( )

Eirik laughed. "You may consider her 'family' Magnus, but to the wizarding world, she is PROPERTY. Under the current law, that is how she will be treated...PRO-PER-TY. You want to change that..?? I do, so I ask the hard questions, upset a few people. Complacency ain't gonna cut it here. "

"Respect has NOTHING to do with my actions. I questioned your property, and you sent her away before she could answer. She was brought here to answer questions. She failed. So now what, should she be hurting herself because of it..??"

"This is all my point, Magnus, pratt that I am...things need to change for house elves. Change is hard and painful, but that just shows how much it needs to be done. "

Then he added with a sneer "You dont have to get all bent out of shape about it."

Merlin stood up and grabbed his things and before leaving he pat Magnus on the shoulder. "Breathe, it will be alright because you are strong. It was an interesting workshop and you did well." He waved to Eirik and the others but wondered if he should stay to make sure everything will be ok, so he stood near the entrance where he could hear, in case he had to jump back in.

"Mimsy 'as never 'urt 'erself under my father's care." His voice dropped to a dangerous low. He was trying to will himself into staying calm. "Like I said, you presume without facts or justification. You needlessly hurt 'er. So yeah, I see you as being a bit of a bully to 'er, doing the same thing you want to change. I know you could've put those questions to 'er or me without being so cruel. So yes, I think you just 'urt her needlessly and claiming its for the greater good. So its okay because 'she's woken up about abuse.' Yet, did you think perhaps this wasn't always the way she was treated? Did you think that maybe I was protecting her from painful things? You didn't think. You call 'er property again, even though I explain she isn't. You just measured me and my family as complaisant in slavery before even so much as asking. And that I do find extremely offensive."

Merlin's calm and reassurance was nice but it wasn't quelling him. He might need help... the shaking was almost uncontrollable. "C-calming draught, in me bag...."

( and everyone else)

Eirik shrugged. "You own a house elf, that's how the wizarding folk see you. Oh, and I was wrong about respect. It's actually ALL about respect. Respect for the non-humans, EQUALITY for ALL beings."

He watched the boy struggling to keep control, but pushed on. "Could I have phrased it nicer..? Probably, but why should I have to..? It's not like she is my equal, and you are taking offense by saying that I insulted your family. You should be pissed. You should be pushing just as hard as I am to try to change things, and you can't do that with the way things are...by trying to shelter someone from the harshness of reality."

"Mimsy should be ANGRY..she should be outraged that things like this go on. All house elves should be treated as well as she is, and better. Health care, vacations, the freedom to fall in love and raise a family without having to worry what mate has been chosen for them, when will my child be taken away..all of it."

He softened his expression. "Magnus, you and I know how bad things are for her kind, and for our kind as well. Sometimes you have to do the hard things to affect change. You can hate me for it, but believe me, I just want things better for everyone. That's not going to be an easy task, and a lot of feelings are going to get hurt along the way. But that doesn't mean that the right actions shouldn't be done."

He thought for a moment. "Technically, she did do something to me, she was disrespectful and acted above her station when she spoke to me earlier. 'Silly Eirik.' A stricter master would have reprimanded her for talking to a wizard like that. I didn't take offense, but someone else might have, and then what..?"

Eirik walked over and got Magnus's bag, and brought it over to him. "Is it in here..?" he asked softly, holding the bag out to the boy.

The veins on his neck were starting to bulge. He held onto his stomach with a look of pain. It felt like he was going to shift yet he knew that was not possible. A few hours early, yes possible but not this early. But the werewolf part was screaming to come out. He collapsed onto his knees. He was hurting too much to answer. He nodded shaking and trying to pull the bottle out. He couldn't manage it though. The first of his potions fell from his hand and shattered.

"It weren't meant offensively, if anything it were a term of endearment because she felt free enough to speak to you as an equal, which you claim you want. But you shouldn't take it out on er. That's not right. You are effectively enacting abuse by the way to talked to 'er. Its a vicious circle."

Eirik surveyed the shape Magnus was in and made his decision. He picked the boy up, grabbed his bag, and took him swiftly out of the tent. He stopped by a small copse of trees, and sat down, pulling Magnus onto his lap.

He said soothingly "yeah, I know, I am a dick sometimes." He was rummaging through the bag, looking for another bottle, still talking until he found one. "doesn't mean I am not right about things. Another wizard would have gotten pissed about that kind of familiarity. "

He pulled a bottle out and opened it, then held it under Magnus's nose. "Does this smell like the right thing..? I have no idea what they are supposed to smell like." He kept Magnus supported with one arm.

