Thoughts before Class
Author: Nessiah Wenton
Date: 01-27-02 22:10

Nessiah was standing near Hagrid's hut, waiting for the lesson to begin. She wondered what he had in store for this lesson. That's why she liked this class. It was always interesting!

The young Hufflepuff looked around at her friends, with the well known smile on her face. A couple of them were discussing Quidditch.

Lucky people.... She said to herself. Nessiah strongly disliked her parents for not letting her play. She's always had to do it in secret. Usually at a friend's house...when their parents weren't around. Nessiah always felt free when she was flying on her broomstick.

The Hufflepuff girl snapped out of it as Hagrid appeared. And, still smiling, Nessiah got to work in her one class for Tuesday.

A Battle Begins
Author: Ron Weasley
Date: 01-27-02 22:45

Ron and Harry couldn't believe the horrendous scene that erupted in potions class. Hermione would never cheat. Harry knew it. Ron knew it. And what made Ron angriest of all is that Snape knew it. Well, he should have by now anyway.

It hurt Ron to see Hermione so upset, and infuriated him to see Snape's delight in humiliating her. And it made Ron livid when he caught the Slytherins sideways glances and attempts to contain laughter, especially Tempest and Clara. They looked too delighted, too pleased, too guilty. Ron was determined to find out who was at the bottom of this scheme, and when he did he was prepared for full out war–or at least a wizards duel. But there was one thing he had to do first.

While the rest of the students rushed to leave the dungeon, Ron remained, glaring at Snape.

Harry suddenly understood what his friend was thinking. "Ron," whispered Harry, "Come on, it's not worth it. He won't listen. Let's go before we lose more points!"

But it was no use. Before Harry had finished his sentence Ron was standing in front of Snape's desk.

Snape looked up from his papers, eyeing Ron sourly as if anticipating the gist of conversation. "The topic of Miss Granger is closed." Snape snapped fiercely. "Is there anything else I can help you with, Mr. Weasley?"

"Yes there is." Ron responded coldly, eyes locked with Snape's. "How about restoring my faith in this educational institution by not turning a blind-eye to the malicious actions taken by students from your own house."

Snape sneered. "Really, Mr. Weasley, how dare you insult–"

But Ron's hard gaze never faltered, and he proceeded fearlessly. "But then again, what more should I expect from a Death Eater!" And with that Ron turned and marched out the door, where Harry waited for him, terrified.

Snape sat at his desk in a state of shock. He hadn't expected such a bitter slap in the face. For once, Snape didn't feel compelled to deduct house points, or the pure anger and hatred to give detention. For once, Snape felt just remorse.

Hogsmeade
Author: Dierna ní Cíaran
Date: 01-27-02 22:51

Dierna puts her owl's cage on a table in the corner of the sitting room and opens the door so it can fly about and grow accustom to its new home. It hoots happily as it explores. Meanwhile, Dierna sets to writing to Sirius Black.

That, however, is not as easy as it seems. Dierna doesn't really know how to start - after all what DO you say to an old school friend who spent twelve years in Azkaban - the most terrible place in existence?

Finally Dierna just writes down things as they are, and as she sees them. Sirius was known for simply doing the thinking. He was just as much of a person to say things as they are as Dierna was herself. She picked up one of her new quills and began to write.

"Hello, Sirius. This is Dierna . . . Lily's best friend from Hogwarts . . ."

When she was done, she tied the letter to her owl's leg and sent it on its first mission.

3:30 PM Asleep in the Tower
Author: Belladonna
Date: 01-28-02 00:41

Belladona Sinistra, Professor of Astronomy at Hogwarts, lived in her office in the tower. Well, to be more specific, a rather large room off her office in the tower that was complete with a private bathroom and a view of all the grounds at Hogwarts, for stained glass windows were all around the room. Even with the windows open, she could see out, but was too far up for others to see in. With the door that led to her office/sitting room closed, she had utter and complete privacy and an understanding that students were not to come in to see her before 8 PM so she could sleep.

