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Fantasy +lumos; becoming the light+ (Closed)

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Larkyn Gaunt

Adrenaline was pumping through his veins, nearly as much as it did when he was on assignment. It made no sense to him how breaking off his engagement got his heart pumping as much as chasing dark wizards did but it did. As Larkyn stood there in the hall, Sapphiras hands against his face, he took the time to try and calm himself. To breathe. To comprehend what he had just done. Then suddenly he broke into a manic laugh as happiness, sadness and anxiety all fought to be the primary emotion of the moment. “Merlin.” He breathed, his voice finally coming back to him. “Yeah, I’m fine. I think.” Another little chuckle came from him as Sapphira threw her arms around him. It felt nice, she was warm and comforting.

The words she said next however were better than any hug she could ever give him. Larkyn moved his arms around her tightly after a moment of shock, his face pressing into the side of her neck as he squeezed her against his body. Proud. It was something that Larkyn had heard so rarely in his life. Something that he sought. He knew he should care so much what other people thought of him, of his actions, but he did. Everything he did was for other people and all he ever wanted for them to praise him for those things. Maybe it was shallow, but it was true. Larkyn believed that deep down everyone wanted someone to be proud of them, and someone to be proud of.

“I just couldn’t do it. I don’t want to lose my job, I don’t want to hurt Loire or even Dru. But they’re right, I can’t make myself a martyr.” Larkyn pulled back and gazed down at her, his icy blue eyes searching hers for the confidence to continue despite the fading adrenaline. “If I hadn’t reconnected with you, maybe I could have made it. Maybe I would have been okay. I wouldn’t have known what I was missing, what I really wanted.” Sapphira released from the hug and pulled away, her hands reaching out to smooth over his robes. He watched her with a calm face as she spoke, letting her finish before he reached out and cradled her face like she had done for him. “I don’t want you to leave unless you want to return to your family. I want you to stay here though, with me. To figure out how to go forward from here, how to maintain some sort of dignity in my career but also to allow myself to be happy. To allow myself to be with you without having to hide in my bedroom.”

Larkyn traced a finger down her jawline, his hand moving to hold the nape of her neck as he leaned in closer. His lips ghosted over hers and he could feel a bit of her lipstick transfer to him but he didn’t care. He didn’t move back before he spoke again, this time his voice whisper soft. “Stay with me Sapphira.”
 
Cyrus

“See I knew you liked me, you can’t help but flirt.” Cyrus grinned over at Loire as her fingers moved through his, the two of them making their way to the dance floor. Only they didn’t make it far before they were stopped by a large red and blue wall of a man. Remind him to tell the twins that their candies were absolute shit and took far too long to work, or maybe this brute was just too big for the dosage. “Listen man, why don’t you just let the girl have a dance. We’ve been friends forever okay? Though maybe you don’t have those? Friends?” He scoffed over at the guy, he wasn’t much taller than Cyrus but much wider and bulkier. “Actually scratch that. I can tell you don’t.” A chuckle escaped his lips as Cyrus watched the man’s jaw tighten in annoyance, a small shift in his stance showed him that any moment now and he would probably go for a punch. Cyrus had taken worse, he would rather Nickolay punch him than even touch Loire.

However before things could get worse, Loire stepped in. She dodged the other man’s hand not once but twice and stared him down with a look that made Cyrus both chilled and wildly proud. The only thing that made his chest bloom more was when Loire told him off, she she said that she chose him. “Yeah! That’s right! Get to stepping!” He let out a wicked laugh as Nickolay went off running, his face green and puffy with the impending sick that threatened to erupt. “And stay out!” Cyrus was grinning from ear to ear when he turned back to Loire, his eyes glinting mischievously as he looked her over. “You’re amazing woman.”

They joined the others on the dance floor, Cyrus taking Loires hand and waist before allowing her to move him through the motions. She had taught him back in the day, though he had to admit he was insanely rusty. Loire though, Loire was amazing at this, she moved so gracefully and fluidly that even Cyrus looked halfway decent just by dancing with her. “You know, for a woman who always hated this sort of thing, you dance better than anyone I’ve ever seen.” He smiled down at her, the hand on her hip tightening slightly, his thumb rubbing a soft circle against the curve of her waist. She was always beautiful, even more so to him when they were in comfy clothes and causing chaos, but this was a different type of beauty, a type that was so different to him that Cyrus couldn’t stop his eyes from constantly looking over her as they flowed across the floor. “You know he’s going to lose it right, because you said that to him. Hell, I’m sure your parents know by sunrise.”
 
Weasley.

There was no doubt in his mind that she'd hit him in the chest, smack his face, punch him in the jaw. Hunter was crossing every single boundary she had ever made with him-- nothing in public where prying eyes could see, not falling for her when he had done so fucking months ago. He didn't care. He couldn't leave her standing in the middle of the dance floor beating herself up over something that wasn't her fault. And dammit, it felt so good to be honest with her. It weighed heavier on his shoulders than the Death Eater mark on his forearm.

"W-Whoa, wait, what?" It took everything in him to keep them moving as shock gripped him like a vice. She...wanted him? More than a friend. Druella Malfoy. It had been a stupid dream of his for her to say those words when in reality he didn't know if he deserved them--- he didn't know if he deserved her. Statistically though her father, her brother, they'd all bare the same mark as him and she hadn't died yet because of it. Fuck, if anything that made her immune to his curse. No-- no, no overthinking things right now. He could figure out all this later. He... just wanted to enjoy this moment with her. A wickedly proud smile tugged on his face as he absorbed all she had to say. She was saying her dreams out loud. Not loud enough for the world to hear, but loud enough for someone other than him to possibly hear. She was finally ready to take hold of the reigns on her life.

"It's too late, y'know. My ego was boosted miles high when you said you wanted me, Dru. You're lucky I don't sweep you off your feet here and now and carry you like a princess up to our floor." Their bodies were touching and even that wasn't close enough for him. His head leaned close to her as they spoke and pressed his forehead to hers, his hot breath brushing against her lips as he got lost in those fierce, beautiful eyes. As if the grin on his face wasn't bad enough his words even had a cocky purr to them. Dru had just created a monster and there was no tearing him down from this high. "You'll have it all. Your ministry job, your freedom, we'll even save your brother. Whatever you want and I'll make it happen." Not sure how, but Hunter would always find a way for her through any means necessary.

There was something that tore him from his ridiculous boasted ego and that was Larkyn's name on her lips. The man damn near pouted and pulled from her so he could listen to her, his shoulder slumping a bit as he continued to lead her on the dance floor as if they weren't talking about hopes and dreams and piss babies Honestly he wasn't even paying attention to the song, just those simple one, two, one, two steps. "I know how much he means to you," Hunter muttered quietly, barely loud enough for her to hear. She knew there were no romantic feelings, but Larkyn would be something to her that he could never be.

Then it hit him. "I-I'm sorry. He WHAT?" Hunter stopped mid dance as rage pulsated through his entire being. Was he breathing smoke? Several students and teachers stopped to look at him, and truthfully he didn't give a single fuck. He took a deep, calming breath that was anything but effective. "Come with me, love." There was a gentleness to his tone and touch despite his anger, his firm hand leading her off of the dance floor and straight to Seb and Delaney. They were the only ones there that he knew would protect Dru. "Keep her company for me, yeah? I need to go kill Larkyn."

In one blink Hunter had made large, fast strides out of the great hall. "ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?" Right in the damned hallway Larkyn was fucking FAWNING over Sapphira. Rage glazed over his expression and all he could see was red. "You had DRU and- and you fucking- You FUCKED THAT?" Hunter was ROARING. There was no holding back anymore. Fuck the wands, he was going to deal with this as a man. He stormed over to Larkyn and ripped him from Sapphira. Weasley had several inches on the man and was far more bulky than him-- auror training didn't have shit on dragon hunting.

No more words. His fist balled up and he sent it flying straight into his cheek. He didn't give him a minute to react-- Hunter pushed him back a few steps before his other fist flew into the other side of Larkyn's face. "What", punch, "the fuck", punch, "is WRONG WITH YOU?" With a final upper cut he seethed, trying to catch his breath as his knuckles started to ache from the force of his throws.
 
S. Longbottom

"He was always a little uptight, but I thought that to do with his family. Still could be I suppose. He was never this bad-- I've never seen him fight with Cyrus, Loire, or Dru, let alone all three of them." His focus quickly shifted to the beautiful woman he was lucky enough to call his girlfriend as she leaned against his shoulder. A warm smile took hold of his lips as his hand gave her a small squeeze, the other hand setting down the punch on a nearby table before snaking around her waist and pulling her flush against him. His lips planted a sweet kiss on the top of her head, his heart fluttering as he could smell her perfume and the warming scent of the straightener on her hair.

Seb listened to her quietly as he enjoyed the peaceful moment, his fingers making sweet, soothing circles on the small of her back, his chin resting on the top of her head. "You know when my father passed I envied the lot of them too. I suppose mine was for having parents, not so much history. I missed having a family, and while Gran is obviously family, well-- you've met her." Seb spoke gently, letting out a small chuckle at Gran's stubbornness. "It never felt like a family before you came to live with us Delaney." He moved back just enough so he could meet her gaze. The world faded out as his hands slipped from hers and gently cupped both of her soft cheeks. "I want you to know I'm so proud of how far you've come. Your happiness is everything to me. I'm sorry it's taken so long for us, for this, but I will do everything in my power to make sure you're happy for the rest of your days."

