AUTHORS NOTE: My apologies for the very long delay in this posting, and
also for the, erm, crapness of a lot of this, I'll try to do better with
the next chapters. Oh and I tried to include a bit of perspective from the
X-men, or at least Xavier. Not a lot I know, but please read anyway. As
always if you know any sites that have good character profiles or listings
or something of the X-men it would be greatly appreciated.
~*~
Rogue had once more found herself down by the Lake, watching the water ripple as a dark shape swam just beneath the surface. The Giant Squid. It was only her third day at the School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and already the east bank of the Lake was becoming one of her favourite places to go.
Numerous tree's surrounded her, casting their shade over land and water, while the lake itself lapped against the bank that lay maybe a foot, or a foot and a half above the water itself. A cool breeze played through the branches, the grass, her hair, and cast miniature waves across the water.
It was simply so peaceful there, the noise of the school sounding miles away, the dark forbidding presence of the Forest a secondary buffer from the world. She could almost taste the magic rolling through the air as she slipt into thoughts of what it would be like to swim beside the creature in the lake.
Hogwarts; a History had told of how the Squid was more like a guardian of the waters then a mindless creature seeking to prey on those unwary enough to enter its domain.
Many times it had rescued young witches and wizards, wrenching them free of the lake and the true creatures that lurked beneath the surface, to place them back in the boats they had fallen from. Temptation welled in her to find out whether the book had been right, that the creature would not harm but help.
Perhaps if she'd had more time on her own she may have succumb to the temptation, but already Rogue could hear the sounds of people moving through the tree's, crackling the grass as they crushed it beneath their feet. Hear the sounds of slightly breathless people talking as they approached their destination.
Propping herself up onto her elbows she turned her head enough to see a half dozen mutants leading maybe twenty or twenty-five more, nearly all of the mutants that were at Hogwarts.
Personally she was now wondering exactly who would be conducting the meeting, after all more than forty teenage mutants with varying degree's of power, opinions and attitudes weren't exactly just going to sit down and talk. Like with all groups of people, some were helpful, others were troublemakers and some just plain and simply didn't get along.
The big group was breaking up into smaller ones, friends coming together and positioning themselves around the place, several mutants scampering up to perch in the surrounding tree's, others just dropping to the ground where they were.
Bobby and Jubilee sat beside Rogue, as did Siryn, within a few minutes the only mutant still standing was Colossus, which kind of made sense, he was after all one of the oldest there, and now that she was thinking about it, he had probable been the one that arranged for them all to meet in the first place.
"Listen up everyone" his voice boomed, ending the soft chattering and commanding their attention
"We should try to keep this meeting short for now as I'm sure we'll soon have hoards of Hogwarts Students descending on us, eager to find out why we're all grouped together. So to start with is everyone all right? No ones tried anything on any of you yet?"
The majority of the mutants murmured yes and shook their heads to the second; Rogue didn't feel her run in with the Slytherin Boy was worth mentioning yet.
"Good, Now I've been talking to some of you individually and so far the consensus is that most of you would feel more comfortable if a dormitory of our own could be arranged..."
The rest of the meeting mostly went on about them having their own dormitory, Hogwarts having plenty of unused spaced, none of them thought it would be too much of an issue and it was something useful that the mutants could do until their own Professors arrived.
It was also decided that two or three representatives of the Mutants should be chosen as intermediaries between the Headmaster and themselves, rather then bombarding Dumbledore with forty odd mutants each time they needed to talk with him.
Unfortunately Rogue must have tuned out when they began to discuss who should be selected, some didn't want to be chosen, others did. And it was among those that did; small fights and verbal abuses began, quickly being quelled by the ear shattering screams of Siryn.
Rogue had simply reverted to gazing out over the Lake, and being one of the few that had said nothing at all Colossus stated that she would be one of the intermediaries, in a tone that said there would be no further argument.
He himself would be another and finally a third was selected, an illusionist by the name of Ariel.
It was only as the meeting was breaking up, Bobby and Jubilee dragging her to her feet did she tune back in enough to ask who had been selected.
They both burst out laughing, eventually managing to get out that Rogue herself had been chosen.
Her response was simply an "Oh..."
~*~
The three were joined by Kitty as they went the long way around the Lake to return to the Castle, the restraint of the Hogwarts Students apparently having been shattered by the sounds of Siryn, as Colossus had predicted, they had descended upon the mutants remaining in the meeting place, eight or nine in total.
The others having found other methods to slip away before they were noticed, or simply taking longer ways back to the Castle.
"So what do you guys want to do for the rest of the day?" Rogue asked.
