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Technical Problem With This Chapter?
Author: Arnel
Story: For Love of Family
Part: 35: Firsts
Rating: Teens
Setting: DH-interview
Status: Completed
Reviews: 6
Words: 8,566
Updated: December 18, 2011, 2:27pm
35: Firsts
*1135 hours, Thursday, 4 February 2021
On a snowy morning after his therapy session, Harry sat across Healer Stilwell's desk from him and looked at his friend, feeling a profound sense of gratitude. Not only had he come to realize that he and Payton had come to trust each other more than just their patient/healer relationship, they had a shared experience that would bind them together for all time, one born of pain and comfort and mutual support that no one else could share. What made this moment so significant was the fact that the healer had just told him that the blood vessels in his brain were no longer leaking and that his brain was no longer swelling. For all intents and purposes, his brain injury had finally healed.
"Harry, you have regained ninety-seven percent of your peripheral vision. You now have only a three degree deficit to the left now," the healer explained. "I am certain you have reached your new normal, vision-wise, which means you will always need to compensate for the vision loss when driving, moving through a crowd and flying on a broom. I also think that now that your vision has stabilized, you will find reading much easier."
Startled, Harry asked, "How did you know I wanted to ask about going up on a broom?"
"You told me about how happy it made you when your sons and nephews modified your wheelchair on Christmas Day."
"Thank you. I had almost given up hope that I'd ever mount a broom and fly again with my sons and daughter."
"Just be careful about how much you rely on your legs to help you stay on a broom, Harry," Payton cautioned. "I think you'll have to take a few practice flights to determine just how much control you have."
"I'll keep that in mind," Harry said, smiling. "It may be harder to convince Ginny that I can ride a broom than it will be to actually fly one!"
"Good luck to you, then." Looking as if he was trying to squash a smile, Payton cleared his throat. "Now back to business… I am also clearing you to drive your van and any other Muggle vehicle equipped with hand controls." Harry sighed silently, feeling disappointed because he now knew he'd never drive his Ferrari again, at least until he broke down and had someone modify the controls for him. Payton had noticed Harry's momentary lack of attention, for he now said with a hopeful inflection in his tone, "If your therapy continues to on the course it is, Harry, I could very well fully discharge you with the clearance to drive unassisted."
Harry nodded, hardly daring to hope for such a thing, but knowing he would use that wish as a motivator when he became convinced he wasn't making any progress. (That had happened about a week ago when he'd reached a plateau for a few days. The feeling of levelling out had left him rather discouraged until Silvia had modified his exercises.) He switched the subject, sensing his friend had more to discuss with him, but needing to bring up some issues of his own. "Healer Stilwell, before you go on, I have two things to ask you about," he said, switching from the familiar to a more formal form of address because what he needed to ask was very important to him.
"Yes, Mr Potter?" Healer Stilwell asked, also making the switch.
"I, erm, I was wondering if you thought I was strong enough to visit the Ministry or take day excursions with my family away from The Groves."
Healer Stilwell smiled at him. "Harry, we seem to be thinking alike these days. Would you find it acceptable if I cleared you to go to work part time on a regular basis each afternoon?"
Harry felt his face break into a grin. "I—I'll—yes! Yes, that's more than acceptable, Payton! I'd like that very much!" he managed to sputter. Then, rational thought took over. "Erm, I'll need to talk to the Minister about whether that's an acceptable arrangement."
"I've already done that, Harry," Payton said. "The Minister impressed upon me that your position is usually not a shared one, but he's willing to make certain concessions in order to help ease you back into your job. He agrees with me that it will be easier for you to assimilate back into the real world if you go back to work half time for a period of three or four months. That way you would be building up your stamina as well as being available to continue your therapy in the mornings."
Harry could hardly believe the news. "Do I need a letter explaining that to the Minister and the Personnel department, a medical excuse stating why I'm only coming back half days?"
"Yes," Healer Stilwell said, fishing a piece of parchment out of his folder. "Read this before I sign it. If it meets your approval, you can take it with you when you leave."
Harry read the letter and couldn't stop smiling. When he finished reading, he thanked the healer before saying, "Erm, I have a second request."
"What's that?"
"I'd, erm, I'd like to have Ginny spend the night with me in my room at weekends, perhaps Friday and Saturday nights?" he asked as he pocketed the letter.
Payton chuckled. "I'll do you one better, Harry. I've already decided that you need to start spending your weekends at home. It's high time you and Ginny started spent more time together." He stopped and then said in a low tone, he deadpanned, "Besides, I'm running out of excuses for why I'm giving you two access to the therapy pool at such odd hours of the night."
Harry felt his face and ears heat up. "Thank you for that," he mumbled, since his tongue suddenly didn't seem to be working. "When can we begin?"
"Tomorrow night sounds like a good time to me. Will this give you enough time to notify Ginny?"
"Of course it will! Thank you!" Harry couldn't believe his good luck.
Payton closed the folder he'd taken the letter from. "Then stop grinning like an idiot and go call your wife!" he chuckled. "Oh, you need to be back here after dinner on Sundays, since visiting hours end at half seven that day."
Harry, his face still feeling hot, couldn't stop grinning. "I can abide by that rule, Payton," he said. "And Ginny will be so excited about this since it was her idea to ask about 'conjugal visits' in the first place. Thanks."
His friend made a shooing gesture as he said, "Go on, then. I have work to do and you and Ginny have plans to make."
With one last wave, Harry propelled his chair swiftly out the door and into the lift, heading down to the Post Room to send an owl with a note to Ginny.
0126 hours, Saturday, 6 February 2021
The fire had burned down to glowing embers over the last two hours and now the first tentative fingers of flame began licking at the pieces of tinder that had just been floated onto the grate over the hottest coals, mirroring the earlier, slowly building passion of the occupants of the bed. The romantic mood had been further enhanced by several strategically-placed candles which continued, even now after the two had spent themselves, to cast a soft yellow glow that seemed to encourage closeness.
From her place snuggled against Harry's side, Ginny sighed contentedly and tightened her grip around his middle.
"Are you cold?" he asked. "Should I add more wood?"
Ginny smiled up at her husband. "I'm just fine, love. I'm comfy right where I am. You?"
"Mmmm-hmm, I'm more than fine," he answered, pulling her closer and lowering his lips to hers in a tender kiss. They shared a few minutes of languid snogging before she laid her head back on Harry's chest and listened contentedly to the comforting thumping of his heart.
"Ginny," his voice rumbled in her ear, making her smile, "when's the St Mungo's auction? Have you made reservations for it yet?"
Startled, she raised her head to look at him. "It's Saturday, March the twentieth and no, I haven't put in my reservation yet. Why do you ask?"
"I want to go, Ginny. I want to share a special evening with the loveliest witch in all of England."
"Oh Harry, that's so sweet of you to want to go," she said, feeling pleased and dismayed at the same time. "But I'll be so busy circulating the room you won't see much of me and… and are you sure you're ready for the Wizarding public to see the new you?"
"I've only been more certain of one other thing in my life, Ginny, and that was my love for you on the night I proposed to you," Harry said. "Besides, the auction is the best place to introduce the public to the new me, because if it hadn't been for the medical miracles performed on me that night last October by the healers at St Mungo's, we wouldn't be here discussing why I want to support your fundraising endeavours that evening."
She hugged him, feeling pleased he wanted to go. "Then I'd be honoured if you'd accompany me to auction," she said with a smile as she bit back a mild retort about his treatment that night.
Harry hugged her back. "Good. I'm looking forward to the evening out with you," he said.
The flames in the grate reached hungrily for the newest log that now floated into place and as the wood caught, they seemed to burn brighter than they had a few minutes before.
1815 hours, Friday, 12 February 2021
"Kendra, James, your rooms are this way," Brian said as he led the way up the stairs, his body floating backwards, only inches from the treads.
James couldn't help staring at his friend and wondering how he was propelling himself. Finally, because it was obvious that he was staring, he asked, "How are you doing that? A spell or a Muggle invention?"
Brian smiled. "Professor Ackerley helped me create the spell. As long as I have my wand in my pocket I can cast it and maintain it until get up the stairs. That way, my hands are free to balance my body and my chair," he said, sounding pleased with himself as he patted the pocket of his jeans where the handle of his wand was visible. The movement caused him to wobble a little, but Brian quickly compensated. "I want to complete my education at Hogwarts, which will require me to use the stairs to get to my lessons. Since the castle doesn't have a lift, I needed a way to go from floor to floor. Right now, the spell exhausts me if I use it for very long and I haven't the magical strength to levitate both my body and my chair together yet. Melissa, my PT, tells me I'll be strong enough magically to get through the day by September. I just have to be patient."
"It'll be good to have you back at Hogwarts," Kendra said. She nudged James with her elbow and he glared at her in an I'm-going-to-say-something-nice manner as he felt his ears heating up.
"Yeah, I'm glad you're going back," he mumbled, making Brian snort with laughter at their antics.
"You two look like an old married couple," Brian chortled, adding to James' embarrassment.
