alicemae
THE GAIAN PRESS - Issue 7.0 - August '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. Critic's Corner - What doesn't kill you only makes you stronger.
5. Contest Winners - At long last! The grand prize winners!
6. Beyond the Box - This month? Gah, anecdotes galore!
7. The Afterthought - Preview for the next issue and then some.
Editor's Note: TGP is currently reserving space for authors, guild owners, shopkeepers or anyone else that wish to advertise in our 'zine. All proceeds will be added to the 'zine fund for future contests or writing projects, so don't hesitate to support this cause! Visit our HQ thread or contact alicemae for more details.
Kraeela reports:
.....Open your minds! Support the GSA, or Gay Straight Alliance Guild, today!
.....Are you a struggling writer? Are you sick of those pompous and pretentious writing guides that keep telling you about the things NOT to do? Well, meet the thread of your dreams, fellow traveler: Say hello to The Anti-Guide, and I quote, "a compiling of ways to totally screw the living (well, figuratively living) s**t out of a story."
.....Here's the Gaian version of your local Rent-a-Tux dealer. Pay 'em a visit today!
.....Are you a bad writer? Or perhaps a brilliant writer that wonders what it would be like to be one of those inferiors? Finally, here's a little something called The Worst Story Ever Contest to oblige writers from both ends of the spectrum! Woot!
.....Looking for something mindless and amusing to do? Click here for the "What-kind-of-story-does-the-guy/girl-above-you-belong-in?" avatar game! (Gah, try saying that ten times fast.)
.....Here's a helpful public service announcement that adds a new spin about online stranger danger. After all, "the human body is no place for a dragon's soul," wouldn't you agree?
.....Uh-oh, the higher-ups are on our case again. This time it's about those lengthy shadows that follow us from post to post called... DUN-DUN-DUN, signatures. So be good already or you'll be fined!
Editor's Note: If you would like to be published in the next issue of TGP, simply contact alicemae or visit our guild for submission guidelines!
PART I. Poetry
Untitled
by Follow My Lied
The angels cried with joy that day
God scooped His hand down in the clay
and took to forming with that hand
the very shape and mold of man.
But in that bite of poisoned seed
We sought to meet an unknown need
which, to this day, goes unfulfilled.
And thus we saw warm Eden chilled.
Through all that we've now understood,
An angel's tears still do no good.
PART II. Fiction
Listed in alphbetical order by author.
The Badger Brigade by Hemp Fandango
The Rape of Ganymede by Lolita Complex
Editor's Note: To read more of "The Badger Brigade," visit Hemp Fandango's thread or our guild forum to read past issues.
The Badger Brigade
by Hemp Fandango
Chapter 7: The Madness of Miss Lovegood
There was going to be another Badger Brigade meeting that night. News spread quickly through the house and soon everyone was buzzing with information. By now, most had heard about the Suzaku debacle and how the most of the Slytherin class vanished.
At first, some people (Alex) hoped that the class was turned to taffy with Suzaku. This was not so, as Polaris and her cronies were seen healthy and mopey as ever the next day at breakfast.
"This is not encouraging," Alex griped from her seat at the Hufflepuff table, as Polaris and the rest flounced past.
"Try not to think about it," Sara advised. "Just try to think about the meeting tonight."
"Why? I'm not the one who has to make another presentation to the whole house and some Slytherins." Alex said. "How's the speech coming, anyway?"
Much to Alex's disappointment, Sara did not flinch. She continued to cut her toast into soldiers, unperturbed. "Actually, I'm not speaking at all tonight. Those sixth year Slytherin girls will be doing most of the speaking."
"Glad to hear it." Alex commented while buttering her own piece of toast.
"It's a blessing, really." Sara went on. "I don't know if you've noticed, but I'm not a very good public speaker."
"You? Not a good public speaker? Why, I never." Alex said, spraying toast crumbs everywhere and grinning.
Elizabeth frowned and brushed herself clean of toast debris. "You really shouldn't talk with your mouth full, Alex..." she trailed off suddenly. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw something gold and shining. She looked up and saw-
"Oh no," she moaned. "It can't be..."
"What?" Sara asked, craning her neck to see what had caught Elizabeth's attention.
"Isn't that... Loony Lovegood?" Alex said, squinting at the figure in the distance. Elizabeth turned away.
"Where?!" Sara demanded, her interest perked.
"Over there! At the Ravenclaw table!" Alex gestured vaguely in the direction of the blue-clad table.
"What are we looking for?" Hannah asked, leaning over.
"Loony Lovegood. She's become one of Them."
"I don't see her," Sara whined.
"Use your eyes," Alex said annoyed. "Look, she's the one with waist length golden-blond hair, like a river of sunlight."
Sara rose from her seat to get a better look. "There's at least three people like that. Be more specific."
Alex rolled her eyes.
"I see her! I see her!" Susan cried enthusiastically.
Sara sighed and fell back into her seat. "That's another down," she muttered, pulling off her glasses and rubbing them with her cloak. "I wish I knew why. Why go for Lovegood? There are better looking girls in her year alone..." Another sigh.
"Another one bites the dust," said Alex.
They watched Luna in silence for a few seconds, taking in her new appearance.
"Huh," said Hannah. Then, they all went back to eating breakfast.
Except Elizabeth. Her gaze slid off of the beautiful creature that was supposed to be Luna Lovegood and the person sitting next to her. Her hair was such a dark black that it shone blue in the light and flowed down her shoulders to her waist. Her skin was alabaster white, much paler than Luna's, but even from her distance, Elizabeth could tell there was a strong resemblance between the two girls.
That was strange... but then, what wasn't strange anymore? Nothing made sense these days. Logic flew out the window long ago.
Elizabeth sighed and stared down at her plate, picking despondently at her scrambled eggs. Yes, she reflected, it was only a matter of time before Luna gave into... whatever it was. Not even Granger could escape it.
"Maybe no one can escape it," she whispered dramatically.
"Escape what?" Sara asked mildly, while holding her lenses up to the light.
"This... epidemic thing." Elizabeth said, gesturing vaguely. "I mean, first Granger, then Weasley, then Luna."
"So Loony Lovegood got hit with the weird disease. Big deal. It's not like she's a great loss to the cause." Alex pointed out drily.
"Hmm..." Sara said, as she slowly lowered her glasses. "Why was Luna targeted? For that matter, why was Granger and Ginny? I mean, so far it's really just them, right?"
"Not exactly," Alex said shrugging. "A few boys have been acting weird. Snape for example. And, uh... Well, actually, Snape is the worst example I can think of."
"Harry's been acting differently too," Hannah said, turning to face the fifth years fully. "He used to be quite nice... Er, most of the time. He was sort of stroppy last year."
"Yeah," Susan added. "He's been kind of distant and spooky, lately. At first we thought it was normal because it was similar to how he acted last year, but now he's starting to get snotty and cruel and more than a little schitzo. He swings back and forth from attitude to attitude." Susan shook her head sadly. "Sometimes he's nice, sometimes he's a jerk."
"Harry...?" Sara's eyes narrowed as she squinted in the distance. "I wonder... the connection between Lovegood, Granger, and Ginny. Maybe it's him. Maybe he's the reason... Maybe he's the center..." she trailed off, staring hard into nothing.
Alex and Elizabeth stared at their friend. Alex rolled her eyes and went back to eating, but Elizabeth felt she was starting to understand what Sara was talking about.
Susan, too, was beginning to understand. "I think I get what you're getting at," Susan said, a slow smile creeping on her face.
"Yeah, yeah, Granger was one of his good friends, right?" Sara said excitedly.
"And everyone knows Ginny used to have a crush on him!" Elizabeth exclaimed.
"And Lovegood..." Here Sara faltered. "Lovegood..."
"Luna was in the DA with us last year," Susan said helpfully, her eyes bright with excitement.
"Oh my God, that's it!" Sara said, smiling like a loon. "It's all Harry Potter's fault!"
"Is it?" Alex, who had been quietly eating during the production, said mildly. "Zacharias will be pleased to hear that."
Sara ignored her, laughing to herself. "I can't believe we missed it! It all makes sense! Look how many of those things are in Gryffindor!" She jabbed her finger at the scarlet table.
An excited buzzing started along the table. News was spreading quickly.
Sara laughed, shaking her head. "I can't believe I missed it before. Man, I'm losing my touch."
"Yeah, but what about the Slytherins?" Alex said, putting down her fork and pushing her plate away. "There's a huge number in Slytherin, too."
