Time to Talk ((Valmer))

[Wynd Lehane]

Wynd slowly pulled off his robes as he got ready for bed. The day had been a long one. He had spent most of it holed up in his room. He did not want to go to the common room and have to face Ruby. He was still irritated at her for deceiving him. There was another reason he was avoiding the common room. He didn't want to run into Damien. Damien had approached him when he was weakest and said some things that Wynd had to mull over. He didn't want to give Damien an answer just yet. Negative or positive. He wanted to talk to Ruby about it. But then it just started the circle over again; he didn't want talk to Ruby. He knew that if he talked to her right now he would say some things that he would regret later. Wynd was just taking some time to clear the air.

He had only left his room when he had to use the toilet or eat. Even then he went straight to the Great Hall, ate, and straight back to the room. He had seen Ruby there and she had desperately tried to catch his eye but he avoided her look the entire time. He felt slightly guilty that he would not let his sister explain but... It was not a big enough feeling to make him talk with her. Being alone in his room all day had given him a lot of time to think. He looked around the dark room lit only by oil lamps. One thing that Wynd had never really thought about was that the room had no windows. That was the trouble with living under the lake he supposed. Sometimes he envied the Gryffindor or Ravenclaw tower. What was he thinking? Envy them? Hah! They had betrayed the cause. Letting mudbloods and half-breeds into their house. And don't even get Wynd started on Hufflepuff. That wasn't even a house! That was just a place to put the leftovers.

It was still early so he did not expect his roommates to come back anytime soon. He just wanted this day to be over with. Tomorrow was Monday and he had classes. He would then be forced to see his sister. What was he going to say to her? What was she going to say to him? Wynd couldn't even imagine. He didn't even want to think about it. He hoped that by the time his roommates did come back he would be fast asleep. Hopefully a dreamless sleep. That would be nice. There was one particular roommate that he wanted to avoid. Valmer. He was the cause of all this strife. But Wynd couldn't blame him. He hadn't asked Ruby to lie. He finished taking off his robes. He never wore pajamas. He actually didn't sleep in anything at all but it was usually after his curtains were drawn that he removed his undergarments. He did this out of respect for his other Slytherins. They didn't seem to like it very much when Wynd would just change his underwear with all of them in the room. Modesty was a foreign idea to him. What did he have to be modest about? Nothing. He put his robes in his trunk before he started to remove his underwear. The door, as if cued, suddenly opened. Wynd looked to see who it was. He sighed to himself. He flopped himself on his bed taking his pillow and placing it on his body in just the right spot. "Hello Valmer," he said shortly to the boy at the door. "Welcome back."

[Valmer Van Ruster S7]

Valmer had to find Wynd. After what had transpired lately, he felt a talk with Wynd might help him to figure everything out, including his feelings for Ruby, Wynd’s sister. After all, he did have feelings for her, didn’t he? He just wasn’t sure of the whole “taking over the world” vibe he got from her. Was Wynd involved in all of that? He had to be, for how upset he seemed to get when he found out Ruby lied to him. As brother and sister, they seemed to pretty much only deal with each other, and not have too much of a strong loving bond. He could be the same way with his sister, but the fact was, he still loved her unconditionally. These two, on the other hand, seemed to just deal with each other when they needed to. It was something completely new for Valmer to experience, and he wanted to be careful with the situation.

He walked down the stairs quickly, towards the common room. He passed people quickly, eying some, looking for any sign of the boy. Nothing, as I expected. He’s likely hiding out, trying to avoid both of us, Valmer thought to himself. Maybe I should check upstairs, in the rooms. He climbed the short stairs, going around corners. It was getting late, but Wynd seemed to be the typical kid, who stayed up til a decent hour. He should still be up. Valmer turned one more corner, finding the door to the large sleeping room. He put his ear to the door, listening for anything he might be able to hear. Nothing, of course. No one goes to bed this early Valmer put his hand on the knob, contemplating if he should just go in and turn on the lights, or creep in quietly. If he turned on the lights, anyone who might be sleeping would likely have his head. It would be better to ease the door open, see if Wynd was in there, and figure things out from there.

