10 Jan 2020, 20:30
❖ To Fool A Hufflepuff ❖
@Selim Faust
[font=Times New Roman] Potions was Airlia's worst class. No matter how hard she worked, how many hours she stared at the book, she didn't understand. She tried sleeping with the potions book under her pillow; in case that would help; it didn't. Then she'd tried to read it back to back and after four hours of sitting down and feeling stupid someone told her she had the book upside down. Turning it around did help, as reading the words was much more easy that way, but still she didn't learn.
The fact that the potions measurements were really strange and no one bothered to teach them to her made the class all the more difficult. In Finland she'd learned to measure by kilograms, deciliters, and spoons, not by cups and oz; whatever that meant.
With a sigh she sat down at a free desk. Usually people would sit as far as possible from her since her potions would bubble over, smell terrible and make people's hair all frizzy. No one wanted to be her partner and she understood. She truly did feel bad about lovering the grade of whoever she was working with at each class.
Once again she watched the classroom start to fill and kept her eyes forward. While she knew it wasn't necessarily about her personality, but more her skills or lack thereof why people avoided her it did still hurt to watch them quickly pass her without a word.
Even her friends didn't want to work with her in this class. Not after what happened in the first year when that green goo had gotten all over everyone and people smelled of it for weeks despite their greatest efforts at cleaning spells.
She seemed destined to not do well in this class and she wasn't that passionate about potions anyway so she decided that she wouldn't worry too much about it. [/font]
- Airlia Winter; The little lady of Taika
17 Jan 2020, 19:03
❖ To Fool A Hufflepuff ❖
They were having potions today with Hufflepuff.
Selim didn't personally have anything against Hufflepuffs, he just thought their urges to show kindness (Though not all of them had that urge), was odd.
Neither the fox, nor Averill were with him in this class, he had no issues with that. Both of them seemed ok at the subject, from what he saw during class, though he was sure the fox was actually better at it then he portrayed.
Entering the room, he looked around. The Slytherins were mostly all paired with others of their own dorm, a few sat with a Hufflepuff, though he wasn't sure if it was through friendship or necessity.
Scanning the room once more, he saw all the Hufflepuffs were paired as well, except for one.
His yellow slitted eyes landed on the platinum blond girl. Easily, he read the emotions on her face, she seemed a tad downtrodden, maybe resigned? He had seen her before in another conjoined potions class with Hufflepuff, she was sitting alone then as well and after asking a few people why she sat alone (Faceless NPCs) he received the information that she was terrible at potions, and often brought the grades down of whoever partners with her.
Of course, doing potions alone was an option, not many people wanted to do it without a partner though because the chances of getting a good grade were higher with two people. Besides, he was curious about her.
Wandering over, he sat next to the Hufflepuff, placing his bookbag beside him on the floor, disregarding the usual house rivalry, and the disdain Slytherins usually showed their badger counterparts.
"Hello, mind if I'm your partner for today?" He asked, his usual believable polite smile on his face.
He discreetly studied her face and micro-expressions. She seemed to be one who wore their feelings on their sleeve, drastically different then his and the fox's tactics of hiding any trace of true emotion they could.
Selim preferred masks, if he showed his true personality, he'd probably be locked away.
An amusing, but unfavorable idea.
@Airlia Winter
Selim didn't personally have anything against Hufflepuffs, he just thought their urges to show kindness (Though not all of them had that urge), was odd.
Neither the fox, nor Averill were with him in this class, he had no issues with that. Both of them seemed ok at the subject, from what he saw during class, though he was sure the fox was actually better at it then he portrayed.
Entering the room, he looked around. The Slytherins were mostly all paired with others of their own dorm, a few sat with a Hufflepuff, though he wasn't sure if it was through friendship or necessity.
Scanning the room once more, he saw all the Hufflepuffs were paired as well, except for one.
His yellow slitted eyes landed on the platinum blond girl. Easily, he read the emotions on her face, she seemed a tad downtrodden, maybe resigned? He had seen her before in another conjoined potions class with Hufflepuff, she was sitting alone then as well and after asking a few people why she sat alone (Faceless NPCs) he received the information that she was terrible at potions, and often brought the grades down of whoever partners with her.
