"Arthur-san!"
Arthur looked over his shoulder at the approaching Japanese man. Behind him were two more Hufflepuff's tailing after him. One was a ditsy looking lad with chestnut brown hair and a loose curl on his head. The other one was a taller male with Steele blond hair slicked back along with icy cold blue eyes. Kiku stopped in front of Arthur and smiled.
"Arthur-san, I hope I'm not bothering you, but I must ask you something."
"Oh you're no bother Kiku, in fact it has been awhile since we talked hasn't it? How are your studies going?" Arthur smiled back, it was Wednesday and Arthur had just finished up his last class of the day.
"They are going fine thank you. Ah, excuse my rudeness." He turned to his two companions. "This is Ludwig Beilschmidt and Feliciano Vargas. They are second years in Hufflepuff like I am. You most likely know Ludwig-san's older brother, Gilbert-san correct?"
"Ah, Gilbert is his brother? Well yes I do know him; he is my house perfect after all. How do you do, I'm Arthur Kirkland." Arthur held out his hand and Ludwig shook it.
"Hullo, it is nice to meet you. I apologize for any trouble my brother may have caused." He nodded his head in greeting.
"Oh don't worry; he is a little hard to get used to though." Arthur admitted and cracked an awkward smile.
"Ciao! It's nice to meet you Arthur!" Feliciano enveloped Arthur in a large hug, much to the Brit's horror.
Arthur wasn't used to such affection from strangers; therefore it threw him off harshly. Ludwig thankfully pried off his friend from the scared Brit.
"Feli, please." Ludwig looked rather troubled.
"U-um so Kiku, what is it you wanted to talk to me?" Arthur glanced back at Kiku.
"Ah, have you seen a white cat with a pink bow around campus? My… friend… he lost his cat and has been looking all over the place for her." Kiku drew his brows together in slight worry.
"Oh? No I don't think I have, but I will keep an eye out."
"Oh thank you. Its name is Kitty and it belongs to Wang Yao from Ravenclaw. If you find her then bring her to me, I'll return her to him." Kiku looked slightly relieved at having Arthur's help.
"I'll do that." Arthur smiled at the Japanese boy.
Kiku opened his mouth to say something but was cut off as Arthur was tackled to the ground in a flurry of robes and blond hair.
"Arthur! What are you doing waiting around here for? Come on let's go already!" Alfred spoke from his position of sitting on Arthur's back. Arthur had been knocked to the ground and was spread out on his stomach, his books scattered in front of him. Arthur groaned and Kiku looked panicked.
"Arthur-san, are you alright?" He looked torn between trying to help the Brit up and relying on his taller friend to help Arthur.
"I'm alright kiku no need to worry- Alfred get off of me you daft oaf!" He snapped, glaring over his shoulder at Alfred. Alfred grinned down at him and reached out, tugging on some of Arthur's hair gently.
"You shouldn't make that face often or it'll get stuck like that." He poked at the crease in Arthur's eyebrows and grinned again. Arthur growled in annoyance and pushed against the ground, managing to make Alfred tumble sideways.
He landed with a thump and Arthur stood up, dusting himself off angrily.
"Al you shouldn't tackle people like that." Arthur looked up at the boy who stood a few feet from them. He was the one who looked really similar to Alfred. Arthur blinked sheepishly; he hadn't even noticed the boy.
"Ah don't sweat it Mattie! Artie let's me tackle him all the time." Alfred waved his hand nonchalantly; he remained sitting happily in the grass.
"I do not." Arthur huffed in annoyance. "And it's Arthur. How many times must I tell you that? Honestly it's like it goes through one ear and out the other. You should pay attention more or you'll end up missing something important and then where will you be?" He paused in his scolding to look up at Kiku and his friends. Kiku was shifting on his feet awkwardly while Ludwig was entertaining Feliciano.
"Ah, excuse my rudeness. Um Kiku, this is Alfred Jones. Alfred, this is Kiku Honda, Feliciano Vargas, and Ludwig Beilschmidt."
Alfred stood up and dusted his pant bottoms off, grinning. "Nice to meet you, I'm Alfred F. Jones. This is my brother Matthew Williams. We have different last names cuz our parents split up and he went with my mom so he changed it to her maiden name."
Matthew gave a shy smile and a small wave, hugging the polar bear back pack closer to him. Arthur gave a kind smile in return, holding out his hand. "Nice to meet you Matthew; It must be hard being Alfred's brother." Arthur joked.
Alfred hugged Arthur tightly, "Aww Artie! That's mean!" He whined.
Matthew covered his mouth in a small giggle, "No I don't mind. You do get used to him after awhile."
"I see." Arthur made a small chuckle and Alfred made a false gasp of horror.
"Not Mattie! You evil Slytherin, how dare you corrupt Mattie's mind with your lies!" He wriggled his fingers in a menacing manner, making Arthur take a step back. "I will make you free Mattie from your curse!"
"Now hold on a minute Alfred. Wait a second. Alfred. Alfred!" Arthur shrieked as Alfred tackled him to the ground for a second time that day. He was then attacked with fingers at his ribs, tickling him violently. Between his laughs and gasps for air he struggled to shove Alfred off of him. "Alfred, get off!"
"Well Arthur-san, we'd best be going. Do have fun. It was nice to meet you Alfred-san." Kiku made a slight bow; not affected that he was being ignored. "Matthew-san, would you like to join us?"
Matthew glanced at his brother who was practically suffocating the poor Slytherin with tickles. He then looked back at Kiku and smiled, "Yes please." The group of four left the tussling two, a new conversation lifting up amongst them.
"I said- Off!" Arthur gave one large shove and Alfred toppled backwards.
"Oof!" He grunted as he landed on his rump. He winced and looked at Arthur who was trying to catch his breath.
Alfred laughed and flopped on his back, looking up at the sky. Arthur rolled his eyes and lay down next to Alfred, his breathing started to even out gradually. The two were unaware of the accusing and judgmental stares their fellow house members were giving them.
"Oh Arthur! I just remembered what I really really really wanted to tell you!"
Arthur looked over into the blue depths, his own bright green eyes holding the gaze. "What is so important that you'd want to tell me?"
"Well we were in class in Defense against the Dark Arts and Professor Braginski was telling us about how we'd be having a joint class with another house of first years." He used his hands to gesture, his excitement to much to put into simple words.
"And?" Arthur inquired, motioning for him to go on.
"Well it turns out we'll be having it with Slytherin! So that means you! Isn't that awesome?" Alfred laughed, his loud and happy voice ringing clearly. He launched over and landed on Arthur's stomach. Arthur groaned and coughed, closing his eyes and furrowing his brows. "It's really awesome huh?"
"Yes… it's wonderful. Simply smashing." Arthur coughed, cracking a small smile.
"I know right? Dude it's gonna be so awesome!" Alfred began to ramble and Arthur simply let him, throwing in an "hmm" or nod of the head every now and again.
"Oi, Allistor, you see that?" Colin looked over his shoulder at the two boys lying in the open field.
"What?" He looked up from the game of poker he and Dylan were playing. Colin flicked his head over to the two who were now standing and gathering their things. Allistor stood up, his auburn hair catching the light in a beautiful way. He narrowed his eyes and leaned over the small brick wall Colin was sitting on.
"Well I'll be damned. Isn't that the little runt?" His thick Scottish accent had been picked up from his mother; Arthur had gotten the British accent from his father.
"And Alfred's with him. You know, the little first year that's good at flying." Colin scooted over as Dylan came to observe.
"I was always wondering where the kid disappeared to after classes. Looks like he was hanging around a Slytherin the whole time." Dylan commented and looked over at Allistor. He watched his brother's face turn into a frown.
"A little to close ain't he?" Colin murmured, a smirk grazing his pale lips. He was referring to how Alfred had grabbed Arthur's hand and began pulling him along. "Where is it you think they disappear to everyday?"
"Why don't we just ask? It's pretty clear Alfred's got a few screws missin' from that thing he calls a noggin. He'll be sure to show his elder class men, right Allistor?"
Allistor glared at Alfred and Arthur's retreating backs before turning around and going back to their game. "Who gives a damn how the runt spends his time? If it ends up causing trouble then we'll interfere. Till then it ain't our problem."
"And what do you mean by trouble? Till he makes Arthur cry? That won't be really hard to do; he's such a cry baby." Dylan snickered and sat back across from Allistor.
"But if he does then we'll kick his ass like with the others right Allistor?" Colin smiled as he opened up his book.
"After we beat the shit outa Arthur, I ain't having him think I've gone soft." Allistor hissed and slammed down his hand. Dylan groaned as he again lost to his brother.
The three brothers did honestly love Arthur in their own way, not that he knew. They just picked on him a whole lot because they found it fun. However, it was only them who were allowed to pick on Arthur. When they were kids they had beaten up anyone who had made fun of Arthur for being strange. They protected their little brother secretly, though none of them would be willing to admit it. They would continue to deny protecting him; they would take it to their graves if they had to.
Colin glanced up at the faint figures of Alfred and Arthur; he gave a small smile and looked back down at his book. "He's finally opening up to someone. We'll mess up that kid if he hurts him won't we?"
"You bet your ass we will." Allistor growled.
"Today we will be learning on how to use counter spells. You can use any un-harmful spell. I might not even mind if you use harmful spells, but then the headmaster would have my head, da?" The Russian professor gave his cold creepy smile. His eyes surveyed the class and he smiled. "You will be choosing pairs of the Slytherin household, but since there aren't many Slytherin, then you will be pairing up with other Gryffindor students. Now go choose your partners quickly, gender doesn't matter."
In a flash the empty seat next to Arthur was occupied by a bouncing Alfred. Arthur rolled his eyes and sighed, but he couldn't hide the smile on his face.
Alfred had tried to get his attention the entire class by whispering Arthur's name, throwing paper balls, even using his wand to levitate the back of Arthur's cloak so he'd notice. Arthur had tried to remain a gentleman and not clobber the daft boy, though that was proving to be harder than he thought. Alfred was now trying to whisper to Arthur about something that happened in his first hour, not that Arthur really cared.
Professor Braginski stopped talking and looked at Alfred who had yet to notice their creepy teacher's gaze. Arthur hit his arm rather hard and Alfred jumped, looking up at Ivan and giving him a guilty smile.
"Mister Jones, mister Kirkland, is there a problem?" His smile made it even creepier to be singled out.
"No sir. No problems at all." Arthur quickly said, sending Alfred a harsh glare.
