This is a different style, a first person POV. You better know who it is just by reading it. If you still don't know by the end, I do tell you.
After this chapter, everything's back to normal.
And since today, May 11, is my birthday, I'm giving you a special treat, ala Hobbit-styled birthday traditions where the birthday girl (or boy) gives the gifts rather than receives them.
TWO CHAPTERS!
STILL NEED DUMBLEDORE POSTION SUBMISSIONS!
The Founders – Lucan's Interlude
Ritengo così solo. I feel so lonely. I don't usually think in Italian, but sometimes I can't help it. Even though the Manor is far from empty, even though I'm sitting at the same table as Ron, Blaise, Seneca, Professor Lupin, and Professor Black, I feel lonely.
Noko leads Harry, Draco, and Hermione in, and finds them places at the table. I grin. She's just so cute! Pity she's a half-breed with a limited life-span. I'm sure Harry and Draco will be devastated when she dies.
Speaking of Harry and Draco, neither of them are anything like I expected them to be. Before we moved here, Father would regale us with stories of Lucius Malfoy (his hero), and the rest of the Malfoy family. The rivalry between Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter was legendary. It made for good stories at dinner. I expected them to be constantly at each others' throats, but they have some sort of friendship between them. It's really strange.
When I first met Draco, he looked down his nose at me and sneered. I immediately got the impression he was a cold, distant person. I think Seneca sneered right back at him. I wouldn't have been surprised if she did. Once all the adults left, however, Draco warmed right up. He showed us around the manor and let us pick out our own rooms. His smiles seemed awkward, as if he wasn't used to them, and he never laughed, but he was immediately someone I found myself drawn to. Seneca started talking about animals, and he mentioned Noko. The way his just lit up when he talked about her made me see just how special she was to him.
Meeting Noko in person for the first time was different. She was openly friendly and trusting, right from the start. I don't know what I had expected, maybe something bigger or more wolfish, but Sen fell in love at first sight. Noko took to Sen quickly, greeting her with puppy kisses like she was a long-lost friend. I had been thrilled to see Draco wasn't dead, but I didn't say anything at the time. Instead I just looked at the others with him.
Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived. What witch or wizard didn't know his name? He wasn't as short as Draco said he was, maybe from a growth spurt over the summer. He looked lost in his thoughts, barely noticing me long enough to say hello. He definitely has opened up more, but he's usually ducking off with everyone else at the table except the professors. It's almost as if they have a club or something.
Ron Weasley is Harry's best friend. He's tall, red-haired, and freckle-faced. Draco teases him a lot and calls him Weasel. Ron retaliates by calling him Ferret. I haven't heard the story behind the name Ferret, but I know the Weasel part. Although it seems like he doesn't like Draco much, I think it's just an act and the two just tease each other good naturedly now.
Seneca seems to be pulling away from me to be with these guys (and girls) more. She was sorted into Ravenclaw, no surprise there, but her friends are all Gryffindors and Slytherins a year above her. That worries me a little, but not much. They seem to be a good influence on her. Sen's sharp tongue and smart alec nature are tamed whenever Hermione's around. I don't think Sen's ever been with anyone who's as smart as she is, if not smarter, and it's good for her. Hermione can put Sen in her place if she gets too annoying, but is always there to encourage Sen on. I know Sen's always wanted an older sister. Hermione's filling that role perfectly. She's a smart girl, and pretty too. Too bad she's a Gryffindor, and Ron's. I wouldn't stand a chance.
Blaise is the enigma. He's a Slytherin, but I don't think he's a pure-blooded wizard. Slytherin house very rarely, if ever, has any wizards that aren't pure-blood for at least five generations, but rumors have it that Blaise's dad is either a mudblood or muggle, which definitely doesn't match the five generations pureblood. I don't see why he made it into Slytherin, unless the Hat knows something I don't. Maybe it's because he's part vampire, according to other rumors. With his dark hair and pale skin, I can see the vampire resemblance, but Blaise doesn't have fangs, nor does he fear the sun. I personally think the most probable rumor is the one that says that his muggle/mudblood father isn't his real father, and that he really is five generations pureblood. I'd have to ask him to find out for sure.
