Aidan Zeller's Story

The first class of the year had been slow for most of Orion’s students, with everyone trying to ease their way back into the beat of school. The teachers, of course, had other ideas than to take it slow, and while some students moaned about the homework that was already being set, others looked forward to expanding their mind. Those who were still in holiday mode quickly settled in to the rhythm of class. That first class flowed into the second class, which then became the third, until a whole week had passed and to most students it felt like they had never left. That first week became two, and before anyone knew it almost a month had gone by since school started.

It’s now been three and a half weeks since the ships docked in the bay, and while many people in the northern hemisphere are pulling out the extra blankets, the southern half of the globe is happily in the midst of spring. Orion looks magnificent in any weather, but it practically glows in spring. Wild flowers sprout up around the edges of the forest, and more often than not bright coloured petals can be found decorating the waters of the magical waterfalls that send down buckets of liquid on unsuspecting students. The baby unicorns have been seen wobbling about the school lawn from the windows, while a pod of bottle-nose dolphins spent the last week playing with the taniwha, Moe, in the harbour.

Of course, none of that is quite as exciting as the prospect of the first trip to Mākutu, the magical village which shares the island with Orion. For those old enough to attend this trip was long awaited. Mākutu is always a treat, no matter how many times one has visited. Nestled on the other side of the island and only a short walk through the forest, it consists of a small collection of stores that sell everything from magical and muggle treats to spell books and novels. Most, if not all, of the stores can be found along the main thoroughfare, with the houses of the residents either occupying the upper storeys of the buildings or snuggled behind. In the centre of the town is a quaint square or cobblestones. A statue in the middle of the square depicts a tall, broad shoulder man of Polynesian descent with a wand in one hand and a magical compass in the other. As the plaque beneath his effigy read, the figure is the Mākutu, the wizard who found and settled the island centuries ago. His gaze fixes on some spot in the distance, as if seeking out his next adventure.

For many, their sights are usually fixed on the Honey Pot, an adorable café by day, and quaint bar by night. It’s here you’ll usually find students and islanders alike taking shelter from the rain, or merely stopping by to try their island-famous honey mead. Praised as the nectar of the gods, or the lovers’ drink (usually only by those who have had several more than they should), it will warm your belly and soothe your worries. It should be noted that students are forbidden from consuming alcohol in the village, though light beverages like butterbeer are allowed to the older students. Thankfully, the Honey Pot offers delicious non-alcoholic alternatives for the younger students, and their hot chocolates are divine. Though, if you’re an inquisitive student or know the right people to ask, you might find your way to the outskirts of the village where the Rusty Ship Wreck stands. While it isn’t a ship, the dingy pub is rather rusty, and locals have taken to calling it ‘the Wreck’ for short. Here, if you’re discrete and don’t irk the owner, a student can purchase and enjoy almost any beverage he or she desires.

It is places like these that have the third years buzzing with excitement as they wait by the school’s main doors to be officially allowed out. It’s their first year being able to explore the town, and most have made sure that they’ll have the whole Saturday to do so, their eagerness seeing them rise early for breakfast when for most a Saturday normally calls for a lazy morning. The older students, most of whom find the pull of the town less consuming, are still all likely to indulge in a trip through the woods. Why not? It’s a chance to stretch your legs, stock up on unhealthy, sugared goods, and possibly share a virgin honey mead with your crush (legend has it sharing the drink brings a couple closer). So, though the third years jump in excitement, they aren’t the only ones waiting for Professor Li and Professor Patel to start ticking off names and allowing students to leave.

Permissions have to be checked, particularly for the third years, but eventually the students are allowed out, and in no time Orion’s pupils are streaming into the village. There is no uniform needed to be worn today, so many of the students wear their own clothes, of which vary between the mundane and decidedly muggle, to the odd and hilarious. No ignorant muggle would be able to walk through the village without stopping in their tracks to gawp at one student, at least. Thankfully, no muggle has ever stepped into the village in living record, which is reassuring for the islanders. Of course, had our protagonists known about the series of events that begin to unfold on this inauspicious day, perhaps they too would have wished never to step foot in Mākutu.

There's something so undeniably comforting about The Honey Pot. The cafe has always been one of Adie's favourite attractions in Mākutu. She still remembers her first trip to the village where the girl had become instantly enamoured with the cafe, no doubt attracted by the tempting smell of fresh pastries, and delectable treats. There's always a warm, welcoming light spilling out from the cottage-type windows - no matter the weather outside -, and bright flowers boarding either side of the door. It's hard to walk by the cafe without stopping and peeking inside. It's rarely empty, even early in the morning, and it's patrons always seem to feed off the same cosy happiness the cafe exudes. It's uncommon to find a customer frowning for long.

