Post by Trevor Williams on May 19, 2012 23:26:14 GMT -8
AK = Rika Lefcourt, Annabelle Lefcourt
Me = Jennifer Herado
Former Members = Kendra
Sunday, August 31, 2008
'Joy, joy, joy, joy, joy,' Jennifer Herado thought to herself as she hit her head against the back of her headboard that happened to be of solid wood….not the brightest idea she had ever had. ‘Oy…' She rolled her eyes and glared back out of the corner of her eyes at the headboard, pounding her mattress with her fist. Why the hell did the train have to leave so bloody early?! She wanted to still be asleep. She was out and out tired from the party she’d gone to the night before, and now she did not want to wake up. Too bad Hogwarts had to have the stupid anti-apparition charm. Couldn’t they open it for like a sixty second time slot at the beginning of the school year? What would that harm? She let out a sigh, shaking her head, rolling her eyes and glaring at the foot of the bed.
That’s right…her cousin Jamie Seams. She just had to get herself caught when she was a Death Eater, so now, of course, especially with her being in charge, they were going to make sure no new policies were adopted that could permit the remaining Death Eaters to get into the school. Ugh. Bloody girl had to go and ruin everything. Jenn heaved a heavy sigh, pushing herself up from her slouched position and bringing her legs over the edge of the bed, finding her foot stepping on something softer than the floor but more hard than the carpet that was outside her room (her room having hardwood floors). What the hell? Her eyes immediately snapped down on the retreating house elf.
So sorry, miss. Pokey must have fallen asleep again at master’s—
Again? Precisely the point, again. When are you going to learn how to do something right, Doorknob?! Jennifer rolled her eyes as Pokey looked sadly up at her, playing with the hem of her scant outfit for a couple seconds before grabbing the cast iron poker from the fire and hitting her head over and over with it. OUT, Pokey!
Rolling her eyes again, Jenn watched as the house elf made her way quickly from the room, leaving Jenn alone. She promptly plopped back down on her bed, burrying her face in her pillow, letting out a frustrated scream as she heard a knock on her door. YES?!
Jenn, honey? her dad’s voice sounded. It’s time to get up.
I am up, Da. Just leave me alone. I’ll make the train. Just go do what you do best and make yourself scarce!
Listen, Jennifer, it’s nine, and we need to leave in a half hour, her dad said tensely. I’ve yet to hear the shower running. Get yourself in there now, and get yourself ready.
I’m not going, Da; I’m not freakin’ going!! With that, she threw a pillow angrily at the door.
Needless to say, Jennifer Anne Herado was not a morning person, and needless to say, she did not give much of a display of respect for her father. Just as necessary to say was Jenn was not in a happy mood, sitting here in her seat on the empty train compartment, glaring at the seat opposite her, feet propped up on it, eyes going to her nails, which she had started to pick at as the train began to take off. She just pitied the soul who dare stumble upon her compartment. She would likely drive them crazy if she even let them in. She was in the mood to pick someone's brain, mess with the person's head...A smirk crossed her lips. Depended who the person was who dared try join her, she supposed. Maybe it would be some poor first year she could make even more afraid and nervous. Maybe her cousin would join her and they could do it together. Her cousin was old enough in looks to pass at least for a second year.
Kendra walked through Hogwarts Express, completely ignoring her mother and father. They were only saying things they've always said the last six years: 'Don't get into trouble,' 'Make some allies,' 'Do us proud,' and her personal favorite, 'Don't associate with any Mudbloods.'
Kendra rolled her eyes. Unfortunately, her father caught her. "Are we boring, Kendra?" he asked peevishly. He scowled at his only daughter, annoyed.
Kendra said, "Of course not. I only memorized your entire speech after second year. There's really no reason to say the whole speech."
Her father opened his mouth, no doubt about to yell at her for her cheek, but her mother put her hand on his arm, stopping him. "Leave it, dear." She turned to Kendra and patted her cheek. "Owl us, okay?"
Kendra sighed and said, "Yeah, yeah." She watched as her mother restrained her father again and stifled a laugh. 'He is so whipped.'
Kendra waved to her mother and father and boarded the train. She started looking for a compartment, but the ones she looked in were full of people. Short first years seemed to have exploded onto the train; there were so many of them. Kendra rolled her eyes. 'Stupid midgets...'
Finally, she got to a compartment that was empty save one person: Jennifer. She was a fellow seventh year Slytherin. They never really talked much (since Kendra never really talked to anybody) but she had lived with Jennifer long enough to notice that Jennifer was not in a good mood. Still, Kendra would rather sit with Jennifer than to sit with annoying Hufflepuffs. So, against her better judgement, she said, "Hey, Jennifer," and sat down on the opposite seat.
Jennifer looked up boredly as she heard footsteps approach and stop in the door before making their way further into the compartment and sitting across from her. Her expression was stoic as she watched the familiar girl but said nothing, waiting for her to speak first. She wouldn't tell the girl to get lost...not yet, anyway. Kendra was usually quiet, so she figured there'd be no harm in letting her stay. Besides, she was pureblooded, smart...a useful person to know should she happen to need some help with something and didn't feel like wasting her time seducing some useless Ravenclaw bloke who would stutter and stumble over his words, not used to having attention from the opposite sex or go incredibly geeky in the way he spoke and explained things. She didn't do technical.
She rose her head in a sort of upward nod as she continued to sit there, her upper back against the side wall of the train and her legs up, bent at the knee. "Hey," she replied nonchalantly. She wasn't going to be all chit-chatty. She didn't normally hang out with girls, and she didn't want to end up having her ear yacked off about some hottie in Slytherin or whatever other house one might prefer. Sure, she thought guys were hot or cute or whatever. She had her own opinion on such matters, but that was all it was, an opinion, so what was the point of discussing Hottie McHottie with the incredible eyes, luscious lips, and whatever else? She saw no point to that. Same with clothing and the latest trends. She stuck with what was pretty much known as punk, which was why she hated the school uniforms they had to wear beneath their robes. Plaid, knee-length skirts, knee high socks, and a white casual shirt with a tie and a vest? Eww....