They reached the top of the stairs and Brian sat on the top step, reached into his pocket and pulled out his shrunken wheelchair. He enlarged it and then manually hoisted his body onto the seat while James fought the urge to help him. He refrained from offering to help because he remembered what his father had said at Christmas about needing to do things for himself, so he took the opportunity to study the wall of family portraits at the head of the stairs until Brian was done.
Kendra, who had followed him over to the photos, now asked, "What do you mean that you'll be strong enough magically? I thought you were doing really well." She sounded as confused as James was, even though he thought he understood what Brian was saying.
Brian turned in his chair and looked over at them. "After the Matron attacked me, Healer Stilwell discovered that the potions she'd introduced into my body had the side effect of depleting my magical energy. In a healthy person, they'd just make the person feel very tired, but because my body was trying to heal from the original injury plus the new damage, my energy reserves became dangerously low." He sighed and James thought he detected a note of sadness in Brian's voice as he continued his explanation. "In fact, the potions I'd been taking to regenerate the severed nerves stopped working altogether for a few days and Healer Stilwell had to give me another potion until he could figure out what went wrong. Once I stopped using magic, even for little things like Summoning a book from the floor, I felt better and made more progress."
"So you've just started using magic again?" Kendra asked.
Their friend stopped in front of a bedroom door and pushed it open. "Kendra, this one is yours. You can put your things in the wardrobe if you want," he said. She smiled as she stepped past him and quickly put her two bags away. When she came back, Brian went on, "I've been performing basic spells for about three weeks now. I didn't know how much I missed it until Mum gave me my wand back and started reviewing first year spells with me."
"Why start with first year spells?" James asked as they continued down the passage. "I know my dad had to use first year spells at first because of his brain injury, but I didn't think you'd hurt your head."
"I didn't. First year spells don't require the magic or the control needed by fifth year spells, so they're used to help the body become acclimated to using magic and to build its magical reserves again after injury," Brian said. "I had no idea it took so much energy to heal, even with the help of potions that work with the body's natural healing. Besides, it's great review for OWLs. I'm now reviewing third year Transfiguration and Charms. I'll start on third year Defence next week." Brian opened another door and gestured for James to leave his book bag and satchel inside.
"Did you have to remind us of those exams?" Kendra groaned as James deposited his bags in the wardrobe.
Brian smiled wickedly. "Of course I did. They're just three months away, and if I'm going to take them with the rest of our year, I need to start some serious revision if I'm going to catch up to the rest of you."
"What? You think we've been revising all year?" James asked incredulously. "I've hardly cracked my previous years' texts because I'm having a hard enough time keeping up with this year's homework!"
"You've had time, James," Kendra teased, poking him in the ribs. "You've just spent most of it researching pranks instead of writing your essays."
James felt his ears grow hot. "I haven't pranked anyone since Albus' birthday and you know it," he retorted indignantly.
"Why did you prank Albus and what did you do?" Brian asked. He opened another door and rolled into the room. "Welcome to my room," he added as he slid onto his bed. "Have a seat."
Since there was only one chair next to the desk, James let Kendra have it. He took a Knut from his pocket and waved his wand at it, transfiguring it into a metal patio chair that looked suspiciously like the ones his mum put out on the library terrace each summer. He hoped he wouldn't end up being dumped on the floor when his spell fizzled out; Al was better at stuff like this and it embarrassed James that he couldn't maintain his transfigured objects as long as his little brother could. The patio chair landed on the floor with a soft thump. He settled into his creation and began telling Brian about the pranks he and Lily had sprung on Albus and the other students until Mrs Nelson called the three to dinner.
"I wish I'd been there to join in the fun," Brian said, sounding wistful as they made the trek back downstairs to the dining room.
"I think you would have enjoyed the song Lily and James made your house sing," Kendra said.
"What was it?" Brian asked.
"It's an old rock song called The Wall by the Muggle band Pink Floyd," James answered, grinning at Brian. "It's one of my dad's favourites. He sings it to tease us sometimes."
Brian grinned back. "I've heard that song. It's pretty cool," he said, making the others laugh.
Later that night, as they parted at James' door, he asked Brian, "Are you excited about going to see the match tomorrow?"
"I can't wait," Brian answered, grinning hugely. "Good night."
The three were up with the sun the next morning, even though the match between Ravenclaw and Gryffindor wasn't until half past twelve. Mrs Nelson cooked a full English breakfast, insisting that James eat seconds and even thirds because he was going to need the extra calories if the match took more than three hours to play.
"Are all mums alike?" he asked Brian when her back was turned. "Yours sounds an awful lot like my mum and my Grandmum Weasley."
"I think it's the 'mum gene' kicking in," Brian snickered. "She's always been like this with me before a match."
The three shared a quiet chortle and went back to addressing their breakfasts.
When it was time for James to go back to Hogwarts, he gave Kendra a quick kiss on the cheek, thanked Mr and Mrs Nelson for their hospitality and stepped into the fireplace to take the Floo back to Professor Longbottom's office. The last he saw of Brian was his friend sitting next to Kendra.
0945 hours, Saturday, 13 February 2021
Brian sighed happily as his chair shot out of Professor Ackerley's fireplace, bouncing a little as it came to a stop against the teacher's desk. He was relieved and grateful to James' dad for all the helpful tips he'd shared about Floo travel in a wheelchair. He'd heard about Mr Potter's disappearance from The Groves via the hospital gossip chain on the day Scorpius Malfoy had been rescued and had wondered what it was like to sit while spinning.
The sensation wasn't entirely pleasant, but Brian's stomach calmed quickly as his father, mother and Kendra stepped out one after another to be greeted by Brian's head of house.
"Greetings and welcome back to Hogwarts," the professor said enthusiastically. "You couldn't have picked a better day to view a match." He turned to Brian. "How are you doing with your charm? Are you able to control both yourself and your chair yet?"
Brian shook his head. "Not yet, Professor. I'll have to Levitate myself downstairs without my chair."
"You're going to attempt seven flights of stairs?" Professor Ackerley asked incredulously.
"There's no other way, is there?" Brian asked, already knowing the answer. When the professor shook his head, Brian said, "My dad's going to carry me down."
Professor Ackerley frowned. "That's an awful lot of stairs with a big potential that one of you will get hurt. Please let me do the honours of floating you downstairs. I promise not to drop you."
After a hasty conversation using only nods, shakes and raised eyebrows, Mr Nelson said, "That will be fine, Professor."
The professor glanced at the clock on the mantle. "Very good. Now… if I remember correctly, you're early for the match because you were going to join Ravenclaw House for lunch in the Great Hall." Brian nodded and murmured the affirmative. "Then, we need to get going," added Professor Ackerley.
"I need to shrink my wheelchair, professor," Brian reminded him.
"No problem," the professor said. "You can shrink it once you're floating."
It was an odd sensation to be doing magic on his wheelchair while someone else was performing it on him, but the task was quickly completed and before he knew it, the entire group was gathered around the empty plinth of a departed suit of armour (one that had perished in the Second War, according to Professor Binns) that Professor Ackerley had deposited him on. Brian quickly transferred himself to his chair and then the adults had him lead the way into the Great Hall.
As he rolled through the doorway, the diners fell silent. Brian could feel the stares of every single person in the room and wondered sadly if he should have skipped lunch with his friends. Then, a single bench at the Ravenclaw table scraped the floor as the two students sitting on it stood up and began to clap. They were joined in rapid succession by the rest of his year and then the rest of his house. The wave of sound multiplied as the Gryffindors followed the Ravenclaws' lead. The Hufflepuffs were the next to stand and clap with the Slytherins and professors bringing the ovation to a thunderous end.
"Welcome back, Brian!" his roommates cried over the din as they hurried to group around him.
Completely overwhelmed, all Brian could do was stare and smile until his face hurt. "Why?" he managed to croak through the tidal wave of emotion coursing through him.
"You're a hero."
"We've missed you."
"Library discussions haven't been the same without you."
"You've been so brave, nearly Gryffindor-like! Are you sure you were Sorted into Ravenclaw?" (That one made him laugh.)
Eventually, Brian and his parents bid Kendra good-bye for the time being—she slipping off to eat with the Gryffindors—and found places across the table from his roommates. It felt so wonderful to sit at the familiar table and discuss familiar subjects and catch up on house gossip that he was a little disappointed when lunch came to an end and it was time to meet Kendra at the stadium entrance.
"I'd like to sit with my house," he told his parents as they reached the stadium.
"All right. We'll be sitting with the professors, Brian," his father told him. "We'll meet you back here after the match."
"See you then," Brian said as he and Kendra turned and hastened towards the stairs leading to the Ravenclaw bleachers.
"Do you want help up the stairs?" she asked, "or would you like to try it yourself?"
"Let me try it first to see how tired it makes me," Brian answered. "The levitation spell is tiring, but the only way I'll get stronger is to push myself."
They started up the stairs, Brian floating backwards ahead of Kendra. He made it up four levels before he asked for her help. After he had her practice the incantation a couple of times, they started up the last two levels and found seats on the aisle about halfway up the bleachers. As they waited for the stands to fill up, several of his housemates joined them.
"Have you been up to the tower yet?" a boy in fourth year asked.
