Insecurities

Walking beside Myrtle as she headed back to the castle, Bakura knew that he kept staring at her, but at least he managed not to show his confusion. He just didn't understand her sometimes. He had thought she would enjoy that, sitting in the cozy shop and drinking tea, but she had looked as though she was on edge the whole time and had taken the first opportunity to get away.

A group of people passed, glancing at them curiously, and Bakura shivered. They didn't seem to notice the cold but he certainly did. Looking down at Myrtle he saw that she had retreated even further into her shell and frowned.

"Hey, I thought I told you to ignore them." That would explain why she had been so on edge, at least. There had been several people staring at them as they sat in that place, and given Myrtle's usual attitude she would have been listening to whatever they said about them. "Honestly Myrtle, it's not like what people think of you matters."

That thought sent his mind spiraling down a path he didn't want to follow, however, and she didn't respond anyway, so he tried again. "You didn't get to properly enjoy your tea. Do you want to sneak into the kitchens and have some more when we get back?" It would be a waste of time, but he had learned that there wasn't really anything that was really important to do in Hogwarts so it didn't matter that he was wasting time he could be spending trying to train his magic further, even though there were more than a few things he wanted to check out.

Myrtle's cheeks went red as she looked up at him. "Do… do you still want to?" She asked in a very small voice, and he sighed. There was not reason for her to be so uncertain of herself. She had as much magical power as any of the other students and rather more than most, if she ever got around to actually using it. The way she ignored that power and second-guessed everything was starting to get really annoying.

He made sure not to show any traces of that annoyance when he responded however. It wouldn't help and it would only make her even less likely to stand up for herself in the future. "I asked you, didn't I? If I didn't want to spend time with you then I wouldn't." It was true. Her attitude might be infuriating but he'd come to enjoy having her around. She could keep a secret well enough, and when she forgot about being self-conscious Myrtle was quite good company.

A happy smile spread over the girl's face and he found himself smiling in return. "Come catch me!" She started running back to the castle, and he laughed quietly as he ran after her, bags bouncing against his shoulder in a way that brought back memories of stolen loot. He enjoyed playing these childish games sometimes, even though they did make him feel as though he should be doing something more worthwhile.

Back at the castle, he walked with Myrtle to the common room and gave her the things she had bought. "I'm going to go put these away." He said mildly, holding up his own purchases. "Meet you down here after ward?"

"Sure!" She smiled and ran down the stairs to her room while he took the longer staircase to the boy's dorms. Of course she was already in the common room when he returned, but she seemed happy to see him and tucked her arm in his as they went out the door. Glancing down at her in surprise, he saw that she had gone very red but was clinging determinedly to his arm. Well, he had told her not to be so shy.

Shrugging, he led the way to the picture and lightly ran his fingers over the pear in the fruit bowl, watching as the fruit twitched. He heard a quiet clicking sound and the picture frame swung aside, revealing the passage behind it. Myrtle gasped at the sight, and he looked down to smile at her. "Neat isn't it?" She nodded, and came with him into the kitchen.

Immediately the house elves gathered around them, eager to help in any way they could. Remembering what Myrtle had said to the lady in the tea shop Bakura asked for two regular teas with cream and sugar and watched as the little creatures ran around to do as he had asked. Moments later a couple pulled out chairs for them, fluffing up cushions and bringing out a plate of gingersnaps. He had been here a few times before, and noticed that they enjoyed having people to fuss over, but they were going a little further today than they usually did.

Shrugging mentally, he took a seat and bit into a cookie as Myrtle did the same, smiling at him shyly. "How did you know how to get in here?" She asked him admiringly. "I've seen that picture a hundred times but I never even guessed that it might be a door."

"Oh, well, I've seen things like it before, and the mechanism's actually visible if you know where to look." Bakura looked away. As used to robbing tombs as he was it had been child's play for him to find the passage along with quite a few others, although he was sure there were more he had yet to discover.

The tea that the house elves slid in front of them was a welcome distraction and Bakura stared at the steaming liquid morosely. He hated having to keep so many secrets, but he didn't want to see what would happen if the people here learned the truth. As long as he remained an untrained child in their opinion he would be fine, but if they ever found out that he was a thief, and that by spying on the priests during their training he had learned as much as anyone in his time he would be cast out and best and at worst killed.

Although he was stronger than most of the 'wizards' in this time he had no illusions that he would be able to escape them. There were so many, and they all worked together so well. He looked over at Myrtle and smiled sadly, wondering. What would she say if she knew how many people he had killed?