Delmar Solo

[Shava]

The train slowed slightly and Delmar's head bounced off the glass, waking him groggily. As his eyes focused on the smudged window, he felt a head roll in his lap and realized his arm was also pinned on the opposite side. A look and it was Isidora who was half on him and half in Josefina's lap fast asleep with his arm caught underneath her. He grunted slightly as he tried to shift a bit and got his other arm up to catch and straighten the glasses on his face which he thought made him look cool. His sisters, predictably, told him he looked stupid, but that was what sisters did right? A glance across seeing the others with heads together and moving with the train's movements and he wiped his eyes clear of the sleep trash left behind.

As they came into sight of the city which he had seen before, his eyes raised up as he leaned around the smudges to try and spot a friend's house in the view of the upper outskirts on the high hill. His father, or the family since Del was being taught how to run things in the summer time, had landlord spaces across Spain for rent mostly for vacationers but often for long term rentals as well. With a wide mix of both muggle and wizarding connections they often just crashed in whichever one was empty between rentals which during the summer meant frequent moving. He wasn't sure where his father stayed while they were in school so much but he had never had opportunity to learn anyway so wasn't really interested. As the train gave a slight lurch crossing the tracks to a different track, he saw Fina (his nick for the oldest of the four sisters) shift with it, stirring.

"Hey, give me her feet, will you?" With her help, he managed to pull Isi into his lap more, his sister holding her head against his chest before he got her situated. Like a cat owner, sometimes he thought he was only good as furniture and transportation as the big brother, something he only half minded. It was his lot in life to be run over by females at home wherever it was this week. "Thanks. We're almost there, wanna kick them loose?" Fina looked across after delicately clearing her eyes and she nodded saying "Sure. Got her?" before she released Isi's head to lean forward to shake the other's knees. In a few minutes (which the youngest girl slept through on his chest) the other two got stirred about and checking to see the bags were ready to pick up by unfastening their interlocked handles.

At least his own bag was original and not just the same with a different label.

As the train shifted again to the south, his father came over from the cabin next door saying "Kiara, come get Fernando please and grab his stuff Fiorella." His father never shortened their names which Delmar had noticed a few times before, but both sisters grabbed their own duffles before stepping out of the cabin to help their father. Fina grabbed his and Isi (somehow the heaviest of them which he didn't get) without asking as they always shielded the two youngest of the family to prevent fussing and bratty behavior. Siblings protected their own nerves by doing that as much as cared for them so it wasn't completely out of care. Isi would be easier to handle this way then bouncing around any day! Sleepily they joined the throng getting off at the smaller station and pulled together to one side as father shuffled through his papers in a folder, two bags over one arm in an awkward movement.

Outside the station it was the third car they approached in the row which was waiting for them and their bags were tossed in the boot in short order, the father in the front and the others in the two sets of facing benches in the back. Isi was shifting slightly in his arms, but her all-too-trusting mind knew her brother had her and she slept on after a bit of adjusting. He missed the two glances from different sisters which were soft to him for his patience partly because he was ready to be there already. Cantabria was one of many places and he hoped to hook up with some friend from last time if they were around yet. Only one wizarding family that they knew here had a child at Hogwarts and she was too old for their age group. In just a few short minutes they were there, an hotel his father owned which had been converted to flats except for the bottom two floors which remained short term rentals.

It was far harder to get out then to get in and he had to wait till everyone else was out and Ella helped guided his head under the edge so they could carry Isi into the sunlight. He automatically turned so her face was in the shade and he followed his sisters into the passage beside the lobby while father paid the man and got keys out. Kiara tried to peer into the mailbox while cradling the youngest Torres in her arms, but clearly could only hope at seeing, not actually see anything. "Pooey, there's something in there white," to which Ella giggled "Ooo! Paper!" and then the two begin a shoulder pushing match interrupted a moment later as father came in and passed them saying "Mail later, come along hoard of my children." Del smirked but fell into directly behind his father as they went up three flights and into the apartment. Del just wanted to put Isi down and then escape to something far more pleasant then being a convenient travel mule!

[Shava]

Stepping along behind his father still carrying his youngest sister (who had curled up in sleep wrapping her arms around his neck as this was not the first time), Delmar didn't see the caring part of this so much as knowing this was what happened. With his limited empathy he knew his sister did what he wanted, not that she trusted him so much even in sleep to allow such liberty. Nor did he get that his other sisters thought of him as protective; it just wasn't the way he perceived the world of his family. This made things easier and kept his father in check and that was enough for Delmar at his age. As his father got the door unlocked they stepped into the foyer with Delmar turning right automatically. All the kids separated going different ways except the last who closed the door, but they all had different chores too.

