Chapter 6:
Atria showered and dressed-she hadn't had too much of an issue last night with finding the common room or keeping up with the other students, but still… she left a little bit earlier just in case. She made it to the great hall, red-faced and triumphant, with the same group of students that she left the common room with. She'd managed to fit her golden collar clips over her house tie-she had to admit that she liked the effect.
She nearly ran straight into Harry, Naruto and Haytham, who were still marveling at the marble staircases and the beautiful sky above. "Good morning, boys. Nice to see you here so early-supposedly we're supposed to get our class schedule today."
"Atria!" She laughed as Haytham wrapped her in a tight hug and then let her go.
"The dorms are so nice," Harry confided, "I didn't expect them to be."
"I.. er, have my own room in Slytherin. I know some of the first year boys had to share, from what I overheard."
"Not fair!" Naruto said, laughing, "But it was kinda nice talking to everyone all night!"
"I didn't get any sleep at all-"
"ATRIA!" And then, Jasmine nearly tackled Atria to the ground in a bear-hug.
"Jasmine-oh merlin-" Atria laughed as she hugged her back, "We only went to our common rooms to sleep-"
"But I missed you!" Was the petulant reply.
"Stop being so sweet-you're gonna give me cavities," Atria said as a small smile slid across her face, almost as quickly as a blush did.
"Hey, Hermione!" Jasmine already set her eyes on another person, waving and smiling, "We were about to go in! Wanna come in with us?"
"Sure!" Hermione smiled and let Jasmine take her arm, and they nodded. "Gotta make a unified front, you know? Let's get it together, everyone! Stop dawdling around! Breakfast ain't gonna eat itself, ya know!"
Atria laughed as their group made their way into the great hall, and they eventually split up to sit at their house tables. The breakfast was good, Atria decided, but she missed her regular American fare. It just wasn't the same as Ilvermorny's-and that was the point, wasn't it?
"Good morning," She greeted Draco, Neji, and Sasuke as the slid in at the table, just a few moments before breakfast was supposed to be over. "Busy morning?"
"Good Morning, Heir Clare," Draco said, "You could say that, yeah."
"Did you oversleep?"
"Please don't tell my mother-"
Atria only shook her head with a small smile, "Your secret is safe with me. You made it just in time to get your schedule, too." She pointed her pinky at Professor Snape, who was descending from the staff table with parchment in hand.
They all seemed to sigh in relief. "We actually got lost, but we were late nonetheless," Neji explained.
"At least you were awake on time. I haven't seen Atreus come in yet. He's probably overslept again," Her eyebrow raised.
Professor Snape had already worked through most of the table and had finally made it to them.
"Atria Auxatia." His eyebrow raised, "Quite a schedule. Your Placement Theory Examination will be held at 9:00 a.m, your spellcasting exam will be held at 11:00 and your practical examination will be held at 1:30 p.m. The same for Sasuke and Neji. There are quite a few of you taking this particular set of exams. You'll be given further instructions upon Saturday morning." His eyes moved through the three of them and Atri's eyebrows pulled together in a frown.
"I would appreciate it if you wouldn't do that, Professor." Her voice was firm and her eyes never wavered from his. She couldn't guarantee his safety if it happened again-a knee-jerk reaction to someone lightly dusting her mind would guarantee a kick-back, no matter who it was.
"Ah. My apologies, Heir Clare-Auxatia. I did not think your blood ran quite so strongly in that direction."
"It does. Unfortunately."
He nodded. "I'll pass that on to the Headmaster. He has a bad habit of… as well."
"A fair warning," She agreed.
He handed out Sasuke's, Neji's, and Draco's schedules and strode out of the great hall, his black cloak billowing behind him.
"Does he realize that he looks like a fucking bat when he does that?" Atria blurted.
"Atria-hime." Kisame's rough voice made her snap around.
"Kisame-san!" She smiled a little, "Did you make sure to eat something this morning?"
"Of course," He nodded, "Got a good feel of the castle, too. Wanted to know if you wanna continue your little study group sessions?"
He stood tall amongst short students-and his height was only highlighted by how short Atria herself was.
"Yeah! We might have a few other people joining, too, if they want to. Would it still be you and.. Izo-san?"
"Yeah, Izo-san and I will be hosting again. And Hidan and Kakuzu, if there's a lot of students. Deidara and Puppet boy will be stationed at Ilvermorny this week. Hatake-san might be joining us as a teacher as well."
