Violent Encounters PV Closed

"He is pretty sure," Mathias claimed. "He ended up making me make an ass of myself at the Blossom Ball and all that happened was he made some googly eyes at some girl," he complained. Vladimir had succeeded in dragging the wild girl off, screaming and carrying on as if they were about to be dragged off to be murdered. It was appropriate actually. However he was not able to divert the attention of a single person, while Mathias had held off a small crowd of nosy teens the inept Ravenclaw could not outrun one.

"Paranoia, delusions, violent outbursts," Mathias announced three symptoms while holding up his fingers. A trio of symptoms that could in fact be attributed to a number of mental health disorders. "But not a symptom of hysteria despite her unfortunate gender," a misogynist comment surely but that was not the point as those there would be well aware. Hags are without exception female. There were no male hags, no males that would transform or change in response to a wicked hag curse.

"The summer is one of the best opportunities we have, there is less order as the other students roam about without a set schedule," Mathias explained matter-of-factly. There was no moral quandary for him, the girl needed to die before the change completed. "Since she is entering her fifth year, she could change any-day... we have let this go on longer than we should have," he admitted. He had no sympathy for a monster although there was a limited part of him that coveted control over the morbid power one might have. A sentiment others shared surely but he was the only one with the courage to state such things.

"I am absolutely certain," Vladimir echoed. Mathias was right, he was distracted during the Blossom Ball and thwarted a perfect opportunity to end that girl's suffering. Yes, suffering. He saw this as a mercy killing rather than a criminal act but he was well aware that the Ministry, the school and his peers would not see it that way. "I took notice of her affliction during the Fall Ball, she was spouting delusional nonsense regarding Quinn Healy," a Hufflepuff Prefect and part giant he had tried to talk to but found himself facing a brick wall of indifference. He had tried the year before to lure Hugh Lowe, the only other part giant he knew of into the basement of the school for a conversation. There was an issue of great concern that seemed to go over (somehow) the other part-giant's heads. How quickly they forgot a pair of incidents that marred the year before lasts encounter with Ilvermorny. A pair of part giants intruded upon their Ball, one of then died during the incident and nobody seemed interested enough as to ask why, the part giants at Hogwarts included. "She had excessive, rough appearing scars covering a large portion of her back," he explained. A symptom along with several others that caused him to draw what otherwise would have been a wild conclusion. They knew that scars were uncommon among wizards, that it would be not oy easy to repair most injuries but to do so quickly and seamlessly. The continued presence of the scars indicated either someone unreasonably keeping scars as a morbid souvenir or more logically because what responsible parents leaves such options up to their minor child (the answer is none) that the injuries had a dark magic origin.

"I will have you look her over first if it satisfies you," he relented. Hesitation was expected, murder was beyond most of his peers limits. "But you know as well as I that we can't let that thing" yes he considered her a thing rather than a person. Her humanity was forfeited as soon as she was infected, as soon as the change started to grip her mind. "Complete the change," he concluded. That was the point of no return. When born that would be an additional, hungry, reckless, dangerous but thankfully also inexperienced hag. They would not be able to overwhelm even a neophyte hag on their own and involving the Professors would be a mistake. Being a child, a teen, they would not place their faith in him and what he knew and for that reason he could not place his in them.

"The plan is simple, he will use a hunting technique known as hounding but with you rather than hounds," a term Jürgen and Mathias both were familiar with for reason yet undisclosed, he would carry on. "We will corner her at the quiddich pitch. When nobody is playing, the pitch is sparse, nobody to hear her scream," nobody to intervene this time. "You can have a look over her if you need Jürgen, we have a few questions to ask her too. Then..." there was no visible change in his expression. "We will bring her to the lake in the early morning hours while everyone else is eating breakfast."

It was a simple plan, anything too convoluted would likely fail. There were a few answers he needed and he had no doubt Mathias would extract what they needed to know. Jürgen might be hesitant for the moment but he would change his mind once he had full assurance, the girl was better off dead - this was a kindness.

"We are not supposed to interfere, you know that," Jürgen reminded Vladimir. "We are simple, normal students," he frowned. This was not their problem essentially. Yes, it was unfortunate to know that someone was going to become a hag, the transformation would be heinous, death might be a kindness but it was not their place. "You need to stop involving yourself in other people's problems. You nearly got Galton killed!" It was more than an accusation, it was the truth. Galton had overdosed on those candies Vladimir supplied, and while it was not necessarily his fault in its entirety, buyers knew that the candy was tainted, the allure of reckless consumption would not have been laid at the feet of a glutton.

