50 Chapter 8 - The Cursed Children

"You're eating again, I notice," said Ron, watching Hermione adding liberal amounts of jam to her toast before passing it to Arnya who nodded with a look of thanks before scooping some up onto her cereal.

"I've decided there are better ways of making a stand about elf rights," said Hermione haughtily.

"Yeah... and you were hungry," said Ron, grinning.

It was the morning of the next day, with everyone in the Great Hall filling themselves up with breakfast. Vincent took a sip of hot chocolate as he looked through his schedule. "Herbology and Care of Magical Creatures in the morning, Muggle studies in the afternoon then I have a free right after."

"Lucky you, Ron and I have double Divination this afternoon," Harry groaned.

Vincent grimaced, knowing full well how annoying it was for Harry the previous year being constantly reminded of how he was going to die. Fortunately, while close, it didn't come true, but having someone say it with such certainty would most definitely unnerve most people.

A sudden rustling of noise caught his attention as all the students in the Great Hall looked up to see hundreds of owls swooping through the open windows carrying mail for the students. A brown owl landed in front of Harry with a piece of paper tied to it's leg.

"Who's it from?" Hermione asked curiously as Harry untied it before unfolding the piece of paper.

Harry's eyes scanned through the contents before lighting up with a grin before frowning somewhat. He showed them the message. "It's from Sirius, it seems like I'll be able to stay at his house after this school year, but..."

Vincent took a look at the contents of the letter and furrowed his brows, seeing the part that Harry seemed somewhat reluctant against. "You'll still have to visit your Aunt and Uncle's house every so often? Dumbledore said this to Sirius?"

"Seems so," Harry looked at the letter with some confusion. "It hasn't been terrible there ever since Sirius started staying, my Aunt and Uncle were terrified of him and Dudley hasn't bothered me since, but I don't understand why I would need to go back there."

"Maybe you should arrange a meeting with the Professor," Hermione suggested as she grudgingly drank her hot chocolate. "I'm sure that he has his reasons for asking you to do so."

"I guess so," Harry muttered as he silently picked at his bacon.

Vincent was in deep thought for a while until he attended his lessons. During Herbology, As he extracted some liquid from a black slug like plant known as Bubotubers, he started chatting to Neville.

"So, what did you get up to during the holiday's?" Vincent asked as popped another swelling, not seeming even the least disgusted by the look and feel of it as he collected the pus into a bottle.

"Nothing much," said Neville as he expertly popped a Bubotuber into a bottle without spillling even a single drop. "Well, I did visit the hospital for...well, you know."

Vincent nodded in acknowledgement, knowing not to push them for more as he grabbed another plant and bottle. Neville's parents had been tortured to insanity in the previous wizarding war, leaving them in a state that others could say was worse than death. Now, they just lay silently in a hospital for wizards known as St Mungo, their eyes void less of any recognition of the world around them, much less their own son barely recognising him as their own. Even Vincent couldn't imagine what that must feel like for Neville.

"Anyway, I kept up the exercises you given me," Neville said, trying to clear away the depressive atmosphere with a small smile. "Never missed a single day."

"And how are you going with your school subjects other than Herbology?" sighed Vincent as he received no answer and gave a small tap to Neville's head with an empty bottle. "Neville, I'm glad that your taking your physical training seriously, but you can't just slack off on other things as well. If you need help with a subject then you can ask me or Hermione, we're both happy to help whenever you need it."

Neville grimaced as he rubbed the spot where Vincent tapped. After some silence he finally replied. "I think...I'd like to try doing my subjects on my own for a bit...You guys have helped me with so much without me doing anything for you... I... I just think that... that I need to learn how to do things myself."

"...Oh," said Vincent, taken aback slightly. "Well...Um...Just remember we're always here to help."

"Sure," Neville nodded silently as he stared at his bottle. "Excuse me, Professor? I'm about done here."

"Same," Vincent also held his up to for Professor Sprout to see.

"Ah, very good Longbottom, Wong, five points to Gryffindor," The Herbology teacher, a rather small, squat, woman said happily as she took both bottles from them, only for her slap herself on the forehead lightly. "Oh, silly me, there is no House Cup this year due to the tournament, force of habit I guess."

"Hold on, did you say only five?" Ron frowned from across them. "If the House Cup was still on, wouldn't both of them have gotten five, making it ten points?"

"Ah, yes, Mr. Wong here will no longer earn points for the Gryffindor house," Professor Sprout announced, leaving several students, mainly Gryffindor's, to talk amongst themselves.

As the noise grew louder, with some Gryffindor's even going to voice complaints, Professor Sprout sighed as she started explaining. "Although it would have been announced at some point, maybe next year, I suppose I could explain why this decision was made.