"I bet it's because of Malfoy," Hannah said knowingly. "They hang off of him like barnacles. Malfoy's pretty close to Harry, too. Er. In a violent enemy kind of way."
"Same with Snape," Susan added.
Sara was bouncing up and down in her seat, smiling still. "I can't believe I didn't notice it before," she sang. "It's so obvious, ha ha ha..."
Elizabeth gave Sara a tired smile. She turned to ask Alex about what she thought, but the short haired girl was staring hard at the Slytherin table.
"What's up?" Elizabeth asked, following her gaze.
"Polaris." Alex answered out of the corner of her mouth. "She looks really angry."
Indeed, the violet eyed beauty was looking venomously at Sara. One of her friends whispered something into her ear and Polaris nodded, smirking unpleasantly.
"I don't think you should've had your revelation so loud, Sara," Alex said darkly. "They heard you."
"What...?" Sara stopped her little jig, and glanced over to the Slytherin table. Polaris was now indulging in a favourite activity of hers; tossing her hair over her shoulder. She gave Sara a quick, sharp glance, causing the Hufflepuff to flinch. For a brief moment it felt like her insides had been filled with ice. Her excitement drained along with the colour in her face.
"Big deal," she said quietly, with a forced casual look. "They would have found out eventually."
"I'm not sure I follow that logic," Alex said. "I, for one, would have liked having an element of surprise, even a brief one."
Sara looked uneasy. "Yes, well..."
"At least we still have the home advantage," Elizabeth said cheerfully.
"Yeah," Alex mumbled, her eyes fixed on Polaris. "But for how much longer?"
***
The day passed with unease. The usual slew of mindless lessons - complete with the mindless slew of the new students turning into various animals, controlling various elements, or having some kind of mental break-down through song - had finally finished for the day.
Most students decided to skip dinner and head straight to the Hufflepuff common room. Sara, Hannah, Susan, Ernie, Katherine, and, of course, Zacharias all went to the common room to prepare the night's meeting. Sara, who only had to introduce those nasty Slytherins, was feeling ill at ease. The look Polaris had given her at breakfast lingered in her memory. After the meeting she planned to have a lie down somewhere.
But not yet. She forcibly pushed the image of Polaris from her mind and focused on what she was planning. She knew that with the Taffy Girls greatly outnumbered their small group, and she also knew that they wouldn't be able to defeat them if the BB - as she and others were starting to call it - didn't work as a team. She glanced down at the designs she had sketched out on the scrap of parchment.
It would be a lot of hard work, she thought. Work that would require all of her rather vast knowledge of spells and enchantments, and it would give them a great edge, but would cost her a number of sleepless nights filled with amazingly complicated problems. She sighed happily. Even Polaris couldn't ruin that for her.
Polaris...
"Hey, Sara," Hannah said from behind, causing Sara to jump. "Er, we've heard about that Polaris girl and that she might have something planned for you." She craned her neck as she spoke, trying to get a look at the piece of parchment Sara was hurriedly stuffing into her robes.
"Yes," Sara said in a voice higher pitched than usual. "Yes, well, I'm not too worried. It's all just a silly little tiff, ha ha ha..." she spoke over the sound of her heart pounding.
"Right," Hannah said. "Well, the others and I would just like you to know that we, er, "got your back" as the kids say."
Sara blinked. "Really?"
Hannah smiled, a little strangely. "Yeah, of course. We're friends, right? I mean, we've really gotten to know each other lately and we wouldn't want to see you get in trouble with those crazy taffy girls."
Sara smiled gratefully.
"What are you working on?" Hannah asked.
Her look of happiness was replaced by a look of discomfort. "Um, well... It's complicated-"
Just then, the other members of the Badger Brigade arrived, providing a much appreciated distraction.
***
Alex filed in with the rest of the crowd, which was much larger than the last time they had a meeting. There were many more students attending tonight, and they weren't all Hufflepuffs.
The two Slytherin girls - Malfoy's slut and her crony - were towards the front of the crowd, chatting idly while those two trolls - Crabbe and the other one - stood around them like body guards.
There was also a handful of Ravenclaws in attendance, including their Seeker, Cho or something. She was talking worriedly with a few of her giggly friends. There was also that Italian boy Zacharias liked. Whatshisface. Ah, it didn't matter.
And, lastly, there were even some Gryffindors, much to Alex's surprise. There was only two of them, however. One was a blonde, freckled seventh year girl Alex vaguely recognized and the other was Neville Longbottom. Susan and Justin came over a few seconds later to talk to Neville, looking somber. A few moments later, the Cho girl timidly approached them and joined their conversation.
"I think Justin mentioned that they were all in that "dah" thing together," Elizabeth said.
Despite the large crowd, Alex and Elizabeth were given a wide breadth. News of Alex's cannibalism had spread quickly to the other houses.
"I hope they start soon," Alex muttered impatiently. She glanced over and caught sight of a third year staring at her owlishly at her. When she decided to return the favour, the third year looked alarmed and scurried away into the crowd. Alex swore under her breath.
"I would've thought you'd like scaring kids," Elizabeth remarked innocently.
"It gets really old, really fast." Alex said sourly.
***
In another, much quieter part of the castle, the caretaker, Argus Filch, stalked the halls with his dusty cat at his heels. Since the year began, for the first time in his employment history, he had made a point to avoid all students at all times. It just wasn't worth it anymore.
Not since that sorting ceremony that dragged into the early morning hours. Those girls, he knew, were trouble. They had done something to the Headmaster, something very strange. Filch had tried to complain to Dumbledore about the way a few of those new students had treated him and Mrs. Norris but the Headmaster had just given him a blank smile and some empty words about "misunderstandings" and "extenuating circumstances". Whatever that was supposed to mean.
Since then, Filch hadn't bothered with his usual tormenting of students. It just wasn't worth his time anymore. All those girls had sucked the fun out of it. Useless, vicious, little buggers all of them.
Almost all of them. There was the issue of Megan to consider.
She came the same night as the rest of the girls, and Filch was positive she was one of them. She came up to him in silence, and claimed to be his long-lost niece, showing him a letter from her parents - two people who Filch had never heard of in his life. The letter requested that Megan be shown the ways of Care taking from Filch. It wasn't as if - the letter had said - that she could do much else with her life. She was, after all, a squib.
Yes, just because she and Filch happened to share the same unfortunate "problem", she had to be foisted off on him. She didn't seem very pleased with the arrangement either, although it was hard to tell with that girl. Filch had quickly sent her to work, stating clearly that he didn't want to have to clean up after her. He had expected her to make his job harder. He couldn't have been more wrong.
She was a natural cleaner. She used the mop and bucket like a master. She took to cleaning like a fish to water. She could clean nearly everything, she knew various home formulas to get out even the toughest stains. Even the room splattered with taffy had been sparkling by morning. She was the best he had ever seen.
And she was a good girl, he thought grudgingly. She kept to herself and did what she told. She also seemed to hate the students as much as Filch did, which made her decent company.
"Uncle?" a soft voice from behind jostled Filch from his thoughts. He turned to face her. She was staring up at him with her big, amber eyes. Her soft, curly hair was tied tightly back in a high ponytail, with one lone tendril escaping at the front. She wore a dark, denim vest, brightly decorated with various buttons, over an olive green long-sleeved shirt with a faded silver star on the front. She wore a pair of loose jeans, held up with a brown belt.
"What have I told you about sneaking up on me like that?" he snapped.
"Sorry, uncle." she said automatically.
"You could give an old man a heart attack, doing something like that." he went on.
"Sorry, uncle."
"Fine, fine. What is it you want?" he asked while returning to his mopping.
"I just wanted to tell you that I've finished my chores," the halls beyond her gleamed, "and I'd like to vanish for about two hours to do something unsuspicious."
"Fine, fine." he said. "But if I discover you've shirked one responsibility, I'll string you up by your thumbs."
"Yes, uncle." she said dutifully. She trudged off in the opposite direction without another word.
***
The meeting had been called to order and some Hufflepuff twit was taking a roll call.
"This is so lame." Edwina observed.
Pansy paused in the task of filing her nails. "Lame as in unable to walk?"
Edwina rolled her eyes. "Yes," she said sarcastically. "That's exactly it. Lame as in unable to walk."
She, Pansy, Crabbe, and Goyle had been standing as close to the podium as they could manage and Edwina had passed the time by smirking evilly at the brown haired, nervous looking fifth year girl who stood next to Bones and Abbot. They had occasionally made eye contact and Edwina made sure to give the younger girl the meanest, smuggest look she could manage. That had been fun for a while but it was starting to get old.
