A/N: I am so sorry this took so long. I had to rewrite this chapter five times before I was satisfied with it. I'm still not satisfied with Professor Stewart's scene, but I don't think I ever will be…Good news is that I wrote some of the later part of the story as an attempt to get over my writer's block, so the later chapters should come a bit faster.
Also, this chapter skips in time a bit since I realized it would be a very long story if I continued to write over a chapter a day. So consider at least a month passing between this chapter and the last.
*****
Chapter 7: Bits and Bobs
Uric awoke with a start, from a nightmare involving giant stuffed toy bears, people with French accents, and, of course, pudding. He lay there in the dark and quickly checked that all of his body parts were intact. Once he was assured of the continued existence of his limbs, he jumped out of the bed and threw on his robes. He grabbed a sleepy Simon out of his cage and headed up the ladder. Avoiding the plants with an ease born of many mornings of experience, Uric waved a jaunty hello to the sleepy badgers in the painting, then left the common room.
Uric wandered around the castle like he always did, though at this time of night, it was more like it wandered around him…
*****
Uric sang a little tune, and found Simon joining in. He was so preoccupied with his singing that he didn't even notice the pair of legs in front of him until he ran into them. Uric looked up.
"Good morning, Mr. Kurze." Simon chirped along with him. The old man looked down at Uric and produced a sigh.
"Good morning, Uric. Should I even ask what you are doing down here?"
"Well, first I followed these chairs that were floating down one of the corridors, than I heard a great –"
"Yes. Yes. I get the idea, Uric. Every night it's the same thing, isn't it? You hear or see something and off you go. Not to mention your erstwhile pursuit of badgers," said Mr. Kurze. Uric nodded his head, pleased that Mr. Kurze understood.
"Well, two points from Hufflepuff, and get your self back up to the inhabited parts of the castle would you? These dungeons aren't safe at night and I guarantee there are no badgers down here."
"Yes, Sir." Uric turned around and headed back for one of the stairways he remembered. He wondered if he could find that room with the honey river again…
"Uric! Uric!" Uric looked back at Mr. Kurze. "You'll let me know if you see that woman again won't you, Uric?"
"Woman?" asked Uric in a puzzled tone. Mr. Kurze sighed again.
"That woman you saw the first night you were here."
"Oh, I see her all the time," said Uric. Mr. Kurze went very still.
"You what? Where?"
"She watches me when Professor Stewart makes me run around the castle. Every time I said hello to her she vanished. So I stopped saying hello to her and she stopped vanishing." He smiled, very pleased with his solution to the problem. Mr. Kurze had a serious expression on his face however. He put his hands on Uric's shoulders, holding him so that Uric had to look him in the eyes.
"This is very important, Uric. I need you to tell me when you see her again," said Mr. Kurze.
"But I can't."
"Why not?" demanded the older wizard.
"Professor Stewart said I wasn't to stop running until he said so."
"And I'm sure he doesn't say so until a very long time has passed," said Mr. Kurze almost to himself. "I don't know what you do to that man in his class…No. On second thought I know exactly what you do. You don't fit into his logical world and it offends him…" Mr. Kurze trailed off. Uric was still looking expectantly at him, but the light that came to Uric's eyes when his attention was focused on this world was absent.
"Uric?" he asked. Uric seemed to come out of a trance.
"Why do you think people grow beards, Sir? And why don't they like birds to nest in them? If I had a beard, I'd let a bird nest in it." Mr. Kurze found his hand rubbing the stubble on his chin and jerked it away.
"That's not important Uric. I'm going to talk to Professor Stewart and see if I can work something out with him."
"Okay." Uric smiled at him, and Mr. Kurze was sure he had no idea what he had agreed to. He shook his head.
"I'm not sure whether to pity you, or to pity my wife when she finally gets a hold of you. Now run off, before I'm forced to do something drastic." Uric turned and ran straight through a nearby door. Mr. Kurze shook his head again. He could have sworn that that particular door was just a wall pretending to be a door. He could be wrong though. He stared at the door, then walked over and opened it. A wall stood behind it. He shut the door and continued on his patrol.
