Sanctimonia Vincet Semper.

“that’s not going to do anything y’know,” monica chirps, as if it’s already not the most obvious thing here. “you’re going to have to buy something else if it’s stuck - to knock it down. and even so, do you really want those processed hostess pies that badly ?”

hearing someone speak up about his struggle made draco turn around, shooting a death glare at the girl. “i don’t recall asking for your input. unhelpful advice never pleases people,” he said cooly, glancing back to the machine he was arguing with. “i don’t care about the pies. i'm out to actually get what i paid for, thank you very much.”

     muggle. now that’s not a word you hear every day—at least not on this island. instantly, tonks’ attention picks up, moving towards the boy. her cousin, to be specific ; one of two she’s never met before. she approaches, arms lazily crossing over her chest as she watches the dramatics unfold before her. ❝ reckon you might overcook the crisps if you do that, ❞ tonks theorizes, oh so helpfully. ❝ this one’s got a reputation of being the cursed box. you had the right idea with givin’ it a kick, but give it a go on the side. it shakes all the springs. ❞ and whatever you do—do not ever try to stick your arm up there. it doesn’t work. not that she knows from experience or anything.

“as if it would matter much since it won’t give me anything either way.” draco glared at the girl coming up next to him, pushing a hand through his hair to make sure it wasn’t making him look like a rascal, or worse; like potter. looking at her, draco was convinced he recognized her face at least somewhat. there was something over her eyes that reminded him of his mother and aunt, at least the aunt he’d actually met out of the two. his mother and aunt bellatrix hadn’t told him much about their sister, and barely recognized her existence when he’d asked after seeing her name on their family tree once as a child. “about 98 percent of all curses can be broken or reversed.” he wasn’t very inclined to do as the girl said, especially not while she was looking, so he retorted to smoothing out his shirt again, plucking off some imaginary dust from it.

“should i be?” regulus smirked, arms crossed over his thin chest. he leaned back against a table, raising an equally challenging eyebrow in response.

“don’t candles give off more warm lighting than regular lights? you’d be orange instead of yellow. i’m not sure i’d consider that an improvement. ideal lighting would be soft white light.”

“i’m still here, aren’t i? should be enough for anyone to be grateful,” draco stated simply, mindlessly doodling in the corner of one if his papers. he would consider himself a quite talented doodle-artist if you asked, given the hours of practice he’d gotten during his history of magic classes.

he knows its a vile habit. if his mother saw, she would crucify him. maybe a part of him hopes that if he keeps doing it, she’ll track him down, and then he won’t have to be alone in the world anymore. wishful thinking.

“fine, fine. i should quit, anyway.” starting was a mistake. he tucks the cigarette away, holding up his hands, as though in surrender. “better?”

gansey has to take a moment to parse what draco said, blinking, pleasant smile fixed into place. “there are nicer ways to ask me to get on my knees for you, draco.”

he’s never done anything like that in his life, and they both know it. many would think he thought he was above it, given that he’s gansey. but truthfully, he’d never been presented with an opportunity, so maybe?

granted, this is not that opportunity, either. this is draco taking the piss, being a brat, as per usual.

turning back to the shop window to make sure his hair was in immaculate condition, draco smirked as he watched his friend actually do as he said. that was one of the things he’d wished most with hogwarts, other than having house elves cleaning up everything he couldn’t be bothered with himself; people doing as he said. gansey wasn’t quite as obedient as crabbe and goyle had been, but it was enough to boost draco’s ego at least. “yes, very much. thank you.”

wally thinks, for a moment, of sebastian, of dick, of all the people he’s tried flirting with in the past week or so. “not… rrrreally. equal opportunity idiot, i guess.”

he wants to crack a dumb joke in response to the word versatile. it sits on the tip of his tongue, begging to be used.

who is he to deny it?

“is that the only thing you’re versatile about?”

draco couldn’t help the laugh that escaped his lips, watching the other male as he stirred the sugar into his tea. “well, there’s never been anything wrong in knowing what you want and going after it,” he hummed.

“You’re sure to get it that way” The words fell sarcastically. Cassie tilted her neck to the side, with the corner of her lips curving into a half-smirk. Her attention was immediately grabbed at the mention of burning the machine. Rolling her eyes to the side, Cassie bit her top lip as she shook her head in slight disapproval. However, everyone knows vending machines like to take your money. 