"Due to several continuous complaints from some students and families about any points that Mr. Wong earned for Gryffindor shouldn't count due to him not really being a part of the House let alone the school. The teachers as well as the Headmaster decided, for fairness, that Mr. Wong would no longer have any part in any future House Cup. This also applies to Miss Arnya as well."

"And in case anyone asks, Mr. Wong was notified of this by owl and agreed to rule himself during the holidays, so in no way was this decided without his input, that's all," Professor Sprout finished up. "Now chop chop, these Bubotubers aren't going to squeeze themselves."

Soon, the bell rand, signalling the end of class as all the Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs exited the classroom.

"Why did you agree to it Vincent?" Seamus Finnegan muttered sourly as the group of Gryffindor's marched across the field to Hagrid's hut. "Now we're going to lose even more points in potions class."

"Snape never gave Vincent any points in the first place," Pavati Patil voiced out.

"Yeah? Well Vincent stopped plenty of us from losing them," Dean Thomas pointed out. "Now that he no longer represents Gryffindor, Snape won't hold back on taking points from us in the future."

"Although, it could just be me, but doesn't it seem like Snape has mellowed out somewhat these past couple of years? I mean, look at Neville, I reckon I've only seen the Professor yell at him twice last year. That's a record if I've ever seen one," Pavati thoughtfully said as Neville flinched at his name being called.

As the other Gryffindor's kept chatting amongst themselves, Vincent, the topic of the discussion, was still thinking about Neville's words.

"Want's to do things himself for a bit...Did I perhaps help him too much?" Vincent thought as he looked at the boy. "Is that even a thing? Maybe I should give him some space for now."

"When were you notified of this?" Hermione questioned him, snapping Vincent out of his thoughts.

"Hmm, a week ago actually," Vincent answered, glad that Hermione was now talking to him.

"Seems like she's not continuing to blame me for the elves," thought Vincent.

"So why on earth did you agree to it?" Ron questioned.

"Well, it seems like if I continued being a representative for Gryffindor, I would most likely cause the house to come last place every year," said Vincent. "After showing me the number of points I've lost the house since coming here, it did make me think that perhaps I shouldn't be involved in the House Cup anymore. Not to mention that I shouldn't even be in the school in the first place."

"It can't be that bad right....?" Harry trailed off seeing Vincent let out an long breath as he scratched the back of his head. "Alright, I'm curious, how much points have you earned and lost."

"...Four hundred and four hundred and fifty," Vincent muttered.

"...Excuse me?" Hermione said, her face now almost as blank as Arnya's.

"...four hundred lost, and four hundred and fifty earned," Vincent said a little loader, looking almost embarrassed. "The one's I've lost are most definitely the results of my experiments...I mean, it's a miracle I wasn't kicked out of the school after blowing up the whole yard right? The ones I've gained... I think they were probably from answering questions or helping the teachers from time to time with carrying stuff, so luckily I made up for that I guess?"

As Vincent gave a small monotone laugh, Harry, Hermione, and Ron exchanged equally deadpanned expressions while Arnya herself wheeled ahead of them.

"Oh look who it is, the brave but foolhardy lions," A narcissistic voice called from behind the group, making them turn to see Draco Malfoy with several other forth year Slytherin's. "And what a surprise, the Muggle still thinks he's got a place here in Hogwarts. Why don't you scurry back to where you belong too."

"Surprise? Didn't we see him yesterday Malfoy?" Crabbe answered beside Malfoy, wiping the smirk off his face as he gave an annoyed look to his side.

"...Yes Crabbe, I did see him yesterday," said Malfoy, annoyed.

"Then why were you surprised?" Goyle frowned thoughtfully as Malfoy's face snapped to glare at him.

"I...I...Arghh, whatever, why am I surrounded by fools?" Malfoy muttered just as Hagrid came outside, carrying a large wooden crate, placing it down among several others. The sounds of small explosions sounded as

"Mornin' ya'll! Hagrid called out to the students with a large grin. "Won' want to miss this lesson I tell ya'—Jus' hatched Blast-Ended Skrewts!"

Vincent crowded around the box with several students and observed the small creature's scurrying about. It had a scorpion shaped like body with no visible head, sparks flew out of their rear ends every now and then, sending them flying forward a few inches. Vincent noticed that a few of them had stingers while others had small, fleshy like plunger attached instead. He later found out that it was there to suck blood.

The lesson today was just finding out what they were to eat in order to raise it, with Hagrid making it a project of sorts for the year or term depending on how fast they grow.

