March 2002

Emelda Vane
@describe 1 March 2002

Dydd Gŵyl Dewi hapus! Is there a more cheerful flower than the daffodil? I confess I even love the honking variety, although apparently I am in the minority of people who find them amusing. (Sorry, sisters. I can move them to my room if you would prefer?)

Andrei Capper
@andreicapper 2 March 2002

I told Cary all about the Winter Olympics and now we want to go to the Alps and launch ourselves off the mountains, Muggle-style. They can “fly” off a hill standing on two bits of wood; how crazy is that? We must try it!

You’re all welcome to join. We’ll get a cabin and go for a weekend before all the snow melts.

Romilda Vane
@loverommie 4 March 2002

How is it March already? It feels like only last week it was January. The days just slip by in a blur of work sometimes.

Two unexpected pieces of post this morning. Not quite sure I know what to make of one of them, though it’s kind of reinforcing the fact that I can’t wait for the day when I can afford to give up the Grotto and concentrate on my passion.

Sally-Anne Perks
@highergrounds 7 March 2002

Muffin says it’s thirsty work being this cute!

(I’m not sure how she learnt how to turn the tap on especially without getting wet but I think she’s very clever.)

Taliesyn Robards
@bookphile 7 March 2002

RP: Sympathies

Who: Taliesyn Robards, Romilda Vane
Where: St. Mungo’s
When: Afternoon

Tali was supposed to have been discharged yesterday morning, but all he had to do was mumble something about being completely terrified about possibly being attacked by his unknown assailant again for the Healer to take pity on him and allow him more time to “recover”.

He did do a very good traumatised face, after all. It wasn’t hard to put on. He didn’t give a fig about the attack but the thought of never being intimate with Romilda again was enough to school all his features into a look of abject misery. It was Friday; if he wallowed some more maybe he could rest over the weekend too. Another camping trip with Dad was too much to bear.

(Dad had dropped by. He had brought Tali a get well card. On the front it read: Sympathies for your misfortune. On the inside: But I told you and told you that you could be attacked anywhere, anytime. So let this be a lesson. No sympathy, really — Dad.)

Yes, if he stayed over the weekend everything might blow over by next week. It was his only positive thought.

Astoria Greengrass
@headcase 9 March 2002

My cat’s gone missing. We’re up at this cabin and she doesn’t know her way and she could be anywhere and everyone’s gone Muggle stick jumping and I can’t find her anywhere.

What if she tried to go home?

She’s white and fluffy and she has blue eyes and I’ll never find her in this snow.

Ben Macnair
@hesstillmydad 9 March 2002

I am going to be the best at sliding along snow on bits of wood! Just you wait.

Taliesyn Robards
@bookphile 10 March 2002

I think that everyone should make a will when they get a chance, especially if they have pets. You don’t want them to end up in a bad situation.

Thanks to the well-wishers. I’m feeling fantastic better. Back to work tomorrow. No, I don’t think it will happen again.

Portia Diggle
@portraying 11 March 2002

It’s so nice to finally have the house to ourselves again! You know what they say about guests and fish.

Taliesyn Robards
@bookphile 16 March 2002

RP: Defects

Who: Taliesyn Robards, Romilda Vane
Where: Robards HQ
When: Evening

Cecilia hadn’t meant to make Sepphora feel excluded by telling tales of her boys’ upbringing in Monmouthshire; that was just a bonus. Right now she was up the time she banished her husband’s motorcycle to the bottom of the river.

“You do remember that Cary fished it out again, right?” Gawain interjected. He looked at his youngest son fondly. Cary grinned back and they clinked glasses.

“Yes, I forgot to take it apart first. A grave error,” Cecilia drawled, rolling her eyes. She cleared her throat. “Mind you, I suppose it has its uses. If you’re going to sulk then I prefer you ride hundreds of miles away first.”

“I don’t sulk,” said Gawain haughtily.

