His friends were worried about him again, and Albus was worried and on edge because he was constantly worrying everyone!
He wanted to show them that he could get better, do better, that he could, in fact, be a normal kid, a normal Hogwarts Ravenclaw student, just going on with his life. Having fun with his friends, having the usual classes.
But the man in the well seemed to be always pulling him down, taking him to some kind of metaphorical well. A symbolic well that represented abnormality and evil. That represented and signified his distancing from an acceptable, normal, everyday reality, dissociated from his friends and family, from Hogwarts. Taking him to the Nightmare-World, a wicked Dream-World where abominable things crawled, and from which innumerable hideous things came, proto-humans, evil specters, thirsty black substances with insatiable hunger, where the Star reigned, tyrannical, mystical, oppressively magnificent and attractive, like a tempting sin, just waiting for someone who would be able to conjure it and unleash its full atrocious and supreme evil potential.
The Star was, in the "ideal world", the Circle from what Albus understood. Star = Circle, they were then, in theory, the exact same thing.
But reality distorted this logic, making it thousand times more confusing.
The Circle seemed to represent, in practice, in reality, more of a portal for the Star of Tomorrow's (capable of granting any wish) invocation..., even if the man in the well insisted on saying in his head (with those horrible and annoying whispers) that the Star was, strictly speaking, the Circle, and it was maddening because it was utterly illogical, pure insanity!
A Star isn't a Circle, they are different geometrical shapes.
(Yes, you may be right. But… ghostly vampires also shouldn't exist, they shouldn't travel through that mysterious thing called Beyond, maybe none of that follow human logic)
But perhaps the man from the well, who, in fact, Albus theorized was a being (maybe some kind of specter, a vampirical one) who resided somewhere in the confusing and not well-understood Beyond, visualized the Circle as the Star because of his location…
What logical distortions take place in Beyond?
There was also lots of confusion concerning the terms "Open Circle" and "Closed Circle". What did they mean, exactly?
Albus thought that the Open Circle (meaning, in that case, some kind of portal connecting the Beyond and the real world) meant fluidity, that something flowed through the Circle, allowing something to go out and/or come in, but when it was "Closed", it was sealed, locked and nothing could pass through it.
At least, this was his understanding, it seemed logical, but there were a number of extremely complicated discussions, with confusing theories dealing with the specific issue, some detailed further analyses.
Albus had tried to understand more about the Mind Sanctuary but had not advanced much in his understanding.
It was, as he already knew, a supreme technique of esoteric ritualistic dark magic in the occlumency area that locked the mind.
Some scholars theorized that this state of "locked mind" meant the Closed Circle, but many disagreed, saying that the Circle didn't represent the mind, stating that when one "closed" the mind, one didn't always "close" the Circle.
Concerning Legilimency, there were some mentions of ritualistic techniques alluding to words like: "walking in the shadows", seeing from the Beyond, "occult possession of the mind. Was it related to the "Open Circle"?
Albus was utterly confused, those theories were way too complex for a 12-year-old!
Simply too much information, too many details, he felt simply overwhelmed by so much theorizing. For Albus, most of that made little to no sense.
Maybe an experienced adult wizard-like Mister Abramovic or Mister Edward Daniels could understand better, but he just felt like a hopeless and naïve child who would never understand it on his own.
Albus had tried to research more about Occlumency and Legilimency (he really did!), but the books he had used said nothing about esoteric black magic and did not help him at all, they had been totally useless.
He needed to study Occlumency and Legilimency in very specific sources... in books that he couldn't get access to like "The Vampire's Possession," by Melly Kally, the book that had been banned in over a hundred countries, and had had all the copies burned by the Romanian government. Or "Supreme Occlumency," the author had been tortured and killed centuries ago in Japan, or even "The Walk in the Shadows," by Georgius Nostrad.
He had all the trouble of getting books with the subjects he wanted to (some of them were in the Restricted Section, and he had to ask a very confused and worried James to get them for him, trying to hide his true intentions:
"I want to understand more about it, because it can help with my dreams, James. Please. It'll help me a lot. I need your help," he had insisted, trying his best to sound convincing and not generate any unnecessary suspicions.
"Are you still having nightmares?" James asked, to which Albus simply replied with a shy "yes".
James ended up agreeing, but continued watching him and saying things like: "If you need something else, ask me;" "Want to write a letter to dad?"; "How are things in your house? No one is being mean to you, right?"; "I heard you are friends with this Malfoy-boy, Albus, are you sure-".
James had only stopped this because he had started training for Quidditch…, but… he thought James might be missing some training sessions on purpose.
He didn't seem all that enthusiastic about Quidditch anymore.
Or about pranks.
Ranírus had been sad, lamenting on the Ravenclaw common room because James had said that there would be no "prank competition" anymore.
Then the boy had asked him if James was "okay".
The thing was… he didn't know. James was so strange lately. It wasn't like him at all to be missing Quidditch training or not to be interested in pranks anymore.
Those were his two favorite things in the world!
He was a bit worried, but if he was being honest with himself… he'd say he was angry.
Angry and annoyed at James. Why was he apparently not caring about things that used to bring him so much joy before?
Was his brother… depressed?
Well, he seemed a bit… down. A bit too serious.
He tried to speak to him, but always had the impression that James was actively shutting him down. Not revealing anything to him.
He cared about Albus, but wasn't caring much about himself!
And he didn't know how to solve this.
Again, he was only twelve years old?
Those problems seemed too complex.
In order to enter the Restricted Section… he could have used the invisibility cloak but he might have to search for the books at night (also, he would have to steal the keys…, because now they kept the Restricted Section locked, only accessible to sixth years and above). Too much trouble.
And… Well, he just didn't trust himself enough to go around the corridors at night invisible.
What if the man in the well did something-?
(Do you think the man in the well needs an invisibility cloak?! Of course, he doesn't. No one saw you for hours-)
Better not to risk it.
He walked down the halls, as usual, trying his best to look nice and normal..., but still it ended up worrying everybody and he felt terrible about that. He didn't want to be a burden to anyone.
No one, other than his therapist of course, should have to deal with Albus' bizarre problems.
Not James, not Yato, not Edmond, not his father… no one.
Albus had been trying to convince himself that..., in reality... maybe the man in the well was helping him... in the sense that since he really couldn't burden anyone with his problems, he would have to learn to deal with them on his own.
He was unable to tell anything to anyone.
He shouldn't get in anyone's way.
He should help people, be a good student, a good friend, a good son.
But the responsibility of trying to stop something from the Beyond, something he didn't quite understand, made him nervous and made him feel defeated, distressed and anxious. If the dark substance attacked again, or if something bad happened to someone he loved, Albus could only blame himself.
He tried to help his friends because it relaxed him and gave him the impression of being useful, of being valued, of being needed and wanted by people, it distracted him from the harm he could potentially cause.
(You are evil, Albus Potter. Evil and dangerous. The man in the well knows it. He has seen the real you. You only help people to feel good about yourself, to distract yourself-)
He genuinely wanted to help people, but the intrusive thoughts kept coming, and would continue for hours and hours if he let them, distorting his every action and belief, making him feel like the worst person in the whole world.
