Cruci-O's! An archive of Badger Blurs

Decorate My Dungeon

Wed, 01 Nov 2006 03:03:38 GMT

Well...Truth or Dare leads to much blur writing, and so I now present you with...

-drumroll-

The Averus Proposal!

So, for Amy, and also your badger reading pleasure...

For most people, the fact that living in a dungeon came with the job of Potions Master was a downside. Not many people thought that living the better part of a year in a dark, dank, creepy dungeon was exactly ideal. Severus Snape was not among those people. In fact, he found the dungeons he lived in at Hogwarts perfectly fine as residence. And tonight, they would be perfect for what he had planned.

It wasn’t the first time he had thought about this. Not at all. Ever since he had started dating her, the thought of being with her for the rest of his life was always at the back of his mind. It almost scared him at first, made him feel vulnerable. But after a while, the idea became more and more comfortable for him, and it didn’t seem like such a wild idea. He wouldn’t admit it, but tonight he was more nervous than he had been in a long time, and it was all because of her.

Amy Faircloth was something he had never had before. She was young, energetic, intelligent, beautiful – she was everything. Yes, their relationship had raised more than a few eyebrows, and yes, he wondered sometimes why he was dating someone so much younger than himself, but it didn’t matter. After tonight, it would never matter again.

He had it all planned out. She was coming to visit her old Hufflepuff housemates for the start of term feast, and then she would come to see him afterwards. Nothing could interfere – it was simple.

It turns out, he was wrong.

Following a dinner that consisted of many sideways glances towards the staff table on Amy’s part, it became time for the plan to be put into action. Severus left the hall before her to make sure he made it back in time to get everything ready. However, when he arrived at the dungeons, there was something waiting for him that had nothing to do with anything he would ever have planned.

Walking around looking thoroughly lost was a small first year boy with curly blonde hair. Upon seeing Professor Snape, the boy promptly jumped and opened his mouth in what would have hopefully been an explanation, but was really nothing more than a frightened squeak.

“What are you doing down here?” asked Severus sharply, eyeing the boy suspiciously. “The feast is still going on upstairs, that is where you should be. Wandering around the castle on your first day isn’t getting off to a good start, is it?”

The boy looked too scared to respond. His mouth opened and closed several times in silence, and he began wringing his hands together. Severus had to resist the urge to roll his eyes, and was just about to tell the boy off some more when a female voice spoke behind him.

“Severus, what’s going on?” came Amy’s voice. It sounded strangely alien and definitely soothing compared to his own. She looked at the small boy, who was now shaking slightly, and said, “First year?” The boy nodded. Amy walked past Severus over to the boy and continued talking to him. “I’d bet some seventh year told you to come down here, right?” she said with a small frown on her face.

Again, the boy nodded. This time, however, he spoke as well. “They told me to come down here as a pre-sorting initiation.”

Amy shook her head disapprovingly while Severus stood looking on with his eyebrows raised. Clearly he wasn’t used to his girlfriend acting the teacher to a student. But Amy just kept on doing what she was doing. She was now guiding the first year back up to the Great Hall, though not without a quick wink at Severus first. This left Severus very much alone again, feeling a little embarrassed at having had his girlfriend come up and take over a situation.

The clock struck the ten o’clock hour and Severus swore. That stupid first year had already messed up his plans for the evening. By this time, Amy was already supposed to be Severus’s fiancé, but she wasn’t. Right now, she was just a woman who had happened upon a professor telling off a new student and intervened. He walked back to his living quarters and took a look around. Set around the room were candles and various colors of cala lilies, particularly red. The plan had been to have Amy come to his room and surprise her there. They were then going to go up to the Astronomy Tower and spend a good amount of time there, but now…now it was getting late and Severus wasn’t sure they’d have time for all that.

Stupid first years!

Severus was just about to extinguish the candles and try the whole thing again another night (after all, Amy enjoyed visiting her badgers as often as possible) when Amy herself startled him.

“What are you doing?” he heard her say from the doorway. He whipped around, not wanting her to figure the plan out and ruin the whole thing.

“Nothing,” he muttered pathetically. “Just putting these candles out.”

Amy raised an eyebrow. “Ah, of course. Because you always have so many candles lit,” she mocked. “And…flowers set about the room.” She motioned to the cala lilies.

“Yes, well, you can’t expect me to have no decorations, can you?” He took a step toward her, hoping the decreasing space between them would take her mind off other things.

“Yes I can,” she responded, not yet distracted by him moving closer to her. “Your dungeon of a bedroom has never been decorated before. I would know,” she added, this time taking a step toward him.

They were now very close, and Severus felt his heart gaining speed like it always did when he was around her. She made him feel different than any woman ever had or ever could. That moment reassured Severus that Amy was truly the only woman for him and that his proposal idea had not been a bad one. As he captured her in a kiss – slow, perfect – he fleetingly thought about going through with the idea. Maybe it wasn’t too late…

“Amy,” he whispered as their lips parted. He paused a moment, causing Amy to lean back a little so as to look at him more fully. Slowly, he sank down onto one knee, hardly believing what he was doing. “Amy Faircloth, will you do me the honor of being my wife?” he asked, pulling a shining ring out of his robes pocket.

Almost immediately he saw the tears forming in her eyes. Without saying anything, she ever so slightly nodded her head yes, too overjoyed to speak. Severus rose from his position on one knee, slipped the ring on her finger, and then enveloped her in the most amazing kiss the two of them had ever shared. Everything seemed more than perfect in that moment of time, like the whole world was spinning just for them.

I really hope you liked it!

Wed, 18 Oct 2006 19:11:21 GMT

I still don't like this blur, but I haven't written anything else and it's always nice to have reminders that communities exist. So, the latest Justlie.

It was a beautiful, crisp October day – the date of Hogwarts’ Hogsmeade visit. Hufflepuff was brimming with excitement – some required a visit to Zonko’s joke shop, some were in desperate need of Honeydukes chocolate, and they were all past ready for a chance to relax for the day.

“I’ve never quite understood why we usually wear Muggle clothing,” Leslie remarked. “It is a wizarding village, after all.”

Marie straightened her jacket and checked her appearance in the mirror. “Because no one in their very right mind passes up the chance to wear jeans.”

Leslie looked down at her outfit of choice. It was fairly flattering, she thought – at least, it would’ve been if she’d bothered to iron it. But she really couldn’t care that much – today was supposed to be relaxing, after all.

“Ready to go?” It was a testimony to the close-knittendess of Hufflepuff House that they walked down to Hogsmeade as one big group, more or less.

The path to the village was vibrant with changing leaves. Leslie slowed down for a moment to particularly admire a soft red-gold that reminded her strongly of the most beautiful sunsets. Suddenly she found her friends had gone on without her. All except one.

“It seems that the promise of butterbeer, Chocolate Frogs, and Dr. Filibuster’s fireworks holds more allure than the beauties of nature,” Justin remarked with a small smile.

“How unfortunate,” Leslie replied. “Thank you for waiting.”

“My pleasure, Justin assured her, and she began to worry if her face matched one of the redder leaves that surrounded them.

The main group of Hufflepuffs was now far ahead and Leslie doubted she could catch up at this point – if she wanted to catch up.

Feeling the silence to be a little awkward, Leslie said the first thing that came to mind – a truly deplorable habit of hers. “Do you ever wonder why we wear Muggle clothing on our days off? I always feel so self-conscious.”

“You have great reason to be,” Justin said gravely and Leslie turned to him in dismay.

“It’s because I didn’t iron it, isn’t it?”

“No,” he said, quirking his brows. “No, I was thinking about the fact that, well...” he trailed off, apparently too embarrassed at some great flaw in her appearance to even say.

“What?!” Leslie demanded.

Justin would meet her eyes and she looked away, hastening her steps ever so slightly. He grabbed her wrist and swung her around toward him and she braced herself for some stinging critique.

“That outfit is far too attractive on you!” he blurted, glancing quickly at her face then glaring at the nearest tree.

As shocked as Leslie was, some evil flirt within her said coyly, “Is that so?” She blushed at her forwardness.

“Yes,” was the curt reply.

“Um,” Leslie stammered. “Well, then.” She could think of anything to say that would alleviate their embarrassment.

“Yes,” Justin said again. He released her wrist and cocked his head toward the village. “Shall we go on?”

They walked silently for a while. Leslie knew her face was bright red, and a glance at Justin’s face showed he was also fairly scarlet. “We look like a couple of tomatoes!” she exclaimed abruptly, and Justin dissolved into contagious laughter. “It wasn’t that funny!” she gasped helplessly.

“But it was true,” Justin reminded her, the thought somehow sobering him. “Leslie, what I said before was true, too.”

“Thank you,” Leslie replied, nonplussed. Why he kept bringing up this uncomfortable topic of conversation was beyond her. To distract herself from the glances Justin kept giving her she stared at the nearest bedecked tree.

“It certainly is a beautiful day,” Justin said, as if she’d said something. “Would you like to talk a walk?”

“I thought we already were,” Leslie responded.

Justin chuckled briefly. “I meant, take a walk.” He grabbed her hand.

“Oh!” Leslie said, completely unappreciative of her fair skin that caused her to blush so brilliantly. “Well, of course.”

They continued down the path, ambling slowly and taking time to appreciate the crisp air and the beautiful fall colors. When Hogsmeade finally came into view, Justin and Leslie looked at each other.

“Did you absolutely have your heart set on that Honeydukes chocolate I heard you pining for earlier?” Justin asked, his eyes a little beseeching.

Leslie bit her lip; she really did need chocolate to function properly. But Hogsmeade visits were often enough; days like this were few and far between. “I think I’ll manage,” she said finally, flashing a smile up at Justin, whose grin was bright as a star.

They circumambulated the village and continued their stroll, hands linked – until Justin let go to affectionately put his arm around her. This slowed them down considerably, but Leslie didn’t mind. In fact, they stopped completely at the most glorious fall display yet.

“It’s beautiful,” Leslie breathed, entirely engrossed in the array.

“Yes,” Justin said, “you are.”

Leslie blinked then looked sideways up at him. “You did not just use that line on me.”

Justin looked surprised. “Is that a bad line?”

“It’s totally lame,” Leslie informed him.

“Oh. Well, I only said it because I looked at the leaves, which are beautiful, then I looked at you, and...you should never ever feel self-conscious in Muggle clothing. You’re so beautiful it makes me ... gah.”

