#eccentric 260
Text
A really lovely story from Reddit user lasalopederon about their mother meeting the icon that is Audrey Hepburn and getting lipstick recommendation from her.
Audrey was known for wearing her signature lipstick everywhere, and she revealed to OP's mother that the shade was Eccentric (260) by Estée Lauder!
Not just that, but the lipstick is still being made.
It's just a gorgeous shade, in my opinion.
#not a dream#audrey hepburn#Estée Lauder#makeup#reddit#Estée Lauder eccentric#eccentric#mua#fashion#eccentric 260#lipstick#actress
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through the hourglass 297.brb x oc
a/n: A BIT SHORT BECAUSE OF A BLAACKOUT!!!(comments and reblogs are super welcome and encouraged!)
pairing: plus size!oc x rooster
warnings: none uwu
goodness gracious (pls read this one to know more what this fic is about!!)
chapter
1/
/253/254/255/256/257/258/259/260/261/262/263/264/265/266
/267/268/269/270/271/272/273/274/275/276/277/278/279/280/281/282/283/284/285/286/287/288/289/290/291/292/293/294/295/296
(pls let me know if you want to be added to the taglist! )
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@peachiicherries @mak-32 @lizziespidiepridie @roosterswifey @ollyoxenfrees @piceous21 @sqrlgrl22 @hofficoffi @lexhalstead3 @lorilane33 @legendarydreamersharkparty @luckyladycreator2
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Nicole was very bright for a one year old, truly bright. Her doctors mentioned it more than once and Bea could see it. Nikki was her little companion the whole Saturday - unfortunately the picnic was canceled because of heavy,heavy rain - so they just stayed home once they got back from the twins’ check up.
When the doctor was checking on the twins, Nicole sat up on a chair, patiently, unmoving but with her eyes locked on her mother and her siblings.
And her heart lurched because it was the same iron focus she had seen on Rooster.
Now that they were back home and the twins were asleep,she was left alone with Nicole and the dogs. Nicole was on the floor playing with blocks and the dogs - at least Jack and Jolene - were with them…Eleanor was obviously at the door, watching.
The rain outside drummed heavily on the windows as Beatrice watched Nicole, engrossed in her play. The little one's dexterity with the colorful blocks was surprising for her age. As Nikki stacked them with an impressive precision, Beatrice couldn't help but marvel at her daughter's intelligence.
"Look at you, my little architect," Beatrice whispered with a smile, her heart swelling with pride. She leaned back on the couch, a soft sigh escaping her. The room was filled with the gentle sounds of Nikki's play and the movie…what movie was it?
She doesn’t know. She’s not really paying attention.
She was remembering, when she left that morning, some neighbors approaching Miranda and questioning her about the giant skeleton and the Halloween decor in the middle of summer and with the threat of rain in the upcoming weeks.
Miranda, maybe because she saw Beatrice leaving with her car, managed to talk loud enough for her to hear, saying that it’s ‘never too soon for halloween!’
Miranda's audacity to set up Halloween decorations in the middle of summer seemed like more than just an eccentric choice. It felt like a deliberate attempt to disrupt the tranquility of the neighborhood, perhaps even a veiled message to Beatrice.
With a resigned sigh, Beatrice decided to let go of the unsettling thoughts for the moment. She focused her attention on Nikki, captivated by the one-year-old's innate curiosity and intelligence.
As Nikki continued to play, Beatrice couldn't help but marvel at the subtle ways in which her daughter mirrored Rooster's characteristics. The iron focus she displayed, reminiscent of her deployed husband, was a poignant reminder of the deep connection between parent and child.
Her hair too, now it was that golden brown like her husband’s…and her lips were getting poutier. Just like Rooster’s.
She rubs her chin, it’s been a few days since they talked which was alright, she assumed. They’ve been out of contact before, she knew he’d talk when he could and since this mission was…a bit loose when it comes to receiving calls and messages, then she knew he’d be fine.
She just purses her lips, rubbing her wedding band on her finger, “...your dad is a very brave man,Nikki.” and the toddler stops and looks back, connecting the words in her brain and muttering a ‘dada?’ in response to Beatrice’s words.
Beatrice smiled, her eyes locking with Nikki's. "Yes, sweetheart, dada. He's out there doing something very important, but he'll be back soon. And until then, it's you, me, your siblings and the dogs."
Nikki's face lit up with a bright smile, with one more teeth slowly peeking out of her gums before she baby babbled away.But she chews her lower lip once Nikki looks away ‘...should I call Ev?” she reaches for her phone ‘...no,maybe not’ she hovers her hand above her phone, fingers twitching before she relents and grabs it.
Beatrice unlocked her phone, scrolling through the contacts. Her thumb hesitated over Ev's name, uncertainty creeping in.
She shook her head, dismissing the thought momentarily. Instead, Beatrice found herself navigating to the gallery, scrolling through photos of the family, including the ones from their wedding - she’d never delete these even if they had a physical copy a few inches from her…on the wall.
Nikki, having abandoned her blocks, crawled over to where Beatrice sat on the couch. The toddler's curiosity piqued by the glow of the phone screen, she reached out with tiny fingers, trying to touch the Ninja Turtle phone case.
Beatrice chuckled, shifting the phone slightly out of Nikki's reach. "You want to see, too, huh?" She selected a photo of the twins, their identical faces crinkled in sleep, peaceful in their crib. "Look, that's your brother and sister. They're dreaming away right now."
Nikki's eyes widened with curiosity as she gazed at the photo. Her fingers tried to grasp at the image, as if trying to understand the concept of her siblings being in the phone.
With a gentle smile, Beatrice continued scrolling through the pictures, “And this, is your dad and I…when we got married, see?” she zooms in “Doesn’t daddy look handsome?”
Nikki, though too young to fully comprehend, seemed captivated by the images on the phone. Her eyes followed the figures on the screen, and her tiny fingers occasionally reached out, as if trying to touch the familiar faces within the digital frames.
Beatrice chuckled, her heart warmed by the innocence of her daughter. "That's your daddy and mommy. We were so happy that day, and you know what?“
Nikki tilted her head, her gaze shifting between the screen and Beatrice's face. Her baby babble filled the room, adding a delightful soundtrack to the nostalgic moment.
Beatrice's phone buzzed with an incoming call, momentarily pulling her attention away from Nikki. Glancing at the screen, she saw it was from Ev. She hesitated for a moment, contemplating whether to answer, but ultimately pressed the accept call button.
"I was about to call you.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah, hah,” Beatrice picks Nicole one handed and places her on her lap, “Since our picnic was canceled, wanted to chat a bit.”
Ev's voice came through the phone with a warm, familiar tone. "Yea. Bad weather. It’s fine, we can do it some other day.”
Beatrice nodded, even though Ev couldn't see her. "Yeah, definitely. Weather can be so unpredictable sometimes. How's everything on your end?"
Ev sighed, the sound carrying through the phone. "Busy as usual. You know how it is. But I can't complain. JJ is fine, sleeping right now. How about you? "
Beatrice leaned back against the couch, holding Nikki in her lap as the toddler played with a strand of Beatrice's hair. "Oh, you know, the usual chaos. The twins are keeping me on my toes, and Nikki here is exploring the wonders of the world one block at a time."
Ev chuckled. "Sounds eventful."
"I bet," Beatrice replied, glancing at the photo of Rooster and her on the phone screen. "Speaking of the mission, how's Jake doing? I know communication has been a bit scarce lately. Have you two talked?"
There was a brief pause on the other end of the line before Ev responded. "He's doing fine. You know him. He told me about the breach. Security concerns and rumors circulating among the team."
Beatrice's expression shifted, concern knitting her brows together. "What…do you take from it?”
Ev hesitated, choosing her words carefully. "Well…I don’t know Bea. My dad hasn’t talked about it to me." and her dad was a vice admiral, so that said a lot “Jake just mentioned that and that everyone is worried. Rooster is managing everything though,from what Jake told me.”
"Yeah, Rooster and I talked about it during our last call. It's a bit unnerving, you know? Not knowing the full picture, especially with the breach."
Evelyn moved a bit on the other end and she sighed. "It's tough being on the sidelines, not knowing all the details. But Rooster is strong, and he's leading the team. They'll get through this."
"I know," Beatrice replied, a mixture of pride and concern in her voice. "It's just hard not being able to do anything from here. I trust Rooster, but the uncertainty is...unsettling."
“It always is.”
“Does this happen often?”
“Breaches?” she asks “I don’t think so, this…well if this is confirmed a breach and not a mishap, I know that it’s going to be messy.”
Beatrice sighed, her gaze drifting to the photo of Rooster on her phone screen. "Will…he be okay in this? He’s the leader of the mission,Ev.”
Evelyn exhales “...Rooster can handle it, Bea. He's been through tough missions before.-”
“But nothing like this.”
“I know it's hard. But Rooster is pretty smart. And he's got the whole team looking out for each other, if need be, they’ll speak up,Bea."
Beatrice nodded, even if Evelyn couldn’t see it,her fingers unconsciously tracing patterns on Nikki's back. "I know, Ev. It's just...hard. You know how it is. It's like being on a rollercoaster that never stops."
There was a pause on the other end of the line, as if Evelyn was choosing her words carefully. "Yeah." another pause “I do. and Beatrice knew it was more than just Jake, she probably went through heavy stuff with her dad too “Do you want my opinion?”
“Please.”
Evelyn's voice softened on the other end of the line. "Bea, I know this is tough. Rooster is your husband, and the mission is putting him in a difficult position. But you need to trust him, trust in his abilities and the team he's leading."
Beatrice sighed, her shoulders slumping as she leaned back on the couch. "I do trust him, Ev. It's just...this uncertainty, not knowing what's happening. And what if there's something more going on that he can't share?"
Evelyn's response was measured, "Beatrice, the military operates on a need-to-know basis. There are times when even those involved in a mission might not know the full picture. Rooster has a responsibility to the team, to the mission's success, and sometimes that means certain details are classified."
"...you are right, I’m being stupid," Beatrice replied, her fingers nervously tapping on the edge of her phone. "But what if he's in danger, and we don't even know the extent of it? What if something happens, and I'm just here, waiting, unable to do anything?"
Evelyn chuckles a bit “Calm down,Bea.You can't control everything, Bea. It's a harsh reality, but it's the truth. All you can do is trust Rooster, support him emotionally, and be there for him when he needs it. That’s all."
Beatrice nodded, her eyes fixed on the photo of Rooster when he was younger with his father on the wall. "I know, Ev. It's just hard not being able to do more. And with the breach... I can't shake off this feeling that something is really wrong. Am I paranoid?"
“No you are not paranoid,” she says softly "Bea, it's natural to feel worried, especially when it involves someone you love. It’ll be alright."
Beatrice took a deep breath, attempting to steady her racing thoughts. "I know you're right, Ev. It's just hard to shake off this feeling of unease."
"That's understandable. It's the fear of the unknown," Evelyn responded. "Focus on what you can control,alright?"
Beatrice nodded, a flicker of gratitude in her voice. "You're right, Ev. ..is that what you’ve been doing?"
A pause.
“Yes.”
“Okay, that…” A small smile tugged at the corners of Beatrice's lips. "That helps, Ev. And I'm grateful for that. That I’m not the only one…thinking, you know?."
“As someone who grew in a Navy household and whose father was always…out, that's sometimes our default.” her friend says “Do you want me to come over?”
“In this rain?No Ev, thank you.” she says, letting Nicole lie on top of her thighs while playing with a toy, “You can stay home, this weather will only get worse.”
Evelyn sighed on the other end of the line. "Alright, Bea. But promise me you'll reach out if you need anything. Don't hesitate. I mean it."
Beatrice's gaze shifted from the photo on the wall to the raindrops tracing intricate patterns on the window. "Will you do the same?"
“...yeah,I will.” both women smiled, even if they couldn’t see each other “Thanks,Bea.”
“Anytime–” there was a sudden crash outside,loud and she could see how the lights flickered for a second as whatever it was hit the ground. The rain was heavy enough to muffle the sound but damn she could hear it.
She adjusted Nicole on her hold, stepping over the dogs and approaching the window, trying to see anything was a challenge…but her eyes widened once she found the culprit “Ev.”
“Yeah?”
‘Miranda’s giant skeleton is down." Beatrice exclaimed, her voice a mix of surprise and amusement. Despite the worry that had gripped her moments ago, the unexpected spectacle outside managed to inject a dose of humor into the conversation.
Evelyn's laughter echoed through the phone. "Well, that's a sight. Do you think it was the wind or an act of revenge from the neighborhood for the Halloween invasion?"
Beatrice chuckled, watching the rain cascade down the window. "I'm leaning towards revenge from the rain. The weather is pretty wild right now. I can't believe she set that thing up so early, though."
"Maybe this is the universe's way of telling her it's not Halloween yet," Evelyn mused. “And to stop being a bitch.”
“You think so?”
“Nah, but that was pretty funny.”
#bradley rooster bradshaw#rooster bradshaw#bradley bradshaw x oc#top gun maverick#bradley bradshaw x reader#bradley bradshaw x female reader#bradley bradshaw x named reader#tgm oc#tgm fic#tgm fanfiction
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My 2023 in Film
Part 6:
251-300
Good golly, I'm finally nearly done listing these! Perhaps next year I should just keep up with it and that way won't have to run this marathon. Although this year was kind of an outlier, so I don't anticipate reaching these numbers again.
Link to Part 1
Link to Part II
Link to Part III
Link to Part IV
Link to Part V
* = rewatched
[++] = I loved it
[+] = I liked it
[=] = I am indifferent about it
[-] = Not my thing
[--] = I hate it
Click on the list number to get a trailer for it.
251.
The Human Voice (2020)
---Short Film Drama
A woman tries to come to terms with the end of a relationship. [-]
252.
Strange Way of Life (2023)
---Short Film Queer Western Romance
Two gunslingers with a past meet again after 25 years. Unfortunately there is extenuating circumstances to their reunion. [+]
253.
Shivers (1975) *
See #131
254.
Carnival of Souls (1962)
---Psychological Horror
A woman struggles to move on with her life after a tragic accident. [+]
255.
Phantasm (1979) *
---Sci-Fi Horror
A pair of brothers begin to suspect that there is something very odd going on at the local cemetery. [-]
256.
I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997) *
---Horror
When a group of friends swear to take a shameful secret to their grave, they learn that that might be sooner than they thought. [+]
257.
Shock (1977)
---Horror
A woman tries to start fresh in the home she once shared with her now deceased husband. But when her son starts acting strangely she learns that her ex-husband's influence has affected her son. [-]
258.
Tales from the Hood 2 (2018)
---Anthology Horror
An author is hired to read stories to prototype law enforcement robots because...of reasons. [-]
259.
The Seed (2021)
---Cosmic Horror
A group influencers go to a mansion in the Mojave Desert to livestream a meteor shower only to wind up being influenced by something themselves. [=]
260.
The Rats Are Coming! The Werewolves Are Here! (1972)
---Horror
The daughter of an eccentric family of werewolves returns home with her new husband. [--]
261.
Hellbender (2021)
---Horror
A teenage daughter lives alone in the woods with her mother when a chance encounter with someone from the outside world reveals the truth behind her isolation. [=]
262.
The Wind (2018)
---Prairie Horror
In late 19th century America a newlywed couple move to the unpopulated prairies of New Mexico. After spending so much time by herself the wife begins to wonder what is worse: if you were truly all alone out there or if you weren't? [=]
263.
Slotherhouse (2023)
---Creature Feature Horror
A sorority gets a pet sloth only to learn that this sloth is out for blood. [-]
264.
The Wolfman (2010)
---Horror
In 1891 an actor returns home to England due to a family emergency only to the find the situation is more dire and strange than he could have imagined. [=]
265.
Shiva Baby (2020) *
See #175
266.
Violent Night (2022)
---Holiday Action
A family of uber-rich snobs is attacked by a group of mercenaries and the only one who can save them is Old Saint Nick. [-]
267.
Black Roses (1988)
---Rock 'n Roll Horror
A group of demons starts a band and use their devil music to hypnotize youths into being evil. [=]
268.
Snoop Dogg's Hood of Horror (2006)
---Anthology Horror
A gang member sells his soul and becomes a hound of hell, doomed to tell us the spooky tales of the inner-city people whose supernatural encounter will damn them to hell. [-]
269.
Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)
---Period Crime Drama
The story behind the brutal murders of Osage Nation members in 1920s Oklahoma becomes a metaphor for white America's relationship with indigenous peoples. [+]
270.
Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers (1995) *
---Horror Sequel
Michael Myers is back and he's after his niece, her newborn child, and anyone who gets in his way. [-]
271.
Popcorn (1991)
---Horror
When a group of college students attempt to put on horror movie marathon they draw the attention of a serial killer. [=]
272.
Drag Me to Hell (2009)
---Horror
An old woman who refuses to take responsibilities for her own actions and doesn't understand how capitalism works curses a bank employee to be dragged to hell. [=]
273.
The Gorgon (1964)
---Horror
A German village in 1910 is terrorized by a gorgon hiding in human form. [-]
274.
Let the Wrong One In (2021)
---Horror Comedy
A young man struggles with what to do when his older brother is bitten by a vampire and asks him for sanctuary. [-]
275.
Dr Jekyll & Sister Hyde (1971) *
See #220
276.
Fright Night (2011)
---Horror Comedy
A teenager becomes convinced that his next door neighbor is actually a deadly vampire. [=]
277.
The Last Witch Hunter (2015)
---Fantasy Action Adventure
Hundreds of years ago a knight manages to defeat a powerful witch and in return is cursed with eternal life. Now in the present day he discovers a plot to bring the witch back after a friend of his is murdered. [=]
278.
Elvira's Haunted Hills (2011)
---Spooky Comedy
Elvira and her handmaiden are on their way to Paris when they find themselves stranded without lodging. They are taken in by a doctor and invited to stay at his castle only to discover that there is something strange going on there. [-]
279.
The Theater Bizarre (2011)
---Anthology Horror
A woman enters an abandoned theater and each shown a series of 6 gruesome stories. [-]
280.
The Midnight Hour (1985)
---Comedy Horror Romance
One Halloween night some high school kids inadvertently raise the dead. [+]
281.
Escape Room (2019)
---Horror
A group of people who were all sole survivors of tragic accidents are invited to a mysterious escape room. [=]
282.
Halloween at Aunt Ethel's (2019)
---Comedy Horror
The kids in town suspect a woman named Ethel of killing and eating kids every Halloween. They are correct. If everyone was thinking this why did no one tell the police? The film makes you wonder about a lot things. Not in a thought-provoking kind of way mind you, just in the quietly confused kind of way that comes with poor writing. [--]
283.
Hackers (1995) *
---Queer Crime Drama
A group of teenage hackers must clear their names and prevent an ecological disaster when an evil computer genius tries to frame them for a crime. [++]
284.
The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster (2023)
---Sci-Fi Horror
A smart young girl tries to bring her brother back to life in a world where everyone seems to want them dead. [=]
285.
The Witch (2015) *
---Period Fantasy Horror
A series of terrible misfortunes have a family in 1600s New England looking for a someone to blame and their eyes are set on superstitions and their young teenage daughter. [++]
286.
ManFish (2022)
---Comedy Horror
A depressed man finds someone who truly understands him when he discovers a manfish creature on the beach. His wife and brother, however, have different plans for it. [-]
287.
The Hallow (2015)
---Folk Horror
A British family moves to rural Ireland for work and—in historical fashion—fails to respect its land, people, and stories. After poking their nose where it doesn't belong they become the target of a group of ancient creatures. [+]
288.
Cube (2021)
---Horror Remake
A Japanese remake of the 1997 Canadian movie Cube. [-]
289.
Halloween H2O: 20 Years Later (1998)
---Horror Sequel
20 years after the events of Halloween II Michael Meyers finally manages to track Laurie down and get back to what he does best: being a menace. [=]
290.
Priscilla (2023)
---BioPic Drama
A biopic about Priscilla Presley and her toxic relationship with Elvis. [-]
291.
Quiz Lady (2023)
---Comedy Adventure
Two estranged sisters reunite and attempt to win a game show in order to raise the money they need to cover their mother's gambling debts and get their dog back. [+]
292.
The Wolf House (2018)
---Animated Horror Fairy Tale
An fairy tale interpretation of the case of the Colonia Dignidad in 1970s Chile. [+]
293.
Ginger Snaps (2000) *
---Coming-of-Age Horror
The relationship between two teenage sisters will never be the same when one them starts bleeding, growing hair where there wasn't hair before, cramping, and more. Because, you guessed it, it's the time of the month for werewolves. [+]
294.
Goodbye Pork Pie (1980)
---Crime Adventure Comedy
Two fellas with nothing to lose decide to drive a stolen car across New Zealand. [=]
295.
Petite Maman (2021)
---Magical-Realism Coming-of-Age Drama
An eight-year-old girl struggles to deal with the pain of having recently lost her grandmother and the fear of losing her mother. While exploring the woods one day she encounters a girl her own age and the two bond. [++]
296.
My Life as a Zucchini (2016)
---Animated Coming-of-Age Drama Comedy
A child has to go live at an orphanage and begins to learn what family really means. [++]
297.
Training Day (2001)
---Crime Thriller
An LA cop is up for a promotion contingent on a one day ride along evaluation from a narcotics officer. He soon learns he is about to the get the training session of a life time: in how corrupt law enforcement really is. [+]
298.
Shin Godzilla (2016)
---Creature Feature
A massive radioactive creature begins to attack Japan and a bloated bureaucracy is preventing anything from getting done about it. With time ticking down before the rest of the world aggressively intervenes the people of Japan will have to work together to find a solution. [--]
299.
Till Death (2021)
---Thriller
A woman tries to get rid of her abusive husband, but that is hard to do when his body is currently handcuffed to her wrist. [+]
300.
Little Woods (2018)
---Drama Crime
Ollie is on probation after serving time for smuggling prescription drugs from Canada into her small North Dakotan town to help the poor people there. Trying to do everything she can to put her old life behind her, familial bonds begin to pull her back into her old ways when her sister needs medical help and can't afford it. [+]
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Estee Lauder Lip Shine Set
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Estee Lauder Lip High shine Set
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Ocean on the moon Europa
Scientists' consensus is that a layer of liquid water exists beneath Europa's surface, and that heat from tidal flexing allows the subsurface ocean to remain liquid.
