edgar bones

“Not if you win, but fine,” Peter accepted his winnings graciously, chuckling in sync with Edgar. “You’re one of the rare few at our age, but then, it seems as if some just have an endless fountain of money.” Not that he did, but he’d never quite been the frugal type. “Thanks, I’m not usually the winning type, it’s a shame more weren’t around to see it. No one is going to believe the tale if I tell them.” Peter shrugged, flashing a sheepish half-smile at Edgar. “I mean, I’m not exactly looking forward to having to write essays again, but the social aspect, that’s why we all come back, right?” He joked, “How about you?” 

Edgar didn’t come from an endless fountain of money, but he was pretty well-off in comparison to some of his other classmates. Still, his parents had done their best to try and teach Edgar and Amelia the value of a sickle. He didn’t always remember their lessons, but he tried. He crossed his arms over the front of his chest. “At least it’s only two more years. Two more years of essays, and then you’re done. Sometimes I can’t believe how close we’ve made it to the finish line. I’m looking forward to it, though. I’m full of optimism and cheer. Perhaps I am drunk on the new year, who knows.” 

Damiar chuckled a bit as the other offered up the winnings. “As much as I’m going to take pride in this, keep your money, Edgar. I don’t actually want it.” Damiar grew up in a pureblood family, but that didn’t mean they ever had much money. However, they never liked accepting free money from people either, even if they did in someway earn it. “Think of it as a gift from me, dear friend.”

“What?” Edgar protested, shaking his head. “Look, I hate to lose a wager as much as the next chap, but a bet is a bet.” He pushed the sickles out towards them again. “Besides, it’s just two sickles. It’s more about the integrity of it all than losing money.” He grinned, waving the coins. “Don’t make me shove these into your pockets.” 

            REMUS CHUCKLED LIGHTLY, smiling fondly at the memories of his previous years. “yes well, would hardly call it work — although i’ve served my fair share of detentions over some of it, so i suppose in a sense…” while he had gotten better at avoiding detention in his later years, he still recalled the hours spent manually scrubbing every inch of the great hall. “your guess would be as good — if not better than mine. can’t imagine it’s cheap to get all of this, but it is a nice way to kick off the school year.” 

he stepped forward, using his height advantage to get a look at the flavor options. “unfortunately not much,” he answered with a sheepish smile and shrug. “i’m afraid i’m woefully out of practice. my wand was in repair for a bit–” after a full moon went woefully wrong and he snapped his wand in half, “–so i mostly tried my hand at wandless magic.” spoiler alert: he was successful only half of the time. “and you? any new tricks to share with the group?”

“I’m fairly certain I gave you lot a fair bit of those detentions.” His first years wearing the badge had been marked by a stark strictness and a happiness to finally quiet the troublemakers who’d disturbed the school’s peace over the years. He was much more lenient these days, though certainly there were a great many who would disagree. 

He lifted an eyebrow. “Wandless magic?” Curiosity leaked out of his tone. “I’ve actually been trying my hand at nonverbal magic, but magic without a wand is something I’ve always wanted to master.” It was easy to do with easier spells. Simple shields and levitation charms worked without problem, but he’d yet to master anything of intermediate difficulty. “I didn’t exactly have a sparring partner, though. It was just some personal studying.”

It felt wrong to have to find a common, neutral ground, but she supposed that’s where they were at now. Gabrielle wasn’t one to change her mind, especially when it came to this particular matter, and Edgar being just as unwavering in his own beliefs had been one of the things that had made her fall in love with him in the first place.

She could only hope that the club would provide the common ground they so desperately needed. “Yes. Yes.” Gabrielle saw his look to the flowers, remembering her previous task. “Just a minute?” She paid quickly, and watched as the package of flowers was collected by an owl and flown towards the castle, then turned back to Edgar. “I think there were tables over by the Rosa Lee Tea Stand.”

Edgar nodded and then waited in silence. Passively, he watched her purchase the flowers and send them away tied to the leg of an owl. The Rosa Lee Tea Stand was only just around the corner. He’d seen it while coming this way, and so he nodded his head in its direction. “Have you considered at all what the date of our first meeting should be. I was thinking maybe two weeks after classes start. It would give everyone time to settle and adjust, and we could recruit the younger students in the meantime. What do you think?”

The words slipped easily from his mouth, perhaps in some urgent need to turn their conversation back towards something salvageable. 

Andie thought that Edgar’s home life was quite different from hers, and that probably had something to do with the differences in their perception of time. “I think my summers have always felt like they dragged.” Hogwarts was the more preferable location, and she missed her friends and the break from her parents. “But we’re both here now, so that’s nice. Oh, yes,” she said, nodding. “I’m taking the requirements for Healing so I can’t change that.” She still didn’t know how it would actually go over when she had to tell her parents of her plan, but that was a problem for another day. “Are you? I did think about dropping Arithmancy because it’s not required but I really enjoy it so I kept it.”

