Ch 17
A/N: Wow, all I can say is I don't know how JKR ever came up with all of Hogwarts. After all the research I did for this chapter alone I am now an expert on the Academy. If you want to know anything else about it, I feel like I've just written a book. Anyway, enjoy.
As Victoria and Remus stepped out of the plane and into the crowded, dingy, airport she sighed heavily, "Thank Merlin that's over. One more minute and I would have gone insane."
Remus gave her a bemused smile, "I told you to bring a book."
Flipping her black hair behind her shoulder irritably she gave him a dark look, "You could have been a gentleman and given me yours."
He chuckled holding the book up, it was covered in a plain brown paper bag hiding its actual cover, "I don't think this book would interest you."
"How do you know?" She asked dodging and darting between people to make it to the baggage carousel.
He took the cover off and handed it to her. Nearly doubling over laughing she handed it back, "Death Omens: What To Do When You Know The Worst Is Coming, well at least I would have gotten a good laugh."
He gave her another light smile picking both of their bags up from the carousel, "That is precisely why I got it. I thought it would be amusing."
Making their way out of the extremely crowded airport, they took a turn down an alley. Garbage was piled up along the sides, the smell overpowering. A rat scurried by their feet as Victoria took Remus's hand. She smiled at him, "Ever been on a subway Remus?"
He looked at her curiously, "Can't say that I have."
Turning away from him she looked at, what seemed to him, a random dumpster. It looked like every other one in the alley, except for a large letter A in the center of it. She pulled her wand out from inside her robes and used it to push the dumpster over a few feet, revealing a set of stone stairs. "Come on Remus, let's go get our ride."
He looked at her in awe, "How did you know that was there."
As they walked down the stairs she explained, "Every city has a few connections to the Academy's subway system. All you have to do is find a dumpster with an A on it and you're in."
He nodded looking around at the underground room they were now in. The room was a complete contrast to the filth they had just been in. The high ceiling of the room was intricately carved with scroll work and the walls were mirrored making the room appear bigger than it really was. The stone floor held no mark what so ever, looking as if someone had recently scoured it.
A few other people were on the platform, one wizard in plain black robes reading a paper, and a woman drinking from a disposable coffee cup.
As Remus continued to survey the room the train stopped in front of them. The train was gleaming chrome with "North American Academy of Magical Arts Transport" emboldened on it in royal blue. The doors opened and the occupants of the room quickly filed in. Remus and Victoria took a seat on the cushioned benches the same shade as the wording on the side of the train. She looked up at him, holding tightly to the rail, "Brace yourself."
"What?" He asked a second too late as the train went off like a shot. Remus found himself on the floor, having been thrown from his seat. Before he could even push himself up he was thrown to the floor again by the sudden stop. She laughed, standing up and going to him. Helping him off the floor he gave her a dark look, "You could have been kind enough to warn me."
"I could have," she smirked helping to dust him off, "If you wouldn't have rubbed it in about the book."
"Must I apologize for your mistake?" He asked straightening his sweater as he stepped out of the train.
"No. In all honesty I thought that you would have been smart enough to hold on by yourself." She smiled following him.
He shook his head turning away from her to look around the platform they were on. The walls were covered mostly in posters of upcoming events, but underneath them he could see a brilliantly polished dark wood. The place was lit by torches set into wrought iron brackets interspersed down the platform. In front of him were shop fronts offering everything from school books to wands to potion ingredients and everything in between.
She looked at him smiling, "Welcome to the Academy, or as the Muggle world knows it Area 51. This is the Underground. It's the old Academy. When they built the Academy back in 1698 they built it underground so it was concealed easier. After the new building was built in 1955, they decided instead of getting rid of the space, they would use it for shops. All of the wizarding shops in North America are now located here. Trust me it makes it much easier on your first day."
He looked at her curiously, "You don't receive anything until your first day?"
"Nope. Well you get your notebooks and things from the muggle shops, but everything else you get here on your first day. Our first wands are free, actually everything but the potions ingredients students don't have to pay for." She pointed to the wand shop. "Mr. Magus is the one who gave me my first wand. One of his sons, Drew, works up at the Academy, he was my Transfiguration teacher. He's no Professor McGonagall, but he could hold his own."
