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THE GAIAN PRESS - Issue 11.0 - December '05
IN THIS ISSUE:
1. The Neighborhood Watch - Gaian news for our attention deficit generation.
2. Honorable Mentions - Writing submitted and scouted by the best.
3. Point! What's Your Point? - Anti-social, anti-state, anti-you.
4. Best of Issue - As voted by the members of the Press.
5. The Afterthought - Preview for the next issue and then some.
Gaian's Beta Guild:
___We would like to give a warm welcome to our newest affiliate! Like peanut butter and jelly, Marge and Homer, The Gaian Press and Gaia's Beta Guild have come together at last. So look no further, fellow writers, at last a good editor is just a click away! Click!
Nemea reports:
___Myths & Legends: Short Story Writing Contest. Held by Aura 19, this will run from Jan 1, 2005 to Feb 1, 2005. With prizes totalling 30k (Grand Prize being 15k), this is no simple contest. The objective is to weave original tales that resound with the mythological flavor within 500 - 300 words. Click Here to see!
___Love it. Hate it. Whatever, just be sure to discuss it! For avid fans (and rabid critics) gather here to praise or slam. Click.
___When a first grade teacher, reading Clement C. Moore�s �A Visit from Saint Nicholas� tried to be politically correct by stating beforehand that "The Santa Claus about to be portrayed is not real.", a brouhaha was raised. For it or against it? Voice your opinion here.
ShadowXCat reports:
___The Gaia Exchange. For those of you who wander towns, collecting bugs, flowers, and trash, this is for you. Ink, bouquets, and paper hats. What more could a Gaian want? And to all you fishers out there, not only can you exchange fish for hats, now you can also trade up fish.
___Is your avi dressed up in anticipation for the winter weather? If not, come check out the new December items. The list is located here. Not only can they keep you warm, they add a delightful touch onto many an outfit. Don�t forget, it�s snowing outside.
___A new two-page storyline update--perhaps we will finally find out who that mysterious masked figure was. Titled the Masque, he is said to be Gaia�s first superhero, but not much else is known about him. To find out anymore, you must look at the storyline. �Tis not for me to drop spoilers.
___We Gaians already have an Art Arena and an Avatar Arena . What more could we ever want? Well, now there is the Housing Arena. Yes, you get to show off your lovely little houses, and may even be rewarded with gold. If you�re confused or want to discuss the Arena, just check out this for help and/or links.
___There will be a New Year's Event on Saturday, December 31st, as well as a storyline update. VO said that we could dress up. Hmm, I wonder if that has anything to do with the new items in Durem Depot and Crate & Apparel�
___Chances are you�ve noticed the new layout on Gaia. The header at the top of the screen provides one-click access to everything on Gaia, and utilizes Flash and JavaScript; even if your computer doesn�t have them, the site still works pretty well. The new layout is faster to load than the previous layout, but there is often a little start up time for the flash header to load. If you don�t want to wait that extra bit of time, you can chose to view the HTML version of the same header.
___When the new layout was first implemented, I heard quite a few negative comments about it. However, now that it has been tweaked here and there, and the users have been given time to adjust to it, it seems that the opinions have changed a bit. On a little poll about the layout, the majority said that they liked some--but not all-- aspects of it. The second largest group of people wished to have a way of toggling between the old and new layouts, and very few people said that they preferred the new layout.
If you want to see the precise results of the poll, and view the comments given by some, click here.
PART I. Poetry and Prose
Listed in alphabetical order by author.
Christmas, by Evalai
The Fate of December, by Morbid Joy
Untitled, by Lilly
Christmas
By Evalai
The moon has gone,
The sun has risen,
This was it,
The morning of cheer,
It's time for my dad to get drunk with his old Christmas beer.
My mother is spiffy,
My Grandma is not,
I am still tired,
And it is still hot.
Christmas is Summer
And Summer is fall.
It's the break from the hurricanes,
So lets not recall.
We appreciate what we still have,
There's nothing to share,
Nothing but our fun and happiness,
Our religous rights,
Our night of all nights,
For all ye' have to share is your Christmas delight.
The Fate of December
By Morbid Joy
Conspiring to the devious disaster.
Are we to deign upon the master?
The florets slept deep inside my heart,
While the budding divisions began to part.
Wondrous desires? To what dismal end?
The color of crimson leads the trail to begin!
Luscious, creamy, I can taste the day,
Ultimately, I'm left with nothing to say.
But I do have something to give,
My dreams and desires and will to live.
As for my mind, you can't have that,
Burn the city, leave the bodies intact.
The rhymes dwindle to embers,
Soon setting the fate of december.
And the love finally dawns upon that comet,
If only it didn't come from my wallet.
Untitled
By Lilly
The children, asking Santa
'Bout all the gifts they'll get
(Nothing could be farther from the truth)
The parents, with winks
And conspiratorial smiles,
(If only they knew)
The light-laced tree on
Christmas Day
(Real or fake? Probably fake)
The white-winged angel
Placed upon the top
(At all religious? Pfuit. As if)
The heavy boots echoing
On the tiled kitchen floor
(How did he find me?)
The jingle of sleigh-bells
Spiked with a crash
(What did you do now, Santa?)
The splinters of an ornament
A truly-fallen angel
(The irony of it all)
A wicked gleam in Santa's eyes
A chuckle and a Ho, ho, ho
(The last words I'll ever hear)
PART II. Fiction
Listed in alphbetical order by author.
The Badger Brigade, by Hemp Fandango
A Creation Story, by BassoonAngel
Random Prose, by Alicemae
The Badger Brigade
By Hemp Fandango
Chapter Nine: Doing The Time Warp Of DEATH.
"Can you believe Oliver Wood, the new flying instructor, asked me out to the next Hogsmede trip?"
"It's so awesome! You should meet me and Dean there!"
Megan walked silently down the gleaming halls, dragging her mop and other cleaning supplies behind her as usual, and listening to the snatches of conversation that drifted from the closed classrooms as she passed them.
"I can't believe Draco... why would he hurt me like that? No one loves me. Maybe I should just end it all-"
"Wings! You didn't tell me you had wings! What kind of person are you?"
"I'm sorry, Harry! Please don't be mad! The truth is, I'm part angel! Do you still love-"
"(Wake me up)
Wake me up inside
(I can't wake up)
Wake me up inside
(Save me)
Call my name and save me from the dark-"
Megan sighed. Was this what Hogwarts had come to? Is it strange that she wasn't the least bit surprised?
'It's not the singing I mind," she thought. 'I just wish they would sing something a little less gloomy. Would a folk song kill them? And where did that girl get back-up singers from anyway?'
She came to a large glass case that housed many trophies, serving as a reminder to people that there were others better than them. Megan winced at their state. Clearly no one had gotten detention recently, as the trophies were tarnished and grimy looking. Pictures of winning Quidditch teams were covered with dust.
She fumbled with a ring of keys for a moment and unlocked the case. She grabbed the trophies at random and began cleaning off the grime one by one, taking the utmost care and precision.
Twenty minutes later she swore at a plaque.
***
Hours later, three more people approached the trophy case. Megan was nowhere in sight.
"Where have you been getting these letters, anyway?" Sara asked.
Alex shrugged. "This is my first one. Liz got the other one."
Elizabeth nodded fervently. "It was weird! It said all these things about Luna and what was wrong with her and it even sort of hinted at how we could help her."
Sara snorted. "Hinted, eh? Hah! Sounds to me like we have ourselves an informer."
"Oooooh," Elizabeth paused. "What's that mean?"
"It means someone -- probably one of Those Girls -- is on our side," Sara said.
"Or they're trying to trick us into believing they're on our side," Alex said, darkly.
"Right, that's also an option," Sara agreed. "In the mean time, let's just look at the trophy case. I'm pretty sure it's not a plot."
They did so. Sara knelt down to get a closer look at some of the trophies closer to the floor. Alex scowled.
"What are we looking for?"
"It's your letter," Sara pointed out. "What did it say?"
"It just said 'look at the trophy case'." She sneered. "I don't see anything, except someone's cleaned them recently. Maybe we're supposed to admire the shine."
"That's strange. I don't remember seeing Filch around," Elizabeth remarked.
"That's not strange, Liz. That's a blessing."
There was a strangled noise from Elizabeth.
"Sirius Black!" she cried, pointing at a large plaque.
It was a Quidditch plaque, that held a list of names from the 1976 Gryffindor Quidditch team. The name "Sirius Black" stuck out plainly.
"Huh," said Alex. "I guess he played Quidditch before getting into the killing gig."
"That's sick," Elizabeth said, shivering. "Why would they keep his name on there? That's really sick."
Sara peered closer, pushing her glasses down her nose. "There's a Potter on there too. James Potter... hm. I think that's Harry Potter's father." She frowned and squinted at the plaque. "There's two Potters on here."