Inside its even easier to see why the cafe is so popular. Paintings of happy plump witches and wizards line the walls, the subjects of the portraits often found at the large painting of a dinner party enjoying the two dimensional cakes and tarts set out. A warm fire burns in the corner during the winter months, though currently it's empty of any flame or wood. What it does have, decorating the mantelpiece, is a collection of cheerful gnome figurines scoffing their faces with various types of food. Though Adie has only seen pictures in books of actual garden gnomes, she thinks the figurines are startlingly life like. The witch is sure she's seen the figurines move out of the corner of her eye, only to turn and find them stock still with a little, devilish grin spread across their rosy cheeks.

Aside from the pleasant and sometimes intriguing decorations, there's definitely a homey aspect about the cafe. While the front portion of the cafe boasts wooden tables and chairs enough to seat their customers, the back is filled with cozy crannies and couches decorated with doilies. It's common to find small groups of students or couples making use of the couches, especially when the weather outside is particularly unpleasant. Adie would have taken herself straight to her favourite corner couch had it not unfortunately been occupied by a pair of canoodling fourth years. Instead the Australian witch had found herself a table by the windows, which fortunately meant there was enough room for when her friends arrived.

No sooner had Adie wished for a friend to arrive and keep her company, than a familiar head of blonde curls enters the cosy coffee shop, the chiming of the entrance bell heralding Emma's arrival. Adie's eyes follow her friend's movements, waiting patiently at her table for Emma to order her drink before winding her way through the tables to reach her side. As with everyone who had passed through in the time Adie has been sitting there, at the next table the old wizard's flowery hair ornaments give Emma sleepy waves of their leaves. Adie giggles once more before giving her friend and fellow house mate a welcome smile.

"Hiya Em!" Adie greets her cheerfully, pulling her bags of purchases closer to her own chair to give Emma room. Emma seems rather excited about something, and as her fellow Phoenicis witch takes her seat, Adie is asked to guess what just happened. Immediately stumped - because really, anything could have happened - Adie gives a slight shrug of her shoulders. "Oh gosh, if I actually have to guess we're going to be here for a while." she admits, wrinkling her nose as she racks her mind for what Emma's exciting news might be. There's a number of possibilities and Adie decides to play it safe by making her guesses as general as possible.

"Is it something to do with quidditch? School? A boy?!" Adie's last guess has the brunette leaning forward with a mischievous grin on her face, hoping that Emma's news is in fact in regard to a member of the opposite sex. However, before Adeline can pry the information from her friend, the pair are joined by Aidan and Mac.

Adie greets them both with friendly smiles, pleased that her wish for friends offered up not one, but three close acquaintances. Of course, that smile quickly turns to indignation as Aidan pulls her hot chocolate towards himself, a disgruntled cry of "Thief!" leaving her lips as her drink is pulled away from her. Adie may have the fast reflexes of a skilled seeker, but even she's no match for Aidan when he's got his eyes on food - or in this case her delicious hot chocolate. She watches mournfully as the young wizard slurps up a delicious portion of the ever-changing sprinkles, already grieving the loss of them. Though, she is partially soothed when the sudden appearance of their waitress sees Aidan almost fall off his chair, and she bites back a snort of amusement. Making use of his distraction, Adie quickly pulls the hot chocolate back towards herself, one hand protectively holding the glass least Aidan attempt to rob her again.

However, Adie isn't one to hold a grudge, especially when it's towards Aidan and only regarding a small sip of her drink. Especially when she hears Aidan's order and already knows that she'll take full advantage of his food by sampling the nachos. Her interested is also piqued at the mention of this travelling merchant. Relinquishing her grip on her hot chocolate, Adie leans forward too, eyes wide in interest as she replies. "You think he has a potion to slow down time for a couple of hours? That would come in useful before exams started." The girl can only dream of such a potion existing, let alone her being able to use it. She's sure there would be all sorts of crazy restrictions on a potion like that. Though, as she's leaning back against her seat another thought comes to her, and Adie breaks out into a grin as she adds, "Or even a potion that will convince a crazy quidditch captain to stop organising dawn practice sessions." Amused eyes dart across the table to Aidan, and Adie pokes her tongue out when she catches his gaze.

Truth be told, it is most likely merely Adie being stubborn that keeps her grumbling before their early morning quidditch practices. After all, she had been able to pull herself out of bed without a word of complaint this morning. Admittedly it hadn't been the crack of dawn, but she could probably handle the early rise if she were to go to bed earlier than she usually did. Despite lights out officially being at 10 pm, Adie had early on discovered the unquestionable practicality of being able to cast a small, light-blocking spell around her four poster bed and then illuminate a book with her wand. This meant that her eyes usually didn't fall shut until closer to midnight.

"Though I hope the merchant isn't another fraudster. Didn't Hector Windley purchase an apparent luck potion last year only to end up with donkey ears for a week?" Adie hides a giggle behind her hand as she remembers Hector's face whenever she'd walked past him in the hallway. The Draconis wizard had worn large hats in an attempt to hide his temporary affliction whenever he'd left the safety of the Draconis common room or the infirmary. Luckily for him it had been the end of the year when most students were studying hard for exams, Hector included who was taking his 7th year N.E.W.Ts. Still, Adie didn't fancy walking around for a week with any kind of ears other than her own growing from her head.

