I Can't Believe It!
Author: Ronald Weasley
Date: 10-25-04 06:21
"Harry, Harry, Harry!" Ron yelled, racing towards Harry.
"What Ron?" Laughed Harry, who noted some excitement in his friends voice.
"You are never going to believe it!"
"What?! Tell me already?"
"I'm in." Ron grinned.
First Day of Finals
Author: Pyrrhus
Date: 10-25-04 08:09
During breakfast Py had taken a quick look at the list he'd made of Isolde's and his final exam schedule.
Monday
8 - 9 Charms
10 - 11 CoMC
1 - 2 Ancient Runes
2 - 3 DADA
4 - 5 Divination
Sitting now in the Charms classroom to find out what Professor Flitwick has in store for them, Py thinks it's going to be a very long day. Stupid Hagrid's class should be an easy exam and unless she throws something unexpected at them, Professor Sacheverell's shouldn't be overly difficult. Ancient Runes as the potential to be. Professor Sorcha's very nice, mild mannered, and easy going most of the time but she gives killer exams! DADA is sure to be difficult and for all his charm *pun intended* Professor Flitwick can be an exacting taskmaster.
Just today and tomorrow to get through and they're done. Isolde's soon to officially become a professional Quidditch player, if only for the summer, and Py will work when needed at Twice Told Tales. He's been itching to see what their newest dark arts aquisitions in the secret room are.
Professor Flitwick enters the classroom and as everyone hushes, Py reaches over and gives Isolde's hand a squeeze. He grins and winks at Alexis when she makes one of her "get a room!" noises.
Turning to face where the professor stands, Py thinks, "Bring it on and get it over with!"
Potions Review
Author: Jared
Date: 10-25-04 09:35
All the second year Gryffindors cluster in a corner of the library, attempting to do a quick, final review before their Potions exam at nine. Over breakfast they made the decision to hold the study session. In Jared's opinion it's not that any of them think this will actually do any good so much as an attempt to fill the time before the exam begins. None of them were too keen on spending the first part of the morning alone in speculation and worry about Professor Snape's sure to be impossible to pass exam.
For Jared, the only good thing about the Potions final is that it's going to keep him from being able to dwell on Transfiguration at ten. That McGonagall is a tough bird who suffers fools about as gladly ad Snape. Herbology and Astronomy round out the day's exams for the second year Gryffindors. Jared, a nominally good student, feels he'll do well on all his exams but where Snape's and McGonagall's classes are concerned he's still less than confident.
Realizing it's his turn to put forth a question, Jared asks, "What are the ingredients in a boil cure potion?"
Orie throws out part of the answer. "Crushed snake fangs."
"Correct."
Titus ventures forth with, "Dried nettles and stewed horned slugs."
"Also correct."
Rikku gives the last, vital piece of information. "Porcupine quills but added only after removing the cauldron from the fire."
"You got it! Who's next?"
Brown Paper Packages
Author: Genesis Sparrow
Date: 10-25-04 13:07
Genny was back in her wagon the next day, putting more of her things in a cardboard box. Fluffy was off his perch and strutting around the countertops, turning his curious little head in all directions to watch Genesis pack. She wasn't moving out, or moving in either, well, not exactly...she was simply bringing some of her more favored items to Rufus'...and putting something together for Daddy. She'd brought a smaller, mail-sized box with her as well and was quickly rifling through her things to find just what she needed to put in it.
"HA!" She said triumphantly, holding up an ancient photo album for Fluffy to see. "I found it!" She flipped to the back cover, revealing a handful of ancient child-drawings. She carefully turned to the one that she remembered best: a card, folded into sloppy halves, on the front was a carefully, yet incredibly messy, scrawling of "To: Dabby," written in her best red crayon. And then on the inside was a little girl, expertly sketched in green pants and a gray shirt with black pigtails sprouting from the side of her head to mesh with the giant blue teardrops falling from her cheeks. Across the bottom, etched in purple crayon were the words, "Im sory, Dabby," followed closely by a horribly sad "smiley" face, and then she'd signed her name in the corner of the very bottom of the page because she'd run out of room: a bright red heart, followed by a very carefully drawn "Genesis."
