A Discussion of Principle ((Kennedy))

[Pyro Blackfire S5]

Pyro sat easily on one of the many wooden benches set strategically around the grounds of Hogwarts. His brightly colored Blonde hair, usually pulled and braided back into a ponytail was low today. It danced and twirled around his head in the soft breeze of the afternoon. The young Slytherin hardly cared to tame the hair as he continued his unblinking gaze at the sky, which was unusual clear of any cloud cover. The sun was on the other side of the castle so it hardly bothered him. His eyes had once been the richest of baby blue, yet at they moment, they seemed gray and lifeless as his stare into nothingness continued.

She had left him, the one person that Pyro truly cared about in this world. The one person who had managed to see past his outer shell. The only person he had ever asked to marry had left him. Pyro hardly remembered the details of their last meeting. All he could register was lots of yelling, lots of emotions flying around the room. The next thing he knew he was watching her grow small against the horizon, she never looked back. That had stung more than anything else in his life. Stung him more than he thought anything ever could. Not even when he had killed his own father had he felt anything quite like this in his heart. He didn’t care anymore, how could he care anymore?

Class seemed meaningless to him. Life seemed meaningless to him. What was the point of living with her gone? It had been a full week since Pyro had gone to any class; he hadn’t done anything in that past week except find secluded areas to look up at the sky. He hadn’t trained, worked out, or gone to Quidditch practice at all. What was the use of it all? Quidditch was just a simple sport, something to pass the time, why bother with it?

A strand of free flowing hair struck his eyes and forced him to blink for the first time in what seemed like ages. Slowly and lazily he reached up to brush it away. His hand struck his chin and he felt the prickle of stubble on his chin. He may not be able to grow a full beard yet, but he had reached an age where if he didn’t shave at least once every three days his stubble became unsightly. Honestly it was the first time Pyro had really noticed the growth. He hadn’t looked in a mirror in forever.

Sighing he dropped his hand, forgetting for a moment about the stray strand of hair. (Not that it mattered for the next breeze blew it away once again.) Pyro could feel an uncomfortable cramp forming in his legs and decided it was time to move. Rising slowly, lazily to his feet he reached up into the sky and slowly began to stretch. Once it seemed his body was fully stretched he wrapped his cloak tightly around him to ward off the chill of the breeze and turned toward the castle gates and began to move toward them.

[Kennedy Valak S6]

The Slytherin verses Ravenclaw match was coming quickly, and as every day passed, Kennedy felt the pressure more and more. His stomach hadn't felt right for the past week, and it seemed that all he could think about was what he had to do to lead Slytherin to victory. He knew that Fiona was probably sick of hearing him talk about it, and so when he was around her, he did his best to stay off the topic of Quidditch. It was fortunate that Fiona was the one thing that could help him get his mind off of anything. She could easily distract him with her soft words or just a kiss. He had been really happy lately that they were now back together. The world seemed to be on his side for one, and he could only hope that it was the case for the upcoming match as well.

With his broom under one arm and a Quaffle under the other, Kennedy had decided to head to the pitch for some extra flying. It wasn't a practice or anything like that. He simply wanted to get out into the fresh air and feeling the wind whip against his face. As he walked, Kennedy thought about his team. They were quite a new team overall. With Alex leaving and Pyro seeming to disappear, it left only three of them with any previous experience: Kennedy, Mary, and Caleb. The rest of the team was a bunch of new fifth years and then Drake Manning, a seventh year who seemed to want to do anything but play Quidditch. He had a wicked swing though, and Kennedy figured it wouldn't hurt to have him as a back up beater. Still, the newness of the team worried Kennedy a bit. Not to mention, a few of the fifth years didn't even get along off the pitch. Who knew what kind of teamwork they would exhibit on the pitch. It kind of reminded Kennedy of when it was he, Pyro, and Alex playing together. Of course, they were capable of putting their differences aside for the sake of the team. He wasn't sure yet if the new fifth years were able to do that or not.

As fate always does catch people at the most ironic of times, Kennedy exited the castle just in time to see a familiar figure headed his way. There was no doubt, with the light coloured hair and the billowing robes that it was none other than Pyro himself. Despite being in the same year, house, and even sharing a room, Kennedy had done his best to avoid Pyro at all costs. There was no way that Kennedy was going to let him get in between he and Fiona now that things had been mended. Plus, the last time that they had spoken, Pyro had said things that sounded quite like he was threatening Kennedy. It didn't scare Kennedy, but at the same time, he wasn't going to take any chances, especially given his reputation as prefect and now Quidditch captain that he had to live up to. Kennedy had too much to lose to let Pyro get under his skin and risk taking it all away.