"I understand! It's up to you all to pick the room, though. Try and snag the dueling arena for us?"
"I'll do my best."
"Do you mind if I join?" Draco immediately asked after Kisame walked away.
"Go for it. But most of us are quite advanced, so you'll be studying quite a bit."
"I wouldn't mind that," Hermione's voice echoed over Atria's left shoulder.
"So you'd be doing magic?" Harry asked, "Not just book-studying?"
"Yeah! We usually read the chapter on whatever it is we're trying to learn or brush up on and then we practice. Since we have teacher-or guards- adult supervision, we can pretty much do whatever without the teachers being too mad at us."
"We came to compare schedules," Hermione tilted her head up as she sat down at the Slytherin table. Harry followed behind her, unfolding his schedule.
"I'm Hermione Granger. I can't wait to see magic in class!" She'd somehow weasled Draco's schedule away from him and was comparing classes. "Both Gryffindor and Slytherins have the same class schedule. Bugger."
"Apparently the other Gryffindors say that you all-the Slytherins-are evil, but from what I've seen, I don't think so." Hermione stated that factually, "So I'd much rather sit over here with you all if you don't mind."
"Is everything okay?"Atria's voice had a slight edge. She could tell Hermione wasn't telling the whole story, whatever it was.
"Er-" Hermione stopped and then looked a little crestfallen, "I tried talking to them about magic, but all they wanted to talk about witch weekly. Mind, it's not a bad magazine, but I'd rather read an actual book-and then they started making fun of my teeth- and they noticed that I was talking to you all before I came in."
"She's such a nightmare, honestly-" That was the red-head's voice from the train, "If she's so smart, she should know how to shut up."
"Shut up, Weasley," Harry spoke with steel.
"If she's a nightmare, you're certainly the monster in it," Atria commented, "Late to breakfast, didn't get your schedule, hair askew, no bag, so you'll be late to class." She ticked them off on her fingers one-by-one. "And, last but not least, your lack of intellect. I do hope you find that before you go to class. I've heard it can be challenging without a brain. But.. I wouldn't know."
Her saccharine sweet smile didn't reach her eyes. "You know, if you want to appear more intelligent, you should just close your mouth."
Hermione's mouth popped open. "Isn't that right, Hermione?"
"Yes," She hesitantly agreed.
Atria laid a hand on her shoulder.
"Anyone that the weasel hates is alright in my book," Draco said, suddenly. "Get out of here, weaselbee. No one wants your opinions."
"A Malfoy-sticking up for a mudblood-" A hush descended upon the Ravenclaw and Slytherin tables.
"And.. as you should know, Mister Weasley, Miss Hermione Granger is protected under both The Most Noble and Ancient House of Clare, and The Most Noble and Ancient House of Auxatia, for that matter. If you would like to continue harassing her.. An honor duel would be appropriate. And.. should I hear that word come off your tongue again-" Atria's voice grew menacing and her eyes met his squarely, but before she could continue she was interrupted.
"Twenty-five points from Gryffindor, Mr. Weasley. And a detention-to be served with me, tonight, at 7:00 p.m." That was Professor Snape. He'd come back in, it seems, and he had a coffee mug in his hand. "I suggest you go to your first class or I'll start taking off points for your lack of regulation uniform- or your tardiness for your schedule. I'll definitely be writing to your mother. I don't doubt she would like to know the vocabulary you're using when you're addressing another student."
The boy blanched and then hurried off.
"Heir Auxatia, do keep your temper under control. As abhorrent as he is, threatening to cut his tongue off in public is.. effective, but less than subtle."
"He has the intelligence of a dull, unwashed spoon. Sometimes the best way is to use your words like a sledgehammer, so there's not any other understanding to them."
Hermione's lips tilted into a small smile. "Regardless, Miss Granger is now under your purview, so you should tell your Head of House so she can be properly.. Added."
"I understand, Professor. I'll be sending an owl later, when I attend Transfigurations with Professor Starling."
His head tilted to the side in acknowledgement. "Mr. Potter, Miss Granger, Mr. Uchiha, Mr. Malfoy, Mr. Hyuga. You're in my first period this morning along with Mr. Weasley. If you would like to be on time, I recommend leaving now."
And he strode from the hall once more.