Pansy, who had finished her nails and was moving on to retouching her make-up, just shrugged. "Just be patient, Edwina. You must be patient and cunning and so forth, otherwise the transfer students win and no one wants that."
There was a small pause. "I might," Crabbe rumbled.
"No one cares, Vincent dear." Pansy said absently while peering at her compact and carefully curling her eyelashes.
"Where did you get that curler from, anyway?" Edwina asked, frowning.
Pansy shrugged lightly. "Mmmm... I found it."
"Found it or stole it from the purse of one of those girls?"
"Hm. Now that I think about it, I think it was the latter." She said faintly.
"See, this is why we're friends. It's because of stuff like this."
***
Sara frowned at the crowd. That Slytherin girl had been giving her the oddest looks. 'I wonder if she's nauseous? Or maybe... ew, maybe she's hitting on me.' Sara's eyes widened with panic. 'Oh lord, that would be awkward.'
"So what was it you were doing earlier with the parchment?" Hannah whispered to Sara while Katherine started to recite the minutes from the last meeting.
"I'll tell you later," Sara replied just as quietly. "Er, what do you think of those Slytherins you invited?"
Hannah shrugged. "They're Slytherins. Not quite as nasty as they think they are, but unpleasant enough. Why?"
Sara shifted uncomfortably. "Just curious," she muttered.
***
In another part of the castle, in an expansive, gorgeous room behind an equally gorgeous statue, another meeting was taking place.
The room was yet again filled with beautiful, shapely figures, all chatting amicably. The various reflections from the mirrors and shimmering hair coupled with the echoing sound of hundreds of musical voices made the room almost dizzying.
'It's like one of those torture rooms,' Megan thought grimly as she stalked her way through the crowd. 'The ones where they blast heavy metal music while dumping freezing water on you, and so forth.' Her scrawny black cat trailed after her, sparing enough time to leer at the passing, sleek female cat of which there were hundreds.
The sound of wings thundered above as many different kinds of birds - ravens, owls, and Phoenixes mostly - flew above, chattering almost as loudly as their mistresses. A few girls had little dragons with jeweled scales perched on their shoulders. Needle sharp teeth glinted from a particular nasty looking opalescent one, sitting on the shoulder of a young dark haired man, two katanas strapped to his back and wearing a heavy looking, black trench coat over black clothes.
Megan stopped here. "Hey," she said in greeting. "I've never seen you around before. What's your name?" The young man glanced at her impassively.
"Konnichiwa stranger," he said in a hard voice. "I have many names-"
"Don't we all?" said a girl dressed in a rich violet and gold kimono. Her deep violet eyes glittered soulfully in the silver moonlight while her sleek black hair was held back in a high pony tail, worn in the style of samurai. Two black, cat-like ears poked out of her head, just as two gleaming white fangs were visible at each corner of her Sakura petal pink lips. A midnight black tail flicked back and forth behind her. "I have at least six names, but I am mostly called Megamino Kuroneko. I am a hanyou from Japan." adding helpfully, "That means I'm a half-demon."
"That's fascinating."Megan said while picking the grime out of her nails.
"As I was saying," the boy continued, shooting Kuroneko a dark look. "I have many names, but I do not recall what my true name is. I have adopted the name Dark Falcon or just Falcon. I awoke with amnesia at the steps of a monastary in Japan over ten years ago and was trained by the monks in every form of martial arts. I have a strange skill; I wield mastery over any form of blade-"
"What?" asked Kuroneko. "Even the scimitar?"
"Especially the scimitar," Falcon said darkly. He took a deep breath and went on, "Anyway, two years ago all the monks were brutally slaughtered by Death Eaters and I was the sole survivor. I vowed revenge against Voldemort - yes, I said his name - and from that day forward dedicated my life to killing him and his followers. Before I set out on my quest, my Sensei gave me these mystical blades-"
"I thought you said they all died," Kuroneko said suspiciously.
"Oh, they totally did," Falcon said quickly. "But my Sensei was struck with a mortal wound and he managed to stay alive just long enough to give me these katanas and then he died."
"That was thoughtful of him," Megan said, raising an eyebrow.
"Anyway, I found out that the only reason Voldemort attacked my monastery is because of these katanas. They are nigh unbreakable and one holds the strength of darkness while the other holds the light. They are the yin and the yang swords, and Voldemort wants them." He reached back and grasped the handle of the blade, closing his tortured ice blue eyes briefly. He opened them again, staring hard at Kuroneko, looking moody.
"Why?" Megan asked.
Falcon whirled around to face Megan. It looked as if he had forgotten she was there.
"What do you mean? Why wouldn't he want them? They hold unimaginable powers of destruction and ruin!" He exclaimed dramatically.
"Yes, but so does Voldemort." Megan pointed out. "He has a wand." She added helpfully. "Last I checked, wands can wield great damage, and, in fact, a wand would be even more dangerous than a sword. A sword can only cut and slice; and wand can do anything."
Falcon stared at her a moment, mentally processing this information. He blinked and turned away from her, back to face Kuroneko, forgetting the last ten seconds.
"Voldemort took everything from me," he went on dramatically. "Even my precious Himeko-chan..."
Megan sighed. 'I brought that on myself.'
'I liked it,' a scratchy voice said in her head. 'I like hearing their silly little stories. It's free entertainment.' Megan looked down at her feet, where her scrawny black cat sat. He looked back up at her, grinning a Chesire grin, teeth fully bared and it's blank, bulbous yellow eyes staring up at her.
'Save your "serial killer" look for someone who's still scared by it, Muffins.' she thought-spoke to him.
'Muffins?' came an incredulous female voice. 'You named that monstrosity Muffins?'
'Mr Muffins, actually.' Megan said back. 'Who is this?'
'I am Lyric Malfoy-Potter, daughter of Lucius Malfoy and James Potter.' came the haughty reply.
'Well, Lyric, this is a private line. Keep your nose out of it.' Megan replied.
'Fine,' came the huffy response. 'I can't help being telepathic, you know...' The voice and presence faded from her mind.
'I hate it when I pick up stray signals.'
'You should get a better long distance service.' Muffins said, stretching at her feet.
'Shut up.'
***
Pansy and Edwina had finally been called to the podium to deliver their speeches. Edwina smirked in triumph as the silly fifth year she had been terrorizing gave her a panicked look and sidled away from her... and right into mount. Goyle.
"Sorry," he mumbled as Sara turned to give him a look of alarm.
"It's alright," she said cautiously.
"All right then, everyone pay attention and look at me," Pansy called out to the silent crowd. "Right then," she said after a pause. "Some of you may have heard about the little event we had with Professor Suzaku. Some of you may have heard about how amazingly Persia and I handled it."
Someone snickered in the back of the crowd.
"Anyway," Pansy went on. "Persia had, at great personal risk, infiltrated the, um, ladies secret cabal the other night. She found out a great deal of things which she will now explain to us at great, exhausting detail. Persia?"
***
Polaris stepped up to the stage. She paused, looking out over the vast crowd of like-minded ladies. Everything have been going so well. There was music in the halls, Phoenixes circling the castle, suicide and/or rape attempts in the bathrooms, and make out sessions in the Astronomy Tower. She smiled charmingly, displaying her pearly whites to the world. Two scythe-like fangs glinted in the soft, silvery light of the room. Things couldn't have been going any better, and shook out her shining ebony hair in celebration.
"Ladies, ladies." she called out, her melodic voice carrying across the massive marble hall. The crowd was silent immediately. Polaris treated them to her radiant smile. "Thank you. Now, I'm sure you're all wondering why I called this meeting to order." Multi-colored heads nodded. "It is because of the recent... unpleasantness. I'm certain you are all aware of the unfortunate fate of our dearly departed Kiyone Suzaku, former professor of Martial Arts. Oh, speaking of which a replacement teacher has already been acquired and I would like to thank our dear Professor Celeste Black for arranging that so quickly. You are a shining example to us all with your amazing organizational abilities." Polaris paused. "Where was I again...?"
***
Edwina stepped up to the podium looking pained but fashionable. "Thank you, Pansy," she said graciously. "As my dear colleague here has mentioned, I alone infiltrated the transfer students' secret meeting. You see, the Slytherin house has been taking a beating lately. Strange girls dressed in leather have taken over, and made the common room into their own personal soap opera/make out cabana. I'm sure you have seen it too, but not on the personal scale Pansy and I have seen it. People you once thought you knew acting... acting like lunatics. I mean, I'm sure even you people have noticed what's happening. Take, for example, Draco Malfoy-"
"Please," Alex whispered. Elizabeth giggled softly.
