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!
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 Jul 20, 2019 16:02:31 GMT
With her field of vision as dark as the blackest paint on Earth, Isobel felt like the sound of everything going on seemed to be heightened. The crashes, the screams, people whispering to those next to them and shouting to those across the hall. She could hear the sound of incantations being cast throughout the room, but could see none of the jets of light she would be expecting. Complete darkness. And through all of it, Isobel stayed still, thinking that her limbs wouldn't work even if she wanted them to. Though she knew that Apparition wouldn't work inside the castle even if she did already have her license, she closed her eyes, willing herself to be out of the room, for it all to be just a nightmare.
She heard Wolfgang's voice say something, cutting through the noise next to her, right before she felt something pull her sharply backwards, making her fall fully to the ground, a cold and sticky liquid beginning to stick to her legs and seep into the fabric of her dress. Instinctively, with no wand to defend herself, she lashed out, her hand flying up and her nails digging deeply into the first flesh she found. It was a jaw, she could tell by the bone, though she was in no state to figure out whose it was--only that being grabbed made her panic. Was it Wolfgang's face? One of the attackers'? She let go as soon as she was free of anyone holding her, only to realize she'd lost Wolfgang somewhere in the darkness.
His voice, at least, was recognizable, coming from somewhere to her right, and she crawled toward it, reaching out blindly in front of her. She hoped her hand would land somewhere safe like his shoulder--this was not the time for other things, as much as she had wanted that just a few minutes ago. Finally, his hand found hers, or at least she hoped it was his hand, since it was squeezing hers, something that she wanted to be comforting. When she heard his voice come from in front of her, she breathed a sigh of relief. Someone with a wand who would be sure to protect her.
"Where's the edge of the table?" she asked, speaking for the first time since the room had gone dark, her voice sounding far shakier than she had intended as her hands reached out again, touching only air.
Ollie was feeling really good. She was going to dance with the cutest boy she ever met that wasn't her brother and soon she would need her brother or sister to dance with her too. Ollie was lost in the moment that she didn't even see her best friend or brother right now. She moved to the tree while looking around. "Want to dance here? The tree is beautiful isn't it?" she asked Gabriel and gave him one of her bright smiles.
It was then the sound of shouting and Ollie didn't really felt like there was time to process for herself because one minute she was looking at Gabriel and the next chaos was created and she let go of her date to look for David or Parker. "No no my brother.." she said and was about to walk off when the tree collapsed on top of her. There was a yelp of pain coming from her lips as her body and mostly her arm got stuck.
She could've sworn she felt something break and cried out loud. "Ow get it off!" she screamed and then the lights were gone and nothing but darkness had befallen her. There were screams, shouts and Ollie cried. "No no! Gabriel! Parker! David! Anyone!" she cried and tugged at her arm without much luck.
She felt feet hitting her body, people were panicking.
Post by WOLFGANG KALLENBACH on Jul 20, 2019 16:45:56 GMT
He'd gripped someone in the dark and pulled them towards himself. He'd hoped it was Isobel, but the claws that dug into the bottom of his jaw, piercing his skin made his blood freeze in his veins. Was he tugging a werewolf by its whiskers this whole time?
The pain of the nails lacerating his skin made him scream. Unceremoniously, with no attempts to save face, he screamed in pain, his voice breaking in the process. At the same time he stumbled backwards, crashing against the side of the table, wincing in pain once again. Pain, pain all over, he couldn't breathe, hands shaking, need to get the table over--
Now something was tugging on his leg. He was about to kick whatever it was right in the assumed gut, when he heard Isobel's voice beneath him. She was tugging at his pants, albeit not in the way they both enjoyed. He reached down, taking her cold hand in his and pulled her up, sliding his free hand by her arm, up to her shoulder and down the side of her body, wrapping his arm around her waist so they wouldn't lose each other again.
"It's right here." he muttered, moving both of them forward until they bumped into the table. A few steps later he let her go for a brief moment to find the edge.
Slippery and wet, yet solid wood.