"So.. I'm under your purview? What does that mean-?" Hermione asked.
"Uh.. Uhhh- that means you're protected by my family. And that your status, blood or otherwise, can't be questioned-or they'd be questioning mine by default. I can get you a few books on it later, after classes? You'll be needing to learn the customs if you're going to eventually meet my grandmother.. We can meet in the library, before dinner. I basically just pulled rank on him-our societies are old, kind of like what you'd expect no-mag royalty to be like."
Hermione nodded.
"Er, can I see them too?" Harry asked.
"I can get you the Potter copy," Draco spoke, "I'll owl my father later. We had a Potter marry in a while back, and she brought some Potter-specific books. Seeing as you're the last, it makes sense that you'd need them."
"Really?Thanks, Malfoy!"
"Draco. You can call me Draco-"
They gathered as one, and the first year Gryffindors and Slytherins walked out of the great hall together. Atria checked her schedule-the first class of her day was dark arts, dark arts defense, as well as intermediate kendo, followed by intermediate elemental manipulations-those classes were marked for Hatake Kakashi and Maito Gai, even though she'd requested her usual instructor.. After lunch, there was Transfigurations and Advanced Wandless Casting, which she would travel to Ilvermorny to do- and to round out the day at Hogwarts, was Japanese I. The next day would be just as full with classes, Herbology first thing in the morning, followed by Potions, then Theory of Magical Casting, Arithmancy, Ancient Runes and Applications.
Not bad, then.
And thus, Atria began her trek up to the fifth floor, where her offensive magics class was. It went well-they went through the theory of a spell she already knew, and she cast it perfectly, of course. And then- it was time for her kendo and intermediate fighting styles course.
That was at the quidditch pitch-and Atria stopped in her dorms and snagged her heir's blades- as well as her wooden practice swords. She didn't know the extent of what they were doing today-but it seemed like the first year Gryffindor and Slytherin class were supposed to be there, with the Ilvermorny students that previously sat through the beginner fighting styles course.
"Good afternoon!" Professor Russo called. "Intermediate students, please make sure to take off your robes in the appropriate changing area. You may wear your sweater or button down if you believe you'll get too warm! Intermediate students are allowed to bring bladed weapons, but if you do not have your own, you will be given some from the school."
And the students walked to their designated changing area. Atria removed her outer robe, as well as her tie and white button down, fastened her swords to her hip with her belt and ambled back out to where a few others had already come out.
"Haythammm!" Atria found him amongst the others.
"Atria! It's nice that we're in the same class," He decided to wear his button down, and his sword was strapped to his hip as well.
The first years-and some of the other Ilvermorny students milled at the side of the pitch, watching and waiting. Once all the students had come out of the changing rooms, Professor Russo began talking.
She pointed to a masked man to her left, who had bone-white hair and was reading a book. "This is Hatake Kakashi-sensei. You may call him Kakashi-sensei-"
"And I am MAITO GAI- THE LEAF VILLAGE'S HANDSOME GREEN BEAST-!" Atria could have sworn she heard one of the first years crying, of all things- and she understood why. This man was- strange. He wore green spandex, orange leg warmers and his eyebrows were.. large.
"And they will be helping you with your hand-to-hand skills!"
"Haytham?"
"Yeah?" He sounded like he could fly away at any moment.
"What the actual fuck did we just-"
"IT WAS GREAT!" He laughed.
"Miss Auxatia! Mr. Bonneville! Ten points each from Slytherin and Gryffindor-you've also volunteered yourselves to be our presenters for today!"
"Please come to the front and surrender your wands or anything that you have in your pockets. Normal ruleset within the protection runes. Once the two-minute mark has passed, you can and are encouraged to use elemental manipulations. Any and everything except actual spells are encouraged. Your creativity and strategy will be graded."
That was spoke loudly enough so everyone could hear, and there was another remark, quieter this time, "And, of course, Mr. Bonneville, I expect you to treat Miss Auxatia as an enemy. We all don't get the easy ride she does."
Haytham's mouth opened, and Atria's foot came down on his-hard.
"Later, Haytham."
He breathed out, heavily, as he fished his wand out of his pocket and thrust it forward. "Fine."