"What? Let me see," Alex said, nudging Sara aside. She swore. "You're right. Who the heck is Amethyst Potter?"
"Er. Maybe she's Harry's mum?" Elizabeth guess.
Alex and Sara exchanged looks.
"No, Liz. People generally don't get married in their sixth year," Alex said.
"They could," Elizabeth said defiantly. "Maybe she was pregnant."
"And playing Quidditch? Anyway, I'm pretty sure Harry Potter's mother's name is Evans," Sara said. She pointed to another name on the plaque. "See? Lily Evans. That's probably her."
Alex frowned at the plaque. There were quite a few suspicious names on the list, but there was no way of telling if they were one of Those Girls or if they were just a product of the insane naming trends of pureblood families. Serene Swiftmoon? That probably wasn't a pureblood name, but how could you tell?
Her eyes instinctively wandered upwards, to where pictures of champion Quidditch teams over the ages were hung. A myriad of people waved and smiled back at her. There, above her, hung a picture of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, holding a large trophy up with triumph. The colours were washed out and faded looking but, like all the other contents of the room, the glass and frame sparkled.
But that wasn't all that sparkled. Alex squinted up at the picture and slowly drew her wand.
"Accio!"
Elizabeth and Sara, who had been examining some of the names, were jerked back to reality by the sound of glass shattering.
"Oops," Alex muttered sheepishly.
Sara sighed and rolled her eyes. "Alexandra, you are no good with summoning spells. And it's a bloody good thing there are no teachers sane enough to punish you for this breaching of the rules."
Alex shrugged, her face still red with embarrassment. "Yes, well, I just wanted to get a closer look at this picture. I didn't expect it to break."
"You should've asked me to accio it for you," Sara said patiently. "You know you aren't good with charms."
The red of embarrassment was draining from Alex's face and replaced with the red of anger. "I don't need your help, Sara," she snapped. "I'm perfectly capable-"
"Uh, guys?" Elizabeth interjected from where she kneeled over the broken frame. "I found it."
She held up the photo.
The colours were faded, but two figures had not been affected by the bleaching of time. They sparkled. Hair shimmered, eyes gleamed, and teeth glistened.
The girls paled.
"Oh, bugger..."
****
"In the past? Are you sure?" Susan asked.
The girls had wasted no time in spreading the news as quickly as they could amongst the rest of the Brigade. Sara and Alex had gone straight to Susan, Hannah, Justin and Ernie. They had taken the news about as well as expected.
"Positive," Sara replied firmly. "I'd be willing to bet only Those Girls would be able to maintain perfect colouration in a photo after twenty years."
"Maybe not," Ernie said. "Maybe they applied one of those preservation potions on the picture."
Alex, who had just finished impressing some fourth years with the story, overheard this. "On just those two girls? Not bloody likely. Besides," she went on, "those kinds of potions back then were flawed and could only last about fifteen years. Only the newer ones could hold out for over twenty."
Sara nodded. "Er, what she said."
Hannah sighed and slouched back onto the couch. "They're in the past? What could we do about that?"
Justin stared out the window in thought. "I wonder..." He paused. "I think I have an idea," he said slowly. "But it might be a little dangerous." He lowered his voice as he spoke.
The others leaned in with interest.
"How do you guys feel about time travel?"
***
A while later, Pansy and Edwina ambled down the halls, flanked by Sara, Elizabeth, and Alex.
"So, do you understand the plan?" Sara asked.
"Of course," Pansy said lightly, examining her finely manicured nails.
"We figured you two would be the best for this. They seem to hate you a lot," Sara said.
Pansy and Edwina exchanged smirks.
"They're clearly jealous," Edwina said airily.
"Clearly," Pansy agreed. "Jealous of our fashion sense."
"And of our grace."
"And talent."
"And beauty."
"And popularity."
"And brains, I'm sure," Alex said dryly.
"As long as you understand what you're doing," Sara said quickly. "Now, just read the lines I wrote and you'll be fine." The last words were said while dragging Alex and Elizabeth into a near-by empty class room.
The girls crouched behind the door as Edwina and Pansy took their positions and examined the two scraps of parchment they had been given. Pansy was the first to speak.
"Time travel sure is a difficult practice of magic!" she shouted, slowly and clearly.
"It sure is," Edwina agreed in the same slow and clear voice. "Very difficult. It would need a very powerful, very talented and..." she trailed off cringing. "Do I really have to? Oh, fine..." She heaved a heavy sigh and continued grudgingly, "and possibly very beautiful and charming witch and/or wizard to achieve such a tremendous feat. There, happy?"
'I'm brilliant,' Sara thought. She had nearly hugged herself when she came up with this idea. It had seemed so complicated, and yet so beautiful in its simplicity. Hours of observation had shown that Those Girls liked to show off more than anything, and if anyone could provide quick and easy time travel it would be them. Putting two and two together, Sara came up with brilliance.
The two Slytherins stood around expectantly for a moment. Nothing happened. Pansy glanced at Sara and shrugged.
"Looks like they aren't taking the bait," Elizabeth muttered.
"Maybe they've caught on? I mean, it was a little obvious..." Alex said.
"It was not obvious!" Sara snapped. She gestured to Pansy furiously. "Keep going!" she hissed. "Ad lib! Improvise! Do something!"
Pansy bit her painted lip in thought, glancing curiously at Edwina for ideas. Edwina shrugged back.
"Maybe you could call them beautiful again?" Pansy suggested. Edwina made a face.
"That would only result in me vomiting, and you know how we hate the smell."
Pansy nodded. "Good point." She ran her long nailed hands through her hair in frustration. "What more could we say?"
"My God, it's like watching hamsters trying to read ancient Greek," Alex whispered. Sara shushed her.
"I bet if we were Draco Malfoy they'd come running," Edwina said sourly. Pansy's eyes lit up with inspiration.
"No... I think we can do this without Draco. Persia!" She whirled around and grabbed her friend by the shoulders. "I'm so brilliant! I have an idea! Just follow my lead!" She released Edwina, and turned back to face the entrance of the hallway. She cleared her throat.
"I bet I could travel in time!" she shouted, loud and slow. "I bet it's the easiest thing in the world! I bet when I do travel in time, Draco will be soooo impressed!" Still nothing happened. She glanced over to Sara questioningly.
"Keep going!" she hissed encouragingly.
Edwina picked up the thread. "He'll probably propose to you on the spot and you'll have sex in the Astronomy Tower... or something." More silence.
"Yep. A lot of sex. He'll probably give you a unicorn, too."
"What would Draco and I do with a unicorn during sex? That's sick!"
"I didn't mean it like that! That's not right. Not right at all."
"You suggested it!"
"I did not! You brought up this whole bestiality thing!"
"Like. Hamsters." said Alex. Sara buried her head in her hands.
"I can't believe they're talking about sex with horses," she moaned. "My plan is ruined!"
Alex shrugged. "It wasn't a very good plan, anyway."
Sara shot Alex a baleful glare. "I'd like to see you do better!"
Elizabeth sighed as her friends degenerated into their usual bickering and drifted over to a dirty window. Too tired to play mediator, she began to brainstorm ideas of her own. Which eventually lead to thoughts of Luna.
'I wonder how she's holding up?' Last time she had seen Luna, the Ravenclaw was sleeping off... whatever had afflicted her. 'It must've been awful, not knowing who she was,' she thought. 'It's a good thing we got that note from that helpful anonymous contributor.'
Elizabeth was aware that her friends' snit fest had ended - or at least come to a temporary truce. They were both focused on the other side of the door once more. Elizabeth took her spot at the door once more.
"What's going on?" she whispered.
"Shh!" Alex explained.
Outside, Edwina and Pansy were still bickering about sex with horses. Unbeknownst to them, they were no longer alone. A thin, curvy 16 year old girl was sidling quietly up the hall, glancing at the arguing duo with suspicion. Her long hair was hunter green and flowed down to her hips, where it curled slightly. Her eyes were ice blue and her complexion deathly pale. She wore a fine Victorian dress of crushed black and white velvet.
'Barely any adjectives,' Sara noted. 'Hmm... Note to self: the number of adjectives may be directly related to the power of the TG[1].'
"Excuse me," the TG said tentatively. "But did I hear something about unicorns and Draco Malfoy?"
The two girls ceased their bickering and exchanged glances.
"Possibly," Edwina said, looking the newcomer up and down. "Depends on who's asking."
The pale girl drew herself up. "My name is Serpentia Letum, and I," she took a deep breath, "am the daughter..." She took a moment to collect herself before continuing. "Of Death!" She paused. "And a dragon."
The girls on both sides of the door remained silent, as their minds furiously tried to work out the logistics of such a union without hurting themselves.
"I got nothing," Alex said.
