We Live In Different Worlds

[Perseas Stratis]

Perseas smiled self-complacently as he was climbing the stairs leading to the owlery. He had spent his day making the life of a few Slytherins tough by setting a series of traps close to their common room. While he wasn't intimidated by the older students, he had set an invisible trap he had purchased during holidays. The trap was activated each time someone was getting close to the invisible object that felt like some sort of small bag and was flooding the surrounding are by creating a miniature swamp with a lot of sludge for the victim to stuck in place. When the unlucky student was able to release themselves and go and fetch a staff member to show the mess, the swamp was magically gone. The specific trap was only activated only when underage people were around and its effects were gone just like that when an adult was approaching. Perseas couldn't really remember the name of the manufacturer of the product but he believed, he was definataly worth a prize.

Even for an impish prankster and trouble-maker like Perseas there was the right time to set aside the mischief and spend his free time more productively. He reached the owlery with a postman bag hanging from his shoulder. He hadn't really changed from last year. His dark hair were still growing asymetrically and spiky on his head and his piercing, grey eyes had that spark of intelligence which was expended on aimless deeds. He might have grown a couple of inches taller but what had really changed was his sudden need to read books. Not really history books or any books connected with his classes. Books about mysterious locations, urban myths, legends and stories almost forgotten to present time. Along his summer shopping of prank stuff, he had also purchased that book about European urban myths. His twin brother was insisting they were mad men's stories but Perseas had been fascinated by the book's content.

The reason why he had been visiting a lot the owlery recently was because he didn't want his classmates to see him absorbed in a book. He had a reputation to sustain although this particular books wasn't going to categorize him in the group of the geek people, in which Rhiannon McGowan was a standard bearer. The circular room of stone was smelling combination of owls' droppings and mold but the Gryffindor ignored it. He headed straight for the ledge of the open window and climbed on it to sit there. He whistled loudly with the help of his finger to call Cyclops, his one-eyed, short-eared owl. The bird swooped down from its perch and landed in front of the boy to peck softly his fingers. Perseas knew what the owl wanted and took a bag of owl treats to keep his owl satisfied. He petted the bird's rich plumage and opened his book with a smile of impatience. He leaned his back against the cold stone and started reading hungrily through the pages.

 

[Rhiannon Archer]

November. among other things like bonfire night, end of semester and importantly Exams there was one other thing that was happening this month. november the 15th was her dads birthday and this year he was turning 40. although it wasn't like they would be doing anything big for the event. his dad was more likely to stay at work late having been called in to help with imaging on some tort of surgery, or something she did feel a little bad she wouldn't be home for a month. maybe they could do something as a family then to celebrate. The hufflepuff second year made her way up to the owlary in her hand was a package containing a present. a watch she had ordered from the prophet. as well as telling the time in many time zones (the hands spun backwards or forward accordingly) it also said sun rise and sun set and the tides. although Ian was not an outside kind of man who would find this useful he was the kind of man who would think it cool and interesting.
By now rhi had reached the part of the north tower that housed the owlery. so far away from the rest of the school so that the smell would be at least a bit contained. Looking around the room she tried to figure out which were the school owls and which of them would be the quickest and most relyable. she watch had cost her a fair amount of her money and she didn't want it to get lost. after a couple of minutes she picked one. a steady looking eagle owl. she took him over to a perch and gave him some cold bacon she had saved them breakfast in the great hall. it was then that she saw she wasn't alone. her attention had been focused so much on the task at hand and the owls she hadn't realised that there was a boy sitting in the smelly room reading a book. looking at him he was familiar but she couldn't believe it was who she thought it was. with the own now on the perch she turned to the boy she hadn't seen in a good while/ "Perseas? is that you or do you have another twin, or rather triplet" he said surprised to see Perseas anywhere near a book let alone reading one. she tried to see what it was on but the volumes cover was hidden from view from where she was standing and she couldn't see the inside either.

 

[Perseas Stratis]

A Heliopath is a spirit of fire which gallops and burns anything in its path. This line had captured Perseas attention the most out of the chapter he was reading about spirits. He could imagine a Heliopath being a horseman cloaked with fire, galloping through a horde of Inferi, burning them to dust.
It would be so nice to see one of these spirits but no picture was included in the book. His twin brother was insisting that Heliopaths among other things that Perseas believed in, were pieces used to create a fairytale and nothing more. But for Perseas when there was smoke there was fire as well. All those people writing about all these mysteries and fantastic beings must have seen something to include them in a book. It was just most people were too narrow-minded and hesitant to believe in something they hadn't seen with their own eyes. This wasn't the case for this young Gryffindor. Perseas always wanted to believe there were more things to explore in life. Things the human mind couldn't comprehend like why someone could fell in love with someone else or what happens to the soul when someone dies.