"Yeah, no problems sir." Alfred shrugged his shoulders and smiled sheepishly at Arthur when Ivan turned around to write on the board. Apparently he was writing down the rules.
Everyone had chosen their own house members, none wanting to mingle with the other houses. The Slytherin's sneered at the Gryffindor students while the Gryffindor students sent them glares. Only Alfred and Arthur were sitting as a pair, the both of them not involved in the hostility.
Arthur could read the atmosphere well enough to know that this would be a dangerous battle. The Slytherin's were sure to show off their magic skill and "pure-blood talent" as they put it. Alfred, being the daft fool he was, remained ignorant to the growing tense air.
"Alright, now that you are in groups we will start." He paused when he noticed Alfred had started talking again. Arthur tried shushing him, but it was already too late. "Mister Jones, since you seem really excited for this I'll do you a favor and have you go first. But, I'll switch your opponent. Drella, you will switch opponents with Mister Jones."
"What? But professor!" Drella, a first year Slytherin with black hair in two pigtails, stood from her seat. Her dark brown eyes narrowed and she puffed out her cheeks. "Why do I have to be paired up with a snotty Gryffindor?"
Her partner, Helga, also stood up. "Sir, they were the one's talking. I don't see why we have to switch because they can't shut up." She glared at the two boys. Arthur narrowed his eyes and returned her sour gaze ten-fold. She looked slightly started at the obvious hostility Arthur was easily given off.
"Because I said so. Alfred, Drella, you two will go first. Now the rules are simple. When I say start you will cast spells on one another and the one who stays in the ring wins." He pushed the chalk board out of the way and revealed a ring taped onto the floor. "This class period is to try and get kids to join the Dueling club. Its loads of fun." He smiled and let out a small laugh.
Alfred grumbled as he walked up and into the ring, directed into the center by Ivan. Drella was put in front of him and she sent Alfred a smug glare. Arthur watched her, appalled. That walking clown was definitely thinking she already won. Arthur sent Alfred a glare that clearly read, "You'd better win or else."
Alfred gulped and raised his hand. "Um Professor Braginski, I can't really fight a girl. I'm a hero, heroes don't fight girls."
"What? Afraid you'll lose, Gryffindor?" Drella sneered at him, pulling out her wand with dainty fingers. Alfred narrowed his eyes, not liking being talked down to.
"Ready? Turn around with backs to each other, then take three steps." Ivan ignored them, taking an empty seat to watch. Alfred also pulled out his wand, gripping it tightly in his hand.
Doing exactly that they then waited for Ivan's signal. Ivan smiled happily and nodded. "Start."
Alfred whipped around, his expression determined. He moved with quick reflexes, easily beating her in speed.
"Multicorfors!" He shouted.
The snooty Slytherin gasped in pure horror as she watched her clothes change to a sickly yellow and horrid purple. The Gryffindor students broke out laughing and pointing at her. Arthur covered his mouth to prevent a snort from coming out.
Drella glared daggers at Alfred and raised her wand. "Obscuro!"
A blindfold magically appeared and wrapped around Alfred's head. He let out a yelp as his vision was suddenly blocked. Unsure of where he was pointing he flicked his wand.
"Uh….. Petrificus Totalus!" He heard a gasp and then the thud of a body. He managed to rip off the blindfold to see Drella on the ground, her body rigid and her posture like a soldier in attention.
Arthur grinned, that was one of the spells he and Alfred had looked at in the books he checked out. Alfred had aimlessly tested it out on Arthur which had left him like that for a good hour, making Alfred panic and Arthur oh so very angry. Alfred could only practice the midlevel spells, harder spells weren't his forte. Arthur was the king when it came to that.
Ivan held up a hand, deeming the match over. "Since Drella can't move, this fight goes to Alfred. Good job." The Gryffindor's cheered for their house mate, all rage at him being friends with a Slytherin forgotten at the moment.
Alfred strolled back to Arthur cockily while Drella's comrades dragged her stiff form out of the way. Arthur smiled at Alfred and whispered a soft praise. It was enough to make Alfred beam twice as bright, for Arthur's compliments were never frequent.
Arthur's match ended up being last, he was going against Helga. In their classes Helga was second best when it came to magic, Arthur was first. Their transfiguration class was one she took pride in, never once has she messed up her spell. However, neither had Arthur and he preformed it so easily without using unnecessary extra amounts of magic. Alfred wished him a quick good luck as Arthur stood.
When their backs were to each other with wands at the ready, Arthur's heart was beating quicker. Which spell should he use? One he learned outside of class? One he learned in class? He wanted to show how good he was even if it was over a simple duel. He wanted the Gryffindor house to realize there was a Slytherin who wasn't all talk. He wanted them to see that Arthur Kirkland was better than his brothers.
Taking his three steps Arthur took a deep breath, calming down his racing heart. He needed to keep a level head or the spell would react on his emotions and go astray. Calm and collected, I need to stay calm and collected. He thought to himself over and over.
"You may begin." With Ivan's signal the duel started.
"Bombarda!"
Arthur knew what was coming and dropped to the ground and lay flat on his stomach as the spell was cast over him and the explosion hit the book case causing papers and book's to fly everywhere. This harlot is trying to kill me!
Alfred stood up, his seat knocking back in his haste. "Arthur!"
Arthur flicked his wand quickly, "Alarte Ascendare!"
Helga let out an unsteady gasp as she was hoisted high into the air and suddenly dropped. She let out a yelp as she hit the floor and groaned, rubbing her backside. Arthur quickly stood up, poised and ready to counter attack any spell she threw. She growled and grinded her teeth together, she stood up and readied her wand.
"Aqua Eructo!" A jet of water came from her wand and hit Arthur, knocking him back a few steps. He coughed and spit out water, whipping his face and shaking out his now soaked hair.
He glared at her through his wet bangs and swung his wand downwards. "Cantis!"
Suddenly, Helga burst out singing old show tunes. Her voice was horrible and cracked in all the wrong places. The entire class broke out laughing, all except Ivan that is. She grew red in embarrassment as she couldn't stop her horrible singing. Raising her wand she sung out the words, "I've had it! Take this! Lapifors!"
Arthur could instantly tell his reaction was late, the only thing he could do was place his hands in front of his face. It all happened in a flash; the faint white glow surrounding Arthur made a visible yellow light appear as it slammed right into him. The classroom was enveloped in blinding white light as both Helga and Arthur were thrown back by the force. Arthur hit the book case and fell to the floor; Helga hit the wall and landed on the desks.
There were screams from the girls as the bodies thudded lifelessly to the floor. Alfred tore across the classroom and dropped next to Arthur, struggling to lift him up a bit. He turned him on his back and leaned over him, gently smacking his cheek. "Artie. Artie wake up."
The other Slytherin girls were trying to wake up Helga, everything was quiet. The Gryffindor's sat there, their jaws touching their desk in shock. Arthur's eyes snapped open and he quickly sat up, gasping for air violently. He began coughing while trying to catch his breath. Relief washed over Alfred's face and he began patting Arthur's back.
Helga groaned awake, sitting up with the help of the Slytherin members. The rest of the students began whispering amongst themselves.
"That was a rabbit charm wasn't it?"
"It shouldn't have caused an explosion like that."
"Was it performed wrongly?"
"It seems like it, the rabbit charm shouldn't have caused such a bright light."
Ivan, however, had seen the reason why the spell caused such a ruckus. To the untrained eye one couldn't have seen the pure magical shield Arthur conjured out of thin air without the use of an incantation. Ivan had been able to see Arthur's magic in the physical plane and that meant something. It meant that Arthur's magical level was beyond that of a normal student in Hogwarts. Ivan pondered this quietly, his expression keeping its innocent happy smile. Ivan decided he would indeed have to talk to the Headmaster about this, it could prove to bring trouble if the boy didn't learn how to control his raw magical talent.
Ivan clapped his hands and walked to the front of the room. "Ok. Since Helga apparently intends to kill her own housemate, 10 points will be deducted from Slytherin. This match is also a draw, Helga, I would advise you to return to your Transfiguration class. You might've missed a step in your spell, hmm?" Ivan's smile seemed to dare the girl to retort.
She stifled her lip and glared at Arthur, clearly blaming him. Arthur was too busy at the moment to even notice. He was attempting to pry off the sobbing Gryffindor.
"I thought you DIED! You hit the bookcase really really hard and then you fell to the floor and didn't wake up! Dude that was so crazy! Don't die again Arthur!" He wailed into the Brit's poor ear.
"I didn't die! Alfred, get off of me!" Arthur shoved at him harder but the boy wouldn't budge.
"Well I have nothing more to teach you today. You can go." Ivan walked up the steps and disappeared into his office, not waiting to see if his students left or not. A large number of Gryffindor students rushed to Alfred, shoving Arthur out of the way to get to him.
"Alfie, how did you know those spells?" A girl asked.
"Yeah man, they were wicked!" a boy piped in.
Arthur furrowed his brows as Alfred continued to be the popular little wizard. Arthur crossed his arms over his chest, annoyed that Alfred was ignoring him in favor of his fans.
"Oh those. I just read about them in a book." He grinned and scratched the back of his head.
He did? May I remind him who bothered to get those books in the first place? That…. Tosser! Arthur growled and turned around, snatching his books and storming out of the classroom without the American.
"Cool! So you taught yourself how to use those spells? That's awesome!" A few of the girls had scooted closer to Alfred.
"Actually Arthur taught me, he's really good at magic. Ah," Alfred looked around, not finding the familiar busy eyebrows, messy blond hair, and stunning green eyes anywhere. "Speaking of which, were is Arthur? He was here a minute ago…"
"Artie wait up!"
Arthur glared over his shoulder at Alfred. Alfred sent him his winning grin as he threw an arm over Arthur's shoulder.
"You shouldn't glare so much, it's gonna give you wrinkles as big as your eyebrows." He laughed.
"They aren't big! Now get off of me." Arthur shrugged off his arm none too kindly, picking up the pace and moving through the hall.
"Aw come on Artie, why are you being so mad for?" He pulled up next to Arthur and put his hands behind his head in a relaxed manner. They passed by a few first year Gryffindor girls, they giggled and waved to Alfred.
"Hay Alfred, good job in flying today."
"Yeah you were great!"
Alfred grinned brighter, liking the praise. "Thanks!"
They walked away giggling amongst one another, Alfred's eyes trailing after them unintentionally. Arthur almost gagged at the sight, scoffing and rolling his eyes. He moved his feet faster, wanting to reach his dorm and lock himself in there.
