Justice PV Group Finished

Howard was still riding the high of victory as he changed from his sopping wet Quidditch uniform to dry clothes and a rain cloak. Well, it wasn’t necessarily his victory, but he relished in it as much as any bench warmer could. Fortunately for Atlas’ physical well being he hadn’t had the opportunity to guard the rings but the joy of winning the match had been quite infectious. It was quite the feat that Hufflepuff had yet to be defeated since the sport was reinstated at Hogwarts last year, not to mention they had clobbered Durmstrang in the international games. It was this fact that had pushed Howard to try out for the team. He had quickly fallen in love with the sport when he first entered the magical world and who the heck didn’t want to play on a winning team. As much as he wished he had made first string, it was still a ton of fun to watch the Huffles easily defeat team Ravenclaw and it’d take a while for the pride that puffed up his chest to subside.

After the celebration died down a bit and he offered his final congratulations to his teammates, Howard would be first to exit the locker room with a little pep in his step. However, as he left the room he would be immediately met with a bizarre sight. Had it not been for the fiery blaze that raged through the eyes of the boy before him, he might have actually looked quite comical. Atop his head was one of those ridiculous umbrella hats straight out of a scene from some two bit amusement park, but as their eyes met it was clear this boy had nothing but bad intentions.

Howard would come to a stop and cross his arms in a defensive stance as he looked over this strange person. He did not recognize him from anywhere but that had become the norm since all of these bloody foreigners had come to visit Hogwarts. Whatever his issue was would set Howard on edge. This was his turf and who the hell was this person to be marching around with such a look in their eye. “Got a problem?” He asked with an aggressive tone.

10.24.20→ ic date

♡ the outfit! [+umbrella] ♡

Reducio

interacting with serena [@Serena Towers]
mentioning yefim [@Flash Holmwood], quinn [@Quinn Healy], and howard [@Howard White]

The time spent cheering at the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw Quidditch match did not go to waste. The Huffle team, or one of the best teams in Frost's opinion, had won. Though she was not surprised, what with two spectacular captains who just happened to be Frost's friends. Perhaps Serena and Frost's cheering helped them to win? After all, the two girls under one adorable cloud umbrella were sure to have been heard with all their yelling.

Happy smiles and cheers from Frost at the seeker capturing the snitch had soon died down with a few words. Her ears seemed to muffle the cheering and chatter around her. The girl's head turned to the direction of a yelling boy, who seemed angry that they had won. By his accent, she could tell this boy was from Durmstrang. Ah, a sore loser perhaps? But that was not what had perked her ears toward his voice. It was the words 'Giant' and 'Monster' in the same sentence.

There was only one giant on that team, one that happened to be a friend of Frost's. "Quinn?" Her eyebrows furrowed in a confused manner. Something rushed through her chest, some sort of hot feeling mixed with a bit of something that made her frown. As it flickered, the girl couldn't recognize what it was. The thought of anyone calling her friends or anybody a monster did not sit right with the innocent girl. Though it made her quite... not particularly like... that Durmstrang boy. What the heck was happening? Perhaps the sweet and pure bean of a girl was feeling a sort of mild dislike. But she couldn't! Everyone was good in some way, weren't they?

By his violent gesture of fist in the palm, the girl knew something was going down. Turning back to Serena to see if she had heard or seen anything that just happened, the question didn't even have to leave her lips. Serena was upset. She had known who that boy was, didn't she? More likely than not, that was the boy who had made Quinn feel bad back when they were up against Durmstrang. She had not been there, but oh, she had heard about what had happened. Again a flash of that foreign burning feeling poked her right in the chest, bitter but subtle.

Almost immediately, Serena and Frost left the stands to follow where the boy had left to. And upon arriving at the scene of the outside of the Hufflepuff locker room, there stood the two Durmstrang boys. The one who had yelled about Quinn being a monster looking as though he was just about ready to murder anything that came within a 4-foot radius of him. Howard had come outside, picking up on the aggression Yefim had thrown out and carried a tone of aggressiveness himself.

