Fandom The Gathering of Death Eater Children

[Hikari Chan]

Lily was enjoying her breakfast when the morning owls came. No owls for me...She sighed as she remembered the old times when she used to write frequently to her brother. Oh, I should write an owl to Clarry...I miss her so much...She thought and suddenly noticed in the corner of her eye that miss Fairbrook received two packages; one howler and one bigger package.

"Hey, don't open that red envelope here! Get out!" Lily exclaimed, but it was in vain. As usual, the headmaster and the deputy headmistress were not present, but the professors who were present at the staff table noticed the commotion that broke out among the students because one had received a howler, but they did not do anything about it because it was not illegal for parents to send their children howlers and it was pretty normal that students would laugh at each other about such trivial matters. Lily prepared herself for the worst and covered her ears with her hands. She did not have the patience to listen while other parents scolded their children for being unruly. Suddenly she was surprised by the howler's content as she slightly heard the message. She removed her hands from her ears and almost stared at Rosaleya as the rest of the message unfolded itself. When the howler had ended, Lily burst out in laughter. She was not laughing because Rosaleya had received a howler, rather she was laughing at Rosaleya's father and his stupidity for using a howler to forward silly greetings to his daughter. Several professors were laughing as well for the same reason. Avery was the loudest one as usual and Macnair nearly choked on his meal as he burst out in laughter. The ones who did not laugh were The Carrows, Crystal, Quinn, Blake, Melody, Mary-Jane, Endewyne, Adela, August, and Flynn. Rather they looked very serious but could not tell if the rest of the professors, were laughing at miss Fairbrook, at her fathers' stupidity or at the contents of the howler. Faeryn was close bursting out in laughter, but as soon as she let out a small giggle, Endewyne pinched her in the arm and looked so sternly at her that she swallowed her laughter so hard that she instead choked and coughed to the extent that she almost lost her breath.

When the laughter had ceased in the Great Hall, August vented out his anger, the anger he had felt towards Adela last evening, on the professors who had been laughing.

"Oh come on, I was not laughing at this poor student but her father. Her father must be so stupid. Does he not know how to use a howler or send his greetings more properly...?" Persephone excused herself, biting her lower lip as the corners of her mouth were twitching upwards. Pegah's face was red as a tomato as she shook because of laughing quietly and inwardly. She did not dare to laugh out aloud after professor Dolohov had scolded her and the other professors for laughing. The content of the howler was repeating itself in a faint male voice inside her head.

"Whether this student's father is stupid or not, you should not have laughed. Besides, you are training a teaching assistant into becoming a professor, and since she is seeing you as a role model, your unprofessional behavior will contaminate her future career as a professor..." Flynn spoke seriously, siding with August. "We are professors and should act with professionality. Especially you, Mulciber, who is the head of Slytherin. It's like miss Fairbrook's second home, shouldn't you be more understanding?"

Mulciber did not respond but only snorted at Flynn's remark. Persephone only shrugged, not really listening, thinking that her brother may lecture her all he wanted because she would always turn a deaf ear to him. Macnair and Avery avoided looking at each other, which was not difficult since Persephone was sitting between them, or they would have started laughing once again.

"I will be reporting this to the headmaster...he should not have suggested the use of howlers to Mr. Fairbrook and you should not have laughed," Quinn spoke bitterly, loud enough for the professors to hear and rose from her place since she had already finished her breakfast which had only consisted of one cup of tea and some oatmeal pudding.

"With all my respect, miss Quinn," Selwyn spoke, stopping her midway. "..but I think you would only waste your time," He said when she turned around to face him. "It isn't Shadowwalker's fault, is it? Whether if he had mentioned something about howlers or not, Mr. Fairbrook is just a saphead, an imbecile father, unless if he was drunk while singing that message with such a false tone. There's nothing we can do about such stupidity but laugh at it. And I do not think Shadowwalker would only suggest the use of howlers and leave out owls. That man even knew about normal owls, since he sent his daughter another package as well. He chose using a howler himself. We cannot blame the headmaster for this."

"I do not agree," August intervened. "Since Mr. Fairbrook is so dumb and does not understand the proper use of howlers, Shadowwalker should have avoided mentioning them to him. If he only had suggested Mr. Fairbrook to send normal owls, that man would not have sent any howler today. I highly doubt that he would have found out the use of howlers on his own..."

Lily was still eating breakfast when Rosaleya returned to the Great Hall. She looked up and noticed the sudden change of uniform. She is a girl, why does she look so upset for being dressed up like one? Lily thought oddly. She should see my closet, the row of dresses, gowns, and skirts, heels. Even if I wear trousers or shorts, it is still designed to be suitable for females and not for males. Perhaps she is truly a bit different according to the rumors...that she is more attracted to girls rather than boys...is that why she seems to prefer to dress in a boy's school uniform...Merlin's beard...

"Professor Mulciber." Rosaleya approached him respectfully and calmly. "I would like permission to visit Knockturn Alley this weekend. I know that I'm allowed to go, but I wanted to ask permission just in case since this rule is still new to me."

"Of course, you have my permission," He nodded, already knowing her intentions with her visit, due to what the howler had revealed earlier. He found it odd that her father must have requested to see her in Knockturn Alley of all other places. He still remembered Mr. Fairbrook from his short visit to the castle and concluded that Knockturn Alley was not a place for such a dumb and fat middle-aged man. The late Dark Lord should have wiped off his $$$ while on the go. It was a pity that he missed him while on a detour through Knockturn Alley during the second wizarding war...Mulciber thought sarcastically.

"Thank you," Rosaleya replied, approaching Crystal next. "Could you please take me to Knockturn tomorrow to visit Dad?"

"Sure." Crystal replied with a sympathetic tone.

Meanwhile, Pegah was glancing at miss Fairbrook, also noticing the change of her school uniform.

Elias was quiet for almost half an hour after Quinn had told him everything about what had happened in the Great Hall during breakfast.

He looked troubled, not because Mr. Fairbrook had misused a howler. He did not care if some of the professors blamed him because he had suggested the use of howlers to Mr. Fairbrook. I told him that he could either use howlers or owls to contact his daughter as long as she is at Hogwarts. He is obviously an uneducated wizard who does not know how to send greetings with a normal owl...Elias thought. He was more troubled because of several professors who had been laughing about the matter.

"I will deal with this," He nodded to Quinn. "Thank you..." He said, meaning that she could leave his office.

When she had left, he wrote eleven owls with severe warnings and information about that the salary would be deducted with 25 percent for three months, September, October, and November. The owls were addressed to Macnair, Avery, Andrew and Alexis Dolohov, Nott, Selwyn, Rowle, Rockwood, Persephone Pyrites, Ferydoni, and Mulciber. I cannot deduct house points, but their salary for acting with unprofessionalism...so this will do...Elias pondered for a while if he should thank the professors who had defended miss Fairbrook in one way or other but then decided against it. He did not desire to give too much air to August Dolohov, who seemed to take advantage of any situation whenever he was absent in the Great Hall. Quinn had not only told Elias how August had scolded the professors who had laughed, but also how he had scolded some of the male professors for making a commotion about a certain painting during the lunch hour yesterday. I believe that Dolohov is a selfish man, who only desire to take my place as headmaster...

Elias also sent an owl to the Ministry of Magic to report the three-month salary deduction of eleven members in the faculty. Lastly, he sent an owl to Luna, to report about the incident that had occurred during breakfast this morning and how he had dealt with the eleven faculty members for acting with unprofessionalism.

"You must be joking, mustn't you?" Clarissa exclaimed after Lily had told everything about what happened during the first weeks at Hogwarts. Both Persephone and Pegah filled in with information which Lily had forgotten to include. It was a beautiful Saturday in Hogsmeade and this time Clarissa had paid a short visit to join Persephone, Lily, and Pegah for a butterbeer at the Three Broomsticks. The visit was unplanned and done in haste since Lily had urged Clarissa to come to Hogsmeade because she missed her a lot.

"I wish it had been a joke..." Persephone sighed, feeling a bit down because Elias had deducted her salary for three months. She had not told Lily about the punishment she had received.

"By the way, I heard that miss Fairbrook was going to Knockturn Alley this weekend..." Pegah revealed, trying to change the subject to avoid a sensitive topic. She had not been feeling well because of the owl she had received by the headmaster, but she tried to not think about it and instead view it in the light of losing house points, which was difficult to imagine since she never had lost any house points during her schoolyears.

"Really?!" Lily exclaimed.

"Yeah, I heard her asking professor Mulciber during the breakfast if he permitted her a visit to Knockturn and then she asked professor Thorne if she could accompany her to that alley..."

"She does not look like the type who would take a stroll there..."

"Who knows," Persephone shrugged. "Perhaps her father prepared a surprise for her in Knockturn Alley...but the howler did not indicate about the exact location, just that he desired to see her during the weekend. Perhaps it is their usual meeting place-"

"Unless if they live there?" Clarissa suggested tentatively.

"I doubt!" Lily burst out. "Her fatso dad looks too dumb to set his foot in such a place like Knockturn Alley, let alone living there!" She laughed, not caring if she was loud or not. "He must be living in a bloody mudblood place or among muggles hahaha! Those from Spinners' End are even smarter than him. Besides, I rather believe that she only wanted to go to Knockturn for leisure, but she does not have the courage to enter that place alone, so she asks professor Thorne to tag along with her."

"Merlin's beard Lily..." Persephone sighed. "Professor Thorne is miss Fairbrook's guardian. After we witnessed how her father treated her, it is understandable that she asks her to accompany her when visiting other places outside Hogwarts."

Flynn who was sitting further away, sharing a table with Alexis and Nott, looked up and stared angrily at Lily who had been too loud and rude. They had not heard the entire conversation but only Lily's recent outburst. Lily did not see him, because she was sitting with her back against him. Pegah who was sitting in front of Lily and thus facing the ones who were sitting on the tables behind theirs noticed Flynn's glaring look.

"Hey Pyrites!" She waved with her hand, smirking. "Do you fancy my bestie?"

First, he stared shockingly at her and then he quickly looked away. Both Nott and Alexis who were sitting in front of Flynn wondered what was going on and turned around to have a quick look before turning back.

"What was that about?" Nott asked curiously.

"Never mind..." Flynn shook on his head.

"Do you like a girl? Who is she?" Alexis, who allowed his imagination to fly away, was even more curious.

"No, I don't. No one in particular! I do not like any girl at the moment!" Merlin's beard...

Meanwhile, Persephone nearly choked on her butterbeer, because she got surprised by Pegah's sudden outburst. Lily looked shockingly at Pegah, wondering what had gotten into her friend. Clarissa was feeling confused about the situation. "Did the butterbeer make you too soft? How many jugs did you drink?" Persephone spoke in a low voice, addressing Pegah. "Even if you have become a teaching assistant, mind how you speak to other professors." She was not scolding Pegah, but kindly advising her yet she gave her a long look to warn her that she might lose her job if she dared to provoke a professor, especially after the warning she had received from the headmaster last evening.

"But he was glaring at Lily," Pegah explained.

"Still, as a teaching assistant, you should behave...you could have returned his glare with an equal glare instead..."

"That moron!" Lily rolled her eyes. "Perhaps he fancies me?!" She snickered. "I am going to crush his heart hehe!"

"Lily, please..." Persephone sighed. "Don't earn yourself detentions or loss of points unnecessarily. It is not worth it."

"Do not worry, professor," Lily smiled. "I will behave as long as I spend time within the walls of Hogwarts." She promised.

You should also behave outside Hogwarts...Persephone thought for herself and sipped her butterbeer.

 

[Junko Natsumizaka]

"But why do you have to go without me tomorrow?" Leigh pouted. "I am a very talented singer, you know." He stated it like a fact.

"I don't doubt that." Claudia put her hand on his shoulder. Some people can only sound good drunk, and many sound excellent sober...but you fall into neither category. What's disturbing is that you literally believe your own bull. "When you're buying something, isn't it a bit annoying when the salesman sticks to you like glue and keeps reciting the flawlessness of the design, or praising the aesthetic, or constantly trying to sell you something else as well?"

"Of course; I usually tell them to leave me alone. I will buy whatever I want regardless, so their presence is..." Something seemed to click inside him as Claudia's example connected to the current situation. "Oh, I see. You don't need a salesman. Well then, have a jolly time tomorrow." He clearly forced his smile.

Hahaha...it was like I could see the cogs in his brain turning as he realized it. He doesn't have a chance against Easton's contract. "I have to go now, but I'll see you tomorrow night." Claudia kissed him, then whispered something arousing in his ear.

Leigh smiled toothily.

His hunger has been aroused. Perfect. Now he'll definitely leave us alone tomorrow if he's anticipating something lewd. Pig.

Soren, Stephan, and the Masked Man weren't present at breakfast on Sunday morning, from what Athena saw when she arrived. She offered to feed Rosaleya some of her demonic breakfast: blueberry waffles with light syrup, fresh strawberries, and a bit of whipped cream.

"They're so tasty!" Rosaleya sighed after swallowing her first bite.

Kawaiiiiiiiiiiii! Athena whispered something in Rosaleya's ear.

"Sure. But I don't know if I'll be any good at it." Rosaleya replied, picking up Athena's fork and assembling the perfect bite with equal parts of everything on the plate. "Here."

"That was good." Athena replied, wiping a tiny bit of whipped cream off of the corner of her mouth. She assembled another bite for Rosaleya, but the owls came, dropping another amateurishly wrapped package for Rosaleya. Athena glared at it.

It opened itself before Rosaleya could grab it and take it outside, revealing a frilly pink dress. The note attached read, in Leigh's pretentious and nearly illegible cursive handwriting 'This would look lovely on you today; it was on sale at our usual store. When I saw it in your size, I knew that it would be perfect for you! Hugs and kisses! I love you!...P.S. I'll see you at the store at eight thirty a.m. Don't bother having breakfast because I've already made one for you!' A few carelessly drawn hearts decorated the corners of the note, and the usual dots below the exclamation marks had been replaced with stars.

Damn leech! Athena thought, seething quite obviously as Rosaleya excused herself from the table. She had leaned her head on Rosaleya's shoulder to read the note. But she looked strangely happy...not in her blank face...but her eyes...why is she so happy?

"Oh...you accidentally ate all of Rosaleya's breakfast, Chance!" Leigh hugged Chance. "Why did you do that?, you just had breakfast."

Claudia smiled behind Leigh. Someone disposed of it...accidentally...and happened to put the bowl by Chance's face before you came into the room...luckily, he licks or eats anything in sight...she doesn't want sugarless overcooked oatmeal anyway. Your welcome, dear.

Shortly after Rosaleya left, Soren's swan patronus swam through the air, stopping in front of Athena and playing a blank message for five seconds before flying upward, leaving the room via the ceiling.

A blank message means he wants to see me, I suppose... Athena thought, appreciating Soren's discreet summons. ...but why didn't he just page me? Did he not have time? Is it urgent? She got up immediately, wondering where he might be. She took a guess, and headed toward the music room. Her second guess had been the Quidditch Pitch. She heard a bunch of female voices, stopping just short of turning the corner to listen.

"I didn't know that you could play piano so well!"
"You're a Seeker-"
"-captain of the Ravenclaw team-"
"-you're handsome, you can play the piano, and you're well-off. You shouldn't be wasting your time with someone so plain like Fairbrook-"
"-and with too much emotional baggage."
"And she's just messing with you; she's gay for Merlin's sake!"
"Doing those things so openly with Lovett; she's clearly an attention seeker, along with Lovett."
"Did you hear her father's 'Howler' the other day? She doesn't care whether she gets good or bad attention; everything is probably a set-up that her real father agreed to."
"Really, do you think that someone like her would have a father who looks like that? Did she really think that she could pass him off as her father?"
"How realistic is it that someone can be stupid enough to actually use a Howler like that?"
"Or the incident earlier this week when he gave that little attention seeker what she deserved? She had it coming after the incident with the Duel-"

Soren punched the nearest wall, creating a picturesque crack zig-zagging outward in all directions that was accompanied by a shockingly loud noise.

Some of the girls standing closest to him jumped.

"You've just stolen a precious ten-seconds of my life that you can never return to me. I abhor homo-sapiens who frivolously waste time; actually, I view them more as insects." He said, in a severely cold tone, looking down at them as if they truly were insects.

"Insects?!"

"Are your statements based on empirical evidence?"

"N...no..." None of the girls knew that the word 'empirical' meant.

"Do you think that it is acceptable for someone else to engage in slanderous acts against you?"

"You should have someone better by your side." One Gryffindor spoke timidly, trying to justify their actions.

"If your purpose here today was to prove that any of you are suitable replacements, then you have made two mistakes." He held up two fingers.

The girls were hanging on his every word, despite his frighteningly cold reaction to their attempts.

"Hollow words do not help anyone." He lowered one finger "Open dress shirts and short skirts aimed at exciting the male anatomy will only achieve a superficial and temporary sense of attraction and thus you will be fated to forever remain lonely. A pragmatic stratagem would be to excite a male's intellectual constituent; the effects of this would certainly outlast your injudicious tactics. None of you ever bothered to discuss a subject that I enjoy, if you are too simple-minded to speak intelligently. Instead, you focused on facile generalizations of my character, as well as that of my beloved, and I am repulsed. You have no knowledge of Fairbrook's true character, so you have no right to judge her so cruelly, or label her so badly. And if you ever have the desire to charm a man that is worth his salt, consider that if he is already in a relationship, he is not interested in infidelity of any kind." He turned around smoothly and walked away. At his third step, conjured handkerchiefs fluttered down from the ceiling. "You may want to wipe the brown off of your noses, and catch the rest that escapes your mouths."

The girls were silent, repeating his dialogue in their heads and trying to make sense of it all. They felt stupid, not knowing whether they should feel insulted or not by Soren's readily spoken verbiage. With a clear memory of his words, they all ran to the library. They would soon become more and more enraged as they defined every 'difficult word' that he had spoken, until they felt utterly worthless in his eyes. The comment that accompanied the handkerchiefs would take them the longest to understand.

"Good morning." Soren said suddenly from beside Athena.

She quickly looked to him in surprise. "Where'd you get that dialogue from?"

"I've developed the habit of speaking more formally when I am feeling angry. They've all run to the library to decode my words." Soren chuckled.

"It was hard not to gasp or laugh while you talked, and I got everything that you were saying. Too bad Rose wasn't here to hear that; she would've loved it! Thanks for calling me over to laugh at that."

"Humans always try to brown-nose me in between classes, and especially after Quidditch practice or when I play music. Hey, for those girls in particular, could you...?"

"I'd love to!" Athena smirked with a mischevious glint in her eye. She whispered "I got some itching powder recently. I'll put it in random beds for the boys' and girls' beds, and I'll make sure that my friends happen to be amongst the people who aren't surprised with it. A few innocents will have to be sacrificed, but it's for the greater good, isn't it?"

"That wasn't why I called you." Soren said suddenly, resisting the temptation of agreeing to the question. "Mother is taking Rosaleya to Hell today for karaoke. She would like us to come as well."

"What?!" Athena exclaimed. "She knows already?! How? I thought that you said she wouldn't know unti-"

"-I will explain that to you later. We'll be late otherwise."

"Fine."

"Mother and I will see you at our usual spot."

"K."

"You came." Claudia extended her arms wide for Rosaleya the moment she arrived at the shop with Crystal.

The first thing that Rosaleya had done upon her return to the castle yesterday was tell Crystal, with a look of enthusiastic admiration in her eyes, all about her father's new bride. Of course, she said nothing about the top-secret plans, just in case.

Crystal and Leigh watched happily, for different reasons, while Rosaleya embraced Claudia without hesitation.

I love this feeling! Rosaleya closed her eyes with a contented smile.

How cute. Claudia thought, putting her arms around Rosaleya. I want to make you feel so happy. It'll be just like having another perfect child to love. They're like the jewels of my treasure chest; I am the dragon that guards my precious treasure with all of my strength. For now, these outings will have to do, but I cannot wait until we don't have to see this rat beforehand or afterwards. Claudia smiled at Leigh as he watched.

Leigh winked without being subtle.

Rosaleya backed away, telling herself that she would be able to embrace Claudia again later today when they said goodbye, and then again next weekend when they said hello.

Soren came out from the men's clothing section, and embraced Rosaleya the moment she took a step back from Claudia. She smells like blueberry muffins today. The shampoo smell from yesterday has faded a bit; she hasn't washed it today, only brushed it. And she's wearing... "That's a lovely dress." ...a hideous dress that she obviously hates by the subtle change in her gait since she donned it. Leigh sent it to her, asking [insisting] that she wear it today. And her eyes are so happy and full of anticipation. Someone who shares my interests, and I feel at ease in her presence...she ticks all of the boxes on my list. Leigh had returned to his 'throne', and Rosaleya's struggle continued. Outside the castle, in a nearby forest, was another castle whose beauty and defenses were no match for King Leigh's. Organizing a rescue mission at the head of the table was the knight Soren. His loyal comrades, his confidants, sat with him providing ingenious additions to his plan to fill any holes. Claudia, the most powerful mage in the land, volunteered to go in first to earn King Leigh's trust and act as a decoy. "The frontal attack you are planning is not likely to succeed; King Leigh's offensive strategies are his best attribute. A distraction will help." Easton, the most intelligent sage in the land, suggested that an attack with a distraction still would not be enough to assure their victory. "All warfare is based on deception." He quoted 'The Art of War', his favorite book. "Hence, when able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must seem inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe that we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near." He then promised that he would create a deceptive, complicated spell in a language that King Leigh could never understand, for the mage to cast once she earned King Leigh's trust. "What role shall I play?" Lady Athena inquired. "Surely, you will not have me be a sedentary figure in our attack?" "Of course not; I wouldn't dream it." Soren assured. "You are to attack the other drain on her life. You must make the attacks of the King of Sin ineffective, and remove his influence over our target." Athena, Claudia, Soren, and Easton put their hands to their chests, promising themselves and each other "We will not fail!" Together, they were a powerful force. Their greatest weapon? Compassion. With that, they would always assist each other in reaching their goals, and their castle would never fall.

"Thank you." Rosaleya replied with a convincing smile, taking a step back.

The other people couldn't see it. But, something about the way that Soren and Rosaleya had uttered their last sentences indicated to the other that they meant the exact opposite.

It's that refreshing feeling again...where the other person understands, and I can just feel it!...so cool! Rosaleya thought.

"I'll see you later, darling." Claudia smiled to Leigh.

Leigh's cheesy "Have a good time!" was accompanied by a wave and a toothy grin.

Claudia held her hand out for Rosaleya, and they left the store together.

Rosaleya compared Leigh dragging her everywhere in his excitement, to Claudia's gentle grasp that had Rosaleya walking beside her willingly, and gave her the freedom to let go at any time.

Soren was walking at Rosaleya's other side, cheerfully gazing upward at the grey sky; the sun was blocked by heavy rain clouds that would insure his chance to share an umbrella with Rosaleya. If Athena doesn't beat me to it first.

"Let's get some ice cream first." Claudia suggested, stopping by the shop. "Let's all guess what flavor the other will choose. The person with the most incorrect guesses has to pay." She said it with the air that she really wanted to play this game.

Rosaleya seemed to be listening to something for a moment, then she replied in a respectful tone "I feel like you two have an advantage since you know each other better than I do. If you really want to play, then I won't join you; I'll buy my own ice cream."

Claudia passed the ice cream shop, satisfied by Rosaleya's answer. "I was testing you. We'll get something sweet later." They walked for a while longer.

"But don't expect us to actually begin the attack without confirming the value of our target." Easton said. Claudia added "We will all have to test, in our own way, for value, to make sure that it is worth our while." "Harmless tests." Soren agreed with a nod. "I shall partake in them as well."

"Here we are." Claudia stopped in front of a building at the end of the alley; the most decrepit and unappealing one. "After you." She held the rusted door open with a high-pitched creak.

Rosaleya stepped inside readily, expecting it to be one of those fictional buildings that was made to look abandoned on the outside on purpose. "Hi."

"Hi." Athena slid down the banister and embraced Rosaleya. "Let's go upstairs; we rented this whole place out for basically nothing. Cool, right?"

"Yes." Rosaleya nodded, looking around at the ground floor with wide eyes as Soren and Claudia stepped inside.

"Touch everything that you want, and enter any room that you like. The choice of a tour-" she gestured to Athena and Soren "-or an independent exploration is yours. Find me when you're done; I'll be in the kitchen fixing us a snack. " Claudia said before starting up the staircase.

Athena looked at Rosaleya with childish excitement.

Soren looked away; although he clearly wanted Rosaleya to choose the first option, he didn't want to influence her decision.

"A tour." Rosaleya chose after a moment.

Athena and Soren immediately held either one of Rosaleya's hands, speaking simultaneously in their excitement.

"We'll show you the karaoke room first!" Athena said.
"We'll show you the gaming room first!" Soren said.

They looked at each other. 'Say you'll let me go first' their expressions said. When it seemed that neither would yield they looked to Rosaleya.

"One at a time?" She chuckled.

They repeated their words at the same time.

"Let's go that way." Rosaleya nodded to the left without knowing what was in that direction.

Soren smiled.

The building's inner structure resembled the sorts of penthouse apartments that Rosaleya had seen in American films; walnut hardwood floors, floor-length windows to replace most walls and display a handsome view of the cityscape, a coffee colored ceiling with recessed lights, as well as skylights on the third floor. The ground floor contained staircases leading to the second floor, and three hallways leading to a spacious pool, a karaoke room, and a game room filled with retro and new human and demonic games. On the second floor, the spacious kitchen contained a black marble island with glass pendant lights above it, and appliances fit for a gourmet kitchen. The dining table was made of polished cherry wood, with chairs of the same wood fitted with comfortable white upholstery. On the third floor, the bedrooms had soft yet firm beds with plump pillows and sheets of chestnut and white, and fabric light fixtures. The bathrooms had walk-in showers with opaque glass walls, a ready supply of hot and cold water, the perfect water pressure, pleasant smelling soap and shampoo, and soft yet absorbent towels and toilet paper. The family room had comfortable coffee linen couches, a matching coffee table, a large projector screen and a high-quality projector. The washing room had a top-quality washing machine and a variety of powdered soaps and fabric softeners, all with lovely yet subtle scents. Any bathrooms that weren't on the third floor were half bathrooms. Tall vases of large flowers or bamboo were placed in the perfect areas for fragrance and charm.

"I didn't expect this." Rosaleya said once they had finished their tour and entered the kitchen.

"I had to prepare this place on short notice, and I didn't want to spent the night on it, so I just used a basic design. Boring, really, but I'm sure it's better than your apartment, isn't it?" Claudia asked, gesturing to the dining table. "Please."

Athena sat down as Rosaleya pulled the chair out for Soren, who chuckled as he took a seat. Soren assumed that Rosaleya's extension pulled her chair out for her when he saw it magically do so without Claudia's involvement.

"Enjoy." Claudia levitated a thick avocado green drink with a silly straw sticking out of it. "An avocado smoothie with milk. It's tastier than you imagine, please try it." She said to Rosaleya seeing as Athena and Soren had already started drinking.

"What are these?" Rosaleya asked, pointing to the adorable item hanging off of her cup as she took a drink, noticing that Soren and Athena had one as well.

"They're called cup accessories." Claudia smiled. "Your favorite is Uranus, right?"

"Yes." Rosaleya nodded, surmising that Soren's must be Saturn by his accessory, and also noting Athena's. "Mmmmm. This is nice." She took another sip of her avocado drink, comparing it to the sickening tea that Leigh had offered her yesterday. "How can the windows show that view?"

I love children! "They're demonic windows." Claudia replied. "You have to connect them to a building somewhere that actually has that view, and then no matter where you set them up, they'll display the same view. By the bird's eye view of London's Eye and the River Thames, you can guess the location of the original windows. So for now, we can spend time here every weekend since we can't leave the Alleys. Leigh doesn't know about this place." She gave a look that said 'we both want it to stay that way'. "Come whenever you want, preferably as often as possible." She ruffled Rosaleya's hair, levitating a fourth drink for herself as she took a seat; her cup accessory was Fish-Eye. "Next weekend I'll negotiate for a sleepover." 'Would you like that?' her expression asked gently.

"That sounds perfect." Rosaleya agreed in delight.

Every weekend, we'll have to part with Rosaleya to fulfil one item from the list of chores on the Deputy Headmistress's list. It will only take a few hours of manual labor, but it's worth it. Soren thought positively. I agree with her reasons, and I appreciate that we are able to work to erase our mistake. Manual work has never really bothered me. Mother made sure to have us complete a healthy measure of manual work to build character...I appreciate her methods.

We have to leave this perfect scenario to do some crappy work at the castle. Athena thought angrily. I want that House Cup...but I hate all that work! Between the points I earn in class for correct answers and those darn chores...well, at least Soren's helping me with the chores. It would be a real pain in the butt if I had to mow every blade of grass on the grounds, or clean out the Owelry on my own...or polish the silver in the Trophy Room...or disembowelling or preserving small animal parts for potions ingredients...organizing the files that recorded punishments for previous offenders of school rules and their offenses alphabetically and sometimes re-writing old records....jeez.

Claudia took a few sips of her drink, seeming to find something out of place in the room. Realizing what it was, it seemed to irritate her more and more until she was unable to stand it for even a second longer. She left the table to search the kitchen cupboards for something important based on her expression.

"We left more manga and light novels on your bed at the castle." Soren said to Rosaleya, coming out of his thoughts.

"Thank you." 'I'll return them in perfect condition, just like before' her expression promised.

"I didn't expect you to write your thoughts on each one." Athena remembered opening all of the books that Rosaleya returned to find her thoughts neatly written on a paper, left between the cover and the first page.

"Jade did it while I was reading." Rosaleya replied.

"They were nice to read." Soren said.

Claudia approached Rosaleya with a large conical flask filled with a black liquid, then deliberately poured it all over the front of her dress, ruining it by turning it an irreversible vomit brown color and causing the ruffles to curl up like decayed roses. Rosaleya only looked at her in mild confusion after realizing that the liquid didn't hurt her or feel moist at all. "Oops." Claudia smiled, summoning two beautiful replacements. "Looks like irreversible damage! I'm so sorry. I suppose you'll have to borrow one of these. You can use the bathroom over there to change." She pointed.

"Thank you." Rosaleya took the replacement that she favored more and hurried toward the bathroom.

"You won't mind her borrowing your dress, will you?"

"No; that other one was so gross." Athena laughed.

"I didn't expect you to do that." Soren admitted. "I was more surprised than Rosaleya."

"If she must dress like a girl for now, then it's better for her to borrow Athena's wardrobe from when her bust first started developing." I knew that we would have a use for those clothes someday. I've kept them washed and hung neatly and we only kept the ones that were in perfect condition, which was basically all of them, so Rosaleya has some lovely choices.

Soren's jaw dropped when Rosaleya came out from the bathroom three minutes later. Kireiiiiiiiiiiii.

"Why are you here?" Athena demanded, repeating the Masked Man's question.

"I'm signing up for the Quidditch team, of course." He taunted.

"Hey, I was coming here first!" Athena insisted.

"I suppose you shouldn't have accidentally erased my memories with Rosaleya. I was just accidentally accepted into the Slytherin team. How unlucky for you."

Athena clenched her fist. "What position?"

"Beater. You?"

Well, not a Chaser anymore, that's for sure. If I'll have to work alongside him...if he was the Seeker then I might've been able to ignore him... Athena scowled and left the Quidditch field.

"I have a suggestion for a strategy." He told his team members. "You may be interested in Ravenclaw's strategy plans." He sounded as if he was smirking. "Firstly, the Ravenclaw Seeker's favored moves are the Wronskei Feint and the Sloth Grip Roll."


October 5th

"That is our strategy." Soren concluded, going over it again the morning of the match so that it was fresh in his teammates' minds. "We will go over it once more before the game. Please arrive as early as possible."