Atria's wand swirled into her hand from her sleeve, and she reached down into her pocket to pull out her inhaler. She offered them both. "Professor Russo, please keep in mind that I'll need that after this-"
"If you happen to need it, I'll send both you and your inhaler to the hospital wing with a note to the Headmaster, withdrawing you from my physical classes," Professor Russo said, "If you can't stand a five-minute spar, there's no place for you in an Offensive Magics Mastery Apprenticeship. That is what you're going for, right? I might as well end that right now if you can't keep up in an intermediate class."
"Russo-sensei, you're being a little harsh. With hard work, any obstacle can be overcome," Gai spoke.
"I won't be showing her any favoritism." Was the staunch answer.
Atria's eyes flashed as she walked to the middle of the sparring arena. Haytham was quick behind her.
"Upon the alarm bell, begin your spar! Younger years, you're safe along the edges of the ring here-don't step over the golden runes on the ground! Watch carefully."
Haytham and Atria bowed to each other and nodded before taking a step back-and then the alarm blared. Haytham drew his sword fast and hard and it clanged up against Atria's short sword, sending sparks into the grass.
She ducked underneath his kick and reinforced her arm with her sheathed, longer sword as his other kick caught her on her opposite side. She rolled, the short sword twirling through a kata meant to protect her as she regained her balance and righted herself. It managed to send Haytham off-balance and in that moment, she struck.
She wasn't quite quick enough to actually land a hit on him, but she did manage to slice through some of his dreadlocks, which fell to the ground behind him.
"I've been growing those for years, Atria! Years!" It was amusement in his voice.
"Oops!" She didn't sound too sorry at all.
They continued trading blows, each one more complicated than the last, both of them evenly matched. A whistle blew, and with that, Haytham's hand twisted and a gust of wind nearly threw Atria to the edge of the ring-if a wall of water hadn't materialized and frozen at the last second.
Atria breathed in for a moment, and her short sword started to glow as her elemental energy was pushed into it. It hummed with energy, the blade itself as hot as fire. The air around it started to steam, and that's when Haytham's eyes widened.
His own elements-fire and wind-came to his aid easily. Atria knew that her blade wouldn't be able to hurt him too badly-especially if she just kept it as it was, instead of jumping to the next level of complexity. No one knew she could use lightning, and she planned to keep it that way.
The blows kept going and going, neither of them willing to give an inch in regards to their spar until Haytham slipped on a patch of ice on the ground and Atria took the opportunity for what it was. With a simple swipe with her other foot, Haytham laid flat on his back, with her longer sword, unsheathed, placed underneath his chin. In one smooth motion, she had re-sheathed her short sword and unsheathed her long sword. Her foot was on his chest, and his hands were encased in blocks of ice, his sword laid forgotten in the grass at least six feet away.
He panted and said, "Very nice, Princess."
A little louder, "I concede this spar."
"Don't move, Haytham," Atria murmured as she stepped away, drawing her sword back into its sheath.
After her sword was safe, she reached her hand down, he grasped it, and stood. She knew her face was red from effort, and she was having a hard time breathing, but as they bowed together she felt like it was worth it.
She didn't know what the others were saying or critiquing, considering the sparring runes muted everything except what was happening in the ring, but as the glow slowly died, she smiled a little at the bit of applause they got.
"Now that you've seen the practical applications it's time to begin learning the katas. Beginners, please show me your wooden swords!"
As Atria retrieved her inhaler and looked around, she realized that Hermione didn't have hers.
"Professor-I'm going to rest a bit in the-"
"Fine!" The woman snapped.
Atria managed to get her wooden sword from the changing room and to Hermione with no one the wiser.
"Thanks," the younger girl whispered.
"Not a problem," Atria murmured, and then continued to where her classmates were being instructed by Kakashi and Gai.
She took a puff of her inhaler before she got there, and gently tapped Haytham on the arm.
"Atria, you okay?"
"Mhm. I'm okay! I didn't have a full attack, so here I am."
"Well, we're working through our katas-seeing as you have two, I'd say get started, because Gai-sensei is a little.. Excitable."
Atria sighed and fell into the katas that had been drilled into her by her grandfather and grandmother, and as the teachers made their rounds, it was Kakashi-sensei who corrected her. "Just a minor thing-but if you changed your footing here, it would give you more stability. I can see the reasoning for the footing you have-it's more for dealing with someone faster than you."
"That's mostly everyone," Atria agreed, "I have a harsh.. Drop off, when it comes to my skills. So I practice like this."