(You two deserve each other, you know? You and the man in the well. Perfect match, two sides of the same exact coin-)
He had sent a letter about it to his therapist, asking for help to stop them, but the man's advice didn't help him much.
Albus sometimes, influenced by these thoughts, was convinced that even without the well-man, he still deserved whatever bad things happened to him, that he deserved it somehow, he felt a strange, oppressive, subconscious guilt that permeated his relationships and his life in a sneaky but persistent way. Never going away. Never leaving him.
(Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. You deserve it. Your fault.)
(Why are those things happening to me? Because I must have deserved it! I did something bad, I'm not like the others, I'm evil. So is the man in the well in my mind, and sometimes in my body...)
Perhaps it was all caused by his failure to appreciate and value himself, his own desires, his own ambitions that made Albus feel this way.
What did he want to do? What did he want to be? What did he want to do today? Albus couldn't get rid of the feeling that his life was a kind of simulacrum, fake, he felt, (maybe because of his worsening anxiety), a raging sense of depersonalization.
(Here am I, pretending I'm a normal Ravenclaw student when I am in fact, the man in the well, the Evil Ghost).
He felt divided at times, like a stranger in his own body.
Sometimes Albus, sometimes man in the well, seeing his own physical body and subconsciously not recognizing himself "Who is this stranger? Do I know him?" and when he was non-Albus he felt powerful, capable of anything, but evil, as if he represented something abominable… but the abomination was himself. Albus.
An abomination.
In body, in mind, in thoughts, but not quite.
Subconsciously knowing he was also the man in the well, and that the man in the well was also Albus.
The well man did not need to "possess" him anymore to make him not feel like himself.
Sometimes he confused his thoughts and those of the man from the well as if they were mixed together in a strange amalgam.
He could say that the man in the well was… highly intelligent, and actually knew a lot about folklore and history as he sometimes kept whispering in some of his classes, especially in History of Magic and Transfigurations (the teacher kept wearing that horrible shirt with the strange symbol on it and every time Albus looked at it he felt hypnotized, too focused on it, and the man whispered).
He mostly talked about Circles and Stars, but also stated facts about some historical subjects in a frantic tone: ("thistribeisgone" ; "asnwersisSky'harsth").
Should he try to answer the man?
Should he try to actively have a conversation with him?
He was afraid to do so.
It was… like having a parasite on his body, a whispering, evil and powerful parasite.
Too powerful.
He could tell when the magic coming out of his wand was his (Albus') and when it belonged to the man in the well… Albus' magic was not nearly as powerful as his.
Also, for some reason Albus didn't understand, his magic… burned. It was icy, but it burned, it hurt.
The wand seemed to welcome the man's magic, but it was difficult for Albus to use the wand, it didn't seem to like Albus a lot.
This sounded crazy… but that was how he felt.
Sometimes he did all the movements in the correct order, but the spell just wouldn't come out, until he felt the man in the well's magic that came out hurting and burning his arms… but then he simply lowered his wand, he'd put it aside, and wouldn't perform magic, afraid of what type of spell could come out of the wand.
(Magic from the well, of course. The type of magic that flows in the Circle. From the Beyond-)
Edmond had tried to help him, thinking he was having legitimate difficulties with the theory/practice… He hated lying to his friend.
He had the impression Yato knew it was on purpose… he was way too perceptive not to notice and kept giving him some strange suspicious looks.
He didn't know if Lukas also knew…, because the boy seemed to be focused on other things…, he had written some letters and sent them to his tribe, seemingly increasingly worried about something. Albus didn't know exactly what was happening, but he would discover.
Albus felt, at times, incomplete, as if a part of his being had been destroyed, a missing-part, gone… and had to be completed by a part that belonged to the man in the well…, all in order to make him complete again, and he rejected that part.
"Love yourself, trust yourself, respect yourself," had advised his therapist (of course, recommending higher potion doses).
("Are you having some strange thoughts, can you tell me exactly what they are about?" He had also asked in a letter. But Albus wouldn't tell him.)
About the-love-and-trust- yourself-part, doesn't that also mean he should then love, trust and respect the man in the well?
If the man in the well appeared so much to be himself too.
He just wanted peace…
Peace, love, and understanding.
What a headache.
He didn't want to be noticed or actively and publicly recognized for anything.
But the rumors…
He wanted to just mix in, be like the others, do everything within the normal range, keep his results strictly in the middle. 50% was enough, the middle ground, the perfect division.
(50% Albus, 50% man in the well?! Is that what you want?)
(50% Albus, ∞% man in the well. He may be dominating you little by little... Occupy the body, occupy the soul. Can you stop him?)
The divided person.
He was almost convinced it was, indeed, the man in the well, the one who had actively conjured that strange black substance. Who else would be able to bring such a horrific thing to Hogwarts?
This almost proven theory matched professor Ikabonf's deductions.
Two, indeed.
The other cohabitant. Albus and the man in the well. Culprits. Guilty.
Ethereally (sometimes painfully real) touching him with his pale and horrendous hands, invading his space, intruding into his relations.
The whispering man.
The man in the well was the "real" culprit.
But wasn't Albus at fault too for not having stopped the man in the well? For not warning someone earlier (before the man in the well could put that strange spell on him to make him quiet)?
(Aren't you also the culprit? Or… at least some kind of "criminal partner"?)
(You "ended" the sorting hat! You "ended" Nearly-Headless Nick's existence!)
(You are at fault too. You deserve bad things. Just accept it.)
What did the man even want?
Could Albus say that he was seeking some kind of relic? For what purposes? What were his dark and shady objectives?
Well, if he was searching for something…, maybe he had already found it because now the man in the well was… a bit quieter.
He seemed to be leaving Albus (almost) alone!
Albus still could hear his whispering voice echoing in his head, and still felt some strange sensations, but Albus hadn't felt his consciousness being actively "pulled away" (only once!) ... he didn't experience another episode like the one before, no other serious episode… when he'd be gone for hours.
Albus wasn't able to discover what had exactly happened (maybe some kind of spiritual vampirical possession, that was his crazy theory), and he still didn't know where he had been either.
Where did he go when he was being "possessed" (?) by the man in the well?
No one had seen him anywhere!
No one noticed anything!
And Albus was gone for hours!
Having a phantasmagorical and creepy episode of vampirical possession.
At first, he was at the Astronomy Tower (he was attracted thereby by some… force), then he had looked at the forest and heard some strange thoughts and then… he was gone.
And then… back in front of the mirror, but then… gone again!
(Man in the well. He saw him. Man in the well, trapped in the mirror-)
(Was he really trapped? Could a simple mirror, imprison such an entity?)
A mirror. Why a mirror? Was the mirror some kind of portal too?
His friends had found him.
…
Had he gone outside of Hogwarts?
He thought he did… maybe (he couldn't be sure about it) because in the forest an ugly and disturbing black mold had started to appear suddenly.
Professor Edward Daniels had been investigating for weeks and concluded that it was a sign of "dark magical activity" (frustratingly vague and disappointing!), he heard him commenting with professor Flitwick that he suspected some kind of "mystical ritual" had been performed at the forest and caused some parts of it to simply rot away!
