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[Sapphire Michaels]

Sapphire had thought long and hard about this. But she knew there was really only one logical choice. Onyx was too loud. Kira was too safe. Leda might kill her. She took a deep breath as she reached the library doors.

She couldn't even turn to Oliver now, not without breaking into the Hufflepuff common room. So as much as she doubted this, she had one option left. She pushed open the library door and scanned the room. She knew if she needed her Ravenclaw she could just go to the back, but this was something else.

She spotted her target quickly. Running a hand through her hair she walked over to the table. Did she look okay? She had to play this cool. She slid in across the table from the older boy, her face calm. She put a hand over the page he was reading.

"Before you kill me, grant me a last wish and help me with something, yeah?" She spoke quietly and flashed Mervyn her most winning smile. Hopefully he wouldn't be so mad as to not kill her immediately.

 

[Mervyn Strangewayes]

Mervyn wasn't panicking. OK, so there were only a few days left to revise before exams... but he wasn't panicking. Why should he? He'd not stayed up until midnight every night this week revising under his sheets for nothing. So long as he didn't go blank on the day, he really had nothing to worry about.

The Gryffindor groaned, heaving another book off his precarious pile and opening it up to the contents. He'd been reading for so long that his eyes actually hurt. The words on the page blurred into one another. Perhaps those late nights hadn't been such a good idea, after all. Rubbing his eyes, he turned to the page he wanted and began to read. Nothing seemed to want to go in any more. Was it possible to fill up one's brain so much that it ran out of space, he wondered? Just then, a hand appeared over the paragraph he was reading. He looked up, and gave Sapphire a quizzical frown. "Wot do I want to kill you for?" he asked. "I ain't got time for clearin' up any mess. Choo need? I am a smidge preoccupied, if you 'ad not noticed."

 

[Sapphire Michaels]

Sapphire blinked a bit, surprised. "Okay... So you're letting Leda kill me. Fair enough." She pulled his book towards her. "Anyways, I have a Ravenclaw that lives in here who says you've taken up a pretty steady spot here. We both know- or at least, I know, that you are smart enough without all this, this..." She snapped her fingers a few times while she thought of the right wording. "Nonsense is all I got. You know what I mean."

She sat back, giving him her best pout. "You gotta help me, though. I ain't got no one near as clever. Please?" She hadn't tried this before, so she had no clue if it would work. She'd seen a few of the girls back at the home do it before and it seemed to work for them. She tried her biggest blue eyes.

She wasn't sure what she would do if Mervyn didn't help her. Sure, she could go it alone, but she'd been trying to avoid that.

 

[Mervyn Strangewayes]

Mervyn blinked back, bewildered as to why Sapphire thought he'd want to kill her anyway, even figuratively. What on earth could she possibly have done, or be about to do, to make him hate her so much? "Studyin'?" he suggested. Of course, that wasn't the word Sapphire had been looking for. She flattered him with her compliments, but he knew he wasn't really as smart as she made him out to be. Still, he didn't deny it.

The Gryffindor narrowed his eyes as Sapphire enlarged hers. What was she playing at? He felt a strange kind of tugging the longer he looked at her, and quickly yielded to the feeling. "Awright, awright - but I ain't doin' nuffink illegal... 'n' I get to decide whevver it's legal or not. Spit it out, then; wotcha want?"

 

[Sapphire Michaels]

Sapphire let out a sigh of relief when Mervyn agreed, even if it was only conditionally. She leaned forward, her dark eyes burning. "All semester Professor Carter's had us raising Mandrakes. Named em, watched them grow, fun stuff. They even had a party. I was worried for a bit, since they're some... Odd magical plants that are like little people. Then last lesson Carter tells us he's sending em off to be cut up! It's... It's plant murder. I didn't raise my girl to be chopped up for some hair changing potion or whatever. I'm letting them out tonight."

She let out a rough sigh, running her hands through her black hair. "It's stupid, I know, but I just, I don't know what else to do." She glanced up at him from under long lashes, her fingers interlocked around the back of her neck. "Come on, Merv, please, you gotta help me get her out."