He had asked them to come before breakfast so that they could take fifteen minutes to go over the plan, then use the remaining breakfast period to enjoy a meal. He was very quiet during breakfast, purposefully sitting as far away from Rosaleya as possible so that he could keep envisaging the strategy in his mind without distractions, in case there were any flaws that he hadn't yet caught from the hours he had already spent pondering it.

"Ms. Fairbrook." The Masked Man said, suddenly sitting next to Rosaleya during breakfast despite a glare from Athena. "I have recently joined the Slytherin Quidditch team. It has been kept a secret until now, but I wanted you to know because..." He sighed. "I truly wanted you to watch me today. I understand that you may not care for sports, but I ask you to please view the match. In return, I promise you-" he handed her a piece of parchment with the words 'I owe you one large or small favor' written on it "-that I will repay you."

"A favor?" Rosaleya replied coldly. "What are the limits of this favor?"

Why is she considering it? Athena thought, clenching her fist and wishing to punch the Masked Man.

She's considering it! "As long as I am not breaking any written school rules, I will complete your favor to the best of my ability. If it is something that may get me into trouble without breaking the rules, then I promise that your name will not come into the conversation when I take the blame."

The Masked Man suddenly grasped Rosaleya's right hand, looking at her with what she imagined to be a pleading glance.

"Will you honor your agreement to perform a favor for me?" Rosaleya asked sarcastically, clearly disbelieving as she attempted to pull her hand away, but the Masked Man did not allow it, gripping her hand firmly yet gently.

A thin tongue of brilliant flame wound its way around their hands like a red-hot wire. "I promise to honor our agreement, whenever you wish." The flame faded, completing his Unbreakable Vow. He left a visibly surprised Rosaleya wondering why he found it so important to pursue a clearly uninterested girl.

Both teams marched out onto the field, getting into formation with their brooms held steady.

I will thoroughly humiliate you, the captain who came up with a useless plan, I am certain. Mine will most certainly trump yours. The Masked Man thought toward Soren.

I've been publicly reciting a fake plan for them in the open, only revealing the true plan to them at the last minute because... Soren glared at the Masked Man, feeling the hateful aura that was emanating from him even from his current distance. ...I know that he's been watching our strategy discussions. Thankfully, he didn't bother wasting time on watching the actual practice sessions after observing them for the first few times to make sure that they matched the discussions. What may surprise you is that I did my homework on your strategy as well. Although I will not allow myself to celebrate yet, I have a very positive feeling about this match, even though I can't use my favorite moves that helped me win last year.

What a fool. Both Soren and the Masked Man thought.

Raven, the referee for her impartial stance and hawk eyes, warned both teams against fowl play, asking for a clean game and "...no tantrums from the losing team. " She looked to the commentator, an energetic seventh-year Gryffindor with the ability to speak quickly that was paramount to his job, and he nodded, confirming that he was ready. Raven counted down from five, and instead of saying '1', she blew a whistle.

Both teams rose into the air, and the game began.

Rather than use their names, the Quidditch uniforms had numbers on their backs, so the commentator referred to the players by number rather than name, for greater accuracy. He had with him a piece of parchment to prevent mistakes, labelling each player's position, number, and name, for both teams:

Ravenclaw:
Seeker: 1, Soren McCunnen
Keeper: 2, _
Beaters: 3, _, 4, _
Chasers: 5, _, 6, _, 7, _

Slytherin:
Seeker: 1, _
Keeper: 2, _
Beaters: 3, _, 4, Edmund Dantes
Chasers: 5, _, 6, _, 7, _

"And Slytherin's 5 seizes the Quaffle, cutting in front of Ravenclaw's 7. 5 neatly passes to 6 while dodging a stray Bludger, and 6 passes it to 7, but the pass is intercepted by Ravenclaw's 6. 6 tosses it straight upwards to a waiting 5 and dodges the Slytherin's Chasers, then shadows 5 from below. 5 speeds higher in the direction of the goalposts and flanked by Slytherin's 5 and 7 while 6 hovers directly below in an attempt to distract. Riiiiiight when Slytherin's 7 and 5 make a grab for the Quaffle, Ravenclaw's 5 drops the Quaffle to 6, successfully pulling off a Porksoff Ploy. Ravenclaw's 6 speeds the last distance to the goalposts, dives to dodge a Bludger skillfully aimed by Slytherin's 3 via a Bludger Backbeat, and Ravenclaw scores 10 points!"

The crowd cheered, with the exception of the Slytherins, who only grumbled. Athena was the exception; her cheers were met with strange and in some cases reproaching glances. I can't help but cheer for Soren's strategy; he told me he had been planning something great so I had to watch!

Rosaleya wondered why Athena was cheering, having arrived right after Soren gotten into position; too high for her to see him.

He hasn't told her, yet? I'd think that that would be something he would speak of fondly...not to show off...but to talk about with a smile. Well, I guess it'll be a surprise to her when she sees him steal the game. Athena thought. "Have you ever watched a Quidditch game before?"

"Yes." Rosaleya replied. "I'm not really fond of Quidditch though; I wasn't just using it as an excuse to not watch Mr. Mask play for the Slytherin team. Sports in general bore me, so I assumed that Quidditch would be the same, and it was the last time I watched...but this one is so intense...it's not at all like the last one I watched and I'm really enjoying it." She said honestly, her eyes glued to the Quaffle.

I haven't seen the Snitch anywhere, yet. Soren was pleased that his strategy was working well. Looks like the Masked Man has no idea what I've done.

This makes no sense at all. Why would McCunnen change his strategy? The Masked Man wondered, using a Bludger Backbeat to temporarily distract Ravenclaw's 6 so that Slytherin finally got possession of the Quaffle.

"...and Slytherin's 6 steals the Quaffle! The Slytherin Chasers form a Hawkshead Attacking Formation, and the Ravenclaws dodge as they pick up speed; even two, that's right, two stray Bludgers do not break the formation! Slytherin scores!"

The Slytherins cheered as the score was announced, feeling hopeful again...

Slytherin: 10
Ravenclaw: 40

"...And Ravenclaw secures the Quaffle via a Parkin's Pincer. Ravenclaw's 6 passes to 5, then 7, and 7 passes it to 6 over Slytherin 7's head. Ravenclaw's 6 makes for the goalposts using a Woollongong Shimmy, and Ravenclaw scores again!"

More cheers from the joyous Ravenclaws, and Athena, who was cheering for both sides and causing a great confusion.

"Still no sign of the Snitch. Ah, Slytherin's 3 is put out of commission by a stray Bludger; no involvement from Ravenclaw!" He said in surprise. "The referee magically catches 3 before he hits the ground and looks him over. The Slytherin captain signals for a 'time out' from the referee, and everyone makes to land, pausing the game at the current score: Ravenclaw 50, Slytherin 10."

Raven remembered Luna's instructions not to heal anyone effortlessly, but send them to the hospital wing to heal gradually so as not to encourage recklessness without consequences amongst the students. She looked at the unconscious boy and wondered what she should do, resolving to summon a stretcher and have him taken to the Hospital Wing after applying a healing balm to the back of his head where the Bludger had made contact. She returned three minutes later, and the game continued.

"That was so unlucky!" One Slytherin scowled.
"Ravenclaw didn't have anything to do with it; they must feel pleased with themselves."

"And Slytherin takes possession of the Quaffle, but can 5 bypass the Ravenclaw Keeper's skillful Double Eight Loop? I suppose not. The Quaffle falls into the hands of Ravenclaw's 7, who passes it to 6. 6 picks up speed and first climbs to avoid Slytherin's 5, but 6's path is blocked by Slytherin's 6 and 7! 6 drops the Quaffle in surprise, swerving to avoid last-minute collision and nearly falling! Slytherin's 5 catches the Quaffle and the Chasers form another Hawkshead Attacking Formation, headed for the Goalposts! This time, Ravenclaw's Beaters succeed in breaking the formation with a Dopplebeater Defense, but the Slytherin Chasers recover and still manage to score a point; Ravenclaw Keeper's Double Eight Loop has failed by two centimeters!"

Slytherin: 20
Ravenclaw: 50

"Is that the Snitch?" The commentator asked as Soren was trying to confirm it. "It is!"

The Slytherin Seeker had seen it as well.

Slytherin scored once more before the Ravenclaw Beaters shared a look and started using the Bludgers more skillfully. Ravenclaw scored 30 more points with their Beaters breaking apart every formation that the Slytherin team made, and any time that a Slytherin neared a Chaser with the Quaffle they had to dodge a Bludger and lose track of their target.

Meanwhile, Soren and the Slytherin Seeker were in a stare down high above the pitch: the Snitch was hovering a meter away from either one of them, right in between them. They had zig-zagged all over the field to catch this especially mischevious Snitch, when it finally stopped.

Soren stood up slowly on his broom, and the Slytherin Seeker rolled his eyes, not intending to fall for whatever Soren was planning.

Rosaleya noticed, suddenly, who the Ravenclaw Seeker was, and then she couldn't look away as Soren jumped off of his broom with the grace of an acrobat, onto the Snitch, which flew into his shirt as he fell. Athena was watching in undisguised shock. It was a race between him and his broom to reach the ground, the latter seemed to understand the former's plight, racing to assist. The students in the crowd were at the edge of their seats. Even the other players had stopped to watch the outcome. A few of the Slytherins placed bets on whether Soren would be injured severely or not with "such a stupid, reckless move for a Ravenclaw."

The broom slid under Soren when he needed it the most, cushioning his fall by slowing him down, and he stopped right before he grazed the ground.

The Ravenclaws cheered as Soren stood on his broom once more, proudly displaying the Snitch high in his right hand for all to see without even the slightest hesitation.

 

[Hikari Chan]

Early morning on the fifth of October, Faeryn wrote a short letter which she owled to Mr. McCunnen at once. It was just a short letter to wish him good luck on the quidditch match today and that he was requested at her office after dinner the same day.

It was an intensive quidditch match. Lily was watching it with a boring look because she could care less about quidditch while Pegah was cheering with all her heart for Slytherin. The latter one frowned when she saw how miss Lovett cheered for both Ravenclaw and Slytherin. First, I thought that I should not take the Quibbler seriously and that it may spout nonsense, but after seeing how miss Lovett is acting, I doubt that the Quibbler has been lying about miss Lovett's behavior, Pegah thought. I did not believe Lily either when she told me how weird she found miss Lovett and miss Fairbrook. I won't judge blindly at everything I see, hear or read, rather I try to look at the situations with a critical mind, but a human's action speaks louder than anything else. Now I only agree with Lily about Lovett being a weirdo. I can tell that Fairbrook is different and I feel for her. I thought I was the only one with harsh parents that want to control everything in my life, but I am not alone. Fairbrook's father is much worse. Merlin's beard, the content of that howler was too funny and I could not help but laugh at her stupid father. But what I find so strange is that there are rumors about Lovett and Fairbrook dating, rumors about Garnett and Dantes that tried to pursue Fairbrook before and other rumors about Fairbrook is McCunnen's girlfriend. I am confused about all these rumors and do not know what to believe. But the strangest and weirdest rumors are about McCunnen openly exclaiming that he hates humans and view them as insects. Quibbler might spout out nonsense here and there and mix the truth with lies. Well, I wonder which relationship is true, Lovett x Fairbrook or Fairbrook x McCunnen. Both girls are in Slytherin while the young man is in Ravenclaw. Perhaps it is a relationship complex, like the one with Snape, Evans, and Potter, which I read about once in an old newspaper I found among the archived ones in the library. Would it really work...a relationship between a Slytherin and a Ravenclaw? Oh shoot, Ravenclaw won?!

"I knew it!" Lily muttered, feeling disappointed that her house had lost.

"Hello, Mr. McCunnen, please take a seat..." Faeryn gestured towards the chair in front of her desk in her office. She smiled towards him, as she waited for him to take his seat before she began.

Meanwhile, an enchanted teapot hovered up from the table and poured steaming hot ginger and lemon tea into two cups.

She took a sip of her tea before she praised him for his effort in today's quidditch game and for winning the game. It had put her in a good mood when Ravenclaw had won, yet there was something in her expression that revealed unsatisfaction about something else.

"...There's also something else I would like to speak with you about regarding an incident that happened a couple of weeks ago. I did not call you here immediately to my office, because today's quidditch match was approaching and I did not want you to lose focus-" She explained. "-anyway, first I'd like to tell you that you are one of my best students, always on time for classes, with great performance in classes...besides skipping classes at the beginning of this semester..." She chuckled. "...and you have accepted detentions without any dispute, that I did consider to nominate you as prefect, but..." Here she paused for a mere second before continuing. "...a couple of weeks ago, it came to my knowledge, that you allowed your own emotions to take over you to that extent that you almost broke a wall, which was already fixed anyway, and that you openly exclaimed that you hate humans and view them as insects. That was so childish of you. Are you not a human?" She looked at him oddly, with a deep frown. She was not expecting an answer from him and her tone suggested that it was the best that he should not speak until she was done scolding him. "I know and I understand the reason behind your outburst. When those girls came running to me that day, I investigated it closely and had them tell me the truth. As I look at the matter, they are just some teenage girls who are being jealous of miss Fairbrook, because you have chosen her over them and that's pretty normal. Gossips are normal and it is not a surprise that some do judge after what they see, hear or read. And it is quite understandable that you wanted to defend her in such circumstances because she is your girlfriend and you cannot bear hear anyone speaking ill of her. However, you could have done it with more gentle mannerisms instead of letting anger take over your mind and lecturing them with the weirdest tirade. I do not tolerate anyone in my house to be so rude, insulting or offensive. If anyone is bullying you, you should come and speak to me and I will handle it." At her last words, a basket hovered up from behind her desk and placed itself on the table. It was filled with the handkerchiefs which Soren had conjured to those girls. "This time I will let this slide and I am just going to dispose of these handkerchiefs-" She gestured towards the basket "-but if this happens again, I will have you write your sincere apologies on the handkerchiefs and give them in person to all the girls you insulted. If you learn to control your emotions and prove that you can be sympathetic and a forgiving gentleman, with nicer manners towards everyone here, you might have a chance to become Ravenclaw's head boy or prefect next year."

 

[Junko Natsumizaka]

The girls in the stands whispered to each other.
"The ice prince won the game again!"
"Let's go congratulate him!"
"It's no use; his heart will never melt."
"Not with that attitude! Pessimist."
"It's not pessimism, it's realism; I'm a realist!"

The Ravenclaw team insisted on jovially shaking his hand or high-fiving Soren while praising his strategy and unexpected winning move. Most insisted that they had believed in his plans from the beginning, and all of them claimed that they were happy to have him on the team. And then, there was the familiar silence when everyone waited for Soren's reply with anticipation.

Soren replied genuinely. "It was your hard work and determination that granted me the thrill of such an intense match; the exhilaration of victory is a magnificent feeling, is it not?" His expression briefly conveyed his gratitude, and the other team members felt it in their hearts.

Everyone agreed cheerfully. Most invited, and some even insisted to take Soren to Hogsmeade on Saturday for a victory drinking celebration at the pub, but Soren declined them gently, and left the field despite their disappointed expressions.

"Why is it every time I talk to McCunnen, I leave feeling like there's something I've been missing out on my whole like up until now?" Ravenclaw's 4 asked.
"Talking to him always makes you feel like you're missing some greater picture, doesn't it?" Ravenclaw's 7 agreed. "Or some part of life that's so much happier and more interesting..."
"Yeah." Ravenclaw's 2 agreed. "You just want to go wherever his mind is, but you can't because it's not something that can be explained with words."
"Like...there's a wall of ice that you can almost feel, whenever he speaks to anyone that isn't his mum or Fairbrook...not disrespectful, just so distant! It hurts knowing that he's living in a different world that we can't even touch!"
"Maybe Fairbrook gets it, and that's why he likes her."
"Yes, that must be it."
"I hope we get there someday."
"But tomorrow, we'll get somewhere else instead! I'm buying the Butterbeers!"
"Nice!"
"I hope that Fairbrook ends up with McCunnen if it makes him happy."
"Who here doesn't want him to be happy?" 2 asked rhetorically.
A wave of laughter from the team.

Rosaleya had made her way to the entrance to the Quidditch field, intending to congratulate Soren as well when a large crowd of girls got in her way, pushing past in a hurry.

The moment that Soren stepped outside of the field there was the usual crowd of girls annoying him with their hollow words, and most of all, their shallow motives. He was about to follow his routine of walking past them coldly when he noticed, to his immeasurable joy, that Rosaleya was waiting for him only a short distance away. He ignored their coquetry and cajolery, disappearing in a puff of swirly white ribbon-like smoke to embrace Rosaleya as fast as possible. "Did you...see me?" He asked quietly.

"Yes; you were amazing. Why didn't you tell me that you were...you know?"

"You said that you didn't care for Quidditch." Soren replied honestly, breaking their embrace and holding her hand instead to return to the castle together. "I didn't want to guilt you into attending my matches."

"If every match that you play is like that, then I'll definitely come." Rosaleya replied with a smile. "Can you tell me how you beat Dantes like that? He was so confident that he would win that I was sure he had a good strategy, why, this morning at breakfast he even..." She explained.

"What will you make him do with the favor?" Soren asked. "Demons are still weak to the infamous Unbreakable Vow."

"I'm not sure, yet, but let me know if you have any ideas." Rosaleya replied. "Athena told me that she would congratulate you during dinner when there weren't as many people around. She's waiting for you 'in the music room for something private, so don't eat anything'. Those were her exact words. Oh, before you go, did you get a Halloween party invitation last night from Hell's king?"

"Yes; mother and father received one as well, although I haven't asked Athena yet."

"I wonder who else is on the guest list."

"Should we coordinate our costumes?" Soren seemed to be asking himself this question, then suddenly took note of Rosaleya's subtly hopeful eyes. "Yes!" He made up his mind. "I want to coordinate my costume with yours." He kissed her hand. "Can we go as two characters that we ship, even if it's not cannon?"

"That sounds fun!" Rosaleya agreed enthusiastically. She seemed to be listening to something for a moment before continuing. "Let's both make a list of our top 5 ships, and then we'll both take out the one or two that we don't agree with. The rest can be folded and thrown into a bowl, and then fate will decide!"

Soren chuckled. I wonder how many of ours will be similar?

"Hello, Mr. McCunnen."

"Good evening."

"...please take a seat."

"Thank you." Soren sat with his legs crossed and his hands on either side of the chair's seat, fingering the smooth wood. He had an air of coldness without any disrespect, and his tone and expression did not convey any of his thoughts.

What pleasantly bland tea. Soren thought sarcastically, taking one sip and then leaving it in its place. He wouldn't touch it again. This doesn't taste anything like Mother's ginger tea. Why should I bother being polite and drinking it all?

He listened, without commenting or emoting, until the professor felt satisfied.

"...If anyone is bullying you, you should come and speak to me and I will handle it."

Of course, you would do nothing about it because as you just said, 'rumors are normal'. I wasn't being bullied; slander has become disturbingly commonplace.

"...If you learn to control your emotions and prove that you can be sympathetic and a forgiving gentleman, with nicer manners towards everyone here, you might have a chance to become Ravenclaw's head boy or prefect next year..."

I was elected Prefect last year; it didn't thrill me as much as I thought it would, so I didn't make an effort to work so needlessly for it this year, and hence it went to someone else who, for some reason, idolized and took pride in the position. "Thank you for your kindness-" Soren said genuinely. "-I appreciate that you saved me from any possible distractions before the match. Next time I will come to you immediately instead of taking things into my own hands. My views will most likely change over time, but for now I will exercise restraint in the way that I express them." He promised. "This will not happen again. Impulsive, or overemotional people never accomplish anything. To allow such behavior is unacceptable" He agreed with her advice. Mm, that part is actually true, but I meant it toward the humans. Ah, I doubt she would believe me if I told her that I only broke the wall for dramatic effect and repaired it directly afterward. I don't even want to try; this conversation has gone on for long enough; enough of my time has been wasted. What's done is done, and it's not like I'm negotiating for some house points that she's deducted. Really, she could've scolded me much harsher, and handed out a punishment. He thought positively.

 

[Hikari Chan]

12th October

When Friday morning came, Lily was surprised to see Elias in the Great Hall. When everyone was gathered in the Great Hall, Elias called for everyone's attention before the breakfast appeared on the empty plates.

"Good morning, everyone! I just would like to remind the students, third-years up to seventh-years, who are taking classes in Care of Magical Creatures, about the guest lecture today, starting at three o'clock this afternoon. This guest lecture is only mandatory for students who take classes in Care of Magical Creatures and you will have to write essays, a two-foot-long essay about the guest lecture and hand in the essays to professor Macnair within two weeks. Everyone else who does not take classes in Care of Magical Creatures is free to join the guest lecture if they like and do not have to hand any essay. I know you are very curious about this guest lecture and who the guest lecturer is. However I and professor Macnair will not answer your questions right now, because it is supposed to be a surprise." Elias smiled mysteriously. "Enjoy your breakfast!"

"This is very worrying..." A troubled looking employee at the Ministry of Magic, said in a low voice, as she fingered the latest issue of the Daily Prophet during the lunch hour. She was a muggle-born witch in her mid-forties, having many relatives that were muggles. The news about the massive deaths of pure muggles since September was very alarming.

"I don't doubt that the authorities in the wizarding community have a hand in this..." Her colleague, a half-blood witch in her mid-fifties whispered.

"What do you mean?" The muggle-born witch stared at her colleague with eyes wide as saucers.

"If you follow the Quibbler..." She picked out the latest issue of Quibbler from her big orange colored handbag, which she had put on a chair beside her, and placed it on the table. She took a bite of her meal, mashed potatoes with meatballs and some cooked broccoli, and then pointed the front page of the Quibbler.

"You see..." She said as soon as she finished her bite of food. "It is rumored that the minister and the deputy headmistress of Hogwarts have a hand in this. The minister's right-hand man is a past death eater who still wears his death eater mask. The minister himself was a past death eater and his son is the headmaster, ruling Hogwarts, together with the deputy headmistress who is the daughter of the one who must not be named, Dark Arts have become an elective subject at Hogwarts and the Dark Mark is still in the Atrium here in the ministry. They took over Hogwarts and the Ministry of Magic sometime the beginning of May. About three months passed since then and now there is news about pure muggles found dead since September-"

"But not everyone is harmed, muggle-borns are safe today...back in the old days, the one who must not be named only accepted the pure-blood wizards and witches-"

"True, but now it seems that they are only getting rid of anyone who is not related to the wizarding world. I believe that they are slowly starting getting rid of us. since they did not have any problem murdering Mr. Potter and all the other members in the Phoenix of Order. Sooner or later they will turn against muggle-borns and start getting rid of them too..."

"What are you two whispering about?!" Edward hovered like a threatening thundercloud, casting a dark shadow over the two employees and the table they were sitting it. There was a hint of an eerie tone in his voice and even if he was wearing his death eater mask, the look in his eyes told that he was sneering.

The two ladies went paler than a ghost and one of them dropped her fork with a loud sound on her plate. They both went speechless and wondered how much he had heard of their conversation. Edward's eyes fell on the Quibbler, but before he could snatch it, he was interrupted.

"Mr. Edward, there you are!" Alexander entered the canteen, being in his highest spirit and cheerful mood as usual. They had a deal that Alexander should only call Edward for Mr. Edward instead of Mr. Monroe in public, to protect his true identity and prevent it from getting spread out to the public.

Other employees, who were also eating lunch, looked up and noticed how the minister's right-hand man made two of their colleagues feeling very uncomfortable.

"Did you have lunch yet?" Alexander put a hand on Edward's shoulder, forcing him to turn around to face him and nodded with a polite smile towards the two ladies, before almost dragging Edward away from them.

"Of course, I had a quick lunch, I was about to-"

"Hmm, leaving? I hope you do not need a pair of glasses, do you? Actually, the entrance is over there-"

"Are you making fun of-"

"By the way, there's something of high importance which I'd like to discuss with you in privacy."

"Make it quick, please. I have an appointment within two hours..."

"I was just going to ask you what you were doing here today? Were you not supposed to be transporting dragons? I was surprised to see you in the canteen today when I had not seen you in the entire week and thought you would not be back until Monday."

"Ah...I have transported the dragons and they are safely secured and watched by our subordinates. I just passed by today to get something from my office, and then I grabbed a bit of lunch while on the go." Edwards's eyes fell on the recent issues of Quibbler and Daily Prophet on Alexander's desk in his office.

"Are you not worried about the news?" Edward nodded towards the Quibbler.

"No, I am not. My only concern is the culprit behind this crime!"

"But, some are believing that-"

"That's just nonsense. We are fully aware that we are innocent and that none of us have a hand in the deaths of those pure muggles. The Quibbler is spouting nonsense. Even if a wizard or a witch has killed them, is there another way of killing them besides the killing curse? When the killing curse is fired, a flashing green light and a rushing noise are emitted from the caster's wand. In that case, anyone must have seen some flashing green light somewhere, whether if these muggles have been killed in their homes and transported to an abandoned building or being killed in the same place where they were crucified. Their bodies have been examined at the muggle morgue and according to the reports, they have died a natural death. No poison or weapons of any kind."

"Is this a joke or what?!"

"Well, this case is really puzzling, especially since we have control of everything in the wizarding world right now."

"Really? Or do you only mean our world here in Great Britain?"

"Well, to be honest, I only meant our wizarding community in Great Britain. However, we are trying to cooperate with other wizarding communities outside because alone, I believe, we cannot track down the criminal but need help in this matter."

"And how is it going?"

"Well, we have only managed to cooperate with the wizarding community in America. Macusa's new minister, Lady Sorcha Morrigan, the successor of Samuel G. Quahog, has willingly accepted our cooperation. She highly respects the late Dark Lord and his daughter miss Lestrange, so it was no surprise when she accepted our request for cooperation. However, the other wizarding communities are being a bit difficult, especially the ones here in Europe. After the mysterious disappearance of a young french witch, Miss Blanc, Andorra, and France been opposing us and the other European countries are siding with them. According to the reports, she disappeared here in the kingdom a while after miss Lestrange took over Hogwarts and they have blamed us for her disappearance. I thought we were going to have peace at last after we won against the ones who opposed our late Dark Lord and his daughter, but it seems we are in a cold war or on the edge to fight against each other again."

Edward let out a long whistle.
"Merlin's hairy beard! Do not tell me that there'll be a third wizarding war?!"

"Oh well, hopefully not. Now when we have Macusa by our side, we might be able to negotiate with the wizarding communities in other countries. By the way, are you not in a hurry right now?"

"Merlin's beard. I have only one and a half-hour left. I will be taking my leave, have a nice weekend!"

"Goo- Good hello, sir," Macnair nearly stammered when a very tall man, about 1.90 meters tall, dressed in death eater clothes with his hood and mask on, approached him.

"Macnair, isn't it? Good afternoon, I guess it was what you meant, hehe?" The man grabbed Macnair's half out-reached hand with his free hand and shook it with a firm grip. He was holding a cage that was covered with a cloth in his other hand. Macnair nearly jumped of fear when he heard something squicking from the covered cage.

"Are you scared of dragons, young man? Don't worry, this is just a baby dragon, hardly two months old. And its older fellas are secured and caged inside the Forbidden Forest, close to the open ground where the Care of Magical classes are usually held. They won't eat you, hehe..." A loud, yet subdued growl, which was suddenly heard from inside the Forbidden Forest, was enough to confirm Edward's words that magical beasts with the classification XXXXX were held somewhere inside the forest.

Macnair could not tell if this man was being sarcastic or crazy. Was this Elias' idea? I don't mind a guest lecture where a specialist teach the students, but this man cannot be the only dragonologist in the wizarding world, can he? Could he not have asked that Monroe woman substitute for me today? She seemed to like dragons when she was a kid, as far I can remember, she was the only third-year who dared to get closer to those beasts when we had some of them over for the Triwizard Tournament back then.

"Do you have a favorite magical beast or creature?" Edward asked Macnair while they waited for the students to gather for class. It was still one quarter left before the clock would turn three o'clock.

"...eh trolls..."

"That's interesting. Then a dragon should be less scary for you, huh?"

"By the way, are you going to keep your mask on?" Macnair asked, trying to change the subject.

"Yeah, is there a problem with my mask?"

"Well..eh-"

"Listen, young man, perhaps you do not remember this, but your father used to wear a mask as well back in the old days when the late Dark Lord was alive."

"Did you know my father?"

"Not really, I only knew him by name...Ah looks like most of the students have gathered here. I will take over as soon as you have introduced the class." Edward patted Macnair's shoulder.

I was about to ask about his name. Guess it has to wait after the lecture...Macnair thought as he prepared himself to speak to all the students who had gathered for class, by casting a sonorous charm on himself.

"Good afternoon, everyone!" Macnair greeted all the third-, fourth-, fifth-, sixth-, and seventh-year students who took classes in Care of Magical Creatures. "Welcome to today's special guest lecture, where we have the privilege to listen to the dragonologist eh-" Macnair looked at Edward, feeling at lost because he did not know his name. Elias had never told him the name of the guest lecturer of today but only told him that the guest lecturer was a dragonologist that worked at the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures at the Ministry of Magic.

"-Mr. Edward," Edward immediately filled in for Macnair. He had already charmed himself with the sonorous charm as well.

"Welcome, Mr. Edward."

"Thank you, Macnair, I guess I will be taking over from here! Alright, I guess you already know what a dragonologist is, I am not going to explain that further because you are all old enough to know what a dragonologist is. And I won't be answering any questions right now. You may ask to your heart's content after this lecture is over!"

A Gryffindor girl in her fourth year, who had raised her hand, took down her hand with a disappointed look on her face.

Edward removed the cloth from the cage he had brought, revealing a small copper-colored dragon. He was already wearing his dragon gloves and took out the dragon from its' cage. The baby dragon squeaked. Edward held it up with his arm as if he was holding a Hawk for viewing, so all the students could see the baby dragon that was slightly smaller than an adult hawk.

"This is a baby Peruvian Vipertooth, hardly two months old. It is native to Peru, everyone knows where Peru is right?, it is a country in South America on the other side of the globe. By the way, I hope you are taking notes. Very well, where was I? Ah, as I said, a Peruvian Vipertooth is native to Peru, the eastern and northeastern parts, where it lives in the mountains. It is a very beautiful dragon, smooth, copper-colored with short horns. Now, this is still a baby and has not developed its horns yet. The adult can be up to 15th feet in size and it feeds on goats, cows, and humans-" Edward was speaking casually as if he was speaking about a kitten. "But do not worry kiddos, I have already fed this little fella here with some goat meat before the class. You may pet it if you like, but only if you have brought your dragon gloves, which you are supposed to do for this class. This dragon's fangs are venomous and it is known that Dragon Pox was contracted by wizards in contact with Peruvian Vipertooth dragons. Only dragon gloves can protect you. Please stand in line and don't jostle one another or you will scare the baby!"

Merlin's beard, that man is indeed crazy...he should have been looked up behind the bars in Azkaban after the second wizarding war ended...Macnair thought, cold-sweating and feeling a bit uncomfortable.

After a couple of brave students had petted the baby dragon and resumed their seats, Edward continued: "Due to that this breed is particularly dangerous to humans, the International Confederation of Wizards sent a team of exterminators to Peru, in the late 1800s, to reduce the population of this breed." He gently placed the dragon back in its' cage and then gave a long lecture about all the other dragon breeds. When he was done, he announced:

"Alright kiddos, we are going to go have a look at some adult dragons, a Norwegian Ridgeback, a Common Welsh Green and a Romanian Longhorn in the Forbidden Forest. I know it is prohibited for you to enter that place, but you are not entering alone and we are not going too far. Just a couple of feet inside the woods here. I will be taking one class with me at the time to avoid crowding. You don't need your dragon gloves, because you are not allowed to pet those adult dragons, let alone getting inside the fence where they are being kept. You may take your quill and parchment for taking notes. Cameras are not allowed since the sound and flash can scare those dragons and make them worry, unless if you can turn off those annoying sounds and flashlights. Third-year students, line up, please! And the rest of you wait for your turn here with professor Macnair."

