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After dinner, while Bella is squirreled away in her and Tony's room reading her History textbook as though it's a fantasy novel (for the two bear significant resemblance)...
Artemis Burberry is in her room, on Patricia Hall, lamenting to her great horned owl about the lack of relatively private fireplaces for Floo calls here, and wondering where her roommate is.
(Who names their daughter "Sherlock", anyway?)
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occluminous
"You can't not hurt anybody," says Feral. "Unless you're dead."
He shrugs. "Maybe. If you are I can't tell."
occluminous
"Then how do you know I can't not hurt anybody unless I'm dead? I'm not dead now and I don't think I'm hurting anybody and you can't tell if I am."
"I mean in your whole life," he says. "The only way you can not hurt anybody, ever is if you're dead."
occluminous
"If I died I think that would hurt some people, mostly my parents," Bella observes.
"But not by something you did, unless you killed yourself," he shrugs. "But it's like... okay, it's like Transfiguration," he says, apparently hitting on an analogy. "Have you had that class yet?"
occluminous
"Yeah, yesterday, third period," says Bella. "We turned wood chips into iron. It was hard."
"Okay," says Feral. "Well, you know how sometimes when I cast a spell on something it lights on fire? I failed Transfiguration last year because we had to Transfigure live mice and stuff and I wouldn't do it."
occluminous
"And they failed you?" exclaims Bella. "Because you didn't want to kill the mice? That's awful! And Tony said you were too good at Transfiguration to be held back in it, too, and that's just not fair, they should give you different tests to make up for it if they really think you'll grow out of it anyway or you'll be farther behind than you have to be."
"Yeah, sure," says Feral. "My point is, the whole world is like that. It's just full of that stuff. Where everybody thinks you should be doing something, and you get in trouble if you don't, and it's something messed up like setting mice on fire. But I don't think it's always as obvious as setting mice on fire. And people can think they're doing good stuff, think they're helping, and really they're lighting up mice. You know?"
occluminous
"I wouldn't set mice on fire, either," Bella asserts. "And I think about things, I don't just do obvious stuff. Like, I'm going to find out whether other animals are as smart as magic owls and stuff, before I eat meat again."
(Her breakfast has been toast and scrambled eggs.)
(Her breakfast has been toast and scrambled eggs.)
Feral shrugs. "Then maybe you'll do okay. But I bet you won't get it right every single time. The world is just not that nice a place."
occluminous
"Well, if you spot me messing up you should tell me and then I'll fix it."
"Okay," Feral says agreeably.
occluminous
Bella smiles. She eats her last bite of toast. "Want to walk to class together?"
"Sure!"
Indeed they do!
This time, Feral doesn't answer any questions.
This time, Feral doesn't answer any questions.
occluminous
Bella continues to take notes and wonders if they are ever going to learn to cast the useful little spells in the book. The sixth grade Defense course is geared towards protecting oneself from curious or hostile Muggles, simply because Muggles are the easiest likely threat to a young witch or wizard and any more complicated threat like werewolves or hostile wizards will require more power than they know to safely put behind spells at this age. At some point they're supposed to learn to jam phones, summon police, and cast minor jinxes, as well as start practicing aim in general. Bella lets the theoretical lesson pass without comment.
On to Transfiguration. They are not making them transfigure live animals today; they're still on solid materials. Bella turns a sheet of glass into a sheet of cardboard, though this is much harder than yesterday's exercise and it takes her the entire class to do it and it's not even difficult in a particularly interesting way.
She has lunch next! Who's around?
On to Transfiguration. They are not making them transfigure live animals today; they're still on solid materials. Bella turns a sheet of glass into a sheet of cardboard, though this is much harder than yesterday's exercise and it takes her the entire class to do it and it's not even difficult in a particularly interesting way.
She has lunch next! Who's around?
occluminous
"I found out why Feral's in remedial transfig'. You know how he sets stuff on fire? He won't work with live animals. So they failed him."
