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!
Alexander stared blankly at the sausages on his plate; a frown etched into his usually cheerful face. His cutlery scratched and scraped loudly on the plate below, his movements imprecise and distracted. The Great Hall sky rained above his head, reflecting his moody disposition, and worsening his mood with the thought that he'd be doing patrols and discovering puddles for most of the night. He cast a look around the table, looking for the boy he'd been trying to pin down for the past week- Alexander Greenaway. There was no sign of hide or hair from the other Alex, so Alexander let his fork clatter onto the table, a deep scowl on his face. He glared towards his fellow prefect, young Nico who shared a dorm with Alex. "Where's Alex? Where is he hiding?" The kid looked terrified, and for a moment, Alex felt guilty until he got the answer. The Kitchens. Behind the pear painting. He gave a constipated sounding "thanks," before stepping over the bench and heading towards the massive doors.
He could barely contend with the hurt that was brewing in his gut. He couldn't believe that Alex was skipping meals in the hall just to ignore him- for doing what Alexander was best for his health! It was outrageous to him that this grudge had been held for so long, and it upset him. He missed Alex's company and sweet comments and his cute little face. At first, he'd been upset that his actions had been misconstrued, then guilty because his actions had hurt the younger Ravenclaw...and then it had simmered until he was angry. At himself, at the situation and that Alex was still upset at him.
His mood was as stormy as the weather outside, and he tried to talk himself down as he lightly stepped down the stairs. His sharp blue eyes fixed on the portrait that he'd just been informed about, rushing towards to it and tickling the pear. As the door to the kitchens swung open, he tried to relax his shoulders and stepped inside. His scowl was a lost cause, but he attempted not to tense up again as he saw the boy that he'd been tracking down for the past few weeks.
"Alexander. Hi." He forced himself to speak calmly, although his eyes were anything but. He was supposed to be here to apologise, not yell at Alex. He had to repeat that to himself a few times to try and lighten the scowl into something resembling a frown instead. "I've been hoping I could talk to you, but you've been making that super hard." He licked his lips; mouth suddenly dry as the anger bled out and was replaced by a wave of shame.
If Alex was being 100%, completely truthful, then he would have to say that this first week back had been hard. He knew seeing Xander was going to be tough - and it was, it felt like an arrow had soared through the air and stabbed him in the back, every time he saw the guy - but... the arrival of the Durmstrang students? It had made things even more difficult.
Ever since a handful of them had discovered he was a muggleborn and the adopted kid of a professor who taught Muggle Studies, they had been making his life a living hell in 'minor' ways. It had started with the snide comments, the little jabs about his blood. Then it had progressed to them 'accidentally' stepping in front of him in the corridors, just wanting to 'talk' before letting him go with raucous laughter trailing behind him. Their latest 'trick' had been at lunch time when they'd knocked a glass of water onto his plate, his lap and all over the History of Magic book he'd been reading.
It was the last incident that had driven Alex to resolutely refusing to go to the rest of his classes, bee-lining straight for the dormitories with a quickly muttered excuse to O'Connor that he had a really bad migraine and so he couldn't make it to DADA. He'd spent the afternoon curled up in bed, a comic clutched his hand, and when Nico had told him it was time for dinner, Alex had muttered a, "I don't... I don't feel like eating with everyone. It's loud and my head hurts too much. I'll just grab dinner from the kitchens.'
Apparently he'd needed to add to Nico 'please don't tell anyone,' because as Alex left the kitchens with a stack of sandwiches balanced on a plate, he came face to face with a very irked looking Xander who bore a scowl that could rival Wolverine's. Shit. Eyes darting around the corridors, he wondered if maybe he could make a run for it, sandwiches and all, but then Xander began speaking and there was no such chance.
As Xander began mentioning the fact that Alex had been actively steering clear of him, a frown tugged at his lips and for a moment, guilt threatened to wash over him. But... he had nothing to feel guilty for, did he? He wasn't the one who'd messed this friendship up. Xander had. The moment he'd decided to share his secrets with Zoe. Diverting his eyes to his plate of sandwiches, Alex mumbled, "Yeah, uh... that's kind of the point. Wasn't exactly going to make things easy when I don't want to talk to you." .
