Waxing Pale
Twin Kats
The train slowed to a stop; outside it dusk was settling into night. A bushy haired know-it-all had stopped by the compartment twice—once to ask about a lost frog or toad of some kind, and the second to mention that they should get changed. After she left Ron shook Karkat in an attempt to rouse him, but he didn't wake up so Ron left him to sleep. Except now they'd reached Hogsmead Station and Karkat still wouldn't wake up.
"Harry? Mate?" Ron asked and shook Karkat's shoulder a bit harder. This only elicited a soft snore. Ron grimaced, his mind jumped to worrying conclusions. He wasn't strong enough to carry Karkat out of the train himself, but his brothers were and Ron knew they traveled to the Castle differently and would most probably meet a teacher sooner than he would. "Just stay right there; I'll be right back mate."
Ron tore out of the room and down the corridor of the train. He asked the nearest older students if they'd seen his brothers, and they pointed further down at a compartment where loud laughter could be heard. Ron squared his shoulders—he knew Fred and George's friend Lee had brought a tarantula aboard the train—and marched onward.
The compartment door was open already; Fred and George were dressed in their school robes and laughing at some joke that Lee had said. Fred was leaning on George, pounding the seat. George had tears in his eyes. Alicia Spinnet and Angelina Johnson, two chasers for the Gryffindor Quidditch Team, sat with Lee in the middle, likewise laughing.
"Er, Fred? George?" Ron asked. He kept a wary eye on the box that held the spider.
The twins sobered up a bit, although they still had wide grins across their faces. "Yes ickle Ronniekins?" George asked.
"Are you in need of something?" Fred chuckled. Their smiles were terrifying in some respects. Ron fully expected to be pranked.
"Um, yeah," Ron fidgeted. "You remember that bloke from the station? That asked mum how to get on the train?"
The twins frowned. "Tough crowd," Fred said with a nod. George hummed back. "What about him?"
"Er, well, you see..." Ron glanced to Lee, Alicia, and Angelina nervously. He remembered how Karkat had just gone off on him and Malfoy before he fell asleep, and was a little wary of spreading around his name just in case the smaller kid started yelling again.
Fred and George exchanged looks. They weren't dumb, and Ron obviously didn't want to share something in front of their friends. George chuckled and waved his hand, standing to his feet. Fred slipped at the loss his pillar and face planted into the plush seats of the compartment.
"Hey!" Fred shouted and George laughed.
"Sorry, mates, but duty calls!" George cheered. He bowed slightly, and then glanced to Fred. "What are you doing laying down? Ickle Ronniekins needs our help!"
Fred grumbled, pulled himself up, and punched George in the shoulder with a teasing smile. They both waved to Angelina, Alicia, and Lee who voiced understanding sentiments. Both twins wrapped an arm around their younger brothers shoulders and lead him out of the compartment.
"Lead the way, Ronniekins," Fred said joyfully.
Ron led them back down the corridor as the train slowed to a halt. Students began to pile out of their compartments which made travel tricky and talking in the halls virtually impossible without being overheard. He entered his compartment, the twins followed him in.
"He fell asleep a while back and won't wake up," Ron said a bit nervously.
Fred and George exchanged glances. "So?" they asked together.
"Well...um, I can't carry him and...it might be something serious?" Ron replied, fidgeting.
"Then tell a teacher when you get to Hogwarts!" George rolled his eyes, as if that were obvious.
"But...you don't understand..." Ron struggled to explain.
"Hey Gred..." Fred frowned, peering down at Karkat who was slumbering away. "I think Ron might be onto something here."
George turned to Fred inquiringly and Fred pointed to Karkat's forehead. George slipped around Ron and peered down, a second later he sucked in a sharp breath.
"Blimey..." George breathed out after a second. George and Fred exchanged glances, and then pulled out their wands.
"What are you doing?" Ron asked, panicked.
"Reenervation charm," Fred said stiffly. Together they cast the spell, but there was no change in Karkat's slumber. The twins exchanged glances again.
"Did anyone show up at the compartment?" George asked next, feeling for a pulse while Fred gently shook the slumbering child.
"Malfoy," Ron spat. "And some bushy haired know-it-all. I think she was a muggleborn." The last bit was said softer, but no less annoyed.