"I'd suggest using this stance until you absolutely had to use the other one. You might surprise yourself."
Atria nodded and practiced the katas a few more times. It really wasn't that different from her usual style, so it was an easy addition. Something caught her attention-there were quite a few first years in the intermediate class. The ones from Hidden Leaf-Atria had a suspicion that there was more to them than met the eye. She would definitely be watching them carefully in the future. Their katas were too smooth for them to have just begun them last year, as most Ilvermorny students did. The class passed quickly, and the students rushed to the changing rooms to swap to their uniforms. It was time for lunch!
It came and went quickly, and for the rest of the day, she was at Ilvermorny for her evening classes. They went as they usually did, absolutely perfect, but due to her earlier physical activity, she was left exhausted. She ended up skipping out on the study group that night-between all her classes, the physical exercise in and out of class, she was totally and utterly exhausted.
The next day was much better-she was lucky to have alternating days- she didn't have to deal with Professor Russo in class again until the day after-and if she was lucky enough, on Saturday, she could test out of Professor Russo's classes altogether. She hoped for that more than anything. Last year, Professor Russo had just treated her with quiet contempt-but this year it was definitely more pronounced and more obvious.
In their own ways, Kakashi and Gai-sensei tried to make up for it, but Professor Russo's attitude still brought her down.
They met in the dueling room-and there were a lot of them- the blonde-haired Gryffindor Yamanaka girl, Shikamaru Nara, the Ravenclaw and Choji Akimichi, the Hufflepuff was there, as well as Hinata, Shino and Kiba-the entirety of Team 7's graduating class was there-if she had known what Team 7 was- as well as Team 10, Gai-sensei's squad.
They had more than a few teachers there, too. Sarutobi-sensei, Kurenai-sensei, Gai and Kakashi-sensei, as well as Kisame and Itachi- well, they didn't know the codename he'd be going by at Hogwarts.
Atria looked through the crowd-there they were! Anson, Jasmine and Haytham were laying on the dueling platform and laughing about something and she felt her mood soften. A small smile found its way onto her face, in direct comparison to the calm, unaffected expression she usually wore. Draco, Harry and Hermione were there, too..
"YOSH! THE LAST ONE IS HERE, GAI-SENSEI!" That was Lee's exuberance.
"That I am," Atria laughed, "I had a fight with the stairs and the stairs won this time, my apologies."
"NO! DON'T TELL ME YOU GIVE LAME EXCUSES LIKE KAKASHI-SENSEI!" Naruto yelled over the din.
"DOBE. SHUT UP!"
"SASUKEEEEE!"
Atria rubbed the bridge of her nose between her forefinger and index fingers with a sigh.
"Merlin, I'm going to go grey before I hit fifteen," she muttered to herself.
"We're surrounded by idiots," Neji agreed.
Atria sighed again and swiped her hand around her and the room was effectively silenced. In that moment, she had all the leaf village students staring at her, along with the teachers.
"Finally," Sarutobi-sensei muttered, "I can actually hear myself think-"
"So, Atria-kun," It was Kurenai-sensei that spoke, "How do you usually hold the study session."
With a wave of her hand, the silencing charm broke, "It's usually very informal. We've been using Kisame-san and Izo-san," Itachi's codename, "As moving targets. No fear, they cast spells back, and they're good at rating individual skill level, so it's always fair."
"But we usually start with studying the spells etymology, and then the history, and then the practical and impractical applications, as well as the wand movements before we even begin to cast spells at each other."
Atria swore she saw Kurenai stiffen when she mentioned Kisame and Itachi specifically.
"We usually pick three or four spells to work through a night, some from each subject unless we're specifically studying one subject in particular, like we've been doing lately with offensive magics and applications."
"I'm impressed. I expected us to have to put in structure.."
"Magic is dangerous," Atria said lightly, "So it deserves care and respect in regards to safety precautions."
"Alright." Sarutobi-sensei clapped his hands.
"Everyone works in groups of three. Go to your usual groups-" A lot of groaning, irritable mutterings and frustrated noises later, they had split off into their groups.
"Atria, you're going to lead the session like you usually would." Kakashi-sensei's voice was even.
"Er-okay." It was said quietly, and then she cleared her throat a little before speaking louder.