“Yes, you do,” said Cecilia. She took a sip of wine and waved a finger around the table. “They all do,” she said, mostly addressing Sepphora. “Even Idris. It’s a Robards defect.”

Parvati Divekar
@sovatish 17 March 2002

Today feels like the first normal day in forever. We got back from our honeymoon last week and all the days since have been a blur of catching up on work, writing thank you cards, and convincing Raja that I am not evil for leaving him for three weeks. I think (fingers crossed!) that he has forgiven me as he is now trying to sit on my head. Either that or he’s trying to smother me! I think Padma might have overfed him a little.

Thank you so much to everyone who came to our wedding. You made our day so very special.

Zach Smith
@its_all_aboutme 19 March 2002

You’d think some people would be more cut up about ending a relationship with someone they were on the verge of marrying, but you’d be wrong. Though I suppose an engagement’s not really a marriage. Neither’s a wedding. It’s never too late to back out, even if you have to physically run away from the altar. Hmm, how are you feeling, Gwen?

And I don’t think you should let someone’s weirdo family stand in your way if you really liked them. I mean, how often would you have to see them, really? Christmas? Birthdays? That must be it.

Not that I’m complaining. Bye-bye, Idris! I had great fun chucking your stuff out even though Sepphora told me not to. It ruins the facade, she said. Among other, more compassionate reasons.

Romilda Vane
@loverommie 20 March 2002

Mattie brought home smoothies and I think I might have just persuaded her to whip up a batch of brownies. Just what I needed after a long day of customers who have been very particular. Brownies make everything better. I think they’ll go exceptionally well with listening to TC&TF.

Wayne Hopkins
@awkwardsoup 21 March 2002

Has anyone here ever been to Italy? Because we’re going in May and I really should have booked our portkeys by now but I can’t decide how many days we should stay in each city. Or how many cities we should try to go to. Mostly I want to eat and Louisa wants to look at art and based on the research I’ve done so far that’s kind of… everywhere.

So I don’t know if we should do a whole week in like Florence and just really take it easy and get to know it well and maybe do a side trip or two to some other towns nearby, or we could try to do a tour of all the big ones like Florence, Venice, Rome, anything else I’m forgetting, and see all the big sights and all.

So… yeah. Any tips?

Louisa Macnair
@hedidntdoit 22 March 2002

I just quit my job. Does anyone know of anything going at the Ministry?

Sebastian Stebbins
@sebsteb 22 March 2002

It seems that I came home from last night with more money than before I went out. I can safely say that has never happened before.

Gwen Montgomery-Higgs
@iamthelizzy 23 March 2002

Montgomery-Higgs wedding

Ben Macnair
@hesstillmydad 23 March 2002

RP: Handkerchiefs

Who: Benjamin Macnair, Tristan Macnair
Where: Ceridwen’s Grove, Helga’s Hill
When: Afternoon

It was a strange sort of date. For a start, it was platonic, even though he didn’t want it to be. Then also their surroundings — a beautiful clearing in the woods — were kind of surreal, especially with so many people there. In addition, it was a wedding, which was bound to make a bloke feel pressured somehow. Furthermore, Tristan was a bridesmaid, and he was not. She had a job to do, whereas his consisted mainly in hanging around in his dress robes and occasionally handing out handkerchiefs to crying women. He presumed they were crying at how beautiful the ceremony was rather than because Terence was now off the market, but it was never a sentiment he could understand, all the same.

Sebastian Stebbins
@sebsteb 23 March 2002

RP: Temptation

Who: Sebastian Stebbins, Amelia Higgs
Where: Ceridwen’s Grove, Helga’s Hill
When: Evening

“A sweet treat for the sweetest witch I see?” Stebbins asked with a grin, offering a toffee apple to Amelia with a flourish. He had never been to a wedding quite like this, but the food was top notch. So was the drink, come to think of it, and he’d needed a bit of a drink before giving his speech. In his opinion, it was gone swimmingly. A few laughs from the guests and neither the bride nor the bridesmaids had made any sort of attempt on his life. That chapter, he hoped, was well and truly over.

