I Walk Alone,

Chapter 8, Three Heads are Better than...

As it turned out, great spells, like Rome, weren't made in a day. Even great wizards couldn't simply produce brilliance in a flash, especially when they were only eleven and thirteen years old. Severus and Raislen discovered this the hard way. They were up half the night working on the blasted distance conjuring dilemma. As such they were quite heavy-headed with sleepiness at breakfast the next morning.

"I still think the problem lies in the merging of the tried and true linking charms," Raislen muttered to Severus around a yawn as the two struggled to keep their eyes open. They sat miserably at the Slytherin table, struggling, each in his way, to wake up. Raislen ate, professing that a good solid breakfast fueled one for the day. Severus wasn't hungry so he swilled pumpkin juice in hopes that fluid would jump start his body. He remembered his dad mentioning something about that. Tobias had been talking of water, but hopefully pumpkin juice would do the trick. Eileen said pumpkin was quite healthy, after all.

"I don't know," Severus replied doubtfully. "I still feel that something else is missing, though I can't quite put my finger on what which is driving me to bloody distraction!" Reaching into a pocket, he dragged out his copy of their notes from the previous night. Smoothing the parchment out on the table beside his pumpkin juice, he stared at it through heavy eyes.

"You forgot to comb your hair, Raislen," Heather pointed out dryly as she plopped down into the chair beside Severus. Reaching up, Raislen ran a hand through his thick dark curls. "Shit," he muttered. "Did I? I'm so tired! At this rate, I bet I'll be utter rubbish in every class!"

Severus snickered. He still found swears from his older friends amusing, likely because they didn't swear often. "I'll be rubbish too, I'm sure," he told Raislen, wanting the older boy to know he wasn't alone. As he spoke, the realization of what it could mean if he were rubbish today made his stomach begin to sink. If the Gryffindor Gang of Gits started in, and they always did, he may not be so fast on the draw today. Oh how he wished, wished, wished, he could be in class with Heather and Raislen rather than in stupid first year! It wasn't as if he'd bonded with a single bloody person in first year in his house.

"I shall probably hate myself for asking, but why are you both so rubbish today?" Heather's expressive gaze darted from Severus to Raislen as she appeared to brace herself for their answer.

Wordlessly Severus pushed his notes at her along the table as Raislen explained their decision to invent a long distance conjuring spell. He explained what had happened to the book he'd attempted to conjure from Greece the previous year and Severus found himself shuddering again in horror as he pictured the poor book's shredded pages.

"Such a thing can't be allowed to happen again," he told Heather firmly.

Raislen nodded. "The Kid is right. So we were working on that last night and it got later and later. We were so invested in our progress, then our lack of progress that we quite lost track of the time. Then when we noticed the time, we ignored it because we were too worked up by then to sleep."

"That's because we were stumped on this connecting bit," Severus explained, gesturing with a forefinger to the bottom of his scroll. "You see, the progress stops on the point of linking. Something isn't right." He sighed as he and Raislen exchanged a glance of pure thwarted frustration.

With a thoughtful frown, Heather scanned Severus's notes. "Okay, be quiet for a moment so that I can study this and think," she ordered. Both boys obliged, Raislen turning back to his loaded plate of breakfast and Severus to his nearly empty cup of pumpkin juice. "I think I've got it," Heather said after less than a minute had passed. Raislen and Severus turned to her eagerly. She cleared her throat, straightening in her chair. "Well, weight, distance and shape would all affect the conjuring spell. I think those considerations are why Raislen's spell failed when he attempted to conjure the book from Greece. The conjuring created a pull, and without compensating for what the pull does to a book over units of time, the shape of it gets affected."

"Genius," Raislen breathed.

Heather smiled. "I know," she said happily and Severus chuckled. If one had it, one should flaunt it, he supposed.

"Wouldn't those aspects be factored in when we link our own magic to the item, though," Raislen asked. "Wouldn't it be automatic?" Heather frowned, shaking her head.

"Never make assumptions in magic," Severus said. "Doing so can leave holes in a spell where it can go wrong. That's one of the first things my mum taught me when I was six years old."

Heather laughed, tossing back her long red locks in open amusement. "Yes, Raislen," she mock chided. "You are forgetting those important six year old lessons."

Severus turned to blink at her. "Didn't you both learn that when you were six?"

The two exchanged a glance before speaking in unison. "No!"

Severus frowned in confusion. "But why not? What were you learning instead?"

"I was playing with my cousins, solving puzzles, making forts outside, kid stuff like that," Raislen said offhandedly. Severus just stared. He never enjoyed playing outside. He had no desire to get dirty, and he'd rather read besides. Not to mention most other children made him feel uncomfortable during his younger years. They were so rough and tumble and he had no idea how to relate to them. They sensed this and either didn't like him or tried to be overly friendly which only put a strain on everyone involved. He never quite understood them and it kept things awkward. Those children in question were mostly cousins or the children of his mum's few close friends so interaction was thankfully limited. Severus most enjoyed playing alone or reading or practicing magic but mostly reading. Books were his best friends, his escape, his solace and his addiction and he never minded one bit.

