nothing lasts

“Well I don’t exactly see anyone else around with two free hands.”

“Then in that case, what was it you wanted? I wasn’t exactly paying attention.”

“Ditto to that, me near Slytherin common room is a cause for disaster.” She shook her head lightly, chuckling. “I tend to avoid the meaner students, I don’t mesh well with them.” She paused for a moment. “Do you think it was a spell? That knocked you over, I mean.”

“It was most likely a variation of the knockback jinx. Though, it couldn’t have been cast at the exact moment, as I would have caught the culprit quite easily then.” His hands move to the tie around his neck as he speaks, working their way towards removing it, or at least loosening it enough that he can breathe. “Most people don’t mess well with meaner students, because they’re, well, mean.”

“Ouch, tough guy are we? I’d love to see you try.”

“I’m sure you would, but believe it or not, I’d rather not stoop to a level as low as yours today.”

“Then I guess I’ll just have to go back to calling you attractive then. If you think calling me unintelligent is the smart thing to do.”

“Fine then. As immature as it is, I’ll have to resort to calling you brainless until I think of something better.”

“I didn’t either.” Cat knew people like him; there were a lot of them back home, but they were usually bitchy girls who went each day feeling so insecure they had to insult others to feel better about themselves. This boy just seemed bitter. As he was about to leave, the dark haired girl turned away, until his voice made her snap back round. “The Great Hall. For lunch.”

“That would be this way. C’mon.” Of course she would want to go to the very place he had been heading, and while Jackson doesn’t exactly want a tag-al-ong, he rolls his eyes and decides it will be his one good deed for the day. Though small talk certainly isn’t his specialty, he figures it’s better to try than to walk in an awkward silence the whole way to lunch. “Where’d you transfer from?”

Grier felt like she should take offense, but she didn’t, having been a victim of Gryffindor tricks a few times she could actually agree. “That’s true, but at least our pranks aren’t as harmful as Slytherin’s, they pull some nasty ones for sure.” She smiled. “But I do agree with you on the Ravenclaw part, Ravenclaw’s and Hufflepuff’s are usually the peace keepers with such things.”

“Which is precisely why you’ll never catch me anywhere near Slytherin territory. It’s a risk I’d rather not take.” And not just because there was the danger of pranks. Every smart muggleborn knew to keep their distance from the dungeons. “Of course, I do know some nasty Ravenclaws too, but I don’t know about the Hufflepuffs.” Some might consider Jackson to be one of the nasty Ravenclaws. Even as he spoke to the girl he could only assume was a Gryffindor, he was determining how he could find who it was who caused his fall.

“If you’re sure…I’ts not your fault they fell you know.”

“I- yeah, look, I’m helping okay? I’ll only end up feeling guilty later if I don’t.”

“Well you were attractive…until I discovered you were a heathen…do you not like being called attractive?”

“If I liked it, do you think I’d be telling you to stop? And I thought we’d already determined I’m not a heathen, or or you so unintelligent that you’ve already forgotten?”

“But you were..are…”

“I am not. And even if I was, I told you not to call me that so just don’t.”

“Are you joking?” Kara walked out of her room, stumbling a little in the heels. “When have you ever seen me wear something like this?”

“I don’t ever think I’ve paid attention to what you wear.” Hazel eyes rove about the room, unsure where to settle in his discomfort. “So, who are you trying to impress?”

Lily stumbled back from the impact, but began to steady herself after a moment. Only while brushing herself off did she register the boy’s comment. “My head isn’t in the clouds,” she responded, annoyed. And it wasn’t, honestly. Just because she was lost in thought didn’t mean she wasn’t thinking clearly.

He had been about to continue down the hall when he heard her reply, and it was with a roll of his eyes that he turned back towards her, the annoyance clear in his voice. All Jackson had wanted was to get to class without being bothered, but it didn’t seem to be possible to accomplish in the halls of the wizarding school. “If your head isn’t in the clouds, then where is it? Because it doesn’t seem to be anywhere in the vicinity.”

“You sound like a bloody Slytherin.” She mumbled, rolling her eyes once again. “Well, at least you don’t have to worry about me anymore. Unless you’d like to chew me out some more, I was just leaving.”

“Oh, wait, let me guess, you’re a Gryffindor, aren’t you? That might explain the insult of Slytherins. And sure, go ahead, just drop books all over the place then make your exit. Wonderful.”

The sudden tension wasn’t unnoticed by him, how it coiled around them, stilling tongues but still unable to wipe the smile from his lips; settling thick enough to cut through with a knife. His mind fumbles for words, uncharacteristic almost, and he forced himself to shrug, tossing the final chocolate up in the air and catching it. “You got any idea what you want to do for Halloween?” Isaac finally asks, jovial attitude shattering the tension.

“If you’re asking whether I like to dress up and go out and get drunk, then you’ve got the wrong guy.” He followed the other’s example, shrugging off any awkwardness there might have been. What even had that been? He now reflected that his behavior had been nothing but ridiculous and embarrassing. “If I remember correctly, I’ve spent my past several Halloweens hiding from the drunks.”

“Y-You don’t have to…if you don’t want.”

“Ah, no, don't worry 'bout it. I can help, honestly.”

“There’s nothing wrong with muggles. And the people that think there are are crazy. But not all people seem to raise their children to be polite.”

“My parents both happen to be very polite, if that’s what you’re asking. My personal preference as to how I choose to treat others just happens to differ from theirs.”

“Well in that case…” she trailed off, tapping he chin as if she were about to ask for something else. “Thank you.” As Jackson took his sweet time getting up to help her, she simply waited patiently. She was pretty grateful he was actually helping her, rather than sitting back and doing nothing. Although, the fact that he could reach the book so easily ground her gears a little. She never minded being short, but people like Jackson with all their tallness just had it so easy. As he took the book from the shelf, she thanked him once again. The smile on her face however dried up at his statement. In fact, all she could do was gape at him. Not a witty person by trade, the thought of a good comeback didn’t even cross her mind. “Excuse you. Maybe I just wanted to do it myself instead of relying on magic.” she offered, although the statement kind of fell short, considering Cordelia had to rely on him.

“Excuse you. Maybe I was just stating the obvious. I never meant that there was anything wrong with doing things the non-magic way, as saying so would do nothing more than make me a hypocrite.” After all, he was one of the few at Hogwarts who actually preferred things the muggle way. Jackson hadn’t mean to come across as if he was insulting her in some way, yet she wasn’t the only one who got that sort of impression whenever he opened his mouth. “No need to thank me, if I hadn’t been such a twat in the first place, you might have had this in your hands a bit sooner.”