warrior

“Yeah…it’s rewarding but…it’s a lot harder these days when you have to keep students in line but also console them about their classmates going missing,” she said, quietly. She didn’t mention that half the weight on her own shoulders was because she felt responsible somehow…for not protecting Ines and Tahatan, for not keeping them safe. They were her responsibility and she’d failed them. She looked up, trying to clear her head of the depressing thoughts and smiled, nodding at his words. “I think so too. How are your captives doing by the way? They okay?” she asked, before taking another sip of her drink. She hesitated briefly before saying the other thought that was on her mind. “I’m glad you got out of there relatively unscathed.”

She looked away at his words, staring down at the wooden grooves on the bar, tracing her finger along one of them, not quite sure what to say. She finally looked up and met his eyes again, reaching over to give his hand a squeeze before withdrawing it. “I had a really good night too.”

    “Yeah they are fine, better off than most. I got lucky.” A phrase he said often, lucky---so lucky. He couldn’t fully give himself the credit and he was unsure why. “Same here, definitely don’t want war stories telling people I got clawed in the back by a griffin...” he laughed, “I find it ironic I guess.” he lifted his drink to sip but continued first, “I’ve always wanted to see a real one up close but not that close y’know?” The games, winner or loser, will forever be  imprinted on him. The scent of blood, the screaching of creatures, the images of the captive. They all stuck with him, even a month after everything; as if it was still yesterday. No one told him how hard the games would be after the games were done (at least the first task). “I was only in the infirmary for a few days but I woudn’t have asked for it to go any other way...” 

     “We should maybe do it again sometime? I mean not go to a ball but go out again...” He wondered what they could possibly do while under the constraints of the castle and their schools but he was willing to gie it a chance. LIVE a little. 

Fred had decided to spend his day off on the grounds. It was relatively cold, a thin layer of half melted snow below him. But it didn’t stop him from laying across a small patch of grass he had managed to find, hoodie on, but unzipped, yet again shirtless without a care. He liked being out in the cold. He liked feeling the wind bite his skin, it grounded him, reminded him he was solid when he needed it. He didn’t open his eyes upon hearing someone approach him. “If you’re worried about my freezing to death, leave now. What a great way to go out.”

       “Worried, no...Although wondering if you own shirts or not?” he laughed, finding the scene a bit odd. Personally for him, he was bundled up with two jackets and a beanie---as winter didn’t agree with him as well as the other. “Glad I ran into you, I wanted to check in see if you are good---” he paused, still feeling odd since the task, “You know from everything last month.” 

Hondo Kabweza; Headcanon 004 ↳ Family Tree as of January 1st 2023

“Kabweza line comes from enemy clans coming as one. Abweza from the north and Kabueta from the south. The marriage of the clans married their name. Kabweza means ‘to never retaliate’ ”

Father: Runako Kabweza, 46, Wizard—Uagadou Alumni, works Village Doctor.

Mother: Aneni Kabweza, 37, Witch—Uagadou Alumni, works as a School Teacher.

Paternal Uncle: Zennith Kabweza, 34, Witch—Uagadou Alumni, works as a Witch Hunter.

Younger Sister: Anias Kabweza, 16, Witch —Uagadou Student.

Son: Hondo Kabweza, 17, Wizard—Uagadou student.

Maternal Cousin: Prudy Nandoro, 22, Witch—Uagadou Alumni, Dream Interrupter.

Maternal Uncle: Sydney Nandoro, 40, Wizard—Uagadou Alumni, works as a Witch Hunter.

Paternal Cousin: Alyshia Kabweza, 15, Witch—Uagadou student.

She snorted, and nodded. Maybe it wasn’t for the same reason, but she could certainly relate to needing some peace and quiet.  “Yeah, I can drink to that sentiment. It’s insane there at the moment,” she said dryly. “I also needed a break from everyone and everything. I love being head girl, don’t get me wrong. I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world…but these days it’s a lot of pressure,” she said, sighing despite herself. She hated complaining, and being so honest was something she was uncomfortable doing, but he’d proven on several occasions that he wasn’t going to betray her trust. She figured that in return, she could actually put forward a version of her real self instead of covering it up with high walls. “Thank you,” she murmured, both to him and to the bartender, when her daiquiri was placed in front of her. She plucked a straw from over the counter and used it to stir her drink. She’d already had one cocktail before he’d arrived; she wanted to pace herself so she didn’t accidentally wind up drunk.

