Freaks: Year Two

Potatoes, Potatoes, More Potatoes And Meat

Referenced transphobia.

"My name is Alabaster Jackson."

Anthony's eyes widened at that, and Alabaster immediately knew that he was nervous. He couldn't help, but feel bad. Whatever Theodore had done to him must have not been very nice at all that he got very antsy at the sound of their last name.

It seemed many people got on edge at the mention of his last name.

"It is good to meet you," Alabaster tried. "I fell through the Floo Network, it was quite a messy adventure. A lot happened. I then went Bemothumatera hunting, and that did not go as planned either."

"Xeno?" Alabaster slowly nodded, although he looked confused. "You mentioned Beomothumateras," Anthony clarified. "That's how I figured it was him."

"That is why I am here actually," Alabaster said. "Your sister and brother found us and said I could stay for lunch. So...it is nice to meet you."

Anthony gave a tiny nod. "You said Alabaster was your name?"

"Yes."

"Like the stone."

"What?"

"Alabaster is a type of stone," Anthony told him. "It's this snow-white stone people use mostly for carvings and statues. You see it a lot at historical museums representing figures in history. It is used because alabaster stone is good for carving because of its softness. It is mostly for indoor use though as it doesn't last outside. That's why you always find the statues in museums or whatever the stone is used for inside on display."

"Oh, wow," Alabaster said. He had not known that he was named after a type of stone. He wondered what his siblings were named after, but he also wondered how Anthony knew that. "How did you know that?"

"I read up on different types of rocks and minerals...types of stones fall under that category," Anthony explained. "It was always my favourite subject in school and since Hogwarts doesn't have it, I just have a book about it so I can continue to learn about it."

"You mean...you learned about the topic in muggle school?" Alabaster asked.

"Yeah, in science class," Anthony said. "My brother and I went to a muggle school before going to Hogwarts."

Alabaster slowly nodded. He had a brief, faint recollection of science, but he had no idea why or how or where exactly he had heard about it. "What was muggle school like?"

Anthony looked surprised. "You really want to know?"

Alabaster nodded. "Yes, it seems like magical and muggle schools are quite different...you learned about rocks and stones for one, Hogwarts does not have a class like that."

Anthony chuckled. "That's true. I would say maths and Arithmancy are sort of similar as they are both classes involving numbers, but other than that, yeah, they are completely different. Succeeding in the magical world and succeeding in the muggle world are two different things. Some of the professions are quite different, most are and even if they have a similar idea to them, the execution that goes into them is not the same. Like an auror or a police officer or a doctor and a healer...and you were not even talking about that so...I don't know why I went on a rant about it, sorry. We were originally talking about science because of your name."

"Oh, no, it is okay, I do not mind," Alabaster said. "I did not know that some professions were similar in the magical and muggle world. Do you know what your name means?"

"I am not sure, I have never checked," Anthony said, honestly. "I only knew about yours because of alabaster stone."

"What other stones are there?" he asked. "Or other rocks or...anything like that...in your book? Are there pictures? I'd love to see what they look like." He was already imagining what alabaster stone looked like from Anthony's description, but he would have loved to see an actual photo.