Sam Halford's Story

Written in collaboration with Elrith.*

If it could happen, it most often did. Or more so, Delilah Noire found herself vexed and contemplating Murphy’s Law – if it could go wrong, it would go wrong. The seventeen year old found herself hauling her trunk, desperately late and far more so than usual. “I missed the feast and sorting! And it’s my final year, would have been the last one!” she thought glumly. Standing at 5”9, the lithe and tanned Virginian found herself quite alone at the docks off shore of Magus Grex. The attendants and staff who typically handled incoming students were nowhere in sight. This was the first year she’d been late and as she waited for one of the boats to come, the blond found it very difficult to handle the lack of chatter and voices. All she had for company was a skiff of leaves being carried along the wooden docks by a cool breeze.

While she wasn’t the most outgoing socialite, there was always a magical fervor in the air around all inbound students. There was the matter of catching up with the people she hadn’t seen all summer as well. She missed the smiles and hugs in that moment, a sentiment that made her heart sink a little. Sighing, Delilah rolled back on her heels, feeling her sneakers sink into the wooden plank behind her. It creaked loudly and rather quickly the teen felt her balance slip as the plank gave more than she thought it would. The rubber heel of her shoe crudely caught between the planks and as she struggled to pull herself forward she found herself falling backwards. Swinging her arms and pushing herself forward, Delilah found herself suddenly freed but with too much momentum. The blond slammed her feet into the ground and tossed her arms out defensively to catch her balance. When she was on her own two feet again she exhaled deeply, turning to look over her shoulder as if someone was there to see. With no witnesses she sighed again in relief, kneeling to re-tie her shoe and shaking her head at her own lack of composure.

As she fingered the laces, pursing her lips as she made a quick bow, the air crackled with a snap and pop. Apparition. Immediately she rose to stand upright, her hand grabbing for her wand defensively. The ivory handle graced her finger tips but was quickly released when the person who’d apparated turned to face her. “Oh, really?” she cursed, looking skyward and nearly whining. “What the hell. You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“Sorry, kid, looks like we missed- Delilah?!” he said, surprise lacing his tone. She watched his eyebrows rise and fought away the butterflies in her stomach.

Standing before her was none other than Sam Halford, a complicated mess of an asshole in her opinion. Swallowing bitterly, she stood upright, smoothing her hand over her robes and tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. She had to admit she was relatively well put together. Miss me? she wondered. Conveniently she did look good that day, having had time to brush out her wild wavy blond hair. It hung loose on her shoulders. She'd also thought to put on some make-up that morning, thankfully. Not once had she thought their first re-encounter would be on the docks.

Last year had become so complicated after Valentine’s Day. Sam had asked her out on a date, boldly so. She’d accepted, pushed by her friends to, and found him charming nonetheless. They had a lot in common and he was friends with Vance, a guy who had caught her eye on occasion. However as the year progressed it had been almost a tug of war to keep his attention. When May rolled around they had been seeing and talking to each other regularly. She’d come to like their conversations and right before the end of classes they’d found an old piano and played together. It had been soft and sweet, something she’d almost deemed romantic. He’d kissed her then and she’d enjoyed it. More than I should have, she thought angrily. That night had turned rather sour and quickly when Sam, so far as she knew, started a fight with Vance. She hadn’t been there to see most of it, only the tail end when the two stood there, sweating and hating one another. They’d been more than ready to take a hack at one another again if it weren’t for the four male professors holding them back one the other’s throats. Delilah had found herself fixated on Vance, the way his hair and body hung after the battle. He looked tired but almost sexy. She recalled thinking he needed practice but that he was charming looking. Don’t like the bad boy. Really. Where is your head? she’d told herself. She reminded herself of that again then.

The violence had turned her off to Sam. He’d shown a different side of himself and not shut it away when the duel was over. When they’d parted ways for the summer, he had promised to make it right again but he’d still been fuming. He’d never sent her so much as one word over the holidays. She’d almost thought him for dead. Close to three months of no conversation at all. He surely hadn’t missed her.

“You’re alive,” she muttered, barely looking him in the eye. There wasn’t a thing wrong with him, aside from looking slightly disheveled from apparating. “I was hoping they’d say they found you in a ditch or something.” Without question she felt slighted. The first guy she’d ever been convinced to spend time with had just dropped her for what? She didn’t know. It hurt regardless and she didn’t hide that from him.

Sam made a grab for her trunk then, as if to help her. Immediately Delilah reached out to catch his hand, not wanting him to even touch her things. When he moved to hug her, she stepped back shaking her hands at him. “What?” he said, at once melting into a defensive stance. Her glare deepened. "Don't," she warned him, half tempted to reach out and flick him away like he was a mosquito flying too close.

“Sorry to disappoint. Usually it seems that most girls would be happy to discover their boyfriend isn’t dead,” he told her. He heard me, she thought. Delilah couldn’t help but roll her eyes at his comment. “Last I checked, a boyfriend actually talked to their girlfriend,” she replied sharply. As she turned back out towards the water she saw that their boat was there, small and singular in existence. A small house elf apparated and tied it to the dock, gesturing for them to board. “Is there only one?” Delilah groaned. The elf nodded, and gestured again that they get in. Normally she was far more courteous but Sam’s presence pushed her closer to an edge that she’d been brought to by her own mother not hours before. Biting her lip to keep herself from saying something rude she clambered across the docks, careful to hold onto her trunk herself before setting it beside the house elf, knowing he would take it and her owl Screech to their appropriate places.

As Delilah settled herself into the boat she was a clutz about it, as usual. Stepping into the boat, she pushed her weight into it too much at first and pushed it further from the dock. When Sam moved to help her she swatted him away. As her legs stretched painfully Delilah grumbled lowly under her breath, cursing her lack of coordination, and pulled the boat back towards them so that she could hop inside and sit down, crossing both her legs and arms. She uptook the silent pose, only for him to take offense to that too.

“Oh, I didn’t talk to you? What is this a one way street?” he asked suddenly. “You never sent me any messages, and I couldn’t talk to anyone, my father took my owl and dragged me off to the UK, didn’t you get my apology Patronous?” Sam looked exasperated and not at all amused with her expression. Delilah closed her eyes, pursing her lips. “No. I got nothing from you. No letters, emails, owls,” she replied curtly.

"Well I'm sorry I missed you but," Sam apologized, or tried to before she cut him off. His words barely registered. “Since when can you muster a Patronus?” she asked with a harsh tone. Had he somehow learned it? Her sass was a tad biting. She knew he had a sore spot for being belittled that way.

It was unlike her to be so curt and short with him or anyone for that matter. Only a few people earned such sassy remarks and Sam had never been one of them. Though the way she addressed him was not entirely his fault, she was unrelenting. The past 24 hours had been rather hard on her.

“Last I saw you, you were beat up and in a violent mood. You disappeared after the boats and I had to go. I wrote you, I emailed you, I called you. Screech came back every time, couldn’t find you. My emails bounced. After awhile your phone was disconnected,” she ranted, bringing a hand to her head to tuck her hair behind her ears. Delilah sighed and turned to look out to the shores of their school. As the boat took to the water, they moved swiftly across it. "I gave up two weeks ago," she added sourly. Her father had thought her a fool for the last month, waiting so pitifully for word from this boy he'd never met, worse yet the son of a man he knew well and wanted nothing to do with. He'd done his best to dissuade her from talking to him but her father’s words meant little. Sam was the first guy to show true interest in her as a person, and not just a pretty face. He must be missing me Daddy, she’d said over and over.

“Oh and times never change? Expecto Patron-” Sam began, but his words were again cut off as Delilah’s eyes widened at the sight of an elegant great eagle patronus. He was trying to prove her wrong with this kind of antic? Really? She looked across from him, nearly snarling, gripping the edge of the boat and moving to stand. Was this some kind of joke? He rolled his eyes and she hummed with exasperation. The boat rocked as the eagle began to talk, proving that he had tried once to contact her. Poorly done, she thought with a swallow. Timed to try and win me back? Bullshit.

Delilah… sorry this is coming to you this way but my prat of a father took Howl form me and I left my computer in Charleston, You wouldn’t believe the views that-” the eagle began to say.

Delilah stared into the patronus as it spoke until Sam swatted it away with his wand. Sinking back into her seat the blond resigned to folding her arms again, swallowing back her discontent. Her mother’s words from yesterday morning rolled into mind, the thought of it making her cringe and put her face into her hands. ”What daughter of mine would stand to be so slighted by some idiot boy?”

“Yeah, thanks for that… better late then, know what, never mind,” Sam muttered to the air, shifting back in his seat as well. Delilah couldn’t even look at him. The closer the shore came to the boat the better. They were only a few minutes away now. Glancing at her watch she recognized that it was nearly time for breakfast. Savant was likely awake by now. She missed her close friend more than anything in that moment. He’d understand.

“Anyway my father forced me to go with him to Britain ‘cause of that ‘incident’, his words not mine, with Abernathy,” Sam explained, his voice laced with residual frustration. It was obvious he was holding a grudge against the Aretiem. Delilah didn’t care for the tone and shook her head, leaning an elbow onto her knee so that she could set her cheek in her hand. “He has a name Sam. And it’s not like you’re guilt free. Holding onto such hate,” she said bitterly. She didn’t know why she was defending Vance at all. She barely knew him and he was often less than courteous. “And besides, a talking patronus? How hard is it to slip a letter in the mail? Even a howler!”