Remus continued to look around the line of shops as they continued down the platform. At the end was another set of stone stairs. Climbing them they found themselves in the main entrance. The room was nearly as large as the atrium of the Ministry. This room gave off a completely different feel than the last, the walls were glazed white bricks, but the floor was the same brilliantly shining dark wood as the shops downstairs. Fireplaces lined one side of the room and on the other was an enormous statue. In the center of the statue was a woman dressed in pilgrims clothing, on her left was a man dressed in what looked to be leathers and beads making him look Native American, and to her right was a snake with feathers protruding from it. The statue was moving, waving and greeting each person as they arrived for the day.
Victoria noticed the look on Remus's face and explained, "The woman is Mary Bradbury, one of the first actual witches to be tried in the Salem Witch trials. She was actually an Animagus, a blue boar, but sadly that's what got her into trouble. She was convicted in 1692, but wasn't killed. After spending nearly four years in jail she decided she'd had enough. Some Muggle tales say that she paid off the jailer, and others say that her husband snuck her out, in all reality she apparated out in the middle of the night. After getting away from Salem, she decided to search the country for a location for her school. Finally deciding on the current location, she asked all the native people of what are now Canada, Mexico, and the US to help her in her endeavor. In turn for their help Mary let each group choose a mascot for the school."
He nodded, still staring at the statue, "Who is the man to her left?"
"That is Napio, the Blackfoot myth of the creator. As the story goes Napio floated on a log with four animals, Mameo the fish, Matcekups the frog, Maniskeo the lizard, and Sopeo the turtle. He sent the animals into the deep water. The first three went down returning with nothing. Finally the turtle went down and brought back mud. Napio took the mud and rolled it in his hand, creating the earth." She said watching Napio wave to a tall man dressed in deep blue robes.
"I see. Then the snake with feathers?" He asked eyeing it cautiously as its tongue flicked out causing an older witch to jump in surprise.
"That would be Quetzalcoatl. He is the Aztec god of knowledge." She answered easily.
"What is that written under the statue?" He asked spying something written on the pillar they stood on.
"Knowledge is power, it's our school motto. It's written in Latin, French, and Spanish. Everything is written in three languages to make all the students feel included." She said stepping past the main entrance into the hallway.
"It must get confusing." He followed her down the long hallway seeing picture boards and posters.
"Not really." She answered continuing down the hall, "The lessons are taught in English, but everything is written in the other languages. It actually helps you learn the other languages. I might not be able to speak much French or Spanish, but I can understand it."
He chuckled, "That's convenient."
"It's more useful than you would think."
He stayed quiet a minute looking around. This place was definitely different than Hogwarts. Where Hogwarts was elegant this was plain. The walls covered in sparkling white brick and blue lockers were lined up waiting to be used while the floors were shining dark wood.
On one of the many poster boards he spotted a team picture. Looking closer he realized that it wasn't a Quidditch team as they had eleven players. "That's Quodpot," she answered before he could ask. "It's our sport. Don't get me wrong, we do have two Quidditch teams too, but it's all about Quodpot here. That picture is of the Witches, it's our all-girl team. We have two others, the Quetzalcoatl, the feathered serpents is our all-male team, and the Napio, the turtles. Trust me no one wants to be on the Napio, they're ridiculed to no end. I mean come on, the turtles?"
He laughed, "I understand."
Just past the picture Victoria took a right and stepped through a great wooden door into an office, Remus following closely behind. Stepping up to a desk matching the door, she smiled at the woman. The woman wore deep blue, official looking school robes, her graying hair was pulled back in a bun, and a pair of thick glasses covered her dark eyes. Victoria laughed as the woman looked up; obviously startled she nearly dropped the papers in her hands, "Miss Knight! It's so good to see you! Carlotta said you were coming for your parent's things, but I didn't think I would see you."
Victoria smiled watching as the woman came around the desk to give her a hug. "Nancy, how could I not see you? You were one of Mom's best friends."
"It truly was horrible what happened to them. I still can't believe they're gone." Nancy said pulling back from their quick hug.
Victoria debated for a moment, but deciding she wanted to know, she asked, "So what exactly did happen to them? When I got word of it, I only heard there had been an accident."