He squinched his eyes shut as if the sight of her were suddenly too much to bear.

“You’ve succeeded in making me feel quite ashamed for teasing you,” Leslie said in a small voice. “I’m sorry.” She reached up to touch his face but lost her nerve and patted his shoulder instead.

Justin’s arms snaked around her waist and pulled her close so that the hand on his shoulder slid to his back instead. Leslie smiled into his warm embrace and reflected that he didn’t seem inclined to release her anytime soon.

“You don’t look so bad in Hogwarts robes either,” came Justin’s voice rumbling through his chest. “Just so you’re aware.”

Leslie giggled. “I don’t know if you were fishing for compliments or what, but – ” she turned her head so she could almost see his ear – “you know you’re always attractive to me. Men have that fortunate ability to look good without having to resort to, er, Muggle outfits.”

Justin finally stepped back from the hug so he could look teasingly at her. “That may be the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”

“You’re welcome,” Leslie said modestly, a grin emerging on her face.

The look in his eyes softened so meltingly that Leslie almost looked away in embarrassment at viewing such a private emotion. Instead she held his gaze.

“Ah, you’re a special girl, you are,” he said gently. Leslie wondered briefly if he was going to kiss her, but then he pulled her back into his embrace. This one was fairly short, however. He held her just for the space of a breath then kissed her hair and let her go.

She thought she might fall over. There had been no idea in her mind that Justin was so ... romantic, but he’d said some incredible things today and there was no doubt in her heart that he was sincere. And that quick pressure on the side of her head....Leslie went dizzy for a moment but Justin took her hand and she smiled at him.

“We’d probably better head back,” she said, her voice quivering a little.

“Yeah,” Justin replied. “We wouldn’t want to be late for dinner.”

Their friends from Hufflepuff had surely noticed their absence from the village, but when they sat down to dinner no one said anything. Leslie caught a few knowing glances moving up and down the table and realized they thought she and Justin had escaped for a quick snog – she blushed at the very thought – but the experience was much deeper to her than that.

The next morning at breakfast, Justin’s owl Ferdy landed in front of Leslie’s place, a bar of chocolate clutched in his talons. An attached note read, Because I prevented you from acquiring what you’d wanted. Hope the trade-off wasn’t too poor. Yours truly, Justin.

Leslie grinned and scribbled on the back of the parchment, poking Ferdy so he fluttered down a few places to where Justin sat. He read, You know that our walk yesterday was worth all the chocolate in the world. Well, most of it at least. Thank you, though.

The smile they exchanged over the sausages was so fraught with light and mutual friendship that their housemates were amazed.

First Detention

Mon, 09 Oct 2006 02:00:05 GMT

Title: First Detention
Author: ElectronicQuillster
Rating: PG
Summary: In October of their fifth year, things are getting interesting for the Mavick twins. Marie has had her first kiss with Regulus. So what's in store for Leanne? Perhaps a Black of her own that she's been crushing on for a while?

“I really don’t know why you lot get yourselves into detention, but I am glad to have your help on this job,” Slughorn said with a chuckle and beamed at the four students in front of him. “It’s much more fun to decorate for a holiday with help. Now, Mr. Matthews and Miss Mavick, why don’t you take that box of decorations and put them up around the room. That leaves the other Miss Mavick and Mr. Black to make the sugar skulls.”

All in all, this was one of the better detentions delinquent students could hope for. Decorating Slughorn’s classroom for the Halloween season wasn’t a bad job at all. Leanne also had to admit that she was looking forward to spending the rest of the evening with Sirius Black, even though her heart was in her throat. Slughorn turned on the phonograph with some seasonal tunes, and sat at his desk with a stack of parchment essays in front of him that needed grading.

“So much for ‘help with decorating,’” Sirius snorted, as he and Leanne sat at a table with the sugar skull ingredients waiting for them. “You’re the Leanne twin, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Is uh...is your sister actually dating my brother?” he asked in an uncomfortable tone.

“Er, yeah, I think, maybe.” Leanne knew that the developments between Marie and Regulus were still pretty new, and Marie wasn’t quite sure what was going on yet.

“Huh.” Sirius pulled out his wand, preparing to combine the ingredients to make the sugar skulls. Leanne pushed the large bowl across the table towards him. Yes she had taken the seat across from him with one specific reason.

“Mr. Black!” Slughorn chided, clucking his tongue. “No magic during detention.”

“But I thought this was a school of magic,” Sirius countered.

“Ah, but detention is for building character, my boy. No wands.”

Leanne handed Sirius each of the ingredients as he needed them. First the sugar, then the merengue powder. Last it needed water, which Sirius produced from his wand.

In an excess amount.

Leanne could see it was too much water from the get-go, but perhaps Sirius was trying to pretend he didn’t know that as well. Either way, he took the wooden spoon and began mixing the concoction with vigor. He didn’t look up, but kept stiring as he said, “There’s too much water in this.”

“Yeah,” was Leanne’s simple reply, trying to bit back giggles.

“This isn’t going to work, is it?”

“Nope.”

He raised his eyes to look at Leanne, then looked to the right, to the left, to Slughorn, then back to Leanne. “Shit.”

Leanne snorted. Sirius began stiring the messy concoction even more vigorously. Leanne rolled her eyes and then dumped more sugar and merengue powder into the bowl. Soon enough the pasty stuff was ready, and they set to transfiguring globs of it into skulls - Slughorn permitted the use of their wands for that portion of their punishment.

Marie caught Leanne’s eye from where she and Rob were now decorating to the side of her and Sirius. She winked at her twin. Leanne winked back. Then Marie winked. Leanne winked. Rob rolled his eyes, knowing the Mavick twins oh so well, and continued to work after an amused snort. Marie gave another hearty wink. Leanne tried to deal her one better. Marie matched it.

Leanne was about to wink again, but she was startled and nearly fell off her stool when Sirius knocked his knee against hers.

“Your aim is completely off, Leanne,” he said with a wink of his own. Leanne blushed and dropped her head slightly. “Help me finish these last few and then I bet Sluggy will let us go.”

“Alright.”

“What’s your crime anyway?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” she countered, quirking an eyebrow.

“Course I would. I’ve got my own drawer in Flich’s filing cabinet. Well, shared crimes with James, but still,” he shrugged.

“Nose down, you two,” Slughorn tutted. “You’re free to leave as soon as you finish those last skulls.”

“Tell me when I walk you to your common room?”

Leanne smiled. “You’re walking me to my common room?” Her insides squished together in anticipation.

“As long as you don’t hex me or something like Evans does to James.” He winked again for good measure.

“I think I could hold back for a few minutes or something,” Leanne returned in a casual tone, giving him another wink of her own.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AMANDA!

Thu, 28 Sep 2006 06:22:38 GMT

By Amy and Marie

Remus took Amanda’s hand as they left the small restaurant and placed it in the crook of his arm. “I’ll walk you home,” he said quietly.

“Alright,” she said, just as quietly.

Remus had to fight to hold back his sigh of defeat. He had the sinking feeling he knew why dinner with Amanda had been so different than how he’d imagined it would be. He fully expected the dinner to be frequently punctuated by her infectious and amusing laughter. She seemed to regard him differently now, and as much as he didn’t want to ask her about it, he knew he had to.

He waited at least until they were surrounded by the din of the bustling people in the Hogsmeade high street. “What’s wrong, Amanda? Something’s bothering you.”

She waited a moment or two before answering. This was such a delicate matter. “Nothing’s wrong, Remus. Not really, anyway. Just different. At least...I think so.” Who was she kidding. It was definitely different now. Finding out that the the person you’ve admired for so long, perhaps even loved, who had finally asked you to dinner... Well, to have an owl deliver news on the morning of the dinner that your date was, in fact, a werewolf, was definitely not normal, and it certainly complicated things.

“Oh,” Amanda brightened, “I forgot to ask about your sister. How is she?”

“Maggie’s Maggie, as always,” Remus laughed. “She sent me an owl a day or two ago...”

She really couldn’t believe it. Remus Lupin, diligent, honest worker, always one of the smart students in school, nice and well-liked, and a werewolf? It was impossible except for the fact that she could recall that Remus was always missing once a month. But it seemed so contradictory. She really had been trying to wrap her head around it all day.

Remus stopped talking about his sister, realizing that Amanda really was completely oblivious to the conversation. Just as she hadn't been listening during dinner. "Amanda," Remus said stopping on the sidewalk.

Amanda kept walking, not realizing that Remus had stopped, until she felt the tug on her arm which was still hooked into his.

"Remus, what's wrong? Why did you stop?" she asked confused.

Remus pulled Amanda off into the alley next to the street, wrapped his arms around her and quickly Apparated them to her front door.

"Goodnight Amanda," he said as he turned to walk back down the path.

"Wait, no, Remus! Why?"

Remus turned around and studied her for a moment. She had a look of utter confusion plastered on her face. He couldn't help but smile. She had been in her own little world the entire night and truly hadn't noticed that it had upset him in the slightest. He walked back up the steps to her house. Perhaps they could settle this tonight.

"Lets go in and talk," he said reassuringly.

Amanda simply nodded as she unwarded her front door. She led the way into her front sitting room. She sat on the couch as Remus situated herself in the chair.

"What's wrong Remus?"

"Funny, that's the same question I was going to ask you."

"Wha-what do you mean?" her voice faltered. She knew she had been allusive all night and she hadn't meant to be such a bad companion on their first date, but she couldn't shake the thought of that owl from her head.

"You've been inside your own thoughts all night. I asked out a vibrant, energetic, fun woman and I went out with a quiet, sullen woman. What happened in between the time I asked you out and when I picked you up tonight?"

Amanda's eyes went to her hands clasped in her lap. She couldn't bear to look at the man sitting across from her. She knew he was still the Remus Lupin she had had her first crush on at school. He was still the same person he was when he had asked her to go to dinner with him and she had accepted.

"I'm sorry, Remus. I .. I don't know what is wrong with me tonight. I just, I've got some things on my mind."

"What is it? You've never kept anything from me before." Remus reached across and took Amanda's hands between his own.

"I ..." she sighed, not knowing how to continue. She knew she needed to simply tell him about the owl and how it really didn't matter to her that he was a werewolf. She sighed audibly. She couldn't even convince herself of that fact. How was she ever going to convince him? Remus withdrew his hands from hers.

