Chameleons

[Solomon Mordaunt]

Solomon's fourth year of Hogwarts had turned out to be rather lackluster in all, and with it already drawing to a close, it was safe to say that the fact wouldn't be changing anytime soon. The metamorphmagus was quickly growing bored with the school and what it had to offer, or more accurately, the distinct lack of what it had to offer. It had come to the point he had very briefly considered trying out for the Slytherin quidditch team, as flying was all he felt like Anthony and Merrill ever talked about when the three of them were together. That idea had left his mind as quickly as it had come, however, considering the fact Solomon didn't know the first thing about quidditch and its confusing rules and gameplay, nor did he even remotely enjoy just watching the sport. The last thing he wanted in his life was to fly around recklessly in the sky, with the potential of getting struck by a ball of solid metal, or colliding with another player. No, thank you. He'd visited Anthony in the Hospital Wing to know that wasn't exactly a pleasant experience. Yet his friends continued to do that to their hearts content, and that was their prerogative. For Solomon, he was fine planted firmly on the ground, working on his studies and potions, though at this stage he felt that he could learn just as much, if not more than he was now by being home-schooled. There was so many useless subjects and distractions, from poltergeists to trivial feasts.

As it was, Solomon was stuck with Hogwarts. At the very least, one of the few upsides to the castle and its grounds was the fact it contained its own, seemingly limitless supplies of potion ingredients, which he didn't quite have the privilege of at home. There was no shortage of magical creatures, or magical herbs in the many, many greenhouses, a place Solomon was spending more and more time. He enjoyed the time alone, when no classes were taking place to disturb his work, and despite its glass walls, it was secluded enough from the school that it felt like a haven of privacy. At times, Merrill would join him, and he liked that, but for the most part, such as now, he sat alone, surrounded by books, vials and plants that he'd either grown himself, or "borrowed" from around the classrooms. No one would notice a few missing leaves and petals, and so far, it seemed no one had. So, secateurs in hand, he clipped at various plants around him and tied bundles of herbs with twine, depositing them in an empty cauldron to take back to his dormitory. For months now, he'd been trying to brew something new, something no one had ever seen before, but as a fourth year he only had access to so much. The thought of sneaking in to the potions supply cupboard to get his hands on some of the rarer ingredients was a tempting one, and one he felt he had an advantage to pull off, but until he had a solid plan in mind, he was content to sit in peace and continue to quietly work away for as long as he could.​

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[Geovanna Adler-Cade]

Geo had less classes to attend this semester than her previous, and she was finding herself with more free time on her hands. Presumably she would have been best off studying for the upcoming exams, or assisting other students with their work, however today the Hufflepuff had other plans. She wanted to be alone, and as she made her way ungracefully from the common room, dressed in her dark clothes, with her hair in a high ponytail and as bright as it was at the beginning of the year, she headed out the castle. She knew the school was changing her, that or those around her were. If Riley was to see who she was becoming, her former best friend would no doubt get a shock.

Checking that the coast was clear, Geo made her way outside, headed for the greenhouses. She had enjoyed her Herbology lessons that year, but she was adamant that the creature she had brought up was up to no good. Hopefully soon Espen would be off to St Mungo's to do something useful with his life, but until then Geo couldn't help but consider what he was getting up to when he was left by himself around the others. Sneaking through the greenhouse, Geo began to search for her Mandrake. If course there was always the chance that Professor Carter had moved them already, but Geo needed to try and check on him, just to be sure. As her blue eyes scoured the surfaces, checking each pot carefully for traces of her obnoxious plant, she froze in place as she could hear the slight rustling of leaves. As far as the second year was concerned she had been alone here, but as she cast her attention around the room, bending and ducking to see further through the natural habitat she spotted another student, a boy, snipping at the leaves from some plants. Glancing back to the rows of Mandrakes, it wasn't as though they'd be going anywhere anytime soon, and so the pink haired girl walked on a little further, exposing her position to the student. "Hi" She said quietly. He didn't look as though he was supposed to be here either, and hoped that her presence hadn't startled him too much.

