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Meanwhile
Author: Lysander Stratford
Date: 10-27-12 12:13
An owl bearing what looked like a heavy burden flew through the open door at Twice Told Tales and deposited a rectangular package on the counter where Lysander stood. It flew a wide circuit around the room and then landed next to the package, where it cocked its head to the side and regarded the wizard with yellow eyes.
Lysander turned to the bin of owl treats on the shelf behind him and fetched a few for the feathered creature. It gobbled up the treats, which looked like small bits of beef jerky, and then hastily took its leave.
Except for Lysander and Dexter, the beast of a cat who had thrown up no less than three times on the carpet that day, Twice Told Tales was empty. Julian and Briar had taken all of the children to Russia for the Quidditch World Cup. Lysander had opted to stay behind to open the shop, which had turned out fortuitous since their backup employee had owled in sick today. Lysander suspected he wasn't so much sick as watching the match himself or listening to it at some sort of Quidditch World Cup party.
As it happened, Lysander had the WWN receiver in the bookshop tuned to the match.
He turned to the package on the counter and noted that it was from his Aunty Synn. Lysander opened it, even though it was clearly addressed to his daughter, and found a simple wooden box within the brown paper wrapping. He opened the latch and found the box filled with straw. Within the straw were two polished obsdian circles, one with a handle of bone and the other with a handle of jade.
There was also a note, which said the items were ancient Mayan mirrors and that they had magical properties.
Lysander knew his aunt lately had a thing for Central and South American cultures and remembered from her last letter that she would be sending Charlotte a gift. He admired the craftsmanship of the mirrors and wondered how they had managed to stay perfectly preserved after being in existence for over 2000 years. Lysander also wondered how Aunty Synn had managed to acquire the artifacts and strongly suspected something underhanded.
He placed the obsidian mirrors back into the straw bedding in the wooden box. Lid closed, latch secured, and box moved aside to be taken upstairs later, Lysander turned towards the door when the overhead bell chimed.
The smile on his face in anticipation of greeting a customer nearly faded. After all, it was only Aralyn.
"Hi," she said, looking around. "Quiet day?"
"Yes," Lysander asked. "Everybody is out of town, I suspect."
"Must be nice," Aralyn said wistfully. "I couldn't afford a ticket, much less accommodations. What's your excuse?"
"I'm manning the fort," Lysander replied, "of my own choosing." He liked Quidditch well enough, but he wasn't the huge fan who absolutely needed to attend the final match.
"You're so dedicated," Aralyn said with a smile. "I know we didn't run in the same circle when we were in school, even though we were in the same year and house, but I don't remember you being this… what's the word I'm looking for?"
"Responsible?" Lysander supplied.
Aralyn tapped her chin. "Yes, I suppose that will do."
Lysander shrugged. "We all have to grow up sometime." He looked at her pointedly.
She didn't take the hint.
"Did you stop by just to chat or do you need something?" Lysander asked her.
"Actually, I was wondering why I haven't seen Liam in town lately."
Lysander stared at her blankly for a long moment.
"Oh, it's not that I'm interested or anything," Aralyn quickly said when she realized what Lysander was thinking. "I know he's married and wouldn't give me the time of day anyway, but I did notice that he's not been around much to speak of lately."
Lysander said, "He's busy moving his family to London."
"Oh, they've arrived then?"
"Yes."
"That's nice."
"Yes."
They stared at each other for a moment.
"Will you be having them round for supper sometime?"
"I suspect so," Lysander said, well-aware that Aralyn was angling for an invitation. Instead he said, "I haven't seen your brother lately."
Aralyn rolled her eyes. "He moved into the house in Ashton-Hotwell. The estate hasn't been settled yet, but technically half of it is mine."
"He doesn't want you living with him?"
"Merlin, no. And vice versa, trust me. My brother is such an arse."
Lysander could actually agree with her for once.
"Speaking of Kristos, I am supposed to be meeting him. We are going through our parents' things, trying to find something of importance." Her eyes widened suddenly, as if she had realized she'd just said too much.
Lysander hardly noticed or cared. "You should go then," he said.
"Yeah. Better not keep him waiting."
Aralyn headed for the door, glancing down at Dexter who was crouched on the ground and had started convulsing. Lysander cursed and flew around the counter, wand in hand.
