I did it for science. (Professor Pye) on Aladren Commons

John Umland

January 10, 2017 9:20 PM

I did it for science. (Professor Pye) by John Umland

When John had first started to suspect that his roommate was a werewolf, the correct course of action to take had been obvious. He could not just throw an accusation like that out on the basis of a thought he’d had while sleep deprived one night. Having asked a question (why is Donovan so often away?), made an observation (Donovan was gone during the full moon, when werewolves transform, that night I had the thought while sleep deprived), and formulated a hypothesis (Donovan is a werewolf), John had begun collecting data. He had figured out the phases of the moon and carefully noted his roommate’s behavior, or at least as much of it as John could reasonably observe without going to more trouble than it was worth, and once he had several months of data to examine, he analyzed it and drew a conclusion. His conclusion was that his hypothesis was almost certainly correct and his roommate was, in fact, a werewolf.

That had been the easy part. The part where, after looking at the cold numbers on the page, John had felt the urgent need to repeatedly cross himself and repeat the Memorare almost as many times had been simple enough, too; unpleasant, but since John had known how to pray desperately for his life for quite some time, simple enough to address. Then, though, after his reason had reasserted itself and reminded him that Donovan hadn’t killed him in all this time and that he did not think any of his behavior had changed enough recently to make it worth it for someone reasonably-minded (some of the time, anyway) enough to get into Aladren to change the not-killing-John part of his behavior. His reason also pointed out that he had more or less known this for months and had not felt the need to change his behavior until now. This made his knee-jerk reaction to the evidence unworthy of him (he was supposed to be too smart for knee-jerk reactions), morally wrong (it wasn’t exactly the same as assuming all persons born to unwed mothers were violent sociopaths, but it was still not a good thing to do without evidence that Jax was at all likely to harm him), and, well, pretty useless.

It was after he had acknowledged this that John had come to the hard part: what do to next.

One option that didn’t involve interacting with the Minders had occurred to him, and that was speaking with Barnaby. John could see why someone would consider their roommate being a werewolf an irreconcilable difference. However, if he was wrong – either, somehow, about Donovan, or about his new theory about why the fifth year had left his proper dormitory – then all Hell would break loose. Not only could Barnaby say or do something foolish, or provoke Jax into doing something foolish, Barnaby could also go tattle to their Head of House. This could lead to negative consequences for John. Unfortunately, so could the only other option he had thought of: just cornering Pye the Elder in his office and asking him point-blank to confirm or deny John’s conclusions. Overall, though, it seemed less likely to lead to the kind of consequences that went on John’s record (as those could provoke John into doing something foolish, like telling everyone he could persuade to listen why Pye the Elder had inflicted said consequences on him), and so was the course of action John finally decided was his best bet.

Before the professor’s office hours, John spent quite some time going over different approaches. How he approached it could, after all, make a world of difference in how Pye responded to him. Unfortunately, he could not see a way to approach the problem that didn’t open him up to charges of being ‘disrespectful.’ It all depended on the person he was speaking to, and John lacked the skills to know exactly what would appeal to Pye. Joanie had had to explain to him how to manipulate his own sister. Tailoring an approach to dealing with a teacher from scratch, with no help from Joanie, was not something John thought he was going to be able to do. The best he could do as he walked to the door and rapped on it was hope for the best, which was not a state of affairs he liked at all.

“May I have a word, Professor?” he asked.

In the office, he sat down, opened his mouth, stopped, pinched the bridge of his nose, realized he was doing that, lowered his hand, and tried to start again. He pinched the bridge of his nose again and rubbed his temple. He drummed his fingers on his own knee. Then, finally, he managed to begin speaking.

“I…don’tknow…how…to ask you this – nicely,” he admitted. “So I’ll just...ask and hope you - " act like what I think a grown-up ought to - "don't become angry with me. Is Mr. Donovan a werewolf?”

OOC: Since I am, apparently, going to hop all over fuzzytime with posts for the next bit, I'll note that this conversation is meant to occur in March.

16 John Umland I did it for science. (Professor Pye) 285 John Umland 1 5

Professor Pye

January 17, 2017 2:33 AM

I wouldn't expect any less from you. by Professor Pye

It was a lucky thing that Selina had gone over what to do if a student discovered what Jax Donovan was. He might have gone outside regular when he'd found out Barnaby's involvement with Jax, however that had also been a matter of family security and Alfie had allowed himself to get a little out of hand. Nevertheless, despite previous coaching by Selina, Alfie was still somewhat surprised when John Umland interrupted his afternoon investigation to declare his suspicions regarding his new, fifth year roommate.

