Chapter 4
Irmi Luytens had permitted herself a brief, hard snog with her Sebastian as they met at the Zurich train station; then they had parted to be properly dignified upper sixth prefects.
"I have three more brothers and a sister" said Irmi.
"Jade's had quads? Lumme, that's a bit extreme!" said Sebastian "I didn't feel it happening; I would have helped, you know!"
Irmi laughed.
"Oh, they're all adopted; still a bit extreme, but that's Jade for you. Ulvik is starting her school this year, he's eleven; and he could have come here to Prince Peak but dad and Jade want him to be settled into being their son; the others will come here, and I guess Ulvik might transfer. Rainer's nine and very musical; and Rory seems like to be as well by his Malfoy lines, he and Lily are much of an age with Ralph. Rory was named Roderick by Ulvik; nearly after his real dad, Rory's a goblin too. Lily is a half goblin. In the orphanage they only had numbers unless they survived to five and could be set to work, so Jade – as I'm sure you could already guess – stole the entire state orphanage and relocated it on the Von Strang estate, creamed off the academics for her school and is arranging wholesale apprenticeship style teaching for the rest as well as ruthlessly mixing human and goblin children together. It HAS stopped her making quite so many broody noises having an effective set of three year old triplets" she added.
Sebastian laughed.
"How like Jade!" he commented. "What sort of mix are we getting this year?"
"The grown ups for post NEWT are already there under their own steam" said Irmi. "We have three new ones in the lower sixth, one into the third who's a cousin of our Schiffs from another branch whose half sister was at Durmstrang and who is the result of a man Jade calls gaping-gusset Gustav; and a dozen first years."
"Jade usually manages apposite insults" grinned Sebastian. "Thirteen in the third then; unlucky for some, but any third year is unlucky for their current prefects."
oOoOo
Those children who were more or less in residence at the castle emerged onto the platform to wait for their fellows, which included some of the new first. Irmi of course knew Paul Ingate, Fyra gan Neric. Alrik gan Torik and Reaz Breuer; and had met Zhenga Rebet when her stepfather had moved to Jade's castle with his family shortly before Irmi returned to school. Indeed Irmi had helped see her, Fyra and Alrik and Paul around Diagon Alley; Anett Breuer had taken her next protégé Reaz as well as the older ones for their books.
"There are going to be two new ones we don't know yet, Irmi" said Fyra. "Because we met Bertha Jorkins and Lydia Grant and Bruno Accola and they'll come with their own big people; and we also met Wilhelm Schmitt and Serrik gan Torgar and the Ferret will doubtless bring them. There's a Swedish boy who's an artist and a boy from Somewherestan."
"Well I daresay you will all be kind to them" said Irmi. "Ah, I recognise Mungo Fraser; Mungo, good to meet you properly."
Mungo shook hands.
"Well if dad had to be made Headmaster of Hogwarts, at least Albus had the courtesy to make it be between OWLs and NEWTs that he retired" he said. "I DO hope he doesn't suffer too much from being Lilith'd; she and her friends are quite the most outrageously inventive marauders I think the school has ever had."
"I don't care; I'm not a prefect there!" laughed Irmi.
Mungo brightened.
"Nor am I" he said. "I was quite surprised to get a prefect's badge for here though; I'll work hard to get to know people and justify Severus' faith in me."
"You OUGHT to be remembering he's Professor Snape with small jugs flapping their ears" said Irmi severely.
"I'll do my best then; sorry" said Mungo. He had never really known Severus much as a teacher at Hogwarts, having been a first year when he had departed for Prince Peak; Severus was a neighbour who stood in place of a father for his own adoptive father. He would adapt.
oOoOo
Next to arrive was Prudence, waiting for the German girl she hoped to befriend and help; she stayed to chat to Irmi while Sebastian shooed the boisterous first years through the barrier and out of the way. People started arriving; the now three Grant girls arrived with their newest member Lydia who was, Emily boasted, another luminary of school quidditch in the making, which claim merely made small Lydia comment that she so was looking forward to seeing stuck up and racist local teams get trounced by her sister's team with goblins playing. The Accola girls turned up with their small brother who hastened to find his cronies while Roseli stood on one leg and held forth about the new art exam and how she was looking forward to taking it. Leneli, as befitted a new prefect, displayed more dignity and hurried on through the wall.
