Garrett Flint's Story

Garrett Flint

The other chief troublemaker of Vulpes house had been noticeably absent from the opening feast. No doubt many of the students had expected Garrett Flint to make a surprise appearance, something loud, most likely with explosions of some kind. It hadn't happened. But Flint wasn't concerned with the feast, and all the jabbering of friends being reunited. He didn't think himself so important that the night wouldn't go on without him. His absence would be noted, but not dwelled on for long. This particular sixth year was known to make swift recoveries. He had mentioned his intentions to pass on the feast to Justin, but he sensed his partner in crime had something else on his mind. Emerson, no doubt.

This time was perhaps different. Flint found himself alone, an insanely rare occurrence, in the Vulpes common room, his feet kicked up upon a nearby table, his ass slouched down in a delightfully comfortable chair. And he was reading a book, of all things. Anyone who knew him would recognize that something was up. Flint didn't just read all the time. Or at all. It was a Muggle book, too, an older one, written in the 60s. He actually found it quite funny, and couldn't remember the last time he'd enjoyed a book like this.

His father knew him better than he thought.

No, he pushed his dad from his thoughts, and focused on the book. For once, Flint found that the silence in the common room pleasant, rather than irritating. He meant to enjoy it while it lasted. Eventually all of his house would filter through here, and then it would be back to the old Flint. Though he planned to finish this book before...well, he planned to finish it. Perhaps he make an effort to read it every night.

Flint was glad he had made this decision. It was a healthy change of pace. He'd be as loud and boisterous as ever tomorrow, but for tonight, he was content to be alone, and to...well, to find himself a little. He didn't really want to see anyone. Not Justin, who was clearly dealing with problems of his own. Not Bliss...he covered it up well, and they were probably better friends now than when they had dated, but he would have been lying if he'd said it didn't hurt to think about last year. He thought for a moment that he wouldn't mind seeing Summer, but...well, that was a stupid and confusing thought, and it made him angry more than anything.

No, he just needed the book right now. A simple laugh to take his mind off the very few things that could get Garrett Flint down.

It was going to be a great year, he kept telling himself. Time to make it happen, right?

Garrett Flint

A flutter of wings on the windowsill pulled Flint from his thoughts, and his book. The creature's hoot reached his ears, but Flint didn't turn his head, knowing exactly what was there, and what it wanted.

"Get outta here, Teek. No amount of hoot-hooting will get you anything tonight, featherbag."

There was a moment of silence. Flint returned to reading, only to find that he had forgotten where on the page he had been. Funny how distractions did that. Now, where was he...ah yes! "I've got to fly more missions," Nately insisted lamely with a crooked smile. "Otherwise they'll send me home." ... "So?" ... "I don't want to go home until I can take her back with me." ... "She means that much to you?" Nately nodded dejectedly. "I might never--

Hoot, hoot.

"Really?" Flint said aloud, turning to look at the owl perched on the windowsill. Teek ruffled his dark brown feathers and peered down at his owner with big, bulging amber eyes. Flint and Teek hadn't gotten along so well at first, and they still didn't appear to, but now they just gave each other shit as their way of showing affection. It was a sort of mutual understanding between man and owl.

"That's what I thought," Flint said when the owl remained quiet. Now... "I might never see her again." ... "Then get yourself grounded," Yossarian urged. "You've finished your missions and you don't need the flight pay. Why don't you ask for Chief White Halfoat's job, if you can stand working for Captain Black?" Nately shook his head, his cheeks darkening with shy and--

Hoot, hoot.

"Okay, that's it. Get down here, featherbag." Flint kicked the chair his feet had been resting on, and rose to his feet, slapping the book closed. As he approached the windowsill, Teek took off into the air, floating around the common room, hoot-hooting to his heart's content. Flint stared up at him with an amused look.

"Oh hoh, you think you're so high and mighty now, you just wait until I get my broomstick and join you up there. I fly circles around you, and you know it!"

Teek just hooted tauntingly in response, before slowly drifting down to where Flint stood in the center of the common room. Flint knew this trick. Teek had pulled it a few times before. He'd let him win this time. It would be entertaining. The amber-eyed owl fluttered down, flapping his wings to steady himself, before coming to a perch directly atop Flint's head, gently digging his talons into his hair for purchase. Flint raised his eyebrows, and looked up with his eyes, though of course he couldn't see the owl. He hooted contentedly. Flint couldn't think of a better way to introduce himself to everyone for his sixth year.

"Shall we?" he asked Teek, dropping off his book with his things before heading out, making sure to keep his head level, and to duck through any doorways. It was interesting that the owl could pick him up so easily through simply annoying him. They appeared to bicker, when in reality they had a tighter bond than most people and their pets.

Flint had been heading down the stairs, thinking of what he would say to the various he people he could possibly meet. It didn't really matter what he said...he had an owl on his head. However, he wished he had thought of something clever to say when he passed the entrance to the Cervus common room, and nearly bumped into Summer Turner. Although, had he thought of something clever, he likely would have forgotten it. Summer had that effect on him.

"Oh, hey Summer," he said with a stupid boyish grin on his face. Teek peered down at the girl with a critical eye from atop Flint's head, but gave her a pleasant hoot in greeting.

Summer Turner

"That's all you've got to say about all of that!" Summer flew her arms in the air as she just leaned back in frustration. "You are my best friend! You are suppose to give me advice on what to freaking do, Bell! Oh my god." She had let the frustration get her a little too much as she just looked at her dark haired friend before letting her hands lift her up from the step she was at. It was like the night grew darker as her friend's words made it to Summer's ears. The breath died down with the seriousness of Bellona's tone. 'Summer...I can tell you anything right...Swear to me you won't tell anyone.' Sliding back down close to her friend, she brought her face close to Bellona's, touching her hand. "Of course, love. I am your best friend." She let her eyes shift to where she had carefully placed them along with Bellona's, giving the cluster of hands a tight squeeze. "I will never tell a soul anything we've spoken of."

Summer could see her friend fighting within on the next words she would say. She could tell Bellona was being very careful when she finally began to speak. 'I- I met a cute boy in Rome but I still think that- that- well over the summer my feelings kind of decided that- well, I really think Micah's cute.' What the bloody hell?! Here came the same frustration Bellona had just got through causing Summer to have. "What the-" 'Promise you won't tell anyone.' "Bellona! Don't you dare lie to me.." Feeling Bellona pull away and stand, Summer joined her to the level they were now at. She was just about to continue her thought of frustration when her friend spoke again, 'Oh gosh, what time do you think it is already? We should get going now. I'm not really in the mood to vex the Prefects if they caught us staying up late.'

Summer was stunned at the stunt her best friend was pulling on her. "So you're seriously going to just leave me with a lie?" Bellona completely blew off the question to say something about Fidus not eating. Summer just sat down to calm herself before she could get settled Bellona was already dragging her off somewhere else. She has so many thoughts going through her head before Bellona turned towards her as they had made their way through the Great Hall and now stood at the grand staircase. Feeling the arms of her friend surround her, Summer just wanted to trap her in the hug and force her to speak the truth in order to escape, but Bellona was too quick with the hug. 'Well I'll see you ever at breakfast okay? Goodnight porky.' She didn't even get out a word as Bellona scurried off towards what seemed like the Arietem common rooms.

Summer couldn't handle the idea of trying to socialize after the scene she just went through. Her own best friend couldn't even tell her what was on her mind. She quickened her pace deciding the way to avoid people was to get to her common room and shut herself off. She hadn't even seen her sister all night and for a second she was glad. She thought about finding her, but she knew she'd be around her friends. Hearing footsteps Summer let her eyes hit the ground to avoid having to actually make conversation until she felt the body of another against her's. "Watch ou-" She looked up meeting the eyes of Flint. "You've got to be kissing me." She said as she saw the owl on top of his head. "Oh my god, I meant kidding." The rose color that now filled her cheeks made her whole body fill with heat. "Hi." She tried to recover with a smile.

Garrett Flint

Flint's boyish grin turned into a full blown smile at Summer's slip up. Dammit, she's so cute when she's nervous, he thought, more than a little nervous himself. Then again, is there a time when she isn't cute? Teek shifted his weight atop Flint's head, as if to try and spur him into action, and when he didn't immediately respond, the amber eyed owl gave a low hoot that sound, if anything, like a suggestive hoot. That is, assuming that a hoot could sound suggestive. Maybe it was just Flint's imagination.

"Hey, don't worry about it. Teek has this effect on all the girls he meets. Isn't that right?" His eyes flicked upwards, and Teek gave a cheery hoot in response. Flint was moderately pleased with himself. That had been a decently clever thing to say, hadn't it? He leaned a little towards her, lowering his voice slightly.

