A/N: I didn't want to shift the focus of the story to outside of Hogwarts, so Louis took over at least half of the chapter. Hope you don't mind…
Chapter 12: Yule Tide
Louis was in the middle of buttering a crumpet when Mena sat down next to him. Mrs. Kurze had deemed it inefficient to have four tables set out for less than thirty students, so they were all eating breakfast at one main table. Louis had chosen a seat as far away from everyone else as possible. Trust Mena to ignore the clear sign that he wanted to be left alone. He took a bite of the crumpet, than swallowed before addressing her.
"Good morning, Mena. To what do I owe the honour of your presence?" He could see her glaring at him out of the corner of his eye.
"Why weren't you there this morning to say goodbye to Uric?" she asked.
"Because saying goodbye to Uric would have meant saying goodbye to everyone," he stated flatly.
"That's not good enough." She started haphazardly cutting up a sausage.
"It's going to have to be," he said.
"You're always so worried about your image, about what other people think about you," she complained.
"And you're not, Miss I-want-to-be-in-Gryffindor?" She coloured and hit him. The pumpkin juice in his hand sloshed over the side of the cup and onto his hand and the table.
"That's not the same!"
"Of course it's not," agreed Louis, if only to keep the peace. He searched around for a napkin, than finally used his sleeve. "So what do you want to do today?" She frowned at him.
"Do?" she said. Louis rolled his eyes.
"The holidays start today, so unless you want to get an early start on your homework, we have the day free."
"What? You don't mind spending time with a Hufflepuff, and a muggle-born to boot?" she asked.
"Not when no one else is around to see my shame." He had meant it as a joke, but Mena got this sad look on her face when he said it. He sighed. "Look, Mena. If I didn't want to spend time with you or Uric, I wouldn't. You're my," he hesitated a moment before saying it. "Friends." Mena grinned happily at him and he grinned back, though it was more in amusement at the large smear of honey that had somehow found its way to her cheek.
"Let's go flying then," she said, and Louis rolled his eyes. How had he known she was going to say that?
*****
Mena and Louis wandered out of the Great Hall. They were stuffed from the huge amount of food that had been available at the Christmas feast. Afterwards, Professor's Bear, Kerman, Thacher, Leonard and Wright had surprised the hall by providing some entertainment. Louis had to admit that they did sing rather well together. He just wished that Mena wasn't still going on about it.
"Who would have thought they could sing like that? I wonder why they don't do it more often," she gushed.
"We do. It's just usually in private," said a friendly voice behind them. They turned to look.
"Hello, Professor Kerman," said Mena. "Merry Christmas." The professor smiled at her.
"Merry Christmas to you both. Where's Uric? I seem to always find you together."
"Uric went home for Christmas, Professor Kerman," suggested Mena. She sounded doubtful of the professor's memory.
"I met him at his carriage this morning. I would hope he's still here."
"Where is he then, Professor?" asked Louis. Kerman unconsciously stroked his goatee before answering.
"I escorted him to Hufflepuff after I picked him up. You should have run into him there." Louis looked over at Mena. She met his eyes and shook her head.
"He isn't there Professor and he wasn't at the feast," Louis said.
"I'm sure he's alright. You know how that boy is. Wandering about the castle all the time. If he weren't such a good student, I'd be worried about him." He gave them a small smile that was meant to be reassuring. Louis, deciding they would get no more information from him, made his apologies and walked off in the opposite direction Kerman had been going. Mena had to run to catch up with him.
"He is right about Uric wandering the castle all the time," Mena pointed out.
"But he loves to eat, well at least to play with what he eats. You don't really think he would miss the feast on purpose, do you?" Mena shook her head.
"Not on purpose. But that's the trouble with him. He never does anything on purpose," she said with a shrug. They walked in silence for awhile until Mena spoke again. "We can search for him, but he knows the castle much better than we do. It'll just be luck if we find him." Louis stopped walking abruptly.
"It won't be luck," he said excitedly. "All we need to do is think like Uric!" Mena gave him a doubtful look.
"You're already beginning to think like him, if you think that will work," she said. Louis ran his hand through his hair.
"It will work. Uric always ends up in the strangest and most out of the way places in Hogwarts, at least according to Mr. Kurze he does."
"You've been talking to Mr. Kurze?" Mena sounded incredulous.
"I overheard him in the corridors one day." She looked at him out of the corner of her eye.
"You must "overhear" a lot of people sometimes." Louis shrugged.
"Sometimes." He changed the subject. "All I can think of is that room on the third floor with fuzzy walls. You know anywhere else he might go?" Mena considered it.