"So today, everyone, we'll be learning the whirlwind defense! It's not a specific spell, but more of a guiding of magic. Your main goal when performing this technique is to divert minor unfriendly spells, hexes and curses. This should not be used for anything like a blasting curse, like a confringo or reducto, but bombarda is mild enough in and of itself to be diverted. It just requires a little timing. This technique will also potentially throw their spell back at them if you can control it well enough. It's useful."
Here, she pulled out her wand. "When performed correctly, you should feel a slight gust of wind kind of swirl around you-it should be pure magic. This is a light magical technique, so you'll be drawing this magic from within yourself, so you'll feel a little bit of a drain. Er.."
Atria paused for a moment and then continued speaking, "So it should be like.. Adding things to a cauldron with a pipette. It only requires two drops-anything more, and you'll have a runaway wind technique and any less and you'll get pelted with a minor jinx. Just like with potions-too much, and you'll have to start over, any less and the potion will be inert."
"Watch carefully," she instructed.
She twirled her wand, slowly, obviously. "This is a full three-sixty degree spin, done quite a bit more quicker than that. Here-" She demonstrated the wand movement in real time.
"It should be done very quickly, at the last second to give yourself the element of surprise. Most wizards or witches will stop casting once they think they've defeated you-this will throw that out the window and let you dictate the fight from that moment on- it might even win the fight for you, if your next spell cast is devastating enough."
She waited, watching everyone nod. She could vaguely hear Hermione's quill scratching across her parchment, and she asked, "Is everyone understanding so far?"
There were affirmative nods, a few verbalized yeses, but then Hermione asked, "So how do we know when we're using our magic? If you just wave your wand it doesn't do anything!"
"So this goes back to intent on being aware of your magic. Our first step in learning this technique outright is becoming aware of our magical core and it's depth. So how you're going to do this-is you're going to first cast a spell. As far as I know, everyone has already learned the levitation charm- levitate a book- but pay attention to what your magic feels like and where it comes from. Do it until you're sure about it! However, before we progress any further, please let me demonstrate the technique."
"Do I have a volunteer?"
"Princess Atria, if you'll allow me the pleasure of trying to blast your face in?" Haytham's sarcastic voice caught her attention.
"Any time, Haytham," Atria agreed, amused. "So, please stand around the edge of the dueling arena. When we step up, the ward array will activate, so you'll be safe from any misses."
The two stepped up on the platform and the golden light shone from around the edges of the stage.
"Whenever you're ready, Hay-"
Haytham already sent a jet of red light hurling at Atria. Instinctively, her whirlwind defense swirled up and sent the spell into the ground to her left. It was definitely a reducto, she knew, because she'd scaled her magic up to meet the force of the spell.
The deflected spell itself blasted a hole in the floor of the arena.
"Well."
"That's cold, wet, deep subject I don't wanna talk about," Haytham snarked.
"Oh, shut up. Mr. I'm-gonna-cast-a-REDUCTO!"
"The technique can scale if you feel it start to break. You can add more magic, which would have to be of equal or more expenditure to the spell sent at you," He said.
"Alright. Let me show you a few of this technique's flaws." Atria nodded. "Haytham, ready yourself."
The boy nodded. "Always ready for you, darling!"
"Alright, dearest!" The sarcastic, amused smile was back.
Atria's spells came hard and fast-Haytham was able to successfully direct the first three back using the whirlwind technique, but she only sidestepped them and continued casting, advancing on the boy quickly.
One of her spells made it past the whirlwind, and the next was blocked with a protego that was shattered-the blowback sent Haytham flying back but he landed nimbly on his feet without a scratch.
"So.. does anyone want to tell me what happened and why it did?"
"Er.." It was Harry that spoke this time, "You overpowered his whirlwind and forced him to use another blocking spell that was easier to break?"
"Exactly. People that use this technique play very defensively, if you take the fight to them and they continue to use this technique, the fight is immediately in your favor. Their mistake will have cost them the duel, in that instance."
"So this is situational." Sakura noted.
"Yes. But for anyone at our age, they usually don't understand how or why to defeat it unless they've had specific instruction and have the spell power and repertoire. Which-while some may have one, they usually don't have the other."
"This technique is best used to deflect an enemy's spell back at them, while in the next second sending your own spell with it. A first-year whirlwind technique won't hold against two low-powered hexes or jinxes. A second-year's wouldn't either. Maybe up into third year, too.."
"So," Atria continued as she hopped down from the platform, "Let's get to levitating those books, shall we?"