Afternoons like this had to be one of Emma's favourite parts of attending Orion. Before she could do anything except nod in response to Adie's guess, Aidan appeared, swiping Adie's hot chocolate from under her nose. Emma laughed at Adie's reaction while pulling her drink closer to herself. Now that Aidan was here, nothing was safe. She was glad that the bags containing the sweets were under the table, out of his reach.

Even Emma jumped as the waitress appeared- but it was nothing compared to Aidan's reaction. He almost fell off his chair, and she laughed, taking a mouthful out of her drink. It felt strange to think that Aidan wouldn't be around next year. His hulking mass was a constant part of the school, much like the ghosts, the talking paintings or the magnificent food. Whoever the new captain would be would have a lot to live up to.

Her eyes gleamed at the thought of strange, forbidden potions. Of course, the vast, vast majority of them weren't legitimate, but every so often, one came into town that was. You had to take the donkey ears with the liquid luck, the canaries with the love potions, and the green skin with the stay awake potions. Most students were cautious about these kinds of things- but the closer it got to exams, the more frequent these things became as students became desperate. With the exception of the love potion, obviously. Those incidents peaked around Valentine's Day for obvious reasons.

She laughed at Adie's comments about the potions. "We'd have to pool our resources to get enough of that potion to work on Aidan," she remarked, shrugging a little. "It'd be easy enough to get it into him, though. Just put it into any form of food and, bam, drugged Quidditch captain," she said, glancing over at their captain with a grin.

"Oh my god, yeah, I forgot about that. Did it wear off in the end? I don't remember his ears going back to normal at any point," she mused, before taking another mouthful out of her drink. She'd decided that if she took her hands away from it at any point, it was at risk of being taken by Aidan. And so, she was keeping her hands wrapped firmly around it. Liquid luck was, of course, banned for Quidditch, but for every day class and exams, it was fair game. And some days, you really just needed a bit of luck. It was that which called to her more than anything. Some people insisted that there was no such thing as luck, that everything came about as a result of what you had done and the work you put in. But the Wizarding World had proved otherwise- by taking luck, and putting it into a bottle. Literally.

In the swift, relentless fluidity of time, Leo found himself unable to escape the rapid currents of fleeting moments which encompassed the ephemeral weeks. In such time, the slight ache of longing he had experienced during his time away from Orion had been remedied by the natural rhythm of Orion that he easily slipped into. The young wizard's days were once again infused with the familiarity of unsuspecting first years being doused by indiscriminate waterfalls, the occasional commotion caused by the dueling knight's armor in the hallways, and the look of utter exasperation on Professor Nathan's face every time Leo accidentally caused a mishap in his class. To the latter, Leo solemnly regarded his ungainly hands as traitors for their lack of control and he sulked at the inevitability of his potions grade being as poor as it has been for the past six years. Regardless, the young English-Chinese wizard continued his days at school happily.

A little less than a month had passed since very first day back at Orion, and at last he was greeted by the wonderful vibrancy of spring. He deemed its absence as a disappointment, for it was perhaps his most favorite season. Leo favored how the new season brought a certain life to the land, with lush green carpets of grass heralding the dawn of a refreshing term. Its appearance would soon be followed by the blooming of flowers in a magnificent splendor of striking colors, as well as the unfurling of the fresh finery of trees. Leo would even describe the air as different- warm, light on the tongue, and not to mention wonderfully fragrant, giving off an earthy, slightly honeyed aroma. That being said, the pleasant attack on his senses meant that he was either spending as much of his time outdoors as he could, or staring longingly out of the classroom windows towards a brighter sight.

While year after year some students disregard what Leo thinks of as the best part of spring, his own heart sung with elation at the reappearances of the wee, wobbly-legged things known as the unicorn foals. They were perhaps a bit strange looking to some with their too long legs and stout torsos, stumbling about as they tried to gain control of their quivering limbs, but Leo didn't hesitate to coo. His knowledge of the attract equine creatures equipped him with the understanding that unicorns were more trusting of women, preferring their company over the company of men, and their weariness of men disappointed Leo greatly. Leo has long since learned of their distaste in males, the memory of getting kicked in the stomach still causing him to wince. On the other hand, to Leo's delight, the young unicorns provided a little leeway, displaying less distrust in men than the older unicorns. Leo was proud to say that one particularly runty unicorn had curiously sniffed at his outstretched fingertips before sneezing and galloping away.

The fond memory caused Leo to giggle in happiness, a feeling of warmth filling his stomach at the recollection, but his daydream was disrupted when he suddenly collided with a solid figure. While Leo stumbled about, trying to regain his footing, a loud squawk surfaced from the witch or wizard he had crashed into. "Why, you!" a harsh, grating tone of voice hit his ears, emerging from the mouth of the woman he had just bumped into. Though Leo wasn't one to judge a book by its cover, the best word he would utilize to describe this woman is homely; dressed head to toe in heavy black robes that seemed entirely out of season, given the good weather, they hung unsuitably loose on her thin, skeletal body. She was perhaps on the cusp of old age, emerging out of her middle aged era and the salt and pepper of her stringy hair was a direct indication. Her face, leathery and soiled with what looked to be soot, housed haunting eyes and a long, beak-like nose which bubbled with a wart at the tip.

