The Trip to Up North

[Meera Gupta]

Meera was not very fond of traveling. Whenever she left her family home in France to go to Beauxbatons Academy she felt scared for the safety of her family and leaving the country without her family by her side was a first for this young witch. She had visited America but it had been a family trip and now she was going Up North to Bulgaria. Some elite witches and wizards from France were traveling with her group, all going to visit the final of the dueling tournament in Bulgaria. Only a few students fro Beauxbatons were going, most of them were children of powerful witches and wizards but Meera had been selected to make this trip. Their headmaster had told her that it was to represent the diversity of the students of Beauxbatons. Meera knew she was only selected to make the school look good and to show off that they had pupils from different places in the world. The reason was not important. She did not want to leave school for three whole days. It would mean missing classes, her friends and being away from the country where her family lived. She had hoped her parents would refuse to give her permission when the school had sent them an owl but her parents thought that she needed a change. Meera knew that her parents wanted her to enjoy life like other teenagers but she was different and she had to live knowing that. Of course no one outside her family knew about them being royals but Meera knew when the right time came, when she turned eighteen the world would know but till then she had to stay safe and protected and making trips to dueling tournaments did not meet that list.

Meera had her bags packed with Indian clothing as her headmaster had insisted that she should represent her culture in Bulgaria. She had nodded with a small fake smile. She did not want to attract attention. It was not safe but she had to agree. She had packed her best designer saree and salwar kameez with all the right jewelry. She said goodbye to her roommates and went to the school grounds from where they would be climbing the carriage that would fly them to Bulgaria. Meera knew that this was going to be a major show off event and using a portkey would not be showing off. The carriage was of course very beautiful with flying horse like creatures in the front and a few dozen of these would be taking off about now from different parts of France flying to Bulgaria. She had not traveled in them before but she had heard of their magnificence and of course, comfort. She watched as a few blonde girls entered before her taking the help of the man who was standing up on the stairs and had been set there specifically for this task but Meera was not one of them. She offered him a small smile and climbed up the stairs, easily managing on her own thanks to all the physical training and games she was involved in. The man looked a little disappointed but immediately turned on his smile again for the lady in line after her.

Once she was inside, she smiled as she took in the beautiful inside of the room. It was white with beautiful gold design all over the ceiling and walls. There were many couches and chairs and a few tables to make their journey comfortable. She walked to the corner of the room where a decent couch that could fit three occupants lay empty. If she was going to survive this trip she needed to put as much as distance as she could between herself and the blondes of Beauxbatons. She was glad that all their luggage was going separately because soon the room was packed as witches and wizards tried to get decent seats. She ignored their conversations in rapid French and continued reading her novel. They were about to take off and an instruction asking all to be seated was announced. Meera found two bodies take a seat on both her sides and decided to ignore them. She was not going to make small talk with strangers. But these strangers were not so new to her after all. "Haven't seen this part of yours in the open" said a very familiar and annoying voice in Meera's ear as she felt someone run their finger down the exposed part of her back. Anger flared through her as she realized that the two senior boys whom she hated with all her heart were now seated and had sandwiched her between them. "S@xy" said the other as he met her eyes. It was true that Meera rarely wore Indian clothes whilst at Beauxbatons but currently she was dressed in a chania choli that exposed her stomach and navel and parts of her back. Of course her family tatoo was well hidden under the charm she always cast but her skin was exposed. She swore at them, her eyes dancing with fire as she wished she could just curse them their. She had tried a thousand times but boys from Beauxbatons were nothing more than trash to her. "Why don't you both go sit with your girlfriends?"she asked with gritted teeth. "They are clearly giving me looks filled with jealously and who knows they might be capable of three murders. From their looks right now they don't look girly and happy anymore" she said trying to reason with the senior boys. She would have loved to get up and walk off but all the seats were taken and they had taken off. Meera watched as the boys gave her sickly sweet smiles and replied "No sweetheart, we'd rather sit hear and enjoy this view while it lasts" said the blonde boy. Meera rolled her eyes at them before she pulled her drape covering her back and went back to her book but now she was only pretending to read. She hated boys, all of them. They were going to witness the final of the dueling tournament between a French and a Bulgarian wizard but Meera felt so angry right now that she would happily curse someone. She knew the remainder of her journey was going to be a living nightmare for her she could only wish for it to end sooner.

 

[Lake Silver]

Spending most of his morning dwelling in Bulgaria, he had been accepted to work in the Ministry of Magic but he didn't start for another week, so he decided that since he was expecting more pay soon that he would buy himself some proper clothes for work of all sorts, he was getting warmer clothes from Bulgaria and was going to head over to Italy to get some more casual work suits then into New Zealand for Work Robes. Lake heard of a dueling tournament happening soon in Bulgaria but he was out of school now and didn't need to worry about turning down his teachers telling him that due to all his high grades he should enter but he refused to put himself in the spot light like that, Lake didn't have any friends during school so he focused his time on studying to be fully capable of being able to handle anything the Wizard world throws at him, His parents told him that he shouldn't waste his time in the Ministry and he should go straight for Auror but he shrugged it off, he was fine with sitting in the shadows of the Muggle Worthy Excuse Committee, most of their excuses were getting old, he had some better ones he could submit.

Lake walked through the Wizarding town center, ignoring the looks he got from people who often whispered to each other about him that they haven't seen him around. Lake knew he had some attractive quality's but he didn't have a time to have a relationship, not unless the woman could handle him which he highly doubted. Quickly ducking into a store selling different types of Herbs for potions he grabbed some more basic ingredients for an emergency wolfsbane, but he did have his own collection of ingredients to make fresh potions, Lake believed that the fresher the better for his potions. Collecting more ingredients he went to the check out and handed over the Galleons for the items before leaving. Outside the weather was cool but not cold enough for Lake to want to put on a jacket, he had a black T-shirt on with dark blue jeans, nothing over exciting.

The Werewolf Looked up into the sky when he heard some horses and he shook his head, he knew exactly what the carriage meant, Beaubaxton was in town, he rolled his dark brown eyes as he saw some of the girls leaning out of the window, blonde hair and all. Lake trudged over to where he knew the Carriage would land, he would love to see the Carriage not land and the girls to get their perfect hair all messy, he smirked to himself. Lake was never the kind to wish people good luck, he knew that you had to make your own luck and any chance to tell his Sister about Beaubaxtons failing wasn't a chance to miss. His Older sister Phoebe went to Beaubaxtons but hated the girls there, she was always being told to die her hair blonde or to change something about her, she always told story's of some of the girls having a major fit over getting a slight blemish on their skin so Lake was eager to watch something bad happen.

He saw a crowd of people waiting for the Carriage to land, Lake pushed his way through the groups to stand at the front, anyone who tried to tell him off noticed that he was a solid wall of muscle and didn't bother. Lake put the shopping bag inside his pocket which he had charmed to hold more than it could and crossed his arms in front of his chest, he looked to his side and noticed some Bulgarian Boys from Durmstrang waiting eagerly for the girls to leave so that they could sweep them off their feet, he rolled his eyes again. Pathetic.

