The Feeling is Mutual
Author: Helena Tufton
Date: 05-01-02 15:24

After Charlie and Stephen left the tent, Kenneth went off to see to some business of his own leaving Helena alone with her father. She turned to him and groaned, "I don't think we're going to get anything accomplished. I don't like that Wesley guy one bit."

"Weasley."

"Whatever," Helena snapped. She frowned and softened her tone. "He just rubs me the wrong way, I guess."

Marcus Tufton's eyes were aglow. He took one of his daughter's hands into her own and smiled, "You've just met the man. Be polite to him at least. You know that not all men are boorish pigs, daughter."

"All but you, father." Helena moved in for a hug and repeated quietly, "All but you."

Their hug was interrupted a few minutes later when Charlie stormed back into the tent, followed by Stephen Gregor.

"Right, so on to the job," Charlie said, casting a cold gaze to Helena.

She met his gaze levelly and moved towards the table.

"Well, I think we should split into two as there are two lab tents," Mr. Tufton spoke. "Mr. Gregor, why don't you join me in the other tent. Helena and Mr. Weasley can work alone in this one."

Helena and Charlie were both positively fuming.

Mr. Tufton merely smiled and clapped Stephen on the back before leading him out of the tent.

When they were gone, Helena turned to Charlie and thrust the map into his grasp. "We have two important things to get done here, Mr. Westing."

"Weasley."

Helena made as if Charlie hadn't said a thing and continued, "We have to vaccinate the clean dragons, and come up with an antibiotic for the infected ones."

"Yes, I gathered that the first time you mentioned it," Charlie spat.

Helena narrowed her eyes at him. "Are you always this rude?"

"Are you always such a bitch?" Charlie countered.

"Let's get one thing straight, Mr. W–"

"Weasley."

Helena folded her arms and continued maliciously, "I don't like you. Granted, I don't even know you but I really can't stand you."

"I'm glad that's out in the open, Miss Tufton," Charlie said, his eyes ablaze. "The feeling is mutual."

"Well good," Helena replied sharply. "But it looks like we're stuck with each other for now, so we'll just have to deal with this mutual hatred until the epidemic is taken care of."

Charlie nodded and added through clenched teeth, "It's a must, but it will no doubt be most difficult. Now, Miss Tufton, what is the plan?"

Helena took a moment to get herself back into the work mode. "Tonight we're going to come up with an antibiotic for the diseased dragons."

"You sound really sure of yourself."

"We're going to come up with one so that tomorrow, we can go in and treat them as well as vaccinate the others."

Charlie raised a dubious eyebrow at his co-worker, amazed that she had such confidence in her abilities. "So you're conceited as well. Who would have thought?"

Another Visitor
Author: Briar Rose
Date: 05-01-02 19:50

Ever since revealing her secret to Bill on that cold, wet, grey Monday nearly three weeks ago, Briar has felt both a sense of relief and a sense of ominous foreboding. With Uncle Osbyrt and Aunt Fiorenza, the Auror and his wife who took Briar in, both dead only Bill knows the truth about Rosalyn Burnshire. Having a friend with whom she could share her concerns, someone to trust, is of great comfort.

Despite having someone who has vowed to protect her and in whom she can confide, Briar has experienced a slowly growing sense of unease. It's nothing she can put her finger on which makes it all the more maddening. Briar keeps telling herself it's just an internal reaction to finally telling someone about Rosalyn. As a result, she's not said a word to Bill about it. No reason to have him thinking she's just a silly, paranoid ninny.

Briar pushes away from the bakery counter to wait on one of the few brave souls who's actually ventured out in the awful weather. The bakery had been hopping all morning as one owl after another brought in orders for everything from Briar's special blend of hot cocoa to bread bowls of the bakery's thick and hearty stew to fresh from the oven, still steaming fruit pies.

After she's carried the man a small loaf of bread just out of the oven, a pot of tea, and the very Muggle dish of Eggs Benedict, Briar decides that things have quieted down enough to run an errand. After bundling up, she grabs a notepad and pencil. Bracing herself against the chill wind, Briar makes a dash down to Twice Told Tales.

Briar peers into the windows trying to see if she can spot Julian. If possible, she would prefer to do this errand without him hanging about. Although Briar's anger at Julian has dissipated quite a bit in the weeks since their dinner date, she's still a little miffed with him. Julian's been very cordial and sent her gifts but so far he's not truly apologized. Until he does, Briar has no intention of going on another date with him, no matter what her feelings for him have always been.

Not seeing Julian inside, Briar enters the bookshop and looks for Chyler Thomason. Instantly realizing the mental mistake she's made, Briar silently chides herself, "Stratford. She's not Thomason anymore. What a blunder that would have been if you'd said that aloud, Briar. They'd all be wondering how Miss Briar Rose would know Chyler's maiden name."

