Harvey Sparshott's Story

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The small dot of land on the horizon pulled Harvey from his thoughts. He was glad for it - his thoughts had not been particularly pleasant. He had been considering the awkward goodbye with his parents on the docks. Camelia Sparshott, his mother, had said almost nothing to him, while wishing fond goodbyes to her two younger sons. Richard Sparshott had said quite a lot, so much that Harvey wished he would stop. It wasn’t as if he was unfamiliar with the lecture; everyone in his life - his parents, siblings, teachers, even the fucking Headmaster of Grex, had given him this lecture.

He was sick of it. If he didn’t want to be more than a middling wizard, that should be his business and no one elses. Who was he hurting? What harm came of it?

Unfortunately for him, the thoughts the castle on the horizon brought to mind weren’t much better than those he’d been dwelling on. He hated the school, his classes, his exams. They were dull, a complete waste of time. But, it wasn’t like when this year ended he would be off to bigger and better things. It would be more dullness, more boredom, just not in a confining school. And at least in school his friends would be there.

“Why do you bother to bring that thing?”

Speaking of friends.

Harvey turned away from the railing and pulled the headphones out of his ears, wrapping them around the MP3 player and sticking it in his pocket. “I’d go mad this long on this boring-ass boat without it.”

“It’s not going to work at Grex, and it will be long out of a charge by the time we go home. What will you do then?”

Quinton was a seventh year Artietem like Harvey, and quite proud to be in what he called ‘the only real wizarding house at Grex.’ He was a bit insufferable, but put absolutely no demands on Harvey, which was why they were such good friends.

“Go completely crazy. I do it every year, by the time we hit dry land I’m stark raving mad.”

Harvey’s blond curls picked up the fading sunlight and glowed an even lighter color. His square face, so much more a man’s face than a boy’s, was light with a smile as he talked to his friend, but his brown eyes were still heavy with his worries.

“Well, that explains a few things.” Quinton tilted his head at the castle rising in the distance, “I’ll be glad to see the back of that place. Dumbledore is as much of a tight ass as his brother was supposed to be, and I can’t wait to learn some real magic.”

Quinton referred to an advanced school of magic in Louisiana his parents were sending him to next year. It only took witches and wizards who’d already completely their regular education, and it had a nasty reputation for allowing dark magic.

Quinton rarely talked about it openly, and never to teachers. Harvey was happy to keep his friend’s secret.

“So what should we do to the first years? Make them drink some of the fire-whiskey I’m smuggling in.”

“That’s never going to make it past the castle gates.” Harvey laughed.

“We’ll see,” Quinton looked off into the distance as his face twisted in a rather sinister smile, “Oh I know, we’ll tell them that all first years have to spend the first night sleeping standing up so the ghosts can get to know them.”

“Pfft, lame.” Harvey leaned over the railing again.

Truly, Harvey hated pranking the first years, it felt a bit too much like bullying, but the one year he'd told Quinton and the other upperclassmen to leave him out of it, the first years had ended up with huge bleeding welts from sleeping in poisonous vines all night.

It hadn’t been Quinton’s idea, but one of the seventh year girls. No one in Arietem house had ever seen Harvey that mad. When their Head of House finally came to scold them, they’d been taken aback to find Harvey already laying into the pranksters with very uncharacteristic zeal.

Since then he’d agreed to be part of the pranks, if only to make sure everyone kept it friendly and good natured.

“Well it’s hard. This is the last year we get to do this. I want to make it special.”

“Here’s an idea, how about we don’t do anything at all. We have the second and third years whisper horror stories of their hazing, and make the firsts years wait and wait,” he held his hand out in a dramatic gesture of suspense, “never knowing when it will come.”

“Now that’s lame,” Quinton frowned, “You’re just looking for a way to get out of it.”

“Maybe,” he shrugged, “It’s boring. The whole thing is boring.”

“Harvey, your whole life is boring.”

“You’re telling me.” Some of the despair in his mind crept into his voice, but Quinton did not comment.

The two boys watched together as the island got closer and closer, the familiar spires rising up, reaching like the hand of some massive and ancient statue.