The black ugly mold scattered throughout the forest like a black veil of depraved and unsettling darkness and it was everywhere: in the foliage, at the top of the trees, in the giant pumpkins, seemingly spreading like a virus, like an infection, a sign of a disease, greedily devouring it all, with infinity hunger and no countenance.
The mold had a strange metallic smell that did not appear to… belong to this world. Another anomalous "entity" from Beyond? A horrendous phenomenon? A manifestation of dark magic's consequences?
Some magical creatures had to be moved to other (still unaffected) parts of the forest, and Hagrid had to begin teaching inside the castle ("I don't know if this is toxic, but as we can't be sure, it's better to be safe," E.D had pointed out, ominously).
Some students kept elaborating the craziest (and maybe unsettling) theories:
"Werewolves! It's the only thing I can think about! If I ever see one of these non-human aberrations, I'll honestly freak out. Those disgusting freaks, we should just exterminate them. Nowadays, there are some potions-" was saying Malon Grace, son of Isidis Grace.
"When Harry Potter killed Voldemort, did he really kill him? I mean, look at what is happening-"
"Maybe it's some unknown dark wizard, part non-human, part-"
Albus hated how the term "non-human" was being popularized at Hogwarts…, he found the term… disgusting. Prejudicious!
He felt mad.
He felt angry.
Furious.
Principally, because it seemed to affect Edmond a lot, he'd lower his head, sad and reflexive.
Maybe Hogwarts was mirroring society's changing behavior concerning the werewolf, goblins, and other creature's causes… but school shouldn't be a place where prejudice was cultivated or even accepted. It should be confronted.
What Malon Grace actively had against werewolves… against "non-humans", it seemed like he was just reproducing his family's beliefs (Isidis Grace was simply toxic and mean, he sometimes read some of her declarations that appeared at the newspapers…).
He hated that Sallinger was prejudiced…, but at least he seemed to have his own "reasons" for doing so… not that it justified his beliefs!
And Malon Grace was a sixth-year student from Ravenclaw… he was a senior student.
Shouldn't he be a role model?
Why was he behaving like such a… prick?!
Albus didn't like hating anyone…, but what should he do when someone defends that his friend should be euthanized with potions only because he was a werewolf?!
Was this even legal?
Maybe it wasn't (Albus didn't know much about laws), but even William Magis used the term "non-human"...
Edmond sometimes cried at night… alone, in bed. They (he, Yato, and Lukas) were doing their best to cheer him up, but with the full moon coming, his humor had been quite depressed.
Depressed, he wouldn't do that well in classes… a thing that just made him even sadder, in a vicious circle.
Yato had had the idea of going on explorations at the school, but all students were forbidden to leave the castle as the teachers were investigating the situation.
The good thing was that his friends were able to meet Hagrid, Emilio, for example, looked simply amazed by the man's height, but didn't seem to like Fang III and the puppy Fang IV a lot (the dogs kept trying to lick the boy's face) … the puppy almost bite Hector "Oh, sorry, I'm trying to teach him not to bite people, but he's only a puppy," said Hagrid, picking up the puppy with his enormous hands.
Lukas seemed to be a bit afraid of half-giants… yes. But Albus thought it might be, because of some of his tribe's beliefs, and in the end, he seemed to like Hagrid quite a lot (he even accepted one of his homemade pies and eating it happily).
In the end, they all played with the dogs (the puppy bite Edmond and Yato, but none of them cared a lot about it), they just had fun and ate some pies…
Even if they were a bit too… hard to chew.
Outside, on the forest, Albus knew the centaurs were especially agitated and claimed to have seen "evil" enter the forest.
They spoke of a "ghostly dark figure", that spread an intense and oppressive cold, enveloped in dense shadows. They spoke of screams, howls, chants that echoed throughout the whole (as if the cursed melody was only in their minds), they all heard it at the same time and said it didn't stop for hours) ...
It had happened on the same day of Albus' episode…
They tried to investigate, but "no path was the correct one" and they all just kept them away from the "right" place... even if, strangely, the melody only got louder and louder, exploding throughout their heads.
There, inside the forest, in the parts where the sun is never seen, where no light entered, they said that more than one black shadow figures danced horrendously, writhing (strange sounds coming from their bodies, as if the melody came from the snap of their bones!), but they could not see exactly who (or what) they were.
All they saw were their silhouettes from the distance, always being mysteriously pushed away from the place.
Macabre ritual of shadows made with music coming from the sick snap of bones…
At the center of the dark ritual was a bleeding figure, but the blood that fell on the floor turned to ice, and shadows.
Another person also bleeds on the center of the dancing circle, as some kind of sacrificial ritual.
The figure simply moved the hands... or the claws… and mold spread through the forest like the plague.
Black mold, ice, and shadows.
It (the main silhouette) appeared to perform some spells too, but the centaurs saw no wand, magic just flowed through its body, naturally coming, powerful and fantastic, but magnificently repulsive and terrible. Pure evil, an aberration of nature, a perverse entity.
When asked more questions, made by Professor Ikabonf, they said the stars had been behaving strangely. And that "the Star that fell into darkness" could be rising and from that Star would come numeral abominations, that were not from this world.
(Man in the well. Man in the well. Just do your spells and fall back to your own kind of hell…)
An old centaur had said, reciting some song or text: "Those who worship the Star will fall into unredeemable darkness, for the Star is corrupted, dead, and must be forgotten forever. The powers of the Star are infinite, but those who worship it will forever be unclean and unworthy. What doesn't belong to this world should not be discovered or investigated, leave it in the shadows of the shadow world and praise the world of light. Ignore the Star, for it is darkness and curse, and thus will not bring us any good."
Also… mysteriously…, some parts of the lake had become frozen ("I can't melt this! What is happening in this castle?!" Had said a worried professor Edward Daniels).
Emilio and Hector had told him that they could see a frozen part of the lake from their common room… they said it seemed like a strange mix of underwater ugly mold and solid ice. The Giant Squid seemed to be fine… but students were advised not to go anywhere near the lake.
With all of this happening lately, the teacher Edward Daniels seemed to have become more… paranoid.
He seemed to be conducting some kind of private investigation and seemed to highly suspect professor Nolan Abramovic.
Albus would have to serve detention for listening to Professor Ikabonf's conversation with other teachers… he had been caught…, but only once.
He was impressed by his ability to listen to conversations he should not be hearing.
He had lost a few house points but thought it had been totally worth it, as he now had more leads.
Even if Edmond and Patris had talked with him about the importance of not losing too many house points… (while Yato only seemed a bit disappointed because Albus hadn't called him to go and listen the teacher's conversations too).
And anyway… his detention had been with Mister Orous Raven (as the DATDA's teacher would be conducting some more investigation and had no time for student's detentions).
Albus had spent the night playing with the fat, fluffy Guinea Pig, and talking with the man.
The older man had informed him that his father had previously been at Hogwarts, he had been here to investigate some ministerial matters (and would also be giving some kind of speech), but had been called urgently. He didn't know where, nor why.
