Tumbleweed

Hogwarts had changed over the four or so months Bertie had been missing. This time last year the library would be packed out with students cramming for their upcoming exams, the Quidditch Stadium would be full of roaring fans and you'd be constantly bumping into people in the hallways. Today, however, it was a completely different story.

Not only was Hogwarts missing the halfbreeds but more and more students were leaving too. Whether it be they were dropping out to evade the marriage law, venturing on their honeymoon or their parents had withdrawn them with the Blood pack invasion before Christmas. Students were now tumbleweeds and the only company Bertie had in the courtyard was his toad Snidget sat on the bench beside him.

Whilst Bertie had been in St Mungo's nobody knew where the Western Green Toad had gotten to. Snidget was prone to adventures but where he'd been the Ravenclaw hadn't the foggiest. Nobody had seen him and when Bertie had gone upstairs to find an empty tank he could only assume the worst, that was until he came across the toad hopping along the sixth floor landing a few days after Bertie's return. Maybe the toad could sense his owners return? Either way Bertie had learned to keep a closer eye on his toad, sure Snidget was resilient but one of these days he wouldn't be so lucky. 

Turning over the page in his potions book Bertie continued to read about the strengthening solution they would be brewing in the next potions class. It wasn't that he was hopeless a potions, Vivianna had taught him well, he simply liked to be prepared and it wasn't as if there was anybody around to talk to. 

Heart pumping, blood pounding, sweat forming on his brow, Gordan quickly sprinted his way through the hallways, narrowly dodging other people as he went along. Right now was not a joke, he was seriously late and it could cost him too much to count! Thinking about the distance was all he could do now, he had no choice but to make a countdown in his head, the roaring pain in his lungs was evidence of that. He figured he had about three minutes to make it, but in order to make it in that time all the way from the Common Rooms, he need at least seven!

Shit, he thought in his head I'll never make it in time! Why did I choose to sleep NOW out of all times!

He continued to curse his own foolishness in his mind as his narrow legs moved frantically to its destination. By the time he rounded down the Grand Staircase and made his way to the Entrance hall, he was already one minute late! Merlin, no! he screamed to himself as he finally made it out, around the corner and to the staircase where he normally went down.

He stood in horror though as he saw the thing he was dreading coming to life: the group of kids that tended the flowers in his special alcove were descending down, ready to care for the plants. A moment of silence was needed for Gordan as barely audible breaths exited through his mouth, his afternoon session of lazing about ruined by this surprising turn of events. Normally, he would already be down there by the time those kids showed up, they would see him and come back later. But now...now he would have to wait several hours for them to leave before he could even begin his relaxing session.

Trying to regain his composure (and his breath), he stumbled back over to the courtyard he passed by recently and took a defeated seat down on a nearby bench. He wallowed in his wasted youth, ruined by others wanting to take care of things that would die soon anyway, he could only think about his mistake. He hadn't even noticed there were other people in the courtyard as well, not as many people as normal, but people nevertheless. If that situation hadn't happened, he'd probably have been relaxing and lazing right now...but no, it was useless.

The bench Bertie was sat on sunk a little, not a lot, just enough to distract the Ravenclaw from his potions book. Glancing to his right an older boy had joined him, possibly unaware Bertie was already sat there. The fourth year didn't know the boy by name but he recognised him from around the common room and at the Ravenclaw table during meal times in The Great Hall.

Not wanting to draw any attention Bertie immediately returned to his strengthening solution curious as to why it contained salamander blood, that would be a question for Viv next time he saw her.

WHAM! A stolen quaffle, that had been tossed around by a group of fifth years, hit Bertie in the back of the head causing him to fall forward from the bench. Snidget, who had been residing in his pocket, leaped out onto the lap of the sixth year whilst Bertie's book was flung onto the paved ground.

Looking down at his grazed hands Bertie turned to see who through the quaffle - a bunch of boys laughing and high-fiving one another.