“My Auror keeper/tutor kind of kept me busy all the time,” Sam countered. “Kind of?” she echoed him. What she picked out from his words was selective. Delilah’s eyebrows rose for a moment before she turned away again, scoffing. At that point the boat bumped into the schools main docks and Delilah was ever so quick to stand. As the boat rocked with her sudden movement the witch was smart enough to grab onto the ladder closest to her, hauling herself up it without hesitation. Sam was quick to follow her, keeping behind her as she kept her arms wrapped across her chest. As they walked down the length of the dock he was close to her, so much so that he didn’t have to raise his voice. For awhile she was quiet, stifling her words as she bit harder on her lip. She’d nearly drawn blood when they got to the front gates and were permitted to enter the courtyard. As she stormed and he followed, Delilah found they were surrounded by chattering voices and excited students. She was not one for scenes but one was coming. Minutes ago she’d wished to be surrounded by them all. Now she’d give anything for them to be gone.

“Look, I’m sorry I didn’t contact you, but I am a wizard and I still can’t turn back the clock,” Sam said suddenly, his words stopping her. As she pivoted on her heel to face him, he threw his hands in the air as if in defeat. Her lip trembled. “I mean, what do you want me to say?” he asked, exasperated. She was tired of this too, tired of waiting for him to care about her for just a second. He needed to find the words and the gesture. Did he really think she’d brush off the lack of communication? If he was interested in her, wasn’t he supposed to want to talk to her every day?

“We’re done,” she said lowly, her voice harsh and broken in its own way as it cracked with emotion. "I cannot be with a guy who doesn't give a shit about me.”

“Give me a break, that’s not true,” he replied, anger blooming in his tone again. He gestured to her, extending his arm as if to tell her to keep going and she did, not even thinking twice about what she was saying. “You choose violence instead and you choose to hang onto a grudge that means nothing!” The crowds of students were growing now. More people were waking up and heading to breakfast. “You know nothing!" she concluded, enraged. He was so childish like this! Then again, she looked close to throwing a tantrum herself with her face so flushed and her eyes so narrowed on him.

Licking her lips she turned away from him, shaking her head and running a hand through her long hair to push it back out of her face again. As she moved across the courtyard she could feel the stares. She was not one for moments, no, but the outburst was called for in her mind. As she stepped into the greater castle area, Delilah was desperate to escape him but Sam only ran after her, beyond angry with her words.

“Means nothing?!” he roared. Delilah winced, stopping where she stood in front of the open doors to the great hall. Shouldn’t have said that, she thought, cursing herself for her poor choice of words. His voice caught the attention of many and she cursed under her breath, squeezing her eyes shut as if to will him away. "You're making a scene," she muttered, knowing it was useless now that his temper had been sparked.

”You think it meant nothing? That I’d get in a duel with him for nothing? That son of a bitch insulted my mother, my DEAD,” he spat the word at her, ”Mother! But you wouldn't understand that would you!”

Delilah choked on a cry, keeping her back to him as she brought a hand to her forehead, trying to hide the desolation on her face. “My mother has been as good as dead since I was nine,” she thought lowly. “He knows that. Why on earth would he say that if only to hurt me?” The woman had been depressed since being paralyzed from the waist down when Delilah was nine. It had gotten so bad that for the past three years she had gone mute and nearly catatonic. Had he forgotten? He really did know nothing. She held her tongue however, knowing that her sassy mouth had gotten them into this tit for tat yelling fest.

“You know what… you’re right, we are done! If you can’t understand that I did care then it wouldn’t work anyway and I’m not wasting my time,” He concluded. She heard him walk away and she licked her lips and let out half a cry. “I’m a waist of time?”

Her shoulders shuddered and when she opened her eyes she found half a dozen onlookers staring at her like she was half crazy. Was she the victim or the bitch? A little of both.

“Your mother did not choose to leave you, but my mother did for me,” she said lowly, knowing that Sam was well out of earshot. Swallowing her pride, the seventh year Cervus wrapped her arms tightly around her chest again – almost as if to keep herself together. She moved quickly, half choking on air as she went to the girl’s lavatory closest to the great hall, pushing past students who cared to get in her way. As she reached the door she couldn’t hold it in. She sobbed and sniffed, ducking her way into a stall so that she could close the door and fall to her knees on the floor to cry beyond the sight of anyone but herself.

Sam walked to his common room shortly after the Nurse put his hand right, as he reached the Ferre Common room he made a bee line for his own personal dorm. Being a Seventh Year he had his own quarters rather than sharing a hallway with other students he had to climb some of the stairs to the upper spire and enter his own small section of the spire, many other rooms above him and even more below. He opened his door and entered, not worrying about his luggage as he knew it would be there. He took off his blazer and hung it on the back of his desk chair before turning to his room which lacked any of his personality. He reached to his right side and drew his wand form the holster he had there (a gift from one of his father’s friends when they heard he had aspirations of being an Auror) and flicked it causing all his luggage to open. He whispered Accio Robe which brought his robe from a nearby open chest and then grabbed a briefcase like bag that held his books and supplies. He would have changed out of his more formal clothing into some more casual, well, casual for Sam for the day but he didn’t really have time for that and breakfast so he decided to suffer in the less comfortable shoes.

As he left the room he flicked his wand once again and several posters, books, and other personal items flew gently from the luggage and came to rest on hooks and placement areas already about the room, instantly making the room his. He would unpack later that day; he had a free period since he wouldn’t be taking Divination anymore.

Sam also had to see to his other duties as a Prefect, assuming he still held the position as he was late to the start of term and started a fight last year, and had to get the necessary signatures for his ‘little project’ he’d been working on recently. He gave a glance at the mirror and checked his teeth and his body odour as well to ensure he didn’t smell. He’d showered before apparating to the boat so he still was fresh, though he hadn’t slept since his last day in the UK. He just shrugged it off and made a note to head to Castellum later that evening and, if everything went as planned, he’d need to get some business taken care of. “And maybe a glass of Firewiskey to top off the day…” he mused. He’d taken to the alcoholic beverage since he had turned Seventeen and was legally able to buy it. His Tutor had often topped the day off with a glass and that was one habit Sam had taken too. Not to say Sam was an alcoholic, though he may need two glasses tonight to get the buzz he’d desire to forget the drama of the pre-dawn boat ride.

Sam headed down from his dorm to the Ferre Common room and at last waved hello and shook hands with some friends who he’d ignored heading up, apologizing for his rudeness. One asked if he’d be trying out for the Quodpot team again and he chuckled, “I don’t know, I’m a bit rusty this year, didn’t really fly at all this summer, but we’ll see. Now if yall will excuse me I’m a gonna go get dome grub.” He slapped his friend on the shoulder before heading down the stairs to the Great hall again. He headed over to the Ferre table and sat, taking a mug of hot water he took out a tea bag he had in his pocket, one he always had, and steeped the leaves in the liquid. Unfortunately the water had cooled slightly so he tapped the glass with his wand to heat it up while putting three spoons of sugar in it.

“You’re going to turn into a diabetic if you keep that up, Sam.” A sixth year who had an obvious northern city accent (Boston by the sound of it) joked as he glanced up form a wizarding sports magazine.

“Oh come on now, Kyle, you know us southerners gotta have our sweet tea, anything less is just wrong.” Sam commented with a smile before grabbing some bacon and eggs, grits and a biscuit, “These biscuits might not be from home but they’re pretty damn good… you should try one Kyle, rolls just don’t give you the texture.” Sam commented and the other boy just rolled his eyes. “Any o’ yall have the paper?” Sam asked before taking another sip of his tea. One of the girls nearby slid him a copy with a smile and he thanked her.

“What was all the ruckus between you and Delilah about, Sam?” the younger fifth year girl who had passed him the paper asked, to this Sam just sighed and looked at her with a meaningless smile trying to be friendly.

“I’d rather not get into it right now Becky, maybe another time…” but without missing a beat he turned the subject away before she could continue to push as she normally did, “How was your grandmother? You said you were going to spend the first few weeks of summer with her right?”

She instantly went into a colourful commentary of her summer with her potion loving grandmother and Sam paid decent attention though he ate and read the paper at the same time. He was listening to her and made sure to let her know that but his true mind was elsewhere as he read about some herbology salesman who ran a huge farm in the Midwest being killed in a strange way. He couldn’t help but wonder why that herbologist and why the man’s name seemed familiar before a small tap came at his shoulder making him turn to look rather suddenly. The small boy who had tapped him jumped slightly as Sam turned to him but Sam did his best to be friendly. The kid was obviously a second year, “Oh, I’m sorry buddy, didn’t see ya there, Greg right?” Sam asked racking his memory of the first years from the past term.

The kid nodded and cleared his throat, “No problem Sam…” the boy said, Sam politely waited for him to continue but the boy just kind of stood there, after a moment Sam cleared his throat, making the boy jump again as he realized he had forgotten why he had come over and he held out a letter. “Right, sorry, Professor Ryther asked me to give you this.” He said. Sam thanked him and took the parcel, the boy’s friends calling to him so he didn’t just stand there awkwardly.

“Pft…Second years…” Kyle commented as he cut another piece of ham from his plate.

Sam glanced up at him as he was opening the letter and raised an eyebrow, “You were a second year once… as I recall that was the year you fell down the main stairs and knocked Professor Hutson over.” Sam commented with a smile, some laughing at the memory, Kyle just flicked a crumb of a roll at Sam who chuckled lightly. As he drew out the letter and read it leisurely.