"Alright, kiddos!" Edward spoke to everyone, as soon as the short tours to the fenced dragons were over. "I can only answer a few questions since it is dinner time soon about ten minutes and I bet you are starving and you don't want to miss out dinner, do you? Besides, the headmaster has invited me for dinner, it would be rude if I arrived late. If you have more questions, you may owl them to the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures at the Ministry of Magic and I promise I will try to answer your questions when I have some free spare time."

 

[Junko Natsumizaka]

October 6th

"The Halloween party takes place somewhere in London..." Eric replied. "...somewhere in the countryside, yet with enough distance from the city so that the instructions are easy to follow. And everyone that Lord Alastair knows by name from the Summer Feast has received an invitation, as well as all of the living demons that he favors. They are allowed to bring guests, as long as they are of magical blood." And he used the name 'DiVilliers' again. It would be cool if the invitations sent to the humans could be labelled 'Hosted by the King' instead, but I know that can't happen.

"Tch...living demons." Diana chuckled. "Will you be going this time?"

"Yes."

"Who will you dress as?"

"I'm not sure, yet." Eric lied convincingly, not wanting to lengthen the conversation by naming a character that Diana wasn't familiar with. "You look just like Len Kagamine!" Rosaleya said.

"I would go as Cleopatra, with some beautiful gold pieces and the right eye-makeup."

"But Reign wouldn't dress as Julius Caesar."

"I hope that he has a lovely time." Diana said with a genuinely cheerful expression. "Can you take some pictures for me? Lord DiVilliers and his lady will be dressing as Christine and The Phantom, so I wouldn't want to miss that."

"Of course. Excuse me, I'm being summoned!" Eric replied with a smile, running off at the speed of a bullet. Conversation over! He was relieved that someone else had summoned him.

October 12th

"Good morning, Rosaleya!" Jade lifted her out of the bed. "Today is the day on your calendar where you have to question why killing innocents is wrong. Remember Athena told you to take a break and schedule-"

Rosaleya groaned quietly. "I remember." she whispered so that no one else would hear.

"Good morning." Athena said. She had been leaning coolly on the wall outside the Slytherin common room in order to dramatically deliver her line the moment Rosaleya left. "Did you read the stuff we left you last night?"

"Yes." Rosaleya replied happily. "I left my notes as usual."

"Good afternoon, everyone! Welcome to today's special guest lecture, where we have the privilege to listen to the dragonologist eh-"

"-Mr. Edward,"

"Welcome, Mr. Edward."

"Smooth. Looks like they really planned well for this." Athena jested in a whisper to Rosaleya at Macnair's fumbling.

Athena, Rosaleya and Soren all stood together toward the front, the latter having convinced the others to join with the conjecture that it would be interesting. The Masked Man stood at the other side, toward the front, and Stephan stood toward the back. Since Soren had heard that the lecture would be on the subject of Care of Magical Creatures, he was excited, since it was one of his favorite subjects. He had come wearing his dragon gloves, and had brought an extra pair just in case. He was wearing his demonic headphones, set at a low volume so that he could hear everyone perfectly but still enjoy the music in the background. He alternated between different Sword Art Online soundtracks that he felt suited the moment, starting with...





"Alright, I guess you already know what a dragonologist is, I am not going to explain that further because you are all old enough to know what a dragonologist is."

Soren, Rosaleya, and Athena chuckled, imagining how stupid a student would have to be not to know what a dragonologist was.

"And I won't be answering any questions right now. You may ask to your heart's content after this lecture is over!"

A Gryffindor girl in her fourth year, who had raised her hand, took down her hand with a disappointed look on her face.

The trio chuckled again, Athena a bit louder than the other two.

Edward removed the cloth from the cage he had brought, revealing a small copper-colored dragon.

"Wow." Rosaleya breathed quietly, finding the dragon to be adorable, yet she wouldn't pet it because she assumed that it would be more energetic when approached. I wouldn't want to cause a problem.

Soren smiled, imagining petting it. It would make an amazing pet if it stayed this large forever.

The Masked Man gazed at it in mild amusement, finding it no more exciting than a puppy yet admiring the pattern of its scales nonetheless.

Stephan wondered how large it would get when it had fully matured, and how long it would stay in this adorable state.

Edward held it up with his arm as if he was holding a Hawk for viewing, so all the students could see the baby dragon that was slightly smaller than an adult hawk.

"...This is a baby Peruvian Vipertooth, hardly two months old. It is native to Peru, everyone knows where Peru is right?,"

The trio chuckled again, but they were surprised when the guest continued to explain about Peru.

"Seriously?!" Jade said in irritation. "Who doesn't know where that is? It's not like he's asking about Andorra or Rwanda or Tuvalu. Seriously, is he going to explain where South America is next?"

"...on the other side of the globe."

"Now that's just silly." Jade laughed as some students were actually taking notes on it. "It's basic geography! Let me guess: they don't know the capital of Peru, either? It's LIMA, for your information!" He shouted obnoxiously at the other students. "L, I, M, A! L, I, M, A!"

"...The adult can be up to 15th feet in size and it feeds on goats, cows, and humans-" Edward was speaking casually as if he was speaking about a kitten.

"I like his attitude." Jade admired.

So cool! Rosaleya thought.

His nonchalance makes me have more respect for him than that professor. Athena thought.

The students' faces are hilarious. Soren thought, then he noticed the reaction that Macnair was having and bit his lip to stop himself from laughing. Slytherin house is supposed to be the toughest, darkest one! He nudged Rosaleya and nodded discreetly toward Macnair.

Rosaleya clenched her jaw and tightened her lips to avoid laughing. Jade stopped yelling information at the students and used the camcorder to record Macnair's reaction, as well as that of a few other students, so that they could laugh about it later.

The Masked Man's extension discreetly snapped, without flash, a picture of Macnair's freak-out. Not strong enough for blackmail, but perhaps it will be useful paired with another piece of evidence later. Or perhaps it could be used to amuse me later. His extension took a few more discreet pictures of the most priceless expressions of the students.

"You may pet it if you like, but only if you have brought your dragon gloves, which you are supposed to do for this class. This dragon's fangs are venomous and it is known that Dragon Pix was contracted by wizards in contact with Peruvian Vipertooth dragons."

It always pays to take every precaution. Soren thought, turning to Rosaleya as a short line formed to pet the dragon. He handed her the spare pair of gloves, and it was only at this moment that Rosaleya realized he was wearing gloves. "Come on, it will be fun." Soren said with a cheerful smile.

"I don't think that I should." Rosaleya replied. "What if I scare it accidentally?"

"You won't; you're too gentle." Soren kissed her hand and put on the gloves for her as he assured "I'll be right beside you if you're about to make a mistake. I know a lot about dragons, don't worry."

Another thing about him that surprises me...I keep finding out new things and somehow I like him more and more. After what he told me about 'The Plan', I didn't think I could like him any more than I already did.

"And he always tells you without boasting. He's sweetness incarnate."

"Rose, please pass those gloves when you're done." Athena whispered from behind them.

"So cool." Crystal said when she was done petting it, waving to the guest before returning to stand in her prior place.

Luna enjoyed watching the dragon, having no desire to pet it.

Soren and Rosaleya were at the end of the line, and Athena was last.

"It's okay." Soren assured Rosaleya again when it was their turn. "Just pretend that you're a mirror. Nice and slow so that you don't scare it, now..." He gently reached out his hand with the intention to pet the dragon's head, making sure that Rosaleya did the same. "Adorable, right?"

"Yes." Rosaleya replied, her eyes wide with a love she had never felt toward any creature before. Almost as wide as Soren's. "It's so cute."

"This is why this is one of my favorite classes." Soren explained. "Magical animals are different from normal ones; they're far more interesting and they have different energies. But even in Care of Magical Creatures, we never see real dragons like this, only study them."

"I didn't know that it would feel this way." Rosaleya admitted. "Thank you for that." She said, directly to the dragon. "Even if you can't understand my exact words, I hope that you can kinda get which emotion I'm feeling right now."

The dragon squeaked.

Soren and Rosaleya chuckled.

"Now..." Soren gently pulled his hand away after a minute. "...slowly. Perfect. Thank you, Sir." He said gratefully to Edward. He turned his back to the dragon, which shocked a great number of the students, and Jade made sure to videotape these reactions as Soren walked back to where he had been standing before. "Ah, I wish I could pet it all day." Soren said as he went.

Meanwhile, Rosaleya took off the gloves for Athena then returned to her place after enthusiastically thanking Edward.

"Turns out the same cool Masked-guy that complimented your love for books back at Darkest also loves dragons." Jade commented.

Stephan didn't approach the dragon. He wasn't afraid of it; he just didn't want all of those humans watching him enjoy something so wonderful.

Meanwhile, Athena had her turn. "If you can understand me," she said to the dragon "I want to tell you that you have really pretty scales, and adorable horns which I hope turn into nice, huge ones someday!" She spoke enthusiastically. "I hope that you get the opportunity to eat at least one human in your lifetime, and that you fall in love with an agreeable dragon and work off some tension. Have a lovely day, Peru. Thanks, Mister!" She said with a thrilled smile and a thumb's up toward Edward. And with that, she took her place beside Rosaleya and Soren again with a grin.

During the lecture, the trio did not grow bored. Jade took notes on everything that Rosaleya found interesting on the dragons.

"Alright kiddos, we are going to go have a look at some adult dragons, a Norwegian Ridgeback, a Common Welsh Green and a Romanian Longhorn in the Forbidden Forest. "

"No fangirling noises!" Jade quickly put a firm hand to Rosaleya's mouth to stop the excitement from interrupting Edward's dialogue. "Oh, you're so excited, I know, but calm down!" He exclaimed. "I can't wait!"

Soren and Athena shared a look of pleasant surprise.

How thrilling. The Masked Man thought boredly, furtively eyeing Rosaleya. Going alone, and having to see that brat clinging to your arm and feeding you.

"I know it is prohibited for you to enter that place, but you are not entering alone and we are not going too far. Just a couple of feet inside the woods here. I will be taking one class with me at the time to avoid crowding. You don't need your dragon gloves, because you are not allowed to pet those adult dragons, let alone getting inside the fence where they are being kept."

The trio chuckled again.

"You may take your quill and parchment for taking notes. Cameras are not allowed since the sound and flash can scare those dragons and make them worry, unless if you can turn off those annoying sounds and flashlights."

"Invisible camcorder? Check!" Jade said, still recording.

"Third-year students, line up, please! And the rest of you wait for your turn here with professor Macnair."

"Shame we can't go together." Soren said, knowing that he would have absolutely no chance asking Macnair for a favor, considering that he was a Slytherin.

"Lucky me." Athena clung to Rosaleya's arm as they waited, eating an organ candy shaped like a human heart. "Want one?" She let go of her arm for a moment to open the bag up for Rosaleya, displaying the full variety.

Rosaleya selected an intestine, and Athena continued to cling to her arm.

"Do you want popcorn?" She asked. "For when we see the dragons? I have buttered, salted, spicy, and caramel. They're not the cheap, gross ones like at Muggle theaters. Let me guess which one you like....caramel?"

"How did you guess?" Rosaleya asked.

"It's the one that I like the most, so I figured, since we have similar taste..." she shrugged.

Soren sat nearby with his legs crossed elegantly, outlining his essay already.

"Alright, kiddos!" Edward spoke to everyone, as soon as the short tours to the fenced dragons were over. "I can only answer a few questions since it is dinner time soon about ten minutes and I bet you are starving and you don't want to miss out dinner, do you? Besides, the headmaster has invited me for dinner, it would be rude if I arrived late. If you have more questions, you may owl them to the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures at the Ministry of Magic and I promise I will try to answer your questions when I have some free spare time."

No questions. Rosaleya thought.

I suppose he'll be too busy to reply, since he works at the Ministry. Good thing I don't have any questions. Soren thought. I would want to have a cup of tea with this man to hear more; his vivid way of speaking, and his nonchalant tone made his lecture very interesting.

I want to give him a bag of my Organ Candies on his way out. Any guy with this sense of humor would love gummy candies shaped and sized like actual human organs, right? Athena raised her hand. "Can you please accept these?" She asked, holding out an unopened bag. "They're my favorite candies, and they're from a specialty store so you can't find them anywhere else." This one's got all of them: the heart, intestines, liver, kidneys, brain...everything! Out of the two varieties, I think that he'd enjoy the accurately-sized ones instead of the miniature ones.

 

[Hikari Chan]

Edward smiled, behind his mask, towards the girl who held out a bag of candies.

"Can you please accept these? They're my favorite candies, and they're from a specialty sore so you can't find them anywhere else."

"Thank you," He replied gratefully, taking the bag of candies. This lecture was a success, I have even been gifted a bag of candy..." He thought amused. He noticed her tattoos, of what that was visible. He wondered, for himself, how old she was to already have tattoos but did not ask, because he merely guessed that she might be of age. She reminded him about when he had seen Aislinn from afar on the summer feast because Aislinn also had some tattoos. He suddenly became tearful at the memory and blinked away his tears, feeling grateful for wearing his mask. I am so proud of her, my most beautiful princess...

Upon entering the Entrance Hall, Edward was met and greeted by Elias. Elias introduced him as Mr. Edwards to the staff who had gathered for dinner.

"Miss Lestrange...?" Edward turned his attention towards the deputy headmistress, recognizing her as he saw a likeness in her face that resembled Bellatrix Lestrange. He did not shake her hand but bowed for her. If she had stretched out her hand at that moment, he did not see it. "It is an honor to meet you..." He was bowing for what seemed to be like three minutes before he straightened his back.

The dinner which Edward was invited to, was set in the staff room and consisted of grilled chickens and potatoes, sautéed vegetables and mushrooms, cranberry sauce, extra sour lemonade, and red wine. It was not only served in the staff room but also in the Great hall. Melody felt slightly uncomfortable when she noticed a man with a death eater mask and hurried inside the Great Hall. Mary Jane followed her, because of being her supportive friend, while Faeryn and Endewyne forced Adela to join them in the Great Hall against her will. The rest of the professors joined the dinner feast that was prepared in the staff room.

Edward took off his mask and cloak before sitting by the table. No one would pay closer attention to his dark eyes, pointy ears or when he smiled, but a few professors who had eyes for details and the rest who were sitting close to him. Suddenly Avery was feeling uncomfortable and nervous upon the revelation. He got so nervous that he first drank lemonade by picking up another goblet by mistake, making a grimace about how sour it was. Persephone debated for a moment if she should kick him on his splint bone discreetly under the table, but decided against it. Instead, she glared at him, wondering why he joined them in the staff room if he easily got so nervous in the presence of a guest.
"Ehm...that was my goblet..." Alexis spoke quietly, nudging Avery gently on the elbow. Alexis did not get nervous because of the guest. On the contrary, he was very curious about him, because Mr. Edwards reminded him slightly about Mr. D'Arcy. The difference was, that the former one was not that gaunt and had grey-streaked black hair. Edward was very tall, 1.90 meters, had pointy ears and black eyes, yet he looked much healthier than a vampire or a dhampir with a vampire father.

Is that why he is wearing a mask and a cloak? Macnair thought as he tried to recall if he ever had seen a human being with such black and dark eyes and pointy ears.

He looks like a nocturnal being, yet he is eating human food? Selwyn thought, feeling confused. I believe that I just saw a fang glinting just when he smiled a moment ago...

Pointy ears, black eyes, the slightly hinted fangs when he smiles...yet he just devoured a bit of chicken dipped in cranberry sauce...Flynn, who was very sharp, thought, yet he was confused.

Everyone knew that vampires' only nourishment was blood. Most of them knew that dhampirs' nourishment was blood as well, but none of them have ever encountered a dhampir before since dhampirs were rare beings and the notable dhampirs and part vampires mentioned in the Magic of History books, had inherited their vampiric characteristics from their vampire fathers, because the union between a male vampire and female human was more common than a union between a female vampire and a male human.

Elias was also surprised when he saw the man's appearance after he had taken off his mask and cloak. He looks like a human trying to disguise himself as a vampire...

 

[Junko Natsumizaka]

Luna extended her hand to shake to the guest, not even expecting him to bow to her. I didn't expect him to bow so respectfully...I haven't met him before. Did he work for my father, or know him somehow? That must be it; I know that I have not seen him before. It is a possibility that he has heard if my victories and respects me for those, but I feel as if that is a very small possibility.

During dinner, Luna noticed his unusual appearance, and grew more interested in him for her fondness of vampires. Do creatures other than vampires have ears like those, and sharp fangs? I'm trying to think of them...because I feel as though a vampire wouldn't put himself through the trouble of eating human food to hide his identity if he didn't bother to magically disguise his ears and fangs in the first place? After racking her brain for anything from non-fictional books, she resorted to pondering the fictional ones. Elves have pointed ears in literature, and werewolves may have sharp fangs, but neither has both...demons sometimes have pointed ears and tails and horns...or sometimes none of those things, and they look like ordinary humans...Luna sighed quietly to herself. ...more research when I get home. Ah, I know that it's a silly thought- she happily sipped more lemonade -but I feel as though this lemonade was made especially for me. It's perfect!

His lecture was so frickin cool. Crystal thought, taking no notice of his ears or fangs.

October 13th

August,
I received an invitation for the Halloween party, and I've been told that the other recipients should've received their invites by now. My brother is excited about the venue's decorations since he took a look at the host's plans.

My illness has reached the stage where I can disguise it magically, so luckily there will be no trace of it at the party. I look forward to seeing your costume; I love parties where the guests are required to dress eccentrically.

I may know the identity of Mr. Dantes, but without proof I can not deliver this statement with certainty. As for Miss Lovett, I don't know anyone by that name.
I'm excited to see you again soon. It feels like time goes a bit slower when we're apart, doesn't it?

With love (on the condition that no betrayal takes place),
Celeste.

Celeste sighed. "Dante, can you please visit August today to see if he has a reply for me?"

"Today?" Dante groaned. "Why?"

"You visited him on the fifteenth." Celeste reminded. "Today makes four weeks since you visited, so I won't hear complaints. I would go and visit him myself if you hadn't-"

"You're right. Sorry." Dante stood at once. "See you later."

That morning he was waiting in his tiger form outside of August's office, with a black ribbon tied around his paw so that August could use it to secure his letter. After August gave him the letter, Dante bowed deeply to him, once again making it obvious that this was a sign of respect. He left quickly after that, in an effort to get away from August, although it looked like he was simply anxious to return to Celeste's side.

"Even though you already know how to dance," Claudia addressed Soren and Athena "all three of you still need to practice dancing together, even after Rosaleya has learned the steps, leaving no room for blunders at the Halloween party. Any suggestions for a dance, besides the mandatory waltz? We have time for one more, since the waltz is simple, and Rosaleya already has a bit of experience with it."

"Jive?" Athena suggested. Athena sighed. I think that she'll need more than a few weeks to learn that, so it can wait.

"Tango." Soren said readily with a surprising certainty in his eyes.

"Why?" Rosaleya wondered out loud.

"It's $₤x￥." Soren replied with the same certainty.

"Lovely." Claudia clapped, creating a rhythm for their practice as she instructed them.

Using music at this state of the lessons would be too distracting for Rosaleya; they were practising at one-third the speed of the real dance, but Rosaleya wouldn't stop looking at their feet. She seemed intent on avoiding all mistakes, and her tactic had worked thus far, but it made it difficult for her partners to enjoy the lessons with her. They had moved all the furniture in the family room to the edges to create a perfect open space for their practice.

"She'll learn it however she needs during the first few lessons. If by the end of the month she's still doing that, then you know that she won't be able to do the Tango at the party. However, I have a feeling that she's a fast learner." Claudia said. "So don't worry if you feel like you're dancing with a robot right now; stiff movements gradually disappear with experience, and she's as eager to meet your eyes as you are."

"Now Soren, switch with Athena."

When Athena and Rosaleya danced, Athena led. When Athena and Soren danced, Soren led, and it was the same for when he danced with Rosaleya.

Lunch today was a spectacular meal of stuffed bell peppers without meat in the filling, grilled salmon, with fresh orange juice. Every color of bell pepper was there, and this surprised Rosaleya, since she had only known of the common [and cheap] green, red, yellow, and orange varieties. Claudia had prepared white, brown, and purple bell peppers as well.

Jade served Rosaleya the 'new colors' of bell peppers, singing excitedly "New fooooood, new fla-vors to tryyyyyyyyy." He laughed. "Try it!" He fed her a bite of the purple one first, then the white, then the brown.

"Why did you choose not to take Care of Magical Creatures?" Soren asked Rosaleya, fondly recalling Rosaleya's reaction to the dragons yesterday.

"It's too much work; I could just read about them." Athena volunteered her answer for Rosaleya with a shrug. In case she was curious.

"Well, Dad's got a history of owning spoiled dogs, and when a dog is spoiled it's very..." Rosaleya sighed. "He's had four; Rocky, Clyde, Tye, and now Chance. They've all been a handful; the Chihuahua, Husky, and two Canaans respectively. Their main problems were using every unattended surface as a bathroom, using everything as a chew toy, eating out of the garbage, barking for no reason, and not sleeping at night while doing any of those things instead. Oh, I almost forgot about them trying to run away or scratch during baths or brushing their fur, or pulling on the leash while being walked. This recent dog has all of those problems, and it's not because they're neglected-" She assured with a bitter look in her eyes. "-or because they came from the streets like Chance. The first three dogs were actually purchased at a pet store. Anyway, I'm usually the one that has to clean up after them. I think that what made me hate dogs even more than caring for them was that..." she sighed. "They could literally do everything terrible, and Dad would hug them and assure them that everything was okay and that he still loved them, but if I did one of those things...I just don't understand it. They don't help with anything. They're like leeches, sitting about all day, causing trouble, and still, there has never once been a time when my Dad didn't look at them and smile. He always had a ready supply of love for them, so why is that fair? My feelings toward dogs gradually changed from envy to hatred. Still, I've never wanted to kill our dogs despite wishing that they were dead."

"Pffft." Claudia laughed, clearly at Leigh's stupidity, then asked seriously. "I see. So you assumed that no matter how cool magical animals sounded, they fell into the same category as dogs: 'Leeches That Are Loved For No Reason No Matter What', right?"

"Yes." She understood! Why does she always understand everything I say without twisting my words or making me feel guilty for my views? Rosaleya wondered. She's amazing. I'm just waiting to see a flaw in her character; there has to be at least one, right? So where is it? "What also annoyed me a lot was Leigh's 'baby voice'. He uses a high-pitched voice when he's talking to the dogs, like they're babies or something."

"You talk to your children normally; high-pitched 'baby voices' or childish words are so stupid. Babies are different; I just use a softer voice." Claudia replied.

"So you should end your 'I Hate Dogs' speech with the reason why you're deciding to take the class now." Jade reminded.

"Soon, I hope, I'm going to start attending Care of Magical Creatures." Rosaleya said. "I wrote the Headmaster a letter explaining that I want to attend the class because of the stuff that happened yesterday, and how much I enjoyed the lecture. I'm going to send it to him on Monday; I'll study as much as I can about the subject on the weekend, so that if he gives me a placement test for that class, I'll be able to take it with Soren, at least." I'll use item boxes and study at Reign's distraction-free house. With all of that time, I should at least be able to reach the sixth year level. "But the dragons yesterday changed were the thing that changed my mind." Rosaleya finished.

"Dragons?" Claudia asked with a smile, turning to Athena and Soren.

Athena and Soren proceeded to recount for Claudia, in great detail and with great enthusiasm, yesterday's lecture. Rosaleya made a few comments, but she didn't have to say much because she felt like Soren's and Athena's opinions matched with hers so closely that it was if they were speaking her mind. So, she mostly enjoyed the view from the windows.

"And I gave the guy a big bag of Organ Candies."

'Where did you say they were from?' Claudia's expression asked.

"I told him that they were from a specialty store, and that he wouldn't be able to find them anywhere else."

Claudia nodded to show that she approved of Athena's answers. "That sounds so lovely. I'm happy that you all had fun."

"Yesterday we forgot to ask them." Jade reminded Rosaleya.

"I couldn't ask you yesterday at the castle, in case someone overheard..." Rosaleya addressed Soren. So I figured I would just ask you here, today. Everyone gave her their attention while she asked, which was something she greatly appreciated whenever she wanted to talk, in sharp contrast to Leigh's way of...'listening'. "...so, I took Athena's suggestion and rescheduled it for a few months later." She finished.

The day that I have her the print version of 'The Princess is a Total Deviant', I gave her that advice. That's what she was thinking about so hard? Athena thought.

Soren looked at Rosaleya, surprised by her question. 'Why is it bad to kill innocent Muggles?' Realistically, it's a natural thought that occurs to being capable of having a moral code...but why would she ask me to answer it? Does she not already have an answer? Ah, I see. It must be a test. "It's a waste." Soren replied simply, without a hint of morality in his eyes, as if he was discussing letting the water run while you brushed your teeth versus turning the taps.

Claudia served herself another two bell peppers, red and white, then sat back in her chair, content to allow Athena and Soren explain it.

"What do you mean, 'waste'?" Jade inquired with round eyes, highly interested. "Tellustellustellus!" He jumped up and down in his excitement.

Oh, she's waiting for more of an explanation. "It is the King's wish to cleanse this Earth, eventually fixing the ratio of good people to bad to resemble Hell's. There are about 1.5 billion demons, mixed bloods and pure, most of which visit Earth frequently or live here primarily like our King. Their moral compasses range from average to undeniably perfect by demonic standards-"

"EXAMPLE!" Jade demanded with a holler.

"-I'm so sorry to interrupt, but can you name a demon with an 'undeniably perfect' moral compass as an example?" Rosaleya asked curiously.

"-Prince Nova." Soren shrugged, picking the most well-known example and looking to Claudia for confirmation. She nodded, and he continued as if there had been no interruption "and precisely 5 demons are wicked, never to be trusted." He shook a finger in warning. "Normal demons refer to these as 'The Five'. Satan is one of these 'five', and if you can believe it, he is 'number 5', meaning the least wicked of 'The Five'. In every demonic library they are listed, so their identities are common knowledge. However, if you are unaware of the list and you ask a demon if he is one of 'The Five' then he is, by law, obligated to answer honestly."

"So basically, the King banned demons from killing innocent magical people, and uses the Shiki Agency to get rid of the evil ones." Athena began to explain about the Shiki Agency.

Rosaleya interrupted politely. "-Eric already told me about that... What about innocent Muggles, then? Why hasn't he made killing them illegal?" She asked, puzzled. She was thinking about the media's attention on the crucifixions.

"You're thinking about those newspapers." Athena surmised.

"The demon doing the killing uses a method that the King doesn't mind; the rest of us that want a tasty soul now and then use it, too. Humans are very fickle in nature; it can change the moment something goes wrong, like in manga when an antagonist has a tragic past, but before that he was a good person." Soren said.

"A good example is Bindo from Dead Days." Athena said. "If a demon had killed him before all of that bad stuff happened to him, the King wouldn't have viewed it as wrong because of...well, you get it, right?"

"Good example." Claudia approved.

"I get it. So it's more like a preventative than anything..." Rosaleya said thoughtfully.

"One of Easton's powers is called 'Judgement', and it allows a demon to immediately see what color soul someone has, and what type of person they will turn out to be." Claudia explained. "Infants neither have a moral compass, nor have their souls developed a color, so his powers cannot see the future of something that is not there. As soon as the being realizes the difference between right and wrong, not in all situations, but in even one, then he can use his power."

That's so interesting...I know someone else that has that power. I remembered him talking with me about the crucifixions- "So, the demon behind the crucifixions isn't one of the five, then?" Rosaleya asked.

"You should ask him." Soren replied. "Anyway, if demons keep devouring the souls of less-than-ideal humans, gradually cleansing the Earth, the future world will consist of many good demons and magical beings, and less Muggles. That sounds perfect, since most demons will not kill innocent Muggles that will not become evil, so the majority of the remaining Muggle population will be the [permanent] innocents and virtuous people. That's why, despite a few of our current King's flaws, we respect him for his vision of the future."

"I had no idea he was so cool." Rosaleya said, surprised.

"You have no idea what the last King was like." Claudia said.

The rest of the meal was spent listening to Claudia bad-mouth King Lucifer as much as possible without revealing King Alastair's past. "So," she finished. "could you clear the table, darling?"

"Of course." Rosaleya replied with a smile, standing to clear the dishes.

"Ooooooooh, once again she's asking you to do something." Jade swooned, making to sanitize the table. "It makes you want to do whatever she asks! Yes yes yes!"

"You two-" Claudia meant Athena and Soren "-why don't you go get dressed to swim in the indoor pool downstairs?" She gave them a look that meant she wanted to speak with Rosaleya alone, which Rosaleya missed since her back was turned.

"Okay." Athena and Soren stood, and made for the stairs.

"Be on high alert: she just have the kids a 'secret look'. I don't know what it means, though." Jade informed dramatically.

"You." Claudia had let Athena pass but now she blocked Soren, gazing at him with a stern expression. "You haven't forgotten the code, have you?"

"No." Soren replied without hesitation.

Claudia moved aside to permit his passage with a satisfied expression, following him upstairs.

"Last one there is a rotten dragon egg!" Athena laughed as she raced Soren down the stairs a few minutes later.

"You won't win!" Soren laughed.

Rosaleya made sure to keep her back to them until she was certain they were downstairs.

"So, darling." Claudia said, coming down from the third floor once Rosaleya had finished. "Do you want to join them?"

There's no way I'm going to lie to Claudia. In addition, the 'I can't swim' excuse can easily be beaten with a 'we have water wings' defense. The 'I'm feeling a bit tired today' excuse is easily beaten by the 'have an energizing potion' defence. The 'that time of the month' excuse can probably be combated with 'there's a magic potion for that so that there's no mess'. I've already lost the battle if I can't come up with another idea! "No, thank you-"

Jade was using the left sleeve of his kimono to dry the blood from his nose. "You 'don't feel like it'!"

"-I'm not really in the mood to swim." Rosaleya maintained her composure. Realizing that a white lie counted as lying, she looked away. "Maybe I can watch a movie instead." She said as she walked away.

I knew it. "What's wrong? Surely you know how to swim?"

Claudia's words stopped Rosaleya from walking.

"Of course." Rosaleya replied.

Claudia wore a knowing expression. How cute. "Are you worried that my darlings are perverts?"

"GO UPSTAIRS!" Jade warned, dabbing more blood. "YOU'RE BLUSHING!"

"No, that's not it, I'm just not really feeling like swimming today." Rosaleya insisted, making for the stairs.

"Then why are you blushing?" Claudia passed Rosaleya easily, blocking her way to the stairs. She gently lifted Rosaleya's chin so that she was making eye contact. "Look into my eyes when you speak; it's bad manners otherwise. I can't stand anyone lying to me; what's the real reason why?"

If Dad was asking he wouldn't be asking so gently; he would be demanding an answer. "How did you know that I was blushing when I was turned away?" Her expression and her voice are so gentle; thus far they haven't failed to make me want to tell her anything that's on my mind. With that look, I know that she'll hear me out, and most likely understand...but this time...

"I guessed based on why I think you don't want to go downstairs." Claudia replied. 'Now answer my question' her expression said.

"It's because..." Rosaleya hesitated.

Jade was too busy dabbing more blood. Even if he hadn't been, he was no match for Claudia in this battle.

