(Coeus Black - PoV)
My good mood is gone as I stamp along the corridor.
Vanished. Broken. Shattered.
Tonight has been pretty great so far. Seeing the asshole humiliated again and being praised by Grandfather really would have been a fantastic nightcap.
Stopping in front of the clearly marked First Year DORM room drives the problem home.
...
Dorms.
How could I forget?
Gendered, dorms.
They want to make Phoebe sleep not just in another room, but practically in another building! This is...this is the furthest we have been away from each other...EVER!
Unacceptable. Absolutely unacceptable.
We wouldn't let Andy separate us, we are certainly not about to let anyone else!
But...I forgot. So I have no real plan, other than pitching a fit, threatening everyone with Grandfather, and cursing/murdering everyone in between us.
Stop!
I stagger slightly, from the overload.
Phoebe...
Trust!
Fine. Fine...
Closing my eyes, I slow my breathing, trying to settle down.
I almost lost it on Snape the moment he mentioned the Dorms. I would have, if not for Phoebe. She said she knew it was coming and that it is not a problem. That she already has a plan.
Which sounded great!
...
But we have to spend tonight like this.
...
*Thump*
My head slams against the door.
*Thump* *Thump* *Thump*
I don't LIKE it, Phoebe! I don't LIKE IT!
Feeling her concern wash over me helps a little.
Sighing, I rest my head against the door.
For about two seconds, until the bloody thing opens up.
Goyle blinks at me.
"Err, Coeus? Why are you knocking on the door? It doesn't lock, I don't think. You just...walk in..."
He slowly trails off as he registers my glare.
Taking a deep breath, I finally enter the room. Goyle all but jumps out of my way as I stalk past him.
A quick glance shows most of the beds occupied as everyone prepares to settle down for the night.
"Oh, Coeus? Finally decide to...join...us?"
Draco draws my attention as he comes out of the bathroom.
"Are you...alright?" he asks.
"...I'm fine."
"Are...uh...are you sure?" he asks nervously.
He hurries to elaborate as I glare at him.
"You, you're kind of...bleeding a bit there..."
What? I'm not-
My fingers sweep across my head, coming away bloody.
My blood...
Goyle leans over to Draco.
"Mum says we shouldn't say anything when someone comes home covered in blood," he "whispers" to Draco, seemingly unaware that everyone in the room can hear him.
Draco's eye twitches.
"That is...interesting, but I am sure it doesn't apply when it is their blood, Goyle."
...
"Oh."
Shaking his head, Draco returns his attention to me.
"So...?" he asks.
...
(Draco Malfoy - PoV)
"Reducto!" Coeus snarls.
I don't have time to react as, once again, a lunatic starts throwing spells without warning.
The same spell, even.
I don't know how to describe it, the sudden rush to process everything. The way the world both slows down and speeds up all at once. I do know that I am the first one to duck and cover. Benefits of repeated exposure, perhaps.
Unfortunately I also know that if Coeus had been aiming at me it still would have been far too late. His spell hit its target before I even began to move.
Thankfully, the entire motion appears to have been...largely unnecessary. This room is far larger than the train cabin, and most of the splinters and fragments scatter outside in the hallway.
Carefully glancing up, I see Coeus just, standing there. Arm outstretched, wand still in hand as he stares at the shattered remains of the door.
"Wh-what the hell, man?!" a half-blood I am not familiar with objects.
...How generous of him, to volunteer to play transfiguration rat here. I wasn't expecting it. This is the Slytherin dorms, we are usually less suicidal. I'll have to learn his name as thanks.
You know, if he survives.
Coeus blinks and shakes his head before lowering his wand. He glances around, as if he forgot we were here entirely.
"Sorry, what was that?" he asks. "I wasn't listening."
...Well, that sounds normal, at least. I suppose forgetting everyone else is pretty common too, the bastard.
That said, I think I will wait right here until I am more confident the coast is clear.
The half-blood looks to have other ideas, hopping up and storming over to Coeus.
"Weren't listening? You broke the bloody door! What is wrong with you?!"
Is he really that brave or just that stupid? I mean, I get he may not know Coeus personally, but he was on the lake, right? And at dinner. And even just looking at the Black heir right now...
Coeus just stares back at the angry boy.
"Nothing is wrong. This is fine. Everything is fine."
His voice is...weirdly off, and the emphasis on fine makes it pretty clear things are not fine.
He is hitting a lot of signs of Imperio, actually. I remember Father mentioning it doesn't work very well on Blacks, but...
"Fine?! How is any of this fi-"
The idiot finally shuts up when Coeus's wand jerks up without warning, pointing directly at him, the tip glowing ominously.
"Everything is fine," Coeus repeats, his voice sounding almost dead.
Yes, that's it. His voice is just..lifeless. Empty.
I shift slightly, for a better look.
His eyes...
I frown.
Unlike his voice, his eyes are wild. Nothing like father described Imperio, a glazed, glassy-eyed look.
And his movements are too quick, too precise.
He is every bit as dangerous right now as he was on the lake. More, even.
Even the most weak-willed Imperio victims are never at 100%, they are always at least slightly off.
...
Wait, so he is empty and lifeless, wild and erratic, and controlled and precise. All at once.
That makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.
The half-blood slowly raises his hands and backs away.
"Ok," he agrees, nodding. "Perfectly normal. That door, uh, had it coming. Right?"
I guess he does have some sense of self-preservation after all. Just no wits what-so-ever.
How did he get into Slytherin? Did Phoebe accidentally (I hope it was accidentally) break the Hat?
Coeus lowers his wand, nodding.
"It made me bleed. I made it break."
That...is...sort of, Coeus logic. I think?