He had asked Mister Raven if he "had noticed anything strange in the castle", but the man had given him only cryptic answers, relativizing the meaning of the words: "what is even strange, young man? Maybe we may see things utilizing our own sense of normalcy, projecting expectations,", seeming to want to change the subject.
But... mysteriously he'd give Albus some advice that seemed a bit too specific: "Trust yourself, young boy. Maybe not everything is as you think. Victory is found in the clash between the two sides of our being."
"Both sides?" He had asked the man, confused.
"Yes, we must understand the evil that resides in us, but not dominate it, because evil flows, it's a fluid entity, always evolving. Understand it, then de-construct its basis, transform it…, and accept," he said, in a strange ominous tone.
"I don't understand, Mister Orous… how does this work in practice, it seems a bit—" The man seemed to only now have noticed what he was talking about (and with who he was talking to), and immediately interrupted himself with a somewhat tense expression. He soon gave him a gentle and reassuring smile.
"I'm just an old man, my boy. When you get older sometimes you get a bit too philosophical. But worry not. My advice to you is… trust yourself."
Then the man started showing him his guinea pig's clothes collections (that he had knitted himself). A strawberry-stamped guinea pig dress!
He was beginning to love the wholesome man more and more.
In the following days, Albus was extremely careful not to annoy Professor Edward Daniels, who was extremely irritated and would easily give students' detentions, he would also talk a lot about the importance of duels (almost at all times during his classes), and kept saying things like: "A dark presence walks the corridors, its silhouette may be one you all know," he stated once, maybe referring to professor Abramovic.
The teacher didn't seem to be sleeping well, as he seemed to obsess more and more, trying to find clues, research new information. He would like to talk with the teacher, try… asking for his help, but if Albus was honest with himself… he was scared of the teacher.
The teacher thought that all Nostrad-Ikabonfs should be killed.
That was what he actually thought.
Plain and simple.
"Put them all in the fire, and burn. Burn them all!" He had said, dramatically, in one of his classes. Scaring many students (Albus included).
What would be his reaction if he discovered Albus/man in the well might be the cause of his obsession…
Well, it wasn't actually Albus, it was him, the man in the well.
He could see the hate in the teacher's eyes.
Pure and burning hate.
Maybe even madness and extreme fury.
Obsession too.
He seemed to never rest, to never stop thinking about it as if it was his personal duty to solve it.
Albus saw E.D in the halls at dawn (Albus had lots of insomnia, Sallinger was his no-sleep partner, even if Al tried to avoid the boy a bit, still angry at his werewolf's prejudice), as he looked at Marauder's Map…
As a matter of fact, he had had a strange experience involving the map, he had felt (the very day after the possession episode) again pulled, he had the impression of seeing corridors and the stairs of the Astronomy Tower but did not know much more.
Maybe he should give the map back to James… he was now avoiding using the map too much… partly because he was afraid Sallinger would discover something he shouldn't know about:
"What is this old parchment, huh?" Sallinger had once appeared behind him, suddenly, scaring him and making him scream, startled.
"Shhh, be quiet," he said, trying to repeat Albus' voice, " Isn't this what you always say to me?" He teased.
"You are mean. You scared me! Why do you keep talking to me? I said I wouldn't be talking to you if you keep going on with your werewolf hate!" He said, emphatically to which the boy only gave him a fake-sad look, not appearing to be bothered by it
He sat on his bed, unceremoniously. He was way too close. Albus' blushed deeply, and gasped surprised.
"I think you are unable to be mean to anyone, Albus…," he half-whispered. Too close!
"I'm being mean to you!" He stated, loudly.
"No, you aren't" he said, looking directly at him, with a mischievous look, "Of all the people I know, you are one who's taking longer to tell me off," he pointed out.
"I won't tell you off," he said, "I have to make you apologize to Edmond!" He said, looking at him.
Sallinger was way too close.
His eyes were beautiful.
His earrings were so charming…
"Am I not annoying you enough?" He asked, laughing.
"Only a bit, why do you tease me?" Albus asked, looking down, avoiding his eyes.
"Because I like," he said, simply.
"Don't you feel bad for werewolves? And be serious. Tell me the truth," he pleaded, holding both of the boy's arms firmly.
"Oh Albus, are we already getting intimate-"
"The truth."
Sallinger only smiled and got up, not saying anything for the rest of the night…
Concerning some of his other classes… he could say he didn't like the Transfigurations classes, partly because he felt he couldn't properly use his wand (he felt utterly disgusted by his wand, and felt that it didn't belong to him). Partly… because he hated the symbol in his clothes, it made Albus feel strange, disturbed. The man in the well also kept whispering at this specific class sometimes...
He was having terrible results because he wasn't actually trying to do magic in the class, but sometimes it was also because the spells wouldn't come out of his wand the right way.
He was afraid the "porcupine incident" would happen again. Even if the man in the well had been… suspiciously quiet! He didn't want to risk it. He was afraid he could hurt anyone.
His friends thought he was having some kind of magical block. Edmond had been trying to help him the most.
He was even called to talk with Mister Abramovic once (Ravenclaw's head) because E.D reported he was having "underachieving and disappointing results in the art of battle and duel".
The thing was… he didn't want to duel his friends.
Didn't want to hurt them.
And he told that to the teacher, also saying this whole pressure made him nervous.
Mister Abramovic was extremely kind, and gentle. When Albus felt he was about to cry ("underachieving" , "disappointing"), he gave Albus a warm cup of hot chocolate with heart-shaped marshmallows on it. Sweet.
"Thanks, Mister Abramovic. I'm sorry f-for being underachieving a-and-"
"Oh, dear. Please. Don't bother with what that bitter man is saying. It's okay. I was never good at dueling at school," he said, with a heavy accent, but very gentle tone.
"I'll try harder…," he promised, with a shaky voice.
Disappointing.
"No one has to be a duelist if they don't want to, Mister Potter, I don't know why Ikabonf is making first years duel that much…," he said in a formal but caring tone… he didn't know the teacher could be so sensible, he always seemed more the cold and strict-type. Albus had even been a bit scared to meet him, he thought the teacher would be angry at him, "That man… he just won't accept his true nature. And people like that just annoy me," said the man, sighing.
"He's been investigating a lot lately, even at dawn-" said Albus before he could stop himself, but the teacher only laughed.
"Ravenclaws tend to be some curious types… I didn't study here, my boy, I was homeschooled... but I feel like this would be the right house for me. He's investigating quite a lot lately, yes. But won't find what he wants," said the teacher firmly.
"What does he want?" Asked Albus, super curious now.
"Inner peace. He won't find that. Ever. People are who they are, and no one else. If you are born as an Ikabonf…, you should embrace your identity" told him, in a reflexive tone.
"But Professor Abramovic, aren't the Ikabonfs… evil?" He asked, attentive and focused.
"Are they?" He asked him, "What do you think, young man?"
"I-"
It seemed to be kind of a rhetorical question, because the teacher didn't wait for him to answer, seeming excited to talk about it.
"If I see "evil" I shall ask for the context, I shall seek to comprehend the situation fully. Critical thinking! We-" He suddenly stopped, "But enough about that bitter man. How about you, my student?"