And sleeping with the bed curtains and the heavy window curtains closed was what she was doing this afternoon as she had for the past five years, thank you very much. The stars didn't come out at night and neither did she. A sleeping white owl named Luna perched on a cushioned headboard, adding to the complete silence in the room.

At promptly 10:30 PM, or sooner if disturbed, Professor Sinistra would put on a silk robe embroidered with golden moon and stars over one of the identical thin deep blue silk gowns she slept in and light a fire to make a cup of tea and a bit of dinner. By 11:30, she'd be in a velvet Renaissance styled gown with warm shawl, gathering her material for class and going over her lesson plan for the night. Promptly at midnight, she'd show up in class and begin.

For now sleep and a rather lovely dream of riding behind Charlie Weasley on the back of a dragon that she'd laugh over when awake and sensible. Besotted as ever and it never did her any good. Oh well, she'd happen to go to Hogsmeade Saturday morning and if she happened to meet him there, so much the better. That failing, she'd send tickets to a match when Quiddish started and hope he'd accept the date. Old crushes certainly died hard, didn't they?

She rolled over in sleep as her dream changed to one of riding through the stars on a well loaded broom. Dreams often served as reminders and this one reminded her to take one of her nights off and chart some new star patterns. Stonehenge would be the perfect place for it and a picnic for one would provide energy while she did it.

Whistles as She Wanders In
Author: Cho Chang
Date: 01-28-02 06:20

Proud of her handy work she sees Jarl looking around and waves, half-skipping over, "Hey Jarl! Whatcha doin'?" She grins, brushing a strand of ebony hair back behind her ear.

The Morning After
Author: Hermione Granger
Date: 01-28-02 11:28

The next morning, Hermione trudged down the stairs after having locked herself in her dorm room the previous night. She had cried her eyes out over Snape and his stupid accusation. How could he think that she would even dare cheat? It's not like she would have needed a cheat sheet anyway. She's always prepared for exams. Always.

Ron and Harry had tried to check on her last night, but she had refused to see them. She was ashamed of what had transpired in Potions class. Never in her life had she suffered so much. She had gotten an F! Hermione Granger had failed an exam and had been accused of cheating.

The only person Hermione finally opened up to last night was Majandra Fine. Their other roommates seemed to be upset at the loss of points, and simply glared at Hermione as they entered the dorm for the night. Majandra, on the other hand, had stumbled into the room after a visit with Dobby and immediately hopped onto the edge of Hermione's bed to talk.

"Something just doesn't add up, Majandra," Hermione sniffled before blowing her nose into a damp hanky.

Majandra tilted her head to the side and tapped her chin. "I think you're right. I know you, and you wouldn't cheat. Not even if you weren't prepared for an exam...you wouldn't do it."

Hermione sighed, nodding. "No, I wouldn't dare. Now the question is, how did a cheat sheet get into my essay and more importantly, how is it that it was written in my handwriting?"

"Maybe someone charmed you into writing it in your sleep?" Majandra suggested.

Hermione shrugged, "Maybe. But, I don't think so. There's something fishy going on, and I'm willing to bet those Slytherins are behind it. Just how they did it, is exactly what I'm going to find out."

After that conversation, Majandra started to gush about Dobby, to which Hermione could merely gag. They went to bed, and suprisingly, Hermione slept well without giving Snape a second thought.

That next morning, when Hermione trudged down the stairs, she found Ron and Harry waiting for her in front of the fireplace.

"Morning, Hermione," Ron said, standing up to meet her. "How are you feeling today?"

Hermione smiled weakly and answered, "Terrible. But I think things will get better." She turned to Harry, "Morning."

"Morning, Hermione. Are you coming to class then?" he asked, patting her gently on the arm.

"Yes, I'm coming to class, but first I want breakfast!" she laughed lightly, trying to forget that in the afternoon she had a meeting with Snape.

"Great! Breakfast it is!" Ron started to put his arm around her to direct her out of the common room, when suddenly, Hermione noticed Majandra emerging from the dorms. She looked tired and a little on the thin side.

