Clemency Finished PV Ross Stephens

The day had been rather nice for Ross. Classes had treated him well, and breakfast was as good as ever. Charms was his next class, and he ecstatic. Charms was one of his favorites, and today just felt it would be especially good. He had time to kill, but felt leaving the third floor would be redundant. So there Ross was, wandering around the third floor aimlessly as he searched for something to make the hour somewhat eventful. He considered it exploring , and every time he found something particularly new of the school he would always have this slight curious grin. It made him feel like a real detective. The entire setting of Hogwarts really was perfect for a murder mystery, or perhaps a legend in the depths. Today he felt it was a good idea to explore the Trophy room so he could gawk at even more wizards he had no clue who they were.

Well, he felt it was a good idea until he heard his voice

It sent chills down the Hufflepuff's spine. The voice was clear, but just as familiar as ever. Though it had been some time before Ross had had the conversation with the boy, the oh so familiar tone haunted him to the current moment. Ross tensed up, unsure of what to do, so he did what any good creature on the food chain would do, which just happened to be examine the perimeter. At best he would be able to simply sneak out, at worst he would have to hide.

The Slytherin was not difficult to spot as he looked from left to right. Not only was the room not too horridly crowded, but the Slytherin simply gave off a strange aura. He was standing in such a position that Ross would be easily spotted if he was to leave, though he was not quite sure what the Slytherin would do. On the other hand, hiding would be ridiculous. It was a trophy room, after all.If anything he would end up drawing attention to himself, or damaging a trophy which he assumed was quite expensive.

So he simply stood there, like a deer in headlights. Ross was frozen for a solid few seconds, before he proceeded to turn around and act like he was examining a particularly interesting trophy that was so faded that Ross could swear was possibly about slug racing. Come to think of it, if being a detective did not work out perhaps Ross would become a slug racer instead. Yes, that seemed rather interesting. Even so, he still picked up on words that the Slytherin was saying.

”It says he was a Gryffindor, is he related to you? This trophy is from 2015.” the girl spoking to him spoke.

A Gryffindor? How odd. Ross had thought that the two groups never got along. That was rather peculiar. 2015 was only 5 years ago, so perhaps his brother was still here.

The boy responded with seemingly a rather regular response, and one Ross really could not think much of. The only thing that really stuck out was the sudden, random question. It did not quite fit, but Ross thought little to nothing of it.

As they continued to chatter, Ross could not help but be unable to resist turning around out of curiosity that could kill him once more. It surprised him how polite the girl was being, and much more how kind the Slytherin was being in return. His first and second impression were quite the contrary to this completely new person of how he was acting.

Was he going to use this girl too?

It was a thought, but it simply nagged at his thoughts. It left him nervous for the girl, but much more for himself. If he was caught witnessing, who knew what could happen. On the other side, there was something new about the Slytherin. It was not a new such as how he was acting, but it seemed there was a new something that made him seem somewhat.. uncomfortable. Ross could not put his finger on it, but it slightly concerned him; however, once more made him more intrigued into who this kid was.

In a moment of recklessness, the boy made a split second decision. He found his legs moving at a faster pace than expected at the two first years.

He needed to intervene on such a strange conversation. The girl may get hurt, the Slytherin was acting off, Ross needed to get out, but most importantly Ross was curious.

He skidded to a halt as he arrived at his destination. He gave a needlessly pitiful attempt at a smile towards the Slytherin and the girl.

"Heyyy.." he began, his hey being dragged out far too much for a normal conversation "Didja hear 'bout the slug racin' winner over in that there corner?' He inquired. "It's quite interesting, isn't it?"

He remarked, attempting to sound as confident as he possibly could. It surprisingly worked slightly. Perhaps if that slug racing deal did not pick up, maybe he could become a star in improv or something along those lines.

"Horned ones are actually an ingredient in the Boil-Cure potion, aren't they?" his thin smile slowly turned smug, as he slightly glared at the Slytherin next to him.

Ross felt relieved as he went along and told Rika to leave, but also felt slightly disappointed. He had plenty more excuses to get the girl to head out that he wanted to try. Something that was wonderful about his brain as it never stopped thinking, which was somewhat a relief as it meant he was alive and well. He had been waiting to use many excuses, and was more than willing to use the snowflake charm in order to make a disruption.

The smug smile stayed on his face, but soon harsh reality began to set in. He no longer was in control of the situation, and his heart dropped faster than his potion grades would after this unit; however, his expression somehow stayed the same. Though his brain knew he was in trouble, his eyes still glinted with determination and slight mischief. Funny enough, this entire situation could be described with Two of Newtons laws.

Newton's Third Law: For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction

Flash had gotten the upper-ground once, but Ross was rebelling in what he hoped was equal and hopefully opposite. Perhaps it would actually settle what Flash had started.

