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[homo ch r o m a t i c - -]

Friday was simultaneously one of his easiest and hardest days. He got to have the last half of the day off, and the students were all in grades high enough that they had the basics down pat. On the other hand, they were moving into human transfiguration, and that meant he had to deal with the ache in his shoulder whenever he switched forms and, as always, the prying questions about it. He'd learned that one pretty quickly--if the students could change the subject, they would at any opportunity, and chase it like hounds. Maybe he'd have them turn into hounds next week, come to think...

Either way, the end of the day was a blessing, and they were only a month into the year. Sometimes he caught himself rubbing his shoulder beneath the robe and had to stop before anyone noticed. Gossip about an ex-auror was always juicy, especially to bored students, and the fact that he obviously had history with the surly, mysterious groundskeeper only fueled it. Thankfully, the other teachers seemed to have even more intrigue surrounding him, which cut Daemon at least a little bit of slack. Next time someone asked him if he'd ever been bitten by a werewolf, though, he was going to turn them into a frog.

The satchel on his hip was hardly full, but carrying something from Honeydukes around always got curiosity from first-years, and if they saw a packet labelled "Blood Sweetener" there might be some discomfort. Alaude hadn't been a fan of the idea when he brought the initial product to be tried, and even less a fan of the flavour itself. Blueberry blood was apparently not a good idea, whatever the Honeydukes owner had thought. Maybe pumpkin would be a better bet, because if he made the groundskeeper try another bust, he had a feeling he was going to be cuffed over the head--and Alaude had an arm on him.

On a whim he bypassed the Great Hall, preferring to go straight outside than deal with the loud clamouring of Friday dinner as everyone began to ramp up for the Quidditch match the next day. Hopefully no one was going to ask why the new teacher kept sneaking out to the groundskeeper's house. Whoops.

[Time Travel Baby]

YOU I TIED A RIBBON IN MY HAIR xx and then I tried to smile
ARENOT a girl can become everything pretty if she meets her one true beloved a girl can become everything pretty if she meets her one true beloved

ALONE ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ ❤ ❤ ❤ ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
▌BY KNOWING A SPECIAL KIND OF MAGIC
Y O U ' L L K N O W T H A T any girl can become fearless !!


At the other hufflepuff’s voice, Gou jumped slightly, not having expected someone to join into her conversation. But she turned back to her table to see who’s voice it was, and it was none other than the Head Girl. Who might as well have been the House Mom.



Slightly surprised when Aqua asked her question to Haruka. Gou didn’t expect the other to be someone who’d be interested into seeing what the yukata looked like. Going back to turn to talk to Haruka again, she had noticed that the other had already turned back to her table again, after Aqua had talked to her.



Only minorly upset with the other for ending her conversation with Haruka, she was happy that Aqua at least decided to speak with her in return. Shrugging slightly in the Older’s direction, Gou went to start picking at her food, as she thought for a moment.



“Not really. I mean, there’s a few Quiddich players I wouldn’t mind going with, but I don’t think Big Brother would let me go with them.” Gou giggled to herself. “I might just drag him along, if no one asks me before then.” She quickly took a sip from her goblet, her full attention going to Aqua. “What about you?”

[futuere faex]

███████████ ✭✭ ███████████



Was there any student in the school who didn't look forward to Defense Against the Dark Arts? Easily one of the most action-packed classes, and interesting even when it was purely bookwork and essays, Kise was happy to end the weeks on such a high note this year. He had a skip in his step as he entered the Great Hall, heading straight for the Slytherin table. A quick scan showed no sign of a few familiar faces, Mukuro included -- late again? Whatever he was doing, Kise had no doubt it was worth being jealous over, and he made a mental note to pout over it later.

For now, he was happy to seat himself in a place with plenty of people he knew around, keeping up with the idle chatter of students and the attention that came with being popular. Just as a cute brunette was leaning across the table to ask him "Any plans for this weekend?" his reply was interrupted by the headmistress' announcement. At the news, Kise's face broke into a bright grin, and as soon as it was over he stood up, clearly with somewhere to be as he quickly agreed to meet the girl for a private lunch together on Sunday afternoon.

"Thanks, I look forward to it~" Closing off the conversation he pulled away and made a beeline for the Hufflepuff table, scanning as he crossed the hall for his most recent self-set challenge: Ren Jinguji. Spotting him along the table, Kise sat himself down right next to Ren shamelessly, leaning on one elbow casually as he gave his most winning smile up at the Hufflepuff. "So, Ren~ Before you get swamped by cute girls, wanna go to the dance with me?"

