Zoe did three spells. One to clean off the soot, one to clean the clothing and one to make Fade have a pine scent. Strictly speaking she didn't need to do the last one but it felt right since she was cleaning. "THere you go. Fresh scent and all." She grinned. "That'll be three knuts," she added with a wink to show she was joking.

Toru blushed when Zoe teased them a bit about Japan. "I-It's one of my favorite p-places t-to be." Jona was fluctuating between mumbling a bit to being overly Jona. It was a little hard to keep up with his energy. Perhaps it was because they had been on break for so long that they would need to have an adjustment period to get used to him again. "I-I'm glad y-you're d-doing well?"

Their conversation was interrupted with a loud whooshing and a bit of coughing from the fireplace. Toru blinked a bit at the arrival and gave a small grimace at Fade's new sooty appearance. They really wanted to help with a scourgify spell, but was a firm believer in the rules. "H-Hey F-Fade." They said as Zoe began cleaning the Ravenclaw.

[img align=center]https://i.postimg.cc/GpZYL1qK/FadeHA.png[/img] When the ritual was complete Fade stuffed his hand into his pocket and pulled out a scrap of crumpled paper. “Three knuts? Alls I’ve got is this.” He offered the paper up as payment, grinning. It had a small scribble of the date and time the current party was happening, along with a random crow skull and a rain cloud with lightning striking a stick figure. It must have been some sort of a Christmas Miracle Fade had shown up early if not on time to a function. “But seriously.” His grin dropped making it seem very serious. “Thank you.” He really did like this jacket after all and would have been remiss to have ruined it the first time he wore it out.

“Heya Toru. Hi Jona, Millie.” He gave a slight wave in their direction with a grin, his eyes darting between Zoe’s hair, Jona’s hat, Toru’s bow, and Millie’s holly hair piece. “You guy all have cool hair things going on. Zoe, is that a headband?” He leaned in maybe a little close to her trying to see how the antlers were staying on her head. Probably a dumb question but he couldn’t help it. He was sort of nervous and eager to see one person in particular. ( )

"I bet. I would love to see it," Zoe said brightly. She loved everything she read about Japan.

The teen laughed at Fade's offering. "Nah, keep it. Ye're welcome. How have ye been?" She snickered with the headband question. "Nope. Transfiguration. Like it? Ye can touch 'em if ye want."

A few moments later a crack of apperation sounded and both Magnus and his house elf were in the Leaky Cauldron. The boy was sporting a new hair cut, which also had a subtle blond streak in it. He looked lighter, happier. Something was different even if it wasn't sure exactly what. Magnus smiled. "Oh 'ey Fade, Zoe, Toru, Jona. 'ow are you all? He spotted Millie and Emmett so he waved to them. Food! I'm 'ungery. Thanks Mimsy." The house elf bowed and exited.

((sorry couldn't add Magnus in time with the forum glitch))

Thank goodness Sauvage had grown up in the wizarding world, otherwise traveling by portkey would have been a more unraveling experience. At the very least, it also raised her adrenaline which in this case had the lovely benefit of making her warmer. Walking into the the decorated room painted an immediate smile on her face. "Millie," She found her fellow Hufflepuff quickly. "You 'ave outdone yourself. Eet is lovely." She waved and said hello to Emmett, who she had met once or twice before. Although, with all the stories she had heard, it definitely felt like she knew him better than that. Upon looking around the room more thoroughly, she made her rounds and said hello to everyone. She noticed the new look on Magnus in particular and made mention, saying that the new look suited him. "You look good." She was genuinely happy for him. The moment was a bit awkward when she spotted Fade and Zoe very close together, but she knew better than to be worried. It would be a lie though, if she said there was no sting of jealousy to be felt. However, the moment passed and she smiled intimately at Fade, blushing immediately at the thought of the letter she had written him. She felt a new surge of nervousness that rivaled her emotions on their first date; biting her lip, she tried to casually hug him and kiss him on the cheek. "Oh," she blinked away her surprise and giggled. "You smell like ze forest." She could not resist and leaned in closer for another chance at the smell.

((OOC: I've been waiting to get back on here forever! So glad that glitch is fixed))

[edit] ((OOC: I was so caught up with Sauvage I forgot about Jona lol)) @/Raven @/Mewy Jona took a deep breath and finally found his social/emotional balance again in the group. It was difficult living a muggle life and a wizarding life. It often finally like he had split personalities, being two different people in two very different worlds. He winked at Zoe and smiled even bigger. "I think you'll like him," he told her. Jona side-hugged Toru and laughed loudly for the both of them. "Aw, I miss my awko-taco, Toru."

"Thanks Sauvage, you look good to, very pretty," Magnus said.

Zoe was pleased that Sauvage liked the pine scent she gave Fade. "I like ye're dress and stockings," she said. "Ye look very pretty."

"I can't wait." She sounded completely unfazed about the word "him." She didn't care one bit who he liked as long as he was happy and well-treated. But seeing Jona happy was a big thing for her. There were times he just looked too haunted.

