s u m m e r (natalia)

[amadeus]

Amadeus looked out the window to the sloping grounds, so far it looked like the most pleasant day of the year. There were only a few puffy white clouds lazily drifting against a vivid blue sky, the sun was bright and a gentle breeze played with the branches and leaves of the trees in the forest. Perhaps he might go outside, allow himself to wade in the shallows of the lake. No doubt the first few feet of water would be warmer now, comfortable enough for standing around in. Amadeus recalled in his first year in the last few weeks of term he had gone down to the lake almost every day in the afternoon, skipped stones across the water and such. It was simple entertainment, but entertainment all the same. Though it seemed like such a hassle to get to the lake from where he was at on the fourth floor.

He would have to go all the way down, and then traverse the grounds. Amadeus knew that there were many a secret passage in the castle, but had never bothered to go searching for them. Perhaps if he was lucky he might stumble upon one, though if he understood it correctly nearly all of the passages required some sort of password. There might be the odd one behind a tapestry or a false tile, but those would take forever to find. Amadeus was brought out of his thoughts of secret passages when he heard the sound of footsteps, wondering who would be inside on a day like this.

[natalia]

Nat had no want nor need to go outside. The swarms of people enjoying the sun were too much for her, especially as of late. Sleep was harder for her as she found herself worrying more and more about the court cases. Besides, the only people Nat even had the courage to speak to were down at the lake. The mere idea of the lake sent chills down her back, as her throat closed at the idea of water. Nat admitted, it saddened her a bit when she couldn't partake with others, but that was who she was. A loner.

Rounding the corner, books under arm, Nat continued to watch her worn out shoes as she paced the corridor, thoughts elsewhere. She continued down the hall, pace quickening as her thoughts increased, all becoming a wild jumbled mess that, snaring itself too quickly to be untangled. With a sudden thud, Nat found herself on the ground, already mustering an apology to the stranger she had clumsily stumbled over. She scrambled to gather her books before she glanced up at a Slytherin, suddenly unsure if she should be apologetic or not.

[amadeus]

Amadeus raised his eyebrows when he saw the Ravenclaw first year rounded the corner, obviously too lost in thought to pay attention to where she was going. He stood still, incredulous when she walked straight into him, having not looked up once. Amadeus managed to stay standing, however, while the girl fell over and lost all the books she had been carrying. He sneered when he noticed who it was. He didn't know the girl's name, but he did know for a fact that she was a muggleborn, the worst kind of witches and wizards. If they even qualified.

"Watch where the hell you're going," Amadeus said harshly, dusting himself off, "now I'm going to have to have these cleaned to get your filth off them." Amadeus was thoroughly disgusted by muggleborns, ruining the name of countless old, pure wizarding family names. It really was a shame to him that they were even allowed in Hogwarts, admitted to a world in which they did not belong. Amadeus narrowed his eyes at her, wondering how long she would dare to linger in his general vicinity, he had plenty of other nasty things to say of course, if she decided to hang around for too long.

[natalia]

Nat was stunned, she didn't know what to say. She gaped for a moment, before reaching for her books in resignation. She recognized the hair, the eyes. That must have been one of the Malfoys she had heard of. She straightened, mouth dropping at the last comment.

"Excuse me?" She couldn't believe it. She was unsure how she could react, before Erik's voice appeared in her head. He had warned of this, but she had never imagined people could actually be so cruel. Of course, she realized this was because of her bloodline.

"Hopefully some of my IQ brushed off on you as well. Looks like you need it," the words might not have been that harmful, but for Nat they were venomous. She was sure those might have been the first words she had ever spoken in anger, and she wasn't regretting it in the slightest.

[amadeus]

Amadeus smirked, though it wasn't his usual, more playful one, but rather one of taunting. He had had some pent up frustration, mostly involving his father and being treated like a child, this girl was going to have the unfortunate task of being the thing for him to vent on. Amadeus, of course, wasn't going to feel bad about it later. Muggleborns in his year or the ones below were most often the targets for his taunts and insults. They were disgusting, and his fellow Slytherins found it hysterical, so he saw no reason to stop. "I might excuse you, that is if you were a proper witch," said Amadeus, sneering at her.