Gen sat, holding the card for a moment. She'd drawn that a very long time ago...when she had still held her sight. She couldn't remember what Darius had gotten angry with her about, but she remembered that the card was one of the last things she'd ever drawn or written. Her eyes had gone soon after that. She could write now of course, but that was different. Sure she'd learned to see ink, but it was incredibly difficult and tiring. It required a lot of attention focused on making out the impressions a pen left on a page, or the raised bits of ink upon a printed paper. Typically, she wrote with an enchanted ink that her father had helped her concoct. It interacted with the way she perceived the world, making the letters appear to almost glow as they exited the nib.
Genny gave the card one last kiss, praying her father wouldn't be in a rage and tear it up. She set it in the little box along with a framed picture of her, and her sisters, and Darius camping out at the ranch, their hotdogs and marshmallows squewered and roasting over a crackling fire while they giggled about not being able to remember the verses for "Oh My Darling Clementine." Genesis watched as her nine year old self hugged her father around the neck before giving him a kiss on the cheek and waving at the camera.
Feeling quite done with old memories for the day, Gen took a deep breath and got to her feet, snatching the little jar of dry ingredients for a single-serving of their perfect hot cocoa, stached in a quaint little glass jar, and set it in the box beside the memories. She wrapped the box in brown paper, tying it with string before running into Adam's shop to borrow Captain Morgan. Fluffly gave her a slightly hurt look when she returned to the wagon, his job handed to another owl.
"I'm sorry," she said, stroking the little fuzz-ball's head. "But it's such a long way to New York, and I think Daddy would recognize you anyway...then he'd never open the box. Fluffy ruffled his feathers and turned his head, burying his beak beneath the feathers bewteen his wings.
Genesis sat down at her tiny desk and wrote a quick letter to Professor Dumbledore, asking if it would be all right to set up an appointment to tour the grounds the week after the students were let out on summer holiday. She melted a bit of navy blue wax onto the letter, pressing her family's seal onto it before nudging Fluffy awake. "Take this to Dumbledore, all right? I'll probably be in New York when you get back. If you feel up to it you can meet me there, okay?" Fluffy gladly took on his duty as Genny's owl and set off toward Hogwarts.
Genny finished packing up a handful of books and old texts she'd collected over the years, all of them pertaining to Arithmancy and Numeration, along with a blank, leather-bound book and a few bottles of bewitched ink. She slung her knapsack, bulging with clothes, over her shoulder and proceeded to Adam's fireplace...then to St.Mungo's, and next to St.Claire's where she caught a cab back to their appartment.
Waiting
Author: Majandra
Date: 10-25-04 14:06
Selecting another muffin from one of the large baskets Briar had sent her seventh year Gryffindor friends, Maj plays with the wedding ring on the chain around her neck. Polishing off a pastry, Hermione uses the last bit of it to point to the ring. "How long before you actually wear it?"
Hastily swallowing a bite to answer her friend's question. Majandra chokes on a crumb and after a coughing fit followed by lots of juice, she finally croaks out a reply. "Thursday morning."
Hermione gives Maj another minute to fully regain her breath. When she's able, Maj gives a fuller explanation. "I'd put it on now but I promised George I'd wait till he can put it back on my finger. Plus, if I were to put it on now there'd be questions and something might be back to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley before we've had a chance to speak to them. I'm not taking the train on Thursday. I'm going to beg Bill let me leave my trunk at his place until later in the day and them I'm apparating."
"Thursday's not long to wait."
Maj sighs before taking another bite of blueberry muffin. "Seems like an eternity to me."
