Hogwarts: The lost Tales [IC/Open]

[Skylus]

Derek

Fortunately, his stay in the Infirmary had not been long. Just over night.
However, he was one of the luckier ones.
Even now, as he picked his way down the aisle of the Hogwarts Express, he saw those that were still somewhat injured, or those that had been...changed due to their injuries.
Derek had no idea where Henry even was.
That might have been a good thing.
He had been thinking about the banquet when he came upon a compartment that had some familiar faces in it- Rachel and Crassus.
So he slowly poked his head in.
"...Hi...You don't mind if I come in here, do you?"

[Halonica]

Alteran, Hogwarts Express

Clambering sullenly aboard the train, Alteran was supremely annoyed. The day after the tournament, he awoke in the Hospital Wing, only to find that he had not gone out it a blaze of glory, but instead tripped and hit his head on a rock, causing him to fall unconscious. To add to that, he'd received a minor concussion, and for the last few days he'd been about as coordinated about a drunkard. It didn't help that his sister, Adelaine, Would. Not. Stop. TEASING HIM!!! Ever since the tournament she'd been hounding him about it, practically cackling with glee. Alteran sighed inwardly as he thought about it, At least we won't be sitting together on the train.....

As he slowly ambled about the corridor on the train, he came across Derek, peeking into a compartment and asking if he could sit there. Alteran tapped his friend on the shoulder and gave him a slow smile, "Hey there Derek. Been a while since we last talked. I see you're looking no worse for wear..." He looked into the compartment, noting a young man he'd never met before with his arm wrapped, and Rachel, wrapped up in her cloak. Alteran grinned weakly, "Well, you lot look quite frazzled. Mind if I chill with you guys as well?"

[Dernland]

Crassus

Crassus stood in the center of the compartment, paralyzed. He wanted to escape, to run and hide before any probing questions could be asked. But, he thought to himself, That would be rude, and more questions would come up. Is it worth it? Crassus twitched, mouth working silently as a bead of sweat began to run down his brow. At length he sat back down on one of the seats, hiding his arm behind his back in what he hoped was a casual manner.

"'Course, I don't mind, after all it's a free train." Crassus said to the two newcomers, tripping a bit on his words.

[World Anarchic Union]

Anton Valgerth Hurt
A week before, Infirmary

He turned to Caitie, after Ricardo had walked away. He was taken aback by Caitie's tone of voice, a tone that he hadn't heard before from the young witch. She sounds...different. But it is probably because of the fainting. he thought, as he cleared his throat.

"Well, thank you, but you know I would do anything to help you, should you need it."

As Caitie continued, Anton was even more surprised.

"I... I couldn't just leave you there, on the floor, after suddenly fainting. Who knows what could have happened. Madame Pomfrey knows best about that sort of stuff.
Anyway, I am glad you are feeling alright now. The tournament must be ending soon." he thought, as he noticed more and more students entering the infirmary.

---

William Darkenstone
Hogwarts Express

William was sitting alone, as more students were pouring on the train. He knew few were willing to sit with him, not caring either way. Opposite him was an empty seat, once filled by Ava.

How long has it been? It seems like an eternity. he started thinking, as he noticed some student walking by, limping. Suddenly, he was reminded of the tournament and immediately his eye turned darker. He relived the last moments before he had fallen unconscious and had to hold himself to not punch something. That filthy cockroach taking me down? Oh, he has to pay. Both he and that bastard hound friend of his. Embarrassments to all wizards. he thought, as his face had turned red.

He felt, at that time, something pulling his robe. He turned to the direction of the house elf that was sitting beside him.
"Master, are you alrigh?. You seem...angry." Fenly said, looking at William with worry.

"Yes, I am fine." William swiftly responded, turning towards the window.

"Is it because of Lady Ava? Or, Ms Elizabeth not having communicated with you?" the house elf continued, as William turned once more to her direction.

"No, it is not. And I am sure Aunt Eliza will have a reason for not having sent a letter for the past few weeks. We will find her waiting for us in the station, I am certain." he said to Fenly, as he turned around again.

I mean, what else could have happened?

[The Flutterlands]

Alexander Markus

Alexander's transformation into a duck thankfully didn't last long after being portkeyed back and he only went to the hospital wing to checked for minor injury. It was still a strange sensation, even after changing back to human a half-hour later, Alex thought, as he could remember most of what he was doing as a duck. Still, he was disappointed to have lost the tournament, but he was glad to have had a great time dueling his friends. Now the young Slytherin was lookimg forward to,a relaxing break and a fun party at his boyfriend, Raph's house.

Aboard the train, Alexander walked down tne aisle with Raphael. Alex wanted to go hang out with friends, but Raphael wanted to be alone in order to catch up on some reading. After sharing a kiss, the two lovers parted ways and Alex went to look for some friends. Alexander smiled as he came across Derek and some other students in a compartment that could hold at least one more person. "Excuse me, can I sit with you guys?" the young teenager asked, "Fun tournament, huh? I'm looking forward to Raph's party. You should be excited to meet his family. They're the nicest muggles I've ever met."

---

Raphael Raymond

Raphael had to spend a little longer in the Hospital Wing than Alex. William's curse knocked him out cold. That being said, when he did recover, the young muggleborn was frustrated to say the least at the fact that he lost the tournament. In fact, Raph was infuriated that there was no winner to begin with, nor a prize given out, making the entire thing seemingly utterly pointless. Like, sure it did give him reason to further sharpen his skills, but tournaments are suppose to have winners regardless of who they are. At least there would have been some progress.

Nonetheless, Raphael was looking forward to going home, relaxing, having a blast playing video games again, and partying with friends. He boarded the train with Alexander, holding hands with him. After exchanging a kiss, Raphael departed from his boyfriend to be alone for now. It didn't take long for him to find an empty compartment and he sat down before digging his nose once more into a book like he always has.

A moment later, however, he noticed Caitie and suddenly remembered something. Digging through his bags, Raphael slipped out an envelope and walked up to Caitie. "Er, here, Caitie." he said, handing the invitation to the witch, "It's an invitation to a Christmas Eve party at my place if you'd like to come. Several of our friends are going and it'll be fun..."

[Miekzhemy]

Rachel

The silence of the compartment she sat in came to her as a blessing. After the tournament, the hospital wing wasn't exactly a quiet place over the course of the past day. However, a shuffling sound within the compartment prompted her to glance upward. She caught sight of a familiar boy that seemed to be nervous about something. But Rachel said nothing, and simply went back to staring down at the floor. When she thought he would leave her in peace, more people began to clamber into the compartment.