But a lot of girls didn't view it quite the same as her, even if they hated it, or they'd not wear skirts outside of uniform or preppier clothing. To each her own, honestly, but just don't come trying to indoctrinate her on how to be girly. She could be if she wanted to be, but she simply didn't want to be. She could be punk with a girlish flare to it, no problem, but when it came to make-up, hair-dos, etc.? Hell no. Anyway, that was pretty much the reason why she didn't socialize with too many girls and why her friends tended to be guys with the exception of Sammi, who held many of her views and liked to prank, so hey, no worries there. She hadn't bothered to get to know many others, and that was how she preferred it to stay. She was just one of the guys, plain and simple.
Kendra was surprised that Jennifer hadn't said anything. She seemed to be in the mood to pick on someone's brains. But, she supposed it had to do with the fact that Kendra was usually a quiet person who never did anything to anyone. Jennifer was a resourceful person, after all.
Whatever her reasons were, Kendra was thankful that Jennifer stayed quiet. She never did feel like talking, and any other Slytherin girl she knew would've talked her ear off about trivial things, like cute guys or the latest fashion, and that would've been so annoying.
She took out a book from the satchel she was carrying and started reading it. She would've rather been sketching in her sketchbook, but she never sketched in front of another person before, so she'd just have to wait until she was alone.
Jennifer sighed quietly, muttering under her breath, "Nerd," before standing from her seat and taking her trunk down from the luggage rack. Then, she opened it, and she searched for a ball. There we go. She set the navy ball down in the corner of the seat before she closed up her trunk and put it back up. She resumed her former position on the bench and began to lightly toss the ball to the other side of it and catch it as it bounced back. Might annoy Kendra, but all the same, she obviously didn't care or she wouldn't be doing it. Jenn figured if she got annoyed enough, Kendra would either walk out or she would blow up. The latter, she figured, would be fun. She'd never faced the girl's wrath in her life, so hey, why should she be scared? They could just go on their merry way in other directions after the ride. She'd be leaving, anyway, to go to the prefects' meeting in a little while anyway.
Those things were always so boring and pointless. The Head Boy and Head Girl would always put on their 'holier than thou' (more like 'bossier than thou' in Jennifer's mind) act and tell them what they expected of them over the year and what had been added to the banned list on the janitor's list of banned items. Like any of them ever paid any attention. They just turned a blind eye. Some did, but certainly not her. She wasn't going to turn someone in for getting supplies for a prank that was sure to rock her socks or send her into hysterical laughter at a failure. Jeff and Dom would always join her in that, pointing out exactly what the other person had done wrong. It was more than amusing when the person was caught. Professor Winslow would usually let them off the hook with a warning. The other Professor Winslow would promptly hand out detentions as though he hadn't done any such thing in his lifetime.
Heck, he probably hadn't done anything like that. He was a goody-goody with no regard to anyone's feelings or bothering to see things from their point of view. Didn't find the pranks amusing, no doubt. No sense of humor whatsoever. Some might think she was being harsh, but she didn't like him and she didn't care what other people thought. She wasn't a conformist. If someone happened to share her views, so be it. She didn't like his wife either, except for the fact that she seemed more lenient and less likely to take away points or hand out detentions. She was going to do one good prank this year on him either during class or in his office while he was in there grading papers or whatever he did in there. If his wife was with him and caught in the crosshairs, then so be it. It would make it even better. Let's just say none of them had got off on the best foot last year when the Winslows had begun to teach again, and she didn't let go of grudges that easily.
After about a minute of bouncing the ball, she glanced over at Kendra. "What you reading?" she asked, not quite able to catch a glimpse of any part of the book that might answer that question. She turned her head back, resuming playing catch with herself. Multitasking ruled. Talk and play something out of boring. Could probably listen to music at that, but that would be more than a little rude. That was the one thing she didn't want to be seen as, ironically enough. Mean, inconsiderate, little regard for others—those were all fine, but rude? She hated that word and she hated for any of her peers to use it in reference towards her and her actions towards them.
Kendra was so absorbed by the book that it took her a few moments to realize that Jennifer had asked her a question. She looked up at the girl, who was bouncing a ball (probably as bored as she was), and looked down at the book in question. She said, "Oh, it's just a book on Occlumency. I'm trying to learn it."
She took her hands away from part of the cover so that Jennifer could see it. The title of the book was 'Shielding Your Mind from Nosy Busybodies' by Wilhelm Black.
She didn't exactly know why she was prompted to learn Occlumency. All she knew was that her instinct was telling her that she needed it. There was only one time she didn't listen to her instinct, and she had almost died in an encounter with a Quintaped (and that was pretty much the only time she had ever been thankful for her father). Ever since then, she hadn't ignored her instincts, and for some reason, her instincts were telling her that something was going to happen this year, and that she would need to be ready.
Kendra shook herself out of her thoughts. She needed to read, not to ponder, about it.
Jennifer rose a brow, sighing as she shook her head and caught the ball. Turning so that she was sitting properly on the bench and leaning forward with her arms against her knees, she said, "It all seems like a load of bull to me. I mean, yeah, it's useful...if you're drug into Azkaban for an interrogation, but in the end, the answers can still be forced out. Veritaserum, anyone?" The last part may as well have hinted at a "Hello?" being tacked on in the tone with which she said it. She herself truly saw no point in learning it unless one was training up to be a criminal of some sorts or a Death Eater, but (perhaps it was cocky of her) she thought learning it under those circumstances meant one was admitting that they were willing to accept failure instead of believing in 'failure is not an option.'
However, she knew Kendra wasn't meaning it that way. She was hardly the type that screamed 'hardened criminal' to her. Then again, it was always the quiet ones a person had to watch out for.... Still, she didn't believe Kendra was capable because even if she had the brains, she doubted that her personality was that distorted or despotic. So, she had to take another route. She bounced the ball towards the floor and caught it as it came up. "I mean, it's nice and all, I'm sure, but I don't exactly think you'll be able to find people to run a crusade against to destroy that know how to get into your mind, though it would probably be a bit of a maze anyway and the person probably would give up."
