The Lion and the Badger

[Amiria Karauna]

This school was the strangest place she had ever been to, it was unnerving that young people were left run about with wands casting spells that they barely knew how to do or the consequences of casting at all. She had already seen one boy jinx another boy and a group of students laughing as a girl swung a boy up by his ankles, she saw silly pranks and stupid games and thought that her grandmother had been right all along to keep this world quiet from her. It was terrifying. The orphanage at least she had known what to expect from, she could stand up for herself but here, she was certain that it wasn't a magic school at all but rather a school for magical dysfunctional children.

Lessons had started and she had found her first two classes ridiculous, teachers wanting to the students to introduce themselves when they could just as easy look through the student files. It reminded her of the awful first days after the holidays in the other school she had attended, they had always wanted an essay on your holiday or what you wanted to do with your future. At least those essays were with pens but here they expected you to write with a quill of all things. Every time she dipped hers into the ink pot it left a splotch trail from it to the paper and trying to write without creating new splotches was the hardest thing she had ever tried to do.

Needing a break from the deliriously happy friendly people of her house, she had taken a piece of paper and a pencil, a good trustee old 2B pencil that couldn't leave ink blots everywhere and she decided to try to figure her way about the school. It was a maze after all with stairs that moved, pictures that spoke, ghosts ... no one had said anything about ghosts to her and they popped up everywhere, through the tables at meal times, in the bathroom while she had been brushing her teeth and out of the walls as she tried to go to class.

It was only her third day at Hogwarts and she was fed up immensely of the place and how weird everything was. She had made her way to the 7th floor and after realising that no classrooms were situated there she sat down not far from the portrait of the Fat Lady that led to Gryffindor house, unawares that it did so. Amiria began to sketch out the floor as she had seen it with a stairway leading from the 6th floor that she had drawn earlier on. It seemed luck was with her and this floor was quiet at least.

 

[Syrus Stilinski]

Returning back to Hogwarts was Syrus absolute favorite time of year. Returning to food and the loose restriction on magic, there was no arguing why you wouldn't like coming back to Hogwarts. Unless you were his sister, who he really didn't care much for her opinions. Hogwarts was everything to him, now, at the moment. He envision himself never leaving this place. His mom thought he was crazy, Stella thought he was insane. Silas reminded him once more, he would be working with him after his studies here. But, that'll be long ways for now!

He settled in comfortably, setting back to his old routines plus two new extra classes he picked up last year. He decided Care of Magical Creatures will do, because it was the most exciting out of the bunch. Syrus forgot what the second class he had chosen but it wouldn't have been muggel studies. That would be stupid and a waste time, he thinks. Either way, he could do better than last year. Maybe he ought take his assignment more seriously.

He contemplated on that the first few days, while giving Silas's new invention a go. Syrus, went around with three packets of gum. They were the muggel kind, the ones wrapped in tinfoil. But each, had it's own purpose. Every stick in the pack did. Though, none of his housemates took the bait. Only a few first years fell victims to his antics. Each had color their hair turn bright red. He would laugh, and they'd scream their little heads off. Syrus found it intoxicated. He went out the common room, away from those first years yelling at him. To his amusement, he found another first year sitting alone.

"Hey! What are you doing up here all alone?" Syrus question her. His toothless smile plaster on his face. He would catch a glimpse of her drawing, pointing at the picture. "You drew that?"
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[Amiria Karauna]

The corridor had been so quiet, so pleasant compared to other corridors but that was soon shattered as the voice of a boy called out to her. Amiria squeezed her eyes tightly shut, was this going to be another overbearing wizard child telling her what to do? She was fast getting to dislike this strange world of theirs, all they seemed to relish in was hate and prejudice and it scared Amiria. She glanced up slowly as the boy approached, his smile was disarming and Amiria found herself reluctantly smiling back as he pointed at her drawing. Nodding her head she stood up, he didn't seem like the wizard children she had met who had delighted in bullying, perhaps he was like the non-magical children she had met or the magical children but those who hadn't been born into a magical family ... she couldn't remember what name those had been called, what she had been called and made a mental note to find out.

"Ae ... yes" she told him, first in her native Maori and then in English, "I didn't want to get lost going to my classes so I thought drawing a map would do." She didn't know why she did it but she turned the drawing of the seven flights and corridors of Hogwarts towards him, "It isn't a great representation but te reira pai .. it's fine. It will get me where I need to go ... I just haven't done the dungeons yet."
Truth was she didn't want to go there on her own at all, no matter how much she wanted to draw the outline of the corridor there for her map.

"Am I allowed to be up here?" her dark brown eyes looked up at his solemnly, hoping he wasn't going to get her into trouble but somehow she didn't think a person who could smile so broadly could do harm to anyone.