Obviously a bit uncomfortable with the aura of hostility, Frost scooted just a bit closer to Serena. Glad they were still sharing the umbrella or it might have been a tad awkward. "I don't like this," She spoke to Serena. Though Frost had just entered a situation in which she'd never believe she went to on purpose, the girl still took time to make sure Serena was okay. Silently, Frost shifted the umbrella so that there was more coverage on Serena's side. It would kill her if the other girl would get sick. "Do you know them, Ser?"

✿

Interacting with: @Frost Cira, @Howard White and @Flash Holmwood's iNPC.
Mentions: @Quinn Healy and @Reid Kovacs

Her fists clutched by her side as she quickly followed the Durmstrang boy. She had no idea what he was up to but she had heard him scream the word that he had used once before: Monster. She knew what happened that day at St. Mungos far too well. The horrific sound of his leg cracking was not one she would forget easily but it would appear that he forgot... Either way, she really did not want Quinn to go through what he had before. He had literally broken down in the middle of the room. This was not going to happen again.

Serena honestly had no idea what she could do. She was a lot shorter than most of them, a lot weaker but nonetheless, she knew she had to do something. Quinn did not get in trouble last time but if he did something like that again, he might be in serious trouble and she really did not want that to happen. But at the same time, she was also fuming with anger towards the Durmstrang kids. They constantly accused the Hufflepuffs of cheating, of being monsters. Just because Hufflepuff were capable and skilled. She hated this.

Frost was with her. Serena swallowed as she heard Frost's words, "Me neither..." She replied, agreeing that this whole situation was already on edge. One wrong word and it could go bad. Honestly, she was way over her league if she thought she had any chance of stopping it but she was trying to think of something, anything, that would help. Her hand automatically checked the wand in the pocket of her robes. It was there. It might be needed if this escalated beyond words. Yet again, "Yeah. They bullied us in St. Mungo's after we beat them at the tournament. They kept saying we cheated and tried to attack Quinn and..." She closed her fists tightly, gritting her teeth. She could not even bring herself to finish that sentence. How could she say that they called Quinn a monster? That Quinn snapped and... then snapped the kid's leg...

Within moments, everything went wrong, "We have to make sure he stays away from Quinn." Serena added with a firm nod, not wanting the part-giant to go through that hell again. She had seen him break down and it was awful.

Her eyes fell onto Howard. Could he help? He could stop this, right? He was, at the very least, likely stronger than she was if they needed to physically restrain Durmstrang yet again. She stared at them all, "I have no idea... what we do..." She whispered, mostly to herself. It was audible to those near her but she was mostly just muttering to herself. She honestly had no idea what they should do. Was there time to call someone? The Headmaster of Durmstrang, perhaps? Or Headmaster Lear? Maybe Professor Browne? Serena had no idea. She had no idea where they would even be right now. Knowing what happened last time though, perhaps the school nurse would be a better call.

"Step away from the locker room." She demanded loudly, all of a sudden. She had no idea if the Durmstrang boy would comply but the words escaped her mouth before she had a chance to even stop them. She had no awareness of what she was even saying. It was as though her body was on autopilot. All she knew was that she had to do something, anything. She could not allow the kid to go into the locker room or meet Quinn.

At the very least, he was not here yet. Her eyes shot to the door of the room - Reid was there right? He would help. He would know what to do, right? He always seemed to... "Howard, this guy tried to attack Quinn after the last game. Where they lost." She explained to the other fourth year. Most of why or what he was saying, she did not understand. He spoke in a language she was not fluent in. But she had seen him try and verbally - and physically - attack the larger one. Of course, he did nothing to him physically but still.

