Arcturus raised his hand. The history of magic teacher, professor Binns, looked up from his ramblings about goblin rights to stare suprisedly at Arcturus. He looked shocked and at a loss for what to do. Arcturus wondered how long it had been since anybody had asked him a question in class.
"Uhh- what is it Barnesby?" He said, getting Arcturus' name wrong.
"It's Black, sir. Arcturus Black- and may i go to the toilet?" He put his hand down again.
"Of course..." He nodded absent mindedly, and then turned back to the weighty text in his hand. Arcturus rose out of his seat and strolled out into the cold corridor.
"Must stay awake." Arcturus pressed his palms against his cheeks as he strolled. He didn't actually even need to go to the bathroom, he just needed a break from that stifling lesson professor Binns was failing to teach them. Winter was fast approaching, and the corridors tended to be chilly, especially down in the dungeons. Apparently it even snowed at Hogwarts in the winter. Arcturus had never seen snow before. As he passed the big noticeboard tacked to the wall of the first floor corridor, a flier caught his eye. He paused in his tracks and stared at it. It had the Griffindor crest emblazoned upon it, and as he watched, a tiny figure of a maroon clad student flashed past with a quaffle under his arm, closely followed by two more figures in the same uniform. The text across the bottom read:
"Griffindor quidditch tryouts
Friday week two of term.
Can't wait to see you there!"
That was tomorrow! A smile graced his features, and he ran a hand through his curly hair, straightening up. Who knows, it could be a lot of fun to join the team. Arcturus stood idly for a minute, musing about the possibility of joining up. He had just decided he would try out, and turned to walk away, when he ran smack bang into someone much smaller and more lightweight than he. Arcturus' reflexes kicked in and his arms whipped out to catch them before they could fall. He looked down into the face of the person he had just almost knocked down.
She stared back, wide eyed and clutching his sweater to try and save herself. The girl blushed and got her feet back under her. The two of them let go of one another and Arcturus scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
"Sorry." They both spoke at once. He glanced up, and she met his gaze.
"You're the new guy." It wasn't a question.
"Yeah... Um- my name's-" he began to say.
"Arcturus." She interrupted, then blushed even more. For a moment, he wondered how she knew his name, but he supposed being the new guy and all people probably talked about him.
"Yeah. I am Arcturus. What's your name?" He straightened up a little and put his right hand in his pocket, trying to act cool. He thought of what Remus had told him about Hart, and met the girl's gaze in what he hoped was an assertive, confident fashion.
"I'm Kyra... Big fan actually." She half smiled, the rosiness never leaving her cheeks. Kyra wasn't bad looking, now that he was actually seeing her. She had black hair, though it was a little shorter than Cassandra's waist-length locks, and her eyes were a vibrant, emerald green.
"You're a big fan of what?" He asked in confusion.
"Um... Nothing." Her eyes dodged away from his. Arcturus tilted his head to one side.
"You didn't mean... Of me?" He spoke again. She blushed even more heavily, if that was possible, and shook her head side to side. "That is so what you meant!" He grinned cockily. "You're a terrible liar, Kyra." He accused. She smiled back at him, reassured by his amused expression. "So... A big fan, huh?" He advanced towards her. Kyra stumbled backwards and bumped into the noticeboard. Arcturus took three steps towards her, and braced himself against the wall with one arm, standing toe to toe with Kyra. He locked gazes with her. Kyra stared back, frozen. Well that was easy. That whole maneuver was the oldest trick in the book, but was also rather effective. His own heart pounded in his ears as he leaned in very close. Kyra's hitched breathing became obvious to him as he did so.
Arcturus- i...." She murmured. He placed one finger against her lips. He wanted to ask her to the next hogsmead trip. Sirius had told him all about the village, and Arcturus felt like it could be a good opportunity to woo a lady. The only trouble was that the heat of the situation and her avid gaze was making him feel shy.
"Kyra." He whispered, his breath barely moving the hair nearby her ear. He summoned up his courage, and forced his eyes shut. "Go to Hogsmead with me?" He asked, butterflies tickling his stomach unpleasantly. He opened his eyes back up, and Kyra's emerald gaze pierced his blue one.
"Yeaaah!" She squeaked, and a big smile spread across her face. She looked pretty excited. He smiled back, and stepped away from her.
"I'd better get to class, okay?" He said. She nodded, still grinning all over herself. Arcturus smiled back warmly, something like pride blossoming in his chest. Kyra practically skipped away from him down the corridor. He watched after her, and then he turned and headed back towards history of magic, very much awake now, and much happier.