Hiring New Help (for later)
Author: Ellspeth
Date: 07-12-04 21:08

"Vera!! It is wonderful to see you. I have been waiting for you to stop in." said Ellspeth happily. Then handing them both a cuppa tea she continued. "I have already gone over you resume' and would love to have you start working here. I realize that it will be a while, but just want you to know that as soon as you are ready you have a job here."

Ellspeth showed them around the Shoppe a bit and then took them out to the greenhouse for a short tour.

"In the fall and winter is when I use this the most. So we will be plenty busy getting the new plants started for the Holidays. Everyone love to have a 'growy' during the long months of winter. And this coming fall I have a brand new batch of seeds coming in from all over. There is some really fun stuff I plan on starting then."

"Be sure to stop in and let me know how things are going. I let me know when ever there are anymore Quidditch Matches at Hogwarts...I had so much fun and everyone was so nice around me. They all enjoyed the tea also...next time I plan on bringing some treats as well. We will just make it a party..." Ellspeth said laughingly.

Poor Fudge
Author: Lucius Malfoy
Date: 07-13-04 09:22

Lucius stands, arms folded, against one wall, working to keep his expression bland rather than amused. A short distance away, in the center of reporters acting much like sharks during a feeding frenzy, Cornelius Fudge is trying to save face by addressing the growing number of rumors concerning his involvement with Harry Potter and the death almost three years ago of Cedric Diggory as well as a rumor that sprang up just yesterday. This one has Fudge directly responsible for the strange disappearance of another Hogwarts student, Jet Obsidian.

With Fudge's Ministry life crumbling around him, he's desperate to put all the rumors to rest and get back to being what he thinks is the best Minister of Magic Britain's ever had. For Lucius, it's time the buffoon became useful. All these stories are helping to deflect from true Death Eater activities. If, in the process, Fudge ends up removed from office, then all the better. Of all the candidates Lucius knows of for becoming the next Minister of Magic, none represent a threat to Lord Voldemort's growing operation and most will be as useful in their own ways as Fudge is being now.

As Fudge stumbles through answering another sensitive question, Lucius turns and walks down the hallway in search of a place he can succumb to laughing out loud without being heard.

A Guest from Gringotts
Author: Bill Weasley
Date: 07-13-04 09:27

It was shortly before two o'clock on Saturday, February 28, when someone knocked on Bill's office door at Gringotts Bank. He was filing some last minute paperwork for the end of the month on banking figures when a smartly dressed woman entered the room at Bill's "Enter!".

"Bill Weasley?" said the woman, flaxen hair shimmering as she threw some over one of her shoulders.

Bill looked up from the diminishing pile of parchment on his desk to meet the face of the sensuous voice. Before him stood a woman of good height, with fair, long hair that hung straight down her back. She had an extremely beautiful face--so beautiful, in fact, that Bill could hardly take his eyes off of her.

"Y-yes?" Bill rose from his seat and gestured to a chair opposite him.

The young woman inclined her head to accept the chair and sat down. Bill sat too.

"I 'av come on behalf of ze Diagon Alley bransh to inform you zat I will be monitoring your bank for a monz's time, starting on Monday."

Bill's mouth fell agape. He stumbled for a sense of understanding, and what friendly and awed expression he'd shown at first quickly changed to defense and outrage. "Monitoring? Monitoring? Why the Hell for, and who, may I ask, are you?"

The woman seemed unaffected by Bill's rude outburst. "Gringotts waz vairy pleased wiz ze results of your praizentashion from last December, but ze officials would now like an opinion from an unbiased party. I promise you, I will not be in the way of your operation here. And my name iz Fleur Delacour. I am pleased to formally make your, 'ow do you say?" She paused to think of the correct English word. "Ah yes: acquaintance."

She held her hand out across the desk for Bill to shake.

"An unbiased party?!" Bill exclaimed, shaking his head in bewilderment.

He studied Fleur's face, her strikingly fair face, and reached to take her hand into his. It was soft, and almost seemed to fit perfectly in his.

"I've heard of you, and actually I think I remember you."

"I waz in the Triwizard Championships at 'Ogwarts several years ago. You will probably remember me from zat, no?" Fleur gently pulled her hand free from Bill's and set it down in her lap into her other hand.

Bill nodded, remembering. "Yes, my brother couldn't stop talking about you."

"Your bruzzer?" Fleur questioned, furrowing her brow. She still looked gorgeous.

"Ron, Ron Weasley."

Fleur suddenly smiled, a dazzling white smile that seemed to light up the entire room. "Oh, Ron! 'E iz still at 'Ogwarts, no?"