At this point he was only just getting warmed up, hopefully the girl wouldn't get smart too quickly and leave before he was done with her. Amadeus' only regret was that he was alone, and didn't have any of his posse to witness the tongue-lashing he was going to be giving to that girl. "Ooh, there's a real offensive statement," Amadeus said sarcastically, rolling his eyes, "not ready to play with the big kids yet I suppose." Oh yes, he was going to have his fun after all that otherwise completely boring afternoon.

[natalia]

Nat had never thought of herself as less than a witch. Of course, no one had ever told her otherwise. She swallowed as she stared at him, no longer feeling the resentment. The new feeling was foreign. Pity. Of course, there was still tendrils of anger burning inside, but she was by no means going to unleash them. For some unknown reason, she simply felt pity. She bit her lip, unsure of how much hostility was pent up in the boy, not much older than herself.

"Proper enough to study beside you," she pointed out. It wasn't aggressive, but a statement. She didn't want to argue, but she knew people like this would only be infuriated by this further. It gave her a sick joy that she didn't like. "And proper enough to surpass you," she added in slight superiority, before adjusting her books.

[amadeus]

"Only because the ministry allows it," said Amadeus, knowing that if the better people of society had it their way there wouldn't be a single muggleborn at Hogwarts. Not one. They wouldn't be allowed wands or anything, it was an out-of-reach dream, however, the ministry had simply gone much too soft. Atrocities, disgracing the name of the wizard. Though Amadeus was finding something unusual in the Ravenclaw's tone, she didn't sound entirely defensive, not getting angry like the other mudbloods he teased did. Perhaps this might be a different kind of bullying session, but he was up for the challenge.

He raised his eyebrows again when the girl said she was "proper enough to surpass him," as if that would happen. Sure, Amadeus had his strong points and weak points, but when it came to spellwork he was near the top of his class, especially in Transfiguration, his absolute best subject. Plus he had an entire year's advantage on her. "I'd like to see someone like you even try to surpass someone like me," said Amadeus. Sure, his statement was arrogant, but he felt that it was true.

[natalia]

Nat still could not pinpoint why she would pity the boy, and why she didn't simply pull out her wand and seal his mouth as she had seen multiple other corridor brawls. Of course, he wouldn't be one to back down, and as much as Nat told herself she could take him skill wise, she didn't have the heart for it. She couldn't bring harm upon another, in any way. Her mouth set as he continued with his harsh, bitter comments.

"The ministry allows it because if it were left up to fools such as yourself, this world would have fallen long ago," she stated in a matter of fact tone. "Your sick ideas of inbreeding idiots and fools would be the downfall of your greatest pride," she had read volumes upon volumes of the history of the world, and she knew it was true. Yet, she still felt the small pang of hurt deep inside, in a place she didn't know could hurt. Her pride, something she didn't even know she had.

[amadeus]

Amadeus listened almost patiently as the girl spoke, at the very least she seemed to know something about what she was talking about. Ravenclaws, they were typically trickier, but Amadeus had asserted his dominance over them before. In fact, it was mostly Ravenclaws that did the homework assignments for him that he did not feel like doing. Logical creatures that they were, they could listen to reason. Or to the sounds of coins clinking together. Did Amadeus abuse his position in society? Definitely, though he did not feel an ounce of remorse over it, lest any teachers find out. So far, he had yet to be confronted on it, leading him to think that even the staff was stupid to some degree.

"At least someone does their homework," said Amadeus, rolling his eyes, "though that is only theory, likely come up with by mudbloods such as yourself. There's an entire world out there with honourable purebloods, and contrary to popular belief we don't marry our cousins." He wasn't getting defensive or angry, but rather found that his tone was settling into more of one that might be found at a debate. At the moment his need to be right was surpassing the need to be entirely nasty, though once he had proven his point Amadeus would go straight back to being completely mean.

[natalia]

The change of the boys air startled Nat briefly. He would have been the last person she expected to listen to something she had to say. She was slightly shocked to hear they didn't marry their cousins, although she had read of a few cases where it did happen. Of course, their numbers would dwindle rapidly if the muggle-borns were taken from this world.

