Fantasy +lumos; becoming the light+ (Closed)

[ZombieBaee]

Druella Malfoy

"Don't even Larkyn!" Druella roared at the white haired male from across the room, he had come to check on her early this morning with an accusing look in his eye. One that made her so viscerally angry that she didn't know how to handle it well. She had tried to brush him off and continue getting ready but he simply kept asking what she had done last night and if she intended to apologize to Sapphira. Which initially this morning, yes. She had fully intended to tell the woman she was sorry about her lashing out, it wasn't Sapphira that was the issue. It was Larkyn. But now with him pushing the subject she felt ready to lash out all over again. Druella finished tying her long blonde hair into its normal tightly pulled back ponytail, her sharp features growing even more due to the tension her hair created. As the tied the green velvet bow around the platinum locks she turned to glare at Larkyn.

"Where were YOU last night? When I left my room you were already markedly absent. YOU didn't come check on me. YOU ran off after her didnt you?" The look on his face spelled it out for her and Dru scoffed, standing from the stool for her vanity and pulling on her light grey cloak over her green and black ensamble for the day. "Larkyn I am not naive to the fact that out relationship isn't necessarily romantic but that's not news to us. It's nothing new. We- Well at least I can say that I love you fully, I trust you more than I trust myself. You are my rock in our royally fucked up world. I thought I was the same to you. But..." Druella paused, that Weasley moron flashing in her mind before contiuing the last part with a small sigh, her voice softening. "Larkyn we both know we don't get to chose, not now. Not this far in. You and Loire are twins but let's not pretend like tou're not the one constantly throwing yourself into the fire for her benefit, just like I do with Draco. If we throw our lives to chaos now, we ruin everything and not just for us." She moved to him, straightening out his jacket and looking up at him with a soft smile. "Can we just try and get through this? I-Please. I don't want this stupid field trip to affect our real lives."

Only she did. Druella hated to admit it but if her and Larkyn could be free from their home lives it would be beautiful. But it scared her, she knew it wasn't as easy as just walking away. Not with their families. "Now come on, we're late and I can hear the others."

Druella opened her door and was instantly met with Hunter's stare, her face flushing slightly and her eyes quickly darting down as she held the door open for Larkyn. "I need to go yell at the Slytherin's before the task this evening. They intend to boo the Potter kid and I won't be having it."

 

[ZombieBaee]

Delaney Wilson

Oh these people were about to be the death of her. At least Seb seemed to be in a fairly good mood albeit slightly sleepy still. Delaney turned to him and gave him a quick once over, her eyes taking in his outfit as her lips spread into a small smile. “Well don’t you look nice for your first day with Moody.” She crossed her arms over her chest and tried to remember the last time she saw her long time friend in a tie and honestly she was struggling for an answer. However something that Sapphira said pulled Delaney quickly out of her slight day dreaming. “Excuse me did you say DOING his homework? Sapphira! That’s cheating!”

—

Eventually the group had all set out for the day, Delaney, Sapphira and Seb all moving as one down the hall before splitting off. Delaney had spent the entire walk nagging at Sapphira for doing Cedric’s homework. He was a bright boy and if he thought he would get away with this any longer… ooooo. The idea just made Delaney boil!!

After a short day of classes filled with students not listening a lick, it was time for everyone to head off towards the task. She had told the others that she would meet them there, wanting to make sure she got those of her house planning on attending in motion before heading out herself. After classes Delaney had rushed back to her room, changing into a Hufflepuff sweater with the emblem embroidered on her chest, a pair of plain light wash jeans paired with her black converse. She was sure Minerva would have a comment about her outfit but what was new.

Delaney grabbed her wand and the black jacket from her closet before heading off to the quidditch pitch. She was still in the dark about what the task actually was, the arena had changed since them setting up the posters and such just a day prior. There was now a vast field of rocky terrain and large chains attached to different points throughout. What in the hell were these poor children about to go through? She took her attention from the ground and began looking around for any of the others, Sapphira would be with Cedric until the task began but surely she would find someone. Thankfully it didn’t take long to find a familiar face.

“Oh! Loire! Have you found any of the others? Should we sit together?” Delaney jogged over to the woman with a bright smile, the two had worked together a while now and it was very clear that they were quite different but that didn’t keep Delaney from wanting to make a friend! They were the two youngest members of the staff, it would be nice to be close. Especially when Minerva felt the need to bully Delaney about how “unprofessional” she was. “Cyrus will be with Harry yeah? We should make sure we save him a seat too once things get started!”

 

[KAYDEN]

Cyrus

“Potter, right.” It was the only two words he could really come up with, Cyrus was too flustered for real thought between his sleepless light and feeling Loires hand against his skin. When she was this close to him he glanced down at her, watching her with soft brown eyes. Maybe it was the lack of sleep or the simple fact that most of the time he was a moron, but he reached out and pushed a stray piece of her hair back behind her ear. The action instantly made his face feel warm causing him to quickly drop his hand and shove it in his pocket. Thankfully Loire moved away to wake up Larkyn.

Just as she knocked on his door, Drus opened revealing both her and Larkyn. “Made up I see? Thank god, no one wanted to listen to all that whining again.” He smirked at his friend behind his fiancé before turning back to the task at hand, his eyes landing on Loire as he spoke. “I’m off to find Potter, we have to pull the champions out of classes today but I’ll make sure he keeps up on homework little miss studious.”

—

Dragons. DRAGONS. Harry had let Cyrus know away from the others, sharing that he has been warned by Hagrid and had made sure to clue in Cedric as well. After that little tid bit of information Cyrus was on fucking edge all day. This challenge was why Hunter was here and they all knew that but DRAGONS? Christ.

Outside the tent for the champions the crowd was getting louder and louder. That must mean classes were finally done for the day and they were nearing time for the challenge. Both Cyrus and Sapphira were back with their students, each taking a vastly different approach to their pep talks. Sapphira was much more hoo rah you got this! Cyrus was much more remember people want you dead and just don’t die. Again, vastly different. “Remember what Moody told you, use your skills. You’re a great flyer Harry, use that to your advantage kid.” Cyrus patted the young man on the shoulder as Barty called their attention to come claim their dragons. Harry pulled the Horntail and Cedric the Shortsnout. Nothing about this task was easy but OF COURSE Harry had to pull the fucking Horntail.

“Sapphira?” Cyrus spoke softly, trying to get her attention as Barty and Dumbledore spoke to the students. “We should get going and find a place to watch them up top. We won’t see much in this tent.”

 

[EclipseRosee]

Larkyn

When Larkyn had finally returned to the dorms he tried to check on Dru only to find she wasn’t in her bed. At first he was worried, it was late and he had zero clue where in the hell she had gotten off too. Larkyn and her may have been in a tiff at the moment but it didn’t mean he wanted her off wandering alone and possibly getting hurt or in trouble. The man had waited in her room for a few moments, expecting that maybe she had wandered off for a snack or drink, maybe even a shower. However after a long while he finally heard voices approaching the hall, two of them. One he instantly recognized as Druella… she was laughing. Larkyn quickly moved to head to his room, suddenly realizing he didn’t want to get caught lurking around but before he closed his door he watched through the small crack to see her return with Hunter.

