An Afternoon in Muggle London

Once out of the Leaky Cauldron, Jaina lead Lysander into the London Underground. She had on her person at all times Muggle money - something her father insisted on and Merlin was she glad she did. She paid for their trip and dragged him along. They were in a train going straight into Camden Town - one of her favourite places to go.

"So have you ever been to the Muggle side of things?" Jaina asked genuinely curious. They had to wait several stops before it was their turn, Jaina defy found a seat and sat. She herself had been to London a few times before. Definitely not as much as she would have liked, but her father always let them go whenever she had wanted. Her mother on the other hand... well that's how she knew how to sneak out so easily. She felt a bit guilty not bringing Jacen with them, but honestly, he'd ruin the whole trip. She didn't think he'd exactly approve of the Slytherin in front of her.

It was not the most pleasing arrangement for Lysander, to have Jaina pay his way, but he had no choice. He hadn't thought about having money once they got into Muggle London and even if he had, he didn't have any earthly clue about what Muggles used to pay for things, anyway.

At least the train was somewhat familiar, despite its being underground. Of course, he didn't manage to get a seat as Jaina had, but it wasn't exactly N.E.W.T.-level stuff to figure out that he could stand and hold onto the bars seemingly designed for that purpose, as other passengers were. He wondered to himself about the necessity of them travelling mostly underground, adding that to the list of things he Did Not Like. The Slytherin common room was bad enough, but at least it had better lighting and sumptuous furnishings to distract from that fact. The Underground was anything but luxurious or comfortable; honestly, he would have settled for simply "clean".

"Erm, honestly?...so far, I'm not terribly impressed. This is my first foray into the Muggle world," he shrugged, leaning towards Jaina in an attempt to avoid being overheard. "It's not very clean, is it?"

At his reply Jaina had to laugh. Just as she suspected. Most Wizarding families just didn't bother. It was such a shame really. The Muggle world was so much fun. "This is your first time? Really?" Even though she figured as much, it was still held some degree of a surprise. "Didn't you ever wonder what it was like? An entire world just next door. Where abouts do you live?"

She had to give him credit for coming with her. Usually people would put up more of a fight. Especially going somewhere they've never been with someone they hardly knew. She considered the boy in front of her. A thought occurred to her - but she pushed it on the back of her mind. He couldn't possibly.

The woman on Jaina's left side left, leaving a vacant seat right next to her. Jaina smiled and patted the seat looking at Lysander. "Come on, a nice lovely seat for a first-timer."

Lysander wasn't being quite truthful. He'd wandered out into the Muggle world on his own once -- well, sort of. It was when he was five. His brothers were away at school, and he was playing in the garden, alone as usual, skimming the grass with his toes on his toy broomstick. Somehow Lysander had managed to wander away from his mother's hawklike gaze and onto the neighbouring estate, which was owned by a Muggle family.

A little girl by the name of Anna lived there, a pretty seven-year-old with big green eyes and pale cornsilk hair, and she was on holiday from school. She'd spotted Lysander zooming around from an upstairs bedroom, and she ran down to the lawn to investigate. Over an hour later, his mother finally found them, giggling amongst the heath, sharing the broom and taking turns jumping off into the tall, soft grass.

The beating that Lysander had received after this little episode was severe, the worst he'd ever gotten then or since, and he never saw Anna again. Afterwards, his mother put up wards all around the grounds so that he couldn't get out, and he never tried straying into the Muggle world again. Until now.

"I grew up in the countryside," Lysander explained simply, skipping over a great many details. It was hardly the type of thing one brought up in casual conversation. He took the offered seat before continuing.

"I was curious, but there wasn't much about to explore, and my mother was very strict. She disapproved of Muggles."

"How about you?" She asked in a surprisingly serious tone. She probably should have asked that beforehand, before they went to the Muggle world. Jacen always did say she acted before she thought. Oh well. He couldn't be against Muggles could he? He was friends with MacDougal sure - but he agreed to go with her. That should meant something right? Most of the children of Purebloods who were against Muggles didn't know what they were talking about anyway. They were just spewing out what their parents had fed them. They had no idea what they actually felt about Muggles having no sort of interaction with them whatsoever.

