#iidystart

The kettle whistled from the stove top, signaling Victoire to rush back into the kitchen to collect the warm water for tea. She carefully prepared two cups, setting them upon a tray and carrying them into the parlor. Sure she could have used magic, but there were some things she preferred to do by hand - and sometimes it was these little things that kept her distracted from her thoughts. The news about the Creature Registration Act in particular had weighed heavy on the part-veela’s mind. She was opting to not dwell on it. “Here’s that cup of tea for you, love,” Victoire smiled warmly at the other, placing the tray down on the coffee table between them. “You look a little worn out, like maybe you’ve had a bad week. Was there something in particular you wanted to talk about?” It wasn’t a surprise to see a variety of faces coming in and out of her flat - she was always there with her arms wide open, eagerly inviting all to come in and lean into her whenever they needed a crutch. And with how things have been progressing lately... It seemed like her door was more often than not open to whoever needed to stop by. “How have you been?”

     this was the most strung-out louis had been in his entire life, he was sure of it.  and given his general state of high-strung, that was definitely saying something.  things had been going okay-ish, as smoothly as they could have been this year.  and then . . .  boom.  everything came crumbling the fuck down the way it always seemed to, anymore.  lily was gone — vanished — kidnapped.  and this registry business.  truth be told, louis was more concerned about his sisters, his mother especially, than he was himself.  maybe with everything else going on, nothing would happen.  besides, who really cared about a kid who was only one-eighth veela anyway?  

     it was that thought that sent him spiraling, and before he knew it he was excusing himself from class and stumbling out into the hall.  once out of sight and out of earshot of the classroom, he pressed his back to the wall and closed his eyes.  he hadn’t been sleeping very much since shit hit the fan.  how could he?  he had to keep watch to make sure one of his housemates wasn’t about to smother him with a pillow.  louis’s eyes shot open at the thought.  “fuck,”  he whispered.  he tried to steady his breathing, finally glancing around at his surroundings.  “oh shit,”  he muttered, clearing his throat.  “i didn’t see you there.”

once, when he was very young, jasper talkalot had lost his family in diagon alley. he was certain they were right behind him (as they had all been looking into the window at quality quidditch supplies a moment ago), but, by the time he actually decided to check, there was no one there.  he had panicked for a moment, started walking off into the street, before he remembered an errant tidbit that he had learned a few weeks prior: most people lost in the woods often made things worse for themselves by journeying deeper into the unknown. this was not the woods, he knew, but he figured that it was still best to stay put, sitting down on the sidewalk and waiting for his mother to notice he was missing. 

thankfully, it hadn’t taken long. 

that day, as a panicked lucinda talkalot saw her eldest child sitting in the middle of a busy street staring off into the clouds, she couldn’t help but ask, “where is your head, jasper? what in the world is going on in your mind?”

he had started to say something about the woods, something about survival tips, but one of his siblings had interjected with a huff, “it’s just jasper, mom. you know how he is. he always has his head in the clouds.”

in the years since, he had thought of that moment often. and while he hadn’t appreciated the tone of voice being used, he had thought the descriptor rather apt. jasper was a simple man. he was hardly ever thinking about anything other than a few nebulous and flighty topics. his current preoccupations were quidditch (in which his head was literally in the clouds), on occasion, the object of his affections (which, in his view, was about as close to heaven and, thus, the clouds, as he was about to get) and his family (he admitted this one didn’t really quite fit the cloud metaphor.

nevertheless, it was, thus, unsurprising that, during their lunch break in the great hall, jasper had his head in the clouds again. when he finally grounded himself long enough to be aware of the world around him, his companion was looking at him like they expected him to say something. after trying to recall what they wanted from him and failing miserably, he took a bite from his sandwich, nonplussed.

“yes,” he said firmly, though he was not quite sure about what exactly he was agreeing to. 

“tell me this, though--” he changed the topic, “is it a cauldron full of hot strong love that goes like this,“ he hummed a few bars, “or is it magic magic man?“

“D’you think they know how aggressive the combination of those patterns look to me, and are trying to make me have my first heart attack at the tender age of sixteen? Or do you think they simply don’t have any taste whatsoever? Ooooooh, or maybe it’s a hidden message. No matter what’s the truth, though, I feel like I should be wearing sunglasses whenever I look at them. Make it stop.”

“wingdardium leviosa,” the sheaf of parchment in front of molly wobbled a few inches off of the desk before falling back on its surface. “wingardium leviosa!” again, the parchment hovered for a moment, then fell back down.  

her arm had been out of a sling for a week now, but pain still shot through it any time she tried casting a spell. it was clear that whatever spell that masked death eater had used in their attack those weeks ago had done damage beyond molly’s understanding. under hogwarts’ new leadership, she’d been refused access to the hospital wing beyond the first week back -- professor carrow suggested that she work through the pain in order to build character, a smile playing at her lips all the while. “wingardium leviosa!” nothing. 

“Congrats on making your shirt and pants match, buddy. Didn’t think you had it in you,” Sebastian said in a way that was impossible to consider serious due to the enormous grin gracing his features. Leaning back slightly, he crossed his arms over his chest and looked up at the ceiling. Frowning in disgust, he looked back down. “Anyway, what’s everybody so upset about? Sure, there’s one less Weasley around, but don’t they have back-ups or something? Wait, is it the hot one that got, uh... That ran away?”

“I’m sorry, they called out my name, but I think this might be yours.” they pushed the coffee cup across the counter to the person who’d been in line before them. although they didn’t remember the person’s particular order, the coffee they’d found beneath the lid was certainly not a black coffee double shot with a dash of soy milk as they’d asked, despite the fact that their name was on the cup. they did remember, however, who’d stood before them in line. “I haven’t drank from it yet, if that helps.”

It had a long shift and Simone didn’t even bother changing out of her robes as she left St. Mungo’s and made her way to her favorite (magical) cafe. She wanted some food and then she could apparate home and maybe have time to say hello to her family before she crashed for some much needed sleep. But the news prevented her from enjoying herself; her mind kept spinning round and round the new decree, and what it meant for the extended family she barely knew, and what it meant for her own relationship. It was a bad sign, a first step on a slippery slope and she just wanted to keep her family safe. A noise behind her startled from her thoughts and she jerked up. “Sorry - did you say something?”