"People don't need to see you like this...and I am truly sorry that you are in the state you are in. You'll be ok, once we get you that potion," he said, rocking him gently. "You will be just fine."

Aria stared with her mouth agape as Eirik and Magnus hurled words at one another. She was quite shaken by what Eirik had said to Mimsy and wished she could have vanished with Mimsy, so she could comfort her at home.

Aria had to say that she would never want Dax to be abused by anyone or have his offspring abused. She had never thought that deeply about how other house elves were treated; mostly because she'd never even seen one until after she'd been adopted by the Lee's. Aria looked between Magnus and Eirik and could understand both sides but her heart-strings were pulled for her family.

Aria watched as Eirik took Magnus from the tent and all her sisterly juices started boiling. Her body stalled as her mind frantically searched for action because she thought that Eirik might try to hurt her brother. After she found her body return from shock, she stood and quickly followed them outside. She was only a few feet from them when she saw that Eirik was being kind to Magnus.

"You're not trying to hurt him..." Aria said in flat voice that was neither a question or a statement.

()

It took Magnus a few moments to realise he was in Eirik's arms and had been taken away for privacy. The young boy sniffed the potion under his nose. "C-calming draught. Wolfsbane is too strong o' a scent." The shaking was awful, he felt like his body was going to shake apart and the boy was in too much pain to be angry. Besides, Eirik had apologized. "I know," he said softly, "it means a lot to us to get them more rights. I know 'ow they feel, I were 'it when I were in the orphanage," he whispered. "Don't tell no one."

Then his sister arrived and Magnus tried for a smile but it looked more like a grimace.

Eirik helped him to drink the calming draught. "Of course I won't tell anyone, Magnus," he said softly, so only Magnus could hear him. "We all have been through our own personal hells, and many of us still are, or carry the scars, or both."

Eirik didn't even look up as Aria approached, he had heard her coming since she left the tent. "Of course not, why would I do that..?" he said, loudly enough for her to hear him.

The subject moved forward from the talks about political rights and newspapers, and Kyros decided it was time to stay quiet and pay attention to the workshop, leaving behind the rather heavy topic of abuse. He felt lighter that way, more like his usual self. He began to take notes about the ideas that sprouted during the discussion and the ways they could put it to work, while listening about the magic from House Elves. It was fascinating to see how they could focus their powers without the aid of a wand or any other type of magical object, and he wondered if perhaps the ban on wands was to stop magical beings from focusing their powers like wizards could... His inner Ravenclaw went mad with theories, while his Slytherin self pondered over possible political consequences of his ideas. The theorizing went on until Magnus' voice spiked into a yell and the boy was startled back into reality, noticing he daydreamed until almost the end of the workshop.

Whatever happened seemed big. Magnus was yelling, and then Eirik was yelling back, and Kyros felt confused and lost, only picking at most that they had returned to the subject of House Elves' rights. Should he interfere? They were escalating way too fast, and he feared what could happen if one of them lost control... His neck hurt just to think about it. He prepared to say something like Merlin did and at least interrupt the discussion, but then Magnus began to shake and Eirik took him out of the pavillon.

He wanted to go after them and help, but what if Magnus shifted? Kyros was no vampire like Eirik. He wouldn't be able to calm down an angry werewolf. He also knew first hand he couldn't beat Eirik physically. Could he try to talk some sense into them? Perhaps. He didn't like yelling, but he would force himself to go there if needed. But maybe he would be able to calm down some anxious students left in the workshop.

"I'm sure Magnus and Eirik will be back soon. They probably just want to solve this privetely and apologize, since they got carried away. They'll be fine, and when Magnus come back we can continue with the last questions. If anyone has one, you should probably start writing it out~" He stood up to call attention to himself, focusing so his voice would come out smooth and calming. He desperately wanted to believe in that idea, even though his cynical mind had its doubts. "And since this discussion over the rights of magical beings is quite polarizing, I suppose it should have its own space, no? We could talk about that. A new workshop, or we could put forward the idea of a club or somewhere else where we can have healthy arguments about it." He tried to slow down his breathing. It was going to be fine. He hoped.

(Sorry, was busy with RL! Solving things for my internship Dx)

Merlin watched how Eirik took Magnus away and was sure why, he followed quietly without letting be seen by any of them, or the sister who also followed the two. He was not planning to butt in, but yes help if needed.

()

Aria's heart broke when she saw Magnus's pain filled smile. She fell to her knees beside her brother and gently stroked his forehead, moving the hair from his eyes. Looking up at Eirik she said, "I'm sorry you just seemed to both be so angry, I didn't know." Aria smiled at Eirik while trying to be a comfort to Magnus, knowing he was suffering so much.