Today though, they were headed right toward one another. There was no sidestepping this encounter. Perhaps the long lapse in time had calmed Pyro down and he might be able to have a civil conversation. Of course, Kennedy had heard the news of Alex leaving him, which likely wouldn't make Pyro any less calm. Nonetheless, there they were, just feet away from each other, and both had obviously noticed the other by this point.

Kennedy stopped, taking in a good look at Pyro. Since he had always been avoiding making eye contact with Pyro, Kennedy hadn't really seen him lately. He looked quite terrible. His appearance was not the best, to say the least. It was obvious that recent events had probably been taking their toll on Pyro, and for a split second, Kennedy almost found himself feeling bad for him. He stopped himself though, knowing that Pyro would never do the same for him, and it helped him to remain uncaring whenever he thought about how his own recent pain and dark times had been directly related to Pyro himself.

"Giving up on Quidditch for good then?" he asked. They were the first words that came to his mind, and it seemed that the topic of Quidditch was the only safe thing that Kennedy could talk about without the risk of losing his temper and doing something stupid. It was a bit of a sarcastic statement that expressed how Kennedy was bitter toward Pyro for seeming to leave the team abandoned. No matter how much Kennedy didn't like Pyro or get along with him, he'd be thrilled to have him back on the team. There always came a time when enemies had to work together, and Pyro really wasn't an enemy as much as he was just an annoyance for Kennedy. Kennedy wasn't sure what else to say, so he simply stood there and waited for Pyro to speak next, assuming he would speak at all. For all Kennedy knew, Pyro might just walk away, curse him right there, or do something else totally unexpected. After all, it was Pyro, and he was known to lose his temper.

[Pyro Blackfire S5]

Pyro held his eyes low to the ground as he carefully watched the ground for any obstacles. Pyro used to be able to walk easily, hardly having to watch where he was going. His balance was always perfect, with his weight perfectly distributed and easily able to navigate the many dangerous on a castle path. Yet right now Pyro was finding it hard not to sway and stagger on his path. The soft and gentle breeze made the edges of his cloak dance lightly around his feet as he carefully picked one foothold and the next.

The sound of footsteps carrying on the breeze reached Pyro and he looked up briefly, noticing a figure making his way toward him. Even from this distance Pyro could recognize him. Carrying a Quaffle and a broom only helped Pyro in making the recognition. The hair, the style of dress, the walk, Pyro knew it all too well. Pyro found a surge of anger start to well up deep in his stomach at the site of Kennedy. Here was the embodiment of everything Pyro hated in life. Kennedy had brought so much pain, confusion, and toil into his life. He had managed to expose his former membership to The Chosen to Alex, and it had taken Pyro a lot of hard work and sacrifice to smooth that over.

Kennedy’s meddling hadn’t stopped there either, he had than allied himself with Fiona, another former Chosen member, and they had both began to pester Pyro over a certain magical book. It had all been a confusing and tedious time. Alliances being formed in the shadows and a lot of cloak and dagger work. At the time Pyro hardly minded it, in fact, he quite enjoyed the challenge. Finally, something was testing his abilities. He actually had to watch his back, be aware, keep his guard up.

After Alex left it all lost meaning. What was the point of it all? Suddenly a fresh memory of Alex surged through his mind and the anger rising within him slowly died down. It was too much effort to be mad at Kennedy, and it required too much to draw it out, besides, what was the point? The anger subsided before it had even had a chance. Pyro looked up again and noticed that they were just a few strides away from each other. He stopped walking as Kennedy did and stared in silence at him.

Pyro had no idea how long the silence lasted. He studied Kennedy quietly for a while. Kennedy looked much the same, though his shoulders seemed to be a little bowed, like they were weighted down by some unseen weight. Probably the pressure of Quidditch Captain and an upcoming match. As if the memory of Quidditch triggered it Kennedy broke the silence, and of course the subject was Quidditch. Pyro digested the words for a few moments, taking them in, analyzing them.

As well as his body his mind used to be sharp too, but now Pyro seemed to have to fight through a thick fog to get his thought pattern back. He had been missing a lot of practice, and being a starting Chaser, that was unacceptable. His eyes slowly lifted and looked up into Kennedy’s eyes. Pyro shrugged, “What’s the point? It’s just a game.” Even as Pyro said these words they stunned him. Quidditch used to be his life, one of the only things in the wizarding world that seemed to reflect physical strength, and Pyro was one of the most physical wizards out there.

He had expelled at the sport, his balance, speed, agility, and quick thinking easily putting him ahead of many older players. Yet now here he stood, casually shrugging off the game that he had devoted hours upon hours of his life practicing and perfectly. He tried to bring up an argument himself, disputing what he had just said, but the fog of depression was to deep, and he was to tired. He decided it was too much work and stuck with the words he had just spoken. Returning his gaze to Kennedy he watched for the surprise in his eyes. Kennedy of all people knew how serious Quidditch used to be to Pyro. He, and perhaps maybe Mary were the only ones who could lose their balance at hearing Pyro so casually downgrade Quidditch.