The cat convulsed several times and then threw up a hairball. It and liquid bile remained suspended in air, however, thanks to Lysander's quick action. He twirled his wand and banished the offending regurgitation.
Dexter scampered off, the risk of more vomit abated for the time being.
Aralyn glanced at Lysander with a dark eyebrow raised. "That's handy."
"I have a lot of practice," Lysander said, showing her to the door. "Catch you later, Aralyn." Or not, he said to himself.
She stepped out, giving him a strange look, and then set off to meet her brother.
Harville House: Unusual Behavior
Author: Ella
Date: 10-27-12 12:47
Dunstan Harville had a bad headache, which wasn't helped by the frantic knocking on his front door. He padded down the hall, wearing an old T-shirt and drawstring pajama bottoms, and his hair stuck up in all directions.
"I'm bloody coming!" he called out, when the knocking continued.
A moment later, he yanked open the door and asked, "What?" His face instantly relaxed when he saw his daughter's boyfriend, Francis Yao, standing on his front stoop.
"Francis, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you. Is everything all right?"
"No," Francis said, "and I'm sorry if I'm disturbing you. Forgive me, but you look unwell."
Dunstan held the door open wide so that Francis could step inside and then closed it behind him. "I'm not sick per se, but I have a bad headache. I feel like it's been going on for weeks, actually."
"Have you seen a healer about it?" Francis asked, though he seemed impatient and would much rather get to the point of his visit than to discuss formalities with his girlfriend's father.
"No, but I probably should." He guided Francis to the sitting room, where they both sat on the couch. "What's wrong, Francis?"
Francis shook his head. "It's Ella. I probably should have come by sooner or tried to visit you at work."
"Slow down," Dunstan stated, holding out his hands in the universal gesture for stop. "What about Ella?"
"I've been trying to get in contact with her for weeks," Francis said. "I've owled. I've tried to firetalk. Not once has she responded, and she missed our meet-up for Quidditch Con."
"That is odd," Dunstan agreed, "but I can assure you she's fine. Didn't she tell you she would be spending the entire summer on the Isle of Wight with her mother's side of the family?"
"No," Francis said. "I know she went there last summer, but she didn't say anything about going there again."
"Hmm," Dunstan said. "Do you think it's possible… I mean, do you suppose perhaps she's no longer interested?"
Francis shook his head. "If that's true, Sir, then she must suffer from severe mood swings." He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. It had grown out some since he'd left Hogwarts. "Things were really good when we saw each other last. Really good. We told each other that we loved each other."
"I see," Dunstan said, not sure what to make of the phrase "really good". Was it really love, or were they just living in the moment as young people did?
He had to admit, however, that when he had seen Ella and Francis together, their feelings for each other had appeared genuine. What Francis indicated now suggested to Dunstan that Ella's recent behavior seemed unusual indeed.
"I don't know what to tell you," he honestly said, "but I can assure you she is safe and sound."
If only he knew the half of it.
Suck It Up
Author: Pyrrhus
Date: 10-27-12 14:45
Grimacing, Pyrrhus rubs a spot on one shoulder, carefully avoiding contact with his collarbone. A few minutes ago Ludovico Sarrudo Reitor Tavares Raton, a name Pyrrhus knows is composed of two surnames each from Ludovico's parents - he can't help but wonder how many middle names Ludovico has - got in close for a goal attempt. Beater Nestor Cardinho Lusitano got a bludger off to assist his teammate. Py was faced with dodging the bludger, which would have allowed the quaffle to get by and most likely through one of the three hoops or he could stay his ground, or air space as it were, take the bludger hit while stopping the quaffle's progress.
He took the bludger hit. The hard black ball got him squarely in the upper portion of his chest from neck to shoulder. In the process either the bludger broke his right collarbone or dislocated it. Every time he lifts his right arm or moves his right shoulder he can feel a grating.
Unfortunately, there is absolutely nothing he can do about it until the match ends. During a timeout the coach, Baxter Conroy, or assistant coach, Yuri Gregorovitch, might be able to do a quick fix if it's dislocated but Py's not counting on that. It's one of those times when he really wishes the coaching staff were allowed to use magic during a timeout. He understands why it's illegal during match play for magic to be used by any team member but when in pain and most likely still facing the bulk of the match unless one of the seekers is quick about catching the snitch, it's easy to want to forgo rules in favor of decreasing that pain.