She paused for a moment before continuing. "It's a joke, Ken; it's a joke." Another pause, this one more brief. "Anyway, there aren't any Death Eaters left around. Those who aren't in Azkaban or aren't dead are too afraid of being found and brought into custody to show their faces in public. If they are, they know their actions are being watched, and they probably frown on that. Besides, most of them probably went to another country." So, she knew that wasn't true. Some had but not most. Her father had a few visitors from time to time of that nature. Her cousin Jessie, for example. (At least, she may as well be her cousin.) She couldn't think of anyone else off the top of her head. Those visits were far and few in between, and she was sure he limited them when she was around.
Kendra paused when Jennifer started talking about the uselessness of the whole idea. She frowned slightly. Sure, she knew that she most likely didn't need it, but again, her instincts were screaming at her to learn it. Of course, Jennifer didn't need to know that. She'd probably laugh at Kendra or something (not like she would care). Jennifer did have a point about the Veritaserum thing, though. But Kendra really didn't care what Jennifer thought, although she'd never say so. So she replied, "I guess you do have a point..."
When Jennifer made the joke about her mind being a maze, she smirked slightly. Actually, that was a plausible idea. Sometimes she didn't get her own mind... which is kind of scary, in hindsight.
However, when Jennifer said that most Death Eaters probably left the country, she knew that was a lie. She'd been hearing things from her parents, nothing outright, but her parents seemed to forget that she had ears. There's rumors and sightings and meetings, and she knew it. She wondered, however, if Jennifer knew that, or if she really did think all the Death Eaters were abroad.
Her eye twitched minutely in annoyance, and she decided that she really didn't care, and never would care unless anything happening affected her.
"Damn right I have a point," Jennifer replied cooly. No, she wasn't that arrogant, but it was the only thing to say at the moment that she could think of and it wasn't completely against her nature. "Difficult for me not to, wouldn't you agree? I say it like it is." There was nothing wrong with that at all as far as she could see. Being blunt was something she was more than willing to do if and when the need arose. "The Death Eaters are gone as gone can be. They're around physically, sure, but won't dare to try anything. Those rumors are bull, just some murderer's way of trying to keep people from investigating the murders and capturing them. Too bad the Ministry's falling for it, but then, they're all douche bags, always have been."
It was the truth. Looking over the past two decades of history and observing their actions when it came to Death Eaters, the Ministry were nothing but a bunch of cowards. They did very little to help in the effort. They played down any alleged attacks back throughout all of the nineties. They were 'ruled' by a ton of whimps as far as she saw it. Didn't matter much to her, really, as she knew which side was the one to be on in the long run, but for those poor, unfortunate souls who didn't, she felt sorry. They would find themselves going under so quickly because these people would wait 'til the last possible moment when it was too late to do anything, if they had the opportunity to preplan any action before they were attacked. She didn't even know if or when there would be such a thing, but she hoped that eventually there would be. Surely more were like her father and wanted to do something.
Kendra almost scowled with annoyance at Jennifer's blunt and rather arrogant comment, but managed to keep her face blank as always. She knew Jennifer was always blunt, but Merlin, she hated it. She'd rather be subtle than blunt, and wished others were too.
A smirk graced her features, however, when Jennifer made the comment about the Ministry. Sadly, it was all very true. The Ministry of Magic was run by incompetent fools and shallow people that could be bought. It was rather sad, but she thankfully didn't have much to do with the Ministry. Her parents, however, were another story, but Kendra had little to do with that.
Platform 9 and ¾. Her eyes observed the horribly outdated train on the tracks and the other students of Hogwarts who were about to be sent off by their parents. She observed the looks on the people, all magic folk, just like herself. Trunks and suitcases were loaded into the train and families said good bye to each other. Yes. They were real families, unlike her own. The two people with her, not counting the house elf of course, were her true, biological parents. Yet, both were strangers to Rika Lefcourt. Ryoko, her mother, was trying to play the good, loving mother, yet Rika didn't believe her sudden urge to take care of her daughter. As for her father... He was a former Slytherin, most likely connected to Voldemort in the past and whoever was running the show now. Rika had no trust in him, either, and there was certainly no love for him coming from her. Why, if they were her loving parents, had they merely watched and done nothing over all those years?
Rika turned away. A sudden gust of wind pulled on her robes. Yes, she was already wearing the robes of Hogwarts. But one thing was missing. Rika had not yet been sorted and thus her robes were still neutral. Surely, so her father believed, the hat would sort her into Slytherin, after all, she was a Lefcourt, and all Lefcourts had been in Slytherin ever since the day they had come to England from across the Channel some time during the, what the muggles called, Thirty Years War. All of them, even the great disgrace Richard, Geoffrey's older twin.
"It's all loaded up, Miss Rika", sounded the meek voice of the house elf.
"Thank you", Rika replied and had a look at the strange little creature with the flapping ears and huge eyes. House elves were odd things. Their kind did not exist in Japan.
"It's a house elf, Rika, you need not thank it", remarked her mother. "It's doing what it's supposed to do. Keep in mind house elves are vermin."
She didn't say anything in reply. Instead she just looked at the house elf, Sparky was his name, for a second, then lowered her gaze. The concept of slavery or calling house elves "vermin" was just as disgusting as the pseudo-philosophy of "pure bloods". It seemed that the world of magic was just as corrupted and dirty as the muggle world which she had experienced, too. Muggle or magic folk, humans were obviously just humans and all humans were, in the end, liars.
Her gaze locked at the flocks of other students. They were all boarding the train, so it seemed that it was time for her to climb in, too. Rika, though, hadn't expected the coming reaction from her mother. The act of pretending to be a good, loving mother just didn't end there. Ryoko hugged Rika right there on the platform and planted a kiss right on Rika's forehead. "You take care there, in Hogwarts."