"He's still a worthless bag of feathers, but I love him for it. He wanted to see everyone again, including your lovely smiling face, so I figured, hey, why not? And it's great to see you again."

Flint gave her a relatively quick hug. Now, Flint had developed a bit of a reputation for giving the best hugs, but unfortunately this one was a little cautious, as he had to worry about dislodging the bird from his head, and making things really awkward. He had already saved one awkward situation with Summer's little Freudian slip, or at least he thought he had, but he doubted his chances of being so skillful as to save two. He broke the hug successfully, with Teek still comfortably perched atop his head.

"So how was the feast? It was the usual from Rockwell, I'm assuming? Sorry I wasn't there to make things more interesting, I was...uh, reading. A book."

Damn, that had come out poorly. And it sounded like bullshit. Garrett Flint, reading? It was the truth, but she'd have to think he was lying, that he'd been up to something, which any other year he would have. This year, things were somewhat different...but he didn't want to talk about that, not with Summer, not right now. He'd finally gotten back to the old Flint, and he wasn't going to slip away again now.

He also found himself wishing that Bliss didn't happen to come along at the moment. She'd have to come this way to get to Vulpes common room, which he'd come from. Flint hadn't exactly felt comfortable with both Turner sisters since he and Bliss broke things off. With one or the other, sure, he was great (well, typically more comfortable with Bliss), but with both, he just found himself feeling guilty. One, for not working harder to make things work out between him and Bliss, and two, for almost immediately developing a liking for her younger sister afterwards. But he couldn't help it. It was like Summer was all the things that were great about Bliss, and none of the things that were bad about her.

"Damn...feels like it's been forever. We didn't really get a chance to talk after me and Bli--well, before school ended last year, and then I haven't really seen anyone since then. I actually went home for the summer, back to Portland, to see my parents. How've you been?"

It was pretty well known, especially among Flint's friends, that he rarely returned home anymore. His parents had never really understood him, even less so once he learned he was a wizard, and they'd only become more estranged with each passing year. He'd spent his summers bouncing from friend's house to friend's house, avoiding his old home. But if Summer knew him as much as he thought she did (they'd spent a lot of time together, particularly last year, when he had been dating Bliss), she'd probably notice that there was something a little different about him. The antics and the goofiness were still there, sure, but under it, there was undeniably something a little more serious going on in Garrett Flint's head.

Summer Turner

Seeing the smile spread across Flint's face, Summer felt her face grow darker at the idea that he had gotten entertainment out of her slip. She went across every possible escape from this conversation because she knew that it could only get worse from here. She glanced around the hall seeing no students, so she knew that idea was out of question. She was just about to excuse herself for a reason she had yet to come up with when his owl let out a small hoot that brought Summer's eyes up to the adorable creature. "Hello Teek." She said softly, giving the owl a curtsy before glancing back at Flint. Did I seriously just curtsy to an owl? This was going to seem like such a long conversation with the way she was going. Two for two. She said to herself as she had imagined herself playing a game of baseball and instead of being a batter, she must embarrass herself to score.

However with the response she got from Flint, her face cleared of the shade and smiled at him. "You know I only hang around you for Teek. It's like you are his wingman. Get it.. Wiiiingman." She emphasized the word wing at the stupid joke formed in her head. "I swear. I think my mind is trying to make me kill myself by the night's end." She brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes before smiling at the distance change between the two of them. She took a step closer to him before ever so slightly biting her lip as she listened to what Flint was saying. 'He's still a worthless bag of feathers, but I love him for it. He wanted to see everyone again, including your lovely smiling face, so I figured, hey, why not? And it's great to see you again.'

Summer let herself laugh as she ran the name worthless bag of feathers through her head a couple of times before placing a finger on Flint's chest for a clever reply. "Hey! I'd date a worthless bag of feathers. Especially one as cute as him." She said giving the owl a slight nod in defense for him. Looking back down towards Flint, she picked up her foot to step back, but was instead wrapped in what seemed like the quickest hugs in the history of them all. "Really? The first hug you give me, and it's that.." She gave a disapproving nod. "I'll let that one slide this time, but the next one better be good or else I'm going to have to find someone else to give them to me." She teased before actually returning to their original distance.

'So how was the feast? It was the usual from Rockwell, I'm assuming? Sorry I wasn't there to make things more interesting, I was...uh, reading. A book.' Summer gave Flint a questionable look that went unnoticed. "Reading..a book? I've never heard of someone reading a book.. I could have sworn people just read things like lamps or tables. Books cannot be read, that's impossible." She let a small laugh escape her lips before tilting her head at Flint. "You are acting very strange my dear Flint. Are you feeling okay?" She said as she placed the back of her hand on Flint's forehead. "Hmm, you aren't feeling warm. It must just be you!" She teased.

"I've missed you." She said as she reached towards Flint's hand, giving it the slightest squeeze. "I can't believe I didn't even see you once this summer." She rolled her eyes at the boy. 'Damn...feels like it's been forever. We didn't really get a chance to talk after me and Bli--well, before school ended last year, and then I haven't really seen anyone since then. I actually went home for the summer, back to Portland, to see my parents. How've you been?' The second he mentioned going to Portland, Summer wanted to take back her words. "Oh, Portland? How did that go?" She completely by passed the almost slip up with the mention of Bliss and the question about herself because she knew that Portland was not always a good place for Flint. This time when Summer grabbed Flint's hand, she left it there as she stepped closer to the boy. "Want to talk about it? I'm always a good listener." She said as she was close enough to feel Flint's breaths on her face.

"Let's talk." She said as she gave Flint a slight tug as she started walking down the hall. She made sure to not put him off balance with the bird atop his head.

Garrett Flint

Flint had been about to say no, he didn't really want to talk about it right now, but of course his words never really came out right around Summer. In this case, they didn't come out at all. From atop his head, Teek hooted as if to say yes for him, and Flint found himself following his own hand, gently grasping Summer's. Ha, and he was supposedly Teek's wingman. He'd practically burst out laughing at the sheer adorableness of her joke. Maybe he was rubbing off on her a little? Although, Flint would have liked to think he could come up with something a little better than that.

Well, maybe not around Summer.

Here he was, about to rejoin the crowds and get back to being a goofball with an owl in his hair, and now he was going for a talk with Summer that would undoubtedly turn a little... well, depressing. He'd mulled it over in his own head so much the past few months, and had only recently come to a conclusion with himself. He wasn't sure if he was ready to talk to anyone yet. He'd rather just push it away, act the part he always had, restore that effortless charm and good humor that was Garrett Flint for a while. That...and he wasn't sure who he wanted to talk to.

He had decided that Justin would understand. Apart from their romantic interests, the two had just about everything in common. They understood each other so well. Bliss...he had decided he was done throwing himself out there for her. Flint still cared, of course, but friends is all they would ever be now. They hadn't understood each other as well as Flint had originally thought. It seemed like Flint knew just about everyone at the school, but the amount of people he really knew he could count on one hand. He guessed that was just what he got for trying to share himself with everyone. A ton of friends, but not a lot of good ones.

Come to think of it, Summer was one of the few he'd be willing to open up to. She was damn right about always being a good listener. All she had to do was be there, and Flint felt like he was suddenly more important, more loved or something... dammit, this was messed up. Flint felt like such an ass, feeling this way about Summer when he'd just broken things off with her sister a paltry few months ago. But spending a good amount of time at home, away from everyone, had showed him who he had really missed.

"Yeah, alright," he gave in, keeping pace with her as they headed away from the common rooms, for which he was glad. If was he going to do this, he certainly didn't want it to be where the entire school body would be passing through eventually. He wondered where she wanted to talk. Flint not really being in the habit of having heart to heart talks with people, he didn't have any usual spots for these things. He also remembered that there was a bird on his head, a worthless bag of feathers that had screwed up his hug. He'd have to do something about that.

As if reading his mind through the talons grasping the hair on his head, Teek took flight, gliding ahead of Flint and Summer, floating up to various perches and watching them pass, before flying ahead of them again, hooting happily all the while. "But you're gonna have to go first. I haven't gotten anything out of you, besides you wanting to date my owl, and your habit of reading lamps and tables. How are you, really?"

It was half a stalling tactic, really. Of course he cared how Summer had been doing, but he also found himself wishing something would interrupt them, prevent him from talking to her for too long, from saying something really stupid, which he'd managed to avoid doing so far.

Yeah, this year was going to be very different from the others. Flint could feel it.

Garrett Flint

Her smile was so infectious. And soothing, really. Even shy as Summer was, she had such a way with people. She offered him a way out by saying they didn't need to talk about everything, just what was on their minds. Of course, the things on their minds were most likely the things they didn't want to talk about. At least, it held true for Flint. He wasn't so good at reading people that he could tell if Summer was being plagued by something, too.