There is a keeper alternate to the British team. All the positions have alternates but Oliver Wood is only on tap to play if Pyrrhus is out of commission BEFORE a match begins or, during previous tournament matches if Coach Conroy had Wood down as the primary keeper for that particular match with Py as alternate. Unlike the International Quidditch Tournament Hogwarts participated in, there are no substitutions allowed yet during professional play. There has long been a debate raging on having certain rules changes or modified with allowing substitutions one of them but so far it's just been all talk, no action. Unless Py wants to willfully leave his team without a keeper for the rest of the match or until a referee determines the injury is life threatening, and given it's a collarbone that's hardly going to happen, and forcibly removes Py from the match, again leaving Britain's hoops untended, he will do what he's done since his first ever truly painful injury in Quidditch all those years ago. He will suck it up and do his best not to let the injury impede his performance.
Pyrrhus does not want to be known from this day after as the British National Team player who single handedly caused Britain to lose the 2006 Quidditch World Cup.
Relocation Hesitation
Author: Jefferson
Date: 10-27-12 16:27
It was a quiet, humid day in a small town in Louisiana. A quaint house that sat on the edge of the river was littered with various boxes and packing materials; the houses occupants would be moving in just a few hours. Jefferson Slade Foster, a man about 32 years old made his way through the house and carefully avoided several stacks of boxes.
"Someone is going to trip over those." He drew his wand and charmed a stack of boxes so they shrunk down to a more manageable travel size.
"Remy? You almost done up there?" He called upstairs, only to get an annoyed grunt in response. Jefferson sighed and made his way to the top floor to check on his daughter. Remedy Foster, who preferred to be called 'Remy', was nine years old, and not pleased with her father at the moment.
"I still don't see why we're moving. Not to mention-we don't have a place to live yet, Papa." The nine year old sighed in frustration as she packed another box.
Her father took a deep breath and wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead. "Today sure is humid, huh kiddo?" Remy shot him a glare and folded her arms across her chest at Jefferson's avoidance of the question.
"Look, Remedy. I know this is going to be difficult for us, but this new job is a great opportunity for our family."
"Dad!" Remedy kicked the box by her feet. "We're not just moving to a new town in Louisiana, or even the USA. We're moving to a new country! I won't fit in there." She stated matter of fact.
"You don't know that, Remy. People love you, you're an awesome kid."
"Yeah…people who are like me. I'm a swamp girl, Papa. I can't pretend to be a proper government goon like you can."
Jefferson sighed in defeat. His daughter was right, in a sense, there would be a great deal of culture shock when they moved into wizarding Britain. He could only hope that she adjusted with time.
Suddenly a loud pop sounded as a brunette witch, apparated in. She sat down laughing on Remy's bed.
"You two are arguing again?" The woman was several years younger than the man, and quite attractive too.
"Hey, Lawson. I was just having a minor debate with my daughter."
"Hah! A debate is an argument in a sense, Jefferson. I thought you knew that, dear brother?" Jefferson just rolled his eyes at his little sister.
"Hey Auntie Lawson…what are you doing here?" Remedy couldn't hide the tension in her voice. Her aunt was always up to something, and never behaved. Jefferson and Lawson had grown up in an orphanage outside of New Orleans, so they hadn't had an easy life. Maybe that was part of Lawson's issue, but Jefferson had bettered himself. Why couldn't Lawson do the same?
"I'm coming with you guys to live in Britain! I just dropped the last of my stuff off."
"You, what?!" Remy loved her Aunt, but she wasn't the best role model for a young girl.
"It's alright, Rem. Lawson's going to stay with us for a while until she can get back on her feet. Now I'm going to finish packing, since we're already behind schedule." He drew his wand again and pointed it at Remy's room. "Pack!" Quickly the rest of Remedy's belongings were neatly packed and shrunk down to a tiny travel size, then the items were placed in a duffel bag. "There, we're ready to go now. Make sure and get Rumor into her travel crate."
Remedy sighed. "Yes sir…" She picked up her tortoiseshell kitten and placed her gently in her crate. "Looks like we're movin'. I really hope I like it there."
Lawson sighed a little. "Sorry you don't want me to come, Remedy, but I am. Everything will be fine."
"Whatever."
"Enough with the attitude, Remedy Ann. We need to get going." Jefferson looked to his daughter again.
"Fine. Not to mention we're moving on the day of the Quidditch World Cup! How stupid was that?"
