I Solemnly Swear That I am Up to No Good

[alt_luna]

I keep thinking about Darius Warrington.

The rumours have been flying about, but the stories of what happened are rather garbled (and mostly when the counselors spot us talking about it tell us to shut it, that it's none of our business. Which I must admit is probably true). But I've heard from a couple people that it had something to do with the killing curse. One person said that Sally-Anne Perks was one of the people on hand when whatever-it-was occurred.

I'm not asking what happened because I want to know, for gossip purposes, I mean. I just...

He never was the pleasantest person. And ever since the Frost Faire, it's as if something inside him turned truly nasty. In fact, I've heard a couple of people say good riddance, now that he's no longer with CCF. But now...I think that sometimes there are moments in people's lives that we can seize, if we take the trouble to notice them. A kind word said just at the right time, when a person is hurting or feeling truly vulnerable, might change that person's path for the better. Maybe now is that moment for him?

The thing is, would I be the right person to say it? I've been wondering if it would make any difference, if I reached out to him somehow. If only to say I know what it is like to lose a parent.

It's not so much that I'm afraid he'd be cruel to me if I said something anything. (I'm rather used to it now when people are cruel to me, so I don't let it bother me particularly). But it might not help him because, well, boys our age can be so prickly. Perhaps he would think I was criticising him or pitying him, and he wouldn't be able to bear that and would become even nastier.

Perhaps the kind word would be better coming from someone else, someone in his House, I mean. I just don't know who his close friends are.

Comments

[alt_ron]

Huh. That's not what I heard at all.

I heard Warrrington attacked Higgs with the killing curse, but he missed.

That's not good at all, y'know? And you can totally see why they sent him down.

[alt_sally_anne]

No, that's not what happened. If Warrington had actually tried to murder a counsellor they'd have done worse than kick him out of CCF!

[alt_sally_anne]

Warrington was one of the others who volunteered to try his luck with hunting. You know how they told us we weren't going to have any rations other than what we caught or gathered, well, there were people who went fishing, and people who went out looking for things like edible fungi and so on, and people who went out to try to get rabbits or squirrels.

We were given specific permission to use the killing curse for hunting BUT we were supposed to use Hominum Revelio first to be absolutely sure no one was standing where they could be hit with the curse accidentally.

Anyway Warrington and Preece were out together and spotted a squirrel and Warrington tried to cast the killing curse but it didn't even work, I mean the spell didn't work at all. I think he forgot Hominum Revelio because he was so intent on showing everyone it didn't bother him to use the curse. And then Preece (because he's a prat) cast the killing curse to show up Warrington and it worked fine for him, but he was in such a hurry to show that HE could do it properly that he also forgot to cast Hominum Revelio.

And Higgs was right near the squirrel. So you can see why he was cross.

Warrington started screaming and I came running over because I was afraid he was really hurt. He wasn't, though, just really, really upset, and I'm not even sure whether he was more upset because he'd failed, or because he'd forgotten the safety procedure, or because Preece forgot the safety procedure, or because seeing it cast so close by really upset him.

[alt_ron]

Oh.

Really? What did you hear?

[alt_sally_anne]

The problem with talking to him is that ever since the Frost Faire he's been trying so, so hard to pretend that nothing bothers him and his father's death was an honour of some sort or ... I don't even know. But he thinks he has to pretend he doesn't care.

I have to pretend I don't care that I never get to see my parents. But I've had a lot of practice I can't very well set him down and say, 'I know some of how it is,' because first of all, my parents are at least still alive and his father is dead so I DON'T know, not really, and second, I can't set him down and admit to him how much I miss my mum because I don't trust him. Not even a little.

[alt_sally_anne]

Well I heard Higgs yelling at him, since I was right there. (I came because I heard screaming.)