The book in his hands was attempting to hit just the tip of this iceberg of mysteries, yet every single word that Perseas was reading was drawing him deeper into a realm of unsolved riddles. He never was so absorbed in his studies. He actually never opened book when he was good at memorizing stuff just by listening to them at classes. The chapter about the Heliopaths was so gribbing that he never perceived the presence of someone else in the owlery. Not until this someone talked with a familiar voice that startled Perseas and made him close the book. His one-eyed owl screeched irritated and soared outside the open window.
"Oh. Hello Rhiannon." he greeted the Hufflepuff girl and rushed to hide the book behind his back. Unfortunately, the girl had managed to see him reading it and he tried just in few seconds to find a good excuse.
"It's not mine." he shook his head. "It's my brothers. I was just flipping through its pages to find a piece of parchment including the location of the Room of Requirements." he smirked as he thought how good he was at mitigating situations like this. "Of course you would never, ever care what is the Room of Requirements since it is not registered in the school's rules." he teased, his smirk never leaving his face. "What are you doing here anyway? Waiting for the subscription of a braniac magazine?" he asked with his words dripping sarcasm while still hiding the book behind his back.

 

[Rhiannon Archer]

Rhiannon saw that Perseas quickly put the puck way and came up with a story about looking for a note his brother put in it "I know you were readig it. you were looking t it too intently to be looking for a note. what book is it? there is no need to be embarrassed, it looked good." she said she could tell that perseas thought she was boring: maybe she was. but she had her goals and ambitions and although she wasn't sure how to got to it through magic she knew the best way was to do well in class. and although she wasn't going to tell perseas also complete her muggle education through distance learning. "I have never heard of the room of tequirements. sounds like a silly room really. as there is nothing against it on the rules if such a room existed it isnt against the roules unles it is out of the castle" she said. her way of bending the rules. well not bending them if there wasn't one.
she wasn't the kind of person to pick up on sarcasm and once again she didn't quite get the tone. "braniac magazine I don't think that exists." she said "and if there is I don't have a subscription." she finished making sure her owl had well and truly gone before answering his question. "I was just sending my dad a birthday present. It is his birthday next week and i won't be there" she said. she wasn't really one to feel homesick often but everyone was aloud to miss their parents occasionally right?

 

[Perseas Stratis]

Perseas kept staring at the Hufflepuff girl as she kept talking without getting affected by his sarcasm. Rhiannon seemed to be sometimes in her own world which wasn't necessarily a bad thing. It was just that Perseas wasn't sure if she was naive or she was bamboozling him. "There's no book you won't find good." he responded with a half smile. He couldn't imagine how many books could have passed from this bookworm's hands but definately they were a lot more than those he had ever even thought of starting reading. Perseas thought it was alright to expose his little secret for books about mysteries and myths but he set first a term before trusting her. "If you ever going to say anything to my twin, I'm going to hex your head into a pumpkin." he bantered with mischief in his eyes. "It's about myths and legends in the wizarding world." he revealed and pulled the book from behind him to hold it affectionately in his hands. The leather cover was worn and peeled but the pages were entrusted with intriguing secrets. The thoughts that he was cognizant of information that most people weren't was what was drawning him to such kind of books. "I guess you would prefer a book on the history of flobberworm mucus extraction." he commented, not expecting her or anyone else to recognize the beauty of books like the one he was holding.

Frustrated, Perseas placed the book right next to him on the ledge. "Silly?" he repeated annoyed. "The Room of Requirements is the best room ever existed in this castle." Perseas added indignantly with her ignorance. "The room could turn into anything you want. Even you would like it. I bet it would turn into an endless library full of books, if you were ever able to find it." he explained full of doubt about Rhiannon's ability to find this secret room. Perseas had spent hours searching for it. Really a few secrets of the castle had slipped off his acuminous ability to locate them and the Room of Requirements was a real challenge. He had a few hints in his hands but they were like puzzle pieces, waiting to be put together and reveal an illustration. Perseas was confident that sooner or later the Room of Requirements was going to unveil its secrets to him.

In a completely different none, Perseas wished for her father's birthday. "Happy birthday to him. May be happy and healthy." he smiled but he noticed melancholy on her features. "You really want to be with your family to celebrate together right?" he made a wild guess based on how he would feel if he was walking in her shoes. He was missing his family as well, especially his father who was working abroad and he was a couple of years to see him. "You know, the Room of Requirements could even solve this problem." he hinted with an impish smile and mischievous eyes. Perseas didn't know exactly the extend of the room's powers but he guessed it could create a passageway to get you outside Hogwarts. "Of course you wouldn't approve of my idea so why bother to share?" he said and folded his arms behind his head, leaned back at the wall while sitting on the ledge of the open window.