Now for something new. Perhaps that would be the delightful Amelia Higgs. If the toffee apple didn’t work, perhaps he could tempt her with something else.

Emelda Vane
@describe 23 March 2002

RP: Questions

Who: Zacharias Smith, Emelda Vane
Where: Leaving Ceridwen’s Grove, Helga’s Hill
When: Late evening

Emma liked weddings. There was music, dancing, good food — and what could be more wonderful than celebrating the eternal love between two people? There had been a few questions about when it would be her turn, which was slightly awkward with Zach present, but she’d been able to smile and shrug and deflect the conversation onto a safer topic each time.

Now, feeling slightly tipsy but very happy, she threaded her fingers through Zach’s as they left Ceridwen’s Grove. She’d done a lot of dancing, so she’d taken off her shoes and was dangling them by the straps from her other hand, enjoying the feeling of the cool grass on her bare soles. She wasn’t really in any rush to get home. It was nice just being out with Zacharias.

“What a lovely evening. Thank for you walking me home.” The words seemed slightly formal to her, and Emelda wondered if she would ever feel like their relationship wasn’t still a contract.

Astoria Greengrass
@headcase 23 March 2002

Owl Post

To: Benjamin Macnair
From: Astoria Greengrass

Ben,

Thank you again for your kind help in finding my poor kitty. You’ll be glad to know her appetite has finally returned to normal and she seems to have recovered from the scare.

Here is a picture of her saying thank you, and I’ve made these for you as a token of my gratitude and I hope you will find them useful.

I’m glad to have renewed our acquaintance.

Sincerely,
Astoria

Terence Higgs
@teehaitchhiggs 24 March 2002

RP: Honeymoon

Who: Terence Higgs, Gwen Montgomery-Higgs
Where: The Maldives
When: Daytime

How did the vows go? They did say ‘for richer or poorer’, didn’t they? And Gwen had agreed, or the two of them wouldn’t be basking in the Maldivian sunshine at present.

That was enough reason to ’fess up to losing thousands of galleons during his stag night, Terence thought. Married life wouldn’t be off to a great start if Gwen had to hear it from someone like Amelia.

Isolde Montgomery
@iamthelydia 24 March 2002

My big sister was the most beautiful bride of all time. At least until my twin sister gets married anyway. Llongyfarchiadau, Mr and Mrs Higgs.

Thanks for the company, Shay. You’re a pretty decent escort.

Dot Spinks
@dotdotdash 26 March 2002

Question time! Is blind loyalty something noble and admirable, or actually kind of stupid when you think about it?

I’m talking about dogs, not Hufflepuffs, before anyone gets in a snit.

Wayne Hopkins
@awkwardsoup 27 March 2002

I didn’t want to say anything because I didn’t want to be alarmist. And I’ve certainly been enjoying our recent spate of lack-of-murders as much as anyone else. But it’s been three nights in a row now that I’ve had the same dream. There’s a black dog, walking all through the streets of Helga’s Hill. I follow it all through the town, even though I don’t want to, and it started out sort of like dusk but it keeps getting darker and darker. And the dog never stops anywhere or looks at anything in particular, and no one else is about, it’s just the dog and me. Or not even me really, I’m not really myself so much as just… a viewpoint. So we just keep walking and the whole time I feel more and more scared.

Annnnnd then I wake up.

So, there’s that. Do with that information what you will.

Sylvie Fawcett
@sylvie_fawcett 28 March 2002

Who knew 1000 galleons could disappear so fast?

Gwen Montgomery
@iamthelizzy 29 March 2002

Thanks to everyone who came to the wedding or sent us well-wishes. We’re having a gorgeous time in the Maldives and will be for several more days. You should all come here someday (but not now, thanks, we’re quite happy just the two of us).

Ernie Macmillan
@topgeek 31 March 2002

Is this your kitten? I almost sat on it found it dashing about the flat. Claim quickly if it’s yours or Lav will insist we keep it, probably.