Thoughts in Charms Class
Author: Isolde
Date: 03-24-03 09:08

Isolde cast a glance across the Charms classroom where the Hufflepuff fifth years were sitting. Her brown eyes fell upon that obnoxious ever-pleasant do-gooder, Bronwyn Dewhurst, and a few seats over where the enigmatic Jet Obsidian sat. Although Pyrrhus had agreed to meet with Jet and to learn the tricks of the trade or whatever Jet had to offer the Slytherins, Isolde still felt a bit skeptical. He was a Hufflepuff after all, and as far as she knew, the Sorting Hat was never wrong. On the other hand, she couldn't deny being interested in his apparent slip into the dark side.

Ever since he strolled into the secret room at Twice Told Tales, having evidently earned the respect of the Stratfords and Mr. Valentine, Isolde like the rest of the gang had wondered how a Hufflepuff could have gone so bad. Maybe it was all an act–a prank of some sort to eventually get the Slytherins into trouble or to make them look like gullible morons...but maybe it was real.

Still, Isolde decided to remain cautious. She would very much like to know what Jet has to offer them, but has no interest in being his lackey or sidekick. If someone is to call the shots, the leadership role should go to a true Slytherin.

Morning...Ugh
Author: Prof. Sorcha
Date: 03-24-03 16:20

Morning...the worst time of day. Good Morning, the ultimate oxymoron. It was the worst two words you could put together.

Sorcha slowly got out of bed, very slowly. It was almost a full three minutes for her to go from lying to standing. It seemed like it wasn't all that long ago where she could spring out of bed and startle Ailsa sitting on her perch. Those days were gone though, why or how was a mystery. Sorcha seemed to be getting weaker and thinner all the time. She barely ate anymore, much to Ailsa's dismay.

Sorcha thought that an aging spell had been placed on her by one of the students, but she didn't look older. Then she thought that it was some kind of advanced one. Still, what good would taking out a teacher serve except to get a strict substitute in the class? Still, Sorcha wondered what was wrong but nothing came to mind.

"I'm not even 30 yet. Why do I feel older then most of the other teachers who probably wrote in the stuff I'm teaching?" Sorcha said aloud. "What was it I was teaching again?" Sorcha asked herself, and then glanced at Ailsa who only tilted her head. "Oh, that's right, Ancient Runes. Geez, I'm loosing it."

----------------------------------------------------------------------

"Since I am teaching the history of Ancient Rune, I thought that it would be a great idea to cover the history of its grammar. It just makes perfect since to know how a language developed. That way you can appreciate the languages we use today," Sorcha started, "Now, everything you know about grammar, throw it out the window. Capitalization, punctuation, spacing...don't worry about it. When written language was first developed none of that existed..."

After talking for only fifteen minutes it was time for the assignment. "Now, I would like to see an essay from you using what you learned from today's lesson. The subject of the essay will be..." Oh no, what was the essay supposed to be about? Worst class...no, best class...no, why they chose this class...no... Oh, I remember. "The essay will be about what class you would like to see Hogwarts offer that it doesn't already. You have the rest of the time to work on it, if you don't finish its homework."

Questions and Answers
Author: Ethan Somerset
Date: 03-24-03 16:47

As the first class period of the morning came to an end, Ethan slid off of the edge of his desk and collected the in-class assignment his first year Gryffindor and Slytherin students had dutifully completed during the last half-hour. The faux smile followed each student out of the room and greeted the mass of Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw second years entering the room for the next class of the day.

His mind wandered to the recent past: earning an honest life as an auror and protecting innocent folk from the dark arts, teaching wide-eyed and curious Hogwarts students how to defend themselves from the dark arts and now deeply rooted in and desiring to exercise the evil within by using the dark arts to his advantage.

Occasionally, bouts of clarity assailed him. Something was not right in the world. But those feelings were few and far between and everyday more so. During those rare good moments, he questioned his new self: How did he become what he is today? Is he alone in this? No–at least one other is in on it: Voldemort. But just what does he have to do with it all?

The obvious answer is something evil, yet each time Ethan gets this far in his thoughts, something draws his attention away from all the questions. This time, Ariella Beck entered the classroom and took her normal seat in the front row.

