Desperate Measures

Karma sat on top of the table in the restricted section, flipping through a thick tome on Demons. Around her were scattered other books on the subject of summoning and banishing and bidding with and selling your soul to... not that she was thinking of doing that... probably.

Her dark brown eyes flashed as she came across a certain passage, slipping a small peice of parchment into the book and setting it aside, keeping it open on the flat surface of the table. She pulled a different book toward her, eyeing the passage she'd picked, and pulling out another bit of parchment, glancing from the book to her parchment as she took more notes.

When bidding with demons, it is important to check all and any other options. Demons are not the most forgiving creatures, and they certainly want more than they bargan for.

Snorting at the understatement, Karma continued to write, switching from book to book as she continued to collect her information. Kama purred within her, advising her as nothing more than a whisper in the back of her mind. Karma nodded along to her words, loving the plan forming in her mind's eye. With a smirk, she started to close the books, stacking them in a neat pile before perching on the table next to them, opening the small journal that had been the only thing left.

She started to read it, smirking at the scientific observations in the beginning. She didn't know the name of the author, nor the reasons why he wanted to bid with a demon. All was revealed in the sorrow-filled love story of a journal, and by the time she was half way through, she was intranced.

She glanced away from the journal as the sound of footsteps reached her ears, shoving the small book deep into her knapsack.

"Who's there?" She asked, sounding more than a bit annoyed. It had just started to get good.

It had been quite awhile since Certh had been tasked with something - which ended up not really working out because nobody needed the knife. He was getting bored. He'd already killed a centaur in the forest, and wounded another student in the process, but hoped he'd not get expelled for that little act. He had Jessica to spend time with, though - but there were times when he wanted to be alone, like in that instant as he walked through the fifth and sixth floors, rather bored out of his skull.

He saw a few students lurking around in the corridor just outside of the library, sent them a rather menacing look before popping his head into the library to see who exactly was in there. It wasn't very full: only a couple here and there reading through books and such - but somewhere caught his eye, sign that read: The Restricted Section. He thought, with a name like that - how could you not go snooping around? So he made his way through, avoiding teachers and such, it was rather easier then he thought it'd be. But slowly, his attention shifted to Karma who was sitting reading a book about demons or something - Certh didn't know, he didn't get a good look.

"Nothing to worry about, Karma. It's only me" He said, bringing a smirk up onto his lips. "What're you doing in the restricted section?"

"Research, of course." She said with a wide smile, hopping off the desk and taking the pile of books with her. "Can't be hatching plans without being properly knowing int the subject." She placed the books in a reshelving bin and returned to the boy, not batting an eye when the books all disappeared off to their correct places all throughout the library.

"How's life been, Certhie?" She asked, settling back onto the table. "Anything exciting happen?" She dug into her knapsack, searching, before taking out a small wrapped box and tossing it in his direction. "For you. Merry Christmas."

The smirk remained on his deathly white twelve year old face. "Research, huh? In the restricted section - what was it that you were looking for, exactly?" He asked, his curiosity seemed spiked as his head tilted to the right. "Two things. What plans, and can I get in on them?"

"Life has been rather - pleasant." He said, lowering his voice now to something a little louder then a whisper. "Killed a Centaur - wounded another student, nothing really exciting" His head moved back into the upright position, just in time too - as something, a box, was tossed in his direction. "Thanks" He said, back to her - a small smile showed on his face. He'd never been given a present before by someone else in the school. It felt.. nice, but he didn't want it to overtake him - he preferred feeling angry and 'cut off' from people, and the world.

He shook it in his right hand a few times: it sounded like something metal, a little bit of clinging could be heard from inside the box as he pressed his ear to the wrapping. His eyes moved from the box to Karma's face, a somewhat curious look on his face before he tore off the wrapping paper and opened the lid. It was a knife - not just any knife, though. Something customized to fit Certh. There was a snake emblazoned on the handle in green emeralds - it actually looked a lot like Zasha, his pet snake that he kept in the forest. A smile grew on his face - bigger then the last, it was definitive, almost spreading completely from ear to ear. "Wow - I love it."