"Here. Push." he said before pushing the table with both hands. Together they pushed it over and with a deafening thud and clatter of dishes the massive oak table fell to its side. Wolfgang hoped it would protect them, though wood was nothing against curses.
As he got on his knees and instructed Isobel do the same, he became acutely aware of the hot, sticky blood flowing down his neck and face. If a werewolf had clawed him, it would be the end of Wolfgang Kallenbach.
The thought terrified him. His breathing, unsteady as it was, became even more ragged, his throat clenched up and--
He fell, face first, into the stone floor. Everything was silent and calm for the first time in that evening.
all i really want is to be wonderful/people in this town, they can be so cruel
143 posts
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Post by ISOBEL LINWOOD on Jul 20, 2019 17:41:48 GMT
The table crashed to the ground in front of them, and Isobel winced, hoping it hadn't hit anyone else in the darkness on its way down. If the Christmas tree had hit people in the light, who's to say the table wouldn't be even worse in the dark? But no screams were heard directly next to the table, and Isobel took that to mean it was fine. She ducked down next to Wolfgang, not letting go of his hand, pressing herself against the bottom of the table so as not to lose its protection as well. Her dress was wet and had almost certainly ripped in the confusion, but at least she didn't seem to be hurt.
If only she could say the same for Wolfgang, who had swayed on his knees next to her before his hand went limp in hers and she felt him hit the floor next to her legs. "Are you alright?" she whispered, letting go of his hand to pat all over his body, looking for his face. "Wolfgang? Did you faint?" The falling forward should have answered that for her, but she still held hope that he would answer and stop the panic that was rising in her once more.
When she had patted all over his shirt, finally figuring out where his shoulders were, and touched his neck, she noticed what must have been the problem: her fingers touched sticky blood, likely from something hitting him--the ice sculpture must have exploded harder than she'd thought. She started to push him over on his side, amazed at just how heavy he was when passed out--he never seemed to weigh a ton when he was up and walking around.
"Someone help me!" she hissed out, turning her head in every direction even though she had no idea who might be there. "Wolfgang's hurt, he's passed out. I don't have my wand!"
Post by ALEXANDER GREENAWAY on Jul 21, 2019 5:24:53 GMT
A small smile, albeit a very... awkward one (really, what else was knew?), crossed Alex's lips as the older boy said it was a 'sweet thought.' "Oh, that's... okay, cool. I, uh... so d'you have a girlfriend or something?" he asked, trying his very damnedest to sound casual about the whole question. Just a, uh... bro asking a bro, right? Nothing weird about it, even though his stomach currently felt like waves crashing into a shore over and over again. The next words out of Xander's mouth, had Alex's cheeks flushing with a little colour and in an instant, he was back to tugging at his sleeves. It was such a nice sentiment and his very first instinct was to believe it was an empty one but... Xander wouldn't lie, right? Say that he was glad Alex was here when he wasn't? "I... thanks for bringing me. I would've just read Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy for the thousandth time tonight otherwise, I reckon. Something about, er... Arthur Dent really does it for me." Bloody hell. Shit. Why had he said that? That sounded... bad. Really bad, in fact. "Er, reading about his adventures with... with aliens and stuff does it - in a not weird, uh... not weird way. I just like the books. Not the stuff he does with aliens. Which is... it's totally platonic, I swear."
In the next few seconds that transpired, Alex was called Aragorn. Aragorn? What the... on earth was that? Never in a million quizzes that Alex had taken, had he once received a result that said he was Aragorn. No way. Then he coughed out a laugh as 'height standards' left Xander's mouth because Merlin, yeah, okay. That was about the only thing he and Aragorn had in common. "I, uh... well, Gimli's better than me comparing you to someone like... Gollum," he muttered, before following Xander's hand that was waving rather enthusiastically at a bunch of people.
