Final Assembly Of Light [OPEN]

[dahlia jade greyback]

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October 31st, 2028

Today was Halloween and the full moon was only two days away. Dahlia had just finished purchasing her bottle of Aware Wolf. The monthly change had not been easy since her accident, the week lead up to the moon being far more difficult than she had ever remembered it having been before. Combining the long-lasting concussion symptoms with the agony of the incoming change, to put it lightly, fucking sucked. To make matters worse, she hadn’t told anyone that it was a struggle. Which was completely on her, and she knew that. Asking for more help at this point was really difficult, and she felt like doing so would make her look weak. It was stupid to hold onto to burden alone, especially when she had been offered help by Rhys and Max. But her dumb ego and want to be better - to be perceived as better – prevented her from getting any assistance.

With the sun close to setting, Dahlia slowly meandered up and down Horizont Alley. She had bought a cup of tea at the bakery on the corner and intended to go into the florist shop, but it was closed already. She didn’t have work in the morning. Or the next day, or the day after. Killing time until it was dark out and seemed like she should head home was essentially what she was doing. Boredom had become boring.

Finding a bench that was situated across from florist, Dahlia took a seat. Just slowly walking around was still exhausting. That really cemented how out of shape she had become in the last seven months, concussion aside. Sipping carefully on the tea, it burned the tip of her tongue, and she made a disgusted face at it before popping the plastic lid off to try and cool it down. Just taking in the quietness of Horizont Alley made her brain feel better. A block away, parents were bringing their little witches and wizards around in costume. Hearing the soft echoes was calming, but she knew she wouldn’t be able to stand it if it was around her right now. Behind her, a streetlamp kicked on. Once it was fully dark out, she would make her way home. For now, she was going to relax.

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[geethanjali amaryllis root]

October 31, 2028

The full moon's arrival was never an enjoyable time, and it was frustrating for Geethanjali that it fell so close to Halloween that year. If that wasn't annoying enough, the full moon hadn't had the decency to come on a weekend, so she had to be miserable at Hogwarts all week beforehand and somehow drag herself back to campus for her classes on the Friday afterwards. It wasn't the first time and wouldn't be the last, but it diminished the usual pep in Geethanjali's step as she walked through Horizont Alley. Her parents were going to take her younger sibling trick-or-treating through Diagon Alley and into Horizont Alley, but she had opted out of the festivities in favor of finding something to eat.

As she was considering her options and became fairly certain that she would pop into the cat café for a sandwich, Geethanjali noticed a young woman seated on a bench who looked sort of familiar to her, not that she could place who she was. As with a lot of people, she had probably just seen her around before. Not living at Hogwarts anymore—like some of her peers still did—gave her more exposure to the rest of magical society.

Geethanjali nodded to the young woman politely as she approached her. "Happy Halloween," she offered. "Is anyone sitting with you?"

dahlia jade greyback
OOC: I'm totally cool with Dahlia recognizing Geethanjali as a werewolf, since she's the Minister's niece. Also, bringing her into this academic year… 😅

[dahlia jade greyback]

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The nice part about tea was that it seemed to cool quite a bit faster than coffee ever did for her. Not that it was impossible to strategically cool a cup down with magic, just that the natural decline in temperature was sort of a pleasurable experience with tea. She had popped the plastic top off briefly as she sat down, letting the autumn air whisk away some of the steam that was billowing off of it. Now that she had had months of slowing down, it was sort of intriguing how nice the world actually was. So much of her childhood and time in school had been absorbed by fear an uncertainty. While she still had a bit of that, mostly coming from the fact that her injury seemed to not want to go away, not all of it was bad. Dangerous, sure. But she finally had the chance to take a good long look at it and see that there was a place for her. That had never happened once while she was in France. They had never wanted her, and the feeling had been mutual.

Dahlia was brought out of her thoughts as she heard a voice asking her a question. She looked up to see a girl standing there, asking if anyone was sitting on the other part of the bench. Shaking her head, Dahlia scooched over and made room. The girl definitely looked familiar, and it didn’t take too long for her to remember where she was from. ”You are the little wolf I’ve seen at the hotel,” Dahlia said, her voice scratchy from not talking for what had to be hours now (aside from grunting out ‘tea’ at the bakery). She silently hoped that life was easier for the girl than it ever had been for herself. None of them deserved it, but it was what it was. ”I suppose tonight is when those like us are celebrated.” How gloomy of her. She took a sip of her tea to try and take the edge off a bit.

