With the capture of Verandi Farley and several high-ranking Trossach members, the British wizarding world has finally caught a break. The rate of rogue werewolf attacks have started dropping at a steady rate and, hopefully, things will stay that way. The Ministry is starting to loosen some restrictions, like not arresting werewolves standing on the street for loitering, however there’s still an obvious power imbalance between wizardfolk and werewolves.
The Cotswolds pack are continuing to advocate for the rights of werewolves and petitioning to change the legislation that has been set in motion by the current Minister for Magic, whilst the remaining Trossachs members are trying to stay out of the spotlight and keep a low profile… for now.
Whilst the British wizarding world seems to have calmed down, the same cannot be said for over in Northern Europe where a rebellion of magical creatures has risen. The state of things has gotten so bad that the European Ministry has enacted protocols to protect those under eighteen whilst their adult witches and wizards fight to keep control of their countries.
Students from Durmstrang have been sent to Hogwarts to keep them safe and those not old enough to attend school have been sent to live with relatives or designated British Ministry officials outside of Europe for the time being.
Will the low rates of werewolf attacks in Britain continue? How long will Durmstrang students stay at Hogwarts? Will the creatures usurp the wizardfolk in Northern Europe? Only time will tell.
SEPTEMBER 2019 It's been a very long, eventful summer in the wizarding world. A baby was stolen, several high ranking Trossach members were imprisoned, and werewolf attacks have drastically dropped as a result. What will happen now school has returned?
MAY 2019 An attempt to capture the beta of the Trossachs has been launched. Were the Aurors successful in their mission? Go read more here!
Post by JACK O'CONNOR on Sept 1, 2019 10:48:04 GMT
It had finally arrived, Christmas Day, and for those who had decided to remain at Hogwarts... they weren't going to miss out by a long shot. Christmas at the castle had always been magical and Jack did his best to ensure that the festivities continued throughout his tenure as a Professor. After all, if he wasn't able to spend time at home with his family for Christmas, then he was going to make sure that the day spent with his colleagues and students was just as fun.
Today for the Christmas dinner, there was only one table for the students to sit at so they could mingle among each other. Platters of scrumptious food adorned the table for the students to feast on - there were roast vegetables and carved turkey galore, along with an array of sauces that sat pooled in ceramic boats. Aside from food, every few feet sat crackers for the students to pull, ones that blasted as loud as cannons, flooding the room with light, wispy smoke as well as several Christmas-like mirages like a little drummer boy and playful, galloping reindeer.
Sitting at the table with a shiny, fur-lined Santa hat perched upon his head, Jack wore a merry grin on his face as he waited for the students to arrive. It was going to be another fantastic Christmas, he could feel it.
6'0". IRISH. BIG HEART. LOYAL. BRAVE. WORKAHOLIC. BISEXUAL. SINGLE. distinguishing features: a big scar runs across jack's left cheek credit for award goes to ollie! <3
Post by JUNAID ZALAYAT on Sept 1, 2019 18:34:05 GMT
Back in his home country the winter holidays weren’t celebrated. Last year he found out about the British holiday too late and missed the big dining party. This year however, Junaid was prepared. Being a prefect now he had to make sure he was on time. He was properly dressed and made sure no hair stuck out. Jun had to give up on shaving and just make sure his stubbles looked decently. In his own country a beard had always been a sign of manhood however in this country gentleman were clean shaven. He tried to follow their example but his beard growth was just helpless.
The Hufflepuff prefect sure was nervous about this feast. Hopefully everything would go well. When he entered the hall, Junaid noticed he was the first student to arrive. Oh dear. Was he overdoing this? Junaid passed the teacher’s table and gave the present ones a polite nod. Once he reached the Defense teacher he stopped. “I love your hat, sir. I’ve seen them around in several depictions. They sure are in fashion this winter,” he smiled, no idea what a Christmas hat meant.
Post by NICOLAS DELGADO on Sept 2, 2019 9:50:07 GMT
The curly haired Ravenclaw wandered to the stairs towards the great hall. He wore a comfortable knit sweater and a pair of jeans. Nothing very festive but he didn’t have much else. The boy carried his school bag with him. Inside was a box which could be airtight sealed aside from the box were two handmade scarves wrapped in paper. This was his first attempt on knitting, usually he did crochet. Nico had made a scarf for each of his siblings in their respective house colours. He hoped they’d like them. Wait, why would they? Matheus would never wear something as silly as this. Oh, no what should he do now? There was no more time to make something else. Perhaps he shouldn’t give anything this year.
