Knowledge is Power

Chapter 8

Nightshade didn't find Mag's 2nd year of school at Hogwarts any more exciting than her first. In other words it was boring and he hated having to wake up and go to stupid classes with her. He hated being surrounded by other owls of lower intelligence that he personally referred to as Tard Babies. They had no formulated thoughts, only instincts and reflexive basic needs which drove them. The idea made his very soul want to shudder...so he tried not to think on it for long. Sure he wondered why he was different, but not too much because he refused to risk being put into a fuckin' lab in case that's what it took to find out. Wizards could be just as stupid as those other owls, after all.

Mag kept her word and told no one else that he was different, though so that was alright. He wanted to scratch the tender skin of the little first year brats when they got loud but Mag insisted that would cause problems that wouldn't allow him to remain with her in classes or the great hall. He'd have to stay in the owlery all the time with the other tard babies and he wasn't having that...So he found another way to get at the little brats. He'd just insert fun thoughts into their minds when he found a kid particularly obnoxious. Well they were fun for him, and that was all that counted.

He suggested to them that they were insane due to the fact they were right now hearing voices in their heads. They got scared and that was Nightshade's entertainment. Usually they kept it to themselves, not wanting to be put away in St. Mungos likely as not, but it allowed him to torment them longer so that was cool. He also discovered that if he insinuated his own mental focus into their head very hard he could give them a headache. Very impressive, at least he was impressed with himself and his self-discovered ability.

Otherwise nothing exciting happened and the year dragged on until it was over. He looked forward to the summer as while it wasn't much more interesting, it was less structured and at WestCraven manor there wasn't anyone to annoy him feathered or otherwise. Mag was cool and let him chill out and her parents didn't bother him either. As the summer drew to a close he wasn't looking forward to Mag's 3rd year at Hogwarts, but there was literally nothing to be done about it so the large white owl was resigned. The worst part was going to be the train and he hated that so so so very much! If he could just sit on the back of Mag's seat like at school it would be far better, but no. He had to go in the stupid cage that made him feel all squeezed and trapped and it was hard to breathe or think. He didn't like the cage and as the train meant the cage he hated the train so so so very much!

For Mag's part, when her 3rd year rolled around, only a few things changed to mark it as particularly different than her 2nd year. The first was that another childhood friend of hers began at Hogwarts. Millicent Bulstrode was 2 years younger than Mag, but their parents were friends, having gone to school together and all working at the ministry for magic, though like Kereston's, in different departments. Millicent was a little taller than Mag and Mag was rather tall for a girl. Where Mag's long hair was red, Millicent's equally long hair was black. Where Mag's large deep set eyes were green, Millicent's were a thoughtful chocolate brown. Though both girls were slender, Millicent had wider shoulders, one of which she used to push another kid out of her way as she, Mag and Kereston boarded the train together.

The other thing to mark the 3rd year as special was that Mag was allowed to take 2 new classes that she was very much looking forward to. Arithmancy and ancient runes were things she'd studied privately at home with rare books from her family's library, but she knew she'd get more hands on exposure with those brands of magic at Hogwarts. At least she hoped such would be the case.

She felt a bit more grown up this year and that was exciting. On the train she and Kereston told Millicent about what to expect at Hogwarts and Mag tried to ignore Nightshade's panic attack as he sat wide eyed and unblinking on the bottom of his cage. She wished he'd taken the sedative her mum had offered him but he'd objected to that as well which was annoying. Last year and the year before she'd tried to speak to him soothingly but he'd either hissed profanities into her mind or ignored her so she assumed he wanted to be left alone. She could relate to that.