edges of the sword

“Yes, I was worried. I didn’t know where you were.” She said quietly. All she kept thinking about was the last time they had spoken. And if he had gotten hurt and the last they had spoke she had been angry and been a bitch…she wouldn’t have forgiven herself for that. It has been a long time since she had genuinely cared for someone else. And it was hard to let her guard down. But Elijah made her want too. “I have a feeling all I would need to do is ask.” She teased back. “But no, I had nothing to do with it. Sadly.” She chuckled. “I missed out on all the fun.”

He wasn’t sure why he found it so comforting that she had been worried about him, but he did. Eli took her hands in hers and sat on the nearest bed, pulling her with him as he did. “Well, I’m here now and you’re here, so no reason for us to worry, anymore.” At least, anymore about that. He was always going to worry about Celeste or worry about losing her. “That is true.” He smirked, rubbing his thumb over the back of her hand. “I’m sure there will be many opportunities for you to have your own fun. Speaking of opportunities, though, I have been thinking about something and I figure now might be a good time to bring it up?”

“Ah, her little columns causing some troubles? Can’t say I’ve ever read one. Though I’m surprised someone like Celeste would take them seriously.” He said with a chuckle. He certainly didn’t envy being in that sort of situation. However, he couldn’t help but smirk as Elijah continued. “So much effort for an arranged marriage. Or do I detect that it’s a little more than that now?” He asked curiously. No matter who he was to be paired up with Sebastian never expected it to be anything other than an arrangement. So seeing someone else in the same situation as him but having an entirely different experience was a little interesting. “I’m as surprised as you.2 He laughed. “But, no. She doesn’t. Which is fair. No one should be forced into a marriage they do not want. So I’ll figure something out. And you know…just general worries. Some I thought had died over the summer but clearly not.”

“Well, I guess Celeste wasn’t upset about the lie that Rita told, but more the embarrassment it caused her.” In truth, it pained him to know he had caused her any trouble or embarrassment. Eli smiled, staring down at his drink, “I believe it to be more than that, if I’m honest. I think she might be starting to feel that way as well.” He knew the betrothal was what had brought them together in the first place, but in his head, he liked to believe it would have happened some way, somehow. “Maybe, just maybe, if you both give it a chance, it might turn into something more.” He wasn’t sure that would be the case, but there was always hope. “Anything else interesting going on?”

Amycus shrugged, throwing the sweater over his shoulder. The whole school was in such a fucking fuss over some mudblood, it was getting annoying. What a waste of energy. He sat in the nearest chair, looking over at Eli, “Hard to fight for anything when you’re unconscious.” 

“Shut the fuck up, Amy.” Eli growled, looking at his friend very pissed offedly. “You can be such an ass, sometimes.” There were moments when he could punch his best mate right in the face.

Rita’s eyes drifted up and down Eli’s body slowly, trying to look as condescending as possible. “I wonder what your parents would think. Sitting here, tearing up over a little mudblood. Aren’t you supposed to be celebrating? Don’t tell me she’s making you soft, darling.”

"I don’t really give a damn about what my parents would think. They can control a lot of things, but this isn’t one of them. Unlike you, I don’t drop my friends just because mommy and daddy tell me to.” Eli knew that was probably a low blow and wasn’t necessarily true, either. He just didn’t have too many people his parents could tell him not to speak to. “Some of us are born with a heart, Rita.”

Mary felt her heart drop in her chest the moment she saw Hunter. It wasn’t as if she didn’t want to see him, but she was afraid that if she was able to look him in the eyes that she’d shatter and that her entire two days spent building up her walls and crafting her strong facade would have all been for nothing. She felt so guilty, knowing that every time he had to teach in his classroom that he’d have the memory of her blood staining his floor.  “Hunter,” she managed a shaky but genuine smile. “I’m…” she wanted to say that she was okay, that she was so glad to see him too and that she hoped that he was okay. But all that came out was a rushed apology. “I’m so sorry Hunter, I never meant for it to happen, especially in your classroom. I shouldn’t have stayed, I’m sor–” She cut herself off by biting her lip and letting out a deep breath. Keep it together, Mary, she told herself. They can’t know you remember.

