don't stay away for too long { nola }

He’d started in the library.

Wini was busy today – prefect things – so Marin had decided to do a little study. They were only halfway through the month, and it was a Sunday, but he’d heard about the difficulty of NEWTs, and was rather adverse to the concept of falling behind. The common room was his usual place of study, but he was half hoping to find Lionel so they could sit in silence with one another. Unfortunately, it hadn’t worked out.

Instead, he had found himself increasingly irritated at a group of young second years a few tables over who couldn’t seem to shut up. Why were they even in the library if they just wanted to chat? He was pretty sure he’d heard the sound of a packet of crisps opening too; they were lucky Pince hadn’t eviscerated them yet. Oh well, he’d thought distantly, there was still time.

Eventually, though, Marin had had to ditch the library. He’d opted for a walk outside instead; it was Autumn now, and it wouldn’t be long before he’d have to start using magic to warm up when he went outside to draw, so he might as well take advantage of today’s sun and the decent temperature. He found himself sitting against the trunk of his favourite tree, curved over a sketchbook rested against one knee. The lake glittered in the distance, and things were quiet.

Magnolia was excited for the new term but not looking forward to the pressure. Things had been great so far but at her age and with no boyfriend, her prospects of a proper fifth year experience were looking rather bleak.

Things were supposed to work out with Rod, she would feel cool telling her friends she was dating an adult who had a job and everything. But with Roderick having graduated, Magnolia started to feel a little antsy again, considering that while their love (mostly just hers, he was still playing hard to get) would have stood the test of time if she had another term to work on it, a long distance relationship would simply not do. She had considered asking Mavis, Josie, or even Killian to set her up on a date but she knew she’d get more judgement than a good suggestion. There really was a connection between her crushes. She actually did have a type, but confessing that she usually went for the more challenging types didn’t seem like a thing. However, Magnolia had set her sights on someone else now anyway, the beginning of feelings further confirmed by the smile that immediately lit up her face when she saw that one Marin Clare had signed up for the SNAIL program just as she had.

Marin was elusive at best. Magnolia knew he had been prefect for a couple of years and knew he was a Hufflepuff. She often saw him hanging out with Winifred, and though Magnolia didn’t know Winifred that well, she seemed really nice. Though she couldn’t decide if they looked like cute siblings or an oddly mismatched couple, she intended to find out. Magnolia took time to consider her approach, which only helped the little crush grow in leaps and bounds, distracting her from her studies as she considered how adorable they might look together. He seemed nice, that was an improvement from Roderick so that had to count for something. Killian would be proud.

So she had made up her mind, finding the perfect opportunity when she went out for a walk (sort of, she had heard through the grapevine that he liked to go outside but it sounded creepy). She approached him quietly, leaning over just a little to watch him draw for a moment before she stepped out in front of him, “Hey!” she announced with a quick wave, “I’m Nola, I uh—heard you were looking for a mentee, you interested?” she asked. She had prepared a pitch and everything if he needed to hear it too.

It was moments like this one that Marin really found peace. He loved Wini of course, but she really did not stop talking – not even during her own self-imposed no-talking study sessions. By now, of course, he’d learned to tune out thirty or so percent of what she was saying, but the matter still stood. Alone, there were no potentially stressful social dynamics to navigate. No incorrect moves to make. Just the sound of dry, orangey autumn leaves brushing against each other in the wind, the scratching of his quill against his textured artist’s paper and his own thoughts to occupy him.

Well, usually, anyway.

Marin glanced up, alarm in his blue eyes as she materialised before him. He didn’t wave back or say hello; she didn’t pause for long enough in between sentences for him to think, let alone respond appropriately. Marin closed his sketchbook slowly, feeling a little self conscious about having his work on display. He didn’t put it, or his quill, down beside him, though; he wasn’t quite willing to commit to this conversation just yet. He glanced over his shoulder, but it did seem like it was just her. Bizarre.

“I… In you?” He asked blankly. She looked familiar; Marin recognised her as one of a group of noisy Gryffindor fourth year – well fifth, now, he supposed – girls. He was fairly sure he had a sketch of her somewhere. It took him a second to formulate a more detailed response. “I think the professors match the S.N.A.I.L applicants,” he informed her, his voice quiet, “But regardless… I was under the impression it was more of an underclassman thing…?” He trailed off, his expression somewhere in between puzzled and unimpressed. Perhaps he was mistaken?

