[[huuurp, just a little drabble since apparently I get inspired sometimes when looking at FC photos x_x ]]
Matthew Callaghan was so tired. Tied of running, tired of fighting and more than anything tired of being away from Cashmere. Nether of them had wanted to separate from the other, determined to see out the war together but fate as it seemed had other ideas. She was safe at least, that's what really mattered but Matt missed her more each and every day.
Someday, he told himself, they'd have their shop. They'd talked about it endlessly and they'd even started saving to put a deposit on one of the rare empty shops in Diagon Alley, working out their plans for how they could both sell the wands Matt made and have a cafe that Cashmere would run, ever fond of baking as she was.
The shop seemed a million miles away right then, and the past just as distant but he clung to it along with the battered picture he kept in his pocket that showed him and his friends some years ago when they where all still just students at Hogwarts.
Looking at the crumpled paper, watching as the figures within it shifted around Matt scrunched his nose up at two figures in particular, Adra and Ender. Seth had been dating Noah at that point, and as odd as Matt had always found him and sometimes Donoven he'd never imagined the two of them would engineer what had become a living hell for anyone who opposed them and the Ministry.
Groaning to himself he let his forehead rest on his hands. He wanted a shower, or a long soak in a bath would be even better. Just something hot and wet that would pull the stress from his muscles and wash away a weeks worth of grime and sweat. He smelled like a damn hobo. It was definitely the first thing he was going to do when he made it to Serenity's, well, after kissing Cashie, assuming his current homeless look didn't put her off entirely.
Straightening up he grabbed his bag, pulling it closer to open it up he tugged out the carefully wrapped bundle it held. Fingers working quickly he untied the simple string that held the bundle together, rolling out the fabric to reveal the pockets inside, each of which held a carefully crafted wand. Each and every one of them had been made with a certain person in mind. It was part of what made Matt's wands different, instead of matching them to owners afterwards everything that went into crafting them was done knowing exactly who they would belong too.
The wand he'd made for Serenity for example, to replace the one she'd had taken from her when the anti-halfbreed laws had been introduced was cypress much like her original wand but this time instead of a phoenix feather for a core it was a single hair from a siren, from her mother, the wood was inlaid with delicate swirls of coral. As with any wand it would ultimately be up to the wand if it wanted to belong to her, wands chose their masters after all but only once had he had one of his wands reject it's intended owner and that had been the one he'd tried to make for himself. Letting his hand drift above the wands, eyes closed, his fingers trembled a little, Matthew could feel how eager they all where to be matched. Since he'd made his first wand from a branch he and Noah had taken with much difficulty from the Whomping Willow he'd been able to feel it, like they where whispering to him, telling him where they belonged, it was part of how he knew what materials to choose for the person he was crafting a wand for.
The wizard opened his eyes abruptly, wrenched out of his musings, looking to his left as he listened intently to something he wasn't quite sure he'd heard. Quickly, half fumbling he wound the bundle of wands back up, shoving it into his bag just in time for the wall to explode in a shower of bricks, dust and glass, something hard hitting him on the side of the head. Head spinning, sure he was going to throw up from the force of the blow he barely managed to scramble to his feet, pulling his own wand from his pocket to wordlessly send a blast of magic of his own towards his unseen attacker. The spell was barely formed and easily deflected apparently because he took the next spell square in the chest, the air crushed out of his lung as it held him pinned against the wall.
Ears ringing, head throbbing and lungs burning he couldn't quite get out the string of obscenities that came to mind when a face from the very photograph he'd just been looking at -only older now as they all where- emerged from the dust, pressing the tip of a wand under his chin and spoke in that infuriatingly clipped, precise way he'd had since he was a young teenager. "You're a very hard man to find Matthew and one with as colorful a vocabulary as ever I see. If you're quite finished the Minister would like to have a word with you."
[image description: tan background with black text and a pottermore style hufflepuff crest. text: âToo many people overvalue what they are not and undervalue what they are. -Malcolm S. Forbesâ]
Andrew was treading quickly through the corridors, swaying his cloak over himself and shaking his wand, whispering a concealing spell, his form slowly disappearing as the words left his lips. Filch and his damn cat had almost caught him and he had needed to retreat in the requirement room for a few minutes before being able to leave again, the man sure was focused on his task to keep them within the castle. And to top it all, he was now late, he usually was first on their meeting site, setting up and structuring the duels before anyone got there. He was no leader, but someone needed to organize everything or it was bound to turn into mayhem, and somehow the task had fallen to him.