Rika didn't say anything. It was embarrassing. But what was worst was not the kiss right there, in public, in front of everyone. It was this lie played out so that everyone could see it. And it was played well. Somehow, so Rika figured, it was all just a big lie. Her grandparents and Rokuhana had lied to her about her mother, and now her mother was lying to everyone by playing this ridiculous role. Though, there wasn't really much she could do about it, except... to play along. Anything else would have resulted in a loss of face, that of her parents and her own, and Rika wasn't willing to risk that.
"I'll take care of her", that voice belonged to her cousin, Annabelle, who had approached them. Rika didn't like her, but then again, she didn't like any member of her new "family". The sad irony of this, however, was that Annabelle was in her fifth year, just like Rika and it was likely that the other girl wouldn't leave her alone until they would reach Hogwarts. And maybe, given the fact that all Lefcourts had been Slytherin, they would even have to share the same bedroom, quite a disturbing thought for Rika.
"Make sure she will be a good Slytherin", remarked Geoffrey to his niece, louder than necessary. "Rika might need some help adjusting to this new way, but I'm sure you'll give her a hand."
"She will, little brother, she will. She's a Lefcourt", somehow Hector sounded as if that was something to be proud of.
A sound coming from the train interrupted Olympia's attempts of straightening her daughter's clothes. It seemed that being a Lefcourt not only meant having an ego bigger than Mount Fuji, but also being always dressed perfectly.
"I will send you an owl once I'm prefect", Annabelle added before climbing into the train. Rika followed, more silently, more calmly, less... annoying. She didn't even force a smile on her face when looking at her parents. Instead she just looked at them for a second, then turned away and headed into the last compartment of the train where she found an empty seat near the window. She would spend the next few hours with staring out of that window.
As the train slowly began to move out of the station, Ryoko had a short look at her husband. "She might not make Slytherin."
Geoffrey raised an eyebrow at that. "Why do you say that? She's a Lefcourt, we always make Slytherin."
"She was a Kiku. For almost five years. They are bookworms, hard workers. They achieve the highest marks at the exams back in Japan. I think muggles would call them nerds. I heard Ravenclaw is just like that. And knowing Rika", as if she really knew her own daughter, "old habits die hard."
Olympia merely snorted at the mention of Ravenclaw, but Hector brushed some dirt off his long coat before he adjusted his hat and remarked, "Maybe so. And I say, as long as she's not sorted into Gryffindor, or worse, those worthless Hufflepuff, things shouldn't be too bad."
Meanwhile, the train had left the station and was already steaming north. North, that meant Hogwarts, that meant something she had no idea of. Somehow... Somehow it reminded her of her first day at Shirasagi. She had been ten years old, like all the children of magic folk in Japan. And now, some seven years later, she was on the way to yet another "first day". Rika slowly pulled her robes around herself and rested her head against the frame of the window. And, of course, just right at that moment the door opened and Annabelle appeared.
"Why the long face, dear cousin?"
Rika decided to ignore her for now, but it was hard, as Annabelle had already taken a seat opposite from her.
"You should get off your high horse. It won't do you any good in Hogwarts."
"I'm not on a high horse", the smaller girl remarked. "I know how first days are."
"Oh, so you've decided to talk, great, the princess is talking. I'm honored", Annabelle rolled her eyes.
"Princess?"
The younger one leaned a bit closer to her. "That's it, isn't it? That's what I've heard. That other side of the family, what's their name... Hojo? They're some sort of royalty, right?"
Rika's brows furrowed. "No."
"Oh really?" With that her cousin leaned back into her seat, "Funny, your mother said something different."
"My mother hasn't been there for years", so what would she know Rika wanted to add.
"All right, look, here's the deal. You won't play princess, because if you do, the older Slytherins will bite off your head and chew you out in no time. You'll be good, you'll do as I say and I'll keep you out of trouble."
Her eyes narrowed slightly. "Is that a threat?"
"No", Annabelle shook her head, "no, just an offer of help from Lefcourt to Lefcourt. We Lefcourts have to stick together, right? In two years, we'll be in the seventh, then we're the ones in charge. And you, you're not going to ruin my chances of becoming prefect, understood?"
Rika's reply was the "whatever" look. She didn't really care and this small conversation had told her one thing. It wasn't that she disliked her cousin, no, she just didn't care about her. She was just another little girl who had no idea about life. One day, though, her dear cousin would get a rude wakeup call and would learn that everyone out there was just a liar.
Rika focused her gaze back at the landscape outside. Frankly, England wasn't too ugly. Those green hills were in fact quite beautiful. But of course, Annabelle had to ruin this short moment of silence.
"Odd thing."
"What?" Then Rika noticed that Annabelle was looking at the large yumi in its cover right over Rika's head.
"Why didn't Sparky stuff it in with the rest of our luggage? That stupid house elf, always useless. Typical."
"I told him to store it here."
Annabelle looked flabbergasted. "Why would you do that? It should go with the rest of the baggage."
"It's a yumi, a long bow, hand crafted by the Imperial Bowyer in Kyoto. It's not something you stuff into the same place with your socks", came Rika's swift reply. "You don't know much about archery, do you?"
Her cousin raised a brow. "Don't tell me they teach this... stuff... at your old school?" Then she broke into a giggle. "Oh dear. What are you? Jeanne d'Arc? Some sort of Amazon princess?"
But the older girl decided not to reply. Surely, she could have told Annabelle about the long history of the yumi, how it used to be the primary weapon of the early samurai on horseback, how some of them soon found out that a bow could be build like a wand, how a proficient archer could hit a target across more than one hundred meters with a strong bow, how magic skills could be used for aid, or how archery was useful for learning how to focus on something. However, she decided against it. Annabelle just wouldn't understand it.
"You are absolutely no fun", her cousin remarked. "Oh well, if you continue like this the seventh year Slytherins will have it easy with you. Actually, that might make you uninteresting after a while." Then Annabelle shrugged. "Oh well, your decision, dear cousin."
Again, Rika didn't honor her with a reply and focused her gaze on the landscape once more.
"Once we're in Hogwarts they'll sort you. It'll be a bit... well... silly, since they'll likely make you line up with the first year kids. But well, I don't think they even need to sort you anyway. You're a Lefcourt. What other house than Slytherin can they put you in? Don't worry", Annabelle seemed to be delighted by this, "you'll get used to Slytherin. And as long as you do as I say there won't be any problems for you."