Nancy sighed and started, "Well you know your father. He always was trying to get the school to okay it for him to get a chimaera. Well somehow after all his pleading the school board okayed it, as long as he kept it away from the school building. The chimaera he got was a magnificent beast, like nothing I've ever seen. I mean how often are you going to see a cross between a lion, a goat, and a snake? He was showing it off to your mother the day he got it. Sadly it only took one breath for them both to be gone."
Victoria stood in shock as she heard the tale. She had known that her father had wanted to own a chimera, but she thought that the board would never allow it, with good cause. She couldn't think of anything to say at that moment, it was as if all words had suddenly been wiped from her brain. Nancy smiled sadly at her, "I'm so sorry Tori. I shouldn't have said anything."
Victoria cringed at the hated nickname. As if hearing the words broke her out of her trance she shook her head and said, "It's okay Nancy. I needed to hear it."
"Who's your friend?" Nancy asked looking Remus over with a flirty smile.
Victoria put her arm around Remus, "This is Remus Lupin. He's a good friend of mine."
Remus extended his hand to her, "Pleasure to meet you."
"Oh, the pleasure is all mine," Nancy blushed slightly.
Remus gave Victoria a distressed look. She bit back the laugh that threatened to come out, "Nancy, is Carlotta around?"
"Yes, I'll have her out here in a jiffy." Nancy said pulling her hand back, much slower than was necessary.
Remus looked at Victoria and whispered, "Tori?"
"Don't," she answered darkly, "it's what they used to call me. If you even think about calling me that I will hex you into next week."
He laughed, choosing to change the subject, "Who is Carlotta?"
"Our Dean of students, Carlotta Ramirez, she was my DADA teacher. I can only hope to be as good as she was." Victoria answered as she watched a woman step into the office. She had curly blond hair that flowed down past the center of her back and eyes the color of honey. Victoria smiled extending her hand, "Ms. Ramirez, it's great to see you."
"You too Tori, I just wish it was under better circumstances." The older woman said shaking hands with her.
"Ms. Ramirez, this is Remus Lupin. He's a good friend of mine from England."
"Nice to meet you Remus." Carlotta gave him an easy smile extending her hand to him.
"You as well Ms. Ramirez." He shook her hand quickly and pulled back.
"Please call me Carlotta," she smiled. "Can I show you to your rooms?"
"We're only staying the night." Victoria said following Carlotta out of the room.
"That's fine. You can stay as long as you like. Our new teachers won't be in until the end of the month." Carlotta stated starting back down the hall towards the main entrance.
They followed her down the hall and out past the statue. The moment the door opened Remus could feel a wall of heat advance on him, suddenly regretting the cardigan he wore as sweat immediately started to run down his back.
Walking through what looked like a large garage door Remus could finally see the outside of the building. It was a plain white, metal building, looking something like an overgrown storage shed. They walked across a parking lot towards what looked like a line of ordinary white trailers. Past the buildings, all that could be seen was sand and rocks, reminding him that they were in the desert. He listened as Victoria asked, "Do you still throw a party for the staff on the fourth?"
"As always," Carlotta smiled, "It wouldn't be the fourth of July without a barbecue and fireworks. You're welcome to join us if you like."
"We'll see if we're still around." Victoria gave Remus a quick glance. She knew that the full moon was coming up on the seventh and didn't want to cut it too close for him.
Arriving at the first of the trailers Carlotta opened the door for them, "This is where you'll be staying. I think you remember where everything is. If there is anything I can do to help, I'll be in my office until six, and then I'm just down the row on the other end."
"Thanks Ms. Ramirez." Victoria said, still not having walked through the door.
"You're welcome. I do have to get back to work now. Have a good day." Carlotta turned on her heel and walked back towards the school.
Once Carlotta was gone Remus looked over at Victoria. He sensed her hesitation, but it was the fear in her eyes that made him step over to her and take her hand. She gave him a weak smile, "Once I'm in there it makes it all true. I could ignore the reality until now, but once I step through that door, I can't pretend anymore."
"I'll be right here with you." Remus gave her hand a squeeze, giving her the tiniest bit of support that she needed.
Taking a deep breath she stepped in with Remus by her side. A flood of emotions washed over her as she entered. Despair and loss were at the forefront, but nostalgia and anger were not far behind.
