Venus

Mahoutokoro School of Magic: A Harry Potter Universe RP

Chi for my American transfer female. My bae @Hero's making a Russian transfer male, but I don't know what house she's leaning towards.

The King of the Sea & the Queen of the Land

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At Madam Appleton’s suggestion, Demetria had requested Blackthorn for a partner change as soon as she’d been discharged from the hospital wing. At first, the Potions master had been confused. He’d told her that his reason for sitting Kalder and her together was due to them having the highest O.W.L.s of their group, and thought that the pairing would help them reach their full potential. However, upon reading the letter from the matron of the hospital wing, his tone changed. He offered Demi a sympathetic hug before making the necessary arrangements. From the next class on, she would be joining Noel Jameson at table 16. Kal’s best friend wasn’t exactly what Demi had been hoping for when she’d requested the partner change, but it was still better than having to sit next to the man who ripped her heart out and tore it to pieces in cold blood.

The next day, Demi had arrived early to the dungeon (a strategy in order to avoid crossing paths with Kalder). She didn’t have to wait long for her partner to show up and take the seat next to her. From his nonchalant attitude, the girl assumed that he was previously notified of the partner change. She could tell he was watching her out of the corner of his eye, because so was she. An awkward silence settled between them, which would soon be broken by Demetria’s rather confrontational ‘introduction’.

“Let me warn you right now, Jameson,” Demi began, turning her body towards him and giving Noel a serious look. “Wherever beef you have with us ‘mudbloods’ stays at the door of this dungeon. But in here, we’re partners, and I am not about to let that bullshit bias of yours get in the way of my N.E.W.T.s. If you try anything to sabotage me, I swear on my mother’s grave that I will send a rogue bludger your way and make it look like an accident. Am I understood?”

The Gryffindor watched as the blond Slytherin boy eyed her curiously without saying anything for a moment. After the silence lingered, his fingers would tap the desk as he bit his lower lip. "Ah...I promise the sabotage will not be intentional," His voice was actually rather quiet--was he embarrassed? That would be a first, in her eyes. "Potions isn't exactly my strongest class. I'll simply have to follow your lead to make sure we get our N.E.W.T.s, hope that's alright..."

Demi, still wearing that stern expression, was quick to reply. “That’s fine. As long as it’s just following my lead and not expecting me to do everything for you or even think of mooching off me, everything should be good.” she told him, her tone slightly less hostile now. Just then, Blackthorn called for silence, as class was about to begin.

Just before the clock would signal the beginning of first period, a breathless Kalder skidded into the classroom and straight to his table, where he pretty much threw down his belongings and plopped into his seat. Out of the corner of her eyes, Demi watched as Kal do a double take on the blonde girl sitting next to him, and the look of despair on his face told her that Beatrice had just told him the news.

With an aching heart, Demi quickly pretended to be neck-deep into the lesson in case Kal caught her staring. Because of this, she didn’t see him looking back at them, the color draining off his face or how the sight of her sitting somewhere else had brought an unfamiliar emptiness to his eyes. As much as this hurt already, it was for the best. Soon enough, Demi was truly immersed in the lesson, Kalder’s face now at the back of her mind.

Her first lesson with Noel Jameson as a partner had gone surprisingly well- much to her surprise. They had agreed to let him be in charge of the cutting and measuring, while Demi would do the brewing. They had a few mishaps along the way (like nearly adding the wrong amount of beetle eyes in the potion or Noel cutting the bat spleen in pieces that were too big), but had achieved a successful potion in the end. Professor Blackthorn had awarded them high marks, which had made both students happy. The feeling was short-lived when, before sending off the group, he had assigned homework for next class… To be done in pairs.

Although Demi wasn’t particularly thrilled with the idea of spending even more time in the presence of Noel Jameson, she shrugged off the negativity. ‘At least it’s not with Kal-’

She immediately stopped herself before her brain could finish uttering his name. KS was past, gone and forgotten. Thinking about him would only give her a relapse, and she’d fought too hard to recover from that fateful night only to have a silly thing like his name send her back on that downward spiral. That topic was over and done with.

To distract herself, Demi focused on the present happenings. “So I guess I’ll see you tomorrow, in the library, at 8?” the brunette asked her partner as she gathered her belongings and placed them in her bag.

