#meanwhile she mostly hisses a little upon seeing some of the pets

[mabelsguidetolife]

im sooooo lucky my dog likes cats and respects boundaries because this whole thing would be much harder

[scandinavian-girl]

We Found Love

A/N: this is my first fiction in the Harry Potter universe and for my man Draco, so I hope you all like it!

Plot: Draco and you hate each other but when the Yule Ball is approaching, the world gets turned around for both of you.

Pairing: Draco x Ravenclaw Female!Reader

Word count: 2.9k

If you got told that you would end up with a man that bullied and hated anyone that was better than him, you would laugh. Honestly. Because you always thought that Draco Malfoy was the worst person to ever exist. But when the Yule ball came around at Hogwarts you saw a different side of him.

Even though that you were in Ravenclaw, Draco still asked you to the Yule ball. He wanted to prove to everyone that a pure-blood wizard and a muggle born wizard could function together.

Growing up you had always felt different, but you could not put a finger on it. Until you got the letter on your eleventh birthday. From that day you felt complete. You felt whole and ready to find your true self in the wizarding world.

Anyway, up until the Yule Ball, he bullied you so much, to the point that you did not want to take any classes together with him or wanted to even look at him. He did really hurt your feelings each time he said that you was a mud-blood, because you were raised to be your own and not let anyone tell you what you were, but Draco did make it really hard. All of this made you hang out with Hermione, Luna, and Ginny a lot. More than normal. They always made you feel better about yourself.

“Are you coming to potions class today?” Hermione asked you, as she took a bite of the lunch you four was having.

“I think. I just don’t want to look or be near Draco these days.” You confessed and drank some water to clear your throat. “I know he teases both you and Harry, but I just can stop getting it to my head. It’s so annoying.”

“Shh, Draco is coming.” Ginny warned.

“And he looks miserable.” Luna continued.

You could not help but look up. Luna was right. Draco looked miserable, tired, red eyes and just overall sad. Especially when the tri wizard tournament was going, Harry was a part of it and that Draco loved it, you could see how bad he was. You always had a strong motherly instinct and right now, you just wanted Draco to be fine, but you also knew, if you got up and spoke to him, you would regret it deeply. So, what you did was turning you back to him and continued eating.

Draco sat down at the table behind Luna and ginny. At lunch he would normally just wear the white top with the Slytherin tie and his fancy pants but today he was also wearing a sweater without sleeves. Still looked good you thought to yourself.

“Oh well, let’s get to class.” You said standing up from your seat.

“But there is 15 minutes left until potions starts- “

“I want to go.” You quickly said and began walking down the great hall, towards the doors, not wanting to be that close to Draco whatsoever.

Walking down the corridors you could not help but think, why would he bully you so much? He did it more to you than to Hermione and Harry. Combined.

**

“Turn to page 259.” Snape came walking in and said to the class. This potions class was the first one you had attended in a week. “Well, look... who’s… back.” Snape said and turned to you. “Let’s hope that you can keep up… with the rest… of… the class…”

You did not want to speak up. Mostly because you often said more than enough so you lost a few house points in the last couple of years. But luckily for you, you had been studying while you missed the classes and you had accidentally read a head so you where more than prepared for this class.

“Today’s potions class will include pairing up. I have already made the groups but before we start with the potion, I will explain and demonstrate how… to… do… it.”

When snape started talking, your mind zoned out. You kept thinking of the Yule Ball, Draco that annoyed you so much that you could punch him in the face, just like Hermione did last year. You could not help but notice that Draco where sitting and writing. Odd.

“Let’s get started with this potion.” Snaps announced and sat down on his chair, looking moody like always.

You stood up and walked over to the paper where the pairing stood. “Professor?” you asked.

“Evans, what do you want?”

“Do I have to be with Draco?”

“Yes… you... must…”

You let out a deep sigh and walked over to him, sat down beside him, and looked at him. You opened the book on the potion that you were trying to make. When you just briefly had scanned the ingredient list and the steps on how to do it and wrote it down so you could remember it, because you knew how much Draco just did not want to be in potions class. He hated potions but did his best to get a decent grade, so his father could be proud.

“I wonder what he is writing down on that paper?” you thought to yourself. “Probably nothing serious.”

You stood up, without closing your notebook, to grab the ingredients that where listed for the potions. Meanwhile, Draco could not mind his own business, so he lured in your book. Not to mention that he knew that you should not look or even touch your book, because all your secrets are in there. But Draco was quick to put it back down and look away from you when you got back with the ingredients and the kettle.

“Are you ready to brew this?” you asked politely.

He nodded. A simple little nod.

“Great. Have you read the ingredient list too?”

A nod. Nothing else but a nod.

“Draco, could you please just say something. We need to work together with this potion.”

“What do you want me to say?”

“You could at least say yes or hello.”

“I was going to be polite, but I guess you don’t want that, filthy mud-blood!” he spoke rather loudly so the whole class could hear him. Including Snape.

“Mr. Malfoy… what an absurd language you have today,” you heard Snape approaching you two. “Care to tell me what is going on?”

“Draco, called me a mud-blood, just because I asked if he could say something,” you said looking away from both Draco and Snape.

“She forced me to talk!”

“Enough Mr. Malfoy! Detention to both of you! And not… another… word…” Snape hissed and walked off to help the other students.

**

A week has passed. A week that has been the toughest since the first year at Hogwarts. Started off with a 3-hour detention with Draco, midterms and too many classes to catch up on. The Yule ball was approaching, fast, and you did not have a date yet. You felt unlucky and unfortunate with this, mostly because you knew that some boys did like you.

It was mid herbology class when you saw your owl, Daisy, came flying towards you. It landed beautifully in the window. You then took the letter she had in her beak. “Thank you.” You petted her before she took off again.

You opened the letter and read it.

Meet me in the astronomy tower at 4.

Come alone and do not tell anyone.

You looked up from the letter. More confused than anything else. You folded the letter to a small rectangle and put it in your pocket, so you could continue with herbology.

“Neville?”

“Yes?” he looked at you with pink cheeks. So adorable.

“You know a lot about plants, and I was thinking if you could help me understanding some of them? I am not that great with herbology.”

“Of… of course,” he smiled happily.

**

Later that day, at 4 in the afternoon, you were standing in the astronomy tower, looking out on the beautiful view that the tower came. The wind was cold but the air was quite refreshing because you have been so busy with ignoring Draco, catching up with classes and trying not to think too much about the Yule Ball all while trying to get more sleep.

You hummed the waltz you were going to dance to, really trying to memorize the steps. The hum started your feet and the rest of your body to start waltzing around. It was a wonderful thing. You just wished you had a partner to dance with. Being too caught up with the dancing and humming, you have not heard that a person had walked up there.

It was not until you saw a person standing there, you stopped fully with the dance and the humming. Feeling the embarrassment wash upon you, making your cheeks turn red.

“Draco?” you asked surprising. ��Was the letter from you?”

He nodded. “Yes, it was. I wanted to make things up for you. I have had some feeling that…” he paused looking down. “that have been hard to handle” he looked up at you with his icy grey eyes, that you loved so much.

“And I came to the realization that… I, Draco Malfoy, like you… in that way” he confessed without any hesitation in his voice.

You simply just nodded, agreeing with him.

“I like you too. But gosh you can be a douchebag.” You giggled shyly.

He took you smaller hand in his and walked over to the railing, so you could enjoy the view over the lake. Even though that it was a cold winter, cold air and the landscaping was partly covered in white snow, you felt warm and rather comfortable with Draco.

“I want to ask you about something,” he turned to you and held both of your hands between his warm ones. “Want to be my date to the Yule Ball?” a small smile came up with the words.

“Well considering that you bully me so much, calls me filthy mud-blood and yelled at me in potions last week…” you paused and looked up at him with a cute smirk on your face. “I would love to go to the Yule Ball with you.”

Draco’s face lit up like a small child’s face does on Christmas. He then hugged you ever so tightly. Normally Draco was not a hugger, but when you two got to know each other he got all soft around you.

“Wait what about colour coordination?” you asked concerned. “should I wear blue for Ravenclaw? Or should I wear that dark green for Slytherin?” you asked way to exciting.

“I wish I could come into the Ravenclaw common room so I could help you,”

“But I don’t want you to see it before the ball,”

“Fine…” he paused for a few seconds. “Look at me,” he softly grabbed you chin forcing you to look into his icy grey eyes. “I think you should wear whatever looks good on you.” He said with a small, cute smile.

You blushed. Draco being romantic was new to you, but you really liked it.

“Draco?”

“Yeah?”

“Can you waltz?”

He giggled. “I can actually. My mum taught me it as I was growing up. Why?”

“Wondering.” You said while looking down.

**

It was the day of the Yule Ball and you were getting ready in your dormitory with Luna. You were wearing a long flowy, royal blue dress. That dress was giving to you by your godfather Remus Lupin. Your parents were a close friend to him, so they made him part of your family, by making him your godfather.

“It’s such a lovely dress you have there,” Luna smiled at you while she put in her earrings.

“Thank you. I got it from my godfather.” You smiled, twirling around on the spot you were standing. The dress was handmade by witches in Australia and the fabric of the dress was from India. You loved every piece of the dress. It was your dream dress that they had made you.

Luna helped you with your makeup for tonight. Makeup was a skill you never really learned or accomplished. You where naturally very beautiful with darker brows, darker hair and quite even skin with freckles. Normally you had glasses on but due to the Yule Ball you were wearing contacts, which you were happy about.

“I really hope you like this makeup. I’m not the best, but I am better than you.” She giggled. And Luna was right. She was better at makeup than you, and you were grateful that she would do your makeup for tonight.

The makeup Luna did on you was natural. Light layer of foundation, a little bit of mascara, slightly filled in brows and a red lipstick. Something very simple but very elegant for a ball like this.

You did your own hair. You had decided on a low sleek bun with a few strands of hair pulled out and was curled. You also wore a ring that your mother had giving you when you first took off to Hogwarts. Remus had giving you a necklace for your birthday last year and he told you that you should only wear it for special occasions.

**

At the entrance to the great hall, where the ball was held, Draco stood nervously waiting for you to arrive. He was standing with Crabbe and Goyle talking about boy stuff, when suddenly Crabbe saw you come through the archway from the grand staircase.

“Wow…” he managed to say.

“Look, Draco, there she comes.” Goyle puffed to Draco with his elbow, making him look towards the archway.

Your dress hugged every curve on your body, making you even more beautiful than you already were. As you walked down the few stairs to the hall, Draco turned to you leaving him speechless. You looked like a real princess. The kind of princess that deserved everything in the entire world. And Draco was convinced that he could give you everything that you deserve, even more if you asked for it.

When you reached the end of the stairs, Draco came over to you and offered his arm to you and you took it with a smile. As he led you into the great hall, people where looking at you two. The smartest person Ravenclaw have had since Professor Flitwick, and the schools’ main bully from Slytherin, where going to the Yule Ball together.

You did not care. Draco swore that tonight he would prove to you that blood status does not matter if you love each other. Deep down you hoped that he could, but you also knew how much of an impact his father had on him, when it came to blood status, so you doubted that he could do it.

After you got inside and the four participants were doing the welcoming waltz, Draco invited you out on the dance floor. As you danced the waltz you could feel everybody’s eyes on you two. It did not bother you that much, because you knew that they were surprised, shocked and probably also jealous that he had you as a date. And vise versa.

When the last note came through, he pulled you closer to him and he leaned down and gave you a gentle kiss. The butterflies in your stomach was racing around and your heart was pumping so hard that you where convinced that he could feel it.

A few people where whistling at you, and you knew immediately that it was Fred and George. The kiss, however, was something different. You could physically feel all the emotions that Draco had in him. You could feel sadness, happiness, he was proud but self-conscious and he was nervous. The kiss went on a few second too long for your liking. Mostly because that the entire school was watching you two. When you pulled away from the kiss, you felt rather awkward about this situation, not because of the kiss but because that everybody was staring.

When the two of you sat down at a table you gave him a kiss on the cheek, to show that it was okay and that you liked it. His look on his face told everything. Love. Happiness. Courage.

“Draco?”

“Mhm?” he smiled and locked eye contact with you, leaning his head on his hand that were supported by the elbow on the table.

“You really like me, huh?” you smiled and scooted a little closer to him.

“I do. I really do. You don’t understand how much I like you. It’s like when you just found a new song that you absolutely love, and you keep it on repeat because you love it so much. It’s like a drug. A drug and an addiction you won’t ever get rid of” He said without a pause.

“Gosh he was adorable” you thought to yourself.

“And?” you pushed a little, knowing that he had more on his mind.

“And I wanna ask you to be my girlfriend… please?” he gave a soft and nervous smile with a giggle. Draco had never poured his heart out to somebody before, so in this moment he felt so relived that he had told you his feelings.

“Honey, why do you ask something you already know the answer to?”

“Just wanna make sure.”

“But yes, I would love to be your girlfriend.” You smiled.

You leaned in and gave him a kiss of reassurance, to make sure that he knew that you meant everything that you just had said.