"Wonder if I can snag an end or something," Vincent muttered to himself as he repeatedly prodded the Skrewts with a piece of lettuce that it refused to eat. "What kind of potion can it make?"

If there was anything Vincent has learned about potion making, it's that mixing magical ingredient with another in any order can make any potion. The problem being, is that the result's would be rather random, making it unknown whether the end result is something that is beneficial or harmful, leaving many potion masters to regard it as a failure. Even if one wanted to recreate a certain potion they made, they would also need to recreate the exact steps they did in order to achieve such a result, such as:

How many times did one stir?

What order the ingredients were placed?

Was it cut? If so, how big was each individual cut?

How long does one have to wait until the next ingredient goes in?

At this point in time, does one turn up the heat of the cauldron, or does one tone it down? If so, by how much?

...And so on.

Although in some cases, as Professor Snape has taught Vincent, there are ways in which to adjust each individual step, allowing for one to potentially create a different, or adjust the current method needed in order to create a potion. Although, if anything, Vincent has had zero success in that department and would always cause the potion to fail, either the potion not have the intended effect or for it to just blow up in his face, which, more often or not, it did.

As the bell rung, signalling the end of class, Vincent went up to Hagrid. "How's 'Petalbeak' doing?"

Last year, Vincent had helped saved a soon to be executed Hippogriff of Hagrid's known as Buckbeak. To make sure no one would be able to recognise it, Vincent had Arnya use a colour change potion on all of the Hippogriffs, turning them all into different colours. Buckbeak, now known as Petalbeak, remains safe with it's bright pink feathers.

"Good ol' 'Petalbeak' is doing jus' fin', other Hippogriffs are still adjustin' to the colour change, but doin' fine," Hagrid glanced down and gave Vincent a small wink.

After heading back to the castle for lunch, Vincent and Arnya separated with the others to attend his Muggle Studies class.

"Afternoon, Wong, Arnya," A blond haired woman smiled kindly as the two entered her class.

"Hello Professor Burbage," Vincent smiled in kind, with Arnya waving from behind.

Out of all the teachers he's met in the school, he had never seen one so very infatuated with Muggles as Professor Charity Burbage. Her knowledge of non-magical folk actually surpasses that of Vincent's, an actual Muggle. It was also probably why she was also so fond of the boy as well.

As Vincent went to find a seat, he greeted those around him. "Hello Macmillan, Padme, Corner, Jones..."

"Do we have to wait the whole lesson for you to say hi to all of Wong?" Susan Bones asked with a raised brow and a wry smile.

"Ah, but I'm just so overjoyed at seeing all of your faces again as you are at mine that I just have to, Miss Bones," Vincent chuckled as he found a seat in front of her, getting his books out of his bag.

"I would be happier if you would refer to me as Susan," Susan sighed as Arnya took her position next to Vincent's table. "Hello Arnya, how are you doing?"

Arnya gave a wave at the girl in response as Professor Burbage started her lesson.

"Now all of you open your books to the first topic, we'll be looking at how what Muggle's have engineered over the past decade and how they use it in their daily lives as compared to us magical folk..."

As he dotted down some notes, Vincent flipped through the pages that had illustrations regarding technological advancements of Muggles with explanations on how it was developed. It also had some recordings on what Muggles use to live in replacement of magic, and what kind of skills they developed in place of that.

The lesson did have several questions aimed at the students, and allowed for small discussions between them in order for the students to share their understandings between each other, which was how Vincent got acquainted with some of other students in the class somewhat during the previous years.

"The steam turbine began to take priority over the steam engine, not the other way around," Vincent corrected he looked through Susan's notes.

"Oh, is that so? I get the two mixed up," Susan furrowed her brows as she corrected her work before looking at his. "Ah, here, not all Wizards wash dishes using magic in fact most do it by hand. If the magic is unstable, then that will more often or not, it will cause several broken plates and bowls, making it more of a hassle to repair it."

"Is that so?" Vincent edited his notes as the bell rang, indicating the end of the lesson. "Ah, thanks for the help Bones."

"It's fine, and call me Susan," she said as she started to pack her things.

"Then call me Vincent," Vincent gave her a smile as he stood up. "See you around."

Susan nodded in acknowledgement and gave Arnya a wave as they exited the classroom.

"Now, I've got a free, what to do?" Vincent muttered to himself as he made his way back to Gryffindor tower. "Maybe I'll grab Nyx and try messing around with some potions? I should have enough ingredients for a couple of batches of Water Walk potions before I run out. What do you think Arnya? Where do you want to go?"

"Anywhere is fine," she stated, making Vincent sigh.

"Why is it so hard to get something out of you?" Vincent thought with frustration.