"That you will."

Demi looked up just in time to see Noel actually smiling at her. And it wasn’t his usual smug, hypocritical smile; it actually resembled a genuine one. The young woman couldn’t hold back on the bewildered expression that came to her face, and it only intensified when the young man shot her a wink before leaving the room.

‘What in the world was that about?

The King of the Sea & the Queen of the Land

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Demi had been too busy crying, her eyes clouded by constant tears, to notice Kalder closing the distance between them. It wasn’t until she felt his hands gently cupping her face and his thumbs wiping away her tears that she realized what he’d done. To add more salt to the stinging wound, he confirmed that this wasn’t a joke, and began to make all sorts of fraudulent promises about how he would make things right because he couldn’t stand not being without her.

And then he kissed her.

Instead of moving away, Demi let herself go with the flow. Her anger dissipated the moment he felt her lips on hers, and she even felt herself wrapping her arms around him as she deepened the kiss. However, at the back of her brain, her mind was already made. The only reason she threw herself into this kiss was because it would be their last one.

It seemed like forever until they pulled away, each of them breathless, silence hanging in the air. It was soon broken by Demi.

“I want to believe you, Kal, I really do,” Demi began, a sad, heartbroken smile on her lips. Her aching heart had now turned to stone, and the pain of this truth had been so big that it had made her numb. Her voice was monotonous and emotionless. “But we both know you well enough to realize that you’re just saying this to comfort me. You have no intentions of going against your family's wishes, even if it means sacrificing your life and happiness to please them. And we both know that there’s no space for me in your upcoming future. After all, I am nothing but a poor, filthy American mudblood unworthy of the heir of the Sigourney legacy…

She took a deep breath, and willed herself to look at Kalder directly in the eyes. He needed to see that she was serious about what was coming next, and that even know it killed her, it was only for the best.So this is why, I think, we should make the break now, while we still have the chance.”

The brunette gently pried Kal’s hands off her body and began to walk in the direction of the door. She was at the doorway with the door open when she turned around to face him one last time. Demi offered him another sad half-smile.

“I guess this is goodbye, Kalder. Thank you for the good times, and I truly hope that, one day, you’re brave enough to find and fight for your real happiness.”

And with that, Demi closed the tower door behind her and disappeared from sight. Kalder would never know about how she ran straight to the common room and collapsed as a sobbing mess on the couch where Jomana and Beatrice were waiting for her. He would never know how Jo and Bea had to drag her to her bed, and pretty muched rocked the still-crying young woman to sleep. He would never think that Demi failed to show up for her classes the next day, and that it was only after Madam Appleton had given her a treatment of chocolate laced with elixir to induce euphoria that the brunette had finally began to slowly get better. He wouldn’t know that Demi had finally told her family about the real reason for her odd behavior that past summer and that past night, and that it had taken a group effort to restrain Luke from seeking out and beating up the culprit of his sister’s heartbreak.

Kalder could think he knew what happened after that night. But, in truth, he would never know shit.

The King of the Sea & the Queen of the Land

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Once her rant was over, Demi waited with a determined scowl for Kalder’s reply. She knew him well enough to notice he was shaking with nerves. The brunette also knew him well enough to tell that, behind those stunning blue eyes of his, his mind was racing. The young woman could see the battle going on inside him, presumably about telling the truth or not. The seconds became longer and longer, thickening the atmosphere with tension, until the Gryffindor just couldn’t take it anymore.

“Kalder, just fucking say it already.” Demi drawled, rolling her eyes at him.

Kal began by expressing to her a handful of reasons about why he was in love with her. Even though her scowl deepened, the cold in her heart had started to melt away with his voice. She could tell that he meant every single word. It made her wonder if she’d been right in keeping that dumb bit of hope that things would be okay.

But then his narrative changed, from a man who was hopelessly in love to one that was certain the very thing he loved the most would never be his. At this point, Demi looked confused, and her heartbeat accelerated with a dread she couldn’t even begin to express. Little did she know that this was the calm before the storm, and that his next words were going to pretty much kill her inside.

"Once I graduate, I'll be getting married."