I just hope that she'll understand! She's understood about everything else so far! "You're disgusting. Leave this place immediately." Claudia spat. "And don't even think about coming near my children again, you pervert." Rosaleya opened her mouth to speak, wearing an expression of deep shame, but Claudia suddenly let go and turned around. "Let's go watch a movie."

Rosaleya sighed in relief, and followed her upstairs. She doesn't sound angry. I'm so relieved that I don't have to tell her today.

"I have a film in mind that I think you'll like. We'll start watching it and they'll join us soon enough; they've already seen it." Claudia said. Nice parenting, Leigh. Claudia thought sarcastically. I can't believe you were fooling around at least once a week and you made this darling girl feel like having any feelings was a bad thing, and like they made her a disgusting pervert. She's not a robot-even though she dances like one for now-if she was then it would be realistic to expect her not to have any physical feelings. But she's not!, so how dare you? Arousal is a completely normal feeling! "You can swim alone later, for as long as you want. I'll make sure that no one bothers you. You can even choose some music for the background."

"It sounds like she already knows why." Jade observed, no longer dabbing blood.

Rosaleya nodded, to both Claudia, and Jade.

"I think that I have an interesting film that you might find interesting. I must warn you, though; it's R18 for violence and other stuff." She smirked. If she's like Athena in this aspect, she won't be able to resist.

"What's it called?" Rosaleya asked; none of her curiosity found its way into her voice, but the fact that she asked showed that she was interested.

"Hannibal."

"I've heard of Silence of the Lambs, which is the first movie with that character in it, but Dad says that I'm not old enough to watch it, yet." Why, though? How old do I have to be? Knowing that I'm not allowed to watch it makes me want to watch it more, but I haven't watched it secretly because Dad would find out by my reactions to it when he finally watches it with me when I'm 'old enough'. After Silence of the Lambs comes Hannibal, which I'm equally excited about.

"We can watch whatever you want after today's film." Claudia smiled. "I think that you should watch the more enjoyable one first." She meant Hannibal. "And then you can go back, if you wish, to watch the rather less exciting Silence of the Lambs. I'll set it up. Come see me in a minute."

"Thanks!" Rosaleya made for the bathroom, to cry tears of joy for the privilege of having Claudia in her life. The presence of every other demonic friend of hers, and Soren of course, filled her with happiness. However, Claudia's perfection, which Rosaleya couldn't help but constantly compare with Leigh's high-handed rule, constantly overwhelmed her with happiness to the point of crying tears of joy. Sometimes she would have to excuse herself, and other times Claudia would knowingly excuse her. But regardless of whether Claudia excused her or not, she always had a knowing look in her eyes when Rosaleya returned, even after washing her eyes for any redness.

October 15

The gifts from Leigh had become more frequent. Now, it was rare for her to go even one day without receiving a gift. Rosaleya assumed that Leigh had stopped sending Howlers after listening to Claudia's advice against them, and for that Rosaleya was grateful. However, even Claudia couldn't stop the seemingly endless flow of brightly colored frilly or floral dresses [sometimes both], cringy letters, and self-help books.

"...'A Teenager's Guide to a Healthy Marriage'." Athena snorted. "Dumb_." She whispered in Rosaleya's ear. "Can I burn it for you?"

"Nah, I'll just use Crystal's box to condense it and read the five or ten pages out of 500 and something pages." Rosaleya replied with a nonchalant smile. "In case he quizzes me about it later. We can't destroy it."

"Hmm." Athena regarded the fact that Crystal had actually done something nice for Rosaleya with surprise. Giving her a condensing box [I forgot what they're called] is a really nice thing to do. Considering that only demons are capable of making them, she must've had to make a wish to one to get it. This far, Athena had had the impression that Crystal was one of those useless women who pretended to be nice, but also allowed a man to abuse an innocent girl if she had nothing to gain from intervening.

"Hmm? Usually Dad sends all of his stuff at once." Rosaleya was surprised to see a more well-kept owl drop another letter for her.

"This letter has a feminine touch," Jade observed, picking it up and examining the heart-shaped seal, the crisp white envelope, and Rosaleya's name written on the back in fun, hand-written block letters. "And the owl was much nicer. Is it from our living dream, Ms. Perfect?" He nearly exclaimed, turning one of his fingernails into a letter opener, then momentarily holding the letter under his nose. "It's rose-scented paper!" He promptly handed it to Rosaleya, who read it eagerly with Athena leaning her head on Rosaleya's shoulder to do the same.

Sunshine,
I want you to remember that I love you very much.

As Rosaleya read through the paragraph of heart-warming text, her eyes had a soft look to them.

P.S. Could you page me at the number on the back so that we can talk that way?

Love,
Claudia

"A heart emoji, then 'from Rosaleya'." Jade had finished reading through the letter before Rosaleya, and now he held her pager in hand, having entered Claudia's number already. "Sent!" He finished by the time Rosaleya looked up from the letter.

Claudia McCunnen: Sunshine, how do you do it?

Lady Rose: What?

Claudia McCunnen: Pretend you're okay.

Lady Rose: I'm not pretending.

Claudia McCunnen: Yes you are, every day, and it breaks my heart. Soon, you won't have to pretend anymore, I promise. You're so adorable that I can't help but want to have you as one of my children.Whether or not you want to marry Soren is up to you, I implore you to remember; I can always just keep the adoption papers that Leigh will sign and that will be enough for me. Leigh has no right to match you with someone, and I'd sooner pledge my allegiance and undying loyalty to a filthy angel than force something on one of my own children for my desires. By the way, on a scale of 1 to 10, how much do you hate Leigh?

Lady Rose: 100%!

Rosaleya snatched the pager from Jade before he pressed 'send'. He only laughed as Rosaleya re-wrote it.

Lady Rose: I don't hate Dad. I just want him to go back to being himself; the personality that he had years ago was perfect. But, I don't want to see him until he's changed back. I think that it's fair for me not to want to be in contact with him at all, to pretend that he doesn't even exist, until the real him has come back for good.

Claudia McCunnen: I see. Have a good day, darling!

Rosaleya left the Great Hall as soon as she was done with breakfast.

"Today you have a free period from right now, until to 10:15: Cooking with Magic. Let's use it to finish today's exercises. Make your way to the Room and I'll get the USB after owling your letter to the Headmaster." Jade said.

Rosaleya nodded, heading in the direction of the Room of Requirement. After Jade had found it for her near the middle of September, she started exercising there instead of behind the school. The Room of Requirement usually furnished a stereo for the USB, tatami mats, and a shower with a fresh towel and a folding screen. While Jade counted the exercises that she did, he also watched the entrance for intruders. So far, Jade simply put their few intruders to sleep with a simple spell before they saw anything, and used a spell that removed the last few seconds from someone's mind. He would quickly place them a floor or two down, and they would wake up shortly afterward and continue about their day after a short period of confusion.

"Seventy-nine, eighty, eight-one-INTRUDER ALERT! INTRUDER ALERT!!!" Jade announced as usual, in a loud and comically over-dramatic voice.

Rosaleya stopped the music but continued her exercises while Jade investigated the 'intruder'.

He was mimicking the sound of a police siren before he interrupted himself. "-Oh, it's Soren."

High ponytail, tatami mats, repeated movements, bare feet...and her scarf and tie are lying on a stereo. She's using this room as a gym? That's surprising. "Hello." Soren smiled cheerfully, forbidding his eyes from wandering to her chest area as she continued with her jumping jacks. No. Absolutely not.

"Why did it open for you?" Jade asked curiously.

"Why did the Room of Requirement open for you? What did you need?" Rosaleya asked curiously, talking easily despite the heavy layer of sweat dripping from her hairline that threatened to sting her eyes with its salt. She didn't usually sweat anywhere but her face and neck; she never smelled strange after her exercises. Whenever the droplets made it close to her eyes she took a brief break and Jade dabbed her forehead before she continued.

"Mayday." Soren replied. His tone implied that the word had some esoteric meaning when he used it, instead of its usual meaning. He left the room with a simple goodbye.

He's been using that word as an excuse to leave a room, and he usually comes back five or ten minutes later...At first I thought that he was referencing something I hadn't watched or read, yet, but when I looked it up on my laptop I couldn't find anything. Jade tried, too, but still nothing. Rosaleya thought. What does it mean? He always changed the subject to something far more interesting when she asked, so she didn't complain or demand that he answer.

Jade walked over to the stereo and pressed the button; Rosaleya's choicest workout music picked up where it left off.

Ten minutes later, Soren returned. "May I join you?" He asked.

"Sure, if Eurobeat doesn't bother you." Rosaleya replied, with the relatable air of someone who didn't like to talk or be interrupted during a workout.

"Nope." Soren smiled. Despite the lame lyrics, the beats have a pleasant energy to them. I've felt that ever since I first found out what it was. He took off his shoes, socks, tie, cloak, and scarf, setting them down neatly on a chair that appeared for him, then unbuttoned a few of his shirt buttons and put his hair up into a ponytail.

He joined Rosaleya in her exercises, and like that, they had come to an unspoken understanding: Rosaleya wouldn't ask what he had intended to use the Room for, and Soren wouldn't speak during the exercises.

"Yes, dear, I'm taking pictures! Oh YEAH!" Jade assured with a perverted laugh. "Looking at him at all these angles right now would be so obviously forbidden, but giving up on seeing all these angles of him would be SUCH a waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaste! And his hair tied this way! Mmmmm mmmmm! SO CUTE!!!" He continued to count for Rosaleya while he took the pictures; the camcorder was invisible, of course. One hundred Jumping-Jacks, Sit-Ups, Push-Ups, Front Kicks, Side Kicks, Squats, Side-Bends, Knee Lifts, Pull-Ups, and Forward Lunges. Then Jade counted to sixty, for the ten 60-second Planks that Rosaleya had to complete as well.

Rosaleya chuckled. In the beginning, I could barely do one of everything without getting tired. Now I talk while I'm still moving; except I still sweat a lot on my face. She took a break now and then, and Jade dabbed at the drops before she continued. Water breaks were also important, because she often felt thirsty while exercising, and Jade would always hand her cold water when she needed it.

A six year old boy cried, standing alone in the middle of a grocery store in a Muggle mall: clearly lost. Not one Muggle bothered to stop and help one of their own kind. Soren sighed at the sight of a middle-aged man with an oily voice and malicious eyes approaching the child; clearly not his father. Shortly after that, the young boy was reunited with his teary-eyed parents. Even after Soren insisted that it was nothing unusual to have helped and that the callous onlookers were the unusual ones for walking past one of their own kind, the parents insisted on treating Soren to a meal of his choice from the food court on the upper floor of the mall. Although he declined, they still thanked him a few more times. During the few minutes of small talk that he patiently tolerated since they were such sweet Muggles, he answered every question honestly. Of course, questions like 'what species are you' or 'where were you born' never entered the conversation. Soren could tell that with every honest reply he gave, he seemed to be ticking marks on their mental checklists for...something. By the end of their short conversation, he found out that this 'something' had been to find a date for their daughter, who wasn't the most beautiful girl in the city-"-but still a looker." The father added, nudging the mother with a proud smile. Apparently their daughter, Sophie, had been lonely lately since they had just moved to the city, and hadn't yet made any friends. Soren, admiring their sweetness, agreed to the date at Sophie's favorite restaurant. "If her personality is beautiful, then I don't care what she looks like." Soren said. The couple shared another look of approval, then gave Soren Sophie's number, as well as theirs in case he needed to contact them for anything.

He arrived ten minutes early, parking his car outside the parents' apartment. He had the car in 'Land Mode' today, and he had chosen a playful sky blue for the car's exterior, and a tan interior. He sent Sophie a polite text informing her that he was outside, so she could come out whenever she was ready. He read her surprisingly quick reply out loud with a frown. "Don't rush me!" Then he read his message again. "Was I rude?" He wondered out loud.

Sophie came out ten minutes late, and Soren got out of the car to open the passenger side door for her. "Good evening." He greeted politely while bowing his head slightly.

"Don't rush me next time, please." She snapped, falling into the seat like a slob. "I couldn't even get my makeup right with you stressing me out."

Simple black dress shirt with two buttons undone...slacks...and two-inch heels. Her makeup is completely off; the foundation doesn't go down to her neck, and it's one shade too light, and the lipstick is too red for her lips. Soren thought as he took his seat again behind the wheel. The air conditioning was turned off in favor of open windows, since it was a warm July night with a pleasantly cool breeze. He turned on the music after he turned the corner, and the last song he had been listening to continued at the second verse. He didn't play it loudly, but as background music, since he preferred music while he drove.



Sophie sighed a few times, then changed the music to suit her tastes better, raised it up, rolled up her window, and turned on the air conditioning.



Soren closed his window as well. He turned off the radio after attempting to stomach the first verse, but sadly his constitution wasn't strong enough. Are the knots in my stomach a result of my imagination? He thought sarcastically.

An uncomfortable silence, which Soren didn't mind compared to the alternative, followed until he parked the car at their destination. An American 60's themed restaurant, where couples could dance or have a few drinks and diner-style food was Sophie's favorite. Soren had chosen a comfortable white dress shirt and black slacks for the event, and paired them with slightly heeled black dress shoes and a ponytail. He had brought a long coat, but it remained in the trunk, just in case.

Soren held the door open for Sophie, holding his hand out to help her.

"That's sexist. I can get up on my own." Sophie snapped, pushing his hand out of the way and closing the car door herself.

"But wouldn't you complain about me not helping if I didn't?" Soren asked softly.

Sophie ignored him, yet she still waited expectantly at the entrance, with a haughty expression implying that Soren should open the door for her.

He walked right past her, allowing the door to almost slam in her face, but she caught it and rushed to follow him to their reserved table.

Soren decided to try again, this time pulling Sophie's chair out for her.

She fell into her chair with a tired sigh, as if she had just finished building the car they'd driven in.

"What can I get you?" A cheerful waiter inquired, setting a glass down for each of them, and pouring them water.

When he had finished filling Soren's glass, Soren uttered the expected word of thanks.

Sophie didn't even look the waiter's way, regarding the menu with a scowl. Two minutes later, she signalled for the waiter with a degrading whistle and the snap of her fingers, as if she was calling for a dog.

Soren tried not to allow his facial muscles to contort as he opened his mouth to order.

"-A gentleman would let the lady order first. Unless you think that with the amount of time you spent blow-drying your hair this evening that you're the one that should be doted on and respected?" Without even leaving room for Soren's retort, she turned to the waiter. "You-" she addressed him, making no effort to read his easily legible name-tag clipped under his breast pocket. "-I'll take a five-dollar vanilla milkshake-"

Ah, one of those, who expects the 'gentleman' [floor-rug] to pay, ordering the most expensive items regardless of their value. Soren thought. Just one night, for those sweet parents. He reminded himself why he hadn't accidentally snapped her neck already.

"-two burgers with blue cheese, topped with extra bacon, curly fries, coleslaw, and a large stack of pancakes."

"I don't think that you'll eat all of that." Soren pointed out logically. "Will you take your leftovers with you? Wasting food is highly illogical, Captain." He referenced the vintage show Star Trek; it was an iconic line from the most intellectual crew member on the Starship Enterprise, as a joke to perhaps lighten the mood.

Sophie ignored him, despite understanding the reference.

"And you, Sir?" The waiter began with a sympathetic expression, which somehow contorted as he attempted to refrain from laughing at Sophie.

"If you please-" Soren said, pointedly explaining how one should address the staff "-I would like a Mexican chicken burger with regular fries, a strawberry milkshake, and a gyro. Thank you, Sir." He finished with look toward Sophie.

The waiter nodded, and left.

Sophie broke the following four minutes of silence. "A gentleman should properly entertain a lady on the first date."

"But I see no lady before me." Soren replied in a theatrical tone, imitating Darth Sidious from the original Star Wars trilogy.

"You think you're really funny, don't you?" Sophie asked sarcastically.

"And you think you're really something, don't you?" Soren imitated her tone in an annoyingly high-pitched voice. "So, do you want to dance?" He was in gentleman-mode again. "The food is going to take just long enough for one dance, then we can dance again afterwards."

"Well, that would be nice, but you don't look like you can dance anything but ballet."

"On the contrary," He stood and bowed to her "I'm excellent at the Quickstep, Twist, Waltz, Tango, Salsa, Jive, and Hip Hop. Ah, the last one was a joke." He winked, standing straight and offering her his hand. "Would you honor me with a dance, my lady?" He smiled as if she was the most perfect lady in the entire world. For your parents, you shell of a human being. You waste of hair.

So, they joined the other couples on the dance floor. Soren managed to lead the dance charmingly, yet Sophie's scowl did not disappear.



Hmm... Soren thought. Her aura changed...she's having fun now, despite her annoying expression. Is she a Tsundere? Must be the really annoying type like Senjougahara. "You're a good dancer." He said honestly.

"So are you." Sophie admitted.

Is she...blushing?

Their dance ended, and Soren saw that their food had arrived with his third-eye. "Our food is here." He informed.

She looked behind him to confirm his announcement, inquiring "How did you know? Your back was turned."

Soren just walked back to the table, and Sophie followed without comment.

The first half of their meal was spent in silence; although the air felt less tense than before.

"And tonight's singing contest has just begun! Will the first contestant please stand and head towards the stage?" The manager announced.

Sophie cast a longing look toward the stage. "Stand up." She ordered Soren, but to her surprise, he was already standing.

"Hello, and welcome, Mr...?" The manager inquired when Soren reached the stage, offering him the microphone to reply.

"Soren McCunnen." Soren stated with a pleasant smile.

"And what will you be singing?"

" 'Fly Me To The Moon', Evangelion version." Soren said quietly to the manager, not the microphone.

The manager nodded, and communicated discreetly with the man in charge of the music behind the stage, then handed Soren the microphone.



With Soren's passion and voice as smooth as butter, combined with his confident yet not boastful eyes, the performance was breathtaking. The audience clapped when he finished, and several young girls swooned. The manager even made a joke about a 'clear winner for the night' when he took the microphone back, inviting another eager contestant onto the stage.

Soren returned to the table to see Sophie stubbornly trying to hide her astonishment. Her aura is quite excited...why is she being so stubborn? I'm not asking for praise or thanks, but it seems that she is determined to deprive me of even a small smile.

"G-great performance." She admitted, looking away with tightened lips to hide her smile.

"I don't bite." Soren said. "Not you, at least."

Sophie began to laugh, yet it stopped the moment that she allowed it to escape her mouth.

"Excuse me; I'll be right back." He nodded toward the bathrooms. "You don't have to sing anything, but I would love to see you express yourself somehow. Could you please think of something nice to say for when I return, or at least brace yourself for a small smile?" He smiled subtly, gesturing to it as an example.

When he returned to the table, he immediately caught the strong scent of an alcoholic cocktail. Noticing that the table supported four empty glasses in the short time that he had been gone, he worried briefly that perhaps he had spoken out of turn. Surely not. Requesting a smile, or perhaps a kind word isn't too much!

"Soren!" Sophie uttered with a breathy voice. "I want you!" She stood, leaned forward, and kissed Soren passionately, while simultaneously groping his posterior while her knee brushed up against his anterior.

It happened so quickly, and without warrant, that Soren didn't have time to stop her. In that moment, it seemed that everything froze, and all he could think about, in his consternation, was that this ฿!✟☾# had stolen his first kiss, the thing that he had planned to share ONLY with the love of his life, when he met her. He roughly pushed Sophie away after a second of shock, and she fell to the floor with a confused expression.

She stood immediately, albeit on wobbly legs, and flung the contents of her fifth cocktail glass at him. "You're giving me mixed messages, here, fop! You did tell me to express myself, didn't you?!"

Soren, having allowed the drink to hit him rather than dodge it and have the couple sitting behind him take the hit, barely registered the liquid. "Let's get you home." He threw the payment for their half-eaten meal onto the table, paying a bit more than required because he wasn't in the mood to collect change or deal with another Muggle at this point. He then picked her up bridal-style, and she, seemingly forgetting the most recent exchange, didn't fight him, romantically resting her head against his chest. Any magic used right now would kill her. And I cannot allow myself to cause her parents any anguish by disposing of her. Even dragging her out by her hair right now could cause a problem. He pushed away the perfect picture in his mind's eye of an alternate reaction to her attack: backhanding her across her face so hard that she fell across the room into the opposite wall with the sound of her bones breaking upon contact, ending in her death. He set her down in the front passenger's seat of the car, before falling into his seat behind the wheel with a heavy sigh. One hateful glare toward Sophie informed him that she had promptly fallen asleep. He started the car. I wish that the love of my life would touch me and kiss me that way...but certainly not like this! I feel so filthy right now- he put one hand to his mouth, driving away with the other -as if her depravity is contagious.

Two-thirds through their half-hour drive back to her parents' apartment, Sophie suddenly awakened to retch inside the car despite the open window, ruining her dress, and creating a mess for Soren and then falling back asleep.

I'll clean it later, and her dress is a casualty. Soren told himself, trying his best to ignore the foul stench as he pushed the button to retract the roof of the car.

Five minutes after that, she retched again, although for some reason she was turned his way.

I'll clean it off of myself, the controls, dashboard, and front seats later! We're almost there, we're almost there, we're almost there, we're almost there!!!! Magic will fix everything but not right now! In just a little bit this will all be a memory! His knuckles turned white as he gripped the steering wheel with more force than necessary. He forced himself to think of the sweet parents once again. His eyebrows rose with an idea, and he retrieved his phone from his pocket. "Hello?" He had dialled Sophie's father "Yes, it's me. The date hasn't gone too well, and I'll be arriving outside the apartment shortly. I would like your assistance, if you don't mind." It's almost over. I managed to speak calmly to him. Composure, composure, composure...patience... He took a deep breath. Maybe this is what loneliness does to a person? No, not for a moment will I believe that loneliness, with a family that sweet, and such a beautiful apartment, paired with a life free of financial difficulties [based on her father's job as CFO], could justify her wretched behavior. Atrocious! Disgusting! Barbarous! Ungrateful! He turned suddenly, so that Sophie's head slammed against her car door. Ah, that might leave a mark. But it wasn't too hard, so a small bruise is the most it will leave; it will be under her hair, so no one will see it.

And just like that, they had reached her home. Soren got out immediately, relieved to see her parents waiting to assist. Glancing at the state of Soren's attire, the father immediately helped Sophie out of the car, and proceeded to help her up the stairs and inside to their apartment. Meanwhile, the mother was apologising sincerely to Soren, offering him things like a clean towel and perhaps one of her husband's attires "And of course you can come upstairs and use the shower right away! I'm so sorry!"

"That's alright." Soren said, kindly addressing the mother despite the bitter look in his eyes. He briefly recounted the night's horrific events for her. "...but I'll manage. Just promise me that this isn't something that will be easily forgotten?"

"Of course not!" The mother promised, as if the idea was ridiculous. "This isn't the girl that I raised! She will get a worthy punishment I promise you! I would've backhanded her myself if I'd been there."

"Thank you. Well, I wish you and your husband a pleasant night." He re-opened his car door. But if I had actually backhanded her, you would've been angry.

The mother returned his parting phrase, pairing it with a few more apologies.

"Soren, darling, what happened?" Claudia inquired the moment he stepped through their front door. "You're back so soon, and you look terrible."

"Shower." Was all Soren could say, walking past her with the implication that he would explain when he cleaned himself up. Later, once he had cleaned both himself, and the car, he recounted the night's events in great detail for his parents. His parents had offered their assistance, but he insisted that he wanted to handle it himself. He could use magic now, since there was no possibility that he would kill Sophie from kilometers away.

Claudia embraced him. "Oh, darling, I promise that you'll feel better soon."

"We'll see to it." Easton promised as well. "But why didn't you kill her and be done with it? I gather she would've made a worthy supper for you?" He chuckled with a dark look in his eyes.

"Her parents are so sweet. Not as sweet as you, of course-" Soren corrected, as if the idea was impossible "-but I wouldn't want to hurt their feelings."

The next day, when Soren came home from his morning walk, as was his routine during Summer and Winter holidays, he was still in a sour mood. So, he was surprised to see Claudia waiting eagerly for his return.

"Sor, I have a gift for you." Claudia smiled. "Come!" She held out her hand for him.

Soren took it, grateful that mother always seemed to know when he wasn't feeling his best, and found a way to make it better.

"Surprise!" She gestured to Sophie, gagged and bound to a chair. All of the furniture in the family room had been pushed to the edges of the room, and both the furniture and the floor had been covered with a thick plastic so that the cleanup would be easy.

Easton stood against the wall by the door's threshold, curious to see Soren's reaction. "You don't have to hide it from us; you were envisaging snapping her neck and devouring her soul a few times, weren't you?" He said with a laugh and a knowing expression.

"Father-"

"Anyone that angers you or wastes your time like that shouldn't be allowed to live. We know that you hate having your time wasted." Claudia patted Soren on the back. "Do whatever you want with her, and then she'll be your dinner. Enjoy yourself." 'We don't care about what you do with her, so do whatever you please' her expression said.

"Mother-"

"Yes?" Claudia asked with a loving look in her eyes.

"What about her parents?" Soren asked. 'That's the reason I haven't done something' His expression reminded. "Even if they're Muggles, they're so sweet."

"Oh, they can't remember her anymore." Easton assured with the wave of his hand and another chuckle. He stood up straight and made to leave the room with Claudia. "Neither can their son. Thank your sister when you're done."

"Thank you." Soren said before they left, intending to thank Athena afterwards.

Claudia and Easton smiled, turning their heads slightly to meet his eyes. "Anything for you."

"And it's our duty as good demons to remove cancerous rats from Earth." Easton added, turning fully to face Soren. "Don't doubt for a moment that her problem would't have gotten worse. She's the type of person who would've relied on her drinking so heavily that she wouldn't care about those who cared for her. She would've caused problems for her current and future family, even going so far as to abuse her son and husband."

Soren nodded, understanding. He took the gag off Sophie once his parents left the room and Easton closed the door behind them.

"If it's about yesterday, I'm sorry!" Sophie apologised, clearly ready to beg for her life after hearing all of the 'frightening' dialogue that her captors had just exchanged. "I'm sorry that I tried to do that stuff to you last night, but I can't control myself when I'm drunk. I guess my true feelings were just coming out on their own; like the alcohol was a truth serum or something. Please...I'm so sorry. But if you think about it, it just shows how much I love you that I would want to do those things with you. And...well, you left me alone last night and I was lonely, and lonely people drink, so what can I say?' She shrugged, as if anyone in her position would've done the same thing. "You shouldn't have left me alone. Anyway, I'm sorry for what happened, so can you give me a second chance-"

"-You're sorry?" Soren asked.

"Yes!" Sophie promised.

"But there's nothing wrong with what you did last night. Didn't you just say that?" Because I wanted to do a favor for those sweet parents of yours, last night's incident was...my fault? The thought is laughable.

"Yes." Sophie looked at him with hopeful eyes.

"Then why are you apologizing? The mindset 'I'm sorry but I'm also right' makes no sense to me. It's a contradiction." 'Explain it.' his cold expression demanded.

When she opened her mouth to evidently carry on supporting her flawed reasoning, he interrupted. "Wanting to have _ with me after knowing me for less than twenty-four hours is not love; you can't fall in love to that degree so soon. You're confusing lust with love, and I don't like that. Lonely people find something fun to distract themselves with." He gestured to himself, implying that that was what he usually did when he was lamenting the fact that he didn't have someone to love in terms of a romantic partner "-furthermore, I was saving my first kiss and first time for someone that I actually love, so the fact that you disrespected that wish of mine irritates me further. I just wanted to talk with you and dance a bit on our first date; I feel like that would've been fun for both of us. And you were having fun. I even went through the extra effort of being nice to you, despite the fact that my efforts weren't returned. But instead you acted selfishly and groped me, and-" He gave her a stern, unforgiving look for the kiss and alcohol "-and for your actions, I will not forgive you. Be grateful that I went through the trouble of taking you home and cleaning your regurgitation from my car so that your parents wouldn't worry about you. I was going to forget about you, but my parents are too sweet." He paused, left for a moment and returned from the kitchen with a butcher knife and a smile. "Today, you're going to be my meal." He smiled an eerie smile.

That night, Soren was reading July's issue of Demonic Magazine, half lying and half sitting up in bed. He came across an add for Nova's wish granting services. Below his name were the instructions on how to summon him, and further down were two footnotes:

*Wish Granting is a demonic power which allows the demon to grant wishes without any limitations, in return for a favor of the demon's choice from the grantee. The demon with the Wish Granting power cannot grant wishes for him/herself, or make suggestions for the grantee's wishes. Hence, the grantee is, in all events, liable for the effects of the wish, not the granter. Dissatisfaction can be remedied with a reversal wish, which is never given gratis to the grantee.

**Demons with the Wish-Granting ability are capable of bringing anyone back to life, but have taken a sworn oath not to, so as to not upset the balance of life and death on Earth.

Soren had made a wish or two to Nova before, long ago, but he hadn't thought of using a wish for this. He summoned his laptop and began typing out everything he desired in a companion, specifying that their tastes should be similar in all respects, and writing a detailed description of her personality, as well as the fact that she would never do something that he wouldn't do. He closed his laptop and went to sleep, planning to put off making the wish until his parents had read it over and helped him add any details that he had forgotten.

"Let's read it, then." Claudia said with a happy smile after Soren had explained. "It's a good idea not to wish for a girl to be created magically, but to find an existing one that fits that description already." She praised. "But why?"

"It will feel more realistic." Soren replied. "I hope." He added.

After reading it through, Claudia pointed out that he hadn't specified about the physical appearance of the girl.

"I don't care what she looks like, if she fits that description." Soren replied, certain. I would readily marry Sophie from Howl's Moving Castle if she had the personality that I want.

"Awww..."

"I noticed-" Easton said "-that you didn't specify if you share the same kinks or not. I think that's very important, for later on." He slid a hand around Claudia's waist, then moved it just a bit lower for an example. Claudia kissed Easton's cheek. "Imagine if our tastes didn't match? That would make it difficult to have _. Oh, you should specify that your #3〤⋓⋀∟ appetites match as well."

"Nova, I summon you to aid me." Soren said after editing, adding his parents' suggestions.

What a strict workout! I'm impressed. Her physique is excellent. She doesn't look weak, but I didn't expect her to be this strong. Soren thought when Rosaleya finished the exercises. "Who do you ship Kuroh Yatogami with?" He asked while getting fully dressed again, starting with buttoning his shirt.

"Are you thinking about our Halloween party Cosplays?" Jade asked. "You would be a great Yatogami, but the girls in that series..." He shook his head disapprovingly.

"Oh, that's hard." Rosaleya sighed. I've thought about that already, because I think that he deserves someone to love, but the girls in that series suck. The most bearable one is the neko-girl, but she's an airhead, and Yatogami needs someone smart. So, if it has to be from that series, I would just say that Yatogami is Asexual. I feel like the girls from that series, besides the neko-girl, are all kind of sharing the same personality, with only a few slight differences. If they all looked the same, then it would be difficult to tell them apart. "No one from that series. But if I could pair him with someone from a different series, it would be Utena. She really needs a princely, tough, no-nonsense guy instead of those other guys in the series."

"That does sound like a good pairing." Soren agreed, putting on his scarf and letting his hair down.

"I didn't know that the Ravenclaws have infinity scarves."

"They don't." Soren replied mysteriously.

Jade had snapped perfectly-timed pictures of Soren getting dressed. He nudged Rosaleya with his elbow "Guess what? When I take them at just the right time it looks like he's getting undressed. Hehehehe."

"By the way-" Rosaleya smiled "-I think that your hair looks reeeally cute when it's up like that, and also-No hugs, not right now! I haven't showered." She backed away quickly.

"Later, then." Soren smiled. No hugs right now. He forced himself to resist it. No. He told himself.

"Gotta go, gotta go!" Jade urged, gently pushing Rosaleya toward the exit. "Time is of the essence! Go shower!" He changed his mind and took hold of her shoulders, steering her there instead.