They skirted past the Great Hall, and headed up to the second level of the greater castle, towards the library. Flint had been tempted to take a peek into the Great Hall, see if he couldn't catch Justin still in there, but had decided that Summer was more important right now. Priorities, right? Flint liked to think he had 'em straight. As they made their way into the library, Teek's hooting noticeably halted. Smart bag of feathers, Flint thought. He wasn't sure if it was cool for owls to be with all the books, but he figured that was probably looked down upon. Not that Flint had any special regard for the rules, but it wasn't even the first day of classes yet. It was a little early to start getting into trouble.

Damn, Garrett, you are different now, aren't you? It's never too early to get in trouble! He didn't know whether to be cheered or saddened by his own line of thought.

"Well, look at this. I'm turning into a regular bookworm, aren't I?" He said quietly as they entered. "Garrett Flint, proud bookworm of Vulpes House... yeah, that's not happening."

They slipped through shelves until they were deep in the library, more surrounded by books than Flint had probably ever been. Summer sank into one of the seats at a two person table. "Good enough?" she asked. "Yeah," he said. "I don't even think the librarian could find us right now. But Teek will let us know if someone's coming, right?"

The owl gave a low hoot in response, before flapping up on top of one of the bookshelves, his amber eyes scanning back and forth like a dutiful sentinel. Flint plopped down in the chair across from her, folding his hands together on the tabletop.

He made Summer go first, and he learned about Bliss and Felix. That was... interesting. He wasn't sure what to make of it. Obviously he and Bliss weren't working out, so he didn't feel angry or anything that she was interested in other guys. That was just Bliss. He couldn't help but feel concerned for her, though. She'd gone through that line of thought many, many times. Each guy was better than the last, right? And yet none worked out in the end for her. Of course, maybe Felix was different, but history said otherwise. And then of course Summer must have been hurt from that. She'd told him herself that she'd liked Felix, back when he'd been dating Bliss and it didn't make a difference to him who Summer liked. He encouraged her to go for it, as he always did when someone was having trouble attempting something. But now she said she was over her crush for him, no doubt helped along by Bliss swooping in and taking him away... or perhaps by Flint? An interesting thought.

There was something about Bellona hiding something from her, girl problems. Well, that wasn't new. He'd wondered how Summer was friends with Bellona as much as everyone at school, but wasn't going to bring that up now. Summer was right... her problems were minor. Of course he didn't say that, but it didn't stop him from silently agreeing with her. "Alright, my turn then," he said, taking a deep breath before beginning. "So I was originally going to stay with Justin over the summer again, you know, like we had planned. Only the day before school got out, Teek brought me a letter from my parents, saying that my dad--"

He was suddenly distracted by Teek, who had abruptly turned to stare at a nearby painting on the wall. His amber eyes were unblinking and narrowed at it. Flint looked closer at the painting. It was of Sir Jacen, more commonly known by the student body as Sir Hops-a-lot, for the fact that he only had one foot. The knight claimed to have lost it in battle, when everyone knew that the painter had simply painted his leg to the edge of the canvas, and hadn't had room for the foot. The knight was still as stone in his frame, leaning against his sword. Flint, having not seen a magical painting all summer, had nearly forgotten about them.

"Hey, don't you have a princess to save or something?" he called out to him. The knight immediately hopped forward, grabbing his sword in one hand and balling his other into a mailed fist, shaking it at Flint.

"Oh! Don't you start with me about that, young man! One of your friends came along last spring and apologized, before telling me that my princess was in another castle! It was that Justin boy you just mentioned. But I went off to Hogwarts which, let me tell you, was no easy feat, and searched the entire castle. Guess what, young man! She wasn't there! No... I'll never find her."

Flint sighed. "Yeah, but he didn't tell you which castle. How do you know he meant Hogwarts? Maybe he meant Beauxbatons! Have you looked there?" At this, the knight's face lit up. "Aha! My boy, I think you've got it! Beauxbatons it is! Just... damn it all, it's going to be a pain getting there." He started to hobble away into the background of his painting, muttering. "Oh, this had better be worth it. And if she's not there... well, I'm sure there's got to be a nice painting of a French maid I could bring back with me or something..."

Flint turned back to Summer, with an apologetic look, and found that he'd lost all his steam. He'd been about to blurt everything, but now he had to start over. Flint just wasn't used to laying things on people. He wasn't used to having things weigh on his mind like this. Well, nothing besides schoolwork, looming responsibility, and things that everyone else had to worry about. He was used to being the one that you could talk to, not the one that needed to talk. And Summer had admitted to feeling awful already... but looking in her eyes, he didn't know who else he wanted to talk to. Best to get it over with, right?

"I spent the summer at home because my dad's got brain cancer," he blurted quietly, feeling like he was ripping an arrow out of his chest. He looked down at his hands. "Late stages of it. He wanted to see me for a few months before...well, you know..."

His voice trailed off.

Summer Turner

Summer had poured few details out on the table for Flint because she really didn't have that much to talk about. Since they last saw each other last year, her whole entire summer was consumed with Bliss and Felix. It was weird to still have to put their names together as more than just Bliss and Felix, now it was like the whole thing meant something. Just saying their names together got her mind somewhere she felt it shouldn't go because a different person came out when the thought that her own sister had stolen the one guy she practically loved. Those feelings were long gone because of the way the relationship with the two mentioned were just thrown in her face. And then of course, she had visited her mom's burial ground like she did every summer because she didn't have time during the school year. Bliss had always went with her, but this year was different. She had decided to skip out, so she could go somewhere with Felix.

Summer felt that was the breaking point of their sisterly bond that had been so strong through the years, but now that the boy they both equally liked had picked his match Summer no longer cared to share her secrets with Bliss. Of course, this was when Summer began to wonder over the other guys on campus and immediately went to Flint. At first this was just to piss Bliss off, but when Flint was mentioned to Bliss as an option for Summer; Bliss was overjoyed at the idea that they could all hang out again like last year. That maybe Summer would warm up to Justin, which that wasn't even an option in Summer's book. She then realized that Justin was best friends with both Bliss and Flint, so she'd make some kind of effort. Crap, why did she let her mind wondered like this. She let her gaze meet with Flint's, giving him a reassuring smile. "Sorry, thoughts running wild." She said as she crossed her legs under the small table feeling her foot rub against Flint's leg. "And sorry for that." She said as she gave up on crossing her legs and returned to the position with her feet directly under her chair.

She was curious what had been on Flint's mind, so once he began to speak she felt herself repeating every word in her head, analyzing what this could be leading to. 'So I was originally going to stay with Justin over the summer again, you know, like we had planned. Only the day before school got out, Teek brought me a letter from my parents, saying that my dad--' His dad. That was as far as he had gotten when he went off into a conversation with Sir Jacen. Summer didn't bother listening to their discussion as her mind came up with some crazy ideas why his dad as involved in the story. His dad must be wanting to fix things. She was certain that was it, but then another one came to thought. No, he's probably forcing Flint to choose between magic and them. She rolled her eyes because she knew Flint would pick magic after everything his parents did to him over the years.

Once Flint's attention seemed to be back Summer, she blocked out the thoughts and prepared herself for which of her ideas were true. What came next was not expected at all? 'I spent the summer at home because my dad's got brain cancer. Late stages of it. He wanted to see me for a few months before...well, you know...' Frozen is the best word to describe the feeling that now trapped Summer in her own body. She couldn't move. She couldn't feel. She couldn't speak. She needed to do something, but she couldn't. Get yourself together! He needs you. She felt her mind screaming. She didn't know how it happened, but she felt her hands on top of Flint's. She let her thumb trace the side of his as she tried to get the words together that were best for this situation. She didn't want to ask details because she didn't want to know.

She had went through this once with her own mother, but back then it was unexpected. She was glad she didn't have to sit and think about when the day would come. "I'm so sorry, Flint." She said in stride as she somehow managed to appear beside Flint with her arms around him. It was like every movement was a blur until it was finished. "I'm so sorry." She said as she pushed back his hair, giving him a soft kiss on his forehead before kneeling beside him. "How long does he have?" She didn't want the details, but she would learn every detail as long as it meant Flint was getting it off his chest. "Is there anything we can do?" She said we because she had made an unspoken pact to be beside him through it all.

Garrett Flint

"Nah, it's not a matter of time," Flint said, his voice surprisingly steady considering the subject. "My dad'll die when he's damn well ready. Said so himself. 'Flints are tougher than anyone gives us credit for,'" he said, in a rather poor imitation of his father's deeper tone. "The doctor figured two months. That was about three months ago. I guess he was right. Still, I'm sending Teek tomorrow, to stay with them. They'll send him back with the news, when it happens."