As he reached the last stairs, he spotted his older brother. “Mat!” The young eagle moved towards the lion, his mob of curls bouncing in the air. Once he got close enough, he hugged the older Delgado sideways. “Have you seen Izzy? We’ll sit with the three of us, right?” Big blue grey eyes blinked at the Gryffindor. Nico checked the hallway if someone was listening. When he noticed nobody, he tiptoed so he could reach his brother’s ear. “Oh, can you help me out? I brought a plastic box, I want to give some of the cake and sweets to mãe. Can you distract the teachers and prefects while I fill it up,” he whispered before returning to the ground. That shouldn’t be hard. If anything, it was the natural way of things. Matheus was always loud and in the center of attention. Nicolas was the timid Delgado. People probably would forget about his existence if it weren’t for his monster curls.
Notes: Who ever wants to talk with her. Or notices she isn't herself.
Mariah wasn't really into celebrating Christmas here in the Hogwats even. This holiday had no meaning for the girl. It was like another simple day for her. Nothing special ever happened here. The girl walked down to the Great Hall like rest of the kids who had stayed to Hogwarts for this holiday.
She smiled a bit when she saw how beautiful it was here but that smile soon faded away too. This was one of the day she couldn't pretend to be happy when she wasn't. She just knows she can't keep pretending forever.
The girl took a seat somewhere at empty seat around the table and just listened what others said. She wasn't really in the mood to start conversation with someone. She just eyed the table in front of her and was in her won thoughts. She wasn't really hungry too.
Post by MATHEUS DELGADO on Sept 7, 2019 12:15:04 GMT
Swaggering down the staircases, Matheus looked like the epitome of confidence but internally? He wasn't confidence. Not really. Christmas always did that to him, made him feel insecure of all his shortcomings which... mostly, that was to do with his income or lack thereof. He didn't have two galleons to rub together, and so the thought of buying presents for any of his mates was out the window. Hell, he'd saved up the very few knuts he'd collected through bets and stuffto buy his brother and sister a chocolate bar each from Honeydukes. It wasn't much, and he felt guilty over that fact, but it was something... right?
Hearing the high-pitched voice of his brother that... surprisingly didn't break in the middle of his sentence like it had been lately, Matheus turned around and gave him a one-armed hug back before clapping his brother's shoulder. "Oh shit, man. Hope I didn't break anything doing that. You know, with my big, bulging muscles," he said cheekily, though the mischievous smile on his face quickly transformed into a flirtatious one as a hottie walked by him, glancing straight at his 'big, bulging muscles.' Shamelessly, he wiggled his eyebrows at the hottie. "Like what you see, hey?"
Unfortunately, his flirting was cut short all of a sudden as his brother asked him for a favour. "Merlin, Nico. You know usually people give me something before asking for a favour in return - which is actually some real great advice now you're gonna start hooking up with the guys and girls of Hogwarts," he said with an easy shrug, before he actually listened to what the favour was. Nico was such a good little son, wasn't he? That's why their mãe loved him so much because he was considerate like that. "Consider it done though. Grab me some cake for later too, yeah?"
With that said and done, Matheus took on the task at hand. Drawing attention to himself? Hell yes, he was good at that. If it were just the prefects, he would have given them all a nice little peepshow as a distraction, but not wanting detention - though detention with some of the Professors didn't seem too bad - Matheus decided to go down the dramatic route instead as he raced into the hall, standing at the end of the table and grabbing a goblet of pumpkin juice, bashing the side of the tin with a spoon which elicited a loud 'DING' sound. "HERE YE, HERE YE!" he began, not sure where he was going with this but... shit, he needed to say something, right? "So... isn't this grand, another year at Hogwarts where we've all decided to stay behind! No doubt because you guys know the Delgados spend every Christmas at Hogwarts, amirite?" Not able to help himself, Matheus sent the crowd a playful little wink. Who wouldn't want to spend time with the coolest family in Hogwarts? "Also because... of this magnificent feast! House elves are just the craftiest, aren't they? So, uh... cheers to them! Cheers to us! Hip hip hooray!" It wasn't a birthday but hell, he was rolling with it. "Eat up, be merry, er... have... presents and stuff too. Let's rock this next year!"
With that, Matheus' speech was over and done with. He shot the crowd one last grin before moving to the other end of the table towards his brother. "Enjoy the show?" he said loudly, drawing a few looks that clearly read 'oh my God, shut up already.' Quietening down, he added pointedly, "Get the stuff for mãe?"