"Bye." Rosaleya called on the way out.

Soren waved. The most useful wish I have ever made. Why did it take me so long to wish for this? Oh right; I honestly thought that I could find it on my own. Something about 'fate' and all of that. Screw that, I'm done waiting. I tried, I really did try, to put my faith in the humans, and I never treated someone like I wouldn't want to be treated unless they did something unforgivable first. Every single one that I met was unbearable. Princess Celeste is still trying, after all this time, to give the humans the benefit of every doubt. At this point I feel like they're not worth it. That dragonologist yesterday...he was very interesting; a joy to listen to. I'm happy that Athena gave him a gift. I should remember that there are humans that are worth it, but they are....well, rare isn't an extreme enough word. "Herbology." Soren said suddenly, leaving a half-minute after Rosaleya and making his way to his 10:15 class. Plenty of time to get there.

Current time: 9:58.

"Mmm...as delicious as ever." Luna regarded Rosaleya's elegantly plated Red Thai Curry with rice, setting the spoon down with an approving nod. "Though I noticed that you doubled the recipe I gave you?" Planning to share it with someone, I suppose.

"Yes...I wanted to share it with a friend." Rosaleya explained with a smile. "So I had to make two portions."

"Lovely planning ahead. Five points to Slytherin." Luna moved on to the next student's curry.

"I'll deliver the package!" Jade proclaimed after Luna had excused the class. He gave an over-dramatic salute to Rosaleya, then took Flynn's half, along with a bowl of rice, and left to complete his task, marching diligently. "He deserves it, and I feel like he's the type to enjoy spicy food. This isn't too spicy, though."

Later that day, Athena wrote Mr. Edward a concise letter, thanking him again for the pleasant lecture, inquiring if he had enjoyed the sweets, and informing him that if he wanted more she would gladly owl them.

Rosaleya knocked on the Headmaster's door after dinner.

"Let's hope this won't take long." Jade sighed.

 

[Hikari Chan]

Monday

After the lesson in Transfiguration had ended, Flynn returned to his office to put down a stack of assignments the students had handed in for homework for today's lesson. That was when he noticed a package on his table and it surprised him because he had not expected it. Merlin's beard...first miss Shadowwalker and now miss Fairbrook...He thought, feeling reluctant at first but then decided to open the package because of his curiosity taking over his worries. He immediately recognized the dish from its smell and looks. Oh...He sat down by his desk and forgot about having lunch in the Great Hall. This Indian curry is so delicious...it is perfectly spicy...did miss Fairbrook cook this? Does she also take classes in Cooking with Magic? Merlin's beard, what if miss Shadowwalker has cooked another horrible dish which she wishes to share with me. Her cooking skills are horrendous...if I did not have any class to lecture this afternoon, I would have fled to Hogsmeade after lunch today. It is Monday, and she usually comes to my office just fifteen minutes before my lecture. I also need to grade assignments and prepare for the next class during my free time. Why is she acting overly cute and innocent with me, trying to force me to take a bite of something that looks unedible...I need to come up with an excuse this time to avoid the same situation today...oh! I got it!

The day went on as usual. The was a lot of owls flying around, both at Hogwarts and outside, to deliver their letters. Elias had received two, an invite to a Halloween Party and another by miss Fairbrook who wished to see him after dinner. Both Elias and Lily were feeling excited about receiving invites to a Halloween Party from Alastair. Vincent, on the other hand, got a bit moody when he noticed a letter from someone who he least expected. After opening the envelope and reading the invite, he angrily threw the invite in the fireplace in the family room at the same moment as his great aunt entered. She noticed how the flames ate up the envelope.

"Did you just throw something in the fire?" She looked at him.

"Just a letter from DiVillier," He replied with disdain.

"How could you?! What if it was addressed to your cousin?" His great aunt burst out with such passion.

"It was just addressed to me and contained an invite to a silly party-"

"Oh my, you are being so rude. You should be honored for being invited to-"

"Auntie please!" Vincent cut her off mid-sentence but then regretted what he had done. "I am sorry," He said with remorse and looked down at his feet. "...but he has offended me-"

"How so? What do you mean?" Lady Monroe spoke calmly, feeling confused that Aislinn's love interest would offend Vincent in a letter. She thought that Vincent was just being jealous of Alastair.

"He has sent me an invite to a Halloween Party with a short notice that I should dress up in a costume. He has invited me to a stupid party where humans dress up as ghosts, ghouls, vampires and you name it. And you perfectly know what I do on Halloween eve every year. I party with my kind and then when the clock strikes midnight, we haunt down the non-magical humans who happen to be out at night. Asking me to act as a human...tsk..tsk..besides I never liked him..."

"What if Adela has received an invite to the Halloween Party? Would you not join her?" So it is not jealousy, but pride...

Vincent got speechless and remained silent. He seemed to ponder about something as he looked into the fire momentarily.

"Well, I respect Adela's choices. If she desires to go to DiVillier's Halloween Party," Vincent shrugged. "I will just explain to her what I do on Halloween Eve..." He looked away from his great aunt and stared into the crackling fire.

Earlier that day, August did also receive a letter, but not by an owl. His letter was delivered by a tiger, which no one seemed to take notice too. A tiger was nothing to the magical beasts and dangerous creatures that lurked in the depths of the Forbidden Forest. August read Celeste's letter with a smile and then he quickly wrote his response.

Dear Celeste,

Thank you for your letter. Time would have even gone much slower if it had not been for our letter exchanges. I feel very excited about the party and I am looking forward to it as I am growing more curious about your eccentrical costume. If miss Lovett and Mr. Dantes attend the party, I will introduce you to them at the party. Mr. Dantes is one of my students at Hogwarts.

I am sending this letter with my warmest regards and love, along with some Halloween gifts in advance.

Take care and stay safe,

August

ps. the word betrayal does not exist in my dictionary.

August did not mention that he had not received any invite or that he had noticed an announcement about a Halloween Party in the Daily Prophet this morning. He placed the letter in an envelope and gave it to the tiger along with a purple rose and a package consisting of three different gifts. The first gift was an oblong-shaped box with an assortment of 100 percent dark chocolate bought in Paris. It was wizarding chocolate that did not consist of muggle sugar, but fairy sugar, which was much healthier. There were various kinds of round shaped chocolates, some without fillings and just firm chocolate, some had a creamy filling, honey-like filling and black mead filling, and also some with pistachio paste fillings. Some chocolates were sprinkled with purple stars and hearts, while others had the dark mark branded on the top and the rest was plain on the outside. A beautifully decorated label with Celeste name was on the label. The second gift was a purple-colored plastic bag that was filled with black and purple skull-shaped candies. It was not muggle candies, but wizarding candies where the eyes of the skulls glowed magically. There was an attached note to it that revealed it was to Celeste's brother. The third gift was a brown paper package, consisting of a very large fresh red meat well perceived for the tiger. It was a 50 kilo cut of buffalo meat. A spell was put on the meat to keep it fresh as if it had been recently butchered. The paper package was magically enchanted to hide the odor of the meat and keep it from leakage. A note followed the third gift with the explanation that August wanted to thank the tiger for delivering his letters to Celeste. The entire package was enchanted to be as small as a ring box that would get enlarged to a big package as soon as Celeste touched it. August pet the tiger softly on his head as if he was petting a kitten when he gave the envelope, purple rose, and gifts to him.

Later that day, Lily who was feeling very excited about the Halloween Party, already daydreaming about what costume to wear, made her best attempt to make chili soup. The chili soup look looked innocently red, filled with the required ingredients, such as ground beef, chopped onions, cubed potatoes, kidney beans, tomato, chili, and salt. However, looking at the finished soup, no one would be able to tell the beef, potatoes, beans or onions apart because they all seemed to be mashed too much due to over-cooking. The soup was neither watery nor thick, but something in between to be acceptable for soup. It had been easy to measure the salt, however since Lily had to ground fresh chili pepper to powder before adding it to the soup it was harder to measure it in the exact amount of teaspoons, hence she added too much chili to the soup. As per Luna's requirement for the class, Lily had to taste every dish she made. Lily tasted one teaspoon of her soup and her face became so red because she had made it too spicy. She had to drink three goblets of ice-cold water before clearing off her table.

If it had not been so spicy, I would have given this soup to Eli or shared it with Pegah and miss Pyrites...Lily thought as she made her way towards Flynn's office. She knocked on his door and entered upon being called on.

"Oh, it's you...?" Flynn commented with a dry tone, not giving her a chance to greet upon entering his office. This took her by surprise and left her speechless. "You cooked for me again, didn't you? What did you make today?" He pretended to be curious.

"Eh...chili soup..." Lily replied tentatively. Her heart was beating so fast and so loud, that she could hear it inside her ears. She almost worried that Flynn would hear her beating heart. Did..did he figure out that I am giving him all my failed cooking attempts to him because of-

"Oh...but, unfortunately, I feel so full at the moment. I do not think I have room for dinner today. Miss Fairbrook cooked me the most delicious Indian curry I have ever tasted. I rewarded her 50 house points for the excellent dish." Flynn was not lying and he never lied. He had sent an owl with a thank you note to miss Fairbrook after he had finished her dish to notify her about the house point award. He smiled and expected to see Lily lose her composure leave his office defeated with her pride hurt. However, on the contrary, she acted much differently.

"Good for you, professor! Then I shall share this delicious tasting chili soup with your sister instead. I am sure she will love it!" Lily replied haughtily and proudly. "Have a good day!" She walked out from his office, with her back straight and her head high in the air. She would never allow herself to lose her composure in front of him. She went out on the castle grounds and when she thought that no one was seeing her, she threw the soup behind a bush and then hurried inside the castle.

There was a weird feeling inside her chest which made her furious. I do not understand, why am I feeling like this...why am I feeling jealous because of miss Fairbrook? Am I being jealous because professor Pyrites chose her cooked meal over mine or am I being jealous because miss Fairbrook is much better on cooking with magic than I?

"Come in, please," Elias spoke out loud enough for miss Fairbrook to hear him as soon as she knocked on the door.

 

[Junko Natsumizaka]

"This idiot sent you gifts as well." Dante rolled his eyes the moment he walked in. He hadn't shifted out of his tiger form, yet, and his voice was much deeper this way. It was difficult to recognize it as the same voice, although if you knew Dante well enough you would recognize the resemblance.

"I can't wait to read the letter!" Celeste laughed in her excitement, setting down her book and standing immediately.

"Here." Dante shifted, tore open the letter, and threw it at her. "No offense." He added, adding the most recent rose to the vase containing the other that August had sent.

"None taken." Celeste nodded, her eyes glued to the letter. He's not angry at me, I already know that. It's sweet that he always reminds me that his anger is aimed at whoever I'm dating. "Aw..." Celeste said several times while reading, and each time Dante rolled his eyes. At the end, after reading the 'p.s.', she dropped the letter on her writing desk and started applauding, laughing happily. "Aww.....so cute! Read this part!"

Dante cleared his throat after reading it with an unamused expression. He's going to disappoint you just like the others, sister! Why do you show such enthusiasm and childish excitement toward a latent malefactor? Why? I thought that I would start to understand it after the first few times...He shook his head.

"Gifts. Right. So..." she read the note that came with the meat package. Proof that Dante is trying his hardest to be nice to August when he's in his tiger form. "Oh, this one's for you, because you're such a good boy!" She jested through laughter, holding the meat inches away from his face as if he was still in his tiger form.

"Stop it." Dante tried to sound irritated, but his smile gave him away. He started laughing as well. "That is pretty funny." He admitted. "We can cook it up for dinner, I guess...no, it's not beef." He examined it closer. "I don't know what that is but it doesn't smell appetizing at all. It is familiar..."

"Whatever it is, it's not fish or chicken, mutton, pork or beef or lamb..." Celeste gave it another close look, then thought for a moment. "Nova, summon."

Nova appeared, applauding.

"Were you watching something?" Celeste asked curiously.

"Yes! I was attending a wedding, and everything went terribly wrong." Nova laughed mischievously. "You see, this kind-hearted woman was being forced into a marriage by her parents for the groom's money. She wished herself out of it, by wishing that the wedding would go terribly wrong! I just had to watch it all unfold; my favor would be to step in right when the minister said 'You may kiss the bride', sweep her off her feet, and jump away with her."

"How did the wedding go wrong before you escaped with her?" Celeste asked, highly intrigued.

"Well, firstly, the food suddenly began crawling with all manner of things. Maggots, worms-"

"-cockroaches?" Dante inquired, equally as excited as Celeste to hear more.

"-of course cockroaches!, and ants, spiders, you name it! Some people were in the process of chewing, and the most memorable response was that of the groom's mother, a most disagreeable woman, I tell you!, even more than the rest of them! She was drinking a glass of champagne, and a lizard crawled straight down her throat! She started gagging but it wouldn't come out! Then, an army of rats, marching as regimented as a real army [and in the perfect formation, too!], started marching down the aisle! Preceding them were, of course, flower-bearers: white mice twirling as elegantly as ballet dancers, how could I forget? And then, thousands of mosquitoes and bees started whizzing through the air, and crickets gave their best effort, a stunning rendition, of 'Here Comes the Bride'," He spun around, humming it for a moment "I started singing along halfway through. People were going mad, all of those rich basterds, and the poor people masquerading as rich people to swindle the rich....ah..." Nova sighed, his eyes distant as he reminisced with a mischievous grin. "I wish you could've been there. The best part is, if they try to tell anyone about what happened-" he made a gesture with his hand, indicating insanity "-so they'll never talk about it again. Not to anyone else, and not to each other. The lady is now living her own life, and if she ever needs anything, she'll call on me."

"You said you'd be attending a wedding." Dante recalled, disappointed that he'd declined Nova's invitation. "I thought that it was going to be like the last one..." He added quietly for himself. It was a normal, boring wedding, and Nova had just wanted to attend it to see what a Muggle wedding was like these days...but this one...

"What did you summon me for?" Nova reminded, causing both siblings to stop getting carried away imagining the wedding.

"Oh, just one more question first-" Celeste said "-when you swept the bride off her feet, where did you take her?"

"That will be a tale for next time." Nova put a finger to his lips and winked.

"You didn't-" Dante began.

"No." Nova assured with a chuckle. "Your wish, Envy?"

"I wish to know what sort of meat this is." Celeste said, gesturing to it.

"Ah...hmm...In return, you must tell me how you came to possess it, and also let me watch you unwrap those other gifts."

Celeste accepted the terms with a nod.

"Buffalo." Nova raised an eyebrow. "Don't you want it?" He asked in response to both siblings' cringes.

"No, thank you." Dante replied.

"We've already tried it before...we didn't like it." Celeste explained.

"You can take it if you want." Dante said, then wondered aloud "Do you have any use for it?"

"Yes, of course I have a use for it. I have a use for everything. I'll cook it up and give it to a Muggle hunter I know...he likes eating unusual meats." Nova waved his hand as if it was obvious that if there was someone in the world who had a weird taste for things, Nova knew them. "I'm not fond of it, either. So, what's the next gift?" He asked, shrinking the meat so that he could easily transport it.

"A note on these..." Celeste read the note that was on the skull candies "...says that they're for you. Did you do something nice to him?" She looked at Dante.

"No, you just softened his perspective on me with your letters...." Dante scowled. "wasting your time..." he added under his breath.

"Try 'em." Celeste tossed him the candies.

Dante caught them easily and tasted one, spitting it out the window a moment later. "Bland." His frowned momentarily.

Nova took one candy without being invited; he was close enough with the siblings that things like that weren't taken as something rude. He didn't bother tasting it, trusting Dantes's judgment on it, but enjoyed its aesthetic.

"Rose loves candy from both realms, so don't throw them away." Celeste said.

"What will you tell her?" Dante asked.

"The truth. Rose isn't so snobbish to view them as garbage that I'm passing to her instead of throwing them away." Celeste stated confidently. "You should come with me when I give them to her, if you don't believe me. You don't know her well enough, yet, but I think that you two would get along."

"The last gift!" Nova pointed eagerly.

"It's a pretty box." Celeste commented, more to herself, admiring the detail of her name on the label. She hummed The Blue Danube while lifting the lid, raising the box to just under her nose and inhaling deeply. "They look so pretty." She didn't touch them, displaying the contents for Nova and Dante.

Nova closed one eye and mimed taking a picture of the box, and a flash was emitted from his fingers as if he truly had taken a picture. He noticed the subtle sadness in her eyes as she refrained from tasting the chocolates, not wanting to destroy the perfect idea that they would taste as good as they looked. "You really want his gift to taste good, don't you." He stated, standing and putting a hand on her shoulder. He gave her a look.

"Yes." Celeste understood a moment later. I assumed that if I asked him for a wish to make human world food taste like hell's, he might give me the same reply as last time when I was sightseeing with August. "I wish that these chocolates tasted like they were demonic chocolates. And I wish that Dantes's candies taste like demonic candies as well."

"I want...you to come watch the volcano with me today." Nova smiled broadly.

"There's a volcano erupting today?" Celeste asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes. I've already made arrangements for the innocents to be out of the area, so we're literally going to be watching fools get burnt alive. Damien is coming as well, and HE will most likely be there as well, probably bringing his date."

"I agree to your terms!" Dante replied excitedly.

"So do I." Celeste matched Dantes's enthusiasm. "We'll see you at Antique...?"

"At ten sharp, Rouen's time." Nova replied.

Celeste tasted one of the plain dark chocolate; Nova and Dante watched closely for her reaction. "Mmmm." She nodded a few times, then swallowed. "Delicious. " She tried the candies. "I'll give half to Rosaleya."

"Can I have one-third?" Nova asked. "Of the candies." He specified, meaning that he understood the chocolates were special, and of course, all hers.

"Good evening, Headmaster." Rosaleya greeted respectfully. It was clear, by the slight spring in her step, and the joyous look in her eyes that she was in a jolly mood. "I'm sorry if you've already told me the steps to follow when adding a class, or if I'm even allowed to do it at all; I don't have a very good memory." She sat down when she was permitted to, folding her hands in her lap.

 

[Hikari Chan]

"Good evening, miss Fairbrook, please take a seat," Elias gestured at the chair in front of his desk. "I received your owl today. It pleases me a lot that the guest lecture has sparked your interest in Care of Magical Creature that you desire to take the class because it means that it was successful, both the lecture and my idea for inventing the guest lectures at this school. However, we cannot give you any pre-exams for a class at any moment. We only work from Monday to Friday. Even if professor Macnair is only teaching one class from year three to seven, he needs to prepare and grade homework for every single class. He also needs to prepare mid-terms soon and the finals later. He does not have the time to prepare full-year pre exams for you. Besides, you also have eight classes to attend and homework to hand in for almost every lesson. Henceforth, as I explained for you and your peers when you took the pre-exams in August, that if you change your mind and desire to take any other elective or extra-curricular class which you did not sign up for before, you may take the exams at the end of the school year. So, you can only take the exams in Care of Magical Creatures during the finals in June. Not the mid-terms, because they only cover one semester and not a full year. I wish I could make an exception for you so that you could join the class sooner than next year, however, all the time turners were destroyed in the past and there's none which you could use with professor Macnair. However, even if there was time for you both, I do not desire to give other students the idea that they may drop in any class at any time randomly during the year. It will just cause disruption and chaos in our schedules and also stress the faculty members. I will put a note on that you are interested in taking classes in Care of Magical Creatures, so you will have a chance to take part in the finals. Depending on how far you excel, you will be placed in a suitable class the next year. Do you have any questions?"

 

[Junko Natsumizaka]

"No questions, Sir." Rosaleya replied, not showing a trace of disappointment.

"Not like you really expected him to just suddenly say 'sure'! We knew that there would be some reason for why you wouldn't be able to do what you wanted...the studying was just in case." Jade sighed. "Like how the Deputy Headmistress isn't revealing that she has an angel to literally fix any injuries in a second. If you let one thing slide without a fuss, then....BOOM!" He thundered dramatically, clapping his hands together as loud as possible for emphasis. "CHAOS!"

"Disrupting the schedules and tiring the professors does sound chaotic." She agreed with Jade without looking at him, keeping eye-contact with the Headmaster and gesturing that she completely understood his reasons now. "Thank you for explaining it to me; I'm very grateful that you did so, so patiently...My father often doesn't explain things before giving me a harsh 'no'." She added, in case her previous sentence needed an explanation to avoid sounding strange. She didn't say it to get any pity from the Headmaster. She yawned quietly, politely covering her mouth as she did so. "May I please be excused, Sir?" Her eyes suddenly looked weary as well, yet they still remained joyous.

"Well, that wasn't too bad." Jade said. "I thought that he was going to be a jerk during this meeting, but he's being very professional. Well, let's get you to bed. I've got a lovely dream planned for you." He winked, patting her on the shoulder.

The Masked Man knew that the volcano was going to erupt tonight. He wanted so badly to watch Rosaleya's face light up as fools' screams filled the air and buildings were destroyed.

He left the dorms, and made for the Headmaster's office, hoping to catch her on her way back from her meeting with him. His extension had followed her there from the Great Hall before making for the dorms to work on his homework, so he knew that Rosaleya must be around that area still.

"Rosaleya, I have a surprise for you!" He smiled, pulling her suddenly into the boy's bathrooms where they walked straight through a portal aligned perfectly to the threshold. "I know you love watching things like this. And look: they're all bad people! Not one of them is a good person, so you don't have to pretend to care! Isn't it marvelous to watch?" "Yes." Rosaleya admitted, then allowed herself a broad smile. "It's lovely." The Masked Man put his arm around her shoulders, and moved her slightly so that she was leaning her head against his chest.

"Going somewhere?" Soren observed, standing right in the middle of the Masked Man's path.

The Masked Man figured that a planned hindrance would bother him if he simply appeared in smoke behind Soren or jumped over him, so he turned into a cockroach and slid into a crack in the wall to get to Rosaleya quickly.

Soren's lip twitched upwards.

The Masked Man suddenly stopped, unable to move.

He was struggling to figure out how his movements were being restricted when Athena snapped her fingers, making a large, thick spiderweb visible. "Idiot." She snickered. "Rosaleya doesn't like breaking rules if she respects those that set them. You would make her leave the castle by force though, just to get what you wanted."

"I matters not that you've trapped me here; my extension will be about in a moment to release me." The Masked Man didn't sound panicked, but as a cockroach his voice sounded as if he had inhaled a bunch of helium, so it was even more difficult than usual to take him seriously. "But how did you know that I would do this? You've clearly planned for this, because this charm to keep me in place takes a long time to set up."

"Cockroaches slip through the cracks when they have nowhere else to go." Athena and Soren double high-fived at their line uttered in perfect synchronicity.

Even as a cockroach stuck in a difficult place, the Masked Man rolled his eyes.

Soren crouched by the Masked Man. "I'll just wish to take her back in time to see it during the winter holidays. Stress free, and no rule-breaking. You could've figured that out if you thought about her." He stood and kicked the wall, causing the area around the Masked Man to tremble.

"We're being nice enough to give you advice, so that you can ignore it and keep failing as her brother." Athena looked down at his antennae, which were sticking out from the wall, and stomped on them.

You dastards! The Masked Man shut his eyes tight, not giving them the satisfaction of hearing his pained noises. You both are hindering my every attempt! As if it wasn't hard already to gain her favor again! The Masked Man cussed loudly.

"He sounds like one of the munchkins from the Wizard of Oz!" Athena laughed hysterically.

"Or like one of those stupid Chipmunks!" Soren was laughing just as hard.

The Masked Man could hear their laughter and rude remarks continue even after they had turned the corner.

Rosaleya was on her way back from the Headmaster's office, feeling more weary with every step. Why am I so tired today? I slept well enough last night to not feel so tired this early...I used to stay up until one o'clock sometimes, to have some free time uninterrupted by Dad's demands, but it's not even close to curfew yet, and I feel like it's going to be one of those times where I fall asleep right after lying down. She walked into the bathroom closest to the Slytherin dorms, and Jade announced that he would go on ahead to start helping with Rosaleya's homework as much as possible. In the morning, they would use an item box to take advantage of Hell's time difference again. Reign usually invited Rosaleya to his home to study well before she ever reached the library, and she did not decline since she enjoyed his company and home so much. She had realized early on that the energy felt different in different areas of his home. The lower levels were very quiet and extremely peaceful, with only the sound of the wind rustling through the garden in the background. In the higher areas, since his home had multiple levels, the energy level was higher, and traditional oriental music would play on enchanted instruments. Rosaleya usually studied on the higher levels, and either Reign or his extension would pour her tea, on days where Jade didn't take a break to go get some for them. Reign seldom talked to her while she was studying or reading, and he never praised her for working hard; he seemed to know already that praise like that would remind her of her father's hollow praise.

Rosaleya dried her hands, and looked closely in the mirror to carefully remove a stray eyelash from the lower inner corner of her eye. She crossed the bathroom's threshold with another yawn, blinking frequently.

"Surprise!" Soren hugged her suddenly from behind.

Rosaleya accidentally followed her first instinct since he had caught her off guard: she elbowed him in the ribs with her full force, slid out of his embrace which loosened while he was in pain, and shoved him away from her, and he fell backwards, hitting the closest wall. "I'm so sorry!" She apologized with wide eyes as he fell back, realizing what she had done.

"Argh." Soren groaned. "You're so strong." He laughed through his pain. "I'm fine." He assured in response to the guilty look in her eyes, standing up and adjusting his clothes. He waved a hand at the areas in pain, healing them and then reached into his pocket to retrieve an energizing potion. "You look tired." He opened it and offered it to Rosaleya. By the look in his eyes, she could tell that he was excited about something he had planned for them.

"I came as fast as I could!" Jade bolted to Rosaleya's side, examining the vial closely. "Safe!" He confirmed.

Rosaleya drank it, and took the hand that Soren offered while Jade vanished the vial.

"I'll race you up the stairs?" Rosaleya asked, stopping on the third step of a large flight. "No cheating."

"One..." Soren immediately went into 'competitive mode', smiling.

"...two..." Rosaleya said, coming back down to the first step to start properly with Soren.

"THREE!" Rosaleya, Soren, and Jade said in sync.

Rosaleya took two steps at a time, and Soren climbed one step at a time at a faster pace. Both of their eyes were set on their goal: the final step. Soren took it more seriously than Rosaleya, but the latter's determination, not being the competitive type, came from simply wanting to try her hardest to make it fun.

Jade noisily cheered Rosaleya on, pumping his fists and using his mouth as a trumpet to play The Raising Fighting Spirit from Naruto .

"It was close at the start, but you're tactic of jumping a few steps at a time had you at least a foot ahead of me toward the end." Soren said. "Let's race on the next flight?"

Rosaleya nodded with a smile.

"Oh no, you won the first, and you might even win the next, but he has more stamina points!" Jade said dramatically. "Beware of agreeing to a third battle on these large stairs! You won't tire yourself, but you will loose. It has been foretold with the aid of my crystal ball!"

Soren didn't ask why she suddenly laughed.

"One..." Soren said at the base of the next staircase.

"Two..." Rosaleya's heart was beating fast.

"THREE!" They all said together.

"So noisy!" One passing student complained with a scowl as Soren and Rosaleya rushed past.

"Oohhh...Are we heading toward the Room of Requirement?" Jade wondered once he congratulated Rosaleya for winning the second race. "Unless he's planned something adorable on the ramparts?"

Soren gave Rosaleya a high-five for her win. "One more staircase to go."

"It has a trick-step." Jade flexed his muscles at the base of the last staircase on their route. "So I'll be ready to help you!" He winked and blew her a kiss in a hilariously cheesy way.

Rosaleya giggled, and set her eyes on the last step. She counted down with Soren again, and they were off. Just as Jade predicted, Rosaleya lost this race. She wasn't tired yet, but Soren did have more stamina points.

"2 out of 3...I still won if we count them all as one mini competition." Rosaleya said.

"I win." Soren said, as if the reasons were obvious. "Because I'm with you."

Their final destination turned out to be the ramparts, so Jade's second guess was correct.

Soren sat down with his legs dangling off of the edge, patting the space beside him once while smiling towards Rosaleya.

She sat beside him, and noticed that the sun would be setting soon. "Nice." She said softly. It's a lovely plan.

"Can you close your eyes for a moment?" Soren asked. "I know that you said 'no gifts', but I've had these two things for a while. They're meant for a couple, so that both can have one, and I wanted to give one to you."

"I'll be here in case he tries anything weird." Jade pointedly nodded toward the ground far below their feet.

"Sure." Rosaleya closed her eyes.

Soren pulled one Yin and Yang necklace from his breast pocket, and adjusted his infinity scarf so that his was visible.

"I have more SP, but you have more MP ." Soren said, leaning toward Rosaleya to put the necklace on for her. "And your Strength points are almost maxed out."

"You have more Luck points-" Rosaleya said.

"-your family is AMAZING so far!" Jade exclaimed.

-and I have more Attack Points."

"Oh YEAH!" Jade put his hand to his chest proudly.

Soren smiled, closing the lobster clasp on the necklace. "You can open your eyes now."

"We match." Rosaleya noticed his after briefly admiring hers.

"I figured you'd prefer the black one, while I prefer white. We're like Yin and Yang; similar, but different."

"I've been saying 'Ying and Yang' for the longest time." Rosaleya laughed off her embarrassment.

"That's alright; I was saying 'take it for granite' for the longest time." Soren laughed. "Or 'for all intensive purposes'. I was also calling Darth Vader Dark Vader, even after watching all of the films and reading some of the comics. I kept reading it as 'Dark Vader'."

"Your Charisma stat is maxed out." Rosaleya said with a soft look in her eyes. His hair blowing with the chilly breeze...and half of his face perfectly lit by sunshine as he turns my way...his gentle voice...he doesn't make me feel pressured to do anything or twist my words...She thought briefly of Leigh, and the many other things that Soren didn't do that had become Leigh's modus operandi. I love spending time with him, and the fact that he's handsome is a bonus...and when I'm not with him, I look forward to seeing him again as soon as possible...same with Claudia and Athena. I don't get the butterfly-thing when I think of him, and I don't blush all the time around him...and I don't get all nervous when I talk to him...I just feel very calm, and very happy...and when we play games I get excited...is this love? I just hope I'm not making another mistake. She remembered the Vincent Debacle.

Soren looked away to hide his blush, and summoned a black, shallow, smooth triangular box. He opened it a moment later, offering the contents to Rosaleya. "They're for Halloween. I baked them earlier this morning, but mother's icing skills are unmatchable. Guess which one I'm going for first, and I'll try to guess yours."

"I think that you're going to go for the ghost first." Rosaleya pointed. Because your favorite color is white.

"And I think that you're going to go for the castle." Soren said.

Rosaleya took a castle cookie, and Soren chose a ghost. The former admired the details of the icing; the different textures and clean lines, then brought the back of the cookie to her nose to admire the smell for a moment with her eyes closed. "Mmmm...pumpkin spiced." She opened her eyes and took a small bite, then a larger bite once she realized that she loved the taste, her eyes growing larger in delight. "Mmm. They're so tasty."

"There are Manga-themed contacts." Soren said. Her eyes remind me of the 'heart eyes' right now. She's so cute. "Heart eyes, Sharingan eyes, clock eyes, skull eyes...not just colored contacts." He bit the head off of his ghost.

"I've seen them online. I used to shop online for fun, without actually getting anything-" thanks Dad "-and I would always fill my cart up with a bunch of cool stuff. The stuff that I would really, really want was added to a list called 'The Grownup List'. It's a list of every item I want to buy, every detail in my dream house, every activity that I want to try, like a bucket list, with specifications on whether I have to do them alone or with my 'prince'..." Rosaleya giggled. "I just haven't gotten to it yet..." It's completely wrong for me to hope for Dad's early death...very wrong. Rosaleya shut her eyes tightly and shook her head to banish the thought.