Then a tall, gangling Germanic girl approached.
"Will you be Frieda Verwirreman?" asked Irmi.
The girl frowned.
"I – no" she said.
Irmi looked at her askance; for a moment there she had almost thought the girl was going to claim that she was; which was odd.
"You are surely not Johanna Schiff?" Irmi could not believe it; Johanna was thirteen.
"My name is…Hermeli Schmitt. If you have a list and I am not on it, your list must be faulty" said the girl.
"I don't think that's likely unless you applied right at the last minute; Professor Snape is meticulous to a fault" said Irmi. "Look, if you're trying to gatecrash because you're defecting from Durmstrang or think Beauxbatons is dippy or something, I guess you don't need to lie about it; we can sort that out later, providing you can actually pass the exam proper to your age. Though if you're a lower sixth not upper I guess it wouldn't matter; the lower are NOT academic. They're the last year of intake from when it was Cackle's academy; most of us uppers are transfers or otherwise acquired. Except Emily who makes up for a less academic approach in her sports; and you know we do train Quidditch as a talent as well as art and music. Are you artistic or musical? Is that why you're coming at the last minute for the sixth?"
"Well you are a most nosy little girl!" said the girl sounding amused.
Irmi frowned.
"I am an upper sixth; and being over seventeen I am an adult. You wear the school colours though your uniform is not correct so you are not a research student; rather, unless you DO enter the upper sixth, should I call YOU a little girl. I am too a prefect and trusted as train monitor to be sure we get the correct children on board; and you are not on my list. I would suggest that you answer a few questions or I may be forced to exclude you from the train and send someone to investigate why you try to gate crash. Do you leave another school for ideological grounds?"
"No; I have never been to boarding school. I wish the superior education in the sixth form" said Hermeli.
"You have no kit with you; as a new girl you must have the correct kit" said Irmi. Hermeli shrugged.
"It is all in my trunk" she said.
"You carry your CAULDRON in your TRUNK?" said Irmi "Or is it that you take not Potions to NEWT, although it is the most famous skill taught at Prince Peak? I don't believe you're even a witch, I think you're a muggle; and for a small child to gatecrash may be reasonable enough but for a big girl who must be almost adult is rather odd without good reason."
Hermeli had produced a knife from her pocket.
"Listen, little girl, I do not want to hurt you but I MUST be on your train and hidden; I am ill and I cannot live in gaol. Now be a good girl and show me to the right platform and stop silly fairy stories about witches."
"You'll have trouble hurting anyone with that" said Irmi calmly, staring at the knife. Hermeli's eyes dropped to it and widened in horror as Irmi transfigured it into a rose in a silver holder. "If you are a criminal I do not want you anywhere near our children; and I suggest you leave before I take further steps."
"Dear God!" whispered Hermeli. "You really ARE a witch; help me, please, just hide me! My real name is Therese Appeltrath; you must have read in the newspapers about the bank robbery?" her fear was real; and not just of what Irmi had done to her knife that she was staring at in more wonder than fear.
"I don't read muggle papers much" said Irmi "Besides I have not been in Switzerland for months, since last term. Why should I hide a thief as you imply that you are?"
"I helped them because I needed the medical fees" said Therese. "And after we divided the spoils one of the thieves got caught for boasting and being careless; but it was mentioned in the bank and I pleaded headache – which I get so many of – and went out, and instead of going home I emptied my account and bought clothing like I saw schoolchildren wear that is like the Chalet School of the English stories and I came to hide."
"WELL!" said Irmi "That's a pretty pickle you got yourself into; but I have used legilimensy on you and I see you speak truth, though you did not mention that you were also happy to help the robbers because your immediate boss is a sour old cow and the under manager has made noises that you could be away from her as his secretary if you only made him happy; I can see your temptation. And Professor Snape believes in second chances. You may go onto the train but you shall find a compartment at the far end and shut yourself in it; it is one of the prefect compartments. If any question you, Irmi Luytens told you to go to that compartment because you have been ill and need rest. Now get through that wall."
