Chapter Thirty-Five: Luhrmall-estique
Luhrmalleen made two very clear observations about Montreal in the first twelve minutes that she was there: They spoke very odd French, and it was rather cold. Cold for May, that is. She had attempted to teach herself French after she discovered that Sirius spoke it, but she had soon given up. However, she needed to find a hotel. A nice man was smoking outside of the store. She walked up to him, and asked –
"Parlez-vous Engl-ay?" (1)
"Oui. What is it, mademoiselle?"
"Oh good. Well, I was wondering which hotel would be good to stay at…"
"The Hilton at the corner is very fine, mademoiselle."
"Oh yes, I see it. Thank you, sir."
She picked up her single bag and trounced off to the hotel.
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Ashley Turpin was having a very busy morning. She had just met James Potter's fiancé; she was such a lovely girl. Sirius, in the short time they had dated, has lamented that James' efforts to catch her attention were always in vain.
"I'm going to take a little break," she announced to the office and her Department head.
"That's fine, Ash, just be back in ten."
The ministry food was very fine, although she had been wary of the cafeteria after the superb cuisine at Hogwarts, but her worries had been unfounded. Ashley dipped a single strawberry scone into her tea. It was rather an odd thing to do, but her attentions were elsewhere.
A very handsome young boy had walked into the Ministry. The Ministry café overlooked the entrance hall, so she could see him quite clearly without being visible. He had dark black hair, and dark, almost haunting eyes. He had the same uncanny confidence as the members of Sirius' family, but was somehow softer, kinder. Despite this, Ashley was reminded of someone, someone who she would have preferred to forget. She peered closer. He was inquiring at the front desk about where he could find out about his genealogy.
Ashley went back to her department, and decided to call upon her friend in charge of Ministry files.
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Gerald, Harold, James, Remus, and Sasha were all gathered in the Delaware estate. Sasha had tired of the gorgeous California Coast after her seventh sunburn, and Remus was only too happy to oblige, since he was unable to wear bathing suits because of his scars. James had tired quickly of the network executives, and Gerald's vision headaches were becoming more and more frequent.
"This morning, it had Ashley Turpin in it. And your cousin," remarked Gerald, massaging his temples.
"I think someone has a little crush on Ashley," mocked Harold, and fed her boyfriend tea.
"But it was different from my ordinary visions. I couldn't understand it at all. And I had the feeling that some of it had already happened."
"Don't be so negative."
James had just gone out to get the mail and the paper. He was donning a sitcom-perfect plaid bathrobe and steaming coffee mug.
"Lummy's in the paper, and there's a letter for her from someone in California. Who does she know in California? There's a ton of stuff for Sirius. I guess this is his Muggle address."
"What's in the paper about Lummy," inquired Gerald.
"I think you already know, but I'll read it."
Local Girl Rises to Fame –-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Narcissa Avery nominated for Oscar –
Although it is not a well known fact that Narcissa Avery hails from the fine state of Delaware, we would all like to congratulate her on being nominated for Best Supporting Actress and Best Make-up in the film Peter's Struggle that was released just two months ago. Our more knowledgeable readers may wonder why the Academy Awards are held in July this year, but the story seems to be that a very prominent actor complained that it was too cold in February, and as a result, the award show has been moved for his convenience. Several other award shows have refused to "pander to the whims of celebrities" including the Emmy's and the Golden Globes, but it seems only a matter of time once Oscar has had his say.
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"The prominent actor was Sirius, by the way," added James.
"Really?" asked Sasha.
"Yea, it was Slughorn's party. He kept going on and on about how nobody wanted to get awards in February because it was the worst month of the year. The network executives heard him, and apparently did something about it," recalled Remus.
"This letter is an invitation. It's for all of us," read Harold, almost in awe.
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Dear Narcissa Avery,
We would like to congratulate you on your nominations for Best Supporting Actress and Best Make-up in the upcoming Academy Awards. Due to our inability to contact a few of the members of your cast and crew, we would also like to forward the following invitation to others involved in the film, Peter's Struggle:
Best Actor: Rufus Scrimgeour
Best Director: Rome Lycan
Best Picture: Peter's Struggle (Jimsie Potts & Rome Lycan)
Best Cinematography: Jimsie Potts
Best Film Editing: Gerald Afbetoqui
Best Sound Editing: Sasha Tsukino
Best Original Score: Lillian Evans
Best Sound Mixing: Sasha Tsukino
Best Original Screenplay: Rome Lycan
Best Costume Design: Harold Delaware
Best Original Song: Shelby Summers
Best Visual Effects: Rufus Scrimgeour
We hope to see your family and friends on the seventh of July.