Of course, doing potions alone was an option, not many people wanted to do it without a partner though because the chances of getting a good grade were higher with two people. Besides, he was curious about her.
Wandering over, he sat next to the Hufflepuff, placing his bookbag beside him on the floor, disregarding the usual house rivalry, and the disdain Slytherins usually showed their badger counterparts.
"Hello, mind if I'm your partner for today?" He asked, his usual believable polite smile on his face.
He discreetly studied her face and micro-expressions. She seemed to be one who wore their feelings on their sleeve, drastically different then his and the fox's tactics of hiding any trace of true emotion they could.
Selim preferred masks, if he showed his true personality, he'd probably be locked away.
An amusing, but unfavorable idea.
@Airlia Winter
"False Face must Hide what the Heart Doth Know." -Macbeth
S.F
22 Jan 2020, 08:08
❖ To Fool A Hufflepuff ❖
[Font= Times New Roman] Airlia's eyes widened when someone sat down beside her. She kept her eyes forward, hoping not to scare the person away before they even properly settled down on the chair beside hers.
Truly she'd expected to be alone in this class. Having someone to do potions with was a bit more fun than doing it alone and since there would be capable hands beside her the potion might not turn out as dangerous... Or maybe it would just be super dangerous for two people beside it instead of just her.
She really didn't want to put others at risk, but she also didn't want to fail the entire class by not completing a single potion right.
Looking at the person beside her when he started speaking to her she seized.
She'd never noticed this boy before. And by his appearance, she should have. He looked pale like he's never even seen the sun. His hair was black and his bangs chopped to frame his face in a boyish way. He had cat-like brown eyes with oval-shaped pupils and a smile on his face that must have felt true to him but just turned out to look ominous in a way of warning. Like a predator baring its teeth to prey.
He stood out, was different and yet she had never paid attention to him. It seemed odd to her.
He didn't just ask to sit beside her, he asked to actually work with her in potions. As his partner. And that hadn't happened after her first class in potions in her first year where she succeeded in burning through her cauldron; something that was supposed to be seemingly impossible.
"I- Umm, yes. Of course. Are you sure?" She asked to give the boy a chance to back out in case he hadn't realized who he'd asked to pair up with him. [/font]
- Airlia Winter; The little lady of Taika
22 Jan 2020, 23:24
❖ To Fool A Hufflepuff ❖
@Airlia Winter
Selim saw her tense up when he sat beside her and she saw him, surprise on her face.
She then seemed to study him, he let her, and apprehension seemed to gleam in her eyes and line her expression. An unexpected reaction, but he had seen a few people get more uneasy with his smiles then comforted.
Her confusion to him wanting to be a lab partner with her was understandable though. He had heard the rumors, but that really just made him all the more curious.
"I- Umm, yes. Of course. Are you sure?" She responded to his question, though he just chuckled melodiously at it.
"Yes, I'm quite sure. I suppose I should introduce myself though." He dipped his head a bit in greeting, "My name is Selim Faust, a pleasure to meet you."
He began pulling out his supplies from his book bag, placing them precisely on the desk in an organized fashion. She had said he could be ehr lab partner, which also implied he could sit and set up, no?
After he finished unpacking, he looked at her, "Do you know what potion we're making today? I may have, ah, slept through the last potions class..." He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. This question was actually real, he had slept through the last potions class, though he was sat at the back and in the shadows, so it went unnoticed.
He studied her after he asked the question, trying to glean the source of her apprehension.
Perhaps, his slitted contacts were doing as they were supposed to, keeping people away. They were quite effective when he was trying to fend off the fangirls from his clan... He doesn't take them off just to make himself look more predatorial, seeing as how when they're off he gets fawned over by girls.
It was irritating.
Though perhaps it was just his smile that threw the girl off.
Well, when he actually smiled he looks snake-like, so he had to tone it down when trying to gain allies. Genuine smiles were rather rare anyways.
For good reason.
Selim saw her tense up when he sat beside her and she saw him, surprise on her face.
She then seemed to study him, he let her, and apprehension seemed to gleam in her eyes and line her expression. An unexpected reaction, but he had seen a few people get more uneasy with his smiles then comforted.
