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 Posted: Tue Mar 03, 2015 8:33 pm
"S-South America? I think my sister's b-been there." He made a mental note to ask Abigail about driftwood from that place; that would be something she probably wouldn't think to bring him unless he asked. Her idea of presents usually included less valuable bits from treasures that she was paid to lift curses from; driftwood to her would probably be just garbage.
He wrinkled his nose at the thought of a noisy dinner. It was true; during the meals, the Great Hall throbbed with a dull roar at its absolute quietest, making it hard to concentrate and forcing you to practically touch noses with people in order to be heard by them. "That's w-why I like the c-common area better."
He cleared his throat and started slowly walking backwards toward the common area entrance, not one for smooth partings. "I'll j-just organize these, and I'll s-see you in a bit." Already feeling more awkward than he liked, he turned and tried not to run toward the entrance; the last thing he needed was to trip up AGAIN.
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Posted: Tue Mar 03, 2015 8:56 pm
Nahuel was surprised to hear Basil had a sister who had been to South America. "That's pretty cool. Maybe one day you'll get a chance to go there. It's a pretty nice place to live." Nahuelk told him.
Nahuel nodded in agreement. " Me too. If they let us take meals back to our common Rooms I would so do that. At least then I could finish a plate without getting jostled so badly."
Nahuel was a little surprised when Basil started walking backwards to the entrance to their House common room. "Okay, see you later then." Nahuel replied with a small wave, and then settled back in his spot behind the barrel to finish up with his notes. They still had at least ten minutes before the dinner bell, he was going to make good use of those minutes.
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Posted: Wed Mar 04, 2015 2:12 am
Basil couldn't help but smile at the thought of going to South America; the way his father was, the only way he could was if Abigail took him, and he knew she would never take him along on her job. It was dangerous work, and she wouldn't want to see him get hurt by any stray curses. He felt a small jab of sadness as he couldn't help but think that if things had been different, and his father less heartbroken, they might very well have planned a family outing to South America, if just to enjoy one of the places his sister had gone to.
He dismissed the sad thought with a more amused one of what would happen if the school did indeed let students take their food up. It would be pretty hard on the house elves, looking for all of those stray plates and forks! Not to mention how brazen the rats would get with so much more food about. Some things were just better off being practical.
He entered the common area with no more mishap and wasted no time in dropping down on his bed and arranging his notes in front of him; he would have this lot back in order in no time!
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Posted: Tue Apr 07, 2015 11:21 am
Nahuel tried to get back to studying, but his notes now seemed so flat and dull in comparison to Basil’s couplets. He wished he were more imaginative when it came to trying to remember all the things he needed to know in his classes. After a few more moments of trying to finish his notes, he gave up in a huff and stuffed his papers and book back into his bag and huffed loudly. His exhale of air made his bangs fly up from his face.
“Whatcha doing girly hair boy?” Piped a high pitched voice from above him.
Nahuel was rather startled by the voice and jerked his gaze up to find a very small house elf peering down at him from atop the pile of barrels in front of the Hufflepuff Entrance. The highly inquisitive face made her look all squinty-eyed, but Nahuel knew better than to laugh. House elves seemed to be much more sensitive than people gave them credit for.
He stood up and ran a hand through his hair. “Oh not much, I was just working on some school work. “ He replied with a sigh. “My name is Nahuel, what’s your name?” He asked stepping closer with his hand slightly raised.
The small elf jumped back in alarm with a shriek of fear. “No Touchy! No Touchy! Trimble will be good!”
Nahuel’s face turned darker when he noticed the bruises up and down her arms and he backed away slowly so not to frighten the poor house-elf any further. “I’m not going to hurt you,” Nahuel told her slowly. “I was just going to shake your hand. Is someone hurting you? Is there any way I can help?”
The house elf moved her hands down from her head and blinked her large eyes at him. Then she sniffled and rubbed her nose on the sleeve of her old ragged dress. “Why would you want to help me? I’m nobody.”
Nahuel frowned at this. “Trimble just because you are a house elf doesn’t mean you are a nobody. Someone took the time to name you after all. If you were nobody special, you wouldn’t have a name.” He told her gently. In his mind, this sort of reasoning would make sense to Trimble.
She screwed up her face as she thought it over and then beamed at him. “Makes sense to Trimble.” She said taking his hand and shaking it vigorously.
