Chapter Four. It's Only Just Beginning!
"Boring, boring, boring!" I whined, rocking in my chair under the sympathetic, understanding glances of the other Ravenclaws. How can I explain it better... The Faculty of Smart People was not a refuge for nerds devoted exclusively to science. Well... kids will be kids (even if some of them have been given a second childhood), and it's simply necessary to fool around from time to time.
However, everyone has a different idea of what "fun" means, and mine is no exception. After... a rollback in time and age, my mental and psychological hang-ups disappeared — both those that belonged to others and my own*. So let me remain a paranoid, but I no longer plan to devote all my time to study and training — you're more likely to go mad that way than become the second Merlin.
And just imagine — how can a person who is experiencing a second childhood entertain themselves? Spitballs and other "intellectual" games of a similar level, which, between us, have been introduced relatively recently, are not an option. Chess? The magical version is very different from the usual one: here, it's not so much about knowing how to play as it is about persuading the pieces. And there were plenty of intellectual pursuits in our department, but there wasn't much in the way of running, jumping and other noisy activities. Quidditch, fencing, dancing, a couple of team games like medieval rugby**" Great, but I wanted something... something where you could run around and make some noise, but not just a bunch of people chasing each other...
"Eureka!
I see interested faces among my classmates, lean forward slightly to establish rapport, and begin a free retelling of the stories of Liselotte Welskopf-Henrich.
They listen to me with understanding and lively sympathy for the Indians: after all, even if they are "not quite human" (read: not magicians), they lived RIGHT, in harmony with nature. And the magicians/shamans are right there among their tribesmen... that is, there is no annoying Secrecy Status. And the Anglo-Saxon Muggles are not particularly fond of the magi of the Island. Not only is the Secrecy Status incredibly annoying, but the fact that after losing to the goblins, the magi (who previously ruled the Muggles on the Island without particularly hiding their nature) were forced to "leave the stage" is not particularly concealed. The "new" aristocracy took THEIR rightful place!
"Does each tribe have its own war paint?" asked one of the second-year students.
"Yeah. But it's not just each tribe, there were also a lot of nuances — whether you were a newcomer or a junior chief, everything was reflected. And the feathers in the headdress, the clothes — everything showed your status.
"The Ravenclaws nod their heads thoughtfully, as if to say, 'Everything is just like Real People (i.e., wizards), not like those... Europeans.
"What a stupid word they've come up with, 'European'!" exclaimed Ravenclaw Percival Uri, the head of the Ravenclaw House, during a recent political discussion taking place in our living room late at night. "When you say 'Basque from Navarre', it's as clear as 'Finn from Lapland'. But a European? How is that? Finns and Basques are both Europeans now, but they have different blood, languages, appearances, customs, magic... It sounds silly, 'European'. And why have Muggles in Britain and Germany been running around with this strange concept for the last few decades? And lately... Probably some kind of scam, or another attack on the Slavs, no doubt. These Muggles... They lump Hungarians and Swedes together and talk about racial, cultural and other unity only before a big war. Mark my words — it will happen, and to hell with it, but our Ministry will definitely drag us into it.
"Come on," his colleague Elizabeth Hurley, representing the girls of the "Crows," doubted, " why would we? We'll just lock ourselves up in our estates...
"Ah... Once those crooks start changing the laws, you won't have a choice. You'll leave your estate and go wherever they tell you to. What, there aren't enough powerful families that aren't bound by oaths to the ministry after THAT war (for those who don't understand, we're talking about the war between the mages and the goblins, in which the mages lost and began to hand over their gold artefacts to Gringotts)? And how many of them are not bound by mutual obligations to other clans? That's just it — only one in ten of the powerful clans can afford true independence, and the weak... If someone needs them, you know what will happen...
The faces of those present (mostly senior students) darkened — the realisation that troubled times were ahead did not contribute to a good mood.
"What are you doing here, kids?!" Hurley noticed us with his friends. "It's not child's play, go to your rooms and go to sleep!"
"The nickname 'Big Snake' should belong to the Slytherin faculty!" His representative stood up proudly with an owl feather stuck in his long blond hair.
"That makes sense," I agree with him and make a note in my notebook.
"Rob, but the real Big Snake... you know, from the book... he was brave!" a second-year student from Gryffindor mumbled.
"Paul," I say "kindly," "where did your grandfather study?
"Er... in Slytherin..."
"Well, shut up and remember his many exploits.
"Um... yes... sorry, Roger, I really don't know what to say...
The blond "Indian" representing Slytherin at the meeting nods importantly to his second cousin from Gryffindor and, with great pathos but completely out of place, utters the famous words:
"Hau," then smiles with his white teeth and quickly adds:
"We've decided that this name will be a 'passing name' and will be used by our leader. Well, in games.
"Well...," Paul drawls, yes, the name is VERY Slytherin.
"We're taking the name 'Winnetou,'" says Helgi from Hufflepuff quietly.
In the same way, all the "historical" names were "divided" among the faculties so that there would be no inconsistencies in the future. They also divided the tribes, agreeing to change their names from time to time so as not to become too "redskinned" and not take the game too seriously****.
And... a week later, after all the rules had been clarified (and in the society of magicians, they were treated with particular attention), it began. War cries, feathered arrows with ball tips, wooden tomahawks and knives...
"Zang! An arrow with Slytherin feathers struck the door of the empty classroom with a loud bang, and the "target" in the form of a Gryffindor with a mohawk, having escaped "death," threw a tomahawk at the archer — just as unsuccessfully — then stuck out her tongue... came to her senses and began to hoot mockingly.
