almost ridiculous.

                            ❛     maths.     ❜    he  mumbled  plainly  before  turning  around  to  face  the  boy.  ah,  betram  aubrey.  the  poor  sod  with  the  giant  head.  although,  adie  thought  sadly,  it’s  back  to  normal  size  again.   ❛     ye  paint     ?     draw     ?    sketch     ?     tap  fuckin’  dance     ?    ❜    adie  thought  momentarily  about  kicking  him  out,  but  he  remained  silent,  even  going  so  far  as  to  offer  him  a  smirk.  they  weren’t  supposed  to  be  alone  anyway.  bleh.

“ --- ha, ” bertram said dryly in response to the other boy’s murmured quip, standing back to regard the canvas with an officious sort of interest. “ --- none of the above, in fact. i find i gain no gratification in such pursuits. i prefer to fill my time with more PRACTICAL pastimes. ” he paused, wondering if his words could be taken as offense. he wasn’t very good at these sorts of things. “ --- not to say, of course, that they are completely useless, ” he amended. “ --- i’m sure individuals such as yourself may find great satisfaction in them. ”

                        mcgonagall  had  some  sort  of  alarm  in  her  head         must’ve  been  why  she  always  wore  such  large  hats         because  she  had  taken  quite  an  interest  in  adie  as  of  late.   he  would  catch  her  staring  at  him  in  the  halls,  watching  the  milk  he’d  pour  at  breakfast,  no  doubt  suspicious  that  it  was  something  else  going  into  his  morning  coffee.  it  was  a  little  annoying,  but  at  least  she  allowed  him  an  independent  study  break.  she  probably  thought  he  would  lose  it  entirely  if  he  couldn’t  concentrate  on  the  things  that  interested  him:  like  putting  black  on  white  canvas.     ❛     ocupado     !      ❜      he  shouted  lazily  as  he  studied  the  large  charcoal  drawing  in  front  of  him.  it  was  so  tall,  in  fact,  that  he  often  had  to  sit  on  his  broom  to  reach  different  parts  of  the  project.     ❛      student  outreach  program  an’  stuff.  i’m  learnin’.     ❜      his  scottish  accent  was  thick  as  always,  made  worse  given  how  nonchalant  he  was.

“ --- a student outreach program ? ” bertram repeated skeptically, eyeing the boy’s canvas. “ --- i’ve never heard of it. for which class ? ” he didn’t quite understand art, but he knew it was proven to help in some sort of psychological way, and he could appreciate the hard work that went into it. except that pollock fellow. bertram could not appreciate his paintings.

          it was all andromeda could think about — the image of her practically falling all over him in the middle of such a public space. what was she THINKING ?  no — the problem here was that she hadn’t been thinking. she’d just been another stupid teenager so caught up in the idea of freedom that she forgot she was always going to be caged. she could barely drag herself out of bed that morning. too afraid that the moment she stepped foot in the halls, a match of rumours would be lit and she would end up on fire. but of course, she couldn’t stay in bed all day. and so she tried her best to blend into the walls, walking and eating and reading in silence, all alone, not even saying hello to a single soul she passed. and she almost made it, too. was almost about to sneak back to her dorm and tuck herself into the privacy of her own bed. if only she hadn’t been so stupid as to run straight into someone in the middle of the staircase.   ❛  bugger — shit,  ❜   she hissed, bending down quickly to collect her books and hopefully move on just as the staircase started shifting, leading her in the completely wrong direction.   ❛  shit, shit, shit —  ❜

there was a hungover haze that hung over the castle that day, one that bertram had thankfully escaped from, due to his own admirable foresight and prudence. although he understood many things, he did not understand his peers’ preoccupation with alcohol and drugs. he’d gone to the party expecting not to enjoy it, and had stayed for approximately five minutes before deciding that as per usual, he had been correct. so, he had left. and a good thing, too, judging by how miserable the castle’s occupants seemed this morning. he was just thinking that when andromeda black walked straight into him, books cascading everywhere. he automatically knelt to help collect them, standing and presenting them to her officiously. “ --- perhaps you should invest in a book bag ? ”

“ --- that was a TRAUMATIZING incident and i’d appreciate if you didn’t make light of my suffering. ”

“ — when i won the spelling bee in third grade. sarah goldstein thought she was guaranteed the title, with her colourful flash cards. HA ! what a fool. i could spell circles around her. and i did. flash cards aren’t everything, sarah. ”

NICO MIRALLEGRO —— well, if it isn’t BERTRAM AUBREY, the HUFFLEPUFF superstar. for those of you who don’t know HIM, you can spot them sitting with the other SEVENTH years. most people think that they’re CANDID and RESILIENT, but they can also seem pretty SELF-RIGHTEOUS and PESSIMISTIC. sometimes people call them the PEDANT. sure, they’re a MUGGLEBORN, but that doesn’t define them.