AUTHORS NOTE: I've reposted this chapter due to my finally noticing that the symbols I used to place gaps in this chapter weren't there, hopefully it will make a little more sense this way. Though I don't like using these lines
This first sort of section is more like an update in the world of my fan fiction as a way for me to sort of push forwards a little faster.
WARNING: Some references to bisexuality.
Days in the lives of the mutants at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry began to move much more quickly with the arrival of Logan, the mutants began to feel more at ease with their new environment and many began to branch out and form more friendships with the wizards and witches surrounding them. Mutant Central also expanded almost of its own accord, every few days new items appearing on the walls and in the rooms, the common room itself half resembled an arcade with pinball machines and a variety of video games.
Rogue had a growing suspicion that the headmaster of the school was partially responsible for the additions to Mutant Central, though on more then one occasion she had seen frustrated students attempting to explain the point of the game machines and once or twice how they worked as well to other teachers.
Dozens of the Hogwarts students seemed to be equally as exasperated with the mutants after spending hours attempting to explain a game called Quidditch? And much of the daily going ons of the school that had long since been taken for granted by the wizards. In the case of the broomstick game many of the wizards had simply given up and said that the mutants would just have to come to the first Quidditch Game of the season, which would be played in several weeks.
The Existence of the mutants at Hogwarts was becoming more commonplace, there were only a few odd looks every now and then from the odd student, three of the houses had more or less embraced or found some kind of a balance with the new comers to the school. Slytherin being the only house that was for the most part remaining as separate from the Mutants as possible, Rogue had heard more then once that the Slytherins thought of mutants as no better then muggles who were trying to rise above themselves.
Not that it mattered, she thought. Bigotry was everywhere, hypocrites too.
Copies of the Daily Prophet, the wizard paper and various human newspapers also began to appear around the school so that mutants and wizards alike could keep track of how the human world was fairing in relation to the mutants problems, riots and mobs still plaguing every mutant that could be found or hunted down. Also of how the Wizard World was fairing with their own war.
"Thirteen Dead in Mutant Rampage" Bobby read aloud, "Early yesterday morning a group of Americans were violently attacked by Adam Davies (a mutant) with no provocation". Several of the gathered mutants snorted or made other rude noises to express their opinion of that. "The mutant apparently went berserk outside a mall in Washington after being asked to leave when he made threatening gestures to several concerned citizens." This time louder noises and more of them were made, the words "vigilantes" and "lynch mobs" were distinctly audible.
"The mutant caused severe damage to several buildings and killed thirteen people, four women and nine men, through a serious of explosive discharges. Before the mutant was able to do anymore damage several brave bystanders put a stop to him." No one in the group missed the articles avoidance of how the mutant had been stopped; neither did they make any comments, sharing a moment of silence for their comrade. Even with the deaths Adam Davies had caused, he was a fellow mutant who had been persecuted, something they could all relate to.
Bobby let the article drop and picked up another one "Human Liberation" he read "Seven mutants known to form the core of a group believed to be actively against the well-being of the American People, were burned out of a building and their bodies triumphantly displayed by a over concerned neighbourhood watch". He didn't have to read anymore, no such group had existed and a number more mutants had died for no reason.
None of the dozen mutants arranged around Bobby and the pile of newspapers bothered reading anymore, they were all the same. Mutants killed for defending themselves, persecuted for nothing more then how they were born, Mutants 'murdering' innocent people.
Every article was designed to either increase the fear of mutants, or make the human murderers seem more justified in their actions. With a disgusted sound echoing forth from Rogue she scrunched an article in her hand and tossed it into the flames of the Mutant Common Rooms fireplace. The others agreed with her sentiments and quickly the rest of the articles were consigned to the flames as well.
