Life in the Menage
It was a typical Thursday in November – cold and raining intermittently. Benedict ate a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast and warmed himself further with a mug of hot chocolate. At the far end of the table, the First Years chatted away, but at his end of the table, everyone was quiet, lost in thought, girding themselves for the day.
After breakfast, Benedict met his girlfriends in the Entrance Hall. The girls were all wearing trousers and thick wool jumpers under their cloaks. Once Rhiannon MacDougal had started wearing trousers every day, many other girls followed suit, especially if they had Herbology or Magical Creatures, which involved long walks outside. Meriko was the most reluctant to give up her skirts and tights, but even she saw the wisdom of wearing trousers in bad weather.
Meriko had a black beret on her head that morning. Benedict said, “Oh Meriko, I like your cap.”
“Thank you. It goes with my houndstooth skirt, which I’m not wearing right now. I try to be fashionable, but the weather prevents me.”
“It makes no sense to wear a skirt and tights out to the Forest,” said Alyssa. “Your tights will get ruined, and the wind will blow your skirt hem up. You’ll end up flashing the whole school!”
“My skirts aren’t that short,” said Meriko.
“They are after you roll them up,” countered Alyssa.
“Hey, I need to see you off,” said Benedict. “You’ve got Div in ten minutes.” He reached out his arm and pulled Meriko into a tight hug. She clutched him tightly for a moment and then gave him a firm kiss on the mouth. Alyssa followed with a tender kiss of her own. Then, the two headed downstairs to Mr. Firenze’s classroom.
Freya had waited patiently during this whole display, as Benedict was now hers for the next ninety minutes. He put his arm around her, and they started climbing up the Grand Staircase.
“How are you?” he asked.
“I hate this time of year. It’s so wet and cold. The dampness is worse than the snow. I’m never warm. I’m never dry.”
Benedict nodded. This was typical fare for Freya. When they reached the third floor, they saw that Professor Parabola had not arrived yet. The door was shut. A few Ravenclaws waited outside. Freya and Benedict stood apart from them.
When Freya was feeling low, she liked to nestle into his arms. On those days, she didn’t want to talk. Her negativity, however, was a matter of habit and not a true indicator of her mood. That morning, as soon as she saw that they had a few minutes, her face brightened and she gazed into his eyes.
“Do you know Frederica Dernholme?” she asked.
“Not really. She’s not in our year or in my House.”
“No, she’s a Slytherin Fifth Year. She’s still dating Larry Durrell. He’s a Ravenclaw Seventh Year! I thought they broke up, but apparently not. Things were getting quite steamy between them last night, I heard.”
Typical Slytherin gossip, mused Ben. Petty, cruel, but based on facts.
“Would you do that?” asked Freya. “Date a girl who was two years younger than you?”
“If I wasn’t dating the three of you?”
“Yes. What would you do?”
“I wouldn’t date a twelve-year-old, no.”
“So, there’s a line. Twelve is No, thirteen is Maybe?”
“Sure. Maybe.”
“What about an older girl?”
“I’ve told you, Lara and I are friends.”
“Yes, but that’s it, isn’t it? She’s older than you, so she’s your big sister and off limits. But it doesn’t work that way with boys. Or, not always.”
“Right. If I were Durrell, and I was seventeen, I don’t think I’d date a girl younger than fifteen.”
“What about the other way around? Forget about Guishar. What about another girl who wasn’t your Hufflepuff sister? Someone like Tess Covenshire, maybe? Or Pauline Langlet?”
Benedict smiled. “Us boys had an interesting debate about those two girls, recently.” Freya beamed up at him, expectantly. This was just the sort of thing she wanted to hear. “We were debating who would look better in a swimsuit. Patrick suggested Covenshire. But Flan had the counter. He said, “Langlet’s French, right? So think about what kind of suit she would be wearing. I’d say she’d win hands down.’ And that settled it.”
“So, Pauline wins this fantasy contest of yours because she’s not wearing anything on top?”
“This is Flannery’s fantasy, not mine, but yes, that was the gist of it.”
“Who do you think has the better body?”
Benedict, sensing a trap of some kind, answered cautiously. “I don’t think I have enough information to make that assessment. It’s not like I’ll see either one of them naked anytime soon.”
“Do you think you could fall in love with Tess or Pauline?”
“I wouldn’t say it’s impossible. I mean, Langlet is gorgeous and so is Covenshire. But they’re older than I am. They’re just so far out of reach that it’s not worth bothering about.”
“And yet, Frederica is not out of reach of Larry Durrell, and vice versa.”
“I guess not,” said Benedict.