To Samuel Halford,

It’s come to the attention of the Headmaster that you were late to the Start of Term this year, he wishes to speak with you about this at your earliest convenience.

Sincerely,

Professor Ryther

PS: As for that matter you discussed with me last term, yes, I’d support such a club. I suggest you speak with the Headmaster.

Sam read it once more and slightly let his smile fall. “At your earliest convenience…” Sam knew that really meant get your butt up there ASAP and so he finished his tea and eggs swiftly and after having cleaned his plate in a matter of moments (there wasn’t much left when he got the letter so he didn’t have to be obstinately rude in his eating) wiped his mouth and got up, excusing himself from his friends and heading with the letter toward the headmaster’s office. He arrived a moment later at the ornate doorway to the head honcho’s quarters and knocked lightly. Waiting patiently for the door to open allowing him entry.

Sam walked with his head held high, his Prefect’s badge still on his robes; something he thought would not be there after that encounter with the Headmaster. However that was not what held his head, instead it was the success of his petition, he had more to do that night now, shipments to arrange, rosters to prepare, and flyers to create. His smile was the first absolutely genuine grin he’d worn since he first spotted Delilah at the docks and by now everyone knew how that had gone. But Sam wouldn’t let that bother him as he re-entered the Great Hall and told the good news to a few of the other students, “You’ll be able to sign up later today, I’ll make the roster during second period.” He told some of them before heading back for his spot where he’d left his things. However on the way he noticed a fight brewing at the Vulpes table, or at least an impending duel. That was interesting, but this wasn’t the time or place.

“Question is, should I intervene?” he asked Kyle who shrugged.

“You’re a prefect, but it’s not your house, slippery slope there el presidente, though maybe it’ll be a good chance to advertise.” He suggested. Sam thought about it for a moment and decided to sit back for a bit, the Vulpes Prefects should try to resolve the situation first before he got involved.

Sam furrowed his brow and glanced down the Ferre house table, “Hey, anyone seen Finn? Head boy wouldn’t want to miss this.” He commented to those nearby before again returning his attention to the others. His mind drifted back to the meeting in the Headmaster’s office…

”You wanted to see me, Professor?” Sam had asked upon gaining entrance to the Headmasters quarters. Professor Rockwell was seated at his large desk as he normally was and barely glanced up to see Sam enter.

“Ah, yes… Mr Halford…” Rockwell lowered his quill and gestured to the seat before his desk, “Please, have a seat.” To this Sam sat swiftly but straight, knowing full well that he could either be engaged in pleasantries about his father or just cut right to the chase and reprimanded for being tarty. “I noticed you weren’t at the opening Feast… rather unbecoming of a seventh year Prefect or a man of your talent and reputation.”

Ah, always to the quick with Professor Rockwell, that was acceptable though as Sam expected it, “Yes, sir, I’m terribly sorry about that… my father had some business with the Minister of Magic and I was delayed in my return.”

“Shouldn’t you be able to find your own way back? You are of age now are you not?”

“Yes sir, I did, find my own way I mean, my father is still in the UK. Had to arrange a portkey to the estate and try to apparate to the dock before time ran out… though it seems my apparations skills still need some improvement before I can move such long distances without a time lag.” Sam admitted.

“Hmmm… indeed…” Professor Rockwell seemed absolutely emotionless and he glanced at the Prefects badge on Sam’s chest, “Do you believe you can catch up with your Prefect duties then? Or will you need some time to make some improvement on those as well?”

“Huh? Oh, no sir, not a problem at all I don’t need any time, I’ve got everything covered and planned for.” He assure the grizzled old professor with smile, the old man simply returned to scratching some more on his papers with a gruff. After a moment he looked up at Sam again.

“You may go… unless there is something else you mean to speak with me about?” the old man was smart and tuned into the goings on at the school and Sam was for a moment at a loss for what the Headmaster may have been eluding to but after a moment he caught on.

“Sir…? Oh… OH, right… right, uh, you see Sir I uh ahem.” He cleared his throat and drew out some papers form his robes, “I’ve been working with Professor Ryther and some of the other staff and I’ve managed to get enough signatures for that activity we discussed before the end of last term.”

“Before you started a fight with Vance Abernathy you mean?” the Headmaster questioned with a raised brow. Sam almost retorted that he didn’t start it but thought better of it and swallowed his pride and nodded without looking the man in the eye. “Anyway, you were saying about this paperwork?”

“Oh, yes, sir, the only signature I need now is yours and your approval of course.” Sam couldn’t lie to himself, he was nervous about this.

Sam had no reason to be nervous now of course, and instead was just kind of excited. He spotted Professor Ryther at the teachers table and gave her a smile and a thumbs up to which she nodded in approval. “Game on.”

Victor Calza

What an awful start to what had almost been a pleasant morning.

Victor was never one to enjoy attention, in fact he preferred quite the opposite. He preferred to be the one pulling the strings, out of sight and out of mind. But right now, he appeared to be in everyone's sights, and on everyone's mind. First Hardy struts forward, rudely interrupting them and simply attempting to annoy them, which was working quite well on Victor. When the pair of them subtly grasped their wands, and angled them towards him, hopefully seen as a warning that he should mind his own business, and not pointlessly bother those who don't enjoy his company, it was apparently seen by practically everyone in the Great Hall, who immediately assumed that he and Teiver were preparing to viciously attack the sixth year. Next thing he knew, that dim quodpot jock Caldwell and Weyard, another service, had instantly joined the cause of their friend, likely unknowing that he had, if anything, asked for what he was about to receive. Their wands were not so subtly drawn, and of course this drew yet more attention. Victor doubted he had ever looked so annoyed. At least that imbecilic Ferre who had entered a shouting match with his girlfriend in the Hall earlier, and so greatly contributed to Victor's expanding headache, chose not to get involved. Smart move.

Teiver had obviously been about to give Hardy precisely what he deserved when the moron so gracefully swooped away to join the side of his two new cronies. When Teiver laced his shoelaces together with a tongue-tying curse, Victor slid his wand back up his sleeve, before propping his head up with his fist, staring stony-faced towards the three that opposed them. That one Cervus girl, a fifth year he thought, strode into the scene. Victor was astonished that he actually couldn't remember her name, she'd made so little of an impression on him in the past five years. But she was the first one to do something sensible, attempting to pull Weyard away before he did something stupid.

And then, to top it all off, Pollack rode to the forefront of the confrontation like the true knight that he was. "Do we have a problem here?" was all he got from Finn. Victor angled his head to the side so that he could meet the Ferre Head Boy's eyes. "Just trying to have breakfast, Pollack."

He looked back to Justin, and those who had jumped to defend him, before summoning some buttered toast to his table. He was hungry, having had a poor dinner last night, and having not yet eaten this morning. More than anything he wished to just be left alone right now. Teiver might have had the energy to play pointless games with Hardy, but Victor was in no mood. When Hardy's accomplice, Garrett Flint, half walked half stumbled into the Great Hall, he sighed to himself.

It was so good to be back.

Edited away accidentally. Going to re-write to fill what was lost. ;_;

Sam continued to watch the exchange with interest, noting that the Head Boy Pollock had finally arrived. He saw Triever’s hex was rather ingenious, a tongue tying spell to tie shoelaces? That was rather inventive, not surprising that it came from a Vulpes. Sam was interested by the exchange as much as anyone else but Delilah re-entering the Great Hall. He almost lost face then, but he was a better actor than that most of the time, and he held his smile for his friends who were still celebrating while inwardly he once again felt the sting of his broken fist. Outwardly he gripped his fists harder, feeling the bones ache again as the magic has still only mostly healed the fractures he had a searing pain rush up his nerves. Though this pain was not in anger, but rather self-harm and punishment that seemed aimed at redemption. While most wouldn’t notice a few, like Vance, Delilah, and Lee (those who have known him for a while) may have over the years take notes on some of Sam’s more dark personal quirks the most obvious of which was masochism.

Sam was well aware that their break up was his fault, and while to the others it might have looked mutual or as though he had broken it off as the rumours dictated due to the very public argument. Sam could tell others and himself that he did his best, that he was powerless for the better part of the summer but it was all a lie, to others it might seem true but to him it couldn’t not be more false. The reality was that truly he had little chance for contact though he couldn’t help but feel had he realized he’d place a time lag of two months on the Patronous he would have easily found time to cast another and another until he heard word. However he didn’t and that was entirely on him.

Even as Sam joked with his friends about the situation across the room he was grinning against the pain he was inflicting upon himself through his arm, the veins exposed as he continued to hold tighter to nothing, a small trickle of blood running down his palm. At last he released though he withdrew his hand to his side to hide the damage he felt he rightly deserved. At last he stood and walked over to the Vulpes house and glanced at Triever, “Really, we’ve got to find yall a more constructive out let for all this energy… save the confrontation for the Duelling Club at least.” It was no secret that Sam had been petitioning to start a duelling club since his fifth year, gathering signatures and such, but it seemed he had succeeded at last. Though he spotted one of the teachers passing out schedules to the first years and cleared his throat, patting Finn on the back, “Duty calls, I’ll get the first group.” He offered heading over to go gather the first years at the table to get their schedules, there were no doubt several stragglers in the common room. On the way away he drew his wand and whispered a stitching spell, closing the wound on his hand though it still stung. Good… he thought, it should more than sting…

He aided those who needed to gather their schedules he saw and almost returned to his table to say helot to others he knew such as Felix and Rose (knowing he’d probably get the stink eye from her because of the Delilah incident and knowing he felt he deserved it) but unfortunately he spied some Arietem’s in the corner, and knew Vance wouldn’t be far behind. A group of fifth years who had approached him to question him about how the OWLs felt were instead disappointed as his mood changed instantly and he turned to leave, “Sorry, I’ve got to uh… I’ve got somewhere else to be. Now headed off on his own Sam moved to the message board nearby, a second year there was putting up some flyers for the choirs try-outs. Sam smiled and helped the little girl to put one near an open spot at the top before waving his own wand over a piece of parchment he had. Basic transfiguration spell on the paper that was impregnated with ink to bring it to the surface to create a flyer for the Duelling club and a sign up roster which he also pinned to the board.