"Where are your manners?" Leo scolded himself sullenly. He began his apology with his signature slow, lolling manner, "Pardon me, mis-" His words came to a grinding halt when a sudden white-hot pain assaulted the right side of his head. Curiously enough, two winces sounded in the air, one of which belonging to Leo and the other to what sounded to be a female. Shrill and orotund, it wasn't a voice that belonged to the old woman. Unable to collect his wits, Leo's hand quickly shot up to rub at the newly-formed ache and his gaze turned to the old witch with wide eyes.

"The nerve of young men these days!" The witch hissed at him, her upper lip drawn up in a snarl only to reveal an empty gap where a tooth must have once been. "They can barely control themselves in the presence of a beautiful woman such as myself! What happened to the days when men had the decency to keep their hands to themselves? Look but not touch? Have some respect, boy!" While Leo struggled to keep up with the rapid-fire words that were spewing out of the woman's mouth at an alarming pace, his eyes came to rest upon both the source of his pain and the source of the mystery voice.

The raving witch's bony, spindly fingers were wrapped around a long walking stick- about as tall as the woman herself- as it dug into the ground. It was ugly and roughly crafted, twisted and full of grooves all the way from its thin bottom to its bulbous top. It perhaps had some sort of magical use, Leo guessed. The curious thing about the rugged walking stick, however, was its currently howling adornment that was wrapped around the top of it by weathered leather straps: a small, female shrunken head that dangled about helplessly as the old woman waved the stick around in Leo's face.

When it spoke, the voice featured a thick Jamaican accent, "Stop shaking me about, Doris, you old hag!" The old woman gasped, halting her incessant shaking in Leo's face to bring the leathery shrunken head up to her own face.

"What did you just call me? An old hag!?" The shrunken head snorted.

"That is exactly what I said! It looks like you have to get your hearing checked, Doris. You seem to be losing it at your old age!" The shrunken head continued, while the woman- Doris- sputtered. "And leave the poor boy alone. Beautiful woman? Don't make me laugh."

"How dare you say that to me, you pea-brained pate!" Doris shrieked and was now resorting back to waving her walking stick around in the air, the shrunken head yelling insults as it was flung about carelessly. The young Chinese wizard wondered briefly if he should interject, attempt to apologize again or pacify the situation, but his efforts were thwarted when his voice was drowned out by the argument. Instead, Leo started to slowly wander away from the fight just as Doris was threatening to sell the shrunken head off to a witch doctor. The exchange had been brief, but it had shaken Leo awake from his daydreaming stupor and he now recognized that he was in the midst of the one and only Mākutu Village.

As he walked from the more barren alleyways of the small village and into its midst, it because apparent that most students had decided to make use of their visitation day and Mākutu was as lively as ever. Islanders and students alike joined in in the hustle and bustle of that day, crowding the streets. Students were eagerly walking about in their regular attire, surely happy to be our of their robes and into a tee shirt and trousers for a change. Leo himself had traded his uniform for a blue button up and black trousers. At first Leo continued to follow the trend of his classmates, popping in and out of stores and browsing excitedly at the store's wares. A couple of his fellow Pegasi's even stopped to say hello to him. Regardless, he didn't end up buying anything. Not officially, anyway, because he did have to pay for the crystal ball that he had accidentally dropped and shattered.

His swift journey eventually led him to the infamous cafe The Honey Pot, a local favorite of all the students at Orion. It was a quaint place, warm and inviting with its promises of a place to eat, relax, and get away from the general chaos of the day. While Leo's mouth watered at the thought of The Honey Pot's freshly baked Cauldron Cakes, his most favorite aspect of the little cafe would have to be the funny little gnome figurines which decorated the establishment. He liked the gnome who held a custard pie high above his head, half eaten as his beard was littered with crumbs, because it had winked at him once. While the gnome hasn't done it again, Leo has made it a habit to wink at the little gnome every time he passes by.

He didn't forget to do so this time around either, winking at the gnome holding the custard pie shortly after entering the little shop. It gazed soullessly into his face, glassy eyes unmoving. Leo was sure that he'd wink at him again one day. Still, Leo smiled at it and silently wished him good day before turning towards the open space of the cafe with the intention of finding himself a seat. That is, until a couple of familiar voices caught his attention, one of which undoubtedly belonging to his best friend.