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[geethanjali amaryllis root]

October 31, 2028

As good as she and her parents were about taking the necessary steps to ensure her safety during her transformations, sometimes it was better to err on the side of caution and go to the "werewolf hotel" in Horizont Alley, Claustrum de Lupus. Though it was often called a hotel or an inn, the accommodations were basic, since chances were good that someone would end up destroying something while in werewolf form. The young woman she had approached mentioned that recognized her from there, and Geethanjali nodded her head in affirmation as she sat down. "Hi."

The young woman seemed more upset by the holiday than she was, commenting, "I suppose tonight is when those like us are celebrated," with a tone that was hardly celebratory.

"Oh, I don't mind Halloween or Samhain or anything," Geethanjali replied. She didn't feel that the occasion was offensive. "It's just not as fun when I feel like this." She wrinkled her nose slightly, but she could guess that the young woman she was sitting beside also didn't feel the greatest.

Despite having experienced years of full moons, it sometimes felt to Geethanjali as though her body hadn't truly adjusted to the lycanthropy. Potions only helped so much, and her parents were hesitant to give her anything too strong because of her age. Geethanjali didn't want to take anything unnecessary, either, yet it was sometimes hard to find a good balance between relieving symptoms and experiencing unwanted side effects. The worst, though, was when the two events that could be described as "that time of the month" for her overlapped.

dahlia jade greyback

[dahlia jade greyback]

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Ten years of full moon preparation had unfortunately allowed Dahlia to build up a bit of tolerance to the usual aches and pains caused during the lead up. There were never any guarantees, of course, and with switching to AwareWolf, the week-long jitters had certainly changed the way she went about things. None of it was ever as bad as the concussion though. That thought had constantly gone through her mind over the last several months. Waking up following that first transformation right after she'd been sent to the hospital had been brutal. Dahlia had held a slim hope that while in her werewolf state, some sort of magic would activate and heal her completely. That hadn't happened, and her headache was only exacerbated by the full moon.

"I do not mind it either. Just..." That they were treated like freaks the other 364 days of the year? Because that was how it went. The non-magique got a pass because they didn't know werewolves were real. Magical folk did know though, and that was where Dahlia took offense. They had to be on a government list because of their affliction, and almost all of them had been unwillingly put in this position too. Unbeknownst to most, she hated the wolf just as much as they were scared of it. Why would she ever want to become a raging beast once per month? No reasonable person wanted that. Her opinions on the matter had changed over the years. Now that she was less of an angry, misguided teenager, she could see the real world problems that being a werewolf caused. Dahlia sighed at that.

At least there was an understanding amongst all of the younger ones in London. They only wanted to be normal. She had never felt this level of acceptance at all in France. "I hope it has been easy for you so far," Dahlia finally said after a long pause of silence. "And that it will continue to be."

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[geethanjali amaryllis root]

October 31, 2028

The young woman seated beside her clarified what she had said before, saying that she didn't mind Halloween, either. She sighed before she could finish whatever it was she was going to say, though. Geethanjali didn't mind. As talkative as she was normally, she understood exactly why the other werewolf didn't really feel like talking. When she did speak again, the young woman expressed, "I hope it has been easy for you so far. And that it will continue to be."

"Thank you." It wasn't what Geethanjali would have called easy, but she had adapted. She had been a werewolf since such a young age that, while she could still remember life before being attacked, it had been close to a decade for her, too. "I was eight," she volunteered, "so it's… nothing new." As werewolves went, she was in a better position than most. Her parents—her adoptive parents and her birth parents alike—and her siblings were supportive of her, as were at least some of her extended family members. She hadn't started working yet, so that was still up in the air, but she knew that discrimination against werewolves had been far worse for older ones.

"I'm Geethanjali," she introduced herself with a small smile. "Er, you can call me 'Gee' if that's easier. Like the letter."

dahlia jade greyback

[dahlia jade greyback]

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It wasn't uncommon for children to be attacked by werewolves. If anything, Dahlia was the outlier at least in her small circle, being fourteen at the time. Rhys had been turned even younger than this girl, though at what age she couldn't remember. Just that he was extremely little. She had always assumed that this was in hopes of eradicating the witness instead of actually turning them. With the case of her dear old father, Dahlia wasn't quite sure. Maybe it was just cruel, deranged punishment because he was a sick fuck. The things she would do if she ever got her hands on him...

The girl snapped Dahlia out of her violent thoughts, introducing herself as Geethanjali. Using the shortened version was definitely going to be easier for her, as she already knew how her thick accent was going to make it sound. "Dahlia. Of the Greybacks." She felt that was sort of necessary. While not every werewolf was turned by Fenrir, she had found that leaving a better lasting impression as his spawn helped immensely. Which was also sort of funny considering she legally wasn't a Greyback. That required any number of special circumstances to occur for her to change her name again.

