DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, nor do I own a fair amount of the
background characters. Some of the characters (Taseia, Faellen, Kairn, and
Seth in particular) I am the creator and owner of. So hands off please. The
rest are copyright to J. K. Rowling.
Author's Note: Things are FINALLY getting going! YAY! I thought I'd tell you now though that I don't think I'll elaborate much on why Tai has the water/cold thing, Fael's hair flames or why Seth has his little quirk during this book. It's just so full of Kairn's little thing. I'm writing another one after this though (already got some of the plot in my head) in which I think I'll focus more on them too. Kairn just ended up the main focus for this book. Don't ask me why, because I have no idea, that's just how it turned out. Explanations for a lot of other things are on the way, though.
Mystixnight
Chapter 13 * Nimue
"You're sure," the silky voice inquired, sickeningly smooth.
"Yes," she replied firmly.
"Excellent, excellent... You've done so well. Maybe I'll help you with that then," he gestured with a skeletal finger to the right side of her face. "Your reward, my dear girl."
She cringed visibly and he gave a sputtering laugh, an altogether repulsive noise that made you feel like you were coated in guilt and shame from just hearing it. "Thank you," she replied, careful to keep her voice level.
He gave another slow, sickly chuckles in amusement and gestured to the door. "You may leave, Nimue"
She kept herself from looking as immensely relieved as she did.
* * *
"Kairn," Taseia started gently from where she sat in the snow, Kairn curled up beside her in a fetal position, his head on her lap. "We should get you inside... You're soaked."
She hadn't dared to say a word until now. Truth be told, she had been petrified. He'd been rocking back and forth and sobbing until it made her wince to hear how hoarse his voice was. Kairn gave a non-committal sound that was probably supposed to be one of his usual grunts but came out as partial whimper.
He pushed himself to a sitting position and Taseia put out a hand to help him up, but he shirked it off, albeit in a gentler fashion than before, righting himself. Tai couldn't help but be impressed by the way he brushed himself off and walked back to the school, back straight, head high. Maybe a bit stung that he didn't wait for her, but she could understand. Kairn wasn't exactly the crying type and he'd just had a complete breakdown in front of her... Still, she didn't think she could have walked so surely, kept her face so calm with the redness of her eyes, the salty tear trails still snaking their way down her guise and her robes completely soaked with melted snow. She couldn't but Kairn obviously could...
With a small smile she brushed her own clothing off and ran to catch up, not bothered by the bite of the cold as it used the dampness of her attire to get to her. She could only assume Kairn was, but wouldn't have been able to tell for his stance. "Hey," she said, gently but firmly.
Kairn turned to face her, visage perfectly unreadable. He stood still until she caught up with him, then kept walking. It didn't seem he knew quite where he was going, because they kept going for quite some time. A random turn here, a switch of direction there. He just kept walking... And Taseia walked with him.
She didn't know how long it was before they finally stopped, but she was pretty sure they'd missed lunch, because her stomach wasn't quite so comfortable as usual, but somewhere around the Astrology wing Kairn shuffled to a halt. His composure crumpled for a split second, where the redness of his eyes seemed a bit watery and his shoulders hunched, head falling forward. And then with a deep breath he was Kairn again.
He turned to face her almost nervously. "You aren't... You aren't going to tell Seth and Fael, are you?"
Taseia shook her head quickly. "No. I'm not going to tell anyone. And I wanted to say s-"
"I wasn't finished yet," Kairn cut in sharply in an oh-so familiar cold tone. She opened her mouth to retort hotly, upset he was slipping so quickly back into that apathetic version of himself. She caught the half smile that pulled at his lips, almost humorous, and it sort of muted his vocals to the point she could gather he hadn't meant it as darkly as it had come out. "I wanted to say thank you. For listening..." He gave another smile.
You could have knocked Taseia over with a feather at that. Kairn didn't smile... And if he did it was a sarcastic, bitter, wry or mocking smile. But this was just... A smile. 'He should smile more often,' she thought to herself. "What was it you wanted to say, then?" He asked in that same crisp, formal voice, but with the grin still dancing around his features.
Taseia ducked her head shamefully. "I was going to say I was sorry for bothering you so much about it. You're right, it wasn't my business and I should have just let it alone. Next time I'll just keep my nose out of things and if you say no that means no and..."