Although Cassie had been on the island for approximately half a year, truthfully she had not come across any witches, at least to her knowledge. Not that she was complaining, ever since learning about being a witch, it felt as if her life shattered into pieces, the more she learned about it. She missed everyone from the circle, even Faye, but it was better this way.

“ It’s not that serious, it’s just a candy bar.” 

whipping his head around to whoever had talked to him, draco raised his eyebrows questioningly at the girl. “if i’m not getting what i want, why should anybody else?” he just replied, pushing his hair back into place from where it had fallen over his forehead. he definitely didn’t like the smirk placed on the other person’s face.

“People being sensitive is both amusing and annoying” he said and shrugged as he looked at the younger, bright haired male. But then again, a lot of things annoyed the man. But that wasn’t something the other had to know. Some things were better kept a secret. Crossing his arms over his chest as an amused smile formed on his lips. “Broom, you say?” of course he heard right but he just wanted to hear him say it again.

draco just hummed in agreement, mindlessly doodling in the corner of one of his papers. he wasn’t entirely sure why, but by now he knew he recognized the man and the fact that he couldn’t put his finger on what it was aggravated him to no end. 

at the question, the blonde mentally cursed himself. “i mean-” he began, but didn’t entirely know how to explain his wording. he wasn’t used to having long conversations with muggles, after all. “broom, yes.”

ginny couldn’t believe her luck. what the actual fuck was going on? she could remember the end of the battle of hogwarts, could remember that voldemort was finally dead, but.. besides that, there wasn’t much else. she woke up in here, no signs of her family and.. everything ended. she made a life for herself here, yes, because.. what else could she do? what else could she go after, when there was no way out of this place?  as she passed a vending machine, however, ginny couldn’t believe her own eyes. draco fucking malfoy.. really? out of all people? that must have been a joke, that was for sure.  “watch your tongue, malfoy. we’re all muggles here. what got you so angry, hey?”  as she took a look at the machine and malfoy, ginny couldn’t help it but throw her head back and laugh, because.. no matter how bad the situation, there was nothing funnier than watching draco malfoy be forced to survive as a muggle.  hogwarts might have been not very far from here, but… she needed her family, not the damned school. at his reaction, ginny threw her head back and laughed. “go on, i dare you. watching your ass be dragged to jail would be the most satisfying part of my day. of my whole life, to be honest with you.”

hearing his name being spoken, draco spun around and groaned out loudly. of course he wouldn’t be left alone even here, never escaping the golden gryffindors. “weaslette,” he spoke, quickly collecting his face into his usual sneer as he smoothed out his shirt. “i thought i could smell copper around.”  he pretended to not notice as she was laughing at him, and instead crossed his arms over his chest. “while you might already be as close to a muggle as a witch possibly can be, doesn’t mean that goes for all of us.” 

after a long day at the bar with little to no bar guests, (5 if she were being specific), sibella dragged herself to the vending machine. surely she couldn’t go all out and order a five course meal with the money she made tonight. just as she was about to turn the corner, she stopped in her tracks when she witnessed someone taking their anger out on the pour machine.

“did he just say muggle?” she thought to herself. what a peculiar word. normally she was good at being incognito but her small giggle quickly echoed and she was caught. rather than hiding, she turned herself in by slowly approaching the boy. “then that would ruin all of your snacks..” she responded before kneeling down and looking up into the machine. “were you planning on using lighter fluid and all of that?” 

a hint of embarrassment washed over draco as he turned his head and saw the girl watching him, but he quickly collected his features and straightened out his posture. he wasn’t too keen on letting the girl see how much the machine had actually angered him.

perhaps that was why the doctor in charge of monitoring him had sent him out on a snack run, which would undeniably have been great if the bloody machine would actually work with him. god, he missed the manor house elves sometimes. “i should just set the damn thing on fire.”

   “Is it just me or does this place still surprise us all everyday even after being here for years.” she said and looked into her coffee cup. “I just wish things could turn back to normal and we would all go back to where we belong.”