Atria worked on a transfigurations essay as the students worked on levitating a book a piece. It didn't take too long for them to learn how their magic moved and where it moved from-maybe thirty minutes- as Atria walked around and made sure they were making progress often.
"So now, you're going to learn another spell. It's a tickling jinx called rictusempra- it has the same wand movement, but more horizontal. Your intent will be to tickle your opponent and your opponent will try to redirect your tickling jinx. You'll swap after every successful jinx or successful whirlwind technique."
"And that's where we'll observe and make sure nothing goes wrong," Kurenai-sensei said.
The teachers made their way around the room to the study group while Atria found herself laying against the dueling mat, staring at the ceiling as she listened to the sound of the whooshing. And then, there was the sound of something else- she heard the yelling and she sat up as a large gust of wind twirled towards her, faster than she could have thought possible.
Her hands came up and she focused on the individual water molecules in it, and forced it apart-the hiss that it created silenced the room. "OOPS!" Naruto yelled.
"Uh-no harm done, Naruto. Next time, please limit your magic expenditure, okay?"
"Gotcha, boss!"
She laid back down on the mat. She felt, rather than heard, someone lay down next to her. "Heya, Princess, you looked kind of cozy over here so I thought I'd join you."
"It does feel nice," she yawned.
"You've looked exhausted the past couple of days," he noted, "If you want, I can continue with the study session and you can sleep behind a few notice-me-not and silencing charms? I'll wake you when they're done."
Atria's eyes peeked open, and she sighed through heavy lips, "Sure.. just please make sure Naruto doesn't blast me to smithereens while I sleep.."
"I'll make sure you're safe," He agreed, his hand coming to rest on her forehead. "Sleep, Atria." There was a fondness to his voice that Atria couldn't quite place, but she decided she liked it.
She felt his spells fizzle to life around her, and she could feel where he was previously laying next to her and the smell of his cologne- it was familiar, it felt safe- her eyes fully closed and she drifted off to sleep without a problem.
The study group continued as usual- with them learning four or five different spells or techniques in about two hour's time, and most of the shinobi left, save for Sasuke, Neji, Naruto and Sakura. Hermione, Draco and Harry had stayed. Haytham took down the spells and gently shook her awake.
"Wake up, Atria, nap time's over-"
"Whaa-"
Atria opened her eyes to Naruto standing over her, his face a few inches from hers. "What the fuck-"
Sakura grabbed him by his cloak. "Let her breathe, you idiot."
"She looked like she was dead, what was I supposed to do?"
"Let me die," Atria answered dryly.
"Not allowed," Jasmine chimed in.
"As if you'd die," Anson commented, "You'd probably survive a nuclear war point-blank and still be fine."
"Ughhh-" Atria moaned as she sat up, "What the hell happened to me-I feel old.."
Naruto laughed.
"Aww, you're still cute, Princess. You don't look in any state to stand, though-"
"My legs aren't broken, I'm more than capable of walking myself-"
"You fell asleep! I was watching over you! It's the rule-!"
"I made that promise when I was six, Haytham! Six!"
"And due to your brother, that promise is still in effect, Princess!"
"I'm gonna kill you. In your sleep. With a cast-iron frying pan." Her voice was tired.
"So-when Atria was six, we were all playing together. We were playing Princesses and Princes and Knights- Atria's brother shoved her and since Haytham was a knight, she had to agree when she was feeling bad, or hurt, he had to carry her. Or take care of her-"
"But I'm not six anymore, and we're not Princesses or Princes or Knights anymore," Atria grumbled.
"Yeah, you stopped playing that after you got-"
"Stop. Talking."
She grabbed her bag off the mat and straightened her cloak as she slipped off the dueling arena's side and stomped her way out.
"So, what happened?" It was Neji that asked.
"Atria was kidnapped shortly after that and we stopped playing together. Two of her uncles and someone from a child trafficking ring were found colluding together. They were all killed that night right in front of her and her grandmother had to stand trial for it because her family is a Most Noble and Most Ancient House-but it was thrown around in the paper that it may have been Atria that killed them, you know, and that Lord Clare was covering it up. Atria won't talk about it at all, even though I've seen her wake up screaming-" Haytham's voice was full of pain, and it tapered off.
