Daredevils

Chapter One: Daredevils

Two months after the most infamous Sorting of all time – Albus Potter, son of the famous Harry Potter, sorted into Slytherin alongside Scorpius Malfoy – four Slytherins sat on the floor of the fifth-year boys' dormitory. The heavy November rain was merely a whisper in the underground Slytherin dormitories; the four fifth-years laughed at the idea of the Gryffindors and Ravenclaws feeling a lot less proud of their grand towers as they failed to fall asleep.

Only two of the four Slytherins were allowed in the boys' dormitory, but rule-breaking had never been a problem for the group of friends. This wasn't the first time Evander Carstairs and Lancaster Loverette had sneaked Evander's sister, Aspen, and their friend Kimberley Kovanakov into their dorm. It also wasn't the first time they had managed to get their hands on some Firewhisky; Kimberley and Evander passed the brown bottle back and forth between each other, taking tiny sips as they watched Aspen and Lancaster engage in an arm-wrestle.

The spectacle of physical strength had begun with a dare, like so many of the group's other momentous endeavours. "Cass," Evander had said to Lancaster, "I dare you to arm-wrestle Aspen." And now, their elbows were propped up on one of the boys' poor roommate's trunk, and Cass was struggling against Aspen's strength.

Such a sight was not uncommon when it came to these friends. They were known throughout Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry as the fun-loving, impulsive fifth-year Slytherins who sometimes got a little too reckless, but always completed whatever punishment the teachers gave to them. And did something just as fun and stupid as whatever they had gotten in trouble for in the first place. Sometimes Kim wondered whether her first encounter with her friends had been a match made in heaven, or a recipe for trouble; either way that first Charms lesson in which the four eleven-year-olds had sat together was the start of a beautiful friendship she would never change for the world. Over the years they had started to refer to themselves as the 'Daredevils', due to their tendency to dare one another to do reckless acts. It had begun as a private nickname, but soon enough, the entire school was calling them that.

Kim was a half-Mexican, half-British beauty with light-tanned skin and hooded chocolate eyes. Her curly, voluminous brown hair twisted in thick curls to her waist, and she was very slender. While Kimberley would describe herself as organised and a natural leader, her friends, classmates and teachers were often known to label the fifteen-year-old as bossy, stubborn and a control freak. Kim didn't consider these adjectives as negative; instead, she embraced them, easily taking her destined role as the leader of the Daredevils.

Aspen Carstairs, with her platinum-blonde hair, chiselled features worthy of Witch Weekly's fashion segment and slim but curvy figure, would no doubt be the object of every boy's affection if it weren't for her immense physical strength and unapproachable demeanour. She was known for her snappy remarks, take-no-crap-from-anyone attitude towards her very existence and her tremendously powerful hits as a Beater on the Quidditch team; even the brawny boys from Gryffindor were scared of her. Aspen suffered from incredibly intense anger issues and bipolar disorder, and was prone to violent outbursts at the slightest provocation. Only her twin brother could calm her when she was mad, which was why they were in all the same classes together. Despite this hostile side of her, Kim knew that Aspen was really a nice, bright, caring girl who loved to have fun.

The Carstairs gene pool had clearly favoured the twins. Aspen's beauty was only rivalled by her twin brother's – Evander looked like he had personally been carved from marble by God himself. With the high cheekbones, bright blue eyes, peroxide-blonde hair somehow achieved naturally and jawline for days that could also be found on Aspen, Evander couldn't walk through the halls of Hogwarts without crowds of girls – and some guys – falling at his feet. Though, unfortunately for them, Evander only had eyes for one girl, his fellow prefect Rosalie Britton of Ravenclaw. This, however, didn't stop Evander from flirting to get what he wanted. If on the rare occasion he didn't take his own notes in class he could woo any girl into lending him theirs, and with a blink of an eye he and his twin were given free sweets from the young employees at Honeydukes. Kim knew he didn't mean to use his looks to an advantage, but wasn't going to complain. He had gotten the group a lot of equipment they needed to complete their pranks just by being pretty. She also admired his abs.