"Well, you don't get to decide that alone. It's not fair." He snapped immediately, his eyes widening as he took a step back. No, this was counterproductive. "No, I didn't mean it like that." Alexander swallowed, cotton-mouthed. He opened his mouth a few times, only to close just as many times. Alex wasn't just avoiding him because he was hurt, but he didn't want to talk to Alexander, at all. The prefect had given Alex space for the first two weeks because he thought he'd hurt him- he didn't realise that the younger boy didn't even want to see him or hear from him or talk to him..
"I- I want to talk to you." His voice was rough, and he removed his intense gaze from Alex and onto the stone. He ran a hand through his hand, pulling a little too hard as if to ground himself. "I didn't realise that you didn't want us to be friends anymore." His jaw clenched, and suddenly he couldn't force himself to look at the other Alex. His chest hurt, a tremulous mixture of guilt and anger pounding. His breath was a little short, his head spinning a little. He'd been waiting a while even to have the change to talk to Alex.
"I was just looking out for you. I can't be there all the time, and you trusted Zoe, right? I don't see how I'm in the wrong for trying to keep you safe. I can't believe you don't want to be my friend because I was trying to keep you safe!" It would be an understatement to say that Alexander's month back at Hogwarts had been horrible and this weird dynamic between the two Alex's had been a major factor. "That's why you don't want to talk to me, right? Why you're refusing to fucking eat at the table? Jesus all you had to do was tell me to back off, and I wouldn't have bothered you while you ate! I feel like you're lack of communication has left me with no other choice!" If there was a tremble in his voice, he tried to look strong and ignore it.
He tried to speak again, but his voice failed him. This had been the wrong decision. Alexander supposed that he should have just let it be, but he couldn't deal with the tension. He should have known that the younger boy had only befriended Alexander because he'd forced his friendship onto him. Alex didn't need Xander, so when he'd upset the boy, he'd been ignored and cast aside after one mistake.
The brusque way Xander snapped at Alex immediately had him recoiling like he'd just encountered a python, reflexively taking a step back. Whilst he knew that Xander would never, ever lay a hand on him... so many one-sided arguments in the group home had prepared him for the worst. Hell, plenty in Hogwarts had. More than once, he'd found himself pinned up against a wall with an arm slammed across his jugular, fear coursing it's way through his veins. Swallowing back the urge to just brush past Xander and leave, it took Alex a moment to muster up the courage to say, "Look, I - I can choose who I can and can't talk to, and I did that."
Xander's voice was rough like gravel, and the emotions that played on his face had guilt swelling up inside of Alex, much stronger than the small crashing wave of it he had felt before. It was getting harder and harder to ignore, and mirroring Xander's actions, he dragged a hand through his own hair before shaking his head as the older boy tried to justify and excuse what he'd done. It just wasn't... it didn't make sense. Xander had thought Alex would what? Just try and dive out of an owlery window again? He wouldn't do that. He had people to talk to now - he had Zoe, and he'd thought he'd had Xander - and... he was missing the point. "I would have told her. I would have. You didn't give me a chance. You just decided to do it for me," he said quietly, "and it wasn't your place. You just... I thought I could trust you and then you just went behind my back, Alex."
The tangent went on and Xander's voice began to grow louder. Flinching, Alex's spare hand moved from his hair to wrap around his middle, his shoulders drawing inward with every word. He didn't like to be yelled at and desperately, he wanted to find his voice, to answer every question Xander threw his way, but his words were lodged in his throat until Xander stopped speaking. Weakly, his voice trembling and tears prickling in his eyes, he said, "Stop shouting at me." It took a few moments to find strength before he tackled what Xander had been saying. "I'm not... it's not about you. I'm not eating because... because... there's just - there's other reasons that don't involve you." .
Alex was right; he did have a choice about who he spoke to but oh how Alexander wished it was him who he'd choose. He forced his mouth closed as he tried to listen to what the other Alex was saying, but when the prefect was accused of talking behind the younger's boy's back- he couldn't help it. "What? Is that what you think it was? How would I know you would tell Zoe? You don't even talk about it to me, and I was there! I saw-" He cut off, and screwed his eyes shut. His hands clutched his face, and he blinked back the tears. Those first few moments, when he'd seen Alex in the owlery... They'd felt like years and also milliseconds as he'd scrambled with what to do or say. Over and over he'd been plagued with nightmares where he hadn't been there in time.