He sighed and shrugged again and looked up at Kennedy, waiting for the reaction.

[Kennedy Valak S6]

"Just a..." Kennedy began in quick reply to Pyro's comment about Quidditch being just a game. It caught him off guard, and he was in disbelief that Pyro would talk about Quidditch being just a game. For Kennedy, he didn't really care whether or not Pyro was missing out on the thrills of Quidditch, but to hear him speak like that after seeing the way that Quidditch was just as much a part of him as it was for Kennedy or Mary, it made him wonder if this was all just some after effect of the way things had been going for Pyro lately. It didn't take a genius to see that he was obviously not his old self. In fact, if he were his old self, Kennedy would have expected a few thrown punches to come his way at least.

Kennedy paused for a moment and then laughed briefly. He wasn't laughing because the situation was humorous or because he wanted to anger Pyro. He laughed because he found the moment so unexpected. "Just a game?" he repeated again. Kennedy eyed Pyro, wondering what he really was thinking. Surely there had to be a bit of him that didn't think Quidditch was just a game anymore. But, if not, Kennedy knew that he and the rest of the team would have to accept the fact for sure that they'd be playing without Pyro in their upcoming match against Ravenclaw. It was something Kennedy had considered, but a part of him wondered if Pyro wouldn't come back on the team before then.

"So this means that you are giving up your starting position as Chaser just like that? I mean, not that you really could even expect to have a starting position at this point with all the practice you've missed." Again, Kennedy wasn't speaking out of spite, but more so matter-of-factly. For some reason, he wasn't worried about setting Pyro off in a fit of anger. It seemed as though recent events had worn him down in more ways than one. Kennedy almost found himself feeling sorry again for Pyro, after all, he had reached a point where something he used to love so much had become nothing more than 'just a game'. Kennedy didn't allow himself to feel sorry though, it wasn't in his nature.

"The team needs you," he said. Kennedy wasn't afraid to be honest, even if it meant admitting to Pyro that he was needed. "But we don't want you if you think it's just a game." Kennedy only wanted players who wanted to win. No matter how good Pyro was, if he didn't care enough about the game, he wouldn't be worth rotating back into the system. "And if you do come back, I can't guarantee any playing time. You've been away for so long that we had to fill your spot. However, if you ask me, we have some room for improvement." Kennedy shrugged his shoulders. Part of him hoped Pyro might come back and with the same passion about Quidditch that he had before. Yet, another part of him was still very wary of Pyro. They had been practically enemies just months prior, and despite it seeming that things might be smoothed over for the most part, Kennedy never could tell with Pyro. He might just be a ticking bomb, ready to go off at any time, ruining not only the team, but Kennedy's life in general as his experience with Pyro had once done before.

[Pyro Blackfire S5]

Pyro noticed the surprise come into Kennedy’s face at his words. Pyro watched him carefully, gauging his reaction. In fact Pyro was just as surprised at the words as Kennedy was; they had just sort of slipped out without his bidding. Though, he had to admit that they did reflect how he felt on the inside. Just than Kennedy began to laugh, Pyro cocked his head to the side and stared at Kennedy during the brief laugh. He felt anger rising up within him again, was Kennedy mocking him? Pyro felt his muscles tighten and his teeth clench, just a few steps and he would be in striking range of Kennedy.

Pyro was just about to move forward when the short laugh finished. Kennedy once again started talking and Pyro realized that Kennedy wasn’t laughing at him, he was merely laughing at the situation. Still Pyro didn’t want to remain here and be the victim of any abuse. Kennedy was the Quidditch Captain, even though Pyro felt like he could fly circles around him, and he was in charge of the decisions, he hardly needed Pyro’s impute on the matter. Pyro began to move again, wishing to be gone from this situation but Kennedy’s next words stopped his momentum.

Pyro growled a little. “Than do it. Give the position to one of those snotty little younglings. You know as well as I that I can fly better than them with my eyes shut.” Pyro wrapped the his cloak tighter around him and moved to be beside Kennedy. “If I decide to return, than I’m sure I will get my spot back if I want it. Even if you have to lose a few games to finally see the truth of it.” Pyro moved away and was on his way back toward the castle when Kennedy’s words once again stopped his progress. Pyro spun around. “Needs me?”

Now it was Pyro laughed, a harsh and bitter sound. “You seem to forget what house we are in Kennedy?” He chuckled slightly. “We are Slytherin, we don’t need anybody. You act as if we are a team, working towards a common goal. What do you think we are? Some kind of family?” Pyro laughed once again, this time a bit degradingly. “We aren’t the Gryffindors. Not a single member of this team.” He said the word with sarcasm. “Cares about the others. They just merely want to improve their own lives and as such, they need to win a few games. “ Pyro smirked a little. “Do you really think that anybody from this team will have your back when you need it?”