[drcrushers]

happy secret songbird to my lovely giftee, @weraiseourcups! I hope you enjoy this very adorable ficlet! it’s not full fledged because i worried about getting it done in time, but i hope you enjoy it and it brings a smile!

dog days of summer ( in which orpheus and eurydice adopt a . . . . dog? )

Winter had come and gone, and as the snow and frosts began to thaw and signal the return of Lady Persephone, it meant more natural resources were available for food. Not much sprouted in the very earliest days of spring, but Eurydice had long since learned when things grew, when they could be picked, and what purpose they would do to solve the aching in her belly. And now with feeding both her and Orpheus, things had become very, very tight over the winter months. Even if they hadn’t been as harsh as they had once upon a time when the gods below were fighting, it was still never a good season.  But they had survived. And Orpheus was gonna make some sort of hearty stew to celebrate while they counted the days until they would go out to the train platform to greet their Lady. So Eurydice had charged herself to trod through the muddy fields after tubers that could almost be called potatoes (they weren’t, but if you closed your eyes they tasted the same). Roots were the only thing that often survived the deep frosts.  Carrying a basket of a few pickings, she ventures deeper into the fields while trying to avoid the mud because she isn’t sure her worn boots will handle it without it seeping in, then they’ll take days to dry out. The sun is high and it’s almost warm, but not quite; she still has her coat on. At least the wind doesn’t bite her face. The brushes shift somewhere to her left with the wind - except, no. Not with the wind. It sounds like something is lurking and for a brief, panic striken moment Eurydice worries some gnarl toothed creature has come out of hibernation and is seeking a meal. She moves swiftly in the opposite direction, but nothing chases her. The tall grasses just rustle a bit more and there’s a noise she can’t place; a snort, maybe. Or huff. Another rustle. A yelp, and something dark suddenly darts out of the brush being chases by something else darkly furred. 

The first creature she recognises as a dog. A puppy, with how small it is, the fur matted in mud and little legs carrying it swiftly toward her. The second shape she recognises dimly as a badger, hissing and spitting like some creature from the underworld. Without thinking Eurydice launches a rock at the thing - not meaning to hit it, just to scare it off. It takes two more rock throws for the badger to be deterred from chasing the canine that had likely wandered too close to it’s nesting area. 

“Hey there, little guy.” Eurydice greets, stooping to ensure the dog is okay. She doesn’t see blood, and it approaches her with a cautious air - but the second it realises Eurydice isn’t gonna hurt it, it tries to climb clumsily into her embrace. She smiles softly, and scratches a patch of fur behind his ear that isn’t muddied. “Gotta be more careful. You lost all the way out here?”

The puppy does not reply, but as Eurydice tries to feel for a collar there is none. Those dark eyes flick up to her and a pink tongue lolls out of it’s mouth before it tries to lick her face. She laughs quietly for the first time in a while - and she knows immediately she cannot leave this poor creature to starve. If the winter was hard on them, she can’t imagine what it would be like for the puppy. Maybe someone in town will be missing him or if not, would at least take him in and keep him as their own. Eurydice has always loved dogs, always wanted one - but she isn’t sure she can afford to feed both she and Orpheus and a dog. Especially through winter. Food is already scarce and she can’t imagine finding things suitable for a dog is easy. 

But he’s clearly alone in the fields, and Eurydice doesn’t want him stumbling on anymore pissed off badgers, so she coos softly and somehow the poor thing seems to know to trust her, because when she takes a few steps it follows. A few more, and the puppy is still trailing after her. Clutching her gatherings of meager tubers, she sets off at a slower pace with her new charge hopping along after her. 

Orpheus isn’t home - he’s been helping Hermes clean up the bar a bit for it’s spring re-opening. So Eurydice drops the food off inside their small little place and leads the dog around to the side where there’s a spout for a hose for the garden they’ve never had. She hopes the water isn’t frozen still. The pipes groan a bit when she turns the valve, but water shoots out a moment later. She waits until it runs clear before she cups it and sets about a mission of trying to clear the mud from the puppy - who just wants to play. He twists and yips as her fingers dig into his fur, which is darkly colored without the mud coating it. She doesn’t have any clue to what breed he might be, but his eyes are soft and she’s in love all over again if she’s honest with herself.  She uses a spare towel from her bath last night to mostly attempt to dry the creature off (but the dog shakes vigourously inside the door and splatters water across the floor. She laughs.  “We’ll get you a good place. Shelter. Somewhere nice and warm, yeah?” She ruffles his fur atop his head. “I bet you’re hungry.” She doesn’t get a response, except a soft sneeze that just sends more water across the floorboards. She takes hat as a yes, and tries to find something in their bare cabinets that might suit a dog. She settles on a bit of bread for the time being, and sits in the kitchen floor to feed this little one. Her heart melts as he munches away at the bits of bread that might be a little stale, if she’s honest. He’s cute. More than. In a weird way, he reminds her of Orpheus.  Orpheus. Will he be mad to find she’s taken on a stowaway? Of course he isn’t, she realises when he returns home and is immediately as bright eyed as the damn dog is. And it’s just downright adorable when the dog nestles into Orpheus’ lap that evening near the fire - Eurydice should be mad because that’s her spot, but she’s not. A worthwhile sacrifice. She sits beside her husband and idly strokes the dog’s fur while they talk in quiet tones. “I’ll go into town tomorrow. See if anyone’s lost him.” She promises, and tries to ignore the sadness in her gut.  She keeps her promise though - and it isn’t worth much. No one in town has lost a pet. She switches tactics, tries to see if anyone would want a pet, but it’s futile then too. She ends up at Hermes’ bar, where Orpheus is wiping tables and to her surprise, the little thing is bouncing around underfoot with soft yaps. Is it bigger? She’s not sure, but she suddenly notices that it looks bigger than yesterday. She’s just tired, she decides, and sits at the end of the bar. Immediately the dog settles near her feet and doesn’t move the rest of the night until Orpheus’ shift is over and the three return home. She tries for two days to find him a home, but no one wants another mouth to feed. Meanwhile Eurydice is just trying not to fall more in love with him. He’s definitely a bit bigger and she chalks it up to decent food, which Hermes had offered. She doesn’t know why he has dog-acceptable food, and doesn’t ask. He just shoots her new friend an amused look as the dog chows down on a bowl in the corner.  “Special one, that one. Might be like fate he found you.” Hermes remarks almost mysteriously in that infuriating way that makes Eurydice want to punch that stupid grin off his face. She says such, he laughs, and she and her new friend are left alone once more. By the end of the week, Orpheus points out they should name him while they’re waiting for someone to adopt him. They can’t just keep calling him ‘the dog’. Eurydice hasn’t ever been good with that kind of thing, and they toss ideas back and forth, but none seem right. Meanwhile it’s getting warmer and warmer outside as more of the spring settles in.  Persephone arrives on the train two days later, dragging in warm winds and a bright smile. The dog (which is still unnamed) trails after Eurydice and Orpheus out to the platform to greet her, and the goddess gives a delightful look. “There you are!”

Eurydice thinks she might be talking to her and Orpheus but no, it’s the dog. It circles her legs, yips, before trotting happily back over to Eurydice’s feet and sitting down. A declaration if she’d ever heard one. Persephone laughs.  “Oh, it damned well figures --- he’s yours now, songbird. Now, let’s grab a drink and celebrate spring.” Turns out the dog is not just a dog - Cerberus has descendants (which is something so full of everything she doesn’t feel like unpacking it) and the little creature from the fields is one, who had somehow escaped the boundaries of the underworld. A bit like she and Orpheus, if she’s honest. She loves him more. She thinks it will want to go back to the underworld where it belongs, but the literal hell hound barely leaves her side. Sits with her at home, at the bar, goes out foraging in the woods and fields, and still continues to grow that spring. She loves him more and more, but she still hasn’t decided whether she and Orpheus can afford to keep him. Not with winter. Another mouth? Spring goes. Summer goes. Lady Persephone keeps her promises of better harvests and she thinks it won’t be too bad. Eurydice and Orpheus see her off into her husband’s arms. The dog sits on the platform with them and watches the train go. It’s nearly up to Eurydice’s hip in size and thankfully, has shown signs of slowing down in growth. She reaches out to scratch him behind the ears and smiles; the dog practically radiates warmth. A literal furnance. She thinks she and Orpheus might survive the winter if they just curl up to the thing. 

At home, they find Persephone has left them provisions. Gifts, with just a single carnation as her calling card. It thrives all winter. 

It’s Orpheus who suggests the name one late night when they’re both curled in bed and the dog has lain across their legs as if to pin them down. As if to keep them warm. As if to protect them. She wonders if Lady Persephone and her husband have sent the dog on purpose now; she reminds herself to ask. Either way, while a hell-hound is not what she had in mind as a girl, she’s grateful for it now.

Eurydice smiles and agrees at Orpheus’ suggestion of a name. Argos. 

And hopefully, Eurydice thinks, he will never grow two more heads like his father. Five mouths to feed is worse than three.

[secondchancesfic]

Second Chances

Superhero!AU

Fandom: Sanders’ Sides

Pairings: Parental Analogical

Tags/Warnings: dead animals, mentions of abuse, mild anxiety.

Words: 2011

**Note: Ok this is the start of a fic I’ve been thinking since like 2 days ago (today is 2019-07-16) and I already have plots and possible arcs. Its not complete, so bare with me, ‘cause I will try my mightiest to do the chapters and updates. Might do art too **

PROLOGUE

Summary: Ever since Virgil got to the orphanage he has been such a sweet and nice kid, but sometimes really weird things happen around him.

It was raining.

The sound of dark clouds clashing broke the peaceful silence, bright flashes of light illuminated the room. Some toys were scatter in the floor. Darkness. Lighting, the bed had some thin blankets and a bunny plushie. Darkness. Light illuminated the child’s eyes. What a beautiful yet strange coloration he had, deep blue with purple stripes that wouldn’t be notice from afar. He was watching the stormy night through the window; it sure was pouring like crazy. The small kid didn’t mind, he found it rather calming; it can’t be said the same for the other kids, some of them were hiding in their bed sheets, holding on to their plushies or asking for the comfort of one of the guardians in the facility. The child could listen to someone knocking at the door and entering, he turn to look at one of the caretakers.

-Hey, Virgil- The caretaker said kindly -Are you ready?-

Virgil is nervous, despite this, he nods lightly. He climb down his bed, started walking towards the door but quickly went back to get his bunny. Once in the light of the corridor you could see how pale he looked, his hair was a deep brown and he was a bit too thin. He was wearing a black sweater, too big for the 7 year old, yet it was the only thing that gave him comfort in certain days.

For some reason, he always decided to wear dark clothes since he got to the orphanage. No one knew exactly where did he came from. One similar night like tonight a caretaker found little Virgil soaking wet, curling inside one of the closets where they stored blankets; no one saw him enter the closet, let alone saw him enter the building in general. He was trembling so much, scared of something but he wouldn’t say what, he wouldn’t let anyone get near him or take him out of the closet. One of the caretakers had to stay with him for hours until Virgil trusted them enough to get him out of there. Besides the weird arrival, he was a nice kid. Just…Jumpy. And scared. Once he got used to the staff, his flinches became less and less. They manage to get Virgil a psychological checkup, some of his actions were…abnormal to say the least. He would act almost animalistic, he would hiss and rarely speak and would try to bite people if they got near enough without making it known for him. The therapist that check on him couldn’t get much information through words, so he introduce the child with some colors and paper. Let’s just say the drawings were highly aggressive and violent to describe, especially for a, back then, 4 year old. Suffice to say, they had an idea of what probably happened to him but decided to not ponder much about it.

Even the other children were appalled by his very quiet and introvert demeanor. Some kids would actually try to speak to him and spend time, he would oblige but not exactly look happy about it. He was not violent at all, in fact, he was the sweetest kid around, although he could be a little devil from time to time. Virgil was known to scare some kids with blankets and pretend to be a ghost. He was a nice kid.

Yet…A little weird…More like… Weird things happened around him.

In one instance, some children were playing with a ball, when one of them stumble upon a dying cat in the back of the building, poor thing swallow some rat poison and was convulsing (From what the description the children gave, it might have been the case). It wasn’t a very pleasant image for a child to see. One of the caretakers was called by a group of crying children, he followed them to the back only to see Virgil holding the cat, who was… Alive… And purring. Now, kids probably confused a sleeping kitty for a dead one, but the description of foam and open glossy eyes was too graphic for a child to have said if they didn’t ever saw it before. Virgil placed the kitten in the ground, well mostly letting the cat jump off of him and kind of laid down in the floor to promptly fall asleep. The cat walked away as if nothing happened.

After that, Virgil was being watch carefully by staff, meanwhile kids took distance from him. Some start to call him a witch or a magician, others, not so kindly, called him a freak. There were other times were dying things like plants would suddenly come back to being healthy, or when one of the staff found a dead bird who broke its neck by colliding with one of the windows and went to find a plastic bag only to return to Virgil sat on the ground while petting slowly the bird that now was chirping and flapping its wings. Maybe it was nothing, maybe it was just a coincidence.  Those can be explainable, right?

Well. Maybe. But not one time.  

Nothing would be as strange and frantic as the time one kid had to be put in quarantine. She was very sick, the illness was like a common cold but it was attacking her very aggressively. Even with attention from doctors, even with medicine it just wouldn’t go away. They had to wait up till it pass. But it just didn’t. Each day it passed she would get worst and worst, the doctors didn’t had much hopes. It might have been something else, but they didn’t manage to catch it on time. The child was getting weaker and weaker and the only thing one of the last doctors they called up could say was to have no high hopes.

The staff were planning on how to tell at the children what was going on. They break the news to the group of children, being the most sincere yet delicate possible to explain what was going on and what would happened to their friend. All the children were distraught, they didn’t understand, the caretakers were sadden and tried to not break in front of the kids who needed them all right there and then. Suddenly, there was the sound of a door opening and closing; 2 of the caretakers went to check on the sick girl, and the door was locked. They checked around to see at the children gathered there, and guess who wasn’t around them?

Virgil lock himself inside the sick girl’s room. They could here steps going away from the door. They called him to open the door, their shouts increase, more worried than angry, no one wanted another kid to get sick, let alone… Die. One of the higher staff came with a master key and open the door, flinging it wide open. They saw Virgil holding the kid’s arm and kneeling; he was trembling and crying, he looked so sad but he didn’t cried because of that, it was almost as if he was in pain.