Ethan felt his insides lurch–but not out of fear or dread or uneasiness. His eyes narrowed, but only just as to avoid notice, and he hopped back onto the surface of his desk as he waited for the rest of the class to find their seats. Once the activity in the classroom stilled, Ethan welcomed the class with a pleasant good morning and began the lecture with a question/answer session.

"We're going to begin a new subject today. I trust you all read the chapter I assigned last Wednesday?"

Heads nodded and textbooks opened to the correct page.

"Good. Can somebody name a jinx mentioned in the text and describe its properties, please?"

Titania, of Ravenclaw house, raised her hand.

"Miss Bennett."

She did an excellent job of giving all the gory details, but Ethan had no desire to award her enthusiasm with House Points.

"Very well done, Miss Bennett. Can anyone else supply another one for us?"

Ariella Beck's hand shot into the air.

Ethan listened contently as she relayed the details of her jinx. A coy smile, dripping with acidic pleasure, formed on his handsome face. When she finished retelling what she had read, Ethan took a considerable amount of time correcting the flaws–not that anything she had said was necessarily wrong.

In fact, her summary of the jinx wasn't much different in quality than Titania's. It was quite good and under past circumstances, she'd have done just fine and possibly earned a few points. Yet, ever since the big change, Ethan always had the over-whelming urge to pick on Hufflepuff and the Beck children.

Flustered, Ariella didn't raise her hand during class again.

One Fine Day
Author: Gabriel Baine
Date: 03-24-03 17:20

Gabriel and Annabella sat at opposite sides of a table in the library. His practically vacant bag contained only a few pieces of parchment and his Muggle Studies books, and lay slumped against the leg of his chair. His attention was on a Muggle letter before him. His mother wrote with stringent words of his fighting (which he had written to her of prior), inquiring of himself and Hermione, requesting he send her the latest international Quidditch news, and informing him of her own activities, his father's, and how their bull dog Paisley was doing. Absence from home and family had never caused much grief for Gabriel. The constant redefinition of home in his life had resulted in a lack of importance of that influence to him. Letters from his father were a rarity, Andrew Baine preferred to converse with his son when he was present. Morgane, however, maintained perpetual contact with Gabriel, indifferent to the distance between them. Remaining a presence in her son's life and knowing his thoughts was of greatest value to Morgane, and their relationship was more of confidential friendship than respectful mother and son. Should Gabriel error, Morgane made him aware of it; if a relationship was failing, Morgane offered him both support and chastise. Her satisfaction remained in acknowledging that only when her son became reserved was there a need to be concerned.

From his bag Gabriel retrieved a sheet of parchment and dipped his quill into an ink jar, which he already used to complete his Muggle Studies assignment. In his response, Gabriel answered all the questions and requests his mother made: the intermittent talks with Hermione, Puddlemore United's astonishing win a week back, and making a few comments and remarks of what his father and mother were doing. Composing letters were such a standard procedure for Gabriel that an entire parchment required little time to complete. He sealed his ink and swabbed his quill before returning them to his bag, which he closed and resituated against his chair.

"Do you like that book?" asked Gabriel to Annabella. Since they had entered the library, with a few words between each other, Annabella had been reading a Muggle novel, "Vanity Fair."

Annabella's reply was a conceited mumble signify that she was ignorant of his question.

"I say, do you like that book you're reading?" replied Gabriel. Annabella looked up at him with a small amount of interest before observing he was sincere in his question.

"Yes, it's particularly enjoyable," said Annabella and immediately returned her attention to the book. Gabriel habitually pursed his lips in irritation and breathed heavily through his nose. His defiance was not wasted on Annabella, who marked her place before closing the book. Annoyed, she tossed a blunt "What?" at Gabriel.

"Are there certain reasons why the book is 'particularly enjoyable,' or is it just, 'particularly enjoyable' because?" asked Gabriel sardonically.

"It's simply particularly enjoyable, and if you were truly interested, which I perceive you are not, I would suggest you read the novel yourself before attempting to create a discussion of it," said Annabella with rivaling fire in her remarks.

"As a matter of fact I have already read that book; my mum had me read it years ago so that I might discuss it with her. One finds that discussing their reading with others enhances their own understanding of the meanings by hearing other thoughts of the writing. However, your attitude doesn't offer much room for accepting others. Then again, no one wants to talk with someone who acts like such a bitch," spat Gabriel at Annabella. Instantly her brow creased and her mouth opened at the insult. Others in the library who were nearby glanced up at the two.