Her confusion to him wanting to be a lab partner with her was understandable though. He had heard the rumors, but that really just made him all the more curious.
"I- Umm, yes. Of course. Are you sure?" She responded to his question, though he just chuckled melodiously at it.
"Yes, I'm quite sure. I suppose I should introduce myself though." He dipped his head a bit in greeting, "My name is Selim Faust, a pleasure to meet you."
He began pulling out his supplies from his book bag, placing them precisely on the desk in an organized fashion. She had said he could be ehr lab partner, which also implied he could sit and set up, no?
After he finished unpacking, he looked at her, "Do you know what potion we're making today? I may have, ah, slept through the last potions class..." He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. This question was actually real, he had slept through the last potions class, though he was sat at the back and in the shadows, so it went unnoticed.
He studied her after he asked the question, trying to glean the source of her apprehension.
Perhaps, his slitted contacts were doing as they were supposed to, keeping people away. They were quite effective when he was trying to fend off the fangirls from his clan... He doesn't take them off just to make himself look more predatorial, seeing as how when they're off he gets fawned over by girls.
It was irritating.
Though perhaps it was just his smile that threw the girl off.
Well, when he actually smiled he looks snake-like, so he had to tone it down when trying to gain allies. Genuine smiles were rather rare anyways.
For good reason.
"False Face must Hide what the Heart Doth Know." -Macbeth
S.F
24 Jan 2020, 17:00
❖ To Fool A Hufflepuff ❖
[Font= Times New Roman]Airlia watched with wide eyes as the boy introduced himself. He bowed his head and that stopped Airlia in her tracks. Did this boy actually know who she was?
She had been confused with the handshakes when arriving at Hogwarts but had picked up the habit fairly quickly. But back at home, everyone bowed their heads at her, she wasn't to be touched without permission or without her initiating it. It was an old tradition that her parents were strictly maintaining.
For a moment Airlia wondered if this boy was actually from Taika, but she knew every single citizen in her town so he couldn't be. So how was it that this boy knew how to greet the daughter of the lord and lady of Taika as one was meant without having met her before? There was no book on their traditions and no one had abode by them before in Hogwarts. Here she was normal, her status unknown just like she wanted it to be. If not before surely now Airlia's entire focus was on this boy; trying to decipher him, but failing which made her confused.
'Faust,,, Faust, Faust, Faust.' Airlia repeated the boy's name in her head like a mantra. She knew him. In some way. His name was familiar and she was certain she'd heard it during her mother's pureblood history lessons, so the boy must be a pureblood.
But for some reason, Airlia couldn't remember the names of the people of the Faust family. Not the name of the head of the house, not their history in battle, not which side they'd been in the previous wars. Her mind was like a clean slate when it came to him.
And that never happened.
"Last class we learned the swelling solution potion." Airlia mumbled, remembering the disaster she'd created.
"My name is Airlia Winter. It is a pleasure to meet you." She then said offering her hand to see what he'd do. Would he do as tradition told and prove he knew her, or merely shake her hand and she'd see his actions before had been a mere coincidence?
She, of course, expected the second solution, preferred it even, but no matter what would happen next she was sure this lesson of potions would be far more interesting than she'd expected. [/font]
- Airlia Winter; The little lady of Taika
25 Jan 2020, 06:31
❖ To Fool A Hufflepuff ❖
@Airlia Winter
Oddly enough, the Hufflepuff's eyes widened in shock when he bowed his head to her in greeting.
He tilted his head, eyes glinting with curiosity at the reaction.
"Last class we learned the swelling solution potion." The girl answered his question, and he nodded in understanding.
"Ah, yes. Luckily I know how to make that one, not one of the hardest out there in my opinion. Though, that may just be because potions are my forte, unlike transfiguration..." He frowned as he thought back to that class. "For some reason, my wand just doesn't want to cooperate with me... I know how to do transfiguration, I know the concept, and how to get the results needed, but my wand just... refuses to work with me." He sighed in mild frustration at the thought. "My marks in that class are the lowest compared to all my other ones..."