If they hadn't been in a room full of students, if it wouldn't of endangered her job, he would've kissed her right then and there. Not that it mattered-- behind them a woman let out a curt laugh and he felt his smile falter. Anna Delecour. "This homely little thing is what you've left ME for, Sebastian? Love truly does blind a person." Delecour snickered with a couple of her little girlfriends and Seb felt his jaw tighten once, twice, thrice. Anger flared in his eyes, an emotion he didn't often portray due to his cool nature but-- Merlin, no one spoke of Delaney like that. No one.

So much for making a scene. Without missing a beat he was reeling back, spinning on his heels and letting his glare meet her ridiculous giggling face. "The only thing homely here, Delecour, is your personality." There was an authority to his voice, one that even he didn't think he had, but when it came to the defense of Delaney all bets were off. He straightened to his full height of over six foot, towering over her even with the few feet of distance. Anna's eyes widened and her shoulder stiffened, her mouth opening as she went to make a retort. Not happening. "You want to know why things didn't work between us? Because there was no us. There will never be an us. It didn't take long for me to see that ugly personality of yours you keep behind a pretty face. You're mad because every guy drools over you and wants to be with you save for me. So what do you do? Attack the kindest, most caring, most beautiful woman that's graced this earth. You're a disgrace to ladies everywhere. Now, shoo."

Anna's mouth opened a few times as she thought to argue, though tears filled her eyes as she looked up at him. Seb didn't insult women ever; Gran would castrate him if he did, his father would roll in his grave. Insulting Delaney was something he would never stand. Anna closed her eyes, cleared her throat, and flipped her long blonde hair before making her exit with her friends. Instantly he felt his shoulders lower, wincing as he realized they were still at the ball. "I, uh, want to get some fresh air?" With a nervous chuckle he laced his fingers with Delaney and quickly headed towards the exit.

Well, until Hunter dropped Dru off with them like they were a daycare. "Uh su- Oh he's gone already." Seb gave Dru a sideways smile, his brows furrowed slightly in confusion. "Do you want to get some fresh air with us or should you stop him from killing? Either way is fine I suppose."
 
Sapphira

Sapphira couldn't imagine what Larkyn was going through. She had never stood up for herself in her life; her father dictated her major, her job. Hell, he only allowed her to attend Hogwarts because he wanted Sapphira to learn how to control her magic, so that she didn't use it on accident! He allowed her to date sure, but in the end she knew that he had the final say so on who she married. She knew better than anyone, outside of his circle of course, how overbearing families could be. Seeing him stand up for himself inspired her. She had the opportunity to stay here, to make a life that made her happy instead of complacent, and for once she was going to do something that made her happy. And the thing that made her most happy was a person, and he was standing right in front of her giving her the tightest hug of her life.

Her bright, teary eyes watched him as he spoke, a deep heat taking hold of her cheeks as he went on. What he really wanted... he said such nice things in his room, but Sapph heard a lot of nice things from guys before. Even with Larkyn she had a small shield around her heart like she was ready for him to hurt her at some point. But... he wanted her to stay with him. Her entire being flooded with happiness as his hands found her face. Hell, the way his finger traced her jawline sent a shiver down her entire body. She already knew she wouldn't leave him, but those little touches only confirmed those feelings. Larkyn was who she wanted, who she had always wanted.

And those damned lips of his... her body pressed into him, her warm breath ragged at his words. "I'm yours Larkyn. I'll be right here by your side. Forever, if you'll let me." Her hands slipped around his neck once more, though this time it was to close the fraction of an inch between them. Sapph stood on her toes and pressed her red painted lips against his in a passionate kiss, like she was confirming that she was in fact his and that she wasn't leaving him.

The kiss didn't last long. A booming voice was echoing down the hall and caused her to flinch away from Larkyn-- both a habit and to see what the hell Hunter wanted. She stared wide eyed up at him as he yelled at Larkyn and her cheeks heated, not in a good way this time. That. It was just a word but, damn did it sting something fierce. Sleeping with someone who wasn't his fiance was wrong yes, but people made mistakes! "Hey Hunter that's not nice--" Sapph couldn't help but flinch as Hunter approached them and, honestly, she was terrified by the way he was acting. He was completely out of his mind. Especially as she pulled Larkyn from her!

"H-Hey you big ass brute! Leave him alone!" Heels clicked against the marble as she moved to grip Hunter's dress robes, attempting to pull him away from Larkyn. To no avail of course-- Sapphira was an athlete sure, mainly speed categories though. By no means did she have the physical strength to man handle Hunter who looked to be all muscle. Her wand- Sapphira should have brought her damned wand!
 
Loire Gaunt

"Don't try to butter me up by your sweet words." Loire's brow arched as if she were to scold him, the glimmer of a faint smile on her lips saying otherwise. "You know I'm always your number one supporter, but if I hadn't stepped in there he would've beat you to a pulp. I prefer you unmaimed." The soft circles he made had her all but putty in his hands, a soft sigh parting her lips.

A pained look shot across Loire's face at the mention of her parents and erased all the ease she had just felt. This was it then. No more laying at his side just to share his warmth or inhale that addicting scent of his, no more gentle touches, no more flirting, laughing, smiling. Warm tears pricked her icy blue eyes, ones that she quickly tried to blink away in attempts to hide. Instead she replaced the pain with a kind smile that she didn't think herself capable of. Nothing was going to ruin the night. Loire had finally stood up for herself, for Cyrus, and it felt damned good.

"Good. Let them find out." The song faded out and the lights above dimmed slightly as a slow song played throughout the hall. "Let them find out I'm ridiculously in love with a wickedly handsome, sarcastic, occasionally funny man who I would go to the ends of the earth for." Her hands slid from their position and her arms wrapped around his neck, her index finger twirling a piece of loose hair that didn't quite make it into the bun. Closing the gap between their bodies she let her bright blues memorize every single feature of his, face as if she hadn't done so a million times already.

Tonight could very well be her last to admire him. Merlin above, her heart threatened to crack right then and there. "Do tell me the plan again babe. We run to Switzerland and dye my hair. Tell me, are you a brunette man, or did you like the black from the other night? Warning, if you say you like red heads I'll have to reconsider this relationship." Her head rested against his chest as they danced slowly, her eyes spotting Hunter storming out of the room. Did he say kill Larkyn?

"Oh for fucks sake. Come on. We can dance later." Loire pulled from him and made her way through the crowd, her small petite frame dodging the dancers with swiftness and cat like reflexes. "WHAT is going on out here?" Instantly she growled loudly, her pupils turning to slits as she glared daggers at the scene. Everyone was just out here watching Hunter beat the shit out of her brother? Above all things here she was a staff member and she would not put up with this! For once she wished that her shifted form was more than a six pound ball of fluff. "Hunter you have about five seconds before I knock you out with a flipendo. Step away from my brother." Her words were laced with venom as she pulled her wand that was secured on the inside of her waistband. A good witch always carried her wand.
 
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Druella “Dru” Malfoy

Hunter was shocked, Dru could tell by the way his eyebrows raised a half an inch, and that made her smile a bit. What an idiot. Dru herself had felt that her care for him had been fairly obvious, though men were emotionally stunted more often than not. She opened her mouth to tease him but suddenly Hunter was much closer than before, the warm skin of his forehead pressing against hers and his breath skittering across her lips in a way that made a soft gasp escape from hers. Maybe not so emotionally stunted. Then his words only made it worse, only completely solidified the insane amount of which she already loved him. They were words that from anyone else she would scoff at, words that she had tried to tell herself and never fully believed but coming from him? She knew he would do it. Hunter would do anything for her. And she would do anything for him. It was a terrifying thought really, to realize how she would jump in front of a curse for this man… but it was also so tender, so painfully sweet and loving that it made it very hard for her to not give in and kiss him right here.

Thankfully, Hunter had caught up on the other pieces of the conversation and was suddenly in a vastly different mood than just moments before. “Hunter where are you going?” He wasn’t being mean or harsh but there was intent in his words that told Dru that there was no use fighting against wherever he had decided to go. So she allowed herself to be gently pulled across the floor until they reached Seb and Delaney. It took Dru a few beats to realize what Hunter had said, staring blankly at Delaney before recognition dawned on her. “He said kill yeah?” Without waiting for an answer Dru took off in the direction Hunter had went off in. On her path, she caught Draco staring at her in disgust, clearly he saw her and Hunter dancing, now he watched as she chased after him… great. That was a problem for another day though, right now she needed to keep Hunter out of Azkaban.


Dru stood stunned, her feet had stopped moving the moment she rounded the corner and saw the scene before her. It shouldn’t have affected her the way it did, seeing Hunter hit Larkyn, but it made something ignite in her chest. She had never been the type of woman who thought she wanted to be protected, physically that is… maybe she was. Hunter felt so strongly about her that THIS was his reaction, knowing that she had been hurt by Larkyns actions was enough for Hunter to hit him… a lot. Dru stepped forward finally, moving towards the scene after a few hits and deciding that she should probably stop him before this got any worse. Only before she got there, Sapphira reached out and grabbed Hunters robes.