When the boat made dock Harvey found his brothers, walking with them to the great hall. Neither mentioned what their father had said before the boat ride, and Harvey loved them for it. They were his brothers, after all, and would not scold or belittle him, even though at times they acted a bit disappointed in their big brother.

The Great Hall was a warm, familiar place that made him feel actually glad to be back. The food would be great, his friends were all here. If nothing else he had one more year of this beautiful room and the great times he always had here.

Sam wasn't surprised as Sebastian left with his house members without telling her a thing, she let out a smile as she too was trying to see if she could recognize anyone from her house. As soon Sebastian did the dramatic twirling to her best friend, Sam could spot someone else in the crowd, Veronica. Sam smiled at Vic as soon as she approached, she had seen her before with Anna; after all they were both in the same house, and though she wasn't exactly on close-terms with her, any friend of Anna was a friend of hers. Sam said nothing when Anna reassured Vic she was leaving to sit with her in the dinning hall, but as soon as she hugged her and gave her the 'I'm sorry'-look, Sam shrugged her noise in disapproval of her betrayal and gave pouted her lips like a child being left behind.

As soon as her friend was out if sight, she too moved closer to her own house hoping she could at least find someone to sit by with. It was then when she spotted not another Cervus but an Arietem, Harvey, Harvey Sparshott. They had barely said but a few words when they were barely in their second year at school, but he had left quite an impression on her. They would have probably never talked had Sam not found his cat Maine roaming around nearby her dormitory.

Sam was grateful that the cat had a beautiful name tag with Harvey's name, which made it that much easier to return her. They barely shared a few words other than him thanking him and her teasing him about losing his pussy, but Sam couldn't help but to feel drawn to Harvey. So as soon as she spot him nearby other Arietem, she couldn't help but to smile before she too sat down in the first Cervus seat available; after all it was only a matter of minutes before Aberforth began his entrance speech. Besides, the sooner they got over with all the spectacles the sooner Sam would be eating her delicious pizza.

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Harvey slumped back in his chair, staring absently at the ceiling, trying to decide how much trouble he would get in if he skipped his whole first day of classes to go surfing. It would mean detention for sure, from each of his teachers, but that might just be worth it to start out the year right.

He decided to start a list of all the things he would not miss about this place. First thing - the old man’s self important speeches. He couldn’t even look at the old man without picturing their meeting at the end of last year, when the Headmaster had laid out just how much of a failure Harvey really was.

Oh sure, he hadn’t used those words, no one ever did, but that’s what they meant. A tragic waste. Yeah, well, this year would be a tragic waste if Harvey had to spend it listening to more of Aberforth Dumbledore’s speeches.

Of course he might also need to start a list of the things he would miss. That would mostly be a list of names. His eyes drifted across the room to Ronnie at the Vulpus table. Now she was great. Always up for some fun, always looking for a new adventure. Yet somehow she never seemed to catch trouble for it like Harvey did. She’d be on the list.

Then there was Sam and the Cervus table. Seeing her smiling at her friends, Harvey remembered the day in his second year, after he’d looked high and low for Paris, his maine coon who’d run off. He sat dejected in the courtyard, about to cry in front of most of the school. Sam had walked up, grin on her face, the huge orange cat balanced on her shoulders like a fur boa. She’d found Paris hiding roaming around the Cervus dormitory.

Yeah, he liked Sam, she’d go on the list.

Then there were the boys, his fellow Arietems, his dorm mates. People who’d explored the castle with him, who’d shared jokes and excitement. They were a cocky bunch, and if you asked Harvey, with good cause. Maybe he would put up with more hot air from Dumbledore if it meant more time with the boys.

“Hey Bass,” he leaned over to Sebastian Queen, who was trading flirty looks with a couple of his friends, “help me think of a harmless prank to pull on the first years before Quinton decides to boil them in oil.”

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Boats? Fuck that. The seventh year glided over the waters separating the school from the world with ease. Her shoes were inches from the surface of the water as her broom zipped her across the body of churning liquid. As her hair whipped around her face, Katarina let her mind drift away. This would be her last year in school. Now that she was seventeen she was free to use magic as she pleased, on or off the grounds. It was beyond thrilling, but something inside her felt twisted. Was it her heart? Her gut, maybe? What was the nagging feeling inside her telling her that something terrible was happening. She was graduating. How could that be anything other than wonderful? She'd finally be free! She'd never have to see another filthy mudblood ever again if she played her cards right and only associated with the classiest of purebloods.