 

[Rhiannon Archer]

Rhiannon realised just what kind of reputation she had set up for herself. when Perseas said that there were no books that she found not good. "that's not true, I don't like horror stories, and some of my brothers engineering books are so dull they could put anyone to sleep she said. they were all maths and although she liked numbers and maths there came a stage when it was mainly abbreviations and letters with only the odd number here or there and that made no sence. "Aren't all myths normal in the wizarding world, like mermaids, fairies, dragons. they are in text books not novels. she said wondering what kind of myths wizards could think of. in response to he is request she shook her head "I can't lie. if he asks me direct, but i won't go out of my way to tell him. what would be the point" she said. she rolled her eyes when he said she would prefer a book on flobber worm mucus. she wasnt exactly sure what a flobber worm was it sounded like a parasite of some kind. "that sounds dull. no i quite like myths actually." she said. there was a great one that was well known from mull where she often spent some of her holidays about a wtch sinking ships in the spanish armarda. and a lot of them about fairies, chalenging pipers to song contests and abducting them, and lights around cirtain graves.
she sat on a bench opposite the wndow ledge perseas was sitting on as he described the room of requrement. a room tht could be anything she wanted it to be. she tried to think of what that would be. and she just couldnt. one thought that crossed her mind was a silver workshop. another was something that had heaps of great food before she remembered the kitchens already had that. "a silver workshop would be cool." she mused out loud she enjoyed making necklaces and bracelets in her aunts workshop when she went to visit, last time she had made a tree pendent imbedded with small semiprecious stones which she wore most days under her clothes. though she doubted the room existed. there was a difference between liking myths and believing an impossible room existed. "what would you want it to be like" she asked wondering what a boy like perseas would find useful in a room of impossibilities.
she smiled as he Wished her dad a happy birthday. "thanks" she said feeling slightly better. it was odd she had known perseas since she started the school. but he had always annoyed her when they met, teasing her horribly today she felt like he was almost being friendly. "yes, I would like to be with him to celebrate but if it is anything like normal he will be busy. doing a surgery or something" she said. he always worked long hours and as it was a week end if he was on call she could almost guarantee he would get called in to do something. she could tell that perseas was about to have an idea and knowing his ideas it was likely to be against the rules. she listen and nodded. "you mean the room of requirements right? if it is whatever i want it could have a computer with skype and an internet connection. I have my tablet and laptop see with skype so just wifi would be enough but i can't get signal in the castle" she said sort of catching on, not to the extent of perseas's idea but just a skype call to say happy birthday would be great.

 

[Perseas Stratis]

Perseas thought that Rhiannon's whole family was probably dull when she referenced her brother's book choices. He wasn't sure what exactly was about but by it didn't sound interesting. "You're kidding me? Horror stories are awesome. The Empty House by Algernon Blackwood is my favourite." he mentioned his favourite horror book written by a muggle author. He just then realized he was talking about books, a topic he rarely, if not never, engaged. Afraid that this girl was going to turn him into a geek as well, he decided to change the topic back to myths. Perseas couldn't recall if the Hufflepuff had mentioned that she was a muggle-born but now he was getting this impression. "Still there are myths even in the wizarding world." he said and took back in his hands the book and started flipping through its pages. "Like Atlantis." he showed her an illustration of a submerged, sophisticated city in one of the pages. "It's a myth, both in muggle and wizarding world." he pointed out, thinking that she should at least have heard of the myth. "Most people insist it is a fictional story but I don't think that a bright mind like Plato the philosopher would talk about imaginary things." he insisted to believe that there was a dosage of truth in moth myths and legends he was reading about. Perseas closed the book afterwards and smiled when Rhiannon agreed that myths were nice. "It was a joke Rhiannon. I don't think that anyone would even consider to write anything about flobberworm's mucus extraction." he laughed.

Perseas thought that he had completely figured out the bookworm, expecting to hear her saying that she would like the room to turn into an endless library. Instead, he answer hit him like a stunning spell. "A silver workshop?" he repeated dumbfounded. "You could have everything you want and you choose just a silver workshop? You know, this is still boring." he shook his head. Perseas hadn't though of what he would like to find in the room until Rhiannon asked him back. "I-I haven't thought about it." he admitted frowned. "Maybe Atlantis. Wouldn't be awesome?" he mused with starry eyes. "There you go. Another proof that mystery exists in the wizarding world. How can this room be what you really want?" he winked at her as he shared some food for thought.

