Sorcerers Templar #2

Arya was the first to arrive at the second meeting of the Sorcerers Templar. Of course, the leaders were already there. Symon was rearranging the ranks, while Jacob and Finnius were… arranging bouquets?

“Are we having a ball this month, then?” she asked the two playfully.

“Clever, Arya,” Finn joked. “Flores Incarcerous; Renoir’s taught it to you, right?”

“Oh, yes!” she nodded vigorously.

This was one of her favorite spells. She was actually good at it; a bit too good at it - she’d nearly strangled Mirielle in class. Jacob walked over to her as she stood idly twiddling her thumbs.

“Here, you can help,” he said, handing her an orchid. “Just use this spell: multiplico.”

She tried it and the orchid multiplied by a dozen. He smiled and went back to work. Finn was taking each dozen and setting them up on the floor a few feet away from each other. Clearly he was making place marks for people to stand. Arry looked over at the rank board. Marigold had moved up to eighth, and Mira to seventh. Arya was stuck in fifth. On the other list, Seamus moved past Asher to sixth place.

“Welcome to meeting number two,” she heard Finn say at the door.

Adelaine walked with Gavin from dinner down to the dungeons. She hadn’t spoken to Seamus since the party, which was three weeks ago. It had caused a bit of a rift in their group; rather than sitting next to each other at meals, they sat as far away as possible. They were never in the common room at the same time. Basically, when one of them showed up, the other left. It was getting to be impossible.

“Evening, Jacob,” Gavin greeted pleasantly. “Hey, Arry, ready for our duel?!”

He ran over to her, and Adele made a beeline for Marigold. It appeared she was one step closer to joining that guild she’d wanted. It was an all-wizarding guild - she wouldn’t have been able to join a muggle one, being a girl.

“Congrats, Marigold,” she smiled, giving her a quick hug. “Oh, and you moved up in the ranks!”

The list now read as follows:


Adele was rather glad to see that she’d kept her position. She heard Finn greet someone at the door, and saw that it was Seamus. They locked eyes for half a second, then both looked away. Adelaine decided to go chat with Symon so that Seamus could take his turn with the group. Not being friends is so exhausting, she realized, sighing.

Kolby walked into the dungeons with Devan and Mick. The twins were all ready in a bad mood and shoving each other around. No doubt one of them will say something and start a fist fight with each other. Kolby went over to Jacob.

"Mick and Devan are in feisty moods today. Try to keep them apart."he reported. Jacob nodded and rubbed Kolby's head in appreciation. Jasmine, Maria, and Elizabeth came in and reported something to Finn, who got Jacob and went into the hallway. Kolby peeked out between the bars. It was Victoria.

"You're not welcome here."Jacob told her without hesitation.

"Come on, Jacob. I know what I did was wrong. Give me a second chance. I promise to be good."she begged.

"No."Jacob said again without hesitation. Kolby could practically see his heart hardening and his inner Slytherin coming out. A rare side to Jacob. Finnius walked Maria and Rulf into the cellar as Jacob and Victoria talked.

"Come on. At least give me probation status or something."she asked.

"No."Jacob said again.

"Look, I know I hurt your little toy but I don't see why you're so attached to her."she said. Kolby grimaced and shook his head. Victoria had made a wrong move.

"Well, she's not a bawdy esceor like you. Do you realize how ungrateful you are? After everything you've done to her, she still healed you. If it was me, I would have let you bled out and left you to die."Jacob said. Kolby felt his jaw dropped. He's never heard Jacob talk like that to a person. Victoria took a step back from him, a bit in shock.

"Leave and don't come back."he said finally. Finnius walked Victoria to the entrance to the dungeons and Jacob rubbed his hands through his hair and shuttered. He obviously didn't like that side to himself. Kolby knew that Jacob's father, like most Slytherins, was a dark wizard. Maybe he doesn't want to become like his father. Kolby thought.

After composing himself again and a pat on the back from Finn, Jacob went back into the cellar, happy as can be, as if nothing happened. He walked by Kolby and put a finger to his lip. Kolby nodded. He wasn't to talk about it.

Mira hid behind a statue (a desolate looking gargoyle) and listened in on the interaction between Victoria and Jacob. She had never met the Slytherin officially, but he was as frightening as Symon. Shaking it off, she sauntered into the dungeons as though she’d heard nothing.

“Evenin’, Mira,” Finn greeted, coming over to her. “How’s things?”