Europa's surface temperature averages about 110 K (−160 °C; −260 °F) at the equator and only 50 K (−220 °C; −370 °F) at the poles, keeping Europa's icy crust as hard as granite. The first hints of a subsurface ocean came from theoretical considerations of tidal heating (a consequence of Europa's slightly eccentric orbit and orbital resonance with the other Galilean moons). Galileo imaging team members argue for the existence of a subsurface ocean from analysis of Voyager and Galileo images.
The most dramatic example is "chaos terrain", a common feature on Europa's surface that some interpret as a region where the subsurface ocean has melted through the icy crust.
The thin-ice model suggests that Europa's ice shell may be only a few kilometers thick. However, most planetary scientists conclude that this model considers only those topmost layers of Europa's crust that behave elastically when affected by Jupiter's tides.
The Hubble Space Telescope acquired an image of Europa in 2012 that was interpreted to be a plume of water vapour erupting from near its south pole The image suggests the plume may be 200 km (120 mi) high, or more than 20 times the height of Mt. Everest.
Life?
So far, there is no evidence that life exists on Europa, but Europa has emerged as one of the most likely locations in the Solar System for potential habitability. Life could exist in its under-ice ocean, perhaps in an environment similar to Earth's deep-ocean hydrothermal vents. Even if Europa lacks volcanic hydrothermal activity, a 2016 NASA study found that Earth-like levels of hydrogen and oxygen could be produced through processes related to serpentinization and ice-derived oxidants, which do not directly involve volcanism.
In 2015, scientists announced that salt from a subsurface ocean may likely be coating some geological features on Europa, suggesting that the ocean is interacting with the seafloor. This may be important in determining if Europa could be habitable. The likely presence of liquid water in contact with Europa's rocky mantle has spurred calls to send a probe there.
Missions
Europa Clipper is an interplanetary mission in development by NASA comprising an orbiter. Set for a launch in October 2024, the spacecraft is being developed to study the Galilean moon Europa through a series of flybys while in orbit around Jupiter.
The Europa Lander is a proposed astrobiology mission concept by NASA to Europa, an icy moon of Jupiter. If funded and developed as a large strategic science mission, it would be launched in 2027 to complement the studies by the Europa Clipper orbiter mission and perform analyses on site. NASA's budget for fiscal year 2021 neither mandates nor allocates any funds to the mission leaving its future uncertain.
The objectives of the mission are to search for biosignatures at the subsurface ≈10 cm, to characterize the composition of non-ice near-subsurface material, and determine the proximity of liquid water and recently erupted material near the lander's location.
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#europa#moon#satellite#satelite#astronomy#astronomia#astrobiologia#space#cosmos#life#lifeprotips#ice#science#jupiter#nasa#probe
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What a Brazilian state can teach the world about education
[Image description: a masked child reading a school book in a classroom.]
WHEN AMAURY GOMES began teaching history in Sobral in the mid-1990s, its schools were a mess. The city of 200,000 people lies in Ceará, a baking-hot north-eastern state that has one of Brazil’s highest rates of poverty. When local officials ordered tests in 2001 they found that 40% of Sobral’s eight-year-olds could not read at all. One-third of primary pupils had been held back for at least a year. Staff were not always much better, recalls Mr Gomes. He remembers a head teacher who signed documents with a thumbprint, because she lacked the confidence even to scribble her own name.
These days Mr Gomes is the boss of a local teacher-training college, and his city gets visitors from across Brazil. In 2015 Sobral’s primary-school children made headlines by scoring highest in the country in tests of maths and literacy, a milestone in a journey begun almost 20 years before. The pandemic has thrust the city back into the spotlight as a model for educators seeking to reboot schooling after lengthy closures. In November ambitious officials from other parts of Brazil trooped into Mr Gomes’s college, the first group since the start of the pandemic to attend one of the tours Sobral offers to curious outsiders.
Success stories are important to Brazil’s beleaguered educators, now more than ever. Before the pandemic only about half of children could read by the time they finished primary school, compared with nearly three-quarters in other upper-middle-income countries. In 2017 the World Bank warned that it could take 260 years before Brazil’s 15-year-olds are reading and writing as well as peers in the rich world. Since then many Brazilian pupils have missed around 18 months of face-to-face lessons as a result of school closures (most schools have now reopened). Few countries kept classrooms shut for as long. Data from São Paulo suggest that during this period children learned less than a third of what they normally would have, and that the risk of pupils dropping out tripled.
Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil’s president, seems to have no meaningful plan to get teaching back on track. Even before covid-19 his educational policies were meagre. He said he wanted more schools to be run by the army and for Congress to legalise home-schooling. Yet his chaotic administration has not made much progress towards even these eccentric goals. It has churned through four education ministers in three years. There is one consolation, says Priscila Cruz of All for Education, a charity based in São Paulo. She thinks the vacuum in the federal government is making municipal and state officials keener to seek lessons from each other.
Continue reading.
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Interior by Sir William Orpen, ca. 1901
Even though we know who they are, the couple posing in William Orpen’s Interior are not sitting for a double portrait. The man, his eyes downcast, leans on a cabinet, while the woman, seated beside him looks away. In the dingy room the conversation has subsided. Their placing, and the momentary lapse that links them, suggests that complex events, those of a play, or a novel, have brought them to this point. The painter had, as we know from his success with The Play Scene from ‘Hamlet’, 1899 (Private Collection), an unerring sense of theatre.
The present picture is one from an exceptional series of interiors begun at 21 Fitzroy Street, London, in 1899-1901. The group includes, A Mere Fracture, The Valuers, The Chess-Players, The Refugees, A Window London Street, and the present work. While in a number of instances these works followed the artist to his new rooms in Honiton Street, Chelsea following his marriage to Grace Knewstub in August 1901, Interior appears to have been abandoned around the time of the move. Before his wedding, the young artist remained in close contact with former Slade School friends who gathered at the gaunt eighteenth-century terrace, then known as The Newcomes, and so named because it was the former abode of Colonel Newcome and his artist son, Clive, the eponymous heroes of William Makepeace Thackeray’s novel (1855). (In Thackeray’s day the area around Fitzroy Square was known as ‘Anglo-India’ on account of its popularity with retired colonial service officers, of which the fictional Colonel Newcome was one.)
By 1899, when Orpen left the Slade School of Fine Art, the house was in the hands of Augusta Everett, the eccentric mother of John (Herbert) Everett, one of his Slade contemporaries (see Gwen Yarker, Inquisitive Eyes, Slade Painters in Edwardian Wessex, 2016, Sansom & Co, Bristol, pp. 43-55.) Orpen occupied rooms in the cellar, installed a four-poster bed which features in The English Nude (Mildura Art Centre) and the portrait of Augustus John (National Portrait Gallery, London), and, when potential sitters appeared, sprinkled eau-de-Cologne to kill the smells that rose from the earthen floor. Here, under the rafters of the dreary edifice, he also worked on Interior.
The painting shows Emily Elizabeth Scoble, the artist’s model and girlfriend prior to his marriage. Not only was she The English Nude, but she also posed for The Mirror (Tate, London), shown at the New English Art Club winter exhibition in 1900, and one of the artist’s most celebrated works. Behind her stands Everard Meynell, also a Slade student and son of Alice Meynell, Oscar Wilde’s ‘Sybil of Style’, and one of the most respected late Victorian women poets. His father Wilfrid, an important editor and publisher, patronised Orpen around 1900 and wrote the early article on the painter. (Wilfrid Meynell, ‘William Orpen’, The Artist, vol XXXI, no 260, August 1901, pp. 177-185. Wilfrid, for instance, purchased Orpen’s Portrait of Augustus John, 1900, which his daughter, Olivia, sold to the National Portrait Gallery in 1948 for £400).
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promise critic
( ￣ー￣)φ__
it’s wangxian time~
~
The wine is expensive.
Wei Ying knows that it is. He has quite an extensive palette without really being a wine taster and he just knew.
Besides, it was Lan Zhan that he was on a date with and his fiance wouldn’t take him to some crummy, under serviced, middle class, venue. No no, his boyfriend (fiance, future husband, whatever-you-want-to-be,) had made an appointment with him for dinner at one of the floating restaurants that overlooked the city that they lived in. They had been together for more than 8 years now which is the adequate amount of time for Wei Ying to get used to the riches that his boyfriend never really flaunts but has more than enough to use.
(“We live comfortably,” Lan Zhan had commented softly on their 52nd date. It was such a rich person thing to say, Wei Ying should have called it when he heard that)
Besides, being the upcoming heir to one of the biggest tech companies on the global market is no easy feat. Money is available, but time is a luxury.
Sitting at the table, Wei Ying stares at the candlelight setting before him, his second cup of wine setting the romantic ambiance. He knows he should savor it to really enjoy it but after another few minutes pass he takes another large gulp. The floor to ceiling glass windows show an incredible bird’s-eye view of the night city. The small buildings and car lights below twinkle like fluorescent stars, and they’re beautiful enough to keep his attention for a while. But the hour has passed by and Wei Ying has felt every second of it.
Wei Ying would be lying to himself if he said that he wasn’t excited for the date that they had planned today. It was no special day, no anniversary, nothing markable. It would be the first time in a few months that Wei Ying could finally sit across from the man he loved and just look at him for more than minutes at a time. It would be a night when they would finally be alone, without the annoying phone calls, beepers, whatever. No disturbance. Just him, Lan Zhan and the pristine silk bed sheets that he owned back at the penthouse.
Wei Ying chucked the rest of his emptying wine glass back harshly. He’s unbothered when a bit of it drips from the corner of his lips and onto his white open collared dress shirt. Wei Ying doesn’t care about the looks and stares thrown at him, too busy nodding at the kind server that had immediately returned with another fill of the expensive and aged wine.
When the server leaves Wei Ying brings the cup up to his face, twirling the cup and watching the liquid swish swish swish in a lazy circle. It’s a beautiful color, a dark burgundy. Its scent is clear and oh so fragrant. Despite its beauty, it’ll never beat his favorite batch of Emperor’s Smile. Wei Ying smiles at the cup, bringing it to his lips for a soft sip.
When he’s done, he pulls out his phone again, checking the last message that he received from his beloved.
Just left the office
On my way to you
6:17 PM
Already waiting ;PP
6:19 PM
Received
It was now a little after eight o’clock. Wei Ying clicks the phone off, turning back to the tall wine glass that’s been his only company for the past two hours. He eyes the cup nonchalantly, grabbing it and holding it up to the candlelight. Its flame has flickered and danced before an empty seat for a while now.
“Cheers,” he tells to no one.
He finishes it all in one gulp.
~
Lan Zhan had never been one to run but he’s doing that now.
The batches of roses in his hands seem like a barely appropriate gift at this point. He sprints into the building entrance, nearly knocking into some departing guests if it weren’t for his reflexes and their attention. He apologizes curtly before running through the lobby to where the elevators are located.
He’s just turned the corner when he hears the ding of the elevator’s arrival.
Or departure, his brain reminds him.
Lan Zhan runs, hoping that he won’t have too many sweat stains by the time he reaches the dinner table. He sees the door closing as he approaches and simply barrels his way through the crack. The door bounces open after the interruption and Lan Zhan (blessedly) still has his face when the elevator opens to an empty lift. Lan Zhan steps in and slams the button to the highest floor, quickly hitting the close door button. Only when the elevator music hums a soft tune on his journey up does he realize the state of his bouquet.
Half of the flowers are smushed and the other half has nearly lost all its petals. Lan Zhan hadn’t even realized that he had used the bouquet to block the elevator doors from closing. Lan Zhan sighs softly, fingers gently holding one of the few petals left on the abused flowers.
It falls off with a soft caress.
He plans to hide the bouquet behind his back when he enters.
The elevator doors open and he speedily walks out and into the high floating restaurant that he had made a reservation for. Lan Zhan walks up to the hostess, easily telling them his reservation and being led into the dining area. He follows, hot on the hostess’ heels as they lead him to an empty table next to the floor to ceiling windows. It’s a beautiful site and for a moment Lan Zhan takes in a steadying breath.
He thanks the hostess quietly as he sits down, putting the bouquet on the table. In all honesty, he knew Wei Ying wouldn’t mind as much.
For one small moment, as he catches his breath, Lan Zhan is relieved.
Wei Ying wasn’t here yet, Lan Zhan thinks to himself, fixing his collar and his vest into a semblance of normalcy.
He sits there taking in a deep breath, when a server approaches his table with bated breath. Lan Zhan is used to the nervousness of strangers (most people know him and his uncle’s tech empire) though the pity in this server’s eyes is new.
“Before you order, I have to tell you there was a man here before you. He was sitting here around a little before 6 o’clock” the server starts.
Lan Zhan’s eyes widen a millimeter, though his insides shake.
“He left around 30, 40 minutes ago. And left a tab. Would I be right to presume that you will be taking up the bill?” the server asks.
Lan Zhan breathes softly, nodding his head.
“Would you like to order anything-”
“Please give me the bill for the man from before, quickly” Lan Zhan urges. The server’s mouth clamps shut and with a nod he’s shuffling off to the register.
Lan Zhan sighs, slouching into his chair. When Lan Zhan checks his wrist watch, he sees the minute hand only a few ticks away from 9 o’clock. Lan Zhan holds his head. At this rate, he wouldn’t have blamed Wei Ying if his fiance had ordered himself a full course meal and several desserts. It wasn’t as if Lan Zhan didn’t have enough money to spend on him. But more importantly, he deserved it.
“Your bill sir,” the server says, placing the small booklet down before him.
Lan Zhan opens it up, scanning the receipt.
All that’s printed is a small Goldeneye Pinot Noir that’s priced at $260. Lan Zhan sighs, slipping his credit card in and handing the booklet back to the server to get it processed.
The moment his card is returned he’s running again.
Only this time he knows for sure where to.
~
Wei Ying sits on the couch, bundled in blankets and eating slowly from the microwaved leftovers they had. His suit ,dress shirt, cufflinks, and all the other things that he used to doll himself up are placed somewhere in his closet, hanging like a surrender flag. He lets the TV in front of him mindlessly babble on.
Wei Ying hates that he’s used to the company of inanimate objects more than his boyfriend’s real, human warmth.
The overwhelming thought of loneliness ruins the little appetite that he has to start with and he places the half finished dish onto the ceramic modern artsy coffee table. The characters on the reality TV show are eccentric and the captions throw the rest of the dark living room into a funny sort of lighting.
Wei Ying leans on his arm, making himself comfortable.
He guesses he has to get used to being comfortable with himself as company. The stupidity of the show he’s started in the middle of and the lack of attention he has to care brings out a drowsiness that he can’t tamper down.
Wei Ying is in the middle of drifting off to sleep when the living room lights turn on. He doesn’t need to move up from the couch to know who had walked in. As steps near him, Wei Ying chooses to squeeze his eyes shut instead ignoring the painful lump he knows will lodge in his throat if he sees him.
Wei Ying can smell Lan Zhan’s sandalwood cologne when he gets close enough and he is able to pinpoint exactly where Lan Zhan’s face has aligned by the sound of his breaths. Wei Ying knows Lan Zhan too well.
After a second, Wei Ying feels himself being lifted up though he does not outwardly show his surprise as much as he feels it. Wei Ying feels himself held and the steadiness of arms hooked underneath his back and knees. He lets himself nuzzle close to Lan Zhan’s neck in this small moment and this moment only. Just to remember what it felt like to be held by him.
The trip to the bedroom is soft and easy.
Lan Zhan is all gentle hands when he deposits Wei Ying onto the bed. Wei Ying keeps his eyes closed, feeling the way Lan Zhan shifts his limbs into a more comfortable position and draping the comforter over him. Wei Ying has missed waking up to these caresses, these touches.
The moment he begins to reminisce, the touches leave. Wei Ying blinks his eyes open. He stares up at the ceiling, lying still on the bed. He hears Lan Zhan shuffling a little ways in front of him by the dresser. When Wei Ying sits up, it’s to Lan Zhan closing the bathroom door behind him.
~
When Lan Zhan steps out of the bathroom later, he’s toweling his hair. So he is immensely surprised when he removes the towel from his head to see his wide-awake fiance sitting on the bed.
Staring at him.
“You’re awake,” Lan Zhan deduces redundantly.
Wei Ying’s stare is unrelenting and he is quiet.
It is uncomfortable, getting the silent treatment from someone usually talkative. Lan Zhan is not surprised that his fiance is sulking, he deserves it.
What Lan Zhan is not prepared for, after the tense silent pause, is for a throw pillow to hit him smack in the face.
It lands well on its target, the soft corner of the pillow punching him in the mouth. Lan Zhan only has a second to blink before another pillow slaps his forehead. Lan Zhan sputters, moving his hand up to block another pillow attempt. Lan Zhan vaguely remembers the pile of pillows they usually have at the top of the bed. He knows that it will probably be a long night. Knowing that he is going to be relentlessly ambushed by pillows, Lan Zhan begins to dodge the throws, strategically trying to get closer to the bed.
As he edges closer, he realizes Wei Ying is muttering every time he aims a pillow at his fiance’s head.
“This is for when you missed dinner for the past couple of weeks...made me eat alone” Wei Ying says, throwing a small round pillow. It hits Lan Zhan’s shoulder.
“This is for all the times you didn’t pick up your phone because you were in a meeting and didn’t call me back” Wei Ying pouts. The pillow flies a bit over Lan Zhan’s head as he ducks.
“This is for the time you went on a two week business trip and didn’t bring me with you” Wei Ying shouts. The small pillow hits Lan Zhan in the stomach.
Lan Zhan is near the bed now, practically standing in front of Wei Ying. This close, he can finally see the tremble of his fiance’s lower lip. His eyes glimmer with a wetness as he stares up at Lan Zhan hovering over him.
“This is for standing me up on our date.” Wei Ying says, holding the pillow and smacking it into Lan Zhan’s side. Lan Zhan deals with it for a few more minutes before he blocks an incoming hit. He catches the pillow as Wei Ying swings it, pulling it out of his hands and throwing it onto the bed. Wei Ying’s shoulders are shaking when Lan Zhan grabs him and pulls him into his arms. Wei Ying begins crying softly, smushing his face into Lan Zhan’s stomach. Lan Zhan brings a hand up to the back of his head, softly rubbing at the hairs at the edge of his neck.
Wei Ying digs his face into where Lan Zhan’s held his head, letting the tears escape his eyes freely. He doesn’t usually cry as much as this. Lan Zhan lets out another deep breath, feeling the ache and guilt lodged in his throat at the sight of his fiance like this because of him.
Wei Ying’s cries pass quicker than expected and Lan Zhan is surprised when Wei Ying looks up at him.
“Are you hungry?”
Lan Zhan is confused, jolted out of his thoughts by the sudden question.
Wei Ying wipes at his face with the back of his hand.
“I could hear your stomach growling a little,” Wei Ying explains, huffing out a dry laugh. He plays with the ends of Lan Zhan’s pajama shirt. Lan Zhan is still quietly standing in front of him, eyes staring at the crown of his fiance’s head.
“You should eat something before you go to sleep. It’s not good to skip meals--”
“I’m so sorry, Wei Ying,” Lan Zhan apologizes. Wei Ying looks up to him, sighs and just shakes his head.
“I know you never mean to. You’re the next CEO and it’s a lot of work and I get that…” Wei Ying says, twisting the ends of Lan Zhan’s pajama shirt again. Lan Zhan looks at his fumbling hands and takes a chance. He slips his hand into one of Wei Ying’s. The other man lets out a breath of surprise. But Lan Zhan feels the biggest relief when he doesn’t let go.
“...But I haven’t had dinner with you in weeks. Hell I haven’t even seen you properly in weeks, let alone go on a date with you…”
Lan Zhan kneels down in front of Wei Ying mid-babble. He holds both of Wei Ying’s hands in his. His thumbs brushed against Wei Ying’s knuckles. Simultaneously, they both let out a soft breath. Wei Ying opens his mouth to fill up the silence that has settled between him. But Lan Zhan beats him to it.
“I can say sorry as many times as you need, but I can’t make up for everything I’ve missed and all the times I disappointed you,” Lan Zhan says honestly. Wei Ying stares at him.
“But I’ll make it up to you,” Lan Zhan states. Wei Ying looks at him with a hopeful glint in his eyes. Lan Zhan wants that to stay there for the entire future that they have together and the rest of eternity.
“I promise,” Lan Zhan vows. Wei Ying let out a soft laugh, blinking away the tears that gathered in his eyes.
~
In the morning, when the soft glow of sunlight shifts through the window, Wei Ying opens his eyes to a sight sorely missed. Lan Zhan’s sleeping profile, with the blanket pulled up high to his chin. His dewy face in the sunlight makes his grayscale bedroom softer.
Lan Zhan has kept his promise.
Wei Ying smiles into the pillow shuffling across the sheet and nuzzling his face into the top of Lan Zhan’s already messy bedhead. The man beneath him hums softly. Only a moment later, Wei Ying feels an arm curl around his waist and drag him closer. Lan Zhan presses his face into Wei Ying’s chest. He does not look like he will be waking up any time soon.
Finally, Wei Ying thinks to himself breathing in Lan Zhan’s scent.
As Wei Ying closes his eyes, he smiles falling into a lazy slumber.
#the untamed#cql#mo dao zu shi#mdzs#mdzs fanfiction#mdzs donghua#the untamed fanfic#mdzs wwx#mdzs lan zhan#lan wangji#lan zhan#wei wuxian#wei ying#modern au#fanfic#mdzs modern au#mdzs headcanons#date night#romance#drabble#short#one shot#wangxian#wangji x wuxian#grandmaster of demonic cultivation
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Year 3 Part 7- Keeper of the Keys
Hey, guys. I'm sorry this update took so long. Shit has been well...weird. Hard to explain. However, rest assured I am not abandoning this pic, not by a long shot. Updates just won't be consistently regular as a warning to all my readers. To make up for some lost time, this is a longer chapter and I hope you all enjoy!