“Not too bad, pretty alright actually. You’re really good at that, you know?” () Fade was poking at Zoe’s antlers when he heard a crack across the room that spawned Magnus and his house elf. “Hey dude!” Fade went to give Magnus a big hug, he had missed his friend over the break and hadn’t written half as many times as he should have. “Havin a good break, yeah? Check out Zoe’s antlers they are real.” He pulled Magnus over toward the small gathering and the food. Zoe’s antlers were giving Fade ideas about things to try with his hair later. He was pretty good at ears, but he hadn’t ever attempted horns… Besides that there was something different about Magnus, maybe beyond his hair. He looked healthier. “I like your haircut, man.”

Catching a glimpse of someone out of the corner of his eye, Fade’s heart skipped a beat and then doubled its pace when he realized who it was. His mouth was suddenly very dry and his face felt too warm. Sauvage floated toward him in her amazing outfit and gave him a timid hug, and a kiss on the cheek. At this point it felt like his heart had turned into a cageful of butterflies. Bending slightly he scooped her up into another hug, spinning her in a circle before setting her down again. “Hey! I missed you.” Reaching for her hand he kissed the back of it, knowing his face was probably red. “You hungry?” He leaned a bit closer and lowered his voice. “I’m not sure if we can eat yet, but I’ll totally steal you a muffin or something.” Winking he nodded agreeing with Zoe’s compliment. “Yeah, you look great.” He added, grinning from ear to ear. ()

(and all)

“Good, I’m pleased to hear that. Aww thank ye,” Zoe said blushing. “I like the peach fuzz feel of them.”

Magnus hugged back and smiled deeply. “More than you know,” he replied back. “Wicked Zoe, very festive.” He smiled at the food and started putting items on his plate. “Yummy.” He grinned. “Thanks. The blond is a permanent side-effect but I like it. And Mum took me to a wizard barber shop in Paris that told me I needed an artist hair cut for my artistic life. You know I kinda ‘ave an idea that I’m gonna go on the art path. I’m thinking of drawing for kids maybe. And maybe to some ‘ealing on the side. You know, put both things together kinda thing.” He stretched and part of his shirt lifted up. Even with only a small amount of his skin showing, Fade should have seen some of his scars from the werewolf attack. But there was nothing there. No trace of a scar.

“Side-effect of… Something I should know?” He tilted his head much like a puppy dog wearing a quizzical look. His mouth dropping opened as Magnus stretched. “Wait, what?” Pointing was rude sure, but he couldn’t help it. “Mags?” Fade was deeply confused. “What happened?” ()

Magnus smirked enjoying this. "Oh... just a little itty bitty thing." When Fade noticed another side effect the boy couldn't help it, he was beaming and he twirled. "All scars are gone. Like totally, never coming back, another side effect." Then he said, "I should've told you in letters but, 'ow? 'Ow could I not watch your reaction. You know food tastes so much better now? I can eat without 'aving too. And me parents took me to a lake at night to go swimming on a full moon. It was amazing. Little Tegan swam beside me and all. I wish you could've been there."

Fade’s jaw was still slack, he just stood there in disbelief. “No way, you’re full of it.” Unable to help himself he reached over and lifted up the edge of Magnus’s shirt just to confirm. “This is incredible… How is this even possible? How come you didn’t tell me sooner!?” He already had the answer but was feeling pretty overwhelmed. A mixture of hyper excited and a little hurt, but mostly excited. Excited and nervous. His hair was changing again, turning an odd shade of greenish yellow.

The last bit of what Magnus said sort of sunk in, and Fade was able to focus. “Yeah… I’m. I’m sorry I wasn't.” He would have liked to have been there for his friend, but it seemed that there was always someone else who could do it better, or had a better opportunity to do so. Regardless he was beyond overjoyed for him. No more pain, no more cycle, and food wasn’t a chore. Magnus even seemed to know what he wanted to do with his life after school now. That sort of got Fade thinking about his own future. “That is so awesome, man. Really, congratulations! We should celebrate.” He reached to hold Sauvage’s hand. ( )

(And all) "Thanks," Sauvage said to Zoe. The compliments had her smiling sweetly and a little uncomfortable. She loved dressing up, but she only ever did it for herself so it always startled her when others recognized the effort. She never seemed to mind Fade's reactions though, in fact she looked forward to them.

After her hug, Fade's unexpected lift-off elicited a squeak of surprise from Sauvage but she was soon giggling and grinning uncontrollably. He was becoming bolder and more comfortable with their relationship each day and the constant growth always managed to keep her on her toes. Quite literally it would seem. She shook her head politely at the offer to snag some food; she felt so full already from being in the presence of all her friends, and of course Fade. Sauvage contentedly looped her arm through Fade's and listened to the conversations play out around her. As talk between Fade and Magnus escalated, Sauvage became more interested. "Wait, Magnus..." She said in the background. "How does that..." She was beginning to understand, but was obviously lacking in details to paint a full picture. She squeezed Fade's outstretched hand in reassurance, still a bit confused.

