Old Habits Die Hard PV Closed

Kent was wandering. He was still getting his bearings, taking some time to familiarize himself with the huge school and its surrounding areas. With little choice, the Hufflepuff had taken notes, because remembering all of the stuff he was told was basically impossible. Which had brought on a new problem, writing with inks and quills!

Who in their right mind uses feathers for writing? What's wrong with pens?

Still, Kent had to fall in line, it was expected. And for all the weird differences, he couldn't deny they were equally as interesting... even if they were really hard to get used to, which would take time, perhaps all year at the rate he was going. But that didn't really matter, since Kent planned on skimming through classes and focusing his efforts on Quidditch. That was the goal, be a star Quidditch player, earn a huge contract and go professional, assuming there was such a thing. He hoped so.

Walking through the front courtyard, or at least Kent assumed it was the front, he noticed a heap of leaflets scattered throughout the area. With a frown, the Hufflepuff looked around, seeing some floating in the fountain in the middle of the courtyard, some flying away around pillars and away on the wind. He figured someone might have dropped them, right up until he noticed some girl being manhandled by some bigger guy...

Kent narrowed his eyes.

The Hufflepuff stalked over, footsteps heavy, as he came up beside the guy who just kicked the girl back to the ground. The other guy, just a bit taller, turned and looked at the new arrival, giving one of those jerkwad smirks.

"What? Go away little Huffie, before I-"

Kent headbutted the guy, forehead catching the bully's forehead, knocking the sense out of him without warning. And reaching out, the Hufflepuff grabbed the guy by the collar and pulled him close with a growl.

"If you ever hit a girl again, I'll make sure you can't use your hands. We clear?"

Kent pushed the older kid away, spitting onto the ground in disgust. He turned to the girl, concern on his face, as he reached out a hand to help her up.

"You okay?"

Arthur was walking across the grounds towards the castle, wandering back from the greenhouse where he was taking some remedial lessons on how not to kill every plant he worked on.

It would be great if he could blame his difficulty with the subject on a lack of experience with the magical world, but the reality was he was pretty sure it was genetic. He and his mum had never been able to keep a single house plant alive in their flat for as long as he could remember, not even a cactus. Something designed to thrive in the least hospitable climate on earth still withered and died when subjected to the two of them.

The only difference between then and now was that this is what passed as a school subject here. Everything was so intangible, you either got it or you didn't. He missed math and science. History, English... He was good at those subjects.

As he walked, Arthur suddenly noticed a paper flyer pushed by the wind across his path, followed by several others that looked the same. He had a habit of not looking where he was going when he walked, eyes down, usually lost in thought. He stopped to pick it up then looked around, wondering where it had come from. Someone must have lost this.. he thought, figuring it had been blown away from somewhere.

It wasn't a difficult mystery to solve, since there was a literal paper trail leading to its source. Taking in the scene quickly, Arthur dropped his bag and and the flyer and ran over to the other the students. From where he was, he couldn't really see what had happened exactly. All he saw was two angry looking guys, a girl who'd been knocked to the ground, and the pile of scattered papers. He grabbed the arm of the one that was moving towards her, not seeing that he'd been reaching out a hand to help her up. "Hey! What do you think you're doing?" he shouted, glaring at both him and the older student.

Howie sat on the ground, his back leaning against the cool stone wall of the courtyard. His pack laid next to him, it’s contents spilling out around him, various books and pieces of parchment strewn about. In his lap was his potions book, the year two edition. He stared aimlessly at the pages, none of the words he read really taking hold in his mind, for they bored him greatly. It was his least favorite subject by far, reminding him of the science courses he had taken during his Muggle schooling. Accepting that his bright idea of getting ahead for the upcoming term was going no where, he closed the book and threw it aside. Looking up, he spotted a blonde haired Slytherin girl who looked vaguely familiar. Howie must have seen her around the school during his first year.

She held a stack of parchment in her arms as she conversed with a tall, stocky boy. Her expression concerned Howie. It was a mixture of fear and defiance, but it was unmistakable that his presence made her uncomfortable. Howie shoved his belongings in his pack quickly and stood up with the intention of making his way over. She looked like she needed help, or at least some support. The next few moments happened very quickly. The tall boy snatched a piece of parchment from the girl and after looking it over he suddenly knocked the rest of the stack out of her arms, causing her stumble backwards and fall. Howie’s face flushed with anger, an angry beast jumped to life in his guts. Reaching into his robe he withdrew his wand, this bully’s day would end in the hospital wing.