His sisters had bags to stash in rooms and a crib to retrieve from their father as he unlocked the main front closet which held the things they stored here for their trips. As things were pulled out (sheets, towels, kitchen stuff, bathroom articles, etc) Delmar simply moved through the living room past the kitchen to the bedroom the two youngest sisters often shared. Bending his knees carefully, he leaned over till they touched the edge of the bed, setting more weight on them as he lowered his breathing burden onto the bed so as to not wake her. It wasn't till he rolled her softly onto her side before she release his neck and he caught her waist slowing her before she flopped further. A slow lean back with a hopeful look that he could escape and when she only shifted slightly he got back off the edge of the bed looking relieved. Backing to the glass door he opened it with a wince at the sound not bothering to look out.

After all, he knew what it looked like; he'd rather his pesky little sister slept on so he could have an easier time escaping to meet up with friends!

Slowly backing out, he closed the door and wiped his forehead, stepping back to the front where two large chests sat waiting him. Most likely his sisters were setting up Fernando in his crib and his father was probably putting stuff in the kitchen. Picking up one (and struggling with it) he got it precariously to the room his father used putting it against the wall nearly dropping it as his oldest sister Fina dodged back through a door to let him in. Done, he went to grab the other and haul it into the hallway outside the bedrooms for his sisters to raid and then escaped to the living room. Sure enough, his father was there putting stuff up in the cabinets. "Your sister?" "Out cold. I opened the door outside for her," he said throwing himself down on the couch and taking up the length of it easily. While not a tall boy, he was still growing fast.

"Trunks?" His father glanced at him with a shake of his head at how much teenage his son was becoming. "Yours is in your room beside the dresser, the other is in the hall." "Against the wall or in the middle of the floor?" said the voice of experience. "Jeeze dad! Against the wall!" said the teen not wanting to get up again. "Good boy. Don't go anywhere yet, we still have the talk to do." "Yes sir" he said already being long resigned to those. His father smirked slightly before emptying the last of his box. Down the hall came the yipe of Kiara saying too loudly "It is so!" to Ella's "Uh-uh! Last time was yours..." "Del, go find out what's happening and settle it." "Yes sir," he groaned from the couch, sliding off it on his side to get up and visibly teenage frustration headed for the hall head down. His father behind him sighed, putting one hand to his face.

Soon as he was out of his father's sight he straightened of course and frowned as he stepped in the hall to his oldest sisters' room. The two girls were across from each other, one holding a bottle and the other clearly trying to take it from her next to the crib. Fernando watched them both with big eyes, one hand in his mouth and his legs pumping up and down as he often did when excited. Long used to sister arguments, Del pushed his way straight between them, taking the bottle by force which was yielded from experience swiftly.

"She did it this morning on the station!" "Hush." "So?? You did it the last time we set up--" "Hush! BOTH of you!" Both girls glared at him with a look which said this had better turn out fair. Del understood they were upset, but mistakenly assumed it was with each other not him as usual. He rarely saw the point in them being upset with him when he was made to split them up! "Whatsa sheet say?" "It's Isi's turn but she's asleep." "And you're both going to switch with her?" Ella looked defensive, Kiara just looked guilty. "Well...yeah. Of course." "So you are arguing over who gives up their turn later?" At a sound from Fernando, Delmar leaned over and tipped the bottle expertly, getting the two year old's eager mouth with the first shot. "Del!" "Yeah but I don't wanna, you two are forcing me to choose. Dad said to break it up." Both girls pouted visibly, but Ella less so. "But it's no fun on his back and I was going to hold him..." "Al diablo con eso... All right, she can do it."* "Really?"

"Sure, I don't wanna miss tonight and he's going to screw this up anyway. Sit on the bed with it, I'll get him up." Del pulled the bottle back handing it to Kiara as Fernando objected. "Okay!" Glad of a solution, Del left them to it and moved back into the hall, unconscious of the two girls giving him a look as he left. As the second generator of decisions in the house and supported by their father (pushed into it Del would have said but they ignored that unfairly so he thought) he got mixed results during sibling arguments which happened daily. They knew to make it up later by being too sweet, something he hated. Free in the hall he got into the bathroom and barricaded himself in before sitting on the tub side and rubbing his face with his hands while thinking. He really wanted to be down at the tilapia bar right now seeking out Alfonzo right now, not stuck in the house of girlish giggles and tantrums right now. He heard his father's footsteps in the hall and took the chance to slip out and back into the living room quickly.