His smile fell at her words and he immediately shook his head. “Hey, hey.” He whispered, “Look at me. Nothing that happened is your fault. Do you understand me? I do not blame you at all, if anything it is my fault for thinking you would be safe there, so if any apology is owed it is mine to you.” He should have never made such a foolish promise. “You cannot blame yourself for what happened. Whoever did that to you, they are responsible.” He had been keeping tabs on her through Pomfrey and the last he had spoken with the healer, she had told him that Mary couldn’t remember anything from the attack. “Have you - have you gotten any of your memories back from that night?”

Gideon grinned at Hunter. He was so used to being teased about his siblings that a little support was very welcomed. “Is there hot gossip to spread around?” Gideon’s brows rose and he let out a short laugh. 

“Well, oddly enough some students find the professor’s love lives to be a topic of conversation.” Even before him and Phina had gotten together, he had heard of students ‘shipping’ different professors together. Whatever in bloody hell that meant. “What about you? Dating anyone new?”

The moment she’d heard about the attack on Mary, or more specifically where she’d been attacked, she couldn’t stop thinking about Hunter. She knew he’d take it to heart and that just made hers ache more, because much like he’d tried to take pain off her shoulders, she wanted to do the same for him. That’s how she found herself in front of his door in the morning, worry and nerves churning in her stomach. Her featues relaxed after he’d opened his door and he himself looked reliefed to see her. It soothed her worry a bit. She stepped inside and closed the door behind herself. “Are you okay?” Seraphina hated how weak her voice sounded, but she didn’t mind much with him. He had a way of making her weak. She stepped forward until she reached him and her arms looped around his waist, head resting against his shoulderblades. “Talk to me, honey.”

“I’m fine.” His words seemed disconnected because they were a lie and Phina deserved the truth. Letting out a long sigh, he shook his head. “Actually, no, I’m not. I told her she would be safe in my classroom. I told her she could have her naps in there and everything would be fine. But, she wasn’t safe.” He had thought his days of seeing bloodied kids would be over once Voldemort had been defeated, but he had been wrong and memories from the war were also flooding into his mind. “I am glad you are here, though.” He whispered as he leaned down to place a kiss on her forehead.

He might get there, but it was if Luca wanted to get there. He enjoyed being by himself, something not always quite possible since he seemed to somehow manage to befriend a few of the professors. But still, he was grateful for their kindness. It had been a while since Luca had been shown any form of kindness. He had always planned for this to be a temporary job, an in between place for him to stay and build up his savings before he moved on. But Hogwarts was starting to grow on him.

‘‘How is the girl being? The one in the Hospital Wing?’‘

Luca’s question brought Hunter immediate sadness. “Mary? I check in on her earlier today and she is still sleeping. Pomfrey has been doing her best, but it’s up to Mary to pull through, now.” He needed her to pull through. Macdonald was definitely one of his favorite students, despite the fact they weren’t supposed to have them. Plus, she had been found in his classroom. His classroom where she had once felt safe had become the place that she had almost died.

Emmeline eyed Bellatrix as she poured herself a stiff drink. Black was the very last person she was hoping to chat with tonight. But then again they were in a very public place so what could the Slytherin really do with so many onlookers.

She set the firewhisky bottle back down on the table and held her gaze as she took a gulp of her drink. It burned on the way down; just how she liked it. “And what are you supposed to be? Because the mountain troll’s sent a message: they want their clothing back.”

“Is that the best you’ve got? I wasn’t aware we were doing elementary insults.” Bella moved to grab the bottle Emmeline had just sat down. “If I am going to be putting up with the likes of you all evening, I think I am going to need more than a few drinks to get through.” She raised the bottle to her lips and took a few swigs. “How bout it, princess? Care to keep up?” She asked extending to bottle forward to the other witch.