[nairi - - C H U]

What an exasperating day. Honestly, Fridays were probably the worst of the whole week. There was no way for the raven haired boy to escape from his self-proclaimed best friend, she was constantly sitting next to him in class, made it so that he was unable to leave her behind during their free period, and continually bombarded him with... well, just being herself. What he had originally hoped to have been a phase apparently egged her on, and she took it as a challenge to get him to open up. Or whatever. He had no idea what she was trying to do exactly, and it was finally starting to weird him out. After a year and a half of her efforts Morgan Fauder was finally starting to make him feel uncomfortable. At least it was progress, though whether that was a good or a bad thing wasn't clear at the moment. It was hard for him to ignore her as he had in the past, staring at her like her head was floating off her body or some sort of sarcastic remark just wasn't working. She was supposed to leave him alone.

And it was frustrating that it wasn't working.

Luckily for him, dinner time was the perfect place to lose her at. Here, he could sneak food, finish early, and quickly make his way to Ravenclaw Tower—his only sanctuary in this school. It was while he was gathering food onto his plate that the headmistress announced the homecoming dance. Not that it made any difference to him, he hadn't gone to one the years before and that certainly wasn't going to change now. The dance was just a waste of time, and he always did something much better with his time, anyways. But the way people around him always gushed over the dance like it was something special was annoying. If he'd known about this sooner, then the fourth year would have stalled going to the Great Hall for dinner.

"Hey...." Crimson hues glanced down at the rat poking its head out of his robes, nibbling on a stolen piece of food he was about to eat. Pika promptly crawled back out of sight, undoubtedly continuing to stuff his face. Sometimes, he had to wonder if testing his pet's intelligence and teaching him new things was the best course of action. Especially when it meant that he was a target of his own rat's shenanigans—which generally was the case 99% of the time. Lips pursed into a thin line for a moment before continuing to eat his food. The longer he stalled eating, the longer the day would turn out to be.

A female voice across from him pipped up, catching his attention. The transfer student was one he had met only a few days ago, and was surprisingly tolerable for the teen. Crimsons watched her for a moment, almost expecting someone else to answer her question for a moment. Though, it seemed the people around them were far too interested in their own conversations and plans for the weekend and upcoming dance. "Everyone does something different, you basically do whatever you want until the dance." Fork poked at his food as he relayed the information back to Nanami. Basically, you wasted time for a waste of time. Or, that's what he heavily believed, anyways. "It isn't anything special." Clearly, the dances they had in Japan were hyped up than they were here in England. It almost made him glad that he never returned back home. Almost.


♛ tab great hall, ravenclaw table ┊ pika, nanami tab ♛

[futuere faex]

He knew Byakuran's words were supposed to be encouraging, and on one level, they were. The idea that someone would consider him impressive just for not dropping out yet, though, seemed unlikely.. or misguided, anyway. He'd had to work hard to last this long, and every day he could feel himself caring less, the urge to give up was stronger than ever and it was getting harder to find reasons not to. In the end, the only reason he worked so hard to stay in Hogwarts was because he had nowhere else to go. It was Hogwarts or his home, the same one from before his guardian had gone to Azkaban, a place that made him so nervous that the thought of going back made him want to throw up. Surviving, scraping by just for the sake of it.. wasn't nearly so impressive as Byakuran made it out to be. And it probably wouldn't last much longer anyway. But saying that really would be far too much to burden anyone with, even if they were friends, and Byakuran was... just an overly-nice prefect.

Nice enough to not be too upset that Enma wasn't normal, anyway. He even seemed to take it in stride, immediately acting as if finding a gay guy who would look twice at Enma wasn't impossible in itself, on top of the impossible task of finding someone in this school who could like Enma. At this point, it seemed like Byakuran was going to dedicate both their weekends to humiliating Enma over and over again until the prefect realized it wasn't just pessimism but a reality check saying that no one liked him. He sighed quietly, resigning himself to his fate.