Brian shook his head. "Not today. I have some… erm, things to learn still before I can propel myself up to the common room," he said, feeling a bit sad because it would have been nice to recline on his four-poster for a few minutes after lunch.
"Does that mean you'll be coming back with us in September?" Fern Ives, one of the other fifth years asked.
"My therapist says that I'll be ready to return to school with everyone on the Express on September first, yes," he said.
Fern laughed as she said, "I think you're going to have to enlarge your compartment to include places for all of our year to sit with you, then. Some people are already trying to elbow everyone else off the list of who gets to sit in your compartment."
"That could be a problem," Brian remarked. "I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings."
"Maybe if we took down the door and the front wall of your compartment more people than just your house could join you," Kendra suggested.
"We might want to do that to two adjoining compartments. You know, take down at least the bottom part of the separating wall to create a big communal seating area and do it without getting caught," Fern added.
"We should consider both of those modifications," Brian said thoughtfully. To his fellow Ravenclaws, he said, "I believe we have our project for the summer."
His housemates grinned and began whispering amongst themselves until the match started.
Brian enjoyed himself immensely during the first half hour of the match. The Gryffindor team was just as good—maybe even a hair better than—as the Ravenclaw team. Since the players were fresh, the tempo of the match was quite swift, and even though only two goals were made—one each per side—he couldn't help marvelling how well his replacement fit in with the other two Chasers.
Then, forty-five minutes in, the announcer cried, "And the Ravenclaw Seeker, Perry Hereward, has seen the Snitch!"
At this, every single student sitting in front of Brian stood up, blocking his view, and all he could do was listen, catching bits of commentary through the screams and chanting of his fellow spectators.
"Go, Perry, go!"
"Gryffindor Seeker, Wesley Freeman, has seen it too, but he's all the way over on the other side of the pitch."
"Get that Snitch, Perry!"
"…stretches out flat on his broom, zooming towards the Snitch."
"Don't let him have it, Perry!"
"They're neck and neck…"
"Go, Perry, go! Go, Perry! Go!"
"Oh! Close call! Too bad the Snitch got away. That Bludger wasn't meant for—"
Brian slumped in his seat, disappointed and frustrated that he couldn't see the action, even though he was sitting on the aisle. As the students took their seats again, the girls around him began giggling. Annoyed, he tried to focus on the match again, but he was distracted by a nearby conversation between two girls.
"Did you see what happened to Brian just now?"
"I know, but what can we do? I feel so sorry for him."
"Me, too. Should we offer to Levitate him?"
"That would be fun! We'd have front row seats with a view! He's always had such a cute arse!"
Disgusted, Brian turned around. "I'm trying to watch the match. If you have something to say to me, say it. My ears still work," he said. "I'll thank you to keep your opinions to yourself."
The girls seemed shocked that they'd been caught, but they didn't look very sorry he'd heard what they'd said. That annoyed Brian even more. He turned back towards the pitch, scowling and wishing ill on the Ravenclaw Seeker.
He felt Kendra's hand on his elbow. "Just ignore them," she advised.
"Ignore them," he repeated to himself as he turned back to match. He tried to concentrate on the action, but he couldn't get the girls' pity out of his head. Is this what I'm going to have to put up with for the rest of my life? he asked himself. He knew what the obvious answer was and it soured the elation he felt at being back at Hogwarts, sitting in the stands, watching a Quidditch match.
"Budge over, Brian. I need a place to sit."
Startled out of his self-pity, Brian glanced to his right to see Lily Potter standing in the aisle. She looked as frustrated as he felt. Automatically, he scooted over to make room for her, as did Kendra.
"What are you doing here, Lily?" Kendra asked James' sister.
"I need someplace to watch the match where I won't have to put up with my roommates," Lily growled.
"What are they doing?" he asked curiously.
"If I have to listen to one more comment about how big James' muscles are or how dreamy Albus looks in his Beater's uniform, I'm going to be sick!" exclaimed Lily.
"So you came to see us?"
"Yes, because I know you two are actually paying attention to what's going on on the pitch!"
"And your roommates don't?"
"Nope. Those girls have never gone to a Quidditch match to watch the action; all they want to do drool over the players! Where's their respect for the game?"
"Obviously not where it's supposed to be," Brian remarked, glancing backwards at the two girls who had offended him.
Lily picked up on his gaze. "Them, too? I'd like to Bat Bogey the lot," she said.
Brian couldn't help it. He chuckled. Maybe, with James' sister sitting next to him, he could concentrate on the action.
Lily proved to be a good seatmate. She obviously knew more about Quidditch and the Chasers' roles than any girl Brian had ever sat next to before. She was appreciative of both teams' moves, too, and kept up a running commentary about what she observed that was actually more interesting than the announcer's.
"Did you see that? That move was brilliant!" she exclaimed over the perfect Porskoff Ploy the newest Ravenclaw Chaser had just pulled off.
"Too bad the Quaffle was under-thrown," Brian said.
"Gravity helped, but she'll learn to gauge distances better with practice, I think."
Five minutes later, she commented, "Evan, the Gryffindor Keeper, flies like my Uncle Ron does."
Curious, Brian asked, "What do you mean?"
"Look at him. Do you see how he's staying mostly in front of the middle hoop and isn't protecting all three?"
Brian studied the Gryffindor Keeper as the Ravenclaw Chasers approached him. Lily was right; Evan flew in a vertical figure eight pattern that would only allow him to quickly move to the right or left hoop if the handle of his broom was pointed in the correct direction. Brian took the risk of saying, "That's good for us, then." He pointed to the ball carrier. "Iden's going to go for the left hoop, I think."
"No, he's not; he'll go for the right one," Lily disagreed. "Look at where his broom handle is pointed. He'd have to throw a reverse pass back to your replacement to get the timing right and she's too far out of position to make a decent catch; she'll have to fly by those two opponents to get it through the hoop. It's not going to happen, not when Ravenclaw is so many points behind."
Three seconds later, the Quaffle sailed past the Gryffindor Keeper's outstretched hands and through the right hoop. Brian shook his head, amazed by the fact that she was correct. "Lily, how come you can read the players so well?"
Lily blushed slightly as she said, "I have two Quidditch-crazed brothers, both of whom expect me to play two-a-side with them whenever they have an odd number of friends over. Plus, my mum's been reading moves from her Quidditch play book to me—instead of bedtime stories—for as long as I can remember."
Brian grinned. "That explains it!"
They next debated the Quidditch Cup points battle and speculated about which two teams would be playing each other at the end of the season. It all boiled down to which team won today's match. If Gryffindor won by only ten points today, Ravenclaw would be in the final match because they had thirty more points going into today's match than Gryffindor. But… if Gryffindor lost to Ravenclaw by ten points, and they won the Gryffindor-Slytherin match by twenty or more points next month, both teams would play each other if Ravenclaw won its match against Hufflepuff in March. However…
The two kept up their debate until Kendra poked Brian with her elbow. "Snitch," she said, pointing.
"Where?" asked Brian.
People were already rising to their feet as the three tried to track the little golden ball from their seats. Brian tried to stand, but his legs wouldn't move, couldn't support his body weight, and he slumped back onto the bench in defeat.
Lily's voice in his ear made him look up at her. "Is there anything we can do to help you see the Seekers?" she asked.
Brian hesitated. It was a mad idea, but he thought it might work. Besides, he trusted both Kendra and Lily… but if one of them stopped concentrating on her spell… No, he had to take the chance. "Would you and Kendra Levitate me?" he asked. "I want to see who catches to Snitch."
The girls exchanged nervous glances. Finally, Kendra said, "All right, but just until the chase ends."
Brian grinned. "Thanks, you two. Which spell will you be using?" he asked, looking at Lily because she wasn't as conversant as he and Kendra were in Charms due to her being a second year. "I'll cast it, too."
Lily named the charm she knew best and the two girls drew their wands. On Brian's count they cast their spells simultaneously and he rose slowly off the bench until he could see between the heads of the two people in front of him. Quickly, he searched for the two Seekers, who were flying high overhead diagonally across the pitch. He glanced at the announcer's box and could just make out the score: Gryffindor 140, Ravenclaw 100.
The announcer's voice caught Brian's attention. "Seekers Hereward and Freeman are neck and neck, racing handle to handle for the Snitch. A lot of bumping and banging going on there folks. Watch out for those elbows, boys. I wouldn't want Madam Hooch to penalize you two for cobbing."
Suddenly, with an extra burst of speed, the Ravenclaw Seeker drew ahead of his opponent and stretched out his arm, letting the sleeve of his robes puff out in the wind. A second later, the Snitch disappeared, having been scooped up in the loose material.
As the announcer cried, "Ravenclaw win! Brilliant use of the Plumpton Pass!"
Brian pumped a fist in the air and let out a whoop of joy. The sudden movement shifted his weight, causing him to tip dangerously backwards so that he grabbed Lily and Kendra's shoulders to keep himself upright.
"Careful there, Brian," Lily cautioned at the same time Kendra reacted with, "We've got you." Both girls moved closer to him and linked their free arms behind his back, still keeping their wands trained on him.
Brian said shakily, "I've had enough. Please put me down."
