Catalyst

Chapter 22: Preparation

If Abathur hadn't known better, he would have assumed that his former camouflage was scouting him for a kill. They hid around corners, stalked him through the library and the corridors, attempting to corner him between classes. For weeks, they had been trying to corner him. They were persistent, if nothing else. It would almost have been impressive, if he hadn't known their plans before they made them and been able to feel their minds before they got even remotely close to succeeding. Still, it was beginning to grate on his nerves.

Abathur maneuvered around the crowd blocking the exit to Ancient Runes. The terrans were approaching on the other side, preparing to block him off before he exited the room. They would not succeed. Fortunately, after this, they wouldn't have to. The second he exited the classroom, Abathur turned a corner and stayed there, waiting. With luck, they would no longer be stalking him after this.

It took only a few seconds for his former camouflage to rush by. The humans would have likely completely passed him in a few more seconds. They would only notice him if he intentionally drew attention to himself.

"Cease attempts to contact."

The terrans stopped in their tracks, and rapidly turned to face Abathur. "Where have you been?" Hermione demanded. "We've been trying to find to you for weeks!"

"Am aware. Contact, undesirable. Only purpose here, ending future attempts," Abathur replied coolly.

The silence was deafening. His former camouflage just stood there, frozen in place. Abathur was always glad to see humans getting the message quickly. It saved him a lot of time. He turned to walk away, his business concluded only to be interrupted.

"What, is that it? You're just going to avoid us for the rest of the year?" Harry asked, stepping towards Abathur. Abathur kept a close eye on the wand in Harry's pocket.

"Year, arbitrary. Will avoid for remainder of lives." Abathur stated.

"You can't be serious," Ron said, his face unnaturally pale. Perhaps he was suffering from circulation issues. Abathur could exploit that later.

"Do not understand. Am serious. Statement, unclear." Abathur said. Silence reigned once again. After a long pause, Abathur moved to walk away, only to be interrupted, yet again.

"No, you aren't," Harry said. "You're only pushing us away because you're upset."

"Abathur... we're sorry. We didn't mean to interrupt you, we were just worried, and didn't realize how important is was to you" Hermione chimed in.

If all they were going to do was spout emotion based nonsense, this was even more of a waste of time than he had already thought. Abathur continued on his way to his next class. The declaration had been given, whether they heeded it or not was out of his control. Not that he cared either way. It was not particularly hard to evade them.

"Are you really just going to walk away?" Ron asked. "If that's how much we mean to you, what was the point of being friends with us in the first place?"

That stopped Abathur in his tracks. A chill went down his spine, as he realized exactly what he was doing. Like it or not, he still needed camouflage, still needed a way to stay beneath notice. If he walked away now, he had no cover, no layer of protection, no method of blending into the crowd. If he remained outside a group, Abathur might as well invite the terrans to kill him.

Abathur turned around, and slowly walked back to the terrans, hanging his head low. A sign of submission, necessary to pull this off. When he was within half a body's length, he stopped, and raised his eyes to meet each of their's in turn. "Am..." He took a moment to inhale, as if hesitant over what to say next. He wasn't. "Sorry. Was... angry. Irrational. Interruption, at vital point." Abathur ran a quick probe across their memories for the ideal phrase. "Was not thinking straight. Forgiveness, possible?" It was, of course. This was what Boggart essence was best for.