Crimson Youths (Harry Potterish / Paranormal / Angsty)

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Kristy Khem
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Crimson Youths (Harry Potterish / Paranormal / Angsty)

Post by Kristy Khem »

Crimson Youths Part I

Chapter 1: The new student

The cellar at St. Basil’s School of Magic was smoky and smelly from the dozen potions being brewed. The classroom din overpowered Jodi’s senses and made her head pound. She barely heard the Potions’ professor introduce the new student. Pink-faced from the heat, she concentrated on rummaging through the store cupboard at the back of the class for a jar of dried clover leaves. It was only when she began to walk back to her seat, did she notice someone coming down the classroom aisle towards the desk she shared with her potions’ partner.

Steam from the cauldrons swirled around his midnight blue robes making him appear more mystical than he really was. His messy black hair artfully fell over his eyes and although his expression seemed a tad cold, many of the girls in the class eyed him deliciously. The stranger smirked at Jodi before setting down his books on her desk and curiously peering into her cauldron. He seemed familiar. It took her a moment before she recognized him.

“Ivan Dragimir! What the hell are you doing at this school?” she hissed in shock and slammed the jar of dried clover leaves on the desk.

“Ahem. Do you two know each other?” interrupted Emerson, Jodi’s potions’ partner and friend.
Ivan said nothing. Instead, he blatantly ignored Emerson, much to the boy’s annoyance, and focused on the angry girl before him. He hadn’t seen Jodi since they were eleven years old. Her mousy brown hair had darkened since then and her freckles had faded, but he recognised her nonetheless.

“Prefect huh?” he asked, noting the tiny golden rectangular badge on her robes. Jodi glared at him. “Got kicked out of the Dark Arts Academy?” she sneered and sat down with a huff.

Ivan narrowed his eyes at her. He calmly removed his wand from his robes. “Maybe I did. Aren’t you afraid I put a curse on you?” he snickered.

“Did you just threaten her?!” butted in Emerson; he was always ready to defend Jodi and although he wasn’t quite sure how the pair knew each other, he was certain that Ivan was bad news.

“Don’t you dare or I’ll hex you, Ivan!” Jodi jeered as uncontrollable irritation erupted inside of her. She reached for her own wand, but before she could point it straight at her enemy, she sensed her teacher’s presence behind her. Her anger melted into fear as she looked up and saw Professor Elkant standing before them.

“Miss Vassela. The headmistress elected you a Prefect in the hopes that you can curb your temper and look after the student body, not fight them! Mr. Dragimir, you are a new student here, why are you provoking your classmates?!” he lectured. Emerson interjected at this point, again defending Jodi. The trio started quarreling and Professor Elkant grew irritated. “Enough! Detention on Friday night!”

Chapter 2: The past and the present

When the class was over, Jodi hastily attempted to leave. The whole class was talking about the incident and Jodi felt embarrassed and angry. Images from the past flickered through her mind. For most of her childhood, the Dragimirs had been her favorite neighbors. Despite their considerable wealth, they never looked down on her family. Mrs. Dragimir always looked after her when she came over to play with Ivan. However, all that changed when Ivan’s estranged father returned to the Dragimir’s manor. His identity as a bully and a Dark Arts’ sorcerer became more apparent as time went on. Under his father’s rule, Ivan transformed from a playful, kind boy into an angry, cruel child who idolized his dad. He began bullying Jodi too and she was eventually banned from visiting the family when Mrs. Dragimir secretly confided in her mother that Ivan’s father was actually a vampire and it would be best if she kept Jodi away. Eventually, her parents migrated to another town, and Jodi was sent to St. Basil’s, a boarding school for magical folk.

Although this had taken place five years ago, it brought back terrible memories especially since she had barely escaped a vampire attack a few weeks ago during spring break. She hadn’t told anyone about it, not even Emerson. Shuddering at the dark memories that had risen in her mind upon seeing Ivan, hot tears spilled down her cheeks. Absentmindedly, she pulled her sweater sleeve down over her wrist to conceal the shallow fang marks there that were now fading scars. When she had composed herself, she tied up her messy brown hair into a ponytail and went to the dining hall where hundreds of students were already tucking into dinner.