"You'll know as soon as I do." Karma said with a grin. "I have to make sure they're at least half-plausible first. Wouldn't want you to get your hopes up so early." She laughed. "But I'll need an accomplice, and since you've been waiting..."

"You've killed a Centaur already? I'm so proud." She grinned at him, more proud than she could possibly express. The boy was the right choice, she knew that now, and he was the best of the litter. Better than Sergiy, by any chance.

"You really like it?" She asked, perking up. "I had to search all over for it. Added the designs and sharpened it myself." a slight frown crossed her features. "Would have forged it too, but figured you wanted Goblin-made." She shrugged. "Never needs to be sharpened now." She reached into her bag again, and tossed him another little box, this one noticeably lighter. "And a present for your present." She said with another grin.

She nodded at the weapon, pulling out her own dagger, the onyx blade glinting in the light. "I can give you a lesson in how to use that, if you want." She offered. "Or at least walk you through my basic training exercises."

His head nodded in an up and down motion, the black locks movements were non-existent: could have been his lack of personal hygiene from his lack of sleep over everything that had happened recently - or just because he used too much hair gunk. "Well now. What fun would that be, being plausible?" He asked her, with a somewhat stern voice. It was true, nothing that was 'easy' wasn't fun - it was too boring.

But yet, he nodded to her - his mind shot back to that moment for only a few seconds. He was there, in the forest with Eva (a huffleypuff mudblood) and, after being ignored by her (which he didn't like) sent his snake, Zasha, after the Centaur to kill, and later turned and began attacking the hufflepuff after she tried, and failed, to pull the snake off the half-breed. "yeah, it wasn't really much - he didn't put up a fight at all." He told her with a smirk now spreading onto his lips after the smile had already vanished.

"yeah, I love it. I've never really gotten anything this - extravagant? Before. It's nice, to know that people like me enough to spend money on me" But yet, he had forgotten to get anything for Karma, even if he did only know her for a few months. He quickly shook his head, knocking the thought out the ear socket. His body jumped a little as another box was thrown at him - it appeared to hover lightly in the air, and not sink like the previous. Once again he ripped open the paper and lifted the lid, inside was a Sheath, for his snake-encrested knife. "Do you have anything else hidden up those long sleeves of yours?" He asked her, in a joking tone, and slid the Sheath into his robes pocket.

His head bobbed again, up and down to her request. "That would be quite nice, Karma. I've never had a knife before - no, only a wand and a -" He paused, wanting to clasp a hand to his mouth to hide the fact he had a snake in the forest. "But enough of this wishywashy nuttyness. What was it you were researching?"

Karma laughed. "Just plausible enough not to get one or both of us killed." She said pleasantly.

"Good to know you like it." She said with a grin, crossing her legs underneath her on the table. "Nothing else, I'm afraid. Couldn't give you a knife without the sheath though." She flicked her wrist, tossing the dagger up in the air before catching it again easily. "Don't worry about the money. I'm filthy rich, heir to generations and generations of... just.. piles of money... and it just got bigger, thanks to my recent adoption." She grinned.

"Oh. Right." She tossed him another box, grinning. "That ones not for you, though." She said with a grin. "It's for your snake." She shrugged. "It's food. Don't tell her though. Want it to be a surprise."

"Oh, it's no problem at all. I need a sparring partner anyway, and this way I don't have to fight all the time." She smiled again.

She cocked her head to the side. "Just bargaining skills." She said with a slight smile. "Can't have them go bad, can I?"

A sigh escaped his mouth, just loud enough for her to hear. "What, are you scared?" He asked, enunciating the scared in somewhat of a baby-sounding voice.

"Yeah - it will go nice with my other, well, nothing. But being goblin made is a very useful tidbit of information. Takes in only that which makes it stronger - very useful, especially here at Hogwarts. You never know who is stalking around a Corridor." His head moved, following the direction of the knife as it jumped up and fell back down. "Must be nice - having that apparent 'load.' Although I'm rich, from the sounds of it you are far more then myself."