That was all it took.

“You really need to learn to keep your hands to yourself.” Dru finished the few feet forward, grabbing Sapphira roughly by the shoulders and turning her around before her hand came up and moved with speed across the red heads face. “What sleeping with Larkyn wasn’t enough for you last night? Now you need to get your grimy little hands on Hunter too?” She growled and pushed the girl away from her and towards the wall of the corridor. The others had now gathered, Loire was yelling for Hunter to stop and pulling her wand on him. Dru couldn’t blame her, Larkyn was her twin and she didn’t know everything that had happened. “Hunter.” Dru said it softly, glancing at his back and reaching out a hand to gently pull at his arm. Then her attention was back to Sapphira. In different circumstances she could imagine the girls being friends, they both had similar interests and despite their differences they had similar fucked up families from what Dru had heard. Too bad she chose to continuously jeopardize relationships with her own vanity and selfishness. Dru might have been a bitch, but she was never that evil. “Is that what you do Sapphira? Sleep with emotionally unavailable men for sport? Does it make you feel good? Make you feel like you won something? Because I would assume Larkyn was just a fluke, your silly little crush finally come to light… if it wasn’t for the fact that you’ve also slept with your best friends partner. They weren’t dating then sure but anyone with eyes knew, there was no way that her best friend didn’t know either.”

“You’re literal scum.”

Dru reached out again for Hunter, this time sliding her hand down his arm and into his, pulling him away from this whole fucking thing. She didn’t want to spend one more single second in this hallway. As they moved to head … well literally anywhere else… Dru glanced at Loire, “Might want to keep an eye on Cyrus around that one. Seems to be her type.” Then with that she was gone, walking as fast as her feet would take her away from it all.

Her heels clicked fiercely as Dru led Hunter down the various stone lined hallways. They walked in silence for a long while but once Dru was certain they were definitely far enough away from the ball, and far enough away from any potentially wandering students, she whirled on Hunter. It was a matter of milliseconds before her lips crashed onto his, for once in her life Dru was grateful for the uncomfortable heels on her feet that gave her the height to be able to easily press into him. Her arms had snaked around his neck and pulled him down the few extra inches and that was that. She kissed him wildly for what felt like an eternity but also only moments, when she pulled away she could feel her breath escaping her in rough ragged gasps. Dru didn’t move far away when she broke the kiss, her eyes opened and stayed locked on his from only centimeters away. “I have wanted to do that for an embarrassingly long time now.”
 
Delaney Wilson

Sebastian Longbottom was a dream, he was her dream. Delaney could remember when she had realized she was in love with him, she could remember all of the other boys and men that she compared to him and how none ever got close. Now, standing here and watching him as she listened to his gentle words, she had that feeling all over again. That feeling of her heart vacating her chest and going to him, because it was his and always had been. “Please don’t say sorry, not for that.” Her own hand moved up to rest gently over his, her lips curving into a bright smile. “It took a long time but I think it’s better that way. I know I was scared, that I didn’t have confidence in myself, but knowing that even after all this time we still want this, that my heart still wants you as much as it did when I first realized I loved you, I think it makes us stronger.” Her free hand went to press against his chest but fell when she heard the presence of a sickeningly sweet voice.

Delaney shrank near instantly, just the voice of the woman who had been so insulting had reminded her of how she felt when the two of them had spoken last. Now her words were only meaner, sharper. Homely… that was a new one to add to her diary. Seb pulled away and turned towards the blonde, Delaney swiftly took a step halfway behind him as if being out of the girls line of sight would cause her to stop hurling insults her way. Though Delaney knew all too well that girls like that didn’t operate that way. But Anna didn’t speak again because instead Seb was speaking, quickly coming to Delaneys defense and causing a warmth to spread across her chest. Her hand reached forward and took his, lacing their fingers together as she stepped forward at his side, her other hand moved to wrap around his forearm. His presence was the only thing that gave her the confidence to stare down at this now gaping woman. Delaney had always been the type of person who could come to the aid of others, who encouraged her students to stand up for themselves and their friends, but she had never been good at defending herself… but hearing the words Seb said about her… it gave her enough courage to at least not hide.

“Y-you should accept that he doesn’t want to deal with you, respect that decision and stop making things painful for everyone.” The eldest Delacour sister was now tearing up and Delaney even felt a bit sorry for her as she watched the girl stammer a moment before turning and keeping her head held high. She could understand wanting to fight for Sebastian’s attention, really she truly could. But Anna seemed to make him uncomfortable so Delaney wouldn’t hesitate to tell her to leave him alone, even if she wouldnt tell the woman that to save herself. “Fresh air sounds great.”

Only then chaos seemed to begin, because of course it would. Hunter stopped by to deposit Dru into their care, followed by Dru running off, Delaney also caught a glimpse of Loire and Cyrus going in the same direction. “Something seems off, like in a way that means we should probably go for the second option. Although I would much rather the fresh air.” She began to move, though a little slower than the situation probably called for if killing really was on the table. Delaney wanted to see where Sapphira had gone before they left but realized that she no longer was in the Hall, nor was Larkyn. Not a great sign.

Out in the corridor things were bad. “What is wrong with you! There are students not FEET away!” Delaney growled, instantly pulling her wand from the belt at her side and casting a silencing charm around the hall then locking off the door they had exited through and warding the hallways entrance on either end. Idiots. “I should report this to the head master! I cannot believe you would-“ Delaney was cut off as Dru stepped in and grabbed Sapphira roughly and slapped her. A stark gasp came from her, followed by a mixture of confusion and a glare. “Dru! What the hell!” The woman was usually very calculating and thoughtful, her slapping someone wasn’t a shock necessarily but… why Sapphira?

Delaney let go of Sebastian’s hand and quickly moved to Sapphira, “Are you okay?” She grabbed her friends face and turned it to the side to check the already reddened skin. Behind her Dru had continued talking and Delaney had shut most of it out… until she heard the word best friend. Slept with. What? Delaney turned her attention to Drunand started to try and actually understand everything she had been halfway listening to… Sapphira and Larkyn had slept together. Which was a situation that now explained everything occurring in this hall, but Dru was also commenting on something else. Something else that when it clicked for Delaney it felt like the floor fell out from under her.

Delaney didn’t look at Sapphira, her hands simply fell from her friends face and her eyes moved to find Seb. They didn’t… “You didn’t… you wouldn’t?” It was all she could really say as she tried to make sense of it all. How had she been so happy five minutes ago and now it felt like her heart was literally dying in her chest. Her eyes searched his from across the way and Delaney instantly knew, it wasn’t hard to see the shame and regret. “I- Oh my.” She swallowed hard, her hand moving to press against her chest as she felt the pain taking over her body. The need to be away from here was overwhelming, Delaney pushed away from the wall where she had been standing with Sapphira and began walking away without a word.

The tears started before Delaney could even get out of the hall, strangled sobs coming from her as she quickened her pace to leave and head towards the greenhouses. She started to break into a full out run as she began to notice students looking at her, she refused to ruin their night. So she ran, eventually there was a point where there were no more stragglers and finally she found herself in her safe place amongst her plants. Delaney crashed down then, her back pressed against the glass wall as she violently ripped off the stupid heels that hurt her feet, while she tried to loosen the corset on this dress that suddenly felt like it was squeezing the life out of her. The dress that she had loved because it was his favorite color, the dress that he bought because he knew her so well that he caught her lie, the dress that had made her feel so beautiful and radiant… now all she wanted to do was burn it.

How could they do that, even if it was years ago, how could they? Sapphira KNEW since day one how head over heels Delaney was for Seb, Seb knew that Sapphira was her best friend. How could they do this and then lie about it? Hide it and keep it a secret? The thoughts made bile rise in her throat… maybe Anna was right… homely. That was the word.
 
Larkyn Gaunt

It felt like electricity was moving through every inch of his body, the excitement and panic of his choices finally beginning to physically manifest. There was no going back now, it was certain that prying eyes had seen him walk away from Dru mid dance. Larkyn was near positive that Miss Skeeter who had been standing in the corner to comment on the triwizard champions would surely have seen the scene. She had been there to watch and write about the students but knowing that woman, he and Dru would be at least a column in the gossip rag.

The electricity sparked again at Sapphiras words, at her promise to stay. It was something that he didn’t realize he needed so badly. Everyone seemed to be leaving him and he had been scared she would too. They had been having such a great time together and not just the sneaking around, thinking back on their first few flight lessons… Larkyn had been scared then of her going home at the end of the year. A wide grin spread across his face as Sapphira pulled him in for another kiss, this time deeper than the last. At least until Larkyn was roughly pulled away from her.

“What the hell did you-“ That was all Larkyn could get out before a massive blow came and knocked all sense out of him. Larkyn had taken his fair share of hits in his line of work but it was mostly fights he saw coming or spells he could easily deflect and work against. This was different. Larkyn was strong in the sense of speed and wand work, he was athletic but built for agility. Hunter was not and Larkyn felt every bit of muscle behind each punch. It was impossible to get a word out let alone a hit in. And eventually… Larkyn just took it. He deserved it right? Here came the split again… the part of him that felt like he was betraying his friends had decided he deserved this.