 

[Solomon Mordaunt]

His fingertips working away to unravel a knot of twine, Solomon was far too distracted to notice that another student was loitering around his sanctuary, until she made her presence known by greeting him. He stopped dead, with a sharp intake of breath giving away his surprise, but as he realised it was just a mere girl, he relaxed and let his shoulders drop with relief that it wasn't a professor, since he could be considered to be technically stealing from the greenhouses. It didn't matter, his work was more important than the half-hearted attempts to garden by younger kids. Looking up at the intruder, Solomon's brows furrowed as he scrutinised her features, realising just who the youth was by her tell-tale hair. "Hmph. It's you." The Slytherin responded tersely, obviously not the most pleased to see her, despite the fact they had never once had a conversation before, or even personally met. He knew of her. Since she'd been mentioned in the Hogwarts Monthly and stated to be a metamorphmagus by one of its writers, he'd kept an eye out for her, curious to meet others like him, as rare as they were. He didn't really have anyone to talk to about it, few family inherited the ability, and only recently did he build up the courage to come out to Merrill with what he could do. For so long he thought he was the only one in the school. When he'd finally seen this Geo girl around, he found himself disappointed by how wasteful her talents were for someone so much more open with their abilities than he was. There was so much potential, and all she did was flaunt around colourful hair. Anyone could colour their hair. Sitting back in his seat, he continued to idly busy his hands with the stubborn knot of twine, but he kept his attention focused on the girl, his expression clear that he held something against her.
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[Geovanna Adler-Cade]

As far as the Hufflepuff was concerned, she'd been quite polite and considerate to the boy, but that didn't stop him looking at her as though she'd just stepped on his mushrooms. "Excuse me?" She asked him, wondering what he meant by it's her. She was quite sure she had no idea who this student was, but he seemed to angry at her for some reason. She glanced around the surroundings, double checking whether she'd upset anything that would affect him, but she was baffled. Taking a few steps closer towards him, she noticed he was trimming down the plant, collecting the ingredients. "Does Professor Carter know you're doing that?" She asked, not wanting to immediately jump to any conclusions. If he was however, doing what she suspected, he had very little to stand on when it came to confronting her about whatever it was that she'd done. It was slightly alarming that he wasn't taking his eyes off her, even while he continued to work. Perhaps Geo was overthinking it, and he was simply an unfriendly, sour Slytherin, and she'd startled him more than he cared to admit. She shrugged her shoulders, having no idea what his problem was. If he wasn't going to talk to her then she'd just leave him to his own devices, she did after all have her own reasons to be in there that afternoon. The second year loved to meet new people, especially those outside her year, but she didn't need to be friends with everyone. She turned on the spot, resisting the urge to roll her eyes at him, as she tried to concentrate on her original task, leaving him to deal with the obvious issues he had going around in his head.

 

[Solomon Mordaunt]

Solomon's eyes narrowed in what could almost be offense as the bright haired girl questioned him, like a child like her had any more of a right to be there than he did. Not that he really even knew why she was there, but he was certain it was nowhere close to being as important as his work. "Sure. Professor Carter knows exactly what I'm doing." He lied with a small scoff. Like he could be intimidated by a pushover of a professor like Carter. In any event, it was her word against his of Geo did decide to try mention it to him, and it wouldn't be any trouble to change his experience to avoid being caught in future.