"We can always check the rooms he showed me on Hallowe'en and he likes to wander the dungeons a lot. I think Mr. Kurze told him to stay out of there, so of course, he keeps accidentally wandering down there," she said.
"Do you have any idea how big the dungeons are? Just the other day, a second-year Slytherin got lost on her way to the Common Room and ended up stuck in a room full of sentient feather beds for over a day," he said.
"You're exaggerating," said Mena stubbornly. Louis sighed, and headed for the dungeons.
"Only half the time."
*****
Uric sat on top of the book shelf, his arms curled around his legs, while he stared pensively at the opposite wall. There was a painting of a fruit bowl there, and every once and awhile, the apple would turn to look at him. He wondered what it would be like to be a fruit. Probably about as much fun as being a vegetable he decided, only more people liked fruit than vegetables.
"You do not belong here," said a sombre voice beside him. Uric didn't move. Had that pear just winked at him? The voice tried again. "It is forbidden to enter in here. This room belongs to me." The temperature of the room dropped and the lights flickered. Uric wondered why the fruit were all in a bowl together anyway. Something hazy appeared in front of him. Uric leant forward slightly in order to see the painting better. Did they like spending their lives in a bowl, or would they prefer being made into a nice pie? "Uric Beaufolle!" roared a voice. The lights went out and the room was lit by a blue glow. Uric frowned at the ghost in front of him. He wanted to see the fruit.
"Hello, Mr. Bloody Baron," he said politely, despite his annoyance. "Could you turn the lights back on? I want to see the fruit." The ghost glared at him, and Uric could see the sparkle of the silvery blood stains on his collar.
"This room is mine. It has been sealed since I died." His voice deepened to a roar and a strange wind picked up. "YOU WILL LEAVE!" Uric shivered in the strange wind, than frowned furiously at the ghost. He was being very rude. All Uric wanted to do was look at the fruit.
"No," he said. "Go away!" For a second the ghost stared incredulously at him. Then his already transparent body began to fade away. The Baron tried to scream, but his voice sounded very far away. His eyes were the last thing to go. Once they disappeared the lights came back on and the room suddenly felt warmer.
"Uric! Uric!" called two different voices. Uric sighed and looked around. There below him were Mena and Louis. "How in the world did you do that, Uric?" asked Louis once he was sure of Uric's attention.
"Do what?" He stared at them, a puzzled expression on his face. Mena and Louis exchanged glances. Louis decided to ask a different question.
"What are you doing here, Uric? The Baron was right. This room is forbidden, especially to non-Slytherins. For that matter, what are you doing back at school?" Uric took one last look at the fruit, than jumped off the book shelf. He landed and rolled before standing up and brushing off his Hufflepuff badge. A quick check revealed the badger was alright. He looked longingly at the fruit painting. He didn't really want to answer the question. It made him sad. "Come on Uric, why didn't you come and find us when you got back?" There was a long pause before Uric answered.
"Father sent me here. He didn't want me for Christmas." There was hurt in Uric's voice.
"That's horrible," said Mena. Louis glared at her. She should know by now that Uric's view of the world was very rarely based in reality. Uric's parents cared a lot about him and wouldn't have sent him home without a reason. It was best to get the full story before sympathizing.
"Don't worry about it, Uric," said Louis, putting his hand on Uric's shoulder. "Your father must be working hard and probably needs all his concentration so he can figure out a way of not losing his job." Both Mena and Uric frowned at him.
"My father is a respected council member," Uric said.
"Well, the entire council is in trouble. There is a coalition working for the abolition of the existing system."
"But what will they replace it with?" asked Mena.
"The Daily Prophet says they're favouring a system similar to France's organization. With ministries and such." Louis reflected that this was probably the first time he had Uric's full attention. He was actually beginning to find his friend's hazel-eyed stare unnerving. He remembered what had just happened to the Baron and suppressed a shiver.
"Who's winning then?" asked Mena, and Uric broke his stare. Louis took a deep breath and thought about her question for a moment.
"It's not that simple unfortunately. Both sides are presenting solid arguments. The Wizarding Council points out that we've had a council for over a thousand years and look how well it has turned out. The Abolition faction just turns around and points out all the mistakes the Council has made over the years. Perhaps the Abolition's best argument is the wizard's themselves. Our population has been growing, not to mention the muggle-borns who join us each year. How can a council of nine wizards be expected to control the affairs of so many people?" It almost seemed like he was asking her the question. She grew flustered at the thought, especially since she wasn't entirely sure what he was talking about. Uric was watching them both curiously.
