Chapter Twelve
“Brilliant! I’ll see you two later when I get the first matches set up!”
“That sounds brill Lucan, we’ll be sure to be there!”
“I still don’t remember agreeing to any of this to begin with.” a blonde snake grumbled as she huffed and puffed around as she was ignored by both of the guys.
“We’ll see you later mate!”
Sebastian just gave a hearty laugh and pushed the girl back out of the Clocktower’s Courtyard and back to the Great Hall as she grumbled and crossed her arms, allowing the brunette to guide her out with a friendly arm over her shoulders as the two walked back to their common rooms.
Looking up at the boy with a bit of a side eye, she asked “So is there a reason why you impulsively decide to enter us into a duo’s dueling bracket?”
A cheeky grin spread across the boy's face as he gave her a shove. “Well you see Rosewood, despite what you may think of my dueling skills after our little round in class just now; You are indeed looking at the dueling champion of Crossed Wands.”
Rolling her eyes at his ego shining through his acquired title, she played into it. “Okay Champion, that still doesn’t answer my question as to why you entered me along with you.”
“Because Rosewood, you’re not listening to yourself. I entered us into a duo’s bracket. I intend to sweep the regular bracket alongside the duo’s bracket and piss even more people off. Plus you get to show off our dueling prowess!”
Sighing and rubbing the bridge of her nose, she relented as she came to realize the boy was probably not gonna let her out of this and crossed her arms as she spoke up. “I’ll relent and go along with your shenanigans as I doubt I’ll be able to change your mind plus I would hate to go and ruin Lucan’s work. Just don’t expect much from me in these duels.”
As Sebastian and Aspen made it to their common rooms and muttered the password, the two plopped themselves down on the sofa by the fireplace where they first met. “Oh don’t worry. If what I saw today is your baseline we’re working with, I’m sure a few practices and you’ll be able to even take me on at my best.”
“Quite the confidence there considering I wiped the floor with you earlier.”
“Quiet you, that only happened because I underestimated you and the restrictions Hecat placed on the duel.”
As Aspen was getting a quip ready, another voice joined the two.
“Sebastian, if you were quite as good as you boast to be then the restrictions placed wouldn’t have mattered.”
“Ominis are you ever going to just side with me just once?”
Ominis just gave a sly smirk, cat like in every sense as he gracefully sat down in a plush high back armchair. “It sounds like you two had a decent free hour while I was in Arithmancy.”
Aspen was about to question what in the world was that class when Sebastian just groaned. “Don’t remind me of that horrid class. It’s beyond me how you manage to comprehend any of that.”
“You do realize that’s one of your classes right?”
“Hence why I said don’t remind me. You know I took you as blind , not deaf as well.”
“Oh ha ha.”
Aspen just watched the two banter back and forth and grew a bit worried as Sebastian made fun of his lack of sight when she realized the two must joke about it quite often for the lack of real heat on Ominis’s end. Smiling at the two when she came to this realization, she chimed in. “You two must be really close. Have you known each other long?”
Sebastian’s face broke out into a wide smile as the energy that seemingly got drained from him at the mention of Arithmancy flowed back into him as he began.
“We’ve known each other since first year! We’ve always been dorm mates and together with Anne we’re inseparable. We’re best of friends.”
“I beg to differ, the Sallow’s sequestered me and have yet to let me go in peace.”
“You act like you don’t like us but that doesn’t change the fact you spend nearly every summer with us.”
“Wow, you’ve known each other for a while now.” She blinked owlishly as she recalled a name who’s face she’s yet to match. “Who’s Anne by the way? I don’t think I’ve met her yet. I’m pretty sure Leander also mentioned her earlier.”
At the name, the two of their faces dropped and caused Aspen to realize she may have stumbled onto a sore subject. Opening her mouth to try and backtrack, Sebastian let out a slow sigh that sounded heavy. “Anne is my twin sister. She’s also a Slytherin but she isn’t in school right now. She’s back at home as she’s a bit ill at the moment.”
Taking note of the mood, Aspen nodded and sat back in her seat as she fiddled with the end of her sweater, picking off a few stray cat hairs that stayed on her. The trio stayed in an awkward silence, each of them trying to find a way to break the awkward but somber tension that fell over them when the sound of footsteps coming down the staircase took their attention.