His suspicions were confirmed as his gaze came to rest upon a group of friends chatting happily with one another at a table; they were all members of the house Phoenicis in which Leo had a degree of recognition. He could identify the handsome features of Orion's infamous Aidan Zeller, the pretty golden locks of McKenna James, and the impressive mass of curls that had to belong to Emma Quinn. However, the witch that brought a smile to Leo's face was giggling cutely, a hand covering her mouth and Leo was eager to chat with best friend Adeline, though it hadn't exactly been long since he'd last done so. Gathering himself, Leo ventured towards the group, catching the tail-end of the current conversation as Emma was saying, "I forgot about that. Did it wear off in the end? I don't remember his ears going back to normal at any point."

Leo didn't know who's ears did what, but he didn't dote on it as he silently came up behind Adie and wrapped an arm around her shoulders in a lazy hug. Now happily draped over the girl, he spoke. "Hi, Adie." He smiled dopily. As a second thought he turned to the table, smile growing to a grin, and nodded at the other three, "and Adie's friends."

“I don’t remember seeing him after that, but Cora Fairfield bought her potion from the same guy supposedly, and her tail disappeared after about a week," Mac replied as Leo appeared with a typically dreamy greeting. Emma gave a small salute to him, before her attention was drawn to a pair of fourth years, talking about something to do with Quidditch. She nearly choked on her drink as she heard her own name mentioned. Somebody had made them into trading cards? Well, that was new. And would most definitely be of use if she wanted to try out for any professional teams. She just hoped that the shot of her was flattering, because she was pretty sure that she pulled some strange expressions while playing, particularly while swinging the bat.

Aidan actually did choke on his Butterbeer as somebody mentioned something about him being attractive, and Emma had to press her fist to her lips to stop herself from laughing. Poor old modest Aidan. Emma chose not to comment as he attempted to recover, focusing on the girls' conversation. But it moved away from the trading cards and on to some cute wizard in their year. Meanwhile, Aidan wolfed down his needy nachos. Despite how good they tasted, their constant moaning and whining was too much for Emma to endure. They didn't last long enough to get out more than maybe three complaints when Aidan was eating them. They got out two on this particular occasion, when he was trying to shut them up and distract himself.

She rolled her eyes at his joke, not even gracing it with a laugh as she took a mouthful of her drink. Bad, often distasteful jokes were generally a bad way to try and break the silence, because an even more awkward silence resulted. Eventually, he said- still not meeting her eyes- that Hector's ears were back to normal, and then asked Mac what she had in her hand. Emma gave Adie a nudge and indicated the pair of girls with her hands.

"Wonder what we'd get for the actual Aidan Zeller," she muttered behind her hand, grinning. "That'd be one way to get out of early morning trainings." She looked over at Leo. "What about you, Leo? Have you got any of our trading cards yet? They might be worth something in a few years," she remarked, grinning. She really wanted to go and find this potions merchant now, see if he had anything interesting. She'd have to recruit a Centaurus to test it and make sure that it was actually safe to drink and that she wasn't going to end up with cat whiskers or blue skin or anything like that.

She crossed her feet under the table as she glanced out the window, playing with her hair. She'd really thought that they were going to go seek out that mysterious person as soon as Aidan was finished eating, but now other conversations had struck up. Maybe she'd have to sneak away and go check it out herself. As long as the wizard wasn't a dementor in disguise, she'd be fine. Or would she? Would she be able to hold her ground in a duel if the wizard started fighting? She could do it in duelling club, but that wasn't the same as in real life. Should she go and hope for a fight to see if she could do it? But what if she couldn't? Should she bring someone along? But what if they got hurt as a result of her failing? Maybe not. Maybe she should just stay here and out of trouble.

Will didn't comment as Mair started to babble, still smiling. She kept losing her train of thought, and she kept apologising for what she was saying, and clarifying it, and apologising again.

"Just ignore me! Sorry for coughing in your face... and making your face wet... and taking up your space..." She said, starting to dab at his face before pulling away abruptly. He raised an eyebrow, wiping the rest of his own face. He was about to say something, but she continued talking.

"Wow. I should go. Just forget this happened. Ok? Ok." He laughed a little, taking her arm to shop her from walking away. "If you'd give me a second to get a word in edgeways, I could actually reply and you wouldn't have to apologise so much. I wasn't actually studying, I was checking out the books. And I never mind pranks by you, Mair," he said, smiling at her. "There's pranks that are funny, like that one, and then there are pranks that are just plain annoying. That was a funny one," he said, shrugging a little.

He couldn't honestly be mad at Mair. It was pretty damn obvious that she hadn't meant any harm by it. And even if he had been mad, her continuous apologies and babbling was much too endearing to continue being mad. Being angry wouldn't be fair to her- and as short tempered and irritable as he could be, she was the one person that she could never be mad at. She meant that he never got too far behind on notes when he fell asleep, and that meant a lot. Even if he only used them once and they were then used as scrap paper to write stuff on. She didn't just write them down, either- she made sure they were laid out in a way that made sense. Will probably would have made sense of it anyway- after all, he frequently made sense of his 3 AM scribblings- but he still appreciated in.