He decided to go with the latter. He pushed the door open, immediately noticing the room was blackened, but still had enough light to show that there was a body in there, to the right. He walked closer, quietly, and realized it was Wynd. Valmer’s eyes adjusted to the light and he gasped. The boy was nearly stark naked. Well isn’t this lovely, Valmer thought immediately. “Why don’t you keep your clothes on for a while longer? I need to talk to you,” he said cooly. Wynd welcomed him back, but he didn't have time to chat about nothingness. He turned his head as Wynd put a pillow in front of lower body, and Valmer couldn’t take it. “Put your filthy robes back on, Wynd,” he said again, this time with a tone. “I need to talk to you about Ruby. She seems to be acting differently since we had our time out in the courtyard. I know you might not want to talk about her or to her, but I need to know what you know. Why did she lie to you?” He hoped Wynd would, for one, put some decent clothing on, and two, give him some answers.

[Wynd Lehane]

"I would ask you to refrain from referring to my robes as fifthly," Wynd answered Valmer. "They're perfectly clean. After all, they are worn by a true wizard and not some mudblood." Wynd took great pride in his appearance. He did not like to look dirty. Therefore he tended to take good care of his robes and all his garments. He had to. He had the Lehane name to uphold. Plus it was his upbringing. His father had always told him that appearance was everything. The only reason those muggles had attacked them that evening was because the Lehanes were forced to dress like them. If they had been in their true clothing than those muggles would not have thought twice about attacking them. It was only because the Lehanes looked weak that those muggles thought they were weak. Wynd's mother had made them think otherwise.

"You want to talk to me Valmer, it will be under my rules. Although if this isn't the clothing that you are comfortable with," he said indicating the pillow, "I can always remove it." He moved his hand and grabbed the pillow as to remove it. He hadn't planned it this way, but this situation was perfect. He had made Valmer very uncomfortable without any effort. This is how he would test Valmer. If Valmer indeed wanted to talk about Ruby he would have to prove himself. It wasn't as if Wynd did not have some decency. He had covered himself in the right place. If he wanted to truly make Valmer squirm he could remove the pillow and continue the conversation that way. But Wynd thought that this was best. He didn't want Valmer to be an enemy. He really did like Valmer. Sharing a room with him for four and half years had been a good experience. Wynd had just been surprised to find him with Ruby.

Wynd released his grip on the pillow and sighed. "Do you want some Fizzing Whizzbees? I love them." He moved to get to his trunk and felt the pillow falling and thought twice about it. "Well, they're in my trunk if you want some." He paused as he thought of what to say next. "Ruby lied to me because she was scared. Scared that she might like you. A lot. I believe that she didn't want to tell me because," he paused searching for words, "because she was not sure of herself. She has had many a relationship in the past that she has rushed into but they turned out to be wrong for her. She can pretend that I don't know, and for her sake I pretend too, but I know. I might not know about all of them. But I know that she has had her heart hurt many times." He looked hard at Valmer. Wynd had just volunteered a lot of information and he wanted some in return. "Do you like her? I don't want to see her hurt again."

[Valmer Van Ruster S7]

“Well you’re certainly not a muggle, so you’re okay on that front, I guess,” Valmer said to the naked boy. He could barely look at him, but Valmer knew he had to, to get some information or at least something out of him about Ruby. He listened, rolling his eyes once or twice, at Wynd’s ‘rules’ . “No, you can leave the bloody pillow where it is. Seriously, who goes to bed at this hour though? And who sleeps in the nude? Apparently you, even though I’ve never seen you—well, not like I would want to.” He was embarrassed, but at the same time, he was trying to regain composure so he could talk to Wynd about the girl. Wynd was looking at him like he was testing him. Like, the reason he was naked was because he was trying to see if Valmer would be strong enough to talk to him while he was indecent. Valmer wouldn’t give up that easily.