A moment later, Xander's eyes were burning holes in his face after he said that... the thing about liking boobs and then Xander came out with the very last thing Alex expected. Saying that he... he... Alex nearly choked on his goddamn tongue because he just... "I... oh... that's... congratulations," he said - well, more like breathed as he stared straight at Alex, shock written all over his face. He didn't know what else to say because... he'd never really met another guy so straightforward about liking guys. Wasn't he worried of the consequences? Of somebody cornering him and... and beating the shit out of him for it? Because that's what happened in his group home. He'd seen it. Hell, he'd been slammed against the wall for someone mistakenly thinking he was checking another guy out when he wasn't. He'd only been ten at the time and it'd scared the living daylights out of him. Being gay, where he came from, it wasn't safe. It was just lucky he wasn't.
Before he could try and put what thoughts were rushing through his head into words, he was interrupted by Aggy and Evan. Immediately he grew silent apart from the eye comment, occupying himself with staring at the Christmas tree that gleamed at the back of the hall with ornaments and tinsel. It was huge, and then... the doors slammed and the tree was falling, down down down right on top of some girl. Alex went to move his feet, but it felt like he was frozen to the ground. He couldn't move. "H-HELP HER!" he settled for shouting instead, voice growing several pitches louder than usual as he pointed in the direction of the girl.
Then there was the explosion of ice everywhere and shit, shit, shit. He still couldn't bloody move, his feet just weren't co-operating, and his hand shot out to grab Xander's as a cry for help, hoping that the boy would try and... and tug him somewhere, maybe for cover, but thankfully he didn't have to worry about that because Evan's arms spread wide, serving as protection from the shards of ice. Then the Gryffindor was casting protego and in all honesty, if he could move, he would have hugged the guy or... or at least given him a pat on the shoulder, at the very least.
Post by ARCHIBALD MACKENZIE on Jul 21, 2019 6:12:01 GMT
Why was someone attacking the school? What were they hoping to achieve? What was the point of it? He didn’t understand! Those same thoughts just kept repeating themselves through his mind until Viola’s voice broke through them, though she was simply saying his thoughts out loud. “I haven’t seen Edmund, but I saw Ezra at the Gryffindor Tower earlier when I was dropping some things off to Ainsley.” Vi’s kid brother had been the one to go into and find his sister for him. He could understand her panic - if he hadn’t known that was his baby sister wasn’t here then he would be panicking too. Well, panicking more than he already was.
“We’ll find Edmund…” He promised her, whispering close to her ear. “But we need to keep quiet! The louder we are, the more attention we’ll attract.” After the home invasion when he was nine his parents had been sure to sit himself and Ainsley down and explain to them what to do if they ever found themselves in the same situation again. This was like a huge home invasion - he just hoped he could apply the same rules to it that his parents had taught him. Count to ten, breathe deeply and try to keep calm.
“We should try to hide under a table.” He tried to force the shakiness out of his voice as he felt around the area close by. “Keep hold of my hand or my jacket...we need to crawl and find one…”
This was definitely going to be a talking point at his next therapy session.
Mariah had reached to snack tables and was looking at what was on them until someone walked into the room. The girl heard what was said and she literally dropped the cookie she was holding when she heard the words. She was even more shocked when the lights went out and it was dark. She has never really been a fan of the darkness and there was a pain in her tight. She couldn't tell why since the girl didn't see anything at all. She was so confused about what was happening. She couldn't even really speak up. She was trying to hold her own tears there as always. She didn't wanna cry in front of anyone, this wasn't her. "Help?" she managed to say somehow weakly awhile she tried to grab hold of the table since she wasn't even sure where she should go or do now. Everything around her was such chaos, she couldn't really figure out which way was even exit in this dark room.
She knew that there were people hurt all around her, she heard some others ask for help either for them or their friends. She could even hear some spells going on and some weren't good. She had heard tree even coming down. She hadn't really seen the ice sculptor explode even. She wasn't that close do it but somehow she had managed to get hit by one shard of ice. She had no clue how or why it had happened with her. The girl really wished now that she would have had some company, someone who could help her but everyone seemed to be busy with their friends and noone really was interested in her. There was actually slowly coming a few tears out, the girl didn't even realise it.
