Final Round,
Birthday and Hopes to Win
Author: Annie Paul
Date: 08-11-03 02:14
I woke up that morning and smiled. It was my birthday and I am now 12 but then the smile faded a bit as I remembered it was the W.C.C Finals and I'd be playing against Cho Chang. I quickly left Gryffindor Tower and headed to the Great Hall for some breakfast. Some of the students were talking about who would win the Quidditch finals but that wasn't on my mind.
Taking a seat I looked around. Lawerance Masterson was sitting at the Hufflepuff table looking just as pale as me. Faith Brumby was talking with the Slytherins and giving leering looks at anyone from Ravenclaw. I craned my head to look for Cho Chang and finally found her at the Ravenclaw table laughing and enjoying her meal.
Soon the doors opened and Professor Logan walked in. She went up to the Head Table and sent up a spark that gave a chiming sound, which caused the room to go quiet. "May I have your attention please?" She began and everyone looked at her. "I have an announcement. The W.C.C Finals will be played today, here in the Great Hall. Miss Chang of Ravenclaw..." The Ravenclaw table broke out into applause "...will play Miss Paul from Gryffindor..." The Gryffindor table broke into applause and some of my fellow Gryffindors wished me luck. "Win that cup Annie," I heard a voice from a sixth year student say. "No pressure Annie but do us proud," athird year said as I received pats on the back.
"Miss Brumby of Slytherin..." The Slytherins became really loud. I knew they had their eyes on the cup as well as the Quidditch and House cups so I was now more than ever determined to win. "...will play Mr. Masterson of Hufflepuff. The games will start this afternoon. Please players be on time and good luck."
She finished her announcement and left the hall. I turned back to my meal and felt my nerves kicking in and I pushed my plate away. Soon the air was filled with owls and I knew mail had arrived. Packages and letters fell from the ceiling as the owls found their marks and dropped the mail. Morgana flew in with a small bundle of letters on her leg and a package in her beak. Landing on the table I took the letters off her leg and the package out of her beak then gave her some of my ham and she took off to the owlery.
"Oi Annie what's with all the mail?" asecond year student asked as I sorted my mail. "Oh just birthday greetings and a present from home." I answered looking at him. "Annie wouldn't be the best birthday present if you won the cup?" a second year girl asked and I raised an eyebrow. "You know I never thought of it that way. It would be nice."
Students Studying...As
They Should Be!
Author: Madam Irma Pince
Date: 08-11-03 15:05
Thoughtfully, Madam Pince lifted her head from the latest copy of 'Librarians' Weekly' which was one of her regular sources of information about new spellbooks and parchments that were likely to be of use in the school. Of course, she also had her ways of knowing about the latest volumes in Flourish and Blotts. One never knew these days what would be required at Hogwarts. The curriculum had definitely changed in some ways since she had been a student, and not for the better.
Laying the parchment aside, she took a delicate sip of her herbal tea before looking around her library over the tops of her glasses. Students were certainly making more use of it now and there were exams coming up. Did any of them apart from Miss Granger actually enjoy studying?
Hmm. More students in the library meant more potential trouble with Filch. That couldn't be helped, nor could it be denied that Filch was good at spotting trouble. As long as neither book nor parchment were damaged, however, it was none of her concern what the students got up to.
Sighing to herself, Madam Pince sipped again at her tea before going back to her correspondence.
Ivy Cottage
Morning and to Gringotts
Author: Professor Belladonna Sinistra
Date: 08-11-03 20:56
Ivy Cottage in the morning: rather quiet peaceful. In one of the bedrooms, the one done in pastel colors and Fragonard paintings, the charming sounds of "Forest Afternoon" issued from a box enchanted to feature various sounds to provide ambient noise and help the user sleep deeply. At a certain hour, the sounds grew louder and a house elf entered with a tray.
"Twinkle begs Mistress Lady Belladonna's pardon, she does. It's the time Mistress wanted to get up and do errands. Twinkle has an espresso and a buttered croissant. Cookie's Strawberry jam, and the Daily Prophet too. Please don't punish Twinkle. Let her get a pretty outfit for Mistress while Mistress has her breakfast and then Twinkle will brush her black hair."
Bella stuck out her head from the canopy bed and smiled.