She trailed off as Kairn wrinkled up his nose, another gesture she had never thought was possible in his range of facial expressions, his smile growing steadier. "Don't worry about it, Tai. I said 'thank you' remember? That means I'm... I'm glad you made me answer. It helps to have it 'out' I guess. You're a RavenClaw, remember? It's your job to know what's best for everyone." He laced a drop of sarcasm over this last, but Taseia found that when paired with that smile (she still couldn't believe he even knew how to smile) it wasn't so much laughing at her but with her...
Taseia nodded, smiling devilishly. "That reminds me. You haven't done any of your homework for the Holidays yet and there's only a week left, Kairn. Shall we?"
Kairn gave a melodramatic groan and shuffled after Taseia with a woe-be- gone expression.
* * *
Taseia had, unfortunately, not been just joking when she said they should do their homework and in the end she managed to round up two unenthusiastic Slytherins and another house-less lad (not quite so unenthusiastic) in the library. Taseia was very liberal with the amount of help she gave, only too happy to give them her papers when she finished so long as when she read them over, nothing was just plagiarized. She was adamant they at least put it into their own words, which really was easy enough. She had to give a lot of encouragement to Seth to stay on task, as he was just as interested in seeing how far back he could lean in his chair without letting it tip. He actually managed to stand it on its back legs only, carefully poised on top, arms out at his sides, looking rather pleased. That is, until, Faellen 'accidentally' nudged the chair with her foot and Seth was sent sprawling over the cobble stone flooring.
He opened his mouth to say some curse or another (which he did rather often for someone their age, seeing as how when he wanted he could turn on the accent so thick you couldn't have understood anyway), but the librarian glared daggers at him and he sat back down. Even then, still grinning and kicked Fael under the table in a fashion that suggested they were sharing a joke rather than he was exacting revenge.
He did eventually get down to work, though obviously not enjoying himself. He was almost finished, in fact, when none other than Professor Mirillen showed up behind their table, looking inquisitively over their books.
"Hello," she'd said, at which point Seth had let out a yelp of surprise and promptly spilled ink all over the bottom of what was supposed to be a paper for charms. It didn't stain all the way up to the writing though and Fael heard him mutter 'still good,' before he turned around like the rest of them to look up at the auburn haired woman.
"Seth, the headmaster wishes to speak with you. I believe it has something to do with your sorting, actually."
It was hard to say whether Seth looked more excited or unsure. He was just getting so used to his place in the hospital wing, and it was sort of the unofficial meeting place for their little group. "Eh... A'right," he muttered, standing up awkwardly and running a hand through his disheveled hair, scratching behind his ear before he let it drop.
Mirillen gave another bright smile and as she walked away she Kairn a different sort of grin, lifting her brows and nodding. "It's nice to see you, Kairn."
Both Fael and Taseia rounded on a very uncomfortable looking Kairn with accusing and inquisitive glances as Mirillen turned on heel and left the room, a nervous looking Seth trailing behind her.
* * *
"Ah, Mr. O'Flaherty. Pleasure to see you again," Dumbledore said cheerily as Mirillen gave Seth a gentle push through the door.
"Thank you, that will be all." Dumbledore gave her a wave and she returned it with one of her own, giving Seth a bolstering wink at which point she slipped off down he spiral staircase and out of Dumbledore's office.
"'Lo," Seth replied, shifting his weight from one foot to another and lifting his hand to his ear again.
"Please take a seat," the aged old wizard gestured to an empty chair and sat down in his own. "Firstly I would like to apologize for not getting around to this sooner, but we have had a very busy year. So, I do hope you'll forgive us for the wait." He smiled expectantly and Seth nodded. "S'nay a problem," he shrugged.
Dumbledore leaned forward, steepling his fingers and looked pleased. "It's a shame you came so late in the year, but I suppose that some things can't be fixed. And we all have our little quirks, now don't we?" Seth could only nod again. Dumbledore returned it with one of his own and stood up, retrieving from a shelf full of oddities a tattered old hat.
Seth looked at it curiously, leaning forward a little. Dumbledore brushed it off with a hand. "This is our sorting hat. I'm afraid you won't be hearing his speech. He's a bit put off about being woken up during the year." Seth blinked, getting the sudden impression the hat gave a twitched against Dumbledore's hands, but shook it off. Hats don't twitch...
