Lee Beauregard's Story

Demetrio’s Perspective

Infirmaries are tricky places. It’s always a nice place to have, but it’s always a nasty place to need. Most muggle hospitals came bridled with all the whirling germs of death and decay which seemed to fester deep within the bowels of every muggle. Filled with lascerations, bites, bullet wounds, cancer and arrows to the knee, hospitals were certainly a place to dread.

Magus Grex’s infirmary was just that, except married with pixie-scratchs, centaur-stompings, giant hugs, Thestral trippings and boneless wizard wings arms. Most of the cots had been in service since at least the Civil War (though often cleaned with a particularly nasty brew of bleach and basilisk teeth), the sinks continuously rusted out (which wasn’t so much an issue as more a nuisance, being that the sinks generally shook off rust like a dog shaking off water every 5 or so minutes), and little old ladies came to and fro from one cot to another, inspecting their patients, smoking (Weasley Cigar Co. in particular) and attempting to remove wands from certain nether regions.

Demetrio had woken up in a terrible sweat, beads of human perspiration running down his forehead, back and legs, as he hung from his bed, swinging in perfectly knotted bed sheets. Blood had rushed to his head, and smoke filled his lungs, causing spins and cough fits (respectively) as he pulled himself up onto the bed, resting what little strength he could muster. How pleasant that nobody stayed with him long enough to see him wake up. Not surprising, and Demetrio didn’t expect anything more or less.

Wait.

Why was he even in the infirmary in the first place. Searching his mind, rubbing his chest (and attempting to avoid any communication between hand and He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Touched), little came back. He remembered a sharp pain in his leg, a snap? He threw off his sheet and gazed down at perfectly healed legs… odd. Must mean he can leave, right? No need for discharge?

“Well… where are my clothes?” he whispered to himself as he pulled his body up to sit up straight. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught movement. Lyle!? Lyle had been sitting there the whole time, quietly to the side.

“Uh… What are you doing here, Lyle?” Demetrio asked.



Îrem was enjoying an absolutely wonderful cup of Türk Kahvesi (Turkish coffee), a gritty brew of her own hands. Magic or no magic, her father would say, kahve must be made by hand. Her family had to deal with her witchiness, something they were not use to, in a fresh way. Her father, a Muslim man, and her mother, a Christian woman, had religious hesitance at first, but their love for their daughter was much stronger than any fear.

Îrem always enjoyed every morning rather early. She was up and awake by 5 o’ clock, making sure to pray and then thinking for awhile in her suite for a few hours. At 7, she would descend down the staircase, elegantly stepping ever so slightly so as not to wake the others. Thankfully, there were always other early birds.

Îrem’ bee hummingbird had woken from her pocket and came buzzing around her head. “Hello, Baba,” Îrem greeted the 2-inch companion.

Now to wait for classes, or for somebody to come and flirt.




Lee was startled awake by Vance’s knocking. Throwing off the sheets, Lee realized he couldn’t possibly open the door yet. Lee always slept naked.

“W’ed jus’ a minude!” Lee yelled out. Jumping from his bed, he did his morning greeting of all the generals, as he hurriedly grabbed a pair of boxers. They were solid white, tight and semi-transparent. Normally, Lee would have no problem being so salacious, but he was feeling particularly guilty this morning. He wanted to apologize to Vance.

Grabbing his school robe, he partially covered himself to open the door, “Come on in!” he yelled, perhaps startling Vance.

As he left the door open, Lee turned his back to the door, forgetting to cover his backside with his robe (still hanging in his hand against his waist). Poor Vance. Had to see Lee’s near-bare naked ass… (OOC: smh).

“I wanna say I’m sor’uh, Vance,” Lee said, staring at the ornate portrait of Stonewall (the general, not the puppy wow-wow), nervously hoping that Vance wasn’t behind him with a garrote wire. “I shuld’a been a bedduh fr’en’, and I’a still wanna help, ya’ll don’ hafda kiss me or tell me wha’s wrong. I’m a’ways y’er huck’aberry, nameen?” He waited patiently for Vance’s reply.

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?"

Justin Hardy – Cervus for the day!