Post by ALEXANDER GREENAWAY on Sept 8, 2019 13:27:05 GMT
Shoving his hands deep into his pockets as he made his way into the Great Hall for their Christmas... dinner, or whatever it was, Alex had to admit that he was not looking forward to this. Why would he? It wasn't like Christmas had ever been a joyous occasion for him, not since his parents had passed and... if he was honest with himself, he couldn't actually remember spending Christmas' with them. He'd been so young when they'd passed... he'd never retained the normal childhood memories of sitting by a tree at the crack of dawn on Christmas Day, his parents smiling down at him and watching him tore into wrapping paper.
Winding over to the table, Alex wasn't sure where to sit, eyes raking over the table before resigning himself to a place somewhere in the middle, staring steadily down at the pile of baked potatoes in front of him and tuning out as some loud, older student started a... speech? The name Delgado rung in his ears and Alex wondered if maybe his roommate was somewhere about the Great Hall. Maybe he could sit with him later... or maybe not, if he was busy with his family. Alex didn't want to intrude.
As the speech wrapped up, Alex decided that maybe a goblet of pumpkin juice was in order. However, stupidly, he didn't actually look up as he grabbed it and elbowed a boat of gravy in the process, the warm liquid rapidly spilling over the table. "Shit," Alex muttered with wide eyes, breaking his vow of silence. Shit, shit, shit. He'd left his wand in the dorms by mistake. "Errr...." Glancing around, Alex prayed for a miracle, a student who noticed what he'd done and was kind enough to lend a helping hand without Alex actually having to ask.
After visiting a certain Professor's empty chambers in order to discreetly deposit a token of appreciation, Zoe's high heels click-clacked along the stone halls until she came to the Great Hall, ready for the feast. The professor was wearing a rather festive elf costume for a little bit of extra Christmas cheer and her red lips were wide with awe-struck grin when she saw the spectacle. "Oh! Wow!" Zoe gushed as she made her way towards the table. This would be her first British holiday... her first Christmas spent at school and the family vibe was just so warming.
Young Matheus was giving such a tremendous speech, Zoe could barely peel her eyes away from his handsome young mug - she did though, to catch the eyes of her Deputy Headmaster. That hat. Zoe raised a glass she'd picked up in his direction before she caught a fluster in her peripherial vision. Without hesitation, Zoe moved to sit next to Alex and with a wave of her Australian sandalwood wand, the spilt gravy was no more. "Hey Alex, you're meant to pour the gravy on your turkey not the table," Zoe whispered playfully nudging him with her elbow, a cheeky smile on her face that showed her dimples. "God, they've really put on a good spread haven't they?... I have something important I'd like to ask you about, actually. If you don't mind me sitting with you for dinner? If you do mind that's ok I can go and chow-down somewhere else and we can catch up sometime else. I promise I won't cry too much."
It was the first year that Roxanne was actually staying at Hogwarts for the winter break, and though she felt a bit guilty for it, she felt a sense of relief as soon as so many of the students had left. Finally.Peace. Only one of her roommates was still around, which already made things quieter than home would be, and though she would almost certainly receive presents from home, she could open them alone and wouldn't have to pretend to like them if she didn't. She could even give them to someone who didn't get presents if she wanted to, and get a double dose of Christmas cheer.
And even better, she wouldn't have to want to rip every can of Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder off the shelves of the shop.
At least she did like the cozy sweaters her grandmother always knitted, and she wore one of them as she entered the Great Hall for the annual Christmas dinner. She had never been to one of these before, either, and she was surprised to see that the usual long tables had been replaced by a single table, just big enough for everyone remaining in the castle to sit at. She scanned the group, trying to find which place would be the best to sit...
And her eyes landed on Jun. Well, she would have to talk to him sooner or later, she thought. After the ball, they hadn't spoken to each other yet, Roxanne trying to figure out just what he meant by giving her a ring--it was probably just a normal gift, but even though Roxanne had never been on a date before that night, she didn't think that was a standard first date gift. It was sort of rough, too, something she would never wear for fashion, but she didn't want to hurt the boy's feelings. He'd always been a sweet friend. Taking a deep breath, she sat across from him, near a nervous-looking boy in her year, and waited for a particularly loud student to finish his speech before she tried to figure out what to say.
all i really want is to be wonderful/people in this town, they can be so cruel
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Post by ISOBEL LINWOOD on Sept 9, 2019 9:50:11 GMT
Why it was necessary to nearly physically drag Wolfgang to the Christmas dinner, Isobel didn't know. She thought they had talked through things just a couple days ago, but the Ravenclaw was still refusing to leave his room half the time, making Isobel turn his Housemates into couriers between them. But she felt she knew him well enough that she could say that if he only went to the dinner, he'd start to have a good time. He needed some good food, too--that she also knew. And, a bit selfishly, she knew she'd enjoy the holiday much more if she had him with her. Anything would be an improvement over the awkward conversation she knew the rest of the family was having at home, but she would prefer if she didn't have to be alone here.