Demi felt as if a dagger had been pushed deep into her heart. Her disbelieving eyes moved from the young man’s face and to his open and outstretched palm, where the dainty silver ring that represented the death of everything that once was rested. Her throat went dry, and it was not out of lust this time. For the longest time, she stood there, staring at the ring and not uttering a single word. It was as if the ability to speak had left her along with whatever hopes she had of them ever getting back together -hopes she didn’t even know she had in the first place.

“M-married?” she breathed out, still unable to process what Kalder had just said. Her blue eyes, now looking straight at him once more, were wide with shock, and her lower lip was trembling. “Is this some kind of sick joke? Or is this another bullshit story to get out of telling me the real reason why you broke up with me. Because you can’t be serious…” she hesitated for a moment, eyes slowly filling up with tears as the words began to sink in.“Right? Please tell me you’re not serious! That this is all just some stupid stunt you and your posse did to mess with me. Well, whoohoo, you got me good! Just tell me this is a lie, Kalder! You can’t seriously be doing this to me!”

At this point, Demi was unable to hold back the tears that began to stream down her cheeks. Out of impulse, she slapped the hand where the ring had been resting, and watched as the dainty object fell to the floor and rolled out of sight. The ring he’d held meant that things were now irrevocably over: dead along with the flowers in the fall.

The King of the Sea & the Queen of the Land

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The moment Demi saw Kalder make his entrance to the tower, there was no denying the skip her heart had made. He was still as handsome as always, and even in the distance, his spicy scent made her way to her nose. A mental picture of her running straight into his arms, wrapping themselves into a heated kiss, taking his robes off and letting him have his way with her… She had to shake her head to make the image leave her mind before her body reacted to it. This was not the time to daydream: it was time to put all cards on the table. Before she knew it, she was back into game mode.

“Yeah, yeah, good evening to you too. Let’s cut the bullshit right now.” Demi began, sliding off the window sill and walking in Kalder’s direction. What she thought was going to be a polite conversation between two ex-lovers had flown off the window she’d been sitting next to. Instead, her thoughts were replaced with all the anger, bitterness and frustration that she’d bottled up all these months. The more she thought about it, the more she realized Kalder had given her the cheapest, most vague excuse for ending their relationship. And with the way that he’d been acting towards her in Potions, she knew in her heart that the decision had to be influenced by something else. There was no way in hell he wasn’t still in love with her… Right?

Time to find out.

Demetria only stopped walking when hers and Kal’s bodies were inches away from each other. Her angry blue eyes, the ones that had so lovingly looked up at him before, were unflinching and staring straight into his, as if daring him to look away. The brunette kept her arms crossed in front of her chest, poised for a confrontation.

“What the hell was all that back in Potions? All that talk about ‘still caring about me’ but not wanting to ‘drag me into your mess’-” She said the phrases in his notes in a sarcastic tone and using air quotes, to make it clear she didn’t buy it.“What ‘mess’ are you referring to, exactly, Kalder Naithaire Sigourney? Will you man up for once in your life, cut the crap and really -and I mean really- tell me what the fuck is going on?! Because I know for a fact that you breaking up with me had nothing to do with you losing your feelings for me, so don’t even try that shit with me. If it wasn’t that, then what was it?”

The King of the Sea & the Queen of the Land

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From out of the corner of her eye, Demetria watched as Kalder nodded to himself before folding the letter and moving it out of sight. She was curious as to why he did that, but her curiosity would soon be moved to second place. The moment Kal licked his lip, the Gryffindor’s throat dried up. Her legs became weak whenever he did that- even now-, because her body was conditioned to remember that what came afterwards was a mind-blowing kiss capable of rocking her whole world. To make matters worse, he’d decided that writing a response in the note was suddenly not enough, because instead of taking his usual coward’s way out, Kal decided to get a little daring.

As she watched him slowly close the distance between them, Demi waited with bated breath. And when he finally whispered his acceptance of the invitation, the girl swallowed hard, suddenly forgetting how to breathe. His hot breath and lips had softly grazed her ear, in the way that he very well knew gave her shivers up and down her body- like the ones she was getting at this very moment. This was unfair. Kal knew that whispers in her ear were one of her weaknesses, and that if he did it for a certain amount of time or said all the right things, she would get stupid. And when Demi got stupid, it usually caused her to think with her body and not her brain… Which in turn led to the very steamy sessions she and Kal had shared in the Room of Requirement and the Quidditch locker rooms a couple of times.