"He finishes this year," Bill said. Then he remembered something else about Fleur Delacour. The minute he'd looked up from his desk and took in the sight of her, his feelings had betrayed him. He'd immediately forgotten the woman of his dreams, the very woman who lay buried in Hogsmeade but still claimed his heart.

Narrowing his eyes he spoke, "You're a..."

"A what?" Fleur countered, sensing the change of emotion in the room.

Bill hesitated. Then the muscles in his face relaxed and he expelled a weary sigh. He closed his eyes for a second, opened them and said, "You're with Gringotts?"

"Oui," Fleur said, more calmly. "After leaving Beauxbatons, I took a position wiz the Paris bransh. I came to London at Christmas."

"And they sent you here to babysit me?"

"Zey sent me here to observe."

"What do you normally do when you're not observing small banks?"

"Sharms. I create security sharms and ozzer enchantments for Gringotts." She paused and flipped a stray strand of hair from her face. Bill watched the movement with great interest.

"So, I'll see you on Monday then."

"Oui, Monday morning." Fleur rose from her seat since the conversation seemed to have ended.

Bill got up and walked her to the door of his office, and then further to the front doors of the building.

"I'll tell Ron you're in town. He'll be eager to see you I'm sure," Bill said.

"And 'Arry too?" Fleur asked, smiling.

Bill seemed lost in a dream realm. His knees almost gave way, but he recovered and pushed open one of the doors, holding it open with one long arm.

"Sure, they're actually probably both in town today. Hogsmeade weekend, and all."

He scanned the young faces passing along High Street for any sign of his siblings or their friends.

"Well, I will see you Monday then, Monsieur Weasley," Fleur said, stepping across the threshold. The wind whipped some of her pale blonde hair so that it caressed her white cheeks.

Bill stared with a goofy smile on his face, blinked and then cleared his throat. "See ya." Then he turned around and walked back into his office.

This is going to be an interesting month.

A Guest to Gringotts
Author: Severus Snape
Date: 07-13-04 10:14

Snape marched through the front doors of Gringotts Bank in Hogsmeade and went straight for the office on the right-hand side of the building, upon which a gold nameplate with the words Bill Weasley, manager, shimmered from the natural, although faint daylight streaming in through one of the front windows. He knocked once, then let himself in without waiting for Bill's invitation.

The red-haired man sat in his high-backed chair behind his desk, deeply engrossed in thought. A hint of a goofy grin tugged the corners of his lips. He didn't even notice Snape's presence until the potions master cleared his throat loudly and stated, "We have a problem."

Bill jumped slightly and looked up at Snape, brow furrowing as he did so. "Severus, what's wrong?" He leaned forward in his chair and gestured for Snape to take a seat.

"Did you see the morning paper?"

Bill shook his head, but started to rummage around the parchments scattered across his desk. He found his copy of The Daily Prophet and pulled it out from beneath a stack of invoices. When his eyes fell on the front headline, they widened.

"I need you to find out for me what is being done in the investigation of the goblin's death," Snape stated very seriously.

"Certainly," Bill replied. He thought for a moment, then continued, "Gringotts keeps records of who does business with the bank on any given day. If they can pinpoint the exact date of the goblin's death, they can create a suspect list based on the records... assuming of course, that the murderer conducted business and didn't just sneak in without notice."

"We went to Gringotts under the pretense of business," Snape explained shaking his head. "We went to my vault, then walked to that vault--" he indicated to the moving picture in the newspaper. He sighed. "I knew she'd make the situation far more complicated than it ought to have been."

Bill said, "I'll see what I can find out for you, and if need be I'll try to get my hands on the records and change the data."

Severus nodded in appreciation. "Let me know what you discover."

They exchanged goodbyes, then Snape left the bank to patrol the village.

Eating as Always
Author: Kody
Date: 07-13-04 13:12

Kody, long past the sick feeling from over indulging during the carnival's pie eating contest, sits next to Drake shoveling in forkfuls of something Briar's Bakery calls Lucky Seven Cake. Seven layers of cake, each layer a different flavor, all tied together with a lick-the-plate-clean-it's-so-good marshamallowish frosting.

Between bites he sighs, "I just don't get what's up with Emma lately. Doesn't seem herself at all. Every time I try to talk to her she either gives me a blank look or scowls and walks away."

"Mmmbee shh dnn't ike ou nneemor," Drake replies around the entire fried pie he's just stuffed into his mouth."