"Wh..." He stared openly at Byakuran's mention of Professor Giglio Nero's 'rules.' Enma had never taken them seriously, and the last person he expected to do so was a prefect. Wasn't Byakuran's whole job to discourage rule-breaking? From the sounds of it, he'd be eager to get Enma into trouble before keeping him out of it. Abruptly returning to his plate, he half-mumbled, "I-I mean, I don't wanna discuss that kinda thing with a prefect... I don't know how long it takes before you can't punish me for something anymore. But during the dance I'll probably just do homework or something." Maybe that would satisfy Byakuran, and avoid any misadventures the other had in mind.
#CF4636

[nairi - - C H U]

It seemed like he wasn't exactly having the best of luck, currently, in their conversation. The younger teen seemed intent to keep away from the dance, not that he could really blame him for it. Homecoming wasn't anything particularly spectacular, but it was a good way to meet new people and keep up with gossip. Who was taking who, who was dancing with who, basically, information that he could easily get from someone else. After all, while everyone was busy dancing and gathered in the Great Hall, few would be wandering the halls busy with other things. Which means if he was going to do some recruiting in, then would be the best time to do it. No distractions or other people would interrupt the process, which meant he could secure his way into getting the potential recruit's trust and loyalty. And one way or another, Enma Kozato was going to join the group he was rallying up.

Though, by the way the other boy acted, he had to wonder if the red head even realized how much potential he had.

Well, whatever the case, he'd get the fifth year to realize it. Nobody ever expected immediate greatness from a Hufflepuff, it was something they needed to work at and gain recognition for. It was easier to stand out in houses like Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin—houses with well-known reputations and graduates. That was why he wanted to be put in Hufflepuff, it was easier to blend in and learn about the different students attending Hogwarts. There was nothing unusual about a Hufflepuff being social, friendly, and helpful, so nobody questioned him. It was a quirk people of all houses generally accepted as normal, even if they turned down his offer to help them. He couldn't have asked for a better disguise than this.

"Don't think of me as a prefect, then. I'm just your regular Hufflepuff asking you to help me create a little mischief~ It won't be anything bad. Maybe freeze a few chairs and the fireplace in the common room." Byakuran laughed, thoroughly amused by the younger's expression. Did Enma believe he had been suggesting breaking a major rule? No, they were going to cause minor damage to Hufflepuff's chairs, even potentially getting someone to sit on an icy surface. At most they would be reprimanded for the harmless prank. "That doesn't sound that bad, I have a few books I've been wanting to read. Maybe we can have our own study date instead of going to the dance~" Humming thoughtfully, lavender hues focused on the other boy, taking a bite of his food as he thought about it. "Or we could move it to tonight, if you aren't doing anything. And then you can tell me what type of guy you're interested in. You should go to the dance at least once, and I promise I'll find you the perfect date~" Unsurprisingly, he was confident that he'd be able to find someone Enma could take to the dance. Which wasn't entirely impossible, the school was big with many types of students. And with his connections, it'd be easy to find someone. Much easier than the red head could imagine.


✩ tab great hall, hufflepuff table ┊ enma tab ✩

[futuere faex]

It was too easy to get swept up by Byakuran, too easy to even be fair, really. Enma had never gotten along well with people so much smarter than him, usually because he couldn't keep up, but now it seemed that Byakuran was just unforgivingly quicker-witted than him, and combined with his apparent determination to get something out of Enma... It was almost worrisome.

He shrugged half-heartedly at the suggestion. He'd never seen the point of pranks, and actually-- "...Actually, I'm usually the victim of most pranks, so.. I'm not a huge fan. Just studying sounds fine." Though 'studying' with someone outside not just his age and year, but also far outside his skill level even proportionately, sounded like a waste of time too. Either that, or an embarrassment, if Byakuran just ended up showing him how to do everything... Ah, but.. there was Byakuran's really cute calico. Maybe she would join, too.

Oh. That quick-fire change, proposing they study on the night of the dance and then immediately changing it to tonight, made Enma a little uneasy. It was obviously so that he could still try to get Enma to go to the dance, but the fact that he was being so roundabout after Enma tried to get out of it felt less harmless. It wasn't like this situation could turn out to be a problem, but that kind of clever thinking was too familiar, and the only kind that Enma could spot easily. He was... manipulating, wasn't he? Enma shook his head to himself, trying to get rid of the ridiculous thought. Even if Byakuran had the manipulating type, they were still in school. He couldn't do anything genuinely bad, and he'd lose interest in Enma soon anyway. "Tonight's fine.. but, I'm not smart at all. All of my test scores are just barely enough to get by, and I have to redo homework a lot from just totally missing the point... so, um.. it won't be a very exciting study session. You'd be better off with someone else, but if you're sure about it... that bobtail calico is yours, right? ...Can she come?"
#CF4636

[nairi - - C H U]