One of the caretakers hold and pull him away, and no one in Virgil’s life at that place saw him in so much distress. Kicking the air and screaming to be let go, saying things like he could do it. The caretaker had to take Virgil and lock him in his room, they stayed with him to make sure he was ok. Virgil was crying a lot, holding himself as if he was going to fall apart; he suddenly curled in himself and lay down in bed, trembling in excruciating pain. The caretaker went to get someone to phone a doctor quick, his tracks were fast to find the phone, then another caretaker crash on them to get the phone too. They were told the sick girl was sitting and speaking, as if nothing was happening, she still had fever but other than that it seem she was fine.

Once the doctor came, they went running towards Virgil’s room, and there he was…! Just sleeping in his bed. They didn’t understand. They let Virgil sleep and went to check the girl, who was having only common cold symptoms. The doctor said with the medicine should be enough now. While the girl was getting better by the week, Virgil was very sleepy and drained all that time. He would sleep for a while and only wake up to eat a bit. Once he was well and not tired started hanging out with that girl. They both became good friends after that. Nothing was explained, nothing was wrong but it was weird as fuck. The caretakers took it as if it was a miracle, some religious ones thought that maybe Virgil was a type of angel. Even the more skeptic didn’t know what to think about this.

Well… In any case, as weird as it was, it was all ok. The caretaker went through all the memories, the fun ones, the scary ones, the weird ones… All turning into a bittersweet moment in their head, “Dariela is gonna miss her best friend” was one of the thoughts that crossed through their head. And the reasoning behind it was because Virgil was going to get adopted.

-Here we are, Virge- The caretaker said opening a door to an office. A man was sitting in the chair giving his back to the door. He turn around to see both of them, he seem calm but his fidgeting hands would say the contrary. Virgil saw him and look at the floor nervously.

-Come on now- The caretaker said, pressing his hand gently on Virgil’s hand for comfort. Virgil walked towards the man and sit next to him.

-Hello, Virgil- The man smiled kindly.

-Hi…- Virgil manage to say. He hold on to his bunny closely.

-Are you nervous?- The man said asked stuttering a bit. His hands were holding on a piece of paper that was getting ripped into pieces.

Virgil holds his bunny to his face and hides behind it.

-C’mon, Virge, don’t hide your face- said the caretaker.

-It’s quite alright- said the man smiling at the caretaker, then return his attention to Virgil. -I understand this must be a big change for you, Virgil. It will be alright, we will go at your own pace- said surely.

Virgil looked puzzled about what he meant, he lower his bunny and looked at the man in a questioning way.

-I-I mean, uh… You can take as much time to feel less nervous…- The man was getting nervous too. Being a parent is what he always wanted, but he had to admit that he was still not good at talking to kids.

-I’m ok…- Virgil said lowering his bunny. –I’m… Happy- He smiled not looking at the man who would be his dad. “Dad”. It was kind of weird to call him that, even if already knows who the man was after the several interviews they had.

The man gasp very lowly, he was almost choking on tears. He didn’t know what to do with his hands and he just simply hold on to the paper he was holding.

The caretaker took notice of this, the scene warm their heart. It was nice to see Virgil to be open and to have a family now.

-Ahem…- The caretaker cleared their throat to make the man pay attention to them. –Alright Mr. Huberto…- The caretaker was interrupted.

-Please, Logan it’s alright.- Logan said raising his hand to a stop motion.

-Oh, right. Mr. Logan- Logan sighed, he does like to stay formal but at this point he feels too familiar with the caretaker and most of the staff there. –Are you ready to sign the papers?-

Logan looked at Virgil with gleeful eyes and a smile then turn to the caretaker. –Yes-

Virgil saw the paper being passed to Logan, he had a lot of mix feelings, now he tried to be happy, because he was finally getting a dad.

Once the documentation was done, the rain stopped.

TAG LIST: 

*hey sorry for tagging you* 

@softestvirgil @royallyanxious @stormcrawler75 @pastel-sparkle-punk hey for tagging you, may i interest you in a fic? 

Prologue / CH 1

[grotesquegabby]

Queen Vs God

Part 6

I believe this is the final part. I saved this title for the final part so it must be lol.

Warning: Blood, Violence, Gore, abuse mentions, flashbacks, revenge, body horror

Also facing ones abuser

Another day had passed, Calliope was on edge. She had only ever felt this way once before and that was when she had brought Billy to her home for the first time.  And now there was news of Ula having gone missing, Jelly was in a panic. Considering that Mana was gone, Calliope could only conclude that she went out to look for Lennie and Ama on her own. As much as Calliope admired her bravery, she was worried for the young one. Jelly had been looking for Ula since she found out she was gone, Davey safe with her parents. Cuckoo had gotten the help of their circus to locate Thyone and that was all. Knowing Thyone she had traps and others enslaved to take any and all intruders down. Calliope took a sip of her tea, it was made to help calm her nerves. It wasn’t doing much in this time, a few tears falling. Cuckoo insisted she stay put in her state, and to not worry them she did. She felt a helplessness she never knew before. Is this what being human was like?

The door to Calliopes home burst open, and she looked up surprised. Cuckoo stood there eyes wide and frantic, “We found her!” Calliope set her cup down so as not to drop it. “Tell me everything.”

Out on the outskirts of the city, far deep into the woods. In an old worn down building. Rain beating down upon it as thunder and lightning clashed. Lennie watched the rain hit the window, laying on the floor in pain. He felt weak though mostly healed. His mother had gotten bored of him but found a way to keep him in place. She having force fed him something keeping him in a weakened state. He could only assume it had some type of plant, she mentioned it earlier. though it was hard to catch. All she said was their kind became disoriented and weak consuming it. Lennie sure felt like shit at the moment. He could really go for a nap. His eyes starting to close, sleep overtaking him.

Amaranthus sat alone on a bed in a room. She looked around at the surroundings. one window with bars on it. She whimpered softly as the thunder crashed, she wished so much to be with her dad. The wicked witch was gone for now, but she knew it wouldn’t be long till she came back.

Billy had left the city, he left a text to Maggie to let her know he was alright. Knowing her she was worried about him. He hoped that this would be over soon. His shoes crunched along the grass, his cane doing the same. The rain poured down upon him despite everything he didn’t care. Lightning flashed and he thought he saw something brightly colored out of the corner of his eye. He turned in the direction he saw it, when lightning flashed again nothing was there. He glared knowing full well he was not alone. “Took you long enough to find me boy...” He quickly spun around to face the voice but no one was there. He hissed under his breath, “Show yourself.” A laugh sounded in the trees, and Billy looked around. She was here, but where. “Is that anyway to talk to your mother...little...boy..” a slight shiver went down his spine but he shook it off and growled, “You are no mother of mine.”

“Finally standing up for yourself, look at you my little baby” She said with a pout to her tone, “all...grown...up..I see”

~~~~~~~

“ooh all grown up, already. Such a little thing you are, trying to act like a big man.” Thyone rolled her eyes. Billy had his little fists clenched and he was terrified, baring his teeth at the one who called herself mother. “I want to go home, I want to see my brother!” Her gaze snapped to him and it was terrifying. He shuddered underneath it, and took a step back. “You are home, and I won’t tolerate such a foul mouth...little boy.” She stood up and walked towards him, any ounce of bravery he had melted away into absolute fear.

~~~~~~~

Billy shook his thoughts away and listened. The voice sounded like it was in front of him. He looked up to see her. “Where are they...” He demanded. Thyone looked at him blankly, “Whoever are you talking about dear?” Thunder roared as he shouted, “You know who I’m talking about?!” His teeth bared, pointed and sharp ready to attack. Thyone scoffed and rolled her eyes, “oooh, I see. You mean the...waste of space and the brat. Why didn’t you ever tell me you had a little one dearest. You know I don’t like secrets.” Thyone said ever so sweetly. A growl emenated from Billy and she sighed, “Who did you have her with. She can’t be the red heads little brat. Noo....she has a familiar smell to her though. Dare I say could it be...” “Shut up!” Billy snapped at her. Thyone smirked, “So she is then...How long’s it been. a couple hundred years. Where ever this little brat came from apparently time is slower there. You get to be a family after all~” She teased, “Does she know~” Billy ran forward to attack but when he did she was gone. He muttered under his breath and her voice called back, “Why don’t we play a game.” Billy grumbled, “Doesn’t sound like I have a choice.” He heard her chuckle but couldn’t see her. “It’s sort of like a scavenger hunt, with hide and seek. Remember...we played this game so often when you were but a tiny thing.” She stepped into view further into the trees. Billy glared, “How could I forget...you love your games after all.” She gave only a grin in reply, “Shall we begin.”

______________________________________

Meanwhile with a certain brave adventurer, Mana led the way. They were in a deep evergreen forest. Ula and Mana were well on their way to finding Amaranthus and her dad. Mana barked trying to get her attention. Ula looked at him and lightning flashed in the sky. He was crouched down and whimpering, it wasn’t safe to be outside. Despite their mission, Mana wanted to keep Ula safe. At the moment she was his number one priority. He nudged her in the direction of safety and she pet his wet head gently, “alright, let’s take a moment.” He hurried her along to a large tree, quickly making work of shelter. Ula watched him curiously as he made a burrow. It didn’t take him long as he came up from the little hole to lead her into it. Once inside he curled around her to keep her safe. It was dark but in the darkness he slowly started to glow, the patterns on his head, back, and tail emenating a glow into the dark burrow.

________________________________________

Cecilio watched as Calliope spoke with Cuckoo. They seemed like a good sort, a happy family with little ones on the way. To say he didn’t feel a little bit jealous would be a lie. He wanted what they had, but knew it was out of his reach. He had the boys, and even grandkids. But he was getting old, at least he thought so. He felt useless, hopeless, and alone. Before he could continue his thoughts he caught Calliope heading his way. He straightened up a bit and tried not to look dejected. She gave him a look, of course she did. She could see right through him, elders were just like that. “Cecilio, you know Thyone best. We need your help with how to detain her.” “Detain her? Why...shouldn’t we just.” Cecilio started but Calliope stopped him, “I want to take her to the Elders. She’s more trouble then anyone knows or realizes. For me this is the final straw.” Cecilio wanted to know what she could have been doing that the Elders would get involved with, but the look on her face told him he shouldn’t ask at this time. “Alright well...I’ll help in anyway I can.” Maggie perked up from her own seat on the couch, “I want to help, anyway I can please.” Calliope frowned in thought, “I suppose you can help us get Billy, knowing him he’s either found her already or is on the verge of it. I don’t want him doing anything rash. I feel you may help us reach him since his brother isn’t here with us and I am in no condition to go myself.” Maggie nodded nervously, “I will do my best.” Calliope gave a sad smile, “I believe you will do wonderfully.” Cecilio pulled out a cigar, “Do you ladies mind if I smoke, I don’t like talking about Thyone without one. Her name tastes bad on my tongue.” Calliope motioned towards the garden, “you may smoke outside.” He gave a nod and stood up, heading towards the doors. The rain was heavy as he entered the garden but stayed under the shade of the deck area. With a scrape of his gloved thumb against the stone it lit up in flame. He lit his cigar with it and shook the flame off. Calliope stood a few feet away from him watching the rain fall into the vast garden. Maggie having followed along with Cuckoo. She wanted to know more on the plan to detain Thyone. “Now Cecilio, give us all the information you have.” Cecilio chuckled darkly as he blew out some smoke, “Of course Lady Life, I’m an open book.”

Back with Billy, he was hating every moment of the dumb little game his mother wanted him to play. The things she wanted him to find were clues to find his brother and daughter, he was sure of it. She had completely vanished after telling him the details. The one thing that bothered him, was the plant. He had found a large area covered in the stuff, clearly alien and not of this planet. He was fine to step on it with his shoes but skin contact would prove bad. He’d seen it before, experienced it before. She has used it on him to keep him quiet more often than not. Small doses of the flowers nectar, not enough to kill him since it would have because he was so young.

~~~~~~~

“It’s not enough to kill you. Just enough to keep you quiet and still” She said with an annoyed tone. A small young Billy lay feeling ill, and so very weak on a dark colored couch. “If you would just behave and stop trying to run away I wouldn’t have to do this.” She sighed running a hand through her hair. “It will wear off by tomorrow, hopefully you will think twice.”

He didn’t, he kept trying. And of course she got violent or used the poisonous nectar. It was hard to say which was worse. Either way he wouldn’t be able to move afterwords.

~~~~~~~

Billy hissed at the memory as it only led to more. He wouldn’t cry, he wouldn’t break. He would not show any signs of weakness. With a deep breath and his gloved hands he picked one of the flowers and crushed it. He knew damn well what these being here meant. Seeing a little note hidden in the flowers, he picked it up. Reading it only made him angrier, he tore it to shreds before he trekked on further into the trees. Alex’s words echoed in his mind.

‘You’re a monster, act like it.’

Still in the forest the storm had calmed down but the rain hadn’t let up. Ula had fallen asleep for just a little while, but Mana had stayed awake to keep watch. By now the two of them were dry but Mana still worried for his little one. He wanted her to rest but he knew she wanted to keep going. So begrudgingly he nudged her to rouse her from her slumber. Ula patted him gently and ended up pulling him into a hug which normally would send him into a happy frenzy, causing him to snuggle with her longer but...they had a mission to return too. He licked her face and made little chirping sounds to wake her. Eventually it did, Ula rubbing the sleep from her eyes and looking around the dry burrow. “How long were we here for?” She asked but Mana only barked in reply. She peeked out and sure enough it had gotten darker out, and it was still pouring. She dusted herself off and grabbed Manas leash, “Well we should hurry, we’re close I know it.”