“I’m not going to stare you to death,” Peter huffed. “If I wanted to kill anyone, I’d simply take my wand out. You’d be surprised how bad stuff backfires sometimes.” His eyes widened slightly. “I just bought that candy. You couldn’t have done anything to it.”

Bellatrix let out a loud, malicious laugh at his words. “Please do take your wand out, Pettigrew. I would love to see how quickly I could end your life. Plus, the pain my cousin would feel if your blood got spilled would make it all worth my time.” She shrugged, “Are you willing to bet your life on that, dear? You’d be surprised what I am capable of.”

“I’m always hard to get,” Nat chuckled, throwing her hair over her shoulder while throwing a glance at Bella. “Especially for you, you should know that by now.” Her brows furrowed. “Why? What’s keeping you busy?”

“Better things than you, Nat.” She rolled her eyes as she let out a deep sigh, “Besides, it’s nothing that you need to worry your pretty little head about.” Family issues were not something she was willing to discuss with Natalya, at least not at this moment. They usually reserved their ‘heart-to-hearts’ for the bedroom after they had exhausted themselves.

‘‘Just a few more months. That’s what I keep telling myself.’‘ He nudged her shoulder with his, leaning back on the palms of his hands. Even Mack was sick of the school by now, and this was a boy that used to thrive on attention and being in the spotlight. Crowded rooms had been his thing. But now recently, Mack just wanted to avoid them.

‘‘Next time.’‘ His shoulders moved in a half arsed shrug. ‘‘Next time perhaps.’‘ It had been a shame. No injuries. Mack wasn’t sure what the point was in blowing up an empty building. His frustrations were kept to himself. Lucius had to know what he was doing. That’s what Mack would tell himself. Lucius had never let him down before, he won’t this time either.

“Doesn’t that sound nice, finally being out of the castle walls for good?” She had never been a fan of being at Hogwarts. She knew where she planned to go after her schooling was done and it wasn’t something they taught here. She was destined for the Dark Arts and not the defense of it. “One can hope, it’s been far too long since someone put some of the mudbloods in place.”

“Having trouble swallowing, dear?” She closed the distance between him, pressing her body up against his and ever so confidently taking his drink from him. She slowly lifted it to her lips and took a long sip, getting her lipstick on the edge of the cup. She absolutely hated muggle beer, but seeing the look in his eyes as she wiped the smeared lipstick from the corner of her lip made it well worth it. “I think you’ll find I’m a master in faking pleasure. I’m sure you’ll experience it plenty of times in the next twenty years.” She took another swig of the beer before passing it back to him with a devious smirk. “I could easily conjure up myself another costume. One that’s even tighter and shorter than this one. Maybe I’ll even go see if one of your housemates approves of its flexibility.” 

“Not all of us have had as much practice swallowing as you, babe.” Jackson couldn’t deny that he was both annoyed and turned on at her grabbing his drink. Really, as of late, he had discovered that those were the primary emotions he felt around her at all times. She irked him, that much he could say without certain, he just couldn’t figure out why he was suddenly so attracted to her. He would never admit it, but she was damn near the best sex he had ever had, if not the absolute best. “The only thing that tells me, dollface, is that you plan to have sex with me plenty of times. What do I care if you are faking it or not?” In truth, he did care, but he knew better than to believe she had faked the other night. “If you want to cause one of my housemates to get a broken nose, then by all means, go right ahead.” 

‘Just trying to live life.’ A move his hand through his hair as he tapped his foot against the floor nervously.’ And you?’

"Pretty much the same.” Jackson sighed, “I could go for a drink right now, though. You up for one?”

“Suppose so. Luckily it’s quite easy not to think about small, inconsequential events like an explosion and an attack.” she shrugged, “Been better, but I’ve also definitely been worse, so I’d say I’m alright. And you?”

“My point exactly.” Jackson smiled as he talked, “Something going on?” He usually didn’t concern himself with other people’s affairs, but he had always enjoyed Andie’s company. “I’m good. Found out I’m betrothed to the Wicked Witch of the West, but other than that I can’t complain.”