Scum 6 (Patreon)

Scum

Chapter 6

-VB-

“Why does he get special treatment?” Antilia van Riemsdijk grumbled as he stared at the First Year who’s been getting all sorts of attention from the professors. The supposed halfblood Ravenclaw, Alan Marris or something, had Professor Flitwick’s attention for some reason. 

Yeah, sure, he got the Wingardium spell on the first try (allegedly) and did all sorts of magical experiments because he lived in America and America was weird unlike Britain (allegedly). But whatever the reasons were, he got the professor’s attention even though he was a foreigner. 

What the hell was that about?

And when he asked the Ravenclaw Prefect…

“Don’t know. Just focus on your own studies.”

Weren’t they curious? Weren’t they upset that a First Year kid was hogging the professor’s attention?! What about him? What about John? What about everyone else who’s been working their ass off?!

“He has to be some kind of bankroller’s kid,” he grumbled as he and his friends made their way to the Great Hall. “Or a family friend or something.”

“Give it a rest, Antilia,” John yawned. “The prof thinks the kid’s interesting for a First Year. It’s not something to get worked up over, innit?”

“Of course, it’s something to be concerned about!” Antilia snapped at the ever lax guy. “Don’t you know how hard it is to get a professor’s recommendation for work after graduation?” 

Donatello shrugged. “I wouldn’t know. I’ll end up working at mom’s farm, if I’m not helping with pops.”

“Ugh. You guys are way too lax about shit like this. That wanker’s gotta go.”

“... Antilia?” 

He looked at the boys, and saw John giving him a weird look.

“I’m not gonna do anything too permanent,” he drawled. “Just make sure the firstie knows to step back until at least we’ve graduated, ya know?”

“I don’t know…” Dantanalo muttered. “That’s the kind of thing that can get you in deep trouble, mate.”

“Well, if I don’t do this, then I will get into bloody trouble when I don’t get that recommendation cuz the prof is too busy ogling the little kid!” 

John rolled his eyes. “Yeah, whatever. What’re ya going to do to him anyway? Wedgie him? Throw a cup of pumpkin juice? Make him fart? Turn his hair into a rainbow? Make him drink a permanent sex-changing potion? The last one will get ya in trouble with yo parents, though.”

“What-? Why suddenly bring up sex changer?” he asked confusedly. “No, I’m just gonna go up to him, tell him what for, and make sure the firstie gets it. I’m not an asshole!” 

“If you say so,” Donatello shrugged. “I’m too hungry right now to think about stuff.”

The five of them all sat down, and Antilia glanced at the last two members of their group. 

Sarah Walker and Gregory Maclean were the silent types, though for different reasons. Sarah just didn’t talk while Greg was the broody one. He knew for a fact that Sarah didn’t care but Greg might take problem with it. He did get bullied by an older student when he was a firstie, which was why Antilia stressed the fact that he wouldn’t do anything too icky. 

“Besides, aren’t any of you curious why the profs keep paying attention to the git?”

“No,” Sarah spoke up as she sat down. Within a second, a bunch of food showed up, most of which were greens. Ewk. How did she stand the vegetables? “You should be focusing on your own OWLs before you think about browbeating a firstie. Your recommendation will never get to you if you don’t have a good OWL score.”

He glared at her for a second before scoffing. “At least I have a higher score than you in general.”

“True,” she hummed noncommittally. “The only thing I care about is potions, and that’s how it’ll remain. Everyone needs potions.”

He grumbled. “Yeah, well, if none of you want to help me, then I’m just going to do it on my own.” Then he looked down at the table and saw his favorite food: a thick slice bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwich with mayonnaise. He picked it up and started eating. 

Yes. This was how life was supposed to be. 

Good food, good friends, and a good future.

-VB-

So how did it come to be this way? 

Antilia didn’t dare look up. He sat, his legs shivering, his butt quivering against the stone floor, and his hands refusing to get off the floor. 

He watched with wide eyes as some kind of black smoke leaked out from the firstie’s mouth as he glared down at Antilia. 

“Some senior you are,” the firstie - no, the monster - drawled as he crouched down. “Corner a first year student to an isolated corridor and try to threaten them? You are way too good at this. How many times have you done this before?” 

“I - I -.”

The monster in human skin smiled. 

“I’ve been feeling stiff, you know? It’s been way too long since I got to bloody someone,” he said. “So thanks, senior. Come on. Let’s finish this,” he said as he stood up, took a few steps back, clawed his fingers, and summoned fire without a single chant. “I’ll be gentle.”

Antilia felt tears running down his face. 

“Mister Marris!” 

The boy stopped and turned to his left. 

“Oh. Professor McGonagall. Fancy seeing you here. Are you here to moderate the fight?” 

Antilia’s head snapped to his right, and he saw the professor running down the corridor toward them. 

“There will be no fight!” she snapped at him. “What are you doing?!”

“Senior here brought me here and told me to keep my head down. Made all sorts of threatening moves, you know?” he smiled. “It took me back to my loner days. I got real good at killing idiots who thought they knew better.”