"But if you're so set on going to the Honey Pot, then I'd like to go with you. Alternatively, we could go for a walk or something. I just want to pick this up," he said, holding up the book he'd dropped before. It actually had stuff he hadn't read before in it, and he felt like it would be a worthwhile purchase. It would definitely be one he'd be leaving in the common room after he left, because if he could learn from it, then everyone else would too.

There's a reason that Adeline Butler loves spring. Firstly, it's the sun's first proper reappearance since withdrawing behind the thick, grey storm clouds that usually obscure winter skies. Those fresh rays of light may not bare the same heat as summer's rays, but they're enough to have the young witch eagerly tipping her face into the warmth with full lips stretched into a happy smile. There's also freshly blooming flowers to paint the landscape with a tempting palette of colours, a cacophony of new bird song, and this year the delightful sight of unicorn foals tottering around on long legs. Though Adie has never felt at ease around any horse-like creature, even she can't deny how utterly adorable the baby unicorns look. For all that, there's something else Adie loves about spring more; the fact that it means summer is on the way. She's a summer child beyond a doubt and always craves the heat of summer when confined to the chill of winter. Spring takes her one step closer to her favourite month, and Adie can't wait.

Of course, though it may not be summer just yet, Adie has nothing to complain about as she smiles around the table at her friends. Adie has always considered it lucky that she was placed into the same house as these three. She's been friends with Mac and Emma practically since their first year, and after five years of sharing a dormitory and classes with them, Adie's convinced she's made friends for life. Aidan may be in the year above, but she's just as close with him. The girl still breaks into a bright grin at the memory of the time she tricked him into eating a vegemite sandwich.

Hearing her three friends laughing and joking around the table is enough to make Adie's day. Even make up for the fact that half her every-changing sprinkles are currently being digested in Aidan's bottomless stomach. Emma's laugh is contagious and Adie joins in, grinning as Emma plots ways of drugging their friend and insane quidditch captain. Then Mac is reminding the table of Cora Fairfield's temporary tail, which elicits another giggle from the brunette. She's about to ask if the potion merchant was ever caught when a long arm wraps itself around her shoulders in a warm embrace. Adie's already guessed at the identity of the hugger and is turning her head with a happy smile on her face when Leo utters his greeting.

"Leo!" Adie chirps excitedly, half turning in her chair to see the Pegasi wizard, one of her own hands coming up to hold onto his arm in a small attempt at a hug. Their first proper hug of the day will have to wait until they're outside. That dreamy smile decorating his lips is one Adie has come to love about her friend. She still remembers that smile from the first time they met, back when Adie had been a shrimp of a first year, and Leo a knowledgeable second year. Or at least that's what Adie had thought upon bumping into him in the corridor and asking for directions to her next class. Somehow the pair had ended up even more lost than Adie had been in the first place, but Adie hadn't minded particularly as she had been having too much fun with little Leo. The appearance of a waterfall had seen them both bathed in luminescent water, the soaking happening in seconds as the waterfall had passed over them on its way down the corridor. Adie still remembers the giggling and amusement that had ensued as the potion in the water had suddenly pulled their feet from the solid ground until they were floating in the middle of the corridor. While Adie might have missed that class, she had gone to sleep that night convinced that she'd made another friend. Five years later and there's no doubt that she was right.

"Come take a seat Leo!" Adie insists, nodding to the chair Mac was patting. It's only then that she hears the talk of the quidditch card girls, and Adie's smile grows into a smirk as Aidan almost spits out his butterbeer at the shock. Apparently Aidan's method for dealing with students arguing over quidditch cards in his image is to scoff down his food in a single go. Adie watches as Aidan makes fast work of the food, only noticing now the already demolished plate of chicken purma. Only when the muffled screams of the nachos have disappeared do Adie's eyes shift back up to Aidan. He breaks the silence that follows with an awkward joke, made possibly worse by the expression on his face. Adie doesn't know whether to laugh or offer him a comforting pat on the shoulder and tell him he tried. Thankfully, Aidan works to break the silence again by turning first to Emma, and then to Mac as he makes conversation.

Adie's attention is drawn back to Emma as her peer nudges her, and Adie grins at the joke. "What would the real Aidan Zeller be worth?" Adie contemplates, her tone amused as she steals a gaze at the wizard in question before turning back to Emma, "He'd probably be worth a whole lot more if he didn't eat so much food. He'd eat them out of house and home before they could even think to trade him back." Adie laughs at the thought. Though she's joking, the empty plates sitting in front of Aidan offer proof that there is some truth to the matter.

Though, as her mind turns from quidditch cards to quidditch games Adie's thoughts are immediately pulled to a fortnight from now. The first school game of the season is scheduled for the second coming Friday, and as luck would have it, it's Phoenicis versus Draconis. That will certainly be a good game. "I would definitely advise collecting the Phoenicis team cards." Adie chimes in with a smile at Leo, "After we wipe the floor with Draconis everybody will want our cards." Well, Adie certainly hopes that her confidence will prove true. She would hate to lose the first game of the season, especially to Draconis. Though, given that the Phoenicis team is made up of mostly returning members and the Draconis team is fairly new this year, it's hard to tell what will happen. Aidan's certainly been making sure that they're flying as a well-oiled machine, but there are a lot of unknowns in the Draconis team. Like their new seeker, a third year who, by the looks of things, is a super fast flyer. Adie will just have to hope that she's faster than him.