Larkyn wasn’t sure exactly how much punches he had taken before Hunter finally stopped. He had head Sapphira try and remove Hunter but ultimately it seemed Dru was the one that issued the order to stand down before turning her own assault at Sapphira. “Dru stop.” He coughed from where he now sat against the cold stone ground. Across the hall Loire still held her wand pointed at Hunter, at least she came to his defense on this. Dru was still tearing at Sapphira and before he could fully comprehend what was being said, Delaney was running away.

Oh.

That was the fling. Larkyn looked between Sebastian and Sapphira, wiping blood from his brow in order to fully look at them. Dru and Hunter were also now gone… Larkyn was realizing that his mind was so groggy that it was hard for him to keep up with all the shit happening. “Sapph it’ll be okay.” He croaked, his attention turning fully to her. “Delaney will get over it, it was just a shock I’m sure. I mean it was a long time ago right?” He moved to try and stand up but faltered, his head pounding from just the little bit of motion. He should press charges against that brute for this. Wasn’t his family supposed to be all kind or whatever? Larkyn deserved a punch or two but now that he was starting to feel his injuries he felt this was way fucking overboard!
 
Cyrus

“Don’t make that face…” Cyrus sighed, a slow breath escaping him as his hands smoothed over her hair. He gently clasped them at the nape of her neck and pulled her forward to place a firm kiss against her forehead. He knew what she was thinking, he knew that she was already accepting defeat, knew that she already was thinking of what her parents were going to do. “Remember? We have a back up plan. I think I’d make a good baker in some small city that I don’t speak the language of. I mean I’m charming enough right?” Cyrus pulled back to look down at her and smooth his hands over the sides of her neck then down her shoulders. “Well be okay, I’ll do whatever needs to be done to make sure of that okay Loire?”

Then Loire moved closer and Cyrus slid his hands lower to her waist, pulling her in before looping his arms around her. As she played with his hair a blush broke out across his tanned features and a smile spread. “Occasionally funny? You wound me. Imagine how it feels to be insulted by the most gorgeous woman here?” Another kiss to her forehead, Loire had messed up by telling Nickolay, now it was impossible for him to keep his hands off her. Before it was painful but now he would let himself fall victim to every single urge, every touch, every kiss… he didn’t care who saw them. “What you don’t like the baker idea?” Cyrus chuckled, his eyes gazing down at her with a glint of mischief. “You pick wherever you want, I just want somewhere that has seasons. I’d like water too, but I’m not picky… river, pond, ocean.” One of his hands moved to take one of her curls. “No red, I think something wild would fit you best. But only if you promise to keep it temporary… and switch back to this when we’re alone. You’re absolutely breathtaking as is.”

Cyrus leaned in to kiss her cheek but stopped short at the commotion behind them. Oh. Wait. What? Loire was first to recognize what was going on and yank Cyrus in the direction of the drama. “Can we ever have ONE good night?” Cyrus instantly assumed it was petty nonsense, because that seemed to be what it was as of late. However the moment they all were all together he realized that something had happened that was fairly serious…

Loire pulled out her wand on Hunter and Cyrus took a few steps forward, preparing to tackle Hunter if another punch flew. Only it didn’t, Sapphira seemed to slow thing down for a moment before Dru grabbed her and removed her as well. Cyrus thought that would resume the beating but a simple hand from Dru got Hunter to calm almost instantly.

Oh.

“Oh fuck me.” Cyrus groaned, watching as Dru ripped into Sapphira in a way that made Cyrus glance back at Loire. She didn’t like the woman already, she really wasn’t going to like her now. Then his eyes moved to his friend on the ground, beaten and silent. Cyrus moved over to him and knelt down to try and help him stand but Larkyn didn’t seem to want his help. “This is why you’re in the situation you’re in, can’t you just fucking knock it off for five seconds and accept help when you’re beaten to a pulp?”
 
Sapphira

The slap stopped her world. All she could do was focus on the stinging handprint on her cheek and the hateful, truthful words that Dru spilled. How'd she know about Seb? Who else knew? So long as Delaney-- Delaney. Tears welled in her eyes as she realized her friend was there to witness the horrible things that were being said. She should've chased her friend, should've begged for forgiveness, yet her feet wouldn't move. Her feet couldn't move until Dru dragged Hunter off and Seb was desperately running after Delaney.

“I fear your head trauma is clouding your better judgement, but I am thankful for your positivity.” Sapph slowly knelt down to Larkyn's side as she struggled to hold back tears. Gently her thumb wiped off some blood from his brow, the sadness and pain etched all across her pretty features. “Again though, the positivity may come from head trauma.” He looked rough, and she was sure he felt worse than he looked. At least they could be thankful Hunter didn’t break anything; besides some scrapes and large bruises she was sure he’d be fine.

"Larkyn, he's your friend. Please let him help; if not for you, then for me. I can't pull you up by myself." The red headed woman knelt down next to the bloodied man in order to move his arm around her thin shoulders, her arm snaking around his waist to help steady him. While she could technically lift him up he had nearly a foot on her. It'd be a struggle-- that, and she wanted him to let Cyrus back in, even just a little. Sapphira implored him with tired eyes, desperate to get out of this hallway and get them back to her room so she could fix him up and mull over the guilt and shame she felt.

When he reached for Cyrus's hand she let out a nearly inaudible, thankful sigh. There was a god. “Here. Lean on me.” She helped steady him on his feet once he was up before shooting Cyrus a small smile. "Thank you." The smile didn't last long though, not with the chilling glare Loire was shooting at her. Dru was her friend, Delaney her coworker, and now it was known that Sapphira went for mostly taken men. Of course the small woman hated her. "Let's go get you cleaned up." Without glancing at Loire she led them through the hallway. The walk was mostly silent save for the lingering music from the ball and the quiet clicking of her heels against the marble floor.

It didn't take long for them to reach the door to the staff wing. Once up the staircase Sapph moved across the common area and instead of his room she took him to hers. "Here. Sit." The room was simple and elegant with a cream and crimson duvet with matching pillows on the bed, a family portrait of her, her father and mother, and a picture of her, Seb, and Delaney in their school uniforms. The sight of it made her sigh quietly to herself as she reached for the first aide kit behind the pictures. "Are you sure you don't hate me too? I'm pretty sure your sister is forming a club with Dru. Delaney might even join in on that club now."

"This might sting." Gently her soft fingers cupped his face, her free hand cleansing his busted brow with an antiseptic wipe before cleaning the cut on his cheek. Sapph was always getting herself injured, she had never gotten beat up like this though. Hell, Sapph hadn't ever been slapped before tonight. "I know Delaney will forgive me but at this point I don't deserve it. I mean, Dru's right. I'm scum. Look what happened to your face because of me." After applying a few bandaids her hand fell to her side. Gods, he'd be all puffy and bruised for days. At this point she couldn't even look him in the eye. Instead she sat down next to him with a defeated breath of air. The only good part of this trip was Larkyn and Delaney, and only one of those people currently liked her.
 
Loire Gaunt

Right now she could be dancing the night away with Cyrus, yet here she was dealing with this train wreck. These people were a fucking mess. Since when were her and Cyrus the ones causing the least amount of trouble? At this point Loire was ready to take Cyrus up on his offer and move to some small city in France near the ocean. That thought, and the image of Cyrus looking ridiculously attractive in a bakers hat, was the only thing that held her hand and prevented her from flipping Hunter across the hall away from her brother. Did he even know how to bake? She imagined he'd burn down the kitchen and Loire would have to stop the fire. Not like she could bake at all, not when she used her wand for literally everything. A muggles life would not be a good one for her but if it meant a life with him she'd give it her all.

The smack to Sapphira caused Loire to stiffen and push her little daydream aside for a moment. This was getting out of control. Just as Loire stepped forward to stop things, however, Dru was spilling the tea. Loire's already chilly temperament became arctic. Larkyn cheated with- with Sapphira. After all the shit he gave her and Cyrus and HE could sleep with a fucking muggle AND cheat on Dru? Even worse, Sapph slept with Seb! It was well known that Delaney had always been crazy about the man, so the fact that her best friend could do that to her...

Loire felt a growl rumble in her chest as she crossed her arms in front of her chest, physically restraining herself from pouncing on the woman. If she made a move on Cyrus she'd kill her no questions ask. With piercing eyes she watched Sapph's every move as she helped her brother up. Her kneeling, her assisting, the smile towards Cyrus...

Now Loire was far more reserved than Cyrus was. Touching was acceptable for dancing, kissing and affection in public was a foreign concept to her. That didn't stop her from stepping directly to his side and leaning against him, like she was making sure Sapphira knew damn well that the man was taken. Like a jealous cat. Was this what Cyrus felt watching her and Nikolai?

And then there was Larkyn. Larkyn was her fucking TWIN and he was treating her like- like scum! It was only natural that like every other Gaunt she didn't get sad, she got fucking furious. The small woman began to tremble with anger and she quickly shook her head. "Fitting that the whore wore red. You think she has some sort of spell on Larkyn? You know what, let's find out. Let me kill her." Quick on her feet as ever the small white haired woman was already a good few feet away from Cyrus-- well on her way towards the mentor wing. While she wasn't usually a violent person the thought of losing either of her brother or Cyrus provoked a rather aggressive side of her.
 
