Landon shifted towards Larissa, a sly grin tugging at the corner of his mouth. “Eh, nothing more than a friendly push.” He kept his eyes ahead as he spoke quietly, idly scratching his neck until Professor Flitwick turned his attention on another house. “I was right, wasn’t I?” Peeking down at her he found himself lingering for a moment before snapping back when something hit him over the head. “You’re a bloody idiot Eccles, you know that?” Mina muttered as she reclaimed her seat. “What? I knew you could do it.” Landon murmured, trying not to chuckle when Mina gave him a jab. “Bloody. Idiot.” Mina scoffed, smiling at bit as she shook her head. He was such a moron. Turning to see Jen’s…attempt; Landon had to clear his throat to keep from laughing. At this rate everyone was going to be failed by Professor Flitwick! As Landon turned to face the Ravenclaw section he briefly met eyes with Nicole who seemed more transfixed on him as opposed to her adopted children of sorts…all of whom were sitting next to him. He gave her a nod of acknowledge then watched another poor student push the Professor to the brink of insanity. From the corner of his eye he noticed Nicole tap the poor Charity girl awake again. Finally, a Slytherin was able to put everything back together again. Her name was…Autumn? Autumn Kw- Autumn Q-…Autumn K for now.
…
When they were released from class Landon stood with a brief stretch and crack of his neck. “Ready for the next bit of crack?” He asked, waiting for his friend to rise from her seat. “Come on. We don’t have all day. The owls will be on their next delivery at this rate.” He chuckled, noticing a few familiar faces heading in their direction. “Oi! William! How are ye?” Leaning over he gave the young man a hefty pat on the shoulder. “Mornin’ Eccles…” William rolled his shoulder a bit before turning his attention to the exchanges, specifically Amara. “Saw there was a bit of lag on the way to class. I thought I’d help make sure we all get to the next one.” William offered, his hands sliding into his pockets. “Look at you! Always one to help.” Landon draped his arm over the slimmer man’s shoulder and gave him a shake. “Sounds easy enough. We’re all going to same place, yeah?” Landon released William to rest his arm on an approaching Mina’s head. Mina merely sighed and shook her head.
“Just another day in the Gryffindor house, I see.” Carson noted, stopping on his way past with Priscilla at his side. His gaze washed over Landon disapprovingly. Landon was far too loud, far too Quidditch obsessed, and far too spoiled by Mina’s generosity in his opinion. Most seemed to share the sentiment if not the last bit. “Good morning, Carson. I didn’t have a chance to see you on the express. You look good.” Nicole gave him a smile. Carson’s smile was much less bright and much less of a smile. Trying to deflect from Landon as usual. “As do you.” He glanced over the exchange students. “..and your new additions.” Priscilla gave him Carson a brief look which earned a silent inhale from the blond boy. “I’ll see you in the next class. I hear out Professor is going to be an interesting one this year.” A more genuine smile was cast in Mina’s direction before he exited the Charms classroom.
“Another one? But the one last year was actually showing some promise.” Nicole let her thoughts become spoken, true confusion crossing her features. “Didn’t you all think so?” She inquired. “Who can even remember, He lasted for two years and here that’s practically a record. He should get his own trophy at that.” Landon shrugged it off. “Well Carson said this new one was ‘interesting’ and normally when he says that…” Nicole trailed off curiously, her gaze flickering between her seasoned housemates. “Well let’s go on and find out then. Have you met some of our professors? ‘Interesting’ could mean anything from dresses like a flamingo to sings opera. Right mate?” Landon looked over at William to nodded abruptly. “Y-yeah. Shall we then?” William gestured for Amara to go on ahead of him. Something that went noticed by just about everyone. “That was fast.” Landon muttered to which Mina smirked. “Some of us fall fast Mr. Eccles. We can’t all be married to a broom, you know.” Mina gave him a quick wink before following the others out into the hall.
