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First Introductions at Twice Told Tales
Author: Oreileah McCoi
Date: 09-13-11 13:28
Things had finally settled down now that I was home with the baby. Jim was back at work, I was officially on maternity from the Ministry for up to a year if I wanted to take it, and that left me getting to know my exceedingly wonderful bundle of joy. At the moment, three day old Meagan was sound asleep in her snugglie against my chest as I finished reading through the Daily Prophet from earlier that morning. She was such an easy-going baby and slept through the night since we brought her home yesterday.
Since she was born, I've marveled over every inch of her from her tiny eyelashes to her tiny toes and fingers. As of right now she does not do much but eat and sleep, but I am eagerly looking forward to the days when she is more active. I need to start wedding plans, but I was not in the mood for it, at least I wouldn't need a maternity dress for the ceremony.
After I finished the paper, I tucked it away and decided that I would wander the village for a bit, stretch my legs and let Meagan continue to nap in the snugglie. I grabbed the diaper bag, slung it over my shoulder, mindful not to disturb the baby and after leaving a quick note to Jim if he came home for lunch, headed out.
As I wandered through the neighborhood, I waved to the few that were out in their yards, the rest were still at work which meant that their children were at Blossom's or being looked after by older siblings or significant others. I still had to send out birth announcements to my parents, and a few select professors at both St. Emry's and Hogwarts. For now, I headed toward Twice Told Tales, where I intended on getting a few more books and introducing Meagan to Lysander and Julian.
After a slightly brisk walk I slipped into the shop, and waved to the pair who were at the moment both busy helping customers. I wanted a couple of faerie stories to read to Meagan when she got older. When the pair were free I moved toward the counter. "Good morning to you both." I said, and no sooner had the words escaped my lips did Meagan announce her presence in the form of a whimpered cry.
I worked Meagan free of the snuggie and settled her in my arms. "Julian, Lysander, I'd like to introduce you to the newest adorable face in Hogsmeade, Meagan Amara." The two each took turns holding her and Lysander helped me pick out a few books that where some of Charlotte's favorite stories.
"When do you head back to work?" Lysander asked as he bundled up the few books that I'd purchased.
"I've up to fifty-two weeks I can take, so til her first birthday, but only about fourty weeks of it will be paid. So, as of right now it is up in the air, but I will be going back to work. " I said as I tucked Meagan back into her snuggie after giving her a bottle. "I might wait until after the end of next term before I go back, go one term without having to juggle work, school and baby. I am just glad she sleeps through the night."
We talked a bit more before I headed down toward the Crown & Cauldron intent on getting a quick bite before heading home. I had laundry to get done before Jim got home from work.
It's What Big Sisters Do
Author: Travis
Date: 09-14-11 09:54
"So, the big date is tonight?"
Nodding at Travis, Indigo tells her, "For some reason I'm nervous."
Travis hands Indi a tin of tea she's just measured out for him. "I can't imagine why. It's not as though you've not had a lot of time to think about it."
"I think that's the problem. I've had way too much time to think about this date with Anne. Maybe I should have capitulated ages ago, gone out with her, gotten it out of the way. She'd have moved on by now to some other guy and I'd not be worrying about giving her the perfect date she's probably built up in her mind after all this time."
"Maybe it's that you like her far more than you realize."
"I do like her, always have."
"There's like and then there is like."
"Yeah, but it's not as if I sit moping when she's not around or daydream about her or anything like that."
"That doesn't mean you can't like her more than you realize and keep in mind that as long as she's had to build up some vision of the perfect date, once you promised her a date, you've had a long time to think about exactly what that date would entail. Speaking of, what does it entail?"
"If I tell you, you might nit pick, which would have me stewing all day about what to change."
Travis asks with an almost angelic smile. "Say, is Lisi about today?"
"You are NOT getting Lisi to pull out date details from my brain."
"I was just asking if our sister is around today."
"Don't make me have to tell Mum you've gone out two nights in a row with the same bloke."
"Now that's just dirty."
"And having Lisi look into my thoughts isn't?"
"You leapt to that conclusion, little brother. I never said anything of the sort."
"But you were thinking it."
"Would I do that?"
"Hell, yes."
"All right, yes, I would, but I won't so no tattling to Mum about my dates. Do you want any other tea right now?"
"No, this is good, thanks. I'd best get back to work."
"I expect a full report tomorrow."
"What if I don't want to kiss and tell."
"You might not want to, but you will, even if I have to hold you down and tickle you like when you were little."