The girls lowered him to the bench and sat down with him as the commentator announced the score—Ravenclaw 150, Gryffindor 140. All around them the Ravenclaws left the stands and began surging onto the pitch.
"Are you all right?" Kendra asked.
He nodded. "Give me a moment." When his hands stopped shaking, he looked up to see Lily and Kendra had put their wands away. "That was a stupid thing to do."
"What happened?" Lily asked. "I thought you knew what you were doing."
Brian hung his head. "I did, but I got carried away and shifted too much. I would have fallen if you two hadn't caught me," he said.
"We wouldn't have let you fall," Kendra said.
"We'd be in a heap of trouble if you were hurt again," Lily said, "and I would have never heard the end of it from my dad since it was my idea."
"So would I because I went along with it," Brian said.
Kendra was now looking at the mob of Ravenclaws surrounding the players down on the pitch. "Want to go down there?"
"No. My chair will just get stuck in the mud," he said, pointing to the myriad muddy prints in the dead grass. "Let's go find my parents instead."
The girls agreed and stepped aside to let him pass. He cast his climbing spell to lower himself down to the walkway and eased his body down the steep stairs. At the bottom of the steps, he enlarged his wheelchair and transferred to it. Then the three went to find his parents
"Did you have a good time sitting with your housemates?" his father asked a few minutes later.
Brian smiled. "Yeah, I did. Thanks for bringing me back for the match."
"You're welcome, dear. We'll come to the next Ravenclaw match if you want," his mum said. "I quite enjoyed this one."
"I'd like that," Brian said, knowing that he really did want to come back despite the difficulties his disability had presented.
"We need to get going," his father said. He extended a hand to Kendra. "You and James will join again us next time, I hope?"
Kendra smiled. "I'll tell James you've invited us."
Brian had seen Lily hanging back a little as Kendra talked to his parents. He now rolled over to her.
"Thanks, Lily," he began.
"What for?"
"Erm, for talking to me during the match and not about me."
"Oh," She seemed surprised. "It was nothing. Really, I thought I'd talked too much."
"I needed the distraction. I wasn't having much fun listening to those girls and you… helped me enjoy the match again." He hesitated and then asked awkwardly, "Will you write to me? I—I'd like to write to you."
Lily turned red from her neck to her forehead, but she was grinning like crazy. "Yes, I promise to write back, Brian. I had a good time today, too."
"Brian, we need to leave," his father called.
Reluctantly, Brian bid Lily and Kendra good-bye and followed his parents out of the stadium and over to a horseless cart that was waiting to take them back to Hogsmeade. As the cart passed through the gates, he turned around for one last look at the castle.
"It won't be long before you're back here for good, dear," his mum said.
Brian sighed. "I have a lot of work to do before that happens, though," he said.
"You'll get it done, Brian. I know you will."
The cart turned a corner and the castle slipped from sight.
0545 hours, Monday, 15 February 2021
Ron knew he shouldn't be nervous, but he was and he wondered whether Harry felt the same. They'd talked about this day quite often in the last few weeks, not only because Harry needed to be briefed on what was happening in the department, but because he was determined to reinsert himself into his job as if he'd been gone on a long holiday rather than in a sickbed for four months. Ron knew it was important to Harry to show his friends and co-workers that he was still quite capable of leading the department, even if his mobility was now limited.
"Ron, aren't you supposed to meet Harry for lunch today?" Hermione enquired over their morning tea and scones.
Ron smiled. "Yes, we're going to that new Muggle fish and chips place near the Visitor's Entrance."
"Why on earth would you take him there?" Hermione asked. "This is his welcome back lunch."
"You know Harry. I think he's still stuck back in the nineties right after the war, when George and I didn't have more than a Knut to our names," Ron said with a shake of his head. "Besides, I think he misses eating stuff like that. The dining room at The Groves only serves healthy food. The times I've eaten lunch with him, our plates have been heaped with fruits and vegetables. The cooks seem to be allergic to grease!"
Hermione poured more tea into her cup and took a sip. She looked at him over the rim of her cup as she said, "By all means, go enjoy your grease."
"I 'ill," Ron said around a mouthful of scone.
The morning flew by and before he knew it, Ron found himself sitting in the Transportation Office of The Groves, making small talk with the guard while waiting for Harry.
The door opened, admitting two small wheels followed by a pair of trouser-clad legs, and finally all of Harry and the rest of his chair, including a new carry-all that was strapped to the back rest. "Sorry to be late, Ron," he apologized. "Therapy ran a few minutes late and then I couldn't get my tie knotted correctly. I think my fingers forgot how."
"Like they always did on the first day of lessons at Hogwarts?" Ron asked, chuckling.
"Uh-huh," Harry agreed. He pulled at the collar of his shirt. "Damned neck tourniquet." Ron chuckled in agreement.
The guard opened the inner door for them. "Have a good day, gents. Mr Potter, I should be expecting you around six?"
"Most likely," said Harry. "I'll send word if I'm going to be late."
"Very good."
The door closed behind them and Ron turned to Harry. "Side-Along or Floo?"
"The Floo, mate. I don't want to be Splinched on my first day back," Harry commented as he threw a cloak over himself. The garment was big enough to cover both the wheelchair and Harry's body. It also had a hood, which Harry pulled over his head. When Ron raised an eyebrow, Harry explained, "Soot finds the most inconvenient places, so Ginny thought this might help keep the chair clean until Silvia and Healer Stilwell clear me to Apparate."
"And I bet not even Ginny's charmed clothes brush can find all the soot on your chair," Ron agreed.
"Tell me about it," Harry groaned as he rolled into the biggest fireplace, shouting, "Ministry of Magic."
Ron found Harry—minus the big cloak—waiting for him in the Atrium and the two made their way to the Visitor's telephone booth and out onto the street. As they made their way to the fish and chips shop an uncomfortable thought occurred to Ron. Would Harry be expecting him to open the shop door for him? He decided to wait for Harry's cue.
When they reached the shop, Harry opened the door himself and rolled over the threshold just as if he'd been walking next to Ron and reached the door first. Ron sighed in relief and followed his friend into the shop.
"I'll get us a table," Harry said, turning his head so Ron could hear him over the murmurs from the other diners. "I think it would be quicker if you ordered for me." He gave Ron his order and Ron joined the queue, realizing that in the crowded shop Harry would have difficulty balancing his meal on his lap. With the offer to find the table, Harry had finessed an awkward situation into one they both could live with.
The queue moved quickly and before he could become bored with waiting, Ron had paid for their food and was scanning the room for Harry's chair. He found his friend sitting next to a window and took their paper cones and fizzy drinks over to the table.
"I've waited so long for this!" Harry exclaimed happily as he unwrapped the newspaper surrounding his meal.
Ron bit into a vinegar-smothered piece of fish. "You had a good idea, Harry. Hermione thought we should go some place fancier, but this hits the spot," he said appreciatively.
Harry shoved a chip in his mouth and murmured agreeably. "Let's come here again next week," he suggested.
Half an hour later, Ron led the way out of the lift and waited for Harry. The two had lingered over their meal and now it was time to get Harry settled in his office. As they entered the Auror Department, Harry's and Robards' secretaries each greeted them from their desks.
"It's good to be back," Harry said to Ione, his secretary, with a huge grin on his face.
She returned the grin, but then frowned and pointed farther into the big room. Ron knew what was going to happen and played along with her. "I'm not sure you'll be happy in a couple of hours," she said.
"Susan's brought the files you'll be reviewing this afternoon," Ron joined in, doing his best to hide his smirk.
Harry turned his chair just in time to see Susan rounding the corner, carrying an enormous stack of file folders. She also carried a scroll that had unrolled over the leading edge of the top file. Every few steps, she had to kick it out of the way. "You'll need to review all of these by four o'clock so we can meet with Robards. I expect he'll want your opinion on all of them, Harry," she said.
Ron nearly choked on his laughter as Harry's jaw dropped. He shut his mouth with an audible snap and managed to sputter, "You're… you're sure he wants to review them at four?"
"Of course, Harry. Welcome back to the mad house," she said sweetly and Ron caught the laughter in her eyes as she added, "I'll take these to your office for you."
As she led the way towards Harry's office, Mary Beth jogged past, carrying an armload of scrolls, and caught up with her. "Susan, where do you want these?" she asked breathlessly.
"Harry's office," Susan replied, soliciting a groan from Harry.
"Ron, are you sure all those files are for me?" Harry asked. He looked rather discouraged. "I thought you said there were only three cases I needed to review today, not thirty!"
"All you need to do is sign them," Ron said. "You'll be done with that in about twenty minutes."
"Ron, I won't sign a file until I've read the entire report," Harry said, sounding dispirited. "You know that."
"I do, but we had an incredibly busy morning," Ron told him by way of explanation.
Harry sighed and pushed his chair ahead of Ron, going to meet Susan and Mary Beth who were standing by the door to his darkened office trying to manipulate their burdens in order to open the door. "I'll get that for you," he told them.
"Thanks, Harry," Mary Beth said, smiling sweetly. "You can go in first."
