what sort of deal he can make for giving over information on Rufus Henshaw's business. He pulls out the empty chair opposite Griff and turns it slightly so that he can still see them both but can at least see a tiny bit of what's going on towards the front of the room. Without preamble he asks, "What am I being offered?"

"Depends on what you know and how useful it is," Griff states.

"I know enough."

"Here you go," the waitress says, putting a steaming pot of tea on the table then placing a plate of fish'n chips in front of both Harry and Griff. There were already teacups on the table so she turns up the one in front of each of them and pours a cup, pausing with the pot over Perry Heath's cup to ask, "Tea for you or you want somethin' else, luv?"

"Tea's fine, thanks. And a plate of the fish."

"Won't be a moment," she tells him and sure enough it seems she's hardly left the table and gone into the kitchen before she's back with a third plate. "You lads need anything else?"

"Not at the moment, thanks."

"I'm good."

Perry Heath doesn't reply at all as he's already shoveling food into his mouth.

With the waitress gone again, in between bites of food Heath gives them just enough tidbits of information to wet their appetites in a wholly different manner from the why the tasty fish'n chips do. Griff later said he'd already eaten before the meeting but ordered the fish to better blend with the tavern crowd only to find the fish so good he ate every last bite. Harry hadn't been all that hungry either but not only ate all on his first plate, Heath and he shared a second. By the time that second plate had been entirely consumed, Harry and Griff are putting their heads together to decide where to stash Perry Heath for safekeeping. They don't want to take him to the Ministry at all just yet because one of the things he's told them is that Rufus Henshaw pays people to notice who goes in and out of the Ministry, particularly the law enforcement department.

Harry comes up with the brilliant idea to take Heath to an Order of the Phoenix safehouse. Once they get him settled there, they can conference with Sinead Keddle on whether to keep him there or move him to a different safehouse. Sinead would have been at this meet today but last night had had to make an unexpected trip to Vladivostok on another case.

Bellies full, Harry and Griff escort Perry Heath outside to the back of The Fish Tail, where they decide that a portkey is best for getting two people to a location known only to Harry. Using an empty Bertie Bott's bag Griff found when searching his pockets for something useable, Harry quickly makes a portkey on the spot, sure that the Ministry office in charge of approving the making of portkeys won't mind not having okayed this one given the circumstances. Perry Heath and Griff both grab hold and all three are transported in a blink to the Order's safehouse in St. John's Woods.

Memories of Home
Author: Abdul Hazrat AlGunud 
Date:   08-14-10 19:29

Abdul stared down at the people bustling past the inn. The accents were strange, as were the smells. What they called coffee was more than strange, it was actually downright vile. The very strangeness of this place only served to remind him of home. Home. He tried to turn his mind away from this path of thought, but inevitably it returned to the Night. Coming home late from the Aziz’s house. Sneaking in the backdoor. Tiptoeing through the kitchen so as not to wake his mother. Finding the solitary lamp still burning dimly in the study. His mother seated in a chair facing the door.
She had been nude. Her body shockingly pale. Her hands were resting in her lap, palms up. Her severed head had been set upon the palms, like some obscene parody of a mother holding a small child in her lap. Blood had congealed on the rug surrounding the chair, obscuring the ornate woven designs. That sight, as well as the smell of feces and blood had overwhelmed Abdul. He had begun to wretch, adding partially digested food and bile to mess on the rug.
A call from the street below wrenched Abdul from his reverie. The sun was beginning to set and the innkeeper’s wife would soon be serving dinner. Not that Abdul had much of an appetite, but if he did not eat it might cause other to enquire about the cause for his loss of appetite. Or worse, they might take him to an apothecary.

In A Jam (Daria)
Author: Blossom 
Date:   08-15-10 14:09

"Seriously, generic apology aside, why are you here?"