Aria mind spoke to Dax. 'Would you please send a mental image of a cloudy night, no moon in sight, to Magnus?'

Aria felt that Dax had tried, though neither knew if it had prooved helpful or if Magnus would be able to receive it.

The calming draught trickled down his throat. Normally the potion didn't take very long to take affect but today it seemed to take an eternity. The shaking slowly started to subside. As he calmed further the pain ebbed. His breathing evened out and the boy was finally calm.

Aria played with his hair and the boy just let her as he wondered vaguely how things were going back in the pavilion. He was calm now and the pain was more or less subsiding. He hung his head in shame. Loosing such control in front of everyone, in the workshop he was supposed to be running. "I-I should go back," he said with a small voice that held little conviction.

He could smell Merlin's scent, though he didn't see him. His smell was far more heightened than a normal human and even more so before shifts which was a day a way.

OOC -great post ! you did the right thing, crowd control :)

Eirik heard Merlin lingering out of sight, and was glad that his prefect was keeping an eye on things.

Eirik watched as Aria began to comfort Magnus, and asked out loud "Does the draught take long to take effect ? " He looked to them both. "Are you feeling any better, Magnus..?" It looked like he was starting to.

"That's because people don't understand the...complicated..friendship that Magnus and I have. Even if we got into it physically, doesn't mean I want to hurt him." He shrugged, "I usually have more control than that."

"Maybe you should just take it easy for a few minutes yet...."

He shrugged. Then he nodded. "Yeah, vamps and weres we are natural enemies. Its near full moon, bound ta 'appen. Don't mean we can't be friends even if I wanna kick 'im in 'is nether regins. Hell, one day we might totally vamp and wolf out and 'ave a nice brawl in the forbidden forest--then after sing songs and bandage each other up. Both o' our controls are shaking I fink, E." The boy sighed but didn't move. Maybe he should.

()

Aria nodded at what Eirik said, "I've noticed," she replied to both Magnus and Eirik. "It's very complicated." Aria smiled and winked at Eirik, relieved that Magnus was starting to feel better.

Eirik laughed heartily. "Yes, I think it shall come to that one day, a full out brawl. You mustn't forget the alcohol, Magnus...can't make up without that ! We would drink and toast and sing long into the night." Eirik's eyes glittered behind his sunglasses. He nodded, thinking about it.

He smiled at Aria.

"But for now, my little wolf brother," he said, picking Magnus up with him when he stood, then gently placing him on his feet, but steadying him. "You have a workshop to lead and take control of." He turned him so he could look him in the eyes. "There is no shame in what happened in there, alright..?" Eirik said, sincerely. Then he smiled, and clapped him rather gently for a vampire, on his shoulder. "Let's go and do this. "

Paddy watched Eirik take Magnus from the tent, closely followed by Aria and Merlin had gone after them. Although Paddy could potentially be useful if Magnus did shift (although how should would manage that unless she shifted herself, she wasn't sure), she felt she was better off staying put.

"I agree with Kyros," she said, "I guess it just shows how strongly we all feel about House Elves and indeed other members of the magical community who aren't always treated in a way we feel is fair," she added, carefully picking her words to not mention werewolves.

( and anyone else who was still inside at that point!)

"Is it bad that it sounds kinda... fun?" the boy said with honesty. Eirik placed him on his feet, making sure he was steady. "Yes, dad," he said sticking his tongue out at the older boy. And walking back to the pavilion.

"I'm sorry about that, everyone. I 'ave 'ad a calming potion. Me control is off cos tomorrow is the full moon. I got a little more reactive than I normally do. Anyway, er, feel free ta ask questions and all..."

(OOC: Thank you! :D He certainly couldn't hold his own against you two hahahaha)

"Paddy is right. Its quite easy to get carried away when you defend your cause so passionately, and they both made some very good points thanks to that said passion. But, as our friendly Gryffindors here should know better than me, sometimes being too passionate can be harmful. Lesson learnt, I suppose." Kyros smiled, trying to sound cheeky even though he was still quite worried with the whole situation. The best way to defuse tension that he knew of was being humorous, and he hoped that would help to calm down everyone's nerves until the workshop captain returned.

He was then relieved when Magnus and Eirik walked back into the pavillon, followed by Aria. All three seemed fine, though Magnus looked shaken, probably due to his condition. Once Magnus got closer, Kyros politely took his sit back, glad that things were back to normal. Or as normal as they could be in Hogwarts.

"Hey Magnus, are you sure you can continue? I think we'd be fine if you wanted to wrap things up earlier for being unwell."The boy asked, a bit worried that his friend was too weak to continue.