Post by JUNAID ZALAYAT on Jul 21, 2019 19:34:54 GMT
Junaid looked at the dancing people, swallowing as he realised he didn’t know the dance moves. He tried to study them, watching the guys so he could do what they were doing. Afterall he had to impress his date. The British way of doing things was a lot harder. Back home your mother found you a suitable wife. This was going to be a challenge. Jun was quite nervous.
The Hufflepuff snapped back when Roxanne spoke. He was relieved she didn’t want to dance. “I’d love that,” he smiled at her, his grey eyes shimmering. Following her decision, Junaid moved to the table where drinks were. Moving through the dancing pairs was almost a dance on it’s own. However they made it safely to the table. “What would you like?” As he looked through the drinks, his eyes fell upon another person who was there. Jun recognized this sour face. In his enthusiasm he didn’t notice anything going on. There was also the headboy whom he greeted with a smile “Grey! Mr. Zalewiski! Roxanne I’d like you to meet-” Until a loud noise erupted from the hall and it went dark.
The Hufflepuff gasped in panic as loud noises and screams echoed around him. A blast had hit them away. With a hitched voice, he crawled over the floor to try to find someone. His hands and knees were bruised and bleeding but he didn’t pay them attention. Finding someone was his main goal now. He found two arms. One with slender hands and one that felt rough. “Guys?” Just what was going on? Hearing the head boy’s voice chanting spells inspired him to get up. His heart was beating fast and his fingers were trembling when he searched for his wand.. He couldn’t find it, after one and a half year he still forgot his wand. Nobody used wands in Uagadou.
“Get behind me and grab your wands,” he said to Roxanne and Greyson. His hands took hold of Roxanne’s, he had to protect her and get her out safely. Greyson too but the Gryffindor wasn’t the type to hold hands. So he’d have to shield him with his body. Even if he was terrified and on the verge of a panic attack, Jun would try to protect them. He was sure Emil could also fight, the head boy was a year older than him. With his free hand he started to channel protection charms around them. The more his fingers trembled the less successful they became. “P-please everyone. S-stay together.” He was cold all over despite the sweat running down his back.
The noises and dark very much reminded him of that day.
Post by AIDEN VALENTINO on Jul 23, 2019 5:02:19 GMT
Che cazzo?! Aiden had warm blood gushing down from his cheek, the shard of ice that had lodged itself in Aiden's flesh quickly ... the smell of blood around him caused quick and sincere panic in the sixth year. Alana. Aiden's eyes just managed to catch sight of her with Kaylie before things went pitch black.
His stomach plummeted as he realised she was too far away for him to grab a hold of - he had no idea where to point his wand now to cast stupefy or anything else and make sure he got his twin. All he could do was lend a hand to the small hands that gripped onto him, scared little voices of first years pulling him back into the present. "Get down. Shut up, if we cannot see them then the cannot see us," he said in a harsh whisper, pulling the littler students down with him. Dio, help Alana.
TAG: ALANA VALENTINO & KAYLIE ROUSSEAU & NPC firsties (or any currently played ones that want to deal with grumble-guts Aiden)
Even if she had put her hand directly in front of her face, Roxanne still wouldn't be able to see it. She knew, because she had just tried, nearly poking her own eyes out in an effort to see anything, anything at all. But no, it was worse than the darkest nights she had ever seen on the Hogwarts grounds (because was there ever real darkness where she lived in Diagon Alley, with all the bright lights of London?) She could hear attempts at Lumos all around, including from the Head Boy who had been nearby when the lights had gone out, but not a single one cut through.
Roxanne knew that there was only one item that could produce such an intense cover.
"Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder," she muttered angrily as she removed her hand from her face and waved it around until it found Jun's once more. "Don't bother with the Wand-Lighting Charm, it'll never work in this." Of all the items that were sold in Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, this one didn't seem like the most troublesome, but Roxanne had grown up around the stuff. She knew just how bad it was, she knew everything that didn't work to dissipate the powder.
What she didn't know was what did.
With the hand that wasn't holding her date's, she extracted her wand from her bag, fumbling with the clasp that she couldn't see, but feeling better once she had the wand in her hand. It may not have been her normal wand hand--that one was being gripped by Jun--but a charm was a charm, no matter which hand, right? "Do you think a Scouring Charm will clean up the powder, or will it not work in the air?" She was doing her best to remain calm, since absolutely nobody else seemed to be.
