010 [filtered from Snow]

[givesyouaboner]

_{[Dirk is probably more buttmad than he should be. He's calmed down several times, but then the moment he checks the journals again, he just goes right back to raging. Clearly this would be a sign to stay off them. But he's an eleven year old throwing a perpetual tantrum. Logical reason doesn't work in this instance.]}

I'm just noping so hard right now.
Noping into infinity.
On a skateboard. Ollieing into the sun. Disintegrating into a billion and one pieces.
This might be the last time anyone hears from me. Consider it be death by everything is stupid.

Comments

[selfhatred]

I COULD HELP YOU LEARN HOW TO IF YOU WANTED.
HECK I'M THE ANGRIEST FLIPPING GUY IN THE SCHOOL AND I'M JUST AS ANNOYED AS YOU ARE ABOUT THIS.

[givesyouaboner]

I think that would be rather beneficial knowledge, especially right now.

[selfhatred]

MEET ME DOWN IN THE COMMON ROOM.

[givesyouaboner]

Okay.

_{[Give him a few minutes, and he's there.]}

[selfhatred]

[Karkat's already down there working on some homework, but he stopped as soon as Dirk responded, so for now it's just sitting to the side on the table he's sitting at, journal closed next to it as he looks up.]

Hey.

[givesyouaboner]

_{[Dirk doesn't say anything until he's plopped down in the seat beside him.]}

Hi.

[selfhatred]

[He takes a deep breath. He's not exactly sure where to start, but he picks up his wand, uttering a charm that slips around them like a bubble. The sound coming from the other students littered through the common room dims, until it's nothing more than a dull throb.]

Nobody can hear us. It's like our own private bubble. Scream as loud as you want.

[givesyouaboner]

<sub>[Dirk gives him a puzzled look for a moment, but it's only brief. Because then he's focusing on everything that's made him mad. Snow. Detention. Finding out how corrupt the Ministry is. Getting Dave in trouble.

And then he lets it out. He doesn't know how loud he is or anything like that, but when he's done, his throat is sore and he feels strangely cathartic.]</sub>

[selfhatred]

[Karkat waits patiently until Dirk's done, taking a piece of parchment and scribbling down the spell before handing it to him.]

Feels good, doesn't it? This spell's a bit advanced, but I learned about it and perfected it in second year. Test it out, get a feel for it. Whenever you feel angry, just cast it and scream. It's not the best method of coping with anger, but it helps. I've written out the wand movements too.

[givesyouaboner]

_{[Dirk looks down at the paper, murmuring the word beneath his breath and absentmindedly moving his hand in the appropriate manner. This will be really helpful. Maybe not healthy. But it's a way to cope.]}

I'm going to practise it until I get it right. Thank you, Karkat.

[selfhatred]

[Wow, he can't say he's ever been thanked before. He lets out a small heh sound, rubbing the back of his neck before his face turned stern.]

Just keep your head down, alright? No mention of the Ministry over the journals or anything that might get his attention. You shouldn't have to put up with him any more than you have to and your best bet to avoid that is to lay low. I know you're a Strider and that kind of talk isn't in your language, but Dave and Professor Strider wouldn't want anything to happen to you. And anything might hurt them if he can find a loophole. Look out for each other, but don't get yourself in trouble.

[givesyouaboner]

_{[Dirk keeps his eyes fixated on the table. Karkat's right about this. They can't be all in in this together if he's doing stupid things all the time. It's just really hard and it's going to take a lot of effort on his part to be able to keep his mouth shut.]}

If I do that, do you think he'll still find a way to get them in trouble?

_{[Leave it to a Strider to be more concerned about the people he cares about more than himself.]}

[selfhatred]

[Karkat's honestly been wondering the same thing. Both of his parents are staff members and Nepeta was constantly bullied. If he did anything in retaliation to her bullies and Snow found out he could wind up in detention or otherwise.]

I won't beat around the bush. He has the power to upend teachers from their positions should he deem them unfit to teach. He's here to make sure Hogwarts is running smoothly and if he has to prune a few bushes, then he'll do it to make sure the Ministry is still in power.

[givesyouaboner]

So we're just supposed to stand by and let him do whatever he wants? This... this sucks so much. Words can't properly describe its suckiness.

[selfhatred]

I know it sucks, but there's really nothing that we have the power to do. We just have to trust our teachers and go to them if anything happens. [He glances at Dirk.] My dad's our Head of House. Even if he can't help with something he can sure as heck make a good chocolate pudding.

[givesyouaboner]

What if it ends up getting so bad that even pudding can't fix it?

[selfhatred]

Well...you just have to hope things don't get that bad.

[He twirls his wand around in his hand in thought.]

Back when I first moved to England, I thought things were going to be hard. And it was...for a little while. But I realized it was only me that was making my life difficult. It doesn't get easier, I won't pretend it does, but you've got Dave and Professor Strider, and then you've got me and the rest of the House.

[givesyouaboner]

_{[He just takes a moment to let all of that sink in. In a way, he just feels bad for being so bothered about things when talking to Karkat. It must've been a lot harder to have to have to move to a different country, in a different part of the world. Dirk really only moved to another neighbourhood in London before coming here.]}

You're right. Yeah. Everything'll be okay.