"Koh...Leh...Aht...!" Sang Ava's brethren.

She danced in the firelight and clapped her hands.

"Leh Leh Leh AAAAH!" Ava sang.

She spun and twirled around the fire, beads jangling.

"Excuse me sir, can I tell you your fortune?" Naomi asked Kaoru, who was watching.

"No...I know what my fortune is." Kaoru watched Ava. "Has she always been..."

"One of the People?" Naomi said. "She is a Gypsy Shuvani. How did you not know...do you really know her or not?"

Ava turned to Kaoru and pulled him into a dance.

He hand never known this much about her.

Xxx

Hikaru headed to a Victorian style house. It was a beautiful house. There was a sudden crash, and Billie ran out, splaying her fingers out.

Lightning flew from her fingertips and hit a strange, red-skinned, tattooed creature.

It died instantly, and disappeared.

Hikaru hid behind the wall.

"I know you saw me Hikaru." Billie said.

She flicked her hand out and Hikaru was drawn to her with her magic.

"Is this really something to fear?" Billie asked. "It is something to celebrate. Something magical and beautiful. I want your life to be a part of mine."

Hikaru stared at her. "It already is. I will keep your secret."

Xxx

Kuri could feel it coming in the air tonight, though it wasn't until after dusk that she knew beyond any doubt that the tumescent moon would crest between the proud jut of the rocks this very night.

As befitting an event that happens, at the most, twice a year, the teachers instantly spread the word, calling all students to the shrine on the Lake.

Rei prepared Kuri, taking special care to anoint her body with fine oils, to outline her eyes with kohl, and to dress her in the richest of her Ritual garb—a sheath so soft it felt as if Kuri was wearing a garment made of water turned to cloth through the magick of her kami.

Kuri chose the largest and most beautiful of the conch shells she had collected during the last full moon. Kuri held it carefully before me while the teachers escorted her from the castle to the winding path that led down to the southern shore. As they walked, Kuri saw that the light from their torches reflected the pink center of the shell as if illuminating a secret.

Should Kuri live an eternity she would never forget the joy of this night. When the warm sea, ripe with salt and life, touched her bare feet, Kuri thought she might faint at the wash of pleasure that filled her.

Had the moon not been hanging full and bright above her beloved shrine, Kuri could have stood there for hours, utterly charmed by the lake. But the Goddess's moon reminded her Kuri her purpose so, with the aid of her circle, Kuri lit each of the element candles, placing them in turn on the hollowed pieces of driftwood carved specially to hold them. When her circle was complete, the music began. Drums beat, flutes trilled, and cymbals shimmered with happiness made audible.

Those gathered lifted their voices in sweet harmony, and Kuri danced, filled with the sea and the silver light of the moon. When that glowing orb was high enough in the sky, I raised the conch, signaling the music to quiet, then I launched the small candle vessels, stepping deeper into the embrace of the sea with them.

As always, Kuri's circle remained complete. Kuri's element did not fail her. Out of love for her, and to honor the Goddess, tides and waves stilled, suspending motion so that Kuri stood with her conch in the center of a magickal circle.

Smiling, Kuri dipped the shell into the sea and then turned to face the multitude that stretched as far as she could see along the shore and up the rocky coast. Tamaki was among them, watching her in awe.

"Merry meet!" Kuri cried

"Merry meet!" Their response was a joyous shout.

"The full moon is a time when the veil between our world and the Goddess, the known and the unknown, is transparent. On nights such as this magick is afoot!" Kuri spoke the words she knew so well that it seemed as if they had been written across my heart. "Tonight Ritual takes on a layer of mystery as the glistening symbol of Selene has risen between our beloved Shrine. So tonight, Hogwarts,we revel in the Goddess's additional blessing. Any task you finish tonight will be blessed . . . any purpose you choose to voice tonight will be blessed . . . any joining you wish to complete tonight will be blessed."

"Hail, Selene!" they cried.

"And now, I shall finish this Ritual of magickal completion." Kuri turned so that she faced the full moon, shining so brilliantly that it caused Hogwarts to cast deep blue shadows over the water. Holding the conch above her head, positioned so beams of silver light made the water within it molten, Kuri recited the Full Moon Blessing for the students: "Above me I feel your love, my Goddess. Full of the promise that through you, my Goddess. All things ripen and come to fruition, my Goddess. As the diaphanous boundary between worlds, my Goddess. Is illuminated by the white light of your sign, my Goddess. I ask that some small ray of your love descend, my Goddess. Fill this seaborne chalice, my Goddess. So that I might pour it over me, my Goddess. And take your gentle touch to the children of the night."

Kuri could not see the water within the conch, which she still held over my head, but I knew the instant Selene's hand touched it by the sudden warmth that radiated through her palms and the joyful gasps her heard echoing along the shore.

"The Full Moon is blessed for all to see; as the Goddess wills, so mote it be!" Kuri shouted the words as she poured the goddess-filled water over her head and down her body. The water covered her skin until Kuri glowed with a silver light that so mirrored the moon that she had to close her eyes so as not to be blinded by its brilliance, and while the others closed the circle, Kuri rejoiced with Selene's children of the night through song and dance, laughter and praise, and above all else through love . . . always love . . . .

Xxx

Reiko was just finishing playing the violin when she heard someone at the door.

Reiko Suoh lived in an apartment paid for by her father, but separate from her brother and separate from the main family.

Ever since the start of High School, Kyoya Ootori had come to visit on the weekends, bringing some strange gift that her brother had picked out.

Reiko opened the door. "What's the poison this week?"

"This time it's a jar of bath salts." Kyoya said. "I think he discovered your penchant for fancy baths and nice smells."

"Yeah cuz you blabbed Kyoya." Reiko snapped, putting the violin on its stand.

"Maybe." Kyoya advanced on her, lips at her neck. "Or maybe you should..."

Her breath caught.

Kyoya dropped it and stood back smirking at her. "Maybe you should talk to the goof once in a while."

Xxx

Meanwhile, Honey and Kiana sat around a table covered in cake and candlelight.

The room had stuffed animals everywhere and adorable soft things dotting every crevice.

In the background was a very normal casual CEO, Kiana's father, making tea in the kitchen.