He hastily made his way to the forbidden forest, throwing a weak lumos spell to light his way without raising suspicion. As he got closer he realized that just one person was already there, good, still, he couldnât decipher who the figure belonged to from there. Andrew eventually reached the birch, Matt it was then, he had not expected the boy to join the club, yet he had been a more than proper opponent, and the only Hufflepuff to join them. Which had valued him some teasing at first, but his abilities had shut the idiots up, good.
âHello Matthew, I apologize for being late, I was⌠Held back.â
He threw his cloak to the ground as he greeted the boy, revealing casual clothing as well, a worn out hoodie and jeans, not something he was usually seen wearing. But uniforms were not the best clothes to fight in, and he was no sewer, any damage to it would therefore be annoying.
âIs there anything in particular youâd like to work on today ?â
"Andy! Hey! It's okay, I'm just glad you're here, it looked like no one was coming which would've really sucked." Pushing himself up to his feet when the older boy arrived he beamed at Andrew. The two of them where more or less the same height, which was a nice change for Matt since he was so used to towering over everyone. Still grinning he pondered the Slytherin's question. "Well, I was hoping to practice blocking. Chris nailed me with a stinging hex last week because my defense was totally off... my arm's ached all week since so I really need to get it right."
Matt really enjoyed dueling against Andrew, the two of them where pretty much evenly matched so it was far more fun dueling him than someone he had to go easy on. Not that the others didn't try... they just needed more practice. Pulling his wand from his pocket he smiled at the other boy. "So how about it? Wanna throw everything you've got at me and see if I can block it?"
Picking his way across the grass, trying to keep his pace steady down the steep hill towards the forbidden forest Matt glanced back over his shoulder. No one would see him, the concealment spell would see to that but still, it never hurt to be careful, especially when he was heading off to meet the other members of the dueling club who'd decided the more formal rules weren't quite up to scratch. Sure, formal dueling had its place in civilized society but dark wizards wouldn't exactly stop and bow when they where trying to kill you. They'd decided a couple of years ago that it was for the best just to make sure they where prepared. Matt had been hesitant at first, sure he enjoyed dueling but he would never purposefully set out to hurt anyone. Still, he understood their logic... things might've been peaceful right then but in their world, you never knew what was just around the corner.
Reaching the ancient silver birch where they met every week Matt gave a small wave of his wand, dismissing the concealment spell and peered around. He was early but he was sure the others would be there soon.
Sitting down at the base of the tree he fiddled with the cord that hung down from the hood of his sweatshirt. He'd changed out of uniform before coming down. Sometimes accidents happened and someone ended up getting hurt so they'd all figured it was best not to ruin or try to explain ruined uniforms. Of course injuries where a good excuse for them all to practice healing spells and potions too so it kind of worked out...
He had to wonder of course what Cashmere would think of it all, he felt terrible for not telling her this was where he snuck off too every Friday evening but it was something they'd all agreed on. They'd all sworn not to tell anyone since if word got out about it they'd all be in a whole world of trouble. It wasn't that Matt didn't trust Cashie, he trusted her with his life but at the same time he didn't want to betray the others' trust. It was frustrating to say the least... Maybe she'd understand? And the others would never have to know, she could keep a secret after all...
âWhat ? No ! Itâs even worse if youâre trying to distract it, what if it hurts you ? You dummy !â He almost tripped as his best friend dragged him around in a frenzy.
The other boyâs enthusiasm quickly spread to him and he rolled his eyes, following him in the corridors, now being the one to drag him along towards the Ravenclaw common room. âSerenity ? Iâm not sure, she doesnât like to be reminded of it. You know they threw her in the lake because of that the other day.â Stopping in front of the eagle knocker he grimaced. âIâll try to ask her, but sheâs very sensitive about that and I donât want to make her sad. Wait here Iâll be backâ
He answered the knockerâs riddle and rushed inside the boysâ dormitories to grab his broom, checking if Serenity was around at the same time.
Waiting for Noah outside the Ravenclaw common room the Hufflepuff as practically bouncing from foot to foot, a mix of nervous and excited about what they where about to attempt. They could totally pull it off, he was sure of it, Noah was awesome on a broom and he'd only have to keep the tree's attention for long enough so Noah could grab a branch.