*****
"The Great Hunt, or Wild Hunt as it is sometimes known, happens every vernal equinox. The Hunter rides across the land with his black hounds, searching for those who have done evil. Once the hounds scent their prey they never let go…Uric!" Uric looked up from his paper model of something that resembled a bird, if a bird had three legs, one eye and what looked like a large ear growing out of its head.
"Yes, Sir?" he asked.
"Would you like to explain why you aren't paying attention yet again, or should I just give you another detention?" demanded Professor Stewart. Uric opened his mouth to respond then closed it again. He did mind explaining it and after the first fifteen times, even Uric had noticed that Professor Stewart gave him detention no matter what he said.
"Detention, Uric. Now." Stewart pointed at the door. Uric shrugged and walked out. A month of detention with Professor Stewart had taught him the routine. He was to run around the castle until Professor Stewart called him in. There was no stopping and since Defense Against the Dark Arts was his last class of the day, no complaints from the other teachers.
Uric didn't mind. It was easy for his mind to wander while he was running. About as easy as it was for his mind to wander while he was in class really. He could contemplate what the world would be like if everyone had heads made of cheese just as easily inside or out. It was on Louis' advice actually, that he had never told Professor Stewart that he enjoyed his detentions.
This time however, Professor Stewart followed him out into the hall.
"Wait, Uric. Mr. Kurze has talked to me. He wants you to carry this." Professor Stewart held out a stone on a chain. He reluctantly looped it over Uric's head. "Just touch it whenever you see this woman you claim to have following you." Professor Stewart's tone made it very clear how little he believed Uric's claims.
"Thank you, Sir." Professor Stewart didn't bother to answer. He re-entered his classroom and Uric walked outside to begin his detention. He didn't see the woman that day, but it wouldn't have mattered if he did, since his thoughts were thoroughly occupied with the pros and cons of sentient clothing.
*****
"He got you again, Uric?" asked Louis, referring to Uric's twenty third detention with Professor Stewart. Uric nodded his head and went back to his book whose title was, as far as Louis could see Good Housekeeping for Witches. Louis shook his head and decided not to ask.
They were waiting for Mena to meet them at one of the tables in the library. The three of them met up like this sometimes, though if Louis ran into them elsewhere he would pretend he didn't know them. "Can't be seen consorting with the Hufflepuff's," he said one day, making Mena very angry for some reason.
Uric looked up from a fascinating chapter on dusting spells to see Mena storm into the library and slam her books down on the table. She ignored the evil looks the librarian was sending her way and slumped down into the chair.
"Bad day?" asked Louis.
"I am going to kill Alexis," she growled.
"That's fine with me. Just try not to do it in the Slytherin Common Room. You might get blood on the chairs." Mena glared at him.
"I'm serious, Louis." He resisted the urge to tell her that he was serious as well.
"What did she do to you?" Louis asked instead. Mena hesitated. "Tell me and I might just consider helping you."
"She tripped me, than called me a dirty little mouse. She said maybe I should ask the house elves for help in cleaning my hair. All the Slytherins were laughing." She stared hard at the table, refusing to meet their eyes.
"Of course they were laughing. They always follow her lead."
"So do you!" She pointed her finger accusingly at him. Louis leant back and folded his arms across his chest.
"Yes, I do. It would be dangerous to stand out. Alexis likes flattery and power. So long as I give it to her she leaves me alone."
"And it doesn't bother you that you have to grovel at her feet?" Louis stared at her curiously.
"Are you sure you're not a Gryffindor?" he asked. Uric and Louis watched in surprise as Mena screwed up her face in an attempt not to cry.
"You…" She didn't finish her sentence, but grabbed her bag and ran out of the room.
"I think I touched a nerve," said Louis. Uric watched her go, puzzled, then went back to reading about dusting spells. Mena would probably hit him if he tried to talk to her now, and he really wanted to know how to remove wine stains with one easy spell.
*****
Uric wandered early into the Great Hall for breakfast as usual. He had been up since three and was now hungry enough to eat a hippogriff. Not that he would. That would be cannibalism…Actually Uric wondered why a hippogriff? If you were hungry enough to eat a hippogriff, did that mean you weren't hungry enough to eat a clabbert or a dragon? And he had never heard of anyone actually eating a hippogriff. How could they know they were hungry enough to eat one if they never had? For that matter, how did he know he was hungry enough?
