Colour in Glass

The cool, summer air whipped past Athena, cooling her warm skin and releasing the clammy heat from around her. It carried with it the giggles that erupted from the parted scarlet lips of her cousins as they stumbled up the dark track in their alcohol-smeared haze. Athena had hung back, having had quite enough of listening to Creon and Castor talk about plans to find themselves a couple of acrobats to provide the night’s entertainment. Athena shuddered to think what would occur there though neither one of the brothers seemed at all put off by the idea of bedding (or not as would be the case if they couldn’t wait) a couple of women that could fold themselves up into boxes. It horrified Athena and she made sure to send a few verses of barbed wit their way knowing that the alcohol they’d drank would dull their reaction time; and predictably it had turned them into a pair of blithering idiots. But, as Castor had pointed out to Athena, they weren’t blithering idiots without a purpose or a plan.

This had not been her idea. Had it been up to Athena as to how to spend her Saturday night, she would have much rather been curled up in an arm chair with a book in her lap and her hands wrapped around a mug of hot chocolate. Instead, her cousins had turned up in the parlour with the intention of taking Athena out. Apolline had thought it would be good for her and so the decision was made without Athena’s input. She was placed in a pair of jeans and a top, her feet were poked into a pair of heels and her hair was curled and played with before being sent out into the world. Athena was vaguely sure that Apolline found her situation, and more importantly her plight, funny. Athena’s father would not have agreed had there not been anyone with them - well, any men with them. He’d been decidedly wary since the ‘Darius thing’ and he’d been keener than ever to marry his daughter off.

It was another subtle reminder that she was nearly out of time.

Another reminder was the fact that nearly all of her cousins were paired off; and those who weren’t had plans to go and find someone to spend the night with. Athena didn’t know why she’d not gone home while she’d had the chance. She didn’t know what she’d expected to find at a circus. As she looked around, taking in the brightly coloured tents and the luminous lights, Athena found that she disliked the circus more than she’d originally thought she did. She was right too; the circus was for Mudbloods and Blood-Traitors.

It wasn’t long until her cousins had abandoned her - Castor and Creon deciding to look for the back entrance into the Big Tent. Athena rubbed her hands up and down her forearms before striding over to one of the booths. She peered over the shoulder of one of the audience members and watched as a glass blower created one of the most beautiful vases she’d ever set eyes on. Colour bounced off of the vase and Athena could imagine a large bouquet of tulips blooming in it. She took a step forward as the crowd dispersed and lifted her gaze, taking in all of the different blown-glass objects that she didn’t doubt the man had created for the eyes of the public.

Athena reached into her back pocket and took her wallet from it. She held up the dark leather and smiled before pointing to the vase he’d just made.

“How much?” She questioned, a rare smile spreading across her face in what could only be assumed to be thinly veiled anticipation.

outfit

Damien had stomped off on his own as soon as he arrived at the circus. He had no intentions to be here. Mother had, however, asked him very nicely to spend some quality time with her. Now that he was living at the d'Eath residence, she rarely saw him, especially when he continued to resent her choice of a muggle husband when she re-married. Damien had given in out of love for his mother, and made his way to this dreadful circus. He had chosen a black ensemble to signal his protest against the colourful circus. But as soon as he arrived, and had given a polite greeting of a peck on his mother's cheek, she revealed that she had also brought Ian, her husband, in the hopes that the two would finally warm to each other against such a festive backdrop.

Without a word or any sort of acknowledgement, Damien had stared coldly at the muggle. After a tense moment, in which the boy had actually reached to touch his wand at his belt, he trudged off on his own, adamant to get away from the shameful couple. He certainly did not want people to know that his mother, former Slytherin, had married a filthy muggle. Raising a scene there and then would only attract unwarranted attention. Damien wanted to sob. What would it take to jolt his mother back to her former self? She had destroyed them, their relationship, and she was still firm on persisting to do so. Damien genuinely felt as if he had lost his mother. He cursed the fact that his heart was still firmly loyal to her.