The thought of bodily injury or just how much trouble they'd get into for even trying it didn't really occur to him, Matt was far too focused on the goal of trying to make a new wand for Noah and if the whole thing would even work. Matt had spent so much of his free time pouring over every book on wandmaking he could find but he knew none of that compared to learning from an actual master wand maker like Ollivander but he had to wait out two and half years of school yet before he could even try to get an apprenticeship. Where was the harm in trying it out himself in the mean time?
From the moment they'd met, way back in their first year at the sorting ceremony they'd been friends. Cashmere was the kindest, sweetest, most generous person Matt knew. He'd always been sure they would always be friends, even once they'd finished school.
In the last few months though things had begun to change, to shift between them and he found himself wanting them to be more than friends. It had taken all his courage to ask her out and ask her to the Yule Ball, terrified she didn't the same way. She'd said yes though...
When he'd gone to spend a week at Cashmere's during a break from school it hadn't been with the intention of them taking the 'next step', they'd just wanted to spend some time together outside of school, planning to just hang out and enjoy all the muggle artifacts Matt didn't understand (Like the deeveedee player... he was still mystified by that) especially since the next few months would be solid studying for their O.W.L.s then sitting the exams themselves.
He didn't regret a moment of it though. Once he'd managed to put his worries and insecurities aside and relax -mostly with Cashie's help and encouragement of course- it had been amazing, everything about it just felt so right.
âAnd itâs not like thereâs a dragon in the Forbidden Forest anyway you know.â He seemed to ponder for a moment before his eyes shot wide open, looking at Matt, panic running in the green orbs. âThere is NO dragon in the Forbidden Forest right ?â
Cocking his head he couldnât help but smile fondly at his best friendâs interest in crafting him a new wand. âNon-verbal magic⌠Iâm not sure I want to try that yet considering how verbal one doesnât like me already.â He grimaced, and was about to continue his sentence when Matt grabbed him, suddenly even more excited than minutes before.
âO- OkâŚ. Willow⌠Hogwarts⌠Magical wo-. Iâm going to die Matt. Iâm nowhere near good enough to dodge anything from the Whomping Willow. Really.âÂ
"Sure you are!" Grinning at Noah he was practically dragging his friend out of the great hall. "I'll distract it, all you need to do is swoop in and grab a branch."
Matthew was perfectly confident in his friends skills on his broom and likewise confident that he could distract or maybe even immobilize the tree long enough for Noah to grab a bit of the wood. "And nope, no dragons in the forest... that I know of anyway." Glancing at Noah he was all grins and confidence, sure they could pull this off and make Noah the best wand possible. "Oh! Hey isn't there a girl who's half mermaid in your house? Do you think she could maybe talk to the merpeople for us and ask if we can trade something for some hair... that would be awesome and so much easier than trying to guess what they might want."
âDo you think theyâd be interested in likeâŚ. Muggle stuff ? I donât think theyâve seen a lot of this world⌠I have a lot of more than useless things gran offered me, gadgets and such. What do you think ?â
That was worth trying at least, since wizards and such did seem more than interested in muggle things. Which he honestly couldnât fathom since it was so basic compared to what they had with magic.
âMineâs got a dragon core. But I donât know much about all of this, Iâll trust your judgment on whatever you thinkâs best. And really, Iâm sure itâll be good either way, or at least better than this one. And if not well, at least itâll be fun !â
"Maybe..." Still looking thoughtful Matt was again toying with his wand, lost in thought at Noah's suggestion that muggle items night be of interest. There had to be something they could trade with the merpeople or centaurs for a single hair of all things.
"Dragon heart string is a powerful core but prone to accidents... which given how accident prone your wand is anyways doesn't exactly help. I dunno. We'll have to see what we can get hold of." Humming softly to himself, again in thought he blinked a little to himself as an idea struck. "Willow. Willow wood would really suit you. I've been reading up on wood types and willow would totally be perfect for you, it's for wizards who have a lot of potential and willow wands are really supposed to lend themselves to non-verbal magic too. But it needs to be magical wood, we can't just take it from any old tree..." Standing abruptly Matt grabbed his friend's hand, grinning down at him. "Go get your broom No'. I know where we can get the wood!"