Black bile

[Minoas Stratis]

His dark pupils lighten up as a flame roared in front of him. Minoas was sitting by his favourite willow tree at the lake, under the embroidered with stars sky. The wand in his grip had echanted the burning issue of RHI to levitate a few inches away from him, letting the soft wind to lure the flames into a frenetic dance. Minoas usually had trouble with fire charms but he had managed to lit up this piece of garbage with his first attempt. It was remarkable what power could bring some anger out of nowhere. Now that issue full of lies and inaccuracies had earned its proper place. It wasn't going to concern him for a long time since it was nothing in front of the worries that had occupied that mind which despite the cloudless, summer night it couldn't find some piece. Not even hsi favourite nature sound, the symphony of the crickets couldn't make him relax a bit and prevent everything from cramming inside his head. It was going to be just another sleepless night looking with glazed eyes at nowhere.
Just this time he preferred that nowhere to be the night sky and not the ceiling of his dormitory.

Mechanically, he drew out of his jeans' pocket the letter he had received earlier that afternoon from his mother.
Unfortunately for him, there were no good news. He focused on those lines that were stating that the Aurors had made no progress to figure out who was behind the abduction of his father. Minoas ignored the rest included in the letter, mentioning that the whole family from Greece had came to New Zealand to support his mother. With no hint of emotions in his face, he flicked his wand, he murmured the incantation and the piece of parchment got engulfed into flames slowly joining the bigger flame caused by the RHI issue.

It was two weeks now since his father was swallowed by a huge hurricane formed by a storm cloud. He knew it wasn't a natural phenomenon and as he had insisted to his mother and the Aurors that came to take him a testimony, there was someone behind that disappearance. He had spent countless hours blaming himself for this outcome. If he had a wand with him, he could have stayed and helped his father escape. He was punishing himself by pushing himself closer to depression. He had neglected his self. Hardly eating, sleeping, he had also stopped doing things that he previously liked. He hadn't showed up yet to any Quidditch practices that his team had scheduled and he was even considering quitting. He picked up a rock lying next to him and threw towards the dark dome of the lake. With its splash, Minoas let a silent sigh. He was sinking quickly into depression like the stone he had tossed into the dark waters. The difference was that the stone was going to reach at some point the bottom. His agony seemed infinite with no peace for bottom.

 

[Artemis Jackson]

For a quiet Slytherin, Artemis wondered how she got such a bubbly and talkative sibling. Not to mention, that sister of hers was a Gryffindor. She knew that it had been a whilst since their family had a true Gryffindor and a proud one at that. The Jacksons were mostly composed of Ravenclaws and Slytherins. Not that they truly valued which house the kid will go into but it was just terribly rare. Artemis bade her sister farewell and smiled unconsciously as she thought of her holidays. They were funner than she expected and she seriously had fun with all of her family members including her own mum. Artemis never really disliked her mum - only that she was pretty much distant from her. Spending time with Alliyah lifted up her spirits and she was glad that a few seconds ago, she agreed to meet Alliyah for some sisterly fun in the next few days. The morning was not eventful. Only RHI spiced up the morning madness but aside from that, it was very much dull. The evening however (especially after dinner) was good enough and she liked the short time she spent with Alliyah. Now that she was maturing in all forms, she figured that exchanging stories with the younger blonde made her feel like a better sister.

After talking to Alliyah, she figured out that her time would be wisely spent if she were outdoors. Her feel for Quidditch kicked in and she suddenly wished that she had her broom to fly in the Pitch. The air was not as strong although there was a constant soft breeze that occasionally blew on her face. It was equally refreshing and it granted the teenage Slytherin some good vibes. There were too many people who were still whispering about the newly issued gossip magazine and Artemis had read it rather quickly. She found some of the news intriguing although she knew that loads of it were total nonsense. Artemis walked slowly to the lake instead since it would be useless if she would spend her time in the Quidditch Pitch. She did not have her broom and the ones stored in the broom closet were worn out and rickety. Artemis made a small face at the thought of those brooms and fished her wand from the inside pocket of her cardigan. Thankfully, her attire suited the weather currently and she was wearing an accessory just as an additional. Artemis recalled Alliyah asking her about it, and she deliberately ignored her ever curious sister.

Before stepping on the grassy ground of the lakefront, Artemis murmured the incantation of the Lumos charm to ensure that she wouldn't trip or anything, which was highly unlikely. She held her wand slightly above her hip and her impassive blue eyes scanned the lakefront. It was peaceful but there was already an occupant sitting near a tree. The Slytherin frowned and looked for another place to sit down but she realized that the figure looked familiar. Definitely it was a male, and she walked towards him quietly. Artemis' eyes widened when she saw that it was Minoas, a Gryffindor friend of hers. She almost blushed when she realized that she was wearing the bracelet he gave her before the holidays. Artemis made her footsteps a little louder to alert him of her presence and murmured a small, "hi." Artemis noticed the levitated fire a few inches away from Minoas and she knew that he was burning paper. Her thoughts drifted to her earlier memories of the day and had an idea of what he was burning. Artemis sat down on his right side with her feet Indian crossed. Partly because she did not want him to know that she was wearing the bracelet on her right wrist. The rest was, well, just because she preferred the right than the left.

