A Need For Speed

[Snick]

It was disappointing she couldn't try out for Quadpot but knowing later on in the year she can try out for the racing team, made it easier to deal with the disappointment. At least her brother Patrick was able to try out. She was certain he will make the team. But that was then and now is now and Iris was full of energy and with classes done for the day she wanted to get outside and just have fun before she focused on her school work. Besides, Poochie needed a walk, he had been cooped up in her room since lunch.

Letting her friends know she was going to walk Poochie if they want to join her, Iris bounded outside and with Poochie doing his best to keep up she ran along the walkways, pausing now and again to let Poochie do his thing. It was so much easier to use magic to clean up the poop then having to bag it and toss it out. She loved her pet but she hated poop. Too bad she couldn't find a pet who didn't poop but she doubted any living creature wouldn't poop. Everybody did that and every creature did too.

"I wonder if dragons poop while they fly?" Iris asked Poochie with a giggle. "It would really be horrible to suddenly have dragon poop fall on you, good thing I don't like to stand still for long."

Poochie had nothing to say to this but he did spot something of far more interest to him. Yapping heartily he ran as far as he was able to on his leash towards a squirrel he spotted. When he was brought up short due to the leash, he strained against it, his yapping sounding a little more strangled than before.

"Oh Poochie, you leave that squirrel along, he's not bothering you." She scalded her dog, seeing the squirrel. "Lets go." She started walking and the little dog had no choice but to follow his mistress as they resumed their half walk/half run along the walkways.

"Hey, kiddo," sounded a slightly gravelly voice from behind Iris. Pratt, both hands in his pockets, was walking along with no particular destination. He grinned wryly at her, then raised his brows at Poochie.

"That thing hasn't been eaten by someone else's pet yet?" he said, batting his bangs from his eyes.

"Hey Az!" Iris greeted cheerfully, jogging over to where Pratt was. "And no, Poochie has not been eaten up...I am careful with him and nobody here is mean enough to want their pet to eat Poochie."

"So, what you up to?" Iris asked, thinking her oldest brother wouldn't be just outside for no reason at all. Odd to see him alone, most times Iris saw him he was with Siobhan. She grinned, deciding she could tease her big brother some. "Where's your girlfriend?" She drawled out 'girlfriend' in a teasing way. As far as she was aware, Siobhan was just Pratt's friend, not a 'real' girlfriend.

Phrixos narrowed his eyes and furrowed his brow, trying to feign confusion. But there was a little heat in his cheeks. "Girlfriend?" he said it drawn out, too, mimicking her. "I'm afraid I don't know what you mean. I've sworn off women, after that girl in New Orleans stole a kiss... and my wallet. That was my favorite wallet, too. At least now I know a chain connecting it to my belt loop is a useless defense against magic."

He was trying to steer the conversation away from the topic of girlfriends, of course. Pratt crouched down and scratched Poochie's head. "What are you doing out here all alone?" he asked, looking up at Iris.

Iris wasn't so easily distracted. "I mean Siobhan of course. You two usually are together every time I see you. She doing alright? Been over a week now but getting kidnapped isn't something she would forget easy I bet." Iris dropped teasing Pratt that Siobhan is his girlfriend, seemed mean now that she remembered Siobhan had been kidnapped, to tease her brother she was his girlfriend.

"I came out to exercise Poochie and let him do his thing. I was hoping some of my classmates would join me but they must be busy." Iris replies to her brother's last question. "But you are here now so I am not alone, then again I have Poochie with me so I wasn't alone before."

"Yeah, she doesn't like to be alone. She feels safe with me. Only god knows why," he half-chuckled. "She's doing a little better. You should talk to her sometime. Not about the kidnapping and stuff, but... girl stuff. She needs girl friends."

Arwen was nice, but she always had her nose in a book. Not everything could compare to something she'd read before. Then there was that sixth grader he'd seen her eating with on occasion. She idol-worshiped Esther. Other than that, he hadn't really seen Siobhan spending much time with other girls.

"Yes, we all know Poochie is the most fearsome, ferocious beast on the island and he would never let harm befall you," Pratt winked. "But, just for fun, how about you and I walk together and talk? How are you liking it here? Aside from the dance."

"I don't mind being Siobhan's friend. I will talk to her next time I see her." Iris agreed. She never had a sister, older or younger, just her three brothers. Iris thought it would be neat to have an older female friend. "I think it will be fun to be her friend and no I won't talk to her about the kidnapping. I bet she's sick of talking about that anyway and wants it to go away."

