Charms Class, Year 2 {fluff}
It was already noon, yet Dazai was no more awake than when he awoke a couple of hours ago.
Dazai Osamu had made some bad decisions the night before. Blaise knew Dazai had stayed up past curfew but that was not an excuse to skip class. It didn’t matter if Dazai was his boss, he still needed to attend class. This morning Blaise had to drag Dazai off of the couch in the Hell Hounds’ office.
And that is how Dazai had ended up in Charms class, struggling to keep his eyes open. Ohh, Dazai had a huge headache already; the latent magic in the air still messes with his head. His absence of sleep did not help with his head and Dazai’s motivation, or lack thereof.
The class was practicing the Shrinking Charm, Reducio . Or rather, everyone in the class, but him. He was still restricted from casting spells in class, as according to Snape’s words; he needs to “ refrain from showing up to the Hospital Wing so often. ” Dazai can still hear Professor Snape’s voice ring out; cold and clear.
Professor Flitwick had procured some silver coins for the class to practice on. Even with his eyes closed, Dazai could tell only a few in his class had succeeded in casting the spell. On the far right of the room, Hermione had successfully cast the Shrinking Charm. Blaise was sitting right next to him, as far as Dazai could infer, he hadn’t gotten the hang of the spell (like many other of their classmates). If someone asked Dazai to describe what the Shrinking Charm felt like, he would say; flowers. To him, the charm felt like someone had vases full of different flowers, Dazai almost swears he could smell them too.
Dazai’s mind wanders throughout Charms, he thinks about his ‘study’ session last night. Wizards sure like to write books on useless things that's for sure. It took Dazai through the whole night until he found a snippet of information on the Chamber of Secrets, however even it was embellished with all sorts of ancient wizarding terms. Whoever wrote the passage kept rambling on about muggle-born wizards one of the only good bits of information Dazai could take from it was; “ Parseltongue .” The author was clearly a pure-blooded bigot. But from the incredibly meagre information Dazai was given, he could infer that this “ Parseltongue ” was an ancient language of sorts. Most likely information he wouldn’t find easily in the unrestricted section of the school library. Dazai sighed.
So much hard work, If he was in Yokohama all this information would be right at his fingertips and he would be able to explore so much more freely. Alas, that was the whole reason he was here, at Hogwarts. Mori could trust him, he thought Dazai was capable for this mission (even though he won’t tell him exactly what it is!) and being competent was one of the only things Dazai liked about himself.
Dazai was still in the middle of overthinking his research escapade when his head drooped, and he slumped. Leaning onto Blaises shoulder.
He had fallen asleep.
The, Osamu Dazai. Had fallen asleep. On his subordinate’s (best friend) shoulder.
Blaise felt Dazai’s head hit his shoulder, he immediately whipped his head around. Oh.., awh.
Blaise was aware that Dazai had stayed up late last night but surely it was this late. Dazai was adept at hiding his exhaustion, something he picked up from the Port Mafia.
Blaise sighed quietly, quickly glancing around to make sure Professor Flitwick hadn’t noticed Dazai’s sudden nap. The professor was too engrossed in helping Neville avoid shrinking his own wand to pay anyone else much attention. Good . Blaise didn’t mind covering for Dazai, he’d done it many time before. He respected Dazai immensely, but moments like this made him wonder how someone so brilliant could also be so recklessly careless with their wellbeing.
Dazai was always a step or two ahead of everyone else, his mind constantly turning. But when that energy burned out, the exhaustion hit him hard. Blaise could see the toll that Dazai’s obsession was taking on him, even if he never admitted it out loud. Hogwarts was a strange place for someone like Dazai, it kept too many secrets, too many unknowns, and too many restrictions. It was a far cry from the freedom and chaos of Yokohama. Here, though, he was confined by Hogwart’s numerous rules.
Blaise shifted slightly, trying not to disturb Dazai, who was now fully leaned against him, breathing softly. He glanced down at thesilver coin placed on the desk infront of him, the one that Blaise was meant to shrink, his frustration was building rapidly. He just couldn’t get the hang of it. And he wasn’t alone, most of the class struggled with the spell. Except, of course, for Hermione Granger, whose coin was now no bigger than a knut.
Dazai murmured something in his sleep, causing Blaise to flinch slightly. "What was that?" Blaise whispered, leaning closer, but all he could make out was a faint mention of the Chamber of Secrets..?
Blaise’s mind raced. So that’s what Dazai had been up late researching. The Chamber of Secrets. It actually made sense, given the peculiar happenings around the school lately. The attacks, the fear creeping into the students' eyes. Blaise had heard the whispers, someone had opened the Chamber again, and Dazai with his unending curiosity, was drawn to the mystery.
But what did Dazai know? “ Parseltongue ”… was that the key? Blaise’s own knowledge of wizarding lore wasn’t extensive, but he knew enough to be wary. Parseltongue was rare, and those who spoke it always had a dark reputation.
Blaise looked down at Dazai again, frowning slightly. As much as he trusted his friend, he couldn’t shake the feeling that whatever Dazai was getting involved in was dangerous, more dangerous than he had anticipated.
Suddenly, a small flash of light caught his attention. It was Flitwick’s glasses catching on the sunlight streaming through the ceiling-high windows. He turned to see Professor Flitwick eyeing them with a curious expression.
“Mr. Zabini.., is everything alright?” Flitwick asked, his voice gentle but laced with suspicion.
Blaise gave a quick nod, trying to come up with an excuse. “Uh, yes, Professor. Dazai’s just…uh, not feeling well. I think he might need to go to the Hospital Wing.”
Flitwick’s eyes narrowed, but after a moment, he replied. “Very well. But please be more mindful in the future. This is a classroom, not a place to nap.”
Blaise carefully nudged Dazai awake, whispering, “Come on, let’s get you out of here before Flitwick changes his mind.”
Dazai stirred, groggy and disoriented, blinking up at Blaise with bleary eyes. “Hospital Wing?” he mumbled. “That’s a bit extreme, don’t you think?”
Blaise just rolled his eyes, standing up and offering his hand to help Dazai to his feet. “Consider it your punishment for making me cover for you last night.”
As they slipped out of the classroom, Blaise leaned closer and muttered, “So, what exactly did you find out about the Chamber of Secrets last night?”
Dazai’s sleepy expression shifted into something sharper, more focused. “ Not enough . But I have a feeling we’re going to find out soon, whether we like it or not.”