"Well, then," Pansy said weakly. "As you may have, uh, heard, my friend Persia and I were just discussing how easy time travel is without the assistance of a Time Turner and how Draco is really into that kind of thing. Time travel, that is."
"Really?" Serpentia said suspiciously.
"Yes. It makes him, ah, very hot and bothered." Serpentia's eyes lit up with hunger. Pansy went on, slightly uneasy. "He'll snog you senseless. And by "you" I mean "me" because I'm going to do the time travel thing because I'm just that amazing. And so on."
Serpentia threw her chest out and tossed her hair over her shoulder. "You? Time travel? Don't make me laugh!" Her ice-like eyes shone brightly with excitement. At long last! A chance to prove herself and a chance to get Draco Malfoy! Just like she had always wanted.
"I'll show you," she hissed. "You stupid twit. You'll regret making fun of me when I have Draco Malfoy eating out of my hand." 'And then all the others will notice my talents,' she thought. 'Then they'll have to let me have more time with Draco.' Last time she had only gotten a measly 6 hours and that was two weeks ago. He was being monopolized by the other girls. She had even complained to Polaris.
What had happened after that? The meeting passed in a blur. She remembered Polaris listening patiently with that little smile of hers and then... And then she remembered leaving, feeling lucky for some reason.
Serpentia suppressed a shudder. It wasn't as though Polaris was all that threatening in any way but... there was something about the way she smiled just a little too broadly, there was something about her eyes and the way she spoke.
"You'll regret ever making fun of my hair and scars," Serpentia said, for good measure.
Pansy had been filing her nails for the past two minutes. "Right," she said without looking up. Edwina nudged her sharply. "Oh! I, uh, I mean," she cleared her throat and drew herself up. "I mean, you can never hope to defeat me in the time honored traditional battle of, um, Time Portal Opening."
Serpentia nodded.
"We shall both attempt to open a portal to, oh let's say, the year 1976. The one who can keep it open the longest wins." Pansy rolled up her sleeves and gave her wand an experimental flick. "Ready?"
Serpentia nodded again, and struck a dramatic pose, flinging her hands out in front of her, palm forward. Green and blue sparkling energy collected into the palms of her hands and began to expand, becoming a large, sucking vortex. Serpentia smirked at Pansy and Edwina's awestruck expressions.
"It's so pretty," Edwina murmured.
Pansy recovered herself. "It's so showy," she sneered. "Mine's better."
There was another confused silence.
"What?" said Serpentia. "I don't see yours anywhere."
Pansy smirked triumphantly. "It's invisible, of course. But it's there, I promise you."
Sara, Elizabeth, and Alex carefully crept into the hall. Sara gave Edwina a thumbs up. Edwina nodded and rounded on Serpentia, sneering.
"I bet you couldn't let people go into the past," Edwina said. "I know Pansy could, because Pansy is a Slytherin and Slytherins are just that amazing." Edwina said boastfully. Pansy nodded and deepened her smirk.
"Well said, Persia."
Serpentia flushed. "I'm a Slytherin too, you know," she said quietly. "I may be the first half-blood ever in Slytherin but I'm still a Slytherin! You girls can't even begin to understand how amazing I truly am!" she shouted above the sound of the whirling vortex. "Who am I sending back in time?"
The three Hufflepuffs looked at each other and then back at the vortex. No one said anything for some time.
"Rock Paper Scissors. Loser goes." Alex said finally.
The other two agreed. After a few quiet games, Alex cursed and stepped forward, eyeing the portal with dread.
"I guess I'm going," she said ruefully.
"To make the contest more interesting, the two of you will have to hold the portal open long enough for the person to travel back in time and then for her to come back," Sara said. "Alex, can you come here for a minute?"
"Hey, wait a minute," Serpentia said suspiciously. "Who'll be using Pansy's portal?"
Pansy considered this question for a moment. "Bill," she said at last. "Bill will be using my portal."
"Who's Bill?" Serpentia asked.
"He's my friend. He's invisible right now, because he's, um, shy." Serpentia's suspicious look remained. Pansy flushed nervously. "Bill!" she called. "Bill if you're here, make absolutely no sign!"
Unusually, nothing happened.
"See?" Pansy said in triumph. Serpentia nodded, satisfied.
"Right. Even with your invisible friend, you won't beat me. I can't wait to see the look on your face when that big girl returns from the past safe and sound!" Serpentia boasted.
Alex reddened. "Hey! My weight is perfectly proportionate to my height!" she hissed.
"Never mind that now," Sara said. She had pulled Alex a little ways further down the hall, where they couldn't be overheard. "I have something for you." She glanced around and gestured Alex closer. She reached into her robes and pulled out a small, golden disc. "I've been working on this for ages, and I think it's ready for a test run." She pressed the disc into Alex's palm. Alex stared down at it and then back up at Sara's hopeful face and looked down at the badge again. It was a golden badge, with the Hogwarts crest and motto on the front.
"It's just the school badge," she said flatly.
Sara scowled. "It's more than that. Look on the back."
On the back, there was an inscription that looked as though it had been carved with a spell. It said:
"Badger Brigade
#013"
"Zero one three?" Alex said. "What does that mean?"
Sara sighed. "It's your assigned number. This is the thirteenth prototype. You see, this is what I've been working on for the past month. It's a communicator. It'll allow you and other members of the BB to communicate with each other." Her eyes sparkled with excitement. "It took me ages to make, but I found a spell that allows people to communicate with each other over long distances and I just adapted it for this purpose."
"Wow," Alex said, impressed inspire of herself. "You did this all by yourself?"
Sara shuffled uncomfortably. "More or less, more or less. I had some help from Susan and Justin. And Hannah. And Ernie, a little bit. And Zacharias, Cho Chang, Neville, and Beth. But that was it. The idea was mine, though." she said, defiantly.
Out of pity's sake, Alex didn't mention walkie-talkies, mobiles, or phones in general. She merely settled on saying: "Of course it was." And pining the badge to her robe.
"Are you sure it'll work? Especially over 20 years time difference?" she asked.
Sara frowned and beyond Alex, to the portal behind her. "I don't know. It'll be interesting to find out."
Panic flickered across Alex's features. "What am I supposed to do if it doesn't work? How will I contact you guys? How will I know what I'm supposed to do? What if that portal doesn't even lead to the 70s? For that matter, what am I supposed to do about a great bloody portal in the middle of the past? Won't anyone notice it?"
"If they haven't so far..." Sara began uneasily.
"How am I supposed to get home? What am I supposed to do?"
Sara was silent. This was one of the few areas she considered outside of her expertise. She was unsettled to see Alex actually worried about something. Usually she'd just plow into situations and sort out the logic and sensibility of her actions later, if ever. Her reputation as a cannibal was proof of that.
"Just don't think about it," she advised at last. Alex scowled and folded her arms.
"Easy for you to say," she muttered. "I'm the one who could get stuck in the past."
"The badge will work," Sara said firmly. "You won't get stuck in the past, Alex, I promise. I won't let you stay behind. Have I ever let you down before?"
Alex reviewed her memories. "Not that I recall off-hand," she said warily. Sara patted her on the shoulder.
"There you are then," she said, as if that settled things. "Now. To use the badge, simply say "Procul Dico" and then the number of the badge you want to contact into the back of the badge. To talk to me, you would say "Procul Dico 012". The close the line, simply say "Finis Dico". Got it?"
Alex swallowed hard and nodded. Latin had never been her strong suit. She glanced back at the vortex, which crackled invitingly with energy. Sara slapped her reassuringly on the back.
"You'll be fine. Now, let's go."
Alex paled and nodded. She took her place in front of the vortex. Elizabeth caught her eye momentarily and gave her a small smile.
"Alright," Sara said, clapping her hands together. "Now, remember girls: you must hold the portals open long enough for the volunteers to return home safely. Ready?"
Serpentia smirked at Pansy, who was now examining her teeth in her hand mirror. "Get ready, strange bumblebee girl," she shouted to Alex, who was too preoccupied to get angry.
Edwina nudged Pansy. "Hmm? Oh. Go Bill," she said, gesturing vaguely.
Alex stared into the past with a leaden dread. 'I'm going to come back,' she thought weakly. 'I'm going to come back. I'm going to come back. I'm going to come back.'
"Okay," Sara shouted. "Get ready!"
'I'm going to die.'
"Get set!"
'Just don't think about it.'
"Go!"
Alex squeezed her eyes shut and ran...
...into the past.
***
Megan strode down the clean halls with a heightened sense of purpose. She had been watching the small Badger Brigade group try to lure one of Them into a trap. She had been quite impressed with their grasp on the Girls' psyche, but her awe soon faded when they assigned who would go into the past.
'I can't believe they're only sending one person!' she fumed.
'Who cares?' Mr Muffins thought, trailing along behind her.