 

[Mervyn Strangewayes]

Mervyn nodded, remembering his own Herbology lessons from last year. He'd been a little disappointed when his mandrake - the one he'd cared for and watched grow - had been sent off to be chopped up and put into potions, but truth be told, he'd have been more disappointed if it hadn't. He let her finish, already firm in his decision not to help. "Nah, it's not stupid," he told her. Feelings were feelings; and Mervyn suspected one would have to be pretty cold-hearted not to feel sad about it. "Fing is, them mandrakes get turned into restorative draughts. They ain't for your barnet; they can bring you back from really nasty curses. We save one mandrake, 'n' five people 'ave to wait longer for a cure - see wot I mean? I ain't sayin' I agree wiv Professor Carter - I fink it's well mean to make us look after 'em 'n' then send 'em off for slaugh'er, but if you wanna do somefin' to 'elp, I reckon we should protest against bein' made to get all friendly with the mandrakes, givin' em a name 'n' makin' us care. That's the real problem. 'E should tell us right at the start, no messin' about - these mandrakes are for the chop, so don't get all affectionate 'n' lovey wiv' em - not if you can't 'andle it."

 

[Sapphire Michaels]

Sapphire sighed in frustration, sliding Mervyn's book back in front of him. It figured he would be logical about it. She was quiet a minute after he had finished speaking before leaning forward and putting her head in her hands. "Yeah, yeah, you're right." She admitted quietly, feeling a bit down. She hadn't caught the medicinal part of it.

She let out a small, sort of sad laugh. This happened every time she cared about something. "I'll let you get back to it then." She told him, drawing back into herself. It was a little stupid, sure, but she couldn't help it. She always cared too much about things that ended up hurting her.

She sighed and stood, ready to leave unless he stopped her. "See you round,"

 

[Mervyn Strangewayes]

Mervyn watched Sapphire with a growing look of concern. He'd thought his suggestion would cheer her up, or motivate her to go and talk to Professor Carter, but she seemed more miserable now than when she'd arrived. "Oi, 'ang about," he said, as she stood up. He closed his book, wanting her to know she had his full attention. Studying could wait until later. "Where you goin'? Stay 'ere a bit, will you? I'm well bored." Suddenly remembering something, he asked, "Did Onyx like 'is present?" After all that time Mervyn had spent teaching Sapphire the best moves, he hoped she'd had a chance to try them out on her brother. He also wanted reassurance his gift idea had been a good one. For some reason, it still mattered to him.

 

[Sapphire Michaels]

Sapphire paused, and after a moments deliberation she sat back down. His question made her snort. "Beats me, I'm still peeved. Missed that big tiff then, huh?" She couldn't quite look at the older boy. "Onyx went off on me in the Great Hall so I threw it at him and left. He apologized and all but I ain't played with him yet." Sighing, she turned and offered Mervyn a small smile.

"He seemed happy enough to get it. After I cooled off, anyway." She tucked her hair behind her ear. "I guess it's going to be a bit more before we can figure out if you're as good a teacher as you are a salesman." She complimented, eyeing the stack of books he had. What, was he taking every class they had?

 

[Mervyn Strangewayes]

Mervyn had indeed missed the tiff, and he wasn't particularly sorry for it. Any kind of fighting made him uncomfortable. He didn't know who he was supposed to feel bad for, though he had a feeling Onyx was more to blame than Sapphire - or maybe that was just Mervyn's personal bias. "What did 'e go off at you for? 'E's well out of order, doin' that," he said, as if Sapphire couldn't possibly have said or done anything to justify Onyx's behaviour.

Mervyn gave his friend a humourless smile, looking down at the closed book and fidgeting with the cover. He could never quite muster his usual confidence around Sapphire, and he didn't know whether he liked it or not. On the one hand, he didn't have to try so hard; but on the other, he felt too vulnerable. "Yoo stayin' 'ere for the 'olidays?" he asked, his tone hopeful.

 

[Sapphire Michaels]

Sapphire sighed, looking away again. "He was mad I was spending so much time with you after I went off on him for trying to set us up. I could've been nicer but he made the comment," she snorted, using her fingers to air quote.

"'If this is how you treat your family it's no wonder you got dropped at the Orphanage.'" she shook her head. Normally she didn't really like talking about stuff like this, but she had found since coming to school it was harder to avoid. Usually it was just glossed over in casual conversation, and part of her hopped maybe Mervyn might leave it at that.

