Dazai's Loyalest Subordinate
At twenty minutes until curfew, Chuuya had made his way up to the dormitory, grabbed his suitcase and then went to the entrance of the library. Dazai would be there soon, hopefully, if he hasn’t gotten lost on the way. He called this place a nightmare to traverse, but Chuuya’s having no issues so far. No one else was around. They had all went to bed some ten, maybe even twenty minutes ago. Suddenly, the doors to the library slammed open, hitting the walls beside it with a loud bang.
“You’re late.”
“Fashionably so. I had to borrow some books; you know. Now then, lead me to the seventh floor!”
“...Right.”
Dazai was thoroughly dizzy by the time they made it to the seventh floor. Obviously, that was no understatement in his eyes. Chuuya snorted as they finished going down a spiral staircase that went from floor eleven to seven. They had to prolong their trip due to the teachers (Filch, especially) stalking the hallways.
“We’re here,” Chuuya whispered, turning to Dazai as he stumbled to his side.
“...Oh, I don’t recognise this place at all.”
“Are you sure we’re on the right floor, then?”
“Yes, yes, I’m sure. It's probably on the other side. Come-”
“That’s a dead end.”
“Whatever!”
Dazai moved along rather quickly, after all, it was only a few minutes until curfew. He easily matched the brunette’s pace, until he stopped and suddenly turned to a door. After looking around for a bit, he nodded his head to himself.
“Here it is.”
“Isn’t this just an empty classroom?”
“No, it’s a room that only appears for one’s desires. We use it as a gang room. Pretty cool, right?”
Chuuya opened the door without saying another word. His hand ached from dragging his luggage here. The room beyond looked... a lot bigger than what he was expecting. However, it was to be somewhat expected because it had to house a lot of people.
“Yeah. I think it’s really cool. The type of place I won’t get tired of not leaving.”
“I’m glad we agree, Chibi! Now then, I need you to go through all... these.”
Dazai went over to a stack of books beside the (unusually large) couch and picked up the tallest stack. Chuuya watched in utter shock as Dazai set them all on the table. It had to be taller than he was, but it seemed like a lot more when Dazai spread them out in a few other piles.
“...Why?”
“Because, stupid slug, you need to catch up with the theory part of wizardry. You've missed out on three whole years! Anyway, I also need some quiet while I battle No Longer Human in an attempt to do some basic transfiguration. Just think of it as an order.”
“How long do I have to finish this?”
“...Tomorrow’s first lesson. And I want you to understand it well enough to be able to answer questions in History of Magic, or rival Hermione. It'll make you seem better among the students.”
“Understood.”
Dazai’s serious persona dropped immediately after and he followed, throwing himself onto the couch. Chuuya sighed heavily, pulling out the chair and sitting down, preparing himself for the mental anguish he was about to go through. Between this homework, his normal classes and detention, he won’t get much sleep for the next few days.
He skimmed through his timetable, noting the classes he had the next day. History of magic, transfiguration and double potions. He’d better start with those, then. The stack of books decreased noticeably once he took out the ones he had read before- whether it was in his free time with Paul at the French house, or whether they were Dazai’s old books that he had found and kept while cleaning the shithole Dazai called ‘home’. The remainder of the books happened to be the ones borrowed from the library.
He picked up the books he dissmissed, noting the important factors of them as he stacked them again. Time to return them to the pile, he supposed. Dazai was quietly muttering to himself, cussing and all, as he waved his wand at the item on the desk. He blinked awkwardly at him. Chuuya thought that transfiguration didn’t need words? He got started with his transfiguration work first. Maybe figuring that out would help him.
“Damn it... Transfiguration is stupid! This whole-”
“Oi, cut it out. I’m trying to read, shitty mackerel.”
Dazai opened his mouth. Closed it again. He kept his eyes on the mackerel as he flopped up and shuffled to the table.
“Chibi,” He said, almost out of breath, peering at him like a child who wanted to see something cool, “Can you do some transfiguration for me?”
He was suddenly presented with a rock. It had googly eyes and a drawn-on smile. He heard a huff from behind him, before he felt a weight on his back. He didn’t move as a pair of claws dug into his back, and a head peered over his shoulder, huffing again. Smoke came out of its nostrils.
...Was that a dragon?
“Oh! Hah, I completely forgot to introduce you to egg! She’s actually the reason these dragon books are also here.”
“...Egg? Dazai, what-” his voice cut out with fear as the dragon leaned into his neck and huffed again. He felt its- her- tail thwack against his side a few times before it curled to sit on his lap. He met Dazai’s eyes.
“Good news... I think she likes you? Umm, so can you do this for me?”
“Oh... Umm...” Egg purred. Dazai finally seemed to catch on that he was uncomfortable, shooing a hand at the dragon. She moved, quickly, like a flash of a shadow, but appeared again at Chuuya’s feet. The way the tail moved, Chuuya was almost reminded of a dog. Either way, Egg was fine there. Dazai smiled as Chuuya slipped out his wand.
“I’ll have to teach you the way to bond with her, though I think you don’t need it. She's certainly not this close to anyone, and you’ve only just met her.”
“Umm... Yeah. So, how do I do this?”
Dazai shrugged.
“Point at it and imagine it turning into... an ink bottle?”
He moved slightly back and pointed his wand at the rock. He closed his eyes, imagining an ink bottle in its place. The bottle was curved, looking like a mini vase with a tiny opening. It was filled with ink, even going so far as spilling over the edges. A feather quill was sitting in it, perfectly cut. The feather was white with black tips. He felt a flash of light in front of him. He opened his eyes.
“...What the fuck!”
Dazai looked... pissed. Chuuya snorted. It wasn’t too hard, was it? Especially for his first time.
“Oh, I understand now. You don’t actually think an object can change its form, right?”
Dazai scowled, “it’s only logical to assume as much.”
Chuuya hummed. “Well, this might be the shittiest explanation I’ve ever done. This quill bottle,” He picked it up, not caring as the ink drips down his hand, “Is made up of atoms, right? Like the rest of the things in the world,” Dazai nodded along, “So, if you imagine transfiguration as... Say, breaking it down to the atoms, and then rebuilding it back up again, would that work?”
“...You’re a genius... But what about changing a non-living thing to a living thing, and vice-versa?”
“I’m not sure for non-living to living, but with the living to non-living... just think of it as killing it?”
Dazai nodded, and quickly moved the bottle aside, grabbing another rock. This one was bigger, with one small googly eye and one slightly larger one. The grin was goofier as well. He pointed his wand at the rock, and Chuuya went back to his reading.
At Dazai’s small exclaim of delight, a few moments later, Chuuya smiled to himself. Egg had gotten less scared of No Longer Human and decided to sit on Chuuya’s lap instead. He appreciated the warmness of the smoke lifting up to his chin.
Throughout the rest of the night, Chuuya read quietly while Dazai and Egg fought over his company, both too reluctant to let him stay with the other. Perhaps, this place would be less of a hellhole than he thought it would be.