Isolde's Murtlap
Author: Isolde
Date: 10-25-04 16:15
After a difficult yet satisfying Charms final exam, Isolde, Pyrrhus and Alexis left the castle for the great outdoors, where Hagrid waited for them outside his hut. Lots of open wooden boxes and larger crates were dispersed at intervals in the grass, and emanated with shuffles and scratches and other beastly noises. Nearby a pair of tables were covered with jars and bowls of animal feed of various kinds.
Once all the sixth year Slytherin and Ravenclaw students were present, the overgrown oaf announced his instructions for the exam: each student would be assigned to a creature and would have to select the appropriate food source for that creature and where applicable, demonstrate the proper manner of feeding.
Isolde was sent to a small box. Inside was a murtlap, a seashore-dwelling rodent native to Britain. The ratlike creature with a growth on its back resembling a sea anemone, scurried around its four-walled enclosure and wrinkled its nose. After a brief observation, Isolde walked over to the tables and looked for any crustaceans. She found a deep bowl of live hermit crabs, that climbed over one another in an attempt to scale the smooth sides of the bowl. Isolde grabbed it and took it to her box.
Hagrid stomped over as Isolde plucked a hermit crab from the bowl and set it inside the box with the murtlap.
"Well done, Isolde!" Hagrid boomed, before moving to evaluate the next student.
Excellent News!
Author: Harry Potter
Date: 10-25-04 17:47
Harry puts his fork aside, and looks across at Ron who's leaning on the table across from him. "Got in? Got in where?"
Ron waves a sheef of parchment in front of Harry's face. Harry grabs it and gives it a quick once over. "Excellent! You're in at St. Emrys!"
A voice comes from behind Ron. "Depending on NEWT scores of course."
Laughing, Maj gives Hermione a light tap on the arm. "Don't tease!"
Hermione comes even with Ron and leans over to snatch the parchment from Harry. She too scans it quickly then handing it back to Ron, she asks, "Did either of you happen to notice the part about a full Quidditch scholarship?"
"What?" they both shout simultaneously.
Harry's grin grows wider. "Quidditch at St. Emrys! I'm trying out for a spot."
Majandra, who'd come around the table to sit down next to Harry, looks puzzled. "If you two didn't know about the university putting together a team, then how did Ron's name get put in for one of their scholarships?"
The four exchange glances then Hermione says aloud what they're all thinking. "Australia Kingston."
Hermione, Maj, and Ron sit down to join Harry for lunch, the four of them chatting animatedly about Quidditch at St. Emrys and what school life there will be like.
Finals
Author: Fritz Schnackenpfefferhausen
Date: 10-25-04 18:04
"Time!" Professor Turin calls out and with a wave of his hand, the exam parchments leave the students' desks and fly into a neat stack onto his podium.
Fritz blinks, glad he at least managed to complete his sentence before the test went flying away, and starts to tuck away his quill when Professor Turin says, "Well, this is our last meeting together for this year. I hope you all have a very good holiday. See you at the End of Term Feast and then again in September!"
Then it's off to Transfiguration, where Fritz and Coco take their seats, grip their anti-cheating quills and prepare to take their second final exam of the day. Professor McGonagall waits five full minutes before handing out the exam papers, while relaying firm instructions as to the testing procedure. When all students have their exams, McGonagall says, "Begin."
Just under an hour later, the exam is over and Fritz and Coco, completely famished, head to the Great Hall for some lunch. They review History of Magic while they eat, for that exam will be their third and last for the day.
The Cat Speaks--Loudly
Author: Bast
Date: 10-25-04 18:13
Bast had spent a great deal of time observing the Sparrow family at Pots and Pages and had reached Her breaking point. Where had the insanity exhibited by several members of the clan come from? It certainly wasn't from Her side of the family. Now that the Sparrows were divided between Hogsmeade and New York the time was appropriate to reveal Herself to a few members, Adam, his wife Sidi and Genesis. Thinking of Genny made Bast want to start shredding something expensive. The things her father Darius had put the girl through! Such an obvious insult to Ma’at only strengthened the Dark. Had Her descendants forgotten all their teachings? When She got her claws on that man!