"Give it a few generations, and you'll all be inbreeding soon. Muggles saved this world from extinction," she knew the only reason they had been introduced to this world was to further bloodlines. She didn't blame them. It was far too perfect to give up for pride, a pride she felt honored to share. Of course, she knew there was no changing the boys mind, he was set in stone, as most Slytherins appeared to be. But he was the first she had bothered to say something too, although she couldn't even begin to understand why.

[amadeus]

Amadeus could see that he had made the girl uneasy by his sudden change in tone. He supposed it would be a bit of a shock, to have someone like him go from taunting to debating in two second flat, but it was important that everyone knew his point of view. Even the mudbloods. Dislike them he might, Amadeus still recognized them as people, just not witches and wizards of the same caliber as someone like himself. He would do all in his power to keep the Malfoy name pure, just not marry any of his cousins, there were plenty of other purebloods out there.

"Muggles did little more than taint respectable blood," said Amadeus, a hint of nastiness seeping back into his tone once more, "magic just doesn't die out, and with seven billion people there are more than a dozen families worthy of magic; unlike mudbloods." He turned narrowed his gaze slightly, he wasn't going to back down, even if this girl was using all kinds of logic. Amadeus wasn't afraid to think or work to win against someone- even if it were only a verbal thing.

[natalia]

Nat bit her lip in disdain. This boy left a sour taste in her mouth. The verbal aggression and abuse was getting to her, but Nat would never let it show. Admittedly, she had nothing to say in return, and those feelings of pity were beginning to wash away. Logic dictated there was some sad reason for his behavior, but Nat was beyond thinking. She surveyed the boy once more, as if taking him in as a whole.

He was arrogant. Definitely arrogant, in a way that brought out angry feelings Nat didn't recognize. "Stop saying that word," she hissed. She couldn't stand it. It was worse than just a little bit of pain, it sparked anger. Nat hardly ever felt such bitter feelings. She knew he was beyond the debate point. There was nothing she could do. Nothing she could do but prove him wrong. One day she'd prove everyone wrong. Especially him.

[amadeus]

Amadeus smirked more than ever, now they were getting somewhere. He had touched a rather sensitive nerve, he could see the thoughts and feelings of anger unfolding in the girl's eyes. And that right there made him feel as if he had won already. Of course, giving his rather pushy ways, Amadeus would poke, prod, and test until he simply could not go any further. Now this was going to be some real fun. He had gotten past her logical barriers faster than he had expected. Of course, the girl was young. She couldn't have been any older than eleven.

"Oh, fancy that," aid Amadeus, "the mudblood actually does have feelings. There's a surprise." He completely ignored her statement telling him to stop using the word "mudblood." Amadeus would say what he damn well pleased, and no muggleborn first year was going to tell him otherwise. He only wished that he had some of his fellow Slytherins around to enjoy this as much as he was. He would just end up telling them about it later, but it wouldn't have nearly the same effect.

[natalia]

Nat clenched her books tight. That had struck deep within. Her knuckles were white as she bit down on her lip. And the way he enjoyed it. It was sickening. She had never imagined anyone could be that twisted, as her family was, but there were more. She knew this world must have been too good to be true. She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. She knew she should have walked away, but something inside wouldn't let her.

"Yes, I do," she didn't want to bring it on a personal level. She wouldn't sink to his level. The voice inside her head screamed to turn away now, but it was like a horror movie. You knew how horrible and scary it would be, and yet you had to watch further, no matter the nightmares you'd have. "Weather or not you do, is another question," she murmured.

[amadeus]

Amadeus wasn't sure why tormenting other students made him happy, something about seeing them angry or upset made him feel as if he had accomplished something. He had won. Of course, he wasn't brazen enough to do anything physical or cast a hex at someone that he was picking on. That would warrant a different kind of trouble, on that he was not going to deal with. Amadeus' cold blueish grey eyes flickered to the knuckles on her books, how white they were turning. He could see that he really was testing her at this point, and that only made him want to bother her more until she reached her snapping point.

"Of course I do, since I actually belong somewhere," said Amadeus, "obviously you don't fit anywhere. Not a proper witch, but too freaky for the simple minds of muggles." Why was he enjoying this so much? Probably because now the girl had her guard down, she wasn't coming back with logical arguments like she had before. It was almost too easy, but Amadeus was enjoying every single second of it.