”Diffindo,” he said evenly, almost as if in reply to Teiver as he cocked an eyebrow at her. Somewhere in his facial expression was scrawled the word amateur. It accompanied some slight readjustment of his wand, but the Severing Charm made quick work of his shoe-laces, simply slicing through them and freeing him from an admittedly unconventional use of the tongue-tying curse. ”I’ll send you a bill for those,” he added, saluting her with his wand. Victor got a tidy little smirk, before Justin turned his attention on Finn. The Ferre do-gooder seemed more focused on Teiver and Victor, which Justin derived immense amusement from, so Justin just shrugged and grinned a goofy grin at him, as if he had nothing whatsoever to do with no less than six wands being drawn.

He rolled his eyes, noting that he’d lost Felix to Rose. Heaven forbid he should ever be under an actual attack when there was a pretty girl around. ”Just can’t rely on those straight boys,” he remarked to Emerson with a chuckle. He made a mental note to check in with Felix on the status of his lupine cycle. If he needed a potion soon, Justin would have to get to work on it by the end of the day. It was just another one of the many nice things he did that people tended to forget in the wake of his childish antics. Ah well.

Emerson’s non-chalant indication that there was something to talk about derailed his plotting of retaliatory pranks to play on Teiver quite thoroughly. Justin’s head sort of jerked a bit as he regarded the other boy, and he certainly noticed the way that Emerson was carefully avoiding eye-contact. That meant it was almost assuredly bad news. But what kind of bad news would Emerson have to discuss with him at the breakfast table? Usually that kind of thing would be relegated to semi-private hallway discussions, or a walk outside, or…

Maybe he was reading into it too much. But then again, maybe he wasn’t. What if Emerson was seeing someone? He’d been gone all summer, he had plenty of wizarding friends in New York. And maybe he would choose to tell Justin in a public place, hoping to avoid some sort of histrionic-laden freak-out (which Justin would readily admit would probably be his first response to that sort of news).

As all of that went buzzing through his head, he simply nodded, moving to take the seat beside Em at the table. He was about to inquire, casually of course, what they had to talk about, but it only took one look at the Cervus to realize he’d fallen into one of his weird food trances. That warranted another roll of his eyes, but his lips told a different story. They’d pursed into an amused, affectionate smile, and he might have just sat there, watching Em eat, had his mail not arrived.

The owl swooped over the Vulpes table, but, not finding Justin there, winged off over toward him at the other center table. Screeching, it seemed a bit heavily laden by its cargo, which it dropped with precision onto the table before Justin before taking off. There were a few magazines, two newspapers, and a very long, somewhat thin box wrapped in parcel paper. The latter-most triggered a blink, and he quickly pulled it to the side Em wasn’t sitting at, leaning it against the table.

He spared another glance at his friend, and realizing that there’d be a few more minutes of chewing and swallowing, opened up one of his newspapers to wait him out. One of the more diligent house-elves had made a carafe of black coffee appear in front of him, and Justin gladly filled his mug. He helped himself to some bacon, a bagel, and a muffin, and proceeded to pick at all three while sipping bitter coffee and skimming the headlines.

Lyle Brightham – Ace Reporter!

So, you lot have all heard me go on and on about house elf liberation. For this week’s editorial, I’ll be doing more of that, but this time, I’ll be sharing my experiences with an actual free house elf. I met him this summer, and it made me realize that a lot of why people don’t care about house elf freedoms exists because the house elves themselves seem so happy to be enslaved. It’s something that’s existed for centuries and centuries, and many house elves don’t even know that things were different once.

So I’m going to introduce you to Sprogget, and tell his story. And maybe then-

”… and maybe then…” he mumbled to himself, his eyes intently focused on what he’d written thus far. Between when he’d arrived and now, he’d transformed the small section of the infirmary between his chair and Demetrio’s bed into a mess of parchment and ink. His notes were scattered around on the floor in a seemingly disorganized fashion, but in actuality, the order he’d put them in made perfect sense to him. It was the best way to tell Sprogget’s story- he just needed to finish the introduction before he could dive into it, but he was a bit stuck.

He heard Demetrio speak and looked up suddenly. Wait, was Demetrio naked? Lyle clapped a hand over his eyes, then peeked through a slit between two fingers. No, he was in a gown. That made waaaaay more sense, and was way less embarrassing for both boys. He carefully stood up, collecting his notes and then setting them in a semi-neat stack before he started snooping about to find Demetrio’s missing garments. He grinned at the other boy brightly. ”Mornin’ sleepyhead!” Lyle’s pre-breakfast enthusiasm could sometimes be terrifying. He poked around a bit, then found a pile of neatly folded and spell-laundered clothes sitting on a nearby bed. ”This must be them! Here you are.” He scooped up the clothes and then bounded over to Demetrio to present them.