Damien found himself in a decently crowded area, straining his neck as he strolled pass booths and stalls, for he was not very tall, and he wanted to see what this place had to offer, since he was already here. A child ran over his feet, and he cursed him with a ferocity that caused the child to run away sobbing. Smirking in delight at the destruction he had caused in the child, Damien strolled on amidst the sea of unfamiliar faces. And then he saw her. Cocking an eyebrow in surprise, Damien made his way to Athena Goyle, a girl he feared and admired. He was thankful for this familiar face.

"I never fancied you for the circus sort, Miss Athena Goyle," he began as soon as he planted himself behind the girl, his voice decorated with a tone of exaggerated politeness for effect. Damien smirked to himself again when he realized that Athena was in the midst of making a purchase.

The glass looked remarkably similar to some of the vases in her bedroom though Athena did not suspect that they’d come from the circus. No, they had their hallmarks and they were from expensive labels. She favoured the one before her by far though and as she watched the man wrap the vase up in brown sugar paper and bubble wrap, Athena realised that she had no where to put it. The most logical place would have been one of her bedside tables but both of those were covered in books and parchment and knick knacks from around the world. Then of course she thought of the chest of drawers underneath the map that was pinned to the wall. Between the little bowl of red and green tacks and the gathering of scented candles it would have looked wonderful. But then again, there was the problem of books, some open and some closed, splayed across the top.

So really, Athena had no idea where to put the piece of glass. She was finding that this was becoming an increasing problem. It wasn’t that she set out to buy bits of blown glass but it was that she bought things and didn’t quite know where to put them - books, for example. She’d long since filled her bookshelves and she daren’t put any in the library for fear of losing them. So now, she had boxes pushed under her bed simply teaming with books on anything from Alchemy to a guide on how to look after Dragons on heat. Some of them she didn’t need but all of them she’d read. She simply had too much time on her hands.

After her morning ritual, she’d go out of her way to avoid Apolline and hole up somewhere where she wouldn’t be found until late evening by one of her House Elves who desperately wanted their mistress to eat something. Days spent with her parents were days filled with stress. There were a few books in particular that she avoided, worldly known as “The Books” and they carried the name and the picture, among other things, of every Pureblood male that was still available for pickings. Athena was seemingly the only Pureblood girl still having to look through those awful tomes. She knew what her parents wanted and that was money. They were walking on thin ice as it was and her father wanted to make the most from her. At the rate they were going though, Athena was going to potentially be married off to a wizard in Albania that raised Llamas for a living. Joy.

The sound of a not entirely unwelcomed voice shook Athena from her thoughts. She lifted her head and turned a little to the right to see none other than Damien D’eath stood beside her, looking quite dapper in his own right. Athena smirked a little and lifted her hand, depositing a couple of Galleons into the waiting hand of the vendor. She then took a moment to observe the boy, wondering when he’d ever make that transgression into a man. He was cute and that was about all. She had wondered what Cilla had seen in him at the time but, upon thinking about it, she figured that they were both younger and Pricilla needed someone to keep her sated - she rarely cared about who that was or what the cost was to her. She had Tobias now though, she’d been picked for him and Damien had been dropped as soon as the parchment had been signed and sealed.

If Athena had been a nicer person then she would have felt sorry for him. As it was, she wasn’t and so she didn’t exactly care.

“The same goes for you, Mr. D’eath.” Athena remarked slowly as she took the vase from the man. She glanced up, intending on gracing him with a smile in thanks but she soon averted her gaze at the look on his face. Fear.

Part of Athena thought good, he should be, but the other part disagreed. It was as if the little angel her devil had killed so long ago had returned to try and rebuild the connection between her and her consciousness. It wanted to bring back the woman that would have been terrified of the idea of murder. It wanted to bring back the girl that had screamed on the staircase as her father endured the Cruciatus Curse. Unfortunately, its endeavour was in vain as that little girl was long gone, replaced with the hardened, scorned female that walked the earth today. How quaint that it tried.

“So what are you doing here? I’m being held hostage for my cousins though currently I fear they have found their way into the Big Tent. Let me guess...Mummy thought her baby boy was getting too corrupted so she thought sending him to a hangout for Mudbloods and Blood-Traitors would be a good way of straightening him out? It’s amiable, I’m sure, but I doubt it will have the effectiveness she so desires. Unless I’m wrong of course but on some level, I don’t think I am. Even if that is not the cause of you being here, I’m sure that her intention is to straighten out her special boy, before he ends up running around the West Country destroying villages and killing women and children. Does she realise that baby has to become proficient in the arts that will keep him from dying at his Master’s hand before he actually gets to that point?”