"Bullying again, Lefcourt?" Jennifer asked as she stopped in the doorway with a brow raised and her arms resting on either side slightly above her in the door frame as she looked at Annabelle a few moments later. A few of Kendra's friends had come into the compartment they'd sat in, and she had decided to the food trolley as a way to get out at that point. Her statement was ironic in a way. She was no better herself, but that was with the losers...and most other girls. After watching Annabelle for a few moments, her attention shifted to Rika, and she decided to sit down upon noticing her robes held no crest or sign of school colors, as though she were a first year waiting to be sorted. This was definitely...different, if that was the case, and she could be so mean right now.
"Late bloomer,...?" she asked as she sat next to the girl, her fingers wrapping around the edge of the seat as she leaned forward a little and looked to the side to see her. Anything else simply wouldn't have been Jennifer. It would have been a lie, and she was used to the fact that people either hated her or loved her for being herself. It certainly wasn't anything new, and the fact that she probably was older than these two gave her a certain 'queen bee' edge...at least if this new girl wanted to be respected in Slytherin and taught the ropes properly. Annabelle couldn't possibly know everything about the school. She was a Lefcourt. Don't get her wrong. They were a good family, but...she liked to think the Herados were much more interesting. Family pride.
At least the Lefcourts were pure unless someone stupidly interbred, but then she wouldn't be here now, would she? She'd have avoided Annabelle with a ten-foot pole. The only reason she didn't do it despite that fact was that their families knew each other through a few various connections, so they weren't complete strangers. New girl? Now that was a different story. She knew nothing about her, not even what her surname was and her bloodline. Precisely why she had to find out about this girl, see where she came from, what her name was, what sort of personality she had, and if she had any potential for Slytherin. Judging by what she had overheard on the way in, Jennifer was willing to bet that she had very little potential. She'd be something else. What? She had no clue. She'd have to see what her gut told her. Never knew. She could surprise her.
"Bullying again, Lefcourt?"
Annabelle looked up just to see Jennifer's face. The grin that appeared on her face would have notified Rika of coming troubles. However Rika wasn't paying attention. "Bullying? Me? You know I'd never do that." Annabelle replied while still grinning at Rika, who eventually looked up as well, just in time to see Jennifer taking a seat.
"Late bloomer...?"
At that Annabelle couldn't resist her own giggles anymore. Certainly, with her robes and partly even with her behavior -at least so far- Rika would have easily brought up that thought inside people's minds. But, of course, the truth was completely different. Rika now decided against answering. Whoever this girl was, Rika's instincts told her to be careful with her.
Eventually though, Annabelle decided to make a, somewhat, formal introduction. "This is my cousin Rika. The result of... an adventure of my uncle." That was one way to put it, of course, and yes, there were others. Rika's eyes focused at Annabelle. "Uncle and father had to pull a few strings to get her into Hogwarts and she'll be in the fifth year, with me. And just like all Lefcourts I know she'll make Slytherin." Her cousin's gaze moved away from her and onto Jennifer. "No, they haven't sorted her yet. Technically, she could join the seventh, but she has to join the fifth year, because she didn't manage to finish her fifth at her old school."
At that Rika rolled her eyes. Obviously Annabelle seemed to believe that not being able to finish the fifth year at Shirasagi was Rika's fault.
"Oh and", Annabelle's eyes hardened at Rika while the smile remained, "she's some sort of royalty back in her homeland. So we all need to treat her with respect and courtesy... and maybe build her a throne. Oh and the best is... she's also some sort of Jeanne d'Arc." With that Annabelle nodded towards the bow. So her dear cousin was trying to make sure that Rika would be learning a lesson from Slytherin right away?
Now it was really enough for Rika. She snorted.
"See?" Annabelle noted. "She's not the talkative type. Maybe you and I are not good enough for her."
Ugh, now Jennifer remembered why she didn't hang around other girls in general and certainly Annabelle in particular. A bit of a biddy, and that was putting it very, very mildly. Jenn knew she herself was, but not to that extent. She didn't mind having a laugh at another person's expense, but this wasn't even that amusing. She could think of a hundred different jokes she could have cracked instead, but ah well, the princess thing was enough. She could play along with that easily enough, but simply 'her royal highness,' and stuff like that grew old quickly. It had to stay fresh if it were to be anything interesting, but at least it was a starting point she could rely on; however, she doubted it would push a button with this one. So she had to go for something else, something a little more daring.
Not a problem.
"Perhaps her royal highness would benefit to know that royalty or not, Slytherins don't much respect a bastard child, even if she is a Lefcourt. It might also benefit her to know that if her majesty wishes to find her stay in our lovely castle, she would do well to mingle with the peasants around her. She will also find it imperative to remember that Ravenclaws are good for only one thing: homework help; that Hufflepuffs are a lot of incompetent misfits who serve no purpose but to bring down the quality of our life here with their awkwardness...she might find them stumbling at the sight of her grace, for example, and sucking up; and that Gryffindors are nothing but a group of rebels and idiotic daredevils that she would do well to stay away from, lest she be hurt. She would also do well to leave out the fact that she only exists because of a mistake her father made. He's obviously ashamed of you to have hid her higness away Merlin knows where for so long. It will spare her immense shame and dishonor to her upstanding name."
Finished with her discourse, Jennifer sat back, sitting at a slight angle so she could easily watch Rika's reaction. She didn't see calling her a mistake, an outcast, and other things going over well with the new girl. If she sat and took it, the poor girl was going to get it bad. It wouldn't be long before actual physical blows accompanied the verbal insults, and if she told, it would only get worse. Kids were brutal. She wouldn't physically harm her. She thought that was tactless. Insults, on the other hand? That was an artform. It took skill to disguise them and at times make them underhandedly with a double meaning whenever a professor was around. But, insults weren't always her thing. Usually, a simple prank sufficed and satiated her need to pick on someone who needed to learn to stick up for himself. Sometimes they finally got the hint, other times, they didn't. It would be interesting to see into which group Rika would fall.