"I'm sure you all know how he used to act-" The crowd started mumbling. Yes, they knew how he acted They had a number of colourful adjectives to apply to his actions. "-he used to be above everyone. He used to be refined, he used to be an example to all Slytherins, he used to be..." She trailed off in the sight of the blank looks the crowd was giving her. Pansy was nodding along behind her, eyes shining. "Well, he may not have seemed like that to people in other houses. Or to most of the people in Slytherin for that matter, either." She paused. "To tell you the truth, he was always a twit. I mean, you'd think that now that he was older he would have gotten some better "zingers" but he just seems to be recycling the same-" Pansy cleared her throat audibly and pointedly. "Even so," Edwina plowed on. "He was our twit, dammit.
"But now... now, he's some kind of leather pants wearing, thrusting, skeevy, limp wristed, sex maniac. Sometimes he wears make up. Not even good make up, but electric blue lipstick. That is not the behavior of a sane person, I tell you." Pansy sniffed loudly and dabbed at her eyes.
***
"Please do not misunderstand me," Polaris said. "I am happy with the way things are going. After all this time, I think we may have finally found a place to put up our feet, so to speak. Everything is changed because of us, and do you think it was easy?" The crowd started murmuring. "I don't think so! It took a great deal of effort, but together we did it!"
There was more excited murmuring. In the back of the crowd Megan remained silent while soft noise erupted around her.
"But even though this place seems perfect, we must realise there's going to be the occasional rough spot." she continued grimly.
***
Edwina took a deep breath and continued warily. "Draco is just one of many examples of what's gone wrong with the Slytherin house and, to a lesser extent, the school. We all know it's because of those thing-girls. They change people, and make them think differently. Pansy and I - and everyone in this room, I guess - have managed to escape their grasp. I was willing to put up with it, I'm very patient that way, but then those girls did something that pushed me to the edge." Edwina leaned forward, clutching the podium with white knuckled hands. "They... they made our head of house into that- that- that moronic, ignorant, horrible, empty headed, pretty boy. They're messing with us," she hissed, her eyes pale slits. "And they've gone too far.
"So, I took charge. I had already notice that they all seem to clear out one night a week at around the same time; late at night. I followed one of them, whose name I cannot recall, and discovered that they have been going to these... weekly meetings."
***
"The rough spots in question are responsible for the death of two of our own. This cannot be overlooked. We cannot shrug this off, as I had originally hoped. A few students, who seem to be impervious to our influence, have formed some kind of little resistance group." More murmurs. "Unfortunately, we are not exactly certain how many people are in this group, how much they have planned or how strong they are." She paused dramatically. "But I have the strong suspicion that they are weak and disorganized. And you can trust my intuition, as I am a seer after all." She smiled briefly.
***
"They're like a... a club or something. They discuss things like singing, and angsting and they make these... these plans. I overheard how they had made plans to change Granger and the Weasley girl. I even saw them there, giving reports on their progress. They acted like changing every day was a routine thing. They didn't talk like Granger or Weasley; they talked like... like those girls. I don't know how to put it." She paused, collecting her thoughts. "They talked as if they were things that have possessed Granger and Weasley. You should've heard it." She shook her head ruefully.
***
"But I worry. Perhaps needlessly. Perhaps these silly children are just lucky. It would not surprise me." Polaris smiled benevolently. "But even so, I will always worry. They may start small, but who knows what they could grow into. Who knows how organized they could become."
"Who cares!?" a brave voice spoke up in the silence. The crowd parted to reveal Virginia "Ginny" Weasley. Her hair was a mass of blood red curls and her eyes a brilliant green. "We're better than they are! They could never become a threat to us!"
Polaris watched her with a slight smile. "Ah, Virginia. Your confidence, although admirable, is tragic. We once believed ourselves to be unstoppable, unbeatable, but things have changed," Polaris eyes flashed darkly. "Haven't they?"
***
"They want to move in; they want to take Hogwarts from us and they don't want to share." Edwina finished grimly and stared out at the silent crowd. She glanced over and saw the Smith boy nod. She stepped down from the podium and stood beside Pansy, who gave her an encouraging smile.
Zacharias stepped up to the podium.
"So there's that." he said. "These girls want Hogwarts and they don't want any trouble from us, but they're going to be surprised, aren't they?"
***
"This place is our home now," Polaris called out to the crowd, who murmured and began clapping in agreement. Megan watched impassively but her amber eyes blazed in the shadows. "And we must fight for our home. We must stomp out these rough spots. We must take command! This is our home now! We aren't going to wander anymore! We've come, we've seen, and we will conquer!"
The crowd erupted into cheers and vigorous applause. Many were talking animatedly to their neighbors. All had a look of determination in their rainbow eyes.
Megan too, but for different reasons.
***
"But, as Edwina said, they are organized and they outnumber us greatly. Anyone with eyes can see that clearly. In turn, we will have to become more organized and we must stick together. In these times of trial, the most important thing is loyalty! Not just to each other, but to our fallen comrades, to the people we once knew, and to Hogwarts! Hogwarts is our home and no one, not these girls and not even He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named can take that away from us! We will fight them!"
The crowd erupted into applause, but Elizabeth held back.
"Fallen comrades," she said sadly under her breath. Alex glanced questioningly at her.
"How?" Asked one of the Ravenclaw girls after the applause died down. Zacharias hesitated.
"The purifying spell has worked well for us in the past," he began warily.
"Yeah, but you've only used it twice," the inquisitive Ravenclaw interrupted. "How do we know it'll work in every situation? How do we know that wasn't a fluke?"
"We don't," Hannah spoke up from behind Zacharias. "But it's all we've got right now."
"But we'll get more, which is what I was trying to get to." Zacharias glared at the offending girl for a moment before continuing. "We need to find out their weaknesses and how to get rid of them, and for that I plan to establish a group of researchers. They will study the transfer students, observe their behaviors, and research possible spells to destroy them." A few members of the crowd started murmuring with excitement. "If you would like to apply for a position in this group, please see Daniel Conti, the Ravenclaw who's standing over there, waving.
There will be another group designated for the purpose of the actual destroying of the transfer students."
Alex perked up at this. So did many others, as another, louder murmur ran through the crowd.
"I assume there will be a great deal more applications for a position in this group and that's fine." he said, silencing the talk immediately. "We'll need many volunteers, but please keep in mind when you apply that you will be facing very dangerous individuals and they will be..." he hesitated. "Well, people. You must ask yourself if you have the constitution to face someone who you plan to... get rid of. You must also ask yourself if you think you are quick enough and are talented enough with the wand to win duels. And not just regular duels between two wizards, but strange duels were fire shoots from fingertips and an animal familiar or a boyfriend always lurks nearby, ready to tear your face off. I would suggest some form of training, but I doubt we have that kind of time."
By now the entire room was filled with excited whispers. Yes, it would look like there would be no shortage of people willing to destroy the transfer students.
Alex shooed some third years from the couch and flopped down, Elizabeth following suit after her.
"It sounds exciting, doesn't it?" Elizabeth asked.
"It does, but I wonder how many people actually listened to Zach's speech? I mean, I don't think it'll be easy to.. well... take care of someone." Alex said, resting her head on the arm of the couch and curling up.
"You did it." Elizabeth pointed out, missing Alex's wince. "And then you ate her."
Alex didn't respond.
"Hey guys," Sara greeted, emerging from the throng of people. "Wasn't that a great meeting? I'm going to be apart of the researchers. Zacharias has already confirmed it." she said proudly. "I assume you're going to join the attack squad, Alex?"
Alex sighed. "Yeah, probably."
Sara frowned. "I would have thought you would be more enthusiastic than that."
"Alex is being moody and tortured," Elizabeth said wisely.
"I am not being moody and tortured." she said irritably. "I'm just... having an attack of conscience." she said vaguely. "It'll pass."
"I hope so," Elizabeth said sympathetically. "Because you'd make a great killer."
"Thanks," she said flatly.
"Being a part of the attack squad would be interesting," Sara said thoughtfully.
"It would be kind of cool. It'd be like being an assassin." Alex said, grinning slightly.
"Plus, all the taffy you could eat!" Elizabeth said. She started giggling until Alex threw a pillow at her.
***
In the darkness of the Ravenclaw common room, a teen with golden tresses, sat poised at the edge of a couch, outlined by the soft, flickering light of the fireplace. Her head was buried in her hands, and a soft muttering escaped from her perfect, pink lips.