Their assignment that day was to conjure a Fifteen and then break it up into five Threes. The magical Threes could then be used to create magical symbols that flashed into existence and then slowly faded. Benedict and Freya, working together, made flowers that shimmered yellow, gold and green on their desks for a few moments before disappearing. Across the room, Reginald Dennison made grey skulls that faded into wisps of smoke. Aiden Thompson made stacks of galleons that vanished like Leprechaun gold.
After class, Freya was reluctant to go downstairs. She led Benedict by the hand to an empty alcove. The suit of armour that stood there usually was downstairs being polished. Freya pressed herself into Benedict. He held her tightly. “I want you all to myself,” she murmured.
“Yes,” he said gently. “Just for a minute,” he added, though he knew she wanted far more than just a minute with him. He ran his hand slowly up and down her back, stopping each time at her waist, never going any lower.
“We better go, before they start looking for us,” said Freya.
“I agree.” They shared a long, slow kiss. As they came down the Grand Staircase, holding hands, they saw Alyssa and Meriko waiting, arms crossed. They seemed well aware that the rest of the Arithmancy class had come down the stairs already. They said nothing about it, however. Possession of Benedict passed, wordlessly, seamlessly, from Freya to Alyssa.
Outside, there was a heavy mist falling. Benedict conjured an umbrella wide enough to cover both him and Alyssa. She clung to his side and walked quickly with him out to the eaves of the forest. Freya and Meriko conjured their own umbrellas and walked side by side behind the couple.
The Gryffindor and Hufflepuff boys were already there, waiting under the shelter of the trees. “I should say hello to them,” said Benedict.
“Sure,” said Alyssa. “Let’s go together.”
The two of them headed for the group of boys, who were laughing and jostling together. Patrick broke away and met the couple halfway. “Hullo, Took,” said Patrick.
“Morning, Wren.” The two boys shook hands.
Patrick flashed a wide grin at Alyssa. “Nice to see you this morning, Pitchfork.”
“Thank you, Wren. It’s nice to be seen.”
Nearby stood Mr. Hagrid. He clapped his huge hands together and said, “Boy, have we got a special lesson for you today! I can’t wait to show you our special guest!”
“God,” whispered Alyssa. “What is he going to inflict on us today? Werewolf cubs?”
“Can’t be,” said Benedict. “Not a full moon.”
“We have yet to see anything really dangerous,” said Patrick. “Hagrid always has the coolest stuff for us.” Patrick nodded his head towards Meriko and Freya, hanging back about fifty feet from the group of boys. “Aren’t they coming over to say good morning?”
Benedict glanced back at Freya and Meriko. Coming up behind them was Dennison’s troop. The two girls moved away from the approaching boys, towards Benedict.
“Good morning, Felwich, Furakawa,” said Patrick.
“Good morning,” answered Meriko. Freya offered a thin smile, then looked with a scowl over towards Reginald. “He was making skulls in Arithmancy today,” she said. “Can he be any more creepy?” The others laughed.
“Mr. Hagrid is very excited about today’s lesson,” said Benedict.
“Wonderful,” said Meriko, heavy with sarcasm.
“You Slytherins are too hard on the man,” said Patrick. “He makes the class fun.”
The Slytherin witches were stonily silent. More than a decade had passed since Draco Malfoy had been slashed by a hippogryph during one of Hagrid’s Magical Creatures classes, but Slytherin animosity towards Hagrid still ran deep.
Walking behind the last stragglers came Professor Greenleaf. “Reubeus!” she called. “Are we all here? Let’s get started!”
Greenleaf, her hood raised against the misty rain, said, “Let’s review key concepts regarding unicorns. What are some of their key features?”
“They’re horses with horns!” said Patrick. He won some laughs from the other boys but got only a stern glare from Professor Greenleaf.
“You’ll have to do better than that, Wren,” she said.
“They hate blokes?” he offered.
“Sometimes, but not always.” She turned away from him and surveyed the class. “Anyone else?” Alyssa shot her hand in the air. “Pitchfork?”
“The hair from their manes are used in wands,” said Alyssa, “and their horns can cure poisons!”
“Good. Five points to Slytherin.” This brought a smug smile to Alyssa’s face. “Now, Mr. Hagrid has gone deep into the forest and drawn out an extremely rare unicorn. He’s hiding in the shadows of the trees. Hagrid will lead you in pairs to see him.”
Patrick and Tim Flannery went first. They followed Hagrid into the shadow of the trees and returned a moment later. “Wow, that thing is wicked,” said Patrick.
Others went in pairs. When it was Benedict and Alyssa’s turn, they walked hand in hand behind Hagrid. Alyssa clung tightly to Benedict’s arm as Hagrid stepped aside. “There he is,” said Hagrid. “Be gentle and quiet, and he’ll let you approach.”