The grin on Annabelle’s face just wouldn’t go away. Sure, Jennifer had a different style, but the message was the same. And now that Rika would have heard it from two different people, she would act and behave accordingly, or so Annabelle thought.
The truth, however, was a lot different. Arrogance and, more or less hidden, threats. Rika had listened only with one ear. The message itself wasn’t new, just the wrapper around it looked different. Though, one thing was different. The motivations seemed to come from other reasoning than the one she was used to. The Black Lotus would usually act high and mighty because they believed in blood status, yes, but also in what they had always called “traditional values”. It was not a surprise that the Black Lotus was rumored to have been involved in the ultimate death of Japanese democracy and freedom in the early Showa years, before the Pacific War started. Slytherin was different in that aspect, or so it seemed. Their motives seemed to stem from blood status and money. Rika could only judge about the Lefcourt family, as they were the only pure blood Slytherin family she knew. But money, influence and power played an important role in “her” family.
Rika couldn’t agree with Jennifer. The simple reason was that she had no idea about the other three houses. Surely, she had heard one or two things and had read several accounts, but she hadn’t experienced anything herself yet. Thus her mind instinctively labeled Annabelle’s and Jennifer’s ramblings as propaganda and hearsay. And it wasn’t even surprising to her. Slytherin was in competition with the other three. That wasn’t new, nor was it unfamiliar. The Black Lotus at Shirasagi was just like that. They were in competition with the other four houses. It was, more or less, normal.
In the beginning, Rika had decided not to get involved with these ridiculous politics among the different houses. What for? She would only be there for two years, not even 700 days in school days. That was nothing, she could sit that off easily. She had also decided to speak only when necessary. However, Annabelle and Jennifer made it impossible for her to remain silent.
“My father?” Rika eventually said without pulling her gaze away from the passing landscape. “He’s just another person who can’t be trusted. Upstanding?” Her only reply to that was a snort. Yes, her father was a very upstanding person, just like the whole family. So upstanding that they had to use slavery and abuse power. Rika shifted her position. “Look. I don’t care. Not about you,” her eyes focused on Annabelle, “nor you,” her gaze shifted towards Jennifer. “I just don’t care, alright? If you believe I care about the politics or anything else at Hogwarts, well, I don’t.” Two years, that was nothing, right?
Jennifer chuckled dryly and rolled her eyes, crossing her arms casually against her body as she brought her right leg up, her foot resting on the bench. "Then, you certainly won't get very far. Might have worked wherever the heck you come from, but here? Here, the politics are taken very seriously. It would be wise to take note of them or you'll end up with a horrid reputation and very few companions. Stick with your own...kind, and there shouldn't be any problems." It made them sound like cattle, which she highly disliked, but there was no kinder way to put it than 'your own kind,' really. It was essentially what the school sorting seemed to accomplish more than anything: big rival families.
Slytherin and Gryffindor seemed to be the ring leaders and Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs either remained neutral or sided. The amount of hostility depended on what year and who was around. Usually they were civil enough, but things weren't meant to heal between the houses. It had been this way since at least her dad's day. It was a vicious cycle, but it had its fun points...such as the game during her first year in which some of the older students had invaded the Gryffindor's locker rom pre-game, and then left to watch the other team run out, itching like crazy, some covered in hives. Ingenius, but it severely cost them. Slytherin had been banned from Quidditch for the year due to the principle of it all.
Jennifer smirked, having come up with an idea. She could be so mean to the unsuspecting girl, scare her with stories, both true and untrue, of things that 'had happened' around the school to people who bore similar characteristics to her. She and Annabelle could spin quite the story together. Ignoring the other girl, she rolled her head lazily to the side to look at Annabelle. "Hey, Lefcourt, you ever find out what happened to Milo?" she asked as though deciding to engage in normal conversation and leave the newbie alone. Be interesting where Annabelle went with it. They could build on each other or she could start and Jenn could elaborate. A murder, perhaps? A disappearance? A haunting? So many possibilities. Didn't even have to involve the pathetic house feud.
Rika silently shook her head. Did they really think that she would care about those politics? Why would she get involved for a mere two years? 700 days, that was all. No. Not after this day, then it would only be 699. Right when she focused her attention back to the landscape a small smile appeared on her face. It was nothing new. At least, Kuroki, back in the days, had had the decency and the courage to outright go at her.
“Hey, Lefcourt, you ever find out what happened to Milo?”
Annabelle brought her hand towards her chin and rubbed it while pretending to think. “Milo... Yes, yes, I’ve heard one or two things, from Hufflepuffs, but they had a lot of conflicting details. As usual. Not really a surprise though. One of them even claimed it was the Merfolk from the lake, just imagine that.”
At that Rika crossed her arms and closed her eyes while resting her head against the window frame. Now this was certainly not new. If they were trying to scare her, then they needed more than some oddball stories. But in fact, what was still there that could actually scare her?
"The merfolk?!" Jennifer choked out, perfectly mimicking amusement, but as she continued to speak, her tone grew progressively more grave and serious. "How the hell did they think it was them? Grindylows are much more likely. Didn't you hear how most of his flesh was gnawed off his bones? There was a stab wound through the heart with a spear, I heard, but I mean, I don't think it was that the merpeople killed him and left him in the weeds or anything. I like to think the merperson had mercy on him. They might be aggressive, but it being that he was found outside their territory, I doubt they had reason to feel threatened by him."
She sighed, shaking her head. "Poor Izzy, finding her own boyfriend like that on shore." She tensed and shuddered at the decayed image she pictured in her mind of a boy with his body partly decomposed, bits of muscle mass and skin hanging from his lifeless frame, and a spear through his chest. Gross. "She hasn't been the same since." Another sigh as her eyes fled from Annabelle to the window, which she peered out of at the fleeing scenery for a while, and then to their final resting place on the floor, kicking it lightly.
