Chapter 5: Blitzen

Just off to one side of an open courtyard facing the forest is an empty classroom, converted into a play area with blankets and a bed and lots of -too many- dog toys. The room is still stone, unable to be spelled with the castle’s wards still running, but the walls have an ocean painted on. Why an ocean when this is a room for a werewolf? Ask Stavros.

This room is still far too small for a werewolf, but they can’t just let him stay out constantly though, not with night-time astronomy classes or the occasional student wandering past curfew. Even a glimpse of a werewolf can call the magpol because having the disease is enough to be put into ‘quarantine’ - and that’s even if the boys can keep the werewolf from killing anyone because he loses his mind when the moon pulls on him.

This is better though, far better to be caged than for Rafael to OD on the cocktail of drugs that his mum cobbled together just so the wolf can’t move, makeshift tranquilisers that leave Rafael sick and out of it for days after.

A large elk with a light tan coat is lying down in a blanket nest with his four legs curled up under him. They named him Blitzen because they thought Nicholas was a reindeer when he first learned to wildshape.

Slumped over Blitzen’s flank is a werewolf, elongated strangely with sharply jutting bones, legs too long and tipped with large claws, a short silver coat and gold eyes. Like this, all his self-made scars blend into his sparse fur. Thoth is sleepy since they forced Rafael to stay up last night so Thoth would get hit with sleep deprivation and stay calmer, because they knew they’d be locked in for most of the full moon tonight with the Extension Herbology class out and about.

Blitzen is just drifting off to sleep, still alert as all elk are with his eyes half open, but fading enough to get some rest in. Thoth bites down on Blitzen's left antler and starts lazily chewing like a dog with a bone. Blitzen bleats in annoyance, short tail wiggling, and Thoth lets go with a chuff.

There's a sudden scrambling of claws on stone and a fox slides down into the hidden room from another entrance in one corner -they had to chip that out the mundane way- specifically made because it’s too small to fit Thoth so he can’t escape.

The door gets locked magically and heavily warded for protection and privacy, but even if it was just a door, an elk and a fox would have trouble opening and closing it. They can’t shift back into human either because Thoth would try to gore them, so they made the tunnel just big enough for a teenage boy to use in emergencies.

Hearth barks and the fox walks in an arc, circling around the edge of the small room, looking agitated. Blitzen sits up straighter with a snort but Hearth shakes his head and hops up onto the bed shoved off to one side to lie down. They named Stavros because when he lies down like right now, his black legs but blazing red coat make him look like a fireplace.

Thoth growls and starts clawing at the blankets in boredom. Blitzen grunts and use his nose to nudge Thoth back into some cuddling, which always calms down the werewolf, whether he's Rafael or otherwise.

The palm-sized lens is resting on the blanket near Blitzen, zoomed in to show the herbology garden, occasionally with tiny top-down people moving on and off the lens. There are still too many people around but maybe later they’ll take out Thoth for a run.

---

The next day is a weekend, every second one being a trip down to the surface, wherever that might be with the floating island drifting around, but Stavros and Rafael have had their privileges revoked for fighting so much.

"We can just nap today," Nicholas offers, wrapped in his thick cloak and leaning one hip against the short stone wall separating the outer courtyard from the walkway they're standing on. He doesn't want to leave them, half the fun is being with friends anyway.

"We deserve a fun day," Stavros rejects, straddling the wall despite the freezing stone. His hair is down, a frizzy mess because he towel dried it. "Let's go get smashed on non-alcoholic margaritas and harass some shop assistants."

"You both have detention," Nicholas points out, which is why he's the only one in a cloak and Rafael is shivering in just a jumper. Whatever country they’re over must be cold, made worse by the altitude.

"We'll sneak out after you go," Rafael tells Nicholas with his arms crossed to try and retain heat even with a warming charm on. "It's not like they can give us more detentions - it's basically every weekend." He rolls his eyes. "We're single-handedly putting all the housemaker fairies out of the job."

