Sorcerers Templar #3

Adelaine sat on a bench in the dungeon cellar, watching as Symon and Finn edited the rank boards. Another month meant another Templar meeting, and she was ecstatic. The boys wouldn’t divulge any information when she asked what today’s “lesson” was, which only amped up the excitement.

“Why do you always keep it a secret?” she sighed.

“It adds to the suspense,” Symon said dryly, getting a snicker from Finnius.

She rolled her eyes and studied the board.



“Wait…” she muttered, squinting. Did that say what she thought it said? “Arya’s first?”

“Can’t stay on top forever, m’lady,” Finn grinned. Symon punched him lightly in the arm.

“Arya was the only one who got the spell straight away,” her betrothed explained. “Kolby came second. At least you’re still in the top three.”

Kolby helped Jacob clean up the hospital cell. A couple of bats decided to make this their home in this one particular cell and knocked most of the potions over, creating colorful puddles on the floor. But, Kolby didn't mind the work. He was super excited to be back in Templar. The rest of the month just seems boring except for the meetings.

"Ranks have been edited." Finn announced as Jacob and Kolby finished. Kolby pushed him aside and looked at the board. He smiled. He somehow still managed to keep his number two spot. He sent a cheeky smirk to Adele and went back to see what Finn and Jacob were talking about.

"I don't know how I'll be able to do this." Jacob complained. Finn rolled his eyes.

"You'll do fine. Marigold obviously thinks you're capable enough." Finn told him. Kolby looked around. Where was the junior healer? Surely she wouldn't miss a meeting if she was a founder of this club. Kolby thought.

"And, I'm sure she'll stop by from time to time to check up on things. And, you got Symon and me for help. Worst comes to worst, we have a FPP or a PPP. It'll be easy." Finn explained. Kolby furrowed his brow. FPP's and PPP's? Huh? he thought, looking at Finn to explain himself. But, Finn zipped his lips and went back to the Templar cell, Kolby in tow.

(OOC: FPP = Fully Petrified Person. PPP = Partially Petrified Person. )

Arya and Asher sauntered through the maze – better known as the Hogwarts dungeons. Her housemate had been chattering the whole time about the Duel Party (she still thought they could’ve come up with a better name), reliving it all.

“I mean, I know it was bloody dangerous,” he went on. “But you have to admit –”

“It was brilliant, I know,” she finished for him, rolling her eyes. “People almost died, and you practically want to reenact it!”

“Take away the fact that people nearly died, and yes,” he admitted with a grin. “We need to have duels in Templar meetings.’

Arry rolled her eyes again and they entered the cellar. Only a few people were there, including Adele. The Ravenclaw was finally healed. It was the end of May now, so it had taken a few weeks, but still.

“Hey, champ!” Gavin ran over, smiling ear to ear. “Have a look at the boards!”

With a sigh, Arya walked over. What was he playing at? She was Muggleborn, stuck in the middle of the ranks, not skilled enough to move up, not unskilled enough to move down, there was no way she would ever get to -

“First?!?”

Mira peered into the crowded dungeon cellar, looking for a friendly face. She was extremely wary of her surroundings, remembering last time. Jacob and Symon still seemed to be good friends, so clearly Symon’s spell had worked. She just didn’t like the idea of him and Adelaine being in cahoots, scheming together.

“Mira!”

She jumped and turned to see Finn coming from the hospital cellar. He smiled kindly and she sighed. What would she do without him? Mira couldn’t fathom the thought of him leaving.

“Spying on us?” he asked sarcastically, taking her arm and pulling her into the room. “C’mon, we’re about to start.”

“Over here, Mira!” Elsa called, waving.

Mira joined her and Edwin, and waited for the leaders to speak. Symon, Finn, and Jacob stood by the rank boards and the room quieted down.

“This month, we’ll be perfecting the Body-Bind Curse,” Symon began, gesturing to the board with the incantation and movement. “Jacob and Finn will demonstrate, then you can all get started.”

Jacob and Finn stood about seven feet apart and faced each other. The Slytherin braced himself. Finnius raised his wand and cast the spell perfectly – Jacob straightened out and froze, falling backwards and Symon rushed to catch him.