"I'm sorry, what?" Alfie asked, surprised John had figured it out, and then surprised at himself for being surprised. John Umland was one of the brightest wizards at the school. The thought that he wouldn't have figured it out was just so utterly ridiculous that Alfie felt rather stupid for even thinking it. "What, er, what makes you think that?" he asked, trying to recover from his earlier faux-pas.

There was a formula to how he was supposed to react: ask why the student thought that way, find out how the student felt about it, and to then arrange a meeting with Jax, the student, and himself to discuss possibilities if that seemed like a safe, viable option. Otherwise he would need to vehemently deny the case or else arrange a meeting with the headmaster. Already he would need to alert Mortimer and Selina of the change in situation. Bother, this was the last thing Alfie needed right at that moment.

OOC: Sorry it's so short but I figure the shorter the post the faster we can work this out as it's kind of going to be a lot of back and forth and this is a really important conversation lol

10 Professor Pye I wouldn't expect any less from you. 30 Professor Pye 0 5

John

January 17, 2017 9:06 AM

Except last year, apparently. by John

Pye’s response was a surprise. John’s eyebrows dropped and drew inward abruptly in annoyance, but he bit his tongue before he made an emotional reply. Snapping that it was not proper to answer a question with a question or that it didn’t matter why he thought it and that Pye should just answer the question were both responses that were unlikely to get him what he wanted, which was confirmation of his research.

Instead, then, he pinched the bridge of his nose again while he cycled through responses, only to decide on something pretty close to the truth. He was not going to include Laila’s yummy werewolves, but other than that….

“I test above average in pattern recognition,” shrugged John. “I don’t always know what a pattern means, but I can usually see when one is there, even if I don’t know – how I know. And I ask questions all the time, in here.” He tapped his head. “And try to - fit what I observe into answers, to make the questions go away. Most of the time it's in the back of my head, they’re not relevant, but – my roommate disappearing a lot, that’s a relevant pattern, what’s he doing? Why? Is his behavior going to affect me? I noticed one night that he was gone and that it was the full moon at the same time, so I formed a hypothesis and gathered data on his behavior for the past few months to support it. Correlation isn't causation, but...” John paused, then decided he could. “I can show you my data if you like,” he added. “I made a chart.”

16 John Except last year, apparently. 285 John 0 5

Professor Pye

January 17, 2017 12:56 PM

Last year I was a bit...scattered... by Professor Pye

As Alfie watched John pinch the bridge of his nose yet again, he felt bad. He had felt bad the first time--it was clear that John got a little...overwhelmed...with social interactions sometimes and he didn't like to think that he had induced such a reaction. He might not have cared over all what his students thought of him, he might have only cared about their safety (speaking of, he didn't understand why the school's first move was to protect Jax rather than all their other students? wasn't the good of many more important than the good of one? it was true that Jax was harmless as a human and Alfie rather liked the quiet, serious wizard, but Alfie had encountered a werewolf or two before during his auror days, enough to know that werewolves? bad news.) But he was still human and as such the opinions of others--when pointedly made such as John's gesture in front of him in that moment, mattered.

He regathered himself. "I'm sorry," Alfie said now to John. "I was a bit caught off guard, I wasn't expecting, well, that, when you asked to come in." It was silly of him to have responded that way, likely John thought Alfie was treating him like an incapable child, but then John elaborated, explaining his charts.

"Of course you did," Alfie said quietly to himself as though he should have expected someone like John to do such a thing. Honestly, he wondered if having Jax placed in Aladren had been such a good idea. He knew it was the potion which had done so but...the house was known for their logical behaviour and high intelligence. Jax had now been found out by two roommates. This never would have happened in Teppenpaw, and if it had then the roommate would have either gone to Jax themselves for a kumbaya moment or to Nathan Xavier. Either way--not Alfie's problem. "The chart won't, er, won't be necessary."

Although Alfie didn't think the school needed to see the chart, he realised it was something that he himself might find rather helpful. "Right now, anyway," he amended. "Right now I need to know how you would feel if this were to, erm, be the case." He nodded to John in a manner which might suggest that he wasn't really trying to cover things up because he thought he could be sneaky because honestly this was John Umland, he didn't think he could fool the boy even if he really wanted to and besides that, he was only asking such a question because he had Expectations he was meant to follow or else likely be Reprimanded for handling the situation in an unprofessional manner.