"How about the library then?" suggested Vincent. "You seem to enjoy reading these days."

"Maybe," said Arnya, in tone unchanging, making Vincent rub his forehead as he stopped on a platform of stairs as Arnya did right beside him.

"Alright...Arnya, look at me," Arnya questioningly looked at him, her beauty giving the simple action a charm like no other, making Vincent falter somewhat before steeling himself. "How about you decide where we go right now."

"Where we go?" Arnya gave a confused look to Vincent who nodded.

"Yep, your choice, anywhere in the school."

"Anywhere?"

"Anywhere."

Arnya gave an odd look to Vincent before putting on a thoughtful expression.

...

"You want to find a book with the same author?" Vincent confirmed as he looked at the book Arnya had been reading recently as they walked through the school library. It seemed like she wanted to find out if there were any other books written by the same author.

It was something that Arnya had somehow gotten a little before Vincent visited the Weasley's, something about it seemed to interest her. Vincent didn't know how or where she had gotten it and hadn't really asked her about it since, due to the events of the Quidditch Cup that followed occupying his mind somewhat. Since she's looking through the Hogwarts library, he assumed that the author was a wizard or witch of some kind.

It had a very worn out, red leather cover with golden bindings at the side. The front of it was blank, save it for the title of the book, in large letters, emboldened in white, and the author, small letters, emboldened in black. Which was an odd choice, as any brighter colour would have made the name stand out even more, it was almost as if the author of the book didn't care if his name was noticed or not. It was also rather thick for a fictional novel.

""The Cursed Children, by Batet Anguem"? What kind of name is that?" muttered Vincent as he turned the book to see if there was a summary, only to find none. "So, what's it about?"

"It's about two children, cursed because of the bond between their father and mother," Arnya explained as she searched through the shelves. "The story follows the story of the father, and how he raises his children grow up in a world full of people that despises them."

"Despises them?" Vincent frowned. "Why's that?"

"In the world they live in, angels and devils exist. While the devils outnumbered angels, the angels themselves had great power, causing fear and unrest amongst the devils, causing many of them to take it upon themselves to hunt them down. The father himself is a devil, while the mother is an angel," Arnya continued as she wheeled herself along.

"The father was one of the strongest devils, strong enough that any devil who heard his name trembled with fear. One day however, he spotted an Angel, a beauty, unlike anything he had ever seen."

"The man and woman eventually fell in love and married each other, having two children. Unfortunately, devils and angels were never meant to be together, and the two children were crippled in some way upon birth due to their parents inherent energies disagreeing with each other. Apart from that, they lived happily for a time. Until one fateful day..."

"An large gathering of devils eventually happened upon the mother when the father was out. Upon laying eyes on her and knowing what she was, they attacked. After a brutal battle, with the mother struggling to keep the fight away from her house, away from her children, she was eventually overcome, at the very moment the father arrived back home. She died in his arms, enraging the father, causing him to go on an enraged, merciless slaughter to his fellow brethren. However, the father was alone, alone to raise his crippled children, and now wanted by all devils, who have discovered his massacre."

"...And that's the end of the prologue."

Vincent nearly tripped upon hearing that, his mouth agape. "That was only the prologue? I thought that was the whole book?"

"Didn't I say it before? The book is about how the father raises his children alone, not about the father and mother," said Arnya. "As for how long it is, compared to some of Hermione's books, I don't think it is that long."

"You hang around Hermione far too much," Vincent grumbled as he gave an appraising look at Arnya. "You know, apart from the first time we met, I've never seen you talk this much, it's a nice change of pace actually."

Arnya glanced at him before turning around to continue search the shelves for books.

"I'll be reading around there when your finished," Vincent pointed to a set of tables and seats in the distance, making Arnya nod in answer as she wheeled herself off.

Vincent stared at her, thinking of how she explained the story. When Arnya usually talks, it holds no emotion, being straight and to the point. However, just now, Vincent felt as if he could feel a bit of something in her voice. Longing? Sadness? Sorrow?

Vincent chose not to ponder on those thoughts as he started looking around for something to read. After finding a book on potions, he went to find a place to study before coming across some familiar faces.

"Ginny? Luna?" Vincent called in surprise as he spotted the redheaded Weasley and a dirty-blonde girl who looked like she was daydreaming as she read an upside down magazine.

The girl was Luna Lovegood, a third year student that Vincent got to know during his first year coming to Hogwarts. While the girl was somewhat quirky, not to mention odd, she was actually one of the brightest witches he's ever had the pleasure of knowing.

"Vince, it's been a while," Luna smiled warmly as Ginny looked back and forth between them.