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Seb. Longbottom


This night had started out so well. Delaney had even stood up for herself against Anna, something he was incredibly proud of. They were being honest with each other, open, and it felt fucking amazing. Only, Seb was never completely honest with the things he knew he should've been. His secret with Sapphira was shameful. Seb had been drinking after a miserable day, he was planning to fully be straight with Delaney about his feelings for her the day of graduation. Gran found out and harshly shut it down. He drowned his sorrows, saw how miserable Sapph was after the final Quidditch game of the year. She wanted to talk to Larkyn but was due back home soon. They... were miserable together.

He didn't think that it would come out today of all days.

While he never knew quite how to tell her this was certainly not the way he would've liked. "Druella!" Instantaneously Sebastian sneered at the woman as Delaney tended to Sapphira, a not so gentlemanly thing to do but, dammit neither was airing out his dirty laundry! Inside his chest his heart felt like it had stopped, his whole body rigid. Sweat immediately started to form on the nape of his neck and he desperately prayed to Merlin that Delaney didn't hear her at all or was too distracted to hear.

No one heard his prayers, not as he heard the heartbreak in her voice. Seb looked to her with pleading eyes laced with guilt-- he wanted to explain before she could run but, he knew better. Did an explanation make what they did, what they hid any better? Probably not. He had to though, he owed that to her. "Delaney-" Seb's voice cracked as he took a step towards her, pausing as he watched the tears flood her eyes. His heart shattered at the sight. Not only was she crying, but she was crying because of him-- something Seb had promised would never, ever fucking happen to her. A large lump formed in his throat, tears stinging fiercely in his eyes. He'd kill someone for making her cry and, yet, here he was doing just that.

She was off and it took him a minute to get his feet to listen to his brain. "Delaney- please, wait!" Seb stumbled over his own feet as he ran after her. How the fuck was she so fast in heels? His jaw tightened a few times as he went over what he would say. What would he say? 'Sorry for having a bad day and sleeping with your best friend? I'm even sorrier that you found out? That I never told you?' All seemed like bad options but, fucking damn he couldn't leave things like this. Delaney wasn't just the love of his life, she was his best friend. He couldn't lose her.

He could hear the sobbing as he entered the green house, eventually tracking the noise to her tucked in between some of her plants. "I-It was the biggest mistake of my life Delaney and my deepest shame." The tall dark haired man dropped to his knees in front of her, his eyes pleading with hers once more to just listen to him. "I was going to ask you out graduation day but Gran found out. She-- you know how she gets whenever we get close, and she was livid when she found out." Seb originally wanted to stay home after graduation and open his shop. "Gran told me that I had an inheritance, and that I needed to use it to travel and see the world. That that's what my parents would've wanted from me, I-I wanted to do that with you, I would've waited for you but Gran all but kicked me out that day. I was miserable, and Sapphira was just as miserable with that stupid ass Larkyn drama. I-I had been drinking in the courtyard that night and she found me and-"

They got drunk, and everyone knew misery loved company. Tears overflowed his eyes and he moved closer to Delaney, his warm hand cupping her face so his thumbs could wipe away the tears. "I wouldn't blame you if you never forgave me. I-It never happened again, I swear, but it also shouldn't have ever happened. I-I just- Delaney, you're my best friend and the only person I'll ever love. When I dream it’s always of you and that heartstopping smile of yours. The most beautiful, kind, bright woman I'll ever know. I wouldn't trade what we have in the world. Every single fucking woman in this world is nothing compared to you. If you allow me to I-I'll spend the rest of my life making it up to you."
 
Weasley.

A brawl was no fun one sided. Granted Hunter had only been in a few and bore a few scars, a nice sized one graced right above his hip from beating the shit out of a poacher who got ahold of a hippogriff. He would never hit someone who couldn’t fight back. No— this was different. Larkyn wasn’t fighting back and that was the difference. Hell, even if he fought him off Hunter still had muscle on the man, but it seemed like he knew he deserved this. He cheated on Dru! Someone so dedicated to this farce of a relationship in order to protect those dear to her, and he was such a fucking hypocrite about the two of them being friends! Yet he could sleep with some random girl here for the year. Utterly disgraceful, and it was clear that Larkyn knew he was in the wrong.

The blows didn’t stop— not for Sapphira, not for Loire’s threats, or Delaney’s yelling. All Hunter could see past the rage was the tears and hurt in Dru this morning, the broken woman that tried to push Hunter away because she thought she was anything less than the goddess she was. The thing that stopped him was her voice, her gentle pull on his arm. Things around him cleared finally and allowed him to see all the blood, from Larkyn’s face to his bloodied, busted knuckles. “Fuck,” he stumbled to his feet so he could wipe off some of the blood on his pants. He was back for five minutes and already bloodied clothes his mum prepared for him; she was going to kill him.

Dru ripped into Sapphira and, honestly? Good. What did the woman expect? It seemed like this was a bad habit of hers and it was bound to happen. He said nothing as she pulled him along and quietly followed, his eyes landing on the fierce blonde. Hunter was 99.9 percent sure that she was going to rip him a new one. The silence wasn’t tense though, not as bad as he expected it to be with the fierce clicking of her heels. While her stubbornness was off putting to some people he fucking loved it, he loved how fiery and passionate she was. Even if it meant her yelling at him.

A kiss was the last thing he expected. It only took milliseconds for him to respond to something he had been wanting to do for fucking months; his hands immediately moved to pull her closer, one on the small of her back and one tangling into those beautiful platinum locks of his. Her lips were like a drug. His bloodied hand pulled her flush against him as their lips danced, and just as he went to bite at her lip she pulled away, albeit slightly. His eyes popped open and his chest moved heavily as he fought to catch his breath and calm his racing heart. A wickedly cocky smirk spread across his face. “And here I thought you had a thing for me beating up cheating assholes.”

Without warning he was pushing her gently against the stone wall, his lips immediately crashing down on hers again. He groaned quietly into the kiss as his hand drifted from her back to her hip, the one in her hair cupping her face as he met her with a fiery kiss of his own. They were a tangle of tongue, lips, teeth for a long minute, long enough to where he was feeling light headed from the lack of air. Begrudgingly he forced himself to part and take a couple pants for breath, his eyes no longer angry and instead completely content and full of love as he stared into hers. His hand on her face moved to brace himself against the wall as his thumb on her hip made sweet, mindless circles. “I thought about kissing you when we were feeding the moon calves. I’m pretty sure you would’ve punched me, but knowing what we’ve been missing out on I should’ve risked it.”

“Sorry I was kind of a brute back there. I promise I’m not violent, I just- all I could see was red. You were so upset this morning. That was why, right?”
 
Druella “Dru” Malfoy

It felt like her skin was on fire but not in a bad way, like every single one of her nerve endings was on high alert and she was loving every moment of it. Dru didn’t know that kissing someone could feel like this… it wasn’t just physical it was emotional too. Honestly Dru felt so bright that if someone had told her she was glowing she would probably believe them. “That could be part of it.” Dru smirked up at him, “I mean beating up cheating assholes surely didn’t hurt your cause.” Hunter moved in closer and then Dru felt the cool stone of the wall press to her back, a contrast that made her shiver when in compared to the body pressed against her. Then his lips were on hers again. This one was more practiced, still wild but she could tell they were both fully prepared for this one. Dru slid one of her hands up his chest until it found his shoulder, then his neck and rested it there against the side of his smooth skin. “Hunter…” A small whisper had forsaken her and slid from her lips during a millisecond that they parted during the clashing of their lips. The slight embarrassment from the whine caused her face to go pink as he pulled away from the kiss but not from her, in fact it seemed he was as close as someone could be as he braced on the wall and stood before her.

Dru looked up at him, watching his eyes as her hands moved to rest against his chest. Another shiver moved through her at the fingers rubbing circles against her hip. “I likely would have.” She nearly snorted at the thought, the two of them out there in the Forbidden Forest as Dru gave Hunter a bloody nose. “But only because you were distracting me from the moon calves.” She thought back on that memory and realized that she had been yearning for him for a longer than she thought. That was all honestly the start of it, the care that he had shown her in that moment. “I love you Hunter.” It came out so naturally, so easily and softly that Dru barely even believed she was the one who had said it. That one sentence solidified everything that had been running rampant in her mind for days now. There was no way in hell that Dru would be marrying Larkyn, there was no way she would give up this for anything in the world. Hunter was right, they would find a way to save her job and help Draco but she wasn’t willing to run away from this. From him.

“Don’t be sorry.” Dru said it almost too quickly, “I don’t think I should say I condone violence but… it was nice.” And wildly attractive but there was no way in hell that she would tell him that, not only was it embarrassing but it would continue to inflate his already sky high ego. Dru reached up and brushed some of his ginger locks from his face as she gave him a small smile, she had never been the type of woman to seek the protection of someone else and whenever Larkyn had gone all macho on her it had annoyed her to high hell. But maybe that was it, Larkyns protection had always been about control, Hunter wasn’t like that. Hunter knew Dru could handle himself but he would stand at her side and fight with her. “I caught them this morning when I went to talk to Larkyn about the ball. It wasn’t that they slept together, I mean it was. I-“ She didn’t know how to explain this well, she was usually so good with her words but she wanted to make sure this came across the right way.

