Wandering

[Dominic Thatcher]

Dominic strolled through the deserted second floor corridor. This was one of his favourite places in the whole castle, mainly because of all the paintings on the wall. He had known he was a wizard for years now, but he still found moving paintings simply baffling but equally as fascinating. Amused as some of the shyer people in the paintings ran out of their frames as soon as he came near them, he stopped by one of his personal favourites. The painting was of a young boy, about eleven years of age. He had got to know this boy. He was a joker, quite rude actually, and a lot of arguments had been shared between Dom and the boy in the painting.

"What's your name," Dom asked the boy a smirk on his face. He had asked that question many times, and the boy found it extremely annoying. "Hmph," the boy said folding his arms, refusing to tell Dom his name for about the fifth time. "Stop asking me that and I might think about telling you my name," the boy said, enjoying the power he felt. "Tell me your name and I'll stop asking," Dom replied, "but it's not that I care much, you know."

 

[Artemis Tuuri]

Weekends were starting to become just a little bit boring for Artemis. So much had happened over the past week, but every time a weekend rolled around there was still nothing to do. All of the good Ravenclaw students liked to study in the library or out on the lawn, but Art was never the studying type. Just because she was supposedly smart, didn't mean that she enjoyed the majority of her lessons or put a hundred and ten percent effort in. After all, who needed Charms skills to be an animal Healer? Either way, she was still just as bored. Art trundled up through the second floor corridor, passing the paintings with little to no interest at all, and made to continue on her way to Ravenclaw tower before she sensed another person.

Instinctively she ducked behind a column for no apparent reason, and peeked out briefly to catch a glimpse of an older Ravenclaw boy who passed right by her. Generally, being only three to four feet high, she was inconspicuous as most people never thought to look down, however Art often neglected her long pointed ears and how they would poke out and give her away. Now she continued to eavesdrop. It seemed that the older boy was antagonising a painting, and she looked out curiously once more to watch the exchange. There was a pause in the conversation, and Artemis interjected softly. "His name is Igaard." she said, shuffling out of her hiding place sheepishly and looking up at Dominic. "Says so on the corner of the painting." So it was, but the writing was too small for normal human eyes to see. Her squirrel-like goblin eyes saw it perfectly well.

 

[Dominic Thatcher]

The girl who was now just beside Dom startled him a little. He quickly noticed her pointed ears. What was she, an elf? Goblin? Perhaps only part. Dom wondered about that for second. He chuckled a little as the little boy in the portrait, Igaard, gave the girl a withering look and walked out of his frame. Dom looked down at the corner of the portrait, a little embarrassed that he had not seen it. It was far too small for Dom to read, perhaps this girl had special eyesight or something. He looked down at the girl, a younger Ravenclaw. He had certainly not expected to run into another Ravenclaw, they were usually studying or doing something scholar related. Dom pondered for a second on whether to ask this girl what exactly she was, "Wha-," Dom stopped himself, pausing for a second. "What is your name?" Dom finished, changing his original question. Proud that he had managed to think before acting, something that he rarely was able to do.

 

[Artemis Tuuri]

She did notice the boy staring at her ears, and though she went pink, Artemis puffed up a little bit with pride. There was a movement to her right as the boy in the painting gave her a rather rude look which she returned, before he stalked out and left them alone; in a manner of speaking. Some of the portraits glanced at each other curiously and huddled over to catch the gossip. Artemis tilted her head up at Dominic, trying to figure out what his angle was. After a moment of silence, she considered telling him to bugger off for staring so hard, but the boy got there first. "I'm Artemis Blackmoore-Yearling," she replied with her mouthful of a name. She blinked up at him with her enormous hazel eyes. "Ye're a Ravenclaw, aren't 'ye? I've seen 'ye in the common room," she informed him in her thick British accent.

This boy was rather handsome, and Art didn't know what to think one way or another. He seemed thrown off guard by her presence. This she now understood, though she too had been thrown by his reaction. Anyone would take a second look if they saw a part-goblin, she thought. Though there are stranger things at Hogwarts ...

 

[Dominic Thatcher]

Dom noticed the girl go a little pink. "Sorry for staring," he added quickly, "I've just never seen a.. a.. a-." Dom didn't know exactly what she was, and was probably, unintentionally sound a little rude. "Well I'm Dom," he said in his usual, soft Australian accent, "and yes, I'm a Ravenclaw." To tell the truth, Dom was actually a little jealous. Dom was just another usual person, and he hated that, he desperately wanted something that would make him stand out. Maybe I should dye my hair electric blue, he thought, letting his thoughts run away with him. Dom was snapped back from his thoughts as a few paintings gathered closer to him and Artemis.