Briar pauses a moment to take a deep breath to clear her head. After a slow count to ten, Briar walks further into the shop. Chyler's head pokes around a bookshelf, eyes going wide in surprise at seeing Briar. Before she can say anything Briar smiles. "The store's grand opening is coming up soon and I'd promised Julian that as a store warming gift I'd make food for it. If you have a few minute, I'd like to sit down with you and discuss what you'd like me to prepare."

Special Delivery
Author: Peter Pettigrew
Date: 05-01-02 20:27

Peter winces as the invisibility potion burned when he swallowed it. He made his way though the hall towards the Muggle Studies professor's office. His master hadn't elaborated on the significance of the charm bracelet with the Hogswarts mascots on it was, nor why it was so imperative to get it to her. But Wormtail knew better than question - that usually ended up painfully - instead he just does it.

So, Wormtail leaves the package on the desk, the envelope attached, is written in Dumbledore's hand. It simply reads: To Adriana.

At the Game
Author: Belladonna
Date: 05-01-02 20:35

Dylan and Belladonna Sinistra managed to find good seats and sat down. They were clearly brother and sister: same dark black hair, blue eyes, and smiles. Oh, they were smiling because sweet little Bella couldn't stay depressed for long when cheered up. Such a sunny little thing and always had been, but boy could she hex!

"Okay, Izzy and Lucian were so uncreative this Christmas. Hope you can use art supplies, Bella. Oh, and Mum says not to pack anything for Christmas because your closet's filled to the brim and she can't think of anything you need. Oh, and she send to send Soileil for your New Year's dress, which arrived. You really pay that much?"

"Yes, I paid that much and it's worth every penny. Izzy says I'll look incredible. So nice of her to say so, considering she's probably ripped a few seams. As for art supplies, yeah I could some new ones. My unicorn hair brushes need replacing and I'm out of decent canvasses.

So, what did you get me for Christmas. Last year's illuminated spell book is pretty hard to top. Maybe you bought me one of those experimental brooms I've been hinting about? I saw one in a store for only 250 galleons. No love spells, though. Oooh, are those Silver Arrows?"

The pair became fixated on the game. Time enough to talk afterwards when the brandy-laced hot chocolate ran out.

Seeing a Friend in a New Light
Author: Majandra
Date: 05-01-02 21:30

Majandra sits in the stands, not really even remembering walking down to the Pitch much less finding a place to sit. Majandra puts her head in her hands and closes her eyes, debating whether she's got the energy to walk back to her room or to just stay where she is. During her long crush on Hagrid, Majandra got even less sleep and less food than she'd been getting with the previous crushes. In fact, looking back on it, Majandra realizes that each crush was progressively worse in terms of amount of sleep, food, and cutting classes.

It's been well over a week since the one on Hagrid ended but even without all the projects she was doing for him, Majandra has little time to think about eating or sleeping. She's got scads of classwork to catch up on and when she does try to eat, Majandra's had little appetite. If that wasn't bad enough, when Majandra tries to sleep, the nightmares are there in full force ensuring that any sleep she gets is fitful and less than restfull.

A cold gust of wind causes Majandra to pull her coat tight around her and to make sure her neck is well covered by her scarf. That's when Majandra realizes she's also wearing a hat. When did she get a hat? Oh yeah. She was entering the Great Hall this morning just as Pyrrhus and Isolde were leaving. He had the hat. Told her it had just arrived by owl from Mom.

Majandra shrugs off her poor memory as she shoves the hat more tightly onto her head. Another cold gust helps her to decide it's time to leave. Sure it's easier to sit here and nod off even with the boisterous noise level of the crowd but if she's actually able to nap, Majandra would much prefer to do it in the warmth of her bed.

Majandra shoves off the bleacher and begins weaving her way to the steps. Focused on reaching them, she fails to see someone jumping up to shout encouragement to the players and ends up running smack into Ron Weasley. Hermoine immediately helps Majandra up but Majandra barely sees her friend. All she sees is Ron.

Shocking Surprises
Author: Bill Weasley
Date: 05-02-02 15:12

Bill and Adriana watched the game in silence for a while––not only had their conversation just taken a drastic turn from light-hearted to serious in a mere instant, but also the game seemed to be more sleep-inducing than exciting. It was moving along very slowly, which could have very well been attributed to the awful weather. Bill almost felt sorry for the players zipping around across the field with nothing to protect them from the biting rain.

Sitting in the professors' box, he kept one of Adriana's small hands in his and gently massaged it with his thumb as he scanned the crowd. Since there wasn't much action on the field, he took to people-watching for entertainment. Besides, part of his job was to be on the lookout for anything or anyone out of the ordinary.