Every year there was a dance to celebrate the holidays. The past two years his sister would ask him to come too including this year being his second time. Truth be told he would've said no but his twin was nowhere to be found and probably snogging some poor girl while Ed went to do what his sister wanted.. he went to the dance. When he arrived at the great hall wearing a simple black suit without a tie because someone STOLE his tie and was going to complain to Viola about it but he couldn't seem to find her.
Edmund had been searching for his sister but at some point he bumped into different girls and now he just needed to get away from them. He was pretty deep into the great hall and though he was late at the party he should never have come at all. There was shouting and he was being pushed and shoved from left and right. The tree fell not far from his position but he looked away not wanting to see if it hit anyone.
Edmund's stomach was in a twist and now more than ever he needed to find his sister. "Vivi!" he called out but he felt like his voice was a mere whisper. It didn't last long before darkness had fallen over him and Edmund panicked hard. His fear for small spaces was nothing compared with what he felt right now. "Vivi! Vivi I'm scared!" he shouted before hitting the ground and getting kicked in the gut.
"Vivi!" he just wanted his big sister.
TAG: VIOLA ROSALINE , open to whoever can hear him scream.
Sally had been in her element the entire dance, her hands above her head, hips swinging to the beat of the music. It didn't matter that she was dancing alone, because she was on point and taking names. She didn't have to look around to know that she was the dopest person in this whole shindig.
But then suddenly, there room broke into pure chaos. Blood curdling screams reached Sally's ears, making the young Hufflepuff's hands fly up to cover them. What was going on? Sally looked around wildly, trying to catch a glimpse of something to give her a hint. When she saw a boy standing there, wand drawn and watching the tree floor with a glint in her eye, she acted immediately.
Fingers grasped around the wand hiding in the pocket of her blazer and pulling it out, Sally pushed through the throng of people on the dancefloor. "OI! DOUCHEFACE!" she shouted, and no, she was not talking to Cooper Narro this time. As soon as the boy turned to look at her, she aimed her wand at him. "PETRIFICUS -" But she only made it halfway through before she was hit with stupefy and immediately, her entire body went limp, collapsing like a sack of potatoes onto the floor. She was out for the count.
Cooper didn't think this night could get ruined in the slighest, and he wanted to try and have a good time. Even if he knew Toby would love if Cooper got rejected tonight. Not like he would know about it or anything but he let that guy screw with him enough. And as his mind had been in his thoughts, they were soon ruined when the great hall doors opened. And before he knew it they were complete utter darkness, and a huge crash really got into it. The Slytherin turned and he shouted, "Damn first years, trying to ruin our night." he shouted. He couldn't see a thing and he soon heard all sorts of chaos erupt.
The Slytherin was not having it, but before he could do anything. He had heard something behind him, and it caused him to turn and he thought it was someone so he shouted, "Be quiet.", but before he knew it he saw a shot of light come. And everything went black as he had been cast into an ice sculpture. Which shattered unto him as he had laid down numb. Only thing he could feel is a trickle of blood coming down him, but he couldn't even feel the pain. All he could see was black, and he knew he probably wouldn't remember this, as everything had been black.
Post by GABRIEL AVERY on Jul 26, 2019 14:55:29 GMT
"I think you would look fit for dancing in pretty much anything... though this dress tonight shows every inch of the beautiful mature woman you are," he said, brushing a loose strand of her hairdo away from her face and back behind her ear. He let his fingertips lightly brush against her cheek and the flesh on her neck gently as he did so.
"I make it my business to know most of the students," Gabriel replied with a small nod as Ollie asked if he knew Parker's date, Oscar. "Though I thought that they were not... together?" Gabriel paused as they got to the dance floor and gently pulled Ollie into position, placing one hand at the appropriate place between her shoulder blades and their clasped hands to shoulder height.
