Reading ahead takes concentration. [finished]

[tasha]

The little doll named Tasha had found herself in front of the library as she was told would be a good idea by her little guide book. She wasn't sure what to be looking for or studying but it was only a matter of time before she figured it out. She wasn't so bad in charms class luckily, but what she'd really loved thus far was transfiguration. Of all her classes, it seemed to fit her almost naturally. She was fascinated by every aspect of the art and she loved to think of how many things it could create. Thinking back, she even remembered that she had been given a wand for the subject. It was funny that she was predetermined to like transfiguration. Though, in truth she was more predisposed to transfiguration then she thought.

Her graceful and cheery steps silenced by the carpeted library floor. The feeling of stilled whispers wafted over her as she paused in a look of mild awe. she was getting better at her amazed reaction to every new thing she saw, but it was still amazing to see such an extravagant and large library. It was surely a place where one could find books off all kinds. Her mind quickly found what she wanted to do. She was so sure that she wanted to learn a new spell. It would be boring to wait for the teacher to teach spells, learning alone made things far more profitable. Though, it wasn't for any reason but her slight fascination with her most loved subject. It was bad enough to struggle through defense against the dark arts and charms, at least she could relax with a few nice little spells.

Tasha crossed the open space of the library and made her way to the tall shelves that housed more books then hairs on her head. The book she trusted as her guide resting safely in her skirt somewhere as she moved toward the section she thought likely to hold her interests. Without taking more then a few minutes she located a large selection of transfiguration books. With a sweet little squeal she bounced along the shelf, plucking book after book. She eventually noticed that she would be unable to carry another book, and a downtrodden look took her face. Her hair straightened and the luxuriant color dulled lightly as she sighed. A moment later she set the books on a table near the back of the library and straightened out the fabric of her dress with her hands. The fabric was soft and she smiled as she looked down at the pretty dress she'd sewed together herself. The long hair that had straightened to fall down her hips popped back into think luscious curls. Her hair now went only down to the blades of her shoulders. Tasha perked up and opened the first of her books.

The back of the library was a little darker the she had expected, though it was reasonable that the winter nights begin early. The nearest candles wasn't enough to light the book she'd chosen first. To that effect she brandished an empty glass bottle and took off the cork. With a jab of her wand she muttered a spell that had been in one of her books. She had toyed with it a bit to modify the colors with the little skill she had in French from primary school. Even if all she knew was colors and numbers it was nice to have been able to change the color of the flame.

"Belleflamos Biancos"

Spoken softly it conjured a ball of white fire in the bottle, all to the elation of the sweet little doll. Tasha corked the magical flame and bounced a bit in her seat before getting back to the book. She read over the theory part and such without so much worry and found what she was yearning to try. It was one thing to summon a flame, it had no real substance, but another entirely to create a living thing. No matter what it may be, she liked the thought of conjuring a living object. No one in the class had gone that far yet, it would be fun to be ahead. The chance to make herself feel proud sparked a fanciful grin to wash across her gentle features. The silken sleeves of her dress rubbing against the thick pages as she ran her fingers over the spells. It was then that a spell caught her eye. Flowers would be the first living organism she would conjure. Reading over the incantation repeatedly to make sure she read right, she finally looked up from the book, raising her wand with confidence.

"Orchideous"

From the tip of her wand popped a small bouquet of flowers, tulips to be exact. With a happy sigh she lifted the flowers to her nose and breathed in the fragrance. Then she was graced with an idea to make it more interesting. She knew that concentration was key, and as such she closed her eyes and thought of Lavender. It was a not so difficult as to specify the type as it was to conjure it, and so she focused as she held her wand poised to make magic. The color of her hair began to change from the roots as she focused on her spell, the color seemed to drain away the curl in her hair as it went toward her ends. Her head became a lavender shade, that fell calmly down her back as she finally whispered the spell again.

"Orchideous"

With that she opened her eyes to check the results of her struggles and hoped her will had come to be. She let it fall only to see, in the middle of the book, her lavender bouquet successfully summoned. If it had not been for a tremendous amount of self restraint Tasha would have leaped into the air in glee. She was too happy to noticed that her hair was a foreign color, nor that it was straight. And because she wasn't in a mirror to notice the color of her eyes being lavender as well so she remained ignorantly uncaring of the change. Instead she simply rejoiced in the success of her spell. Though, now she was thinking of another possible modification.

"I wonder what would happen if I added maximus to the end of the spell...?"

[Kerridon Paradox]

It was hardly a surprise to see Kerridon in the library again. Prior to the incidents with Mordred, then Dark Phoenix & Gat, then Keaira & Zane, and finally the dragon flu he’d recently recovered from, he’d spent almost all his time in the library. Now though, he needed to catch up on everything he’d missed. Classes weren’t a problem; he’d caught up on all of them within a couple of days. No, it was his research that needed looking at, and he had hardly any of the books needed in his dormitory. He hadn’t seen Mami in his journey out of the common room and down here, so there was nothing to distract him – hopefully. The younger Ravenclaw seemed to have a habit of distracting him from whatever he wanted to be doing at that time. It was usually a nice distraction, such as her playing her violin, but a distraction nevertheless.