This had played out a little differently in her head. Either way, the fifth year wouldn’t be deterred by some silly semantics, even if those had not been suggestions but rather rules, “Who’s gonna enforce them anyway?” she shrugged, though soon after she realized that that probably wasn’t the best way to get a former prefect’s attention. “I mean, I think the students should get a chance to choose their matches, what if you get paired up with someone weird?” she offered, setting her things down and taking a seat even though he hadn’t excited invited her into his space. Those little details did not really matter as much anyway.

“It doesn’t have to be,” she offered, but the statement was far from definitive. However, the last thing that the Gryffindor wanted was to get stuck with a little kid she did not like. She could imagine it, the Professors having a good laugh at her expense by setting her up with her little brother and how horrible the entire situation would be. At this rate, most people knew there was some sort of relationship between the two Hawkins at the castle, but she often shrugged off the connection as if he were some poor distant cousin rather than her actual brother.

“Plus you’re in seventh year now,” she quipped, Magnolia had done her research even if the information limited, “and I’m in fifth, you’ve probably got plenty of things to teach me about life, I bet,” she offered. There was not anything the young witch wanted to know exactly, she had not come prepared with questions but she’d think of some on the stop. As long as she got to stare at Marin’s dreamy face a little bit longer, none of that other stuff mattered. “So, what’d you say?”

Who would enforce them? Teachers, he supposed? Her tone indicated she didn’t require such a literal answer, however, and he didn’t immediately have a sassy response, so he chose to stay quiet. “True,” he said, raising his eyebrows slightly. What if he was paired with someone “weird” indeed. He wondered if she had any kind of idea of what this all looked like from a perspective other than her own.

She was looking at him rather intently, and Marin wondered if he had something on his face, or a leaf in his hair or something. He reached up to run a hand through his hair self-consciously. She was forward, that was for sure. It was equal parts irritating and wini-esque, and the wini part was half endearing and half annoying. He wasn’t sure what he should say.

He straightened up a bit, turning to her. It was clear she wasn’t about to leave unless he told her to directly; he’d already dropped all of the more subtle hints that her company (75% annoying, at least) wasn’t really wanted or welcome. She was still kind of staring at him – he made a mental note to relay all of this to Wini later.

“What… kind of life advice are you looking for?” he asked slowly, obviously unconvinced.

Magnolia smiled when it seemed that he had reached the conclusion that she had, evident in the way that he had given her a simple response in agreement. Maybe convincing him to do this wouldn’t take much work at all, and to think that was worried he’d flat out refuse! But there was something about these Hufflepuffs, no matter how distant, they all ended up being pretty nice? It was something she appreciated. “Right, see, so we won’t get in trouble or anything if you’re worried,” she offered.

“So, like—“ she started and paused, she hadn’t really given this part of the conversation much thought and that was probably obvious by the semi-blank look on her face. But Magnolia wasn’t awful at coming up with ideas on the fly and this was a good time to use that skill, “you were Prefect at one point, and now you’re in seventh year, right?” she asked, but it was rhetorical, she already knew the answer to both questions.

“Like if I wanted to become Prefect,” she started, but to clarify Magnolia had absolutely no intention to become Prefect and if she ever was forced to do it, she’d already vowed to use her powers for the sake of the expansion of the gossip database, “What do you think I ought to do? How did you get it?” she tried, taking a more comfortable seat next to him.

“It’s not… Never mind,” he muttered. Very Wini-esque, he thought disapprovingly. Forward, pushy... He simply nodded when she carried on, unwilling to engage more than he needed to. So she wanted to be a prefect? There was something about her demeanour that was making him feel self-conscious, and he wasn’t sure exactly why that was. It also made him skeptical.

Still, she’d asked a direct question, so he had no choice but to respond. “I don’t know, really,” Marin answered honestly. “I supposed I just… Didn’t get in trouble much... Or something?” He gave a small shrug, unable to hide the skepticism as she moved a little closer.

She wasn’t going anywhere, apparently, but he didn’t like her being so close to him. After a moment of deliberation that he doubted she even noticed, he had an idea. “Why don’t you sit over there,” he said, a small, suffering smile as he gestured a little way away. “I’ll sketch you,” he added, holding up his sketchbook reluctantly.

“Do any of the Hufflepuffs cause trouble, though?” she wondered out loud. It wasn’t necessarily one of the many questions she intended to ask him but only an observation. Magnolia knew Jae seemed like an outlier but he was hardly an edge lord, and then there was Jari who she sort of knew and he had to be the nicest person she had ever met.

Then there were the other elusive schoolmates like Winifred, the adorable older blonde who seemed like she couldn’t hurt a fly, and well, it didn’t seem like the criteria for choosing a Prefect there depended on behavior. Or maybe there was some dirt that had yet to be dug; she’d have to consult Mavis about it.