"I think we are the only two Ravenclaws not studying," he said out loud, but it was meant to be only a thought. "So.. um... Your from Britain then?" Dom said, keen to make up for his accidental rudeness. But he could not help but notice anything the slightest bit magical, he was a muggle-born and found everything new about magic fascinating. Even after six years as a wizard.

 

[Artemis Tuuri]

"A part goblin?" Artemis filled in for him. That explained a lot of things. She wondered whether he'd ever seen pictures of them in books, but she guessed that her kind were very rare. Out of a school of thousands, she and Jareth were the only part-goblins present, which was probably what had drawn them to each other in the first place. Before that, she had been all alone, even within her own family. Artemis was a throwback from her great-grandparent, which explained why she was still in human proportions, only very, very small. Now that she was less startled and calmer, her ears flopped down slightly, relaxing. Her blush soon began to fade.

"Aye, 'ye can say that again," said Art, looking guiltily down at her book bag. She practically never studied, and had an irritating aversion to work outside of the classroom which made homework such a trial. She nodded politely, confirming his statement about where she was from. "Yorkshire, then Charing Cross and now here, to New Zealand." A flicker of pain crossed her features as she remembered the circumstances of her coming and the separation of her large family. "But ye're not from new Zealand, are 'ye." Art squinted expressively. "Australia?" she guessed. Artemis was like a fairy; only room for one feeling at a time, and usually it was written all over her face like it was now.

 

[Dominic Thatcher]

Part goblin, it wasn't really shocking, it was actually something along the lines of what Dom was thinking. Happy that he didn't have to wonder anymore, he turned his head to examine the next painting along. This one was of an old, tired lady. With wild, wiry white hair and a frail stature. He felt a little sympathy for this girl, she was or had been a bit of an outcast. Which was something Dom could relate to, being a wizard and growing up around a bunch of muggles didn't exactly make you very popular.

Dom for about the fifth time today, decided to study for once in his life. But this decision passed very quickly, Dom never studied. Although, his grades were decent, not his best, but decent. "Yep," he said, a little surprised that she could pick his accent. He was Australian, though he had spent so much time away from his home country that his accent was only very soft, practically neutral. "Australia, then well, erm...." He didn't quite know how to put it, "well everywhere. Kind of. We sailed all over the world." Dom hoped that he had made sense, he often found himself confusing people.

 

[Artemis Tuuri]

Art's eyes lit up when Dominic mentioned that he had traveled all over. Her sensitive ears had picked up the lilt of many different places in his voice, but it had confused her to pick them all so she hadn't bothered. Now she wished that her own family had done some traveling before everyone was split up. If Art could have chosen to come anywhere, she certainly would not have chosen to come to New Zealand. As it was, she was glad that she had since she had met Jareth, but she also understood that the only reason her mother had brought them here was because it was the furthest away from England that she could get. "Ye really have sailed all over? What placed did 'ye go to?". The delight was clear on her face.

It was only now that she realised she had nothing at all to say. Suddenly, I feel incredibly boring, thought Art with a strange look plastered onto her face. Now that she thought harder, she had met her only friends either while sparring or marveling at their beauty. That was true; Alex and Chase she had found to be equal opponent, and Shalamar and Jareth were so good looking that it made her want to faint, or at least to say something profound. The effect Dominic had on her was exactly the latter, and she knew she was blushing. "I ... well, I hope 'ye don't think me rude, but ..." there was a nervous pause. "Would 'ye like to go have lunch downstairs or somethin'?".Art wasn't propositioning him at all, but standing awkwardly in the hallway was going to get them nowhere, and Art was already interested in this softly-spoken boy.

 

[Dominic Thatcher]

Dom grinned. Happy that she seemed to be interested. His dad was big into boats, and had wanted to sail over the world for years. But mum refused, claiming that the kids were too young. Eventually, mum agreed that it would be a great experience and they had set out on Dom's thirteenth birthday. He looked down at Artemis. He felt kind of weird looking down at her, looking down at people was something he rarely had to do, especially with Alex. "We went to all the continents, well except Antarctica."Dom said, "took two and a half years" The list of places he had visited was far to long to mention. Dom smiled to himself, he had never realised how great the trip had been. Dom laughed. "Yeah lets go," he said, and began to walk. He felt a little awkward beside Artemis, it made him feel like a giant. Maybe this is what it's like for Alex, he thought, Alex was so tall compared to Dom.

 

[Artemis Tuuri]

"Phew," said Artemis, looking up at Dominic in awe. "I've only traveled once, from England to New Zealand, and I want to go right back home!". She paused at this, then fell silent as the revealing of her true feelings. Just like that, she had finally admitted to herself that she missed England, she missed the other half of her family and that all she wanted was to return there again. Art worried at her lip with a tooth and stared at the floor for a long moment, before looking up just in time to catch Dom smiling to himself. The look made her grin and her desolate feeling abated for the time being. It would return again when she was alone that night, just as Art predicted, but until then she would enjoy her time with a new person to chat with.