'...more?'

Rachel seemed to avoid both eye-contact as well as speaking as her compartment filled up, simply curled up using the cloak as a blanket. Stray unkempt hairs masked most of her face from view. It was clear she wasn't feeling well.

In fact, she still felt utterly terrible. Even after her time in the hospital wing, especially being one of the last students to be let out, the numbness in her fingers and the aching pain from the previous day still had yet to subside. A tiny arc of white magical lightning occasionally returned to quickly jolt her with a minor shock - remnants of the copious amounts of electricity that was pent up inside of her from when she was brought to Pomfrey. At this point in time it would only cause her to silently wince. She felt like she would puke.

Despite the pain that shot up her spine in brief intervals, the seemingly sickly witch tilted her head to the side until it rested against the wall of the compartment. Rachel did her best to tune out the nearby conversations and try to get some rest.

[Halonica]

Alteran

Sighing, the young boy sidled in and settled himself next to Crassus, nearly tripping over thin air on the way there. Plopping down in the seat had produced a headache for Alteran, and he held a palm up to his forehead, groaning. Alex arrived moments later, filling out the compartment. It'd be difficult to fit any more people in here comfortably. Alex said something about the tournament being great, and Raphael having a party. The latter item on the list was great; just the type of downtime Alteran felt he needed. But the former item caused his gaze to sullen gloomily.

Looking around the room at each of the students, Crassus with his wrapped arm, and Rachel looking like she was still in pain, Alteran made a decision then and there. He looked Alex straight in the eye and said, "Let's not discuss the tournament." He didn't phrase it like a question, or a request, but rather he bluntly stated that tournament talk was not what he wanted to engage in right now, and by the looks of things, most of the other people here wouldn't want to talk about it either.

[Britanania]

Caitie

The witch nodded as Raph handed her the invitation.

"Thanks Raph," she told the muggle born wizard. "I'll see if I can make it, even if for a little bit. Christmas Eve, you said?"

It will be a year since...

Caitie's mind flash back to almost an entire year ago in Roumania and the night where she....

She placed the letter in her robe with a dour look on her face.

[Miekzhemy]

Rachel - Later that Evening

The train came to a stop at King's Cross Station at it's typical scheduled time. As per usual Christmas break, Rachel and Andrew were greeted by Rachel's father as they stepped off of the train. They were swiftly apparated home.

Rachel was still rather quiet as she entered the house, and slowly made her way upstairs with the cloak still wrapped around her form. When she reached her room, she remembered something important that she had to do. In an earlier letter she received from Adam, she had been told that he would leave her a text in regards to their plans for this Christmas. Her mood seemed to finally lift a bit as she walked up to her dresser and swiped up her phone. Seeing him was one of the few things she was really looking forward to. Unfortunately, the contents of the text message from Adam did not go hand in hand with what she had planned.

Rachel, I'm held up with an unbelievable amount of work right now. I probably won't be able to even return to England this Christmas. It's a miracle that I'm even able to get my phone to work around here.
I'll try and figure out a date that I can return home, but I can't guarantee I'll be back before the year's out. I'm sorry.

Even after reading through the entire message, Rachel continued to stare blankly at her phone for quite a while. She wanted to chuck the phone out of the window. In fact, if it weren't for her exhaustion and aching pain, she probably would have. Why did she have to feel so lonely without him around? Why did her plans always have to fall apart like this?

As Rachel flopped onto her bed, another minor but still shocking (no pun intended) jolt of magical lightning caused her to quickly seize up on the bed. "Ngh..." she groaned as the pain subsided yet again. She suddenly felt lightheaded. What was coming over her?

'So cold...'

Rachel curled up on her side, letting her mind wander. Then, almost involuntarily, she found herself transforming as she lay on her bed. The bear paid little mind to it, however. It at least helped with the cold. Her eyelids grew heavy.

'So tired...'

Then, she fell into a deep sleep.

Christmas Eve - Morning

Rachel spent the first week of the break sleeping. As a matter of fact, she had yet to move from that same spot on her bed since she initially fell asleep. Neither the pestering from her parents nor the calls or texts on her phone succeeded in waking the bear from its slumber.

"Andrew dear!" called the familiar voice of Rachel's mother from the kitchen. There was a clear hint of annoyance in the muggle woman's voice. "Could you go upstairs and pull Rachel out of her bed? I wholeheartedly refuse to let her sleep through the entire bloody break. This is getting ridiculous!"

[True Christopia]

Andrew

Andrew was, one moment, fighting ferociously with Henry - and the next, he was waking up in the hospital wing.

Apparently, he'd been hit by a jolt of electricity from Henry's wand, although he didn't remember it. It was probably good that he didn't, since it probably hurt like hell. Getting out of the hospital wing, he frequented it a lot after - visiting Rachel as she slept. She'd been hit worse by Henry's electricity, that was for sure. That was something that wasn't going to happen again.

The train ride had been one that Andrew was particularly anxious about. It wasn't that he didn't like the train, no, it's just - it was only a year ago that when had stepped out onto the station and his mother had grabbed him for the last time.

He'd been the last out on the train. Rachel and her father had waited, and waited for him to come out - but he didn't. Not for a while. He didn't want to go out onto that platform again, like he had a year prior - he didn't want to.

But eventually, after some time, he did. And soon enough he was apparated back to Rachel's house. The memories were all to similar - all too painstakingly similar - but he was not thrown across the ship when they arrived. Swallowing hard, Andrew left for his room and simply went to sleep.

In the morning, he left the house via Flu network, left as he usually did but found the shop closed. Empty, in-fact. Turning to the nearest bystander, he asked "Why's the parlour closed?" although, recognising his bluntness he added a polite "If you know,"

"Bankruptcy, I heard." the bystander replied, shrugging, before getting on with their day.

Out of a job, Andrew took to the streets of London, disappointed and slightly frustrated. That was when he stumbled upon Purge and Dowse, Ltd. He'd never actually been inside before, having never received a major enough magical injury. But he knew of the place - it wasn't actually the little clothes shop it was painted to be, but rather, a fully fledged magical hospital.

Walking towards the shop, he didn't know what he'd actually find there, although he still went anyways. Stepping towards the windows of the shop, he realised - he didn't actually know how to get in.

"Crap..." he muttered, biting his lip. Looking up at the mannequins, he continued "I wanted to see if he could get a job." he said, not really to anybody but himself. But, to his utmost surprise - one of the uglier mannequins simply nodded.

Confused, he thought of Kings Cross, and with a hint of anticipation, he stepped into the glass.