"Let the Ministry take care of this. Let the Professors," he urged knowing it was useless. Vlad was as stubborn as they came and he knew it. His heart was not in a bad place but it was a bit askew, his efforts were often laced with good intentions but he would willingly destroy a city to save a friend. That was the case here, he was obsessed with Victor's death, with the hags. His ite and his blame were not wrongfully placed, but his wrath would do nobody any good.

"You know that you're allowed to be happy," Jürgen reminded him. "The darkness has spread but you're still alive. Marion too, I thought you had a thing for her. You'd make a nice pair," he offered as a deterrent, a distraction even. "The hell you both endured is enough to mess with anyone," he reasoned, he tried to gently dissuade.

"He knows, he knows..." Mathias announced dismissively with the wave of a hand. "But we were sent to Hogwarts for a reason," Mathias reminded Jürgen. "And it was not to just observe, it was to provide a buffer between the hags and the school. The fact that they are multiplying means that what limited reigns we have on them will be short-lived," a tone of urgency. Mathias was an asshole, not an idiot. The girl needed to die for a laundry list of reasons, being a hag was oy one of the issues. "The fact that there were two covens was already an terrifying finding. There was only supposed to be one," he reminded Jürgen.

Jürgen was upset, an idealist. Him and Vlad were annoyingly similar but he trusted that Jürgen would see things Matt's way rather quickly. "Do you honestly think a Professor would be of any help?" A rhetorical question, he glanced towards Vladimir. "They will wait until she changes... placing themselves and others at risk. She us already dangerous, mad, in need of being tethered but they allow her to scuttle about," he knew the Professors saw a troubled child rather than a monster. A flaw of sentiment, of adulthood. "And Vlad tried to reach out to VanCleaf months ago," before the Blossom Ball attempt by a measure of months even. "He never returned Vladimir's letter."

While there was humane hesitation, the fact that murder was an extreme choice, he was on Vladimir's side. He was convinced since April. If anything he felt Vladimir was being too soft, Erin should never have made it to the campgrounds at all. This was a matter of weeks they would have been essentially unaccounted for. It was an excellent opportunity, even if it would have reduced his time playing Cassenova with a muggle-born.

"A live hag might be useful, but I think we need to get more hands," he cautioned.Not that death was out of the question but hags were a thing of nightmares among even wizards for a reason. A witnessed change, a confined hag, represented knowledge and opportunity for them both. Worthy pursuits laid to rest notions of civility and humanity, concepts that should be reserved for humans.

Vladimir's jaw was clenched as Jürgen spouted accusations at him. He was not wrong, that being the most irksome thing. He heard about Galton from his father, not that his father or for that matter VanCleaf knew entirely the circumstances that led to the Candy King's madness. "Someone has to involve themselves," Vladimir rumbled, his voice like running gravel over a story surface. "Not everyone has the luxury of ignorance, " he claimed. This being what seperated himself from Jürgen and Mathias as well as most if the other students -- glory hounds, egotists, and selfish fools. "While you were cavorting with the walking cavity, I was trying to keep people alive," not that he needed to worry about Victor any longer. His efforts were ultimately futile and while there was a mad hope that he was wrong, he saw the body. They laid him to rest in the family mausoleum. Yet there was a cruel hope that perhaps he was wrong, that the deal he made those years ago was still in effect.

"We know what she is and if we turn a blind eye, someone else might down her, but at what consequence?" Would she hurt some kid? Maybe even worse. His stomach made a restless flip inside. They could not trust hags, even if they would keep their word, it was rarely in the spirit of the deal.

"They don't know. They don't care... maybe both," Vladimir claimed stubbornly. In truth there was a better answer but his sentiment was clouding his logic. Mathias had a leveler head, he had less skin in this game, no attachments, nothing to lose.

We don't have the reliable resources to keep a hag," he reminded Mathias. Besides, as curious as he might be, there was a sliver of humanity left in him. He wanted her dead, not suffering. Killing was the greatest kindness he could afford her.

Happiness...

He was not happy. He could not remember the last time he was happy. There were moments he was certain but none came immediately to mind. He recalled being hopeful. But that was always followed by a tide of disappointment. He really had a lot of reasons to be happy, he was well-off, from a fine pedigree, genetically blessed. He had a pair, well now one good friend. Perhaps he was being selfish, childish. "You would not understand," he muttered. Merlin, he felt like a petchulant child. He was face to face with his mortality, he had buried a friend thrice, he could not stand doing it again.