Moving away from the human newspapers, the mutants went through the wizarding papers in order to keep up to date with the happenings of both worlds. And it appeared that the wizarding world was fairing as badly as the human world. More violent and more frequent attacks by the followers of Lord Voldemort plagued the wizarding world, with a number of witches and wizards dead and chaos ensuing with the uncertain knowledge of who was working for the side of good and who was not.
The morning combings of the wizarding and human world papers had become a pre-breakfast ritual for the mutants. With it done Rogue stood and left the Mutant Dorms, passing through the 'doorway' and into the halls of Hogwarts. Bobby not far behind her.
Sighing she linked arms with Bobby as they made their way to the Great Hall. "Things aren't looking good are they?" she asked him
"No" he said simply.
The inane chatter of mindless topics filled the Great Hall as wizards and mutants alike enjoyed a rich dinner after a particularly dull day. Rogue had only sat in on one wizarding class and promptly been bored to the point of sleep, and the sole class for the mutant population hadn't gone much better.
As much as she liked Logan, he wasn't much of a teacher and he knew that as well. But in the spirit of things he had conducted a very physical class that had involved physical exhaustion followed by a series of mentally exhausting activities designed to help the mutants use and focus their powers under duress.
Sighing Rogue rested her head on a hand and idly brushed the potatoes around her plate.
"Hey Rogue, Rogue... Rogue, earth to Rogue??? Come in Rogue!"
Crimson infused her cheeks as she snapped to attention, "Oh...sorry Lavender, what did you say?"
"I was" putting heavy emphasis on the was, "asking you what you thought". With Rogue just giving her a blank eyed stare she sighed and flipped her hair in a melodramatic fashion "Do you think I should have blonde or blue high lights?"
Appraising the girl Rogue couldn't really see her with blue in her hair and said so. "Blonde then" Lavender stated simply "Now, do you think I should just get one or two done, or a whole bunch? Or maybe I should just go blonde all together" the last bit was more of a thoughtful note to herself rather then any of the students at the table.
"Um, I don't know"
Sighing in frustration at the lack of help Lavenders eyes darted up to Rogues own hair before meeting her eyes again "Well, why did you decide on just the one white streak, and for that matter why white???"
Just the mention of her white streak was enough to bring the memories boiling to the surface of her mind, screwing her eyes shut she let them roll over her...
...Pain surging through her, as she felt it anew, the machine she had been locked into drawing on the powers Magneto had thrust upon her, wrenching them from her in a way that went beyond any agony she had ever known, the flitting and whir of the machine as it spun kept her screams from the world, as her life poured from her in one sudden rush, terror so consuming that her hair streaked shock white as deaths arms embraced her...
Fine beads of sweat slicked her face as the memories submerged themselves back into the depths of her mind. None of the witches around her had noticed anything odd, and Lavender still met her gaze awaiting a reply.
"I didn't," she said
"Oh... well how did you end up with it then?" Lavender pressed, never noticing the slight tremor in Rogues voice, but someone else did. His intense green eyes had moved from the food he had been devouring to look at Rogue, the movement registering in the corner of her eye as she turned to look at him, to meet his gaze.
And from his eyes her own wondered up his face to the slightly concealed scar that his jet-black hair partially covered. Her eyes stilled locked on the scar she replied, "How did Harry get his scar?"
"You-know-who tried to kill him," Lavender said simply and without thinking, only then did it dawn on her and she made an oh sound followed by another, very soft oh.
Meeting Harry's eyes for a brief moment, she returned her attention to her food. That small section of Gryffindor table becoming quietly subdued after that.
Well, Rogue thought, I've done well today, almost falling asleep and disrupting a wizarding class and then killing all conversation at dinner. And now...well now I'm sitting like a lump in the middle of another conversation.
At that moment in time Rogue was in front of the blazing fire in Mutant Central wearing a thin silky top and long gloves that reached a few inches past her elbows, she'd decided she was going to enjoy the fire rather then melt beside it for a change.
