The Village

Sally James and Matt Pettingill, Aaron Willoughby and Calliope Katini

Ice cream. That was all she could think of as she and Matt walked at a rambler’s pace along the path towards the village of Hogsmeade. It was a sunny day and she had no doubt that several students were ahead and behind them, all with the same idea as her. She was determined to get there before the best flavours ran out.

She was clean, for once, have no visited the stables that day…yet. Looking, she would never dare say respectable, but clean. Clean would do.

As they neared ‘Tony’s Magical Ices’ they saw to their delight barely anyone in sight. Grabbing the chance they rushed forward and ordered their ice creams with great enthusiasm. Sally had peanut butter and Matt had strawberry and they turned to return to the school only – as usual with his big head – was Aaron Willoughby.

“You stalking me again Willoughby?” she growled at him.

 *****

Aaron rolled his eyes. Again? This was weird and annoying. What was it with Sally James? Sally James and her ever present side kick whom he guessed must be her boyfriend; although she actually didn’t look the sort to be dating such a weak and spineless morsel.

“I came here for no other purpose,” he said and grinned. “Hey Cal,” he called and she turned her elegant head from the shop window. “Cal this girl believes I am stalking her, what do you think?”

He watched as Calliope delicately walked over to them her slender form and beautiful clothes highlighting the other girl’s lack thereof. Cal, he felt sure would put her down in traditional form.

Let there be no more of this.

****

Calliope surveyed the younger girl. Her beautiful elfin face expressed utmost disdain and contempt.

“Aaron Willougby stalking you?” she asked and her voice was full of ice. “Darhling you must be utterly deranged. Have you looked in a mirror recently? And can you see what is in front of you? He is so far out of your league it is laughable.”

Calliope looked at Aaron. God he was truly to die for. His lips were so inviting too.

Forgetting their pact and forgetting Sasha, she longed for the world and this stupid little girl to know who Aaron Willoughby was truly interested in.

She took his beautiful face in her hands and kissed him full on the lips. Turning she smiled at Sally James. It was not a pleasant smile.

“Do run away and play now children,” she said.

****

She saw them kiss and made a rude gesture to Matt, fighting back the urge to vomit. Still, she couldn’t take her eyes off of the spectacle and was confused to see Aaron looking less than happy.

“Gladly. The further away I am from fake barbies like you, the happier I am,” she glared at Calliope. She shot a glare at Aaron, just to let him know she hated him as much. “I hope you have a meaningless, shallow, empty existence together,” she returned Calliope’s unpleasant smile with one of her own sarcastic ones and turned her back on them.

She and Matt began walking away down the lane but she couldn’t shake that gnawing feeling and her ice cream melted in her bowl to a slush. She wasn’t bothered, why would she be bothered? She hated the very sight of Aaron Willoughby. She ignored the feeling, perhaps so much hate being directed at one person had finally taken its toll on her.

*****

“Cal,” Aaron said with an exasperated look on his face. He took her by the arms and moved her bodily away from her. “Cal what was that for? We agreed right?”

He sighed. What had he got himself into now? He did not want a girlfriend, he was more than happy to be single and to play the field a bit.

He had actually had in mind to test out Sasha Groves too, and now, and now this would surely be all over the school. Of course it wasn’t as though Calliope were not a good catch. She was. She was the hottest girl in school, and in addition was older than him. So he guessed he would get respect for it. And envy. And admiration.

But Aaron liked to play these games on his own terms and he just wasn’t sure. Calliope was hot, she was smoking hot; but she wasn’t exactly scintillating company. They had only been in Hogsmeade for a couple of hours and Aaron had to admit to himself that he was quite bored. All that fashion talk. She sounded like his mother. Which couldn’t be a good thing right? Moreover his mother at least was sharp and had a bitter sense of humour; something which Calli seemed to be unfortunately lacking.

He looked at her, waiting for an answer.

Sophie Coulten and Mattia Desai

She was poised gracefully, perched on one of the benches that lined the path to Hogsmeade. She was wearing a strapless emerald green Chloe dress with nude heels that made her legs look endless. Her blonde hair pulled over one shoulder she waited for Mattia patiently.

***********

He wandered up, dressed up and in his favorite jacket, the one from the last World Cup. “Heya babes.” he greeted her. “Now hat about his diving dining experience huh? Burger tacos is it?”

**********

“I was going for something a little more refined,” she replied foxily, “all that Quidditch has gone straight to your stomach,” she walked her fingers down her chest and prodded his stomach playfully.

Arm in arm they arrived at the Cherry Pit and were not surprised to see other familiar faces of the older students there. After being seated and having ordered she leant back in her chair and sighed happily.

“So tell me about your family, darling” she asked after a long silence.

He shrugged. “Oh you know. Mom, Dad, annoying younger brothers, that sort of thing. Hey, I know this song. Oh man, I love this song! Do you know who does this? It’s that one guy was on the news last year” he snapped his fingers, trying to remember the name.

“It’s Wolf Bane,” she replied, after a moment or two listening to the song thoughtfully. He’d been in the news for having stabbed a moose…or something equally vile and manly. “It’s called She’s That Girl,”

The only reason she knew was because it was one of those singers she avoided with an intense disliking. His lyrics were vulgar and unnecessary and the melodies tainted by his incessant belief that he could play the guitar.

“Yeah…” he nodded his head to the beat “That should totally be our song babe. It’s perfect you know? With the melody and everything. And I could totally play it too. You know I play guitar right?”

“Perfect,” she smiled and nodded whilst in her head she groaned. She had to resist smacking her head off the table.

“No I didn’t know you played guitar,” she admitted, “you been playing for long?”

Perhaps, if she was lucky, he would forget about the song if they spoke about him long enough.