"My name is Airlia Winter. It is a pleasure to meet you." The girl spoke up, holding out her hand to him. Selim shook it with ease, knowing how english customs work thanks to his clan instructors.
"The pleasure is all mine Miss Winter." He smiled charmingly. His mind conjured up a memory related to her surname, "I recognize that surname from my instructor's lesson on Pureblood Families. You're from Taika, in Finland, right?" It was quite easy to remember such a name, Pureblood families were pounded into Selim's brain when he was younger, and memorizing them all hadn't been too difficult, only taking six months.
Winter may not be an unusual surname, really, but her almost-white hair gave away that she was, in fact, from the pureblood Winter family.
Seems he's met his first pureblood. Averill didn't count, now that the memory was fresh, he knew that 'Averill' was not a pureblood family name. Not that he cared much about such things, the boy was probably just from a richer family, or had just been putting up an act to 'fit in'.
"How are you enjoying your time at Hogwarts, if I may ask?" He carried on the conversation, falling into an easy rhythm born from years of pretending to be social, and the etiquette pounded into his brain.
Oddly enough, the Hufflepuff's eyes widened in shock when he bowed his head to her in greeting.
He tilted his head, eyes glinting with curiosity at the reaction.
"Last class we learned the swelling solution potion." The girl answered his question, and he nodded in understanding.
"Ah, yes. Luckily I know how to make that one, not one of the hardest out there in my opinion. Though, that may just be because potions are my forte, unlike transfiguration..." He frowned as he thought back to that class. "For some reason, my wand just doesn't want to cooperate with me... I know how to do transfiguration, I know the concept, and how to get the results needed, but my wand just... refuses to work with me." He sighed in mild frustration at the thought. "My marks in that class are the lowest compared to all my other ones..."
"My name is Airlia Winter. It is a pleasure to meet you." The girl spoke up, holding out her hand to him. Selim shook it with ease, knowing how english customs work thanks to his clan instructors.
"The pleasure is all mine Miss Winter." He smiled charmingly. His mind conjured up a memory related to her surname, "I recognize that surname from my instructor's lesson on Pureblood Families. You're from Taika, in Finland, right?" It was quite easy to remember such a name, Pureblood families were pounded into Selim's brain when he was younger, and memorizing them all hadn't been too difficult, only taking six months.
Winter may not be an unusual surname, really, but her almost-white hair gave away that she was, in fact, from the pureblood Winter family.
Seems he's met his first pureblood. Averill didn't count, now that the memory was fresh, he knew that 'Averill' was not a pureblood family name. Not that he cared much about such things, the boy was probably just from a richer family, or had just been putting up an act to 'fit in'.
"How are you enjoying your time at Hogwarts, if I may ask?" He carried on the conversation, falling into an easy rhythm born from years of pretending to be social, and the etiquette pounded into his brain.
"False Face must Hide what the Heart Doth Know." -Macbeth
S.F
25 Jan 2020, 19:42
❖ To Fool A Hufflepuff ❖
[Font= Times New Roman]"You're from Taika, in Finland, right?" The boy had said and Airlia nodded in confirmation.
So the boy did know who she was and yet he did shake her hand when she offered it, proving that while he knew her name and where she was from he wasn't entirely educated in their customs and didn't know that she wasn't to be touched. So the bow of the head had been a coincidence after all and Airlia smiled. She was glad. Having to hold up old Winter family traditions in Hogwarts too would have been exasperating had the word gotten out about it.
"I do adore Hogwarts, thank you for asking. I too attended etiquette and pureblood history lessons back at home so I am feeling quite free here now that those are over." Airlia smiled openly at the boy now that her suspicions of him being from a good pureblooded family were confirmed.
Honestly, she couldn't figure out how in the world she couldn't remember anything about the Faust family. Her knowledge about the pureblooded familiar around the world was impeccable, so how could she not remember this. Only the most esteemed pureblooded families taught their history to their children so whichever house this boy was from was very noble by blood and history alike.
Her forgetting was just simply not possible. The boy by her side was a true puzzle.