Pushing thoughts of future opponents out of her mind, Adie's eyes crinkle as she leans into Leo. "I hope you'll be cheering for me, Leo. If we win I'll sign my quidditch card for you and when I'm famous it'll be worth millions." With a laugh Adie glances at the others and shakes her head at the nonsense. Taking another sip of her hot chocolate, Adie hums at the sudden flavour of chocolate on her tongue. The chocolate changes to peach, followed by something tasty and sweet that she can't name. Then, with a final sip her glass is emptied. Adie pushes her glass forward, smiling her thanks at the waitress as she comes to collect the empty plates. Nibbling on her lip, Adie contemplates heading up to the counter to see the arrangement of slices and tarts on display. Her sweet tooth is calling, and the witch is finding it hard to resist.

"Does anyone want anything from the counter?" Adie asks the group as she pushes herself to her feet, resting a casual hand on Leo's shoulder as she waits for potential answers, "Mac? Emma? Aidan? Don't tell me you're full already Aidan! You've only eaten two whole plates of food." Adie teases with a grin before looking at Leo, "I can get you a lemon tart if you like, Leo?" She's known Leo long enough to know his favourites, though now she's considered getting a lemon tart either way. If Leo doesn't eat it, Adie's sure one of the others might like it, and if they don't than she'd happily eat it herself.

Even Emma, in her zoned out state, could pick up on the confused chemistry at the table. She inwardly rolled her eyes, taking a mouthful out of her hot chocolate. Mac looked vaguely like someone had punched her in the gut, and romantic feelings would certainly explain Aidan's strange behaviour. She'd be lying if she said that she didn't know how confusing it could be, though. She'd never admitted it to any of the others, even Adie or Mac, but she'd had a crush on Aidan for the entirety of her third year. Playing Quidditch with him had been hell, because she kept being distracted from her A-game. But after the summer and a brief fling with one of her old friends, she returned to Orion completely over him.

At Adie's offer of food, Emma turned around to face the counter. "Oh, is that white chocolate and raspberry cake? Adie, my dear, you know how I do love that cake," she said, grinning at her friend. Her attention was then drawn to whatever Mac had in her hand, and Emma leaned over to have a look, taking it from Mac to have a closer look. It was pretty, that was for sure, and it was warm in her hand. Apparently, cursed objects were always cold.

"Well, if it is going to explode or curse any of us or anything, it isn't triggered by physical contact," Emma remarked, handing it back to Mac. "Still, I wouldn't go wearing it 24/7 or anything like that." At the proposition of going to the Wreck, Emma grinned. They usually ended up there at least once every trip, whether it was to flirt or to sneak a Butterbeer. If there was ever proof that Emma and Mac were unsuitable prefects, it was their love of the Wreck.

"Count me in, I'm dying for a bit of excitement. The last even half exciting thing that happened was Ashley Catlett's potion bursting into flames in Potions the other day. Although I might just have to act as your wingwoman today, Mac, I met a nice native boy earlier and don't want to break his heart before I even get to write him a letter," she said, draining the glass and handing it to the waitress.

"Wait, as prefect and our Quidditch captain, are you going to try and stop us, Aidan? or are you just going to tag along and make sure we don't get into trouble?" she teased. However, something behind her caught her attention, and she turned around. There was a lot to notice- first of all, the freaking massive snake that made a run- slither?- for it. And then the witch pointing a want at Devan. Emma's hand reached into her purse, curling around the wand inside, just in case a fight broke out. "Looks like things are about to get interesting here," she remarked.

It shouldn't come as a surprise to Miss Butler that her offer to bring back some delectable treats from the coutner is met with an almost universal 'yes'. After all, only the strangest person would refuse the offer of a freshly baked lemon cake, or chocolate cake, or really any type of cake. Adie nods happily at Mac and Emma, noting the requested lemon, and raspberry and white chocolate cakes, before a grin splits her face at Mac's last comment. If Aidan were still paying that would definitely encourage the witch the bring back an array of whatever the Honey Pot has on display.

“If Aidan is still paying I’ll get one of everything then and bring it all back for the table.” Adie replies with a laugh, sending Aidan a teasing wink as she does. “Or perhaps I should get two of everything if you're still hungry Aidan."

The teasing dig leaves her lips as the witch pulls her purse from her small handbag hanging from the back of her chair. The clasp purse fits comfortably in the palm of Adie's hand, and she weighs it in her hand to make sure that she has enough wizard money to pay for the cakes herself. Despite the teasing, she wouldn't feel right buying all the cakes in Aidan's name, or even just the three treats for herself, Mac, and Emma. Especially not when she offered.