Back with Cecilio, he had told Calliope everything. It was decided that Maggie would into get Billy if he was there when they arrived. Cuckoo and their circus troupe would do all they could to capture Thyone along with Cecilio’s help. The plan was pretty much to overpower her. Calliope had plucked something ever so carefully from her garden, it was further in, away from everything else. “I will give you something to aid you in weakening her. It is a plant with properties to put things to sleep for a while. It will take only a moment, once it is done. I will let you know and then that’s when it will begin.” She gave them all a reassuring look before heading off to the kitchen.

Maggie sighed and fiddled with her nails nervously. Cecilio placed his hand on her shoulder, “It’ll be alright.” He sounded like he was questioning if it really would be or not but tried to keep a strong face.

_____________________________________

Billy knew it was late, as the cloudy sky seemed to get darker as he neared his destination. The old building was partially destroyed. Broken rotting wood, crumbled cement. But the building mostly stayed the same, besides the bits that seemed broken. Vines were overgrown and many windows were broken. Clearly it was abandoned ages ago just like the other old lab he passed by. Curious as to why these buildings were out here and scattered Billy didn’t have much time to think of it when the double doors in front of him slowly opened up to a lobby. He growled and walked in... showtime.

______________________________________

Mana had led Ula to an abandoned building covered in vines, broken windows. Clearly in need of repair. “So their in there huh. Let’s go in and find them.” Mana yipped quietly and led her around the building to find a small opening. Sure enough he found a little hole in the wall, a small tunnel leading inside. Mana led the way snuffling along, Ula carefully crawling in behind him. The way was dark and having gotten so late didn’t help. Ula knew she was safe though as manas tail would always brush on her face gently every so often. It would be when he slowed down to make sure she was still there. Soon enough they had made it inside, an abandoned office room. A potted plant that lay withered and dead in the corner, a smashed in computer. The office chair was on its side, all its wheels gone. Mana was sniffing around and growled he didn’t like the place, Ula ran her hand along his back slowly to calm him. The place was cold and empty but then again it seemed the place was always that way. Files were scattered everywhere, many torn up and in the garbage. “It seemed whoever these people were, they were in a hurry to leave.” She hurried to the open doorway and peeked out. No one in sight in the halls, all empty. “Come on Mana, lead the way.” She held out a piece of fabric belonging to Lennie and Mana gave it another few sniffs before hurrying out. Ula running after him.

_______________________________

Cuckoo and their crew had left with the little vials that Calliope provided for them. It was enough, she had told them, to put her to sleep. Maggie and Cecilio having gone with them, their own vials in hand. Calliope said not to drop it, as even a little bit would be enough to make one weak and tired. Maggie held the vial tightly but not so to break it, she wanted this to be over with. She wanted Ama, Lennie and Billy to be okay. And most of all she wanted Thyone to pay for everything she had done. They had made their way into the forest, following old paths. Along the way Maggie saw something catch her eye, a beautiful plant surrounded by ones similar to it blooming along the forest floor. The urge to pluck one overcame her but before she could Cecilio grabbed her hand, “Don’t...” “Why what’s wrong?” Maggie said quietly worried a certain someone was nearby. “Those’ll kill ya. Look but don’t touch.” He let her hand go and continued through the woods. Maggie stared back at the flowers and backed up.

_________________________

Billy had entered the abandoned building, a lobby which was rich with decay and overgrown nature. Taking back what was taken from it. His heels and cane clicked along the old linoleum floor as he made his way over to where he could sense his mother...and brother, and his precious baby girl. He hurried along and soon enough doors opened to reveal a large mostly empty room. What once was a cafeteria was now a battleground. The doors slammed behind him and he took a few more steps in. 

“That’s close enough.”

He stopped where he stood and glared, before he could speak Thyone held up a hand, “Tut tut....not yet. We have much to discuss.” She ran one of her hands through Amaranthus’ hair gently before tugging on it hard. Amaranthus bit back a screech, holding tightly to Mune whose neck had been torn out. No longer a living doll. Her other hand was gripping tightly onto the ruffles of Lennie’s outfit choking him a bit. He was trying to move but having a hard time, his arms looked weak and he seemed to struggle a bit with his breathing. Billy’s eyes widened, “You didn’t....” Thyone grinned, “I did..He’s being so well behaved now wouldn’t you say. Now....I’m going to give you a choice William.” She stared him down.

_________________________________

Maggie looked up at the abandoned building, Cuckoo and their circus had the place surrounded. Cecilio stared it down, “She’s in there....they all are. Maggie are you sure you want to go in there?” He gave her worried look. Maggie nodded, “I want to help. I’m going to get Billy out of there. And Lennie and Ama if I can. I don’t want them getting hurt more than..” She took a deep breath. Cecilio patted her back, “I know...you got this. I believe in you, now...go get em.” Maggie nodded and hurried into the building. The doors slamming open and closed loudly once she was in. Leaving everyone outside to wait for a signal.

__________________________________

Thyones eyes snapped towards the doors behind Billy and rolled her eyes, “Seems we have company. I don’t want us to be interrupted....” Doors could be heard slamming through out the building, cracking glass fixed itself.

Outside of the building, crumbled stone rebuilt itself with broken glass, doors shut tight. Cecilio ran forward and tried ramming into the door, “No no no no no!” He tried again and again. He called out for the others and they tried as well. Cecilio tried getting in through teleportation but one can’t if they haven’t seen the place before. He had no clue what the inside looked like and neither did anyone.

Back inside the building, Thyone smirked, “Now we can do this the easy way or the hard way. You have a choice.” Billy held his ground. “It’s simple you may come and take them from me but....you have to choose who. Your lovely~ little girl....” She motioned with a tug on Amaranthus’ hair. “Or your darling~ brother.”

“That’s it?” Billy questioned.

Thyone chuckled, “oh no I almost forgot, whoever you don’t pick. You have to kill.” Billy growled, “You fucking bit...” “Ah ah ah...You have a limited amount of time dear one. If you don’t pick soon I’m going to kill both of them.” Billy froze before taking another step, “What....”

Meanwhile with Ula, Mana had come to a halt hiding behind a counter in a large room. It was a kitchen and serving station of a cafeteria. “Did you just smell the food” whispered Ula. Mana motioned with his claws towards the door leading to the larger room. Ula quietly poked her head in just a bit to see, she glared at the woman she saw. She almost gasped when she saw Ama, and Lennie in her hold. She would have walked right out to help if she hadn’t caught Billy’s stare. He made a motion with the hand holding the cane. A small gesture to wait but a moment. Normally Ula would have disregarded it but she waited.

Billy started toward his mother, he let go of his cane and it stood where he left it. His fists clenched he whispered, “You think you can just make me choose...”

He saw Lennie pleading with him, mouthing to take Amaranthus. “I’ll...b...be fine.” He said with a sad smile. Amaranthus on the verge of tears in Thyones hold. The sight of them, broke him.

“Ten seconds before I choose for you.....”

She took a step back still holding onto them tightly, counting down slowly.

“10...”

Billy took a step forward, “After everything you’ve done....”

“9....”

He bared his teeth, “everytime you struck me...”

“8....”

His gloves started to tear, black claws peering out ripping the white fabric. “All the times you p̸̮̗͔͕̋̓̄̕ö̴̡̨͇̲́͌̊̑̕i̸̟͗̅̑̕̕s̴̨̛̮̙͇̽͂͊o̴͔̒́n̵͓̆͐̑͗́e̵͍̿̂̋̚d̴̤̦̳́ me....”

“7...you better hurry up and make your decision...”

Double doors burst open and in tripped Maggie, “Billy!” She called out but he heeded no mind. He couldn’t hear her.

“6....” Thyone glared at Maggie as she stepped back more. Billy moving forward slowly...stalkingly.

“All the things you did to me... All the things you..you let ŏ̸̰̌̏͗̃ť̴̡̳̏̇ḧ̶̨̦͈̩́̈ḛ̸͑̇̕r̶̖̈́s̸̺̼̓̽̑ ̸͙͈͎̀͂d̵̢͔͒o̸̗͍̓̉̄ ̴͍͒t̶̡̬̘͔̔̊͠o̵̯̰̔͑̏̃̊ ̷̝̠̘͋̉m̷̩̏e̴̢͇̋̈́̆̔. ” His voice seemed to crack.

“...5...hurry up and make the decision before I do it for you like last time.”

“last time?” He questioned quietly. Thyone grinned, “She was in the way, she was holding you back.” Billy shook with the relization, “You....”

“4....tick tock boy...”

“You killed her....It wasn’t me...”

“3 and a half....”

Blackened eyes stared at the bee woman, and she visibly shuddered but held her ground.

“And now....” He said ever so softly, “And now....” before coming to a stop. Thyone called out quietly, “..........two......on...” A loud crash sounded as Thyone was thrown back. Lennie and Amaranthus fell to the floor. Lennie grunted in pain as Amaranthus held her head crying.

Ula took her chance and ran to the two of them with Mana following closely. Maggie looked up eyes wide, “Ula!” She hurried over to the fallen two as well. “Everyones worried about you Ula, especially Jelly.” Ula nodded in understanding, “I know, and I don’t mean to worry her but I wanted to help.” Lennie looked up at the two of them and weakly grabbed Ula’s hand, “Get...Ama..outta here. Okay.” Ula frowned, “What about you?” Lennie waved her off, “Maggie’s got me. Just...” he grimaced a bit feeling awfullly dizzy, “just...get her far from..h..here.” He took a deep breath as best he could. Ula nodded and grabbed Ama, Mana helping Ula get her off the floor. Maggie grabbed Lennie, and he winced. “Sorry” She said but Lennie shook his head not being able to respond. She picked him up carefully and looked up worried. Thyone and Billy were fighting, but she had to get Lennie and Amaranthus out of there. Along with Ula and Mana now too. “Follow me..” She said reluctantly leaving Billy behind with her. Ula and Mana followed, Amaranthus was holding onto Mana tightly as she was laying on his back. They left through the doors that Maggie came through. The Doors shut behind them and stayed in place.

Thyone growled and stood up from where she was knocked down, “You always were a stubborn thing....” She muttered under her breath. Billy growled from where he stood, “no clue as to where that comes from...” he said sarcasm dripping off his words. She gave him a glare, her own claws coming out. With one last look, claws clashed. Thyones wings buzzed and fluttered as she used them to dodge out of Billy’s way each time. Sending him flying every which way. He hissed at her and took a moment to catch his breath. “Just face it boy...you are nothing and you always will be nothing if you keep this up.” Thyone had her arms crossed “Me?....nothing...I think you should get your old eyes checked mother...” replied Billy in a condescending tone. His chin start to split open and his lower jaw ripped in half to reveal a mouth full of teeth as he roared and rammed into her, knocking her down to the ground hard. His back burst open revealing long black tendrils that grabbed and tore at her. Thyone tried to bite back a scream as her wings were ripped from her back painfully slow. Before the second could be ripped completely off she elbowed Billy in the face knocking him back. She was breathing hard and held a fierce glare, “You wretched little parasite.” It didn’t take long for Billy to recover. He lunged at her before she quickly moved out of the way. Long insect limbs bursting forth from her oown back, keeping her out of his reach. She scurried quickly up the walls. Billy paused, his eyes glowing in the darkening room.

“F̸̧̩͖̤̞̤͍͙̖͚̌̀̅̇͌̈̄͝å̶̛̝̪l̷̳͕̗̭̩̭̟̥̼̪̳̦̦͊̈́͑͂͛̄͂͘͝ͅl̶̙̭̘͈̤̏̉“

Thyone felt something come over her, her legs tripping over each other as she soon fell from the ceiling. Her long limbs curled and twitched. It wasn’t that painful of a fall but it did hurt a bit. She turned over a bit to get up but was forced back down onto the floor, “Get off me you..AHHHH!” Billy had taken one of the insect legs and ripped it from her with ease. Black blood sprayed and dripped upwards from her now exposed wound.

____________________________

Maggie hurried a little faster after hearing the screams, and she tried to think positive. Lennie was dead weight in her arms and so that made him a bit heavy despite his size. The doors that she came in were coming closer and she smiled a bit relieved. She reached out and tried to open the door, but it didn’t budge, “We’re locked in? It was unlocked when I....” Something rammed into the door. She peeked out the little window, it was Cecilio. “Cecilio!” She knocked on it hard, “We’re here! What’s happening?” Cecilio halted in his actions and looked up to see Maggie through the tiny wall of glass, “no one can get in. The windows aren’t breaking and doors are impossible to break down.” Ula tugged on Maggies dress, “I might be able to help.” Maggie looked down at her quizzically, “alright” Ula made a rabbit hole open up, “This way, we can get outside then.” Mana went in first with Ama, Ula following close behind and Maggie soon jumped in after.

A rabbit hole opened up near Cuckoo and they looked down a bit surprised till Mana came bounding out happily with his tail wagging. “Oh Mana, so good to see you and you have Ama.” He praised the little axlotl. Ula and Maggie came through next, “We have Lennie but...” “Billy’s still inside I take it...” Cecilio had hurried over when he heard barking. Maggie nodded reluctantly, “I’m sorry he was...” “He was hurt!” Cecilio panicked. Maggie shook her head quickly, “No no he was..” “He was out cold!!” Cecilio replied worried. “No Cecilio he was fighting...” She sighed, “I didn’t know how to ...and I didn’t want to risk the others as much as I wanted to stop him.” Cecilio sighed with relief, “It’s alright...Ula.” the young girl looked up at him curiously, “Do you mind sending me in there. I want to go help em out, plus I got some medicine the old insect needs to take.” He gently shook the little vial in his hand. Cuckoo looked at Cecilio concerned, “Are you sure you wish to go in by yourself. We can all follow after you, the plan was to detain her after all.” “Yeah, shes expecting a big group though, plus with Billy distracting her I think this will be a perfect chance to ambush.” Cecilio rationalized, “Plus if Billy’s not all there at the moment...it would be wise to send in someone who knows him. Lennie the poor guy isn’t up to snuff right now.” He looked at Lennie heartbroken feeling that in some way it was his fault he was suffering. Cuckoo nodded in understanding, “We will give you some time but if we deem it necessary we will follow after you.” Cecilio nodded and Ula opened up a rabbit hole for him. With a grin he took a step forward, “Show time~” and vanished.