Newton's First Law: An object in motion will stay in motion and an object at rest will stay at rest unless acted upon by an outside force

In this case, Ross' confidence was the object in motion and it certainly wasn't stopping. Sure this 'outside force', being Flash' confrontation, could stop him eventually. But of course, it cannot step yet. There was still acceleration left within it, and it was not slowing down quite yet.

Ross stayed more casual than he normally would have as Flash' tone turned serious well.. in a flash. Still, one would be able to tell he had slightly tensed up. His posture straightened and his fingers were clenched.


”Well, I don’t know if you intended it, but I benefited from your interruption. For that, I don’t intend to hold you accountable for how rude you acted. Still, don’t think I’ll grant you clemency just because you did something useful for me.” The Slytherin informed him.

He did something useful for him.

He was in an uncomfortable spot

Ross' eyes were glowing with how much they lit up. There had to be more to the Slytherin than he seemed, and if he did not despise him as much as he did he would absolutely go on a full mystery search to find out who this child was. On the downside, the first step to knowing is knowing someone's actual name. Still, this was only the beginning. There was no way he was leaving this alone.

"AHA! So you were uncomfortable!" Ross quickly accused in an Ace Attorney style.

The smug smile turned excited in an instant as he beamed at his own, blatantly obvious discovery.

Ross was on a confidence high. It felt as if nothing could knock him down, and Flash' blank expression seemed to prove it to him. Sure it was not much, but for the first time ever he was getting what he considered petty revenge, even if it was not quite revenge. it was more of a feeling of self gratification due to the fact he had control of his own life for the first time in awhile. It felt right to him; however, it also felt.. wrong in a way. Sure this kid was a jerk, but was he doing the same thing?

He froze as the thoughts began to get to him. It seemed as if ERROR signs should be flashing all over him, because it was almost like he needed a reboot to get working again.

Was this alright?

of course it was. The Slytherin tried to blackmail him!

His own thoughts battled it out, but in the mean time Ross continued to act. Really, he could not think. His head was empty. This was the start of most of his reckless actions anyways, so it could not have been too awful considering he likely had already dug his own hole right there.

He should have left it at that, but instead he continued pushing. His petty revenge suddenly got replaced with his curiosity, or perhaps they both combined. He put a finger up to his own lips and looked to the ceiling as if thinking like a cartoon character would.

"Hmm well, I actually got much more 'nonsense mind you." he remarked, looking back down and staring back into Flash' blue eyes. "First of all, I wasn't lyin' about the grades! I got a bunch of O's this week. Second of all, what's your name, snake boy?, third of all, I dunno what made you uncomfortable, but you 'aught to avoid it next time! And finally, i think you're mighty ru-"

The boy cut himself off as he began to say the last part. He covered his mouth with his hands for a moment. He did not quite have the guts to say it. Sure he was on a confidence streak, but something about finishing that sentence was not right to him. Perhaps it was fear, as it likely was. In that awkward moment, he put his hands down and simply let out an awkward laugh.

"But yeah I been gettin' all O's" he mumbled

Ross stumbled backwards slightly, glaring at Flash. Though Ross would not be brought back into reality until Flash had left the room, Ross was beginning to feel the slightest bit of regret for how he had acted. On the other hand, this was being imbalanced by his pure frustration at the Slytherin that stood in front of him. In a couple minutes, Ross would start finding that the comments had actually hurt; however, they would likely be pushed down inside of him without his 'important journal.'

Ross would make a witty remark back to the boy, but he was at a loss for words. Instead, he proceeded to stare with a mix of frustration and surprise on his face, his mouth agape. His arms were sort of in an uncomfortable position that were at his side, but seemed like something was certainly off.

As soon as he mentioned that he was not a mystery, Ross felt like laughing.

That would absolutely not change his mind.

Ross was absolutely still curious about this boy, but now felt a little nervous to push it. There was no way he was just a jerk all the time. That was just a rule of life, unless you were Eggman. But Flash was not Eggman, or at least that was what Ross thought.

And this was proved by his next statements. A moment of vulnerability that spoke for itself in ways Ross felt Flash could not have done on his own. Ross wanted to say something, but his frustration at the boy was like a gag or a trashy filter.

It seemed Flash and Ross were in the exact same mood: Unsure of what to do or say or what exactly just happened. Ross' entire mind just blanked, as two conflicting emotions had completely conquered his mind, Like how Russia and Germany worked to take over Poland: It just would not work out in the end.

As Flash began to leave, Ross was just stuck. All he could do was stare. Nothing really came to mind, but his aggression seemed to get the best of him as soon as he began to leave.

Right.. studies.. and you best focus on that whole family thing" he mumbled to himself as Flash left the room.

Oh how he hated him.