The Gryffindor could totally sympathize with her need to be with her family during her father's birthday. "You're welcome." he replied. He listened to her talking and a puzzled expression took over his face. "What's surgery?" he asked. The term was reminding him of something that muggles used to do but he had no idea what exactly was it.
His grey eyes opened wide as she continued talking with foreign words that Perseas had never heard of before. "Okay, I can only speak Greek and English. I have no idea what skype is and...and the other thing you said, the why-pie, but I guess this would work for you as well." he said and searched his pockets. Soon after he was holding a pair of identical mirrors. "These are two-way mirrors and they are a pair. You can sent one to your family and you can keep the other one. You will be able to speak and see them at the same time by just saying their name into it. You'll appear in their mirror and they'll be able to talk in yours." he tried to explain as briefly as possible and become understandable. If she was indeed a muggle-born, she would probably have zero knowledge of the particular object. "I had this pair for me and my brother in order to communicate with each other during our late night excursions." he admitted slightly embarrassed. "But Theseas no more wants to be my partner in crime so I don't have any use of them. Here, you can have them." he offered the pair of mirrors to her.

 

[Rhiannon Archer]

Rhiannon wasnt any more surprised that perseas liked horror books than she was surprised that he liked books. or rather once she realised he liked books she wasnt surprised that horror was included. it was a genre that seemed to attract boys like a magnet, that and war books and technical books. she hadnt heard of the book he had mentioned though she made a mental note not te read it. pr maybe she would but she would be sure not to read it at night. thinking about myths she nodded. "I have heard about atlantis before. an underwater city, in either the Mediterranean sea, atlantic oceans or the bermuda triangle depending on what you read. some things even say it moves. she did smile when he said he was joking about the flobber worm mucus. maybe he she had been a bit hard on him due to his insistent to tease her. he also had been quick to help her when she needed it. and he did seem nice, at least when he was on his own.
"silverwork is fun. seriously it is making jewelry. see" she said showing him the bracelet[/ur] she was wearing. she had made it one of the first things she had made with minimal help. it wasn't much but she liked it. she loved how celtic knots went on forever with no beginning and no end and looked so cool. "I doubt Atlantis would be smart. it would be rather wet i would think, and you may drown" she said. she was sure that if the room could be anything it didn't mean it could be a door to anywhere or she was sure atlantis wouldn't have remained a myth for so long.
when he said that he didn't know what surgery is she was literally gobsmacked. "surgery? seriously." she said. how could someone not throw what surgery was. "He is a doctor and his job is when people are really sick or injured he operates on them, cuts them open and fixes their inside, taking things out sometime putting things in. and before you have any idears he is a sadist they are all sedated under anaesthesia" she said. it was a rather simplistic way of saying it but she couldn't think of another way off the top of her head. hopefully it made sense. thinking she wondered how she would describe what she wanted to do to him. an oncologist.
"skype is english, or maybe american. it is a computer program where you can instant message, call or video call someone, anyone else in the world who has the same program, and an internet connection." she explained "wifi is a way of wirelessly connecting computers and tablets to the internet in a sort of local network. please say you know what the internet is" she said there were some things that were so ingrained in you that it was hard to explain to an outsider, surgery, and the internet were some of them. he then saw what he was holding. a pare of mirrors. after listening to the boys explanation she realised that she had seen some mirrors like that before in a shop in Brightstone, deciding to overlook the bit about the late night excursions she shook her head. "I cant take them off you, those things are expensive you know. and what happens if Theseas changes his mind" she said. leaning back slightly on the bench she was on. "but that is a smart idea. A very smart idea. maybe i will get some next break" she said. it seemed like not all ideas from this troublemaker were against the rules, and some of them were actually rather ingenious, and to be honest in the MgGowan family with two doctors money wasn't a big struggle. she could afford them, she just hadn't known they they did.

Out of Character:

Trying to describe what a surgeon does, and what WIFI to an outsider is actually harder than it sounds. (and before you say, anaesthesia is greek for no feeling, or without sensation, my lecturer beat you to it. )

 

[Perseas Stratis]

Perseas nodded as Rhiannon talked about the mysterious civilization of Atlantis. He liked a spot close to the sea back at their house in Crete, which he visited everyday during their holidays there to see the vast blue. He was spending hours imagining that the legendary island was somewhere out there under the waves. Perseas couldn't help but also imagine himself discovering first the subject of research of many wizards and muggles. It has nothing to do with fame. He just loved knowing things that most people didn't. "I see you know enough already." he commented as she finished mentioning all the possible locations of Atlantis. Perseas smirked briefly as she didn't mention the location he was speculating after so many books he had read about it. It was again the delight of knowing something she didn't and this was hard to achieve when you had to do with Rhiannon McGowan.