The next morning Larkyn had gotten ready for the day and went straight to Druella room, letting himself in out of comfort and normality. “Have fun last night?” It came off more accusatory than he had wanted but he was a bit annoyed. Druella had attacked Sapphira the night before for hanging out with him yet she could be off until the wee hours of the night with Hunter? HUNTER? Weren’t the two of them basically mortal enemies simply in name alone? Druella’s reaction only made it worse, his own attitude growing more and more frustrated as well. It wasn’t until she snapped and moved towards him that he finally disarmed himself a bit.

What Druella said hit home, he didn’t want it to but it did. “You’re not wrong Dru but with all that said don’t you think we should enjoy our time here? Connect with old friends and make some new ones before we have to go back? I mean you really seemed happy last night, I mean after everything of course.” Larkyn cupped her face in his hands for a long moment, staring down at her before pulling her into a tight hug. They were protective of one another but it was how he felt protective of Loire and Cyrus, however a long time ago the two of them had a sort of unspoken understanding that protecting one another meant a relationship. It kept both of them from being married off to people with ideals that matched their parents, they could hide behind one another and put on a mask.

They pulled away and made their way to join the others, Larkyn flowering at Cyrus and his comment before his eyes found Sapphira and gave her a soft smile before mouthing good morning.

—-

Larkyn had learned of the dragons a few hours prior to the task, Dumbledore pulling him to his office to explain. In theory everything should go perfectly find, Hunter being present to handle any problems with the dragons however if something did arise it would fall on Larkyn to assist the other staff in getting the students to safety.

That being said Larkyn was at the task, tracking down Hunter in order to discuss what needed to be done if something did in fact go wrong. Thankfully it wasn’t hard to find the firey haired man, just follow the clangs and roars that Larkyn assumed must be the dragons. Hunter wasn’t far from their cages, leaning against a support beam and seemingly lost in thought.

“Hunter!” Larkyn called out cautiously, careful to not be so loud as to bother the creatures that were dangerously close. “Dumbledore wanted me to come talk to you about your protocols in case a dragon gets lose during the task.” He stopped a few feet away from the man, his hands in his pocket as he tried to keep his thoughts focused on the task at hand and not with his questions about exactly what Hunter and Dru had run off to do last night.

Hunter was different than Sapphira, Sapphira was sweet and kind, she wanted friendship as did Larkyn… at least that’s what he forced himself to believe. But men were different and could you blame him for not trusting the intentions of a man who came from a family who aggressively hated the Malfoys?

 

[Sir Damien]

Weasley.

Ever since seeing Larkyn and Dru walk out of the room together something didn't sit right with him. They made up? After such an explosive argument? They had said such horrible things to each other! And even this morning they were yelling at each other! Then they walk out like, what? Nothing happened? He could tell from the look on Dru's face she wasn't happy. It was the same damned look that all pure bloods like her had, Larkyn and Loire alike. It shouldn't have bothered him this much but it did. It was eating at his head all day, even when he got to look over his dragons!

On top of that, Horntail was acting up. She seemed extra aggravated, like someone had done something to her. Normally she was fiery and spirited, this morning however she seemed angry. The men said no one had been near her but, Hunter could feel something was wrong. Hence why he was keeping near her until it was time for the dragons to shine.

"Hmm?" Green eyes blinked widely as he was pulled from mulling over the whole Dru dilemma to the sound of Larkyn's voice. Quietly he let out an irritable groan and pushed off the support beam to straighten himself up. "Protocols? Eh, you run like hell. They're dragons." A small smirk spread on his lips; he was sure Dru would've got a chuckle out of that. Larkyn probably not. "The ladies will only protect the eggs so it's just the contestants in danger. If, and I mean if my girls get out I'll go after them and steer them away, apparate them home. No big deal, just hope the kids can fly fast."

"You and Dru all good now? She was pretty upset last night. I had to take her to see good ol' Horntail over here to put a smile on her face, y'know?" It probably was as tad inappropriate to say anything but he couldn't stop himself. Word vomit was hereditary. Behind them the boys started to prepare the Short-Snout for the first challenger, Hunter's hands pocketing in his pocket. "Well, wanna head up to the stands? I'm sure it'll be a game to remember."

 

[Colt Voltage]

S. Longbottom

Something about Moody made Sebastian uneasy, it was an undeniable fact. Larkyn and Delaney both backed him though, so Seb just lumped it up to Ravenclaw suspicion. The man had him fetch him this, and that, move things around in his office. The only thing he wasn't allowed to touch was this large chest he had sitting in the corner. None of the students paid attention so it was a pretty light day, Moody ended up dismissing him early-- with the instruction to keep his 'eyes to the sky'. He had no clue what that meant.

He ran off towards the Quidditch pitch, freezing as he spotted Anna Delecour heading to the tent with Fleur. "Sebastian!" Ugh, his name paired with her voice sent a shiver down his spine. He always ended up attracting the crazy ones, Anna wasn't the first one. Usually they give up the hunt for him after a month or so, Anna was incredibly persistent. Sebastian always made it clear though, everything was no strings attached! "H-Hey Anna! Long time no talk, yeah?"

"Do you know how hard it is to send an owl when I have no clue where to send it to?" "Oh, yeah that's tragic. I-" "Oh do not give me your excuses young man. How dare you leave me like that, I did not agree to you leaving me like that. And don't think I haven't noticed you galivanting around with that, that little professor of yours!" "Anna, baby, don't make a scene. You knew what this was and I really owe you anything--" Luckily for him Fleur caught Anna's attention for a brief moment, which was all Seb needed to sprint off full speed. He just needed to dodge her for a few more months and they'd be golden!

After running like his life depended on it he found his way to the stands. By now all the students were and out it was getting busy, thankfully he spotted a familiar white haired woman paired with his favorite lady ever. "Woe is me, you guys are a sight for sore eyes." Seb ran straight for Delaney, an arm wrapping around her for a tight hug. It wasn't uncommon for Sebs charm to get him in trouble, luckily enough for Delaney she never seemed to mind. Plus, she was the only one that mattered to him. "I like the sweater. It's adorable. Now, what's with the rocks? Those weren't there yesterday." He rested his chin on the top of her head and looked out at the field. It looked rough, definitely dangerous.

Look to the sky... dragons? No, there was no way Moody would've known that. "Money's on dragons," he spoke quietly to Delaney before releasing her with a gentle smile. "So, uh, ladies how was your day? Kids pay attention at all in class?"

 

[Pax Pardus Hale]

Sapphira

Surely Delaney understood that Cyrus was far too busy with his tasks! Sure he was a smart kid, that's how he suckered Sapphira into doing his homework. Oh well, she was just doing her job as a mentor and helping him in whatever way she could. Thankfully the contestants were dismissed early to go to the tent (no one was paying attention to class anyways) so her and Cyrus met the other three contestants and mentors in the tent.

DRAGONS. Why were they pitting these poor kids against DRAGONS. At first she was stunned, Cyrus seemed excited. So of course Sapphira gave her best hoo rah, you can do it pep talk! With an encouraging slap on the back Cedric went off to draw his dragon. Shortsnout! That was good, right? "Huh?" Long lashes blinked a few times as Sapphira stood by, Cyrus's whisper turning her head to him. "Oh, good idea." The kids were busy anyways, they wouldn't notice them missing.