She arrived at the school and landed quietly on the grounds. With a twist of her wrist, her wand sent her bags flying to her room- along with her broom. Another flick and her hair was once again pristine. Can't walk into the school for the first and last day back with broomhair, now can she? Pocketing her wand, Kat strolled into the dinning hall and slipped onto the end of her table just as the headmaster started to speak. She was greated by Kindle and Kimberly, twins in her year, who she tolerated for company's sake. After all, just because she was a bitch didn't mean she wasn't popular. "If you two keep stuffing your face like that you're going to get fat," Katarina sighed, poking at her own plate with the end of her fork. The twins looked up, faces stuffed to the brim with the delectable food of the feast. Kat flicked her eyes up to their faces, and grinned. She was just kidding, of course, so they went back to eating. Kat turned her eyes back to her own plate. It wouldn't be terrible of they got fat. It would make her look even skinnier.

Katarina let her eyes scan down the length of what she thought of as her table. All the other members of her house seemed to be one of two things; chatting away with friends or looking incredibly broody. There was Lucius, a sixth year who had started some sort of 'secret' club; though everyone in the house knew about it. Her nose wrinkled just slightly. He had a lot of growing up to do, but his heart was in the right place. Then there was a fifth year sitting further down. Her name was slipping Kat's mind, but she was pretty sure it started with an A. Anna, or something like that [Anneliese]. Kat rarely associated with underclassman, so the girl was of no real interest- especially because she was a halfblood.

Looking further down the long table Kat could see another student whose face she couldn't see. She didn't have to see his front. She'd know those golden curls anywhere. Harvey. Her dark hues watched him from across the table. His eyes were scanning the crowd, like a bee sampling the nectar of every flower. A small smile tugged at the corner of her lips, but she resisted as she watched him. The smile slowly began to turn as she noticed his eyes had stopped and he had a certain look on his face. A look she didn't appreciate. He was staring at someone. Her eyes followed his line of sight, landing on the Cervus table- landing on Samantha. Her left hand grabbed the bench she sat on as she attempted to keep her gaze cool and aloof. What was that feeling? Jealousy? Of that little nobody?

If her eyes could have set Samantha on fire- they might have. When she forced herself to turn away, Harvey had already moved on to scanning their own table. Possibly looking for her? Instantly the clenched tightness on her chest lifted. She shouldn't be so stupid. Harvey would never sink that low. Smiling, Kat slipped out of the bench- receiving concerned looks from the twins. "One sec. I'll be back."

Kat slipped down the row between her house and another and slipped her way between Harvey and one of his boys- Quin. She liked Quin, he had a similar mind to hers. Harvey was just finishing a question, “..help me think of a harmless prank to pull on the first years before Quinton decides to boil them in oil.” "I'd say Quin's a genius. Did he actually suggest that for this year? Though only for the mudbloods, of course. I have something else in mind for the pures, as I do every yea- Oh, Harvey don't look at me like that," Kat trailed off with a sigh, placing her elbow on the table and her chin on her palm. "I was joking, and my prank is harmless. It's the moonlight walk, like we do every year. Are you boys joining us?" Her eyes cut over to Sebastian and Quinton, a grin lifting her cheeks. "Anyway, you boys think about it. You know where we'll be. We're meeting in the tunnels after for some butterbeers to celebrate the first day back. Seventh years only. Quin, please tell me you made it through the gates with my surprise? Bass, you have to go. If you don't, Harvey will have to drink alone, and well.. we all know how that goes.."

She was teasing, of course. As she stood she let a hand rest comfortably on Harvey's shoulder if allowed, and looked over the boys once more. "See you tonight. Bring something fun." With a smile, Kat walked back to her seat. Hopefully the boys would come. Sure, getting a little tipsy with the girls was always fun, but the more mischief makers around the better in her book. Besides, she could really use the distraction.

When the meal was over the trio, often called the KKK behind their backs, stood and headed towards the beach. It was a tradition. On their first night back the three, and sometimes selected invited guests, would go down to the water and jump naked off the docks. It had been a dare their first year- by a seventh year then. A girl named Miranda. Pureblood and extremely cruel. She had told the girls that if they truly wanted to be accepted into house- they would have to jump into the water off the dock.

