Incendiary

[Tiberius Bethell]

Tiberius had some thoughts about the morning post. Letters, he thought, should always be opened privately, in case they contained something inflammatory or distressing, and this was something he thought every reasonable Englishman would appreciate- yet even back home, at Hogwarts Scotland, the post came in flocks of owls and hundreds of excited, anxious or angry students. Howlers were the worst for it. Couldn't one be scolded in peace? For some reason, he hadn't expected any mail from his parents, so he was surprised when Winston swooped down, scattering some of the smaller owls, and took up a large portion of the table in front of him, just about standing in his porridge.
"You are too big to be useful," Tibby told his owl, who gave him a look and stuck his leg out. Winston put out his wings to keep balanced and knocked some other students in the face with his primary feathers nonchalantly. Tibby fetched his rolled up letter, embarrassed, and tried to shoo the fish owl, who simply tucked into a nearby kipper. ​

Our dearest Tiberius,

"Tibby," said Tibby aloud to himself, crossly.

Mummy and Daddy are so proud of you! We hope you are settling in well, and have made many friends. Please study hard for us, so that you can grow up and be whatever you want to be, with no limitations.

You have been very mature and brave during this whole move, and we know how much you'll miss England, but we think New Zealand is just as good. Soon, you will be inviting your chums home for the summer, and we'll get to meet everyone you're sure to write to us about.

Love and kisses,
Mother & Father.​

</FONT>

<FONT font="Georgia">Tibby stared- and stared and stared. With a flurry of movement, the third year stuffed the letter into a nearby empty glass, stuck his wand down it and cast Indendio. "Of all the senseless ... vapid ... self-absorbed cack they could've come up with," he said furiously to himself, glaring at anyone who dared look at him across the table. He just ended up looking a bit flustered. Tibby didn't have the face for anger. "Did they get my grandmother to write this? She still thinks I'm six. Might as well have sent a lollipop and an attached note from the Healer saying I'm cured."
Deep down, Tibby was hurt that they'd even bothered. They'd've been better off sending nothing at all. He rather suspected his father was behind the entirety of the letter, as the scholar was so wrapped up in his own intellect that he had no idea who his son was or even the condition he faced. Oh, he knew Tibby had 'a thing', but to write so carelessly about a life 'with no limitations' was just cruel, and his mother was too switched-on to do such a thing- and friends? What friends? When had he ever brought a friend home in all the years he'd gone to boarding schools?
Tibby's expression slowly melted into bland disinterest, spooning plain porridge into his mouth slowly and trying his best to fill his mind with spells and potions and new research. He simply couldn't, in the end, and just sat, eating with nothing but melancholy on his mind.​

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[Leda Layton]

When Leda was at the Slytherin table, it was one of the only times of the day she would spend away from Mervyn, the downfall of being placed in separate houses. The third year had managed to find a few others in green to befriend recently which was a comforting thought, although nothing would be able to replace the stupid grin that often found itself attached to her Gryffindor counterpart. With a plate of toast in front of her, the red head was trying to go through her potions textbook in an attempt to shock Professor Pendleton that she might actually have known something during their next lesson, although as a boy across the table from her decided that it was suitable to have A BIRD land between them and almost slap her in her face, and then proceed to get involved with some communication without so much as a sorry, Leda was glaring at him over her book, barely listening as he seemed to be talking to himself before the paper turned into a ball of flames. "At least a lollipop would have sweetened the cack," she mimicked, before lowering her eyes once again. If not for him, for those he'd just disrupted from his less than subtle actions around the students trying to go about their business.
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[Tiberius Bethell]

Tiberius stiffened as someone addressed him flippantly. His owl had since taken off, leaving him face to face with the shrill girl (to his mind) who thought it was a fantastic idea to antagonise him after he'd clearly had a bad time. "Maybe it would have," he murmured, looking her in the eye, "But it wouldn't have sweetened the sound of your voice." Harpy, thought Tibby. Girls were ridiculously annoying. Well, there were plenty of boys who weren't much better, but most of them kept to themselves. Why did girls always have to go for the jugular? The third year was in a very bad mood, which was rare for him, and a good argument could go a long way towards getting out some negative emotions.​

 

[Leda Layton]

Leda would have been willing to let the situation go, although apparently this boy did not. Her eyes shot up once more, not grateful for the comment about her voice at all, she hadn't been the one to cause a scene. "It's not my fault your pigeon made you grumpy." she said, flipping to the next page of her book as she tried to concentrate on her words, although her focus was failing further with each passing second. Who even was he? He looked around her age and yet she hadn't seen him in classes or even the common room before. A thought flashed back to a conversation she'd had recently with Mervyn, but there was no way the Gryffindor would have befriended someone like him, surely. Leda rarely got into an argument, she rarely had a reason to, but she'd already decided that if someone did want to attempt to light her fuse, she already had a pair of scissors ready to metaphorically clip the thread. She was way too busy for this.
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