“Hey! Leave her alone!” He would call out across the courtyard as he took long strides towards them, but before he could close the gap, a blonde haired boy darted in between them. It only took a few words from the bully before the young Hufflepuff smashed his head into him, head butting him like something out of an action movie. The situation had escalated quickly. Although Howie was appreciative of the young Huffles action, such brash behavior would find you in trouble, for “Muggle Dueling” was highly discouraged. The blonde boy turned to offer a helping hand.

Just as Howie was about to approach, yet another boy entered the scene. He must have missed the moments before, for he reached out and grabbed the arm of the blonde who was attempting to help. This was going to turn messy quick. Howie stepped next to them, holding his wand at the ready. “Periculum!” Howie shot out a harmless jet of red sparks over thier heads. “That’s enough!” He would shout at the pair. “ You’re on the same side! Back down! And for gods sake help her up please!” He would turn his attention to the bully next, who was still dazed from the blow he had received. Aiming his wand directly at his chest. “If you know what’s good for you, I suggest you leave before I let him,” he motioned over his shoulder to the blonde Hufflepuff, “have another go at you.”

Maisy sat, stunned, as the scene in the courtyard erupted into chaos. Lucas found himself toe to toe with another towering figure, then, quite literally, eye to eye. The headbutt was startling to watch, and Maisy had grown up watching her brothers fight, but she watched Luke stumbled back with a cry and for a second she almost... almost felt sorry for him. Because of the way he had shifted, the Hufflepuff's blow had landed closer to the bridge of Luke's nose and blood bloomed, splattering the ground like a Jackson Pollock painting. He swore, and straightened, but before he could retaliate, another boy swept in and grabbed the Hufflepuff's arm.

"Wait, he..."

Sparks... Red and bright flashed skyward and Maisy gave a small squeal, before realizing what it was. A forth boy arrived behind the others and his wand angled at Luke, who spit out a mouthful of pink foam, "She's a klutz!" He hissed, "Tripped over her own damn feet. Not my fault Hercules here overreacted!"

"That isn't true and you know it!" Maisy pushed herself upright, "Why do you hate me, so much??" The tears that had threaned to fall earlier stormed again, but gritting her teeth, Maisy held them at bay, "Just go away, Luke."

Sniffing, rubbing his sleeve across his nose, Lucas's shoulders bounced in a shrug, "Ain't worth it anyway, Mudblood trash." He started to turn away, but spun, rather swiftly instead, fist balled, swinging at the Hufflepuff boy with his wand out.

Maisy's fingers gripped her own wand and yanking it free, she pointed it at the older Slytherin, "Steleus!!"

A bolt of green shot from the tip, striking Lucas smack on the bruised nasal bridge. At once, several sneezes bellowed from him, and he staggered back, holding his hands over his face. Maisy kept her wand level, as he glared at her through his fingers, "Last time, it cost you your wand... Do you really want to test me?" She asked, eyes narrowing, "Walk away, Luke. Just walk away."

For a moment or two he looked as if he might argue, but swearing again, he turned and with a shake of his head, made for the arched entryway.

Wand tucked back into her pocket, Maisy rubbed her sore elbow, "Thank you... All of you. Really." With a small sigh, she bent down and started to collect the nearest clump of scattered leaflets.

Kent felt a hand on his arm, and instantly thought the bully was back for another round. He turned and balled up a fist, ready to start throwing punches, but paused when he saw a new, smaller, kid holding him instead. With a frown, Kent pulled his arm free with little effort, and shrugged out of the grasp.

"Back off, guy," Kent said with a shake of his head. "I'm helping here."

And around that time another student raced over, launching red fireworks into the sky and trying to get people's attention. At least the newer guy seemed to know which side Kent was on, and aimed his wand at the actual bully before telling him to move off. The bully claimed he was being picked on, and it wasn't his fault, which made Kent narrow his eyes and ball up his fists again.

