The First Signs of a Storm - Prisoner of Azkaban - Book 1

Chapter 26: Cheering for the Stoners?

Storm

Storm lay awake the rest of the night, ushering Theo from the room as soon as he and Liberty had explained (rather vaguely) the reasons for Evan's aloofness. In fact, by the time Liberty had gotten to the part about 'scent glands', she had been taken off guard in every possible way. Storm would even go so far as to admit that she was revolted by the archaic and downright disgusting ways in which the country's magical community was built upon.
Liberty was snoring from her bed on the other side of the room, but Storm could not understand how her cousin could sleep. Not with knowing the truth.
'PureBloods!' Storm scoffed in disbelief at her thoughts.
According to Liberty, an unspoken, yet quite frankly dangerous secret was kept within the families with total magical blood. And, in her slightly gobsmacked partial understanding, Storm came to the conclusion that the 'Pureblood Manifesation' - as Theo had called it - was something akin to a wolf.
No, not in the sense of shredding clothes and turning into a deadly creature once a month, but more in the ranks of the pack; Alpha's, Beta's and - the most obscene - Omega's.
Most PureBloods will manifest as Alpha's, as Liberty explained. A few of them and all Half-Bloods and Muggleborn's will show as Beta's, with the rarest of PureBloods manifesting as an Omega.

Storm felt sick, her head spinning. The way the two had spoken of it, as if they were afraid of being watched or overheard. Like, they themselves did not feel comfortable talking about it.
Storm could understand why. It gave an unnecessary justification for the beliefs that Lord Voldemort and his followers had had.
But Storm hardly got much from her cousin and friend, wanting to conduct further research before making any solid assumptions. But upon first impressions, she was sickened.

And she stayed nauseous, right the way through to the morning, when the green lights flickered on, signalling daytime. And it was then that Storm could no longer force herself to lay on her back. She had so many questions. For something that she was glad wasn't anything to do with her for once. This, although disturbing, had sparked her curious flame. But she's have to put it on the back burner for now, because the day's events would not miss out on her thunderous antics.
Today, was Quidditch. Granted, not her own house, but her first match of the year, having missed out on the official first.
Ravenclaw vs Hufflepuff. She'd learned a couple months ago from Evan that Slytherin supported Ravenclaw when they were not on the pitch.
Storm smirked to herself, climbing out of bed, making a bee-line for the bathroom. As if she would follow the masses. She would be sporting yellow and black that day, cheering for the underdogs: other houses seemed to shit on Hufflepuff. But Storm didn't get it - Cedric Diggory had been an interesting fellow when she'd crossed paths with him in the Library.
No, Cedric and his teammates were as good as any, she was sure. Although, perhaps not Bulgaria. But then again, Storm was occasionally biased in the world of sport. And she would go all out for her first day back amongst the schools occupants.
And she would make a splash, indeed.

-

"Morning, Rejects!" Storm chirped as she entered the Common Room less than an hour later, Evan and Theo sat across from one another by the fireplace, scowling at each other. Storm's stomach dropped at the sight of Evan's nervous, angry face.
"Hi." Said Theo sharply, not looking away from Evan, who was sat with his fists clenched. "Tell Evan to stop being so dramatic." He huffed, frowning.
"I will not." Snapped Evan bitterly, leaning back in his chair. "I would've told you when I was ready."
Theo got to his feet and Evan quickly followed suit, Theo pointing an angry finger at Storm, who was watching without interference.
"But you'll tell Storm?" He asked, annoyed, looking at Storm. "No offence, Thunderstorm, but you've been here five minutes. You're wicked and all that, but I've been here six years. Don't you trust me, Rosier? I thought it wasn't like that with us."
Storm almost jumped in when Evan scoffed, rolled his eyes and took a step towards his best friend, fists balled.
"Now boys." Said Storm quietly, looking at Theo first. "No offence taken, Theo. But please don't use me to help you win an argument, because as I told you last night, you fucked up." She turned to Evan with a smile. "It's none of my business but, I don't know enough about it to judge you. So no harm done, you're still a smokin' specimen of a wizard." She winked at his dumbfounded expression, throwing her arm over each of their shoulder's.
The two boys shared a look, rolling their eyes at each other as Storm took a seat on the floor, surprising the two of them. The sight of Evan biting his lip at her remark make her feel sheepish. He caught her eye and smiled, showing off his perfect teeth.
"So, you're cheering for the stoners?" Asked Theo, giving Storm a once over with his eyes, stopping on her hair, that she'd styled in a half yellow/half black fashion, paired with black vinyl trousers and a bright yellow jumper.
Storm frowned. "Why would they be stoners?" She replied, pulling her hair into a messy mixed bun.
Evan snorted. "Why else would their common room be somewhere near the kitchens? Clearly they get the munchie's quite a lot." Storm caught his eye as he and Theo sniggered in unison
"Even if they were, there's nothing wrong with stoners. I find the Rastafarian Culture is very beautiful. And they know how to roll a good reefer." She said, as Liberty arrived, carrying an armful of books. "Just because you're both too square to try anything stronger than Firewhiskey."
"The Chronicles of Exile - the title of your autobiography." Liberty smirked, dumping the books onto the vacant chair. "Why haven't you gone to breakfast yet? You know I don't do Quidditch. Run along, tell me how it goes, never."
"I am not a square." Said Theo defiantly, but Liberty snorted, scrunching her nose.
"Don't bullshit a bullshitter, Theo." She retorted as the four of them left the Common Room, Liberty's book discarded. "You know you're just scared. Ever since Flint gave you that cigarette in Third Year. You prannie."
"Ooo," said Evan in mocking. "You're grouchy today. Did you forget to put a smile on this morning?"
"Don't." Said Liberty, huffing as Theo did just the same. "I just don't like matchdays. They're the worst." She finished, walking beside Theo in front of Storm and Evan, who hung back a few steps.
"Oh?" Said Storm with a playful curiosity, making the two look back over their shoulders at her. "So, you wouldn't come with me if I could get tickets to the World Cup next summer?"
As expected, Theo and Evan's head snapped in her direction as they came to the Entrance Hall, where the atmosphere was lively, the school ready for the match.
     "If Lib doesn't want to go, we do!" Hissed Theo excitedly, stopping to face Storm. "I'll even pay you-"
     "Mate." Said Evan from beside Storm, who was aware of the dip in conversation as they passed by gaggles of students coming and going from the Great Hall. "The offer was for Liberty-"