Magical Hogwarts

Honoré was aware of the professor approaching them but for some reason he didn’t care. He wanted to cling to this silly mood but he could feel it fade with every second that passed. Professeur Malinat had overheard their conversation and was looking at them with a stare that could as well be interpreted as a warning. Honoré held his gaze and his expression remained unperturbed.

Julien seemed to focus on Giselle now which was cool with Honoré. He liked to get a moment with Lijsbeth.

“Fifteen minutes to finish this…” he chuckled but the former lightness was gone. “I guess we should better focus on that then. The poking will commence afterwards.” He was joking but his voice sounded tired. Honoré sighed. Why did a good mood never last long? Why did he always feel like a weight was suddenly put onto his shoulders?

“So, how far did you get with the quiz before you interrupted our little dare?” he asked Lijsbeth. He hadn’t answered many questions yet but he looked at his parchment now and jotted down a few answers. Most questions weren’t too hard for upperclassmen. Just a few made him really think.

Giselle's mind wandered back, back to their vineyards and the stalls with horses, and the smell of fresh hay... Until Professor Malinat spoke and brought her back to class. Fifteen minutes? The corners of her mouth twisted in displeasure. Barely half the questions on her quiz were answered, and she was losing interest in the lesson, fast. She was never going to use any of this information after she graduated, so why had she listened to her mother and decided to not drop the class after all? Because she wanted to be the perfect daughter, that's why.

It was no secret that Giselle thought she was better than everyone else in her year. She carried herself with a definite grace and dignity (according to her, anyway), and she had given a small, disapproving sniff at her fellow sixth years who were embarrassing themselves by attempting to play with the kappa tank. There was no way she was going to work with them, not to mention the aura the happy couple was exuding, as if nothing could break them apart. Disgraceful.

Instead, she turned her attention to Julien. She would never admit it, but she always thought she should have been sorted into Papillonlisse as well, and she had a soft spot for a lot of them. And she definitely didn't miss the way Julien waved at her, so she smiled back, and crooked her finger at him, indicating for him to come closer. If there was any way she could get help then she was definitely not doing this stupid quiz on her own.

Julien flinched when Professeur Malinat’s voice cut smoothly into the exchange. The Papillonlisse Mousquetaire turned slowly to face the older man; he really did not like being in hot water with any authority figure. And the piercing look that the three of them were getting was unnerving.
“Yes, sir,” he replied, bobbing his head. In fairness he had rebuffed Honoré’s suggestion, however jocular…

He breathed a sigh of relief when the professeur moved on, which evolved into a sigh of exasperation when the older announced there were only fifteen minutes remaining. Julien turned his attention back to Giselle, just in time to see her smile and crook her finger at him.

Shifting his weight slightly, his gaze darted over to Honoré and Lijsbeth: who were both still very much distracted.
“I’ll, er, be back,” he mumbled to the pair, more to be polite than anything else – though he was almost certain neither one had heard him. Honoré seemed to have tunnel-vision when Lijsbeth was around, though Julien supposed he could hardly blame him. He liked Lijsbeth, in any case.

“Er, hi,” he greeted as he approached the blonde, holding the parchment with two hands for want of something to do with them. “Had a good summer?” He hadn’t seen her yet this term, and – being the awkward creature that he sometimes was – he’d come to find that this was his best bet at safe small-talk.