To say that Tulip Karasu was eccentric was an understatement. Nevertheless, David had no choice but to play ball for now if he wanted any of the information he sought. He was a bit apprehensive sitting at the Ravenclaw table during dinner, but luckily Andre’s assertion proved to be correct. No one desired to sit near her and therefore they could spend the meal alone and in peace.
Stuffing Dennis into her shirt pocket, the Ravenclaw began to serve herself and cut up her chicken into several tiny pieces before eating. The young Gryffindor was hungry, but he preferred to focus on the matter at hand. Something about this girl was oddly fascinating. He also had many questions to ask.
“So how exactly did you stumble across my brother’s room and how was I not aware of that? Furthermore, since when are multiple people looking for the vaults?”
“One question at a time,” Tulip countered with a smile. “I still need to know why I should work with you, David Grant.”
The use of his full name was another idiosyncratic habit she seemed to demonstrate. That being said, it couldn’t hurt to give her a pitch. Especially since it sounded like she had been working with another person, possibly more than one in searching for the vault. From the looks of it, their progress was better than his in finding the latest one.
“I don’t usually play this card but...I’m the best chance you have at getting inside of a vault. I’m one of the strongest duelists in our year and I’ve broken one curse already.”
“You’re a very determined and talented person, there’s no denying that,” Tulip replied thoughtfully. “But it seems like I’m closer to finding the next vault than you are. Why shouldn’t I just go off on my own?”
“Because if we assist each other, it’ll help us solve the mystery faster,” David explained. “You found my brother’s room, but I doubt you’re any closer to knowing the vault’s location.”
“True. You make logical points. But Dumbledore forbade any student from searching for them this year. What if something goes wrong and you try to pin the blame on me?”
Tulip was testing him, he knew that. She followed rules no more than he did. But clearly this was a person who didn’t trust people easily.
“I don’t rat on my friends,” David said simply. “When I thought Bill might not make prefect, I tried to take the blame from McGonagall. I’d do the same for you.
“Perish the thought of me ever becoming prefect,” Tulip laughed. “However, I am glad that you value the people around you.”
“I’ll put this simply: I don’t care about whatever so-called power the vaults have. I’m only in this for one reason and that’s to find my brother.”
The Ravenclaw girl scanned him up and down, as though he were a mildly intriguing piece of modern art. David felt a bit uncomfortable but said nothing. Finally she spoke again.
“I don’t know that I like you yet, David Grant, but I do trust you.”
Okay that’s a start...I guess
“Then will you tell me who your accomplice was?” he asked her.
“Merula Snyde.”
David immediately spit out the pumpkin juice he’d been consuming causing a few Ravenclaws to look over with mild disgust.
“WHAT?! But why would you team up with her of all people? You seem way too smart to trust Merula.”
Tulip gave him her most serious look yet.
“Merula is a lot smarter than you give her credit for. You may not like her personality, but there’s no denying her skill.”
David scoffed. “Yeah I’ll get back to you on that one. I’ve beaten her so many times in duels I’ve lost count. She’s always trying to one up me but never succeeds.”
“Her greatest weakness is that she believes she’s invincible. But more on that later. The point is we were working together at one point but then we had a falling out. Unfortunately she still has the other key to your brother’s room.”
“Then we have to get it back.”
“Agreed,” Tulip said. “But the question is ‘how’? She’s not going to hand it over willingly.”
“I’ve found over the years that the only way to get Merula Snyde to do anything is by forcing her. Typically after one beats her in a duel.”
“That may work, but this situation is also quite delicate and we don’t want to draw unnecessary attention to ourselves from the teachers. Especially if they caught us fighting.”
David agreed with that conclusion. They would need to try another method.
“Then what do you suggest?
Tulip gave another sly smile.
“Leave that to me. I’ll come up with something that will turn Merula on her head.”
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Tulip told him she would need some time to plan and would message him when ready. In the meantime, David kept busy with homework which was significantly heavier this year with two added electives. He also enjoyed the start of Quidditch season given it was the first week of November. Unfortunately, unlike the previous year, things didn't go as swimmingly for Gryffindor this time around. Slytherin edged them 300-260 in the opening match. None was as ecstatic as Merula and she constantly reminded him about it during the week.
“I really hope Tulip comes up with a plan soon,” David muttered one day while sitting in the common room with Rowan and Bill. The two third years were finishing Transfiguration homework while the prefect looked over potions he might expect to find on his OWLs. “If I have to listen to Merula brag about Slytherin’s victory any longer I might just have to learn the silencing charm in order to shut her big mouth.”
Rowan chuckled as he turned the page on Intermediate Transfiguration by Emeric Switch.
“You’ll get your chance at payback soon enough, especially if you intend to get that key.”
“I know...I just wish she’d hurry up. Losing to Merula in anything is unbearable.”
“Be thankful you weren’t directly responsible for the loss,” Bill said to him, indicating the somber figure of his brother slumping in one of the chairs. Charlie had been noticeably quiet since the match, avoiding crowds and shutting himself up in the dormitory most of the time outside of class.
“Is he going to be alright?”
“He’ll get over it,” Bill assured them. “But despite what you may think, Charlie is super competitive when it comes to Quidditch. He hates losing and this was the first time in his career he’s never caught the snitch.”
“Can’t win them all I suppose,” David sighed. “We should have won, though. Skye was flying circles around them again. And that Slytherin beater totally committed a foul before Charlie could seal the deal.”
“It happens. I hate losing to Slytherin too, but a little perspective never hurts. There’s another cursed vault out there we need to find.”
David and Rowan nodded. You could always count on Bill to be level headed when it came to these situations.
“Speaking of, any luck with deciphering the rest of that book?”
“It’s slow going,” Rowan said shaking his head. “I swear I’m going barmy from trying to make out all the symbols. It gets more complicated the deeper you get into the book.”
“Don’t overwork yourself,” Bill said kindly. “The best thing we can do now is getting into that room.”
As it happened, there was more progress on that front. Jae Kim suddenly appeared in front of their group.
“I was told by a certain Tulip Karasu to tell David that she wants you to meet her in the courtyard straight away.”
The three Gryffindors looked at each other with anticipation.
“Did she say anything else?”
Jae shrugged.
“Nope. I’m just passing along the message. If you’ll excuse me, I have orders to fill.”
Bill gave an uneasy expression as the Korean boy walked off.
“I sometimes wonder if I shouldn’t be doing more to prevent him from running that little black market of contraband he has.”
“Jae does plenty to get himself in trouble without your involvement,” David chuckled. “I swear we don’t even need Zonko’s. He supplies half the school with Fanged Frisbees by himself.”
He stood up and brushed off some of the couch lint on his jeans.
“Guess I better see what Tulip wants.”
“Hopefully she’s got a plan,” Rowan said eagerly.
“Yeah...hopefully.”
Despite barely knowing her, David had a feeling that whatever Tulip Karasu wanted, it was bound to be interesting to say the least.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
He made his way down to the specified area where Tulip was waiting just outside the entrance. Unlike her uniform, she wore a blue coat over a thick sweater with a matching beanie hat with a puffball on top combined with a flowy skirt, black tights, and flats. It was a brisk day despite the sunny weather and winter was well on the way.
“Good. You made it,” she greeted him. “Are you ready for my plan?”
“Don’t need Trelawney’s ‘Inner Eye’ to predict you’ve got something cooked up.”
“You’re becoming more perceptive,” Tulip said with a mischievous smirk. “Merula is over there, holding court with her lackeys.”
David gave a small peek, and sure enough the Slytherin girl was there alongside Barnaby and Ismelda. What they were talking about, he couldn’t hear but Merula was clearly animated about something.
“I’d recognize that orange tuft of hair anywhere. So what’s the big plan?”
“Even though they aren’t that bright, Barnaby and Ismelda are still tough and ruthless,” Tulip explained. “We need a diversion to lure them away from her. And luckily, I have the perfect item for the job.”
Out of her coat came a dungbomb, except twice as large and covered with some kind of outer shell.
“I call it the ultimate dungbomb,” she grinned. “Mixed in with some stinksap. I used the hardening charm ‘Duro’ to give it some heft. We toss this into their little circle and they won’t know what hit them.”
“Wouldn’t want to be on the receiving end of that thing,” David said, eyeing the putried projectile. “So now what? Do we levitate it or something?”
“Follow my lead. We hide behind the fountain until the perfect moment to strike.”
And so they entered the courtyard, tiptoeing along the way, careful not to make too much noise. The wind aided them in this goal and as they drew closer David could make out the conversation the three Slytherins were having.
“...can’t believe this! We’ve searched everywhere! We’re never going to find a cursed vault!”
“We should cast the Cruciatus Curse on Grant on his friends. Torture makes everyone talk,” Ismelda suggested with dark glee.
“Talking to you is torture. You have some serious issues, Ismelda,” Merula responded.
“We should ask Dumbledore. He’s really smart,” Barnaby said thickly.
By now Tulip and David were crouched low behind the fountain, peering over slightly to get a sense of distance from their opponents.
“Dumbledore spent half his welcome speech telling us to stay away from the vaults. Or did you forget that, you nitwit,” Merula chastised.
“We could give him Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans. I heard he likes those.”
“Sometimes I wonder if your brain was replaced by a Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Bean.”
“I still say we should use an unforgivable,” Ismelda cut in. “I’d like to cast the killing curse on the next Gryffindor I see.”
That earned a look of derision and disgust from her leader.
“You don’t even know the killing curse.”
“I sat on a bowtruckle once!” Barnaby pipped up.
“What does that have to do with anything?” Ismelda asked, looking at Barnaby as though he had a second head.
“I thought we were talking about killing things.”
“Ugh, I hate you both,” Merula commented, rolling her eyes.
David shook his head behind the fountain.
“Merlin, this is literally too stupid to listen to. Now?”
Tulip nodded.
“Now!”
Using her wand, the Ravenclaw sent the ultimate dungbomb flying into the air towards the Slytherin trio. It exploded upon impact causing a toxic mist of green and yellow to fill the air and all three began to tear up, covering their noses with their arms.
“Dear, Merlin that is awful!” Ismelda cried, coughing into her arm.
“I can’t breathe!” Barnaby said coughing as well. “Let’s get out of here!”
Merula was hacking and wheezing too, but she still had enough oxygen to call after them as they ran.
“Get back here you cowards! It’s just a dungbomb!”
David wasted no time in stepping out of the shadows, Tulip in tow. They both confronted the angry Slytherin, who became irate upon laying her eyes on them.
“I should have known it was you!” Merula shouted, trembling with rage.
“Your powers of perception are truly dizzying,” he said to her in a bored tone.
“Hand the key over to us, Merula. I don’t know how long I can stand your stink,” Tulip demanded.
The look on the Slytherin’s face went from rage to incredulous.
“Us? You betrayed me, started working with Grant and have the audacity to ask me to give you the second key?”
“Actually...yeah.”
Merula’s expression returned to its usual nasty leer.
“Well too bad. I’m not giving you anything. How does it feel knowing I found your brother’s room before you did, Grant?”
“I don’t have time for this, Merula,” David said sternly. “Give us the key, now.”
Tulip then did something unexpected, stepping forward, a note of sympathy in her voice.
“We could use your help. This doesn’t have to turn ugly. Work with us.”
David was surprised at the offer of assistance and wondered where it stemmed from but predictably, Merula turned it down.
“I don’t want to work with you, I want to duel. Specifically you, Grant. Beat me again and the key is yours…” she withdrew her wand from her sleeve. “But I don’t plan on losing to you. Not this time.”
David withdrew his own wand and prepared for battle. In truth, he was looking forward to pop her ego once more.
“You never learn, do you Merula?”
He quickly fired a disarming spell, but she ducked while sending one of her own which missed over his shoulder, causing Tulip to dodge.
“Petrificus Totalus!”
Despite it heading straight for her chest, the Slytherin demonstrated remarkable athleticism by rolling to her side and firing back a retort.
“Flipendo!”
David was forced to copy the same maneuver, scraping his elbow on the stone but managed to avoid the knockback jinx. Wheeling back around he aimed a jelly legs jinx but again it missed due to Merula’s agility.
She’s clearly learned a thing or two since last year
The Slytherin began pressing forward, drawing closer with each curse she fired off, putting David on the defensive retreating from his original spot back towards the wall. Some of the spells he recognized, some he didn’t and he was fairly certain a few were the kind a thirteen year old girl wasn’t supposed to know. All the same, he had to think of something before one of them landed on his person. Then, he remembered her weak spot, the same one as always.
Too aggressive. Too wild with her spells
Indeed while she was driving forward, he could see a manic look in her eye, the kind that someone had when they were determined but unhealthily obsessed. David then came up with an idea. Dropping his stance and his wand into a wide, lazy position, he allowed his opponent to think she was catching him off guard. Sure enough, Merula took the bait.
“Remollio!”
A jet of sickly, yellow light headed straight towards his head. Smiling slightly, he ducked forward into an almost ninety degree angle and sent back a spell of his own.
“Fumo!”
A mass of black smoke issued in front of Merula, blocking her vision and senses. It was all the time he needed to strike the winning blow.
“Depulso!”
The banishing charm smashed into the Slytherin girl sending her flying back and hard onto the ground into a groaning heap, wand dislodged.
Dissipating the smoke, David walked forward, wand aimed and ready in case she tried to cheat or lash back out.
“I win again, Merula. I won’t ask a third time. Give me the key.”
Clutching her shoulder painfully, she rose from the ground, grabbed her wand, and proceeded to chuck a golden key at his feet.
“Fine! Take the stupid key! I already got what I needed from that loser’s room anyway.”
Tulip came up behind him now that the duel was over, picking up the key, sympathy still lurking in her dark brown eyes.
“Merula, please we could still use…”
“My help? Save your breath. I don’t work with traitors!”
Lavender eyes switched over to David and for the first time, he saw that they were on the verge of tears.
“Watch out for this one, Grant. It's only a matter of time before she stabs you in the back.”
Without another word, Merula brushed past them, the sound of combat boots hitting against stone echoing across the courtyard as she ran back towards the dungeons.
David wondered what Tulip’s reaction would be to these thinly veiled accusations but to his slight surprise her sympathetic expression was gone, replaced by her usual mischievous delight.
“Mission accomplished, David Grant. Let’s go to your brother’s room.”
Though satisfied with receiving the key, Merula’s reaction unnerved the teenage Gryffindor. He didn’t bring it up further but there was no doubt Tulip hadn’t told him everything about her history with his chief rival.
At least not yet.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The two teens wasted no time in heading towards Jacob’s room and soon they were standing in front of the dark brown, wooden, door. However, there was one question still burning in the back of David’s mind.
“Tulip?”
“Hm?”
“What did Merula mean when she said she already took what she needed from my brother’s room?”
Tulip shook her head.
“She was lying. We used this room because it was full of valuable information and research but there was nothing worth taking or pointing to the location of the vaults themselves...at least nothing that I saw.”
“Jacob was always pretty savvy at hiding things,” David informed her. “It’s perfectly possible you missed something. Hell, I just found a quill that turned out to be his transfigured notebook. I know this will sound strange, but I haven’t felt this close to him since he disappeared. There are a lot of things I’m still finding out.”
“Are you sure you want to do this?” the Ravenclaw teen asked him seriously. “You may not like what you find.”
David didn’t hesitate with his response. Any potential negative revelation about his brother could not outweigh the possible benefits of discovering more about his whereabouts.
“That’s a risk I’ll have to take. I have to see where he did his research.”
Tulip nodded, taking out her key and inserting it into the first part of the lock. She handed him the one they received from Merula.
“Do the honors.”
He did so, unclicking the lock, the golden seal falling to the floor with a metal clank. The door creaked open and the two teens entered the mysterious space. However, it was dark and impossible to see anything.
“I can’t see two feet in front of me,” David said aloud. “Tulip, you there?”
“Yeah. Lumos.”
The sight that greeted them was both unexpected and horrifying. Out of the shadows stepped a tall, bald, sickly pale man cloaked in black robes. His features were gaunt and waxy as though they had been warped or burnt, especially his nose, which was disproportionately smaller. But that was not the most disturbing aspect of this person. Within the skull like head were a pair of deadly, luminous blood red eyes that reeked of menace and murder. There was no mistaking who it was.
“Y-Y-You Know Who! It can’t be!” David cried.
“Run, Grant! RUN!”
Tulip immediately pulled him back before the figure could pull out his wand and slammed the door shut behind them.
Catching their breath from the near heart attack they both suffered, it took a few moments before either one could say anything.
“How is that possible? You Know Who is dead,” he panted.
“Use your common sense, David Grant. That was clearly a boggart. Hogwarts is crawling with them these days.”
Regaining his wits, the Gryffindor realized Tulip was right and mentally smacked himself for being so gullible.
“Merlin, that was embarrassing.”
“Don’t be hard on yourself,” Tulip reasoned. “A lot of grown witches and wizards would have reacted the same way, if not worse.”
She paused before adding. “I am curious, though. Why is your boggart, You Know Who?”
The truth was, David didn’t know the full reason why but before he could explain that to Tulip they were interrupted by another very unpleasant presence.
“Well, well...David Grant and Tulip Karasu...why am I not surprised to find you two here together?” Severus Snape spoke in his usual dangerous, silky tone.
Oh, shit
“Professor I-”
“Silence,” the potions master cut across him. “Your brother was the most disobedient student Hogwarts had seen since James Potter. You may have overtaken him.”
“But we’re allowed to be here, sir. It’s not after hours yet.”
“Do you really believe me to be a naive simpleton, Grant? Stay away from this corridor and give up your search for the vaults, or I will ensure you will share your brother’s fate. Now back to your common rooms, both of you.”
The two teens did not dare argue but before they parted company under Snape’s watchful eye he saw Tulip mouth to him, ‘We’ll talk later.’
They would need to. With Hogwarts' nastiest professor onto them and a boggart taking the form of Voldemort blocking the way, another method of gaining access to the room was needed.
David sighed as his brother’s room went out of view. He really hated roadblocks.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Thankfully, Snape couldn’t be everywhere at once and that included meal times as well as meetings after Transfiguration which the Gryffindors and Ravenclaws shared together. Though both David and Tulip were eager to try and go back to the room they mutually agreed to stay away for the time being lest the head of Slytherin catch them again. The main priority was getting rid of the boggart.
“Professor Sprout used some kind of spell to defeat the boggart that scared Penny earlier in the year,” David mused while he and the Ravenclaw walked together after class one day.
“Well technically we’re supposed to cover boggarts in Defense Against the Dark Arts this year. But we can’t wait for that incompetent buffoon to actually bring it up or teach us for that matter.”
“I swear these gormless prats are more and more useless with each passing year,” David agreed. “Guess it’s time to hit the library.”
“Let’s agree to research there after lessons are done every Friday,” Tulip suggested. “I’m sure there’s a lot we can learn before the holidays come around.”
“Sounds like a plan. I can bring Rowan along too. He’s one of the smartest people I know. Super brainy.”
Tulip suddenly hesitated.
“Actually, I’d prefer it to just be the two of us...for the time being. I can’t really explain it right now. Just trust me.”
As it was with Merula, David didn’t press the issue but he was steadily growing evermore curious about his new partner’s past. Whatever happened between her and the Slytherin teen must have been severe but he sensed there was more to it than that.
Adding to the surrounding mystery was another anonymous message he received one night. He had just come back from dinner with Penny, Tonks, and Diego when Rowan rushed to greet him quite frantically.
“David!”
“Whoa, steady on. What’s up?”
His best friend proceeded to pull out a letter from his robe pocket and hand it to him. The envelope was not addressed and carried no visible distinction.
“I found this on your bed,” he explained. “It just...appeared there. I didn’t open it in case it was private or cursed.”
David stared at the mail for a split second debating his chances. If it was a message from ‘R’ once again he was mostly certain it wasn’t cursed. Such a group would have tried to kill him by now. Then again he also had no idea what they were capable of given the general mystery surrounding them.
Taking his chances, he slit open the envelope, removed the parchment inside and read the contents aloud.
“You are in grave danger. Your investigation into the Cursed Vaults has drawn the attention of a group who is not to be trifled with. Be careful, but remain courageous. I’m depending on you to reach the final vault before the others. I will assist you when I can. I hope the next time I deliver you a message, the circumstances are far less mysterious.
Sincerely,
A Friend’”
Taking a moment to reread the letter and analyze its contents David looked towards his brainiac friend for a possible explanation. Rowan appeared to be as lost as he was.
“For the record, I have no idea who wrote you that letter. Do you?”
David certainly had no more inkling than the hippogriff by Hagrid’s hut. There were a number of possibilities, which included his brother, an enemy playing tricks, or even the Headmaster himself.
“I’m as lost as you are. I’d say it was a ruse except for the fact none of the Slytherins know how to get into our common room. If anything, it sounds like an ally of some sort.”
“I sure hope so,” Rowan responded with a bit of anxiety. “These anonymous messages are starting to creep me out a bit.”
He paused before asking another question.
“By the way, what’s with this Tulip girl? Why does she insist on working with you alone?”
David genuinely shrugged.
“I wish I knew. Your guess is as good as mine.”
In truth, David had little time to reflect on it at the current moment. Tulip was a vital piece in all of this and he could scarcely afford to scare her off. Whoever the mystery man was that claimed to be on his side, there was no use in dwelling on that either. Aside from his schoolwork, which he was careful to pay close attention to, the only thing that mattered was learning how to get rid of that pesky boggart in his brother’s room in order to properly access it.
Thankfully, that wasn’t too difficult in principle. Within their first round of research the Ravenclaw girl discovered the spell ‘Ridikkilus’ which was the same one Professor Sprout used to disperse the boggart in the Herbology classroom. However, given the risks of using the spell without prior experience and with Snape still looming over their heads, Tulip advised against going back to the room before they were ready. David wanted to head back as soon as possible but he eventually relented as his new partner in crime told him to practice over the holidays while she thought of a plan.
Honestly, she’s always scheming that one
However, with Christmas around the corner, the dreaded return back to West Country loomed over his head and he was not looking forward to the strained, emotionally stunted holiday as was per custom in the Grant household. But on the eve of his departure, he received a distraction of sorts, something quite unexpected.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
It was the last Hogsmeade trip of the season before the holidays and David used that time to share a glass of butterbeer with his friends namely Rowan, Ben, Tonks, Penny, and Charlie. The Three Broomsticks was even cozier and warm this time of year and full of festive cheer and decorations, many of which he helped Madam Rosmerta put up before the big customer rush as a ‘thank you’ for giving him the quill. In return, he and his companions received a round of free drinks.
