I admit I was in a truly foul mood. Winter was here, and with it came the darkness and the cold, which was bad enough. But Christmas was also around the corner. This time of year was always the most difficult for me. I didn't pay much attention to holidays as a rule, but Christmas was different. Not because I was religious or anything like that, but because it was the one time of the year I could count on to have the whole of my family gathered in one place. That was what Christmas meant to me, family.
It was messy, it was cramped, and god did it get loud sometimes. You could also count on something going wrong at some point. I remember the one where we had so many electrical appliances going that we blew out most of the main fuses on the place. One could always count on Christmas is its own special kind of hell. But with it also came warmth, good food, and good company. It was a time of a family coming together.
I think I always appreciated this time a bit more than the rest of my family. I had been since I'd been seven years old, that's when my grandpa had left us. I'd been just old enough to realize what that meant. The fact that things were finite is a brutal thing to learn when you're that young. I'd resolved to enjoy this time with my family because there would come a time when they wouldn't be there anymore.
I just never thought they would be lost to me this soon.
It made me feel like someone had reached into my chest and squeezed my heart to a pulp.
So, yeah. I was a bit grumpy.
I'd usually distract myself with some project or another. At the moment, that was my attempt at making the magical version of power armor. The Mark 1. I'd been working on it, off and on, for nearly two years now. And I didn't have all that much for it. You'd think making the hands work would be the hard part, but as it turns out, it's not. The level of difficulty went up steeply the more of the armor I managed to finish. Which wasn't much.
I'd managed the hands and the arms but had gotten stuck on the shoulders. No matter what I did I always ended up restricting the range of movement in some debilitating way. So I'd tried working on the feet and legs instead but found a similar problem when I got to the hips. Working on the torso had been all but useless without anything to anchor it to, so that was a bust as well.
It wasn't working. It was that simple. Even with the Stone of Ravenclaw boosting my intelligence, I hadn't been able to find a way past this damn problem. It was enough to make me want to scream! I'd failed! That wasn't the bad part. I failed plenty of times. But it had taken two years for me to realize it. Two years' worth of effort down the toilet. Two years of wasted time! AGH!
"You seem... disturbed." A placid voice said, interrupting my little pity party.
"Fuck me!" I yelped and almost fell off the stool I was sitting on before I regain my balance and spun to face the source of my jumpscare.
"Damnit, Nel. Put a bell on!"
"Like an animal? I think not, Andrew." She drawled. "You will have to get your... entertainment elsewhere."
I snorted in amusement. "Good one, nice delivery. I'd say a solid 7."
"Mmm." She hummed vaguely. I'm not sure if it was in agreement or simple acknowledgment.
"Potions for the frugal witch." She read out loud from the cover with a raised eyebrow, and I swear there was a hint of a mocking undertone to her words. "I don't believe Hogwarts library carries these kinds of books."
Ok, now she was definitely mocking me. I reached over and snatched the book from her hand. Too bad for her I refuse to feel shame for anything. "It's my own copy. I picked it up in Hogsmede two weeks ago. You should read it, it got a lot of good stuff in it, including the predecessor to Skale-Grow. Better yet, no potion in this book uses any "exotic" ingredient like fairy wings or Occamy beaks. Just stuff you can forage out in the countryside or pick up in your local muggle supermarket."
"And that is... good."
I shrugged. "No knowledge is useless, it might be a bit situational for the most part, but I did pick up some good general healing potions from it. Nothing super potent, but easily brewed with ingredients readily available have its advantages."
Nel gave me a long look that I couldn't decipher. This girl has one mean poker face. I've known her for years and I still don't know what goes on in her head. Not unusual when it came to girls, maybe, but Nel was in a league of her own. Ice cool beauty, this one.
"I see." She said at length.
"Uh-huh. So, did you have a reason for dropping by besides scaring me half to death?" I asked, changing the subject.
"No. I just needed to throw off some unwelcome attention." She told me with a hint of irritation creeping into her tone.
"Janus again?" I asked curiously.
"No. One of his less intelligent friends." She said with a hint of disgust.
"Jonny long legs or the butterball?" I still didn't know the name of Janus's little bookends.
Janus himself had been giving me a wide berth after I... expanded his horizons, contenting himself with trying to set me on fire with his eyes. This unfortunately didn't mean he stopped being a tit when it came to the fairer sex. He had still tried to corner Nel on several occasions when he knew I was elsewhere. He'd even done an end-run on Lys after her girls finished growing. She punched him in the dick so hard he spend two days in the infirmary. He hadn't bothered her since.
Once I'd become aware of the problem I'd asked Paddy to keep an eye on her and trip up Janus if he tried his luck. The bookends were less of a problem, Janus was good enough with a wand to get the better of Nel. The same could not be said for his friends.
"The butterball," Nel responded in disgust.