Entering the Restricted Section, he browsed the shelves for the books he needed. It was probably best to focus on his alternative to the patronus spell, because he couldn’t exactly look at his other research in such a public space. Although... he didn’t really want to look at it. Having been tortured himself by Gat in such vile ways, the idea of working out his own ways to torture others seemed a little... wrong. Not to mention after the threats he’d received from Keaira. He was now pretty much convinced that mental pain was worse than physical. Just the explanation of what Keaira would do to his mind if he hadn’t cooperated had made him angrier than all of Gat’s torment put together. Now more than ever with the war so quickly advancing and his nightmarish memories increasing every day, he needed to know how to defend himself from dementors, shadows, wraiths and the like. Picking up a book entitled ‘Fighting Shadow Creatures: An Alternative Route’, he headed back out from the Restricted Section and to the nearest table. It already had another student sitting there, but other than that the wooden surface was empty.

Seeing the much younger girl, Kerridon remembered the time he had encountered such young students in the library. That had almost been a fatal mistake, and likely would have been had he not possessed and thought to use his wandless magic. The girl on the table was muttering spells – practicing her transfiguration, by the looks of things. Glancing up from his book, he watched neutrally as she summoned a bouquet of flowers. But what really caught his attention was the way her hair suddenly changed – in colour and style. She didn’t appear to notice, and instead was talking to herself about what might happen if she added ‘maximus’. He noticed her eyes had changed too. How curious... a metamorphmagus, perhaps?

“Impressive spellwork,” he commented softly, watching her with calm eyes. He remembered one of the older spies for the Mage being a metamorphmagus before he was killed in service; he had gotten quite high up just because of his usefulness in being able to replicate appearances. “Am I right in assuming you are a metamorphmagus?” he inquired, waiting patiently for a reply. His mind had started working, drawing thoughts that sounded quite appealing. Perhaps if he could gain Dark Phoenix another servant just as useful as the old one – and a girl so young that she wouldn’t really be suspected by anyone – he might gain some favour for himself. Maybe she might not be so keen to allow his torture in the future if that were the case. At the back of his mind there was a tiny pang at the memory of why Taisy had been so useful – no one thought a 13-year-old could cause any significant damage. The truth was, she had been able to cause that damage, but hated it the whole time. But this would be different. He could make this girl – no more than a second year, probably first year – like what she was doing. Convince her it was the right thing to do. He ignored the other thoughts that he had tried to do the same with his sister and failed, his usual shield strongly in place. It was normally fine, except for when he was around Mami. She managed to make it come tumbling down around him, without even being aware of it.

[tasha]

Tasha shook her head at the thought of summoning a gang of flowers to the library. It would likely have the effect of getting her scolded. Instead she continued to ponder a spell to play with next. Though, at the time she hadn't noticed that there was a person standing near her. From her own absence of thought she had been startled when someone spoke. She hadn't been frightened badly, but it was a definite surprise that she hadn't noticed him. She jumped only slightly, focusing her attention on her company now. Her gaze was caught his calm eyes and a smile naturally cut into her face. Her hair color fell from the top to the bottom, returning her to the natural red it had always been. Her blue eyes glistened in the same innocent glee that her face held. She turned to face him and tilted her head slightly to the side at his mention of a metamorphmagus. The tilt of her head was a natural tick whenever she was questioning something she knew nothing about. It was a cute little motion, but a repetitive one in any case. She barely changed her facial expression though, it seemed that only her little tick was her expression of query.

"A Mega-morphin... what's that? Meta..Metamorph..."

Tasha struggled to properly repeat the word the older boy had said. She let her gaze drop a bit and stare at nothing in particular as she attempted. Though, the bigger question wasn't the pronunciation, but what he had asked if she was. Tasha was ignorant to a lot of things, and she had no idea what he was talking about. There was no way she could tell if it was a good thing or a bad thing, nor if she really was a metamorphmagus. Tasha instead simply took her little book form it's hiding place in the folds of her dress and started flipping through pages. If he had been standing close enough he would be able to looked down into the apparently empty book as she turned page after page searching for the one with her answer. Tasha payed little attention to the older boy who'd appeared before her with a question, but instead begged an answer from her book for now. Her words barely audible as they repeated over and over, "What is a metamorphmagus? What is a metamorphmagus? What is a meta..."

The desired page presented itself to her as the purple ink sprawled across the yellow parchment from left to right. She watched intently to see what was written and felt rather foolish about what was there for her to read. She let out an exasperated sigh when the words were read and then looked up at the boy that had presented the question. She looked at him and smiled as always, but it was a smile that told the comical response of her magical guide book. Tasha held the book out for him to read and giggled lightly, as the words to her seemed ironic. The hair on her head popped back to curls on it's own, again without her notice, though it was just returning to it's natural state.