“I’m upset that someone I care about so much hid things from me, lied to me. From the sight of them this morning it was much more than a one night stand.” Dru shifted against the wall and wrapped both arms around his neck, her fingers lazily playing this his hair for a moment before she continued. “I’m also upset because I realized that I was denying myself something I really wanted. That I held back from allowing myself to be happy because I thought I had a friend who was going to go down that road with me. But he didn’t, he chose to be happy and I’m not mad at him for that. I’m mad at him for not respecting or loving me enough to let me in on it, to allow me to do the same.”

When she finished Dru let out a slow sigh, her eyes moving back up to him to see if Hunter had understood what she meant. “I read somewhere that women take an average of one hundred and fourty eight days to fall in love with someone. As much as I hate to admit it Weasley, you wrecked the grade curve for the first time in your life.” A playful smirk graced her lips and for the first time in a long time Dru felt light. She knew tomorrow would be hell, Draco definitely saw them as did many others.

If she didn’t receive a scathing owl from her father within a day she was sure it would be the next. But right now she refused to think about any of it. That was a problem for later. Right now she just wanted to be happy for a short while.
 
Delaney Wilson

Hurt and sadness was pressing down on her chest like a thousand pounds. How could they have lied to her about this for so long? If it was really just a mistake why hide it? Why keep it from her if it was just a little thing that happened once? Delaney sniffled where she sat and rubbed her nose along the back of her hand. Probably because she would have reacted like this, maybe even worse back then. Crying in the corner like some petulant child… Merlin help her. She knew she would never be enough for him, that was what had kept her from trying for all these years… learning that Sapphira of all people had- Delaney shook the thought from her head. The pain that came from thinking of her best friend doing that to her… Sapphira knew how in love Delaney was with Sebastian. She knew.

The sound of footsteps neared her and Delaney thought to get up and move again in an attempt to hide but knew she wouldn’t move fast enough. She could tell it was Seb before she looked up, she had heard him chasing her, had heard the break in his voice. But Delaney didn’t want to look at him, she didn’t want to because she knew the instant she did she would fly to him for comfort and she shouldn’t! She should be upset with him, sure he didn’t know how she felt back then but Sapphira was her best friend. Off limits and all that stuff right? Plus he lied! That was the real issue here, at least with Sebastian.

When his knees hit the ground it caused Delaney to involuntarily look up at him, her heart squeezing painfully in her chest as she looked over his face. He looked truly terrified, sorry and upset and embarrassed. His face contorted even more as he spoke and Delaney felt herself physically fighting the urge to reach out and try and make it better. He brought up Gran and it made her tense, the woman was someone that Delaney would always love and appreciate but she knew her stance on Delaney and Seb being anything more than friends. Honestly it was something she knew all too well, it was most of the reason Delaney always thought she wasn’t enough. “S-Seb…” The story continued and Delaney’s head dropped, her eyes squeezing shut as she forced the mental image from her head. She didn’t want to imagine the details. She didn’t want to think about them like that. Delaneys head began to spiral as she felt his warm hands move against her face causing her to hiccup a small sob. She opened her eyes slowly and watched him as tears fell down his own face.

“I just don’t get why you never told me Seb.” Delaney choked out before he continued, before he said all those words that made her insides tie into tightly wound knots. Words that made her both want to cry more and crush him in a hug so tight that neither of them would be able to breathe. This wasn’t Seb flirting, this wasn’t his usual charming routine, his flippant compliments. This was sincere and raw and so utterly beautiful that Delaney didn’t think anyone would be strong enough to resist it. “Just- no more secrets?” Delaney moved toward him to lean into his side, her arms wrapping around his middle as they now sat side by side on the dirty greenhouse floor. She let her head fall against his shoulder and a slow sigh moved through her in a way that relaxed her entire body. “I am absolutely enamored with you Sebastian Longbottom, so in love with you and you are my best friend.” She used to say one of her best friends. “I think it’s going to take me a little while to be honest, to feel comfortable with this new information… but I can’t blame you for what you didn’t know. I had never been confident enough to tell you I loved you then, to try and be with you. But Sapphira knew, she knew all of it. So I’m just hurt I suppose, by the act itself and the secret. I hate that I learned it from Dru in a fight and not from either of you coming to me honestly.”
 
Larkyn Gaunt

“Yeah mate I hardly think refusing to accept help is what made that loser beat the living daylights out of me but thanks for your insight. I personally think it had more to do with his intent to get in Drus pants.” Larkyn shoved away from Cyrus and turned his full attention back to Sapphira. She looked as broken as he felt and it was awful to think but- at least they wouldn’t have to go through all of this alone. Larkyn leaned into Sapphira as she offered him help, not fighting her one bit as the two of them made there way away from the scene that had been created. Behind them Larkyn could feel the heat of his twins seething glare but he couldn’t force himself to turn around and say anything to her. Honestly with each step he took it was like he could feel all the strings of his old life pulling taught and then snapping in half.

It took a little longer than usual due to how dizzy Larkyn was from his injuries but eventually the two of them made their way back to the staff wing and into Sapphiras room. “Of course I don’t hate you Sapphira, and Delaney doesn’t either. Don’t think that way. She’s just upset, but you two are like sisters right? Delaney seems like a smart girl. She’ll work through it on her own time.” Larkyn winced as he sat against her bed, his body starting to stiffen up a bit now that some time had passed and his adrenaline was crashing.

“Don’t blame yourself for this. Please.” Larkyn spoke softly as Sapphira cleaned up the various wounds on his face. This wasn’t her fault, she may have been a catalyst but there was a lot more going on below the surface. A lot more that was the real cause of all of this. Dru and Larkyn were never a match, the only things they had in common were their desperate need to break away from their history. Beyond that sure they were good friends but on all the things that really mattered? They were constantly at odds. Trying to force that into a romantic relationship and marriage was never going to work. Maybe if they were really people who held status above all else it would have, but that was exactly what they wanted to be rid of. “This is all our fault, mine and Dru. And my fucking sister.” He growled the last bit, if she had just been honest… if he had just been honest. Were they all really so self absorbed that they didn’t realize that they were all sabotaging one another? That their refusal to be honest is what got them all here to this insane broken state.

Larkyn reached out and cupped Sapphiras face in his hands, his thumbs rubbing up and down over her smooth skin. “I’m sorry that it all went down this way though, I’m so sorry that what is going on with me caused Dru to say what she said. I never wanted to cause any issues with you and your friends.” He moved one hand to run over a stray piece of her long auburn hair. “But at least we have each other right? I mean there’s no going back now. Knowing the way our lives are scrutinized I have to imagine this will be all over by the morning.”
 
Cyrus

It wasn’t worth it to try and fight with Larkyn, not after the night the man had… he was always bullheaded but he also had to imagine anyone would be fairly prickly after getting their ass handed to them. Especially when their entire career revolved around being the one who hands the ass normally. So he let his best friend shave him away, just standing silently nearby in case things got heated again. Thankfully it seemed like everyone was breaking off in their own little worlds again which was probably for the best for the evening… though Cyrus could see a friendship circle hosted by Minerva in the very near future after the behavior from them all this evening.

Suddenly Cyrus felt Loires weight against him and he let a short chuckle escape. So transparent sometimes she was. Her arms were crossed over her chest and she kept a steady glare at her brothers … girlfriend? That would be one to wrap his head around. “Oi woman, I’ve been pining after you since we were twelve. I don’t think you need to get all puffy over there kitten.” He nudged her shoulder with his and watched as Sapphira helped Larkyn down the hallway.

It was only a few moments after the new couple was out of sight when Cyrus realized the sudden loss of the warmth at his side. He should have known Loire better. Should have known she wasn’t as calm as she tried to pretend she was. “Woah there killer!” Cyrus quickly moved forward, able to catch up fast thanks to the fact that his legs were much longer than hers. Though Loire did make it an impressive distance before Cyrus caught her. His arms wrapped tightly around her middle as she was in mid stride, pulling her back tightly against him before lifting her up in his arms and tossing her over his shoulder. “Maybe we don’t commit homicide tonight, maybe ever? I think it would make for an awkward conversation at the family dinner table. Murdering your brothers girlfriend, whore or not.”

Cyrus turned and walked in the complete opposite direction of the staff wing. All of them being in one place right now was just asking for trouble. Especially when Loire was all worked up. So instead he headed towards the second entrance to the Gaunt family hideout. Times like this called for a little sleepover away from everyone, otherwise known as a cool down for the murderous woman on his shoulder. As they walked a few students passed by and giggled at the sight, Cyrus just shot them a wicked grin and would show off with a little spin each time. Telling them that their lovely librarian hurt her ankle at the dance was a good enough excuse, better than saying she was filled with rage and needed to be restrained like a wild animal.
 
Loire Gaunt

While it completely elated her to hear, it didn't matter how long Cyrus pined after her. Larkyn was her brother, her blood, her fucking twin. They were born into the world together, if anyone should look out for each other it was them! Yet, Larkyn was angry at her and Cyrus still for loving each other. While Loire wanted to tell her brother she completely understood why Cyrus wanted to hide it-- this! This fucking reaction right here, of him shunning them and shutting them out. And instead of just using his words and communicating with them, he turned his back on them and fell for some... witch, in the most derogatory sense of the word. All she could see was red as she stalked the hallway, right up until Cyrus snatched her up.