'Sorry mate' One of them called before summoning the quaffle back towards them before leaving the courtyard, the sound of their laughing lingering in Bertie's head.

"Why did this have to happen?" murmured Gordan as he continued to wallow in his own self pity. This whole time spent was just a waste, he should've stayed in the common room. It would've been simple enough to just lie in his bed and imagine a story about a knight and dragon doing battle or something like that, but no, instead he had to deal with people outside...apparently violent people too while they were at it. He heard the thud of the person next to him fall down onto the ground and even noticed the small toad fall into his lap, but he wasn't affected. He continued to have a rather dark looking expression on his face, it was completely neutral from a birds eye view, but the feeling of darkness just surrounded him. A rain cloud filled with negativity. He really liked that spot.

He heard the toad on his lap make a noise, which caused Gordan to snap out of his funk for a moment. He stared at the amphibian for a moment before extending a small finger down and petting the top of its head. It didn't react, but he imagined it must be like a dog right now, panting and kicking its leg. "I imagine you don't have to worry about things like this," said Gordan to the toad, his finger actively at work.

Deciding to take a look at the fallen Ravenclaw next to him, he immediately noticed the familiarity of the person. He happened to pass by him several times in the common room, an inevitable thing to happen if they were both in the same house. He must've been a fourth year or fifth year, judging by the height, the sound of his voice as he was bludgeoned by a ball, and the thickness of the textbooks by him. Nothing kiddie like. He just stared at the guy for a moment, looking into his eyes with his own soulless eyes, shrugged, and turned his attention back to the toad. Must've been his.

"I guess you wish you had a pond to reside in right now, huh?" he said again to the toad "Probably want to eat some flies and croak to your hearts content...wait, is that a frog that does it or a toad? Christ, I don't even remember."

The older boy had looked at Bertie for a moment, stared him in the eyes then returned his attention to Snidget who had hopped onto the Ravenclaws lap. At least he wasn't phased by Snidget, at least he hadn't found his toad flung across the courtyard in disgust. Bertie never understood the stigma around toads, why people tended not to like them. They used worse things in potions...

After collecting up his book, whose pages were now crumpled to Bertie disappointement, he approached the older Ravenclaw.

'He's called Snidget.' Bertie said with a hesitant smile. 'I'd take him to the lake but then I'd probably never see him again, besides he enjoys getting lost around the castle it's why I tend to keep him with me now.' Bertie told the boy.

Usually Bertie would have simply asked for his toad back, apologised, then scurried out of the courtyard but having four months in isolation because he was too contagious to be around Bertie had learned it wasn't always a good thing to be alone. He'd learned it was better to be around people, even if he didn't know what to say to them, than be around nobody at all.

So the toad was called Snidget. How delightfully original...and possibly also bordering on the lines of insanity as well. Gordan continued his rather odd game of petting the toad, who made no further movements besides blinking its eyes. Blinking his own eyes as well, Gordan made no further attempts at conversation with this younger man. He merely stared at the toad and allowed his mind to wonder, a defense mechanism to the rather large shock he experienced moments ago. Some time later, Gordan picked up the toad from its belly and casually placed it besides him, the toad making no effort to escape or even jump away from the bench.

Leaning his head on both hands, elbows balancing on his knees, he merely stared out into the distance in front of him, his eyes lacking emotion...maybe even a soul. He felt crushed by this new defeat...he felt like he had been through enough when he had to deal with the Soulless, but now? He had no idea what he should do. Even if he managed to get there in time, she'd probably end up showing up at some point...she knew where he liked to reside.

"That B****..." Gordan accidentally said out loud, his voice coarse and rather aggressive. She would get hers, she would rue the day she decided to mess with him! He could still feel the kiss upon his cheek, he thought if he scrubbed that part hard enough with hot water, the feeling would go away. He was wrong apparently. What felt like angry swarms of bees in his head becoming numbing, all he wanted was just to make her pay. He began to chuckle creepily, imagining that moment.