Nicole busied herself chatting with Charity to find out more about the schedule and customs of her home institution. At least schedule wise it seemed drastically different from Hogwarts when it came to their time slots. She had to admit; the idea of not having to wake up so early was making her wish she’d put in for the exchange program! From the corner of her eye; however, she couldn’t help but notice Larissa standing a bit too close to Landon for her comfort. And the idiot just allowed it to happen. It was troublesome enough that he was so close to Mina, but a smokin’ Latina on top of it? Oh no. What made it worse was Landon was already caught up in a Quidditch conversation and two seconds later his arm was draped around Larissa as he prattled on. Looking ahead she could William doing his best to break the ice with Amara. Was he succeeding? Who even knew, but for some reason everyone was making moves on day one! “So, what made you pick Hogwarts?” Distraction was going to be key and since Charity seemed nice/needed to be kept awake…they were a match made it Hogwarts heaven!
William held the door open for Amara, but it soon turned in to him holding the door for the entire group. The poor thing merely decided to grin and bear it; hoping there would be a place for him to sit next to her. Too bad there was no such luck as the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom was comprised of several tables for two lined up in columns. “Shite.” He sighed, slumping along to try and spot the lovely girl…
“Thank you, William.” Mina whispered, knowing he hadn’t intended on holding the for any of them. Slipping inside she quickly stepped to her favorite table and plopped down. “Going for your usual spot as usual?” Chadwick called out from behind Mina. The brunette tilted her head back to see her beloved Ravenclaw and smiled. “Of course. Six years running.” Sitting upright she saw Landon approached, tilting her head slightly when he pulled out a chair for Larissa to sit at an empty table and then joined her. Aw….GOOD. A somewhat forlorn William settled in the chair next to her with a sigh. “She’s just so fit…” William sighed, earning a stifled laugh from Mina. “Oh gosh.” Mina tittered, “You’re too much William. It’s the first day.” Mina reminded him softly. “Yeah, but how can I compete with the likes of that?” William nudged his head in the direction of Matheus. “I mean…” Mina went to speak, yet found herself reaching for a proper response, “You can kill with kindness?” She offered, shying away at the expression she earned. “No. You’re right. That was rubbish. Don’t listen to me.” Perhaps Landon was the better tablemate after all. Just as she was about to look for Nicole a familiar voice sounded through the room; freezing her to her core.
No. No it couldn’t be. It would be mental, but there wasn’t another soul on this Earth with a name THAT specific. The young woman found herself slowly sinking a bit in her seat, slender fingers attempting to covertly shield the bottom half of her face. She didn’t dare look up from the parchment on her desk. It was actually quite nice- as was her quill. Fresh ink was in that little vial; no cheap stuff here. No ma’am. Mention of a Boggart finally earned a flicker of her gaze to the trunk sitting ominously in the room. Mina bit her lip when the poor Ravenclaw boy actually dared to speak. The room filled with gasps at how their new Professor handled a student, but Mina merely closed her eyes briefly. Perhaps if she counted to three none of this would be happening? Nope. No such luck. Hearing the Professor call out to Autumn specifically earned a quick whip of her head though she soon caught herself and looked forward. It was safe to say there was a general awkward wave which had befallen the room like an unsavory aftertaste once Autumn returned to her seat. If it had been any quieter they might have been able to hear one another’s heartbeat.
Carson watched the display with keen interest. Boggarts were quite a telling experiment of sorts. Not only did you get to see your counterparts’ greatest fears, but if they were able to face them. Autumn’s was certainly unique if nothing else. From his vantage point he could see Chadwick already tense.
“Holy Shite.” William muttered, releasing a breath. Mina stared at William- her eyes screaming for him to shut up. William; however, met her gaze and seemed to take it as an invitation. The boy soon stood, raising his hand slightly to gain the Professor’s attention. “I’ll go, Professor Dimitrov.” He offered, stepping forward until he was facing the still closed trunk. Mina had to fight the urge to yank him back in his seat, immediately focusing on her text when his uninterested gaze traveled in their direction. Nope. No eye-contact. Right back to that lovely quill. Landon shot her a confused look at William’s sudden act of bravery, but she merely shook her head. William took out his wand with a deep breath. When the trunk opened out came a cockroach easily his size. “R-riddikulus!” A noise like a whip sounded and the large roach soon grew roller skates, so it could no longer stand and collapsed on himself. For a moment the boy was merely silent. “I…I did it.” He barely seemed to believe it himself. “Oh, thank Merlin.” Mina whispered to herself from behind her hands.