“Begin!” Finn announced.

Kolby was about to make a bee line for Devan or Mick, but Symon stopped him.

"I was wondering if you can work with Christiare. Build her confidence up." Symon asked him. Kolby looked around for the timid Gryffindor.

"Try to be nice and don't yell, okay?" Symon told him. Kolby nodded and walked around, still looking for the Gryffindor. Is she even here today? he thought.

But, he wasn't looking where he was going and walked right into Elsa and Edwin practicing. He felt all his muscles tense up and he fell to the floor.

"Ummm.....good job. Wrong person but good job." Jacob said, kneeling down by Kolby.

"Thank you." Elsa replied.

"Finite." Jacob tried. It didn't work. "Finite Incantatem" Jacob tried again, using the full spell. Kolby felt his muscles relax and and he could breath again. He sat up and smiled.

"Thank god. Are you okay?" Jacob said, helping Kolby up.

"I'm fine. Thanks." Kolby said. They nodded to each other and Kolby went to find Tari again.

Tari strode in a touch late, having gotten her braids tied together when she fell asleep in the common room. Nervous as usual, she didn't even bother glancing at the board, she already knew she'd be in last, where else would she be? Thus she slipped her satchel off and laid in near the wall, pulling her wand from her bag, looking about for Arya when she noticed Kolby's gaze meet her own.

((OOC: Forgot to mention this in the first post – the floors are thinly padded with cushions))

Arya looked around the cellar for a partner. She jumped when she felt a small tap on her shoulder.

“Can I help you?” she asked, confused.

“Erm, well, everyone’s already taken,” Jacob mumbled. “And Marigold isn’t here. So, do you want to pair up?”

“I suppose,” she shrugged, wondering who Gavin was with.

They headed to an empty space in the center of the room. It was positively awkward. Even though Jacob and Symon were kinda, sort of, technically in their group now, Arya had never spoken to either one of them. To be honest, Jacob gave her an uncomfortable feeling. She found his relationship with Marigold to be strange; one moment he treated her like a little sister, the next moment he’s fighting with Asher over her.

“You go first,” she suggested, forcing a smile.

“Petrificus totalus!”

Arry immediately froze and fell onto the cushioned floor. She was impressed (he was skilled) and upset (he gave her no warning) all at once.

Kolby smiled and walked up to Tari.

"Hi. Christiare, right?" he greeted. He glanced over at Symon, who was watching from across the room.

"So, I don't have a partner. Do you wanna practice together?" Kolby asked. Before she could answer, Finn came up.

"Tari, just in case you missed what we're doing, we're practicing the Body-Bind curse. It's really simple." he explained. He looked at Kolby. "Just point and say Petrificus Totalus." he said, casting the spell at Kolby. Kolby felt a slight tingling in his muscles but it didn't work. He flexed his fingers. It feels like they've fallen asleep.

"Well, that's weird. Are you okay?" Finn asked.

"Yah. I fie." Kolby said. He furrowed his brow. Why wasn't he talking right?

"Oh gosh. I'm sorry Kolby. You're only partially petrified. Finite." Finn said. Kolby slowly felt the sensation fade away.

"Well, that's not how it's supposed to work. It's supposed to work like that." Finn said, pointing to Arya, petrified on the ground.

"Finn. I need you help with something." Symon told him, taking the overly friendly Hufflepuff away.

"So, like I said, wanna be partners?" Kolby asked.

Tari nodded slowly.

"O-okay."

Wicking out her oak wand she spun it slightly in her fingers, smirking a little, having gained a little bravery since the last time she needed to cast a spell on a person.

"Seeing as you've already been partly petrified, want to go first? I don't really care either way."

Then Tari smiled at him, though her smile was still rare, it was gradually becoming less shy, etching itself onto her face almost once or twice a day now.

Adele and Symon paired up and found a spot in a corner of the cellar. She wasn’t nervous at all; in fact, she’d probably never been so confident before in her life. Maybe it was because she’d practiced this spell before, or perhaps it was being bumped from first place that fueled her fire. Either way, she’d use it to her advantage.

“You first,” Symon suggested, pocketing his wand.

“Petrificus totalus!”