Teek gave a low hoot from atop his bookshelf. Flint managed to crack a smile despite it all. "Heh, my dad always thought it was ridiculous to keep a bird in the house. He used to shoo Teek away whenever I tried to bring him in. That was... what, five years ago now? He used to hate Teek, but I think even they managed to repair their relationship this summer."

Hoot.

On the one hand, he felt terrible for dumping all this on Summer. She was the last person he wanted to see brought down with him. But at the same time, Flint didn't feel there was anyone else who could help him through it as well. He'd tell Justin, of course... he still felt pretty bad for ditching him at the start of summer without a reason... but he'd tell him later. After things had gotten back to normal, after he was back to his old, irrepressibly happy self. Other than that, Flint didn't think anyone needed to know.

Flint was only vaguely aware of Summer being beside him, her hands on his, her arms around him, the kiss she'd planted on his forehead. Since leaving Bliss, Flint had imagined that if he and Summer had happened to come together... that it would be much happier than this. Still, he wanted her there. He didn't think his was capable of having this talk with anyone else.

"It's fine," he said quietly, "don't worry about me. We... well, we got over our differences. I apologized for not being the son he wanted, he apologized for trying to dictate what I did with my life, and then we both called each other idiots for apologizing for anything. He's so much more like me than I ever realized. I'm his son, after all. I think life and work just sort of kept that side of him from me, but this summer he didn't have to worry about any of it, he could just let loose. I've never been that close to him in my life. And then we said our goodbyes, and that was that."

Flint was glad that he'd at least been able to repair his relationship with his father, he just wished it hadn't taken this to make it happen. Still, he couldn't help but feel that this was going to be a positive turning point in his life. He didn't plan on dampening his spirits at all, in fact, he planned to be as wild as ever. He was going to take all the good qualities he now knew his father had under the surface, and live them out every day. He was going to look out for people, be the friend that everyone needed, give people the laugh they deserved after a trying day. He just felt like he had a little more of a mature outlook on things now. He was going to love life, and make sure everyone else did, too.

"It's funny," Flint said. "First thing he said to me when I saw him was 'I bet your fancy magic can't do shit about this, can it?' 'Course, he knew the answer by just looking at me. But God, I wish there was something I could do." He managed to meet Summer's eyes, and he hoped she could see he wasn't going to let this keep him down, but rather that he was going to grow from it. "I guess I'll just have to make him proud, right? It's all I can do."

A moment passed, and then Flint sighed, feeling like a weight had been pulled off his chest. "I should probably get back. There's probably twenty giddy Vulpes girls waiting to see Teek again. Little bastard never gives them any closure, just keeps 'em hanging like that."

Hoot.

He grinned a little, giving Summer's hand a gentle squeeze.

Summer Turner

Summer could see a side of Flint she never knew existed. The way he now talked about his dad actually made her feel good that even though there would be a loss at the end of all this that they had at least mended things. She knelt there beside him listening to everything he said because she didn't want to miss anything. She didn't want to be a let down on the one thing she was good at; listening. She let a smile come on her face to show that she wasn't going to turn into a sad little girl that would make this situation harder for him by being sad. Of course, she did feel awful for him, but there was no point in being sad about a situation that couldn't be changed.

She felt her hands stay in Flint's as she just listened to him talk about the Flint men and how they were tougher than people credited them with. She laughed at the thought and spoke up. "Not enough credit? How much more do you want?" She said jokingly to show that she was attempting the lighten the mood. She found herself tossing little jokes and teases whenever she felt was a good time to throw them in. She didn't want to make complete light of the situation, but she could tell he didn't want complete darkness with it either. "He's still hanging on? That's amazing. He is proving the doctors wrong for sure." She said as she returned to the seat across from him, placing her face into her two hands. She couldn't help, but smile as she listened to Flint talk. She was glad things were better between him and his father because she knew that was something Flint always wanted.

She listened to how his dad had always hated Teek until recently, and she through in a quick remark about how 'nobody could hate that cute thing up there!' to contribute to the conversation. She didn't want Flint to feel like he was just talking about nothing, she wanted to show him that she cared about everything he was saying. When he spoke of their apologies, she shook her head at the thought of the two apologizing then telling the other not to. The little argument of who should be sorry and who should made her laugh. She liked talking to Flint like this even if it was about something so serious. She liked his attempt at making things normal again when most people would bury themselves in the pity and soak for weeks; like she did with her mother.

It had been awhile since Flint said something, so Summer gave his hand a gentle rub to see if he was okay. It seemed he had been thinking hard on something, but what he said next only made her laugh a little louder than before. 'First thing he said to me when I saw him was 'I bet your fancy magic can't do shit about this, can it?' 'Course, he knew the answer by just looking at me. But God, I wish there was something I could do.' "Flint, there is something you can do.. Be the son he now cherishes and loves, don't change." She gave a little shrug before giving him a crooked smile. 'I guess I'll just have to make him proud, right? It's all I can do.' She shook her head in disagreement. "Of course that's not all you can do. We'll figure out the rest later."

Giving Flint a reassuring smile, she looked up towards Teek studying the owl from afar. 'I should probably get back. There's probably twenty giddy Vulpes girls waiting to see Teek again. Little bastard never gives them any closure, just keeps 'em hanging like that.' Feeling the squeeze from Flint's hand, she looked back down from Teek shaking her head. "I knew he was playing me." She rolled her eyes, shaking her finger towards the bird. "Hopefully the girls are just after Teek and not you." She said before feeling her face flush. "Anyways, guess we'll head back now. God knows we can't get in trouble the first night.. Maybe the second. Maybe." She said as she stood from her chair as she lead the way out of the library.

Justin Hardy – Vulpes House

Justin was ambling along down the hallway, hands still hidden away in the pockets of his robes. His usual stride was a sort of rolling step that was actually quite entertaining to watch when he moved quickly. Aside from having quick hands, Justin had all the athletic potential of a turnip. He couldn’t fly, thanks to his crippling fear of heights, he ran like a scarecrow in the midst of a colonoscopy, and his upper body strength was about on par with a third year girl’s. He’d tried a few times over the years to bulk up a bit, to improve his stamina, but it just never took. His body had an aversion to adding muscle mass, so he’d accepted his slim profile. The boys seemed to like it well enough, so why mess with perfection?

He spotted something interesting as he passed by the open door to the library. Summer and Flint, on their way out. It took about as long to dissect their expressions and body language as it did for him to turn to face them, cocking his head to one side as he inspected them openly. Summer might not, but Flint would know exactly what Justin was doing. He segued neatly from examination to a playful grin and extracted a hand from his pocket to waggle his fingers at the pair.

”How was your summer, Summer?” He spoke the same five words to her every single year when school started up again. He delivered it like someone would a terrifically funny joke, as if the fact that she shared her name with the season that had just expired was something incredibly witty that he’d just come up with. Clearly, Emerson was a bad influence on his sense of humor.

His right eyebrow arched just so as his eyes slipped to Garrett. ”And how was yours?” He asked it a little more cagily of his friend. Not that he disliked Summer at all, but she wasn’t exactly a friend. She’d never managed to make much of an impression on him, other than being Bliss’s sister and extremely sweet.

The caginess he engaged in was right on par with the caginess that Flint had cancelled their summer plans with. It had been abrupt and suspicious, out of nowhere really, but Justin had let it go without more than an odd look. He’d been looking forward to having him around. The last summer had been one of his best, mostly because there was someone around with whom he could talk magic, and because Flint was just as adept at making mischief in the Muggle world as he was at Magus Grex. He’d been insanely curious, of course, but he trusted in either his ability to ferret out the truth or Flint telling him eventually- whichever came first.

”My mom asked after you,” he continued, his smirk still in place. Justin was by far the better mimic of the two; he had his mother’s obnoxious Boston accent and mannerisms down perfectly, even emulating her usual expression to a degree as he did his impression. ”Wheyah’s that nice boyfriend yah braught home last yee-ah?” Ever since he’d come out to his family a few years ago, any male he brought near the house or mentioned was immediately dating him or screwing him, in their minds. His mother had made a point of popping into the room they’d shared unexpectedly (Justin’s eldest younger brother was away at junior ROTC camp for most of the summer, freeing up a bed in the room they shared), as if she expected to catch them in bed, or painting each other’s fingernails, or something similarly inane. If only they had a bumper sticker for that: Proud parents of a gay wizard honor student, or something like that.

"And how was your summer, Teek?" Justin was not immune to the owl's charm. "Kept this one from getting into too much trouble, eh?" He jerked a thumb toward Flint. They seemed to be making an exit, so he didn’t bother going in. He just lingered in the hall, waiting for them to answer and join him so that they could converse on the way back to their respective dorms. He slipped the hand he’d used to wave into his messenger bag, extracting first one, and then two vials of Betterbeer in preparation of handing them off. If Summer was going to be around more often, he might as well start getting used to it, so she’d get one too.