“No thanks, if you could stay there, that’d be great. Thanks,” he said. “I’m not a fan of candy, actually.” Valmer listened as Wynd explained about his sister, and Valmer couldn’t help but think of her. She was indeed beautiful, yet he still wasn’t completely sure how he felt about her. He knew he liked her, but he wasn’t sure about the vibes he got from her. He should probably ask Wynd about it. “Why would she lie to you, her own brother, though?” he questioned. “She said something about how you’ve reacted with her previous relationships. What did you do?” He thought about the rest of what Wynd had said, and finally responded. “Yes,” he admitted. “I do like her. I just don’t know what to think about some things. Things like her distrust with you. How could I be sure she’ll be truthful with me if she’s not even truthful to her own brother? Secondly, she has this, sort of…I’m not sure how to describe it.” Valmer couldn’t put his finger on what he was trying to say. Then it came to him. “Ruby seems to be set on conquering the world. Do you know anything about that?” He wondered if Wynd knew this side of his own sister.

[Wynd Lehane]

Valmer seemed to be slightly embarrassed but he was quickly regaining his composure. Wynd liked that. Valmer had proven himself in Wynd's eyes. He had faced a challenge and accepted it. Of course, under different circumstances Wynd would have chosen a different test. It was pure coincidence that Wynd was naked. He didn't think his fellow fifth years would be returning to the room until later. After all it was quite early to turn in for the night. But Wynd really just wanted to get this day over with. He felt lousy and hoped that tomorrow would bring a new perspective to this whole problem. He knew that eventually he would have to talk to Ruby. Through their unspoken and unnatural connection, Wynd knew that Ruby could tell that he was upset. He didn't care. Tomorrow he would have classes to distract him and maybe then an answer would appear.

"If you'll kindly turn around, I'll throw on a cloak," he told Valmer. Without waiting for a response, Wynd stood up, the pillow falling to the floor. He searched his trunk for a cloak and finding what he wanted he threw his cloak about his shoulders. He held it so that it covered his body with only his head showing. "Please have a seat," he offered Valmer a seat gesturing towards Dylan's bed, the closest one to Wynd's bed. He sat back on his bed and thought about Valmer's question. "I can't tell you why she lied. You would have to ask her about that. Of course, I have my suspicions. Are you close with your sister... Ronnie? I wouldn't know about younger siblings but with twins, you share everything. Parents, birthdays, classes, friends. Sometimes you do anything you can do to have your own thing. For instance, your own boyfriend. I suspect that she wanted you to herself and didn't want me to steal you away. You're a very attractive person Valmer, but I just don't like you that. Sorry," Wynd smirked at his own joke. "Not steal you away like that. Just that, she didn't want your attention to be torn between she and I." He paused before answering Valmer's next question. Wynd didn't want to scare the other boy away. "I just put some hexes on previous boys that I have deemed unworthy. Nothing too bad."

The light from the oil lamps flickered as if an unseen and unfelt breeze had just swept the room. "Don't worry though. I like you Valmer. I was just..." he hesitated as he thought of the right words, "surprised to see you at the Shrieking Shack that day. That is a spot that Ruby and I often visit together. I'm really glad that the two of you have found each other and I hope that it blooms into a wonderful relationship. I'm glad to hear that you like her." When Valmer asked him that final question Wynd held his breath. How was he supposed to answer? Wynd looked hard at Valmer trying to decide how much he knew. Yes, it was true that the Lehane twins hoped to one day be in power. But Wynd was unsure of whether he should tell this to Valmer. Although if he suspected he probably knew something about it and there would be no reason not to tell him. He was a true wizard after all. Amy Ruster was a well known witch, well, known to the right people. "We are going to conquer the world one day. And put muggles and all their kind in their place. Even if we do have to follow others..." he added under his breath.