"Good morning, Twinkle. If I tell you to get me up, I can hardly punish you. Lovely flower this morning. Remind me to write Mumma and tell her what a wonderful job Digger is doing in the garden. I'm running my errands in Hogsmeade, so wizarding wear. The weather is getting better, so something light, no cloak."
After breakfast and a bath, Bella stepped back into her bedroom and tossed the towel into her hamper. Twinkle stood with a light violet robe. Bella put it on, sat down at her dressing table, and put on light makeup while Twinkle did her hair. A tinted power to cover up her pale skin, a bit of blush to give color to her cheeks, and a smidgen of lip gloss to protect her lips.
That done, Bella walked out of the bedroom to give orders to the elves. Twinkle was to clean up the bedrooms, Digger was to go into the forest to gather herbs, Cookie was to prepare a light dinner for two, Janus was to answer the door with the note that she wasn't at home, and if any messages came from Liam, she didn't care who answered. As for the other two elves, laundry needed to be done and she had a telescope that could be polished.
It was time to run errands, but first a sip of a potion tinted red as blood. Her brow creased as a short headache happened and then went away. She grabbed her basket and headed out as the door closed behind her. Routine was so boring, she thought with a sigh.
Lost in Thought
Author: Majandra
Date: 08-11-03 23:00
Rubbing her bleary eyes, Majandra looks up from the book she's been reading since just after dawn. She'd woken up just before sunrise and hadn't been able to get back to sleep. Majandra has quietly gotten up, gone to shower and dress for the day then settled in one of the cozy, overstuffed chairs in a corner of the common room begin reading a book on medicinal potions that she'd borrowed from Professor Snape.
Realizing she's missed breakfast and cannot get anything in the way of food in the Great Hall until later in the day and not really wanting to go to the trouble of visiting the kitchen, Majandra gets up, stretches languidly like a cat, then runs up to her dorm room. She rustles around in her trunk for the box of savory crackers her mum had sent with the mail yesterday and for a container of apple juice, grabs another book, one on medicinal herbs, then returns to the common room.
Getting comfortable, Majandra munches on a handful of crackers while opening the herb book and looking up the various plants mentioned in what she's read so far in the potions books. In the back of her mind, however, is the fact that she could take George up on an idea he recently ran past her in a letter and chunk the rest of school. It's definitely something worth giving more thought to even if she's still got a few months to go before she's legally an adult.
Final Battle:
Wizards Chess Cup
Author: Angelina
Date: 08-12-03 06:03
The tables were moved away to the sides of the Great Hall save for one in the middle of the room. The players will be facing the doors and the Head Table in this match. The two boards were set up and I looked things over. Satisfied I opened the boxes that had the chess pieces in them and they took their places. The two kings from each board went into their boxes and they spun a couple of times like a muggle shell game. After all was in readiness the house elf Twinkle appeared at my feet.
"Missy Logan ma'am, here's the prize. The craftsman just finished it." I took the box from the elf and opened it. The case formed the chessboard and there were drawers that held the pieces on the sides of the case. I opened the drawers and examined the pieces. They were excellent and I put them back in and closed the case.
On a stand near the Head Table stood the W.C.C. Cup. I nodded with approval and smiled at the house elf. "Thank you, Twinkle. I am happy that you and the others helped out." The little house elf gave a bow and smiled. "If you need Twinkle again let me know," she said, then with a crack she was gone.
Let the Game
Begin
Author: Annie Paul
Date: 08-12-03 13:59
I entered the room and Professor Logan went over the points awarded before we began to play. I sat in front of Cho and managed a weak smile. "Hello Cho. Good luck," I said and I looked at the boxes. Reaching in I pulled out the black king. The board turned to where the black pieces were in fornt of me and the King took his place.
"This is the final round of the W.C.C Tournament. Players begin play," Professor Logan said and Cho made her first move. I took and deep breath and made mine as we began.
Stalking the
Chess Tournament
Author: Jade Crowley
Date: 08-12-03 15:12
Jade had spent the morning engrossed in her DADA homework.
It had been awhile before she realised that the Ravenclaw Common Room was empty.
She lifted her head from her books and parchment, and took a quick glance at her Muggle watch.
"Merlin's beard!" she thought. "The chess tournament final is starting! And Cho's gonna need all of Ravenclaw there to cheer her on!"