Looking around the living room that they were in it looked as if nothing had changed since she'd left. The walls of the room were still green, the same shade as a Granny Smith apple, with pictures of the family covering most of the available space. Pictures of her parent's smiling faces along with pictures of a younger version of herself only made her feel worse. The couch and chairs were a sort of cream with a hideous floral pattern. The glass coffee table in the center still held some of the papers her parents had been working on. Off to the left was her parent's room. The dark wooden door was ajar so that she could see the light blue walls and the unmade bed. Down the short hallway she knew was the room that had been her's, but was unable to see it from her current position. Instead she looked straight across into the kitchen. There were dishes still waiting to be put away in the drainer as if someone had just been there. Pots and pans hung above the stove, blocking some of the garish yellow walls. Just beyond the kitchen she knew was the dining room, but she was unable to bring herself to move that far.
After a few moments of silence Remus broke in, "Victoria, are you alright?"
She looked up at him, her face unreadable, "I never thought I'd be back here."
"I do understand." He took his hand from her's, "I went through the same thing when I returned home, when the Order sent me into hiding."
She shook her head crossing her arms in front of her chest, "It's not the same." Her voice came out just above a whisper, "I don't know if I can do this."
"I am right here Victoria. We will do this together." He gave her a comforting smile.
Nodding she sighed, deciding now was as good a time as any to get started on her parent's things.
…
The next morning Victoria opened her eyes to find herself back in her old bedroom. The place was so familiar, yet so foreign to her. Having been away from it for over twelve years now she couldn't help but feel strange being there. Sitting up in her bed she looked around the room. Old pictures she had put up so many years ago still stared down at her. One in particular caught her eye. Standing, she crossed the room and took the picture from the wall.
Before she could examine it thoroughly she heard a faint knock. Opening it she saw Remus, already dressed for the day. She smiled at him, "Morning Remus, come in."
He awkwardly stepped into the room, feeling uncomfortable as if he were invading her private space, "So this is your room."
"Yep, exactly like I left it. Kind of scary really, I thought they would have changed it after all these years."
"Perhaps they hoped you would return." He said taking a seat at her desk, as far away from the bed as possible.
"It's just strange being back here." She smiled down at the picture in her hands. He watched as a mixture of emotions ran cross her face.
After a moment she handed the fading picture to him. Three girls sat at a picnic table waving and smiling back at him. The girl in the center was very obviously Victoria. Her light skin was a stark contrast to her black hair that cascaded down to the center of her back, while her brilliant blue eyes twinkled merrily. Victoria pointed to the girl on the right of her in the picture, "That's Bernadette, she was one of my best friends in school. I was always jealous of her hair, that penny red. When I talked to Carlotta a while back I heard she took over mom's old position. She was always good at Divination, but I can't imagine her as a teacher. That girl had no patience, she was always on the go."
"Who is the other?" He asked pointing to the girl on Victoria's left. The girl had beautiful olive skin and dark features.
"That's Marisol Herrera, my other best friend. Last I heard she was working in Mexico on some of the Aztec temples. They're still trying to decode a new codex they recently found, it's sort of like the ancient Egyptian's heiroglyphs. She was always interested in her culture." Victoria said with a hint of a smile.
"It seems you three were close." He said handing the picture back to her.
She nodded, "About as close as you were with James and Sirius." Seeing the hurt contort his features, she immediately regretted her words, "Remus, I'm…"
"It's quite alright. We were close, I understand." He rose from his seat, intending to leave until he caught sight of another picture, this one next to her bed. The picture stopped him in his tracks, picking it up to look at it closer he was stunned. At first glance he would have sworn that the teenager in the picture was Sirius, but upon closer inspection he saw the tanned skin and slightly rounder face.
She swallowed hard before saying, "That's Aaron. I guess you could say we were school sweethearts."
"He looks… like Sirius." Remus stated looking up at her.
She nodded, "I know. I think that's why I connected with Sirius so quickly. They were very similar, not only in looks, but everything."
They stayed quiet for a moment, both simply looking at the picture of the two happy teens. Victoria and Aaron both had their arms around one another, huge smiles on their faces. She watched, as her teen self, kissed him and then looked smiling back. Remus looked up at her and could tell a wave of emotions had hit her again. Taking the hint he handed the picture back to her and cleared his throat, "I should leave. You need to dress."
"Right," she said with a sigh putting the picture face down on the nightstand. "I'll be out in a few minutes."
He walked back out of the door, closing it behind him. She took a deep breath, pushing the memories from her mind and started to dress for the day.