Valentin “Der Niffler” Schnell had just finished watching the Hufflepuff-Ravenclaw quidditch game together with Yefim: another attempt to hold onto a beloved friend who had quit the team. The match with Hufflepuff in London had split up almost the entire Durmstrang quidditch team and caused most friends to disappear from Valentin’s life– a life which revolved around these friends and their games every single day. For Valentin the entire balance of the universe had turned upside down since that match. Nothing was right, nothing was where it should be. Valentin was alone on the pitch now. Alone, or surrounded by strangers. Not the people he had sweat and bled with, not the people who had almost come to read each others’ minds through the sheer force of struggling together through years of infamously rigorous training.

It seemed that Valentin couldn’t do anything right anymore: he just kept making an ass out of himself whenever trying to stand up for friends or trying to impress them. Every day was a nightmare come true, the destruction of everything Valentin loved most, and he blamed himself. If Valentin had just focused harder, trained better, done something, anything, to prevent the loss of that match… then his friends would not have left the team. They wouldn’t have left him. Valentin's mind spun up a thousand different things he should have done differently to dodge the enemy giant, and for each one that he hadn’t done he cursed himself. For each friend whom he would no longer see every day, Valentin cursed himself. The boy’s last hope was not to lose Yefim and Mik. Certainly losing Yefim would be the deathblow to Valentin’s tenuous grasp on a stable life, for without Yefim’s lively spirit, Valentin’s enduring optimism would surely crash and splinter into a million shards, just like Valentin’s first broom. So Valentin clung to Yefim for dear life.

«Эй, Ефим, я иду с тобой!» (“Hey Yefim, I’m coming with you!”) yelled Valentin as he ran after Yefim.

Interacting: @Flash Holmwood
Mention: @Quinn Healy

The puffwarts started to show up, like the front line in a street fighter game that you have to beat up before getting to the boss. This level had pale dude and two little girls under one umbrella. This dumb team was made up of a whole bunch of weirdos. Upon minimal inspection, he could see that one of the girls was that shrimpy Seeker. Probably thought she was soooooooo special. Sooooooo cool. All because she was too small to hit. If she was a normal size, she would have had no chance against them. Yet there she was, telling him what to do. At least he was pretty sure that was what she was talking about. It seemed like she was trying to tell him to do something, or, like, not do something.

Anyway, the dude looked ready to square up, which was fine and all, like yeah let's get this started, but the little scampi also looked ready to go. Three puffs to start... no problem, but they did already have him surrounded. If he was going to have to end up taking them all down for round one, he was ready. Alongside him, Niffler came running up, always 100% down to do whatever Yefim asked him to. It hadn't always been like that, but ever since summer, Niffler had started to become more... what, attached? Yefim didn't usually give it a second thought, he was glad to have enthusiastic company, perhaps he even thought he deserved that level of devotion from everyone, and took it for granted. Leading him down a path of destruction without a single thought about his well being.

Not at that moment, though. Yefim could handle a dogpile of fluffy puffs, and strong girl probably could have too. Not Niffy though. When he thought of that terrible giant coming out and snapping Niffler's legs he got even madder. He could probably snap Niffler by looking at him too hard. Yefim put out a hand to show Niffler he wanted him to stop before he got too close.

”[Just watch me this time, buddy. I'll show them not to mess with Durmstrang.]” Yefim flexed for good measure, to show Niffler that he was indeed strong and powerful, then pointed right at him. ”[Have you ever been a cheerleader before? Show me what you got!]”

The first target was easy to decide. The one who wasn't expecting it, obviously. She would turn on him eventually, everyone did. Here came a big meaty fist right to the scared girl's face.


Nice. Looked like it hurt, and the sound of pain was music to his hears. Each squeak and whine was the fruits of his labor. He would wear a big grin as a girl absorbed the blow, though it looked like he missed her vital organs. He'll blame it on the rain. Either way, the beat-em-up had begun. Get rid of these pests and move on to even bigger targets! No one could stop him!

Oh no. Oh, no, no, no, no. Oh no.