These ideas swirled around his head but were unable to form into cohesive sentences. "I don't believe you. I'd trust you with my own life but not your own. I'm so scared of losing you, and I wanted you to be safe." His eyes were welling up with unshed tears, especially as he realised that yelling...yelling had made everything worse. Alex was scared of him, cowering in the corner because Alexander couldn't get his words out in a productive way. He barely heard Alex admitting that he wasn't avoiding the Great Hall because of him and he felt a wave of relief rush across him, and then guilt hit him in the gut. Since, in the other Alex's mind, they were no longer friends, he supposed he had no leg to stand on when inquiring into his life. At that thought, the tears started rolling down his cheek, and he had to turn himself away, closing himself off from the younger Alex and hoping he didn't notice.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry for yelling. I'm just...scared and angry and upset, okay? I would never go behind your back. Telling Zoe was so we could have your back and help you and support you." His voice was low, sombre and almost too soft from one extreme to the other. "I just want everything to be okay. I miss you."
Alex's head was reeling as Xander started asking him question after question and for such a smart guy, how did the older boy not realise that's why he was upset? But then he was asking why he didn't talk about that night and Alex's eyes that had welled up with tears started to spill, tears rolling down his cheeks, because... "That was the worst night of my life. Why... why would I want to relive it?" he choked out. Every time he thought about it - which was most nights, to be honest - he was flooded with the memories of just how alone and sad and broken he felt before climbing up onto the window sill. If he felt like that when he replayed the events it in his mind, speaking about that night... it seemed unbearable. "You could have asked me if I was going to talk about it, Alex. But... but you didn't. You just... you just assumed I was too weak to do it myself and maybe I am weak, but I would have founbd a way... you didn't have the right to just do it for me."
The plate Alex was still balancing in one hand came crashing down onto the concrete floor with a clatter at the weight of what Xander said next. He didn't trust him to not try and kill himself again? He was scared of losing him? He wanted to be safe? It was all too much and both of Alex's hands swiped at the tears on his cheeks, before he pushed the palms against his eyes as if to try and plug the rest from escaping. "I... I'm not going to - you - I... I'm not..." It was hard to speak and he shook his head. "I... only tried once. One time." He wanted to say 'I wouldn't try to do it again' but... that was a lie, wasn't it? Some days, he felt so miserable, so hopeless, that the thought crossed his mind.
"You don't - you did go behind my back though," Alex said softly, dropping his hands from his red-rimmed, watery eyes. Even though he claimed he'd had the best intentions at heart, Xander had still done that. He'd still crossed a line. He still should have talked to him first. "Why can't you just... why can't you just say you should have asked me and that you're sorry?" It would make it so much easier to forgive him, and God knew, Alex wanted to. He didn't like feeling this way towards the closest friend he'd ever had. Xander just needed to apologise for what he'd done. That's all it would take before they could start slowly mending things.
Alex thought that he'd stopped crying, that he'd managed to keep the tears away with the heels of his palms, but then the words 'I miss you' came tumbling out of Xander's mouth and a choked noise tore from his throat before he could stop it. "I miss you too." Please just say you're sorry.
He spun around as the plate fell onto the floor, his breath caught in his throat at the sudden noise. "I wouldn't have done it if I thought I could do it any other way, Alex, please. I couldn't keep it to myself anymore; please understand." The prefect begged Alex to understand with his eyes. Xander wished he could impress the reason behind the betrayal of trust; Xander hadn't done it to hurt, he'd done it because he was trying to help.
Alexander had so many words to say, they all wanted to come tumbling out of his mouth at once. He wanted to say that the other Alex wasn't weak; the fact that Alex was still around showed how strong he was. Xander wanted to admit that he felt small and helpless and couldn't deal with the knowledge he could lose Alex at any point alone anymore. Xander didn't, and couldn't, believe that Alex would never try it again, even if things seemed on the surface level to be going well. He couldn't let himself slip into a false sense of security when Xander was the only who knew, so he'd taken steps to make it easier on himself. He'd never imagined Alex would be so upset, on some level he thought that the younger boy might be grateful that he didn't have to tell Zoe.
He approached the mess on the floor, crouching down to vanish both the sandwiches and the cracked plate. He looked up to see Alex's tears and hear his soft response to Alexander's confession to missing him. The noise that had escaped the other boy made his heart ache with guilt and longing as he scrunched up his face again, trying to collect himself. The younger Ravenclaw was telling Alexander that not all was lost, that all he had to do was apologise. By admitting that he missed Alexander, Alex had admitted to possibly being open to fixing this, right? And it wasn't too hard to admit that he felt guilty, he knew that despite his intentions coming from a place of love and fear, he'd overstepped boundaries.