Oh, maybe that was what happened to most of the pranks he had setup in the common room. Unless Enma was talking about other pranks by other people, he was going to assume it was the one he usually setup in Hufflepuff Tower. It wasn't on purpose, but he'd keep that bit of information to himself. Maybe it was better to not say anything about it. Probably, so he'd drop the topic unless the other brought it up at another point in time. "That's understandable. If you ever change your mind, though, the offer is still open. At least we still get to study together~" At least this attempt of his wasn't being shot down right away. Studying wasn't exactly his first choice as a way to get to know the fifth year better, but he couldn't be picky about it, either. This may have been his one and only chance, and he'd rather not mess it up now. Besides, it wasn't the first time he'd gone with a near last resort plan.

Of course, since he had Mukuro in the palm of his hand, it was safe to say that his last resort plans worked out perfectly. With something as simple as a study session, it could turn out to be mediocre at worst. The con to that, however, was that it probably wasn't going to get him very far, either. Though, that was up for debate as Enma gave him another opening. It was innocent enough, and would benefit them both in different ways. Logically, there was no way the red head could refuse his offer.

"If you want me to, I can start tutoring you. It's more efficient to study with another person, anyways. I'll be able to review old material, and you'll be able to understand it better, so it works out for both of us." He offered the other boy a smile, head inclining curiously. Honestly, though, he didn't necessarily need to review. If this was what it took to inch his way into Enma's life, though, it wasn't like going over old material he still remembered would hurt. "Ah, Calla?" It was a little odd that the younger Hufflepuff had suddenly mentioned his cat, but it wasn't hard to pick up the other's interest in the topic. "Yeah, I'll bring her along too. Just don't get too distracted, she's an attention seeker." He hummed teasingly. Regardless, it really was a warning that their study session probably wasn't going to be quite that productive. The little Japanese Bobtail's favorite time to suddenly ask for attention was always when he was busiest—trying to study or doing homework. But as the saying went, owners and their pets often resembled each other. Ignore either one of them, and they would do whatever it took to get someone's attention back on them.


✩ tab great hall, hufflepuff table ┊ enma tab ✩

[futuere faex]

At the confirmation that the calico would be coming, Enma's face split into a grin. "Her name's Calla? I've seen her around the common room before," and coaxed her nearer, pet her, fed her a cat treat when no one was looking, "but I never got her name. Her fur is soft." Now that he knew the cat would be there to calm his nerves, he felt better already. Even if he was an idiot and Byakuran was probably brilliant, Enma would make slightly less of a fool of himself with a feline friend. And honestly, he'd rather be distracted than actually work, so it was probably for the best that Byakuran would be there too...

"A-anyway, ah... y-you don't have to tutor me if you don't want, you have your own workload to worry about, and I really am slow... Let's just see how it works out tonight? I won't hold you to any kind of big promise like that before you've even seen how bad I am. It's okay to give up on me." He shrugged off his own words like they didn't matter, though he was being truthful. Manipulating or not, this would end soon, and it was hard to be optimistic about making future plans. He didn't want to trap Byakuran in an unwanted obligation either, he was a prefect, he had more important things to do than tutor a kid who was no good at learning.

He picked at his food for a bit before finally asking, "What time do you wanna do it? Just before bed, or earlier..?"
#CF4636

[nairi - - C H U]

Who would have thought that they'd had a bonding moment over cats, of all topics? More specifically, his own. Honestly, he could talk about Calla all day if he could, which often drove his parents a little insane. The cat was his pride and joy, who he spoiled as much as possible. "She's really well-trained for a cat, if she knows you well enough she'll immediately run to you when you call her name. I'm sure she'll like you a lot to include you, too." And that was what made her such a fun cat, that she was quirky and had acquired a few dog-like traits. She was the best cat in existence and he wouldn't hear otherwise. "I'm glad you think so! I put in a lot of work to make sure her fur is that soft. My parents suggested that I charm her so her fur stayed soft, can you believe it? It isn't as rewarding if you don't put effort into it yourself." Most importantly, it served as the perfect way to bond with his pet. Making sure she was clean, had her fur combed, and was getting all of her required nutrients and exercise had been a tedious process at first, but he had found a way to make it fun for the both of them.

