N.E.W.T.S on Sunday

[kevin donovan willis]

DON'T YOU EVER WONDER WHAT WILL HAPPEN WHEN IT ENDS? HOW CAN WE LET GO OF THE ONES WHO WE CALL FRIENDS? I WILL MISS THE TRAIN RIDE IN. I KEEP ON SMILING FROM THE TIMES I HAD WITH THEM.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was common knowledge that after fifth year O.W.L.S Hogwarts students should be making the most of their free time. They should run and play now more than ever, because they only have one year left before the world ends. As summer closes after their sixth years as pranksters and wild lovers, Hogwarts students begin to prepare for the tests that will define who they become. They start studying for their N.E.W.T.S and nothing could matter more. That was Kevin's philosophy. Nevermind that seventh year was still a time for enjoyment and relationships, because nothing mattered more than grades. He sent out a notice to all of his fellow seventh years that he'd be holding a study session every Sunday evening in the Room of Requirement. They were all urged to attend, or suffer the consequences come exam day. So Kevin packed up his satchel, recently repaired after a run in with Marlene Mckinnon, and he arrived at precisely seven p.m.

He was the only one. With concern, Kevin searched the room, knowing full well that the Room of Requirement was quite a tricky place to be. It was, however, the only way they could ensure no underclassmen would disturb them. His search turned up cold and he shrugged. It was their loss. Kevin dumped his books before him, everything from Ancient Runes to Transfiguration. He looked up at the bookshelves that stood against the entire north end of the room. They were filled with anything they'd need for their studies. There were extra ink wells, an assortment of quills, and rolls of parchment draping across the empty tables. Hogwarts, it seemed, was used to all night study sessions. Kevin nodded, a smile spreading across his somewhat thin lips, homework made sense, always, and it always made him happy.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
THREE HUNDRED & SEVEN WORDS
TAGGED - ALL SEVENTH YEARS ^__^

[amelia susan bones]

Amelia Bones had always been invisible, or so it seemed. Luckily, being invisible made it all the easier to find time to study her life away. She’d managed to get top marks in all her classes since her early years at Hogwarts. She’d always followed the rules and had landed herself a spot as Head Girl at the start of this final year at school. She was at the top of the top in terms of student leadership. Amelia knew what her professors thought of that. She knew she was going places. For now, she was Head Girl, but who knew, maybe some day she’d hold a prestigious position in the Ministry of Magic. That was where her career was headed. She wouldn’t be like all the 7th years who didn’t know what they wanted from life. Amelia wanted to have a good job and a good life. She wanted all her hard work to pay off.

When Kevin Willis had gone out asking 7th years to join his study group, Amelia knew she would be one of those in attendance. So, that evening, she’d placed all her books neatly inside her book bag. She’d gathered up all her supplies and even brought along her cauldron and some potions ingredients so she could practice brewing potions as part of their session. She was one of the few students who had carried on most of her courses after O.W.L.s. She was still taking a full load and still had her hear in her learning.

It only took her one try to get into the Room of Requirement. She expected to find loads of ready 7th years inside and was surprised that only Kevin Willis was there so far. Her shy eyes met his dark, handsome features and Amelia felt a slight blush meet her features. She’d often acknowledged that Kevin looked like a young man. Meanwhile, she still looked sort of childish. Amelia could still pass for fourteen. Kevin looked twenty! Mellie envied him. He’d look the part when he got his first internship with the ministry. She’d look like a lost student!

”So, I’m the first here?” Amelia observed quietly. She didn’t want to carry a conversation with Kevin. It made her nervous and flared up a kind of anxiety in her. She didn’t really know why, but it made her uncomfortable. Maybe part of her had a little bit of a crush on him. But she’d never ever dare pursue him. He was much too good for her. Everyone was too good for her. She was just Amelia Bones, shy and quiet Amelia Bones who had no friends except Ted who was sheer luck. She felt doomed.

[kevin donovan willis]

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Not much time had passed when Kevin looked up from his transfiguration text to the sound of the door creaking open. He marked his spot with his finger and eagerly peered in the shadow of the doorway. It was Amelia Bones, head girl to his being head boy. He nodded as she walked in, silently almost, with her hands full of potion supplies and study materials. She had always shown to Kevin a parallel to his own seriousness to knowledge. She always matched him in scores, even surpassed him at times. Kevin always chocked that up to the fact that when Ryan had convinced him to socialize, Amelia had stuck herself in the library working. All the same, Kevin had no hard feelings for the girl. She was serious, hard working, composed, and really probably the greatest friend he'd find. That was, if they ever managed to spend time together.