Even though he had been caught off guard more in the past five minutes then he had his whole life - he jumped as the box hit him, acting on reflex he reached his hand up and caught it before it fell. "How'd you know 'bout Zasha? Nobody seems to know but me and Ars-" Again, he wanted to cover his mouth with his hand at speaking the name. "Bargaining skills? Planning to make a demon deal?"

Karma stuck her tongue out at him. "Wanting to live and being afraid are two completely different things." She said with a smirk. "You're welcome to just run into dangerous situations, but coming back is a must. This plan may just be the death of me, and maybe the death of you too." She shook her head. "I won't take that chance... until it's at least 1 to 10."

"Of course I know about your snake." She said with a smile. "I'm not blind. You're a parseltongue. All Parseltongues have snakes." She shrugged. "Give her my best, won't you?"

Her eyes narrowed slightly, and she raised an eyebrow. "You've been talking to Arsen." She stated, crossing her legs and clasping her hands on her lap, the very picture of calm observer. "What could you have possibly had to talk about?" Karma knew Arsen's dislike of her games, and her pets, and her firsties. Building a kingdom from the ground up didn't seem to interest him in the least. Karma, however, knew better than to think that the human race would just roll over and take a new leader. She'd need to wane her way into the social circles of man, and this would be a way to do it. Besides, every King needed a Kingsguard, and she'd feel much better if she picked them herself.

A small smile broadened on her face. "Did he try to get you to agree to something?"

She winked. "That's for me to know... and you to possibly find out later."

He raised an eyebrow at her tongue expression - was she teasing him, he thought as his head bobbed in agreement. "All great plans have a low chance of living, though - Karma" He told her, in a somewhat mature voice. He appeared more mature then a normal twelve year old - he had his own snake and was already enthralled in the different schemes and such by the different students.

He smirked gently to her reply. "How did you find out?" He asked - puzzled. He believed that he was hiding it well from his peers (being a parseltongue), so that nobody would suspect. But it appeared not to work.

"Did I say that? I don't recall - I just mentioned his name, nothing else really, except for that he, too, knows about my snake. He found me out in the forbidden forest one day - it was raining, so he called me into a cave and we had a little chat. Nothing really of importance, though." He nodded to her second question. "you know, this should really be between you two - though. No sense in me getting killed before I can even take part in that plan of yours which sounds very quite brilliant"

The wink, for some reason, had caused a little pinkness to appear to his cheeks - even though he knew that all he was to Karma was a soldier, or a pet. "But now, what fun would it be to go in without all of the facts?"

"Not as low as this one." She said, smirking. "It's currently a suicide mission."

Karma's grin grew, and she cocked her head to the side. "Why, I made an assumption, and you just never denied it of course." She shrugged. "You could have just as easily said you had no snake, and you couldn't speak Parseltongue... but you said you did. And I know you do anyway." She nodded to the shadows between two bookshelves at the far end of the room, smirking at the large bright yellow eyes that glowed from there. You couldn't see the rest of the panther, but Karma knew she was there. "Nightmare found her once. She could smell that she belonged to you."

She twirled a strand of her hair around her finger. "So he did ask you something." She said, smiling softly at him. She let out a laugh, her eyes twinkling with mirth. "Well, he wouldn't kill you if you did what he asked, and I won't kill you, because you belong to me, remember?" She frowned. "I don't buy gifts for those I'll kill later. It's a waste of money."

She grinned. "You can tell me, Certh." She cooed, her pupils dilating slightly. She was careful not to use Compulsion on him. Not yet. "I won't tell Arsen you did." She smiled. "I keep you safe, remember?"

The boy really did amuse her. She'd known he had potential, but the blatant lust for power she could see in his expression, his eagerness for the most dangerous of missions... it was rare, to say the least. She shrugged a shoulder, the small little half grin still in place. "Would you like to help get the info?" She asked, cocking her head to the side slightly. "We could meet here... every so often."