"Even Squidward can beat you!" rang out the mocking voice of the "Indian" girl, after which Squidward hurriedly ran away, crouching and constantly changing direction.
The red-haired Mohican Pruett sniffed in annoyance and muttered under his breath:
"Squaw wins"... Big deal... Maybe I feel sorry for her.
Then the scion of an aristocratic family sniffed again, looked around furtively, and blew his nose with his fingers, wiping them on the stone wall.
After another "Great Battle of the Tribes," where the younger students got a little carried away and not only arrows and tomahawks were used, but also weak shamanistic rituals (strictly those that were guaranteed to be available to the Indians — owls flew to the New World dozens of times for clarification! in the evening, the dean of the faculty, Aver Malfoy, from the younger branch of the family, entered the Ravenclaw common room. After standing for a while and seeing that his charges were somewhat carried away by their conversation, the man grunted, stepped into the middle of the room and clapped his hands to attract attention.
"Noble Indians!" he began, "I am extremely flattered that such brave warriors are studying at my faculty, but don't you think you've gotten a little carried away with your 'Indian Wars'?
Smiles appeared on the faces of the senior students, while the younger "crows" took on a pensive look: did they think they had gotten carried away, or did they not? A good half of them decided that no, they did not!
The dean, a very young man despite his mastery of runes, understood them perfectly, but...
"Gentlemen warriors, I have nothing against your games, but please understand that not all Hogwarts students participate in them, so an arrow in the forehead or a tomahawk in the back does not put them in a good mood. And staging a battle in the Great Hall during dinner is a bit... excessive. Therefore, the faculty deans have adopted a set of rules that you will have to follow. These are: no fighting during class, even if you personally have a free period at that time; no fighting in classrooms, the Great Hall, or other public places; and finally, you must sleep at night, not sneak around to your enemies and then yawn in class. Is that clear?
"Yes..." came the unfriendly chorus of voices — the "crows" were somewhat upset... But as the "smart" faculty, they couldn't help but understand that the deans' demands were fair — not everyone shared their enthusiasm!
From that day on, the game of "Indians" was played only on weekends and exclusively outside the castle walls. More precisely, outside the areas of the premises in use, of which there were plenty at Hogwarts. The only thing was that the teachers had to put "alarms" in potentially dangerous places around the school. And, by the way, there were plenty of such dangerous places: Hogwarts was almost a living and almost intelligent... creature, a kind of extremely unusual and almost "asleep" golem. And everything that is alive... or quasi-alive*****... has the ability to change. So the appearance of new... or the disappearance of old classrooms, even in the inhabited part of the building, was not particularly rare. How about floors appearing or disappearing? Or "twists" in space and time? So the "alarms" with their particularly unpleasant sound and cobweb effect were taken in stride by everyone... well, except for the Gryffindors — they were always a bit crazy.
I received the incredibly honourable nickname "Raven"******... and a sure claim to leadership among the younger students. Was I embarrassed that an adult... a once-adult wizard was trying to manipulate children? No.
First of all, Rod was behind most of them, and in letters, as in personal meetings, the older members of the family gave advice and direct orders to the younger ones. That is, any intrigue in the faculty was "discussed" by dozens of people. As for me, despite my adulthood, I had no one behind me, so I didn't feel particularly favoured.
Secondly... since I ended up in the past in such an unusual way, the Force clearly wants something from me. And I think it wants me to prevent certain events in the past/future from happening.
I didn't want to be the absolute leader. Rather, I was trying on the role of a charismatic leader who stands a little apart and doesn't get too involved in everyday affairs. But we'll see how it turns out.
Own*" Roughly speaking, if a mage, especially one with a gift for the mental, regularly instils in himself the need to master knowledge as best he can or that he needs to be more careful and not trust anyone, then this becomes a kind of mental bookmark — a psychological anchor.
Medieval rugby**" Almost all peoples have analogues of this game. The difference is that a couple of centuries earlier, they played much more violently, and such games were more like neighbourhood fights. Considering that the mentality of mages is quite medieval, plus the presence of things like bone-breakers and medical spells, mages simply could not pass up such entertainment.
Liselotte Welskopf-Henrich*** is a writer "about Indians" and is perhaps the best in this genre. In any case, the Indians themselves (from the very few who read books) believe that she understood the Indians like no one else. And the film "The Sons of the Great Bear," which the GDR government gave to the Indians (the United States refused to buy it because it stood out sharply and showed not "noble cowboys and dirty Indians," but a fairly accurate version of history), became, according to the FBI, "the trigger" and one of the most important reasons for the legendary Indian uprising at Wounded Knee.
Don't take the game too seriously****" I understand that the magicians, with their Rodoplemny way of life, could have been sceptical about playing Indians. One could argue that they could just as easily have played "Picts" or "Celts"... But no, they couldn't: precisely because the Magicians' tribal structure and national/tribal/religious issues are extremely serious. If they started playing their ancestors, some resentments might have surfaced. But playing "Indians" allows them to run around and make some noise without taking it too seriously — I emphasised that even the division into Indian "tribes" among the faculties is temporary.
Quasi-living*****" "as if" living or "falsely" living.
The incredibly honourable nickname "Raven"******" There is no need to explain why it is honourable for the Raven-Ravenclaws, but there is another nuance. Among most Native American tribes, this bird is sacred and, at the very least, participated in the creation of the world.
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