As Felix summoned his earlier plate of "breakfast," Rose wrinkled her nose slightly. They certainly had very different tastes in food, of course she knew it wasn't exactly his fault. That was the wolf side of him. Sometimes, she still found it hard to believe that her best friend was part werewolf. It definitely made him more aggressive at times, and he had an extreme loving of red meat. Otherwise, his differences weren't that noticeable to her. When he had first told her, she'd been frightened. But after really thinking about it, she had decided that he was still the same person he'd been before she knew his secret. And it wasn't like he turned into a complete werewolf every full moon. He really wasn't a danger to her at all. Sometimes, she imagined him as more of a protective guard dog than a werewolf. It always made her smile.

She beamed as he confessed to missing her too, and squeezed his hand back tightly before allowing him to dig in to his breakfast. She grabbed something a little more sensible to eat, a small bowl of oatmeal with brown sugar, and a bowl of fruit. She nibbled at her food as he apologized for not being around the night before. She met his eyes and nodded, knowing exactly why Professor Kass had such an interest in him. "It's okay, I somehow managed to survive without you!" she said, leaning over to bump into him slightly. She stayed close to him as he leaned in to her ear, and whispered to her. When he used his special nickname for her, a flush quickly arose in her cheeks, and she looked down at her plate, smiling softly.

After their moment had passed, she straightened back up and returned back to her breakfast. She took a few sips of iced mocha coffee, her favorite thing to drink in the morning, to clear her throat before responding. "Oh, my summer was so boring, really," she said, meeting his eyes for a second. "My parents and I went to visit my aunt up in Washington. It was so dreary, and rained almost everyday." She shrugged her shoulders, plopping a juicy piece of pineapple in her mouth. After swallowing, she continued. "I mean, it was still good to see all the family, but I wouldn't exactly call it fu-"

"Rose!" The voice cut off her sentence, but Rose didn't really mind. She turned towards the noise, seeing Delilah coming up beside her. A smile lit up her face as the other girl sat down next to her and put an arm around her shoulders. She wrapped both arms around Delilah's waist, holding on to her tightly for a few seconds before letting go. "It's really good to see you too, Dee," she said, using the shortened nickname she'd come to like for her older friend. Rose's eyes shifting to look at Felix. She hoped he wasn't too upset that her friend had interrupted their conversation.

"Oh, you didn't interrupt much, trust me. I was just telling Felix that I went up to Washington with my parents this summer. Got in a lot of family time. Nothing too exciting." She reached her hand over to grab Felix's quickly, and squeezed it reassuringly, letting him know that she was still very much focused on him. Delilah and her hadn't been friends from the start, like she and Felix had. But once they had found out about their common interest in magical creatures, friendship hadn't been far behind.

I'm sure both of your summers were far more exciting then mine. So you just have to tell me about them!"

---

"Just trying to have breakfast, Pollack." Finn's eyes narrowed at the Vulpes, who he wasn't especially fond of. He couldn't really be friends with someone who had such a blatant disregard for the rules. Of course he always tried to be as friendly as possible to everyone, but since day one he had felt that Victor just despised him. Honestly, he had no idea why. He'd never personally done anything to the guy, but obviously something bugged Victor. Not to mention, he hated being referred to by his last name.

His eyes shifted to Teiver, who was staying pretty silent throughout the whole exchange. He watched her for a few moments, knowing pretty well that she wasn't innocent in this situation. He'd seen first hand the weird and rather close relationship the girl had with her cat. And the cat had practically pounced on Justin, even though it hadn't harmed his somewhat friend in any way. His eyes glanced up to the staff table, and he was disappointed to find it practically empty. The few professors who were present weren't paying attention to the student body at all. He sighed, wishing they were more observant and could take care of this rather than him. He knew he was just going to get crap from almost everyone for doing the right thing.

Finn uncrossed his arms, and gave each student one last look. "Good, just keep it that way, Calza," he japed back, using the same last name method that Victor liked so much. As he walked away, he turned back to glance at Teiver one more time. As he turned his head around, he noticed that Myra was watching him. A smirk lit up his face, and he changed his direction towards her. He was intercepted by Sam before he could even take a step, however, who gave him a stiff pat on the back. He didn't get a chance to respond, since Sam took off so fast towards the Ferre table, aiming for the first years who had questions about their schedules.

The same first year that had questioned him in the common room earlier, Keith was apparently his name, approached him once more, obviously having missed Sam's help. "Finn, man, I have Charms first period. I have no idea where to go."

"It's actually really easy, Keith. Go out the doors and turn left. It's the next building you enter, second floor." He paused, thinking a moment, before he offered up a little more help. "Tell you what, after your morning class, I'll get a map of the castle and let you know where all the classes are. Sound good?"

"Yeah, man, that's great. Thanks!" he exclaimed before scurrying out the doors, most likely attempting to go find his class so he wouldn't be late. Finn chuckled, remembering how terrified he had been his first year. And the Head Boy and Girl hadn't been nearly as helpful as he planned to be. It was part of the reason he wanted to be there for all the first years as much as possible. He wanted to make their experience as positive as possible.

He resumed his walk towards Myra, and thankfully didn't have any more interruptions on the short walk to say hello. When he reached her, he leaned down onto the table, clasping his hands together. He gave her a genuinely warm smile. "Hi Myra, how was your summer?" He looked over to Naire and gave a nod of acknowledgement. "Hello to you too, Naire."

---

Her response to Vance's statement about her fashion sense was to give him a blank stare. Like she really cared what he said about fashion with the way he dressed? She doubted Vance would be able to tell Costco brand from Dior or Prada. He could have come up with something much more original and creative. And his play of words basically dismissing her accusations was laughable as well. If it was so ridiculous, why exactly was he standing outside Lee's door, banging on it like he really needed to get inside? She let that comment go unanswered too, though, since he continued without too long of a pause.

Priscilla was quite surprised when he began discussing what had just gone through her head moments before. She raised an eyebrow, wary of him bringing it up simply out of nowhere. Was he trying to distract her from the fact that he was standing outside of Lee's door? Or was he actually being genuine with her? She walked a few places closer, then turned her back against the wall, letting it support her. "I suppose it would be okay to be civil with each other..." was all she said to him before he spoke more.

”This is a new year, Priscilla. I don’t see why we can’t make an effort to be better to one another, do you?” After that line, she was indeed more wary than before. Even though she had been wondering why they weren't more friendly to each other earlier, the fact that he was saying so out loud in their current situation was more than enough to give her pause. And the line about Neveah? Such bullshit. Priscilla was well aware of how much Neveah hadn't liked her. The feeling had actually been mutual. Neveah hadn't liked her sense of fashion and materialism, but she hadn't liked the girl's tacky split ends or horrendous personality, so they were even. And the fact that Neveah hadn't returned was better than anything. It made Priscilla the top dog in Arietem House.

"I'll forgive the bullshit coming out of your mouth, Vance, only because I agree that we are better allies than enemies." She smirked at him, pushing herself off the wall. "Next time, thou-"

She didn't get to finish her sentence though, since at that moment the door behind them was thrown open, and a loud yell echoed down the stone hallway. "Come on in!” she heard in Lee's adorable southern drawl. Although, what she saw next wasn't so adorable. He had turned away from the open door, and his backside was exposed to both her and Vance's sight. It was covered, though the white boxers were extremely tight and extremely see though. And nothing was left to her imagination, unfortunately. "Oh dear god..." she said out loud, immediately throwing a hand over her eyes. She didn't know if she should be disgusted, or erupt into a fit of laughter.

Lee was going on with his speech, completely unaware that Priscilla was present, apparently. She particularly enjoyed the part about kissing, personally. After he finished, she moved out of sight from the doorway, and uncovered her eyes. "For heaven's sake, Lee, put on some god damn clothes!" she exclaimed, purposefully not looking in the direction of the doorway. She fixed her eyes on Vance, instead. She couldn't help the large smile that appeared on her lips afterward. "Apart from Lee answering the door practically naked, what was that he was saying about a kiss?" she asked, her eyes locked on his. "Care to elaborate?"

Victor Calza

One by one, they dispersed.

Weyard was practically tackled away by Garenne (he'd remembered the name after some time. He knew he'd had it archived back there somewhere.), Caldwell returned to the Cervus, and Hardy had the good sense to go with him, after slicing his shoelaces apart and getting absolutely no trouble from Pollack. Typical. For a moment Victor thought things were going to get worse again when Halford made his way abruptly to him. “Really, we’ve got to find yall a more constructive out let for all this energy… save the confrontation for the Duelling Club at least.” He spared the time to give the Ferre a brief glare before returning to his toast. Halford had already contributed to his headache by deciding to have that horrid argument with his girlfriend within Victor's hearing. He wasn't exactly in a receptive mood right now.