"Why didn't you tell us this before?" she asked. Louis blinked at her. She sounded very annoyed.
"It's not my fault you don't read the Daily Prophet, and what can we do about it anyway? They don't exactly consult eleven year-olds on government policy."
"They should. You'd be very good at it," she said. Louis gave her a small bow.
"Why thank you." He paused. "You, on the other hand, would be horrible at it." She glared at him for the insult, but he was pretty sure that she agreed with him. "Now Uric, what did your father say to you before he sent you back here?"
"He said goodbye."
"Nothing about why he was sending you home?" Louis asked. Uric shook his head. "How about your mother, what did she say?"
"Good bye, Uric. Make sure you do your work and keep yourself safe. You should write more often as well," he said in an uncanny imitation of his mother, though it would have been more uncanny perhaps if Louis and Mena had ever met his mother.
"Uh, right," said Louis, disconcerted by the strange tone Uric had taken. He took a moment to think. "Do you know why they sent you home?" Uric thought very hard about the question.
"Father was talking to mum," he answered slowly. "He said it wasn't safe for me to stay."
"It sounds like he wanted you to stay Uric," said Mena.
"Mum wanted me to stay," said Uric. There was still a touch of sadness in his voice.
"Like I said," said Louis. "Your father's very busy and maybe they really did send you back to keep you safe." Both Mena and Louis knew about the attack on Uric, though only because Uric had accidentally mentioned it. Louis had his suspicions about the attack, but he didn't want to mention them to the other two in case he was wrong. He agreed with Mrs. Kurze's policy of keeping Uric in the castle, though Mena seemed to take it as some sort of punishment for Uric. Louis decided to do what he usually did when the conversation was becoming awkward. He changed the subject.
"So why don't you show us your Christmas presents, Uric?"
"Okay," said Uric brightly, his earlier upset forgotten. "My cousin Grahm gave me paper!"
"That's great," said Mena half heartedly. "Paper?" she mouthed at Louis. He shrugged and followed Uric out the door.
*****
Well, the holidays are over and I'm back at Uni. Unfortunately this means I have some essays due, so chapters may be a bit longer in coming than usual. I'm getting up to the points in the story where I've written ahead though, so who knows…
Thank you so much to all my reviewers: Tidmag, NM (Narcissa Malfoy), Giesbrecht, Zadesko, Kirkusmaximus12, Em, Gred Weasley, Crydwyn, thistlemeg, Cairo, Ozma, raeban, AniMourner and Tess.
I apologize for calling the last chapter filler. What I meant when I said that was that the chapter wasn't really planned. I just knew I wanted Christmas to be in a chapter by itself, which meant I had to somehow mention the disappearance of the invisibility cloak and think of other fun things to write to fill in the chapter so that Christmas happened within chapter twelve. You know, I estimated that this story would be about thirteen chapters long when I started…boy was I wrong:)
NM: Louis' situation is complicated and he knows he would be better off in the long run leaving Uric and Mena alone, but he likes them and wants to spend time with them. Thank you for the question, since it helped me focus on Louis so that he could have a bit of character development in this chapter.
AniMourner: I was about to answer you no about Mena's broom skills, but then I realized that while I know what's going to happen near the end of this story, I don't really know how it's going to happen. I prefer to let my brain surprise itself, so Mena's flying skills may come into play and then again, they may not. Alexis is still around but Mena is the one she dislikes. She really couldn't care less about Uric, so a lot of the things she does just pass beneath his notice. Rest assured, she's still manipulating the teachers and getting the first-year Slytherins to worship her. No doubt, she will insinuate herself into one of my chapters soon.
Crydwyn: Well, I seem to update on average about once every ten days (this varies greatly when I have essays to finish…). If you want to give me your email in your review, or in an email, I will add you to the update list I send out when I post a new chapter. That way you won't have to be disappointed:)
Em: Yes, I'm very inspired atm. Too bad I'm going to have to focus on my essays for a bit. Mrs. Kurze does care about Uric in her own special way. She wouldn't be trying so hard to 'reform' him if she didn't care.
Tess: The clue wasn't in the fruit business, though bent is a slang word, not for crazy though. "Get bent" means about the same as bugger off. I'm sure it didn't mean that when Uric used it, but I haven't a clue what it did mean:)
(I've read over these author's notes and realized I was babbling. Guess that's what I get for writing them while jet lagged. Don't feel like rewriting them though, so hopefully they make sense.)
So does anyone have any ideas about why the wizards want Uric now?
Review, and feel free to ask me as many questions as you like. If you hadn't noticed, I love to answer them:)