Certh took a slight glance around at the mention of a something called Nightmare - before laying his eyes on two glowing bulbs, and cocked his head to the side. "So - you have a pet too. Wasn't expecting something that big. Usually students have owls, or -" He chuckled lightly "toads"

His head stood back up to it's original position at the mention of Arsen again. "No - not really asked. More like offered me something" His hand reached into his pocket, then pulled out the snake-encrusted knife that Karma had given him, the emeralds glistening off the hilt from the light overhead. His eyes appeared to have an unwavering amount of delight, as he was unable to tear his sight away from the emeralds. "He - he asked me to... join his side, and leave you. But he wouldn't go into any further detail then that" He felt rather bad though, for betraying Arsen's trust - if it could even be called that.

His head nodded once, and his eyes were drawn to the book that Karma had put down. "yes - I would very much like to help in this task. The other one didn't work out, but it gives more drive to prove my success further. Not only to you though, no, to everyone around here." He paused, his eyes now moving over to meet Karma's almond brown eyes. "One little thing though. Wouldn't we get caught? Or atleast me. I don't want to get expelled from Hogwarts - not just yet, still things to do"

"She's just a kitten." Karma said, watching as the panther slunk back into the shadows. Nightmare had been becoming fonder of her panther form of late, but it wasn't bothering Karma much. It made her feel safer. She tsked at him. "And the word is 'Familiar'. Nightmare is more than a pet."

"He said that?" She asked curiously. Her voice held nothing but curiosity, but her eyes had darkened to a dark chocolate. Kama's words were coming out of her mouth now, seeming smoother, more persuasive. "That's good, then." She said, a grin widening. "You can be on his side, if you want." She said with a shrug. "I'll just need my knife back." She reached out her hand for it, before pausing. "That is, unless you want to keep it..."

Something in her eyes flashed, and Kama was grinning, looking smug. "You could always, you know, go to his side, and keep the knife." She swung her legs back and forth over the edge of the table. "You wanted a dangerous mission? Then you can be my eyes and ears. You aren't spying on Arsen, don't worry, I'd never ask that of you. You just are mine. I can have you, and he can use you. You'll get your fill, and the whole school will know your name by your fourth year." She smiled angelically, her eyes lightening rapidly. "It's a win-win situation. And if, say, Arsen and I take over the world, why, you'll be the Right Hand of the King... and the Queen." She played with her fingers, making shapes out of them and intertwining and unwinding them.

"Oh. Did he say to leave my side as in... leave me alone?" She asked, cocking her head to the side. She hadn't even been aware there'd been sides. She'd assumed that her and Arsen were a combined front, but apparently, she was wrong. Well, two could play at that game.

Karma grinned, her eyes lighter once more. "Why, of course not, Certh." She said, winking again. "The first thing I'll teach you is not to get caught. Getting the job done is all well and good, but there's no point if you get in trouble. No, then you're being watched out for later, and that can get in the way of future plans." She shook her head. "I'll teach you how to stay hidden, and how to be almost silent. It's easy as breathing once you practice enough."

"A kitten? She's bigger then my snake -" He shot a quick glance around the restricted section, hoped nobody had heard him before lowering his voice to just a little louder then a whisper. "A Familiar? What's a Familiar - never heard the term before. I hope it isn't a muggle term, I hate them" He said, anger could be noted in his voice. It stayed existent through his speech, but was further heightened by the thought of them common folk.

Certh looked somewhat blankly to her as he noticed her eye color changed - something he had never seen before, was she a metamorph-whatever? He thought, before quickly dismissing it and breathing emotion back into his face. Both of his eyebrows raised on his face as his face looked a little confused - why keep the knife? "Thanks - but I would rather hold on to it." He paused, but kept his gaze fixed on her eyes. "are you sure - that you wanted to give this to me? It seems more of a loan then a gift, or perhaps a bribe, by the way you are talking"