 

[Meera Gupta]

They had been served champagne twice during the flight. Meera, who never had alcohol before wished she could make an exception and just have some. It would surely help her tolerate the boys longer. However she had made a promise that she would not drink alcohol until she was officially an adult and she had been drinking non alcoholic champagne instead. It was a little crazy that they were being offered champagne so early-the match was yet to begun but the French already seemed to be celebrating. She had heard many people place bets and it was all going to be a real gamble. Everyone had only half chance of winning and Meera was not one of those who gambled away. After a few torturous hours they had been told to brace for landing and chaos had irrupted. Meera wondered if they were crashing or something. It turned out that many of the blonde girls had decided to move to the window to get a look. Meera rolled her eyes and watched as some older wizards tried to get everyone seated. She had no excitement whatsoever. The teachers accompanying them tried to act calm and collected but she knew all of them were over excited about the duel as well. She looked up as one of the teachers approached her coach and told her that she would be walking out with Adrian, the blonde senior Meera's eyes became wide and questioning but the teacher had been expecting this and continued explaining that 'a lady has to be escorted by a man'. Meera watched as Adrian thanked the teacher and she continued to tell other people whom they would be exiting the carriage with. "This is ridiculous" she muttered to herself as she put a bookmark in her novel. Adrian seemed to have heard her opinion and commented "I think it's lovely". She sat back and waited and in a few minutes they had touched down in Bulgaria. She could hear the cheering sound outside and got to her feet and in line to exit the carriage. They had been told that the weather was cool but not freezing and as they moved towards the exit Meera could feel the cool wind rush in. It was nothing she wasn't used to. She had read about students in Durmstrang having uniform which had fur coats and such but that school was located way up north in Scandinavia and she could imagine the freezing temperatures there.

Meera took Adrian's arm and he gave her a pleased smile which she grimaced turning to look straight ahead. They climbed down the stairs of the carriage and she got the full view of the crowd that was gathered to welcome them. They appeared to be in one of the wizarding towns were the duel was to take place later that evening. She offered a smile to anyone that was looking their way. Her headmaster had been clear on 'being on their best behavior' and no matter how she hated this display that she was being put to she knew she had to keep the good name of her school in a foreign land. She spotted some boys and girls, about their age wearing the uniform that she had seen in the textbook where she had read about Durmstrang. They were still wearing their uniform despite the mild climate and Meera couldn't help but wonder if they were feeling hot. As Meera waited to be lead to wherever they would be staying she noticed many people looking her way. She was used to people always staring at her, some with interest and curiosity but most with just lust. She had adjusted her drape to properly cover her back and her stomach yet it was translucent. All the French girls were dressed in their blue school robes except for her and she knew that the headmaster's plan was working perfectly as she was attracting most eyes. She knew that most of the French girls had some amount of veela blood in them but a dark hair, tanned beauty was hard to ignore especially when she was dressed in such fancy robes.

She watched as their headmaster introduced them to a group of students from Durmstrang and their headmaster. She kept her face, calm and composed and flashed one of her most charming smiles as he went an extra mile and mentioned her name after saying the head girl and head boy's name. It was true that Meera was a prefect but this was stretching things. As their group was left alone Meera watched as a few blonde girls immediately began chatting with Durmstrang boys and also Adrian and the other seniors luckily left her alone to go introduce themselves to Durmstrang girls. Meera stood her ground watching them all. She smiled at two boys who were speaking to her in broken English and saying it was a pleasure to have them in Bulgaria. "Its feels nice to be so happily welcomed" she said to them in fluent English that held a light French accent. She sighed with relief as they left after a minute as they noticed her indifference to their presence and her lack of interest in them. She noticed a boy, slightly elder, muscular looking standing near the Durmstrang lot but not chatting away like the others. He looked older than the rest but not old enough to be a Professor. She wondered if he was with the school or just a town person like the remaining crowd.

 

[Lake Silver]

Lake watched the procession of Males lead the Females out of the Carriage and he rolled his eyes, more fancy claptrap, he hated having to guide a girl somewhere like the old fashioned times to him it was boring, most females were having a voice of their own now-a-days and were showing each man what she could do, not caring if she had a place to hold. Blake watched some girls approach other boys and one approached him and started to talk to him, he stood there and stared at her with a blank face, he wasn't sure if she was out to beat the other girls cause all of them seemed to be talking to different guys as a way of "Mingling" with the crowd but Lake had no interest in anything she was saying. 'That's Lovely and all, but i'm not interested, so go find some other trophy' he said softly to her. Lake almost chuckled when the girl realized she had been rejected, she stormed past him and pulled a guy from behind him forward and started talking to him, again he rolled his dark brown eyes. The Wizard was disappointed with nothing bad happening and was about ready to leave when a guy from Beaubaxtons approached him and grabbed his wrist to stop him from leaving, he saw the Blonde girl he had denied earlier had gone to her boyfriend and told some form of lies because the first thing that came out of the Beaubaxton boys mouth were 'Are you trying to get with my girl' Lake rolled his eyes again and looked at him, pulling his arm free with little force needed, he chuckled slightly at the boys accent, it sounded ridiculous to him, he was thankful that he had kept his Slightly English accent even though he went to school at Durmstrang he often visited England instead of going home for the holidays.

Lake faced the boy Square on and noticed an oddly dressed girl out of the corner of his eye but he snapped back to attention, By this time half the crowd had dissipated apart from a few boys talking or trying to talk to some of the girls. Lake looked down at the boy and sighed again 'First off, i told your "Girl" That I'm not interested, and Secondly, Touch me again and I'll rip you a new one.. Okay? Pretty Boy' he said bluntly before turning around to walk away, he didn't have time to waste on egomanic Boyfriends who needed to show to their Girlfriend that they were the strongest and the best, Lake wasn't interested in the Alpha Male or being the Alpha male either. Walking towards the town again Lake heard some voices from behind him but chose to ignore them, he tucked one hand into his jeans where his wand was just in case but continued to walk, he wasn't sure how stupid this boy was going to be but he wasn't going to give him the attention he desired either.

 

[Meera Gupta]

Meera was starting to get impatient with all the waiting. Guests at France would certainly not have to wait to get instructions on which hotel they would be staying in and which rooms were allocated to who but people here had a slower way of working. She couldn't help but watch as Adiran's girlfriend walked up to the boy who she had spotted a few minutes back and try to make small talk. Her lips broke into a satisfied grin as she enjoyed the reply the older boy gave the girl. She knew this would a big blow for the blonde. No one turned her down back in France. Even Adrian with all his flirting new never to mess with her and that was why he had never broken up with her after they first started going out three years back. Meera had thought the fun was over but a few seconds later she watched as Adrian stopped talking to the Bulgarian girl and heard the rapid conversation that was all lies that he was fed by his girlfriend. Meera wished she could sit back and enjoy more of this but she knew that boys from Durmstrang were not people one should mess with. The school taught Dark Arts and of course no one would use them out in the open but the reputation that this subject gave the students was not very pleasant.

