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Another Lunch With Basilia
Author: Fionna
Date: 10-05-11 18:58
Taking a small table towards the back of The Leaky Cauldron's large dining area, Basilia and Fionna sit, thoughts shifting momentarily from the conversation that had carried them from TerrorTours to here. Neither spends long on the menu so two to three minutes later they're ready to order. That out of the way, the friends pick up their conversation where they'd left off.
Fionna asks, "What are you going to do?"
"I've already done it. I applied for a job at the Ministry."
"For something specific?"
"There's an entry level opening in the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes but I did let them know I'd be willing to work in any department."
"That could land you a job filing or binding official Ministry documents or something equally mind numbing."
"I know, but there would be the opportunity for advancement or transfer to another department when something opened up. I don't want to be a shoppe clerk forever."
"You could eventually make manager."
"A shoppe manager is still a clerk but with the added headache of running the shoppe and all that goes with it. Besides that, the entry level position at the Ministry, if I get that job and not something else, pays so much better than what I make right now, which means my salary would only get better over time."
"True, there is that."
"Having more money coming in will help Malcolm and me save up faster for a house."
"That serious is it?"
"We're moving in together and I'm pretty sure he's going to ask me soon to marry him."
"That's so great!"
"You'll be my maid of honor, won't you?"
"As if you have to ask."
"If I didn't actually ask you would have gotten mad at me," Basilia laughs.
Fionna shakes her head as if to say no but says with a grin, "Yes, so true. I would have been just the tiniest bit miffed at you."
Over lunch Basilia and Fionna talk about the wedding Bas would like to have.
Unpleasant Conversation
Author: Desdemona Diamond
Date: 10-06-11 09:29
"You're awfully hard to fine, you know that?"
I stopped at the sound of the voice, knowing full well who it was.
"Not really," I sighed back, "Haven't left the country in a while." I turned around and found Xavier Schoonmaker leaning against the wall of a building. One hand in his pocket, the other holding a coffee cup.
"I've been trying to find you for a while…"
"Well, you found me. Here I am. Now what?"
"I just wanted to talk," He straightened up and took the few steps over to me before saying in a soothing tone, "Just talk."
"Well, talk." I caught a whiff of the coffee when he came closer. It was a Starbucks blend. "Starbucks? You hate the coffee there."
"Yeah," he said raising the cup and looking at it, "It's…"
"Think buying me coffee is going to get me to stay and listen?" I asked, obviously annoyed already.
"Maybe if it was from Seattle, like this one…" He offered.
I sighed, "Haven't touched coffee in months. Had a summer vacation, slept in, stayed up till whenever..."
"Oh…" He paused, "So… uhh…"
I sighed again, "Just say what you're going to say."
"Right, no beating around the bush with you…" He took a moment, "I heard that you hadn't been to the states in a while, so, I was just wondering…"
"Why? How I've been doing?" I finished for him, only slightly restrained, "I haven't been to the States in months cause I was told not to leave England. Since I didn't report my sister when I should have."
"If you didn't…" He started.
"Who cares," I interrupted. "Not important."
"I guess…" He took a deep breath, "Look, I'm sorry for what happened. If I had known…"
"It's ok."
"It…what?"
"It wasn't your fault. Not like you asked her to mess with your head like that. I'm not mad at you if that's what your worried about."
"I… Well, I was… sorta. I know how you can sometimes get." There was a moment of silence before he tried to change to a lighter subject, "Are you going to go back to the States soon?"
"No."
"Oh, why not? Doesn't your brother have a birthday real soon?"
"Yup."
"You're not going to go see him?"
"Nope."
"Why not?"
"Does it really matter?" I snapped at him.
"I guess not…" Once again there was a few long seconds of silence, "This was a bad idea."
"Yeah, probably."
"Yeah…"
"You know, I can't figure out if you came here to officially kick me to the curb, or that you want to try again. The coffee says you want to try again, your hand in the pocket says otherwise." He looked at the pocket hiding his hand.
"Yeah, the left hand. I haven't heard that you two aren't married anymore. So, I have to guess you don't want me to see you wearing the ring still. Cause you can't decide if you're going to stay with her or not."