The Goddess considered things again as She groomed Her tail and concluded at least with Her favorite three things were not quite so bad. Pots and Pages had a healthy aura about it and the town itself was a pleasant place to live. She approved of Molly and her numerous children and the young lady with the herbal shop. Ellspeth had taken the hint of a book left open to a page on catnip and had planted both regular and lemon. Hogwarts she also approved of and made a note to drop in on Albus Dumbledore and introduce Herself as he was the current head of the Order of the Phoenix. Bast also was a member of the Order in its more ancient form of the Order of the Ma'at.
All that She needed to do now was to wait for one of the trio to arrive.
Lunch Break
Author: Ginny Weasley
Date: 10-25-04 18:55
Plopping down next to her brother and grabbing a sandwich, Ginny states, "You all seem cheerful. What's up?"
Ron hands Ginny the acceptance letter. She reads it through twice to make sure she understands it in full. Ginny throws an arm around Ron and gives him a tight hug before returning both hands to her all too short lunch. "Mum and Dad are going to be chuffed! Congratulations, Ron!"
"How are exams going, Ginny?" Harry asks.
"I think they're going well. I've had three today and two more to go, Muggle Studies at one and DADA at two. Has anyone seen Theodore today?"
Ron makes a sound like a growl in the back of his throat then Hermione jumps in, cutting him off before he can say anything. "No, sorry. Why do you ask?"
"He was so tired after NEWTs I've been concerned is all."
Ginny suddenly jumps up. "I'm supposed to take Brett some sandwiches! I nearly forgot!"
Ginny snatches up the sandwich platter and dumps several out onto a napkin. Rapidly wrapping them up, she grabs another to munch on as she rushes off with a garbled, hasty goodbye to the others.
Proud
Author: Hermione Granger
Date: 10-25-04 19:21
Hermione was so proud of Ron.
"We will have to celebrate properly," she said, "after graduation. Will you still have a party at your house, Harry?"
"Unless something comes up," Harry replied. "Mark your calendars for when Sirius and Dru are on their honeymoon."
"Can you believe we're almost finished here?" Majandra asked. "Just a few more days..." she trailed off wistfully.
"It's so surreal," Hermione agreed.
"Yeah," Ron said. "It almost doesn't seem real."
"I'm going to miss this place," Harry said.
Hermione suddenly felt very sad. Hogwarts had been a part of her life for seven long years and now it was nearing its end. Just a few more days to go and she could no longer walk through the castle doors a student of Gryffindor House.
"I'm glad we'll all be at St. Emrys together," Hermione said. "This would be so much harder if we all went our own ways after the end."
The mood at the table took a solemn note until Ron exclaimed, "I just can't believe I got in!"
The others laughed and Hermione, so very proud of her Ron, pecked him on the cheek and said, "I knew you would."
Strategic Maneuver
Author: Rufus Salisbury
Date: 10-26-04 06:06
Genny entered their "apartment" to a ringing phone and was surprised when she found Rufus sitting in the room watching TV.
"Aren't you supposed to be at work? Are you going to get that?"
Rufus shook his head. "No. Its your dad calling to blast me for not coming in to work today, of course had I showed up I would have been blasted for doing so."
She climbed on the bed and tucked herself perfectly under his arm, her head rested on his chest.
"You can't hide forever!" The phone stopped ringing then started again.
"I'm not hiding! " He pressed a button and watched the channels change one by one in so excellerated a pace she could hardly identify...cooking show...News.....Full House re-run....Moose and squirrel....Jerry Springer.... She grabbed the remote.
"Stop it! You're either sulking or hiding!"
He grabbed it back. 'Am not! This is a strategic manuver."
She wrenched it from his hand.
"Strategic manuver? Cowering in your room because Daddy is mad?" She tickeled him. He caught her hand and laughed.
"Seems to work for you! No, I know how to handle your dad, been doing it for twenty years you know. Daddy don't scare me. I'll tell you what though, one of these days I'm going to pop him."