When Athena turned to acknowledge the boy, he studied the way she had moved, and his eyes trained on her face. This was the face that held a level of intimidation to Damien when he was in his first year at Hogwarts. He remembered the fear and admiration he directed towards her then. Not much had changed. Perhaps in getting more acquainted with the older girl, he felt more admiration now than fear. He could venture to offend almost anyone else, but not her.

Damien had congratulated himself on the day that Athena Goyle learnt of his existence, positive that it was a step forward for himself when the time came for him to command a level of respect and influence among the other Slytherins in his year. His was a plan to leech. Power would always have to be transferred, like energy that never dies. Damien was looking forward to his final year at Hogwarts when, he believes now, the students of Slytherin will know and admire even his name. Deep inside, the boy merely wanted to matter. His insatiable desire to be validated would forever fuel his actions and thoughts.

When Athena returned a greeting to the boy, he felt the corner of his lip turn up, enjoying the sound of his last name. He had always found pleasure in being called his last name, and would do the same for others, if he respects them enough. Damien waited as the girl began to talk on, bristling suddenly when she mentioned his mother. He raised his right eyebrow a little higher than usual, clearly displeased that the girl thought that his mother was less passionately against mudbloods than he likes to lie that she is.

That was a particularly sensitive issue, and had always been, to Damien. He would fight and do anything available in the world, to keep the other Slytherins from learning of her mother's recent marriage to a muggle. Oftentimes, he contemplated on killing Ian, although obviously he has never killed before; so it was much easier thought than done. But he knew that would land in, a little too early, into Azkaban. The boundaries that protected the muggle was infuriating to Damien. Why protect the killing of animals like Ian when, after all, wizards were superior, and will always have the last say?

Damien took care to arrange himself in a fitting appearance after he tensed up at Athena's words. He did not desire suspicions, or to look as if he was seriously affected. "I'm here alone," he lied. "I figured I'll check out the filthy faces of muggleborns before I set my wand on them when the time comes. And that, I believe Ms. Goyle, perhaps you will teach me how. Because I choose only to learn from the best. And I only humble myself to one ---" Damien paused for effect, "you." He smirked after his final word, secretly hoping that the little performance on his part would please the older girl. It was, after all, his main motivation for a friendship with Athena.

Slytherins always had a game plan; they never did anything without a purpose. Athena knew by just observing the boy stood beside her that his appearance was no fluke, it was no accident or trick of fate. It would have been nice to have had someone act without first thinking about every movement, every curl of the lip and ever twist of the wrist. Athena had been yearning for spontaneity for weeks and it was a need that was manifesting more and more in her dreams. Those dreams had left her waking in a cold sweat with her desire left anything but sated. Athena was finding that she had to drag herself out of bed, shower and shake off the feeling of need that pulsed with her blood underneath her skin. She did not know what she needed beside spontaneity but she had a few suspicions and none of those were theories that were meant to be pondered on while in the significantly younger man than herself.

Athena stepped away from the vendor and looked at Damien with veiled curiosity, her mind pushing the dreams behind her worries and her anxiety. She needed to focus on reality and get her head out of the steamy situations her imagination created for her. She would have been in bed by now, straddling the thin line between her own personal heaven and her own personal hell. She wanted desperately to return into the arms of the lover that was waiting for her in the unconscious realm she retreated to in sleep. But she knew she couldn’t. Athena knew that to return to her ‘happy place’ she’d have to drag her cousins out of the Big Tent, away from the Vendors and away from the booze and get them home before she could return to her own. She had a feeling it would take longer to do that than it would to sponge off of Damien quickly.

All he needed to do as ‘escort her’ home. The appearance of and honest gentleman (of sorts) on the doorstep would put her father’s mind at rest. Athena had a feeling though that it would be a while before he would be buttered up to play her games.

