Chapter 12
For the most part, Jack focused on his food. He could not help (nor would he ever want to) overhearing the conversations around him. "So, yeah," said the boy who had come into the train compartment. "Potter totally fainted!" There were chuckles up and down the table. Jack raised an eyebrow. Lot of false bravado in that kid, he thought, if how he acted on the train versus now was anything to go by.
The conversation moved on, and Jack began collecting names. The boy from the train was called Draco Malfoy. His friends were Goyle and Crabb. The three other boys in his own year were Richard Prince, Leslie Lancaster, and Achilles ("Call me Ash, everyone else does") DeGuiche. There were some girls his year too, but the conversation moved before he could catch their names. Oh well, he would figure it out eventually.
"What about you?" Someone nudged him. Jack looked up. The conversation had drifted into genealogies. Most of the students seemed to know each other at least by name and were trying to figure out if and how they were related. Slytherins seemed fairly obsessed with family histories. "Harkness isn't really a pureblood name…"Oh dear, thought Jack. It's a status thing. He sighed.
Rule of the Time Agency number 5: avoid lying when possible; it makes everything more complicated. Sub-rule A: misdirection will generally work, but only if you're subtle about it. Sub-rule B: give them a half-truth and let them assume whatever they want. *See notes on assumptions, appendix V. Sub-rule C: if you must lie, keep it simple. Appendix V summary: Assumptions are great, as long as you're not the one making it. If the person you're trying to fool makes an assumption go with it only as far as you are able to maintain it; don't allow them to overstep your abilities to match their expectations.
"Well, maybe not in Britain…" he let himself trail off. He considered emphasizing a more American accent, but decided that would be pushing it, and then he would probably have to maintain the accent throughout the school year. Either way, he got the desired results.
"Oh…" said several people around the table. "What brings you to Britain?" asked one of the girls from his year.
"Well…" Jack cast about for plausible ideas. "My immediate family isn't able to look after me right now for various reasons," as in he killed their child and they do not want to even look at him, they tried to blow up Torchwood headquarters, or they do not exist yet and will not for another 3000 years, "so I've been living with some really close friends." He chuckled. "Sometimes they seem more like family than my real family does." None of it was a lie. Jack was proud. He had not had to spin a half-truth on the fly like that in a while. It was good to know he still could.
"Do we know any of them?" asked another kid.
Jack paused. Obviously, they did not like Gryffindor very much, but it would be a good excuse for why he was always hanging out with the Doctor… "John Smith, over there." He pointed over to the Gryffindor table.
"You're friends with a Gryffindor?!" squealed the girl who asked why he was in Britain.
Jack shrugged. "Didn't know he would be a Gryffindor before today, and I've known him for years. Besides, I honestly thought he would be a Ravenclaw. He's certainly smart enough to be." The excuse seemed to work well enough for the moment, as the conversation drifted off into another topic shortly after.
Jack sighed with relief and went back to his food. After dinner, the first year students were escorted to the dormitories. Out of the corner of his eye, Jack saw the Doctor being led out one doorway, in the opposite direction. The Slytherins were led downwards, towards dungeons. A password was given and they entered a dimly lit, austere, proud room. "So welcoming," Jack said under his breath, sarcastically. Ash, standing next to him snorted.
One of the prefects pointed out the first year dorms. Jack followed his classmates up. There were four elaborate beds set up in each corner of the room with each student's trunk next to each bed. Jack's bed was opposite the door, on the left side of the room. His trunk was next to Ash's, who was on the left side but closer to the door. Jack shared a quick smile with the boy before getting in his bed and drawing the curtains.
Ash glanced at the other two boys and shrugged. Perhaps he was just extremely tired…they got ready for bed quietly, figuring Jack was already asleep. Jack was not, in fact, asleep, but was on his back, staring up at the ceiling, thinking about the day.
The train ride had been boring right up until it became terrifying. Knowing how the dementor had affected him, Jack could barely imagine what it was like for the Doctor. But he seemed all right now…
Jack's mind skipped forward to dinner. He had taken a very backseat role in the conversation. He could argue that it was because he was information collecting, but it still seemed very much unlike him. Unless it was because his brain was undeveloped? He frowned. He did not like the idea of being different than usual. He would have to talk to the Doctor. Until then, he would make a conscious effort to be more extroverted.
He heard the other three boys get into their own beds and go to sleep, but he made no move to get ready for bed himself. He was not quite tired yet. Even in his new state of 'prolonged regeneration', as the Doctor called childhood, he still did not need a full eight hours; more like five or six. He sighed inaudibly. If he had some way of guaranteeing the curtains drawn about his bed were sound proof, he would consider calling Gwen. Or he could start a diary…
The hell with this, Jack finally thought to himself. Even if he was not tired, he could force himself to sleep: a souvenir ability from the Time Agency. He rolled over, punched the pillow into a better shape, and willed himself to sleep. His last conscious thought as he drifted away was that oral hygiene was for sissies.
A/N: I survived last weekend and thus we are back on schedule (alas, I have not typed a new chapter yet. Don't worry though, I'm sufficiently ahead that it shouldn't matter).
A few people have asked why Jack's in Slytherin. Here's my response verbatim: I put Jack in Slytherin because, even though he is reformed, he is still a con artist. He's sneaky, he's clever, he knows how to make social connections (even if said connections are people who hate him). He loves a good challenge and loves keeping everyone guessing. Perfect for Slytherin. Also, the tension between having the Doctor in Gryffindor and Jack in Slytherin was too interesting to pass up.
In other news, I really, really love lampshading.
Please review! :)