"Good, just keep it that way, Calza," came Pollack's voice. Of course, heaven forbid I do anything other than eat my breakfast while my friend and I are harassed by my fellow students, he thought, but he kept his mouth shut, as Pollack was leaving, and he didn't want to give him any reason to stay. He noticed the look he gave Teiver on his way out, though. He was sure to be trouble.

And then there was just Teiver, only she too had decided to leave, after giving Pollack a look Victor found pleasing. Perhaps it was better if he was alone for a moment. He doubted his current mood would win anyone over, and well... it seemed as though the toast was the only thing he could count on to not assume he was an enemy.

He gave the toast a piercing glare, just to make sure.

---

Garrett Flint

So his stomach had won out in the end, and Flint had decided that some amount of sustenance would be in order, if he was going to have any chance of making through the day. Quite oblivious to the tense moment that had just occurred in the Great Hall, and everything else, for that matter. He was dressed in a simple white shirt and jeans under his hastily tossed on robes, and even though he'd clearly just showered, his hair was a bit of a mess today.

Food. Need food.

He put one foot in front of the other until he could slam his ass down on the Vulpes bench. He had just been about to grab a load of pancakes when he found Victor Calza across from him. He felt quite like he'd accidentally woken a sleeping cobra or something, and now it was pissed and coiling to strike.

"Find. Another. Seat."

Flint raised an eyebrow, looked groggily at the seventh year for a moment, and then sighed, getting up. He looked around the bench. Where the hell was everyone? Where was Justin? Where was Summer? Hell, where was Bliss? He'd sit by her right now. Nope, no one at the Vulpes table to sit with. He considered joining Myra and Finn, but thought better of it. Myra had a hard enough time around just one guy. Oh well... time to make some new friends or something.

He dragged himself over to the Cervus table, and found a seat. "I'm joining Cervus House, if that's cool with everyone," he said to no one in particular, sitting down before receiving any kind of permission. He had ended up somewhere in the midst of Delilah, Felix Two, and...

"Wait, wait. Don't say it... it'll come back to me... R-... Ra, no Ro-... Ro-... Rose! Bam, knew I'd get it. Oh, and hey Felix Two, hey Delilah. Cool if I crash here for a bit? I think Ivan the Terrible over there's going to light the table on fire in a bit."

Like many of the students at Magus Grex, Flint knew of Delilah, Felix Two, and Rose, but didn't really know them. It was the result of trying to divide his time between too many people. But he certainly didn't have a bad opinion of any of them.

As she was waiting for her friends to respond, she looked over past Dee and noticed that Lloyd was sitting on the other side. "Oh my gosh, I so didn't see you!" she exclaimed, immediately feeling guilty. But Rose gave her friend a big smile and a wave, hoping she wouldn't be too upset about it. Just then another presence distracted her, as Garrett plopped himself down in the midst of the many students that were sitting around her. "I'm joining Cervus House, if that's cool with everyone," he said, not really seeming to care who he sat by. She giggled quietly, shaking her head a little, before nibbling on her food more.

"Wait, wait. Don't say it... it'll come back to me... R-... Ra, no Ro-... Ro-... Rose! Bam, knew I'd get it. Oh, and hey Felix Two, hey Delilah. Cool if I crash here for a bit? I think Ivan the Terrible over there's going to light the table on fire in a bit." Her cheeks reddened as she realized he was talking to her, and she kept her eyes fixed on her food. Am I really that forgettable? she asked herself, even though she already knew the answer. Of course she was. Someone as popular as Garrett Flint couldn't even remember her name. She sighed, feeling particularly down. Until Felix grasped her hand back, and that brought a smile to her face.

Rose brought her eyes to meet his as he described his summer in Alamosa, and his house sounded wonderful. She liked nature, and figured she would especially love the cool air in the mountains of Colorado. Her heart sagged a little as he talked about visiting his parents graves. He'd been completely truthful with her about what happened, which she appreciated greatly. But it still made her sad every time she thought about it, and she constantly worried about him for multiple reasons. "It sounds really great, Felix! I'd love to visit sometime..." she chimed in. She realized she was still clutching his hand, and gave it one last reassuring squeeze before letting go.

She gracefully ate her oatmeal as she faintly heard Felix address Garrett. It was then that Delilah spoke up. “If you’re running from drama I’ve been at the center of some today. Not exactly safe here either.” She raised her eyebrows at that, staring at Dee in shock. She hadn't heard about anything, so she made a mental note to ask what had happened later. If she had to guess, it was something with Sam. The thought made her anxious. She really liked the both of them, and didn't want them to be angry at each other, forcing her to choose sides. She always preferred to stay neutral when she could. Her thoughts were practically confirmed as she followed Dee's gaze, and found Sam at the other end. Oh boy...

"Rose!" she heard for the second time that morning. She turned to find Bliss as the source, and a bright smile lit up her face. How had she not seen Bliss last night? She was one of Rose's closest friends, and someone she liked to hang out with as much as possible. She made her come out of her shell, which was something everyone was telling her was a good thing. No sooner than Bliss had gotten comfortable, her sister came strolling in as well. "Summer, it's great to see you!" she said as the girl sat down among the random group of students. They had actually drawn quite a large crowd, which made Rose slightly uncomfortable.

What was more important, though, was that she was spending time with all of her friends. Now that they were practically all together, she realized just how much she had missed them over the summer. She couldn't believe that some of them were graduating already, and that after one more year, she would be as well. She made a second mental note of the morning, determined to spend as much time as she could with everyone, since time was running out. Perhaps Bliss could somehow help her be a little more outgoing. Well, there was no time like the present.

Standing up, she murmured her goodbyes, knowing she would see most of them later anyway. She grabbed Bliss' arm and pulled her from the table, dragging her out of the Great Hall entirely. She pulled her to the side of the entryway to an unoccupied corner. "So.. I have a request for you," she said, feeling more nervous than she should. Bliss was one of her best friends, and would help her no matter what, but she felt anxious nonetheless. "I-I was hoping... well, that you could... I mean... could you like, teach me how to be more outgoing?" She tucked her hair behind her ear, staring down at the floor before bringing her eyes up to meet her friends.

---

Myra seemed a little tongue tied... or maybe she had a frog in her throat. Finn wouldn't really be surprised, since it was Magus Grex. Of course, he thought he remembered her being the same way the last time he'd spoken to her. He couldn't exactly remember when it had been, but he did remember her practically choking on something she was eating. He'd patted on her back until she could successfully talk again. He knew she was quiet, but honestly didn't know why she always seemed so nervous around him. He was one of the most personable people in the entire castle. He never turned anyone away, and always tried to be polite to everyone.

“Uh, uhm, it was great. Yeah, great… Just… uh… great,” she said, almost as if she had forgotten how to speak. Regardless, he smiled and nodded. "That's very good to hear." He was still leaning on the table, particularly close to her. “But you? How about you? Your summer, that is. I mean, how was it? Your summer." He couldn't help it, and chuckled at her not being able to speak. "How was your summer?” She seemed to be fighting some kind of internal battle, but he was glad she seemed to finally be able to talk. "It was good, thanks for asking. I actually got to go to the Quodpot finals in Atlanta, so that was the highlight of the summer for me. Otherwise, just spent a lot of time at the beach." He smiled, then stood up, stretching his arms.

Finn's eyes looked over to the Ferre table quickly, and all the students still seemed to be in order. And no first years looked to be in a panic or frightened out of their minds, so he took that as a good sign, and figured he didn't need to be over there right away. "Do you mind if I sit down for a few minutes? I'm starving."

He didn't wait for an answer, and took a seat across from her. He piled a few pancakes on his plate, accompanied with more than a few slices of bacon. He drowned the pancakes in syrup, and took a few bites, moaning at the wonderful taste. "Sorry for my poor etiquette," he said, shrugging his shoulders slightly. "I really like food." That probably sounded stupid, but he didn't care. Because it was extremely true. And he didn't really have a lot of time before he was required to be somewhere else.

"So what are you most excited for this year?" he asked, taking a bite of bacon. He figured he would attempt some sort of conversation for the few minutes he'd be sitting there.

---

She had been rather pleased with herself after her witty retort, since she hadn't expected Lee to open the door practically naked. Priscilla didn't actually think Vance was doing anything with Lee, let alone sleeping with him as she had implied. She had never seen Vance show romantic interest in anyone, boys or girls. So she highly doubted he had anything going with Lee, even though his statement about kissing was particularly interesting to hear. However, she could never have expected Vance's reaction.

She understood half of what he said at first, and was partly confused the rest of the time. Normally Vance wasn't so... honest. He was literally telling her exactly what Lee was up to, and why he had said what he did. That threw her off, as well as the fact that he seemed to be extremely upset with her. Since when did a few little pokes of fun make Vance so angry? It was almost frightening to her.

”But she can’t even get the boy she actually likes to notice her. It’s sad, really. Like a barker at a bazaar who can’t unload even a single vial of snake-oil. And when presented with a chance to make a formidable ally, what does she do? She lashes that serpent’s tongue yet again, makes intimations about the two of us, ludicrous though the thought might be.” That was the sentence that pissed her off. At that moment she didn't care if he was freaking her out, she just wanted to rip his head off. It was scary how much rage could fill her tiny body. She took a step towards him, only to feel a hand grasp her arm softly. It made her pause, and she looked behind her to find it was Îrem.