10 Professor Pye Last year I was a bit...scattered... 30 Professor Pye 0 5

John

January 17, 2017 3:44 PM

I don't think it was the best year for either of us. by John

John had to bite his tongue again when Pye said he was surprised. He supposed Pye was surprised. He had been surprised to discover that he’d probably been ordered to allow a werewolf to move into his room without being told the most important word in that sentence up front. He thought his surprise had been a tad nastier than Pye’s, all things considered.

He did not say it. Reasonably, he understood why he had not been told up front, he supposed. If John spread it about that Jax was a werewolf, there would be trouble. Serious trouble. Unless everyone else already knew and John was just slow on the uptake; normally that would be a reasonable supposition, but John thought he knew enough about people to safely assume it was not the case right now. A lot of people would probably throw fits if they knew there was a werewolf among them. They were not throwing fits of a magnitude even he could observe, so therefore, most of them probably did not know his roommate was a werewolf.

He was not quite sure what to make of Pye’s response to his charts, but dismissed that in favor of a more immediate problem. “Irrelevant data,” said John when asked what his feelings might be if that were the case. “Emotions, I mean,” he added, realizing that Pye would not realize what he meant. “Since you ask, though….” John was tapping his fingers on his knee again, and his knee was bouncing up and down, but he didn’t quite notice. “I am annoyed,” he said. “Should have put it together ages ago – plus I think Joe and Julian and – Clark would all say it’s rude to ask your roommate for hair, blood, and tissue samples.” John tilted his head to one side, then shook it, dismissing a half-formed thought. “I assume he’s medicated and he has no reason to alter his behavior toward me and we don’t exchange bodily fluids, so while I did spend a while, um, praying wrong after I analyzed my data, I’m not…much worried, if that’s what you were actually asking,” he added. “And if any of this is…actually the case.”

16 John I don't think it was the best year for either of us. 285 John 0 5

Professor Pye

January 17, 2017 5:03 PM

Now that that's settled... by Professor Pye

Alfie blinked. Irrelevant data? Samples of organic material and the only thing keeping him from asking was that his siblings and friend would suggest it rude? John’s initial inquiry had been surprising. His reaction to finding out that his suspicions were right was even more surprising.

“Right,” Alfie said slowly, still not completely sure what to make out of it. “Your siblings and Clark would be right, generally asking for, erm, samples would be considered rude…” Alfie did wonder towards John’s suggestion that he and Jax did not exchange bodily fluids as students at Sonora seemed to be rather tame with that sort of interaction compared to some of the antics he and his classmates had gotten up to back at Hogwarts and wondered if that was an entirely American concept or something simply Sonora-relevant.

Probably Sonora-relevant, he thought to himself as he remembered several interactions with American witches at various wizarding and Muggle pubs alike. “If you’re not, then, entirely opposed to the idea, perhaps it is best to involve your, er, your roommate now?” Alfie had been told by Selina that it was important to get Jax and whoever the student was to talk, so that they could clear the air and understand where each was coming from. “Does that sound like something you could—or want, to do?”

10 Professor Pye Now that that's settled... 30 Professor Pye 0 5

John

January 17, 2017 6:54 PM

On to even worse things? by John

John was not surprised when Pye agreed with his siblings and Clark and, though Pye did not know it, Joanie that asking Jax to allow John to stick some syringes in him and yank some of his hair out by the roots would be rude. John did not really understand why (allowing someone to research the problem meant the possibility of a cure for the problem, plus it was just interesting, wasn’t it?), but he knew those were socially unacceptable behaviors. He was not sure why he had felt the sudden urge to creep Pye out, as he usually tried to keep what Joe called his ghoulish tendencies to himself, and double that with the adults….

Other adults. He was never going to get used to that one. He was still used to thinking of adults as his slightly thick enemies, with a handful of exceptions. It was strange to now be one of them.

