damned_institute | Day 29: Cafeteria, Brunch

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Day 29: Cafeteria, Brunch

Hitsugaya left the chapel no less frustrated than before. The head doctor once again had chosen not to hide his face, yet promised he would be making an appearance at some time in the near future. He didn't like being patient, but there wasn't much choice. Either the head doctor would show his face, or he wouldn't. Renji had already seen him, and knew how to find him. That was enough.

The thought of eating made him slightly nauseous as usual, but he knew he needed to get his strength up. He could either be weak and try to force his way through brunch without eating anything, or he could be smart and actually give himself something to eat. And there was rice. Rice and fruit. He took a heaping pile of rice, and grabbed as much watermelon as he could fit on his plate, then proceeded to an empty table. He scanned the room, watching for Momo. He wasn't exactly looking forward to their conversation, knowing how she'd acted yesterday; however, he knew he had to speak to her, and there was a good chance that she would show more restraint now that the drugs were out of her system.

Thoughtfully he consumed his rice and waited.

[free at the moment, pester if you wish]

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Harry froze at the word 'parents'. "My..." he began but the words stuck in his throat. "They're dead. That's impossible." Wasn't it? After all, Snape was here and Harry had seen the Potions Master die with his own eyes. The idea that he might see his parents settled over him heavily. He hadn't considered it before Artemis said it.

"Death is never the final word," Artemis said simply. "People who are sure that they have died have woken up here, so why not?" He also didn't mention that he'd outwitted death before, so he wasn't particularly nervous concerning the subject.

He'd lost his head that one night when Ken had got him, though. The boy had been certain that his number had been up that night, and the thought had sent him into hysterics. How exactly did he feel about death when it involved him on an intimate level?

He didn't want to think about this right now.

"That's a morbid subject, though. Perhaps something a bit more pleasant. How was your trip in town?"

Harry was thankful for the subject change. His stomach was twisted in knots. If there was the chance that he would see his parents after brunch then he knew he would dwell on it. His Parents. The very people he had wanted most to see and speak to. To know. To feel. It made him remember being a skinny eleven year old crouched by the Mirror of Erised, watching his family crowd around his reflection.

He wondered if he would be swayed by even just the sight of them. If it was them. He didn't know how he would handle it.

"It was... alright," he said. "I met a couple people." He had also angered Snape and upset Lestrange, but that wasn't anything new.

"Mm, well that's always good. One can always use allies in this place," He tipped his cup of tea to Harry and took another sip. Artemis sighed--this must be what being high felt like. Being able to indulge himself again was like...

Hm.

"Not that I'm avoiding the current subject Harry," Artemis set down his cup. "But can I ask you a rather personal question? I'm rather confused about it myself, and could use the opinion of an older male."

Harry nodded. "Sure," he said. If he didn't like the question he could always decline to answer it.

"Lately I've been feeling rather... moody," Yes, that was the right word. Moody. He didn't need to go into his tear-fests. "And I've found myself staring at women and thinking about them. I understand that this is perfectly normal, but I was curious to know if you knew of a method to counteract this whole situation. It's rather inconvenient and clashes horribly with my plans of triumph and escape."

He took another sip of his tea, as though preparing himself for the next question, "When you were my age, did you ever picture yourself procreating with another female?"

Harry was thankful he wasn't drinking when Artemis asked his question because if he had been he would have spit it out. It wasn't something he had ever heard worded such a way. It was funny, shocking and a bit sad.

"What?" he asked, a little stunned before recovering enough to answer the question. "I... I wouldn't put it that way but yeah, when I was your age I thought about girls. And to tell you the truth it only gets worse." His mind rested on Ginny and he felt incredibly homesick for her.

"You're pulling my leg," Artemis groaned and ran his fingers through his hair in dismay. "It can't get any worse than it is now! I'm throwing fits like a five-year-old child, thinking about the women of the Institute more than I should! Such behavior is surely to get me beaten within an inch of my life one of these days.

"Tell me," He leaned forward, "How do you combat it?"

Harry had to think about that for a moment. How did he combat it? By having a completely horrible time on his first 'date'? He frowned slightly.

"I had more important things to do, and for the most part that distracted me enough." But it hadn't stop him from taking out his father's map at night when he was on the run and staring at Ginny's dot on it as she slept. "It's embarrassing, but eventually you get the hang of it."

"Ah yes, that whole 'saving the world from imminent doom' thing," The boy smirked and took another sip of tea. Harry was probably the most upstanding, cavalier young man Artemis knew--and it amused the hell out of him. The whole 'hero of eternal glory' song and dance made him giggle--internally, of course.

"Well yes, I understand it's embarrassing--I'm living through it right now. But is there some way that I could 'get the hang of it' faster?" He thought for a moment. "Do you suppose sex would help?"

Harry looked indignant for a moment but then Artemis' last question threw him off again. "No," he said shaking his head and somehow saving face. "Not unless you've found someone you like that much, but from what I understand that only makes it worse."

"Really..." Artemis thought for a moment. "What varying opinions. An acquaintance of mine said that it wouldn't matter how much one cared about your partner--their level of skill was important." He shook his head, "Which is correct, I wonder?

"Anyway, I suppose that I'll just have to figure out what I should do on my own. Perhaps they have a book on it in the library..."

Harry shook his head. "I really don't think they'll have a book like that in there," he paused a second, trying to think how to word this. "And if they don't let you drink tea, even if they did have one, I don't think you could read it."

He really didn't like the idea of someone telling a kid that they should sleep with someone they didn't love. It seemed wrong to him, but he really didn't want to keep talking about with this Artemis.

"Ach, you're right," Artemis leaned back in his chair, running his hands through his hair in frustration. "The curse of looking so young, I suppose. But I digress--"

He took another sip of tea, "There was something you wanted to talk about with me, wasn't there? You humored my questions, I should do the same for you."

Harry shook his head. "I was a little curious about the things you were talking about on the board, but I'm not so worried about it anymore."

The idea that people thought he belonged with Draco was disconcerting, but it didn't matter as much when he had to worry about surviving the night in this place.

"Good to hear it," Artemis said with a smile, "It won't do you any good to think about things that have no bearing on your life. I believe it's similar to one's friends or parents suggesting what you should wear, who you should date, what academy you should attend, et cetera. In the end, it only matters what you believe is best for your own well-being."

Harry considered Artemis for a moment and then grinned. "I care about what my friend's think of me," he said after a while, "But I've never had parents to tell me how to dress."

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Day 29: Cafeteria, Brunch

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