Dumbledore stepped forward, still smiling pleasantly. "This will just take a moment. Just sit the hat on your head and let it decide."
Sounded simple enough. Seth looked up as the old thing was set upon his dial. For a minute he was sort of unsure, feeling and hearing nothing and then with a start he felt sort of a shudder on his cranium. "Wake me up in the middle of the year, do they? Let's make this quick, shall we lad?"
Seth blinked, totally dumbstruck and could only sit there and let the hat probe into his head, an excessively odd sensation. And then it stopped. He looked to Dumbledore for reassurance, but the old man seemed a bit puzzled himself.
The hat kicked back into life slowly, and Seth could hear strange mutterings in his ears that made the hair on the back of his neck bristle. "I'm stumped," The hat finally said. "What in the name of Godrick Gryffindor is the matter with you, boy?" Seth balked, feeling rather like he'd just been slapped in the face by one of Taseia's heavy workbooks.
Dumbledore hastened forward a step, putting a hand on Seth's shoulder and murmuring something to the hat, he couldn't hear. But he heard the reply. "I don't know," the hat said in its gravelly voice. "It's different than everyone else's. It all overlaps until it's hard to tell where one ends and the other starts. And then you take in that I don't think he wants a house anyway and so I can't take a preference from him."
Seth made an almost whimpering sound low in his throat, hands clutching tightly to the wooden armrests of his chair. "It's too messed up in here, Dumbledore." If hats could shrug it would've right then.
Dumbledore frowned, obviously not pleased. "Come now, surely there is something you can do. We've sorted children like," he cast a delicate looked to Seth, "this before. If we can sort them, we can sort him."
The hat just gave another coarse grumble. "He's not like the others. He's not whole, he's not even half. I don't know what he is..."
Dumbledore lifted the hat gingerly off of Seth's head, giving it another frustrated look before placing it gently back in its former position. Seth watched it for a moment, dark brown optics wide in disconcertion. He turned his wide-eyed gaze on Dumbledore. "Wha' does tha' mean, Professor?" There was a sort of keening plea in that question, for him to say something that would make that whole confusing ordeal make sense. And he felt... He felt wrong. He felt horribly and shamefully wrong due to the way the hat had described him. He hadn't thought... He hadn't thought that he was that messed up. He hadn't imagined he could be so incredibly absurd...
Dumbledore smiled complacently, probably trying to be comforting. "Don't worry about it for now, Seth. Go back to where you were and forget about it. It's just a misunderstanding. We'll try again later, alright?"
Seth nodded, but was desperate never to have to go through that again. Ever...
* * *
Taseia and Fael were both dually distracted with Seth when Kairn left to go to the Boy's Toilets. He'd come back from the little interview looking for all the world like someone had just told that Santa Clause had been beaten to death by his own elves. He had been kind enough not to say anything to make fun of him, even going so far as to mutter something along the lines of 'you okay?' Truthfully he'd been more than relieved just to slip away though. Comforting wasn't his strong suit.
Besides, when nature calls... He hadn't been expecting to run into Mirillen, though. Actually, it wasn't so much a run in as a deliberately planned, momentary conference. He had been walking back from the lavatories when he'' felt a firm hand on the back of his collar which pulled him sharply back into a side corridor.
He'd let out a shout before he heard a familiar voice behind him. "Quiet down, for God's sake, Kairn. It's only me." Kairn had calmed, turning around to face her. "What is it?" He asked her, brows furrowing curiously.
She shook her head, casting a sidelong glance down the hallway. "Too much to say here. I'll explain it later, all right? Can you get out of your dormitory after hours, Kairn?" He'd nodded; going so far as to look mildly insulted that she might think him not capable. "Then meet my by the Quidditch pitch, around... Let's say 10:30?"
Kairn nodded. "Alright, Professor." He was slightly put off by the brief, hasty instructions, left feeling a bit confused by it all.
Mirillen had nodded firmly and just as quickly as she'd come turned to leave. Just before she was out of sight she stopped, swiveling on heel and giving a cheery grin. "Call me Nimue." And then she was gone... Leaving Kairn thoroughly befuddled. He'd made his way back to the library in a rather dazed sort of state. Thankfully, Fael and Tai were still busy enough with trying to talk to a very embarrassed Seth that they didn't notice how out of sorts he was.