"My book didn't tell me what it was. Instead it made a joke... see. It's written here"

Tasha held pointed to the only written words in the book as she held it to him. The ink shimmered as if it was ready to leave the page. Though, the ink wouldn't leave the page until the book was shut again. As it was held to him alone a second entry scrawled across the page under the second. The whole of the page reading:

You tell me. You're the Metamorphmagus. I'm just a book.


You tell her what she is then wise guy.

Tasha closed the book after a few seconds, long enough for him to read it hopefully, and sighed. It was disheartening when her book refused to tell her things. Tasha had considered her book to be like a parent, always telling her the right thing to do. Though, it rarely gave out any information, even if she had no way to find out it told her no straight facts. the book only ever told here the proper thing to do in a given situation. Tasha had found that there were even actions it would not permit her to do. The book was truly her most reliable guide. Little did she know, but Tasha would have been used in so many ways already if it hadn't been for the guidance of her book. She looked up into the grey eyes of the guy whose name she's yet to ask with a hopeful gaze. There was no telling how long it would take her to discover the definition of that thing he'd brought up. Tasha hoped that rather then search, that this person would aid her in some way. At the very least she thought he could guide her in the right direction. Her unsuspecting nature made her vulnerable, and as the book hadn't been a big help she was looking to be guided by other means. Tasha was really lost on her own, and it helped when there was a seemingly responsible, and apparently knowledgeable older boy around. In fact, it was rather soothing to have an older boy around. A sudden blush took her pale cheeks as she thought of being in the care of a handsome older boy, though it lasted only as long as the fleeting thought.

[Kerridon Paradox]

Kerridon saw the girl jumping a little when he spoke, which dove him further into thoughts. She would probably have to be trained a fair amount before she could do any real work for Dark Phoenix – she couldn’t be allowed to lose herself so much that she jumped whenever anyone approached. You needed to be aware of your surroundings at all times, and couldn’t be caught off guard at any point. It didn’t occur to him how quickly he had become convinced that she would be suitable, it was more his subconscious that had come up with such a theory. He wouldn’t be able to pinpoint anything specific, her metamorphmagus abilities aside, but it was a gut feeling. And most of the time, his gut wasn’t wrong, at least when he paid any attention to it.

"A Mega-morphin... what's that? Meta..Metamorph..."

“Meta-morph-magus,” he said slowly for the younger girl, realising she had no idea what he was talking about. He was so used to people automatically understanding him, it was a little strange having to explain, or repeat a word. Once again, the girl was reminding him of his sister, who had always been asking questions. Curiosity had apparently run in the family. Shame he was the only one left...

A frown flickered onto his face as the girl turned her attention away from him, before he’d even had a chance to answer the question she had asked in the first place. He quickly wiped his face clean so she wouldn’t see, not wanting to scare her off, and watched as she got out a small book and started flicking through it, muttering something under her breath. Having been eavesdropping his whole life – first on his parents, then the other students – it wasn’t too much of a difficult task to work out what she was saying, although he did have to strain his ears a little.

"What is a metamorphmagus? What is a metamorphmagus? What is a meta..." she murmured over and over again, apparently trying to find a reply in the book. She stopped on a page and sighed, glancing up to smile and giggling a moment later as she held out the volume for him to see.

“My book didn't tell me what it was. Instead it made a joke... see. It's written here," she explained, pointing to the purple ink scrawled at the top of the open page.

You tell me. You're the Metamorphmagus. I'm just a book.

Staring at surprise at the line scrawled on the parchment, Kerridon watched as another line appeared, apparently from nowhere. He’d never seen a book like this before, which interacted with the reader. Sure, there were invisible books that only appeared to certain people – he had one himself hidden in his dormitory, that he’d found in the library and which no one would notice as missing – but not books that wrote to the reader.

You tell her what she is then wise guy.

Kerridon blinked, looking up at Tasha for a moment before glancing down again at the sentence. “A metamorphmagus,” he began, a little distracted by the object in her hands. What is this thing? “Someone who can change their appearance at will. You do not need potions, or spells. It is something you are born with,” he explained, making eye contact for the most part but occasionally glancing back down. She closed it then, and a little disappointment set through him. But, she had shown him to start with. Why not inquire further?

“What is that book?” he asked, following it up quickly with another few questions. “Where did you get it? Was it an heirloom, or was it given to you?” He paused for the tiniest moment, locked in internal debate before his curiosity won over. “Can I see it?”

He didn’t notice her blush, intent instead on the book. What is it? he demanded to himself again, determined to find out. He hadn’t seen anything this interesting in months, at least, and wasn’t going to let it slip out of his hands now. That was what made up his mind for certain to draw this girl to the darker side of life. Not only would the Mage be pleased, but he would have a valid reason to keep an eye on Tasha, and her book.

