A Chain of Debt (A Matou Shinji AU Quest)

[Dracueri]

[x]Start with a group discussion, working towards a good compromise.

[shanagan]

[x]Start with a group discussion, working towards a good compromise.

[croixdefeu]

[X] Start with a group discussion, working towards a good compromise.
Same reasoning, and I'm interested to see the different viewpoints play off each other.

[alfheimwanderer]

[X] Start with a group discussion, working towards a good compromise.
Same reasoning, and I'm interested to see the different viewpoints play off each other.

---

"Speaking of work, I've heard about your little show in history class," Zabini noted mildly. "You do seem to get rather a lot of enjoyment out of thrashing Granger, don't you? Something about her book being history? Do all Japanese people use so many puns?"

"...yes?"

Zabini sighed, shaking his head. "Granger's face would have been a sight, I'm sure. Malfoy's too, given how little thought you gave to his argument."

"You don't agree with him then?" Shinji questioned. "Even though you are a pureblood?"

Zabini only chuckled at this.

"Please. Do I seem the type of person who judges a person's worth by the purity of their blood?"

"I...no," Shinji admitted. "Though that's an interesting point - how do you judge someone's worth? By the size of their pocketbook?"

"No. By the content of their character," Zabini replied. "What is it they desire? And what will they do to attain it? That's really why I charge for information - to see how badly someone wants something."

"...and so only the people who want it enough to pay for it get it."

"Indeed. Why should I dole out wisdom to those who do not value it?" He snorted. "I'm not Miss Granger, who spews worthless pieces of trivia at people in an attempt to make them believe she has any shred of worth whatsoever."

"You don't think she has any worth?" Amber questioned. "Why?"

"Is it not obvious? Words pass into her eyes, and come out of her mouth, without anything happening in between. Now, it is quite possible she might have a brain on her shoulders - I simply haven't seen any evidence of it being used." Zabini shrugged. "She's much like Malfoy, blindly putting her faith in those who came before, regurgitating stale words shaped by other minds without even trying to consider whether or not those words had any meaning, whether the one who wrote them had any ulterior motive."

"...you're not a very trusting person, are you, Zabini?"

"I trust that most people who rise to positions of authority are self-interested. That whether history records them as heroes or villains, as light or dark, doesn't matter, so long as they accomplish the goals they set for themselves. It is as Quirrell says - there is no such thing as good or evil. There is only power, and those too weak to seek it."

"An interesting, if rather amoral, philosophy, that," Amber noted.

"Mortality is such an interesting thing, isn't it?" Zabini asked quietly, almost as if speaking only to himself. "We claim to value it, except that we don't, not really. Not when we see the sort of people we allow to become our leaders. The people we glorify. "

"And what do we value from that, would you say? Power?"

"The knowledge of who you are and what you want, and the resolve to do what is necessary," Zabini noted. "As opposed to simply going along with the expectation of society and allowing yourself to be bound by others' expectations of you."

"...how would this translate to the house system?" Shinji asked, out of curiosity. Somewhat morbid curiosity, admittedly, but it still counted.

"The House system, huh?" Zabini questioned, shaking his head. "I personally find the whole thing to be quite pointless, with people being assigned roles and societal expectations based on nothing but the word of a hat. It is no surprise that our society is crumbling when Hogwarts is the model we set for ourselves, with people mindlessly accepting being Sorted, and making judgments of others based on this...Sorting."

"What would you propose instead?"

"That no one is just given membership in a House when they come to Hogwarts. That participation in the House system is a privilege you can earn, if you desire it enough, whether through grades or through other acts of service to the school," Zabini suggested. "Let them be exceptional places for exceptional individuals - elite fraternities that one can aspire to join, if one is good enough, with special privileges such as loosening of curfew restrictions or the ability to change what foods one eats. Places for those who are extraordinary, either in talent or in dedication - with exacting standards for their members - who must continue to prove they are extraordinary."

"Oh?"

"In society, there are people than there seats at the table called happiness. As such, each year, in addition to those who graduate, those who have proven poorest at adhering to the standards of the House - those who contributed the least to their success, will be dropped, making way for those who have proven through their actions that they truly desire a place in a House, giving them the opportunity to shine - or fail."

"And how many people do you see as belonging to these Houses?"

"No more than a tenth of the school," came the response. "To open it further would destroy the elite nature of these...fraternities."

"So everyone else would be...?"

"Merely a student of Hogwarts," Zabini noted. "No more, no less. That is what the Ministry pays for - a place in the student body. If one wanted to become more than that, one would have to earn it, just as one would have to try out for a Quidditch team or such."

"Doesn't this privilege those who are able to be part of the Houses a bit too much?"

"I don't think so," Zabini replied. "It merely gives those who do not join a house - whether by lack of opportunity or desire - an incentive to stand out in other ways. Let the Houses attempt to defend their positions when everyone sees them as rivals to overcome, as enemies to overthrow. Let the masses have a goal to aspire to, a foe they can struggle against, for it is in that struggle they can see what they are truly made of."

What does Shinji think of this?

[ ] (write-in)

[Malorius]

[x] This system sounds very convenient for those with the means and will to grease the wheels... By any means necessary. Matou Shinji would have made a good use of it.

Seriously, for an outsider like Shinji with money burning through his pockets this may be one of the best ways to rise in a local social hierarchy. Despite many moral questions such system may raise. I mean, his view is terribly similar to my own previous suggestions, so I gravitate to this more than to Ambers' default.

[Daiki]

Well, given that everyone seems eager to participate and exchange ideas, I guess we will just move on.

