Lesson 1; 2nd Years; Term Two

[mariaisabella]

Maria strode into class with a large grin on her face. Things were beginning to look up slightly. Her brother had finally awoken, to very surprised and ecstatic Healers, and everything seemed normal. The boy had been mightily confused at first, but Byran had taken it all into stride after a while, gasping in astonishment as the Healers did the simplest things with magic. He would ask the Healers to blow things to larger sizes, and one particularly fun-loving worker actually exploded a rather large vase, causing Byran to burst into hysterical laughter and half of the ward to shout in fear of a riot.

As for Alex, she would be attending Hogwarts. The Healers didn't know if they could help her memory. Alex had relearned things rather easily, but couldn't recall any of her past events besides a vague recollection of the attack in their home. Alex seemed really different, and was putting pieces of her personality back together. She was going to be a completely different person, the Healers said, but she would definitely be all right, and maybe one day she would recall all of her younger years.

So, all in all, Maria was ecstatic. And she was just happy to be back at Hogwarts. She had grown to love it, and though Maria's mother had suggested staying home for a year, Maria had firmly objected to the idea. She had shouted that Hogwarts was much safer, and that learning magic could help protect the family. At that, her mother had kept quiet, and seemed much more eager in allowing the children to attend. Maria had silently celebrated, because she was eager to see everyone again. Sprightly was always fun to talk to, and Aislin as well, but more importantly, she had missed Nicodemus severely.

A couple of changes had taken place for Maria. She had grown about an inch, making her just a little taller than the previous year, but only enough to be noticeable. Her hair now had thin brown streaks through it, and her ears were now pierced twice. Underneath her robes, she still wore the same type of Muggle clothes. Today's were pale blue, but of course, wouldn't be seen by anyone. Maria took her seat with a smile, and waved to the Headmistress cheerfully.

[Fork]

Fork stepped lazily and silently--the latter came naturally, of course--into the classroom. She was rather sleepy, having had a summer of alternately difficult and relaxing times, but she had dressed herself in her odd way as usual. Today's most noticeable oddity was the striking, mismatched, elbow-length gloves she wore with her robe sleeves rolled up (though not so far as to reveal the hidden pockets she had made), but a less casual observer, particularly one who was more familiar with her, might notice subtle bluish-purple sheens in her hair. Fork was tired, though in a relatively good mood, partially due to the fact that she had actually made it to class on time for once. She sighed, flexed her shoulders, and sat down at a desk she chose at random. The only thing there was to complain about for the year so far was that Stradivarius, her perhaps most hated enemy, was now at Hogwarts, and possibly courting Aislin. At least, it certainly seemed that way. Ah, well, she shouldn't be fretting over that now.

[sprightly]

Sprightly walked into the classroom looking lost, she felt lost. It was impossible to think that only days ago the castle had seemed like a fine home, now it seemed full of foreboding. The very idea of going back to classes seemed so silly and trivial. People were dying and learning how to turn a frog into a coin purse was positively trifling, suo xi in Chinese if anyone cared. She sat down beside Maria “Hello. We are alike now in two ways if you care to know” she said primly, even though the words made little sense it was clear to see that Sprightly was being friendly. “First the boy, and now… mmm, it might have even been the same people” she smiled sadly. She was terribly confused, the world was so awfully wrong that it caused her a sort of physical pain, like an allover headache.

[~Aislin Hunter~]

Aislin came into class, her hair not just a normal brown colour, and she sat donw next to Fork, her face pink and flushed. She had just ran down the hallway to class, and had been stopped by a Prefect that threatened her with detention...that and the fact that she had caught a glimpse od Stradivarius in the hallway, but no one would know anything about that.

"[red]Hey Fork, how are things?[/red]" she asked as a lock of hair fell and covered one of her bright eyes.

[nico]

Nico walked into class. Transfigurations was hardly his favorite course but it was good to be back in class, anywhere but home was very much a welcome change. He sat down next to Aslin and Aslin’s friend. He would have sat by Maria but Sprightly was haunting that corner of the room so he decided against it. It wasn’t that he didn’t like Sprightly, it was just being around her made him feel uncomfortable. She was not well and it made him kind of sick seeing her in such pitiful condition.

“Missed you, Aslin” he said smiling at her. His hair was fixed differently, it was lying flat against his head shiny with a beetle shell of gel. It made him look more serious, older somehow. His robes also lacked their trademark alterations, he didn’t quite look himself actually. He lacked the sparkle of eccentricity he’d had before, the charm was still there but he seemed distracted, like there were more important things on his mind than his friends.