"I.." Artemis began slowly and stared at the consuming flames. They were beautiful under the starry night. But she was more focused on how she would start a conversation with the other student. Finally, she breathed in and exhaled softly, still staring at the flames that were dancing before her eyes. "Er, I read it. You actually have a friend that is a centaur?" She hoped that he would not spill out his anger on her in a violent way, like he would scream at her or something. Or else, it would scare her wits out. Artemis bit the soft flesh from her inside of her lip and faced him. He physically looked tired but she could not comprehend what he was feeling through his eyes. She felt the familiar hum of magic on her wrist and she figured that the bracelet was trying to understand how she was feeling. Artemis did not have difficulty hiding what she felt but she did have difficulty trying to alter her feelings so that the bracelet wouldn't reveal what she was truly feeling. Over the holidays, she had figured out some of the colours it showed off which was such a brand new experience for her.
​

 

[Minoas Stratis]

Minoas hadn't realized how much time he had spent sitting there alone against the dark, crispy bark on the willow tree, behind its fountain of green, emerald leaves. He didn't want to return back to the castle despite the late hour. He was feeling as if it was more of an inhospitable place rather than a sanctuary. It seemed like that castle had eyes and ears everywhere, even on its walls and Minoas needed some privacy and stay away from unwelcome presences. The best option he had on his disposal were the grounds. Although he knew that the best location of not running into someone was the forbidden forest, he didn't risk it and stayed away from it. Last time he had entered the forest he tried to help a first year, only to get in trouble in the end. Two of his professors found them and if that wasn't bad enough, two centaurs appeared to defend Minoas and the first year and threaten the adults. The fact that he was hanging out with centaurs leaked after this event to be mentioned in an extravagant way on RHI. The author of that magazine could write whatever they liked. He just didn't care as soon as there was nothing mentioned about his father. If something like that was going to happen in the future he was going to make the author eat an issue rather than turning it into a fireball.

His senses were hypnotized by the magnificent yet terrifying beast of flames that was raging in midair, in front of him. Especially his hearing, was lost in a void where only the static sound of fire was dominating. The sudden echo of human speech in his void felt so foreign that he was violently pulled out of it. Startled, he looked up to see a femine figure coming towards to him. He flicked his wand in time preventing the hovering fire from falling down on the ground. He let this time a sigh of relief when he recognized the pale face of his friend Artemis. Worlds couldn't describe his alleviation that instead of Artemis hadn't approached him Professor Kingsley for instance. "Hi." he said back a little bit bluntly. He regretted talking to her like that the very next moment.
"I thought I was busted once more." he continued this time his words flooding with relief. He was hoping that she was just passing by and was going to leave him alone but it seemed like she was planning to stay. He could sense that she wanted to talk to him but she was hesitant.

He clenched his teeth, suspecting that she was going to take pity of him. He couldn't remember if her parents were working at the Ministry to know what have happened to his father but Minoas was always biased that people wanted to approach him to express their sympathy. He didn't want to be commiserated and that was the reason why he had isolated himself from friends and the rest of the world. Artemis surprised him however, when she asked him in awe about the rumours of hanging out with centaurs. An awkward smile was actually formed on his tired face. His facial muscles had forgotten how it was to smile.
"You are unbelievable." he said and shook his head as his smile widened a little bit more. He let himself watch the sparks that got away from the fiery mass. In seconds, they got carried away to non-existence by the sudden breeze that picked up. "Is that all? I'm struggling here to become like Harry Potter and the only thing you have to comment about is the centaur thing?" he used some irony about what was included in the little article dedicated on him. He wasn't that good at modern history but he knew that Harry Potter had beaten the Dark Lord. Still he couldn't find out the resemblance between him and that person.

"I have actually two centaur friends." he revealed and raised two fingers of his free hand. He got used to the fact that most people around New Zealand weren't finding normal the fellowship of wizards and centaurs. It was though quite normal for where he was coming from to even be taught by centaurs.
"What are you doing out of the castle that late?" he asked her in a somewhat disapproving way now that the smile had abandoned his face.

 

[Artemis Jackson]

"I thought I was busted once more." Artemis had to smile at his words, knowing that her Gryffindor friend had a knack of getting in trouble. His very presence declared adventure to her. He was a Gryffindor after all. Artemis thought that he was the perfect example of an over mischievous boy in his teen years. For some reason, she thought if he ever found that company he wanted whenever he was out on an adventure. Besides from Briar Rowan, the former Head Girl, Artemis thought that Minoas had no constant adventure buddy. She distantly recalled the time when he asked her to be his "partner-in-crime" which she politely refused. That had been a long time ago and she was glad that up to know, she was still in good terms with Minoas. Artemis knew that she was loyal to him and him, to her. "No worries, you're safe." She chuckled freely after the words rolled out from her mouth. The soft sound that came out from her lips were guarded, and she tried to sense if he did welcome her presence. He seemed to be guarded as well and she ignored the unpleasant thought that was beginning to form in her mind; if ever he did not need the company. She thought of leaving him to his own comfort, but it was a good thing her traitorous lips had opened itself before she could even move her legs.

Being unbelievable was unbelievable for the teen Slytherin. She faced him, her eyes momentarily confused with what he said. Her words were perfectly precise and she acknowledged only one subject. A million thoughts raced in her mind onto why he thought of her as unbelievable and she frowned. He was not looking at her, thank Merlin, or else he would have probably laughed at her confused, yet subtle expression. When his words reached her ears, her confused expression slipped into an amused smile that almost mirrored his. Almost. She nodded and kept her own thoughts to herself. "Because I know the rest are rubbish." She mentally answered his question and instead she let her eyes linger on his as he spoke. For a guy who has 2 centaur friends, she found it odd yet impressive. "What are their names?" She queried randomly, and she felt herself tore themselves from his face to face the flames instead. Her wand was now placed on the grass between them so that they could it could provide light as well. "That's pretty brave of you. Meeting them, that is." She admitted aloud unashamedly. She pictured her friend in the forest all alone, whilst discovering the centaurs that resided there. That thought alone made her feel timid compared to the Gryffindor.