[Valmer Van Ruster S7]

Valmer turned around so the boy could put a cloak on, and apparently he did it right on time too, because Wynd dropped the pillow almost a split second after he offered. Had Valmer hesitated at all, he would have been gotten an eyeful. Wynd offered him a seat, but he wouldn’t sit where he knew the boy nightly slept in the nude. “No thanks,” he said rather quickly. “I’ll stand.” He listened as Wynd tried to explain his sister’s actions. He understood where she was coming from, as he explained. Even though he wasn’t very close to Ronnie, he knew the sibling connection. With twins, it seemed to be quite different, and in most cases, much stronger. He knew what it was like to want to do your own thing when you get bombarded with the same thing your sibling does. When they were younger, not very long ago, his parents got into the routine of buying two of every toy, and it frustrated him many times. Valmer would want a toy that he didn’t think his sister should have. It was something he was able to get over, over time, but during that time in his life, he understood the struggle.

Valmer could see why Ruby might lie to her brother about him, and particularly her feelings for him. He had known that Ruby had feelings for him, but he hadn’t known how strong they were until that day in Hogsmeade. What had transpired had likely put Wynd on edge, which he understood. But why was Wynd the kind of brother who put hexes on, as it seemed, every guy Ruby had eve liked? That, even to him, a Slytherin, seemed a bit harsh. Valmer hoped that Wynd wasn’t thinking of hexing him. Wynd put a rest to his fear, though, explaining how he liked him, that he wouldn’t hex him. “So are you going to be following us around now, trying to find out if I’m worthy or not?” Valmer said this sort of judgmentally, just because he still didn’t quite believe Wynd’s stories. He wasn’t sure what or who to believe, for the most part.

When he asked about taking over the world, the boy hesitated, as if he was thinking of the right story to tell. As he listened to the explanation, he couldn’t help but be taken aback. “So how exactly do you expect to take over the world? Do you really expect that you’re going to find people to go against everything? Do you think that the Ministry and even Harry Potter dying did nothing? He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is gone, Wynd. We don’t need to worry about it anymore. Why do you and your sister want to bring that back? Muggles never did anything to you, did they?” Granted, he didn’t know much about the Lehane family, but how did they expect to revive such a rebellion? The Dark Lord was gone, and he hoped that Ruby wouldn’t want to be a huge part in this so-called revival.

[Wynd Lehane]

Wynd chuckled to himself when Valmer asked him if he was going to follow his sister anymore. "No, I don't plan to do that. She and I are never really apart anyway. I trust her. I have to. She is my sister after all. Tomorrow we'll duke it out and then things will go back to normal. I'll only follow you if she wants me to." Wynd flashed Valmer a devilish grin. He wouldn't follow them anymore. He could blame her all he wanted for lying to him but the fact is that he did follow her to the Shrieking Shack that day. He had a lapse in trust. No longer. He would trust her. If she told him that things were fine with Valmer than he would trust Ruby. They were partners after all. They were two halves of a whole. Now though they were three halves of a whole. Wait, that didn't work...

Valmer's question struck a deep chord in Wynd. "Muggles did nothing? Muggles did nothing!" Wynd could feel the anger rising in him. How could he assume that they had done nothing. "Because of muggles our mother is in Azkaban. Because of muggles our lives were changed forever! Because of muggles Ruby and I have suffered so much!" He was shouting at Valmer now. "Why must we live in hiding away from the muggles? Why can't we live out in the open if life is so peaceful! Muggles! We have to hide from them as if we are refugees. I'm tired of pretending to be a muggle every time I'm going some where! That's why! That's why we want to revive the struggle. You either stand with us or are against us." His voice echoed around the dimly lit dorm room and Wynd realised how loud he was. He paused as he took a deep breath. He had to calm down. Ruby and Wynd always practiced keeping their emotions in check. His emotions had just got the better of him.

"I'm sorry Valmer," Wynd continued in a much quieter voice. "I'm not angry at you. There was no reason for me to blow up like that. I don't know what came over me. Our mother was sentenced to Azkaban for using a spell on muggles. She was only defending her children because they had grabbed Ruby and she was afraid that they were going to hurt her. But the ministry wouldn't hear of it. They just heard that she had used magic on muggles and that was the end of it. We were four at the time. We haven't seen our mother since."

