Searching

Asaiah looked at Marisol when the professor asked them what they would like to know. ''Well,'' He began. ''Marisol and I were searching for anything about the Scitorari.'' Okay, so right now the two of them found out that the Scitorari were a pretty dangerous group of people that were capable of murdering the Head Auror at his own wedding. ''Maybe you could tell us a bit more about them professor?'' Asaiah asked hoping the professor would actually help them and not give them detention because they were looking up something normal first years wouldn't care for at all. ''But if you won't help us with this, please don't punish us for trying to find an asnwer to the question Marisol asked in the Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson.'' Asaiah looked at Marisol again, it wasn't exactly for him to say why the two of them were going through the stack of old copies of the Daily Prophet.
 
Marisol waited anxiously to see what their Professor would do to them if he didn't believe their story. But to her surprise, Professor Pendleton didn't take away points from them or give them any sort of punishment. Instead he brought up a chair and was actually offering help! Marisol smiled at Asaiah before turning back to the Potions master, nodding at everything Asaiah said.

For a little more clarification, Marisol added, "I asked Professor Styx what we needed to learn defense against and he told me to look up the Scitorari in the Daily Prophet, sooo that's what we're doing." She smiled at their professor earnestly. She even had her DADA homework in her book bag with Professor Styx's comment to prove she was actually telling the truth, but she didn't think that would be necessary. "So our theory is that the Death Eaters went underground and then changed their name to the Scitorari to throw off the Ministry!" she said, proud of their sleuthing skills. "Are we close?" she wondered, wanting their theory confirmed. She still had no idea what the Death Eaters even were, all she knew was that their name sounded scary so they must've been the bad guys.
 
Monty listened with an open mind to the boy whose name he didn't know, and then followed his gaze to Marisol as she elaborated on his explanation. The Potions Professor smiled back, but quickly dropped it when the Gryffindor spoke again. In his curiosity, he'd almost entirely forgotten the reason he'd approached the first years to begin with. "Er," he said, glancing uneasily around the corner of a bookshelf before turning his gaze back to them. "Not quite. If I'm to continue, however, I suggest you keep your voices low. Not only are we in a library, but you never know how your words might upset somebody." Monty kept his tone gentle, but there was a sternness about it that didn't offer room for argument. He dared not think how Ava would have felt had she been the one to overhear them.

"Now, to answer your question," he began quietly, "the Death Eaters and the Scitorari are not the same organization. The former were loyal followers of a very dark Wizard who went by the name of Lord Voldemort. I suspect you'll be learning about him in your next lessons with Professor Styx, so I won't bore you with the details. After his defeat in nineteen ninety-eight, Death Eaters ceased to be and a new organisation rose in its place - the Scitorari." The Professor paused, wondering if they were keeping up. It was all very confusing, and that was with the complicated bits condensed. Still, it was plenty enough information for a pair of first years. "I'm afraid I don't know very much about the Scitorari, other than what the Ministry tells us all. They're considered highly dangerous Wizards - murderers and criminals are among them - and they practise the Dark Arts with very little regard for the law. As you can imagine, the Ministry trains Aurors - er, dark Wizard catchers - to the highest standard to ensure our safety. The training process takes three years. I qualified as one myself, many years ago, and can assure you they are fully equipped to deal with the most powerful Scitorari." Monty smiled. "Of course, it doesn't hurt to be able to defend yourself, though I don't suppose you'll ever be put in a situation where you're required to." Hoping he'd put their mind at ease over any potential threat, Professor Pendleton gave his watch another glance. "Does that clear things up?"
 