“I tell you what. Life doesn’t get much better than this,” Rowan said, taking a satisfying swig.
“I can’t wait to go home and see my family for Christmas,” Penny beamed. She was snuggled up in a blue coat with a matching beret, leggings, and snow boots. David couldn’t help but notice the rosy glow on her cheeks and how pretty she looked. “My sister is dying to know more about Hogwarts even though I’ve told her so much already.”
“What about you, Dave?” Ben asked genuinely.
David tried to hide the fact that he was secretly conflicted and tried to play it off with his usual sarcasm.
“Well my mom will stress herself needlessly from making the dinner, my dad will read his newspaper and do paperwork, we open some presents followed by an awkward crying session from said mother who tops it off with a bottle of wine….so yeah. Merry Christmas to me.”
The blond boy was unsure how to respond to that as flushed with embarrassment.
“I...uh…”
“Relax, Ben,” Tonks cut in. “Dave knows you didn’t mean anything by it. Besides, I know exactly how to cheer him up.”
She transformed her face into that of a toucan’s beak, something usually never failed to elicit a laugh. But this time the Gryffindor teen didn’t budge.
“Oh come on, David that always works. Show a little festive cheer!”
Before she could stick another butterbeer under his nose the second Weasley brother came back over with another round and a message.
“Drink up you lot. Also David, my brother wants a word with you.”
He raised an eyebrow in surprise.
“For what? Did he mention a reason?”
“Just said it was urgent. He’s over there sitting by himself. Pretty moody by his standards.”
Shrugging, he took the spare butterbeer weaved and ducked his way through the Christmas crowd and found Bill seated at one of the tables meant for two people. Indeed, he had a curious expression on his face.
“Charlie told me you wanted to talk?” he said, taking his chair. “Is everything okay?”
“How are you in the ways of romance, Dave?”
It was a loaded question, one he was not prepared to answer at all. Because the answer was not at all.
“Uh, Bill...I think you may want the tea shop down the street,” he joked referring to Madam Puddifoots. “What’s this about, anyway?”
“I’m obsessed with this girl named Emily Tyler,” the prefect explained and there was a swooning glint in his eyes. “She’s not only beautiful but in Defense Against the Dark Arts she single handedly stupefied an entire swarm of vampire bats.”
“That’s not saying much given the current state of that class,” David joked again, taking a sip from his glass. He did, however, see Bill’s point. He knew of Emily Tyler and many older Gryffindors had the hots for her. She always hung out with the same group of friends chatting away about gossip, makeup, Witch Weekly, and whatever they found interesting that day. She was also quite wealthy on both sides of her family. “So what’s the next step then? Are you going to tell her?”
“You make it sound so simple. But I was actually hoping you could talk to her for me.”
David had never seen Bill this...timid before and it was a bit unsettling. The tall, lanky, long haired Weasley was usually the cool one of their group- collected, confident, the voice of reason and was a favorite among the student body in the way he conducted his prefect duties. To witness him as being so unsure meant this girl meant a lot to him.
“Bill, no offense but you’re asking the wrong bloke. I know less about this stuff than you do. I’ve never even had a girlfriend.”
“Well neither have I. I’ve also never been in love before.”
“And what makes you think...wait you’re in love?” he asked, completely floored.
“Am I? I don’t even know anymore. What’s happening to me?”
It was then the adolescent Gryffindor knew just how important this was to Bill and the least he could do was try and spread some cheer before Christmas. Just as Tonks pointed out. If he could play matchmaker for one of his best friends, what was the harm?
“Don’t worry about a thing mate. I’ll go talk to her. No problem.”
Bill smiled in response, his worried brows relaxing slightly.
“Good. She’s actually right over there.”
He pointed behind him ever so subtly to indicate her presence, and sure enough, there she was hanging out with her usual assortment of friends, holding court at one of the wall booths.
“You sure you want me to do this?”
“I wouldn’t ask if I wasn’t serious.”
“Then I will,” David replied simply. “I’ll be right back.”
He drained the latter portion of his butterbeer and made his way over through the vast crowd. Upon finally reaching the booth it didn’t take long for the group of girls to look up at him with curious looks as though he were some kind of exotic alien. That certainly didn’t help his nerves but he pressed forward anyway.
“Emily Tyler?”
David didn’t need to ask as he recognized her right away. He could see what the elder Weasley meant. Like Bill, Emily was a fifth year but physically quite mature, and could have passed for two or three years beyond her age. True to word, she was very pretty, piercing brown eyes to go with high cheekbones and a slim, feminine jawline to go along with extensive makeup. Dark brown hair formed a widow’s peak along her forehead and was pulled back into a high ponytail. She also appeared to be quite fond of the color pink as she wore a long sleeved magenta dress complete with thick, pink tights, a cardigan and boots. It was indicative of someone who grew up quite upper class.
Though she did not look annoyed, there was a haughtiness to her expression that was a tad unsettling to the third year cursebreaker.
“That’s my name,” she responded evenly, ignoring the whispers of her posse. “And you’re that cursed vault kid, David Grant. What can I do you for?”
“Well I’m a friend of Bill Weasley’s…”
This didn’t seem to impress her.
“Okay?”
Out with it. She’s not going to wait for the grass to grow
“He fancies you and wants to know how you feel.”
On cue the rest of Emily’s friends began to giggle though she gave no indication as to how she personally felt.
“If I can speak in his favor, he’s a solid bloke. You couldn’t ask for a better friend.”
“He fancies me? I have to say I’m surprised,” Emily finally responded.
“It’s true. Haven’t seen him this frazzled...well ever really.”
“Is this some sort of joke? Because I don’t want to look like an idiot. What did he tell you?”
“Fair warning: I know as much about romance as I do about advanced Arithmancy, don’t hex the messenger,” David told her bluntly.
“Perish the thought. I want to hear this,” Emily said as much to her friends as she did to him to stop them from giggling.
“What else can I say? He thinks you’re amazing, powerful, beautiful, strong. Bill is as cool as any person in this school but he’s a mess over you. And you couldn’t ask to date a finer person.”
There it was. A glowing recommendation and an honest account of his friend’s intentions and feelings. Surely that was enough to win over a girl right?
He thought wrong. A very unpleasant, arrogant smirk crossed Emily Tyler’s face as she began playing with her pink, manicured nails.
“What a prat.”
David did a double take.
“I’m sorry?”
“Don’t get me wrong he’s reasonably handsome but why would anyone date a Weasley?”
Anger surged through David as his right hand turned into a fist around his glass mug. Was she really turning him down for the reasons he thought she was? The resumed giggling from her cronies made it worse.
“May I ask why?” he asked through clenched teeth.
“Everyone knows the Weasleys are one the poorest wizarding families in Britain. They have no means, no manners, and no prospects. Why would I lower myself to such a standard?”
“I think you should take that back,” David said with quiet fury.
“And so what if I don’t?” Emily sneered. “Tell your friend thank you for sharing his feelings, it was a good for a laugh but he’s delusional if he ever thought he had a chance with me.”
By now, pure hatred surged through his veins, temper getting the best of him. More from the shock of someone actually insulting Bill, Emily Tyler was now the queen bitch in his eyes. Slamming his mug on the table with tremendous force, causing the four girls to jump with fright.
“I’ll tell you what I think,” he growled. “Bill must be attracted to your looks because your personality is pure rubbish.”
Emily recovered from the shock and shot him a venomous, threatening stare.
“You don’t know the first thing about me.”
“I know enough. You sit over here prattling on like my mother at a book club thinking you’re the greatest thing since Merlin’s first bowel movement. But you’re nothing but a stuck up piece of shite. I’m just glad I can tell Bill before he wastes any more time on you.”
He flipped the glass over, spilling the small amount of butterbeer left inside.
“Get bent...snobbish twit.”
Without wasting another second, he turned and left, still fuming over the audacity of Emily Tyler to call his mate ill mannered and inferior. It was also a highlight into the flaws of his own house. Just because you were bold and confident didn’t make you a good person. So pissed he was, he barely noticed Bill’s reaction when he sat back down at the table.
“Dave?”
“Huh?”
“You look like you’re about to explode. What’s the matter?”
“Nothing.”
Of course, Bill didn’t believe that.
“What happened and what did Emily say?”
On the one hand, David really didn’t want to reveal the full extent of Emily’s denigrating insults. It might shatter his heart given how much he liked her. Then again, it wouldn’t do to have someone he looked up to pining after someone who would sooner rip his heart out and stomp on it than date him. The truth was more important than protecting him from it.
“Bill...I won’t lie to you. It wasn’t good.”
“What do you mean?”
He hated seeing Bill’s confused face and he suspected that what was to follow would be equally as painful.
“Mate, she’s not interested. And she didn’t mince words.”
The eldest Weasley’s expression fell dramatically.
“Oh.”
“You can do better than her,” David tried to reassure him
“But-but she’s the most beautiful girl in our year...this whole school.”
“She’s also mean, arrogant, and generally awful. Bill, she insulted you and your family.”
He didn’t want to go there but there was little other choice than to prevent his friend from continuing his obsession. And he wasn’t fibbing. Bill did deserve better.
“She did?”
“Heard it with my own two ears.”
“But what did I do wrong?”
“Nothing,” David emphasized. “And that’s the point. You’re too good for her. And not the other way around.”
“It doesn’t feel that way,” Bill said with the slightest of tremors in his voice.
The third year leaned forward, speaking with the utmost sincerity he could muster.
“Listen to me...you’re one of my best friends. You’ve taught me a lot about dueling, magic, and Hogwarts itself. Everyone I know looks up to you as a person, prefect, and role model….and so do I. Don’t let someone like Emily Tyler change that. Be good to yourself.”
His impassioned speech seemed to finally break through and the Bill Weasley of old shone through.
“Thanks, David...I’m sorry for acting like an idiot. She’s the first girl I really fell for...it’s hard you know?”
He didn’t, not truly since he’d never had a crush on a girl before. But David felt a great deal of sympathy for his friend. Anything that could rattle the cool Bill Weasley could rattle anyone else.
“Of course.”
“Now let’s grab another butterbeer. Next one’s on me.”
“Cheers, mate. Merry Christmas.”
“Merry Christmas.”
He and Bill made their way back towards their friend group where Charlie, Rowan, and company were waiting, greeting them warmly. Though the drinks were sweet and the atmosphere quite merry for the upcoming Christmas season, David own’s spirits were far from being satiated. A part of him knew his angry reaction to Emily’s rejection of the eldest Weasley was due to his own misapprehension and unhappiness that plagued him this time of year.
Images of his brother flashed before his mind as though it were a dream sequence.
For all the faith people placed in him, he wished he could take his own advice.
#hogwarts mystery#hphm#mc#hphm fanfiction#Gryffindor#David Grant#merula snyde#tulip kasaru#penny haywood#rowan khanna#ben copper#bill weasley#charlie weasley#barnaby lee#ismelda murk#emily tyler#severus snape#nymphadora tonks
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Rowan & Jae – My Dear Study Partner
(Faceclaims: Pooja Hegde and Park Ji Bin)
Fandom: Harry Potter – Hogwarts Mystery
Genre: Mostly romance, with a dash of friendship
Pairings: Rowan Khanna/Jae Kim (and a few other ones, but that’s a spoiler ;-D )
Summary: It takes place during their fifth year – before, during, and after the Celestial Ball. Rowan starts helping Jae with his homework, causing the two main characters to slowly fall in love. I’ve warped canon a little, but it mostly follows the canon storyline.
Words: 13 879
Warnings: Mild aphobia/allonormativity; gender dysphoria/mild internalized transphobia; mild bullying; ask me to add if necessary
enjoy my little drawing here. The story is under the cut.
It was quiet in the library. All the students were deeply concentrating on their homeworks. But everyone looked up when a small, dark-haired boy in a yellow sweatshirt casually walked in and started looking at the bookshelves. Jae Kim was well known for being a rule breaker and despising academics. So what was he doing here?
“Hey, Rowan?” he suddenly blurted out. The lanky, brown-skinned girl with glasses peeped at Jae through piles of books and parchment.
“Yes?” she said.
“Don’t you ever get bored here?”
“No, why would I? It’s full of books. What more could you wish for?”
“It doesn’t get… lonely?” he asked worriedly. Rowan shrugged.
“Not really,” she replied. “There are plenty of bookworms I can talk to if I want.”
“I bet you like the Ravenclaw common room, then,” Jae said. “It’s probably filled with nerds like you.”
“Not all nerds are academically interested,” Rowan sighed. “Lots of them are more more into music or theatre, and those people will never shut up! Not to mention, we got Tulip Karasu…”
“Oh yeah,” Jae grinned. “She’s quite the distraction, isn’t she?”
“Yup.” Tulip Karasu was an extremely eccentric prankster, whose talent was only surpassed by the Hufflepuff student Tonks and the school poltergeist, Peeves.
“Bet you’d hate the Gryffindor common room then. We got plenty of Karasus.”
“I get uncomfortable just thinking about it,” Rowan chuckled. “By the way, what are you doing here in the library? I thought you wouldn’t touch a book unless imperiused?”
“You thought right,” Jae replied. “The only book that can catch my attention is a comic book.”
“I’m afraid they don’t have comic books here,” Rowan said. Jae shrugged and continued his search through the bookshelves. After watching him for a while, Rowan asked:
“What are you doing here?” Jae felt like himself shrinking a little before explaining:
“The thing is, I have to write an essay in transfiguration class. I’m alright at the transfiguration part. But essays… I have never been very good at that.”
“Why not?” Rowan asked.
“It’s just… every time I sit down and look at the parchment, my mind starts going all over the place,” he explained. “I start thinking about Quidditch, food, comics, trading… pretty much everything but that essay. And when I finally force myself to focus, some loud noise distracts me.”
“Perhaps you need some help,” Rowan said thoughtfully. “Have you ever tried studying with anyone?” There was a long pause before Jae truthfully shook his head.
“Then why don’t you come and sit down? I know just the book that might help you!” Jae walked towards the table and sat down beside Rowan, who placed a giant book in front of him.
“What are you writing your essay on?” she asked.
“Uh, transfiguration of Muggle gadgets.” Rowan pointed her wand at the book, causing it to turn to another page.
“There,” she said. “Here’s some information about the dangers of trying to add transfiguration to electronic objects. Read this page, then we can talk about it.” Jae started reading, but his eyes kept flying away.
“Jae, focus!” Rowan said sternly. He tried again, but no improvement. Eventually, Rowan cast Engorgio on the page, so the letters became much bigger. That helped. After finishing reading the page, Jae looked up at Rowan.
“You’re done? Then let’s start making a good intro.” She explained how she usually wrote her intros. Jae tried very hard to ignore all the distractions in the room and in his brain. Eventually, he had written a small paragraph which, granted, wasn’t very neatly looking, but he was quite proud of the result, and so was Rowan. Before they knew it, more than an hour had passed, and they only noticed when Madam Pince threw them out and demanded them to go to bed.
“Well,” Jae said. “Goodnight, Rowan. And thank you for helping me.”
“It was a pleasure,” she replied. “I hope you sleep well tonight.” With those words, they went to each of their towers and into their respective dormitories.
The next day in the early afternoon, Jae came to the library again. Rowan was sitting at the very same table as yesterday, today with short hair and male trousers instead of the long hair and knee-length skirt. As soon as he saw Jae, Rowan moved some of his books to make room for him.
“Do you want me to help you with your essay again?” he asked. Jae nodded and found his quill and parchment from his pocket.
“How much have you written?” Rowan asked.
“A roll and a half,” Jae said. “But my letters are pretty big, so it’s probably closer to like, barely a roll.”
“I don’t think Professor McGonagall cares a lot about that,” Rowan assured him. “Come, let me look at that essay.” Jae handed Rowan the parchment.
“You’ve written a lot since yesterday,” Rowan exclaimed.
“What do you think of it?” Jae asked nervously.
“Hm,” Rowan said. “Not bad. There are a few grammar and spelling issues, but what you’ve written is very good. Let’s see… perhaps we should look at the history of transfiguration of Muggle gadgets. We can use the same book as yesterday.” He found the book and turned it to another page, then asked Jae:
“Do you easily get distracted by things? Like, other students talking, flies buzzing around, ticking clocks?”
“A little,” he replied. Rowan pointed his wand at Jae’s head, causing the room to get blurrier, both visually and in sound.
“Wow,” Jae whispered.
“It’s the focusing charm,” Rowan explained. “It was invented by a witch whose Muggle husband had a mental disability called ADHD, which meant he couldn’t focus very well and easily got distracted. This spell helped him a lot.”
“I probably have ADHD, then,” Jae muttered.
“That would explain why you have trouble sitting still on a chair, and why your mind is always so full.” Jae’s face lit up.
“You know what, it does!” he smiled. “You must teach me that spell someday!”
“I will,” Rowan said. “But now, you have to write your essay.”
“Yes, of course.”
After an hour of hard work, Jae felt that his essay was finished. Rowan was also satisfied with the result.
“I hope Old McGonny will like it,” Jae said.
“I’m sure she will,” Rowan replied and lifted the focusing charm again, so the random noises and movements around the library became clear again.
“I don’t know how to thank you enough, Rowan,” Jae smiled. “And I’ll have to go to detention now. See ya later!” Then he stormed out faster than a Comet 260. Rowan couldn’t help smiling before going back to his own textbook.
The Gryffindors and Ravenclaws had Charms class together the next day. Rowan, who today identified as a girl again and as such wore long hair and a skirt, was practicing Scourgify on a dirty cauldron while chatting with her best friend, Beam Bugge, who was sitting right next to her.
“Can you guess who Billingsley tried to ask out?” Rowan asked.
“No?” Beam replied excitingly.
“Merula Snyde.” Merula was a Slytherin girl from their year who didn’t like Rowan and most of the friend group, to say the least. Beam burst out laughing:
“How do you know?”
“During flying class, when you and Andre were practicing loops, and I was polishing my broom with and Merula, he came over and asked her. Let’s just say, Merula was not happy.” They both laughed, but got interrupted by Professor Flitwick, who came to their table and said:
“I’m glad you’re having so much fun casting Scourgify, but I’m afraid I’ll have to stop your little party.” They both shut up immediately, and Flitwick continued:
“Beam Bugge, a young Gryffindor student has trouble with Wingardium Leviosa. Would you like to help him?” Beam sighed, but walked over to the struggling blond boy whose name they couldn’t remember. Jae, who had previously sitten behind the two Ravenclaws, jumped to Beam’s empty seat while Flitwick wasn’t looking.
“Poor Billingsley,” he smirked at her. Rowan giggled. “Can’t really understand why anyone’d date that Snyde girl, though. I mean, she’s pretty and all, but really?”
“True,” Rowan replied.
“Thanks for helping me out, by the way,” Jae said. “With that essay, I mean.”
“It was a pleasure to study with you,” Rowan said.
“Yeah, I was actually able to concentrate, for once. And not just because of that charm of yours,” Jae added.
“Perhaps you learn better when you have someone to help you?” Rowan suggested. “Have you ever studied with another student before?”
“Not really,” he admitted. “When I started at Hogwarts back in ‘84, I didn’t have my parents to help me with anything anymore. And that was kinda… strange. And I felt so embarrassed when asking teachers and fellow students for help to… pretty much anything. So I started going in the opposite direction, by doing everything by myself. And then some older student sold me an auto-answer-quill, and then I just continued to use those when I had trouble with any schoolwork. So studying with other students just never really occurred to me, to be honest.” There was a long pause, which Rowan interrupted:
“If studying with me will make you stop doing illegal stuff, then I’ll gladly do it again.”
“Well, I don’t think my trading partners would appreciate me cutting them off…” he began, but upon seeing Rowan’s disappointed face, he added:
“But I’d love to study with you again.”
“Soooooo…” said a curious voice into Rowan’s ear. She looked up from her book into Tulip’s grinning face.
“So what?” Rowan asked irritatedly. She was lying on her bed, with closed curtains, hoping to get some alone time before going to bed. But she had forgotten to lock the curtains, so now everyone could open them. Tulip continued approaching Rowan with that voice:
“I couldn’t help noticing what happened in charms class…”
“What happened?” Rowan asked flatly; she was almost sure what Tulip was referring to. And she was right:
“You and Jae.”
“Oh, that,” Rowan mumbled, trying to sound surprised. Beam’s pale face appeared above Tulip’s copper red hair:
“What was that all about?” Rowan sighed and told them:
“I helped him study yesterday, and the day before that. And he came over to thank me. That’s all.”
“Is that all he did?” Tulip asked.
“Yes?” Rowan replied slowly. Tulip’s black eyes glittered, and Beam smiled crookedly.
“And he also wanted me to help him study again in the future,” she admitted. Beam’s dark blue eyes widened under the pink glasses:
“And what did you say?”
“Yes, of course.” Upon realising how this may have sounded to the others, Rowan added:
“I mean, I love studying, and if I can help other students, that must mean that I’m a good Professor. Right?”
“Right,” she heard three other voices saying. Apparently, Badeea Ali, the last dormmate, had been listening to their conversation.
“What are you all ‘right’ing me for?” she asked, more irritatedly and less confusedly that she had hoped.
“Nothing, nothing…” she heard Tulip say, before all the others left Rowan’s bed in order to go to sleep themselves.
Perhaps Tulip and the others were right. Perhaps Jae had wanted something more from Rowan than “just” studying with her. And Rowan was not sure how to feel about that.
“Great news, Rowan!” Jae jumped onto the chair next to Rowan before she even noticed him coming into the library. “I just got my transfiguration essay back!” Rowan’s face lit up:
“Oh, tell me about it!”
“Old McGonny… she liked it. She told me that… that it was the best essay that I had ever written, and that she could tell I hadn’t cheated.”
“Jae, that’s amazing!”
“Yeah. I don’t even know how to react.” Jae wanted to scream, but was able to stop himself. Madam Pince wouldn’t be too happy about it, after all. But getting Professor McGonagall’s approval, then Rowan’s… that was a great feeling.