When Vance was done with his little speech, she questioned his sanity more than anything. But she was still rather pissed off at him for his rather rude comment."You're fucking crazy..." she said, staring at him with narrowed eyes. "I had agreed with you, saying we would make better allies than enemies, and then you go and pull that shit. You have most definitely just made an enemy." She wrenched free of Îrem's arm, and was about to walk away when Zack came striding toward her. Oh great, he probably heard every word... she thought, hating this situation even more. Tears came to her eyes, more out of anger and frustration than actual sadness. This was NOT the way to get Zack to fall for her.

He walked past her at first, saying something to Vance and Lee that she didn't care to listen to, then appeared before her eyes. "I thought I apologized for being an ass last night. You can't still be mad at me." Him feigning ignorance did not help to improve her mood. "Oh don't act like you didn't hear every word that was just said," she said, pushing past him. She hurried down the steps as fast as she could, and pushed out of the common room door with force. She headed for the main part of the castle, and walked into the first empty classroom she could find.

She slammed the door behind her, and walked over to the desk, giving it a large kick out of frustration. She grabbed a handful of pens and threw them against the far wall of the room, where they hit the wall with much less force than she had felt like she'd thrown them with. She sank to the floor right there, tears spilling out of her eyes and running down her cheeks. She was so angry at everyone: Vance, Zack, Lee, even Îrem. She couldn't believe everything that had just happened. While she had never hated Vance before, she most certainly did now. Something seemed different about him this year, but either way she wouldn't excuse the horrid things he'd said. Since when had making a few jokes been such a big deal? He'd done that all the time the previous year. And Zack had heard every word, even about her not being able to catch his attention.

After a few moments, she attempted to get her composure back, and wiped the tears from her face. Her makeup probably looked horrific now. Now that she had gotten her emotions out, she felt much more clear headed. Vance's words seemed less important. She knew that regardless of what he said, she could be the greatest queen bee of Magus Grex. And she most certainly could get Zack's attention. But her new number one goal would to make Vance Abernathy's world a living hell.

Vance Abernathy – Runaway Train

Zach’s rapid retreat only cemented what Vance was beginning to understand. About himself, about his house, about the school. About the game. He’d been making the right moves for so many years, but he’d been doing so on entirely the wrong board. None of the effort he’d put in was going to matter a whit this year, his last year at Magus Grex, quite possibly his last year altogether. What did a boy too blind to see what an empty road his affections had set him upon matter in the face of a cabal of dark wizards? What would a girl so concerned with the trappings of power do when actually faced with it? These were not troops to be marshaled. They were children. Even Zachariah, whom he had a few shreds of genuine respect for… he wasn’t a killer. There’s only one killer in this detestable hallway.

Somehow, Lee found either the courage or desperation to try to calm him down and draw him into his room. Vance maneuvered his hand away from the younger boy, slipped from his grasp and turned to make his way into the common room. Even though his stride was as laden with purpose as ever, it had somehow changed as well. It was subtle, but the evidence was there. His step seemed a little lighter, liberated of some unseen burden. The fingers of his prosthetic hand were still curling and uncurling, but they only resembled a first for one second out of every three. The fully articulated joints moved seamlessly, never stopping. His viridian gaze swept the assembled students, seeking one in particular. He wasn’t there. Possibly still in bed, or having breakfast. No matter; Vance would see him in class.

Class. He wanted to laugh. That was one pretense he couldn’t really afford to dispense with. The changes of him learning anything directly useful to him were meager, save for in Defense Against the Dark Arts, but he couldn’t simply stop going. That would invite questions. That would take things out of his control. His quarries would retreat behind their public faces, faces he know doubt knew, and then he’d lose his chance at revenge entirely.

Perhaps his fellow Arietem were not up to the task, but there were other young witches and wizards who could aid him. He’d already reached a loose accord with one of them; Fletcher. He could think of a few more names he could add to the list. Calza, if he proved trustworthy, though Vance hadn’t yet worked out how to obtain such proof. Another Vulpes, the Magaly girl. He’d heard frank discussion amongst the staff about her capabilities. Hardy was a possibility, albeit a dim one, as well.

Then, of course, there was Sam. The thought of Samuel Halford alone was enough to have Vance grinding his perfect white teeth together. If anyone had betrayed him, it was Sam. He’d spat upon their friendship when Vance had been doing nothing more than reaching out to him- something that he’d never done before, which had only made it all the worse when he wound up with a broken nose for his efforts. The memory caused a thread of hate that had wound around his heart the prior year to glow white hot, stealing the momentum from his thoughts. He hadn’t stopped moving, he realized. He was out in the hallways now, bound for the Great Hall. His current state of mind didn’t allow for such trivialities as hunger, but he felt compelled to finish as much of what he’d started with his invective against Lee and Priscilla… no, really it had started with Bellona… as he could.

He crossed the threshold alone, which was uncommon enough that it might warrant speculation. Usually he’d be flanked by Quodpot teammates with Lee trailing behind. He laid eyes on Sam and felt that white-hot thread tighten, but that vendetta mattered not at all right now. The Ferre was by the bulletin board, which was fortunately nowhere near where Vance was headed: the Arietem table. Ignoring the chorus of withdrawn ‘good morning’s, he crossed to come up behind one of his fellow Seventh Years, a boy named Jacob Slade. ”Slade,” he said brusquely, drawing the other Arietem’s attention from the sausages he was cutting up. As soon as he had eye contact, he let go of yet another burden.

”Congratulations. You’re now captain of the Arietem Quodpot team.” He would have handed the team over to Zachariah, not only out of friendship but because he was twice the player Slade was… but he was only in his Sixth Year. The others wouldn’t have stood for it, especially not with Vance tossing out his social currency in great handfuls. The Arietem table would likely have gone very quiet after that, but Vance didn’t even give them a chance to question his behavior before he moved on.

He skirted around the Cervus table and made his way to Victor. In doing so, he passed by Myra, who was with Pollack and the Harth boy. She seldom failed to look his way when he passed, but if she did this time, it would be different. She’d find herself staring Vance right in those green eyes of his, as if he’d been waiting for her to sneak a glimpse. Vance seldom lacked for intensity, but the girl would note that he seemed… well, off. By the time word of his abrogation had spread about, which would like be the start of the second period, the female twin might begin to wonder what was behind that gaze. Just like that, a strange piece fell into place: she was a twin as well. He’d known it, but never had reason to give it any consideration before. He hardly had any idea why it seemed so important now.

A few more strides brought him to stand before Victor, across the table from him and his dubious toast. ”Calza.” It served the same purpose as announcing himself with Slade’s last name. It was engineered to gain attention, and once he had it, he’d continue. ”I was hoping we might have a few words on the way to Transfiguration.” He didn’t lack in respect for Victor; while it hadn’t precisely been a request, it had quite a bit more subjunctive to it than his usual imperatives. Fortunately, at some point (he hardly knew when, since he hadn’t realized he was doing it in the first place), his gloved hand had grown still. He clasped it with his flesh and blood one at the small of his back. Even derailed as he was, Vance would have a very difficult time unburdening himself of years of poise-training.

Sam glanced from his perch next to the entrance way to the Great Hall and smiled or greeted a few persons who came up and signed the roster for the duelling club. He still glanced down the tables at the upper class-men and women whom he had known for longer than any others at the school. Sam had been a typical first year but as the second year for his class dawned he suddenly returned from summer vacation more like a mouse that hid in the corner and despite being a true genius at transfiguration and having small moments were he showed the deep and engaging personality within he remained quiet and anti-social. Sam was like this till the end of his forth year when others had finally seen enough of his more confident and true inner self to understand that beneath the depressed and self-hating exterior hid the now obvious Sam Halford to be able to force that non introverted side out of him more often. In his fifth year he broke that shell at last and became more of a personality than a shadowed person who sat in the corner.

Now, obviously, he’s much more than he was, and he’d made several friends and just as many enemies. And of course the head of all those enemies had just entered the Great Hall, Sam was unable to bring himself to remain there any longer and headed out of the area, swiftly heading up to the Second corridor. He was walking swiftly down the hall with a furious intent on his mind as he wanted nothing but to strike Vance again. Vance may have thought he was extending an olive branch to bring Sam back to his side as he had drifted away over the years one last time but all he had succeeding doing was breaking their strained bonds completely

Sam was cursing lightly to himself in a vain attempt to crush his desire to yell those obscenities at Vance yet as he passed yet another deserted classroom he noticed that the usually locked door was ajar. Now any wizard who was returning to the school should hold the ability to simply unlock the room with Alohomora so Sam really didn’t think much of the empty dark space. He assumed some fourth years or something had unlocked the door to gain a chance at a private rendezvous after a summer apart (a thought that sent a pang of regret at his own lost romance killed by the summer) and he regretted having to break them apart but the fact was he was a Prefect and couldn’t ignore the use of an empty classroom for such so close to the start of class. He’d have to gently suggest they head elsewhere, like the forest or something.

Entering into the room Sam first tried to flip on the lights in a standard fashion, however the switch merely flipped back and forth several times, “Okay, okay, very funny kids… now I’ll give you a few seconds to separate…” he waited a few moments that he thought the two who were surely hiding in the dark would need to make themselves presentable then brought his arm up and made a whip like movement with his wand to the ceiling while speaking softly, “Lumos Maxima…” casting an orb of light into the room to lighten the entire space suddenly. What he found was quite different than he expected. He first glanced at the right side of the room to find nothing, then glanced at the Light switch on the other wall that was clicked, explaining why the one at the door wasn’t working. But as he scanned left he found a sight that he never thought he’d see.