Iris knew she wished she could forget the fight Pratt had with their father. That was scary and she still hated it whenever she remembered her brother was at odds with their father and grandfather. That and how Patrick and Pratt didn't seem to get along much anymore either.

"Sure, I will love to walk and talk with you. I miss talking with you Az, you and Patrick both." She reached over and took Pratt's hand with her free one like she used to do when she was younger. "Schools really great..I love learning new things and I am doing great in my studies, the teachers say so. I wish I had a different Potions teacher though."

"Still worried about that mind-reading thing? Or the x-ray vision?" he chuckled. "I promise x-ray vision doesn't exist, and you would be able to tell if he was reading your mind. No one can get in your head and dig around without you feeling it."

"How do you know though? Has somebody tried to read your mind, Az?" Iris asked, looking up at him. "But even before I heard he could read minds, he gave me the creeps. The way he keeps looking at me...he's just really creepy."

"He's the only teacher that makes me feel uncomfortable." Iris admits, swilling the arm she was holding Pratt's hand with back and forth. "But besides him and what happened at the dance, I really like it here. I am looking forward to next semester too, so I can try for the broom racing team. I couldn't try for Quadpot, cause I am too small."

"No, no one's tried reading my mind," he chuckled. "You'll learn about legilimency in a few years. Not how to do it - just that it exists. But that's what it's called when someone reads your mind, legilimency. Only the most super advanced Legilimens can do it without their wand and the incantation. So, you'd see it coming from most people. And, yeah, he's creepy as hell. And smug."

Pratt let her swing his arm back and forth as they walked, smiling. It was odd to have her there at he school. "I'm sorry I haven't spent much time with you, Iris," glanced down at her. "I'll try to set aside some time just for you and me. And maybe Patrick, if he can try not to be a douche."

He shook his head. Good ol' Fran. Wasn't she a sixer when she started playing Quodpot. Maybe she just feared the Pratt patriarch. Lots of people did. He had the money for an unbeatable legal team and wasn't afraid to use it. If Iris, his little princess, was injured playing Quodpot, he'd likely sue Salem Institute into the ground.

"Maybe next year," he tried to reassure her. "Yeah, you can be on the flying team with me. We can even practice some in the off season. I practice every couple of weeks in the off season."

[Snick]

Iris was glad to hear it wasn't easy not to notice when somebody tried to read your mind. She just hoped Professor Glassman wasn't the super advanced Legilimens people who didn't use a wand or incantation. She always sat in the back of his class anyway, the only class she did that intentionally. Not really easy given how the potion's lab was laid out however.

"Patrick's not a douche." Iris looked up at Pratt. "He's just different than you are, you two had fun together before, so why is it different now?" Iris couldn't understand why her brothers didn't get along like they used to.

"I will like spending more time with you, even if its a little. It was always tough in past years when you and Patrick were gone. Now that we three are all here together we should do stuff together sometimes. We can all race together, even if Patrick doesn't join the flying team because he's in Quadpot. Either way I will love to fly with you any time."

"It just is, Iris," Pratt sighed. "Becoming the heir changed him. I know I changed, too, but... What I did was drop an act, became the guy here that I was at home, with you and Pat and Mike. When I practically handed him everything he ever wanted, I didn't expect to hand over that pompous ass attitude, too. All I see when I look at him is the jerk I used to be, and Dad. Plus a few extra unsavory characteristics."

Like playing the field, and not just in Quodpot. Pratt walked along, holding his sister's hand and watching Poochie yip and prance around. He hated dogs, especially tiny ones. They were so annoying and needy, like girls. There were a few exceptions, of course. Iris and Siobhan weren't like that. Then again, Iris was still young and he viewed Siobhan through rose-colored glasses.

"I'm working on repairing things with Patrick, okay?" his smile was unsure. "But there may have been too much damage done. I don't know. We can all three do things together. Maybe that will help."

"He's not as pompous as you think." Iris insists. "He watched over me that night when Siobhan was kidnapped...i know you would have watched over me too if you weren't watching over her."

"Patrick was always a bit jealous of you before...but when you stopped being what father wanted you to be...he knew he could do that instead. So he has nothing to be jealous of. I think that will mean you two can get along even better. Just forget about all that heir to the family business stuff and be brothers." Iris suggests, not really understanding why that would make a difference. She loved both her brothers and enjoyed spending time with both much the same amount now as in before the big fight Pratt had with their father. "I am really glad you are working on getting along with Patrick now and I will be glad to spend time with you both so its easier on both of you."