"Be back in a tick guys." The Australian adds with a playful wave, clutching the money purse in her hand as she navigates through the tight maze of chairs.

While the quaint cafe is never without patrons, on the weekends Orion students are allowed into Makutu, there's always a large influx of customers in the Honey Pot. It means that the majority of the chairs are usually full, blocking up the usual routes and making even small witches like Adie have to turn sideways to get between two pushed-out chairs. She mutters 'excuse me's and 'sorry's as she passes, before glancing to the side and realising she chose the most difficult path of all. Just to the left she would have had a clean run of it. With a small laugh to herself, Adie shakes her head and returns her attention to the front of the cafe.

Adie doesn't catch Emma's warnings about a potential fight breaking out, not when the quiet chatter of other customers almost drowns out her friends' voices, but she doesn't need to hear it. Not when Adie's attention is gained by a slither of scales darting past her feet. The serpentine apparition earns a small gasp of surprise from the witch's lips, the girl not prepared for spying it gliding between the legs of chairs and people of the Honey Pot. From the snake, Adie's gaze drifts up to be confronted by the sight of Devan and a stranger.

She is rivers of liquid gold hair and lithe limbs, a striking jaw, and a natural aura of beauty that turns heads. Adie's almost certainly sure that she must be new, if she's even a student. But, aside from the girl's looks, it is the way she's interacting with Devan that draws Adie's attention. At first glance Adie assumes the pair to be a couple, for their proximity and the way the blonde seems to speak softly to Devan alludes to the idea. Only when Adie catches a flash of wood pointed at Devan does she realise this is no lover's tryst. Without thinking Adie takes a step forward, ready to defend Devan should he need help despite the absence of her own wand, which sits useless inside her bag hanging off the back of her vacated chair.

It's as Adeline is stepping forward that the blonde speaks again, her voice quiet, yet able to just carry to Adie. The witch hears Aidan's name spoken on hopeful lips, and her eyes turn to gaze over her shoulder towards where she had just left Aidan. When Adie's gaze falls back on the blonde, there is curiosity aplenty to be found. How does the blonde know Aidan? Surely Aidan, who Adie had known and been friends with almost her entire time at Orion, would have at least once mentioned an acquaintance with someone as gorgeous as this girl. Adie makes a note to ask Aidan later, stubbornly determined to figure out how, who, and why. For now, Adie's questions are directed towards the pair in front of her as she takes another step forward,

"Devan, are you okay?" Adie asks, her tone is at once concerned and somewhat casual, the casual aspect thrown in on the off chance that she has judged the situation completely wrong. While Adie is not best friends with the Pegasi wizard, she likes to consider herself on friendly terms with him. Enough so that she'd jump into a situation like this without a second thought. Though, given that Adie is usually one to jump in without thinking a situation through regardless of the circumstances, it should come as no surprise that she's standing in front of the pair at all. She's always been the kind of girl who acts first and then thinks, a trait that has often seen Adie walk herself into trouble. Hopefully this isn't one of those times.

"You know Aidan?" Adie directs her next question at the blonde, her gaze glancing from the wand held in the other witch's hand up to her eyes.

Emma laughed at Aidan's comments- even if she was pretty sure that it wasn't the Holy Spirit Devan had to be worried about. "Either she's real or somebody drugged our food and we're all hallucinating vividly," she replied, forcing a grin. Aidan didn't seem overly concerned, which was unusual. If he'd been concerned about an old necklace being a risk to Mac, then surely this would have been driving him mad. But there wasn't much reaction from him at all- and it was then that Emma realised he mustn't have been able to see the wand from where he was sitting. Should she say something? Or would he then start a fight himself?

As Adeline approached the pair, Emma's hand tightened around her wand. It would have been bad enough for Devan to be involved in the fight. But if Adie got drawn in as well, Emma was fully intending on going in all guns blazing. Even if it meant throwing her wand to the side and resorting to a good old fist fight.

As Aidan's name started being thrown about, Emma glanced at him. How did the girl know him? And why the hell was she pointing a wand at Devan? Even from where she sat, she could feel the tension. Part of her wanted to go back Adie up- but then the same old voice in the back of her mind reminded her that she'd only be a liability if there was a fight. Sure, she was good when it came to dueling in school- but she couldn't fight when it mattered. Her Muggle blood made sure of that.

The hand clutching her wand loosened slightly. There wasn't much point in her clutching onto it so tightly, then. She sat back a little in her chair, watching the fight and praying that nothing would go dreadfully wrong.

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed something strange- strange enough to draw her attention away from the events inside. She turned to stare outside- and what she saw both sent shivers down her spine and confused her. She shoved herself away from the table and ran outside, pulling her wand from her bag as she did so. Darkness had fallen in Makatu, despite the fact that it was still early in the day. "Lumos," she muttered, illuminating her wand. She stepped a little further into the street, scanning her surroundings. She wasn't sure if the goosebumps on her skin were because of the sudden drop in temperature- or the knowledge that something was very, very wrong.