It had been a week since his duel with Helga, his body was still sore from being tossed like a doll. When his father had told him to make sure he hit the books, Arthur was pretty sure he hadn't meant that. Arthur grimaced at the thought, he hadn't gotten a single letter from his parents, and he hadn't seen his lovely owl since he had sent it to Hogwarts ahead of him. I'll have to pay him a visit, maybe bring him a mouse or two as an apology.
"Artie!" Alfred ran after him, running in front of him to block his path. "What's with you today? You're more angry than normal!"
"Nothing's wrong, now get out of my way." Arthur shoved him out of the way, intending to continue to his dorm. He was only a hall away from the Slytherin common room!
Again he was stopped as Alfred blocked his path yet again. "No, something is wrong. You haven't talked to me all week since you and Helga dueled. And whenever I do try to talk to you, you always end up getting mad for no reason and storming off!"
Arthur glared him down, his anger boiling with every second. That's because you usually have your stupid fans tailing after you. "I just don't have time to hang out Alfred, I have tests coming up." Arthur moved around him and continued walking. "When I finish my tests I'll listen to what you have to say."
"Arthur! You're avoiding me aren't you? What did I do? Did I do something?" Alfred watched the Brit walk away, growing frustrated.
"You didn't do anything. Don't worry about it. Just go and study in the library, I'm pretty sure you have tests coming up too." Arthur waved it off, not paying much attention in favor of getting to his rooms before he snapped.
"I did do something didn't I? Is that why you're so mad? Well tell me and I'll apologize! I'll say sorry as many times as you want me to!" He wouldn't be deterred, he followed after Arthur.
"I said you didn't do anything! Now leave me alone I really need to study!"
"Arthur!" Alfred reached out and grabbed Arthur's hand. Arthur was pulled to a stop and he growled. Turning sharply on his heel he glared at the slightly taller boy. "Seriously what's your problem? I don't see why you're so angry."
Truth be told even Arthur didn't know why he was angry. He couldn't place a reason at the moment. But right now reason was gone from his mind as he slapped Alfred's hand away. "Piss off! I told you to leave me alone didn't I? Why do you insist upon bothering me all the damn time? I'm busy! What about that don't you get? If you're so bored then go hang around those Gryffindor girls you seem to fancy so much! Because I for one don't care much for your company! Truth be told, it has been nothing of a bother to me! I would please me endlessly if you would just leave me alone!"
Arthur was left panting, having said that in one entire breath. Alfred's expression fell and he looked wounded. His lip quivered and Arthur thought he would begin to cry, however he wasn't prepared for the sudden angry expression Alfred took. From the entire time he had spent with him he had not seen Alfred look angry, not once. It was an expression that did not suit the usual happy face.
"Well fine then! Maybe I will just leave you alone! You were getting pretty annoying too! Always yelling at me and nagging at me! I'm surprised you didn't nag my ear off! It'll actually be a joy to not hang around you all the time! That way I won't need to see your big ugly eyebrows and your sick disgusting Slytherin green! I was ready to puke if I had to stay with you for an hour longer!"
Arthur was taken aback by the harsh tone, he bit his bottom lip and he attempted to glare. It failed though; he was to hurt to fake even a small scowl. "Fine." That was all Arthur could say, his throat had involuntarily locked itself up. He turned around quickly and ran, not looking over his shoulder at Alfred.
He entered the Slytherin common room without running into anyone. Gilbert, Antonio, and Francis, surprisingly, were in there chattering away. Apparently Francis, Antonio, and Gilbert had all become friends over a little fire cracker incident in the lunch room. They looked up, all surprised to see Arthur who was looking close to tears.
"Yo eyebrows! What the hell happened?" Gilbert sat up from his spot on the couch; he had been lying down with his feet spread out over Francis's body.
Arthur walked past them and towards the stairs leading to the first year dorms. "Nothing. Everything is simply smashing." He whispered, barely audible.
"Ay, Eyebrows! Wait a sec!" Gilbert moved to stand up but Antonio held up a hand.
"Mi amigo, let him handle it ok? He just needs some alone time." Antonio smiled.
"Oui, I agree with Antonio. Let the little master be alone for awhile." Francis flipped his hair and let out a soft chuckle.
"Fine… but if I get my ass kicked by the Kirkland trio of psycho's because I didn't tell em their little brother was crying, then I'm kicking your guy's asses." Gilbert sat back down, spreading his legs out again and resting them on Francis's lap.
Arthur remained on his bed for the entire night, sobbing into his pillow. He had skipped dinner and had locked his door to make sure no one would bother him. Outside his window a group of Grindylows gathered, all chittering worriedly amongst themselves. Arthur sniffed when one of them made a cry that was Arthur's name in their language. He looked up and whipped his nose with his sleeve.
"Oh… sorry. I must be a sight huh?" He moved over to the trunk by the window, climbing on it.
They all chirped simultaneously and Arthur's brows furrowed.
"No don't worry. I-I'm fine… I just got a little hurt. My friend… er… ex-friend Alfred… The one I would tell you about? He said some pretty cruel things to me. He made fun of my eyebrows and my house colours. But I said some pretty mean things too… I was just angry. He was getting all this attention and he was ignoring that I was even there! I thought we were friends! Friends don't ignore one another right?"
Arthur sniffed and laughed at one who hissed and chirped angrily, blowing bubbles in its frustrations.
"No, you don't need to go so far as to drown him, please. But thank you none the less." Arthur sighed and pulled his knees up to his chest and rested his chin on them. "I've never had a real human friend before. Alfred was the first one to befriend me. That twat with his joyful personality, always pestering me, and not to mention his bottomless pit he calls a stomach. He practically bragged to me about how he could eat three turkey legs and still want more! Who can handle that much food?'
"He's also to nosey for his own good, his posture is terrible, he can't pay attention when I'm helping him study, he's got horrible manners, he'd rather fly then learn, he's so annoying when he wants to play, he doesn't seem to understand the term 'rest', he also eats to much food in one sitting, he's pudgy around his mid-center, he doesn't listen when I tell him he needs to eat healthy, he constantly insists that he's not fat when you can obviously tell he is thick around this area, and did I mention how he has horrible manners?"
The Grindylows groaned in their watery home, some seeming to drop lower in the water. Four of them chirped something and Arthur looked surprised.
"Really? 7 times already? I didn't think I was rambling on for that long…" Arthur had the decency to look slightly embarrassed. "Sorry about that… But I guess after venting about his flaws I feel a little better. I'm still a little angry at how rude he was to me, but I was also rude to him too. I guess me being the gentleman, I have to be the one to apologize first?"
The Grindylows nodded after chattering amongst one another.
"'That would be best', huh? Well alright then. I'll tell you guys if he forgives me or not." Arthur smiled sadly, "Maybe he won't. I did call him annoying and that I was sick of his company…" Arthur shook his head and stood on his knees, clenching a fist in front of him. "No! I won't back down! If I do then I'll only regret it in the future! Yes! Tomorrow I will go apologize to Alfred and ask for his forgiveness!"
The Grindylows did flips in extra enthusiasm. Arthur smiled at his odd friends and waved at them. "I'd best turn in for the night then. I need my strength for tomorrow!" The Grindylows chirped goodnight and swam off, one after the other. Arthur leapt into his bed and snuggled under the covers, closing his tired eyes. He let out a small sigh, mumbling to himself about how he'd say sorry to Alfred.
Arthur had seen Alfred walk out of his last class before the blond could spot him. Arthur puffed out his chest and squared his chin. He took a deep gulp of air and took a step closer to the unsuspecting blond. After about four steps the breath left Arthur and he quickly scurried around the corner so Alfred wouldn't notice him. Arthur groaned as he watched Alfred walk further away.
He slumped against the wall, his head in his hands. He tugged at his hair in frustration. This had been the fourth time he had avoided Alfred all day. Every attempt he had made to go and apologize had ended in Arthur chickening out at the last minute. This had been going on for the past 3 days. Arthur bit his bottom lip, very much aware that he was a big coward. Arthur stood up and moved to the stairs, going up and up till he was on the seventh floor.
I need a place to collect my thoughts…He thought gloomily. The doors to the Room of Requirement opened as he thought of a place to hang out. Arthur was pretty sure Alfred had stopped coming to the room. Arthur had done the same, not wanting to run into the boy for apparent reasons.
Arthur rubbed his temples, fully intending to at least take a small nap to clear his head. He looked up and almost choked on his air. Alfred was sitting on the floor of the room, doodling on a piece of paper. He looked up when he heard the doors open and his blue eyes widened at the sight of Arthur. Arthur took a step back and felt for the door handle behind him.
"O-oh my. Wrong room…" He said lamely.
"Arthur!" Alfred yelled. He jumped up and ran straight for the Brit, tackling him to the floor with sheer strength.
"Oof!" The back of Arthur's head hit the door and he groaned in pain. The form clinging to his waist, however didn't seem to notice the painful bump he caused.
"Arthur! I didn't see you at all this week! I thought you were avoiding me and I got really sad because I knew I said really mean things to you! I'm really, really, really, really, really sorry Arthur! Please forgive me! I didn't mean to make you mad! Please don't hate me." Alfred lifted his head up and so he could look into Arthur's eyes. He saw the puffiness around his eyes and Alfred's throat became constricted. He grabbed Arthur's face and pulled it closer, pouting and his lip quivering. "I-I even made you cry? Oh god I'm seriously sorry Arthur! I didn't mean any of it. I don't hate your Slytherin colours or your eyebrows! I really like the green, it suits you! I'm so sorry! I'm sorry Arthur!" Alfred hiccupped, pulling Arthur into a bone crushing hug.
Arthur sat there, stunned. He hadn't expected this turn of events, really, he was actually thinking Alfred wouldn't forgive him. He also didn't expect him to be the first one to apologize either. Arthur blinked when he realized Alfred was waiting for an answer. Arthur gently pried Alfred off of him and took his face between his hands.
"Alfred…" He looked into those blue pools. His brows furrowed, he could easily tell Alfred hadn't slept properly the past few nights. "You dolt…"
Alfred's brows creased in confusion and he opened his mouth to respond. Arthur beat him to it by enveloping him in a tight hug. "Stupid. I was supposed to apologize first. Now you've gone and ruined my plan." He chuckled out. "I'll forgive you if you forgive me for being a complete arse."
