Chapter 5: A Close-Knit Group

Hydra and Loughness sat with Guillermo and Sortia near the lake. It was already their second week at Hogwarts. After what Hydra had just said, the other three stared at her as if she'd literally grown three heads like her namesake. "Well," she pressed. "I only said that I think it's sort of sad that we'll probably never have close friends here."

Sortia blinked first. "But who cares? We're the best and we're all friends so who needs anyone else?"

"I mean I don't require the girls I shall shag someday to be close friends, so it's of no difference to me. I usually prefer books, remember? I just lucked out finding three other people I like enough to stop reading long enough to converse with them so I'm good," Guillermo chimed in.

"We have our goblin friends," Loughness reminded Hydra. "And we have Wolfy. We don't need them all here at school. They're our friends when we're back home." He frowned over at his twin in obvious annoyance. "I don't see why you're getting all unnecessarily gloomy."

"You don't get it," Hydra exclaimed. "None of you, and I don't see why. What I'm saying is that connecting with people is nice, even if it's only a few and our circle of friends probably won't get bigger. I realized that this past week. I watch the students around me in my house and I know that none of them will become close friends mostly because I can't get close to someone I shall always have to lie to. It really hit me how we're always going to have to lie!"

"About what," Guillermo asked. As he spoke he dug a box of assorted chocolates out of his school bag before replacing it on the ground at his side. "Anyone want one?"

Sortia reached to pluck a chocolate from the box, murmuring a 'thanks' before popping it into her mouth.

"About something as fundamentally important as who we are," Hydra replied. "We can't tell them we're half elf without risking far too much. It's why we must appear fully human. It's why our parents constructed this well crafted lie about how we're the children of Regulus and Echidna Black." Echidna was actually Kreacher transfigured into a human woman, but that was beside the point. Echidna was only a necessary ruse when they had to make public appearances, which was rare. That was a good thing because Kreacher kept forgetting himself and speaking in elf third person. "They're so certain we'll not get a fair shake or have an easy time if people know."

"They're probably right. People can be shitty," Guillermo said around a full mouth of two chocolates. He liked to combine flavors, meaning he always had to eat at least two at a time. "I don't mean this the wrong way, but why'd they have kids if they thought you'd have such an unfair shake at things?"

"You know, talking with your mouth so full, yet managing to make yourself perfectly understandable nonetheless is rather impressive," Sortia complimented thoughtfully and Guillermo grinned.

"Thanks!"

Hydra smirked in dry amusement, momentarily distracted, because Guillermo also managed to look pleased with himself with a full mouth too.

"They knew we'd be better," Loughness replied, not bothering to keep the pride from his voice. "They were right. We have what no one else does. We have elf and human magic, and that gives us an advantage. Our grandmother Walburga calls us Pureblood squared!" After a moment he added, nearly as an afterthought, "They also wanted heirs for House Black."

"Well that all makes sense, I guess," Guillermo said, nodding.

Hydra sighed, beginning to pull blades of grass up from the ground at her side, then tossing them into the lake.

"Feeding the ducks," Guillermo asked with an amused grin.

"Ravenclaw trick question," Hydra replied dully. "There are no ducks in the lake."

"Plus ducks probably don't eat grass," Sortia added.

"Does the squid eat grass," Loughness wondered.

Guillermo laughed. "Guess we're about to find out."

"If someone did find out, who knows what they'd do or how they'd treat us," Hydra said.

"Find out that we're feeding grass to the squid," Guillermo asked and Hydra punched him in the shoulder.

"No, silly. About Loughness and me being half elves!"

"No chocolate for you," Guillermo proclaimed, rubbing at his shoulder and she laughed.

"I didn't want any, so there."

"More for me, so there," he shot back, still grinning.

"We could always say they're lying," Sortia said.

"About the squid eating grass or the half elf thing," Guillermo wanted to know.

"Both," Sortia decided with a grin.

"How would anyone find out anyway," Loughness asked.

"If we ever liked someone enough to consider them a good friend and trust them with the information," Hydra explained. "I suppose I'm worried about the risk... And about our bad judgement if we were wrong about who we could trust," she admitted. Saying it out loud was a bit uncomfortable, but she knew that keeping it inside would be worse.

"That's just life," Guillermo said with a careless shrug. "We all screw up sometimes, and we just have to fix it no matter what it takes."

"You talking about killing someone," Sortia mock whispered, leaning toward him. "Because if you are, I know a potion or two for that and I'm down."

Guillermo laughed. "I'll keep that in mind."

"I'm proud of who I am, don't get me wrong," Hydra said, suddenly feeling that she needed to clarify that. "I'm never ashamed, no matter how anyone else may think of us. I do think we're better...more. But I don't want the negative interaction, you know if other people decide to be mean about it."

"No ego trouble, I see," Guillermo said dryly, his lips twitching. Glancing at Sortia he added, "Good to know she thinks she's better than us."

"Not like that," Hydra said, sighing and rolling her eyes at him.

"Hey they can do things we can't, and they're our friends," Sortia laughed. "I'm great with benefiting from that."

"And we'd always do anything you guys need," Loughness assured expansively.

"See," Guillermo said. "Combine all our talents and we're unstoppable. We're all the friends we need. Besides, I doubt anyone else could keep up, anyway."

Hydra smiled, actually finding the uplifting words comforting. Put that way, having a small close-knit group didn't seem at all bad.

"Hey, what's up?" The sudden voice speaking from above them caused her to jump. "You all looked like you were having so much fun, I wondered if there was room for one more."

The boy who stood above them had short wavy dark hair and wore Ravenclaw robes. Hydra thought he may be another first year, but couldn't remember his name.

"James, right," Guillermo asked and he nodded.

"Yeah, that's right."

"Want a chocolate?"

James smiled at Guillermo as he reached into the box the other Ravenclaw boy offered. "Sure, thanks! I'm hungry!"

"You may as well have a seat, then," Guillermo suggested.

"I bet I could put a charm on those chocolates to make them never run out," James said. "It's just a splitting charm combined with an enlargement charm, combined with a duplication charm. Then each fragment of chocolate grows into another and they multiply. Each time you lift one out of the box more take its place."

"So it's made out of that piece of chocolate and simply enlarges itself," Guillermo said excitedly.

"Yeah, that's it," James said, nodding happily that the other boy understood his thought process.

"Good, because I don't like the idea of transfiguring empty air," Guillermo said.

James nodded. "It's harder on the stomach that way, and that's no good. Some day I'm going to have a magical restaurant. All my food shall be magical. Each dish will do something."

"Do something," Hydra asked.

"Like one could make you happy, one could give you inspiration, one could be like only a spoonful and get you full if you are dieting."

Sortia chuckled. "You should make that one a dessert or something so whoever eats it feels as if they're being naughty while losing weight."

James grinned. "Good idea."

"You should come up with one that makes people want to shag," Loughness suggested eagerly.

"Yeah I think that one is called an Aphrodisiac," James said. "I think it'd be fun to make that one and give it to two people who hate each other," he added happily.

Loughness laughed. "You sure you aren't in Slytherin?"

Hydra found herself imagining how James would react to their secret. She couldn't help it. Perhaps he would never hang out with them again after today, but nonetheless she wondered how he would react, and if he would even care.

He plucked the box from Guillermo's lap and raised his brows. "So may I try my duplication idea?"

"Yeah, sure," Guillermo said eagerly. "I'd love to never run out of chocolate." He sighed. "It's too bad I already ate up some of the best flavors, though."

James nodded. "Yeah. Sadly I can do nothing about that. I'm good but not that good."