"I don't quite understand" said Therese.
Irmi sighed, looked for a small person and whistled.
"Conrad Grailsquest! Come and do your good deed for the day; please to take Miss Appeltrath through the barrier and install her in a prefect compartment; be nice to her she has been ill and has…. family trouble" she added. "You may come out again to collect sundry cronies."
Conrad grinned; he had spent the holiday looking virtuous by having had a rather good school report to show sceptical relatives who did not believe he would ever regain the use of magic after his traumatic experience; who had too peered in wonderment at where Severus had totally chanted away the horrific burn scar; and he was waiting to tell his friends all about it and gloat. He led Therese firmly by the hand through the wall, ignoring her cry of horror and subsequent gasp of wonder as she found herself on a railway platform with a big brown Bayer-Garret steam engine. The sound of a small boy's raised voice made itself heard above the chatter of others and the hiss of steam.
"I say, Conrad! I'm adopted now, I'm officially a Snape but I'm keeping my surname too! But I have a family!"
Conrad waved and grinned at his chum.
"GREAT NEWS, SIEGFRIED NOW-SNAPE!" he yelled "GOT A SIXER TO DUMP ON THE REST, CATCH UP WITH YOU!"
Therese shuddered, small boys were very loud and unrestful; especially the two having a – was it a WAND duel? Fortunate that another big boy, very handsome and very black, should be advancing on them as they shouted such things as 'have at thee, varlet' – whatever that meant, her English was shaky – and – good grief! They were both hoisted into the air to dangle by an ankle!"
"Crumbs, Darryl's waxy" said Conrad.
"Excuse, 'waxy'?" said Therese.
"Cross" translated Conrad. "I say your English is a little poor" he switched to German "They DID warn you we have a trilingual policy here, didn't they?"
"Er, I do speak some English and French" said Therese.
"Oh well, doing two days a week having all your lessons in each language does wonders for picking it up" said Conrad.
Darryl Zabini was busy explaining to Emil Villeneuve and Crow Langstaffe that he had spoken to them before about stray spell effects and if they wanted to duel there were times and places for that as they were so fond of gallantry and futile gesture they might take their choice of Tolkein's 'Erranty' or 'The Charge of the Light Brigade' by Alfred, Lord Tennyson by the end of the first week if they pleased.
This meant even if they didn't please but prefects were supposed to be polite when tearing people off a strip so the possibility of using sophistry was discarded before it began; Darryl Zabini could get a lot more creative than a single poem rep if they decided they did NOT please; and it was besides a fair cop. They wandered off discussing the relative merits of a longer poem like the Light Brigade over the long and complex archaic words in 'errantry'.
oOoOo
For Irmi's peace of mind a rather shyer looking Germanic maiden turned up accompanied by parents.
"Ah, YOU'LL be Frieda Verwirreman" said Irmi. "Meet Pru" she added as the girl nodded "She'll be in your class; good sort Pru."
Prudence grinned.
"Professor Snape told me all about you, Frieda, and as I have no especial friend – the other two girls in our class have a kind of alliance of similar interests but none of us are CLOSE friends – he thought you might like to be my friend and I can show you around and heave you off to see an appropriate professor if you haven't liked to pipe up in class over missing any point" she said. "I'm not especially academic I'm afraid but I'll do my best to help out all I can; and there's a big class taking care of domestic beasts, six of us with Mungo Fraser transferring from Hogwarts, mind he's supposed to be taking both care of beasts exams because he likes animals; Muriel is too. She's all right. Well both the other girls are all right; Leneli gets a bit on her high horse about equality from time to time but she's not as loud as she was because most of what she was demanding is happening anyhow. There's six of us taking potions too – slightly different six – because it IS one of the things the school is famous for; Professor Snape is just the works! It's a really big class now I'm afraid with three new ones this year, there'll be twelve of us."
"OH! But that is so nice and small; in Durmstrang I was in a class of thirty one!" said Frieda. "I will like to meet the others too, yes?"