[tasha]

Tasha placed the book in the folds of her dress again the moment she'd closed it and had thought nothing more of it. She listened intently to his explanation, but it was still a strange thing to hear. Telling her that she was basically a shapeshifter was a very curious thing indeed. The fact that Tasha had never noticed such a thing was enough to make her unbelieving of his claim. Without her notice she had started to use the ability more frequently after entering the school. Her focusing on transfiguration made it so change was always on her mind, so she had started to change her hair color and such simple things. Though, never had it been noticed as of yet, so she hadn't any reason to understand his calling her a metamorphmagus. She looked up at him believing his every word and finding the thought of such a skill amazing. She wanted to learn how to use it more and more, being able to make changes without spells was more interesting then her transfiguration practice.

"So I can do stuff like change my hair color and stuff? How do you know though? I've never done anything like that before..."

She was truly excited at this point, and hoped he had more to tell her. She had leaped from her chair and was bouncing up and down holding the sides of his robes. Her sweet and bright blue eyes were focused up on the older boys face. Her full attention was on him now, all in the hope that he had more to teach. Tasha had barely thought that her book would be of interest as her new best friend asked about it. The book was apparently of interest, and she thought that maybe giving him a look would make him help her. She was sure he could tell him stuff the book would refuse, and as such wanted to ask him a lot more. Her innocent curiosity was pulsing though her, and she pondered the answers to his questions. Tasha let go of his robes and placed her hand on the spot her book was hidden. She looked down a second in thought and quickly flipped her attention back to him. Her shinning red hair swished behind her and turned a orangish red in her excitement. The change simply made her hair brighter.

"I always had my guide book. It's been helping me through tough stuff for all my life. Ever since I learned how to read at least."

She giggled, reaching in her dress to find the just hidden book and pull it from her lacy folds. Tasha looked at the book for a moment and help it out for him to take and look over. She was in no way worried about him taking or changing it, she simply thought he'd look in it and give it back. The book rarely gave a response to anyone but her, and never answered questions about information, only on action. If you wanted to know who or what someone was it would say nothing or make a joke. Tasha only got answers on how to proceed in a situation, and that was why Tasha was now so interested in having this smart boy answer questions. If he would tell her what the book did not she might not have to rely on the book anymore, and then she would be able to feel more mature.

"I don't mind letting you see it. Just don't mess it up okay?"

[Kerridon Paradox]

Kerridon kept his eyes on the book as she took it, finally raising his eyes as it disappeared from his line of sight into the folds of her dress, almost letting out a sigh of disappointment as it went. He managed to contain it though and his gaze was as neutral as ever. He could see in her eyes the excitement at what he had told her, and the curiosity. Apparently she really hadn’t known of her abilities before he had mentioned it. It seemed a little odd, but he guessed it was just about plausible.

"So I can do stuff like change my hair color and stuff? How do you know though? I've never done anything like that before..."

The excitement had spread from just being visible in her eyes to being obvious to anyone who glanced their way. Luckily the table they were at was fairly secluded, but nevertheless Kerridon glanced around to make sure they weren’t attracting too much attention. He couldn’t have anyone interrupting them if he wanted to start working on her allegiance. He saw and felt her clutching at his robes but soon enough she released them, and apparently no one was looking their way.

“You have most likely done it naturally since you were born, but just have not noticed it previously. Especially if mostly you change your hair and eyes.” He paused momentarily, then continued down his intended vein of thought. “I know someone, who could teach you. They are not at the school, but they could find someone, or teach you themselves, to use your metamorphmagus abilities better. You could completely change your appearance so you looked like someone else, or even gain features of animals,” he explained, drawing on his memories of the other metamorphmagus he had met while serving Dark Phoenix. They had used a lot less of the animal characteristics, but he had definitely seen it be done at one point. “I could introduce you, but... you would not be able to tell anyone,” he warned, lowering his voice and leaning forward slightly, as if to draw the girl in; make her feel as if she was being told a secret. Which in fact she was, just not the whole truth of it. “You are not supposed to be taught by anyone outside of Hogwarts, nor go into the Forest, and you would have to do both to learn these things,” he continued. If she needed more persuasion he would have to supply it, but that might work for now...

His attention was drawn back to the book as she brought it back out and began to answer his multitude of questions. "I always had my guide book. It's been helping me through tough stuff for all my life. Ever since I learned how to read at least."

“Where did you get it?” he asked, eyes fixated on the volume as he asked. At first he wasn’t sure she was going to let him have it, but then she held it out and he eased it out of her hands, opening it up to view blank pages. “Do you know how it works? Will it answer any question?”

If she had it as long as she could remember, then surely she was the best person to interrogate about it. Another idea popped into his head and he glanced down at the parchment, wondering if it would work. It all depended on how it worked. But one way or another, there should be some method to make it tell her what he wanted. If he could somehow link it to his mind – and he was hardly an amateur at working spells on the human mind – then it could take its advice from his head. A little risky, considering he would be placing a part of his mind on a page that anyone could read. So maybe he would need to be conscious of it. Telepaths dealt with others thoughts on a daily basis, so controlling one book shouldn’t be too hard. But which spell to use on it? There was one charm he’d been working on, as a mixture of legilimency and imperius, that would let him have some influence over the other person’s decisions. It was easier than the imperius, though still advanced, and meant that the person would still act like themselves for the most part. So far he had had no one to test it on, but he could find no fault in the theory and there was no reason why it might not work on a book with a mind of its own. It was designed to work on all minds – human, animal and magical.