"You don't need to worry about my workload, in any case, the books I'm interested in reading aren't for any of my classes. I have the whole weekend to get it done, anyways." The albino hummed, attempting to reassure the younger boy that everything was fine. "We'll see how well it goes tonight, but there's a reason why I'm in Hufflepuff and not one of the other houses." Then again, he might have done a little persuading to get into the house, but those were unneeded details. "Everyone needs a little help, so I don't see why I should give up on you. I believe you're a lot smarter and gifted than you think you are; you just need a little guidance." Their professors were normally busy dealing with their own work and problems to help students who were struggling. Besides, one of the duties of being a prefect was to help other students.

The only thing was, he had to make sure he didn't get too distracted so he could do his other duties, such as patrolling the halls during curfew. "Whenever you want to, I'm free all evening. Though, if you want, we can start after giving Calla her dinner. I usually bring a few pieces of fish with me and mix it with her food. It might be a good idea to let you feed her dinner today, to help you both get better acquainted with each other, ne?" The sooner they started, the more time they had to spend together, and the more he could learn about Enma.


✩ tab great hall, hufflepuff table ┊ enma tab ✩

[futuere faex]

xxx




As Daemon approached the groundskeeper's home, he was greeted first by a dog padding
around the far side of the house, no owner in sight. Leshy perked up at the sight of the ex-
auror and trotted up to him, sniffing curiously at the pumpkin scent at his hip. She gave a
short bark and circled around Daemon once before sitting in front of him with a dog grin
and her tail wagging expectantly. She fully intended to either get a treat or some play time
in while one of her favorite wrestling partners was here, but before her begging could continue,
the groundskeeper in question came out of the forest, an annoyed look on his face as he
plucked a few twigs out of his hair.

"Some of the trees have gotten a sense of humor," he explained, a complete lack of
humor evident on his own features. He'd gotten used to seeing Daemon down here so
often, though he couldn't help but wonder what kind of rumors were being started -- as
little as he tried to care, he'd learned quickly that rumors could make his life a hell of a lot
worse sometimes, and his known vampirism already got plenty of teachers talking.
Luckily, it was less so than in the Ministry, and none of the students knew. That was the
best he could ask for while maintaining contact with civilized wizard society.

Noticing Leshy's position, Alaude arched an eyebrow at his guest, mildly exasperated
accusation written all over his face. "If you spoil her, I'll have your head. And what
urgent matter brings you here today, Daemon?"
#6e6a81

[homo ch r o m a t i c - -]

Alaude was the only one in this place who was going to find the trees who played pranks. "You seem to attract the troublemaking type," he snickered as he reached out to pull half of a leaf from behind the groundskeeper's ear. His other hand moved to stroke Leshy's head, and with Alaude as groomed as he was going to get, Daemon crouched to better scratch the dog. At least someone was enthusiastic about seeing him.

That wasn't exactly true, but it was fun to think for the sake of a bit of sarcasm sometimes. The fact that Alaude put up with him as much as he did meant that he was at least a little fond of Daemon, and given their history, he was willing to bet a pretty penny that it was more than a little. Alaude's personality was prickly, sometimes downright abrasive, but it had been more than long enough to figure out when to take that seriously and when to let it roll off as typical.

"We're not aurors anymore," he laughed, nuzzling the top of Leshy's head as he scratched her ears, all too aware that she was nosing at his satchel. Her poor owner was just overrun with mischief-makers. "Nothing's urgent here besides OWLs and NEWTs. I imagine that drives you up the wall." Slowly he straightened again, brushing his hands together and watching the fur fall. She was this bad, and her winter coat was only beginning to come in. He was just glad he didn't have to sweep up after her--de-furring his clothes after a wrestling session was bad enough.

With a gesture at his bag, he looked pointedly at the small villa. "Let's visit."

[futuere faex]

xxx




Alaude rolled his eyes at the (entirely accurate) comment, swatting half-heartedly at
Daemon's invasive preening. "You were the first, and I maintain that every other
one has somehow been your fault." At least in school, Daemon had been the only
one with the guts to cause the fearsome Alaude specifically problems -- the rest had just
been Ravenclaws with a little too much individuality to be satisfied within the confines of
the rules.

He rolled one shoulder in something resembling a shrug, glancing through the house's small
window facing eastward towards them at the owl waiting inside. No doubt he had another
small pile of mail for Alaude from various contacts he still kept in touch with. "We aren't
aurors, but I still do my part. There's just not too much field work for me anymore,
and even less of the Ministry breathing down my neck and triple-checking my blood
supplies." He hadn't specifically mentioned his continued work to Daemon yet, but
he had no doubt Daemon suspected. If his personality wasn't clue enough, his frequent
correspondence while disliking most people could probably fill in the blanks.