"I slapped him for that. Stupid got," she muttered darkly before sitting up and shaking her head. "Anyway, uh, yeah, I was planning on staying here. Not much to head back to, so I thought I'd see what the castle has to offer. How bout you? You going back for the Holidays?"

 

[Mervyn Strangewayes]

Mervyn blushed, though he wasn't sure what embarrassed him more: being partly responsible for Onyx's anger, or the fact someone had noticed he'd been spending so much time with Sapphire lately. The Gryffindor's jaw dropped. "'E did wot?" That seemed too cruel, even for Onyx. Obviously Mervyn had underestimated what a jerk he could be. "I'm glad you slapped 'im one, or I would 'ave. I'll give 'im anuvver, if you want. I can't believe that. 'E's wrong, Sapph - it weren't your fault wot 'appened to you. You know that, don't you?" He shook his head, still in disbelief. He'd said some silly things when he'd been angry - Leda could verify that - but he didn't think he'd ever said anything quite so mean. "Nah, I'm stayin' as well," he said, brightening slightly. "I was finkin' - well, only if you wanted - maybe we could do that wheelbarrow race fing togevver. Be a bit of a laugh, innit? Only if you wanna. I fought maybe you'd do it wiv Onyx, but I bet 'e'd be a rubbish wheelbarrow anyway." Mervyn grinned.

 

[Sapphire Michaels]

Sapphire smiled, laughing a little. Mervyn slapping Onyx would be something, alright. She stuck her hands safely in her pockets as her heart beat out an unsteady rythym in her chest. She really liked this bloke. Not that she knew what to do about it, or what it even meant. But that was a problem for another time.

"I appreciate the offer, but Onyx has been tripping all over himself to stay in my good graces since. Maybe next time he does something stupid." That last little bit Mervyv said had struck her some, but she ignored it. That was something to think on later, without him there.

She leaned back in her chair as his eyes brightened a bit. His next proposal surprised her. She furrowed her brow. "'Course I will. Onyx ain't staying anyway, he's heading back to see Uncle James. They want me to go but I don't think I'm ready for that much attention yet." She shivered slightly. "All that pinching and poking and cuddling... Bleh," she scrunched up her nose a bit. "I don't like touching much," she told him offhandedly before looking at him with curious eyes.

"You'll have to tell me what it is we're doing, anyhow. Wheelbarrow race? I ain't been paying much attention, apparently. What's goin on?" She asked, wondering if it was bad she'd already agreed to it.

Not like she could help it, though. She'd probably do just about anything Mervyn asked her to.

 

[Mervyn Strangewayes]

Mervyn was relieved and disappointed in equal measures when Sapphire turned his offer down. He didn't really want to start any fights, no matter how deserving Onyx was of a slap. He grinned as she accepted his offer. He'd planned to ask Leda, but he was sure he could think of some excuse as to why he hadn't. Guilt tugged at his chest. He pushed it away.

For someone who had never had a real family, Mervyn was surprised how reluctant Sapphire was to meet them. He would have killed to meet an uncle, or to have had someone that really cared about him. He had his grandpa, of course, but it just wasn't the same - especially now he was getting old. "Yeah," was all he could eventually think to say. "Dunno - some school tradition, or summink. One person 'olds the other's ankles 'n' they run along the ground wiv their 'ands, like a wheelbarrow. You better be the wheelbarrow, cos you're smaller, like." He grinned. "Ain't you better be studyin', 'n' all?"

 

[Kira Wolf]

Kira had been studying when she happened to glance up and notice a familiar head of raven locks through the shelves. Grinning, she set aside her things and came up quietly to her friend. She was pleasantly surprised to see Sapphire with that Gryffindor boy. Didn't Sapph have a bit of a crush on him? She approached the two with a smile.

She had just caught the end of Sapphire saying she didn't like being touched and the conversation about the wheelbarrow race. Kira shook her head as she came to stand behind her friend. "Sapphy, you aren't using that touching thing as an excuse not to go with Onyx, are you?" She spoke, a little scornfully. She couldn't help but grin playfully as she sidestepped Sapphire swinging at her, taking a seat with the pair.