“So you haven’t brought a girl with you?” Athena questioned idly. “Or is it that you wish to procure yourself one? You had better get in the Big Tent quick if you wish to find yourself a nice little acrobat because I fear that if that is what you wish to bed then my cousins will beat you do it. Being here alone is awful. To have to suffer through the sea of Mudbloods by yourself...you poor child.” Athena plastered empathy and pity onto her face before reaching up and patting Damien on the head. “Go and find yourself an acrobat, darling, before they all run out.”

Athena’s eyebrows shot to her hairline at Damien’s next choice of words and she allowed a small, measured laugh to shoot into the atmosphere. If he truly thought that she was going to coach him in the Dark Arts then he had another thing coming. But then again, he was a Slytherin and he must have been fairly deprived in the darkest of all magical arts. Athena did want someone else to know her secrets on some level but she didn’t want it to be used against her. He was a Dark Follower though - she still couldn’t believe the ridiculousness of the name - so unless he wanted himself killed then he wasn’t about to turn turtle and head down to the other end of the spectrum. Unless of course he was suicidal; though he didn’t appear to be.

“As fabulous at would be to see a rather proficient student such as yourself take a wand to a Mudblood and harm them, I hardly think I am the right choice of tutor. What’s in your head that makes you want to learn? Is it the desire to survive? The realisation that somehow you’ve got to survive this war and there is only one side that won’t kill you upon capture. There are a lot of Death Eaters that actually think, Damien. They’ve realised that on our side they are safe from both sides if they stay in line. If the Order were to snatch us up right here as we stand do you think they would harm us? No, they’re light wizards...they don’t have the willing to cast the Cruciatus Curse and they certainly don’t believe in ‘bringing themselves to our level’. Or is it because you truly want to learn? Is it because you truly want to bring harm to those that have scorned us so? If that is the case then perhaps we should start at the beginning - so you’ll at least survive for five minutes mentally. What do you know of Occlumency?”

Damien raised his eyebrows at the girl's question, then continue to listen to her talk about procuring a girl, with amusement obviously showing on his face. When the older girl reached out to pat him on the head, he feigned a look of absolute destitution, an exaggeration of his suffering at the circus. The muggles disturbed him, although for Georgia Wheelbarrow's sake, he had come to pretend to ignore that halfbloods had muggle in them too. He liked his best friend a lot, though he also knew that she would never further his cause in the Dark Arts, unlike Athena Goyle. Damien nodded in agreement with the girl, before proceeding to reply about the question of female company.

"No, I haven't brought a girl. Never found a girl I could bring around. Perhaps you've one in the riches of your stocks? I would bring whoever you see fit to be snuggled against me." With a twinkle of cheekiness in his eyes, Damien grinned, at himself actually. "I've heard about the myths of acrobats," he proceeded in a somewhat suggestive tone. "Perhaps one day I should try one out to bust the myth, or let it prove itself to me. I'm sure your cousins are very clever to embark on this interesting project. But for now, when there's Athena Goyle, who needs acrobats?" Damien did not mean to put the two in the same category, for the acrobats meant some sort of pleasure that people have talked about. The Slytherin girl, however, provided another sort of company. It was one in which he thought to be more superior than physical satisfaction, although he would never say no to acrobats too, if he could.

Athena's presence was a prize to the boy. And sure enough, he heard music. Occlumency. "Muggles are disgusting. The world would be dandy if they live their own lives, and stay out of our world. Unfortunately, it seems as if the wizarding world can never shake them off. To think the ministry actually protects them when they frolick with our own kind, making babies that are filthy, and ..." Damien swallowed a thick bout of saliva that had gathered because he had ignored it earlier in his anger, "having their way with pureblood women. I find it disgusting. It is they who have caused the existence of halfbloods, poor things." Damien stopped. He had allowed frustrated emotions about his mother and Ian overwhelm him at that point. He needed to calm down.

The boy allowed the colour in his face to drain back to its normal one before continuing to answer Athena's question. "I've been meaning to ask you about Legilimancy. But now that you've mentioned Occlumency, that sounds just as good. A start, I suppose. Occlumency is a counter to Legilimancy. And I believe that the art of both, is of absolute importance. I've only ever read about them, though. I'm a bit of a reader, of Dark Arts. Never really a practioner unless someone changes ... that?" Damien eyed the girl, wondering how much she knew and how far she would go to teach him, if she should teach him at all.