"Majandra?" Hermione said, removing herself from Ron's arm and walking towards the staircase. "Do you want to join us for breakfast?" she asked.

Majandra nodded, stifling a yawn, and followed her friends out of the common room.

When they entered the Great Hall, all chatter stopped as all eyes immediately fell on Hermione. She squirmed under everyone's gaze and felt Ron grab her arm and lead her to the table.

"Just ignore them," he whispered, squeezing her arm reassuringly.

Hermione sighed and replied through gritted teeth, "It's going to be difficult."

"How is it that the whole school already knows about it?" Majandra wondered, reaching for a roll.

Harry let out a short laugh, "There are no secrets at Hogwarts." Then, he raised his gaze from his plate to Hermione, who could only stare back. Both of them had secrets, and they both knew it.

Re: Whistles as She Wanders In
Author: Jarl Hrafnkel
Date: 01-28-02 11:32

"Hi. Just preparing a little extra credit work before things get too hectic. Did you know that there's a spell which will make curses written in runes backfire onto the person who writes it? It's known as the sixth spell of Havamal."

Ugh...
Author: Katie Bell
Date: 01-28-02 15:10

Katie walked into the Great Hall for lunch, already exhausted after only a few hours' of classes. When she sat down at the Gryffindor table, she sneezed quite violently. Katie shook her head and hoped she wasn't getting sick...Quidditch season was starting up soon, and she didn't want to be sick for the first practices. But she felt she was fighting a loosing battle...that morning she had woken up with a headache. Maybe she'd go in to the nurse later if she still felt sick. Until then, she sat down to eat.

Life is Good
Author: Pyrrhus
Date: 01-28-02 15:37

The afternoon before, Pyrrhus had felt like dancing a jig when Clara and Tempest told him how things went. He'd have skipped his own class to stand outside their Potions class if he had thought he could get away with it and not cause any suspicions as to why he'd have been hanging around. He'd been forced to sit through two of his own classes before being able to rush back to the Slytherin dungeon. A few other Slytherins, including Malfoy, Isolde, and Azaelia, had joined in their little celebration. Py couldn't stop grinning, especially after Malfoy had told Py he wished he'd thought of it first.

Py had still be floating on his adrenaline of success when he'd gone to Astronomy. It was also a pefect time to use the cover of darkness to sneak in some hand holding with Isolde.

The next morning, Py had walked into the Great Hall for breakfast a cocky smile on his face. When he'd seen Majandra at the Gryffindor table, picking a roll apart and spelling out Dobby's name with the pieces, the smile changed to a smirk and then to a broad grin. After eating his breakfast, Py headed back to the Slytherin common room to kill time before his first class.

After his only morning class, Py returned to the Great Hall. It was as good a place as any to work on an assignment, he'd already be there for lunch, and best of all, he could hear all the buzz concerning Granger being caught cheating. Ah yes, life is good.

Shakes Her Head
Author: Cho Chang
Date: 01-28-02 19:29

"Nope, I didn't know that! Cool!" She grins, "I would do the extra credit, I'm just too lazy. 'Sides I'm busy playin' with m' friend's social life." She laughs, "Where'd you learn that?"

Messin' wi' My Social Life
Author: Sykra Sawyer
Date: 01-28-02 19:53

Sykra rolled her eyes as she watched her friend. She happened to catch the "playing with m'friend's social life' part and shook her head and turned to Aradia.

"That's right...my social life!" Sykra sighed. "And so are you!!"

"Moi?" Aradia looked at her. "Little innocent me?"

"Yea you...you're helping that girl!"

"Yeah yeah...but face it Sykra, you know you enjoyed that bit of time alone with Orlando...You didn't get back to the common room till after dinner..."

"Woteva!" Sykra layed her head on the table and looked towards the Hufflepuff table. She was hoping to catch a glimpse of him. The young Ravenclaw thought back to the meeting. Cho and Aradia had so kindly 'slipped' off, leaving her and Orlando alone. Sykra hadn't noticed at first. She had been enjoying the conversation. But it finally had to end. They had missed dinner, but neither seemed to care. He had walked her back to her house as far as he could, then went to his own. Sykra had refused to say anything to either of her friends, who had been waiting up for her.