By the time she had convinced him to come downstairs with her, they opened the doors to the Great Hall to find that the feast had already been served. Fashionably late, she supposed--there were worse things in the world. Finding two open seats, Isobel put her hand on Wolfgang's shoulder, directing him softly toward the table. She studied the crackers that were scattered around the plates of food, hoping she could guess at one that would cheer him up instead of startling him. Picking one that was wrapped in green and blue paper--how appropriate, she thought--she set it in front of them, holding one end and pushing the other toward him.
Post by ALEXANDER GREENAWAY on Sept 9, 2019 12:33:15 GMT
The sound of... er, heels? Were those heels? met Alex's ears and glancing up, he was taken aback by Professor Savage who apparently knew his name and immediately, he worried if Liam had actually spoken to her about the Star Wars thing. He hoped not, otherwise he'd have to sit there, explaining why he was going around, confusing handsome young wizards and filling their heads with worries like the space exploding. "Er, I... yeah... I don't... shit - I mean, er... that's... I don't even like gravy," Alex muttered, shaking his head.
Professor Savage was smiling at him and Alex wondered for a moment if he was supposed to find that, and the outfit she wore, hot? Wait, no, he supposed he should have, right? Straight males... they dug older ladies wearing costumes? He'd once wandered into a comic shop that he couldn't afford to buy anything from and he'd overheard the shop keeper raving about how hot Princess Leia was in her slave costume and even though the crazy thought that Luke was cuter had hit Alex at the time, that was only because everyone thought that about the heroes of the stories. There was no other reason.
"Uh... you can sit. I - please don't cry. I don't do well with crying, I, um.... last time someone cried in front of me, I accidentally ki - hugged them and it was really awkward and I think I made them cry even more," Alex babbled, nerves getting the best of him as Professor Savage said she had something important to discuss with him. It wasn't about... had Alexander told her about where he'd found him earlier in the year? Was she about to interrogate him on why he'd felt the need to throw himself off the owlery tower? Alex didn't want to talk about that, not with her, not with anyone.
"Don't like gravy? Are you sure you're English?" Zoe said, feining being absolutely flabbergasted that someone didn't like gravy. As she spoke, the professor reached to get a healthy serving of all the kinds of food available on the table. She hoped that by showing her attention was not all on him, the poor boy would be a little more at ease. She wanted him to be at ease... even she was nervous, which was a rare thing for her.
"See now I'm tempted to cry just so I can get that ki-hug from you," Zoe joked as she cut a piece of turkey into a manageable size, dipped it in gravy and then put it in her mouth. "I wouldn't worry too much about upsetting someone with a hug... most of the time a hug is all anyone needs," Zoe was a fan of hugs because she was of the opinion that people needed those familiar touches, transfer of warmth and kindness blah, blah, blah. "Hey so... I know that you're here at Hogwarts of the Christmas holidays because you're an ... orphan. I'm not sure if you know this, but I too lost my parents... I was a bit older than you are now though. Do you remember your parents, at all?" Zoe realised that this was not a jolly conversation, but she was most definitely heading somewhere.
"I ... I was wondering if ... if I were able to arrange it, if us two orphans could become ... a family? I've been in contact with your orphanage and... well I have a two bedroom flat and I'm not the richest witch in England but you'd have your own room and... well. Erm, I'm not doing this very well. I was wondering if you'd be open to ... adoption?" Zoe's smile was soft and uncertain... goodness she was more nervous than Nelly.
Post by ALEXANDER GREENAWAY on Sept 10, 2019 8:01:15 GMT
Was it really that weird not to like gravy? Immediately, Alex glanced down, picking at a thread on his way too oversized, hand-me-down jumper. 'You'll grow into it,' the workers at the group home had said. Alex hadn't put on a smidgen of weight this year, nor had he grown any taller, and so he sincerely doubted he'd grow into a jumper that was about three times too big for him. "Do, uh... Australians like gravy too?" he asked.