When she shook his hand, her dress fell off of her shoulder revealing several overlapping large bruises on her neck and arm. Nahuel frowned eying them. They were the perfect size to be a second year’s hands. It made him angry that a student was abusing such a small defenseless creature.
“Trimble, how did you get those bruises?” He asked, trying not to let his anger show.
“Oh, Trimble is just clumsy and falls too much. “ The small elf said in a nervous manner glancing down at her feet.
Nahuel wasn’t really sure if he believed her explanation. The marks looked way too much like fingers, especially those around her neck. A lot of pressure had to have been used to produce bruises like that.
It angered him that an innocent creature like Trimble could be abused and harmed in Hogwarts without anyone doing anything about it. It was a travesty to him. He wondered how long Trimble’s abuse had gone on for and why no one had noticed before now. He was going to have to get to the bottom of this and do something to help her before something worse happened.
“ I don’t think Nah boy can help,” Trimble replied nervously twisting her fingers through the holes in her smock.
Nahuel realized with a shock that her smock was made out of an old pillowcase. He gritted his teeth and drew in a deep breath. Did all house-elves wear clothing made out of discarded items that wizards were done with? Did they not really have anything that was made specifically for them?
He clenched his hands at his sides trying to not let the injustice overwhelm him. It didn’t seem fair that the social ladders were so far removed in the Magicking World. Those that served wizards should have rights just like their masters had. They should be allowed to have some freedoms and not be slaves, but servants because they wanted to be.
Nahuel wasn’t sure he really cared for how the wizards and witches lived in Europe. They didn’t seem to care for the lesser races that much. It was pretty much against everything that Nahuel had been taught his whole life in North America. If he could he wanted to be someone who would change that. He knew though that it would be an uphill battle and it would take a long time to change the minds of men and women who were set in their old way of doing things.
“Nah boy should get cleaned up for dinner,” Trimble chirped suddenly bringing him out of his thoughts.
“Thank you, Trimble, I will do that. I will help you as much as I can. It might not be right now, but it will happen and soon.” He promised her solemnly.
Trimble blinked and stared up at him wide-eyed. Then she gave him a small smile.
“Okay Nah boy, now go wash up!” Before he could say another word, Trimble disappeared with a loud pop.
Nahuel scratched his head in wonderment. He had thought only the headmaster was allowed to disapparate in Hogwarts. Maybe House Elves had a magic that was different? That was another thing that he would have to find out about.
Nahuel’s stomach growled loudly reacting to the aromas of cooking food that was wafting from the kitchen. Grabbing his book and notes, Nahuel beat out the rhythm on the second barrel and then scrambled down the tunnel into the Hufflepuff Common Room. He scurried around a group of girls that had gathered in front of the entrance.
“Excuse me Ladies,’ Nahuel said politely as he passed them.
“Too bad he’s not older, he’s pretty cute don’t you think?” One of the second year girls asked loudly, causing Nahuel’s cheeks to heat up.
Nahuel tried to ignore the slightly panicked feeling that rose in him as he squeezed through the large doors with a group of Gryffindors. The noise of the student voices rang loudly off of the rafters of the large room. It was almost too much for his sensitive ears, why did everyone have to be so dang loud all the time?
He spotted Basil sitting at the end of the Hufflepuff table near the doors and slide onto the bench next to him.
“Don’t mind me,” He told the other as he moved so there was at least a foot of space between them. Then Nahuel covered his ears with his hands and started on one of his breathing exercises. He took one deep breath, helped it and then slowly exhaled letting every last bit of air out of his lungs before taking another deep breath. After a few minutes of this exercise he was feeling less panicked and overwhelmed. He slowly pulled his right hand off of his ear and then was relieved that the voices weren’t so loud or bothersome. He removed his other hand and glanced around.
“Much better,” He murmured and then glanced over at Basil and then up at the teacher’s table. “I hope they all get here soon, I’m starved.” He moaned as his stomach rumbled loudly.
"So tell me Basil, if you knew someone was abusing one of the house-elves what would you do about it? I am trying to figure out who to talk to about it."