“Meus Imperium,” he said so softly that it was nearly impossible to make out his words. As the wandless magic flowed through his arms and into the book, he felt the scars from Gat’s icicles throb once violently, almost causing him to drop the book he’d just cast the charm on. It disappeared just as quickly though, and the only sign he gave of the pain was a slight wince that vanished at the same rate. He had no way of knowing whether it had worked or not, but if it hadn’t then hopefully there was nothing to lose by trying that. If it had failed, he would just have to rely on convincing her verbally.

[tasha]

Tasha watched with her bright eyes on her book as he took it. He seemed unsure about taking it as if he thought he wasn't supposed to. Tasha was not worried about her book being stolen or destroyed, her mind never harbored such accusations. She was all too sure that Kerridon simply thought her book was interesting and wanted to look at it for a moment. Though, she felt strange about his questioning. Tasha herself knew only the way it responded to her, and nothing else. She had never seen the book respond to anyone else, of course, that was before when only muggles tried. Tasha wasn't sure how the book would respond to other witches or wizards. The truth is, she was curious to see if it would respond to another person of magical origin. Her attention was averted for a moment by a shuffling sound a few isles over but not too long, just long enough for him to enchant her book.

Tasha perked up and turned back to him with a smile, though she looked worried by his wince. She hadn't seen anything that might have hurt him so it was strange for him to have that look. She looked around thinking that maybe someone had played a prank or something, but there was no one. She sighed and gave it up as a mistake on her part and answered him all that he wanted to know.

"It answers everything I ask... but not always with useful information. It will tell me how to do something or what to do, but never what something is. It was in my basket when the headmistress of the orphanage found me. Oh.. and I can't wait to meet this person.. I won't tell anybody I promise."

A blush found her pale cheeks and she felt as if she was told an important secret. A private tutor specially recommended by her senior, she felt ecstatic. If she was to be taught to do so much with an ability that was special to her then she would enjoy it to the fullest. She had always wanted to change things and switch stuff for other stuff, it was amazing that she naturally had that ability. Tasha's world of little wonders opened up even more now that she knew the extent of her own capabilities. She could be proud of herself now, and learning to control her magic even more would only make her feel better about it. At the moment all Tasha was interested in was her study of transfiguration, because she liked it. Though, learning so much might end up changing her, not that she would stop because of that.

"When do we go to meet the tutor?"

Tasha made up her mind that the person must have been a tutor, or something like it. Though, it really didn't make any difference to her who the mystery person was as long as she could learn. Tasha's drive to learn and her belief in even the most obviously bad characters would likely drive her into trouble, especially now that she was already venturing into darkness. The spell that he cast on the book had an awkward effect due to a distortion of the intended spell as it passed through the protection spells on the book. The effect was still likely to be just as desirable as his controlling the book. The book would simply altar it's judgement to a less morally correct one. Now, when she asked to do things there would be a slight lead on into the realm of bad deeds. Tasha trusted that whatever the book would tell her would be right for her, and as it was her book was now infected with dark magic. The spell hadn't exactly been deflected, but the book hadn't escaped Kerridon's influence. The book had a now modified outlook that would drive Tasha to follow darker suggestions more easily.

Tasha was unaware of the change in her book, or the intent of Kerridon. She knew nothing and suspected nothing, she was a moldable doll and had placed herself unwittingly in the hands of a dark Geppetto. Tasha smiled hoping to be able to meet her secret teacher soon, her heartbeat raced at the thought.

[Kerridon Paradox]

Kerridon heard Tasha sigh and turned a sharp gaze on her, as if examining to make sure nothing serious was wrong. Apparently it was just inner thoughts though, and he let it go. He was just so reserved in showing his emotions that he rarely sighed or made any outwards indication of what he was feeling at a certain point in time. Since arriving at Hogwarts he had found that few students – or teachers, for that matter – were anywhere near as reserved as he, so it should come as no surprise that an impressionable first year would be the same.

"It answers everything I ask... but not always with useful information. It will tell me how to do something or what to do, but never what something is. It was in my basket when the headmistress of the orphanage found me. Oh.. and I can't wait to meet this person.. I won't tell anybody I promise."

He nodded seriously, mind working hard behind his neutral expression. So it gave orders, but not information. Was that right? He would have to try and get hold of it for an increased length of time if he was to work out exactly how it worked. In any case, it was an advanced and particularly intriguing piece of magic. He was glad to hear her promise not to tell anyone, and for now would simply have to take her word her it. Short of putting her under the imperius – something he wasn’t keen on doing if he wanted to gain her trust – there was no way to be sure that she would keep her word. But he was pretty good at reading people, and she seemed sincere enough. He doubted she would go spouting off about Dark Phoenix, and even if she did he had been vague enough that most people, if not everyone, would not see the connection between this tutor and the Shadow Mage.