"I wanted to fly in the Pitch," Artemis said quietly, and she stared at what it seemed to the peak of the rings far away from them. Flying under the starry night would be beautiful and refreshing, after all the events that happened back in England. "But my broom is still in the common room so I cancelled. I went here instead." She sensed the disappointment in his tone earlier, and she tried to make her tone a bit positive and slightly jovial. She did not fail nor did she succeed. Instead her tone became a little neutral. Artemis slouched slightly and played with the grass between her folded legs. They were rough to touch, but her skin got used to the feeling after tugging on some awkwardly. Artemis wanted to ask him back, but then she thought that she already knew the answer to her question. Desperately wanting to change the subject, she settled for the holidays as their topic. "I cannot believe that I had so much fun during the holidays." She hoped that it was not a sensitive topic as well which she doubted it. Not knowing what happened to his holidays, she expected him to let her talk about what happened, but she waited if ever he would talk about his first or let her babble about hers.
​

 

[Minoas Stratis]

The rage of the flames on the hovering papers started subsiding as they were turning into embers but the fire hadn't gave up yet. It was struggling to ksustain itself, searching blindly for any unburnt spot on what used to be a magazine issue. Minoas still controlling the levitation of the flame sphere, he chuckled as his friend Artemis reassured him that he was safe. "I'm not going to buy this one again. This school has eyes of its own." he said and nodded at the castle that was residing somewhere in the background. He had believed many times in the past that there was no way to get busted because of the perfect circumstances but it seemed that the professors had a way of tracking down the trouble-makers. He had started disliking a lot the portraits that were covering most of the interior walls of the castle as he was starting thinking that the inhabitants of those portraits were actually spying on students.

He shifted his attention to Artemis when she asked for the centaurs' names. He turned to face the flames again with a frown in his face. Why she was so interesting in learning more about the centaurs? Was is it just pure curiosity or she was asking on behalf of Professor Zhefarovich who had good relations with Slytherins, being a former Slytherin himself. At the same time, Artemis was a Slytherin herself. He couldn't figure out how he had trusted her all that time when Slytherins were cunning and ready to stomp on anybody to get what they wanted. He had turned into a really suspicious individual lately but even if Artemis was there to abstract information from him for Professor Zhefarovich for instance, Minoas doubted that they could use it to their advantage. He smirked as he remembered his professors cornered by the centaurs, under the menace of the beings' arrows. "The names are Aspen and Thraex." he finally decided to answer to her question. His voice rolled out of his mouth a little bit hoarse, that's why he cleared his throat before continuing. "Aspen is Briar's sister. They were raised together and Thraex, well Thraex saved me from certain death once. Since then I visit him whenever I can. I like his stories." he said nodded twice his head.
"Why do you care anyway?" he backed Artemis into an imaginary corner, asking her a little bit rudely and abruptly.
He didn't apologized but his eyes were stating that he had regretted talking to her like that.

He started flicking repeatedly the wand in his hand and the fiery sphere starting orbiting, first slowly but after a few rotations it started orbiting a little bit faster until the fire was blown out by the rush and the only thing left hovering was a black mass of burnt paper. He interrupted the connection between his wand and the object he had enchanted by stop pointing at it. The burnt mass of paper dropped down and bounced twice on the grass before rolling down, a little closer to the lake's bank and stay immobile among the rocks. Minoas clenched his teeth when Artemis referred to flying, making his jaw muscles bulge keenly. He didn't want to listen about flying again. He was reminding him of so many things he wanted to forget right now. He didn't know what exactly had contained him from erupting rudeness again but he managed to control himself. "I can't remember the last time I took my broom for a flight." he limited his statement to those brief words that were showing indifference about the subject. He shrugged slightly when she mentioned that her broom was left in her common room. He had no idea where he had left his own scarlet streak. He couldn't remember seeing it around nor he had tried to look for it.

He wasn't completely sure if Artemis was picking the topics of discussion randomly. If he didn't know her for sometime he was going to believe that she was doing that deliberately to irritate him.
"Good for you." he murmured, glad to hear that someone had enjoyed their holidays. Minoas was convinced that he wasn't going to experience worse Christmas holidays than the recent ones. Instead of recalling all those unpleasant moments, he decided to ask Artemis how she seized her free time. "So, how you spend your holidays?" he asked. Now that there was no fire in front of him, he focused his gaze on the moon's shimmering on the lake's dark surface.

 

[Artemis Jackson]

The Slytherin sensed that her friend was in an odd mood currently. He did not act normally - like the usual teasing self he was. He always teased her in a sort of friendly way which she had to admit was funny. She kept herself controlled though and made sure that she wouldn't go over the boundaries and let her mind think of conclusions as to why he did that to her. Because she was a Slytherin maybe, and he wanted to test how Slytherin-y she was? Artemis frowned slightly and let her eyes linger on the flaming piece that was set before her pale face. As beautiful as the flames were, she knew that the object it was consuming was just another spoil that ruined Minoas' day. She felt sympathy bubbling inside the pit of her stomach which she tried to contain. Sympathy sometimes ruined another person's mood unless they craved for attention. Artemis thought of words to utter a funny remark but she knew that she sucked at being humorous. A small portion in her mind agreed with her friend, even if she initially thought that he was being ridiculous. She kept silent and wondered why a part of her silently agreed with him. Was it because of the mysterious cases of students getting reported to the professors, "Which happens once in a whilst," Artemis personally thought. Her mind drifted to Minoas, who she heard was reported to a professor. Good for her, she so far had a clean record since she always had control over her desires. She had realized that as she was growing older, it has been becoming increasingly difficult. Being a teenager always had difficult temptations.