[mariaisabella]

Maria turned to Sprightly as she spoke, but something looked different about the girl. She was not at all as Maria had met her. Sprightly seemed to be stabbing at friendliness, but Maria didn't quite understand what she was talking about. Her brain kicked into overtime trying to work out what Sprightly had said. The first part made a bit of sense, perhaps . . . if Sprightly was as observant as Maria thought. 'The boy' most likely referred to Nico, as he was the only boy Maria truly hung out with at school, but the second portion of Sprightly's mutterings was uncomprehendable.

"I'm terribly sorry, Sprightly." Maria said softly, shaking her head. "I don't think I understand all that well." Maria almost added, 'You look a bit distraught', but she felt that would be prying, and didn't want Sprightly to feel like Maria was interrogating her. Or even making an attempt of it. Sprightly did look rather baffled, and maybe a bit dazed. Last time I saw that face was after my sister told me Dad had died. I wonder if Aly's doing alright . . .

"Hm. Have you met Aislin's friend quite yet? I've not been introduced yet, but then again, I haven't talked to Aislin much since . . . the end of last year."

[sprightly]

“S-sorry” she said, “She isn’t… I’m not well” her cheeks tinged pink with embarrassment, from what exactly was hard to say. “I meant to say it differently, but I can’t… I just can’t” she stammered. She shook her head, trying to switch to something she could manage clearly. Everything lacked clarity, it was rather like being underwater the way things moved and looked and sounded were all blurry and different. Worse still, she had no idea how to swim. The metaphor made her smile a little bit, a perfectly out of place smile that did not reach her eyes.

“Aslin’s friend is called Fork… her real name is Klarissa but she likes to be called Fork. That’s the truth” she said, it didn’t sound like the truth, it sounded like undiluted craziness. She knew that it didn't sound right but was almost certain it was correct, she liked Fork and thought that maybe they were sort of friends. Actually she wasn’t sure she had friends at all, even Nico had become skittish of her lately. It was understandable, she could hardly stand being around herself anymore though there was only one way of pulling out of that and she certainly didn’t fancy it. Still, sometimes she was coherent and that meant she could get better. She had been worse than this before, at least she was managing attend classes, that was something. There was a lurking terror in the most rational part of her brain that she would never get better and would be locked away gibbering in a soft room. All of her intelligence, all of her creativity, and all of her youth would just be lost to madness. It did not bear thinking about.

[mariaisabella]

Maria gave a worried glance for Sprightly. Something was definitely upsetting her, but Maria felt it wasn't any of her business. "Well, I'd certainly like to meet . . . Fork." Maria said, stumbling a bit, hoping that she had heard the name right. How did you get the name 'Fork' from Klarissa? Then it occurred to her that maybe Kl . . . Fork, was just uninterested in her name and wanted a different one, simply to stand out. After all, hadn't Maria herself always wished for a better name?

An idea popped quickly into Maria's head, and she smiled. It was something small, but it might help cheer Sprightly up a bit. The girl seemed to have a lot on her mind, and it would be a chance for Maria's sisters to associate with a talented witch. Especially little Aly. "Sprightly, would you do me a favor? Would you come with me and my sisters into Hogsmeade sometime? They're a little lost right now, and I'd like to introduce them to all of my friends eventually . . ."

[sprightly]

“You’re my friend? Really? I thought… I thought I was alone” she smiled. It was a genuine, although tragic, smile that lit up her face. “I’ve only ever had two friends before and they’ve both been… well, the sort of friend that likes sneaking kisses” she said, confusion made her clumsy with her secrets. For a few seconds she didn’t even realize she had said anything wrong and then her hands flew up, bolting over her traitorous mouth. “Oh, oh!” she made little nervous noises before taking her hands away to speak “Not Nic, not him, a-a girl. Just the girl” she had flushed bright red now. “I got confused, just Darcy, she the only one I ever.... Nic belongs to you, I-I never would” she stammered, words flooding from her mouth in a torrent.

She was terribly worried that Maria would not buy the flimsy excuse she had offered. She had hurt Nic quite a lot very recently and she knew he was angry with her, he wouldn’t talk to her hardly at all and every time she met his eyes he looked away. Exactly what crime he was angry over was hard to say, she had done so much against him. If she ruined his would-be relationship with Maria then she was fairly certain he’d never forgive her. Over the years more than a few people had hated her but they had all been mundane people who she would never give a whit about, Nic was special. He was the one person she felt she couldn’t live without.

[mariaisabella]

"Well, I just kind of assumed I was your friend, I mean . . ." She stopped, but not because of what Sprightly had told her. At least, not about her other two friends sneaking kisses. "Sprightly, wha-?"