"About me?"
"Yes. What are you up to?" He asked, with an interested smile.
"N-Nothing." The teacher gave him a strange look. He did not believe him but said nothing else.
He just gave him some book indications and advised him not to care a lot about Mister E.D.
Good thing that… in the Transfigurations class specifically, the teacher didn't seem to… care a whole lot. He just appeared to want to read his book about mourning, and paid almost no attention to the students.
His class was one of the noisiest because he seemed to be "mentally and emotionally" absent. His body was there, but his mind was elsewhere. Sometimes he looked at the window, looking at the horizon with a sad expression as if missing something… or someone.
How to cope with the death of a loved one, by Sarah Megali,"; "Pain is not forever, by Allinda Cel''; "Learn to value yourself, stop blaming yourself and cultivate your hobbies and interests for a happy life after a loved one's death, by Meredityh Belquior", were just some of the books he kept reading on classes.
He may be depressed.
He felt bad for the teacher and wished he could help…, but Albus knew nothing about mourning and it seemed like a deeply personal experience, he heard that each person experiences it differently, and no one can judge how other people mourn their loved ones.
Maybe… he should talk with Mister Orous Raven.
He looked like he needed to talk to someone…
He didn't take very good care of his hair or his appearance, the teacher never smiled or seemed to care about anything other than his self-help books. Albus knew the title of all of them already. The most recent was In darkness and desperation, I found the Star and saw the Truth, by Garret Ollivanders.
He would like to help. He would like to help everyone.
But, in this case, he was just a child, and he didn't felt ready to even think about the topics of death.
He couldn't help but think about Grandpa and Grandma Weasley that he loved so much, and about Aunt Andromeda and her delicious pies, and… and about Mr. and Mrs. Granger with their sugar-free candies and their house' comfortable, warm purple couch and…, about all the people he loved and he couldn't even force himself to think about seeing them... dying, or as Orous Raven had said... "setting off for a journey" in which Albus could not go, and would have to live without them and all the happiness they provided.
It seemed very difficult to "overcome" this. Very difficult indeed. Was it even possible? Would the pain pass with time? Or the feeling of loss would be like a ghost, always haunting those who remain, the ghosts of those who are gone.
Albus felt a grip on his heart. Better not even think about it. So sad. He didn't know who had died, who the teacher was mourning, but it was certainly someone who had been very important to him.
When it came to Professor Abramovic… Albus simply loved his class.
He loved it! A lot!
It was very interesting, he knew lots of extra information, and sometimes would tell them about his own experiences in a History of Magic' research, as a "historical scientist". He had traveled a lot, and Albus especially loved when he told them about his adventures in Russia, he had taught a bit in Durmstrang and conducted several research groups, inventing some minor spells, and investigating "esoteric eastern and Asian magic", his formal specialization (but he also studied about magical creatures, a hobby, and a passion, principally about vampires and dark magical creatures).
They were learning about general Ministerial Legislation concerning magical affairs, magical creature legislation, and overall a lot about what the wizarding government formally did (as the professor had emphasized the importance of "civic studies and political comprehension", saying it was needed to "form conscious citizens, who were opinionated and rational").
In Albus' opinion… the Ministry had been historically unjust and prejudiced against magical creatures and even against muggles!
Goblins and other magical creatures had been atrociously marginalized, Albus saw the following goblin wars as more of a reaction against wizarding oppression than anything else (but maybe he was being too radical…).
He just wished things were more progressive, that society could advance and "get better" and that everyone could have equal rights.
He couldn't help but feel deeply attracted to the Dark Path Movement narrative…
And he also felt incredibly inspired by Magnus Ellistons' speeches, while also sympathizing with Horton Cirley's more peaceful, bureaucratic actions and general thoughts (principally when it came to werewolf legislation!).
Maybe the solution was a "healthy" balance between pacifism and strategic civil resistance (but without too much violence, because it could make the citizens afraid and it would be harder for them to fully embrace a certain project), with a general basis consisting on the defense of people's rights, against prejudice and institutional marginalization of minority groups (werewolves, mermaids, goblins, others).
The balance may be the key. Well, at least, in theory. Could this "healthy balance" be achieved in reality? Or was Albus being way too naïve? Was he being too idealistic?
He couldn't help but genuinely like those two men.
Recently, Horton Cirley managed to pass some important laws regarding mermaids and goblins' coexistence with wizards, completely demoralizing and even humiliating the Minister of Magic, William Magis, making Magis' own political party vote against the law he had proposed in the first place.
He knew this much about Horton Cirley because Edmond simply idolized him, maybe it was his open defense of werewolf rights, maybe it was the whole recent press favorable coverage about him…
Lukas thought he may be thinking about running as Minister of Magic.
Who else was talking or opposing Magis' prejudiced ideas? There were, of course, some groups and other politicians. But no voice was louder than Horton Cirley's. Every journal had at least an article about him.
Barnaby Cirley was getting indirectly famous but didn't seem to quite like that.
He was a bit shy and grumpy. Albus talked with him sometimes at Herbology. Sometimes only, because generally, he was with Sallinger at the class. They acted suspiciously, discussing unknown subjects.
Oscar did everything he could to avoid him. Everything. If he was in a certain hallway, the boy would immediately turn around. There were rumors that he and Sallinger had secretly dueled at night, and that Oscar had won. Albus didn't doubt it.
In classes, Oscar was simply... fantastic. The only class in which he didn't do so well was Herbology, but the kid seemed to be working hard, and... these days he had asked Arabella Astros for help (to Sallinger's discontent and fury).
The girl seemed to need someone who at least tried to look happy and grateful when she made apple and peach pies, and who was... a little more affectionate and emotionally present than Sallinger. The boy was simply… too cold, emotionally distant, arrogant, utterly frigid, seemed to seek merely "casual relationships", without much emotional involvement. He seemed, apparently, much more interested in girls (and Albus suspected that he might be, just like his cousin Louis, attracted at boys too) who were… how could he put it… more exotic, perhaps more rebellious, crazy (if not insane) inconsequential, troublemakers…, Arabella just didn't seem like the right type of girl for him, because he seemed simply bored and not impressed at her demonstrations of love and caring for him.
He seemed much more interested in one of Thomás Ranirus' best friends, a different girl that had a huge number of piercings and earrings, had many tattoos, and always appeared to be involved with pranks where something caught fire.
She played on the Quidditch team. Her short hair (one side of it shaved) maybe left some boys feeling intimidated, when you mixed her appearance with her general attitude… A girl dedicated to sports and pranks, muscular, determined, and who had already chosen that she would play quidditch as a career.
Carla Solaris was a very direct and objective girl, who trusted herself, with a dream to pursue.
She didn't seem to be as insecure or innocent as Arabella Astros who always seemed in dire need of Sallinger's approval and compliment ("How's my hair?; Do you like that necklace or do you want me to change it, Sal?; Do you think I'm prettier than Celes? I want to go to this party so badly, Sal..., am I not pretty enough to enter?; Do you think I should stay friends with Denise even after she told me she's never kissed before, Sal? I mean, nothing against... But if she hasn't kissed yet, it's because maybe there's something wrong with her; Did you like the pie, Sal?).