And then, he came out into the reception of St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. It was rather pristine, like any hospital would be. Something that both excited him and intimidated him.

Tentatively stepping towards the desk, the healing stood taking care of files and such "May I help you?" she inquired, looking over her shoulder for a moment in recognition of him.

"Uh - yeah - " he replied, feeling like a lost child "I was wandering... is there any chance I could be like - an assistant - or something? Help around the hospital?"

This caught the healer's attention, and she turned to meet him fully "An assistant? Well, it's always lovely to meet someone interested in becoming a healer - follow me." With that, she disappeared into the next room, behind the reception.

Left slightly bewildered, he stepped through and found himself in a small office - the healer speaking to someone of a clearly much higher echelon within the hospital "Mr. Whitby, there's somebody enquiring about assistance?"

"Send them in."

Stepping through into the room, Andrew had never thought he'd get that far. It was just a random idea that had popped into his head, and he was rather overwhelmed by the fact that he was even being considered.

The man sat at the desk was sat with a suit and a rather well trimmed hat. Looking up from the paperwork that scattered his desk, he immediately began questioning him "Why do you want to help with the hospital?"

As the other healer left, he stammered out an answer "Well, I really do like helping people - I've been learning a lot about healing, you see - muggle stuff and magical stuff - and I want to become a healer when I'm older, so - "

Whitby nodded, before informing him "I suppose you take on some cleaning duties once you get a little training, perhaps shadow a healer every now and then. It won't be paid, of course, but you can come in if you'd like. I assume you're still at Hogwarts?"

"Yes."

"In which case you can do it over the summer, I suppose. What's your name?"

"Andrew - Andrew Bishop."

"Bishop? Bishop, I've heard that name before - where have I heard that before?"

"Er - " he stuttered, not entirely wanting to answer the question "It was in the news last year, in Christmas, Sir - a murder."

"Oh, yes - yes. I remember. I'm sorry."

"It's fine."

"Well, just come back in the summer, then. I'll send an owl with further information."

"Th-thank you - thank you so much - " he smiled, clumsily bumping into the door as he left the office, and then left the hospital - now with a smile on his face.

Christmas Eve

Andrew was groggy on the day, stepping out of bed and walking towards the kitchen. Rachel's mother asked him to wake her up, and after a week of sleep, he wasn't sure she was going to. But, regardless, he tried anyway.

He hadn't told her of his success at St. Mungo's, mostly because she had been asleep the entire week, lying in hibernation as a bear. Stepping through into the room, he knocked lightly "Rachel?" he asked, his eyes tracking the walls and decorations "It's Christmas Eve, I'm pretty sure Raphael's party is on soon." he continued, stepping into the room a bit more.

He'd been nervous the entire break. The memories from the previous year still lingered in his mind, cracking his smile despite his acquisition of assistance at the hospital. He couldn't ever forget what happened.

But he had more pressing matters - Watching Rachel's bear chest rise and fall as she slept, he called again "Rachel."

[Miekzhemy]

Rachel

The curled up bear was oblivious to the door creaking open. Her room was nothing special, but one peculiar observation would be the plethora of papers cluttering a nearby desk, some of which tacked to a board on its adjacent wall. At a glance the content of the papers would contain something along the lines of transfiguration schoolwork, coupled with a bit of math here and there. The work would likely appear to be more advanced than the typical transfiguration work given to your average fourth year. Then again, it wasn't super surprising. She was a prodigy in that particular class, after all.

Sunlight shone through a nearby window, causing the bear to stir only slightly. It wasn't until Andrew's second call of her name that the bear noticeably turned over to lay on its stomach. With a quiet grunt that transitioned to a low growl, the bear was slow to transform again. The next moment, Rachel was laying flat on the bed, still clad in the same casual clothes she had worn when they were on the train.

Rachel stirred before trying her best to sit up. She looked almost deathly tired and noticeably thinner. After getting her bearings, she froze, until suddenly darting her head in Andrew's direction.

"What day is it?" she asked quickly and bluntly, with a look of worry on her face.

[True Christopia]

Andrew

Watching Rachel transform back into her normal self was a bit of a relief - knowing that she was back with them. He honestly hoped she was OK after the tournament, and that such a long sleep had helped mitigate any ill affects she'd received.

Looking at her, he felt an edge of concern. She was thinner - noticably so. She must be starving - literally - after a week of no food. And thirsty as hell, too.

"Uh - Christmas Eve. D'ya want me to get some food? Water? I'll bet you're starving."

[World Anarchic Union]

William Darkenstone

The young man waited in the dark. All lights were out on the house, the moonlight barely entering from the draped windows. His scarred eye was concentrated on the door, waiting for it to open any moment. Silence prevailed in the badly-lit house, only some drops being audible from upstairs. The minimal moonlight revealed a knife being left at the table in front of the wizard, a wand in his pocket and another in his gloved hands. As he looked briefly at the clock, he heard footsteps from outside. Now... Let's finish this.

Two days ago, King Cross Station

William looked around the station, his luggage beside him, as Fenly came running towards him from the other end. She stopped to breathe for just a moment before turning towards the scarred boy.

"She... She isn't here, master William! Fenly cannot see Ms Elizabeth at all." she said, in a hurry, before continuing seconds later. "Fenly is worried..."

William looked at the direction of the house elf coldly. He approached her slowly, as the station was beginning to empty.

"Nothing...has...happened. I am sure Aunt Eliza is just...late." he said, not believing his own words. A shiver came down his back, as his eyes shined bright.

"Fenly, you can teleport us to Aunt Eliza's house, right? I am sure she will be reading something and be enamoured with it, forgetting everything else. Or she could be at work, something important could have come up." William continued, each passing second more anxious than the last.

"Fenly...can, master." the house elf replied, unwillingly, as she took the boy's hand into her own.

A moment later, they were standing outside the cottage where Elizabeth was staying. Immediately, something wasn't right. The plants seemed neglected. The windows seemed dusty. And the door was unlocked, unwelcoming silence waiting on the other side. No...

William and Fenly stepped inside, looking around. Things were all over the place, broken cases, pieces of glass shattered at the floor. As they continued towards the living room, things seemed progressively worse. Books were torn apart. Armchairs were broken in half. And red dots were splashed across the floor. No...

In front of him laid Aunt Elizabeth, surrounded by a pool of blood, her wand further apart. Her cold, lifeless eyes were staring at the ceiling, as William fell to his knees, taking his aunt's hand into his own. No...