She smiled politely and headed to the rank board. They hadn’t spoken much since he told her he might not be coming back next year, and she still didn’t know how to process it. It dawned on her that Finnius was really her only close friend at Hogwarts, aside from Seamus and Peyton. She’d never really felt like she fit in with their group; speaking of their group, it seemed to be crumbling awfully fast.

“Glad ye moved up?” Seamus asked, standing beside her. “I’m hopin’ ta work my way up soon, too.”

“I’m assuming we’re doing Renoir’s binding spell?”

“Aye, ye any good at it?” he questioned, hoping to partner up.

“Yes, but, not good at getting them to loosen up,” she admitted sheepishly.

He laughed and shook his head, but Symon quickly quieted the room down.

“Tonight, we’ll be practicing the vine binding spell,” he explained to the hushed crowd. “Flores incarcerous. We’ve set up place marks with bouquets, so partner up - and remember to say finite to undo the binds!”

Kolby partnered up with Mick, hoping to keep him away from Devan so they couldn't fight and so Marigold could practice a bit. The poor girl was always healing others and she never had time to practice herself.

"Flores incarcerous." Mick said. The steams slid over a bit to Kolby and climbed up his leg a bit but then stopped. Kolby sighed and let him keep trying until he finally did it.

"Finite."Mick said, the steams retracting. Kolby pulled out his wand.

"Flores incarcerous."he said. The steams snaked over to Mick and wrapped around Mick's legs but stopped.

"Flores incarcerous."he said again. The steams wrapped around Mick and squeezed him tight. Mick screamed and Kolby let him go.

"Marigold. He's bleeding."Finnius called, taking Mick to the cell across the hall. Kolby shrugged at Marigold, who was grumbling under her breath.

As Arya stood five feet from Gavin, she came across a very strange thought: they should have music playing during these meetings. Really dramatic music. she figured. During puppet shows in the village, they always had a couple musicians strumming and piping tunes to get your heart racing just as the nobleman plunged the tiny 'sword' into the dragon's heart. A bit of that would do these kids some good.

"Ready," Gavin said, signaling for her to go.

"Flores incarcerous!"

The orchids did a top notch job - they fussed together, creating a long vine of flowers, and slithered quickly across the floor. Without hesitation, they roped around Gavin and squeezed tightly until Arry said 'finite'.

"That was, uh, great." Gavin smiled sheepishly, breathing heavy and clutching his neck.

"we can take a break if you like," she offered, grinning.

"No, no, I'm good," he countered, jumping back into a lordly stance. "Flores incarcerous."

His carnations were slower to act. They fused, but didn't seem sturdy, and slid across the floor like a lazy snake, then stopped. Gavin grimaced and tried again. This time, the flowers were slightly faster, and made it up to her knees. Arya laughed while her opponent rolled his eyes.

“Flores incarcerous!”

Symon’s orchid vine slithered at the speed of light, across the floor and around Adele until it reached her shoulders. He stood and looked at her for a moment, smiling rather smugly, and she rolled her eyes.

“Feeling triumphant?” she asked, her circulation cutting off.

“Just a bit, yes,” he laughed, calling off the vines.

“Flores incarcerous!” she shouted, not giving him any warning.

For some reason, her flowers seemed to hesitate every time she attempted the spell. Only for a moment, then they would successfully dart across the floor and wrap around the opponent; but she couldn’t figure out how or why they always paused for a second.

“Lost in thought?” Symon choked.

“Bloody hell,” she gasped. “Finite!”

She had been lost in thought, and her vines had been enclosing tightly around Symon’s neck, working their way up to his head. He doubled over and gasped for air, collapsing on a bench. Adele ran over to him.

“Are you alright?” she asked in a panic.

“Yeah, yeah,” he mumbled, sitting back against the wall. “Rule number one - never break your focus, Adele.”

“Finite,” Seamus said, flicking his wand.

The vine of orchids slithered back to the ground, and Mira clapped lightly. It was his fifth try, and he’d finally gotten it. She hadn’t gone yet, she was too afraid she’d kill him. Last time she’d done this spell, the counter wouldn’t work. It’s like her wand didn’t want to listen to her, and she’d nearly strangled her opponent.

“Ye’re up, Mira,” he smiled encouragingly.

“Erm, maybe you should try again,” she suggested, shuffling her feet.

“Ye won’ hurt me,” Seamus started, bringing his vine back to his side. “Jus’ try it.”

“Okay then,” she agreed, uneasy. “Flores incarcerous.”