"Really? Then I forgive you! I forgive you one-hundred times over!" He returned the hug and laughed out.
Arthur and Alfred both dwelled in the relief that their friendship hadn't broken up over a silly little fight. After a few minutes of simply remaining quiet and enjoying each other's company in the comfort of the pillows, Alfred yawned.
"Hay Artie?"
"Hm?"
"Will you be going home for winter vacation?" Alfred muttered, turning over to lie on his side and look up at Arthur.
"Yes actually… What about you?" He also turned on his side and stared into Alfred's eyes.
"I'm staying here; my parents went back to America to visit my gramma. Though we'll be going back to American for summer and then come back here for the next school year." Alfred grinned. "You should come with us to America! I can show you my old elementary school and my old friends!"
Arthur chuckled and smiled at him. "We'll see Alfred. We'll see…"
"Well you'd better come with me or I'll kidnap you! Hero's promise!" Alfred declared proudly.
"I don't really think a hero should promise something like that…" Arthur gave him a skeptical look.
Alfred simply laughed and jumped up from where he lain. "Well I have a butt ton of homework I need to do! Artie, will you meet me here tomorrow after class?" Alfred looked at Arthur and twiddled his thumbs.
Arthur hesitated before nodding, also standing up. "Yes, I will try to."
"Good!" Alfred's grin got bigger and he held out his hand. "Come on. Let's go see if food's ready yet!"
Arthur was thinking of commenting about Alfred always wanting food but decided against it. He simply sighed and took his hand, letting Alfred lead him out of their hide out and into the open.
"Oi, eyebrows, you've got a letter from the head master." Gilbert commented as Arthur walked in. Arthur looked at him and Gilbert waved a dark green envelope with beautiful and loopy cursive written in golden ink.
Arthur walked up to him and hesitated before grabbing it. "What for?" He flipped it to the back, the headmasters seal binding the letter. He turned it back to the front and read the words.
"To Arthur Kirkland, House of Slytherin."
"I don't know. Either you fucked up big time or you're getting crazy good praise." Gilbert grunted. He stood up and slung a bag over his shoulder. "Me, Antonio, and Francis are gonna go camp in the clock tower. If Ivan asks where we are, tell 'em you don't know." Gilbert went to the fifth year's room and called out. "Yo Antonio! Hurry your ass up!"
Ivan was the head of the Slytherin household, having scared the living daylights out of the young Slytherin girls when they first learned that.
Arthur sighed and shook his head. He opened the letter and carefully took it out. He unconsciously cleared his throat and began reading in a hush tone.
"Dear Mister Kirkland,
How are you feeling? It has come to my attention that in your Defense Against the Dark Art's class you were hit with a spell that should have transformed you into a rabbit. I was told by Professor Vargas that your opponent and house mate, Helga Necof, usually never performs transfiguration wrong."
Arthur paused in his reading, attempting to recall his transfiguration professor. His full name was Romulus Vargas and he was apparently related to Feliciano Vargas and Lovino Vargas. He constantly insisted not to call him by his last name. He claimed using his last name made him feel older than he actually was. Arthur shook his head and looked back down at the letter.
"Your Defense Against the Dark Art's teacher, Professor Braginski, claims to have seen something extraordinary. I would very much like to see for myself if what he says is true. I've waited this long because I wanted you to be healed and well by the time I summoned you. Please come to my office after dinner is served. I'll have the Care of Magical Creatures Professor escort you. Please don't worry; you're not in any trouble if what Professor Braginski said is true.
Till then,
Vladimir Romania
Arthur blinked and furrowed his brows together in confusion.
"Seen something extraordinary? What, was it me hitting the bookcase or Helga falling flat on her arse at her lame excuse of a perfect transfusion?" Arthur rolled his eyes and chuckled. He headed out of the Slytherin common room and looked back down at the letter.
Dinner had already ended, was he supposed to have waited for the Professor who was to escort him? He looked up when someone cleared their throat. A tall man with steel blond hair and a stunning resemblance to Ludwig was standing in front of him. He was paler than Ludwig by far, his hair pooled over his shoulder in golden waves and over his back. He had on a loose fitting dark green tunic with a few tears along the edges here and there. He had on brown pants with dark brown boots pulled up to the knees.
The man held out his hand to the young boy. "Hullo, I am Germania Beilschmidt, the Professor for the Care of Magical Creatures. You're Arthur Kirkland correct?" His voice was calm and soothing, his German accent playing with his words in a nice way.
"Um yes, that'd be me…" He shook the man's hand, "Um you said your last name is Beilschmidt, would you perhaps be related to Gilbert and Ludwig Beilschmidt?" Arthur hoped he wasn't prying.
"Ja, I am. Now come with me." He let go of Arthur's hand and turned around, walking down the hall and towards the stairs.
Arthur quickly folded the letter up and shoved it in his pocket. He ran after Germania and trailed behind him in only a few steps. He glanced at the German then at the floor. He was as quiet as Ludwig, if not more so. He was completely different than Gilbert was, that's for sure.
"So… you're the Professor for the Care of Magical Creature's class?" Arthur cleared his throat, hoping to relieve the tense atmosphere.
"Ja. The class is an elective for third years. Interested in taking it?" He looked down at Arthur but continued his brisk pace.
"U-um yes actually, I've always had a, uh, fondness for magical creatures…" Arthur wondered if it was alright to say he had the "Sight". He wouldn't be made fun of in a school of magic right? "I have something called… the sight…" Arthur trailed off.
"Ah." Germania said simply. The silence was back and Arthur wondered if he should've even said anything. "So… the magical beings… you can speak to them and understand what they say?"
Arthur's head snapped up and he nodded, giving a small smile. "Um, yes actually. I befriended a group of Grindylows. They often swim around the window in my dorm room. They come visit me before I go to bed and I usually tell them what happened that day or what's on my mind."
"Grindylows? They're rather dangerous, let alone almost impossible to befriend. You have a wonderful gift there, you should think about being in my class. We'll be starting a new course in the near future where those in the class will be required to buy and raise a young creature of your choosing. It will be a long term assignment, and in the end you'll be allowed to keep the creature you raise." Germania's tone indicated he was fond of what he taught.
"That sounds exceedingly wonderful; I would very much like to experience that myself." Arthur smiled up at the Professor.
Germania opened his mouth to say more, but he never got the chance to. He was interrupted as someone called out his name.
"Germania! Il mio amore, mia cara, il mio sole splendente!" Germania grew paler, if it was possible, and his expression turned grim.
The Transfiguration Professor, Romulus, came down the hall and draped an arm over the German's shoulders. "Ja… hello Romulus…" He muttered reluctantly.
"Il mio barbaro biondo, you said you would drink with me in my quarters did you not?" He purred in Italian. Germania remained unimpressed as he shoved Romulus's face away.
"Sorry Romulus, I am escorting Arthur to the Headmaster. Go drink by yourself." Germania huffed in obvious annoyance.
Romulus finally registered Arthur's existence and he leaned over and grinned. "Oh? Hello there, mister Kirkland. Are your studies going well? We have another test coming up right before winter break, you gonna be ready for it?"
Arthur nodded his head vigorously. "Oh yes! I've been studying properly for it! I'm prepared for the test Professor Romulus." He smiled at the fun-loving teacher.
"That's good that's good. Well I hate to be rude but I do have to get going." Romulus stood up straight and smiled down at the boy.
"Yes, do leave." Germania mumbled under his breath. His impassive expression broke out in surprise as Romulus hooked an arm under his. Romulus began to drag Germania away, scarily proving he was stronger than the German beauty.
"Sorry Arthur, but I'll be taking your escort. The Headmaster's office is down the hall and to the left. Stop in front of the statue and say "Acasă la un vampir". Then just go up the stairs and you'll reach his office. Good luck!" Romulus saluted him and winked, grinning and dragging Germania away.
"Du dumme römer Zauberer! Ich fordere zu lassen Sie los! Ich werde Sie du zu den Spinnen in den dunklen Wald zu füttern!" Germania hissed out, attempting to pull away from the other Professor. Romulus's grip didn't falter and he continued to draw away Germania. Arthur watched their disappearing forms; the only sound left after them was the German's long stream of cussing.
Arthur followed Romulus's guide, not really caring about the two professor's relationship. He stopped in front of the gargoyle and cleared his throat. He said the password and it began to rumble; it shifted and revealed a staircase. Arthur hesitated, wondering if this was a good idea. He bit the inside of his cheek and walked up the stairs with purpose. He climbed to the top and stopped in front of a door. He knocked on it timidly and waited.
"Come in." The voice said from the other side, muffled by the thick door. Arthur pushed it open, muttering a small excuse me. He blinked and closed the door behind him. Inside the room were Professor Braginski and Tino Väinämöinen, the charms Professor.
Tino was a kind and fragile looking man who loved teaching the students. The charms he taught had the softer feel to them, matching his personality well. Arthur was one of his top students, always completing the charms and assignments given. Arthur smiled at them and looked up at the Headmaster; he was feeding a bat a piece of an apple.
Without glancing up, Vladimir spoke, "Good afternoon mister Kirkland. Please take a seat." Arthur did as he was told, glancing from his Dark Art's professor to his Charm's professor. Both watched and waited for the Headmaster silently.
When Vladimir came over, he sat down in the desk opposite of Arthur. He intertwined his fingers and rested his chin on them. He smiled, his rather large canines poking out from under his lips. "Welcome mister Kirkland. No need to be afraid, you've simply been called here on a whim professor Braginski had. Ivan, would you mind explaining why Arthur is here?"
Arthur looked up at Ivan who blinked and kept his smile. "Yes, during the partner duel his class participated in, one of his house mates, Helga, performed a spell meant to turn him into a rabbit. But that was not the case this time. I discussed with Helga's transfiguration teacher, Romulus had informed me she has never once messed up on her transfigurations. I also noticed Arthur produce a shield spell without the use of a wand. I believe it nullified Helga's spell and that is why he's not munching on carrots right now."
Romania blinked and Arthur drew his eyebrows together in confusion. A shield spell? Without a wand? Me? I just thought she messed up and caused that painful experience.
"How interesting… ah… where is Romulus by the way? He was a part of this meeting was he not?" Vladimir looked over at the door as if he would walk in any minute.
"Romulus said he was going to the bathroom. I don't think he got lost." Tino also glanced at the door.
"Um… Professor Romulus had stopped me and Professor Beilschmidt on our way here. He took Professor Beilschmidt with him to go drink in his room." Arthur spoke up; scared he would be scolded for not stopping Romulus.