Meera took a few steps towards where Adrian, his girlfriend and the boy stood and heard the boy's reply to Adrian and then met his eyes before he walked off. She knew the boy was right. She watched as Adiran took a few steps towards the boy but Meera was quick due to all the training she had and came to stand in front of the senior blonde boy as she spoke to him in rapid French . "He's right. She's lying. I heard it" she said her words simple and clear. For a moment he wanted to protest but he knew better. Even if she was younger than him, she was a prefect and she always had things her way. Adrian knew that flirting was one thing but starting a fight would not hold back Meera from going to the Headmaster and so he swore a few times before backing off and leaving with his girlfriend. Meera turned back to see if the boy was gone. Just as she was about to get a proper look at him one of the teachers came up to her and said the rooms were ready. She was sharing with a another girl who was better than the rest of the lot. Meera was glad for the allocation and walked towards her room which were in a hotel very close to the arena where the duel would happen in the evening. Meera was looking forward to some lunch and she hoped she would find something with vegetables as she did not eat meat.

sorry for lame post

 

[Lake Silver]

Lake looked at the girl who spoke up for him, she didn't look like an ordinary Beaubaxtons girl, her outfit was certainly not Beaubaxtons but he didn't spend much time on her, he didn't need the assistance and didn't want it either. Lake continued on his way.</COLOR>

Later​

<COLOR color="#000">

Lake was lounging around in front of one of the shops, he had no desire to head to Italy today or do much at all, people were slowly making their way towards the Dueling area, someone was handing out flyers and forced one into Lakes hand, he shook his head and tried to deny it but he ended up accepting it just to get them out of his way, looking down at the flyer it moved with each contestant, who versed who and other boring stuff which didn't matter. Lake noticed that the crowds were dissipating fast, he shrugged and enforced that he didn't need to go but he couldn't keep his attention away from the flyer, he sighed with resignation, fine at least if someone got badly hurt he could laugh.
He stood up and turned as if he was going to walk down the street but apparated to the arena. He heard the voices talking loudly and people trying to force stuff in his hands, he walked around looking for the Ministry of Magic Employee's he knew that they would get a good priority seat, he made his way down to the front and found one right above the announcer which means he would have a great view if anything bad happened, he just hoped no spells got deflected towards him.

The Werewolf reclined in his chair and some man walked past with a variety of sweets and he bough a few packets, it would keep him amused for a while. Stretching his legs out he could just see the contestants with their headmasters being told the rules, he chuckled, he was glad he never did this. Spotting the Two girls and the guy, two of which verbally attempted to assault him earlier he chuckled, he wondered if they would purposefully try to cast something towards him.

 

[Meera Gupta]

Meera had her energy and tolerance back once she had some food in her. In trying to be hospitable to the French the Bulgarians had served many dishes but most of them had meat. All the dishes had names she had not heard before and that did not make it any easier for her to find some tomato soup, hot bread and salad. After the meal, with her energy back up Meera decided to take a walk in the town and she found it to be very beautiful indeed. It was a little crowded but the mountains that bordered the place gave a very nice scenery. She felt glad that they would have two more days and maybe she could see some more of the foreign land. She returned to her room and took a shower and got dressed. For the evening she had chosen to wear a more sophisticated looking saree. She was led to the dueling crowd by her headmaster along with the rest of the students from Beauxbatons.

As she entered the place from one of the many entrances she realized the vast size of the location. The stands were packed with witches and wizards and more were pouring in from each entrance. She moved with her group, finding Adrian at her side once again and his girlfriend lurking nearby. She knew she could do nothing more at this stage but tolerate the pair. Their seats were below those of the announcer and as Meera found her seat she saw the boy from earlier a few seats above theirs. She could not identify the group he was with but they were not students and they clearly had better seats. Her attention was soon taken by the announcer as he began welcoming them all and asking all to be seated. After introducing the famous wizards that were dueling today he let the duel begin. Meera had never witnessed a real duel before. There school had a dueling club for practice but this one was for fame. Meera heard different spells being casted, some were tricky and most which she had not seen before. The wizards tripped, had to duel some of the elements like water and fire and even animals were thrown around.Lights from the wands of the wizards lit the place and she held her breath as she watched the Bulgarian wizard proving himself to be more capable. A spell came flying their way the red light moving closer in the micro second but the protective enchantments cast on the stands bounced it off. After a good one and half hour the Bulgarian wizard sent some creatures that Meera did not recognize towards the French wizard. Many people in the crowd gasped while others swore .They were three gigantic, ferocious, gray feline. The French wizard had clearly not been ready and in the next second he was disarmed and the duel was won by the Bulgarian wizard.

Meera was not affected by the outcome but all people in her company were. She heard her headmaster swear and say how dangerous they were and this was a dirty duel. Meera saw her 'friends' disappointed too. She listened to them go on about losing in the gambles and bets they had made. After the winner was announced witches and wizards started making their way out of the arena to the halls in the hotel were dinner was going to be served. Meera was not looking forward to another meal involving bread because that was just plain carbs. She watched Adrian's girlfriend talking rapidly to two boys from their school but in the crowd of people and all the noise she could not make out the words. The boys left them and disappeared. Meera's attention was taken up once again as Adrian appeared beside her and started with his flirting once again as he complimented her on her outfit. They were out of the dueling ground and the crowd was fast dispersing, many apparating right away. Her eyes spotted the the familiar pair of boys who had been talking to Adrian's girlfriend and they did not have their usual smiles up. She watched as one of them purposeful walked into a muscular guy whose face she could not see from where she currently stood. She wondered what they were up to.

 

[Lake Silver]

Watching the Duel before him he could see spells flying, he hoped that people would be quiet so that he could hear the spells being cast, but no such luck everyone was gasping at the different animals getting summoned or even just basic fire and water spells. Lake sat back and watched a blank expression on his face while the Duel continued, he watched the Students in front of him and shrugged his shoulders, none of them seemed to be prepared for what would actually happen in the Duel and seemed shocked at what they had to do.
Lake watched a spell come towards them and enchantments stopped it from reaching the crowd, he wished one of them was powerful enough to confuse the barriers, it would be great fun watching someone try deflect a dueling spell. Lake waited patiently as the last spell was cast and the game was over, Everyone quickly collected their things and leave the stadium, the more impatient ones apparated. Lake sat in his seat and waited, he remembered he went to a Duel with his school once and he was keen to leave like everyone else but then he was told later that the two duelists went back out and had a punch up instead of a Duel. When he realized that this wasn't going to happen he stood up and left the stadium, When he was outside he walked along the side of the stadium. The Werewolf noticed two familiar boys walking towards him, Lake Glowered at them and crossed his arms in front of his chest and moved to walk away, he didn't have the time to embarrass them. He got approximately 5 paces away when they picked up their space and put a hand on his shoulder, he stopped walking and turned around to face them, his height made him just taller than both of the boys, but he knew that wasn't going to intimidate them too much, they were up to their eyeballs in ego.

