CHAPTER 28: NIGHT AND DAY
Legilimency, Artemis stared at the page in front of him, of course, there had to be some form of telepathy. He berated himself for not looking into the possibility of mind readers at Hogwarts beforehand. Now there he was, after hours of flipping through library books in his office, learning about the only way to read someone's mind without potions or artefacts. I was so focused on researching history and defense against the dark arts, I neglected the most vital knowledge of all, but now is not the time to dawdle on that. How do I counteract it? The young professor now understood wizards could, with enough skill, invade his mind. The only way to counteract it appeared to be with Occlumency. Something struck him as odd during his conversations at the banquet. For some reason, he could not shake the feeling he had to be cautious around his new colleagues.
After finding Occlumency in the "O" section of Mind Tricks: An Encyclopedia of Mental Magic, Fowl's eyes greedily drank in the information until he slammed the book shut in frustration. He could—and would—learn the skill, but if someone was practiced enough to use Legilimency without any incantations, that meant there was no time to train properly against such a person! The young adult mastermind massaged his temples. The candles nearby were already halfway spent despite being lit for the first time that very evening. Artemis felt something rub against his leg.
"Not now, Cat," he sighed. "I need to find more about Legilimency. I doubt any of these random volumes have such information." He had told the librarian he wanted to brush up on a few curious subjects, so as not to appear to have ulterior purposes in mind. As a result, though, he only got basic information. In addition to Mind Tricks and other useful-sounding titles, the stack next to him also included Nargles: Fact or Fiction; The Existence of Muggleborns Explained Scientifically; and, last but not least, Silent Spellcasting Tutorials and Why You Should Never Trust a Silent Spellcaster.
"Meow," Cat jumped up onto the desk and spread herself across it. She purred and twisted around to try and get her master's attention.
"No, Cat," Artemis plucked her off and set her on the floor, earning himself an indignant look.
Determined to get her dues, Cat jumped onto the desk a second time and planted her forepaws firmly on the encyclopedia. She laid her front half down on it and stared at Fowl while her fluffy tail twitched. Unfortunately for her, the human had other ideas.
"You are absolutely right, Cat! I ought to check this book again." He propped her up and slid the book out before leaving her on the desk, now more insulted than ever. Fowl ignored her protest and opened to the "L" section. There must be some loophole I can exploit until I learn Occlumency. This time, he read with the objective of finding weaknesses in the practice. There! He found what he was looking for. "According to this, Cat," he spoke to the cat in his excitement, "even a skilled Legilimens requires proximity," his brow furrowed. "All I must do is avoid my coworkers until I can sufficiently guard my secrets from all of them! How difficult could that be?" he asked sarcastically. Still, it is all I can find right now.
The only question now was how long it would take to learn Occlumency. It supposedly required years to master, but Artemis Fowl II had always been gifted in all things intellectual. He was confident it would not be too long before his mind and all its secrets were impenetrable.
Just in case, though…he wondered if there were any charms or artefacts he could utilize as protection. Another thought struck him. N01 had, in addition to optimizing his bodily condition, enhanced magical protection against possession and imbued him with a special kind of magic. Could that provide some layer of protection? He reminded himself to thank the demon warlock and ask about the particular effects of those measures.
The more he thought about it, the more he wondered how the fairy magic he appropriated years ago might be interacting with his ancestral human magic. The way he awakened his latent wizarding abilities required a small transfusion of his brother's blood coinciding with the renewal of his fairy magic under the full moon. Could such an unorthodox methodology have made any impact? If so, what could the difference have been, and how could he discover it?
Crash! The wizard's musings were interrupted by something falling over. He turned and saw Cat sitting smugly at the edge of his desk. On the floor, the library books were scattered like fallen victims.
"Bad cat," Artemis scolded her, "bad!"
The feline slinked off the desk and to a distant corner, banishing herself in hurt feelings. Artemis sighed and picked up the borrowed tomes. It wasn't until he checked the sleek clock on the wall that he knew how late it was. That little detail brought no optimism. He pulled out his wand and used it to extinguish his candles, thankful he had a lesson plan for the next day.
While their brother was educating himself, Myles and Beckett Fowl were spending their first night apart from one another.
After the banquet had ended, Beckett saw a brown-haired boy with sparkling brown eyes get up and address the new students.
"Congratulations!" the boy exclaimed. "I'm prefect Gabriel Truman, and I'm delighted to welcome you to HUFFLEPUFF HOUSE!" his enthusiasm was infectious, and Beckett felt himself smiling ear to ear. "If you'll please follow me this way, I'll show you to the HUFFLEPUFF DORMITORIES!" The first years all clapped and cheered their eagernes. "Then let's go!"
Gabriel led the way to a corridor with a large stack of barrels in a shady corner.