The Slytherin straightened out and froze in a matter of seconds, falling backward onto the cushioned floor. We’ll see how long Arya stays up top, she thought competitively. Finn jogged over and reversed the spell, and Symon sat up.

“Well, you certainly don’t waste time,” he joked.

((OOC: Seriously don’t know where my sudden interest in Edwin is coming from, but let’s go with it.))

Mira noticed Peyton and Jon both walking her way in the corner of her eye, but Edwin reached her first.

“Want to partner with me for a change?” the Gryffindor asked with a kind smile.

“I don’t know,” she said, thinking of Peyton.

“Come on, live a little!” Ed grinned.

“Okay, if you insist,” Mira laughed. Who could resist that smile?

They headed to an empty spot, not noticing the disappointed looks on Peyton and Jon’s faces. The room was alive with the sounds of people hitting the ground. Mira took a moment to listen, and realized she loved the sound of magic. There was something so confident in the sound magic made. Does that even make sense? she wondered.

“Ready?” Edwin asked, snapping her out of her thoughts.

“Oh, yeah,” she nodded. “Go for it.”

Arya and Jacob had been taking turns for the past twenty minutes. They’d both pretty much perfected the spell by now, and decided to take a break.

“There’s an open bench,” Jacob spied, pointing across the room.

They settled in and watched the rest of the students practice. It was still slightly awkward, so Arya decided to try and diffuse the tension.

“So, what’s up with you and Marigold?” she asked nonchalantly, breaking the ice. Clearly it was not the opening line she should’ve used.

“W-what? I don’t know what you  mean, what sort of question is that?” he sputtered, turning red.

“What question?” she asked innocently. Her fallback was always confusion. She loved confusing people.

“The…the one you just asked?” he muttered, raising an eyebrow.

"About unicorns?" she asked, looking at him like he was crazy.

“What?”

“Huh?”

Kolby noticed that Tari had gained a little bit of confidence. Good for her. Doormats aren't any fun. Kolby thought, remembering when Marigold was a doormat at the beginning of the year.

"Alright." Kolby said, backing up away from her and accepting her offer to go first. He twirled his wand in between his fingers, tossed it in the air, and then caught it. Cracking his neck, he was ready to go.

"Petrificus totalus." he said simply.

Kolby took this time to glance around the room. Some of students were partially frozen, like Jon, whose leg was still petrified, and some had fallen wrong and had cracked a bone, like Mick. Kolby rolled his eyes. Clumsy Huffs. he thought.

(OOC: Jo, just say that the spell worked.)

“So, I’ve been meaning to ask,” Symon began cautiously. “How is the wound?”

“You ask me every week,” she laughed halfheartedly. “It’s 100% better.”

The truth was, it wasn’t completely better. It was healed mostly, but still black. It still hurt when it was touched, even by a feather. And it was causing hallucinations. Every now and then, she would sort of black out and have some weird vision. Usually of the siren attack. Healer Alys said it was a side effect of the poison and that it would pass, but it was certainly taking it’s time.

“That’s fantastic,” he nodded, with a smile so genuine it made her sad. She hated lying. “So, ready?”

“Go for it,” she said, bracing herself.

“Petrificus totalus!”

Adele immediately froze and fell back onto the cushioned floor.

Tari would have squealed when she was frozen, were she able. Instead, she simply fell to the floor completely immobile as Kolby's spell hit her. It was funny, laying on the ground completely unable to move, reminded her a bit of the days she would lay in the fields and just stare at the sky, but it was also scary. Not able to move meant one could do almost anything to her, and with the physical abuse she received as a little one, her mind almost always went to the worst in those situations. However, she was quickly calmed when one of the upperclassmen countered the spell, releasing her and allowing her to stand. Rubbing her head a little, she nodded to Kolby.

"You Ready?" She asked gently, in truth asking herself and the young slytherin.

Edwin was adjusting his sleeves, which seemed to be taking longer than expected, so Mira took the time to look around. She noticed Finn running over to unfreeze Christiare. Arya was sitting alone on a bench. And Marigold had finally arrived, though she was already out of sight. Probably in the hospital cellar, Mira figured.

“Okay, ready?” Edwin asked, smiling.