"Oh, you know in this family homicide talk at the table is a usually Friday night." Loire grumbled a snarky response right back at him, giving a small, weak wiggle in attempts to get free from his grasp. There was no point in wasting her energy on escape though, instead she just propped herself up on an elbow with a soft huff. A small wave to the giggling students paired with a heavy eye roll at his excuse.

"I already lost Larkyn to that thing, I'll be damned if she brainwashes you into leaving me." Despite the calm, confident persona Loire always had there was a weakness in her voice that showed she was genuinely worried about losing him. As soon as they got to the Gaunt hideout portrait and she was back on her feet her bright blues look up at him, a small smile on her face. "I'll do my best not murdering the wench. Just-- don't leave me again. Okay? I can't lose you, too."

Loire smoothed over his jacket, the small smile turning into a playful smirk. "It's hard to find someone who looks looks this good in a suit." And with that she dropped her hands, turned to open the hidden entrance. A night away from everyone still sounded good.

--

The second task was a nail biter, one that she was thankful she didn't have to participate in. Poor Harry. The following months flew by without incident, Larkyn was being the biggest bitch she had ever met, but without incident. Loire had attempted to talk to him several times, each and every time he either ignored her existence or shot her a disapproving look. Now she didn't bother.

At this point Loire didn't bother going in her room-- not with the growing stack of letters on her desk from her parents. She already knew what the contents of the letter were; her wedding was in July and she'd still be expected to wed Nikolay. They'd want her to come home to have a 'chat about her little stunt. Hard pass. For the most part Nikolay kept his distance, though she could live without the seething glares he kept throwing at her and Cyrus.

Cyrus was her one and only constant anymore, and honestly she wouldn't know what to do without him. The loss of Larkyn was devastating, it left a gaping void in her existence and she didn't know what to do with herself. She understood that their secret hurt him, but he had secrets that he had kept from themDru and her became unlikely friends and formed the 'fuck Sapphira and Larkyn club'. The members were the two girls, Hunter, and Cyrus. Seb seemed on board with the club, even Delaney looked like she wanted to be apart of it-- she was just too nice to say it.

Class had been canceled for the day, something about the students wouldn't pay attention since it was the last day of the tournament. More to Loire's liking, the last day Nikolay would be in town until their wedding. "I hate to admit that I'll miss the lot of you mentors. Most of you, anyways." Loire was lounging on the couch in the center of the mentors wing, reading a book as she waited with Dru for their... significant others? Yeah, she supposed she could call Cyrus that. "It's only a couple weeks until summer. Our options here are we either trip Larkyn down the stairs in hopes he breaks his leg, or we wait until Sapphira goes home. Or kill her, but, Cyrus tells me that's not an option. We could out-vote him though."

In typical Loire fashion she had no shame-- she was addressing this topic right in the middle of the living room where all could hear. She literally gave no fucks.
 
Sapphira

Everything about the next few months broke her heart. If it hadn't been for Larkyn's strength and mentoring Cedric she wasn't sure she would've made it until June. Larkyn was right, at least they had each other. It was clear that Delaney was mad at her, for good reason too, but shouldn't she at least hear Sapphira out? Delaney took Sebastian back no problem-- but her best friend? Delaney shirked her off every time she tried to talk to her friend. All she could do was apologize to the woman, but it didn't seem like she wanted to hear her out.

Whatever. It only broke Sapphira's heart and crushed her soul; no big deal.

Her days at Hogwarts were mostly spent being conned into doing Cedric's homework, his ass being like an annoying little brother, flight lessons, and secluding herself in Larkyn's room. What else was there to do? Occasionally she went with him to do his rounds, but other than that? No one wanted to spend time with her. Seb and Cyrus looked like they felt bad for her but wouldn't say anything, Loire and Dru seemed to have a hate club against her and Larkyn, which of course she didn't blame either of them. It was her fault that Larkyn wrote off his sister, even though she tried everything to get him to talk to her. And, well, Dru had every reason to be mad at her, too.

"I could work for the ministry," Sapphira ran her hand through her auburn curls as she finished getting ready, brainstorming jobs that could keep her in the wizarding world, more specifically here with him. "Muggle liaison, the foreign affairs and sports department. Oh, an auror? We could be partners in crime... or justice, I suppose." The thought was enough to bring a smile to her face, honestly enjoying the thought of her and Larkyn catching bad wizards together. Sapphira was more than capable of doing it; she was fast, damn good with her spells, and her flying had improved drastically. Still not the best, but she didn't fall off every ten seconds.

"Thoughts?"
 
Weasley.

Nothing could tear Hunter down from this high that he felt. Not only did he get all those damned feelings off of his chest, Dru reciprocated. Hell, she more than reciprocated it seemed, at least that's what he noted from the way she reacted to his heated kiss. He made mental notes of everything she liked, every reaction she had, the cute little noises she made. It sounded ridiculous but he loved everything about this woman and wanted to know all he could about her.

"He's an asshole and doesn't deserve to be your friend. Not now, at least." Larkyn didn't deserve anything as of now. Not Dru, not his sister, not Cyrus. The only thing he deserved was that homewrecking red head. There was falling in love with someone, and then there was doing things the right way. Not that Hunter ever usually did things the right way, but this? For Dru he did. She was worth getting to know, waiting for the right time to let his feelings known.

"You know we did this in the wrong order, right?" Hunter gave an amused chuckle as he had a sudden realization. "You met my family before I could make you my girlfriend. Next time we go over I'll properly introduce you to them." There was a bright smile on his face for once, one that was blissfully ignoring the lingering curse on his forearm. His hands cupped her face gingerly, his calloused thumb caressing her cheek. Green orbs softened as he gazed down at her. "I'm glad I could wreck that grading curve of yours, babe. What was the statistics for a man falling hopelessly in love for a women who is way out of his league?"

The bitter future was pushed out of his head, refusing to let anything ruin this moment. "C'mon. Let's get out of here for the night. I'm not done kissing you quite yet." And, with that said he laced his fingers together so he could lead her back to the mentor's wing.

----

"Again, plotting murder in the living room is not the ideal setting. Cyrus, man, I thought we talked about this. Leash her." This woman defined the word stressful. He wouldn't ever understand how Dru and Cyrus genuinely enjoyed her company, she terrified him more than any creature did. Hunter's tall form was leaned against the wall as they finished waiting for everyone to get ready- well, Seb and Delaney. The others could go fuck themselves. Tonight was it; one last task and the triwizard tournament was done. There would be no need for mentors, and by the end of the week they'd be all heading out to resume their normal lives.

The past few months had been amazing, a dream come true. There were no beasts for Hunter to wrangle anymore so his days consisted of spending time with the Gryffindors, more often his idiot twin brothers, and pining after Dru despite them already being a thing. Every given chance he was letting her know just how much she meant to him. Gifts for Jade, sneaking in wine for the two of them to enjoy, whisking her away to meet rare and beautiful beasts. Any letter she got he encouraged her to ignore, that her family would still be there waiting for her at the end of this. Still though, he left the decision up to her. She was smart and capable of making her own choices. He'd support her no matter what.

As of late he was ignoring the burning of the mark underneath his red button up. The burning was relentless as of late. He could just feel the shift in the air, that something bad was going to happen today. He didn't know what, he couldn't tell anyone about it in fear they'd ask how he knew, so he bit his lip and pretended everything was fine. However he found himself itching at the mark in attempts to dull the burn, like he was presently doing. "Oii, Seb, Delaney, we're going gray waiting for you out here. Hurry it up."
 
S. Longbottom

No more secrets. The words didn't make things whole again by any means, but it was a start. Seb vowed to her that he'd never hold anything back from her again, embraced her and let her get all of her feelings and words out. She was his best friend, the love of his fucking life, the only being in this world that truly mattered to him besides his cousin and Gran. Seb stayed there for a long while just hugging her and consoling her. No more secrets.

The next few months was like walking on eggshells. While Seb seemed to be back in Delaney's good graces the same could not be said about Sapph. Frankly it was heartbreaking to see. Delaney never had many friends in school, and as soon as she met Sapph the two girls instantly hit it off. They were attached at the hip, Sapph came to Gran's house on every break, she became family more than anything. Maybe it was the fact that Delaney still could see in the back of her head what happened. Did she blame Sapph at all, he didn't quite know. Seb apologized, he could see on their red headed friends face that she wanted to apologize too, but...

Seb wasn't getting involved between the girls, not about this. They needed to work it out, primarily when Delaney was ready to work it out. It probably didn't help that Sapphira was so into Larkyn that she didn't have time for anyone else, but, that was besides the point.

"I'm thinking of upgrading to something bigger than the flat above the shop." Seb put the thought out there as he sat on the bed waiting for Delaney to get ready. A small smile on his face as he watched her, his dark hair pushed back per usual, the man in his usual dark fitted suit. "Since I'll be sticking around for my girlfriend for a while and what not. Not all professor's live on campus, y'know. Would you be interested in a place together?" He was leaned casually back on the bed, his hands supporting his weight as he continued to bring up the topic of moving. Not the ideal thing to be talking about on the last day of the tournament, but, he'd be moving from the mentor wing soon enough.