Ron stood back as Harry opened the door, rolled into his office and waved his wand to light the overhead sconces. As soon as the lights illuminated the room, Ron joined the rest of the Auror Department staff in yelling, "SURPRISE!" and "WELCOME BACK, HARRY!"
That morning, Harry's office had been expanded magically for the party. Ron had helped enlarge the conference table and set up extra chairs around the room to accommodate everyone who could participate. Then, everyone on the hospitality committee had pitched in to magically decorate the room with gold and red streamers and a large banner over the fireplace which read, "Welcome Back, Harry!" while others arranged the food and punch bowl on the conference table.
Susan now deposited her stack of files in Harry's in-box and Ron watched his friend closely as the pile shrunk from thirty to the three Ron had reviewed with him yesterday. Harry seemed to sag in relief as the scrolls in Mary Beth's arms morphed into a huge card, which had been signed by everyone before the party.
However, instead of laughing at the prank and going over to sample the food and have a piece of cake, Harry turned his tear-stained face on his assembled co-workers. "Thanks, everyone," he choked. "I'm at a loss for words because I wasn't prepared for a party. You have no idea what this means to me."
Ron walked up behind Harry and rested his hand on his friend's shoulder. "Harry, you're the reason this department runs so smoothly. You've worked hard to give us the good opinion the public has of us and you have made our jobs easier through the policies you've implemented. We were all devastated when you were hurt and this is our way of letting you know how much your presence means to us here in the office. So welcome back, Harry."
Someone handed Harry a handkerchief and a cake knife. "Thanks," Harry sniffed as he dabbed at his eyes.
"Let's get this party started!" someone else called. "I'm hungry!"
With an embarrassed laugh, Harry rolled over to the table and enchanted the knife to cut slices of cake. The noise level rose as people paired of into groups of three or four and soon everyone was enjoying the party.
A while later, as the Aurors began filtering back to their cubicles, Harry rolled over to where Ron was chatting with two of the younger Aurors.
"Whose idea was it to throw me a party?" he asked.
Ron looked at the other two and shrugged. "I don't think it was anyone's idea specifically. I think we all just came to an agreement that we needed to let you know how much you were missed these last months and how glad we are to have you back," he explained as the others nodded.
"I walked into the break room sometime last week and there was a notice on the board about when you were coming back. Two days later, it was full of scribbles relating to what people would bring for a welcome back party," said the first Auror.
The second Auror added, "It started out as just cake and coffee in the break room, but it soon turned into this big planning sheet with everyone passing the word that the location had been changed to your office and that it was to be a big surprise."
Harry seemed to accept their explanations without comment. Then he asked, "What about Susan and Mary Beth's prank? Whose idea was that?"
"Mary Beth's, believe it or not," Ron chuckled. "I think she's turning into the female equivalent of Fred and George."
Harry grinned sheepishly. "Well, she and Susan had me going for a while."
"That was the idea, mate." Ron looked at his watch. "I'd really like to stay, Harry, but I have a few things waiting on my desk. I'll tell the clean-up crew you'd like to have your office back."
"Thanks," Harry said. Ron watched him roll over to his desk, get out his slide board and settle into the big chair behind it. The sight of his best friend back where he belonged left a lump in his throat and he could only wave as he closed Harry's door.
It was good to have Harry back in the office.
A/N: This is a happy chapter, one that fairly flowed from my fingers and seemed to write itself. Many of you have wanted to see the scenes in this chapter and it pleases me to grant your wishes!
Many thanks to my pre-beta team of Miz636, Mutt n Feathers, RebeccaRipple, Rosina Ferguson and RSS who scrambled to read and comment on this chapter. I am grateful to you all for the comments and suggestions you generated on such short notice. I also thank Aggiebell for taking time out of her super-busy schedule this week to add her two Knuts worth so I could post the chapter on time. Thank you, too, to you, my readers for continuing to stick with the story as it winds down and you have to wait extra long for the next update. I appreciate your loyalty and look forward to reading and responding to your reviews.
Help keep Phoenixsong Running - Donate


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Tuesday is New Year's Eve and many of you think you'll need a nip or two of an adult beverage to celebrate the coming of the new year. We have nothing against adult beverages - we've been known to hoist a few, especially while writing difficult editorials - but we encourage you to celebrate responsibly.
According to a national survey by Mothers Against Drunk Driving, 73 percent of adults said they "have been at an event and seen someone try to drive home after drinking too much." That's a scary thought.
Between Thanksgiving and New Year's Eve 2011, the most recent figures available, 931 people were killed in drunken driving crashes nationwide, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Know your limits. For some folks that might be one glass of champagne. Others, a bit more. Drinking a glass of wine a day has some health benefits, but overindulging can lead to short-term memory loss, impairment of judgement and a decrease in motor skills. People have been known to do foolish things when they drink too much. Wearing a lamp shade is harmless fun, but DUIs, crashes, vandalism, hurting others or hurting yourself in a drunken stunt are not.
If you are going to drink, please don't get behind the wheel of an automobile. We'd like you around to celebrate a few more New Year's Eves.
In 2012, drunken-driving deaths increased almost 5 percent, according to the NHTSA.
The NHTSA's data showed 10,322 drunken-driving fatalities in 2012 compared to 9,865 in 2011. It was the first time in six years drunken-driving fatalities increased.
Also disheartening, overall traffic fatalities increased. There were 33,561 traffic fatalities in 2012, a 3 percent increase from 2011.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates the annual cost of alcohol-related crashes at more than $51 billion.
Don't put yourself or anyone else at risk Tuesday night. Drive sober or let someone else take you home.

subset: commoncrawl


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If evolution is outlawed, only outlaws will evolve!
I don't care how fast you are, you aren't going to get extra base hits unless you make outfielders turn their hips, either to chase a ball in the gaps or because it is over their head. Hamilton and Bourn consistently make outfielders turn their hips, something those other fast guys were never able to do.
Last edited by Steve4192; 10-29-2012 at 09:24 PM.
For those interested MLB Network is showing the Arizona Fall League Rising Stars game this Saturday at 8 PM.
Whether its "just stretching a single into a double" or "knocking a ball to the wall" neither Tavares nor Gaithright could do it with the regularity that Hamilton has thus far.
Also, even stretching a single into a double shows why pitchers need to be more careful around him and can't simply throw fastball straight down the middle, thus leading to more walks.
<EDIT> Instead of reading my post, just read Steve4192's post he answers it better than I.
I'm trying to think of a player who ever got any kind of SLG due to his speed. No one stretches singles into doubles with any kind of regularity. In fact, doubles leaders boards are often littered with slow players. The quality of the hit is what gets you a double. If you don't get it into a gap then even a Juan Pierre can make the throw to second.
Speed can turn a double into a triple (or a triple into a HR), and that might be what we're seeing with Hamilton. Instead of 22 doubles with 14 triples, he might be hitting more like a 30 doubles, 6 triples player who legs his way to extra triples.
Wait until the year after next year.
Curtis Partch and Billy Hamilton will be participating as the Reds representatives of the Rising Stars All Star Game on Saturday (MLB Network - 9pm - this Saturday).
"All I can tell them is pick a good one and sock it." --BABE RUTH
I hope I'm wrong about him, but until Curt Partch develops a pitch that can get lefties out, I'm not all that high on him. I felt the same way about Ondrusek, but Ondrusek developed a cutter and is now better against lefties than he is righties.
Get MLBtraderumors Reds updates on Facebook.
MLB Network to air 3 AFL games
Lutz AFL season is done. Broken Finger
http://diamondvisits.blogspot.com/ My Minor League stadium review site.
Board Moderators may, at their discretion and judgment, delete and/or edit any messages that violate any of the following guidelines: 1. Explicit references to alleged illegal or unlawful acts. 2. Graphic sexual descriptions. 3. Racial or ethnic slurs. 4. Use of edgy language (including masked profanity). 5. Direct personal attacks, flames, fights, trolling, baiting, name-calling, general nuisance, excessive player criticism or anything along those lines. 6. Posting spam. 7. Each person may have only one user account. It is fine to be critical here - that's what this board is for. But let's not beat a subject or a player to death, please.


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Release Notes: newfstatat/fstatat64 syscalls now respect the AT_SYMLINK_NOFOLLOW flag. A bug that sometimes prevent execution of the packaged script was fixed. There were also fixes to allow packaging of Qt V5.x applications.
Release Notes: This release fixes a bug where in some rare circumstances external files could be treated as internal. The ERMINE_SELF_FORCE_EXTERNAL environment variable allows you to specify a space separated list of files that should be treated as external even if packed.
Release Notes: Ermine now supports the AArch64 platform.
Release Notes: This release adds support for non-page-aligned PT_LOAD executable segments.
Release Notes: Adds support for faccessat/readlinkat/newfstatat/fstatat64/openat system calls used in Ununtu 12.04, Fedora 18, openSuSE 12.3, etc. Adds support for the dup3 system call. Error handling in numerous system calls was fixed. Slightly improved syscall handling performance. Increased tests coverage.
Release Notes: This release fixes an Ermine segfault when the output file is on a VirtualBox vboxsf filesystem.