He was pulled out of it though when the wind shrieked by, making him realize another person next to him was trying to socialize. He processed the last minute or so in his mind, realizing he allowed his thoughts to take control of his actions again. Realizing this had to be a last ditch effort to contain his reputation, he quickly spitted out towards the other boy "Oh, Snidget is a cool name, how'd you find him? Was he a gift from family or something, or did you catch him yourself? That'd be really cool if you caught him yourself, like some sort of rangler or something, y'know?"

Rubbing the back of his head awkwardly, he really hoped this would all fade away. He predicted he could be in and out of this conversation in five minutes. He was a pro at small talk after all.

Bertie didn't really know what to do truth be told. The older boy didn't seem interested in him at all, for a moment he was acting as though Bertie was completely invisible, either that or the boy was deaf, possibly autistic? A boy not far from where Bertie lived was autistic. He never spoke, never showed emotion he simply wandered around with his Mother in his own bubble, not unlike Bertie at times.

The Ravenclaw simply stood there whilst the older boy petted Snidget. Snidget didn't seem to mind though, maybe it was nice to have someone else hold him for a change. Bertie had certainly been keeping a close eye on him, he took him to class, meal times and even whilst he was studying in the library. Snidget had become his best companion, after Vivianna of course, and the pair were now inseparable no matter how much Snidget attempted to hop under a bookshelf and out of sight.

'Bítch.' Was that directed at Bertie, innocent Bertie was simply clung onto his book as a security blanket? Either he was talking to himself, thinking aloud, or was rather slow on the uptake of his annoyance at Bertie for allowing Snidget to escape his pocket. Whatever was bothering the boy Bertie wasn't quiet sure if he wanted to know. He couldn't leave Snidget with the stranger, but he couldn't say anything either and so Bertie simply stood waiting for the fellow Ravenclaw to either leave and- Alas. He spoke.

'My Mum bought him for be before I came to Hogwarts.' Bertie told the boy. 'He's sort of a connection between here and home.' He added with a soft smile. If Bertie was being honest he would have asked for his toad back and walked away, it's what he wanted to do because being in these shoes stood in the paved courtyard with an exceptionally silent sixth year wasn't that comfortable.

'Do you have any pets?' He asked hoping to either get a conversation going or here that the boy had something to do and would leave.

Leaning back on the bench, Gordan managed to regain his composure, replacing whatever expression that had managed to worm its way through with a more stoic face. Normally, he wouldn't have spoken at all to the person next to him, but he had already dug his own hole into this situation, he needed to get himself out of it. Or at the very least, make himself look better than what would come out of it. Deciding the best course of action was the socialize, he glanced up at the boy, staring straight into his eyes.

"No pets," he stated "Was never really fond of having something follow me around, I feel like that would be too much responsibility...caring for another life like that." He needed to show himself in a positive manner, and so far, it didn't seem to be working out too well. Putting on a slight smile, one that felt natural to Gordan, he continued "I mean, it's kind of a hard task to think about. A cat or dog, sure, there are hundreds of examples of people caring for them. But owls, toads, things of that sort...just seems like a bit out of place." The guy he was talking to didn't seem too bad, in fact, he seemed passive enough that he could be useful to Gordan. Maybe, maybe not, but he should at least try to gain his favor.

"Anyway," he said, removing his glance from the boy and looking out towards the garden plants nearby "My name is Gordan. Gordan Gray, your friendly neighborhood Ravenclaw." Friendly seemed to be a touch of a lie, but he was really good at playing those parts. All Gordan had to do was get this new guy talking for a while, just enough so that he could learn his disposition. As soon as that was through, he'd be out faster than lightning in a thunderstorm. At least, that's what he hoped.

The act of socializing wasn't much of a big deal for Gordan, but as time passed, he began to feel increasingly pressured. He needed to go, but he also needed to stay, he couldn't just wander off without saying anything further. So, he began to think of a topic, something simple that would help pass the time, get his mind off things. Exams would be a bad place to start...marriage law would be as well. He never had a lot of topics to think about, and delving into family life seemed too abrupt. "Where's your home at?" he asked simply, rather delighted to have been able to come up with a topic idea.