The orchids fused together and moved across the floor at a moderate pace. They worked their way up and wrapped around the Ravenclaw, squeezing tightly. Now for the hard part.

“Finite,” she said, with all the concentration she could muster. Nothing happened. “Finite! Finite! Finite!”

The vines had completely covered Seamus, and Mira screamed, not knowing what to do. They’d even wrapped around his head. Symon raced over, wand at the ready.

“Finite!” The deadly vines immediately fell to the floor, Seamus collapsing with them. “Finn, take him to Marigold, he’s unconscious!” Finn ran and levitated the body, rushing across the hall. Symon glared venomously at Mira, too upset for words. She ran out of the cellar, and hid behind the gargoyle statue, crying.

Kolby watched what happened between Mira and Seamus. He watched the girl run away and followed her. She was crying. It really unnerved Kolby to see a girl cry. Girls weren't supposed to cry. They just weren't.

"Hey Mira. It's okay. Seamus is going to be fine."he said, kneeling in front of her and trying to reassure her. He wasn't good at it though. Peyton came over and joined them.

"Hey. Are you alright?"he asked. Kolby rolled his eyes. Of course she wasn't all right. She was crying.

"Don't worry about Seamus. Marigold is working on bringing him back to consciousness right now."Peyton said, reassuringly. Glass bottles shattered in the background and Jacob was yelling at someone for being so clumsy. Peyton just smiled.

"You did great on the spell though."Kolby said.

"Yeah."Peyton agreed. Neither of them were good at reassuring crying girls.

Mira had to break into a smile and laugh watching Kolby and Peyton awkwardly babble along; it was obvious they weren’t used to comforting people. She was grateful for their efforts, though.

“Thanks,” she said quietly, wiping her eyes. “I told Seamus something would go wrong.”

“The lad has faith in his friends,” Peyton nodded, helping her up.

“Will he be alright?”

“According to Symon, yes,” Jacob said, stepping up behind them. “Mira, you’re free to go if you want - it isn’t smart to use magic when your emotions are high.”

He walked away, and she looked at Kolby and Peyton.

“Was that a polite way to tell me to leave?” she questioned, raising an eyebrow.

“Sounded like it,” Peyton said, sincerely. “But who cares? Get back in there, I’ll partner with you.”

“Even after I nearly killed Seamus?”

“I’ve got a better idea - test it out on this statue first,” he grinned. It was the perfect solution.

Adele sat on the bench and watched everyone practice. She looked on curiously as Peyton ran in, grabbed some flowers, and ran back out into the hall. I wonder what that’s about, she thought.

“Seamus will be fine,” Symon assured her, walking over and sitting down. “He’ll be in the hospital for a few days, but Healer Alys has to get his oxygen stream back on track. That Mira nearly suffocated him.”

“It was an accident,” she said, defending the girl. “Mira’s harmless, she’s the kindest person here.”

“Kindness doesn’t matter with magic,” he retorted. “Skill matters.”

She sighed. The spell had pretty much been mastered by the two of them. What was there to do now?

“Isn’t there anything else to -”

“Hold that thought,” Symon interrupted. “I’ve got something for you.”

He stood and walked towards the door, so she jumped up and followed. He took her down the hall and down a short flight of stairs, into an empty, dusty cellar. There were no windows, it was too far below the ground. He lit a torch, and she saw a scuffed up wooden desk and chair, along with a few stacks of books and parchment.

“It’s the only place I can think,” he told her, sitting at the desk. “I come here to get work done, and study.”

Symon reached into a compartment in the desk and pulled out….her book. The little black one her father had given her.

“Where did you get that?” she demanded, gasping.

“I found it,” he handed it to her. “It didn’t have your name in it, but I’ve seen you with it. Do you know how dangerous it is to have this at school? You can’t leave it lying around. What're you doing with a book like this, anyway?”

Kolby left Mira with Peyton and went back into the cellar. Everyone was pretty practiced out, so Kolby sat between Mick and Devan, talking to the twins.

"Are you excited for Quidditch season?"Devan asked.

"Of course. I can't wait to take you down."Mick said. Kolby rolled his eyes and kept the twins from killing each other. Devan was a Slytherin and Mick was a Hufflepuff. A weird family combination. But, Mick was always trying to prove that he was better than Devan and vice versa. They fought. A lot.

"I'll be cheering for both of you."Kolby said.

"But, me more, right? After all, we're in the same house."Devan said. Kolby shrugged. He was the announcer he was supposed  to remain indifferent.