"Keep pushing, jerkwad, see how far I overreact..." Kent began to say, but there was no need, as the situation took a different turn. Within seconds, the bully tried attacking the wand holding guy, but was stopped by a sneezing fit that mixed with the blood from his nose, and the girl from the green House (Slithery?) stepped up and handled the confrontation. The bully, Luke it turned out his name was, left and retreated from overwhelming numbers and his own inadequacy.

Kent was impressed, nodding at her with eyebrows raised.

"You okay? I saw him knock you over," Kent said as he looked down to Maisy. "Nice job, too. You handled his sorry ass like a champ."

Seeing the girl picking up her leaflets, Kent joined in and began grabbing handfuls. They were everywhere, but at least a large concentration of them were close enough to regather most with some effort. Kent looked down at the paper, reading the words (MUGGLEBORN SUPPORT GROUP, Owl Maisy Dane for more info), and recognized the term for humans born with magic. He was one, after all. Looking back to who he assumed was Maisy, Kent held one of the leaflets up and called from several meters away.

"Are you Maisy? What's the group do? I'm one of the Muggle-borns, does it help us with all this craziness?" He said, thinking back to everything he had seen and how he couldn't explain any of it. "I need to join. I need help understanding this magic crap. Oh, I'm Kent by the way."

The tall boy looked to the other Hufflepuffs nearby, the two boys.

"Are you guys Muggle-borns, too?"

As if things weren't chaotic enough, shortly after he arrived another student showed up, shooting sparks into the air and shouting,

"That’s enough! You’re on the same side! Back down!"

Of course, having some random stranger yell it was hardly going to convince him, but the fact that Maisy herself didn't seem bothered by their presence did. He let go as Kent was trying to pull his arm out of his grasp. "Sorry," he muttered.

Before they could help her up, Maisy had pushed herself to her feet and aimed a wand at Lucas, finally forcing him to retreat. His eyes followed the Slytherin student across the grounds, making sure he was really leaving. Then he looked back down at the flyer he'd picked up earlier. He'd seen the title when he first picked it up, and while it seemed like a great idea, the very fact that a 'support group' was something they needed didn't sit right with him. "Does this happen a lot?" he asked, frowning. He'd only been here a few weeks and he'd already seen this kind of vitriol several times before.

He turned to Maisy, his attention grabbed when he noticed her rubbing her elbow. "You alright?" he asked her, naturally scanning for any visible injuries. He wasn't a nurse's son for nothing.

Looking around, he wished he knew a spell to help clean this up (paparium levioso?) but sadly in the short time that they'd been there they hadn't learned much that was relevant. Instead he knelt down and gathered the papers around him into a pile. "Do you want us to help you put these up?" he offered enthusiastically, agreeing with Kent's praise of the group.

"I'm Arthur," he added to their introductions, nodding in reply to the Hufflepuff students question. "Pretty much.." he said. His father was a wizard, it turned out, but it's not like he'd ever met the man before last November. He'd only been raised by his mother.

Howie’s eyes shifted away from this Luke character to Maisy as she rose up from the ground. A mistake on his part. He caught a flurry of movement out of his peripheral. Luke had feigned to backdown, only to ball his fist a make a move. Howie threw up his arms to block the incoming blow, but a flash of green shot last him, hitting the bully square in his already busted nose. The effect was immediate. He stumbled backwards, sneezing profusely. Funny how these things went, Howie had come to help her and now it was she who was rescuing him. The combined presence of this small group must have been too much for Luke. After one last insult and a few swear words, he turned and walked away. Typical bully, a complete coward now that he was outnumbered. Satisfied that he was no longer a threat, Howie turned to face the group.

He joined them in gathering the parchment that littered the ground, seeing now that it was  an announcement for a Muggleborn support group. This peaked his interest. It hadn’t been particularly hard for Howie as a Muggleborn, for none of his fellow Hufflepuffs had held it against him. However, he did have a hard time adjusting to the wizarding community during his first year at Hogwarts. He simply just missed Muggle society and all of the things that came with it. This group could be just the thing he was looking for. “You’re welcome Maisy. Ain’t right him treating you that way. Freakin Purebloods.”

The tall blond who introduced himself as Kent asked them of thier blood status. “Yes. I’m Muggleborn, name’s Howie. Nice to meet you Kent...Arthur.” He locked eyes with Kent, his wand held at his side. Howie appreciated his willingness to help someone in need, but he was short tempered and brash. Surprising qualities for a Hufflepuff, but the hat must have it’s reason. “You’ll need to be careful with that attitude Kent. It’ll get ya in trouble mate. And magic isn’t crap. Better learn to tame it with a temper like yours, take my word for it.” 