Author's Note: Things are FINALLY getting going! YAY! I thought I'd tell you now though that I don't think I'll elaborate much on why Tai has the water/cold thing, Fael's hair flames or why Seth has his little quirk during this book. It's just so full of Kairn's little thing. I'm writing another one after this though (already got some of the plot in my head) in which I think I'll focus more on them too. Kairn just ended up the main focus for this book. Don't ask me why, because I have no idea, that's just how it turned out. Explanations for a lot of other things are on the way, though.
Mystixnight
Chapter 13 * Nimue
"You're sure," the silky voice inquired, sickeningly smooth.
"Yes," she replied firmly.
"Excellent, excellent... You've done so well. Maybe I'll help you with that then," he gestured with a skeletal finger to the right side of her face. "Your reward, my dear girl."
She cringed visibly and he gave a sputtering laugh, an altogether repulsive noise that made you feel like you were coated in guilt and shame from just hearing it. "Thank you," she replied, careful to keep her voice level.
He gave another slow, sickly chuckles in amusement and gestured to the door. "You may leave, Nimue"
She kept herself from looking as immensely relieved as she did.
* * *
"Kairn," Taseia started gently from where she sat in the snow, Kairn curled up beside her in a fetal position, his head on her lap. "We should get you inside... You're soaked."
She hadn't dared to say a word until now. Truth be told, she had been petrified. He'd been rocking back and forth and sobbing until it made her wince to hear how hoarse his voice was. Kairn gave a non-committal sound that was probably supposed to be one of his usual grunts but came out as partial whimper.
He pushed himself to a sitting position and Taseia put out a hand to help him up, but he shirked it off, albeit in a gentler fashion than before, righting himself. Tai couldn't help but be impressed by the way he brushed himself off and walked back to the school, back straight, head high. Maybe a bit stung that he didn't wait for her, but she could understand. Kairn wasn't exactly the crying type and he'd just had a complete breakdown in front of her... Still, she didn't think she could have walked so surely, kept her face so calm with the redness of her eyes, the salty tear trails still snaking their way down her guise and her robes completely soaked with melted snow. She couldn't but Kairn obviously could...
With a small smile she brushed her own clothing off and ran to catch up, not bothered by the bite of the cold as it used the dampness of her attire to get to her. She could only assume Kairn was, but wouldn't have been able to tell for his stance. "Hey," she said, gently but firmly.
Kairn turned to face her, visage perfectly unreadable. He stood still until she caught up with him, then kept walking. It didn't seem he knew quite where he was going, because they kept going for quite some time. A random turn here, a switch of direction there. He just kept walking... And Taseia walked with him.
She didn't know how long it was before they finally stopped, but she was pretty sure they'd missed lunch, because her stomach wasn't quite so comfortable as usual, but somewhere around the Astrology wing Kairn shuffled to a halt. His composure crumpled for a split second, where the redness of his eyes seemed a bit watery and his shoulders hunched, head falling forward. And then with a deep breath he was Kairn again.
He turned to face her almost nervously. "You aren't... You aren't going to tell Seth and Fael, are you?"
Taseia shook her head quickly. "No. I'm not going to tell anyone. And I wanted to say s-"
"I wasn't finished yet," Kairn cut in sharply in an oh-so familiar cold tone. She opened her mouth to retort hotly, upset he was slipping so quickly back into that apathetic version of himself. She caught the half smile that pulled at his lips, almost humorous, and it sort of muted his vocals to the point she could gather he hadn't meant it as darkly as it had come out. "I wanted to say thank you. For listening..." He gave another smile.
You could have knocked Taseia over with a feather at that. Kairn didn't smile... And if he did it was a sarcastic, bitter, wry or mocking smile. But this was just... A smile. 'He should smile more often,' she thought to herself. "What was it you wanted to say, then?" He asked in that same crisp, formal voice, but with the grin still dancing around his features.
Taseia ducked her head shamefully. "I was going to say I was sorry for bothering you so much about it. You're right, it wasn't my business and I should have just let it alone. Next time I'll just keep my nose out of things and if you say no that means no and..."