[x] This system sounds very convenient for those with the means and will to grease the wheels... By any means necessary. Matou Shinji would have made a good use of it.

[alfheimwanderer]

[x] This system sounds very convenient for those with the means and will to grease the wheels... By any means necessary. Matou Shinji would have made a good use of it.

Moving on then.

---

Things moved quickly after that, with a good bit of back and forth between the trio, until Ronald Weasley arrived, none too happy to be going to the library during the weekend - and even less happy to see a certain Matou Shinji - though he seemed mollified by the fact that at least Amber was there. After all, as long as whatever system they proposed allowed for ample food, and wasn't too much trouble to deal with, he was all for it.

The other Slytherins, seeing that Ron had no grand plan to reform Hogwarts, or the house system, decided his contribution to the project would be to serve as a sounding board - something that Ron was quite fine with as it meant he had to do very little himself, as the trio around him debated and bickered and poked holes in each others' assumptions. Blaise was kind enough to lend him a book on the Chudley Cannons to read while he waited, so this was probably the best group project he'd ever worked on, in fact.

"Just as long as whatever you come up with, you aren't sorted by a ruddy Hat!" the boy added, with Shinji giving the redhead an almost-sympathetic look, given that it must be a terrible thing indeed to be judged by what House one was put into by some moldering old relic. It was a dormitory, not one's life path, no matter what Malfoy liked to think. "Oh, and maybe if you could have everyone do chores."

"...you want to do chores?" Amber asked dubiously.

"No, but if that's what I have to do to make that ponce Malfoy work like a house elf, I'll do it," he mumbled.

Zabini snorted.

"Ah, spite, what would we do without it?" he asked rhetorically. "But, as you wish, we'll keep that in mind. Hogwarts should be a place where all are equal, right? Where the rich and poor are treated the same?"

"Yes," Ron agreed. "Very much yes. People should be judged based on what they can do, not what family they're born into."

"How very progressive," Zabini noted. "Let's get to work then."

So they did, with the result being something that was more polished than any of their individual contributions.

---

Monday morning comes, and with it, morning potions, during which the next assignment is to work on Forgetfulness potion. Will Shinji stick with the same partner, or a different one?

[ ] Keep working with Zabini
[ ] Try someone else

[Dracueri]

[x]Keep working with Zabini

[Skull Leader]

[X] Keep working with Zabini

[Daiki]

[x] Keep working with Zabini

[croixdefeu]

[x] Keep working with Zabini

[alfheimwanderer]

[x]Keep working with Zabini

---

How about in Herbology?

[ ] Work with Zabini
[ ] Perhaps Sokaris would be a good person to get to know
[ ] Amber Noel could be a good partner
[ ] Let's bury the hatchet with Malfoy
[ ] Ronald, maybe?

[Cassius]

[x] Let's bury the hatchet with Malfoy

[Daiki]

[x] Let's bury the hatchet with Malfoy.

I guess working together around compost will bond them as brothers somehow.

[Dracueri]

[x]Perhaps Sokaris would be a good person to get to know

The philosopher stone storyline revolves around her and she has some status in Ravenclaw. If we choose to ignore adventure for the stone she still is a top student for the first year and is partnered with Nigel. One or both of them can be Shinji start if he wants to establish some type of relationship with Ravenclaws.

[Skull Leader]

[x] Perhaps Sokaris would be a good person to get to know

[skulkidcachi90]

[x] Let's bury the hatchet with Malfoy

[Malorius]

[x] Let's bury the hatchet in Malfoy's back

I'd honestly prefer this to exploring Sokaris again. And we do intend to get deeper connections in wizard high society for our selfish gains, so.

[alfheimwanderer]

[x] Let's bury the hatchet with Malfoy

---

By now, Matou Shinji had learned the basics of how to work with Zabini: as long as one was respectful of his personal space and wasn't outright pushy about things, the pureblood tended be fairly agreeable and cooperative. If one made the mistake of slighting the other boy though - as one rather unintelligent did by bringing up Zabini's mother, then the result was pain. Not immediately, no, and not delivered in a manner that teachers could trace back to Zabini, who almost always had an alibi when...accidents happened, but inevitable nonetheless.

Yatin Bhagat, the boy who had made fun of Zabini's reaction to the boggart, for example? Something happened with his forgetfulness potion, with the mix exploding and getting into his mouth and eyes. Prompt transport to the Hospital Wing and proper treatment had kept the klutz from having terrible scars, but scars weren't the worst thing that could happen to a person. A person's memories were what made them what they were, after all, and forgetting everything that had happened since coming to Hogwarts - even forgetting what House he had been sorted into? That wasn't a fate anyone envied...

Of course, since Slytherin was a house where everyone was out for themselves, Yatin ended up going to Zabini for help, since it was said that with him, everything had a price.

In any case, Shinji's collaboration with Zabini worked well enough, with the two also getting a decent grade for the second assignment, though it wasn't perhaps, the highest in the class. That particular honor was reserved for Draco Malfoy, who had chosen to work with Amber Noel this time around, instead of Hermione Granger.

---

As for Draco...

This week's assignment in Herbology was to learn the Incendio spell, something that a number of students were quite happy about, as they honestly preferred wand work to mucking about in the dirt. This being a practical spell, Draco suggests taking some time to work on it together after class...

[ ] Agree, there's always room to improve
[ ] Agree, and try to improve

[ ] Casting Speed
[ ] Power
[ ] Being able to cast without words

[ ] Disagree, work on it only in class - a jet of flame isn't all that useful, when all's said and done, and he has other work
[ ] Ask if he can bring others to work on it too

[skulkidcachi90]

[ ] Ask if he can bring others to work on it too