Time to Test: Anna and Kerry

And with that out of the way... Helena didn't need to look around the room for long to get her next pair. This should be very informative, she thought--

"Krolence; Malibey--" She motioned for them to join her. "You next. Bring your potions."

Anna was out of her chair in a flash. I'm going to make this so work, she thought. And I get to do it against Malibey!

She placed her potion on Lovecraft's desk and stood next to the professor, smiling.

Kerry made his way to the front slowly. It wasn't that he was worried about whether Anna's potion was going to work--he was certain it wouldn't--but there was the question about the "demonstration" that worried him.

Emma's freak out was pretty spectacular, and Annie had seemed to take some pleasure in the fact she punked Emma, and Kerry didn't want to find himself looking like he was another Emma.

I've never really been mean to anyone, he thought. Snide, yeah, but not real mean--

But he knew that wasn't exactly true. He could be mean when he wanted--usually right before he broke bad on a bully. Kerry began getting his mind set right, 'cause he thought he knew how to play this--

Helena looked over bother student, then walked over to her desk. "Since the alphabet seems to be working for us--" She poured a measure from Anna's potion into a glass. "We'll go with the AKs."

She handed the glass to Anna. "Your potion to administer." Helena stepped back and paid close attention to what happened next.

Anna held out the glass. "Here you are, Kerry," she said sweetly. "Please give this a try; I'm sure you'll find it to your liking."

And to mine--

Kerry sniffed the potion first. It wasn't that he was worried, but . . . he thought he saw smoke rising from Anna's cauldron at one point. That did worry him a little.

Kerry downed it--

He screwed up his face and had to fight to keep from gagging. "Oh . . . man!" he said, gasping. He handed the glass to Professor Lovecraft. "That's pretty horrid, Anna."

There was a soft chuckle from some of the students that Anna didn't appreciate. Never the mind, she thought. Just move on--

"Okay, Kerry." She brought her hands together and smiled. "I order you to tell everyone the strangest thought you've ever had, one that you couldn't even tell that... girl of yours."

Kerry looked at Anna for about 20 seconds and then started to shake just little--maybe 3 seconds. Then he placed his hands before him and began to speak in a faux English accent:

"Ah, yes. Well . . . I attended Juilliard . . . I'm a graduate of the Harvard business school. I travel quite extensively. I lived through the Black Plague and had a pretty good time during that. I've seen the Exorcist about a hundred and sixty-seven times, and it keeps getting funnier every single time I see it . . ." Kerry took a step towards a now-frowning Anna. "Not to mention the fact that your potion doesn't work, so I gotta ask . . ." Kerry spread his arms wide. "Is that strange enough?"

Helena had to resist the urge to laugh. Anna was spitting mad, and in a way she couldn't blame her... but she damn near set her potion off by not following instructions. Helena pour a measure from Kerry's potion. How can you think your potion is going to work when something like that happens?

She passed the glass to Kerry when she reached him. "Your turn," she said, and once more stepped back.

Kerry wasn't smiling when he handed his potion to Anna. "Here you are," he said. "Please drink up." He wandered back to where he'd stood, watching her look at the glass like something foreign. "Go ahead; it won't hurt you."

Anna seriously considered putting the glass on Lovecraft's desk and returning to her chair, but she knew if she did she'd probably lose points--and this grinning fool would probably say something smart as she walked away. Forget that.

She down the potion in one gulp and handed the glass to Lovecraft. All and all it didn't taste bad, and there was an interesting warmth that was coming up through her toes and past her knees....

Kerry felt something happen. He couldn't quiet put it to words, but . . . Anna looked almost peaceful. Most of the time she looks confused or pissed off, Kerry thought, or both. Now it's like she doesn't have a care in the world.

"Anna, tell everyone your full name." Kerry thought something easy would be good. And see if she said her full name.

Anna didn't even think about why she was saying, "Annabella Cassidy Krolence," until after she said her whole name--which she hatted, particularly Cassidy, 'cause her mom called her "Cassie" all the time!--and then realized she couldn't help but say her whole name--

She looked at Kerry and hoped she didn't appear too freaked.

That was simple enough, Kerry thought. Now onto the good stuff-- "Annabella--" He deliberately over stressed the last two syllables, "That one night you spoke with Annie and I in the Madness, why where you so interested in know about my name and my background and family?"

Anna cocked her head to one side as the answer tumbled out of her mouth. "I wanted to know if you were Pureblood or not." She tried to smile, but it was coming off like a bad Barbie smile. "Because I...."

And then she locked up. "I... wanted to..." she stammered out, and then the corner of her mouth twitched a couple of times like she suffered from a bad tic.

Kerry nodded slowly, thinking. So Anna has a secret: not a surprise. He wasn't smart enough when she questioned him to figure out other witches and wizards might not be on the up-and-up, but now . . . I got a little more on the ball, he thought.

"You wanted what, Anna?" he asked, his voice never moving beyond the level of a "What did you have for breakfast?" conversational tone. "You have to tell me--" A slight smile creased the corner of Kerry's mouth. "'Cause I'm not going to let you not say it."