She decided she'd get to the Great Hall faster in her lithe black panther form. So she changed quickly before making her way. She wasn't worried about Mrs. Norris or Peeves; she could always give them the good ol' growl and swipe. ;-)
She stayed low to the ground, hoping that people wouldn't notice a big black cat stalking through the Great Hall. She thought she saw Filch give her the evil eye, though. But nobody else seemed to notice, as Jade slowly let her human form rise into view, wearing a badge on her robes that said "GO CHO" in big neon-blue letters ...
Spotting a
New Friend
Author: Emma Crusher
Date: 08-12-03 16:49
Emma caught sight of Jade Crowley's badge before she saw the person, but once she realized who it was, she called out to the girl.
'Hi Jade, what's up?' Ariana asked as Emma moved over a little to make room for the new comer (and somehow managing to get a little closer to Kody in the process, having finally managed to convince him to come cheer Cho on.)
Strategist
Author: Cho Chang
Date: 08-12-03 18:26
Cho returned to the Great Hall alone, having isolated herself from her friends to clear her head and make her mind up about non-Chess related things. She enters the Great Hall and makes her way pleasantly through the crowd to the table set apart for her match with Annie.
Cho takes her seat and after shaking hands with Annie and wishing her good luck, she reaches into the box, finding that her hand held the white king as she brought it back to her form. Swallowing as the table switches around and fills out with her white pieces, she sets her king down and makes her first move, watching only the chess board and occasionally Annie for any hint into the future of the game. Cho played unlike her normal cautious self, throwing all of her emotions into the mix and letting the pieces move in orderly attack and defense.
Almost
Back to Normal
Author: Bill Weasley
Date: 08-12-03 21:11
Ever since last weekend, Bill remained true to his word and regained contact with his family. Letters were sent off to Mum and Dad, Charlie, Percy, Fred and George, and even Ron and Ginny. All responded, some even more than once--particularly Molly, who sent several lengthy notes threatening to show up on Bill's doorstep or his office at Gringotts in order to properly check up on her oldest child.
Charlie's letters had been his favorite. He told Bill all about the latest project at the dragon reserve, and he sounded very happy. All previous turmoil from his life, such as his tumultuous relationships and the wedding that wasn't seemed forgotten, though Bill knew better than to honestly believe this. At any rate, Bill's own correspondences to Charlie were just as enthusiastic. He neglected mention of several key points in life, especially the reason he slipped into solitude in the first place. Serious things like that are best explained face-to-face, and Bill wasn't ready for that either.
On Saturday morning, an early April day, Bill was at Gringotts scribbling his latest letter to Charlie. A stack of forms waiting for signatures towered on the corner of his desk, but they could wait a few more minutes... After signing his name with brotherly affection at the bottom of the note, Bill folded the parchment in half, tucked it into an envelope and prepared to head over to the post office to mail the letter. He paused in the doorway, craning his neck to check his reflection in the mirror on the wall. His hair had been cut to its normal length and he looked quite refreshed.
As he stepped into the main concourse of the building, a familiar woman with dark hair and pale skin caught his eye. She stood opposite the door to Bill's office, thumbing through a few pieces of parchment from the information table. Temporarily forgetting Charlie's letter, Bill crossed the marble floor to meet her and said, "Bella?"
She turned to look at him, and during this brief moment Bill thought back to the last time he had seen her, much less spoken with her. It seemed long ago. His eyes fell upon the papers in her hand, and as they found her face again he asked, "How can I help you?"
Re: Strategist
Author: Annie Paul
Date: 08-13-03 00:59
Cho was good I had to admit it. She played like a military strategist with her pieces and I was good at the defense and managed to keep my key pieces on the board. As I looked up at her I saw her emotions were getting involved in the game. "She's going to mess up somewhere," I thought, "if she becomes too emotional."
Giving the board the once over I closed my eyes to visualize the next two moves, that was, if she'd fall for it, and opened my eyes slowly. "Pawn to C-7," I said and the pawn made its move.
Banking
Author: Professor Belladonna Sinistra
Date: 08-13-03 01:09
"You could not tell Charlie you saw me and I looked like death walking. Oh, damn, that's not what I meant. Of course, I'd prefer you tell Charlie I looked good, not that it matters. Oh shit, can we start again? My vanity is taking over my mind, not that I have one any more."