Centaurs' names were always intriguing and they were rather unusual to humans. It had some kind of odd touch to it, in a positive way. Artemis listened attentively to Minoas and voiced the first name in her mind and uttered the latter aloud. "Thraex," She repeated, ignoring the hoarse tone of her friend. Artemis had a feeling that she would dislike whatever Minoas was thinking but she tried not to pay any heed to it. As the words rolled off, she felt the foreign sound of it in her ears. The name itself gave off the impression that it was quite the brave one - which made Artemis interested. She nodded as some additional information were given and her face twisted into a confused expression as she heard the name of the former Head Girl - the one last year. Artemis thought that Rowan had some "bad impression" towards the Slytherins. The current Slytherin Quidditch captain had proved that already and somehow, Artemis felt a little irritated with that werewolf. That ginger hogged the Quaffle too. "Very adventurous stories, I bet." Artemis stated, cracking a funny smile to lighten the glum mood of their conversation. If he would snap at her next, she was almost sure that she would visibly wince. Almost. Her friendly feelings towards Minoas had grown sensitive over the years because of her increasing maturity. A rush of emotion surged in and the blonde immediately felt the bracelet on her right wrist thrum with magical energy. That small snap caused her to lower her confidence to talk to him and to back away immediately. Instead of frowning and facing him, she took a steady breath and slightly angled her head upwards to view the dark colour that was painted on the evening sky. "I find magical beasts interesting," She muttered softly and refused to set her eyes on his grey ones. Not that she was lying but Artemis forced her eyes to look serene as if she was cool about it. The mood she was emitting though, was a mix hurt and confusion as to why his mood was just so foul.

"Merlin's beard," Artemis looked at him right now with a stare that expressed her incredulity. One of the main reasons on why she decided to talk to Minoas in the first place was because he liked Quidditch. His fondness towards the sport fascinated her the first time they talked to one another, which was three years ago. She recalled the vague memory in her mind, where Minoas accidentally hit her with the Quaffle. The pain was bearable but it hurt like hell it did. She almost smiled when she remembered that time but the present mood troubled her. Her eyes scanned his face and immediately noticed the dark expression he was having. Barely trying to contain herself, the blonde slightly opened her mouth to speak but a millisecond later, she abruptly closed it again. She confusingly felt that he was bothered by her but her mind just could not work out the reason why. Had she done anything wrong that irked him? The last time she saw him was before the Christmas holidays started. "Why... Er, never mind." She started, but finished her sentence whilst bowing her head to face the grass, now that the fiery mass was gone already. Her fingers on both hands started to tug on the grass quite awkwardly, cherishing the silence that had washed over the confused and awkward mode in the air. Artemis realized that the snake bracelet was now visible for his eyes and she resisted the urge to hide it from him. Artemis felt embarrassed but kept her pride and dignity intact. She noticed that the eyes had turned into a shade of light pink that perhaps indicated her embarrassment. The blonde sighed and hoped that it would change its colour soon. But of course, she knew that she would have to change her mood first.

Artemis felt an upward tug catching her lips. She then knew that she flashed him a hint of a smile that spoke her memories of happiness. She had done numerous things that caught her liking along with Alliyah's too. Mostly however, her family went around England and Scotland and together they explored the tourist spots and some magical communities too. The thrum of energy changed its course and again, searched for what she was feeling. Artemis decided to let the sight of the bracelet away from her eyes. Swiftly, she let her hand travel to her right side - away from the eyes of both students. Artemis reeled her mind back to the times with her family and finally opened her mouth to speak. "My family and I went to visit some of the tourist attractions in England. T'was fun, especially the part where I learned to live the muggle way. Initially, I hated it since I couldn't use magic to my advantage and my father refused to use his wand to clean up things. So I had to do it manually. Anyways, I also had a picnic with my mum and Ally which I swear was actually fun. I also got to visit Scotland for a few days and I saw the Scottish ministry from afar. So basically my hols weren't anything fancy, but very enjoyable." Artemis took a deep breath and a small, pleased smile was plastered on her face. Her "hols (shortcut for holidays)" as she called it were something she wanted to do again. Those days were lovely and it had been a long time that she really had bonded genuinely with her mother. Artemis felt that her relationship with her family had grown stronger over those days. "Were yours any better? You traveled again maybe?" She asked timidly, hoping that she hadn't blabbed too much about hers. Besides, she knew that her way of talking was right. First she got to share her experience, now was the time for his. Artemis felt that she wanted to know what happened and she tried to tuck her eagerness in, hiding it behind her usual silence.
​

 

[Minoas Stratis]

Minoas looked away from his friend Artemis as he didn't want her to see the regret on his face. He was feeling awful for talking to her in that manner but despite acting like a jerk to her, she was still tolerating his curt behavior. "Way to treat someone who supports you Minoas. Well done!" the voice in his head snapped scoffingly and made him feel even more guilty. Unlike the majority of castle's inhabitants, she hadn't bought a line of the nonsenses that were hosted in the pages of RHI. If that wasn't a sign of loyalty then what could be?
"I'm sorry. Sorry for erupting over you. It wasn't fair." this time it was he that lowered his head to face the ground, sincerely apologizing. Afraid that now her silence was going to bore down on him like a tombstone, he tried to make up to her and engage in the conversation she was struggling to establish.
"Yes Thraex. He's an outcast of the centaur herd that dwell in this forest." his head pointed at the edge of the forbidden forest in the distance. "You should hear the story of his personal revolution. He's really understanding towards humans, he actually admires us." he revealed about his centaur friend who had expressed his admiration towards humanity and its achievements. Minoas believed that maybe he had expressed this admiration openly in front of his tribemates and that was the main reason he banished from the herd.

