Summary: Harry never expected something so strange to happen, especially one clad in odd clothes with few too many piercings. Or maybe it's just him.
Rating: Rated M, because I don't think I could ever make this have a lower rating xD
Disclaimer: Characters are not mine, well, except for Aaron Grimmel and Gabriel Pyrennth. Those two hotties are mine, and so is the plot. And Abby (Absentis Memoria). She's my character too, and anything made upxD HP characters belong to JK Rowling, and her publishers, or something like that.
Pairings:Harry Potter/ Draco Malfoy, Hermione Granger/Ron Weasly, Gabriel Pyrennth/Aaron Grimmel, and a surprise pairing that will make you go WTF. :3
Incendio – Chapter 4
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Harry wasn't sure how Hermione had managed it, but when he got up to his dorms, he saw that she'd left him his schedule for the year. Being a prefect also meant she had to hand out timetables to every Gryffindor. Of course, Ron might have been a prefect as well, but that didn't mean he actually did any work. If he did, it was usually shouting at someone, something that he was doing right that moment.
"Seamus, you loaf, wake up!" Ron had tried to slip a magicked marshmallow under Seamus while he'd been sleeping, but instead of managing to get the item beneath the boy's sleeping form, Seamus had rolled over, pinning Ron's entire arm underneath him. And quite unfortunately for Ron, Seamus wasn't a very light person.
"Ron, why don't you just pull your arm out?" Harry asked what seemed to be the most obvious question, one that contained the most obvious solution. Wriggle your way out.
"I can't! That's what these damn marshmallows do- they make it so they stick anything around them, and then they melt and get all hot and it's rather annoying. And the only way to unstick it is by getting a member from the house you hate the most to cast an unsticking charm! Fred and George gave this to me to test, since they were going to be selling it, but now I'm stuck to Seamus and the bed!" Ron waved his only unstuck arm, emphasizing the amount of trouble both he and Seamus were now in. He sighed, rather deflated now, and flopped onto the ground. "You wouldn't happen to be friends with any Slytherins, would you, Harry?" Ron asked, rather hopefully.
"No, I don't think so," Harry said, giving Ron one of those sort of looks that said duh. He went through the list of Slytherins – Draco Malfoy, Blaise Zabini, Pansy Parkinson, Vincent Crabbe… with every name he thought of, he got a little more depressed. He doubted there was anyone in Slytherin who didn't think him living was like… well, let's not get into comparison, but he couldn't think of any students. "Ron, is it only students?"
Ron looked horrorstruck. "You're going to ask Snape? Oh, God, save me," he moaned pitifully.
"No, stupid!" Harry retorted, exasperatedly. "That new professor – Pyrennth, he's in Slytherin, remember?"
Ron gaped, dumbly. "How'd you figure out that?" Seeing Harry's annoyed look, he hastily added, "not that Hermione's the only one who thinks! I mean, the only one who had ideas that work. I mean. Ehh, try, yeah," he said, and began banging his head against the sideboard of the bed.
"Uh, okay, I'll go see if I can find him. Any ideas?"
"Whaddayamean?" Ron slurred unintelligently.
"Where Pyrennth might be, know where?"
"Uh… his rooms, maybe? It's still dark out. I imagine he's sleeping."
"Good enough," Harry replied, throwing on some clothes, grabbing his maurauder's map, and rushed out of the room. He muttered the incantation, squinting at the map as he searched it for Pyrennth's name. He didn't see the professor's name listed anywhere in the school. In fact, it looked as though his name was even on there. Odd. Harry frowned, and looked for Aaron's name, this time spotting a small dot in the Forbidden Forest, along with an unlabelled one. Harry frowned once more, wondering what this point meant.
Harry stumbled as he tripped over the couch in the common room, shocking him back into the real world. He looked around, but no one was up yet. His frown remained as he headed back to his room, ignoring an annoyed Ron.
"Didn't you look for them?" Ron demanded.
"They're in the Forbidden Forest," Harry replied, sifting through his trunk in search of his broomstick.
"Why would they be there?"
"How should I know?" Harry asked with a definite snort. He threw open the window, shivering slightly as the room was blasted with a gust of cool air.
"Watch it, Harry!" Came Ron's shout.
"Sorry!" Harry called back, getting onto his broom. He wobbled a bit, still feeling rather sleepy. It was, after all, the morning of the first day of school. He hovered outside of the window for a moment, closing it, and then taking off towards the Forbidden Forest. Harry angled his broom towards the trees, soaring slowly through the dense growth. He checked the map, seeing that he was still rather far away. He urged his Firebolt faster, constantly checking the map to see if he was going in the right direction.