His eyes raked the Gryffindor section first. There, he spotted Ron scowling at something happening on the field, and a bit higher in the stands, Fred and George were pulling some kind of joke products from their robe pockets.

He allowed his gaze to shift from house to house, finally resting on the seating section for guests. What he saw there nearly made him cry out in surprise. Belladonna Sinistra was sitting in the stands next to a young man. His arm was draped around her shoulders and he held her close as the two talked with one another.

"Well, she moved on rather quickly!" Bill said, shaking his head in a disapproving fashion.

Adriana turned and raised an eyebrow, "Who? What are you talking about, Bill?"

"Bella," he answered, using his free hand to point at the astronomy professor. "She's cuddled up with some guy while Charlie is moping in Romania."

Adriana followed Bill's outstretched finger to see it for herself. "Maybe there's some explanation...Bill," she said, turning back to face him.

He turned away from Bella and looked at Adriana.

"How is Charlie?" she asked. "Is he taking the breakup hard?"

Bill slumped his shoulders and sighed. "I don't rightly know, Adriana. We write to each other regularly, but neither of us ever bring up the subject of Bella." He sighed again, wondering just what was going through his brother's mind at that very moment. He was probably quarreling with that horrible co-worker of his. Bill chuckled, instantly forgetting what was going on across the Pitch. "He has this new co-worker, a Miss Helena Tufton. She sounds like a real character. Poor Charlie is under so much stress trying to contain the dragon epidemic, and on top of that he's trying to control that woman's temper. I'm sure he'll be very relieved when it's all over and done with over there."

Adriana laughed, "I'm sure Charlie can handle her. He's a tough guy, but I do hope he gets to come back to Hogsmeade very soon."

"Me too, Adriana. Me too."

They watched some more of the game, waiting for something exciting to happen, if anything would even happen at all. And as the game went on, Bill began to feel anxious about that dinner he and Adriana had planned. Just what would she reveal to him. It couldn't be that bad, could it?

Oh Yes, They Call It the Streak
Author: Pyrrhus
Date: 05-02-02 15:25

Pyrrhus puts his arm around Isolde to huddle closer as sharp drops of rain start pelting down. He puts his other arm around Azaelia and pulls her in close as well so that she too can be under the large umbrella Isolde grabbed as she and Py left the Slytherin common room.

Py squeezes both the girls' arms while nodding in the direction of one of the other stands. Isolde and Azaelia start giggling at the sight of Majandra, oblivious to the rain, staring dreamily at Ron the Weasel. Isolde leans across the smirking Py and tells Azaelia about meeting up with Majandra just outside the Great Hall that morning. Without needing to be told anything more, Lia nods knowingly.

Hysterical laughter suddenly erupts from one end of the viewing stands and washes like a wave over the other stands. The three join in, laughing so hard that tears run down their faces. Running drunkenly to and fro around the Pitch is the House Elf Winky, large bottles of butter beer clutched in each hand, and not a stitch of clothing to be seen.

Enjoying the Game
Author: Belladonna
Date: 05-02-02 16:29

Dylan and Bella started hooting with laughter in spite of themselves when Winky streaked across the pitch. They clung to each other and just started clinging to each other. Now this was funny and Bella had been crying so long that it felt good to laugh, even if she was laughing so hard, she was crying again. She'd feel guilty about laughing later, she knew.

"Okay, if you can stop laughing for a moment, Bella, I need a gift for Brynn and I'm out of ideas. Money is no objection, you know that. I worship the woman and I want her eyes to light up when she sees it. Help me out here, will you?"

Bella sighed dreamily. Dylan had his Bella, Isabella had her Lucian, and she had...Charlie? Maybe it was time to write him after the game. The quarrel had been her fault and whether or not Charlie ever wanted to marry her, life without him was gloomy. She'd apologise and hope he'd take her back.

"Hmmm...Dyls, she loves the Rookery. Maybe you should buy her a little cottage in the Welsh mountains where you two can go on mini-breaks during the weekend. Some place quaint, romantic, and peaceful. She'd love it...oooh stained glass in the windows!"

The idea clearly appealed to Dylan because he kissed his sister on the lips and told her she was brilliant. Bella laughed happily and punched him gently into the shoulder.

"Okay, now you help me out. I miss Charlie and we've quarreled. If I wrote him after the game and begged him to take me back, would he? Life just isn't the same."

"Awww, Bella. Nothing you could do would make anyone love you less. Don't wait until after the game if you really love him. Here's a pen and paper. Soileil can take it. I don't approve of the chap, but I want you to be happy. He'll forgive you, I know it."