Katarina led the way, trailed by the twins and four first years they had stolen away from the group to take with them for the plunge. It was a cruel joke. This year the seventh years wouldn't be jumping in. They'd wait for the first years to disrobe and then steal their robes and force them to walk, or run, back to the dorms naked. The memory of how cold the air was on her body during her own initiation made her smile all the more as Kat led the group of unsuspecting first years down to the docks. Kat crossed her arms in front of her, struggling to hold her patience together as she waited for a herd of Vulpus to pass by. "Where are we going?" The question was from a shy blonde girl, who twisted her robes in front of her nervously. Pureblooded, but a coward. For now. She had the promise of being great- Katarina could feel it. The little dove had nearly cried when she sat under the hat. The first year had not let go of her pale hair for even a moment- as if she were afraid the hat would eat it. Stupid girl.

"You'll see."

“Butterbeer on a beach sounds like a perfect night to me, Kat. In fact, I’d like to try and spend as many days and nights as possible out on that beach rather than in this place,” he gestured to the cavernous ceiling and stone walls.

Kat looked good, better than she had this summer. Her smile seemed to be real, not forced as it so often was. He hadn’t seen her much over the school break, but it was enough to wish she could have spent it with his family instead of with her controlling father. Kat wouldn’t easily tolerate the Sparshott family formalities, hell, Harvey could hardly tolerate them, but at least she would be out of the reach of that assshole who didn’t deserve to be anyone’s father.

“What do you say, Quinton, will making a bunch of eleven year old run naked through the castle satisfy your sadistic impulse?”

“I guess it will do.” Quinton shrugged in resignation.

The first years finished off their feast, most looking regretful at how much they’d eaten. Before the Arietem prefects could stand, Harvey jumped to his feet and used his best ‘authoritative big brother’ voice.

“Alright first years, follow me, let’s head out.” He gave the prefects a reassuring wink.

Looking for all the world like lambs, slightly nervous about their new shepard, the first years followed him in a tightly packed clump. He lead them first down the halls toward the common room, then turned when he was sure no faculty followed, heading for the beach.

The pale, white half-circle of the moon hung low in the sky. A field of stars, astoundingly bright without the harsh lights of human habitation to block them, painted the whole sky in dizzying light. The ocean was a black stain spread before them, and the sound of waves filled the air. He wanted to stop and just appreciate the sight, but he had his little flock to mind.

Kat stood on the beach, winged by her frequent companions, the KKK, they were called. It struck Harvey that nickname might delight Kat just as much as it annoyed her.

It seemed Kat had selected the first years worth her time; four little things stood before her, obviously embarrassed but at the same time worried about staying brave in front of the older girls.

A blonde one had the bottom of her robe in tightly balled fists, looking at once about to straighten them, or pull them over her head. He didn’t envy the little girl, he’d been on the other end of Katarina West trying to get you do something you didn’t want to do. She was hard to resist.

He decided to set an example so the first years would go a little more willingly into the drink. He walked passed Kat and turned, walking backward while addressing the first years.

“Alright everyone, it’s time,” he pulled his robe over his head and threw it to the sand, “those Ferre might brag about how brave they are, but if you ask me we Arietems are ten times braver. How about you prove me right.” He pulled his tee-shirt off, and turned to the water. “I’ll see you in there.”

He kicked his shoes off and pulled down his pants as he reached the water. His skin pulled back at the cold water, but he was used to it. He’d spent as much time in that water as he had in any classroom at Grex. He waded in and did a few big strokes to get into deeper waters.

Without a doubt he would suffer the same fate as the first years, but that was what he intended. Everyone could have their fun, the first years would get a great story to tell, and the upperclassmen could feel like the new kids had earned their place, but no one would have to spend their first night at Grex crying naked in the halls, trying to find their way to the common room. He’d be there for them.

Escorting them back would make him late for the meetup later, but the others could wait. They’d all get a big laugh out of it.

“Come on,” he wave back to shore, “What are you waiting for.”