They clearly were just… incompatible. Sallinger was way too distant and invested in himself to care… and Arabella needed someone to be always caring for her, complimenting her, approving her.
He didn't blame Arabella… Albus thought she might have some body-image issues… the way she never ate properly. But… maybe she should care less about what other people think of her, and stop seeking constant approval.
Of course, Sallinger too was at fault. He just… he simply didn't love Arabella Astros. He wanted to annoy and anger his brother.
Albus also thought he might be interested in Solaris because he found her to be exotic. Albus didn't know if a person should really be putting another one into a box, labeling her, treating her not like Carla Solaris, but as the "exotic girl". Horrible. Not healthy at all.
Was Sallinger even capable of having a healthy love relationship?!
Maybe he was… misinterpreted Sallinger's intentions?
He just couldn't shake off the idea that he was simply a natural-born heartbreaker, looking for quick casual relationships, no emotional attachment.
At night, when they talked, Sallinger said a few things on purpose, just to provoke him.
He was very good at avoiding answering Albus' questions and extracting information at the same time...
Albus' relations with his friends were… good. But strange. They thought Albus was hiding something from them on purpose. They sometimes seemed to want to ask about the whole episode, staring at him, sometimes only a bit curious, sometimes more serious, and seemed to be waiting for him to "open up" and tell them what exactly had happened, but Albus couldn't tell them, he simply couldn't, and he felt utterly terrible about that:
The day after the "incident" he had a long and tiresome conversation with Yato.
"Sorry, Al. We just couldn't help but theorize," he stated, a bit accusingly, "Edmond and Lukas told me about your kidnapping, and all the rumors, those bad things that happened there-," he stated, now a bit apologetic.
"Rumors?" He asked, what was Yato exactly talking about when he talked about rumors? There were a lot of them, his father had told him, but his dad didn't want him to read about it, he said it was "too cruel", then cursed Dennis Sallinger under his breath.
"About-" he stopped, "You seem a bit sad sometimes," he insisted, vaguely, confusingly, "Sometimes I cried at night too… I mean, I am the kid with bodyguards, this is the first time I'm allowed to have actual friends and just hang out peacefully around the school without Takako and Hijikata following me around as if someone is going to murder me, you know…, I and my family are in dang-" he tried to say, but Albus interrupted him.
"What are the rumors?" He asked again, "And… I'm okay," he insisted, maybe trying to convince himself.
"That someone-" he started to say, quietly, as if trying to be as gentle as possible, "Forget it, don't bother."
"What rumors!?" He asked again, utterly confused, but suddenly feeling uneasy.
(Do you really need him to tell you?! Of course, the rumors are about the things you have been avoiding to even think about all this time! The hands, the violation, the rumors might be saying you are... impure. Should someone do this kind of… violation… to a child?! If you take your time and think about this you may understand better, but you are avoiding the problem, and this might come back to haunt you later. Another thing to haunt you. You are being haunted by countless ghosts. You have ghosts, Albus Severus Potter. The man in the well's ghost and the ghosts of those things you try to ignore. When night come, you shall remember about all those haunting ghosts, and then they may destroy you… slowly. You need to face them all, even if you are scared. You need to stand your ground, show them your potential. You need to be brave; you have to figure things out, maybe you do not comprehend this fully, but even you know that there was a deep violation, there was an invasion, and people may be going around spreading those rumors about you. Impure, the invaded, they may be talking behind your back right at this moment, laughing at you. Think about how to exorcise those ghosts that haunt you, you have to be free, you have to face them and defeat them. Alone, but strategically. You can do it, you shall triumph. This is your body, and your soul and you shall protect their integrity, they are indivisible. They're a Sanctuary. Mind's Sanctuary must also be the Body's Sanctuary, but what if in the Sanctuary there is he, the man in the well, you both are locked inside the man's twisted Sanctuary. His Sanctuary is not your Sanctuary, and you must leave this so-called Sanctuary and build your own. He is also an Invader; he shall be expelled. Mind's a Sanctuary but inside this Sanctuary he resides and—)
"Albus! Hey! Are you hearing me?" Said Yato, worried.
"Yes…"
"Well, you good? You were staring intensively at the curtains and not saying anything I—"
"Sorry, just thinking. About the rumors—"
"Eh? Huh…," Yato blushed a bit, embarrassed, looking for appropriate words, the friend suddenly seemed deeply sorry.
"Albus… I-" Yato seemed to think it was time to change the subject, "Sorry. Then…, you weren't taken to Namibia? No Obscurus? And your family life is-"
"What?! My family life is great! I wasn't taken to Namibia! Not that I remember of…, and I don't even know what an Obscurus is." He was pretty upset. Those were the rumors? Albus didn't think so, the felt Yato was desperately trying to change the subject with a suspiciously apologetic and even embarrassed undertone! Lier. Yato was lying.
"Sorry. I'm just trying to help you," emphasized Yato.
"But you aren't!" Albus said, angry. He would feel sorry about that later, he was sure. He had tears in his eyes, something about this whole conversation was triggering some pretty upset feelings.
(Man in the well. Man in the well. The Sanctuary never was a Sanctuary, trapped with him. You. The divided men. You shall face those ghosts. But can you? The violation. The hands. You know this shouldn't have happened. But it did. And now, you try to avoid thinking about it, but your mind is anxious and won't leave you alone—)
…
(You were in a bed and couldn't leave. They were adults. Should have been responsible and nice. But they are invaders and they do what they want. You hate the place. You hate. You want to leave. But there's no window. And you miss your father. Black jet to the sky. And then, James saying something to you before it happened. What? No. When was that? The timeline. Strange. Is the timeline correct? Where were you? Forest. You hate it. Monsters out there, they say. But maybe they only want to keep you inside. But you can't leave anyway. Then you start trying to distract yourself. Books. But your plushy hippogriff is ruined. Blood on it. The bad men came and ruined your day. But you have to try and think about something happy. Scorpius. That day. The final happy day, how many times you revived that day in your mind? Why no one came yet? Will no one save you? He, the evil man, says that no one will ever come. But this is not true. Your dad always saves you in your dreams. You want to live in that dream world. Why can't you? Do you need to wake up again to this world full of pain and depravation? Degenerates. All of them. No! Better take what they give you and sleep forever. Never wake up again. You want that. You are safe in your dreams, even if salvation never comes in real life. Time to be hurt again, as you wake up. Why? Why wouldn't they let you sleep? It's him, the evil man, he wants to hurt you. He has no heart. But you can't recognize. Masks. Everything's starts hurting again until you sleep again. And then… happy dream-world. You feel so relieved. Finally. Good. It's your birthday, aunt Andromeda made your favorite cake, grandmother Molly gives you a sweater, James did yet another prank. Everyone laughed. For some reason, Scorpius is there too! You hold hands with him. But, was it the dream? Are you mixing dream and reality? Mad. Mad. Mad. You are mad. There. You can see. On the distance. Man in the well. Staring at you. For some reason… even this nightmarish man is better than the ones back there, in reality. Take me to your nightmare, just don't take me back to reality.)
