adrasteia

As the sun begins the descent on the horizon, a particular group of Hogwarts students wake from their beds and begin preparing for their classes. The group of vampyres wake in their windowless dorms with quiet groans and hisses of sleepiness, though a few already stumble about their living quarters due to the noise.

—

The humans could still be heard inside the dormitory, where Calista and her friends prepare for school, even an hour after everyone was awake and moving about. Ida walks around in only her skirt and tights, complaining underneath her breath about having to attend school. Ophelia sits on the edge of her bed with her toothbrush hanging hazardously out the side of her mouth, drool dribbling down her chin as she leans to tie her shoes. Calista walks over as she ties her tie and wipes her chin clean, clicking her tongue.

"You're going to get toothpaste on your uniform. Go spit." She says, turning to go wash her hands in the bathroom connected to their room. The younger vampyre does as instructed after she finishes tying her shoes, sending a sheepish smile to her elder.

"Thanks, Calista." She says, before walking out of the room to get breakfast. Ida shakes her head as she pulls on her shirt.

"I don't know how that one functions." She mumbles. Calista smiles.

"She's young." Calista replies. She slips her feet into her shoes and sits on the edge of her own bed to tie them before glancing up at Ida. "Don't forget your tie." She says, watching as the vampyre groans and turns back from where she was trying to leave without it. "And I expect your shirt to be covering you up before you leave the dorms, please." Ida huffs.

"Yes, mom." She mocks before leaving the room to head to breakfast. Calista shakes her head and follows, listening to the steady heartbeats of her companions downstairs rather than the human's rowdy cheers.

Just as she reaches the staircase, a figure swoops by her and places a kiss on her cheek. "Morning, Lis." Theodore greets as Pansy shoos him away so that she, too, can kiss the girl's cheek.

"Morning, guys." Calista nods. She laces her fingers with Pansy's as they begin down the stairs. "Draco already down?" She asks, having noted the boy's absence. Theo rolls his eyes.

"He's been up for hours. Those bloody humans are right outside our window. We've heard them since before sunset." Calista frowns.

"He's not been getting much sleep as it is. I'll have a talk with Hermione about that." Pansy smirks.

"Oh, I bet you will." She teases, bumping their shoulders together. Calista frowns as Theo jumps down the last two steps and turns to face his companions.

"She definitely will. How is your dearest, by the way? Haven't heard you gushing over her in, like," he pretends to think. "Twenty-four hours." He pouts playfully as Pansy cackles. Calista huffs.

"It's not like that." She says, denying as she always does any feelings for the human Head Girl. As the two girls reach the landing, Draco appears in front of them with a green apple. He presses a kiss to Calista's cheek in greeting before turning to Theo and Pansy.

"Dion's awake and eaten most of the pancakes. If you lot want any breakfast, you best hurry." He warns. As the two exchange a panicked look and rush off towards the kitchens, Calista sends her friend a look of gratitude.

"Thanks, Dray." She sighs, following them as she locks elbows with Draco. He shrugs.

"Your cheeks were turning pink again." He says. "Figured they were on about the human." He gives her a knowing side-glance. She huffs.

"I was not blushing!" She denies, even as she tries to turn her head so that he can't see her. He laughs.

"Sure. And I'm not blond." Calista elbows Draco gently in the side and rolls her eyes just as they enter the kitchen. Dion stands by the bar, a plate of pancakes before him as he and Theo yell back and forth. Theo stands with Pansy near the stove, both of them wearing frustrated expressions. Ida and Ophelia sit quietly at the table sipping on cups of blood. Crab, Goyle, Blaise, and Matteo watch the exchange with excitement, occasionally adding in to cause more tension between the trio. Calista sighs and Draco chuckles.

"Enjoy." He says, placing another kiss on her cheek before sauntering over to the table and stealing Ophelia's glass. Calista walks into the kitchen, where the argument immediately quietens.

"What's wrong?" She asks, looking at no one in particular as she grabs her own bag of blood from their storage. Pansy hands her a glass from the cabinet beside her and Calista smiles. "Thanks."