"You've found out. I'll just go," he said quietly. He stood slowly and started to make his way to the door when he heard Amanda behind him, crying. He kept walking. She hadn't called him back and he was not going to impose himself on her any longer than necessary.

"Re-Remus," she stuttered. "I'm sorry. Its just that," Amanda sighed. She jerked her head up, finding confidence from somewhere deep inside her. "Why didn't you tell me Remus? I had to find out from some bloody owl post! I don't even know who sent it."

Remus whirled around, "Don't try and turn this back around on me Amanda. You are the one who has been silent all night, ashamed to be seen with a werewolf." Amanda blanched at the word. "Yes, I said it. I am a werewolf."

"I never said I was ashamed to be seen with you Remus. You inferred that on your own."

"It wasn't a hard conclusion to come to. You've been silent all night, barely even answering my questions. This is hardly how I envisioned our first date."

"Come sit down," she told him.

"No."

"You stupid, stubborn man. Come sit down."

Remus did as he was bid and sat back down in the chair he had previously occupied, but he didn’t say anything for a long time, he merely watched Amanda.

Finally her eyes flickered over to meet his. “Just...sit with me for a while?” Amanda asked, a note of hope and a silent plea in her voice. “I just need to collect everything and put it all back together.”

“I guess I can’t blame you,” Remus conceded. In her eyes he could see the desire she had to accept him. She was trying, and honestly, he appreciated that. So many people simply discarded them when they found out. He could be patient and understanding since she was willing to do the same for him.

“How long have you been...?” she trailed off, unable to finish the sentence.

“Before Hogwarts, when I was really young.”

“Oh, Remus, I can’t even imagine,” Amanda said. “But then I suppose you’ve always been you. I just didn’t know.”

Remus patiently sat with her for a long time. He didn’t know what to say, and he figured it still was just a process of thinking for her. Finally, she reached for his hand and pulled him from his chair, indicating that she wanted him to sit by her on the sofa. Remus acquiesced and put an arm around her.

“Is that why you waited so long to ask me to dinner?” she asked, a smirk on her face.

This. This was his Amanda again. At least he hoped to call her his Amanda.

“Perhaps,” he admitted. Then he tested to see if he could call her his. A simple experiment of leaning in to capture her lips with his.

a prompt, for those that desire one...

Mon, 25 Sep 2006 23:35:37 GMT

It wasn't hard to distract Leslie from studying. Perhaps it was her fault for preferring the common room to the library, but there was always so much going on that was more interesting than the essays she had to write.

That's as far as I got. I now open it up to you (you don't have to stay with my character if you don't like). If nobody has any ideas, that's fine too.

Edit: Justlie actually wasn't the plan here...I was thinking more along the lines of a prank or something. But since I have relinquished all claim to the prompt, you all can do whatever you want. Now that it's a new day I thought I'd just make that information public.

Flying Lessons, Part II

Sun, 17 Sep 2006 17:26:06 GMT

Ashley fluffed her long, dark curly hair before the mirror, trying to calm her raging nerves. It seemed like only a moment had passed since the Hufflepuff Quidditch match, and yet here she was, preparing to meet Nathan for her flying lesson that afternoon. She’d changed about a dozen times, torn between dressing practically for flying or dressy in an attempt to catch Nathan’s eye. In the end her fears won out, convincing her that the last thing she needed was more complications while riding a broom. Taking one last look in the mirror, Ashley turned and left her flat, Apparating directly to Hogsmeade where she’d planned to meet Amy, Mar, and Leanne for a quick lunch before her lesson.

Settled snuggly at a table in The Three Broomsticks, the girls made feeble attempts to keep from openly laughing at Ashley’s nervous expression.

“You’ll be fine,” Amy soothed, taking a sip of her tea. “This will be the perfect opportunity for him to admit how much he likes you.”

“Yea, I’m sure I’ll impress him thoroughly when I fall off the broom and break every bone in my body,” Ashley replied, furiously biting at her thumbnail. “Speaking of brooms, what am I going to ride? I don’t even own one!”

“Hogwarts just purchased some new ones,” Marie chimed in, “apparently the Slytherin team had to send their brooms to the shop for maintenance, not doubt thanks to certain Hufflepuffs that will remain nameless.” Ashley laughed, knowing full well Mar was referring to Rob and Doug, the resident Hufflepuff pranksters. “Apparently some of the Slytherin parents panicked at the thought of their babies riding mediocre brooms, so they made a hefty contribution to the school, demanding suitable replacements be bought in the meantime.”

“Well that’s reassuring at least,” Ashley mumbled quietly, thankful that she wouldn’t be riding the twitchy, unstable brooms she’d experienced in her first year at Hogwarts.

“Shoot, I’ve got to get back to work,” Amy grumbled, glancing at her watch. “Just try to have fun!” she said as she gave Ashley a quick hug. “Stop by the shop on your way home, I want to hear all the details!”

Ashley gave Amy a weak smile as she left the table, turning to look at the twins with a sigh.

“You should be leaving, too,” Leanne grinned, sipping on her butterbeer. “You don’t want to be late for your lesson.”

“And don’t worry about flying perfectly, Ash,” Mar added as they rose from the table. “He’s a flying instructor; he’s used to people not flying well. And besides, there won’t be anyone else around to make you nervous. The Slytherins aren’t booked to use the pitch until later this afternoon, and you’ll be long gone by the time the Hogsmeade trip is over.”

Ashley nodded and gave her friends a quick hug, turning slowly and walking numbly towards the Hogwarts grounds. More than once she actually stopped in her tracks, fighting the urge to turn and run the other direction. She didn’t think she’d ever been so nervous in her life, the thought of climbing on a broom terrifying her beyond reason. It was only the promise of being alone with Nathan that kept her feet moving forward.

At the front gate Ashley met Doug and Rob, laughing and whispering conspiratorially. “Hey Ash!” they chimed in unison as she passed, oblivious to the look of dread on her face. She nodded mutely in reply, continuing her trek towards the stadium. She was about fifty feet away, ready to turn and run, when she heard her name floating across the air.

“Ash, over here!” Nathan’s voice said cheerily from the broom shed. Ashley put on her best smile, walking slowly in his direction. She felt her body relaxing a bit as she looked at him, his easy smile and rolling accent strangely setting her mind at ease.

“I was afraid you weren’t coming,” he said quietly, taking a step in her direction as she reached the shed.

“I thought about it,” Ashley replied truthfully, her stomach flipping uncomfortably as she saw two brooms leaning against the shed wall.

“Well, I’m glad you did,” he grinned, leaning over and taking the brooms in his left hand. He rose and considered her for a moment, suddenly moving towards her, bringing a small gasp from Ashley’s lips. “You’re really nervous… aren’t you?” he whispered as he looked in her eyes. Ashley felt her cheeks reddening slightly as she nodded in reply, crossing her arms protectively over her chest. Her heart skipped a bit when he placed his hand on her arm, giving it a tender squeeze. “No worries,” he smiled turning her towards the pitch, his hand still comfortably resting on her arm. “I’ll take care of you, I promise.”

***Meanwhile…***

“Oh, I hope her lesson goes well!” Leanne giggled as she and Marie wandered through the shelves of Zonko’s.

“I’m sure it will,” Marie replied, examining a bottle on the shelf. “Nathan is an incredible flyer, and it’s obvious he likes her. What could go wrong?”

“I can’t wait to see their faces!” Doug’s voice cut through the shop, followed by raucous laughter from Rob. “They won’t know what hit them.”

“Can’t wait to see whose faces?” Marie inquired of Rob, anxious to hear what new prank the duo had set in motion.

“The Slytherin Quidditch team,” Rob whispered, casting a quick glance over his shoulder. “After we put the Sticking Charm on their brooms last month, they hit us back with a Hurling Hex. McGonagall ordered that all brooms be locked up after that to keep the sabotage to a minimum.”

“But,” Doug interrupted, “on the way here this morning we saw Nathan testing out the new shipment of replacement brooms for the Slytherins. So, while Rob distracted him with questions about the time he played in the Quidditch World Cup, I cast a Spinning Spell on the brooms. They have practice this evening; I can’t wait to see their reaction!”

“Are you two ok?” Rob said suddenly, eyeing the twins with concern. Both of their faces had gone ghostly white, and the box of dungbombs in Leanne’s hand went plummeting to the floor.

“Not good,” Marie mumbled, running quickly through the shop door.

“Definitely bad!” Leanne shouted as she sprinted after her, leaving the boys behind with confused looks on their faces.

“I only hope we reach them in time,” Marie worried as they raced down the road towards Hogwarts, knowing that while an experienced Quidditch player would have no problem throwing off a Spinning Hex, their untrained friend was about to be in serious trouble.

Brothers United, Part IV

Tue, 12 Sep 2006 19:26:54 GMT

Author: Mar (ElectronicQuillster)
Part I || Part II || Part III

It was a stormy morning, but that didn’t matter to the Mavick twins. They had a plan. As they walked into the Great Hall, Marie and Leanne shared a grin and then each turned different ways. Leanne went to the Gryffindor table, and Mar to the Slytherin table. Then they commandeered their boyfriends and met back up at the Hufflepuff table. The twins didn’t notice, but their boyfriends were nonplussed by the situation at hand. They may have been collaborating to bring down Nathan Raines, but they still weren’t ready to skip around singing songs together.

Marie inhaled deeply, a huge smile on her face. “Scones! I love scones!”

“Mar, we have scones for breakfast here at least once a week,” Sirius stated, not understanding why she was so excited.

“I know, and I love them! They’re just like eating a warm ray of sunshine!”

Regulus smirked and simply passed the plate of scones to his girlfriend. Breakfast, for the brothers, was awkward, Marie and Leanne simply chatted away, drawing the Blacks into conversation occasionally. For the most part they boys just tried to concentrate on their food, especially Regulus. He wasn’t particularly fond of socializing, and sitting at the Badger table was making it difficult to not socialize. Sirius just didn’t like socializing with his brother; it brought up too many memories he’d fought to throw away.

“Oh, Mar, look!” Leanne cried out and pointed discreetly up to the staff table.

Marie gasped when she saw Nathan Raines. The twins giggled. This was enough to get Sirius’ and Regulus’ attention, and they glared at Nathan Raines and then at each other. They didn’t notice the exchange going on between their girlfriends, an exchange in which Leanne and Mar had a silent reaffirmation of their plans regarding Nathan Raines and Ashley, and their plan for making their boyfriends take them out on a double date.