Benedict expected to see the bright white sheen of a typical unicorn’s coat. Instead, all he could see was shadows, grey and black. Suddenly, two eyes shown bright cobalt. At his side, Alyssa gasped. “Oh my gosh!”
The unicorn’s coat was jet black. It was a foal, and its horn was little more than a nub. “Go on,” urged Hagrid. “It’s quite gentle.”
But for Alyssa, Benedict might have held back. “You go first,” she whispered. He nodded, then stepped forward. He offered his hand. The unicorn gave it a sniff and then allowed Benedict to stroke its cheek. Alyssa stepped forward and was able to run her hand along its flank and mane.
“Oh, my goodness, what a beauty,” she said in awe.
They retreated to where their classmates stood. Freya and Meriko took a turn. Both returned with looks of awe. “It looked like a demon!” whispered Freya.
“I didn’t think so,” said Benedict. “He was noble. Intimidating, but not evil.”
All the students were able to approach and touch the black unicorn except for Dennison’s troop, who went last. When Dennison approached, the unicorn stopped its front hooves and then disappeared into the trees. Aiden barely got a glimpse of the rare creature.
Later, Benedict sat next to Meriko during Transfiguration, but that class did not allow the same cuddling that Freya and Alyssa had enjoyed during their turns. Yet, it was all accounted for in the schedule the girls had concocted. Meriko would partner with Benedict later that evening for Astronomy lab. The cold, windy parapet was the perfect place to huddle close. Meriko would sometimes dart her hands into Benedict’s coat and warm them against his stomach.
After dinner, the foursome met in one of the study rooms in the library. They were caught up on their work, but the room was a good private place to socialize.
“I wish we could transfigure these chairs into something more comfortable,” said Meriko.
“Madam Pomfrey would have fit if we did,” said Alyssa. “Tess knows of a secret room. The door is off one of these study rooms. It’s supposed to have a sofa and a fireplace. Before she graduates, she has got to tell me what the password is.”
The door to the room had a glass window. Outside, they could see Philip and Pauline collecting discarded books. “Oh Ben,” said Freya. “Tell these two about what the boys were saying about Tess and Pauline.”
Benedict, blushing, relayed the conversation between Patrick and Tim about comparing Tess and Pauline. The girls laughed, even Freya. “Those boys are so dumb,” said Alyssa. “Did it not occur to them that, if Pauline was topless at this beach, pool party, whatever, that Tess would be topless, too?”
“I guess it didn’t occur to either of them,” said Benedict.
“Interesting,” said Meriko, “Vanessa Ables name did not come up in this discussion?”
“No, they didn’t talk about her at all,” said Ben.
“Of course,” said Alyssa, “if Tess and Pauline were topless, Vanessa would be walking around stark naked.” This made Ben blush brightly, and the girls laughed at him. “What about the three of us?” asked Alyssa. “Are we allowed to go to this party?”
“It’s just a fantasy,” said Ben. “It’s not real.”
“But, it’s not inconceivable, either,” said Meriko. “Say it’s a pool party. A bright, warm summer day. A bunch of us are there, boys and girls. And, off come the tops. Patrick is now checking us out. What do you do? Are you mad?”
“Is Bell at this party, too?” asked Ben. He was more alarmed at this thought than anything.
“Of course, she is,” said Alyssa. “I bet she has the nerve to go topless, especially if there are other girls doing it too.”
Ben sat back in his chair. The thought of Patrick leering at his sister had taken all the fun out of the discussion for him. “You girls can do what you like, so long as no one is coercing anyone into anything.”
Alyssa, with a cruel look, said, “Freya would be wearing a burka.”
“I would not!” Freya shot back. “I can fit in, go with the flow.”
“I seem to remember otherwise.”
A tense stare-off between the two girls followed. Benedict tried to break the tension with some laughter. “Don’t worry, Freya,” he said. “Remember, at this imaginary party, I’ll be waving my broom back and forth, trying to keep the other boys away from my sister.”
Alyssa and Meriko laughed, and Freya made a feeble smile. The incident was a reminder to Benedict that, despite another successful day, the menage a quatre was still a fragile thing. Remember, he told himself, these girls aren’t friends. They’re allies. Maybe Meriko and Alyssa are friends, but Freya is the odd girl out a lot of the time. At some point, she’s not going to want to play this game anymore.
I just need to make it to Christmas. Give these girls a little break from one another. Then, I’ll see if I can get them to the end of the school year.
It was a good plan, but before the school year ended, his own life, his own emotions and loyalties, were about to get much more complicated.