Kill? 

Kill?

“There will be no killing in Hogwarts!” she hissed. She turned to him. “Mister van Riemsdijk, please stand up and follow me. You too, Mister Marris. And put those fires out.”

Antilia lived. 

Yeah… yeah, this had been a bad idea.

-VB-

“What were you thinking?!” Professor McGonagall was fully and truly pissed. Sorry, upset.

Personally, I wasn’t even annoyed that she thought she could chew me out. 

“Not really thinking if that’s what you’re asking,” I drawled. “Life here is so very boring, you know? But I don’t go out of my way to attack kids. Anty here tickled me pickle with that rush for a fight.”

“Mister Marris, that is not what Hogwarts is for! You are here to learn-”

“You mean I’ve been more or less coerced into coming here with the bait of free land once I graduate,” I replied. “Please be honest with the situation at hand, assistant headmistress. I am the one who was attacked and threatened first while the perpetrator is not even hurt aside from maybe his ass when he fell after my shadow scared him.”

She frowned and turned to look at the other kid. “Is that true?”

“N-No, I just -. I mean -.”

“Jesus Christ,” I sighed. “Why is this even a big deal? The nurse’s office should have potions for most things, right? So what’s the big deal if the kids rough it out?” 

“Be quiet, Mister Marris.”

Well, I didn’t like that. “Make me, McGonagall,” I hissed as I narrowed my eyes. I may be limited to “low” levels of magic thanks to the conditions set by the CYOA that brought me here, but that was still enough to go on a bloody rampage.

She looked at me in shock. Probably never had a student tell her off like I did. 

“Detention.”

“I keep saying make me,” I drawled. I noticed that the kid was now inching away from me after he got over his shock. “I mean … I’ve got nothing against you but you clearly have something against me. So let’s fight it out,” I grinned. “Just don’t blame me if I burn you from the inside out.”

Before she exploded, someone knocked on her office door. 

“... Come in,” she hissed after a pause. 

I glanced over my shoulder and saw …

I sighed again. “Hello, headmaster,” I said without turning away from Professor McGonagall. I still wanted to fight her. The kid got my blood pumping and -.

I frowned. 

Hmm.

Was I pushing it too much? Maybe I was taking her doing her job too personally. 

… But I still wanted to fight. To test out my magic. 

“Ah, good morning, Mister Marris. Mister van Riemsdijk. Professor.”

“Headmaster,” Professor McGonagall gritted out. “You must do something about Mister Marris. He challenged my authority as professor, educator, and assistant headmistress of Hogwarts.”

“Of course, I fucking would when you’re trying to lecture me for fighting back against an asshole who threatened me for, apparently, hogging Professor Flitwick’s attention,” I snapped back. Whatever moderating thoughts I had was gone, replaced by righteous irritation. “And the professor here is, instead of scolding Anty over there for threatening me after pushing me into an isolated corridor, is to scold me for being a bit violent at a school that could treat most damages. Of course, I’m going to challenge her!” 

McGonagall looked at Dumbledore with “See?!” look. 

Dumbledore … sniffed. “Well, it seems that the situation is complicated indeed.”

The man obviously saw trouble. 

“Very well. I’ll leave it up to you, Professor McGonagall,” he said. “But perhaps addressing the initial perpetrator might ease some issues?” Then he left. 

I rolled my eyes. 

McGonagall sent me a glare before turning to Anty. “Is it true?” she asked. 

“... Y-Yes.”

“Very well. A month-long detention with Professor Snape.”

The way that the guy paled made me happy. 

“As for you, Mister Marris.”

“Like I said before, fight me,” I grinned. 

She glared at me. “Expulsion is very much a possibility.”

“That’s not a threat to me. I just go back to being a hermit. Try again.”

She kept glaring at me for a while longer before she lost the will. She turned to Anty. “Mister van Riemsdijk. You may leave my office.” The guy ran out quickly. She turned to look at me after the door closed. “Why must you be combative about this?” she asked tiredly. 

“That’s the wrong question,” I replied. “Why must I go along with what other people tell me to?”

“Because you are young.”

“This young man eked out a living by himself. I ain’t no lazy bum and got ideas and philosophies of his own,” I countered with a glare of my own. “It’s not easy butchering a moose with these tiny hands.”

She stared at me longer. She wasn’t glaring anymore, but I wouldn’t say that she was getting soft on me. 

“Resorting to violence at school is still unacceptable.”

“You do you,” I told her irreverently. “As long as other students don’t threaten or attack me, I won’t attack them. What is Hogwarts motto again? Don’t poke the sleeping dragon?”

“... I will be talking to the headmaster about this, but in the meantime, that will be three hundred points off for Ravenclaw.”

I narrowed my eyes. After a short pause, I smacked my lips. “Am I excused?”

“You are.”

I walked out of that office as the victor. 

I didn’t feel like one when other Ravenclaw students started glaring at me.