"But what do you think?" she asked after a few moments. "I mean, why would Milo have gone out to the damn lake to begin with? He hated water, was scared to death of it. He wouldn't have went near it alone, so who was with him? Who let him start to drown? Who left him to die?" Given the history of the school with Death Eaters, even Voldemort loyalists within the student body and the staff, Annabelle could have a good run with that, suggest some girl that was one of those quiet types that seemed possibly psychotic that Rika would see quite often no matter what house she was in, and they were hopefully in.
Annabelle shrugged once “It’s the Hufflepuffs, what do you expect from them? It’s not their fault they’re... challenged.” Though, that gave her a different opening and an idea. “I don’t know who did it, but... I mean... with that Order still rambling around? Who knows. Honestly, if some of the stories dealing with that Potter boy during his time at Hogwarts are true, then I wouldn’t be surprised if there’re still people around who think like he and his gang.” She had a glance at Rika, who still didn’t seem to care. “I wouldn’t be surprised if there are people in Gryffindor who want Potter’s Reign of Terror back in school. And it wouldn't be the first time that one of them would go after someone innocent just to instill fear of their own paranoid hallucinations.”
Potter. That was a touchy subject with Annabelle. She didn’t like him, nor his friends, nor any of those half-witted fools in Gryffindor, Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff who seemed to revere him like a saint. Saint Potter. Oh for crying out loud! This “boy who lived” had terrorized Slytherins throughout his six years at Hogwarts and had eventually foiled Lord Voldemorts plot. Certainly, if Annabelle would have been at Hogwarts back in those days, she would have given Potter and his minions a good licking.
Though...
“But then again. I’ve heard that there might be something or someone left from the battle for Hogwarts, who went insane and is now living somewhere in the Forbidden Forest. A few dimwitted Hufflepuffs said it was a Death Eater. As if.”
That was when Rika opened her eyes and focused her gaze on Annabelle. Suddenly she rolled her eyes. It was getting ridiculous. Cheap ghost stories and rumors, now that was scary indeed. “And it comes at night and eats your eyes, right?” Rika remarked.
"Sorry to disappoint, kiddo, but no," Jennifer replied, her head having turned from Annabelle to her cousin when Rika had begun to speak. "It's much worse than that. Those rogue Death Eaters, hungry for revenge, out there, aren't civil, aren't nice. They can be downright nasty, if they take a mind to it, and sometimes they do. The professors, some of them, are supposed to have been old Order members. I've heard tale of whoever it is peeling skin from his victims, bisecting them, beheading them...quite disgusting. Creepy, really, wouldn't you agree? And that's not the worst of it. You don't want to be a woman and run into this person." She cringed as though disturbed. She had to be real if there was any chance of this ever being believed by Miss Rika Lefcourt.
She couldn't think of anything else to add to that description at the moment without making this alleged rogue Death Eater sound like he wasn't human, so she shut up for now to give Rika a chance to react or Annabelle a chance to make her own addition or more. It was so easy with Hogwarts and alleged former status of the teachers this year as Order members and whatnot to spin a tale where there was this rogue Death Eater around, wanting revenge. They could even choose one professor to bank it on, make this professor seem cold-hearted and bad news when in reality he might not be anything close to that.
Which one, though? Lawson, Winslow, Winslow, Kenneth, Kenneth, or others? Tough choice. Decisions, decisions. There was always that astronomy professor. She was always different. Hmm...maybe even that strange muggle studies professor? Binns? Naw, Binns wouldn't work. He was, after all, a ghost, and had not been out of the castle in several years to have gained any enemies. Hmm...sigh. She had to choose one. Perhaps Annabelle would have latched onto her train of thought and would pick it up and choose for her. Would be nice, but such connections happened very seldom, if at all, really, so Jennifer highly doubted it would happen.
It was ironic, at least up to a certain point. Ultimately, the worst thing that could happen with encountering that Death Eater, was death. Considering what had happened to her Rika didn’t think of death as something scary. Though, what was a Death Eater anyway? That was a really strange name for something. A creature that was eating death was out for revenge? Herado had called them rogue, so that meant that there used to be some sort of group of Death Eaters, which was now disbanded -for whatever reason- and the leftovers were now on their own. A group of rogues out for revenge, now that sounded quite familiar to her ears. Rika didn’t have to turn on her little grey cells for that. The first thing that came into her mind were the Forty-seven Loyal Retainers, the 47 Ronin. It was similar, at least, seemed to be.
Though, that didn’t answer one question. Annabelle was about to jump in on Jennifer’s little plot when Rika sat up and suddenly said “What’s a Death Eater?” She had heard hints and remarks before, but those had always been connected with the powerful wizard who had been some sort of leader for the Lefcourt family. What had been his name? Volgafjord? Voortywort? Voldybob? Voldebart? Voldemort? Voldemort, yes, that was it. Rika remembered that her father, or maybe her mother, had mentioned something that had sounded like “Death Eater” once or twice, but maybe they had said “deaf beater” or “bless sweeter”. After all, she hadn’t paid attention to everything her parents had said to her in the past year.
It was a good thing Jennifer was not eating or drinking anything. It would have either become a choking hazard or found itself all over the floor as she laughed that sort of laugh that's almost like a gasp. It held amusement. "Haven't you ever heard of Voldemort?" Coincidentaly, at that time the trolley lady was walking by, ringing her bell and asking, "Anything from the trolley, dearies? Anything from the—?" She had to admit she had said it a little too loudly, but she'd practically laughed out the Dark Lord's name, something someone in her right mind never did, but it was so commonplace with her. Fear of a name was nonsense anyway, especially the name of one who was dead, but fear was what she felt crowd the air. The section of the train they were in was much too quiet. "And you're a Lefcourt?!" she added to break the silence.
After she collected herself, Jennifer glanced from Annabelle to Rika, now straight-faced and absolutely serious, and decided an explanation was necessary. No one could not know about the Dark Lord and his followers. They were great, to be admired for their cause even if it was failed. However, surely his followers would rise up in his place if not him again, and she aspired to be part of it when that day came. Needless to say, she never would voice that thought. It wouldn't sound good to most, and even if it might pass with flying colors by Annabelle Lefcourt, she couldn't say her cousin would be the same, the way she reacted to half this stuff...not to mention, not knowing what Death Eaters were. Who was stupid enough not to teach her that before sending her from Hogwarts? And what dumbass school had she been sent to before? Must've been downtown hickville in the States.