“Normally, I don’t really care about my grades,” he thought out loud. “And it sucks a little that she knows when I cheat… but the feeling of getting told that something I made, something I worked hard on, was actually good… I’ve never heard that before. I felt… proud. And I have a feeling that she’s kinda proud of me, too?” Rowan smiled at him:
“Oh, I’m so happy for you, Jae! I’m really happy that I could make you feel better. If you ever need my help again…”
“I do, actually,” Jae said. “I have to write an essay in potions class as well.”
“I have a feeling that Professor Snape doesn’t like you very much,” Rowan said.
“Yeah, but I don’t take it personally,” Jae shrugged. “You should see how much he hates Tonks, and Charlie Weasley. But yeah, he does consider me a troublemaker.”
“I bet you consider that a compliment,” Rowan smirked. Jae laughed:
“Yep. But I do want to pass potions class, so perhaps you could help me…”
“Why don’t you ask Penny Haywood instead?” she asked. “You have class together, and she’s a natural at potions.”
“I think you’re a better teacher, though.” After the words had left his mouth, Jae immediately regretted saying them. But there was nothing to do, and Rowan had heard him. Her facial expression and her voice changed a little:
“You… you think?”
“Yes,” Jae said bluntly. Her little smile made him continue: “Penny might be good at potions, alright, but not at explaining what she does. She just does it. You on the other hand… you tutor me like I’m a first year student. You help me focus, whereas Penny talks about everything else. She is very sweet and brilliant, but your way of teaching is just what I need.” They both blushed a little, but it was more obvious on Jae’s pale face. Rowan was the first to break the awkward silence:
“Er… thank you, Jae. That’s very… a very nice thing to say. I’m so glad that someone thinks I’m good at what I enjoy doing and hope to do in the future.”
“I enjoy spending time with you in general.” Why did Jae always have to say out loud what was on his mind? Could it be the ADHD thing?
“Merry christmas, Jae,” Rowan said. Jae gave her a confused look, to which Rowan replied:
“Sorry, I’m just not used to receiving compliments like that.” Then she admitted:
“I enjoy spending time with you, too. Too bad you’re always in detention, eh?”
“Too bad you’re always in the library, eh?” They both laughed. Jae grabbed Rowan’s hand. Rowan was surprised, but didn’t pull back. They both sat there for a few seconds, before they awkwardly let go and started packing their things.
“Your hands are a lot bigger than I thought,” Jae mumbled, trying to break the awkward silence, but regretted it quickly. Wasn’t that a pretty rude thing to say to a girl?
“Your hands are a lot smaller than I thought,” Rowan said. Jae started laughing, then Rowan joined in.
“See you tomorrow,” Jae said and stormed out, before his face became as red as his worn trainers. Rowan waved at him and had to force herself to look away.
“And then I was like, I can just dance with a dragon!” The other Gryffindor boys laughed at Charlie Weasley’s joke, while Jae came into the dorm.
“Hi, there, Jae,” Ben Copper said.
“Have you been trading illegal stuff again?” Charlie grinned.
“Not this time,” Jae replied.
“Then what?” Ben asked.
“I’ve been studying.” Ben and Charlie glared at him. “In the library. With Rowan Khanna.”
“You’re kidding, right?” Charlie exclaimed.
“Perhaps not,” said Ben slowly. “I saw you two chatting in charms class last week.”
“Exactly!” Jae said. Charlie looked at Jae in confusion:
“It’s not like you to care about studying, Jae.”
“Nope.”
“What’s happened to you?”
“I kinda want to pass my OWLs.” Charlie lifted an eyebrow. His brown eyes kept staring sceptically into Jae’s black.
“That, and… I like studying with Rowan. She’s a really good tutor.” Everyone was quiet for awhile, until an unexpected voice asked:
“Do you fancy her?”
“No!” Jae shouted in surprise. It was the blond Leviosa boy, who rarely spoke to them, so his question was quite unexpected. After thinking about it for awhile, Jae admitted:
“Or yes. Perhaps. I dunno.”
“Perhaps you need to find out soon,” Charlie said. “The Celestial Ball is coming up pretty soon, and as far as I know, Rowan doesn’t have a partner yet.”
“I thought she’d go with you, Ben?” Ben was Rowan’s best male friend, so Jae had assumed that they’d go together, at least as friends.
“I’ve considered asking her,” Ben began, “but we’ve talked about it, and… we decided we’re too good friends for that. It would be weird. So… feel free to ask her, bro.” Jae felt his heart rising.
“Do you think she could… you know… be interested in me?” The question was mostly directed at Ben, who was also the one to reply:
“I can ask her for you if you want?” Jae’s heart was now sitting in his throat.
“You’d do that? Thank you thank you thank you, Ben. Thank you, so much.”
Meanwhile, Rowan had told her own dormmates about the episode in the library.
“I never imagined he’d be so nice,” she said excitedly. Tulip raised her dark eyebrows:
“Is he – ‘nice nice’?”
“Yeah,” Rowan answered. “Nice nice.”
“You’re blushing, Rowan,” Badeea pointed out.
“I know,” Rowan sighed. “But… he could never be interested in a quiet nerd like me. And how does he feel about me being gender fluid? And my terrible puberty voice! I’m also like, a head taller than him. And really ugly…”
“Aw, don’t say that, Rowan,” Beam said comfortingly.
���Real beauty is on the inside,” Badeea said.
“Yeah, nerds are sexy,” Tulip grinned. “Seduce him with your intelligence. And also, tall girls? Me likey! Besides, long legs are trending right now. Be your smart, intimidating self. Then he’ll swoon at your feet. Perhaps literally.”
“That’s…” said Rowan hesitantly. She wasn't sure how to respond. But perhaps Tulip might be onto something:
“Oddly good advise. Thank you, Tulip.”
“Any time,” Tulip smiled.
“Hey, Rowan?” Beam suddenly said. “I have detention with Jae tomorrow. If we can keep the nosy house elves out of the way, then perhaps I could…”
“Ask him what he thinks of me?” Rowan asked hopefully, her heart skipping several beats. Perhaps there was a chance that Jae had feelings for her. A little chance, perhaps.
It was Saturday. There were no classes, but Jae still had detention with the house elves after breakfast. He took a last gulp of orange juice and said quietly to Ben, who was sitting to his right:
“I’m off to detention now. Could you go to the library and talk to Rowan?”
“Sure,” Ben replied.
“Thanks, Ben,” Jae said. “I’m gonna owe you one.”
Meanwhile, at the Ravenclaw table, Rowan and Beam had just finished eating their breakfast, and the plates, glasses and cutlery disappeared from the table.
“Okay,” Beam said. “I’m heading to the kitchen.”
“Thank you, Beam,” Rowan said. “I think I’ll go to the library.”
“Hi, Rowan,” said a voice behind them. It was Ben. “Are you going to the library?”
“What do you think?” Rowan smirked at him.
“Awesome!” he said. “I got something to ask you about.”
“I’ll be glad to help you,” Rowan replied. Beam went to the Gryffindor table, where Jae had just gotten up from his chair.
“Hey there, BB,” he greeted them. “You ready for detention?” Beam grinned:
“I’m so excited to scrub mustard and smelly cheese off the plates.” Jae laughed:
“So am I.”
Rowan and Jae had just arrived at the library, and Rowan started unpacking her bag. Ben placed himself opposite her.
“So,” Rowan said. “What subject do you want to ask me about?”
“Jae Kim,” Ben replied. Rowan had not expected that answer and asked:
“What do you mean?” Ben hesitated a little, but then started explaining:
“I’ve noticed that you two, umm… have been spending a lot of time together lately.”
“It’s not what you think,” Rowan blurted out a little too fastly.
“Really?”
“Yeah. I’ve just helped him study. That’s all.” She could feel her head getting warmer and hoped that Ben didn’t notice her blushing.
“It seems like it’s helping,” Ben said. “He’s become much more dedicated to school work now.” Rowan tried to act surprised:
“That’s amazing!” Ben continued:
“All because of you.”
“Yeah…” she said slowly.
“He’s told me how amazing of a tutor you are,” Ben said. “How he learns so much better with you.”
“Well,” Rowan said, trying to hide her enthusiasm, “I’m glad I can help him…”
“Don’t you feel… proud?” Ben asked.
“Yeah,” Rowan responded, “a little.”
“You like studying with him?”
“I umm…” She wasn’t sure what to say. “I enjoy tutoring other students, so I can practise becoming a professor.”
“What do you think of him?” The question had slapped Rowan in the face, even though she had half expected it.
“Are you interrogating me?” she asked suspiciously.
“I might be,” he smiled.
“Why?” she asked, a bit irritatedly now. “You of all people should know how creepy this is.” Rowan knew that Ben was diagnosed with anxiety and omniphobia by Muggle doctors (he was Muggle-born). His smile broadened:
“I do.” Ben’s uncharacteristic calmness frustrated Rowan to no end.
“Then why do you do it?”
“Because I think you might have feelings for him.” How on earth did Ben know about that? And why was he so interested?
“No,” Rowan said firmly. “No, I don’t.” That wasn’t true, of course, but Ben did not need to know that.
“Are you sure?” he asked.
“No!” she repeated. Upon realizing what she said, she corrected herself:
“I mean, yes. Yes, I am sure. I have no romantic feelings for Jae.” Her head felt like an oven now. Her cheeks had the same colour as Ben’s Gryffindor tie. Eventually, her head exploded:
“Okay, fine. I guess he’s cute. Are you happy now?” Ben’s smile was brighter than unicorn blood.
“Yep,” he said. Rowan immediately regretted admitting her feelings. But she couldn’t take it back now.
“Please, don’t tell anyone,” she begged with a small voice. “Okay?”
“Don’t worry,” Ben promised. “I won’t.” But Rowan was not entirely convinced.
Meanwhile, the kitchen was busy. All the house elves were working on each of their individual tasks, while Jae was scrubbing plates and pans, and Beam was drying them with a dishtowel. Beam made sure that no one could hear them, before quietly saying:
“Hey, Jae?”
“Hmm?” Jae said.
“Can I ask you something?” they asked.
“You just did,” he replied. “But you may ask me one more question if you want.”
“I’ve noticed that you have been studying with Rowan a lot lately.”
“Yeah,” he said and handed Beam a clean, wet plate, which they began drying. “I decided that I did want to pass my OWLs, after all.”
“Great decision,” Beam said and put the newly dried plate on the shelf where it belonged.
“Yeah,” he mumbled, relieved that they didn’t go in that direction.
“How does it feel to study with her?” Beam continued. “Is she a good tutor?”
“She’s amazing,” Jae replied, hoping he didn’t blush as much as he felt he did. “I learn so much better with her than I do alone, or in class.”
“She’s very nice, isn’t she?” Beam said. Jae nodded and tried to focus on the dirty frying pan. “And smart?”
“She’s a genius!” Jae blurted out, hoping he didn’t sound too obsessed.
“What do you, umm, think of her?” Beam asked carefully.
“I do like her,” he answered, now realizing that Beam might be going in that direction, after all.
“Like, or like-like?”
“Why are you so interested in that?” he asked. Then he realized what this could be about, and what he had to do:
“Is it because you fancy her? Cause if you do, I’ll back off, I promise. She’s your best friend, after all.”
“No, no, no, no, I don’t!” Beam said quickly. “We’re just friends. Besides, I’m pretty sure she’s only into guys.” Jae’s heart jumped out of the box it was about to get trapped in and did a little dance.
“But do you fancy her?” Beam asked.
“If we say I do, hypothetically,” he said and gave Beam the (finally!) cleaned frying pan, “would you then tell her?”
“Would you want me to?” Beam asked and started drying the pan.
“No!” Jae exclaimed.
“Then I won’t tell her, if you fancy her, hypothetically.” Jae sighed:
“Then I guess that I do.” His cheeks were the same shade of pink as the raspberry pudding he was currently scrubbing off a bowl.
“Are you planning to tell her?” Beam asked and put the now dry frying pan into the pan drawer. Jae shrugged.
“Dunno,” he mumbled. “Do you think there’s a chance she’ll like me back?”
“You could ask her for the Celestial Ball as a date,” Beam suggested, “and if it gets awkward, you could say you meant it as a friend?”
“That’s…” Jae weighed the plan in his head. It couldn’t go terribly wrong, could it? “That’s an amazing idea. Thanks, Beam!” He was now done cleaning the last fork and hoped Pitts would let them go now. He was urging to come outside, ask Ben whether he had found out anything about Rowan. And he especially wanted to find Rowan…
“So,” Rowan said excitedly and dumped herself onto the seat next to Beam, who was eating a tofu and squash sandwich. Rowan grabbed a chicken and chili sandwich, cast a Muffliato charm non-verbally and continued:
“Have you found out anything?”
“Yes,” Beam replied. “He likes you.”
“Like-like?” Rowan asked, her entire body shaking, inside and out.
“Yep,” Beam smiled. Rowan wanted to scream, but remembered that even a Muffliato charm couldn’t hide such a loud noise. Instead, she grabbed Beam and hugged them, tightly:
“I can’t believe it,” she whispered with a shaking voice. “Oh, my gosh. This is impossible. I can’t even…” The rest of her words turned into unintelligible gibberish. Could it really be true that Jae – cool, funny Jae – like liked Rowan, a plain and nerdy girl?
Meanwhile, at the Gryffindor table, Ben, too, had cast a Muffliato charm around him and Jae. Jae had a piece of pizza on his plate, but didn’t eat anything. Instead he turned to Ben, who was enjoying a ham and mayo sandwich, and asked:
“Did you talk to her?”
“Mmmm,” Ben said, with his mouth full of sandwich.
“Did you ask her about me?”
“Mmmm,” Ben repeated.
“What did she say?” Jae asked excitedly. Ben swallowed and said:
“Do you want me to tell you the truth?”
“Yes!” Jae replied.
“Alright,” Ben said and prepared himself for whatever Jae’s reaction would be. “She told me that she thinks you’re… cute.”
“Cute?” Jae asked confusedly. “Does she mean cute as in a puppy crup, or cute as in… boyfriend material?”
“I’m not sure,” Ben said jokingly. “Do you usually blush around puppy crups?”
“She was blushing?” Jae exclaimed, a little louder that he had intended. The Muffliato charm was strong, though, so it didn’t seem like anyone had heard him.
“Yeah,” Ben smiled. “I think she has a big crush on you.” Jae tried to comprehend what Ben had just said. Rowan found him cute. She had blushed while talking about him. Could it really be?
“Do you think,” he began, “that I should try to ask her to the Celestial Ball?”
“That’s up to you,” Ben said. “I wouldn’t do it, but then again, I’m a big coward. I think you should go for it.”
“Yeah, Beam said so too,” he said slowly.
“You’ve told Beam that you like Rowan?” Ben asked.
“Yeah?” Jae replied. “I mean, they asked me, and I said yes, so… “
“They’re Rowan’s best friend!” Ben warned him. “They’re gonna tell her immediately.”
“They promised they wouldn’t.”
“Just like I promised Rowan I wouldn’t tell you about her feelings.” Ben shook his head. “Oh, Jae, I’m sorry. I should never have gotten involved in all this…”
“It’s not your fault, Ben!” Jae said sternly. “I’m glad you did this for me. I’m really, really grateful. But I better ask her pretty soon…”
Jae tiptoed and looked toward the Ravenclaw table after a tall, skinny figure with long black hair. But he only found a sixth-year boy who once bought a fanged frisbee from him. No Rowan. Not even Beam’s blue-and-purple-striped locks. But he did see Badeea’s blue, star-patterned hijab, and ran toward her.
“Hey, Badeea,” he said. “Have you seen Rowan Khanna?”
“I think she and Beam went to the common room,” she responded. “I’m heading there as well. Do you want to come with me?”
“Yes, please.” The two of them went up the many staircases and arrived at a large wooden door with a bronze-coloured knocker taking the shape of an eagle on it.
“What’s the password?” Jae asked.
“It’s not a password,” Badeea explained. “It’s a riddle.”
“What happens if you can’t answer the riddle?”
“I don’t know,” Badeea said thoughtfully. “I’ve never been unable to do so myself. But now let’s find out what our riddle will be.” She grabbed the knocker and knocked on the door. The bronze eagle opened its beak:
“Greetings, young students. I suppose you want to enter?”
“Yeah,” Badeea replied.
“Hm, alright,” the eagle said. “What disappears when you say its name out loud?”
“I do,” Jae grinned. “Cause then I know I’m in trouble.” Badeea tried to hold back a laugh. The eagle hesitated for a while, then said:
“You’re not wrong, young man. While not the answer I was looking for, it was still a correct one. You may come in.” Jae and Badeea looked surprisedly at each other.
“I was gonna say ‘silence’,” Badeea said. “But I like your answer better.”
“Wow,” Jae whispered when the door opened. “Your common room is really beautiful.”
“I know, right?” Badeea said excitedly. “Now, you wanted to find Rowan… I can’t really see her. Perhaps she’s in the dormitory. Want me to check for you?”
“Yeah, please,” Jae said. Badeea disappeared through the door next to white statue, which Jae assumed was supposed to be Rowena Ravenclaw.
Rowan was deeply rooted in her book, when a light voice suddenly called:
“Hi, Rowan.” Rowan looked up and into Badeea’s dark eyes. Badeea smiled:
“I think there’s someone who wants to talk to you.”
“Who?” Rowan asked. She didn’t want to leave her book, unless it was a Professor, or a family member, or Bill Weasley, or…
“Jae Kim.” Rowan’s heart made a flick-flack upon hearing the name. She put a bookmark into the book, ran a hand through her hair, put a finger on the metal between her glasses and jumped up from her bed and down the staircase.
Jae was sitting on a blue couch and watching Tulip and some third years experiencing with several potions and banned objects in a corner (none of the prefects seemed to care), while Rowan came crashing through the door. He immediately got up from the couch, and their eyes met. They both smiled at each other.
“Hi, Jae,” Rowan said awkwardly. “You wanted to see me?”
“Yeah,” Jae said. “Uh, I actually wanted to ask you something. Come and sit down.” They both dumped themselves into the couch that Jae had just gotten up from.
“Okay,” Jae breathed. “I know it might seem a little weird of me to come into the Ravenclaw common room like that. But I had to ask you before it’s too late.”
“Jae,” Rowan said worriedly. “I’ve never seen you that serious. Is everything fine?”
“Everything’s fine, yeah,” Jae replied. “I just wanted to know, uh…” He tried to force the question out, but it was stuck in his throat. “I wanted to ask you if you wanted to go with me to the Celestial Ball.” This time, Rowan couldn’t stop herself:
“YEEEEEEEEESSSSSS!” she screamed. She felt tears coming to her eyes, wetting her glasses, and her cheeks burning like an active volcano, and her heart having its own life somewhere in her chest. But she didn’t care. Jae Kim, the amazing, hilarious, adorable Jae Kim, had just asked her out. She didn’t know what to do with her arms and eventually flung them around Jae and hugged him tightly, not caring that most of the other students in the common room stared at them. Jae hugged her back, overjoyed and still in disbelief about her answer. It was like being in a romance novel, where the main characters finally got each other after 20 boring chapters of mutual pining, drama, misunderstandings, arguing… except they had skipped over all those chapters.
Eventually, they let go of each other, and Jae asked quietly:
“So um, this is a date? Not just a ‘we’re going as friends’ date, but an actual date?”
“If you want it to be,” Rowan squeaked.
“I do,” Jae smiled. “More than anything.” There was an awkward pause, where they both started realizing how many people stared at them.
“Well, um,” Jae stuttered. “I guess that… that I have to… to go back to the Gryffindor common room. Er, see you later, Rowan!”
“Yeah,” Rowan said. “See you later, Jae.”
Rowan walked dazedly up the stairs again. She barely noticed Badeea smiling proudly at her. She dumped herself onto her bed and stared at the ceiling. Was it really true? Had Jae just asked her to the Celestial Ball, as a real date?
Meanwhile, Jae went toward the Gryffindor common room, still in awe that Rowan had said yes. Who would’ve guessed that asking out your crush could be scarier than refusing to trade with a group of ex-Death Eaters twice your size in Knockturn Alley? And who would’ve guessed that getting a “yes” felt like a bigger success than Gryffindor winning the House Cup?
After a while, Beam came into the dorm and noticed Rowan lying on her bed, completely still.
“Rowan?” they said quietly. Rowan sat up and sent Beam a broad smile:
“Hi there, Beam.”
“Are you okay?” Beam asked.
“Yeah,” Rowan responded. “I’m okay… more than okay…”
“I’ve just talked to Andre. We’ve talked about meeting up in the transfiguration classroom tomorrow after lunch. Are you okay with that?” Andre Egwu was a Ravenclaw boy in their year. He had promised to find Rowan, Beam and Ben some outfits for the Celestial Ball. Tomorrow, after lunch?
“That’s fine,” Rowan said. And then she couldn’t keep it in any longer:
“I’m going with Jae for the Ball.” Beam gasped, then jumped onto Rowan’s bed and hugged her. They both screamed.
“Congratulations!” Beam exclaimed when they were done screaming. “Did you ask him, or did he ask you?”
“He did. He came into the common room. And then… then he asked me…”
“Oh, Rowan!” Beam laughed. “I’m so happy for you.”
“Me too. I hope Andre can make me look pretty…”
“Password?” Jae had just arrived at the door to the Gryffindor common room, where the portrait of The Fat Lady was guarding.
“Starfire,” he said. The portrait door swang open, and he went in. A large group of students were sitting in a corner and chatting loudly, not all of them being Gryffindors. Jae joined them, throwing himself onto the laps of Bill Weasley and another seventh-year Gryffindor boy he didn’t remember the name of.
“Guess who’s got a date for the Ball now?” he shouted proudly.
“Have you asked her?” it came from Charlie, who was sitting on the coffee table, eating biscuits.
“Asked who?” asked five or six voices at the same time.
“Rowan Khanna,” Jae smiled. “Can you believe it? She said yes!” There were several “woohoo!”s and “yes!”s around Jae, and Bill patted him on the head (causing Jae to blush a little, hoping no one noticed). Charlie threw Jae a biscuit.
