𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐭.

   He tilted his head to the side, scrutinizing her carefully before answering her question.   ❝   I know it might make things a little easier for you, but Alice   …  it’s against the rules.   ❞   He assumed she would ask WHY it was against the rules, so he casually knocked on the table before reiterating.  ❝  Hypothetically speaking, risk assessments were done in the past, and let’s say that the usage of magic in these circumstances had less than favorable outcomes. Or          because they said so.  ❞

﹙  *☆ ┆ 𝒇𝒕.  𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐞  𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐞.

               alice  was  quiet  for  a  moment.  not  because  she  was  mulling  over  the  choice  –  the  choice  was  clear  –  but  because  she  was  trying  to  imagine  the  chain  of  events  that  might  have  lead  to  such  a  scenario.  she  was  tempted  to  press  further,  ask  what  exactly  these  less  than  favourable  outcomes  were,  but  she  doubted  it  would  change  her  answer.  

           “ I’ve got enough faith in us as a group to give us a whole two weeks. “

﹙  *☆ ┆ 𝒇𝒕.  𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐞  𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐞.

emma eyed the sizable stack of books at the end of the table she and alice had,  thus far,  been silently sharing.  it was only growing,  she thought.  emma herself had several books still open in front of her.  “ do you think the library has multiples of some of these?  it’d be a pity if someone else needed one,  or two  …  or three of the books we’ve got here.  because I’m certainly not done with them yet. “

﹙  *☆ ┆ 𝒇𝒕.  𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐞  𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐞.

      ❝  Rude.   ❞  The response was instant, a faux look of offense crossing his features as he folded his arms across his chest.  He watched her watch him, waiting patiently for whatever words that were sure to fall from her distracting lips. She seemed used to it          hard not to be, for someone who had surely been the object of interest for many a witch or wizard.   ❝  And here I was, hoping all those solved cases would’ve been proof enough. But I’m so happy the obstacle course did it for you.   ❞   He chuckled.  ❝  And seeing as I’m all about satisfying a woman   …    ❞        He narrowed his gaze, quietly toying with the idea of LYING. But he tossed it almost as quickly as it appeared, the man reminding himself that he had nothing to be ashamed of. He would have done it all over again if given the chance. ❝  You’re in a building. You’ve been told not to use magic.  ❞  Caradoc shifted in his seat, mainly due to his need to speak with his hands. ❝  The doors are all locked and there are no windows. Your best friend is lying on the floor, bleeding out. Let’s set the building on fire for good measure too. Because who doesn’t like a little heat?  ❞   Resting his elbow on the side of his chair, he tapped his chin.       ❝  What do you do?   ❞

﹙  *☆ ┆ 𝒇𝒕.  𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐞  𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐞.

    ❝  I think you’re smart   …    which means you shouldn’t be believing HALF the shit I say. But for the sake of conversation, I’d argue I’m definitely full of something.   ❞   He chuckled, taking a swig of his drink before resting the glass back on the table. She was an interesting little thing. Very upfront. Blunt. Caradoc leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms as he appraised Alice knowingly.  ❝   The more popular opinion being that I’m FULL of MYSELF. But you already knew that. In fact           I’d wager you know a lot of things.   ❞

﹙  *☆ ┆ 𝒇𝒕.  𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐞  𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐞.

           “  …  I mean,  I think it could get worse.   this can’t be as bad as it’ll get. “

﹙  *☆ ┆ 𝒇𝒕.  𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐞  𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐞.

   ❝   Are ye a licensed therapist?    ❞   He paused to pull another book from his bag, a far too innocent gaze traveling over the table and back to Alice. The mere sight of her was an affront to the brunette, tugging at the innermost and more annoyed of his heartstrings. The ones that have collected dust over the years. 

      He couldn’t remember a time when he disliked someone so likable. Not that he would assume as such, but people seemed to enjoy her company far more than his. 