Fenly sat silent, unable to come up with words that would fit the situation. Her eyes darkened, however, as she inspected the body closer. She took a few steps backwards, gasping, before noticing a piece of paper having been placed on top of the coffee table. She took it into her hands, before dropping it to her feet and turning to William.

"Fenly knows who did this..."

William immediately turned to the direction of the house elf, his eyes filled with anger. He spoke, after minutes of silence.

"Who?" Poison filled his mouth, as he waited for Fenly to answer his question.

"Jonathan Barrow, master."

"How... How do you know?" William was sitting on the floor, looking at the carpet, breathing in and out as he was constantly reminded that this wasn't a dream, but the worst nightmare, life itself.

"This... This is how he used to kill. Fenly remembers. And..." She gave the boy the letter that she had found on the table. "This is his writing style. Fenly is certain. Barrow is the killer of Ms Elizabeth."

William took the letter into his hands, opening it carefully. With big, capital letters, it read STAY AWAY. He was now fuming, clenching his fist until blood came out.

"It isn't fair... It isn't fair... Nothing of this is fair!" he yelled in an outburst of pure rage. "Why? Why?"

An eternity seemed to have passed as William stood up. He straightened his clothes, and, with a cold look on his face, took his aunt's wand and put it in his pocket. Opening his bag, he took out a knife that he placed in his other pocket, his mind set on what he would do next. He took Fenly into the kitchen, shutting the door of the living room. He shut all curtains into the house, after noticing that it was dark now, dawn seemingly near. "So many hours lost..." he murmured, a son he turned, with a serious look towards Fenly.

"I have an order for you, Fenly. A mission. Find Barrow. Don't do anything with him. Just find him and let me know. You have the coin I have given you, so you can contact me easily."

Fenly nodded, as she remained by his side.

"Don't come to me until you have found him. And, remember, I saved your life. You owe me. So, I suggest not running away now. I have...other plans. Before I report all this mess, I have to make use of this wand." William hissed, as Fenly saw a dark fire in his eyes, one that she had seen only sporadically before, and much more contained. Now, it seemed permanent.

"What are you waiting for, go!" William yelled, as Fenly, with a swift bow, teleported away.

"Hopefully you do your job well, elf. Now, it's his turn..."

Now, His house

The keys echoed in the silent house, as the door opened with a creaking sound. A man, wearing a jacket and gloves, carrying a bag from the nearby mini market, entered the house, sighing in relief. He was younger than what he looked like, with his once brown hair having started becoming gray. He removed his jacket and placed it on the coat hanger by the door, as he started to make his way towards the kitchen.

Suddenly, he stopped. He turned slowly to the knife that was on the table, before moving his eyes towards the boy sitting in the sofa, observing him. He placed his bag at his feet and met the gaze of the young man.

"Where is my wife?" the man asked, with a serious tone, as he looked at the knife once more.

William took the knife in his hands, as he pointed his aunt's wand towards the man.

"Upstairs. Sleeping. Don't worry Mr. Davison, I didn't harm her." he continued, as he saw the worried look of the man.

"Who... Who are you? Why are you in my house?" the man asked, as the clock struck twelve.

"William Darkenstone." the young wizard replied, as the man took a deep breath.

"Ah... Of course. I always knew this day would come. I knew I would have to pay for my crime."

William stood up from the sofa, as he nodded at the man to sit on it. The scarred boy dragged a chair, placing it opposite the sofa as he sat on it, looking at Davison.

"Remember the name?"

"How could I forget?" Davison replied, taking another deep breath. "Darkenstone, Rashid, Williams, Andrews, Stark, Khan, Liu. All the people I murdered that day."

William didn't move, he simply continued observing the man who had killed his parents.

"I am no longer a bus driver. I was suspended and placed in jail for a year. I work at a grocery store now. I don't drink anymore. How could I, after all?" Davison continued, as he lit a cigarette.
"She-" he said, pointing upstairs "-helped me a lot. I am a changed man now, thanks to her. Of course, that doesn't change anything."

William nodded, gravely, not having lowered his wand. He twisted the knife in his fingers, as he listened.

"I still have nightmares. I remember all their faces. For those on the bus, all their voices as well. They come, every night. They want... a ticket." he said, breaking down in tears, his cigarette falling off his mouth.
"I know why you are here. And, I know I can't change your mind. I know... I probably shouldn't even try." he continued, sobbing. "How could you forgive me? I know... I wouldn't. And I don't forgive myself..."

"I won't forgive you. No matter what you say." William merely uttered, as he continued looking at the man.

"I... know. I know you want to... I know. Vengeance... But, don't hurt her. Don't hurt my love." Davison continued, as he had regained his calm.

William smirked. He looked straight at the man's eyes, noticing how uncomfortable Davison seemed by his scarred eye.

"Well, that's just not fair, though, is it? You murdered my family. It's only fair I murder yours." The man's eyes began to widen, as he started murmuring "No..."

"She's innocent! I killed your parents, not her! Let her be!" the man raised his voice towards the wizard.

"Innocent? Muggle insects deserve to be squashed at every opportunity. Not one is innocent. Death and servitude, those are the only things worthy of a Muggle." William continued, smirking, as the man seemed to have stopped hearing the wizard's words.

"I lied, Davison." Poison dripped from William's mouth as the man finally turned back to his direction.

"What?"

"She was lovely. Your wife, I mean." The man coughed, turning to William.

"Was?"

"Oh, yes. I slit her throat. She is drowning in a sea of blood. Can't you hear?" William stopped, a dark smile on his lips, as the man's eyes turned to the ceiling.
"The drops. Splashing on the floor. Wonderful, isn't it?"

"NO!" the man yelled, as he jumped back. Before he could get close to the young man, he had turned his aunt's wand towards his direction.

"Avada Kedavra"

A green flash lit the room for a mere moment, as the man fell to the floor. His eyes were cold, his look a blank and lifeless one towards William. He couldn't contain his smile.

"So much power... Exhilarating."

He approached the door, leaving two bodies behind. Looking over at the house he smiled again, as he raised his aunt's wand, once more.

"Incendio"

The house was suddenly engulfed in flames, the fire swallowing anything in its wake, as William opened the door. He locked it behind him, as he hid his face from any unwanted eyes. Stepping into the shadows, he turned around to see that the fire was not visible yet.

"Well, something is missing." he whispered, as he pointed his aunt's wand towards the sky above the house.

"Morsmordre" he hissed, waving his aunt's wand in an unique manner.