"Death Eaters were Voldemort's followers. He terrorized the school and many students in it, a few of our teachers having been some of those terrorized or Death Eaters themselves, or so the word through the grapevine goes. (And the grapevine is usually always right.) Here," She stood and reached for her trunk, pulling out the newest book she'd received from her dad. Hogwarts: A Revised History. It simply had added much more recent events and information on the school. Everything else was the same as the original, but one couldn't simply expect the book not to grow and evolve with the school and still be a good book to revere and respect, could he now? "This has everything you should know."
That was quite a good question. Was she a Lefcourt? If going by what seemed to be the standards for Lefcourts, she certainly wasn’t. Additionally, she just hadn’t paid attention to anything related to Hogwarts. Surely, she had read one or two books about it, but those had been telling the history of the school, nothing else. There had been no mention of Death Eaters or Voldemort. Maybe, though, that was because the books had been rather old. What she knew about Voldemort came from a few moments where she listened with half an ear to what her parents and the rest of the family had to say. And now, going by Herado’s description, Voldemort was nothing else but a bully.
“Well,” Annabelle began, “you have to excuse her. She’s been here for about a year. And I can’t say she’s been very... talkative.”
Rika raised a brow at Annabelle, but decided not to reply. She took the book from Jennifer. “Thank you.” The book would certainly give her some peace and quiet from those two. Though, there was one thing she wanted to know first. “So, basically, they are a group that followed Voldybob, err, Voldemort, while he was bullying the school and now they’re...” She shrugged, “now they’re somewhat disgruntled former followers of someone who... Who did what? Whatever he did, it doesn’t seem that he was extremely successful with it. Going by your description it seems that he was a mere bully.”
"Voldemort was so much more than that," Jennifer replied with a little more indignation than she intended. She calmed that down with her next sentence as she composed herself. "True, Potter defeated him, but who knows if it really is for good? I mean, he was supposedly defeated by the boy when he was just a baby. Then, again, when the boy was seventeen, my age. Seems he didn't do it properly, though, because three years later, he was back. This time he went down in glory. His followers panicked—most of them—and left him alone for dead just as before, but this time even Draco left him alone. They were angered, and for a few weeks after they continued in their lord's name to terrorize muggle and wizard alike. They disbanded shortly after, but we all know—all of us who are smart, that is—that they will want revenge and if they can't have it by resurrecting Voldemort again, they'll do it without him. You can be sure of that.
"But let's not talk about his death, shall we? It's a tad depressing." She paused to take in a deep breath and release it, shaking his head. "He accomplished much during his 'Reign of Terror,' such as keeping the muggles in check, fending off those who opposed his views. He was merciful about it. He gave people a choice. Serve him or die. But fact remains that the deaths were oft terrible, worse than we can imagine. He would have been a terrible, powerful, awful dictator, and we should thank Potter for his efforts, but fact remains we have someone out near the castle immitating his acts. Whether or not it is him or not remains unseen."
Was she a pureblood supremist? Only when it was necessary, she liked to think. She had some muggle-born friends, after all. Most were pureblood, but ah well. It didn't matter here what Rika thought, really. She could easily explain it away as looking at it from Lord Voldemort's perspective, but she doubted that would convince the incourigable girl. Offending her would-be lord! Her father's lord! It was unthinkable, but she had done it. Now she had marked herself as Jennifer's enemy for the rest of the year. She was fortunate it was her last year at Hogwarts or it could become a bitter, nasty war between the two of them. Shame, though. It could have been fun, if she proved a worthy opponent.
Rika raised her right eyebrow while completely ignoring Annabelle’s smug grin. That was it? Just another wannabe tyrant who tried and failed miserably? Worse yet, Voldemort seemed to be a coward. Terrorizing people, muggles. What for? Power? Power was fleeting. Glory? Glory was just as fleeting. Money maybe? No, money was just, well, money. It was usesful, but that was about it. For honor? No, seriously no. None of them, neither Voldemort nor those followers of him made the impression of being honorable people. Then Rika shook her head. “If they didn’t manage it with him, how could they manage it without him?”
Now Annabelle raised a brow. “Wait a second...”
“No. Terrorizing people, even muggles,” Rika continued while dismissing Annabelle's objection. “What for? To dominate them? Rule over them? Only fools do that. Only cowards resort to such methods. Serve him or die? Very merciful indeed. If history proves us one thing, then that such regimes don't last long.” And of course the Death Eaters had panicked, it didn’t surprise her at all. Just like when the Shogun’s Most Honorable Investigator of Events, Situations and People, his wife and a handful of allies had stopped Anraku shortly before the year 1700. Anraku had not only been after the Japanese wizarding world, but also after the muggle world. He had began to take influence on the Shogun’s mother while secretly building an army. An army of loyal wizards -usually from the Black Lotus, but there had been a few from Sakura as well- and of muggles, well armed muggles, which would have helped him to dominate the muggle world as well. He had believed that, with the Shogun’s mother under control, he would have it easy to get the Shogun Tsunayoshi as well -after all, Tsunayoshi wasn’t known to have the strongest will in the country. Anraku had failed, not surprisingly, there had been resistance from muggles and wizards alike, and his followers had been on the run for a while. Even those, who decided to continue the fight, had been cowards, who hadn’t had the courage for a real fight. Voldemort and his Death Eaters seemed to be just the same. Terrorizing, attacking conveniently when there was no real danger, it was always the same. “If they don’t have the guts to fight openly, why aren’t they hunted down and killed like the cowardly dogs they are?”
It was funny, even though Rika was extremely angry at both parts of her family, there was still something that just wouldn’t go away. Maybe it was connected to spending several years at Shirasagi and growing up in a family where the old virtues were still important. Virtues, such as loyalty, courage, honor and compassion. Rika just couldn’t answer differently. It had become part of her own philosophy somewhere along the road.