Rufus picked up his wand from the bedside table and pointed it at the TV.
Genny laughed. "You're pathetic!"
Direct Hit to the Heart and a Slash to the Jugular!
Author: Darius Sparrow
Date: 10-26-04 07:54
Darius recognized his son's owl fluttering outside the window. He stared at the owl wondering when the stupid thing would realize it couldn't get in through the glass. Captain Morgan stared back then deliberately let go of the package he was carrying.
"Evanesco! You stupid owl! He leaned out the window and watched the package fall 13 floors. Captain Morgan swooped expertly and caught it before it hit the ground then effortlessly sailed in through the window and dropped it on Darius' desk. Darius lifted his arm in an invitation which the owl accepted, then retrieved a few owl treats from his drawer.
"You've got balls old man" Darius laughed as the owl ate the treats greedily and asked for more. Darius opened his hand wide to allow him to finish off what was left. Then petted the rather overweight bird behind the neck. Captain Morgan hopped from his arm onto the desk and started to peck at the twine that was wrapped around the box.
"I'm getting to it! My god you're an owl version of my son." Captain Morgan made happy owl noises and continued to bite the twine.
Darius opened the package and looked inside.
"Et tu Captain?" He reached inside and pulled out a photograph taken at the ranch.
"God, I remember that." He stood staring at it.
The girls loved the ranch in Arizona as much as he did. They each had a horse and took to the out-of-doors like a mermaid to water. Their camp-outs were nights of no sleep and endless giggles. Sometimes they were planned and other times not. It was when he arrived at the school to collect them on the weekends and they'd see him in a cowboy hat they'd know. The three would be giddy and throw their arms around him, giggling and planning the weekend. Genny had once told him how proud she was when he'd pick her up from school.
Most of the Wizard children didn't have much contact with the Muggle world and the things of it. He wanted his children grounded in both. Darius didn't want to deny them the opportunity to master anything, even going as far as to back a private progressive elementry school for Mudblo..Half Muggle and full-blooded children in Jamaica, the dream of Adam's "God-Mother" Afi. Afi's husband Te-Gene was ougnan (priest) of a Vodun socyete and Afi a oungenikon (assistant). Both were firmly entrenched in the community and well known for their views on inclusion.
"Daddy!" Genny gushed.
"Alberta Crumm-never-ever-made-a-smore-and-she-doesn't-even-know-what-one-is-cuz-she-doesn't- -know-what-Hershey-is-and-everyone-knows- thats-where-chocolate-comes-from-and-I-know-so-cuz-I-been-there!!"
She finally took a breath.
Darius laughed. "That's right."
Genny flipped a braid. "She didn't believe me that I was there but I showed her a picture and then she shut up!"
She pushed her sister out of the way to grab his hand as they exited the school grounds. Dawn and Eve fought for the other hand until Darius finally stopped and hoisted Dawn up on his back to stop the war. Dawn of course sticking her tongue out at her sister who ultimately started howling at how unfair walking was while her sister got a ride. Evie, alway finding the dramatic way do to everything, wailed at the unjustness of being not as loved as the other two.
Genny became animated, bossy and a complete delight once out of the company of strangers and into the bosom of her family. Darius tried to encourage her independence. The thought to remind her that telling people to shut up was impolite and shouldn't be done was birthed and quickly died.
Darius delighted in his daughter. "Well who the hell does Alberta Crumm think she is aye? You sure showed her!"
Darius sat on the couch in his office looking through the box of memories.
"Oh GOD!" He laughed in defeat and fell back against the couch, now a quivering mass of Jell-o. A little piece of folded paper containing a rough sad smilie face and a pig-tailed girl with big blue tears was tucked gently in his hand. He struck his chest with an open palm.
"Direct hit to the heart and a slash to the jugular!"
Impressed at her cunning he heaved himself up and sat behind his desk. He buzzed his secretary.
"Susan, I wan't a box of smores sent to Rufus Salisbury's love nest, in care of my daughter Genesis."
