Seeking Information (Dylan & Kerridon)

[Dylan Cooper]

Lying upon his bed and facing the ceiling, he had found a total of twelve imperfections on the surface in question; some small, others not so. Having stared at it for the past hour or so, he finally rolled onto his side and stared instead at the drawn curtain that was directly in front of him. Swallowing with some difficulty, he sat up with a morose sigh and allowed his legs to drape off the side of the bed. Dylan rubbed his hands across his face several times, massaging his aching head briefly before they, too, fell, though this time to his sides. Pulling back the curtain and seeing the dorm was still empty, a commonality for most of this year so far, he wondered briefly where Alessandro was, and was glad that he did indeed have the room to himself. He knew that the time had come however; he couldn't wait any longer to get the answers he needed so desperately.

Climbing off the four-poster and slipping on the shoes he had discarded earlier, he proceeded out into the stairwell and up the tower to the sixth year boys dormitory. Knocking briefly, he then opened the door and hoped to find Kerridon within. He simply needed to know what had been contained within that potion, though a large part of him at the same time wanted anything but. What happened if nothing had been wrong with it? What happened if this really had all been some psychotic episode he had endured, what if he had really been the reason D'rorah had been so badly hurt. He didn't want to know that, not at all, because he was sure he would not be able to bear that on his conscience. The idea that he had hurt her at all was nearly unbearable at this point, and he still had the vague hope to cling onto that the potion had been laced; that his actions had been beyond his control somehow. He didn't hold that much hope, but he had to know. If he was going to try and make things right with the woman he loved, he would need to have answers.

So it was that he entered the room and his eyes scanned it for the person he was seeking. His hair was still slightly messy from having lain on his bed for so long, as well as a significant lack of brushing, and his eyes were still heavy from his lack of sleep over the last week or so. His clothes looked none-too-clean, as though he hadn't even thought to change or clean them, and he was definitely skinnier than he had been. Clearly, he had not had a good couple of weeks, and the toll was showing on his body. His voice was still raspy from a significant lack of use; he was usually quiet, but now he largely avoided speaking altogether unless he had to. The last time he had really spoken had been to Caitlin, and after his latest confrontation in the common room with Dee. Before that it had been minorly used in Defence class, where he had been teamed up with Sam and Alessandro, and been forced to talk. As he spoke now, it sounded almost as if he had only just woken up. "Kerridon?" he called quietly. "I need to talk to you, please," he added, sounding almost desperate. He supposed the older boy might even just tell him to go away, refuse to give him any information whatsoever after what he had done to D'rorah; but he had to try.

[Kerridon Paradox]

Kerridon was up in the bed in his dormitory, the rest of the room vacated by his dormmates who were currently in lessons or studying or out and about. He had gained the trust of a few of them after much effort, and the others didn't really mind him, but they all thought him a little strange with the amount of time he kept to himself. That was okay... so long as he had their trust, they could be useful. They passed on what they might hear during the day when talking among themselves before going to sleep, and he could join in their chatter enough to ask any questions he might want to clear up any details.

Right now, however, the curtains were closed around his bed as he read and made notes on a book involving some rather sensitive material about the effects of dementors. He was very close to perfecting his alternate spell to prevent their effects, but the lack of test subjects recently – due to his change in allegiance and attempt at not attacking students and then wiping their memories just because they annoyed him. Plus there was that time in the forest where he had been caught... There could not be a reoccurrence of that.

He paused as he heard the door open, hearing Dylan's voice a moment later. Now there was a boy who would be perfect for the task... they were alone in the dormitory, and it was easy enough to hide a petrified body if someone did come in... Even as his mind worked out the details of how to perform the task without being caught, D'rorah's reaction appeared from nowhere and he had to force the idea away. She would not like it at all if he went ahead with such a project, whether she liked Dylan at the moment or not.

Considering whether to answer or not, he did after a few seconds, folding up the sheets of parchment so their contents were hidden and closing the book. He drew the curtain aside, looking over at the door where Dylan was standing. He certainly wasn't looking his best, but that was of no concern to Kerridon. [blue]"Yes?"[/blue] he asked, possibly a little harsher than he should have, his face devoid of emotion and simply waiting to find out what the boy wanted.

[Dylan Cooper]

Clearing his throat in a slightly uncomfortable manner as Kerridon drew back the curtains around his four-poster and replied very shortly and rather harshly, which was only to be expected of course, Dylan took another step forward, but no more than that. He certainly didn't want to encroach on his personal space or make him feel threatened... not that someone like Kerridon Paradox would ever seem to consider him a threat, but still. Recalling quite vividly that the last time they had met he had received a rather painful dose of an Unforgivable curse, he kept his eyes averted from those of the older boy. "I wondered if perhaps you'd done any research into that potion? I don't want it back... I know I did, but I appear to have calmed down a bit since then. I um... I wondered if you'd found anything in it? You said there had been Shadow Magic...?" he said, his tone and voice very light. He realised, even as he spoke, that he had carried on a bit more than necessary, but needless to say he was nervous around the sixth year.