The tapestry was flung aside then, and a gaggle of girls entered, all chatting excitedly. One of them saw the tormented figure and detached from the group, flouncing over to the deep blue couch.
"Hello Luna dear," she trilled. "You should have come to tonight's meeting, you know." she leaned down to try and see Luna's face. "Oh my," she whispered. "Are we having another bad turn? You poor thing. There, there." She rested one finely manicured hand on Luna's shoulder. The teen instantly relaxed under her touch. "It's because of dad, isn't it? He was always so cruel to us... wasn't he?" Her nails dug into the white fabric of Luna's uniform.
Luna shrugged off the hand and sat back against the couch, her eyes looking opalescent in the firelight. "Yes," she whispered. "That's what's wrong with me."
The girl gave her a sympathetic smile and threw her arms around Luna's form. "Don't worry, my dear Luna. You'll always have me, your dear twin, Solaria."
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. Critic's Corner - What doesn't kill you only makes you stronger.
5. Contest Winners - At long last! The grand prize winners!
6. Beyond the Box - This month? Gah, anecdotes galore!
7. The Afterthought - Preview for the next issue and then some.
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PART I. Poetry
Untitled
by Follow My Lied
The angels cried with joy that day
God scooped His hand down in the clay
and took to forming with that hand
the very shape and mold of man.
But in that bite of poisoned seed
We sought to meet an unknown need
which, to this day, goes unfulfilled.
And thus we saw warm Eden chilled.
Through all that we've now understood,
An angel's tears still do no good.
PART II. Fiction
Listed in alphbetical order by author.
The Badger Brigade by Hemp Fandango
The Rape of Ganymede by Lolita Complex
Editor's Note: To read more of "The Badger Brigade," visit Hemp Fandango's thread or our guild forum to read past issues.
The Badger Brigade
by Hemp Fandango
Chapter 7: The Madness of Miss Lovegood
There was going to be another Badger Brigade meeting that night. News spread quickly through the house and soon everyone was buzzing with information. By now, most had heard about the Suzaku debacle and how the most of the Slytherin class vanished.
At first, some people (Alex) hoped that the class was turned to taffy with Suzaku. This was not so, as Polaris and her cronies were seen healthy and mopey as ever the next day at breakfast.
"This is not encouraging," Alex griped from her seat at the Hufflepuff table, as Polaris and the rest flounced past.
"Try not to think about it," Sara advised. "Just try to think about the meeting tonight."
"Why? I'm not the one who has to make another presentation to the whole house and some Slytherins." Alex said. "How's the speech coming, anyway?"
Much to Alex's disappointment, Sara did not flinch. She continued to cut her toast into soldiers, unperturbed. "Actually, I'm not speaking at all tonight. Those sixth year Slytherin girls will be doing most of the speaking."
"Glad to hear it." Alex commented while buttering her own piece of toast.
"It's a blessing, really." Sara went on. "I don't know if you've noticed, but I'm not a very good public speaker."
"You? Not a good public speaker? Why, I never." Alex said, spraying toast crumbs everywhere and grinning.
Elizabeth frowned and brushed herself clean of toast debris. "You really shouldn't talk with your mouth full, Alex..." she trailed off suddenly. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw something gold and shining. She looked up and saw-
"Oh no," she moaned. "It can't be..."
"What?" Sara asked, craning her neck to see what had caught Elizabeth's attention.
"Isn't that... Loony Lovegood?" Alex said, squinting at the figure in the distance. Elizabeth turned away.
"Where?!" Sara demanded, her interest perked.
"Over there! At the Ravenclaw table!" Alex gestured vaguely in the direction of the blue-clad table.
"What are we looking for?" Hannah asked, leaning over.
"Loony Lovegood. She's become one of Them."
"I don't see her," Sara whined.
"Use your eyes," Alex said annoyed. "Look, she's the one with waist length golden-blond hair, like a river of sunlight."
Sara rose from her seat to get a better look. "There's at least three people like that. Be more specific."
Alex rolled her eyes.
"I see her! I see her!" Susan cried enthusiastically.
Sara sighed and fell back into her seat. "That's another down," she muttered, pulling off her glasses and rubbing them with her cloak. "I wish I knew why. Why go for Lovegood? There are better looking girls in her year alone..." Another sigh.
"Another one bites the dust," said Alex.
They watched Luna in silence for a few seconds, taking in her new appearance.
"Huh," said Hannah. Then, they all went back to eating breakfast.
Except Elizabeth. Her gaze slid off of the beautiful creature that was supposed to be Luna Lovegood and the person sitting next to her. Her hair was such a dark black that it shone blue in the light and flowed down her shoulders to her waist. Her skin was alabaster white, much paler than Luna's, but even from her distance, Elizabeth could tell there was a strong resemblance between the two girls.
That was strange... but then, what wasn't strange anymore? Nothing made sense these days. Logic flew out the window long ago.
Elizabeth sighed and stared down at her plate, picking despondently at her scrambled eggs. Yes, she reflected, it was only a matter of time before Luna gave into... whatever it was. Not even Granger could escape it.
"Maybe no one can escape it," she whispered dramatically.
"Escape what?" Sara asked mildly, while holding her lenses up to the light.
"This... epidemic thing." Elizabeth said, gesturing vaguely. "I mean, first Granger, then Weasley, then Luna."
"So Loony Lovegood got hit with the weird disease. Big deal. It's not like she's a great loss to the cause." Alex pointed out drily.
"Hmm..." Sara said, as she slowly lowered her glasses. "Why was Luna targeted? For that matter, why was Granger and Ginny? I mean, so far it's really just them, right?"
"Not exactly," Alex said shrugging. "A few boys have been acting weird. Snape for example. And, uh... Well, actually, Snape is the worst example I can think of."
"Harry's been acting differently too," Hannah said, turning to face the fifth years fully. "He used to be quite nice... Er, most of the time. He was sort of stroppy last year."
"Yeah," Susan added. "He's been kind of distant and spooky, lately. At first we thought it was normal because it was similar to how he acted last year, but now he's starting to get snotty and cruel and more than a little schitzo. He swings back and forth from attitude to attitude." Susan shook her head sadly. "Sometimes he's nice, sometimes he's a jerk."
"Harry...?" Sara's eyes narrowed as she squinted in the distance. "I wonder... the connection between Lovegood, Granger, and Ginny. Maybe it's him. Maybe he's the reason... Maybe he's the center..." she trailed off, staring hard into nothing.
Alex and Elizabeth stared at their friend. Alex rolled her eyes and went back to eating, but Elizabeth felt she was starting to understand what Sara was talking about.
Susan, too, was beginning to understand. "I think I get what you're getting at," Susan said, a slow smile creeping on her face.
"Yeah, yeah, Granger was one of his good friends, right?" Sara said excitedly.
"And everyone knows Ginny used to have a crush on him!" Elizabeth exclaimed.
"And Lovegood..." Here Sara faltered. "Lovegood..."
"Luna was in the DA with us last year," Susan said helpfully, her eyes bright with excitement.
"Oh my God, that's it!" Sara said, smiling like a loon. "It's all Harry Potter's fault!"
"Is it?" Alex, who had been quietly eating during the production, said mildly. "Zacharias will be pleased to hear that."
Sara ignored her, laughing to herself. "I can't believe we missed it! It all makes sense! Look how many of those things are in Gryffindor!" She jabbed her finger at the scarlet table.
An excited buzzing started along the table. News was spreading quickly.
Sara laughed, shaking her head. "I can't believe I missed it before. Man, I'm losing my touch."
"Yeah, but what about the Slytherins?" Alex said, putting down her fork and pushing her plate away. "There's a huge number in Slytherin, too."
"I bet it's because of Malfoy," Hannah said knowingly. "They hang off of him like barnacles. Malfoy's pretty close to Harry, too. Er. In a violent enemy kind of way."
"Same with Snape," Susan added.
Sara was bouncing up and down in her seat, smiling still. "I can't believe I didn't notice it before," she sang. "It's so obvious, ha ha ha..."
Elizabeth gave Sara a tired smile. She turned to ask Alex about what she thought, but the short haired girl was staring hard at the Slytherin table.
"What's up?" Elizabeth asked, following her gaze.
"Polaris." Alex answered out of the corner of her mouth. "She looks really angry."
Indeed, the violet eyed beauty was looking venomously at Sara. One of her friends whispered something into her ear and Polaris nodded, smirking unpleasantly.
"I don't think you should've had your revelation so loud, Sara," Alex said darkly. "They heard you."