I raised an eyebrow in surprise. "You'd think he'd learn his lesson after you vanished his clothes, dipped him in hone, and buried him in an anthill," I commented. "Nice going with that, by the by. Very classic, though you usually tie them to the hell instead of sticking them in it."
"It seemed a shame not to use the options magic provides," Nel answered blandly.
"Fair enough, I suppose," I said with another shrug.
I knew neither of the girls had gotten in trouble for their little spot of ultra-violence. This was a world where things like love potions weren't just permissible but regularly used and no one batted an eye. The wizarding world could be and often was a brutal place. It was the main reason why none magicals, squibs included, didn't do too well in Wizarding communities. Of course, all things being equal, if you tried and failed you had to deal with the consequences. Both Nel and Lys acted well within expectations.
Magic had a way of leveling the playing field as nothing else could. It was one of the things I liked most about the wizarding world. It might be brutal, but in defeating that brutality it bred a certain kind of confidence in people, particularly the girls, that I didn't often see in the muggle world. And when I did it was often born out of stupidity. It was a very attractive trait.
"I believe he might have liked it." Nel drawled.
I laughed outright. "Well, it wouldn't be the strange thing I've heard. Which is sad if you think about it. I guess you have to get more creative." I said soberly. I shook myself and banished those unpleasant mental images. "So you planned to hang out here until he gives up?"
"No, I planned to use the Room to generate a pathway to the Ravenclaw tower." She informed me.
"Well, you'll have to kick Lys out of the room then, she is using it at the moment," I told her while watching her expression carefully.
I wasn't surprised to see the momentary wince before Nel's expression returned to her habitual neutral one. I still hadn't figured out what Nel's beef with Lys was. Lys herself didn't know and didn't have anything against the girl, and didn't care enough to enquire on my behalf so long as Nel stayed out of her way. Lys may be talented, but she had the curiosity of a rock sometimes.
"What is your problem with Lys?" I asked. it was not the first time I'd asked. But I figured she was a captive audience at the moment so I might as well press the advantage.
"I don't have a problem with Lys." Nel denied immediately.
I snorted in disbelief. "Your actions say otherwise. You avoid her like you over her money." I told her frankly. "Now, I know you haven't done anything to Shortstack because she'd have settled that herself. But you seem damn guilty about something if I'm to judge..."
"But you are not!" Nel interrupted me. "...to judge. This is of no concern to you."
"Lys is my friend, that makes me concerned." I retorted lightly.
"There is nothing to be concerned about."
"Then you have no problem telling me what your beef is." I reasoned.
Nel looked momentarily confused, her brows wrinkling slightly. "Beef? Why do you talk about meat?"
"What?" What the hell was she talking about... oh wait... was that not a thing in the wizarding world? "I mean, why do you have a problem with Lys?"
"I do not have a problem with her." Nel denied it again.
"You obviously do," I affirmed.
"Your deductive ability needs work if you believe that." Nel countered.
Man, this was going nowhere. Not that I truly expected to get anything out of her right now. Nel was closed-lipped at the best of times, but whatever was going on between her and Lys had her closed up tighter than a miser's purse. And nothing about it made sense. Why was she feeling guilty? She didn't seem the type to get all worked up over some teenage angst either, which meant it had to be something serious.
She was interested in dwarven trinkets. Maybe she had stolen something from Lys? But if that had happened I'd have heard about it. Lys first love might be everything metal, but her second one was complaining about how wizards and goblins had screwed her people. If Nel had stolen something it would just have given Lys more ammo to use.
I gave Nel another look. Her posture was tense. Arms by her sides, hands clenched into fists. Head slightly turned away from me. Eyes turned towards the window. Feet tightly together. Angry. Defensive. Guilty. Angry with me? Probably. But guilty too. Angry with herself as well, maybe? Defensive though... About what?
"Nel, did you take something from her?"
A flinch. A small one. Bearly a twitch of her mouth and ear. Her left foot shifted slightly outwards. She was preparing to leave. I pressed o hard, might as well go for broke.
"Nel, what did you take?"
"I didn't take anything!" She snapped. "I wouldn't!"
"Oh?"
A slight flush came over her face and I saw her jaw flex as she gritted her teeth. She must have realized that she had all but confirmed my suspicion. But her denial seemed sincere. That last part in particular. I wouldn't?
"You wouldn't? Then who would?" I pressed.
Nel snapped around and started to walk purposefully towards the door.
"Nel!" I called getting up.
"No!" She snapped again, turned, and raised her hand towards me. A ripple flowed through the air and I suddenly found myself frozen in place. "This discussion is over!"
Before I had a chance the counter the spell she was out the door which slammed shut with a bang. I momentarily consider chasing after her but thought better of it. No need to make a spectacle out of this. it was best not to draw too much attention to this, whatever it was. I'd gotten some information. I needed to think about it, maybe do some research, and see what I could find. I considered going and talking to Lys but decided not to. Until I had a better idea of what was going on it was best to sit on it, just in case it turned out to be a big nothingburger.
What the hell was Nel up to?