Vladimir looked at Arthur and cracked a grin, laughing. Tino's cheeks turned a pale pink and he stared at the book cases as if they were a piece of art. Ivan shook his head and muttered something in Russian. Arthur watched them, beyond confused. He was unsure as to what had Vladimir laughing and what had Tino blushing like a mother who was asked by her child what the birds and the bees were.
"That guy couldn't wait till the meeting was over could he? I knew it seemed a little odd he needed to use the toilet after I said Germania would be bringing Arthur here." Vladimir chuckled. He looked back at Arthur who looked utterly lost. "Well no matter, Arthur, I'd like to perform a little test. If you don't mind that is."
Arthur blinked and shook his head, "No, not at all Sir. What would you like me to do?" Arthur bit his lip, was he supposed to have studied? No, that was preposterous; he would've been informed ahead of time if it was a test he needed to study for.
"Hand Professor Braginski your wand, then hold out your hands." Vladimir gave him a trusting smile and Arthur took out his wand, handing it to the teacher on his left. He then cupped his hands and held them out. "Tino, if you'd please. The stone I gave you."
Arthur watched as Tino place a smooth black oval-shaped stone in his hand. It was cool to the touch but warmed up with the feel of Arthur's skin. He looked at Vladimir questioningly. Everyone had turned their gazes to the rock in Arthur's hand. He also looked down at it and blinked in surprise.
The pure white light was flowing into the stone from where Arthur's hands were. The stone was soon a pure crystal white in a matter of seconds.
"Well, I think that proves-" Vladimir began before a loud crack filled the room. They all looked back down at the stone; a long wide crack was down the center. Another crack shifted across the stone, one after the other, crack after crack. Soon it was covered in cracks and by this time Vladimir was standing and leaning over his desk. Ivan and Tino were both looking down at the stone with wide eyes. Arthur was suddenly afraid to hold it as it continued to crack.
Suddenly it shattered in a small flash of light, the stone fragments flying everywhere. Arthur let out a small yelp as he felt a small burning sensation in his hands. He hadn't realized he had closed his eyes until he opened them slowly. Vladimir looked the most shocked out of the three adults. He blinked and frowned, donning on a thoughtful look.
"When you said he might be powerful Ivan, I didn't expect him to be that powerful. I did not foresee this…." He looked up at Arthur, sitting back down. He crossed his hands and rested them against his lips. "Arthur, that stone was a magical device used to tell how much magic a person contains. It has four colour's it can shift to. Blue, the lowest, green, yellow, and then white, the highest. It turned pure white which meant you had a higher than normal magic level for a Hogwarts student, high for your age and year. Higher than most sixth years, which would've been an interesting thing indeed…However, the way it shattered like that means it couldn't contain your magical abilities. That means your magic is far greater than we anticipated."
Arthur looked at the remaining fragments in his hand. "So what you're saying is… I have strong magic?"
"Very strong magic, but how strong, I'm not sure. You have not performed magic before you arrived to Hogwarts correct?" Vladimir pulled out his wand and flicked it, a vanilla folder moved from a section in a bookcase to the right. It flew over and landed on Vladimir's desk. He opened it and Arthur bit his bottom lip.
"I've read about spells, but no, I haven't attempted magic outside of Hogwarts." Arthur rolled the fragments around in his hand.
"Ivan, you also mentioned he used new spells correct? One's not taught by you, Tino, or Romulus?" Vladimir looked up at the Russian.
" Da, I said that. But I also said Alfred Jones used some spells we had not taught to him."
"Ah, that's because we learned them together!" Arthur cut in absentmindedly.
"Oh? Where did you learn them?" Vladimir looked back at him.
"Um… well Alfred and I… sorta found the Room of Requirement… we usually go there after our classes end. One day I had brought books from the library there. I wanted to try new spells somewhere where no one would see or get hurt. I practiced a Patronus Charm… I managed to make a completed one..." Arthur glanced back up at the Headmaster who looked surprised.
"Really? Well would you mind showing us your Patronus Charm Arthur?" Vladimir nodded to Ivan, who handed Arthur back his wand.
Arthur hesitated before clearing his throat and raising his wand. He pointed it towards an empty space in the room and closed his eyes, focusing on his happy memories. When he grasped them he opened his mouth and uttered the words.
His Patronus unicorn materialized and tossed its head back, shaking its mane. It moved over to Arthur and Ivan moved out of the way, his smile gone and his lips partially opened. Arthur smiled at his Patronus and held out his hand. It nuzzled his hand and bowed its head, disappearing.
"Wow…" Tino breathed, awed.
Vladimir remained silent, contemplating this. He closed his eyes, coming to a decision.
"Well Arthur, you've definitely proven you have higher magical talents than anyone I've seen at such a young age. You appear to be able to handle your magic with your wand; I'm guessing it acts as a limit. But you'll also need to learn how to control your magic without a wand. You end up splurging your magic when you don't use your wand, which can make you tire quickly. After your classes for the day end, you are to report here understood? I'll be in charge of teaching you how to control your magic without a wand."
Arthur hesitated, thinking it over in his head. He found no faults with the solution, he slowly nodded his head. "I understand Sir."
"Good." Vladimir closed the folder and waved a hand towards the door. "You're free to go Arthur. Do sleep well."
Arthur stood up and mumbled, "And you as Well. If you'll excuse me then…" Arthur nodded a goodbye to Tino and Ivan. They gave him a smile; Ivan's a little less creepy than normal.
Arthur left quietly and returned to the Slytherin dorms. He looked around once he entered the common's room, it was quiet. Arthur walked down the stairs and into the rather empty room. He yawned and rubbed his eye, strangely tired all of a sudden. Arthur glanced out the window and noticed his Grindylow friends playing a far ways off. He walked to the window and sat on the trunk. He tapped the glass to get their attention; they looked over at him and seemed to perk up. They swam to his window and flipped in front of it, chittering excitedly.
Arthur waved a bit and yawned again, murmuring hello. "Sorry I'm late guys, I had to meet with the Headmaster."
One of them appeared to look worried, in its strange way. It crackled out some words and Arthur smiled.
"No… I'm not in trouble or anything. Actually, it was very interesting." Arthur began to tell what happened that evening, resting his cheek on his hand. He began to doze off, his words turning slurred. He mumbled out incoherent words before sleep over took him and he fell asleep next to the window. The Grindylows all looked among each other before they decided it was better to swim off back to their kelp nest, their wizard friend wouldn't be waking anytime soon.
Arthur woke up with a start, sniffing and whipping his mouth. Gross… Arthur had drooled all over the desk in his sleep. He stretched and yawned, rubbing his eyes. Arthur groaned and got up, grabbing a change of clothes. He popped his back, wincing.
"Mmm. Not the best place to sleep…" Arthur yawned again, quickly undressing. Even for a boy his age Arthur was very thin, his skin was rather pale and he only had a few light freckles dusting here and there. He muttered a quick cleaning spell, not having any time to go to the baths before breakfast.
Arthur changed into fresh clothes and pulled on his Slytherin cloak. He grabbed the books he needed for today's class and walked out of the room. Arthur walked into the Slytherin common room, the Slytherin first years were hanging out with some older years. They stopped talking when they saw Arthur. After a few seconds of looking back and forth at each other, they turned back to one another and began whispering. Some laughed here and there; others giggled and glanced at Arthur.
Arthur kept his gaze leveled as he walked past them, going out of the room and into the halls of Hogwarts. Arthur was used to this, ever since he had started hanging around Alfred he had been shunned by his Slytherin house mates. They would laugh and talk about him, even if he was in the room. He told himself not to let it bother him, but it in fact, did bother him.
He made it to the great hall where kids were sitting and getting ready for breakfast. Arthur sat down in the far corner of the table, he knew not one of his Slytherin house members would want to sit next to him. The only two who still communicated with Arthur was Antonio and Gilbert. However, sometimes those two weren't the most reliable of friends, if Arthur could really call them that.
Arthur pulled out one of the books he brought along with his class books. He ran a hand over the leathery skin texture, smiling at the title, "Dragon's of the East". Arthur had brought the book from home, it was one of the newer one's he had. His mother had bought it for his 11th birthday; she said a wizard had written it. Arthur had waited to read it; he wanted to read a magical book in a school of magic. He thought it would have more meaning. Opening the book he turned to the first page and started reading.
Arthur hadn't realized time had passed and more students were filling in. Arthur heard Alfred's rambunctious laughter, glancing up from his book he saw the boy enter. He was talking and laughing with a group of his housemates, all interested in what he was saying or doing. Arthur looked over at his side; there was a huge gap between him and his house mates. No one was even sitting in front of him, they seemed to try and avoid sitting anywhere near him.
Arthur's grip on his book tightened. Why was Alfred friends with all of his house members, why didn't they shun him? Why was it just Arthur? Why when it was Alfred who had befriended him? Why wasn't he also being ignored? Why?
Arthur's eyes narrowed when a Gryffindor girl latched onto Alfred's arm. She had chestnut brown hair with many curls, olive skin, and bright hazel eyes. She giggled at something Alfred said; Alfred seemed to enjoy the attention. He sat next to her and his friends sat around them. The food appeared in front of them when Vladimir sat in the Headmaster's seat. He too had begun to eat some food here and there.
The breakfast's spread was oatmeal, eggs, omelets, hash browns, bacon, a plate of muffins, and some bowels of ripe juicy-looking fruit. The girl clutching onto Alfred's arm rested her head on him and giggled something. Alfred didn't seem to care what she was doing, too occupied with the food. She, on the other hand, wasn't paying attention to it at all. She was too busy cuddling and touching Alfred's arm. Next to Arthur, a girl who had arrived late was picking some fruit. She looked appalled to sit next to him, but she tried to enjoy her food.
She opened her mouth to take a bite of the fruit in her hand, when her teeth made contact it made a squelching sound. She shrieked with her mouth filled as the disgusting taste flooded over her taste buds. She Spit it out harshly and coughed, looking down at the peach. It had turned rotten to the core when just a minute ago it was perfectly healthy.
Suddenly, people were standing up and girls were freaking out.
"Oh gross! My apple is rotten!"
"Mine has a worm in it!"
"Dude my milk is fucking jell-o now! It stinks!"
The shouts were all the same, one thing or another was rotting. Around Arthur to food was decaying rapidly, no one could pinpoint where it was coming from and why.
"Someone hexed the food!"
