𝔠𝔞𝔯𝔢/ℓєѕѕ !

why couldn't he ever be left in peace? somehow, theo ended up next to none other than hestia carrow. they were packed in the great hall, barely room to exhale without ending up with someone's elbow in your ribs, and he had to take the seat next to her to top everything off.

he placed his chin on his palm, his gaze sweeping to his side. "alright, carrow?" might as well say hello he supposed.

with the forced closeness it was hard to ignore the elder snake claiming the seat beside her. not something he could be blamed for. but when he spoke, hestia did nothing to stifle her irritated groan. "must we do the small talk thing?"

"you can kiss your endless supply of no-questions-asked and discounted potions goodbye, because i do not fraternize with sympathizers. i knew you weren't that good of an actor. fucking traitor."

"i'm really going to need to you shut the hell up." pansy groaned from her spot at the slytherin table, her best attempt to glare at them failed as sher eyes closed shut. the slytherins had their usual back from holiday party in the common room and she was sadly out of pepperup potion.

"try that again, and maybe i'll consider fixing-" hestia waved a hand in the general space pansy took up. it was something she'd noticed last year, the number of students who forgot proper recovery tactics for back to school parties. "i take payment in favors, secrets, cash, and begging."

♕ ‑― Lifting her porcelain cup to her lips, Astoria raised her gaze when she realized that she was no longer alone. A gracious smile spread across her lips, and it was a genuine one, when she saw her friend before her. "Hello Hestia," she greeted happily as she set her tea back down on the saucer and pushed herself to her feet. She waved her hand when Orion lifted his head from his place on his bed. ❝ I wasn't expecting to see you today, ❞ she said. ❝ Though, I'm happy for the surprise, it's been awfully dull here. ❞

"my father had to go meet with some associates, and flora's run off to who know where with who knows who." it was hard to hide the irritation from her voice at the latter bit. breaks had always been hard for her, with flora avoiding being at home and hestia herself trying to integrate herself into their father's business to no avail. though, she supposed, perhaps it was better to be ignored by him than the alternative. "what have you been up to? aside reveling in recent events," she hummed with a grin. a tragic event to some, but for hestia, the new years attacks felt like a second christmas.

she took a few steps towards the plant before hearing pansy's upgrade of the challenge. shooting the elder witch an unimpressed look, she removed her gloves and tossed them towards the nearest first year. fine. new plan. pulling out her wand, she muttered a low, "accio chizpurfle." a distraction and a show in one. approaching the plant, hestia held the small creature out to the plant. a small toss to avoid contact, and she was pulling a pair of shears from her pocket to clip off some of the plant's spikes. "you," she called to one of the first years, "bring me a vial or share the chizpurfle's fate."

"i dare you to fuck with that thing." she challenged, a wicked grin on her lips, her eyes traveling from the ugly looking plant sitting in the corner. the plant itself looked fine, the spikes and the way it moved made it look alarming. the dark haired witch took a half step back as it twitched, almost as if it had heard her insult, after the moment, she could not help the laugh soon after. "ok, i'll give you or do whatever you want if you do."

hestia was leaning back against one of the planter tables, arms crossed over her chest as she watched the elder snake with a few of their first years. it didn't come as a shock that none of them dared to approach. rolling her eyes, she pulled on a pair of dragon-hide gloves and pushed past the small crowd. "i'll take that bet." she was low on on the poisonous juices provided by the venomous tentacula anyways. this just meant a secondary bonus.

"no, i've never known a match to end so quickly. graham is sure to be beyond pissed." best to give him some space for a couple of days. not that she was about to go doling out the advice. always entertaining to see people caught in his fury after a loss. and this loss? pomfrey might want to prepare some extra beds. "the one who was in the tournament last year, right? talk about a series of tragic events." she did her best to sound genuine over sarcastic in terms of the tragedy that had ended last year's inter-school competition.

it was hard to hide the glee as she watched pansy do what she did best. not that hestia had ever been one to disguise her emotions, with harry potter's murder being the only exception she could think of in the last year. that had been a special circumstance, the event calling for subtlety and decorum. behind closed doors, she'd never been giddier. "i feel the common misconception of myself is to think i'm less than my reputation. it's one that i'm always more than happy to prove wrong." those who knew her best knew that it was always best to overestimate what the young carrow was capable of. they still might fall short in some instances, but they were at least likely to be close. age was but a number indeed. "where are you off to next? flora and i have split up to do holiday shopping, and i so hate to be unaccompanied when amongst those below me. gives them the idea they're allowed to approach, or worse, converse with me."

eyeing him a moment, hestia settled to let him maintain his pride and not point out the fact they both knew. while her spell work may not have been the strongest, she had quick mind when necessary. that, and more offensive potions hidden on her person at all times than should've been physically possible without being noticed. extension charms were a realm of spells in which she had excelled. "not really. probably grab a drink and maybe a few more boxes of chocolates before heading back to the castle. to watch the fireworks from the astronomy tower." the festival wasn't necessarily her scene aside from the deals at honeydukes.

as pansy took a step into the brightly colored candy shop, the bell chimed. the intense fragrance of sweets hitting her like a brick to her senses. it appeared that honeydukes being her first stop was not as original as she had thought, the building was packed with students. the snake slid through the crowd, heading straight to her usual sweet of choice. "you can wait. or i can hex you, pick now or i'll pick for you." she snapped as someone stepped in front of her outstretched hand that had been reaching for a sugar quill.

it would likely come as a shock to most that one as bitter as hestia carrow had a massive sweet tooth. chocolate was always her sweet of choice, and it was the large assortment of chocolates that had drawn her towards honeydukes. she'd been deciding between fizzing whizzbees and exploding bonbons (both would end up in her basket), when she heard the voice of her housemate behind her. spinning to witness the scene, she raised a brow out of amusement. "it's like they've no idea who you are. here i thought your reputation preceded you."

graham had gone and skipped the first day, utilizing the empty castle and empty pitch for his own benefit. but, even he was entitled to a day off here and then. aside from visiting the pubs, the slytherin's idea of fun wasn't much more than just meandering about the village, something he'd been doing when something off to the left had caught his eye. a quick look revealed a small thing stowing what looked like fireworks somewhere onto her person. "for all our sake, hope those aren't explosives." despite saying it, he knew already they were, a fact he wore too with dropped shoulders. "should i even ask?"

suspicious activity was not an uncommon term when describing the young witch's habits. and what she'd gotten up to at the festival was no exception. freezing at the sound of a voice behind her, hestia slowly turned to face whoever had caught her. "graham, you know better than to sneak up on me like that. i could've hexed you into next week." and he was one of very few she would've actually felt guilty for doing so to. turning back towards her task, she quickly tied up her bag and placed it into an inner pocket of her coat. "only if the question is in regard to the extension charm i used on the bag."