At his words though, she looked up, her eyes widening slightly in surprise. Still, she smiled, looking down at her drink. “Careful now, or I’ll think you missed me or something.” She said, looking back up through her lashes.

    “Head girl, that isnt surprising but I get the stress.” as Hondo had his own version of that back at his school yet turned it down wanting to focus on his studies; his preperations for the tournament. “I feel like it’s been a constant blow after blow back there,” he sipped his drink, enjoying the fizziness of it, “I’m just glad everyone is almost out of the infirmary...That should lighten everyones’ moods hopefully.” Even if Hondo wanted to believe it was his skill that made him get off easier than others, he knew it was by the grace of luck that he did. A few claw marks and some pain potions compared to students in comas or unconcious made him feel guilty for some reason; even if he shouldn’t. However what he was thankful for was the way the task woke him up, stired something lively in him. From being constricted by a Devil’s Snare, seeing some twisted-mirage, down to his back being clawed in like the piece of meat he was compare to the Griffin---it all made him realize how short life was. So short that he didn’t mind shedding some of his manners when it came to Marina. 

    “What happens if I said I did?” licking his lips, glance at her softly for a moment before the noise of a few rowdy men pulled his attention. “I still say the best night I’ve had here was at the ball with you.” 

Marina had needed to get out of the castle and away from how stifled she’d felt in the grounds. She’d tried everything: going for a run in her animagus form, cleaning the Ilvermorny common room, she’d even borrowed a broom and gone flying for a bit. None of it had helped. So she’d said fuck it to being a responsible head girl and decided she’d earned some time away from all nine schools and the hundreds of students milling around. Here in the Three Broomsticks, she felt like she could breathe, like part of the weight on her shoulders had been removed temporarily.

She smiled when she heard a now-familiar voice, and spun on her stool to face him. “I’ll have another cherry daiquiri, actually,” she told the bartender, before smiling at him. “Yeah? What’s a hotshot victorious champion like yourself doing in a pub in the middle of the day?”

    Her comment caused Hondo to smirk, still getting use to hearing victorious being clump in with his name. “Well as fun as it sounded being a winner on paper, I personally needed to escape the crazy that is our schools at the moment.” he was honest with her, a trait that was natural to him but felt comfortable when around her. “What about you?” asking, focused on keeping the conversation going. In time both their drinks were made and placed infront of them, Hondo offering up his money while waving the other to keep the change. Part of him found the freedom that Hogwarts kids had here as exciting as also problematic---since the thought of his mother being angry with him that he was in a pub, during a semester, and in the middle of the day. Luckily she didn’t have to know, right?

    “I’m glad my day of ditching got me to see you again,” again that honesty of his, “I would have done it sooner if the tournament didn’t pull me away.” 

    The evening was set nicely for the champion, knowing his classes were post pone past one, and even more knew he had little to do today, as he planned on making a trip to Three Broomsticks. The place might be a bit crowed but a nice sweet drink and sometime to escape the castle would be nice, not to mention once he had arrived a particular face caused him to smile. He hadn’t talked to her much since the first task---poorly on his part, but quickly took this as a sign to change that. “Hi, I’ll take a cherry soda please and her next drink as well on me.” he cocked his head over at Marina, causing the bartender to smile before off he went to make his drink. 

         “Funny running into you here.” he was glad, as the expression was clear on his face. 

   In the library, in the aisle marked for history of battle magic and theoretical charms, stood Hondo looking down at a sheet of books he had jotted down an hour ago. He was finally returning to normal, it being a few weeks past the the task he was finally on his feet more. Most of his body was back to normal, minus the slight strain his ribs felt still. The Mediwitches promised things would go back to normal, he just needed to keep stretching---however when it came to a book on the third to the top shelf caused him a strain as he reached for it. The book slipped from his fingers falling to the floor as he cursed to himself, “Shit.” sighing, followed by his hand lifting to rub his ribs before bending down. 