Seeing Josefina sitting down with a book he quickly motioned for her to spread her legs. "I got Isi asleep and in bed and still got sent to break up a fight over little bro. I think I deserve a back-rub for being a victim, right?" She glared at him (it was still fond in a way so not roughly) and she sighed putting her book back down. "Yes, Del, you did good. Come here..." "Awesomethanks" he said quickly sitting in front of her so she could do his back...




*To h3ll with it

[Shava]

Every time they moved to a new place, dad gave them a talk about what to watch out for, no one out of the house except with a buddy, and the chore and sign out lists at the front door. It was always the same, just the little nuances he wanted them to remember for each place. Del only saw it as useful for his sisters mostly, figuring he already had been through more repetitions anyway. The rule about no one to the beach without dad seemed to bother the sisters more anyway, Del thought. When the talk was done, half the girls headed for the outdoors and Del chose that as his decision maker to head for his bedroom. Last thing he wanted was to be pulled into a game or to spread sun screen constantly.

In his room, Del popped open the bag and pulled out a book and a hammock which ft over the hooks on the outside of his window. Still in the shade, he never-the-less removed his shirt tossing it onto the bed and taking the book and notes from his last reading he got into the hammock, kicking his shoes off into the room at random through the glass sliding door. He had barely turned the book open (about boat building actually in the modern muggle realm) when Isi put in an appearance at his side, having detoured around his shoes with a look of distaste. Del rarely left things neat like his sisters did, but he sort of felt it was his task to take up as much space reminding his sisters of the male-ness living here. Otherwise he felt rather overwhelmed by his sisters and that wouldn't do!

"Hey Del, you going to read?" He sighed, seeing how it had seemed obvious to him but not to younger then him he guessed. "Why yes, Isi, see my books and notes? Why don't you go play with Kiara?" "I just sorta thought you would spend some time with me." Nearly a groan. "It wouldn't do me any good to explain how I send a lot of time with you already, you're just asleep for a lot of it would it?" Isi knew this answer, drilled to it by her sisters. "No." "Damn it." Sitting up, he closed the book around his notes and dropped it on the floor just inside the door causing the hammock to sway a bit pushing Isi back. "Come on then, take my hand." She did and he pulled her up into the hammock which fortunately was a two person. Isi as the youngest chose to lie right in top of him as he had expected, curling up assuming he would protect her which he would of course. "Yay," she said softly before resting her head on his bare chest, "tell me about the future, Del."

"We can't know it, silly, I told you that. If you want me to make up a story about it then say that." "Make up a story then. Something about your boats." Neither of them saw their father start to enter through the open door, spot them in the hammock and stop, watching for a minute. "Not a boat, Isi, a set of islands. Islands I can do what I want with." "Islands then. Are they going to be cool?" "Yes. There will be nine of them, each of them better then the others and because of the parts I use they can be moved where I want." "And Sofia will be there?" "Well of course, silly, she's my wife right?" "And will there be places for your kids to play? Not just gardens like you said." "Well they ought not to be playing in the vegetables, numnut! They can play in the house like normal kids and swim in the pool. I'll keep an eye on them of course." "Why would you have a pool in the ocean Del?" Delmar rolled his eyes since she couldn't see and sighed much to his father's amusement who began to slowly back out of the room before he was seen.

"Because they will be little kids. I can't let them swim unprotected now can I? The pool will be safer for them and there's plenty of water in the ocean to fill it with, okay?" "Okay. What will Sofia do?" He opened his mouth, started to say something and then changed his mind. This was his little sister true enough and he knew there were some things he wasn't supposed to say to her. "Whatever she wants to study. I mean, she will be busy with me and the kids, right? And when she isn't helping me with the garden she can learn what she wants. I'm sure she will help me with my books." "Are you going to write a lot and become famous Del?" He made a face, wondering how he had ever been tricked into telling her his ideas, then remembering it had been to keep her quiet and a look of resignation came across his face. "Sofia can. She can write about what I learn and discover, right? She's a raven and they like books a lot. She can be the famous one." "I don't like that. I mean, I like her she's sweet, but I want you to be the famous one." "Thanks Isi," he said giving up on correcting her on it. He really didn't need fame so much, but she didn't understand there was a down side to it yet.