"I think Hufflepuff could win next season. We're gonna have a great team. We have Elsa and Jack and Jon and me, of course."Mick said.

"Yeah, but we have Osmond and me. We're much better than you four combined."Devan said.

"Enough you two."Kolby said. The twins laughed and Kolby shook his head. So immature. he thought.

None of Arya’s friends were in the cellar, other than Gavin. Seamus was hospitalized, Marigold was running her own mini-hospital, Peyton and Mira were in the hall, and Symon and Adele had run off to Merlin only knows where. Gavin had finally successfully performed the spell, and they were resting on a bench.

“What’s it like up north?” Gavin asked her, watching a pair of Hufflepuffs.

“Cold in winter, cool in summer,” she half-joked. “You’ve never been?”

“Lord Lyndale isn’t as, um,” he stammered, struggling for the word. “Important as some of the other lords. He’s been north for wars, of course, but he mostly just visits the other Southron lords.”

“Lord Beaumont is constantly away,” she told him, watching the puffs strangle each other. “It seems like the castellan is always at work in Beaufort.”

She wondered for a moment if that was the reason Adele never really wanted to speak about her father. Then she remembered seeing him in Hogsmeade, and how cold he was.

“There’s a tourney in York this summer that we’ll be going to,” Gavin mentioned. “Lord Fendrel is a grand old friend of the king’s, they grew up together; so he’s holding it there, and all the major lords are invited.”

“I thought your father was a minor lord,” she pointed out.

“No, he’s just not as important as some of the other major lords,” he stated, looking at her. “He’s a minor-major, I suppose. Anyway, I’ll be going. Perhaps I’ll see you there?”

“Gavin, I don’t live in York,” she laughed, but then got serious. “But perhaps Adele will smuggle me in her trunk!”

Mira and Peyton were practicing on one another, but paused to watch an uneasy looking Marigold walking by. She had a rather nasty bruise forming around her neck. Mira sometimes wondered whether this club was a good idea - they’d had at least ten near death experiences just today.

“Have you two seen Symon?” Jacob asked, walking over.

“They walked down the hall a while ago,” Peyton said, directing him further down. "Where did you go?"

“Walked Marigold to Healer Alys,” Jacob muttered. “I know you’re friends with Asher, mate, but he needs some serious help with that bloody temper of his.”

“Is that what happened to Marigold?” Mira peeped.

“Aye, he couldn’t get the counter and lost it,” he replied grimly, walking away.

“At least she didn’t end up like Seamus,” Peyton chuckled, before realizing who he was talking to. “Oh..Mira..I didn’t mean it like that!”

Mira stormed off, pocketing her wand. She ran in the direction Jacob had gone, down the dark abandoned hallway. Halfway down the stairs, she heard voices. Clearly, Jacob found Symon. They were arguing loudly.

“I said get out of here,” Symon warned grimly.

“Not without that book,” Jacob retorted. “I always knew there was something about you, Adelaine!”

Adele was there, too? The voices became more muffled, and she heard a crash.

Adelaine reverted back to the state she’d been in when her friends found out about her book in the siren cave. Symon understood, at least; his parents weren’t dark wizards, but - like Adele - he had the urge to study every bit of magic he could get his hands on, even if he’d never use it. But then Jacob found them looking through the book, and they’d been arguing for the last five minutes.

“I’m going straight to the headmistress,” Jacob decided hastily.

“You bloody well aren’t,” Symon said, pulling him back.

“Let go of me, Symon!” he shouted angrily, shoving his friend.

“Both of you, stop it!” Adele yelled, trying to separate them.

Jacob punched Symon, and Symon punched Jacob; it was the party all over again, with different opponents. While they fought, Adelaine snatched the book off the ground and tried to hide it; but Jacob shoved Symon into a wall and went after Adele. He tried to grab the book from her, but Symon ran and pulled him off of her.

“She’s a dark wizard,” Jacob stammered, trying to get out of Symon’s grip. “Why are you sticking up for her?!”

Symon let go and kicked him, sending him crashing into the stack of books. He grabbed his wand and pointed it at Jacob. “Obliviate!” A thin, green light emitted from the wand and connected with Jacob’s head. Adele watched as Symon focused, concentrating harder than anyone she’d ever seen in her life. After five minutes, it stopped, and he quickly pulled Jacob up.

“Huh…” Jacob muttered, blinking and looking around. “What…uh…”

“You were asking about what spell we should do at the next meeting,” Symon lied.

“Right!” Jacob nodded. “Paralyzing spells, right? Right.. Well, see you two later!”