"Now, how about a change of subject?" Pratt grinned crookedly. "These friends of yours you mentioned... Anyone I might know?"

Lots of the older students had younger siblings.

"There's Kit and Lex, two girls who often come with me when I walk Poochie. They are pretty different from each other but we get along. Lex is kind of tomboyish, she likes sports and doing stuff like that. I should tell her about the broom racing I bet she will love to try that out. She will be good with broom flying by then I think." Iris began, not minding the change of topic. "A couple other people I talk to in class are cool, its really fun meeting so many different people. Some don't even have parents and don't have any money, or very little, makes me realize we are really lucky."

"You think dad will let me buy my friends brooms? I bet they could all use Pratt brooms." Iris smiles, thinking she could get her father to donate a whole bunch of brand new brooms to the school, even if they aren't the newest model. Would be better than the current school brooms. "You think he would donate some to the school too?"

"I've met Kit and Lex," he nods. "They seem quite similar to me. But you'd know them better than I do. We? You and Pat and Mikey are lucky, for sure. Me, not so much."

He felt lucky that his dad allowed the help to make enough food so that he could eat, too. They got allowance, not him. Well, not that his father was aware of. His mother sent him an allowance every month out of her allowance, so he could restock on school supplies or get a treat in Salem, without his father's knowledge or consent.

"Dad? Donate?" Pratt laughed. "That's like thinking the Pope might give Satan a high five. Not going to happen, kiddo. I asked a long time ago. You know, when I was his golden child. Asked him to give the school brooms, for free. He told me that kind of thinking would never get me anywhere. I would never earn a dime giving things away for free. Everyone would expect a handout. So he never got into the habit of giving freebies, except to us... But that's because he would just be giving his own money to himself... and all the workers that made the broom and put it on the shelf and worked the register... God forbid he pay the people that break their backs to fill his pockets."

Iris pouted. She never had any trouble getting Dad to give her things, well he was harder to get things out of than mother at times but she would never call him tight fisted.

"Dad isn't like that. He's firm yes and expects people to work hard and all that but he pays his employees. If he didn't they would not work for him, he' isn't some sort of evil tyrant." Iris decided her brother was just being mean because he no longer got along with father. She still didn't know the whole reason why there was a big fight between father and her brother, all she remembered was them yelling and swearing and she was taken well out of ear shot. The one time she asked her father about it he told her to not speak of it to him nor ask questions about it again. "He gives to charity and stuff like that I heard Mom talking about it in the past."

"She gives to charity. Dad doesn't," Pratt shook his head, never realizing his sister was so naive, blinded by her adoration of their father. "And if he knew she did, he'd stop putting money in her account. And then I wouldn't get an allowance."

Someday, she would see just how miserly Phrixos III was. He ruffled his own hair and tossed his bangs. "Anyway, can we talk about something else?" Pratt pleaded, wondering if shifting back to the subject of broom racing was possible without leading back to their dad. "Is there anything else you're interested in? Drama? Art? Music?"

Something that isn't a dangerous sport or anything to do with brooms, he thought.

Iris couldn't believe their father would stop mother from giving money to charity but she didn't believe her big brother would lie to her. She will just have to ask Patrick later as Az didn't want to talk about it anymore.

"I love animals and I heard there is a horse club. Next year I want to get a big horse, not just a pony so I can bring him here and ride him every day. Or maybe we can get a winged horse. Not a huge one but one that's about the same size as a normal horse. A hippogryff will be great too, think I can get one for my birthday?" Iris smoothly went into another topic. She didn't know whether she wanted to get into drama or not or acting. Dressing up all fancy to play a role did appeal to her however. "Drama does sound interesting but i don't know if I'll make a good actress, maybe I can become a costume maker instead? I do love playing dressup but haven't done it for awhile."

Phrixos chuckled.

"I'm sure you can get anything you want for your birthday," he watched Poochie, thinking of how spoiled she was. Once upon a time, he was, too. But he wasn't nearly as adorable as Iris.

"You'd make an excellent costume designer, Iris," he let go of her hand and put an arm around her shoulders. "Miss Buskirk might let you come help this year, if you ask nicely."

[Snick]

She smiled, happy to see her big brother laugh, even if it was just a chuckle.

"I think I will ask her if I can help with the costume designs. It will be great to draw stuff people will be wearing." Iris wasn't too good at drawing people but she enjoyed drawing animals. She never actually tried drawing clothing but she loved wearing fancy clothes. "It can't be too hard to design clothing...mom has such pretty dresses."