"Sykra! You in there?"

Sykra snapped back into reality. Aradia was looking at her with a sly smile on her face.

"Oh quiet!" Sykra said to her.

"I didn't say anything!"

"Yeah, yeah...woteva..." Sykra layed her head back down on the table.

Dang girls...why ya gotta mess wi' my social life? I mess it up enough on my own...

Re: Messin' wi' My Social Life
Author: Jarl Hrafnkel
Date: 01-28-02 20:39

My look of bewilderment suddenly turns to recognition. "Cho, for a minute I thought... Oh, nevermind. It's from the Codex Regius I believe. The final section of Havamal which is a catalogue of chants. Eighteen magical spells in all. One you might need if you insist on playin' with your friends social life would be number eight. It's a reconciliation spell." I flip some pages, "Now here's a useful spell. Number ten, a befuddlement spell. Might be fun to cast it on a Slytherin the next time they are up to something." But the girls were now talking to each other.

A Meal of Madness
Author: Azaelia Bramble
Date: 01-28-02 21:21

Azaelia wasn't very hungry that Wednesday afternoon. She sat in her usual spot across for Isolde and ran her finger around the rim of her goblet.

"Penny for your thoughts, my dear cousin," Isolde said, her voice sounding incredibly sneaky to Azaelia.

Azaelia snorted. "Well I was just thinking about . . . Well, Hogsmeade."

"What about it?"

"Nothing, just was thinking about it." Lia said, carefully avoiding her cousin's eyes. She took a side-long glance down the table to that tall, dark-haired, and incredibly handsome Slytherin, Robert Blackheart. Their eyes met and he flashed her that pearly-white smile, she flushed slightly and she looked away, focusing once again on her goblet.

Isolde raised an eyebrow. "You're blushing, Lia." Isolde glanced down the table to try to find the source of her cousins's heated face. "It's him, isn't it? You like him. He was the one you were with at The Three Broomsticks a couple weeks ago, wasn't he?"

Azaelia ever so slowly lifted her eyes to meet her cousins, a small smile upon her lips. She nodded.

"HA! I knew it! I knew it! Tell all! Tell all!" Isolde squealed devilishly.

Lia shook her head. "Uh, uh. I asked you first."

Isolde gave Azaelia a puzzled look. "What the hell are you talking about? You didn't ask me a thing."

"On the contrary, my dear cousin. I did. The night of the first Hogsmeade trip. Don't you remember? It was nearly midnight and you and I were the only people left in the common room. I asked you first."

Azaelia's smug grin irritated Isolde; she could see it in her cousin's dark eyes. "Well?"

Hears the Slytherin Part
Author: Cho Chang
Date: 01-29-02 07:29

Suddenly excited she turns around and huddles over the book, reading the spell, she hugs Jarl, "THANK YOU!!" She giggles, tapping her friends to come look, "Lookie!!! We can get those silly Slythes!!!" She dances a little jig around the room, laughing. Stopping, she looks to Sykra, "Sykra, I'm sorry. I'll never introduce you to any more of my guy friends and I'll tell Orlando he needs to look elsewhere for love."

Aradia nods in agreement, "I'll go with her."

Sykra looks at them both, "NO! NO NO NO NO!! I was jus' kiddin'!"

Cho and Aradia giggle then laugh, hugging Sykra with them and then begin to memorize the spell.

Re: A Meal of Madness
Author: Robert Blackheart
Date: 01-29-02 09:22

I sit at the table and smile fondly at Azaelia Bramble.

As I eat I think of that trip to Hogsmeade and the walk home in the dark...alone with the fair Azaelia.

I remember how lovely she looked as she skipped lightly through the grass of the graveyard...how wonderful her voice was as she cursed me ...(just for fun you understand).

I eat without tasting...

I drink and my thirst is not quenched...

I shall create a deadly potion...I shall call it Azaelia: in her honour.