”And, well, I’m here because I heard about the troll-attack! That must have been really scary, but you look like you’re okay, so maybe it wasn’t that scary, haha. But, you’re okay, right? Because…” He sort of trailed off, a little self-conscious as he got to the point. ”Well, I was hoping you might do an interview about it? I don’t think there’s ever been a troll attack at the school before, not for years anyway, so, yeah, um, I’d really be grateful.” Another pause. ”OH! You probably want to change.” He clapped both hands over his eyes this time. ”But, yeah, what do you say Demetrio? Maybe your story can help other people avoid getting hurt, and just think, you survived a troll! That’s awesome!”

Forgetting that Demetrio was probably changing, he peeked to see if it seemed like the other boy was going to consent to an interview. If Demetrio was in a state of undress… well, Lyle wouldn’t really be able to help peeking for just a few seconds. Harmless curiosity. Once he realized he was doing it, he’d be hopelessly embarrassed and awkward. He really just wanted to check Demetrio’s reaction to his interview pitch.

Vance Abernathy – At Wit’s End

The sad fact was that Vance was being genuine. At least, his version of genuine. At its depths, the motion to parley was rooted in selfishness, self-preservation. Priscilla could be a valuable ally, or if not, shuffling her into the more neutral ‘not an enemy’ column would be a bit of relief. The arrangement was mutually beneficial. If she wanted Nevaeh’s place in the pecking order, she’d have it. Better her than Bellona after her threats and bungling. With his backing, which would require only a modicum of effort on his part- acknowledgment at dinner tonight, a few words to the faceless girls who were already jockeying for it- she’d have no one to worry about.

Irritation flared when she appeared to be dismissing his entreaty, but they didn’t have the chance to exchange another verbal salvo. The door was open, and while Lee had complied with his prayers to a degree… it simply wasn’t enough. He’d never expended any thought on the subject, but he no longer needed to imagine what Lee’s rear end looked like. Neither did Priscilla, who seemed to be having some sort of dainty fit at the sight. To make matters worse, the boy started babbling an apology that would, under other circumstances, have pleased him immensely. He would have forgiven Lee. Probably would have told him something much closer to the truth than he’d been planning, as reward for a display of humility and loyalty befitting a noble wizarding family and an associate of an Abernathy.

The circumstances were as they were, though. Priscilla, of course, pounced on the opportunity. He could hardly blame her; he’d have done the same in her situation. It was rare that an opportunity to catch Vance in indignity arose. It was more than that, though. He was feeling the hints of betrayal. Lee in particularly, but Priscilla’s rejection of his truce compounded the matter.

”Lee,” he said abruptly, to get the boy’s attention. Clue him in, perhaps, to the fact that someone else was there if he hadn’t sussed it out already. ”Wait.” Priscilla had ordered him to get dressed, but Vance wasn’t going to miss this chance to shame Lee while using his nigh-nudity to continue discomfiting her. When it came to orders, he knew whose would be obeyed. ”Turn around, won’t you? Presenting your back is hardly fitting for a conversation.” The polite request and etiquette reminder had something of an edge to it. This is not me asking, that edge conveyed. This is me telling.

He smiled at Priscilla. She should thank him for this little lesson in the finer points of poise and humiliation. ”If you must know, Lee here was under the impression that he might be able to ransom some affection out of me when I asked him to do me a favor. Obviously, he’s seen the error of his ways. Isn’t that interesting? I evince disdain and apathy stippled with cordiality, and he’s willing to risk my wrath for the sake of a kiss, then beg my forgiveness when he realizes how wrong it was. Meanwhile, you primp and posture, use those wiles of yours that everyone is always going on about… and all you have is a flock of harpies who wouldn’t spit on you if you caught fire.”