Ami could hear the sound of a fist hitting flesh as she neared the locker room, her broom resting on her shoulder as she strolled triumphantly, leisurely. Her jaw dropped in shock and disbelief as she watched some ugly, toady boy serve Frost Cira a smackin' knuckle sandwich. Did he just- did he just hit Frost? She couldn't imagine a world where anyone would ever hold a grudge against sweet-as-frosting Frost. Blinking rapidly, Ami's jaw and fists clenched in fury as she stormed towards the group of Durmstrang and Hufflepuff students.

She was a co-captain. She was a Headliner writer. She had power and authority, even if she had absolutely no idea how to use it, and she would be damned if she wouldn't at least defend her friends and housemates in the face of danger. "Hey, toad!" she hollered towards the idiot who had dared to hit Frost. "You're really gonna punch a girl who's smaller than you? Where's your dignity?"

Reaching the group, Ami stepped in front of Frost, her eyes flashing with unbridled anger and rage that she had managed to tame since coming to Hogwarts. But now? Well, between Ruby attacking her best friend and this oaf hitting a girl who certainly couldn't have done anything to him, her temper was hotter than ever.

Flinging her broom to the side, Ami leveled her fury onto the idiot in the umbrella hat in front of her, shoving him back a few steps angrily.

Ami: [d20:14] + 12 = 26

Yefim: [d20:17] + 7 = 24

"Go back to where you came from," she growled, "Or pick on someone your own size. Your choice."

Her words would probably seem like an empty threat to the Russian boy rather than anything of real substance. Sure, she was tall, but she was still on the thin side and certainly wasn't as imposing as Howie. But imbued in every single muscle strand and tendon was intense rage that was backed by legitimate, professional training. And even if her physical stature could barely be considered to be intimidating, the general sense that she would go absolutely ballistic and could snap at any moment was certainly evident.

Glancing towards the other boy who seemed to be the oaf's shadow or sidekick, Ami scoffed, glancing at his unimpressive frame with disbelief. "And you brought this as backup?" she muttered. "Good lord... Get lost, kid. You're not even worth it." Turning to Howard, she muttered under her breath, "If Quinn sees this... no bueno, brother." She knew that Quinn and Frost were good friends, and if he saw that this Durmstrang boy had hurt her... well, that certainly wouldn't be good.

Interaction: @Flash Holmwood aka Yefim @Aida Mòrsgor-Ama Ellwood aka Niffler @Frost Cira @Serena Towers @Ami Procoppio

Howard would hold his ground as the foreign student was joined by another. The pair may seem bolstered by their numbers but the house of loyalty would not let him down as soon enough a few of his fellow badgers would show up on the scene. His red eyes would meet with those of Ami, Serena and Frost’s and offer a nod to each of them to gesture that he had their backs. School pride wasn’t something that Howard had a lot of or even took seriously. This wasn’t about turf. Around him stood his co-captain and although Ami and he weren’t very close, there was a bond built through teamwork and camaraderie. Serena was one of the few people he knew that would show him kindness regardless of the situation. Her supportive words over the summer had not been forgotten. Then there was Frost. A friend of his girlfriend and possibly becoming one of his own. If she was important to Falentra, then she was important to him. Then there was the two pukes that stood before him and Howard would be damned if either of them would cause harm to any of his housemates.

Serena would speak out first, demanding that the instigators leave the area immediately. She was anything but an intimidating presence, but Howard appreciated the fact that she was brave enough to stand up to them. His brows would raise as she explained that this was not her first run in with the boy and that he had tried to attack Quinn after the championship game. “So, he’s as stupid as he looks, yeah?” Howard taunted, too fired up to realize that they probably had no idea what he was saying. It surely wasn’t far from the truth. You either had to be crazy or dumb to take on one of Quinn’s size. Even his own strength would be no match for the part giant. That fact aside, it only furthered Howard’s anger toward these boys. Quinn was his captain after all.