Aspen glanced over to see her very own roommate come down with a paper in her hand.
“Nerida? Did your classes just end?” Aspen questioned as she looked at the clock hung on the wall, not having realized how much time had passed.
The girl in question gave the trio a look as she picked up on the mood and decided to save the poor girl who seemed to be pleading for some sort of an escape. “They did, which reminds me to let you boy’s know if you plan to make it to Muggle Studies you best be on your way. As for Aspen I actually have a note from Professor Weasley asking for you to meet her in her classroom.”
At this all three of them began to grab their respective bags and shuffle up the stairs. As the three made it out the door, Aspen turned to the two and quickly asked for some directions.
As soon as Ominis finished explaining how to get to the class, Aspen tucked a strand of loose hair behind her ear as she began separating from the two. “Well I guess I’ll see you two at dinner then. Have fun studying muggles.”
Sebastian snorted and shook his head. “Ominis will have some fun with that. I plan on using my time a bit more effectively then learn that muggles are to be respected and what not. I’ll join the next class when we actually learn something useful. Not something that should be common sense.”
“As much as you would like to believe it's common sense, it's unfortunately not for some of the kids of the upper rings of society in the school. Also Sebastian it’s still the first day back I don’t think you should be-”
“Oh don’t worry Ominis. I haven't gotten caught yet.”
As the two parted ways from Aspen, she could hear Ominis sigh once more.
“Again. It’s the first day.”
Aspen just snorted as their conversation cut off as the snake disappeared behind her taking the door with it and all of the noise from the common room.
Boys.
——————————————˚✧₊⁎ —————————————
Knocking on the door of the Transfiguration Classroom, Aspen peeked her head through and spotted Professor Weasley speaking to a smaller creature of some sort dressed in a sort of plaid tunic and had long droopy ears.
As Professor Weasley waved her over to come in, Aspen caught what seemed to be the tail end of the two’s conversation.
“What about the Room?” the small creature asked, a small tilt of the head as wide green eyes stared up at the woman who gave a small smile, nodding along with its idea.
“I was thinking the same thing, Deek. Perhaps you could help-”
As Aspen got closer and looked around the room she could see the other creature in the room excuse himself before snapping his fingers and disappearing in a ball of twisted limbs before vanishing.
The redheaded professor dismissed the small creature with a smile and a wave before putting her full attention on the girl herself. “Perfect timing. Please come and have a seat with me for a spot of tea before the day ends. I trust your first classes went well?” Professor Weasley asked as she flicked her wand to get a tea set going for the two.
Once Aspen nodded and got herself comfortably situated she nodded with a bright grin as she finally answered her question. “They did, Professor. Charms and Defense Against the Dark Arts were some of my favorites for today. Though I will admit I'm intrigued about my Astronomy class tomorrow.”
Professor Weasley smiled and was sure to hear more about how the girl’s day went from her colleagues at dinner. “I heard as much from Professors Hecat and Ronen as well. Seems like you’ve made quite a favorable impression today. Looks like Professor Fig has taught you quite sufficiently before you arrived.”
At the mention of her mentor, Aspen could feel a cold sweat break out on the back of her neck at the thought of the women in front of her digging more and more again about what went on during their trip to Hogwarts. Details Aspen would very much rather avoid at the moment.
“I’d wager there’s a good deal more to your travels here than what you’ve told me-isn’t there?”
Nervously, Aspen fiddled with the ends of her robe behind the desk with one hand as the other took a timed sip of tea as she forced herself to calm down.
With a small shake of her head she replied that there hasn’t been more than what she or her mentor let on. “Hasn’t Professor Fig mentioned anything that went on with my training leading up to the school year beginning?”
Professor Weasley just raised an eyebrow like she knew that wasn’t the information she was looking for but decided to run with her excuse. Setting her cup of tea down on a coaster, the woman folded her hands together and leaned back in her chair. “He continues to be..reticent about the details. Only mentioning a few spells here and there like Revelio. Lumos as well I believe. He did mention a few of your mishaps with the shop next door to the Leaky Cauldron and its flower pots exploding?”