Suddenly, the clouds formed a skull, as if the skull was screaming. Lines were drawn from behind the skull, while a shape was being formed in front of it, as if it had filed out of the open mouth. A raven... William thought, as dark clouds made up the dark-coloured bird, harbinger of death. He turned his back at the house and his Dark Mark, smiling, before the cloaked figure vanished into the shadows...

[The Flutterlands]

Christmas Eve, Raphaël's House

Bernadette Raymond

Ms. Raymond, a tall beautiful woman with blond hair, was quite busy this early afternoon finishing up in getting ready for the Christmas Party this evening with cooking and decorating. Her two daughters, Pénélope and Nicole, were out playing in the snow, her baby daughter was asleep in her crib and Raph was upstairs playing video games. Bernadette's husband, Timothée Raymond was at work and would be home in an hour. It was going to be a busy evening today and Bernadette wanted it to be perfect for her children and their friends.

As Bernadette checked on the turkey in the oven, she heard a knock on the door. Walking up to the door, which she opened, Bernadette smiled to see the wizard Alexander Markus. standing before her. She found wizardkind to be an odd folk, but she loved her son who was also a wizard to her surprise. "Bonjour, Monsieur Markus. ‎Joyeux Noël!" she greeted and ushered the boy inside, "You're early, but, come right in and make yourself comfortable. Raph is in his room playing. I'm sure he'd love to have you join him."

Alexander Markus

Alexander had a lovely break at his ancestral home of Castle Markus since returning from Hogwarts and looked forward to his boyfriend's Christmas party ths evening. He walked down the snowy street towards Raphaël's house after being apporated by his mother, Esmeralda. His parents were still reluctant about letting Alex go with to Raph's party due to the increase in muggleborn terror attacks, but they once again relented. Alexander didn't really care for the attacks as long as he got to spend time with his lover.

Alexander smiled as he knocked on the door of Raphaël's house and was greeted by Raph's mother. "Greetings, Ms. Raymomd. Merry Christmas." he said as he was ushered inside, "Of course, I'd like to go play Video Games with Raphaël. The contraptions you muggles make are just fascinating and it's fun playing with Raph."

Alexander went upstairs to Raphaël's room and knocked before entering. He walked inside and smiled to see his boyfriend sitting on his bed, eyes locked on his tv and video game controller in hand. "Merry Christmas, Raph." he said walking up to the muggleborn wizard, giving him a kiss as he sat on the bed, "Having fun? Think we can do two player with that game?"

Raphaël Raymond

Raphaël was relaxed on his bed in a semi-trance with controller in hand as he played Star Wars: Battlefront III on his PS5 and HD TV. His bedroom was decorated with a hoshposh of nerdish and wizard paraphernalia of all sorts, including sci-fi, anime and Hogwarts posters, comicbooks, manga, and figures. Excited for the Christmas Party, Raph had a bunch of ideas of things to do with his friends, sharing the fun of muggle activities. Normally, it was more fun to do these things on his own, left to hid thoughts, but he was okay with making an exception.

Raphael broke his glance when Alexander came into his room. Moving over to allow Alex more space to sit, Raph smiled and returned his kiss. "Sure I could get us set up for some two player while wait for the others." he said, "I got a whole of stuff planned out for us to do. Of course that is if our friends want to play to begin with."

Raphaël handed Alex a controller and resetted the game before the two boys began to enjoy spending time together once more.

[Skylus]

It should be "Mrs.", Flutters, not "Ms.", Cause she's married

Derek

His parents had dropped him off some time before and now he found himself inside the Raymond residence.
A woman hat could only be Raph's mother gestured upstairs and Derek decided to "crash the party", so to speak.

"Well if it isn't you two! Listen, I've got something that the two of you might want to look at. Raph, I uh..brought an old game system...But I need a tv to plug it into...Can I use yours?"

[Arlye Austros]

London. King´s Cross

He was quite surprised about receiving that letter. It got him out of quite some trouble. He was now, officially, estranged from his family. It was shocking. Devastating would be better. He recalled he could barely breath out of the blow it was. He read it again as the train lowered down.

<<Your father says you are missing, and accuses you of beating and using the Cruciatus curse on your aunt. Of course he knows you are at Hogwarts, but has implied he won´t defend you before the Hunters if you come back. He publicly said you are not his son. So did your mother. We need to talk. I am sending a false letter authorizing you to go to London and spend the Christmas break there. I have rented a small room in Bloomsbury from some old witch. I will meet you at the station.
Chris.>>

The hissing sound of the breaks announced their arrival to the station. He said goodbye to the Hufflepuffs he had been sharing sits with and stepped out, looking around. He didn´t see him.

Christian´s letter was a relief. He wasn´t sure he would be allowed to leave Hogwarts without a parental authorization. Nobody seemed to care too much though. Everyone left the magically-concealed platform. Where was he?

“Rica.” He heard. Christian, black-cladded and his head covered in a thick hood, walked towards him, smiling. They both embraced each other.
“Been a while, man.” He said. Ricardo laughed. “How was school? You behaving?”
“Shut up!” They walked towards the magical barrier. “Not bad. I´ve been doing my stuff, but mostly laying low. Getting expelled right now would be terrible.”
They didn´t talked until they walked out to the street. “Have you been in London all this time?”

Christian seemed too worried about getting a ride. “Coming and going. I have been trying to keep an eye at things at home. There have been some attacks. But you family is safe, don´t worry.” He quickly said when noticing Ricardo opened his eyes worried.
“No problems moving through the borders?”
Christian laughed, and stopped looking out to the street for a second. “No. I am sure the Ministry of Magic is aware of my movements, but so far I´ve been using muggle transportation as much as I can. Crossing the ocean is an entirely different thing. But people in Africa don´t care too much either.”
They were silent once more when on a car, and only talked again until Christian locked the door of his room. “You can sleep on the couch. Sorry, it´s not too much, but we need to get by.”

He looked around. It was a small room with two sections, a bathroom and a room with a bed, a couch and a small table with two chairs. There was food on a plate. “How do you pay for it?”
“The lady I told about you doesn´t charge me. I kind of took advantage of petty, must admit, after I told her our little story. But I still pay for everything else. I got myself a job in Diagon Alley. Small thing that allows me to take a leave when I ask for it.”
He remembered the Alley. It sound exciting. “What are you doing there?” Ricardo left his baggage on the couch and sat a stool by a wall. “Must be interesting.”
“Oh. I just help around with the animals. It´s one of the pet stores in there. Owls, cats, rats.” Christian walked to a corner of the room and opened a small fridge. “I tell you, these English have this strange custom to bring pets to school”
Ricardo thought it was ironic. “We have this strange custom of not having schools.”