'I care. I don't want to see anyone die.'
'Are you certain she'll die? She defeated Lysandra easily enough.'
Megan snorted. 'Lysandra? Lysandra made Serpentia look like an astrophysicist. Didn't you see who was in the past? Amethyst. Serene. Probably Orion, too. Ah, here we are...'
Twin oak doors loomed in front of them, closed firmly. Megan gave them a long look and tugged at the small chain around her neck, where a large, bone-white key hung. She forced the key into the ornate keyhole, where it emitted small sparks. The doors swung open on oiled hinges, revealing rows and rows of books.
"The library," she breathed. And then sneezed. "Argh, who cleans this place? What a disgrace. I'll have to talk to Filch about this." She walked among the tall, old shelves. The air felt dry and musty, filled with the very, very faint sound of papery whispering.
Megan was impressed and a little nervous in spite of herself. She had only been in a magical library once, and it had been a very brief visit.
'I wonder where the librarian is,' she thought.
'Around, I'm sure. We better do this quickly.' He looked at her askance. 'Are you sure about this?'
Megan knew what she was about to do was ill-advised, at best. She knew she wouldn't be able to do it by her own means. It would require the ability to navigate and to ignore logic, the laws of Physics, and her own limitations. She sighed heavily and pulled out a large ball of yarn from her sack[2] and tied one end to a table leg.
'This is stupid,' Mr Muffins thought bitterly.
"Probably," Megan said quietly. She was pale faced and trembling. "But..." she trailed off. It wouldn't be just to let someone die. It wouldn't be right. It wouldn't be... just.
'Hang onto that thought,' she advised herself. 'You'll need it later.'
She closed her eyes and concentrated. She searched inside herself, digging through the proverbial dirt and grime for the part of her that glittered...
Reach out. Embrace it until you're glittering all over.
She shivered as sweet laughter filled her head and her skin tingled. She winced and doubled over. Mr Muffins flicked his tail and narrowed his eyes. He felt his hair begin to stand up as the air in the library filled with strangeness. Buzzing. He heard an unearthly sigh.
Megan straightened up, tossing her rich, chocolate curls over her shoulder. She freed her hair of its customary high pony-tail and tossed it once more for good measure. Bright amber eyes blinked at a world that felt much, much smaller than before. Her vision became strangely focused, as everything seemed to fade into the background. As everything unimportant faded into the background. She glanced down at her scrawny feline companion and frowned. She made a note to find herself a better familiar when she next went to Diagon Ally. Yes, a lovely sleek black cat with purple eyes... or perhaps Phoenix. Why not both?
'Megan, remember? What we're doing here?' Mr Muffins thought, eyeing her suspiciously.
Megan opened her mouth to dispense a scathing reply but found the words stuck in her throat. Her pink lips frowned in confusion. She opened her mouth once more.
'Never mind that, you stupid twit.' a gruff sounding voice said. She looked around wildly. 'You won't find me out there, idiot. I'm in your head.' Megan closed her mouth. Schizophrenia? Was that popular right now? She would rather prefer to be inflicted with Bipolar disorder, if anything. Being a cutter was so hot right now.
She suddenly felt a strong urge to walk between the bookshelves. With some reluctance, she picked up the ball of yarn and carefully stepped...
...into the L-Space.
A Creation Story
By BassoonAngel
It was the first day of Christmas break. Dieu-donne Pretre and Drew Benoit looked around as they walked home from school. There was no snow. It hardly looked festive to them. They'd been living in Miami for many years now, and they were almost tired of sunny winters.
"This is pathetic," Drew said. "Not a flake anywhere. Magique is full of snow."
Dieu-donne nodded, taking off his fluffy red and white hat. He ran his hand through his short, black hair. "I bet you're right." He looked up at the sky. "It's always been like this here. Sometimes I wish it would change."
"Well if you want a white Christmas, you know what you have to do." Drew grinned.
"Drew, we're going on vacations with our families, remember?"
"Let's go today. Come on, just today, Then tomorrow, we'll go on our trips."
Dieu-donne sighed. "Okay, but just for today and today only."
Hidden in Dieu-donne's basement was a magical book with amazing powers. In the past, they had stumbled across it, not knowing that they'd find more than a fantasy story in it's pages. The odd symbols had shined with a bright light. Next thing they knew, they were far, far away from their hometown. Now, they are part of the king's court in the magical country of Magique, and they gladly enjoy their time in the alternate dimension.
Drew breathed deeply when he looked around at all of the trees around them. "It's good to be back in Magique," he said. He picked up and handfull of snow. "This stuff is freezing, but I like it anyway."
Dieu-donne laughed. "It is a nice change." In front of them was the red building where they spent most of their time. King Thierry Corin's grand palace was just through the trees.
King Thierry was sitting on his throne talking to a red haired girl, another member of his court. Her name was Aurali Aimee. She was a teenager too, like Dieu-donne and Drew, and she was also a witch.
"There you are!" Drew said, going through the red curtain behind the front door. "And Aurali, too! Merry Christmas!"
"What does that mean?" Aurali asked, turning towards them.
Drew's blue eyes narrowed a little and became filled with confusion. "It means happy holidays."
"I believe he means to say Grand Creation." Thierry took his crown off of his white hair and stood up. "In a few weeks marks the anniversary of the day this world was created by the Sages. I'm sorry if I had not told you sooner."
"We call it Creation Day," Aurali said. "We celebrate and give our families presents and good wishes." She smiled. "I've even got presents for you two."
"I forgot to buy you a Christmas present!"
"What's Christmas?" Aurali asked curiously.
Dieu-donne tried to think of a good way to explain it. "In some religions, there is a Lord that people depend on when they are in need. That Lord's birthday is on the day that we call Christmas. Families get Christmas trees and colorful lights, and they make their houses look really festive."
"There's also a man named Santa Claus that gives kids toys if they've been good that year. He has flying deer-"
"Reindeer."
"-reindeer, and they take him all over the world in one night!"
Aurali laughed quietly. "I thought you said there was no magic in your world."
"Christmas is a different story."
"Christmas is a miracle that brings friends and family closer together." Dieu-donne said. "That is the true spirit of the holiday. There is scarce magic, but there are miracles. Those could be considered magic in themselves."
"Come to the palace for Creation Day. We may not have a tree of lights, but we can still spend time together."
Drew shook his head. "We have to spend Christmas at our own families houses. Don and I can't even spend it together."
"We'll come here as soon as we get home, we promise. It might be late, but we'll still come."
"Why don't we just do it right now? We could make a fire and drink hot chocolate and roast marshmallows and just hang out."
"Maybe exchange gifts?" Aurali asked.
Thierry smiled, warming his brown eyes. "Excellent ideas. I shall go buy presents for you, my friends. We will celebrate tonight!"
"Okay! Grand Celebration!" Drew said.
"Happy Christmas!" Aurali said.
"Close enough."
Dieu-donne and Drew rushed home as quickly as they could.
"Great. What do you buy a voodoo witch and king for Christmas?"
"Christmas is about time together. It's the thought that counts."
"And I'm thinking I don't know what to buy for them."
Dieu-donne shook his head and smiled. "Do you always have to be difficult?"
"Yes, and it's worse during Christmas." Drew grinned. "Gotcha. Now come on, maybe your sister will give us a ride to the mall."
"Maybe." He watched Drew go up the basement stairs ahead of him. "This will be my best Christmas yet. I've always wanted to spend it with friends. You've brought me together with my friends in Magique again, God, and I thank you one thousand times for it."
"Are you coming?"
"Yes." He hid the book carefully and went up the stairs.
Random Prose
By alicemae
As children we often carry some rather idealistic and perhaps laughable notions about the world around us. I think it's this youthful, hope-filled innocence that allows us to so eagerly embrace everything - truth or lie - that comes our way. I know I believed in Band-Aids and their ability to heal all wounds, and it was simply understood that my teachers could never be wrong. For a few gold stars, I would do everything that they asked. On the playground, I thought exchanging bracelets with someone meant that we�d stay BFF - or Best Friends Forever - and above all I believed in my parents and the strange logic of their adult world. Well, maybe to say that I consciously believed in these things is a bit of a stretch (I was only six, after all), but certainly I never questioned anything with my own judgement. Granted, paper cuts and playground friends were trifle matters to consider, so I naturally accepted those things without a second thought. However, family is something else altogether. I knew that mine would always be there for me, be it a blessing or a burden. Yet there always comes a point in adolescence when we realize the shadows hiding within our youthful impressions. It�s quite the miraculous journey to mature from a child�s perspective into adult eyes without becoming a cynic, for it requires us to step away from the familiar and analyze our loved ones for who they are - instead of whom we thought them to be. The key is being able to accept them regardless and love them for it afterwards, even if the clearing clouds happen to reveal something other than blue skies and sunshine.