A smirk passed over his lips at the sound of the dangerous mission - but it did not seem the way she described it. He'd killed a Centaur, almost killed a huffleypuff, hexed a fellow slytherin and found the Room of Requirement all on his own; and most of those before Christmas. "Fourth year, you say? No chance of speeding that up a tad? But of course, I would need the knowledge of spells and such to defend myself - have any students try to hex me, I wouldn't want to show up with warts covering my face" He said, motioning to his rather handsome - albeit young face. "But yes, that sounds like it could be great fun" a small smile grew, replacing the smirk that had been there previously. "But, I do have one request. A girl, Slytherin - same year as me. Once, as you say, I am 'famous', she will need help - too." He told Karma, sighing a little. Nobody really knew about his infatuation with Jessica Lupin, except for maybe a select few that she had 'gossiped' about, or whatever it is that the girls call it.

His curiosity though seemed to peak. "As in - leave team karma and instead join team half demon. Or that was what I gathered from it"

The smile had since vanished - but what showed itself was something a little more.. wicked. Something that could be seen as if his face was that of a snake. A grin, or a smirk passed over his mouth. "Well then, I thank you in advance." He said, his head nodding once. "What is it, though? A disillusionment charm?"

Karma grinned. "Most muggle terms about us came from us ourselves, you know." She said, looking upward. "A Familiar is more than a pet. It's a companion, a protector. Everything short of a Daemon. Familiars die with their masters, and they protect them with every breath they take." She shrugged. "Nightmare will always be more like family to me than a pet. All my Pets are human."

She laughed. "I just said it, Snake. I don't give gifts to those I have to kill later. So if you were going to switch sides on me, you can't have it, because I can't guarantee I wasn't going to have to kill you." She smiled. "It was a test, and you passed, whether by luck or otherwise." She held up two fingers. "Rule number two : Never give up your knife. Not for anything. Not even if I order it away from you. Not even if Arsen threatens to kill you, not even if you have to drop it in a hostage situation. You. Keep. Your. Knife. On. You. You can fight unarmed, if you want, but you never take it off. Never."

She smiled, shaking her head. He was such an eager Firstie. She wished her last two had been like him. "No." She said, grinning. "Fourth year is your best bet. You will have just grown into your looks, and would know just enough magic that I can begin to teach you more complex spells... more complex than I'm planning to teach you before then, that is." She smiled. "By then, since I'll be out of school, and so will Arsen, you'll have to take the reins yourself.... and you can even bring your little friend with you. What was her name... Lupin right?" She smiled, opening her arms in a spreading motion. "Don't be so surprised. I have informants everywhere. I like to know what's going on in my school."

Karma bit back the growl trying to wedge itself out of her throat, keeping her smile in place. "Well." She said, clearing her throat and swinging her legs again. "In that case. Join Team Half Demon." She said. "But know you're on Team Half Fang." A small part of her, the farthest part from Kama, whispered that there were no teams, that Arsen and her were one. Team Fire Fang. But Kama reminded her to trust no one, and that's exactly what she did.

Karma scoffed. "Disillusion Charms are for the weak and weary. You need to be able to seep into the shadows without being noticed, and without the use of magic. Without the charm weighing you down, your magic would be much more powerful... and cleaner too." She smiled. "But that, it would seem, is a lesson for another day."

Certh frowned slightly - even just discussing things about those filthy muggles upset him, made him want to upset the tower of books that lay beside him. "yeah - they are too normal to come up with any original things by themselves" A smirk ghosted across his face, before quickly vanishing. "Zasha, then, could fall under that group" His voice now calm - not like when he was discussing the muggles, no. He cared for his snake deeply, like it was a family member.

He nodded to her, his eyes moving from book to book in her stack. "Thanks for that vote of confidence, Karma - but the way you describe the knife, it sounds like it is enchanted with some sort of curse or otherwise." He paused, and took another look to the blade of his new present. "Is it?"

Certh walked forward to another table that was just left of Karma's, and leaned his back up against it, while his front faced the slytherin girl and he crossed his arms. "Great - that sounds like a plan. I am hoping, sometime, to build myself up to lor-" But he paused suddenly. Swearing he had heard footsteps, he quickly shifted his weight and turned his body around, only to see nothing there. "Well that is handy, I think - spies." He said calmly turning back around to face her, a smirk growing on his sly lips.

