Breakfast


Feliks was flicking through one of his additional Transfiguration texts, stirring a bowl of hot raisin porridge, when the package[1] landed with a surprising thump! right next to him. It received a few startled but unsurprised glances: the first of many morning letters were now being delivered. He had gotten up early to read so that he could enjoy the rest of the weekend, so there weren't many people in the Great Hall to begin with - only a few classmates just trickling in now.

Porridge and homework was put aside. Feliks reached for the parcel, turning it over to read his name on the plain white card. It was neither papa nor Johann's writing. Their letters usually smelled of home, if not their work (animal poo for papa, old parchment for Johann).

He tore open the brown paper. A ball of silver twine dropped out first, almost landing in his morning cocoa. Oops! Feliks examined it briefly, finding the twine quite pretty, before slipping out the second item: an old book. Its elaborately illustrated title was "The Lycan". He flipped open to the first page and examined the illustration of the Vitruvian Werewolf.

Seen here, it looked more human than the stories Feliks had grown up hearing about.

His gaze flicked to the handwriting above the first chapter. He definitely did not recognise it. Why was someone sending him a book about Werewolves? They were not studying werewolves in lessons, even. He flicked through the pages curiously - forgetting where he was, too absorbed to notice the people arriving at breakfast.

1.	Spill This Blood for You

Zeta arrived in the Great Hall with her usual morning aire, dressed and styled but bleary. In her old age, she'd graduated from tea to coffee and at times made a show of needing it.  She shuffled in, her high-top doodled-all-over trainers untied and flopping off her heels.

In such a state she went down the wrong aisle and sat down at Ravenclaw, which was adjacent to Slytherin.

Thump!

She started at the noise and turned around. She had to do a double-take. "Wrong table..." she mumbled to herself. But that Spectre kid had drawn a few gazes and the pretty silver twine had drawn Zeta's. Zeta had't met Feliks before, but she'd heard all about him.

She got up and switched over to his table.

"Hey there, wee one, did you get something good? Oh, a book. What about that?" she pointed at the twine.

Nicola had come into the Great Hall shortly before the morning post arrived. Being the weekend there still wasn't many students in the hall as they liked to used the days without classes to sleep in. Cole wasn't one for such wasteful activities. Sleeping in just meant she had less of the day to enjoy. Autumn was still in effect and the cold hadn't quite crept in. She was intent on making sure she could enjoy the crisp fall air as much as she could before Winter descended.

As the post arrived Nicola received a letter from her mother. She swiftly ripped it open and read about her mother's adventures in Australia. Now with all four kids in Hogwarts, her mother was even more free to travel for work (not that it really stopped her before but it was an extra responsibility to have all the kids with her) She had been completely caught up in her letter until she heard her brothers' voices at the table behind her.

"Forget your coffee this morning Pepper?" Grant had asked.

"Don't leave Zeta,we love you." Kelly added teasingly.

Cole put her letter down to look back at the twins before realizing the girl they had been talking to was now sat at their own table. Which in turn brought her attention to Felik, who was sat across from her flipping the pages of what looked like an old library book. She was able to discern that the text was about werewolves, it looked like a bestiary. She wasn't familiar with it, the silver ball on the other hand . . .

"That's tenacious twine. It's used to capture dangerous magical creatures." She looked from the ball of string to the book and a shadow fell over her features, "And werewolves."

Cole was still unsure of how she felt about the magical affliction. She knew that every other day of the month infected wixes were still human but there was no doubting that it had an effect on them even when they weren't in wolf form. Granted Cole had very limited experience to build off of. She only knew one werewolf and he certainly wasn't the poster child. Uncle Kevin was Kyson's dead beat dad, the whole reason the older Slytherin had been raised like her brother. He had been infected during the war and had pretty much given up on everything, his job, his life, his children . . .

The style of writing in this book was old. It reminded him of those thick, dusty books he would find in The Cottage or in the back of the Library here. Feliks found himself rereading the first page to fully grasp its meaning but before he could get very far, someone had plopped themselves right next to him.

            "...Oh, a book. What about that?"