Seated next to her were Bobby, Jubilee and Kitty, with a collection of Harry, Ron, Hermione, Lavender, Parvati and Seamus opposite her, and a range of other mutants, witches and wizards scattered throughout the "common room"
She smiled a little at that, the Mutant Dorms had become the most popular area to be before curfew for all of the Hogwarts populace. The mutants had been encouraged to mix by the professors and so their dorms had quickly become a free for all area being the largest of the school 'common rooms'.
Even a few Slytherins found their way into the mutant's area at times.
Curling her feet up under her Rogue tucked herself under Bobby's arm and gently let her head rest against his chest, feeling the rhythmic movements as he breathed in and out, she tuned into the conversation going on, to her shock mutants, wizards and witches alike where playing truth or dare...it just seemed so trivial to her with everything that was going on in the world, but as the game moved around her she couldn't help but get involved.
It was a piece of juvenile normality for all of them. Normal, she thought, except for that verit-something stuff Parvati gave us all...wonder whether it really is a truth serum...she hoped that she wouldn't get to test it herself.
"Ok, so truth or dare...Harry!" Jubilee exclaimed, she seemed to be taking immense pleasure in the game.
"Truth" Harry said bleakly; most likely dreading whatever the gossip was cooking up in her mind. It's always so much more fun to play the game when you're not the one being picked on, Rogue thought.
A malicious grin spread across Jubilee's face as she began to speak in a sweetly innocent tone "Which of the lovely ladies here" giving a general wave that encompassed most of the girls in the room "would you most like to, how do you British put it..."
Jubilee made kissing sounds and Ron caught on, chiming in with "Snog?"
"Snog." She stated in a satisfied way
Shooting a vicious look at his best friend Harry blushed furiously and stuttered "Ahh w-well, err..." before muttering something
"What was that?" Jubilee smirked as she asked, her voice still innocently sweet, "You're going to have to speak louder then that honey"
Just as he was about to speak again a voice broke in from the other side of the room, "He said Lavender!" All eyes turned towards the purplish blue mutant that crouched on the pool table, tapping his ears he smiled "Wickedly good hearing dudes". Than his body liquefied and reformed in the shape of a pool ball.
Smirks and smiles filling the room mutants, witches and wizards returned to what they had been doing and the group by the fire returned their attentions to Harry; and now Lavender as well. Harry was looking decidedly uncomfortable to the point that no one had to ask whether the purple-blue mutant had been right or not.
And Lavender was beaming in an almost coy fashion, her eyes focused down while a faint red flush suffused her cheeks. Jubilee herself looked thoroughly satisfied, having had her fun.
"Its your shot Harry" Jubilee stated.
Now it was his turn to smile, his eyes lighting up "Same question back at you"
Jubilee just quirked an eyebrow "Seamus there isn't too hard on the eyes" she said simply, but Harry just kept smiling.
"I said same question back at you," he said in a tone that was becoming sickly sweet, which caused confusion to slip across more then one face. She'd answered the question hadn't she...? Rogue thought, it only dawned on her a moment before he elaborated. "Which of these lovely ladies" emphasising 'ladies' "would you" emphasising 'you' "most want to snog?". His smile had twisted into a sickly sweet smile of satisfaction, obviously expecting to freeze her up or make her blush.
Jubilee had him beat.
Without a pause her eyes flitted across each of the girls in the group appraisingly, while she made a long drawn out sound as if she were thinking. She even went as far as to stand up and move around each of them as if weighing up the options. Rogue was starting to get the feeling that Jubilee was going to do something...Jubileeish.
She didn't disappoint. In the space of a heartbeat Jubilee pivoted, a hand going to either side of Parvati's face to hold her immobile for the moment it took her to lean in and firmly and thoroughly kiss the girl.
Pulling away to meet a group full of shocked looks and one very dazed expression from Parvati, she shrugged and dropped back into her seat beside Rogue. "I guess I'd choose Parvati"
AUTHORS NOTE: