"Have a good year at school, little Aquila" said your dad as your parents dropped you off at King's Cross Station.
"Maybe drop the 'little' dad, I'm almost 17!" you laughed.
"You'll always be our little girl" said your mum and she gave you a hug.
"I have to go and catch the train now! Bye mum, bye dad!" you said as you ran to Platform 9 3/4 to meet your friends and board the Hogwarts Express.
You passed through the portal to the platform and looked around for your friends. "Little Aquila" you heard a voice say and you turned around to find Talbott, your boyfriend, standing behind you with a smirk on his face.
"Shut up, bird boy!" you ran up giggling and threw your arms around him. It had only been a few months since you had last seen him, but he seemed taller and more handsome. "Did you grow?"
"Yeah, I'm almost 6'1 now" he said with a smile. You were not by any means short, almost 5'9 yourself, but this little grow spurt of Talbott's made him seem to tower over you a bit and you liked it. "Wanna find a spot on the train?"
"Yes" you replied and Talbott smiled. He grabbed your trunk and loaded it onto the train then took you by the hand and led you to an open compartment.
A few minutes later you saw Penny and Tonks walking by, "Oi, Penny!"
"Kendra!" Penny squealed with excitement! She entered the compartment and gave you a large hug.
"Wotcher, Talbott" said Tonks as she took a seat opposite the two of you.
"Hi, Tonks" Talbott replied.
Andre and Tulip joined you in the compartment soon after and the six of you talked the entire train ride back to Hogwarts.
"It's weird not having Rowan here" you said and Talbott gave your hand a little squeeze.
"I miss her so much" said Penny. "It's not going to be the same without her.
***
"Hey, Spellbody!" shouted Merula when you were leaving astronomy class. "Ben and I wanted to talk to you and Weasley after dinner tonight. Can you meet us in the artifact room at 7?"
"Um... sure. Is everything ok?"
"It's about Khanna... and Rakepick."
"Oh... ok. Yeah, I'll be there."
After dinner, you and Charlie walked to the artifact room together. The two of you arrived and Merula cast a locking charm on the door behind you. "What do you know about 'R?'" she asked.
"'R?' Like the letter?" asked Charlie.
"No, like the secret organization" said Merula and she rolled her eyes.
"I've never heard of them" said Charlie.
"Neither have I" you said.
For the next hour, Merula and Ben started telling you everything they knew about the secret organization and how Rakepick was a member. She hadn't told them of her involvement, but after Rowan's death they discovered that she had received directions from the group to kill a student at Hogwarts. "I think we should form a secret group along with some of our friends to try and bring Rakepick to justice" said Ben. It was such a change seeing him so brave and determined, when your first year he seemed to be afraid of his own shadow.
"Ok" you said. "What do you want us to do?"
"We'll send you a message with a time to meet" said Merula.
***
*Meet me at the Hogs Head Inn this Saturday afternoon at 4.*
"Did you send me a message to meet you this Saturday at the Hogs Head Inn?" asked Penny.
"No, I got the same message, though, I think it's from Merula and Ben. Let's find Charlie, we should talk." You and Penny found Charlie in the courtyard and the three of you headed to the artifact room. "Ben and Merula talked to Charlie and me the other day" you told Penny.
"They told us that Rakepick is part of some evil secret organization called 'R.'" said Charlie.
"What?" Penny gasp in surprise.
"I think Ben and Merula are the ones that sent the messages about meeting at the Hogs Head Inn. They want to meet with a group of us this weekend to tell us what they know about Rakepick, 'R,' and Rowan's death" you said. You and Charlie continued to tell Penny what you had been told by Ben and Merula. Talking about Rowan's death caused Penny to started crying, which in turn made you start crying. The two of you hugged and wiped your tears. Charlie offered a small smile then put a hand on each of your backs in attempt to comfort the two of you.
"We should probably head to dinner" said Charlie, finally breaking the silence. The three of you left the artifact room and headed to the Great Hall.
***
"Talbott?" you said as you entered the owlery with your boyfriend later that week.
"Yes, gattina?"
"I..." you tried to find the words, but couldn't.
"What is it?" he asked as he wiped away your tears with the pads of his thumbs.
"I just miss Rowan so much."
Talbott laid out the blanket he had hidden, motioned for you to take a seat, sat down next to you, and held you in his arms. The two of you didn't say anything else the entire time you were there, but you didn't need to. Talbott had a way of comforting you just by being there with you. He would hold you in his arms, play with you hair, kiss you on the cheek, wipe away your tears, and tangle his fingers with yours. Talbott valued his alone time, so spending such a large amount of it with you was his way of showing you that he cared. You didn't stop missing Rowan, but with Talbott by your side, the pain was easier to deal with.
