Love's Whimsical Melancholy IS the greatest thing I ever wrote not counting Candy Shoppe which will never leave my side or see print EVER! so don't hold your breaths ... well, you could dig up my corpse after I die, because I'm going to be buried with the only written copy of it. But that would seriously be morbid and not fanboyish at all





"Why would any of us want to do anything you ask of us?" Freddie asked the boy in the chair angrily. The boy just laughed.

"I don't know, he convinced me," Giovanni replied, shrugging his shoulders.

"You're not helping things," Freddie shot back at his friend. Then turned his eyes back to the boy in the chair, his wand still in his hand.

"I'd just like to know what your scheme is and how this might be profitable for anyone?" Draco Malfoy added. He glared at his fellow Slytherin. His face did not betray the shock that had been so apparent in Freddie's face.

"Oh, there's going to be money involved, loads of it, if he knows what's good for him," Teddy answered Malfoy. He cracked his knuckles for emphasis.

"There's profit to be had in everything if it's done right," the black boy answered cheekily. "Oh Draco, you're so adorable trying to tax your mind. Don't hurt yourself. Leave the thinking to the big boys," Blaise Zabini replied. He laughed again.

"Did Ottery leave you in charge?" Freddie asked. "If you're using his office and his friends without permission ..."

"Yes, Freddie, we're all perfectly aware of how dangerous an angry otter is. Moving on ... idle threats, and deposed leaders aside. I have a plan that is mutually beneficial to all parties involved."

"And that would be?" Draco and Teddy asked. They looked at each other and smiled wickedly to one another.

"Patience children. Patience. First of all I need to know that you will all work with me to see this come to fruition. I won't let you know unless you're going to be a party to it, and that means ..."

"I'm not taking an unbreakable vow with you, Blaise," Draco remarked.

"You will if I make you," Teddy replied.

"All of your skills are necessary to this endeavor otherwise I wouldn't have chosen you lot to help me. Either you're in or this caper isn't happening." Blaise played with a pen on Ottery's desk. "You all have skills that are ... unique and necessary to this assignment."

"Caper?" Freddie asked.

"Well, you didn't think it was going to be something like cross stitch did you?" Giovanni answered.

"You're not helping Gio," Freddie replied.

"I know. Just go along. I'm sure Ottery would approve." Giovanni told his friend, then plopped down in one of the office's fluffy chairs.

"Where is that fool anyways?" Draco asked.

"Under a large pile of rubble if we're lucky," Blaise remarked under his breath.

"I'm all for a caper," Giovanni remarked smiling with all of the enthusiasm of youth. Still, Freddie couldn't help thinking that something was horribly wrong. Ottery always asked Teddy or Tiffany to run things in his absence and yet here was Zabini running the show. And what the devil was wrong with Teddy, just following along? Something did not smell right.

"I'm game," Malfoy replied. "If Teddy puts his wand away."

Teddy smacked Malfoy over the head with his wand and put it away, taking out a cigar and walking over to stand next to Blaise. "I'm game."

"Prince and I already said we'd play," Giovanni remarked. "If you get us that book on summoning dragons."

"I"ll do you one better and get you the book and an egg," Blaise replied, then turned his attention to the lone dissident. "Well, sir, what would you do? Will you lend us use of your lupine qualities for our little heist?"

"Heist? Oh this just gets better and better doesn't it?"

Blaise merely smiled wickedly.

♥

"Which one of you boobies stepped on the booby trap?" Tiffany exclaimed.

Ottery pointed at Seamus who pointed at Dean who was pointing at Clucky who was pointing at Ottery who happened also to be pointing at Tiffany.

"Boys are expendable," Tiffany replied, to which Clucky laughed.

They were standing inside a chamber in one of the pyramids having found each other. Seamus and Dean had explained about the bogus letter and Ottery had explained to them how his friends had been hijacked and how they'd hijacked his plans and Teddy was missing and the dang garbage people had the audacity to charge for garbage pickup when there hadn't been any. It was during this quaint reunion that someone had stepped on a wrong step and set off a trap, causing all the doors to close on them locking them in the chamber. As if that were not enough ...

"Mummies, seriously," Ottery remarked taking his wand and casting a sleep spell. The spell bounced off and did nothing. "Oh, yeah." He cast a fire spell and the flames engulfed the creature. "Kind of hard to scare people when you're not fire retardant isn't it?"

"Not working mate," Dean remarked, as the fire surrounding the mummy died down.

"Ottery," Tiffany screamed as one of the mummies tried to get fresh with her. She elbowed the monster in the face, causing his jaw to fall on the floor. "Oh, you don't pay me enough ..."

"You figure a way to get us out of this and you'll get a raise and that Matisse you love so much."

"Throw in the Magritte and yo've got a deal," Tiffany replied.

"Get me out of here and I'll find a way to give you the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel." Ottery fired a spell after another while Seamus just started punching and Dean used one of the mummy's fallen arms as a bat. Clucky cheered the boys on but things looked dire.

♥

My apologies if this seems rushed. I'm trying to finish this story before next month because if you all don't know it's ... Nanowrimo! I entered last year and I got 20.000 words down. Pity they sucked and the story had no plot. This year however, I will do better. More words and a plot. LOL Just don't ask me what it will be. I haven't decided but it's going to be slice-of-life rather than fantasy.

I'm thinking of writing a sci-fi story about Jester and Niko (my boys) but it would be posted obviously elsewhere ... it would also be like Dumbledore & Grindelwald only totally PG so obviously not posted here. Now, onto replies.

Connie: I love coffee but only if it's highly over priced and mixed in with fruity flavors a la Starbucks. Kelly needs to take me to Oxford for over priced coffee. I'm glad you're reading my stuff Connie but I should warn you its of varying degrees of good and bad. I've written them over the years so ... you can see the evolution of my writing style. I have to admit though Love's Whimsical Melancholy is the greatest story I've ever written here again ignoring Candy Shoppe which is my most epic. I loved it so much, and it brought me through some bad times and I would work on it and beta'd it and I was happy and sad throughout it, and it's ... well a time capsule of a beautiful and better day. I may never write it's sequel or it's like again.

KellyBear: I love ♥ you. And I totally know who it is yet, I knew days ago ... it just has to come to me ... You cant force art. You can't torture Teddy and I love Starry Night ...

dangrlforever:

OtterySt.Catchpole: WTH?!!! are you doing here? Shouldn't you be posting this story?