At that tidbit of information, Aspen blushed and could feel the heat spread to even the tips of her ears. “A-ah yes. I had to go help and clean up all the dirt and replant all the flowers by hand after apologizing. I didn’t realize a basic cast would actually do some damage…”
The older woman just smiled softly amused before bringing the conversation back around. “Between the both of you, it's like trying to get a sonnet from a Streeler.”
Aspen, at the mention of such a thing, just gave a look of confusion as she was about to ask what in the world a Streeler was before Professor Weasley waved her off. “Never mind that. It pleases me to hear you’ve been thriving in your classes and I must impress on you that you need to keep building on the knowledge Professor Fig helped set up. In that regard, I’ve asked your professors to help hasten your progress with some extra assignments but that won’t start till the following week to allow you to get acclimated with the school and your peers. Which brings me to my next point.”
At this point, the two had finished their tea and Professor Weasley motioned for the both of them to stand up and began walking the girl back to the door and towards the Great Hall to let the girl go off to lunch.
“We here at Hogwarts know that due to the unfortunate dragon attack you and Professor Fig underwent, it resulted in the loss of almost all your supplies nay that spare wand, the clothing you have on now and your owl.” The older woman adjusted the thin frames that sat on her nose as she and Aspen stopped in front of the grand doors that led into the Great Hall.
“Knowing this we can’t just allow a student to struggle like this so we’ve arranged for you to take a trip up to Hogsmeade, the local village, to replace the supplies lost on your way here-including seeds, potion recipes and certain spellcrafts. Not to mention there should be a few clothes shops for you to browse through to get your own wardrobe stocked up aside from the robes the school will provide for you.”
At the flood of info made known to her, Aspen eyes widened and blinked owlishly. If she was being completely honest, she had almost forgotten she had practically lost everything she owns aside from the ratty few belongings she had with her on her person when the attack happened. With all the new friends and children and professors she’s been meeting, it had completely slipped her mind.
“That sounds amazing but how will I get to Hogsmeade? Where is it even?” Aspen asked as she and her professor entered, the noise of children eating and chatting filling the air along with the smell of freshly cooked food filled her nose.
The older lady walked her over to the Slytherins table as she continued explaining. “Hogsmeade is the local village that resides closest to the school. You’ll find there’s actually quite a few settlements here in the Valley once you tuck in more here. As for how to get there, I will arrange for one of your classmates to take you there tomorrow. Now I know I’ve seen you get along well with your new housemates which I’m proud to see but out of all of their schedules the only one who has the free period would be Sebastian.”
Aspen nodded before her eyes caught Nerida and Imelda waving her down with a spot by them. She looked back at her professor when they spoke up once more. “However I have also received word that you seemed to be getting on well with Ms. Natsai from my very own house. Given the two options, who would you rather have to help you out and do your shopping with you?”
Without needing to give much thought to it she immediately responded.
“If possible I’d love to go with Natty. I want to get to know her more plus I think it’ll be more enjoyable to go shopping with another girl.” smiled the snowy blonde.
The older woman just smiled and nodded before motioning over to the girl's friends. “Very well, I’ll make sure to let Ms. Natsai know. Regardless you’ll be meeting them over by the main entrance. Now go sit with your friends as I’m sure they're ready to catch up with you on how your day has been so far.”
With that all said and done, Aspen bid her professor a farewell before rushing off to her housemates with a wide smile as she loaded up her plate with a decent amount of food and enjoyed her meal with friends.
——————————————˚✧₊⁎ —————————————
Now finished with her lunch and sipping on some fresh apple juice as Imelda and Nerida asked her how her day has gone so far in the classes they didn’t have together. Once she finally caught the girls up to speed, Imelda finally asked “We saw you walk in with Professor Weasley. Did you get into some trouble already or did she just walk you from her office?”
Aspen raised an eyebrow at how the quidditch obsessed girl knew she was in her office to begin with when Nerida answered the questioning look on her face. “I told her when she asked where you were at the beginning of lunch. I didn’t think you would take long so I told her while we were serving ourselves.”
“Ahhh and here I thought Imelda all of the sudden figured out how to read minds.”
Imelda just rolled her eyes at the silliness of the response and raised an eyebrow back before pointing a fork with a piece of roast chicken on the end at her.
“The answer to my question would be nice you dolt.”
