Cruel was not a word Clue associated with his young life; for while it was apt, it was also uncannily simple. He did not identify himself by his traumas, but sometimes that cruelty insisted. Hence Professor Valenduris regarding him now, and likely seeing nothing but a lost, broken victim of cruelty.

He shook his head right away, not willing to imagine even for a second that Mr Hatchet could still be in his life. "No, I was passed from home to home for a while. Now I live in a house with other orphans", he explained dully.

Briefly surprised but grateful, Clue took the chocolate and nibbled at a corner. "Thanks..." he murmured, as the bitter flavour filled him and grounded him. He felt the professor's cloak and the cool ground clearer than ever, and a breeze ruffled his hair. He wasn't at Mr Hatchet's, he wasn't at Mrs Spragg's... yes, there were cruel boys at Hogwarts who'd forced him into a log bin, but he was still safer here than he'd ever been.