“Yeah a long time. Every since I was a real little, like twelve. I learned during the summer when I was hanging out with Grease Head’s drummer. You remember them? They were all sorts of huge back in the day. This one time–”

the rest of his speech was interrupted by the arrival of their food allowing him to change the subject.

“So anyway you were asking about families. What’s with yours?”

“My Dad well, he’s a Librarian, I don’t see him much. I’ve always lived with my mother, she’s a florist. She’s just opened a new shop in Knightsbridge in London, so when I go home for Christmas I’ll be helping to move. I’ll miss Chester, but it’ll be interesting being the big city,”

She took a sip of some sort of cocktail and smiled, trying to hide the fact that the Grease Head’s were another one of those bands she avoided like the plague.

Mattia made a gurgly noise as he choked on his Coke. “London you said? That’s amazing! That’s where I live. You should come and see me. I’ll show you around the town.” He saw her eyes light up just a little. “Yeah there’s all sorts of cool clubs playing there after the games and then there’s the winggate parties before hand it’d be great.”

“You do?” she replied, leaning forward slightly, intrigued at what wonders of not only shopping, but history and art London had to offer, both muggle and wizarding alike. However her short lived interest was cut short and instead of dying completely took a new direction.

“I’ll simply have to buy some new dresses,” she smiled at him secretively, “Goodness knows I’ll need them if we have all these parties to attend,”

Mattia waved his over his meal at that. “Oh sure. You go right on ahead babe. The we’ll go and I’ll show all around town like you wouldn’t believe. You’ll be the life of the party. Not that you aren’t anyway now you’ve moved up in the ranks.”

“I have haven’t I” she agreed, chinking glasses with him.

She’d become a B, was the girlfriend of a Quidditch Captain and a Prefect…things had certainly improved for her since last year. Hadn’t they?

Alexandria Bastrova, Kaspar O’Conner, and Van Mesko

Alexandria tapped her foot lightly against the cobbles of the street with the heel of her Gucci pumps. Van had gone to the post office to mail something to his parents or some such similar thing and she was left alone in the street waiting for him to come back. It being a Saturday there were many students milling around Hogsmeade but there was one in particular that had caught her eye.

Sitting on a low wall that lined the Orchard was a boy with silver eyes that she could not seem to stay away from. The part of her face that he had touched still tingled when she saw him and she would have given anything to stay that close to him, looking into his eyes.

On a sudden and, what her mother would call rash, impulse she sat beside him on the wall, tucking her skirt beneath her as she sat down. “Good day, Mr O’Connor,” she smiled at him, acting for all the world as if the incident in the corridor never happened.

“What brings you to the village on this fine afternoon?”

He had been sitting by the Orchard staring into space enjoying the sights and sounds of the other students when he heard the soft voice. He looked up in surprised and fear. He had almost lost control with the girl in their last meeting and father warned him to stay away. “Hello.” He said softly as he slipped off the wall and picked up the bag that had been next to him on the wall.

He wondered why the girl had asked about him it was odd. She had wanted him to stay away the last time and now she wanted to talk. “You told me to stay away from you Alex.” He said as he looked into his bag as if he were uninterested in her though he really wanted to touch her again.

“I’m trying to do as you have asked and yet you come and speak to me.” Finally he looked up at her and smiled a bit. “Tell what should I make of this situation?”

“If you really must shorten my name darling, use Lexie. It’s much less common,” she snapped and then bit her tongue. She had come to make up with Kaspar not start another fight after all. As he was rummaging in his bag she let the lightest of little frowns crease her forehead. It look as though he was completely unphased by her presence, nonchalant to the point of complete disinterest. She didn’t like it.

Twisting a golden curl around her little finger she wondered what she was doing here. Why was his particular attention so important to her? What was this need for him to like her?

“I merely came to say we got off on the wrong foot,” she replied diplomatically. “I was wondering whether we could start again?” she held out her hand for him to shake and didn’t realize until then that she was trembling slightly.

Kaspar sighed when she snapped at him about her name. He looked up at her and shook her head. “No, I like Alex better. Lexie is your pureblood name, that’s what your darling Van calls you.” He said staring at her. He didn’t want to sound like a stalker but since their Lake meeting everywhere Kaspar went there was the beautiful first year and the young man who followed her around like a puppy. “I’m not him nor do I want to be lumped in them, you shall always be Alex to me.”

Kaspar looked at her hand stunned. “We could start again, but I don’t see why.” He said. “You are a pureblood and I am way below your social stander.” He paused looking at her delicate hand finally he reached out and shook her hand softly. The tingling starting again, he quickly pulled away if he were shocked. “Why do you want to start again?” He asked staring into her eyes.

Lexie inadvertently rolled her eyes as he mentioned Van’s name. The two were so totally different that she didn’t like to think about Van when she was with Kaspar or vice versa incase some sort of awful paradox were created and their were all sucked in to an alternate universe.

Van was adorable. He followed her around, attending on her every whim and lavishing her with expensive gifts. He was pure in blood and even better, he was a Russian Noble and some one that she could take home to her parents, or even her Grandparents, with no possible danger of disapproval.

Kaspar was the opposite. He’d never complimented her, never even spoken to her without an undertone of utter disdain in his words. If she even uttered his name to another pure blood she would be outcast from all polite society and shunned for the rest of her life. Yet it was him she was drawn to and not Van.

“I’m not what you think I am…” she said slowly before she noticed Van’s figure coming over the hill. Jumping quickly off the wall she gave Kaspar a furtive glance and then walked towards Van, glancing back only once and wishing to all hell that she could run back and explain to him.