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Posted: Fri Apr 24, 2015 6:53 pm
With no such thing as mistreated house elves bothering him, Basil was quick to rearrange his notes to his satisfaction, even as he kept stealing glances at the foot of his bed where he trunk was. Somewhere at the bottom were all his stories that he had written since arriving. He imagined a delicate figure of a swan keeping the stories company, wrapped carefully in the softest sweater he owned; he was far too afraid to keep it out in the open. He imagined coming back in from dinner one night to find it smashed into pieces on the floor, not so much as a sorry note. He had heard of such things happening, and though he didn't even have the figure to cherish yet, the thought of something happening to it was already getting him worked up.
Putting the thought from his mind, he gathered up his notes and walked back out into the Hufflepuff common area, where he kept his eyes resolutely to the floor and made eye contact with no one. Many of them were still getting ready to go to dinner; if he hurried, he could have a nice, inconspicuous spot on the bench, with a quick escape route to the door in case any of the other students decided to get.....rambunctious. He once witnessed a food fight between a handful of Slytherins and Gryffindors where it escalated to the point where they were tossing charms and cantrips as often as mashed potatoes and mutton joints. Anyone caught in the crossfire was quite unlucky, and by the time the teachers were able to get things settled, five had to go to the hospital wing and both houses had so many points docked that it would be a miracle if either of them even stood a chance for the House Cup.
He saw at a glance that he had arrived before his friend, and luckily it seemed as though nobody was interested in starting a food fight at the moment. Choosing a spot close to the hall entrance, he settled in and waited. It wasn't long before he saw Nahuel moving toward him, and he inched sideways a bit to make room. He watched with a bit of concern at the other as he blocked his ears and breathed. When he saw the other remove his hands, he nodded at the statement and ventured, "D-do you have a h-headache?"
He blinked in surprise as the other spoke of abusing house elves, and instead of asking why, he pondered the question. His family had no house elves, but he was not unfamiliar with the general treatment, or lack thereof, of the creatures. Abigail had once told him a story about how a particularly malicious wizard had kept his treasure room guarded by the zombie remains of several generations of his house elves. To this day she was never certain if they had been merely reanimated, or if the souls of the hapless creatures were still bound within the rotting shells, doomed to die again and again to protect their master's wealth. Such a thing was beyond horrifying.
"Well....." he mused, remembering suddenly to raise his voice a bit in order to be heard above the hubbub. "H-house elves are employed b-by the school, right? S-so someone of the s-school should be t-told. He tilted his head a little in thought. "What about a n-note under the h-headmaster's door? D-do you know the elf's n-name?"
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Posted: Fri Apr 24, 2015 7:14 pm
Nahuel was surprised to hear Basil's concern for him. He shook his head stating, "No, I was just trying to keep all this noise from getting to me. Too much noise tends to overwhelm me. I'm not used to it."
With dinner still not in sight, Nahuel drummed his fingers on the table. He wasn't impatient or anything but just needed something to do while he waited.
He winced when the table behind him suddenly roared with rancorous laughter that reverberated around him. He glanced over with an annoyed glare and then sighed and tried to hone in on what Basil was trying to say.
The stuttering actually helped him catch what he was saying which was surprising. "Sounds like a good idea. Though..I think we should try catching them in action before we try and get a teacher involved. I'm sure they'll want evidence of who is doing it before they can do anything, right?"
He paused and glanced around before leaning in closer to reply to Basil.
"Her name is Trimble. Would you want to help me catch whoever it is that is hurting her? I figure two witnesses is better than one."
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Posted: Fri Apr 24, 2015 8:14 pm
Basil nodded, though he had a different opinion on the matter of excessive noise. While obviously his friend disliked it, he found it rather useful as a means of being unnoticed. With so many other distractions going on around every student's head, it would be far less likely for them to home in on the small boy with chocolate skin, silky locks and strange ways. He looked down at the empty plates forlornly, then started at the bout of raucous laughter and noticed that a few other students had taken to banging their forks and knives on the table like savages waiting for their wenches to bring them slabs of greasy meat. He blew his bangs out, then blinked as he suddenly thought of a way he could use that in one of his stories. A gang of barbarians, who murder swans in the hopes of obtaining their ferocity and bravery in the face of battle.......
His thoughts were interrupted by his friend suggesting they find some tangible evidence, and he nodded. "The h-house elf p-probably won't say anything, s-so we need to get some more......d-damning evidence." He didn't mind saying such a word; if used properly it could be quite eloquent. Most students just didn't know how to use such words right. He nodded and then mused. "W-we would have to either get r-really lucky, or we w-would have to take turns f-following her around, or we m-might not see them at all. D-do you have a plan?"