Soren swallowed "I want to see that list." He said softly.

"Later..." Rosaleya looked away from him. I don't want Dad to find out about it somehow.

Soren turned away from Rosaleya to see that the sun had begun to set. "Look."

Rosaleya turned to look at Soren's hand instead, reaching for it but then stopping halfway. We were just holding hands when we were coming upstairs...why is it different now? Move, stupid hand! She tightened her lips slightly and tried to move it, but it seemed to act on its own when it started retreating to her side instead. No, other way! The other way!

"I'm not doing anything." Jade said, but he didn't help her either.

Soren gently took hold of her retreating hand. "I like the way your hand fits in mine." His eyes met hers with a subconsciously charming expression.

"Your'e welcome." Jade said, magically warming Rosaleya after a particularly cold breeze started.

The breeze blew Rosaleya's hair into her face, and Soren gently brushed it away with his free hand.

"Onto the next surprise." Soren said once the sun finished setting.

"There's another one? This was plenty. It was perfect." Rosaleya said. "You can save the next one for tomorrow." I don't want to be greedy...

"But I've already planned something else for tomorrow." Soren kissed her hand without breaking eye contact, stood, and helped Rosaleya up. "Have you tried sliding down the banisters yet?" He asked once they were back inside.

"I thought that it only worked in fiction." Rosaleya admitted.

"Let's try it." His pace increased with his excitement, and he stopped at the top of the nearest staircase. "I'll take this side." He put his hand on the banister.

"I'll be here in case there are any accidents." Jade assured.

Rosaleya walked to the other banister. "Okay." She said when she was ready.

"One." Soren said.

"Two." Rosaleya said.

"Three." They started together.

"Woooow." Rosaleya's eyes grew as she picked up speed, and she laughed happily. It actually works! This is so much fun! Jade waved a hand, slowing her down at the very end so that she didn't fall off the banister at the end, then doing the same for Soren.

She's so sweet. I had it under control, but she wanted to make sure that I was safe. "That was just as much fun as you thought it would be, wasn't it?"

"It was. Have you done it before?"

"I started doing it last year. Ever since, I never missed out on the opportunity when the stairs weren't crowded. So, I bet you've already guessed why we're on the seventh floor now?"

"Yes." Rosaleya nodded once.

"Well, then, do you want a hot chocolate or pumpkin spice decaffeinated latte? If it's caffeinated then you might not sleep tonight." And everyone knows that it's not good for your body to take a stimulant and then a sleeping potion. He summoned one of both as they walked toward the Room of Requirement. The pumpkin spice was in a Frankenstein themed mug, and the hot chocolate's mug was Dracula themed.

"Can we split both?" Rosaleya asked.

"Sure." Soren smiled. "Here." He handed her the pumpkin spice. "Drink half, and then we'll switch."

"Hang on." Rosaleya stopped him from taking a sip by handing him a plain, empty mug that Jade conjured. "Pour half of that in here." She proceeded to pour half of the pumpkin spice into a mug, expecting Soren to do the same with the hot chocolate.

He hesitated for a moment, as if trying to identify exactly why she was uncomfortable drinking after him, then proceeded to do as she asked. She knows that I'm not sick, and that I always brush my teeth three times a day. It's not personal. How could I think, even for a second, that it was? He thought a venomous thought towards Leigh, then licked the edge of his mug since a bit of the cocoa had spilled over the side. "It's all yours." He handed her the themed mug.

Jade took it, and Rosaleya handed Soren the themed pumpkin mug, that way they each had one plain and one themed mug.

"This is the final surprise for tonight." Soren stopped with the Troll Tapestry at their backs. He went inside first, to get the perfect view of her reaction.

"Soren." Rosaleya said in surprise. Her eyes took in every detail of the room, not neglecting her drinks as she did so.

Two walls were made of glass, displaying a beautiful view of the grounds at night. It had started raining heavily by now, and a thick blanket of black storm clouds hid the stars from view, although a waning gibbous moon was currently visible through a small hole in the 'blanket'. The ceiling was coffered, with pendant lights in the primary colors giving the room a subtle, colorful glow. An army of non-scented votive candles were scattered artistically about the edges of the room, and a heating system made the dark hardwood floor warm and the air more comfortable. Two overlarge beanbag chairs were placed a comfortable distance from the large projector screen. In between the chairs was a vase of Rosaleya's favorite flowers.

"How did you know that I liked Red Spider Lilies? And non-scented candles when it's raining?" Rosaleya asked. "Can you-"

"-I cannot read minds." Soren assured gently, putting his mugs down on a table to embrace Rosaleya. "You told me these things, remember?"

"You put a lot of thought into this, didn't you?" Jade was physically admiring all of the room's details. He sniffed the flowers, felt the petals, rolled around on the floor, "Ahahaha, so warm!", then he lied down by the window and enjoyed the view and smell. "So sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet! Ahahahaha." He sighed, looking up at the ceiling again. "It looks like a giant waffle!"

"I don't. My memory sucks." Rosaleya chuckled. "I told you about the beanbag chairs, and the preference of projectors over tv's, and that my favorite smell can't be overshadowed by scented candles? And that I wanted my house to have heated floors and magic AC and heating so that they don't 'eat up electricity'." she poorly imitated Leigh's voice. "And that my favorite flowers..."

"Yes. And I remembered every detail. Inhale deeply and you'll notice that these windows keep the cold out but let the scent inside." He took a step back. "I think that you'll enjoy this film." He turned away from her and sat down on the left beanbag chair, remembering that Rosaleya preferred to sit on the right. "It's an older one, so it's got this really nice retro feeling to it. Drop Dead Fred. Have you heard of it?"

"No." Rosaleya said.

"That's good. I think that it's funny, and the mother in the film reminds me of someone. I won't say anything more, though." Soren waved his hand at his mouth, turning it onto a literal zipper and zipping it shut, which earned him a laugh from Rosaleya since it was ridiculous to think that if he kept it zipped shut his drinks would get cold. He unzipped his mouth. "Earlier...you made extra curry for lunch, right?"

"Yes. I didn't share it with you because I know that you don't like human realm food...like how you didn't tell me about the Quidditch thing because you didn't want to pressure me." Rosaleya explained.

"Who did you give the extra to?"

"The professor guy who looks like he's Cosplaying as a pirate. He was nice to me when Dad was being a jerk, so I thought I should thank him. He sounded so pleased in his letter, and it apparently earned me fifty points, so that's a bonus!"

"You're so sweet." Soren smiled. Satan's spawn would've ruined her night. We didn't let that happen. I got to have her adorableness all to myself. Soren thought happily as the film started.

Tuesday

"Nova, can I use your kitchen, please?" Rosaleya asked.

"Absolutely! What are you cooking?!" Nova clapped his hands together. "I can help you with the ingredients since you're unfamiliar with them!" He snapped his fingers, and a crisp white chef's hat and apron appeared on both of them. His apron read '_ the chef.' and Rosaleya's read 'He's joking'. "Well?"

"It's ramen. Soren's favorite food is ramen, and I want to make him his favorite kind. The problem is, all ramen flavors are his favorite, it just depends on his mood. So I wanted to make some spicy ones, but I don't have any recipes."

"What's what?" Nova's ear grew by four times, and he turned so that Rosaleya got a clear view of it. "Did I hear you say 'I wish...?'"

"Yes. I wish that we had the freshest demonic ingredients to make the three types of ramen that Soren's in the mood for today, the perfect recipes, and three item boxes to take them back, and that they would appear in Hogwart's Room of Requirement when I entered there with Soren, and that no one else would be in there."

"I would like you to double your batches so that I may take some as well. It's not fair for Soren to have all the fun." Nova said.

"Okay!" Rosaleya agreed.

"So, off we go, hmm?" Nova offered her his hand so that they could jump together.

Once they were in the air, Rosaleya realized that there was a funny message on both of their aprons. She started laughing when she finished reading.

"So, one of us will prepare the vegetables and noodles, the other will prepare the stock and meat. Pick."

"I choose the vegetables and noodles." Rosaleya said.

Ten Minutes Later

"Oh, you got flour on your nose! You got flour on your nose!" Nova sang, having smudged some on Rosaleya's nose himself. "It's snowing!" He threw some up into the air above them, and it fell on Rosaleya's hair.

Rosaleya laughed, but kept her eyes glued to the noodles she was preparing, determined.

Huh, she's isn't flinging flour at me in return? She's giving all of her attention to that noodle press...looks like Soren's doing well with her. I'm happy for them both. Nova thought, returning to his side of the kitchen to continue butchering the pork to make perfect slices for the ramen. Thank goodness Rose isn't squeamish. He thought, giving the pig's head a glance. The wish had given Nova the pork so fresh that it had only been killed and skinned. He didn't mind, though; he knew how to butcher so well that there wouldn't be any unwanted fat on the meat when he was done with it. Her aura is determined and loving; perfect for making food for a loved one.

Prince Endymion: You have a surprise for me? Really?

Lady Rose: Yes! Come to the Room of Requirement during lunch! I'll be waiting near the tapestry.

Prince Endymion: See you there!

"This looks like a Japanese palace." Soren observed, walking into the Room of Requirement after Rosaleya. "You did an amazing job with the decor...and I smell..." his eyes widened when he saw that three large bowls of ramen were in the center of the room. He rushed forward to confirm that they were real, then back to Rosaleya to embrace her tightly.

"You haven't even tasted them, yet." Rosaleya reasoned, trying to push him away so that he could taste them before getting his hopes up.

"It doesn't matter; you made them for me." He embraced her a bit tighter. "That is why I'm happy. Even if they taste terrible, it means that you took the time to make something that you wanted me to enjoy, and the fact that you thought about me that way makes my heart sing."

"Try them." Rosaleya felt herself blushing. He really meant those words...Dad's always saying 'it's the thought that counts' but he never showed happiness unless everything was perfect. That's why Soren's words just now...made me so happy.

Soren walked back to the ramen, picking up the chopsticks. "Oh..." He breathed after tasting the first one, making to taste the next. "Mmmm..." He made to taste the third. "Outstanding!" He rushed to her, picked her up and spun around in his happiness, then put her down and embraced her again. "The best! Even better than mother's, I promise! Thank you thank you so much! They're delicious because they're filled with your love!"

"N-Nova helped, too." Rosaleya admitted. "As much as I want to say that I made this on my own...I haven't made ramen before."

This didn't affect Soren's happiness. He went back to the table, and continued eating, expecting Rosaleya to join him.

Rosaleya sat across from him. "You would've thrown them out if they tasted bad, right?"

"Mercilessly." Soren promised. "No false praise for you."

"Can I..." she looked away for a moment, then made eye contact and spoke quickly to avoid stopping mid-sentence again. "Can I feed you please?" I can always wish to Nova to return me to this point in time to stop myself from asking this if I regret it later...but...I want to have fun with Soren today. "And can you feed me, too, like a couple?"

Soren dropped his chopsticks in surprise.

After a moment, Rosaleya was certain that she would have to make that wish. I sound weird...like when I told Vincent that I fell head-over-heels for him.

"I would love that, so much." Soren said, so excited that he had to whisper his words to avoid exclaiming them to the world.


Wednesday

"Can we practise dancing again? I wanted to get a few extra lessons in because both me and my bro want to tango." Athena said. "We're at the point in your lessons that you don't have to have mother's instructions at every lesson, so we can use the Room of Requirement."

"That's a lovely idea." Soren agreed.

"Let's go right now. Forget breakfast." Rosaleya said. "I've got something for both of you."

"Really?" Athena asked in surprise. "Alright! Is it butterbeer?"

"You with the butterbeer obsession. Is it even that good?" Jade asked rhetorically.

"You made Cinnamon Rolls?" Soren inquired upon setting food inside the Room. "I can smell the glaze and cinnamon! You're wonderful." He embraced her.

Athena had walked over to the delicious display; Rosaleya had arranged the rolls in a cupcake display, and the rolls were shaped like hearts. She took a large bite out of one, then walked over to join Soren in embracing Rosaleya. "They're so good."

"Did Nova help you?" Soren asked.

"No, I already knew how to make the rolls, even without magic, but the glaze was difficult for me because I could never get it thick enough. The Cooking with Magic teacher taught me a trick for that, though, so now I don't have that problem anymore. Also, you know how cake sometimes looks like a samurai poltergeist ruined the top? Apparently that-"

"-everyone already knows the 'tap it' trick." Athena laughed, backing away. "Mom taught us both how to make such good food-"

"-that we would put any Michelin star chef to shame." Soren finished, backing away and double-high-fiving Athena. "Mother always says that maxed out cooking and baking skills are $₤x￥."

"Her relationship advice sounds funny every time." Rosaleya laughed.

"Ask her anything, and she'll give you advice that actually works." Athena promised. "I have never followed my parents' advice and not been satisfied."

"It's true." Soren confirmed. "Don't be embarrassed. She never makes you feel awkward about anything, either."

"Whatever you want your 'dream' mom to be like, our mom is like that." Athena said.

"Always." Soren said.

"You want to be who for Halloween?" Nova chuckled.

"Tuxedo Mask." Stephan repeated, looking away in embarrassment.

Meanwhile

"Yes, going as a German dictator would offend people! If you're going to cross dress, Malice, don't choose a political figure!" Asmodeus laughed. "I made that mistake once; the costume party was in Germany, and I paired my costume with a salute as well. I was young." His expression added 'and stupid'. "I thought that you didn't like parties where dancing was the main event?"

"Large Halloween parties are the exception." Malice specified.

"Why don't you ask Reign what you'll eventually choose to wear to the party?" Asmodeus suggested. "And ask him if you were happy with your choice."

Malice curtsied elegantly, saying 'See you soon' in French before leaving with the intention to take Asmodeus's advice.

 

[Hikari Chan]

Elias nodded. "Have a good night," He wished to miss Fairbrook.

"Miss Pyrites!" Lily exclaimed happily as she opened the door to Persephone's office without knocking. They had become close to each other like best friends that Lily could enter Persephone's office without the need for knocking, yet they addressed each other in a much formal way. Pegah was also part of this circle of friendship which they had formed together, however, she had her own office, even if she only was a teaching assistant. Lily also used to enter Pegah's office freely, without the need for knocking, because they already were close friends. They had become friends since their first days at Hogwarts when they were eleven years old. However, this Friday afternoon, Lily could not find Pegah in her office and had then gone to Persephone. But as soon as Lily had opened the door and took a couple of steps inside, she regretted it at the instant. At the same time, she got too shocked to speak or move, that she stood paralyzed in the doorway, staring at a very furious Flynn, who before Lily could react, had taken a few steps forward and slammed the door shut behind her.

"Haven't your parents taught you to knock on a bloody door before entering?!" Flynn scolded Lily.

Staring into his eyes so boldly, she could not really focus on what he was saying, otherwise, she would have replied him back, since this was not his office but his sister.

"You....you...eeh...heterochromia..." She blurted out. This made him even more furious, that he grabbed her by her collar and nearly threw her down on a chair that she almost lost her balance but managed to stay put on the chair.

"If you tell anyone about my condition, I will make you regret entering without knocking on the door and not even your father or brother can save you no matter what positions they have in the wizarding world!" He spoke calmly, yet his face was red of anger.

At this point, when his words had sunk in and she had realized what he had said, she started to cry. Persephone entered at the same moment but from another door and Flynn had already put on his eyepatch. She had been in her bedroom, looking for something, seemingly not finding what she had been looking for since she was emptyhanded expect from holding her wand "What's wrong?" I heard a door slamming, but I never realized that...She looked from Flynn who could not hide the anger in his visible eye and to Lily who was crying with such passion.

"What did you do to her?"

"Simply scolded her for entering without knocking. She knows my secret now, which she was not supposed to know about."

"This looks more than just a simple scold," Persephone commented dryly.

"I admit that I was a bit harsh..." Flynn looked away, seemingly to have calmed down. "But she should have knocked before entering..."

Lily was still crying, her heart beating so fast. Who the bloody hell does he think he is that he can threaten me to the extent that not even my father can save me?

"Still, this is my office. It is my fault for allowing her to enter freely whenever she desired aside from when I request to see her. Anyway, may you leave us, please? I did not find suitable clothes that would pass as Halloween costumes, so let's go shopping tomorrow Saturday." Persephone patted her brother on his right shoulder. "And do not fret please, your secret is safe," She said loud enough for Lily to hear as well. Before she let her brother go, she kissed him on his right cheek, making him flinch, and then whispered into his ear: "I will just clear away her memory of you having two different colored eyes, if needed..."

"It's alright..." Persephone stroke Lily on her head, after Flynn had left. "Would you like some hot cocoa?

"This sounds more like a muggle party..." Mary Jane commented. "I mean I have never come across a party hosted by the wizarding community that asks you to dress up in a costume for Halloween..."

"True..." Melody agreed. "But I read about the announcement in the Daily Prophet. "Maybe it is something the wizarding community has taken a liking to from the muggle community and decided to give it a try?"

"When you put it that way...hmm...Sounds pretty reliable..."

"I have made up my mind to dress up as a Geisha, but I cannot find the perfect costume and Reign does not like pink, so I cannot wear my pink kimono!"

"Hmm...I will help you find a costume tomorrow. Halloween is just around the corner, and there might be a few muggle stores that sell Halloween costumes. Meanwhile, you could owl Reign and ask him if he could give you some advice regarding shops-"

"I cannot-"

"Do you want your costume to be a surprise?"

"Well, that's one reason...but I just cannot send him owls...he...he has asked me to use this scroll, but I have never used it and I forgot what he told me about how to use it...the place he lives...owls cannot go there..."

"What?!" Mary Jane stared unbelievably at Melody.

"Lily, may you keep a secret? For me?"

Lily nodded silently, sipping her hot cocoa.

"Please do not tell anyone about my brother's eye condition. Pinky promise?" Persephone held out her baby finger.

Lily could not help but laugh when Persephone sang the pinky promise song, which gave an odd contrast to her teary red eyes.

"And do not worry about my brother. He would never harm a fly, given from what I heard from him what he did to one of our enemies."

"What did he do?"

"Well, while I was having fun torturing mine, he simply killed off his with the killing curse. Not fun at all..." Persephone laughed, as she imagined what she would have done with Flynn's prisoner at the torture party hosted by the dark mistress, had he not been there.

"So do not worry about what he threatened with you today. I suggest you should make up for him if you want to get on his good side and avoid any detentions or loss of house points. What about cooking him a carrot cake for his birthday. His birthday is coming very soon, it is on 24th October, just some days before the Halloween Party."

"I...He won't accept it..."

"Why would he not accept a birthday cake from you?"

"He won't accept anything I make in Cooking with Magic classes anymore. I tried to give him the chili soup I did in class this Monday, but he declined. Miss Fairbrook was first, giving him Indian Curry she had made in class. He even praised her in front of me and revealed that he had awarded her fifty house points as a reward for the dish she had made. But he has never ever praised me or shown any support and I have given him so many more dishes I cooked and baked in class..."

"Did you expect that?"

"Expect what?"

"To be praised by my brother? Before you told me that you gave anything that turned into a disaster from your cooking classes, as a payback for the detentions he gave you before your graduation. You must like him, but you have not figured it out yet, hehe..."

"NO! Absolutely not! I hate him! He is being so horrible towards me!"

"Oh, alright, just calm down, please..." Persephone sighed. "Well, I have an idea. What about buying him a birthday gift instead? First, let's go down to his office so that you can apologize properly to each other and shake hands. Tomorrow Saturday, we will be out shopping for Halloween costumes. I am going out with Pegah, professor Macnair, and professor Avery. And I managed to persuade my brother to join us. You should also join us, please. On Sunday, I can help you to select the best birthday gift."

Aislinn read Adela's letter with a bored expression and sighed audibly when she had finished reading it. Merlin beard's....she wants to go to the Halloween Party with Vincent...but how shall I explain for her that he never accepted the invite by Alastair...hmm...oh I got it...I actually should worry more about what Alastair would think because of Vincent not attending the party. Vincent never wrote him a response and I cannot even bring the subject about his rejection in front of Alastair. I know that Alastair does not care about Vincent, but still...ugh Vincent is embarrassing me a lot...

Aislinn wrote a short letter to tell Adela that she would meet Vincent some days before the party and that they could talk with each other regarding the coming festivities.

"Adela, let's go shopping for attires to wear at the coming Halloween party!" Faeryn exclaimed happily to Adela.

"I.." Adela was feeling reluctant about it. She desired to go shopping alone the next day because she knew that Faeryn would strongly oppose her choice of costume.

"Are you being serious?!" Endewyne sighed and placed her teacup on the saucer after taking a sip of her tea: Earl Gray with milk. "Are you aware that this is what muggles do on Halloween?"

"Of course, I am aware!" Faeryn replied. "But I did not mean that we should do the same. I was thinking that we would dress in beautiful gowns suitable for Halloween."

"But.." Adela interfered with a thin voice. Faeryn and Endwyne looked questioningly at her. At the same time, there was a knock on the door.

"Who would be visiting us at our little staffroom in the Ravenclaw Tower, at this hour?" Endewyne shrugged. She was not really asking but talking more to herself. She was surprised to see Alexis as soon as she opened the door. He did not wait for her to invite him and nearly pushed her aside as he walked inside and sat down beside Adela.

"Good evening, sister!" He even greeted her by a kiss on her cheek. Adela who was not used to this kind of treatment by her brothers flinched at his kiss.

"Are you planning for the Halloween Party?" He asked, but did not wait for an answer and immediately asked Faeryn to pour him a cup of tea.

"Please add three cubes of sugar!"

Faeryn pursed her lips but silently used Accio to bring a clean teacup for Alexis to serve him Earl Gray with three cubes of sugar.

"We were just talking about going shopping for the party tomorrow," Endewyne explained.

"Only the three of you? I talked with August and Andrew. August said he desired to shop alone since he did not wish to be disturbed while Andrew has no interest in joining a party with the original idea from muggles."

"But you could have told him that he does not need to dress up in a silly costume as muggles do on Halloween parties," Faeryn said.

"I did tell him. I even talked with Mulciber, Nott, Selwyn, Rowle, and Rockwood. The latter one has promptly declined because he believes the party is unfit for bringing children along and his wife refuses to leave their son under someone else care, even for one night. As for the others, they are interested in partying, however, they are slightly confused about dressing differently."

"I have already decided on a costume!" Adela finally managed to speak. "I want to dress up as a vampire," She revealed without thinking.

"That's a great idea. Let's dress up as vampires!" Alexis exclaimed joyfully.

"Yeah, that's a great idea. Let's dress up as lower beings. I will go as a werewolf...who will go as a fricking mermaid?" Endewyne commented with a sarcastic tone and crossed her arms. Faeryn nearly choked on her tea and almost spat it out on Alexis.

 

[Junko Natsumizaka]

Friday

"Sure." Crystal acceded. "I'll pick her up tomorrow and bring her straight here." The moment she left the shop and turned the corner she sighed tiredly, for Rosaleya's sake. "Crazy bastard." She said to herself, before opening a portal back to the castle. "These things are perfect. " Unlimited portals whenever I want in exchange for a dance with Nova at the Halloween party. Not a bad deal at all.

"Did he say why?" Rosaleya asked calmly, but there was a worried look in her eyes. Jade is asleep right now! That's good, because then he'll be available for tomorrow!

"No, he just said that tomorrow morning he wants me to bring you home before breakfast. He was pretty stubborn about it, too. It ruined my breakfast plans since he also wants me to switch with him and take his morning shift suddenly." Crystal rolled her eyes, hoping the joke about having breakfast plans would lighten the mood a bit.

"Thanks. What time do you want me to be ready?" Rosaleya smiled cheerfully. I hope that nothing's gone wrong...I've been behaving just like he asked; stupid uniform, no tricks, no rule-breaking...I honestly can't think of anything that I've done recently since that day that could warrant a talk from him, or something worse...but I've got a bad feeling about tomorrow. And we were going to finally start playing music during the Tango lessons as well. Claudia said that she remixed a song just for us, and I was looking forward to hearing it. She said that she turned the song from vocal to instrumental, changing it from a popular song to a piece that suited our dance.

"Seven-something." Crystal shrugged. "Anytime before eight is good. Later than that and it's a long-winded lecture. Goodnight." Even though it was only six o'clock, she knew that she wouldn't be seeing Rosaleya again for the rest of the night.

"Goodnight." Rosaleya said, sighing heavily the moment she had walked out of Crystal's range of hearing.

"Let's hang out?" Soren asked with a smile. "I have another film for you, for Halloween. The Room of Requirement's all set up like last time, and the weather forecast said that it'll rain in a half hour, so we can either watch the sunset inside or outside, your choice."

So cheerful. I love it. "I wanna try watching the sunset from inside today, so I'll see you in the Room of Requirement in a minute." Rosaleya replied with a smile. The ramparts would be dangerous without Jade, and the Room of Requirement is still on the seventh floor, so she sunset will be just as beautiful since it's still high up.

Five minutes later

"I've wanted to watch 'The Shining' for a while, but..." Rosaleya shrugged, referencing Leigh's strictness.

"It's fine, we can watch something else. I prepared a backup as well." He smiled. "Here." He summoned some candied apples and held the plate in front of her. "I managed to make them look like skulls without mother's help." Cooking&baking, and doing what mother does where she makes it all look kawaii, are two different things. I still have to practice a lot on the latter. No matter, though....He remembered the fourteen other apples' designs he had messed up in order to get six perfect ones. Athena walked in to see six perfectly designed candied apples on a tray and the 'failures' in another plate. "Are you going to eat those?" She asked, pointing to the 'failures'. "No, I was planning to give them away to the neighborhood kids. I was going to tell them that they were a 'marbled design'. Of course, they're so smart that one of them will make a joke about me messing up the planned designs. They love sweets, and it's not like these taste bad." "I'll pass them out." Athena levitated the tray into her grasp. "They're adorable." She meant the children. "Mmmm...." She took a large bite of one of the apples. "I count as one of the neighborhood kids, too!" was her excuse for taking two for herself before leaving with the rest of the plate untouched.

"They look delicious." Rosaleya said, taking one and smelling it. Jade will be up in ten minutes; that'll be two hours total so I know that he'll definitely be here soon. I just have to hold out until then.

"How do they taste?" Soren asked, sitting beside her on a beanbag chair.

He regarded her with such a loving expression that Rosaleya felt guilty about doubting his intentions. "I have to use the bathroom." Rosaleya said, putting her apple back onto the plate and making to leave the room. I know it's bad to assume anything the McCunnens give me is poisoned or laced with something...but I can't eat or drink anything if Jade's not around to confirm that it's safe. I'm sorry, Soren, I'll just hide out in the bathroom for ten minutes until Jade finds me-huh?

Soren stood as well to catch her wrist. He spoke gently yet firmly, yet with a piercing gaze. "Don't lie to me." It sounded as if the lie had physically hurt him, somehow.

Rosaleya looked away, trying to pull her hand away as well. "You're right; I'm sorry for lying to you." She looked into his eyes again. "But I worried that maybe..." her words were caught in her throat.

"Tell me, it's okay, I won't be offended." Soren assured gently. "Lying to cover up a surprise is fine, but not for anything else, even to spare my feelings."

"...I was worried that you had laced the apples with something." Rosaleya confessed.

"I did lace them with something: holiday cheer potion." Soren smiled, gently pulling her into an embrace. "I thought that you needed it, since you looked worried about something."

And now I feel like I've hurt his feelings somehow. He's not showing it...maybe I'm imagining how he must feel, to find out that I'm still doubting after all of his efforts. "Thank you." Rosaleya said, returning to her chair "I'll just wait a few minutes until my extension gets here; he won't be long."

"Of course. We haven't known each other for too long." Soren said logically. "I don't expect your unshakeable faith in me to have manifested itself yet."

Rosaleya laughed softly.

Jade entered the room and examined the apples. "Holiday cheer potion." He confirmed.

"Delicious. Thank you." Rosaleya said after tasting one.

Her extension gave her the green light, and all is well. Of course, it's nothing personal. I would be foolish to drink or eat anything that she gives me at this point without checking it. Soren thought.

Saturday

"Rosaleya!" Leigh embraced her the moment she stepped into the shop. "I've missed you so! The dog's been taken care of, and he's asleep upstairs-"

"Riiiiiiiiight." Jade rolled his eyes at the sound of the dog barking suddenly for no reason.

"-so we can have the day to ourselves for some family time. Crystal is handling the shop, and I'm all ready to go. Shall we?" He was wearing a white dress shirt with buttons that threatened to break at any moment, a loose, casual long brown coat, brown trousers that were too tight at the waist and a half-inch too short at the ankles, and a fedora that didn't suit his face at all. He fastened the buttons of his coat. "How do I look? I lost another three pounds since we last talked, so I can fit these clothes again." He turned this way and that, proudly displaying himself for Rosaleya. "Well?"

"Three pounds since we last talked seems like an under-achievement." Jade rolled his eyes. "He's been taking too many cheat days, or cheating every day. Go on, say that you're impressed or something." He sighed tiredly.

"Are you using a belt for your pants?" Rosaleya asked, feigning astonishment. Her statement made sense since the coat now concealed the waist and it was understandable if she hadn't checked before he fastened the buttons.

"No, but I will have to soon." Leigh replied with a boastful smile, pleased by her reply. "Come!" He took her hand and led her out of the store. "We're going to...oh, you know, you could really use a splash of makeup on your face, and I have a lovely idea for your hair. Let's go to the barber's first, and I'll have her style your hair while I add a touch of color to your face."

"I don't need that." Rosaleya replied, trying to sound modest instead of angry. I hate makeup and painted nails and salon-styled hair. Those are all marks of a woman who can't get her hands dirty [chipped nails] can't swim or sweat [styled hair] or touch her face or eat without worrying [smudged makeup]. "Really, I'm fine the way-"

"-nonsense. You're a young lady now, and I'm sure that your husband would love to see a colorful face instead of your usual robotic expressions and boring hair. Really, you never even try to do anything nice with your hair." He said as his grip became more firm on her hand. He was leading her to the barber regardless of her reply. "There are so many options! You can braid it once or twice, or you can..." He went on for the entirety of their walk. He didn't seem to hear Rosaleya's words at all, no matter how hard the tried.

"-really, I'm fine." Rosaleya said at the door.

"-Stop fighting me on this, dear." Leigh replied, trying to sound 'knowing' but coming off as forceful instead. "You'll look lovely when we've finished, I promise you. Don't you trust me?"

"And that's it." Jade clenched his fists. "If you say anything more, he'll start the 'I'm your father and I know best' talk again. And since you won't let me beat him to death or pack your things and move them out of the apartment, I can't make him leave you alone."

"Of course I trust you." Rosaleya replied with a cheerful smile.

"I hate you right now." Jade said to Leigh.

Crystal stared at the Halloween window display. She had thought of the idea months ago: a Masquerade theme, with male and female mannequins waltzing
together in the window display dressed in fine costumes and masks. The charm to make the mannequins dance without any effort from Crystal had taken a lot of time to research, but it was worth it. The window display held the more elegant costumes while still being eccentric. The more 'scary' or 'gory' costumes were at the right of the store, visible upon entrance.

The actual store's decor had been redone: a Baroque style with a Gothic touch [the Gothic touch being that most of the decor was either black or red to fit the mood]. Crystal had selected the waiting chairs and chandeliers, not only for the main area, but also for the fitting rooms, to be of the best possible quality. Enchanted mannequins also had an important part on a small platform in the center of the store: to play classical music perfect for waltzing on enchanted instruments, not too loud, of course.

Halfway through the month Crystal had hung a few enchanted bat figures from the ceiling, and added a few overlarge pumpkins with either creepy or goofy faces around the base of the 'mini orchestra's' platform.

The best part is, the mannequins have hair and graceful movements and everything! They look real if you forget that they have such smooth faces. For the ones that are wearing masks, it's easy to forget.