While Geo turned away from him, Solomon tossed his herb bundle to the side and drummed his fingers against the table in silent contemplation. Part of him wanted nothing to do with the younger metamorphmagus, but another part of him wanted to tell her that she was wasting away her abilities. How could she be so open with her power and do next to nothing with it? How could she be so friendly with all the normies? Perhaps he was bitter about the fact she could be herself, whereas he didn't want to compromise the advantage he had of keeping it a secret, but either way, he felt disappointed that the only other person like him was so...bland. Getting to his feet, he let out a long audible huff to get her attention. "Do you ever do anything worthwhile with your gifts, or is your imagination really only limited to hair colour?" He asked her, though his tone suggested it was more of an accusation than a question. He always imagined himself being so much more than just a mundane human if he were public with his own talents like she was. Why be like everyone else when you could be so much more?
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[Geovanna Adler-Cade]

The boy must have considered Geo to be stupid if he thought she believed him. Professor Carter may have been a good and kind teacher, and Geo couldn't see him turning away a student if they needed assistance, but he had been acting too secretive for her not to think he was up to something. She ignored his comment though in fear of starting an argument that wasn't worth her time, and it wasn't until she heard him speak again that she stopped in her tracks with a inaudible sigh. A few people obviously knew that she was a Metamorphmagus, some because she had told them, and others because they'd seen what she could do. While she could have just dyed her hair, the frequency and speed with which it changed shade, allowed the Hufflepuff to believe that this student had seen her transfigure in person, even if they'd not spoken. She turned to face him once more, arms crossing over her chest.

It was obviously natural for the occasional student to be jealous, and to think that if they had the ability they'd be using it in a smarter way than she, but they also didn't understand how difficult it could be either, and sometimes that that curiosity got you in trouble. "And what exactly would you consider to be "worthwhile"?" she questioned, her fingers making quote marks in the air as she spoke. She didn't need an older student to tell her what she should and shouldn't be doing, especially one that thought it was acceptable to steal. He obviously had no idea what she could really do, nor what she had done last year. Nor would he ever understand what it felt like to need to be more than it, to show the world that you were capable of having a reputation other than how you looked. Sure, she'd chosen to show herself to the world as she was, with bright pink hair in an attempt to match her energy, but she couldn't deny that some only saw her for just that. Geo was beginning to grow angry, his tone coming across as though he knew better than her, and taking a few steps slowly back towards him she narrowed her eyes as she waited to hear what he had to say for himself.

 

[Solomon Mordaunt]

As the younger girl stepped up closer to him, Solomon got up from his wooden chair and rose to his full height, hoping to intimidate the intruder in his sanctuary as much as he could, though by the looks of it she wasn't the type to be so easily scared off. He was so irked by these kids who wouldn't just accept their place being bossed around, deal with the fact they were younger and he was older, better than them. That was the way the world worked, or at least, how he thought it did, and they needed to learn that sooner or later. The magical world was a dangerous place. Giving attitude back to someone more experienced could get someone hexed, and as much as he wanted to curse that scowl on her face, despite him having the same expression, he kept his wand in his pocket. Though he was the antagonistic one, he still felt he was in the right. This was his space. "Well for starters, certainly not that." He gestured at her hair with distaste, so bright and immature, and so normal. "Why pink? Why just the hair? If you want to be different, then be different. Have you not seen how many other students there have been with flashy hair, that can't do what we can do?" The Slytherin hadn't realised he'd said we until it was already too late, and he stopped, quiet for a moment. Did he really want her to know? Would it ruin the advantages he had by keeping it a secret? It was already out, but perhaps she hadn't noticed. Knowledge was powerful, and the knowledge of who he was wasn't a power he wanted too many people having. It was difficult enough to tell Merrill, and of all the normies in the school, she was the only one he wanted to be like him. At least then, dealing with her hunter parents would be easier done. Instead, he had this girl and her limited capabilities.