We find the best so you don't have to.
IN THIS ISSUE:
1. The Neighborhood Watch - Gaian news for our attention deficit generation.
2. Honorable Mentions - Writing submitted and scouted by the best.
3. Point! What's Your Point? - Anti-social, anti-state, anti-you.
4. Best of Issue - As voted by the members of the Press.
5. The Afterthought - Preview for the next issue and then some.
Gaian's Beta Guild:
___We would like to give a warm welcome to our newest affiliate! Like peanut butter and jelly, Marge and Homer, The Gaian Press and Gaia's Beta Guild have come together at last. So look no further, fellow writers, at last a good editor is just a click away! Click!
Nemea reports:
___Myths & Legends: Short Story Writing Contest. Held by Aura 19, this will run from Jan 1, 2005 to Feb 1, 2005. With prizes totalling 30k (Grand Prize being 15k), this is no simple contest. The objective is to weave original tales that resound with the mythological flavor within 500 - 300 words. Click Here to see!
___Love it. Hate it. Whatever, just be sure to discuss it! For avid fans (and rabid critics) gather here to praise or slam. Click.
___When a first grade teacher, reading Clement C. Moore�s �A Visit from Saint Nicholas� tried to be politically correct by stating beforehand that "The Santa Claus about to be portrayed is not real.", a brouhaha was raised. For it or against it? Voice your opinion here.
ShadowXCat reports:
___The Gaia Exchange. For those of you who wander towns, collecting bugs, flowers, and trash, this is for you. Ink, bouquets, and paper hats. What more could a Gaian want? And to all you fishers out there, not only can you exchange fish for hats, now you can also trade up fish.
___Is your avi dressed up in anticipation for the winter weather? If not, come check out the new December items. The list is located here. Not only can they keep you warm, they add a delightful touch onto many an outfit. Don�t forget, it�s snowing outside.
___A new two-page storyline update--perhaps we will finally find out who that mysterious masked figure was. Titled the Masque, he is said to be Gaia�s first superhero, but not much else is known about him. To find out anymore, you must look at the storyline. �Tis not for me to drop spoilers.
___We Gaians already have an Art Arena and an Avatar Arena . What more could we ever want? Well, now there is the Housing Arena. Yes, you get to show off your lovely little houses, and may even be rewarded with gold. If you�re confused or want to discuss the Arena, just check out this for help and/or links.
___There will be a New Year's Event on Saturday, December 31st, as well as a storyline update. VO said that we could dress up. Hmm, I wonder if that has anything to do with the new items in Durem Depot and Crate & Apparel�
___Chances are you�ve noticed the new layout on Gaia. The header at the top of the screen provides one-click access to everything on Gaia, and utilizes Flash and JavaScript; even if your computer doesn�t have them, the site still works pretty well. The new layout is faster to load than the previous layout, but there is often a little start up time for the flash header to load. If you don�t want to wait that extra bit of time, you can chose to view the HTML version of the same header.
___When the new layout was first implemented, I heard quite a few negative comments about it. However, now that it has been tweaked here and there, and the users have been given time to adjust to it, it seems that the opinions have changed a bit. On a little poll about the layout, the majority said that they liked some--but not all-- aspects of it. The second largest group of people wished to have a way of toggling between the old and new layouts, and very few people said that they preferred the new layout.
If you want to see the precise results of the poll, and view the comments given by some, click here.
PART I. Poetry and Prose
Listed in alphabetical order by author.
Christmas, by Evalai
The Fate of December, by Morbid Joy
Untitled, by Lilly
Christmas
By Evalai
The moon has gone,
The sun has risen,
This was it,
The morning of cheer,
It's time for my dad to get drunk with his old Christmas beer.
My mother is spiffy,
My Grandma is not,
I am still tired,
And it is still hot.
Christmas is Summer
And Summer is fall.
It's the break from the hurricanes,
So lets not recall.
We appreciate what we still have,
There's nothing to share,
Nothing but our fun and happiness,
Our religous rights,
Our night of all nights,
For all ye' have to share is your Christmas delight.
The Fate of December
By Morbid Joy
Conspiring to the devious disaster.
Are we to deign upon the master?
The florets slept deep inside my heart,
While the budding divisions began to part.
Wondrous desires? To what dismal end?
The color of crimson leads the trail to begin!
Luscious, creamy, I can taste the day,
Ultimately, I'm left with nothing to say.
But I do have something to give,
My dreams and desires and will to live.
As for my mind, you can't have that,
Burn the city, leave the bodies intact.
The rhymes dwindle to embers,
Soon setting the fate of december.
And the love finally dawns upon that comet,
If only it didn't come from my wallet.
Untitled
By Lilly
The children, asking Santa
'Bout all the gifts they'll get
(Nothing could be farther from the truth)
The parents, with winks
And conspiratorial smiles,
(If only they knew)
The light-laced tree on
Christmas Day
(Real or fake? Probably fake)
The white-winged angel
Placed upon the top
(At all religious? Pfuit. As if)
The heavy boots echoing
On the tiled kitchen floor
(How did he find me?)
The jingle of sleigh-bells
Spiked with a crash
(What did you do now, Santa?)
The splinters of an ornament
A truly-fallen angel
(The irony of it all)
A wicked gleam in Santa's eyes
A chuckle and a Ho, ho, ho
(The last words I'll ever hear)
PART II. Fiction
Listed in alphbetical order by author.
The Badger Brigade, by Hemp Fandango
A Creation Story, by BassoonAngel
Random Prose, by Alicemae
The Badger Brigade
By Hemp Fandango
Chapter Nine: Doing The Time Warp Of DEATH.
"Can you believe Oliver Wood, the new flying instructor, asked me out to the next Hogsmede trip?"
"It's so awesome! You should meet me and Dean there!"
Megan walked silently down the gleaming halls, dragging her mop and other cleaning supplies behind her as usual, and listening to the snatches of conversation that drifted from the closed classrooms as she passed them.
"I can't believe Draco... why would he hurt me like that? No one loves me. Maybe I should just end it all-"
"Wings! You didn't tell me you had wings! What kind of person are you?"
"I'm sorry, Harry! Please don't be mad! The truth is, I'm part angel! Do you still love-"
"(Wake me up)
Wake me up inside
(I can't wake up)
Wake me up inside
(Save me)
Call my name and save me from the dark-"
Megan sighed. Was this what Hogwarts had come to? Is it strange that she wasn't the least bit surprised?
'It's not the singing I mind," she thought. 'I just wish they would sing something a little less gloomy. Would a folk song kill them? And where did that girl get back-up singers from anyway?'
She came to a large glass case that housed many trophies, serving as a reminder to people that there were others better than them. Megan winced at their state. Clearly no one had gotten detention recently, as the trophies were tarnished and grimy looking. Pictures of winning Quidditch teams were covered with dust.
She fumbled with a ring of keys for a moment and unlocked the case. She grabbed the trophies at random and began cleaning off the grime one by one, taking the utmost care and precision.
Twenty minutes later she swore at a plaque.
***
Hours later, three more people approached the trophy case. Megan was nowhere in sight.
"Where have you been getting these letters, anyway?" Sara asked.
Alex shrugged. "This is my first one. Liz got the other one."
Elizabeth nodded fervently. "It was weird! It said all these things about Luna and what was wrong with her and it even sort of hinted at how we could help her."
Sara snorted. "Hinted, eh? Hah! Sounds to me like we have ourselves an informer."
"Oooooh," Elizabeth paused. "What's that mean?"
"It means someone -- probably one of Those Girls -- is on our side," Sara said.
"Or they're trying to trick us into believing they're on our side," Alex said, darkly.
"Right, that's also an option," Sara agreed. "In the mean time, let's just look at the trophy case. I'm pretty sure it's not a plot."
They did so. Sara knelt down to get a closer look at some of the trophies closer to the floor. Alex scowled.
"What are we looking for?"
"It's your letter," Sara pointed out. "What did it say?"
"It just said 'look at the trophy case'." She sneered. "I don't see anything, except someone's cleaned them recently. Maybe we're supposed to admire the shine."
"That's strange. I don't remember seeing Filch around," Elizabeth remarked.
"That's not strange, Liz. That's a blessing."
There was a strangled noise from Elizabeth.
"Sirius Black!" she cried, pointing at a large plaque.
It was a Quidditch plaque, that held a list of names from the 1976 Gryffindor Quidditch team. The name "Sirius Black" stuck out plainly.
"Huh," said Alex. "I guess he played Quidditch before getting into the killing gig."
"That's sick," Elizabeth said, shivering. "Why would they keep his name on there? That's really sick."
Sara peered closer, pushing her glasses down her nose. "There's a Potter on there too. James Potter... hm. I think that's Harry Potter's father." She frowned and squinted at the plaque. "There's two Potters on here."