Standing their patiently he waited for them to say something, sometimes he wished he had control over his werewolf ability like an Animagus but unfortunately he didn't.
'You have some nerve showing up here' one of them said to him as if they had a threat to hold against him 'Why are you here, We told you not to come near her' another one retaliated. Lake looked at the boys as if they were idiots and picked the hand off his shoulder and dropped it as if it was something dirty 'First off boys, You didn't threaten me with anything' he said in a soft voice to them both 'And even if you did threaten me it wouldn't work, and if you did, i would have told your headmaster and got you two little boys sent back to school' Lake said with a small smile.
The Werewolf took a step back and brushed on hand through his dark brown hair 'Loved talking with you buys, but how about you run back to your owners like good little pets and show some affection to them' Lake peeled away and turned around to head towards the steps at the far end of the arena, he again heard their raised voices so he paused for a moment and turned around and looked at them 'Are you trying to threaten me again?' he asked, he could just hear them saying some words which sounded like a threat.


Sorry i kind of blabbed it out

 

[Meera Gupta]

Meera could sense trouble and as all her defensive tactics kicked in she quickly moved towards the scene. She knew that her archery, sword fighting skills or hand to hand combat would not be particularly useful if anyone used magic because the spells would be too fast but she hoped to get the situation under control. She was approaching them in haste and murmured apologies to people who she had to push a little to make her way. Her heels were certainly slowing her down. Her mentor had been right when he had told her that her fancy clothes and shoes would often not be very helpful in situations like these. As she got within earshot she heard the exchange of words between the boys from her school and the older looking boy. This is not good, she thought quickly in her mind as she stopped in her tracks a few steps behind the scene wondering if it would actually turn into a fight or the boys were just going to use words. She was particularly surprised at the soft tone the older boy used when he replied. She had expected him to hit the pair or something but he acted so different, so much more matured than the usual lot.She felt her temper rise as she realized that Adiran's girlfriend was behind all this. The girl could not get enough of herself and now she had plot this. Did she not care about the school's reputation?

Meera watched as the older boy started to walk away and Meera closed the gap between herself and the Beaux boys in a matter of seconds. She clearly heard what they were arguing over and she could not believe her ears when she heard them deciding which spell to use on the boy. They were planning to curse him! "You can't do that!" Meera said interrupting the pair as she announced her presence at the scene. "Stay out of this" one of the boys said to her, his tone not friendly at all. "I will call the headmaster" Meera said trying to threaten the boys and hoping they would reconsider. She could not believe how foolish they were. Doing all this and risking expulsion just for a blonde! They did not react to her words at all because at the same time the older boy turned back to ask if he was being threatened again. Meera had to put a stop to this. She turned on her heels, walking a few steps away as her eyes scanned the crowd searching for a teacher or the headmaster. There were just so many people, all wearing robes with hats she could not spot anyone that could be of help.

She heard as the boys turned back to English and answered the boy with "No. We are done here". Meera knew that this was too simple to be true. She turned again to watch the scene, now she was a few footsteps away from them but she had a clear view on things. She watched as one of the boys raised his wand, pointed at the older boy who had his back turned. They had just said that so the boy would turn and they could attack him from back. She got her wand out of her sleeve when it had been safely tucked and heard the incantation "Levicorpus" escape the lips of one of the French boys. Meera knew she had less than a second and on the defensive impulse that she had been trained to run on, she pointed her wand at the student from her own school and said in an audible voice "Protego". It was a simple shield spell and deflected the hex away. The boys had not been expecting her intrusion and were disappointed as they watched their hex deflect away from their target. "Experlliamus" Meera said and watched as the boy's wand flew out of his hand and fell somewhere. The second boy, the one who had not cast the spell was quick and wanted to get his job done. Meera looked at the older boy to see if he was okay. A million thoughts rushed to her in this second. She was going to get expelled. She had broken the decree for underage wizardry. Meera had looked away and the second boy had gotten his chance. She watched as a flock of birds flew towards her, ready to strike her. She had done the mistake of diverting her attention. Her mentor, Arjun had taught her time and again that even a split second's distraction could be fatal and now she had done that mistake.

 

[Lake Silver]

Lake looked at the boys curiously when they stated that they were done with him but there was a Girl who didn't look like a Beaubaxtons girl causing theatrics with the boys, probably some jealous girlfriend who was annoyed that they're wern't focusing on her or something was his first thought but something about her didn't seem like that kind of girl. Hearing an incantation being uttered Lake turned around to see the Hex just get deflected, his wand was already out and in front of him at the read but someone had beat him to the spell. He noticed a flock of Birds aiming for the girl, one boy on the floor and his friend eager to try finish Lake off, finish what his friend had started. Lake Analyzed the situation before him and quickly took action, he broke into a light run towards the girl and used Physical force to know one of the guys backwards onto his friend who was trying to get up. Standing behind the Girl with her fancy gown thing he towered over he and gave his wand a solid flick without uttering any words at all the birds popped into non existence, little essence of feather dissipating before they hit the ground. 'Mind yourself' he uttered to the girl before rounding on the two boys. Lake walked to loom over them they had just figured out how to untangle themselves from each other when they looked up to see Lake, Lake rolled his shoulder blades and as his shirt tightened over his back some lines could be seen through his shirt across his back in a few different directions, he hoped the girl had t he brain not to ask what they were.

'Now Boys, Leave before i make you leave' he said wan by his side but directed towards them, he didn't have time t o mess around in their stupid childish games

 

[Meera Gupta]

As a fifth year Meera had no idea how to stop the bird attack and they were too close for her to act. She put her hands over her face and attempted ducking of sorts. Her saree was not going to allow her to crouch. She watched the boy run towards her direction. Is he mad? Can't he see the birds coming this way? she thought. It was all his fault that this had happened. Why did he have to show attitude earlier that morning and then now, he had turned his back on the enemy? Did he have no sense of defense? She watched, a little surprised as the birds disappeared and heard the boy mutter 'mind yourself' to her. His accent was nice. Different than what Meera was used to but she could make out the English words despite the foreign accent. Her eyes widened as she realized that he had made the birds go away. She was so distracted by the turn of events and the thought of the consequences that she did not notice anything unusual about the boy. Anger was rising up in her and her eyes began to turn watery. She never cried in front of people, this could not be happening. She watched the crowd that had gathered around them. This was so embarrassing. She tried to keep her emotions in control and stopped the angry tears from pouring out of her eyes. Not only would that be totally embarrassing but it would also ruin her make up and that was the last thing she wanted to happen. She moved forward to face the boys and heard as the older boy told the boys to leave. "You guys are pathetic" Meera said, her brown eyes narrowed down at them. She knew the boys would be in trouble because the headmaster had already arrived at the scene but they were seventeen and they were not the ones who had done underage magic, that was her. On top of that she had joined the fight, even if her purpose was defensive.