When Pye suggested getting Jax involved, John looked at him as though he had just grown a second head, frowning and blinking in confusion. “Why would I want to do that?” he asked. His tone was not aggressive, merely genuinely puzzled. “I’m, uh, obviously capable of it – more or less,” he added, with a flicker of a self-deprecating smile. Speaking was not one of John’s skills; he could launch into eloquent tirades when he was interested in something, but in general, he was not verbally gifted. “But I…” He realized that he had no end for that sentence and so stared off over Pye’s head for a moment as he tried to find one. “I guess I just wanted to know if I was right,” he said. “Or – say I am annoyed I just figured it out. I’m sorry, that was pointless of me.” He frowned. "Though I guess it could make it easier for him if he knows I know?" he asked, what he assumed was the point occurring to him a little later than he might have liked. Mom said he was always too slow to think of others and needed to work on this. He tried, and supposed it was progress that he had thought of it at all, but he still wished he'd thought of that sooner instead of just reflecting on how telling Jax would actually be a bad idea because it could change Jax's behavior.

16 John On to even worse things? 285 John 0 5

Professory Pye

January 18, 2017 10:07 PM

Darlings, you've got to let me know... [tag: Jax] by Professory Pye

Even though John didn't seem to be entirely too excited about sitting down with Jax to talk about things and seemed to be perfectly content living with the werewolf without any further discussion, Alfie knew that he would need to bring Jax in anyway and he stressed the importance of Jax needing to know John knew and both of them needing to be comfortable with each other with this new secret between them.

So, that evening after dinner, he sat the two sixth year dorm wizards down and looked at them, Jax who was a fifth year somehow looking older than John, a sixth year. "So," he said. Healthy, honest talks were so not his forte. He regretted Jax not being placed in Teppenpaw again. "John came to me this afternoon, he had a hypotheses," Alfie explained, using John's words. "And he wanted to confirm it."

He looked to John--did he want to tell Jax he knew? Or should Alfie? Maybe Jax would appreciate it more from Alfie. The Defense Against the Dark Arts professor wasn't sure if John would phrase it in a delicate enough way. "He knows you're a werewolf, Jax," he said. "And he says he's not worried." Again, he resorted to using John's words but only because he didn't want to misrepresent how John felt about the situation. It had been a very odd conversation early and he wasn't even sure if he had understood most of it himself.

"So, er, I guess," he shrugged his shoulders and leaned his hands back against the desk he had been sitting on. He'd felt it too formal and intimidating if he sat behind the desk like he'd done with John--Jax might think he and John were ganging up on him. Sitting on the desk felt more casual and friendly and, hopefully, would open the young wizards up for discussion. "I guess, it's to you boys now?"

10 Professory Pye Darlings, you've got to let me know... [tag: Jax] 30 Professory Pye 0 5

Jax Donovan

January 19, 2017 4:42 PM

Darling? Can I just not show? by Jax Donovan

Jax was a bit confused as to why he was being asked to see his Head of House that evening. He tried to recall if he missed one of the assignments while he had been ‘sick’ but he was fairly certain that he had handed them all in and he had already made up the practical lesson that was missed. He was also sure that he had done the same for all his other lessons, so he couldn’t figure out what his presence would be needed for unless another professor complained about his many absences, but they all knew why…

However, when he entered the room and realized John was in there too, his heart sank. This wasn’t going to be a good meeting. Mentally, Jax thought about where he was going to be able to stay for the remainder of the year or if it would be best to owl his mother that Sonora was no longer a viable option for his education and that it was time to remove him to continue his schooling at home. His mother wouldn’t be happy and he knew that Gia would want to leave too, but maybe Sammy could convince his sister to stay. There was no point in ruining her life because of his burden any more than he already had.

His other option was possibly staying in the isolated room that the school created for people like him until he graduated. He wasn’t sure how Medic Eir would feel about the company, but if it meant making people feel safe than he was willing to put up with her as long as she was willing to put up with him (he really didn’t even understand why she went into her field because she seemed like the least caring woman he had ever come across…not that he would ever say that to her face since she scared him a bit).

He sat quietly as Professor Pye explained the situation to him, his blue eyes staring at his hands while he tried to keep his features blank despite the fear that was running through him. Barnaby hadn’t told because he wanted to hold it against him, but John was a mystery. There was a chance that he would want to tell the school because they had a right to know and Jax understood that and wouldn’t blame him for it. John owed him nothing while Jax did owe him.

His eyes flickered upward when Professor Pye and then to John when it was mentioned that John was not worried about him being a werewolf. What did that mean? But there was no elaboration, only the floor being opened for discussion. He sat in silence for a moment, processing the conversation and what exactly it meant to him. Looking between the two of them, a look of confusion on his face, he asked, “Should I pack my belongings?” John might not be worried, but that did not mean that he was still okay with sharing a room with him.