"Don't worry, that's what I'm here for," he cooed gently to soothe Ollie's worry about not being a dancer. When they'd moved close to the tree, he began their dance properly. "The tree is beautiful; I can see the Christmas lights sparkling in your eyes," he said gently, resisting the urge to pull her into a kiss because he was looking forward to doing that later this evening. He was just giving her a spin when everything turned to shit.
There was a loud bang - something that Gabriel had mistaken as part of The Weird Sister's music until Ollie was pulling away from him and the Hufflepuff was left jaw gaping as suddenly the humungous Christmas Tree began to fall. It was as if it happening in slow motion but also Gabriel couldn't react fast enough. How was that even possible, given he was a very good chaser at Quidditch? Gabriel dived to get the tree off of Ollie but in the confusion he was pushed and he could hear her call out as the entire hall went black.
"I'm here Olivia! Stay still I'm... I can't see what I'm doing... I'm trying to get the tree off you," Gabriel said as he shuffled (so he didn't step on anything like his own girlfriend) to where the tree was. "It's really heavy. Hold on, let me try and levitate..." Gabriel had no idea how to try and do this in the dark. He could only hope that he managed to levitate the tree itself and not... an ornament? "Merlin! Is it ... Olivia? Are you ... is it lifting off you?"
Mark was beginning to like this girl – a lot. There was something about her that made him feel calm, and that he could be himself around her. From the corner of his eyes, he noticed Aiden Valentino send him a glare, and small chills that felt like icy cold water ran down his back as he tried to avoid the Ravenclaw’s piercing eyes. Thank Merlin, he did not interact with them, and Mark continued to dance with Cassidy.
“Are you up for practicing sometime? I am sure you get a hang of the piano quickly since you have played some before.” Mark suggested right before someone stumbled into them.
It was Rowena Vale, but Mark was sure that she had no idea who he was. Nevertheless, he did not express anything but a friendly smile, although a rather wary look as he has never talked with the Gryffindor before. It seemed like she and Cassidy knew one another – at least they were more familiar than she and Mark was.
“Hi!” He replied back politely.
And then it all happened. Mark had not noticed the disturbance at once, but when the sound of students’ screams reached his ears, he moved his head to see what was going on. What the bloody hell? His hand found Cassidy’s for a brief moment before letting go of her. He should never have done that. This was when everything turned black.
Loud bangs and flashes from jinxes and hexes that were thrown around him – one passing by his ear, scratching it badly and leaving it bleed down onto his shoulder. Something huge collapsed and other things exploded. He fumbled around in the dark, first calling the name of Cassidy, then Rowena. However, his voice disappeared among others.
“Bloody f*cking hell! What is going on?” He cursed as he leaned himself against the wall.
Mark could not see anything. He had been following the voices of the professors and tried to walk in the direction of the entrance. Nevertheless, it seemed to be an impossible mission, since he could only move when he saw a flash from a nearby jinx that lit up the nearby area. Right in that moment he noticed that he had placed himself next to a classmate, Damien Cartwright.
Che cazzo?! Aiden had warm blood gushing down from his cheek, the shard of ice that had lodged itself in Aiden's flesh quickly ... the smell of blood around him caused quick and sincere panic in the sixth year. Alana. Aiden's eyes just managed to catch sight of her with Kaylie before things went pitch black. 
Sally had been in her element the entire dance, her hands above her head, hips swinging to the beat of the music. It didn't matter that she was dancing alone, because she was on point and taking names. She didn't have to look around to know that she was the dopest person in this whole shindig. 
"I think you would look fit for dancing in pretty much anything... though this dress tonight shows every inch of the beautiful mature woman you are," he said, brushing a loose strand of her hairdo away from her face and back behind her ear. He let his fingertips lightly brush against her cheek and the flesh on her neck gently as he did so.
Mark was beginning to like this girl – a lot. There was something about her that made him feel calm, and that he could be himself around her. From the corner of his eyes, he noticed Aiden Valentino send him a glare, and small chills that felt like icy cold water ran down his back as he tried to avoid the Ravenclaw’s piercing eyes. Thank Merlin, he did not interact with them, and Mark continued to dance with Cassidy.