"I'll take you in; Leneli's certainly here – you can't miss the hair – and I think I saw a cage full of nifflers preceding some struggling creature that almost had to be Muriel" said Prudence "The Lowther Twins are always early and Randolph virtually lives at school if he doesn't have to go home; he has dippy parents" she explained. "You must be very glad yours are supportive; Professor Snape says that there's no such thing as a problem child only problem parents."
She went off, talking nineteen to the dozen to Frieda while Irmi smiled and assured the girl's parents that every effort would be made to help Frieda to achieve as much as she could, and explained that she was in for a treat as the castle had a young pet griffon, who was the daughter of the previous school Griffon, Godrica, who had insisted on returning to Hogwarts with her beloved David Fraser now he was headmaster there. Godrica's daughter had been named, in rather undignified fashion, Tibbles; which she answered to. And really, it was no worse than calling a three-headed hound 'Fluffy'.
Or, for that matter, the school leopard being known as 'Stripy'.
oOoOo
The young man who had to be Marius Schreiber turned up shortly thereafter and was directed through the wall by Irmi. He was very excited and told Irmi how he was looking forward to a big school with many teachers and a full range of subjects.
"It's not that big a school" said Irmi "We have one huge class with sixteen in, that's the fifth; most classes have around a dozen pupils give or take. The Upper sixth is smallest with eight; which is nice but almost below viable numbers."
"Oh but in the school I have been in, eight in one age group would have been a big class!" assured Marius. "And we should only have four ZP's available had not my great grandfather offered free his services to take an exam class in history. And ZHs are gained by working on your own!"
"Well I guess that's better than no education; and five subjects is a fairly decent core" said Irmi "You are training to be an Anwalt for my stepmother; I expect she will see to helping out that school to expand."
"Yes; she said it should have a defence against the dark arts teacher so people learn to deal with boggarts" said Marius earnestly "And this she has drilled me in."
"Good" said Irmi "It IS important!"
oOoOo
The new first had picked Paul Ingate as their official welcomer of the two they had not met; and he grinned at Wilhelm and Serrick as they arrived with Herzog Von Frettchen seeing their luggage brought by a couple of elves behind them.
"Cor, you ARE a pair of spoilt babies having your stuff brought for you not using trolleys like everyone else" said Paul "Better not do that if there's anyone watching you will SO get teased about being precious darlings."
"Is it not done then? I will tell Eduard for another time" said Wilhelm. "He said it is proper to do this for school."
"Yes, but then the spawn of Durmstrang ARE precious little darlings" said Paul
"MMmm, TACT" murmured Von Frettchen to Irmi.
"True though" said Irmi "We do NOT encourage the concept of being precious; we house a number of geniuses here and Paul is one of them: he's a very fine artist. And we don't let them think that their extraordinary talent in any way excuses them from behaving like decently ordinary people. And your two are, as I have heard rumour, hoping to be Marauders; and frankly no marauder would ever want to be taken as precious."
"I'll make them push their own trolleys next time and put up with being scolded by my elves then" said Von Frettchen.
"Quite right too!" said Irmi.
oOoOo
The slight dark-skinned boy with Slavic cheekbones and slightly Mongoloid eyes came forward in the care of an obvious servant.
"I am Gabiden Kim" said the boy "You are a senior of the school, Prince Peak, please?"
"I am; I am Irmi Luytens and I am a prefect. I have heard of you through my step mother who knows your sister Saula" said Irmi. "This is Paul Ingate; he is a ward of the headmaster Professor Snape, and when the last expected first year arrives he will take you both onto the train and introduce you to the others."
"Ah? Thank you" said Gabiden. "How unfortunate for you to be an orphan er Herr Ingate; you must not feel bad about it."
"Oh I don't" said Paul "Actually I believe my father is still alive but he had issues with the wizarding world so Severus – Professor Snape I should call him in term time – arranged to confund muggle authorities to take on the lot of us. He'd probably have adopted us if we didn't have a living parent but I guess he's as much a dad to us as if we got to call him that. I'm the baby of the family so I have three others to live up to; which is the only thing I worry about. But I have a bit of a talent for art which is all my own so I feel less in their shadow. And I guess if Severus HAD adopted us I'd feel more in the shadow of his very talented children. Is your sister a high flyer?"