"I'm sorry that I spoke to Zoe without your consent." His voice was quiet and honest. He slipped his wand away again and wiped his eyes. "Please?" He asked, unsure of what he was asking. As he looked over to the other boy, he thought that maybe he was asking for forgiveness, or for Alex to stop crying, or even a hug. He wanted all of those things.
I couldn't keep it to myself anymore. Alex understood that. He did. But... he just wished that Xander had kept it to himself a little longer, or at least given him the chance to tell Zoe first. If either of those things had happened, then their friendship wouldn't have had to turn sour in the first place. Alex wouldn't have to be angry and upset at his closest friend. They'd had a good thing going, right? He just... he wished it could have lasted longer.
But maybe, just maybe, things weren't completely over between the two of them because as Xander took on the role of mum, dealing with the sandwiches Alex had so carelessly dropped, he was quiet for a long time before he finally said the two words Alex had so sorely wanted to hear: I'm sorry.
It wasn't a magical fix. They weren't back to the place that they had been before. After everything that transpired over the last few months... it would take time. But it was enough to make Alex forgive him. The vice grip the hand in his chest had around his heart loosened, driving him to his own knees in front of Xander. The expression the other boy wore, pleading and vulnerable, made him swallow hard. He didn't like seeing Xander feeling that way, especially because of him
"I forgive you," he told him, voice tight as a sniffle escaped him. The tears had made a reappearance but this time, he didn't care enough to stop them. Last time he'd been crying because he was angry and hurt, this time he was just... relieved. He was so glad that this was over, that he didn't have to harbour ill feelings towards Xander any more. He could be friends with him again. Every time he looked over at him the table and wanted to chat, he didn't have to bite his tongue. He could just... do it. It was okay now.
Normally, Alex didn't like to touch people, but he didn't hesitate this time as he reached out, wrapping his arms around Xander and burying his head into the soft material of his school shirt. "I'm sorry too," he mumbled against the warmth of his shoulder. "And... I - this dinner. I wasn't avoiding seeing you. I promise. It's - it's... there's just other people I don't want to see."
Alexander couldn't stop the torrent of relieved tears from his eyes, right after he'd wiped them away. He was so relieved; he was so grateful, he couldn't help the unattractive snivelling sounds that escaped his mouth. They could work this out; not all was lost. Alexander had been given another chance. With all his mountainous willpower, he convinced himself not to leap at the boy and squeeze him tight. There was a lot of broken trust strewn across the hallway tonight, and Xander knew that Alex struggled with his personal space being invaded. Would the prefect standing up for a hug appear threatening?
It turned out that Alexander needn't worry, as he was enveloped with the warmth of Alex's arms. He relaxed into the taller boy's embrace, wrapping his own arms around Alex and sinking his head into his shoulder. "I'm just glad you're here." He had a thousand questions, so many words he hadn't been able to say to Alex in passing that clamoured in his head. Most of all, he wanted to know why Alex hadn't been at dinner, but these apologies were fresh and new. His overstepping of boundaries had gotten him trouble in the first place, but he couldn't help himself, "Are you safe?" or was he avoiding other prying Ravenclaws.
He pulled back a little, having stemmed his tears in the other Alex's school robes, and took a good look at Alexander Greenaway. He reached his hand up to grasp Alex's chin in his hand, his big blue eyes searching. "Look us pair." He murmured softly, imagining for a moment that someone would be quite surprised to find them sitting in the hallway, crying. "Why don't you show me the kitchen and we can cook up something nutritious for dinner? I can make a mean chicken Ceasar salad." He couldn't will himself to stand up yet, finding comfort in the touch of the other Alex. The mending had begun with, and he knew getting up wouldn't break anything between them, he was nervous nonetheless.
It was a complete cliche, one that Alex often rolled his eyes about when he read it written in books, but... being embraced in Xander's arms, it felt like coming home. It felt like he was protected from the rest of the world and he'd regained that friend he could tell absolutely anything to... perhaps on cue, Alexander asked a moment later if he was safe and lifting his head, he murmured truthfully, "I... I'm not, um... I'm not going to do anything stupid. There's just - you know, people who are being dicks to me. It's... it's nothing out of the ordinary. I just don't want to be around them."