She turned her gaze to the teacher for a moment to make sure they weren't disrupting the class with their speaking and slightly lowered her voice more just to be sure: "Oh, and about your transfiguration abilities, the problem could very well be in your wand. Some wand cores are poor with transfiguration such as kneazle hair since it's simply not strong enough."
"So what is your wand core if I may ask?" Airlia spoke with grace as she knew to end the conversation this way would have been deemed impolite. For a question another was asked, that was the way conversation was to be had and she did not intend to be the one to break it first. [/font]
- Airlia Winter; The little lady of Taika
30 Jan 2020, 01:26
❖ To Fool A Hufflepuff ❖
@Airlia Winter
The Hufflepuff responded with a yes to both his question, making him smile. "I'm glad to hear that." He responded to her second answer.
She smiled at him, the expression more genuine then before, all suspicion she seemed to have of him was gone. Good.
Connecting with another Pureblood would probably be very beneficial in the future.
After she cautiously glanced around to see if they were disturbing the lesson, she responded to his frustration towards his wand.
"Oh, and about your transfiguration abilities, the problem could very well be in your wand. Some wand cores are poor with transfiguration such as kneazle hair since it's simply not strong enough." She paused, before continuing, "So what is your wand core if I may ask?"
He pulled out the irritating stick of magical wood, tapping it. "Chestnut wood with unicorn hair." He tilted his head, gazing at the wand, "It doesn't have any reason to resist my spells, despite how good it is at casting them. Unicorn hair is rather consistent with its spells, but that seems to be the opposite with me... For some reason, it does better in Charms though... it's frustratingly enigmatic, really."
He had his suspicions, really, the wand wasn't well-paired with him at all. He cared little for herbology, didn't want to tame beasts, and, as far as he knew, he wasn't a natural flier. Though, after reading up on it's personality, he thought he had possibly figured it out.
Chestnut wood and unicorn hair were notoriously well paired with those who cared a lot about justice and wanted to uphold it. Selim didn't care at all about something as finicky and useless as 'justice' nor did he want to uphold it. In fact, many future plans could very well become focals of 'injustice'.
His suspicion was that his wand did not agree with his opinions or plans in the slightest.
Still, he wanted to explore all different possibilities before staying true to his deduction. Perhaps it was his own magic? Or maybe some other reason?
He didn't know, but if his conclusion was correct... well... it was highly possible that he and his wand would never get along, therefor never work in sync, leading to the cutting off of magic use.
That would severely impact his plans.
Perhaps the wandmaker had made a mistake choosing this wand for him...
The Hufflepuff responded with a yes to both his question, making him smile. "I'm glad to hear that." He responded to her second answer.
She smiled at him, the expression more genuine then before, all suspicion she seemed to have of him was gone. Good.
Connecting with another Pureblood would probably be very beneficial in the future.
After she cautiously glanced around to see if they were disturbing the lesson, she responded to his frustration towards his wand.
"Oh, and about your transfiguration abilities, the problem could very well be in your wand. Some wand cores are poor with transfiguration such as kneazle hair since it's simply not strong enough." She paused, before continuing, "So what is your wand core if I may ask?"
He pulled out the irritating stick of magical wood, tapping it. "Chestnut wood with unicorn hair." He tilted his head, gazing at the wand, "It doesn't have any reason to resist my spells, despite how good it is at casting them. Unicorn hair is rather consistent with its spells, but that seems to be the opposite with me... For some reason, it does better in Charms though... it's frustratingly enigmatic, really."
He had his suspicions, really, the wand wasn't well-paired with him at all. He cared little for herbology, didn't want to tame beasts, and, as far as he knew, he wasn't a natural flier. Though, after reading up on it's personality, he thought he had possibly figured it out.
Chestnut wood and unicorn hair were notoriously well paired with those who cared a lot about justice and wanted to uphold it. Selim didn't care at all about something as finicky and useless as 'justice' nor did he want to uphold it. In fact, many future plans could very well become focals of 'injustice'.
His suspicion was that his wand did not agree with his opinions or plans in the slightest.
Still, he wanted to explore all different possibilities before staying true to his deduction. Perhaps it was his own magic? Or maybe some other reason?
He didn't know, but if his conclusion was correct... well... it was highly possible that he and his wand would never get along, therefor never work in sync, leading to the cutting off of magic use.