"This painting here marks the kitchen entrance," Truman explained, "but can you guess where the dorm entrance is?" A blonde girl standing next to a dirty-blonde boy raised her hand. "Yes, Hannah?" Apparently, the prefect had already memorized the new Hufflepuffs' names.
"Is it behind those barrels?" Hannah pointed to the numerous kegs in the right-hand corner. They were all sideways, with their lids facing outwards.
"Behind? I guess you could say that. Well done! But…" here Gabriel smiled mischievously, "there's a trick to it. You see, students aren't allowed in other House's dorms. Because of this, we have to memorize how to get in." he marched over to the barrels and looked over his shoulder at the first years. "Pay attention to the barrel and the combination. It's the middle of the second row from the bottom. Tap the lid to the rhythm 'Helga Hufflepuff' unless you want a vinegar bath." Truman tapped the keg he mentioned twice, then three times.
The lid rolled away, revealing a narrow, earthy passage gently sloping upwards. Beckett stared in awe. As far as he was concerned, he got the coolest dorm in Hogwarts: right next to the kitchen, with a killer entryway! After crawling through the earthen tunnel a short distance, they found themselves entering a cozy den-like room. The furniture was made of honey-colored wood, and plants hung from copper-bottomed pots dangling from the ceiling. Their green tendrils felt like friendly strokes to the head as the children walked beneath them, and dancing cacti waved at them from curved circular shelves on the walls. A wooden mantlepiece adorned with happy badger carvings drew attention to a moving painting depicting a lady toasting them with a tiny two-handed golden cup. There were black and yellow decorations everywhere, complimenting the beelike atmosphere instilled by the furniture's color. Charming circular windows just level with the ground outside revealed lush grass and dandelions, like the viewers were lying down in the fields.
"This is our Common Room!" Gabriel informed the first years as they wandered about in dazzlement. "The round door to the right leads to the boys' room, and the round door to the left leads to the girls' room.
"This is beautiful!" Hannah voiced what they were all thinking.
"This feels like home," Beckett breathed.
"I'm so glad to hear that!" Gabriel beamed, his eyes sparkling, "Now that you're Hufflepuffs, this is home!"
Gabriel Truman answered all their questions, and some of the female students had saved some tea and snacks for the occasion. After enjoying a pleasant evening and receiving commemorative cups their housemates had made in anticipation for new members, the new Hufflepuffs went to their rooms to find beds with elegant wooden frames and patchwork quilts waiting for them. They had already introduced themselves to each other, so it didn't feel awkward at all for Beckett to exchange warm goodnights and settle into his own bed. He chose the one in between two other first year boys, Justin Finch-Fletchley and Ernest Macmillan.
I hope Myles is enjoying his new House, too, Beckett thought as he closed his eyes and drifted into sleep. If the Slytherins were half as nice as the Hufflepuffs, then he felt being separated might not be such a bad thing. "G'night, Myles, he murmured before heading off into a quiet, dreamless slumber.
Whereas Beckett went to the cozy Hufflepuff dormitories, Myles followed Gemma Farley and his fellow Slytherins down a dark stone stairway.
"Keep heading down this way, deep into the dungeons of the castle," Farley told them. "The narrower ones you saw nearby lead to Professor Snape's office, in case you didn't know."
Ahead of Myles, Draco Malfoy kept close to his two stocky friends and a girl with a flat but not quite ugly face. Beside him was a brown-haired boy who was exceptionally thin. Behind him was a tall boy with dark-skinned and very well-kept. There were other students, too, but Myles could not make out their features. Eventually, Farley lead them all out of the stairway and into a dungeon hallway. The prefect lead them confidently among the dark, barren cells to a bare section of the wall. "Well, here we are," she announced and looked out at the first years. After a few seconds, someone reacted.
"You have got to be joking!" the flat-faced girl whined. "Are we supposed to sleep in here?"
"Is there a problem with that?" Gemma raised an eyebrow.
"Is this only the entrance?" Myles guessed. "It's quite secretive."
"Bingo," Gemma affirmed. "I see at least one of you has his head on today. If you don't know how to get in any given day, though, then you'd better pick a cell. Our password changes every fortnight, so keep yourselves updated on that by reading our noticeboard. Do not ever, under any circumstances, reveal our password to outsiders—nobody outside of Slytherin has been in here for the last seven centuries, and it would be against the rules if they ever did."
"What's the password right now?" The dark-skinned boy asked.
"We made it the one thing you will have to remember from now on…" Farley smirked, "Slytherin rules!" At that, the wall opened dramatically behind her, revealing a stone passageway.