"I honestly forgot, and we need to go now." Jefferson glanced out the window. "Grab your things Laswon, Rem." He quickly picked up a bag and headed towards the fireplace.
"What about the dogs, Dad?"
"A friend of mine is going to keep them until we're settled. It will be alright."
"Staying in a hotel sounds like a charmin' new home in Britain, Jeff." Lawson chuckled, and the trio was on their way to the UK.
Bright Spot in a Miserable Day
Author: Charisma Stone
Date: 10-28-12 05:24
This summer couldn't suck more, the only bright side was the fact that she'd gotten to go to Quidditch Con, and she'd be going to Emrys Fest, but she was currently missing the ONE major event that she wanted to attend all summer long.
"We could have still gone!" She protested, using the dry erase board that she'd been given to keep herself from talking too much after having her tonsils removed two days before the Quidditch World Cup.
"No, we couldn't. Now, if you continue to complain about it you will be grounded for the remainder of the summer and that means absolutely no Emrys Fest and Blake will not be coming to see you in two weeks." Emily said, as she set down the glass of ice chips and bottle of water.
Quick rub of the eraser over the white board, there was a new message added, "Yes Mama" with a frowny face added to the end of it.
"Oh, I forgot, this had come for you the day before the surgery." Emily handed her daughter the envelope from Hogwarts. "Open it."
Isma figured it was her school supply list, but she knew that it was also around the time they sent out the Prefect badges and things of that nature, and she was finally in the right year to be selected for Prefect. So, without further encouragement the envelope was opened and the letter withdrawn.
The moment she opened the letter the Prefect badge fell out onto her lap and she squeed with delight, but that made her throat hurt and she whimpered in pain afterwards.
"Congrats sweetie. Now, its pain meds time. Take them, rest and you can use the WWN receiver that we sent you to listen to the match since you can't be there. I know Blake is going to be bringing you back some souveniers from the match as well."
Isma nodded, setting the letter and prefect badge on her bedside table, tuning the receiver she took her pain meds and had a feeling she would miss the end of the match due to falling asleep thanks to her pain meds.
Odd Incidents
Author: Wendy Mills
Date: 10-28-12 07:26
For Wendy's relief the camping trip was finally over. She had tried to be friendly with her brother and she did the best she could to pretend his ideas pleased her but sometimes it was hard to hide her frustration, especially when Peter wanted to do things she really disliked. But Wendy managed to survive and now she found herself quietly seated on the sofa of her living room reading a book, while Peter was watching cartoons on the television.
Suddenly the cartoons ended and the news started making Peter protest and he was about to change channel when their mother, who had been listening the television sound from the kitchen, told Peter to keep that channel on. Wendy looked away from her book and focused on the screen. She watched the news with her mother. Peter had lost his patience and went to play with his computer.
After talking about politics, economics, sports and the weather, the presenter of the news passed the emission to St. Petersburg, in Russia, where a British reporter started to speak:
"This case has been puzzling the Russian authorities since yesterday: several families have been complaining about their neighbors for throwing too much trash into the specific containers for the matter. But none of the families seems to want to admit they have been the ones doing so. The content from the trash is very wide and no one seems to know how the few families living in this area of St. Petersburg were able to produce so many trash in such a little amount of time.
There is a theory that says the Russian Mafia is involved; others talk about alien manifestations, because not so long ago sparkles were seen from the sky by some of the locals, but according to another font, some teenagers like to go into the local woods from time to time and set up fireworks there. The environmentalists are already worried about the impact of such amount of trash because a wide number of owls was seen flying from the woods and they believe it already changed the climate of this zone, obligating these birds to find some other place to live. Now back to you Janet."
"Thank you, Carl," the presenter said, adjusting her notes. "Some odd incidents in St. Petersburg, Russia," but she actually seemed amused with those events and quickly she was talking about a pair of dolphins who could do an impressive dancing routine at some aquarium in the United States.
Wendy soon lost her interested in the news and went to Peter's room. Maybe he would like to play a computer game with her.
Double Shift Means No World Cup
Author: Maggie Hawthorne
Date: 10-28-12 07:55
"Maggie! Food for table seven."
"Coming Frank." I called as I put the drinks down in front of a couple who had just come in, they weren't ready to order yet so I headed to grab the food for table seven and then went to check on my other tables before popping back over to the couple who were finally ready to order by the time that I got back to them.