"It is unfortunate that we have been forced to live like this," Dahlia continued on with her somber musings. "But it is better than being dead, I think." That was the alternative while being mauled by a werewolf. Ripped to shreds by tooth and nail. Dahlia had seen what was left of her mother. She could have so easily turned out the same way.

Sipping on her tea, which had finally started to cool off, Dahlia stared at the street lamp across from them. "You are still in school then, Gee?" she asked the girl. If so, then she'd really seen some shit these last few years. Why couldn't the children have actual childhoods?

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[geethanjali amaryllis root]

October 31, 2028

The young woman introduced herself as Dahlia and stated that she was one of the Greybacks, which explained some of why she probably thought about being a werewolf as she did. "It's nice to meet you," Geethanjali said. "Officially, like."

Geethanjali didn't know the identity of the werewolf who had attacked her all those years before, but she could only imagine how different her life might be if she were the child of an infamous werewolf. Even though she had been adopted, she knew and had good relationships with both her adoptive parents and her birth parents. Her being a werewolf was a matter of her having been in the wrong place at the wrong time. She hadn't been targeted by anyone with the goal of creating more werewolves, the way she had heard was Fenrir Greyback's motive.

"It is unfortunate that we have been forced to live like this," Dahlia continued, "but it is better than being dead, I think." When she had been attacked, Geethanjali had been afraid that she would die. Looking back on it, though, her injuries could have been a lot worse. It was on her left shoulder that had been bitten, and she hadn't lost any limbs or had her face mauled or anything catastrophic.

After that, Dahlia asked her if she was still in school, and Geethanjali nodded. "I am. I'm in my second year at NEWT level." It took hardly any math at all for anyone to calculate that she had been at Hogwarts when it had been destroyed by Elaine Dupree. "I don't board anymore, and I find it easier because I don't need to visit the Hospital Wing as often, but I want to be a potioneer," she shared. As much as the fire had traumatized her, she had gone back. Getting a proper education, especially as a werewolf, was important. She needed to do what she could to ensure her chances of success as an adult beyond Hogwarts.

dahlia jade greyback

[dahlia jade greyback]

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”Same to you. I think it is important for us all to know one another.” Mostly to keep each other in check. The current group of young werewolves, those like herself and Rhys and all that were younger, seemed to understand this. They were all on the same page about what was right and what was wrong. It was the older ones that she worried about the most. Those that had seen a lot of positive change, but still harbored feelings for the way things used to be. Dahlia figured that it wasn’t easy being a werewolf two decades ago. She had read about it, and how they were treated by the general public. Now that things were a little better, she assumed it was tough to not feel angry about it. There were a lot bigger problems out there in the world though. She was grateful for the opportunities she was able to currently get. That didn’t mean she was going to sit back completely if push came to shove surrounding werewolf rights.

Gee explained that she was still in school, didn’t live on the grounds any longer, and wanted to be a potioneer. An admirable choice of career, considering how important it was to werewolves. ”I was never the best at potions,” she mused, before taking a sip of her tea. ”But I think it was also that my professor at Beauxbatons was not very good at teaching.” Monsieur Rodin, or as most students called him, Rongeur (rodent, due to how close his surname pronunciation was to the English word), talked fast and always refused to slow down while giving examples with the potions they were meant to make in class. Never mind the snide comments she got about needing to make sure her wolfsbane was always one-hundred percent accurate, so she didn’t turn and kill someone. Thank Merlin the government provided her with the potions and not the professor. She always believed he would have purposely botched it.

”So you are done next spring then?” Dahlia asked, forgetting how the years worked now at Hogwarts. It was all so confusing, especially with the different professional schools that were now involved.

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[geethanjali amaryllis root]

October 31, 2028

Dahlia stated that she had never been good at Potions herself, but she attributed some of that to not having had a good professor in the subject at Beauxbatons. Geethanjali was glad that she hadn't had a similar problem at Hogwarts, traumatic though her experience had been there in other ways. In her case, too, having one parent who was a potioneer made it easier for her to picture that as a career path. It wasn't intimidating.

Geethanjali understood Dahlia's point, but she shook her head when Dahlia asked her if she would be finished in the spring. "With my NEWTs," she clarified. "And then I'll do a few more years of Potions after that." That would be her focus from that point on, and she was looking forward to it. "The Healer training is at Hogwarts now, too, so I might see if I can take anything related to Potions there, like." Geethanjali wasn't as sure about that, because she knew that she wouldn't have all the prerequisites needed to become a Healer, but if it was related enough to what she was already good at… Maybe?