With that said the two exited the the tent and made their way to the quidditch pitch. It was surreal being back in the stands! All the time her and Delaney would spend in the stands, wind, rain, or snow, it was nice to be back. "Oh! I think I see Loire and Delaney!" With that said she took off up the stands, practically skipping up the steps until she got to her friends. Sebastian was already there hugging Delaney and it made her smile sadly. The two of them would be so cute together, it always baffled her that Seb never wanted to say anything. She understood why, he didn't want to ruin their relationship, but... why not take the risk?

The thought made her think of Dru and Larkyn leaving the room together this morning and her stomach flipped. Sapph understood painfully well just wanting someone to be happy. "Hey guys! So we're missing three? Think they'll make it to watch the show?" The red head smoothed out her bright yellow dress as she took her seat, hugging her jacket a little closer to her. It was a rather chilly day to be going against dragons, she hoped the rocks weren't too slippery.

 

[Pax Pardus Hale]

Loire Gaunt

It's always a lovely day when the library is quiet. Today hardly any students needed her or the library at all so it was really just her, some ghosts, and the paintings. The ideal company really, especially when she couldn't stop thinking about stupid ass Cyrus and her stupid ass hair. Why did he always fluster her so? Her day was looking to be a good one up until Nikolay popped into the library. Thank Merlin he couldn't stay long, unfortunately he volunteered himself to walk her to the Quidditch stand before he had to meet his brother. Vomit. She wanted to tell him to go shove it but, her father's image flashed into her head and she let out a defeated sigh. This, or death eaters.

The latter was sounding far more fucking tempting. He brought her a pink Hungarian rose like always, only this time instead of just giving it to her he tucked it behind her ear. It churned her stomach, made her want to run away, vomit. Or both. She hated people being that close to her-- Cyrus was always her one exception. He wanted her to meet with him later, celebrate his brothers success with them. Loire tried to come up with an excuse, she really did, but he wasn't taking no for an answer. The man was boisterous, loud, and obnoxiously persistent. By the time they made it to the stands he insisted that he'd find her later for their rendezvous.

Loire was in a downright shit mood and just wanted to run away into the forbidden forest, however it would look bad on her if she didn't attend the task to support the students. So she retreated into the stands to lean against the wall of the stands, defeat written all over her face. What was she to do? The boys couldn't save her from Nikolay, Loire needed to deal with this problem on her own. Larkyn was bound to be busy, Cyrus would catch up later she was sure. She knew she had a scary resting bitch face and not many people besides Minerva or Snape approached her, so hearing her name paired with Delaney's voice pulled her out of her funk for a moment. "Me?" There wasn't any other Loire here, dumbass. "Mentors are busy, but, yeah. We can sit together and save them a seat."

The thought was kind of nice? Loire gave her attempt at a half of smile, pushing off of the wall and moving to find a front row seat together. She had been such in a funk she hadn't even realized the damned pink flower was still in her hair-- that was the last of her worries right now. Soon Seb was there adoring on Delaney, Sapph joining shortly after and the trio brought a certain energy she wasn't used to. It made her softly chuckle to herself and look out at the rocky terrain.

 

[ZombieBaee]

Druella Malfoy

The task was absolutely insane, all of the students came up with inventive ways to get their eggs from each of their perspective dragons. So far all three had succeeded and now it was Potters turn. Up until now Dru hadn’t realized what the big fuss was about with the boy being too young, there wasn’t that big of a difference right? Well now she realized, he was tiny compared to the dragon. They all were but this was something different, the boy was just that. A boy. She was no stranger to how her family felt about him, opinions that always struck her as odd considering they were harbored against a child. But even then, she felt so uncomfortable watching this all go down.

It didn’t take long for everything to quickly turn to shit, Potter had called his broom to him using accio and was flying around for all of five minutes before the deafening snap was heard around the arena. “What was that?” Dru stammered, looking around for the reason for the sound. It was nearly metallic. Strange. Part of her was panicked, maybe a bit of PTSD from the events that had occurred during the Quidditch World Cup. The sound rang out again and this time it was accompanied with screams and yells of surprise. “What in the bloody hell?”

Druella jumped to her feet at that point, it didn’t take long to register what had happened. The dragon was flying much higher than it should have been able to with its shackles. The shackles that were hanging limply from the creatures legs, broken halfway down and dangling in the air. “Get down!” She shouted right at the last moment, the students behind her already mostly hiding in the bleachers just as the tip of the horn tails wing came ripping through the flags and banners that hung above their heads. Dru herself was ducked low, turning around while crouched to look at her other mentors and staff. “Well? Hunter? Shouldn’t you be running or something?

The platinum blonde stood once more turning her attention to the sky to see the horn tail soaring off, a breath of relief in her throat for a moment. Good. It would be hard to wrangle the creature once more but easier off school grounds. However that breath hitched the moment she realized what she was chasing, it was chasing the Potter boy on his broom. Shit. That made her freeze, she wasn’t sure what to do in this situation. Dru was a woman who was typically prepared for anything, cool calm and collected. But a dragon loose on school grounds was never something she thought she would need to prepare for!

 

[KAYDEN]

Kayden

What did you do when the person you were in charge of protecting was put into an arena with a dragon? You tried to not have a fucking heart attack that’s what you did. Cyrus was literally on the edge of the bleacher he sat against, his hands gripping the fencing in front of him so fiercely that his tanned skin turned white. All of the other students had gone first and gotten away safely, none of them with anything more with maybe some singed clothing and some scrapes. Harry was scrappy. He could do this.

At least that’s what Cyrus was telling himself up until the moment the chains broke. Everything seemed to be moving both too slow and too fast at the same time. His first reaction was to look towards Loire where she sat, making sure she was okay after the wing clipped through. Then his next was to jump up, starting to move before pausing. Technically his job should be to handle the Gryffindor students but… wasn’t this what Hunter and Larkyn were for? Would it be odd to instantly run off to chase after Harry ? Even if he did what was he supposed to do, find a broom and get going? By then they would be too far and it’s not like Cyrus could handle a fucking dragon!

Cyrus signed, turning as the sight was quickly going to chaos. The students here were likely safe at this point but who knows what would happen. He looked to Loire, clearly he was panicked and she was the only one who knew what was going on with him right now. “Fuck.” He sighed the word before shaking off his struggle and looking between Hunter and Larkyn, his eyes falling on the white haired male last. “Well! Dru is right, go! We can handle the other students getting indoors.”

Cyrus then reached out and pulled Loire with him, rushing down the stairs and yelling at the students to return to their common rooms as they did. Once they were out of ear shot of the others Cyrus finally spoke. “I don’t have the skill set to catch a fucking dragon but I could use a lookout while I go look at the chains. I know horntails are wicked but… I just have to make sure they weren’t tampered with. Make sure someone didn’t do anything intentional that could have let it get lose and go after Harry… and trust that Larkyn is good at his job.”

 

[EclipseRosee]

Larkyn

Larkyn couldn’t believe his eyes and ears, never would he have thought he would have actually put a plan in place and use it but here they were. Suddenly he turned to look at Hunter with a slight glare, his scowl in full affect. So much for confidence in his team and his dragons. Larkyn was quick to snap into work mode, his hand reaching to pull out his wand before holding it to his throat to amplify his voice.

