chaotic (Toby)

[geethanjali amaryllis root]

October 2, 2026

Trips into Diagon Alley had become to Geethanjali what trips into Hogsmeade had been while she was still at Hogwarts. Even though traveling to Diagon Alley meant going from Ireland to England and back (and not just down the road and into the village), it was nice to be able to run errands with one or both of her parents. This time, it was both of them and—because it was a weekday—her biological father. Maybe it was weird to other people that she had good relationships with both of her adoptive parents and both of her biological ones, but that was better than the reverse situation, she felt. It was nothing too strange or controversial; they didn't all live under one roof, and she had other siblings by adoption, but it was a good time.

The full moon had been the previous week, and Geethanjali was feeling more like herself again. Transforming into her wolf form was never "fun", but she knew that she was fortunate. She had the support of her parents and siblings, plus Wolfsbane Potion, and her parents had started looking into the possibility of her trying Aware Wolf as soon as they were sure that it would be safe. While J.J.—one of her parents—picked up the supplies they needed from the apothecary, Geethanjali stepped outside. Potions was her favorite subject, but she didn't need to listen to J.J. make small talk with the people who worked at Slug & Jiggers.

She had just left the building when she caught sight of someone she recognized, which wasn't too surprising. With her aunt as the new Minister of Magic since the summer, either people knew her, or she knew them. In this case, it was one of the students who had been in Ravenclaw with her, only three years ahead and now finished with school.

"Toby!" she called, waving. Despite their age difference, they had been on good terms with one another at Hogwarts. Toby Watkins was one of the quieter Ravenclaws, whereas she had a tendency to be… less than quiet, but he was still really nice.

tobias charles watkins

[tobias charles watkins]

Toby ducked out of the doorway of Flourish & Blotts and into the bustling cobblestone walk way. Today he rewarded himself with a trip to the book store to see what he could find, since he had gotten through another excruciating Full Moon. His book collection expanded on the Lycanthropy genre recently due to obvious reasons. It was nice to know that he wasn't alone, even though his family did their best to provide support. 

Freezing on the heel of his foot, his head snapped back at the sound his name being called out in a tone familiar to his ears. When his eyes got a glimpse of his old classmate Gee, his awkward expression slipped into more relaxed, friendly smile.

Toby and Gee were housemates at Hogwarts. Even with a slight age gap, Toby always enjoyed conversations with her. She was a nice and peppy sort of girl. The young man took a couple of steps, dodging a few people walking before offering her a quick side hug. As he got closer to her, he noticed a weird static that sent the hairs on his arms and the back of his neck to stand at full attention -- he tried not to think about it. "Hey, Gee!" he greeted her in pleasant surprise, eyes widening slightly. "Aren't you supposed to be in school?" Toby asked in a playful but curious tone. He was relieved to see that she made it out of Hogwarts alive.

geethanjali amaryllis root

[geethanjali amaryllis root]

October 2, 2026

When he heard her, Geethanjali could see Toby smile. He came over, greeting her and giving her a hug from the side, but seemed to be a little bit stiff about it. He seemed sort of… spooked, thought Geethanjali, though a lot of people had become that way since the fifteenth of May. She knew that that wasn't his fault; she had become more skittish since, too, and had been uncomfortable enough at the thought of going back to an actual school for the year that she was being educated at home.

That she wasn't in a "real" school drew Toby's attention, too. It wasn't the first time that her not being in school during the day had raised an eyebrow or two, and it had a clear explanation, anyway. Geethanjali knew that she wasn't the only Hogwarts student who had opted not to go to one of the other wizarding schools, but most people still weren't used to seeing teenagers walking around during the week when they should have been in lessons.

Still, she had to clarify all of that for Toby. "I'm being homeschooled this year," she told him. It felt safer that way. Plus, she had more to consider than most of her peers from Hogwarts. "And, well, with the werewolf thing…" Geethanjali gestured vaguely to herself. It was a fact of life for her that she was a werewolf, and it was something that she couldn't very easily hide. She wasn't sure that other schools would have been as accommodating of her condition, unfortunately.

tobias charles watkins

[tobias charles watkins]

The pair exchanged a brief side hug and Toby couldn't help but notice that awkward prickle behind his neck intensify during that quick moment they embraced. Swallowing, he offered Gee a small tight lipped smile as she shared that she was currently being homeschooled. As she mentioned 'the werewolf thing' his head cocked to the side with realization. Merlin, the world he knew around him was still so incredibly fuzzy. Werewolf was a bit of a trigger word for him those days, sending his heart to race in his chest as Gee shared. "I'm glad you seem to be doing well, it's nice to see a familiar face after everything happened so suddenly.." he said, glad to see that she was alive. "Class of '26 missed out on a proper graduation." Toby had a weird feeling of unfinished business at Hogwarts. He was meant to graduate his seventh year with honors but that was taken away from him. Similar to the amazing life he and Lusie planned on building together after graduating. They had discussed moving in with each other countless times before she ultimately decided to dump Toby  to do 'princess things'. Everything happened so suddenly, he was a completely different person from the awkward boy who roamed the castle.