Kody sighs again. "Yeah, that's crossed my mind. Do you think Ariana would know?"

"Wanme ta asker?"

"You know, it's a good thing I'm so used to you talking with your mouth full. Yeah, would you ask?"

His fried pie eaten, Drake's answer is more intelligable. "Yep, will do, mate. I'm still hungry though so before I do anything else I'm getting more food. Then I'm going to Honeydukes and use up the certificate from the water balloon catch. Before we leave town we can't forget to get our packages from Gladrags and from Dervish and Bangs."

"I'm still hungry too. Maybe we should have used the certificates for the Spinning Horn I got. We could each have gotten two complete meals."

"Thought you wanted to ask Emma and Ariana to eat there with us."

"Yep, but I can't seem to have a conversation with Emma that's longer than hello."

"Oh. Right. Let's get something we can eat while walking around and we can look for Ariana for me to ask about Emma."

"Good idea. Sometimes you have a bright idea. Amazing really that's you're able at all."

"What a comedian! Think you'd be nicer to me when you're wanting me to do you a favor talking to Ariana."

"I'm paying for this round of food and the next."

"I knew you're my favorite chum for a reason."

Still taking good natured digs at each other, Drake and Kody get two each of the friend pies and head out of the bakery into the biting cold, both searching for Ariana.

Scheming
Author: Pyrrhus
Date: 07-13-04 21:23

The various gift certificates won at the winter carnival put to good use and a few cozy hours spent in the secret room at Twice Told Tales Alexis, Isolde, and Pyrrhus linger over a late lunch at The Spinning Horn. As they wait for their desserts to arrive, the trio discuss ways to stay entertained between the still frozen over, snow packed now and the anticipated gentle, warm days of spring holiday so many weeks away.

Py fiddles with his napkin, deep in thought. After taking a drink of hot cocoa, he mulls aloud, "There are the voodoo dolls of course but what if we cast a version of that love spell we kept hexing Maj with a few years back?"

Isolde looks as though she's about to say something but their desserts arrive at the table so she wisely refrains from speaking until after the waitress have moved well away. Leaning in close, she quietly asks, "What sort of version and on whom?"

Alexis, her wicked smile nearly as enchanting as Isolde's, leans in as well. "Ginny Weasley. We have her become besotted to the point of obsession with someone her family would find utterly revolting."

Py's face lights up with a devilish grin. "We could get Draco in on this. Have her fall for him or if he's not game maybe for Crabbe or Goyle. Draco's pretty much official with Santhea now so how about Crabbe? We convince him of how much fun it would be to string her along. The weasels will be beside themselves at thinking their dear, ickle girl has gone over to the death eaters."

With that, Py takes a bite of cheesecake, his mind spinning at what they could do with this if Isolde, Alexis, and Crabbe agree.

Details, Details
Author: Alexis Black
Date: 07-13-04 21:30

Alexis took a bite of her banana split, pondering carefully while she chewed.

"There's one problem with using Vincent Crabbe, though," She said slowly, "He's so heinous and stupid no one would believe the oh-so-clever and charming Ginny Weasley had fallen for him. We need a clever and charming Death Eater child.”

The three poked at their desserts while considering, and Alexis piped up a moment later,

"What about the seventh year, Theodore Nott?"

Pyrrhus grinned, "Excellent. He's pretty easygoing, too. I bet he'd go for it."

Isolde's devious grin spread, "So, when do we start?"

Good Time to Talk
Author: Ariana Maison
Date: 07-13-04 22:14

Ariana walked through Hogsmeade with Emma along side her. Emma hadn't seem all that eager to go this weekend but went anyway. Ariana figured it was for her sake. Though her Ravenclaw hadn't spoke much, Ariana filled the silence jus talking about anything and everything. Mostly stories.

After a while though. Ariana stopped talking and glanced at her friend. Emma hadn't exactly been herself lately. Figuring if she'd wanted to talk, she would, Ariana had just let her be. But now she figured was a good time to say something, cause she was getting worried.

"Hey Emma?"

Emma looked up. "Yea?"

"Are you alright? You haven't really seemed yourself lately."

"I'm fine."

Ariana cocked an eyebrow. "I know we've only really recently become good friends over the past year, but if you wanna talk I'm here....I'm a good listener and conversations don't go past me. It's what friends are for."

Tilting her head slightly, Emma looked as though she were thinking about it, then Ariana spoke again.

"Well, if ya wanna talk, now would be a good time to make ourselves disappear...I see two Ravenclaw boys heading our way who will, with out a doubt, drag us off to somewhere with food...."