Travis wiggles her fingers in the direction of Indi's midriff. Just the thought of being tickled had Indi twitching and trying not to laugh.
"You're evil, you know that?"
"Yes, it's what big sisters do," Travis replies with a smirk.
A Visit With Dumbledore
Author: Briar Rose
Date: 09-14-11 12:48
"To what do I owe this pleasure, Ms. Rose?"
As he speaks Albus Dumbledore gestures Briar to a seat. She moves towards one of the chairs but stops in front of the Hogwarts headmaster, offering him the box she carries. "I've brought you a lemon cream cake and I've come to ask you a question about someone in a photograph."
"Thank you! A very nice, unexpected surprise," the professor says of the cake. "I shall do my best to answer your question. What is the photograph?"
Briar hands over the first photo Kristen Leach had found with the mystery man in it. "The man in the gray and blue sweater. Do you recognize him?"
"An interesting gathering of people," Professor Dumbledore remarks.
"Yes, it was a Christmas party the year before Voldemort made his last big push. Kristen Leach, she was McQuillen then, gave me some old photos with my parents in them. This particular one caught her attention because she cannot recall the man in the gray and blue sweater at all. She has since found another photograph with him, the back of which identifies him as "
"Kellen Fitzmorris."
"So you do know him? Kristen's photo only gives a first name. She can't remember him at all nor do anyone else she's asked, Tiberius and Lysette Valentine for example. She's become somewhat fixated in finding out who he is. I don't remember him but then, I don't remember all of my parents' friends."
"Mr. Fitzmorris was a strong Voldemort follower though I do not believe he ever received the Dark Mark. He is believed to have died in late February, 1981. I find it intriguing that those of his circle do not remember him. Do you think Mrs. Leach would mind if I spoke with her about this?"
"No, not at all. I'll let her know you wish to talk with her."
Briar rises. "Thank you for seeing me on short notice, Professor."
Professor Dumbledore gives the cake box a tap. "As I believe I have made out well, I thank you for asking to see me. And thank you again for the cake, Ms. Rose."
The headmaster escorts Briar to the stairs leading from his office but after she assures him he doesn't need to go to the bother of seeing her all the way to the castle entrance, he returns to whatever work she'd interrupted. Once back in Hogsmeade, Briar sends Kristen Leach an owl before returning to her own work, which right then involves sitting down with a bride-to-be to talk about a last minute change the woman wants made to the decoration for her wedding cake.
Staff Meeting
Author: Minerva McGonagall
Date: 09-14-11 19:24
Minerva filed into one of the larger conference rooms in the castle and moved to one of the chairs near the head of the table. It had been decided that staff would meet soon after the end of term to discuss how the school year went and to make plans for next year. Staff might meet again just prior to the start of the new term, but there were no plans for other meetings during the course of the summer.
After all, summer wasn't just for the students. Even the staff needed rest and relaxation after a long, sometimes grueling school year.
Minerva herself had no vacation plans, but she knew some of her coworkers did. Aaron, as had become annual tradition, had arranged another Muggle Studies trip for all interested seventh years. Other coworkers planned on going on holiday with their families.
Seeing Madoc this summer was a distinct possibility, if not a certainty, but other than that, Minerva would likely spend her summer at the castle.
She arranged the notes she'd brought with her on the table and then looked up as the first of her coworkers trickled into the room.
"Hello, Minerva," Adriana said, moving to a chair directly opposite hers. She wore a pair of dark-wash jeans and a peasant top.
"Hello, Adriana," Minerva greeted. She scrutinized the much younger witch for a long, silent moment, while Adriana emptied her hobo bag of a notepad and quill. Minerva still wondered about the woman who until recently had been thought dead. She certainly wasn't the Adriana Minerva remembered from all those years ago.
"How do you like your accomodations?" she finally asked.
"They look just as I remembered," Adriana replied, looking up with a fond smile. "I'm surprised nobody else moved in after I left. It's like Albus always knew I'd come back eventually."
Minerva muttered, "I sincerely doubt that."
Just then, another figure entered the room. It was Severus, and as was his custom, he was dressed in black from head to toe. His dark gaze took in the sight of Minerva and Adriana seated across from one other. He sat down near the other end of the table.
In short order, other staff members trickled in, until every seat in the room had an occupant. Albus took his place at the head of the table and commenced the staff meeting.
Out Of Ideas
Author: Furnella Hodfuffer
Date: 09-15-11 21:15
Bogart and Bacall asleep on either side of her on the couch, Furnella absently strokes them both as she asks Prunella Cromwell, "What now?"
"No idea. Any suggestions?"