"There, now look at yourself in the mirror. You look lovely." Leigh insisted.

"You look like a damn clown. Large red lips and too much blush and why does he even have silver eye-shadow?!" Jade demanded.

"You look just like a fairy from a movie." Leigh smiled proudly. "And with your hair braided like that? Perfect." He shook his head as if there was not a more beautiful look for Rosaleya.

"Perfect if you look like the ugliest Barbie in the world." Jade said.

"Hello, darling! You weren't at the store, and the clerk said that you had left about an hour ago. I had to look into all of the shops to find you, but it was worth it!" Claudia embraced Leigh. "You weren't answering my messages."

Rosaleya turned away from Claudia, noticing that Soren was waiting outside with his back to the shop, and moved to hide inside the barber's bathroom.

"Rosaleya, come say hello to Claudia and Soren!" She heard Leigh address Claudia next. "I'm sorry for her rudeness. She'll be out of the bathroom in a moment." Then, back to Rosaleya. "Don't dilly-dally, dear!" Then, to the barber. "Today there's a special for the hairstyles. Don't think I didn't notice it on your sign."

Rosaleya took a few deep breaths.

"You can't wash it off, but you shouldn't be embarrassed, either." Jade said reasonably. "After all, you're not the one who did your hair and makeup. I think that they'll recognize that right away. At least he's not making you wear something stupid today."

Rosaleya left the bathroom to see that Claudia and Soren had already left.

"I sent them away, since today is just for me and you." Leigh smiled, embracing Rosaleya, then leading her outside.

Rosaleya did her best to conceal her disappointment. I didn't get to hug Claudia, and I won't get to see either of them for the rest of the day? That sucks. Well, there's always tomorrow. She thought positively. Just make it through today.

"Days shouldn't be something that you have to 'get through'." Jade said.

"We're going to go to that pub together. You're old enough to drink now and I want your first time drinking to be with me." Leigh said in response to Rosaleya's questioning look his way once they left the Leaky Cauldron.

I was saving my first time drinking for a special occasion. Not just a random day where I had to be in Dad's company. Rosaleya resisted clenching her fist. "But your favorite bar-" It's not a pub, you idiot, it's a bar. "-isn't even near Knockturn or Diagon. Why don't we go back inside the Leaky Cauldron, since I'm not allowed to-"

Leigh turned to her with a strict look in his eyes that immediately stopped Rosaleya's words from continuing. "I'm your father. Life is too short to not enjoy myself when I'm around you, and I know that you're tired of these alleys, aren't you? Besides; they don't serve good beer at any of these places. I told you before, if anyone had a problem with it, I'll take responsibility."

He made for the main street with his free hand in the air, signalling for a taxi.

Rosaleya's guilt was visible in her eyes. The Headmaster and Headmistress are nice Kuudere characters, and they're kind to me when I need it. I don't want to break their rules. But I can't tell them that Dad's breaking their rules because he'll get angry with me. Besides; what if they say 'he is your father, so it's fine?' Then it will have benefited nobody and angered Dad.

Leigh signalled for the first taxi, and made Rosaleya get in first in the back before he sat beside her, filling the rest of the small space with his vastness. "Why don't you have the heating on? It's a very cold day." He demanded.

"Electricity is expensive." The cab replied. "But I can turn it on for you if you want."

"No, that's fine." Leigh got out and held the door for Rosaleya while ordering her to follow suite. "By the time the car heats up we would be there already."

He hailed another cab a few minutes later, and made Rosaleya get in first again. "What is with this smoke? It's a disgusting habit and it will ruin your lungs. Put it out." Leigh demanded. This car had heating.

I don't mind the smoke smell...and Dad smokes, too. Hypocrite. Rosaleya thought as Leigh made the cab driver put his cigarette out and start driving. But this car is really nice and warm...and Dad just made this guy waste a whole cigarette on him; he had just lit it. He must be irritated about that, even if he's not showing it.

"Stop the cab. Pull over right now." Leigh said after they had covered less than a meter of ground. "The smell is unbearable. Rosaleya, let's go." He left and held the door open for her again, rushing her to get out even more furiously.

"But you knew that when you got in the smell wouldn't just disappear!" Jade said. "It doesn't work like that!"

"Finally." Leigh said with a sigh when they had entered their third cab, which smelled pleasantly of coffee, and had the heating turned up. "You know..." He started a monologue to that cab driver about the failures of the first two cabs, detailing his experience as if he thought that he actually sounded interesting when he moved his voice up and down dramatically while telling a story.

"But the time that we spent waiting outside in the cold for two more taxis could've been spent on the first one, and we would've been there already. That was a twenty minute wait total-" Jade checked the time for confirmation "-and the drive only takes fifteen to eighteen minutes."

Rosaleya admired the view of the passing city streets out of her window, trying to ignore Leigh's long-winded dialogue.

"I say, the nerve of taxis these days!" Leigh finished, reaching inside his pocket for their cab fare. "They should care about the comfort of their passengers!"

"Mmmhmm." The cab driver nodded, clearly happy to see Leigh harshly twist the handle of his door as he left, for it meant no more monologue. "He's your Dad?" He added for Rosaleya.

When their eyes met, Rosaleya had the distinct feeling of understanding pass between them. Thanks. She thought, gently closing the taxi door. A damn stranger gets it. Sometimes I feel like Dad's blind. "Yup, he is." Rosaleya replied politely, speaking to herself.

"You'll get whatever breakfast you want from the place across the street." Leigh took hold of her hand and crossed the busy street with her.

Not using a crosswalk...Rosaleya thought in annoyance. ...you're not stealthy and yet you've never been caught for it.

Leigh sighed over and over again as they waited in line, shifting his weight from one foot to the other with his hands on his hips. The 'place across the street' sold omelette burritos and other breakfast items prepared by a short-order cook. There weren't too many seats, with only a small bar facing the window, so most customers waited in line and took their food 'to go'. There were only six people ahead of them, so Rosaleya wouldn't have minded the wait at all, but Leigh could make anything unbearable.

"Three omelette burritos, extra cheese and sour cream!" Leigh quickly ordered for himself, then turned expectantly to Rosaleya, urging her to speak quickly in his impatience.

"One omelette, with extra parsley and tomato, please-" Rosaleya said readily. She had already taken a straw from the counter, for her water, and Jade had selected the food that would be easiest to eat without 'ruining her lipstick' "-with a mini oregano bread roll, please."

They took their food to the pub, crossing the street without using the crosswalk at the other end, much to Rosaleya's secret annoyance. Once inside, Leigh immediately offered Rosaleya a beer. "They're delicious here. If you're going to try them, you must try them from here because they have the best beers in all of London."

"So you've had a drink at every bar and pub in London, have you?" Jade said sardonically. "Your advice is most welcome, then. The best advice does come from people who drink in the morning, doesn't it?"

It's not even nine-thirty yet, and he's ordering a beer.

"...and one for my daughter, please!" Leigh finished. During the short walk across the street he had hungrily consumed half of his first omelette burrito, and there were bits of parsley stuck in between his teeth. He took another beastly bite of his burrito, then addressed Rosaleya with a full mouth. "Why haven't you started eating, yet? It will get cold fast!"

"Oh." Rosaleya suddenly remembered her omelette. She laughed at the fact that she had forgotten it even as she gripped the styrofoam box gently in her left hand. She opened it, but Leigh snatched it away from her with unexpected speed.

"Oh, you've let it get cold." His lip curled upwards as he continued with a patronizing tone. "Do you want me to go across the street and get you another one?"

"No, thank you." Rosaleya replied with a smile, then reached forward to take her omelette back.

Leigh pulled it out of her grasp at the last moment with a strict expression and raised eyebrows.

"What NOW?" Jade gritted his teeth.

After a full half-minute of silence where Leigh kept the omelette at his side and kept eating his burritos, he sighed and explained, with a full mouth "A lady should never reach across the table for something. You should say 'please pass the salt, please pass the omelette, etc'." He swallowed noisily. "Well?"

"Hypocrite." Jade literally spat in Leigh's face, although Leigh felt nothing.

"Could you please pass the omelette?" Rosaleya asked politely, smiling to avoid laughing.

"Sure." Leigh said, handing it back. "You see, it's as easy as that."

"Here you are, Sir." The waiter put the two beers in front of Leigh.

"The second one goes over there." Leigh indicated harshly, and the waiter corrected his mistake with a polite apology. The waiter hadn't even moved three steps away from the table when Leigh called him back to order two more beers. The waiter walked away, and Leigh stuffed the rest of his first burrito in his mouth. Having overestimated the size of his own mouth, he realized too late that it couldn't fully close and that he hadn't left enough room to chew. He grabbed a napkin and spit half of it out into the tissue, chewed the first half, and then reintroduced the second to his aperture. This second half had, unbeknown to Leigh, a bit of the tissue stuck to it.

Jade had had the good sense to sit on the edge of the table and lean backwards to smile at Rosaleya. She would appear to be looking straight forward at Leigh without showing disgust. "I've got your back." He kissed her forehead.

This is much more bearable with Jade here. I'm so happy that he didn't have to sleep during the day today.

"Mm!" Leigh sighed noisily after gulping down his entire beer in one go, slamming the cup on the table; this caused a nearby waiter to cringe. "Rosaleya, try yours! It's delicious!"

"Dad-" Rosaleya began bravely, keeping her composure, and Jade got off the table so that she could make proper eye contact "-I know that you're really eager for me to try these delicious beers, and I don't doubt, even one bit, that they don't taste amazing, but I wanted to save my first time drinking for a special occasion, and-"

"-Bah, what nonsense!" Leigh laughed. "If you're always waiting for the 'right time' or that 'special occasion' to do fun things, then you'll never do anything fun! Try it now."

Rosaleya sighed quietly, and looked away.

"Like how you barely ever took her out somewhere fun unless it was a special occasion? Otherwise, you'd call things like grocery shopping 'fun', and waste our time with that." Jade said. "It's not like we hate going to mundane places, we actually love going if it's not WITH YOU!"

"Come on, stop acting like you're miss goody-two-shoes. What, are you too righteous for even your own father now? I question what values they're teaching you at that school. And what values I've given you that they're erasing with their liberal attitudes." Leigh began, but stopped with a satisfied expression when Rosaleya consented, picking up her large beer glass.

"Ok. Take a literal sip, and I'll handle the rest." Jade promised. "But you have to keep gulping and swallowing like you're drinking, and keep your lips parted slightly. And...start."

Rosaleya took one sip while Jade inserted his finger into the glass, turning it into a mini, silent vacuum. He kept it right by her lips, so that the liquid that slowly disappeared appeared to be going into her mouth. This method fooled Leigh, and it got them through the first glass. Leigh's limit was six; any more and he would get sick, any less and he wouldn't 'feel anything'.

"How was it?" Leigh asked, happy to see that she'd taken a liking to it, but wanting to hear praise about his good taste.

It was disgusting. Rosaleya gave a convincing positive reply, thanking him for taking her and of course complimenting his fine taste in drinks, and throwing in one honest comment about how she liked the pendant lights shaped like cones which hung above each table.

Leigh looked upwards, just noticing the lights after Rosaleya's comment despite having visited this pub many times. "Oh those?" He waved his hand. "They're so boring."

"Just...kidding." Rosaleya shrugged. Not. I think that they're cute.

Leigh pulled a small notebook out of his coat pocket, turned through the first twenty pages, and found a highlighted page. "Ah, here we are."

"Subjects To Discuss." Jade walked behind Leigh and read aloud, since it would've taken Rosaleya a long time to read it upside down. "I don't know why he bothered writing the same old subjects down. He should have them permanently engraved in his mind by now."

While Leigh finished eating his other two burritos and gulping down his second beer, he covered the same old subjects, and Rosaleya gave the expected answers
. Leigh chose to cover Claudia and Soren last, and that was where the replies started getting difficult.

"Excuse me." Rosaleya said when Leigh asked what Rosaleya usually talked about with Claudia. "I have to use the bathroom."

"Of course. Don't take too long or I'll think that you've run away." Leigh joked, belching loudly afterwards.

"Of course! I didn't think of Claudia!" Jade exclaimed happily. "She's probably been drunk before!"

"Yes!" Rosaleya whispered to herself, activating her pager charm once she was safely inside the last bathroom stall. She always chose the last one in a public bathroom, even if all of the other stalls were empty, because she found that less people knocked to see if it was available; they usually chose the stalls closer to the door.

Lady Rose: Dad is making me drink with him. Don't worry, Jade is helping me get rid of it before it even enters my mouth. But, I don't know what it's like to be drunk, so I can't pretend realistically if I have no idea what I'm doing.

Lady Rose: After how many drinks [I've never even had alcohol before] would I retch it all back? At what point would my eyes start drooping and my speech start getting sloppy?

Lady Rose: Finally, how should I simulate a hangover in the morning? Is it like a headache, or do I get sick again in the morning? Every movie and book seems to treat getting drunk & hangovers differently, so I cannot use those.

Lady Rose: I need the information to put all of these details into a wish to Nova. I'm going to wish to appear to have these symptoms, but have a clear mind and no physical pain.

Rosaleya sighed. What if she doesn't answer? Should I just summon Nova anyway? He's over two hundred years old, he must've gotten drunk at least once, mustn't he? Maybe I could ask him? But would that count as asking for suggestions for the wish if I ask him about it before I tell him that I want the wish? But maybe the fact that I've summoned him in a women's bathroom in a bar would alert him that I'm in need of a wish.

"Nova, I summon you." I can't wait any longer. My time in here is limited already. I took two minutes to type all of that, and I waited for four...

"I'm so sorry, I'm busy at the moment!, I'll return later!" Nova appeared to deliver this line, with blood splatters on his face and crisp white shirt, then disappeared a moment later.

"Deep breath, Rose, hang on." Jade said. They waited another minute. "Oh, I have another idea! Summon Eric."

"I didn't even think of that!" Rosaleya sighed in relief, leaving the stall and summoning Eric.

"Yes, Lady Rose? What may I assist you with?" Eric bowed perfectly.

"Tell him to order you to manifest the outward appearance of a drunk first-time drinker, with no physical pain or loss of motor skills, and while remaining clear-minded. He'll help, he's so nice!" Jade said. "Oh, 'as you pretend to drink, the symptoms will appear at a gradual pace, mirroring a real reaction's timing'." He added.

Rosaleya quickly repeated Jade's words.

"Why?" Eric asked curiously.

"Please, I will explain later but right now I'm pressed for time." Rosaleya replied. Slightly oblivious. Still fine, because he will help me without demanding a reason.

"Can't you give me a summary?" Eric really wanted to know. It was an innocent, childish curiosity, nothing more.

As if to prove Rosaleya's point, Leigh knocked on the women's bathroom door. "Rosaleya, you're taking your sweet time in there. Is everything alright?"

"Yes! I just..." Rosaleya swallowed her embarrassment. "...I'm going 'Number Two', so I'll need a few more minutes."

"You shouldn't need more than ten minutes to poop and use some water to moisten a few folded tissues and wet-wipe, and wash your hands extra-good." Leigh spoke as if she was one-third her age. "Bad things happen in bathrooms sometimes, so you understand why I'm worried, don't you? Tell me that you're alright."

"I'm fine!" Rosaleya replied with her hands covering her face in embarrassment. She was glad that Eric didn't laugh.

Jade was growling at Leigh like a dog.

"Promise?"

"Promise!"

"Do you need a laxative, sweetie? It only takes me four minutes to 'go' after it kicks in."

Jade imitated a large guard dog, barking threateningly at Leigh as if he wanted to rip him apart with his teeth.

"No, I'm almost done, I'll be right with you!"

"I'm waiting right here just in case!" Leigh said firmly.

"Arf!" Jade made for the door.

"Don't!" Rosaleya hissed.

Jade wined like a dog that had been denied its favorite treat. "But whyyyyyyyyyy?" He wined some more.

Rosaleya lowered her hands with a heavy sign, giving Eric a pleading look to speak quietly, and she opened her mouth to repeat her favor.

"-I order you..." Eric interrupted her before she began, whispering the exact details that Rosaleya had asked for, word for word. "...until I say otherwise." He finished.

Rosaleya was surprised at his memory despite the distractions. She thanked him with a grateful whisper, and he bowed elegantly and disappeared without a trace, his expression reminding her that his curiosity would wait for an explanation later, but she shouldn't forget to give it. She noticed a clown-like face in the mirror, taking a second to register that it was actually hers. Oh, I forgot that I look like a darn clown! And my lipstick smudged because of the beer. He still didn't laugh, though...that's really nice of him. She pictured him laughing at her wish, appearance, and conversation with Leigh the moment he appeared somewhere else. Not bad, I would probably be laughing as well. I'm grateful for his composure around me, at least. Jade held open the bathroom door for her.

"Oh, there you are!" Leigh embraced Rosaleya the moment she left the bathrooms. He had an empty glass of beer in his right hand, meaning that he had been drinking while he stood waiting for her. His eyes were droopy, his speech slurred, and he nearly lost his balance when he stepped back to break the embrace. "I'malready onmy fooorth beer and youuuuuu've only had oneandahalfffffff." He swayed slightly when he turned back and made for their table.

"That's not his speech pattern at his fourth, it sounds like he lost count and drank number five already." Jade said. "Can't I please kill him?"

'No.' Rosaleya mouthed.

"Just a little?" Jade pleaded. "Come on...it would be the same as him dying from the diabetes or lung cancer that he's probably going to die from soon anyways." He gestured to the now-seated Leigh, who had lit a cigarette. "Remember his rant earlier about the second taxi? You hate him, don't you? Hypocrite, idiot, insensitive, rule-breaker, rude, garrulous, disgusting, embarrassing. You've thought all of those things about him today, whether you admit it to yourself or not. He's not going to change back to what he was. He's rich, so you know that is't not about a financial situation-"

"-drinkyourbeer beforeit gggetscold." Leigh said after ordering a sixth beer for himself and a third for Rosaleya.

Jade continued speaking as he helped Rosaleya pretend to drink like before. "-and he's not lonely anymore because he's literally found the perfect woman and he has a 'cute dog'-" he spat at Leigh again "-and there is nothing currently unstable in his life. Steady job, good employees-" he meant Crystal "-decent house...IF he bothered to pay someone to fix the leaky ceilings and windows and walls, buy a new fridge that didn't freeze half of the refrigerated items because it has poor temperature control after being used for twenty years and have someone put a bloody heating and cooling system for the tap water. And you're not stressing him out in anyway. You're a model of patience and FRICKIN obedience-"

"-Here...try this." Leigh lit another cigarette and insisted that Rosaleya try it by putting it in her mouth.

"-so WHY do you have to deal with this guy? Think about it: nostalgia aside, the other demons, especially the McCunnens who are literally your idea of a perfect family, are much more fun to hang out with than he ever was, have given you better advice, have never laughed at you, never forced you to do anything, have never twisted your words-"

"-C'mon, won'tyoutryit?" Leigh gave her a look since she hadn't paid any attention to the cigarette. "Like this-" He demonstrated by inhaling deeply "-inhale nice and deeeeeeeep." and exhaling a lot of smoke. He took one more drag, then put it out. He was the type of man who smoked the cigarette until it was difficult to hold it without burning his fingers.

"I don't know how to make it look like you're inhaling it. Just try one breath of it and I'll handle the rest." Jade advised reluctantly.

Rosaleya inhaled, then immediately took the cigarette out of her mouth and coughed out the smoke, holding a hand to her chest.

"Tryagain, and breathe slO-WER." Leigh advised rudely, as if it was common knowledge.

Jade tipped Leigh's sixth beer onto his lap, hoping that he would be temporarily distracted by the mess, for long enough to trim and re-ignite the cigarette, giving the impression that Rosaleya had smoked it.

"Oops." Leigh laughed, but made no effort to clean up the mess.

"You shouldn't be here in the first place, you should be having fun with the McCunnens right now, having a perfect breakfast with them." Jade spoke a mile a minute. "Claudia said that she was going to make you the McCunnenn's Ultra-Top-Secret-Mega Waffle Recipe, remember? And then some video games [four-player-mode], then a tango lesson, then DELICIOUS lunch, then a movie for Halloween, then she would tell you another one of her funny stories while you watched the sunset reflecting off of 'the River Thames', and then you'd all make dinner and dessert together, and then after you've cleared up, you prepare for bed, and then, after tucking you in, she sings you a lullaby." Jade's voice quivered with pleasure at the thought.

"I can't finish it-" Rosaleya made to put the cigarette out after another failed attempt. I'm not even going to try. If I can't distract him and pretend, and there's obviously no way he'll let me go to the bathroom again since I just went, I'll have to do this.

"-don't putitout!" Leigh grabbed the cigarette from her, and put it into his mouth instead. "Donn' waste 'em!"

And so, Leigh murmured and mumbled about how much he missed her while she was at Hogwarts, how difficult it was to complete the daily chores, manage the store, and care for the dog while 'finding time for Claudia', and how brave he had to be every day to get out of bed and find the motivation to continue being a "...good ffffffather foryou."

This went on for two hours. During the first hour, Rosaleya 'drank' her five beers. She could tell that she had had enough because her motor skills started faltering and her words started slurring on their own. She also had trouble keeping her eyes from drooping.

"Lllet's go home." Leigh swayed in his seat. He made to stand, but tripped somehow and fell noisily, dragging the tablecloth with him in an attempt to stop his fall.

Rosaleya felt so irritated and embarrassed and so sad that this was the person that she had to call 'father'. A single tear escaped her eye as she turned to Jade, asking him, with her expression, to help her carry Leigh to a cab so that they could return home.

Once she had Eric return her to normal since Leigh was too drunk to pay attention to her state anyway, she told herself that she would be home soon and Leigh would be out of the way; he would fall asleep soon due to the inebriation.

But the mercilessly cold weather outside, and the inconvenient lack of taxis seemed to mock her. Five...ten...fifteen...twenty...twenty five minutes passed. Nova was busy, and Eric couldn't grant wishes or make portals. She had already tried contacting Claudia in the bathroom, but her lack of replies to the messages were a clear indicator that she was unavailable.

A Bugatti Chiron, black with royal blue lightning bolts painted on the sides and wheels of the same color, swiftly parallel parked to the curb right in front of Rosaleya. The doors opened at the same time, and Soren un-sunglassed in the coolest way possible, and smiled cheerfully at her.

Rosaleya rubbed her eyes in disbelief as Jade tossed Leigh roughly into the back of the car. She got in the front passenger seat, and Jade climbed onto the roof of the car. "My prince rescued me in a dazzlingly stylish carriage." She jested.

Soren closed the car's doors, ignoring Leigh's mumbling about gratitude and how children should always care for their parents like this.

"You can drive?" Rosaleya asked suddenly. "I didn't expect that."

"Why not? I'm older than you, after all."

As soon as the car started moving, Jade stood on the top and pretended to surf while keeping his balance.

Rosaleya heard him using his mouth as a trumpet to play the iconic surfing song that seemed to be a cliche in most surfing or beach scenes in films. She giggled, feeling much better now.

And then Leigh started drunk singing in his out of tune voice, stopping occasionally between lines to hiccup or burp. Whenever Leigh sang 'For yoooooooooooooooouuuuuu ooooooooooooh ooooooooooooooh ooooooooooooooh ooooooooooohu." He pointed to Rosaleya.

"I don't know how you deal with him." Soren said, turning the corner. He had chosen a tan interior color today. By the time Leigh had finished the first verse, Soren was having difficulties remaining patient. He stopped for a red light, and Leigh was nearly finished with the second verse, when Soren turned around abruptly, and literally punched his lights out. "FATALITY! SOREN WINS! FLAWLESS VICTORY." Soren said in a deep voice, referencing Mortal Kombat 11 . He laughed, imitating his favorite evil laugh from the game.

Rosaleya only laughed.

Soren ruffled Rosaleya's hair, and pushed a button for the music. "Do you know the words?" He asked as the first notes played.

"Heck yeah I do!" Rosaleya replied enthusiastically.

"Even if you don't sound good, you'll sound better than that." He meant Leigh. "I'll sing the male part. My voice isn't that bad." He said modestly.



He drove them to the ruins at the far end of Knockturn Alley with awesome skill, and they arrived by the time they finished singing the second Eurobeat song.

"What're you talking about?" Rosaleya asked rhetorically. "Your voice is amazing!"

"So is yours." Soren replied softly. "Let's drop this thing off at your house."

"Good plan." Rosaleya agreed.

Jade had already jumped down off of the car's roof, picked Leigh up on his own this time and proceeded to carry him home.

"I'll be back in a few." Rosaleya said, then caught up with Jade.

"Rosa." Leigh mumbled once Rosaleya had finally tucked Leigh into his bed at home. "I don't trust Claudia. Stay away from her. I had a dream that she tried to eat me. She cut off my arms and legs and feasted on me like a Halloween monster. Stay away from...the McCunnens."

Rosaleya ignored his words, taking them for a drunkard's useless gibberish.

When she returned to the car, Soren was waiting for her with a warm smile. "That's never going to happen again." He assured while he pressed a button to transform the car from 'Land Mode' to 'Air Mode', and pressed the Invisibility Button.

"What?" Rosaleya inquired how much he knew.

Jade was lying down in the back of the car, humming 'For He's a Jolly Good Fellow'.

Much to Rosaleya's surprise, the car began its ascent, and Soren pressed the music button. " This much. ." Soren smiled softly. "I knew that something was up when he told mother and I that he didn't want us to even say hello to you today. We were both watching. We couldn't intervene because we needed to know how far you would let it go without our assistance. And now-" He held up a camcorder -we have hard evidence that Leigh is a jerk that likes to break school rules."

"Headmaster, I need to speak with you urgently." Soren said seriously, knocking on the Headmaster's door. It was still before lunch, so Soren hoped he would be there. However, he knew that, considering it was a weekend, the office might be empty.

"Don't worry-" He told Rosaleya on their flight there "-I'll explain everything, and I'll ask that the Headmaster, when talking with Leigh about it, doesn't believe him when he denies the truth. I'll give him the camcorder. And I'll ask him to say that he received the information that Leigh was breaking the rules from 'an anonymous source'. That way, he won't get angry at you. If you watch the recording, you can't tell who's shooting it, because mother and I made sure not to say a word or move into the camera's view even once. The video is of you two the moment you left the barber shop, up until you're waiting for twenty-five minutes in the cold air. The footage of the pub is only of your table, which was luckily by the window."

When Soren received no reply, he knocked at the Deputy Headmistress's door. Once again receiving no reply, he tried the office of Slytherin's head, getting the same result. He then tried Professor Quinn's office, knocking gently and awaiting a reply with baited breath.

 

[Hikari Chan]

Lily was feeling very awkward, waiting together with Persephone and Flynn in the entrance hall. Even if Lily was almost as tall as Persephone, she held her hand, like a child holding its mother's hand. However, today, Persephone was much taller and almost reached the same height as Flynn, because she was wearing a pair of tall brown boots with high heels. Soon Pegah joined them and they were just waiting for Macnair and Avery. Avery was taking forever eating a sandwich since he could not apparate on an empty stomach. Macnair was waiting on his friend to finish his small breakfast quickly so they could leave.

Soon, everyone was gathered in the entrance hall, but they did not leave at once. Instead, both Macnair and Persephone went to the headmaster's office to try to persuade him one more time, but Elias refused to join them because he wanted to surprise them with his costume. Lily was glad that Pegah was with her during the short moment Persephone had left otherwise she would have felt even more awkward in Flynn's presence. Even if they did apologize to each other yesterday and even if she tried to avoid looking at him, still she could not forget his two-colored eyes. One green and one blue....bluer than the sky and the sea...

"Hey, are you alright?" Pegah released her hand from Lily's firm grip. Lily had immediately taken hold of her friend's hand when Persephone had left for a moment.

Before Lily could reply, Persephone and Macnair had returned with Nott. There was no point in asking Rockwood, since Vivienne had already owled Persephone, explaining for her best friend why they would not attend the Halloween Party. They did not ask the rest of the professors, because they usually did not hang with each other so much.

"Alright, let's go! Our first stop in Diagon Alley!" Persephone exclaimed happily.

"Then why did we all dress up as muggles?" Avery asked, still feeling sluggish for missing his morning sleep. They were all dressed in muggle clothes. Persephone had matched her high brown boots with a slim fitted coat, a knitted red dress, black tights, and black gloves, her hair was worn in a ponytail, and a common Louis Vuitton handbag, with its typical pattern and colors. It was large enough to carry on everything she needed, including her wand. She had wasted all her savings to buy that expensive handbag, which Flynn regarded as a waste of money. The reason she had got the handbag was because of Vivienne getting the same handbag as a gift by Rockwood. Lily was wearing a rosegold colored trenchcoat with white low heel ankle boots and a white tote handbag. She was wearing a pair of light washed denim along with a pink turtle neck sweater. She wore her hair in a messy yet elegant hair bun. Pegah was matching her friend in style, yet she was wearing darker colors: her trenchcoat was black and her trousers of dark blue color. Macnair's red hair made a charming contrast to his black attire, a thin autumn trenchcoat along with black dress pants and elegant shoes. Avery looked like a high school boy with his messy hair, marine blue bomber jacket, ordinary denim, and sneakers. Nott wore almost the same style as Avery, but instead of a bomber jacket, Nott was wearing a marine blue trench coat. Persephone had managed to make Flynn change his clothes to something different than his usual attire and instead wear a style as similar as Macnair was wearing today. However, he did not abandon his eyepatch.

"We need to apparate to a safe spot before we can enter the muggle area in London. Besides we are also meeting up with miss Malfoy outside the Leaky Cauldron," Persephone explained for the sixth time. She had been explaining this to her brother and then to Macnair and Avery yesterday. She had also told this to Elias when she was trying to persuade him to tag along and then to Nott. And now she had to explain the same thing to Avery once again.

Clarissa was waiting alone outside the Leaky Cauldron, waiting for Lily and Pegah to arrive along with some professors from Hogwarts. The girls had asked Summer and Rhaine to join them, however, the twins had declined to join them because they wanted to surprise them with their costumes at the party. Clarissa looked like an ordinary muggle in her outfit: A short belted coat jacket in black, a pair of slimmed black denim which was folded to show off her ankles, and pastel blue shirt blouse, a Burberry scarf, white tennis shoes, and a small handbag with a shoulder strap. The handbag was enchanted to make room for everything she needed to carry on, including her wand.

It was almost eleven o'clock in the morning when they all met outside Leaky Cauldron.

"Alright, does anyone need to exchange galleons to pounds? Then we just pay a quick visit to the Gringotts," Persephone asked. "The brunch is on me today, Flynn has promised for dinner and then I was thinking we could hit a club or go to the muggle theaters, but you will be paying for your own ticket-"

"Will that be okay?" Avery asked nervously and nodded towards Lily. "I mean, she won't be breaking any school rules, will she?-"

"Of course it is okay!" Persephone replied. "The headmaster knows about our excursion today and she accompanied by us, five professors. We had some excursions after we took over the school before the summer, so there is no problem with having another excursion today. Besides, she is of age, so if we went on 'excursion to a nightclub' in the evening, she is not breaking any rules. Alright, shall we?"

"What do you think about that outfit?" Mary Jane gestured at oriental costume which was on display with other different costumes. She was with Melody in Piccadilly, looking for a store that sold Halloween costumes. They were lucky to find one, that sold all kinds of scary and also different nonscary costumes for muggles for Halloween.

"It does not look like her..." Melody said thoughtfully. They had both been at the public library earlier, so that Melody could show Mary Jane how a Geisha looked like from one of the books that illustrated Japanese attires. They had also been looking at pictures on other oriental attires.

"But it is beautiful, it looks like one of those fancy attires from one of those ancient dynasties, I do not remember which....anyway, I bet all my gobstones that this is going to make you look like a queen!"

Melody blushed slightly.