Bella banged her head on the wall. Why did her brain have no contact whatsoever with her mouth? She was always embarrassing herself. Of course embarrassing herself in front of the brother of one of ex-boyfriends was a record even for her, she thought as her face reddened. Ah, the traditional Bella Sinistra full-body blush. First color in months. She nibbled on a nail before taking a deep breath.
"I'd like to open an personal account here and then transfer money in from my London account. I'd also like to open a second account for household expenses. I bought Ivy Cottage and the household expenses are driving me cra---- Um, never mind. Sometimes, I wish I'd never taken a sabbatical."
Damn, she was babbling. It wasn't like Bill was a friend. Matter of fact, she hardly knew him. This had to be the longest conversation they'd had. Never again would she let Liam leave and leave her without conversation.
She looked up at Bill. Something was going on. He had faint circles under his eyes. Adriana couldn't be giving him trouble, could she? Well, it was none of Bella's business and she was going to keep her nose out of something for once. She smiled softly. Poor Bill.
Or Not.
Author: Cho Chang
Date: 08-13-03 07:47
Cho watches the pawn slide across the board, letting it stop before calculating her options. She could take the pawn, but that would leave her bishop or her own pawn in a compromising position. Best to ignore it and sacrifice a pawn than risk a bishop and open a gateway to defeat.
Her own key pieces were intact and in battle formation with a smattering of sacrificial pawns to draw Annie to the halfway mark or better yet, into her territory. At this point Cho severs herself from the rest of the room, including her emotions finally in a chess state of mind and focus, it took long enough!
Oh but what is this? Her knight could take the pawn, with no repercussions, maybe not, her eyes fell on a lurking black chess piece and she decides against it, moving a pawn instead, "Pawn to E-5."
A Lingering
Cough
Author: Fritz Schnackenpfefferhausen
Date: 08-13-03 14:41
Fritz slides to a halt just outside the Great Hall. He smooths his robes and his hair, suddenly self-conscious about his disheveled appearance. The sickness he had last weekend had gone, but awful coughs still tickle his throat throughout the day and night and he always feels tired. As he puts his hand on one of the door handles, a coughing-spasm overcomes him. He covers his mouth with his free hand and backs away, hoping he isn't disturbing the players' concentration in the other room.
After the pressure in his chest subsides, Fritz blinks a few times and clears his throat. He considers getting a drink of water before entering the Great Hall, but as there is neither a fountain nor a bathroom nearby, Fritz decides he'll forego wetting his scratchy throat and watch the remainder of the match.
He quietly slips through the great double doors of the chamber, flinching as one of them groans. Usually when people go in and out of the Great Hall during meals, one can't hear the creaking of the doors because the noise inside is so loud. With the interior of the Great Hall silent and with only the occasional command from a chess player and the crash of one piece destroying another, the creak in the door seems extra noisy.
No one seems to take much note of his entrance, however. All eyes are focused on the two chessboards and the four players. As Fritz sits in an empty seat next to some of his fellow Ravenclaws, he notes that many more than usual have turned out to see Cho to victory. Competition seems stiff, though. Annie meets Cho's every move, but Cho looks very determined to win.
Silently cheering her on, Fritz watches the game and hopes that he doesn't experience another nasty coughing fit.
Good Matches
Author: Angelina
Date: 08-14-03 00:45
As I walked the table both sets of contenders were doing rather well. Cho and Annie were going at it in a fierce way while Lawrence and Faith were taking it one step at a time. It was close and I was marking down the movements as well as what pieces were taken. As I approached Cho and Annie I heard Cho give the command "Pawn to E-5" and saw what she had in mind: sarcrifice the pawn to keep her bishop but Annie's head furrowed as she sat there in thought.
I was so tempted to give a hint when I looked at the board but I made the rules and these players had to do it on their own and I couldn't show any favoritism at all.
Helping a
Customer
Author: Bill Weasley
Date: 08-14-03 08:43
She was certainly the Bella he remembered. Bill returned her smile and gestured for her to follow him. "Ivy Cottage is a lovely home, Bella," Bill said, walking with her across the marble floor to the door of his office. "I visited it when I was looking for real estate in the village. It was, at the time, vastly out of my price range." He held out a chair for Bella before stepping behind his desk and seating himself in the rolling armchair.
"I bought a small cottage on the East Lane; been living there since before Christmas."
"Sounds lovely," Bella said.