He sighed, "Nothing gets past you, huh?"
"Not really."
"Sooo…" He started again.
"No. I can't do it again. Sorry, not after you and my sister... Call it childish or immature or whatever, but after knowing you two have been together… It's… I can't…
"Besides, before you even think about anything of any kind between us, you might want to figure out if you'd be staying with her out of pity since she's a nutcase or because during that time you actually started feeling something for her."
"So, you heard?"
"Yup, I heard. I my sister is loony tunes."
"That's one way of putting it."
"Yeah…"
"Desi, I never wanted any of this to happen, not with her…"
"What? You wanted us to get married, grow old, have kids…"
"House in the country with a picket fence." He chimed in.
"I think it's a little late for that," I said flatly.
"Yeah…" He quietly replied. The awkward silence seemed to last forever this time. "Soo.. He finally said.
"So, when you figure out what you're gong to do, I'll get in touch." I said to him right before I disappeared with a pop.
I didn't go very far, just far enough to be out of sight. It was a few seconds before I apparated again, this time to Greenwich.
The Incident at Ollivander's
Author: Mildred
Date: 10-07-11 10:20
The wooden floor creaked with each step. The dust on the shop was immense and if a curious wizard wanted to take a look inside he wouldn't be able to see a thing due to the dirty windows. Despite the dreadful presentation Mr. Ollivander's shop always had costumers. The quality of his wands outperformed the shop's look.
The old wandmaker was at the counter and immediately recognized Mildred and her grandmother when they entered into his shop.
"Mrs. Howard! What a pleasure to see you. It has been a while." He made quite an elegant bow to the old witch. "And this must be your granddaughter, Miss Campbell." Mildred gave the wandmaker a polite nod. "How is your mother?"
"Dead." Her grandmother said before Mildred could open her mouth.
"I'm sorry to hear that. " Ollivader offered his condolences and quickly started to act like a salesman telling Mildred's grandmother that, as she already knew, he made the best wands in England, perhaps even the best wands in the whole world. He assured that Mildred would be very successful if she used one of his wands at Hogwarts. "You can tell the difference right away between a spell conjured by one of my wands and someone else's."
Mildred's grandmother nodded, and then she asked if Ollivander could do her a favor before he started helping Mildred with her wand. The wandmaker replied positively and so with careful hands her grandmother took out a wand from her green bag and placed it on the counter.
"How much is it worth?"
Ollivander picked up the wand, studying it. "Ah yes…I remember this wand. Cherry, 10'', unicorn hair…quite flexible." Mildred didn't even have to hear Mr. Ollivander's description of the wand to know to which witch it had belonged to. It was her mother's wand. Even with her eyes closed Mildred would know, just by its touch. Many had been the times she would pick it up dreaming about her own wand.
"You can see it's well conserved, almost new…" Her grandmother added, probably trying to achieve a good selling price.
"Yes…" Ollivander agreed, starting to make his own calculations about how much was that wand worth. He placed it again on the counter, using a quill and a scroll to mark down some numbers. Finally he set up his price and offered himself to buy the wand. Her grandmother, pleased with the deal, took her wallet out of her bag, ready for business.
"No!" Mildred just couldn't stay in silence. "You sold the house and all her things, but you are not going to sell her wand. " Mildred's face was red with rage. Her mother was supposed to be buried with her wand. She wouldn't allow her grandmother make any more profit out of her death. For her grandmother's dismay Mildred picked up the wand and held it against her chest. "You're not going to sell it!" She repeated.
Furious, the old witch moved towards Mildred, who gave a few steps back until she was cornered between the wall and her grandmother.
"Give me back that wand!" She ordered.
"No…" Mildred muttered. She was afraid her grandmother would use her own wand to jinx her. Her eyes met Ollivander's as she begged for help, but the wandmaker limited to watch the scene. It seemed something had captured his attention. Mildred understood what it was when sparkles started to come out of the wand, making her grandmother jump back. Mildred got a bit scared but she did not dare to let go of her mother's wand.
"Incorrigible child, practicing magic against me! You are going to end up in prison just like your father."