***
That Saturday, you and Talbott joined Penny, Andre and Diego as they walked to the Hogs Head Inn in Hogsmeade. You entered the pub and saw Merula and Ben standing in the corner. Charlie, Ismelda, Jae, Barnaby, Liz, Badeea, Tulip, and Tonks were all sitting in chairs in front of them. The five of you took seats next to the rest of your friends and looked up at Ben and Merula.
"Thanks for coming today" said Ben. "Sorry we were so secretive, but we don't want anyone at Hogwarts to overhear us."
"Copper, Spellbody, Weasley and I... we watched Rakepick kill Rowan" said Merula.
"If not for Rowan, it could have been any of us..." said Ben. "It would have been me."
"While I know we are still grieving, the time has come for action" Merula said. "We're forming a secret organization. What we'll be facing is much bigger than Rakepick, it's time that all of you learn about 'R.'" Merula and Ben began telling the rest of you what they had learned about 'R.'
"Rakepick has allies, they're a dangerous secret organization called 'R.'" said Ben.
"'R' wants whatever is in the cursed vault, though we don't know why" said Merula.
"Alone we're no match for 'R,' but if we all work together, we can stop them" said Ben. "Our group will be dedicated to finding the vault and avenging Rowan."
"So you're saying Rakepick belongs to some evil secret organization called 'R?'" asked Talbott.
"Next you're going to tell me that the 'R' group is out to take over the world" said Tonks.
"If 'R' is so dangerous, should we really get involved?" asked Liz.
"All of this sounds mad" said Andre.
"But it's true, Kendra and Charlie told me about R a few days ago" Penny said.
"They're incredibly dangerous" added Charlie.
"The best, and possibly only, chance we have to take down 'R' is if all of us unite against them" said Ben.
"Who else is in 'R?' How many vile wizards and witches would we be facing?" asked Ismelda.
"We don't know" answered Merula.
"So you want to form a secret organization to fight a secret organization, except we don't know who's in it?" asked Tulip.
"Together, I'm confident we can find the vault before 'R' and bring Rakepick to justice" said Ben. "I can't think of a better way to honor Rowan. Of course, we won't blame you if you don't want to join."
"I will. But how about this, leave now if you want out" said Merula.
Everyone looked around at each other, but stayed exactly where they were.
"Good. Looks like we have a secret organization then. We'll call ourselves the Circle of Khanna." said Ben.
"Now, we train" said Merula.
"We'll split up into groups, based on our individual strengths, united in our shared goal" said Ben. "Look for messages from us with a K inside of a circle."
***
By early December life at Hogwarts had fallen into a normal, steady routine. You still missed Rowan, but classes kept you busy. You hadn't heard anything new from Ben or Merula, but as they were the leaders of the group, you expected they were busy behind the scenes. One morning you joined your fellow Ravenclaws for breakfast and heard Tulip ask, "We're going to Hogsmeade this Saturday, right?"
"Yes, it should be fun. It's supposed to be cold, but I don't think it will rain or snow" replied Andre.
"I really want to get some new quills from Flourish & Blotts" you added. You looked across the table at Talbott and smiled.
"Can we go to Eeylop's too? I want to pick up a few things for Bubo" Talbott replied. Sure... you want to get bird supplies for your owl... like I believe that bird boy. And you laughed to yourself.
"Of course, Tal" you replied with a wink. "Badeea, are you coming to Hogsmeade this weekend too?"
"I haven't decided yet, I was thinking about painting down by the lake, but I also want to buy some new paintbrushes... so, maybe."
***
It was Saturday morning and Talbott stood across the table from you in the Great Hall. "Good morning!" he said. "You look beautiful, but are you sure you're going to be warm enough?" It was cute how protective Talbott was, he wanted to make sure that you were always safe, even if it was just from the cold.
You looked down at the coat you were wearing over your grey jumper and jeans "I know it's not my thickest coat, but I think I'll be ok." You finished your last piece of toast, stood up, and walked to the end of the table to meet Talbott. He was wearing a black jumper, jeans, a dark grey coat, and his Ravenclaw scarf. "You look quite smart, Talbott" you said and he smiled at you.
As you left the Great Hall and were heading out to the courtyard to meet the rest of your friends, Talbott grabbed your hand and laced his fingers between yours. Talbott wasn't one for public displays of affection, but you found that he really liked to hold your hand and he never once let go of it the entire time the two of you were walking to Hogsmeade. When you finally arrived, your friends all went their separate ways. Tulip, Tonks, and Jae ran for Zonko's, Penny, Diego, Barnaby, and Liz headed to Honeydukes, and Charlie and Andre wanted to buy some quidditch supplies. After they had all left, Talbott turned to you and asked "where do you want to go first?"