"What's your problem?" shot Annabella back at him. He could sense in her tone that she was extremely angry and had reached a point of no longer accepting the mounting hostility between them.

"Where is the problem here Anna? At least I'm honest. I can't take any more of your attitude. Therefore, I'd suggest you remove whatever is shoved up your arse, or accept that I'm not going to be treated so sourly by you without a reason for it. One fine day you'll realize I'm not the perfect friend who doesn't make mistakes," said Gabriel. He grabbed his bag and hoisted it onto his shoulder before leaving Annabella without another glance.

Monday, Monday
Author: Cho Chang
Date: 03-24-03 18:10

Cho sat hunched over books in the Hogwarts library, an old Beatles tune from a record her parents used to play running through her head. They would play mainly in the winter and dance to it as the fire roared in their den. When she would ask why this particular song, they would jovially respond that to them, winter was like a Monday - necessary, but gloomy and dull. Winter would sometimes seem to drag on for months more than it should, as did this particular Monday seem to drag on for more days than it should.

Sighing, she shut the books, she'd finished all of this weeks homework and half of the next's, a good stopping point. Her eyes dart to the windows and to her watch, stifling a yawn as she stands and collects the books she wants to check out and those she needs to reshelve. Once that is finished, she makes her way aimlessly through the halls, thinking she might want to get back to the dorm and put the books away, but finding her feet have other plans.

Carefree, Cho followed her feet and they took her to a seemingly abandoned corridor, absent of shuffling feet, dropping books, and worries. Smiling softly, she sets her books down on a windowsill, looking over all of the pictures and brushing away some cobwebs. She brushes a bit of dust off of another windowsill and rests her elbows on it, gazing out towards the forest and beyond. Though her eyes were focused outward, her thoughts were introspective, analyzing herself. Yes, she was content for the most part, Fynn had helped a great deal, more than she had realized. So had Aradia and Sykra, it helped to play matchmaker a little bit with Sykra, and to banter with Aradia. Her eyes close as she indulges in the breeze playing with her curled hair.

Correspondance Course
Author: Albus Dumbledore
Date: 03-24-03 18:50

I have been sitting at my desk all morning, trying to catch up on some correspondence. Replies to suppliers regarding contracts for next year, replies to educators seeking a position at Hogwarts, replies to old friends asking after the state of my health... I truly do not know how these can accumulate so quickly. As I finally near the bottom of the stack, I see the note from Captain Electron, regarding the proposed concert in Hogsmeade.

Veronica had given me a brief introduction to the current musical "scene" and painted a glowing portrait of "The Captain". I presented his proposal to the staff and, after some discussion, it was agreed that we should grant the students permission to attend. However there were considerable reservations regarding the timing of the event. No one, including myself, wanted the students out after dark. Well, I had best let him know our decision. Taking a fresh sheet of parchment, I write:

My dear Captain Electron,

I have discussed your proposal with my staff and we are in agreement with a "Rock Concert", to be held in conjunction with the Hogsmeade visit scheduled for sixteen December, Nineteen Hundred and Ninety-Six. We hereby give blanket permission for any and all students, Third Year and above, to attend such an event, with the following provisions:

1. Said concert shall end no later than six PM, to allow the students to return to the school before dark. Safety of the students is a paramount concern.

2. Consumption of alcohol or tobacco shall not be permitted on the premises. None of our students have reached their legal majority.

3. Sound levels will be held to a maximum of 90 decibels on the inside of the structure and 75 decibels on the outside of the facility. We wish to protect the hearing of the students and ensure the good will of our Hogsmeade neighbors. If you need assistance with spells, we can provide you with the proper aid and guidance.

In your note to me, you did not mention anything regarding an entrance fee or ticket price. I would suggest you keep this nominal, as many of our students are on limited budgets. I do have a small discretionary fund for entertainment, which I could use to help offset your losses, if such is the case. Please let me know soonest.

Best Regards,
A. Dumbledore
Headmaster, Hogwarts

I wait a few moments to let the ink dry then roll up the parchment and affix the school seal. Gathering the pile of notes and letters, I head to the Owlery to send them off.