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Rolling her eyes at his reply, Genevieve responded with a shrug as she replied, “You suit the cupboard. Perhaps it should be your new home.”

“Thank you, Gen, but no thanks.” He crossed his arms over his chest and peered down at her, “I quite like the home that I have already. ---- I haven’t seen you in awhile. I was starting to miss your charming personality.”

“Yes. Now would you please stop sending me owls for things like this?”

“I needed somebody to be a look out,” Marten defended as he stepped out of the broom closet, “McGonagall is getting into me about skiving off from my classes. She nearly busted me.”

Raising an eyebrow at Marten, Genevieve shook her head at him leaving the cupboard as she replied with a small smirk, “Perhaps you should stay in there. It’s rather fitting for the likes of you.”

“Likes of me?” He asked, shutting the door behind him, “What could you possibly mean by that, Genevieve?” He asked teasingly, raising an eyebrow in her direction.

Severus rolled his eyes. “They’re gone. And I won’t tell if you don’t.” Severus himself had been occasionally skipping class. It didn’t really matter, he hardly payed attention anyway.

“Deal.” Marten said easily. He turned to face Severus, “Don’t think we’ve met before.” He offered out a hand, “I’m Marten.”

“Claes–I see you’ve finally found some more appropriate living quarters.”

“Oh this?” Marten asked breezily. He stepped out of the closet and glanced side to side to make sure that the coast was clear. After he had determined that he was safe, he turned back to Diedrick. His tone morphed into one of careless teasing. It was the approach he usually adopted with Diedrick. Like the other Hogwarts students, Diedrick seemed to care a lot about blood status. “I’m only here temporarily. I needed a hiding spot.”

ms-bella-black

Bellatrix’s reaction to her first bite of food was anything but disappointing. She seemed completely surprised by the taste and he found enjoyment in watching the small changes in her facial expression. They made eye contact once she swallowed and Marten was a little surprised by the look in her eye. The way that she looked at him was intense, but in a good way. His eyes flickered down to the strawberries and he couldn’t stop the small smirk that graced his features when he watched her bite into it. 

The head that suddenly popped out of a broom closet startled the crap out of Mei, and she jumped almost a foot in the air. “Merlin!” she exclaimed. After a moment, she composed himself and looked at the person, who appeared to be Marten. “What on Earth are you doing in there?”

“Hiding from McGonagall,” He explained, stepping completely out of the closet, “I skivved off her class today and I didn’t want her to see me.” He peered down the corridor, “I think she’s gone, though.”

“Yes, just watch me. If you get hurt, it’s not my fault,” she said pointedly, looking at him sharply. “Anyhow, I’m sure you’ll do fine. I’ve never caused anything that was capable of killing before.” She pursed her lips. “Although I suppose there’s a first time for everything.”

“Sounds good.” He said agreeably. He wasn’t really too worried about these experiments. After all, how dangerous could they really be? He shrugged his shoulders, “I hope the first time doesn’t happen with me.”

Francois peeked out from the rather large plant he had been crouched behind. “I think so, mate. How was I supposed to know she was dating the large Gryffindor?” He stumbled out from behind the leafy decor and fixed his hair. “Although my taunting him in front of his friends likely did nothing to help the situation,” he chuckled.

“You should have left him alone,” Marten admonished lightly, stepping completely out from the broom closet he’d been hiding in. He shut the door and turned to his friend, “You were flirting with his girl.”

“Have you ever noticed that the new DADA professor comes into class over ten minutes late each time? I think it’s a Hogwarts rule that you’re able to get up and leave if they’re not in the classroom within the first half of the class. Anyone willing to walk out with me on Thursday?”

“I will, I’m always trying to skip class.” Marten said, his eyes flickering over towards the girl. He was always looking for an excuse to leave class early. “I’m Marten, by the way. Have we met?”

“Nope. Better stay in that broom cupboard.”

Marten glanced back over his shoulder, making a face. He really didn’t want to go back into the broom closet. He was currently skiving off of his Transfiguration class and had nearly ran right into Professor Dumbledore. He’d already spoken with the Headmaster once for not going to class and he really didn’t want to repeat the experience. Still, he glanced back out. “Are you sure? I don’t see anybody.”

“Note to self, next time I think about breaking apart two dueling first years, don’t.”

“First years did that to you?” Marten’s eyebrows lifted in surprise. This wasn’t the first person he’d come across who had seemingly been injured by first years. Bellatrix had told him that she’d been knocked down the stairs by a few. He snorted, “You’ve got some vicious kids at this school.”

