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(Ariella) Following a Dream
Author: Beck
Date: 08-15-17 18:48
Mr. Fenford of Perriwick & Fenford turned to Ariella and inquired, "Do any of them suit your needs?"
The 'them' in question were the handful of commercial spaces for let in Diagon Alley. Mr. Fenford had taken Ariella into the ones she had indicated an interest in, after the two had spent some time looking at the advertisements and specifications in his office.
Ariella had decided to follow her dream and open a pie shoppe. Alanna, true to her word, was footing the bill with the money Reed had given her during their brief marriage. Alanna was happy to see all the money used up, which would hopefully be plenty to get Ariella started.
Ariella had not yet quit her job at the Ministry of Magic, but she probably would in the coming weeks, if not sooner. She wanted to nail down a place for her shoppe before she officially cut ties with the Ministry.
"I think my favorite is the one above Obscuras Books," Ariella replied.
The space had a lot of character. The first floor was wider than the ground floor the book publisher occupied, and it curved a bit. It had tall ceilings and big windows, which let in a lot of natural light. The second floor was little more than attic space, with low ceilings and tiny windows, but it was even wider and more rounded than the first. Painted, it could almost look like a pie. A pie in the sky.
"If you are sure about it, we can make an offer today."
Ariella hesitated. Should she make the decision herself or invite Alanna to come see during her lunch break. Ariella knew that Alanna didn't have a strong opinion on what Ariella's shoppe should look like. If Ariella delayed, there was the possibility that somebody else could snatch up the property.
"Yes," she said. "Let's draw up the parchments."
"Excellent," Mr. Fenford said. "Let's head back to the office, then."
They made the long walk to the other side of Diagon Alley, where the real estate office was located. Along the way, they passed by The Daily Prophet offices, where Ariella almost stopped in her tracks. A copy of the morning's newspaper was in the window. On the front page was an article about the rise of dark factions around the world. The accompanying photograph had to do with an Australian group and showed someone she knew: her estranged husband.
Ariella made a mental note to read her grandfather's copy of The Daily Prophet when she returned home. The elder Tobias Beck always read the newspaper at breakfast, but he'd not mentioned anything about Lawrence being on the front page. Maybe he'd decided against doing it, since it would surely upset her.
"Did you hear what I said, Mrs. Masterson?" Mr. Fenford asked.
"Oh, sorry," Ariella apologized. "I became distracted."
He laughed and said, "It's a lot to take in, isn't it? Here we are." He held open the door to his building and led Ariella inside and over to his office, where they prepared an offer on the space above Obscuras Books.
Charlie's Office
Author: Ron Weasley
Date: 08-16-17 19:21
Ron knocks on Charlie's St. Emrys office door. The door is open and the knock serves to alert Charlie know he's there. Charlie, in conversation with someone who is likely a student, looks up and nods to acknowledge Ron who points down the hallway. There's a bench not far down on the opposite side of the hall. Ron sits down, pulling out the day's Daily Prophet to read while keeping watch for the student to emerge from Charlie's office.
Around five minutes later the woman exits. At the same time Charlie sticks his hand out to motion Ron back to the office Ron stands, folding the newspaper and tucking it back away. As he walks in Charlie apologizes, "Sorry, I thought we'd be done by the time you got here."
"Why are you here? Uni isn't in session or is there a summer term now?"
"There are some courses that do have something going between Trinity and Michaelmas terms and there are other special sessions for a variety of things but there is no official summer term. I'm here because there was a departmental meeting and as long as I was going to be on campus I scheduled a face-to-face with a student interested in becoming a dragon keeper. She had questions ranging from what type of course load and schedule that would entail, interning, job availability, and salary." Shuffling some files on his desk Charlie then says, "I need another five minutes. If you need to go on and grab lunch before your break is up, I understand."
"I don't have to be back for awhile. Comp time of a sort."
Charlie finds the file he's wanting and as he does, a photograph slips out of another. Before he can slide it back in, Ron's grabbed it. "What's this?"
"My copy of a photograph of one of the dragons with DNA manipulated by Raymond Washington."
Ron studies it before handing it back. "I never saw any of the photos I don't think and none of the dragons in person. Did all look like that?"
"Not all but a number of them. Bloody sad, and sick, isn't it?"
"You have other photos?"
"Yeah, this whole file. Why?"
"Tell you in a minute if you'll let me look through the pictures."
