Knock a-Knock Knock

Thomas gulped as he went up to the Fourth Floor. This was an odd idea he supposed, but it had been running through his head for a while, while it could make things twenty times worse, it could make things a little less terrible as well, right? He hoped that would be the case. If it didn't, then Thomas may just have to ask to be either home-schooled or be moved to a different school. As a last resort at least. He was definitely in for trying to tough it out for a while at least. He was finally at the office now, and he took a deep breath before knocking, trying to push the negative thoughts out of his head and focus on the positive ones. He hoped the Headmaster would at least be at the office, if not he doubted he'd have the courage to try again.

Tai was mid way through signing a rather boring declaration when he heard a knock at his door. He had expected such, as the Gargoyles had alerted him of a student's presence by his office entrance.

"Come on in," Tai called, hoping the student would hear him through the heavy wood of the door. He'd hate to have to get up from his chair, him being as comfortable as he was.

Thomas heard the faint call to enter from the other side of the thick wood door, and walked through anxiously, uncertain now as to how to word what he said. "Hello Headmaster." He said first, he had heard the Headmaster was a Slytherin, but he had helped before, so he was pretty sure that things couldn't be too bad. "I apologize for coming straight to you sir, and likely should have asked my own Head of House first but... If I said that I wasn't fitting in well in Slytherin... Would there be anything that could be done?" He asked, trying to not beat around the bush while trying to not act arrogant about it. "I mean, the house is a good one, it's just... I don't think I'm fitting in as well there as I could be in other houses." He said, attempting to explain the situation a little better.

Tai regarded Thomas Celare very carefully. He certainly didn't expect to find a student, a third year to be precise, wanting to change houses. He couldn't recall this ever being accepted, as most students just seemed to accept that they were in the House the Hat chose. Whilst Tai himself enjoyed being in Slytherin, Tom obviously didn't seem to be having such a good time. Tai wanted to rule out any problems the boy might be having with a person in particular, if that were the case of him wanting to move houses. If he seemed to just be having a house problem in general, than Tai may have to think about options for the boy.

"Is there something the matter, Mr Celare? Something you cannot go to your mother about?" Tai didn't blame the boy if he couldn't go to his mother. She would probably feel personally affronted if he wanted to leave her house, which would make the entire situation very awkward for him, he was sure. Better that he came to him.

Thomas bit his lip slightly while waiting for the Headmaster to reply, with each passing second feeling like he was just going to say it was a stupid idea and tell him to leave. He wasn't even sure how he was meant to explain it all... He tried to siphon the important and unimportant parts so he didn't end up babbling, part of him wondered if this would ever even work.

After being asked why, he tried to quickly get his jumbled head into some sense of order. "Well... There was a... Series of unfortunate events, and to put it simply, it was partially due to the influence of the Slytherin House, when I started in First Year, I got by without a scratch, but with each year, it's the sort of thing that becomes harder and harder to avoid, and eventually they got to me." he wasn't trying to say this was Alli's fault, he knew it was his, but he couldn't think of how else to put it. "They planted the ideas, but I took them and ran with them, which started this chain of events, and now I'm doubting I'll be able to stick around there much longer." He finished. He wasn't sure if he had got everything, but it was his hope he had got close enough.

"I'd have told my mother, but she'd likely be extremely disappointed and try to talk me out of asking this, but to be honest, I don't think that's an option." He added on to his original explaination.

Tai leaned back in his chair, intrigued. He had a feeling he knew about these... series of unfortunate events, but let the boy talk. He understood full well how the pressure to live up to the stereotype of the Slytherin house could get to some people. He, himself, as a boy, had pressure placed upon him to act a certain way, to uphold this view that people had of Slytherin students. He would have succumbed but it was due to his friendships in other houses, Erika especially, that kept him true to himself.

"I see," Tai said, knowing that sensitivity would come in handy at this moment. He would have to tread carefully to avoid the boy cracking completely.

"Being a Slytherin can be hard at times. Trust me, I know. I don't want to agree to something like this without you being one hundred percent certain that you can't work things out with your house. The hat chose that house for you for a reason. You may not see that reason just yet, and I'm afraid that your potential may lie within that house. I'm hesitate to move you. It's something I can't go back on. What if you're not happy within the new house I place you in? This is a decision I can't reverse. It's Slytherin now, or another house for the rest of your schooling, Thomas. You'll say goodbye to being a Slytherin forever. Is that something you can do?"

Tai wasn't even sure if he could swap a student from one house to another; especially if that student had already spent nearly three whole years in that house. The other houses would be in an uproar, and Ariana... God, the woman would be a mess.

Tai looked behind him and saw the tattered old Sorting Hat. He wondered if placing it upon Tom's head now would do any difference. If the hat said Slytherin again, than Tai was obliged to stay true to the hat's wishes, but if the hat resorted him, well, Tai would be happy to place Celare into a new house.

Thomas gulped in the next few uneasy moments of silence. He wasn't sure what was going to happen now, either he would tell him to go on his way, ask him about what had happened, or possibly try to understand the issue better. He tried to not twiddle his thumbs out of anxiety, and listened intently to what the Headmaster said next. After he had finished, Thomas honestly wasn't sure what he could say immediately. He thought through it all. He had worked it out with Alli, true, but there was still what had happened, and, as she had already proven, she couldn't stray that far from the stereotypical Slytherin image anyway.

To reverse being Slytherin? He was pretty sure he could take that. The main thing was that he needed to get away from the idea everyone had of Slytherins. He had to accept that the Sorting Hat must have put him there for a reason... But was that reason even valid any more. "Well... Isn't there some way for you to check? Like... Some method in which to re-assess it?" he asked. "I mean, if it's still decided as Slytherin, then obviously I'll have to stay there... But I know I could be right or wrong..." He said, wishing he was able to put that in better terms, but couldn't think of any.

He had a feeling that either way this went, there would be a lot of repercussions to face. He just had to pray that it would be the better set of them.