“Students please follow your teachers and peers indoors, find yourself gathering in your common rooms. Preferably away from windows and walls.” The last part was a bit of an add on but oh well. Everyone was a bit chaotic sure but it seemed like they were listening. “We should all move too, adding more people to the chaos will only make this harder for Hunter to fix.” He took a few calm steps forward before turning to look between his sister and Dru, only Loire was off following Cyrus. Typical. He rolled his eyes and sighed, the two of them could never just listen could they? Instead he turned his full attention to his fiancé, “You should get inside as well, this is no place for a lady right now. Plus your students could use you yeah?” His icy gaze shifted to Sapphira… he hoped he caught his point. He wasn’t just talking to Dru, he meant her too. Delaney as well. All of them should seek shelter just in case the horntail came back, or began causing more damage than just the bit of damage to the quidditch stands.

“The other champions were in the tents after they were done, at least that was the plan. I have to imagine Cedric and the others are already inside, they were closest to the entrance.” Larkyn glanced at Sapphira once more, it was clear how quickly she had taken a protective role of the boy. He was sure she would be rather nervous about his well being. “However with that being said I’m going to go check on them, make sure everything is okay.” In the distance there was a large crash followed by a handful of others. His gaze followed the noise, one of the bridges between the different pillars of the castle had been taken out by the large dragon. Lovely.

Without another word Larkyn took off, first to check on the champions tent then to start trying to track down all the damage being caused.

 

[Pax Pardus Hale]

Loire Gaunt

Rarely did Loire ever move with any sense of urgency. They were witches and wizards, should anything happen they could cast a spell to save themselves or the students. Harry was a skilled seeker for his team, she was positive he'd be able to avoid the beast until Hunter was capable of catching his pet. So as everyone began to scatter from the stands once the horntail broke free Loire stayed seated, her brow quirked up ever so curiously. Surely the beasts chains were reinforced, no? Her icy blues then looked to Cyrus, ever so sure that he'd be freaking out by now. She'd be correct.

Larkyn was doing his due diligence as their residential auror but, of course Cyrus and Loire would never listen to him. She hadn't really expected Cyrus to pull her along with him, though she went along anyway. He was thinking about the chains too, right? "Are you daft? Of course someone tampered with the chains. Whoever did this is most likely sitting somewhere in the shadows watching everything play out. If you're seen they'll know that you know something, and that wouldn't be good. Would it?" It's not like they had long to figure something out. Who could move in the shadows and be almost invisible to the naked eye?

"YOU play lookout and I'll go in." Fully aware that he would argue with her she shifted into the small black puffball, the flower in her hair falling onto the ground as her paws took off at full speed for the arena. Effortlessly she moved through the rocks until she got to the chains, her small form carefully keeping to the side of the rocks to make sure she wasn't spotted. Upon closer inspection she could see that several of the links had a side sliced through, barely noticeable at a glace but enough to weaken the link and allow a dragon to break it.

Off in the distance she could hear one last roar before the sound of nothing. That was her cue to go. Quickly she darted out of the exit she came from, shifting as she rounded the corner and nearly smack dab right into Cyrus. "It looks like most of the students are gone, as is the dragon. I guess Hunter and Larkyn aren't half bad at their jobs." The white haired woman looked around to make sure they were alone before taking is hand and pulling him towards the castle. "The links on the chain were cut."

The last face she wanted to see was near the castle doors. At this point the man was like a parasite. "Ah! There you are. You're to celebrate Viktor's with me, remember?" Nikolay gave Cyrus a curious glance, more specifically their hand holding. "I'll take her from here my good man. Shouldn't you be more concerned about Potter than with my wife?" Loire gave an annoyed sigh before begrudgingly releasing Cyrus. "We'll catch up later." She shot him a small, apologetic look before following Nikolay.

 

[Sir Damien]

Weasley.

This was why he tried to postpone the horntail. She had been so ornery this morning, there was no way this was safe! However, the last thing he had expected was for the beast to snap from her chains. They were enchanted, there was no way that should've happened! "Fuck." Hunter had jumped from his spot leaning up against the railing, his blood running cold as he stared in awe of the scene. He wasn't terrified, just bloody impressed of the whole scene.

It wasn't until he heard Dru's voice, his green eyes watching the dragon chase Harry, did he pull his attention from the initial shock. "Running wouldn't catch it now would it, Malfoy?" It wasn't him being a dick by any means, it was just a natural cocky reaction. Even with the terror the dragon was off causing he dropped his broom to its floating position. Just as he climbed on top of it he paused as Larkyn addressed the audience, followed by Dru. He didn't know why it bothered him so much, him treating her like some delicate lady flower, but it did. Dru was tough, he couldn't imagine that she enjoyed being ordered around like that either.

Just as Larkyn ran off the red headed male gave a small chuckle. "What, do you genuinely enjoy being handled with kids gloves? Mister proper over there thinks you can't even handle a little dragon." Without warning Hunter's feet lifted off of the ground, his broom propelling forward so he could scoop up Dru. The broom stalled once they were midair and he situated her on the back of the broom with a cheesy grin. "C'mon, it's only fair you get to see me actually do my job. Hang on tight." And like that they were off chasing a dragon through the wreckage he was causing.

There may have been a few years separating the two of them in school but she was on the quidditch team, she'd remember he was a damn fast seeker. If not, well, she was about to remember. The cold air smacked their face, everything around them a blur as he tried to catch up to the roaring beast. Past the broken bridge, around the castle, and as the roars got louder he couldn't help but smirk to himself. Harry had shook the horntail, got the beast trapped in the viaduct. "Well that took half the fun out of it."

The two of them quickly approached the beast as she began to turn herself around, Hunter giving a small whistle to get her attention. One hand released its grip on the broom so he could pull out a small pouch of floo powder, and just as the dragon roared at him he tossed the powder in the air above the three of them. Suddenly they were in the Hungarian highlands. "There, I'll be catching up with you later lady!" Their broom rose higher in the sky, the large dragon letting out a loud roar and taking off towards the mountains. "Not too bad, yeah? We're walking away without a single burn." Hunter looked back at Dru with a small grin on his face.

 

[Pax Pardus Hale]

Sapphira

Ha. Of course the dragon would get lose. Why wouldn't it? The color faded from her face as she instantly jumped to her feet and tried to soothe the students around them. "Take a breath. We'll get it all under control, okay?" Sapphira gave the students her most comforting smile, on the inside she was freaking out though. Luckily Larkyn was quick to react announcing instructions to the students, leaving Sapphira incredibly thankful. The students and staff alike all began to head for the exit. That was all taken care of and now she could focus on getting down and finding Cyrus.

Just as she took one step forward to run off she froze at Larkyn's voice. No place for a lady? Why not? Dru seemed like a strong witch, why couldn't she stay here? Good thing he wasn't talking to Sapphira. "Yeah no, totally. I was going to meet Cedric in the tent after this anyways!" Truthfully even if he told her to go it was her job to watch over Cedric. She had to go check on him.

"Seb help Delaney get the kids to safety yeah?" Just after Larkyn took off so did Sapphira. Now the bright and bubbly red head couldn't fly a broom to save her life but she was damn fast on her feet. The girl loved running, swimming, rock climbing, speed was her thing. So as she quickly ran through the stands she breezed right past Larkyn and towards the champion's tent. Just in time to hear a loose board above her and a few students crack. As soon as she looked up she could see the board plummeting down towards them, the small first year Hufflepuffs screaming.