He smiled, genuinely pleased that someone really did show up. "Amelia, glad to see you've come. Please, have a seat." He motioned for her to join his own table, and he then glanced back down at his textbook. There were still so many notes to take, and not to mention, the practicals to study for. As he thought of the need for dummies, Kevin turned around to the sound of large practice dummies dropping down into place across the back wall. "What a room, huh." He added, merely thinking aloud. There were times that Kevin was truly amazed with this school, and that always made him work a little harder at his wand word. He knew that he could match the Hogwarts Founders, one day, if he took their inspiration and applied it to his already serious study checklist. The Ministry could hardly be prepared for him then.

Kevin gave a little chuckle, thinking about the rest of his classmates. The fact that they hadn't shown up yet was the first sign of their character, but then again Kevin wasn't as good at studying people as he was at studying books. He wondered, though, what they were all destined to do for the rest of their lives. The thought struck him hard in his throat, pulling up the lump that sat at the bottom of his stomach. Seventh year wouldn't last forever. With a tinge of sadness in his eyes, Kevin glanced up at Amelia. Where would she be in five years? Kevin couldn't guarantee that head boy and head girl would last after graduation. He couldn't guarantee anything.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FOUR HUNDRED & TWENTY-NINE WORDS
TAGGED - ALL SEVENTH YEARS ^__^

[cecilianott]

Cecilia flexed the muscles in her hands over the delicate bones, and rolled her eyes at the yelps and cry of outrage. It wasn't a bright idea to piss off the eldest Nott child, in general. On Sundays, just as her rounds drew to a close her shit list was the last place two second year boys could possibly want to be. Strong, well-manicured nails clenched tighter on the backs of their robes, the finest strands of hair at the napes of their necks unfortunately caught in her vice grip as she pulled them another inch apart. For the past minute, they'd been shoving and cursing, telling her all about how awful they were. The smaller one, haughty and sneering more than anyone his age deserved to be, was from her own house. Someone's little brother, she was sure, and that someone wouldn't be thrilled with the bruising on his cheek. A sharp yank, and the two were out of each other's reach, finally running out of steam. Putting more force into it than she needed to, Cecilia flung the other boy away from her. Gryffindor, clothing rumpled and hair in a sticky mess-- he scrambled for a minute before she spat a dismissal at him.

Taking away points did nothing, in her mind. She'd broken up this kind of squabble before, babies getting into it in the dungeon corridors always led to older siblings, throwing down somewhere else. Especially these days. The boy in gold and red was gone no more than ten seconds, and she was already on her knees, straightening the protesting Slytherin up. Thirty seconds, and the bruising was fading despite his still red face. In her most acidic tones, Cecilia was threatening to disembowel him, and feed him to his father in a keesh on Christmas next. And worse. Characteristically, he dodged the pat on the head she aimed to give him, pale but still acting the part of heir to Merlin only knew what. Indifferent, Cecilia turned and walked away-- leaving him sputtering about disrespect. Her eyes couldn't have rolled more animatedly than they did in that moment.

To say she was in a mood, when she stopped in to pick up her bag before the N.E.W.T.'s studying was an understatement. The other girls looked up from the newest issue of Young Witch Weekly, and faltered, until she snapped they get away from her magazine. Then they scrambled. Perhaps this eye roll was more animated than the last. In any case, she was in, and out again-- bag slung over her shoulder and bouncing gently against her hip, all the way to the place the hunk of a head boy had set aside for the study group. Aside from the lines of irritation that smoothed themselves away, along the walk, Cecilia also lost herself in thoughts of the future this was helping her build. At least, until she found herself stepping unerringly into the Room of Requirement.

A handful of steps in, and Cecilia was a hairsbreadth away from Amelia Bones, smiling as prettily, unnervingly, as she could. " ...hello sweetness, you're looking pretty today. " those words were a sickly sweet untruth. Cecilia thought the head girl was a sorry, spineless waste of space, and those very characteristics showed so obviously in Amelia's physical appearance. For now, though, Cecilia shifted back, and set her eyes on Amelia's-- should have been her counterpart. " and, that goes a thousand times over, for you, Willis-- as always. Glad I could make it?" That last wasn't a statement, that was a question, that was Cecilia fishing for a compliment.