That would severely impact his plans.
Perhaps the wandmaker had made a mistake choosing this wand for him...
"False Face must Hide what the Heart Doth Know." -Macbeth
S.F
4 Feb 2020, 13:00
❖ To Fool A Hufflepuff ❖
[Font= Times New Roman] Airlia listened with interest about how the wood and the core of Selim's wand worked together. She knew some things about wand cores and such but her knowledge was nowhere near as detailed as Selim's.
He seemed smart and like good company and as such Airlia felt lucky that the boy had sat down beside her. It was nice to not be by herself in this class for once. Honestly, she was expecting to spend the rest of her school year all by her lonesome in potions.
Well once this Selim would realize she'd bring his grades down he'd probably vacate quite fast.
"Well, I do hope you figure out what is wrong soon. Wouldn't want you to end up doing your owl's with a bad wand." She smiled and wondered if there was any way to help the boy, but she was quite certain she would just mess things up even more if she were to try.
"Can I ask-" She seized in her words, worried about going over an unmentioned boundary, from curiosity to intrusive. "I don't know much about your family. Why is that?" She raised on brow in wonder and tilted her head sideways.
She really did want to know. Her mother's teachings in pureblood history were all-inclusive, filed to perfection and seemed to have no unanswered questions. And there really was no way Airlia could have forgotten a whole pureblood family. She'd been taught better than that.
There was always a possibility the family had gone into hiding after the war but that seemed impossible since she still would have been taught something about them.
And how could a whole pureblooded lineage just be forgotten?
It was simply impossible.
No, there must have been a story there. A story which probably gave her mother sleepless nights if she knew she had missed something in her children's training.
Reducio[/font]OOC: Sorry about taking a bit longer to respond. I had test week.
- Airlia Winter; The little lady of Taika
7 Feb 2020, 05:05
❖ To Fool A Hufflepuff ❖
@Airlia Winter
___ ___ ___
After Winter heard about his struggles with his wand, she smiled in possible sympathy, "Well, I do hope you figure out what is wrong soon. Wouldn't want you to end up doing your owl's with a bad wand." Selim nodded in agreement with her observation.
"Indeed."
The Hufflepuff then went on to ask why she didn't know much about his family. She seemed to halt on her words, probably unsure if it was something he wasn't allowed to ask. Instead of any disapproval, he simply smiled.
"My family is very secretive, we have many enemies thanks to our ancestors, so we try to stay as anonymous as possible. The last time the wizarding world heard from us was most likely around World War 2, even during that event we kept to the shadows." He tapped the table rhythmically as he thought, "In fact, it's more likely that muggles know our name then Wizards, as my family is involved with spice trades and a few more popular products here and there, such as our apple cider." He paused in his tapping, resting his head on his hand as he faced her, "So, don't be discouraged if you don't remember the name 'Faust', most Wizards have... forgotten about us, in a way. The only ones who would most likely know our name are possibly some previous, and some current, Hogwarts professors, and the Sorting hat."
Honestly, he supposed that his information may not be entirely accurate, as there may very well be some purebloods out there who remembered his clan. As he mentioned before, this was one of the first purebloods he had met at Hogwarts, as he couldn't recall meeting any others. Along with that, he didn't go around flaunting his status as a pureblood, as he didn't much care.
So, he supposed that it was understandable this pureblood, seemingly educated in pureblood liniages, was curious as to why she didn't immediately recognize his name.
It was amusingly ironic that it was more likely for muggles to know his clan name then wizards (even if only by a slight margin) . Of course it made sense, recently his family have been involving themselves heavily in the spice in recent years. It was a very profitable business.
Really, it was only after the Incident, when he got his scars, that his clan put even more of an effort into keeping away from the Wizarding World's eyes. They began to cut off connections with other purebloods, the ministry, and any outside wizarding connections. For the less important figures... well, they were kept quiet permanently.
It was for a good reason, Selim had almost been killed during that incident, the heir to the clan, son of the clan head and his wife, a prodigy. It had crippled the clan when it happened, and it took years to recover from the event. It was no wonder they cut off all outside wizard connections.