Slowly at first, they started to join him. He grabbed at one of the braver boys, wrestling with him like he would his own brother. Soon they were all in the water splashing, laughing, dunking each other under, completely oblivious to what Kat and the others did do their clothes.

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Katarina grinned as she watched Harvey lead the way- unashamed to be blatantly staring at him. Even if none of the first years went, he would have made this whole prank worth it just then. Even better, though, the first years did join in. Slowly, they took off their robes and made their way into the water. Eventually they were all splashing around and having a grand time. She would have loved to stay and watch, but... she had other things to do. Nodding to the twins, they gathered up all the clothes and wands and took off for the dorm with grins plastered on their faces. It was thrilling, and hilarious, and worth it. They piled all the clothes in the common room- wands and all, and left them there to go to their 'after party'. She sent the twins on ahead of her and waited by the dorm with Harvey's clothes and wand.

When the large group of bodies finally showed up she flicked her wand- snapping a picture, and then allowed them into the dorm. She handed Harvey his clothes as she grinned at him. "Someone's been working out. Come on. They're waiting for us." After he was dressed she led the way back to where the seventh years were- the twins had already started drinking and Quinton had not disappointed. He had managed to sneak in something a bit stronger than butterbeer.

How long it had been, she didn't know. She was thoroughly intoxicated and grinning as she lay in the sand, hair sprawled all around her because she had fallen during her dancing. Giggles bubbled out of her throat as she watched the twins fall all over themselves as they tried in vain to dance against the buzz in their system. Kat looked over to Harvey and smiled pointing to him as he melted in and out of focus. "You! You have to make sure I make it into the dorm tonight." Her words were only slightly slurred, but certainly slower than normal.

When the twins started to puke she knew the party was over. She reached out for Harvey to help her up and followed the group back to the dorm. Kat fell in against the curly blonde male and looked up at him, trying to figure out which one was actually him- the one on the left or the one on the right. "D-don't ever change.... mmm... mmkay?" She smiled and gave the side of his cheek a pat, then made her way up the stairs to the girl's side of the dorm.

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"DON'T!" Katarina snapped awake, breathing heavily and clutching the sides of her bed. Heart pounding, she slowly let herself sink back down into the bed, closing her eyes and letting out a long sigh. It was just a dream. Just another dream. The red headed girl still stared at her, every time she closed her eyes. Refusing to cry, Kat rolled over and hugged her pillow- looking out at the light coming in the window. It was just a dream. Just a dream..

She allowed herself to stay that way for about ten minutes, but then the twins were up and getting dressed. She joined them, following them down into the common room to watch everyone go to breakfast or head out to class early. After last night, Katarina didn't figure breakfast would sit very well with her, so instead she did something completely out of character- she scooped up her pet and headed to class early. Transfiguration. At least it's a fun class, she mused to herself as she strolled lazily down the hall with her book in her arms and her cat following behind her lazily.

Sam waited before she headed towards their dorm where Rae must have surely waiting for her. As soon as the crowd had calmed down she was on her way. She took her sweet time; after all she was in no rush and she wasn't planning on unpacking until the next day. Once she found Rae she noticed her distracted by something, Sam was a bit distracted trying to figure out exactly what when her friend moved back to their dorm. She was thankful that she had not forgotten the password when the painting almost stopped her.

She followed Rae tapping her playfully on her shoulder before asking her what she was hiding. Sam was most excited to find it was none other than a toad, surely someone's pet and little friend. She helped her ever-helpful friend to find it's owner but it was useless, both of them giving up finally deemed it best that they took care of him until someone got him back. Sam laughed when her adorable friend had named the toad, "come on Rae, Lemongrass? Now you've really gotten him mad" she joked around eyeing at the toad who did not seemed pleased. Before she said anything else she turned to her small cat Snowy, who she had made sure arrived safely before she did. Sam had asked Rae to take care of him before she even got to school.

"Don't you ever leave me whitey!" she asked while hugging the beautiful small cat. Finally, as she felt her eyes giving out she sent a wink to Rae, stuck her tongue out the grumpy toad and gave a kiss to lovely Snowy before she said goodnight and fell almost dead in slumber.