"And then I'll start working, I guess?" That was assuming that she would still have protections as a werewolf by then, though there would be a market amongst werewolves, if nothing else.

dahlia jade greyback

[dahlia jade greyback]

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Often times, Dahlia forgot that Hogwarts students had two sets of examinations. The Beauxbatons equivalent, and what she had taken, was held during her sixth year and not during fifth, like her British counterparts. She really didn’t care when they were meant to be held, as it all seemed irrelevant at the end of the day. The basics were still the basics, and her Cursebreaker training had given her far more experience in a shorter amount of time than magical schooling ever did. And she got paid for it and didn’t have to wear those suffocating uniforms anymore. No one had looked more awkward in them than she had, and it was consistently made known that she didn’t fit in amongst her classmates. The flowing robes of the Hogwarts uniform was far more to her taste.

”They allow you to pick and choose which classes you want?” she asked, mostly in reference to everything that came after the seventh year of school. Dahlia had a general idea of how the standard Hogwarts education was done, as Beauxbatons had a similar layout. ”Between the different professions?” Dahlia added. She wasn’t sure if that was clear or not. During the bits of time she had spent in the Cursebreaker department, it always seemed like everyone there was in training to become a Cursebreaker. Even the ‘history’ classes were full of trainees.

Dahlia nodded her head slowly as Geethanjali stated that after all of the schooling was done, she would be off to work. That was, unfortunately, how it seemed to go. ”I got lucky. Hag’s Fever happened during my training, and I got stuck outside the country. So I went home to Marseille and had a vacation.” The bank had not been happy about that, but they also refused to send her back to Egypt to complete her training. That was all on them.

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[geethanjali amaryllis root]

October 31, 2028

Dahlia sounded curious about LIFE, asking if students were allowed to pick and choose the classes that they wanted to take. It wasn't quite that free, Geethanjali knew, and there were some restrictions. Potions and Healing were related enough in certain aspects that it probably wouldn't be an issue for the kind of material that she was hoping she could get. A little bit of the sort of thing that the Healers in Potions and Plant Poisoning would need to know would be useful to her, too, and Geethanjali felt that she could make a case for it. She doubted that there would ever be a class at LIFE specifically on lycanthropy, so finding what was close enough and applying it to her own experiences would have to do.

"It's mostly the subject you're there to learn," Geethanjali replied to Dahlia's question, "but I've heard they're flexible if it doesn't affect your marks." No one person could do absolutely everything they wanted to, and she was sure that the Hogwarts High Council would step in if there were any concerns about that. A student's picking up something else that wasn't wildly out of place based on their previous studies was different, though.

Speaking of her job training, Dahlia shared, "I got lucky. Hag's Fever happened during my training, and I got stuck outside the country. So I went home to Marseille and had a vacation."

"That's really lucky," Geethanjali agreed with her. "I've got family in Italy, but it's been a while since I've seen them." Unlike with Hy-Brasil, she could actually visit.

dahlia jade greyback

[dahlia jade greyback]

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So it was more restrictive than she had believed it to be. Maybe that was because the few students she had dealt with so far, meaning the Cursebreaker trainees, seemed to have classes in everything, ranging from Potions to Ancient Runes to Advanced Curse Defense. Everything about it was so much more accelerated than what she had gone through. That did leave Dahlia wondering if this new set of Cursebreakers would be better off than she had been on her first mission. Being inside tombs and gathering real experience trumped everything that came in the classroom, in her opinion.

Which begged the question: would she have done worse had she been in the same kind of classroom setting? As it was, she was one of the last ‘classes’ to become a full Cursebreaker outside of the new schooling. Everything prior was expected to be completed by trainees before they left school, so it was interesting to see it now be taught in the program. Whether or not any of them would be able to think on their feet when it finally came to it was up in the air.

”That makes sense,” Dahlia said. ”I do not know if I would have done well under those conditions. I find that my training was much better one on one.” And by her own brother. She had been much more likely to pay attention to Rhys than any of the others at that point in her life. Nowadays, she wouldn’t have questioned taking instructions from Archer or any of the rest that had become pseudo-professors.

Geethanjali brought up that she had family in Italy, and Dahlia leaned back into the bench and let out a long sigh. ”Italy has such good food. I am jealous.” Everything that had been worth going through as a Cursebreaker had already been cleared out there. Which was frustrating, because she would have loved to have a job there and eat her way across the country.

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