Charlie shrugs and hands the file over then turns his attention to what he needs to do so they can leave and go to lunch. Ron takes more like two minutes then gets up and after looking both ways down the hall outside Charlie's office, he shuts the door.
"This is between us. There is a case, I'm not the lead but I have been one of the first to one of the scenes. It's not a case that's widely known about just yet. At each scene there are dead humans whose bodies are..." Ron makes a face, grappling for the right word. "Their bodies seem to have been manipulated. Sometimes it's a single body that's just wrong, sometimes there is more than one body, sort of melted together. Some of those dragon photos remind me of what's been done to these humans."
"Raymond Washington has yet to be captured."
"If he's behind these murders why would he have shifted from dragons to humans?"
Charlie shakes his head slowly. "As far as I know, Raymond's only ever been a dragon keeper."
"The two cases may be entirely unrelated but would you bring your file and talk with the lead on the case? She might be aware of the Raymond Washington-dragon case but she may not."
"Yeah, sure. I can do it today."
"That would be great but as I'm about to pass out from hunger, let's go eat first."
Charlie grins at Ron's exaggeration, shrinks the file down to an easy to fit in a pocket size, then follows his youngest brother out of the office, asking, "Where did you want to eat?"
Meeting with Kingsley
Author: Hermione Granger
Date: 08-18-17 14:11
Hermione entered Kingsley's office after his assistant indicated he was ready to receive her. She found him at his desk, doing some sort of parchmentwork, but he lowered his quill as soon as she approached his desk and got up to fix her a cup of tea.
"Glad you could make it on such short notice," Kingsley said, throwing a smile at her over his shoulder while he stood at the small refreshments cart in the corner of the room.
"Life at the Palace of Westminster is not all that hectic, at least not for me," Hermione replied. She put her briefcase down at her feet and sat in one of the comfortable chairs opposite Kingsley's own.
"Has it been difficult, adjusting to the Muggle world?" He handed her a cup and saucer and then fixed himself one, too.
"Yes, and no," Hermione answered, taking a small sip of tea. It was nice and hot. "No, because it's where I was raised and I understand how it's different from our world. Yes, for so many reasons."
She laughed a little and then elaborated, "Muggle technology is constantly changing. I don't feel as if I can keep up some days. But, I'm doing all I can do adapt. As a matter of fact, I feel like I've made a giant leap into the future. I just upgraded to an iPhone4 from my flip mobile." She bent forward to fish the device out of her briefcase and held it up. It was powered off, since it wouldn't work at the Ministry of Magic.
"What's an eye phone?" Kingsley asked, "or a flip mobile?" He moved back around to his chair and sat down, stirring the milk in his tea.
Hermione gave him a basic rundown between the differences in cellular phones. She was by far the expert, but she had learned quite a bit since starting her job in the Muggle world. Then she asked, "Why did you ask me here?"
"I wanted to make you aware of an undercover operation underway. This isn't something I want you to share with the Prime Minister just yet, but it is my hope that in the near future, we will have intelligence that will not only help us determine where the Death Eaters stand today, but will also allow our governments to prepare and cooperate as necessary."
Hermione's eyebrow rose. "Oh? Is this an Order undercover operation or a Ministry one?"
"Ministry," Kingsley said. "Long story short, we've got someone who is in the process of being recruited to the Death Eaters, or whatever form they've taken now. It's stagnated a bit, what with Fairchild's death, but all signs indicate that it's still going to happen. Once he's in, we'll have information to share."
"Great. Who is it, if I may ask?"
"No one you know," Kingsley replied, "and for now, I'd like to keep his involvement on the down-low. Just know that we should have something to tell your other boss soon."
"I hope all goes well with the operation," Hermione said. "He's quite pleased with the book we made."
The book was a collection of dossiers on known and suspected Death Eaters, complete with photographs that did not move. It had taken some effort to get the whole thing together, but it had come out nicely and had been quite informative for the Prime Minister and his cabinet members.
"Excellent. I'm sure we'll be able to expand on it, or amend it, when we start receiving intelligence from our undercover op," Kingsley said.
"I hope so," Hermione said. It would be nice to know who the Death Eaters were and what they were up to, especially since they've been extremely silent since Adriana Fairchild's passing.