“What just happened?” Adele asked quietly, after Jacob left.

“He’s forgotten the whole thing,” Symon said, turning his serious green eyes on her. “Don’t ever tell anyone about this.”

The Templar came back into full swing when Jacob had a really good idea.

"As we all know, counter spells are just as important as the spell itself. Defense is just as important as offense. So, let's play a game to prefect the counter."Jacob said, pulling a chair to the middle of the room.

Jacob tied Finnius to a chair and everyone stood in a circle around him as Jacob spun him around. Whoever Finnius was in front of had one chance to perform the counter spell correctly. If they couldn't, they were out and had to wait for the next round. If they did, they could keep going.

"I'm going to throw up."Finnius said when he stopped in front of Kolby. This was the third time he had been spun around. Elsa got out but everyone else was in. Everyone laughed.

"Finite."Kolby said. Finnius was released and put Kolby in the chair. Before Kolby can get out, Jacob had him tied up and spinning.

Kolby stopped in front of Devan. Devan tried the spell and he couldn't do it. He went to sat down as Kolby started spinning around again. He stopped in front of Mick. Mick performed it correctly and Kolby traded with Mick. Now, the game was taken up a notch. People would trade with their friends or their enemies.

"For the sake of everyone getting more turns, this round is over. Come back in everyone."Jacob decreed when it came down to four people. Everyone got back into the circle and the game continued.

Arya stood in between Gavin and Asher when the second round of the game began. She had never had the chance to go yet, but her turn would come. Mick stopped in front of Asher, who performed the spell correctly, and they switched. Jacob spun the chair and at last, it landed in front of Arya.

“Bloody hell,” she cursed, shuffling nervously.

“You’ve got this, Arry,” Gavin assured her.

“Finite!”

Asher jumped up and pushed her into the chair, grinning. Jacob tied her up and before she knew it, she was spinning. Spinning so fast, she thought she might faint. In seconds, she actually did - but no one noticed, because she was still spinning. While she was conked out, she had a flashback of sorts; she was on the broom, falling into a Sloth Grip Roll…and then, just falling in general. She spun haphazardly towards the ground, and then…

“Arry!” Gavin shouted, slapping her face. “Arry, wake up!”

“Is she alright?” Jacob asked, splashing water onto her forehead.

“Finite,” Asher muttered, and the ropes fell to the ground.

“I’m okay,” she stammered, opening her eyes. “It’s fine.. Geez, back off, you guys.”

The crowd had come so close she could barely breathe, but they backed away immediately.

“I think this meeting’s over,” she heard Symon say. Where had he been?

“C’mon, I’ll walk you to the tower,” Gavin muttered. He helped her up, and they left without another word.

Adelaine shuffled past everyone to get her cloak from the closet. She wasn’t sure what to make of everything that had just happened. Not that she thought any less of Symon for using that spell, but it made her wonder… had anyone ever used it on her in the past? She would never know. The thought made her shudder. Jacob was blissfully ignorant, but she felt guilty.

“You okay?”

She turned to see Symon behind her, holding out her cloak. The look of genuine concern on his face made her smile; he was one of the kindest, sincerest people she’d ever met. She took the cloak and threw it over her shoulder.

“I’m alright,” she lied, tapping her foot on the ground.

“You’re shaken up,” he said seriously; he could see straight through her. “It was for you own good. You know that, right?”

“I’d be incarcerated if anyone found out,” she nodded, glancing at Jacob. “I just … he seems so nice, I can’t believe..”

“That he’d turn you in?” Symon guessed. “Neither can I… makes you wonder.”

They stood there awkwardly for a moment, then he spoke again.

“I’d walk you to your dorm, but I’m gonna stay and head back with the other Slytherins.”

“That’s fine..Thanks, by the way,” Adele smiled. She waved and walked out the door.

Kolby was one of the last to leave. He was making sure no one left anything and that it was as tidy as a dungeon could be. He checked the cloak closet and noticed that there were three cloaks still in there. Symon's, his, and someone else's. He looked around. Who hasn't left yet? It's just me and Symon here. he thought.

"Symon, is anyone in the back rooms?"Kolby asked.

"No. No one should be. Go check, just in case though."Symon said. Kolby walked further into the dungeons, checking every cell. He jumped when he found Mira.

"Hey. The meeting is over."he asked, handing her her cloak. Something was off. Something didn't feel right. Why was she down here?he thought.

"Are you okay?" he asked the Hufflepuff.