Per usual Hunter had to ruin everything. Dark eyes rolled into the back of his head and he gave a small sigh. "We can talk about it later, yeah? Just think about it. Turtle may enjoy a nice house with just the two of us." Seb shot her a small wink before pushing himself to his feet, sauntering over and wrapping his arms around her for a loving embrace. A sweet kiss to her forehead, her nose, her lips. "You look beautiful."
 
Druella “Dru” Malfoy

“Mmmm I think about twenty four hours on that front, I think you batted average there. I get it though, I am pretty amazing.” Dru’s pink painted lips spread into a wide smile, it was bright and honest and made her chest warm. Hunter fucking Weasley. It was still so funny to think about, so funny to see the way he looked down at her, funny to feel the way he made her feel. Merlin, it was almost as if she could feel her entire bloodline gasping at her already. A Weasley, not just any Weasley, the rebel wild child who chased dragons and left home to follow his dreams. Lord save her.

—

Dru had basically moved in to Hunters small room in the mentor wing. Hers had been right next to Larkyns and Dru spent most of her time in his room anyways so what was the point. Jade seemed to like it too, this way she didn’t have to wait for her gift every morning, she simply stole it from his pockets while they slept. It was a peaceful few months, at least if she chose to ignore the stack of letters that were accumulating on her desk in her own room. That was another reason to avoid it, the inevitable consequences that laid within those letters.

Draco had come to bring her one a few weeks ago, saying that their mother sent it to him because Dru hadn’t been responding. It was the first that Dru had spoken to her brother since the night of the Yule Ball. Everyone knew what went down, well they didn’t know specifics but they did know that Larkyn and Druella, the pure- blood it couple, were no more… and that Dru was dating Hunter Weasley. She had expected ridicule from Draco and his little group of lackeys but shockingly they remained silent on the subject. Even when Draco brought the letter all he had for her was a soft spoken warning… that she shouldn’t come home when she was done at Hogwarts for the year. The letter from her mother held the same warning, the woman wrote that she was writing without her father knowing to let her know to stay away from home for a while. That her father was ripe with anger and she didn’t see it subsiding anytime soon. That wasn’t that shocking she supposed but hearing that her mother cared enough to warn her? That was almost comforting in its own weird way.

“I mean, I’ve heard her say much worse things. And those times were actually in front of the students. I’m just happy we’ve moved to talking murder and not actively attempting it.” Dru shot a smirk at Hunter as she spoke, crossing her legs over one another as she leaned back against the scratchy couch. Speaking of… her smirk turned to a raised eyebrow and pursed lips at the sight of Hunter once again scratching at his fucking arm. It had been a constant as of late and Dru had demanded to see it, maybe it was a rash or a burn or something? But Hunter insisted that it was fine and that he had gotten it checked by Madam Pomfrey. Though it didn’t seem to change anything.

“Anyways. I agree. Pause on murder. One last task and then we all get to be done with this bullshit!” Dru jumped up from the couch, smoothing out the dark green turtleneck she wore with the Slytherin emblem on the chest. No Slytherins were in the tournament and her boyfriend was a Gryffindor purist but she would never rep that horrid red and gold nonsense. “Well I mean Loire you have to come back again next year, but that’s your stupid choice.” She chuckled and moved over to pull on her black pea coat and toss her grey scarf around her shoulders. “Seriously love birds, let’s get a move on.”
 
Delaney Wilson

It wasn’t that Sebastian was off Scot free after their one talk in the greenhouse. It was that in all honesty, the only thing to be angry with Seb with was for sleeping with her friend years ago! And the more Delaney thought about it, it felt childish to be angry at them for that. People did stupid things when they were young, even stupider things when they were young and drinking. The two of them made a poor and really hurtful choice. Delaney was emotionally mature enough to try her best to move beyond that. Sebastian would have to earn some trust back, would have to continue to convince her every day that he loved her and wanted her, only her. Delaney was pleased to admit that he was quite good at that, so much so that she felt quite daft for ever questioning his feelings in the first place. Sapphira on the other hand…

Sapphira was her sister, her platonic soul mate and the person that Delaney shared everything with. Sapphira knew all of the pieces of Delaney that she was too scared to share with the real world, the pieces of herself that she trusted with Sapphira because she knew that her friend would never use them against her. Sapphira knew how insecure Gran had made Delaney feel on a constant basis, it was something that Delaney would never tell Seb out of fear it would make him uncomfortable or feel bad for her. Sapphira knew all the things Delaney hated about herself because she knew Sapphira would never pick fun at them. And Sapphira knew how desperately in love she was with Sebastian, they would talk for hours about crushes and cute boys but Delaney only ever day dreamed about Seb. It may have been a fucked up one time mistake, but knowing that her closest friend could so easily forget or toss aside Delaneys biggest wish for one night of physical comfort? Delaney wasn’t sure how to rebuild the trust. She wished she could just forget it and move on, she missed her friend so badly and could tell that this entire situation with Larkyn was weighing on Sapphira but… maybe Delaney just wasn’t a good enough person for that. Not right now at least.

The last few months went on that way, Delaney doing her best to avoid Sapphira and Larkyn, spending a lot of time with Sebastian and honestly the others as well. Delaney had thought Dru and Loire to be quite scary in all honesty, didn’t think they were the type of women she would want to spend much time with simply due to differing opinions but she saw them both a bit differently now. When she wasn’t teaching or with the others, Delaney would assist a bit with the tasks and tournament though that placed her in dangerous proximity to Sapphira.


Delaney sat at her small vanity and finished putting her long locks into a braided crown around her head. It was messy as per usual and had her bangs still hanging out but she had been working on making herself look a bit more put together. At least in her own way. The slim professor wore a golden yellow blouse that was tucked into a black and white plaid skirt. A black brooch fashioned like a badger was pinned on her collar and matched the little black stone earrings she had put in. Behind her in the mirror she could see Seb leaning on her bed, the image caused Delaney to smile a bit to herself as she put the finishing touches on her look. However when Seb spoke and brought up the prospect of living together; Delaney froze. It was just so out of the blue that she didn’t really know how to react, what to say or even how to look at him. She simply froze. The idea of living with him sounded so wickedly wonderful that she was even having a hard time imagining it.

Outside her door the yelling from the others began and snapped Delaney from her stupor. “I-yeah. That sounds like a plan.” Later, they could talk more about this tonight after the task. Although how her brain felt fried and she wasn’t quite sure how she was supposed to pay attention to the situation at hand. It was only made worse when Seb moved to her and wrapped his arms around her, the warmth instantly spreading from her head to her toes as she leaned into each kiss he placed upon her skin. “You look pretty nice yourself Seb.” Delaneys thin lips spread into a warm smile and she rested her forehead against his chest for a long moment before the chiding from the others got to be too much to ignore.

“Alright, let’s go watch some hedges for Merlin knows how long.”
 
Larkyn Gaunt

Depression was a really funny thing in a way, how many different ways it could rear its ugly head. It could almost go unnoticed especially if it was happening to someone who hadn’t really ever fallen victim to it before. But that’s was the only way to describe what was happening to Larkyn; he had fallen deep into a pit of depression. It didn’t make sense to him, his choices recently had been him trying to make himself happy. He didn’t want an arranged marriage he wanted Sapphira, he wanted to live his life as an auror and wanted to get as far from his family as he could. So why did he feel like this now?

Larkyn threw himself into work whenever he could, finding ways to distract himself from the pitiful situation that was his life. The only good times were when he and Sapphira had themselves holed up in his room, hiding from the reality outside. His sister was avoiding him like the plague and every time he ended up around any of the others he could just see the disdain in their eyes. It didn’t help that they were also ousting Sapphira currently due to the issues between her and Delaney. Honestly the two of them likely could have left Hogwarts all together and he wasn’t sure if anyone would have noticed.

Larkyn laid back against the bed as he listened to Sapphira ramble on as she got ready. He himself was as ready as he planned on getting, black button up with black slacks and his auror robes pulled over top. His hair was a damn mess but at least somewhat organized. “I don’t know why you’re so stuck on needing a job, I told you I make enough to find a decent apartment. Give you time to find something to your liking.” He grumbled a bit as he rolled and laid on his side, propping himself up on one elbow as he watched the red haired woman as she finished up her curls. Despite his mention of not needing work, Sapphira continued and eventually she landed on auror. It was a suggestion that made him literally snort.

Larkyn knew women aurors, lots of good ones too, but they worked hard at it and didn’t have partners or families. They were hardened and a bit rough around the edges. Honestly most aurors were in their own ways. The idea of Sapphira in that life? It actually made Larkyn chuckle. He moved from the bed to stand behind her, running his hands over her shoulders as he smiled at her in the mirror. “Sapphira you’re far too beautiful for that sort of thing, you would get all scraped up and thrown around. I mean you’re doing swell with your flying now but being an auror-“ he paused to come up with how to explain it. “It’s just not the type of job for a woman like you, maybe one of the nice shops is Hogsmeade needs a worker. You always dress so nicely, I’m sure one look at you and they would be happy to bring you on to help with styling and sales.”
 
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