"Wingardium leviosa!" Sapph quickly pulled her wand from her cardigan, just in time to levitate the heavy piece of wood right above their heads. "Are you guys okay?" The poor students were shaking like leaves but were thankfully unharmed. "Get going to the common area, and stay away from the windows okay? I'll catch up shortly." With a few nods the students ran off and allowed Sapph to set the wood to the side. Good thing her magic still worked.

"Phew." With a relieved sigh she quickly pocketed her wand before making her way to check the tent. Thankfully it looked like Cedric and the other champions had enough sense to leave.

 

[ZombieBaee]

Druella “Dru” Malfoy

Dru scowled slightly at Larkyn, it was always like this whenever things got exciting. Step aside Dru, go with the other ladies Dru, go inside Dru. Sure this thing with the dragon was a lot more intense than the normal argument between old men but still! Hadn’t he learned from the situation back at the World Cup that she wasn’t going to just run and hide like some scared girl? Larkyn was off before saying much more and Druella stayed still for a moment before deciding it was best to just grab her things and have this argument later. At least that was her plan until she heard Hunters voice. “Of course not!” She quipped, turning her neck slightly to glare at him out of the corner of her eye. However Hunter was much closer than he should be, wait…

“Hunter!” Dru let out a yell as he scooped her up from the ground, her body quickly adjusting to being on the back of a broom despite how jostled her mild felt. In front of her Hunter gave her a grin that made her scowl, “Just what do you think you’re doing?” Foolish of her to think he would answer, after telling her to hang on tight he barely waited a moment before zooming off at full speed. Thankfully Dru herself was no stranger to being on a broom and the speed didn’t sent her flying before she was able to wrap her arms around his wide torso. She could remember a few matches against Hunter back in school, he was fast… clearly that skill didn’t leave him with age. She supposed it likely helped with his job.

The two of them sped through the air and quickly Dru’s discontent turned into adrenaline. This was amazing, this feeling, the chase. She wasn’t even the one controlling it! She was just a spectator with an insanely close seat. Her hands locked together in front of him as she gently moved closer, her chest pressed against his back as she tilted slightly to peer past his shoulders. In front of them she could see the Horntail stuck in the viaduct and she felt a little bad for the poor beast. It seemed as if she was working her way out of it, but Hunter didn’t seem bothered by that. In fact when Druella turned her attention to him he was busy throwing floo powder in the air and before she knew it they were moving again, only this time with a change of scenery.

The wind was different here, it smelled of grass and the sea. It whipped past her even with their slightly slowed speed and as it did she felt the ribbon holding back her tight ponytail loosen. Dru thought to release a hand to catch it, almost on instinct but she stopped herself and soon enough she felt her long blonde locks flying around her wildly. Hunter turned and gave her a grin, speaking up and causing her words to escape without thought. “Are you kidding? That was amazing! I- I don’t even know how to explain it.” Her pensive green eyes moved to see the Horntail getting smaller in the horizon. “It’s okay that she got off on her own yeah? I mean she’ll be okay and everything?”

 

[ZombieBaee]

Delaney

Yet again everyone ran off, unorganized and chaotic. Normally the want for order and control was a Ravenclaw trait but ever since becoming a professor it was engrained in Delaney, at least when it came to the school and her students. “Guys!” She growled, watching with wide eyes as they all ran off. Hunter after dragon, his job. Larkyn after students, his job. The rest of them? All of them went a fucked off doing who knows what! Delaney was growing red in the cheeks as she turned to Sebastian with a small glare. “You will go to your house and make sure everyone is accounted for, talk to the students and made sure no one got hurt in the chaos, okay?” Despite the end of her sentence being a question she really left no option open for debate. “I’m going to stay here and look around to make sure everyone is okay and heading inside, meet you later?” The last bit made Delaneys voice soften slightly before reaching out and giving Sebs hand a light squeeze.

Delaney checked the area below the stand that had been damaged first, making sure no one had been walking and gotten anything dropped on them from above. Thankfully that didn’t seem the case and there were no students left lingering. After that was checked she began quickly strolling the perimeter of the grounds. It wasn’t long before she nearly ran head first into someone, no two someones. Delaney looked up with a start, “Oh my, I’m so sorry, I was paying so much attention to the stands that I wasn’t looking. My apologies.”

It was the Delacour sisters, well at least two of them. The younger one, Fleur, stayed quiet but gave a polite nod. Her sister on the other hand gave Delaney a look that was clear she was being sized up. Suddenly Delaney felt small and awkward, the woman before her was gorgeous. The rumor was that these women were part Veela and it showed! The blonde locks of hair that seemed to perfectly frame her face, she was tall and glowing, she appeared feminine but strong. Shit Delaney had an instant crush on the woman. “You are Sebastian’s friend, no?” Sebastian? The way she said his name made Delaneys nose wrinkle as she stifled a giggle. “Yeah! Ever since we were quite young. Do you know him?”

“Very… well.” The woman said it in a way that made Delaneys stomach churn slightly, her eyes hinting at something that made her instantly self conscious. “Right, w-well if you excuse me I need to get to the students. Please be careful out here ladies there is a lot of rubble to be cleaned.” She gave a sheepish smile before tucking her head and quickly jogging off towards the castle. Once she was far enough away she slowed to a walk and shuddered. The way that lady looked at her! Like she was - ugh. It reminded Delaney of school. And she knew Seb… there was no way she was THE lady right? Not someone that insanely gorgeous… gods she felt sick.

 

[EclipseRosee]

Larkyn Gaunt

By the time Larkyn reached the tent it was empty save for the tattered remnants of the tent blowing in the wind. It seemed as if some of the material had caught fire at some point although it was mostly burnt out by now. “All because they wanted to bring bloody dragons to Hogwarts.” Larkyn groaned and pulled out his wand, casting augumenti on any of the embers he saw around the tent. From a simple listen he could tell that everyone was gone from the immediate area, that was a little bit of relief. However a few moments later he heard voices followed by a girlish scream.

Larkyn moved fast, darting quickly back towards the entrance of the tent just in time to see Sapphira catching the board falling from above. Two students cowered underneath, shaking like it was 50 below. “Sapphira!” He spoke loudly, it wasn’t quite a yell but the shock in his voice came out as volume. As she sent the two girls off he moved closer to her, looking her over quickly to make sure she hadn’t gotten hurt when the board had fallen. “You know, I was telling you I was coming to check on the tent so you wouldn’t worry about Cedric. It wasn’t an invitation to come put yourself in danger.”

Larkyn turned with a grumble and went further into the tent, now wanting to double check for any other students that may have been quiet on his first walk through. Only this time he smelled the burning more fiercely. A large gust of wind blew through the tent, sending the material shaking and flowing in the wind. Then before they knew it there was a real for shit fire, bellowing and licking up the sides of the tent quickly. One of the embers must have caught in the wind and this sort of thing would go quick. Larkyn pulled out his wand to cast again just as more wind moved through and exponentially increased the height of the flames around them. Shit.

A rack of booms laid clattered in the corner and the thin male jumped over a fallen support beam to grab one. When he turned back around he noticed that Sapphira had followed him into the tent. What was with this woman and being attracted to bad situations?! Larkyn quickly jumped on the broom, zooming forward and grabbing Sapphira by the waist without a word. For a few moments they flew like that, with her held tightly against his side and her legs dangling in the air. However once he got a little more working room he was able to swing her into place behind him.