[Valmer Van Ruster S7]

Valmer was gracious that Wynd wouldn't be following him and Ruby anymore, but he was still leery about the family as it was. He hadn't heard much about the Lehane name, just that one of them had some ties to Azkaban. He still didn't like the fact that Wynd had been following them in first place, but he guessed it was just because of his brotherly instincts with his sister, which was the object of Valmer's affection at the current time. But could he trust Wynd to keep true to his word? It looked like Valmer had to trust him. Part of him didn't want to, because usually he, as a person, wouldn't trust someone again so quickly after something like that had happened, a situation as what had arisen. But there was reason for a benefit of the doubt, so he shrugged it off for the most part.

When Wynd seemed to blow up at him, Valmer couldn't help be be taken aback. He listened, even though a bit surprised, as Wynd explained how much the Muggles had done to their family. He had never heard of Muggles doing anything to hurt wizards and witches, but then again, he wouldn't put it past some of them. As Wynd went on, he backed up a bit, especially when he ended with, "You either stand with us or are against us." It was an ultimatum of sorts, and Valmer couldn't make a decision like that right away. "Are you asking me to decide right here?" he asked, curiously. "Because if you are, I can't make a decision like that right now. I need time to think. I'm not ready to go against everything I believe to be true yet." Valmer wanted to be on his guard, in case Wynd did anything extreme. He reached behind his cloak, hand on his wand, ready for anything that Wynd might do.

As he did this, Wynd seemed to retreat, and took a long breath. Valmer took his hand away from his wand, satisfied that the boy had just blown a fuse, and was coming back from it. As Wynd explained his frustration, Valmer understood, slightly. Muggles had never really done much to him, and he had never really had anything to do with them. But Wynd and Ruby, they had experienced a hurt that he had never felt. "Wynd..." he started, slowly, trying to figure out what exactly he could say, if anything. "I am sorry. I can't say that Muggles have never done anything to you. I've never had a problem with them, but obviously, from your story, you feel you have a score to settle. Is that why you and your sister want to bring the Dark Lord's reign back? Are you planning on trying to revive He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named again?" He knew how absurd it sounded, but Valmer wanted to know what was going on with the family, and if he had to, he would fight against it, no matter what.

[Wynd Lehane]

Wynd found it amusing when Valmer reached around his cloak to grasp his wand. As if Wynd could curse Valmer in his present condition. Wynd was still naked save his cloak. His redwood wand was sitting on his bed stand. The bed stand was not within reach. If Valmer had thought about it, he would not had reached for his wand. Still, it was nice to know that Wynd could invoke that kind of fear in Valmer. The fear that Wynd could lose himself and curse his fellow Slytherin. Although Wynd had promised that he would not curse Valmer and he would not break he word. It was still nice to know that Valmer thought Wynd might. This simple action that Valmer performed helped ease Wynd's sudden burst of anger and helped him see clearly once more. He gave a small smile. "And what is it that you believe to be true?" he asked of the other boy. "That muggles and pure wizards get along? That we live in Utopia? Or that there is not a movement already in motion? That the Dark Lord finally voiced something that many wizards and witches wished to say?"

Valmer removed his hand from his wand as Wynd began to calm down even more. Valmer apoligised for the Twin's history. As if one apology would make it all better. Wynd gazed into Valmer's brown eyes searching for the hint of truth. He could not help but think that his sister had also gazed into these eyes looking, no, searching for the truth. The dim light from the oil lamps reflected off Valmer's eyes very well. Wynd thought that Ruby must have seen the reflection of the moon through those eyes. Those eyes that would always look upon his sister with affection. With care. With hope. Maybe, someday, even love. Wynd could see what Ruby saw in those eyes. Perhaps not all that she could see. Ruby had always been partial to brown eyes. Valmer was lucky that he fit the criteria. That was his "in." And then maybe he had a charming personality... but his eyes would have intrigued her initially.

