Closed Put To The Test

[Blake van Houten]

With the school year ending, Blake still couldn't quite believe he had already been at Hogwarts for almost two years. He was nearly a teenager, and there was something undeniably cool about that. Next year he'd be coming back to school as a teenager, properly one of the older students at last, and no doubt cooler than ever. And maybe whoever took over the Quidditch team would have the sense to actually put him in the game - Blake had no doubt he would have wiped the floor with Beauxbatons, and was still bitter over having to watch Slytherin's defeat from the sidelines.

Walking down the hallway with Tyler, Blake's mind was barely on the conversation they were having, letting Tyler talk about whatever while he daydreamed about next year. Maybe Odette would see sense and make him the captain - the youngest captain in Hogwarts history! That'd show everyone. That was, if the captain could ever get over the dumb prejudice she seemed to have against boys. That was the only reason Blake could see that he wasn't being given his rightful place as star of the team already. Blake's thoughts were interrupted by a familiar head ahead of them in the crowd, and he felt a grin spread across his face, quickly elbowing Tyler. "Hey, check it out!" He whispered quickly to his friend, gesturing to the boy walking a ways ahead of them. "We should get him."

 

[Tyler Lee]

Tyler's second year was ending, and he didn't much mind. He looked forward to being a third year and be a bit older and more important in the school. First and second years were largely ignored by older students, but once you hit third year you mattered a bit more. He was trying to talk to Blake about what electives would be good to pick, all while trying to sound like it didn't matter to him at all, but it didn't really seem like Blake was listening to him too much. Tyler didn't mind, he already knew which electives he would take, he just sort of hoped Blake would pick the same ones. But it would be okay if he didn't. Unlike what Mordred thought, Tyler could do things without Blake. Tyler was a bit annoyed to be interrupted mid-sentence by an elbow from Blake, but the annoyance faded when he saw Lars walking ahead of them. Tyler's expression turned into a smirk, and he nodded. "Let's follow him a bit, then use one of the spells we learned in Defence when there's less people around." He said, glancing at Blake. "Do you remember them or should I do it?" He mostly asked that to ensure Blake would be the one to cast a spell, as he knew the other boy couldn't resist showing off that he could do things himself. That way, if they were caught, Tyler probably wouldn't be punished as badly. "The knee one would be good." He suggested with a slight grin.

 

[Lars van Houten]

Lars, as usual, had his head in the clouds today. It had never been easy for him to focus on things happening around him, but ever since his crush on Elliot had developed more, it almost seemed like his brain was trying to float out of his head and into the sky. He could hardly stop daydreaming about the Hufflepuff boy, and when he wasn't focusing on that, he was imagining art he could make about his feelings when he had some free time. The problem was, he didn't have much free time. It was exam time, and the second year was proving much more difficult than the first. Lars knew he had to focus on his studying if he wanted to pass anything, which was why he had just gone to the library to pick up a few books. But now he was carrying those books and wandering around a bit idly, trying to figure out where he could study. The library had been too quiet, the student lounge too crowded. He was kind of wondering if he could go outside without being bothered too much, or maybe if studying in the great hall would be a good idea. When it wasn't during a mealtime, it could be a pretty nice place to sit without too many other students around. And maybe Elliot was there? He hadn't noticed him in either the library or the student lounge... and maybe that was why he had decided not to study there, just a little bit. He sighed at himself as this thought crossed his mind. He was hopeless, and if he passed any of his exams this year it would be a small miracle.

 

[Blake van Houten]

Blake's grin widened when Tyler was quickly on board with his plan, and he nodded eagerly. Blake hadn't really had any idea what he wanted to do to the Ravenclaw boy - shove him, maybe - but he was delighted when Tyler immediately stepped in with a much better idea. "Oh, yes! That's perfect!" He grinned wickedly, drawing his wand before Tyler could. "I remember it!" In all truthfulness it actually took Blake a moment to bring the spell he was looking for to mind, but once he recalled it he moved quickly, targeting Lars and firing a knee-reversing hex at the boy, grinning in anticipation of the undoubtedly great reaction.