No pets. That didn't seem pleasant at all, Bertie had always wanted a pet of some sort. As a child he'd always wanted a dog, his Mum even gave in once and decided to rescue one from a shelter, Poppy her name was. By the next day the kitchen door had been scratched to splinters and Bertie's Mum appeared to be allergic.  

Then of course there was Snidget, not the conventional pet for someone outside of the magical world. Gordon had a point, it was rather odd. However Bertie didn't mind, Snidget and he had a special bond, a bond that was built of love. To Bertie caring for Snidget was a joy. It was like looking after a friend and the Ravenclaw had a feeling if Gordon came from a non-magical home then he'd understand how important a bond between a toad can be. The green western toad was his Hogwarts at home and his home at Hogwarts. 

'I'm Bertie.' Bertie informed Gordon, hoping that it didn't lead to any awkward questions. No doubt Gordon would have heard the rumours about the fourth year being spent in isolation for four months because of a dangerously contagious infection. Then again Gordon didn't seem the social type, he didn't come across as a boy who thrived on gossip or earwigged into the conversations of fourth years.

'I'm from a small seaside town not far from Dorset.' Bertie exclaimed with a smile as he thought about the tiny semi-detached cottage with the tidy flower bed his Mum makes sure to maintain. 

For a moment or two the Ravenclaw remained lost in thought as the memories of walking along the beach collecting shells, playing his guitar in the back garden and reading poetry to his Grandma. He missed his home more than anything, especially the woman who raised him, the woman who would walk on lava for her son, the woman who shared a bond with Bertie like no other person: his Mother.

'What about you?' Bertie asked cutting himself off from the daydream he had been about to enter. 

Dorset... Gordan thought to himself. He had the faintest feeling that he had heard about a Dorset in his travels, but couldn't exactly remember where it was. It wasn't truly surprising, looking at maps was never his thing, wandering around was his preferred method of travel if he was forced to go outside. Felt a lot more gratifying if you ever found something unique or dangerous. Time passed for a moment as he continued to think about where this Dorset might be when he was suddenly taken out of his thought process by another question.

What about you?

That was the last thing Gordan ever wanted to think about, but as the question approached in his mind and his brain pulling images from his head, it was all too late. Instantly, his body dropped about two degrees in Fahrenheit, his mind hazy and cloudy with hatred, his tongue bitten upon to console his rage. No, this would be another discussion for another time. Right now, the mere thought of his parents sent him into a frenzy, he wouldn't be able to answer that question in this state. Releasing the grip on his tongue, Gordan began to calm down as he thought up an answer to his innocent question.

"Manchester," he said bitterly, his brow furrowing as his said that "Something I don't like to talk about." He would be blunt and make it known that his history would be strictly confidential. From that point, anything in that would help form conversation sounded hard for Gordan. Every insult, every greeting, everything was forgotten in order to fuel his control over his worthless emotions. It seemed strange though, it was such a nice day outside but his own anger was getting the best of him. A shame really.

Exhaling a small amount of air from his lungs, all Gordan did was merely look up from his navel and stare out towards some of the other groups in the area. He needed motivation for this game, he needed something that would set him on a correct path for now. A passing group of friends, about six in all, was laughing and joyously taunting each other as they passed by, not a single trace of regret or worry on their face. As if copying the work from anothers test, he instantly began to apply this knowledge of their features onto his own character. It was a strange method, but it did work to help him recover his emotions.

"There's too much history between me and my family," he said casually "not enough good memories to outweigh the bad. I think that's about as much as I will tell you" Slouching forward a bit, he started thinking maybe it was about time to leave. He had enough with trying to be social for now, he was supposed to be in mourning over his lost afternoon. Plus this kid managed to find a way to weaken Gordan. A bad combination if there ever was a more dangerous situation.