He tilted his head, and then glanced to Lee. ”You asked for the truth. That is the only truth that matters, isn’t it? As long as there’s even a fleeting chance…” He smiled gently. ”You’re mine. Not that you’re any great prize. You have your merits, surely, but I get the feeling Priscilla was about to retort something about your desperation not being anything worth writing home about?” They… might be starting to worry. Vance was never this transparent, not with fellow Arietem. He’d verbally eviscerated plenty of other students, but never his house-mates. There was a strange intensity to his voice, as if he were slowly building up to something… volatile. His gloved hand was clenched into a fist.

He looked to her for confirmation, and continued whether he got it or not. ”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.” He shook his head as he continued watching Priscilla. Watching wasn’t quite the right word for it. If she weren’t so spirited, she might feel very much like a mouse awaiting the strike of a poised serpent.

All at once, he was suddenly aware of what he’d said, the fact that he’d gone too far. His brow furrowed as he looked between them, replaying his own words through his mind. ”So what am I to do?” he asked. His tone had changed. He’d lost that unstable momentum he’d been gathering. ”I’m not interested in trading jests.” He shook his head, and regarded Priscilla much more normally. ”I yield. I’m done. I have much more important things to attend to, so by all means, tell everyone who will listen to you that I’m sodomizing Lee every chance I get, tell them I hurt your feelings, tell them whatever you like.” He sucked in a breath, and laughed jaggedly. ”That actually felt… good.”

There’d be a brief bit of silence after that, where either of them might have responded. If they didn’t take advantage of it, he’d be off, striding toward the common room, curling and uncurling the fingers of his mechanical hand without even realizing he was doing it.

Demetrio’s Perspective

”And, well, I’m here because I heard about the troll-attack!” Lyle said, smiling excitedly like a little boy. “That must have been really scary, but you look like you’re okay, so maybe it wasn’t that scary. But, you’re okay, right? Because…” He sort of trailed off, seeming a little nervous, though Demetrio couldn’t quite place why. Lyle always seemed to be confident, at least to Demetrio. But Demetrio was always far and distant from anybody, so he never gave much merit to his own perception. ”Well, I was hoping you might do an interview about it? I don’t think there’s ever been a troll attack at the school before, not for years anyway, so, yeah, um, I’d really be grateful.” Demetrio smiled blankly, but in reality he was a little irritated. All Lyle ever wanted was an interview. Demetrio bit his lip. Why couldn’t Lyle understand that Demetrio didn’t talk about things like that? Why couldn’t he just joke around and accept that Demetrio would never be close to anyone?

”OH! You probably want to change,” Lyle said, nervously covering his eyes with both of his hands. Demetrio honestly gave no thought to getting dressed. The funny thing was: Demetrio wished he could walk around naked all day. As hidden as he was about his insides, he’d much rather never be hidden about his outsides. But alas, he lived amongst other people, and therefore had to follow conventions. The animals would have never asked something so ridiculous as to wear clothes. Demetrio turned his back to Lyle, though he didn’t care if Lyle was staring or not. But nobody would stare at Demetrio anyway, so it didn’t matter. He practically tore off his gown, bending over to position his feet in the holes of his boxers. Had anyone else been in the infirmary, it would have appeared to be a rather scandalous scene: Demetrio’s bare bottom facing a giddy Lyle. But Demetrio didn’t care. Demetrio was ugly, at least in his mind, and nothing scandalous could ever happen to him.

”But, yeah, what do you say Demetrio? Maybe your story can help other people avoid getting hurt, and just think, you survived a troll! That’s awesome!” Demetrio barely even remembered the troll. He just remembered that it was his fault. He should have waited or something. He should have just listened to Headmaster Rockwell. The sound of his leg cracking and falling to black... what a nightmare.

”Lyle, I just don’t know,” Demetrio said, placing his hand on Lyle’s shoulder to alert him that it was quite safe to look. ”It’s not that I don’t appreciate your interest in my health, I do, but I just don’t remember a whole lot about it. And I’m just not a big talker…”[b] Demetrio felt a little guilty. Lyle was the only soul in the entire school who consistently made an effort to get deeper. Feeling partially obligated, he sighed and pressed against Lyle’s shoulder. He pointed his face towards the door and said, “We should go eat breakfast, I’m starving. We can talk about it on the way or something. Does that sound okay? I mean, I know I’m not the prettiest girl to walk to the Main Hall, but give me a break!” Demetrio smiled and winked, attempting to pull Lyle towards the hall.