"Right then," Fred sighed. "We'll take him up to the castle with us, and get him to Madam Pomfrey."
"Poor bloke," George sighed. "Off to see the mediwitch on his first day." They exchanged rueful grins.
"Now you go get with the rest of the first years, Ronniekins. Your big brothers Gred and Forge will handle this," Fred said lightly. George picked up Karkat while Fred shooed Ron off.
Albus was already in the entryway, waiting, when Fred and George showed up with Karkat in their arms. He had a small smile on his face, it was a mixture of fond exasperation and slight amusement. The twins exchanged awkward glances, especially when Albus motioned for them to follow.
"Thank you for bringing him up to the castle safely, Messers Weasley," Albus said as they walked. He had a slight bounce to his step, which both twins found weird. Who would be happy about their hero fast asleep and unable to wake up?
"Sir, how did you...?" George asked, and Fred nodded emphatically. Albus twinkled back at them.
"I have my ways, boys." Truthfully he did a tarot reading earlier, and a slight bit of scrying, and a few other awkward rituals that didn't bear thinking about. He wasn't all that great at the future seeing thing, but tried his best and this time it looked like things worked out pretty well.
Last time, well, Albus would rather not remember that. His ears were sore for weeks.
Madam Pomfrey was already aware that a student needed her care. Albus had informed her the minute the train hit the station. Minerva, Severus, Filius, and Pamona were waiting in the infirmary as well. Each were worried about the prospective student that already needed medical attention.
Albus and the students arrived quickly. Minerva gasped at the sight of Karkat in Fred and George's grasp.
"Albus, that's-" Minerva started but Albus waved a calming hand. Madam Pomfrey got to work quickly.
"Place him here, boys, and then off you trot," she said briskly and led Fred and George to one of the beds. The two teens set Karkat down.
"What's wrong with him?" they asked in sync, curious.
"Never you mind," Filius squeaked. "Come, come, head to the feast and don't you worry. Let us sort things out."
Pamona gently ushered the twins out of the Hospital Wing as Minerva was too busy glaring at Albus to do so herself. Pomfrey ran a few diagnostic scans on Karkat and subtly Albus shot off a silent spell to fix a few of the results she'd undoubtedly see. A frown crossed her lips and she cast her spells again, Albus quickly following up with his own to make sure the results appeared wholly human.
"Well? What is wrong with Mr. Potter?" Severus sneered, and Minerva turned with Filius and Pamona to give Pomfrey their full attention. Albus simply popped in a lemon drop and hummed cheerfully, fully aware of what Pomfrey was going to say.
"My scans are finding nothing wrong with Mr. Potter," she said, confused. "He's just...asleep."
Severus huffed, annoyed, and snapped out, "Then wake the little troublemaker up!"
Albus popped another lemon drop in his mouth and hummed again before he spoke up, interrupting what would undoubtedly become an argument, "I am afraid Severus that that is quite impossible." Everyone turned to Albus, curious and in some ways absolutely furious.
"Explain then Headmaster," Severus sneered. Filius frowned at Severus' tone but nodded.
"I am quite curious myself," he said lightly. Pamona, Pomfrey, and Minerva all nodded in agreement.
"I spoke with Mr. Potter's relatives a while back when they grew concerned with the amount of sleep he had been suffering through," Albus said lightly. "The muggles call it narcolepsy. It appears that perhaps young Mr. Potter's near brush with death has increased the size of his magical core exponentially, and this increase which steadily grows as he ages is the cause behind this. Mr. Potter is not the first Hogwarts student that needed accommodation for this exact problem, and I doubt he will be the last."
Everyone stared at Albus like he had grown two heads. There was an unspoken question of 'who?' in their minds and Albus blinked, lightly.
"Albus..." Minerva said slowly. "What are you talking about? Isn't there a way to handle this?"
"Aside from accommodating Mr. Potter, no," Albus concluded. "To do so risks damaging his core."
Severus stared at Albus, uncomprehending for a moment. It was surprisingly Pamona who spoke up next.
"You are the student Hogwarts provided for this exact situation, weren't you Albus," the portly witch said softly. Albus practically beamed at her.
"Why yes!" he said cheerfully. "And look how I turned out for it."