In the present, it was the stupid side of Demi who was winning the fight between heart and body, She turned to look at Kalder with a longing gleam in her eyes, and it was obvious that the brunette wanted nothing more than to kiss him hard right then and there. As fate would have it, she was brought back to reality via Blackthorn’s voice announcing it was now time to make their potions. No sooner had he given them the green light to start making their potions, Demi quickly stood up and walked in the direction of the ingredients, jumping at the chance of getting a break from Kalder before she made a mistake. At this point, all anger was forgotten and replaced with nothing but desire. Because of this, Demi made a silent prayer for God to bless her with the strength of keeping her head in the game and not fall for Kalder’s games… No matter how tempting they were.

Easier said than done.

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I'll seek you out
Flay you alive
One more word and you won't survive
And I'm not scared of your stolen power
I see right through you any hour

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The day seemed to drag on and on, until it was finally time for her first Quidditch practice as team captain. Nervous and excited, she made her way to the pitch, where the enthusiastic team was already waiting. After quick greetings, Demi went directly into captain mode; explaining with careful detail the new training schedules, plays and strategies she had designed while on their summer break. They did their warm-ups, and jumped straight into it. Although they struggled with a few plays, it had been a satisfying first practice overall. Even better, they had finished just in time for dinner.

"Okay, guys, that was excellent. There's always some room for improvement, but it was a great first practice. See you guys on Wednesday!" Demi told them with a satisfied smile before joining them in the walk to the showers.

Once the rest of her female members had left the lavatories and she was certain she was alone, it was time for Demi to take her much-needed shower. She made sure to scrub herself everywhere as much as she could and apply a generous amount of perfume, because smelling divine was a must tonight. With the help of some beauty spells, she magicked herself to bring out her natural beauty, and once she was done, she went straight to dinner.

She ate her food with patience, biding her time while keeping an eye out for Kalder or Luke. She knew her brother would start asking questions, and she was frankly not in the mood to answer any of them or lie. The young woman tapped her foot anxiously as she watched the minutes tick by… Until, at twenty minutes before nine, Demi finally stood up and discreetly made her way to the west tower. Thankfully, it was deserted upon her arrival, and she knew that there was only a handful of students who knew how to access this particular part of the castle. And so she took a seat on the window ledge, facing the entrance to the tower with her arms crossed across her chest. In the middle of the night, the bells to the castle’s grand clocked chimed nine times, signaling the ninth hour.

Time to face the music.

The King of the Sea & the Queen of the Land

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Demi felt the note being passed to her again, and she eagerly looked for Kalder’s response. The words made her scoff again, and she rolled her eyes. She was heated now. ‘I still care about you but things are just complicated’... Was he still playing her along? Did Kalder seriously believe that excuse would work? Back when they’d first broke up, he’d given her the excuse of his family not approving of his relationship if they found out. Demi had countered by telling him her family wouldn’t approve either, yet her feelings were stronger than any opposition they could face. It was clear that whatever he felt -if he’d felt anything at all in the first place- wasn’t as strong as what she felt, because he’d decided to end things anyway. Now, months later, he was saying that things were complicated and there was some sort of mess going on? He was obviously lying… And Demi despised being lied to.

“Are you serious right now?! Is that really the best you can do, Kalder?!” Demi angrily muttered to the blond male, blue eyes now away from the board and the professor and instead digging into his impassive face. She discreetly leaned closer to him as to avoid being overheard. “‘It’s complicated’? ‘Drag you into my mess’? What mess, Kalder? You’re seriously pulling the ‘it’s not you it’s me’ card? Bitch, please.”

“Miss Graves? Anything you would like to share with the rest of the class?”

Demi was stunned. She had been so upset and caught up in her little rant that she’d completely forgotten to keep an eye out for Blackthorn. All eyes in the dungeon were now on her and Kalder, curiosity in every single one of them. Thinking fast, Demi put up her fakest smile and adressed Blackthorn respectfully.

“My apologies, Professor. My partner had some questions about the potion, and I was simply trying to clarify them before we began making the potion.” Yeah, it was the cheapest excuse on the book, but it was worth a try if it got the attention off them.

Lucky for them, Blackthorn seemed to buy it, because instead of scolding them he just nodded, face serious. “Very well, Miss Graves. But do wait until I am finished with the lecture next time before answering any questions.”