Maybe in a few more years she would understand more about disappointment.

"Yay! I'll help you with your kids Del." Another roll of his eyes. "No Isi, you'll have your own family by then, remember..." This went on for another fifteen minutes before she fell asleep on him and he was rescued later by his father who came and took her off to her own bed, letting Del up from his self-imposed prison. Del rubbed his cramping arm and wondered why big brothers had to deal with all the little sister stuff so much and not getting the idea it was because she loved him without reservation. That was a concept he had trouble believing in honestly. After all, mom hadn't loved dad enough to stay around...

[Shava]

Finishing up his plate, Del got up and went to the kitchenette to start the sink up with soapy water but "not hot Del it's too hot" temperature which he had to measure out every time. His sisters saw dishes as something they all ought to learn so thankfully they never tried backing out of this particular chore. It was actually one of Isi's favorite things to do, scrubbing and with that thought he snagged the cup they put the knives in and set it's anchor on the side of the sink. She wasn't allowed to clean those yet dad had decided so they separated them out. As everyone finished (girls were having a chew contest to see how long they could do each bite; how they had gotten started on that one he couldn't remember) he could hear his father handing dishes to be put on the counter to each girl as he took the little prince of the family off to the nursery pen.

The dishes with leftovers came first off to Del's right as plates got set beside him. He pulled all the silverware into the sink directly setting the knives in the cup. When he thought he had them all (counting off in his head) he set plates on top of them as his oldest sister put the two aprons on the stepstool and put them next to him. She went to box up leftovers while he got the two middle sisters in aprons at the sink, washing and drying; Isi was with Fernando. Del went to see what else his father needed at that moment. In his bedroom, his father had the pen set up in the corner where Isi was tending to him. Maybe it was because he was the baby, but Isi had a real joy of being with her little brother and was so self absorbed both the males knew she wouldn't hear anything till her name was said several times over. "So Del, find me your notes on the year and bring them for me to look over. I want to read up on the Belmonte's girl. Please."

Relieved it wasn't business work quite yet, Del was quite willing to give over! "Sure, but she still avoids me a lot at school so there's not a lot of stuff in there. But I know where to find it." Heading to his bag of stuff another thought occurred to him. His father had been given stuff after every semester of school, yet Del never saw those same pages and stuff again. Surely he wasn't keeping it all in his bag? That plus the earlier thought about where his father went to during the school time percolated in his head as he dug deep in the bag to find the journal his father gave him fresh each year. And he knew his sisters did something very similar with writing, even though Isi's was very simple and probably contained very little actual stuff in it that was easily readable. She was, after all, the youngest girl.

HIs own journals about his water studies was something else, also in his bag but never handed over. His father did question him about the direction he was interested in and helped him find out about the muggle company that made island platforms. The thing was though that his father never picked at his work or investigated it, just let him do his own thing as LONG as he kept at imagining the future. That was one of Del's key points of respect for his father and his willingness to help out so much, even if lately the teen side was nosing in. Coming back over he handed his father his writings adding in "Hey dad, what do you do with all these journals? You don't like keep them in your bag forever do you?" Mr Torres laughed softly shaking his head. "I have an office where I keep records and all the tax stuff I need for the Government. All the heads of the family have one there where your grandfather had his. We sorta split it together."

Ah, that clicked. He vaguely remember something being mentioned before about a meet "at grandpa's" once, but never had known where it was. Curiosity settled (office and business stuff had to be dull) he simply added "Gotcha." A nod. "One day I'll take you there when you are getting more into helping me actually run some stuff. Give it a few more years." Del shrugged as his father continued. "Go tell your sister's I need theirs too when they get done with chores and then get settled. Are you going to try and see anyone tomorrow?" He nodded, already thinking about it now that it was mentioned. "After breakfast then. I'll be going over your sisters' stuff then anyway." That meant a lot of French which Del could do, but didn't care so much for. Appreciating the escape planned out in advance he responded quickly "Yes sir, thanks."