Jaina kept her eyes on him. He seemed to have his defences in place. Well - she would change that. She didn't want him to spill his heart out, but she did want him to loosen up a little. 

The bluntness of her question startled Lysander so much that he answered honestly, and without hesitation. Fortunately, the loud rattling of the train on its tracks made it difficult for them to be overheard even if any of the apathetic-looking people around them had been trying to eavesdrop.

"I've nothing against them. In my whole life I've only ever met one and she was quite nice. I don't see what the big fuss is about them, to be honest -- I mean, having magic is clearly better, but it's not their fault they don't, isn't it? I bet if they had a choice, they'd like to have it. And the whole intermarriage thing is a load of bollocks too if you ask me, because purebloods have squibs at a higher rate than intermarried couples. When a purebloods marries a Muggle, all their kids have magic, so the whole argument about it diluting the strength, it's just stupid."

He hadn't meant to go on a tear about it, but when he finished speaking, Lysander realised he'd done just that, and his face flushed in embarrassment. That was probably far too much of his true opinion to have shared without knowing her own stance, but he had to assume that since it'd been her suggestion to go to Muggle London, she probably thought along the same lines.

Jaina was sitting rather satisfied. To be honest, she was taken slightly back at the honesty of his answer. She couldn't help the pull of her lips. He could just be saying that to get on her good side but somehow she knew he wasn't lying. Something about the way his eyes sparkled. She was glad - more than glad really. While Muggles werent actually her life's passion, she detested all those who were opposed to them. Like MacDougal and his band of merrymen. She wondered why Blake were friends with the lot of them. She would have to ask a bit later. Something told her his burst of honestys were to be coaxed slowly out instead of pushing and forcing them to come.

She leaned against the seat. "I think they're fantastic." She said under her breath. 

Jaina looked at the little digital sign on top of the sliding doors. "Oh, this is our stop's the next one." She stood up and waited by the door, holding the vertical metal bar to keep her balanced.

Jaina's quiet comment didn't go unnoticed, but Lysander had little time to comment on it when she announced their stop was next. Instead, he followed her lead and got out of his seat, getting as close to her as he dared while they waited for the train to stop. It was partially because he liked her, but also because he was a bit nervous and she was the only thing familiar to him. Much as he didn't mind Muggles, he'd probably never be completely comfortable with them. There was too much alien strangeness to overcome, and he disliked the fish-out-of-water sensation it gave him.

"So...d'ya mind telling me what this is all about, then? You never did say what we're doing here...other than getting into a load of trouble back at school, that is," he pointed out. Spotting a group of Muggles smoking nearby, Lysander fished in his pocket for his pack, too, wanting to blend in. He just felt so conspicuously out of place.

As the trained stopped Jaina had to reply quickly. "You'll just have to wait and see, won't you?" She smiled at him before stepping down the platform. "Mind the gap!" She exclaimed back at him.

Truthfully, she hadn't actually thought this out, and that's the way she wanted it to be. She liked spontaneous adventures. Fully planning out what your next moves were, was as appealing to her as a history Lesson on the importance of magical quills on a sunny Saturday morning. No, she preferred to follow her urges. Sure this occasionally lead her into trouble, but nothing she couldn't handle.

"You shouldn't worry too much about getting into trouble. What's the worse they can do to us?" Jaina spoke over her shoulder. It was rhetorical and she wasn't expecting an answer. As such, she pushed through the sea of people walking by and out to the exit. He was trailing dangerously close to her. She presumed it was because he was in unfamiliar territory and so felt rather bad for him. She really should have suggested they go to Diagon Alley first instead. To feel him out. She hardly even knew him. Well, she saw him around sure, but he always seemed a little bit stuck up to her. Good-looking yes, but stuck up. Guess she was wrong.

Once they were out of the station she turned on him. "So, if you don't mind Muggles, why do you hang out with MacDougal's lot?"

