Tormented

I was waiting in a large wing-backed chair wearing a sundress, light robes, and my signiture black mask when Caspian walked in to the library.

“Would you care for refreshments?” I asked as he approached.

“That sounds lovely, I had a rather early breakfast this morning!” This was highly unlikely given the time in which the ball ended last night, but refusing would have made him appear rude.

“Tippy!” I called. A house elf wearing a dark burgundy uniform with the Grindelwald crest appeared to my right. “Tea for two please!”

“Of course my lady” Tippy answered.

A tea tray with pastries and finger sandwiches appeared on the short table in front of me.

By this time Caspian had made his way to the chair opposite me leaving the table between us. I prepared our tea as he took a cucumber sandwich.

“Sugar?” I asked

“One please” I handed him his cup and took mine enjoying the comfort of the warm cup in my hands.

Our conversation covered many mundane things before I was able to discuss what I had came for. I flourished my hands wildly while discussing a time in which I had almost botched a mission because a dress in a nearby store had distracted me.

I could see Lestrange's respect for my position diminishing but I was more focused on my gratitude that I had been required to learn the switching spell wandlessly. The act of waving my hands had switched a couple drops of his tea with a just enough of the vertiserium I had stashed in the hidden pocket of my robes to loosen his tongue. I watched him take a sip and noticed the immediate unfocusing of his eyes.

“What year did you graduate again?” I asked.

“1944” He intoned.

“How did being a member of Slytherin house affect your interactions with others in both your class and your house?”

“Slytherins are often more aloof and interact with the other houses less, however I interacted with my house mates in a fairly standard manner. The difference came with the members inside my house, there is a strict code of conduct adhered to within the house. Our etiquette is highly scrutinized and personal interests are placed above most other things, rendering housemate interactions cold and highly competitive.”

“Competitive in what manner” I asked

I watched for a second as he struggled with the answer, I had clearly stumbled upon what he was forbidden to speak about with people not a member of Slytherin.

“There is a court system set up within the house that dictates the flow of power. The King and Queen rule over the house answering to no one, not even to the head of the house. Both the King and Queen lead the prince and princess who are fourth year or below. Each year group however has a clear ranking. Seven rulers, one for each year, exist, and the ruler of the seventh years is the King or Queen. This can however change if the king or queen is challenged formally within the first week of school. The challenge must be something in which a formal winner can be determined and is often a duel. The King and Queen determine how the house runs for the year, what front we present, how the house members act around the general populace, and are responsible for any punishments a house member may earn by breaking their rules. All other leaders answer to the King and Queen, and any leaders below fifth year answer to the Prince and Princess”

I had been expecting something of this sort, but nothing so intricate, and was rather shocked that teenagers were participating in this system. I had however gotten what I came for so I raised my wand and oblivated Caspian. He would gain a happy memory in which he suitably impressed a young witch with his stories of Hogwarts, and the daring escapades he had enjoyed throughout his school years.

I rested my hand on top of his on the coffee table “Unfortunately, I must return to my duties, our lord expects much of me today.” I spoke in a forlorn tone.

He reacted just the way I expect any of my fathers followers would, with great fear at the mention of his name and an immediate wish to distance himself from the situation. This worked great for me as I had no desire to see him off to the floo.

As soon as the sound of his steps had faded from the hallway outside I hurried to my room. My father had kindly provided me with a trunk complete with all of the items I would need for a term at Hogwarts. He had not however anticipated that I might wish to take any of my personal belongings with me on the nine month assignment. Thus I had to transport the trunk from my quarters in Nurmengard to the bedroom I actually used in Rosier castle. I reached my room and shrunk the trunk while grabbing my traveling cloak. I then hurried back out into the hallway and to the receiving room where the floo was located. My father had informed me on August 30th that I was to be spending the year at Hogwarts, generously leaving me one whole day to set my affairs in order before disappearing for nine months.

I spent the rest of my day informing various tutors and the people who had raised me that I would not be back for nine months, before I retired after dinner to pack any belongings I would like to bring with me.