6 Jax Donovan Darling? Can I just not show? 296 Jax Donovan 0 5

John Umland

January 19, 2017 6:46 PM

I'm not sure I even want to know. by John Umland

Pye was being annoying. As far as John was concerned, the issue was settled: John did not want to talk to Jax about the problem that didn’t exist, Pye insisted that they must talk to Jax about the problem that didn’t exist, Pye had power, John did not, so therefore, they were talking to Jax about the problem that didn’t exist. Simple. If it simply had to be made more complicated, John was prepared to acknowledge that Jax might have some use for the information (if Jax knew John knew, Jax didn’t have to go to any pains to conceal the fact from John, which would make Jax’s life easier), but Pye wouldn’t stop there. He kept going on about John being comfortable, which, after John had informed the professor he was mature enough to know that his emotions were irrelevant, John found frankly a tad insulting.

Because of the major point of the simple solution (Pye had power, John did not), though, John did not voice this complaint. He also did not snap at Pye to go sit in a chair instead of looming over them by sitting on his desk. He knew that most people regarded sitting on a desk as a casual behavior, intentionally non-threatening; John was the one who was odd and therefore uncomfortable with Pye having the height advantage and just being too close to him. His brain was shrieking at him that Pye and Jax between them would block a clear path between John and the door, that they could both jump on him simultaneously and probably do a fair bit of damage, but he ignored it. For one thing, they were unlikely to do that, that was stupid, and for another, there was no point in letting Pye know John preferred to sit like a spy. He had already spent most of the afternoon cursing whatever wretched impulse had brought him to Pye’s door in the first place, and whichever spirit of perversity it was which had led him to decide it would be fun to screw with Pye’s head a bit and that fun was a valid consideration after he got through it. The last thing he needed was for Pye to decide he was someone who needed Watching, even now that he was reasonably sure Billy Boy Welles wasn’t actually planning to arrest him or Julian.

He nodded as cordially as he knew how to his roommate when Jax entered the room, willing himself to sit still and his mind to stay on one track. Naturally, the effort was itself a distraction, and he was worried he was going to damage his rosary beads twisting them in his robe pocket, as this was the least obtrusive way to fiddle he had been able to find. He would have rather paced, but suspected this would unsettle the others.

Pye, blessedly, got to the point. Maybe his beads would survive the meeting. Jax was also a direct sort, and tonight, at least, John appreciated that behavior. Normally it was part of why he was uncomfortable with the fifth year – the only really self-possessed people John was comfortable with were Joe, who was his own brother, and Joanie, who explained herself to John privately – but right now, it was a desirable behavior. He looked at Pye, expecting the professor to answer the question, but when Pye didn’t, John realized this meant the question was probably meant for him.

“Sorry,” he began. “I thought you were asking him – uh – I don’t – “ He needed Joanie right now like he needed air to breathe. Joe would be an acceptable second choice. They knew what people meant under the polite double-talk, what the correct responses were. “May I be honest? I – “ he realized that could sound like he was going to say something politically incorrect and waved his free hand to dispel the thought. “I’m not stating a desire to kick you out, it’s just the usual,” he concluded. Jax had been around long enough that John assumed the fifth year knew John struggled with verbal communication at times. He probably did not know that it was because of the social nuances of the occasion and personal nature of the occasion – John would have been a great deal more fluent discussing werewolf accommodations in the abstract, at least if he didn’t know there was a literal werewolf in the room – but John assumed his meaning would be clear enough. “If you’re – if it bothers you that I know, do as you like, and if it’s easier since I know and you don’t have to bother – well, most people would have already asked you where you go all the time. So if it’s easier that I know…do as you like then, too,” he concluded.

16 John Umland I'm not sure I even want to know. 285 John Umland 0 5

Jax

January 19, 2017 8:26 PM

I cannot blame you by Jax

Jax hadn’t really directed his question at anyone in particular, but rather, just spoke it out into the open and hoped to receive a reply. He was a little hopeful that Professor Pye would just tell him whether or not he had a room to stay in, but apparently he was leaving that up to John. John was not someone Jax would say was very good at his communication skills. Jax definitely wasn’t much of a talker, but he thought he might fare better in conversations over John.

He listened carefully as John started and stopped talking while he tried to explain his thought process on this whole thing. From what Jax understood, John was fine with him staying and also fine with him going. He was basically leaving it up to Jax to decide. He thought the choice was obvious though. If he had anywhere else to go, he wouldn’t have forced his presence onto John for the last year. John ended up being a pretty decent roommate, even with all is eccentricities, but Jax knew that John did not really want him there and Jax always felt guilty about that.