Biting his lip, he let out another huff and raised his hands pointedly, his fingertips appearing to turn an almost translucent blue with a visible frown of concentration, the colour and texture running down the palms of his hands and into his sleeves, where it stopped, his clothing concealing the rest of his skin. His face eventually followed, taking on the colours one might expect of a jellyfish - watery, but with an opaque center, almost cloudy the further in it went, while his hair was stark white. His look of concentration faded as his skin finished changing its colour, and he lowered his arms to his sides. "Metamorphagi. We're not like these other people. We're so much more advanced. To look like another person, or to look almost inhuman." While being constrained by a humanoid form, they could still look so alien, to have such an unnatural beauty about them. As much as he wished he could grow horns or look like an assuming chair, to become another creature entirely in the way an animagus could, he was content with simply changing colours and features of himself. But this girl, Geo, was making their kind look bad. "If you're going to be so obvious about what you are, then show them what you can really be. We're better than these witches and wizards, we're so much more magically evolved and they need to know that. You need to know that. Don't you see how wasteful you are being of your abilities?" With another furrow of his eyebrows, his skin resumed its usual colour, and his hair returned to normal. "At least I have good reason for keeping this a secret. But if you're going to outwardly represent our kind, don't make it look like a cheap trick."
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[Geovanna Adler-Cade]

Geo's eyebrows shot up half an inch as though she'd just witnessed Professor Pendleton loudly break wind in front of a class, when he wavered on about her hair colour. She wanted to reply, to tell him to mind his own business if he didn't understand, that she wanted to be outgoing and forward and direct. Instead she was shocked into silence at the end of his sentence, her brain repeating the word over and over in her head for a moment. Geo had never met another one of her kind, not that she expected to. To be a Metamorphmagus was a rare genetic trait, and she'd been told on multiple occasions that while she was different to others, she was still to treat them equally. Having something like that didn't change who you were inside, and Geo's upbringing at the orphanage had instilled their beliefs strongly that she wasn't to make others feel small for not being the same as her. Something this boy apparently had never learnt, despite them being on the same level. He spoke about their ability as though it was something to be praised for, rather than that they'd just gotten lucky. She watched as he turned his skin translucent, and even though the teenager knew exactly how that was achieved, it was still bewildering to see another person do it front of her. Now she knew how her friends felt.

"Wasteful?" She repeated, stepping forward to close the gap between them, her blue eyes peering at the texture of his hands, all the way up to his face, and the brightness of his hair. Geo was still experimenting with how far her limits would take her, and it was strangely comforting to realise she wasn't alone. She'd spent a large amount of time hiding from others that year and practising in secret, and to see an older student come forward and show her there was more to their powers made her relax, her arms dropping back to her sides. A quizzical look appeared on her face, "You keep this a secret? You mean you've never told anyone?" She asked, clutching quickly at the idea that he'd managed not to tell a soul. She couldn't imagine keeping something like this completely quiet. Sure, she didn't go around parading the fact as though she owned the world, nor did she believe she should, but at least she was open about it. If he thought she was being wasteful, what was he?

Geo shook her head, unable to get the idea out of her mind that this student actually thought that their ability made them better wizards. It hurt to hear that he believed she would consider it to be a "cheap trick", but what was the alternative? "What exactly do you expect to happen, we're at Hogwarts" she clarified, her eyes now staring straight into his, her tone slightly bitter. "Besides, if you'd ever done, that" she nodded her head up and down in reference to his new look "to anyone at the castle, maybe you'd understand why it's better to keep it simple" she replied. All she'd come in for was to put an end to her Mandrake, but now it seemed as though she was putting an end to something else entirely.

 

[Solomon Mordaunt]