________________________________

A scream pierced through the air like a knife, drowning out any sound from outside the walls. Screaming, cursing, as blood black as sin spilled and sprayed along the walls. An old unknown language spewed forth violently from the one causing the carnage.

Thyones ears buzzed from the pain but the pressure on her back left long ago it seemed as she crawled and struggled to get up. She could hear him talking and it was unpleasant. His voice echoing despite there not being an echo in the room when they spoke before. His words sent painful sparks through her veins as it dripped with venom. He was doing something to her and she didn’t know what. She bumped into something and slowly lifted her head, slightly trembling from the loss of blood.

“Where are you going....mother.”

She glared and fell back, “You stay back...you...you...”

“You you you..” He mocked her, his face bare of any expression, “We’re not done here” He took a step forward. She dragged herself back. From what she could tell he looked as if he was back to normal, but the aura emanating from him said otherwise. “Oh dearest mother, you wish to be a Queen so bad.” He stated slipping off his gloves, “That’s fine, be a Queen.” he threw them to the floor without a care, “Rule over others as much as you want but you will still be nothing.” There it was, she almost flinched but held her glare at him. “Hold still...” Though she tried to move she found herself unable to move, eyes widening in realization. “You may be Queen, but I’m a God. Now tell me...” He bent down in a bowing manner to look her in the eyes, his own turning black. Thyone could only shiver as she stared into them.

“W̶̨̡̮̥̙̹̙̲͔̯̝̘̬̙͖̠̤̌̄̂̓̅̈́̒́̕͜ͅh̶̡̨̨̢̼͎̼͈̗͙͐̒̀̈̕̕̚͝a̴̢̨͎̹̜͙̘̬̗͍̳̤͂̽̍͑͐̓͠��͕t̶̢̛̛͖̱̆̒̿̈́͌́̉̒̈́̃̋̓͆̉͘͠͝s̴̡̨̡͍͙̥̬͆͗͊̅̂͘̕͜ͅ ̸̮̼̲͚̻̼̫̞̯̽͐́̏̾̓å̷̧͓͍̰̪͔̙͖̘̜̻͉̟͉͈̼̼̂̀̓́̔͘ ̷̡̢̳̱̝̰̥͍̤͍̤̻̰̗͈̖̠͙̰͙́̽̃̔́̅̾͌̾̑̈́́͒͆̾̑̎̓̓̕̕͝͝Q̴̧̧̬̙̱̲͕̻̣͊͒͂̐̌͊̌͌͐͌̏̀͂́̆͋̔̕̚͘͠͠ü̷̡̞̱͇̭͓̬̺̘̅̂̽̀̇̽͒́́͜ͅȇ̷͙̰͊̊̐e̷̡̨̤̱̝̻͎̼͍̹̩̪̹̻̗̥͉̮̩̭̐͋̄̀ͅͅǹ̴̢̗̻͙̖̱̦̻̬̰̰͔͙̣̪̹̞̭̫͓̝̲̓̿̔̅̃̍́̾̐͋̀̿̕ ̷̠̯̬͙̞̲͍͓̟̗̱̘̈́̽̏̒̀̐͜͝͠t̶̡͇̜̫̳̠̩̉̅̓͆̈́̈́͂̌͗͊͐̐̃̊̒̅͐̂͘ȏ̸̼̯̼̺̻́͗̌̉̽̈́͋́̕ ̴̦̞͈͚̬̲̪͈̩̺͇͆̆̒͗̀̉̎̈́̀͠a̴̯͒̋͆̓̑͐͐̅̿̃̏̎͘͠ ̸̨̢̠̰̮͇͉̖͉̬̮͚͋̀͋̀̈́̚ͅͅG̷̢̡͌̒͛́̾̀̂̿́͐͛͒̊̄͋ǭ̸̡̛͚̫̳̖̣͎̦̮̙̪̥̭̫͔̬̻̭̽̎͆̑̔̑̓̓̑̑̆̏̓̂̒͌͘͝d̶̨̛̫̙̭̘̘͚̣̐̂̑̈͊ͅ...”

_____________________________

Cecilio quickly but quietly ran through the corridors, good thing he didn’t wear his squeaky clown shoes today he thought to himself. Otherwise he’d be dead or have to deal with a broken hand again.

He found his way into the kitchen area, feeling it was the best route to where he was headed. Sure enough...he saw them. Billy standing over what looked to be a terrified Thyone. She was doing her best to keep her composure. Cecilio kept quiet not wanting to make himself known as he wanted to get the drop on her. But he heard it.

“Back on an old planet I once ruled long ago” He stated almost sorrowfully, “ it was considered an honor....to see what I truly looked like. How fortunate for you that I let you see me as I am.” His voice echoed along the walls, a sinister tone to it. He threw his hat off to the side and it landed on his cane that still stood up perfectly straight by some windows.

Cecilio swore he could hear whispering voices all around and he turned just in time. To watch as Billy’s clownish facade burst at the seems.

_____________________________________

Cuckoo looked up having sensed something off, “Get down, everyone get back!” A bright light exploded from the building shattering all the glass. Stone broke and crumbled from the intense explosion.

Maggie grabbed Ula and Lennie to take shelter behind a tree. Mana following suit. Everyone had gotten out of the way just in time. The light shone blindingly and the sounds of many screams and whispers could be heard.

And it was gone, just like that. The light, the voices all of it. When Maggie peeked at the building it was demolished more so than it was before. She gently set Lennie down by the tree since it was safe and got up, “Ula stay here with Lennie and Ama. I’m going to see what happened.” she hurried tears stinging her eyes, hoping to whatever powers at be that Billy and Cecilio were safe.

She saw Cuckoo and they had the same questioning look. What happened...

______________________________________

Cecilio was curled up eyes scrunched closed but the memory of what he saw was forever stained in his brain.

He heard gasping and peeked out to see Thyone fading away. Billy back to normal and staring at her emotionless. “You....” She gasped, “You’re no different...” She chuckled triumphantly, “Th-the apple doesn’t fall...far from the tree.” She laughed despite coughing up blood. her legs were gone and so was most of her torso. Blood was splattered from what was left of her. “You’re a monster just like...” before she could finish her words, Billy interupted her, “I’m not a monster like you...” She gave him a quizzical look. “I’m a different breed.” then proceeded to stomp hard onto her head, crushing her skull completely. The rest felt apart and faded away soon after.

Billy looked up, “I have something that belongs to you...” Cecilio flinched at the look he gave him and stood up, “o-oh...um...you know Calliope isn’t going to be happy about this.” “Right now I don’t care, now...do you want it or not...” Billy held out his hand a single deadlight in it. Cecilio recognized it as one of his own as it had a light green glow to it. He felt his chest aching slightly at the sight, “..yes.”

“Go on then, take it.”

Maggie had walked around the building a bit, it was almost completely demolished, most of the sides and roof now missing. She looked up seeing Billy and Cecilio standing perfectly find next to each other, but no Thyone. She ran forward, “Billy!”

Cecilio and Billy looked over to see Maggie climbing over the rubble and running over. What they weren’t expecting...

Billy was shocked when he received a hard slap across the face, Maggie quickly grabbed him into a tight hug and sniffled, “You jerk!” Billy looked down but pulled her close and held her for a bit. Cecilio watched the two of them with a content smile, “We should get going. We have to get the little one home, and your brother needs a ton of sleep.” Billy nodded and reluctantly let Maggie go, “Lets get going then, shall we.” 

________________________

Once returned to town, they brought Lennie, Ula and Mana home. Jelly was in tears when Ula and Lennie were brought home. “I was worried sick.” She pulled Ula in for a hug and stood up looking over Lennie who was in Cecilio’s arms. He gave his best reassuring smile despite feeling like shit, “I’ll be good in a week tops. Promise.” Jelly smile a little despite how she felt, “you better.” She teased and kissed his forehead.

_________________________

Cuckoo returned to Calliope with the news and she sighed a little annoyed, while taking their hand. “It’s not your fault my darling clockwork. These things happen, but the other Elders may be upset they don’t get to delve out the punishment for her. That’s a them problem though.” She pulled Cuckoo in for a gentle kiss, “I’m just happy you are back safe in my arms.”

__________________________

Billy returned home with Ama curled up tight in his arms. Cecilio and Maggie close behind him. He nuzzled into her hair and she whimpered but held onto him tightly. She was fast asleep after all that happened, it was no wonder she was exhausted.

“We’re home.

[chille-tid-universe]

To Red Larch

The cool morning air was pierced by a hiss. Abu reared its head over the helpless Despacito, then recoiled as Uzza’s bare foot struck out at it. The snake directed its ire to the tiefling cleric, instead, before slithering back to the bedroll where Idu lay chuckling. Uzza felt her groggy annoyance bristle at the scrawny boy’s amusement. “Put a leash on that thing!” she warned, gathering the pet mouse in a hand as she began to break down her resting space.

Isolde looked up from her own packing, a serene look on her face, eyes not quite focusing on anything present. “Where would you put a leash? As Mielikki has said, snakes are all neck!” she intoned, nodded gently as if her misremembered scripture shone some amount of understanding on the conflict. Nearby, Oskar chuckled as he rose from his resting place.

Uzza shook her head and returned to folding her sheets, grumbling as she gathered her belongings, “He’s a wizard! Should be able to figure something out…”

Her bedroll tucked tightly, Isolde finished the buckles on her armor and lightly stepped through the camp to Robyn’s sleeping form. The paladin suppressed an exasperated sigh at the uncapped flask dangling from their leader’s grip, and gently nudged the half-elf in her ribs. To her credit, Robyn only blinked groggily for a second before her other hand whipped from under her pillow, dagger brandished at the intrusion, but still in its sheath. “Wha - oh, Isolde, didn’t realize it was you. Why are you up so early? And why are those leaves so loud?”

Isolde pursed her lips, tilting her head to listen to the symphony of the early day around them: the susurration of oak leaves up above them, the sweet melodies of songbirds already flitting about, the lapping voice of the nearby brook as it splashed over current-smoothed stones. Nothing loud, not to her. Everything was as it should - “Idu!” followed by the young boy’s open laughter. Except for the voices of their companions, somehow still unable to get along after their months together. Isolde sighed, wondering why they couldn’t learn from the synchronized harmony that surrounded them.

“It’s not early, Robyn, and I’ve already woken you once this morning.” Robyn gave a muffled response.

Across the camp, Charlot poked his head from the flap of a fine tent. “Could you all keep it down before breakfast is prepared? Some of us require our beauty sleep.”

Isolde smiled amicably at the cleric. “Beauty comes from nature, not from sleep.”

At this, Charlot looked the paladin up and down, glance lingering on the twigs entwined in her hair. “Well, that doesn’t mean we should all give up,” he sniffed, retreating within the tent. A second later, he cried out, “And don’t forget the mushrooms for breakfast!”

Nula and Robyn had walked to the nearby brook, planning to bring back fish to prepare for the group. Robyn unslung her bow from her back, knocking back a swig from her flask before nocking an arrow. The half-elf locked her gaze on a silvery shadow beneath the rippling surface before steadying her arm and pulling back, holding the feathering by the corner of her mouth for a heartbeat before loosing the arrow. There was a loud gulp from the water, and a split second later the fish floated to the surface - or rather, what was left of the fish. The arrow was caught in the exploded carcass of a fish, guts already being carried away by the current, bits of scale and fin spread out across the surface of the water. “Hm.”

“No luck, captain?” Nula called from upstream, splashing her way in bare feet to Robyn. The half-elf sighed and eyed her flask before glancing back at the half-orc. She was grinning from ear to ear and held one of her boots in her hands. It was dripping wet and appeared to be shaking, and as she approached Robyn realized there were two fish in the boot. Robyn grinned back.

As the two walked back into camp, pretending the two fish hooked on Nula’s fingers were the only ones they caught, Idu’s falcon familiar screeched and swooped over the busy bodies, dropping a dead rabbit at its owner’s feet. The youth beamed as he lifted it towards Robyn. “See? Archimicarus wanted to help, too!”

Isolde sniffed down her nose at the bloody corpse. “A falcon with a rabbit is worth two with a salad,” she intoned, turning on her heel and beginning a search for edible leaves. Idu’s eyes narrowed as his mind churned. Had he heard that one before? It didn’t sound quite right…

As Robyn lit their campfire and pulled her iron pot from her pack, Charlot’s head poked back out of his tent. “Mushrooms?” he asked hopefully, sniffing the air as the sizzling fish began to cook.

“Rabbit,” Robyn replied, nodding to where Nula sat skinning the beast. Charlot’s mouth tightened as his eyes rolled in their eyelined sockets, but a moment later he was out of the tent and offering Robyn some spices from his personal stash for the breakfast.

After the gang had begun to break their fast (Isolde having returned with a plate full of berries and roots) Robyn called for their attention. They were only a day’s journey from a little settlement called Red Larch, where Robyn had passed through before, and she felt it would be a good place to look for their next job. Without objections, the party finished their meal.