Anna fought to hold back, 'cause she knew the moment she spoke she was damned. Maybe not everyone would care, but some would--and Anna knew those people would be the instructors and staff. And they already hate you....

Her guts twisted more as she fought not to say. Tears sprang to her eyes as she pleaded with her tormentor. "Please, Kerry," she said, whimpering in pain as she staggered just a little to her right. "I can't... please don't...." Anna moaned and wrapped her arms around her chest.

Whatever Anna's dirty little secret Kerry saw she was willing to suffer than say it. Kerry didn't have a problem with that, but he thought if he tried another tactic . . ..

"You can tell me, Anna." Kerry soften his tone. "I don't really care about what you don't want to say; it's not going to hurt me." Anna turned away in pain, gasping twice, and Kerry wasn't about to let her wriggle away. "Anna, look at me." She closed her eyes and shook her head.

Kerry took one step closer to her and spoke: "Look at me!" he said, growling out the words from some hidden recess. He didn't raise his voice, but the tone was enough to snap Anna's head up. Her eyes drew wide as Kerry told the shaking girl, "Tell me, now! That's an order!"

Anna's head was in a spin. Have to do it; he doesn't care; orders, orders, do it, get rid of the pain! It was like Kerry was from The Tower and could see into her head. No, The Tower! No!

But Anna didn't want the pain any more; it hurt too much. And as Kerry didn't care about what she would say....

"You're a filthy Mudblood, and I hate Mudbloods!" Anna didn't so much as speak as she did snarl. "You're a pig, Kerry! You don't deserve to be here! You're a freak!"

Anna's upper lip curled back as she continued. "And you're Welsh! You're not even proper English--you're a mongrel! You shouldn't even exist." And then Anna did spit on the floor before Kerry. "Stinking Welsh Mudblood pig!"

He didn't get the "mudblood" thing completely--from what he'd picked up from Annie it sounded like anna was going on about the magical version of Star Bellied Sneetches--but he totally got the "Welsh not English" thing, 'cause Kerry had gotten that vibe before from people visiting Cardiff from England proper, who felt like being in close approximation to someone Welsh might contaminate them--

"It's not Welsh, Anna." Kerry gave her a withering grin cum sneer. "It's Cymry. And that's not a pig on our flag: it's a red dragon--or Y Ddraig Goch, if you must." He rubbed his foot into the spittle she'd shot at him. "Get your facts straight."

Right then Kerry decided to go all in. "But no hard feelings, okay?" He gave Anna a wide smile and opened his arms. "Give me a hug."

Anna began to shake. She began to moan. She began to cry. "No, Kerry," she said in a soft voice, then doubled over in pain. "No, I can't! I can't." She rolled to her left and supported herself on Lovecraft's desk. "I can't. I don't wha--" She gasped and doubled down and up twice, as if she were being punched repeatedly in the stomach.

Kerry moved towards Anna slowly. "Just a hug, Anna; that's all. Just a small hug." He wasn't concerned that he was hurting her--he wanted to make her touch him. "Give me a hug, Anna, and the pain goes away. That's all it takes, just a hug." He stopped just short of touching her--

And then moved his left hand close to her face.

Anna began screaming, her lungs emptying of all air as she said, "No! No! Don't touch me! You're the Tower! No! No!!!"

The she collapsed across the desk and began convulsing.

Kerry stood watching Anna convulse for about 5 seconds then said, "I won't touch you, Anna. You'll never have to worry about me touching you." Her screaming tapered off as she began to calm. "Now stand up and let Professor Lovecraft give you the antidote."

As Anna stood Kerry managed a good look of her tortured, tear stained face. As she sniffed and wiped a few loose strands of hair from her face Kerry nodded once, as if satisfied. "I'm done with you," he said calmly, then backed away from her, his eyes never leaving hers.

Helena made her way to the shaken girl. She was extremely surprised by what had just transpired--I wasn't certain he could pull that off, she thought. As she administered the antidote she wondered what further surprised she could expect. As if I didn't already know....

She turned to Kerry. "That was very good--"

And then Anna snapped out of her passiveness and launched herself at Kerry.

"You rotten mudblood!" she said, yelling with great fury. Helena managed to hook an arm around her waist before Anna got more than two steps. "How dare you try to touch me! You don't control me! You're scum, Kerry: you're worthless scum!!!" She beat her arms against Helena then yelled at Kerry, "I freakin' hate you!" before spitting at him again.

Erywin rushed over to help and got an arm around Anna's shoulders. This made her scream even louder. "Stupid biaches! I'll freakin' beat you both! Let me go! Let me go!!"

Helena nodded at Erywin. "Get her in the back and contact Coraline," she said. Erywin hustled the small girl into the back as she continued to rant and cry.

Helena turned to Kerry, who, during all this, never moved or even appeared to acknowledge what had just happened. "Are you okay, Kerry?" she asked.

Kerry nodded. "I'm good, Professor."

She patted him on the cheek. "Return to your chair, please." As Kerry walked off she said to the class, "20 points to Cernunnos for that... remarkable demonstration...."