"Yes; we are all very proud of her" said Gabiden "And it is fortunate that the Princess is so pleasant, for in most classes my sister outperforms her; though she went only as lady in waiting. My sister thinks that she would not have liked to be at Durmstrang if Princess Zhanargul had not been there too, however, and there would be in this year a brother of a girl from Uzbekistan, technically a dominion of Kazakhstan, and the girl is not nice; so Saula thought that it was best for me to come here. I should of course have upheld the honour of our country in Durmstrang" he added hastily.
"More fun not to feel you have to though I should think" said Paul. "Well, I grew up here so I know everyone; I've been here longest of those who are either residents of the castle or part of the wizarding community surrounding it; Reaz Breuer lives in the village, him and his siblings and parents but he knocks around a lot with me."
"That sounds almost like a goblin name; he is then half goblin?" asked Gabiden.
"Reaz? He's fully goblin; but the family adopted the name of a patron" shrugged Paul "I think it was to protect them from Odessa or something. Anett Breuer – well, Bane now she's married – has gone to teach in the new school for those not eligible for Durmstrang. She taught here for a year and it might have put her off if she wasn't strong minded because she had the OWL students with the brownest thumbs in the world – she taught herbology" he explained. "I hope you aren't racist because the policies here are pretty strict."
"I do not THINK I am" said Gabiden "But I am not used to mixing with goblins and I will try not to feel prejudice."
"Well so long as you try, and if you say something unacceptable you apologise and say that you DO have to try, you can't do any more" said Paul sensibly "And if people know you are doing your best to fit in and learn that there really ISN'T any difference then no-one can censure you. And if you get called to book DO explain that it's because it's not what you're used to and you don't mean to be intolerant; the staff and prees – prefects that is – will go a long way to help."
And if Paul permitted a degree of patronising foreknowledge of how things were to creep into his voice, it was to meet the slightly patronising tone with which this boy had greeted him for being an orphan.
"What er, what class are you from?" asked Gabiden cautiously.
"Oh I shall be in the first, same as you" said Paul, deciding to deliberately misunderstand.
"Er I meant socially" said Gabiden. Paul stared blankly.
"Haven't a clue" he said "It isn't done for schoolchildren to take any notice of that sort of thing you know; bad form" he added. "This is a school for learning in, not for poncing and posing like Durmstrang."
Gabiden subsided, abashed.
He did not want to do anything that was not done; he would thereby dishonour his family.
Johanna Schiff turned up with a big sister; and Irmi greeted both cheerfully, recognising the older as one of Jade's students. Franziska recognised Irmi and greeted her cheerily and asked her to keep an eye on her sister.
Irmi looked at Johanna's determined little face and firm chin and smiled. "I will introduce you to Lucy Ingate, who is one of Severus' wards" she said "She will take you to the MSHG; and introduce you around. You look one who has the spirit to get a lot out of it; maybe Hette and Vava will invite you to maraud also; but that is to be seen. To maraud one must have a sense of justice and too of fun and be ready to lay aside your childhood to fight that others who are weaker have a childhood."
"That sounds what I believe in" said Johanna. "I want to put right the things that people like our father make wrong."
"Well, maybe I'll drop you directly on the twins then" said Irmi "Don't worry, Franziska; she'll be fine."
Franziska went off with a goblin who put an arm around her; and Irmi looked suspiciously at her thickening waist. Well SHE wasn't going to be welcome in her father's house long; but now her sister was at school that probably gave her more freedom to move; since her two younger sisters were under Jade's care at Schloss Adler, as Schloss Von Strang had been renamed. Irmi presented Johanna to Vava and Hette – who were with the older marauders in their group, the Bee Marauders – with the comment that they might have another marauder here. Marauders tended to take the recommendation of other blooded seriously; and if Irmi thought she felt right, she probably was right and Johanna got talked at by six people at once, enthusiastically.
oOoOo
The last one of the first who was expected arrived then in any case; Jöran Ulvaeus peered myopically on the world through his glasses to greet the two little boys.
"We'll take you to meet the rest now, Jöran" said Paul "It's a pity you couldn't make it to the party Von Frettchen threw but I'm sure you two will soon learn to know the rest of us and we, you. You're an artist too, I hear Jöran, so we have that in common."