"What? Let me see," Alex said, nudging Sara aside. She swore. "You're right. Who the heck is Amethyst Potter?"
"Er. Maybe she's Harry's mum?" Elizabeth guess.
Alex and Sara exchanged looks.
"No, Liz. People generally don't get married in their sixth year," Alex said.
"They could," Elizabeth said defiantly. "Maybe she was pregnant."
"And playing Quidditch? Anyway, I'm pretty sure Harry Potter's mother's name is Evans," Sara said. She pointed to another name on the plaque. "See? Lily Evans. That's probably her."
Alex frowned at the plaque. There were quite a few suspicious names on the list, but there was no way of telling if they were one of Those Girls or if they were just a product of the insane naming trends of pureblood families. Serene Swiftmoon? That probably wasn't a pureblood name, but how could you tell?
Her eyes instinctively wandered upwards, to where pictures of champion Quidditch teams over the ages were hung. A myriad of people waved and smiled back at her. There, above her, hung a picture of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, holding a large trophy up with triumph. The colours were washed out and faded looking but, like all the other contents of the room, the glass and frame sparkled.
But that wasn't all that sparkled. Alex squinted up at the picture and slowly drew her wand.
"Accio!"
Elizabeth and Sara, who had been examining some of the names, were jerked back to reality by the sound of glass shattering.
"Oops," Alex muttered sheepishly.
Sara sighed and rolled her eyes. "Alexandra, you are no good with summoning spells. And it's a bloody good thing there are no teachers sane enough to punish you for this breaching of the rules."
Alex shrugged, her face still red with embarrassment. "Yes, well, I just wanted to get a closer look at this picture. I didn't expect it to break."
"You should've asked me to accio it for you," Sara said patiently. "You know you aren't good with charms."
The red of embarrassment was draining from Alex's face and replaced with the red of anger. "I don't need your help, Sara," she snapped. "I'm perfectly capable-"
"Uh, guys?" Elizabeth interjected from where she kneeled over the broken frame. "I found it."
She held up the photo.
The colours were faded, but two figures had not been affected by the bleaching of time. They sparkled. Hair shimmered, eyes gleamed, and teeth glistened.
The girls paled.
"Oh, bugger..."
****
"In the past? Are you sure?" Susan asked.
The girls had wasted no time in spreading the news as quickly as they could amongst the rest of the Brigade. Sara and Alex had gone straight to Susan, Hannah, Justin and Ernie. They had taken the news about as well as expected.
"Positive," Sara replied firmly. "I'd be willing to bet only Those Girls would be able to maintain perfect colouration in a photo after twenty years."
"Maybe not," Ernie said. "Maybe they applied one of those preservation potions on the picture."
Alex, who had just finished impressing some fourth years with the story, overheard this. "On just those two girls? Not bloody likely. Besides," she went on, "those kinds of potions back then were flawed and could only last about fifteen years. Only the newer ones could hold out for over twenty."
Sara nodded. "Er, what she said."
Hannah sighed and slouched back onto the couch. "They're in the past? What could we do about that?"
Justin stared out the window in thought. "I wonder..." He paused. "I think I have an idea," he said slowly. "But it might be a little dangerous." He lowered his voice as he spoke.
The others leaned in with interest.
"How do you guys feel about time travel?"
***
A while later, Pansy and Edwina ambled down the halls, flanked by Sara, Elizabeth, and Alex.
"So, do you understand the plan?" Sara asked.
"Of course," Pansy said lightly, examining her finely manicured nails.
"We figured you two would be the best for this. They seem to hate you a lot," Sara said.
Pansy and Edwina exchanged smirks.
"They're clearly jealous," Edwina said airily.
"Clearly," Pansy agreed. "Jealous of our fashion sense."
"And of our grace."
"And talent."
"And beauty."
"And popularity."
"And brains, I'm sure," Alex said dryly.
"As long as you understand what you're doing," Sara said quickly. "Now, just read the lines I wrote and you'll be fine." The last words were said while dragging Alex and Elizabeth into a near-by empty class room.
The girls crouched behind the door as Edwina and Pansy took their positions and examined the two scraps of parchment they had been given. Pansy was the first to speak.
"Time travel sure is a difficult practice of magic!" she shouted, slowly and clearly.
"It sure is," Edwina agreed in the same slow and clear voice. "Very difficult. It would need a very powerful, very talented and..." she trailed off cringing. "Do I really have to? Oh, fine..." She heaved a heavy sigh and continued grudgingly, "and possibly very beautiful and charming witch and/or wizard to achieve such a tremendous feat. There, happy?"
'I'm brilliant,' Sara thought. She had nearly hugged herself when she came up with this idea. It had seemed so complicated, and yet so beautiful in its simplicity. Hours of observation had shown that Those Girls liked to show off more than anything, and if anyone could provide quick and easy time travel it would be them. Putting two and two together, Sara came up with brilliance.
The two Slytherins stood around expectantly for a moment. Nothing happened. Pansy glanced at Sara and shrugged.
"Looks like they aren't taking the bait," Elizabeth muttered.
"Maybe they've caught on? I mean, it was a little obvious..." Alex said.
"It was not obvious!" Sara snapped. She gestured to Pansy furiously. "Keep going!" she hissed. "Ad lib! Improvise! Do something!"
Pansy bit her painted lip in thought, glancing curiously at Edwina for ideas. Edwina shrugged back.
"Maybe you could call them beautiful again?" Pansy suggested. Edwina made a face.
"That would only result in me vomiting, and you know how we hate the smell."
Pansy nodded. "Good point." She ran her long nailed hands through her hair in frustration. "What more could we say?"
"My God, it's like watching hamsters trying to read ancient Greek," Alex whispered. Sara shushed her.
"I bet if we were Draco Malfoy they'd come running," Edwina said sourly. Pansy's eyes lit up with inspiration.
"No... I think we can do this without Draco. Persia!" She whirled around and grabbed her friend by the shoulders. "I'm so brilliant! I have an idea! Just follow my lead!" She released Edwina, and turned back to face the entrance of the hallway. She cleared her throat.
"I bet I could travel in time!" she shouted, loud and slow. "I bet it's the easiest thing in the world! I bet when I do travel in time, Draco will be soooo impressed!" Still nothing happened. She glanced over to Sara questioningly.
"Keep going!" she hissed encouragingly.
Edwina picked up the thread. "He'll probably propose to you on the spot and you'll have sex in the Astronomy Tower... or something." More silence.
"Yep. A lot of sex. He'll probably give you a unicorn, too."
"What would Draco and I do with a unicorn during sex? That's sick!"
"I didn't mean it like that! That's not right. Not right at all."
"You suggested it!"
"I did not! You brought up this whole bestiality thing!"
"Like. Hamsters." said Alex. Sara buried her head in her hands.
"I can't believe they're talking about sex with horses," she moaned. "My plan is ruined!"
Alex shrugged. "It wasn't a very good plan, anyway."
Sara shot Alex a baleful glare. "I'd like to see you do better!"
Elizabeth sighed as her friends degenerated into their usual bickering and drifted over to a dirty window. Too tired to play mediator, she began to brainstorm ideas of her own. Which eventually lead to thoughts of Luna.
'I wonder how she's holding up?' Last time she had seen Luna, the Ravenclaw was sleeping off... whatever had afflicted her. 'It must've been awful, not knowing who she was,' she thought. 'It's a good thing we got that note from that helpful anonymous contributor.'
Elizabeth was aware that her friends' snit fest had ended - or at least come to a temporary truce. They were both focused on the other side of the door once more. Elizabeth took her spot at the door once more.
"What's going on?" she whispered.
"Shh!" Alex explained.
Outside, Edwina and Pansy were still bickering about sex with horses. Unbeknownst to them, they were no longer alone. A thin, curvy 16 year old girl was sidling quietly up the hall, glancing at the arguing duo with suspicion. Her long hair was hunter green and flowed down to her hips, where it curled slightly. Her eyes were ice blue and her complexion deathly pale. She wore a fine Victorian dress of crushed black and white velvet.
'Barely any adjectives,' Sara noted. 'Hmm... Note to self: the number of adjectives may be directly related to the power of the TG[1].'
"Excuse me," the TG said tentatively. "But did I hear something about unicorns and Draco Malfoy?"
The two girls ceased their bickering and exchanged glances.
"Possibly," Edwina said, looking the newcomer up and down. "Depends on who's asking."
The pale girl drew herself up. "My name is Serpentia Letum, and I," she took a deep breath, "am the daughter..." She took a moment to collect herself before continuing. "Of Death!" She paused. "And a dragon."
The girls on both sides of the door remained silent, as their minds furiously tried to work out the logistics of such a union without hurting themselves.
"I got nothing," Alex said.
