Cult, with a capital K
It all started with an entirely innocuous and not- at-all-suspicious box.
Mind you, the box had holes punched into the top and was meowing slightly, but that's not the point. The point is, the entire thing could have been avoided had it not been for the box.
It was some unnamed student who discovered the box – sitting in a pile of leaves and sluggishly melting snow, going unnoticed by the passers-by hurrying along on their way to tedious and no-doubt incredibly important lives. The student, however, was late to their k-pop appreciation meeting when they literally stumbled upon the box.
Cursing the water now melting through the palms of their gloves and into the fabric of their jeans, the student almost left the box there and then, but they didn't. Just as they pushed themselves to their feet, dusted off the snow from their jacket, and turned to go, the box gave an almighty shake, paired with an unholy screech which startled the student enough to glance down.
Curious, they had opened the box, preparing to defend themselves against whatever agent of hell had found itself trapped in a soggy cardboard box in the middle of a park in winter.
Two pairs of amber eyes blinked slowly up at them, belonging to two balls of fur, shivering in the cold and meowing plaintively.
The ice melted, just a little.
The first point of call was to get the cats somewhere warm. This – obviously – meant the college dorm the anonymous student lived in. While they themselves was allergic to fur, perhaps someone in the dorm wasn't.
Which was how the kittens found themselves tucked away, still in their box (though it had begun to dry out) seated on the kitchen table of Hufflepuff House dormitory, one of the four dorms of Hogwarts U campus-based living.
The next person to stumble upon them was a student by the name of Nymphadora Tonks – though don't call her that if you want to see the cold light of morning. Tonks was a staple of Hufflepuff House; in fact, one could call her an icon. Ever since someone had managed to fly Mr Snape's (the infamously unpleasant history professor and RA of Slytherin Dormitory) personal…accoutrements from the Gryffindor Tower's steeple, Tonks had become a household name of Hogwarts U.
(Of course, no-one actually talked about who achieved the feat, but it was common knowledge nonetheless)
Now, in terms of people who could have found them, the kittens really could've had better luck. Nymphadora "Don't-call-me-Nymphadora" Tonks was, by all definitions of the word, a klutz. She had once upended an entire farmers market just by tripping over an electrical cord. The tents had gone down like dominoes and the raspberry jam cyclone was still whispered about in dark dorm rooms by the light of torches.
Point was, the kittens had no idea the chaos that was about to befall them as they blinked up at the sudden light when their box was opened once again.
Tonks' eyes lit up. "Wicked," she whispered.
The sky screamed in streaks of red and orange as the sun sunk lower into the ground. Dusk was falling over Hogwarts, throwing the Art building into vivid colour as hooded figures scurried through the front doors. They passed through patches of amber light as they went down the corridor, flitting in and out of the view of the windows.
Four made up the group. Four were late.
"I told you we didn't have time to paint our nails," the last figure groused before he was harshly shushed by the others. He rolled his eyes but fell silent nonetheless.
The corridor ended in a staircase and at the bottom of the staircase was a locked door which the group came to a stop in front of. The first rolled up her sleeves and steeled herself. She drew up her fist and paused. Her eyes flickered nervously.
She knocked once, sharp and succinct.
The four waited with baited breath, holding themselves still as the grave. There was a shuffle from behind the door, and a soft grunt, then a panel next to the door handle slid open and a gruff voice asked, "Password?"
"Collateral," the one who had knocked answered.
The panel slid shut and there was a rattling of keys then the door swung inwards with a creak. The four stepped into the darkened room and the door was closed behind them.
"You're late," the doorman told them. "The ceremony is about to begin."
He walked off before they could respond.
The four shared glances, then followed after him.
The room at the end of the candle-lit corridor was not what one would expect. For one thing, it was light and airy, walled in sky blue wallpaper as opposed to brick, and bordered by colourful beanbags and cushions.
For another, it had glow in the dark stars tacked to the ceiling.
Overall, the room looked more like a playroom than a secret meeting place.
There were windows high up on two of the walls, which looked out onto the central courtyard of the Art block. They were at ground level to the outside and hidden behind a series of bushes; perfect for letting in light while not garnering curious gazes.
People mulled about the room chatting in soft voices when the door opened. Bill entered the room, letting in the latecomers behind him. He closed the door then met eyes with Tonks. "All accounted for," he declared.