"And soon after that, she was instituted as… as heir to both families. So even more people suspected that it was her that killed her own uncles. It's just not done- there are harsh penalties, even if there are safety clauses. She had to testify under veritaserum, which is a powerful drug that makes people say the absolute truth in it's entirety- but her father's family, the Auxatia, are known for their mental fortitude and their natural occlumency-which can counter veritaserum- it was suspected that she was able to fool them all."
Sasuke had gone pale. "Why-why would she kill them-"
"Child trafficking-is selling children into sex slavery at best. She was the suspected heir to at least one family-a high-ranking one at that. She, in and of herself was worth a lot of money to a lot of pedophiles." Haytham's words were heavy. "They usually intentionally addicted children to hard drugs and used them as a reward for sexual services. She was with them for three days before she was found and they could have done anything to her in that time. In my opinion, it was deserved. If I could go back, I would kill them myself."
"And her Grandmother went to court and was found guilty. As a non-relative to her uncles, it was found in defense of a child, so she was rewarded with a key to the city for defending a minor child. The judge himself ruled that Lord Clare was the one to kill them, not that it makes any difference because people are going to talk- but it was proven, at least judicially that Atria didn't kill them." His eyes, dark and heavy, fell on Sasuke.
"If you decide to break off your friendship, I don't suggest bringing this up. The last time-"
"That's awful. I hate them-" Hermione's voice interrupted him. "Absolutely disgusting human beings-vile-"
"Hermione, chill," Harry tried to shake her shoulder.
"After three days, they never find them, you know? They're either dead or bought or worse- I'm not shutting up, Harry! Her uncles were wrong and disgusting-"
"I'm not defending them! They're disgusting, I agree, but your hair is frizzing and your magic is everywhere-"
Hermione took a breath in and forced herself to relax.
Sasuke swallowed. "I can see why and I understand, but.."
"So that's why Atria-hime's got a file wide enough to make a book," Kisame murmured, "But.. I think she's heard you-"
He pointed to the door. There stood Atria, in the open doorway, completely frozen. She held her hand open and the book sitting on the mat skittered across the platform and soared into her open hand.
"Is this what you discuss behind my back?"
"No-"
Her eyes flashed. "I killed them. I killed them-all of them- is that what you wanted to hear?"
"No-No-"
"I.. trusted you. I may not have told you, but I trusted you-"
"Atria-I'm sorry-""My mother hates me because I killed my uncles. Her brothers-her precious brothers that could do no wrong, including rape her six-year old daughter." Her voice was deep and rasped with emotion, "Is that what you wanted to hear? Do you want me to spill my secrets? Do you want me to beg to be friends with you? Do you know what it's like to stare your family in the face and have them basically- and to know that you trusted them? THAT YOU LOVED THEM?"
"Atria you're having a panic attack-"
"I DONT CARE-!"
"YOU BASICALLY-just TOLD THEM- EVERYTHING! EVERYTHING IVE HAD TO-" Her eyes shone with tears.
The ends of her hair began to spark.
"Doesn't change how we feel about you, Princess. Just 'cause you killed a couple people doesn't change who you are now and it doesn't change the person we know. You're still Atria, to me at least." Haytham's words were quiet and even.
"Someone in our profession has killed someone somewhere," Neji acknowledged, "So we can't judge you. Sometimes.. It's necessary to kill a few family members as well, especially if they try to kill the heiress or heir.."
"Were you afraid you were going to die?" It was Sasuke that asked this.
"I wasn't compliant. I fought.." Atria's voice had lost the fury it once had, "They tried to torture me. And when I wouldn't do what they wanted, they forced me, and then I hurt- yes. That made my magic react, I couldn't control it.."
Sasuke nodded. "They betrayed you, and they were going to kill you. As much as they were your family, they weren't."
"They deserved it," Naruto said, his eyes furious.
Sakura nodded emphatically.
Draco's eyes shone, "It's a good thing they're dead, or my family would have a say about that."
"Sometimes it's better to not have family," Harry said lightly. He definitely had experience with that..
"I'm glad you killed them," Hermione said, "They didn't deserve to live."
"So instead of standing over there and acting like we're gonna bite you, come over here and we can discuss what you missed in the study session," Haytham said.
Atria slipped her book in her bag and trotted over to him, and as soon as she was in arm's length, he hugged her to him and pulled her to sit next to him on the dueling stage.
"So, Kisame-san, give me a run down of what I missed."
"Sure, Atria-hime."