Rafael is tired and sore from the transformation but still close enough to the full moon that his head is high with confidence when he says this.

Thoth doesn't really change Rafael’s personality too much but it's pretty obvious that the further away the full moon is, the quieter Rafael gets. He's still smart and kind with an overprotective streak but he suppresses himself, doesn't raise his hand in class as much, doesn't take the initiative to talk to other students.

This Rafael, however, doesn't think twice about starting fights, or ditching well-deserved detentions to sneak out. If he was further from Thoth he'd probably still do the same but he'd hesitate and try to talk the other boys out of it - to at least mitigate as much of the damage as possible.

"Thoth was…" Nicholas trails off. "Yeah, never mind. I'll wait for you near a random café."

Rafael raises an eyebrow. "Thoth was what?"

Nicholas waves a hand vaguely, making his cloak splay out for a moment. "It's depressing, don't mind me."

Stavros shrugs. "Thoth was looking for Adam’s raccoon last night. Kept thinking he was hiding somewhere, so you'd shove me off the bed and search the blankets."

"Oh," Rafael says blankly. "Strange. Thoth should know better."

Nicholas grimaces. "That night, you were a bit…"

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Rafael hesitates, hunches his shoulders up high enough they brush his short brown hair. "Yeah, I wasn't...I wasn't there. Thoth was the one in control when Adam died, all I have is the anger."

Nicholas laughs and it comes out pathetic. "Ah, and here's me, thinking I was just overreacting considering how well you guys can still function like normal people."

Stavros scoffs loudly. "Me? Functioning? Wait a few months, it'll come out during charms class or something. I don't know what I'll do but it's definitely going to get me expelled."

Rafael offers a thumbs up. "I'll be cheering for you."

Nicholas lets out a breath and pats his cheeks. "Okay, I'll see you guys down there."

"Stay in a crowded area," Stavros lectures. "Or wait, is it stay away from crowds?"

"Keep your wand on you," Rafael tells Nicholas and links arms with Stavros, dragging him off the wall and away because Rafael might be lanky but he has the height advantage. "We'll be out as fast as we can."

"Use NatCom as meat shields if the RitCast come for you!" Stavros calls back.

Nicholas waves them off with a smile on his face.

---

Nicholas has wasted enough time that most of the students have gone already and there isn’t a line when he reaches the Transverse gateway. He steps in and whooshes through the ley line, instantly popping back out in bright white sparks and a shiver because it’s always so cold in there.

He walks through the small magical district of Chile, which is one of the many countries that hides magical territories from the mundane population, and understands no one because the allspeak wards don’t extend past the floating island. He knows Spanish but not Chilean Spanish and he doesn’t bother using a translator when he’s only going to be talking to his friends.

(Rafael’s Italian accent is horrible in English but Stavros doesn’t know Italian so they’re kind of stuck muddling through because Rafael doesn’t know any other languages.)

Nicholas waits for only twenty more minutes sitting at a small table outside a quiet café before he spots Hearth’s bright red head sticking out from around the back corner of the adjacent library.

Nicholas looks around then hurries off, trotting through a thin layer of snow with the end of his cloak just brushing the ground. Hearth sniggers cutely before ducking away when Nicholas gets closer.

"Did Raffy escape too?" Nicholas whispers.

Nicholas turns the corner and finds Hearth trotting around in a circle, clearly cold even with all that red fur.

"Idiot," Nicholas says fondly and pulls out a wand to cast a warming charm. "You need a haircut, look at how long your fur is."

Hearth bites Nicholas' wand and pulls it away before transforming into a much older man and teleporting them both.

---

Nicholas rips himself away as soon as they land in an unremarkable living room and then dives for his wand in the man's hand.

"Nicholas, wait!" the man cries, holding the wand up in the air like Stavros does when he steals Nicholas' food. "Hold on, let me explain!"

"It's you!" Nicholas screams. "You son of a bitch! You murdered my friend!"

"Calm down!" the man yells back.

Nicholas knees the man in between the legs and gets a stunner jinx to the face for all his trouble.

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