After what seemed like a very long time, Harry finally slowed at the sound of metal resounding against metal. He inched closer, glad he had a broom for the silence it provided. Another clang and Harry peered through the trees, seeing two swords now, and the bearers none other then Aaron Grimmel and Gabriel Pyrennth. Both looked rather tired, and their breath came in short, ragged gasps, but they continued with their relentless attacks. It appeared as though Pyrennth had already claimed a wound – a gash that ran horizontally across his stomach. Aaron sported a few various cuts, but none as deep, or as large as Pyrennth's.
Harry's jaw dropped. If this was what they'd been referring to when they said 'fitness and physical defense,' Harry couldn't say he would be looking forward to their class. Attacking one another with a big chunk of metal? He'd already been there, and doing that hadn't been too enjoyable.
But their fighting style was nothing compared to what he'd managed to do when he'd used that sword the one time. One would lunge, the other would parry, and usually counter attack. One would step forward, the other would sidestep. Everything was being used to the other's advantage. When Pyrennth advanced, Aaron used the momentary lapse in time to attack, catching Pyrennth slightly unbalanced. Pyrennth used his own unstable footing against Aaron, and dropped to the ground, lashing out with his foot, bringing Aaron to the ground. They both recovered quickly, and were on their feet again, this time, Pyrennth attacking, gripping his Japanese sword with both hands, swinging diagonally. Aaron raised his own sword, and the two stood in a dead lock, each trying to overpower the other. In the end, Aaron won the battle for power, and sent Gabriel sprawling. He lunged, holding his sword at Gabriel's neck.
"One for me," Aaron said.
"Draw," Pyrennth replied, pointing his own sword at the other professor's leg.
"Damn. Draw." Pyrennth snickered, raising an eyebrow, and stuck out his arm, allowing Aaron to yank him to his feet. As soon as Gabriel was standing, Aaron had sheathed his sword, and began kissing him intently. By then, Pyrennth had sheathed his sword as well, and had snaked one arm around Aaron's waist, and the other rested on Aaron's chest. Harry decided to show himself when Pyrennth began kissing Aaron's neck, eliciting moans from the other boy. They broke apart quickly at the sound of Harry's interruption, Pyrennth looking slightly put out, and Aaron looking rather annoyed.
"Oh, it's only Harry, we're fine," Pyrennth said with a suggestive smirk. He reached up, pulling Aaron closer, as if to continue where they'd left off.
"Stupid," Aaron said, twining his finger's with Pyrennth's, and lowering the other boy's arm. "He obviously has a reason to be here, otherwise he wouldn't have come all this way. So, Harry. Spill."
"Ron's gotten himself stuck to Seamus and Seamus' bed, and it needs a Slytherin to reverse the spell and can you help?" Harry fumbled with the words, saying everything in a rush, a faint blush creeping up on him. Pyrennth laughed, and then clutched his stomach, remembering he wasn't in the condition to do such. Aaron simply nodded.
"Pyrennth is going to go get his wounds treated, so I'll come."
"No I'm not!" Pyrennth protested meekly, earning a disapproving glare from Aaron.
"Your opinion is invalid and will not be considered in the current discussion. Please shut yourself up before I do."
"Ooh, getting kinky, are we now?"
"Oh, yes, it's going to be a real mouthful," Aaron said dryly, but a twinkle could be seen in his eyes.
"And lots of bondage and maybe a whip too, I'm sure?" Pyrennth grinned, trying to come off as a young, hopeful child, but only ended up looking rather foolish. It didn't help that Aaron decided to cast a Silencio on Pyrennth, which caused him to begin glaring rather heatedly.
"You will go to the hospital wing, whether I decide to cast the Imperius upon you or not." Aaron crossed his arms, and taking a wide stance to show he was serious. Finally, Pyrennth nodded. "Alright, lead the way, Harry," Aaron said at last.
"It's a long way off. I mean, it will take ages if you're going to be walking." Harry stated yet again what he thought to be the obvious. They were quite deep into the forest, and he didn't think Ron would enjoy waiting for ten minutes, or even twenty with his hand stuck in an area that will remain unmentioned.
"We'll run it," Aaron said, this time believing he stated an obvious fact. Harry looked dubiously at Pyrennth, who was now bleeding a bit too much for his taste, then thinking back to their spar.
"Aren't you a bit, uh, tired?" Harry asked, continuing with this 'obvious' trend that was forming.