…
A few hours later they found themselves in the living room. Victoria was on the floor placing the last of her parent's things in a box, while Remus was in the kitchen waving his wand around, cleaning the dishes they had used for lunch and putting them into another box. After placing the last thing in the box she looked up at him, "Remus, come on, there's one more place I need to go."
With a flick of his wand the last of the dishes placed themselves in the box and he joined her at the door, "Where are we going?"
"To see my parents." She stated simply opening the door.
The heat hit them like a brick wall as she opened the door, causing sweat to bead on Remus's forehead almost the moment he stepped through. Suddenly, behind them she heard a familiar voice call her name. Looking towards the next trailer she immediately recognized the owner of the voice. The man had shaggy black hair and the same blue robes as they had seen the staff wear. As he ran up to her smiling, Remus could see her stiffen slightly, "Tori! It's been too long." His voice was a deep, velvety tone with a hint of a Spanish accent.
"Aaron, I didn't know you worked here." She gave him a fake smile; something Remus had never seen her do.
"Yes, I took over History of Magic. I like to think I teach better than Mr. Gonzalez did, but that is up to my students to decide." He gave her a wink.
"I'm sure you're great." She saw him look at Remus warily and nearly laughed, "Aaron, this is my friend Remus Lupin. Remus, this is Aaron Morales."
"Nice to meet you," Remus said offering his hand.
"And you." Aaron echoed, his grey eyes mistrusting. Turning he spoke again to Victoria, "What brings you here? I heard you were living in England now."
"I was cleaning out my parent's things. I assume you heard what happened."
"I did. Very tragic. They were good people." He said looking at the ground.
It took everything in her not to scoff at his comment, instead she said, "Yeah, well we have to be going. It really was nice to see you again Aaron."
"But you can't leave now, tonight is the barbecue. And you can't miss the fireworks," his tone begging her to stay.
"We'll see. I can't make any promises." She said firmly, leaving, what she thought, was no room for argument.
Instead he looked to Remus, "Please, tell her you need to stay. The fourth here is a truly magical event."
Remus wasn't sure what it was about the man, but there was something he didn't like, "I am sorry, but I'm afraid she is right, there are many things that need to be done before we can decided anything. Now we must be off. It was nice meeting you."
Nodding Aaron stepped back, obviously realizing defeat.
Victoria and Remus sidestepped Aaron without another word. They never even gave him a second glance.
…
A few minutes later found them in the desert. The heat even more stifling out here than it had been back at the school. The sweat dripped from Remus's face as he followed Victoria out into, what it seemed to him to be the middle of nowhere. Neither had said anything since leaving the trailer, Remus could tell that Victoria needed the silence.
Suddenly Victoria changed course, heading north, towards a small cactus. He didn't know what she was doing, but knew better than to ask. As they came closer to it, the cactus suddenly changed. It was no longer a green plant, now it was a stone grave marker. He wasn't close enough to read what it said, but he could tell immediately what it was. They continued on, walking past what looked like stones or plants that changed before their eyes. It didn't take long before Victoria stopped suddenly in front of what looked like two simple rocks, until Remus came up to stand next to her. She knelt down in front of what was now two grave stones, one bearing the name Shannon Knight, and the other Dorian Knight.
She looked up at him with tears forming in her eyes. Remus put his hand on her shoulder, a silent strength emanating from him. "Victoria, I can't imagine how hard this is for you."
She sniffed, giving a bust of laughter while a stray tear rolled down her cheek, "Hard. You have no idea."
He gave her shoulder a squeeze, a feeble attempt at comfort. Looking back at the stone she shook her head, "I should feel sad. I know that. I wish I did, but I just can't. What these people did to me was unforgiveable!"
"I don't think not telling…" He started, but was quickly cut off.
"Not telling me! You think that's what this is all about?!" She got to her feet shouting at him. "That is just the icing on the cake." He didn't back down as she came closer, growling the last words in his face.
"What happened?" He asked gently, this was something he'd never seen from her. He was suddenly afraid of his friend, but he refused to back down.
She took a deep breath and let it out shakily, her rage leveling off once again. Sinking down to her knees, not even noticing the burning sand, she stared at the stone as she talked, "When I was 9 I met Aaron. You see here, as soon as a child starts to show signs of having magical abilities they send them here. I went to the Academy for as long as I can remember." She smiled sadly, pointing to the grave in front of her, "They told me I had things flying across my nursery before I even said my first word.