Since asking it, Kody's question has been playing on repeat in Daria's head. Maybe it wouldn't be if she'd been 100% honest with him. Her, "Because I miss you," was truthful but not fully honest. Why is it so hard to admit to Kody that she's insecure and acts a total bloody bitch because of it?

Daria sighs as she bends at the knees to scrub grape jam from between the fingers of a 4 year old. Misunderstanding the reason behind the sigh the girl takes on a very serious expression and solomnly promises, "Won't eat jam again wifout a san'wich."

Daria breaks into a smile and assures her, "I am not angry with you though in future, do try to remember that eating jam straight from the jar, using your fingers to scoop it out isn't a very good idea. Where did you even get the jar?"

Dottie points to a boy across the room currently eating some melon off a platter Daria had set out as snacks for the group of 4 year olds she's helping with today. "Umed."

"And where did Umed get it?"

"Dunno," Dottie shrugs before asking, "How come you aren't happy?"

"What makes you think I'm not happy?"

"You look mad, Dahwia."

"I'm sorry. I don't mean. All done. Go get some fruit and stay away from eating jam straight out of the jars."

"Okay."

Dottie runs over to grab some strawberries off the fruit tray then to join two of the other girls playing with dolls. Daria, wet rag still in hand, locates Umed Chatterjee and goes over to the boy. "Let me see your hands, Umed." He shoves a big piece of cantalope into his mouth then obligingly splays his hands out in front of Daria who proceeds to inspect them. Sure enough, Umed's got grape jam reside coating several fingers. Now that she's up close, Daria sees Umed's also got stick spots on his chin and down his throat.

"Where did you get the jam jar?" she asks him. He's still got cantalope in his mouth so she adds, "Chew that up all the way, swallow it, then tell me."

By the time Umed's done with the piece of cantalope, Daria's got him jam free, for the moment anyway. She gently asks again, "Where did you find the jam jar?"

"Found it."

"Found it where?"

Umed shrugs. Daira then asks, "Do you remember?"

Umed shakes his head. Daria prompts, "Was it in here?"

He shakes his head again then points towards the doorway. "There."

"Which room?"

"Don' know. It was onna chair."

"A chair?"

From behind her, Daria hears an adult exclaim, "There it is! I thought I was losing my mind."

She looks over her shoulder to see her mother picking up the jar of grape jam from the top of a shelf where Daria had placed it after taking it from Dottie. Daria tells Azara, "Umed found it then Dottie had it. He says he found it on a chair."

"I was trying to open it to make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches but the lid was on so firmly I couldn't budge it. I was going to use my wand but then remembered I'd locked it in a drawer out of the reach of little hands when it kept coming out of my sleeve where I was keeping it. I must have carried the jar with me, got distracted and put it down without realizing. I got my wand, returned to the kitchen only to find the jar missing and have been looking for it since."

Azara holds up said jar only to see half the contents gone. "Who got it open?"

"I did," Umed proudly announces.

Azara looks surprised. "The lid was on so tightly I was beginning to think there was a glue spell on it. How in Merlin's name did you get it off, Umed?"

The four year old curls both arms at the elbow in a classic body builder's pose. "I strong!"

Azara and Daria exchange amused glances because Umed appears to be anything but with his twig thin arms. He holds the pose so Daria does as expected and squeezes one of his biceps, giving an appreciative, "Yes, Umed, you certainly do have lots of muscle."

Umed flashes a grin at them both, holds the pose a beat longer then runs off to grab more fruit from the tray and to play. Daria stands up, wiping sticky grape jam residue off her own hands with the wet cloth. She tells her mother, "After getting the lid off, Umed shared with Dottie. Maybe next time leave a jar of peanut butter alongside the jam?"

Azara titters with laughter then turns to go back to making sandwiches, saying as she goes, "Just put out blobs of jam and peanut butter and then turn a hose pipe on them all afterwards. I'll suggest that to Blossom."

Daria laughs at that but just as quickly her thoughts return to Kody and asking herself for the billionth time why she can't be completely honest with him.