Slytherin [C]

"Here, M-a-y-a."

He repeated the name a couple of times to make sure Jason got it.

"And to say 'I hope so, too,' it's like this." He was slow and careful with his teaching, repeating everything a couple of times so Jason could learn it well.

Lyo hoped to make this a sort of tradition. He wanted lots of Slytherin students to learn sign language. Not only for the Merfolk, but also for the hard of hearing students in the school. Helping them out would be something good for the school.

Jace was slow and careful, concentrating on how Lyo mover his hands and arms. It took him a few tries to get it before his hands to move in a more fluid and sure motion.

He knew a few languages, but this was was far different from the other ones he used.

"Right, I think I've got it."

He turned and signed ''I hope so too" to Maya. This time he was silent, concentrating on his signing.

Jason looked up at Lyo. "Was that any good?"

Maya did a backflip in the water, a clear sign of happiness. She understood what the boy said.

She waved through a long set of signs and Lyo smiled and signed back.

"She likes you, kid. She wants me to teach you a lot so you can learn quickly. It looks like you'll be taking a few more classes than you bargained for a week."

Lyo looked up when the doors opened and he grinned as Rich approached the two of them.

Lyo waved and waved a few signs. Rich grinned and signed back. "Hi," he called out to Jason. Without the noise from the hall in the background, you could hear the strange tone of his voice much better. It was clear he couldnt hear himself well. He spoke a ittle too loudly and slowly.

"Really?"

He couldn't stop grinning.

"Thank you! I can't wait."

He turned and smiled to he mermaid. He couldn't wait to speak to her more easily and without the aid of Lyo.

Not even a day and he was already learning so many new and exciting things.

He turned back around and waved at Rich as he heard his voice. It was a little odd and surprising to listen too. It will take a little while to get used to.

Wanting to practice his new found skill, he signed what Lyo taught him - introducing himself to Rich.

Rich grinned as the boy signed to him. "You're very good," he said in his loud, slow voice. "Has Yosha been teaching you to talk with the merfolk?"

The seventh year sat down in Lyo's lap and signed a quick hello to Maya. He kept his eyes on the merwoman for long enough to get her hello back before he turned his attention to Jason.

Lyo wrapped his arms around Rich and pressed a kiss against the side of his head.

His hands lifted from Rich's stomach to wave a few signs. Rich watched them. He was so used to reading signs that he could even read them backwards without trouble. The older boy nodded slowly. "Maya doesn't usually like people. You must be really special to her, Jason."

Maya was one of the most quick tempered merwomen of the school. That was evident by the way she had slapped at the glass when Jason had messed up signing to her. For her to have taken a liking to the boy meant that there was something special about him.

"Thank you!"

He beamed, enjoying the praise.

"Yosha?" It took him a few seconds to work out he meant Lyo. "Yeah he has!"

He followed Rich to Lyo and too to the seat next to them, his legs curled under him. The seats were surprisingly comfy - he expected them to be hard and ridged.

Jace looked on in curiosity as the two wrapped around each other. They were obviously close, if you didn't catch on to their kiss in the great hall. It didn't phase him there being two men together - he was used to his own brother bringing home boys and not caring about public displays of affection.

Jace's jade eyes lit up.

"Really? I am glad to of made a friend so quickly!"

"He's the only one that calls me Yosha. No matter how many times I tell him not to."

He dug his fingers in Rich's sides and was rewarded with a hard elbow in the chest. The two of them obviously cared for each other, but they were quite rough with each other, too.

Their relationship was very physical at times.

"Have you checked to see what room you have, Yosha?" Rich asked when the two of them settled down. Rich laid himself across Lyo's lap sideways so he could look up at his face and read his lips.

"Not yet. I'll check later."

A few older students trickled into the common room and he watched in fascination as they signed to Maya from across the other side of the room, greeting her.

The small group soon lost his interest and he turned back to Lyo and Rich.

"Are you two together then?"

They seemed like it, but he had asked this question multiple of times to his siblings before whenever they had someone. A lot of the time they would laugh and tell him 'No, not like that' or flush and mumble something before settling with 'No'.

"Yeah, at the moment we are." Lyo shrugged. Sometimes they were on and sometimes they were off. That's just how they worked. Sometimes they just grew bored of each other.

For now they were quite happy with each other.

"We're more friends than boyfriends," Rich explained. "We like the physical comfort of each other, but sometimes we don't need it."

That was how it was.

Maya slapped the window again, annoyed with being ignored. Her slap was followed by the slap of another creature. This one looked almost like a human man in his thirties with long dark green hair if it wasn't for the eerily pallid tone of his skin and the odd completely black and gold eyes.

"You're in for a treat, Jason. This is Jaha, our resident Selkie," Lyo introduced. He signed a hi to Jaha and was met with a handsign from Jaha for the effort; the Selkie raised his middle finger. He wasn't as talkative or good-tempered as the merfolk.

Jason cocked his head to the side, an eyebrow raised. Why were older people so confusing, can't it just be a yes or no? They always make relationships sound so confusing.

"Right."

Despite the rude sign that the selkie threw them, he smiled and waved to him too.