The breeze danced around Athena, winding around her body and ruffling the floaty blouse that clung to her chest. The dark ringlets of hair that sat so gently on her shoulders seemed to dance around her head. Their subtle dance was almost the sway of a rattlesnake. Now that idea brought a Greek Myth behind and though she’d been compared to Medusa once before, she’d never put much stock in the label. Now, as she stood there, her hand grasped around one of the longer curls, she had understood what the student had meant; and though she should have been offended by the child, Athena realised that the reason why the student had compared her to the Gorgon was because the student was scared. It was ironic though because in one tale, the Gorgon was regarded as a monster, produced by Gaia to aid the Titans against the new Olympian deities though, the irony of the tale was that the Gorgon monster was slain by Athena and the idea now made the mortal Athena smirk involuntarily. Gorgon slayer she was not; she was more likely to have been in Gaia’s position.

Athena lifted her gaze, bringing herself out of Greek Mythology, and her smirk deepened as Damien’s words began to register. She brushed her curls away from her face and looked at Damien curiously before letting another measured laugh slip passed her lips.

“Ladies are too big of a distraction for you, Mr. D’eath.” She told him slowly. “Women were put on this earth to tempt men and clearly, you are one of the many that fall prey to the cattish charms of Slytherin women. It’s understandable really but you should know better by now.” Athena patted him on the head again, smirking openly, before adding breezily. “Perhaps you should run along and inform me of what you discover later on.”

Then of course the spew about Muggles that Athena was becoming so tired off. Yes, Slytherins hated Muggles. Yes, Death Eaters hated Muggles. The world has understood this - let’s move on. But they wouldn’t move on would they? Displaying disdain for Muggles was away of reaffirming and affirming allegiances. Athena herself had spoken much of the same for years at a time. She had always felt inadequate in the eyes of the Death Eaters and so she’d strived to become respected in their eyes. She’d succeeded in more ways than one and so she was in the position where the young ones were going off speaking the same words she’d spoken when she was his age, and younger. It was an incredibly empowering feeling for Athena to experience and it seemed to reaffirm what she already knew - that the position of power she’d found herself in was semi-secure and wasn’t about to go anywhere soon - especially if little ones like Damien D’eath were kissing up to her.

Soon though, Athena’s patience was bound to run out.

Athena gestured for Damien to follow her and she led him away from the vendor. Athena stopped on a dirt track between two brightly coloured tents lit up with Christmas lights and she turned around. Athena pursed her lips and blew a lock of hair out of her eyes before forming the words in her mind, deciding which ones to pick and which ones to discard. Soon enough though, she began to speak; she began to coach.

“There is no point learning Leglimency if you cannot first protect yourself. Though, perhaps first you should know what to protect yourself from. There are two types of Leglimency but you would have only read about one type because they only write one down.
The first, as you should know, exploits the weaknesses in a person’s Occlumency shield. This is nigh on useless if you actually want to get in though it is something to do if you’re sat on a train wondering what to do with your time. I hate to have to use this analogy but it is like window shopping; it’s a passing fancy. The second is aggressive. It was designed so that you can get in. You attack and exploit the weakness that it causes. When a person’s mind is invaded, if the shield is not already up then it is put up and as soon as the Leglimency begins they start their defensive. Always in the back of their minds though they worry about the parts that aren’t so covered and so, when using this type of Leglimency, you go for those. Penetrate the memories least protected, run through it and pop out the other side. It usually works with two weak points - one at the start and one at the end with the strength in the middle.”

“Once you’ve breezed through, they go to protect that area and so they’ve left the stronger part less protected - and you’re in. What this form does is it creates that feeling of hitting a wall of water. It pounds on the shield and it pounds on the mind until the Occlumencer gives up. The only problem with the spell is that it requires a long time to master and you cannot cast it. It’s immensely precarious and if the other person is intelligent and knows of the spell then you could be sharing a body with them for a while. Minds connect. They interlock like puzzle pieces which is why Occlumency and Leglimency exist. Now, unless you’re an idiot then I presume you’ll want the modified version. This will come second. Defence is more important than attack because it will save your life - there is no doubt about that. Question?”