“Priscilla?” he asked with an apparent level of surprise and concern as he saw her collapsed on the floor. He flipped off the orb of light in the air and with a flip of his wand hit the switch across the way to turn on the lights.

Bliss Turner

Bliss had not been in the mood to be in such a large crowd. It was weird for her to actually just want to be by herself today, so when she felt Rose's hand drag her off Bliss was more than relieved. "Thank you," She said to her friend as she looked around the Great Hall before exiting. "Rose, hun.." She said as they made it to the far corner that seemed to appear as a sketchy place for two girls to be standing. "...is something wrong?" She asked as she crossed her arms to her friend. "So.. I have a request for you." Bliss' mind went crazy at the possibilities that her friend would want, but of course Bliss was one to tease so she whispered, "Rose, it's only day one. You can't already hire me to tutor you!" She looked around. "Okay, I'll give you a discount." She said as she pushed Rose's shoulder a little.

When she saw Rose's expression turn serious she hushed down. [i]"I-I was hoping... well, that you could..." Bliss turned her head cocked side as she placed both hands upon her hips. "Okay, you've got me worried now. Spit it out, Rose." She now hard dark ideas of what Rose could want and this more than anything scared Bliss. Of course, she knew Rose didn't have any dark magic in her life, so she had no worries when she finally continued. "I mean... could you like, teach me how to be more outgoing?" Bliss acted as if sweat was on her head as she did a playful swipe with her hand. "Oh my gosh, of course! Even though I'm sure plenty of people like the Rose you are around them. I'm just the fortunate soul to see the un-nerved side of you." She hugged her friend as she kissed her head. "You will be so outgoing by the end of the year.." She paused letting her arms fall from the hug. "...that when I leave.. You will take my place." She sighed as the moment grew sad at the thought of Bliss leaving.

"Anyways, no more sadness! Let's go inside. I still haven't seen my Felix yet.." Bliss said as she intertwined her arm with her friend's, leading back into the Great Hall. Rose was one of the few that knew about Bliss' summer with Felix. Bliss and Rose had always written letters to each other over the summer, and Rose ended up coming up to Maine for a small get together Bliss had with a few friends. That's when Rose actually saw Bliss and Felix together, and according to Rose she loved them together. (Even though they aren't technically together.) As another student opened the Great Hall doors, Bliss took this as the opportunity to slip into the hall to look for Felix. "I haven't had the opportunity to see him like I said. Last night, I ended up spending most of my night with Braelyn in the infirmary." She gave Rose the look that said that was for a later conversation.

"Do you see h-" Before she could finish, her eyes hit Felix. "He looks out of place.." She said as she dragged her friend over to the boy, letting her arm slip from Rose's when they reached the Ferre table. "Felix!" Bliss said as she slid into the spot next to him, wrapping her arms around Felix's waist. "Good morning." She said as she patted the spot across from her, signaling Rose to sit down with her.

---

Zackariah Everett

The minutes that had pasted since Priscilla and Vance departed had gone by so quickly that Zackariah was caught in complete confusion. "She seriously just left more angry with me than she had even originally been. What the hell?" He asked Îrem and Lee that were now the only ones in ear shot. "Lee, I think I'm going to escort Îrem to the Great Hall before breakfast is over. Don't be late for class." He said towards the boy as he placed his hand on Îrem's lower back, guiding her to the common rooms then out into the Castle. "Everybody is obviously having the worst first day in the history of first days." He joked with Îrem as he made a turn that would lead them the longer way to the Great Hall. "You seem to be in a good mood though, so I can't say that doesn't make me feel slightly better."

He was looking over the fellow Arietem girl's features when they made a turn into a corridor of empty classrooms. "How did you sleep? Because whatever you're doing I might need to start. I have the worst crack in my ne-" Zack had caught sight of Sam and that's what made him hesitate, "my neck. What could he possibly be doing out here? It's not even class time." He said as he replaced his hand on Îrem's back, bringing her closer as they approached the empty classroom. The angle Zackariah had found himself he could only see Sam in the classroom, so it would take a little maneuvering for the blond-haired Arietem boy to actually spot Priscilla. "Look what the death eaters dragged in..." He only loved how everyone told him Sam thought Zackariah to be the perfect person to be one, but Zack knew differently. "...what is a guy like you doing in the empty classrooms before classes even start? Let me guess." As his stepped towards the boy, Priscilla came into view. "Well, I'll be damned. If you wanted to fit in a little quickie before class.. At least pick a more private place." He put up a finger to the two of them, shaking his head.

When his eyes connected with Priscilla, he just smiled. "Don't fuck too many people, Pris. Then I really wouldn't want you then." He took a step back to Îrem, laughing at the situation that appeared in front of him. "I'm sorry. Let's get to the Great Hall." He said towards Îrem as he started back towards where they had originally been heading. He glanced back towards the classroom door, not caring if either had retorted. "I shouldn't have said that to her. I just made the situation worse, didn't I?" He asked Îrem as they had arrived in front of the Great Hall doors.

---

Summer Turner

I don't know what to do with her!

Victor Calza

Nothing out of the ordinary, indeed, Victor thought as Delilah reduced the swelling and the redness in her hand. There wasn't too much she could do about the redness in her face, though. He suspected it wasn't entirely a result of the fall, as that sort of thing happened to her quite often.

"Of course," he said in response to her thanks. "I'd be willing to wager that by the end of this class, we'll have some far more entertaining mishaps than a simple fall." It was a safe bet. Transfiguration was nothing to scoff, especially in the seventh year. There was a very good chance that more than a few students would end up in hilariously odd looking half-transformations.

"I did," he said, regarding the note, "I would gone to speak with you then, but I was preoccupied, as I'm sure you saw. I probably should have talked to you, though, instead of wasting my time with Abernathy." He spoke the last sentence with a mild, but controlled amount of scorn. It came off something like annoyance. Not like something was truly bothering him, but indeed as though he had simply wasted a morning. "I have the book back in my quarters. I could... meet you in the library after classes today, if that works for you?"

It occurred to Victor that neither of them had had very enjoyable mornings, as his eyes momentarily settled on Sam Halford, who had recently taken his seat. Of course, it would have been wholly unwise for him to inquire about that, as that was a very personal subject, he was sure, and Victor and Delilah weren't really at that point in terms of a friendship.

With that, class began, and Victor directed his full attention to Professor Ryther.

...

By lunchtime, Victor's meager breakfast seemed completely inadequate, and so he dug in eagerly upon reaching the Vulpes table. He'd hardly began eating, however, when the call of 'fire in the hole!' had his wand in hand under the table, and an annoyed look glancing in the direction of the sound. He'd expected Flint and Hardy, but wasn't fully surprised upon seeing the Ferres Brightham and Magaly lobbing water balloons in the direction of the Magaly girl and the younger Turner sister. He couldn't help but smirk to himself when Myra expertly defended not only herself, but everyone around her, with a well cast shield charm, before making turning the pranksters' weapons against them. She was becoming quite the witch, he noted.

A potentially annoying scene averted, Victor returned to his lunch.

None of those in Seventh Year Transfigurations really had to take notice of Sam, not for very long ,Bliss, in typical fashion, was done well before the other students with the test work and this did slightly annoy Sam who had only ever really excelled in transfigurations before. But that was years past, and while he was the third to finish the test when the practical came about halfway through the class time he took the small lump of glass and tapped it thrice, muttering the spell Fera Verto Chromata with seemingly no emotion a blue green semi-transparent goblet rose as he pulled his wand away on the first try, something that while decently impressive was it was not exactly unexpected from Sam, he was always ahead of the curve in the practical transfigurations. The question had been raised as to why he wasn’t an animagus yet but he always replied that “the paperwork is murder” in getting the permit registered. Just an excuse, the truth was that he didn’t care to change such as most transfigurations would.

Sam headed to the Great Hall early due to this, which was something that he wanted. He entered stealthily into the DADA room as the students were reading an assigned passage and gave the Professor a few reams of parchment, probably a N.E.W.T. Paper assigned over the summer before heading on. Sam was meant to patrol the corridors that evening and so his training would have to be rescheduled. He had decided before first Period to take up the extra time he had gained to make up for lost training in his journey and thus ate swiftly before heading out to his room to change.

He’d change into a simple training outfit, some athletic shorts, a simple white tee, his stowed his wand in his pocket and headed down to exit the grounds. He knew exactly where he was going and moved with a purpose, refusing to think back to the morning’s unpleasantness, he had a schedule to keep, he’d beat himself up later for his stupidity… well, he’d beat himself up more later.

When he entered the clearing he was pleased to find it untouched. The large Oaks that ringed the area were still green and beautiful, but the forest floor was still covered in their fallen leaves from years past. At one side, seemingly one with the roots of the trees and the forest floor, was a white oak wood piano. It had been transfigured here years before; by someone will far greater skill in the art than Sam had, probably greater skill than even Professor Ryther, if not the work of the Professor herself. Either way it had been where he’d spent a lot of time with Delilah last year, where he practiced his piano. But this clearing now had a new purpose for him. He took a duelling stance as he drew his wand. His breathing steadily increased before he shouted, “Flippendo!” it was a simple force spell, though from a wizard at his level with a full shouted incantation it had a great deal of force. The spell shot forward and as it went he flicked his wand again, “Reflecto!” a wall of shimmering air like heat rising from a blacktop burst into life about ten yards from him, average dueling distance. This was perfectly timed so as to catch the flippendo before it got away and reflected the spell back at the caster as the perfect shield charm should, in this case that caster being Sam himself.

