Funny how it's hardly been a week since my birthday and already it seems like ages ago. By virtue of surprise tactics consisting mostly of champagne, Ron got us celebrating the night before to the extent that potions were summoned the next morning in order to get me in shape for work. I can't remember the last time we did anything like that but it ( Read more... )

The business of securing true power is a dull affair. Violence plays a part, certainly, but it is the least advantageous method because it does not confer legitimacy, and without willing consent from the people a government has no lasting authority ( Read more... )

Happy Birthday, Harry. We're still on for dinner, yes?

I was in a strange mood last week. It was like the things around me refused their Platonic cloaks and achieved definition only through a network of connections, face value continually yielding to context and history. I suppose that's how I see the world in general but the heightened awareness was unusual. Too much apparating and portkeying over ( Read more... )

It seems I'm done with the south of France for now. There wasn't anything urgent at stake, only a backlog of sightings of a Grim-like creature coinciding with floodings and atmospheric anomalies around the Gorges du Tarn. Though our Grim is nothing more than superstition, wizards in Catalonia have had to cope with a sort of demon dog - known as ( Read more... )

I'm back from the south of France. What a horrible week to be away, waiting for owls to bring news about the murdered Muggles and neo-Death Eaters, dreading what they might or might not say. I'm very glad my next trip isn't for another month ( Read more... )

I woke up this morning prepared to ignore any and all references to Valentine's Day and was soon put to the test by an owl arriving with three dozen red roses during breakfast. There was no parchment or note of any kind; just the blooms and their fragrance. Of course I've no idea who could've sent something so lovely to brighten up an otherwise ( Read more... )

Starting Monday, I'm going back to work for the Ministry, in the Department of Mysteries. As much as I loved having the time to do things like visit with Charlie in Romania and finish the paper on Wrist Action in Elementary Charms, it's not a full schedule. Remus believes this job is a good fit and it's silly not to trust him after all we've been ( Read more... )

My news has nothing on the high drama that is the sex lives of Slytherins, but here it is: I quit my job with the Committee for Experimental Charms ( Read more... )

I arrived home this evening to find an unlocked door, a disgruntled cat, and a copy of the Ministry inspectors' report on my kitchen table. The inspectors were nothing if not thorough, at least with regards to the contents of my flat. From the Unbreakable Charms on my windows to the old bottle of Sleekeasy's in the back of the cupboard, anything ( Read more... )