It was one of the older Hufflepuff girls. He glanced at the twine and was about to say he didn't know, when Nicola interrupted from across the table. Tenacious Twine! She explained it was for magical creatures. Like the ones papa handled? But this wasn't from papa, was it?

            "And werewolves," his housemate added. Feliks stared at her, then back down at the book about werewolves. Lycans.

It was a disease. That was what the first chapter said. Something evil that made people act like dangerous animals. He sat straighter, almost standing as he handed the book over to Nicola. "There is something written. Necto nassa. Do you know what that is?"

He remembered that Nicola could more or less tell the latin roots of the spells they were taught in Defences, so she might know this one too. Feliks glanced at the Hufflepuff next to him and pointed at the package wrapping.

"I do not know who sent it," he picked up the twine curiously. "I think it is supposed to be a present."

"Tenacious twine," Zeta repeated and picked it up. It was lighter than she thought it would be and she could tell it wasn't just shiny thread. The Slytherin girl was probably right. Zeta turned it around, looking for the end.

Wait. Werewolves.

"Um, who would send you a bloody werewolf catching kit. The Headmaster is a werewolf. This is a stupid prank." She thunked the Twine back on the table and grabbed for the paper the package had come wrapped in. There was no return address. There was no sign of a card.

Her groggy mood was becoming foul by the second. Who the hell thought it was funny to play a prank on Feliks Spectre. He'd already been through enough, hadn't he? He was a first year for Merlin's sake. She suddenly stood up and shouted to the admittedly sparsely occupied Great Hall.

"Oi! What stupid git sent this? It's not funny!"

Cole leaned over the table as Feliks showed her the book. Written in the margins was something in latin. She pursed her lips and turned the words over in her head. If she had her dictionary with her she'd be better suited to figuring it out but alas, being a weekend she was book free. She ran her fingers over the words, "Necto Nassa." She spoke the words aloud, "Well Nassa means to snare, Necto . . . damn I know, I know this." She watched as Zeta picked up the twine, weighing it in her hands.

"If snare is part of it, maybe it's supposed to be something to do with the twine?" She didn't sound so sure of herself, "Or, well it is in a Werewolf Bestiary. It may be an anti werewolf spell."

She flipped through some of the pages, turning to the back of the back and let out a soft gasp, "Hey! This is from here! The library I mean." In fading ink there was a chart in the back cover of the book that listed it as Property of the Hogwarts Library, specifically the Restricted Section. Underneath was a list of names that had checked it out. Unfortunately most of them were faded and the name of the last person to have taken it out was completely illegible, "Can't tell who had it last but if I'm reading this other date right, looks like no one's borrowed it since the 80's"

She looked up as Zeta called to the Hall at large, "I don't think this was meant as a prank . . . "

Snare! More likely a capturing charm then? The twine looked more ominous in his hands, now, and he wondered if it was difficult to obtain this kind of thing. Feliks had seen many strange objects in the shops of Diagon Alley but he had not noted anything called Tenacious Twin. He set it down carefully, glancing up when Nicola pointed out the book had come from Hogwarts.

"So long ago?" he reached across, wanting to take a look for himself. "Did they steal it?" Or maybe they had a very very bad fine to pay. "Should we return thi--"

Zeta was on her feet without warning. Feliks' jaw dropped as the older student started yelling across the Great Hall. What was she doing? He grabbed her by the sleeve, urging her down and staring with wide, panicked eyes. "Stop it!" he hissed and exchanged a look with Nicola, who was trying to tell them it might not be a prank.

"Sit down," Feliks pleaded with Zeta. "Don't tell everyone!" The last thing he needed was for his schoolmates to think he wanted to hurt werewolves. His mama had been charged with organising werewolf fights, among other things that papa explained to him. Almasys did not like werewolves.

He shut the book with a thud, quickly turning it around so that the cover wasn't showing to any onlookers. "If it is not a prank, then what do you think it is?" Feliks asked, thoughts racing. "We cannot tell anyone. Please don't tell anyone."
 

Of course, no one responded for her demand of a confession, and Feliks was tugging at her to sit down. She narrowed her eyes at a few people before complying to the little lad's plea for her to stop.