[amelia susan bones]

Amelia often times found herself wondering if she was speaking a whole different language than those around her. Perhaps, she was a whole different species next to them and she didn’t even know it. There was just something so… Awkward about her. It was all too awkward. While guys like Kevin and girls like Cecilia carried themselves perfectly, Amelia was a small and staggering mess. She couldn’t change that as easily as she could her grades or anything else.

When Kevin spoke to her, he seemed so comfortable. He seemed comfortable with himself, with their surroundings, with her being there. Whereas she felt a slight wave of anxiety. She didn’t know how to respond to any of his words. Why, oh why, couldn’t Amelia have been born a girl like Kyndrick Laurent or Alice Logan, the girls who got along with everyone it seemed? Amelia tried to hide her blush but felt as though it might be a permanent accessory for the night. She resigned herself to a slight nod at Kevin’s words.

Upon Cecilia’s arrival, Amelia knew she was in for trouble. It seemed as though Cecilia Nott had been out to get Amelia ever since their start of 7th year. Cecilia must have been angry that Amelia had gotten the position as Head Girl. Part of Amelia felt infuriated that Cecilia would have the gall to feel any such emotion toward her about a school position that Amelia had earned through hard work. But, Amelia was used to being robotic around others. She didn’t express those kinds of emotions. She had to be more reserved.

”Nice to see you too Cecilia.” Amelia murmured. Her voice would have resembled a mouse’s squeaks. She felt so meek, so shy, so quiet. Why was Amelia so shy? She would have to learn. She would have to step up to the plate. She wouldn’t rise in the ranks at the ministry by sitting quietly aside while others walked all over her. No, Amelia had to take her time at these study sessions to learn how normal people interacted. She needed to learn so that someday she could fake it well enough to play the politics within the Wizarding community. Amelia would not sacrifice her future just to keep the personality she didn’t even like strong.

[kevin donovan willis]

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kevin looked up as Cecilia seemed to parade into the room. Of course the first few people in would make as awkward a combination as ever and Kevin immediately looked back down to this text book. The print seemed to blur slightly together as his ears picked up the tone in Cecilia's voice, her slight twinge of sarcasm in the way she complimented Amelia. Kevin glanced sideways at his comrade. She wasn't exactly the most beautiful person he had encountered, and she had never stirred up any kind of feelings inside of him, but he did think her pretty. Much prettier than the dolled up version of Slytherin that spat out orders and degrading compliments. It wasn't anything against her thin, well proportioned frame, or her softly cascading blonde hair, or that generically daunting look in her eyes. It was just the emptiness she instilled in him, a loss of faith for their generation.

He flipped the page quietly, but he nearly felt like it had almost covered up Amelia's voice. She seemed to be so deflated around the two of them, but there really wasn't much that Kevin could do to change that. Amelia had to be who she was on her own. His eyes danced up to meet Cecilia's. Was she really looking for Kevin's approval of her presence there? After all he did expect all seventh years to turn up. Still, Kevin plastered a respectful smile onto his face for the eldest Nott daughter. Her family might just determine his future someday, though he cringed at the idea, the ministry and politics were sometimes more important than petty disagreements. "Yes, the more people that show the better this helps us all out."

Kevin gave another small smile Amelia's way, and reorganized his parchment and quill. Just moving his hands for a brief moment to ease the tension that was building in his already packed full brain. He moved the quill just an centimeter to the right, and shifted his parchment in place and coughed up again. His voice shooting through the brooding silence of one head boy and the two qualified girls for the position. "Either of you have anything specific to go over tonight?" He let his gaze shift from girl to girl, lingering longer on Cecilia as his mind filed through the many ways that her disrespect towards Bones was a kind of disrespect towards him. Of course his unintentional politeness would carry a different weight to Cecilia.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[bellatrix irma black]

DO YOU HAVE THE TIME TO LISTEN TO ME WHINE ABOUT NOTHING AND EVERYTHING ALL AT ONCE.
I AM ONE OF THOSE MELODRAMATIC FOOLS NEUROTIC TO THE BONE NO DOUBT ABOUT IT.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

N.E.W.T.S, they were going to be the downfall of half the school's population. Bellatrix wasn't alone when she looked down on the tests as a joke. It was that office owl that flew from door to door squawking out scores like a nervous qudditch commentator. They weren't really testing your abilities as a person, just your ability to stress out and study your seventh year way. Bellatrix didn't want to give any ministry official the satisfaction of watching her squirm to complete the care of magical creatures practical, or finish her history exam on time. No, Bella had other things on her mind. Couldn't they watch her duel a hot-headed Gryffindor or congratulate her on setting fire to the old drapes in the farthest reaches of the library. Surely, when all was said and done, those actions were what defined her as a witch, not shoddy test scores.