Mildred closed her eyes, waiting for the worse. But that never came because finally Ollivander decided to intervene.
"Miss Campbell did not use magic against you, Mrs. Howard. It was the wand. It picked her. "He then gave a theatrical sigh. "It seems I am not going to sell you anything today Miss Campbell. But do not worry because that is indeed a very good wand." He assured to the little witch.
Mildred's grandmother was still convinced the sparkles where Mildred's attempt to attack her. Ollivander had to explain her that Mildred could try all the wands in his shop and none of them would be appropriate.
Finally her grandmother seemed to get it. Mildred left Ollivander's with her new wand. She held it tight as if her life depended on it. Once they were out in the sunny street her grandmother sent her a furious look, telling Mildred she was going to pay for her bad behavior at Ollivander's shop. But Mildred did not worry about it. She had managed to save her mother's wand. For now she was happy.
Comforting a Friend
Author: Bronwyn Dewhurst
Date: 10-07-11 17:55
Bronwyn was at home when Desi arrived on her doorstep. The two friends hadn't seen each other since their spa weekend, though Desi had kept in touch with her postcards.
Although owls always seemed to know where to find the recipients of the letters they carried, Bronwyn never wrote back to Desi, never knowing where her friend might be on any given day. Bronwyn didn't feel bad about her lack of responses, because deep down she knew that Desi wasn't expecting any. Desi sent the postcards because she wanted to show Bronwyn where she'd been, what she'd seen, and that she was all right.
Bronwyn smiled at the sight of her friend and immediately pulled her into a big hug. "You're here!" she exclaimed happily.
Desi, who wasn't much of a hugger by any stretch of the imagination but usually tolerated it from Bronwyn, squeezed her friend hard.
Bronwyn gently pulled away after a long minute and asked, "What's wrong?"
Desi started to say it was nothing but then she burst into tears. It alarmed Bronwyn. She'd never seen Desi lose it. Not ever.
She pulled Desi inside and shut the door. Desi allowed Bronwyn to lead her to the sofa, where both girls plopped down. Bronwyn conjured a box of tissues and set it in Desi's lap. She waited patiently for Desi to get the sobs out of her system.
Finally, Desi blew her nose with one tissue and wiped the tears from her face with another. She was much calmer, but she still took shuddering breaths.
"I saw Xavier just now."
Bronwyn blinked. "You did?"
"He found me. He wanted to talk. He's still wearing his wedding band."
"He what?" Bronwyn shrieked.
Desi sighed. "Technically, I didn't see it, but I didn't see his ring finger either. He's confused, because he feels sorry for Bianca. Did you know that when she got tried at home, she got off with a slap on the wrist?"
"What? Why?" Bronwyn asked, outraged.
"Because apparently the whole thing wasn't her fault."
"Now I'm confused."
Desi rolled her eyes, though not at Bronwyn. The whole thing was so absurd. "They diagnosed her with Narcissistic Personality Disorder."
"Never heard of it."
"Neither had I, but I read up on it. Basically, she thinks she's the shit. I know it sounds like she's just got an inflated ego, but one of the symptoms of NPD is preoccupation with fantasies of ideal love."
Bronwyn listened to Desi with disbelief. "That sounds completely made up."
"I know, but it's real enough that the only "punishment" Bianca is facing is court-ordered pyschotherapy."
"So she's not in jail."
"Nope."
Bronwyn had been sitting rigidly by Desi's side, taking every word in, but now she collapsed against the cushions and let out a deep sigh. She felt sorry for Desi, because she knew that despite everything, the one twin was torn about the other. But Desi also had a very broken heart, as was evidenced just a little while ago.
Bronwyn turned her head. "What are you going to do?"
"The ball is in Xavier's court now. He has to decide what he wants, or more aptly put, who he wants."
Livid
Author: Ethan Somerset
Date: 10-07-11 18:45
"What's being done to find her?" Ethan queried angrily.
He'd received an unexpected visit at home from auror Connor MacRoth and had learned the devasting news that Hattie Harsnip had eluded Azkaban, most likely rescued en route to the island prison during her transfer. The bodies of the two escorting aurors had been recovered from the sea.