Marie let out an exasperated sigh. “I wanted to go to the masquerade for the New Year.”

“We are sixteen, after all. There’s not much difference between being sixteen and being seventeen,” Leanne pouted. “We should’ve been able to go. Did you know that Lois Greengrass went?”

“I hate Lois Greengrass,” Marie muttered, stabbing a bit of sausage rather violently. Regulus leaned over and planted a kiss on her cheek.

“Well, she did go, but I heard her dress robes weren’t all that interesting, and everyone knows that you’ve got to go as something interesting when it’s a masquerade.”

“Well, obviously,” Marie answered. “I need to get more quills.”

“You always need more quills whenever we come back to school, and you never get them before we leave home. Do you think Professor Flitwick’s test will be hard tomorrow?”

“I hope not, Rob’s already told me we’ve got Quidditch practice tonight.”

“Not surprising,” Leanne shrugged.

Sirius furrowed his brow and glanced at Regulus to see if he was equally stunned at the girls’ ability to change subjects on a dime. Regulus gave him a look that clearly said [i]you get used to it.[/i]

“Definitely! Don’t you think it’s a brilliant idea?”

The Blacks returned their attention to their girlfriends. Clearly, in the two seconds they’d shared an exchange, the girls had planned something. From the looks on their faces, Regulus was slightly concerned as to what their brilliant idea was.

“What are you talking about?” Sirius inquired.

“We were just saying that we think,” Leanne started.

“The two of you should most definitely,” Marie continued.

“Take us on a double date,” they concluded together in true twin style.

“Next Hogsmeade weekend,” Marie added in the moment of stunned silence. “We’d better get to class now, we’ve got double Potions with Ravenclaw.”

The boys watched Leanne and Marie go, and they were left with a table quickly being vacated by other Badgers leaving for class. “Are they trying to torture us?”

Regulus glared at his brother. “You hate me so much you think it would be torture?”

“I don’t hate you,” Sirius argued, slamming his fist on the table. “You’re the one who hates me.”

“Right,” Regulus nodded. “You left.”

“I couldn’t stay,” he murmured. He looked across the table at his brother and then sighed. “You know I only left because of her.” After another moment he added, “The date won’t be torture, unless Nathan Raines happens to waltz by. I’ll see you around.”

Hidden Desire

Sat, 09 Sep 2006 11:02:47 GMT

Sorry for making you wait this long, but school took all my writing time away from me...

Author: Ilka (LadyAlesha)
Title: Conversations
Series: Hidden Desire

Half an hour after Amy had been brought in, the Hospital Wing was crowded with concerned Badgers, proving once again that it was virtually impossible to keep a secret at Hogwarts. Madam Pomfrey had given up on trying to send the Badgers away and returned to attending to the other patients. Every now and then she called for silence, but everyone mostly ignored her.

“I shouldn’t have let you go into the Forbidden Forest,” Ilka said for the hundredth time. Tear-tracks stained her cheeks and her eyes were still red and puffy, telltale signs of her distress.

“It’s not your fault, Ilka,” Amy tried to reason with her. “I went in there alone before, I knew the risk.”

Ilka was shaking her head ‘no’ vigorously, but Amy didn’t give her the chance to protest. “And if you hadn’t told Blaise and Severus where I went, I would still be in there, maybe even dead by now. You saved me, Ilka!”

“Promise me to never scare us like this again, Amy. I nearly got a heart attack when Ilka told us that you had gone into the Forbidden Forest,” Rhi chimed in from where she sat on Amy’s bed, her best friend’s hand clenched tightly in her own.

“I promise!”

“Ok girls, that’s enough angsting for one day, let’s get back to the really important things,” Rob said suddenly. As one, twenty heads turned to glare at him, but Rob had been around his fellow Hufflepuffs too long to be intimidated. “I meant, how we can get Amy and Snape back together,” he added, exasperated.

“Rob! Shhh,” Amy admonished, glancing around to make sure Madam Pomfrey hadn’t heard him. Thankfully she was busy tending a wound at the other end of the Hospital Wing. “You can’t say things like that where others, especially staff members, can hear you!”

Rob opened his mouth to defend himself, but Madam Pomfrey chose that moment to return her attention to Amy. “You lot have been here long enough now. Miss Faircloth needs to rest, you can come see her again tomorrow after classes, but visiting time is officially over now.”

Before leaving everyone took their turn hugging Amy. Last in line was Rob, who settled on a handshake instead of a hug. His last words before closing the door behind him brought a slightly uneasy look to Amy’s face, “Don’t you worry, Amy, we’ll come up with something.”

*~*

“Severus, is there anything you would like to tell me?” Dumbledore’s soft voice startled him. Turning around, Severus saw the headmaster standing in the middle of his private rooms, a small smile on his lips and a merry twinkle in his eyes.

“Headmaster! I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you come in,” he replied, trying to hide the picture, he had been looking at, behind his back.

“It’s ok, Severus, I already know about you and Miss Faircloth.”

“Wh…what? How?”

“The look in your eyes when you brought her in and her face when we discovered that you had left without saying goodbye, told me all there is to know.”

“I’m sorry, Headmaster, I know this isn’t common practice …”

“Nonsense, Severus. She is old enough to make her own decisions. I trust, you didn’t harbour any inappropriate feelings for her while she was still a student at Hogwarts and didn’t pursue a relationship until after she graduated. There’s nothing I or anyone else can do against this union.”

“Yes, Headmaster,” Severus said, staring at the wall next to Dumbledore’s head intently. He had the feeling Dumbledore was fully aware of his partiality towards the spirited redhead while she had been one of his students, but was giving him an easy way out. He just couldn’t figure out, why Dumbledore was so adamant about making him believe he had done nothing wrong. It sounded almost as if he wanted him to save what was left of his relationship with Amy and start over with her.

Tags

Thu, 07 Sep 2006 17:10:39 GMT

Hey guys,

There have been a few people asking if we could add character and ship tags to our blurs.

People like to read the blurs about themselves (for some reason and maybe excluding Rob) so adding these tags would help them go straight to their blurs.

So, from now on, please add the ship and main characters of your blurs into the tags text box at the bottom of the update box.
Thanks,
~ Roxy

Tue, 05 Sep 2006 20:18:16 GMT

Just posting my blurs for the last of Lei's blur challenges in the common room. Both are set in the HD-verse, but are taking place after the as of yet unwritten ending of HD.

Graduading isn't easy!

NEWTs were finally over. With a sigh Ilka made her way to the large willow near the lake. Everywhere students milled about, laughing and chatting. Ilka felt like crying. Summer holidays would start soon and then she would have to say goodbye to Hogwarts, England and most important of all her friends.

She reached into her pocket and drew out a crumpled, tear-stained letter. Her mother’s neat script filled the pages. Her parents had decided to move back to Germany to take care of her ill grandmother and Ilka and her brother were supposed to go with them.

For days her fellow Badgers had tried to cheer her up, but Ilka couldn’t stop crying. She would most likely never see her friends again and she had yet to tell Blaise. With all the last minute studying both of them had done they had hardly seen each other all last week.

Strong arms encircled her waist from behind and a warm masculine voice whispered in her ear, “We’re free, my love, we’re finally free!”

Ilka giggled, but it came out as more of a strangled sob. Turning around she buried her head in the crook of Blaise’s neck and let her tears fall.

“What’s wrong, love? Aren’t you happy about leaving Hogwarts at all?” Blaise’s perplexed question reminded her that she still hadn’t told him about her parents’ plans. She thrust the letter into his hand, unable to form the words.

Blaise read the note and chuckled. Aghast, Ilka drew away from him. “What are you laughing at? This is everything but funny!”

“Well, are you a witch or what? You can always apparate or floo to England whenever you want to see us.” Ilka opened her mouth to argue, but Blaise shook his head and continued, “It’s only a few weeks, love. Just wait and see, you’ll be back before you know it.”

“Don’t you understand, Blaise? I’m not coming back, we’re moving there permanently!” Ilka was quickly getting irritated, what was her boyfriend playing at? Didn’t he see that things would never be the same again?

“You’re an adult now, dear, you don’t have to live at home anymore. And before you argue, I know how hard it is to find a decent flat in Hogsmeade, but I’ve got it covered,” Blaise explained gently, “Amy is moving in with Severus, so her flat is empty. She already agreed to rent it to us.”

“Us?” Ilka questioned, dumbfounded. Blaise made it sounds so easy, but that couldn’t be, right? There had to be a catch somewhere. Things were never that easy.

“Well, I though … but I can find something else if you don’t want to live with me …”

“What? No! I’d love to live with you.” A brilliant smile curved Ilka’s lips, maybe things were that easy just this one time! “I love you!”

An answering smile covered Blaise’s face as he pulled her into a tight hug. “I love you, too, Ilka.”

Amy's Wedding

Anna’s gaze flitted around the inside of the church excitedly. “Isn’t it beautiful? I wonder what Amy is wearing,” she gushed, causing Draco and Blaise to roll their eyes. The three of them were, much to Draco and Blaise’s horror, sitting amongst a multitude of Badgers, because Anna had insisted on spending the whole wedding and reception with her friends. With all of them out of Hogwarts they didn’t see each other nearly as often as they would have liked to, although Draco frequently complained that Anna didn’t have enough time for him because she spent too much of her free time with her Badgers.

The whole church was magically decorated with white roses and ivy. White candles were floating above their heads, casting a soft glow over every surface.

“Have you ever seen a lovelier church?” Anna asked her silent companions again.

This time Draco didn’t roll his eyes, “Anna, you helped decorate it, of course it’s lovely.”

Anna blushed and said, “But it wasn’t just me. All of us Badgers helped, either here or at Amy and Snape’s cottage.”

Draco and Blaise only nodded and smiled somewhat amused half-smiles. Both of them had heard nothing else for weeks now. But where Anna was bad, Ilka was worse. As a bridesmaid she had been involved in choosing dresses and was bursting to tell everyone how gorgeous Amy looked in her wedding gown. She had had a hard time not revealing too much to Blaise, but Amy had sworn all her bridesmaids and her maid of honour, Rhi, to secrecy.

Everything was ready. The church looked perfect, the guests had arrived; even Severus was already there, waiting for his bride while shooting murderous looks at both Remus and Dumbledore.