"Well when I was 9 Aaron joined our class. He had just found out about his abilities and was still scared. I can still remember the first day he came into class, he was terrified as he sat down next to me. We were inseparable from that day. It was my version of the Marauder's, Marisol, Bernadette, Aaron and me. But as we got older things started to change.
"When we were about 14 he started dating, it seemed like a different girl every week. Of course I was upset. By that time I knew I wanted to be more than just his best friend, but didn't know how to tell him. He never gave me a second glance, I was his friend, and I was never going to be more. Finally, about a year later it all changed. The Academy has a dance every year on Valentine's Day, and somehow Aaron found himself without a date. As usual I didn't have anyone to go with and to my surprise he asked if I wanted to go with him, but he made it clear we would go as just friends. I leapt at the chance. I was finally getting what I wanted; even if it wasn't in exactly the way I wanted. When we met at the school and he saw me in my dress, it was like he was looking at me for the first time. He finally realized that I was a woman. We ended up making out behind the trailer after the dance." She paused laughing at the memory.
"I thought everything was perfect, but I soon learned, it never stays perfect for long.
"One night we had snuck away, into the desert, so that no one would find us. It seemed innocent at first, just a little making out, but before I knew it, things changed. I realized too late what was going on as he started to take my clothes off. I kept telling him no, but he just kept going. I tried to get away a few times, but he was too strong. When it was all over he kissed me and didn't say another word as he walked away from me, leaving me to dress and find my way home on my own. I cried myself to sleep that night; I had never felt so… dirty. When I saw him the next day, he acted like nothing had happened. He said it was what everyone did and I just needed to get used to it. I just wanted to be with him so bad, I believed him.
"A few months later I found out I was pregnant. I went to my parents right away, knowing that it would only be worse if I waited. They didn't even look at me for days. I was suddenly the most horrible thing that had ever happened to them. After a while they came to me apologizing for their behavior and saying that they had made a decision. I was going to… get rid of the baby. They said that it was the only way." She took a ragged breath, silent tears streaming down her face by this time. "They didn't want anyone at the Academy to know so they took me to a Muggle doctor. I will never forget walking back out of there knowing what I had done, but seeing the smiles on my parent's faces.
"A few weeks later Aaron and I got into an argument. I let it slip, about what I did, and he broke up with me. Later I found out that he was cheating on me. I felt like the whole world was crashing down around me. If it wasn't for Marisol and Bernadette I don't think I could have made it through that time. Over time my parents and I started talking again and everything started to return to normal. We never brought up what happened again.
She paused, taking a deep breath, "Then when I found out the truth I guess it just brought everything back up. I left for England that night."
Remus didn't say a word as she talked. He knew this was something she needed to get out. It broke his heart to hear what his friend went through. She smiled, still not looking at him, "I am sad that they're gone. Aaron was right, they were good people, taking me in like that when I was a baby. And even with everything that happened I still do love them. But how do I forgive them?" She looked up into his kind hazel eyes, searching for an answer.
"I don't know." He answered honestly. "I don't know how you can forgive any of them, but I know you can." He paused, taking her hand. "Victoria, just remember everything you have gone through has made you what you are. You are stronger than you will ever know. Anyone who can go through what you have and still smile every day is an amazingly strong person."
She smiled up at him, wiping away a stray tear, "Thank you Remus."
He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into a warm embrace. Whispering into her hair he said, "Anytime my friend."
…
On the plane ride home Victoria was uncommonly quiet. They had chosen not to go to the barbecue, knowing how hard it would be for her Remus opted to return home. He silently placed his hand over her's pulling her out of her thoughts. She gave him a quick smile, then turned serious, "Remus, I'm sorry for… back in the desert. You shouldn't have had to listen to my rant. It was…"
He cut her off holding his hand up, "Victoria, we all have our weak moments. It is nothing to be ashamed of. You needed someone to listen; I am simply pleased that I could be there."
"Well I guess the skeleton is out of the closet now isn't it."
He nodded, "I showed you mine and now you have shown me yours. I believe that makes us even."
She laughed leaning back into her seat. The rest of the ride was spent in a comfortable silence, neither needing to say anything else.