Alex was shaking his head adamantly a moment later as Professor Savage said she was tempted to cry, the fact that she was just joking going over his head. "I never know where to put my hands when I give hugs - er, not that I hug people often, I just... I don't think that..." His voice went quiet as Professor Savage went onto explain that sometimes a 'hug is all anyone needs,' pondering on her words. He wasn't too sure about that... maybe he hadn't been hugged enough, but when his short embrace with Skylar had lasted, it had been nice before Alex had decided to mess it all up. "I suppose... I... I dunno, I don't get hugged often either. I just don't - people don't really talk to me, and strangers don't really want to hug strangers..."
The subject about Alex being an orphan was brought up so swiftly that it was almost like a punch in the gut, especially since it was Christmas, but then it was like where he'd been hit was soothed immediately because Professor Savage revealed that... "You're an orphan too? But you're so happy," he said, gobsmacked. He couldn't fathom such a thing, being without a family and... he couldn't remember the last time he'd felt truly happy. It was an odd concept to him. Glancing up, Alex's brow furrowed as he said, "I... no, not much. I was only really... really young. I remember little things they did when they were alive... or at least, things I think they did, like dad ruffling my hair and... and mum readjusting her glasses. I have a photo but it's a bit singed from... well, you know... do you remember your parents? Did they die when you were young?"
If Alex had a glass in his hand, it would have surely shattered in that moment, as Professor Savage proposed that they become a family. Like it was that simple, like... like she actually wanted him, and Alex's gobsmacked expression increased tenfold. "I... but, Professor, I'm not... I don't... you don't even know me that well. What if I was an axe murderer?" As soon as the words escaped him, Alex regretted them because, well, if she'd been serious about adopting him before, maybe he'd just messed things up by saying something as stupid as that.
"Ohhhh well, growing up it was an asbolute treat to have chips 'n' gravy. I used to hate it though when the ladies serving it smothered the chips in gravy, so I had to ask them for it on the side. Otherwise the chips just changed to mush," Zoe sighed, heavy with pleasant memories. "I guess I shouldn't generalise buttttttt I don't think I've ever come across an Australian that didn't like gravy." From the corner of her eye, she could see how Alex fiddled with his jumper, but the professor in her kept a careful eye on the rest of the students around them.
"Oh God, yes you're right. It's always an awkward thing especially if people have different hugging styles that don't mesh that first time at least. There is the whole... arms over the shoulder, one arm over the shoulder and one nearer the waist, then there's both around the waist.... Honestly, it's a logistical nightmare sometimes," Zoe agreed, nodding her head as she put another bite of turkey into her gob, a small trickle of gloopy gravy missing her lips, unfortunately. With an expert tongue, the professor licked the side of her mouth clear of the errant gravy. "Oh, don't worry. You're still young, plenty of time to get your masters in hugging. I'm sure Almir would be most happy to mentor you, he's a great hugger. Almost better than I," Zoe said with a cheeky smile. She still hadn't had confirmation on that - she'd not arranged the hugging competition that Jack had suggested yet.
Zoe nodded as Alex asked if she really was an orphan as well. But you're so happy, those words almost made Zoe's heart break and it was all that she could do to keep herself from wrapping her arm around the young man's shoulders in a one-armed hug. In the year directly after losing her family... Zoe'd been a mess. She still was, in many ways, but she'd been lucky enough in life to ... be happy. She owed it to her family, really. She stayed quiet for a moment as Alex answered about his parents and slowly reached a gentle hand to place on the boy's forearm for emotional support. The witch knew, after all, how hard it was to talk about such loss. "That must be very hard, not having much memory of them," she empathised, her bright eyes a little shiny from sadness for the boy.
"Well... two weeks into my final year at school in Australia, a huge wildfire swept through our state. My family owned a small farm right in the path of the fire and... not many people in my town survived. I lost my mother, father and baby brother... plus our family dog, that day," Zoe said with a heavy sigh. "So I have a lot of happy memories of my family. Christmas is a hard time... we'd all have a barbecue in the backyard in the pool with mates around," the young woman really didn't like getting into this kind of thing because it... brought up emotions that she didn't like dealing with, but she felt it was absolutely necessary to share with Alex. Hopefully this way the poor, sad boy knew... it'd get better. "I'd just turned 18, literally that week. I can only imagine what my life would've been like if I'd had to go into care... in some ways, I guess that I was lucky in that respect."
