Circled 'round, and bombarded. Ideas that are hard to accept.

Surrounded by beauty, yet they have ugliness in their minds for me.

Ideas and ideals find sterile ground, and wither under the hot scrutiny.

Languid and green, with heavy-lidded eyes. Could be a goddess of brooding drunkenness or of the darkest of desires, yet she gives surprisingly good advice.

You are your own person.

For years, my teacher was adversity. My mistakes, real or imagined, met with searing rawhide pain. Corrections and conditioning that becomes ingrained, to avoid giving my teachers their sadistic desire.

I am far away from them, and their teachings, and their painful reinforcement.

I am free.

I am alone.

On Iris

Brightest of spirits, free and unfettered. Sweetly smiling, and looks upon all with innocent wonder. Even her bestowing of a most unwholesome nickname is done with the most guileless of intentions. The bestowing of a simple gift, done "just because".

She doesn't care who I am, or what I used to think. As long as I wear her gift, and are willing to play her games, she is happy, and filled with boundless energy that leaves me panting, sometimes.

Her smile brightens the darkest of days. Her laugh is music in a cacophony of discord.

Her innocent spirit deserves to protected and preserved for as long as it can. All too soon, her innocence will tarnish, and her eyes will turn elsewhere, seeking more adult affections.

A dark heart, with good intentions. Doer of evil deeds, but for "the greater good". It is a path that is easy to follow. Power for power's sake is what that path leads to, and eventual opposition is it's eventual reward.

A complicated man, with complicated tastes. Scars that tell a tale of more pain than even I endured, but self-inflicted. Marrying a girl he does not prefer... Because of love? Can he love? Or is it the desire for power over her?

Waif-like beauty, tall and slim. Strange colored hair, and sad, sad eyes. They warm, when they look upon him, yet still contain a deep sorrow. I wonder why, but do not ask. It is not my place. The mate of a powerful man, she would be, yet she does not seem that happy.

Young lovely girl, with a shortened name. A ready smile, but deep, private thoughts. Ambitions that would lead her to dark dangerous places.

Mutual interest discovered, stability gained from friendship. Friendship becomes fertile ground from which love blossoms.

Thoughtful and introspective, or dark and brooding? It's hard to tell. She sits, alone, or with the man in blue, gazing around with eyes that seem unseeing, or can be seeing far too much.

Wilde. An appropriate name, for there is wildness in her. Even with the marring that she has received, she is still quite---stunning. That dark, heavy voice seems to have been stilled, for the moment, yet she still has a dark wisdom to her, even so. Her beauty, though damaged, is undiminished.

I need to feel less, and be more. Somehow she knew how much I had felt, in the past. She has seen some of my scars. Would she be horrified to know of their extent? I am not sure. She may be horrified that such a beating was administered to a boy not yet ten.

We talk of destiny. I think we agree that it is an excuse.

I shall make my own. I will twist the foundation that was taken away. Hatred shall be changed to tolerance, and even acceptance. Half bloods are not abominations, but---saviors?

She is certainly enticing... Alluring, even, with her dark ways, and wry smile... Knowing her could be quite sinful. Maybe... Maybe this is a good thing, considering the place from which I came.

Dark man with dark clothes and dark looks toward those who he feels are fools. A stunning mind, behind the hood, and sour looks, willing to discover the secrets of the universe, and delve into what some would consider God's domain.

Still waters run deep, and her thoughts run deeper, yet. Soft-spoken, intelligent, yet naive. She seems to be a study in contrasts. Her will seems to be strong, yet she can be meek.

He looks upon the world with wry amusement, and offers a lopsided smile as a mask. His ambitions lie deeper, but he hides them quite well, behind the facade of courtesy and banality. Graciousness and politeness are weapons; seeming to confer a deep favor by his offering you his time, but there is ever an undercurrent of impatience, if one is alert enough to note it.

Free as a zephyr, changeable as the wind. She tugs you along like a leaf in the grip of a torrent, showing you the things in which she takes pleasure. Oh do not be fooled by this lass, for her temper is as fey as the weather itself. One moment bright and cheerful as a summer day and the next raging like the worst of typhoons.

A study in jade, and the holder of dark secret knowledge. I do not know why she was inspired to take me on as a pupil, then as an assistant. This is an honor that I could not refuse, for perhaps there are alternate paths to the knowledge I seek.

I do not think she recognizes the beauty she possesses.

What fools these mortals be, most especially one who has the best of intentions.

A near-fatal flaw in judgment nearly cost a man, possibly innocent, his life, and may cost me my freedom, and my beloved her sanity.

A cold place, with a cold man, who casually throws pain and death at an innocent creature, while ordering us about with disdain. Stun, and fire fly at him, out of a fear of harm to others. Stern words, and dismissal of concerns from a cold woman from a dark school. Fear, and worry now lurk in my heart.

And doubt about my own judgment in a myriad of other things, as well.

Dark beauty with blood-red hair. A cold demeanor that hides a deep pain. A superfluous appendage only adds to her ostrization, but it is mostly self-imposed.

A cold cold place, filled with the vilest of creatures. Left there, while my jailer visits some one else. A madman, spouting rhetoric, claims that I'm a tool of The Deceiver because of my wand. Then in a flash of darkness, he is gone, and I am surrounded.

Horrible memories of hot leathery pain overwhelm me, and make me unable to call my patronus.

Apologies are useless, when the crime is unforgivable.

Actions speak louder than words, for despite warm words from the Headmaster, I am most unwelcome.

All I can say is "goodbye", for I will not impose my presence upon a place that despises me.