And her night had been going so well down in the Slytherin dungeons. Her fingers drummed on the banister by the boys dormitory in a commonly Bellatrix form of impatience. The boy, a no name fifth year with a destiny to fail her, was rapidly throwing things out of his trunk and digging his way to the bottom. Bella promised him a whole two hours alone with her if only he'd hand over the incriminating photograph of Andromeda and Tonks. Of course Bella's promises were never very solid, they'd wash away faster than he could say mudblood. However, the lie wasn't what was important here. What was important was getting to the bottom of this rumor defaming her family name. A Black, save perhaps Sirius, was never interested in muggles or squibs and Theodore Tonks was one such monster. Bellatrix flipped back her black hair, her nose, an near exact replica of Andromeda's, scrunched up in a growl. It was taking him far too long. She kicked open the door, her wand balancing in her right hand, her eyes quickly scanning the room. Boys were strangely neat at times, their beds all made, their clothes put away. The only unorganized chaos was just before her feet. The boy knelt before her, no photograph to be found, and asked if he'd get an hour just for trying. Bella roared in rage, turned and stomped out of the room.

It was time to find something to get her mind off the bloody mess of family ties, and that was when she remembered her N.E.W.T.S. All seventh years were currently congregating up stairs for a study session, under the mild supervision of Kevin Willis. Of course Bella knew that some of her classmates were serious about this kind of thing, but she had to laugh at the ones that obviously were not. She stood in the common room, hands on her hips, thoughts racing, and decided that it might be well worth her time to stop in. She summoned her books and assignment list, her bottle of firewhiskey, and her last pack of smokes, preparing herself for which ever side of the seventh years was up and alive tonight, and she left a squirming fifth year boy on the hard black floors of the dungeons.

The room of requirement, a secret to anyone under the age of fourteen, was Hogwarts' most magical room. It turned out to be anything you needed it to be: a private snogging room, a first year torture chamber, a romantic get away, or an extra library for Willis and Bones. Bella had used the room for many of these reasons before, but never had she spent quality time with all of her classmates. So she paused for a moment just outside the door, preparing herself in a way, but mostly just thinking up the most attention-getting line she could open up with. She plastered her crooked grin all over her jaw line and pushed the door open with a force that knocked it against the wall on the other side. "Oh heavens me! Glad no one was trying their hand at any hexes, might have been caught off guard." Bella clasped her hands together and stood next to Cecilia, her smile still etching its way into her teeth. "Not that anyone here could lose focus. I walked in on the serious bunch, oops." Her laugh resonated through out the room, nearly knocking the dust off of Kevin's prized book shelves.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
OH BELLA, ONE OF MY NEW FAVORITE CHARACTERS
BANNER (C) TO THE LUCY SOUND @ CAUTION

[amelia susan bones]

Amelia could feel a familiar acidic sensation burning in her throat. She felt like she might throw up. Both Cecilia Nott and Bellatrix Black had been the first two to wander in for the study session. They’d not be getting any studying done now. Not to mention, both of these girls had spent the past roughly six years taunting her and treating her like some kind of toy they could throw around. Amelia recalled countless classes of Cecilia and Bellatrix sniggering in the corner and throwing chewed up pieces of Drooble’s Best Blowing Gum into Amelia’s hair. She felt herself feeling the same way she had in her first year when Bellatrix Black had tripped her down one of the moving staircases and she’d had to spend the night in the hospital wing re-growing the bones in her left arm. She thought of her fifth year when she proudly put on her Prefect badge after polishing it three times at home and having Cecilia spit on it because she’d said it just wasn’t shiny enough.

Amelia could feel herself physically scooting backward, away from the crowd. Why was she shy? Why was she timid? Why wasn’t she proud of her achievements and brave enough to stand up for herself? She just felt so over-powered and afraid. She had to stop being afraid. So, Amelia could only do one other thing if she wasn’t going to be afraid. She’d have to revert back into some strange internal instinct passed down from years of growing up in a household with younger brothers. Amelia had to become like her mother. That was scary. Super mommy Mellie was here to kick some serious buttocks.