The two professors with us, Professor Lupin and Professor Black, go by many names. Professor Lupin is also called Lupin, Remus, RJ, Moony, Remy, Wolf-man, and Howler. Professor Black also goes by Black, Sirius, Squib (though I don't know why, he's very strong magically), Padfoot, Paddy, Dogbreath, Siri, Annoying, and Troublemaker. There seems to be a strong bond between the two Defense professors, but I'm not sure what it is. Although they act as father figures to Harry, they're perfectly fine with letting Harry go off with his group while they do their own thing. That leaves me alone. I don't think I want to join in with the professors, but I feel like an intruder whenever I'm with the others.
"Lucan?" Professor Lupin's soft voice interrupts my thoughts. It's funny, the way he can be so calm and quiet while being in full control of those around him. Scary even. I wonder if that has anything to do with him being a werewolf. Not that I'm prejudiced against him or anything. It's just so . . . creepy. "Lucan?" Oops, I forgot he had addressed me.
"Yes, Professor?"
That earned me a smile. Professor Lupin smiles a lot, but it's always different for each person. Sirius gets a devilish smirk, Harry gets a fatherly smile, Hermione and Ron get a knowledgeable grin, and I get this small soft smile that says he'll be my friend, if I want him to. "You may call me Remus or Moony when we're not in class. The others do."
"Okay, uh, Remus." Moony is just too . . . not him. Where did he get that silly name?
"When is your birthday?"
"Huh?" Where did that come from? "Why do you want to know?"
He shrugged, with that small smile again. "Well, we were talking about birthdays. Draco's is coming up, it's actually Christmas Day. I know Harry's is the thirty-first of July, and Blaise and Ron apparently share a birthday on March first. You were next around the table."
"Oh." Now I feel stupid. "January tenth."
"So it's coming up too." I nod. "I'll have to keep that in mind." With that, he moves his attention on to Seneca, sitting to my right.
"October thirty-first."
I knew that. She's my sister. If I didn't, I wouldn't be a very good brother. Maybe I should pay more attention to the conversation. It would be bad if they got me birthday presents but I didn't even know their birthdays.
September nineteenth is Hermione's birthday. Somehow, I'm not surprised. A smart, bookish girl like her just clicks with the first month of school.
"June fifth," Professor Black says. Near the end of the school year. Somehow, I can see him with that birthday. Remus says November second is his birthday. Nobody knows Noko's birthday. She asks if she can pick a day, in that odd little lisping chirp she has. Harry and Draco say she can, so now she's quiet, thinking about the perfect birthday.
I didn't know Draco's birthday was coming up. Having a Christmas birthday can't be much fun. Nobody would remember it, what with the holiday coming up. Now that Draco's an orphan, who will celebrate his birthday? Harry? The professors? Noko? Me?
I know this is kind of a long ramble in Lucan's POV, but it does introduce some necessary information, sets up the next chapter, and just tells you a bit about the characters and how they're viewed by an outsider. Remember, Lucan has no idea about the Chamber Group. The professors don't really know about it officially either, but I'm sure James told them what happened the year before, when he helped them make the potion.
Yes, there is a reasoning behind Sirius' nickname, no, it's not important to the story. Just for fun, we gave him the middle name Quinton. Sirius Quinton Black. SQB. SQuiB.
Yes, we're weird. ^___^~sings "I'm not crazy, I'm just a little unwell"~
The next chapter will be back to its normal style.
Dumbledore Postion Contest
1) Vacationing in the Caribbean!
2) Nose to the ground, studying ants! (three votes, I think. Need to count them again to make sure)
~Crawler
(and Spibro)