Jasper: "You mean to tell me ... that there is an Erumpent in the Tower of London?!"

Narrator: "... and tune in next weekend to see how Jasper will tackle this new challenge in Jasper Warlock and the Royal Treasury Upheaval!"

It was after Philo turned off the wireless that he realized that the morning Jasper Warlock serial was the only thing highlight of the day he had been looking forward to. He had no other plans of the day, all his homework had been done the day prior, nothing too challenging for the second years. Sure, it had been a month to the day when all the Erumpent/Nundu smuggling crazy-plot had really hit it's stride in the Jasper Warlock programme, but to think that now all Philo considered of the weekend was how it was seven days until the next episode.

He sighed, picking a fudge fly from the box he usually used to keep Arlaug comatose, and thus not filling the common room with non-magical curses, with sugar highs. He decided to look into what else was in his satchel, leftover from the homework he had pulled out of there to save for Monday.

Exploding snap deck, gobbstones set, Canterbury's gifted Terr-Oh!, a few snoring chess pieces, something he'd never heard of before called Quoddy Quodshot that had been a package post from his sister Felicia that showed obvious signs of hippogriff damage, and one of those ever-changing puzzles the Peppers gave him as a christmas present, the kind you always had to concentrate on because the pieces rearranged themselves when you looked away.

All of it was reminded him that the Gaming Club had not been as fun as he had hoped. After Club Day so long ago he and Pax Wintergreen had gotten some initial interest for a few weeks but the club had never really taken root. Some days it was just him and Pax, or Tim Pepper but only if they played chess because otherwise he was solely focused on studies most of the time. And, even though they were lacking members, after all the 'Exploding Snap Five Star Back Slaps' administered by that Slytherin chap, Bruno Mastiff, they'd taken to avoiding the third year by changing meeting places.

The rules had to be re-explained to Heliotrope each time (and she often made the cards wet when she visited) and Philo clammed up whenever Obderedria showed up and her hair problems kept her from coming (her hair having upended the table they were playing exploding snap on)...

Philo took a good hard long look at his deck of combustible cardstock, considering throwing them away. There really were too many bad memories behind games of Exploding Snap.

Older students found the club too kiddie, the younger students either didn't have the patience or wanted to do more 'mature' things, as if that would make them age faster.

"Well, I've never considered Hogwarts would ever get this boring," he told Arlaug, who was unable to reply due to the aforementioned blood sugar spike. Great Falkin, now seeking out the absolute worst of a conversationalist, even if the frog could create audible sounds at this point.

Serenity made her way down from the girls' dorm dressed like a muggle. Her hair hid most of her face as it usually did when she entered a room, but there was hardly anyone inside on a Saturday. That seemed accurate. The person her eyes landed on motivated her to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear when she approached him.

"Do you ever go outside, Philo?"

She sat down nearby and placed her fair-conditioned copy of Peter Pan aside. Her gaze momentarily fell upon his sugar-coma-induced swear frog.

"Hello, Arlaug," she greeted pleasantly.

Philo was going through his satchel and removing all sorts of games. Serenity had been there on Club Day when the Gaming Club had started. There had been a promise of a Dungeons and Dragons campaign, but it had never gone through. She knew almost nothing about wizarding games since her family was more muggle-oriented. Still, the deck of Exploding Snap cards he was looking at caught her interest.

"I heard that game hurts people. Bored today, are you?" Serenity gave him a weak smile. "We can play a game if you'd like. You can choose, but you'll have to teach me to play, I'm afraid. My family is accustomed to muggle board games."

"Wha-? Oh, Serenity." Philo caught himself and then tried to stop staring at the odd decals, was it, on her shirt. Her blue pullover looked like it had eyes and a bandage and teeth and that skull on the pocket, in the color of some wizard drink he would never try but he saw his brother buy some once and it was 'loads stronger than butterbeer.'

While looking away he was realizing he was making a mess. "Isn't it frigid?" he asked as he tried to re-organize. He never liked the cold weather, how winters went from snowy to slushy and a deluge of rain, save for the excuse it created to remain inside by the fire.

"Well, besides snap, there's..." Ah yes, muggle board games. That was probably the day that sunk Gaming Club interest the most. While some muggle borns may have felt nostalgic about the games they had bought few magically raised folk thought the games were interesting because nothing moved on its own, changed color, talked or exploded. Philo was in a small minority of interest there.

His hands came across the Quoddy Quodshot box covered in gouges from hippogriff talons. "My sister sent me this but it hasn't been opened before. We could try that?"