     Adie tilted his head in what must have been the very picture of thoughtful consideration. ❝   M’just here to study.  ❞  He could gloat         puff out his chest and have a laugh over how he had done better than her. But given everything that happened with Lily and Andromeda, he wouldn’t put it past her to throw a bitch fit and accuse him of cheating. He just wasn’t in the fucking mood. 

     ❝   S’not a problem, is it?  ❞   Ah, the most rhetorical of questions. 

﹙  *☆ ┆ 𝒇𝒕.  𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐞  𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐞.

               alice  let  out  a  surprised  huff  of  what  could  almost  be  amusement.   ❛   —  they  say  the  first  step  is  admitting  you  need  help,   ❜   she  mumbled  under  her  breath,  watching  him  pulling  books  from  his  bag  with  a  furrowed  gaze.  

               his  presence  posed  a  frustrating  problem.  did  she  acquiesce  and  let  him  sit,  knowing  she  wouldn’t  be  able  to  focus  ?  or  did  she  swallow  her  pride  and  pack  up  to  leave  for  an  environment  with  less  …  distractions  ?  

               her  pride  won  out,  as  it  always  did.  leaving  meant  defeat,  at  least  in  alice’s  mind,  and  she  was  too  sore  from  her  last  defeat  to  admit  another.  she  was  sitting  here  first.  she  wasn’t  about  to  vacate  because  of  adie  finnigan.  

❝     that’s only terrifying because i know you’ll actually follow through with that threat and i’ve seen you get quite serious. i might just have nightmares now.         ❞  theodore teased, shaking his head gently. ❝     i’m torn though. don’t get me wrong, you’re absolutely terrifying and i’ll stand by that. but i might just be flattered that THE alice fortescue actually considers me to be somewhat of a threat to her progress ? even though we both know you’ve got the best chances of being top of the class once this is all through. seem to have more passion than i do… in general.           ❞ 

﹙  *☆ ┆ 𝒇𝒕.  𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐞  𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐞.

               ❛ ooh, someone’s feeling testy this morning. ❜  rita’s words were teasing as she shrugged on a light jacket, not allowing alice’s words to drop her brilliant smile. rita was well used to be told she was HATED, there wasn’t a cell in her body that cared to retaliate to that remark.  ❛ is this because your darling rival finnigan beat you in our last assignment? rather tragic, alice, i mean really, where’s the girl power? i’m sure that was fuel to the fire of your little game with him… ❜

﹙  *☆ ┆ 𝒇𝒕.  𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐞  𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐞.

                                                 OPEN !

         ❛ i have a question for you! ❜  rita’s footsteps crunched in the dry grass as she caught up to the cadet who was completing their run just a hundred metres ahead of her.  ❛ do you think this new shirt i had my darling sister mail me will catch the attention of the instructors at our next assignment? i’m trying to win, you see, and i’m thinking that if i wear something flattering enough, i’m sure to gain some extra points. isn’t that what andromeda did to get her space at the table, or something? ❜  rita spoke absently, shrugging her shoulders with a brilliant nonchalance as they continued their light jog.  ❛ or did psycho evans accuse that win of privilege.. i mean really, that’s a little far-fetched, don’t you think? then again, maybe beauty doesn’t have anything to do with it. madame odette is a striking beauty and she’s been cleaning our tables all week. i blame kendra for that one, if you were asking me. ❜

﹙  *☆ ┆ 𝒇𝒕.  𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐞  𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐞.

❝     BRAG ? me ? never. i mean, why bother when my sheer brilliance is so easily recognized by everyone graced with my presence.        ❞  he grinned, his teasing demeanor poorly concealing how truly proud he was of his accomplishment. theodore was overly critical of himself behind closed doors, so the fact that he would have been recognised for his effort over someone as dedicated and skilled as alice, was striking to him. he might not me comfortable sharing as much with her but parts of him still thought he did not deserve to be at edin at all. ❝     dearborn was really the star of the moment, should have seen him zipping through like it was childsplay.         ❞

﹙  *☆ ┆ 𝒇𝒕.  𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐞  𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐞.