"Dead tired, yup," Aaron said, acknowledging Harry's words. "But that doesn't mean we won't make it. Lucky you, you've just witnessed a bit of what our class will be on, and an idea of a bit more on it. Don't tell your friends yet." He grinned, and Harry gaped. It appeared as though 'fitness and physical defense' was in fact referring to what he'd seen today.
"And you won't… trip, or fall?" Harry continued.
"Perhaps. But then, what is training without a few cuts and bruises?" He shot a look at Pyrennth, who was still under the Silencio. He jerked his head back towards the clearing, and began looking for something.
"What are you looking for?" Harry asked, hovering above the two on his broom, and getting a nice view of Pyrennth's backside. Harry nearly fell off his broom, and would have welcomed the impact, for he felt a deep crimson blush creeping up on him. He frowned, wondering where that thought had come from (especially since it was a little unbidden). For now, he'd blame all this on Pyrennth. After all, his professor did not appear to restrict himself to only one gender. Of course, Aaron was in the same boat, and it appeared as though the two were boyfriends/lovers, or something to that affect.
"Our other swords," Aaron replied. Aaron said something to Pyrennth, this time in another language. Pyrennth snickered, and then pointed over towards his left. Aaron started towards the area pointed out by Pyrennth, suddenly stopping abruptly. He stood there for a few moments, as if thinking about something.
"Something wrong?" Harry asked at last.
"My sword is stuck in this tree," Aaron said. At first Harry thought he might be joking – a sword? Stuck in a tree? How often does one utter those words? But yet, Aaron looked to be completely serious.
"Why don't you… uh, pull it out?" Harry put in helpfully.
"I don't think I'll…" Aaron shot an icy glare at Pyrennth. "Stop giggling, you idiot. And yes, I do know what you're thinking." Pyrennth continued with his laugh, and then went back to scouring out his swords.
"Well, why don't you accio it, then?" Harry landed beside Aaron, looking at the sword, which was stuck rather well. Aaron gave him one of those 'are you stupid?' looks.
"Swords are sharp. If you haven't noticed," he said, causing Harry to flinch. Whoops. He'd forgotten about that part. "And I haven't yet mastered some sort of controlled accio. Or even given that any thought." He sighed, muttered a charm, which coated the sword with a slimy substance. "Lubrication charm," he muttered after seeing Harry's bewildered look. Off in the distance, he heard Pyrennth laugh. Aaron gave the sword a hard jerk, and it came free, splattering the ground with the lubricant. Aaron muttered another charm, and it was cleaned up. A few more incantations later, and Aaron had sharpened the blade, and cleaned it. "Rather useful couple spells," he said, examining the blade before sheathing it. "You'll be learning that one in our class as well," he said, casting a glance over at Pyrennth. "Race you to the school," Aaron said with a grin. He flicked his wand, and the silencio charm was lifted.
"You're on, hot ass," Pyrennth replied. The two dashed off, leaving Harry still standing in the clearing only just a little dumbstruck. After a few moments, Harry sped after the two on his broom, searching for them, all the while wondering how they'd gotten so far and why he couldn't find them.
After thinking this, Harry pulled his broom to an abrupt halt, nearly crashing into the running form of Pyrennth.
It ended rather quickly, with the three bursting out of the Forbidden Forest, with Pyrennth and Aaron arguing heatedly over who was the winner. They both stopped talking rather suddenly, both giving the other a glare, then continuing towards the school. The two exchanged dialogue in the same guttural language they'd been conversing in only minutes ago all the way to the school.
Aaron followed Harry through the entrance of the school, towards the Tower, and Pyrennth had already began making his way towards the Hospital wing.
Once Harry and Aaron arrived at the Tower, Harry realized it was still too early, and only Hermione was up. She jumped to her feet upon seeing Harry and Aaron enter.
"Harry! Professor Grimmel!" She smoothed her robes, holding her extra large book in her hands. Aaron eyed the cover warily before raising a hand in greeting. "Hermione Granger!" She said, earning a nod from Aaron. She didn't bother asking why either was entering the common room at this time – she knew she'd get the truth out of Harry eventually. For the sake of interrogation, Harry decided to tell her a bit about what was going on.
"Hey, Hermione. Ron got his hand stuck to Seamus and Seamus' bed, so I had to find a Slytherin to unstick him. Apparently the spell can only be reversed by one, and, well, I remembered Abby telling us that the two new teachers were in Slytherin." He shrugged. Hermione simply narrowed her eyes. She knew there was more, but once again, she'd have time to ask him about it later.
Harry led Aaron towards the rooms, and opened the door, ushering Aaron in. Upon this, Aaron commented on their style of decorating. "Rather bright, innit?" he said, peering at the curtains around the beds, each adorned with little lions, all the same red and gold colour.