"Well, then," Pansy said weakly. "As you may have, uh, heard, my friend Persia and I were just discussing how easy time travel is without the assistance of a Time Turner and how Draco is really into that kind of thing. Time travel, that is."
"Really?" Serpentia said suspiciously.
"Yes. It makes him, ah, very hot and bothered." Serpentia's eyes lit up with hunger. Pansy went on, slightly uneasy. "He'll snog you senseless. And by "you" I mean "me" because I'm going to do the time travel thing because I'm just that amazing. And so on."
Serpentia threw her chest out and tossed her hair over her shoulder. "You? Time travel? Don't make me laugh!" Her ice-like eyes shone brightly with excitement. At long last! A chance to prove herself and a chance to get Draco Malfoy! Just like she had always wanted.
"I'll show you," she hissed. "You stupid twit. You'll regret making fun of me when I have Draco Malfoy eating out of my hand." 'And then all the others will notice my talents,' she thought. 'Then they'll have to let me have more time with Draco.' Last time she had only gotten a measly 6 hours and that was two weeks ago. He was being monopolized by the other girls. She had even complained to Polaris.
What had happened after that? The meeting passed in a blur. She remembered Polaris listening patiently with that little smile of hers and then... And then she remembered leaving, feeling lucky for some reason.
Serpentia suppressed a shudder. It wasn't as though Polaris was all that threatening in any way but... there was something about the way she smiled just a little too broadly, there was something about her eyes and the way she spoke.
"You'll regret ever making fun of my hair and scars," Serpentia said, for good measure.
Pansy had been filing her nails for the past two minutes. "Right," she said without looking up. Edwina nudged her sharply. "Oh! I, uh, I mean," she cleared her throat and drew herself up. "I mean, you can never hope to defeat me in the time honored traditional battle of, um, Time Portal Opening."
Serpentia nodded.
"We shall both attempt to open a portal to, oh let's say, the year 1976. The one who can keep it open the longest wins." Pansy rolled up her sleeves and gave her wand an experimental flick. "Ready?"
Serpentia nodded again, and struck a dramatic pose, flinging her hands out in front of her, palm forward. Green and blue sparkling energy collected into the palms of her hands and began to expand, becoming a large, sucking vortex. Serpentia smirked at Pansy and Edwina's awestruck expressions.
"It's so pretty," Edwina murmured.
Pansy recovered herself. "It's so showy," she sneered. "Mine's better."
There was another confused silence.
"What?" said Serpentia. "I don't see yours anywhere."
Pansy smirked triumphantly. "It's invisible, of course. But it's there, I promise you."
Sara, Elizabeth, and Alex carefully crept into the hall. Sara gave Edwina a thumbs up. Edwina nodded and rounded on Serpentia, sneering.
"I bet you couldn't let people go into the past," Edwina said. "I know Pansy could, because Pansy is a Slytherin and Slytherins are just that amazing." Edwina said boastfully. Pansy nodded and deepened her smirk.
"Well said, Persia."
Serpentia flushed. "I'm a Slytherin too, you know," she said quietly. "I may be the first half-blood ever in Slytherin but I'm still a Slytherin! You girls can't even begin to understand how amazing I truly am!" she shouted above the sound of the whirling vortex. "Who am I sending back in time?"
The three Hufflepuffs looked at each other and then back at the vortex. No one said anything for some time.
"Rock Paper Scissors. Loser goes." Alex said finally.
The other two agreed. After a few quiet games, Alex cursed and stepped forward, eyeing the portal with dread.
"I guess I'm going," she said ruefully.
"To make the contest more interesting, the two of you will have to hold the portal open long enough for the person to travel back in time and then for her to come back," Sara said. "Alex, can you come here for a minute?"
"Hey, wait a minute," Serpentia said suspiciously. "Who'll be using Pansy's portal?"
Pansy considered this question for a moment. "Bill," she said at last. "Bill will be using my portal."
"Who's Bill?" Serpentia asked.
"He's my friend. He's invisible right now, because he's, um, shy." Serpentia's suspicious look remained. Pansy flushed nervously. "Bill!" she called. "Bill if you're here, make absolutely no sign!"
Unusually, nothing happened.
"See?" Pansy said in triumph. Serpentia nodded, satisfied.
"Right. Even with your invisible friend, you won't beat me. I can't wait to see the look on your face when that big girl returns from the past safe and sound!" Serpentia boasted.
Alex reddened. "Hey! My weight is perfectly proportionate to my height!" she hissed.
"Never mind that now," Sara said. She had pulled Alex a little ways further down the hall, where they couldn't be overheard. "I have something for you." She glanced around and gestured Alex closer. She reached into her robes and pulled out a small, golden disc. "I've been working on this for ages, and I think it's ready for a test run." She pressed the disc into Alex's palm. Alex stared down at it and then back up at Sara's hopeful face and looked down at the badge again. It was a golden badge, with the Hogwarts crest and motto on the front.
"It's just the school badge," she said flatly.
Sara scowled. "It's more than that. Look on the back."
On the back, there was an inscription that looked as though it had been carved with a spell. It said:
"Badger Brigade
#013"
"Zero one three?" Alex said. "What does that mean?"
Sara sighed. "It's your assigned number. This is the thirteenth prototype. You see, this is what I've been working on for the past month. It's a communicator. It'll allow you and other members of the BB to communicate with each other." Her eyes sparkled with excitement. "It took me ages to make, but I found a spell that allows people to communicate with each other over long distances and I just adapted it for this purpose."
"Wow," Alex said, impressed inspire of herself. "You did this all by yourself?"
Sara shuffled uncomfortably. "More or less, more or less. I had some help from Susan and Justin. And Hannah. And Ernie, a little bit. And Zacharias, Cho Chang, Neville, and Beth. But that was it. The idea was mine, though." she said, defiantly.
Out of pity's sake, Alex didn't mention walkie-talkies, mobiles, or phones in general. She merely settled on saying: "Of course it was." And pining the badge to her robe.
"Are you sure it'll work? Especially over 20 years time difference?" she asked.
Sara frowned and beyond Alex, to the portal behind her. "I don't know. It'll be interesting to find out."
Panic flickered across Alex's features. "What am I supposed to do if it doesn't work? How will I contact you guys? How will I know what I'm supposed to do? What if that portal doesn't even lead to the 70s? For that matter, what am I supposed to do about a great bloody portal in the middle of the past? Won't anyone notice it?"
"If they haven't so far..." Sara began uneasily.
"How am I supposed to get home? What am I supposed to do?"
Sara was silent. This was one of the few areas she considered outside of her expertise. She was unsettled to see Alex actually worried about something. Usually she'd just plow into situations and sort out the logic and sensibility of her actions later, if ever. Her reputation as a cannibal was proof of that.
"Just don't think about it," she advised at last. Alex scowled and folded her arms.
"Easy for you to say," she muttered. "I'm the one who could get stuck in the past."
"The badge will work," Sara said firmly. "You won't get stuck in the past, Alex, I promise. I won't let you stay behind. Have I ever let you down before?"
Alex reviewed her memories. "Not that I recall off-hand," she said warily. Sara patted her on the shoulder.
"There you are then," she said, as if that settled things. "Now. To use the badge, simply say "Procul Dico" and then the number of the badge you want to contact into the back of the badge. To talk to me, you would say "Procul Dico 012". The close the line, simply say "Finis Dico". Got it?"
Alex swallowed hard and nodded. Latin had never been her strong suit. She glanced back at the vortex, which crackled invitingly with energy. Sara slapped her reassuringly on the back.
"You'll be fine. Now, let's go."
Alex paled and nodded. She took her place in front of the vortex. Elizabeth caught her eye momentarily and gave her a small smile.
"Alright," Sara said, clapping her hands together. "Now, remember girls: you must hold the portals open long enough for the volunteers to return home safely. Ready?"
Serpentia smirked at Pansy, who was now examining her teeth in her hand mirror. "Get ready, strange bumblebee girl," she shouted to Alex, who was too preoccupied to get angry.
Edwina nudged Pansy. "Hmm? Oh. Go Bill," she said, gesturing vaguely.
Alex stared into the past with a leaden dread. 'I'm going to come back,' she thought weakly. 'I'm going to come back. I'm going to come back. I'm going to come back.'
"Okay," Sara shouted. "Get ready!"
'I'm going to die.'
"Get set!"
'Just don't think about it.'
"Go!"
Alex squeezed her eyes shut and ran...
...into the past.
***
Megan strode down the clean halls with a heightened sense of purpose. She had been watching the small Badger Brigade group try to lure one of Them into a trap. She had been quite impressed with their grasp on the Girls' psyche, but her awe soon faded when they assigned who would go into the past.
'I can't believe they're only sending one person!' she fumed.
'Who cares?' Mr Muffins thought, trailing along behind her.