He knew that him and Dee were... involved, to say the least. He didn't know to what extent and was almost positive that he didn't want to know, either. The very idea of it was a heavy blow, that a woman who was hardly known for her social skills or large dating scene had moved on to someone else just months after losing what she had called the love of her life. But apparently he had not meant that much, or perhaps he had simply driven her too far and she had fallen into his comforting arms; Dylan didn't know, and again he didn't really want to. It was probably easier to think that she had not loved him that much, not really, and that moving on had been easier for her - it would be more simple by far, if that were the case, to move on from this. But his logic and his knowledge of D'rorah told him otherwise. How cruel he had been, she might very well have fallen apart, but something had clearly kept her from that fate. He suspected that something might have come in the shape of the Ravenclaw before him, but he kept his suspicions and all other thoughts to himself.

"I know you don't owe me anything," he added lightly, not wanting to cause another bout of the Cruciatus Curse to be cast onto him. And he left it at that, feeling that to add any more at this point would be useless; Kerridon knew now what he wanted, and hopefully he would be honest. If he had found something and it turned out this all hadn't been Dylan's fault, at least not entirely, would he actually tell him? Kerridon was with Dee now, and information like that could potentially enable her ex-boyfriend, the boy standing before him, to get back into her life.

[Kerridon Paradox]

Dylan seemed markedly uncomfortable alone in the dormitory with him, and Kerridon subconsciously took a note of it even without realising he was doing it. All his nerves were on high alert in case the boy had come to take revenge for the cruciatus the other week. It seemed odd that he might have waited so long, but maybe he had just been working up the nerve. He did not seem the type to recover from something easily. Not that Kerridon was truly worried about an attack, confident in his own abilities and Dylan's lack of, despite his Elemental Master status. But he had been taught to always be wary of possible attacks, whether they appeared harmless or not.

He was a little surprised to hear Dylan ask of the potion but kept his expression neutral. This made sense now... and caused a little of him to worry. He was not certain if D'rorah would forgive Dylan for his actions given they had been controlled by Dark Phoenix, but if she did – and maybe even if she did not – he was quite sure Dylan would not give up on her. That was at least one good thing to be said about the boy – he was determined and persevering. That much had been shown by his efforts to hurt and humiliate D'rorah as much as he possibly could.

He was silent as he thought to himself, not worrying about leaving the younger Ravenclaw in suspense as he decided what to reply. He did not want to lie... he wanted all evidence about Dylan's weakness in fighting back the potion to be known in case it came back to haunt the relationship he was in with D'rorah at a later date... that, he would not risk. He raised one eyebrow slightly at the boy's statement about not owing him anything... why would he owe? [blue]"I am quite aware of that fact, Mister Cooper,"[/blue] Kerridon began coolly, pausing for a few moments before continuing. [blue]"I have looked further into the potion... although I am not entirely certain, it appears to be linked to mental frequencies and behavioural areas of the brain,"[/blue] he explained shortly, not going into further detail about what he had found. Hopefully that would have answered his question and he would leave soon. He kept his eyes on Dylan at all times, not wanting to risk any surprises.

[Dylan Cooper]

Eager to be out of this room as soon as possible, he did not entirely reveal that fact through his expression, but didn't completely hide it, either. He remained standing exactly where he was as he waited for Kerridon to respond to his inquiry and continued to wonder whether or not he would reveal the truth. He hoped desperately that he would, for if afterall his potion had been tampered with in such a way to effect his demeanor toward D'rorah, then he deserved to know. If his actions had been caused by something other than his own will, he more than deserved to know. Not only that, but he needed to know, and the sooner he did the sooner he would have the answers he craved.

Passing over the older boy's initial reply, he waited expectantly for the continuation, almost impatient. He was torn between wanting to know and wanting it to simply remain a secret, so that no more damage could come from it. But he knew that if things went his way, then the complete opposite of damage could come from this information; and he was willing to risk the chance that things would only go downhill. Things were bad enough, and if they got worse he wasn't really sure what he would do... what he would even be capable of doing, but if they got better... a small, selfish and what he considered possibly deluded part of himself imagined Dee back in his arms, but he guiltily pushed that image away. If there was ever the smallest chance of that, it was indeed small, it was also sure to be a long time in the future. A large part of him suspected and feared that things could never get back to that stage, not after everything, even if he proved not to blame.

