The Start of a Brand New Year

Damian was feeling rather optimistic. The summer had been largely uneventful, but good nonetheless. They had exchange students and first years. There were new and more challenging things to learn.

Somehow, as he sat eating his breakfast that first day of classes, Damian just new this year would be a year of change and he looked forward to it.

At the beginning of the meal, anyway.

Gabrielle was in the great hall. School so far had been busy and eventful. She began walking down one of the rows, trying to get to the Gryffindor table on the opposite side. Suddenly, she wasn't sure if someone tripped her or if she just fell, but she was on the ground. Her head rattled with the impact. She groaned.

Karma grinned as she stepped over the Gryffindor, nodding down at her. She hadn't tripped her, but seeing a Gryff fall was enough to put her in a better mood. "Good morning." She greeted happily, slipping into the seat next to Ian. "Good morning to you too, Ian. Summer's treated you well enough, I hope." She said, cheerful, as she reached for a piece of bacon. She nibbled on the end of it, eyeing the boy. He'd grown, that was sure.

Damian looked up at the Slytherin as she seated herself beside him. "You know, sometimes I wonder why the school even bothers with house tables." He rolled his eyes, then shook his head. "And seriously, Karma. She's not even half your size."

The boy turned on the bench and offered a hand to the first year girl. "Don't mind her," he advised, inclining his head towards Karma. "She's one of those Slytherin prats with a thing against Gryffindors.

"My summer was good, by the way," Damian directed at his friend. "Uneventful, mostly. Had dinner at Iva's. Her father hasn't killed me for having the wrong blood status. Yet."

Karma stuck her tongue out at him, not feeling in the least mature. "I can come visit my favorite huffle now and then, can't I?" She glanced back down at the Gryffindor, blinking. "I told her Good Morning. It's my good deed of the day."

She winked and did a two fingered salute. "Prat and Proud." She said happily.

"Ooh. You went over Iva's?" She asked, her attention leaving the Gryffindor probably for the rest of the meal. "How was it? Painful?" She wrinkled her nose. "Didja meet that odd smelling fellow... uh... Tony or something...?" She shook her head. "I feel the random urge to punch that kid in the face all the time, and I barely see him."

"Most people wouldn't consider that alone to be a good deed," the boy pointed out.

"Very," Damian confirmed, then wrinkled his nose at the reminder of the other boy. "Tray-something, I think it was. And yeah, he was there. Mostly so I can see my competition, I'd bet." The boy shrugged. "Doesn't matter. Iva is mine." A possessive gleam shone in his eyes.

He grabbed up a piece of bacon of his own and took a bite, chewing thoroughly before swallowing. "So, what happened to that one girl? The one who hung out with you a lot last year? Haven't seen her, yet. Did she transfer?"

"I'm not most people." She said with a happy hum.

She smirked. "Don't worry, I doubt Iva's on that particular boat either." She rolled her eyes and ruffled his hair. "Of course she is, Ian, you possessive little Huffle you." She grinned, placing the piece of sawdust-like bacon down.

Her joking manner disappeared like sunlight behind a cloud when he mentioned her sister. Her eyes dropped to the table top and she frowned. Something was stinging behind her eyes. What...?

"Ree... died." She said softly, clearing the sudden huskiness out of her throat. "During the summer."

"Oh," Damian murmured awkwardly. She had? It hadn't been in the Prophet... "I'm... sorry to hear that."

He turned his attention to his plate, pushing his eggs distractedly around the rim with his fork. Part of him wanted to ask what had happened to the girl. She had seemed nice enough, he supposed. Not that he really knew her.

Before he could think of something else to talk about, the post came, brought on the wings of dozens upon dozens of owls. One landed in front of Damian and the boy blinked at it in confusion until it practically hopped into his food trying to get him to take the letter from its leg.

Damian recognized the writing on the envelope - his father. The boy didn't think about his parents that often, and the reminder made him feel a bit guilty...

Until he actually read the letter.

Damian's breath hitched in his throat and for a moment he simply stared at the page, shell-shocked. Of all the things he might have expected, he never expected this. He had always thought that at the very least, his parents loved him unconditionally.

Apparently he was wrong.

Karma's eyes had yet to lift from the table as the post came, but she looked up as she noted the boy's reaction. "Ian?" She asked worriedly. "Are you alright?" Her eyes flashed between him and the letter before she snatched it from his hands, barely debating reading it before crumpling it in her fist. "Ian? Look at me. Say something!" She cocked her head to the side, taking his face in both her hands and dropping the small ball of the letter onto the table before him.

"Who do I have to kill?"

Charlotte curiously watched the interaction between Ian and Karma, while absentmindedly poking her eggs with a fork.

"I really need to get some friends..." she mumbled to herself.

She slowly switched her gaze to the food on her plate, staring at it for a moment before taking a bite.

Damian was in enough shock that it took a moment to realize that, not only had the letter been taken from his hand, but he was being addressed, as well.

Slowly pulling away from Karma's touch, Damian snatched up the balled up letter without having to look to see where it had landed. His blue eyes turned cold, everything of the kind boy he was - that he had been - seeming to vanish as his entire expression followed suit.

"No one I can't kill myself," he growled. Then, rising from his seat, he stalked from the room.

From under the table emerged a brown-furred wolf, who trotted after her master, ears pinned back.