Headed back into the kitchen he caught Josefina first, telling her what he was supposed to. She nodded, half having expected it and went to check on the others as Del about faced back to his room and hammock for his disturbed reading from earlier. As he tossed his shirt over onto his bag, Del's necklace swung free and he caught it in one hand, reminded of several things at once. Some good some bad, but memories he would never probably forget either. Promises of getting better, broken. Promises of fun times, interrupted. His mother on the cot, playing a game with Kiara cause she couldn't stand by herself. He froze a moment as his eyes got slightly moist and then shrugged them away, suddenly mood shifted into bad thoughts.

Tossing himself in the hammock carelessly, he didn't adjust, putting his head only nearer one end and letting his legs hand completely off, face down. When he thought about it in these moods, he could remember her lap and being young lying with her in this hammock. An ache of loneliness despite his family around erupted in his mind like a white-washed wall he could still smell as a tear hit the carpet before he caught himself. Wiping his eyes with his arm (which never worked of course) and he rolled over, eyes closed for several long minutes forcing those thoughts away. Ella passed the doorway with a pile of journals from the others and hesitated seeing him in the hammock, but she knew an instant of sadness to see him there and hurried on.

No good memories came from that hammock for her. They all knew that. Why Del kept it out every place she would never quite understand...

[Shava]

Dad: ""
Del: ""
Josefina(Fina): ""
Kiara: ""
Fiorella(Ella):""
Isidora(Isi): ""
Fernando

[Shava]

Del felt the confusion in him and his face must have clearly showed his puzzlement. "Yes Mr Torres, is there something you missed?" As any student upon being called by name Del pulled back slightly in his seat, suddenly aware of the invisible spotlight. "I--" Maybe even confused, he didn't want to be seen as stupid! "I'm not sure I understand. You said that they resisted being paid?" The professor nodded and elaborated a smidgeon. "Yes, not all creatures in the world share the same world view. In fact, Helga Hufflepuff's original intention was to give them a freedom they did not have in private homes, but by then they had served for many centuries and did not see slavery the same as we do now looking back. They see it in a way as if it's the natural order, though none now know where that idea was first introduced to them. They saw being paid as bad service and became fairly prideful about not being paid." As she expanded and called their attention to one particular part of the book, Del felt like sitting up, pushing the book away.

The more the class read, the worse he felt about it. Didn't Sofia's family have an elf? He wondered if that one too was passed down, or purch-- Gah, he couldn't hold that thought long! Slavery. No, ACCEPTED slavery sounded horrible, but wasn't that the same for humans in contracts? Sofia had mentioned before her feelings about it, but he had never put her own elf together in his mind about it. She had always hated the idea of being controlled, but her elf actually accepted it. Wanted it? Well. While he really disliked her parents and their greedy ways, he thought her house elf was pretty nice. And patient with him. He hesitated. VERY patient.

But maybe most of the elves didn't get to raise children like a nanny of some kind? That's the way he had thought about Galetta until this moment, like a hired nanny. So. Maybe she was one of the free elves? Even as he thought it he knew that was wrong. Sof really loved that elf, he could tell. She had never ordered her around or made her do stuff, he had heard her say please to just about everything she asked for. And he had done that too, he was fairly sure, thought it bothered him a little as he thought back. He had never tried giving the elf an order, he only spoke to her when Sofia turned towards him after asking for a snack kinda. Or an extra towel.

Being thoughtless out of his family's sight was such a relief for him he took it like a reward really. So many responsibilities at home, going to his friend's home (and really any of his friends' places) he was much more an irresponsible boy. He didn't really feel shame about it, he was way more controlled at home. Releasing that felt-- rebellious. So remembering things like a towel (which his sisters would have been amazed by at any place they lived) just went out the window when he was "away." But now, faced with reading this stuff today in history class was rather hard-hitting. And making him do some thinking he didn't feel very comfortable about. If he had ever been asked he would said of course he disliked slavery.

But wasn't that what her parents were doing in a way? Selling her into it? His father wasn't-- Oh ouch! He knew his father didn't do slavery. But Del was uncomfortably aware of the other side of that; while most (he had read several articles about arranged marriages) turned into good situations and love, not all did. Had he been assuaging the hidden guilt about his father's side in this with that? It was for the entire family and it had been explained to him many times how much all the branches were betting on him to help out the entire family. That was the rationale. But Del felt like he was being sold too in a way.