She looked up at the boy who had just saved her from the bird attack. He was equally responsible in all this and now that the boys were gone she could find no one else to blame but the boy who stood in front of her. "You seem like you went to Durmstrang. Don't they teach you there that one should never turn their backs to their enemies?" she asked in fluent English as she stared into his face, her eyes demanding an answer. "Or is it because you think you're invincible?" she said throwing another question at the boy. She knew that the headmaster would want to avoid causing any much drama and had taken the boys away. He would probably deal with her later. She knew any minute now she would receive an owl from a Ministry. She could not imagine how her parents would react to this. She had always been a good girl and had never got into trouble but now she had, all to protect a stranger who thought too much of himself. "I can see you're too proud to even thank me for saving you" she added bitterly as she wiped away the small tear that was going to pour out of her eye and ruin her mascara.

 

[Lake Silver]

The boys seemed to cower with the approach of a headmaster and scattered off to be dealt with later, Lake turned around to see the headmaster, his height made him taller so he was easily able to show power. Lake looked at the girl who seemed to start snapping at him 'I am my own person, i do not let where i studied effect my strategy's' he said cooly ignoring her next question, he didn't have time for uptight french girls right now, he wanted to get back to brewing some more potions and working things out with his start at work.
Lake looked at the Headmaster and walked towards them, he held one arm out as if to direct them away from the girl, his voice soft he talked to the Headmaster explaining the situation so the girl couldn't hear him, he had a chuckle with him and clasped the headmasters hand firmly, Lake on rare occasions was friendly to other people, normally he would mind his own business but when someone elses future was on the line he decided to step in and take control, the last person he took control of was Clover and she ended up being a very close friend, and friend only which disappointing Lake slightly but it was her decision, other than that he had no friends and didn't have anyone to protect, his youngest sister who was only half his blood was at Hogwarts and from what he read in her letters she was by herself all the time with his Aunt Maeve. The Headmaster turned away and Lake turned and looked at the girl who seemed to have overwhelmed herself since she looked like she was on the verge of crying.

Lake looked at the girl who mentioned that he was too proud to even thank her for saving him and he chuckled before walking towards her and standing in front of her, standing over her he patted her shoulder twice as if praising a dog with slight affection 'You continue to think that' he said as he walked past her towards the stairs. Lake shook his head slightly to himself and tucked his wand back into his jeans where it was safe, he wasn't going to thank the girl from stopping the boys from using levicorpus on her, he was old enough and could handle himself and he wasn't giving her the satisfaction since he had saved her ass twice in the one occasion she should be thanking him. Lake continued to walk towards some steps, he planned to walk into town instead of apparating for once.

 

[Meera Gupta]

Meera eyed the boy as he easily threw away his connection with his former school when it came to Defense strategies. Obviously he would be lacking Defense strategies since they concentrate more on the Dark Arts she thought feeling sick about the school. As if there were not enough problems facing the wizarding world already, Durmstrang Academy felt the need to teach magic that would cause more chaos and evil. She was glad her parents had fled to France which was social and friendly instead of this foreign land. The chain of her thoughts were interrupted as she watched the boy walk away and then talk something with her headmaster. They were out of her hearing range and there were a thousand ideas that came to her head. She had no idea what to think of their conversation. This boy was a stranger and when people she knew could be so mean to her how could a stranger possibly be any better, especially when he was a boy. She hoped that the headmaster would punish the two boys effectively. Adrian's girlfriend who had started the mission was no where to be seen and Meera hoped the boys would speak up and tell the headmaster the reason that had made them to attempt cursing the older boy. Before the headmaster left he gave Meera a smile. It was not an angry one. To her it looked like he certainly understood what had happened. But how?

Meera was still slightly angry but she was trying hard to calm herself by taking deep breaths of the cool night air. Her eyes met the boy's face as he patted her shoulder and told her she could continue to think whatever she wanted. Despite of all the confusion and the events Meera's brain made the connection. The expression on her face, which was slightly irritated changed to calm as she realized the older boy had talked to the headmaster and explained the situation. She hoped that by some miraculous words the boy had spoken to their headmaster that she would not face any trouble. She watched him walking into the town. She had stopped the curse but he had saved her from the birds. Meera's pretty face would have been brutally injured if the birds had succeeded in attacking her. He had also explained the situation and got her out of trouble. "Wait" she said finding her voice again. She had overreacted and he had helped her. Even if he was proud, she did owe him. She quickly made her way towards the boy's direction hoping he would actually wait and not walk away. "I'm sorry for snapping at you" she said apologizing as she reached within the boy's earshot. Meera was a Princess after all and accepting mistakes and being thankful was essential part of that.

 

[Lake Silver]

The Girl called after him and he paused for a moment, he would give her time but his patience was running thin, Looking at the young Girl as she apologized he raised an eyebrow slightly 'Maybe lead with that' he said simply amd turned back around to walk away, he wasn't going to accept her appology or turn around and apologise back, he wasn't in the wrong. Lake brushed his hand through his hair as he walked, he reached into his pocket to pull out his wand and dropped a Vial of wolfsbane. He Paused breifly as he heard the clink of the glass hitting the concrete and he turned around watching the vial roll down towards the girl again, he sighed and paced back slightly quicker to stop the vial before leaving. 'Smooth Exit Lake, Nice job' he said to himself as he walked, he hoped the girl didn't reach the Vial before he did, he would have to explain to her what was in the Vial which he would probably say its mandrake root, then he would have to explain why he had it and even worse if she knew what it was she would ask him why he had wolfsbane and he would have to accept her apology and apologies to her which he didn't want to do.

Lake shuffeled as he reached the Vial and hoped to put his foot on it before she got it.

Sorry its short, leaving it open for you to decide what to do.

 

[Meera Gupta]

Meera was not sure how she would have reacted if the tables were turned.She would have saved the boy if he was under attack by birds but if he had snapped at her and taunted her she was almost positive that she would not have accepted any apologies that he would make later. Yet somehow Meera hoped he would accept her apology. Maybe it was something that came with being a royal. Expecting people to do things that you would not have done in their situation. She heard the boy speak to her but did not understand what he meant. Maybe lead with that? She had no idea if it was some phrase or something with a double meaning. Normally Meera was very good with English but she was not so sure if the boy was as good. Maybe he meant something but said the wrong words. Meera could not be sure. She watched, with a confused look on her face as the boy once again began walking away. Meera felt sheepish. She knew she could do nothing more. She had said sorry and her part was done. Just as she made up her mind to go back to the hotel restaurant and get something to eat, she heard a sound against the cement a few feet away.