“i wouldn’t know, i haven’t been here ‘for years’,” draco said simply, in response to the girl who seemed to be having a conversation with herself. “although, i suppose people’s insanity does surprise me, yes. do you talk to yourself often? perhaps you should have that checked out.”

“a shame really, i don’t know how i’ll cope.” regulus bit back a grin, he was well aware that he was just messing around instead of actually working now, but the rush had died down and all he really needed to do was wipe down the few tables left.

“clearly, a very obvious lamp connoisseur. oh, but i find that very hard to believe, it would have to be some incredibly terrible lighting.”

“cope? you should be honoured,” draco retorted, raising an eyebrow in a challenging matter, but with a small smirk on his lips nonetheless. the conversational break in his studies were actually extremely welcome by now.

the coffeeshop was abuzz with people and life, and honestly, it was the perfect atmosphere for adora. this is what it always used to be like back home, never quiet, never still; this kind of atmosphere made her feel a little less displaced. even when working on things that had more to do with requiem and this world than her own, it was a small but surefire way to get her to really concentrate. the place was also almost full, save for one of the big tables in the back corner only currently occupied by one individual. though they had quite a bit on the table all ready, she was hoping to take the other half of it up with her own supplies - mostly just one big poster and some markers to make a sign out of.

she had just approached when he spoke up, and she blinked. then, a small smile crossed her features. “ who’s the buffoon ? ” she asked, looking around. “ should i whack ‘em with my signboard ? ” the blonde was about ninety percent sure he was talking about her, but she was always up for a good comeback. “ ‘cause i was coming over to ask if i could borrow the other half of this table. ” she nodded to the empty space. “ promise i won’t get in your way ? ” she added, smiling a little more, sweeter this time.

unable to help the rolling of his eyes, draco raised his cup of tea to his lips, although it was since long cold. giving the girl a pointed look over the rim of the porcelain, he couldn’t help but wrinkle his nose at the taste. “whack away, it would be my pleasure,” he retorted, as he put the cup down once more. at the request, draco simply raised his eyebrows as if he hadn’t even considered the fact that another person could fit at his table. 

looking over his papers, he then turned his gaze back to the girl in front of him. “be my guest. don’t spill anything on my notes,” he said, but made no inclination of actually moving his papers to give her more space. after all, she was the one intruding.

“don’t think i’d get a lot of customers if i went around poisoning them all.” the other man’s english accent puts cedric at ease, familiar as home. draco himself looks vaguely familiar, but cedric can’t quite place him. he adjusts his nametag as subtly as he can, hoping draco’s gaze will be drawn to it and his question as to whether they know each other, perhaps, answered.

“well, a good poison would probably be odorless, tasteless… so i don’t think you’d be able to tell.” they didn’t teach that much in potions. “i should probably stop talking about poisons, huh? what can i get for you?”

“i suppose not, unless you’d slip in some kind of addictive substance. for instance, if you would take a certain amount of moonstone it could cause the brain to develop receptors in need of stimulating, like in a love potion,” draco mumbled as he inspected the cookie, talking more for himself than the other male. shaking his head slightly, he looked up again with a grin, the name cedric undeniably making the pieces fit into place, with the images of a few very artistic ‘potter stinks’ badges flashing before his eyes for a second. “diggory, huh?" 

“ so the funniest thing happened to me today, i had a customer come to the bar an order a drink..” scott paused for effect. “ she ordered a sex on the beach, hold the sand.. i couldn’t help but start laughing, i thought that was a corny way to ask for the drink. ” he laughed at himself, the joke wasn’t really THAT funny; scott just thought the girl was cute for asking for it in that manner. “ anyway, it wasn’t that funny, anything interesting happen in your day today? ” he asked, truly curious about the others day. 

hearing a voice next to his ear, having stepped out to pick up lunch, draco turned slowly towards the storyteller. it wasn’t a very interesting story, and draco wasn’t sure as to whyhe was getting told this. “and then what happened?” he asked, raising his eyebrows towards the other. “oh, you’re finished? my bad, i thought there was a point to the story.”

shooting an obviously fake sweet smile towards him, draco turned back to the register to place his order, resuming his gaze when the other started talking again. “i was trying to get lunch, and someone started talking to me about sand. horribly interesting.”