Wynd determined that Valmer was telling the truth. That he was in fact sorry that these horrible events had happened to the Lehane family. "Thank you," was the only thing that Wynd could think of saying. They hadn't seen their mother since they were four but the Ministry had said they were thinking of releasing her on the twins' seventeenth birthday. Thirteen years. Thirteen long years without their mother. They were totally different people now. Would she even recognise them? Would they want or need her? Wynd would cross that bridge when he got to it. Wynd could feel his grin grow at Valmer's next claim. "Revive the Dark Lord? Why would we want to do that? He has already died twice. It was miraculous that he rose from the dead once, impossible to do it again. No, we're not planning to revive him. We have already found someone more powerful. Someone that we... that Ruby thinks will be good leader. Someone to finish the battle that the Dark Lord started."

[Valmer Van Ruster S7]

Wynd questioned Valmer on what he believe to be true. “Wynd, I know that muggles and pure wizards don’t get along. I personally wish we could all live in harmony, but I do understand that it cannot happen without agreements on both sides,” he said, calmly. Wynd stated that there was a movement already in motion, and he was taken aback. “How do you know that something has already begun? And if so, why hasn’t Headmaster Dumbledore been told??” Valmer felt like it was absurd that Wynd would keep something so important from the school, if he really did know anything. He then thought about how much he could actually trust Wynd. He didn’t know him very well, but knowing him as much as he did, he hoped he could trust him.

Valmer watched as Wynd spoke, and realized he was staring into his eyes quite a bit. What could he see in Valmer’s own eyes? It creeped him about a bit, so he shifted so the boy couldn’t stare any longer. Wynd went on about how the Dark Lord had returned once, and they didn’t plan on reviving him again. Valmer knew it was impossible, but he had originally put coming back to life once in the impossible category, so why not believe someone could do it again? He breathed a sigh of relief, but then caught it in his throat as Wynd explained the apparent “plan”. They had found someone more powerful than Voldemort? That didn’t sound very good. Apparently, according to Wynd, Ruby thought he would make a good leader, and that he would finish what had been started by Voldemort. Hadn’t Harry Potter’s death taken care of all that? “Why do you want this to happen so badly, Wynd?” he asked the boy. “Why can’t you and Ruby and whoever else you have in mind to help you try to put aside the differences you have, and try to bring balance between muggles and wizards? It seems like that would be easier than bringing some new Dark Lord in to fix things.” He knew his plea would be shot down immediately, but he could at least try.

((I apologize for the amount of time it took for me to get back, and also for the short length.))

[Wynd Lehane]

"Harmony?" Wynd spit back in pure shock. "Harmony! What kind of Slytherin are you? You disgrace the very name of Salazar Slytherin! I can't believe the very thought of harmony would pass in your mind. Of course, we could have harmony. As soon as the muggles disappear. Or as soon as this ministry would allow us to reveal ourselves to them. That's the funny thing. The ministry wants to recognise muggles as living beings but we as wizards have to hide from them. Why? Because they think muggles wouldn't be able to handle the wizarding world. And they're right. But instead of us hiding in the shadows from them they should hide from us." The fire in Wynd's eyes was melting the icy breeze that they usually were. This was a topic that he felt very passionate about. He was a Lehane. A pure family. All Lehanes were very proud of their heritage and Ruby and Wynd were no different. It was because of muggles that they're lives were as messed up as they were.

Wynd smirked when Valmer was taken aback by the news. "Surprised? Ruby and I have connections. We don't speak empty words. And I heard that Dumbledore would soon be leaving anyway. Once he's gone, the mudbloods of this school won't stand a chance. There will be no one to protect them. They will fall." Wynd watched as Valmer shifted his position to avoid his gaze. That was a sign of weakness. Valmer looked away first. "They started the war Valmer. Not us. One day, you will have to join us or be against us. There are no neutral parties here. It doesn't bother me that Ruby wants to date you. I would rather you than a lot of other blokes in this school. But know that there will be a day that Ruby picks a side and I can guarantee you, it won't be on the side of a muggle-lover. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to go to sleep. You can either leave or stay, but be quiet." Wynd took off his cloak so that once again he was bare in front of Valmer, just to get under his skin. Wynd hopped on his bed and pulled the curtains of his four poster bed shut.

((I'm sorry it took me so long to reply and for the length. But now we can finally move on with the plot.))