Sure, Sofia was easily the victim of her family and he might THINK his father was on the better side (savior? Hmm...somewhat), but even though he had been raised to understand it was a big deal to a lot of family, it was his future too. He remembered Sofia asking him once if he minded and he had answered easily, but that down deep there was a touch of "why me" tucked away. However, if he was honest, a lot of that was having to be the one in charge. Responsible. "Adult." There was another connected thought here, though not very loud more like a whisper in his head. The door. His mother had left off the responsibility of her kids.

Del's eyes closed on the old old pain, the childhood comprehension of how horrible adults were. It took several breaths before he could get back into the reading in class. His father was not going to die and leave him running everything. He WOULDN'T. NO. The old fear poked him several times, but he drove it all out, unable to touch that fully in a classroom nor even school. He bundled up the fears, forced them into a locker and then dropped it in the ocean with heavy chains. For the first time in many classes he FOCUSED on the teacher and by the end she had a surprised look on her face. Del Torres was particularly sharp today and that was...unusual. She wondered if the slavery of elves was it, maybe that had struck a student to sympathy?


Maybe a special project for him...


""

[Shava]

Sighing, Del went and put another book back at the desk so the Librarian wouldn't be angry (she didn't believe any student could shelve books properly naturally) and went back into the stacks for another 'connected' set of footnotes. It didn't help that she had been right about those either, that just made him feel he owed her. And who wanted a debt to any teacher? That these footnotes had led to mentions of spells and added to his list of ones he had to study again out of class so it was a worthwhile scavenger hunt. Still, it was a long task he had set himself. He wasn't sure how that got him a "special" report on elves to do from class but it was like turning thumbscrews compared to the work he had already set himself. Unreasonable he couldn't have a class time for his own studies instead of being filled up with other subjects.

Mention of this would get him a sigh if he told Sofia he was sure. Her grades were naturally much higher then his.

So he got middling grades; he was sure she wouldn't see his logic here. Hogwarts had one of the best libraries in the world covering thousands of subjects. He had a grand total of seven years to find everything from it on the world of water so he needed every minute he had to get his research done and yet the teachers kept assigning work which took AWAY from this rapidly into other subjects he was sure a decent middle grade would cover. Werewolves? Ancient evils? Dark wizards? Odds were against them in the depths of the ocean as he was not going down there for buried treasures! Well, maybe the Dark wizards. But not much of a chance. And besides, the majority of things they learned in DADA didn't WORK the same underwater!

And they didn't cover underwater magic much at all. Pitiful. While he thought he had all the general stuff on it from the normal library, he had a list of sources he had been collecting for four years now of references in the restricted section he had not managed yet. And the Librarian had told him that unless he had a list of twenty plus references in a single book, she wasn't going to let him look. So twenty pages of parchment (one per book) he had been collecting slowly over the years and while several were more then fifteen, none had quite gotten to twenty yet. SUPER FRUSTRATING. So here he sat, working his way slowly through a combination of footnote "notes" and references to House elves.

Del however wasn't stupid. Each of those restricted section books had a lot of dangers in them as well. Each of those sheets had at the bottom a list of the precautions which were needed for handling each book and what sections were dangerous for anyone underage. THAT had been easily gotten from the Librarian as she had dictated those to him (Punctuating each part too; she had a sharp tongue!) at once seemingly from memory. Unlike other adults he had a begrudging respect for her knowledge of the library's contents for sure. Hence why he was careful not to raise her ire any; he needed her goodwill till school was finished for sure.

Another thick tome about odd magical creatures and he flipped back to the reference in his notes mentioned, running his fingers down the page till he found the point. Hufflepuff had brought nearly a hundred house elves to Hogwarts as the castle school was being finished off. A hundred. That seemed like a lot more then were here he thought and his frown lines got deeper as he thought about that. If three houseelves could manage for her house (and one was only keeping up with her specifically) how many things did they do around the school? Laundry cooking and cleaning was certainly a lot of work, but from what little he had seen her house elf do a few could probably do a LOT!

Lawns? Those looked pretty well taken care of. It made him curious when they did all those extra chores, though he figured they returned things to the rooms overnight so maybe the only time they had to do stuff students might see would be in the dorms. Certainly cleaning could be done during classes and over nighttime most likely. If there were laundry rooms he had never heard of them and probably couldn't find anyone who would know. It made sense that stuff would be downstairs somewhere under the basement so they had a lot of space for things like the elves rooms and such. Out of sight as he had only heard abut the elves and not seem them anywhere. He shook his head as he realized he was getting off track.