Artemis did not walk so much as she skipped, which was the only way she could keep up with other people on such small legs without jogging. She did pick up his awkwardness, and gave him a sunny smile to put him at ease. The effect was like a Raggedy-Anne doll had just grinned, which was both disconcerting and calming all at once. Truthfully, she had never found anyone walking with her to be so thrown-off by her appearance and height. Most people deigned to think of her as a little child instead of a teen instead. Eventually they reached the Great Hall, after much merry chatter from Artemis about this and that. By the time they entered, Dominic now knew that she made her own dresses, fought like the devil, was scared out of her wits at Charms and fell off brooms a lot because her hands were too small.

 

[Dominic Thatcher]

The two chatted happily all the way to the great hall. When they arrived Dom had heard many things about Artemis, and Dom had told her about the time he had nearly lost his dog in the middle of the atlantic, that he enjoyed drawing and painting, that potions was probably his only good subject, and that he once ate a cacti. Dom seated himself at a table and helped himself to some mashed potatoes. The great hall was practically deserted today. Maybe they were late, or early. "So what year are you in?" Dom asked. It was extremely difficult to pick out her age which was mainly due to her height. Dom nearly finished his potatoes and poured himself a pumpkin juice, suddenly realizing how thirsty he was.

 

[Artemis Tuuri]

"I'm a third year," answered Artemis with a grin. She was in good spirits because of the fine food she was currently tucking in to. Her bowl was stuffed to the very edges with salad, and she dragged the cheese platter over with both hands. "Better than a cactus, eh?" she winked at Dominic before biting into a cherry tomato. "But what year are 'ye in? I'd have to guess somewhere between five and seven, aye? 'Cause I don't see 'ye that often around the common room." Artemis had to stand up onto her chair to reach for a glass of milk, which didn't look half as odd as it could have been, since when she stood she was the exact height of Dominic.

"I'm fourteen, but I'm thinking that 'ye probably thought I was five or suchlike," she commented, giving Dom a cheesy look on purpose. "Funny, 'cause I don't feel that small when I'm around my b- er, fiance..." Artemis trailed off at the end of her sentence, having been about to say "boyfriend" but correcting herself halfway through. Looking down, Art smiled at the dried flower that was still wrapped around her finger. They would have to get matching rings eventually, but until then the flower was all they had to prove their love.

 

[Dominic Thatcher]

"Well.. erm.. It actually wasn't that bad," Dom said, laughing a little. "Year six," answered Dom. Most people guessed a year or two younger than his actual age. He helped himself to some of the cheese plater and poured himself some more pumpkin juice. Dom was amused at the fact that when Artemis stood, she was the exact same height as he was sitting, he chuckled quietly. He handed the milk over to Artemis. Taking another large gulp of his juice, he pondered on what he should eat next.

The pumpkin juice that he was about to swallow, spurted out of him mouth. What? Finace? Marriage? But didn't this girl just say she was fourteen? Dom looked at her shocked. "You're getting married?" Dom was in shock, she seemed so young, marriage had never even crossed hiss mind before, and he was three years older than her. "But..But... You're fourteen," Dom said, still in shock. For once he was actually lost for words, what should he say. Congratulations? Well done?

 

[Artemis Tuuri]

Art giggled to herself when Dominic commented on eating the cactus. Now that she thought about it, it didn't sound half bad. It was mostly water anyway. "Ahh," she nodded. She had thought he was somewhere around there, but he looked just a little bit younger and she would have guessed around year five normally. She thanked him sheepishly when he took the milk for her, and poured herself a glass that shrunk to fit her hand. "Oooh!" she said to her glass, who wriggled a little bit and sloshed milk onto the tablecloth. "Ye're very clever then, aren't 'ye?". She tapped the glass again, who expanded slightly to accommodate her thumb which it had neglected to account for. Artemis grinned at it. She had grown up in a wizarding family, but she would still never get used to all the fascinating changes ordinary objects went through.

She blushed, embarrassed, at Dominic's reaction to the news. To her dismay, she realised that he had been the first person she'd told. Surely Artemis should have written to Gregory or at least spoken to Shalamar, but it all came tumbling out now, instead. "Ah, a-aye. I suppose I am," she mumbled. "Jareth is ... he's the only other part goblin at Hogwarts. When we met, we sort of had a spark, and he soon asked to court me," she grinned at Jareth's terminology. "But last night he couldn't wait and simply asked to marry me. I couldn't help it; I said yes. I love him, and ..." Art didn't want to admit this, but it had to be said. "Well, who else could I possibly marry? He loves me, I love him and we're exactly the same size," she laughed. "I guess it was just meant to be. We'll see how things go, but unless things change, we're bonded by blood." Art meant this literally, thinking of their mutual goblin heritage.