Selim still remembered when his Father and Mother had been locked up in the conference room when he was ten. The debate about him going to Hogwarts lasted a whole day. The elders had wanted him to stay and learn in the Clan, but his father had insisted that it was completely illogical to prevent his son from going to a prestigious wizarding school. Time and time again he had tried to affirm to the older members that there were far more pros then cons to Selim going to Hogwarts. He had stated quite clearly that the clan would only profit from his higher education, despite the minimal risks of him getting kidnapped once again.
Besides, he had said, the school was protected, Selim would be safe there.
Finally, the conference ended. Selim hadn't heard much of the debate, he had only gone into the room to serve his parents and the elders tea, and lunch, and was designated to wait in there until everyone had finished.
He still remembered how much he seethed that day as he was treated like a pawn in a chess game.
Inwardly, he growled at the thought, but pulled himself away from the memory. He was having a conversation, it would do no good for him to get lost in thought now.
___ ___ ___
After Winter heard about his struggles with his wand, she smiled in possible sympathy, "Well, I do hope you figure out what is wrong soon. Wouldn't want you to end up doing your owl's with a bad wand." Selim nodded in agreement with her observation.
"Indeed."
The Hufflepuff then went on to ask why she didn't know much about his family. She seemed to halt on her words, probably unsure if it was something he wasn't allowed to ask. Instead of any disapproval, he simply smiled.
"My family is very secretive, we have many enemies thanks to our ancestors, so we try to stay as anonymous as possible. The last time the wizarding world heard from us was most likely around World War 2, even during that event we kept to the shadows." He tapped the table rhythmically as he thought, "In fact, it's more likely that muggles know our name then Wizards, as my family is involved with spice trades and a few more popular products here and there, such as our apple cider." He paused in his tapping, resting his head on his hand as he faced her, "So, don't be discouraged if you don't remember the name 'Faust', most Wizards have... forgotten about us, in a way. The only ones who would most likely know our name are possibly some previous, and some current, Hogwarts professors, and the Sorting hat."
Honestly, he supposed that his information may not be entirely accurate, as there may very well be some purebloods out there who remembered his clan. As he mentioned before, this was one of the first purebloods he had met at Hogwarts, as he couldn't recall meeting any others. Along with that, he didn't go around flaunting his status as a pureblood, as he didn't much care.
So, he supposed that it was understandable this pureblood, seemingly educated in pureblood liniages, was curious as to why she didn't immediately recognize his name.
It was amusingly ironic that it was more likely for muggles to know his clan name then wizards (even if only by a slight margin) . Of course it made sense, recently his family have been involving themselves heavily in the spice in recent years. It was a very profitable business.
Really, it was only after the Incident, when he got his scars, that his clan put even more of an effort into keeping away from the Wizarding World's eyes. They began to cut off connections with other purebloods, the ministry, and any outside wizarding connections. For the less important figures... well, they were kept quiet permanently.
It was for a good reason, Selim had almost been killed during that incident, the heir to the clan, son of the clan head and his wife, a prodigy. It had crippled the clan when it happened, and it took years to recover from the event. It was no wonder they cut off all outside wizard connections.
Selim still remembered when his Father and Mother had been locked up in the conference room when he was ten. The debate about him going to Hogwarts lasted a whole day. The elders had wanted him to stay and learn in the Clan, but his father had insisted that it was completely illogical to prevent his son from going to a prestigious wizarding school. Time and time again he had tried to affirm to the older members that there were far more pros then cons to Selim going to Hogwarts. He had stated quite clearly that the clan would only profit from his higher education, despite the minimal risks of him getting kidnapped once again.
Besides, he had said, the school was protected, Selim would be safe there.
Finally, the conference ended. Selim hadn't heard much of the debate, he had only gone into the room to serve his parents and the elders tea, and lunch, and was designated to wait in there until everyone had finished.
He still remembered how much he seethed that day as he was treated like a pawn in a chess game.
Inwardly, he growled at the thought, but pulled himself away from the memory. He was having a conversation, it would do no good for him to get lost in thought now.
"False Face must Hide what the Heart Doth Know." -Macbeth
S.F