“I would like to stay, even though I know that I am causing discomfort for you.” Jax answered truthfully. “I do not really have anywhere else to go other than home.” He probably did not need to say that, but Jax really was trapped between a rock and a hard place. If John hadn’t been alright with him continuing to be his roommate, he would have to leave. “I’d like to at least complete my CATS year before having to complete my education at home.” Jax stated. “If you decide you would prefer that I no longer be your roommate, I only ask that you allow me to stay until the end of the term.” Maybe that was asking for too much. John was already willing to keep his secret for him and allow him to continue to live in the same room as him, asking him to wait might be pushing John over his limit. Jax hoped that was not the case.

6 Jax I cannot blame you 296 Jax 0 5

John

January 20, 2017 10:10 AM

Eh, I'd say you have a decent case for doing so, actually... by John

As soon as he stopped talking, John started feeling like a bad person. He could not entirely help how he spoke, but he could have made the rhythm even more irregular in the service of keeping the syntax simpler so he didn’t potentially confuse the hell out of Jax, for whom English was a second language. Of course, the fifth year was clearly at least very near-fluent to manage in school, and Gia read English books for entertainment, but…John’s own siblings sometimes made him go back and restate a thought once he had fully formed it, as they had not understood the version which had come out of his mouth as it was all coming together, and his siblings were all native English speakers.

Fortunately, Jax seemed to have gotten the point. Unfortunately, his response did not make John any surer of his own moral character. I know that I am causing discomfort for you? I do not really have anywhere else to go? John doubted Jax was trying to guilt trip him, but he was succeeding whether he knew it or not, which was particularly frustrating when John had not even intended to do anything Jax would want or need to guilt trip him out of doing….

It was all Professor Pye’s fault, he decided. There was no way John could have predicted Pye would want to sit around and have group therapy when he had asked his question. It was Pye who had gotten them all into this mess, so it was Pye who could get them out. John, though it hurt his pride immensely, looked desperately at the professor.

Pye saved him by explaining that no-one was asking Jax to leave before his CATS or even his RATS if he wanted to go that far. John nodded emphatically in agreement with what the Defense teacher was saying. “Yes,” he echoed. “I – last year, yes, it was – inconvenient for me, someone moving in – “ This made John feel worse when he realized how it sounded – “but I’m used to you now.” This was half a lie, particularly since John was not yet quite used to what he had just had confirmed, but what was he supposed to say when someone started with the I do not really have anywhere else to go? Even had accommodating those who had nowhere else to go not been Right – particularly when John had been in a version of the same position himself at one point – it was also – well – John was not Good like Julian or his mother, but –

“Besides, Clark’s not going to be here next year, so it’s probably best if there’s someone around to notice if I blow myself up with one of my experiments,” he added, taking grateful refuge in light sarcasm to get away from all these irrelevant emotions of sympathy, moderate humiliation, conscience, and so forth. He could, he thought irritably, have had what he had missed for the whole past year, which was being able to work in peace without having to look for secret passages, but he had just had to incorporate irrelevant data….

OOC: The part about Alfie saying things was discussed with his and Jax's authors in Chatzy, as our dear HoH is having a particularly busy weekend.

16 John Eh, I'd say you have a decent case for doing so, actually... 285 John 0 5

Professory Pye

January 23, 2017 4:52 PM

Not to interrupt the progress, but... by Professory Pye

Alfie felt a bit bad not responding right away when Jax looked to him first to confirm his status in staying at the school, but he had been a little bit thrown. Naturally, the fifth year felt it was Alfie's responsibility to decide that, and just when he had gotten himself together to properly answer the question, John Umland came in with his convoluted manner of speaking and confusing dialect. Alfie himself was still confused and so it was no wonder that Jax for whom English was his second language had not fully understood the bizarre form of assurance John was providing.

At this point, not wanting to fail his student again, Alfie jumped in to reassure Jax that no one was asking him to leave and that he was allowed to stay at Sonora through his seventh year if he desired. And then John started speaking again (by now, Alfie felt that he had at least somewhat got a grasp on the sixth year's manner of speaking about personal topics--certainly he was less intelligible now than in class) and Alfie began to question how well-placed his concern were.