The reaction to Zoe's question was... well she had no idea what she was expecting, really. It was completely foreign territory for her and it was such a huge bomb that she'd just laid on him. Still, for a moment Zoe chewed on her bottom lip while she waited for the reply. Axe murderer! Zoe let out an easy laugh as the boy used that as an excuse and squeezed the boy's forearm gently. "Well, I guess it's a good thing I don't own an axe then, huh?" the witch said good-humouredly, adding, "I know that you're a very sweet boy, a muggleborn like me and you've lived years without a family... like me. It's ok if you want time to think about it, I promise I've thought through this offer and I'm not going anywhere."
It was time. That one special day of the year. The Gryffindor Prince was preparing his grand entrance for his birthday party. How lovely of them to organize such a grand feast every year. He truly felt appreciated. Some people acted like they hated him but he knew deep down everyone loved him. People just had different ways of expressing their love.
Well today he’d return a little of that love. Reginald was dressed in a special white suit with silver details. On his back was a pair of pure white wings that were enchanted with the same charm that kept brooms in the air. When he entered the Great Hall, the white and silver confetti cannons he had hidden went off. Like a true angel he descended down to join the mortals. “I’ll skip the fancy talk because I’m starving but I left you all a little gift,” he winked at the crowd and settled among the other students. With a snap of his fingers tiny boxes appeared in front of everyone who stayed at Hogwarts for the holidays, including the staff. Yes, everyone would definitely love him after this. He even put thought in this! -open to interact with-
Inside the box is a gemstone matching their birth month. Aside the gemstone there is a picture of Reginald blowing a kiss. On the picture a little note was written.
Dear servant,
Thank you for another lovely year. Keep up the good work.
Post by ALEXANDER GREENAWAY on Sept 13, 2019 13:02:41 GMT
Professor Savage was talking about chips and gravy and... if Alex was being frank, he'd have to say that he started tuning out because he wasn't really that interested in gravy even if he'd asked a question about it. But as she kept talking about it, he had to wonder... were all Australians this passionate about their condiments? Did they feel this strongly about mustard and sauce too? Or was it just restricted to brown goop? He didn't know, but he didn't dare ask.
"Er... do... do you hug... where do you put your hands? Do you hug a lot of people? You look like you're a hugger, I dunno if... you look like you're just one of those people kinda like... Sarah Connor from The Terminator movies," Alex said, before squinting because well... was that a weird comparison? Maybe. She did kind of look like her minus the bad 80s haircut. But then Professor Savage was saying maybe he could get mentored in hugging by Almir the... wasn't that the Care of Magical Creatures Professor? The one that made Alex want to swallow his own tongue and... and... well, in jealousy, of course. That's the only reason why he wanted to swallow his tongue around the Professor. He just wished he had muscles that big. "I... no, that's okay. I'll... leave the hugging between you and Professor... uh... what... what's his last name again? I only hear people call him Almir."
Alex's first instinct was to flinch away from the touch and he did until he realised... that it was only Professor Savage, and he knew that she wouldn't hurt him. He was just so used to not being touched, especially not in a way that was comforting and not... not a punch to the arm, or anything sinister. "I... um... sometimes it feels like... like they're fading away. I don't want them to fade away," Alex said quietly, avoiding Professor Savage's eyes as soon as he saw the way they shone. The last time he'd dealt with tears... well, it didn't end well, although he really doubted he'd be dumb enough to plant one on Professor Savage.
As Professor Savage explained what had happened to her own family, Alex grew quiet, sadness blooming into his chest because he had no real recollection of his family and it hurt a lot. But to be in your late teens with years of memories and happy times and then have them suddenly ripped away from you? It would be devastating and Alex's other hand was reaching up, resting over the one on she had placed on his arm, and... yeah, it would be weird if another student noticed but... he needed to do something. "It must be really hard," he said softly. "Were... do you have cousins or an... an aunt or... I'm... I don't know what to say, but I want... losing parents is hard. I think it's harder than most people realise it... it can be. I don't think anyone can understand how much it hurts until you go through it."
"That's good because I've never used a tool before in my life," Alex admitted, letting out a tentative laugh as Professor Savage joked about not owning any tools in the first place. But then the compliment that he was a 'sweet boy' washed over him, and a frown tugged at his lips because... she wouldn't think that once she got to know him, would she? "I... I'm not always... I don't want you to regret this when you... I'm not a normal person. I... don't - I'm not perfect or sweet or..."