"I don't care where we go first" you answered. "Flourish & Blotts or Eeylop's? What do you think?"
"Let's go to Flourish & Blotts so you can get your quills."
"Ok!" you said happily as you gave his hand a little squeeze. It was your favorite shop in Hogsmeade and you could easily spend hours perusing the books and stationery. As Talbott liked quiet environments, Flourish & Blotts was a favorite shop of his as well. "Oooh, look at these! Talking Tablets. Whatever you write on one, disappears and reappears on the other. You can only write short messages on them, but we could use these to talk to each other over the Christmas and summer holidays."
"Interesting" Talbott replied.
"I'm going to get us a pair!" you said as you bounced along down the aisle and looked for some quills.
After you finished your shopping in Flourish & Blotts, the two of you headed to Eeylop's Owl Emporium. Talbott liked to buy their bird biscuits, both as treats for his owl Bubo, and to keep around his room. The thought of eating as an eagle had always freaked Talbott out, especially the idea of eating mice or other small creatures. So he would keep some bird biscuits on hand in case he needed to eat while still in his animagus form.
"Speaking of food," you said while leaving Eeylop's, "I'd like to pick up some licorice wands from Honeyduke's before we meet the others at the Three Broomsticks."
Talbott smiled, took the shopping bag from your hand and replaced it with his own hand. You picked up licorice wands and a few other sweets before finally heading to the Three Broomsticks to meet your friends. As you walked inside, you could see them crowded around the large table in the corner by the fireplace. It was the largest table in the pub and therefore a favorite of you and your friends. Talbott grabbed two chairs from another table and brought them over for the two of you to sit in. As you sat you caught the end of Jae's joke about gnomes and everyone erupted into laughter. Penny turned to you and asked "where did you guys go today?"
"Flourish & Blotts for some quills, Eeylop's for some owl biscuits, and of course Honeydukes! What about you, Pen?"
"A few of us started at Honeyduke's, then Liz and I went to Potage's Cauldron shop so I could get a new cauldron."
"Another one? How many cauldrons do you have now, Penny?" you asked with a bit of a laugh.
As day slowly turned toward night, your friends decided to make their way back to the castle. As the only couple, you and Talbott always liked to walk behind the rest of your friends so that the two of you could be alone. He carried your bag, along with his, in one hand and then laced the fingers of his other hand between yours. It was only when the sun set that you realized how cold it was getting. Maybe Talbott was right, I should have dressed a bit warmer. You took a few more steps then stopped dead in your tracks.
"What is it? Are you ok?" Talbott asked out of concern.
"It's snowing!" you smiled as you looked toward the sky.
"You're ridiculous, you know that?" Talbott replied and a smile came over his face. He set the bags down on the ground and stood directly in front of you. He took his scarf from around his neck and slowly wrapped it around yours then he leaned in and kissed you on the lips. His lips were soft and warm, and they seemed to fit yours so perfectly. You raised your hands to his head and started playing with his hair while your body melted into his. Suddenly, you forgot about the cold and snow and only thoughts of Talbott consumed your mind.
***
"So it says that you write something on your tablet and when you are finished, you tap three times for the message to be sent." You and Talbott were in the owlery the day after you had been in Hogsmeade and you were excited to try out the Talking Tablets. "Let me try!" You looked at Talbott, smirked the started writing. You tapped your tablet three times, then watched as the writing slowly faded from your tablet.
"Hello, bird boy" Talbott laughed while reading your message.
"Oh good, they work! Ok, now send something to me!"
Talbott erased your message then stared at you for almost an entire minute before scribbling something on his tablet. A small blush came over his face, then he tapped three times. You waited as the faint writing on your tablet became more clear.
*kiss me*
"Oh!" you squealed and looked at Talbott, that little smirk appearing on his lips. You leaned over and kissed him gently on the lips. He wasted no time putting his hands on your waist and kissing you more deeply. His tongue slipping past your lips and tangling with yours. Talbott was a really good kisser.
After a few minutes of passionate kisses, Talbott pulled back and said "I think I like these tablets."
You laughed, "I bought them for us to use over the Christmas holiday, not for you to use as a snogging tool!"
Talbott grabbed his tablet, scribbled another message, and tapped three times again.
*haha, shut up and kiss me again!*
You glanced at your tablet, laughed, and kissed your boyfriend.
***
Published draft, I'll continue to make small updates on this chapter.