Once Alex ran away back to Van Kaspar shook his head and picked up his bag and walked to the middle of the street and yelled. “You’re a wimp Alex!” He paused as the students stopped and looked around. “You’re scared of whom you truly are and you’re denying your true self!” He sighed and walked back up the hill towards Aelcrest. Stupid little pureblood girls.

Van frowned at Lexie when the odd kid with silver eyes yelled at someone named Alex. “Weren’t you just talking to him?” He asked with a raised eyebrow. He didn’t like it when Lexie talked to other guys when he was around.

“Who is he Lexie?” He was very confused at why she would talk to someone who was defiantly not a pureblood with eyes like that.

“Talking to that thing darling?” Lexie replied, heart over her chest as though his suggestion had offended her to the very core of her being. Looping her arm with his she shook her head from side to side, the blonde curls shaking gently. “The boy is so utterly beneath me! What on earth would cause me to talk to him? He’s obviously a raving lunatic. It’s atrocious the sort of people they let into this school!” pursing her lips her eyes were completely calm and the colour of the ocean at night.

Kaspar’s words had rattled her no end and on the inside she was shaking uncontrollably, though she didn’t know whether it was with fear or rage. How dare he speak to her like that and in public! Alone was a different matter but she actually had a reputation to live up to where as he did not. Was he trying to ruin her? Was that what would make the damned boy happy?

“He’s a nobody,” she told Van, giving him a dazzling smile. “He’s not worth thinking about.”

Van nodded when she confirmed that she wasn’t talking to the silver eyed boy. “That’s right a nobody a creepy one at that. Did you see his eyes! Who has silver eyes? Must be a muggleborn or something.” He said as he shrugged.

“Did you miss me my Princess?” He asked as they made their way down the lane and he handed her a bag. “A new present for you, according to my sister Addison said you love it. She bought it for me on a weekend trip to Paris dearest.”

Lexie nodded slowly, her eyes locked on the distance where Kaspar’s retreating figure was just barely disappearing over the ridge on the path back to the school. “Yes, I saw his eyes. Simply ghastly!” her eyes followed the boy until he was nothing more than a speck on the horizon and then turned to her champion.

“Of course I missed you my darling!” she giggled lightly and she took the bag and opened the box inside. The box contained a large sparkling heart shaped diamond, surrounded by smaller ones and strung on a delicate silver chain. Her eyes lit up and she gazed at Van in amazement. “Van, my love! It’s beautiful! Help me put it on,” she turned her back to him, pulling her hair away from her neck so that he could fasten it for her. All the while she was praying that Kaspar did not see how fickle she really was.

Van took the necklace into his hands and placed it around her neck. “It’s not as beautiful as you darling.” He said as he turned around grinning. He nodded and then leaned over and kissed her cheek. “I’m glad you like it, I told Addison it should something no other girls have, and according to her the jeweler has promised me this is a one of a kind crafting.”

“So darling where to now?” He asked as he took her hand instead of looping her arm through his. He wanted Lexie she was darling to him, beautiful, pureblood, rich, and a Princess. How lovely of a couple they would make and their parents would approve beyond a doubt.

Her eyebrow raised slightly as Van let go of her arm and took her hand instead. Their fingers intertwined as they walked along the lane together, in search of amusement. Her other hand trailed along her collar bone and onto the large sparkling diamond at her throat. If Anastasia had been more than a tad upset by the bag it was going to be nothing compared to her face when she saw this. The idea of her sister – the one considered the beautiful twin, the charming twin, the talented twin – being jealous of her made her feel superior. Now Lexie was receiving the attention for a change and a smug smile played on her lips.

“There is nothing to entertain at Aelcrest,” she sighed, “Everything here is so…beneath us.” They reached the top of the ridge and once again she saw Kaspar’s back and her fingers twitched. For some reason the last thing she wanted him to see was her hand in hand with Van – but his grip was firm and her pride stopped her from letting go. “What say you and I get ice-cream?” she asked suddenly, wanting to be as far away from Kaspar and the Manor as possible.

Van was glad she didn’t instantly take her hand back, he would have been embarrassed and annoyed. He wondered if the girl had any clue how he felt about her. Sure they hadn’t known each other long and at first their friendship had been one of pure conceit on both their parts but now Van could feel her tugging on his heart strings.

“I agree, Aelcrest is so blasé maybe we could get our parents to send us somewhere one weekend that’s more suited for us.” He said with a smile. Last year his father had taken him to Russia for a weekend so the others could meet the Mesko heir.

When he felt her fingers twitch he tightened his hold on her a bit. He didn’t want her to let go just yet. “Ice cream.” He mulled over the though for a moment and then nodded. “Ice cream sounds good darling, as long as you allow me to pay for you.” He smiled charmingly at her.

Maybe over their ice cream he could ask her to officially be his girlfriend. That’s what the gift of the necklace was suppose to precede but Van had chicken out. He doubted he would have the guts to over ice cream but it was nice to spend the afternoon with Lexie.

Carlton and Desdemona de Cartier

Carlton and Felix had been co-owners fo the Cherry pit for years now. It had been Felix’s idea to reinvent the place into the Pit. Carlton had been al for it. And it was true, the Pit brought in a lot of extra money. That did not mean however that he enjoyed cleaning up the next morning.

As of now the students of Aelcrest Manor seemed to be far more destructive with each coming visit. More and more often he had to go out and search Diagon Alley for hours in order to find the perfect antidote for the gunk that had been left on the floors, repairs the cracks in the walls and the inevitable broken chair or table due to an over-enthusiastic dancer. If you could call what they did dancing that is.

There was a loud thumping noise as two large cylinders crashed to the bottom of the staircase. An ashen face appeared behind them as Desdemona thudded down after them, her large heels clacking noisily on the metal stairs and breathing heavily.

