The One Everyone Calls Crazy

Starting Something New

The next morning Xenophilius and I had breakfast in the Great Hall before heading to the Library, where it was the weekend we really didn't have anything to do aside from study or spend time with our friends.

"Are you sure you feel alright? You looked miserable yesterday." I asked, taking his hand in mine

While he looked fine now I was still worried about him.

"I'm sure, it wasn't very pleasant having that curse used on me but you helped more than you think you did." He replied, smiling down at me

"If you're sure.... Lily and I came up with a few suggestions for your idea. While she didn't seem to agree with the stance that the Ministry can put whatever they want into the Daily Prophet and people will believe it, she seemed supportive."

When I pulled the Muggle magazine out of my bag and put it down in front of him as we sat down at a table in the library his eyes lit up, I couldn't help but smile. His attention had now completely changed from the curse Barty had used yesterday to the publication idea he'd talked about days prior on the train.

"That looks absolutely nothing like the Daily Prophet" he whispered, flipping through the pages of the magazine

"That was the plan wasn't it?" I asked "For it to be nothing like the Prophet?"

"Yes! I love it, the only thing I'd change is putting the page numbers on the cover. Searching for certain articles in this seems infuriating."

"There's a table of contents a few pages in but if you think it'd be easier to put the page numbers on the cover that works too."

"It sounds more convenient for people reading it." He was still flipping through the magazine, he hadn't looked up from it since I'd put it on the table.

"She also suggested a name, she said 'The Quibbler' would be a synonym for the word Challenger? She said that since you're trying to challenge the validity of the Prophet it sounded fitting."

He didn't even seem to be listening to me at the moment, he seemed absorbed in an article in the Muggle magazine that I'd asked Lily about, he was reading the article about the Queen and the Prince.

"Xenophilius, did you hear anything I just said?"

My mentioning his first name seemed to get his attention, he's not used to it anymore as I typically call him some sort of pet name now, and when he looked up at me he looked like I was getting ready to chastise him for something, which I wasn't. I don't mind repeating myself once in awhile, especially since I knew he was excited about his idea coming into focus and it was now one step closer to being real.

"No, I didn't, I'm sorry" he'd tensed up slightly, he was still on edge from yesterday

"Don't be love. I know you're excited, and you have every reason to be. I'm not mad at you, I just wanted to know if you heard me."

He relaxed when I started repeating what I'd said about the name suggestion Lily had given me.

"I like it, it sounds fitting, it describes the goal of it perfectly." He replied

I took his being tense as him still being on edge because of yesterday, he'd been through a lot in the past 24 hours, I can't say I'd act any different than he was at the moment. A comfortable silence fell between us for a while until he brought up what I'd told my brother and his friends about the night before when I'd brought him into the Gryffindor common room.

"You're not going to join them are you? Regulus and his friends?" He sounded scared to even be asking

"No, why would I join them? My best friend is Muggleborn, I'd be a walking contradiction. I also don't believe in their cause. No one is 'less' of a witch or wizard just because of who their parents are, that doesn't make sense." While I understood why he'd ask, Regulus doesn't ask just anyone to join them, I was also slightly offended by the question