If Howard was mad before, it was nothing compared to the flash of rage that would shoot through his chest as he watched the boy step forward and punch Frost. “HEY! YOU BASTARD! I’LL KILL YA FOR THAT!!” he bellowed as he made a step forward, but Ami would be quicker than he. Throwing her broom to the side she would push the boy back a few steps. As Howard approached her she would turn and warn of Quinn’s wrath. “Forget Quinn.” He spoke through gritted teeth. “This ends now!” Howard would shimmy past Ami and beeline straight towards the boy with balled fists. “YOU’RE DONE YA LIL’ SHIT”

THWACK!!


Howard’s right straight would make solid connection with the other boy’s chin and the next moment he would be out cold at his feet. Standing over his victim, Howard would take no time to relish in his victory. Instead, he would point directly at the pale, blonde haired boy that had accompanied as his eyes were set ablaze with fury. His lips parted in a wicked sneer as his fangs plunged from the recesses in Howard’s gums. The unsettling aura that was usually kept under wrap poured off of his body like a noxious gas as his temper boiled over. “GET OVER HERE, PICK HIM UP AND LEAVE, OR I’LL TEAR YOUR GODDAMN FACE OFF!!”

OOC: If any of Howard’s words or actions have made anyone uncomfortable, please reach out to me and I will edit accordingly. Flash gave me for the action and was kind enough to help me with the roll.

10.24.20→ ic date

♡ the outfit! [+umbrella] ♡

Reducio

interacting with serena [@Serena Towers], yefim [@Flash Holmwood],
howard [@Howard White], and ami [@Ami Procoppio]
mentioning quinn [@Quinn Healy] & valentin [@Aida Mòrsgor-Ama Ellwood]

Goodness knows how much Frost was about to get herself into.

Standing beside Serena, she could hear the taps of raindrops hitting their shared umbrella. As she explained who this boy was and what he had done, Frost nodded in agreement at the statement of keeping him far away from Quinn as possible. She knew how bad things could get if Yefim made fun of Quinn again. It would kill her to see her close friend broken like that. But then again, Frost knew what would happen to the Durmstrang boys if Quinn got his hands on them. Both were not something Frost wanted.

Serena's low whisper had barely reached her ears through the pitter-patter of the rain, but the redhead had heard. "I'm not sure, Ser." She was just praying things didn't get physical or aggressive. Goodness knows what would happen. Though Frost was a prefect, she didn't know what to here, it was a situation she had never been in.

Currently, the girl's mind was reaching for various options of what could happen and what to do. She prayed that Quinn didn't come into contact with Yefim and that nobody had to get hurt. All while in the moments in which she was lost in her train of thought, the girl suddenly looked up into a pair of eyes that looked enraged. Confused and obviously not expecting it to happen, Yefim punched her hard in the gut. Upon impact, the Frost was winded and made a sound that resembled that of a dog's squeaky toy. Her grip on the umbrella loosened, causing it to tilt more toward Serena. The cold drops of rain hit her face and speckled her hair as she tried to suck in deep breaths, a bit hunched over. Goodness did that hurt.

Not even seconds later did her friend, and new Quidditch Co-Captain, walk out and start yelling at Yefim. She had thrown her broom aside and started shoving him backward, away from Frost and getting between them. Howard came beside her, also yelling. "No no, you guys it's okay, I'm okay, everything is fine" Which was mostly a lie, it hurt like hell, especially for a girl who had never been hit. But she knew that it was enough for either one of them to boil over. "Please don't-" And before Frost could ask them not to fight Yefim, a thwack sound reached her ears and Yefim was knocked unconscious on the ground.