He was practically mutilating his tongue, literally having to bite it in order to avoid saying any of the forty or so snarky things that had come to mind upon seeing one of his best friends with his exes’ (who another of his best friends was interested in) sister. Those could wait till he and Flint were alone. Things were going to be complicated this year, he decided, but probably amusing too.

"Hopefully the girls are just after Teek and not you," Summer said, to which Flint cracked a grin. "I wouldn't worry about that. I know who's important to me. And Teek's always more than willing to pull out their hair if they get any funny ideas." He raised his eyebrows at her. "And we're wiiingmen, remember?" he said, emphasizing the word to poke fun at her lame joke, "We help each other keep the bad ones away in addition to snagging the keepers."

Deciding it was best to head back now that their talk was done, the pair made their way out of the library, perhaps behaving a little more couple-ish than Flint intended. Of course he really enjoyed Summer's company, and found himself quite incapable of realizing that other girls existed when she was around, and realized how much help she could be in the days to come, but he couldn't help but want to be more cautious this time. Summer may not have had to deal with the idea of bouncing back into a relationship so soon, but Flint did. And even though Bliss seemed to be having little trouble with the idea, Flint right now was focused on making sure no one got hurt from this. It felt right, and he was willing to see where it went, he just wanted to make sure to try and take things slower this time, especially with the weight on his mind.

And there was Justin. Flint had hoped to have a good talk with him before the night was out, and he supposed he still could, but now Justin had developed impressions on the situation before Flint could even open his mouth. That, and he figured Justin wouldn't be too happy with Flint spending the majority of his first night back either alone, or with Summer, and likely was getting extremely suspicious at his friend's behavior. There wasn't much Flint could about that now.

Flint rolled his eyes at Justin's question about Summer's summer, but made no comment. In fact, he'd likely have made the same joke if he hadn't been interested in Summer, and not trying to annoy her. It was just too easy, after all.

"Complicated," he said about his own summer, and no more. He hoped Justin would leave it for the moment, though he feared that tantalizing bit would only intrigue him further. Flint did plan to fill him in, and soon, just not now, and not here, right outside the Great Hall. He grimaced at Justin's highly accurate imitation of his mother's Boston accent, practically able to see the woman before him, completely convinced that he was one hundred percent gay. But Flint was nothing if not willing to accept and be patient with people, and so he didn't mind, both Justin's mother's incorrect conclusions, and Justin's own occasional tendency to hit on him, even if he knew well his orientation.

At the mention of his name, Teek flapped around above Justin's head and hooted at him, big amber eyes gleaming in the light. He wasn't quite friendly enough with Justin to attempt perching on him without receiving permission, but it was still obvious that the owl had taken a liking to Justin, typically sharing the same friends as Flint did, even being much slower to trust as he was.

They set off back towards the common rooms, Teek moving around surprisingly stealthily above their heads, floating from perch to perch. "Oh man, you're a life saver," Flint blurted when Justin revealed the Betterbeer he'd brought, gratefully accepting one and starting work on it immediately. Though he only seemed to have brought two... Flint hoped he had already had one or something. He knew Justin had never really bonded with Summer in the past, and hoped it wouldn't be too much of a problem if things kept going the way Flint imagined they would.

"You pull off that Beauty and the Beast thing at the feast tonight?" Flint asked offhandedly. He was curious, as he couldn't help but admire the idea, always the troublemaker as he was, but he also just wanted to make sure things weren't too quiet on the way back.

Bliss Turner

Bliss had a very eventful night after her exit from the Great Hall. She had been planning on the talk with Braelyn to be rather short and to the point because she wanted to be able to catch up with everyone instead of missing out on night one drama. It seemed only seconds after she finished explaining things to Braelyn things got weird. Braelyn had started to rub her head and losing her train of thought on the conversation the two were having. Bliss managed to catch her friend in time as Braelyn collapsed on the ground. She was lucky that the courtyard was so close to the infirmary because she knew that she couldn't have made it very far with Braelyn.

Bliss had stayed by Braelyn's side for what seemed like hours as she brushed her friends hair out of her eyes, rubbing her hand when her friend would come to. She was so worried about Braelyn that she didn't even bother to think about what anybody else was doing. Her best friend was right in front of her with something wrong that even the doctors at school were having a hard time picking up on. When the doctors had finally figured out what was wrong, they quickly scurried Bliss out of the room to start treatments. Of course, they never released the actually cause for Braelyn collapsing, but told Bliss to not worry about a thing that her friend would be better in no time.

Bliss sat outside the infirmary a little longer before her curiosity took over, and she decided to go find her friends. She had yet to see Felix since the Great Hall, so she wondered if she'd be lucky enough to run into him before curfew. She made her way out through the courtyard, having a very steady pace as night had already taken full effect. She didn't like being outside so late by herself, so when she made it through the doors to the Great Hall she quickly looked back to make sure no monsters had been following her. She laughed to herself before picking out a familiar voice from around the corner; Justin. This was almost as good as finding Felix, so when she rounded the corner to spot not just Justin, but Flint and Summer she let the biggest smile appear on her face.

"Oh my gosh! All the people I wanted to see." She said as she made full pace to Justin, giving him the tightest hug. "Where have you been? Let me guess.. Your place." She said because she didn't know what to exactly call it. As soon as her eyes hit Flint, it was weird to actually feel the butterflies he had once given her appear now. "Garrett Flint." To her that was enough because she knew he knew every meaning behind his name, he knew how much she had missed him and how much she wanted to talk to him all summer, but didn't. "I've missed you." The hug she gave Flint was different than Justin's because with Flint they had shared something that Justin could never offer her. She let her arms stay around his neck until her eyes fell on Summer, who just stared towards the ground.

Wait, why is she here? Bliss let her arms fall as she looked towards her sister. "Summer.." She said as more of a question than anything. "Is the ground that nice to look at?" She said before kissing her sister on her head before wrapping her arm around the little girl's waist. "What have y'all been up to?"

---

Summer Turner

Summer had just stepped out of the library when she heard a voice she hadn't expected. Looking up to see Justin eying herself and Flint, she let her eyes focus on her feet instead of letting Justin read her face. She could only imagine the thoughts running through Justin's mind right now, and honestly she could careless what he thought because she knew the truth. She didn't plan on sticking around with the two boys because she knew they had a lot of catching up to do, but as soon as Justin acknowledged her she felt no need to run off. 'How was your summer, Summer?' Summer rolled her eyes at the attempted joke that she'd heard every year, and just shrugged. "The usual, I guess."

Hearing the exchange between the boys, Summer felt herself as more of an outside party, but didn't mind watching the two boys interact with each other. After the impersonation of his mom, Summer felt herself laughing at Justin for the first time and actually meaning it. She could only imagine what Justin's mom was actually like, so she let her mind put the woman together what she thought fit. As they walked towards the common rooms, Summer watched as Justin pulled out the two Betterbeers. She felt her face flush red as her thoughts immediately went to Justin purposely making her feel out of place, but when it was brought in her direction she felt a smile come across her face.

"Thank you, Justin." Summer had never spoken the words to him before, but she was thankful because she could see him making an effort. As she had a sip here and there, she watched their paces begin to all match until she heard her voice. Looking up to see Bliss was like being hit by a bus to Summer. She was one of the last people Summer imagined seeing, so when she watched Bliss make contact with Justin she let her eyes connect with the ground and stay there. She didn't pay attention to much until she caught sight of Bliss' arms surrounding Flint's neck. The knot that now seemed to be lodged in her throat only grew as she listened to the words passed between the two.

She wanted to disappear, but knew it was too late to run off. 'Summer..Is the ground that nice to look at?' Bliss would make a joke to lighten the mood she didn't know was so dense. "Yes, Bliss. It's the most beautiful floor in the entire world." She shot back before letting her arm repeat her sister's action connecting them by the hip. "We were just heading back to the common rooms."

Lyle Brightham – So Confused!

Lyle nodded profusely. Naire did like taking pictures, and Lyle couldn’t really get upset about how inaccessible it made him sometimes. After all, a lot of those pictures wound up in The Scrivener, and Lyle was well aware of how crucial pictures were to the success of a paper. People needed them to break up all the columns of letters and words, especially him!

He listened to her recount her summer, grinning incessantly. ”Oh, really? Where did you guys go? I don’t think I’ve ever really been hiking before. Not on purpose anyways. There was that time I got lost outside my grandpa’s house, and wound up wandering in circles for hours, but I don’t think that counts, haha!”

His eyes lit up when he spotted Vin waving, and he practically threw his arm out of socket returning the gesture. Skip and Scamp, not so fond of the mini-earthquake that his exuberance had subjected them to, made him aware of their displeasure by digging their claws in a bit, almost simultaneously. ”Yeow!” He did an awkward little dance in the aftermath of it as they scurried about, repositioning. It didn’t hurt so much as it surprised him. What had Lloyd said? Oh!