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Posted: Fri Apr 24, 2015 8:48 pm
Nahuel could see that the antics of the other table had startled Basil as well. Not really all that surprising, they were being super loud. He hoped dinner would arrive soon and shut them up. They were starting to get on his nerves.
Nahuel nodded in agreement with Basil's words. "She seemed to be afraid to say anything. I wonder if whoever it was scared her or something. It may not be very easy to get the evidence that we need. I was thinking maybe there was a spell we could use to spy on her and whoever might be bothering her." Nahuel replied. "Of course this means I'll have to do some research on how to do that."
Cheers broke out from the students around them, causing Nahuel to look up and see that the tardy professor was finally at the head table. He was rather relieved and glad that dinner would be arriving shortly.
"Finally, now maybe these neanderthals will grow up." Nahuel sighed with relief.
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Posted: Sat Apr 25, 2015 3:26 am
Basil nodded in agreement to the other's observation. "H-house elves aren't exactly seen as p-people. She p-probably wouldn't see the p-point in coming forward." He pondered for a moment. "I bet there's something we c-could use." He had heard of certain spying tools that some of the students like to use, for fun and games of course. But perhaps, coupled with some good spells....or.....
He suddenly gasped and looked at Nahuel with wide eyes. "H-hey! What if we got a c-camera! It would take a moving p-picture of the culprit!" Of course, he mused, such a device would give off a blinding flash when used, giving away their position entirely, which would be bad if Trimble's bully turned out to be a big, brawny student with more muscle than brains.
The cheering caused him to look up at the professor, then at the table, which was bare a second ago but was now piled high with platter after platter of steaming food. At least it had caused the noisy students to cease their senseless drumming and put their silverware to much better use. "I wonder......" he couldn't help but say aloud as he began to fill up his plate, "If you're h-house elf is helping serve f-food tonight."
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Posted: Sat Jun 06, 2015 5:18 pm
Nahuel couldn't help but feel annoyed with Basil's words. He knew that was just how Europeans believed and that he wasn't going to be able to change their minds about something that they had believed for centuries.
"You're probably right about that. What would be the point of doing anything if no one really cares about her?" He sighed and frowned at that thought. When he heard Basil's sudden gasp he flinched and glanced over at him. Basil had a strange wild look in his eyes.
Nahuel perked up at his idea and stroked his chin with a finger as he thought it over. "That could work, but the flash would probably scare her and alert the person bullying her. Wait, I thought electronics don't work at Hogwarts, how would a camera be of any help?" He asked suddenly remembering something that had been said at the beginning of the school year.
Nahuel was relieved when the platters of food appeared on the tables and shut up the noisy kids behind them. He started to reach for some roast beef when he heard Basil mutter something under his breath.
"What..." he started adnd then heard the ending part. "Maybe, but I doubt they'd let themselves be seen." He answered glancing around the Great Hall.
"Say, how exactly does this food get here? It kind of just appeared, like how Trimble disappeared into thin air earlier. I suppose they are using magic to make it appear right? Their magic must be different right? Cause I thought only the professors and the headmaster were allowed to disapparate in the school."
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Posted: Sat Jun 13, 2015 8:50 pm
Basil sighed at the thought; he knew what it was like to have someone not care about him. Of course that wasn't quite fair; he knew his father DID care, but it was hard to remember that he did when he spent day after day just sitting in his study, staring off into space and pining for a person who had done him and his family so wrong. If only he could just wake up and realize that they were all better off without her and should just focus on forgetting she was ever a part of their lives.
He wrinkled his nose as Nahuel mentioned the general uselessness of electronics. "You're right.....t-they don't work here. I f-forgot. We'd have t-to get an old camera that d-doesn't rely on electricity, and t-those are too hard to f-find now." He scratched his head in puzzlement; he supposed the Room of Requirement could have such a thing, but there was no way of knowing if it could be removed or even in a spot that would be easy for them to find; rumor had it that room could be as small as a lavatory or as large as a cathedral.
He did brighten a little at his friend's musings; he had once been a tiny part of a scheme by other first years to elicit some extra food from the kitchens one night. He remembered being surprised that they would even consider them, since to this day he had no idea who they were, only that they were members of his house. But that one trip had given him a bit of knowledge that he had had little use for recollecting until now. "Oh, the h-house elves work b-below us." He pointed to the table, now almost at the creaking point with mounds of food. "The k-kitchens are right below the Great Hall, and r-right below us are four tables that are right below these four. When it's time to eat, the house elves put it on the t-tables and lift it up to the tables r-right here. Neat, huh?"
