It’s the beginning of the school year, a couple days since the Sorting Ceremony. Edern has been in an exceptionally good mood, having been made Head Boy. Although he’s been busy with additional duties now. He’s taken a bit of time to just read in the courtyard while the weather is still nice and cooperation.

Her nose basically buried in the pages of a rather old-looking tome with some sort of ornately dressed spinning woman on the front, Seraphina doesn’t notice anyone else as she makes herway into the courtyard from the nearby gardens. She doesn’t notice at all that she has bumped directly into a fourth year on her way in, nor does she apologise for the lack of consideration. Whoops. It is only after she plops down onto a bench that she happens to glance up and notice Edern at which point her cheeks acquire their beet red hue, likely to stay there for the rest of the interaction (however little there may be) and very likely beyond.

Edern Fallon shakes his head and sighs. “I’ll never understand the how scale colour can effect the heat of a dragon’s breath!” He shrugs lightly. “This is what I get for taking NEWT level Care of Magical Creatures!” He snorts a little. Glances up to see Seraphina. He smiles. “Sera!” He calls out to her, waving. “How are you? And what’s that horribly big book that you’re reading?”

Seraphina Pryor is stunned beyond belief. Edern addressing her directly? Edern Fallon is talking to her? Seraphina‘s eyes get large as she raises her hand in a weak greeting as she opens her mouth to speak. At first, nothing comes out. Silence. “I–it’s called ‘The Dancing Darkness’ she tells him in more of a croak than in normal speech. Questions beg to be asked, not to mention the simple statements that her tongue begs to form (‘I love you!’), but Sera seems to be incapable, for the moment, of further engaging speech.

Edern Fallon smiles at Sera as he awaits her response to the question. “The Dancing Darkness? Sounds like an interesting book. What’s it all about? It isn’t a book of dark spells is it?” He says, jokingly, with a grin on his face. He tilts his head. He most likely, doesn’t have such questions or statements lingering in his mind towards Seraphina. But she seems nice. If not a bit quiet and often red faced…at least when he’s around, it seems.

“Well, it’s… uh… it’s about this witch. She likes to dance, but there’s… a lot of stuff making it hard. That’s… the darkness,” Seraphina finishes her explanation lamely as she looks down at the book and blushes harder. “It’s uh… well, what are you reading?” Her attempts to change the course of conversation are obvious, but being as the girl’s mental faculties seem to be compromised, it’s probably to be expected.

Edern Fallon nods ever so slightly at the explanation. “The darkness being the obstacles are the darkness because they stop her from doing the thing that she loves to do? That sounds like an interesting book.” He says nodding once more. He shrugs. “Sounds a lot interesting that what I’m reading, anyway.” He looks at the cover. “‘Dragons: A Comprehensive Study On the Biology of Dragons’. Needless to say, I need to read this for my Care of Magical Creatures class.” He shrugs. “Nothing that can be done by it really.”

“Dragons are very interesting!” Seraphina squeaks, glancing over at him only momentarily before she returns her eyes to the ground. “I’m no good at tending to creatures. They don’t like me,” is her quick excuse, which barely makes it out of her mouth before a girl decked out in more red and yellow than the average student chooses to wear runs up to her in tears. “Seraaaaaaaaaaaaaa!” the small Gryffindor cries, hurling herself onto her older sister’s lap and grasping her tight, much to Seraphina‘s dismay. “What do you want, Ona?” she hisses, hoping that Edern won’t be put off by a sniffly second year.

Edern Fallon chuckles, shrugging. “Oh yeah, they’re mighty interesting, but the stuff it talks about is not easy for anyone to understand, I’d imagine. Let alone me. But I guess that’s why the teacher’s having us read it, eh?” He grins. “Oh, I’m sure the creatures like you. I’ll take you out to meet some strange and wonderful creatures during the year and help you out with that, if you want.” He says, hopefully sounding sincere. As the smaller Gryffindor runs up and makes a seat for herself on Seraphina’s lap, crying, he furrows his brow, looking concerned. He closes up the book, puts it in his bag and slowly makes his way over to where the two are. “Hey there.” He says to Ona. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s just my sister,” Seraphina hisses looking slightly annoyed as her sister clings. “Alastriona, what do you need?” she asks the girl testily, and briefly the youngster raises her head to blink her ruddy face at the older boy. Following this is a string of whiny, high-pitched nothingness which is, apparently, supposed to be the summation of the girl’s troubles. All this is punctuated with, “I can’t believe she did that to meeeeeee!” Sera sighs in annoyance as her sister has ruined what she views to be the perfect moment alone with the object of her affections.

Edern Fallon raises an eyebrow and kneels down in front of Seraphina and her sister. “I’m sorry…I didn’t seem to catch all of that. Who did what to you? If somebody has done something wrong, you can tell me.” He points out his Head Boy pin. “I’m the Head Boy.” As if that says it all. “I’ll have a talk with whoever it is.”

“You’re the head boy? Are you my sister’s friend?” the girl asks, punctuating it with a loud sniff. Alastriona looks up at her sister with wide eyes, then back at Edern, while Seraphina‘s only expression at this development seems to be annoyance. “It’s Stacie Perkins. She told me that she would give me her lion goblet if I helped her with her assignment, and then I did and she told me that she wasn’t going to give it to me and anyway it doesn’t exist. She made it up!” Seraphina barely manages to suppress a scoff at this, though she doesn’t make any real efforts to dislodge the girl, either.

Edern Fallon smiles up at Seraphina, nodding a little. “Yes. My name is Edern Fallon. Your sister and I are both in Slytherin.” He says. “Stacie Perkins promised she’d give you her lion cup and then told you she made it up? Well, that wasn’t very good of her, now was it. I’ll tell ya what…I might be able to get you a lion cup. I can’t make any firm promises. But I think I can.” He smiles, look back from Alastriona to Seraphina, giving her a ‘Give you sister a bit of a break, please’ kind of look.

“Oh.” is all Alastriona manages to say as she continues to sniff in a pathetic fashion, still clinging to Seraphina, who has refrained, at least for the moment, from shoving her sister to the ground. “A lion cup? A real lion cup? It would be perfect in my dorm room!” The petite girl’s eyes get somewhat large and she pushes a lock of blonde hair out of her face as she seems to perk up just a bit. “Aren’t all the lion figurines enough, Ona?” Seraphina asks with slight irritation in her voice.

Edern Fallon smiles at Alastriona. “Oh yes, a real lion cup. One that roars too! Would that be good? I bet that’ll beat Miss Perkins’ imaginary lion cup any day!” He chuckles. “You know, Sera, you can never get enough lion stuff if you’re in Gryffindor. Just like everything to do with snakes in Slytherin.” He takes out his wand, and looking back at Sera’s sister, he says, “I’m going to try to make the cup now. Let’s see if I can remember the spell now…” He focuses firmly, at takes a solid grip on his wand. He starts to wave it around, muttering a spell under his breath. After a few seconds there’s a small ‘pop’ sound, and hovering in the air, there is a gold coloured cup. Protruding from the front of the cup is a face of a lion. “Now…just one more little charm…” He does a quick little wave and spell. Taking grasp of the floating cup, he points his wand at the nose of the lion. “Roar!” He says, just before it lets out a very might roar indeed. He holds out the cup to Ala
striona. “There ya have it.” He smiles kindly.

“OH MY GRACIOUS ME!” Alastriona shrieks as Seraphina stares, unable to comment as she sees magic beyond her own skill performed. “How did you do that?” Seraphina breathes, her awkwardness seeming to fade away as she examines it. “I’m terrible with charms,” she admits as her sister holds the cup and marvels over it, not for its magical ability but for its lion…y-ness. “Thank you, Edern!” the girl almost sings as she hurls herself toward him with the intent to envelop him in a hug.

Edern Fallon shrugs a litte, smiling at Alastroina. “A mixture of charms and stuff of that like. Sorta transfiguration too. Very difficult spells though. Maybe you’ll learn them some day.” He can’t help but grin. “Charms is easy enough, I guess. It’s just not everyone’s thing, eh?” But then…this is the Seventh Year Head Boy who got an O on his Charms OWLs. He doesn’t exactly push the younger Pryor away…but he seems a little awkward and unsure at the hug. He gives her a few small pats on the back. When she does let go, he says, “Now, to make it roar, you press your wand up to it’s nose, like I did, and simply say ‘Roar!’ and it will give the best lion-like roar you ever did hear.”

“Stacie’s going to be soooo jealous! She doesn’t have a lion cup, you know.” The girl grins impishly before thanking him one more time then running off as quickly as she first appeared. Seraphina watches her sister go, a little stunned at the speed of her exit. “‘Bye,” she mutters quietly, then the blush comes back into her face as she realizes once again who she is sitting with. “Sorry about that,” she tells Edernquietly, looking down at her lap.

Edern Fallon nods firmly. “Oh, very jealous. I mean, I’m even jealous now! I wish I had a cup like that!” He grins as she runs off. “Bye now!” He calls after her. He smiles at Seraphina. “Oh, don’t be quiet. You’re sister is a nice girl. She just wanted a lion cup is all. And now that she does, she’s as happy as she can be. “I was just glad that I could help.”

“She always has to be the center of attention,” Seraphina mutters. “There’s always something that’s tragic or exciting or something…” The young woman sighs a bit and clutches her book to her. “It was very nice of you, though.” She smiles to a bit, then looks down at her lap again. “I don’t remember what we were talking about,” she admits quietly.

Edern Fallon snorts lightly. “Well there always is something tragic or exciting at that age. Believe me. I’ve got a sister too. Only we’re triplets. But I know what it’s like to have a sister like that. It will pass, I’m sure it will. If not, maybe she’ll have to learn some lessons the hard way, but that’s fine.” He says with a light smile. “It wasn’t much of a problem, not really. It was an honour to help one of the Pryor line.” He chuckles and shakes his head. “You know, in all the excitement, I don’t think I remember what we were talking about either.”

“Yes, well, I suppose that’s normal.” Seraphina concedes. “I wasn’t like that, I can tell you, though.” Seraphina looks around the courtyard somewhat uncertainly for a moment. She opens her mouth to speak, though she still looks uncertain as to what she’s going to say, when a large raindrop falls nearly into her eye. “Oh – oh, that’s no good. I need to take this book inside. It was… it was nice talking to you,” she says quietly before dashing off quickly into the castle, much in the fashion of her younger sister, and she’s gone without a further word.

Edern Fallon smiles softly, shaking his head. “No, of course you weren’t. Wouldn’t think of it.” He laughs. He holds out his hand as the rain drop falls in her eye. “Oh…yes…it does seem to be beginning to rain.” He smiles and nods. “Of course, see you around. And my offer for helping you with school or anything else is still open.” And she’s off, and he stands slowly, making his way back into the school.

Other Interesting Logs:

• Finding a Purpose and A Pretty Dress
• Parker Wexler is Sorted
• Sorting Day from Josie’s View
• The Wexler Twins Arrive at Hogwarts
• The Work Year Starts Again