His brow knit up, lending him a bit of a resemblance to his ferret’s as suspicion showed itself on his features. Did she really think he’d go and print something secret she told him? No, she couldn’t think that, he would never! He decided she was joking, and relaxed a bit, but then she made her fairly hasty exit, barely giving him time to say good-bye himself. Huh. It didn’t make much sense. It wasn’t like she didn’t get along with Naire or his sister or Vin, as far as he knew. His tongue poked out from between his lips, a sure sign that he was thinking hard about the conundrum of his friend’s behavior.

With his teaspoon-sized attention span, Lyle didn’t have much of a chance of figuring it out with two of his best friends approaching, along with Myra, who Lyle actually found sort of intimidating, what with her being smart, and better than him at Quodpot, and a girl. ”Ohheyguys!” He said the words so fast that they sort of bled together, and even though they were nearly upon him, he darted forward to meet them, beaming. ”I was looking for you!” he exclaimed to Naire. Fortunately, they were outdoors… otherwise someone might have had to tell him to use his indoors voice. His eyes flicked from Naire to Myra to Vin, and his cheeks grew just a bit scarlet. Skip and Scamp poked their heads out of his sleeves, sensing something was up, but then quickly engaged in a tactical withdrawal when they spotted Kaplan.




”Well, you are the most complicated guy I know,” he replied to Flint with a brand of scathing dryness that the other boy would have no trouble interpreting. More or less, it said this: You’re getting off easy, boy-o, because I’m actually a little irked about the sudden cancellation and tonight's disappearing but I know you would only do it for good reason, and if you don’t want me to ruin you in front of these two girls, you’d very much better come clean before we go to bed. In a nutshell. Bliss and Summer would likely be unaware of the subtext of the tone of voice; he was a snarky bastard almost constantly, but rarely employed it with Flint. It would also probably show that Justin, in his own contrived way, was somewhat hurt by the secrecy.

Just like that, the bit of subtle moodiness passed, and he was grinning, nodding in reply to Summer, offering the Betterbeers. To Teek, he extended his free arm, offering it as a perch if the owl was so inclined. He wasn’t nearly as good at reading animals as he was people, but Cougar tended to do the same thing when he wanted to roost on the Vulpes bean-pole.

When Garrett went to quaff his vial all at once, Justin reached out and slapped him on the hand. ”Ep ep ep ep. Not the intended mode of use.” He shook his head. ”Three drops in anything but milk or orange soda; four if you’re feeling adventurous. I call it Betterbeer.” He quickly glanced between the two of them, always curious about how his branding was working out. He wasn’t about to let Flint drink it all and turn into some kind of werewolf for who-knew-how-long, but he had no qualms at all letting him grow some mutton chops. Flint could take a joke, he knew well. ”You know, you’re entirely too trusting about drinking stuff I give you. For all you know, that was magical date-rape juice.” He grinned enigmatically as he continued. ”Mmm, the musical number went well. The needs-to-get-laid club didn’t seem to approve, but overall, it was a success.”

He spotted Bliss coming towards them and upnodded to her. The plot thickens! His eyes wound up bulging as she bear-hugged him, and if Teek had alit on his arm, he would somehow manage to keep it extended so that the owl didn’t get crushed in the process. ”Woah there, She-Hulk. Happy to see you too.” He returned the embrace, one-armed and not nearly as fearsomely, and then offered her a vial of Betterbeer as well, repeating his instructions, less the four drops part. ”And I don’t know what place you’re referring to. I was out picking flowers.” He said this, of course, despite the conspicuous absence of any flowers.

He eagerly drank in the slight awkwardness of her greeting Flint and then realizing her sister was there. ”Mmmmhmm. Heading back to the common rooms,” he agreed. Again, Flint would no doubt catch the fact that Justin hadn’t mentioned anything about his just happening upon the two of them exiting the library together. ”Oh, Bliss, how was your summer? Not her,” he added, jerking a thumb towards Summer. ”You know. Your break.”

Vance Abernathy – Not Amused

The desire to physically strike Lee was almost overwhelming when he noticed a certain protuberance, but Vance had the sneaking suspicion that physical violence would have the opposite of its intended effect. Pointedly looking anywhere but at Lee, he did his best to maintain a thin smile. Bellona was particularly smug, so he had a feeling no good could come of whatever this was. A gift, she’d said in the hall. She certainly wasn’t being remotely pleasant, so it couldn’t be a token of affection that he’d have to suffer through accepting graciously. He almost wished it was. It would have been an amusing diversion to see Lee and Bellona claw at each other for a while. When she spoke so dismissively of the Beauregard, he thought his wish might very well come true.

Of course, that was before he noticed the rectangular bit of paper in her hand. An envelope. With his family’s seal. His expression didn’t change in the slightest, even as he ground his teeth together. A missive from Nevaeh, most likely, before her… accident. Even more likely, it contained some tidbit of information that didn’t gel with the story he was selling. It was the only possibility he could think of that he actively needed to worry about, but if it was indeed that…

His attention turned to Lee, in the wake of his whisper and her “request” for privacy. ”I need you to await me in my room, please, since apparently discretion abounds tonight.” His tone could scarcely have been drier, on the final phrase. Being dismissed would surely irk the saucy boy, but then of course, Vance had dismissed him to his bedchamber. He put a mental image of Lee rifling through his undergarments aside, pressing his lips into an even tighter smile. ”This shouldn’t take overly long, and then we’ll be able to speak.”

He hadn’t noticed Wahl even before the Concealing Charm; the boy might as well have been furniture, so far as Vance was concerned. With the spell in place, it would have taken a parade of acromantulas streaming toward the dumpy boy’s seat to call Vance’s attention to him. He was waiting now; waiting to see if Lee would go without a fight, and without upsetting Bellona, whom he did not want too upset at the moment. Just enough, actually, to suit his purposes.

His eyes slipped to the potentially dangerous witch. ”You know,” he drawled, slight amusement flickering in his eyes. ”The common room is an interesting choice for a private conversation. They do call it common for a reason.” Let her think he didn’t suspect anything, for now; after her haughtiness, he had to at least make a semblance of putting her in her place, lest he weaken his position if it came to a negotiation. Plus, it would go a long way towards smoothing things over with Lee for him to witness Vance returning a bit of her trademark bitchiness.

Flint totally would've downed it, too, had Justin not intervened. He was... perhaps too trusting sometimes. "What, you mean I gotta make it myself?" he said, raising his eyebrows. "This Betterbeer better beer worth it," he returned fire in deliciously punny fashion, accompanying the lame jest with a silly exaggerated wink and a finger gun from his right hand.

He was more than a little glad that they were on their way back, and talking about anything other than what he knew Justin was dying to talk about. Flint knew Justin occasionally enjoyed seeing people squirm in awkward situations, but this one would've been a little much for Flint to handle right now, with things as they were. He already felt weird enough from the hug Bliss had given him. He had hugged her back, of course, though it wasn't one of his best, and he couldn't help but crack a grin at Justin for the ridiculousness of the whole scenario while she had her arms draped around him. It was like she had gotten even closer to him ever since they mutually broke up. And then there was quite a bit of tension between the two sisters. Again he felt badly for dumping things on Summer as he had. She had wanted to help him, yeah, but he'd put her in a difficult position all the same.

Teek had gladly floated down onto Justin's offered perch, giving him a hoot in thanks before visibly narrowing his amber eyes at Bliss. Flint sighed at his owl. "Hey featherbag, where'd your manners go? You know Bliss."

He gave an unenthusiastic hoot, before turning a one-eighty on Justin's arm, to face away from Bliss. "Jeez," Flint remarked, "speaking of the needs to get laid club, Teek here's just upset because he didn't get to woo all the little first-years tonight. He'll come around."

It had been quite a long evening, all things considered. Flint was looking forward to adding three drops of milk or orange soda to the Betterbeer, downing it, and then crashing into the nearest bed. He wondered vaguely if all the others days were going to be this long this year. Surely not.

Wait... had he said anything other than milk or orange soda? He'd have to check.

Zachariah Everett

Seeing the reactions he was getting out of Priscilla made him smile because he knew he was getting to her. He was about to speak up when she excused herself, he reached out to grab her arm but barely missed. When she was out of ear shot he glanced at the other two, "I think I might have pushed her a little far that time. Excuse me guys?" He said as he jumped from his spot. "Talk to you all tomorrow. Don't forget about curfew guys.." He said as he ran off in the direction Priscilla went, as he rounded the corner he saw no sign of her. Common rooms or court yard? He chose to the first thinking she'd go straight to the common rooms.