"If I'd ever had any, I wouldn't have run around so long willy nilly hoping to randomly catch a glimpse of Forest. Why couldn't Max have said, 'Yes, I was at Emrys Fest last summer,' when I'd asked? But no, he tells me he's never been."
"I'd say lets have another look at each of your memories of seeing him if we'd not done that a hundred or more times already."
"Are we just deluding ourselves?"
"That's what some would have us think but the pensieve allows us to go over a person's memory and we've done that. You saw someone that day who looked like Forest. You had other sightings after that and only some of them on closer inspection are of Max. The others are either the same person you saw at Emrys Fest or there are a great many Forest dopplegangers running around."
"You don't think that's it, do you? Someone impersonating his appearance either with Polyjuice or a Metamorphmagus?"
"It's possible, yes, but to what end?"
"This is soooooo frustrating." Furnella follows this statement with such a noisy sound of exasperation both the dogs start awake. "Sorry, puppies. Though as long as you are awake, let's go outside, shall we?" To Prunella she says, "Are you getting hungry? I am."
"I could stand a bite, yes."
"I'd offer to make something here but I haven't done any shopping this week. Is the restaurant all right with you, though I could use a break from there. Some other type of cuisine would be a nice change."
"I have had something of a craving for Italian."
"Italian it is then, just have to decide which place."
The women quickly make a decision, apparating from Furnella's to just outside a nice little place she knows of in Leeds.
Anne's News
Author: Zabrynna
Date: 09-16-11 14:57
"Sorry I'm late," Philippa says as she reaches the table where Zabrynna is waiting.
"All of two minutes. So very late," Zabrynna grins.
"Where's Anne?"
"Not here yet."
"Then I'm not late at all."
"I can't believe Anne didn't have us in a huddle the very next morning." Zabrynna sees the waiter returning with her drink order and nods in his direction. "You want something?"
"Uh, yes, I think I will go on and get a drink. I'm a little parched," she replies, quickly scanning the beverage offerings on the menu.
Philippa's drink order in and still no sign of Anne, Zabrynna asks, "Do you think the reason Anne didn't have us meeting her first thing after her date with Indigo is that it didn't end that same night?"
"I've wondered that. I wouldn't be at all surprised. Anne's been after him for the longest time. Not that I blame her. Indigo McFusty is a cutie. There she is."
"Huge smile."
"She's practically glowing. That date must have gone well in the extreme."
Anne bustles across the restaurant dining room, clearly eager to reach her two friends. When she does, she stands behind one of the two empty chairs, grinning from ear to ear at Philippa and Zabrynna, clasping hands together almost gleefully. "HI! I have news!"
Zabrynna wouldn't have thought Anne's grin could get any bigger but it does. Anne sits, leans forward and takes each of the other two by the hand. "I got married!"
"Married?" Philippa and Zabrynna parrot back at the same time.
"Eloped! Isn't it grand?"
"Your date with Indigo went that well?" Zabrynna asks, still trying to process that Anne has just said she's gotten married.
"Yes, it went very well but I didn't marry Indigo, silly."
Philippa holds up a hand. "Okay, stop right there. Why would we think it would be anyone but Indigo? And you are being serious, aren't you? This isn't some sort of joke?"
"No joke, and yes, I suppose I shouldn't have called you silly, Zabrynna, for thinking I meant I eloped with Indigo. I can see why you'd both think that."
Zabrynna tells her, "You'd best back up and fill in the details."
"Yes, right. The date with Indigo was everything I ever imagined it to be. He's an even greater guy than I thought. I would definitely have gone out with him again and I'm sure he would have done the asking without me pestering him for a change. But then the very next morning I'd gone to St. Emrys to take care of something the registration office had made a mistake with, I met someone. It was love at first sight. We spent the entire day together, then talked through the night. Yesterday morning we eloped. We're going to do it up proper for the families and so that I can have you both standing with me."
"And when do we get to meet this mystery man?" Philippa asks.
"Tomorrow. We're taking today to tell friends and family. My parents are not at all pleased with me but what can they do? He and I are both adults."
Zabrynna gets in the next, somewhat obvious question. "Does the groom have a name?"
Anne titters. "Sorry! I thought I'd said. John Harkiss. He was born in York but shortly after his family moved to Calgary, Canada. He's finished school a year ago and has been working but recently decided to attend university. John decided on St. Emrys and was there registering when I was at the registrar's office."