"When do we go to meet the tutor?"

Kerridon thought for a moment before answering. He couldn’t let it be too soon because he would need to contact Dark Phoenix about meeting her and introducing the Hufflepuff first, but he didn’t want to leave it too late either for fear of Tasha becoming impatient. And where, that was the other main question. Probably not the Shadow Realm; far too obvious if someone happened to see into Tasha’s mind or she mentioned it to a lightfighter. Not to mention it would probably frighten her. The atmosphere in that place was hardly of the positive variety.

“About a week, I should think,” he replied, estimating that that should be enough time to get in touch with the Mage. “If I could meet you around 9pm this day next week?” he inquired softly, pausing again before revealing the location in a lower voice. Hopefully she wouldn’t react too badly to breaking the school rules so thoroughly when she hadn’t been at Hogwarts for a long period of time. “The Forbidden Forest? Just to the right of the gamekeeper’s hut,” he elaborated. Just saying ‘the forbidden forest’ meant that the both of them could wander looking for the other for hours without finding each other. It was a big place. But it was probably the right location, and would mean that unless she wanted to get into a lot of trouble, Tasha could not tell anyone where she was going.

“What did you say your name was?” he asked. He could easily use legilimency to dive into her mind and find out via her memories, but it wasn’t a very pleasant experience to have your thoughts invaded. Besides, she needed to tell him at some point, and he could return the favour easily enough. “I am Kerridon Paradox, 6th year Ravenclaw. But I have only been at the school for this year,” he added, hoping to start conversation while learning more about her. He had not seen her around Hogwarts before, but she was in both a different house and different year, so it was possible she had been around but he had just not seen her.

[tasha]

Tasha's face showed nothing but her usual bright smile and her stunning eyes. It had never been hard to excite her, but the thought of learning a new magic was thrilling to her. The fact that she was eager was only another reason manipulating her was simple. There was little chance of anything happening that would cause her to give out her secret. She was surely pleased that she was allowed to be taught by a great tutor. Tasha looked at him happily as always and listened to his questions. She tilted her head to the side in a show of query as usually. The innocent gesture was not so common that it was noticed but it was sweet enough to be noticed each time. Her little tick of interest was almost adorable, and she wondered if 9 o'clock was even a legal hour for students.

Tasha decided that nine was fine and nodded to his first question before he started his second. Hearing that he was a sixth year that had only been here a year made her curious all the more. She wanted to know why he'd stayed away for so long and what made him decide to show up now. She was curious as to how he was so smart and what class he liked. Tasha was as full of questions as ever, but was unsure how many to ask at once. So, instead of asking away she smiled and introduced herself to him.

"I'm Tasha. Tasha Tessa Thomas. I'm a first year hufflepuff. My hobbies are making transfiguration spells and making and remaking my clothes. I like chocolate and apples. My favorite color is pink. My favorite class is Transfiguration. My favorite author is Dean Koontz. Snakes are my favorite animal."

She smiled at him and waited a moment before continuing.

"Why did you wait so long to come to school?"

[Kerridon Paradox]

Kerridon felt a smidgeon of hope arise within him as Tasha’s expression continued to be smiling as he spoke, detailing more about the meeting with the “tutor”. If she was as eager as she appeared, then it might actually work. Hope wasn’t really something Kerridon had a lot of – in his experience, it mostly just led to disappointment – but a small amount here or there couldn’t help but creep in. He tried to avoid it or simply ignore it, but sometimes failed. And occasionally his hope did turn out correctly, which was always nice.

Besides, this was as good a test as any to see if she were ready to bend the school rules. Bend them a little, then break them, then tear them up on a regular basis. Gradual progress until she was ready to start breaking things other than rules. And she seemed to have no objections to entering the forest at night, which any idiot would realise was something against the rules.

To his interest, Kerridon thought he saw a hint of curiosity in her expression; a desire to know more. She really was like him when he had been younger, just much more exuberant. And if she was like him, then surely she could be moulded to be suitable for serving the Shadow Mage. He had been easily enough, even after 6 years of being moulded to be an auror by his mother and grandfather.

"I'm Tasha. Tasha Tessa Thomas. I'm a first year hufflepuff. My hobbies are making transfiguration spells and making and remaking my clothes. I like chocolate and apples. My favorite color is pink. My favorite class is Transfiguration. My favorite author is Dean Koontz. Snakes are my favorite animal."

He was surprised as she let loose a spiel of things to know about her, and immediately became more alert than he already was, taking in everything she said. There was no knowing when a tiny clue about someone would become important. Hufflepuff... they were supposed to be loyal, and friendly. Friendly was obviously true, and if he could gain her loyalty then that would help matters a great deal. The only possible complication might be if she already had loyalties to a lightfighter, although hopefully – there was that word again – that wouldn’t be the case. It wasn’t of dire importance, but would simply make his self-set task of bringing her over to the Shadow Mage much easier. Finally she let loose one of the queries she was apparently eager to ask, if her expression was anything to go by. That would need to be fixed, she couldn’t go around displaying her thoughts and feelings to the world.