The entrance of the tent collapsed, causing Larkyn to turn on a dime and head for a now burnt out hole in the roof of the tent. Soon enough they burst out into the blue sky and kept going until they were a ways above the burning structure below. He pulled the broom to a halt and stalled, pulling out his wand and sending a large steady stream of water down on the fiery mess below. While he waited for the fire to calm he turned to Sapphira with a small scowl. “You like trouble yeah?”

 

[KAYDEN]

Cyrus

Loire made too much sense and it made Cyrus sit there and stammer, fully unable to come up with an argument against her. “W-well just listen here!” Right now he was fully regretting including her in what was going on with him. Especially when she shifted and ran off without actually listening to him. It took everything in him to not duck in and run off after her, he just had to trust that everything would be fine. While he waited for her Cyrus looked around, thinking about what Loire had said. She was right, whoever was pulling this shit was here in the castle with him. It was someone who was likely keeping an eye on Harry just as closely as he was. So it was probably someone who was constantly there, someone who Cyrus didn’t even register as a threat. Lovely.

Cyrus eyed the area surrounding them, there was no movement and no noise. Honestly the only thing out of place was the flower that Loire had left behind. Cyrus bent down to pick it up just as the small black cat reappeared and turned into the beautiful woman he loved. That would never not impress the shit out of him. “What’s up?” He asked eagerly, anxious about what she had found. However her initial answer left much to be desired, leaving Cyrus opening his mouth to ask more questions. Only Loire grabbed him and yanked him off towards the castle before sharing more information.

“Cut?” Cyrus said plainly. Honestly he was kind of shocked it was that simple. It didn’t narrow his list of possible suspects at all. That was fucking lovely. “Cutting them doesn’t just put Harry at risk either, anyone could have been hurt. Whoever is doing this clearly has no concern for anyone’s safety. Which is quite a scary thought.” People who would kill innocents to get what they want? That DID narrow the suspect pool and all Cyrus could think about was the group of Death Eaters who had attacked the World Cup. At this point it was naive to not connect the dots. But who in Hogwarts would have connections to Death Eaters?

Cyrus hated to admit it but quickly his mind flashed to the woman next to him, her brother and their Malfoy counterpart. The Gaunt twins would never but… Drus family was much more sinister than many people recognized. He liked to think he knew the woman better than this but… truthfully he didn’t. Plus even if she had decent morals she was painfully loyal to her family, that was made prevalent in her fight with Larkyn.

As they walked Cyrus obsessed on the thought until he was forcibly pulled to reality by the heavy Romanian accent of a large man walking towards them. Cyrus instantly scowled, looking between him and Loire. Was this the fiancé? What a chump. “Wife?” Cyrus couldn’t help but sputter a laugh of a response. “Shit I’m sad I missed the wedding! My invite must have gotten lost in the post. Unless, wait, did you not get married yet?” What a poser. He knew his reaction was more about the fact that Loire was engaged at all and less about the specific man but still… this guy was gross. His eyes went to Loire as she moved to the man and shot him an apologetic smile. He wanted to grab her hand and yank her back but he was sure that would cause more issues for her than she wanted. So instead Cyrus reached out and gently took her hand, sliding the flower back into it and giving her a soft smirk. “You dropped this, I’ll see you later Loire.”

 

[Pax Pardus Hale]

Loire Gaunt

Trapped. That was exactly how Loire felt in her situation. Become a death eater and stay home, stay at Hogwarts and betray everyone she knew and loved, or marry the last remaining suitor she hadn't scared away and move away from everyone. She didn't want to be the monster her father wanted her to be and marrying Nikolay was the only way out. Every fiber in her being wanted to ask Cyrus for his help since he was the only one she could trust, but he already had so much on his plate. Getting Larkyn involved would only drag him into this death eater mess, so the only possible solution she could see was swallowing her pride and just... marry Nikolay.

Cyrus's reaction wasn't making this any easier. He knew everything that was at stake and here he was making a spectacle of things! Honestly it made her face hot, both form the embarrassment and the anger she felt. Why was he acting like this? "Cyrus-" Icy blue eyes narrowed at him as he took her hand, her brows furrowing as she felt the flower slide into her hand. It was a rare occurrence for her to get mad at Cyrus, honestly she got mad at her brother more often than not. Now though, now she was fuming. He was making a damned spectacle out of this when he knew that this wasn't what she want. She didn't know much about Nikolay quite yet but if he was like most pure blooded men he was bound to have a temper. "Later. Right." Quickly she tucked her flower behind her ear once more before walking off.

The rest of the night Loire tried to avoid thinking about the interaction with Cyrus, however that only made her focus on it more. Every conversation she found herself asking herself one question: what the FUCK was Cyrus's problem? Larkn and Dru had been engaged for years and never once did he give Dru this kind of attitude. Nikolay wasn't pleasant but neither was Dru most days. Still, she went about the party like nothing was wrong. She didn't care to hear about Krump and his victory, all she really cared to talk about was who would've done that to Potter's dragon. These people were the wrong crowd for that conversation.

By the time Loire looked at the clock it was nearly midnight and the party was still in full swing. Way past time to get home. Nikolay didn't seem too keen on her trying to excuse herself from the party-- really she was just a show piece. 'This is my wife, a Gaunt', like she was some property. She didn't like it. He even followed her through the castle to try and to get her to stay longer with him. "Listen, I'm tired. It's been an exhausting day, so just--" fuck off, but the words didn't seem to leave her mouth. Just as she turned to enter her wing of the castle she felt a rough grip on her wrist that stopped the small woman in her tracks. "A good wife should listen to her husband when he gives an order."

 

[Pax Pardus Hale]

Sapphira

The booming voice paired with her name instantly drew her attention. A small smile spread on her face as Larkyn approached her, a small giggle passing her lips when he spoke. "I was headed there anyways, thought you'd like some company! Besides, who would've saved those kids?" Subtlety was a thing far past Sapphira's depth of comprehension, Larkyn would soon come to realize that. She didn't quite sure what his attitude was for but, it didn't bother or deter her. As soon as he ran into the tent she made sure the kids got out safe. Right after that she ran into the tent.

She didn't expect the tent to be on fire. The flames were rapidly consuming the material of the tent as the wind fanned the flames, and before she knew it the entrance behind her was suddenly a death trap. Oh, shit. "L-Larkyn we have to get out of here-" The wind blew through the tent once more and Sapphira barely managed to jump out of the way in time. A beam fell in the spot she previously stood, flames bursting all around her as it hit the ground. Quietly she coughed and held her sleeve to her mouth to cover the smoke, her eyes burning from all of the smoke and ash.

The last thing she had expected was Larkyn snatching her up on a broom. The moment her feet lifted off the ground she squealed, her eyes popping wide open and looking down. The color faded from her face; she did NOT do flying, but at the moment it wasn't like she had any choices! As soon as she was moved her arms wrapped tightly around his waist, hugging him from behind and praying she didn't fall. Her face pressed to his back, refusing to look until they were either dead or safe.

"H-Hmm?" Her face moved so she could see that they were high above the tent, Larkyn already pouring water all over the tent to put out the fire. They made it out? His scowl only made her giggle nervously and give a small shrug. "Now I wouldn't say I necessarily LIKE trouble, I just like to help people." Sapphira pulled the wand from her pocket again to help put out the fire, her one hand still wrapped around his waist. "So, um, about this flying thing. Think you could teach me?"