"Come on," Mary Jane urged and dragged Melody inside the store.

Since it was just eleven o'clock in the morning, there were only a few customers in the store.

"The quality is bad..." Mary Jane said after she had checked out the oriental attire closer. "Let's buy this one as a sample and get a better one made at Madam Malkin's. Hopefully, we can bargain with Madam Ruby regarding the accessories..."

"Alright, but...but what about you?" Melody blushed slightly. Her friend had already told her what she would dress as, as soon as they had left the library. However, she hoped that Mary Jane would change her mind.

"I already told you! I will be your ninja shadow bodyguard at the party because I do not trust Reign!" Mary Jane burst out with passion, speaking louder than usual.

Both the store personnel and the few customers who were shopping in the store looked oddly at the two girls. Melody felt embarrassed and blushed even more. What is even a ninja? Mary Jane has got quite obsessed with that kind of thing after we had browsed through the books about Asian culture and clothes. If I had not told her that I could not send owls or Patronus to Reign, would she have chosen a different costume for the party...?

Thirty minutes later, Melody and Mary Jane walked out of the store, both carrying big paper bags containing their recent purchase. Melody has bought the oriental attire along with its accessories while Mary Jane had bought a black attire along with two plastic swords, katanas, other plastic weapons such as a couple of shurikens and nunchaku and one wooden stick. She had even forced Melody to buy a war fan because she thought looking dangerous was part of being beautiful. Melody could not quite understand her friend. Mary Jane has only spent one hour to browse through some books and she is already into those oriental weapons. Do I have to go with her to Goblin City to forge real weapons? I do not like that place...I hope she won't force me to forge a real war fan...

"Alright, shall we have lunch here or do you want to go back to Borough Market?"

"Uhm..." Suddenly Melody's tummy growled loudly. Her face turned red like a tomato. At the same time, she was feeling relieved that Reign was not present.

"I guess you want some lunch first before we head back!" Mary Jane laughed heartily.

"Come in," Miss Quinn called, wondering what was so urgent before the lunch hour.

 

[Junko Natsumizaka]

Soren entered, and kindly rejected the seat he was offered. "No thank you; this will not take long." He assured. "Professor Quinn." Soren addressed her with the utmost respect. Unless proven to be an intolerable human, rudeness is intolerable. He spoke calmly, yet with an urgency in his eyes. The type of urgency that one has when they are defending what they view to be a just cause. "I have a question about the new rule that allows students to visit Knockturn Alley and Diagon Alley. Are students also allowed to visit other places if their family members accompany them, or if their families live elsewhere?" He calmly waited for the reply, his hands folded behind his back to avoid fidgeting or accidentally making any gestures which revealed too much emotion.

 

[Hikari Chan]

"Of course, they are allowed," Quinn looked perplexed at Soren. She found his sudden urgency and question quite odd. "An underaged witch or wizard may visit any place, as long as he or she is accompanied by a family member that has authority over the child. Underaged students may also visit any other place if they are accompanied by their professor and are going on an excursion. The new rule that allows students to visit the two alleys, is for allowing students that are of age to visit those two places on their own. Underaged students may only visit Hogsmeade during the weekends and we would only allow them to go elsewhere if it is a family emergency. However, we never expect students to go elsewhere during the weekends since the majority likes to visit Hogsmeade or prefer to do homework or practice Quidditch and we hardly have students going elsewhere. It is usually during the Christmas and Easter holidays that students visit their families." She explained and then gestured towards a couple of parchment rolls on her desk. "Even if students are of age and the Ministry of Magic cannot keep a track on them anymore, we keep track of whoever leaves Hogwarts during the weekends. If students become unruly and their outdoor activities go out of hand, then we would absolutely suspend them from leaving Hogwarts during the weekends and even during the holidays. It is not only about following school rules, but also following the wizarding laws as well." She paused for a second before asking kindly: "Is there something else I need to clarify?"

 

[Junko Natsumizaka]

"I see." Soren replied, reflecting on her words for a moment.

"Is there something else I need to clarify?" Professor Quinn asked kindly.

"I take it your negative impression of Ms. Fairbrook's father hasn't faded away since September's incident." Soren paused for a moment. "This morning, he took Ms. Fairbrook to a Muggle bar twenty minutes from Knockturn Alley. He was unaware that Hogwarts allows excursions for students accompanied by their families, and under the impression that he was breaking school rules by taking her wherever he pleased, yet he didn't spare it a second thought. At the bar, he started drinking with her at approximately eight-thirty a.m.-" he stressed the initialism in disapproval "-and forced her to join him. He attempted to make her smoke Muggle cigarettes as well. I aided her in getting him home, realizing that the beer had left Mr. Fairbrook incapacitated in his inebriation, and hence an unsuitable guardian for her. To my surprise and relief, Miss Fairbrook was cunning enough to feign inebriation, but if he had noticed that she was not truly drinking with him I assume he would've taken more drastic measures than that morning in the Great Hall. My point is: this morning's incident has angered me, and I cannot bare to think of what other things he may make her do on these excursions of his. Can you assist me in making it known to Mr. Fairbrook that Hogwarts will not tolerate his behavior?" He paused for a moment, but added, before the professor could speak "And he is used to using violence as a means to solve everything. If you aren't completely certain that you, or someone else, will be able to rectify the situation and prevent further incidents, as well as keeping my name out of it as the witness, then I must ask that you do not approach him about it in any way. If you need further evidence, I have a Muggle device that allows one to record an incident, much like a moving picture, only longer. The sound is not clear, but I have evidence from when they left the Alley to when Ms. Fairbrook awaited a cab for more than twenty minutes."

 

[Hikari Chan]

"Hmm..." Quinn seemed to ponder on what Soren just had told her. I do not doubt that Mr. Fairbrook is an abusive man, after witnessing how barged in here uninvited and how he treated his daughter. Miss Fairbrook is of age. If she had been underaged, the Ministry of Magic would have revoked Mr. Fairbrook's custody and authorization over his daughter and placed her in another wizarding family or just have her stay at Hogwarts until she comes of age. But, if her father is giving her a hard time on the weekends, why does she not speak with me, the headmaster or with the deputy headmistress about this? Has she not tried to report her abusive father to the Ministry of Magic? I find it odd that Mr. McCunnen is suggesting to give me evidence in the form of a muggle device. He is in his sixth year, but perhaps he is from a muggle family or perhaps he has not learned how to use the memory extraction spell to withdraw his memory? Or maybe he is not familiar with that kind of spell yet...

"I have thought of a solution on how I can help miss Fairbrook. You do not need to worry, you will remain anonymous and her father won't be able to hurt her, you or anyone in the faculty or ministry," Quinn said after a couple of minutes had passed in silence. She opened one of the drawers in her desk and picked out a drop-shaped crystal vial. She opened another drawer and picked out parchments. In the third drawer, she got some envelopes. "If you are familiar with the memory extraction spell and know how to perform it, may you extract your memory from the entire incident; from the moment you started to follow miss Fairbrook from Knockturn Alley, until the moment you saved her from that muggle bar, and place the extracted memory in this vial, please. If you do not how to extract your memory, it is alright. You do not have to do it. However, I need to see your muggle device, please put it here," She pointed flawlessly with her manicured finger on an empty spot on her table. "And I have a couple of questions for you as well. Why did you follow miss Fairbrook? How did you follow her and record the incident at the same time, since it happened in a muggle area that was twenty minutes away with a muggle cab from Knockturn Alley? Does she know that you followed her and recorded the incident? And does she know that you are here on her behalf to tell me about the incident? In other words, did she permit you to follow her and then tell me about it?" She spoke with a sharp and rigorous voice. Her eyes had an unbending and firm look. She did not know what relationship Mr. McCunnen had with miss Fairbrook, hence she was feeling worried about the girl.

 

[Junko Natsumizaka]

Soren placed the camcorder on Quinn's desk at her first indication.

When it was time for him to reply, he knew that no lie could sound any less strange or more believable than the truth.

"I am Ms. Fairbrook's betrothed; her father's arrangement." He clarified, his eyes displaying his distaste for such a cruel decision. "My love for her is boundless; I knew from the moment we met...the feeling was similar to what Muggles call 'love at first sight'. She views me as nothing more than a close friend, and I would love to know her better, just as I would love to marry her, however, I would never dream of marrying her against her will, or making any unwelcome advances. We have not moved beyond holding hands and occasional embraces." 'And never would I dare to force her into anything.' His expression stressed his determination. "I view Mr. Fairbrook as an unsuitable guardian for her based on his recent actions alone-" he implied last September's incident, the forced marriage, and this morning's incident "-although I cannot guess at what he has done before I've known the Fairbrooks. It is my deepest wish to remove all of his authority over her." I cannot stress that point enough. His expression continued speaking for him for a moment. "But by obtaining this evidence I hoped to remove his authority during the weekends at least." 'And if I had intervened sooner, I would not have gotten this evidence.' His expression explained. "I will be turning twenty this January, and that is how I am legally able to drive a car;" That is how I watched her. He gestured to the camcorder. "I drove her home after the incident. My instincts told me to watch her this morning; her father acted strangely to me, and I felt as if he had planned something strange for them. Ms. Fairbrook wasn't aware that I was watching her; I informed her directly afterwards, and she consented to allow me to speak on her behalf with a Hogwarts professor. She stressed, vehemently, that neither of our names would be revealed to Mr. Fairbrook should there be any confrontation. Ms. Fairbrook is terrified of her father, although she will not admit it to me I can tell, so she is unable to speak against him for fear of his punishment afterwards. I tried a number of offices on my way here, including that of the Headmaster and Deputy Headmistress, but they were not available, and I could not bare to wait." Terrified of him, but also desperately hoping that he will revert back from his beastly state to whatever she recalls as kindness from before. "If I may...?" He gestured to the camcorder. With her permission he started the video for her, and held it at the appropriate angle so that she could see it clearly.

 

[Hikari Chan]

"Miss Fairbrook is of age," Quinn spoke after she had watched the moving picture which Soren had captured with his muggle device. She knew this since she had access to the list of students who currently were enrolled at Hogwarts. "Her father lost his authority and guardianship over her the day she turned seventeen, however, he has not realized it yet. As a witch of age, she has authority over herself, she does not need a guardian and no one, not even her father has the right to force her into anything such as marriage. Miss Fairbrook has every right to be a free woman with her own choices and wills..." She pointed with the tip of her wand at her temple and withdraw a blue string of light which she put inside the crystal drop-shaped vial. "...I have a memory of myself seeing the evidence now. Anyone who views my memory can also see the evidence..." She explained. "...Anyway, there a few things I need to question you about, but I am not familiar with everything in the muggle world, however, I know someone in the faculty who has more knowledge in the muggle law. Please wait here in my office."

Professor Quinn returned to her office ten minutes later. She was not alone. Professor Andrew Dolohov was with her.

"Good afternoon, Mr. McCunnen," Dolohov greeted his student. He waited until Quinn closed the door to her office before he spoke:
"Quinn told me briefly that you drive a muggle car. You are already old enough, so you do not have to worry about not being twenty yet. Muggles are allowed to possess a driving license at the age of seventeen in the United Kingdom. May I see your driving license, please," He asked politely.

 

[Junko Natsumizaka]

Soren sighed quietly when he was alone in Professor Quinn's office, yet his patient mask returned when the two professors entered.

"May I see your driving license, please," Professor Dolohov asked politely.

"Of course." Soren replied, handing the professor his driver's licence. Updated, and valid. Is this all they need? He hoped that this waste of time would soon be over.

 

[Hikari Chan]

"Thank you," Andrew nodded briefly. "However, keep in mind that you should not drive and use another muggle device at the same time. Professor Quinn did not tell me any details but informed you used a so-called camcorder while you drove. If the muggle police had caught you during that moment, they would have fined you. According to the muggle government, it is only legal to use the muggle device, the mobile phone, behind the wheel when you are safely parked or need to call 999 in an emergency and it's unsafe or impractical to stop. This does not include waiting in traffic or when sat at traffic lights," He explained for Soren and then turned to face Quinn: "Do we have any kind of punishment when a student break against a muggle law?"

"Well, yes, but such cases are very rare at us. It only happened once, about nine years ago. I was the head of Slytherin back then and there was one student in my house who broke one muggle law during the summer holidays. That student was underaged and drove a motorcycle without a license, so we confiscated and destroyed that motorcycle and also suspended that student from leaving Hogwarts during the holidays. Anyway, we won't be punishing you this time, because I understand why you were using the muggle device while driving. It was an urgent matter and you did it because you wanted to help a dear friend of yours. However, I need to report this to your head of house, professor Travers. We do not know if anyone else from Hogwarts or the wizarding world saw you while driving and we don't want anyone to tattle and cause misunderstandings. I also need to tell the headmaster, the deputy headmistress and the head of Slytherin, professor Mulciber, because I will need to explain to them how I obtained the evidence about the incident. If you don't have anything else you need to speak about, you may leave for lunch. Do not forget to take your camcorder with you."

 

[Junko Natsumizaka]

"One more thing." Soren replied. "The camcorder was invisible while I drove, so the police wouldn't have known that I was filming. In addition, I was using a spell that causes a bit of air to become firm-" he cast the spell, picked up the camcorder, and set it down in mid-air as if that empty space held a table instead "-so I could concentrate on my driving. The Fairbrooks' taxi slid out of the screen's view a few times, and that was due to the fact that I did not touch it while driving. I believe that rules are made for a reason." He finished, his expression confidently saying 'So you see, I didn't break the Muggle law."

"That is all, thank you both." Soren replied politely, then left the office.

Hmm...where is she? He made for the Room of Requirement, happy to have guessed correctly. "Hi." He surveyed Rosaleya as if he was looking past her cheerful smile into the depths of her soul, then spared the Room a brief glance. There's nothing interesting going on in this room right now at all. Its dullness leads me to believe that she suddenly returned it back to normal when her extension saw me arrive; what was she hiding from me? An expression of her anger, no doubt. Her aura is intensely agitated, despite her smile. I already know that she's feeling bad because of her father's actions, but I'm here for her, so I want to make her feel better...

Rosaleya felt the depth of his gaze, and turned away. "I'm fine. I just want some time alone right now."

Moreover: she just lied to me...twice. Soren tilted his head slightly to the left, and he gave her a gentle, questioning look. "But you don't want to be alone, do you? Lies hurt me, Rose, do not use them so freely."

"I..." Rosaleya trailed off, then made for the door hurriedly, as if some invisible force was pushing her in that direction. "I have to-"

Soren caught her wrist. "-you have to come with me." He said softly, pulling her into an embrace and disappearing with her in a puff of swirly white ribbon-like smoke. He reappeared a moment later in front of his car, which he had parked in a clearing just outside Hogwarts, still invisible. "After you." He held her door open for her, bowing his head deeply in respect.

Rosaleya chuckled without looking away from him, thinking that he was miming opening the car door for her as a joke, but when she tried to mime 'stepping inside the car', she was surprised to turn to see the inside of the car waiting for her entrance, turning back to Soren with an uncertain look in her eyes.

Soren smiled. "I want to fly with you until we reach the portion of Hell that mother has built in Knockturn. Won't you spend the rest of the day with us?"

Rosaleya listened to something for a moment, then nodded her head ever so slightly. "Yes." She said quietly to herself, then to Soren, a bit louder, she replied "Yes."

Lovely! We'll be able to switch out the movie for the Tango lessons and video games after lunch, then the rest of the plan will go smoothly. I'm so happy right now. Soren thought as he sat in the driver's seat. He slowly took a deep breath, then exhaled, as if he was savoring the moment. An amazing day ahead of us; it will surely wipe away any anger she feels! She'll feel much better, and she'll mentally acknowledge us for it: it's working perfectly. I want her trust so badly, just as I want every ounce of her love that's wasted on that pig to be ours. Soon...soon, everything will be perfect. He thought of the contract again. Soon. After the car had finished its ascent and was now flying straight to London, Soren realized that something was missing from the atmosphere. "Play whatever music you'd love." He put Rosaleya's hand on the music button with an encouraging smile. "Whatever you love."

"Oh, I just realized that it's not an actual button." Rosaleya had taken a closer look at it when Soren moved his hand away to focus on his driving "You put the ring in here and it just works?"

A flying car and she's surprised by the music button. Adorable! "Yes." Soren replied. She's pleased by the ride; I can feel her aura slowly shifting from angry to happy. So cute.

"And it turns into a mini submarine, too? Like a James Bond car or something." Rosaleya stated, talking more to herself. "Cool. Is there anything 'evil' in the trunk?" She jested.

"You can look wherever you want." Soren permitted, replying seriously. "I have nothing to hide from you...only some things I haven't told you, yet." He finished mysteriously.

She nodded, then pressed the music button, having decided what she was in the mood to listen to: 'This is All I Have For You' by Makoto Matushita.

Soren's eyes widened a bit, recognizing it from the first few notes. "You like this song?"

"It's one of my Top 3 Citypop songs." Rosaleya replied, reaching for the music button thinking that perhaps he didn't like it.

"It's my favorite." Soren said, and Rosaleya's hand returned to her lap. "What are the other two?"

"Junko Yagami's 'Bay City', and Meiko Nakahara's 'Fantasy'. I also like the Bigwave remix of 'Fantasy'. But that doesn't count as Citypop because it's more modern...I put that into the same category as 'Nanidato - Tokyo Lights' and 'Night Tempo 'Windy Summer'. I don't know what genre those songs go into, though."

"That genre of music is called 'Future Funk'." 'I like those songs as well' his expression said.

"Thanks." Rosaleya smiled.

When that song was almost over, he suggested "You might want to check out: 'Super Risers - Do You Remember Love'. I think that you'll like it. Here..." He decided that instead of recommending it to her, he should play it next. It was fine to play it now, since the song was almost over anyway.

"This rocks! It's adorable!" Rosaleya said after the first verse had finished. "I love the beat and everything."

"Wow...you're amazing." Soren smiled, sighing contentedly.

"So are you!" Then, a moment later, she added. "This car is so frickin cool!" Rosaleya laughed. "Every time I learn something new about you, I like you even more. It feels like there's still so much more. "

"Your smile is so cute." Lovely taste in music. Cheerful when she isn't being bothered by a certain pig/rat.

"So is yours! It's like the perfect picture every time you smile. Hey-" She laughed, because she couldn't contain the happiness inside her. It was a bubbly feeling that was difficult to explain, but it made her want more; it was a very pleasant feeling. "-do you play an instrument?"

"Piano. Father taught me." Soren replied, laughing a bit as well. Her laughter is contagious.

"Does Athena...?"

"No. She doesn't have the patience to learn it, but I feel as though she would do well with drums or a guitar."

"I see that, too. Hmm..."

"Do...you play an instrument?" Soren gave her a sideways glance.

"Not really...I don't think it really counts, but we have this beat up xylophone in the basement..." she waved her hand in genuine modesty. "I'm not that great at it."

"Xylophone, huh? I didn't expect that." Soren figured that, just like how she had said that she sounded terrible at singing, she was actually pretty good on the xylophone. So adorably modest. "It counts as an instrument, even if it's not one of the more common ones."

It came free with the couch in our family room. The guy at the store was trying to get rid of the thing, and of course, Dad turned up for the sale, and he never turns down free items. Rosaleya thought. "Oh. So...what's your favorite dessert?"

"Cookies and...well, pretty much anything tiny and kawaii."

"So mini cupcakes, mini torts, mini cheesecakes...stuff like that?"

"Yes, but I do have a large sweet-tooth." Soren smiled, meaning that all desserts were enjoyable.

"Who doesn't? Aren't characters that 'don't like sweets' confined to fictional worlds?"

"No, actually, some people really don't like sweets." Soren replied. So cute!

"Really?!" Rosaleya asked incredulously.

"Yes."

"Can you name one?"

"Okay, we have these neighbors in our demonic town, they're across the street from us. A married couple, with two kids. The mother doesn't like sweets, but she makes plenty for her husband and children."

"Is she always on a diet or something?"

"Demons don't need to diet. She just doesn't enjoy the taste. And even purebloods enjoy the taste of Hell's food." Soren replied. "Vampires probably would, too, but no one's sharing with them."

He always replies so nicely whenever he tells me something I don't know. She remembered Leigh, multiple times, replying to her questions as if she was stupid for not knowing something. Soren never makes me feel stupid. "Are the kids in your neighborhood always playing outside?"

"Often, but not always. However, they're not noisy, and they're actually very kind. Most demonic children are very mature, and very intelligent. I think that you'd love to play with them sometime."

"The winter holidays are coming." Rosaleya smiled, meaning that she would love to visit the neighborhood that Soren, Athena, and Claudia spoke of so fondly as soon as possible.

"They are." Soren replied, meaning that he had every intention of gladly showing her all of the things he had mentioned. "There." He pointed to the glove compartment. "Open it."

Rosaleya found October's issue of Demonic Magazine, and made to hand it to Soren.

"I don't need it; I've already read it and I'll be getting November's soon. So you can throw it away for me if you want." Soren slyly implied the alternative. "Athena already has one." He added, stopping her next train of thought.

Rosaleya handed it to Jade in the back seat, who shrank it and hid it in the folds of his kimono.

She needed an updated one. She's still hanging on to July's issue. I know she hates wasting things, so she won't throw this away.

"Thank you." Rosaleya said. 'I know what you did." her expression said. She wasn't complaining.

After dinner, at the summons of Professor Quinn, Luna sat with her legs crossed, awaiting the arrival of the other professors.

"Goodnight, darling. I would've let you stay the night." Claudia said.

"Goodnight." Rosaleya replied, her eyes closed as she savored the perfect feeling that accompanied Claudia's embrace.

"I've noticed that you've avoided calling me something. Please call me 'mother' or 'mom' when you're comfortable with the title."

"Okay." Rosaleya tried, but her mouth remained shut. Why is it difficult? Move, stupid mouth! Move!

"Whenever you're ready." Claudia's gentle tone informed her that there was no pressure to try it so soon.

"A ride back, Rose?" Soren made to put his arm around Rosaleya's shoulders as soon as Claudia stepped away.

"I call shotgun!" Athena slid in between Soren and Athena, so that he accidentally put his arm around her shoulders instead.

Soren and Rosaleya laughed, and they all headed outside together.

"I love my children." Claudia smiled to herself, watching them from the doorway. She suddenly remembered Leigh's actions this morning. She closed the door, twisting the handle a bit more firmly than she should've. "They're mine." She spoke harshly, as if some malefactor was standing there beside her. "They're mine! No one can have them!"

 

[Hikari Chan]

"Well," Quinn nodded. "I appreciate that you are being honest with us. Thank you for clearing up a couple of things. Anything else?"

"That is all, thank you both." Soren replied politely, then left the office.

"You're welcome," Quinn nodded.

"Let's go to a buffet!" Avery suggested excitingly.

"Oh no, absolutely not!" Persephone laughed. "Even if it sounds lovely with a buffet, there's a high risk that one may eat too much. And we are not supposed to eat so much until we become so full that we cannot move. Let's have our brunch at Bill's Soho Restaurant over there."

"Then I will be ordering two plates for myself-" Avery began.

"Ewww....you are so greedy!" Lily laughed. Pegah and Clarissa could not help but laugh as well.

"Sure, but I am not paying for your second plate," Persephone jested and she seemed that she did not care about telling Lily to show some respect to a professor. Everyone else laughed but Flynn remained silent. He was wondering why his sister had accepted someone as immature as Lily to join their shopping tour today. Miss Shadowwalker could have gone shopping with her two friends. The three girls are way younger than the rest of us and are not part of our age group. Perhaps it is my sister who is being so immature to choose to hang with silly young girls. She did not even bother to correct miss Shadowwalker when she made a rude remark to Avery because he desired to eat more...

"Perfect! There's a table for eight guests over there!" Nott gestured as soon as they had entered the restaurant.

"I want the sofa part!" Lily exclaimed joyfully. She nearly ran over to the table and immediately sat down on the green comfortable sofa. Pegah and Clarissa sat down beside her. Macnair quickly took the empty place beside Pegah because he also preferred the softa and was too selfish to let anyone else take that vacant place. Because there were only four places on the sofa and Avery, who was slower than Macnair as usual, reluctantly had to take the place opposite him. Persephone immediately took the place beside Avery and forced Flynn to sit beside her so that he was sitting in front of Lily. It was not Persephone's intention to make them both sit in front of each other and therefore she did not notice Lily's gloomy expression, which was soon replaced by a more cheerful one when she read through the menu to discover that the restaurant had gourmet burgers with fries.

It did not take long to place the orders and have the meals served. Clarissa ordered thick pancakes with cream and jam. Fresh berries were not available since it was already October. Pegah ordered traditional English meal, which consisted of fried eggs, sausages and beans. It was a very popular dish which was ordered by everyone else but Flynn and Lily who both ordered gourmet burgers with fries. The dishes were delicious but both Avery and Macnair got slightly disappointed when Persephone did not allow them to order a beer. She insisted that they all should drink water to stay alert during the day. Lily, on the other hand, was disappointed because she wanted to order a muggle soft drink, such as cola, but Persephone had already ordered water for everyone.

"So have you thought about your Halloween costumes?" Persephone asked during the meal.

"I abe 'o 'de ad," Avery replied with his mouth full of food. He was trying to say that he had no idea at all.

"Eww, you're so disgusting!" Lily wrinkled on her nose.

Pegah was looking down on her plate, avoiding to look up because she knew that Avery did not have the best table manners.

"Hey, finish your food before you speak," Macnair commented and happened to burp by mistake. "Ops....sorry..."

"Ewww, you are even worse..." Lily commented again.

"I said I was sorry..."

Pegah was trying not to laugh. Since she was always sitting close to Persephone, Avery, and Macnair on the staff table in the Great Hall at Hogwarts,
she was being used to their table manners and found it funny that Lily had to give them snide remarks.

"You will never get married if you have bad table manners, but you may end up with lousy and nasty ladies." Lily threw out another comment.

Avery looked as if it was the end of the world and tried to keep his mouth shut as he chewed. Macnair decided to ignore her and looked away. Merlin's beard, I said I was sorry...

Everyone else was laughing, but Flynn who remained quiet during the entire meal. She does not realize that she is the lousiest today...with her rude comments...even if she outside Hogwarts today she should show some respect to the professors...

Meanwhile, Adela was in another shopping area in London, searching for the items she needed for her Halloween costume. Alexis had come with her and she did not try to reject him, mostly because she did not have the energy to argue with him to leave her alone.

Soon they both entered a small muggle shop that sold party items and party costumes and during the season of October, it was selling Halloween themed products.

Adela looked around in the shop, surveying all the items on the shelves and displays until she found the exact item she had been looking for. And it was not hard to find it in a muggle shop that sold items for Halloween. A set of vampire fangs in plastic rubber. It came in one size and was made of certain plastic rubber that would adjust itself to the shape of the jaw for the bearer.

"Is that the only thing you are going to buy for your Halloween costume?" Alexis asked.

"Yes, I will get some clothes from another store..."

"Alright, but I had an idea..."

Adela was on her way to the counter to pay for her chosen item when she suddenly stopped.

"But let's get two sets of these fangs, in case my idea won't work," He suggested with a smirk before she had a chance to reply and picked up another set of vampire fangs.

"Hmmm...." Persephone surveyed the items displayed in the muggle store. "Let's split up and just look around!" She suggested. They had entered the same muggle store which Melody and Mary Jane had visited earlier the same day.

"Woah! Look at these!" Lily exclaimed excitingly and gestured at a set of cute costumes.

Pegah, which was acting more mature and calmer than her friend, read on the small board that contained information about the specific costumes.

"Hmm....do you want to dress up in one of these? There are nine costumes, which you and Clarry can choose from. But I won't be dressing up in that kind of costume or my parents would hit the roof if they saw me wearing a super short skirt..."

"Awww, will they be attending the Halloween Party?" Lily asked.

"They might since they must have seen the announcement in the Daily Prophet...but even if they don't, my cousin would..." Pegah sighed.

"Hmm...when I think about it, I do not think my mother would be so happy if she saw me wearing a too-short skirt..." Lily laughed.

"But...I want to dress up as a guardian soldier...I don't think my parents would have something against me wearing a short skirt...besides the costume comes with a pair of boots which makes up for the short skirt..." Clarissa said. "And my parents won't be attending the party..." She added with a laugh.

"Ahh! Lucky you! Which one did you choose?!"

"Flynn, if you do not change your usual outfit for the party, I will make miss Shadowwalker dress up like a pirate!" Persephone threatened her brother.

"What?!" He stared at his sister. "My usual outfit is perfect for the party since some apparently like to dress up as pirates at Halloween." He avoided saying the word muggles since he was in a muggle store."

"But you always dress like a pirate every single day."

"I refuse to take off my eyepatch to wear something different!"

"What about wearing contacts if we do not find another type of costume that does not go with an eyepatch?" She suggested.

"I...I don't know..." Flynn seemed to hesitate for a mere second.

Persephone was about to persuade him further but was soon interrupted by Lily.

"Did you find something interesting?!" She asked, clearly directing her question to Persephone while ignoring Flynn.

"Of course, I am just trying to help my brother to find something nice to wear. But he is being a bit clingy to his usual everyday attire..."

"Oh! I have an idea!" Lily smirked. "What about having him to dress up like that!" She gestured at a mummy statue that was only showing one red eye. She laughed so hard at her joke.

Flynn nearly lost his patience. 'You think you are funny, miss Shadowwalker?!' He wanted to say, but before he had the chance to speak, Persephone said with a smirk playing on her lips:

"Thank you for your suggestion, miss. Then what about you dressing up as a mummified Cleopatra? Since you apparently like to tease my brother a lot lately, why do you not get yourselves couple costumes?"

"Eh?!" Lily looked mortified, staring eye-wide at Persephone.

"I am taking that as a yes,"

"Wait, I did not agree," Lily hurried to protest.

"I have actually decided on a quite different costume!" Flynn spoke up, much to Lily's relief.

After dinner, Quinn and Mulciber had a small meeting with Elias and Luna. Crystal had also been invited to the meeting since Elias had informed Quinn and the other professors that Crystal was miss Fairbrook's guardian. After they had exchanged greetings with each other, Quinn told them everything about the meeting she had had with Mr. McCunnen earlier today.

"Unfortunately, we cannot do anything but suspending miss Fairbrook from leaving Hogwarts during weekends and holidays as long as she is a student here," Elias commented. "It is a bad idea to revoke the rule that allows students of age to visit Knockturn Alley and Diagon Alley during the weekends because other students who behave during the weekends would find it unfair that they would suffer because of one student's sinister behavior. However, I do not push the blame entirely on miss Fairbrook. I understand that she is being oppressed by her father who forces her to do things against her own will. But he is being a delusional wizard who seems to be ignorant about the laws in the Wizarding World. Our laws do not forbid anyone from getting drunk but imagine getting drunk in a muggle place and you use magic by mistake in front of muggles because you are being too drunk to realize what you are doing? Using magic in front of muggles would violate the International Statute of Secrecy and the punishment would be Azkaban for some time depending on how serious the violation is. Further, Mr. Fairbrook has no authority over his daughter since she is already off age and the Ministry of Magic can only remove such authority if they notice something unusual going on in a wizarding family because all underaged wizards and witches are always being tracked. Since Mr. Fairbrook did not break any of the wizarding laws today, the Ministry of Magic cannot punish him. But we can only suspend miss Fairbrook from leaving Hogwarts during the weekends and holidays. It is up to her to report her father for oppressing her, not to us, but the Ministry of Magic, because she is not an underaged witch, but of age. What do you think?"

Since Mr. Fairbrook lives in a wizarding area like Knockturn Alley, why does he bother to go to a muggle place to have a drink? Of all the pubs, inns and restaurants and cafes in both Diagon Alley and Knockturn Alley...Elias thought for himself, still frowning about the entire weird situation.