The Gryffindor wouldn't have imagine that the Hufflepuff had another interest apart from books. Even though silver-work in his eyes wasn't the kind of hobby he would dedicate himself, he still thought it was somewhat artistic. Perseas smiled when Rhiannon showed him her necklace which he thought it was a good work for someone of her age and experience. Still smiling, he pulled from underneath the collar of his shirt, a necklace as well. It was an impressive large silver pendant, inspired by the Greek meander symbol, known as well as the Greek Key. The pendant was hammer finished on the back side and was hanging from a black suede choker. "I have cousin who likes working with silver. She creates all sort of stuff and she gave me this one as a birthday present." he shared and his index finger traced the carved pattern on the silver ring. For a person that adored symbolism, it was the perfect gift. Meander had so many secret meanings that hardly anyone knew all of them. "Maybe you get to create stuff like this as you grow up." he encouraged her and wore again the pendant which he hid underneath his top.

Rhiannon seemed to have the same tendency like Perseas' brother. They were both bringing him down to earth when he was flying above the clouds. The difference was that Rhiannon was doing this non-purposely while Theseas was enjoying ruining Perseas' daydreams. Knowing that Rhiannon was just defending the voice of logic, Perseas couldn't hold a grudge against her. "Problem solved!" he exclaimed and snapped his fingers excited. "You could transform yourself into an aquatic animal. A dolphin for example. Wouldn't be fun to be able to explore the sea floor as a dolphin?" he asked. No matter how many times someone was going to tell him he couldn't do something, Perseas was always finding a way out, showing there was nothing he couldn't do. Then he folded his arms on his chest as Rhiannon looked really surprised with his ignorance on what was a surgery. His eyes widened and horror crammed in the grey irises as the girl was describing with gruesome details. With each word she was adding, his expression was getting more and more horrified. "So your father is some sort of a butcher who heals people. A healer-butcher?" he wondered if he got it right although he couldn't understand why someone would agree to undergo such torturing when they could be easily nursed back to health with potions and spells.

Things got even more complicated for the second year Gryffindor when the girl talked about Skype. There were so few times when he was actually understanding what she was saying and more unfamiliar words occurred as she was explaining everything. He tried not to show bemused and nodded slightly his head a couple of times. "Sure I know what an internet connection is." he replied, not sure if he sounded completely convincing. Maybe his brother or Rafael could tell him what the internet was later. He just didn't want to look more clueless in front of Rhiannon. "Since your interweb is not going to work here in Hogwarts, why don't you take the mirrors?" he asked and picked them up again from beside him. He listened her hesitating to accept his offer, claiming they were too expensive and some other excuses. "Hey, don't get me wrong, I'm not granting them to you." he began saying, his usual half smile already forming on his lips. "I'm just lending them to you to talk with your family and to wish to you father 'happy birthday' face to face." he explained, hopping this time she will accept his offer. "Once you're done I want them back. Or I'll hex your head into a pumpkin again." he jested again and winked, the kind of way he was doing when he was thinking of something mischievous.

This time he stood up from the ledge and walked towards her. He handed the pair of mirrors to her and returned back to sit down. "Don't worry about my brother." he started reassuring her. "If he really wanted them, he wouldn't have entrusted me with them." he chuckled. It was true that his twin brother was never sharing with him his most valuable possessions. "You can use my owl if you want to." he remembered she had just sent her own a few minutes ago. Perseas brought thumb and index finger of his right hand between his lips and let a sharp whistle. Cyclops, the one-eyes owl hooted in response as he flew through the opened window and landed next to the boy. "I won't be using him today. He's exceptional at delivering things and he will defend his load quite fiercely." he justified the reason why his owl was missing an eye.