Snickering, Aspen began to elaborate what the small meeting was for and when the trip to Hogsmeade came up, the newest snake could see Nerida deflate at the mention of Aspen going with someone else.
“Oh if only I didn’t have Astronomy on Friday’s then I could’ve gone with you. I just absolutely adore shopping with and for others. Something about getting the fit right or seeing their face’s light up because of a gift I got for them just makes me so delighted.”
Watching the other girl get giddy, Aspen just continued on with sipping on her drink as she watched the Great Hall fill up with more and more students and pulled out some of her parchment paper and ripped off a decent size and took out a quill and began sketching the Great Hall to add to her field book she had open. The quick movements of her feather and the sounds of the scratches against the paper caught the attention of her dormmates and watched in amazement as their chatter quieted down to a softer level so as to not distract the girl. Once Aspen finished up her drawing and tucked the finished drawing to the pages of the book, Imelda broke the soft lull that fell over them.
“Do you reckon you can draw others like that instead of just the buildings and such because I would love a portrait of myself whilst I’m flying around the pitch.”
Giving a short laugh the girl nodded her head and began promising her dorm mates that she could indeed draw them a few pieces if they wanted since they had welcomed her so quickly. In return the other had quickly reopened her book and tapped the tip of her wand as she muttered the sticking charm to the picture before lifting the book up to show Aspen the drawing now stuck to the page and not falling out.
This was how the boys of their little friend group found the girls huddled up laughing with Aspen sat in between the two other girls giggling and laughing at her whilst she dealt with her wand stuck to the book as she shook it frantically trying to get it to detach.
Sebastian collapsed laughing alongside Imelda while Ominis just huffed a breath of amusement as he undid the charm before any damage was done to the poor page, showing Aspen at the same time how to reverse the spell before another incident occurred.
——————————————˚✧₊⁎ —————————————
“Whoa-” The newest Slytherin muttered as the staircase she was on moved, almost knocking her into the side railing before she caught herself and waited for it to stop moving before rerouting herself. The girl practically flew down the steps as she rushed to not keep Natty waiting before finding said Gryffindor waiting by the grand doors. Seeing the other dressed comfortably with a simple house red knit sweater pulled over her dress to fight against the light chill that covered the grounds as the sun began their descent down towards the horizon.
“I cannot wait to get some regular clothing. As nice as these school robes are, I don’t think I can last the whole school term with just them let alone the winter.” the blonde pouted as she wrapped her robe around herself a little more as Natty just giggled at the other. “With that sentiment, I agree with my friend. I’ve lived here for almost two years now and I have yet to get accustomed to the chill.”
With that, the Gryffindor brushed imaginary dust off their skirt and looped an arm with her newest charge and began leading the two of them out as she walked Aspen through the courtyard before beginning the path towards Hogsmeade.
Aspen, appreciating the other’s friendliness, took it in stride feeling more comfortable in a world she’s only known less than a few months about then all her years living in smoggy London.
The two girls began chatting idly about things that interest them or stuff at Hogwarts that caught their eye when a loud voice called for the both of them stopping them just as they began, the cobblestone of the school walkways began to fade into the dirt road.
“Aspen! Natty!”
Looking over her shoulder, Aspen tilted her head in confusion as she saw a familiar Slytherin running towards them. An almost exasperated sigh escaped the girl beside her before her unique accent called out the boy who just reached them.
“Sebastian, last I checked I was the one going to Hogsmeade with Aspen and you had just landed yourself detention.”
At this, the boy in question just gave a wolfish grin as he comically wagged a finger in front of them. “Ah my dear little lion. You forget snakes are sly and cunning creatures so I was able to avoid detention thanks to my own merit and wit.”
A beat passed between the three before Natty spoke up.
“So you came up with some sort of hogwash.”
Laughter escaped Aspen at the sudden jab. The taller girl just grinned before using their hooked arms to continue the trek towards the village before giving the boy a pompous look over her sweater. “Well now that you’re here with us, you may as well join I suppose but be warned you're carrying our things when we buy out Honeydukes.”
Sebastian just snorted and followed after the two, trailing slightly behind. “Nothing new there. Now let’s get a move on before Madam Scibner hears Mrs.Weasley’s new ruling on my detention.”
The small trio burst out into small laughter as they trekked towards the small wizard village.