"I was traveling at that age," Heather said. "My family always traveled a lot. With two bardic parents, there was no other way it was going to be. We'd move from town to town as they performed. Sometimes we'd travel around the world, being in a different country each week and others, we'd remain in Britain, but there was always a lot of travel. I enjoyed finding new toys in each different part of the world. It was my way of learning about the different countries and their cultures. I loved knowing what other kids my age played with in other parts of the world."

Severus nodded. That did sound rather interesting. He certainly would've liked to have Heather's early childhood for himself, he decided. "What about you, though," Heather asked. "Besides learning the rules of complex magic when you were six, what was your childhood like?"

Severus shrugged. "I read a lot."

"So did we," Heather nodded. "But what else."

Severus shrugged again, finding himself glancing about as discomfort gripped him, squirming around like an unwanted worm in his inner awareness. "I had toys, and...I don't want to talk about it anymore, alright?" His anxiety was swiftly rising and he was suddenly uneasy. With these two, his first true friends, the experience was a new one. As he found himself glancing around again, he realized that it wasn't about Heather and Raislen. It was about the fact that they sat at the Slytherin table where others could hear. His heart sunk a little when he saw Heather and Raislen exchange a hurt glance. "Just not now, okay?" Lowering his voice to a near whisper he added,"In private. I don't want anyone else knowing my business."

"Got it," Raislen said quickly, and Severus guessed the older boy was remembering their conversation on that first train ride to Hogwarts. Severus gave him a nod and a grateful smile and Raislen smiled back. "Well, HeatherToy? Are you going to help us apply those thoughts of yours to our spell after classes are over for the day? Had you not avoided us yesterday, you could've been there to help, and The Kid and I would've gotten a good night's sleep."

Heather leaned over Severus to punch Raislen casually in the stomach. "Yes. I will help and you are probably correct. The two of you do need me to function properly under pressure."

Raislen let out a groan as he doubled over. "That's a full stomach you're punching, HeatherToy!"

"Don't call me HeatherToy and you won't get punched. In other words, you should've thought of that." The fact that Heather continued to lean over Severus served as a clear indication that she hadn't finished with Raislen yet.

"And you just did it again," Severus pointed out incredulously to the older boy.

"That's right," Heather agreed. "Now straighten up so I can punch you again. Let's get this over with and perhaps you shall learn to say my name properly."

Raislen sighed and straightened up, hands protectively over his stomach. Heather reached around and landed a decent blow on Raislen's upper belly just under his ribs. She sat back smugly as he doubled over again.

"Ten points from Slytherin for punching," Professor Slughorn bellowed from the staff table. The reluctant tone in which he bellowed made Severus think that another professor had prompted him to act. He was betting on blasted McGonagall.

"Look what you did, Raislen," Heather snapped. "Are you bloody happy?"

Raislen shook his head. "Nope. In fact I feel as if I could throw up. Are you happy?"

Heather smirked. "Perhaps."

Severus chuckled, shaking his head in baffled amusement. Did Raislen fancy being punched by his toy? He didn't dare ask at present, lest the answer lead to costing Slytherin more house points.

Somehow Severus made it through the day without falling asleep in any of his classes. When he staggered tiredly into the Slytherin common room to put his books away, Heather was waiting for him with a look of concern on her face. That, combined with the fact she wore a heavy cloak, somehow made him suspect trouble. "I told Raislen to meet us at the lake," she said. "So grab your cloak before we go."

Severus arched his brows. "We're working on the spell out there rather than in here?"

"Of course," Heather said. "There is too much activity in and out of here and I'll never be able to focus. Besides," she added, lowering her voice. "I want to talk."

It was then that the brief topic of early childhood he'd inadvertently raised at breakfast returned to Severus's mind. She must want to dig into that some more. He sighed. "Just let me put my books in the dorm, and I'll be right back." Heather nodded and he rushed into the first year boy's dorm to drop his books down beside his bed. Reaching under it, he dragged out his trunk and dug his cloak out of it. He had the room to himself, so it was a pity he wouldn't be remaining there to study. Rarely did he have the room to himself. Ah well, he thought as he hurried out to join Heather. With how tired he was, if he remained in the dorm to study today of all days, he'd just end up falling asleep. Heather led the way out of the castle and to the lake. They walked in silence, which was fine with Severus. He was too tired to talk if he didn't have to. The brisk pace Heather set combined with the cold winter air served to wake him up a bit, however, which was pleasant.

When they arrived at the lake, Raislen waited, sitting with his back against a tree. He was wrapped in his own heavy cloak, and thanks to the cold air, his expression was once again wakeful. "I have read that the mind functions better in the cold so long as it isn't freezing," he greeted. "I'm eager to find out if it's true."

"First, though, I want to know why you had no childhood," Heather told Severus. He wasn't certain how he felt about the sympathy he saw in her hazel gaze.