 

[Rhiannon Archer]

Rhiannon wasn't sure if it was possible to know enough, be it about atlantis or on any other topic there was always something morethat could be known though as she had nothing else to say she didnt really say anything, there was no point. he already thought her as a lot of a bookworm. She was surprised by what Perseas decided to show her. it was a rather nice amulet, well crafted, and the pattern on it was interesting, though she wasn't sure quite what it simbolised she was pretty sure it meant something. "It is really nice, you cousin has talent. I the bevelled back is a great idea. she said complementing his cousin in her skill. though when he suggested maybe one day she would be able to make something like that she looked again at it realising the fine artistry of the piece. "I may be able to in the future, though i am not that skilled yet. but i don't know if it is quite my style, I quite like celtic knots, that was only a simple one that i can make, they get far more complex, to the shape of trees or other twisting patterns." she said. her hand going to a necklace she wore though not showing perseas, she had helped make it though maybe helped was to wider term, maybe witnessed and offered suggestions on it.
as conversation turned back to trying to find atlantis and perseas suggested turning into a dolphin to scour the ocean floor she couldn't help put smile a smile which was a laugh on her inside. "out of all the animals to scour the ocean floor a dolphin wouldn't be the best choice. as they still need to breath air. something like a ray would be a far easier choice, and with far fewer breathing interruptions, and the ability to see the electricity of muscle movements'. she said explaining herself. she didn't mean to keep knocking his ideas down, she just sometimes thought too logically, and now was one of those times. the look of shock in Perseas' face when she described what a surgeon did was sort of shocking. her dads job want that shocking was it? and his comparison of it to a butcher was not one that she particularly liked. "no it is nothing like a butcher, a butcher cuts up dead meat to be sold and eaten, a surgeon operates on living people in order to save their lives or make them healthier" she said. thankfully perseas did know what internet connection was. so she was lucky that she wasn't going to have to explain it.
Apparently perseas was serious about letting her borrow the mirrors she was grateful. "If you are sure you won't be needing it then thank you so much" she said extremely grateful to him "I had better write a note to put in with it. she said "how do they work?" she asked wondering if one had to say a code or something to get them to work. she reached into her bag and withdrew a pice of parchment and a biro pen and started to write on it.

"Hello dad, mum, Ewan.
I hope you are well and you got the present i sent about ten minutes ago. This two way mirror is actually borrowed of a good friend of mine so once you have used it please may your send it back. it works like a video call but works by magic. just look into it and say my name and you will see through the other one which i will have with me. also please look after the owl he is called

"what is the owl called, and does he particularly like any treats" she asked perseas so that she could let her parents know how to treat him for the extra journey he was doing for her. once the letter was finished she wrapped it and the mirror up in another pice of parchment. and got it ready to send. it wasn't long before another owl carrying a letter to her parents was vanishing out of the window and into the distance. "thank you so much for that. I will get both the mirror and owl back to you as soon as i can" she said. just as the bird vanished the usual controlled girl did something even she didn't expect. she took a step towards Perseas an gave him a slight quick hug. it was nothing more than a hug between friends, a thank you hug. but still hugs from Rhiannon were rare even if at her previous school they had been almost a form of currency. what was also strange about that moment was that she realised that although Perseas often annoyed her like crazy, especially in class, he was a good guy. He was a better friend, even if she hadn't done much to deserve such a friend.

 

[Perseas Stratis]

Perseas certainly liked to have the last word in a conversation. Rhiannon kept knocking his ideas about the Atlantis topic and pointed out that a ray would be a much better option. "I wouldn't like to turn into prey." he shook his head, disapproving her perspective. "Dolphins eat rays so I hope when you get in a similar situation you won't turn yourself into a ray when you'll be around me." he smirked. He highly doubted if they would ever need to transform into marine animals. Bubble-head charm and gillyweed were much better options for those who desired to explore what was underneath the surface. Perseas discerned a hint of irritation when he called her father a healer-butcher. He couldn't really grasp how someone could heal someone else by cutting them open. The Gryffindor thought he had enough information about muggles' world for today so he didn't push her for further explanations. "You're welcome." he replied with a smile as she thanked him once more. Perseas had recently found out how much he liked helping other. Maybe even more than playing pranks on them. "It's really simple. Simpler than that Hype you mentioned before. You just hold the mirror in front of you and say the name of the person that has the other one." he explained and made a brief demonstration to her by holding the one mirror in front of him while she was holding the other one. He said her name and her reflection appeared on his mirror. His own reflection was on her owns. After his demonstration, Perseas returned the mirror to her.

He gave her some time to complete her explanatory letter to her family. "It isn't so hard really. Much easier than healing while cutting open the patients." he mused and petted his owl's head. "His name is Cyclops. Don't be quick to judge him. His appearance is quite misleading. He's pretty friendly." he said about his pet and the owl gently nibbled the boy's fingers in gratitude. "I just hope your family doesn't have other male owls around. He can be quite competitive." he chuckled. Perseas was still unsure how his owl lost its eye. Cyclops either fought with another male owl or just defended the letter he was delivering from someone who tried to get it. The one-eyed owl certainly didn't like other owls. It was always fighting with his twin brother's one. Perseas offered another treat to his owl as Rhiannon was finishing her letter. "Cyclops is not really picky when it comes to food." he said as the owl gulped greedily the owl treat. Though Perseas thought that it was unlikely for her muggle parents to have such items at their home.

