The rain was quiet, but making its presence known. It smattered against the roof of the school and streaked the windows with silky water.
Kurt didn't mind the rain. Sometimes, when he was still at the circus, he had lain out in it with his adopted siblings. The water soothed his skin and trickled within the rivulets of his scars. It made him feel like he was being cleansed of his past sins.
Scott, however, hated the rain. He told Kurt that he didn't like the feel of soaking wet hair. As such, Scott had cancelled their planned trip to the park.
It wasn't a big deal; they could go the next day, or wait till next week if necessary. Kurt wasn't too disappointed. He could hang out with his friends in the school just as well. Plus, he could catch up on some reading.
He and Jean were in the library. It was the most beautiful library he had ever seen. At the circus, Mama Margali had had some books in her trailer, but he'd read them all dozens of times, and truth be told he was starting to get bored of them. The library in the school, however, was enormous. Shelves made of polished mahogany stretched to the ceiling, filling every spare inch of three of the walls. Peppered around, in the final wall, were small alcoves where one could curl up with a choice book. Some were one-person, some two-person, and some even four-person.
And the books themselves were glorious. They were crammed into every possible space of the shelves, all ordered alphabetically and by the Dewey Decimal System. They were all perfectly straight and lined-up, and every ripped cover or bent spine was carefully repaired by Jean. As the official head librarian – or so Scott liked to call her – it was her duty to keep all of the books in their proper place, monitor the records of who had borrowed what, and keep the library clean.
So, it transpired that on that particular day, Kurt and Jean had claimed their favourite alcove and were reading intently. They were near to the corner, so they could see the opposite wall, but they also had a clear view of the door, so they could watch who went in or out. Kurt enjoyed people watching, but only if his book was getting a bit tedious.
The two of them had been in the library for a couple of hours when Ororo entered, closely followed by Scott and Jubilee. The latter two were laughing to each other, but Ororo seemed angry.
Kurt looked up at the noise, and swatted his tail in annoyance. Trust Scott to ruin his afternoon of reading. Maybe he could ignore them.
But Ororo was stalking towards them. Her eyes were blazing, and tiny thunderclouds, small as marshmallows, were hanging just above her shoulders.
Jean had noticed them too by now. She glanced first at Ororo, then at Scott and Jubilee, who were trying to stifle their laughter in the presence of Jean and Kurt.
"What's going on?" Jean said.
"They," Ororo said, pointing at Scott and Jubilee, "called me names."
"What?" Kurt glared at Scott and Jubilee.
"What did you do?" Jean said. Then she paused, and suddenly started to chuckle.
"It's not funny," Ororo said through gritted teeth.
"It is a bit," Jean said.
"What?" Kurt said. Apparently Jean had used her telepathic abilities to gauge the situation, and Kurt was not happy at being left out. "What did they do?"
"We were just trying to decide what House she should be in," Jubilee said defensively.
"We weren't trying to offend her," Scott put in.
"They called me Gryffindor," Ororo said. "What does that even mean?"
"That does not sound like a nice word," Kurt said.
"Actually," Scott said, "I think you'll find Gryffindor is the best House."
"What do you mean, house?" Kurt said. "Isn't this our house?"
"That's not what he means," Jean said. She was still trying to stop laughing. "It's like a – a group, I guess. They're called Hogwarts Houses."
"Excuse me?" Ororo said. "I know what a wart is, and I am neither it nor the one of a hog."
"I have never heard of these houses," Kurt said. He didn't think that Scott or Jubilee would ever intentionally offend Ororo, but he couldn't make sense of what Jean was saying. Why would a hogwart be a house?
"It's from a book," Jean tried to explain. "Well, a series of books, called Harry Potter."
"They sound ridiculous," Ororo said, folding her arms.
Jean reached out her arm. Kurt looked at where she was pointing, and saw a book floating towards them. The book landed gracefully in Jean's outstretched hand.
"See?" she said, and Kurt did indeed see that the title of the book was 'Harry Potter'.
"Basically, there's this school," Jean continued, "where you go if you're a witch or wizard. It's kind of like this school, except you have magic powers."
"Is it real?" Kurt asked.
"No, it's fictional. But in this school, there are different Houses. When you go, you get put into one of the four Houses. You do everything with the people in your House; live with them, eat with them, have classes with them."
"This sounds like a good book," Kurt said.
"Maybe," Ororo said reluctantly, "but it doesn't explain why they called me a Gryffindor."
"That's one of the four Houses," Jubilee said. "Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw. So when we said Gryffindor, we meant that that's the House we think you would be in. If you went to that fictional school."
"Daring, brave, and adventurous," Scott put in.
Ororo still looked vaguely suspicious, so Scott quickly continued, "I'd be in Gryffindor too. It's the best House."
"Me too," Jean said.
"Nope," Jubilee said. "Slytherin is obviously the best."
"What House would I be in?" Kurt said eagerly.
Jubilee studied him for a moment. "Hmm. Hard-working, loyal, patient. A bit naïve. Hufflepuff."
"Good," Kurt said. He looked from person to person. "I, er, think."
A couple of days later, the incident was relatively forgotten about. Kurt had forgotten about it, anyway.
But on Monday, he entered the common room to find Ororo sitting on the sofa. She seemed to sink into the soft leather, dwarfing her. There was a book in her hand, but she wasn't reading it, Kurt could tell: her eyes were unfocussed and distant.
She didn't notice Kurt come into the room until he sat in the chair next to her. His tail – it had been more controllable lately – flicked to the side and curled around the edge of the chair. He smiled at Ororo.
"Good morning."
Ororo didn't reply, only vaguely smiled at him.
"What's the matter?"
"Nothing," she replied. She wouldn't meet his eyes.
"Ororo?"
She sighed. "You will think I am being silly."
"No, I won't. Tell me what's wrong."
Ororo was silent for a moment, but eventually said: "I did not like what they said about me. The other day, I mean."
Kurt was confused for a second. "The other day? What… Oh, you mean the Hogwarts thing? I think they were just joking with you. They didn't mean to hurt you."
"It wasn't that I offended," Ororo said. "I was pleased that they said those things about me. I just…"
"What?"
"I just don't think they are true."
"Do not say that. Of course they are."
"They are not, though." She looked at Kurt for the first time, and he saw her eyes brimming with tears. "They said I was daring, brave, and adventurous. I am none of those things. I tried to end the world."
"What are you talking about?" Kurt said gently. "You helped save the world."
Ororo shook her head. "I was tricked by Apocalypse. I tried to kill you. And I was afraid. No, I am not daring, and I am not brave. Nor am I adventurous. That was the first time I had ever left Cairo before."
"That doesn't mean you are not those things," Kurt told her. "You helped us to stop Apocalypse. If not for you, we would not have won. It took courage to stand up to him like that."
Ororo looked doubtful.
"And all those children that you helped! If not for you, they would be living on the streets. You taught them how to survive. You didn't have to do that. You could have just looked out for yourself, but you didn't. You saved their lives. That is what makes you brave."
Ororo didn't speak, though Kurt could see a faint smile appearing on her lips. Finally, she said: "Were you offended they called you naïve?"
Kurt smiled. "No. It's true."
Ororo laughed. Without him consciously doing it, Kurt's tail brushed against her foot.
"Sorry," he mumbled.