What is normal to the spider,
is chaos to the fly
or
In which Antares Kelly knew he would get tangled in the web of the Order of the Phoenix.
----------------
[THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX]
[BOOK ONE]
[MALE OC x UNDECIDED]
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
✯✯ ✯
If Antares had to describe the woman standing before him, he'd say she remained unchanged. Well, not quite— she did cut her hair. She had bangs now, long ones that framed her face.
As Vita took the stool to his left, that mischievous glimmer in her eyes, Antares couldn't help but feel a wave of nostalgia wash over him. It shouldn't have. It had only been a couple of months since he had seen her.
"Lu," Vita said with a playful grin, using his middle name as she always did when she wanted to tease him. "You're looking positively professorial. Hogwarts suits you."
"Did you have to look up that word?" he replied, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips.
Vita punched his shoulder, her curls bouncing as she did. "Still a prat, I see." She turned to Rosmerta, who was trying and failing to eavesdrop on their conversation. "A pint of Simison, would you please, Ros."
She looked back at him with a knowing smirk. "I work with Felix Rosier. You know he's cousins with Daphne and Astoria Greengrass, right? He told me they had you over at the Greengrass Mansion earlier in the summer. 'Said that they were going neutral. "
"Figures. So, how's life in the Ministry treating you?" Antares asked, downing the last of his gin. He waved a hand at Rosmerta, pointing to his drink. To his luck, the barmaid placed the bottle of Lichleaf in front of him.
Vita's eyes grew wide in excitement. A tall frothing glass of dark beer floated in front of her, coming and landing on the other side of her hand. "Oh, you know, the usual magical creature mayhem. But I love it. There's never a dull moment."
She took a short sip.
"I heard you're back at Hogwarts as a professor. It's about time they recognized your brilliance!" Vita cheered.
"Professor's Assistant," Antares corrected, pouring himself another glass. "With the staff track record, they need someone who will be able to fill in the gaps."
It didn't feel right— lying to her as he was, but the fewer people who knew, the better.
His friend pointed her finger at him. "That's no small feat," she disagreed, "You have to have all your N.E.W.T.s, which I know you do. I was there to help you study for them."
Antares hummed. He remembered how stressful that time had been. They spent long evenings in the library and stole the books after curfew so they could study more. If it wasn't Vita who sat there with him, it was Adrian, or sometimes even Penelope Clearwater, to the dismay of her ex-beau, Percy Weasley, who hated him for threatening to swipe the position of Head Boy. And he did, a year later.
"You're doing exceptionally, I hear," he said. "Bagged a position at the Ministry and earn your galleons by sticking it to the Wizengamot."
"I love a good fight," Vita nodded, "and they were trying to reduce the centaur territory in the Forbidden Forest again. They've already cut it in half!"