The next morning I awoke and dressed in my Hogwarts uniform. I saw no need to wear an alternative outfit if I was to be apparating to the platform. I ate a quick breakfast by myself on the balcony attached to my quarters before once again shrinking my trunk and tucking it into my pocket. I appeared on the platform at precisely ten in the morning. This was to intentionally avoid most of the late morning rush and to hopefully avoid being noticed until I was announced at the castle. I found an empty compartment at the back of the train that I applied more words to than most people had on their houses, before I unshrunk my trunk and placed it on the racks above my head. I pulled out the defense against the dark arts textbook that had been packed for me and settled on to the bench to read.

I got two paragraphs in before a teardrop hit the page I was reading. I stuck a bookmark in to mark my place (the first page) and took a deep breath. I threw up an extra silencing charm before I started sobbing in earnest. My occlumency tutor had explained that bottling emotions up indefinitely was dangerous to both you and those around you, but it was fine for short periods of time. He then taught me how to suppress my emotions until I was in a place that I could express them all at once. It was both a liberating feeling and very overwhelming. I could feel all of the anger and anguish that I had not processed over the past few days, along with all of the disgust, shame, fear, and other things I had felt in the days beforehand. It was difficult sometimes to find a place and time in which I could let myself feel, thus I would let it bottle up for what was probably too long.

I cried for 15 or so minutes focusing on my breathing and trying to process and sort through all the things I felt before I forced myself to take a deep breath and reconstruct my facade. I spent the rest of the train ride reading my, hideously boring, textbooks and snacking on the basket of food Tippy had packed for me. Tippy was my only solace within either the castle or Rosier manor and I was already beginning to miss her. Hopefully I would be able to call her from inside Hogwarts.

I closed the book I was reading, a charms text, as the train began to slow. I placed it into my trunk before making my way out onto the platform. There were children everywhere pushing into each other obnoxiously and yelling for people they hadn’t seen in a while. This was exactly why I had arrived at Kings Cross an hour early.

I looked around the platform before I spotted two professors standing next to each other. One was loudly calling for all of the first years to follow her while the other stood silently to the side assessing the crowds. The second, I deduced, must be Professor Victis, the runes teacher whom I was supposed to meet on the platform.

I walked over to introduced myself.

“Hello sir, My name is Makaria Grey! I was told to find Professor Victis on the platform!”

“Ah yes you are the transfer student correct?” He asked.

“Yes sir.” I said politely.

He gestured for me to follow him and then turned and headed in great strides away from both the group of first years, and the thestral pulled carriages everyone else was getting into. We followed the platform out to Hogsmead and into a pub called the three broomsticks.

“We will be flooing into my office for the sake of efficiency” he stated “the address is Professor Victis’ Office Hogwarts” and then stepped into the flames.

I followed him into the flames and stepped out into a tastefully decorated office. The entire room was circular, it had two doors, one which was open and lead into a large hallway and the other which presumably lead into his personal quarters. There were plush blue rugs on the floor and bookshelves lining the walls. A large desk was placed between the two doors with a stained glass window behind it.

In the time I had taken to glance around the room Victus had started out the door leaving me to rush after him.

The path that he took me on felt absurd in both its length and the amount of turns taken, but I very much trusted based upon the professor's previous attitude that he was not messing with me.

“I will be leaving you here” he finally stated once we made it to a small antechamber. I could hear hundreds of kids passing through the room beyond.

“A Ghost will come collect you when it is time for you to enter the great hall” he then turned and left me alone in the room to contemplate the sanity of my father.

Eventually the noise of the children died down, only to be replaced with a speech from a kindly professor presumably directed to the first years, explaining the workings of the sorting hat and the house system until that too died away. I stood in silence for what felt like hours, but was probably only around thirty minutes, until the calm atmosphere I had in the antechamber was abruptly broken by a gregarious ghost who introduced himself as the Fat Friar before letting me know I was needed in the great hall and flying through the wall in which he had entered.