The feeling of Xander's long fingers grasping his chin, then directing it to look at him, had Alex blinking in surprise because, well, looking into each other's eyes straight after crying was a bit... a lot intense. Usually if he was upset around other people, he tried to duck his head or cover his face with a hoodie because it made him feel embarrassed, weak, vulnerable. Even though he knew Xander wasn't going to judge him on it, given he'd been crying too, his ocean blue gaze made him squirm before finally Alex broke eye contact. "Just two guys, crying in a hall, nothing to see here," he joked weakly.
Even though Xander proposed going to the kitchen, Alex wasn't ready to move yet, nor was he ready to relinquish the hug. It felt too good, comforting, and it had been so long since he'd hugged someone properly beyond Zoe who was cool and all but... also kind of his mum, which made it a little lame too. "Does, uh... chicken caesar salad require cooking? I mean, eggs, but... they're pretty easy, right?" he asked. Truth be told, he didn't really want anything nutritious, let alone a salad. It was just... very healthy when all he wanted was some comfort food. "Can... can we just make something normal? Like... sandwiches or noodles or something?"
Alexander's frown resumed the scowl from earlier before, however it stemmed from the immediate urge to wrap Alex in blankets and seal him from the rest of the world. "It's those Durmstrange kids, right? That sibling pair? Have you told-." He cut himself off, wincing away and withdrawing his hands. Xander had just apologised to the younger boy, he was unlikely to be receptive to any kind of advice. "Sorry, I'll let it go." The prefect really didn't want to, he but couldn't assume that they were back to normal, especially when he could still see tears in Alex's eyes.
His jaw relaxed and he gave a cursory glance around, still holding onto the younger Ravenclaw. "I'd hex them if they say anything." Alexander grumped, unable to help himself from burying his face into Alex's robes, pulling him in for another gentle squeeze before he let go and stood up. He raised an eyebrow at Alex's insistence that they eat something normal and shrugged. Maybe Alex had never had chicken ceasar salad, or perhaps he was after some kind of comfort food. Alexander's breathing was still a little uneven after crying, but he was trying to push past the negative thoughts that swarmed like bees inside his head.
Xander bit his lip, shaking his head. "Sandwiches and noodles aren't food. I can also make stirfry, with noodles I guess? Maybe we can see if the house elves have some surplus of what's at the dinner?" Alexander's mum had encouraged him to cook and learn recipes, but he wasn't amazing at it.
Alex gave a non-committal shrug at Xander's answer. He was half-right, it was the Durmstrang kids, but it wasn't the sibling pair. Neither of them sat with him at the Ravenclaw table, although he was fairly certain the girl, uh, what's-her-name was trying to play at being Catwoman and sink her claws into him the other day. She'd kept flipping her honey blonde hair, touching his arm, and in general, she'd been trying to charm him... or at least that's what it seemed like. She'd let up after a while, clicking her tongue and apologising because she didn't realise he was gay. It had been... bizarre. Just like his conversation with Dio in the hospital had been. Curiously, he asked, "I, uh... know there's no... certain ways to act if you're gay or straight or whatever, but... if there were, do you think I seem gay? Do I give off that vibe? Everyone always thinks I am which... I am, but I dunno why they always just... assume."
A feeling of disappointment gnawed at his stomach as Xander untangled himself from the hug. It had just been so long since he'd had a Xander HugTM, and so to go from the warmth and comfort the older boy's embrace provided to... nothing left him longing, just a little bit. It would be weird to reach out and grab Xander's hand, or to touch him in so other way, so he'd have to just put up with it. Climbing off the ground, he shot him a small smile. "You really are, Ironman. Protecting people," he said, shoving his hands into the pockets of his baggy jumper lest he do something stupid.
Alex blinked at Xander as he proclaimed that sandwiches and noodles weren't food because, "Uh... if... they're not food then what are they?" That made no sense. Maybe Xander had been hit with a confusion spell. He'd know for sure if he suddenly started announcing that Darth Vader was the good guy. He didn't exactly want stirfry either, but... it sounded better than salad or any of the healthy food Zoe had cooked him during the holidays. "Maybe they have some mash potatoes and... sausages, or something." With that, Alex started to lead Xander to the kitchens.