"Uhh," Harry started. He was about to comment that their decorating style was not the crisis at hand (at which, he was sure Aaron would reply it was far more so then what he'd been brought here for, being Slytherin and whatnot.)
"Harry!" Ron was now sitting on the floor, and hat ceased banging his head against the sideboard, for now, at least. "I've got a big lump on my head and a big oaf on my hand. Help. Me. Now." He spoke the last three through gritted teeth, glaring.
"Well, both of those things are your fault, aren't they?" Harry asked with a grin. "And everyone knows banging your head against something… well hurts. And eventually gives you a bruise."
"I would know, I was dropped on my head when I was a baby," Aaron replied dryly, earning shocked stares from both Ron and Harry. "Actually, no, I wasn't." He shrugged. "Just felt like saying that." He managed to finish speaking, all the while remaining rather straight faced. Harry wondered how in the world he managed that. "So, this, ah, sticking charm. What do I do to unstick it?"
"Harry, open my trunk. At the bottom, there's a purple piece of paper. Don't comment on the colour. It has the charm to have to say."
Harry dug through Ron's trunk, finally producing the paper. "Found it!" He said, waving the paper around.
"Oh, really? I hadn't noticed." Ron gave him annoyed look. "Pass that to Professor Grimmel, then."
"Oh, no, I think I'll just keep this. As a souvenir, you know. For old time's sakes." At Ron's enraged look, he sighed. "I was joking. Sarcasm at its best, mate." He handed Aaron the piece of paper, watching as his professor quickly scanned the paper.
"Alright," Aaron said at last. "Rather odd, but it should work. Whoever did this knows their Latin," he mused, trailing off. Ron puffed up proudly.
"Of course, my brothers did this!"
"Then you should know they did too good of a job. This only works for unsticking one thing. They made sure of that. I'll have to send you to Pomfrey to get her to finish the charm." He shrugged at Ron's fallen face. "I'll unstick you from the bed so you can make it there. I'm sure it'll be a bit easier to maneuver without a bed attached to your hand, after all." He pulled out his wand, giving it a quick swish and flick, and then rapped Ron hard against the head, muttering a spell.
"That worked. My hand's not stuck to the bed, but it's still stuck to Seamus. And how the hell is he still asleep?" He poked Seamus in the head with his free hand.
"Shove over," Aaron said. "I'll use a waking charm on him." Ron scrambled out of the way and Aaron incanted another charm, causing Seamus to sit up abruptly, taking Ron with him. Both Seamus and Ron were now tangled up on the bed, Ron blushing furiously, and Seamus looking curiously at Ron. Seamus' grin widened.
"Awwh, Ronnie-kins, I never knew you liked me like that!" Seamus cooed, laughing as he was joined in with Harry and Aaron. "Having a go before breakfast. Kinky." Seamus snickered, and Ron's blush ventured to his ears. Seamus froze when he noticed Aaron standing there looking rather passive. "Ehh, ohh, uhh…" Seamus stuttered, this time blushing.
"I'm here because your friend here got his hands on (pardon the pun) a strange sticking charmed item which required a member of the opposing house to remove. But this sticking charm is rather bothersome, so you'll have to visit the hospital wing so Pomfrey can use a heavy duty unsticking charm. Or just saw Ron's hand off from you, and then repair the damage. I'm assuming either will work." Seamus simply started. "So, I being a teacher will have to order you to the hospital wing. I'll accompany you there halfway. Have fun!" Aaron looked as though he was having far too much fun. Which, in fact, he was. This was all quite enjoyable for the Asian professor, as he found this all rather amusing. Of course, it certainly helped that he had a fairly decent sense of humor, if not a little strange at time. "I'll leave you to get dressed. I'll be expecting you in the common rooms in ten minutes."
With that, Aaron exited the room.
Seamus and Ron fumbled around, barely managing to get dressed, and then, after ten minutes, they burst into the common room, earning an annoyed look from Hermione, and a rather curious one from Ginny.
"Marshmallow?" Ginny inquired. She received a solemn nod from Ron. Aaron stood up, leaving the chair he'd been sitting on, waving to Ginny. They had apparently been talking for a bit.
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Ron and Seamus obviously hadn't been expecting to see another patient in the hospital wing at this hour, and certainly not one of their professors. But sure enough, there was (Professor) Pyrennth, sitting on one of the beds in the infirmary looking quite sullen. He appeared to be arguing with Pomfrey, who was arguing right back. As Ron and Seamus entered the infirmary, Pyrennth swept out, pulling his shirt back on after being treated for his wound.