Uric was so occupied in his thoughts that he didn't notice the girl until he bumped into her. She was taller than him by a few inches and had long pale blond hair. Alexis Lupin. His mind supplied him with her name. She was giving him a very cold stare.
"Sorry," he said, "Have you, by any chance, ever eaten a hippogriff?"
"You're that weird kid. Eric or something right?"
"Uric Beaufolle." He bowed slightly to her. She looked at him, considering.
"I'm going to give you a piece of advice, Uric. Stay out of my way," she said. And with that she walked past him and sat down at the Slytherin table. She was joined a few minutes later by her friends as everyone in the castle came down for breakfast, but Uric wasn't paying attention to her and was engrossed in the decimation of his baked beans. A hungry monster had attacked their village and was eating them one by one…
"You should pay attention this morning, Uric." He looked up, fork poised. Mena was looking very cheerful compared to yesterday.
"Pardon?" he asked. Mena sighed and her smile slipped a little.
"Just keep your eyes on the Slytherin table, instead of your food. Okay?" Uric nodded, quickly ate the rest of his food and stared with intense concentration at the Slytherin table. For awhile, nothing happened except for Louis and Alexis giving him some odd looks. Then, Uric blinked.
Alexis' hair grew a life of its own. It began standing on end and flashing different colours. First a bright pink, than green, than blue. The hairs themselves wound in and out matting her hair so that it was shaped into a huge knot filled mess above her head. And it still continued to change colours…Alexis was crying, though Uric couldn't tell if it was fake or real, and her friends were trying desperately to help her. All the other students watched in silence.
The teachers had noticed what was going on and some had rushed to help their student. Professor Leonard was the first to reach her. He quickly stopped the spell, and returned her hair to normal, except for an occasional flash of pink. Uric turned to ask Mena about the whole incident, but was distracted by a voice that rose over the quiet babble.
"Uric Beaufolle did it, Professor. He must have hexed me when he bumped into me this morning. Athar saw it didn't you, Athar?" Uric didn't hear Athar's reply, but a few seconds later the Headmistress' voice cut through the din.
"Uric Beaufolle come up here right now!" Uric got up slowly and walked towards the Head Table. Professor Stewart was looking very happy for some reason, while Headmistress Kurze stared at him with eyes of steel. He turned away from her gaze for a moment and looked back at the Hufflepuff table. Mena had her head buried in her arms and was shaking slightly. He could see Eustace asking her what was wrong. He turned back to the Headmistress.
"You wanted me, Headmistress?" he asked in his usual slightly puzzled tone.
"Report to my office, Uric. Professor Stewart will show you the way," she said. A hush filled the Great Hall as Uric left in the company of the Deputy Headmaster. Louis looked at Mena, than at the now smiling Alexis. He shook his head.
"Poor bugger," he thought, and hoped Uric survived the day.
*****
Thank you to everyone who reviewed: Giesbrecht, Em, Kirkusmaximus12, Anne, Mad Potter, Morrighan, Spitgurl, Tess and Zadesko. If there's anyone out there who still wants to be emailed when I update please let me know.
Em: Thank you for the constructive criticism. I apologize for the chapter not flowing as well, for some reason the middle chapters of this story are giving me a problem, while the beginning and ending chapters are a breeze to write. Most of this story will be from Uric's point of view, though I will every once and awhile switch to either Mena or Louis' point of view, because sometimes Uric just doesn't want to notice the things I want him to…
Anne: We could just ask Rowling to rewrite the books so everyone has snitch emblems…
Morrighan: I do mention that Uric is distantly related to Wendelin in my other Uric fic, but that's an AU from this one, so I don't know if it counts. I've always thought that Hufflepuff got the short end of the stick when it came to houses. I had to scour the books as it was to even come up with an idea of what makes a Hufflepuff a Hufflepuff. Oh well.
Spitgurl: Now I'm wondering who Mena reminds you of…Did this chapter help?
Tess: Uric's always struck me as being ADD if nothing else. He's probably got some other problems, but I think he's more fun to write than diagnose:) I'm glad you like the fic so much. Hopefully I'll have an update for the other Uric story up soon as well.
Please let me know what you think. I want opinions here, good or bad. And does anyone have any ideas what that woman Uric keeps seeing is up to?
Next time: Mrs. Kurze's office and Halloween (didn't get around to them this chapter…)