"You do?" he exclaimed surprised when Artemis expressed her interest about magical beings.
"Well then I could then introduce you to a friend of mine who's alone lately. It's not a centaur, don't worry." he reassured her when he knew that she wasn't that adventurous to meet a centaur and get subsequently into trouble like he did. He also didn't want her to get punished or earn a detention because of him. That have happened once during last semester with a first year and it had felt awfully bad to be responsible for another person's detention.
He let a soft laugh as it was his turn to surprise his friend. The fact that he had expressed lately an indifference towards flying and his favourite sport had astonished himself as well. "Not exactly what you were expecting to hear from me right?" he said and pulled a tuft of grass off the dry soil. He started twining it as he was thinking of the main reason he wanted to stay away from brooms and Quidditch.

His father had introduced him to this activity. He had gifted him with his first broom, he had taught him how to fly and he had promised to take him in a future to watch a Quidditch game. Minoas wasn't sure anymore if the last promise was ever going to be fulfilled but one thing was clear. For some reason he was scared to do things that he used to do with his father and that were reminding of him. "I sent an owl to our captain today. I won't play for the next match against you." he said and melancholy had returned in his eyes again. It was so hard to write down those few lines on that piece of parchment. Each word was like a stab in his chest as he was feeling his was betraying his team. "It will be a piece of cake for you know that I won't be there trying to score. Still, don't get too confident because Aphrodite and Faxen are really good chasers." he tried to lighten the mood by unleashing a tease. Even his teasing towards her had languished a little bit.

While she was describing how she had spent her holidays with her family, Minoas struggled to prevent his thoughts crawl back to his own holidays. His fingers grasped the grass next to him as if he wanted to channel some strength from it and he plucked a few tufts again. "Nice to hear that you and Ally had some quality time with your parents." he said and focused his attention on cleaning his hands as he didn't want to show to her any signs of envy. He knew that he wasn't going to spend some time in that way with his entire family any time soon. They were saying that you appreciate something when you lose it and now Minoas was feeling that in his own skin. He wasn't sure whether Artemis had read anything on the papers about his father's disappearance but her topic changes were dangerously pressing the buttons of his forbearance. However, Minoas managed to gather a little bit more of the strength that had remained in him and reminded himself that she wasn't to be blamed when she was unaware of the situation.
"Not really." he shook his head to her question about whether his own holidays were better than hers.
"We stayed here in New Zealand. I had so much school work to do so my parents decided to not distract my dedication." he lied but in a very convincing way. He was begging for this lie to replace a part of his own memory like his brothers were unaware of what had happened to their father.
"We built a tree house with my siblings though. It was nice to do finally something productive with them." he chuckled and rolled his eyes at the thought that they managed to cooperate for once without exploding or setting anything to fire.

 

[Artemis Jackson]

A swirl of disappointment and hurt filled the very holes of Artemis' chest. It pierced her slightly since she was totally clueless about his rather rude behavior. Artemis was not the sensitive type when it came to criticism but people who displayed a manner that seemed to unwelcome her was bothering. "To leave or stay?" Artemis kept a blank face that was angled slightly upwards to view the different stars. As she self-consciously scanned the evening sky, Artemis did not feel herself wet her lips that indicated her developing nervousness. Irritation also filled a small corner in the blonde's mind as she tried to keep herself in her spot - instead of walking back to the castle. Sometimes her temper was burned fast. Close friends or not, Artemis did not know how to calm herself inside. She knew how to make herself look emotionless. She had enough practice regarding control of the exterior side of her. The inside however, lacked that particular control. She moved her head a little downwards until it faced the vast land before them. Mustering the courage to face him, she made sure her lips picked up a small smile. Artemis wanted it to be genuine and she felt her insides heat up as she turned to face him. The ghost of a smile masking her, she nodded softly (yet it was somewhat stiff) without any sound uttered. He was forgiven - her eyes said it but there was also a portion that had been hurt. It was up to him to spot it out.

"Admire? Rather odd. Shouldn't it be us studying them?" There were queer beasts lived in the vast land called the Forbidden Forest in which Artemis did not dare explore. Hearing that the centaur called Thraex was an outcast, Artemis sealed her lips shut and let her thoughts wander lightly. She found Care of Magical Creatures interesting enough. Artemis looked at the trees ahead, even farther from the black lake and wondered what its residents were doing now. Artemis flashed a shiny grin at her friend and said, "I didn't see it coming either. Never really thought that they were interesting at first but now, well." Artemis shrugged and tried to recall the other creatures that Professor Stark had been discussing the previous days. She was not fond of that man though. Speed Stark was an unusual name and the Slytherin wondered if his mother had the right sanity when she gave him his name. A soft breeze swept over and Artemis inhaled the sweet scent of what it seemed to be dew. "You reckon I know that friend?" Not knowing whether to call it a girl or guy, she settled for the word friend. Artemis had been a little off the social world lately. Meeting some new friends wouldn't be harmful wouldn't it?

Mixed emotions erupted inside. There was disappointment, smugness and Artemis felt her confidence escalate. But then she couldn't forget the feeling of disappointment too. She was actually excited to face Minoas in a match. It has been ages since they have been opponents. Artemis nodded whilst she was vaguely aware that a small frown captured her pink lips. Odd but, Artemis confusingly assumed that Minoas was losing his interest in the magical sport. As the names of the other Gryffindor Chasers were said, Artemis felt herself keep a shiver. The image of Isabella Romanes' face flashed in her mind with her superior sounding voice. That Slytherin intimidated Artemis in the Pitch but along the corridor, Artemis never really noticed her. She admired and was intimidated by the captain. In their last game, Romanes did not seem to go insane and furious. Time really did change people's characters inside. "I'm neither nervous nor overconfident," said the Slytherin as she secured that sentence with a casual chuckle. One down, to more to go. Although she was almost certain that her friend's replacement would be a first year or at least someone younger than her. Her mind went back seconds ago and she faced him, her blue eyes noticeably curious in the dark. "I haven't decided whether to play or not. I might need to study on the day of the game. Why won't you play?" Surprisingly, the teen wanted to tease him suddenly if ever he was 'going somewhere.' A new adventure would seem appropriate for the typical Gryffindor, but she darkly thought that maybe he would go with somebody. Artemis tried to release those thoughts of envy, which made her confusion increase even more.