"What...?" Sara stopped her little jig, and glanced over to the Slytherin table. Polaris was now indulging in a favourite activity of hers; tossing her hair over her shoulder. She gave Sara a quick, sharp glance, causing the Hufflepuff to flinch. For a brief moment it felt like her insides had been filled with ice. Her excitement drained along with the colour in her face.
"Big deal," she said quietly, with a forced casual look. "They would have found out eventually."
"I'm not sure I follow that logic," Alex said. "I, for one, would have liked having an element of surprise, even a brief one."
Sara looked uneasy. "Yes, well..."
"At least we still have the home advantage," Elizabeth said cheerfully.
"Yeah," Alex mumbled, her eyes fixed on Polaris. "But for how much longer?"
***
The day passed with unease. The usual slew of mindless lessons - complete with the mindless slew of the new students turning into various animals, controlling various elements, or having some kind of mental break-down through song - had finally finished for the day.
Most students decided to skip dinner and head straight to the Hufflepuff common room. Sara, Hannah, Susan, Ernie, Katherine, and, of course, Zacharias all went to the common room to prepare the night's meeting. Sara, who only had to introduce those nasty Slytherins, was feeling ill at ease. The look Polaris had given her at breakfast lingered in her memory. After the meeting she planned to have a lie down somewhere.
But not yet. She forcibly pushed the image of Polaris from her mind and focused on what she was planning. She knew that with the Taffy Girls greatly outnumbered their small group, and she also knew that they wouldn't be able to defeat them if the BB - as she and others were starting to call it - didn't work as a team. She glanced down at the designs she had sketched out on the scrap of parchment.
It would be a lot of hard work, she thought. Work that would require all of her rather vast knowledge of spells and enchantments, and it would give them a great edge, but would cost her a number of sleepless nights filled with amazingly complicated problems. She sighed happily. Even Polaris couldn't ruin that for her.
Polaris...
"Hey, Sara," Hannah said from behind, causing Sara to jump. "Er, we've heard about that Polaris girl and that she might have something planned for you." She craned her neck as she spoke, trying to get a look at the piece of parchment Sara was hurriedly stuffing into her robes.
"Yes," Sara said in a voice higher pitched than usual. "Yes, well, I'm not too worried. It's all just a silly little tiff, ha ha ha..." she spoke over the sound of her heart pounding.
"Right," Hannah said. "Well, the others and I would just like you to know that we, er, "got your back" as the kids say."
Sara blinked. "Really?"
Hannah smiled, a little strangely. "Yeah, of course. We're friends, right? I mean, we've really gotten to know each other lately and we wouldn't want to see you get in trouble with those crazy taffy girls."
Sara smiled gratefully.
"What are you working on?" Hannah asked.
Her look of happiness was replaced by a look of discomfort. "Um, well... It's complicated-"
Just then, the other members of the Badger Brigade arrived, providing a much appreciated distraction.
***
Alex filed in with the rest of the crowd, which was much larger than the last time they had a meeting. There were many more students attending tonight, and they weren't all Hufflepuffs.
The two Slytherin girls - Malfoy's slut and her crony - were towards the front of the crowd, chatting idly while those two trolls - Crabbe and the other one - stood around them like body guards.
There was also a handful of Ravenclaws in attendance, including their Seeker, Cho or something. She was talking worriedly with a few of her giggly friends. There was also that Italian boy Zacharias liked. Whatshisface. Ah, it didn't matter.
And, lastly, there were even some Gryffindors, much to Alex's surprise. There was only two of them, however. One was a blonde, freckled seventh year girl Alex vaguely recognized and the other was Neville Longbottom. Susan and Justin came over a few seconds later to talk to Neville, looking somber. A few moments later, the Cho girl timidly approached them and joined their conversation.
"I think Justin mentioned that they were all in that "dah" thing together," Elizabeth said.
Despite the large crowd, Alex and Elizabeth were given a wide breadth. News of Alex's cannibalism had spread quickly to the other houses.
"I hope they start soon," Alex muttered impatiently. She glanced over and caught sight of a third year staring at her owlishly at her. When she decided to return the favour, the third year looked alarmed and scurried away into the crowd. Alex swore under her breath.
"I would've thought you'd like scaring kids," Elizabeth remarked innocently.
"It gets really old, really fast." Alex said sourly.
***
In another, much quieter part of the castle, the caretaker, Argus Filch, stalked the halls with his dusty cat at his heels. Since the year began, for the first time in his employment history, he had made a point to avoid all students at all times. It just wasn't worth it anymore.
Not since that sorting ceremony that dragged into the early morning hours. Those girls, he knew, were trouble. They had done something to the Headmaster, something very strange. Filch had tried to complain to Dumbledore about the way a few of those new students had treated him and Mrs. Norris but the Headmaster had just given him a blank smile and some empty words about "misunderstandings" and "extenuating circumstances". Whatever that was supposed to mean.
Since then, Filch hadn't bothered with his usual tormenting of students. It just wasn't worth his time anymore. All those girls had sucked the fun out of it. Useless, vicious, little buggers all of them.
Almost all of them. There was the issue of Megan to consider.
She came the same night as the rest of the girls, and Filch was positive she was one of them. She came up to him in silence, and claimed to be his long-lost niece, showing him a letter from her parents - two people who Filch had never heard of in his life. The letter requested that Megan be shown the ways of Care taking from Filch. It wasn't as if - the letter had said - that she could do much else with her life. She was, after all, a squib.
Yes, just because she and Filch happened to share the same unfortunate "problem", she had to be foisted off on him. She didn't seem very pleased with the arrangement either, although it was hard to tell with that girl. Filch had quickly sent her to work, stating clearly that he didn't want to have to clean up after her. He had expected her to make his job harder. He couldn't have been more wrong.
She was a natural cleaner. She used the mop and bucket like a master. She took to cleaning like a fish to water. She could clean nearly everything, she knew various home formulas to get out even the toughest stains. Even the room splattered with taffy had been sparkling by morning. She was the best he had ever seen.
And she was a good girl, he thought grudgingly. She kept to herself and did what she told. She also seemed to hate the students as much as Filch did, which made her decent company.
"Uncle?" a soft voice from behind jostled Filch from his thoughts. He turned to face her. She was staring up at him with her big, amber eyes. Her soft, curly hair was tied tightly back in a high ponytail, with one lone tendril escaping at the front. She wore a dark, denim vest, brightly decorated with various buttons, over an olive green long-sleeved shirt with a faded silver star on the front. She wore a pair of loose jeans, held up with a brown belt.
"What have I told you about sneaking up on me like that?" he snapped.
"Sorry, uncle." she said automatically.
"You could give an old man a heart attack, doing something like that." he went on.
"Sorry, uncle."
"Fine, fine. What is it you want?" he asked while returning to his mopping.
"I just wanted to tell you that I've finished my chores," the halls beyond her gleamed, "and I'd like to vanish for about two hours to do something unsuspicious."
"Fine, fine." he said. "But if I discover you've shirked one responsibility, I'll string you up by your thumbs."
"Yes, uncle." she said dutifully. She trudged off in the opposite direction without another word.
***
The meeting had been called to order and some Hufflepuff twit was taking a roll call.
"This is so lame." Edwina observed.
Pansy paused in the task of filing her nails. "Lame as in unable to walk?"
Edwina rolled her eyes. "Yes," she said sarcastically. "That's exactly it. Lame as in unable to walk."
She, Pansy, Crabbe, and Goyle had been standing as close to the podium as they could manage and Edwina had passed the time by smirking evilly at the brown haired, nervous looking fifth year girl who stood next to Bones and Abbot. They had occasionally made eye contact and Edwina made sure to give the younger girl the meanest, smuggest look she could manage. That had been fun for a while but it was starting to get old.
Pansy, who had finished her nails and was moving on to retouching her make-up, just shrugged. "Just be patient, Edwina. You must be patient and cunning and so forth, otherwise the transfer students win and no one wants that."
There was a small pause. "I might," Crabbe rumbled.
"No one cares, Vincent dear." Pansy said absently while peering at her compact and carefully curling her eyelashes.
"Where did you get that curler from, anyway?" Edwina asked, frowning.
Pansy shrugged lightly. "Mmmm... I found it."
"Found it or stole it from the purse of one of those girls?"
"Hm. Now that I think about it, I think it was the latter." She said faintly.
"See, this is why we're friends. It's because of stuff like this."
***
Sara frowned at the crowd. That Slytherin girl had been giving her the oddest looks. 'I wonder if she's nauseous? Or maybe... ew, maybe she's hitting on me.' Sara's eyes widened with panic. 'Oh lord, that would be awkward.'