He mentioned the weather, causing his housemate to check the world outside the windows. It certainly looked rather cold what with the snow melting to slush and the clouds overhead threatening Hogwarts with more rain. Had it not been for the fire blazing in the hearth of the common room, she would have been dressed in a lot more layers of clothing.

"You're right," she remarked absent-mindedly before turning back to face him.

She opened her mouth to suggest something when the Quoddy Quodshot box caught her attention. For a long moment, the timid girl observed the holes. Her brown eyes glanced at her exhausted Peter Pan book; it was in better condition than his wizarding game.

"What in the name of Merlin do you go through over summer vacation, Philo?" Another timid smile to show she was playing. "Do you purposefully walk into danger or does it just follow you? The poor box is in shambles, innit?"

Among the other games, the Terr-Oh stuck out most to her. It looked like a deck of Tarot cards, an art she was hoping to learn at some point. Except they looked... off. Not at all bright and cheerful as the Raider-Waite deck she'd come across once in a London New Age muggle store.

"What's wrong with your Tarot deck? It looks...terrifying." Her brown eyes took on an odd gleam and suddenly Serenity was immensely attracted to the cards' morbid design. Where was this fascination coming from? "Philo, can you teach me to play that one?"

----------------------------

(Sorry. We were talking about Serenity's "entity" and the Terr-Oh deck and I couldn't resist trying this out. Are you up for it?)

"D-Do I purposefully walk into danger over summer vacations?" Oh bother. It was almost like Serenity knew, but Philo knew it was just a lucky guess hitting rather close to home on her part. There had been more danger than expected over the Egyptian trip on account of a runaway carpet including collapsing tombs, ghosts, and whatever Professor Reid might have done if her sister had been seriously injured. At least Runner the carpet was behaving more after nearly being ripped to shreds by the lion caretaker.[1]

"Oh, this box?" None of that was his fault! "One of my sister's hippogriffs must have gotten into it before she sent it off. She works on a preserve. I think her letter said something about how this might be interesting given the international tournament this year."

"Terr-Oh?" He set the Quodshot box aside as he noticed Serenity looking at the cards. Not to many people ever took to it, Philo had found. It was a decent game, although most just wanted to look with horrified fascination at the pictures. "I've never used it for divining. Don't know how, likely won't take Divination next year. But the game element is kind-of easy to pick up."

He pulled out the blank scorecard from the bottom of the deck. "Each player has half of the 50 souls in the game, and cards either kill or steal the opponent's souls. Err, I know that sounds gruesome, just think of it as points or something if that's easier. We start with seven cards, play one on our turn. The little text at the bottom tells you what the card does and any situations where it could counter a play. Um, want me to set up a game?"

1.	Can You Feel The Whole New World - Jan 30

There was a long silence following his brief summary of the game. All she could do was stare at the cards in an almost trance-like state. Eventually, she said something in a way that made her seem distant.

"Yes, please."

Suddenly, the glossy-eyed look was gone and she was back to her normal self. Just like that. The strong attraction to the deck remained, but she was no longer peering at the cards as if through a window. On the other hand, something wasn't right and once she concentrated, she could easily tell what it was: she wasn't alone in her body anymore. The entity from the accursed book she'd read was lingering in the back of her mind. From some unseen part of the room (though she was well aware it was all in her head rather than actually in the room), its voice whispered menacingly in her ear. She had to tell it to go away, but it just wouldn't listen. More than it simply bothering her, she was slowly starting to realize that it wasn't her that was attracted to the cards; it was the entity.

"Hang on," she placed her hand on his to stop him from shuffling the deck.

Serenity wasn't so sure that letting the entity play a card game was a good idea. It may seem harmless, playing a game, but she had also thought that about reading a book. Giving this entity, whatever it was, any sort of satisfaction wasn't very bright. As she came to this conclusion, the whispers--normally gentle and inviting in their tone--turned threatening. Not angry, but more like a warning. Despite that it spoke a different language, Serenity could understand it and it wasn't something a twelve-year-old would like to hear. She frowned, having the strong urge to be firm with her decision of not playing; that's when the tone grew more harsh. Serenity had never purposefully upset the thing before and she was too afraid to start now. Who knew what this thing could do to her?

"Okay. Go ahead. I-I just had to think about what you said about playing. I think I understand now."