"Dion's trying to eat all the pancakes again." Theo complains. Dion huffs indignantly.

"I am not! There's enough! See!" He gestures frantically to the plate beside Theo, where a large stack of pancakes rest. As he does so, he carefully moves so that his plate, where a much larger stack of pancakes sits proudly, is hidden from view. Calista sips from her drink to hide a chuckle.

"Theo, Pans, we have this argument every night. If you're so hungry, drink." She says, lifting her cup towards them. The pair pouts.

"Remus makes them for all of us!" Pansy argues. "He shouldn't be so gluttonous!"

"Wow, Pansy, I didn't know you knew any big words." Draco chimes in as he walks into the kitchen and places his and Ophelia's dirty glass in the sink. Behind him, Blaise and Matteo burst into laughter. Pansy swipes Draco upside the back of his head, causing the two laughing vampyres to laugh harder. Even Ophelia giggles, but Calista just sighs.

"Should I call Remus and ask him to come and make some more?" She asks, nodding when the three stay silent. Draco slips past her with a quiet chuckle and she finishes off her drink. "Hurry and eat, loves." She says, placing her glass next to Draco's. "We have to leave soon."

—

Getting to their lessons was always troublesome for the group of young vampyres. Only themselves and the trio affectionately referred to as the "Golden Trio" by all residents of Hogwarts knew what they truly were. Vampyres were still a secret to the public, one that their headmaster Albus Dumbledore was determined to help keep while also making sure the species had equal opportunities at schooling. When Calista had received her letter from the school, hand-delivered by the headmaster himself to discuss special changes in the curriculum and schedule for her kind, she was wary.

Not only would she be risking herself, but her entire coven would be in jeopardy should she accept the offer. At the time, they lived together in a cheap, beat up motel. They had charmed the workers there to allow them an entire floor so that their rooms were next to each other and worked at local cafes and diners to pay for housing. Calista would sneak into hospitals as far away from their home as possible once a month and collect just enough blood bags to allow them to survive, and Theo, Pansy, and Draco helped her monitor the younger ones. If they needed more blood than what Calista collected, one of the elders would go hungry or allow them to feed from their own vein. It was hard, but they managed.

So, when unlimited food, housing, and schooling was offered to her on a silver platter free of charge, she was hesitant. Draco was even more so. He sat next to her in the meeting, with Pansy and Theo on her other side, and glared at Dumbledore the whole time. He barely let the old man finish speaking before he was clearing his throat and demanding to know what the cost was.

Calista is shaken from her reminiscing by Ophelia tugging on her hand.

"We're gonna be late." She says. Pansy appears on the young vampyre's other side and begins petting her hair.

"Calm down, pet. We're about to leave." Pansy soothes as Theo and Calista exchange a glance. He nods and turns to go collect Matteo and Draco, the last of the group to be ready.

"Are the humans still outside?" Dion questions as he leans against the wall sleepily. Calista purses her lips.

"Yes. If Hermione doesn't rid of them soon, we'll just have to go out there with them." She says solemnly. Dion nods and Ophelia rests her head on Calista's shoulder.

"They scare me. Have you seen how they behave when they see Dion?" She scrunches her nose. "They act like wild animals."

"That's an insult to animals." Matteo says as he and Draco appear at the bottom of the stairs. Theo follows closely behind and Calista shoots them both a smile.

"Be nice. They're just curious, is all. We don't get out much." Dion snorts.

"Yeah, 'cause we can't. Seriously, Cal, I don't know why we're even here." Calista's expression hardens slightly.

"Because it was this or living how we did before." Dion grows quiet with the rest of the group at her tone, disliking their leader upset. Ophelia slouches further into Calista's side to offer comfort and Calista relaxes, sighing softly. "Is everyone ready? It seems we're just going to have to toughen up tonight."

The vampyres exchange wary glances but nod nonetheless, trusting Calista to get them to their lessons safely. She smiles.

"Well, best not to keep Remus waiting."