Exhibition Match
Author: Jared
Date: 08-18-17 19:15
Seeing Sage Jade stands and waves. Sage's seat number is printed on his ticket but he'll the correct section and row faster if Jared makes himself obvious. His friend gets trapped behind a slow moving family so takes longer to get there than he would have otherwise. When he does, he sits down, saying hello and thanking Jared as he does. "Hey, good to see you. Thanks for this."
This is an amateur Quidditch exhibition but it's for charity and could be fun. Depending on how long the first match runs there may be time for a second. Through his job at the Ministry Jared was able to get two tickets. Jared's first though was to invite his best friend. If Sage hadn't been available he'd have tried his father, Etta, or Basil.
Jared hands Sage holder containing a tall cup and two meat pies. "Got us snacks to start. Hope you don't mind butterbeer or meat pies."
"No, this is great, thanks, and when have I ever minded butterbeer."
"They have a decent beef tea but today butterbeer or even an ale of some sort sounded more appealing."
"I hadn't thought about it until now but, yeah, this does sound better than beef tea, or any tea for that matter. Unless maybe iced tea."
"That's sacrilege."
"It's not my preferred way but on a hot, muggy day it can hit the spot."
Jared grins. "I've tried it on just such an occasion and you're right. It's not as horrible as I expected after hearing all my life how we Brits don't do ice tea." His expression turns serious. "Anything new on the custody dispute?"
"Dolores has backed off for now but we think she's just biding her time, probably having us all watched so she can provide proof none of us are fit to raise her."
"If she manages to convince a judge that none of you are, I'd have to think she paid off the judge."
"You know it. That woman is bloody mental."
The go quiet for the next few minutes as the announcer welcomes everyone to the match, gives information about the charity receiving the day's proceeds, and introduces the teams.
Once the match is underway Sage leans over to ask, "So did you go out with what's her name, Niamh?"
Sighing at the question Jared counters with a question of his own. "Why would I?"
"She's hot for you."
"She is?"
"Very."
"I hadn't noticed."
"How could you not notice? The only way she could be more obvious would be to attach herself to your lips. I don't even work in the same department as you and I know how much she wants you."
"You know I'm not interested in dating. When at the office I don't pay attention to anything that's not work related."
"You should let yourself lighten up a little. She seems nice. It doesn't have to go anywhere but it would be a start."
Jared's only response is a shrug, his expression one of distaste. Thankfully, Sage drops it, at least for the time being, and the only thing they talk about the rest of the exhibition is the match and the skill levels of the players.
Fiber
Author: Tiberius Nott
Date: 08-19-17 03:23
"If you are here, then something bad must have happened," Theodore Nott declared.
Tiberius nodded and sat in front of his father. They had cut their relationship the moment Tiberius accepted his teaching position at Hogwarts. It didn't particularly hurt Tiberius the lack of contact with his father. He had never been found of him, always eager to control his life. His mother tried to do the same once she was freed from Azkaban and now she lied dead, buried in the garden of Endhope Abbey.
"It's about Titus," Tiberius said. "He is missing."
"What you mean he is missing?" Theodore asked.
Tiberius explained that no one knew the whereabouts of his brother. He was still under Judith Foxcastle's custody and he was supposed to spend the summer at some facility she had arranged. One of her workers had been at Platform 9 and ¾ to collect Titus, but he did not appear. The man had searched the train, but it revealed itself empty. The alarm was given.
According to Judith, Titus had been seen boarding the Hogwarts Express. Tiberius had said goodbye to him that morning, still at the school, so it meant his brother did not escaped the night before. Judith and her personnel had searched Hogsmeade and its surroundings, but he was not there. Later she learned some students had seen him on the train, and he bought some sweets from the trolley lady. But then he vanished. The only possible explanation was that he left the train before it reached London.
"No one can do that," Theodore said.
"No. Unless you are extremely lucky," Tiberius declared. Only with an immense amount of luck Titus had been able to abandon the train without being noticed or detected.
He then said that Judith wanted to put a photograph of of Titus on The Daily Prophet hoping someone would recognize him and alert them.
"I forbid it," Theodore said. "My son is no fugitive. Our family had enough photographs already in the newspaper. He might withdraw even more if he sees people are looking out for him. No. Let that woman try to find him, while you will do the same. I trust you have nothing better to do this summer, do you? With luck, Titus will need to use his wand at some point and be tracked."