The delicious smell of roast chicken was enough to make anyone hungry, but Jodi fought waves of nausea as she swallowed the first few mouthfuls. The incessant students’ chatter intensified her headache. She pushed her plate away and gulped down a cup of water, then picked up her school bag and left for the dorms. Her footsteps echoed along the empty corridors. Her stomach churned and she grabbed the wall for support just as bile bubbled up in her throat.

She took two shaky steps forward, rounded the corner, and threw up all over someone’s shoes. She looked up upon hearing a cry of disgust and was unpleasantly surprised to see Ivan standing before her. He fished in his pockets and handed her a snowy white handkerchief. She hesitated, then grabbed it and wiped her mouth clean. Eager to avoid him, Jodi muttered a thank you and stepped around him to walk away, but he blocked her path and placed a hand on her shoulder. His eyes roved over her pale skin, shaky limbs, and the bags under her eyes.

“You don’t seem well. “Which way is it to the infirmary? I’ll come with you,” he offered kindly. She scrunched up his wet handkerchief in her fist.

“I’m fine. It’s just a stomach flu,” she lied and walked away.

Chapter 3: The bloody curse

Jodi hoped to avoid Ivan as much as she could over the next couple of days, but he was in nearly all of her classes and she caught him staring at her a lot. The Defensive Magic class on Thursday was one she would never forget. Professor Moore paired off his class of sixteen-year-olds and directed them to begin practicing harmless dueling with their wands. “No cursing or hexing! Only defensive spells!” he reiterated as he walked amongst the flashing streams of blue and white wand lights. As Jodi practiced with Emerson, she glimpsed Ivan looking in her direction a few times. She looked away every time their eyes met.

Mere minutes later, a poorly executed spell accidentally hit Emerson behind the knee, causing him to stumble and fall. There was no way to tell whose spell had hit him since the entire class was practicing and Jodi hadn’t noticed which direction it came from, but when Emerson got up and whipped around, he saw Ivan and his dueling partner looking their way and smirking.

“Emerson, don’t - ” began Jodi nervously but it was too late. Emerson marched up to Ivan, gripping his wand tightly. Feeling waves of hostility from Emerson, Ivan pointed his wand at him. Emerson was faster and his spell hit Ivan in the stomach, causing him to fly backward and smack into the wall. Before Professor Moore could break up the pair, Ivan had picked himself up the floor and aimed a jet of red light at his opponent. The curse ricocheted off Emerson’s hurriedly-cast defensive charm and the beam of red light hit Ivan in the face.

“I SAID NO CURSES!” roared Professor Moore as Ivan fell to the floor, clutching his face and moaning in pain. Blood gushed out of a deep gash on his right cheek.

“Class dismissed! Everybody out!” Professor Moore commanded the class as he rushed to Ivan. “You – headmistress’ office! Go there now and wait for me!” he commanded Emerson. “Miss Vassela. Come here and help me!” he ordered.

The old professor pulled Ivan from the floor and flung him onto a chair. Ivan was gripping his face in pain as blood streamed through his fingers. Jodi’s face was pale as a ghost and she stood rooted in one spot. The sight and smell of blood unnerved her. Hunger tickled her insides. She could almost taste the salty, warm - “He’ll bleed out Miss Vassela! Come here and hold his arms away from his face so I can perform the countercurse. NOW!” Professor Moore’s words snapped her out of the bloodlust.

Somehow, Jodi made her way behind the chair and did as Professor Moore asked although Ivan struggled to free his arms. The Defensive Magic teacher grabbed the boy’s face and began to trace the outline of the bleeding gash with the tip of his wand while murmuring an incantation. Fresh pain scorched Ivan’s face. It caused him to throw back his head and wail. Tears streamed from his eyes.