Lysander only just had time to connect Jaina's seemingly random comment and the literal gap between the train and the platform before jerking his foot awkwardly to avoid the empty space. Fortunately, Jaina was busy plowing her way through the crowd and didn't seem to have noticed his awkward moment; he had to sort of jog to catch up with her again and only just caught her question. He frowned as he slowed to a walk beside her, contemplating his response. The problem was, he wasn't exactly sure what Jaina was trying to get at. Why on earth should MacDougals's views conform exactly to his own, when it had so little to do with anything they encountered at school?

"Well, it's not like they bus them into Hogwarts or anything," Lysander replied, shrugging. To be honest, he hadn't really thought about it before -- it was hardly a major conflict or anything. Jericho actually didn't have much to say on the subject of Muggles or Muggleborns, even, when not directly in the presence of them, and Lysander saw no reason for him to do so. It would have been weird, and by some of the more snobby Slytherin students, even considered gauche.

"I mean, he's hardly obsessed with them, like some people are. For the most part, the whole blood issue is kind of an unspoken thing. If you're in Slytherin, assumptions are made and no one really questions it. There's not need to -- we're amongst our own kind, anyway. Meaning Magical," he clarified. "There are half-bloods and even Muggleborns in our House just like any other, only they don't shout about it."

"That sounds reasonable." She nodded. "I would not want to be in Slytherin if I were a Muggle-born."

"And you're wrong, he is obsessed with them." Jaina corrected. "He's such a bully to the Muggle-borns, he should be in detention indefinitely! I mean he and his little cronies are like - like Darth Vader and his army of Stormtroopers, marching around Hogwarts and torturing the poor Muggle rebellion."

"I mean take what he did to Hall. The poor bloke is already walking with a cane. You'd have to be a real jerk to trip him. I mean Hall's one of the good ones you know? He sympathizes with us students and what does MacDougal do? Plays a prank on him. And it wasn't even a very good one. I mean I could have thought of a better one in my sleep! There was no drama, no fireworks, just a cruel joke."

"And do you know Cole? Columba Mars? Blonde chick? - the way he constantly agonizes her is absolutely criminal. And she's not even a Muggle-born! She's a half-blood. A fact he very well knows but apparently the half magical blood she has doesn't make up for the rotten Muggle blood." Jaina rolled her eyes. Then she folded her arms and awaited for his rebuttal.

Without trying to conjure up the mental image, Lysander thought about the lone Muggle-born in Slytherin that he knew -- that all the Slytherins knew, really, because she'd made no attempt to hide it. An American, unaware of the long traditions of Slytherin house and therefore careless of her answer when asked -- the last friendly gesture the poor girl had received from her housemates since.

They all avoided her as though she were plagued, Lysander being no exception to that, although he hoped Jaina didn't know that. It wasn't that he cared about the girl's bloodstatus so much as he supposed his friendliness wouldn't help her. After months of bullying people had finally calmed down and being ignored was probably preferable to being noticed again. She didn't seem too friendly herself anyway -- she appeared to be a proper Slytherin personality-wise, with the exception of her parentage.

"Yeah....I wouldn't much fancy that either. I'm scarcely a proper Slytherin as it is, or so everyone likes to tell me." Finally finding his pack, he withdrew a fag and surreptitiously lit it with his wand hidden in his pocket.

"I don't know who this Dearth Vader person is but trust me, Jericho's alright. Sure, he doesn't always have the best sense of humor, I mean that stuff's a bit childish, but well -- no one got seriously hurt, did they? And besides, it's hardly like he got away with it, from what I heard. It's nothing personal against Hall, he's just the new teacher and that's how it goes. Welcome to Hogwarts and all of that."

Lysander grinned, puffing away as Jaina mentioned Columba Mars -- a girl he knew to be a teammate of hers and much more a close friend than just "some chick" Jaina knew. In fact, he wouldn't be half surprised if she'd brought him out here just to prove some point to him, in the hopes that Jericho would lay off. Unfortunately for her, he knew exactly why Jericho bothered Columba so much, and it wasn't likely to end anytime soon whether he intervened or not. Lysander choose his words carefully, wanting to reassure her while also having his best friend's back. He liked Jaina but it wasn't his place to air Jericho's secrets to the world. What he really thought about Columba Mars was between him and her and no one else as far as Lysander was concerned.