“I don’t know, Ed,” she sighed, her confidence waning.

“C’mon, sixth time’s the charm,” he said encouragingly.

“Fine,” she gave in, lifting her wand again. “Petrificus totalus!”

It was an improvement, though a small one. Ed’s arms stiffened at his sides, but that was it. She countered the spell with a huff and he wiggled his arms.

“Hey, at least you’re doing better than Geoffrey,” he laughed, pointing to the Gryffindor. “Try again!”

“Petrificus totalus!” Adele shouted.

Symon was petrified immediately, and fell backward onto the ground. Adelaine had perfected the spell, which made her quite happy. With all the mischief her group got into, it would come in handy.

“Finite,” she countered, and he sat up.

“You really want to work your way back up, don’t you?” Symon asked, grinning and rubbing his head. “That last fall really hurt.”

“Man up, Fendrel,” she laughed, pocketing her wand. “It’s your turn.”

“Wonderful,” he smiled and aimed at her. “Petrificus totalus!”

He had perfected the spell about a year ago, so she froze at once and fell backward.

"Finite," Symon countered. "Adele?!"

Unfortunately, the poison in her system had chosen that specific time to cause her to black out. All she saw was darkness. Then she heard a hiss and a splash.

((OOC: Marigold can probably wake her up with a potion of some sort, but it should take a few tries.))

(OOC: Still waiting for Jo here.)

Marigold was tending to Mick, whose arm was partially petrified, when she heard Symon calling for her. Mick nodded to her for her to check as he sat there. She walked into the training cell to see Adele, frozen on the floor.

"She's not getting up," Symon told her, the worry in his voice very apparent. She put her glasses on and looked at her blood stream.

"The spell had a negative effect on the remaining poison in her body. Help me get her to the hospital cell," Marigold said. Jacob and Symon picked her up and set her down gently on the table. Marigold opened her potion bag and brought out a spare bottle of her antidote and a syringe. She put the potion in the syringe and put the needle into her arm. She hit the plunger on the syringe and watched the antidote enter her blood stream with her glasses.

"Give it a minute. If it doesn't work, I need to give her more," Marigold told them, setting a timer for herself.

"Mari. Mari," Mace said, running up to her. Jacob looked at the little boy, a bit confused. Symon took a step back from her, like she was infected or something.

"Mace, say hi to Jacob and Symon. Symon, Jacob, this is Mace, my ward of motherly lessons," Marigold told the two year old, picking him off the floor. Jacob looked a little relived to hear that he was only temporary.

"Hi!" Mace said cheerfully. Symon and Jacob muttered greetings back.

"Go play with Asher. I'm working right now," she said, putting him down again. He went running off to find his babysitter. Marigold got another dose of antidote ready from Adele.

"I thought you had adopted a kid or something," Jacob commented. Marigold smiled and shook her head, pumping more antidote into Adele's body. She saw that it was slowly flowing through her blood stream, as her body began to wake up. Marigold tried to move Adele's arm up and down, hoping to stimulate movement and blood flow.

"Hopefully, this'll do it," Marigold said, giving her another dose. She smiled when she saw the color return to her face and her body begin to unfreeze.

"Can you hear us Adele?" Marigold asked.

In her dream, the siren was closing in for the attack. She leapt forward, teeth bared, and then…Adele woke up. Thank heavens, she thought, relieved. Her side hurt, and she heard voices all around. Symon and Marigold were calling her name, while Jacob kept muttering nervously in the corner. Adelaine opened her eyes.

“I’m fine,” she said, stretching and sitting up. She felt her wound. The ache was slowly going away. “Hello, Marigold.”

She looked around the room. Asher came in with a toddler on his back (she’d ask about that later). Symon looked to be somewhere between anger and relief.

“You told me you were better,” he said darkly, tapping his fingers on the table next to him. “100 percent, you said.”

“What’s going on?” Seamus said, jogging in. “Adele, what happened?”

“Apparently she’s not as healed as she told us,” Asher said with a small frown.

Adelaine didn’t know what to say. She looked to Marigold for support; Marigold and Alys were the only ones who knew.

Kolby smiled when he performed the spell correctly. He noticed that something happened with Adele and she was carried to the Hospital Cell.