"You are also an artist? Well it is good to have things to talk about" said Jöran. "I am very good of course and so I need a specialist school."
"Then I hope you find all you need" said Paul "But in an English school – which this is – it is not considered good form to mention your own talents with great praise; it is better to wait for others to exclaim spontaneously. I mention this because you do not want to be teased for what we call blowing your own trumpet."
"But should not one be honest about one's abilities? And if any tease I will report them!" said Jöran.
"Oh you're going to be a bundle of laughs then – not!" said Paul. "If you report for teasing, unless it becomes bullying, you so will get a great big ticking off from the staff for sneaking on something not worth sneaking over; teasing is a way of showing others that they have faults that can be improved. Being self important and showing off is one big fault and you should try to be more modest as becomes a kid of eleven like us. As well as being polite. And by the way I DO hope you realise that any artist has room for improvement because if you turn round and get in a huff if a constructive criticism is made of your work, you'd better not be rude to our visiting teacher because he does it for love not money and if he gets insulted the rest of us may lose his services. And Randolph's too busy as a sixth former to take on extra coaching."
"A TRUE artist needs no lessons; it flows from within" said Jöran loftily
"Well if you believe that pap you'll not even pass the exam when you're old enough; because there are things called techniques" said Paul "And even Leonardo da Vinci served his time as an apprentice; if you ARE that good, you might be able to learn some techniques for yourself but if you're not a red-hot enchanter too, how are you going to produce the magical effects with your art? I know some people have wild talents – Professor Prince has visions that he draws and Erica Malfoy can do transfigurations through drawing – but what about the discipline of pattern magic?"
"I am a figure artist; I know nothing of this pattern magic nor do I wish to" said Jöran.
"Then tell me" said Randolph Wright, who had overheard the last bit of this comment "What pray was the point of your parents sending you to a school that specialises in art only for you to steal from them – I pick the word with care – by neglecting to take advantage of the service for which they are paying?"
"And what do YOU know of art?" said Jöran.
Randolph counted to ten.
"Young man; I have co-written the text book for the exam class; and now I am good enough I make enough selling the paintings I can do in the holidays to pay my own school fees AND have enough to start to pay back my parents for sending me here for the last five years" he said with a deal of self control "And for being so infernally rude to a prefect in the way you spoke to me– my badge IS visible to you so you might be warned, even if you were so lost to manners as to be rude to a member of the sixth – you may write me twenty repetitions of 'Rudeness is abhorrent, and also counterproductive; it is better to think before you speak'. I'll have your lines before tea on Friday; gives you plenty of time."
Jöran stared.
"I'll REPORT you for trying to bully me!" he said.
Randolph stared.
"My good kiddie, are you for real?" he said "Report a prefect for setting a legitimate prefect punishment for your insolence? I rather fancy you have a rum idea both about bullying AND about what is acceptable amongst civilised folk; in a decent community, courtesy and manners are rather expected, especially towards those in authority. Do you perchance come from some backward community where it is considered acceptable to be rude to your elders and betters?"
"What makes you better then me then?" said Jöran. Other listening children gasped.
"My self control in speaking to you fair, for one" said Randolph "Eight OWLs with good grades for another; the fact that the head reposes in me the trust to make me a prefect for a third; which means, if you have somehow managed to lose the plot so entirely that you do not know what a prefect is, that I stand in place of a staff member when there is no staff member present; and that I have some authority over the discipline within the school; and the right to enforce school rules and set impositions of lines up to twenty repetitions or other punishment of similar severity as seems fit. Possibly too in the art world the fact that my work sells; one sale being worth twenty favourable critiques."
"Well I shan't do your stupid lines; you can't make me" said Jöran.
"Actually, I can; because if you refuse, you can be placed on head's report" said Randolph "And then he can increase your imposition for your further rudeness to me, and to him – because in being rude to ME as the head's representative, you are also being rude to HIM – and may even expel you as an intolerable nuisance and disruptive to the school."
"I surely can't be expelled for resisting bullying!" cried Jöran.
"Kid, you haven't been bullied" said Randolph.
