Fowler School of Magic's

Le Festin

She went back to Nathan's room for dinner. Everyone was there, Max, Francine, Cash, Rin, and Raúl. Those were only the living ones though. Calla kept her bat in her lap so Hugo, Rhiannon, and Emily could listen in.

Except they weren't asking about anything related to the horrors of the school. They were laughing over pizza. Slipping in a few dirty jokes that ended with playful punching. It felt nice. She felt young.

"I just don't understand how you can eat a whole pizza by yourself. You're like... ninety pounds?" Francine asked as Raúl tossed the empty box in the trash. He gasped, adjusting his glasses, "I'm one hundred and two pounds!" She merely rolled her eyes and continued eating. Nathan gave him a sympathetic squeeze on his shoulder, "Just wait til' puberty hits buddy."

She didn't know much about Raúl except that he was from Puerto Rico and that he had a picture of his parents in his jacket. He didn't remember their names or how they sounded but he remembered who they are by the words on the back, Raul's Parents. He wore glasses too big for his face, often sliding down his nose.

He also kept staring at Hugo and she could see he was making him uncomfortable. She was squished between Francine and him so there really wasn't any getting away from it. At least Emily had decided to hang back.

They all stayed in Nathan's dorm that night, no classes to worry about the next morning. Nathan and Max took a bed, Raúl took the other while Rin, Cash, Francine, and Calla took to the floor, covered in blankets and pillows.

She wouldn't sleep tonight, not with some many people all shifting and moving. The others didn't seem to have the same problem. Everyone except Raúl.

He had woken up a while ago, silently panting as he backed himself into the corner. She might as well get to know him, or at check on him, seeing as it seemed as if neither of them were going to get any sleep. He slipped out of the room in the dark and, against her own judgement, she followed. He was against the wall, scratching at his arms as he chanted, "It's not real. You're okay."

He looked so small like this. He also looked like he was on the verge of tears. Calla crouched down to the floor, putting two fingers to his elbow. His head shot up, his eyes darted wildly throughout the hallway before landing on Hugo.

"What's wrong?" He shook his head, pulling his body close. She'd met thirteen year old boys before, he certainly didn't look or act like one. He was much too small and his voice much too high.

"How old are you again?"
"Thirteen."
"No really,"
"How'd you figure it out?"
"A hunch."
"Eleven."
"And what's got you so upset then?"

He looked away, staring straight ahead at Hugo. "He looks like him," he said quietly, "There's a man who's here and he looks like him and I'm having nightmares and please don't tell anyone." Calla nodded, gesturing for Hugo to leave. He disappeared not a moment later and Raúl's eyes moved to the floor.

"Who does he look like?" Raúl shook his head, squeezing his arms together, "My step brother." She felt sick. "And what's wrong with that?" "He hurt me." He said quietly. She'd thrown up too many times in the last few days to do it again. Whatever this step-brother did, she wanted to curb stomp him. "How did he hurt you?" He shook his head, "If I tell you- do you promise not to tell anyone?" He held out his pinkie and the innocence of the action made her heart ache. She remembered pinky promises, a child's binding contract. She hooked her pinky in his.

"I hurt him too." He started quietly, "He came into my room and I, I just meant to get him off me but I had scissors and his chest just-" she nodded, letting him lean against her chest. He was too young to go through so much. Then again someone could say the same for her.

She'd heard of maternal instincts before but she never really understood them until now. She blamed poor parents for her lacking instincts but now she wanted nothing more than to take care of Raúl. Only eleven years old. Already so traumatized.

"I'm sorry if I woke you up," he continued, "Mom said my nightmares were loud too."
"No, no, it's alright. I couldn't sleep either. Do you think you'll get back to sleep any time soon?" He shook his head and Calla nodded carefully. She remembered the knife sinking into Emily's neck and imagined doing it herself, trying to comprehend how Raúl was still okay. Or at least okay enough.

"How about we go back to my dorm so we don't wake the others? It's only a floor down and I know Francine keeps pudding cups in her nightstand."
"Okay."

He settled into her bed, surrounded by blankets as he moved through his third pudding cup. She'd have to ask Max to make more for her tomorrow.

She sat on Francine's bed, giving him ample space. Rhiannon sat next to her, watching him as she rested her hand over hers. "If you decide to sleep I'll watch over him," she said quietly, "and you of course."

Calla only nodded, grabbing a pudding cup for herself as Raúl stood on the bed, running his fingers over the posters above her bed. The result of Francine's frantic doodling. She'd ran out of space on her side so Calla lended her wall to her. Now Raúl trace the people in the pictures until he came across a boy with glasses and messy black hair, a bandaid across his nose where his glasses met skin. He smiled, "It's me."

And it was. Francine had drawn it not long after they'd met Raúl and Nathan had accidentally punched him in the eye. It seemed even worse now. Nathan was nearly eighteen punching an eleven year old.

Hugo was back in the door now, sitting on the floor by the closet, playing his lute as he sang a quiet French song. He wasn't French, but his favorite movie was that one with the cooking rat Calla could never remember the name of and he could play all the songs. Le Festin was what he played now. His voice fit too, able to reach those high notes others couldn't yet being able to go soft and slow a few notes later.

Despite hearing his singing for years, she still found herself captivated by it from time to time. Raúl noticed, looking between him and Calla though he couldn't see him.

"What are you looking at?" He asked, sliding off the bed. Hugo opened his eyes as the song came to a close. He'd sing a thousand times over if Calla didn't tell him to stop. "Hugo's singing." She said quietly, "Would you like to hear?" Hugo nodded, eager for an audience despite the fact she was asking Raúl. "He's sitting across the room on the floor, he won't hurt you. You can sit right here if you'd like," he climbed up on the bed, leaning against her as Hugo sang the song again, both of them staring out the window. The moon reached a point in the sky where it shined right in the room, framed by the window perfectly. A terribly perfect night.