"Who did it? Was it Slytherin?" A Gryffindor next to Alfred stood and shouted.
"No way! Our food is rotting too!" Gilbert stood up and yelled across the hall at them.
"It wasn't us! Our food is rotted!" A Hufflepuff yelled.
"Our eggs are rotted!" A Ravenclaw girl shrieked.
Everyone was standing up and shoving their plates away, appalled at the sudden turn of the food. Students began screaming for who hexed the food, Vladimir looked down at his own food. He watched the peach in his hand go brown and black in a flood of dark magic.
His head snapped up and his eyes focused on one person, Arthur. Arthur was unaware of anything happening around him, he was too busy glaring down the girl and Alfred. He looked to Germania and said, "Get Arthur and remove him from the Great Hall." The teachers and staff of Hogwarts all had been informed of Arthur's special ability late last night, telling them not to treat him differently but to keep an eye on him.
Germania nodded and stood from his seat, quickly moving and grabbing Arthur by the shoulder. Germania almost flinched at the dark energy radiating off of the boy. He gave Arthur a good shake.
"Arthur."
Arthur snapped out of his trance-like state, looking up at Germania with wide eyes. "G-Germania… I-I…." Arthur searched for words as Germania helped him out of his seat and outside. He let his head fall, his bangs covering his eyes. Arthur had felt it, the overwhelming power, the anger and rage flowing inside him and needing an outlet. He had been so fixated on Alfred and that girl he hadn't noticed what he was doing.
No one noticed them leave; Vladimir was standing and attempting to calm everyone down. He watched them leave through the corner of his eye. Vladimir managed to settle down the students, telling them that he would find the culprit and they didn't need to worry.
Arthur trailed after Germania who was leading him to the docks. Germania didn't say anything and neither did Arthur. Arthur sat down at the end of the dock and Germania stood a few feet back, leaning against a post. Arthur pulled his legs to his chest and his lip quivered, he was scared.
Scared of the power he had felt. Scared of the anger, scared of the jealousy, scared of what he had done. But more than anything, Arthur was scared of himself. Arthur felt sick, he had used dark magic. He hadn't even read anything on dark magic, how could he do that? Arthur leaned over the docks, feeling the bile rise in his throat. He vomited into the water, his books clenched tightly into one of his hands.
Germania walked over to him and began to rub his back. Arthur continued to vomit stomach acid and whatever he had for dinner. He whimpered when he was done, the water shifted and on the right side of the docks, three Grindylows surfaced. They recognized Arthur, instantly chirping in worry. One dived back under the water to get the other Grindylows Arthur had befriended.
Germania glanced at them, a little weary of the usual violent creatures. Arthur coughed and whipped his mouth with the back of his hand, spitting. A Grindylow chirped and dived under the water, coming back up with a rather large empty shell. It held it up to Germania and chattered again. Germania glanced down and hesitated before taking it. Germania pulled out his wand and used a water spell, putting it into the clam shell and lowering it for Arthur.
"Here, wash your mouth out." He mumbled.
Arthur gladly took it, swishing the water in his mouth before spitting. He coughed out. "How could I do that? I don't even know dark magic!"
"I am not sure…" Germania looked up as footsteps approached.
"How is he?" Romulus questioned.
"Shaken up, why are you here Romulus?" Germania watched him suspiciously.
"Vlad sent me, said to see if Arthur was fine." He squatted down next to Arthur and ruffled his hair. "Don't worry Arthur, you didn't do anything serious."
"Nothing serious? Nothing serious?" Arthur yelled out. He stood up abruptly and tugged at his hair. "I used Dark magic! Wizards aren't supposed to use such magic! I-I'll turn into a Death Eater! I'll become evil! I-I'll end up killing people! I-I won't be able to return home! My family will hate me! They'll want me-"
"Arthur!" Arthur's eyes snapped up as Germania kneeled down in front of him and placed his hands on Arthur's shoulders. "Listen to me. What you did in there was only an aging spell. Yes it was Dark magic, but there are dark spells that a wizard uses for specific reasons. That isn't even considered dark magic, it just ages food rapidly. You did not use anything that bad. You won't be thrown out of your house. Your magic simply reacted to your emotions. You're fine Arthur, you didn't hurt anyone. You can't and you won't be evil. You are Arthur Kirkland, gifted with the "Sight", and friends with magical beings."
Germania gave an awkward and crooked smile. "It's alright Arthur; you won't become a Death Eater. Listen, a long long time ago, those gifted with magical abilities were thought to be evil. Witch hunts took place to kill off those who were different. Muggles wove stories of witches eating children. Wizards we said to turn women into ugly demons, witches turned men into dogs. But did any of that really happen? Did we really do what those people said?"
Arthur shook his head slowly. "No. Witches and Wizards were kind throughout the years. Some used their magic to help people, others avoided people. But there were those who did use magic to harm people…"
"Ignore that fact. Pay attention to the positive. They attempted to help right? They meant no harm yet they were still treated badly. However Witches and Wizards still helped them no matter what. Muggles and magic folk have lived together all these years and still stayed good." Germania gave a comforting squeeze.
"But I still don't see what this has to do with me using Dark Magic…" Arthur sniffed, rubbing his nose.
"What Germania is trying to say is that you won't become evil. You'll only be evil if you willingly use your magic to hurt people. All magic can be called Dark magic; it just depends on how you use it. Germania uses aging spells when his dearest pet is hungry. The thing only eats rotted food." Romulus smirked and also kneeled down next to Arthur. Arthur looked at Romulus then back to Germania.
"Really?" He asked with wide eyes.
Germania sent Romulus a warning look but nodded. "Ja, I do. But it's fine because I use it to help. I don't use it to hurt."
"So if I don't use my magic to hurt… then I won't become a dark wizard?" Arthur's eyes brightened and gained some of their life back.
"Ci puoi scommettere! Arthur, a wizard is as good as his magic. If you use your magic for your own selfish desires like say, money, wealth, power, and even love; then you'll become a bad wizard. If you use it for good, then you'll stay a good wizard. What you did in there aged all the food, but you helped Germania out. Now he doesn't have to go and buy fruit to rot, he can use the food you rotted. You've set him up with food for months!" Romulus exclaimed, patting Arthur's back.
"Really? I did?" Arthur brightened up and smiled slightly.
"Ja. You did. Thank you." Germania mumbled.
"Now go and see the Headmaster. He excused you from your lessons but he would still like to help you control your magic." Romulus smiled.
"I understand. I'll be going now…" He hesitated after standing up. Arthur quickly hugged Romulus and Germania tightly. "Thank you." He let go and waved. "Well, bye then." Turning around after picking up his books, Arthur turned and left up the docks. Romulus waved after him, when he was on dry land and walking back up the path Romulus put his arm down.
"So… Romulus. What exactly is this pet that I have that consumes rotted food? I would very much like to know myself." Germania glared at Romulus who grinned cheekily.
"Oh come on miele, it made him happy did it not?" He took one of Germania's pale hands into his tanned ones. "Ora, come su di te mi fai felice?" He whispered into Germania's ear.
Germania grimaced and placed his freehand on Romulus's face. "No thank you. I'll pass." He shoved forcefully on Romulus's face, making the wizard topple backwards. He flailed his arms as he balanced on the edge of the dock. He let out a yelp as he fell backwards and into the water with a splash.
He swam to the surface, sputtering. He bobbed on the surface and looked around. He looked up; Germania was halfway across the docks, walking back to the school. "Hay! Wait a second! Germania!"
He called out after him, climbing out of the water. He shivered and chased after him. "Aspettami!" The German professor ignored him and continued walking, easily managing to hide his small chuckle.
Arther walked tiredly to the Room of Requirement, his joints aching badly. He had trained with Vladimir, doing simple exercises before going into full training. Vladimir was relentless when it came to magic, he made sure Arthur was dead tired by the time their lessons ended. It had been around three hours since all the classes should've ended, Arthur, it seemed, was the only one who had longer lessons.
He didn't feel like complaining though, he was actually excited to be learning directly from the Headmaster. Arthur felt that this would help his magical abilities grow, he wanted that. He wanted to be able to control his magic, not have his magic be the one controlling him. Arthur yawned as he went into the room, half expecting Alfred to be there and half not.
"Artie! Where've you been? You said we'd meet here after lessons! Dude you should've seen Professor Romulus, he came into the class room dripping wet!" Alfred was sitting at the table, snacks laid out on it.
"Alfred… where on earth did you get those?" Arthur looked at him, confused. First years weren't allowed to go out into town.
"Want some? Jessica's sister gave them to her but she didn't want them so she gave them to me." Alfred put some gummy worms into his mouth and smiled happily.
"Jessica?" Arthur furrowed his brows.
"Yeah! She's one of my house mates. She's a first year like me and she's super nice. Her friends are really nice to. There's Lilly and then there's Amy. Amy likes to study a whole bunch, like you. I'm pretty sure you guys would be best friends! I'll introduce you guys tomorrow after class!" He grinned happily.
Arthur groaned, too tired to feel anything. "No that's fine. I won't be able to come here after class anymore Alfred, I have extra lessons. I don't know how long they'll be each day…"
Alfred's smile fell slightly. "Oh…"
Arthur moved over to the pillows, dropping onto them and letting out a long sigh. "Just let me sleep for a bit…"
"Ok….." Alfred mumbled. He blinked then grinned, leaping out of his chair and bouncing over to Arthur. He flopped down next to him and hugged Arthur. "Then I'll sleep too!"
"Alfred…" Arthur grumbled at him, his eyes already closed.
"Good night Arthur!" He laughed and cuddled next to Arthur.
"Nnn….." Arthur grunted and opened one eye to glare at Alfred. Alfred smiled back at him and flashed him a grin. Arthur sighed and rested his head back on a pillow. "Good night…"
This continued on for a good week, soon winter vacation had come around. Arthur had gone home with his brothers to visit their parents. His mother was disappointed that he was Slytherin, but Arthur had told her he was quite happy being a Slytherin. He said hello to all the magical friends he had left, telling them what had been going on and how he's been. He told them how he had befriended someone by the name of Alfred.
Arthur had a few fights with his brothers, but out of fear of his emotions getting out of hand, he ended up admitting his faults. Though he had been reluctant most of the time when apologizing, Arthur still did what he thought was right. His brothers had been left befuddled when Arthur refused to bite back when they made fun of his eyebrows. They were even more confused when he simply got up and left without so much as a scowl.