“‘Ere Carlton!” came her deep voice as she held up a compact mirror and rearranged her long curls. “I bought them things what you ordered from Crabbit’s and don’t they half weigh a tonne!” The barmaid shrieked at him, holding up her hands so that he might see the damage that had been done by the cylinders.

Carlton winced, as ever, at the tone of her voice. He hated voiced that were off key and Dessies currently wasn’t even in the same postal code as the right key. Such a shame, it was, for such a beautiful name to be attached to such a voice. When she could be coaxed into working however, she did a fine enough job that he couldn’t get rid of her. That and she was Felix’s grandniece or some other nonsense like that. To be perfectly honest he didn’t really believe the two were related at all, unless she was Felix’s beard or some such.

He thanked he anyways and added ” If you could just but them in the back, we’ll have a look at them once I’m finished here.” he noticed her checking her out her features in the compact again.

” We have talked about that ,haven’t we?” he prompted.

If Carlton had been upset with the pitch of her voice before hand it was nothing compared to the height of the screech that came from her with decided indignation.

“You think ‘m gonna put them there things in the back for ya, do ya now?” Hand on hip she gave him a ‘not-in-your-lifetime-governor’ look and strut over to him on her ridiculously coloured heels. Her outfit was unusual to say the least…a strange collection of fuchsia and emerald that would never look good on anyone let alone her. Her face would have been pretty enough perhaps was it not for the large slick of overly red lipstick.

“If my Uncle Felix ‘ears you talkin’ to me like that he’ll have your hide so he will.”

” If your ‘Uncle Felix’ knows what’s good for the business he’ll join me in making sure you do your job.” Carlton replied. “He’s your boss, not mine, you remember that.” He walked back to where he normally kept the sweeping broom then shoved it in her hands. “If you won’t do that, then clean this up. Your choice. Barrels, broom, or pink slip.”

Orion Hardy and Alasan Wade

It was late evening and the two girls were walking idly by the lakeside. The cold, winter world beckoned them into it’s frosty embrace and away from the warm glowing fires of the Manor. Orion had spent the day in classes, thinking about Quidditch, and after classes she and Zydrie had taken a fly around the pitch and practised another move from her book. Then there was dinner where she and Randy had giggled about Quidditch and now she was walking with Alasan…talking about Quidditch. There weren’t enough hours in the short winter days for all the Quidditch related activities that needed to be done.

It was dark and getting darker still as they continued walking. Orion knew fine well they should be returning to the Manor and settling by that cosy fire but she wasn’t in the least bit tired. Eventually they reached the beginnings of the path to Village and a wicked glint came into her eyes, noticeable even in the dark.

“You know that The Idiots are playing in the pit tonight,” she grinned slyly at her friend, referring to another of her Wizarding Metal band heroes. “We could totally go see them, I mean…no one’s going to notice we’re gone right?”

Alasan’s pale cheeks were rosy from the cold but Ri and her couldn’t seem to stop talking about Quidditch. Sure they could go to the Common room and sit by the fire but the others tended to get annoyed by them.

When she saw path and the glint in Orion’s eyes she knew she was in for one of her plots. “You know that The Idiots are playing in the pit tonight, We could totally go see them, I mean…no one’s going to notice we’re gone right?”

She thought about it for a moment then nodded happily. What harm would it do, it was one night? She was rather fond of The Idiots one of the many bands Orion had forced her to listen to. “Sure why not.” She said as she brushed her red hair out of her face.

“It’ll be warm and fun there! So lead the way oh fearless leader!” She laughed and smiled at her friend.

Orion grabbed her friends hand and they hurried along the shadowy path until they reached the Village. The Pit was illuminated with bright lights and there was already a large group of people milling around by the door, talking in loud, excited voices about the musical sensation that was to come.

Now Orion, despite appearances, was not as stupid as the amount of blows she had taken to the head would leave you to believe. It was fairly obvious that two students clearly below the age of being allowed in the Village would not be allowed in the Pit. The party a few weeks ago had taken a lot of persuading and a lot of make-up and they had neither. Holding her friend’s hand tightly she walked them around the back door that lead to the cellar and finding it unlocked slipped in quietly.

“Ouch!” she cried suddenly as Alasan stepped on her toes and then she had to stifle a giggle. They reached the cellar and Orion stuck her head out of the door. The band were setting up on the stage to the left of them and she had a brilliant idea. Climbing on top of the barrels she levered herself into the rafters and shimmied along until she was perched high above the stage. Best view in the house. Beckoning Alasan she grinned. “Isn’t this better than homework?” she giggled.

Alasan couldn’t believe her and Orion were sneaking into the pit, what she also couldn’t figure out was how they were able to get to the rafters without someone ratting on them. She grinned at the girl next to her and nodded. “So much better then homework!” She laughed as she looked around. “Who would want to do boring essays while we can be here watching the Idiots!”

She looked around the Pit and took out her wand hoping no one would notice she summoned two butterbeers to them. She grinned when no one looked up. “Cheers!” She said with a grin. She knew they shouldn’t be here but school was so drab and repetitive when not playing Quidditch, or practicing with the Eagles, or with Ri and Zydrie. Of course since becoming friends with Ri she had become a bit obsessive about the Quidditch but not on the same level as her friend.

“So what do you think they are going to play first?” She couldn’t wait for them to start playing she almost bounced but realized that would be a bad idea. She grinned and looked down, it was also a bad idea to look straight down. She wasn’t afraid of heights while on a broom but for some reason she was on the rafters. She let out a breath and looked at Orion as she took a sip of the butterbeer.

