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Stone Wall https://i.postimg.cc/bJwwhw9T/stone-wall-banner5.jpg The further you venture into the dungeons, the closer you get to reaching the entrance to where the Slytherins reside. For many years, however, not a single soul who wasn't a member of the green and silver house has gained entrance into their sanctuary. This primarily is in part due to the maze of corridors that are designed to confuse and disjoint you. This is not the most ideal place to get lost, so tread with caution. |
For the one this one hates even more than Emmerson Quinn stood against the wall opposite the entrance to the Slytherin common room. He never normally ventured down this way for fear of getting turned around and never making it where he wanted to go, but today he was determined, and having some Slytherin friends came with perks. Truthfully, Quinn would rather be at the bottom of the Black Lake with no Bubble-Head Charm than standing right here, and it showed in his stance—arms crossed, foot tapping, eyebrows furrowed. But he needed to speak to... the Upstead one... or else he just might die from his brain exploding. And they were the only person Quinn could talk to about this, which he was extremely frustrated about. If he could never talk to Nemesis Upstead again after this moment then everything would be right in the world. And Quinn was not going out of his way to search for them, so he would wait here until Nem either came out or went back in, wherever he was. |
i have arrived Perhaps unsurprisingly, Nem spent very little time just hanging out in the common room, shooting the breeze with the other Slytherins, and that was without even factoring in last term. Other than occasionally stopping in to collect something from their trunk or the like, they had no interest in the place. Nem had found alternative locations for sleeping, years ago, and the lighting in there was just unnecessarily dramatic, as were most of the students. Today Nem had some things they needed to drop off: books they were finished with, and a couple of graded homework assignments. They noted Kingsley on their approach to the stone wall, and paused. "Who are you waiting for?" Nem would get them for him. They were so helpful like that. |
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"You, actually." He had to consciously switch gears from saying sadly instead of actually, causing the sentence to sound a bit choppy. "Yes, I'm shocked, too, but.... I have a personal question and you're kind of the only person I know who would be, er... qualified to answer it," Quinn admitted begrudgingly. He had so many things he wanted to say about how he would've literally cut off his foot to not have to rely on Nemesis in this manner, or how he wanted to punch Nemesis in some very not nice places for everything they did last term, or how he would not have minded one bit if Nemesis walked into the Forbidden Forest and never came out, but he bit his tongue. He just hoped that they had some sort of morals or ethics that would lead them to be genuinely helpful with his question. |
The sigh. The drama. Nemesis considered Kingsley for a moment, his slouch against the wall, the tone of his voice. On this occasion, however, it was more what was said that caught their attention, rather than the manner in which it was spoken. ... Well, no. That too. While not exactly shocked, Nem couldn't say they'd expected that. "Oh?" They turned just ever so slightly in his direction, a subtle change that nevertheless switched their whole demeanour from 'better things to do' to 'ready to engage'. "Alright. What's your question?" Kingsley's hope for morals and ethics would be in vain, as much as waiting for Nem's cold, dead, black, shrivelled up heart to start pumping out sunshine, rainbows, and birdsong. Fortunately for Kingsley, they didn't need those things in any kind of working order before they were willing to help a kid in need. |
Quinn sighed again, but this time out of nerves. This... was such a strange question and he still wasn't sure how to phrase it. "Um, well.... how... um..." He trailed off, his face reddening out of embarrassment of looking stupid. "H-how did you.... know that, um.... you.... er.... that you were—or, er, weren't? How did you know you weren't.... um.... regular? Well, no, that's... that sounds... wrong.... um..." Quinn groaned with frustration. He wasn't sure how to properly express what was going through his head. "You, like... you have people calling you he but you also have people calling you they so like... what... how.... how did you know that... that that was, y'know... you?" He decided that that was where he would stop trying to speak because that was about the best way that he could find to articulate what he wanted to know. He did not look Nem in the eyes because his face was still burning and he hated that he would have to be seen like this by one of his least favorite people. |