The young princess watched as the small bottle rolled down the road towards where she now stood. Taking a quick look up Meera realized that it belonged to the boy so she quickly bent down to pick it up hoping that he would say something nice to her and maybe accept her apology after all. As her slightly tanned fingers wrapped around the vile she felt a force come down on her hand. The boy's shoe was pressing on her hand which was on the ground holding the small bottle. "Ouch!" Meera quickly freed her hand from under the boy's shoe and dusted off the dust that was now stuck to her hand. Giving it a slight massage, she eyed the boy and then the bottle in her hand. She recognized the potion instantly because Potions was one of her favorite subjects after Defense Against the Dark Arts. The vile had a potion that was emitting blue flames clearly indicating it was freshly brewed. She was sure that the potion was wolfsbane because it reflected all the characteristics of the potion. "Wolfsbane is precious. I understand your haste to come after the vile" Meera said handing the boy the small bottle. "Very complex to make as it uses the poisonous ingredient Aconite but the color and the flames indicate its brewed to perfection" Meera commented, rambling on a bit about the potion. "You must be a genius if you brewed it" she said with a slight smile on her face that showed her curiosity. It was very hard to guess whether the boy was smart or not but that was not the pressing question. She studied his looks once again, this time truly taking them in. He was okay, maybe even good looking and his clothing was fine. She could not really say. Maybe he was just a new werewolf or he was related to someone that was one. "Why do you need it though?"she asked, not caring if the boy would mind her question or not. Meera had never met a real werewolf in her life. She knew the prejudice people had on the creatures but she was not among them. They were in the condition against their will and the last thing werewolves needed was to be discriminated.

 

[Lake Silver]

a muffled 'Sorry' left Lake's lips when he stood on the girl's hand, he moved his foot away and looked to see if he could get the vial but the girl was all ready studying it, he crinkled his nose slightly an waited for her to say something she was studying the vial closely, Lake felt as if he was holding his breath but she finally spoke and he waited some more. The Girl obviously knew what it was and he rolled his eyes 'I Excelled in most of my Subjects in school' he said muffled again, she seemed to compliment him and smiled at him showing that she was curious as to how he did it. She asked why he needed it and Lake dug his hand into his enchanted pocket and pulled out a simple Card with his address on it, he sometimes brewed potions for people who needed help and couldn't get the batch right, he best seller was Wolfsbane.

Lake held up the card and quickly moved pulling the Vial away from the girl and slipping the card between her fingers where the Vial was before pocketing it 'I would appreciate it if you didn't wave around a vial of wolfsbane in Public, not many people are comfortable with it' he said under his breath with force. he tapped the card in the girls hand with his finger 'Since you probably need to know, find your way here tonight' he said, he didn't plan on telling her the truth, but at least it gave him time to think of a good lie, the most common one is he sells potions to werewolves but he wouldn't say that in public, people then think he can make a lot of other potions for them and he didn't want to. Lake looked at the girl and raised his eyebrow 'Now run along back to your boyfriend, I like to be alone now' he added before turning around a apparating away before anything else had a chance of happening.

 

[Meera Gupta]

Meera was not sure what she expected the boy's answer to be. Her small curious smile, grew slightly as the boy mentioned that he excelled in most subjects at school. Meera was not hoping for the boy to actually confirm he brewed the complex potion. She had never considered any of the subjects or carrier options in the wizarding world because she knew that she was meant to rule a muggle kingdom with her family and thinking about working as a Healer or perhaps, somewhere in the Ministry were subjects she ignored. They hurt too much and she could never let her family know that she sometimes wished that she was just another normal witch without any royal obligations. Meera watched, a slight frown on her face as the boy mentioned people not being comfortable with the whole werewolves and wolfsbane thing. "People are never comfortable with it, not unless they actually have someone close to them who has been bitten" Meera said, her thoughts coming from her lips as she easily hinted the boy on what her opinion on the matter was. "It would be so much bettter...if.." she was going to continue her views on the topic of werewolves when the boy flashed a card in front of her. It seemed like a business card and she quickly took in the address that appeared in neat writing on the card.

Just as Meera was about to ask another question as to where the address would lead her, the boy said something that surprised and excited the young witch. An invitation she thought wondering if it was a trap. Meera was always extra careful and never let her guard down, especially when it came to strangers. Strangers in foreign land was an entirely unexplored concept for her and leaving her school group to go to some place, whose address she could barely pronounce right was equal to inviting trouble. Her brown eyes looked once again at the boy's face hoping to get some sign that he was not dangerous and meeting him tonight would be safe. Her worries left her as she heard the boy's next statement. "He's not" Meera said in instant protest just before she watched the boy apparate away. She started making her way back to the hotel as her mind raced away on the possibilities of the outcome if she chose to follow her curiosity. She barely touched her food during dinner and played with the vegetables in her plate. Her curiosity had made her lose her appetite. Something about the boy made him different from the other boys she had known in her life. He had saved her tonight, twice and she hoped that that would prove that he would not put her in danger. She knew that if she did not meet the boy tonight she would probably die of curiosity so she did the only wise thing that came to her mind.

Scribbling down the address that she correctly remembered onto two pieces of paper, she handed one to her roommate and kept one for herself. Telling the girl to come looking for her if she was not back in three hours, Meera quickly returned to the hotel room to change out of her traditional Indian saree into something more comfortable and something that allowed her to mix with the rest of the crowd. Meera knew this town was not very big and finding the given address would not be very difficult. She set out into the night, her heels giving away her location as she walked into one of the dimly lit streets. Her green and pink coat offered her little protection from the cold air that had settled in. She was wearing a designer dress as usual and she hoped the dark color choice would help her blend in the night. Walking a few more steps she came to a stop outside a black polished wooden door and read the address on it. It was the same one that she had been given by the boy. She knocked twice and took a step back as she waited for an answer. Meera hoped she had not done a mistake by agreeing to meet this boy. She had never been on a date before and of course this was not a date, nothing even close but it was meeting a boy alone at night, something she had never done before, too.

 

[Lake Silver]

Lake was in a small apartment he decided to rent out for when he came back, no matter how many time he tried to convince himself he didn't like it here, he always came back, it was quiet and that's what he enjoyed. Standing in the Kitchen there was a range of brewery stands and cauldrons lined the bench, each brewing different potions for different people, he was making a few extra wolfsbane potions in case anyone desperately required one, it wouldn't be as fresh but still work in the case of an emergency. Lake had time to think while he was brewing about the Girl earlier today, he thought he was a bit harsh to her and did owe her an apology, something about her reminded him of his Half-Sister Cleo who was still Friend-less at school. Lake was never the type of person to deliberately upset someone but when he felt like he needed to defend himself he put up walls and an attitude to stop people from getting close.

Hearing a knock on the door Lake made his way out of the kitchen, picking up a tea towel on his way to wipe his hands. Opening the door he saw the young Girl and held the door wider for her to walk in 'You look concerned' were the first words to escape his lips when he saw her, he ignored the fact she looked stunning in her outfit, he didn't invite her over for physical reasons. Shutting the door behind the girl he lead her towards the kitchen and pulled out a Bar stool for her 'I owe you an Apology for today' he said looking at her briefly before adding an ingredient to a potion and watching sparks ignite above it 'I'm not used to having people look out for me and when it happens i do not take it well, I do not take people in general well' he added looking up at the girl again. He aimlessly waved his hand over the top of the potion which was sparking and they fizzled down to nothing.