Anna giggled. Severus had been unable to choose a best man, so Dumbledore had taken the decision from him and given Remus the post, because he knew Severus the longest. Remus had been sceptical at first, but couldn’t say no to Dumbledore in the end.

Ilka and Rhi got never tired of telling the tale of the day when Severus found out. It hadn’t been pretty and Amy had to make one hell of an effort to get Severus to even consider Remus as best man. But since having a student be best man was unacceptable and Lucius was still in Azkaban, Severus hadn’t had much of a choice. At least it wasn’t Sirius, Amy had tried to reason with him and after a lot of cajoling he had finally agreed with her.

Suddenly the church doors opened and Rhi, Ilka, Liz and Lei walked in. Rhi, as maid of honour, walked down the aisle first, Lei, Ilka and Liz walked next to each other behind her. All four of them wore flowing pale pink dresses.

The wedding guests held their breath when the music began to play. All eyes were fastened on the doors, as Amy’s father led her down the aisle. Amy was a vision! Her white wedding gown was tight around her upper body but flowed into a wide skirt from her waist down. The white set off her red curly hair beautifully.

As soon as the music started, Severus’ focus shifted. He was no longer glaring at Remus, but gazing intently at his bride, a small, almost reluctant smile curving his lips. Anna had never seen him relaxed or happy. He seemed to have forgotten about the other people in the church; his gaze never wavered from Amy, who was looking at him as intently as he was at her, a brilliant smile adorning her lips.

Anna had tears in her eyes as Amy took her place next to Severus. When they exchanged their vows every female Badger in the audience reached for their tissues. Anna saw even Rob and Douglas dab their eyes covertly.

Several minutes later Amy’s voice rang loud and clear through the church, “I do!” Severus slid the ring on her finger carefully, his eyes never leaving her face.

Without looking up at the priest, Severus now answered his question, “I do!”

“I now pronounce you husband and wife,” The priest intoned.

Cheering and clapping filled the church as Severus lowered his head to Amy’s and gently met her lips with his. The kiss only lasted a second, but when they pulled away Anna swore she had never seen Amy happier.

Sat, 02 Sep 2006 23:19:07 GMT

Posting some of Ashley/Gryffinpuff's blurs...

Leanne sat beside the lake, reading quietly while the wind tousled her long brown hair, tickling her shoulders.

“Darn! I forgot to buy new quills!” Marie groaned, rifling through her bag.

“You’ll have to owl home for some,” Leanne said, gazing at her twin. “The first Hogsmeade trip isn’t for weeks.”

“Wish it was sooner,” Ashley interjected, “I’m craving chocolate!”

Leanne laughed, turning her gaze across the lake, her eyes settling on a devastatingly attractive boy and a tall, leggy blonde.

“Who’s Sirius talking to?” Ashley asked, reading Leanne’s mind.

“Some ditsy Gryffindor,” Marie replied. “She’s so… so…”

“Supercilious?” Leanne offered. Marie and Ashley laughed. “What? I love that word!” Leanne said indignantly.

“Leave it to the grammar nerd,” Ashley giggled, shoving Leanne playfully. Leanne smiled. It was true; she did love grammar. So much, in fact, that she wanted to be an editor someday, possibly for the Daily Prophet.

Leanne turned her attention back across the lake, frowning at the flirtatious blonde. After a moment she tore her eyes away, reluctantly returned to one of her favorite novels.

‘What are men to rocks and mountains?’ the words flashed ironically.

Yes, Jane Austen, but what are mountains to Sirius Black? Leanne thought, closing the book with snap.

Hours later, Leanne sat in bed, wide awake. Her mind kept wandering back to him. His dark hair, his bone-melting smile. With Sirius running through her mind, sleep was a lost cause.

Quietly Leanne left the room, the forbidden nighttime halls of Hogwarts calling her name. She smiled sneakily to herself, almost daring a teacher to catch her out of bed. Her Professors perceived her as the model student, well rounded and behaved. Only her fellow badgers knew the truth. Leanne had a wild side, one that she only let show for certain people and at certain times. She was a bit of a rule-breaker at heart.

About an hour later, she was startled by the sound of approaching footsteps. Squeaking quietly to herself, she dove behind a curtain, nervously listening to the uninvited guest.

“Well, Miss Leanne,” a distinctive male voice purred through the curtain, pulling it aside. “What on earth are you doing out of bed at this time of night?”

Leanne gaped at the grinning face of Sirius Black, his grey eyes gazing at her searchingly. “How did you know it was me?” she asked incredulously, stepping into the hall.

“I have my ways,” Sirius replied casually. “So tell me, Leanne, why are you out of bed? Not trying to sneak out of school, are you?” he asked, taking a step in Leanne’s direction

“I was just getting some fresh air,” Leanne said in a would-be-casual tone. “Though, I could use a trip to Hogsmeade,” she added, meeting his eyes and almost gasping to see how close they were standing.

“And what do you need from Hogsmeade?” he asked taking another step forward.

“Quills and chocolate,” Leanne replied automatically, recalling her conversation from earlier.

Sirius chuckled, inching even closer. “What kind of chocolate?”

Leanne narrowed her eyes. He’s enjoying this, making me so nervous, she thought to herself. With confidence she stood taller, inching forward herself, “Any, really, since Honeydukes doesn’t sell my favorite kind.”

“And what would that be?” Sirius said, looking uncharacteristically flustered by Leanne’s sudden change in demeanor.

“Twix,” Leanne smiled sweetly. “It’s a Muggle candy,” she added, seeing the confused look on his face.

A sound in the distance disturbed them, pulling their eyes away from each other. Sirius pulled something out of his pocket, swore quietly to himself and then lunged unexpectedly at Leanne, shoving her back behind the curtain. She managed to hold back a shout of surprise as Sirius pressed her tightly against the wall, the curtain blocking them from view.

Somewhere in the hallway, a teacher was doing his rounds, but Leanne didn’t notice. She was too busy gazing into Sirius’s eyes, just inches away from her own, a small smile spreading across his face. They stood there for a few minutes, lingering longer than necessary.

“I’ll walk you back to your common room,” Sirius finally said, taking Leanne by the hand and slowly leading her down the hall.

The next morning, Leanne sat at breakfast, her mind replaying her encounter with Sirius. She hardly noticed when the morning post arrived until her tiny pet owl fluttered to the table, a heavy bundle tied to his leg. She scratched his head affectionately, opening the package. Amusement swelled in her stomach as she gazed at a handful of quills and a large box of Twix bars.

Turning towards the Gryffindor table, she met his eyes instantly, glinting mischievously as he gazed across the room. Leanne smiled, her heart skipping a beat as the air between them sizzled.

"Mar, you look amazing!" Leanne mumbled in awe, gazing at her twin. Marie tried not to grin too cheesily as she spun before the mirror, her white gown gracefully flowing around her.

"Where do you want me to set up?" Ashley asked with a smile, setting down a bag of camera equipment.

"Hmm, well…" Marie said uncertainly, gazing around the dreary room. Finding a proper place to take pictures was proving to be a bit of a conundrum. The Black House would have been Ashley's last choice for the location of a wedding, but Regulus's parents had insisted. Trying to make the best of it, she stepped to the window, hoping to lighten their drab surroundings with a bit of sunshine.

"Eek!" she screamed, stumbling backwards.

"Are you okay?" Leanne asked in concern, stalking forward.

"It bit me!" Ashley bellowed, clutching her fingers and glaring at the window, which was now growling menacingly.

"Sorry, Ash, I should have warned you. Most of the house has, well, a bit of a mind of its own, I'm afraid," Marie apologized, attempting a weak laugh.

Over the next few minutes, dozens of Marie's old classmates came around, poking their heads into the room and wishing her the best of luck on her big day. Even given the coldness of the room, Ashley managed to snap some amazing shots, her favorite being a rather odd moment when Rob had somehow ended up holding both Marie and Leanne's flowers, much to the amusement of Amy, Liz, and Ilka.

Things were coming down to the wire. In just a few short minutes, Marie would be walking down the aisle. Her face was an adorable mixture of excitement and terror as she slowly paced the room. She nearly jumped out of her skin when there was an unexpected knock on the door, the rapping harsh and irritated. Taking pity on her twin, Leanne stepped forward to receive the visitor.

Standing in the hallway was Regulus's mother, a rather frightening woman with wide sunken eyes and sallow skin. Everyone shivered involuntarily as she came through the doorway, sucking the warmth from the room with her icy presence.

"Hello, Marie," she said, her voice piercing and sharp. Marie smiled meekly, unconsciously fidgeting with the shimmering diamond on her finger. "Don't you look… lovely," she said with a distinct sneer. Ashley cocked an eyebrow and cast a confused look at Leanne, who simply frowned as she glared at the back of the older woman's head, shooting daggers with her eyes.

"Thank you, Mrs. Black," Marie said quietly, meeting the woman's eye with an impressive amount of bravery. Ashley struggled to keep her mouth closed, her tongue biting at the chance to question Marie's need for such formality with the woman that was to be her mother-in-law in just a few short minutes.

"I thought you might enjoy wearing this tiara during the wedding," Mrs. Black said, raising a small velvety black box and offering it to Marie. "It's just the thing a bride like you deserves." Without another word she pressed the box firmly into Marie's hands and left the room, a collective sigh following in her wake.

"Wow," Ashley said softly. "She was so… creepy."

"She's warmed up a bit, actually," Marie said with a chuckle. "She was really upset at first when Regulus told her about our engagement. He said she was just surprised, but somehow I expect my being a Hufflepuff might have had something to do with it…"

Clearing a spot on the table, Marie opened the black box, gasping in awe as she beheld a truly magnificent diamond tiara. It glimmered welcomingly, begging to be lifted and admired. Marie was just about to pull it from the box when Leanne leapt forward, slapping Marie's hands away.

"Ouch!" Marie said, glaring at Leanne in confusion.

"I don't think you should wear it," Leanne squeaked, pulling Marie further away from the box.

"Leanne, I'm sure it's fin-"

"No, Marie, I think she's right," Ashley interjected. "Why would she do something so nice when she's been awful to you up until now? And that comment about 'a bride like you,' just didn't sound right." On a whim, she picked up a book from the shelf beside her and stepped forward, prodding the underside of the tiara gingerly. In moments the tiara clamped down, tearing into the book viciously.