"Erm…," he said, sadly, patting his back, "You need a hug?" He asked, awkwardly, but seriously.
(To the back of the mind. To the back of the mind. Dark magic-)
"No…," he said.
He needed one...
(Those frantic thoughts, disconnected, confused-)
He had told Albus that he had talked with Edmond and that the friend told him the known details about his kidnapping (obviously, only the ones that had appeared in the media!).
It turned out that Yato hadn't known about it well and was quite shocked to discover more about it from Albus.
He had, of course, heard all the student's whispers in the halls, he knew something had happened, but didn't know much about the details. Lukas knew about it, but as he wasn't a British citizen and hadn't read Denis Sallinger's news, he only knew some information about it. Trying to make Albus speak, Yato talked about the time he was almost kidnapped in Japan, but Takako and Hijikata stopped the soon-to-be culprits.
But to begin with, the problem was that Edmond only knew about what Dennis Sallinger ``knew", and he had to correct his friend concerning some information (some of them were quite disturbing! What was Dennis Sallinger's problem!?)
"My father is a hero, he'd never hurt me!" He said, in a bit of a childish and stubborn tone, but it was the truth.
(Dark magic ritual. Where did it happen? When? He couldn't set the timeline the right way! Must run. But in the forest, there are monsters-)
"Ok. But, wait, you said you don't remember-"
"I…" He had revealed it already "I don't," Yato looked at him seriously.
"About some parts, right? I guess it's normal. Maybe you will remember about it later," suggested him.
"No." He was getting angry. He knew he shouldn't be angry at Yato and that he would feel sorry latter, but he just couldn't help it. This talk were triggering some upsetting memories!
"What?"
"I don't remember the whole last year!" he started, tired of lies.
"The whole year?!"
"Yes. I'm not crazy or anything, I-" he tried to explain it, quite desperate.
"I never said that, Al," pointed him out firmly, "What happened to the mirror?"
He couldn't answer.
"When we were having our first Quidditch class… you didn't look quite like yourself," stated him, "before you fainted, your eyes were strange and I felt something bad, something creepy," said Yato, shivering.
"Are you calling me cre-"
"And when we found you I could feel this sensation again," he stated. Albus desperately held Yato's arms firmly.
"What if something is happening, but…, but, I can't tell," he said, giving him a very meaningful look.
"Is someone threatening you?"
Man in the well. Man in the well. Man in the well. He couldn't help anymore. He was crying, sobbing.
"Albus, who is it? What is happening?" Yato asked, utterly confused, "Is it Oscar? Or Sallinger? I never liked any of them anyway."
"What?! No." He said, emphatically, "Of course not! What are you talking about, how could they-," he felt that Yato was going in the right direction, but he now felt frustrated. He knew he couldn't blame the friend for not guessing correctly. Who in their right mind would think the "right answer" was that he was being haunted by a vampirical ghost-like creature who could travel between this world and the mysterious "Beyond"? It was simply absurd. But it was what was happening.
"Tell your father," he suggested "He's a wizard policeman, isn't he?"
"He's an auror," corrected Albus, almost immediately "And I can't tell anyone,"
"Because you are scared?"
"B-Because I can't,"
Yato hugged him, even without him asking for it.
"You are scared. It's normal," he said, with deep certainty in his voice.
"I'm not! You are wrong," he insisted, in deep frustration, furiously wiping the tears off his face with his robes.
"It's okay. Once I got a threatening message, they were calling me at school. I was so afraid I didn't want to tell anyone, but the best thing for you to do is to just tell someone," Insisted him, "Outsmart the one who is threatening you," suggested him, also.
Outsmart the man in the well?!
"Your life sounds like an action movie, Yato," he pointed out, a bit incredulous. Yato didn't answer, just looked sad, deep in thought. A disturbing silence.
"Yato. Do you think I'm evil?" He asked, sobbing (he couldn't stop!), just like a crybaby. Yato laughed, but his laugh was a bit humorless.
"No," he said, simply.
"No? But, are you sure? Are you sure I'm not hiding something evil in me?"
"Everyone has an evil side," he said, mysteriously, "And, Albus. You were moping around those days because you thought you had hurt a porcupine, you saved a pink caterpillar from being stepped on, you like dirty, muddy-"
"I like plants!"
"Whatever, you are even nice to that Sallinger-guy," he pointed out.
"Bur, what if one of these sites isn't me, but other-"
"What are you talking about, Al? Like a possession, are we in a horror movie now? Your life sounds now like a horror movie," he said, laughing, "Poor us. I'm trapped in an action movie; you're trapped in a horror movie. Can we even leave these terrible roles? I don't want to be an actor if I won't be receiving tons of money and becoming famous," he said, a bit too dramatically. Albus could see that he was trying to lighten up the mood, maybe…
"You are already rich, Edmond told me those candies and chocolates your father bought are very expensive, like—"
"I'm not rich. My father is. Pretty different," he pointed out, a bit annoyed, "Sorry. A bit of a sensitive topic for me, Albus. I just…, maybe if my father wasn't rich, if he wasn't a powerful politician or whatever I could have a normal life, you know. No bodyguards, no people calling me telling me how they are going to torture and kill me—" He probably saw Albus disturbed face, "Sorry. Kind of heavy. I know this sounds absurd, but in the world, it all comes to power, and land is power too…, if your father proposes a radical land and real state reform that angers some dangerous people, then—" he stopped, only sighing, sadly, he sounded tense and on edge.
"Well, for muggle standards you are not really normal, you are a wizard, Yato," he said, a bit awkwardly. He didn't know how to react to the revelations…
"Yeah. I guess… You know you guys are my first real friends," he said, a bit emotional, "I never had real friends, bodyguards can really scare people away. It's good to finally have someone to eat candies and chocolates with me, no fun being rich when you have no friends to share things with, it can make everything so pointless," he stated.
Albus didn't really know how to react. It was something deeply personal.
"So… if you need help, you can always come to me, I'm your… friend," he said, seeming to appreciate the word, a small smile on his face.
"I will." If he could… he would!
"You can also talk with Edmond and Lukas too. We're friends. But, most importantly, don't let whatever it intimidates you, you have to stand your ground!" He said, emphatically.
"Okay."
"Fine, now eat this chocolate," he said, throwing him a bar of chocolate that came in golden packaging and that looked terribly expensive, "Just to cheer you up, extra sweet," he emphasized.
"Thanks, Yato, you—"
Right at this moment, Lukas and Edmond came inside the room. They've been studying until late because Edmond felt he had no talent for Transfigurations and was devastated at that, stating that if he didn't master every spell he needed to master until the end of the night he would be calling himself "a stupid loser" for the next week… Albus didn't know if this was healthy, to begin with, he seemed to be way too strict with himself.
"Guess I'm a stupid loser," Edmond said to himself, sadly, going to his bed.
"Don't say that! You got all the others, you just failed in one!" Stated Lukas, emphatically.
"I failed, that's all that matters," insisted the boy, grumpy, throwing himself at his bed.
