NOVEL NEXT Chapter 25: Chapter 25: German!
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"Yes, yes, yes. How well I remember. My greatest creation. The tail feather of a phoenix and the venom of a Basilisk. Holly, ebony, and yew. And of course, obsidian. I do not believe any wand has been crafted to rival this, nor do I think one shall be in my lifetime."
Aries noted with satisfaction that Dumbledore paled slightly, and the twinkling that so often adorned the old man's eyes was gone.
Instead Aries saw a hunger, a desire to know how he had come into possession of such a powerful wand.
Ollivander swirled the wand above his head, and a galaxy formed above them of magic.
Spells collided in the spiral arms and Aries was taken back by the power he suddenly felt in the wand maker, before the beautiful piece of magic disappeared.
"Indeed, I was right young Mr. Black, seeing as you are in this tournament. Great things await you, yes, great things indeed."
….
Rita insisted on taking pictures, fair to many in the Black Heir's opinion. Multiple group shots were taken, and then even more individual.
Madame Maxine seemed to ruin every picture, as Skeeter put it, and while the photographer wanted Fleur at the front, the reporter kept pulling himself and Potter there instead.
Aries was half tempted to link arms with the French girl, if only to keep Skeeter from dragging him again.
Finally, the photo shoot was over, and while everyone else left for dinner Aries stayed back with Skeeter for his promised interview.
Kakaroff stayed as well, no doubt to find someway to worm himself into the spotlight.
"You don't mind if I use a Quick-Quotes Quill do you? It leaves-"
"Yes, I do mind." Aries said with a smirk. "No doubt you wish to ensure that you get your facts straight, Miss Skeeter."
She nodded with a glare as she shoved the acid green quill back into her crocodile bag and pulled out a normal one.
The interview went a little longer than Aries wanted, with Kakaroff throwing a comment or two about how he was the prized student of Durmstrang and that he himself ensured that all students received the great training that Aries had.
A blatant lie, but he could not fault the man for taking advantage of a situation. As he made to leave, Aries turned back to Skeeter, who was finishing up her notes.
"Oh, and Miss Skeeter?" He fixed the coldest smile on his face that he could manage.
"My Aunt Cassiopeia loves Germany, but she has told me countless times how much more she'd love to visit her dear friend Rita, if only she gave her a good enough reason. You won't give her a reason, will you?"
Skeeter's face could have rivaled the paleness of the ghost and a crooked laugh escaped Aries as he left her in the room.
….
Aries woke up from his nap to find his three friends, plus one, using his and Haydn's cabin as a hang out spot.
Mayer seemed out of place, but Arianna was doing her best to make her at home. He took a moment to study his friends before they noticed he was awake.
Arianna had her hair down, as she often did, letting the soft black curls touch her shoulders and run down her back.
Her chocolate brown eyes lit up as she animatedly explained the cards game that Haydn had them playing.
She had always been the most energetic of the group, her general happy mood contrasting the cold darkness of Durmstrang.
No doubt she would have fit in well at Hogwarts or Beauxbatons if not for her love of the Dark Arts, something that connected all three of his friends.
Arianna found any excuse to break out firewhiskey and throw a party, even if it was for something meaningless.
Her warm smile had comforted him often during his first year at Durmstrang, when his nightmares still haunted him, and her fiery nature had tried to come to his defense many times, even though it was seldom needed.
Ivan, with his light brown hair and blue eyes, was the complete opposite and the quietest of the group. He believed that actions spoke louder than words and thus hardly spoke at all.
The Bulgarian had little interest in Quidditch or anything that was not in a book, though he did not take everything at face value, choosing to question anything and everything someone said was true, or false for that matter.
Like all his friends, Ivan was powerful, but he excelled at Transfiguration and only rivaled Aries in his success.
Arianna and Ivan were two ends of a spectrum and Haydn was at its center. The black haired and brown eyed German liked to party just as much as others, besides Arianna that is, but spent most of his time gambling and trying to flirt with any pretty girl he laid his eyes on.
Despite all this, he tended to be a bit reserved, keeping his skills and abilities underestimated before defeating his opponents in a surprising and embarrassing fashion.
He cared little for reading, relying on Aries or Ivan to find the information and tended to copy their homework.
Haydn was intelligent and was near the top of his class for a reason, but he found that homework was pointless when he had Aries and Ivan around to do it.
The German's laziness in that aspect was made up by his political savviness.
Haydn's ability to swindle away everyone's money translated well as he had spent four years securing up agreements in Durmstrang's halls that fell heavily in Aries' favor, without the other party knowing just how badly they had agreed to get screwed over.
Aries sat up with a stretch, and a glance at his watch told him it was time to go meet Daphne for her first lesson.
He hadn't told his friends about the English girl's desire to learn the Dark Arts, deciding that keeping it a secret would help the girl open up to him a bit more.
But convincing his friends, especially Arianna, to stay behind was the next task.
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