"So what was it you were doing earlier with the parchment?" Hannah whispered to Sara while Katherine started to recite the minutes from the last meeting.
"I'll tell you later," Sara replied just as quietly. "Er, what do you think of those Slytherins you invited?"
Hannah shrugged. "They're Slytherins. Not quite as nasty as they think they are, but unpleasant enough. Why?"
Sara shifted uncomfortably. "Just curious," she muttered.
***
In another part of the castle, in an expansive, gorgeous room behind an equally gorgeous statue, another meeting was taking place.
The room was yet again filled with beautiful, shapely figures, all chatting amicably. The various reflections from the mirrors and shimmering hair coupled with the echoing sound of hundreds of musical voices made the room almost dizzying.
'It's like one of those torture rooms,' Megan thought grimly as she stalked her way through the crowd. 'The ones where they blast heavy metal music while dumping freezing water on you, and so forth.' Her scrawny black cat trailed after her, sparing enough time to leer at the passing, sleek female cat of which there were hundreds.
The sound of wings thundered above as many different kinds of birds - ravens, owls, and Phoenixes mostly - flew above, chattering almost as loudly as their mistresses. A few girls had little dragons with jeweled scales perched on their shoulders. Needle sharp teeth glinted from a particular nasty looking opalescent one, sitting on the shoulder of a young dark haired man, two katanas strapped to his back and wearing a heavy looking, black trench coat over black clothes.
Megan stopped here. "Hey," she said in greeting. "I've never seen you around before. What's your name?" The young man glanced at her impassively.
"Konnichiwa stranger," he said in a hard voice. "I have many names-"
"Don't we all?" said a girl dressed in a rich violet and gold kimono. Her deep violet eyes glittered soulfully in the silver moonlight while her sleek black hair was held back in a high pony tail, worn in the style of samurai. Two black, cat-like ears poked out of her head, just as two gleaming white fangs were visible at each corner of her Sakura petal pink lips. A midnight black tail flicked back and forth behind her. "I have at least six names, but I am mostly called Megamino Kuroneko. I am a hanyou from Japan." adding helpfully, "That means I'm a half-demon."
"That's fascinating."Megan said while picking the grime out of her nails.
"As I was saying," the boy continued, shooting Kuroneko a dark look. "I have many names, but I do not recall what my true name is. I have adopted the name Dark Falcon or just Falcon. I awoke with amnesia at the steps of a monastary in Japan over ten years ago and was trained by the monks in every form of martial arts. I have a strange skill; I wield mastery over any form of blade-"
"What?" asked Kuroneko. "Even the scimitar?"
"Especially the scimitar," Falcon said darkly. He took a deep breath and went on, "Anyway, two years ago all the monks were brutally slaughtered by Death Eaters and I was the sole survivor. I vowed revenge against Voldemort - yes, I said his name - and from that day forward dedicated my life to killing him and his followers. Before I set out on my quest, my Sensei gave me these mystical blades-"
"I thought you said they all died," Kuroneko said suspiciously.
"Oh, they totally did," Falcon said quickly. "But my Sensei was struck with a mortal wound and he managed to stay alive just long enough to give me these katanas and then he died."
"That was thoughtful of him," Megan said, raising an eyebrow.
"Anyway, I found out that the only reason Voldemort attacked my monastery is because of these katanas. They are nigh unbreakable and one holds the strength of darkness while the other holds the light. They are the yin and the yang swords, and Voldemort wants them." He reached back and grasped the handle of the blade, closing his tortured ice blue eyes briefly. He opened them again, staring hard at Kuroneko, looking moody.
"Why?" Megan asked.
Falcon whirled around to face Megan. It looked as if he had forgotten she was there.
"What do you mean? Why wouldn't he want them? They hold unimaginable powers of destruction and ruin!" He exclaimed dramatically.
"Yes, but so does Voldemort." Megan pointed out. "He has a wand." She added helpfully. "Last I checked, wands can wield great damage, and, in fact, a wand would be even more dangerous than a sword. A sword can only cut and slice; and wand can do anything."
Falcon stared at her a moment, mentally processing this information. He blinked and turned away from her, back to face Kuroneko, forgetting the last ten seconds.
"Voldemort took everything from me," he went on dramatically. "Even my precious Himeko-chan..."
Megan sighed. 'I brought that on myself.'
'I liked it,' a scratchy voice said in her head. 'I like hearing their silly little stories. It's free entertainment.' Megan looked down at her feet, where her scrawny black cat sat. He looked back up at her, grinning a Chesire grin, teeth fully bared and it's blank, bulbous yellow eyes staring up at her.
'Save your "serial killer" look for someone who's still scared by it, Muffins.' she thought-spoke to him.
'Muffins?' came an incredulous female voice. 'You named that monstrosity Muffins?'
'Mr Muffins, actually.' Megan said back. 'Who is this?'
'I am Lyric Malfoy-Potter, daughter of Lucius Malfoy and James Potter.' came the haughty reply.
'Well, Lyric, this is a private line. Keep your nose out of it.' Megan replied.
'Fine,' came the huffy response. 'I can't help being telepathic, you know...' The voice and presence faded from her mind.
'I hate it when I pick up stray signals.'
'You should get a better long distance service.' Muffins said, stretching at her feet.
'Shut up.'
***
Pansy and Edwina had finally been called to the podium to deliver their speeches. Edwina smirked in triumph as the silly fifth year she had been terrorizing gave her a panicked look and sidled away from her... and right into mount. Goyle.
"Sorry," he mumbled as Sara turned to give him a look of alarm.
"It's alright," she said cautiously.
"All right then, everyone pay attention and look at me," Pansy called out to the silent crowd. "Right then," she said after a pause. "Some of you may have heard about the little event we had with Professor Suzaku. Some of you may have heard about how amazingly Persia and I handled it."
Someone snickered in the back of the crowd.
"Anyway," Pansy went on. "Persia had, at great personal risk, infiltrated the, um, ladies secret cabal the other night. She found out a great deal of things which she will now explain to us at great, exhausting detail. Persia?"
***
Polaris stepped up to the stage. She paused, looking out over the vast crowd of like-minded ladies. Everything have been going so well. There was music in the halls, Phoenixes circling the castle, suicide and/or rape attempts in the bathrooms, and make out sessions in the Astronomy Tower. She smiled charmingly, displaying her pearly whites to the world. Two scythe-like fangs glinted in the soft, silvery light of the room. Things couldn't have been going any better, and shook out her shining ebony hair in celebration.
"Ladies, ladies." she called out, her melodic voice carrying across the massive marble hall. The crowd was silent immediately. Polaris treated them to her radiant smile. "Thank you. Now, I'm sure you're all wondering why I called this meeting to order." Multi-colored heads nodded. "It is because of the recent... unpleasantness. I'm certain you are all aware of the unfortunate fate of our dearly departed Kiyone Suzaku, former professor of Martial Arts. Oh, speaking of which a replacement teacher has already been acquired and I would like to thank our dear Professor Celeste Black for arranging that so quickly. You are a shining example to us all with your amazing organizational abilities." Polaris paused. "Where was I again...?"
***
Edwina stepped up to the podium looking pained but fashionable. "Thank you, Pansy," she said graciously. "As my dear colleague here has mentioned, I alone infiltrated the transfer students' secret meeting. You see, the Slytherin house has been taking a beating lately. Strange girls dressed in leather have taken over, and made the common room into their own personal soap opera/make out cabana. I'm sure you have seen it too, but not on the personal scale Pansy and I have seen it. People you once thought you knew acting... acting like lunatics. I mean, I'm sure even you people have noticed what's happening. Take, for example, Draco Malfoy-"
"Please," Alex whispered. Elizabeth giggled softly.
"I'm sure you all know how he used to act-" The crowd started mumbling. Yes, they knew how he acted They had a number of colourful adjectives to apply to his actions. "-he used to be above everyone. He used to be refined, he used to be an example to all Slytherins, he used to be..." She trailed off in the sight of the blank looks the crowd was giving her. Pansy was nodding along behind her, eyes shining. "Well, he may not have seemed like that to people in other houses. Or to most of the people in Slytherin for that matter, either." She paused. "To tell you the truth, he was always a twit. I mean, you'd think that now that he was older he would have gotten some better "zingers" but he just seems to be recycling the same-" Pansy cleared her throat audibly and pointedly. "Even so," Edwina plowed on. "He was our twit, dammit.