Maria couldn't figure out what Sprightly was talking about for yet another baffling moment. "You think that Nico, and . . . a-and I-?" Red creeped up Maria's face as well, and she blinked, shaking her head. "What? I-I, no, of course not. Nico and I are just . . ." What, just friends? A voice in Maria's head said. Didn't he just tell you that he loved you not to long ago?.

"Just-" Maria struggled with her words, because several voices seemed to be conflicting in her head about what exactly her relationship was with Nico. "J-just . . . I don't really know what, but certainly not . . . you thought-?" Now she realized she sounded exactly like Sprightly. The words didn't even make sense in her own head. "B-but I thought that you were-were . . ." And finally, with a loss of anything else to say, she let out a great sigh. "I thought you were his."

[sprightly]

“Oh, I am. But I belong to him, like land or something, that’s how he belongs to me too. We’re supposed to marry one day, when we’re old enough. And I do love him, more than anything actually. The thing is, Maria, loving someone isn’t just wanting them, that’s the way you love things not people. I love Nic and I want him to be happy. For him right now, happy means you and not me. The way he talks… I half thought he was going to burst into song about you like West Side Story. I thought you knew how he felt. I tried to hide us from you, I lied, he lied. I guess you noticed anyway. The point is if you love him he loves you too and if you ever hurt him, I’ll eat your heart, all of it, every last bit” her voice had dropped to a whisper so that the boy in question did not hear her. “I’m being very mature about this, you should notice. I’ve thought about it a lot. I mean, you’re…” she quit before finishing the sentence. “I’d love to meet your sisters, by the way and I really haven’t any other social obligations”

It as good she hadn’t explained her reasoning for offering Nico to Maria. Sprightly brand logic would not help any situation ever. Maria probably would not have liked being told, very matter-of-factly, that she was beneath Nico economically, socially, and most importantly by blood. To Sprightly the thought was comforting since she fit neatly into all three categories save economically, his family was clinging pitifully to remnants of old money. That was half the reason Deo kept his claws in her, he needed her in the family, or he needed her money anyway. At any rate her future was laid neatly into place right alongside Nico’s, there was a worrying finality to it all that made her want to run away again.

[mariaisabella]

Maria gaped. She couldn't help it. All of this time she had simply thought that Nico cared about her as a friend, just a really good friend. He had comforted her when she cried, made her laugh when there was nothing to laugh about, and was just an all around great person to talk to. And here Sprightly was, talking about how Nico loved Maria, and how Sprightly wanted him to be happy. "I-I-"

"I wouldn't dream of hurting Nico." She said, finally. There was nothing to say, she supposed, other than that. It was very true, at that, and felt that she felt obligated to agree with Sprightly on the point. Sprightly wasn't one to mess with, though Maria wouldn't even think of doing that. She felt she and Sprightly were coming along all right as friends.

"Oh, thank you." Maria said, grinning. "It'll be great to have you joining us. Um, maybe at the Three Broomsticks or something?"

[~Aislin Hunter~]

((SOrry. You know the computer story I presume. It's all taken care of now))
Aislin looked at Nico and smiled. "[red]I missed you too Nico. It'll be nice talking to you again,[/red]" she replied. Her eyes scanned him. He looked different....his hair was different...he was already very serious, but he looked--well--older and....Aislin didn't know what else. He just seemed different. "[red]Are you okay?[/red]" she asked for lack of a better question.

[nico]

(Aaaugh, I want to write more but I have to go as it is midnight-thirty! I have to be at worship service tomorrow, mandatory you know. Today there was Saturday school, this weekend is a poor weekend for sleep)

“Me? I’m just peachy. In fact, I am better than ever before. You’re looking at the new improved Nico, the Nico mark two” a roguish grin cross his face. “I know what you’re thinking, by the way, and you’re wrong. I’m still a rebel” he produced his silver earring from a sleeve with a flourish and started fussing with it, trying to work it into his left earlobe. “See, see, this is rebellion at its finest here. This is me bucking the system and the conventions of society” he said as he fitted the earring into place. It glinted in the light, looking totally out of place with his new look, it was like a piece of the old him clumsily superimposed over the new one.

[~Aislin Hunter~]

((It's okay.))

Despite Aislin's disbelief of every word he said about being okay, she couldn't help but smile at the earring he wore. Maybe things won't be too different after all...I didn't talk to him much after...after Morganna... she thought. She sort of space out and didn't realize that she was staring at Nico. When her book slid off of her desk, the thump snapped her back to reality, and she shook her head with her eyes closed.

"[red]So, how was your summer then?[/red]" she asked. Hers had been different than all of the rest. She had nowhere to stay most of the time, so the first while, she lived with her aunt and uncle, (mother and father. Man, she could not get used to that idea). After awhile though, they dumped her off in Diagon Alley where they paid for a room for her. They just didn't want her she supposed.