"Oh my," Although any normal person would have let someone who hurt them be hurt back, Frost was not near normal in this case. Handing the umbrella to Serena and running into the rain, Frost placed a gentle hand on Ami and Howard's shoulders. As she neared Howard, the girl would not be affected, even giving off a contradicting air of calm. Standing beside the two taller and bigger Hufflepuffs made her feel so tiny. "Howard, no his friend didn't do anything!" It was kind of nice to know that Howard would have her back, she still hoped they could become better friends later. But right now, what she needed was not violence.

Streaks of rainwater ran down her face, some droplets dotting the lenses of her glasses. What was she to do? She couldn't just leave him there or let his friend drag him out by himself. Standing beside Yefim, Frost cast the umbrella charm and covered herself and the unconscious boy. "We should take him to the Hospital Wing," There was not a single trace of anger, instead she seemed unfazed, sympathetic for Yefim even. Her words weren't much of a statement and more of an asking for help. But even if she had to do it alone through the rain, Frost would stumble her way there, struggling with her lack of strength. No doubt would the others strongly disagree with Frost, but a girl could be hopeful.

stamina 800/1000
abilities healing sage • calming presence • fearless • spell spread

✿

In a moment Yefim was blown away. Complete devastation crashed down on the boy who was that last silver thread tying Valentin to the earth. Failed spectacles, one after another, kept raining down on them like some cursed fate. This, when Valentin only wanted to see Yefim, his team, and the fans happy. Laughing. Smiling. What was Valentin’s life, all those years of backbreaking training and excluding a million opportunities in the name of practice? What were all the drops of blood spilt, the tired-out early morning repetitions, the nights of picking each other up off the floor in defeat? What could it all mean if all his efforts still came down to this: forever being useless.

Sure, Yefim had told him to stay out of it, but Valentin knew. He was told to stay out of it because Valentin was weak. The rail-thin seeker had one pure directive: catch the snitch first. It meant being faster than anyone, more in control, wilder, harder to pin down, more accurate, more resilient in the face of being physically crushed by opponents. That one simple directive was supposed to be the key and yet chaos spilled from it in every direction. For this he had lost his ability to eat, to maintain good grades in school, to learn English properly. Surely if he focused all of his life energy on his team, Valentin had thought, they could soar as champions. Falling to the ground, Valentin gathered up the broken frame of Yefim’s body gently onto his lap. As he hunched his torso over Yefim in protective despair, Valentin felt as if the last of the warmth had drained from his rainsoaked body. With three long white fingers Valentin coaxed the wreckage of Yefim’s umbrella hat off the boy’s crown of hair and tried to smooth down its arms that bent out at cruel angles.

The roaring dhampir should have been frightening regardless of how unintelligible it was to Valentin with his bad English. Yet, the pale boy had already lost most of what was most precious to him. There was only one thing that mattered now and it was not this beast, not even if it would tear Valentin limb from limb. No, this moment might be the last Valentin would ever see of Yef, for without their team and with Valentin’s unending failures to prove his worth in combat and in quidditch, Valentin saw little value for himself in Yef’s life. After all, the team had expressed as much by disbanding after the summer match. There were better things out there waiting for them, just like it will be for Yef, thought Valentin in Russian. I simply wasn’t good enough.



Valentin couldn’t understand what the other people were saying, but he could see that someone was coming closer. It was the girl Yefim had battled. With Yefim’s fights inherently Valentin’s by virtue of his loyalty, this girl was Valentin's opponent.

Looking up at her, a drop of rainwater ran down into Valentin’s left eye and he blinked white eyelashes a couple of times. The rage was there in his silvery-violet gaze, but only as a fire in the vast night of Valentin’s broken mind. No words in any language could say it. Only the eyes could speak the truth of this pain.

If anyone tried to touch Yefim, Valentin would claw them away with a savageness that only a shattered heart could summon. Anyone who dared grab hold of the boy would suffer Valentin’s scorching wrath. No one would hurt Yef anymore. No one would take him, no one would touch him again. Valentin would bite and tear and gouge anything threatening to take Yefim away. That’s what they were doing. Taking Yefim away.