“But if it’s just about not getting into trouble then I’m golden,” she concluded, trying to look over his shoulder to get a better look at the sketchbook in his hand. So, when he suggested he would sketch her, Magnolia looked at him surprised, wondering how it had been so easy for him to read her mind. “Me? Really?” she asked, tucking her long, brown hair behind her ears as if the idea made her insecure, but naturally, she was going to go with it.

At least he’d have a reminder of her close to him, it was the perfect plan. Standing up, she moved over to the spot that he gestured and took a seat. “Should I like, do something fancy?” she asked, contorting her body into some strange pose she had seen in a magazine once, though she wasn’t sure how good she’d be at keeping herself like that. “If I’d known you wanted to sketch me, I would’ve come over earlier!”

She was right, sort of, but Marin had been in Hufflepuff house since he was eleven; he knew better than to think that every one of them was a cuddly, hard-working teddy bear. Still, he supposed, better than Gryffindor. Gryffindor house was the only house from which Marin never had a proper friend. It wasn’t saying much – he wasn’t exactly Mr. Popular – but Nola’s house was by far his least favourite.

He didn’t say anything at first when she contorted herself into a ridiculous pose. He assumed it was supposed to be attractive. He let her hold it for a moment before shaking his head. “You can just sit,” he said blankly. Exhausting. He already had one Winifred in his life, and wasn’t exactly in the market for another. “Mhmm,” he answered. At least if he was drawing, he’d have somewhere to look while she badgered him. Marin thought he’d given all of the correct signals to indicate he didn’t care for this interaction, but – like a typical Gryffindor, he thought – she’d missed them all.

He glanced at her once she’d settled into something more sustainable, then started sketching mindlessly. Sometimes he still thought about all of the drawings he’d lost in the fire a couple of years ago, and how stupid he’d been not to keep copies. “I assume they’d want someone younger students could look up to,” he said, her prefect question still floating in his mind. “They picked me, though – and Donnelly, for like two years – so you never know.”

“Oh, oh,” Magnolia gave him a smile, so thankfully that she wouldn’t have to sit for like hours in this weird position she had initially decided on. The girl didn’t understand how the women in the magazines did it so gracefully. “Like this?” she tried, sitting perfectly still, her back as straight as she could manage, even if the muscles there were already starting to hurt.

What the girl lacked in good posture, though, she made up with much charisma. “Should I smile the entire time? I think my mouth’s going to hurt if I keep at it,” she asked, smiling the widest smile she could manage as she spoke. This whole model business was hard work. In the future, she’d have to charge him or something.

She considered what he was saying, also wondering how Donnelly of all people had managed the position. If he had been elected, then anything was possible, right? They had finally gotten it right with Billie though, the girl decided, the Ravenclaw girl and Killian, her closest guy friend, were sure to do much better than their predecessors. “I can see why they chose you” she added, “Phillip on the other hand well—I assume when you’ve run out of ideas, it’s either him or no Prefect at all, and we can’t have that,” she added the last bit sarcastically. How awful it must’ve been in Ravenclaw House to have the grumpy boy following behind you shouting out rules and regulations. Scary.

“You learn anything? Being Prefect, I mean,” she continued.

“Sure,” Marin said, not looking up from his paper until after he’d already spoken. A beat later, his blue eyes met her brown ones as she smiled a bit too widely. The expression was uncomfortable; it made his own face hurt just to look at it. She was speaking through her teeth, too. Hmm. Creepy.

“Just relax,” he said, a little irritated. He looked back down at his paper, sketching a few more lines. It was already a decent likeness; he hoped once he was done, she’d just leave him in peace. If she was anything like Wini, though, she’d be here until she didn’t want to be here anymore.

“Oh?” he asked, not looking up. “Why do you say that?” He supposed she probably had no idea who he was back in the day, before he was more… He wanted to say confident, but that wasn’t the right word. Less scared?? Or, better at handling the scaredness? Marin didn’t linger too long on these thoughts; it made him uncomfortable to be too introspective. Especially in company.

He sighed. “I suppose.” It was like she’d just read his mind, which was kind of irritating. “I mean, I’ve found a few more secret passageways over the years. The bathroom’s a perk, of course.” Best part, in his opinion. “Sometimes the teachers forget we’re students and gossip in front of us.” He stopped sketching, pausing to look at his work. “I suppose I’m more confident,” he finished, even though that didn’t really feel like the right word.