Dylan swallowed painfully as he waited, nervous. Before long, however, Kerridon was speaking once more. Mental frequencies... behavioural areas of the brain... that definitely sounded like a good sign. If it was linked to behaviour, it could very well have been producing his actions. Feeling as if his whole body was shaking, but looking at his hands to see that he was not indeed moving at all, he waited for the older Ravenclaw to go into more detail but failed to get any more out of him. He appeared to be finished talking. Clearly, he was not going to hand him all of his answers on a silver platter. "Behavioural areas of the brain? Like... it could affect my behaviour? Say... make me do things I would never do... Make me unusually angry or upset? I don't understand, I got this potion from St Mungo's... has someone there tainted it? I came back to the castle from there with you, right, did you notice anything?" he questioned, clearly far from aware that he had spent any time whatsoever in the Shadow Realm.

[Kerridon Paradox]

Kerridon waited for Dylan to leave, wanting to return to his books. He had no want to spend any more time with the younger Ravenclaw than was absolutely necessary – and he didn't really class this as necessary. He wasn't too keen on telling him any more on the matter, but apparently he didn't want to leave. The boy was apparently not as intelligent as Kerridon had thought and did not take the inference that yes, the potion had been the cause of his actions.

There was also a part of him that did not want to tell Dylan any of what he'd discovered about the potion, because inevitably it would lead to him trying to regain D'rorah's trust – and Kerridon was not at all convinced of his trustworthiness after everything he had done over the last month or so, despite the fact that the potion had been altering his behaviour. There had still been the basis of Dylan's general lack of control over his emotions for it to take shape.

Kerridon prevented a frown appearing on his face when Dylan began to speak again, questioning his previous words and stating the obvious. Instead, the neutral, slightly cold expression stayed there as he replied. [blue]"Yes... that is generally what behavioural areas of the brain do. Affect your behaviour,"[/blue] he said coolly. How on earth this boy had ever gotten into Ravenclaw, he would not know. [blue]"It appears the potion worked with your emotional instability and increased it, allowing it to work much easier in deceiving you and your actions."[/blue]

He paused there, unsure whether to mention the Shadow Realm or not. After all, the reason he had not originally told him was that he didn't trust Dylan not to let the information slip, whether verbally or mentally. He was aware that there were other spies in the school. But he had said so much already; he would just have to ensure the boy understood the severity of what would happen if he mentioned it again. All the same, he cast a muffliato charm on the two before speaking. [blue]"I did not bring you back from St Mungo's. I brought you back from the Shadow Realm. And you must be extremely careful with that information and ensure you do not let it slip,"[/blue] he warned Dylan.

[Dylan Cooper]

Ignoring the slight on his intelligence in favour of the information he stood to gain, he resisted the urge to flush red nevertheless at the comment. He also passed over the suggestion that he had been emotionally unstable; enough so, anyway, to allow the potion in question to do a much better job. Wondering if he was going to say anything more helpful or just insult him, he might have simply left if he hadn't been so eager for more knowledge on the matter. Making do with just clearing his throat and flicking him a slightly impatient look, Dylan stood his ground and waited.

As it turned out, he didn't need to wait long. An entirely surprised expression took over his features and all pretence of concealing his emotions was gone. A small frown was creasing through his brow, but luckily he managed to keep his mouth from forming a small circlular shape. Automatically, his eyes also narrowed at Kerridon. "So... because you have to conceal your identity as a Lightfighter... you failed to let me know the tiny detail of me having been in the Shadow Realm?" he said, almost laughing in disbelief as he did so. "How long was I there? Clearly not long enough for you to consider it worthwhile mentioning... but still, humour me. How long?" he asked, his voice getting slightly angrier as he continued.

It occurred to him that if it weren't for Kerridon, D'rorah would probably have completely fallen apart at some point over the last few months. His feelings of gratefulness were not limited by any means; more overshadowed. Overshadowed by just about everything else he felt toward the older boy currently before him - not only the fact that him and Dee were.. intimate.. a couple, or what-have-you, but that was currently the main cause. His jealousy was quite tangible at this point, and it came out in his slight anger at the current topic of conversation; he had been quite eager to yell at Kerridon for some time, especially since he had used an Unforgivable Curse on him very recently.

Knowing what his anger had done in the last few months, however - well, an anger the potion had most likely caused - he let it settle. His face clearly revealing how unhappy he was with this entire scenario, something told him that Kerridon would not care, but all he wanted was to get his answers and get out of there.

[Kerridon Paradox]

Dylan did not appear particularly impressed with his first few comments, however factual they had been. The boy did not leave though, simply sending an impatient expression his way and waiting for him to speak further. He was determined, at least... yet again that was exemplified. However, he also did not appear to give the idea that his emotional instability had helped the potion along much consideration. As far as that went, his own nature had assisted in hurting D'rorah. Maybe he was just going to hear what he wanted, though... Kerridon did not have a lot of faith in Dylan's character at this point.