She removed her hand and folded her arms one on top of the other upon the table. The voice became loving and smooth again, praising her for being such a good hostess. Serenity ignored it. She tried to block it out the best she could. While Philo shuffled the deck, she watched him. If she had decided not to go along with the entity's demands, would it hurt her friend? How much damage could this thing really do? She needed to find out someday... but she wouldn't take that risk while she was around others. She wouldn't allow anyone to get hurt. All she would have to do is find a place to be alone and make it mad. Today, however, was not that day.

Some of the unreal and potentially frightening darkness behind Serenity's eyes was lost on Philo, though hit did note the length of the pause in reply. He figured she was contemplating the cards some more. It was a gift/loan from Canterbury as Philo still treated it has hers though she hadn't asked for it back and after all she was a Ravenclaw no matter how evil some other students thought she could potentially be. Ravenclaws generally had an open mind and if that translated to morbid fascination of even more morbid cards, so be it.

Just when Philo was about to shuffle the deck she place her hand over his to stop him. Philo felt as if he was suddenly at the floodgates of all of his bodily sweat that threatened to turn his hands clammy. Heavens to Helena! Where exactly was he supposed to look? Nearly any spot but the their together hands or Serenity's face seemed like the answer. This was or maybe it was his mind making it far more romantic of contact that Philo had experienced. Well, it wasn't like he hadn't had contact with girls before or brushing touch with their hands. Scenarios of passing pots in herbology or Exploding Snap came to mind and this was much gentler.

Then her hand withdrew, her voice apologizing a motive Philo couldn't really place. Trying to act like nothing had happened at all Philo shuffled the deck, several iterations with a few tricks folded in before he dealt hands.

"Ffhhhh," a harsh hiss escaped his lips, the shock of a paper cut across his left thumb. A shallow scratch but it had been enough to squeeze out a bead of blood. He looked to his hand. It would figure he got 'Razor Sharp' on his first turn. The edges of the card were, literally, razor sharp.

Upon dealing them both hands, Serenity couldn't help but smile at the lame line that popped into her head.

"The game's afoot," she grinned and glanced up at Philo. "Sherlock Holmes says that when he's starting an investigation."

That was when she noticed the cut on his fingers. Razor Sharp was the card he had played and it had caused him some physical damage as well. Instead of concentrating on the fact that he was hurt, as Serenity normally would, the bead of blood was what captured her attention. Immediately, her mind became heady with the scent of it... and soon she could practically taste it in her mouth. Everything around her became a distant blur and her head clouded itself with black fog. The whispers in her ear were ready to pour out of her mouth... Until Serenity shook her head and practically screamed the word 'NO!' within her mind. The fog retreated and her vision became clear once again. This entity wouldn't get the best of her! Not around her friends!

"Are you all right, Philo?" She was still trying to fight off the scent and taste of the blood and struggled to regain her normal self.

Her brown gaze dipped down to the cards in her hand. Each of them was sinister and wicked. As she examined the images and read the text, that excited tingling started to come back to her. The voice whispered more animatedly. Her hand unexpectedly jerked at one of the cards in her hand and tossed it down. She stared at it in horrified shock; it hadn't been her that had moved. The entity must have seized control somehow. Never before had that happened unless she was in a trance and only then was there scribbling and talking in a different language. She didn't know it could do that. This was beginning to really scare Serenity. She would have to write to her mother immediately.

She got over her shock almost a full minute later and realized that it must have seemed strange to Philo. "I play Lethifold for a Cloak."

Serenity cast an anxious glance at Philo to see if he had noticed anything...strange. Perhaps it was best if she kept conversation going so as to distract him from what was going on with her. It would also help keep herself as attached to reality as possible.

"Have you ever read Sherlock Holmes, Philo? It's a thrilling series. He's brilliant as a detective."

"Naw, it's just a scratch." Although now that Serenity had seen the card he had he may as well get rid of it and save his fingers. 'Lethifold for a Cloak' was about both kill off and steal one soul. "Razor Sharp; when used in counter it halves the number of souls threatened to be stolen, though in this case since that's one it rounds down to zero. Lethifold just kills one of mine."

P:24 - S:25

Kind of a petty act but this early in the game chained counter combos were unlikely, only when a player was faced with loosing a lot of ground.

"Sherlock Holmes?" he replied when he drew a replacement card for his turn. "I've heard he's much better than Patty Morgana what with not having magic as an option. Dad used to have some books but hasn't been able to find them. The bookshop in Shrewsbury might have had one but we don't often trade for muggle money." The Falkins lived on the outskirts of Shrewsbury in their infamously haystack-looking house.

Philo played a card. "Leaky Boorish Bin, kills three," he said, not choosing to have Serenity discard some cards.