'I hope you accept my Apology' he said looking down again, Apologizing wasn't his thing, he usually avoid situations where he would have to. Lake wasn't sure if she would accept so he picked up a potion off the bench and held it out to her 'Veritaserum, for you, for assisting me.. But use it wisely, the Ministry doesn't like people using it, it can be used but it is restricted usage only' he said. Veritaserum was a hard potion to brew but he had managed to get it down pretty well over the past few months, he was bored and needed a challenge. Lake waited Patiently.

 

[Meera Gupta]

Meera waited anxiously for a minute or so before the door opened inwards and the familiar figure of the boy stood before her. She was about to smile when he commented on her looking concerned. He had caught her and her guard on her emotions had been down. She cursed herself as she gave him a small smile, not denying that she what he had said. As he led her through the rooms, Meera took in her surroundings and the aroma that came from different potions that were being brewed up simultaneously. The place was a mix between a house and a shop. The heat from the stove which were cooking up some potions made the room have a smoky feel but it was nice in a way. It certainly made Meera feel better than the chilling cold air that her body had been exposed to during her short walk. "Its only natural that I should be. If I wasn't concerned, I would..well probably be thinking too much of myself" Meera said as she observed the potion that was giving out some sparks. Meera took a seat on the bench that the boy had pulled out for her. She looked up at the boy, her brown eyes studying his face as he started apologizing to her. This was not what she had expected. She had come to meet the boy because of her curiosity with potions and now the boy was saying sorry. She did not know what to say as the boy continued on how he was not very good with people. Meera was too occupied as her mind raced on how this boy was so different from others. He was apologizing, something that was almost unheard of from boys. "It's okay" Meera said finally finding her voice. Her concern on her safety left her and she felt safe with the boy. She watched him as he waved his wand and the potion stopped the sparks. He must be very good, she thought in her head. She wished that someday even she would specialize in something magical. All the Outstanding grades she got in her subjects would be of no use if she could not get a carrier that involved them.

All this was so different for the Indian princess. Boys were trash. That was her motto and that was in her mind, body and soul for a reason. They were arrogant, ignorant, rude and did nothing nice. As the boy continued speaking to her, all these ideologies and all the guards that Meera kept up seemed to be melting away. She smiled and spoke, her eyes a little excited by what the boy was offering her. She did not easily accepts gifts, especially from strangers but Veritaserum potion was highly tempting. When her father would need to come back as King and her uncle would be kicked out of the royal family she would need her people to know the truth and she could easily slip some truth telling potion into her uncle's drink. Of course that would be two years from now but having some in store would mean playing safe. "Thank you" she said accepting the potion from the boy and she added quickly "I accept your apology and thank you for saving me". She put the vile of the potion in the pocket of her jacket and turned back to look at the boy. Her attention was once again taken up by the potions and one of them was smelling very nice to her. She identified a few from their color and smell but the others were a mystery. "So you run an Apothecary?"she asked the boy. The place was not very big so maybe he had just started working since he was so young and must be a recent graduate. "I'm Meera Gupta" Meera said as her mind reminded her that she had not yet introduced herself and she did not know the boy's name either. "What's your name?"

 

[Lake Silver]

He felt comfortable when the concern left the Girls face, Lake was exceptionally good at reading expressions, from the smallest change with her eyebrows to her body language Lake could read it, he spent half his years in Durmstrang sitting alone watching people act and reading their body language and the other half making ways to make them show different feelings and watching how they reacted.
The Girl accepted his apology and he half smiled, he had some closure now, he didn't want to be the bully in the situation that wasn't who he was but unfortunately his body was programmed to respond that way since he was a young adult.
Lake watched the girl accept the potion and put it in his jacket pocket and accept his apology again, he nodded his head and smiled properly, he was at ease now. Lake quickly picked up some more ingredients and sprinkle them into three pots and they dissipated under the surface. Lake looked at the girl who introduced herself, Lake realized that he didn't know her name and shook his head slightly 'I am Lake Silver, Pleasure to meet you Meera' he said, a name was very important to know when you meet someone, Lake didn't realize how he didn't know her name but then again she showed up to assist him not to introduce herself to him.

Lake looked around at his Kitchen and shook his head slightly 'It's a past time, I work for the Ministry full time' he said 'And you're a Student at Beaubaxtons, Not like the other girls either' he said softly, his focus on the potions but his attention on Meera.

 

[Meera Gupta]

This was not Meera. She never had friendly conversations with boys. Her few selected friends at school were girls and even in her classes she tried to avoid pairing up with boys for project and such unless a Professor put her as a boy's partner. The unusual situation, surprisingly made her feel at ease and that was what scared her a little. She watched the boy return her smile and she noticed that his tall and muscular build with his face made him have quite the good looks. They were very different from the usual good looking blonde boys one would find in France but she was tired of those and for now the difference seemed appealing to the young princess. She heard the boy recognize himself and also noticed how he pronounced her name. It was just right and his accent made it sound nice. "Its nice to meet you too" Meera said as she watched Lake put a few more ingredients into the potions and then put them away. "I must say its an interesting part time"Meera commented with a grin. "Wolfsbane potion seems to be in demand then and clearly its your specialty" Meera added. It had not escaped her notice that most of the cauldrons were brewing up potions that would be helping werewolves stay calm. "Its good to know that people like yourself are there to help them. Back at France they are frowned upon so much that they would probably have to move away if they were identified" Meera said, a little sadness in her voice. She remembered when once they had been taught about werewolves and how the entire class along with the teacher had been very clear with their views on them.

Meera did not know much about the departments in Ministry of Magic so she could not guess what department Lake worked under. She also did not know that Bulgaria had its own Ministry for Magic. Sometimes Meera felt like she was a muggle and she hated feeling like that. She wanted to be on top of everything but during the holidays she was always so disconnected from the wizarding world because they lived as muggles in France that she was never fully part of the wizarding society unless she was at school. As Lake spoke she was different, Meera raised her eyebrow. Many people thought she was different as compared to most people at Beauxbatons. Of course there was the obvious different race but everyone saw her as someone who had so much attitude that they would not let people get close. Some of the students thought she was a big head because she never dated anyone. It was only Meera who knew why she did the things she did and after all this years of secrecy she no longer felt the need to act according to people's liking. "I hope I am different means in a good way" she said jokingly. She had no idea what Lake thought about her but for some reason it was important to her that he knew the real side of her.