As he pushed made his way to the common rooms, he made note of the group of students still catching up. He couldn't wait to catch up with Vance and Lee. Once he was granted access to the common rooms, he walked in to see only a few people present. Nobody he really cared to speak to, so he made his way up to the rooms. He quickly changed into something to sleep in before hearing someone downstairs. He glanced down at his attire, not caring if the few students saw him in his pajamas. He grabbed his robe, tying it around his waist before glancing around the stairs to see Priscilla on one of the couches. He didn't know if he could really talk to her right now as it was close to being curfew and actually getting everything in he wanted to say.

Right when he was about to run back up to his room, something made him stop. With one last glance down the stairs, he found himself going to her. "Priscilla.." He said before actually stepping into the light. "I'm sorry about earlier. You know I just like messing with you." He sat across the room from her, before letting his foot rest on his knee. He sat there before a few first years came rushing through like a wave. He glared at them all before they beelined it to the stairs. "I missed you if that counts." He said getting up. "Talk to tomorrow." He said as he made it up to his bed and retired for the night.

---

Summer Turner

Summer ignored most of the conversation because she felt so out of place. "Hey guys.. I think it might be time for me to get back to the common room.." She squeezed her sister's waist, before giving a quick wave to Flint and Justin. "Thanks again Justin." She said as she lifted the Betterbeer, then looking towards Flint she smiled. "Bye Flint." She said as she quickened her pace under she was clearly out of her view. She felt herself slinging her arms like crazy around the corner before gathering her composure before entering the common rooms.

Once inside, she spotted Savant and Emerson discussing something about the painting to the common rooms. "Hey guys." She said before giving each a quick hug before heading towards the stairs. "I'd love to catch up, but I'm beat. Good night!" She said as she ran up the stairs falling into bed without changing out of her clothes.

---

Bliss Turner

As Summer quickly made her exit, Bliss eyed both boys. "Did something happen?" She asked as she knew it had nothing to do with Justin. "Flint?" She said before giving him the slightest smirk. "You know whatever it is.. I'll find out eventually." She said as she snickered. After making note of Teek's reaction to her, Bliss sighed. "I think he might hate me since the break-up.." She said shrugging. "Maybe if I get him a girlfriend he'll love me again." She said with a soft laugh before letting out a small yawn. "As you all can tell, I am very tired. I have been with Braelyn most of the night. She isn't doing too well.. I will probably go check on her tomorrow morning.." She said aloud for no purpose. "Anyways, I think I'm going to go ahead and make my way to the Common Rooms. Want to go ahead and make our way there?"



OOC: Smallest post ever, sorry guys. I just can't come up with anything. I just wanted to make all of my characters have a night ending.

Garrett Flint & Justin Hardy

"See ya," Flint said in response to Summer fleeing the scene, perhaps a little awkwardly. Bliss then revealed her intent to uncover all of his secrets, to which he forced a grin, but didn't reply. Maybe last year he would have told her everything, but things had changed since then, whether she believed it or not.

"Braelyn's tough, I'm sure she'll be back up in no time," Flint said upon hearing that the Ferre girl was in the infirmary, without even knowing what was wrong with her. "And yeah, we should probably be getting back soon. It's just about curfew, I think. Wouldn't want Herve to get his beard in a twist over us, would we?" It was such a nasty beard, too.

The three Vulpes students made their way back to their common room, Flint just hoping he could get away from Bliss without anything seriously awkward happening. Once they were inside, he turned to her. "Now, I'm afraid Justin and I have some things to discuss in private," he said, his eyes flashing towards his friend momentarily. "We'll have to catch up tomorrow."

They departed Bliss's company, and Flint turned his eyes on Teek. "And you, featherbag, have long outstayed your welcome tonight. Go on, go make some friends with the first year owls or something." Teek gave him a weary hoot, before taking off from Justin and soaring out the nearest open window. On their way to the boy's dormitories, Flint and Justin were in relative privacy, but Flint still kept his voice somewhat low, and couldn't help but hope Justin did the same.

"You can take the clamp off your tongue, now."

---

“Use it in good health, and tell your friends. Remember, three drops.” That was his version of good-bye for Summer, accompanied by a crooked grin. Those devious brown eyes of his returned to his fellow Vulpes, and he arched an eyebrow at Bliss. ”What possibly could have happened?” he asked, dialing up the innocence to a solid 9. A bit of a frown tugged at his lips when he heard her relate that his bleacher-buddy was in the infirmary. He made a note to swing by; healing wasn’t exactly his thing, but if there was a potion that could help her, odds were he’d know of it.

When they made it to the common room, Justin had no choice but to remark on how easy the current riddle was. ”I mean, seriously,” he asked the painting. ”You might as well just ask people their favorite color.” Shaking his head, he sauntered along with his friends and bid Bliss goodnight when the time came. He felt a bit of relief when Flint mentioned privacy; it meant he wouldn’t have to drag it out of him, which he wasn’t really in the mood for, not tonight.

He feigned a profound sigh of relief when Flint gave him the go-ahead, as if clamping his tongue for so very long had been a great hardship. ”Well, for starters, I think what would be really impressive is if you manage to somehow date both sisters at once. Then when you mess things up and schedule two simultaneous dates like you inevitably would, I can bail you out with some Polyjuice potion and some of those silky smooth hairs of yours.” He was already reaching for Flint’s head, as if to pluck a few strands just in case. Mimicry of his mother wasn’t Justin’s only vocal talent; he was speaking in a way that he knew didn’t carry very well, tested and true in the echoing hallways of the castle. ”It would be like a sit-com, really. I’m warming to the idea already.”

Justin had been sitting on that gem since… well, approximately three seconds after he’d laid eyes on the two of them coming out of the library. A few dozen others had come to mind as well, but none of them involved referencing his Potions prowess, or tangential references to Sister, Sister. His grin was a wicked thing, but it softened now as he regarded his friend more seriously. ”It’s out of my system, promise. Now… spill. It’s in your best interest to put what I’ve been imagining you were up to this summer to rest, believe me.” The concern in his low-tone was fairly obvious.

---

"That would be something, wouldn't it?" Flint said about dating both Turner sisters at the same time. He made no motion to stop Justin if had actually wanted a few hairs from his head. "I wonder what Teek would think about that?" he pondered for a moment. "Hell, he'd probably like the Justin version of me better."

Of course things turned significantly more serious when Justin asked him about his summer, and Flint soon found his stupid grin at the thought of double-him shenanigans fading. He glanced around to ensure no nosy younglings were poking about.

"All right, I'm not talking about my feelings anymore, done enough of that for one night, but here's the short version: got a letter from home. Went home. Met up with parents. Dad's got brain cancer. Late stages. Death and doom. But I'm fine. Better even, we actually really connected for once. We're good. Yeah, I'm good."

He didn't really know what to add, or what he wanted to add.

---

Justin didn’t want his hairs, not really; it was just an extension of the joke. Or maybe he already had them? Nobody, least of all Flint, would have put it past him. There were certainly things that Justin hadn’t told him, brief disappearances for which he offered no explanation, no explanation that made sense, anyway.

His brow knit as he listened to his friend. His best friend, succinctly informing him of his father’s impending demise. There were no Potions for cancer, so what could Justin do for him? Flint hadn’t asked it, of course, but that was Justin’s immediate response to hardship: a practical solution. Something he could do to actually help beyond offering trite words of solace of a joke to bring levity that would only dwindle far too fast.

He scrutinized Flint intently, examining not him, but his claims of being alright. His features finally resolved into an understanding smile. He nodded, and clapped a hand on Flint’s shoulder. ”I’m sorry, man. But I’m glad you’re hanging in there.” His smile tugged up at the corners, and mischief danced in those brown eyes. ”You know I’m here for you, if you need to talk, or get wasted, or both. Just no kissing on the mouth.” His grip on Flint’s shoulder firmed up, and he used it to start them into the sixth year boys’ dorms.

”My summer sucked, for the record, but that isn’t entirely your fault.” What Flint needed right now, probably, was normalcy, and Justin being a bit of a self-absorbed if entirely amusing jerk was certainly normal.

---

Flint's feelings had gotten more airing tonight than perhaps in the last year. He was grateful for Justin being the rock that he was. He wasn't exactly interested in crying on his shoulder, out of fear that the others would spread nasty rumors about him. But getting wasted? That he could do. Well, assuming these Betterbeers were as powerful as he suspected. If not, he'd have to have two.

"I think we've got a cure for shitty summers right here," he said, raising the Betterbeer. "Come on, let's go see what these things can do."