Release Notes: This version contains only fixes for ARM. Ermine and Ermine-packaged executables are able to work when /proc/sys/vm/mmap_min_addr is 0x8000. This release maps pre-linked libraries to their preferred address.
Release Notes: This release adds a --max-ifd flag, allowing you to specify the number of internal file descriptors.
Release Notes: This release improves startup time of Ermine-packaged applications.
Release Notes: The d_off field value returned by getdents/getdents64 syscalls on packaged directories was fixed. A problem where stat/stat64 syscalls returned 0 instead of ENOENT for non-existent directories was fixed. A segfault after eventfd2 syscalls in Ermine-packaged executable on x86-64 and a similar bug on i386 were fixed.


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Leading Women connects you to extraordinary women of our time. Each month, we meet two women at the top of their field, exploring their careers, lives and ideas.
(CNN) -- As the CEO of Guardian Life Insurance, Deanna Mulligan has joined a small but powerful group of female business executives on the Fortune 500 list.
She talks to "Leading Women" about life at the helm of the 150-year-old insurance giant and how opportunities for female professionals are growing day by day.
With women only holding 4.2% of Fortune 500 CEO positions, CNN takes a look at the pearls of wisdom shared by some of the world's leading businesswomen on getting to the top -- and staying there.
Lauren Said-Moorhouse contributed to this report.


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As we needed any more Mike Wallace talk this offseason. I'm quite honestly so tired of hearing about it but what else are people in the media going to yap about since the Steelers rarely make any significant free agency moves of bringing in new players, until after the draft.
FROM PFT: Steelers receiver Mike Wallace remains an unsigned restricted free agent, but Wallaces partner in the Pittsburgh receiving corps, Antonio Brown, says hes not worried about Wallace getting away.
Brown said on NFL Networks Total Access that he expects Wallace to sign with the Steelers, either the one-year tender offer or a long-term deal, and that the two of them will remain teammates.
I definitely expect it, Brown said. I definitely look forward to him providing me help from the other side, rolling coverages hes a great teammate of mine.
Brown admitted that he doesnt know if other teams have spoken to Wallace about signing him to an offer sheet, and the reality is that theres still plenty of time for some team to do that. And although the Steelers would likely try to match any offer for Wallace, there are plenty of teams that have more cap room than the Steelers and could sign Wallace to a front-loaded offer sheet that the Steelers would have a very difficult time matching.
And yet Brown remains unconcerned.
No doubt in my mind, hes coming back, Brown said.


text: There's a lot to be excited for in 2012, and the Shacknews staff each have five games on their radar. The editorial team at Shacknews outlines their most anticipated games of 2012 individually, starting with staff writer and indie expert Jeff Mattas. BioShock Infinite The next title from developer Irrational Games, Bioshock Infinite, pulls the series out of the ocean setting of the first title and places it above the clouds in the floating city of Columbia in an alternate version of 1912. In Bioshock fashion, the floating city has degenerated into dystopia due to a war of ideals amongst its citizenry. The conflict between the Columbia's two remaining factions--the theocratic Founders and the Vox Populi (Latin for "Voice of the People")--remain, and players will find themselves in the middle of a philosophical conflict that seems to bear more than passing similarities to the ones on display in modern American politics. Besides the anticipation of another thought-provoking, politically-charged story, Bioshock: Infinite's action looks fun and intense. I can't wait to zip around the city on its roller-coaster-like, rail-based transit system. Throw in the fact that the main protagonist Booker DeWitt's companion Elizabeth is able to manipulate rips in the fabric of space and time, and you end up with one of my most anticipated shooters of 2012. BOOM video 11390 Borderlands 2 I love great co-operative gameplay. Gearbox's Borderlands successfully managed to harness the addictive loot-gathering staple typically relegated to games like Diablo, and infused it into a co-operative open-world shooter. Borderlands 2 is due out in 2012, features new characters, and what little in-game footage that's been revealed looks even prettier than the last outing. While I don't necessarily expect Borderlands 2 to set the world on fire with a ton of innovation, I do anticipate enough significant mechanical and presentational improvements to make another romp through dangerous territory worth taking. Improved AI for enemies and NPC's, a four-seat vehicle, and all new guns are just a few specific things that have my interest piqued. Technically, Borderlands 2 could release in 2013, but the window that Gearbox has provided coincides with Take-Two's 2013 fiscal year, which begins in April of 2012, and ends in March of 2013. Borderlands 2 from developer Gearbox Software Mass Effect 3 Commander Shepard's final voyage is almost at hand, and I'm incredibly stoked. The Mass Effect series really hit its stride in part 2, with its blend of conversation-based role-playing and 3rd-person shooting. Although I wasn't very pleased with the second game's decision to over-simplify things like equipment and weapon customization--rather than improving the clunky system from the first game--the Mass Effect Series remains some of the best interactive science-fiction available to date, in many ways filling the nebulous, space-opera-sized hole left behind by the inanity of the clumsy Star Wars prequel films. Mass Effect 3 also marks the conclusion of a story in which player decisions carried over from one game to the next. While the decision-based consequences reflected between parts one and two weren't incredibly poignant, I'm anticipating that BioWare will pull out a few more stops for the third chapter. And though I don't have a Kinect yet, being able to vocally select dialog choices in Mass Effect 3 might just be enough for me to justify purchasing the peripheral. I just hope the trilogy's climax isn't as gob-smackingly silly as the ending of Mass Effect 2. BOOM video 11403 Hitman: Absolution Agent 47 is about ready to choke the living daylights out some more unsuspecting suckers again in Hitman: Absolution. Based on the extended developer commentary trailer released by IO Interactive--and the fact that it's been almost six years since the last Hitman game--I'm more than ready for another dose of murder-for-hire. Besides looking fantastic, Hitman: Absolution is promising a multitude of improvements and refinements from the previous games in the series, not the least of which is improved enemy AI. NPC's will react more appropriately to the deadly protagonist, depending on his chosen disguise and surroundings. I enjoyed the prior Hitman games for the most part (especially Blood Money), but as a stealth-driven experience, they all suffered from varying degrees of trial-and-error gameplay which made it a bit more difficult to plan as tactically as I'd have liked for an elite assassin. Absolution is addressing this problem by implementing an interesting feature called "Instinct" which allows Agent 47 to sense enemy patrol routes, hide in plain sight, and even see enemies through walls for a limited time. In a series that's always required precise timing and planning to pull off the perfect kill, I've got high hopes that the ability will make things more enjoyable for the stealth-inclined. Be sure to check out the end of the developer walkthrough video where the game's improved crowd technology is shown off. Absolution will have a ton of little (but significant) improvements like that, which will hopefully all come together to deliver the best game in the series. Hitman: Absolution from developer IO Interactive Grand Theft Auto V There are a few primary reasons that Grand Theft Auto V is one of the games I'm most excited about playing in 2012--if it does end up hitting store shelves next year, that is. Despite the fact that games featuring open-world mayhem have become prevalent in the modern gaming landscape, the studios under the Rockstar Games banner continue to impress me with each new title that refines and improves the formula that was pioneered back in 2002 with GTA III. As a long-time Los Angeles resident, I'm very excited for the opportunity to cause chaos in Rockstar's rendition of my local habitat, and have been blown away by the satirical accuracy in which my real-world neighborhood of Venice, California will be portrayed. Sure, the game's locale was already featured in GTA: San Andreas, but clips of Rockstar's versions of locations ranging from downtown L.A. to the Altamont pass seem to tease the possibility of another massive world--or at least one that can be expanded with sizeable expansions or DLC. Little is known about GTA V's story, or even who the main character will be, but given the series' track record in those regards, I expect good things. It's also the first next-gen GTA game to include airplanes that appear (though are not confirmed) to be flyable. Squee! BOOM video 11074


text:
"misrepresenting and concealing material information in the marketing, advertising, sale, and servicing of its iPhone 4 — particularly as it relates to the quality of the mobile phone antenna and reception and related software."
So naturally, the people who actually had the problem are entitled to fifteen (count 'em!) dollars.
Are there any figures for the people who got a full refund for a phone that was - according to some, anyway - not fit for purpose?
I own an iphone4 and live in a rural area. The iphone4 was unusable at my house until I put a bumper case on it. However when I put a bumper case on it, the phone started working perfectly, the reception was as good as any other phone I had tried (I used to be a blackberry user). That is why this didn't blow up bigger in my opinion.
Also, I highly recommend apple's bumper case, they fit so tightly onto the phone it seems like you aren't using much of a case at all. A friend of mine gave me an apple bumper case or I would have never tried one. They add a certain amount of needed grippyness but not too much (the non-apple one I'm using right now pulls my entire pocket out with it). The apple case I received from a friend was made for an AT&T phone so the ringer switch was hard to use, so I'll use this settlement to get a case that fits my phone.
The disappointing part is that apple was allowed to make extra money on bumper cases all this time. I never bought one from them and it did not feel right to have to buy one from them to get my phone work. At the same time, since I had found a workaround, I wanted to keep my new smartphone because I was really enjoying how well it worked doing everything else.
