dancing on bones (our souls of iolites and emeralds)

Chapter 22

"Not now, Dudley," Vernon replied softly. Even he had learnt by now what happened when Dudley was onto something about Kusuo. Dudley was even worse than one of Marge's dogs with a bone.

"Tell me," Dudley demanded. "Tell me, tell me, tell me, tell me, tell me, tell me-"

"Dudley," the teacher took this chance to speak up loudly. She did not know what was happening but clearly it was something. Something she could take advantage of. "We are talking about getting Felix tested. Into a better class. He is very intelligent, isn't he?"

Dudley beamed. "Yes! Cousin is very good. At everything," he whispered conspiratorially. "He teaches me words too! Better than you."

And Harry nodded, smile warm and bright as he clinged to his brother, "Yes he is! Fae is the best!"

Kusuo was very proud. He couldn't have done it better himself.

"Felix is very responsible. You care very much for your cousin, Felix ?" The teacher asked.

"Yes." Kusuo nodded. "Dudley was having problems. No one was helping him. So I did."

"Very observant," she praised. Vernon and Petunia looked at each other in a silent conversation.

"If," Vernon started, "if we decide to get the boy tested, how much would it cost?"

"Not much at all!" The teacher beamed and started discussing the particulars with the Dursley adults. Next to Kusuo, Dudley looked over for praise and herewarded him with a fond headpat.

Finally, he would be able to get out from the kids class. Surely talking to ten or twelve year olds would be better than six. Japan didn't have a system for skipping grades before the first two years of high school. Kusuo, for all that he despised that he the deity, or god, or whatever the hell it was that sent him here, was so very grateful his second life was in Britain.

//

The next important dilemma Kusuo faced was... what to score in the 'highly able children' test the Dursleys had reluctantly funded. Being all of 6 years and 7 months, there were not many tests that could be used to identify and quantify his 'intelligence'.

And whatever else Kusuo had kept a detailed record of in his previous life, the quantifying standards of gifted children was not one of them.

Just how many correctly identified words would land him in the IQ range he wanted? How many general knowledge questions would get him into the class two grades above him? How many puzzles could a 6 year old 'highly able' child reasonably solve? What would be the accepted memory retention for someone who does not have a photographic memory but has instead trained themself up to have excellent recall?

How many codes and symbols can he solve in the given time so he won't be moved to a completely different school from his people?

It was the fourth most challenging experience in Kusuo's new life.

//

The other three challenging experiences?

The death of his family (he hates himself for failing them oh god lily and james he's so fucking sorry) ranked first. Far above the others.

The second was the first twenty-four hours of his consciousness.

The third was the time Dudley had asked for the twins to be moved to his room. Vernon had not been pleased his child wanted to be next to his 'freak' nephew. Petunia had been hysterical. Dudley, all of five years old and lonely from being moved to a new pre-KG, had thrown a tantrum that proved his blood-ties to Vernon. Toys thrown and broken, broken wooden blocks and splinters across the floor, and the favorite child in the house breathless from the sobs that had racked his body for an hour straight.

Harry had actually been the one to calm Dudley down, his small, brown hand stroking his cousin's back as the raven-haired boy kissed him on the top of his blond head, the way Kusuo did for him whenever he was sad. And Kusuo sat down nextm to them and ruffled his cousin's hair. And Petunia had a resigned look on her face as she and Vernon gave in to Dudleys' first serious demand.

It was not the last time they did so either. They gave in rather quick every time after, not wanting their darling son to overextend himself again.

//

Kuso doesn't know how well he had done on the test. The results were good enough for the school to move him up to the last year of primary school. He had the tag of being a 'highly able' child. The company of kids was replaced by the company of no-less-intolerable adolescents. His new teachers were much more willing to bend to his learning curve than his KG teachers had been.

Kusuo's favorite teacher was still his primary school homeroom teacher. She had stood up to the Dursleys and, Kusuo later realized, had applied for a subsidy for his testing from the school. That reduced cost and attention from the school administration was the only reason Vernon and Petunia had allowed for him to be tested. Kusuo still visited her during recess and acted the part of a shy, admiring child to his fullest capability.

The action also gave him a chance to meet Harry and Dudley. It was a win-win all around, as far as Kusuo was concerned.

The only upset in hos fairly okay life? Kusuo's lacking general knowledge regarding the 1980s UK. His only source of current general knowledge were Vernon's highly biased news programs and he doubts that most teachers actively think about the political-economic state of the world while dealing with children. And....

What was he complaining about again?

Oh right! Kusuo really missed the widespread internet network of the 2000s.

A/N

What do you think about the new cover? 

And I'm super excited for my Holiday break (starting next week). School is suffering.

Drink water, eat well, and get some sleep. I love you all ❤️