With that Pyro once again turned toward the castle. He threw his last comment over his shoulder. “Keep your eyes peeled. I may return, or I may not.”

[Kennedy Valak S6]

The fact that Pyro's words held such truth made it hard for Kennedy to come up with much of a response. There was no doubt that Pyro was easily a first choice as one of the better players for Slytherin. Still, Kennedy knew that if he merely let Pyro have his starting position back without having to earn it, the entire team might end up in a bit of a dispute. Some of the newer members might find that it was unfair, and as much as Kennedy didn't really care about making things fair, he knew that he needed the team to at least be civil with one another, which fit right into what Pyro was saying next about the team not really being a team.

"We may not be a team in the same sense as the Gryffindors or the Hufflepuffs, but we sure as hell aren't going to win anything if we don't play like a team." Kennedy knew that there wasn't much disputing this. Sure, he didn't really care that much about the rest of the players outside of the game, but he cared about winning. If they were to win, they'd have to play a game of cohesion. The only way to do that was through acting as a team. "Even if it's just an act, we have to be a team in order to win." He wasn't sure if Pyro would argue with him or not. Oddly enough, it didn't seem Pyro was the same Pyro as he normally was. Arguing seemed to be less important to him at this point. He had almost mellowed out to an extent. It was a bit unsettling.

"Well, whether you do or don't return, I'm confident in our team," he said. "With you, we'll be a lot better than without, but either way, we'll pull out a few wins." Kennedy adjusted his grip on his broom. As the topic of Quidditch seemed to fizzle, he couldn't help but ponder about the other obvious topic that existed between himself and Pyro: Fiona and the Chosen. Nothing had ever seemed to come out of the whole situation, and he couldn't help but be curious of where Pyro stood in all of it. "So what ever happened with the Chosen?" Kennedy didn't really expect an answer, at least not a detailed one. However, he'd take whatever information Pyro might divulge- not because he wanted to know all about the secret society and all it stood for, but because he simply wanted to know if the whole thing truly was an event of the past or if it was still something that weighed heavily on Pyro's mind. In all, Kennedy was searching for some sort of relief from the whole thing, yet he wasn't getting his hopes up.

[Pyro Blackfire S5]

His feet crunched against a few fallen leaves as Pyro made his way back toward the castle. He though that the conversation was over, clearly both sides had said what they had wanted to say and got their messages across, but it appeared that Kennedy wasn’t done. Pyro had only managed to go a few steps before Kennedy seemed to find his tongue and manage some sort of retort. Pyro turned slowly on the spot, bringing Kennedy back into his view. If Pyro had cared much about the topic he probably would have ridiculed Kennedy at the moment. Mocked him, as if continuing to call the Slytherins a team would make it so. Pyro knew the truth; the Slytherins were never a team. Sure they may work together on the pitch to win, but if there wasn’t some sort of reward, or bragging rights to be had, the Slytherins probably wouldn’t even compete in the sport.

Pyro merely eyed Kennedy, he didn’t respond, he really didn’t need to. Pyro knew he was one of the best out there. Quidditch was a physical sport, and no other wizard in the world was as physically in shape as Pyro was. So he didn’t need to dispute Kennedy’s words. If Pyro wanted back on the team, even if Kennedy insisted that he earn it, Pyro would be back with a snap of a finger after he flew circles around the competition. Pyro could tell that the topic of Quidditch had died between the two, he was about to turn around to continue his journey to the castle when he noticed something in Kennedy’s eyes. He still wasn’t done talking? What else did the two have in common besides Quidditch that needed to be discussed.

Pyro’s eyes flashed for a moment as that dreadful name was said. Not even that could stir much emotion in him at the moment. A long silence followed Kennedy’s words as Pyro allowed it to roll around in his brain. “The chosen is dead.” He said in a calm, regular tone. Pyro wasn’t looking at Kennedy; he was looking more over Kennedy’s shoulder toward the horizon beyond. “The founder of the group must of lost interest, or forgotten about the group.” Pyro shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know, I’m not a mind reader. “After that me and Fiona were the last members. Fiona chose you over the group, and I don’t care enough to uphold the rules that someone who doesn’t care anymore has invented. So the chosen are no more.”

Now Pyro did look at Kennedy, he looked him directly in the eyes, his gaze hardening and showing Kennedy how serious his next words were. “The book is mine. I was trusted to keep it safe and now it belongs to me. I will do with it as I wish, and if you attempt to steal it, than you will immediately be placed back on my blacklist, so to speak.” After that little speech Pyro’s eyes lost their hard gaze and fell back into the relaxed state of before, as if loosing the power to remain angry and threatening.