He lifted his chin, examining the bruise that was forming along his jaw in the window of Flourish and Blotts. Jake scowled and dropped his head, only to catch sight of his already black eye. He wished he could remember the concealment spells that didn't make his face twinge, because now he had to walk Diagon Alley looking as if he'd just gotten mugged. He tugged the collar of his scarlet robes a bit tighter, making sure that his auror badge was fully visible so that there could at least be a chance that people would think he'd been doing something useful.

Jake had been incredibly surprised this morning when arriving at work today. Instead of the usual busy paperwork he was shoved, Auror Booth and Dawlish led him to the training area and told him that today would be the first day of his physical rehabilitation. Jake had been too stunned to argue, and far too stunned to avoid the first few hexes that were hurled at his head. That hadn't been a pretty sight. The training had only lasted a half hour, much longer than Jake had expected himself to manage, but that was only the beginning of his morning.

Parchments were signed, healers were talked to, the bloody minister had come down to congratulate him on making his way back into the ranks. Jake had spent his morning in utter shock and complete silence, unable to argue against their desires to get him back into fighting shape. He was an auror, he took orders when they came, but what in the bloody fuck was going on?

He was supposed to be meeting Lottie for lunch in half an hour, but he wasn't entirely sure he could handle having to explain his morning, let alone his face. Jake slowly made his way through Diagon, meandering to waste time and try to think of an excuse to cancel. Maybe he could use work as an excuse, as it was giving him a splitting headache. He turned to head to the nearest owl post to begin this lie of a letter and almost rammed straight into a walking by pedestrian.

"Sorry!" he let out in surprise. His instincts needed to be better than that. Jake's eyes widened and he felt his ears grow extremely hot as he realized who it was that he'd almost knocked clear off the pavement. "Greta! Hi!" He cleared his throat gruffily. "Hello," he repeated, straightening his shoulders.

While she wasn't particularly keen on parties, she was set on saving wildlife. Everyone else seemed to rake in the galleons by throwing large events, no matter the scandals that erupted from them, so why couldn't they? Nora had conservatory's committee for quite some time now, and being the youngest by a good forty years, had devised this plan as a new and fresh way of funding. It helped greatly that she had friends that had access to some of the best party planners (or that she could twist Charlie Spinnet's ear until he helped her out), and things seemed to have turned out well. So far.

For the brave at heart, there was a grand maze that made its way throughout the haunted castle. Guests would be offered clues to get themselves to the ballroom, and if they were truly lost (as Nora was sure was to occur), for just a small donation (it's for charity), any money dropped into a clue box would light up a blue path down the correct route to lead the way out. With all the Gryffindors that Nora had put on the guest list, she was sure they were going to triple their goal.

There was a simpler route than the maze, which was simply to walk through the double doors to the dance floor. Nora was currently wavering between the two, having run out of pamphlets to give out at the front entrance therefore giving her no excuse to join the festivities. She felt rather exposed, as Delilah had stolen her cloak, and when someone tapped her shoulder she jumped nearly a foot in the air.

"Bloody hell!" she let out, spinning around. "You scared the life out of me!"

Who: Ludo & Greta
What: All kinds of fun!
When: Sunday Evening
Where: Ludo's Bachelor Pad
Status: Incomplete
Rating: Uhhh...let's go with PG for now? But let's be for real here. It's Lureta. Or Grudo. IDK. It's them.

( blah blah cut text )

Who: Ludo and Greta
When: September 30, 1982
Where: Wimbourne Press Conference
What: THREAD SHENANIGANS ZOMG
Rating: NAUGHTY

( And who knew, maybe even use a ridiculous pick up line if the opportunity presented itself... )

As Jonas revved up for the last song of the day, Kobe smiled brightly at the crowd. The critics had been wrong. It was a peace rally that had gone off without a hitch and no sign of death eaters, anywhere! The extra security must really be doing its job, and everyone was having a blast. She'd even seen some aurors bouncing around to the music, too! Kobe was incredibly proud of her husband, and she looked up to the clear blue sky with a wide, toothy grin.

It faded slightly, however, as some dark clouds began to roll in over the park. Remarkably fast clouds, which didn't seem natural and were already thundering loudly. The weather report had claimed they would have clear skies all day, so this was strange and----Kobe slammed her hands over her ears as the loudest roll of thunder clapped itself over the park. Immediately the clouds seemed to open up and rain began to pour down on the crowd like buckets. Well--if bad weather was the worse of their problems, they'd done a pretty good job, right?

Kobe gasped as a bolt of green lightening shot through the crowd, followed by the terrified screams of the concert goers.

"No, nonono----" she let out from the side of the stage. Where had they all come from? The bloody sky? Kobe started towards Jonas, to pull her husband off the stage because while they had met during a catastrophe, she really did not feel like enduring another one, "Jonas!" she screamed, but was thrown off balance as the stage began to creak and shake as if an earthquake was beginning to rumble underneath.

Peace didn't stand a chance, these days.

Getting married was absolutely terrifying. No matter how smoothly Gabriel proceeded through the planning, the discussions, and the actual event, he was holding back getting sick the second he could catch a moment to himself. He knew he didn't love Rachel yet, which might be the reason why he was finding himself so nervous as they sat at the head table of their reception, but he did honestly---he did honestly believe that he could fall in love with this woman. She was fiery with a mind of her own, and though some people might be irritated by it, Gabriel actually appreciated the way she took control of things. He had always been a bit of a follower, and it was easy to agree with Rachel because her reasoning simply made sense.

The reception did look fantastic. Gabriel couldn't believe it was all put together within two short months, but then again he was learning that Rachel was a woman who set her goals and refused to leave them unfinished. Maybe he should look at that as a good thing; surely someone who did not want to get married would not have put so much effort into the ceremony? Or she simply wanted to throw the most beautiful wedding of them all, simply because she could. He didn't know, and didn't mind not finding out as long as they remained content with each other.

He did find her very interesting, however, and that was the first thing a Ravenclaw looked for in a spouse. Maybe all of his concerns were for naught, and it was simply wedding day jitters. His parents had been arranged in a similar manner, and they were still quite happily married (and sometimes nauseatingly sweet about it, too). Gabriel turned and smiled at Rachel, pushing his chair out and offering his hand, "Would you like to dance?"

A chorus of glasses clinging supported Gabriel, and he flushed slightly at all the attention that was on them, once again.


ooc: guest list! We did our best, but if we missed someone let us know!