Unfortunately, Îrem was only half way out the commons as the drama up the stairs ensued. She was pretty darn sure it had something to do with Lee and Vance. It was best for her to check up and make sure everyone was fine.

She noticed Prissy near Lee’s door, cracking up… until of course Vance began to berate her. Îrem couldn’t quite discern Prissy’s face, but he could hear Lee start to sniffle. Vance was less tense after his little rant, stretching his hand and breathing heavily.

Getting closer, Îrem grab hold of Prissy’s arm: primarily to comfort her, and secondarily to hold her back from ripping Vance’s manly bits apart. She would have gone into Lee’s room, but she wouldn’t dare risk Vance swatting at her.

It didn’t matter, though, because Lee was speaking up anyway.

Lee’s Perspective

Lee was quite unsure of what just happened. Should he dart to find some clothes, or should he just stand and wait for Vance’s further mandates? He heard the shuffle outside the door as Îrem probably silently aided Prissy, and he watched as Vance waited for somebody to speak up, his shoulders tense and unsteady. All this... tension, to say the least, sort of reminded him of the storm. All the waiting, the chugging of events, the crackdowns. It made him deathly nervous. He didn't like it. He hated Vance for causing all this stress. He hated himself for causing all the stress. He hated Vance for being unhappy, for being so cold. It was the reason why he loved Vance so doggone much.

Just as it seemed Vance would leave, Lee barked up, “Vanz, come on in, podna. Just’a calm down, and talk about whachu ne’d me’a do. No funny bidness, from here on out. Just trus’ me and come on in. Please. I’ll ged ya a whole dozen beignets if’n ya’ll jus’ come in. Whatya say?” He needed to wait and see what Vance would say or do to make another move. He reached out his hand at Vance, attempting to lightly grab Vance's, and with the other preparing to shut the door behind them both.

Summer Turner

Summer had been busy all morning trying to get all of her books together before all the students got up, so when she realized she had been asked to meet with Simone Kass early this morning, she felt her whole day being put behind by at least a whole hour. When she touched up on the curls that she had decided to go with for a first day hairstyle, she grabbed her belongings and headed towards the Staff Tower. She let the wind play with the brown curls as she practically bounced towards Ms. Kass' office. When she finally let a soft knock give signal of her presence, she pushed open to see her Head of House smiling with a cup of coffee in hand. "Hello my dear, dear Summer. Please come in and sit." Ms. Kass placed the cup onto the far corner of her desk as she rummaged through pile after pile of paper work before pulling out a piece that had Summer's name across the top.

Her nerves settled in as Ms. Kass read over the paper once more before looking back over towards Summer. "Please don't be nervous, dear. It's just a yearly report on how you've been progressing. I just wanted to call you in here and see how your actually summer had been. I am always suppose to have these meetings with students throughout the year, and your name just happened to be the one that was assigned to my list for Summer check-up." The fact that she was called in so early just to be asked about her summer made her ill. She didn't like that the school now tried to stay as in depth with the students business as they possibly could without forcing them all to stay at school constantly with no breaks. Summer crossed her legs before smiling towards Ms. Kass. "My summer was great." She let her hand rest on the edge of Ms. Kass' desk, running her index finger back and forth as she waited for what else the Head of Cervus would ask.

"Well, that's pretty much it. I'll just add a little more detail of things you might have did with Summer and your friends while you were out of your dad's in Maine.. Little details keep the people higher up a little quieter, if you know what I mean." The way Simone Kass always had a smile on her face made Summer angrier for some reason, so she just got up and left the office without another word. "My god!" She said out of frustration when she slammed through the doors that led to the court yard. She took a deep breath, seeing first years increase their pace towards the Great Hall. Summer's anger had only gotten worse today, but she wasn't going to let that bother her as she made her appearance in the Great Hall; finally.

It took only a few minutes for Summer to find a rather mixed group of students at the Cervus table discussing summer. Seeing her sister in the middle, she stopped herself from rolling her eyes as she put one of her Summer smiles that people always knew her by. "Bliss-" She said as she walked up beside her sister seeing Delilah, Rose, Felix from Cervus, and Flint all within the general area. "-good morning everyone. Sleep good?" She said as she found a spot near the group, digging into the various items on the table. She filled her plate before bringing her attention back towards the people near her.