"Why did you wait so long to come to school?"

“I was educated at home,” he explained, not really elaborating on the why except for that, “my parents thought it best. But the person I’ll be introducing you too... she taught me some things, too,” he added. Anything to further convince her that this was the right course of action to take.

[tasha]

Tasha's curiosity took her everywhere without exception. At this moment he had only slightly answered his question, and in that aspect made her want to know more. To know was all she really wanted right now. She had been spoon-fed an interesting tid bit and now she hungered for everything and needed to know. If she could have given him all of her questions without the need to converse she would have. the fact that dragging the answers away would cut the necessary time used in half only made that more obvious. Tasha took a moment to think of why his parents would keep him from going to school. It must have been because they were great magic users. She started to wonder if he was already ahead of the other students.

"Sooo... does that mean that they changed their minds in the last two years? Was this mystery person your home tutor?"

How could he have met her otherwise, naturally7 he was taught by someone. He had been accepted here as a sixth year after all, that must mean that he was skilled enough. Tasha had forgotten anything about where she might supposed to be getting to. It was now pretty late in the evening, though curfew wasn't for a bit still. Tasha would have happily broke curfew anyway, here thirst to know things that caught her interest was just that strong. Most times she just fluttered along switching from thing to thing, but she was driven when she found an interest. Kerridon Paradox had just opened a room full of things to focus her mind on. Her innate abilities, and her being given a tutor that would teach her stuff that even the school wouldn't teach.

"What class are you good at? I'm only good at transfiguration. Did your parents teach you stuff the school won't? Can you show me?"

Just seeing an advanced spell was a thrill to her. She was amazed by every bit of the magical world and never understood how someone could have lived here their whole life and not know. She was sure that being in the wizarding community was the greatest thing ever. She wanted to see everything, but nothing as much as her own ability. Changing her appearance and stuff was amazing. The best part was that it was special, something she had and no one else did.

[Kerridon Paradox]

Tasha didn’t immediately reply, but this seemed more a chance for her to collect her thoughts than because she had ran out of questions. Kerridon had a feeling that he might have to actively refuse to answer some of her queries if she carried on at this rate. But for the time being at least, he should be able to get around her with his half-truth game. Saying the truth, but saying it in such a way that false implications were made. Both his parents and his grandfather had possessed enough legilimency skills to be able to tell when he was outright lying, but half-truths had been much more difficult for them to detect. Not that he lied to them a lot, but on some occasions it had been unavoidable if he wanted to avoid punishment.

"Sooo... does that mean that they changed their minds in the last two years? Was this mystery person your home tutor?"

“It became impossible for them to teach me what I needed to know,” he replied slowly. True. It became impossible because they’re dead. “And yes, she did teach me.” Also true. Dark Phoenix taught me things, but not as a tutor in the way she means.

"What class are you good at? I'm only good at transfiguration. Did your parents teach you stuff the school won't? Can you show me?"

Again, he was assaulted with questions, although these were a little more difficult to answer with half-truths. Honest answers: I’m good at dark magic and mind-related spells, neither of which are taught in classes at Hogwarts. My parents did teach me a different kind of curriculum to the school, which I won’t be detailing to you quite yet. I don’t want to scare you off. And no, there is no way I’m showing you such blatant dark magic now. That would definitely scare you off, and bring half the teachers at this place running here. “I am fairly good at Ancient Runes, and researching in foreign and ancient languages. And I shall show you something I can do... a certain, skill, I possess. Like your being a metamorphmagus.”

It was a risk, he knew that. But hopefully one worth taking. Plus at the rate this conversation was going, he needed to perform this spell anyway. He gestured with his hand, and using wandless magic murmured the necessary word. “Muffliato.” Anyone who came near would not be able to hear what was said, instead only a low, annoying buzz. It was a precaution that was needed, and if anyone asked he could always say he was showing Tasha a spell he’d learnt – still, true. And if she felt that he was handing her another secret then she might trust him more. The lightfighters already knew that he could use wandless magic, so it wasn’t a huge risk.

[tasha]

Tasha's interest in Kerridon was only added unto by his seeming mystery. Every response he gave was strangely short, though it could have been put off as his normal reaction to things. Either way, his to the point answers only seemed to make her want to know more about him. He was taught by his parents and they ran out of things to teach, it sounded to her as if this school wouldn't have much to teach either. Tasha wasn't much of a detective and she in no way suspected much, but her mind was one of inquiry. Kerridon seemed a true paradox in the things he said. He was taught at home because his parents thought it best, and that would mean they wanted him to learn things he could not learn here. Yet, he said that they could no longer teach him and he was sent here. Tasha caught the thought that if he was here having learned beyond his parent capabilities then he wasn't likely to learn much more. Tasha wandered inwardly in circles without end for a moment trying to make sense of the few brilliant point of deduction she'd made and was easily lost in her own thoughts.