She didn't like this one bit.

"I don't like this one bit," she said. She was half a decade older than these first years and it was an absolutely terrible idea to keep this a secret. She wasn't the type to snitch to the grown-ups, but this kind of thing was not okay. This was modern times and this was problematic. It was essentially a prompt for violence.  There had been werewolf students at this school more than ones - in Hufflepuff. Maybe they just couldn't understand if they hadn't know any werewolves personally.

She reached over and slid the book over to herself, despite Feliks's attempt to hide it. She shook her head as she flipped through it. It was old and despite Zeta's suspicious that it would be a nasty, despicable text, it all seemed fairly basic. She wasn't an expert on werewolves, but from knowing Zel Trumble, she had some idea of what it might be like to live that way. She sniifed at the chapter about 'how to identify a werewolf'. None of anyone's business, was it? Like they were secretive, nasty people?

"Why wouldn't you tell someone? This is gross. You're not planning to use it, are you?"

It as clear from her tone that her last question was meant sarcastically. Of course a sweet little first year wasn't going to go werewolf hunting, so what possible reason could he have for keeping it a secret?

Cole pursed her lips as Feliks asked if they should return it. Taking into consideration how upset Zeta was, taking the book back to the library may be their best course of action.

She shrugged back at Feliks when he looked to her pleadingly. She wasn't sure how to respond. She understood where the older Hufflepuff was coming from. There was definitely something sinister about all of this. On the other hand she understood Feliks' desire to keep all of this quiet. He didn't want anyone to get the wrong idea.

"Of course he won't." Cole answered for her housemate. The very idea that anyone would use this sort of information in the way that they were all obviously thinking, made her skin crawl. She couldn't even imagine someone going after Uncle Kevin like that. He was a shell of a man anyway. He was no danger.

"Maybe brining it back to the library isn't such a bad idea."
 

He watched anxiously as Zeta flipped through the book, clearly disapproving of this present. Feliks couldn't help it. Gifts were rare for him until he'd met his papa and Johann. Whenever he received a present he was used to being very protective of it. There weren't many things he actually owned. And why was the Hufflepuff girl so worried? Nobody had sent it to her.

            "Why wouldn't you tell someone? This is gross. You're not planning to use it, are you?"
"Of course he won't." Nicola said before he could reply.

"I mean," Feliks scowled and took the book back with a firm grasp. "Don't tell any of the other students!" he glanced over his shoulder, indicating the few schoolmates in the Great Hall, and then back at Zeta. She was being very stupid!

Nicola returned to the idea they'd nearly touched on earlier. The library. He wondered if the Librarian would be mad, or if he could just leave the book on his desk and hope for the best? And what about the twine? Should he keep it or give that in too?

"I... I will tell Professor Storm." Feliks decided, because he knew Storm was away on weekends and that would give him time to think. "He will know what to do, yes?"

Papa and Johann trusted Uncle Ignan anyway. Not that Feliks did not want to trust the Headmaster but Greyfriar was a werewolf and might become as angry as Zeta was. He reached for the wrapping paper, re-wrapping the book so that it was safely out of sight.

Zeta sighed and rolled her eyes. She relinquished control of the book without a fuss. First years were such disasters. Return the book to the library? Was she serious? This wasn't some overdue study guide. No, they should obviously tell someone.

It wasn't their fault, though. She knew that. Trouble just seemed to find 11-year-olds, and their brains weren't fully formed. She sat between them, arms crossed, shaking her head. Poor Feliks. Poor whoever-this-girl-was.

When Feliks suggested he take the book to Professor Storm, Zeta sighed again, this time relieved. Clearly.

"Thank you. Yes. I'm not normally the one to recommend running off to Storm, but in this case? The sooner the better."

Zeta wouldn't have known what to do if Feliks had insisted on keeping the strange gift a secret, and had been starting to wonder what Theta would do if she were here. A little Shoulder Theta pursing her lips and turning her head and reminding her Feliks was as good as family and it was her job to look after him.

