Investigative Research PV Valentine Finished

Interacting with: @Kazuo Shimada

For Reading: @Howard White @Heinrich Bezuidenhout

Hogwarts was home to a great many personalities that could easily make up the cast of a television drama. Students here were quick to be angered, and their tempers burned hotter than a hamburger on a grill when sufficiently provoked. Yet, he had also encountered an unexpected amount of wisdom in others. Philosophy and matters of personal principle happened to be a frequent topic of discussion. Children in these parts seemed to be at either extreme of maturity and childishness; and sometimes both simultaneously. All he could conclude was that descendants of wizards were weird, to begin with, and the fierce happenings of Hogwarts only seemed to exacerbate that weirdness tenfold. Oftentimes, however, this diversity proved to serve the purposes of the school. Extraordinary times called for extraordinary individuals, and to prevent disaster yet again, the burden astoundingly fell upon the shoulders of children, whose naivety and innocence gave them a remarkable edge over even seasoned adults of their time.

Students of this school had enough to deal with, facing malicious hags with dubious motivations and living on the grounds on which a historic murder had been committed by an equally historic character. Life was dangerous enough as it was, and the last thing the school needed was for the students to incite enough chaos and violence on their own accord to allow evil forces to capitalize on the confusion. As of late, an old article published in the Hogwarts Headliner had relapsed into controversy. It was the Dhampir article, written by a student under the anonymous pseudonym T.Ruth. Well, anonymous until just a few days ago. One such Dhampir among the student body had suffered enough of the prejudice instigated by the written word. Howard White burst into the Great Hall towards the closure of dinner, bringing with him a stack of headliner papers and lighting them ablaze in a terrifying spectacle. He had cursed and roared like the monster the article made him out to be, demanding for T.Ruth to reveal herself. Unexpectedly, this worked, and a brunette Slytherin stepped up to confess and rebuke his views. For many, this was an invitation to express their take on the issue and throw about sweeping statements that misrepresented the significance of the altercation. The deeds and feelings of the individual were used to justify a heartless act of racism against an entire species of half-breeds. Amid the angered outbursts from several parties, Howard’s plea for help was drowned out by louder voices. But it hadn’t gone unnoticed by everyone.

Valentine didn’t see himself as a hero, or even as an agent of good. Both were equally subjective to the expectations of society, and society seemed to demand rampant freedom of speech and opinion. Valentine disagreed. Some lines shouldn’t have been crossed, and though he was not often moved to intervention, he was a boy of firm principles and sharp words. He had already resolved himself to confronting this T.Ruth character himself and giving her a piece of his mind. . . until matters became even more convoluted than before.

He had stood for three days outside the Slytherin dormitory during the dinner hours with a smuggled sandwich and a textbook under the guise of seeking help for his homework. He had seen a whole plethora of students; practically everyone he knew had passed him at least once. Some even stopped to strike up a conversation or attempt to ‘help’ him with his homework. Yet, not once did he encounter the Slytherin girl who had identified herself as ‘T.Ruth’.

Statistically, it was an impossibility, and it confounded Valentine even more. It led him to the soft conclusion that something sinister was at work, especially when he began to ask around the people he knew and none of them had any meaningful recollection of the girl before the incident in the Great Hall.

He remembered days prior, during the meltdown in the Great Hall, there had been one particular student who presented a quality of rhetoric that was far above that of everyone else present. Except for Kazuo Shimada, the rest of the students had degraded the nature of the wrongdoing to a petty squabble over who was at fault during the night of the Owlery attack. He, on the other hand, presented a sound and logical argument that addressed the overarching topic of discrimination against half-breeds, to which Valentine largely agreed with.

The pair were bound to meet at some point. Kazuo seemed to be drawn to conflict like an insect to light, and Valentine was oftentimes the cause for this conflict. Not this time, however. They were both spectators to an unfortunate victim, and it seemed that neither of them was keen on remaining uninvolved.

"Are those old Headliners?" he vocalized audibly over Kazuo's shoulder when he walked past him in the library. He'd seen the Hufflepuff around enough to know his name. Though their meeting here was by pure coincidence, their shared interest in the affair was sitting right in front of him on the table. It confirmed Valentine's suspicions of the other boy's interest.

"I thought of doing that. Comparing the writing styles of the various writers to figure out her name. But don't we already know what T.Ruth looks like?"

He looped around the table to the opposite seat, taking ahold of the neck of the chair and pulling it slightly off the ground in a silent request to sit. Kazuo probably didn't know who he was. His exploits had been far less meaningful.

"I'm Jackson Valentine," he offered an outstretched hand in greeting, before settling in the chair (if so obliged). "I'm not anyone notable in particular, but I was there when Howard burst into the Great Hall and caused a scene. I want to help him because what's happened to him isn't right. I think we both want the same thing."

He then proceeded to share what he had seen at the Slytherin dormitories with the other boy.

. . .

"So. . . what do you make of it?" he inquired thoughtfully. The whole situation made so little sense. Unless his experimental data was somehow flawed, he would surely have seen the girl at least once. "And what of your findings?"