"You haven't" said Adrian Petrescu grimly joining the knot of people about the Swedish boy "I went for a while to Durmstrang; I know bullying. It is when the big ones twist your arm up your back so far you think it is going to come out of the socket; or stand you on a table and fire stinging hexes at your bare legs; or make you stand for hours on a table until your bladder feels like it is going to burst and your legs are trembling with weakness; or cast the cruciatus curse on you."
"But that is a forbidden curse!" cried Jöran.
"Welcome to real bullying" said Adrian. "Tell me, lad, would you use so rude a tone to a teacher –what was it 'what do YOU know about art'? or question a teacher giving you a punishment if they felt your tone so rude?"
"But he isn't a teacher he's just another schoolboy!" said Jöran.
"Wrong you little idiot" said Adrian "He is, as I am, a prefect. One who – AS he has been at pains to explain to you – stands in place of a teacher with limited powers of discipline entrusted by the head. The HEAD expects him to be treated with respect; and any normal kid would do so for recognising that you don't get handed a badge saying 'prefect' if you aren't expected to take the responsibility that goes with that; and the few concomitant privileges. YOU HAVE BEEN RUDE TO THE HEADMASTER IN BEING RUDE TO HIS VEHICLE, YOU HORRID LITTLE BOY AND YOUR CLASSMATES WILL DESPISE YOU AS SCARCELY CIVILISED DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?" he turned to Randolph "Sorry to butt in old boy, but he seemed incapable of listening to reason and rational explanation so I thought loud might work better."
"Oh we're all here to work together; no offence taken" said Randolph. It WAS rude for a prefect to usurp the discipline of another; but Randolph was utterly at his wit's end and was glad of Adrian's intervention.
"I shall then go to the head when we get to the school and ask if I am supposed to do lines set by another schoolboy because I am dubious of this" said Jöran "And if you are lying you will be in trouble for bullying me and shouting so rudely."
"Well what's sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander!" said Adrian "You are so intolerably rude to others, it seems the only way to get your attention; and believe me, you will NOT enjoy the interview with the head!"
oOoOo
It might be pointed out that when Jöran went to see Severus to ask if he was supposed to do lines set by someone who called himself prefect, Severus had the whole story out of him and tore him verbally into shreds for calling one of his prefects and by inference himself a liar; by being rude to one of HIS representatives; for being generally so snotty as to talk in such a fashion to his elders; for having the cheek to use such a phrase as 'called himself a prefect' when everyone in the school knew who the prefects were and would hardly be likely to permit anyone to impersonate the same even if there was anyone so lost to shame as to do so and to accuse anyone of such dishonour did not speak highly of the honour of the accuser; and Jöran found that he would be writing not twenty but one hundred repititions of the lines, as well as writing apologies to both Randolph Wright and Adrian Petrescu in his best English for his rudeness to them, and another also in his best English to his classmates for bringing the year into disrepute by making the sixth wonder if this year's first were a bunch of guttersnipes dragged up in who knew what uncivilised society where even orang-utans would be ashamed to admit to coming from. Severus finally managed to get the point across that egalitarian did not refer to being familiar to the point of rudeness to seniors and staff; and told Jöran coldly that he had better learn better manners quickly or he would be returning to Sweden without the pearls of wisdom of the Head's cousin who would be teaching him.
Jöran tried complaining that with his short sight such an amount of writing would be harder on him than on other children; and dared not disobey when Severus snapped to him to take his glasses off. Severus stalked round him chanting and Jöran put his hands to his eyes as the pulling feeling caused him discomfort shouting that he would write home and complain.
"Complain?" said Severus maliciously "What's to complain about that I have cured your myopia? You have perfect twenty-twenty vision, Mr Ulvaeus; you have no excuse for not presenting all your impositions in beautiful handwriting on Friday. NOT that the same condition stopped Harry Potter performing quite adequately in school AND managing to see where to stick Gryffindor's sword in Voldemort. Now see that you do those lines; and just get out of my sight."
Jöran had stumbled out bemused; and realising that he could see perfectly well without his glasses was wondering how he was going to cope with the jostle of daily life when he could not tell on people for being rough near a boy with glasses.