———— despite the nipping cold outside, roxanne had chosen to spend the first part of christmas day in the favourite place at hogwarts — the astronomy tower. she had bundled herself up in several layers of clothing and was ready to brave whatever the weather would throw at her for the next couple of hours she was planning on being up there. royal was having a harder time dealing with the low temperature and had snuggled up under his owner’s coat, gently purring as roxanne used her unoccupied hand to rub his back. colourful wrapping paper littered the stone floors, forming an irregular semicircle around roxanne’s form. a short while back, one of her housemates had given her a box filled with sweets as a thank you for helping him with an essay and roxanne figured there was no time more suitable than christmas to rip it open.

as she sat cross-legged on the floor, a half-eaten cookie in one hand and gaze fixed on the snowflakes’ dance, roxanne heard a noise coming from the spiral stairs. ❝ oh, snickers! ❞ the brunette muttered under her breath as she scurried into a standing position. royal, taken aback by his owner’s sudden jolting, protested quite loudly and, before roxanne could do anything to stop him, hurried off in the direction of the starts. ❝ royal, you bloody pain! get back here! ❞ roxanne shouted as she chased after her pet. there was one thing the raven feared more in that moment than getting caught by a professor and that was losing her beloved cat.  

     Hondo’s recovery was going well, at least that’s what the mediwitches were saying. However his body felt off still, his muscles still tight as his back felt as raw as if it was only days after the accident---not weeks. Being torn apart was, sruprisingly, the easiest part of this all as he understood the risk. Although, what was the hardest, was his reactions from the other magical communities. The mixed emotions of adoration and hatred made him feel more and more everyday as a PIECE in the games than a real person. Maybe if he cared less like Fred or relished in the glory like Valentino he could adjust to his new norm easily. Maybe. With all that eating away at him, he was glad to have a glint of hope this morning. Remembering the date, his mother’s letter and package should have arrived. 

     So bundling up and taking another dosage of his pain-potion he headed out towards the astronomy tower. The long walk up wasn’t something he was looking forward too, yet barely making it too the top he heard a girl shouting up ahead of him. He glanced up quickly, watching a little cat scurry down the cobbledstair case, along with her chasing it. He smirked, enjoying the scene, before with his left hand he lifted to cast. In a moment an unnatural gust of air rolled past him and swilred around the cat. Harmless as it was, specks of the snow were caught up in the eddy, causing the cat to stop moving long enough for the girl to catch up to it. 

Hondo Kabweza; Headcanon 003 ↳ Triwizard Task 001 ft Louis Weasley

                      TALE OF THE GRIFFIN

     The Kappa is disoriented and as it was thrown, the water in it's hallow empties completely and the Kappa dies. As Celia is fully conscious now and uninjured enough to walk on her own, she gets safely to the green and is escorted away by two wizards. Hondo is now facing the opposite side of the poles and creatures.  He now has to go after Louis.

Hondo Kabweza; Headcanon 003 ↳ Triwizard Task 001 ft Celia Hu

                          THE TALE OF THE KAPPA

    Since the Kappa is on land, it is clear that it has some acute differences to a normal water-dwelling Kappa. It seems rather aggressive, but is careful to keep the hallow containing water on the crown of it's head steady, as it cannot be replenished readily. It also seems to have some basic intelligence, and seems to be aware of it's task. As Hondo approaches it, the Kappa snarls at him and seems to back up to guard Celia, splaying it's clawed hands out (another distinction from a normal water-dwelling Kappa). What does Hondo do? 

People had been coming and going since she had sat in her little cave. No one really noticed her and she didn’t particularly mind. For once, she didn’t want to be the center of attention. She wanted to be a nobody because nobodys won’t be targeted by some dark organization that targets children. Selena brought the bottle to her lips again as her thoughts spiraled into the dark place. Her thoughts were disrupted when someone entered the greenhouse. She had developed somewhat of a game to keep her mind off the situation. She would predict which plants in the greenhouse this person would take and how long they would spend there. The last person had gone to the Vine Vicinity hoping to find a plant that didn’t exist which had Selena in stitches as she tried to keep quiet. It had been a while since she relished in someone else’s demise. Her hopes were high that this person would pride equally good entertainment.

To her dismay, she not only recognized the person but they knew her as well. They only truly talked at the Ball and the conversation was superficial. Yet despite that, he seemed genuine. She didn’t have enough sobriety in her to lie. Selena tilted the bottle at him, pointing at the herbs in his hand. “For one of us. You seem to have an idea of some kind with the sage,” she blurted.