"I'm gonna meet Parvati and Lavender for their Divination lesson, apparently the teacher is meant to be all cool and spooky" Jubilee stated
Kitty just kept walking for a few moments, then flashed the three of them a wicked grin "I think I'm going to do some exploring...I'd invite you to join me but I don't think you'd be able to keep up" Still smiling she faced forwards again and lengthened her stride to catch up with Jubilee, leaving Rogue and Bobby drifting behind.
Bobby's arm slipping around her waist as her head dipped into his shoulder. "Guess that leaves you and me" she said
"For a while" he whispered, a grin to equal Kitty's slipping onto his face "You've got to meet Ariel in a half an hour to see if you can meet with Professor Dumbledore"
Rogue cursed herself a little for not listening "Anything else I should know?" she asked
And began to scowl a little as Bobby looked up, pondering, as if he was giving the question some serious thought, "Hmmm, well you did tune out for a lot...how about you're the prettiest Girl around?"
Her scowl quickly turned into a blush and she picked up the pace, she could almost hear Bobby's face cracking into a grin as it formed.
~*~
AMERICA
Professor Charles Xavier gave what remained of his one time school a final pained glance, so much damage and destruction spawned by vigilantes, mobs and soldiers. It was safe to assume that the school was well and truly gone, a few burnt out walls were all that remained of the upper levels, the lower levels surviving a little more. Cerebro, part of the medical facility.
With another pained sigh Xavier reversed his chair and headed into what had once been the courtyard. Still amazed by the fear that ordinary humans held for those that were different, fear that had driven mobs to attack the school and mutants on the street, followed by soldiers and even lynchings. With the power at his disposal he could have stopped those attacks before they began, stopped or killed every last person who would have raised a hand against his students.
He knew his old friend Erik wouldn't have hesitated; bitter and twisted by the torture he had long ago been subjected to by humans. Xavier wished he had used his power to the most awesome extents that he could have, for now he was tired by it all, hurt and...wearied. Being forced to bury three of his students because he had not acted had almost broken him
As the jets thrusters powered up he knew that it had been his last trip, the school now held too many painful memories for him to consider returning again and with his final use of Cerebro he had dismantled it, removing the irreplaceable aspects and destroying the rest.
"New York" he murmured to Scott, he had located a small group of mutants that had taken refuge there, and once they had been picked up and taken to the refuge provided by Hogwarts, the real work for the X-men would begin.
Xavier's mind was already turning over the facts as he gazed into empty space, with the Mutant Registration Act in full effect; lynch mobs had increased and were a dozen times more effective in accurately IDing and eliminating Mutants. And with the destruction of his school safe havens had become few and far between, Dumbledores offer and the revelation of the wizarding world had been nothing but miraculous.
Even with the disadvantages that came with it, he thanked whatever higher power exited for the offer had been too enticing to refuse, with his students as safe as they could be he could begin directing his energies elsewhere.
"Once we have the last groups of mutants delivered to Hogwarts I want you and Nightcrawler to remain there," Xavier said, directing his voice towards Storm "the students especially need to continue their studies and mastering their gifts now that we have a new war to fight. Scott will remain with me while I continue our current work, and see how the others have faired"
Neither Storm, Scott or Nightcrawler gave more then a curt nod or two in response, they too were weary and were expecting another fight to rescue the last group of mutants from their school. Half a building had been destroyed and three mutants killed in their last attempt, all for a single mutation who had soon died despite their best efforts, after being subjected to a stoning by a mob.
Let the human world be damned for the time being, he thought, he would have no further involvement in stopping the mutants that lashed out. He would no longer risk himself and his people for the very people that were trying to kill them.
It was his new allies that their energies should be directed towards, after all the Wizarding World had opened their arms to mutant kind in their darkest hour. It was them that the X-men should be helping, helping to win a war that would eventually spill into the human world anyway.
Thinking back to his first meeting with the Headmaster of the school the mutants were currently taking refuge in he felt a faint smile tug at his lips. The man had been unusual to say the least, and more then that had presented a new theory into the evolution of mutants. Not that it really mattered to anymore, the scientist within Xavier couldn't help but continue to desire the answers to the evolution of his kind.
With a final sigh Xavier hoped that Wolverine had reached the school, even with the wizards and witches generosity, he knew his students would feel better with one of their own teachers, someone they knew and trusted, around.
The Professor gently pushed his head back and allowed himself to drift into a restless sleep as the jet roared its way towards New York City.