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As always Sam had woken up late, "not again!" she half-screamed looking at the hour. As if in a flash she remembered what Alberforth had said about being early to class and she let out a sigh. She looked around to see if she could see Rae but it was obvious that she would have never gotten late, unless someone was in some sort of trouble and she'd stay to help out or something of the sort. She got ready as soon as she possibly could, her hair was still wet; not having time to do anything else she urged Snowy to follow her to class.

She was about to head out before she remembered the toad, looking for the box where Rae had placed him but couldn't find anything. She knew Rae must have taken him to keep on looking for the owner. Having missed breakfast made her grumpy but that didn't meant she wouldn't enjoy her transfiguration class. She rushed to class, picking up Snowy knowing he would not be able to keep up her pace. Finally she reached the class, almost out of breath; hoping that the teacher was not there yet.

Darting through the castle, a clump of naked first year boys before him, another clump of girls after him, Harvey could not help but think the year had started off fantastically.

They reached the gloomy Arietem portrait where Quinton waited with the password and mocking words for the kids. Inside Kat waited with more mockery and his clothes.

”Someone’s been working out. Come on. They’re waiting for us.”

Harvey blushed and pulled on his clothes. The changed he’d notice earlier in Kat was even more pronounced now.

It was a proven fact that Harvey Sparshott was horrible at reading people. He’d tried to hug friends, only to receive a hard punch in return, and could never, ever tell if girls were flirting with him or just being nice. But he was sure now, that something was different with Kat, or at least, she was treating him differently.

Hostility and disdain created a distance around her, kept everyone, even those people who called her friend, a step away. Despite their long friendship, Harvey had been effected by that too, keeping her at an emotional distance, even if he didn’t understand why. But whatever barrier had been between them wasn’t there anymore, and as she laughed, tugging his arm along the hallways to meet the other seventh years, she looked different to him.

She looked almost as she had as a child, a little girl who had suffered so many formal occasions with him, who first pulled him away from those stuffy parties to sneak bottles of expensive liquor away from the adults.

Harvey was a cheap drunk, having significantly less than the others, he still managing to make a fool of himself. He danced with everyone, ran back into the water for quite a long time, then finally sat on the beach next to the others who’d become too drunk to stand.

As the evening went on things slowed down, and like all good parties, it ended with an air of fatigue. They had overindulged and overspent their energy, but were able to stagger back into the castle before things became too morose.

Kat leaned heavily on him on the way back to the dorms, so heavily, in fact, that he was afraid he might have to scoop her up at any moment. He was mostly afraid that in his current state he’d bump her head on a wall or slip going down a staircase and drop her, but thankfully they made it all the way to the Arietem dorms with everyone on their feet.

“D-don’t ever change... mmm...mmkay?” She pressed her hand against his face, harder than she’d probably intended, smooshing his cheek and mouth.

He was about to say goodbye when Quinton tugged him toward the boy’s dorm, nearly yanking him off his feet.

Most of his bed was taken up by Paris. The huge cat stretched out, leaving Harvey only a sliver of mattress. He collapsed onto it, still wearing wet, sandy clothes.

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The sour task in his mouth woke him, the sun already so high in the sky that Paris had left the bed to chase it from windowsill to windowsill through the common room. Harvey still clung to the edge of the bed and was badly cramped from the posture.

After a minute of stretching and itching (the sand had badly irritated his skin in the night) he realized he was the only person left in the dorms. Judging by the sunlight, he’d missed first period, maybe second. His dorm mates had long since learned not to bother waking him if he slept through class.

He stumbled to the shower, washing off the residue of the night before, grinning at his memories of the evening. As the hot water ran his grin faded. That night, the chance to have more like it, was yet another addition on the list of things he would miss. Sure, he would always have his friends, but when they left Grex it wouldn’t be the same.

Everyone would move on, go to other school like Quinton, find jobs, and Harvey would do what? Keep getting drunk on beaches? Find some job even more dull than school? Beg money from his parents?

He shut of the water and walked back to the bedroom.

The sight of his dufflebag propped up against the bed cheered him. It was, green, ugly, and full of holes. The name ‘Sparshott’ was stitched on a patch along the side.

In last night’s excitement he’d not been able to indulge in his usual unpacking ritual. He twitched his wand and the strings pulled open, revealing a cavernous storage space, at least three times larger than the outside of the bag. An old fashioned record player flew out and landed softly on the table beside Harvey’s bed.