Aya Gee and Bradley Bryant

Aya gave a great sigh of despair as she sat on the bench outside of the Pit. Bradley had promised to meet her there almost and hour ago for that date he always seemed to be too busy for. She’d bought a new outfit and everything. It seemed that, like always, he’d forgotten about her in the pursuit of Quidditch glory. Tapping her fingers against her cheek as she rested her chin in her hand and her elbow on her knee she sighed again. Was it worth waiting for him or should she go back to the Manor? Five more minutes she decided, just five more minutes.

Five more minutes he thought. Five more minutes and he could make it down the hill to the Pit. He speeded up. Four minutes. Maybe he could get there in four.

Not that he’d meant to be late, really. But he had caught sight of Ruby’s Firestorms in that last game against the Eagles and knew they were going to be in for one hell of a fight come their game day. Which meant he had to run his team extra hard.

There she was, sitting on the bench outside the Pit. He called out to her and waved.

“Hey, babe. ” He panted as he reached her. “Bet you’re glad to see me huh?”

Aya nodded slowly, a smile lighting up the corners of her eyes as he came towards her, out of the breath. “I was beginning to think you weren’t coming,” she admitted shyly.

Aya had no doubt that there was some perfectly reasonable, Quidditch, explanation for his lateness but she didn’t want to ask. The last thing she wanted to hear about was how her boyfriend had found something more interesting than her.

“We ready to go in then?” she asked him, reaching out a delicate handing and taking his, interlocking their fingers.

“Sure thing” he said and squeezed her hand. They entered the Pit without much trouble and he lead her straight to the bar. The run had given him a thirst and he ordered both of them a drink. He handed her hers and couldn’t help but mention, even though she was his girlfriend. “You spent the entire time out there alone? I woulda thought Chloe Pywell or Maksym Gold would have rushed you in, the moment they arrived?”

“They tried,” she nodded, smiling as they reached the bar and he pushed her drink towards her. The squeeze of her hand was appreciated and she let herself relax into the evening ahead. Bradley was always so comfortable in everything he did, just walking into the Pit like that made her head dizzy. Aya was shy by nature and could never just walk into somewhere alone. “But I thought that I’d wait for you. After all you did promise,” she smiled. “How was practice?”

Brad raised an eyebrow at her. True she was his girlfriend, but she was also a member of the Firestorms. He had to tread carefully there.

“It’s alright” he said after taking a drink. ” I can tell you that you and Ruby are gonna have one helluva fight on your hands come game day. My guys’ll all be trained up properly to face you.

“I don’t know,” Aya replied with a small smile and playful tone in her voice, “Ruby has us working pretty hard…I think we could beat you this year.” she took a sip from her drink and gave him a knowing look. Being in the same House and Year meant they had gotten to know each other pretty well and long before they had become boyfriend and girlfriend. Quidditch would always be at the top of his mind set but he was, after all, a 14 year old boy.

“I was speaking to Rhys earlier,” she continued in a sly voice, “he says you’ve got a secret weapon up your sleeve?”

“I might” He said returning her look with an unreadable one of his own “But what sort of captain- what sort of man – would I be if I just told you ‘bout it. It’s a secret weapon after all.”

Naturally he had no such thing but if the Firestorms thought he had..well, nothing wrong with lighting a little fire under their broomtwigs.

Ted, Orion, and Grace (Yr.3)

The nise of the crowd swallowed up the final chord of “Marsh Whispers” and Stagnant Waters announced their intermission, much to the students disappointed meant and the owner’s relief. Felix would have gladly hired on Tony Gimmel but according to Carl and Des, no one under 300 years would have shown up and even they would have wandered off halfway through.

The thirsty partygoesrs mobbed the bar and rushed to get to the good seats. Ted found a stool soemwhere where he could finally breathe. The Pit was one of the few places where trading was off limits, if only so that Traders coud enjoy themselves like everybody else. He preferred to enjoy himself with one of the beers the PIt offered. Overpriced, but only because they knew people would pay.

Halfway through his second someone knocked into him.

“Bear here knows.” said a voice in his left ear. “Go on tell them.”

He turned and found himself nose to nose with Clarence Thorn, who smelled like hard lemonade. “Tell who what?” He asked. Leaning away from Thorn.

Clarence gestured to where several others had gathered. ” You know better than anybody since she was yours first. Sophie Coulten. We all know she’s gone B over the year.”

“Yeah. So?”

“So she’s gone full B if you know what I mean.”

“I don’t.” Ted admitted.

“You know man, full B. Sh’es got the look, the style, the whole attitude. You get me?”

“No. I don’t think anyone does.”

“Come on man. She’s gone full B, man. She’s got Desai, but you know how B’s are. Just cause she’s doesn’t trade with you guys doesn’t mean she doesn’t trade.”

“Ooookay. I’m just going to go soemwhere else now.”

“He means she’s sleeping around.” Ace called out, sic of Clarence’s ideas of subtlty.

Ted paused halfway off the stol. He considered for a moment, just how hard he would have to hit either of them and how many people he would have to hit before he was kicked out.

“No she’s not.” He said instead.

“Yeha she totally is man. You don’t get to B-status unless you’re giving it al you got. And she is giving it all.”

Ted had to settle for smacking Clarence on the back of the head, hard. “She’s not. Sophie Coulten is probably the one B in the entire B-kingdom that wouldn’t do that.”

“And you would know because…” Ace tried.

“Because she’s not the type. Even as a B. I hear soemthing else like that again, I’m going make sure your Trading privlieges are revoked you got that? No more issues of Quidditch Weekly or Marsh’s Unlimited ” this last he said with a pointed look at Clarence who turned a little paler. “All clear?”

