The Big Dipper

Wreaths of Silver

Ursula's date with Lucian was phenomenal. There was none of the awkwardness of her first date with Adrian or the awfulness of her only date with Edward. They went to the Leaky Cauldron — Ursula had had enough of Madam Puddifoot's for the time being — and Lucian was a perfect gentleman.

All the flirting that Lucian and Ursula had been doing up to this point didn't stop once they were officially dating, just now it tended to be punctuated by a kiss. They spent more time together as well, though it was mostly spent studying or doing homework. Ursula was taking ten OWLs, and it was imperative she keep up with her homework for all of them. She had agreed to start Gemma's studying regime after winter break. Lucian was in half as many NEWT classes, which often left him finished with his homework long before she was done with hers. He didn't mind, however, as he kept her company or brought her flowers or something he had swiped from dessert when it got late.

Ursula wasn't the only one with a bit of a romance. Lilian and Philip had a far less romantic approach to studying together: complete silence. But after an hour or so of this, Lilian inevitably got antsy and resorted to coming up with fun study games to get Philip out of his shell. The games worked, and Lilian blushed for the rest of the evening after Philip gave her a tentative peck on the cheek after one such game.

Vanessa, also, had dropped enough hints around Peter Parkinson that he had finally asked her on a date to Hogsmeade. Ursula thought him to be dull as paint and too traditional for her tastes, but she would never tell Vanessa that, and she was happy for her friend.

It was one such evening that Ursula was studying with Lucian — his arm was around her shoulders while they sat together on a couch in the Slytherin common room and she touched up her Arithmancy homework — that she nearly forgot about the League of Laurels meeting that was supposed to start any minute. Ursula leapt up hastily.

"Where are you going?" asked Lucian, confused, as she gathered her homework and deposited it in her dorm.

"Oh, er," said Ursula. The League of Laurels was still just her and a few close friends. But she had wanted to invite more students... "Come with me and I'll show you."

Bemused, Lucian followed her out of the common room and down to Dungeon Six. Cassius and the others were already there when they arrived.

"There you are," said Cassius. "We were waiting for you."

"Sorry," said Ursula. "I nearly forgot."

"What is this?" asked Lucian.

"Er, Lucian... welcome to the League of Laurels," said Ursula. "It's a... it's sort of a dueling club that I started a few months ago. So far, it's just been the six of us."

"But you did say it was time to invite some new members!" piped up Lilian.

"That I did," conceded Ursula. She turned to Lucian, who was still gaping at the room around him. "What do you think?"

"Brilliant," he said, eyes wide. "Absolutely brilliant. Can I join?"

"She'll make you sign a contract," said Adrian. Lucian laughed.

"I wouldn't expect anything less," he said, smiling at his girlfriend.

Ursula did, in fact, make him sign a contract that she then added to a book with all of the other contracts. Right now, they were just for proof, but she had a feeling they might come in handy later.

The next day, Ursula visited several prospective members to tell them about the League of Laurels, including Daria and Sophie, Philip, Edward, and Alexander, Peregrine and Terence, Aurelia Warrington and Guinevere Derrick, Cressida Selwyn, and Lewis Burke. They all agreed, intrigued and excited by the idea, and the next meeting of the League of Laurels was triple that of the first.