Christian stopped searching through the fridge and turned to Ricardo, serious, maybe even angry.
“I had a school. And somebody made sure I couldn’t go back.”
Perhaps he had touched something he shouldn´t have. Ricardo remembered Alicia, and felt awful. “I am sorry. I didn´t…” But he did remembered Christian did tell him. “I feel I have betrayed her. I miss her. But with Hogwarts and all, I haven´t really been able to think about her.”
Christian had been frowning. Seemingly annoyed or offended. But his look relaxed a bit, into petty. “I am sorry. I shouldn´t have said that. Not like that.” He was holding two bottles in a hand, and threw one at Ricardo. “Drink.”

It was beer. Not the soft one he drank in Hogsmead. Just normal beer. “I am fourteen, Christian.” He passed it back to his friend, who sat at the couch. But the older teenager refused.
“Take it. A bit of rebellion against fatherly authority would sit you well. Besides. It´s not like we can drive or anything.”
Perhaps he was right. Christian reached for an opened and opened his bottle, then reached for Ricardo´s and opened it. After some seconds looking at the mouth of the bottle he took into into his lips and drank.
“But we can do much more dangerous stuff.” Like killing. He recalled the snake, its head swelling and then exploding in flames. It was not even a clean kill, and it was horrible.

They drank in silence, and when a third round was on the table Ricardo felt terribly sleepy. He didn´t realize when he passed out.


The next day

The head! Somebody banged a hammer outside. Or perhaps a claxon. It hurt, really bad. Ricardo tried to stand up, but could barely make it into sitting.. He was laying on the couch, with a blanket and his shoes off. It was grey outside, the sun perhaps coming out slowly. How much had he been asleep?

“I´m sorry.” Christian said. He was sitting on the floor, his back laying against a corner. He was beyond Ricardo´s sight, unable to really notice beyond a blur. Christian stood up. “I thought I could turn you in to your father. But…”

He struggled to get up and looked for his wand. But it landed on his lap. “I just couldn´t. I can´t.”
He grabbed it and aimed at his friend. “Why?” When he said it he felt an awful taste.
“I really miss home. I have been going there and all, but I miss my family. I can´t find them, you see. When I got there they were gone. After many days I found out…” He stood up and sat on the couch, by Ricardo´s feet. This forced him to look higher, and he lost his balance and fell back on his back. “… I found out they fled. They had been told I was under the Imperius, and would try to harm them. Your father then left a message in the house. He said if I came out willingly and turned you to him everything would be back to normal.”

Ricardo noticed he had been crying. “And you know what? For a moment I thought I would do it. I wanted to. But after you passed out and started to make things ready… well. I just realized I couldn´t.”
They just stared at each other in silence for some time.
“Have to go. Store opens in a while. You can stay here. Mrs. Laindeu will bring you breakfast.”
He walked to the door.
“Christian.” Ricardo stopped him as he reached for the door handle. “You know you can´t trust him, right? Not even one bit.”
He turned. Ricardo continued. “I need help. We will talk later about it. But I need… well… This is all related to a dream of mine, a nightmare. After Alicia I´ve been having it a lot. I didn´t have it since I was really small. Thing is, I need to recall some details.”
Christian smiled. “I will think about something. I have to go. Meet me in the Alley later.”


Christmas Eve.
Isolde

Her parents had insisted she went with them to Norfolk to visit some relatives, but she refused even more, and eventually just got dropped near Raphaël´s home. She brought a present for the host. As a muggleborn, Raphaël was fairly mysterious to her, but she had heard he liked books, so she brought ”A Pocket guide to Magical History through Europe”, which she personally liked, specially due to the maps.

She walked through the street until she arrived at the right number. It was a four stories building. The first floor was painted white, but the upper ones where made by black brick. It looked rather muggle, she thought, smiling.
Isolde walked up.

“Grenwald?” She heard a voice.
“Ah! Ricardo.” The young wizard came also with a little box behind his arm. “Coming to the party as well. Seems we are both early.”
He smiled, climbing the first stairs and looking up to her. “Yes. I am staying at a friend´s home not too far from here, so it is not really a big distance.”

Without further words she turned and knocked the door.

[Britanania]

Caitie: Christmas Eve

The young witch arrived at Raphael's townhouse on her flying carpet--one of the few lifted restrictions she agreed with from the previous Ministry--and in Arabain-styled clothes complete with a slight tan that accented her Veela beauty. The blonde teenager stepped off of the carpet and with the snap of her fingers the magical artefact rolled itself up into a more compact form which she carried underhand and knocked on Raphael's front door.

"Marhaba kifak!" she cheerfully greeted in Arabic to complete the image.

[Miekzhemy]

Andrew

Watching Rachel transform back into her normal self was a bit of a relief - knowing that she was back with them. He honestly hoped she was OK after the tournament, and that such a long sleep had helped mitigate any ill affects she'd received.

Looking at her, he felt an edge of concern. She was thinner - noticably so. She must be starving - literally - after a week of no food. And thirsty as hell, too.

"Uh - Christmas Eve. D'ya want me to get some food? Water? I'll bet you're starving."

Rachel

Rachel stared forward towards Andrew for an awkwardly long time after he spoke. Then, almost suddenly, her stomach lurched. Putting a hand up to cover her mouth, she staggered off the bed and sprinted out of the room, nearly shoving Andrew out of the way in the process. She stumbled into the bathroom just across the hallway and slammed the door shut. Judging by the sound, it was clear she was throwing up. What exactly she was throwing up, however, was a question yet to be answered. She hadn't eaten that whole week.

It took several minutes before the bathroom door opened again, and Rachel hobbled out. "Sorry..." she said warily. "I didn't even--" she had continued before she was abruptly interrupted by the aroma of a certain scent coming from downstairs. The scent of food.

And it smelled bloody delicious.

Almost mechanically, Rachel moseyed on down the stairs and proceeded to eat the biggest breakfast she had ever eaten in her life.

London - That Afternoon

It had been a while after most of the others had arrived at Raphael's door. Rachel and Andrew had been some of the last to arrive, choosing to travel by broom.

Rachel touched down outside of the house with a cracked pair of quidditch goggles over her eyes. She was dressed warmly in the same wool-lined bomber jacket that she had gotten the year prior, paired with jeans and a scarf. However, she still looked oddly thinner than she had been a week ago, despite eating a huge breakfast. Her mother had packed a series of chocolates and other Christmas-themed treats to give to the others.