Soon, Cyclops spread his wings and flew out of the window with Rhiannon's letter and mirrors wrapped around his leg. Perseas lips arced a smile and rolled his grey eyes. "How many times are you intending to thank me?" he asked as Rhiannon thanked him once more. Then her act took him by surprise as she wrapped her arms briefly around him to indicate her gratitude. He managed to recover his half smile and pat her on the shoulder. "Ok that's enough. I don't want my notorious reputation to get hurt." Perseas smirked with dancing eyes. "Please don't say anyone that I helped you. I don't want to be called the geek-samaritan" he got straight back into his teasing mode. Enough benevolence for one day. Silence then lingered for a little bit in the tower of prying owl eyes. Perseas took his book back on his laps as he sat down on the ledge and glanced at her way. "So what's your plans for today now that you're done sending owls?" he asked her. Perseas wondered if she was going to refer to books again. Then he realized he was the one who was holding a book.

 

[Rhiannon Archer]

Rhiannon shook her head, drowned dolphins can't eat anything. but if you want to be top of the food chain try a shark. she said, she had sort of lost track of what they were talking about. was it still what it would be better to explore . glad that she didn't have to explain how things worked any more. things were harder to describe than it sounded. she smiled shyly as he said she was welcome. not saying anything until he said it was easier to use than hype. "It it skype, like the sky. it does sound easy, just let my get that down" she said jotting it into the letter.
"we don't have any owls. te only other owl will be the one i sent the birthday present with. other than that we just have sushi my cat who is here anyway. though they did mention looking after our neighbours dog when they were away but i can't remember when that was" she said. at the sound of the name of the owl she nodded. "it suits him" she said. "and he seems sort of sweet under a rough set of feathers. cyclops and he is borrowed off a friend. also if passable could you treat them to something nice, some meat offcuts or something would be perfect. once again have a great birthday dad love Rhi. she finished writing before rolling the parchment up and placing it on top of the mirror which she wrapped with some more paper and spellotape.
soon the owl was on its way and perseas was starting to see a little uncomfortable with the thanks. okay I will stop" she said rolling her eyes as he patted her o the shoulder a gesture of not knowing how to act. "don't worry i doubt it will ruin your reputation, i cant see anyone else up here" she said looking around as if looking for people lurking in the shadows or hidden CCTV cameras undoubtedly linked to RHI, the magazine (if it could be called that). "you wouldn't be called the greek samaritan anyway, if you follow tat base you would be the good greek." she said assuming he was using the bible story of the good Samaritan as a basis. after a year and a half she had gotten used to his teasing and had figured the easiest way to deal with it was to sort of tease him back by fixing his mistakes.
at the mention of what was planned for the rest of the day she looked down unsurely, "actually this afternoon i have some maths homework to catch up on, and an english essay to write." she said. she had continued doing muggle schooling this year so that she wouldn't fall too far behind and thus she could take her uni entrance exams once she graduated as she didn't think UTas would accept OWLs and NEWTS as proof of schooling. "are you doing much today" se asked wondering if he was planning on spending the day reading about lost cities and sea monsters or if he was going on one of his, usually out of bounds, adventures.

 

[Perseas Stratis]

It was a rare thing for Perseas to give up insisting on his opinion when he was stubborn as a mule. In this case though, Rhiannon was proved even more stubborn than him and the Gryffindor swallowed his pride and accepted his defeat. "Whatever." he sighed exhausted when he had no more arguments to make. "It's never going to happen anyway." he shrugged and set aside the topic.

Perseas was right that a muggle house wasn't going to have owls as pets. Her cat wouldn't be in trouble with Cyclops around although Perseas' owl was known for hunting prey of the size of a cat. He just hoped that his purely good intention wasn't going to turn bad.
"You should thank me when you'll get the mirrors in your hands. Now there's no point." he stated as he thought that he might had been a little bit curt with her. It was easy to misunderstand Perseas Stratis when he was a boy who didn't really want to show emotions openly, thus choosing to adopt the profile of the naughty kid. "That's what you say. If you ask me, this castle's walls have ears of their own." Perseas looked around them at the stone walls like he was expecting to see ears sprouting on them. "And don't forget that gossip magazine. I don't want to see myself on the front page for helping people around. I much prefer a tribute on my well-planned pranks." he chuckled and imagined how cool would be that. Perseas highly doubted that this was ever going to happen when the pages of this publication was featuring trash about everyone. Making sure that his name wasn't mentioned in the next issue was just enough.