Before, he had been worried about the safety of all his students, but mostly those who were not Jax. It was nothing personal against the young werewolf, but Alfie had experienced some rather horrible werewolves before (both in person and wolf form, though thankfully for the latter he had been with a group of aurors and they had survived with little casualty) and this coupled with anti-werewolf propaganda that permeated the media, Alfie had always been wary of Jax. Now, however, he briefly wondered if the real monster was not the one classified as such by those who put into place the statute of regulations on magical creatures.

"If you...blow yourself up with one of your experiments?" Alfie asked almost faintly. He had experienced a lot of things in his auror past and his civilian present. He had battled boggarts and werewolves, redcaps, vampires, and hags. He had dueled with Dark Wizards and he had aided in the capture of many dangerous criminals. Yet for some reason the idea that perhaps a Dark Wizard was forming right under his nose in his own House with the unassuming name and personality of one John Umland who had two outstanding siblings in Teppenpaw House threw him for a loop.

10 Professory Pye Not to interrupt the progress, but... 30 Professory Pye 0 5

John

January 23, 2017 7:32 PM

Must every tale condemn me for a villain? by John

Recognizing subtle speech tones was not something John had any particular skill for, but even he could tell that Pye had not registered his light sarcasm. Fantastic. Just what this meeting needed, even more communication.

“That was a joke,” he said, hoping he did not sound too much as though he was thinking the professor was a bit thick but not holding out much hopes that his hope would be realized. For one thing, everyone told him his speaking voice made everything sound wrong, and for another thing, he really did think Pye was being a bit thick at the moment. John would take a risk, and sometimes he took a nasty burn or a lost eyebrow for the cause of science, but he was not an idiot. He was not going to do something he wasn’t reasonably sure he could survive under normal circumstances. He made absolutely sure he understood most of the principles involved in every experiment he conducted.

“Julian says she’s met pieces of toast that are better at humor than me,” he added just to get the point across. He looked back at Jax, resisting the urge to rub his temple again. The stress of each single moment of this situation wasn’t so bad, but the build-up was becoming unpleasant. “Do you seriously fear for your safety when I’m working?” he asked his roommate, trusting Jax to answer in the negative. John had not killed or injured Jax in any way in the past year and could not think of anything he’d done to make Jax think he was likely to change that behavior.

16 John Must every tale condemn me for a villain? 285 John 0 5

Jax

January 27, 2017 6:34 PM

How strange that this has made you the villain. by Jax

Based on the reactions that he received from John and Professor Pye, Jax thought that his comment was misunderstood. He knew that John was letting him stay in the room now but anything could happen between now and the end of the term where John may decide that he no longer wished to have Jax as a roommate and that would mean that Jax had nowhere to go. He certainly didn’t want to move back in with Barnaby and Jack (the former because Jax had found him a nuisance for so long and now just found him particularly strange and the latter because he hadn’t made any effort after Jax left to ask why or continue any sort of minimal friendship making it abundantly obvious to Jax that Jack never wished for his company to begin with) and he could not go to another dorm room as this would just happen all over again.

He stated his feelings on the subject only to be open and honest with them and nothing more. If simply stated what he was basically demanding out of John without any further explanation as to why, he thought that might have pushed John into the opposite direction. This was obviously not the case as Professor Pye intervened by saying he could stay at the school and John agreed, but Jax would remain on edge regarding it one way or another.

Jax appreciated John making light of the situation to ease any of the awkward feelings that might have hung in the air. Although Jax didn’t actually think that John would cause any sort of explosion either in their dorm room or anywhere else in the school, the look on Professor Pye’s face and his question made it seem as though he had believed him. This sort of surprised Jax a bit because John Umland, as far as Jax was concerned, had never hidden the fact that he was an odd person who did weird things. Jax thought he was the textbook definition of an Aladren and he seemed to enjoy spending his time studying or learning new things. Perhaps he did have a potion brewing every now and again, so did Jax and so did a lot of other students who were practicing, Jax didn’t think it should be taken so seriously.

John’s question caused a smirk to appear on Jax’s face. It wasn’t a full smile that was so very rare to appear on his face (although, some people could pull it out a lot easier than others), but the smirk did lighten the usually brooding look that was on the young Greek’s face. How had it turned from John feeling safe around Jax to Jax feeling safe around John? “No, I have never been concerned for my safety over your research.” Jax stated. He didn’t want John to get into trouble over all of this.

6 Jax How strange that this has made you the villain. 296 Jax 0 5