The horror among the staff was near palpable. Albus did not notice except to grow rather stern and utter, "Do not try and 'fix' this for Mr. Potter. You will only damage him in the long run." The coldness in his words halted any such thought, and everyone nodded. Albus clapped. "Good! Then Minerva, I do believe you have first years to attend to. Poppy and I will remain here until Mr. Potter awakens, which should be soon. Off you go."
The heads of houses trailed out of the infirmary, more than a little unsure of what exactly transpired in there. Pomfrey fussed over Karkat for a moment longer until Albus hit her with a stunner.
"I do apologize, Poppy, but I fear the temptation would be too strong for you and the others," Albus said sadly, "and I cannot have you impeding his development. Not if we want the chance..." He trailed off and sat down at Karkat's bedside. He stroked back a hit of the young trolls hair and smiled sadly.
"Not if we want the chance," he said again after a minute and closed his eyes.
Kankri—post-scratch Kankri—frowned as he fiddled with the innards of the husktop. The Dolorosa didn't understand exactly what he was doing, building it from scratch, but she respected his desires and helped him as much as she could. He withheld a curse when it sparked, and then smoked.
"I take it that wasn't the result you were looking for?" Dolorosa asked lightly, a small teasing smile at her lips. Kankri pouted just a bit.
"This would be so much faster if Mituna was doing it," he grumbled under his breath.
"Mituna?" Dolorosa asked and Kankri flushed lightly. "Ah, someone from your dreams then."
Kankri nodded slowly. "He was a yellowblood, and the most powerful psionic," he said with a frown. "He saved us, when we didn't know there was danger." There was silence, most from the Dolorosa as Kankri bowed his head. That statement wasn't quite true; another had known that they were in danger.
God, he'd been such a fool then. He knew that the danger was coming; he'd known because it was there, singing in their blood—the truth of everything. He had known long before the others that their session was a failure. That they weren't supposed to amount to anything because that was what fate had decided. Whenever they did amount to anything, it just petered out into a doomed timeline. They weren't supposed to win, they were supposed to create Alternia out of Beforus instead.
As he had known that, he too had known the danger that would befall them. He'd known, and at one point there was a moment where he could have acted and prevented it all. Perhaps in some doomed timeline he had been a bit braver and done just that, but in their time he hadn't. He was terrified, fearful—a coward. Mituna had to save them, and it broke Mituna. Kankri knew that it was in some ways his fault, and it tore at him just a bit.
He breathed out slowly and closed his eyes.
"Perhaps you will see this Mituna again, Kankri," Dolorosa said softly. "You said it yourself to me once, son. This is our second chance."
Kankri opened his eyes and smiled sadly. "Yeah." It was their second chance, but they weren't meant to fulfill anything. Not this time; this time it was another's chance, and Kankri would be damned if he didn't do anything to help them. "Thanks."
"Come," Dolorosa said, "you need a break from that, and it is time we went out hunting anyway."
Kankri stood up and moved to follow his mother outside the caves. He shot one last glance at the half-finished husktop and sighed. He really wished Mituna were here; he'd know what to do to make the damn thing work and then everything would settle down and he'd be assured that they'd have a surviving chance. However Kankri doubted he'd ever meet the new Mituna—he doubted he'd ever meet anyone else aside from the Dolorosa.
He donned his cloak under his mother's eye and made sure it was secure and would keep him warm. Then he followed her out into the dusk-light. He breathed in the cool in air and smiled; it felt nice, being outside again. Kankri looked up at the stars; his heart raced. Suddenly he had a good feeling.
Later that night he met a young troll that would eventually mean more than the world to him; she would become his greatest Disciple, his lover, his sister, and his best friend.
Summary: Nobody is displeased to have more help against Lord English or Jack, but everybody is confused as to how this new group of humans showed up on the meteor hurtling through the Furthest Ring. Everybody except Karkat who is just cursing up a storm and facepalming. Repeatedly. Of course they'd crash the party. They can never leave well enough alone, can't they. / Potterstuck
Okay, nevermind, no focus on Alternia. Alternia is boring. There's really nothing going on there right now, not until Karkat's older. So we get more Signless instead, and meddling Albus. Enjoy.