"Hello Mervyn, Kira Wolf. Pleasure to finally meet you." She greeted the boy with a smile before turning to Sapphire. "Honestly Sapph you aren't hung up over what Onyx said are you? I really don't think- mmph!" Kira's ocean blue eyes widened in surprise as Sapphire covered her mouth.

 

[Sapphire Michaels]

Sapphire smirked a bit at Mervyn's study remark. "No, I- gah!" She jumped in her chair when a voice rang out behind her. She turned, swinging and missing as the brunette sat beside her. Sapphire turned to look at Kira, her face turning redder the more her friend spoke. Sapphire's hand shot out, covering Kira's mouth before she could continue.

"Who asked you?" Sapph could feel herself blushing. "I'm not wasting my time on stupid stuff so let's leave it at that, yeah?" She sat back cautiously, almost afraid to glance at Mervyn, but she needed to play it cool. She ran a hand through her hair.

Turning to him, she attempted to smile. "Merv, this is my Ravenclaw. She spends most her time in the dusty corners of the library reading." It sounded a bit lame but it was the best she had.

 

[Mervyn Strangewayes]

Mervyn looked up at the unexpected arrival, leaning back in his seat a bit. "'Ello," he said, glancing between the two girls for some sort of explanation as to what was going on. Sapphire soon provided it, though it didn't really explain why she'd put her hand over Kira's mouth. He decided not to question it. "See, some of us wanna fill our 'eads wiv useful stuff," he said to Sapphire. Then he addressed the Ravenclaw, grinning. "Wot was you gonna say, before Sapph 'ere rudely interrupted you?" Whatever it was, Sapphire was clearly embarrassed by it, which meant Mervyn definitely wanted to know.

 

[Kira Wolf]

Kira rolled her eyes and shook her head a bit as Sapph removed her hand. She giggled at Mervyn's comment. "Oh, she gets out of studying better than anyone else I know." She teased her friend lightly.

Her face turned serious again as Mervyn questioned what she'd been about to say. She gave him a small smile. "Oh, don't believe her 'I don't care' stories. She tells them pretty well, yeah?" She turned to Sapphire with knowing in her eyes. "Especially after Onyx's outburst the other day, you're still stuck on that silly notion that they're only excited by the novelty of the lost child and they'll reject you once it wears off. Am I right?"

 

[Sapphire Michaels]

Sapphire looked between Mervyn and Kira as they teased her. She couldn't help but smile a little. She reached into her pocket and took an rolled up sucker wrapper, tossing it lightly at Mervyn's head. "Oi, who's side are you on?" She teased back. Her heart almost stopped when he changed the subject back. She looked at Kira. "Shut. Up." She warned quietly, though of course Kira didn't listen.

She let her dark hair fall to cover her face. She refused to look at either of the people with her. She snorted as Kira finished talking. "I'm not stupid," she spoke quietly. "No one's bothered coming to get me before now. I'm not going to get worked up over a child's fantasy." She grabbed her bag, not feeling like talking anymore. "I'm not an adoptable kid. So let's just leave it at that." She told them a little sadly before she began to walk away. She didn't look at either of them. Stupid bookworm. Would she ever be able to have a normal conversation with Mervyn without something embarrassing her?

 

[Mervyn Strangewayes]

Mervyn looked between Sapphire and Kira, wondering whether what the Ravenclaw said was true. Why would Sapphire think that? Mervyn couldn't really see anything undesirable about her, either from his own perspective or from her potential family's. She was intelligent, and thoughtful, and kind of kick-ass. What was so unadoptable about that? Mervyn wondered whether she had some kind of dark side she hadn't shown him yet, but he couldn't really believe that. Everybody did bad things occasionally; that didn't make them bad people. He almost wanted to give Sapphire a shake. The fact she had a family who wanted to meet her ought to have made her happy. Who did Mervyn have? Only himself, really. Perhaps Leda.

This time, when Sapphire made to leave, he let her. There wasn't any point calling her back - he would only have said something unkind that he didn't really mean. He raised his eyebrows at Kira and shrugged, opening his book again. He had too much studying to do to think about this right now.