Putting the order into the kitchen I went to refill drinks and worked on getting some silverware wrapped for the tables while there was some downtime between my tables.
"I'm so not used to working the day shift, and I've still got my shift tonight to work as well." I looked up at Caroline, one of the other waitresses that I was working with.
"Yeah, I know, just be glad you have tomorrow off or you'll be dead on your feet in the morning."
"You mean I'm going to be dead on my feet tonight when I finally manage to get to my flat."
Caroline laughed and grabbed a couple of freshly wrapped silverware sets and headed over to the couple that just came in. I quickly finished, grabbed the food that just came up for the one couple and headed to check on my regulars.
"What are you doing working on such a pretty day Mags? Besides, aren't you usually here at night?"
"Melanie called out because her son is in the hospital so they called me to fill in and I've still gotta work my shift tonight so I will see you for dinner as well Mister Jacobs."
I refilled his coffee cup while I talked and then cleared away his breakfast dishes. He chuckled and got his money ready for me to take when I came back after leaving the check on the table's edge.
I was simply thankful that I had about three hours between this shift and my night shift where I could go home, nap and have something to eat and unfortunately I wasn't going to be able to cuddle with William because he was in St. Petersburg watching the World Cup, I'd probably check the score when I got to the flat as well.
I tended the rest of my tables, and grabbed the money from Mister Jacobs' table, and blinked when I saw how much was left over, surely it was a mistake, I'd ask him about it when I saw him during the dinner rush if I got a chance.
Either way, I tucked the excess into my apron pocket and within a few minutes was already busy and working through the tables that I had left. By the time my first shift was done I was ready for a hot shower, a nap and something to eat, and I had no intention of going out to eat I had leftovers that I could reheat.
Cashing out my tables, and pocketing my tips, remembering to keep the extra from Mister Jacobs aside, I headed home for a little downtime before coming to work the dinner shift.
Go Team Britain
Author: Isolde
Date: 10-28-12 10:55
"Poor Pyrrhus," Azaelia murmured, as she watched her friend grimace through the pair of omnioculars she held up to her eyes. "He can barely hide the pain he's feeling."
Isolde frowned. "Let's hope Eunice catches the snitch soon."
She had see her husband take the hit to the collar bone and had winced along with him. When she had played Quidditch professionally, and even while at Hogwarts, she had suffered many injuries herself. She knew what it felt like to want to keep playing despite the pain, and she knew how hard it could be.
Isolde accepted the omnioculars from her cousin and zoomed in on Pyrrhus. His teeth were bared, and one hand was delicately touching his shoulder. He also appeared to be sweating.
She sighed and lowered the omnioculars to her lap. It would be a shame for the World Cup match to end so early, but she would rather have Eunice catch the snitch now and win it for Britain than to have Py suffer for longer than necessary.
"I've never understood this sport," Robert remarked. He was seated on Azaelia's other side and had his fingers threaded through hers. They were getting married soon, on the fifth of August. It would be a small ceremony, with only family and a few friends.
"Who in their right mind would want to get hit by bludgers and experience everything that might come with it? Broken bones, lacerations, concussions…"
Azaelia and Isolde exchanged amused looks. It took being a major Quidditch fan to understand why players risked getting injured during gameplay.
"It's part of the thrill," Azaelia explained. Once upon a time, she had played chaser for the Slytherin Quidditch team at Hogwarts. She poked Robert in the side. "And are you suggesting we are mad?"
"Well…" he began with a playful smile on his face. "Maybe just a little bit, but I love you all the same."
"Aww," Azaelia said.
Isolde pretended to gag.
"So, this is pretty cushy," Azaelia remarked to Isolde, after a bit of a makeout session with her husband-to-be. She was talking about the private box in which they were seated.
"Being the wife of Britain's keeper has its perks," Isolde replied. She put the omnioculars back to her face to check on Py. He was still grimacing, but he was putting on his focus back onto the other players since they were headed his way.
The fans in the stadium grew louder and louder as the pack of chasers neared Britain's goal hoops. Isolde, Azaelia and Robert got onto their feet and started cheering on Py, hoping he could stop whichever chaser from Portugal attempted to score. Isolde held her breath as she watched the Portuguese beaters go after the bludgers, fearing they would hurt Pyrrhus even more. Luckily, Toby and Kody were in prime positions to assist Py. He escaped further injury this time around, but the game wasn't over yet.