Diagon Alley Year Two
Author: Orieliah McCoi
Date: 11-28-03 17:46

Orei wandered through the streets of Diagon Alley, humming softly. She carried her books and other supplies in a few bags. Eyes wandering as she stopped in front of Quality Quidditch Supplies. She'd managed to convince her mom to buy her a broom to use for Quidditch next year.

Finally she sat down at an outside table at the Ice cream parlor and ordered a mug of pumpkin juice. She closed her eyes, sighing softly, she was looking forward to school this year, and spending some time with Brett again.

She enjoyed the rest of the afternoon in Diagon Alley, getting a little more shopping done, before going to meet her mom outside of the Three Broomsticks. "Hey Mom. Got everything done, and I'm ready to head out tomorrow for school."

Looking Around for a New Shop and First Meetings
Author: Tigeress
Date: 11-28-03 18:15

I hoped to expand my shop for a long time and its success in Egypt made me want to move to another location and leave my main shop to be run by my cousin and her husband. I had read an ad in the Daily Prophet that there were stores for sale or rent and that living quarters were available in the store.

I sent an owl expressing my interest in looking for a store for sale and I wanted a moderate size one for my shop. I got an answer that there were a couple of stores available and I left for a place called Hogsmeade and there was a school nearby. I found it to be quite ideal even though the climate was a little cold compared to the hot days of the desert. I knew I would be able to adapt soon.

Walking down the street I looked at the front of a couple of shops and peeked through the windows and tried to get a good look inside some of these stores. I had a hard time till I found the outside of one shop. It looked ideal and I wrote down the number it had on it and catered it to memory. Continuing my walk I knew a drink was in order and went to a local establishment called "The Three Broomsticks" and I entered. It was warm and comfortable. I was greeted by the proprietor and took a seat. "Hello how can I help you dear?" the woman asked and I looked up at her. "Do you perchance have any pumpkin juice?" I asked and the lady nodded. "Sure do dear. Always keep it for those who want it. I'm Madam Rosmerta and you are?"

I smiled. "I'm Tigeress Ra. I just came from Egypt. I hope to open a shop here. But my friends call me Ty." The cheerful lady smiled even more and gave a wink. "Welcome to Hogsmeade, Ty." She said and went to get my drink.

Art Shoppe
Author: Alicia Waterhouse
Date: 11-28-03 21:19

Alicia walked out onto the street and quickly got caught up in the movement of the people. The continuous jostling of the crowd made her nauseous. To escape from the inexorable movement, she ducked down the nearest alley and leaned against the damp brick wall, breathing hard and closing her eyes.

When she felt brave enough to open them again, she looked around and her eyes rested upon a faded, crooked sign that hung above a thick door overrun with cobwebs and dust.

The sign was hard to read, but Alicia could make out the words: Olde Art and Supplies. Alicia, who had always had a penchant for art, was intrigued. She headed for the door, and when she got there, she gave one last look around before heading into the store.

The bell tinkling over the door startled Alicia when she walked in, and yet she was soon put at ease, for she was now surrounded by parchment and canvas, by charcoal and more inks than she could name. She was home.

The entire room was full of art and art supplies. There were paintings and sketches, and all the drawing materials she could ever want. She went first to a shelf filled with different types of canvases. There were canvases for watercolors, for oils, for charcoal, for pens and pencils. She then went to a display case that held assorted lengths of charcoal, and read the captions beneath them.

"Non-smudge" said one, and "Pitch black" said another. There were various shades of black and many assorted enchantments, but one remained to the side, small, out of the way, and unlabeled.

The gravelly voice behind her, greeting and assessing her well-being did not register at once, since she was seemingly entranced by the sight of the small, oblong piece of coal...

Charcoal and Smiles
Author: Alicia Waterhouse
Date: 11-28-03 22:00

Alicia left the store with a dazed feeling and a small bag that contained a piece of charcoal, and a shrunken piece of canvas. She headed back into the mainstream of the alley, and went on to look for the rest of her supplies.

Quickly bypassing the Quidditch Supply store, (she had never learned to fly, and the thought of it frightened her,) she went on instead to Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. While waiting in line to be fitted, she stared out the window at the Owl-emporium, missing her own familiar. The small black snake named diamond and her had always had a special bond, but the list of acceptable familiars at Hogwarts had not included snakes and she did not want to screw up before school even started.

After her robes, she made a pit-stop for ice cream, ordering a chocolate sundae and examining her purchases so far. The Charcoal was especially interesting, since her recollection of buying it was so faint and hazy. She was not quite sure what it did, but she knew it did something, all the mystery surrounding it made that much clear.