As they gathered their belongings, Isolde wandered to a nearby tree and wrapped her gauntleted arms around it, breathing in deeply and opening her mind to the nature around her. At the same time, Uzza and Charlot sat across from each other, legs crossed, eyes closed, Uzza clutching her holy symbol to her chest, Charlot toying with the shrunken skull he kept with him as he muttered beneath his breath. Their connections with their deities restored, the three grabbed their packs and followed after the group as it headed through the woods.

~~

They had only been traveling for an hour when Nula stopped them. Oskar began to ask what was wrong, but Robyn silenced him with a signal. Nula tilted her head for a moment, then pointed off the path to the right. “Footsteps. Hundred feet away,” she murmured, just loud enough for her voice to carry through the group. “Big.”

Robyn nodded and turned to Idu. “See what we’ve got. Let’s approach this ontomolaly.”

Idu was on the verge of asking what exactly she meant before he thought better of it and reached out with his mind to the circling form of Archimicarus high above. He took a deep breath, and then his eyes rolled up into his head. The falcon gave a shrill shriek and winged off to the right of the path. A couple moments later, Idu’s grunted and spoke, eyes still showing white, “Two ogres. Hundred feet off. Not expecting anything.” Robyn clapped him on the back and nodded to the rest of the group.

“Let’s go.”

~~

A few minutes of cautious travel later, Idu signaled a halt as they approached a rocky outcropping surrounding a clearing. Within, a pair of ogres sat, one trying to stack a pile of rocks, the other sifting through a small assortment of shoddily constructed weaponry. Robyn nodded to the rest, holding up three fingers, and counted down.

As their leader dropped her hand and pulled back an arrow, Charlot stepped forward and released his focused spell. A glowing bolt flew from outstretched fingers, soaring through the intervening air and grazing the tin bucket atop an ogre’s head. Charlot’s eyes narrowed in annoyance and the ogres looked up.

As the bolt burst upon the boulder behind the ogre, Oskar and Isolde darted forward, drawing within reach of the ogre before it could respond. Oskar held up his axe and brought it down on the ogre while Isolde stood behind the dwarf, reaching out easily with her halberd to rake at the ogre’s flesh.

As the two accosted the ogre, Robyn and Idu steadied themselves and unleashed a barrage of fire and arrows. Nula dashed forward for the second ogre, laughing heartily as her swords painted the ogre’s hide in a red mist. For her troubles, the ogre bellowed and dropped its heavy club on her head, sending the half-orc reeling. Uzza called out her name and chanted a few words, and lifeforce surged back into Nula, straightening her shoulders and restarting her laugh.

As Nula renewed her assault on the second ogre, Charlot widened his stance and flung a hand towards the first beast, mimicking the ringing of a bell. Immediately, a harsh clangor filled the clearing, and the ogre’s hands flew to its ears, its own howl adding to the din. Taking advantage of this, Oskar redoubled his attack, with Isolde sending a flurry of strikes to the ogre’s exposed front. Seeing an opening, Robyn steadied an arrow and loosed, breathing slowly as the shaft of wood found its mark, and a heavy thud filled the area as the ogre’s body fell, lifeless, to the rocky ground.

Meanwhile, Nula was darting in and out of reach of the second ogre’s tree trunk of a club. The half-orc cried out withering taunts as her blades left signature swirls in the thick hide, and as the ogre’s temper began to rise, Nula nimbly stepped back, dodging the blows as they fell. With a frustrated roar, the ogre overextended, stumbling a half-step in its wild attempt at retribution. Seeing her opportunity, Nula grinned and ducked beneath the thick arms, laughing garishly as she drove the point of her sword into the eye socket of the ogre, jumping back just in time as it crumpled around her.

As the group shared congratulations and Oskar parsed through the mostly-useless pile of weapons to find serviceable axes, Robyn caught her breath. “Alright, gang, short rest before we continue. Got a fair bit of ground to cover before we reach Red Larch. Don’t want to need to stop due to exhaustimication.”

~~

A little over an hour later, the band marched into the quaint village of Red Larch. The surrounding forest having been beaten back a couple hundred feet, the dozen or so buildings sat in quiet repose, as if saving energy for the eventual return of the encroaching wilderness.

Among the first few buildings they came upon was one attached to a small fenced-in yard, with a coop that seemed half the size of the house. A sign of admirable quality, but in need of a fresh coat of paint, proclaimed the establishment “Mandaver’s Poultry”. Robyn stepped up to the door and knocked politely, but it did not appear that Minthra was home. A few minutes later, a man in a leather apron from across the way approached them, watching with guarded eyes as he explained that Mini was not in at the moment.

Immediately alert to the scent of tannery fluids, Isolde cleared her throat. “Beware the road of the depraved,” she intoned, “for it is paved with the leathery skins of poor little animals.” The neighbor’s mouth drew taut as he eyed the branch-crown and flower-adorned armor of the paladin.

“Well, some of us need to make a living,” he replied tersely, turning to Robyn, who looked the most leaderly. “You can try for her at either the bars or the All Faith’s Shrine.” With a final look of annoyance in Isolde’s direction, the tanner turned on his heel and headed back to his home, behind which several racks of drying leather could be seen.

“Repent!” the paladin called out to his retreating back. “Repent, for nature will have its day in the sun!” Several members of the party hid snickering behind their hands, and the others withheld sighs.

~~

The gang decided to try the inns first. The Swinging Sword was the larger of the two, as one of the tallest buildings in the village, and much nicer. The Helm at High Sun was a dingy hall, with no upper levels for rooms, where frequently repaired stools and tables spoke of many a tumultuous night. Neither establishment could boast very many patrons at this hour, and Robyn was able to quickly determine that Mini was not at either location.

As they stepped outside of the Swinging Sword, a mouthwatering aroma wafted toward the group. Her memory triggered by the fresh scent, Robyn exclaimed, “Oh, that must be Loran’s bakery! She has the best buns. Positively the best odiferocity.” Stomachs rumbling, the band decided to take a short break from their search for lunch.

The source of the heavenly scent was a stout house with many windows, each opened wide and holding plates of steaming buns. Inside, the smell of fresh bread was almost overwhelming. Robyn called out, and a moment later a flour-coated woman with stoutness to match her house came bustling out of the kitchen into the foyer, reimagined as a storefront with wide tables holding multitiered displays, upon which sat earthen platters bearing smooth buns the color of tanned hide.

“Hello, dearies,” the kindly lady greeted them, flashing a smile as she patted down her apron, futilely attempting to wipe off some of the flour and succeeding in coating the table behind which she stood. “It’ll be two coppers a bun, if you’ve a hankering.”

“What is that lovely scent?” Uzza asked, her nose practically lifting from her face to move closer to the displays. Loran treated her with a smile.

“My specialty, dear,” she replied, taking the tiefling’s appearance in stride, “cheese topped buns, stuffed with mushrooms.” Charlot’s ears perked up, and he joined most of the others as they laid copper pieces upon the countertop.

Isolde asked if there were any buns without cheese, with only the barest sniff of disapproval, and Loran returned a second later with fresh from the oven buns, handing her a bun on a plate before paddling cheese onto the rest of the buns. Isolde reached into her pack for a few fresh leaves, which she crumpled and sprinkled over the hot bun. “A good plant is the best plant,” she casually explained in singsong tones.

Nula snorted and asked, “What exactly is a bad plant?”

The paladin paused in her sprinkling for a moment and looked thoughtful before responding, “A chicken.”

As they began to eat, satisfied groans and heavenly whimpers filled the small house, as they so often did, and as several of the group reaching for seconds, Robyn swallowed a delicious mouthful and inquired after Mini.

Loran sighed lightly. “Terrible trouble lately, Mini with her poor granddaughter, Pel. Poor girl claims to have seen a ghost, hasn’t quieted about it in weeks.”

The group’s interest was piqued, and they huddled around the woman. “A ghost?” Charlot asked, fingers straying to the fetish hidden in his coat pocket. “Where? In town?”

Loran laughed, a breezy chuckle. “Heavens, no, this was out by the barrows to the north. Ol’ Mini took the girl there to show her there was nothing to fear, but then the pair came back claiming they had seen goblins. Goblins! This close to Red Larch! Can you imagine?”

The group exchanged significant glances. In their journeys, the things that went bump in the night always ended up closer than the innocent liked to believe. Robyn thanked Loran for the buns and the information, Isolde picked up an extra bun for later, and the band exited.

~~

The group decided to check in at the Swinging Sword, hoping to find word of Mini and Pel. As they made their way, however, Nula and Oskar’s notice was drawn by a smithee down the road, and they promised to head to the inn as soon as possible. Nula’s eyes lit up as she entered the shop, glancing at the smith’s wares.

It was mostly simple farming tools, as a community like Red Larch had little need for weapons of war, but Ulhro Luruth, the smith, offered to stud her leather armor for a small fee, after being convinced this imposing green woman was not here to rob him. Oskar hefted the pair of salvageable battleaxes from the ogres earlier in the day and asked what the smith could offer for them. The stout man pondered this a while, testing the edges of the blades and supposing that they could easily be converted to lumber axes. After a price was agreed upon, the two headed back to the Swinging Sword.

Meanwhile, Charlot was sweet-talking Caelessa, the barkeep and owner of the Swinging Sword, between bites of a fancy meal. (It was so much better than the buns from down the lane, he assured her. Having tasted Loran’s wares herself, Caelessa was not convinced, but she appreciated the lad’s manners.) As there were still few other patrons in the tavern’s common room, she leaned against the bar and answered the boy’s questions, informing him that Mini and Pel spent most of their free time in All Faith’s Shrine following the deaths of the little girl’s parents, and that he should be able to find the pair there most any time of day, especially if Mini wasn’t tending her chickens.

After a sideways glance at the amount of weaponry the strangers bore, Caelessa cleared her throat and tossed her rag on the bartop. “Listen, folks such as yourselves wouldn’t know it, but there’s been trouble lately. And not just little girls and old ladies scared of what isn’t there. I’m not one to talk of such things, least not while the sun is up, but you should seek out the constable, man by the name of Harberk Toothmarralar. Comes by my place most nights, if you care to return.”

Charlot winked a long eyelash. “Oh, I do believe you can expect to see me again, darling.” He delicately popped a final morsel of stew into his mouth, smiling widely. “And I expect to have more of your delicious stew.” The party left Caelessa blushing, and made their way through town to All Faith’s Shrine.

~~

All Faith’s Shrine was a grand temple, as far as the village of Red Larch was concerned. It boasted two flags of thick wool hanging from the eaves of its front, richly dyed and showing regular upkeep. One depicted an upright flaming sword; the other, a blank scroll.

As they stepped within the temple doors, they could hear a girl’s voice echoing from down the hall, clamoring about ghosts. “I did too see a ghost! You weren’t there, you can’t say I didn’t!”

In a chamber off the main hall, Robyn recognized Mini, whom she had helped a couple years ago with a troublesome troupe of hooligans scaring away customers. She had her hands on her hips and appeared to be at her wits’ end. Hanging onto the old woman’s skirt was a young girl, no more than eight, glaring petulantly at a robed figure. “My dear, there’s no need to worry,” the man said in gentle tones. “You must not have seen what you think you saw. You’re safe here.”

As the group stepped into the room, Charlot spoke up. “He doesn’t know what he’s talking about, love. There are certainly dead things that are worth fearing. Better to know than be taken unawares.” The priest glowered at the youth, while Pel seemed unable to decide between looking victorious and disturbed.

“Do not encourage her,” Mini warned, though there was little bite in her words. The woman seemed tired, more than anything, and as Pel began to bounce around her grandmother, it was little wonder why.

“I knew it! I did see a ghost! I told you, I told you, I told you…”

Robyn stepped up beside Charlot. “Hello again, Minthra. Could you tell us where your granddaughter saw this, erm, ghost?”

Mini squinted in unfamiliarity and caught her granddaughter as she circled around again. “Have we met before?”

Robyn laughed heartily. “Oh, Mini, a kidder as always, so splendrified.” Mini chuckled uneasily and clutched Pel closer.

In the main hall, acolytes approached Isolde as she sat by an altar, arms wrapped around it. At their inquisitive stares, she simply shrugged and responded, “It’s how I was taught.” As the rest of the group re-entered the hall, Robyn looked aghast at the acolytes telling off the paladin.

“She has as much a right to worship as any of you! It is All Faith’s Shrine, after all!” When the priest attempted to interrupt her, she raised a hand. “Sir, it is descornable!”

Before the group could be evicted from the premises, Robyn offered to cook a meal for Mini and Pel. “And then, perhaps you can tell us more about this ghost,” she suggested to the young girl, much to Mini’s annoyance.

As they walked back to Mini’s house, they discussed the encounter. “She’d been talking non-stop about it for days,” Mini bemoaned, while Charlot walked beside the girl. “I didn’t think much of it, but when she wouldn’t stop, I had to teach her there was nothing to be afraid of. Only…”

“Only you saw something out there,” Oskar grunted, drawing a sigh of acceptance from the woman.

“I don’t know what I saw. Green flesh, bulbous eyes, I couldn’t have Pel around anything like that. I hightailed it back to Red Larch as fast as I could.”

“And this was where, exactly?” Isolde asked.

“Up by the barrows, three miles to the north and to the east a bit.”

Isolde nearly stopped in her tracks. “And Pel had traveled that far by herself?” Mini just shrugged. “I guess it’s not like she’s a chicken,” Isolde muttered under her breath. “She doesn’t need that much attention.”

As they walked, Charlot let Pel hold the shrunken goblin skull he channeled his spells through. The little girl was fascinated. “And where did you see this ghost?” Charlot asked again. The girl was finding it hard to concentrate.

“Across from the barrow, there are planks over the door, but I saw the ghost floating inside! It was incorp… incoper… see through!”

“Incarcerated,” Robyn offered.