 

[Lake Silver]

Lake thought for a bit about Meera's name, it was different and something he hadn't heard before, he quite liked it and wondered if it had a meaning, Lake himself had a bad name or so he thought, his name was Lake Lewis Silver which he thought was the worst name in the world, he had a Sister called Phoebe and another called Cleo and he got Lake. Being the first born he forgave his parents by believing that they were just stupid. Lake looked at the wolfsbane potions brewing in front of him and he looked at her, it took some talent to recognize potions 'Potions are rather powerful magic that people forget, You never know when the truth may be needed for example' he said gesturing towards the potion the girl had be given by him.
Lake was slightly annoyed in the way Meera classified Werewolves as "them" they were people too and not saying werewolves annoyed him, he heard the sadness in her tone but he had to correct her 'Werewolves are misunderstood, no one would ask to be cursed in such a way' he paused for a moment, he tried to think of a way to say that werewolves tried their hardest to be the best the can despite what they had the unfortunate of being stuck by but there was no way he would be able to say it without slipping out that he was one so he dropped it.

Lake leaned back and rubbed his back, the scars ached as a reminder while they talked about werewolves, a painful reminder about his childhood he could never forget. 'Believe it or not there are quite a few werewolves around, but its hardly noticed, Werewolves are very smart people, learning to compensate for the time they loose by the transformation, it can be quite painful and wolfsbane helps' he said, he hoped Meera wouldn't pick up on him knowing how a transformation to werewolf was painful. Lake picked up a spoon and stirred one of the potions in front of him letting the conversation continue.

'There is nothing wrong with not being like everyone else, At least this way you know that will always stand out and others will notice you, unlike others who have to struggle to free themselves' lake didn't want to make it sound like he was talking about himself too much so he tried to change the subject 'What Year are you in at Beaubaxtons?' he asked sounding caring.

 

[Meera Gupta]

Meera had to agree with Lake about Potions being a powerful magic. Her personal favorite subjects included Defense, Potions, Transfiguration and Care of Magical Creatures. She usually topped other subjects like Charms, Astronomy and Herbology but she did not find them as interesting. "You're right" she said to Lake as he gave her an example of using Veritaserum when truth was needed. "Much simpler and effective than any torture" she said with a grin. Some people believed in violence. Meera was not one among them. Her archery, sword fighting and hand to hand combat skills were only to be used for defense and never offense. Sometimes Meera did not get the concept where people thought that torturing others or having physical strength over someone meant being superior. For her smartness and correct use of wit was far more important than physical strength.

As the conversation on werewolves continued, Meera got the feeling that Lake thought that she was among those who looked down upon werewolves. She realized that when she had said people from France she had not made her views very clear. She listened, interested and more curious as Lake continued speaking about werewolves. After seeing all the wolfsbane, Meera had gotten the hint that he would be meeting werewolves from time to time and would know their identity but she had not expected the werewolves to be chatty and tell Lake on how painful their transformation was. Of course it was described in text books but the way Lake spoke about it, it seemed like he had actually seen someone transform or felt their pain. "It must be horrible being a werewolf. People with negative views whisper things and all that as if the transformation pain is not enough" she said with a slight sigh. Maybe if she would ever consider a carrier in the wizarding world she could do something to help werewolves. "I don't think werewolfs are bad" she added quickly to Lake. It was important that he knew how she felt on the matter. If the town had many werewolves the last thing Meera wanted was to get any of them angry on her. She had heard that they could be grumpy.

Meera had not expected the conversation topic to change. She smiled as she heard Lake speak about how being different was not bad. Her friend Alice had told her the same thing but for some reason it was harder to believe and live being different than talk about it. "I'm in my fifth year" she said answering Lake's question. Meera was more mature than most people her age and she wished she could just grow up faster and get her kingdom back for her father. Maybe if her father still wanted to control everything she could have a few years more in the wizarding world and have a life as a real witch. As the clock on the wall made a noise, she jumped a little and realized it was midnight. It had just been thirty minutes since she arrived at Lake's house but it was quite late. She did not feel like leaving yet. Her stomach that had lost its appetite due to all the curiosity was demanding food now that she had some answers. He must have obviously had dinner earlier unlike you, she thought scolding herself for not eating the little vegetarian food that the hotel was offering.

 

[Lake Silver]

Lake gently picked up some small glass vials from one bench and carried them to another, the glass softly clinking together 'If Battles could be one without force no one would suffer' he said softly almost to himself, he didn't like having massive battles with people, he didn't want to hurt people he didn't like it that much but if he had to he would.
Meera talked about the pain and the horrors of being a werewolf and Lake stumbled slightly and one vial slipped from his grasp and shattered on the floor, he stepped over the glass and put the rest down 'Pain isn't half it, Living in constant fear of hurting someone, the pain is pretty bad but the fear is worse' he said forgetting where he was and thought he was talking to a close friend, Lake pulled his wand from his pocket and gave it a solid flick causing al lthe glass from the floor to spiral up and reform into a bottle again, Lake plucked it from mid air before placing it back down on the bench and looking up at Meera, it took him a few seconds to realise what he said and he tapped his wand on the bench in slight frustration 'I didn't mean it that way' he said trying to think of a way to cover up what he said.

Lake paused to see how she interpreted his answer before he dug his hole any deeper

 

[Meera Gupta]

Meera was not one of those girls that starved themselves to death to stay slim and fit. Food was one of Meera's favorite thing and recently she had learned how to cook. Mostly she loved Indian food but vegetarian pizza, pasta, fajitas all were her favorite too. She was sort of lost in her world as she thought about her stomach which was complaining to her. She was glad it was not making any noises or she would be super embarrassed. Meera was brought back to the room as she heard something crash. It was one of the glass vile. It did not occur to her that she was the one whose words had caused Lake to drop the vile. She watched him get it and magically fix all the pieces together. Sometimes she felt so jealous that she could not do magic outside school due to being underage. It was so unfair. Once she would be of age she would just have some months in the wizarding world before she would be a muggle Princess and that would be the end of her magic.Meera stomach gave her another hungry growl and she looked up at Lake hoping he wouldn't mind her next question. "Do you have something to eat here? Like fruits perhaps?"she asked feeling a little embarrassed that she had to ask him for food. She did not want to cause any trouble and have him find vegetarian food and fruits were the best solution for that.

Meera heard as Lake talked more on werewolves. She had never thought about it from that angle. He seemed to know so much about them and Meera could not help but grow more curious and suspicious at the same time. "They shouldn't be afraid" she said thoughtfully. She felt bad for the poor werewolves. First they had the pain and now the fear. "They only turn on full moon and they have wolfsbane. It helps, right?"Meera asked Lake. It was not more of a question but to see if he agreed or not. Then as she heard Lake say he did not mean it that way, she smiled. Maybe it was not the best expression for the moment but she did not care. He was so different. He had been all helpful before and now he was defending his words. "It's okay if you are a werewolf" she said, the smile still on her face. This was going to sound crazy to him. "I don't need to know" Meera finally said. It was so simple. It didn't matter if he was a werewolf. He was a good person that was what mattered. "And don't worry I won't tell anyone or gossip about it like French girls"she added with a chuckle.