Once they went through it, the new students emerged into an underwater stone room furnished in black, with leather couches and deep green lanterns. A stone mantlepiece was ornately carved with snakes, and the lakewater outside the large windows gave the whole room a green tinge. Elaborate tapestries hung upon the walls. Myles noticed skulls peeking at them here and there. The seating was ample, and the whole room was ornate. It was like a resplendent lair of black and green, worthy of Slytherin pride.
"Nice little room, isn't it?" their prefect observed the students smugly, knowing they were all trying to play it cool. "Boys are to the right, girls to the left. Remember, everyone here is destined for greatness, so act like it. Check the notice board regularly. Stick together. Goodnight!"
With that, their evening was concluded. Some of the older students smiled at him when he entered the boys' dormitory, while some just kept minding their own business. Most simply acknowledged his presence. Determined not to show any sign of weakness, Myles walked like he knew what he was doing until he reached an empty bed in a corner. The thin boy who walked next to him apparently had the same idea, but the raven-haired genius reached it first. Giving a sniff of contempt, his new housemate settled for the bed next to his. Now that he could see more clearly, Myles recognized him as the boy who was named Theodore Nott during the sorting ceremony.
"Well, Theodore Nott," Myles extended a hand, "I look forward to being a Slytherin with you."
Theodore looked askance at him, then proceeded to go about getting to bed. Myles did likewise, and when he settled among his emerald green sheets surrounded by green velvet curtains in a black wooden bedframe, his brow furrowed in thought. If he was like Beckett, he would have hated the aloof atmosphere created by his housemates. If he was like Artemis, he would have relished the fact nobody was likely to approach him. How do I feel about it, though? He turned the question over in his head. On one hand, it would be difficult to really feel close with anyone there. On the other hand, he wondered if any of these people were worth getting close to at all. As a negative, the lack of warmth would make gaining influence difficult. As a positive, he could focus on his own development instead. Keeping contact with his friends and brother might become difficult, but if they ever needed something from Slytherin, he could assist them from the inside. At last, he simply decided to go with the flow and do his best to make the most of his situation.
I hope Beck's alright with his new House, he thought as he laid on his back with his eyes closed, and the others, too…I wish I said goodnight before that ceremony. His sleep was full of thoughts, and he stirred throughout the night. Much like in their waking lives, the Fowl twins were opposites when at rest.
In the morning, before the Sun rose, Myles felt someone shaking his shoulder and whispering "Get up! Get up, you bump on a log!"
"Forget it, Beck," he murmured half-consciously, "I'm not making a shrinking device until the hovershoes are done." He turned over and pulled the sheets tighter around him. He heard snickers but didn't care.
"HEY, FOWL!" That was definitely not Beckett. Myles's eyes finally opened, and he blinked away the grogginess. Myles sat up in his new bed, and all his fellow first years were gathered around his bed.
What the heck could they want? He wondered internally. "Yeah?" he said externally, giving them a quizzical look.
"My father told me your brother's a professor," so, Draco was the one who woke him up. Myles took a note. "That means you know what we're doing today, right?"
"Before I tell you what he's planning, tell me what time it is," Myles never took kindly to his sleep being interrupted, even when his brothers were the culprits.
"It's six o'clock," the flat-faced girl—Pansy Parkinson, if his mind wasn't clouded from lack of sleep—answered his question, "now tell us!"
"You woke me up two hours before breakfast, just to ask one question? Don't do it again, and I'll talk to you every evening in the common room."
"Come on, spit it out!" Pansy urged him. "Gemma says girls aren't allowed in the boys' dorms."
"Soap Blizzard of 1378. He'll probably test our knowledge first. See you at breakfast." With that, Myles laid back down and pulled the blankets back up to his shoulders. "Mr. Hooty, wake me up at seven thirty, like I planned."
Mr. Hooty, ruffled his feathers, which Myles took as acknowledgement. The owl had grown used to his master waking up at that time, and so he began helping the boy start his mornings. Despite being mostly nocturnal, he was always responsive to his human.
"You named your owl Mr. Hooty?" Pansy asked in that annoying voice of hers.
"D'you have a problem with that?" Myles grunted, eyes still shut. To his satisfaction, he heard some of the others telling her not to annoy him. At that hour, he was not conscious enough to care about anything more than getting that last one hour and fifty-five minutes of sleep.
CHAPTER TITLE: Not only are the brothers spending their first night and the start of their first day at Hogwarts, but their experiences were as different as night and day!
THANK YOU to ProfessorMarauder for pointing something out: Artemis has fairy secrets to keep! In order to prevent Snape from discovering them, there had to be some means for Artemis to protect his mind. Unfortunately, it was not plausible for Artemis to immediately discover Severus Snape was a Legilimens…at least, not directly ;) Instead, I had Artemis find out about Legilimency itself, from which he will naturally gain suspicion.