Regards,
Howard Koch,
President, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
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"I didn't know it had a score," remarked Harold.
"Well, that's what all that cool music was from. We had to get music rights from Keane," answered Remus, puffing out his chest in pride.
"Not to mention the fact that there was actually no real acting in this movie, it was all Magical Photoshop and Remus," bragged James, praising his friend.
This admission led to a rewarding kiss from Sasha Tsukino, who beamed happily upon Remus. A small card fluttered from the ornate envelope.
"We're supposed to RSVP so they can do seating arrangements, apparently," added Harold, picking up the card.
"We're all going," said Gerald, nonchalantly.
James looked at him oddly for a moment, then said –
"Well, that settles it, doesn't it?"
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Lummy had just arrived at the Hilton in Montreal, where she was already being plagued for autographs by adoring fans. She had unfortunately forgotten to don a disguise when checking into the hotel, even though she had adopted the pseudonym "Amelia". The TV show Sirius, the Teenage Wizard now ran five days a week, in over twelve different languages. The piracy of single episodes now ran rampant over the internet, since instead of "season DVDs", "monthly episode DVDs" were being sold. Plotlines were auctioned widely, as well as speculation regarding the death of a character. Lummy smiled ruefully at the last thought – it was highly unlikely that in this most real of reality shows – that a character would die.
A tap was heard on the door.
"Yes?"
"Miss, would you like to take a telephone call?" The concierge had been wary of such communication since the twenty phone calls that had been placed in the first ten minutes, all asking for a chance to speak with Miss Avery.
"Who's calling?"
"A Mister James Potter, from Dublin."
Lummy frowned. James was not in Ireland, he was holidaying in Delaware with her sister. However, it was not a name that most people would be familiar with, so she took the call.
"Hello darling," came a suave voice from over the line. Lummy chuckled, this was definitely not James.
"Hello Sirius. How did you know I was here?"
"I have my ways," Sirius replied, mysteriously.
"Why are you in Dublin?"
"I've got a spot in a great band. They're all our age, and simply amazing. Apparently they won some Muggle contest in March."
"Do they know who you are?"
"No. I go by James, James Potter."
"Don't be a twit, love. I've been trying to find this gentleman here in Montreal. His name's Laliberté and he's a superb performance artist."
Lummy heard Sirius making a choking noise in the background.
"Art thou faithful?"
"Of course, mein liebling."
"Then why the gentleman? And French? Mon dieu!"
"Enough French love, I hear enough of it here. Owl me when you can, darling."
"Achtung, baby."
"That doesn't mean goodbye, sweetheart. Or hast thou forgotten thy Allemagne?"
"That's horrible French, and I was just thinking of a name for a song. The best part of a song is the name, you know."
"Au revoir."
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Guy Laliberté finally responded to the requests from Narcissa Avery. He seemed to be a very private man, and he questioned why she even knew of him. He lived in a small apartment near the center of the city.
"Miss Avery, it is a pleasure," greeted Monsieur Laliberté.
Lummy was struck at once by his theatrical personality. It was evident why he was renowned for being a superb street performer.
"Monsieur Laliberté, the pleasure is all mine. I have heard great things about your talents as a performer," responded Lummy, having rehearsed the perfect French pronunciation of the name during her telephone conversation with Sirius. She needed to be her ultimate Narcissa personality to succeed at this.
"It is difficult, is it not, to hear of such things about a mere street performer?" asked Laliberté, skeptically.
"Not if they are as good as you, Monsieur," replied Lummy cordially, adopting a casually flirting manner. Sirius would be proud, she thought.
"What do you want with me, Miss Avery?" continued Laliberté, looking pointedly at Lummy.
"I have a proposition," said Lummy.
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What is Lummy's proposition? Does anyone know? Hint: Look up Guy Laliberté on Wikipedia
(1) Can you speak English in very bad French