The details about how many she brought back wasn't the big deal really. The deal was how she had convinced them to work there. Without pay. Servitude. Of the four, she had seemed the most kind of the founders, but she must have been bothered by the elves insistence on not being paid. Delmar was and he was hardly the person in the building people expected to be upset about it! How had Helga Hufflepuff dealt with that? Again he frowned, wondering if any of the four had kept journals or wrote memories or SOMETHING. He'd never been curious before, now it was bothering him a little.

[Shava]

Although he had been working on it most of the year (practising before school and then during under professor's supervision) actually getting close enough to manage a transformation hadn't happened till late in the year. One of several students attempting the difficult magic, Del had more of an interest in it than the others as he believed it would help him greatly in his future career if he could mmage a marine animal of some sort. The fact that his other magic (related) patronus study had produced a fairly sizable leatherback turle which was a world wide marine turtle had increased his hopes of achieving this transformation. His professor also felt sure it was connected.

Thus he had started early on in study and had been fairly strong in his attempts which had included studies of his fingernails and hair in size and characteristics. His father had been surprised greatly by the successful patronus just before the start of summer since Dl was named for a particular turtle his father had known during his greek honeymoon. His efforts now in the early part of winter still were determined and aggressive in his attempts to achieve the final shape. His professor had already expressed puzzlement that it had taken so long despite the earlier work as he had expected breakthru much earlier than this.

Now in the fabled come-and-go room, Del sat on the side of the pool with his legs in it as they had discussed other influences. Feeling the chill on his legs he thought they had personally hit upon the trick as he not only felt connected to the water, but it's chill was also makeing another connection for the young man. "Remember now, you need to focus where we talked about. It's all up in here" said the older wizard patting Del's head softly "and nothing outside of your head is important, Delmar." The young man nodded again, familar with the words in their perpetual theme. Honestly he was starting to wonder if the difficulty was just beCAUSE his head was talked about far too much and he was unconciously being stubborn due to that.

He had studied psychology enough to know it was quite possible.

Nor did it help his fiance had poked at him about this determination nor about him being stubborn. Finding himself tense, Del took a moment blowing breath out and slowly back in to try and reduce his tightness, to gain a modicum of control with a relaxed feel. Difficult in the best of times. "Alright, when you are ready, my boy..." Professor Relish stepped back and Delmar nodded, breathing in and out once again. He focused on his head feeling for the power again with fruitless results before he noted again (third or fourth time?) that the warmth the professor had said it might show up as wasn't really in his head but down near his tailbone and, feeling it, he reached out for that this time instead. Suddenly, things moved faster then he might have expected!

The immiedate swelling gave the professor just enough time to jump backwards and still ended up falling onto his rear as he got 'scooted' away by force as a extremely large turtle did appear, but not quite what was expected. First off though one of the biggest species, loggerheads did not often get as big as six feet till full adults and this was larger. Second was the fact the shell didn't look quite that way (Del had pictures naturally) not that he could see at this moment. While the professor's eyebrows went up in confusion, the very HAPPY seeming turtle slapped the sides of the pool with great excitement and pride creating the puzzling image of a turtle that looked very Gryffindor for a moment.

It took another second for the turtle instinct to kick in and sploosh, he dove in, shell causing it to look more like a leveling fall instead! The pool was not large, being closer to a soaking pool so he could only go a few feet before his nearly eight feet of length forced him to learn how to flipper brake very quickly under the water. As he surfaced, Del made the connection that to express his joy he had to be able to speak and that caused him to concentrate again. Instead it looked like foundering on the surface for a moment before he managed and turned back without much warning in the middle of the pool. Very glad the professor had had him change into trunks and a shirt, the sopping teen exclaimed "DidjaSeeThat!?!" to his professor who was just finishing standing.

"I think it would have been hard for me to miss it, Mr Torres" he said taking off his glasses to clean them "as you nearly dunked me in the pool." Quickly calmer and a tad feeling put down, Del started to look abashed as the professor continued. "But yes and more so I don't recognize the species much less the size. No wonder you had trouble, you were trying for something which was more than three times your mass. Before you get out, let's see if you can do it another time..." In the end it would take four tries more before the professor felt the boy had really gotten how to do it on command.