Personally speaking, Artemis found her friend's holidays dull. She was thankful that her family had spiced things up this time, giving her and her sister a brilliant and fantastic time back in England. It was also comforting to be surrounded by her fellow English citizens. In Hogwarts, there was a mix of accents and languages which were mostly unfamiliar for the blonde. England however offered her the very first comfort zone she has ever had. "School work," She repeated unnecessarily. Her features had scrunched up when she thought about what her holidays would have been if all she was focused on was schoolwork. "Bloody hell, bless me if that happened." Artemis did not recognize any stuttering or stammering whatsoever and so she believed trustingly. "Ah, brothers," Mused the young lady and imagined Minoas building a tree house. She never pictured herself helping out building something in particular especially if it involved something big. "How did it go? Is it done or is it still a work in progress?" Attentively, Artemis looked into the grey orbs he had and smiled softly, showing that she was interested in what had occurred. Alliyah was not the type to have the strength to build a tree house all day and Artemis would not indulge herself in such an activity when she could either read a good novel or do some flying laps. Boys are the almost perfect people she could ask about building activities.
​

 

[Minoas Stratis]

A glimpse at her and Minoas realized that his behaviour had hurt her feelings. He turned his attention away on the starry sky before she had the time to raise her gaze off the ground. He hoped that the damage he had done could be fixed. He generally didn't care whether people around him liked him or not especially that period but Artemis was different. She has been a good friend and she definitely didn't deserve his rudeness. The nod and the soft smile with which she responded to his apology was actually giving him a second chance rather than completely forgiving him. He exerted himself to cast away his torment. At least for a while that Artemis was with him.

"Sounds strange right? Maybe we don't know enough about centaurs." he made a statement that he wanted to pass to more people than only to his closest friends. People were really prejudiced against centaurs, believing that they were just an extremely territorial, barbaric being. Minoas was convinced that most people that had that impression about centaurs would have reacted in a similar way if someone was breaking in their houses or trespassing their properties. He personally knew three centaurs pretty well. His shaper who had offered him his knowledge before attending Hogwarts, Aspen who was Briar's sister and Thraex who had helped him escape from the local herd's fury. Three out of his three acquaintances with these beings had given him a good impression about their kind.

The sudden breeze caressed his cheeks and drove off some of the warmth that had absorbed his skin from the heat of the burning paper. He was going to miss quidditch and the matches against the other houses. He was drowning with guilt as he was writing back to Aphrodite his negative response regarding the match against Slytherin. It felt like letting down the whole Gryffindor but he couldn't engage himself to do something that he couldn't dedicate completely. He wasn't surprised when she mentioned that she wasn't nervous nor overconfident. She had the absolute skill of keeping balance whatever she was doing unlike Minoas who was a man of extremes. He could feel that composure and collectiveness when he was with her and she was actually channeling some of it in him but not enough to change his moody personality. "I'll be studying as well." he lied; he hoped that he did convincingly enough. "I have really postponed my revision so I have to sacrifice something if I want to progress for my OWLs next year." he reinforced his alibi with a statement that was true but not really a priority for him.

He had a plan all sorted in his mind. He needed access to the restricted section in the library and to have it he needed as less people around him as possible. During a qudditch game almost the whole castle was at the pitch to enjoy the match so that was increasing his chances to have access to that section without getting busted. He needed a partner in crime and although he was undoubtedly trusting Artemis, he knew that she wasn't up to such kind of ventures. He wasn't sure whether his friend was doubting what he had said about spending his holidays studying about school. If she did, she had a rather good intuition since it was another lie he was giving to everyone asking about his holidays. "It is done though I've never had the chance to enjoy it." he started saying and the smile started cracking on his features. "My brothers kicked me out of it the very moment we finished it. I tried to claim my rights but then they turned it into a fortress and they bombarded me with dung bombs." he chuckled as it sounded funny now that he wasn't experiencing the dung bomb bombardment. "I think I need to come up with a plan and kick them out of the tree house when I'll be back for holidays." he laughed as he wanted to heal his wounded ego.

 

[Artemis Jackson]

From interest to genuine curiosity, Artemis was now fascinated about magical beasts in general. They were delightfully strange even if they were dangerous in their own unique ways. Some were cute, odd looking whilst some had a mighty stance. Artemis nodded her head to agree with him. She knew that Minoas' father bred a certain kind of magical creature which at first Artemis thought was a little uninteresting. She had no idea what the danger was there and what could happen if ever she herself would do it without any assistance. Now however, Artemis was interested and eager to learn more. If possible, to see one with flesh and movement. Professor Stark was a man who talked about intriguing creatures almost everyday. Artemis did not really like him to say frankly, but he did teach well. His name, for her, is just insane. Besides from Care of Magical Creatures, Artemis' hatred for Potions had also reduced to just a simple dislike. It was still confusing for her, and she found the Potions classroom hot whenever they had to brew a potion. She knew it was because of the fire under their cauldrons. The heat just made Artemis feel so sticky. She found it gross.