Jodi clamped her jaw shut when she began salivating for Ivan’s blood. She flinched inwardly when her sharp fangs cut through her gums for the first time. She focused on holding Ivan’s arms behind the back of the chair. He was surprisingly strong and struggled against the pain. Her hands were slick with his blood and it took all of her willpower not to bare her fangs and sink them into his skin. As a newly transitioning vampire, Jodi struggled to control herself. Thankfully, their professor didn’t notice as he was concentrating hard on his incantation.

Despite his pain, Ivan recognized her distress. For one fleeting moment, he saw her fangs coming towards him, then he felt her release her grip on his arms, and heard her footsteps running out of the classroom.

Chapter 4: Secrets revealed

Night found Jodi curled in her bed. Her eyes were red from crying and her pillow had slashes where she had vented her frustration using her new fangs. It had been quiet for hours until someone knocked on her door. The sound startled her and made her heart race. All of her senses were on edge. She crept to the door and opened it a crack. Ivan was standing there in his pajamas holding her school bag which she’d left in class. He had a bandage on his cheek and all of the blood had been cleaned up.

“Hey, let me in quick before anyone sees me in the girls’ dorms,” he whispered.

“No. Just give me my bag –“ she began, but Ivan had already pushed the door open and slipped inside her room. She grabbed her bag and glared at him in annoyance. She saw his eyes traveling over her wrecked pillows, her swollen eyelids, and wrinkled school clothes which she hadn’t changed out of. Feeling self-conscious, she raised her hand to smooth back her messy hair, but this movement gave Ivan a clear view of the scars on her wrist. “Jodi, are you okay?” he asked.

“You’re asking me that? You’re the one who has a bandage on his face!” Jodi retorted with a wan smile.
“I’m already half healed,” he shrugged. “Who bit you?” he asked curiously and gestured to the scars.

Her smile disappeared and she hurriedly pulled her sleeve over them. Damn it, he’d seen her scars, Jodi chided herself. “You should leave now,” she said in a low voice.

“Tell me,” he insisted. She sighed and moved away from his piercing gaze. “I was attacked during spring break after a party. I was drunk. I don’t know the vampire who did it, but whoever he was, he’s probably long gone from my neighborhood by now.”

Ivan appeared thoughtful. Remembering when she threw up chicken over his shoes, he asked, “Have you fed since you were bitten?”

Jodi whipped around to face him. “No, and I don’t intend to. That’s vile. I refuse to become like…like your father,” she struggled to get out that last bit, knowing it was a sore subject. “You’ll die if you don’t feed,” responded Ivan in a clipped voice.

Not knowing what to say to that, Jodi shrugged and looked down to the floor. Her shoulders sagged with mental and physical exhaustion of dealing with the day’s events, lack of nutrition, and constant worrying. Suddenly, the scent of blood flooded her nostrils and she looked up to see Ivan holding out his bleeding wrist to her. A pair of crimson-tipped fangs were visible through his parted lips. She sprang back in shock and surprise upon learning that he was a vampire.

“Drink up, I can’t afford to lose you,” Ivan remarked and he stepped towards her. A few drops of his blood dripped to the floor. Jodi shook her head in horror and tried to evade him but he grabbed her by the collar, pushed her against the wall, and pressed his bleeding wrist to her lips. Jodi struggled feebly before succumbing to his blood. He watched in relief as her pallid cheeks slowly became rosy. The bags beneath her eyes slowly began to disappear. “You bastard!” she muttered bitterly when she had drunk enough to come back to her senses.

“You’ll thank me later little vampire. See you around,” Ivan said. Then he turned and sauntered out the door.

The End.

~By Kristy Khem
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Chimereucheya Okoroafo
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Post by Chimereucheya Okoroafo »

Woah!
You have a life to live. If you ain't living it, that's failure. :tiphat:
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Joy Max
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Post by Joy Max »

Nice. Are you going to post more
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