Kazuo had an unfortunate habit of losing himself in his work when he was truly engaged by it. While reading old newspapers wasn’t particularly engaging, the mystery that had driven him to such a task certainly was. Eyes scanning pages, notes scribbled into his journal in a strange mix of Japanese hiragana and English, thoughts on the information he was trying to organize into patterns. So it was that he didn’t notice Valentine - rather, while he was aware of other students coming and going around him, he was not immediately aware of Valentine pausing at his table.

”Are those old Headliners?” A voice that cut through his concentration and drew his eyes away from the edition he was reading. His gaze shifted upward and around to fix on Valentine, giving him an appraising look. Though he kept his expression neutral, he recognized the Gryffindor.

“One hopes that is a rhetorical question,” Kazuo replied with a deadpan tone of voice, though if one were paying attention they might see amusement in his eyes. He considered Valentine as the boy circled the table and, in a show of subtle manners that managed to impress Kazuo, requested an invitation to join him. He gave the boy a hint of a smile and a nod of acceptance, an entirely wordless exchange that deeply pleased that part of him that had been trained to such subtleties. It was, unfortunately, ruined by the offered hand but he took it anyway, accepting the handshake for what it was.

“Valentine-kun,” He acknowledged the boy. “I remember you, Gryffindor. Kazuo Shimada.” He offered his own name in return as he picked up his box of Pocky and offered it to the other boy. He remained quiet as Valentine shared his recent experience, the fingers of his left hand drumming softly against the table as he thought about it.

“Where to start…” He murmured, gaze shifting back to the piles of Headliners. “I am searching the Headliners because I am not convinced that the mouse girl in the hall that day is really T. Ruth. She did not actually claim to be the writer of the article though she did a good job of making it seem like she was the one. When I challenged T. Ruth directly, that girl didn’t react at all. Unfortunately, I haven’t found much yet. I need more time and those pesky lessons we are required to attend have been getting in the way of my research time.” He gave Valentine a hint of a smile before continuing. “Your inability to spot her is very strange… I had been meaning to track down her identity eventually but it sounds as if that may be harder than I thought. I know a couple of Slytherin girls. I can ask them about Miss Mouse. Maybe they can track her down. In the meantime, however, I’m curious to know…”

His gaze flickered back to Valentine, eyes narrowing as he studied the boy, searching for something. “You want to help Howard and you think we want the same thing? What do you want, Valentine-kun?”

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@Kazuo Shimada

Valentine was unamused when asked about his intentions even when he had already made them known. Beating around the bush and speaking indirectly were traits that he had seen mostly in Slytherins. He found it both irritating and time-consuming, though he did always favor the direct approach. A passing instant of annoyance seemed to grace his expression, only for a split second. Though he was young, he had mastered his emotions to a degree. Self-control was his strength, and he allowed the misunderstanding to pass without much rancor.

Instead, he responded simply, "To help him. I don't know how much more plainly I could have put it."

He surmised that as an answer, it would be insufficient, so he quickly added on, "Most people don't know what it's like to be wronged until it happens to them. Even then, they grow spiteful. I don't want to be a bystander when it happens to others. If everyone adopts that attitude, no one will ever get the justice they deserve."

He proceeded to move on quickly. He wasn't quite sure what to make of Shimada's confusing reply, but he speculated that he would soon find out. Regardless of whether or not the boy liked him as an individual, they did in fact share a common interest in Howard White. They would be able to help one another, regardless of how they felt about each other.

"You don't think that's the real T.Ruth?" he contemplated aloud. "But why would someone willingly step up to take the blame? The Ravenclaw boy was obviously a joke, but what did this student have to gain from distinguishing herself? She wasn't a Prefect, that's for sure."

His eyes drooped to the piles of Headliner as he politely rejected the box of Pocky sticks. It momentarily occurred to him just how much time this boy had spent leafing through articles.

"Whatever the case, she might know something that we don't. Were the Slytherin girls you know present on the night when Howard caused a scene? Because if they weren't, how are you going to describe to them what this 'Mouse girl' looks like?"

Kazuo's lips curled into a smirk at Valentine’s brief reveal. The annoyance that flitted across his face before disappearing into a mask of self-control was precisely the sort of thing Kazuo had been watching for. Tiny signs that give people away, their real feelings and intentions. He leaned back, letting his chair rock back onto its back legs as he retrieved a Pocky stick, nibbling on the chocolate covered biscuit as he listened to Valentine’s response.

Initially, it was weak. Simply a repeat of what he had already said. Kazuo arched a brow at this but the boy continued, seeming to grasp that what he was asking for was more than some meaningless platitude about 'helping'. Everyone wanted to help but few had the conviction to do anything. Further, what might be an interest in the moment often faded the moment more than minimal effort was required. He wanted to know if Valentine was simply one more student whose interest was shallow. The speech was a rousing dissection of Valentine’s apparent belief in justice for all and it drew a long “Hmmmmm.” from Kazuo.