    Everyone had the same idea. Apparently. 

      The library wasn’t exactly as big as the one at Hogwarts. Seeing as Edin was made only to house the most impressive of cadets, they planned on a smaller portion being packed within the walls. So when he entered the room, he couldn’t help but scowl         the only open area was near Alice.  

   Dropping to his seat, he wondered silently if she would leave to escape his foul mood, but he remained too uncomfortable to ask. He would find out eventually. She wasn’t exactly the kind of girl to keep her thoughts to herself. 

   Adie began to dig through his things to look busy, although he wasn’t sure how much he would actually get done given the witch seated across from him. She was a horrid distraction; one that caused insults to dance on the tip of his tongue without mercy.  //  @fortescq·

﹙  *☆ ┆ 𝒇𝒕.  𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐞  𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐞.

              alice  didn’t  like  embarassment.  she  didn’t  like  losing.  especially  not  to  a  boy  she’d  been  convinced  didn’t  even  belong  at  edin.  it  made  her  angry,  spiteful.  but  as  tempting  as  it  was  to  direct  that  anger  towards  the  boy  who’d  beat  her,  instead  she  funnelled  it  into  her  studies,  vowing  to  get  the  upper  hand  next  time.  alice  was  well  aware  sore  loser  was  not  a  good  look  on  her.  as  much  as  she  hated  to  admit  it,  he’d  beaten  her  at  the  obstacle  course  fair  and  square.  and  alice,  for  all  her  faults,  respected  fair  and  square.  

              still,  that  didn’t  mean  she  wanted  to  be  anywhere  near  him.  so  when  she  glanced  up  reflexively  at  the  motion  of  someone  sitting  across  from  her,  her  brow  clouded  instantly  at  the  sight  of  adie.  she  half  expected  him  to  make  some  snarky  quip,  but  instead  he  just  started  looking  through  his  bag  silently.  

this  wasn’t  ideal.  how  was  she  supposed  to  focus  ?  he  was  like  an  itch  she  couldn’t  help  but  scratch.  was  he  trying  to  throw  her  off  her  game  ?

      ❛ we can never escape it, can we? ❜  lily’s words were quiet, only just loud enough that alice might hear.  ❛ no one told us we had to prove ourselves, and yet they tell us that every day, in their own words. i mean, ali — you’re the strongest witch i know, and yet people dare to question that simply because of who you grew up with. you’re right. it’s not fair, and it’s exhausting… but we’re never going to stop, are we? this is something we’re going to have to prove every day for the rest of our lives because… i’ll never be enough. ❜

      turning on her side so that she could face alice, lily sucked in a shaking breath.  ❛ i know… i know that i should focus on my own victories, but it’s hard. you’re right it’s… it’s easier said than done. i just want to show them, you know? give them all something that makes it so OBVIOUS that i deserve to be here. if i win, it’s just… they don’t have anything to hold against me, at least not for a little while. ❜

﹙  *☆ ┆ 𝒇𝒕.  𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐞  𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐞.

               alice  was  silent,  listening  to  her  friend.  every  sentence  the  witch  spoke  seemed  as  though  she’d  pulled  it  straight  from  alice’s  innermost  thoughts.  having  lily  at  edin,  thinking  and  feeling  the  same  ugly  thoughts  and  emotions  as  alice,  was  a  relief  she  couldn’t  voice.   ❛   —   i  know.  i  get  it.  you  want  to  do  something  that  makes  everyone  who  ever  doubted  you  say  oh  fuck,  we  fucked  up.  we  were  so  wrong.   ❜   a  small  laugh  escaped  alice’s  lips,  bitter  and  self-mocking.   ❛   —   but  they’ll  never  say  that,  so  nothing  we’ll  ever  do  is  gonna  be  ENOUGH.  except  maybe  dying.   ❜