Rather than attempt to cast the shield charm again he allowed the first spell to slam into him, it hit low on his right thigh, knocking his leg form under him and bringing him to one knee and he grunted against the pain. It was like getting punched but it was familiar. He stood swiftly and repeated the process. And after a few more shouts he had a rhythm going where he no longer chanted the simple spell he could easily have mentally cast before and instead of going for quality was going for quantity, throwing in a few cutting spells that left gashes at several points on his body when reflected back at him. He began trying to get a second shield charm up before the spells hit him in defence but was finding it difficult to do so. As another verbally cast pushing spell slammed into his right shoulder and knocked him to the ground hard he finally rested for a moment.

His body ached, as it should and he couldn’t help but think back to his tutors lessons. If he couldn’t regularly block his own spells from hitting him even after reflecting them he would never make a great Auror. He’d never stop others from feeling the pain of loss he had.{i}”You’re a fool boy!”

“I’m reflecting them every time! Isn’t that fast enough?”

“Oh, ‘ou think castin’ a shield charm before the spell gets away means ‘ou’re ready for a fight? Fine!” the Irishman drew his wand and fluidly cast a stunning spell at Sam unexpectedly. The young man was quick, but nowhere near quick enough hand soon found himself, as he did now, flat on his ass staring up at the sky. “See! If ‘ou don’t know what’s coming ‘ou hav’ to be quicker! Again!”[/i]

Sam stood, unaware if anyone had just been happening to walk by at that moment, as classes had let out and many students went into the woods for lunch, and again cast a spell, this time a stunning spell. He reflected it and just as it returned, inches from his chest, he made a parrying like motion and silently cast a different shield spell. He would have smiled if he wasn’t so tired. He finally felt more content and sat on the bench of the Piano, something he’d been careful not to hi, and looked himself over. At least a dozen bleeding cuts, his shirt was decently ruined, but it was a throwaway. He knew some healing but was unsure if he’d be able to stitch them up properly as tired as he was. He resigned to just rest a few minutes, almost wishing his tutor was there, at least then he’d have someone to help him heal his self-inflicted wounds.

Transfiguration was an elegant way in which to start the day, or so Delilah thought. The room was full up by the time Professor Ryther arrived, sorting herself out at the head of the room.

"Of course," Victor replied. She could feel the blush spread across her cheeks intensely. Who thanks someone for showing concern? she thought, almost kicking herself mentally before the Vulpes added, "I'd be willing to wager that by the end of this class, we'll have some far more entertaining mishaps than a simple fall."

His comment made her smile widen and Delilah couldn’t help but agree with a low giggle. It was hard to imagine laughing when this morning had gone as it had. With an elegant cursive she titled her book as well, filling in her name on an information card on the front before mentioning if he’d gotten her note. He was quick to respond.

"I did," he replied. “Oh good! I wasn’t sure, the hall was busy this morning,” she told him. It was doubtful that Screech would ever fail her, the barn owl was smart enough not to dawdle or get lost. Still, she felt obligated to ask, if only out of curiosity and a desire to keep the conversation flowing.

"I would gone to speak with you then, but I was preoccupied, as I'm sure you saw. I probably should have talked to you, though, instead of wasting my time with Abernathy," He explained dismissively. She nodded, licking her lips and knowing full well that the two boys had been deep in conversation, serious looks plastering their features, when she’d sent it over. Victor had seemed almost…momentarily pleased when Vance had approached him. Now he seemed as if the boy had pissed him off. Delilah was attentive enough to catch the change in his demeanor then. Her curiosity was in full swing but she merely shrugged in response to his words. “Everyone hates him,” she thought with a sigh. She had enough reason to be part of that club, given how lowly he looked upon Cervus students and above all, halfbloods. Yet she didn’t. Maybe I believe too much in the good in people.”

"I have the book back in my quarters. I could... meet you in the library after classes today, if that works for you?" he asked. She nodded again. “That’s perfect. I don’t have anything planned and the clubs won’t be starting up for a week or so. That and I have some things to return that I was allowed to take home for the summer,” she concluded.

Delilah’s attention was whisked away quickly as Vance Abernathy entered the room as Professor Ryther moved to close the door. He took a seat close to them but between a pair of dour looking girls from her own house. Delilah knew them both enough to feel disheartened. No wonder he thinks so little of us. The girls were shy creatures and tight lipped at that. She knew they weren’t the best at magic either, nor did they care to excel.

As Professor Ryther took them through the basics of conjuring, Delilah tuned into the lecture. She wrote a short paragraph in her notebook, reminding herself of the essentials. When they were tasked with conjuring a small stained glass object – with the goal of being appealing and of having an assortment of colors present – Delilah sat back in her seat to watch momentarily. As usual Bliss was first, twirling her wand in a knowing manner. Vance followed suit, as did Sam. Victor was quick as well. Delilah was in no rush. No sooner had Vance conjured his creation than the girl next to him sent an explosion of glass across the table. Another shattering sound came from the front and soon after Delilah conjured with ease a red, black and gold glass violin. The object was not typical to her but she’d made enough flowers and hearts for a lifetime. It was a thank-you gift to Lloyd and as class ended she was quick to stow it safely in her bag. Victor was quick to depart without a word, as was Sam. As Delilah slowly collected her things she watched as the room emptied out. Professor Ryther gave her a low smile as Delilah was last to depart, stepping into the halls and off to the remainder of her morning classes.

Lunch came upon her quicker than she would have liked. Delilah found herself engrossed in the material. Her lessons had always proved to be a good distraction. Sam slipped from her mind entirely. She found herself making her way to the Great Hall, her stomach growling from how little breakfast she’d managed to eat. As she turned the corner she paused briefly in her step as right before her was Vance (who else as of late?) and another of the Aretiem boys, one she recognized as often hanging around Abernathy. Delilah wasn’t intent on listening, she was merely surprised to have come so close to him without really noticing. Her hesitation in walking only spelt trouble however as the person behind her wasn’t paying much attention and walked right into her.

"Was there anything else?” she heard Vance say before her body unceremoniously lurched forward. Her foot slammed into the stone floor loudly but it wasn’t enough to stop her from being hurled forward by the person behind her. Their hands gripped her shoulders and as they tried to prevent themselves from falling by bracing themselves on her, Delilah was crudely pushed to the floor. She squealed, she couldn’t help it. She threw her hands out to catch herself but as her palms connected with the floor, her own weight and that of the person on top of her bore down on her wrists. A sickening crunch emanated from her right hand and the blond couldn’t help but inhale sharply. She didn’t scream, but her eyes watered immediately as pain shot through her fingers and up the length of her arm.

As she slammed into the floor, her face was forced to the concrete as well. The boy who was on top of her was muttering fierce apologies. “I didn’t see you, I’m s-so-sorry,” he was stammering. “Fuck,” Delilah cursed, her eyes narrow as she fought her desire to cry. As he rolled off her, the seventh year Cervus recognized the boy as a sixth year Vulpes, tall and well built. She recognized him from their Quodpot team and without a doubt he weighed over two hundred pounds. "No wonder I was pushed to the ground," she thought angrily. Delilah tossed her shoulders back and forced herself up off the floor, cradling her right hand towards her chest. A slew of other students were pausing and stopping to see what the chaos was in the midst of the hall. “Are you okay?” a first year girl asked innocently. “That was quite the fall,” another replied. Delilah felt herself paling as she leaned up against the wall, her eyes again downcast as she avoided the stares and pitying glances. She felt humiliated, especially with Vance there. Well, she didn’t know if he was staring or still standing there. She didn’t expect him to but if he was still there it made things worse.

“Do you need to go to the hospital wing?” someone asked. She shook her head, shakily withdrawing her wand from her bag with her left hand and gripping it tightly. Her knuckles were white as she held the ivory handle of her wand close to her chest, extending her fractured wrist out slightly but wincing from the wild burning pain emanating from her hand. She could barely move her fingers, she noticed. This was far from the first time she’d broken a bone, but it was still a shock to her. She hadn't anticipated another spill so soon.

“Brackium Emendo,” she thought forcefully, repeating the spell to herself twice in thought as she began circling her wand around her wrist. She concluded with a slight flourish before dropping the point which glowed white and blue into the joint. She hissed in pain as her arm seemed to shift. The bones cracked loudly, enough for the first year girl who’d displayed concern to gasp. Delilah clenched her teeth shut, focusing her attention on her wrist wholly. As the pain subsided and the glow from her wand became subdued the blond slowly flexed her fingers. It had worked, most fortunately. “Ferula,” she continued, watching as her wand conjured a slew of white bandages and a splint base for her wrist, wrapping the recovering injury quickly before she covered it with her sleeve.

With that handled, Delilah stowed her wand in her pocket, bowing to collect a handful of books that she’d dropped during the fall. The Vulpes scratched his head and looked at her speechlessly. As she stood, she looked up at the boy with a fierce stare. “Best watch where you walk next time,” she said sharply before quickly walking towards the Great Hall with her chin tucked and her hands clutching her books tightly.