~*~
AUTHORS NOTE: I understand that this wasn't a brilliant chapter, a little disjointed in my opinion; I probably should have put the Xavier part in somewhere else, maybe a little earlier, but oh well. Was the chapter otherwise ok? I'll try to put something interesting into the next chapter.
~*~
Rogue had once more found herself down by the Lake, watching the water ripple as a dark shape swam just beneath the surface. The Giant Squid. It was only her third day at the School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and already the east bank of the Lake was becoming one of her favourite places to go.
Numerous tree's surrounded her, casting their shade over land and water, while the lake itself lapped against the bank that lay maybe a foot, or a foot and a half above the water itself. A cool breeze played through the branches, the grass, her hair, and cast miniature waves across the water.
It was simply so peaceful there, the noise of the school sounding miles away, the dark forbidding presence of the Forest a secondary buffer from the world. She could almost taste the magic rolling through the air as she slipt into thoughts of what it would be like to swim beside the creature in the lake.
Hogwarts; a History had told of how the Squid was more like a guardian of the waters then a mindless creature seeking to prey on those unwary enough to enter its domain.
Many times it had rescued young witches and wizards, wrenching them free of the lake and the true creatures that lurked beneath the surface, to place them back in the boats they had fallen from. Temptation welled in her to find out whether the book had been right, that the creature would not harm but help.
Perhaps if she'd had more time on her own she may have succumb to the temptation, but already Rogue could hear the sounds of people moving through the tree's, crackling the grass as they crushed it beneath their feet. Hear the sounds of slightly breathless people talking as they approached their destination.
Propping herself up onto her elbows she turned her head enough to see a half dozen mutants leading maybe twenty or twenty-five more, nearly all of the mutants that were at Hogwarts.
Personally she was now wondering exactly who would be conducting the meeting, after all more than forty teenage mutants with varying degree's of power, opinions and attitudes weren't exactly just going to sit down and talk. Like with all groups of people, some were helpful, others were troublemakers and some just plain and simply didn't get along.
The big group was breaking up into smaller ones, friends coming together and positioning themselves around the place, several mutants scampering up to perch in the surrounding tree's, others just dropping to the ground where they were.
Bobby and Jubilee sat beside Rogue, as did Siryn, within a few minutes the only mutant still standing was Colossus, which kind of made sense, he was after all one of the oldest there, and now that she was thinking about it, he had probable been the one that arranged for them all to meet in the first place.
"Listen up everyone" his voice boomed, ending the soft chattering and commanding their attention
"We should try to keep this meeting short for now as I'm sure we'll soon have hoards of Hogwarts Students descending on us, eager to find out why we're all grouped together. So to start with is everyone all right? No ones tried anything on any of you yet?"
The majority of the mutants murmured yes and shook their heads to the second; Rogue didn't feel her run in with the Slytherin Boy was worth mentioning yet.
"Good, Now I've been talking to some of you individually and so far the consensus is that most of you would feel more comfortable if a dormitory of our own could be arranged..."
The rest of the meeting mostly went on about them having their own dormitory, Hogwarts having plenty of unused spaced, none of them thought it would be too much of an issue and it was something useful that the mutants could do until their own Professors arrived.
It was also decided that two or three representatives of the Mutants should be chosen as intermediaries between the Headmaster and themselves, rather then bombarding Dumbledore with forty odd mutants each time they needed to talk with him.
Unfortunately Rogue must have tuned out when they began to discuss who should be selected, some didn't want to be chosen, others did. And it was among those that did; small fights and verbal abuses began, quickly being quelled by the ear shattering screams of Siryn.
Rogue had simply reverted to gazing out over the Lake, and being one of the few that had said nothing at all Colossus stated that she would be one of the intermediaries, in a tone that said there would be no further argument.
He himself would be another and finally a third was selected, an illusionist by the name of Ariel.
It was only as the meeting was breaking up, Bobby and Jubilee dragging her to her feet did she tune back in enough to ask who had been selected.
They both burst out laughing, eventually managing to get out that Rogue herself had been chosen.
Her response was simply an "Oh..."
~*~
The three were joined by Kitty as they went the long way around the Lake to return to the Castle, the restraint of the Hogwarts Students apparently having been shattered by the sounds of Siryn, as Colossus had predicted, they had descended upon the mutants remaining in the meeting place, eight or nine in total.
The others having found other methods to slip away before they were noticed, or simply taking longer ways back to the Castle.
"So what do you guys want to do for the rest of the day?" Rogue asked.