---

Zachariah Everett

Zackariah had planned on sleeping in, but the ruckus going on outside his door was starting to annoy him. He could tell it was down the hall near Lee's room, but to him he considered that right outside his door. He laid there until he could make out the two voices speaking; Priscilla and Vance. He knew this must be an interesting conversation, so he jumped out of bed to get ready. He had just looked at his reflection in the mirror when he heard a third voice come into play; Lee. Of all people to be together, this was a great start of the year with all of his favorite people within the same area. Of course, he'd hoped Îrem would maybe pop in soon after Lee's, but never hearing her voice he got into his uniform.

As soon as Zack reached for the door, he heard the conversation take a step up into the range of being more of an argument. He stood there making out every word in the conversation. He didn't know if he should actually be listening to what was happening, but he couldn't step away from the door and the option of opening it was thrown out of the way when Vance made his next comment. 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.”

He knew that he was the one that Vance was talking about. It was common knowledge that Priscilla liked Zach, but actually going for Priscilla was something Zackariah didn't believe in. He wanted her to work for him, and he knew that would never happen now with the way Vance had belittled her. He took a deep breath, running his hand through his hair making it seem like he had never actually taken the time to get ready. "Seriously? Can't a guy get some-" He froze like he had planned to do as he swung open his bedroom door, seeing Vance walking into Lee's room, Îrem now comforting Priscilla, and Priscilla on the verge of tear. "Holy fuck. What could have possible happened this time?" He said as he marched down the hall to the group, seeing Lee practically naked in his room. "Did Lee's body really bring you to tears?" He joked trying to lighten the mood.

He didn't know what to do next because to them he didn't know a thing, but a look he shot Vance told his friend he had heard all he needed to. Al though he wasn't made at Vance, he felt for Priscilla because she didn't have the backbone at times to just take in Vance and throw it back into his face until Vance grew uninterested in the fight. "Sorry, I never caught up with the two of you." He said directing it towards Vance and Lee. "We'll talk later." He now brought his attention back to Priscilla. "I thought I apologized for being an ass last night. You can't still be mad at me." He felt like he might be pushing the whole I really didn't hear anything act a little far, but it was all worth it to not let her realize he had.

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.

Caden Wahl

A moan escaped the curtains surrounding Caden's bed.

His room's close proximity to Beauregard's room had always frustrated him, but on their first day back Lee had to remind him why. Often he heard Lee through the -rather thick- wall, the boy would often stay up late talking to 'the generals' whether they were the creepy portraits he hung on the wall or the two mangy dogs he kept around, Caden didn't care. However less frequent, but most annoying, were the scenes that the Child of the Bayou created and held out in the hall. Clearly, one was going on right now.

Sitting up, he threw his legs over the bed and moved slowly to the door. With a flick of his wrist his clothes and shower caddy floated neatly into the air as he opened the door expecting to have to carefully maneuver through several people. They were all right there, outside his door, an unusual group hanging around Lee's door and what appeared to be a tense situation. He rolled his eyes, sure that he did not want to know what caused Priscilla to run off in tears. As Vance too stormed off Caden walked passed the remaining few and bade Îrem, Zackariah and even Lee a good morning and a small bow of the head as he walked passed their surprised and hurt faces to the dormitory showers.

Demetrio’s Perspective

Ignoring Lyle’s confusion at Demetrio’s obviously poorly worded humor, Demetrio wrapped his arm around Lyle’s shoulders as the other boy returned with an amalgamation of papers and things. Demetrio never quite understood Lyle’s interest in gossip and such. In Demetrio’s culture, that is Californio (a distinct subset of Mexican), only women dabbled in chismes and men stood stoically as the women made fools of themselves. A follower of machismo, Demetrio made sure never to speak intimately of anyone unless it was absolutely integral, and he certainly spoke less of himself. Sometimes, he felt disingenuine, but it provided for him an advantageous serenity; his grades were perhaps one of the best in his house (not considering arithmancy of course) and most teachers valued his refreshing yet rare additions to class conversation.

The honest truth, however, was that Demetrio did very much want to share something with Lyle, or with anyone about anything. He wanted to tell Lyle everything there was to say about Mexican witchcraft and wizardry, he wanted to share personal stories, he wanted to offer it all up. But his fears precluded that. Yes, he was more afraid of not being a man than actually proving he was a man. This was probably the number one reason he was cast into Cervus and not Ferre; he was not courageous or honorable, he was too sentimental for Vulpes, and lacked the drive of Arietem. His own internal struggles meant he was uncompromisingly accepting and distantly affectionate towards anyone as long as they stayed from his heart, and his shadows.