Weren't... regular. For a split second, just a wild moment, Nem thought Kingsley knew. He took long enough to get the rest of the words out that they had time to briefly entertain the thought, the flash of fury directed first inwardly and then quickly diverted to Malachi Trent. The next second, while the Ravenclaw was still stammering, it passed. The Headsman had not said anything, it was more than his job's worth to go spilling personal details about his students, especially in such a manner that other students might find out, and he likely understood that his job was one of the first things Nem would target, swift and without mercy. That... had been a thrilling little moment though. Nem was almost dizzy with it. Their expression changed only infinitesimally, a distracted and almost hungry faraway look, before refocusing. Perhaps the kid would be so preoccupied with finding the right words that he wouldn't notice, but even if he did, it didn't matter. They filed the thoughts away, focused on the matter at hand. "I see." Well, that made sense. It was a wonder nobody had come to ask Nem anything about it before this moment, even prior to the takeover, though that seemed to be a recurring theme. Not that anyone would have found too much in the way of personal information, given how revealing the whole situation was. Even this they had turned into a power struggle, wrestling control from their own body. But now Kingsley had questions; Nem was certain it was tearing the kid up, that they might share something in common, that help from Nemesis Upstead was required. They considered Kingsley for a long moment, assessing and deciding, weighing up every word before proceeding. "I just knew. I knew there was a disconnect between what everyone said I was, and what I felt, and that the latter was the truth of it." Every word weighed carefully. "I wish I had a better answer for you; I only know that it was something I always knew. It was easy to grasp the concept, that if I didn't feel like one thing, I must have been another, but it was a few years before I understood that I was something outside of all that." They could have spoken a great deal on this subject for a very long time, but held off. Being careful. It sounded like they were going to stop there, but after another moment of consideration, Nem added, "If you're questioning this kind of thing, I'd say that's a clue. Not a sure sign, but a clue that there's something worth exploring." |
Quinn could barely even look at Nem, let alone catch subtle changes in their look and demeanor. He didn't catch anything that would pique his interest until Nem started speaking. An anxiousness flared up in Quinn's chest. He was hoping there was some sort of requirement or a checklist of things that had to be accounted for before saying Hey, maybe this whole "boy" thing isn't for me. But he also felt relieved that he wasn't crazy, because... he did know. The inner turmoil that he was going through was because he knew but he didn't want to know because knowing meant it was true and truth meant it was real. And it being real was not an option for Quinn. But now he knew which meant it was true which meant it was real. He was... different. He was something that he couldn't quite put into words or pin down but he was something different and he couldn't handle being any more different than he already was. Quinn sighed and slid down the wall into a sitting position, putting his face in his hands. Tears started flooding his eyes. "I...I can't be this, too..!" he said, not even knowing exactly what this is. If his parents found this out it would be the nail in the coffin. And he was already having struggles with Atlas, and now.... how would he ever be able to tell Atlas the truth? |
Nem was not in the business of being alarmed, even by sudden public displays of emotion - displays they would call dramatic but which were, in essence, no more over-the-top than the average person might indulge in. Therein lay the problem, but that was not for here. At any rate, such a show was as good a confirmation as any. While emotionality was not their wheelhouse, they did have a lot of practice in dealing with it; when Kingsley slumped to the floor like that, there was a short delay during which Nem had to actively puzzle out how to handle an upset twelve year old. Not that they had any obligation, nor would they feel even remotely bad about walking off and leaving the kid here without a second thought. Not that they also didn't consider doing such a thing, but ultimately, Nem also sat, but leaned back against the wall opposite Kingsley and stretched out their long legs across the stone floor. Tactical move, really. If someone happened upon this scene and saw little Quinn Kingsley in a tearful ball on the floor while mean old Nemesis Upstead was towering there, conclusions would be drawn that would not favour Nem, and from there it could go in any direction. Easier to just sit, and opposite was better than adjacent; Kingsley still didn't like them, and there was no point playing at familiarity. Nem did not play around with hollow words of comfort either, only stated the facts, as they saw them - those could be a source of comfort anyway, depending on the person. "You are who you are, even if you don't want to act on it." Doing something about it in the external sense, they meant. That's what they had done, what with presenting in a certain way, commandeering a certain kind of perception from others. "You can keep it to yourself, if you have to, but hiding who you are brings its own problems. It sucks." Kingsley could have that one for free. "You'll need to weigh up all the options for yourself." Another pause, but not quite long enough to allow for a response, then Nem added, "'Too'?" |
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