Cole looked between Zeta and Feliks. The older girl didn't seem to like her idea of bringing it back to the library but relented to having Feliks tell Professor Storm about it. She gave her house mate a pleading look. Taking this to Storm seemed like a really, really bad idea. The kind of idea that was going to land him in detention for the rest of the year or worse, expelled. The Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor didn't strike her as the understanding kind of wizard. She doubted the old man would believe that the package had simply landed in his lap, with no return address or inkling of who had sent it to him.

However Cole kept all her concerns to herself, at least while they were still in the Hufflepuff's presence. At least it would be a while before he could even talk to Storm, with it being the weekend and all. That gave her time to talk to Feliks privately about how bad this idea was.

There had to be other people they could talk to about it. She understood not wanting to bring it to the Headmaster but perhaps Feliks could write to his father, he worked with Magical Creatures. Cole could also try and write to Kurby. She wasn't sure if her "uncle" would respond but he worked for the Werewolf Capture Unit. If anyone knew about the book and the twine it most certainly would be him.

Desperate to change the subject Cole asked, "So What's everyone doing today?"

It did not look like either of the witches were satisfied. Zeta seemed to think that getting a grown up involved right away was the right thing to do, and Nicola seemed skeptical about handing everything in to Professor Storm even though she didn't really say anything. The day had started very simply but now Feliks found himself having to make a strange decision.

Luckily, he did not have to make it right away.

            "So What's everyone doing today?"

"Um, it is sunny...." he trailed off, glancing up at the cloudy blue sky exhibited by the Great Hall ceiling. "I want to go flying! And to see the bees," Feliks grinned and looked down at them, eagerly. "You have seen the bees? Professor Onuris showed me. They are very pretty, he loves them."

As he spoke he had taken the ball of Tenacious Twine and slipped it into his pocket. He decided that he wanted to try the spell in the book with the twine. Nothing about it sounded hard or dangerous: and he wasn't going to be trying it around any werewolves.

Zeta scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Children. Honestly."

Just casually getting a murder kit in the post and then go frolicking in the meadow after tea. She got up and crossed her arms, looked at them with a narrow-gazed sternness. Feliks, she ought to be more patient with him, but he was being silly. And the other girl (Bagnold, right?) had an independent streak that Zeta would have appreciated if there wasn't a werewolf murdering kit on the table.

"This is bad stuff, you two, and you ought to be careful. There's no nice reason anyone would send this, Feliks. I know you two are Slytherin, but take it from a Hufflepuff, alright? Just because something's interesting doesn't mean you should meddle with it."

She shook her head and shrugged, apparently washing her hands of this. For now. Short of stealing the 'gift' out of his hands, or dragging them both by the ear to a teacher, Zeta wasn't actually sure what she could do. Theta would know. Still shaking her head she backed away slowly, then went to Hufflepuff table to have something to eat and get her coffee.

Cole leaned forward looking to be a lot more interested in the bees than she ever would have been on any given day. This change of topic was perfect for her. She latched onto what Feliks was saying, hoping it was enough to deter their older company from continuing talking about the mysterious package, "Bees? Do they make honey? Where does he keep them?" While bees weren't really in her wheelhouse, she was more used to larger animals, they were still something she could talk about competently enough to keep the conversation going.

She looked up when Zeta practically scolded them. Nicola felt her feigned enthusiasm melt away and an almost nasty snarl cast shadows on her fine features. 'I know you two are Slytherin', there it was, the exact reason Nicola hadn't wanted to be sorted into the Snake House. Everyone thought they were mental. She didn't want to be associated with criminals and mad men. She was so much better than that and she didn't need to be constantly reminded about her situation.

Needless to say she was not impressed with Zeta's assumption about her and was not sad to see the red head leave for her own table. Cole bit her tongue, keeping from saying a few choice words to the older girl's back. Once she was sure she was out of earshot she turned back to Feliks, "I want to see the bees . . . and go flying with you," She glanced over her shoulder to make absolute sure Zeta was gone, "But wanna come to the owlery with me first? I want to write to my Uncle. He works for the Werewolf Capture Unit, I bet he knows all about this stuff."