More useless anecdotal evidence
Also, recently I have started hanging out in apple stores telling people who show up to buy a power adapter that they need to go home and check out adaptersettlement.com and bring their laptop/strain damaged laptop instead of spending $80. Made two people REALLY happy last week, but it was apple's fault, they made me come in a second time for my adapter settlement, so I was working overtime on my information campaign.
You get some compensation with no risk or effort on your part in a class action lawsuit. The attorneys take all of the risk - if they don't win, they get no $$$ and have to pay their staff out of pocket - so they get most of the money. Don't like it, hire your own lawyer at your own financial risk.
Name a better system if you can. There's government oversight and enforcement, but the same sort of people that wage war on their own class by buying propaganda on class action lawsuits, unions, etc usually opp
In this case they are giving a bumper case that resolves the issue. Seems fair.
Yeah, but Apple already gave everyone a free bumper who wanted one. The problem is that it solves the antenna issue, but causes the phone to be the wrong size for every docking connector made for the phone, including all "compatible" and official Apple accessories when installed. I just hold mine differently (really, it almost feels like someone else is holding it). Seems like a lawsuit that should never have been dismissed early based on Apple's official response.
And all the customers who bought one after the bumper case program ran out? Interesting that Apple pulled out all the stops to replace a plastic screen with glass on the original phone, but couldn't work out how to stop bridging that lile gap when the phone is held normally?
The problem is that it solves the antenna issue, but causes the phone to be the wrong size for every docking connector made for the phone, including all "compatible" and official Apple accessories when installed.
This is NOT true. I've had an Apple supplied bumper from day one and have NEVER taken it off.
They're fixing the problem. You bought a phone with the expectation it would work under normal circumstances (i.e. being held), it didn't, and this forces them to rectify the issue.
You aren't entitled to out-of-proportion rewards, like millions of dollars, Apple being put out of business, a new phone, or even a refund. You bought a phone with a poor antenna design, and they provided a satisfactory workaround. Get over it.
It wasn't even that bad of a design to begin with. Under all the conditions where an internal antenna would work acceptably (ie, when the phone was being held in any possible position) the 4's antenna also worked fine. It was only in marginal conditions where internal antennas, like the one in the 3GS, would not receive a signal in the first place that the detuning showed up.
The design should have figured both left and right handed use from the start, certainly, but it was nowhere near as bad as many were m
The antenna is far worse than other high end phones when the problem kicks in. It is undeniably an issue.
The bumper prevents the phone fitting most docks and isn't what I'd call attractive.
Get over it.
I think the OP is pointing out the ritual of class action lawsuits in America. A CAL is filed and won or settled for tens or hundreds of millions of dollars. Lawyers take 30-50% and the rest is divided over the huge pool in the class, hence often resulting in a few bucks each.
It's a perverted system - as a big company, you are spared having to pay anything of substance to each litigant, yet the overall effect is still big. Lawyers love it because they get rich.
I usually get 2-3 letters or postcards a year
$3500 is real money.
If your story is true as stated, you likely had the choice to litigate in local small claims. As stated, the chances that the company would have settled when served with a lawsuit are at least 90%.
You chose not to, and to participate in the class action instead, for whatever reason.
You are more than able to bring your own case, accept the risks of doing so, and reap whatever you get Apple to settle for.
Those legal costs might very well take a big bite out of whatever you get. And if you lose, you will still have legal costs to cover - thems be the risks.
Actually, no, no, no no no.
With the existing precident, you are almost guaranteed to win in any small claims venue. Your costs range from free to about $75. You can represent yourself.
On the other hand, Apple, as a corporation, is going to have to send a lawyer. At $350/hr or so, they're going to spend at least $5000 on the case -- time, travel, expenses (hotel etc).
If you sue them for $500 or less, it simply makes sense to settle. And in fact, I've only seen Apple not settle once-- when a law student at Berkeley did them the convenience of (intentionally) suing them in Cupertino over a defective laptop.
Guess what? He still won. Small claims litigation is not massive class action. It has restricted, common sense rules and proceeds by a common sense, preponderance of the evidence. Guys in fancy suits tend not to impress judges who have deep caseloads to clear.
In this case, the question is the damages. Hard to calculate, but I could see service costs over a year, plus some punitive or retributive damages in some jurisdictions. The higher you make it, the more incentive you give Apple to fight, so realistically, I'd peg a reasonable suit at $500-750.
If it's worth your time to do the research and/or go through the hoops of the small claims procedure in your jurisdiction (5-10 hours for a novice), then I'd say go for it. If people did it all the time, corporations would be much more careful and responsive.
Otherwise, my point is that the parent post is mostly FUD, mixed with ignorance.
Once again, some law firm gets millions for shuffling some paperwork around, and the consumers who actually experienced the problem get a few bucks each. Just doesn't seem right.
And that law firm spent a million to do that shuffling. Would you pay a lawyer a million dollars to sue Apple over $15? Of course not. No one would. So, absent a class action suit, everyone would just suck up their $15 loss and Apple - or any other large company - would get away with it.
Class action suits are more about punishing the company for wrongdoing than compensating consumers... which is why it's not surprising that there are a lot of shills out there arguing that they're wrong and that lawyers are
( you.isLawer() == true ) || ( you.GetParent().isLawer() == true )
That's ok, we do sometimes need lawyers, like when the Feds come knocking...
>And that law firm spent a million to do that shuffling. Would you pay a lawyer a million dollars to sue Apple over $15? Of course not.
No, but you wouldn't be paying $1 million. $15 or $150 or $1500 (all reasonable amounts to sue for) are small claims-- $25,000 is the small claims limit in my jurisdiction, and $1500 is the lowest state-set jurisdictional limit in the US.
In small claims, you can represent yourself. The filing fee can range from free to about $75. As a corporation, Apple needs to se
>And that law firm spent a million to do that shuffling. Would you pay a lawyer a million dollars to sue Apple over $15? Of course not.
No, but you wouldn't be paying $1 million. $15 or $150 or $1500 (all reasonable amounts to sue for) are small claims-- $25,000 is the small claims limit in my jurisdiction, and $1500 is the lowest state-set jurisdictional limit in the US.
In small claims, you can represent yourself. The filing fee can range from free to about $75. As a corporation, Apple needs to send a lawyer across the company to respond to my suit, pay that lawyer $350/hr, pay his travel and lodging expenses, etc etc.
The above is an imbalance that highly favors the plaintiff. In practice, I've never heard of Apple sending a lawyer (outside cases filed in Cupertino) for anything under $5000; they settle, because the costs of not settling are enormously disproportionate. As do almost all corporations.
One-on-one lawsuits and class actions are entirely different things.
Or, they'll default. And then you can pursue them for your $15 default judgement. And after spending hours and hours of your time, they'll send you a $15 check, making the deal work out to about a dollar an hour for you. Hoooray?
Read the other posts in this thread, whydon'tcha, like the woman who opted out of a $200 Toyota settlement and won $10K instead.
The point is that you wouldn't sue for the $15, which is the reduced bulk rate that the firm filing a CLA is willing to accept.
In this case I'd probably file for 18 months service costs ($900 or so), and some amount up to treble damages, so potentially, $3600 or so. I'd typically be glad to settle for 2/3 or so of that.
Personally, it would take me an hour or two to send th
Every time I've been invited to take part in a class action lawsuit, I was sent a postcard saying I had a right to withdraw from the suit and take up my own claim against the company.
If your brother was so upset about the $3 payout, which was likely announced on that postcard, why didn't he tear the postcard up instead and file his own claim?
I think the OP was lying, and was just about to pass it by.
I know of no such CAL against Morgan Stanley, and have followed the news. Certainly there could be something small I don't know about, but...
$3 is a ridiculously small payout on a $10K loss, especially considering treble damages. To keep making the point I've made in other threads: when we're talking about something substantive and tangible and reasonably large, not your VCR rebooting on 3rd Thursdays (yes, that was essentially the jist o
It's worth a try. I believe the only thing at risk is the filing fee.
Yes. A million times, yes. And one more time, yes. At least some around here, get it.
Problem is that the amount you get depends on the losses you can prove. A bumper and maybe some loss of the cool sleek looks is apparently worth $15, seemingly ignoring the fact that the phone no longer fits many docks. If you had such a dock you could add the cost of a replacement to the amount claimed. You would also get expenses, but you don't really win anything there since they are things you paid out on.
Your only hope of making significant cash is to show financial loss due to the problem. Dropped cal
Well thanks guys, but come on. $15 or a free bumper? After 18+ months?
I already got my free bumper just after I got my iPhone 4. It was, and still is, a piece of shit. It completely ruined the look and feel/smoothness of the phone, messed up the top jack so that the audio aux out to my car was useless and made getting the phone out of my pocket a nightmare. After a few days I ripped it off my iPhone and literally threw it out the window of my car in a fit of rage. It's in a ditch on the side of a country ro
Thanks for littering, asshole.
The $200 fine you deserve for littering should offset whatever you feel you're entitled to from Apple. So it's even.
Well thanks guys, but come on. $15 or a free bumper? After 18+ months?
Message from Apple to you: Fuck you very much
file a small claims case for the price of your phone... you will likely win since they have admitted they were wrong by settling.