Though Emma hadn’t known him for all too long, her general impression of Marten was that of a good guy–someone who at least tried his best to hide it when he stared at a girl like that. Her first guess was that he might just not know how to do it subtly, and she couldn’t help but crack a little smile. At first, she hadn’t wanted to say anything, probably because she didn’t mind, but if he was ever going to have this with girls who didn’t take it as lightly as she did, he was going to be in trouble. “Marten, don’t take this the wrong way, but you need to work on your staring. Try to pretend like you’re looking at the floor, or an object just behind my shoulder.” She suggested in a friendly way.

Marten began to laugh, unable to help himself. He’d just gotten called out for not staring subtly enough. At least she didn’t seem upset. If anything, she seemed to find it funny. He paused, considering his next sentence carefully. Emma was a very pretty girl after all and if he was going to flirt then he had to make sure he was at his best. He shrugged his shoulders, “My apologies.” His lips twisted into the faintest hint of a smirk, “I’m normally a lot better at hiding it. You just surprised me, is all. You look good in the costume.” 

Rosemond was a bit disappointed with Marten’s simple reply, but she understood the fact that some people didn’t enjoy discussing their childhoods. She simply loved understanding where people came from and what circumstances influenced them to become the people they grew into. Not necessarily for any reason, except that she truly loved humanity and seeing the different aspects of it. Society ran much a machine, and she enjoyed learning about all of its parts. Thus, the ‘Claw in her was disappointed (she did feel a twinge of guilt in her disappointment), but she replied simply, “I’m sorry.” After a moment she added, “If it means anything to you, mine wasn’t entirely easy either.” Rose gave Marten a small smile. “Though I’ve yet to meet someone who actually grew up in sunshine and daisies.”

Marten continued to gaze in Rosemond’s direction, nodding in response to what she was saying. He crossed his arms over his shoulder and smiled briefly, “Neither have I. I guess life is just shitty for everyone.” He stepped to the side a little, moving out of the way to avoid a crowd of his drunken classmates. He still couldn’t believe how extravagant this party was. He thought about the village nearby and wondered if they had any clue about the enormous party taking place right under their nose. His eyes slipped back over to Rosemond and he laughed, “So, is every Hogwarts party this big?”

Rosemond was a bit disappointed with Marten’s simple reply, but she understood the fact that some people didn’t enjoy discussing their childhoods. She simply loved understanding where people came from and what circumstances influenced them to become the people they grew into. Not necessarily for any reason, except that she truly loved humanity and seeing the different aspects of it. Society ran much a machine, and she enjoyed learning about all of its parts. Thus, the ‘Claw in her was disappointed (she did feel a twinge of guilt in her disappointment), but she replied simply, “I’m sorry.” After a moment she added, “If it means anything to you, mine wasn’t entirely easy either.” Rose gave Marten a small smile. “Though I’ve yet to meet someone who actually grew up in sunshine and daisies.”

Marten continued to gaze in Rosemond’s direction, nodding in response to what she was saying. He crossed his arms over his shoulder and smiled briefly, “Neither have I. I guess life is just shitty for everyone.” He stepped to the side a little, moving out of the way to avoid a crowd of his drunken classmates. He still couldn’t believe how extravagant this party was. He thought about the village nearby and wondered if they had any clue about the enormous party taking place right under their nose. His eyes slipped back over to Rosemond and he laughed, “So, is every Hogwarts party this big?”

Mei, truth be told, did disagree with Marten on that point. Charms could be, and were, useful, but Potions was just as important, if not as applicable. And Transfiguration was always helpful. “I guess it’s one of the most useful classes,” she said, “But many of the others are just as helpful, in my opinion. So, is Charms also your favorite class?” She followed Marten to another corridor, and Marten’s pace began to slow. “I agree,” she added, “I feel like things at Beauxbatons were-easier, if that makes sense. Here, it seems that there’s a sort of weight behind everything. But yes, some of the people are quite-cool.” She laughed softly at his statement. “Don’t mention that to them-the Slytherins, right? They take blood status really seriously here, it’s quite foreign.”

“Yep.” Marten said, popping the p sound at the end of his word. He didn’t really say much more on the subject. He was not a man of many words and he was sure that Mei knew that. They had attended school together for years, after all, so they were at the least aware of the other’s reputation. From what he knew about Mei, she seemed to be a typical overachiever, which was probably why they had never progressed beyond acquaintanceship. Of course, he did feel a certain kinship with her now, but it was what he felt towards any Beauxbatons student. After all, their school had burned down, so they were all strangers in Hogwarts together. The sound of Mei’s voice pulled him back out of his thoughts and he refocused his attention back on their conversation, “It makes sense. Things were easier back in France. People here are so...heavy. Everybody needs to lighten up.” He laughed, “Yeah, it’s the Slytherins. They care quite a bit about who your parents are.” He shrugged, making it clear that he didn’t care about the subject. He never had, really. After a brief pause, he slowed to a stop right outside of the Charms corridor. He motioned to the classroom door, a light smile on his face, “Here you go.”