Asaiah sat down on the ground when the professor started talking about the Death Eaters and the Scitorari. As soon as the professor paused, the first year spoke up, ''I heard, or overheard actually, my brother and oldest sister having a conversation about this Lord Voldemort.'' He said as if it meant nothing at all. ''They were talking about how many people he had killed and how even innocent people got killed too.'' Asaiah was still looking at the professor. ''Did he really kill that many people, professor?'' The Slytherin asked. Even though History wasn't really one of his strong points, he was very keen to learn more about the Lord Voldemort, the Death Eaters, and ofcourse the Scitorari. When the adult continued, Asaiah kept silent, not wanting to interrupt his story. ''If the Scitorari also practise in the Dark Arts, then why didn't they name themselves Death Eaters? If it's true what Marisol and I read in the papers, and there are really murderers and criminals among the Scitorari, wouldn't it be smarter if they changed their name to Death Eaters instead of Scitorari? You know, to spread chaos around the community.'' He didn't know how this question sounded to Marisol or the professor, but Asaiah thought it was decent enough to ask to man.
 
Marisol shrunk in on herself apologetically when their professor chided them for speaking so carelessly about this particular subject, as if the physical form of her shrinking in shame would make up for her insensitivity. But as soon as the Potions professor began to give them a little background, Marisol leaned in to listen carefully, practically holding her breath so as not to make a sound.

She was glad her professor had given them a brief history of what Death Eaters were, for her own Muggle-born sake, and was curious to see what else she'd learn about them in DADA. Professors sure knew how to make students want to go to class around here. Marisol shuttered involuntarily as Professor Pendleton told them they probably wouldn't ever be in a situation where their defense skills were tested, but given her recent events and the fact that the article mentioning a Scitorari member was dated just last year, she didn't know how true that statement was.

Although Professor Pendleton gave them good information for their investigation, the meddling first years still seemed to have lots of questions for him. Asaiah spoke up first, seeming to have more questions than she did. Then as soon as the Slytherin boy was done, Marisol spoke up without missing a beat. "Okay my biggest question is why are the - Scitorari -"" she whispered the last word, "going around and doing these things? Who are their targets? Anyone?" she wondered with wide, fearful eyes. She glanced back down at the article where they had first seen the Scitorari mentioned and saw the victim's name, Nicolas King. She wondered who he was and why he had been murdered in particular, or was he just a random target?
 
Professor Pendleton ought to have anticipated the vast number of questions his brief history lesson would invoke. He nodded solemnly at the boy, a grave expression on his face. "Unfortunately, yes," he told him. "Most of the people he killed were innocent. He was a truly terrible man." A little while later there were more questions, which Monty found himself struggling to answer both out of ignorance and discomfort. He knew that at least one of the first years in front of him was muggle-born, and whilst the Potions Professor was one of these himself, he wasn't sure how well eleven year olds would take to the knowledge of Lord Voldemort's intentions. They would surely find out soon enough in their Defence Against the Dark Arts lessons anyway, but Monty didn't want to be the giver of this information.

He turned his attention back to the boy, deciding to answer the questions in order. "I don't know why they called themselves Scitorari," he said. "My guess would be that their intentions differ greatly enough from Lord Voldemort's that to give themselves the title of his followers would have been inappropriate. Not to mention that Voldemort is dead. I suppose it's somewhat enfeebling to name yourself after someone who was defeated. Perhaps you should take your question to Professor Styx and see what he thinks." Next he looked at Marisol, taking a second to compose his reply before it came out. "Well, certainly anyone who opposes their beliefs or threatens to stand in the way of them. Aurors and the Ministry, mainly. I'm afraid I don't know exactly what their intentions are, other than to practise the Dark Arts. But really, that's quite awful enough. They need not require any further intent to be sent to Azkaban - Wizarding prison." The Potions Professor glanced at his watch again, rather relieved to see that his presence was required down in the dungeons in less than five minutes. He was more than happy to share his history knowledge, but questions in the present tense really ought to have been directed at their Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. Monty suggested this again before standing up and adding, "Anyway, I've a class in three minutes, so I'd better dash. Oh, and might I suggest you read A History of Magic. Chapter eight and nine - Voldemort's Rise to Power. The Scitorari are too recent to get a mention, but I think you'll find it answers a few questions." The Professor smiled, said a quick goodbye, and then headed off to greet his class, hoping that the first years would remember to keep their voices to a whisper if they started reading those dreadful newspaper articles again.