"I failed that one we saw at class today too," said Albus, trying to cheer his friend up.
"I don't even care for that one, when are we even going to need to transform a candy jar into a glass of water?" Said Yato, trying not to laugh, "I mean, I can drink water in a candy jar if I really want to, and I can use the glass of water and put candies on it, so I don't see how that is useful."
"But you did it anyway, didn't you Yato?" Asked Edmond, a bit hurt.
"Just because I was bored. What else would I do in his class?" Said Yato, as if it was obvious.
"What if we were in a dungeon full of green, ugly trolls and needed to mix liquids but the glass was too small, what if we need to do that in order to open a door somewhere and avoid dying?!" Said Edmond suddenly, dead serious. Yato stared at him for a couple of moments, confused.
"Edmond. What? Just what?"
"What if?"
"Are you serious?" Yato was laughing uncontrollably.
"Troll? Trolls are no laughing matter. They can be dangerous. If a troll comes into your room at night, you have to make a square on the ground, and you can't sleep with a troll," said Lukas.
"Yeah, trolls are no laughing matter!" Reinforced Edmond, a bit annoyed with Yato for laughing.
"Okay, now we are in a video game?" He said quietly.
"Sorry. I just, I'm angry at myself," said Edmond, sinking his head on the pillow, "I'm an airhead," he whispered to his pillows.
"No you aren't, maybe… chocolate. Do you need chocolate?" Tried Albus awkwardly, offering him some.
"Albus, eating chocolate at night is really bad for your health," pointed out Edmond, without looking at him, but getting a piece anyway and putting it near his bed.
"And that's why you two should help him eat…," said Yato, laughing.
"I'll help," said Lukas, smartly. Getting a piece.
Edmond was still sad…
"This whole studies' pressure is dumb," said Yato, suddenly.
"No. It's not! It's necessary," defended Edmond.
"Look at what it's doing to you…" he answered quickly.
"Only because I'm weak." Whispered Edmond, Albus could hear because he was really close to the boy. The others didn't hear anything. He didn't know how to cheer the boy up…, he decided to leave him the rest of the chocolate.
"Wait, Al… Are you feeling better?" He whispered to him.
"Huh? Yes," he said, lamely.
"I and Lukas wanted to talk with you. We were worried too. We just… I'm not good with words and Lukas said something like "—the spirits didn't bless me with the communications' skills necessary for this duty, so I must not even try, plus I don't know what evil malaise is threatening his spiritual wellbeing, so I may be unable to exorcise these deeply rooted feelings he may be cultivating in his heart—," so we let the talking with Yato," he said.
"Thank you," he said, feeling very happy for some reason.
He knew he could rely on his friends.
He just couldn't rely on himself.
How Auror Harry Potter was unable to protect the Ministry of Magic!
Two individuals entered the Ministry and killed an employee , Otto Marchbanks, the Department of Mysteries' Chief, who (according to my privileged sources) was investigating an incident that happened in Hogwarts. This is incredibly serious and worrisome.
The question is: how could they?! No one is protecting the Ministry's entrance?! Is the Ministry not safe?! What were the aurors doing?! How could they let this happen?! Why it happen?! A little girl is now fatherless because of incompetence!
Also, an auror is missing! A young man who dreams (or dreamed…) to become an auror simply went missing when he was sent by the harry potter auror to investigate a case in Hogwarts. Auror Harry Potter was under formal investigation of internal affairs… just as Ronald Weasley was because of the forest's incident (which had international and diplomatic consequences!).
If the Auror Department is unable to protect the wizarding population, should it even exist?! I'd like to remind you all that the DPM's and the PNM's threat remains unsolved! Eleven-year-old children keep disappearing, being kidnapped! It's a national tragedy.
Poor children, who will save them? Were these children Albus Severus Potter, we would be able to see Auror Potter frantically investigating, mobilizing the whole Auror Department to fit his own personal interests, but as they are the children of other people, the Chief Auror merely delegated the case to Norman O'Neill who deals with the matter almost alone, with the occasional but much-needed help of Horton Cirley, the one who shines in the Department. Competent, diplomatic, treats the media well, and is one of the only ones who seem to know what he is doing!
Why only O'Neill will be the one investigating?
When his son went missing, he spent a lot of time searching for him (read about the catastrophic Celt Forest episode on page 7), but now he seems to think that a sole auror is capable of investigating more than ten missing cases (that auror being Norman O'Neill). What is happening to the Auror Department?!
Horton Cirley, who gave me an excellent interview, said that the public's interest in joining the aurors is diminishing "We need new marketing strategies and massive public investment in formal training […]", he criticized Magis' "strategy" that invests too many funds in unnecessary things (read the article: how the Minister favored too the Marketing Department to construct a false image and a false narrative, page 8).
Mr. Cirley revealed that the Auror Department was "secretly" (no longer a secret! It's a journalist's job to discover all things) relocated to the Ministry's basement! Horton Cirley, one of the richest men in the whole wizarding world (and way gentler and more comprehensive with the press than auror O'Neill!), stated that he offered his help to Harry Potter so they could build a whole new building just for Aurors.
But Harry Potter and Mr. Weasley downright refused! They refused! Do they prefer the basement?!
Mr. Cirley also criticized the anti-werewolf Ministry William Magis, stating that the Ministry is investing way too many public resources in his self-promotion for the upcoming elections! More than billions of galleons were spent in marketing and lobbying services! Mr. Cirley also told me about Isidis Grace's prejudice (some call her Isi Disgrace) against what she considered "non-humans"!
Mr. Cirley said that " the wizarding world is going in the wrong direction" and I fully agree! We must stand up against all forms of prejudice and retrograde thoughts.
The rich man said he would be investing money and creating a new foundation to defend those who are marginalized, and stated that "werewolves, goblins, mermaids, centaurs and others who are being wrongly considered "non-humans".
Wrongly because using the term non-human to refer to, for example, mermaids, may be seen right, but the term carries a heavily prejudiced undertone! Some may use the term to segregate those considered non-humans, making them lose rights and protection statutes (Alec Mitgrot said that hunting and killing centaurs should be legal if they trespassed his property, located in a protected forest. He used the "non-human narrative" to justify it).
When I asked about his plans for the electoral campaign, he said he is not yet a formal candidate but if he were he would be the option against prejudice and dehumanization. He also stated that "muggles are important for the wizarding world's progress'' and that he was radically against all narratives promoting wizard's superiority, stating that "everyone should be valued and respected, it is necessary if we want to live in a harmonious and progressive society!".
William Magis said that Horton Cirley is attacking him because he wants to be a candidate in the election and insisted that some of his polarizing declarations concerning the term non-human were misinterpreted. He also didn't want to comment on Cirley's statement saying that (faithful family man, as he likes to call himself) might be having a case with Isidis Grace!
He ordered the Auror Department to relocate to the new building Cirley promised to build as soon as it gets ready, emphasizing he always "respected the Auror Department '', revealing to be a Harry Potter fan.
Cirley will give me more interviews concerning the ministry's affairs (as the other aurors ignored me! Mr. O'Neill seemed furious and aggressive!).