"I probably should head back to the dorm, Poochie's getting tired and I should do my homework. I bet Miss Buskirk won't let me help with clothing designs if I don't do my homework first." Having homework wasn't a new concept for Iris but she never had magic type homework before. She found it interesting but hard at times. "Want to walk with me to the dorms?"

"Great," he said encouragingly. "It's good to have a hobby. Plus, the sooner you find your niche, the better. Some of the legacies watch you from day one, so they know by your third year if they want you or not. Of course, there are always those students that do a total 180 and no one knows what to do."

Pratt laughed softly. He was referring to himself, of course, though he isn't the only student that changed drastically over a summer. "Sure, I'll walk you back."

"Oh I am sure I can get into any Legacy I want to." Iris replies with the confidence of a girl used to getting just about anything she wanted. "I will want to join a Legacy that's fun, but important too. I think being a Lighthouse Keeper would be interesting. I bet the view from the lighthouse must be fantastic. What's it like?"

Though she only been at the school a few weeks now she learned the Lighthouse picked its own Keepers, you couldn't apply for it. Being picked by something magical like it must be pretty important. Az was picked to be a Lighthouse Keeper, that made him even more special in her eyes. She doubled she will ever be picked. It may even be scary to be a Lighthouse Keeper as you never know when it may decide to send you off to some remote location to do some unknown task. Also it seemed you are only a Lighthouse Keeper one year and thats it. Also, only three other people are picked so you only have a small group. The other Legacies are so much bigger and you can be with them for the rest of your school year. To Iris, that was a better way to make long lasting friends.

"I probably join whatever Legacies my friends want to join." Iris decides. At this point she just didn't know enough about them to know which one would suit her best.

"The view is spectacular," Pratt smiled. "I'm not much for all the cleaning and repairing and running errands, but otherwise, it's not so bad being a firefly. I still prefer being a stooge, though. Being worried someone's going to come back for Siobhan or one of the other keepers isn't exactly Heaven, either. But I guess there are other perks, I just don't know what they are, yet."

Well, one of them is Siobhan, getting to see her every day, fall asleep and wake up to that angelic face, he thought, smiling a little dazedly.

"Or you could just stay in the dorms," Phrixos motioned to the building as they arrived. "Whatever you wanna do, kiddo. As long as the choice is yours and not someone else's."

Iris looked up at her brother, frowning. He was looking rather dazed for a moment. Why was that? A part of her sort of 'blacked out' when he brought up the attack on Siobhan. She still had the odd bad dream about it. Iris wouldn't call it a nightmare as she didn't wake up frightened and tear streaked. Every time she did have a bad dream about the dance, she would suddenly hear the sound of hooves on wood and remembered the stories she and Patrick shared and fell back into a peaceful sleep.

She still slept with a light on however.

"I think you are all safe...didn't the Lighthouse save Siobhan from that mean kidnapper? I bet it watches you all closer now because of that." Iris still found it amazing the Lighthouse was intelligent.

"Mom probably wants me to join the same Legacy she was in. I won't join the Skulls..Mr. Glassman is just too scary for me to be anywhere near where he sleeps."

"Yeah, it does. Keeps us pretty busy, too," he said. "As weird as it sounds, the lighthouse reminds me of Mom. I mean, how protective of us it is. Won't transport us unless it knows exactly where we'll be and how long we'll be there. To do anything fun, I have to sneak away after dinner."

Not everything fun, of course, was away from the lighthouse. He smiled down at Iris, wishing he could tell her about Siobhan, but she was still too naive. She would tell their father, even if only by accident, and think nothing of it. Their father would, in turn, have a chat with the O'Briens so they could discuss how awful and detrimental the coupling was for both family's reputations. Pratt would get pulled from Salem and sent who knows where - Pontchartrain, most likely. Siobhan would probably get to stay at Salem. They would never see each other again. Pushing the unpleasant thoughts aside, he led Iris to the dormitory doors.

"Hope and Glory, yeah. Mom would like that," he commented. "I should go before mommy dearest realizes I went off -course." Pratt pointed at the pin on his blazer.

Having the Lighthouse compared to their mother caused Iris to giggle. "I think Mom would like knowing the Lighthouse is taking as good care of you and watching over you like she does. I bet it will make her feel better knowing its keeping you out of trouble."

"You can still have fun without getting into trouble too." Iris assures her big brother. "Good night Azrael and don't look so sad, things are going to only get better, I know they will."