“Rowan Khanna?” sounded a mocking voice behind them. It was Emily Tyler, a seventh year Gryffindor girl. She was smart, rich, popular and probably very pretty beneath the thick layers of makeup, but she could be really arrogant.
“Yeah,” Jae sneered at Emily. “Got a problem with that?”
“Not really,” she said. “I just never thought any of you would be able to get a date. But it makes sense that you’d take each other, I guess… you’re both kinda ugly. You deserve each other.” With those words, Emily turned around, flicked her brown ponytail and went into the girl’s dormitory.
“Rowan is not ugly!” Jae yelled after her.
“Just ignore her,” the seventh-year whose lap Jae was resting his head on said. “She’s just mad that she lost the decorating competition to Penny Haywood.”
“Yeah,” Bill agreed. “She’s been harassing me and Charlie about our, um, lack of wealth, both at breakfast and lunch today.” That made Jae feel a little better. Besides, he would never let Emily Tyler ruin his and Rowan’s date. Which was only a week from now!
“Are you ready, Rowan?” Ben asked with a nervous smile.
“Yeah,” Rowan replied. The two of them opened the door to the transfiguration classroom, where Andre and Beam were waiting for them.
“Ah, there you are!” Andre said with a bright smile. “Wait till you see what I’ve got for you two.” Excitedly, Rowan and Ben ran toward the other two.
“I’m also pretty curious to see it,” Beam admitted. Andre sighed:
“Yeah, Beam, I’m sorry I haven’t finished your clothes yet.”
“That’s alright,” Beam replied. “Now let’s see what you’ve got for Ben and Rowan.”
“Yes,” Andre smiled. He opened his bag and pulled out a mannequin – he must have used an Extension Charm on the bag – wearing a black fedora hat and a black dress robe with red trousers, a yellow shirt, a black vest and red-and-gold-plaid socks underneath, complete with shining black boots and a red bowtie. Rowan assumed they were for Ben, given the Gryffindor colour scheme.
“For you, Ben,” Andre confirmed.
“That’s nice!” Ben exclaimed. “Classic Muggle fashion with a Wizarding twist. I love it!” Andre’s brown eyes lit up:
“I’ve been looking through vintage Muggle fashion magazines, and I tried to find something that could bring out your sleek, golden hair and your rosy cheeks, without making your skin appear too pink. Want to try it on?”
“I’d rather wait until I’ve seen what you’ve got for Rowan,” Ben said.
“Right.” Andre pulled up two other mannequins, one of them wearing a long, blue dress with purple and silver floral print, the other wearing a long, black robe over a blue suit in a similar fabric, with a thin white shirt underneath.
“Wow,” she whispered.
“I made them blue, cause I know you like blue,” Andre explained. “And I’ve been inspired by traditional Indian dress robes, both for men and women. And since you’re genderfluid, I made a masculine and a feminine outfit, so you can wear something that matches your gender identity that day. You can also mix and match, if that’s what you want. Do you like it?”
“Yes!” Rowan answered happily. “It’s… so beautiful!” She wanted to try on both the outfits. The only problem was…
“Perhaps we could go somewhere, um, private to change?” Ben asked.
“Of course,” Andre said and conjured two changing boxes. Rowan and Ben went into each their box with their respective mannequins. Rowan decided to start with the suit and, as such, put a hair-shrinking charm on herself. Then she took off her school robes and put on the white shirt, then the suit, and lastly the shoes and the dress robe. It was very comfortable. She looked in the mirror. If Rowan would happen to be a boy to the Ball, he would be a very handsome, stylish boy.
After admiring the masculine Rowan Khanna, she stepped out of the box, where she saw Ben wearing his outfit. It suited him. He looked much older, and much more wizard-like.
“Wow, Rowan,” Ben said. “You look good.”
“Thanks,” Rowan smiled. “You too.”
“Blue really is your colour,” Andre said. “I’d love to be your partner, if you weren’t taken. And if I didn’t plan to ask… um, why don’t you try on the feminine outfit now?”
“Sure,” Rowan said and went back into the box, wondering why Andre wouldn’t say who he planned to ask. She put the suit back on the mannequin and put on the long, blue dress. Then she cast a growth-charm on her hair and looked into the mirror. And in the mirror, there was an extremely beautiful girl, almost unrecognisable to Rowan. The dress was floor-length, so that Rowan’s large, clumsy feet were hidden, The sleeves were wide and flowing, giving Rowan an almost angel-like appearance. One could barely tell that Rowan was born “male”. She had read about gender euphoria in medicine and psychology books, but never felt it as strongly as this dress made her feel.
She stepped out of the box, and met the eyes of Beam, whose jaw dropped.
“You’re beautiful!” they gasped. “Not that you’re not pretty otherwise, but wow.”
“Yeah,” Andre said. “You really are gorgeous. That dress really brings out your smile. I’d suggest some jewelry, though, and maybe another hairstyle. Perhaps a side plait, how about that?”
“How does it feel to look better as any gender than I do?” Beam grinned. Rowan felt like crying; she wasn’t used to all those compliments, especially not on her looks. And to top it off, Ben said:
“Jae is a very lucky bloke.”
Jae was sitting in his dorm, chatting with Charlie, as well as Bill and the seventh-year boy from yesterday (Jae had found out that his name was David), who were hanging out in the fifth year dormitory. Charlie had just received a parcel from his owl, Errol, who was sitting on Bill’s finger, sleeping. There was also a letter, which Charlie was reading out loud:
“Dear Charlie
We managed to find a fairly nice robe for a low price. I’ve been trying to rinse it and mend the holes, and now it looks as good as new. Perhaps it’s a bit outdated, but we hope you like it anyway. It’s green, since we know that’s your favourite colour. Have a nice Ball, and we hope you, Bill and Percy have a good time at Hogwarts. We miss you.
Love, Mum, Dad, Fred, George, Ron and Ginny.”
“Open it,” Bill said excitedly. Charlie ripped open the parcel. And it did, indeed, contain a bright green robe, as well as a pair of polished, brown leather boots and a small piece of green silk.
“It’s… very green,” David said.
“Try it on!” Bill demanded. Charlie pulled off his dark red jumper and put on the green robe. Then he looked in the large mirror beside his bed. Granted, it was very outdated, and it looked sort of like a dress, but Charlie did look very handsome in it.
“I like it,” he smiled. “I would prefer a darker shade of green, but it’s more than I could’ve hoped for. I’m gonna write a thank you letter to mum and dad!”
“Perhaps we can find a spell to darken it?” Jae suggested.
“Nah, it’s okay,” Charlie said and changed back into his Weasley jumper. “What are you gonna wear, Jae?”
“My daddy’s old dress robes,” Jae replied. “Wanna see it?”
“Yes!” the three other guys said at the same time. Jae pulled out a box from his school trunk and opened it. He pulled out a bright red silk cloak with large gold buttons and with golden threads sewn into the fabric.
“It’s called a hanbok,” he explained. “It’s been in my family for generations. At least, that’s what my daddy told me. Although my uncle told me that he bought it in a North Korean vintage shop back in ‘69. And my grandpa said that he won it in a duel with a portrait of an ancient Korean king. I’m not sure who to believe. But I think I’m gonna rock it, whatcha say?”
“Definitely!” David said.
“For sure,” Charlie said.
“I bet Rowan’s gonna love it,” Bill said.
Rowan and Jae both struggled to concentrate on school work the next few days. Well, Jae always found it hard, but it was unusual for Rowan. The fact that the two of them were going together quickly spread around to the rest of the friend group… and to Merula Snyde.
“So,” Merula whispered to Rowan (who today was a boy) and Beam during Potions class Tuesday morning. “I heard you’re going with that Smuggler-Kim to the Ball, Khanna?”
“Yes,” Rowan said bluntly. “And who are you going with?”
“Someone who’s way above you and Kim… and Bugge. Who doesn’t have a partner yet, as far as I’m aware?”
“Oh, I’m sorry, Beam,” Rowan exclaimed. “Ben and I promised to find you someone… I’ve been so busy thinking about me and Jae that I completely forgot about…”
“You may gossip about romance… after school,” said a cold voice behind them. The three of them turned around and met Professor Snape’s dark eyes.
“Oh, I’m sorry, Professor,” Rowan piped. Snape glared at them and went to the next table, where Tulip definitely wasn’t following the instructions, judging by the exploding bubbles coming out of her cauldron and the rainbow coloured smoke and sparkles coming out of the bubbles.
“Ten points from Ravenclaw, Karasu,” Rowan heard Snape say, before going back to his own potion. He had a bad feeling in his stomach: he had completely forgotten about Beam, who had been so nice to help Rowan with Jae and with the outfits. But he didn’t dare say anything. Snape was already mad at Rowan, and Tulip had already lost Ravenclaw ten points that day.
Jae was sitting in Muggle Studies class, chatting with Charlie and a Hufflepuff girl named Chiara Lebosca.
“Charlie and I decided to go together, as friends,” Chiara explained and put a finger through the hole of a rectangular, black object, which apparently was called a video. “None of us really have a crush on anyone, but we both love to dance.”
“You really don’t have a crush on anyone?” Jae asked.
“I’m planning to marry a dragon,” Charlie said. Jae assumed he was joking, but then again, Charlie could be really strange sometimes…
“I just don’t ‘get’ romance,” Chiara said. “I guess you have to experience it to understand it, but… I’ve never experienced it. Oh, Charlie, look! Here’s that movie about a green-skinned woman turning into a dragon!”
“Sleeping Beauty?” Charlie exclaimed. “Yeah, I don’t understand romance either. Like, I understand ‘love’. I love my family. And I understand friendship, and obsessions – like I’m obsessed with creatures. But romance? Crushes? That just doesn’t make sense to me. I feel like that emotion is somehow… missing.”
“Same!” Chiara said. “I thought it had to do with my lack of melanin, but then there was this Head Boy… I think his name was Adrian Shacklebolt? Who told me he felt the same way, and that Amortentia smelled like nothing to him, and he had lots of melanin. So… And Jae, you were going with Rowan Khanna, I’ve let Penny tell me?”
“Yup,” Jae smiled. “And I partly have Ben Copper to thank for that. But to be honest? I’m mostly excited about the food. I’ve heard they’ll make a cake larger than Flitwick! Isn’t that impressive?”
“No one can make better cakes than my mum, though,” Charlie said stubbornly.
“The house elves are pretty good, too,” Chiara said.
“I hope I don’t have to clean up after the Ball,” Jae thought out loud. “I want that night to just be me, and Rowan, and lots of cake.”
The second lesson for Rowan was Herbology with the Hufflepuffs. Professor Sprout usually didn’t mind when the students talked during the lessons, so Rowan and Beam were chatting while taking care of their plants.
“Beam, I’m so sorry about not finding you a partner,” Rowan said earnestly. “I’m just not sure what your taste is.”
“It’s okay, Rowan,” Beam reassured him. “After all, it is my decision who I want to take. Although I have no idea either…”
“I’ll help you,” shouted a bright voice behind them. They turned around, and Hufflepuff student Nymphadora Tonks smiled at them.
“You?” Rowan and Beam asked at the same time.
“Yep,” Tonks said. “I’ve decided that I don’t want to take anyone to the Ball, so I can give everyone completely unbiased dating advice. Whatcha say?” Rowan noticed Beam’s shoulders sinking and their smile stiffening, but Beam replied, though in a very small voice:
“I suppose a little extra advice couldn’t hurt…” Tonks put a lanky arm around Beam’s shoulder, and the two of them walked towards another table. Rowan looked around. Tulip was having a dirt fight with two Hufflepuff boys, Badeea was having a deep conversation with a Ravenclaw boy, and Penny Haywood was chatting happily with another Ravenclaw boy. Eventually, Rowan decided to join the table with Andre and a Hufflepuff boy named Diego Caplan.
“Well, if that isn’t Jae Kim’s señorita,” Diego grinned at Rowan.
“I’m actually a boy today,” Rowan corrected him.
“Ah, my apologies,” Diego said. “Jae Kim’s señor, then. He told me everything about you in Potions class yesterday.” Rowan’s stomach rolled a little:
“He did?”
“Yeah,” Diego responded. “He really likes you, that Jae.” Rowan felt himself blushing and decided to shift the conversation away from himself:
“Do you guys have partners? And Andre, thanks for the outfits, by the way. They’re really nice.”
“You’re welcome,” Andre said. “I haven’t asked her yet. I probably should, before she decides to go with someone else… how about you, Diego?”
“I’m going alone,” Diego said. “I want to be a free man. Having an official partner is so… restricting. You understand? I’d much rather dance with a lot of people.” Tonks seemed to have the same mentality, Rowan thought. But he didn’t understand why someone wanted to “dance with a lot of people”, rather than simply one person. Especially when that one person was Jae Kim.
Jae was meanwhile having History of Magic class with the Slytherins. As usual, Professor Binns didn’t notice that half the class was asleep, while the other half was admiring Slytherin girl Liz Tuttle’s baby niffler, which was trying to steal Slytherin boy Barnaby Lee’s finger rings. Even Merula Snyde seemed to find it cute.
“You’d think that Lizard would bring the niffler to the Celestial Ball,” she said to everyone who listened. “I can’t imagine anyone would want to dance with her.”
“She’s going with Barnaby Lee,” said a Slytherin boy whose name Jae didn’t remember. “He told me that last week.”
“Oh, that makes sense,” Merula said. “All the losers are going together. Lizard and Barnaby, Lebosca and Weasley, Khanna and Kim…”
“Don’t call Rowan a loser!” Jae snapped. “And who are you going with anyway? The snoring Billingsley over there? Or perhaps the drooling cyclope Ismelda Murk?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know,” Merula muttered. “I can tell you so much that I’m not going with a loser. So that rules out… most of the school.” Their conversation got interrupted by a loud roar. Liz’s niffler had managed to get one of Barnaby’s rings and was now jumping away, heading towards a sleeping Gryffindor girl wearing some very large golden hoop earrings…
It was Thursday now. Nearly everyone who wanted to had found a partner for the Celestial Ball. In the Great Hall, Rowan was excitedly chatting with Ben and Penny at the Gryffindor table, while admiring the star-themed decorations that Penny had created. Andre, Tulip and Barnaby were sitting at the Ravenclaw table, presumably discussing outfits, judging by the various magazines Andre had brought. At the Slytherin table, Merula and Ismelda were talking very quietly about something that Rowan couldn’t hear. And at the Hufflepuff table, Rowan could see Beam, Bill and Tonks having a serious conversation; Beam still hadn’t found a date.
“I really feel bad about it,” Ben said. “Beam convinced us to go to the ball, made Professor Flitwick cast Maximus Confidencia on me, helped you with Jae, and what have we done for them? Nothing! We’re the worst friends you…”
“Ben, please stop,” Penny said quietly. “I’m sure Beam is more than happy that you two are coming to the Ball. You guys are excellent friends, trust me.” Rowan smiled. Penny could always lighten your mood when you were down.
“Besides,” Penny continued, “it seems like Beam doesn’t need your help.” Rowan and Ben turned around and saw Beam point toward the Ravenclaw table. Bill patted Beam on the back and smiled. “Although I hope it isn’t Barnaby they’re planning to ask. He’s going with Liz.”
“And Andre mentioned planning to ask a girl,” Rowan remembered. “And Andre knows that Beam is nonbinary and uses ‘they’-pronouns.”
“Do you think that Beam wants to ask… Tulip?” Ben asked. Rowan saw Tonks giving Beam a little push, causing Beam to slowly walk toward the Ravenclaw table. They patted Tulip on the shoulder, and the two Ravenclaws left the Great Hall together.
Jae was playing Exploding Snap in the Gryffindor common room with Chiara, Diego, Charlie and the blond dormmate he didn’t remember the name of (Jae had nicknamed him Leviosa Boy). On another couch, Badeea was showing Liz her new kitten. Charlie had just gotten yet another match, and Chiara looked like she wanted to punch him.
The portrait door swang open, and Tonks, Bill and Penny came in, along with a second year Gryffindor boy whom Jae recognized from the Quidditch team.
“Whotcher, Gryffindor!” Tonks shouted. “Guess who the best matchmaker in our school is?”
“Hmmm, I wonder… Tonks, perhaps?” Diego said sarcastically, as David came out from the boys’ dorm with a game of Wizarding chess, which he and Bill started playing.
“Yup, twenty points to Hufflepuff!” Tonks grinned. “The curse breaker and the rule breaker. Well, how’s it going in here? Who’s winning?”
“That goddamn Weasley,” Chiara gritted. Charlie laughed.
“Aw, look at that kitten!” Penny squealed and jumped onto the couch with Badeea and Liz.
“I heard you were going solo, Tonks?” Diego said.
“I actually imagined that you’d go with Tulip,” Jae said.
“Well, Beam’s lucky that Tonks is a strong independent morph.” Everyone laughed. “But a very clumsy morph who can’t dance.”
“I can teach you,” Diego suggested.
“Haha, no,” Tonks replied. “When I say I can’t dance, I really can’t dance.”
“It’s true,” Penny shouted from the couch. “You don’t want to see zir dance. Zie dances like a mountain troll.” Tonks ran over to tickle Penny. Liz joined in, claiming that “that was an insult to mountain trolls”, causing Tonks to slap her, and soon all the four people in the couch had a tickle fight.
“I’m not a very good dancer either,” Jae said. “But that shouldn’t matter. It’s more about having fun, right?”
It was Saturday afternoon. All the fifth year students were in their respective dorms, preparing for the evening. In the Ravenclaw girls’ dorm, Rowan was experimenting with her hair. She had decided to make it a little longer and tried to make a side plait, like Andre had suggested.
“Let me help you,” Badeea sighed. She had just applied makeup on her left eye, but not on the right, so she looked quite funny.
“I didn’t know you could braid?” Rowan said.
“Oh, yes, I braid my mother’s hair all the time,” Badeea said. “Her hair is really long, so you have to be creative to make it all fit into her undercap. I think I’ll make a French braid, is that okay?”
“Yeah,” Rowan answered. “Thank you. I like your eye shadow, by the way.” It was dusty blue and sparkly, looking like a late evening sky.
“Would you like to borrow some?” Badeea asked. “I’m not sure how visible it is on dark skin and through glasses, but it’s worth a try, right?” Both Beam and Tulip were wearing it too, and they both looked very pretty. All of them were wearing blue dresses, so it would be fun to also wear blue eye shadow…
“Let me try,” Rowan said. “You and Andre both really have a passion for beauty, huh?”
“There’s a reason I like him so much,” Badeea smiled. “I still can’t believe he asked me out.” She was now done braiding Rowan’s hair and finished it by tying a hairband with a flower on it in the end of the plait. “Do you like it?”
“Yes!” Rowan said upon looking in the mirror in front of her. “Thank you so much, Badeea. Now, about that eye shadow…”
“That eye shadow,” Badeea repeated. “Yes. I got it right here.” She opened a little box, so Rowan could see the eye shadow sparkling at her.
“Take off your glasses. Close your eyes,” she said. Rowan obeyed her, and she felt something cold and pointy, yet soft, touch her eyelids, followed by something larger and bushier, and lastly she felt something gently stroking her eyelashes. Then she felt her glasses being put on again, and heard Badeea say:
“Open your eyes.” Rowan did so and looked at herself with a galaxy around her eyes. It was even more sparkly on dark skin, and the glasses only framed it so that you noticed it more. Her eyelashes looked much longer, causing her to look like some kind of goddess. Badeea really had a talent there.
“I don’t know how to thank you enough, Badeea,” Rowan said truthfully.
“That’s alright,” Badeea responded brightly. “A true artist can make every girl feel like the princess she truly is. And that includes the princesses who were princes just yesterday, and who tomorrow will be neither.” Rowan tried her hardest not to cry in order to not ruin the eye makeup, while slowly putting on her flower earrings and the silvery tree-shaped necklace from her grandmother. Badeea continued applying makeup on her right eye, while Beam and Tulip unsuccessfully practiced slow-dancing with each other. Rowan couldn’t stop smiling. She had never felt more beautiful before.
In the Gryffindor boys’ dorm, Jae was combing Charlie’s red hair, while Ben and the blond Leviosa boy were discussing the worst things that could happen at the Ball.
“Perhaps we should try a higher ponytail,” Jae suggested. “Then you’ll look really handsome.”
“Why not,” Charlie said. “And I love your hat, by the way.”
“Thanks,” Jae replied. “It’s actually called a ‘gat’.” It was tall, thin, and black with bamboo pieces and golden beads hanging down the sides. “There. Now, what do you think?” Charlie looked in the mirror for a few seconds, before saying:
“I like it. Great job, Jae. Now, for this robe… do you think it’s too… girly?”
“It is a little girly,” Jae agreed. “But there’s nothing wrong with that! No one should have to conform to old fashioned gender roles anyway.” Charlie didn’t respond, only turned around a little in the mirror. Did Jae say anything wrong?
“Look,” Jae began. “Charlie, I know you sometimes feel bad about your height, or your chest, or your voice, whatever. But you know what? No one feels truly great about their bodies. I’m even smaller than you, and I ain’t even trans. Ben feels insecure about literally anything, and I’m sure that even Bill has something he’s struggling with.”
“Now that you mention it,” Charlie said slowly, “he did mention that he felt too pale or too gangly sometimes. Thanks for the pep talk, Jae. You look fabulous tonight.”
“You too,” Jae said truthfully. Charlie did look good in his bright green robe, with his hair tightly pushed back, and with the little green silk piece tied around it.
“Although,” Charlie continued, “you don’t want to put on some other… shoes?”
“Nope,” Jae replied. “I feel comfy in my good old trainers. All they needed was a Scourgify, and Ben mastered that spell to a T.”
“Alright, then,” Charlie grinned. “Are you guys ready?” Ben took a last look in the mirror, where he fixed his bowtie and tipped his hat.
“Let’s go,” he said.
“You look dashing,” Jae said to Ben. And he really did.
“Thanks,” he responded, clearly appreciating Jae’s compliment. “And so do you.” Jae had to admit that he did feel very good-looking this night. He couldn’t wait to see everyone else, especially Rowan.
Rowan walked into the fully decorated Great Hall, which was covered in all kinds of star-themed decorations. Penny had really done a great job. The four house tables had been removed and were replaced by some smaller, round tables, some of them already filled with students, chatting.