"It is," Bill admitted, nodding his head. He pulled open a random drawer and stuffed Charlie's letter within it. "It's much more comfortable than the few rooms we--I had at the Inn last year." He cleared his throat, deciding to cut the small talk before he blurted out something about Charlie, which could make things even more awkward and embarrassing for Bella.
Bill rolled his chair backwards and swiveled around to face a filing cabinet. He rummaged through it and pulled out a few parchments. When he rolled back to the desk and picked up a quill, he said, "A personal account, you say? Transfer from Gringotts Diagon Alley?"
Bella nodded.
Bill dipped the quill in a small bottle of ink and started to scribble down some information. He asked for her London account number and the key to her vault. "It'll take a few hours for these forms to be processed, and your new vault here should be filled by Monday afternoon. The goblins at Diagon Alley will collect everything from your old vault and deliver it here. If you would rather undertake the transfer yourself to protect any personal items you have, this can be arranged, however I can assure you that a goblin transfer is very secure."
He flipped to the second page of the form and ran his index finger down the page, marking boxes here and there. "I assume you'll want a large vault for your personal account and a smaller one for your household expenses?"
Taipei, Taiwan:
Many Meetings
Author: Ethan Somerset
Date: 08-14-03 10:50
Kep-Tian was a tall, middle-aged man with dark hair and eyes. He had developed a reputation as something of a mob boss in both the Muggle and wizarding worlds, and he certainly looked the part. He preferred Muggle suits over traditional wizarding attire and exuded a sort of ominous authority over all. All that differed from Kep-Tian and a Muggle mobster was the missing gun on his person, but for that he had a wand.
In the last year, Kep-Tian lost some of his influence. Several of his followers left him, and consequently were killed. Others were killed by Muggle police or Taiwanese Hit wizards during a raid. All that remained of his once powerful group were the two wizards and the one witch Ethan met during the meeting one week ago.
Despite his losses, Kep-Tian continued to instill fear among those who met him. Few knew of his hide-out in Taipei, and those who did know were too frightened to reveal it. It was after Morgain learned of Kep-Tian's location from a confidential source that she suggested Ethan collect him and the remainder of his people. He had everything to gain by joining Voldemort.
Since the first meeting, Ethan had met with Kep-Tian and the others several times. It was during these gatherings that Ethan learned more about the Taiwanese wizard, about his past ventures and future goals, and about the trials and tribulations he had faced over the past year. It was also during these gatherings that Ethan repeatedly attempted to persuade Kep-Tian to join the Dark Lord's forces.
While Kep-Tian himself was interested in an alliance with Voldemort, he had no honest desire in simply being a servant of the Dark Lord. He was used to running the show himself; being second, third or fourth to someone else in supreme command seemed not only undesirable but also quite unimaginable.
Still, he had lost much during the past year and Ethan made it clear that joining Voldemort would very much be to his advantage. Kep-Tian knew it likely to be so, but that itch to remain his own man remained in the forefront of his mind.
It was late Saturday evening in Taipei when Ethan slipped inside the soup shop and made his way to the back part of the building. Kep-Tian and the others were already sitting at the round card table, half-empty drinks, game chips and discarded cards littering the surface.
"Ah, Ethan," Kep-Tian said, looking up from his hand as Ethan entered the room. He removed the cigar from his mouth and asked, "Won't you join us?"
"Certainly," Ethan said, and he slipped into the empty seat between the two other wizards, Chichang and Yilan.
Kep-Tian threw down a card from his hand, put the cigar back in his mouth and said, "We're almost finished with this round, and then we will deal you in."
Ethan nodded, watching as the game resumed. When they finished, he entered the next round and started the conversation common for their meetings.
"Have you made a decision yet, Kep-Tian?"
Kep-Tian studied his cards for a minute before discarding a few. Then he laid eyes on Ethan and said, "I will give you my answer by the end of next week."
"Very well," Ethan said, "and your followers," his eyes looked from face to face, settling on Meilin, the witch, "will you make the decision for them or will they choose their own paths? He drew a card from the deck and added, "The Dark Lord will welcome you all. It would be right for you to choose to align with him."
His eyes shifted to Kep-Tian, who said, "Chichang, Yilan and Meilan are very loyal to me. They would follow me to the ends of the earth and back again, if I asked them. You will have an answer from all of us, Ethan."
Ethan nodded. If things went his way, the Dark Lord would find four new followers very soon.