'I care. I don't want to see anyone die.'
'Are you certain she'll die? She defeated Lysandra easily enough.'
Megan snorted. 'Lysandra? Lysandra made Serpentia look like an astrophysicist. Didn't you see who was in the past? Amethyst. Serene. Probably Orion, too. Ah, here we are...'
Twin oak doors loomed in front of them, closed firmly. Megan gave them a long look and tugged at the small chain around her neck, where a large, bone-white key hung. She forced the key into the ornate keyhole, where it emitted small sparks. The doors swung open on oiled hinges, revealing rows and rows of books.
"The library," she breathed. And then sneezed. "Argh, who cleans this place? What a disgrace. I'll have to talk to Filch about this." She walked among the tall, old shelves. The air felt dry and musty, filled with the very, very faint sound of papery whispering.
Megan was impressed and a little nervous in spite of herself. She had only been in a magical library once, and it had been a very brief visit.
'I wonder where the librarian is,' she thought.
'Around, I'm sure. We better do this quickly.' He looked at her askance. 'Are you sure about this?'
Megan knew what she was about to do was ill-advised, at best. She knew she wouldn't be able to do it by her own means. It would require the ability to navigate and to ignore logic, the laws of Physics, and her own limitations. She sighed heavily and pulled out a large ball of yarn from her sack[2] and tied one end to a table leg.
'This is stupid,' Mr Muffins thought bitterly.
"Probably," Megan said quietly. She was pale faced and trembling. "But..." she trailed off. It wouldn't be just to let someone die. It wouldn't be right. It wouldn't be... just.
'Hang onto that thought,' she advised herself. 'You'll need it later.'
She closed her eyes and concentrated. She searched inside herself, digging through the proverbial dirt and grime for the part of her that glittered...
Reach out. Embrace it until you're glittering all over.
She shivered as sweet laughter filled her head and her skin tingled. She winced and doubled over. Mr Muffins flicked his tail and narrowed his eyes. He felt his hair begin to stand up as the air in the library filled with strangeness. Buzzing. He heard an unearthly sigh.
Megan straightened up, tossing her rich, chocolate curls over her shoulder. She freed her hair of its customary high pony-tail and tossed it once more for good measure. Bright amber eyes blinked at a world that felt much, much smaller than before. Her vision became strangely focused, as everything seemed to fade into the background. As everything unimportant faded into the background. She glanced down at her scrawny feline companion and frowned. She made a note to find herself a better familiar when she next went to Diagon Ally. Yes, a lovely sleek black cat with purple eyes... or perhaps Phoenix. Why not both?
'Megan, remember? What we're doing here?' Mr Muffins thought, eyeing her suspiciously.
Megan opened her mouth to dispense a scathing reply but found the words stuck in her throat. Her pink lips frowned in confusion. She opened her mouth once more.
'Never mind that, you stupid twit.' a gruff sounding voice said. She looked around wildly. 'You won't find me out there, idiot. I'm in your head.' Megan closed her mouth. Schizophrenia? Was that popular right now? She would rather prefer to be inflicted with Bipolar disorder, if anything. Being a cutter was so hot right now.
She suddenly felt a strong urge to walk between the bookshelves. With some reluctance, she picked up the ball of yarn and carefully stepped...
...into the L-Space.
A Creation Story
By BassoonAngel
It was the first day of Christmas break. Dieu-donne Pretre and Drew Benoit looked around as they walked home from school. There was no snow. It hardly looked festive to them. They'd been living in Miami for many years now, and they were almost tired of sunny winters.
"This is pathetic," Drew said. "Not a flake anywhere. Magique is full of snow."
Dieu-donne nodded, taking off his fluffy red and white hat. He ran his hand through his short, black hair. "I bet you're right." He looked up at the sky. "It's always been like this here. Sometimes I wish it would change."
"Well if you want a white Christmas, you know what you have to do." Drew grinned.
"Drew, we're going on vacations with our families, remember?"
"Let's go today. Come on, just today, Then tomorrow, we'll go on our trips."
Dieu-donne sighed. "Okay, but just for today and today only."
Hidden in Dieu-donne's basement was a magical book with amazing powers. In the past, they had stumbled across it, not knowing that they'd find more than a fantasy story in it's pages. The odd symbols had shined with a bright light. Next thing they knew, they were far, far away from their hometown. Now, they are part of the king's court in the magical country of Magique, and they gladly enjoy their time in the alternate dimension.
Drew breathed deeply when he looked around at all of the trees around them. "It's good to be back in Magique," he said. He picked up and handfull of snow. "This stuff is freezing, but I like it anyway."
Dieu-donne laughed. "It is a nice change." In front of them was the red building where they spent most of their time. King Thierry Corin's grand palace was just through the trees.
King Thierry was sitting on his throne talking to a red haired girl, another member of his court. Her name was Aurali Aimee. She was a teenager too, like Dieu-donne and Drew, and she was also a witch.
"There you are!" Drew said, going through the red curtain behind the front door. "And Aurali, too! Merry Christmas!"
"What does that mean?" Aurali asked, turning towards them.
Drew's blue eyes narrowed a little and became filled with confusion. "It means happy holidays."
"I believe he means to say Grand Creation." Thierry took his crown off of his white hair and stood up. "In a few weeks marks the anniversary of the day this world was created by the Sages. I'm sorry if I had not told you sooner."
"We call it Creation Day," Aurali said. "We celebrate and give our families presents and good wishes." She smiled. "I've even got presents for you two."
"I forgot to buy you a Christmas present!"
"What's Christmas?" Aurali asked curiously.
Dieu-donne tried to think of a good way to explain it. "In some religions, there is a Lord that people depend on when they are in need. That Lord's birthday is on the day that we call Christmas. Families get Christmas trees and colorful lights, and they make their houses look really festive."
"There's also a man named Santa Claus that gives kids toys if they've been good that year. He has flying deer-"
"Reindeer."
"-reindeer, and they take him all over the world in one night!"
Aurali laughed quietly. "I thought you said there was no magic in your world."
"Christmas is a different story."
"Christmas is a miracle that brings friends and family closer together." Dieu-donne said. "That is the true spirit of the holiday. There is scarce magic, but there are miracles. Those could be considered magic in themselves."
"Come to the palace for Creation Day. We may not have a tree of lights, but we can still spend time together."
Drew shook his head. "We have to spend Christmas at our own families houses. Don and I can't even spend it together."
"We'll come here as soon as we get home, we promise. It might be late, but we'll still come."
"Why don't we just do it right now? We could make a fire and drink hot chocolate and roast marshmallows and just hang out."
"Maybe exchange gifts?" Aurali asked.
Thierry smiled, warming his brown eyes. "Excellent ideas. I shall go buy presents for you, my friends. We will celebrate tonight!"
"Okay! Grand Celebration!" Drew said.
"Happy Christmas!" Aurali said.
"Close enough."
Dieu-donne and Drew rushed home as quickly as they could.
"Great. What do you buy a voodoo witch and king for Christmas?"
"Christmas is about time together. It's the thought that counts."
"And I'm thinking I don't know what to buy for them."
Dieu-donne shook his head and smiled. "Do you always have to be difficult?"
"Yes, and it's worse during Christmas." Drew grinned. "Gotcha. Now come on, maybe your sister will give us a ride to the mall."
"Maybe." He watched Drew go up the basement stairs ahead of him. "This will be my best Christmas yet. I've always wanted to spend it with friends. You've brought me together with my friends in Magique again, God, and I thank you one thousand times for it."
"Are you coming?"
"Yes." He hid the book carefully and went up the stairs.
Random Prose
By alicemae
As children we often carry some rather idealistic and perhaps laughable notions about the world around us. I think it's this youthful, hope-filled innocence that allows us to so eagerly embrace everything - truth or lie - that comes our way. I know I believed in Band-Aids and their ability to heal all wounds, and it was simply understood that my teachers could never be wrong. For a few gold stars, I would do everything that they asked. On the playground, I thought exchanging bracelets with someone meant that we�d stay BFF - or Best Friends Forever - and above all I believed in my parents and the strange logic of their adult world. Well, maybe to say that I consciously believed in these things is a bit of a stretch (I was only six, after all), but certainly I never questioned anything with my own judgement. Granted, paper cuts and playground friends were trifle matters to consider, so I naturally accepted those things without a second thought. However, family is something else altogether. I knew that mine would always be there for me, be it a blessing or a burden. Yet there always comes a point in adolescence when we realize the shadows hiding within our youthful impressions. It�s quite the miraculous journey to mature from a child�s perspective into adult eyes without becoming a cynic, for it requires us to step away from the familiar and analyze our loved ones for who they are - instead of whom we thought them to be. The key is being able to accept them regardless and love them for it afterwards, even if the clearing clouds happen to reveal something other than blue skies and sunshine.