As students were selected to face the boggart it became increasingly apparent that Professor Dimitrov was taking everyone who failed as a prisoner. For several students the task was quite simply. Aria and Chadwick both passed the challenge fairly easily along with Landon, Nicole, Carson, and Priscilla. There others; however, who proved quite challenged. Jen proved unable to conquer her fear of clowns just as Anthony was unable to face the spider. The number of remaining students dwindled down leaving Mina quite confident she might manage to make it out of class without having to meet the challenge…Too bad her hopes were inevitably squashed. The houses had become a bit competitive to see who would be able to earn the Professor’s good graces and soon her name was called. “Um-” Mina immediately silenced herself and cleared the distance between her table and the dreaded chest. Even though she knew she was moving quickly; each step felt as if it were taking years. Keeping several feet between herself and the Professor she flexed her fingers over her wand, eyes focused on the trunk. What emerged caught her by surprise. A cloaked rose straight up into the air, levitating a foot above the open trunk with no immediate movement. Hallow eyes met her own before it slowly began to approach. Nimble fingers twitched, but her wand did not raise. A soft exhale of breath escaped her, but no incantation. A moment later it loomed over her, an undiscernible face peering close to her own just as a withered, inhuman hand reached to tilt her chin. “مرا ببخش” Suddenly her world went black. Her form sinking to the ground.
Nicole bolted up from her chair when Mina went down. “Professor Dimitrov!” This was absolutely out of order! Shooting a look in Landon’s direction she saw him already leaving his table. The quidditch player was quick to appear at his friend’s side, ignoring the professor to sit her upright. “Come on, mate. Wake up.” He gave her cheek a few gentle, but firm smacks until he earned some sort of reaction. “There she is.” He chuckled a bit when Mina opened her eyes. “Rise and shine, love. We made a bit of a show.” He muttered a bit towards the end, glancing up at the Professor after helping her up. “I’ll just- er, take her to the infirmary?” Mina placed her hand on Landon’s chest. “I’m alright.” Mina smiled and gave him a brief pat. “I’m fine.” She whispered after earning a skeptical look from the Captain. For the first time she finally made eye contact with the Professor, her eyes dropping to his chest. “After class.” She acknowledged quietly before finding her way back to her table. “What the bloody hell was that?” William whispered. Resting her head in her hands Mina could barely contain her titters. William never ceased to crack her up with his just…existence. “Nothing, love. Just- shhh.” She whispered.
…
When class was dismissed, Mina didn’t even both rising from her seat. “We’ll see you in Apparitions?” William asked, already standing quite close to Amara. “No. I didn’t register for it. I have a free period.” Mina admitted. “Head to the infirmary when he let’s you out, yeah? Can’t have you dying before tryouts.” Landon gave her a soft pat on the head. “Oh, piss off Eccles. Go enjoy Apparitions and try not to lose anything.” Mina smirked shooing him away. “I’ll see you at Lunch. Good luck, guys.” She waved them off only to feel a hand on her shoulder. Looking over she met a familiar pair of light eyes set in a blond frame. Carson was practically itching to know what it was about. “You should run before he keeps you for the party.” She warned, turning to see Chadwick attempting to slide into the seat next to her. “You too. I’ll see you all later. You’re going to get me in more trouble than I already am.” She whispered with a bit of force. “You blacked out and could have an injury. I’m not sure you can really be in trouble in this instance.” Chadwick noted quietly earning a nod from Aria. “Guys.” Priscilla gave a quick glance in the Professor’s direction to show he could not only clearly see them congregating, but probably easily hear their whispers. Chadwick swallowed and nodded. “We’ll see you later.” As the Ravenclaw-Slytherin quad left the room Mina allowed a soft sigh and pulled her hair into an up-do only to let it fall moments later. Priscilla on the other hand let her gaze linger on the new Professor, barely catching what Carson had to say as they left.
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