The brunette nodded eagerly, offering a polite smile. “Yes, sir. Won’t happen again.”

Satisfied, the professor resumed the lecture. As soon as Blackthorn turned his back on them, Demi quickly grabbed her quill and wrote a quick reply before sliding a fresh note to Kalder.



It was a long time coming, and too much time had already passed. She needed to give him a piece of her mind with no witnesses before she went insane.

The King of the Sea & the Queen of the Land

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As she took note of Blackthorn’s lecture, Demi felt a piece of paper being slid under her arm. She turned to look at Kalder with questioning and reproachful eyes, but didn’t get a response back. Instead, the blond male had resumed his note-taking of the class on his piece of parchment. Letting out a frustrated sigh, she discreetly unfolded the note. Upon reading its contents, the brunette couldn’t help but scoff.

Was he being serious?

Fuming, Demi angrily scribbled back a response:

And then pushed the paper back in his direction.

If Kalder still cared, Demi knew he would be stung at the blunt tone in her words. Hell, she hoped it did. Served him right… It was the least he deserved. And yet…

She had purposely refrained from saying yes to his asking for a seat change. In all honesty, she didn’t want Kalder to switch seats. Even if it was a constant reminder of the hurt he’d caused her, there was a dumb part of her that actually enjoyed him being so close to her. Knowing their bodies were in such close proximity of each other gave her a strange sense of comfort and the tiniest ray of hope. Maybe this constant presence and forced interaction with each other would make Kal realize he’d made a mistake in letting her go. Maybe he would want her in his arms again. Maybe he never stopped loving her…

“Don’t you go defending him, Demetria! We’re talking about the guy who broke your heart into a million pieces.”

Jomana’s words rumbled in her head, bringing her back to reality and away from the hopeless thoughts that had been creeping up on her. Kalder Sigourney was nothing but a cowardly Slytherin who only cared about himself and what others thought of him. He’d never been in love with her, he’d never truly given a shit, and he never would. Her happiness had never mattered to him before, so who was to say it did now?

Demi refused to give him the power to hurt her again.

The King of the Sea & the Queen of the Land

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Demi's feigned attention to the front of the classroom was short lived, because a few moments after Kalder had taken his seat next to her, a diversion in the form of Beatrice Balthazar happened.

“Coward," the blonde hissed at him, naturally warm eyes cold with disdain towards the Slytherin boy. Demi, eyes still on the front of the class, bit back a smile.

"Nice to see you, too, Beatrice," Kalder had muttered back, running a hand through his hair and -from what Demi could see out of the corner of her eyes- looking visibly uncomfortable with the situation.

"If you give my fellow Gryffindor even the slightest hint of trouble, I promise you I'll take--you--down," Bea threatened before turning back to face the front of the class.

Although Demi could more than take care of herself, she appreciated Beatrice’s action. When she’d returned to the school after her mother’s death, Bea had been one of the people to care for her well being. The sweet blonde was caring and compassionate, making sure that the brunette was caught up with her lessons and adjusting to Hogwarts life again. They got along so well that they eventually became friends, and were joined by Beatrice’s best friend, the school’s most talented Seer and Ravenclaw’s own Caleb Sophen. Before they knew it, the best friend pair of Demi and Jo grew by two additional people, and together they became the sixth year’s Fantastic Foursome.

“Looks like I'm not the only one who can see right through you, Siggy.” Demi muttered just loud enough for Kalder to hear, using the nickname he hated the most to cause him extra annoyance. The brunette had a smug expression on her face while still keeping her eyes on the front of the class. She’d tried her hardest to act like the bigger person and not become an instigator, but there was no containing the bitterness she felt. Even if there was still something lingering inside her towards him, the American wanted this proud Brit to get at least a taste of how shitty she’d felt after the breakup.

The King of the Sea & the Queen of the Land

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Demi was up three hours before her first class was scheduled to start: at 5 AM, with the sun just beginning to come out; which was very out of character for her. In truth, she'd been up for most part of the night, unable to sleep for a period longer than an hour before waking up and facing reality. Back home, she thought getting used to waking up early again would be a challenge, but apparently it would be easier than she imagined. Memories of her time with Kalder plagued her as she tried to fall asleep without much success: the exchanged looks, their first time talking, the flirting that went on, their first kiss, the first time he’d touched her bare skin, the first time they'd fooled around… And the day he’d thrown it all away.