Tonks, lounging on a yellow beanbag at the front of the room, nodded regally. "We shall begin," she said, attempting to rise from the beanbag but stumbling and falling back onto it. Beside her, a red-haired boy stood leaning against the wall engrossed in his phone, his robe hanging haphazardly from his shoulders, unfastened to reveal a Pink Floyd shirt and battered jeans. He reached down and grabbed her forearm, hauling her upright without looking away from this phone.
Tonks got her feet under her and dusted herself off. "Thank you, Charlie," she said.
Charlie grunted in response, swiping at something on his phone.
Tonks turned to a door which blended into the wallpaper almost seamlessly and raised her hands. The room fell silent immediately.
"Oh, Insidious Wazir!" Tonks cried suddenly. The room echoed her. "We gather again to incite your wisdom! Give unto us your might, and bless us under your tutelage!"
"Choose us!" The room chanted in unison.
"Let us worship your greatness, and bathe in your worthiness!"
Again, the room intoned, "Choose us!"
Tonks waved her hands, encompassing the entire space in the breadth of her arms. "Allow us the honour of your presence, and honour us in your attention!"
"Choose us!"
Tonks threw her arms up, palms facing the door. She yelled, the room joining in her chant, "Choose us! Choose us! Choose us!"
Bill made his way through the room of chanting people to the door. He opened it as the chant was reaching its peak, and the chant cut off on one final incantation of 'Choose us!', the sound ringing through the air as a hush fell.
The room stared at the empty doorway. Then, there was an inquisitive 'mreow?' and a socked creature slunk around the doorframe, tilting its head around the door. The room let out a collective 'aww' and a second creature appeared behind the first.
"Behold!" Tonks declared boldly. "Sir Ramen and Fluffy Fluffikins the Third!"
A cheer went up, and Tonks grinned.
The Chosen Clan members lounged about the room; robes abandoned around the outskirts in favour of dragging the beanbags into the centre. Sir Ramen and Fluffy Fluffikins the Third made their way around the room lazily, revelling in the attention they were lavished with by the exhausted college students.
A game of uno was being played under one of the windows, though the stakes were high. The bag of skittles which served as their wager was much depleted, and two fights had already occurred.
On a collection of red beanbags pilfered from around the room, the Gryffindor hard-cores played a game of strip poker, with items of clothing strewn around the ring of students like a barrier keeping away those not brave enough to participate. Or maybe to keep inside those stupid enough to play.
Sir Ramen was currently sitting on the lap of a student with a severe cat allergy, regally surveying his kingdom as the student above him sniffled and sneezed, denying gentle suggestions from her friends that 'maybe you should give him to someone else' or 'you don't have to let him stay if you don't want, you know', and turning down offers of tissues.
Tonks sighed contentedly as she sunk further back into the chest of Bill. She snuggled in closer, humming at the feel of his hand stroking through her hair. "This is the best idea I ever had," she said happily.
Charlie didn't look up from where he was scrolling through his phone, a crease between his brows. "Whatever you say, Nymphadora."
Tonks opened her mouth to protest but stopped with a pout. "I hate you," she grumbled, crossing her arms petulantly.
Charlie snorted. "No you don't."
Bill chuckled behind her, causing a rumble she felt against her back. He gave her hair a light tug. "No you don't," he said, dropping a kiss onto her head.
Tonks pouted for a moment more before rolling her eyes. "Fine," she conceded. "I don't hate you."
"Of course you don't." Fleur appeared in front of them, wearing just her bra and a pair of jeans which clung to her hips. She had her shirt slung over her shoulder and she dropped it onto Tonks' head. Tonks spluttered as she peeled it off her face. She looked at Fleur in outrage, but Fleur just smirked at her then sat down on Bill's other side.
Tonks snuggled into Fleur's shirt. "I'm keeping this," she mumbled grumpily.
"Whatever you want, dear." Fleur leaned over and dropped a kiss onto Tonks' forehead.
Tonks pouted, but inside she was glowing. This was what college was all about.
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Round 4 for the QLFC
Team: Montrose Magpies
Position: Beater 2
Prompts: Cult
Additional prompts used:
(2) word collateral
(3) creature cat
(15) setting dusk
word count: 1686
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Ahhh college amiright? The weird and wonderful things one gets up to when surrounded almost entirely by students. To be fair, I can actually see something like this happening.
song rec - Breezeblocks by alt-J