Once they returned to Mini’s home, Robyn fulfilled her promise and cooked up a respectable meal, which Mini and Pel thanked her for (though they still asked for payment for the chicken). After that, the gang headed up the north road to the barrows.

The road was relatively well kept, but they did not come across a single soul. After a couple miles, a crude sign pointed down a less-traveled path to the right, indicating the resting spot of figures from the past, perhaps some ancestors of a family from Red Larch. The way from there was more tedious, as brambles and fallen branches seemed less controlled, but before long they spied a raised earthen mound in the distance. As they drew near, a possum darted out from the underbrush. Isolde flung her arms out to halt the party and dropped to the ground. After reaching out, with spirit and arms, to the forest around them, she began chittering at the possum.

After a minute of frantic chatter, Isolde pulled out the remains of her bun and dropped the crumbs before the creature. It dipped its head up and down, shoveled the bread into its mouth, and scampered off. Isolde straightened up and took a deep breath, then turned and saw everyone staring at her, waiting.

“Oh! This little fellow doesn’t know much about the barrows, but he did say that there have been a couple ‘two-legs’ nearby in the last few days. He said there was a smaller being and a larger one.”

Robyn thought for a moment. The barrow was not going anywhere, and if Pel could make it up here alone, so could other villagers. These creatures could be serious danger for them. “Did your furry friend tell you where it last saw them?” Isolde indicated an area in the woods, several minutes walk away. Robyn nodded to Idu. “Archimicarus ready for some reconnoisseurance?”

Idu scratched his head. “I think you mean… Yeah, we’re ready.” Right on cue, the falcon dove from the heights where he had been circling, swooping over the party’s heads before winging his way in the direction Isolde pointed. Idu’s eyes glazed over, and he began dictating the flight.

“Seems like there’s a clearing a couple hundred feet away… I can see a camp, and three heads… One of them is an ettin, the other’s a goblin.”

“Can you see how they’re armed?” Oskar asked, hefting his battleaxe.

“Let me get a little closer,” Idu mumbled, then the boy yelled and fell backwards, clutching at some unseen wound on his chest. “Well, they have a bow, at least.”

A few minutes later, the group approached the campsite as quietly as they could. They could hear the rumbling of the ettin’s heads conversing, and the quiet squeaking of the goblin. Idu motioned to Robyn, indicating they had arrived, and she held up a hand. As she brought it down, the gang leapt into action.

Fearless as always, Nula tossed herself into the fray first, ignoring the goblin and dashing to the large ettin. Its four eyes widened with surprise as Nula’s swords began to sing, darting through the air as they peppered its hide with slashes. At the same time, Charlot and Uzza stood shoulder to shoulder and raised their respective symbols, chanting as a necrotic beam and divine fire rained down on the ettin at the same time.

Robyn pulled an arrow from her quiver and focused on it, lacing the shaft with her will as she drew the bowstring. As it released, it flew toward the goblin, who immediately let out a wild cry and began cowering on the ground, helpless against Robyn’s iron will.

The ettin finally gathered its wits and hefted a cruel looking battleaxe, which it immediately swung in wide arcs at Nula. A moment later, the half-orc’s jarring laughter was cut short, and her body fell to the ground. Charlot felt her lifeforce shudder, and crooked a finger in Nula’s direction. “Not so fast,” he muttered, and Nula felt her soul slip back into her body. She was still heavily wounded, but she felt her heart-rate stabilize.

Charlot was not through, yet, though. With his other hand, he reached for the hulking frame of the ettin, calling upon the powers of the grave as he murmured an incantation. The ettin’s eyes widened in surprise yet again, as it found itself unable to move a muscle. Beads of sweat glistened on Charlot’s forehead as he held the spell. “Now!” he cried through gritted teeth.

Isolde and Oskar dashed into the fray, taking easy shots at the immobilized ettin, pulling muffled roars from its frozen mouths. Robyn readied another arrow and took aim, firing at the statuesque figure. Her arrow found its mark and then some, entering through one ear and out the other, then back into the third ear and out the fourth. Charlot felt the resistance fade, and as he released the spell, the gargantuan form toppled to the ground.

Having received a pick-me-up from Uzza, Nula leapt to her feet and turned on the remaining goblin. What followed is hardly fit to be depicted here, other than to say the goblin was completely eviscerated, and most would be hard pressed to say what the remaining shreds of flesh had previously been.

The threat contained, the party searched the remains of the campsite, coming up with a smallish purse filled mostly with coppers, and a pile of adventuring gear, most of which was stained with the blood of recent owners. Apart from a couple longswords and shields and a set of leather armor, most of the pile was too damaged for any vigorous use. Still, Oskar strapped the weapons and armor to his pack, content to offload them when able. The site having been picked clean, the group returned to the barrow.

~~

The planks covering the entrance to the barrow were easily enough removed, and beyond stretched a square corridor, 10 feet high, that stretched into darkness. Uzza and Oskar informed them it seemed to be about 30 feet long, and beyond lay a room with what appeared to be a large stone tablet in the middle.

Just before they ventured in, Isolde cast a spell to detect any undead presence. Sure enough, there was a being about thirty feet into the barrow. Armed and prepared, the group made their way down the corridor and into the chamber beyond.

A stone table sat in the middle of the room, and to the right a rusted iron door led deeper into the barrow. Before they could discuss proceeding further, a spectral knight suddenly appeared.

The group hefted weapons, drew arrows, and readied spells, but something stopped them. Perhaps it was the guarded manner of the apparition, perhaps it was the deathly stillness in the barrow. After an uneasy second, the spirit’s mouth began to move, though the voice seemed to emanate from the entirety of the room.

“I am Sir Loras the Vigilant, guardian of this tomb. What is your purpose here?”

The group shared glances, but it was Isolde who stepped forward to speak. “We are travelers here to investigate the claims of a young girl, who insists she saw a ghost here.” She stared pointedly as the ghost hovered over the ground.

“The child has no need to fear so long as she does not disturb my master’s tomb,” Loras’s voice echoed. “He rests here with priceless artifacts, the remnants of a life well lived.”

Nula’s eyes began to glitter at the prospect of buried booty, but Robyn nodded and motioned for the party to regroup outside. With a final longing glance at the iron door, Nula followed the others.

~~

It was decided that the threat from the ghostly guardian was minimal, and that the denizens of Red Larch simply needed to stay away from the barrows. Together, the band made their way back to the village. The bars were now in full swing, as farmers tried to drown out a busy day of husbandry in drink and good company. The crowd at the Swinging Sword was considerably less rowdy than that at the Helm at High Sun, and so Charlot, Uzza, Isolde, and Idu opted to settle in for a nice meal and then straight off to bed. It had been an eventful day, after all.

While they ate, Oskar nudged Nula. “Care to see how the beer in this town holds up?”

Nula smiled, smelling a challenge. “Better than you, Oskar, that’s for sure.” The dwarf chuckled as he led the way, with Robyn tagging along, having heard the promise of alcohol. As they got up to leave, Isolde tutted.

“One shall not poison one’s body with the disgustingness of alcohol.”

Inside the bustling Helm at High Sun, farmers rubbed shoulders with acolytes from the temple. Laughter and arguments filled the air, but Nula’s imposing form parted the masses as the three made their way to the bar. Glancing at the prices, Oskar tossed six coppers onto the polished wood. Nula threw down seven. Robyn snorted and called for a bottle of wine.

Three tankards in, Oskar wiped his mustache and turned to his drinking partner. “Care to make this interesting?” he asked, voice still clear.

Nula drained her drink and nodded. “What did you have in mind?”

Oskar appeared pensieve for a moment, then rumbled, “Loser wields the other’s weapon tomorrow.”

Nula grinned, reaching for another tankard. “Hope you’re as handy with a sword as you are with your axes, then!”

While the two fought for the barkeep’s attention, Robyn glanced over the crowd, eyes lighting on a tall figure with a prominent badge on his collar. Lifting her goblet, Robyn picked her way through the crushing crowd to the constable’s side.

“Hear you have trouble,” she insinuated after introducing herself. “We happen to be the perfectomonius people to handle it.” She took a swig of wine. “Whatever it is.”

Harberk glanced over to the bar, where a sizeable crowd was gathering around the dwarf and half-orc as they slammed down tankards. “Well, if the rest of you can handle yourselves as well as those two can handle their drink, you just might be right.”

A moment later, a great cheer rose to the rafters of the bar, and a large amount of money changed many hands, as Nula slumped over, mumbling into her tankard. Oskar, stoic as ever, finished the rest of his drink, then hefted the woman’s body, twice as tall as his own, over his shoulders and turned for the door.

Harberk’s eyebrows raised. “See me tomorrow about Trickle Rock Cavern. I suspect your group will need to recover from the night’s… festivities.”

“Some more than others,” Robyn laughed, and minutes later Oskar returned to the bar, placing three more coppers on the bar steadily.

[whatanauthorsgottado]

Harry Potter and the Dark Councillors

Chapter 3: Let’s Get You a Wand

Anubin paced the floor in front of the group, wondering what he should say first. Perhaps a greeting - or should he get right into it? He decided on the second option, as some of his audience seemed... twitchy.

"Using the Force - what you call magic - without a focus will not be easy for many of you, given how you're used to relying on them. The hope, though, is that you will at least grasp the basics within a few weeks."

He took stock of the expressions of his audience, pleased to find that they were mostly nodding and hopeful, rather than confused.

"Good. Now, everyone sit. Find a comfortable position. I will begin by teaching you to touch the Force with your senses through meditation."

By the end of the session, several members of the group - Dumbledore, Minerva, and a redheaded woman named Lily - had managed to feel the Force and reach out into it. Lily had even begun to try manipulating it, lifting her wand according to Anubin's instructions. She couldn't quite manage it, but he could feel her grasp on the wand by the time the session ended.

"You've all done quite well," Anubin said by way of conclusion. "Tomorrow, we will try again, and see if more of you can touch the Force. Being able to touch it is the first step to being able to manipulate it."

Some members of the group stayed behind to ask him some questions about the limits of their abilities without their wands, and he answered them to the best of his ability. When their curiosity was largely satisfied, they left, leaving Anubin alone with Minerva.

"Ready to go?" she asked.

"Yes. I'll go get Vowrawn."

The three were to go and get Anubin a wand. Minerva led them to the Headmaster's office, where she lit a fire in the hearth and explained to them about Floo travel. Anubin found the experience disorienting, but fascinating. Upon learning that the formula for Floo powder was a closely guarded secret, he made up his mind to demand in any possible treaty that he be taught the secrets of the Floo network.

They emerged from the fireplace in a rather cozy bar. The denizens didn't even flinch at their appearance, though Anubin caught some people glancing curiously at his tattoos. He pulled the hood of his robe forward a little, to better hide his horns.

Minerva led them behind the bar building to some bins smelling of garbage. Before Anubin could comment, she tapped one particular brick in the wall behind the bins with her wand.

The wall opened into a doorway to a long narrow street, shadowed on both sides by building holding shops of all kinds. Each shop had a wooden sign jutting into the air advertising their wares, from birds to books to what looked like a bloated organ of some kind. Anubin zeroed in on the sign displaying a wand with sparks at the end, the lettering below the wand declaring that the shop belonged to Ollivander and had been established in 635 BC, whatever that meant. Anubin took it to mean 'a long time ago'.

The three walked into that shop, a worn bell proclaiming their entrance with a tired chime. Shortly thereafter, an older-looking human with a shock of white hair made an appearance, smiling at the group. It was rather off-putting.

"Hello, Minerva. You're not here for a new wand, are you?" His gaze landed on Anubin and Vowrawn. "I don't recall ever meeting either of you. Perhaps you're the ones looking for wands?"

"I am, in fact," Anubin replied. "I was curious about your wands. I build foci for Force power myself, though they're usually not made of wood."

"Oh? Force? My dear boy, I do suppose you refer to magic? In that case, I would quite like to see what focus you use."

Anubin handed over his usual Force focus to the man, who was presumably Ollivander himself. Ollivander took it carefully, producing his own wand and tapping at it. The focus sparked, and Ollivander handed it back, satisfied.

"Interesting. I suppose your usual use involves channeling lightning?"

"Yes. I was wondering how that might affect a wand..."

The two chatted for some time about focus uses and materials. Anubin made a mental note to ask Dumbledore about teaching this man to wandlessly channel the Force; it seemed something he might be interested in.

"As terribly interesting as this conversation is," Vowrawn interrupted after a while, "are we not here for a reason?"

"Of course," Ollivander agreed. "Now, who would like to be measured first?"

"I will," Anubin volunteered.

Ollivander tapped a length of string on his desk with his wand, and it flew over to Anubin to measure him. He dropped his hood to allow it to measure his head, ignoring Ollivander's shock at seeing his horns.

The measuring string seemed enthusiastic about its job, moving on to measuring his ankles and wrists. Anubin had to draw the line when it attempted to measure between his nostrils, and he pushed it away with a blast of Force energy. It fell to the floor.

"I would appreciate it if you would try not to unleash magic on my equipment."

"Sorry."

"No matter. Try this. Fir and unicorn hair, ten and a quarter inches, reasonably bendy."

Anubin allowed the Force to flow through him into the wand, but found that the wand didn't want to channel the Force for him, if it could be said to have wants.

He asked Ollivander as much and received an emphatic yes. "The wand chooses the wizard, dear boy." Suddenly his face took on a look of confusion; combined with his hair and his long, thin features, it was almost comical. "I never learned your name."

"It's Anubin. And this is Vowrawn." Vowrawn nodded his agreement.

"I see. Well, Anubin, wands are capable of many things. In fact, wands are nearly conscious, with at least the ability to tell whether an individual is a suitable master, and..."