After her sundae, she bought a secondary cauldron, (she was very happy with the one she had now, it had been her motherŐs and she had had it all her life,) and some ink and parchment, selecting two school quills, and one for drawing.

She stopped at various other places before heading back to her room above the Leaky Cauldron. She lay in bed and stared at the ceiling, thinking of the life she had left behind in Italy. Her uncle, and the constant reminders of her parents. She had brought only one picture of them, it was taken shortly after their wedding, and had been the only picture where their smiles were real, unforced and constant.

She fell asleep with their smiling faces on her eyelids, and the piece of charcoal in her hand.

The Way Home
Author: Vera Delgety
Date: 11-29-03 15:07

"So, do you think your parents will allow you too remain at my house, so that it will be easier to get to the station tomorrow?" He asked, after a bite of his ice cream and took a sip of his pumpkin juice.

"Oh, well...I dunno Lawrence. I need to ask them about it."

Lawrence saw the doubtful look in her eyes. "Well it's alright if you can't. I mean, it's not like we wont see each other there anyways." He gave her a reassuring smile.

"It's just, it's m'last year and all...You know, the last time they'll get to do this."

"I understand. No worries."

They finished up their treats and headed home. It was getting late and they had a big day tomorrow.

"Well then, I'll see you tomorrow." Vera smiled at Lawrence.

"Yeah, tomorrow." He kissed her cheek, watched her for a moment then turned to head on his way home. Before he could take a step though he was swung around and embarrassed in a passionate kiss.

"Thank you..." Vera whispered as she pulled away and walked on home.

Shopping in Hogsmeade
Author: Isolde
Date: 11-29-03 15:12

Isolde and Pyrrhus walked through Hogsmeade, where it was considerably less busy than Diagon Alley. Still, quite a number of folks both young and old sauntered up the cobbled path with shopping lists in hand while Hogwarts Castle loomed in the background, an all too obvious sign that a new school year would soon begin.

"School starts tomorrow," Pyrrhus mused, reading Isolde's thoughts, "can you believe it?"

"Our sixth year." Isolde cocked her head and flashed a wry grin. "We're getting old!"

"Well, if I may say so Miss Farnon, you are aging gracefully. Blooming into the loveliest of flowers. A rare gem among the blandest of stones. Truly, a beauty."

Isolde rolled her eyes. "You are such a sap, Pyrrhus Fine." Then, she pecked him on the cheek and squeezed his arm lovingly.

Pyrrhus grinned and asked, "What else do we need to buy?"

"Quills and parchment, and perhaps a new cauldron from Dervish and Banges."

"Scrivenshaft's first, then D&B and maybe we can properly check out Pots and Pages when we're finished," Pyrrhus suggested.

"Sounds like a plan to me," Isolde answered, and they went in the direction of the stationary shop.

Oslo, Norway: What Comes Next?
Author: Dierna ní Cíaran
Date: 11-29-03 18:37

Tonks watches as I pace the hotel room, still trying to decide if there's any point in staying. We had searched all the bookstores and antique stores in the city at least once ("it wouldn't be the first time a manuscript has ended up in a muggle store"), and the ruins of Fenris, close-by.

"I don't know if there's much more to be done here. We've searched everywhere." Tonks says, examining her twisted ankle. the swelling has gone down quite a bit. We hadn't been able to use magic at the time, as the street where she'd tripped was packed with muggles.

"You're right, Tonks. Besides which, if we stay much longer, the ministry people will begin to get suspicious."

"All right. If we haven't found anything by Thursday, we'll give up this ghost and go back to England. And at the very least, we'll have those picture of the runes from Fenris. I can't read them, but I know someone who can."

Gotta Love That Pumpkin Juice
Author: Adam Sparrow
Date: 11-30-03 12:33

"Try this." Adam handed Sidi a glass.

Sidi sipped Adam's latest concoction, gagged and coughed. "Adam we can't sell spiked pumpkin juice. What's in this?"

"Rum but Vodka would do nicely too. I'm not sellin' it. It's for me."

Adam finished off the glass. "I thought it would be disgusting but it's actually quite good. You need to run down to The Three Broomsticks and get us a few bottles." Adam poured himself another generous glass found a book, laid down on the couch in front of the fireplace and started to read.

"Oh, well then I'll get it for you tomorrow luv or you can go. It's only three doors down." She flashed a hesitant smile.

Adam looked up. "Like the library."

"You protected yourself at the library." She said hopefully.

He flashed a sarcastic smile. "Oh yes 'overing in a corner like a bloody coward was quite a good plan. Impressed them by my strength did I?"

"Adam." Sidi sometimes got frustrated at his complete incomprehension of all things magical. "I was told there were at least six spells thrown at you. Remember all the words you didn't understand? Those were spells."