For once more Rhiannon had him speechless when she started analyzing in her own unique way, something that she misheard from him. It certainly took him a minute to recover and finally say. "Geek Samaritan. Not Greek!" he chuckled. "Samaritan is also someone who helps people. In my case geeks, not Greeks, but geeks like you." he thought that this misinterpretation was hilarious. "And look what you've done to me. I'm also taking like you now." he said amused when he realized he had started analyzing things the way Rhiannon did. "You're a really bad influence." he finally teased. He was having much more fun when he was hanging out with the Hufflepuff than he had thought of. She was actually not that predictable as he had believed but some things were just this way. Like when she told him that her plans for today were about homework and study. "Boring..." /color]he yawned ostentatiously. "Why don't you take some time to have real fun. Like join me to a broom flight." he suggested hopeful. "I was planning to explore the grounds from a bird-eye view later today. Why don't you join me?" he said, realizing that this was such a predictable suggestion from his part but definately much more interesting than hers.

 

[Briar Rowan-Cullen]

sorry wrong account

 

[Rhiannon Archer]

rhiannon was a little surprised when Perseas seemed to falter and then sort of step down from the debate. in truth she had lost track on what they were debating but she knew she could be stubborn at times so she had kept going. though she hadn't thought perseas was the kind who back down and she wan't intentionally being obnoxious. "yeah, whatever. I cant actually remember what we were debating over" she said agreeing with him that it wasn't worth the debate.
when he said she could thank him again once she had the mirrors she smiled. "you are actually giving you an opportunity to thank you agin" she said shocked "i will remember and ensure i do" she added teasing him slightly. if he was allowed to tease her then why shouldn't she be able to tease him back. well so log as it was within her abilities. she couldn't help chuckle when Perseas said he wanted to be known for his pranks and not his generosity and mentioned ears in the wall. "i am sure you will manage that. just next time please can you let me know which staircases will be veneered with oil so i can avoid them, or at least prepare myself" she said remembering the first of his pranks that she had fallen victim to when a staircase had been covered in oil causing her and Raf to fall down it.
the look on perseas' face when she said greek Samaritan was one of confusion. she wondered what was wrong. until he explained that she had misheard him. "a Samaritan is someone from Samaria, a place that is now part of the west bank. the newer meaning of being someone who helps someone else comes from a parable in the bible. she said before she realised how he probably didn't care what she was saying and stopped. she did however laugh when he said that she had gotten him talking like her. "that isn't a bad thing. and don't forget you are reading a book" she said as he said she was a bad influence on him. "i think you are the bad influence, for persuading raf to go on a night adventure for starts. she chuckled when she said she was a bad influence before looking down at her skirt pilling on a loose bit of hem that was in need of being resown, and letting her air fall across her face to hide the slight blush in her cheeks. the twelve year old didn't know why she was blushing.
when he rolled his eyes she shrugged. to be honest english essays were still as painful as ever but she liked maths so she was going to get the essay done first. At his suggestion of going flying she shook her head. "no thank you. i cant seem to stay on a broom for longer than sixty seconds so i wouldn't be a good companion. and besides X isn't going to find its self" she said standing up and gathering her things. part of her didn't want to leave first. she had enjoyed talking to perseas and he certainly wasn't as annoying as she had thought. but she knew she head other things to do. so instead she stood by a small barn owl who had just landed on a perch near where she was standing, probably thinking she was looking for someone to send a letter and she reached and stroked it for a moment feeling relaxed and both trying and not trying to think of what roll the setting played in locky lenard.

 

[Perseas Stratis]

Perseas thought he had stayed long enough around this girl, he could describe with one word as a weirdo. He decided not to debate further with her nor try to persuade her into joining him in an aerial race.
"Do as you wish." he shrugged and jumped off the ledge. "Just live life a little bit. The world is out there. Not in books." he said and gestured outside the window. He picked up his book and shoved it in his bag before putting the straps over his shoulders.
"Remember, I need the mirrors back so be careful and don't break them. It will be seven years of bad luck for you." he said. It was more of a tease than a warning. "I guess I'll be seeing you around. Watch out for greased stairs and Zeus knows what else comes in my mind." he let a last of his half smiles and turned around to face the open window. "Accio broom!" he pointed his wand outside the window. "Goodbye! Have fun studying!" he said and climbed on the ledge. "Woohoo!" Perseas exclaimed as he jumped off the window. The wind brushed his dark hair and felt gravity pulling him closer to the ground but his broom arrived in time and he landed on it. Gaining control of it, he flew once around the Owlery tower and then zoomed towards the Forbidden Forest.