His brown saucers softened on Gee, hair still standing at full attention on the back of his neck. "This is going to sound mad, so please forgive me. Are you able to sense it...ya know, the 'wolf thing'?" he asked, instantly feeling silly for asking such a question. Running an anxious hand through his over grown hair, he decided he wasn't going to beat around the bush. "--I was bitten three months ago, Gee, and everything is just so... different." Toby stated, his eyes alone showing his newfound lycanthropy life had been a struggle. He was completely exhausted.

geethanjali amaryllis root

[geethanjali amaryllis root]

October 2, 2026

Although Toby seemed a little bit distant or distracted, it didn't strike Geethanjali as too odd. Even he mentioned that the students in his year hadn't gotten the opportunity to graduate from Hogwarts properly, and Geethanjali felt disappointed for their sake that they hadn't even had some sort of make-up ceremony to honor their accomplishments. It wouldn't be the same as watching them cross the Black Lake in the boats, of course, but it would be recognition.

"This is going to sound mad, so please forgive me," Toby warned her out of nowhere. He proceeded to ask her if she could sense the "wolf thing". Geethanjali, for the record, didn't think she could. She knew who the other werewolves were at Hogwarts because they all had to take Wolfsbane Potion. Speaking for herself, at least, she didn't think that she had some additional sense for who was a werewolf and who wasn't.

And apparently, she didn't, because Toby revealed to her then that he had been bitten three months before. It had been over the summer, then, so he wouldn't have transformed before they had been forced to leave Hogwarts.

It was a little bit strange to be the one who was an "expert" on being a werewolf. Geethanjali had been eight when she had been bitten. She could sort of remember what life had been like before that, but she was getting closer to having spent half of her life as a werewolf already. Toby was new to being a werewolf—and he wasn't a little kid. He was three years ahead of her at Hogwarts and now finished with school.

There were lots of other people out there who had been through the same thing, but Geethanjali knew that that probably wasn't the first thing on Toby's mind. The pain and tiredness were beyond annoying (excruciating, more like), but she had adjusted to it and knew that he would, too. She had a better awareness of what it all meant at fifteen than at eight, and that also helped.

"Are you feeling alright?" she asked with concern, looking first at him and then looking around for somewhere where they might be able to sit and chat. "Have you been getting Wolfsbane Potion?"

tobias charles watkins

[tobias charles watkins]

A wave of relief washed over Toby, suddenly the idea of having someone familiar to talk to about being a werewolf made him feel less alone. Every time he visited The Violet Hound, he had a similar feeling. Gee was a few years younger than Toby but she had been a werewolf for most of her life. His parents and sister Claudia didn't quite understand what he was going through and he felt like most of his friends pitied him for what happened more than anything, at least the select few who he shared with. Toby wished every day he could have the life he had before everything fell apart. Maybe some day he'd wake up from the bad dream and be able to document it in his dream journal for old times sake. Now he only seemed to have nightmares...one reoccurring nightmare that haunted his nights was being hunted by a dark mass in the forest, following with him mauling his entire family in one swoop.

The young man nodded his head graciously when Gee asked if he was alright, he didn't want to cause any concern for his friend. Toby cracked a small smile, "Yes, I'll be fine. Thank you." he told her. As Gee looked over at a bench where there weren't any people sitting around, he took that as a signal that she was willing to talk about it so he took the opportunity.  "I've been taking wolfsbane which is working fine...and I was recommended a calming draught, but I still pretty much always feel like shit." he answered as he slowly lowered to take a seat on the bench, "Sitting in class and Healing studies have been exhausting when all I want to do is sleep and eat." he commented with a small laugh before asking, "When did you get bitten?" Toby wasn't sure if that was an impolite question to ask other werewolves but he'd take a chance with his friend since he was curious.

Recently Toby found it extremely hard to perform the most simple tasks, he blamed in on the fact that he couldn't ever sleep. His head always pounded and he always ran hot. Before the transformation he rarely suffered from a headaches so he was forever grumpy and had found himself drinking more than he'd ever imagined. 

geethanjali amaryllis root

[geethanjali amaryllis root]

October 2, 2026

The answer that he gave her—that he would be fine—didn't necessarily answer what she had asked. Reading between the lines, though, it was easy enough to infer that Toby had said what he had because he wasn't alright yet in that moment. Fortunately, though, he said that he had been taking Wolfsbane Potion and that it had been working for him. That, of course, was good to hear; there was no point in suffering through transformations without it. He had been recommended a Calming Draught, too, he told her, but it didn't seem that that was helping.

They moved over to a bench nearby where they could sit while they continued to talk with one another. Toby sat down, and Geethanjali did a moment later.

"Sitting in class and Healing studies have been exhausting when all I want to do is sleep and eat," Toby added, though at least he had a sense of humor about it. "When did you get bitten?"