She trailed off as Kairn wrinkled up his nose, another gesture she had never thought was possible in his range of facial expressions, his smile growing steadier. "Don't worry about it, Tai. I said 'thank you' remember? That means I'm... I'm glad you made me answer. It helps to have it 'out' I guess. You're a RavenClaw, remember? It's your job to know what's best for everyone." He laced a drop of sarcasm over this last, but Taseia found that when paired with that smile (she still couldn't believe he even knew how to smile) it wasn't so much laughing at her but with her...
Taseia nodded, smiling devilishly. "That reminds me. You haven't done any of your homework for the Holidays yet and there's only a week left, Kairn. Shall we?"
Kairn gave a melodramatic groan and shuffled after Taseia with a woe-be- gone expression.
* * *
Taseia had, unfortunately, not been just joking when she said they should do their homework and in the end she managed to round up two unenthusiastic Slytherins and another house-less lad (not quite so unenthusiastic) in the library. Taseia was very liberal with the amount of help she gave, only too happy to give them her papers when she finished so long as when she read them over, nothing was just plagiarized. She was adamant they at least put it into their own words, which really was easy enough. She had to give a lot of encouragement to Seth to stay on task, as he was just as interested in seeing how far back he could lean in his chair without letting it tip. He actually managed to stand it on its back legs only, carefully poised on top, arms out at his sides, looking rather pleased. That is, until, Faellen 'accidentally' nudged the chair with her foot and Seth was sent sprawling over the cobble stone flooring.
He opened his mouth to say some curse or another (which he did rather often for someone their age, seeing as how when he wanted he could turn on the accent so thick you couldn't have understood anyway), but the librarian glared daggers at him and he sat back down. Even then, still grinning and kicked Fael under the table in a fashion that suggested they were sharing a joke rather than he was exacting revenge.
He did eventually get down to work, though obviously not enjoying himself. He was almost finished, in fact, when none other than Professor Mirillen showed up behind their table, looking inquisitively over their books.
"Hello," she'd said, at which point Seth had let out a yelp of surprise and promptly spilled ink all over the bottom of what was supposed to be a paper for charms. It didn't stain all the way up to the writing though and Fael heard him mutter 'still good,' before he turned around like the rest of them to look up at the auburn haired woman.
"Seth, the headmaster wishes to speak with you. I believe it has something to do with your sorting, actually."
It was hard to say whether Seth looked more excited or unsure. He was just getting so used to his place in the hospital wing, and it was sort of the unofficial meeting place for their little group. "Eh... A'right," he muttered, standing up awkwardly and running a hand through his disheveled hair, scratching behind his ear before he let it drop.
Mirillen gave another bright smile and as she walked away she Kairn a different sort of grin, lifting her brows and nodding. "It's nice to see you, Kairn."
Both Fael and Taseia rounded on a very uncomfortable looking Kairn with accusing and inquisitive glances as Mirillen turned on heel and left the room, a nervous looking Seth trailing behind her.
* * *
"Ah, Mr. O'Flaherty. Pleasure to see you again," Dumbledore said cheerily as Mirillen gave Seth a gentle push through the door.
"Thank you, that will be all." Dumbledore gave her a wave and she returned it with one of her own, giving Seth a bolstering wink at which point she slipped off down he spiral staircase and out of Dumbledore's office.
"'Lo," Seth replied, shifting his weight from one foot to another and lifting his hand to his ear again.
"Please take a seat," the aged old wizard gestured to an empty chair and sat down in his own. "Firstly I would like to apologize for not getting around to this sooner, but we have had a very busy year. So, I do hope you'll forgive us for the wait." He smiled expectantly and Seth nodded. "S'nay a problem," he shrugged.
Dumbledore leaned forward, steepling his fingers and looked pleased. "It's a shame you came so late in the year, but I suppose that some things can't be fixed. And we all have our little quirks, now don't we?" Seth could only nod again. Dumbledore returned it with one of his own and stood up, retrieving from a shelf full of oddities a tattered old hat.
Seth looked at it curiously, leaning forward a little. Dumbledore brushed it off with a hand. "This is our sorting hat. I'm afraid you won't be hearing his speech. He's a bit put off about being woken up during the year." Seth blinked, getting the sudden impression the hat gave a twitched against Dumbledore's hands, but shook it off. Hats don't twitch...