Marie screamed. Leanne and Ashley stood still in shocked horror.

"That WITCH!" Leanne shouted in indignation. They both looked at Marie, her eyes glistening threateningly with tears.

"I can't believe it…" Marie mumbled, backing into a chair and sitting down with a thud. "I just can't believe she hates me that much! How can I possibly marry Regulus? She'll kill me before I make it down the aisle!"

"Don't talk like that!" Leanne shouted, dropping to her knees at Marie's side. "This wedding will happen! Now dry your eyes and finish getting ready. I'll handle everything."

Nodding for Ashley to follow, Leanne walked into the hall, carrying the tiara box with her. "I have an idea," she whispered when they were safely out of earshot, eyeing Ashley's camera with a mischievous grin.

"I know what you're thinking; I'll get right on it. And to add to the chagrin of Mrs. Black, I think I know how to reverse that Biting Charm…"

Thirty minutes later, Ashley stood in the wedding hall, gazing around her for any signs of anger or maliciousness on the faces of the guests. On Marie's side, everyone was laughing and grinning merrily, a regular Hufflepuff reunion. On Regulus's side, however, sat the foulest looking bunch of people you'd ever dream of meeting, glaring dangerously at the group of happy Hufflepuffs.

Ashley waited patiently for her cue, looking expectantly down the aisle, ever mindful of the guests around her. More than once she caught someone attempting to spill greasy potions in the aisle way, or to bewitch their programs to fly around like rabid bats. Finally her signal came, a stream of purple sparks issued from the end of the room, courtesy of Leanne. This meant the ceremony would be starting any moment, bringing Marie directly into harms way.

"Mr. and Mrs. Black, I'd absolutely love to have a picture of the groom's side before the wedding starts. Could you have everyone look this way, please?" Ashley said in a cheery voice, stepping lithely to the front of the pews. They merely scowled at her in response, blatantly ignoring her request. Uh oh…Ashley thought to herself, thinking frantically.

"Um, excuse me everyone, could you look this way for a picture? Just up here. Right here, yes, no don't look away. Damn it! Um… OY! EVIL PEOPLE!" This last comment worked, a few dozen heads turning angrily in Ashley's direction, each looking mutinously at the Hufflepuff photographer who dared insult them. Before anyone could respond, Ashley snapped a picture, her camera issuing an immensely bright flash. Her task completed, Ashley took quick stock of the Black family guests, grinning widely and walking back to her place as the wedding music began.

Leanne came down the aisle first, dressed in a beautiful blue gown, her hair wrapped in an elegant knot. A quick scan of the crowd plastered a pleased look on her face. She winked knowingly at Ashley as she took her place at the front, turning to await Marie's arrival with the rest of the guests.

Everyone sighed in amazement as Marie appeared in the doorway, her face glowing radiantly as she made her way down the aisle. Atop her head sat an incredibly beautiful tiara, complimenting her perfectly, only adding to her glorious smile. She eyed the Black family warily as she passed, her face showing obvious confusion as she found them all sitting amazingly quiet, pleasant smiles on all of their faces.

Turning her attention forward, Marie locked eyes with Regulus, who truly looked like he was about to explode with happiness. For someone who rarely shared his thoughts and emotions with others, it wasn't hard to see how much he loved Marie, his gaze unfaltering, as though he were trying to memorize everything about her, to remember this moment exactly.

Taking each others hands, they stood at the front, lost in each others eyes as they made their vows. Leanne cried, despite her best efforts. Ashley snapped dozens of breathtaking photos, capturing the happiness of the couple perfectly. In the audience the Hufflepuffs grinned foolishly, intermittently wiping away happy tears. The other side remained silent, smiling, contentedly watching as the bride and groom shared their first kiss as a married couple and then running down the aisle hand in hand, eager to start their lives together.

As the guests began to file out of the hall, Anna snatched Ashley by the arm, saying, "What's up with them?" as she pointed towards the Black family, who had failed to move an inch since the close of the ceremony.

“Oh, they’ll be alright in a few minutes,” she replied, grinning as she watched Mrs. Black’s eyelid begin to twitch.

“Yea, as soon as that Blissful Apathy Jinx wears off,” Leanne mumbled with a snicker as she led the way up the aisle, anxious to join her twin in celebrating her very successful marriage.

Ashley yawned and stretched her arms above her head, sighing with relief as her aching back popped noisily. She’d been leaning over her desk for hours, trying to finish her article on “The Newest Looks for the Quidditch Field” by her deadline that afternoon. She laughed to herself for a moment as she scanned her work, her quill scratching along the parchment. The last thing she’d ever expected upon graduating from Hogwarts was to find herself the new Quidditch Correspondent for the Daily Prophet, covering everything from new brooms to championship matches. She didn’t even know how to fly properly, held to the ground by a paralyzing fear of falling. It was her bizarre knowledge of the game that had gotten her the job, thanks to years of sitting with the Hufflepuff team, learning every possible aspect of the game in the process.

Rising from her desk, Ashley glanced at the clock. It was half past nine in the morning. Perfect! Ashley thought, grabbing up her traveling cloak. She’d finished just in time to make the Hogwart’s match between Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. She always liked to do a small spread on the school championships, outlining each game and which players to keep an eye out for in the future. It wasn’t much, but it gave her a chance to go back and see her friends, not to mention a certain flying instructor she was only too happy to see again…

You aren’t doing this to flirt with beautiful Australian men, Ashley reminded herself as she slowly walked across the Hogwarts grounds. This is for your job. But, try as she may, she couldn’t deny the fluttering butterflies in her stomach as she walked closer to the stadium, overflowing with anticipation at the prospect of seeing Nathan Raines once again.

Ashley wasn’t the type to chase a boy. As outgoing as she was when it came to making friends, she was horrible at moving things to the next level when it came to boys she liked. They usually found her immensely charming, the best friend they’d ever met, perfect for setting them up with her lovely Hufflepuff housemates. But Nathan was different somehow. She’d fallen head over heels the moment she met him, acting like a complete fool as she raced around the school, searching for an “in;” some way to get herself noticed.

In truth her efforts had paid off. He’d seemed rather taken with her the first time they spoke (or at least she liked to believe he was). He’d even danced with her at graduation, a rather wonderful and painful experience (Nathan was not NEARLY as coordinated on the ground as he was in the air) that had left Ashley dreaming of a future with the man of her dreams. But the story had ended there. Try as she might, she couldn’t bring herself to ask him out, settling instead for the monthly Quidditch games when she could gaze at him fondly from a distance, wishing he’d come and talk to her.

“Hey, Ashley! Over here!” a voice shouted through the gathering masses. Ashley grinned, waving at Leanne merrily as she shoved her way to the Hufflepuff section of the stands.

“Hello all!” Ashley said as she drowned herself in a sea of yellow.

“This should be a good match,” Leanne said with a grin as she waved to Marie on the field. “Ravenclaw has managed to put quite a team together this year.”

“Two new Beaters and new brooms for all three of the Chasers,” Ilka added, her eyes fixed on the field.

“So I’ve heard,” Ashley said with a faint smile as she pulled out her notebook, watching intently as the match began.

*~*~*~*~*

“Excellent work, Rob!” Ashley said with a grin as she ducked into the locker room after the game. “I’ll do a nice spread about this year’s team in the paper tomorrow. I’ll send you a copy.”

Rob simply grinned, basking in the glow of their win.

“You should come up to the common room for the victory party,” Marie said excitedly, hanging up her robes.

“I’d love to, Mar, but I have to get back home. Need to write up this match before deadline so it can be in tomorrow’s paper. Might take me awhile, too. This was one of the best games I’ve seen in a long time.”

“I agree,” said a rolling male voice behind her, causing Ashley’s hair to stand on end. “Wonderful game, Hufflepuff!”

“Thanks, Nathan,” Marie said with a grin as he walked into the tent. Ashley tried to put on her most nonchalant smile as she turned around, feeling like her knees were about to buckle as she gazed into his face.

“ ‘Lo, Ash,” Nathan said with a smile when he reached her side. For a moment she just stared at him, frozen under the gaze of his mesmerizing hazel eyes. Leanne let out a little cough and nudged Ashley in the ribs, bringing her back to reality.

“Hi, Nathan,” she finally said, her voice surprisingly calm.

“I was a little surprised when I heard you were the new Quidditch Correspondent for the Daily Prophet,” he said after a moment, folding his arms over his chest. “How come I never saw you out on the field last year?”

Ashley could feel herself flushing slightly, embarrassed for the first time about her lack of Quidditch ability. “I, er, don’t play actually,” she admitted truthfully, looking at her feet.

“She has a fear of falling,” Leanne stepped in, coming to Ashley’s rescue. “She’s brilliant with stats and all; she just doesn’t care for flying.”

“It’s not so much the flying that bothers me, as the idea of falling off the broom and plummeting to earth from a hundred feet off the ground,” Ashley said with a nervous laugh, still not meeting Nathan’s eyes.

“Our old flying instructor was rubbish,” Marie said suddenly, a strange twinkle in her eye as she gazed at Ashley. “Half the school developed flying phobias after taking classes with him. It’s really too bad we didn’t have a proper teacher when you were in first year, someone who could help you feel more comfortable on a broom.” Ashley cast Marie a questioning glare.

“Why don’t I teach you?” Nathan said, correctly interpreting Marie’s suggestion.

“What?” Ashley said, snapping around and looking in his eyes. She’d expected him to find her fears silly, and yet he looked quite sincere with his offer to help.

“I could give you some lessons. How about we start next Saturday?”

For a second Ashley came close to declining his offer. She’d tried flying dozens of times, with many different tutors, and she’d never gotten past her fears. It was only a threatening look for the twins beside her that made her cave, finally saying, “Yes, that would be lovely,” in a breathless tone.

“Excellent, see you next week,” Nathan replied, leaving with a huge grin on his face.

Sat, 02 Sep 2006 02:43:05 GMT

Posting Schmergo's latest blur, as she cannot.

“Schmergo,” said Theodore Nott lazily as the two of them sat by the lake, skipping stones across the water’s glassy surface. “Why are you in Hufflepuff?”

“Because the Sorting Hat put me there,” Schmergo replied absentmindedly. She was flopped down on her stomach, her fluffy hair decorated with dandelions and her bare feet kicking childishly behind her.

