Brave New World (Jory/Hyacinth)

[Hyacinth Duprel]

Hyacinth sat outside an ice cream shop, hunched over his hands. His rosary was twisted through his fingers as he counted the beads, his lips moving slightly as he silently prayed. He couldn't do enough penance to make up for all his sins, but he'd keep trying, and even in this he'd do the best he could.

His teacher from Luxembourg had told him quite firmly that this kind of magic was a gift from God, and not a trick of the Devil. He didn't understand, then, why his parents hadn't been told everything. He was going to a school for the gifted, wasn't he?

He was no saint. He didn't want to be a saint, but how else could he interpret all of this? If it was good, and if it was rare...

He would be meeting with the counselor at school, a man who would help him adjust. He would be meeting a student here, a prefect, who would help him find the things on the list in his pocket. And in the meantime, he was doing everything in his power not to stare or gape, not to cross himself over and over as he was passed by witches and wizards in robes and pointed hats, as the brick wall so near shifted and opened for people to step through.

He was dressed as he had been when he'd left home, in a crisp white shirt buttoned to the neck and a dark sweater, faded jeans and a sweatshirt with the hood tugged over his head. He couldn't control the changes, and so all he could do was hide them and wonder if it was normal, for other people with the same gift, to have such difficulties.

His hair was brown naturally, but by turns it was blonde, white, black, red, or streaks of something else. It wasn't a constant shift, not now. It was subtle enough that if one watched him they might only notice after several minutes that they'd thought the slight blonde teen was a brunette, but he knew. He knew, and he prayed forgiveness.

[Jory Addison]

Jory wasn't surprised that he had been assigned to show the new student the ropes. He had been picked in the past and he had a tendency to meet them, anyway. He wasn't the world's most assertive prefect but he had his strengths and the professors knew well enough to take advantage of them. They had told him to meet the guy, what was his name? Hyacinth. He was supposed to meet Hyacinth at the ice cream shop.

He was suddenly glad he had finally given in and gotten his license when he apparated into the little alley between the wall and the Leakey Cauldron, and as he waited for the wall to transform, his thoughts wandered. He had heard rumors that the new owners of the shop were gay, and naturally he was curious. The brick settled a moment later and he stepped through, pulling his jacket down over the edge of his jeans as he looked around for the guy.

"Hey, are you....Hyacinth?" he asked, hoping both that he had gotten the name right and that he had chosen the right person.

[Hyacinth Duprel]

Hearing his name brought Hyacinth a jolt of awareness, and a wash of relief, and he looked up from his beads with a slight smile. The boy addressing him certainly looked like no other he'd met, with the collection of jewelry in his ears and his eyebrow, but he also looked infinitely more normal than the others who had passed through.

"Yes, I am Hyacinth," he said, pushing to his feet. He didn't know what he'd have done if he hadn't been learning English in school. "You are from the school Hogwarts?" He concentrated for a moment on keeping his hair brown as he pushed back his hood, then slipped his rosary over his head.

[Jory Addison]

Jory nodded and smiled, "Yeah. I've been going for a few years, went to a school in London first." He held out his hand to shake Hyacinth's in greeting. "My name's Jory." He wasn't sure if the guy had been told his name. He looked curiously at the guy, though he didn't let himself stare and looked out over the street, as well.

[Hyacinth Duprel]

"Jory," Hyacinth repeated, pulling his hand back from a brief shake to bring his hood back up. "That is a strange name. Ah, unusual," he corrected himself. The words were so similar in meaning that it was difficult to remember sometimes. "It is a good name. I am sorry, my English is not so good. I am still learning," he apologized.

[Jory Addison]

"It's fine, no worries," Jory said, shaking his head. "I've never heard yours before, is it common in Luxembourg?" He didn't know much about Hyacinth, just enough basic information to get by with, and part of that was the guy's home country. Jory supposed he should probably travel at some point, but he truly had no urge to do so.

[Hyacinth Duprel]

Hyacinth smiled and shook his head. "No," he admitted. "I am named after the Saint Hyacintha, and also a plant." He gestured slightly with his right hand, on which a small heart had been drawn on his ring finger. "Is your jewelry common for magic people? It is rude to ask?" He certainly hoped not, but he was curious, and interested in learning.

[Jory Addison]

Jory chuckled and shook his head again, "No. I'm, like, so far from normal." He gestured for Hyacinth to walk with him and started slowly making his way toward the wand shop. "For a while I'd get dirty looks and stuff, but that's kind of blown over. And don't worry about asking me stuff, ask whatever you want."

[Hyacinth Duprel]

Hyacinth swiped his bag off the ground where it had been resting and took a few quick steps to catch up. "There are... strange things on my school list," he said, shrugging his backpack on. "When they say dragon hide gloves, that is not like the big lizard from the stories?" He gestured with his hands, then dipped into his pocket to pull out the folded paper.

[Jory Addison]

"Yeah, it is. There's like all these different breeds of dragons," Jory said. "It's illegal to own them, but their parts are used in potions and wands, and their leather is pretty cool for, like, jackets and stuff." He ran a hand through his hair, leaving bits sticking up at odd directions.

[Hyacinth Duprel]

"Oh," Hyacinth breathed, and quickly made the sign of the cross. Dragons! "How does this happen? How does this exist and we do not know?" He meant more than the dragons, though that alone was enough to make him wonder. It seemed that even what his teacher had told him wasn't enough preparation to imagine everything!

[Jory Addison]

Jory's eyebrows raised curiously at the quick motion, but he decided it would be wise not to ask or draw attention to it. "There's a statute of secrecy that's a few hundred years old. We're not allowed to tell muggles anything, muggles are non-magical people. The only time we can tell them is when they're family or something. There's spells and concealment charms and memory modifications...all kinds of things to keep the secret."

[Hyacinth Duprel]

That was a lot to take in, and for several moments, Hyacinth was quiet. Statute of Secrecy. But Jory had said they could tell their families! He wanted desperately to know more, but he could wait. "I will learn this in History of Magic? The counselor can explain this to me?" he asked at last. He had so many questions, but didn't want to be a burden when already Jory was spending his weekend helping him.

[Jory Addison]

"Yeah, definitely. We have to take a certain number of years of history. The secrecy thing is more for our safety. Muggles might try to use us for things, or hunt us down like they used to," Jory said. "But I don't know all the history, I'm more into divination, so you'll have to ask the professor for specifics."

[Hyacinth Duprel]

"Divination," Hyacinth repeated. He fumbled a moment with his paper, which had all manner of notes added to both sides. He scanned the back, where his classes were listed, along with translations and one-line descriptions. "That is telling the future?" he asked, brows drawing together as he looked back up.

"I do not believe many of these things, but I have been told it is good, and it will help me so that... strange things do not happen when I do not want them to." So that things didn't shatter if he got upset, so that he could be with his family without frightening them. God, forgive me my sins!