Deep Thoughts
Author: Viktor Krum
Date: 05-02-02 20:19

Extremely tired and chilled to the bone after an early morning and very strenuous round of Quidditch practice, Viktor steps under the welcome stream of hot water. As the fingers of water massage his back, Viktor closes his eyes in thought.

The last few letters from Hermione had been friendly enough but something had been lacking. Until around Halloween, Viktor had always sensed a genuine warmth in Hermione's letters. That warmth has been missing in each letter since Halloween and only one reason comes to mind as to why that is. Hermione is no longer interested in being anything more than friends. Viktor hopes it's just a case of them not being able to see each other all that often.

He doesn't want to think about what the other possibilities could be. Instead he turns his thoughts to a much more grim situation. Viktor wants to help in the hunt for You-Know-Who but so far has done nothing.

Wrapping himself in a thick robe, Viktor emerges from the steamy bathroom and heads for his desk. He pens a letter to Dumbledore asking how he can help. Viktor lets Dumbledore know he will be in Hogsmeade for the next Hogsmeade weekend but can meet with Dumbledore before then if the Headmaster prefers it.

After sending the note off by owl, Viktor settles into an overstuffed chair to contemplate a gift to take Hermione on the Hogsmeade weekend.

Snitch and Miss
Author: Hannah Abbott
Date: 05-02-02 21:05

"One, two, three...GO HUFFLEPUFF!" the team screamed out. Toby had just tried to rebuild the team's self-confidence with a few last minute words.

Everyone took there places and the whistle sounded. Sykra took the Quaffle, and headed down the field to the Hufflepuff goal. She threw the Quaffle which was knocked off course by a bludger that Kendra hit.

"Way to go Kendra!" Hannah yelled out to her.

Hannah then went back to scanning the pitch for the snitch. The Ravenclaws were zooming around her on their new brooms. Hannah was starting feel as if there would be no chance for them. How could they possibly defeat those brooms? And then it happened. Just minutes into the game, Hannah saw the snitch! Cho was going after it. Hannah pressed herself to her broom and tried to make it go faster. Cho was just so much closer to it. Hannah then noticed a bludger heading straight for Cho. The bludger hit Cho, and she missed her chance at the snitch! Hannah couldn't believe it. Hannah continued on her path to where the snitch had been, but in that one moment that she had been distracted she lost sight of the snitch. Now it was gone. All Hannah could do now was circle the pitch and hope that she would be the first to see it next time.

Re: Snitch and Miss
Author: Aradia Forest
Date: 05-02-02 21:36

Up in the air I whoosh around. Flying is such an elation! For a minute I think we are going to have a two minute game - Cho is streaking towards what must be the snitch. But just as she is about to grasp it, a stray bludger hits her and she looses sight of the snitch.

"Hey! Beaters, you're supposed to keep those AWAY from the players!" I yell, as I streak towards a quaffle. I catch it easily and fly with it towards the other side of the pitch. I see a bludger heading towards so quicky throw the quaffle to Sykra (who catches it with ease) and escape the ballistic bludger. Flying higher, I once again fly around...in a rather show-off way.

Disgraceful!
Author: Minerva McGonagall
Date: 05-02-02 21:49

"And there goes a house elf . . . look how excited she is!" Lee Jordan said, his voice echoing throughout the field. "She's probably rooting for the Hufflepuffs, wouldn't ya say Professor?"

McGonagall stared down at him. "Jordan!"

"Sorry, Professor." McGonagall looked around. "Someone get down there and get that elf off the field! It's disgraceful!"

A few older students ran out and seized the elf, who kicked and yelled at them. The students ended up drenched in butter beer. McGonagall clicked her tongue and shook her head. She looked down and noticed Lee was watching the house elf being carried away.

"Mr. Jordan! You have a game to announce." She looked at him sternly.

He gulped. "Sorry, Professor."

Added Entertainment
Author: Jet
Date: 05-03-02 16:45

A collective groan arose from the Hufflepuffs in the stands when they realized Hannah had been so close to catching the snitch. Jet found he'd been holding his breath as his friend darted in for the snitch only to lose sight of it. Just as quickly, Jet's attention was drawn by the loud hoots of laughter beginning to echo across the Pitch. Scanning the stands and then the ground, Jet too bursts into hearty chuckles as Winky nakedly staggers gleefully from one end of the Pitch to the other. A few start booing when Professor McGonagall loudly orders several students to remove Winky from the field. The boos once more turn to laughter at Winky's attempts to evade the students and then her efforts to get out of their grasp once they have her and are carrying her off the field. With the added entertainment gone, everyone's attention is soon back on the game. Jet loudly cheers his house team on and in particular his friend Hannah.