It was several weeks later that he found out what the creatre was exactly. "Delmar Torres, we now know how to classify you and it's a surprise indeed!" He perked up, curious to know what twist was coming he could hear in the man's voice. "And you can consider yourself special I might add. Turns out the size is no mistake, it was a small one for these. The muggles only uncovered a fossil of one a few years ago." His face frowned at the word, wondering why that was imp-- His eyes had a chance to grow bigger as the proffessor note the realization and smiled. "Technically you were extinct, to be precise. It was called Psephophorus terryprachetti after a famous author, but this particular variantion was only found in the last ten years. There were seven other types, here..." Handing over a muggle photocopy from some scientific book, Delmar nonetheless was hooked.

Standing there he read the whole thing, his mind picking up two specific facts. One that they had averaged eight point two feet in size and he remembered they had decided his form was just under eight feet. Would it grow even bigger as he got older?!?! And two that it wasn't directly related to leatherbacks but did have a similar look. So. When he looked up the man spoke while motioning at the paper. "And yes that copy is yours. I suspected you would want to study it some more. But such a special honor, there are only six wizards and one witch on reccord with extinct forms so you have joined a rather exclusive club. Of which I believe you are the only marine form--" Del had already stopped listening as his mind caught up on the club idea. Not that he wanted one, but now he was rather intensely curious what the other forms were.

And then the best most wonderful idea occured to him and the smile popped up on his face! He only needed to wait till the next time Sophia mentioned the pool and sat down beside it as he was wondering if he could empty a pool while cannonballing! Now he couldn't tell her in advance in case he got the chance, but surely she would never mention his broken arm incident ever again if he did it right this time...

[Shava]

Barely two weeks after his successful registration as an extinct creature from the past, Delmar had a success which excited him to no end; he finally reached twenty notes on one of the books he needed from the restricted section! Super excited, He had written up a much more studious list (with the help of one Sophia whose help he very much begged for) and prezented it to the Librarian who had studied it carefully for several moments before saying "Sit in the corner and I will be back momentarily, Mr Torres." He had followed that request at once, pulling out the white gloves demanded of her for the more precious of her collection.

Notes to one side, Del tried to calm himself as he pulled them on so he would get her approval before she got back. It didn't actually take long for her to reapear, but his eyes were taken up completely because this was a serious tome! Three feet long greenish-brown with a large leather strap holding it together she said as she apprached with it "It is not in the best of shape I'm afraid so I expect you to be very careful with turning the pages. I wll certainly hold you responsible for any damage in your" she eyed him sharply "clear over-excitement." As he tried to calm his heart down with big eyes he did feel a bit of relief at her adding "Though I am glad to see you have the gloves."

She gave him him some more pointed instructions especially about the bottom of the pages as they did appear ragged (older books were not often cleanly cut corners and had roughness rarely seen in the regular collection of Hogwarts). He followed her example as she watched carefully as he figured out how to find the right sections (page by page really; no numbering exsisted in this one) and found his first reference. She watched him still, though she seemed to relax when he sets his note parchment aside and not on the huge pages as he partly stood to write down what he found. It was a spell (pellis effusio) for absorbing nutrients from sea water through the skin and appeared very complex with at least two references to other books.

Soon enough he had calmed down enough and was writing quuickly that she felt able to turn to other students even as she kept glancing back at him as he worked. Within the hour he had filled ten pages of parchment getting the list of references he had and looked up at her approach with a tired but happy smile which did touch her as very proper. "This is great! Thank you so much, ma'am, I never saw any of this anywhere else and now I have more places to look!" Carefully closing the tome before she strapped it back tight he showed her a book title in his notes asking if she knew where this one was and she nodded giving himm directions before picking up the huge volume again.

Careful to finish removing the gloves first and setting them on his bag, Del counted her steps till she was in the stacks before he bounced up and moved very rapidly to a different set of stacks in his excitement returning with four other books and in his spot at the table before she returned. He missed her smile and softening gaze as he searched out the new references. Del pulled out fresh parchment as he delved into the world of scattered information. Too bad Sophia hadn't seen this particular episode as she would have wished he applied that excitement to other parts of his studies.



pellis effusio - absorb nutrients thru skin

polypus premere - squeeze bonelessly through tiny spaces

sonus bulla - Bubble of sound which can knock a creature unconcious

sanguis calidior - Blood warmer

regeneratus membrum - regenerate limbs

larva fœtor - Mask one's own smell

Pluma branchiae - External feather gills