Howie looked back down at the parchment, then back up at the group. “This is a great idea Maisy. Us Muggleborns should stick together. Must be hell for you in Slytherin, huh? Rare to see one of us in that house.”

As her eyes danced between the three Hufflepuffs, and she considered Constantine and his own fury over Luke last year, Maisy almost found the situation amusing. Almost. But it was still so fresh, Luke's threat, echoing in her mind with all the resonance of a terrifying movie villain. She wasn't proud of her actions, necessarily... Particularly since using magic outside of class was generally against the rules, but she was tired of it... the constant fear, and maybe Sebastian had been right last year. Sometimes, the only way to get through a show of force was with one that was equal. But it never felt good, stooping to violence... Even if she had only made him sneeze.

"Thanks..." She murmured to Kent, her cheeks flushed pink, "Sadly I don't think it'll help all too much. He's... he's persistent." Glancing to Howard then, she shrugged, "I guess it's just... what he was taught. That's bullies, right? Usually just following someone else's thoughts..."

As she gathered her papers, she looked up at the boys and managed a small, weary smile, "But yeah... I'm Maisy. It's nice to meet you. All of you." Her eyes shifted to Arthur and she tipped her elbow, as if she could see through her robe, "I think it's okay. Just sore." Pushing up to stand, her eyes fell on the small, slightly rumpled stack in her arms.

"It's definitely hard... And yes. It happens a lot. Too much." She agreed with Howard's assessment, before turning to Arthur's inquiry, "And I know I'm not the only one who deals with it, either. I don't want to start some us against them movement. One of my best friends comes from Purebloods and he's just the greatest. That's not the point in all this. I just think... I think it's important that we have each other's backs. I know what it's like to be scared and new and not know anything." Looking to Kent, she smiled wearily, "Magic can be scary. And weird and when you don't know anything, it's so much worse. And we've got a pretty big handicap, coming into it. I know for sure if Luke wasn't such a dumb jerk and actually used what he was taught, I wouldn't have a chance. And I don't like that feeling. My brother Auggie gave me the idea for the group. Safety in numbers, right? So... so if you want, you could join." Her cheeks flushed with color, and her gaze lowered to the leaflet, "Sorry, I'm no good at being a leader or anything... I just wanna help people not feel lost, the way I sometimes did..."

Kent gave Arthur a nod of the head in greeting, the taller boy's arms crossed. He held a handful of leaflets in his hands, as the students began to speak and introduce themselves. Seemed it was true about high stress situations bringing people together or whatever they said. Either way, Kent narrowed his eyes when the other Hufflepuff began talking to him like he knew him, yet another Hogwarts student offering advice and behavior pointers...

"Are you takin' the mickey, Howie?" The First Year shook his head, not liking how so many had presumed he was just a hothead. Sure, Kent stood up for himself, he always had, but this time he was totally justified. Not only did the Luke guy begin tormenting Maisy, he also physically hit her.

"As for my temper, when a guy hits a woman, he's raising his hand to be hit twice as hard, mate," Kent said, this time not containing the flash of anger he felt, a sneer on his lips. "And I'll lay hands on any numpty who touches a woman in anger, you better believe it... and thanks for the advice, I'll take it into consideration."

Kent offered the paper in both hands to Maisy, as he listened to her explain more of the situation. It basically confirmed this wasn't an isolated event and proved something had to be done. It reminded Kent of back home, in South London, where he and his friends often ran across gangs and goons intent on proving a point or taking money from smaller kids. Kent had learned to fight purely for survival in the Muggle world, and he suspected it wouldn't be much different here except maybe the magic and wands and stuff.

"We make a fine group target, eh?" The lot of them, Muggle-borns, a walking buffet for any Pureblood inclined. Chances were if things were already as bad as they seemed, the Muggle-borns needed as much help as they could get and soon. So the idea of creating the support group made sense especially when you factored in new students who had no previous magical knowledge.

"So are we doing this?" Kent asked as he looked between them all. "I have no problem keeping jerks like Luke in order, if we do."