Harvey was quite proud at how good he was an non-verbal spell casting. And he hadn’t learned it from a class or a teacher. In his fourth year he got tired of mumbling spells like and idiot, chanting along with the class. He found a couple of books in the library on non-verbal spell casting and had figured it out in just one night.

That was the kind of magic he liked, the stuff that came easily, without having to slave over books and cauldrons for hours on end.

When his sister, who had still been at Grex at the time, heard about it she was ecstatic. She thought it might mean he had finally dedicated himself to his studies. When it became obvious he only intended to use his new talent to try even less in class, flicking his wand absently at his targets, not bothering to master any spells, she returned to her usual habit of acting very disappointed in him.

Harvey reached in the bag and pulled out an old record, not willing to trust such a prize possession to his imprecise magic. It was an original LP of the White Album. It and the dufflebag had belonged to his uncle Greg. He placed it on the record player and thought about the first time he’d listened to it with his uncle.

Greg had been a Mar, a person born into a wizarding family who was unable to perform magic. At eighteen he signed up for the military and was sent overseas. His brother, Harvey’s father, had enchanted the bag for him, the only magical object Greg had in a very un-magical world.

He placed the record on the player and set the needle in the grove. It was the only way to listen to music at Grex, aside from summoning a personal magical band, and Harvey didn’t feel like learning how to do that.

Stretching back out on the materice, he decided to listen to the whole album and wait until dinner to leave the dorm.

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Rae had just finished giving Ra the last bit of bacon from her plate when Ronnie walked up. Rae was instantly glad to see her- she had missed her last night and hadn't had a chance to talk to her big-sister figure. "Ronnie! Hey!" Rae stepped out from the table to stand, slipping Ra into her robes and picking up Lemongrass' box. "Hey, Rae- where'd you find that frog? I know someone who is looking for one," Ronnie said calmly as she took a bite out of a pear. "Oh, who is it? I found it last night, I've been looking for the owner." "New kid- don't know his name. He should be in our first period, though, so you can see if it is his then." First period.... what time was it? Rae glanced to her watch and gave a little squeak. "We're going to be late!"

Not one for being late, Rae closed the box on her guest pet and offered Ronnie a smile. "See you in class!" With that, she rushed off to the classroom. She couldn't start the year off like this- being late to her first class. She had to work hard at her grades as it was. She wasn't lucky like Ronnie was. Ronnie was just naturally gifted at being brilliant- it was what drew Rae to her when she first met the beautiful blonde.

Rae made it into class with a couple minutes to spare. She figured Sam would be sitting with Anna and her evil sidekick Sebastian, so Rae took a seat further to the back. Admittedly she was a little embarrassed that she never knew any of the questions the professor asked. She would have her quill write them all down so that she could make note to answer them later or come back to them. In the empty seat next to her, she sat the box containing Lemongrass. He had behaved pretty well at the breakfast table, so she opened the lid so he could look out. She muttered a binding spell under her breath, putting a breathable, see-through shield over the lid of the box- just in case he got any squirrelie ideas about jumping out and taking a tour of this part of the castle.

As the students poured in, Rae tried to take notice of everyone. Did any of them look new? Had she not noticed one before? Surely it wasn't a first year. Ronnie would have called him a first year. A pale looking boy with stunning blue eyes walked in, looking lost and perhaps even a little flustered. She had never seen him before. She bit her lower lip and tried to remember if she had actually never seen him before, or if she had just never noticed him. From the box, the toad had started to croak and hop around- almost as though he were excited about something. Rae looked to the box with an arched brow, and then back to the dark haired boy who looked like he didn't know where he could sit. "There's a free seat by me," she called with what she hoped sounded like a friendly voice. "You, ah... you aren't missing a toad by any chance, are you?" She'd go out on a limb. The worst he could say was no, and she'd just look like a weird pet-rescuer. She'd been called worse.