But Lyle had determination, Demetrio gave him that. He did have a point, however. A troll attack wasn’t necessarily personal, and would be good to warn students of such a danger. But it was still attention that Demetrio didn’t necessarily want. Demetrio would hate to be on the other end of pity or cynicism, and honestly he was ashamed to have been bested. But mostly, he was afraid it would be revealed as to why he was even there out there in the first place. ¡Ay mamá! Demetrio would never be able to come up with a decent excuse, and he certainly could never tell the truth, even if Rockwell already knew.

”Lyle, I appreciate you wanting to know,” Demetrio finally said as the two were passing a particularly favorite tree of his, a Manzanita with a specifically red tint to it. He continued, ”And I do intend to help you, because you have always been friendly, and I appreciate that you are the only person ever wanting to know anything of me. But you must understand that I am hard pressed to speak of myself, and I… as we say, am muy macho cuando quiero estar callado de mis cosas. But you do have a point that it would benefit other students. If you ask me specific questions, I will be more inclined to share with you my story. Just do not ask of me the entire story in bulk, I am not… how we say un rey de palabras. Um… a master of words, so to speak.” With that he stopped them both at the side door of the Great Hall, and stared at him in the eyes. With his left hand still on Lyle’s shoulder, he took his right hand and gently ‘slapped’ Lyle’s check affectionately; an old fashioned Californio sign of trust. ”What do you say, amigo?”

Waiting for Lyle’s answer, he couldn’t help but feel… safe. Safe. In a long time, it seemed he never felt that way. Even after years of being a student at Magus Grex, even during Summers with Yoya, his tartarabuela, and all of his family… he never felt safe. Not since his innocence traversing the mountains. But Lyle didn’t threaten his safety. He wanted nothing more than to… know him.

Before Lyle could answer to his face, he turned his head to the left, pretending to gaze up at the towers, and a single tear escaped his eye. Hoping that Lyle wouldn’t catch sight, he attempted to his best to hide his eyes; but still he waited for Lyle’s answer.

Lee’s Perspective

Lee waited in his room, silently sitting in his chair, a housewarming gift from his Aunt Leona. He was still near-naked, cold and… empty. Ever since he lost his parents, he always felt like a different person. He always felt as though he had lost something integral to himself. He had attempted to steal it back through various exploits: academic advance, carnal pleasure, etc. Lee was a douchebag through and through, however. No matter what he tried, he simply delved deeper into his… emptiness. Aunt Leona never helped with that. As much as she loved him, she seemed to have been the officiator of his ruination. It was her influence that made him a purist, that made him racist, and that made him unbendingly bitchy.

For the life of Lee, he never quite understood why he was asked to be a prefect. He never was much for responsibility, and besides his academic achievement, he was never charismatic enough to be a leader of any sorts. His father once explained to him his namesake: Lee, for that noble General whose leadership was the sole catalyst for Southern unification, Thomas, for the Stonewall whose fortitude rallied all behind him, Pierre, for the patron of the dynasty and the general who was both initiator and first driving force of the rebellion. Lee never felt much like he obliged any of those names quite well. Lee was neither noble, brave nor driven. In fact, he was ambitious and ambitious alone.

Now he sat, just at the window of his room. Thinking. Here he was, on the first official day of classes in the fifth year of his scholastic career, and he was sitting in a chair. Now, what had he expected from Vance? He wasn’t sure anymore. He probably had expected some sweeping Romantic scene in which Vance finally revealed his everlasting love and the two would ride off together to bring world fame and renewed glory to both their houses. Fantasy. Lee knew so, but his… bitchiness allowed him such tomfoolery. Idiot, Lee thought. Pure fucking idiot. After Vance stormed off, demonstrating his dissatisfaction to say the least, Lee immediately shut his doors and sat in anger.

Lee was determined to skip all classes entirely today. He didn’t care if he was reprimanded, and he certainly was NOT interested in keeping his prefecture (more of a punishment to him than a privilege). He didn’t care that Îrem was knocking unceasingly on his door, he had magically locked it anyhow.

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.

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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.

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Summer Turner

I don't know what to do with her!