"This seems like the address," Rachel remarked as she approached the door. She brought a hand up and knocked.

[The Flutterlands]

Raphaël Raymond

Raph smiled as Derek arrived. It was good that his friends were now arriving. The more players the more fun for the game he had in mind. "Bonjour, Derek." he greeted before noticing the SNES and making a great big grin, "Oh cool! That's an antique! Of course you can set it up. Just let mebhelp you as I have a lot of consoles that take up space... In fact, just use my SNES. Though I would like to play some rounds of Super Smash Bros on my WiiU soon. Whst games do you have?"

Alexander Markus

Alexander smiled as Derek arrived and wavec hello to him. Playing video games have prooved to be an awesome activity. Of course his parents probably wouldn't approve of such 'Muggle Trash'. However, that wasn't going to stop him from playing anyway. "Awesome, Derek." said Alex as he observed the SNES, "But where did you get that? How do you play it at magical home? Magic and Muggle Tech don't mix well in large quantities..."

---

Bernadette Raymond

Everything was ready now that Timothée was home, the girls were inside with their friends and Raph's friends were also arriving. The decorations were set and most of the food was prepared and laid out on the table to be eaten. Bernadette smiled at her handywork with a satisfied smile. You really know how to put on a sight. she told herself, Raphaël, my daughters and their friends will certainly enjoy this.

Bernafette then sighed as she heard her baby daughter, Michèle, crying in her crib. Sighing, Mrs. Raymond went into Michèle's room. As she picked up the crying infant, Raph's mother heard the doork knock and went to answer, smiling to see more of her son's friends. Bernadette was quite a bit phased by seeing Caitie on a flying carpet, but didn't say anything in order to not be rude.

"Bonjour, children." the muggle woman greeted those who came to the door, still trying to relax and calm her crying daughter still in her arms, "Joyeux Noël. Raph is upstairs in his room with the others and there are snacks on the table for you to munch on for while you wait for the turkey to finish cooking."

[Skylus]

Derek

"Where did I get it from? This was Madi's. which means...the games I have will not run on yours, Raph...Why?"
Derek took the white and purple box from his travel bag and set it on the carpet, then pulled out several games.
"Well...Do my games look anything like yours?"
Closer inspection would reveal that the carts were differently shaped than their original carts, and had updated "cart art".
"So...", Derek laid aside all of he games he had brought, save one.
"Chronicles came out a while ago...But this...This, is the original. want to watch?"
Derek had set everything up by now, so he blew on the cart (even now, still have to blow in it!), inserted the cart into the deck, switched everything on, and merely waited.
The sound of a space jet traveling through space went from one speaker from the other and then faded away.....

It was dark. And silent. Then, letters began to roll across the screen in a old computer fashion.
Corneria; Central Hub of the Lylat System
Current time: Midnight
Footsteps echoed through a room filled with flashing lights and muted beeps and whatnot.
They stopped before a see through map that stood about six feet tall.
"General Pepper, Sir, we're picking up multiple ships coming out of Hyperspace...Wait...No, they are coming from the Black Hole...."
A suit wearing Cheteah was flicking switches and buttons. He looked up at the screen above him and narrowed his green eyes.
"Uhhhh...." He started in a nervous tone. "Sir....That's Andross' main battle cruiser...If....He's coming here, then..."
The Cheetah threw back his chair from the desk and over to the map.
He then began opening and closing cameras.
"Fortuna's gone....Meteo's under attack....Vemon's already done for, we've know that for ages...."
"Clarence."
The red suited dog walked over to the technician and laid a white gloved paw on his shoulder.
He then drew in a deep breath.
"Get everyone up here, now."
"But....Sir?"
"And yes....send them out."
The Cheetah merely looked at him before nodding frantically and rolling his chair back over to his desk.

It was dark in the hangar bay, and silent. But not for long. Numerous people were up in the Command Deck, flicking things on and making everything was working properly.
Then a light was flicked on over a lone ship, one that looked like a dog's head, almost.
Then, there was a voice. Two voices, actually.
“Internal power to enable.”
“Enabled.”
“External power to disable.”
“Disabled”
“Primary weapons to enable.”
“Enabled.”
“Secondary weapons to enable and prime.”
“Primed.”
“Astrogation systems to enable.”
“Enabled.”
“Life support to enable.”
“Enabled.”
“Deflector shields to enable and prime.”
“Primed.”
“Targeting systems to enable.”
“Enabled.”
“Alpha interface to enable.”
“Enabled.”
“Beta interface to prime.”
“Primed.”
“Twin lasers to enable.”
“Enabled.”
“Nova bombs to prime.”
“Primed.”
“Star-flight mode to enable.”
“Enabled.”
“All-range mode to prime.”
“Primed.”
Then the lights came on over head in the hangar.
Four of these ships were now facing the bay doors, and they were on and ready to fly.
"All systems go."
"This is Command. Acknowledged. Arwings Primed and Ready to fly."

All around the base, ships were being brought down like flies. But then, the fleet of ships began to mass their attack on the man base itself, hoping to slaughter all those inside.
"We are winning, Sir Andross! YOUR VICTORY IS NEAR!"

Muted explosions rocked the base, sparks were raining down from everything, meanwhile, inside Command, Pepper was standing at the window, watching his city burn and fall.
"We need to get them in the air now, Sir."
Pepper turned to face his officers.
"Indeed. Sound the alarm."
"...Which is?"
Pepper grinned.
"Scramble."

The four ships were gliding down the runway, their weapons and engines starting up. The running lights kicked on and lit up the darkened hangar.
Meanwhile, wailing sirens echoed throughout the base and red lights flashed on the walls and floor.
"This is not a drill. I repeat, this is not a drill. This is an emergency. Enemy forces are inbound. Prepare for launch when able."
Five minutes later, the ships rose into the air, the doors opened, and all four of them shot into the sky.
The screen then turned to black as the sounds of war faded out.

Meanwhile, above Corneria, a attack cruiser was entering the atmosphere, bringing more reinforcements. One of the many ships turned and flew straight towards the camera, as if shooting at the people behind the screen. There was static.
Then everything went dark. From out of nowhere, a well known voice to Corneria echoed across time and space.
"I've been waiting for you,Star Fox.....MWWWHHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!!!!"

".....Now, that, is awesome."