OOC: Link to that book, if they decide to read it!
 
Asaiah listened carefully as the potions professor answered their questions. He had so many more questions on his mind that he wanted to ask the professor, but when the man said he had to leave because he had a class to teach, Asaiah looked rather disappointed. Still, the potions professer provided them with enough information to let them continue their research on their own. As soon as the adult left, the first year Slytherin opened his mouth again, trying to whisper at the same time. ''Alright, so thanks to professor-I-don't-know-his-name-yet, we now that the Death Eaters and the Scitorari aren't related to each other and that is good because it narrowed our search for the Scitorari. So the only newspapers we need to read are the ones from around this century, unless you want dig deeper and find out more about the Death Eaters as well.'' He said with an excited look in his eyes. ''But if you've got enough information and want to get out of this smelly place.'' Asaiah continued whilst looking around. ''I understand. I have a thick book in my backpack waiting to be read anyway.''
 
Marisol listened intently to Professor Pendleton's answers, making sure not to waste this opportunity to get actual results about such a risky subject from a professor. She wished she could follow Professor Pendleton's advice and ask their Defense Against the Dark Arts professor any questions she had with the same kind of candidness she had displayed with Professor Pendleton. But Professor Styx was too frightening to approach, so this was all the information she was going to get out of any professor. She wanted to ask follow up questions but unfortunately the Potions professor had to go, or perhaps he was just making up an excuse to get away from the two first years who would probably have kept badgering him for more information.

Marisol waved goodbye to the man and turned back to Asaiah, nodding at what he said. Knowing that the Death Eaters and the Scitorari were not related did help them narrow down their search. But now she didn't know which of the two groups to focus their search on. She pursed her lips in thought as Asaiah spoke and replied, "Well, we could dig deeper on each of these subjects, but getting out of this library also sounds like a good idea." She decided she would leave the decision up to him. She didn't know whether Asaiah would want to keep hanging out or if he really did need to go read the book he mentioned. It seemed like he wanted to leave the library already but she didn't know if that meant he wanted her to follow or not.
 
Asaiah smiled. The choice was up to him to decide whether they would continue their research or get out of the library. ''How about this: We leave the library for a bit of fun, because I really can't stand the smell of old books anymore, and after that we go back here and keep digging for anything about these two subject. How does that sound good to you?'' the first year said whilst taking off his emerald and silver tie. ''We could also do it the other way around if you prefer that.'' He added quickly. Sure, he wanted to get out of their for awhile, but if Marisol wanted to stay a little bit longer, Asaiah would be ok with that, he wouldn't just abandon her in the middle of their search for infomation about the Scitorari and the Death Eaters. ''Let me just add very quickly that if you choose to go and have fun first, let's go the the Forbidden Forest or something like that, or look for that Poltergeist the Headmistress mentioned at the sorting ceremony!''
 
Marisol giggled as Asaiah gave out suggestions for what they should do. It definitely sounded a lot better than staying in a stuffy library. "I think we've had enough of these dusty newspapers," she said with an affirmative nod. Besides, she felt that they had learned all they could about the Scitorari right now. If Professor Pendleton said they were too recent to end up in textbooks, she doubted she would find much else on them. It had taken them long enough to find a mention of them in a newspaper anyway.

Marisol bit her lip when Asaiah suggested the Forbidden Forest. Last time she had wandered into a forest, she had gotten bitten. "Umm I'm up for anything except the Forbidden Forest," she said uneasily, pulling her long hair over her shoulder to conceal the werewolf scars at the back of her neck. "I don't want to get in trouble!" she added, as if that would be a good enough reason to deter them from going to the forest. "I also heard there were mermaids at the lake! I wonder if that's true," she thought out loud, offering an outdoor alternative just in case Asaiah was tired of being indoors. If werewolves were real just like in her children's storybooks, then mermaids must be real in the wizarding world too. There was so much to explore at Hogwarts she didn't know where to begin. Where would a poltergeist be? How could they find it in such a big castle?
 