Alaude frowned at the bag, recognizing immediately what it meant -- if it was just usual
sweets, Daemon wouldn't have been so quick to get inside. He gave Daemon a warning
stare, then sighed heavily and turned to unlock his front door, letting the other man and dog
in before entering himself and relocking the door behind him. "...If this is a repeat, I'm
never trusting you with my food again."
#6e6a81

[homo ch r o m a t i c - -]

"Tch!" Even meant to be a dig, Daemon couldn't take that as anything other than a compliment. Being important to warrant such an acknowledgement was quite a feat with Alaude, as stingy as he was strict. When he'd zeroed in on the cute little first year, the last thing he'd expected was this sort of lasting relationship. Hell, the idea of working with him as an auror would have made him laugh until he cried, in all probability.

He ducked into the house quickly, amused as always at the stalwart courtesy, and took a seat in the middle of the main room with a familiarity that would have been more suitable on Alaude rather than a guest, let alone one who'd only been at Hogwarts for ten weeks. The mention of side activities didn't particularly surprise him, hardly needed a response, but to show that he was listening he flipped a dismissive hand. That was all obvious enough. Even doing field work, Alaude had been at home with information, and Daemon would have been more surprised to find out that he wasn't liaising. It suited him more than hunting monsters and Death Eaters, anyhow. He'd always wondered how high-strung Alaude ever put up with working under the whims of an organisation out of his control. Stingy was nothing compared to how painstakingly organised he was, and things needed to be organised his way.

One reason he'd been good to work with. Daemon was good with plans, but the cleanup after its execution was by far the worst part. He had a tendency to improvise at the drop of a hat rather than following his initial plan, too, which was really more of a bad thing than a good one, and a partner at the opposite end of the spectrum evened it out (even if it was with hair-pulling frustration).

With a hum he opened the satchel and pulled the decorated bag out, offering a wide grin for Alaude's scepticism. He wasn't even going to balk this time? Progress! The pouch was charmed to keep the blood inside from spoiling, something he came up with especially for the sake of Hogsmeade's experiments, so that they didn't need to worry about it being carried in anything but ice. "It's pumpkin this time. He promised better results."

[futuere faex]

He felt ridiculous for suddenly smiling so much over a cat, but he couldn't help it. He'd always loved animals, and animals actually tended to like him, a sharp contrast to wizardkind. The more human-like magical creatures tended to have mixed feelings on him, and the mermaids were worse bullies than the kids at school, but most animals were okay with him once he figured out their favorite food. He'd had quite a run-in with a few smaller acromantulas in his fourth year and had to be saved by the groundskeeper's dog, but he had given her a huge hug and sneaked her treats whenever he could since then, and thought of the incident as a necessary part of traversing the forest.

"I'm really glad you take such good care of her, I can't have any pets, and it sucks to watch people not treat theirs right... Calla's lucky to have you." He had to remind himself that the point of this was to study, not to get better acquainted with Byakuran's cat, even if he'd inevitably try to turn the evening that way even if he tried to stop himself. He bit his lower lip to stop himself from smiling so much. "If you're sure, I do appreciate it... but.." He wanted to protest again, Byakuran was really putting way too much faith in him. Smart and gifted were the last words anyone could or should use to describe Enma. He knew he and Byakuran shared a few classes, but of course Enma didn't stand out enough for Byakuran to notice how terrible he was. He shook his head, shaking off the end of his statement like it hadn't been said. Pessimism bounced off this guy without fail.

At the offer to help feed Calla, Enma's head shot up, not quite believing it. "Would you really let me feed her..? I'd love to, I'm.. thank you." For once he had no protest -- feeding cats was the one thing he had confidence he could do well every time. Though he still had reason to be suspicious, it had all melted away under the promise of cats and Byakuran's explanations. It was true that Hufflepuffs were usually the most helpful, it just so happened that Enma had a talent for sending people away, even Hufflepuffs. Maybe Byakuran really was just an amazingly generous and patient person...

He caught himself wiggling a bit impatiently as he continued his meal, eating better now that he had reason to finish quickly, though he didn't want to rush Byakuran either, it was more that he was just eating more than his usual picking. Not wanting to seem like he was too eager, he tried to fill time by finally starting his own subject. "Um.. you've been talking to me since the announcement, and if we're going to start studying so fast... what about you? Aren't you taking someone to the dance?"
#CF4636