Not wanting to sit at home and wait for more news, Ethan had promptly taken Lilly to his parents' home and then gone to the Ministry of Magic, where he still did some consulting work from time to time. He wanted to immerse himself in the case, but he'd been expressly forbidden from doing any such thing.
He wasn't so much angry with the other aurors on the case as he was with Hattie herself, who had probably known all along that she'd never make it to Azkaban.
"We interviewed the guard who was on the shoreline when Hattie's rescuers attacked her escort. He claims he didn't see anybody, but guesses there were at least two assailants, if the amount of flashing lights is anything by which to judge," Connor explained.
"So we're possibly looking for two murderous wizards in addition to Hattie Harsnip, but we're not sure because they weren't seen by any reliable witnesses," Ethan stated flatly.
Connor remained calm and collected. "That's right." He hesitated, as if he wanted to say something more, but then he shut his mouth.
"What?" Ethan asked.
Connor shook his head, knowing he shouldn't say anything, but in the end he couldn't help himself. "There was always the possibility that she wouldn't remain in Azkaban forever," he said. "If somebody decided to remove her soul and place it in another body, then she would have been lost to us all over again."
It was definitely the wrong thing to say. "You're saying no precautions were being made for that eventuality?" Ethan asked through gritted teeth.
Connor didn't reply.
And Ethan knew why. Short of capturing Meadow and the unknown individual to whom Hattie had originally sold her soul, there was no known way to prevent it from remaining in Penn's body. It was a very good thing that this dark magic wasn't well-known, or there would be more opportunity for dark wizards to cause trouble.
Ethan sighed, trying to calm himself. "May I make a suggestion?"
"Yes, of course," Connor said.
"Meadow O'Guinn. She's still AWOL, correct?"
"That's right. We have considered the possibility that she was one of the attackers, or if not present during the event itself, then involved in some passive way."
"Good. I couldn't tell you who she associates with, though."
But maybe my brother could, Ethan thought to himself. He made a mental note to ask Callum at the first opportunity.
"Look, we'll fill you in on whatever we learn," Connor said. "In the meantime, would you like protection in case she decides to finish what she started?"
Ethan hadn't even considered that possibility. He knew he could take care of himself, but with Lilly in the picture, he acknowledged that having an extra pair of eyes wouldn't hurt.
"Yes. That would be helpful."
Connor nodded. "I'll make arrangements to have somebody keep surveillance on your home. Is there anything else you need?"
Ethan shook his head. "Just keep me posted."
Connor nodded again and then left to schedule a security detail for Ethan and Lilly. Ethan had no choice but to wait.
Day in the Village
Author: Karma Davyd
Date: 10-08-11 08:58
I pulled my hair back in a ponytail, cast my gaze around the village as I came down from Hogwarts. A gentle smile on my lips, as I pondered a day of shopping. I wanted to go investigate things in Twice Told Tales and maybe grab a couple of history books if I can find any. I also wanted to see about venturing into Botanicals and Beyond for some new teas. I also had to stop by The Magic Neep to check out their produce.
I am quite pleased that my quarters in the Castle had a kitchenette in them because, with no offense to the House Elves and Kitchen staff, they can't get my curry quite right, so I intend on making my own. I am also currently trying to figure out where I will ultimately have lunch...thus is my days at the moment. I also needed to stop by McFusty's and grab a few more toys for the kittens, as if the pair of them having roam of the castle wasn't enough they still needed more catnip mice and jingly balls.
After a few moments of rambling and wandering, I slip in to Twice Told Tales and look over the new selections. This is the kind of book store that I love, the older tomes that fill the shelves. While I'm pleased with some of the books that I'd purchased from Tomes and Scrolls, they do not have the historical feel as some of the ones that I'd gotten from Twice Told Tales, and the help isn't as cute as Lysander and Julian...but, the gorgeous staff isn't the reason I keep coming back (though it is a perk!).
After picking up a couple of books that I want to read over before the start of term in about two weeks, I'm feeling a bit peckish so decide to head to lunch, though not feeling like Crown & Cauldron so I head instead toward Brews and Stews Cafe for their caesar salad with grilled chicken.