MInerva cleared her throat, and he cut himself off. "Of course, we can perhaps speak of wandlore in greater detail later. For now, try this. Holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches, nice and supple. A rather odd combination, but it may just fit."

This wand had a rather explosive negative reaction, sending itself flying into one wall and Anubin into the other. He reacted quickly enough to cushion the impact.

"Marvellous! No, that absolutely does not fit! I know I have one here..." Ollivander dove into the back of the store, riffling through the boxes on one shelf until he apparently found what he was looking for.

"Vine and dragon heartstring, twelve and three quarter inches, hard." As soon as he opened the box, the tip of the wand crackled with electricity.

Anubin reached out and took the wand in his hand. As soon as he did, his arm felt warm, and as he channeled the Force, it felt like a circuit had suddenly been completed. A spark jumped from the tip of the wand, exploding in midair with a crackle of lightning.

"It's perfect. I'll have to test my abilities with it further, but i believe it's perfect."

He switched the wand into his left hand and drew his lightsaber without activating it. He liked the feeling of both his weapons in his hands. Satisfied, he returned his lightsaber to his belt.

Ollivander, meanwhile, focused on Vowrawn. "Would you like to be fitted for a wand as well?"

"Why not? I admit, I found there was something about the spectacle you put on, Anubin, that's intrigued me greatly."

"Of course. You just enjoyed seeing me thrown across the room."

Vowrawn's eyes glittered. "Never. Perish the thought."

Ollivander watched their conversation with bright eyes, then went for the wand boxes again.

"Here. Dogwood and dragon heartstring, twelve inches, quite flexible."

Vowrawn took the wand. Immediately there was a loud pop and a small spark jumped from the end.

Vowrawn pointed the wand at the wall, and a small bolt of lightning flew from the end. The bolt stopped just before it hit the wall and dissipated into the air.

Vowrawn grinned at the wand. "Marvellous! It's a wonderful focus. As Anubin said, it's very nearly perfect!"

Ollivander, oddly, looked a little put out. "That was rather easy, wasn't it. Yes, it does seem quite a good fit. Well, that will do... it's fourteen Galleons for the two of them."

Minerva reached into her robes and pulled out what had to be a moneybag, removing fourteen large gold coins from it. Anubin watched with interest.

"So that's a Galleon. What are your other coins? Sickles and Knuts, right?"

"Yes. Twenty-nine Knuts to a Sickle, and seventeen Sickles to a Galleon," Minerva replied.

"Indeed. Good day to you," Ollivander said, accepting the coins from Minerva.

The three left the shop and continued down the alley, Anubin and Vowrawn glancing into the windows of shops as they passed. One in particular, the Magical Menagerie, caught Anubin's eye, mainly because as they passed the door flew open and a greyish blur came streaking out and attached itself to Anubin's leg.

The shop owner came dashing out after it, stopping in his tracks when he spotted the animal attached to Anubin. "That's where you went! Get back here, you little beast!" He lunged for the animal, who leapt off Anubin into Vowrawn's rather surprised arms and hissed at the man attempting to capture it.

Anubin automatically brought his wand to bear, calling on the Force to stop the shopkeeper in his tracks once again. Then, with exaggerated calm, he took the animal from Vowrawn's arms and held it in front of himself to examine it.

It appeared to be a feline of some sort, though it was rather small and scruffy. Presumably, it was intended to be a pet, so likely it wouldn't get much bigger. It sported a number of scars on its flanks and had a tip torn off its ear, and was covered in so much dirt that it was nearly impossible to tell what colour its fur was. It stared at Anubin in return with bright yellow eyes, which closed for a moment as Anubin looked into them. The animal began to vibrate softly in Anubin's hands, and Anubin realized it was purring.

"She likes you," the shopkeeper said in astonishment, having picked himself off the ground where he'd fallen when Anubin stopped focusing on him. "That cat doesn't like anybody, but she likes you."

"Apparently." Anubin offered the cat to the shopkeeper, but he shook his head.

"You keep 'er. She likes you, and she won't sell in the shop on account of being all torn up like that. Have 'er."

Anubin looked at the cat again. She seemed content, despite the awkward way she was being held. Anubin put her down on the ground, and she immediately pressed herself into his shins.

"I am most grateful," Anubin said. He continued on down the alleyway, the cat following at his heels, along with Vowrawn and MInerva.

[writingdumpster-o]

Chapter Five:

The train arrived at its destination at nightfall, as usual. Magdalene found her cat waiting for her on the platform. They followed Blaise to the carriages and found one waiting for them. Unsurprisingly, they could also see the Thestral pulling the carriage.

Magdalene’s eyes widened. “What in the name of Salazar is that?”

“That’s a Thestral.” A familiar voice chimed in. Luna approached them, and then went to pet the beast.

“Um excuse me, but aren’t they supposed to be dangerous?” Magdalene asked, trying to keep her composure.

“No. They’re feared because only people who have seen death can see them. But they’re harmless, otherwise.” Luna explained as she fed the Thestral a slice of raw meat.

Magdalene eyed the pair suspiciously. “Right. I’m hungry, though, so let’s head to Hogwarts.”

Blaise suppressed a grin at Magdalene’s nervousness and hopped into the carriage. They waited for five minutes until the last students, who happened to be Theodore Nott and Daphne Greengrass, joined them. The conversations during the ride happened between Magdalene and Luna, and Blaise with his two childhood friends. They split with Luna when they got to the Great Hall and found empty spots on the Slytherin benches, not far from the Malfoys, who stayed at the back, away from the rest.

The Deputy Headmaster, Professor Slughorn, took the responsibility of the Sorting Ceremony, thus welcoming six new Slytherin students, ten Gryffindors, nine Ravenclaws, and fifteen Hufflepuffs. Theo made a snide remark about the high number of Hufflepuffs, making anyone within earshot roll their eyes. He grinned widely nonetheless, proud of his wit. As Professor Slughorn then announced, Hermione Granger was then named Head Girl, and, to his surprise, Blaise Zabini was named Head Boy.

“Why are you so surprised?” Magdalene asked, after the cheers died down at the Slytherin table.

“It should be Draco, he’s always behind Granger and I’m always behind him, in our studies.” Blaise murmured, eyeing Draco over Maggie’s head.

“Maybe he declined the offer?” Magdalene offered, unsure.

Blaise pursed his lips and nodded stiffly. “Maybe… I’ll have to ask him.”

Magdalene nodded and turned to the front of the room to find Professor McGonagall, the new Headmistress, giving a speech.

“And now, the master of ceremony and previous winner of the Triwizard Tournament is going to tell all the newcomers about the Tournament.”

Just then, Harry Potter walked from Gryffindor table to stand next to McGonagall. Cheers erupted from Gryffindor table. He introduced the Triwizard Tournament in quite the same way as Dumbledore had, years ago, and he told the students about the same age restriction. A plan began forming in Magdalene’s head, which would help her financially once she was out of Hogwarts. She had zoned out, her gaze trained on Potter, when she felt a nudge on her right arm. She turned to see Theo, leaning down to whisper to her.

“We need to have a talk before going back to the common room.”

“Will you explain to me why you’ve been acting weirdly since I got back to Hogwarts last year?” She asked challengingly.

He swallowed hard. “Something like that.”

***

Theodore Nott had a secret, one he was hoping to keep for as long as he could. Ever since receiving an owl from his father upon Middleton’s return to Hogwarts in the year that had Snape as headmaster. It was January 1998 and Hogwarts had never felt so unwelcoming. Theo, though he tried to hide it, had never wanted to be farther away from the castle. He had been at the breakfast table, Slytherin table being the fullest of all four, just like the Slytherin hourglass. Anything was an opportunity to dock points from Gryffindor, mostly. Suddenly, a dark-feathered owl swooped right over Slytherin table and dropped a folded piece of parchment destined for Theo. He opened it, and upon reading its contents, his life changed. What was written about Magdalene Middleton made him treat her differently.

As Filch singlehandedly led all of Slytherin House to the dungeons, Theodore kept his eyes trained on Middleton’s back. He never broke eye contact with her dark hair until he felt a smaller hand slip into his, and he looked to his right at Nancy Burke, his 6th year on and off girlfriend, who looked terrified. He squeezed her hand once and looked back up only to find that Middleton had disappeared. His head whipped left, right, and back. She was nowhere to be seen, and a lump had begun to form in Theodore’s throat.

He spent their entire forty-five minutes of being locked looking for her without arousing suspicion among his housemates, but to no avail. When the gate of their cell blew up, he wasted no time in running out, leaving Nancy with her friends to deal with her. He had to find her.

He dodged spells and hexes and just as he tried looking in the greenhouses, he collided violently with the most familiar person he could: Draco Malfoy. And he just so happened to be with Magdalene Middleton.

“What’s going on with you lot?” Theo asked, panting.

“What’s it look like?” Middleton retorted, already meaning to escape their company.

“We’re going to check on Blaise, he was Stunned before we had time to run away.” Draco explained, and the three of them marched towards the corridor in which Blaise was still unconscious.

Magdalene ran towards Zabini and knelt at his side, hyperventilating. She fussed over his pulse and breathing, and Theo would never be able to place the feeling that knotted his stomach at the sight. He knelt beside her and pulled out her wand.

“Rennervate!”

“What the bloody hell happened?” Blaise sputtered, blinking several times before rubbing his eyelids hard.

“You got Stunned.” Magdalene declared simply. She fixed the collar of his white shirt and the knot of his tie.

“Oh. Okay.” He replied sheepishly.

“Come on; let’s get you out of here.” Magdalene helped Zabini up.

“We all need out,” Theo remarked, eyeing Magdalene meaningfully.

“I need to find Victoria,” Draco spoke urgently, “we need to get to Zabini Manor, it’s the only place where we’ll be safe, we need to find them all and take them there.”

“And I’m the only one who can get you through the wards.”

“I’ll help you—”

Theo interrupted Middleton’s volunteering. “No, you need to leave. You’re Muggle-Born, they’ll let you out easier than us, we need to find Slughorn to be able to leave.”

“I need to find him too, not everyone knows I’m Muggle-Born—”

Theodore’s temper got the better of him and he grabbed her roughly by the arm. He dragged her off to the seventh floor where they found Ginny Weasley and Tonks, the Auror.

“She needs to get out of here.” He announced, finally releasing the struggling teen.

“Why? Afraid her relatives might find her?” Weasley sneered, eyeing Magdalene distastefully.

“She’s Muggle-Born, you little—”

“Hey, cool it, you two. Okay, we’ll take her to Aberforth.” Tonks pacified, opening the closet she had just come out from. “Climb through the portrait and continue until the end, you’ll meet Aberforth Dumbledore.”

“I need—”

“For Salazar’s sake, Middleton, just get the hell out of here!” Theo bellowed, making Tonks raise an eyebrow.

“I want an explanation, Nott.” She said decisively before surrendering and penetrating the Room of Requirement.

Even then, Theo knew that the explanation would take months, if not years, to come. How could he possibly tell Middleton about the contents of that letter? He took Middleton aside.

“You don’t know everything about your ancestry.”

“Could you be any more vague?” She asked sarcastically.

“Just don’t think you know everything about your parents.” He hissed, his breathing hitting her face.

The mention of his parents made her face light up with grief. “Don’t talk about my parents, ever again.” She hissed venomously, earning her green tie stereotype.

His features softened, just like his grip on her arm. “I’m sorry… I… I know what happened, I just… There’s stuff that you need to know, and your mum didn’t have time to tell you.”

“How would you know the first thing about my mum and what she needed to tell me?” Magdalene hissed, holding his gaze.

“I know more than you, and more than you can even imagine. Just be careful whom you meddle with.” Theodore warned before stomping to his dormitory.

                                                         ***

Meanwhile, Victoria stuck to Draco who had been earning glares ever since they had gotten inside the castle. She knew that everyone secretly despised him for her uncle’s actions, and what Draco had been forced to do for the Death Eaters and the Dark Lord himself. At some point, they walked into Goyle, but even he, their childhood friend, was acting odd toward Draco. A glare from Victoria made him flee their company as the blonde sympathetically tightened her grip on her cousin’s arm. She looked up at him as he glared into space, his expression overly mysterious. She frowned but decided to let him sleep on it before asking her questions, she knew not to overwhelm him with questions. He said the password to the Slytherin common room, and got inside still holding his cousin’s hand tightly to his chest.

“Can I ask you something?” She asked nonetheless.

He gave her a tired look. “Can it wait until tomorrow?”

She gave it a thought as other Slytherins squeezed past her. “I guess most of it can,” she muttered finally.

He smirked feebly. “Most?” He repeated.

“I actually have a scheme of questions for you, but one of them can’t wait until tomorrow. Can I?” She asked, giving him a rare toothy grin.

He chuckled. “Of course”

She cleared her throat. “Are you okay?”

His slight grin disappeared for confusion to settle. “Of course I am, why would you ask?”

“I have eyes, Draco. I see how everyone is looking at you,” she murmured, putting a hand over his arm.

He eyed her hand curiously; she almost never made physical contact. “And may I know how they’re looking at me?”

She noticed his glance and withdrew her hand before muttering almost silently, “They’re looking at you like you’re the Dark Lord…”

To her greatest surprise, he snorted. “That’s it? The contrary would have surprised me greatly, Vicky. I’ve been preparing for this the entire summer, it doesn’t bother me the tiniest bit, I swear,” he reassured her, putting both hands on her slumped shoulders, a peaceful smile on his face. “Will you stop worrying so much, now?”

She shrugged his hands off her and straightened her composure before draining her face of emotion. “Who said I was worrying? I’m just curious, don’t overestimate yourself,” she walked away from him toward the girls’ dormitory.

He smiled and muttered, “So very true, Miss Malfoy,” before going to the boys’ dormitory himself.