"I am going to end it in a few days, I would prefer it if you both were here." His voice wavered slightly, in truth he was tired. In truth he hoped neither would come. In truth he hoped he failed, he was tired of fighting what felt like an endless battle against opponents who had no stake in the outcome.

He would not dignify the comment about Marion with a reply. Not all love us created equal. What he felt for her was not a romantic love, it was perhaps an infatuation. No, that was not right, she was not overly interesting. An attraction. Yes, she was pretty and blonde, smiled a lot and loved the color pink. She was what he defined as feminine. She also needed him. There was a white knight under the stoic facade that wanted to help, to save, to make a difference and she was the perennial damsel in need. But that did not mean he wanted her. A few years ago, when he was younger and had less of a grip on his emotions he believed he wanted her. The brain lies. The heart lies. Sometimes Vladimir lies. "Please, she is a muggleborn."

Topic left

There were a lot of things Hess did not understand about his cousins. He did not understand how they, being Mathias and Vladimir, fixated on such things. So what if she was a changeling, if she was about to undergo the change. It was not their problem but Mathias liked to make problems and Vladimir was on a quest to solve every problem he could find. It made the duo a dangerous pair. There were Professors - they were not a group of incompetents, they were misinformed, underutilized and they could help. There were aurors, the Ministry of Magic - they were capable, albeit misguided and on occasion corrupt, these defects represented the underwhelming minority. There was Uncle Thaddeus, what interest, cooperation or hard work could not fix, money could.

They had other options, but he would comply as a hesitant participant. They had a purpose here in Hogwarts beyond simple learning. They had means, they had other options. Uncle Thaddeus wanted them here, together -- they would be stronger as a unit allegedly but in truth he could not stand either of them. Pride was basically a gremlin with decent hair and Vladimir was the smartest idiot he had ever seen. They came to this school knowing about what was in the forest, they had one job and they were awful at it: keep them out of the school. They had been overestimated, somehow those hags had entered the school somehow. Somehow these dark creatures had emerged, latched onto the victims blood in this awful curse that had afflicted one of their own. It was more than a travesty, it was an embarrassment. They might have done terrible things but they were better than failure.

"The first, we will need to extract her somehow. I will leave that to Matt," he frowned. His gaze averted, he could not look either of them in the eye. This would not have been necessary at all if Vladimir had stuck to the rules. Now he was going to have to play maid to an entitled fool and a royal arse.

"I am out of here, I can't be seen with either of you," he announced as he shook his head side-to-side. The two of them were an utter disgrace.

Topic Left

"No complaints from me there, well besides the fact that this is a wasted opportunity..." Mathias would start again. "They are relative unknowns, if we disregard the whole moral implications part," he shrugged. "We can witness the change, better understand it and perhaps even learn something about the other coven," Mathias listed the reasons as there were many reasons to keep her alive but there was one very good reason to make sure she was dead. "If we don't act soon, their numbers might become overwhelming." A solid reminder that Vladimir needed to hear yet again. He had become dependent on them, it was a fool's game and while that made this an appropriate diversion for the Ravenclaw, Vlad's mistakes were not just his to suffer.

"Instead of just holding them back, keeping the status quo, this could be used for a lot of things. Besides you are going to screw up again and be begging some eldritch abomination for a favor." He sounded irritated because he was. A dismissive wave of his hand, he did not bother to wait for Vladimir to give him a reply. To fill the air with useless noise, excuses. He had heard them all before -- the darker things that Vlad refused to admit, had let himself forget. The convenient reality he chose to live in. The one where his failings could have been excuses. The one where he admitted how wrong he was, and not in the context of 'pity me' the poor and somber, ridiculously rich and blessed youth. He was so full of shit Matt should be taking notes but even he had an ounce of pride.

He had a plan, he always had a plan. Girls were easy, and he did not mean that is a lewd manner but in a lot of cases that was true too. There were a few things she very vocially cared about -- death witches, giants, and Burnett. At least the Burnett-look. He could not support her terrible taste, the matchstick of a boy with the personality of handle. Some women enjoyed disappointment - Erin being one of them he reasoned. Considering he could handle a Winnie, an Erin could not possibly be any worse.

Child's play.

"The first," he verbally confirmed. The obvious time because the rest of the castle and staff would be distracted. If there was a fight, it would be three on one and nobody would intercede. If she screamed, nobody would hear her. If she was missing, who would notice?

"See you then."

Topic Left