Dylan had thought Arthur was sick, which Allistor had retorted that he was sick in the head. He claimed that Arthur was just moping and missing his boyfriend. They had all figured that was the reason and took to teasing Arthur with that. At first Arthur had no clue what that even meant. But when he had asked his mother what a boyfriend meant, he quickly grew flustered. He would then yell back at his brothers when they said Alfred was his boyfriend. Strangely, his magic didn't react when he was fighting with his brothers. Arthur thought it might be because he was used to fights with them.
When Arthur had returned he instantly noticed something had changed. Alfred and the girl with the curly hair, later found out to be Jessica, had spent the entire winter vacation together. When Arthur wasn't able to meet up, Alfred would hang out with Jessica. They were practically inseparable; the only time he wasn't with her was when he went to the Room of Requirement with Arthur. However, Arthur had started to dislike those times. Alfred would talk about Jessica most of the time, how she and Alfred had done this, how they had done that, how they had accidently set one of their potions on fire and other random stories.
Arthur quickly got fed up with hearing the story of how Jessica dared Alfred to eat 10 muffins. He had heard the same stories so many times he practically had them memorized word for word. Arthur hated how Jessica always came into the conversation one way or another. One minute they would be talking about magical creatures and Alfred would suddenly talk about how Jessica told him she found a beaver with a unicorn horn one summer. Arthur scoffed at that and had claimed she was lying, that had made Alfred get defensive and tell the Brit that he didn't know what he was talking about.
Arthur also noticed Alfred had stopped asking him for help on homework or studying.
"Oh, its cuz Jessica's helping me with it. Now you don't have so much to deal with. Really smart of me, huh?" Alfred had told him whilst grinning.
"Simply peachy." Arthur had hissed at him.
By the third week Arthur was fed up with anything having to do with Jessica. He began to spend more time with Romulus, Germania, and Vladimir. He had learned that Romulus was a registered Animagus, his form was a wolf. He had shown Arthur his wolf form; it was a large strongly built wolf that was brown with tan markings. Arthur had found it quite fascinating and begged Romulus to teach him how to shift forms. Romulus had told him maybe when he was older and had more control over his magic.
He had started helping Germania with caring for creatures. He wasn't allowed to handle them, but when Germania was there he was allowed inside the pens and allowed to feed them. He enjoyed it very much and did any task Germania requested of him, happy to be of help. Arthur definitely wanted to be in Germania's class. Arthur kept waiting excitedly, telling Germania how he wanted to be a third-year real soon. Germania would always tell him to be patient or else it would go even slower. However, Germania always gave Arthur special privileges, trusting him to handle some of the creatures on his own. That had pleased Arthur immensely.
His training with Vladimir was going smoothly; he trained hard and long every day and still tried to make time to see Alfred. His training on some days was longer than other days, and sometimes they weren't very long at all. He was picking up quickly, his grasp on his magic wasn't there fully, but it almost was. Arthur had shifted his schedule in an attempt to match Vladimir's since the Headmaster's schedule was constantly changing. He still managed to keep up and Vladimir had even started to treat Arthur like a friend rather than a student. He was still strict sometimes and went back to acting like a teacher every now and again, but Arthur was able to speak comfortably to him.
Arthur was seeing less and less of Alfred, on some days they were to hang out something would go wrong. Either Arthur couldn't make it or Alfred had ended up promising Jessica and her friends they'd hang out. On some days when Arthur got out from Vladimir's lessons early he would go to the Room of Requirement in hopes to see Alfred. He was usually met with disappointment seeing as how Alfred would end up hanging out with other Gryffindor members. Arthur would be hurt, feeling lonely and having no one to talk to. He would then go visit Romulus or Germania, but sometimes the both of them were nowhere to be seen. Arthur had gotten used to the both of them disappearing so he simply thought nothing of it. He was too young to actually understand what was actually going on between the two professors. He would then end up going to the docks to talk to the Grindylows or to the library and read.
Arthur's life in the Slytherin dorms had not gotten any better, everyone still shunned him like the plague, and some didn't even remember why they did it. They all just simultaneously agreed to seclude Arthur from Slytherin life. Antonio and Gilbert would hang out with him occasionally, but then they would usually have Francis with them. Arthur didn't understand what his problem with the French man was; all he knew was that he hated him. They would fight constantly, bickering at each other and sometimes pulling on one another's hair.
Gilbert and Antonio found it greatly amusing; they would let the two bicker and fight. Sometimes they would bet on who would win, a good amount of the time it was Arthur. Arthur didn't use magic to win his fights; no he actually won by threatening to shave Francis bald or by getting his clothes dirty. The Ravenclaw really loved his blue, but that usually never stopped Arthur from shoving dirt down his shirt anyways.
One day however, Arthur had gotten out early from Vladimir's training. He had told Arthur that he could take a break for now and that he had earned it. Arthur quickly went to the Room of Requirement, hopeful that Alfred was there. When the doors opened he was surprised to find, not only Alfred, but a group of other people as well. They were all sitting in the center and talking, some had pillows they were laying on while others didn't. They had all stopped laughing and talking when the doors opened. They all looked at Arthur, their moods obviously turning sour.
Arthur stuttered, unsure of how to react. How had these people found the room? For all he knew, kids had forgotten that this room even existed. Him and Alfred had been the only ones to use it so why were there other people in Alfred and his secret hide out? Arthur narrowed his eyes as Alfred stood up and grinned innocently at him.
"Artie! You got out early! That's awesome! Come over here! I'll introduce you to everyone." He said cheerily.
When Arthur made no sign he would move from where he stood Alfred went over to him and began tugging him by the arm over to the circle.
"Come on Artie! Don't be so stuffy." He forced Arthur to sit down and took a seat next to him, Jessica on his left, Arthur on his right. "Guys this is Arthur, he's really good at magic and he's in Slytherin!"
Arthur could feel the judgmental stares and the whispering and giggling of how big his eyebrows were. He looked down at the floor and bit his inner cheek. Alfred seemed oblivious to what was going on, but Arthur could practically smell the disdain in the air.
"That's Jackson, then there's Amy, I told you about her, then this is Tom and this is Jessica." Arthur hadn't even noticed when Alfred has started pointing people out, but he did glance up at Jessica's name. She gave Arthur a smug look and scoffed, rolling her eyes giggling and whispering something to Amy who was right next to her. Amy also giggled and whispered to another girl, Arthur guessed it was Lilly.
"So Arthur? Having fun being a snake?" One of the boys sneered at Arthur. The way he said it made Arthur's blood boil, he said it as an insult.
"Yes, actually. I like being a Slytherin member. At first I wanted to be Gryffindor, but not so much anymore." Arthur calmly replied, telling himself silently to not let these fools get to him.
"Well I don't really think being a Slytherin is all that great. Isn't it just full of rich pure-bloods?" A girl commented.
"Don't they just buy their way in?" One of them laughed.
Arthur scrapped his nails over the spine of his potions book. He ground his teeth together and looked at them coldly.
"Not all Slytherin members are pure-blood or rich. That's just simple assumptions based off of spineless rumors. Not a fact as people claim." He forced out every word through clenched teeth.
"Well you can't really trust the words of a snake." Amy scoffed.
"Hay guys, come on now. We're all friends here." Alfred chuckled, his smile still present. The boy was obviously dense to the atmosphere.
"That's an exaggeration…" Jessica giggled to Amy. Alfred seemed to not hear it or he chose not to, however Arthur heard it clearly.
Jessica leaned over Alfred and held out a hand. "Hi I'm Jessica, nice to meet you Arthur. Let's be very good friends." She said sarcastically. Arthur narrowed his eyes and sniffed, looking away and refusing to shake her hand.
"Yes. Let's…" He hissed. Alfred bumped his shoulder.
"Arthur…." He said, warning in his tone.
Arthur sent him a hot scowl, his teeth almost breaking under the pressure he was putting them under. He gripped Jessica's hand unkindly and gave it a firm shake, forcing a harsh smile.
"Excuse me, I was being rude. I shouldn't talk to a lady like that. You'll have to forgive me; I'm rather tired after my extra lessons." He quickly let go of her hand, not missing how she whipped in on the floor in obvious disgust.
"Why do you need so many lessons? Are you failing them?" The one named tom snickered.
Arthur glared at him and hissed out. "No. As a matter of fact I'm way ahead of everyone in my year."
They looked skeptical and Alfred clapped his hands, finally paying attention. "Oh yeah! Arthur can do a Patronus Charm really well!"
"No way! That's for older wizards! He can't do it!" A boy said.
"No he can! Arthur, show them." Alfred smiled expectantly at the Brit. Arthur turned his bitter gaze on Alfred, growing more annoyed by the second.
"No thank you. I'm awfully tired and I don't think I want to." Arthur said, hoping Alfred would get he wasn't comfortable showing off his magic in front of strangers.
"What? Is the Slytherin bluffing?" Tom smirked.
"Maybe he was lying?"
"You really shouldn't have someone as nice as Al lie for you." Lilly flicked her hair over her shoulder.
"No guys, I wasn't lying! Trust me I've seen it! His Patronus is a unicorn!" Alfred said, laughter in his tone, he seemed to thing they were all playing around. He moved to stand on his knees.
Everyone went quiet and looked at Arthur. "His Patronus… is a unicorn…?" Uh oh…. Arthur knew what was coming. He experienced this when he said his favorite animal was a unicorn. In elementary, kids were cruel, as they got older they were even crueler. Arthur braced himself for the harsh words he knew were coming.
Suddenly everyone in the circle, excluding Alfred and Arthur, had burst out laughing. A few of the boys had fallen over clutching their stomachs and rolling along the floor. Arthur's face lit up and even his ears turned a dark red. He bit his lip and looked down, wishing he could disappear from the world.
"Dude it's a freaking unicorn? That's so stupid!" One laughed out.
"How girly!" Tom laughed, gasping for breath.
They continued to laugh and cry out how weird and girly it was. Arthur felt the anger and frustration rise, Alfred was trying to calm everyone down.
"Come on guys, it's not that bad!" He appeared slightly flustered, unsure why they were laughing so hard.
"Seriously Al, you have to admit it is pretty girly for a guy to have his personality match a unicorn." Amy giggled behind her hand.
Alfred glanced down and he shrugged, giving an uncomfortable smile. "Well…. It is kinda girly…" He mumbled out after awhile.
Arthur stared at him in utter horror, did he actually agree with their insult? Arthur felt an intense pain in his chest and his face burn brighter with shame. He had heard enough. Arthur stood up abruptly and growled out.
