A Wizards Fairytale

Chapter 12

Druella Macnair strolled forward in her red ball gown, smirking slightly at the stares she knew she was getting. Rue wasn't the type of girl to be vain, but she knew she was beautiful. Unlike most girls, she didn't consider it a huge accomplishment. In fact, to her it was a curse, a curse that had doomed her to spend the first six years of her life living with a perverted uncle. He thought she was pretty too.

Aries smiled wryly. "You've always liked red dresses," he commented, his eyes glittering in mischief.

Rue glared at him. "You burned my last one!" she accused, causing incredulous looks and heads turning to look at Aries.

"You filled the keyboards of my piano with glue!" he shot back. "That's a sin!"

"Only because you threw me in the lake when I was fully clothed!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Kids," a silky smooth voice intoned, "If you keep fighting, you won't get any desert." Forward stepped a figure. In contrast to Aries's rugged Mediterranean looks, this boy was distinctively English with a strong jawline and traditional English features. He had forgone dress robes in favor of an imbecilely tailored grey suit that flattered his light brown hair and blue eyes.

Aries scowled. "Fuck off, Marsaille," he said.

Marsaille raised an eyebrow. "So eloquent, Kalgarias. I see that the English atmosphere is doing you so much good."

"Now, Mar, don't test him. It is Christmas after all," another voice said. A girl stepped forward, a kind smile prevalent on her flawless face. While not as beautiful as Rue, this girl was pretty in a soft gentle way. Her round face was framed by light brown curls, and she was wearing a flowing pink dress.

Aries smiled at the new arrival. "Hey, Emma," he greeted, the scowl starting to disappear from his face.

"Hi Aries," she greeted cheerfully. "Happy Christmas."

Aries just rolled his eyes, and a snort came from behind him. Another boy emerged, a smirk on his face. "Aries doesn't do Christmas, remember Em? He's the Grinch."

Rue glared at the Japanese boy in silver dress robes. Isamu was lucky he was an only child, or she would've killed him years ago. "Leave him alone, Mu. We're not all five year-olds trapped in a teenager's body."

Those around them listened to the snipping with interest. It was hard not to be charmed by the Beauxbaton champion, and yet few knew anything about him. It was obvious he was Greek, and it was rumored that his mother had been friends with the Potters. Drew Potter had told his fellow Gryffindors about the Weighing of the Wands, causing a lot of speculation about how exactly Aries Kalgarias made his wand. The more people learned about the mysterious Greek boy, the less they actually seemed to know.

Even the people that knew him well, his friends and cousin, were watching the group interact. Though Gabrielle was slightly familiar with Rue, Jacques and Iris had only met the slightly creepy girl the day of the first task, and none of them had ever met the other three. Though this didn't seem to bother Jacques, Gabrielle and Iris were both irked. Gabrielle felt her Veela ancestry flare up as the brunette chatted with Aries. It always seemed to bug her when Aries talked to any girl that wasn't her or related to him. Sometimes Jacques joked that fireballs would start coming out of her hands.

Iris was similarly irked, but her reasons were a bit different from the beautiful Veela. The Kalgarias family, despite its remarkable size, was very close-knit. Iris considered most of her cousins more like siblings than cousins, and she thought this about Aries especially. Of the cousins, Aries was the only one her age, and they had been constant playmates in childhood. Though he had been quiet when he first came into their family, Aries had eventually blossomed and became the idealistic dreamer everyone in the family adored. This had all shattered when Aunt Zana had killed herself. Her favorite cousin started to withdraw into himself, away from their family, and became a person she didn't recognize. The new Aries hated Christmas and didn't play the piano and always looked tired and drained even when he was smiling. Worst of all, he didn't seem to trust anyone anymore, even her.