Among all the mash of people, Grace found herself looking for holes to slip through to somewhere with a little more breating room and a little less like human sweat. She eventually found a gap in the maze and took it, coming over to Ri and John Fiddle in yet another of their Sickeningly Sweetheart moments. Ri was as bad as her brother at times.

” Tell me then ” she half-shouted over the throbbing echoes of the band’s last number. ” Waters versus Pythons. I won yeah?”

An arm came up and wrapped around her should while another hand swung by and handed her a bottle. “Of course you win.” Came the voice attached to the amrs. ” You’re with me aren’t you?”

Grace smiled her thanks and shrugge off his arm with a perfuncotry “Uh-huh.” and waited for an more stisfactory answer to her question.

Bottom of Form

 

“Will you get off me!” she hissed, trying to thwack his hand away from his waist as he leant in. He gave a cute, puppy dog look and tried again. She rolled her eyes and repeated the motions, stepping slightly to the right so that she was just out of reach. “Don’t you dare grin at me! Someone could see…Grace!”

There was a silence in the room and everyone looked uncomfortable for a minute before the talking started again. She raised an eyebrow as her team mate slung an arm over Grace’s shoulder – resisting the urge to puke. “They’re good,” she nodded. She had never been too impressed with Grace’s taste in music but she had to give Stagnant Waters credit where it was due. “But they’ve got nothing on the Pythons. Sorry to break it to you Grace, but you lose.”

Bottom of Form

 

She gave a short bark of a laugh and tugged at her ear like she was trying to get the ringing out of it. “Yeah, It musta been a little too close cause I didn’t catch that properly. Sounded like you admitting you lost. I’m just gonna go with that. But looky here. You wanna – not now dude-” she shrugged off Ranger’s arm again. She was starting to get the meaning of wandering hands “you wanna be a gracious loser, stick around for the next set. Buy you a beer for every song that Pythons could do better.” she took a pull of her drink “You’re boy-toy there’s on his own though. Sorry, dude, girls bet.”

Bottom of Form

 

Orion grinned and ran her hand through the mass of black curls around her face. “I hope you brought a hell of a big purse then, Stag-lover, ‘cos the Pythons are undefeated. Let’s go…not you,” she turned and frowned at Fiddle, who had begun to follow her like a lovesick puppy. He looked hurt and she stepped closer to whisper in his ear. “I’ll see you later alright? We’re keeping this on the low remember, go eye up the Bs or challenge Ranger to a drinking match or something…whatever it is you men do.”

She turned and followed Grace to the bar where they slid into stools and waited for the next set to start. She pulled a packet of acid pops from her bag, popping one into her mouth and crunching on it like popcorn before offering one to Grace. “You know, the boy toy thing is supposed to be a secret, dude. Bradley’ll glue my butt to the bench for the rest of the year if he finds out. You wanna not shout it so loud?”

Bottom of Form

 

Grace waved off the offer of Acid Pops. Not that she hated the stuff, but this was more a Pepper Imp sorta night. She preferred Acid Pops for those long boring periods when she could let the candy’s flavour work its way around her taste buds.

Hobson’s Brew would have to do for now though.

” I’m not the one shouting it” she told Ri, she nodded towards where they had left their dates “He’s the one following you around like you got box seats to the World Cup and a winning Lottery ticket stuffed in your shirt. You wanna keep it a secret you might wanna be sure he knows it first.”

She looked around at the crowd. There was Randy, mixing with a couple of the wanna-B’s. There was Troy, already trying his hand with Georgia Derby. She couldn’t find Thom, but seeing as he was currently crushing on Vagniline, Grace supposed he was off trying his hand at Arthimancy in order to impress her.

“Give you credit though” she continued “You got taste. Aside from the whole drooling over you thing, he’s not bad. Kinda shame, him being a Thestral.”

Bottom of Form

 

Orin turned her nose up a little at the Hobson’s Brew, it was by far her least favourite of all beers but seeing as Grace was buying she took a long sip and shuffled around in her seat to look at where they had left their respective dates. Despite being friends themselves, Ranger and John were standing awkwardly together, clearly not paying attention either to what they were saying or what they were supposed to be listening to, both sets of eyes focused firmly on the girls.

She rolled her eyes. “Do all boys get like this?” she asked, not expecting an answer from Grace who had as little experience with boyfriends as she did. Her eyes took a quick glance around and found all their friends doing pretty much exactly what she expected them to be doing. Leo hadn’t wanted to come to the gig he was ‘busy in the library’ which had taken on a whole new meaning since he’d started dating Talora. She eyed Grace thoughtfully for a moment, she suspected they’d stopped meeting up together in the dead of night from a combination of Randy’s insistence he wasn’t going out any more and the subtle flinches of anger she noticed whenever the two passed each other in the corridor. As Grace didn’t know she knew anyway, she decided it was best to keep her mouth shut.

“Why’s it a shame? You’re on a date with a Thestral aren’t you? If you ask me, they’re the only boys worth looking at in the whole damn school.” It wasn’t far from the truth. Thestral boys had more attention than any other group of boys in the school, even the Bs couldn’t resist their rugged charm every once in a while. Ri hadn’t looked at any of them in that way before John, but she could say that about boys in general and not just her team mates.

Grace held up a hand in defense “Nothing’s wrong with ’em. I mean if you’re into that sort thing. But they’re all Reym boys. It’d be like dating your brother. Not your brother, someone else’s. It’d just be awkward you know? ‘Sides, they’re a little…handsy, have you noticed?” she tugged at the hem of her shirt. It felt like it had Ranger stains all over it. He was fun to be with, not bad a dancer, but he always was just a little too close for comfort.

“Just don’t seem right. I mean should you be spendin’ dates gettin’ to know each other? Favoite foods, movies, and the like. All he wants to know is if it’s true I got detnetion for what Troy did last year. I mean, seriously? I’ve won a deulling tournament since then. Nah. Reym boys are too much action. Think I’d be better off with a little more talk for a while.”