"I was eight," Geethanjali replied. It had been years before she had started at Hogwarts, so at least she had been able to get used to being a werewolf long before then. "I don't remember much of what happened," she admitted with a little shrug. "I got lost in the forest, then I woke up in hospital. I've got the scar, obviously." Maybe that made it a bit boring that she couldn't recall any of her confrontation with the werewolf who had attacked and turned her, but it was the truth.

tobias charles watkins

[tobias charles watkins]

“Oh wow” his mouth opened before closing. He didn’t want to be rude but he was unable to hide the surprise behind his voice when he found out she was eight years old. It was sad to imagine a young Gee trying to learn how to navigate the world as a baby werewolf. Life was hard enough as a regular teenager, he couldn’t imagine fearing every full moon starting at such a young age.

Toby had always been fascinated by astronomy before his life relied on moon pattens. Everything was much more complicated these days when his happiness depended on those stupid moon patterns. ”That must have been terrifying.” he recalled softly, knowing she could barely remember the event. But since he asked her, he figured he’d share. ”I only remember bits and pieces too, and sometimes get blips here and there. I was camping on a retreat with a group of muggles and a werewolf came through camp in the middle of the night and killed a bunch of people. It came out of nowhere. But yeah- I woke up in the hospital too and it was super weird.” He shared, running a hand through his hair as an awkward laugh slipped passed his lips. Often he laughed at situations that probably shouldn’t have been laughed at. Especially involving his own well being.

”Do you remember if your family or anyone treated you any different after being bitten?“ he asked, hoping she didn’t have a similar experience as him. These days his family spoke to him like he was an alien who could destroy them all.

geethanjali amaryllis root

[geethanjali amaryllis root]

October 2, 2026

Expressing his surprise, Toby commented that it must have been terrifying. It had been, and she wouldn't wish the experience of waking up at St. Mungo's and not knowing where she was at first on anyone. Toby explained that he also couldn't recall everything that had happened when he had been attacked. He explained that he'd been camping with a group of Muggles and that the werewolf who had attacked him had apparently killed multiple people.

Geethanjali's eyes widened. As far as she was concerned, that was worse than what she had been through. Nobody had died when she had been attacked. It made it worse for Toby, too, that he'd likely only just gotten past some of the worst trauma from Elaine Dupree's attack on Hogwarts, only to be met with… that.

"Do you remember if your family or anyone treated you any different after being bitten?"

"Yeah." Geethanjali answered affirmatively almost immediately, nodding her head. "My dad's a quarter Druid," she explained; she was the new Minister for Magic's niece, after all. "So it's a bit…" Her voice trailed off. Most Druids had very strict views about what they considered "Dark" magic, and werewolves—even when in human form—fell into that category.

"Er, some of them are very supportive," she acknowledged after a moment. Her Aunt Rowena was among that number. "And it's better than it was years ago, obviously. But… yeah." Back before either of them were ever born, werewolves had faced even worse discrimination. It was getting better, and people's attitudes were changing gradually.

tobias charles watkins

[tobias charles watkins]

Toby’s expression dropped slightly when Gee explained her father was part Druid. Back in school when studying Druids one of the first things they learned was that Druid’s don’t approve of dark magic…werewolves were considered “dark creatures”. It was disappointing, since he didn’t choose that destiny for himself.

The lanky teens face softened, ”I can imagine that’s very difficult.” he nodded his head, brows creased more sympathetically. ”Sorry for being so nosey...” he told her genuinely, though he was gracious that she openly shared with him. Most of the time he felt like such a burden to people, he didn’t want to open that can of worms. People weren’t always so understanding and he knew it would eat at his soul from the inside out the day someone discriminated against him due to being a werewolf.

Toby twiddled his thumbs, ”I haven’t shared with many about it, personally. After my sister got so weirded out I don’t really want to. She treats me like I’m  contagious and my parents act more…worried..worried that I will randomly go on a killing spree in the middle of the night.” Toby shared with a shrug, trying to feign nonchalance. When he spoke to Gee that afternoon, it was the first time in a long time he felt a little less alone that day. He hoped Hogwarts would open soon so that she would have a suitable school to attend with her peers, homeschooling must have been painfully boring.

geethanjali amaryllis root y

[geethanjali amaryllis root]

October 2, 2026

Toby apologized to her for being nosy—at least according to him. Geethanjali didn't mind, or she wouldn't have told him what she had. It wasn't some big secret that she had Druid relatives or that she had been adopted as a baby. Even her being a werewolf was pretty much an established fact by that point.

As for his own experience with lycanthropy so far, Toby said that he hadn't shared it with many people. That wasn't too surprising to hear, though. Geethanjali knew that a lot of people didn't really want to shout it from the rooftops that they had become a werewolf.

The reaction that he'd gotten from his sister and his parents, Toby added, had made him hesitant to reveal his being a werewolf to anyone else. Being treated like a monster for something that wasn't their fault was painful at times. They hadn't asked for what had happened to them, and there wasn't a cure for their condition yet.

"If you ever want to transform with someone else so you won't have to go through it alone," she offered him, "I don't think my parents would mind. J.J.—er, one of my parents—is a potioneer, so that helps."

tobias charles watkins