Chapter 56: Foreboding
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---
"Alright, you're going to feel a slight tingle," Thane warned as he rubbed his hands together, warming the cold ointment he was about to apply.
Sat on the edge of his bed, Rose stared at Thane, her feet hugged to her chest, and she stared up at him through her bangs.
"Give me your arm," Thane demanded, and after a second, Rose held out her right arm. With firm but gentle pressure, Thane massaged the ointment into Rose's arm, though he made sure to be gentle as he passed over the ugly bruises ruining her otherwise pristine skin.
Eventually, Rose's posture relaxed, and she laid down on the bed as Thane tended to her. When Thane finished with her other arm, he was about to wipe off the little bit of ointment left on his hands when Rose suddenly spoke up, "Wait...can you look at my legs as well?"
Thane glanced at Rose, who seemed to be struggling to stay awake, a faint blush spreading across the top of her cheeks. "Sure."
Moving off the bed, Thane knelt in front of Rose, who took off her boots and pulled up her robes, exposing her pale legs, which were covered in far more bruises than her arms.
For a moment, Thane's mind went blank, and he regretted letting Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle walk away in one piece, "I should have killed the bastards who did this to you."
"You really mean that, don't you," Rose asked. Thane looked up at her and met her piercing black eyes, and he could find the strength to lie to her, "Yes."
Rose smiled impishly, "Most girls would find that pretty concerning."
"Are you most girls?" Thane asked as he started to massage the ointment into Rose's calf, who smirked before swinging her other foot up to rest on Thane's shoulder, "I don't know, you tell me."
Thane's heart pounded as he felt the heat of Rose's skin through his robes, and the smell of lavender and jasmine invaded his senses, 'Why am I torturing myself like this.'
"Thank you for saving me," Rose muttered as if ashamed to admit it, "I can't remember the last time someone stood up for me."
"Do you need someone to stand up for you often?" Thane asked tentatively.
Rose's eyes fell, "More than I'd like...
As if realizing her moment of vulnerability, Rose suddenly shook her head, and an almost aloof look returned to her face, "But I don't let it stop me."
"Still want me to teach you magic?"
"Of course, that's my payment for letting you grope me for so long," Rose answered with a grin before she suddenly stood up, "Now I'd like to go to my room if-"
Thane rushed to stand up and get out of Rose's way, only for her to fall over as she tried to take a step. Thane caught her against his chest, "Would you like some help back to your room?"
Rose was silent for a second before she mumbled into Thane's chest, "Please."
---
"Morning."
Thane muffled a sigh as a rather chipper, Daphne, sat in the empty seat next to him as they waited for Charm class to begin.
"Greengrass, is there a reason why you've sat next to me?" Thane asked only for Daphne to glance at him with raised eyebrows, "I would lose the attitude if I were you. We don't want your little scaly problem catching the public eye."
"Is this the angle you've chosen to play," Thane asked calmly, not even sparing Daphne a second glance, "Blackmail?"
Daphne shrugged with a smug smile, "Now, don't blame me. You backed yourself into a corner."
"Only if I don't have the spine to tell you to go fuck yourself," Thane replied as he took out his Grimoire and began to read, "Oh, by the way, go fuck yourself."
Daphne's mask of smug superiority and aloofness cracked as her cheek twitched, "Do you understand the position you're in? If my mother hears about what happened, she'll report you to the ministry."
Thane raised an eyebrow as he turned the page of his Grimoire, "So you haven't told your mother yet."
This time, Thane could almost hear the crack as Daphne inhaled sharply, "No...but once I do, she'll-"
"Do what exactly?" Thane interrupted calmly. "What exactly did I do that was worthy of reporting?"
"Don't play mind games with me," Daphne replied in a clipped tone, "Your hands turned into claws; how you only transformed your arms is beyond me, but it's clear you're an animagus."
"Are you sure?" Thane asked as he glanced over at Daphne for the first time and stared into her brown eyes, "Of course, I am. What else could it be!?"
Thane grinned as his eyes started to change color, shifting in hue and intensity with each passing moment while his pupils went from rounded circles into triangles, then squares, and more.
Daphne gasped in surprise, her mask wholly forgotten as Thane's eyes eventually settled back to their usual dark green, "B-but how? Y-your muggle born?"
"It's never been proven that being a Metamorphmagus is an inherited trait. Now, there is a strong correlation, but it doesn't necessarily mean there's causation," Thane explained as he turned back to his book.
Daphe's cheeks reddened, clearly embarrassed and more than a bit frustrated, "You're insufferable!"
"Says the spoiled brat who tried to blackmail me," Thane replied, "And since I've enjoyed our little chat, I'll give you a fair warning. Stop trying to make me your enemy. It won't turn out well."
"Is that a threat?" Daphne asked frostily before snorting, "Don't think that just because you made the front pages and have a title makes you a powerhouse. Strip away your title; all you are is a muggle-born wizard with no money or backing. And here's a warning for you: get onboard before you drown in a storm of your own making."
Thane could only remain calm on the surface, but internally, his mind was racing, 'I thought the school would shelter me from the fallout a bit, but at this rate, I'm making more enemies than I could afford. I can only hope that Daphne's mother isn't as rash as her daughter. Regardless, I need to start making moves on the chessboard. But before I can do that, I need to figure out how to make the gathering ritual work how I need it to.'
Just as Thane finished his thought, Professor Flitwick burst into the room with his usual enthusiasm, "Good morning, students. I hope everyone is ready to cast some charms today!"
---
"So, how was Charm class," Luna asked as she sat on the gathering ritual, petting Ingrid while Thane carefully and painstakingly used a chisel to etch another, albeit much smaller, ritual circle in the ground a few feet away.
"Painfully uninteresting, we just went over the freezing charm," Thane muttered, his brow furrowed in concentration as he finished the last line on the ground. Trying not to get too excited, Thane grabbed a pouch of powdered chalk and filled in the lines before placing his hand on the ritual. A massive grin spread across Thane's face when he felt a trickle of mana being pulled out of his pathways as the chalk lines began to glow with a faint blue light.
"Did it finally work?" Luna asked as she glanced around at the various lines and half-complete rituals Thane had attempted, only for him to mess up and ruin the entire thing.
"Yes," Thane replied sourly, admitting to himself that he had greatly underestimated how difficult drawing a ritual circle was, "It's precisely one-tenth the size you're sitting on. Now all we have to do is see how long it takes-"
Thane's words died in his throat as he felt the drain on his mana suddenly stop, and he stared down at the gathering ritual underneath his palm. Without speaking a word, Thane took his hand off the glowing ritual and watched as the lines almost immediately began to dim, "Oh that's not good."