Demi knew she needed to get away before her memories consumed her, so she decided to go do what she loved the most: fly.

Without a second to lose, she jumped out of bed and got dressed in comfy muggle clothes: dark blue skinny jeans, a black band T-shirt and her Converse sneakers. She tied her hair back in a French braid, taking the time to do the handiwork herself instead of using a beauty spell, as playing around with her hair was sort of therapeutic for her. Once done, she put on her four pairs of small studs on each ear, grabbed her Firebolt 3XO and sprinted off to the Quidditch pitch.

Once there, Demi took a second to take in the smell of dew and freshly mowed grass before mounting her broom and taking off. She closed her eyes and smiled at the feeling of the cool, foresty wind around her, and how she’d left all her negative emotions back on the ground. From above, she observed the few activity on the grounds at the moment: a few thestrals taking flight from deep inside the Black Forest, a hint of a mermaid's tail on the surface of the Black Lake that quickly disappeared with a splash, and the glorious scene of the sun rising over the horizon. With the sun now up, Demi did some quick laps and twirls, singing loudly to the lyrics of her favorite American rock bands all the while. Next thing she knew it was 7:30 AM: two hours left to shower and have breakfast if she wanted to arrive to class on time.

By the time Demi returned to the classroom, most students were still asleep. This gave her plenty of time to take a long, relaxing shower in the Prefects bathroom (to which she had access to for being a Team Captain, a new privilege that had begun this school year) before getting ready for the school day and making her way back down to the Great Hall for breakfast.

Once there, she filled her plate with scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage and toast, along with a cinnamon roll and a tall glass of milk (the effects of fasting on dinner last night had gotten to her). Her eyes wandered around the hall, and she was pleased to see that Kal wasn't around. Good. That meant she could enjoy her breakfast in peace, not tortured by the bitter memories.

When the timetables arrived, she quickly scanned through the schedule, and her heart sank.The classes weren’t the issue. Potions, Transfiguration, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Lunch, Herbology, Charms, and History of Magic as her chosen elective, since her other available period was for Quidditch. It was the members of said classes that sent the positivity that had begun to cheer her up this morning straight to hell: three out of seven periods shared with Slytherin. By this point, Demi was hoping that Kal hadn't gotten marks similar to hers or had chosen a similar career path. If he had, they would be seeing quite a lot of each other this year: which was precisely what she- and she was pretty certain him too- wanted to avoid. Every day would feel like putting salt over a fresh wound.

Demi finished her breakfast in silence, and made her way to the dungeons where Potions, her first class of the day was scheduled to begin at 9. She was inside the empty classroom fifteen minutes early, and while she waited for her classmates, she walked to the end of the room. A cauldron containing a pink potion was seducing her, emanating the most delicious scent she had ever smelled in her life. It was a combination of all the things she loved: her mother's perfume, the sea breeze, early morning dew, broomstick wood, chocolate, berries and... She struggled to identify the last one, but then it hit her: it was the woody and spicy scent of Kalder’s perfume.

Cursing herself, Demi quickly put up a brave face just as the clock chimed nine, signaling the start of her first lesson. She looked around to see her classmates filing in and waiting for instructions at the end of the room, and she hurried away to join them.

Their Potions master, Rodolphus Blackthorn, walked in no longer after she had taken her place. He greeted them enthusiastically and announced that he had developed a new teaching strategy for this year: students from opposing houses would be assigned to work together for the rest of the school year, in an attempt to bring the rivaling houses together. At this Demi began to feel anxious. The brunette thought she had seen Kal in this group, and she closed her eyes while doing a silent prayer that she would be paired with anybody else in the world but him.

"Miss Graves?" Professor Blackthorn called out, Demi's eyes quickly opening and immediately bringing her back to reality. She raised her black-manicured hand and he nodded at her. "You and Mr. Sigourney have been assigned to Table 7."

Of course that, out of fourteen other classmates she could have been paired with, it had to be with Kalder... Taking a deep breath, Demi trudged to her assigned table, set her things in her side of the table, and focused her attention to the front of the classroom. She would show no signs of weakness even if fate was really out for her blood this year.