 

[Tyler Lee]

Tyler grinned at Blake, glad that he was receptive to his ideas. He knew Blake hadn't thought of that himself, but was happy to let him take the credit. As long as he also took the fall in the case of any professors catching them. He followed Lars with Blake until there were a few less students around, then grinned even winder when Blake targeted Lars. A small laugh escaped him the moment the spell hit the Ravenclaw. The look on his face was priceless.

 

[Lars van Houten]

Lars was wondering if he would run into Elliot in the hallway and trying to imagine what he would talk to him about. He sometimes felt like he was boring to talk to because he didn't always know interesting topics for conversation, and he definitely didn't want Elliot to think him boring. He was just about to round a corner, when he suddenly was hit by a spell. It wasn't something that had happened to him much, but he knew the sensation. Lars cried out in alarm and pain as his knees suddenly reversed, and he stumbled one painful step before coming to a standstill in the corridor. His eyes filled with tears. Why would anyone do this? But he already knew what he would see when he turned his head. That didn't make the sight of Blake and Tyler grinning at him any less awful, though, and Lars felt angry, traitorous tears stream down his cheeks. Why were they always trying to hurt him? What had he ever done to them?

 

[Madeline Kaimarama]

It was nearly the end of the year, and Maddy was excited. Next year would be amazing. Finally her little brother would be coming to Hogwarts, and Maddy couldn’t wait to show him everything, and introduce him to her friends, and play D&D, and hang out in the forest just the three of them like old times. And she would get to take Care of Magical Creatures, the class she’d been most looking forward to since before starting Hogwarts.

Maddy was pondering which friends would be best to introduce Seb to when she rounded a corner to see one of those friends coming in the opposite direction. Before she had time to react, Lars collapsed in front of her, his legs bending unnaturally. That had to be a jinx. Maddy looked up, heart filling with rage, and was entirely unsurprised to see Blake Irons pointing a wand. Who did he think he was? Why was he always bullying her friends? How dare he? Without hesitation, she stormed towards him. “You BASTARD! Why can’t you just LEAVE HIM ALONE?” Her momentum still carrying her forward, Maddy impulsively made a fist and punched him full in the face.

 

[Blake van Houten]

Blake had known Lars' reaction would be good, but when he saw the boy struggling with his newly backwards knees, he couldn't help but burst out laughing. This was too good! Blake was still laughing even as he realised Maddy was approaching him, his glee almost entirely blocking out her words. He was still laughing when her fist collided with his face, something no amount of laughter could possibly block out, and the mirth finally died in his throat as Blake stumbled back, clutching his bloody nose. "HEY!" He yelled, blindsided by the sudden attack. "You can't do that!" Blake's instinct was to swing back, but he barely managed to keep himself in check, his father's voice in the back of his mind reminding him to never hit a girl. Instead he glared at Maddy in accusation, clutching his nose furiously, searching his mind for how he could retaliate against a girl.

 

[Tyler Lee]

Tyler had a mean grin on his face as he watched Lars stumble around and saw he was crying. It hadn't been his spell, but he'd given Blake the idea. The fact that he'd both made Blake do something and had caused Lars to humiliate himself made him feel pretty good. It was like having power. What Tyler hadn't been prepared for was Maddy Kaimarama barreling down the hallway and punching Blake in the face. Tyler took several steps back, keeping Blake firmly between himself and the angry girl. He didn't want to get hit either. "Blake, we should go." He told his friend urgently, hoping he would listen before he did something stupid like fight this girl. She had drawn a lot of attention, and they should get out of here before any professors came looking.

 

[Lars van Houten]

Lars saw Maddy and wished she wasn't here. He wished no one was here to see this, especially not someone as cool as her. He couldn't stop the tears from streaming down his face, and winced at the commotion he could hear behind him. His hand scrambled for his wand and he finally managed to utter a counter curse, making his knees go back to normal. He turned around to see Blake clutching a bloody nose. For the first time in his life, Lars was happy about violence. A vindictive voice inside him told him it was good that Blake got hit for this. Though he wished he could have stood up for himself instead of having Maddy do it for him. He wiped his face with his sleeve, embarrassed to realize he was shaking.