 

[Syrus Stilinski]

Syrus study the drawing, he trace each detail with his light brown eyes. Very quickly he did so, comparing the sketch to the actual scenery in front of him. "Wow, the talent. Pretty neat!" He noted her weird, foreign language he should've picked it up by now from the locals. Ask him about the Maoris, and he would fail. He knew nothing about anything in New Zealand. He knew of the village and the way back home and that's it. Coming from the state, he felt completely ignorant to his new home of six years now.

"Nah, it's cool!" Syrus stuffed the pretend gum packs in his pocket. Something about the girl compelled his trickster ways to be put on hold for now. There so much more he could get away, and terrorizing every first year didn't seem like a bright idea on his first week back. He tells himself, there will be other days and newer victims. Newer tricks, who knows? Perhaps his more obedient side render it impossible to misbehave.

"Don't, ah try to break in the common room is all! Someone did that last year, it was a total mess. Don't ask me what happen because I have no idea." Syrus gave a lazy shrug. He only knows it was someone from his house, two or one. Whatever. It didn't matter. He enough trouble to worry about someone else breaking rules. "What house you're in anyways?" He asked. His attention fell on the girl again, the girl that could draw. Syrus paid mind to number two pencil in her hand. "You're muggelborn, half blood?" The pencil being a big indication to the fact she was one.

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[Amiria Karauna]

Amiria couldn't tell if the boy was being sarcastic or not, she was so used to all the girls at the orphanage being that way ... it became like a second skin, it made them appear tough as if they didn't care, didn't feel when the truth was, they felt all too much, felt keenly how a lone they were in the world and refused to let anyone else in again. What was the point, you let someone in, they died, you hurt. The maths was easy and it made sense but here ... in this magical world, something as simple as that equation made as much sense as people telling her that centaurs were real, that goblins ran the bank and giants really did exist. Amiria didn't know what to believe anymore.

"Why would I break in ... ?" she couldn't help asking as she turned her notepad back towards her and held it close to her stomach with arms crossed over it but then wished she hadn't asked anything at all. The Hufflepuff house that the hat had sorted her into had a common room and one of the girls on the train had told her about the four houses, though she had read about them as well in her text book. To the best of her knowledge she shouldn't be able to break in to another house ... right?

"Hufflepuff" she didn't tell him what the sorting hat had said to her but the memory of it telling her not to be afraid filled her with a sense of calm and hope. The boy mentioned the word the 'M' word that people had been using to describe what she apparently was and she blurted it out with relief.

"Muggle ... that was it, that was the word" she sighed before leaning back against the wall, "I don't know ... I suppose a muggle born. I ... " she suddenly didn't want to talk about her family, her culture, where she was living now. It all sounded so morbid and she didn't want the first person she had a real conversation with here at the school to think that she was dreary or weird.

"What house are you in? ... do people usually ask about the blood thing?" she hoped they didn't, Amiria couldn't imagine anyone in her world asking daily in conversation what her blood type was, as if remembering something, she pushed her hair behind her ear and glanced up at the boy with the curly hair, "My name is Amiria... Amiria Karauna."

 

[Syrus Stilinski]

The way the girl was behaving, weirdly reminded him a lot of his sister. Except, Stella had no reason to be so against the world, or whatever her problem may be. He guilty of not paying attention to others unless they gave off a vibe that should be concerning to him. Even than, Syrus paid very little mind to anybody. Yet, he remembers his sister, and this girl put offish by covering the drawing he only just finish commenting on just a moment ago. He suddenly in tone to someone, other than himself. And it only makes him a little uncomfortable and a little regretful for not pulling his antics afterall. There no better way than playing a dumb trick to break the ice. He forced to be normal for once.

"Ehhhh. Don't worry about it! Forget I mention it. I don't want to be blame for giving first years, I assume you are one, any ideas." Syrus deflected, his smile broaden. He can't help the girl's trouble, but he could give her a toothless smile and make her feel uneasy? The boy is clueless to these sort of things. There could be a thousands signs pointing east, but he'll topple forward west.

"Nice, you're in the same house as my sister. Right next to the kitchen? You'll be fine there!" Syrus says in a promising tone. Anything to make this girl feel at home, he'll try his best. Although his best effort never his greatest, maybe he'll really try?! Whatever. Syrus already willing to take on a new task in hand, because he could see she looked a little lost. Even in her own shell?

"No, no, it's not a big deal! I mean, there will be jerks wherever you go. Here, or middle school. I'm a muggelborn too! It's great, because you're like in a whole new world here." He tries his best to describe that feeling, the first time when he knew he was magic. He had cause a ball to hit the back of his brother's head, Silas. It went flying out of nowhere as his brother teased him, and ruffled his hair. That's when they all knew, they all knew the Stilinski kids were magical unicorn.

"Gryffindor, and I'm you're fellow cub. Syrus Stilinksi..." Syrus smile down at the petite girl, with her own pretty brown hair. "Amiria Karauna....wicked name. Am I pronouncing right?! Stop me if I am. Am-iria."
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