The mention of OWLs made Artemis cringe internally. Her exterior side remained still, but the way her eyes momentarily snapped shut indicated that she was indeed human. Euw, the year of OWLs made her feel nervous and jumpy. Was she mature enough to handle more homeworks? And also, a tougher year in general? "Bloody hell," Artemis groaned and bit the soft, wet flesh that her lower lip had. Was it Minoas' first time to hear her utter very very mild profanity? If so, she hoped he wouldn't be surprised. She did not like saying strings of foul words in front of people she barely knew, even in wild parties. The usage of it to her was quite useless. "It'll be hell year next school year," She mildly joked. Mentally, she had reminded herself over and over again to prepare of it. The thing was, academics were just not the Slytherin's preference. She was an athlete for the Slytherin house. Quidditch was a main thing of hers, not some memorization and jotting down notes.

Artemis laughed. It was carefree, happy, sincere and relaxed. All the positive values in a laugh was in hers although Artemis did not realize this. She found it amusing that Minoas, the oldest of the siblings, was not able to claim his rights in the tree house. Her laugh stopped shortly after his, whilst she her head turned to his this time. She grinned softly at him and felt that her blue eyes were now glimmering with funniness. Artemis put her left hand on her friend's shoulder and she patted it twice. It was a friendly gesture and Artemis kept it there whilst she uttered, "Good luck with that." It was for moral support. She let her hand remained on his shoulder for a second more and she took whilst releasing a very short chuckle. After another full five seconds, she stayed quiet and let her inner laughter cease. Now it was awkward. She did not want to have that awkward silence with Minoas again. They seemed to be having more frequent encounters with these silences. Glancing at him shyly, she asked with a small grin forming again on her lips, "Er, is that why you look so tired?" She now eyed him blankly, her eyes and lips dropping its previous happy gaze and smile. It was no joke that Artemis had noticed that he wasn't really looking (and acting) normal from the start of their conversation. She secretly hoped that he wouldn't be rude again. That just wounded hearts.
​

word count: 627 words

 

[Minoas Stratis]

Minoas thoughts wondered somewhere towards the serene lake. His emotions and psychology was so fluid when he was close to water. It should had something to do with his dominant elements and lately he was suffering from severe, emotional roaler coasters. For now the lake was reflecting his very own mood but it wasn't because of it that he was in a such calm state. Artemis had managed to calm him down and cast away bad thoughts. Finally, he was opening after a long time, tossing aside the shell he was carrying with his for the past few weeks.
His attention got attracted by Artemis' exclamation right after him mentioning their OWLs examination. He couldn't help but smile slightly at her reaction. He had noticed that reaction of hers, bitting the flesh of her lower lip and he was finding it quite cute. His gray eyes danced as he realized that he was thinking of it again and tried to come around. Upon her reference on next year, his thoughts slightly carried him away for a moment. He hadn't yet made up his made on whether he was going to return back at school next year or drop his studies. This was the constant fight that was taking part inside him and had started slowly to consume him.
Regardless of his decision, for now he was going to act as if he was going to continue for sure.
"It will be definately an interesting year." he said and recovered his warm smile. He could tell that she was probably worrying about potions. The gryffindor knew that the slytherin had no particular tolerance about that subject. "I can help you and you can help me. We could organize revision sessions and study together." he made a suggestion out of the blue. Thinking of it again, it sounded pretty nice to him. He wasn't sure how it was going to work out but it was definately worth the try.

A pat on his shoulder startled him slightly and he turned to face her as she had taken a soft grin of encouragement. For some reason, he could hear his heartbeat in his head pounding faster. His senses might have paralyzed for what there was no other logical explanation of why he didn't hear what exactly she said to him or he couldn't actually remember afterwards. He just smiled back. He had dried up of words to say or his lips refused stubbornly to utter them. His grey eyes focused on her hand that rested for another moment on his shoulder. Warmth built within him which expanded to reach his ear and finally stay there. He looked away as she took off her hand and realized that his ears had probably blushed, a common reaction of his system when he was feeling extremely awkward. Lately he was experiencing a peculiar rush of emotions that hadn't always to do with his father. They come and go like a tidal wave and he couldn't control them nor foreseen them.
"It's a shame that we can't cast magic outside school." he decided to talk first or his ears were going to explode.
"If only I could cast a hex, I would have shown them." his lips were talking about vengeance but his head was still occupied with perplexity.

Artemis had the talent of asking those kind of questions that were finding him unprepared to answer. For an instance he wondered how he looked like to make her ask him that question.
"Umm, no I guess. It must be my animagi training. It starts to get more demanding and complex and that means more sleepless nights practising." he confessed. That was partially true. He was spening more than ever time on his training especially know that he had dropped quidditch. Despite the fact that he wasn't seeing any progress yet, he wasn't giving up. If he wasn't one thing that would be a quitter.
"My father used to encourage me to continue with this. He said that I would be the first animagus in family after lots of generations." he said and sighed subconsciously but he didn't let it drag him again into sorrow.
"What would you like to turn into if you were going to become an animagus?" he wondered and waited curiously for her response. If he was going to choose one animal that he believed that Artemis could turn into that would be probably a swan but it was interesting to hear from the same person what they believed.

 

[Artemis Jackson]

Artemis thought about the new approaching school year. She was not so certain if she would survive it without getting that much of those dark bags under her eyes. Deep, black circles under her eye sockets did not suit the pale outline that her orbs held which caused her inner self to twist her lips into a half disgusted scowl and a thoughtful frown. Her skin should not be subjected to such treatment but Artemis knew that she could possibly encounter some sleepless nights due to excessive studying. Maybe? A huge chance at that. She wondered for a second or two though, why would she care if her appearance was not exactly as pleasant? Was she, "Too conscious?" Her thoughts finished as her mind ran wild again. With Minoas' voice ringing in her delicate ears, Artemis felt her heart skip a beat suddenly. Her breathing quietly stopped and she felt a small smile spread across those pale lips of hers. It was odd to feel such an emotion and to feel it at some moments in their several conversations let the Slytherin contain a series of mixed feelings. She supposed that because it was a special offer, her mind considered it carefully. However Artemis was not so stupid to just dismiss that thought. If her logical senses were correctly set, she would perhaps be so quick to realize if what she had interpreted was right or wrong. But then Artemis wasn't exactly "ready" to be so rational about it.