"Well since it's obviously apparent that I'm not welcomed here I'll take my leave." He attempted to move away from the circle of Gryffindor students but was stopped as Alfred latched onto his arm.
"Wait! Arthur, where are you going?" Alfred looked confused.
"I'm going to the docks Alfred. At least there I'm welcomed!" He yanked his hand away. "Don't expect me to come back here. I won't. That way you and your, oh-so-kind "friends", can come here anytime you want!" Arthur stomped past the group.
"Wait! No one said you had to go! Arthur, why are you getting so mad? They were only teasing! It's just a joke!" Alfred got up and stopped him again.
"Just a joke? Alfred," He pointed at the circle of people who were watching with amusement. "Those people purposefully chose words that were to offend and hurt me. Not only that, but these wankers actually have the balls to do it to my face and to mock my Patronus Charm!"
Alfred frowned, "Well these "wankers", just so happen to be my friends Arthur. They didn't mean any of it."
Arthur couldn't believe what he was hearing; did Alfred really think they didn't mean any of it? "You're not kidding are you…?" Alfred's face said enough. Arthur swallowed, his throat growing dry. He could feel a lump in his throat, the pain in his heart growing. "I see. Then I'll just leave you and your "friends", alone." Arthur hissed out.
"Why are you acting like this Arthur? There's nothing to be angry about! I don't see why you're getting so worked up over nothing!" Alfred was beginning to grow frustrated.
"You didn't defend me! When they made fun of me you didn't defend me! Instead you sat there and laughed with them! Alfred you fucking laughed at me! Someone you said was your friend! Yet you defend them! They meant every word they said Alfred! So either you have your ideas on friendship mixed up or I'm not even high enough on your friends list to be defended." Arthur growled.
Alfred looked taken aback, "Artie… how could you think that? You know I didn't mean it…"
"Well it sounded like you fucking did when you called me girly!" Arthur wasn't even registering that he was cussing, words just kept spewing out. "Just what is it that everyone loves about you? I can't seem to understand it right now. You defend people you've only been friends with for what, a month? Maybe two? I don't know! But then you don't defend, no you practically laugh, at the friend you've had since the school year started!" Arthur was practically yelling at this point, tears welling up in his eyes.
"I'm fucking ignored by all of my house mates. Some won't even look at me! It's all because I was your friend Alfred! Yours! But I stuck with you didn't I? Even though I was being shunned and avoided by the entire population of Slytherin? Yet here you are! Hanging out with god knows how many people! All smiles and sunshine, fucking laughing and joking and poking fun at the Slytherin who thinks he's friends with you." Arthur cried out, stomping his foot into the ground.
"So you're saying it's my fault people are ignoring you?" Alfred raised his voice. "So what do you want me to say? Sorry? Sorry for what exactly? I don't see how it's my fault they ignore you! Did you think that maybe it was because you bite off people's heads over stupid things? Or how you brag about how good you are at your classes or that you have the "Sight". Or how you rub it in that you have powerful magic?"
"I do not rub it in! Who's the daft buffoon who keeps saying, "Oh Arthur try this spell, no now try this spell, no this one!" No I don't think it was me! And I never bragged about being good in class or having the "Sight". If anyone's bragging it's you, you brag about how good you are on the broom when you know I can't even get my feet off the ground before I topple over! So tell me Alfred, why aren't you like me? I'm being ignored but you have friends." Arthur wriggled a finger at the people who were watching with wide eyes.
"Those fucking bastards you call friends piss me off! Every single one of them! They're rude to me and say whatever they damn well please even when we just fucking met! In this place no less! Alfred this was our hideout! We agreed that this would be our secret base! Not a fucking playground for snot nosed brats!"
"They kept wondering where I went to and I wanted to show up! This was so we all could hang out together! But it looks like Arthur doesn't want that! Are you to good for my other friends are something?" Alfred yelled at him.
"What? No! I never said that Alfred!"
"What? Is the Slytherin to high and mighty to sit and befriend other Gryffindor members? Is that it?" Alfred continued to yell; Arthur couldn't help but remember their last fight. There had been yelling, but never this intense.
"I never said any of that! Do not put words into my mouth Jones!" Arthur stabbed a finger into Alfred's chest.
"Well maybe Alfred has a point. Here we were being friendly but you kept turning our words into insults. Twisting them to get your way. Just like a snake." Jessica stood up, acting all high and mighty as she stopped next to Alfred.
"Bullocks! Alfred, don't tell me you believe the crap this munter is saying?" He glared at Jessica who looked deeply offended, knowing what the word meant.
"Don't insult my friends Arthur!" Alfred growled out, his blue eyes growing dark.
"So I can't insult them but they can insult me, is that it?" Alfred remained silent, Arthur's chest clenched and his lip quivered slightly. "I see… Well now I know who your friends are and who's not."
Alfred's eyes widened and he opened his mouth to say something, but Jessica beat him to it. "Are you serious right now? Have you been blind all along? Oh Arthur, honey…" She frowned and smiled at him pitifully as if he was the most ignorant child in the world. "Alfred felt sorry for you. He saw you with no friends at the beginning of the year and befriended you. He could see how pathetic you looked all alone and, he being the good guy he is befriended you. But you're getting to clingy with him; he was never really your friend to begin with. You just thought he was. Your friendship was only temporary Arthur. He could never be friends with a Slytherin. "
Alfred slowly closed his mouth and swallowed. Arthur looked between him and Jessica. He looked at Alfred, his eyes begging him to deny it. When Alfred said nothing Arthur's heart fell. "You're not saying anything? So what she's saying is true? You felt sorry for me? Was that it?"
Alfred refused to meet Arthur's gaze, the Brit took that as his answer. "So you thought you'd be the hero and save me from my loneliness? Isn't that what you said at the docks all those months ago? I'm guessing that was all a lie too? No wait! I bet you were laughing behind my back weren't you? Laughing to your friends, telling them how the stupid Slytherin thought you were friends." Arthur sneered.
"I bet I was the punch line for a bunch of your jokes! Did my brothers find it funny? Did you give them a jolly good laugh? I hope so! Because here's a new joke you can tell them that'll make them simply die of laughter. Our friendship. Our friendship was a joke Alfred. One big fat joke! What were you going to do at the end? Tell me how you were just messing with me and using me to eliminate your boredom of school life? Was that your plan? Well I'll save you the trouble! Our friendship is done, Alfred F. Jones."
Alfred's head snapped up and his eyes grew wide. His mouth had opened so he could respond, but suddenly all his thoughts left him. Jessica and the others were also stunned into silence, their eyes as wide as Alfred's. Alfred hesitated and lifted his hand to reach out to Arthur.
"Artie…"
Arthur had tears streaking down his cheeks, his green eyes narrowed and flashing a mixture of emotions. Anger, pain, and betrayal, he smacked Alfred's hand away with such hate and disgust. "Don't touch me! Don't ever call me that again! Don't ever talk to me! Don't even look at me! I never want to see you again Jones. Never again." He hissed out with so much venom. He glared at Alfred one last time before turning around and storming out of the room, the door slamming behind him.
Arthur ran as fast as he could to the common room, trying not to cry as he did. He entered; ignoring the other Slytherin's who looked up at the crying first year. Antonio and Gilbert stood up from their seats, their game of cards forgotten. Arthur ran past them, running down the stairs and not stopping till he reached the empty dorm room. He slammed the door closed and locked it. He pushed his trunk in front of the door after great effort, blockading it from any intruders.
Gilbert began banging on the door not a few seconds after Arthur had moved the trunk. "Arthur! Hay, open up! Arthur!" He yelled behind the door.
"Mi amigo, are you alright? Please open up; I got some churro's from Hogsmeade, would you like some? They're really tasty." Antonio said sweetly.
"Go away! Leave me alone!" Arthur screamed at them, sobbing. He grabbed his pillow and blanket, taking his unicorn stuffed animal and sitting in a corner of the room furthest from the door. He sniffed and curled in the blanket, laying on the floor. Arthur sobbed into the pillow, clutching Peony for dear life.
"Arthur, open up damn it! Why the fuck are you crying? Do I have to kick someone's fucking ass? I'll do it! Just give me a name and I'll have his ass out the window!" Gilbert shouted.
"Gilbert, you'll get kicked out of school if you do something that stupid." Antonio scolded his friend.
"Fuck that! I could care less! No one makes a fucking Slytherin member cry on my watch! Eyebrows, come on man, open up!"Gilbert pounded his fist on the door again.
"Gil, he said to leave him be. Come on, we're not helping banging on his door. Let him calm down and then see if he's ready to talk. If he's like this tomorrow then we'll do something." Antonio whispered behind the door.
"But Antonio-" Gilbert started. Antonio's look must've shut him up because Gilbert kicked the door in frustration. "God damn it! How unawesome…"
Their footsteps moved away and soon the hall was empty. Arthur sniffed and sobbed, crying his heart out. Arthur had never felt so much pain and betrayal; he couldn't even grasp how to handle the situation. Arthur sobbed into his pillow, not even noticing his Grindylow friends swim up to the glass. A few banged on it to get Arthur's attention, but they failed. They watched Arthur for awhile before one of them seemed to get an idea. It chirped to the others and they appeared to agree. They all swam away from the window, a plan known only to them on their minds. They swam off and disappeared into the murky water, leaving Arthur alone in his empty lonely room, crying about the destruction of his first friendship he cherished so dearly.
After a few minutes of crying and after his tears dried up Arthur began to think. Why was he even sad? Was what Jessica said true? Was Alfred only pretending to be his friend? Arthur began to grow angry. He sat up, a new bitterness forming in the pit of his stomach. How dare he use me like this! How dare that bloody American make a fool out of me! He has a whole lot of nerve! Well, see if I care Jones. You betrayed my trust and laughed at me! You made me look like a complete idiot! I won't ever forgive you Alfred F. Jones. Not now, not ever.
A/N: This is a little longer than the other parts, i really wanted to put as much as i could into this. I wanted to get the ball rolling for the actual UsUk to be used. Sorry it took longer than my others, but i think i'll be working harder and longer on them now. Thank you Renee for helping me edit this one. As for Romania's password to the Headmaster's office, it was "Acasă la un vampir" Which, in Romanian means "Home to a vampire". Romulus is Rome, if you couldn't already tell. Tino is Finland. Thank you for reading, part 5 should be posted by next week... hopefully. c:
