One x One with Deoldath

[Deoledath]

| Drew Byrne | 16 | He/Him/His | Hufflepuff | Muggleborn |

He was admittedly confused. What did she mean she was looking forward to going with them? He hid it well on his features. Shopping together? It seemed out of character. Weren’t all Slytherins supposed to be prejudice and nasty? That was the experience he had with the members of the Serpent household. Then she was being shoved. She was being shoved into him and he moved a foot back to stabilize himself while instinctively putting his arms out to stabilize her so she wouldn’t fall over or anything…

Then she was yelling. More than that, she seemed to be standing up for him and it just confused him further. He let it show on his features as well, a frown. His head tilted to the side a little. “I… why did you yell back at them?” He didn’t understand her motives at all. Then she asked about his next class and he nodded. “I also have Defense Against the Dark Arts.” He confirmed, working his bottom lip through his teeth. “Shopping sounds good too… I just wasn’t sure that you really wanted to be seen around with…” He motioned to himself while trailing off because he felt like it was obvious. He knew how this went, walking alongside her.

She was a mystery and he wanted to figure her out.

[Elyidian]

| Blair Wood | 17 | Slytherin | Pure |

Giving a soft but quick half upturn of her mouth she thanked him for making sure she didn't fall over. She frowned as he gestured to himself and sighed. Knowing that this poor boy probably thought she assumed he was lesser just because of his blood status. " Yeah, I don't really do the whole 'I'm better than you' thing because we both have blood in our veins and that is all that really matters in my opinion." she stated bluntly. Blair moved some of her hair out of her face and walked side by side with him to DATDA. Thinking about how to hide their friendship due to her parents hating muggles, she had a fixed frown upon her face as she sat down with an empty seat next to her.

Thinking to herself that at least once, why can't she have any friends that didn't need her parent's approval for. And why didn't he run as soon as he had the chance to? Everyone knew the rumors about her Dark Mark but everyone was either too scared or didn't want to see if those were true. She sighed yet again, taking out her book for the class and setting it on the table while also reaching for a quill and parchment. Blair rested her chin on her hand as she waited for class to start.

[Deoledath]

| Drew Byrne | 16 | He/Him/His | Hufflepuff | Muggleborn |

Drew certainly had heard the rumors. If she really did have a Dark Mark then surely she hated him solely for existing, right? He half expected her to ask him who he had stolen a wand from because he knew that was a common thought across the purists, that muggleborns stole wands and magic from purebloods and halfbloods in order to gain their own powers. Still, he walked silently alongside her, not sure what he should be saying or if he should say anything at all until they reached the classroom. Originally, he went to sit by his friend Devon who was already there… but then he saw the empty seat next to her and decided in the spur of the moment to take that one instead.

“I hope you don’t mind…” He trailed off as he got out his book and the notebook he used to take notes. He knew that quills and ink were all the rage at Hogwarts, but he liked his good old fashioned pen and notebook and made sure to stock up every summer. He only used ink when it was necessary for papers and such. His notes were his own business, he figured. He started idly sketching in the corner of the notebook. He liked to draw animals, so he was sketching a hippogriff in the corner while he waited for class to start. “Where do you want to go to shop?”

[Elyidian]

| Blair | 17 | Slytherin | Pure |

Noticing that he took the seat beside her she gave a weak smile and said " no you're ok." , ignoring the comments made towards herself and Drew. " I defended you in the hallway because nobody deserves to be treated like that" she commented quietly, as she knew Snape hated talking during class. Putting her quill in the ink and beginning to write notes she noticed him doodling in the margins of what appeared to be a plain, empty book. She'd never seen a muggle notebook before and was wondering if it was more helpful than using parchment, as the notebook seemed to be bound by metal spirals. Fascinated by the bound book she also noticed his spelling was rather poor but decided not to be rude or poke fun at him for it. But she did reach over and write 'the b in bementor actually looks like this, and wrote dementor'. and a smiley face next to it to show she wasn't trying to be rude.

As Snape droned on and on about dementors and their purpose in Azkaban, which she was quite familiar with due to be affiliated with the dark magic folk. Blair also passed him a note that read ' We can go to Diagon Alley or Hogsmede to shop for clothes if you'd like ' and Snape gave them an eye. The red head soon got bored of listening in class and decided to just watch the Hufflepuff draw, as she oddly found it relaxing and thought he was pretty good for an amateur artist. Shaking her head lightly she wondered when practice was tomorrow.

[Deoledath]

| Drew Byrne | 16 | He/Him/His | Hufflepuff | Muggleborn |

He tried to hide the smile as she assured him that it was okay. He wasn’t entirely convinced that she was being honest with him, but he knew it could just be the anxiety speaking as well. Devon insisted the way his parents had berated him constantly always made him second guess his own actions, though he fully disagreed. “Thank you.” The sincerity of his words was present in his voice. He continued to write, not noticing how lost she was in the amazement of his notebook… until she was reaching over and writing, reading the words with a squint before he was able to make sense of them. When he did he felt a thick embarrassment and the flush of color to his cheeks in turn. He quickly used the pen to correct the issue. He figured she wasn’t trying to be rude, but he did feel embarrassed. How did everyone else sort through all of the soup on pages and why couldn’t he?

He continued to sketch, giving up on taking notes as Snape rambled on. He didn’t know much about Death Eaters but he was certain he could get Devon to fill him in later. He was a much better student than Drew was after all. He read her note and nodded. Diagon Alley sounds good. He scrawled back poorly before passing it back discretely, not wanting to get caught. He continued to sketch, fleshing out some of the finer details of the hippogriff. He always had a much easier time with drawing than writing and he wasn’t sure why. Of course, there was a lot less pressure on him when he was drawing because he had only drawn for himself before. He thought about perhaps sketching out some Quidditch plays, but he wouldn’t dare do that with the Slytherin seeker sitting right next to him.

[Elyidian]

| Blair Wood | 17 | Slytherin | Pure

She nodded and kept watching the boy draw, hearing murmurs behind her about Blair only talking to Drew because she wanted to kill him. This made her sad, and she slumped into her seat. Not having the gall to stand up for herself only because many of the Slytherin kids knew about her family and how ruthless they were. Losing all interest in class as this happened and looked out the window. Wishing she was literally anyone else in the world at the moment. Brushing the hair away from her cheek she tried to keep the sleeve of her robes up but they unfortunately slipped down just enough to see the beginning of a tattoo. Unclear if it was a Dark mark or not to anyone else though as to hide the embarrassment on her skin.

Blair really had hoped that today would've been different. She frowned and started writing again. Maybe if she buried herself in her work that the thoughts of the past would stay away... They didn't and she began to feel anxiety about her past. What if people knew? What if they all found out and turned her into a pariah or worse, told Dumbledore. She felt very alone in that moment and began to bounce her knee from the distress she was feeling.

[Deoledath]

| Drew Byrne | 16 | He/Him/His | Hufflepuff | Muggleborn |

Drew could overhear the rumors too, and he tried to ignore them. He knew it was possible they could be true, but honestly she wouldn’t be the first person in his life who tried to kill him if that were her aim. He could handle himself… at least he liked to think he could. Ultimately, there wasn’t much someone could do when up against an Unforgivable Curse. He knew there were rumors that she was a Death Eater, but she seemed so friendly and she had stood up for him. It could be an act, but why? Why be nice just to strike him down? She didn’t seem the type to be that cruel so he pushed it down.

At least he thought he did, but he saw the edges of a tattoo and found his eyes turning fully to try and get a better picture of it, to see if it was true what was said about her… Quidditch had made him good at reading people, and he could tell that her leg was bouncing because of the movements her upper body had to make to compensate, no matter how slight. He might not be the smartest or most academic, but he had a good eyesight and it helped him on the pitch, and now off. Ignore them. That’s what I try to do. He scrawled back, because there were murmurs and whispers about him as well, just in a different light. His was more about how much he struggled, people questioning if he was even magical at all because of how poorly he did in most of his academic classes, really anything that involved reading or learning spells… which was pretty much everything except for Quidditch. They never know what they’re talking about and they’re just looking for something to pass the time. He was used to it, and he imagined she likely was too. She was nice to him, and so he was trying to be comforting in return.

[Elyidian]

|Blair Wood | 17 | Slytherin | Pure |

She noticed what he was writing and it calmed her a little, knowing that he was trying to help and didn't want to listen to the rumors about her. Of course she'd heard things about him too but rumors aren't fact and would rather hear it from him than listen to such lies. Blair let herself calm a little before class let out for the day. Putting away her ink and quill and grabbing her notes to put them into a protected part of her bag so they wouldn't get wrinkled before looking at Drew once more. "Thank you" the sincerity left her mouth in an unfamiliar way as they made their way out of the classroom.

She felt oddly comforted as the two walked to the Great Hall. If you want to go tonight, meet me in the third floor girls bathroom at 7. she had given him the note before sitting down. Looking over she saw another boy approach her new friend. Another Hufflepuff so maybe this was his friend too? She kept her gaze rather fixed and then noticed she was staring so immediately put herself back to the table where everyone was eating.

[Deoledath]

| Drew Byrne | 16 | He/Him/His | Hufflepuff | Muggleborn |

Drew tried to pay attention in the rest of class, managing to take a few more notes sporadically throughout the lecture. All that really mattered was that he understood his notes, and occasionally he made references to muggle history in an attempt to remember different aspects. He closed his notebook and put it in his bag, smiling softly as she thanked him. Admittedly, not something that he expected to hear out of anyone much less her… but it was welcome. They walked together again, a comfortable silence falling over them because he didn’t really know what to ask. He had a feeling a lot of the questions he wanted answers to were questions she wouldn’t answer in public if at all. He gave an awkward wave goodbye when they reached the Great Hall, finding his way to his house table.

Devon quickly slid into the seat next to him when he sat down in order to eat. He asked the usual. If he was okay, asked by he was sitting next to a rumored Death Eater and if she had threatened him in any way. He explained the situation, how she was his date to the Quidditch Ball and how she seemed okay and Devon accepted it with hesitance. Devon noted the way she stared and even nudged Drew to tell him about it, but Drew just shrugged him off. “She’s not like everyone makes her out to be… I dunno, you would think if she were a death eater she’d be a little more mean.” He shrugged in response to his friend. He looked up, hoping to make eye contact with her after reading the note before motioning to it and nodding to let her know that he would meet her at 7.

[Elyidian]

|Blair | 17 | Slytherin | Pure|

Blair waved back solemnly and upon sitting at the table, she saw Drew and his friend talking while the other Hufflepuff boy looked in her direction. Feeling her cheeks flush as she turned back around to focus on her dinner she felt a little embarrassed for looking too long. The girl noticed that Drew had agreed to her note and that gave her a little pick-me-up as she decided eating was probably something she'd wanna do before the tables got cleared for the night. Blair hoped that they could be friends but maybe the other Hufflepuff boy was telling Drew all the rumors about her and she didn't know what to think about it.

Later on, after the tables had magically been cleaned, She looked around the room yet again, noticing some of the regular faces in the other houses pointing, murmuring and snickering thinking she couldn't hear them. Blair knew that no matter how hard she tried to outrun these people, they wouldn't ever let up which sucked but hey, at least she wasn't at home. Here she could find some people to get along with, and it wasn't like there weren't other kids who believed in blood equality. However, they didn't want to be friends with her due to the Death Eater rumors. Blair silenced the thoughts in her head as Dumbledore stated the same things he did every night and sent the students off to their dormitories.