I was thinking about updating another one of my stories, but I've been taking a small break from writing for the past week and a bit to focus in on work and enjoy my birthday just a few days ago, as well as some...'other', reasons for not updating a specific story.

You'll find out what the 'other' is later.

Until then, you get to enjoy this delightful mindfuck, I know some of you have been extra excited for it.

Chapter 10: Glory Days Part 2

OR

'The World Is Turning, Always Burning~' That's How The Song Goes, Right?

Silence was only as awkward as you were willing to think of it as. I was perfectly comfortable after dropping my latest truth bomb, but the Nibble the Dying club before me? Oh-ho, was it awkward as fuck, without a doubt from how tightly they were gripping their wands and darting their eyes.

People were really so interesting to watch when they receive news that doesn't fit into their world-view, removing that little leg of stability they stand on so solidly.

I even had time to cross my legs and make a show of checking my non-existent watch before Tom got his shit together. His eyes might have literally been slit by this point, and while that was interesting, didn't really do much for me. Hard to be scared of snakes when you lived in a dorm room near solely decorated with them.

"So I was right. Those blasted Muggles do what I truly feared and-"

"Ha! Like you really give a shit. Nah man, the risks are there, no question, but they don't even factor into an already solved game." I laughed at the thought of Tom genuinely caring about the lives of Wizards beyond himself. Nothing he had done in this timeline or any other ever gave credence to such a thing after all.

"And just what is that supposed to mean, you uppity little rat?" Trix hissed somewhat approaching menacingly, which was impressive in it's own right, because she only had a few inches on me and at least a family's worth of horrific magic to upend on me, but hey, what was life without an enemy or twelve? Or an enemy from age 12? One of those two.

"Exactly as I said, for once. Wizards always had a habit of making enemies of everyone they meet, proving once and for all that we are in fact human, but there are is a critical difference between regular people and Wizards. Regular people have the numbers to repopulate after they do stupid shit after all. But not Wizards. Ahh, no, not Wizards. Between the people such as yourselves making your powerplays by culling parts of the past and current generations, those with any kind of ambition rubbing themselves out through the accidental bullshit that is trying to get any solid understanding of Magic, leaving just those barely competent bags of skin to compose the population before maybe popping out a kid or two of their own who then repeat the first two steps ad etcetera. This has been happening for generations, and boy does it show." I made a show of sweeping my hands around us, not just at the empty room we were in, but the entire castle itself.

"When this place was built, every room was used, even if that was because people in general also lived in the castle because it was an easily defensibly hiding spot, but today, it houses but a fractions fraction of that number, and that'd being generous. The gene pool barring the little infusions you're making a point of ostracizing and culling from said pool are all that are keeping this garbage fire of a society running, and oh MAN is that alone another contributing can of worms. You only need to look at the book of Wizarding Laws for a few seconds to understand that whoever the fuck put them into practice didn't think about consequences even a single minute past his own generation. Did you know you can pay someone's family their weight in sheep, and then just *decide* a marriage contract with one of the families members, regardless of previous arrangements? It's nuts, man." I trailed off topic for a moment as I let slip a bit of my irritation at the sheer jackassery of the 'established' laws, but that was Wizard-designed anything. Needlessly complex, often life-threatening, and occasionally even usable.

For fucks sake, there were MULTIPLE laws that only applied on years ending in 7, 3, or 112, because that's completely normal. But that was for later, I was still doing something nominally important.

"So, that's it? It's all our fault, nothing can be done." Lucius, apart from his companions, actually looked the best; as in, not barely murderous, more concerned and contemplating about what I was saying. No wonder he lives the longest out of them all.

To his words, I shrugged again.

"Hell if I know. The future is always open to change, that's what makes it the future until the waveform collapses into the present tense. All I'm pointing out is the fact that the Wizarding World is a carefully
stacked pile of fireworks built over a roaring fire to keep them toasty-warm while the whole set-up floats in a pool of gasoline to make it the perfect avant-garde art piece. We're all just waiting for the stray breeze that does as nature intends, or until some jerk comes along and up-ends it all into a flaming mess. Honestly, it's shocking it's lasted this long." I admitted what I fully felt was the truth.

They stared at me for a moment, basking in my clarity.

"That...was a very specific metaphor." Tom finally said, anger having now dissipated a bit, refocusing into some form of calculation beyond my casual glances.

I was going to shrug again, but my arms were starting a bit sore from doing that so often, so instead I just waved my hand in a see-saw motion.

"I've had a lot of time to think about what to say when you inevitably dragged me off to some secluded corner of the school where none could hear my screams or cries of mercy, so I thought I'd jazz it up a bit. I got most of this spiel sorted out around...I want to say my first two weeks starting here? I penned it out after I did my Charm homework mostly, Professor Schizm's essays always put me in the right creative moods. I probably still have the original copy kicking around the bottom of my trunk or something if you want to see it; I even made a little pie chart showing the annual rise the the Dumbass versus the Prodigy!" Okay, I was a little proud about the level of research I put into it the first time, but there was only so long a person could carry around a pie-chart before it just became a hassle. Screw them for ruining my perfectly prepared gag by waiting till I wasn't totally a new child to threaten into compliance or death.

"What was I doing again?" I wondered it aloud because more heads were better than one, even if they were murderous.

"About to spill every threat I will face in the coming years?" Tom interjected off-handedly, which I waved off with a similar lack of care. I wonder if I threw him so far off his groove that he just burnt off the homicidal thoughts?

"Nah, I'd be stuck here all day if I tried to do that, and I'm not nearly equipped with enough drinks to make up for the inevitable dry-throat that'd result in. Just feel free to come and find me every so often if you're really curious, but remember; death isn't really a threat to me, pain is ethereal, and if you try to tear it from my mind I promise you that I'll make the last of your short days a living nightmare of color and horror before you make your descent to a by-comparison much easier time in Hell. Which is also real! So have fun with that." I clapped my hands with my closing remarks, wiping off the small layer of dust that got on them from laying on the abandoned desk I was using as furniture, then walked right past my three 'captors'.

They didn't stop me from leaving, but it was far from the last time we had one of these little chats. Honestly, it even got kind of fun after a certain point. I think I was one of the only people who would ever live to see Tom twitch at the reveal that in every timeline without fail his immortality attempts get discovered and destroyed whether on purpose or accident because of the World correcting what it viewed as an aberration.

It was little things like that the brighten the day the most.

END OF CHAPTER

BEHOLD! My reveal, that Wizards are doing a perfectly good job fucking themselves up even without Da Muggles. I'm honestly shocked I haven't seen anyone else every write about that with any degree of either seriousness or comedy, but I guess JK made enough tangible worries that people just focus on them instead. Ah well.

Next time, we get to drink! Look forward to that, and until then give it a little like, comment on how I'm doing or stuff you want to see, and the time will just FLY by. Now i'm gonna see about updating some of my other stuff. Ja Ne~