She didn’t tell Ri the rest of it, over the time she’d noticed things changing. She’d spent most of the time treating Leo like just another face in the crowd, when he showed up to eat at their table and let Randy assume that she was finally growing up. Course he only assumed that after she told him he was still allowed to be Leo’s friend. But even so…

Then she’d realized that their table, which had previously been so crowded, was getting more spacious as Ri went off with the Thestrals and Thom spoke to Georgia. Troy, a whole year taller and apparantly more handsome, was constantly being dragged away for some reason or other by a googly eyed girl. Randy brought Ellie and Becca over a few times, but those times were full of awkward silences that she apparently wasn’t allowed to break. She’d been left to sit and wait to talk about the dreams she was having and whether Randy’s nightmares had been the same and he didn’t even seem to want to talk about that anymore. Naturally there was no left to talk to about her lost practices. No longer having the Ruins calling her over so loudly, she found she missed being able to just talk to people.

Bottom of Form

 

“I think you might’ve got put in the wrong house, Grace,” she stared at her quizzically. Orion was definitely an action girl. Words very rarely did anything except make situations more complicated and she just wasn’t the sort to want to spend hours talking about how to solve a problem when it was always more effective to go and do something about it. “I’ve never been big on words,” she told Grace, finishing off the bottle of beer. Her eyes flickered back to John who had taken up a nonchalant pose and was grinning madly.

“What’s there to know about them?” she laughed. “They like hitting things and drinking, they’re not so different from us really. Who can bothered finding out what their favourite colour is and I’m dead sure they don’t give a damn what ours is. If you want talk, Ranger is the last person to turn to.”

Bottom of Form

 

Grace elbowed Ri, in that absent minded way she and Randy did when she thought he was being particularly dorky. “Oh I’m a Reym girl, Ri and don’t you dare doubt it. An I’m sure there’s some good ol’ Reym boys. It ain’t even about talk really it’s…” she gestured, unable to put into words what she wanted. She was 15, and Mom would say that was way too young to know what you wanted anyway, let alone from a boyfriend. ” I dunno. ”

It was even the boyfriend really, but the whole thing. For the past thwo, three years, everything had been secret. Now she had only the one secret and no one to share it with to make it fun. She looked at Ranger who was waving them to come back and Grace noticed the strains of Stagnant Waters preparing for the next set. She wondered if she could trust him.

“You’re right there. We’re not here to mope around and think about thngs. Here to party and listen to awesome, better-than-Pythons music. Come on.” she grabbed two random drinks that had been ordered for the people next to where here and Ri sat and made her way back to the crowd, hadning Ri one on her way. “First one to spill their drink kisses flobberworms for a living.”

Bottom of Form

 

Ri didn’t flinch when Grace elbowed her but elbowed her back out of instinct. She giggled at the serious look on her face. She’d never doubted that Grace was a Reym girl, but Orion knew that she was a Reym girl. She would never admit it to anyone ever, but she and Grace were more alike than either of them wanted to think, so they both refused to. If they could ever get along the world would have a force to reckon with.

“Well, maybe when you figure out what it is you want, you’ll have better luck,” she winked. Orion was feeling lucky in that it didn’t look like she was going to have to go through all the drama that her brother and the rest of them had. She and Thom laughed about it a lot, the way they were always having an argument about something. One of them had always kissed someone they weren’t supposed to or said something they shouldn’t have and she and Thom had never had anything like that. The closest she had got was thinking she liked Randy and then kissing him, then discovering she didn’t like him quite as much as she thought. Nothing dramatic about that what so ever. She didn’t quite see what all the fuss was about.

She jumped off her stool as the band started playing again. She’d worn her Pythons tshirt to the gig, just to show to Grace that it would take a lot more than some dingy quartet playing in the basement of the only club in town to change her mind about them. She did however grab the drink from her and move to the dance floor, downing it in one fluid motion. “No flobberworm kissing in my future,” she grinned as “Dead as Ditch-Water” started blaring from the speakers loudly.

Bottom of Form

 

Sean Wills and Grace Schuler

The phone rang just as he was heading for the door. He made it in three rings. Mom and Dad, calling to check in. Why couldn’t his parents just accept owls like normal people. He laughed at that. Normal people. It was weird how his definition of that had changed in only a few years. A thousand questions went through the phone. Mom had a list she had to get through before giving him updates usually reserved for the family Christmas letter. Years ago there’d been nothing to talk about. Now that he was thousands of miles away he was suddenly his go-to guy for gossip.

“And then Aunt Theresa, do you know, she told me that your cousin Jackie-”

Sean glanced at his watch “Oh sh-”

Mom’s tone immediately became sharp “What was that?”

“I’m sorry,, Mom it’s just I have to go. I’ve got study group.”

“Study group?” Dad’s voice came from the house’s other line “ What’s her name?” he asked as Mom was saying “That is no excuse Sean Mitchell”

“Nothing Dad. Mom I’m sorry. Really. I’ll send to the swear jar I promise. “

“None of that false money this time.”

“It’s not fake, it’s–look, it’s just, I really gotta go. I’m already late. I have to go. Bye Dad. I’ll call later. Promise. Bye Mom. Mom bye. Goodbye Mom. “

“Okay but first.”

“Ana hang up.”

“But I just-”

Sean hung up and shoved his phone into his jacket pocket. He raced down the stairs and out the door to join the crowd of kids who were already making their way down to the Village. He weaved through the crowds until he found her.,

“Hey. Hi. Sorry. Parents. Are you ready?”