Jona noticed some grand piece of news building in the group. His ears perked up, but he wasn't as familiar with the students talking. Something to do the the werewolf boy? He turned to Zoe, wondering if she could fill him in.

(and all)

“I would really ‘ave liked to tell you and ‘ad you there but it’s kinda top secret. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner,” Magnus said. “Thanks! Yeah that’d be awesome. Any ideas on ‘ow?”

Zoe stood there with her mouth open with a stunned look.

“I can’t really say what was done,” Magnus replied. “Sorry. But the results speak for themselves. I’m free.”

Zoe still gazed on in silence—but openly staring. She seemed to be speachless and no help to Jona

Sauvage smiled and shrugged as if it could not be helped. Truthfully, she did not care for the details. In all the time she had known Magnus, she had never seen him this happy before. And for that, she was grateful. "Well," she held tight to Fade with one hand and took Magnus by the other. "One sing is for certain. We must celebrate!"

Jona looked back and forth at everyone. He was starting to think that maybe the something that was happening was something we shouldn't talk about but that it definitely had to do with why the werewolf boy suddenly looked so happy and, well, normal again. He was thoroughly confused but heard the word "celebrate" mentioned twice and that was enough.

"YAAAY!! WOOHOO! CELEBRATE!" Running back to the refreshment tables, Jona grabbed what looked like champagne or sparkling cider bottles. He brought them to the group, handing off bottles to Zoe and Toru, and pulled the cork out of the first one like a boss, expecting fizzy liquid to bubble out like in the movies. And he wasn't wrong. It did bubble out, but instead of flowing down the bottle the sheer golden bubbles floated up and into the air. It was sparkling cider ornaments that floated through the room, waiting to be gobbled right out of the air. Jona was ecstatic, suddenly feeling like an astronaut on lunchbreak, and yet looking more like a golden retriever trying to eat a Scooby snack that'd been thrown to him.

((OOC: I hope it's okay that Jona (I mean "I") hijacked drinks and made a thing happen))

A look of utter confusion came across their face when Jona hugged them and said something. "W-W-What's an Awko-T-Taco? I-Is that a s-spell?" They paused for a moment and looked horrified. "W-Was it an a-assignment?!" Toru wasn't particularly good at Charms and feared it was something they had missed in classes.

Sauvage and Magnus showed up, they waved back when Sauvage showed up but something seemed different with Magnus. They moved over to talk to him and Fade about the same time as Jona popped the cork on the bottle. "W-What are y-you guys t-talking about?"

“Yeah, I understand.” () Fade grinned and gestured toward Jona with his thumb. “I think he has the right idea.” () Hair going back to normal as his heart rate decreased. It was such big news it was still a little hard to believe. He quietly wondered if knew, or if she even had an interest in a cure. Who wouldn’t? It seemed like a terrible affliction… He would ask Magnus later, or maybe Paddy would show up and he wouldn’t have to wonder.

The floating bubbles were a nice touch. Fade reached to coax a smaller one toward him so he could vacuum it into his mouth. It was very bubbly and tickled his nose so bad he sneezed, into the elbow of his free arm. “Ah. That’s spicy...” He said wiggling his nose, smiling as Toru came closer. “Magnus has some crazy great news. So now we have to party twice as hard.” ()

((OOC - sorry everyone. Work the past two days has been crazy. I'll respond tomorrow morning when I'm not tempted to fall face first into my keyboard))

(sorry its so short, couldn't really come up with a reply lol.)

Magnus smiled brightly. “Thanks Sauvage,” he said. He was very amused by Jona and the bubbles. “Yeah he does,” Magnus said about Jona. “Party.”

“Hey Toru,” he said. “Yeah, guess what? I’m cured. No more wolfie for me.”

Jona was in the middle of inhaling a sparkling bubble when he heard Magnus's news. He sputtered and choked, patting his chest in an attempt to help. "Wait," he croaked between coughs. As speaking became easier, he finished: "That's possible? Cool. I didn't think that was, like, a thing." Jona obviously didn't understand what it meant to be a werewolf in wizarding society and therefore didn't understand what it meant to suddenly be cured. He'd only been living as a wizard for two years now and every day he found something else to surprise - both good and bad.

Sauvage, who was pureblood, knew all too well the societal expectations and utter incredulity of a werewolf and its cure. Rather than point it out, as Magnus already made clear was not his wish, she simply smiled and tried to help sideline the conversation away from details of how it came to be. Instead, she focused on the outcome. "So, what was ze first sing zat you did after? What else eez zhere zat you still want to do?" She looked at Fade who still held her hand tightly, wondering what must be going through his head.

"It wasn't a thing really," Magnus said evasively. "First thing we did was go to a wolf sanctuary and donate some money." The boy shrugged. "Dunno really. Any ideas? So what did you do during your 'olidays so far?