---

And so the pair of them made sure the fire was thoroughly put out and didn't burn down the entire quidditch field. she told the embarrassing story of how she took broom flight class each and every year and still never could figure it out. Even Delaney gave up on her! Sapphira was bound and determined to learn, it'd keep her out of trouble, and Larkyn was the only person who had the patience to deal with her. Turns out that he had a massive amount of downtime most days too, so all around it was a win for them!

After Larkyn dealt with all the things he needed to and Sapphira checked back in with Cedric the two of them agreed to start her first lesson. It was fun! It was also painfully obvious that this, teaching her, would most likely take the whole year. The poor girl could barely stay on the broom for more than 30 seconds before she was zooming off and straight into a wall. Either that, or she was flipping her broom upside down and plummeting to the ground. Each time she couldn't help but laugh and take it in good spirits.

The third time she flipped the broom she landed flat on her back, smacking her head into the ground and giving a weak giggle. Her bright eyes could see the moon high in the sky. "How long have we been out here?" Slowly she stood up and gave a small yawn before she grabbed her broom. "Want to call it for the night? I'm sure Dru's waiting up for you, I don't want her to worry."

 

[Sir Damien]

Weasley.

Ever since graduation Hunter was always chasing some rare and exotic beast but these dragons were his home. Tracking them, avoiding being either eaten or burnt to a crisp, it sounded insane to most tamers that he enjoyed this. Creatures were much more trustworthy than people, even when they were trying to kill you. So as the dragon flew off into the sunset and he turned to see Dru he felt time stop for a moment. She was... breathtaking. From her wildly flowing blonde locks, to the wonder and sparkle in those gorgeous emerald orbs of hers. His pale face heated to a bright red hue as he found himself staring, finally realizing just how closely she was pressed to him. Hunter was never the charming Weasley, girls were a foreign creature to him.

"Her? Y-Yeah, totally! Dragons have an innate sense of of direction. Besides, these are er old stomping grounds. I try to take them back to where I caught them so they can find their old nests easily." The broom stayed high in the air so Dru could watch the Horntail disappear in the distance. A small, content sigh passed his lips and he smiled to himself as he heard one last roar in the distance. It was music to his ears. His green eyes turned to look at the sparkling sea on the horizon. "Y'know, next time I need to come see her I could bring you. Hell, we could turn you into a creature tamer yourself in no time." The thought brought a bright grin to his face. "Though if Larkyn knew you were anywhere near the dragons I'm sure he'd keel over, or kill me. Whichever came first."

Without missing a beat the broom began to take off towards the highlands. The two of them headed straight for a hill where an ancient looking tree sat in the courtyard of an old castle ruins. "Have you ever fed a Diricawl?" A small smirk spread on his face as he glanced back at Dru. Part of him fell like he knew the answer to that, but of course he had to ask.

---

A beast tamers satchel was almost always endless. Not only did Hunter have diricawl food, he also had a large blanket, a couple sandwiches, two bottles of waters, and a thermos full of hot chocolate. Listen, dragon taming took time and he always liked to pack for the worst. What if the dragon broke his broom and he had to fend for himself for a day or two? Thankfully it didn't come to that.

Even better yet, he got to be with Dru. Who in their right mind think that a Weasley would be excited to hang out with a Malfoy? They sat there feeding the diricawls for some time before he popped out his picnic on the go. There they got to sit on the highest hill of the highlands eating sandwiches and drinking cocoa, feeding dircawl's as the sunset. There they talked for a good long while about how crazy the tournament was, what crazy things could happen on the second task. Hunter guessed dementor's. Then they talked dreams for the future or some reason, something he didn't discuss with anyone at all now that he thought about it. There was just something different about Dru though now that he didn't just know her to be one of those prudish purebloods. She was fierce, head strong, and not as boring as he thought her to be. His mum would love her.

"No, no. I refuse to believe that a brilliant woman like you is content stuck being with the Ministry. That's the dullest job I've ever thought of-- truly, I'm genuinely bored thinking about it." The two of them had finally made their way back to Hogwarts, laughing about this, that, or the other. Hunter still couldn't get over how bored Dru must've been during the day! However, it was extremely late and he was more than expecting a harsh scolding from their residential auror. For now though he was just trying to soak up the last of their time together as they crossed the courtyard. The air was chilly and they could see puffs of their breath each time they spoke.

"Oh shit, are you cold? Here. It's not the fanciest coat but it'll keep you warm." The red headed male shrugged of his dark heavy coat and moved it around Dru's shoulder. The thin woman was practically swimming in it, it was... cute. The thought heated his cheeks and he quickly cleared his throat. "I- um, hope you had fun tonight? For such a disaster today turned out rather enjoyable. So, um, thank you?" Yeah, he was definitely one of the more awkwardly Weasley's. He shot Dru a sheepish smile and tucked his hands in his pocket as they headed towards the door.

 

[Colt Voltage]

S. Longbottom

Listen, Sebastian was a carefree soul that did what he like most days, but when Delaney said jump that man said how high. When she said go to is house and talk to the students, well, there was no argument. A simple 'yes ma'am, don't get yourself into too much trouble' and he was off. She didn't leave much room for debate anyways. Her hand squeezed his and he couldn't help but feel his face heat, give a nervous nod, and quickly run of to go check on his kids. Not much frazzled the flirt of a man, Delaney was the one exception. Just a squeeze of the hand, a hug, a kiss on the cheek-- he loved it, truly he did, but it disarmed him every time.

If he knew that she'd be running into his psychotic ex girlfriend he would've stayed. Anna was a lady, yes, but a lady could also be ruthless when they wanted to. Exhibit A, Dru snapping on Sapphira for just wanting to help. However with Anna she was quite... possessive over Seb. He didn't quite understand why; he explained that he was no strings attached, all he wanted was something casual. She changed her mind and wanted more, and that's why it never worked out. That's why he was trying so desperately to keep her and Delaney far, far away from each other.

The Ravenclaw's were fine. He climbed the tower and checked on the frightened students, thankful that some of the older ones were far more fascinated by the dragons than the actual risk of them. Touché, he couldn't blame them there. Soon enough the whole common room got into a debate on the likelihood the dragon got loose for Harry of all people and, well, that distracted them well enough. The dance was coming up soon, the next task soon after that, they had far more important things to focus on right now.

Once every student was accounted for and it was confirmed no one was injured he sent them to their rooms and made his depart for the staff wing. Delaney was tough and wouldn't get injured by some fire or rubble, but there was always still that fear in the back of his head. He couldn't help but make his way back with a quick sprint. Through the staff wing, up the stairs, his mind started racing with all of the things that could go wrong and he felt a sweat break on his forehead. Once inside he burst through the door and much to his relief he found Delaney there, safe, and unharmed.

However she was kind of acting... off? Like how she did back in school when the mean students picked on her. But who would've said anything to her? WHY would anyone say anything mean to her? His head was absolutely spinning. He made her some stew on their small stove and insisted she relaxed. It was just the two of them for dinner and she didn't seem very chatty, and that alone sent his brain spiraling. So after a while he insisted they sit down and have some of his famous herbal tea-- arguably his most popular product in his shop. "Here. Careful, it's hot." Seb placed the two teacups on the table in front of the couch, flashing her a warm smile as he sat next to her. "You know if something's wrong you can always talk to me, right? Did someone say something to you?" His mind instantly flashed to Anna and his blood ran cold.