"I'm gonna meet Parvati and Lavender for their Divination lesson, apparently the teacher is meant to be all cool and spooky" Jubilee stated
Kitty just kept walking for a few moments, then flashed the three of them a wicked grin "I think I'm going to do some exploring...I'd invite you to join me but I don't think you'd be able to keep up" Still smiling she faced forwards again and lengthened her stride to catch up with Jubilee, leaving Rogue and Bobby drifting behind.
Bobby's arm slipping around her waist as her head dipped into his shoulder. "Guess that leaves you and me" she said
"For a while" he whispered, a grin to equal Kitty's slipping onto his face "You've got to meet Ariel in a half an hour to see if you can meet with Professor Dumbledore"
Rogue cursed herself a little for not listening "Anything else I should know?" she asked
And began to scowl a little as Bobby looked up, pondering, as if he was giving the question some serious thought, "Hmmm, well you did tune out for a lot...how about you're the prettiest Girl around?"
Her scowl quickly turned into a blush and she picked up the pace, she could almost hear Bobby's face cracking into a grin as it formed.
~*~
AMERICA
Professor Charles Xavier gave what remained of his one time school a final pained glance, so much damage and destruction spawned by vigilantes, mobs and soldiers. It was safe to assume that the school was well and truly gone, a few burnt out walls were all that remained of the upper levels, the lower levels surviving a little more. Cerebro, part of the medical facility.
With another pained sigh Xavier reversed his chair and headed into what had once been the courtyard. Still amazed by the fear that ordinary humans held for those that were different, fear that had driven mobs to attack the school and mutants on the street, followed by soldiers and even lynchings. With the power at his disposal he could have stopped those attacks before they began, stopped or killed every last person who would have raised a hand against his students.
He knew his old friend Erik wouldn't have hesitated; bitter and twisted by the torture he had long ago been subjected to by humans. Xavier wished he had used his power to the most awesome extents that he could have, for now he was tired by it all, hurt and...wearied. Being forced to bury three of his students because he had not acted had almost broken him
As the jets thrusters powered up he knew that it had been his last trip, the school now held too many painful memories for him to consider returning again and with his final use of Cerebro he had dismantled it, removing the irreplaceable aspects and destroying the rest.
"New York" he murmured to Scott, he had located a small group of mutants that had taken refuge there, and once they had been picked up and taken to the refuge provided by Hogwarts, the real work for the X-men would begin.
Xavier's mind was already turning over the facts as he gazed into empty space, with the Mutant Registration Act in full effect; lynch mobs had increased and were a dozen times more effective in accurately IDing and eliminating Mutants. And with the destruction of his school safe havens had become few and far between, Dumbledores offer and the revelation of the wizarding world had been nothing but miraculous.
Even with the disadvantages that came with it, he thanked whatever higher power exited for the offer had been too enticing to refuse, with his students as safe as they could be he could begin directing his energies elsewhere.
"Once we have the last groups of mutants delivered to Hogwarts I want you and Nightcrawler to remain there," Xavier said, directing his voice towards Storm "the students especially need to continue their studies and mastering their gifts now that we have a new war to fight. Scott will remain with me while I continue our current work, and see how the others have faired"
Neither Storm, Scott or Nightcrawler gave more then a curt nod or two in response, they too were weary and were expecting another fight to rescue the last group of mutants from their school. Half a building had been destroyed and three mutants killed in their last attempt, all for a single mutation who had soon died despite their best efforts, after being subjected to a stoning by a mob.
Let the human world be damned for the time being, he thought, he would have no further involvement in stopping the mutants that lashed out. He would no longer risk himself and his people for the very people that were trying to kill them.
It was his new allies that their energies should be directed towards, after all the Wizarding World had opened their arms to mutant kind in their darkest hour. It was them that the X-men should be helping, helping to win a war that would eventually spill into the human world anyway.
Thinking back to his first meeting with the Headmaster of the school the mutants were currently taking refuge in he felt a faint smile tug at his lips. The man had been unusual to say the least, and more then that had presented a new theory into the evolution of mutants. Not that it really mattered to anymore, the scientist within Xavier couldn't help but continue to desire the answers to the evolution of his kind.
With a final sigh Xavier hoped that Wolverine had reached the school, even with the wizards and witches generosity, he knew his students would feel better with one of their own teachers, someone they knew and trusted, around.
The Professor gently pushed his head back and allowed himself to drift into a restless sleep as the jet roared its way towards New York City.
~*~
AUTHORS NOTE: I understand that this wasn't a brilliant chapter, a little disjointed in my opinion; I probably should have put the Xavier part in somewhere else, maybe a little earlier, but oh well. Was the chapter otherwise ok? I'll try to put something interesting into the next chapter.