Basil fell back into deep thought after all of this talking, and he blinked as he felt a sudden tiny idea taking root in his brain. "You know.......if your house elf d-did work in the kitchens.....I t-think I might have an idea."
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Posted: Sat Jun 13, 2015 9:36 pm
Nahuel had no idea what the melancholy sounding sigh was for, but he couldn't help but wonder what might be bugging Basil so much.
"Are you feeling well Bas?" He queried looking closely at him.
Nahuel slowly worked at eating the plate of food savoring and trying to ignore the troll like eating rituals of the kids around him. He really didn't see the point of stuffing one's face so full. He was surprised more of them didn't choke on the mammoth mouthfuls they were trying to scarf down.
Nahuel nodded as Basil remembered about electronics not working. "I imagine they are, and don't those make even more noise? At least that's what I've heard." He commented.
Nahuel was surprised by Basil's knowledge. He wondered how he had found out about that. "that is pretty interesting, I guess most kids are too busy listening to the headmaster to notice the table is getting switched out on them. I certainly didn't notice." he mused.
"I think she does, she made a comment about needing to get to the kitches before dinner. And that I should wash up so I wouldn't be late." He added.
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Posted: Sat Jun 13, 2015 9:55 pm
Basil blinked a tiny bit, just as much from snapping out of his sad train of thought than being called Bas; he hadn't really been called any sort of nickname before, one that was nice and had nothing to do with how weird his name was, at any rate. It was actually kind of nice, like something a regular kid with a regular name would experience; he could sure use more of those kind.
"Yeah," he said a bit gloomily, poking the top of his shepherd's pie with a fork and looking at the tiny holes in the mashed potatoes. "It's no f-fun when someone d-doesn't seem to care about you." He suddenly looked up in shock, realizing that he had let something so personal just slip out for everyone to hear.....well maybe just Nahuel, but still, he was usually so careful about keep his personal life hidden.
Trying to divert the subject a bit, he focused once more on the goings on in the kitchens. "Oh the t-tables stay put, but the food floats up t-through the upper tables. Which gives me an idea about w-what to do about your house elf." He leaned in as though to whisper, his stutter starting to vanish. "If the other house elves know w-what's going on, maybe they can lure the bully to the kitchens, WE can lure a teacher to the hall, and then we can get him to b-bully the house elf on one of the tables, and the others could make the pair float right up to the hall where the teacher can see! I'm sure they'd want to help their friend."
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Posted: Mon Jan 25, 2016 9:35 pm
Nahuel didn't notice that his use of shortening Basil's name had caused an effect on his new friend. It was just something Nahuel was used to doing, not that he had ever had a nickname of his own. Mostly cause he thought his name was too odd to get a cool nickname out of.
Nahuel's keen eyes took in the shocked expression and figured commenting on what he had said would only make Basil clam up. He could tell that it was something really personal and he hadn't meant to say it out loud. Nahuel just shrugged at the comment and finished off his food and laid his fork across his plate to show that he was done.
Nahuel kept his gaze to the side of Basil's plate so not to overwhelm the other boy too much. He had been told before that his black eyes tended to become really intense when he focused them on someone. It worked rather well when he had to deal with bullies, but not so much when he wanted to make a friend. He really like Basil and didn't want to jeopardize his new friendship with the other boy.
"That could definitely work. I imagine that they would want to help her. When should we set this up? Maybe early morning? That way the bully won't think he'll get caught? We'll have to figure out what teachers are up early so we can lure one in here."
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Posted: Mon Jan 25, 2016 10:21 pm
Basil nodded, getting more eager and less stutter-y with each moment. "It would be easy; the teachers are usually up early s-so they can get the lessons ready. We just need to get one of them to come to the Great Hall. A good, trustworthy teacher that the others would believe."
He pondered for a moment. "Though....it might be a problem to get the bully there that early. Students usually don't have a reason to b-be up so early." He chuckled to himself. "Only thing that would give a big, stupid bully a reason to be up is if someone was picking on HIM." His face suddenly lit up as he turned to Nahuel. "And I think we b-both know who the best tormentor is in this place! I've never seen him around though; have you, Nahuel?"
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