His right eyebrow raised slightly at the mention of both teams. "So - what, I will be on both teams. But just a simple question: are there even separate teams?" He asked her, his curiosity appearing to rise as both of his eyebrows now raised. "That sounds too simple - is there any magic involved in this skill?"

Karma grinned. "There was never any doubt." She stated simply.

She laughed. "No. Not yet anyway. Feel free to enchant or curse it as you would. It's your knife, just don't pawn it off."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "It's only the librarian." She said simply. "She's too far away to hear us talking, and she won't come this way. No one ever does." She smirked slightly. "They aren't spies exactly." She said, grinning. "More like... Spiders." She shrugged again. "They aren't aware that they're giving me information, they just are."

She glanced sideways at him, turning her head slightly to keep him in her sight. "What are you planning over there, Snake?"

She smirked. "You'll know soon enough." She promised. "Magic?" She asked, smirking. "Sure, there's magic, but do it enough, and it becomes second nature. You won't even notice the drain on your core anymore."

He nodded to her grin; he liked his snake - perhaps even loved it, like a sister which he had never had.

He smirked slightly. "By the way you talk about it, I just thought there would be some sort of weapon absorbed within it - So it's just a normal knife, then?" He asked, "But I do love it - Thanks" He told her, his voice in a type of sympathetic tone.

"Oh okay" He said, in reply to her comment about the librarian. "So I guess they just expect students not to break into the restricted section while there is only one person looking around?" His voice in a somewhat hint of amusement hissing off. "you must be pretty good then, Karma" He told her bluntly, taking another look at his knife. "What do you mean?" Certh knew he shouldn't have let that piece slip - he had an uncle who was currently on the run, but knew he'd help him when he could.

"By the sounds of it, you are just streaming me along like a - whatever it is muggles use to stream people along" He said, smirking. His voice was becoming a little angrier, just at the thought. "That sounds easy, but by the sounds of it - it could take years"

Karma raised an eyebrow. "Do you not know the principles of Goblin-Made Weapons?" She asked. "It is far from a normal knife." She rolled her eyes. "In fact, it's a dagger, not a knife. Know the difference."

"Not in this section of the Restricted Section, they don't." She murmured with a suave smile. "I persuaded them into thinking that this entire section is irrelevant. Boring. No one would be here."

Karma cocked her head to the side. "You can tell me your plans, you know." She said with an easy smile. "There is nothing wrong with telling others... or at least me. I'm the main plan maker, you know. I could help you out."

"Streaming you along?" She asked, swinging her feet. "Where'd all that trust go, Snake? I thought we had something special." She looked up at the ceiling, resting back on her hands. "I just don't want you running off before the plan is full-proof..." She smirked. "Or quarter-proof, or whatever." Her eyes returned to him. "In case you keep missing the memo, I need you alive."

He smirked gently, with what looked like a wisp of sincerity. "Yes, I know the principles of goblin-made weapons, Karma. They take in only that which makes it stronger, my parents told me" He told her, only then realizing what it truly was he had had in his grasp - a perfect weapon, which he looked at for another moment. "Fine then - a dagger." His tone went now to somewhat of a sarcastic one, not pulling his gaze from the weapon.

His hand was brought down to his side, still holding the dagger. "Well they are just as stupid as muggles then, aren't they? Not believing that this section houses the majority of dark art books and the like, it is a gold mine for dark wizards" He stood up, done leaning on the table behind him as he made his way over to Karma and her stack of books, before grasping the cover of one and opening the large; discolored guide. "yea - you and Arsen both, but I can't be honest with you when you aren't being very honest with me now can I?" He asked her, sternly, flipping through the pages. "What trust?" He paused, closing the book with a rather loud slam and tossed it onto the table where the other snake was sitting. "Oh - that trust. Well - do you trust me, even to guard your precious plan?" His eyes drifted from the table up to her face. "I must be important then, to your little plan. What is it again - making deals with demons?"