Pomfrey bustled over towards Seamus, inquiring as to what was wrong, and how it all happened. Ron had finished relating the story, this time with a bit more detail then Harry had provided for Hermione, but nothing that mentioned Seamus' words to Ron. Pomfrey had walked away, glancing around in an odd manner, as if trying to find where the supplies were, perhaps having forgotten, when they were interrupted by Pyrennth. He had torn of his shirt (though not literally mind you), and was now holding it to his stomach. The pale blue shirt was now stained a red colour, and the professor had a rather angry look on his face.
"You're a crappy healer – that charm didn't work."
"Well, it wouldn't! You're supposed to rest so it can properly take effect!" Pomfrey looked rather annoyed now too.
"I have a class to teach in a few hours! How can I rest?" Pyrennth glared at her, earning an exasperated sigh. "Stitch me up," he said finally.
"What?" Pomfrey looked rather shocked and… happy at Pyrennth's words.
"With a needle and thread, the muggle way. Or charm a needle to stitch it, I don't care."
"Fine," Pomfrey managed, before walking away to get the supplies needed.
As if now noticing Seamus and Ron were there, Pyrennth looked up, slightly surprised. "Hi there," he said, waving his hand in front of them. They were staring, and they certainly had a good reason to. Two scars cut across Pyrennth' chest, jagged and ripped. One started at his left shoulder, making its way towards his right hip. The other started halfway up his chest, perpendicular to the other scar. But not only that did they notice, but the strange tattoos: teal and orange flames decorating his right fore arm, what appeared to be a dead tree located on his left shoulder, it's leaves fading to a healthy green, with roots that twined around his left upper arm, slowly turning into snakes. And the most eye catching of all was a rather large tattoo on his back: seven words in what appeared to be Latin, intertwined with vines, thorns, and fire. Below it was a tribal design, only half of which could be seen.
And not to mention Pyrennth sported a grand total of twelve piercings. Perhaps everything combined caused the boys to let their jaws hang. Two in his right eyebrow, four in his right ear, and six in his left.
"Hi. Ronald Weasley," Ron said, snapping out of his daze first.
"Seamus Finnegan," Seamus stated dumbly.
"Oh, so you're the one who got stuck, eh?" Pyrennth snickered, earning a disapproving glare from Pomfrey. In her hands the medi-witch held what appeared to be bright green thread, and a small needle. Pyrennth raised a pierced eyebrow at this, but said nothing.
"Magically enhanced, of course," Pomfrey said rather pompously. She produced a bottle of… well, something as well as a cloth. She snatched the shirt from Pyrennth, revealing the gash that had been delivered by Aaron earlier. She began dabbing what must have been some sort of numbing solution, or perhaps disinfectant (or something, Ron reasoned) onto the professor's skin. She threaded the needle, and bent down, slowly stitching the wound closed. It took her a few minutes, but eventually she'd managed to get the wide gash finished. "While you are here, are there any other injuries you might be sustaining?" She asked in an imperious manner.
"Uh, no, thanks," Pyrennth replied with a small, forced smile.
"Oh, no, no, no, no, that will not do," Pomfrey stated with a shake of her head. She jabbed her wand at Pyrennth's left shoulder, causing him to flinch. "You felt that?" Pyrnenth nodded. "What happened to this shoulder?"
"I was, eh, shot there."
"Shot," Pomfrey repeated, giving Pyrennth a look.
"By a muggle gun? With a bullet?" He provided, looking hassled now.
"Did you not seek medical treatment?" Pomfrey continued.
"No," Pyrennth replied bluntly.
"Well?"
"The guy who shot me felt guilty, so he removed the bullet with a knife and a pair of tweezers, and stitched me up." He flinched once more, when Pomfrey cast an x-ray charm on his shoulder.
"A part of your bone has shattered, and tiny piece is still in there. It healed, but poorly. I'll need to remove it if you want proper control of your arm." She paused, not bothering to look to Pyrennth for consent before casting another charm. "When did this happen?"
"About… hmm, a few months back, I'd say."
Pomfrey shook her head. "Foolish," she said. "I'm going to use an extracting charm. This may hurt a bit." She whispered the incantation, and a sick, squelching sound could be heard. Pyrennth gritted his teeth.
"Come back to me tomorrow, and we'll fix this up. Until then, try not to do anything strenuous with that arm." She gave him a pointed look, then began to examine Seamus and Ron.
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Whoot! Finished this chapter! Next one should be up shortly, seeing as I have a few plot bunnies bouncing around in my head :3 Err, hopping. You know what I mean.
And be sure to review! For every review… ehh, well, it just makes for a happy authoress nn