”Look, neither of you are fooling anyone. We’re here to study. So, Cecilia, you can get your panties un-knotted and get over the fact that I’m Head Girl and you’re not. I worked harder and got better grades. I’ve not gotten one detention since I first started at this school. I deserve this, you don’t. Bellatrix, get rid of the alcohol, which we all know you’ve got stashed away, or you’ll have to endure the embarrassing task of Kevin and I confiscating it and taking it to Headmaster Dumbledore so he can give you detention scrubbing toilets without magic for a month. Also, don’t you dare light up a single cigarette in my presence or I will not hesitate to burn you with its butt when you’re least expecting it.” Amelia was over-come with a strict and elite sense of dominance. She was the alpha female, whether they wanted her to be or not. She had the tone of a woman who wasn’t messing around. She also had her wand grasped a bit too tightly in her hand and her messy curls of blond hair seemed to be turning into a rogue, furious beast. Amelia felt the acidic feeling fade slowly. Maybe they’d get lucky. Maybe she wouldn’t vomit all over them. Kevin definitely didn’t deserve that kind of treatment.

”Charms. Let’s start with Charms work. Heaven’s know Black was so interested in all the hexing going on in this room. We can begin on page 313 of our text if you like. There’s a great invisibility charm that I know will be on the exam.” Amelia was a mouse no more. She had no idea if this would last and had a burning feeling that it wouldn’t, but she needed to get through this study session.

[dorcas elaine meadowes]

Dorcas pounded down the corridors after her cat. It left the Hufflepuff commons without a noise, its lithe little paws pattering against the stone as if it was levitated an inch of the ground. She looked wide eyed around corners, and pushed into classrooms, examining every crevice. It was a Sunday evening and though most students were off in their common rooms making it easier to look for Ransley, there were those prefects starting their duties who stared at her in bewildered amusement. Dorcas never usually had to look for her dear Ransley, for he stayed nicely in her dormitory, and so of course it looked odd for her to be pelting down the hallways in a wide-eyed terror. But did any of the amused prefects help her? Of course not.

Another addition to her long list of reasons why society really must be falling off the deep end. No one could be trusted nor expected to help out a fully capable seventh year girl, not even if losing a cat wasn't exactly in her resume of skills and magical abilities. So she was late to the seventh year N.E.W.T.S. study session by a good chunk of time, and Ransley was still lost around the many passageways of Hogwarts. Of course the cat couldn't be blamed, there was a lot to have happen to one in Hogwarts, whether human or cat, and curiosity was supposed to be a normal trait. Dorcas slowly clambered up the stairs to the room of requirement, her books dangling at her side in a sad display of how much she didn't care for them. Tests were the last thing on her mind, how could she concentrate knowing that Ransley could be at the mercy of Holden Avery!? Or worse...the mercy of Pettigrew. There was nothing that boy wouldn't do to appear much more attractive to any of the Gryffindors. Dorcas' lips drooped in a frown, her eyes gazed steadily at the flloor, and she walked slowly towards the rest of her classmates.

The door to the room of requirement was shut, and she could see that it was shut tightly, but that didn't matter for anyone could still here the shrill motherly voice of Amelia Bones. It was strange that Dorcas identified the source of the ruckus, because she was sure she had never heard Amelia Susan Bones yelling before. She paused outside the room, her left hand dangling above the handle, unwilling to enter. Sure it was probably just Amelia setting the tone for the rest of the night, and sure Dorcas really needed these study sessions to feel a bit more comfortable about herself, but part of her wanted this excuse to jolt out of there. It would give her the rest of the night to look for Ransley, and next Sunday she'd simply say that it had slipped her mind. No one doubted that Dorcas would be sitting alone in her dormitory, never expecting someone to come looking for her, since she wasn't exactly the person anyone really ever thought of when doing a head count. She stood just outside the door, her mind going over the possibility of skipping. Was Dorcas Meadowes...a skipper!?

[/justify]

[ludovic aurelius bagman]

Here comes another Hufflepuff going places. Although, admittedly, not as far as the lovely Amelia Bones. Once you were signed to a major quidditch team, well, you’ve sort of made it, haven’t you? There was still the national team, and winning the World Cup, and perhaps a captain’s armband, but even if Ludo never achieved any of those things... He was pretty confident he’ll still have ‘gone places’.

But first, Ludo had to survive his NEWTS. His classes weren’t hard, and he wasn’t in many, but it was so hard to focus. Ludo didn’t want to do anything but play quidditch, and it was becoming increasingly difficult to muster any extra energy and drive to study. That’s why these NEWT study sessions were such a good idea. Well, that and the social aspect. Ludo loved the social aspects of every situation.

Sadly, not even the draw of a productive study session with people to talk to could get Ludo there on time. He had been putting in some extra hours on the pitch, and he suspected that the study group would thank him for taking the time to shower before joining them. Even if it meant missing a chapter or two.

It was a squeaky clean and fresh smelling Ludo that climbed the stairs to the room of requirement two at a time. He was expecting that he would be last person there, so spotting the gorgeous Dorcas Meadows hovering outside the room was a bit of a shock. Luckily, Ludo quickly recovered and offered his fellow Hufflepuff a charmingly boyish grin. “Lanie... I hope you didn’t forget the password because I definitely can’t remember it...” He could just barely hear the sounds of someone laying a smack down on the rest of the room. It sounded a bit like Amelia Bones, but surely not? Ludo couldn’t recall ever hearing Amelia Bones raise her voice. But maybe it was a requirement now? Came with the head girl badge?

“What’s the hold up? Are we going in or not? I know I don’t want to miss Mellie finally cracking... I wonder who set her off?”

--------

354 words

I'll get him inside next post!

[dorcas elaine meadowes]

Dorcas could hear someone marching on up the corridor, her hears nearly pricked up as if she were a cat, but that was just her usually perceptive self placing fear and mistrust into her brain. She had to decide right then and there if she was going to study with the rest of the seventh years or dart away in search of Ransley before it got too dark around the castle. She couldn't think, all she could do was stand there before the door to the room of requirement, frozen in time and slightly worried about who it was coming up behind her. Her breath escaped smoothly from its clutches in her chest at the sound of Ludo's deep and familiar voice. She let her shoulders sink back down and she turned to face him, her black hair softly pushing against her shoulders.

"I was just, a little worried I forgot my Divinations text, but it's here." She lifted her bag, nearly brimming with star charts and dream diaries. Dorcas would be the last person to forget her divinations text, but she figured she'd cover for herself none the less. Ludo wasn't the guy she wanted to showcase her abnormal worries to, he was her boyfriend currently after all. "Oh, my she is on a roll isn't she. That does sound like Amelia...bet it was Bellatrix or Kyndrick." Dorcas forced a smile and the laugh came swiftly with it. As much as she was concerned about the fate of her dear runaway cat, she had to admit that her classmates were a funny group of people, especially when all stuffed into one room for hours of stressful studying. Bones would only be the first to crack tonight.

Dorcas gave a quick "air kiss" to Ludo and nimbly turned the handle to their study session. She could really be quiet and apprehensive when she wanted to be, and walking in late was one of those times. The door opened gently to the seen of Kevin Willis watching with wide eyes as his female counter part let the Slytherin girls have it. Dorcas' eyes widened as well, and she looked around to see vaguely similar expressions on almost everyone. It wasn't possible for these seventh years to have a normal night of studying, that was for sure. Dorcas slipped through the crack of the open doorway and headed directly for the end of the table, farthest away from Bellatrix and Amelia's future explosions of anger.

[/justify]

[ludovic aurelius bagman]

“Ah well, maybe we’ll have an opportunity to practice some palm reading later.” Ludo winked suggestively at his girlfriend. It was a weak innuendo, but Ludo admitted to sleeping through an awful lot of divination classes in his time. Palm reading was the only one he could think of that involved any actual touching. Oh well, maybe next time she’d bring up her potions textbook or something. There were lots of innuendos for potions, and Ludo wanted to get in as many as possible before Lainey put the kibosh on things. [[NOT THAT I WOULD BLAME YOU, DORCAS. LUDO IS LAME.]]

It was sad that Dorcas didn’t feel that she could confide her worries in Ludo. But completely understandable, really. He’d try to relate, but things, life in general, all things really, came easily to Ludo. He was charmed, charming, and a host of good other things that gave one a big head and the expectation that life was easy for everyone. Your cat is missing? He’ll come home when he gets hungry! Don’t they all? Nothing worried Ludo the way things worried Dorcas because things were rarely ever hard for him. It must be maddening to be around Ludo at times. No wonder they broke up and got back together like they had a quota to fill.

But, as of right now, things were good between the pair. As evidenced by Lainey’s air kiss, and the adorable way Ludo pretended to catch it in his hand. He could have returned the air kiss, but the door was opening and Ludo didn’t actually want anyone to see him air kissing his girlfriend. That was, er, a bit lame. He did have a reputation to keep, after all. Ludo lumbered into room after the graceful Dorcas, forcing the door open wider, and offering the room at large a giant, sunny smile.

Choosing to be oblivious to the shouting they had witnessed from the hallway, Ludo followed Dorcas to the end of the table and sat directly across from her. “Willis. Miss. Mellie. Ladies.” Ludo offered each person their own smile as he passed them on his way to the far side of the room, though he didn’t bother to address the Slytherin girls separately. He knew their names, of course, but he liked Amelia Bones about a million times better than Cecilia or Bellatrix. The poor head girl just looked so stressed, she needed all the support she could get. “Oh, and who could forget Dorcas. Hello.” Ludo grinned goofily at Lainey, attempting to break the tension a bit.

“So, er, charms first?” Wasn’t that what we heard from the hallway, Lainey? I’m pretty sure it was.”

--------

436 words

<3

[bellatrix irma black]

DO YOU HAVE THE TIME TO LISTEN TO ME WHINE ABOUT NOTHING AND EVERYTHING ALL AT ONCE.
I AM ONE OF THOSE MELODRAMATIC FOOLS NEUROTIC TO THE BONE NO DOUBT ABOUT IT.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Amelia don't be silly! I wouldn't bring alcohol to a study session, especially not one as important as this. Honestly, who do you think I am?" Bella's voice dripped off her lips like the insanely thick dose of sarcasm that it really was. Surely Amelia thought that Bellatrix was being particularly very much like Bellatrix, but she couldn't stand to be stereotyped so. Bella longed for catching people in surprise, she lived for the times when she could make things a little interesting. Amelia wasn't going to be able to tell her who she was and what she was up to, because Amelia, as smart as she is, can't possibly stay a step ahead of someone who doesn't even know where they're going. She walked right up to Amelia and placed a thin, pale hand on the head girl's shoulder. "And smoke in front of fragile, weak, and unaccustomed souls? I wouldn't dare." She practically whispered into her ear, fingers tapping against the shoulder blade of Amelia's perfectly sturdy back bone. Bella took a few steps back, her giggle uncontrolled and filling up the room just as the two Hufflepuffs joined them. "Ludo! Lainey! So glad you came to the show, I mean, session. Yes Amelia's told us to turn to page 313, and we must do what she says."

She strolled over to her chair and lifted the top of her satchel, letting the shine of her brand new bottle of firewhiskey catch the glimpse of everyone in the room before she pushed it down further into its hiding spot and acted surprised at the clink and clunk it made against her ink well and that remembrall she had stolen off a first year. They were always misplacing things, and she liked to keep the castle looking tidy. She pulled out her charms textbook and flipped directly to page 313, letting her fingers dawdle on the page and linger over the invisibility charm Amelia had mentioned. Bellatrix groaned. It didn't look particularly difficult, but it was something she had never tried before. And thinking of it just brought up all of the awful thoughts that test taking spurred. She'd have to have a full bottle of ink, a couple quills that she would need to train herself not to break in frustration, and the patience to perform charms and defensive magic before a panel of judges that had most likely already seen her performing them with ease while pulling a prank around Hogsmeade. How was it that people had the drive to do well in these sorts of things?

"Well, I vote we should really try and perfect this one. You know, to impress. Let's all practice on Amelia, since she's so concerned with our study habits." Bella looked her cold eyes on Amelia, who was pretty but plain and well put together, well thought of, calm, and driven...everything Bellatrix was not. She wanted nothing more that to send Amelia hurtling into invisibility so that she wouldn't have to look at her again, and Amelia could keep on doing whatever it was she did because nothing, in Amelia's eyes, would have changed. Bellatrix was truly awful that day, and anything, any word, or sound of straight laced, rule following, brown nosing, patronizing lecture was going to send her right over the edge.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
she's just awful.
BANNER (C) TO THE LUCY SOUND @ CAUTION

[kyndrick carmilla laurent]

Kyndrick Laurent was the kind of girl who was rarely sober and always unkempt. She was also strikingly and appallingly beautiful. She wasn’t pompous or cocky in stating her beauty though. No, it was in her blood, literally. She is the daughter of a veela mother and wizard father. That makes Kyndrick half lust-inducing beauty and half magically inclined. Yet, neither of those descriptions could ever really sum her up, could they? Kyndrick was some new species of chaos that roamed the corridors of Hogwarts mercilessly, taking as many prisoners as she could. She made trouble with everything she did. It wasn’t the bad kind of trouble. She never intentionally hurt anyone! It was just that subtle, annoying kind of trouble that made people’s stomach’s ache ever-so-slightly at the sight of her. That was Kyndrick’s specialty. And, she was usually drunk enough that she just didn’t care.

So, it really wasn’t any surprise when Kyndrick took her summons to a study session from Kevin Willis and pretended it was a party invitation. She had donned a comfortable pair of jeans and a stylish black sweater. Her hair was pulled back from her eyes, but left down in thick, curling locks of brunette. Her brown eyes had that dazed, confused, but ecstatically content look about them. Her step had an extra spring in it. Her head bobbed about to music that wasn’t playing. Her fingertips tapped against a surface that wasn’t there. And, slung over her shoulder was a bottomless book-bag.

She’d learned the spell a few weeks earlier and had adopted it almost studiously. Yes, Kyndrick Laurent was learning at school! That was shocking in itself! Unfortunately, her knowledge was not being put to good use. Instead, she kept a plethora of troublesome things inside her bag. Along with all the boring contents like books and quills and ink and potion ingredients, Kyn had a stash of booze and cigarettes and various drugs she’d mooched off the Hufflepuff guys she’d slept with. She had strange things that didn’t make sense as well. Like a flock of bright red balloons that seemed permanently inflated, a cowgirl hat, a rubber duck, a wind-up toy elephant, and much more. Kyndrick had a habit of plucking these things from her bag at the worst moments. She supposed they gave her character, but knew they were merely tools of disruption.

Kyndrick made her way throughout the castle until she came to the ever-famous Room of Requirement. She’d done many terrible things in this room in the past. And now she had returned to innocently study with her fellow classmates. Kyn giggled softly to herself at the mere idea of innocence. She wandered past the door three times and her door appeared. Kyndrick traipsed inside at exactly the right moment, apparently, because Bellatrix Black was on a roll about all kinds of mischievous topics. Kyn could swear she heard Amelia Bones hyperventilating in the background. She offered a huge grin as she interrupted the whole affair.

”Are we getting drunk and turning Amelia into something? I knew this would be promising! See Kevin, party time! I was right! I think we should turn her into a duck. Amelia would make a lovely duck! Wouldn’t you Bonesey?” Kyndrick asked cheerfully. She set her bag down and say Indian style on the floor like a child. She let her grin linger. She wasn’t too intoxicated… Yet.

[amelia susan bones]

Amelia couldn’t help but feel mortified. Bellatrix Black’s mere touch induced eerie chills down Mellie’s spine. Suddenly, her motherly outburst had diminished entirely. She was left as she’d been when those girls had first stepped into the room, shy and uncomfortable and out of place. She felt as meek and childish as she had her first year all over again. She couldn’t stop thinking to herself, Just go hide behind Kevin, Mellie. He won’t let Bellatrix kill you. He’s much smarter than Bellatrix. So are you if only you’d stop shaking! And Amelia was shaking. It had begun as soon as Bellatrix had invaded her personal space. She was like a small, frightened animal and it was incredibly hard to hide.

And then, the room was filling. Ludo Bagman and Dorcas Meadowes. Lainey. Mellie and Lainey had always been friends, but lately they’d been drifting. And Mellie really wasn’t fond of Ludo at all. He was just kind of… There. And Bellatrix was suggesting they practice turning Amelia invisible and Mellie could feel her shaking increasing rapidly. She knew it was visible now, she couldn’t stop. She was literally shaking with fear. She could feel the adrenaline coursing through her, the panic rising. And Kyndrick had just come dancing in. Beautiful, ridiculous, always drunk Kyndrick! And…. And Kyndrick wanted to turn Amelia into a duck! That was when she couldn’t take it anymore. She felt the tear slip out her right eye as if it represented all that which was betrayal. And it could never be just one, no, it had to be followed by several more visible and cruel tears. Tears of anger and frustration and embarrassment and immaturity. Amelia felt so young. And now she felt vulnerable as well. And there weren’t any words she could conjure up that could fix things.

”I’ve got to… Erm. I’ve got to go.” Amelia muttered under her breath, her dampened eyes looking only to Kevin who would understand. Lainey, perhaps, would see too. But Lainey had Ludo now. Mellie knew her days of Lanie caring were very, very numbered. She could only start toward the door in a quiet walk of shame, wiping at her eyes and rubbing them red with the backs of her hands.