Tiberius was surprised with the calmness his father was displaying. His sixteen-year-old son was missing. He might be able to survive on his own a week or two, but Tiberius was not sure if his brother had any survival skills. He was raised among wizards, and he would not be able to use his wand unless he wanted to be found. What if he got in some kind of trouble?
Theodore raised from his chair. He urged once more for Tiberius to find Titus, suggesting he would himself do whatever he could to find his son from Azkaban. He left with a smile. He was actually proud of his son's actions. He had defied the system. Who knew Titus had more fiber than Tiberius?
Waiting on Victoire
Author: Bill Weasley
Date: 08-19-17 13:18
Bill stood in front of the fireplace and checked his watch. Although he was not in any hurry, he had been waiting for his eldest daughter to emerge from her room for a good twenty minutes. She had claimed to be ready to leave the house, only to realize she had forgotten something important, which had taken her back to her room and evidently kept her there.
The Weasleys were going on holiday in Marseilles. The house where they had lived during the Pureblood Movement, Coquille Cabanon, still belonged to them. Bill and Fleur let it out during the year to wizards who wished to spend a beachfront holiday in France. Now it was the family's turn to get away for a little while.
The plan was to also meet up with Fleur's family while in France. Although only the Weasleys were staying at the cottage, the Delacours wanted to visit. A long day of swimming in the ocean, lounging on the beach, and cooking and eating and drinking was on the agenda.
Fleur was especially eager to see Gabrielle, who had just landed a modeling contract in New York and would be moving to the United States in a few weeks. There was already talk about the whole family spending Christmas and New Year's in New York. Bill had never been there before and looked forward to the trip.
He looked at his watch again and called out, "Victoire! What's taking you so long?"
There was a long delay, which almost had Bill go check on his daughter, but then she emerged down the hallway holding her favorite doll by the arm.
"Sorry, Daddy," she said. "I thought I'd lost her, but she was under the bed. I think Louis hid her there."
"All set, then?" he asked. Fleur, Dominique, Louis and the family cat Marguerite had already gone ahead through the floo. They were probably wondering what had become of him and Victoire.
"All set," Victoire said. She came forward and reached for her father's hand with her free one. He used his own empty hand to scoop up some floo powder and toss it into the flames. A few moments later, they tumbled out of the fireplace in France.
Summer Days
Author: Finley
Date: 08-21-17 17:49
Finley and Eirene walked around Moreton-in-Marsh together. It was evening, just nearing dinnertime, and probably time to return to their respective homes. Since leaving Hogwarts in early July, the girls had seen each other often, if not daily, since their town was only so big and their families were very close.
Although Finley had been introduced to the little town over Easter break, she hadn't gotten to see every nook and cranny or learn every detail there was to know about it. Eirene, ever the overachiever, provided her with more information than Finley knew what to do with. She liked the elaborate tours, though, because it reminded her that she was making up for lost time.
"Do you have plans tomorrow?" Eirene asked, when they neared her own house.
"I think my parents––" Finley smiled at the word, which still felt so foreign coming out of her mouth. "I think they wanted to go on an excursion… to the Rollright Stones?"
Eirene nodded, indicating she had already been there or at least knew what and where they were.
"That's not far," she said, "so I don't think you'll be gone long."
"They also said something about errands," Finley added.
"Ah, yes. A Saturday ritual for working adults," Eirene said.
Finley smiled and rolled her eyes.
"I would like to visit Leroy," she said. She hadn't see her friend since Christmas. Her wish to get ice cream with him over Easter break hadn't worked out. Hopefully she could make it and other visits happen this summer.
"Pester Gemma and Theo about it," Eirene said. "See you later."
With that, she bounded up the front walk and disappeared into her house. Finley walked the short distance to her own home, where she found her father standing on the front porch, drinking a wizarding beer. He eyed her very seriously until she headed up the front walk, and then his face broke out into a smile.
"Did you have a nice day, Finley?"
"Yes, thanks. How was work?"
Theo opened the door and indicated for her to step inside. "It was fine. Glad the weekend is here. Are you excited about tomorrow?"
"Yes," Finley replied. She stepped inside and followed her nose to the kitchen, where Gemma was putting the finishing touches on dinner.
Finley washed her hands in the sink and then helped get the table set. A short while later, the Prides sat down together and talked about their planned visit to the Rollright Stones, three megalithic monuments also known as the King's Men, the Whispering Knights, and the King Stone.