Edgar had decided sometime around his fourth or fifth year that he wanted to be an Auror. Prior to that he used to dream of being the Minister of Magic, or perhaps a high-ranking member of the Wizengamot. Lofty dreams for certain, but Edgar had always been an ambitious boy. “Good to know that I’ll still be seeing you in Potions this year.” He smiled. “My classes are still all the same for me. I expect Ancient Runes to be even worse this year, workload wise. I’m not sure how I’m going to manage it all--classes, and Quidditch, and prefect duties. Not to mention my friends and clubs. It’ll be a miracle if I make it to Christmas.”

“he’s… the worst.” she said, shaking her head. she didn’t want to speak about her father though. she was at hogwarts now which meant she was safe from him now. “that’s okay. i kind of figured that not everyone got to practice all summer long.” she admitted. “i would love that. i need all the practice i can get. i’m always so nervous.” she admitted. sure she knew how to play, but being in front of people and playing always gave her butterflies.

Edgar didn’t say anything in response to her comment about her father, but his face visibly softened. It seemed the easier and kinder thing to transition into an easier topic--like Quidditch. “Well, everybody is nervous sometimes.” Merlin knew he certainly was, though admittedly he was quite adept at hiding it. “But you’re our captain for a reason, you know. You’re the best one of us. We’ll need you this year going up against the likes of Potter, Bagman, and Vanity.”

“Do I need to remind you that it was you who suggested betting at all?” Lily shook her head, feeling bad as she took the sickles from Edgar’s hand. “If it makes it any better, I really do think it was luck that I managed to hit it at all.”

Edgar laughed, and then shrugged his shoulders. “Ah, it was more than luck. You’re clearly just better than I am at carnival games.” He pushed his hands into the pockets of his trousers. “You’ve been to the muggle versions, right? Are they very different from this?”

“Ooh, maybe it is.” She cast another speculative look at the couple in question; maybe it was just a habit. Habits were hard to break, and once you fell into a pattern like that, Andie supposed you might be a little stuck. She could relate to the internship application; she had been working on one for the Healers herself. “Oh, nothing worth mentioning,” she said, shrugging. Andie’s  connection with her family was … not the greatest anymore. Well, her parents, at least. She liked to think she was still good with her sisters. “I’m glad to be back. The summer felt like it was dragging on.”

“I think it was the opposite for me. It felt like it went by so quickly.” Perhaps it was because he was older now, and things moved faster than they did when he was a boy. Or maybe it was because he’d been dreading seeing Gabrielle. “They used to feel so long when I was younger. I used to count the days down in my calendars until I could come back. This year it felt like the summer just...slipped by. Ah well, but at least we’re back. Are you still taking all the same classes this year?”

fi grinned when she saw it was edgar she was speaking to. “edgar! it’s so nice to see you again.” she said, briefly hugging back. “thank you so much. i really missed playing.” she admitted. “my father says it’s not very ladylike and refused to let me practice, luckily I was able to sneak a few hours in here and there when he wasn’t home. how are you? did you have a good summer? ready for quidditch season?” she asked. 

“I’m glad you were able to outsmart your father then. He sounds like too much of a traditionalist.” He lingered in the hug for a second more, before pulling his arms away. Edgar gave her a sheepish smile. “Don’t be very cross with me, but I didn’t really find much time for practice. It was just busy at home, with my parents and Amelia, and boring too. Neither of which make for a lot of time for Quidditch. But,” He leaned inwards, speaking conspiratorially, “if you wouldn’t mind, maybe we can get in a practice session or something before the season starts. I want to make sure I’m not rusty before our first team meeting.”

The witch held out her hand for a few moments longer, letting him reconsider before stashing the coins away in the pocket of her sweater. “If you say. Oh, and nothing new. Worked on trying to keep the house together, tried to keep track of my brothers so they don’t get themselves into to much trouble…. but there’s only so much a witch can do.” she replied warmly before raising an eyebrow at the wizard. “What about you Edgar? What were you up to?”

“With brothers like yours I’m surprised that you didn’t reach your wits end.” He only had his twin to worry about, which was surely very different from having two troublesome brothers. “Though I imagine they kept you just as entertained as they did witless. I’m a little jealous actually. I didn’t do very much of anything except prepare for the school year. I’m a bit parched for some socializing actually, so it’s good to be here.” 

“And speaking of socializing,” Edgar lowered his voice like he was indulging her in a great secret. “How would you feel about a butterbeer? It’ll be my treat.”

Taking the sickles in her hand, Molly Prewett couldn’t help the smirk that overtook her face at her own victory. After the initial smug moment was over, she reached out and offered the wizard his money back. “I don’t want your money, Edgar, I just wanted to prove my point.” 

Edgar laughed, and waved his hand no. “A deal is a deal, Molly, go on and keep the money. I lost fair and square. Trust me your point is made.” He waved again, only this time it was at the fellow running the booth. He turned then to Molly and stuffed his hands into his pockets. “I appreciate you humoring me for a moment. How was your summer?”