“All right, Hideyoshi,” Kazuo replied to the explanation, raising his hands in acceptance and grinning. The reference turned nickname, he knew, was likely beyond the other boy but it amused him so he made it anyway. Let Valentine ponder what he might have meant by it. “Forgive me for my curiosity. Plenty of people say they want to help. Few want to do so without ulterior motives. I don’t think false friends stirring up more trouble will be of help to Howard or any other half-breed right now. This appears to not be a new problem, either. Speaking of the school in specific, of course.” He slid an older issue of the Headliner across the table to Valentine, open to another article on halfbreeds.




“So how far down the rabbit hole are you willing to go? Who are you willing to stand against? As in all things where sides are chosen, this will probably get worse before it gets better.” His eyes narrowed, contemplating Valentine for a long moment before continuing, switching to the more relevant topic of his theories on Miss Mouse.

“There are plenty of reasons why she might claim to be T. Ruth. She might be protecting the real writer. She might simply be attempting to claim someone else’s glory. I’ve heard Slytherin aren’t above such underhanded methods. She might truly believe that T. Ruth’s inflammatory opinion is valid. Or she could simply be trying to incite more drama. If she hadn't stepped up and challenged Howard, do you think any other student would have? I don't know if he realised it but Howard had more supporters that day than opposition. There always seems to be someone in every conflict who feels the need to play devil's advocate. Perhaps she is one of those people.” He gave a shrug. “If I implied that tracking her down wasn’t useful, my apologies. That was not what I meant. I definitely think she is worth finding.”

“As for the girls, I don’t recall them being there but I will ask. If they weren’t, I suppose I will have to just describe Miss Mouse to them. Unless you know a legilimens?” He made the suggestion partly in jest, not expecting Valentine to actually know any but if he did, that would be interesting for entirely different reasons. "I admit, having only a description to go off will make things more difficult for them but if Miss Mouse is a Slytherin, she would have to have come into contact with other girls in the dorm. It's unavoidable. With enough asking around, they're bound to find someone who knows something. Unless you have a better idea?"

Reducio

Hideyoshi Toyotomi was a samurai from the Sengoku period who served Nobunaga Oda. He was a peasant who rose to eventually become Shogun after Oda's death. He was known for championing the causes of the peasant class and fully supported Oda's goal to unify and bring peace to Japan.

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@Kazuo Shimada

Sadly, the Western-born wizard was no expert in Japanese feudal history. The comment passed over his head, but he assumed that it either meant something jokingly mocking or complementary. He was also right about people often having self-serving motivations when offering 'help'. Such people were often difficult to discern from those with genuine intentions if they knew what they were doing. It made the journey through life all that much perilous. But Jackson Valentine was one of those few who were what they portrayed themselves to be. The golden embroidered lion on his Gryffindor robe was a singular ray of light, and those who answered that same call to action would easy to gravitate to him, so conspicuous was he, a fire in the darkness.

As far as student politics went, he was no novice. Nor was he even of this world. He was a boy raised in muggle-society, one of the most convoluted political landscapes that nature could have brewed, one that actively sought its own destruction while striving to meet new heights.

"Well, the rabbit hole isn't very deep, to begin with," he responded with an arched eyebrow. "There are grave consequences to bigotry and the school should be more mindful of the nature of their official publications. That's all there is to it in the greater scheme of things."

He nodded as Kazuo detailed to him some of the possible agendas for an imposter seeking to cover up for the real writer. While he agreed that it was possible, he wasn't entirely convinced that it was the case.

"I don't have any ideas, no," he remarked glumly. "But I'll continue to try to figure out just who this girl is."

Was she a hag? The thought lingered in his mind. Strange things happened at Hogwarts and a student who never appeared beyond a certain point invoked just as much suspicion as any of the other conspiracies. Valentine felt as though he was on the verge of uncovering something dark that he wasn't meant to find.

"That's all I've got for now. I suppose I should get back to work then. If you need me, you can ask around the Gryffindors. I don't believe there's more than one Valentine in our cohort."

With that, he gently pushed the chair out from behind and moved with the intention to take his leave.

"Good luck, Shimada."

Valentine has left the thread.

TBC

Kazuo clicked his teeth at Valentine’s simplistic belief that the school would simply pay more attention to what the student paper was publishing and that would be an end to the issue. From his perspective, the adults didn't seem to care one whit about what the students were doing and he didn't see that changing any time soon. Well, it certainly seemed that Valentine embodied certain Gryffindor attributes and who was Kazuo to dampen his spirits in his quest for justice. Besides, it suited his purpose to let Valentine spearhead this search. It gave him more time to follow his own leads, after all.

”Very well, Hideyoshi. I do hope you are right about the school, though my experience so far makes me doubt your assessment of the school’s administration. I will contact the girls I know and ask them to help. As soon as I have something worth mentioning, I’ll let you know. If you need me before then, I’ll likely be here, catching up on all the old school gossip.” He waved a newspaper in Valentine’s direction as the boy rose and took his leave. ”Try not to get punched by any Slytherin girls.”

He returned his attention to his notes and the newspapers, tapping the tip of his pen against the table in a rhythmic pattern as he refocused on his research.

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Thread Finished