"Listen...about Cole..." he sighed, flicking his half-smoked cigarette away and burying his hands in his pockets. "I guarantee you it's not what you think. People are never nearly as straightforward as you'd like..." He shrugged and smiled at her apologetically.

"He's my best mate, for lots of reasons. You'll just have to trust me on that for now."

Jaina couldn't help but watch him light and the movement of his lips as he smoked the cigarette. Unfortunately, she didn't much like what he said.

"Welcome to Hogwarts?" She spluttered. "If that's your excuse, geez, I'd hate to hear what you rendition of Voldemort's War is. A walk in the park?"

She frowned at his response to Cole. Not what she thought huh? "What MacDougal is torturing her because he's secretly in love with her? Please. Don't make me laugh."

She glanced at him and decided this had to be a one time thing. He was incredibly good looking but he was in fact a Slytherin and all the things that came with that house. Sure, not everyone in Slytherin was bigoted and prejudice but a good majority of them were. Jaina didn't have the time or patience for setting them right. She had to give him props for coming here with her but he seemed to be loyal to his friends. Something she could respect, but if his friends were in fact some of the unpleasant people... well, she needed to keep their relationship a distant one.

Besides, she just wanted a little fun.

"You know what, forget about them. We aren't here to argue - we're here to enjoy the day." She turned to the right were the street was lined with shops of almost everything. A bit like Diagon Alley but without the magic. "Come on." She grinned and threaded onward.

Jaina had caught him on an exhale and so when Lysander snorted, smoke streamed from his nose, making his eyes sting painfully.

"A walk in the park?" he asked incredulously, rubbing his eyes with his free hand. "He tripped a man, he didn't attempt genocide, I think that's a bit of a leap. He knew Hall could handle it -- and he did, obviously. It's like...." Lysander sighed, shrugging.

"It's not personal, Jericho just...has a reputation to maintain. And it might not be one you like or approve of, but it works for him. You don't know what he has to go home to, what his mum is like. I've known him since before we came to school, he's a good person. Loyal -- and kind, though I doubt you'll believe me. More often than not he's been the only one looking out for me, so if I don't much fancy the public persona...I can put up with it, for what he's done for me. Maybe it's selfish but at least it's honest. He doesn't mean half of the shit he says, he's just reading from a script, basically. 'Our kind' don't take well to deviating from established social norms, unfortunately. For example, if my mum finds out where I've gone --" he shuddered involuntarily and didn't finish the sentence.

The vast majority of people who say they'll be "flayed alive" for something were exaggerating, naturally, but Lysander wasn't so sure that phrase would have been an overstatement at all. He'd gotten broken bones for far less; the potential consequences of this particular outing didn't bear thinking about. Much easier to think about was the subject of Cole and Jericho, so he steered the conversation back to that as he tried to keep pace with Jaina and puff away on his cigarette at the same time.

"He definitely doesn't see it at him torturing her. He just picks on her because she gives it right back to him, that's all. It makes him think she can take it, so he does it more to her. I can promise you if the day ever came when he made her run off crying, he'd never do it again. Even if the girl in question is a halfblood, it's just bad manners for men to make women cry. He'd be given shit for it too, but only safely within the confines of the Slytherin dormitories. Anyway! I don't mean to argue, either. Just wanted to point out there's two sides to every story."

Spotting a smoker's outpost, Lysander snuffed out his fag and looked around at all the shops. Even without magic, the place was a veritable wonderland of color and movement, advertisements beaming from LCD screens and music blaring outside almost every shop. He literally stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and just stared, wide-eyed, experiencing sensory overload, as the shoppers behind him bumped into him and gave him dirty looks as the went on their way.

"Wow..." he breathed, turning around slowly. "I....it's just like magic, only...not. I suppose they've figured out how to get along quite well without it, haven't they?"