"Ready when you are," he said with a smile, outstretching his arms. He then stopped when he sensed someone or something watching them. Not him and Tari specially but the whole Templar group.

"I'll be right back," he told Tari, walking towards the open door. He glanced out towards the top of the dungeons. He closed his eyes and extended his senses. A familiar voice counted down from three. Then, footsteps thundered down the stairs.

"Finn! Symon! Jacob!" Kolby warned as he was pushed to the floor as the Ministry of Mischeif and their new leader, Davy, came running down the stairs. Kolby hit his head on the wall and everything went dark.

Arya froze as a small group of Slytherins (all of whom were at the “Great Duel Party”) shoved their way into the cellar. She simply couldn’t believe it when she saw Davy. How had he not been expelled for last time? He thought Hogwarts was his own personal battlefield. Or torture chamber.

“Where are your leaders?” he demanded, catcalling. “Symonnnnn, Jacob, here boys!”

His cronies laughed smugly. Out of the corner of her eyes, she noticed Symon and Jacob sneak out of the hospital cellar. Symon locked the door behind him.

“What do you want, Davy?” Jacob asked, putting on an annoyed front.

“Just to finish a little business,” the fifth year retorted, smirking. He gestured to his group, but Symon put up a hand.

“Let’s do this alone,” he said firmly. “One on one. I win, you bloody well better stay away from us.”

Davy nodded. Arya was surprised he didn’t ask what happened if they won. Personally, she didn’t want to know. Students backed up against the walls to clear the center of the room, and the two Slytherins took their positions.

The duel seemed to be going in no one’s favor at the moment. Both boys were equally talented, so it was like watching…well, it was like watching two equally talented boys duel..

“Incendio!” Davy shouted, sending a huge ball of fire to Symon.

“Ice Murum!” Symon retorted. A thin wall of ice floated in the air and blocked the flames. Steam hissed loudly when they clashed. “Flipendo!”

“Protego!” Davy yelled, blocking the spell. “Pulsate Sicco!”

It was like an invisible ball slammed into Symon’s head. He was knocked out on the ground, much to the delight of the Ministry. Everyone else moaned and booed. Then, something no one expected to see – Finnius stepped up. Don’t be stupid, Finn, Mira thought with dread.

“A Hufflepuff?!” Davy laughed, extremely amused. “Fine, this’ll be easier than the last one.”

“Dole Tribus!” Finn incanted. His opponent flew up in the air and twisted around three times, landing on his back.

“Not bad,” Davy choked, hopping up. “Duro!”

“Protego,” Finn quickly countered. “Now for the big finish!”

“You’re rather confident,” the Slytherin sneered.

“Ready for one Symon taught me?” Finnius smirked. He loved this spell. “Ice in Colubrum!!”

“Bloody hell,” Davy muttered with a gulp as a huge ice serpent slithered threw the air. It reared back its head then slammed into his stomach. He landed with a thud and passed out.

((OOC: Um, I have no idea where you’re going with the Adele/Symon thing, but okay.))

With Asher’s help, Adele made it out to the main cellar. Symon was disheveled and waking up on the ground, while people clapped Finn on the back jabbering about some ice snake. One minute, things were fine; then suddenly, one of the Ministry shot a hex at Jacob. The room broke into chaos.

“My God, this is the Duel Party all over again!” she heard Elsa shout.

“Protego!” Adele countered when someone tried to curse her.

“Marigold is gone!” Asher yelled to her. “So is Davy!”

“Asher, you’ve got to get me back into the hospital cell,” she demanded.

The Gryffindor ran over and swung her over his shoulders (she had no idea he was so strong), carrying her quickly into the other room. He sat her on the bench and she gestured to an energy reviving potion on the shelf. Asher grabbed it and unstopped it for her, and she gulped it down. It was a huge adrenaline rush. Her aches and pains were gone.

“I’ll go find Marigold,” she said, hopping up.

“I’m going with you,” Ash decided immediately. His tone said there was no talking him out of it. They locked eyes, and in that moment, all of the past was erased. All the fights and quips against each other were gone, and they were friends again.

“Let’s go,” Adele said calmly, leading the way.