Justin Hardy – Not Quite Hung-over

Justin was going to murder whomever had decided to leave the curtains on the eastern side of the room open. An unholy shaft of sunlight was pouring into the room, practically setting a spotlight on his disheveled bed and the disheveled boy who lay upon it. Justin was something of an athletic sleeper. He tossed, he turned, he got all tangled up in the sheets and wound up more often than not throwing at least half of his pillows on the floor. He opened his eyes groggily only to be blinded and let out a few grumbled curses as he flailed for a pillow and then pulled it over his face to block out the incredibly offensive light.

He shimmied and rolled off the bed, planting his bare feet on the ground and, with the pillow still protecting him from those cheerful rays, padded to the window and yanked the curtains shut with a vengeance. Doing so triggered a hazy memory of the evening before; him, incredibly drunk on Betterbeer, mincing over to the window and drawing the curtains in order to comply with a stupid dare one of the other Vulpes boys, maybe Flint, maybe… he couldn’t remember… had issued him. He’d lowered his pajama pants enough to add a second full moon to the night sky, which had resulted in hysterical, boyish laughter from everyone, including him, so if he was going to murder anyone logic dictated that he start with himself.

”Fuck logic,” Justin mumbled, tossing the pillow back onto his bed. He’d probably overdone it last night, but… well, Flint needed a drinking buddy, and he’d somehow managed to entice their usually straight-laced house mates to join in the impromptu festivities. Not quite a party, but close enough that he actually felt a note of pride as he searched his effects for his shower flip-flops and caddy. They hadn’t even used a full vial of Betterbeer, and it looked like everyone but him would be sleeping in. He smirked, shaking his head at the sight of Flint out cold on his bed, practically drooling. He took pity on him; in lieu of, say, drawing a depiction of the male genitalia on his face using a Sharpie, he rifled through his bag for a bottle of water and some aspirin and left them on his friend’s nightstand.

He spent longer than usual in the shower. He didn’t quite have a hangover, but he wasn’t a morning person on his best day. The toxins lingering in his system were slowing him down, and he liked to embrace the illusion that a nice hot shower would somehow wash them out. There was also the matter of planning the day ahead. Not classes or anything like that; he’d breeze through those. No, he needed to sort out what he was doing to win the heart of Emerson Caulfield. The fact that he was able to think about Emerson in the shower and not get, uh, distracted, was clear evidence that his feelings for the Cervus were formidable. He needed to find Fletcher, he remembered as he lingered under the spray. Felix was critical to his… scheme? Was it a scheme? He’d definitely schemed before, and while there was a lot of planning and manipulation involved, the connotation of scheme hardly seemed to fit the situation. This was… a quest. A quest for redemption. Someday, bards would sing of it!

Probably not, but, quest had a nice ring to it anyway. Not as nefarious as scheme or as clinical as project. He had to be awake, if he was having a semantics argument with himself, so that meant it was time to get dressed and face the day.

Once he’d decked himself out in a snug, worn pair of jeans and a blue and white striped polo shirt, he haphazardly dragged his robe on, secured his wand and messenger bag, and set out. He needed breakfast, badly. Between enchanting the table service, delivering his gift to Em, and seeing to his hidey-hole, he’d barely had time to eat last night. His stomach, angry at him for the assault on its lining, rumbled furiously. Getting some food in it would help soak up the last of the booze, as well.

He pushed into the Great Hall wearing a thoughtful smirk and headed straight for the Vulpes table. A quick appraisal indicated that Victor and Teiver were chatting it up, and there was Myra, reading for a change. There were a few others scattered around the room, but Justin was apparently the vanguard for the hungry masses who didn’t get up way too early. He checked out the Cervus table for Em and the Ferre table for Felix, but apparently he’d have to make do with his house-mates for the time being.

”Morning Boris, Natasha.” He sounded a lot more falsely cheerful than he expected, given how much grogginess remained even after his shower. His salutations were of course directed at Victor and Teiver. Neither of them were at the top of Justin’s “trust-worthy people” ledger, though Teiver was more mysterious than insidious. He actually liked her, maybe even respected her a little, but unfortunately, she was friends with Calza, which meant she often wound up caught in the flak of his insults. He adopted a simply horrible Russian accent as he continued. ”How ees go-ink diabolical plan to catch moose-and-squirrel?” He actually stopped, more to be annoying than anything else, and made a show of leaning over to peer at what he knew, without bothering to actually look, to be star charts. Come to think of it, he hadn’t seen Victor at dinner, or in the common room after dinner. Teiver was always skulking about, so her hasty exit was no surprise, but Victor’s absence…

He’d need more information before he’d be able to engage in any worthwhile deductions. The older boy looked tired, haggard, even more so than usual. Had he even slept? Justin’s features didn’t betray his curiosity in the slightest. They were still fixed in his usual devilish smirk as he stood up straight again, bored with the pretense of checking out Teiver’s chart. Her best friend the cat was of course underfoot, and Justin gave Garrison a little mock-salute. Like most of the Vulpes, he was well-aware that Teiver actually talked to the feline, and so he tended to treat it a bit more like a person than he did an animal. Probably one of the few reasons Teiver hadn't yet taken Victor's side in the cold-war the two had been enmeshed in for the past few years.

Teiver had always been quite understanding of Victor's dedication to his family. And by understanding, he meant she usually just didn't press him on the subject. Which was totally fine with Victor. Probably better if she didn't get involved, considering what he suspected he was being dragged into. Their respective backgrounds were easily their greatest differences. She was from the mountains in Colorado, growing up away from civilization, to a wizard father and a muggle mother. Victor had been born in a city in Massachusetts, to a pair of pureblooded wizards, in an extremely long line of historically pureblooded wizards. Victor found that discussing his family with Teiver just made him feel unhappier, because he couldn't help but feel that she didn't approve of something. Of his father, his brother, of Victor and his devotion to them. Something.

But she couldn't understand, coming from her family. She didn't understand the sheer pressure he had been faced with growing up, pressure which was reaching a climax this year. Or so he hoped.

He was actually glad Teiver hadn't accepted his offer to deal with Pollack; with his current lack of sleep, he found himself to be easily irritable. He was likely to do something he'd regret if he forced himself to confront Pollack today. And then, right on cue, his easily irritable self kicked in upon hearing a voice he was very much hoping to avoid hearing, which was then twisted into an abysmal Russian accent. Victor closed his eyes, and sighed through his nose, doing his absolute best to remain calm. He sorely did not want to deal with Hardy right now. Forcing himself to look at him, Victor picked up on the effects of a minor hangover. Which meant that sidekick of his, Flint, was probably hiding in his bed from the sun. For some reason, Victor had chosen to remember that Flint had been historically poor at handling liquor. The curse of having excellent memory, he supposed.

"Couldn't hurt," Victor said about the use of the jelly-brain hex on Justin. He noted that her wand was in her hand. His own was in his sleeve, hidden from sight, but also angled at Justin as Victor leaned back against the table, facing towards the sixth-year. "Maybe it would even get his priorities straightened out."

Garrison made a move at Teiver's command, making his way on top of Justin. Victor loved that cat. Believing fully that Teiver was about to try something, Victor slid his wand into his grip while the cat was sinking teeth into Hardy's hand. He didn't feel tired anymore, that was for sure. And while he didn't feel like making a scene in the Great Hall, unlike those obnoxious idiots that had passed through recently, he would certainly be willing to assist Teiver against Hardy. Anyone else might have made him think twice. But not Hardy.

Of course, being without sleep made one slower to react, and so Victor too found his gaze fixated on Garrison as Teiver subtly cast her spell.

---

Garrett Flint

No...

No. No. No. No. No. Nope.

He wasn't doing it. Not getting up. He'd missed the feast last night, preferring to alone for once. Taught him right. He hadn't gotten much to eat, and the Betterbeer had kicked his ass. Totally worth it, of course, and they'd even got quite a few fellow foxes to join in, but this really sucked right now.

Flint groaned dramatically, thrashing about in his blankets momentarily before deciding that was too tiring. He squinted through the light at whatever had been placed on the nightstand next to him. His vision was blurry, and he tried to shake it from his head, but just ended up groaning in pain from the headache. He squinted again, recognizing the shape of pills and a water bottle. Immediately he suspected a trap... but then he remembered the long discussions he and Justin had had about their summers last night, and figured that it wasn't likely for Justin to be playing pranks on him just yet. Soon, of course, but not yet. Also, Flint had a feeling he was poor sport. He was too easy sometimes. Justin needed a challenge to satisfy him.

Holding the first pill about three inches from his one open eye, Flint screwed up his face and squinted like a moron at the pill, determining that it was aspirin. Yeah, that would do nicely right now. After sniffing the water bottle, and the water inside, and deciding that it was safe, Flint downed the pills, awkwardly screwed the cap back on the bottle, and smashed his face back into his pillow.

Screw breakfast.

Victor Calza

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

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

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

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

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

It was so good to be back.