As a result of her personal confusion Tasha simply quit trying to figure it out and listened on. He told her that he was good at ancient runes and languages. She found that all the things he said at that point were boring and strange. Tasha was interested in little else but learning new spells, runes was by far not in her current interests. There was no reason for her to say this though and she decided that he was just bored with learning so many spells. Tasha smirked thinking that maybe he just knew too many spells and felt he needed nothing more. That would make him a great wizard and it would then make a bit of sense for him to be here.

Tasha saw him gesture with his hand after his telling her he would demonstrate and ability. She was unsure of exactly what he was doing but she was sure it would be very interesting in any case. He had an ability like her too, and he would know how to use his. The thought of seeing someone do something as spectacular as change form without a word was making her nerves rise. The feeling that this person was someone she would need to learn from was rising in the back of her mind. She had already decided that she would follow his lead and learn from him and the mysterious tutor until she was content. There was little he would have to do to solidify this sentiment, but the more that he did do the more her interest would become a fond loyalty. The muttered spell was surely not being cast without a wand, so she thought he was simply making a mental note. She leaned in as if to receive a second secret and felt as if another piece of interesting information was being given to her.

Unaware of the spell that was cast around them Tasha looked around to see if anyone was near. She was sure that whatever he showed her was just for her to see. A bit of her felt that he was showing her these things and she should take them to the grave. It was a childish notion but one of great importance to her in any case. She stared into his face as she waited for him to start.

"What are you going to show me?"

[00wazzy]

With his nose in a book and his hand twisting and turning in order to practice spells, he walked over to a table in order to sit and read, the most comfortable way he learns. It was a perfect place, too, the Library. Silence, the smell of books, the knowledge being put through his brain.

He read through the words on the page thoroughly, analyzing each word and running them through his head to process it. It was a fun time indeed, and he was just reading through a new spell. Just another to add on to his many, many other spells. He could even do a lot without announcing the words, something he practices every night and day. It was just to burn up his spare time, which he had few of.

He mouthed the spell 'Fulgaro', a spell that either creates lightning streams and strokes, or a big flash of light with 'Bomus' after the word. Seems like a handy spell, get out of situations. "Better carry around a pair of sunglasses," Blake said to himself, chuckling. He didn't even notice the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw sitting near him. What he did notice, though, was a ringing in his ears.

"What is that?" he asked to himself, rubbing his ears. After rubbing and making a fuss, he tried to get back to reading the book. But it was no use, he couldn't concentrate. "Uh, what am I going to do?" he asked, and surveyed the area. He always liked to look around while thinking. What spell would work? Silencio? Might not, seeing as how it silences something, not thoughts. "May as well try," he said, and took out his wand and aimed it at his head. "Silencio," he whispered, and nothing happened. "Great..." he said, glum. He sat back, trying to let it pass through.

"Accio Pillow," he said, and moments later a pillow floated in through the doors to the library, which he quickly grabbed and put on the table. "Better," he said, and laid down and started reading the book once more.

[Kerridon Paradox]

Kerridon watched Tasha carefully as he spoke, trying to gauge her reaction to his words and explanations. He could tell she wanted to ask more and was glad at the restraint she was showing. It seemed that drip-feeding her titbits of information about himself and the world he would be introducing her to soon – that of Dark Phoenix, and shadows, wraiths, and fighting the Enemy – would be the best way to handle her. Never give the full picture, just enough to keep her curious and wanting more. The curiosity within her was blatant for the world to see, and he knew certain things about manipulation from personal experience. If someone felt you had more to give them, they were much more likely to stay loyal. Staying useful was the way to survive in a darker world. Always have leverage or something to offer. Tasha, assuming she became a part of this Shadow War, would learn those things soon enough.

After he’d performed the spell he turned back to the Hufflepuff, and only then saw she hadn’t seen or understood what he had done.

"What are you going to show me?"

A small flash of annoyance passed over his face but he hid it, not wanting to lose her trust or curiosity so soon after he had hopefully gained it. About to answer, Kerridon stopped as another student sat down at their table. Watching him out of the corner of his vision, the Gryffindor did not seem to be paying any attention to them, but soon enough noticed the muffliato near him. Luckily he didn’t sound as though he knew what was affecting his hearing, but it still effectively brought this conversation to an end. He couldn’t have the boy complain about the noise so a professor could identify the charm that had been used, and enough suspicion had fallen on him already.

“Later,” he replied swiftly and firmly, waving his hand again subtly to dismiss the spell’s effects. He stood, picking up the book in front of him and tucking it into his bag so that he could check it out on his way to the exit. He didn’t want to risk continuing this while another was witness. Nodding to the first year in way of farewell, he lifted the bag onto his shoulder and pushed his chair back in, leaving the scene at a moderate pace. If all went well, he would see her soon in the Forbidden Forest. So long as he hadn’t revealed knowledge in vain...