"He seems grumpy. I never knew Hogwart's had selkies though! What other sea creatures are there?"

"Jaha's always grumpy. Sometimes I think he enjoys just pretending to be angry to scare people. Just don't get too close to the water outside when he's been sighted that day."

Lyo remembered the time that he had been dragged into the lake by Jaha. It had made last year exciting. It was when he really had gotten close to Maya and a couple of the other merfolk in the lake. They'd saved him from Jaha.

"We have a lot," Rich said with a little smile. "Ordinary fish, mostly, in the lake. Our merfolk and selkie. The giant squid. We had a baby leviathan in the lake last year, but he got too big and was removed during the summer. You'll see some of the others as time passes. Quite a few can be seen from our windows."

He nodded at Lyo's advice, keeping note.

"A leviathan?!"

He looked out the windows in awe. He was bouncing a little in his seat.

"Do you ever see the squid? How big is it?"

He wondered how deep the lake was. It was a little difficult to see out the windows at this time of night. It was dark and the light reflected of the windows.

"That was probably that Hagrid guy," a fourth year said, perching on the edge of a table. "He's been said to have a load of weird beasts all over the place."

Lyo nodded. "Wouldn't be surprised. He's always got his hands full with some beast or another."

Maya slapped the glass again and Lyo and Rich laughed. She was so jealous and impatient when it came to attention.

Jason looked between the small group that has gathered. There seemed to be a lot more students in here compared to last time he checked.

He leaned over to tap Rich on the forehead and Lyo on the arm as they laughed in an attempt to get their attention.

"Whose Hagrid?"

"He's the groundskeeper," Lyo explained.

"I heard he was a student here but was expelled. And out of pity given a job here," the fourth year whispered.

"Yeah, I heard that they hired Filch out of pity because he was a squib," came another whisper as a fifth year girl approached them.

Lyo pulled a face. "It must suck to be a squib. I would hate it."

He listened eagerly. This Hagrid guy sounds kinda scary. He had to wonder what did he get expelled for... Though, he figured it mustn't of been too bad if they hired him again? Maybe he wasn't as scary as he originally thought.

He frowned at what he heard next.

"They hired a squib? At Hogwarts?"

He has heard of squibs being hired mundane jobs. Normally assisting in small shops. That or they would go out to the muggle world to work.

He nodded in agreement to Lyo. How embarrassing it must be as well. At least if you were a muggle you were non the wiser.

"What does he do?"

"Makes our lives miserable," Lyo snorted.

"He makes your life miserable because you break so many rulles," Rich pointed out, tugging on Lyo's tie. "You have to be the most rule-breaking prefect I've ever seen."

Lyo shrugged. "He's still a miserable bastard."

Jason grimaced at what her heard and the horror on the other students faces said it all. It seemed just because he was a squib doesn't make him any less horrible.

"I hope I don't meet him then if he is that horrible. What does he do to make your live miserable?"

He scooted his chair closer to the couple.

"What doesnt he do? Him and that cat of his." Lyo shook his head. He wasnt a fan of either of them. He avoided them like the plague.

"If you behaved like a prefect should, you'd do better with them," Rich pointed out, ever the peacemaker.

Lyo just shrugged. He wasnt going to change who he was.

He was a little surprised to hear that Lyo was not the ideal prefect. He had been nothing but nice to him.

Jace tapped Rich's arm to grab his attention again. He hoped he was angled right so that Rich could see his mouth.

"Why isn't Lyo a good prefect? What did he do?"

He was curious, and he wanted to know more about his new friends.

Rich looked shocked for a second before he smiled. "He's a good prefect. Amazing with the students."

He shifted in Lyo's lap to lean forwards. "He just doesnt follow some rules. Like dress code and smoking and curfew. He talks back to some of the teachers and skips his quidditch practise sometimes."

Rich shook his head. "He's a good prefect. He's just not the best student."

"Okay! I thought it was a bit weird because you seem like a friendly guy to me."

Jace flashed Lyo a sunny grin.

"You're on the quidditch team? That's so cool! What do you play?"

Lyo grinned and flexed his muscles. They filled out his tall frame. Lyo was broad as well as being tall. He was more muscle than fat.

"Left side Beater. Damn good at the position, too."

Though he may have knocked one or two people out in the two years he had been on the team. Oops.

Jace reach out and patted the muscle in awe. He was sure a few girls were swooning behind Lyo.

"I bet you win a lot of games. How long have you been playing?"

Personally, he couldn't wait to learn how to ride a broom and maybe play quidditch. He had 'borrowed' his siblings one the other day, only to fly straight into a wall and knock his missing tooth out. He has yet to go to the doctors to grow it back.

It was worth it though.

"Pretty much all I play. Except to those damned Gryffindors. Sometimes they're so damned persistent." His lip twitched. "Like cockroaches."

He, like most Slytherins, had his moments of house prejudice.

"I made the team back in my fourth year. This'll be my third year on the team here. I've been playing since I was old enough to pick up a broom. Maybe someday I'll get to play for the Russian National team." To play for the team of his homeland would be wonderful. A dream for him.