Damien frowned. He did not like what he heard. If Athena Goyle thought that he was too weak because of women, that was not good news to him. He merely nodded politely in acknowledgement of what she had said. His thoughts ran to Pricilla Cuffe and Roxanne Weasley. He was especially unhappy about the second one. He could not help being a contradiction to the ideals he had claimed to fight for and was intent on fighting for.

Damien had thought that, despite his desire to see muggles put back to where they belong, perhaps a new kind of leadership was needed. The Dark Lord, as powerful as he was, was taking a little too long to succeed. Perhaps someone else, or some group of people, could come up with something better than the plans of the Dark Lord. But the boy never ventured to voice his thoughts on this issue out loud, for fear that they would work against him. It seemed ironic that loyalty was such a big issue to the Dark Lord. It seemed a bit of an insecurity to Damien, but what other choices were left besides this?

Then he realized that Athena had signalled for him to follow her, and of course, Damien obliged. He felt a little excited, as it seems something was about to happen, something more impactful than just a simple night at a stupid circus. Damien stopped when Athena stopped, his eyes opened a little wider than usual, a little keener than usual. The older girl began to really teach him, and Damien perked up, paying attention to her every word. He wanted to ask how she knew so much, but thought better than to proceed with really asking, because it might come of as offensive. Well, he did not need to know the source. He just needed to know how to master these great skills because he had only read about them, and thought them throroughly useful. Damien had even read about Mind Control and Memory Manipulation, all of which interested him.

All of these fooling with the mind, he was pretty sure, by now, that he wanted to learn them all, if he could. He had not inherited any special abilities, and Damien thought it a shame to be left out of it. He figured, though, that he could make them up by learning. When he was younger, Damien had been curious to discover that his father was part-vampire. It made him wonder about his own abilities, but he was disappointed to find out - none. He even considered the powers of a vampire if he could tempt his dad to make him one. Now, though, he had forgotten about that for awhile. He was still at Hogwarts, and the boy figured it would be wiser to stay fully human if he wanted to blend in with the crowd, because it is in the crowd that one gets to learn of many things. There was always bound to be individuals in the crowd that could prove useful.

"No, Athena. No questions. Perhaps they will come when we ... move to the practical aspects of it?" Damien had tried to take in all the words spouted by the older girl in her coaching. He understood them , in theory. As far as she explained. But he knew, also, that he had a lot of theories, althought Athena's teachings did contribute significantly to it. What the boy really wanted, though, was to put to practice what he has read and what he has been told. Damien had been introduced to magic that manipulates the mind by his mother when he was younger. They were all just told to him, though. And in his later years, mother had dismissed his further questions on him, telling him to focus on whatever Hogwarts was teaching him, and they will be sufficient.

"I think, especially with the parts on penetrating the parts of memories that are least protected. The exact way to execute it. That might be a place of confusion for me when I try it?" Again, Damien glanced around him, wondering if anyone had seen the them. It was a fairly odd place to want to learn. It was good then, that no one seemed to notice them. The circus was more colourful than two solemn individuals in between two tents.

The child before Athena was way out of his depth and what was worse was that he hardly even realised. It was rare for Athena to care about people but she was, for some unimaginable reason, vaguely concerned about this young man’s welfare. Perhaps, she’d keep tabs on him and ensure he didn’t die before his proper time. He was just a boy after all said and done. He was a boy that would drown without guidance and without someone watching over him. Athena realised as she stood there, observing the boy’s face for a reaction, that if all else failed then that person was going to have to be her. Athena didn’t want to have to worry about a foolish little boy on top of everything else she had to do but if she didn’t then no one else would. It was dog eat dog in Slytherin and it was a case of whoever cast the Killing Curse first survives in the Death Eater ranks. Damien was surviving the first but he wasn’t going to survive the second unless Athena taught him. He had suppressed talent that they could use; all it needed was a reason to flourish.

Damien’s problem was distraction Athena was finding, and his distraction came in the form of Mira Anderson and females in general - as with most gentlemen. The problem was that he seemed to have taken a liking to Slytherin girls and that was a dangerous business if you were young and naive as Damien was. He needed to take Gryffindors or bend Ravenclaws over in the library - anyone and everyone bar Slytherins who could prove to ultimately be the cause of his downfall. He needed the sweet ones, the innocent ones. In short, Damien needed to find the wimps if he wanted sexual gratification in any way. It wasn’t because of the rumour that the quiet ones were always the better ones in the bedroom but it was because the quiet ones kept their mouths firmly shut. The quiet ones knew when and when not to speak; and most importantly, the quiet ones were easy to intimidate.