     He grinned back at her, a reflex more than anything, “Some if never goes wrong to have some extra protection...” Hondo’s word were plain, simple even. Even if he had some ideas while also lost on eactly how conmfort the other, since she was still his competition. Thoughts of his professors swarmed his mind, speaking of respect but ultimately being ahead---to be a warrior of the state, meant you must stay above the ones deamed against you; under you. It was a black and white ideal, yet the games felt like a hodgepodge of grey-sentiments. They were just students, not enemies, but everyone seemed so secretive. He had tried to make his rounds and say hello to the other champions, most shrugged him off or ignored his pleasantries. 

                     ......He never understood it.

     However here he was, perhaps a second chance, or at least a moment to distract the girl. It reminded him of a time he was in the tree and a certain student of Ivelmorny distracted him. “I know it’s superficial to say, but you shouldn’t worry too much...” he chuckled dryly to himself, “You were chosen for a reason, be confident in that.” 

Hondo Kabweza; Headcanon 002 ↳ Patronus

    Hondo’s Patronus is that of a HYENA, which he’s proud of as it is also is Animagus form. Hyena’s are know as scavangers and have a bad reputation of being mischevious, even sinister---yet these animals are cunning hunters and will do anything if it means they will survive in the end. Pack animals, social, and intelligent; people should never underestimate a wizards who corporeal patronus is that of this animal. Fiercely focused on his or her’s survival, cunning, and loyal to those they align themselves with...it all comes down to troublesome for anyone against them. 

Hyena’s in the wizarding word embody traits such as: Social, loyal, cunning, ferocious, fierce, and determined. 

Thanks to his martial branch at his school Hondo found summoning the patronus easy, with time. Knowing himself and channeling his thoughts of when he was a Hyena caused him to push through the spell.

It’s not like Hondo doesn’t have any happy memories to pull from, but found confidence and sheer will easier to muster up his shield patronus more than his happiness. Sheer grit, like the Hyena, is what fuels his charm.

Selena was tired. She was tired of putting on a brave face. She was tired of pretending she knew what was going on with the tournament. And most of all she was tired of losing people. She knew that no matter what, someone was going to get hurt in the Forest and there would be another loss. Even if it was another champion, Selena couldn’t take it. Sure, one less opponent was nice but was it really worth someone’s life? This was supposed to be fun and games but with everything going on it seemed silly.

She found herself sitting in the back corner of the Herbology Greenhouse. There was a small alcove where the tools were kept that few people ever paid attention to. It took a simple tranfiguration spell to turn the watering cans into a bench for her to sit and wallow on. Selena wasn’t a fan of drinking her pain her away but right now it seemed like the only thing to numb the pain. She almost wondered if there were harder stuff she could try but she at least wanted to be able to sleep off the effects before the tournament. Another heavy sigh escaped her lips before she pulled the bottle to them again. Each gulp brought a searing burn down her throat followed by a much needed feeling of peace.

     The news of the task was heavy, yet only cippled those who had to work through it. Many voices surrounded Hondo since that morning, some of rally and others of worry yet he held them all up with a forced smile and assurance he’d try his best. However the Dark Forest and it’s contents has it’s own complex infamy here in Europe, and when he arrived his faculty gave him a run down the first few weeks here. His worries weren’t more of what was in there but what he lacked in knowing---as different speicies and creatures lived here than in Africa. Some more sentient than others, even specific plants and trees that could be vicious on their own right. That fact and no knowing how long he’d be out there brought him out to the greenhouse, hoping to gather some trimmings so he could prepare for the unprepareable.

    It took sometime but after trimming some sage from a a health looking bundle, his eyes took in Selena over in the corner. Part of him wanted to turn around, unsure how to talk let alone comfort someone who was his competition, YET their eyes met and he was stuck. “Hard day isn’t it?” he asked, choosing not to put up any facade between them. 

Marina hadn’t been quite sure what she’d been thinking when she’d decided to go to the ball with Hondo, but she sure wasn’t going to show up dateless. Though they’d only just met, Hondo had given her the impression that she could trust him. That he wouldn’t be improper or crude, and that was the kind of company she wanted with her. Trust wasn’t something Marina doled out lightly. It was a bit daunting to be going with a champion though, she wasn’t going to pretend she wasn’t nervous about it all. At least she’d know Brynn at her table. She hoped the other  girl was seated close enough to her that they’d be able to talk, not that she wasn’t looking forward to getting to know Hondo better. Though initially, it was his magic that had interested her, she wanted to know about him now too. He gave off the impression of having a depth to him that Marina wanted to discover.