When Marisol refused his first suggestion he looked rather disappointed, ''Oh come on Mari, don't be such a scaredy-cat.'' Asaiah replied back. ''We won't get into trouble, I promise, and we do then-.. Then I'll say that I forced you in to going with me and that you had absolutely no choice but to go with me. Come on, it will be exciting!'' Ever since the first year found out that there was such a thing as a 'Forbidden' Forest on the castle's grounds, he had a dying urge to visit this forest. ''We can go to the lake afterwards, I promise! We can even go for a swim if you'd like that! Pleaaaaaase?'' Truth be told, Asaiah was actually afraid of entering the Forbidden Forest alone, he didn't know what kind of magical creatures would be roaming around the place so going in alone wasn't an option the Slytherin would even remotely consider.
 
"I am not a scaredy cat!" Marisol protested, even stamping her foot down in defiance. She tried not to let it show how uneasy she felt about going into the Forbidden Forest. For one thing, it was forbidden, which clearly meant there must be a reason why they weren't allowed in there. And for another, she had obviously learned her lesson about going in to a forest alone before. Nope there was no way she was going to step foot in that forest. Marisol crossed her arms over her chest to show that she was not budging on her decision.

But as the Slytherin boy kept begging, she had to admit she felt her resolve slipping. She bit her lip as she thought about it, hating the fact that he was actually making her consider changing her mind. How bad could the forest be after all, if it was located on their school grounds? She doubted there were werewolves in there because if that were the case, there would be more students like her and they had told her there were only two others. Plus, last time she had wandered into a forest alone and wandless. This time she would have Asaiah with her. And although neither of them knew enough magic to actually defend themselves yet, having their wands with them would still be more comforting. Marisol sighed and said, "Okay fine!" She glared at him and said, "But if we get caught and we get in trouble you're doing my homework for a month!" She stuck her tongue out at him to show she wasn't completely serious.
 
''Yes!'' The first year Slytherin exclaimed, happy that he could convince Marisol to go with him to the Forbidden Forest. He would have never go in alone, and Marisol could've probably convinced him not to go if she had tried a bit harder. However, she didn't and they were going to leave the library any second now to head for a part of the Hogwarts Grounds that certainly was one of the most dangerous places in and around the castle. ''Alright, I promise you, you won't regret saying yes to me. Yes! This is going to be aaaaawesoommmee.'' Asaiah said, almost jumping out of excitement. He walked over to the chair he had put his backpack before he helped Marisol and put it on. ''Right, are you coming?'' Asaiah said as he was about the walk out of the library. This was going to be one, great adventure.
 
Marisol rolled her eyes playfully at Asaiah as he jumped up in triumph. She still had half a mind to change her mind and say no, but she wouldn't be able to bear the disappointment in his face if did. She gathered her things and slung her bookbag over her shoulder, carefully adjusting her hair so it covered the scars at the back of her neck. He said she wouldn't regret going with him so she just prayed that was true.

Once she had gotten all her stuff she nodded at him and said, "Coming!" trying her best to be cheerful. It wasn't fair that her attack would ruin so many things for her, such as a spontaneous exploration trip to the forest with a new friend. Why couldn't she just be as naively excited as all the other first years? It already dictated so much of her life, she decided she wasn't going to let it stop herself from having a little fun. She followed him through the library until they got to the doors and she held it open for him. "But you lead the way because I'm not going first!"
 
''Alright, fine.'' The boy said with a grin. ''Turns out I was right, you are a big scaredy-cat after all, but don't worry about that, we all are sometimes.'' Asaiah winked at het and laughed. He walked out of the library with her beside him. Asaiah couldn't believe that making friends was this easy, he was actually good at it too. ''I have an idea,'' He said as he stopped right outside of the library. ''Whoever's there first wins!'' And without giving Marisol a chance to say anything, Asaiah ran off.
Fin​
 
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