The surprise at his words quickly turned to annoyance and then onto suppressed anger, and Kerridon waited calmly for him to respond, then to finish his words before replying. Of course, he was aware that Dylan would not be happy at his answer – but he wasn't happy at him anyway, so it wouldn't make much of a difference. His wand was resting beneath the hand on his bed, ready to be used at a moment's notice. Just because Dylan had seen him use wandless magic before, there was no need to remind him of that fact; not that he was likely to forget after the last time, but it was a precaution he automatically took.

[blue]"Yes, I did,"[/blue] he replied neutrally, taking the chance to strengthen the muffliato so that none but the most advanced wizards and witches would be able to break through. With Dylan talking and questioning as openly as he was, he needed to be sure that no one was listening in. [blue]"I did not and still do not trust your ability to keep thoughts and emotions to yourself, especially having been under Dark Phoenix's influence. However, now it appears her influence is linked to the potion there is less risk. D'rorah knew where you had been."[/blue] If he couldn't trust her to guard her own thoughts, then he couldn't even trust himself.

Now onto answering the actual question, for which he in fact had no answer. [blue]"I do not know how long you were there for. I was simply summoned to collect you and escort you back to the castle."[/blue] He had learnt long ago not to question Dark Phoenix, except for the slight possibility of inquiring over a detail in a task he was to carry out; but no queries into information he did not need to know. At least he seemed to have learnt a lesson on controlling emotions – Kerridon could sense the anger in him at the withheld knowledge being pushed away. He was aware that Dylan likely had some quite mixed feelings over his role in D'rorah's recovery though, and was wary all the same. [blue]"You should learn to hide your emotions better, Mister Cooper,"[/blue] Kerridon added quietly, not wanting any of what he had just said to be given away by this younger boy's foolishness in wearing his heart on his sleeve. Of course, he was more accomplished at picking out facial expressions than the average person, but there were plenty others with above average talent at this.

[Dylan Cooper]

As Kerridon revealed the fact that D'rorah did in fact already know that he had been in the Shadow Realm, he found himself slightly surprised. She knew... and yet she had not found it suspicious that it was only since visiting such a plagued place that he had begun acting so violently toward her. Pushing it from his mind for the moment, since he had quite enough to think about besides, he nodded once in reply to Kerridon's admittance that he did not, in fact, know how long he had been there for. Raising his eyes to the older boy as he warned him to keep his emotions better hidden, he eyed him without expression for a moment. Nodding once more, he failed to produce a worded response to that slightly unexpected comment.

Knowing that Kerridon had no obligation to have divulged the information he had, Dylan suspected a thankyou would not go amiss. Grunting once slightly, he finally formed the words. "Thanks, Kerridon," he said shortly, turning to leave. He had got what he had come for, so there was really no point to sticking around; he suspected this setting was not only awkward him, but for the both of them. Pulling the door shut behind himself as he departed, he tramped down the stairwell back to his own dormitory. He would find D'rorah tomorrow... no use starting now since curfew was in effect. He was a Prefect, but he didn't think a point when he was immensely tired would be fantastic to seek her out.

No, it could wait until tomorrow. It was the weekend and though he would not see her in classes, he felt that he knew her usual haunts quite well; they might have changed since they had last been socially comfortable together, but she was still a fairly structured person - he suspected she would still be prone to visiting certain areas over others. In any case, he would have a free day to look for her, so that he could... what? Talk, explain. She might not even want to hear it, but he would not give up because of a possibility. With that comforting thought in mind, he climbed back into his bed and drew the curtains once more.

[Kerridon Paradox]

Kerridon saw some surprise in Dylan's face when he said that D'rorah had known about his stay in the shadow realm but said nothing more on the matter. As far as he was concerned, he had done what was for the best. Whether he had known he had come from the shadow realm or not, the potion would still have had its affect on him. He had been under Dark Phoenix's control for some time before returning to Hogwarts, and as exemplified by Kerridon's previous words about the potion being tainted by shadow magic, words did nothing to fight it. He had needed it physically taken away to halt his cruel antics, which was exactly what he had done.

At least he appeared to accept his advice about hiding his emotions better... or, he nodded. Maybe he dismissed it internally – which was entirely possible considering how stubborn the boy was. He might just want to get away, and that seemed a more likely possibility since a few moments later he offered thanks and then turned to leave. Kerridon nodded his head once in acknowledgement just before he turned, watching him as he left the dormitory and ensuring that the door was closed again before turning back to his books, pulling the curtain around his bed closed once more.

He was a little wary of what course of action Dylan might now follow, now he had the knowledge that his actions may not have been entirely his fault. Of course, how easily it had affected him was partly resulting from his personality, but somehow Kerridon doubted the boy would see it that way. However, there was not much he could do about it now. He had made his decision and told the truth. Now he would just have to wait and see what resulted from it...