Solomon dipped his fingertips into his pockets as Geo spoke, questioning him keeping his abilities a secret to himself, and despite the fact he hadn't quite managed not to tell anyone, it wasn't something he necessarily wanted her to know about, and so he shook his head, silently lying about the fact he'd confided in Merrill about being a metamorphmagus. He didn't need to bring her up, especially not to this girl. It'd do little to help his argument, his claim to have no one knowing what he was capable of. Yet the Hufflepuffs continued ignorance irked him, and he scoffed at her argument, though he was at a loss for words. It was difficult to convey how he felt honestly, but only telling a half-truth would make his argument appear flawed, and there was no way for him to be able to get how he felt across while being insincere. "Certainly, it's Hogwarts now, but what do you think comes after? There's a whole world out there, the real world, and when people grow up and graduate, they enter that real world and they take all of their knowledge here with them, including knowledge of us, of you, and what you can do. Its easier to not tell people, that way I can be anyone I want to be, and have the freedom to do whatever I want to. If I happened to get a detention on a Brightstone weekend, I could just alter my appearance for the day and none would be the wiser. Or I could look like Professor Carter and stroll on into the restricted section to actually learn some decent magic, since all we ever learn here is mediocre at best. But if people know, I don't have that benefit so easily. Do you think everyone trusts a metamorphmagus? No, they don't. I would love to be able to just use my powers all the time, but then what would happen? Its so easy for these normies to blame their own trouble on someone who can change their appearance, especially if its such common knowledge, and the professors would all keep an extra close eye on us." He lifted a hand and brushed aside some of the herb bundles he'd made, and leaned back against the table with a sigh. This was not how he had expected his day to be going, and it definitely wasn't his favourite thing to be doing. He wanted to go back to potion-making already, not stand around arguing with some child. "So seeing you give up the advantages you'd have of keeping it to yourself, and freely being open with who you are, only to do so little with it, it's disappointing. You're the face of Metamorphmagi for some people, and it comes across as a joke. We're special, so I can't help but be disappointed that the schools only open representation is this. Pink hair, or looking like Pendleton for Halloween - which, might I say, was a poor choice for a scary contest when you could have so obviously been Kalif. If I wasn't contained to this stupid castle and its grounds, and stuck seeing all the exact same students all the time, I'd probably use my powers more outwardly, more regularly." Even for a metamorphmagus, it was hard for him to have the two identities he so badly wanted while being constrained to such a small location, being Solomon, the Slytherin potioneer, and then being able to just be his higher, true shapeshifting self. Solomon was feeling like a mask he wore, but it was one he felt he had to, for now. The few times he could just watch his colours change endlessly in his reflection was the only time he ever really felt like he was truly himself.
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[Geovanna Adler-Cade]

"It's Hogwarts now and it's safe. Sure out in the real world once we've graduated, of course things will be different, but we're not there yet." Geo wasn't stupid and was well aware that there were people outside of the walls that currently guarded them that would be less than appreciative of their genetics. She listened to him try to explain himself a few minutes, and while she could understand the angle he was coming from she couldn't agree. "And easier doesn't always mean it's right thing to do. People can know who you are, but if you're careful you can get away with just as much as "normies"" She added, wondering why he had to call them that, it was so derogative. Obviously not everyone trusted a Metamorphmagus, and the moment someone heard of their abilities, a few may try to brand them as deceitful no doubt, but those that would trust them would be those that were worth their time and attention. Friends would come and go, but for the Hufflepuff at least those she cared about knew what she really was and the combination of strengths between them would always overrule anything she could do by herself. The second year had first hand experience of a lack of trust, and while she was grateful she'd managed to redeem herself she knew where he coming from. Geo hadn't even realised she was becoming angry until she focused on the tension in the muscles of her arms. He thought she was a joke? It was hard not to begin arguing with this boy, who seems so sure in his opinions that the notion of being oneself clearly hadn't been a factor for his time at the school. From Geo's eyes, he was the one giving up the advantages, especially when the reasons he posed to her to keep himself hidden were so manageable. For the majority of the year she'd been so unsure as to whether she should continue on her path of opening up about it, even appearing "normal" in an attempt to blend in for the first time in four years, but it wasn't her and she wasn't able to do anything while she was sat back waiting for the time to pass. He mentioned sneaking into the restricted section, and honestly that wasn't such a bad idea, but what was absurd was the concept that she shouldn't even try in the first place. "And what is wrong with this?" She questioned, willing him to tell her exactly what it was that she was doing that bothered him so much. They were special, but if the presentation of a Metamorphmagus, at least as a child, was someone who was trying to demonstrate equality and strength in numbers, Geo couldn't see that as a bad thing. "And for the record, I wasn't trying to be scary." She finished truthfully. She'd much rather have enjoyed herself and made her friends laugh that evening than won any mediocre prize for scaring people during Halloween and the clown she'd attended as this year had only confirmed it.