LEARNING OCCLUMENCY: Like Legilimency, Occlumency is usually a learned skill except in rare cases of natural giftedness. As a result, and especially considering I already established Professor Fowl is not a natural at this particular magic, I decided there had to be some other means to protect his mind while he developed the skills necessary to fully use Occlumency.
HUMAN/FAERIE MAGICK AND CURING SQUIBS: Remember how Artemis began in this story? He was a Squib who maintained the fairies' magic he stole during Colfer's original series. Then, he used a transfusion of Myles's blood in an attempt to awaken his ancestral magic. Surely, a simple blood transfusion was not all it took—there had to be more to the process. Specifically, there had to be a factor involved which ordinary wizards would not have had access to or thought of. As I established earlier in this fanfiction, humans did not need to renew their magic using any special rituals, whilst fairies had to (as detailed in the Artemis Fowl canon) bury an acorn under the light of the full moon every moon cycle. Wizards, however, were unaware of the Underground's existence; therefore, they did not know such magic—let alone such a ritual—existed. Even if they did, it is not likely they could have hijacked it for themselves and assimilated it into a Squib the way Artemis did. As a result, Artemis is a very special case, and such a novel experiment is bound to have many unknown results. A sad consequence, by the way, is that he now knows how to cure a Squib from their genetic disorder but cannot share that knowledge with anyone due to the potential consequences of revealing the two populations to each other.
DORM DESCRIPTIONS: Thank you, internet.
BECKETT AND HUFFLEPUFF: Such a warm reception helped Beckett feel welcome, and the earthy atmosphere of the common room appealed to his love of dirt and nature. As a result, he quickly comes to appreciate being sorted into Hufflepuff and hopes his brother is equally blessed.
MYLES AND SLYTHERIN: Though not inherently evil, Slytherins—from what I could find in the canon characters—tend to be proud and, perhaps as a result, aloof. That being said, despite most of the canonical Slytherins being trash, they are still humans, and children at that! Myles' reception was not warm and fluffy like the Hufflepuffs, but perhaps given enough time, the ambitious and gifted young man will find himself growing fond of his House, after all.
DYNAMICS IN SLYTHERIN: While the Hufflepuff dynamics go without explanation, how about the conundrum of how to fit Myles into Slytherin without going the cliché "gets bullied" route or turning him into one of them? Well, let's look at the canon first year Slytherins: Draco and Pansy head the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts of racist bullies, while Theodore and Blaise kinda just mingle a bit but keep to themselves. This shows Slytherins in Harry's year didn't exactly have to wear Potter Stinks badges to fit in. Furthermore, I would like to capitalize on the fact the books' power structure of Draco and Pansy being on top has not had a chance to develop yet. It's only their first day, and there were no other strong parties to challenge the bullies taking over in the books (ironic for the House of ambition, cunning, and resourcefulness).
Here, the other Slytherins are starting to see Myles as a boy who not only has an immediately beneficial connection as their teacher's brother, but also as someone who is not easily intimidated. Him being a Slytherin predisposes patriotic House members to see this as a positive quality and may earn him a little respect on his own merit. Given time, who knows what this could do?
I considered making him a double agent of sorts, but I prefer this because double agents do not typically materialize out of nowhere.
BLAISE AND THEODORE: Blaise and Theodore were two canonical side characters who, although they got along with Malfoy and his gang, seemed to basically mind their own business. Based on my searches, Blaise appeared to be as pro-Voldie/anti-Muggle as the typical Harry Potter jerkwad (or maybe he's just faking it since he keeps showing up to Slughorn's club and doesn't seem to think highly of Malfoy and his crew). I didn't see much of Theodore, who apparently looked down on everyone equally. The most Death Eater-like behavior I found from him was snickering at a comment Draco Malfoy made. There was a deleted convo betwixt him and Draco, but I couldn't find it. I decided to pin Theodore as a potential connection by placing him physically closer to Myles and giving them a small interaction in Myles reaching out to him first. This is not only because he seems the least explicitly Death Eater-like, but for other reasons, too. With a Death Eater father and greater intellect than Draco, Theodore could serve as a potential foil to Malfoy, at least partially. His intellect might help him better connect with Myles, and the latter's open nature and Hufflepuff brother might get him to slowly open up. There is also one detail about him which ties perfectly in with something I already have in mind for a future installment, but that is for a different time.
SLEEPING HABITS AND MORNING PEOPLE: Yes, I even cared about how the twins sleep. Also, Morning Myles turned out to be such a mood XD
I OWN NEITHER HARRY POTTER NOR ARTEMIS FOWL. IF I DID, THERE WOULD BE A GOOD SLYTHERIN IN HARRY'S YEAR. #NotAllSlytherins