"So they were trying to kill me!"

"No. They were not harmful spells. Most of them were meant to immobilize you."

Adam's ego had been stroked. He sat up straight and seemed to get more interested when thinking he was nearing Arnold Schwarzenegger status. He flexed. "Immortal and unaffected by spells am I?"

She laughed. "Well not exactly. I mean if hit by all those spells at the same time it probably would have killed you. You're protected from lethal spells but you can die naturally. Heirgots were created to serve as power vessels or booster packs for dark magical beings. If you are going to fight someone the first thing you would do would be to try to destroy his power source. Evil is funny that way. They cover their bases.

"Oh thank God I can get stabbed and bleed to death but not get 'it by a wand and die instantly and painlessly. Do I thank Voldemort for this? OOPS!!" He comically covered his mouth then whispered "He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named!"

She laughed. "No. This was centuries ago. The idea didn't work out well. Remember, they were creating power vessels, so these beings couldn't think on their own or they'd use their power themselves. They created them to be mobile and access easily but they couldn't store them somewhere and access the power from a great distance not even mentally. As it went, the dark forces weren't happy with one power increase and they started collecting these vessels. So, now you have a crowd of mindless zombies hanging about waiting for a command while you're doing your evil business. It didn't work. The program, so-to-speak was abandoned. It just wasn't a good plan."

"Sounds pretty stupid even to me. But people will do anything in a quest for power or profit." Adam jogged into the kitchen for more pumpkin juice.

She was amazed by his willingness to discuss the topic and made sure to continue as long as she could, giving him as much information as she could. "Well, the good forces were appalled by beings being created to be slaves. They hid and protected the Heirgots and they naturally died out and became extinct quite quickly. It was so short lived that many people don't even remember they existed at all. Being at Sighisoara made it easy to research. I asked Dr. Petras and for help and of course he helped me."

"Selfless chap no doubt..." Adam refilled his glass. "Not surprising someone in my family did the dirty with a mindless zombie power vessel." He started to laugh, spilling the prized spiked pumpkin juice all over himself.

Adam was from a very wealthy and influential muggle family. Knowing his father and brothers she honestly wasn't surprised either.

He tried to suck the pumpkin juice out of his shirt while agonizing over the lost ambrosia.

Sidi wondered how long the pumpkin juice had been flowing.

Really Good Books
Author: Sidi Ross
Date: 11-30-03 14:10

Sidi pulled the glass from his hand.

"This is a lull. The kids are back to school tomorrow and today is a shopping day. I'll not have you drunk with children in the shoppe. Go change your shirt you reek of alcohol." Sidi shooed him off.

"I'm not drunk." Adam was offended. He climbed the stairs to their apartment above the shop.

Sidi was happy. She loved Adam. She loved Hogsmeade. What a wonderful place to live. She wondered what having a family and raising children in the wizarding world would be like.

Adam returned. "Coffee please."

She sat a cup in front of him at the table. "What are you reading?"

"A spell book."

She looked at it. "I don't remember ordering this. It looks rather old."

"You didn't order it. It came in a shipment meant for one of the other shoppes but you didn't save the box and what a big surprise you didn't file the invoices on my desk either. How many times do I need to remind you? I don't know whose shipment this is. You can ask about later or send an owl to every shoppe here that carries books. Perhaps these are special orders or something for school kids but if they are not, I want to buy them 'cept that one."

She didn't like being chastised. "O.k." She said flatly.

"This one 'as a bunch of spells. That one I can't understand the language so I 'ave no idea what it is. It doesn't even 'ave pictures. This one is famous witches and wizards. This one talks about the Ministry of Magic and it mentions a Wizarding prison called Azkaban Fortress. 'ave you ever 'eard of a Dementor? Its a prison guard. Nasty business, dementors. They suck the 'appiness right out of you I think. Then all thats left inside are the worst memories you got. Some bloke named Crouch got a bunch of Nazi-like Aurors in who rounded up the Death Eaters and stuck them in Azkaban. They call it The Voldemort Years."

"...and you're planning to read off of these?"

"Well if I'm going to be Darrin Stevens I think I'd right better know what's going on aye?"

She patted his shoulder. "I'll get you something to eat." Sidi smiled. He was going to be ok.

It Has to Happen NOW?
Author: Molly Weasley
Date: 11-30-03 19:59

They followed Parvati to the scene of the emergency. With all the excitement no one was making sense. Molly surveyed the area and decided the best thing would be to gather the children to Harry's house in Hogsmeade and make sense of it there. From there she could contact Arthur and anyone else that needed contacted. The children needed to be on the Hogwarts Express tomorrow but if need be perhaps they could go to Hogwarts by floo she thought.