"Lovely idea. It's great that both of us will benefit from it," said Artemis in a cool manner except for the brightness in her icy eyes expressing its thankfulness towards her friend. Minoas was a good mate - their friendship growing stronger in every encounter they had. The Slytherin secretly envied the Gryffindor though because of his oh-so outstanding marks. She did not have those kinds of grades even if she tried her best. Artemis was not a mixture of academics and athletics. Balancing both of those branches would be a heavy weight perched on her shoulders that would stubbornly stay with her until she finished it (academics, especially). Artemis was not so brilliant when it concerned her studies and it worried every single nerve of her body when the the realization of the nearing exams dawned her. In a few months, she would be in her fifth year in Hogwarts which made her excited, nervous and it felt that she had reached a milestone. Artemis did not dare look at him after her pat or else she too might die of awkwardness. She angled her head towards the luminous moon and from that point, she stared. "Woah, not so violent there." Her teasing was had the smallest fact that it was mild and she was almost sure that Minoas would detect that easily. She knew that his brothers were also "violent" to him in their own mischievous ways. All in all, his family interested her. That lot surely has each day for a new adventure.

That expression on her face mirrored nothing. Nor did it betray or give a glimpse as to what her feelings were currently. That blank on her eyes looked like it had no life but to prove that she had, the rise and fall of her chest indicated that. She was breathing steadily and that kind of scary, blank demeanor altered when Minoas mentioned his training once again. Of course, how could she forget the time when he told her his plans to become a licensed animagus? Not knowing what to respond to his statement, Artemis let a little awkwardness fill her truthful statement. "You have my full support." Artemis was proud that she made a friend out of the young Gryffindor since she needed someone to balance her qualities out. Alliyah was there, but it was different to have a friend from the opposite sex. She let her thoughts drift, occasionally wondering how his training would precisely happen by sequence that happened every... Night? Week? Month? She had no idea. "Used to? He stopped?" Her inquisitiveness had escalated even more although the way she tried to state the obvious made her wince. "Fancy that, his father stopped," sarcastically came the reply of her own subconscience to let her pride be poked further. "Any animal that flies perhaps? An owl? Goodness, I dunno." Her bland reply would probably be prodded with a bland question as well unless Minoas could come up with something brain wrecking. Artemis found that kind of unique thing in him. He would usually ask her something she had never thought of, which either boggled her mind or, during most times, simply provoked her interest.
​

WC; 778 words
NOTES; oh man, i'm sorry for being so late! gah i hate school

 

[Minoas Stratis]

Minoas smiled back when Artemis found his idea of group study a good one. It could benefit both of them and certainly him that usually needed some kind of motivation to begin a revision. He also liked helping other with stuff that he knew well and that was making him to consider the option of becoming a professor in the future.
The road was still long however until the moment he was going to make up his mind on what he would like to dedicate his life. There were two important examinations in front of him that were going to be pivotal about his future career.
He chuckled at her teasing but he didn't comment further. He wasn't really going to use violence to revenge for his persecution from the tree house that he helped the most to build. He could find another, maybe a slightly sly way to make his brother's surrender their fortress. He could come up with some great ideas when he was racking his brain.

It was good to hear that someone was supporting you on an effort to do something out of the ordinary.
Ever since his father was missing, there was no one really praising his effort to become an animagus.
It might was sounding a cool thing to learn and he had the same idea until he dedicated himself into hardwork and changed his mind. If there was any progress so far, he would be inspired to continue but there was still too much theory and material to understand and no animal transformation up to that point. Since he had began this, he couldn't just give up. He had to be patient and wait.
"Umm, no. I mean he still encourages me but he was more enthusiastic when I first told him." he quickly explained as Artemis noticed the past tense he used. "He probably believes that I'm old enough now to persist on my own and achieve this goal." he added to support his excuse. Although she was a good and trustworthy friend, Minoas wasn't feeling like talking to Artemis about what have happened to his father. She had just raised his spirits. It wasn't fair to cast her down with his own troubles right now.

He was trying to cast away his pessimism each time the conversation was reminding him in any possible way his father. She was doing a great job on distracting his thoughts and he smiled once more as he was sharing the same indecision on what he would like to turn on. "I lean towards a sea animal and a flying one. Breathing underwater or flying indefinitely? Tough decision." he frowned and shrugged slightly. It wasn't going to be his choice in the end so he probably shouldn't be thinking of it all the time.
Unconsciously, his eyes stopped on his wrist that was hanging on his bended knee. He just noticed where were pointing the hands of his wrist watch and he jumped to his feet like he was electrocuted.
"We shouldn't be out here that late." he said as it was indeed late for students to wander around grounds. Last thing he needed was to get caught for a second time in a row and bring trouble to Artemis as well.
He offered his hand to help her stand up and they both walked back to the castle without meeting anyone on their way. Minoas hesitated at the foot of the staircase that was leading from the entrance hall to the upper floors. Their ways were seperated there as she was going to continue towards the dungeons.
"Good luck with the match." he wished her about the upcoming quidditch game between his house and hers.
He probably wasn't going to watch the game but he was going to support her mentally. Of course he still wanted his team to win but he hoped she was going to do well.
"See you around Artemis. Have a good night." he gave her a warm smile before ascended the stairs to reach the grand staircase and made his way to the seventh floor.