“Wow, Rowan! You’re stunning!” shouted a voice on Rowan’s right. She turned around and saw Barnaby and Liz sitting at a table, eating crisps, both smiling at her. Barnaby was looking very handsome in his plum coloured dress robes, and Liz also looked pretty, having loosened her dark hair from the usual cornrows and wearing a lime green, long sleeved, flowery dress. Rowan dumped herself down a chair to Barnaby’s left and said:
“You both look amazing, too. Are you having fun, so far?”
“Yes,” Barnaby said. “And the food is awesome. You should try it.”
“I’ve talked to the elves,” Liz said, “and they promised me there’d be plenty of vegan options. Although I hope they don’t feel too stressed out. Perhaps we should go help them… whatcha say, Barn?”
“Dunno. You got a point.”
“There you are, Rowan!” said a voice behind them. “I’ve been looking all over for you.” It was Ben.
“Hi, Ben,” Rowan smiled. “Looking good, huh?”
“You too. So you went for the dress, I see?” Rowan stood up, and the two of them started walking around the Great Hall together.
“Nice hat, Copper,” said a boy to the left that Rowan didn’t know. “And you’re beautiful, Khanna.”
“Aw, thanks,” Rowan smiled. “I love your tie.”
Meanwhile, Jae and Leviosa Boy were stuffing themselves with licorice wands and chocolate owls, while Charlie was trying out all kinds of fancy drinks.
“Perhaps I should try mixing them up,” he said. “I mean, they’re alcohol free. Nothing bad can happen, right?” He tried pouring a glittery, green-tinted drink into his glass filled with some bright purple liquid, causing the drink to turn sky blue and to start spraying itself onto Charlie’s face and robe. The other two boys laughed, as Charlie tried to make the drink stay still.
“You Gryffindors are so stupid,” said Chiara, who had just arrived. She had curled her white hair a little and was wearing a pastel coloured tulle dress, making her look like some kind of elf.
“You Hufflepuffs aren’t much better,” said Charlie and pointed toward Tonks, who had somehow managed to get zir foot stuck in a chair. Chiara and Charlie rushed to help zir, leaving Jae alone with Leviosa Boy, who soon left to talk to a group of Gryffindor girls. Jae decided to walk around, trying to find some other people to talk to. He caught a glimpse of Penny Haywood, who was looking especially cute tonight, sitting at a table with a lanky Ravenclaw boy whose name kept slipping from Jae’s mind. However, he knew that the boy usually wasn’t comfortable around too many people, but didn’t seem to mind when Penny was there. Jae decided to let them have their moment and went on.
Eventually, he found a table with a group of Hufflepuff boys, whom he joined.
“Rawr,” said one of them, grinning at Jae. “You look… flaming, huh?” Jae chuckled; his robe had golden fire print embroidered into it, and golden lion print in the sleeves.
“Enjoying yourself so far?” Diego asked, with a pile of tortilla crisps and a bowl of salsa in front of him.
“Yeah,” Jae said. “And you?” There were a bunch of “yeah”’s from the others.
“You don’t mind me sitting here, do you?”
“Not at all,” another boy said.
Rowan and Ben had now arrived at a table where they recognized Tonks, Chiara and Charlie.
“Ey, we got two hotties right here,” Tonks yelled. “Come sit down.” Tonks was looking really cool with zir hair spiked up and with a magenta tint to it as opposed to the usual bright pink.
“You guys look great, too,” Ben said. “Love your makeup, Chiara. Really brings out your eyes.”
“Have you tried the jalapeño crisps?” Tonks asked.
“I can still taste them,” Chiara said. “My throat is burning.” Rowan grabbed a handful and stuffed them in her mouth. They tasted deliciously. Ben was a bit more careful and started tasting one, and his face quickly turned pink.
“White people are so weak,” Tonks mumbled and stuffed zir mouth with another handful of jalapeño crisps.
“But Tonks, you’re white, too,” Rowan pointed out. Tonks closed zir eyes tightly, causing zir skin to become much darker.
“Not anymore,” zie said.
“Let’s go find some water,” Ben piped, with tears in his eyes. Rowan grabbed another handful of crisps, and the two of them went further around the Hall. They found some water for Ben, causing him to feel much better. They also saw Merula and Ismelda sitting at a table together, both wearing shiny, black dresses and dark lipstick. Merula actually looked quite beautiful, Rowan thought, with her brown pixie-cut hair straightened and pushed back, so you could see her face more clearly. They also came across Andre and Badeea, the former looking very stylish in his purple dress robes, and the latter sparkling from top to toe.
“Nice outfits,” Andre said. They all laughed. “I see there’s been an artist in your face, Rowan?”
“Yeah,” Rowan said. “It’s all thanks to you two that I feel like a princess tonight.”
“Yeah, thank you, Andre,” Ben said. “So, are you two, you know… together?”
“Yeah,” Badeea said. “We’re partners for tonight. And you, Ben…”
“Haven’t managed to find anyone,” Ben said, sounding a little disappointed.
“I’m sure there are lots of people who want you tonight,” Andre said and winked. Ben took a large gulp of water.
“Let’s move on,” Rowan said.
Jae and the Hufflepuffs were now having a competition about who could eat the most salsa without burning. Diego had of course picked the hottest kind, and unlike Muggle salsa, there would be actual flames coming out of your mouth if you found it too hot. So far, Jae was doing pretty well. There were only three people left; Jae, Diego and a boy he had found out was called Tyler. The three boys each took a large spoonful of salsa, and Tyler’s mouth shot a little flame.
“Tyler’s out,” Diego said, still pretty unaffected. “It’s only a matter of time before you give up, Jae.” He was probably right; Jae could feel the flames trying to escape his throat, and tears coming to his eyes. Still, he tried to play it cool:
“I can barely feel anything,” he said with a rasping voice. The other boys laughed.
“Hi, there,” said a bright voice behind Rowan and Ben. It was Beam. They were looking very beautiful, with a blue, sparkly dress similar to Badeea’s, their hair lengthened and tied into a bun, and with their glasses off, so you could see their eyes and eyeshadow. They were smiling.
“You look so beautiful!” Rowan squealed. “Can you see properly without glasses?”
“Thanks, you too,” Beam replied. “It’s a bit blurry, but I don’t have any blue glasses, so I decided to sacrifice my comfort for a little beauty. So, aren’t you glad you both decided to come to the Ball?” Both Rowan and Ben had considered staying in their dorms, given that none of them liked parties very much. But luckily, Beam had convinced them both.
“Yes!” Rowan said. “And I’ve gotten so many compliments.”
“Doubly yes,” Ben said. “Everyone wants my hat.” The three of them laughed.
“So, where’s Jae?” Beam asked.
“Good question,” Rowan answered. “Let’s go find him.”
Jae had to give in now and let the fire escape his mouth. He heard some of the others gasp, and one of them mentioned him looking like a dragon. After he was done burning, he stuffed his mouth with chocolate owls.
“Don’t you feel anything?” it came from a blond boy to Jae’s left.
“A little,” Diego smirked. “Okay, yes, I do, it’s actually pretty hot. Excuse me.” He closed his eyes, opened his mouth and let a flame out. “That was fun! But you know what they say; never compete with a Mexican. Our taste buds are practically immune.”
“I bet Rowan could beat you,” Jae said. “I should go find them, by the way.” He got up from his chair and started walking around again.
“Oh, look,” Ben said and pointed. “There’s Penny.” looking quite beautiful herself with her blonde hair waving around her shoulders and her yellow dress flowing like a giant flower. She had her arm put around the Ravenclaw boy from Herbology, who had an uncharacteristic smile on his face, like he was the luckiest person on Earth. And behind them was...
“Bill?” Beam exclaimed. “You stopped by, after all?” He turned around and sent them a bright smile, causing Rowan to smile as well.
“I promised Rowan I would,” he said. That’s right, Rowan thought. Bill had promised Rowan to come briefly and say hi to her. “You look fantastic, by the way.”
“Thank you so much!” Beam said.
“And did things work out for you with bringing a date, Beam?”
“I did ask Tulip, and she said yes.”
“Hello, everyone,” said a voice behind them. It was Emily Tyler, who was looking coldly at Penny. The Ravenclaw boy’s smile disappeared, and he slowly sneaked away.
“I came to see if your decoration theme turned out better than mine would have. It didn’t. But mostly, I was looking for Bill and saw him walk in here.”
“Looking for me?” Bill asked confusedly. “Why?” He had earlier had a crush on Emily, but she had rejected him for “being a Weasley”. Rowan and Ben decided to walk away, since Emily had a tendency to create drama wherever she went.
“To rescue you from these kids so we can spend some time together,” they heard her say. They saw Bill slowly open his mouth:
“You want to spend time with me, Emily?”
“Yes,” she said. “I made a mistake rejecting you. And I don’t make mistakes often. So let’s get away from this Celestial Ball nonsense you’ve gotten involved in. We can go to The Three Broomsticks for a butterbeer. What do you say?”
“I say…” Bill began and hesitated, before saying:
“Not if you were the last witch on the planet, Emily. You’ve been too rude to my friends, and to me. If you’ll excuse me, I’ll see Rowan.” With those words, he walked toward Rowan and Ben and put on his big smile again.
“So, how are you?” he asked.
“You'd rather spend time with us than Emily?” Ben asked, sounding just as surprised and honoured as Rowan felt. Bill nodded.
“If you guys knew what she’s been saying about you… especially you, Rowan. I think she’s afraid that I might actually fancy you.” Rowan’s heart skipped a beat.
“But that’s ridiculous,” he said and shook his head. “Besides, you’re with Jae. Speaking of which, shouldn’t we go find him?”
“Yes!” Rowan said.
The music had started, Jae was dancing around by himself, when he suddenly recognized Ben – who was quite good at dancing, he noticed.
“Hi, Ben,” he shouted. “Have you seen…” and then, behind Ben, he saw… well, it was Rowan, obviously, but she was so pretty, with her long black hair in a side plaid, and silver sparkles from her necklace, earrings and dress. She also noticed Jae now, looking like a king with his red-and-gold silk robe, and with his shining black hat that made him appear a little taller. Their eyes met, and they both blushed, but none of them cared. Ben smiled and gave Rowan a little push.
“You look beautiful,” Jae said. “Not that you’re not always beautiful, or handsome, or however you want to look, but wow… look at you.”
“You look very dashing, too,” Rowan said, smiling so hard that it almost hurt, but she didn’t care.
“Wanna dance?” Jae asked.
“Okay,” Rowan said. “I’m not very good, though…”
“Neither am I,” Jae reassured her. “So let’s just be noobs together, huh?” He put his right hand around Rowan’s waist, and she placed her left hand on his shoulder, and then their other hands grabbed each other, and they started dancing. They both tripped a lot and sometimes stepped on their own feet, but it was still a great feeling, dancing with the one they loved. Around them, mostly everyone else were dancing as well. Liz and Barnaby, Andre and Badeea, Beam and Tulip, Merula and Ismelda, Charlie and Chiara, Penny and the Ravenclaw boy, Tonks dancing in a big chain with zir fellow “solo” students, and Ben had – to their surprise – found himself a dancing partner: Diego Caplan. Bill was standing by himself, smiling at everyone.
“I gotta go now,” he said.
“Where?” Rowan asked. Bill winked at them.
“I have to go study with David.” He then turned around and confidently walked out of the Great Hall. Rowan knew by now how “studying together” could end, and she had a feeling that Bill knew that as well. She smiled at Jae, and he smiled back. They had both fancied Bill for years, and they both knew that. But they were both happy for him and David. And they were both happy to be here with each other. It felt so unreal.
The next song was much more upbeat, and that was very nice, so they didn’t have to talk that much. Or think, for that matter. Just focus on the dancing, and on each other’s eyes. And smiles. And their deep red faces, not sure whether it was the heat in the Great Hall, the exhaustion from dancing, or their feelings bubbling up, that caused it. It was probably all at once.
The music slowly died out, and it was now time for eating. Everyone with official partners had assigned seats, and everyone else could choose themselves. Rowan and Jae were joined by Ben and Diego, who seemed to have had the time of their lives.
“Who knew dancing could be so fun?” Ben smiled.
“You’re not half bad,” Diego said. “Now, I wonder what’s for dinner?” His question was answered immediately: Goose with sweet potatoes and several vegetables and sauces to choose from, everything showing up on previously empty dishes on the middle of the table. Their glasses were automatically filled with whatever they were in the mood for drinking. Everyone started filling their plates. Ben explained how Professor Flitwick had cast a spell on him, so that he would be good at dancing, and that it would never wear off. Rowan had read almost every book in the library, and yet she’s never heard of such a spell. Neither had Diego, who knew practically everything about dancing.
“There is Tarantallegra,” Diego said, “but that makes you automatically dance right now. I should probably ask him about it…”
“I wish he would cast it on me,” Jae said.
“Are you sure you’re not just… naturally good at dancing, Ben?” Rowan asked. “And that the spell only gave you confidence? ‘Maximus Confidencia’... doesn’t sound like a dancing spell to me.”
“Whatever,” Diego said. “We had fun, and that’s what matters. Right?”
They had now finished their dinner, and now it was time for dessert. Jae was right in his prediction that there would be cake, although it wasn’t larger than Flitwick. They had each gotten their own cake, Rowan’s being shaped like a flower and covered with blue frosting, and Jae’s being orange with some sparkly, golden frosting that moved like fire.
“That’s impressive!” he exclaimed. “I wonder how it tastes. Perhaps like orange? Or carrot? Who knows.”
“I almost feel bad about eating it,” Rowan said. “It’s so beautiful.”
“I’m sure there’s a spell to reconstruct it,” Ben reassured her. His cake was shaped and coloured like a rainbow.
“Let’s just eat, shall we?” Diego said and started consuming his golden, heart-shaped cake. The other three did the same, and the cakes did indeed taste very nicely. Rowan’s cake tasted like vanilla and blueberry, whereas Jae’s tasted like orange, as he had rightfully guessed.
When they had finished their cakes, Professor Dumbledore stood up at the staff table to say a few words:
“I hope everyone has enjoyed the Celestial Ball so far. Once again, thank you to Miss Penny Haywood for creating those wonderful, wonderful decorations. Now, you may leave the Ball if you want. However, I expect most of you to be staying. We will have a little more music. Now enjoy the rest of the night. Thank you.” He then sat down again. Music started playing again, and most of the students – and some of the teachers, too – went to the floor and started dancing with each other. Rowan and Jae decided to have one more dance, and then Rowan would go back to her dorm to get some alone time.
The music became slower and slower, and the lights faded out until only a few decorations were lit. Jae’s hanbok really started shining in the dark, and so did Rowan’s jewelry, glasses, eye shadow and the silver print on her dress. They automatically took a step closer to each other once in a while, until their chests were glued together. They looked each other deeply in the eyes. Their faces also started approaching each other, until their noses touched each other, and eventually, their lips as well. Rowan had more butterflies in her stomach than she had ever seen on her tree farm at home, and Jae’s heart got surrounded by fireworks in all colours. Eventually, they let go of each other. If this had happened an hour ago, they’d both feel very awkward, but now all the awkwardness was gone.
“You guys kissed!” Beam was sitting on Rowan’s bed, clinging to their pet cat in excitement.
“Yes, we did,” Rowan said, still in disbelief. “And you and Tulip? You were one of the last couples to leave, I noticed.”
“We had so much fun, right, Beam?” Tulip said and dumped herself down on Beam’s left.
“Yeah,” Beam smiled. “I’m glad that Bill and Tonks convinced me to ask you. I’d never be able to do it myself.”
“Me neither,” Tulip admitted. “But now to the kiss. How was it, Rowan?”
“Amazing!” Badeea had (finally) finished removing her makeup and sat down on Rowan’s right:
“Sort of an odd match, isn’t it? You, a… well, a nerd – and that’s a compliment – and then Jae, this rebellious, very outgoing guy… although they do say that opposites attract. That also happened to you two,” she said and gestured toward Beam and Tulip.
“Did you have a good time, Badeea, by the way?” Rowan asked.
“Oh, yeah,” Badeea replied. “Andre is really amazing. He was so sweet. And you all really need my help removing your makeup. You’re pathetic.” The four of them all laughed.
“That lipstick really doesn’t suit you. It’s way too dark.” Jae’s and Charlie’s eyes met, and they both burst out laughing. Jae looked into the mirror on the wall, and his lips had gotten a dark red lipstick on them.
“Oh, I look awful,” he said.
“That’s why I’ve never kissed a girl,” Ben grinned from his bed.
“You’ve never kissed anyone,” said Leviosa Boy. Ben glared at him.
“Or… have you?” Charlie said and lifted an eyebrow. “You and Diego…”
“No, we only danced,” Ben said quickly, his face going very pink. “Let’s talk about Jae and Rowan instead. How was it?”
“To dance, or… to kiss?” Jae asked. “In both cases, awesome. Did you guys see how pretty she was? With her big, brown eyes… that flowing, flowery dress… her long, silky hair… and that bright, bright smile of hers… I feel so lucky that we ended up going together. I just wish that we could have another Ball, like, tomorrow or something. Now, Ben. Let’s talk about you and Diego. “
“Let’s NOT talk about me and Diego,” Ben said irritatedly. “I’m going to bed. Goodnight.” He pulled his blanket on and closed his eyes.
“Are you planning to… you know…” Charlie began.
“What?” Jae asked, but he almost knew what Charlie was gonna say:
“Are you planning on taking a step further with Rowan?”
“Maybe,” Jae replied. “Yeah, I think so.”
Sunday afternoon, Rowan was sitting by herself in the library, reading. This time, no one was surprised when the dark-haired boy in the yellow hoodie came in and dumped himself down on a chair beside her.
“I want to talk to you about something,” Jae said quietly.
“School, or… something else?” Rowan asked.
“Something else,” Jae replied. “I want to talk about us.”
“Okay,” Rowan said. She had half expected it. “I think I do, too.”
“We went to the ball together, and we agreed it was a date, right?” Jae asked.
“Yeah,” Rowan answered. “Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”
“I don’t know what you’re thinking,” Jae said. “I’m no seer. But… now we’ve had our first date, our first dance, and our first kiss… how would you feel about going a step further?” Rowan’s butterflies were back now, and so were Jae’s fireworks. He hesitated and continued:
“Would you like me to be your boyfriend?” Rowan’s heart paused. Jae’s heart was also completely still, waiting for Rowan’s answer.
“You don’t mind me being… you know…” Rowan stammered. “Sometimes I’m a boy, and I was also born a boy… are you okay with that?”
“Why wouldn’t I be?” Jae said. “You look incredibly handsome as a boy, and stunningly beautiful as a girl, and if you sometimes rather want to be neither? Still smashingly good looking. It’s like dating three amazing people at once, but they’re still the same. That’s a pansexual boy’s dream! I support you being genderfluid with all my heart.” Rowan smiled; she couldn’t believe what she just heard.
“Oh, yeah,” Jae added, “Ben told me the name of you gender identity. You still haven’t answered my question, by the way.”
“Oh, sorry,” Rowan said. “I say yes, of course. I’d love you becoming my boyfriend.” She turned around and gave Jae a little peck on the cheek. They both blushed.
“But I do need help with some homework,” Jae said. “Would you like to help me?”
“Yes, of course,” Rowan answered, relieved to have the topic changed. “What subject do you struggle with, my dear study partner?”
#hogwarts mystery#hogwarts mystery fanfiction#rowan khanna#jae kim#rowan x jae#jae x rowan#my writing#my fanart#my fanfiction#ravenhilarious#my dear study partner
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“Acceleration” Location, car, and character profiles
Well, since I figure I’m not gonna be super active with Acceleration for now, I minus as well release some of what I DO have, right? Enjoy these concept profiles I came up with when I first started the project!
***
“Qualifying” Race Region: Desert outside of Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Created originally as a testing ground for cars of extreme speed and ability, this course was overhauled from a circuit taking up over 2 square miles in space, to a sprint course, more than doubling the amount of space, stunts, and obstacles, no longer just to test the high-horsepower cars that would be used, but now to test potential candidates that may drive these cars as well.
/Equipment: Track Tires
“Volcanic” Race region: Turrialba volcano, Costa Rica
This Active Volcano required a special type of track to be built in order to be a viable place to race; a type of track that would not overheat to the point of melting the road itself, or the cars’ tires. The Solution? Cooling lines within the track, along with Titanium Alloy used as Track Material, and lastly, energy shielding used where the Lava would draw close, and possibly even run over the track from time to time. Whilst the metallic track makes things a bit slick, it is believed by the engineers that the heat the volcano will generate in the cars’ tires will be more than enough to counteract this.
/Equipment: High-grade Summer Tires, Heat Reflectance Suit
“Polar” Race Region: N77.00, E112.00
Russia is full of tundra regions, some parts of the shoreline nearby even freezing during the winter. Given the right conditions, this water can even freeze over the track itself. These conditions will force the drivers to measure their movements, reactions, and throttle control with an even greater amount of care than ever before, lest they risk getting froze out in this unforgiving wasteland.
/Equipment: Studded Winter Tires, Emergency Warming Kit
“Costal/Water” Race Region: Philippine island chain, on and off island
Among everyday driving, Drivers typically take great care in rainy conditions to avoid hydroplaning. However, on this track where water covers considerable portions, Drivers will have to quickly figure out how to get across the waterlogged sections in a controlled, but fast manner, where the track is sometimes even missing under the surface.
/Equipment: Specialty “Hydroplane” Tires, Emergency Floatation Ballasts
“Canyon/Cave” Race Region: Colca Canyon, Peru
This Track will require all of a driver’s Reflexes, luck, skill, along with their car’s speed and HID headlights, in order to make it through without making a jump too short, wrecking into one of the many obstacles throughout the caves, or flying off one of the sharp hairpin turns, deep into the canyon’s rocky maw.
/Equipment: All-Purpose Tires, Embedded Grappling-Hook, Vehicle Parachute
“Jungle” Race Region: Amazonian Rainforest, South America
The incredible amount of rain, combined with the dirt and mud throughout this region of the world make this track particularly tricky. With some of the track partially covered in dirt and mud, and parts of the track even made up of the forest floor itself, This means that drivers will be required to find the “grippiest” parts of the track, all while avoiding trees, boulders, and mud pits throughout the off-road sections as they race through at breakneck speeds.