Back to the Norm
Author: Lawrence Masterson
Date: 10-08-11 09:15
Eventually, like all good things their summer holiday had to come to an end, while they'd picked up some fantastic souviners on their trip to Budapest, they were both ultimately ready to head back to London. Ariella had a few more days off before she started back to work at Briar's and Lawrence still had a couple of weeks before term started and he would once more be teaching. Both of them would be starting classes at St. Emry's in the next term, so that meant they intended to soak up as much free time as they could until then.
"What was your favorite part?" Ariella asked as they finished unpacking. They'd gotten back to the Castle somewhat late last night and instead of unpacking headed straight to bed with intent of unpacking in the morning.
"All of it. I'd never been to any of the places, and I'm looking forward to getting the pictures developed. Speaking of which, I will probably go into London and find a place to get them developed later today. What about you?"
Ariella pondered a moment before she answered. "The highlights in Transylvania, and Bran Castle were among my favorites, but I think I really liked the sleeper train to Romania." She said settling on the sofa and curling up on it.
"Definitely, I'd never actually done a sleeper train before, so that was a unique experience." He said, moving to settle next to her and draw her into him with an arm on her shoulders.
She looked up at him and smiled. "I know you are already planning something for our anniversary over winter holidays, now the question is am I going to try and get it out of you or simply let you surprise me." She nudged him playfully.
"I've not yet started planning for that, but I was simply going to do our usual trip to Sydney and spend the night on the beach again." He said, teasing, he of course had started planning it, but he had every intention of surprising her.
"I think the one thing I like about this trip, is that the time difference isn't so huge. It usually takes me a day or two to recover from a trip to Sydney." She said, letting her head rest against Lawrence's shoulder.
"I know what you mean, even a trip to the states comes with a little lag, but this one not so much." He said, letting his arm remain around her as he pondered a nap, or simply more cuddling with his wife. "I've been thinking, and I know we aren't ready to start a family yet, but what would you say about looking for a family sized house possibly in the village, and selling the flat in London, I mean, we hardly use it if at all. We are usually here, and I really see no point in keeping it."
The conversation shifted to things pertaining to the flat and the possible investing in a house in the village or somewhere and simply having it and the quarters in Hogwarts. Which, could technically be enough.
Not Batty Yet
Author: Oreileah McCoi
Date: 10-08-11 10:01
Rather than have a big to do wedding, we'd gotten married at the Ministry and had my parents, Jim's parents, Christian and Daniel there as witnesses and a simple dinner after at Crown & Cauldron two weeks ago. The honeymoon was a week long Caribbean cruise that was a combined wedding gift from their parents.
Finally, they were back home and relaxing, Meagan was currently playing in her pen while Orei was reading through The Daily Prophet and pondering how to spend the day. "I think, I might end up back to work soon. Being out of work for the better part of a year is going to drive me absolutely bonkers." She said, looking up at Jim who just came in from the kitchen holding a couple of butterbeers and a bottle for Meagan.
Meagan was a month and a little bit old now, and was still gorgeous and thankfully not yet causing trouble. Jim picked her up out of the playpen and carried her with him to the sofa after setting down the butterbeers, Meagan got her bottle before she could start fussing. "Go back when you are ready, there is no one saying that you have to be out the entire time. But, I thought you were going to stay out until the end of next term? So that way you only had to focus on Meagan and schoolwork?"
Orei nodded and shifted to lean against Jim when he sat down. "I know, but I didn't realize how much I'd actually miss the daily grind, working on the translations and the court appearances and the whole nine yards. I mean it was what gave me a bit of excitement, but, you are right, with me taking off until the end of next term I can work on finishing a bit earlier, adding a few extra classes to my course load since I did go a bit light the last term." She said, tilting her head to press a kiss to his cheek and to Meagan's head.
"I think I'm going to go take a nap. You good with her for a little while?" She asked, pushing herself up and heading toward the bedroom taking her butterbeer with her.
"Yup, it will be time for her nap soon anyway, and I think I might come snuggle up with you when she drops off." He said, grinning at her with a mischievous glint in his eyes.
"Love you."
"Love you, too..."