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Kat wasn't surprised at all to see all the little fifth and sixth years rushing into the door when she got onto hall that would lead to her classroom. As she came in, she noticed a couple girls waving over and gushing over the new boy. Her dark hues scanned him over once, then glanced to the girl in her own house who's bird came flying in from God-knows-where to perch on the girl's shoulder. "If that bird shits on that half-blood just once, it will have made coming to class worth it," she commented to one of the twins who had just come up beside her. The two smirked and took their places in the middle of the room. Kat enjoyed watching the teacher up close. Some of her professors were actually pretty attractive- for those, she liked to sit close to the front of the room.

Kat coolly crossed her legs and relaxed in her chair, ignoring Rae and the new boy who was attracting a bunch of attention. She tried her best to ignore the conversation about a toad- as it was boring and uninteresting. Instead, she turned her attention to one of the twins. "You owe me a new sweater, by the way," she said calmly, "You vomited on mine last night." She grinned, and the twins laughed- but promised to buy her a new one. This was nice. If she could get over the fact that she was back in this hellhole another year, she might actually be able to enjoy herself.

A first year made the mistake of trying to sit in front of her. "Excuse you, mudblood, I don't need your head blocking my view of the board," Kat snapped. The twins snickered at her sides as the first year blushed and picked up her things- moving them a few seats down. As if on cue, her new little pet- a blonde first year girl- came into the classroom. "Nessie," Kat called. It might have sounded like a call from a loving big sister, had it come from anyone else. Coming from Kat, it sounded more like a sadistic purr, as though she were pulling strings to make the girl move. "Sit here, love," she chirped, tapping the seat in front of her with her foot. "So we can look out for you." The blonde, Vanessa (aka-Nessie), shyly walked over and placed her books down on the table in front of Kat. She had been one of the few who were forced to run naked back to the dorm last night. "Sleep well?"

The professor walked in, and Kat grinned broadly. "We'll chat later, little dove," Kat whispered as she sat back in her chair, watching the professor set up their things on the desk at the front of the room. Glancing around the room, Kat took note of those present- only really looking for people that were purebloods or in her house. After her second glance through the front of the room, she noticed Harvey wasn't among the students. What a lightweight. Is he really that hung over? She glanced to the front of the room, noticing a blonde girl who had perched herself in the very front row. Another half-blood. By the Gods. They'll let anyone into this school now-a-days... Annoyed with the lack of witchblood in the room, Kat opened her book and commenced doodling across the margins. If she was lucky- the class would be over quickly.

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When the first disk of the White Album finished Harvey found himself restless. He’d intended to say in his room a good while longer, but hunger and boredom drove him to his feet. Carefully, he put the disk back in its sleeve and stored it on the bookcase beside his bed.

He slipped his wand in his back pocket, where it usually rested, and headed out. The common room was empty of people. In their place the Arietem house pets had taken possession of the furniture and beams of sunlight. Harvey was quite used to seeing the common room this way, having spent a fair amount of time dozing along with the animals at midday rather than attending class.

There were many good ways to navigate through the castle without getting spotted by faculty and staff. In his nocturnal explorations with Ronnie they’d all but mastered moving through Grex as easily as the ghosts. Well, Ronnie had mastered it better than he had, often slipping just out of notice while Harvey blundered his way right into a teacher’s path.

He hurried down a back corridor where he knew house elves frequented. They greeted him warmly, knowing he was there to snag some food. They piled most of a roast chicken, a huge jug of orange juice, and a bag of fruit in his arms. One elf, slightly larger than the others, with a huge chunk missing out of one of her ears, was always especially nice to Harvey, and slipped a box of chocolates in with the food.

For a while he moseyed back to the common room, trying to pick out a few of the chocolates without upsetting the jumble in his arms, but he passed a window and caught a flash of sunlight off the ocean. It pulled at him like a physical force in his chest, a painful longing under his breastbone. He’d had fun last night, but there was nothing like being out in the water on your own, feeling like you had the ocean completely to yourself.

He turned around, heading back down a narrow, twisting staircase to the closest exit to the beach. Once outside he was tempted sit in view of the classrooms where his friends were surely engaged in dull spellwork, but knew that would put him in full view of the teachers as well. Instead he went to a familiar spot, where the forest ran up almost into the water. There he sat crosslegged and worked through his meal.

The chicken was good, if a little cold by now, and he made himself sick finishing off every single chocolate. He decided to lay down in the sand and close his eye, let his stomach settle before getting into the water.