She’d gotten ready carefully, making sure she looked perfect, before she’d headed over to meet him. She’d ended up charming a plain black dress she already owned, making it look fancier and accenting it with gold to match him, not having enough money saved up to buy an entirely new outfit for the evening. Though she’d done a pretty good job if she did say so herself.

She took a deep breath, and headed down the staircase, smiling when she caught sight of Hondo waiting for her at the bottom. Not that he’d looked bad before, but Uagadou’s champion cleaned up beautifully. He was practically glowing. She accepted his hand as he helped her down the last few steps, and then couldn’t help but flush when he bowed. “Oh! Am I meant to curtsy?” She willed her faint blush away and took his hand when he beckoned her towards the main hall. “Thank you. That’s very sweet. You’re not looking so bad yourself. I like the bracelets. Are they from back home?”

      “No, you don’t have to...it just felt right to at least act like you were royalty tonight.” pausing, “I mean both of us.” he tried to back pedal before the topic of the conversation jumped to his braceletes. “Yeah yeah. My aunt made them for me, before I left... Just a little thing to remember my village.” a humble reply, but one that held a deeper mesage---which wasn’t something to dig up at the moment. Instead he exchanged the memories for a smle, before offering his arm so they could walk side by side.

     Pass the door would be all the schools, along with a strip of carpet meant for each date to enter in with stylle but specifically for champions. “Okay.” he leaned over, modestly, to whisper to her, “Okay so it’s gonna get crazy for a bit...but trust me I’ll get us to our table quickly.” Hondo wanted to assure her, to let her understand what she was walking into craziness since the moment the door open and they entered, streamers shot out around them. Charmed to move like snakes through the air, along with a light aura of Hondo’s schools colors shined off of them just before the announcement. ---”HONDO KABWEZA, CHAMPION OF UAGADOU HAS ENTERED.” a silence rung over the room, “ACCOMPAINED BY MARINA LOPEZ!” in seconds applause and shouting rung around them, the amount of it was shocking for him, but he held Marina close to him waving and smiling as he fulffiled his promise and lead her to where they’d be sitting for the evening. 

     “Merlin, that was way more extra than I expected.” finally able to speak as the noise of the room returned to it’s dull mumblings. 

Fred chuckled slightly looking down at himself. “Could have easily ended up looking like my grand with this on.” He lifted an end of the dark, sheer fabric, varieties of different colored flowers adorning it, holding it up a moment before letting it fall back into place. “Obviously I ended up looking devilishly handsome instead.” He grinned, running a hand over his hair and sighing. “You could say that. I’d much rather be down in the Slytherin dorms at that party but, alas, I’m thinking someone might notice my absence.”

      “That’s the confidence you need to have, I’m glad to be here but definitely a bit nervous with everyone’s eyes on me.” he nodded, “I can handle an arena or a match any day, but a ball with gowns or crowns....I’ll pass.” Hondo was always so honest, more so with his teammates, but it was nice for once speaking and feeling like they were hanging out instead of preparing or scheming. “Is that your date and a certain other person....perhaps a champion too?” he felt the need to ask, maybe evening tease him slightly. 

    Hondo waited for his date at the bottom of the staircase, shortly two minutes before the time they agreed on meeting. His heart felt trapped in his throat, while his eyes scanned the top of the stairs as her silhouette peared between the faces of the others. A smile broke on his lips, eyes gazing at beauty, watching each step she took capturing time and bending it to her will. Everything seemed to move slower as she pulled his attention, her gown knitted with the night and it’s structure draping over her---as if she ripped the heavens and wrapped it around her. Mighty. Graceful. Mysterious. Women like her were definitely not somehting Hondo had experience with, not to mention her culture and style was opposite of his. She wasn’t what he expected, he thought she was just doing him a favor; a kind offer in him teaching her a skill.

                 YET here she was stopping time. 

    Once she was closer, he offered his hand to let her take the last three steps beside him, before when meeting face to face he bowed. A low dip before, standing once again. “You look absolutely stunning tonight, dare I say you rival the night in that dress.” he smiled purely. “Shall we?” waving to the front entrance.