What Apple may or may not have made selling the iPhone is irrelevant to this case. What counts are the actual damages. Seems about right.
I thought it was decided that the iPhone was first and foremost a network device, and just incidentally a phone. At least, that's what many owners are telling me now, so they all seem to have gotten the same memo.
If the iPhone is not primarily a phone, it could be argued that some issues in that area are to be expected. Apple should have stuck it out and established a precedent.
Idiots who add the postfix Gate to everything should be plain executed publicly. It sounds stupid, attempts to link whatever with a president conducting criminal activities (old story), and doesn't add any value. Like if these things were comparable or even on the same scale of importance. It's just smokes and mirrors for retards - which seem to have arrived to Slashdot as well it seems.
I'm getting so tired of seeing -gate appended to every issue. Just say "antenna issues" or something. Crying ZOMG ANTENNAGATE does nothing to actually help me remember which lawsuit we're talking about because my eyes start glazing over and I bet this won't be the last time there will be antenna troubles either.
That and the issue is nowhere near as important or as shocking as the actual Watergate scandal. Stop it. All of you.
This is for alll of you Apple haters out there that cry "double standards" and to prove that, once and for all, Apple gets the same slap on the wrist as everybody else.
Class action suits over consumer electronics are basically an extortion scam (albeit a legal one) perpetrated by lawyers. It works as follow:
1. Contact the media, announce a class action lawsuit demanding a huge amount of money over a "flaw" in a widely sold product.
2. Contact the company, offer to settle for pennies on the dollar. The company nearly always settles, regardless of the merits, because it would cost more to fight the suit.
3. The members of the class (i.e. the customers) get a pittance, often hardly enough to pay them for the time to fill out the paperwork.
4. But the lawyer gets a slice of every one of those piddly little settlements, which adds up to a nice chunk of change for hardly any work.
Lather, rinse, repeat.
If you believe in conspiracies, then it may actually be one of Apple's own lawyers who initiated the suit.
You'd have to be very conspiracy-minded indeed to think that there are so few unethical lawyers around that Apple would need to invent some
You sir, clearly, have never worked at a class action firm.
The risks and costs of such litigation are real and large. A failed case can cost a firm millions. Hundreds of thousands are often spent researching cases that go nowhere. Very few lawyers get filthy rich, as opposed to standard compensation, from CALs.
Yeah, right. Research for what? To discover that the iPhone's signal is weakened when you hold it a certain way? Like every other such personal electronics class action suit I've heard of, the "flaw" was already public knowledge when the suit was filed. But I guess that I shouldn't be surprised that exaggerated costs are part of the scam. No wonder the settlement to the individual class member almost always turns out to be not worth the time it takes to fill out the paperwork. Not if the law firm is taking
You obviously have no idea what a law firm does.
In addition to the technical resources, you have to do legal research, often tons of it. Junior associates have to show up at 5 and stay until 10 to get this done, often under deadline-- and the firm competes to find people capable of that (most burn out within a year or two). These costs come right out of the firms' pocket, long before any chance of profits.
Running a large class-action is not a slam-dunk process by any means. It can often require the
You know, speaking as an Apple Fanboi, I'll admit they made a goof with the antenna design. While maybe not "bad" (or worse than its competitors) there was clearly a design flaw and it could've been better.
That's (one of the reasons) why I waited for the 4S.
They fixed that problem and added some new features. I'm sure there will never again be an obvious antenna flaw on any Apple iProduct. Isn't that right Siri?
I'm clearly missing something here. Didn't Apple voluntarily offer up a free bumbler or (even better than $15) a full no questions asked refund to anyone that felt they had a problem!?!?!?!? This was done almost immediately after the 4 issue was uncovered.
So some dumb (or brilliant depending on your perspective) lawyers charged millions in fees to accomplish a "settlement" that's even less generous than what Apple offered up voluntarily? God bless America.
Most owners were going to replace it when the next one came out anyway.
mine's in India.
sold it with the free case i got from apple.
who the hell didn't take them up on it when it was offered the first time around?
IMO the case I got then was better than Apple's bumper (which was slow shipping at the time) anyway.
Apple denied the problem at first, so they wanted it to sound like a big scandal for eyeballs.
If there were a lawsuit & scandal over Bill Gates tripping over something, it would be called GatesGaitGate.
Me too. I'm calling this phenomenon 'scandal-gate'.
"I shall expect a chemical cure for psychopathic behavior by 10 A.M. tomorrow, or I'll have your guts for spaghetti." -- a comic panel by Cotham


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Lead Team to 6th Place at NCAA Regionals
NEW HAVEN, Conn. - After their top performances at the NCAA Regional meet on Saturday, sophomore Liana Epstein and junior Elizabeth Marvin have been named to the All-Northeast team. Epstein was 11th out of 243 runners, clocking in at 21:05.2. Marvin crossed the line in 21:17.4, good for 17th overall. For their efforts, they were selected as members of the All-Northeast team.
Marvin and Epstein lead the Bulldogs to sixth place as a team, which is Yale's highest finish since 2005 when the team boasted an NCAA National Championship qualifier. The team relied on its depth, placing all five scorers in the top 53 to edge seventh-place Connecticut by four points.
Saturday's meet at the Audobon Golf Course in Amherst, N.Y., hosted by SUNY Buffalo, marked the conclusion of the season for the Bulldogs. Many of them will return to compete on the indoor track next month.
Report by Natalie Villa '13, Yale Sports Publicity


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Even Long-Married Happy Couples Ask, 'How Can We Have Sex More Often?'
Experts offer advice for seducing your spouse: First talk, then have more fun
As a relationship columnist, I hear a lot from male readers whose emails and letters are variations on a theme: "I have a long, stable marriage but we don't have sex anymore. How can I change this?"
Often, these men describe themselves as heartbroken at the absence of sex in their lives. They deeply miss the intimacy and the connection, but they don't know how to tell their spouse. "I was raised to be gentleman," one man married for 30-plus years told me. "So how do I tell my wife I want more sex without...


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The All Nations Cup - Aachen Germany
by Scott Bailey
The All Nations Cup was the first International show that I attended many years ago. That first year was magical, I was so impressed with everything, from the presentations of the horses to the way the arena was setup for the spectators. The first show was a wonderful experience and this year was just as magical as the first. There was the anticipation of seeing two legends of our breed being shown again in Europe after many years in the USA.
First there was Marwan Al Shaqab, surely the most influential stallion of the last decade. He was in fine form, conditioned perfectly and looking more beautiful then ever. He was quite fond of himself and really owned the ring, striking and squealing at any other stallion that came near him. Everyone knew how special he really was and was the high scoring horse of the show. The other high scoring horse, tied in scores with Marwan, is the multi International champion mare Pianissima, arguable the most beautiful mare representing the Polish breeding program.
Another highlight of the show was Imperial Baarez, the reserve Champion Stallion. Tarek and Ahmed Soliman are 2 of the nicest people you will ever meet in the Arabian horse business. We first met Tarek over a phone call when he wanted to buy our mare Hadayyah several years ago, but at the time she was not for sale. Tarek in his very confidant voice said that he would like to buy Baarez instead, after a small chuckle we told him that would be impossible. Well in a few short years Tarkek has assembled one of the finest collection of Egyptian Arabian horses in Egypt and perhaps the world, including Baarez and our mare Hadayyah. Have to love a guy that has goals and sticks with them.
As always the All Nations cup is the highlight on the show calendar and is a must see show for anyone in the Arabian horse business.
Click here for more photos and results from the championships.


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I had decided to get my older son an IPOD for Christmas, since he is always stealing mine. But of course I was waiting out for a Great Deal. Boy did I find it.
This week Target had "buy the 16GB iPod for $199 and receive a $25 gift card". Well I've been saving up those $5 GC's all year long and made an awesome buy yesterday. After redeeming my Shopkick points I was able to get $22 in GC's. After everything I ended up paying only $83 for the IPOD, plus got $25 back in a gift card!
Way to go Sylvia! Got a shopping trip you'd like to share? just email your pic with details and we'll get it on the blog.
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For those not familiar with ShopKick:
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Are you testing all possible browser and platform variations when testing your Web applications?
Tuesday, February 4th 2014
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Join Squish expert, Amanda Burma, and discover how to expand your testing to all your supported environments!
Duration: 30 minutes plus Q & A
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Date: April 12th, 2014
Location: Science Complex Atrium
A one-day event, the Albion College Teaching Symposium provides an informal venue for all faculty and staff to celebrate, showcase, and discuss a wide range of topics related to the diversity and richness of teaching at Albion College, in and out of the classroom.
The symposium is not intended as a forum for the scholarship of teaching. Instead, it is about sharing and exploring our personal and professional teaching experiences and pedagogical ideas. Teaching is happening every day and everywhere on campus. With that in mind, all faculty and staff are encouraged to participate in discussions of the real-world nuts and bolts of all types of teaching—from triumphs and joys to disappointments and anxieties.
Registration for the Teaching Symposium event is now closed. Please email Jess Roberts or Nels Christensen if you have any questions.