"Eh? You two know each other?" said Ginny in surprise.

"Somehow," Vincent gave a smile. "Met her my first year here actually. How about you two? Known each other since first year?"

Ginny's expression dimmed somewhat. "Actually, I only started to get to know her during the middle of last school year. My first year was not exactly, one full of socialising as you know."

"I first saw her resting flat on her face here in the library," Luna said thoughtfully. "After observing for a while, I thought it looked comfortable so I joined her too."

"I told you, I must have fallen asleep at the table and fell off my chair! I didn't choose to sleep there!" Ginny turned as red as her hair, all trace of her sullenness gone as Vincent stifled a chuckle.

"Your snores are rather relaxing I must say, they sound like a tribal horn in the distance, readying for war," said Luna with a dreamy look. "Although, it's a wonder why we weren't kicked out of the library sooner."

"Oh stop it!" Ginny grumbled in embarrassment as she glared at Vincent, who's hand was stopping him from laughing, but did nothing to hide the signs of a grin at the side. "Don't you dare say a word to my brothers, they'll never let me hear the end of it."

"I solemnly swear to not say a single word of this to your brothers," Vincent promised, letting Ginny give out a sigh of relief, only for Vincent's next words to sound out. "Although, I'm sure Harry would be interested to know of this—"

"DON'T YOU DARE!"

"Silence! Or else do you three want to be thrown out!" Madam Irma Pince, the overseer of the library appeared around the corner, glaring at them before disappearing.

"Alright, I promise not to say a word of this to anyone," said Vincent with a smile, making Ginny give a 'hmph' as he took a seat. "Mind if I sit here?"

"Usually, one would say that before they sit down," Luna noted, making Vincent stand back up.

"How poor of me to forget my manners," Vincent gave a bow. "Mind if I sit here, maladies?"

"Of course," said Luna, smiling at Vincent's antics as he sat down. "Well, we should be getting back to our studies now, should we Ginny?"

For the rest of the session, the three of them sat together with Ginny and Luna studying together while Vincent had taken out some paper to write some notes on. It seemed like the girls wanted to better understand some points that were brought up on the first day of school. Every now and then, Vincent would assist the two in a subject, mostly regarding potions, but more often or not, he left them to their own devices.

Soon, the bell, signifying the end of the the classes and the start of dinner.

"You coming Vince?" Ginny asked as she and Luna packed up.

"I'm waiting on Arnya, I'll join you guys all later," Vincent watched the two girls go down to dinner as he got up. "Haaah, now, time to find Arnya."

After placing the book back to where it belonged, Vincent searched the library for Arnya, finding her at the edge of an aisle as she stared at a large, open book in her hand.

"You find anything?" Vincent asked as he approached her, nodding to the book.

Arnya didn't answer as she looked down at the book for a bit longer before closing it. Vincent caught the title, Hogwarts: A History, before it disappeared into the shelf.

"So, what made you decide to find the books of this author?" Vincent questioned as he leaned against the shelf lightly, waiting for Arnya to answer.

"...I just wanted to see what else the author left behind, to see if I can find anything else that he created," said Arnya softly.

For a small moment, Vincent thought he saw a trace of emotion on Arnya, not one he had ever seen before. It was one of longing, and curiosity. As he looked at her expression, with all the shelves of books surrounding her, he couldn't help remark how beautiful she was in his head and how the scene would have painted a great picture. He felt oddly honoured that he was able to witness such a spectacle in his life as he continued to watch in silence.

A low grumble ruined the atmosphere in an instant, as Vincent raised a brow at Arnya, who's face had gone back to her usual expressionless look, only, that there was a tinge of red on her cheeks as she held her stomach. He gave a chuckle as he grasped the back of her chair and started wheeling her out.

"Let's go get dinner shall we?" Vincent asked as Arnya nodded.

...

///...AUTHORS NOTE...\\\

So I've fallen behind on a bit of work and have been trying to catch up for the past few weeks to make up for it. I also felt like taking a a break off writing for a bit since, I think I've mentioned this before, I haven't felt like writing much lately. I have been feeling better lately so maybe it'll get better? I don't know, my mood's been all over the place lately so I can't promise anything.

As for this chapter, no action unfortunately, but I did just want to add in a chapter that shows a part of Vincent's days at the school without the Golden Trio. Also had to add in some foundations that is important for me to lay down as soon as possible for future chapters, I'll leave it up to your imaginations to create whatever crazy theories you have about where this might end up.

Once again, thanks to anyone that has kept up with, and has continued to keep up with this series. Also thanks to those who even gave this series a try.

Thank you all, and I hope to see you guys again, seeya!