"But now... now, he's some kind of leather pants wearing, thrusting, skeevy, limp wristed, sex maniac. Sometimes he wears make up. Not even good make up, but electric blue lipstick. That is not the behavior of a sane person, I tell you." Pansy sniffed loudly and dabbed at her eyes.
***
"Please do not misunderstand me," Polaris said. "I am happy with the way things are going. After all this time, I think we may have finally found a place to put up our feet, so to speak. Everything is changed because of us, and do you think it was easy?" The crowd started murmuring. "I don't think so! It took a great deal of effort, but together we did it!"
There was more excited murmuring. In the back of the crowd Megan remained silent while soft noise erupted around her.
"But even though this place seems perfect, we must realise there's going to be the occasional rough spot." she continued grimly.
***
Edwina took a deep breath and continued warily. "Draco is just one of many examples of what's gone wrong with the Slytherin house and, to a lesser extent, the school. We all know it's because of those thing-girls. They change people, and make them think differently. Pansy and I - and everyone in this room, I guess - have managed to escape their grasp. I was willing to put up with it, I'm very patient that way, but then those girls did something that pushed me to the edge." Edwina leaned forward, clutching the podium with white knuckled hands. "They... they made our head of house into that- that- that moronic, ignorant, horrible, empty headed, pretty boy. They're messing with us," she hissed, her eyes pale slits. "And they've gone too far.
"So, I took charge. I had already notice that they all seem to clear out one night a week at around the same time; late at night. I followed one of them, whose name I cannot recall, and discovered that they have been going to these... weekly meetings."
***
"The rough spots in question are responsible for the death of two of our own. This cannot be overlooked. We cannot shrug this off, as I had originally hoped. A few students, who seem to be impervious to our influence, have formed some kind of little resistance group." More murmurs. "Unfortunately, we are not exactly certain how many people are in this group, how much they have planned or how strong they are." She paused dramatically. "But I have the strong suspicion that they are weak and disorganized. And you can trust my intuition, as I am a seer after all." She smiled briefly.
***
"They're like a... a club or something. They discuss things like singing, and angsting and they make these... these plans. I overheard how they had made plans to change Granger and the Weasley girl. I even saw them there, giving reports on their progress. They acted like changing every day was a routine thing. They didn't talk like Granger or Weasley; they talked like... like those girls. I don't know how to put it." She paused, collecting her thoughts. "They talked as if they were things that have possessed Granger and Weasley. You should've heard it." She shook her head ruefully.
***
"But I worry. Perhaps needlessly. Perhaps these silly children are just lucky. It would not surprise me." Polaris smiled benevolently. "But even so, I will always worry. They may start small, but who knows what they could grow into. Who knows how organized they could become."
"Who cares!?" a brave voice spoke up in the silence. The crowd parted to reveal Virginia "Ginny" Weasley. Her hair was a mass of blood red curls and her eyes a brilliant green. "We're better than they are! They could never become a threat to us!"
Polaris watched her with a slight smile. "Ah, Virginia. Your confidence, although admirable, is tragic. We once believed ourselves to be unstoppable, unbeatable, but things have changed," Polaris eyes flashed darkly. "Haven't they?"
***
"They want to move in; they want to take Hogwarts from us and they don't want to share." Edwina finished grimly and stared out at the silent crowd. She glanced over and saw the Smith boy nod. She stepped down from the podium and stood beside Pansy, who gave her an encouraging smile.
Zacharias stepped up to the podium.
"So there's that." he said. "These girls want Hogwarts and they don't want any trouble from us, but they're going to be surprised, aren't they?"
***
"This place is our home now," Polaris called out to the crowd, who murmured and began clapping in agreement. Megan watched impassively but her amber eyes blazed in the shadows. "And we must fight for our home. We must stomp out these rough spots. We must take command! This is our home now! We aren't going to wander anymore! We've come, we've seen, and we will conquer!"
The crowd erupted into cheers and vigorous applause. Many were talking animatedly to their neighbors. All had a look of determination in their rainbow eyes.
Megan too, but for different reasons.
***
"But, as Edwina said, they are organized and they outnumber us greatly. Anyone with eyes can see that clearly. In turn, we will have to become more organized and we must stick together. In these times of trial, the most important thing is loyalty! Not just to each other, but to our fallen comrades, to the people we once knew, and to Hogwarts! Hogwarts is our home and no one, not these girls and not even He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named can take that away from us! We will fight them!"
The crowd erupted into applause, but Elizabeth held back.
"Fallen comrades," she said sadly under her breath. Alex glanced questioningly at her.
"How?" Asked one of the Ravenclaw girls after the applause died down. Zacharias hesitated.
"The purifying spell has worked well for us in the past," he began warily.
"Yeah, but you've only used it twice," the inquisitive Ravenclaw interrupted. "How do we know it'll work in every situation? How do we know that wasn't a fluke?"
"We don't," Hannah spoke up from behind Zacharias. "But it's all we've got right now."
"But we'll get more, which is what I was trying to get to." Zacharias glared at the offending girl for a moment before continuing. "We need to find out their weaknesses and how to get rid of them, and for that I plan to establish a group of researchers. They will study the transfer students, observe their behaviors, and research possible spells to destroy them." A few members of the crowd started murmuring with excitement. "If you would like to apply for a position in this group, please see Daniel Conti, the Ravenclaw who's standing over there, waving.
There will be another group designated for the purpose of the actual destroying of the transfer students."
Alex perked up at this. So did many others, as another, louder murmur ran through the crowd.
"I assume there will be a great deal more applications for a position in this group and that's fine." he said, silencing the talk immediately. "We'll need many volunteers, but please keep in mind when you apply that you will be facing very dangerous individuals and they will be..." he hesitated. "Well, people. You must ask yourself if you have the constitution to face someone who you plan to... get rid of. You must also ask yourself if you think you are quick enough and are talented enough with the wand to win duels. And not just regular duels between two wizards, but strange duels were fire shoots from fingertips and an animal familiar or a boyfriend always lurks nearby, ready to tear your face off. I would suggest some form of training, but I doubt we have that kind of time."
By now the entire room was filled with excited whispers. Yes, it would look like there would be no shortage of people willing to destroy the transfer students.
Alex shooed some third years from the couch and flopped down, Elizabeth following suit after her.
"It sounds exciting, doesn't it?" Elizabeth asked.
"It does, but I wonder how many people actually listened to Zach's speech? I mean, I don't think it'll be easy to.. well... take care of someone." Alex said, resting her head on the arm of the couch and curling up.
"You did it." Elizabeth pointed out, missing Alex's wince. "And then you ate her."
Alex didn't respond.
"Hey guys," Sara greeted, emerging from the throng of people. "Wasn't that a great meeting? I'm going to be apart of the researchers. Zacharias has already confirmed it." she said proudly. "I assume you're going to join the attack squad, Alex?"
Alex sighed. "Yeah, probably."
Sara frowned. "I would have thought you would be more enthusiastic than that."
"Alex is being moody and tortured," Elizabeth said wisely.
"I am not being moody and tortured." she said irritably. "I'm just... having an attack of conscience." she said vaguely. "It'll pass."
"I hope so," Elizabeth said sympathetically. "Because you'd make a great killer."
"Thanks," she said flatly.
"Being a part of the attack squad would be interesting," Sara said thoughtfully.
"It would be kind of cool. It'd be like being an assassin." Alex said, grinning slightly.
"Plus, all the taffy you could eat!" Elizabeth said. She started giggling until Alex threw a pillow at her.
***
In the darkness of the Ravenclaw common room, a teen with golden tresses, sat poised at the edge of a couch, outlined by the soft, flickering light of the fireplace. Her head was buried in her hands, and a soft muttering escaped from her perfect, pink lips.
The tapestry was flung aside then, and a gaggle of girls entered, all chatting excitedly. One of them saw the tormented figure and detached from the group, flouncing over to the deep blue couch.
"Hello Luna dear," she trilled. "You should have come to tonight's meeting, you know." she leaned down to try and see Luna's face. "Oh my," she whispered. "Are we having another bad turn? You poor thing. There, there." She rested one finely manicured hand on Luna's shoulder. The teen instantly relaxed under her touch. "It's because of dad, isn't it? He was always so cruel to us... wasn't he?" Her nails dug into the white fabric of Luna's uniform.
Luna shrugged off the hand and sat back against the couch, her eyes looking opalescent in the firelight. "Yes," she whispered. "That's what's wrong with me."
The girl gave her a sympathetic smile and threw her arms around Luna's form. "Don't worry, my dear Luna. You'll always have me, your dear twin, Solaria."