Dumbledore stepped forward, still smiling pleasantly. "This will just take a moment. Just sit the hat on your head and let it decide."
Sounded simple enough. Seth looked up as the old thing was set upon his dial. For a minute he was sort of unsure, feeling and hearing nothing and then with a start he felt sort of a shudder on his cranium. "Wake me up in the middle of the year, do they? Let's make this quick, shall we lad?"
Seth blinked, totally dumbstruck and could only sit there and let the hat probe into his head, an excessively odd sensation. And then it stopped. He looked to Dumbledore for reassurance, but the old man seemed a bit puzzled himself.
The hat kicked back into life slowly, and Seth could hear strange mutterings in his ears that made the hair on the back of his neck bristle. "I'm stumped," The hat finally said. "What in the name of Godrick Gryffindor is the matter with you, boy?" Seth balked, feeling rather like he'd just been slapped in the face by one of Taseia's heavy workbooks.
Dumbledore hastened forward a step, putting a hand on Seth's shoulder and murmuring something to the hat, he couldn't hear. But he heard the reply. "I don't know," the hat said in its gravelly voice. "It's different than everyone else's. It all overlaps until it's hard to tell where one ends and the other starts. And then you take in that I don't think he wants a house anyway and so I can't take a preference from him."
Seth made an almost whimpering sound low in his throat, hands clutching tightly to the wooden armrests of his chair. "It's too messed up in here, Dumbledore." If hats could shrug it would've right then.
Dumbledore frowned, obviously not pleased. "Come now, surely there is something you can do. We've sorted children like," he cast a delicate looked to Seth, "this before. If we can sort them, we can sort him."
The hat just gave another coarse grumble. "He's not like the others. He's not whole, he's not even half. I don't know what he is..."
Dumbledore lifted the hat gingerly off of Seth's head, giving it another frustrated look before placing it gently back in its former position. Seth watched it for a moment, dark brown optics wide in disconcertion. He turned his wide-eyed gaze on Dumbledore. "Wha' does tha' mean, Professor?" There was a sort of keening plea in that question, for him to say something that would make that whole confusing ordeal make sense. And he felt... He felt wrong. He felt horribly and shamefully wrong due to the way the hat had described him. He hadn't thought... He hadn't thought that he was that messed up. He hadn't imagined he could be so incredibly absurd...
Dumbledore smiled complacently, probably trying to be comforting. "Don't worry about it for now, Seth. Go back to where you were and forget about it. It's just a misunderstanding. We'll try again later, alright?"
Seth nodded, but was desperate never to have to go through that again. Ever...
* * *
Taseia and Fael were both dually distracted with Seth when Kairn left to go to the Boy's Toilets. He'd come back from the little interview looking for all the world like someone had just told that Santa Clause had been beaten to death by his own elves. He had been kind enough not to say anything to make fun of him, even going so far as to mutter something along the lines of 'you okay?' Truthfully he'd been more than relieved just to slip away though. Comforting wasn't his strong suit.
Besides, when nature calls... He hadn't been expecting to run into Mirillen, though. Actually, it wasn't so much a run in as a deliberately planned, momentary conference. He had been walking back from the lavatories when he'' felt a firm hand on the back of his collar which pulled him sharply back into a side corridor.
He'd let out a shout before he heard a familiar voice behind him. "Quiet down, for God's sake, Kairn. It's only me." Kairn had calmed, turning around to face her. "What is it?" He asked her, brows furrowing curiously.
She shook her head, casting a sidelong glance down the hallway. "Too much to say here. I'll explain it later, all right? Can you get out of your dormitory after hours, Kairn?" He'd nodded; going so far as to look mildly insulted that she might think him not capable. "Then meet my by the Quidditch pitch, around... Let's say 10:30?"
Kairn nodded. "Alright, Professor." He was slightly put off by the brief, hasty instructions, left feeling a bit confused by it all.
Mirillen had nodded firmly and just as quickly as she'd come turned to leave. Just before she was out of sight she stopped, swiveling on heel and giving a cheery grin. "Call me Nimue." And then she was gone... Leaving Kairn thoroughly befuddled. He'd made his way back to the library in a rather dazed sort of state. Thankfully, Fael and Tai were still busy enough with trying to talk to a very embarrassed Seth that they didn't notice how out of sorts he was.