At Damien’s question, Athena scarlet lips came together in a small ever-so-slightly noticeable pout. Athena squared her shoulders a little and took her wand out of her pocket. She held it up, waving it gently through the air in front of him before poking it behind her ear. Athena kept her eyes on Damien’s as her lips parted. She brought her bottom lip between her teeth suddenly, as if rethinking her words. She soon released it though and took her wand out from behind her ear once more. She flourished it a little before promptly shooting her arm forward and poking Damien square between the eyes with the very tip of her wand.

“Until you learn how to use this properly,” She told him firmly before pocketing her wand. “And when you understand that not only is it a tool but a hindrance.” Athena clicked her fingers and flame shot from the tips. She smirked at him as if to prove her point before putting it out. “I’m a human lighter for all of those Wizards that smoke cigarettes sadly. Perhaps we’ll see which element you bond to; or rather, which element bonds to you. Perhaps you’d do well to study wand lore before we attempt anything too difficult. Then we’ll go through theory - before the execution.”

Athena had gone through the same thing with her tutors. She’d been impatient and ratty with them but eventually she was well-rewarded. Apolline had been violent in her teachings. She’d attempt to penetrate Athena’s mental barriers at any given time of day and now, Athena was rather proficient in keeping them up. She’d do the same with Damien. She’d help him but she’d make him suffer at the same time. Athena had a feeling though that he would only feel a slice of the pain the Dark Lord could have inflicted upon him while he was alive. Athena was slightly apprehensive, the doubt within her playing on her sudden flare of maternal fear that perhaps he’d die; perhaps he’d fail and he would be lost to what was beyond the Veil.

“I will help you.” She assured him. “It is easy to understand once you are in there. You’ll know. Minds are incredibly difficult to order once they have fallen into disrepair. What I find is that if you are feeling a little bit on the lazy side then if you catch them unaware and tag onto a memory then they’ll pull you in, behind the shields. Then you’re like a child in Honeydukes. We’ll talk about this more later though; perhaps in a few days time? I think I will round up my cousins and whisk them home before they end up doing something they regret.”

Damien's eyes widened when Athena reached for her wand. Wands excited him, alright. But he read about wandless magic, and undoubtedly, that was enough to keep him up to complete the entire book about it. Sleep could wait. When he was younger, Damien had wondered at the value of sleep. He had even ventured to ask his mother why humans had to sleep. In response, he would receive strange explanations for this habit of humans. She has said that one needed to sleep to grow taller. Perhaps, then, that was the reason why Damien was lacking in the height department. At another time, mother had said that sleeping cleansed your body of the day's waste. Damien did not understand that though. Was not the daily frequent visits to the toilet for the purpose of that? It was foolish, all these explanations. Perhaps that was why his mother had become so foolish herself, the result of believing in stupidity disguised as logic.

Listening very attentively, Damien watched every movement of the girl's. His jaw had dropped a little at the end of her little performance. He began to understand what she had intended in that action of hers, and felt a little embarrassed at his lack of maintenance. He hated to seem eager for anyone, but why could he never control it. He admired how Athena's actions seemed so very controlled, ordered, and how they meant power at every turn. Damien had some saliva at his throat to swallow, and he did so duly, nodding slightly at the same time to what Athena had said. It also seemed as if his brain was taking notes on what she mentioned, adamant to return home for further reading, if his books even held them. Perhaps his mother's library would hold something related, but Damien squirmed a little as he imagine himself having to grovel back to her apartment, where the muggle was probably tupping away at her. Damien squirmed extremely hard at that thought.

"I appreciate the intention, Miss Goyle." He stopped himself before he grovelled a bit too much after this girl. "I will be reading and perhaps preparing my mind for what our next meeting entails. All the best with your cousins. I might head off to keep a lookout for acrobats now." With a slight wave of the hand, he watched as Athena left, smirking in delight at the little conversation with the girl. It made his trip down to the circus worthwhile, even if initially his mother had destroyed any hopes of that.