Theo snorted; Schmergo was reminding him of a five-year-old girl who lived on his block. “No, but seriously, why do you think it did? You don’t strike me as the Hufflepuff type.”

“Labels are for soup cans,” said the girl. “And also for curling irons, but you wouldn’t know about those-- you’re not Muggleborn like I am. Anyway, my mum’s curling iron has a warning label on it that says ‘when iron is turned on, do not place inside any bodily orifice.’”

Theo laughed out loud, a surprisingly deep, warm-sounding laugh quite unlike his usual; dry chortle. “But it’s perfectly all right if it’s turned off!” he added.

Schmergo guffawed. “Anyway,” she continued, “I’m not a curling iron--” (This sent Theo into another gale of laughter), “But if I had to label myself… well, the Ravenclaws are too, you know, studious. I wouldn’t say I’m unintelligent, but I really wouldn’t fit in with them. There’s something so, I don’t know, serious about them when it comes to school. And I’m definitely not as brave as your typical Gryffindor-- suicidal is the word for them.”

“You’re ideal Slytherin material, as far as I can see,” Theo told her.

“What?! I am NOT!”

“Actually, I’m Nott,” joked the boy, making a bad pun on his surname. “Anyway, yes you are. I am going to categorically tell you what you are, and you’re going to listen, and you’re not going to argue, hex me, and/or shove curling irons--”

“I get your drift!”

“--until I am done,” Theo finished seriously. “Anyway, as I was saying, you are sneaky. You’re not the Ravenclaw kind of smart, you’re the Slytherin kind. You’re also sarcastic, cynical, and you have the second-most twisted sense of humour of anyone I’ve ever met-- I’m first,” he added after his companion gave him a quizzical glance. “And you’re a rule-bender. Not an all-out rule-breaker like the Gryffindors, but a bender. You’d be a fabulous Slytherin.”

Schmergo looked up at him. “I’m muggleborn,” she reminded him.

“Yes, you seem to like to bring that up,” Theo mentioned in a bored tone. “Completely irrelevant. And then there’s the matter of your penname-- Schmerg_The_Impaler? Really, you can’t get much more Slytherin than that.”

“Maybe I misspelled ‘impala!’” the Hufflepuff defended herself. “And the impala happens to be a very peace loving, herbivorous, non-violent species.”

“You don’t misspell things,” said Theo with a twisted grin, showing off his slightly-sticking-out teeth. He dropped a leaf on her head to go with the dandelions, causing the top of her head to look like a tossed salad. “You’re too sensitive, though,” he added thoughtfully. “Slytherins, you see, we’re very blasé. You’re a little too nice for Slytherin-- your feelings bruise easily. You get all worked up. We’re cool-blooded.”

“I DO NOT GET ALL WORKED UP!” exclaimed Schmergo, getting all worked up.

“Yeah, you do,” Theo told her, smirking. “You’re stubborn, though, and that’s Slytherinish. Here, I’ll tell you what. I’ll do a scientific experiment to see whether I’m right or you are. Based on your reaction to something simple, I’ll determine whether of not you get all worked up.”

“Okay,” said Schmergo, blinking. She had no earthly idea what his experiment could be.

Suddenly, Theo reached over and took her hand in his. “Oh!” exclaimed Schmergo, flushing and withdrawing hers. For some odd reason, her hand was tingling.

“That definitely qualified as getting all worked up,” Theo told her coolly. “You’re too sensitive, I said so. A Slytherin wouldn’t have reacted.”

“That’s not fair!” Schmergo informed him, flustered. “Anyone, even a Slytherin, would have been surprised. You need to give some warning. I bet you’d react the same way I did!”’

“Doubt it.”

“Okay, well, here’s my experiment, then!” Schmergo proclaimed, and without warning, she swooped over to the Slytherin boy and plopped herself down onto his bony lap.

“Whaaa?” the boy gave a jerk of shock.

“Ha! Proved it!” Schmergo sang triumphantly. “It’s not a matter of house!”

Theo didn’t push her off his lap, but instead put his hand on her shoulder. “You know I don’t care what house you’re in. I just like to argue.”

Schmergo looked up into Theodore’s skinny, rabbity face and realized that she couldn’t possibly find it unattractive, not with the bright spark behind his eyes and the genuine warmth of his quirky, lopsided grin. “It’s fun to argue with you,” she agreed. “Even though you’re usually wrong.”

“I am NOT usually wrong!”

“Aha, now let’s see who’s getting all worked up!”

“You have serious problems!”

“Do you have scientific proof of that particular facet of my personality, Mr. Nott?”

“Oh, stop it!”

“What, I thought you li-i-iked arguing with me, huh?”

“Yes, but you’re acting like a five-year-old!”

“Takes one to know one.”

“Oh, so mature.”

“Hey, at least I’M not the one who cracks up every time I hear the phrase ‘bodily orifice.’ Really, you must have a sick mind-- it means your mouth or nose, obviously! You--”

“Just shut up and kiss me, Schmergo!” Theo blurted suddenly.

So she did.

Fri, 01 Sep 2006 00:36:33 GMT

Just a lil Rar blur that I wrote, as a dare, but also because I was long overdue. It doesn't have a title, I'm sorry to say, but maybe such a blur is above naming.

It was a decided truth that the Mavick Manor was most beautiful in the fall. Well, no. The Mavick twins, Marie and Leanne, had decided in their sixth year that the house was most beautiful then, for two reasons: one, because fall really was a nice season, and two, because fall had been the first time their respective boyfriends had come to visit them at home, and the visit had been quite possibly the best of all time.

That is, until now.

Marie and Leanne, though out of school for a year now, were currently back at Mavick Manor. Their parents had insisted upon their returning home and staying for at least a week. The girls couldn’t blame them, really, but in all honesty, Leanne would rather be somewhere else (‘somewhere else’ meaning anywhere with one Sirius Black). Marie, on the other hand, didn’t have anywhere else that she could be. Regulus had been gone since they left Hogwarts, and for her, the Mavick Manor was as good a place as any.

“Leanne, I’m going to go take a walk,” Mar said to her twin their third night at home. Despite nobody’s mentioning Regulus the whole stay, Leanne could tell that her twin was still not herself with him gone. She nodded silently, pulling out a piece of parchment to write to Sirius, which she had avoided doing in the presence of Mar.

Mar wasn’t exactly sure where she was going to take a walk. Unlike Hogwarts, the house did not have a large lake to stroll around, or an array of secret passages to explore (it did have some, admittedly, but simply was not the same). The one thing it did have, however, was a forest of magnificently beautiful trees, and so Mar decided to venture in there.

The paths were worn, but not indecipherable, and upon entering the forest, Mar chose a fork to the left. It continued on, as far as she could tell, for a good mile. As she walked, Mar’s mind was wandering more than her feet. She couldn’t keep thoughts of Regulus from intruding, and she wasn’t entirely certain that she wanted to. Even though she had been torn apart by his leaving, and still was, the only thing she had left was memories of him. They kept her sane.

Suddenly, Mar realized she recognized the path she had taken. It hadn’t seemed familiar before, but now, as she passed a particularly gnarled tree, she remembered. She felt that her heart had steered her this way.

“Regulus! Come on!” Marie yelled, turning around to walk backwards, as she was already yards ahead of her boyfriend.

Regulus said nothing in response, only continued walking at his leisurely pace. He stopped at an old tree along the path. Mar huffed and began making her way towards him.

“We’re sorry, this tour of the Mavick property does not include periods of stopping to look at pathetic plant life. Please keep up with the guide,” she said in a mock professional voice as she stepped in front of Regulus, grabbing his hand and tugging.

He didn’t move. Rather, he grasped her hand tightly and pulled her closer to him. Their faces were inches apart. “It’s a very nice tree,” he whispered.

Mar could feel her heartbeat speeding up. They had been dating for a year, but her heart still raced every time he pulled her to him like that. “Yeah, I suppose,” she answered, shrugging.

“I think I might prefer it to broom closets,” he commented off-handedly, giving the tree a nonchalant glance.

“You think so, huh?” Mar had to keep herself from smiling.

His answer was simple. He leaned in slowly and kissed her tenderly on the lips, backing them both up against the tree. The tree’s ancient bark felt rough on Marie’s back, but she didn’t notice. She was completely lost in his kiss.

When he pulled away, he looked happier than she had ever seen him. “It’s just a tree,” she said, smiling.

“Marie, can I tell you something?” he asked suddenly.

“Of course.”

He paused for a moment, brushing a strand of hair out of her face. Then, Regulus said the most wonderful words Mar had ever heard. “I love you.”

Overcome by the memory, Mar sank down onto her knees in front of the tree. The weight of the last year seemed to burden her, then, and it was all she could do to keep from crying. She just missed him so much. He was a part of her soul, and not knowing when or if he would ever come back was more than she could handle. At least ten minutes passed before Mar finally decided to get up and continue her walk. She knew staying there for too long couldn’t be good, and it was starting to get dark. But just as she started to rise, she felt a hand on her shoulder, squeezing gently. Even through her cloak, Mar could tell the hand was rough and strong and, dare she think it, familiar. She stood up as she turned around, a little frightened, only to be met by the face of the man she loved.

“Regulus,” she breathed, barely audible. Could it really be him?

He didn’t look exactly as he did a year ago – he looked older, like he’d been through so much more. His hair was a little longer, though still the same beautiful black color, and he had bags under his eyes. But Mar couldn’t be happier to see him. When he nodded to acknowledge that it was him, she immediately flung her arms around his neck, never wanting to let him go. The feeling of his arms around her again was indescribable.

“Regulus, I…” she started, not knowing what to say, just wanting to be there with him, forever. She stared straight into his gray eyes, searching for an answer to everything.

“I know,” he responded, not needing for her to ask any questions. He brushed her tears from her cheek, catching an eyelash on his thumb. “I know.”

She laid her head on his chest, feeling her heartbeat merge with his. “Make a wish,” she said, seeing the eyelash on his thumb.

“I don’t need to,” he whispered, kissing her head softly. “You’re already here.”

They were silent for a while, simply appreciating being with one another again. Mar felt like her whole world had returned to her; for all she knew, there was nothing else around them – no hardships, no long-gone years, and no concerns about the future. Everything was here, now, and there was only them.

“Marie, I know you’re wondering where I’ve been.” Regulus broke the silence, pulling back so he could look her in the eye.

“You don’t have to explain,” she answered, keeping back tears. “As long as you’re here now.”