Zabrynna and Philippa spend lunch listening to Anne talking about John and their plans for a small wedding before summer is over. She's got lots of ideas for colors and dresses but wants their opinions and input. By the time lunch ends and Anne is rushing off to meet John to go pick out a ring - for the elopement they used his class ring from whatever school it was she'd told them he'd attended but that Zabrynna can't remember now - the two friends are still in a state of shock but both are looking forward to tomorrow and meeting John Harkiss who swept Anne off her feet.
Problem Solved
Author: Jet
Date: 09-16-11 20:13
Jet steps through the front doors of Hogwarts, eyes taking a few seconds to fully adjust from the bright summer sunlight outside. Hearing voices coming from the Great Hall he moves forward but when he gets there, he doesn't see anyone inside the large room, leading him to think he'd been hearing a couple of the school house elves. Jet turns towards the nearby stairs, navigating through the castle to the tower where Albus Dumbledore's office is.
The professor had owled Jet, asking him to come by at his earliest convenience and included a password into the headmaster's office should he need it. Reaching the familiar entrance that leads up to Dumbledore's inner sanctum, Jet says, "Argyll sock." The gargoyle statue leaps aside and the wall opens up, allowing Jet to step on the rung of the spiral staircase. Rather than waiting for it to slowly carry him to the office door, Jet rapidly climbs the steps, stopping at top before the large wooden door. Jet raises his fist to knock but the door swings open and from within the office a voice bids, "Come in, come in!"
Stepping inside, Jet looks around for Dumbledore. One of the portraits tells him, "Take a seat. He'll be with you in a minute."
"Thank you."
Exactly one minute later Albus Dumbledore is striding through the office door carrying a box that Jet knows all too well. "Jet, so good to see you. Thank you for coming so quickly after receiving my owl."
Jet's eyes flick to the box in Dumbledore's hands. "Is that why you asked me here?"
"Yes, I think I know a permanent solution to freeing you from the voice you refer to as Salazar. I know I have thought the same in the past but I am certain this time we will see success."
"I want to believe you, sir, but please understand when I say I'm skeptical it will work."
"I do understand but hope you will want me to continue anyway."
"Yes, sir, of course. If there's the slightest chance of doing any good, then yes, I'm all for trying.."
"Excellent! Let me explain my reasoning behind my certainty that this will work and then we shall, as the saying goes, get to it. Let me preface things by saying I apologize for not having come to this conclusion sooner. To make bad wordplay using Salazar Slytherin's mascot, if it were a snake it would have bitten me. That is how obvious this should have been."
"I find that hard to believe, Professor," Jet says with a smile.
"Thank you for saying so, but I assure you, that is the case. You see, I now think that this box is a horcrux. The act of opening it allowed a part of Slytherin to move from the box into you. That is why at times you were not able to control your thoughts, emotions, or actions. The efforts we made in the past did not rid you of him. They simply allowed you to better block his attempts to control your body."
"What do we have to do to fully get him out of my head?"
Dumbledore puts the box on his desk in front of Jet then walks over to where there is a sword Jet hadn't noticed before now. "Godric Gryffindor's sword has been used to destroy other horcruxes. I see no reason why it cannot be used to destroy Slytherin's box. I thought perhaps you would like to do the honors."
Dumbledore hands the sword to Jet then moves past him to retrieve the box. Beckoning with one hand, the older man walks to an area of the office that has a larger cleared space. He places the box on the floor then turns to Jet. "Simply strikes the box with the sword. It is Goblin made and very sharp so should cleave the box in two."
Jet waits for Dumbledore to move well out of the way then using both hands swings the sword back then down in an arc, putting a great deal of energy into the movement. The swords strikes the top of the box then cuts it cleanly in half. At the same time there's a pain in Jet's head and he gasps, dropping the sword and falling to his knees. Professor Dumbledore rushes to Jet's side.
"Jet?"
Jet weakly says, "I'm okay. There was just an explosion of pain and what sounded like a scream. What's that around the box?"
"Some horcruxes appear to bleed when destroyed. I take that as a very good sign as I do the scream you heard, though I am sorry you also felt pain."
"So that's it then? I'm free?"
"Yes, I do believe so but should you start hearing the voice again, please contact me immediately. If I am wrong and you are not free of Salazar, then there's something more in play here and further research would need to be done."
"Yes, sir, thank you."
"I was thinking of walking into the village to get a bite at Briar's Bakery. Would you care to accompany me?"
"I'd like that."
Dumbledore places the two box halves on a shelf as Jet gets to his feet, feeling momentarily woozy. After the sensation passes, the two exit the office with Professor Dumbledore musing aloud that sweet he might get at the bakery.