"...Right. Perfectly reasonable."
His tone says the opposite, but Coeus either doesn't care or doesn't register it (it is really hard to tell with him), turning away to examine the room once more.
After a moment he nods, strides over to a bed tucked up against a wall (one next to mine, in fact), and sits down on it, pressing his back against the wall.
"That's..." Crabbe starts to speak up before changing his mind as Coeus looks over at him. Scurrying over to the foot of the bed he quickly retrieves his trunk, dragging it to the unclaimed bed.
Embarrassing. Embarrassing, but a far more reasonable option than trying to pick a fight.
With a grunt, Coeus pulls his own trunk from a pocket and tosses it somewhere near the foot of his bed, not bothering to expand it. He doesn't retrieve it when it bounces and rolls halfway across the room. I am uncertain if he even noticed.
...
Nothing else happens for a few moments.
...
Sighing, I get to my feet, carefully brushing myself off and straightening my hair.
The others, most still half-hidden behind their own beds, watch carefully for several seconds, following suit only when I don't spontaneously explode.
I give Crabbe and Goyle a short glare before shaking my head.
As I said, embarrassing. But it's not like they actually have a chance against Coeus, so I can't hold it against them.
Carefully slipping into bed, I position myself where I can watch him without being too obvious about it.
Everyone else gets into position as well before Goyle speaks up.
"I'm, uh, getting the lights bo...everyone. If that's ok?" he asks.
Coeus doesn't respond. He has made no move to sleep either, sitting on top of the bed, blankets and all, his back firmly against the wall.
With no objections, darkness claims the room.
...
The night is mostly quiet. The shuffling of blankets and occasional sniff or quiet cough are expected, of course. The muttering is not.
With the darkness, the shadows stand out as well. I can see now, that Coeus is not quite sitting still. He is rocking, slightly. And, as I watch, occasionally twitching.
And muttering. Too quietly to make out.
...
Madness.
Everyone talks about the "Black Madness", so often and so casually that the word lost all meaning. I mean, sure, Coeus is pretty crazy. I knew that. He does strange things all the time, is wild and unpredictable, and his logic is questionable.
But madness?
As I watch, a particularly strong twitch causes his whole head to jerk violently, tilting to the side, hard enough that I worry he might break his neck.
He reaches up and scratches at his head with a jittery hand, the other still holding his wand as he glares about the room suspiciously, still muttering.
It's hard to tell, but I'm pretty sure his head has started bleeding again.
...
I think I understand now.
Firmly closing my eyes, I try to sleep.
Try to sleep, despite the fact that probably the most dangerous person I know is having a psycho episode in the bed right next to me, while armed.
...
It takes a long time to go to sleep.
**Crack**
The sudden, incredibly loud noise jolts me awake.
I scramble for my wand before sitting up and looking around warily.
"What?" I ask, joining the chorus of voices asking similar as everyone looks around. It's not surprising no one could sleep through that, not even Goyle.
Coeus is still perched on his bed but is tensed up, with his wand pointed outwards as he surveys the room as well.
Something certainly happened. There is...stuff, all over the floor, and a big, something, thrown up against a wall. It's still dark, so I can't quite...wait. Is that...?
"Huh."
Coeus lowers his wand and looks to the foot of his bed, where his trunk is sitting.
"Interesting..." he says.
Someone finally gets the lights, so we can confirm.
The stuff all over the floor is smashed-up candy and broken wood, while the trolley lays against the wall.
"Coeus," I ask. "When did that thing get in here? And...why did you throw it against the wall?"
He shrugs.
"It came in..." he trails off before shrugging. "I don't know. A bit ago. Settled down at the foot of the bed. I didn't do anything to it though, last I looked it was still there."
Everyone looks at the foot of the bed, where his trunk is sitting.
I get a very bad feeling.
"Coeus, when did you get your trunk and set it up properly?" I ask.
"I didn't," he replies, finally climbing out of bed and kneeling next to it.
"Were...were you jealous Pocket?" he asks, rubbing the lid of the trunk. "You didn't need to be jealous! You will always be my primary trunk!"
...
"I knew you were already special, but I had no idea you could do that! I am impressed."
I swear. I swear to Merlin the trunk just gleamed.
Movement catches my eye, and I see it slowly, almost hesitantly, wheeling across the floor, having somehow righted itself when I wasn't looking.
"Hmm? Oh, Deathcart! Pocket, as awesome as that was, you should apologize. Deathcart is part of the family now, and you two will need to get along. No one is being replaced. Deathcart will generally handle food and bodies. And people I want to become bodies. You can smash people that try to steal though."
...
"No," I say.
Getting out of bed, I make my way to my trunk, ignoring Coeus as he continues rambling at...to(?) whatever insanity he has apparently been carrying around in his pocket.
Pausing, I clench my fist and draw in a breath as I step on something sticky.
Right.
The floor is covered in smashed-up candy.
"Uh, boss?" Goyle asks quietly.
Looking over, I notice everyone's attention divided between me and Coeus.
"No," I repeat. "I am done."
I shake my head.
"I am done. I don't even know what happened last night...earlier...I don't even care! But that?" I point over at Coeus, who is still focused on his trunks.
"I don't know if it's normal Coeus Crazy, Black Madness, or something else entirely but am not dealing with it. I am not going to bed every night wondering if a bloody trunk is going to eat me while I sleep! And now there are two of them! Two!"
I shake my head again.
"No. No, I am not dealing with, with this!" I wave my hand in Coeus's general direction, "For seven years. I am going to Professor Snape to demand another room."
With a decisive nod, I step forward.
*Squish*
Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath.
It's..it's fine. I just have to deal with it until we get out of here.
It's fine.