He looked heartbroken all of the sudden, his face falling and his gray eyes saddening. “I can’t stay. Not for good. I have to go back.”

She resisted the urge to ask where, thinking she would rather not know. It was better she didn’t. She merely nodded numbly. Regulus titled her chin up towards him and gave her a warm kiss.

When they parted, Regulus said the last thing she would hear from him for another year, “Marie, I love you.”

New blur!

Fri, 18 Aug 2006 23:14:26 GMT

The atmosphere was riddled with excitement. Ever since the competition had been announced, talk and activity had consisted of nothing else. People could be seen in the common rooms practicing rather than doing their homework. Well, every homework assignment other than Potions, no one wanted to explain why they hadn’t finished their essays because they were practicing DDR.

The dance revolution had been charmed to work in the castle and was the latest craze. The Hufflepuffs in particular had taken to the game. The competition to be held on Saturday night would certainly be owned by the Hufflepuffs.

The days flew by in a whirlwind of laughter and complicated dance moves in the Hufflepuff common room. Even though the competition was individually based, there was a camaraderie that just couldn’t be broken. Everyone supported each other too much to let a competition create too much of a rivalry.

“I’m so going to win this!” Lei exclaimed punching her fist into the palm of her hand.

Saturday morning had arrived with several of the Hufflepuffs up abnormally early for a weekend.

“I’m so not!” laughed Amanda as she tripped over her feet yet again while trying to practice one last time. “Why do these arrows have to move so quickly?”

They all laughed as Leslie and Karin picked Amanda up off the floor. The three of them laughed as they headed for the arm chairs set up so they could watch the next dancer.

Leanne and Marie were up next. The twins had decided to dance together since both of their boyfriends had adamantly refused to participate. They practiced their complicated dance moves that looked more like seizures than dancing, but they laughed the entire time. Appearances meant nothing when you were having fun with your fellow ‘Puffs.

The Great Hall was lined with bleachers for everyone to sit and watch the competition. The staff table had been removed and a large DDR mat had been spread out on a platform for all to see. The Headmaster and Heads of Houses were to be the judges. Professor Dumbledore sat at the judges’ table with a large smile on his face in anticipation for the competition to begin. Professor Sprout and Professor Flitwick looked equally excited. McGonagall sat straight up in a business-like manner, but couldn’t hide the half smile she would flash at her Gryffindors occasionally. Professor Snape on the other hand behaved just as everyone would expect him to, sourly.

The competition started with much cheering as two Ravenclaws approached the platform. A stream of Ravenclaws and Gryffindors followed. A few Slytherins were brave enough to play along, but most sat in the bleachers together jeering the other houses and laughing at mistakes. That is, until Blaise and Ilka approached the platform. The Slytherins quieted down as Blaise sent them a scathing look, and he and Ilka performed wonderfully.

Finally the Hufflepuffs were up. All of them had decided to go together at the end. It had been Lei’s idea. It had also been her idea to go in pairs, which everyone eagerly agreed to.

Marie and Leanne went first. Even though Sirius and Regulus had refused to dance, they had each cheered loudly and each presented the girls with a rose when they were finished. The girls accepted their flowers with big smiles and drug the boys off to the Hufflepuff section of the bleachers to watch the rest of their house-mates.

Nikki and Neville went next sporting inter-house unity by wearing each other’s house scarves. Rhi and Christina followed them with a lively jig of their own creation. Leslie and Justin approached the front next. Justin looked a bit mortified and everyone understood soon. The song that Leslie started was obviously a Muggle tune for children, and kept counting the wheels on whatever a big-rig was. But there was much appreciated laughter from the ‘Puffs, so it must have been an inside joke.

The rest of the Hufflepuffs took their turns. Karin did remarkably well considering she was paired with Amanda, who slipped off the platform in the middle of their routine. Amy and Ashley danced to “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun”. Christina and Jules took their turn after them dancing to a song about spam. Doug and Ernie tried a break dancing routine, but mostly broke each other with the wild kicks and spins.

Finally it was Lei and Rob’s turn. They had been practicing for ages, and were ready. They had planned on dancing to a Led Zeppelin tune in honor of their Head Girl, Elysa, who couldn’t participate because of a twisted ankle. She had forgotten to skip the vanishing step the last time she and Harry had “gone for a walk” a few night earlier.

When they took the stage however, “Boogie with Stu,” didn’t start, but “Dancing Queen”. Rob was thrown for a moment. This was obviously payback for his refusal to make good on his promise to sing the song. But then he smiled and nodded at the crowd. Not only did Rob dance his best, he sang along too. The Hufflepuffs gave Lei and Rob a standing ovation when they had finished. Not only had they put on the best show, but they really were the best dancers.

The staff agreed, and Professor Dumbledore clapped loudly as he presented them with a trophy to put on the mantle in their common room. The festivities continued until midnight. The bleachers disappeared, to be replaced with buffet tables covered with food. And instead of one DDR mat, many more appeared around the room. Students who hadn’t enough courage to participate in the competition soon lost their inhibitions as everyone took turns dancing with their friends.

“Well you were right Albus,” Professor McGonagall said to Dumbledore later that night watching a large group of girls all surrounding Doug, “That was just the thing to boost inter-house spirits.”

Placing Pranks, Part VII

Thu, 17 Aug 2006 23:08:35 GMT

Title: Placing Pranks, Part VII
Author: Mar (ElectronicQuillster)
Summary: After weeks of anticipation, all of the careful plotting Marie has laid in place is finally brought to light.

"Leanne, wake up!" Marie yelled, bouncing on her twin's bed.

Leanne just groaned. She tried (but failed) to sleepily slug Marie with a pillow. Marie was on to the next bed, pouncing on everyone in the room. "Come on, everyone! Today is THE day! we can't miss one second!"

"Oh," Lei yawned, "no wonder you're up early today."

"I KNOW!" Marie was practically shaking with glee. "Hurry up!"

"Mar," Liz groaned, "get Rob, he's always up early."

"Right! I forgot he's insane like that! I'll go down with Rob, but you lot better hurry up or you'll miss it!" With that, she bounded out of the dormitory, and everyone else tucked themselves back under their covers. It was Saturday, after all.

When Marie entered the common room she spotted Rob just about to exit and go down to breakfast. "Rob, wait up!"

Rob turned and stopped. "Mar, what in the world? You're not asleep?"

"Not this morning," she answered excitedly. "Today is the day that all of my plotting against Doug comes to fruition. Do you think I would possibly miss one minute of that?"

"I should be so glad this isn't aimed at me, shouldn't I?"

Marie nodded and then they left for the Great Hall.

-----

"Mmm, I love scones! Today really is going to be a great day," Marie stated as she and Rob sat in front of a large tray of warm scones at the Hufflepuff table.

Marie scooped about half a dozen onto her plate, drizzling one with honey, one with the raspberry creamed honey, one with chocolate syrup and the other three with just butter and a sprinkling of brown sugar. Marie reached for some strawberries and raspberries as well, and was just pouring herself a tall glass of milk when she spotted Regulus entering the Great Hall. Rob also noticed his entrance.

"Perfect, Mar. I always wanted a dark wizard to hate me because it looks like I'm stealing his girlfriend."

"Shut it, Rob," she hissed, whacking him on the arm. "Just because he's a Slythering does not mean he's going to try to take over the world with some evil plan."

"Right, Mar, you just keep telling yourself that."

Marie glared at her friend, but didn't have a chance to respond as Regulus sat down on her other side.

"I don't know if I should be offended," Regulus stated in an even tone. "You're up early twice now this month and neither time was to have breakfast with me."

"Nope, I told you before: I stay out too late with you at night. But today," she paused and took a deep, soothing breath, "today is the day. Just you wait. You'll see just how brilliant I am. You'll all see."

"Oh, wonderful," Regulus said sarcastically.

"But," Marie continued, "I fixed one of these scones for you." She smiled and pushed her plate slightly toward Regulus. "That one." She pointed to one of the ones with brown sugar.

"One scone. You're so generous."

"I know," Marie replied, "it's a wrench sharing any; I adore scones."

"Wow," Rob chimed in, "that is a sign of true love right there: Mar sharing her scones."

Marie ignored him, but she was pleased to see that Regulus actually smirked at Rob's joke. The truth was that, while Regulus generally didn't care or ever got jealous or possesive of his girlfriend, he was not at all keen on the friendship that Marie and Rob had.

An owl swooped down in front of Rob, delivering an edition of the Daily Prophet. Rob slipped a coin into the bird's little pouch, and then delved into the paper, devouring the sports section one line at a time.

"Any minute now," Mar said before popping a strawberry into her mouth.

True enough, there was an owl swooping down and landing in front of Marie in no time. Marie paid the owl, then unrolled her delivery. She let out a deep sigh of satisfaction as she smoothed the magazine out on the table. Rob dropped his fork with a clatter, and next to Marie, Regulus whispered, "Merlin help him."

There, on the cover of Teen Witch Wonders was the face of Douglas, with the headline, "This Year's Most Attractive Young Wizard."

Rob snatched up the magazine and quickly turned to the article. Marie simply relished her scones while Rob read aloud to them. "This year's most attractive young wizard is, without contest, the infamous Douglas from Hogwart's Hufflepuff House. The dashing, rougue of a prankster has caught the eye of so many of the females at Hogwarts, as we received the longest petition for one young wizard to earn the honor than we ever have before..."

The article went on from there.

"And so begins the never-ending stream of fan girls. Doug will never have another moment's peace. This will last at least until summer hols," Marie stated in satiscation.

Rob set the magazine down in silence. "You're right, you're brilliant. This is just..."

"It's absolutely evil," Regulus said, a mixture of a proud smirk and a look of horror on his face.

"Yeah, I told you it would be good."

And at the perfect moment to emphasize Mar's point, Douglas ran into the Great Hall, looking rather harrassed. There were half a dozen girls behind him. He spotted Marie, Rob and Regulus, and made a bee line to where they were sitting. He hurriedly shoved Rob over so he could sit between Rob and Marie.

"Marie, I grant you immunity from any more of my pranks as long as you promise never to do this to me or any other bloke in this school again."

"Douglas, I have no idea what you're talking about. How could I have possibly managed this? The article itself says that you've caught the eyes of the majority of Hogwarts' female population. Why don't you take advantage of that?"

"Because they're all completely mental!"

Fin.