[Halonica]

Alteran, The Ashfield Residence, Christmas Eve

Checking his watch impatiently, Alteran waited for his sister to finally get dressed. He'd already dressed himself thirty minutes ago, picking out black jeans, a crimson long-sleeved t-shirt, and a brown coat. He and his sister had gotten permission from their parents to fly to Raphael's house via broomstick. While Alteran was deathly afraid of falling, those flying lessons he'd taken in his first year at Hogwarts weren't for naught; he was confident he'd make the journey without any complications.... if they made the journey at all. Sighing, the young boy called upstairs to his sister, "Oi, Addy! Hurry up or we're gonna be late!!!"

Adelaine

Oh, what do I wear, what do I wear?!?!?

This thought had been running through Adelaine's mind for the past hour, as she picked out and discarded outfit after outfit, for various reasons. Too tacky, too formal, too casual, too festive, not festive enough... The list goes on. Adelaine wasn't normally so indecisive, but she'd never been to a party before, and she wanted to be sure to look good for this one. As she lamented over her choice of outfits, her older brother called for her to hurry up and choose already. The young girl squeaked, and scrambled to find an outfit, simply no longer caring at this point. Moments later, she'd arrived downstairs, having picked out a red skirt, a white button up shirt, and a sage green jacket. Giving her a thumbs up, Alteran handed her a broom, took up his own, and walked outside.

The Ashfield Siblings, Raphael's house

The two siblings arrived at the Raymond house just in time, knocking on the door. They knew Raphael came from a French family, and so they'd been practicing a little greeting over the past week for when his mother answered the door. As she did so, they both grinned and simultaneously said, "Bonjour, Madame Raymond! ‎Joyeux Noël!"

[World Anarchic Union]

Anton Valgerth Hurt

Anton waited at the side of the bed. Outside the window, kids his age were playing , running around the orphanage, as magic was not allowed for them to use freely. He sighed, drumming his fingers on the wooden table in front of him, as rain began pouring down outside. Some of the children ran inside, while others continued to play in the rain, making the caretaker yell at them to come inside. Anton let out a smile, as a bird landed at the porch, directly in front of him. It turned towards his direction and looked at the boy's eyes, before letting out a cry and opening its black wings, flying off towards the horizon. A raven...

His thoughts were interrupted by a subtle knock on the door. He turned around, to see a young girl, at the age of 13, sitting with her back against the wall. Her skin was pale, blonde hair falling on to her shoulders, as her green eyes jumped to the direction of the boy. She smiled, as Anton turned around.

"Good morning Anton. Pretty nice weather, isn't it?" she said sarcastically, before coughing, as discreetly as she could.

"Good morning Susan. It's great, yes. Did you go outside, before the cataclysm?" Anton said, as Susan smiled, with a hint of melancholy.

"No, I was at the infirmary. I missed a cloudy morning, a first in London's history!" she said, before laughing.

"Are you... feeling better today?" Anton asked, as Susan turned serious for a moment.

"Well, kinda... But you know me and illnesses, we go hand in hand." she murmured, before cheering on again. "Never mind me, have you heard the news?"

"What news? I haven't heard anything." he replied, as he took another look towards the courtyard, now completely empty.

"A new boy has arrived! Same age as you. And he will stay in your room, since Peter left. It's great, isn't it? You are going to have some company. Hopefully, he isn't like Peter. Or any of the others." she continued, enthusiastically, before falling on to the bed. With a sigh, she grabbed her diary from inside her bag and started writing, quickly, shielding it as best as she could from Anton's eyes. Anton smiled, not wanting to intrude on her privacy as he started thinking about the new arrival.

"Hopefully. We have enough assholes as it is." Anton uttered, trying to think who could his new roommate be. "Also, being happy about a new arrival doesn't really work in this place, does it?" he continued, smiling, as Susan started laughing off the top of her lungs.

"I am so horrible." Susan said, between her laughter, before she was interrupted by a figure on the corridor.

"The caretaker pointed me towards this direction. Am I in the right room?" the dark-haired, scarred boy asked, turning his eyes between the two people in the room.

Susan smiled, as she extended her hand towards the boy.

"Hopefully Miss Greff, the caretaker, wasn't mean. She usually is, but she puts on a nice face for newcomers.
I am Susan. Susan Lyndon. You seem familiar."

"William Darkenstone. We must have bumped into each other in Hogwarts. You are students at Hogwarts, right?" William said, as she shook the girl's hand.

"Yes, all of us here. Anton, by the way. Anton Hurt." Anton said, approaching William and extending his hand.

"I think I will leave you boys get acquainted. See ya." Susan smiled, as she exited the room, heading to her own, her arms locked around her diary. The new boy seems...strange. But nice. Hopefully.

William shook Anton's hand after waving at Susan. He turned to the direction of the boy and smiled.

"First time in an orphanage. It all seems surreal, really."

Anton nodded, as he sat down at the bed, prompting William to sit as well.

"All my life I have been in and out of orphanages. I have to tell you they are pretty bad. Like, they can be horrible. Soul wrenching. And, to be completely honest, most times they are." Anton uttered, not noticing that he had clenched his fists. Once he noticed, he calmed down, taking a deep breath. Be calm. Collected. But it was too late.

William noticed the fist and smiled even more, grinning at the possibilities that were beginning to unfold before him.

"I can see that. Life is very unfair, most times. Only we can and should change that, in my opinion." he said, as he began thinking to himself. A little raw but he can be refined...

[Britanania]

Caitie

Caitie nodded as Raph's mum opened the door and incited her in. Not long after she arrived, Rachel and Andrew also entered the house of their French-born wizard classmate. She turned around and gave the pair a slight wave and placed her carpet leanig against a wall.

"Hey," she said and inspected them. "Were have you been spending the break, Rachel? A cave?" Caitie joked, noticing Rachel's slightly lethargic appearance.

I wonder what's up with her? Depression, perhaps?

[Skylus]

Derek

He had paused his game when Caitie walked in and all he could do was stare up at her.
He actually did a double-take.
"....UUUUhhhhh.....Just where have you been? And...."
He found himself noting how tan she was.
"...Did you spend your time outside 24/7?"

[Britanania]

Caitie

The young witch had wandered into the room where the small gathering were sitting around some muggle device--a T.V, she thought--and were using an object to control images on the screen. Caitie frowned.

I've heard of this before. This is a muggle entertainment device, I think they call it a 'video game'. Such a strange concept, and why would Derek be interested in something like this? Then again, his family has always had a weird fascination with muggle stuff, and not for the right reasons either.

Caitie was about to quit the room and find some more people to talk with when Derek ceased the game and asked her some questions. The sun-kissed and licked beauty smiled popped her hip and placed her hands on her thin waist.

"I was spending some time in Egypt," she explained. "I have a few stories if you're interested."