Bottom of Form

 

The road to the Village had stretched on forever , mostly because Grace hadn’t told anyone about her plans with Sean. She didn’t want to jinx it. But no one asked, and she slipped away from the group . She stood at the village centre hands in her pockets and doing her best to look like she didn’t care. After ten minutes, she tugged on her ponytail, wondering if she hadn’t jinxed it by not telling anyone.

“Hey.” She sat up and turned. “ Hi. Sorry. Parents.”

“No Problem” she assured him.

“Are you ready?”

“Yeah. Let’s go then. “

Orangethorpe Cinema was located between a Thai food restaurant and a robe shop. The film’s it showed were generally hit or miss, mostly misses. Stingerface 9 was one of the biggest misses, reaching cult status for it and Grace had been itching to see it since she first saw it advertised. Especially since no one bothered to explain what exactly happened to Stingerface 1-8. They ordered the tickets and she dug her money out of her pocket. “It’s okay I got mine.” she told him.

Bottom of Form

 

He paused, trying to count out the Sickles. She was paying for her own. He’d thought this was a date? That’s what they’d agreed to, right? Maybe she was just used to the whole going Dutch thing. “ Oh. Yeah sure. Okay. “

They stopped by the refreshment counter to get popcorn and she added on Pop Rocks and Pepper Imps? “

“You mix those?” he asked

“Doesn’t everyone?”

They found their seats in the very back of the theatre and Sean used a variation of the copy spell to make it look like they’d saved every seat in the row.

Stingerface 9 was everything he’d been told it was and in some parts even worse. At least he assumed so. He couldn’t hear most of the dialogue as him and Grace spent most of their time throwing popcorn and the couples making out in the other seats or coughing when she got him to mix Pop Rocks, Soda and Pepper imps all at once.

“What’s so funny?”

“Your face.” she said between giggles. He tossed popcorn at her and she tossed it back. They came out of the theatre afterwards and he had to laugh at how she look with popcorn stuff in her hair.

“So what you think, dinner? Only, I’m paying this time.”

“Oh sure.” she said.

“I mean it. Real paying. For everything. You know. Like a date.”

Her smiled faded as awkwardness set in again. “Oh. Okay. ”

They picked a place that served meals outside but was blocked from being cold by a series of spells. She stuck with a meatloaf sandwich, extra gravy and they talked. Actually geninuely talked. He told her about back home, about how he lived thinking he was a muggle until his letter came, how his dad had pretended not to be a wizard just so his mom would go out with him years ago. He told about how he liked football and video games and duelling, how he’d gotten his detention for filling the inner Courtyen with Soap instead of Epsom salts and was no stuck washing dishes and helping to cook other people’s dinners.

She told him about how she’d just signed up for duelling over the summer and how she’d been involved in crossing the Bridge, ( which people seemed to think was Aaron Willoughby and Troy’s Bstrova’s whole plot) how only some of her detnetions were her fault and how she hadn’t played a video game since she couldn’t remember when. The night wore on until eventually they had to head back up to the Manor.

They spend most of the walk back going over Stingerface 9’s finer points.

Bottom of Form

 

Sigismund Steinsson

It had been some time since Sigismund had fled the school. Since he had left behind the few people he had ever come to care about. The business at hand brought him closer to them now— and he sensed the nearness of Cora & Kaspar. Nevertheless, business was business, and this was no time to be swayed toward the reclusive hold of Aelcrest.

Sigismund pulled his cloak tight— the heavy wind and rain dampening his body and spirit. The cold cutting into his frail human form. He longed for the strength of the wolf, the coat of fur, the depth of it’s resilience. His thoughts were interrupted by the arrival. Sigismund raised his hand, his fingernails sharp and yellowed with his time spent in limbo of self— in his time spent wandering— curled with his fist as he knocked.

The large wooden door swung open, and the man who answered slowly guided Sigismund inside. Steinsson announced that he was a friend of Barnabas, and a disciple of the claw. The dark complexion of his entertainer was instantly broken by a toothy grin. The cold demeanor suddenly became warm.

“Welcome Sigismund. You are among friends.”

The two walked together down a long corridor into the basement of the estate. There in the dank dark, eyes turned to greet the new arrival. Candles adorned the walls. The musty scent of fur and rot swept through Sigismund’s nostrils.

Barnabas appeared from the dark.

“Welcome Sigismund old friend. May the moon shine on you.”

Barnabas handed Sigismund a wooden chalice. Sigismund accepted and drank deeply of it’s contents. The mead of mixed roots and berries tasted of blood— the predator in him purred with it’s consumption. The others growled their approval— and the slow ecstasy of the union— of lonely souls finding togetherness— built until the vast echoing cellar was as full as the moon with the howls of unfathomable strength and power.

Tonight, the misunderstood and the oppressed would rise as one. Tonight— the darkness would not be a sanctuary, but rather a battleground.

The matter at hand however, was who would win the allegiance of the pack. Would the beasts go to war for the wizards or the wicked? Would the beasts go to war for anyone at all?

Barnabas called the meeting to order. Sigismund, his teeth sharpened into canines, his gleaming eyes bloodshot and amber, took a seat on the earthen floor amongst the others, his brothers & sisters.

Not far away, Cora awoke sharply from within the walls of the manor. Her chest burning sharply from the stone glowing around her neck. The pride of Sigismund— his burning desire to belong somewhere— and the rage of the full moon and the taste of blood— unsettled her.

Sigismund, had he known the power of his transference unto her, would have been ashamed she saw so deeply into him. His shallow blindness however, left him ignorant to her connection to him. He cared only for one thing at this moment— he loved and desired only one thing— he ceded to the nature of the wolf— he ceded to the nature of war in the pursuit of survival. Destruction in the name of security of the species.