/Equipment: Off-road Tires, Increased Suspension Height Setting
“Desert” Race Region: Arabian Desert, UAE
Sand. It’s loose, capable of causing massive wheel slippage at unexpected times when small amounts are sprinkled over the track, and, when a large enough wind picks up, able to reduce visibility to zero. With parts of the track covered by sand, drivers will have to keep up a brisk pace, and attempt not to accelerate in the sand, lest they risk entirely burying their cars’ tires, and leave themselves at the mercy of the harsh sandstorms common here, of which are difficult enough to deal with on their own.
/Equipment: Deep-Tread Tires, Increased Suspension Height Setting
-Cars
“Orion Slingshot”
Engine: Turbocharged Second-Gen Lamborghini V12
Horsepower: 1000 bhp
Intake system: Top-mounted direct-feed Intake Scoop
Drive: RWD
Transmission: 7-speed Manual Gearbox
*Top Speed: 285 MPH
Based off a toy car the original creator of these races saw, this particular car is his personal vehicle. With an F12-inspired intake scoop, a Lamborghini V12 engine, and a lightweight “lift-up” unibody design, this car is Lightweight, Fast, and built for extreme top speeds.
Notes: Natural downforce is created by the shape of the car’s body. In other words, the faster this car goes, the “grippier” it gets.
“Modified 2012 Dodge Charger R/T”
Engine: Supercharged 5.7 HEMI V8
Horsepower: 900 bhp
Intake System: Stage 3 Cold Air intake
Drive: AWD
Transmission: 8-Speed Manual Sequential Gearbox
*Top Speed: 260 MPH
This Particular car was one of the first created for these tracks by Daniel Callahan. Given the amount of time that he has had to tune and perfect this car, it is almost perfect for the loops, jumps, and many other insane maneuvers that this car will face.
Notes: Handling characterristics are incredible on-road, but regardless of setup, particularly unfavorable off-road.
“Modified 2007 BMW Concept x6”
Engine: 4.4L S63 V8 Twin-turbo
Horsepower: 750 bhp
Intake System: Dual Snorkel System
Drive: AWD
Transmission: 6-Speed Manual
*Top Speed: 235 MPH
Created originally as a Replica to BMW’s original concept x6, this SUV has become much more. With a Bigger set of Turbochargers, completely rebuilt body, stripping out any excess weight, reinforcing the entire car like a roll cage, this particular vehicle basically became the equivalent of a Supercar built into a trophy truck, and is sure to dominate almost any terrain.
Notes: Was built to take quite a few bumps and bruises; it’ll smash through most obstacles when needed. However, it does have a considerable amount of bodyroll, due to it’s typical setup.
“Rally Duster”
Engine: Dual Supercharged 2005 LS6 Engines
Horsepower: 1000 bhp
Intake System: Dual Blower Supercharger Intakes
Drive: RWD
Transmission: Custom 6-Speed Manual
*Top Speed: 260 MPH
This Particular car is rather unique. Hand-built by one of the racers, of whom had a particular amount of experience in Rally driving, this car is an immense powerhouse from hell. When handled right, no other can match its off-road speed and agility. That is, given that you can handle 1000 horsepower being driven to the rear wheels thru two Corvette engines.
Notes: “Glass cannon” is a good word for it; Terribly well balanced, but can’t take a hit worth a darn.
“2016 Lykan Hypersport”
Engine: 3.7L Twin-turbo Flat-6
Horsepower: 820 bhp
Intake System: Dual Side-scoop
Drive: RWD
Transmission: 6 Speed Sequential Manual
*Top Speed: 265 MPH
The Owner of this car is a little more than “Mildly Eccentric”. They took a car of which as few as 7 were produced, tuned and barely upgraded it for an extra 40 bhp, and even set up the gearing to push for a higher top speed. With a high rate of acceleration, along with it’s new, albeit slightly higher electronic suspension, this car will be one to keep an eye on.
Notes: Extreme acceleration up to the top speed.
“1998 Chevy Tahoe 2-door”
Engine: 5.0L Cummins V8 Twin Turbo
Horsepower: 925 bhp
Intake System: Indv. Throttle Bodies
Drive: AWD
Transmission: 6-speed Race Automatic
*Top Speed: 249 MPH
A rat-rod, Diesel-powered project of torque and pure acceleration, this particular car is about as unwieldy as an angered badger. With stripped off fenders, doors replaced with welded-on “bars”, and the interior stripped out almost entirely, minus a few gauges and a racing seat, this Skeletal SUV was built as a rat-rod project from hell.
Notes: Sacrifices top speed for High Acceleration.
“2016 Local Motors Rally Fighter”
Engine: 6.2L LS3 Twincharged V8
Horsepower: 800 bhp
Intake System: Stage 3 Cold Air Intake
Drive: AWD
Transmission: 6-speed manual
*Top Speed: 237 MPH
Rebuilt by Jabari’s Team of Engineers specifically for these races, the Rally Fighter was already a formidable machine before this, now, however, it is even more so. Whilst keeping most of its physical attributes, this car is made of anything BUT original parts. All of the Panels and wheels are made of Carbon-fiber, frame made of Magnesium Alloy, and even bullet-proof windows installed for extra safety. With a Twincharged V8 to match, this car will surely be a true beast on the track and dirt alike.
Notes: This is another vehicle with a particularly high rate of roll, but incredible durability.
“1997 Race Mazda Miata”
Engine: Turbocharged 2.6L R26B Rotary
Horsepower: 939 bhp
Intake System: Indv. Throttle Bodies
Drive: RWD
Transmission: 7-Speed Manual
*Top Speed: 283 MPH
Light weight frame, rear-wheel drive, and close to 1000 Horsepower? This car will surely kill the driver if they don’t know how to handle it. However, when paired with the right driver, this car will fly like a bird, and sting like a bee. This car was built for high speed racing and maneuverability, and it does NOT disappoint.
Notes: A High top speed is achievable through a high amount of Skill and Balance.
“2019 Kawasaki Ninja H2R”
Engine: 998 CC DOHC I-4
Horsepower: 300 bhp
Intake System: Standard Intake
Drive: RWD
Transmission: 6-Speed Dog Ring
*Top Speed: 249 MPH
This motorbike has had very little modification to it, only modifications made being the electronic suspension system, and Nitrious fitting. Even without said modifications, this motorbike is extremely agile and fast. However, most street bikes weren’t made with off-road conditions in mind.
Notes: Extreme acceleration and top speed on Solid surfaces, handling deficiency offroad.
*Top speeds are measured without the use of Nitrous bottles installed in each car.
-Characters
/Creator
Name: Callus Callahan
Age: 54
Gender: Male
Height: 5’11
Ethnicity: African-American
Driving Experience: Track Racing
Car: “Orion Slingshot”
Home Origin: Dillon, Montana, USA
Appearance: Bald, Black T-shirt, loose brown “long-coat”, blue jeans.
Bio: Callus Callahan. The man who started it all, who created the original Circuit, along with incredible cars built to handle it all. The technology and cars he has created have made him a rich man, but with this challenge, he seeks to do something even greater, to revolutionize racing as it is known around the world.
/Driver
Name: Daniel Callahan
Age: 24
Gender: Male
Height: 6’3
Ethnicity: African-American
Driving Experience: Street Racing
Car: “2012 Dodge Charger R/T”
Home Origin: Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Appearance: Black, tightly curled hair, Green eyes, Grey Cargo Jeans, Green T-shirt, worn Black hoodie with “ARMY” logo on it
Bio: Son of Callus Callahan, Daniel has been on his own for close to 4 years now, living on the streets with nothing but his car, the clothes on his back, and food gathered with funds from won street races and even some stolen from unlucky passers-by. Despite this, he was offered the chance to take part in these races because his father knows him well enough by now and had even watched him race on the original circuit. However, for Daniel, this is about more than the money. He is here to prove something to his father and to the world.
/Driver
Name: Sariah Malive
Age: 22
Gender: Female
Height: 5’6
Ethnicity: North American
Driving Experience: Track
Car: “1997 Race Mazda Miata”
Home Origin: Colombia, Kentucky, USA
Appearance: Short black and Yellow hair, Typically wears a loose-fitting one piece racing suit, average body build
Bio: Former Girlfriend of Daniel Callahan, Sariah was Born and Raised in Colombia, Kentucky, and hasn’t left since. When she and Daniel dated, Daniel’s love for cars rubbed off on her, and she became inspired to become a track car racer. Her involvement in this project is mainly coincidental. When the offer was sent out, most of the world’s top drivers were sent the message. Sariah was one of them, and given her and Daniel’s past, she may be one of the most driven competitors here.
/Driver
Name: Jabari Khari
Age: 37
Gender: Male
Height: 6’8
Ethnicity: African
Driving Experience: Trophy Trucks, Baja
Car: “2016 Local Motors Rally Fighter”
Home Origin: Johannesburg, South Africa
Appearance: Short, blond hair, cut close to the scalp, Loose white Jacket and Jeans
Bio: Jabari grew up in a very rich family. Whilst his family raised him to live like a king, he has always had an underlying instinct that, in a way, forces him to help others. This does not mean, however, that doesn’t mean he doesn’t use his money for fun on more than one occasion. When he was invited to this race, he proceeded to have a car built by his own personal team of engineers and is even maintained by said engineers. Given his background in trophy truck racing, he will certainly have a few tricks up his sleeve.
/Driver
Name: Ganzorig Tsetseg
Age: 19
Gender: Female
Height: 5’8
Ethnicity: Mongolian
Driving Experience: Street Racing
Car: “1998 Chevy Tahoe 2-door”
Home Origin: Sharyngol, Mongolia
Appearance: Slightly chubby, Messy Dirty-Blonde hair about shoulder length, blue eyes, Torn denim jacket, black crop-top, grey cargo shorts, belly piercing
Bio: Ganzorig has raced her father’s “Rat Rod” wince she was a child, mainly fneding for herself in the town of Sharyngol after her father died in a deal gone wrong. She has continuously proven herself an incredible driver with her constant escapes from bandits, Law Enforcement. However, she seeks a different life, one that she would get if she wins these races.
/Driver
Name: Petya Aleksandr
Age: 43
Gender: Male
Height: 5’5
Ethnicity: Russian
Driving Experience: Rally Driver
Car: “Rally Duster”
Home Origin: Moscow, Russia
Appearance: shortly cut black hair, worn Russian Army Jacket, Cargo jeans
Bio: Petya Served in the Russian Ground Forces from the Age of 20, up to the age of 36. He was an incredible driver of nearly all of their vehicles, and would have served longer, had his arm not been blown off in an incident with an IED. Despite the prosthetic arm replacing his own, he was no longer allowed to serve. So, he continued with the talent he had discovered whilst in the army; Driving. He participated in rally driving, using the money he had saved up form his work to build his own vehicle, and quickly proved to be one of the best. The way Petya sees this race and its challenges... he sees another day in the army, nothing more.
/Driver
Name: Rong Guanghua
Age: Ȩ̶̫̳͔͊̓̚R̶̟̱̮͒̏̈̽̕R̸̙̜̲͕͇̫̱̗̾̅̏̓̋̑͋̊̿̓O̸̼͛̓Ṛ̶̡̺͕͂͜
Gender: Female
Height: 5’7
Ethnicity: Chinese
Driving Experience: E̶̗̱̺͔̲̤̰̙͈̥̫͉̩̼̪͊͌̃͌̈́́̔̓͛͝Ŕ̷̡̧̼̯̭͍̳̲̗̹̞̼͚̣͜Ṟ̸̯̽̒̍̽̒̍̾͛̐̌̕̚͠Ȏ̸͓̊͌̂̒̽̋̆̏̂̕R̴͎̜͒͌̄͆͆͋͊̈́̌͂̔̒͒̍̕:̵̲͇̘̖́͗̂̂̀ ̵̡̱̞̼̈́̉̏̈́̈Ḩ̵̲̲̰͓͈̹͙̜͚̼̘͛̓́̓͑͠Ả̵̧̧̨̺͚̹̘͔̪̻͍͈͆͗͌́̋̈́̚C̴̯̲͓͎͓̖̒̎̿̏͗̓̀͝K̴̻̼͎̯̙̗̄͊͗͛́̑͝͝È̴̡̛̘͚͖̭̫̼̪̬̣̯̓͋̈́̍̕͝ͅḐ̶́͂͊̈̂́͒̑̆͂̒̕͠
Car: Kawasaki Ninja H2R
Home Origin: Tokyo, Japan
Appearance: Shoulder-length Black hair, Golden-brown eyes, Black Helmet with Green visor, Black Motorbike Jacket, Motorbike pants
Bio: This Particular Racer is an anomaly.. nobody knows who she is, where she came from, Even Callus isn’t quite sure who she is… But she has proven to be an extremely talented driver. So, for now, Callus allows her to race. Albeit whilst keeping an eye on her when he can.
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in case you were WONDERING
best library of congress call numbers, ranked:
1) CB156 Terrestrial evidence of interplanetary voyages
2) CC960 Lanterns of the dead
3) CT9960-9998 Biographies of adventurers, eccentrics, misers, etc
4) CC200-260 Bells. Campanology. Cowbells
i just looked at C but that gives you an idea
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I had a really good day at school
Sometimes I forget- my students...especially the ones that I’ve taught for four or five years now?
They like me pretty well. They get me, they get my rules, and they like the projects and challenges I set before them. Yeah, there’s like 10/260 some that have crazy behavior issues and give me grief.
But for the most part, they’re with me. They get it. I say this in stark contrast to the tiny rural zombie school I teach at one day a week. Yesterday was rough. They’re used to “crafts”. This is too hard. You’re weird and awkward, I was told by a fourth grader. I laughed it off and embrace it but dude???? So??? I’m enthusiastic and fun. Im eccentric and so are most art teachers. And my kids that transferred there are funny to watch because they KNOW what the hell is up. They’re ready. They get it and they love me and they don’t understand what the problem is. Not to mention the drastic gap in skills and where expectations have been set...
It’s not the other kids’ fault- we’re still learning each other and the poor kids haven’t had the same teacher for more than a year in like six years- and an actual art teacher for like three. The math specialist taught art there last year.
Long story short, I had a good day and I remembered the luxury of building a culture and rapport at your school for more than a year or two.
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O-Ring Types and O-Ring Material Makeup - A Guide
Rubber O rings are a form of gasket or seal that features a round cross-section. They are commonly used to prevent leaks of either fluids or gases from occurring in products, systems, or machinery and find use across a variety of industries. Because of their low cost, simple production process, ease of installation, and pressure resistance, they have found application in a lot of common products, such as automobiles and engines. The aerospace industry useso-ringsin many types of rockets and aircraft applications.
This article will review information on the types of o-rings and material options available, along with their suitability for different applications.
Selection Factors
The fact that o-rings can function in so many applications is largely attributable to the fact that there is a wide range of materials available from which they may be fabricated.This range of selection allows the designer to consider the properties of the material and select a suitable option based on how well that material performs against the expected operating conditions of the application. The factors that are usually considered when selecting a material for an o-ring include:
The material’s compressibility or hardness (durometer)
The performance against environmental and operational conditions, including:
Oils
Solvents
Acids
Bases
Steam
Fuels
Corrosive chemicals
The abrasion performance of the material
The permeability of the material (permeation)
The cost of the material
O-rings are usually produced from some form of elastic polymer or elastomer. These polymers are cured, often through vulcanization, resulting in improved strength, durability, and elasticity. Different materials have different properties, though, with some exhibiting greater elasticity and others possessing more tear-resistance.
PTFE
Temperature range:Between -100 degrees Fahrenheit and 500 degrees Fahrenheit.
Suited for:PurePTFE O ringsare very rigid and hard to apply, butPTFEencapsulated o-rings handle surface wear well, in addition to exhibiting corrosion and abrasion resistance, non-permeability, chemical inertness, and low absorption.
Avoid:Like silicone,PTFEis rigid and is better suited to static applications.
Applications:Examples of PTFE o-ring uses include automotive steering devices and paint guns.
O-rings Information
Solid O-ring is solid-rubber seals that are shaped like a doughnut. When pressed between two mating surfaces, O-rings block the passage of liquids or gases.
Types of Seals
O-rings can form a static or dynamic seals. A static seal is where the O-ring does not move and is used simply for containing pressure or maintaining a vacuum.Dynamic sealscan be reciprocating (like a piston and cylinder), or rotating (shaft rotating in a housing). Straight threads used with O-rings provide a better seal than tapered threads used alone.
A boss seal is also an O-ring, however it does not fit the standard sizes for an O-ring. A boss is a cylindrical projection on a casting or forging. The end of that projection is machined to provide a flat, smooth surface for sealing.
Application Methods
Axial squeeze and radial squeeze are two methods for applying an O-ring. An axial squeeze is when the ring is compressed parallel to a line drawn through the center or axis of the ring. In a radial squeeze the ring is compressed between the internal diameter (ID) and overall diameter (OD).
Specifications
Imporant specifications for hollow O-ring include size, material, hardness rating and features.
X-Rings
Rubber X-ring is a torus (donut) shaped seal with a clover shaped cross section. Because of the clover design, the X-ring has a lower coefficient of friction and has multiple sealing surfaces on each side increasing its sealing ability and reduces the amount of force needed to seal and so extends the life of the seal. X-Rings are interchangeable with O-rings especially where lower coefficient of friction values are required.
X-Ring Advantages
The design of an X-Ring eliminates the effect the flash lines has on its sealing ability. In an O-Ring flash lines are on the outer and inner diameter, which are sealing surfaces. Excessive flash can effect the ability of the sealing surface to provide a tight seal. On an X-Ring flash is not an issue.
The grooves on the sides of the X-Ring can retain lubricant, lowering friction and extending the life for the seal. Also, the X-Ring’s clover leaf design provides 2 sealing surfaces per side as opposed to one sealing surface per side on an O- ring. With the multi-sealing seal points on one ring, less compression is needed to obtain an effective seal. Less friction and wear will ultimately increase service life and reduce downtime.
All-rubber V-rings
Rubber V-ring is used for rotating shafts in an extremely wide range of applications. The V-ring can be used alone to protect a wide assortment of bearing types from contaminants while reliably retaining the lubricant. They are also often used as secondary seals to protect primary seals in highly contaminated environments.
V-rings are installed on shafts and their thin, tapered lip seals against a counterface perpendicular to the shaft. V-rings have an interference fit on the shaft, rotate with it and act as flingers. Angular misalignment of the shaft relative to the counterface can be tolerated. V-rings provide reliable sealing even if the shaft is out-of-round or rotates eccentrically. The amount by which the shaft can be displaced axially is governed by the permissible displacement of the V-ring relative to its counterface.V-rings are made entirely of elastomers without fabric or metal reinforcement and are therefore easy to install. They can be stretched and, depending on size, pushed over other components like flanges, pulleys or even housings. This is a very valuable feature, especially when replacing a seal.Four Reasons to Use Air Hoses Instead of Hydraulics
In the manufacturing world you might ask when or why should I use air hose instead of hydraulic hose?Pneumatics follow the same power movement principle as hydraulics except it involves the movement of gases instead of fluids.While pneumatics and hydraulics each have their ideal places in a wide range of industrial operations, there are times when it’s beneficial to use air hoses to meet your needs.
Four Reasons to Use Air Hoses
1. Clean power: Pneumatics is cleaner than hydraulics.If there’s a leak, only air isreleased instead of slick fluids which are dangerous and hard to clean.
2. Easy Set-up: It is normally easier to set-up because many industrial facilities already provide compressed air.
3.Long Term Investment: Pneumatic equipment might be more expensive overall than hydraulic equipment, but generally it requires less maintenance and has a longer operating lifespan.
4.Speed:Although air hoses aren’t made for high pressure applications, they provide for rapid movement operations.They are designed with speed in mind, not strength.
The real-world applications for air hoses are seemingly beyond measure as they can be used in all forms of industrial automation.Air hoses can supply power to cylinders and vacuum pumps as well as funnel compressed air to jackhammers, staplers and impact tools.They can even be used to provide vehicle functionality for mobile equipment and can also be used in areas of agriculture, mining and drilling.Having been designed for age, weather, and oil resistance, this type of hose is suitable to transport air in multiple workplace environments and conditions.
High Quality Of PTFE Rod From Tenglong Sealing
PTFE Rodhas excellent resistance to most chemicals and solvents and is capable of operating at high and low temperatures. It also has a very low coefficient of friction and is commonly used in food contact applications. It provides good thermal stability and has good electrical properties, but is not suitable for wear application and is difficult to bond.
Applications:
Slide bearings, insulators and rollers.
Key Features:
Temperature: -200°C to +260°C.
Very good sliding properties and anti-adhesive.
Excellent resistance to chemicals and UV.
Outstanding resistance to low and high temperatures.
Food approved.
Standards:
Complies with EC No. 1953/2004 and EC No. 10/2011for plastic materials and articles intended to come into contact with food.
Complies with FDA food regulations21 CFR 177.1550 and FDA 21 CFR 175.300.
Offers a class UL94 V-0 flammability rating, meaning the polymer will self-extinguish after removal of flame.
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To implement this masterpiece of miniaturization, Patek Philippe had to overcome totally new technical challenges. To assure the largest possible calendar display on a single line with optimized legibility, the developers were asked to design a system with two date disks – one for the tens and one for the units. So the calendar display consists of four disks, one for the day, two for the date, and one for the month – all four perfectly embedded in the same plane. A single date disk with 31 numerals would have been too small and less easily legible. In compliance with the manufacture’s basic principles as set forth in the directives of the Patek Philippe Seal, the new, complex mechanical ensemble had to be implemented with the smallest possible diameter and minimized height without compromising its maximum long-term dependability. For this reason, the project team proceeded on the basis of the caliber 31-260 REG QA that was originally launched in 2011 with the Ref. 5235 Annual Calendar Regulator. Not least because of its eccentric recessed minirotor, this self-winding movement with subsidiary seconds at 6 o’clock is extremely slender. https://www.instagram.com/p/CNmdGyLqc1q/?igshid=1oqb5amtid5jr
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