`

Hugo smiled. Yes, he liked to read. And while he was used to his reading habits typically gaining him some popularity with professors, it usually only lasted until his grades started coming back. Then it was all downhill.

“Right. Thank you.” he said, returning the stack back to order. “But, well, I didn’t drop them because of obstructed vision. I can usually handle it. Kinda an off-day.”

She didn’t doubt his words in the least, but she did raise an eyebrow in question. “An off-day? How so?” she asked. “You don’t need to be sent to the hospital wing, do you?”

Dominique did her best to not roll her eyes, though it was really difficult. “I said I did the assignment,” she repeated. “It’s not that surprising.”

 “Ah. Excellent.” Dominique was one of Cressida’s more difficult students, but this seemed to be a pleasant surprise. “Well then, I’m looking forward to reading it. Are you going to hand it over?”

.“I admit I am a joy to be around, though I doubt my attending this one event will change anything about my demeanor,” he said in his attempt to joke, the joke itself being lost with his serious voice and his stern expression.

She snickered, amused by the mental image. “Oh, please don’t let it. Imagine that. After everything that I’ve tried, it’s this one Halloween party that gets you.”

She briefly looked over in the direction to spot whom she had been referring to before focusing back on her. “Oh, thank you,” she replied looking down at her costume. She had managed t find it in a small shoppe a year prior and had never really used it. Earlier that night she had nearly chosen to wear her signature red hooded cape, but then thought better of it since she could easily imagine the looks she would have gotten at her claims that it was a red riding hood costume, and decided to wear the feathered dress. “Do you suppose they’ll have something fun for us to do?”

“Oh, they better,” Cressida said, her appetite for fun never having lessened throughout the years. Good fun never did get old, and it did keep them all young at heart. “If not for the sake of fun, then they can always say that it’s for team building.”

He thought himself a bit foolish to not have recognized her and known she wasn’t a student, but of course that never registered in his features, not a single bit. He was donned in a police chief costume, which suited him quite nicely if he did say so himself. “Whether or not people wait for me is no concern of mine. They shouldn’t be focused on that, instead of enjoying their time,” he said with a dismissive wave of a hand as he approached her, deciding to follow her back to the party.

She chuckled. It was always interesting conversing with Antares. His expression rarely ever changed, but that only meant that Cressida had to pay closer attention to his nuances. “Oh, they’re enjoying themselves. But why not enjoy it with you as well, Chief?” she asked, winking as she referenced his costume. “All work and no play would make you a dull boy.”

“Er–” Evangeline didn’t really think that it would just happen. But, it seemed pointless to say so. “Sure. Maybe. Yeah.”

She would do more to help the student if it wasn’t as late as it was, but Cressida wasn’t exactly eager to leave her post at that moment. It was still too soon after Peeves had caused trouble. “Well, it would be good to head to your dorms soon. I won’t be taking any house points from you tonight, but you never know if you’ll run into someone who would.”

Cricket nodded. “I’ll see you in class, Professor Cressida.” 

“That’s still Professor Ellesmere to you inside the classroom,” she said, though there was a hint of a smile on her face. She enforced the same rule with her nephew and her godchild and everyone in between, after all.

“Maybe. Maybe not.” Evangeline shifted on her feet. “I guess I’ll just have to go to sleep and look tomorrow.” Though she knew she’d have a hard time sleeping without it. 

“That would probably be the simplest option, yes,” Cressida said with a nod. “Sometimes things just turn up eventually when we’re not looking for them too. If you’re lucky, it might just happen, who knows.”

“But she’s not here. And Jonah gets busy.” 

She stayed patient despite the conversation getting a little cyclical, a gentle smile coming to her face as she looked over towards him. “Well, if you ever need an ear, my office is open to you, Mr. Parkinson.”

“I have my mum.” 

She shrugged. “Two is even better.”

As far as Evangeline knew, that vast majority of the wizarding community were not religious. She had no idea if it was something that people would look down on. “N-Never mind.”

She noted the student’s reluctance. “You’re not going to get in trouble for being religious, you know,” she said. “But I understand if you’d rather not talk about it.”

“I have my brother.” Because that’s all he felt he had. 

“That’s good. Many don’t realize it, but one is already plenty,” she said.

jeremy almost wished he’d kept his mouth shut. but, he knew that – despite her saying otherwise – he did owe her some sort of thank you. and, the potions classroom could get a bit messy at times. “don’t worry, professor. i’ll show up bright and early before classes start. then, it’ll be up to you whether my time will be put to good use or not,” he said, smile and words teasing.