 

[KAYDEN]

Cyrus

What a dumb looking, meat head, moron of a man! It was all that was repeating in Cyrus’ head while he sat in his room and waited for Loire to come home. After leaving her with that moron he had gone to check on Harry and the other Gryffindors but then swiftly made his way back to the staff wing. It had been hours since then! At first he thought to go find her after about thirty minutes but talked himself out of it, and that happened again and again until it was finally nearly nightfall! At some point Delaney had come home, they had a short conversation that seemed like both of them were trying to just distract themselves but it didn’t last long before she excused herself to her room.

Then enough was enough.

Cyrus at first had the thought to just go looking. But this castle was giant and he had heard rumors of a map that was in the possession of two red headed little devils. Two red headed devils that happened to be in his inner circle and in his house. So Cyrus got his shit together and headed to the Gryffindor common room to find the Weasley twins. It wasn’t hard to do that, they were the loudest of that set of siblings and there was bloody two of em. The next part was convincing them to help… another piece that was deceptively easy. Those boys were businessmen alright, they knew exactly how to bargain for what they wanted and ended up getting a better deal than Cyrus. Not only did he pay them 15 galleons for the use of the map and their assistance, he also two get of of jail free passes each where they could say they served their detention sentence with Cyrus even if they didn’t. Whatever, worth it.

The twins and Cyrus set off in the castle, following the enchanted map. It was amazing really, you could find anyone you wanted on the damn thing. So once they were close to where the Durmstrang men were housed it was easy to start searching for Loires name. It seemed like she had left whatever gathering she was at and was headed to the staff wing. Headed straight towards where him and the twins were. Panic took over and he grabbed the boys by the back of their sweaters, yanking them behind a pillar to hide. If Loire saw he was out STALKING her? He would never hear the fucking end of it! If she was on her way back and safe he just needed to hide until she passed then run back.

Only she wasn’t alone. A voice boomed in the hallway followed by Loires and while at first he couldn’t figure out exactly what they were saying, it became clearer as they got closer. Then a noise rang out that made Cyrus stiffen, peering out from behind the pillar and scowling. It took everything in him to not charge forward and sock the guy! No one should grab a woman like that and especially not Loire, not in front of him. He turned to the twins and noticed a gleam in their eyes, one that caused his eyebrow to twitch up. They just gave him a thumbs up before stepping out into the open hallway.

“Hey big and ugly! Are you the mascot for your school of losers?”

“Yeah mate! I didn’t realize the Durmstrang DOGS were the name but you make it apparent!”

Then a large bang went off and Cyrus looked around in shock to see the boys had thrown something at the guy? Something that turned the hallway into a swamp! Then fireworks started going off? Popping in the large man’s face and causing him to stumble backwards and release Loires wrist. That was his opening. “Thank ya boys!! Get back to your room!” He darted forward and gently grabbed Loires hand before turning and sprinting in the other direction, honestly he wasn’t sure where he was going but he knew he was getting away from there.

Cyrus wasn’t sure how long he dragged Loire around for but he knew that when they finally did stop they were standing under the large swinging pendulum of the clock tower. He was oit of breath but after a moment he burst into laughter. “That was bloody brilliant wasn’t it?”

 

[EclipseRosee]

Larkyn Gaunt

What was with the women in his life and refusing to listen to simple logic? Well, could he even consider Sapphira a woman in his life? He supposed so, she was indeed a woman and he did indeed know her. However the term made it all feel more familiar that he probably should have been comfortable with. “What?” Larkyn asked incredulously, “That’s the follow up you have to this situation, asking for flying lessons?” The insanity of it made him crack a smile through his grumpy exterior, his brow unfurling and his smile growing warm and honest. What a strange woman. “Sure.” It was a simple answer but he hoped his face said it all, he was completely entertained by the idea.

—

Once the fire was completely snuffed out the two of them took a hit to handle a few other chores before meeting back outside to begin their flying lesson. When Sapphira had first asked him Larkyn thought there was no way she was possibly so bad that she needed actual help, maybe just a tuneup! She was an adult witch for heavens sakes. However that was quickly proven very very wrong. In all of his years in the world, Larkyn had never seen someone so utterly hopeless on a broom. To be fair to Sapphira nearly all of Larkyns friends played Quidditch, Druella being so adept on a broom she was the first Slytherin woman allowed to play. Hell even Loire was decent despite never playing the sport. He just assumed it was something everyone learned do to the lessons at Hogwarts.

Sapphira told him all about how bad those lessons were for her back then and all he could do was laugh, it was apparent! After hours of fall after fall and Larkyn constantly asking if she wanted to stop for the day, they finally reached a point where the sky was dark above them. Larkyn had always seen Sapphira as this bright light of a woman, even when he barely knew her back in school. But now he realized she wasn’t all bubbles and happiness, she was sturdy and determined. Not many people would take that many hits and try again with a smile. It warmed his heart a bit to see.

“Hmm?” Larkyn said, looking at her with a raised brow. Right. Dru. He figured he probably should be concerned about that, however he simply wasn’t. “It’s getting dark…” he sighed and realized that he didn’t want to go in, he wanted to stay out here and spend more time on this. More time with her. He was enjoying himself, earnestly and without worry of others opinions for the first time in a very long time and he liked how he felt. “Maybe just a bit longer yeah?”

 

[ZombieBaee]

Delaney Wilson

This wasn’t a feeling that Delaney had often anymore, not one that she particularly enjoyed either. That feeling of being less, boring, painfully and utterly average. It made her feel both self conscious and shallow at the same time which shouldn’t be allowed! Many people on this earth would love to be average yet here was Delaney feeling glum. But it was true, she wanted to be extraordinary, a great professor, a great person! She wanted to be liked and respected and loved. She wanted to be looked at like she was sure people looked at that Veela woman. Ugh! Delaney threw her pillow against the headboard of her bed and let out a low sigh as Turtle jumped onto her bed and curled into a ball in the crook of her arm. “At least you love me right Turt?” Delaney gave the fluffball a soft smile and scratched his ear before a sound at her door called her attention.

It had been Cyrus coming home for a bit which brought Delaney out to the common space for a bit before retreating to her room to change into comfortable evening clothes. When she returned to the couch she found that Cyrus was gone as well as all of the others. For a short while she read a book and started the fireplace, then she was joined by Sebastian.

Boy was that awkward.

Something about the way she was feeling was heightened by his presence, which was just bloody lovely. Especially since he wasn’t the type of person to let sleeping dogs lie, not with her. “Seb truly I’m fine. Just a day.” Delaney offered a half hearted smile and tried to look him in the eyes but quickly averted that task and focused on the meal instead. “No one said anything to me really. Not mean at least.” Oops. She shouldn’t have said that bit at the end at all. Delaney looked up at Sebastian, the concern on his face making her heart twist in her chest. This was why she avoided eye contact. “I met a friend of yours today and she seems to be a lovely woman, gorgeous really, we just exchanged pleasantries and were on our way okay? Is that what you wanted to hear? That I met the outlandishly pretty Veela lady you hang out with and suddenly when I look in the mirror I feel like I live in sepia tone?”