The early bird… (COMPLETE)

[Devereaux Gordon]

The library was mostly silent, save for the occasional whisper passing from one student to another, or the periodic turning of pages, really it was as all good libraries ought to be. The calm of early semester had not yet been broken. No one was rushing around trying to get the remaining copy of a text that would be critical for finishing their essay. There were no groups of students rapidly quizzing each other under their breaths as they tried to cram in the last bits of information before a test.

No this was a peaceful time. In fact, many students didn’t even bother to spend time in the library yet. Most were still adjusting to being back at Hogwarts, spending their free time catching up with friends and sharing tales of their summer. The first years were still getting lost on their way to classes. The ones that didn’t really know about magic until recently could occasionally be seen getting spooked by one of the pictures.

Devereaux, however, was in fact sitting in the library. He could be seen at one of the study tables with a small stack of textbooks piled beside him. One of them, his Herbology book, was opened and leaned against the pile so he could read it as he took notes.

“Dittany…dittany….dittany…” he whispers to himself as he flips back a few pages seeming to search for, well, Dittany. “Ah, here, powerful healing properties, essential in Wiggenweld potion. Can be used raw or as infusion…handle with care… fumes cause giddiness.” The scratch of his quill matches his reading. He dips his quill in the small inkwell and reads again. “Greece, rocky terrain, warm climates…hard to maintain correct humidity in Hogwarts greenhouse.”

Setting down his quill and sitting back in his chair, Devereaux let out a sigh and stretched his arms over his head. He wasn’t really the type to spend all of his time studying, but his elective Ancient Runes seemed like it might require quite a bit of study and he was loath to fall behind so early in the semester. During his first three years he had learned that if he took a little bit of time each day to review what he had learned that day, it saved him a lot of time when it was time to prepare for tests.

[Missy Dragonov]

Missy had meant to get started on her essay. Truly, she had. She had even gone through the motions—grabbed a few books that looked relevant, found a decent seat, opened one of them to a random page… And then promptly shoved it aside in favour of Quidditch: Strategies of the Modern Game.

Her essay would still be there later, wouldn’t it? Besides, it wasn’t due yet, and this was far more interesting. She leaned back in her chair, idly twirling her quill between her fingers as she skimmed the page on Chaser feints. It wasn’t until she heard a familiar voice mumbling nearby that she finally looked up.

Devereaux.

She didn’t know him that well, but he had always struck her as one of those people who actually enjoyed schoolwork. The type who did their assignments early because they wanted to. Which, frankly, was a bit of a mystery to her. And right now, he was muttering about Dittany of all things. How thrilling.

Missy let the silence stretch for a moment, debating whether to let him be, but then he sighed and stretched—and, well, that was practically an invitation to distract him.

“You know, Devereaux,” she said, tilting her chair back onto two legs as she grinned at him, “you could try pretending to be a normal student and put that book down for five minutes. The semester just started, and here you are, making the rest of us look bad.” She gestured vaguely to the Quidditch book on her table. “I, personally, am conducting very important research. Not all of us can afford to spend our free time scribbling about plants.”

She smirked, waiting to see if he’d take the bait. Would he defend himself? Lecture her? Ignore her entirely? Either way, she was thoroughly entertained.

[Devereaux Gordon]

“You know, Devereaux,” An almost familiar voice spoke out, causing Devereaux to pause right at the peak of his stretch. Which, it must be said, is really quite a terrible thing to have happen to you. Just like having a yawn cut short right as it reaches that moment of most satisfying depth. It was really quite a terrible feeling. With that bit of disappointment in the back of his mind, Devereaux’s eyes opened.

Finding Missy sitting at a table nearby, He relaxed back down and let his arms drop to his table as she spoke. Having completed three years at Hogwarts together, they had of course had some classes together. In fact, they had shared Ancient Runes during their third year. Not to say they could be considered friends, but at the very least acquaintances.

The corners of his mouth pulled up as she smoothly transitioned from poking fun at him to making fun of herself. He glanced at the book on her table and raised an eyebrow. “I have a feeling that Captain Goldman would be quite happy with his seekers choice of study material. Alas,” He took a dramatic breath, “us peasants have naught to do but fill our time with trivial matters. Like Dittany.” He said the name of the plant with a disgusted scrunch of his nose. He quickly grinned again. “But in all seriousness, I’m aware of how nerdy it makes me seem, but I found that if I spend thirty minutes reviewing all of my new material each day….” He trailed off, his eyes taking on a slightly distant look for a moment.

Devereaux quickly though back over the previous three years. Sure, first year was first year, they were pretty lenient. Some of the students already knew most of the basic stuff, having grown up in wizard households. While there were some that were still deciding if they were trapped in a fever dream or if this was all reality. It must have been sometime in second year, when the material got hard enough that he had to study a little for tests and quizzes. He had quickly decided that he would take a more proactive approach, which meant studying regularly, as opposed to cramming. That way he would hopefully retain more information in the long term and it would eventually better prepare him for O.W.L.s and subsequently his N.E.W.T.s. And THERE IT WAS, he was already thinking about 5th year and 7th years exams…

His smile slipped into a look of astonishment. “Oh my gosh….I’m a nerd.” He whispered.

[Missy Dragonov]

Missy barely held back a laugh as she watched the dawning horror spread across Devereaux’s face. His whispered realization—“Oh my gosh… I’m a nerd.”—was almost too much. She pressed a hand to her mouth, eyes gleaming with amusement, before letting out a short, very unsympathetic snort.

“Oh, Devs,” she said, testing the nickname as she leaned forward, her smirk widening. “Sweet summer child. You’re only just realizing this?”

She let her chair drop back onto all four legs with a light thud and gave him a mock-sympathetic shake of her head. “Face it, you’ve been doomed from the start. Some of us are born to chase glory on the Quidditch pitch,”—she gestured grandly to herself—“and some of us are born to, I dunno, whisper about Dittany like it’s the meaning of life.”

She tilted her head, as if considering something. “Not that I blame you, really. Studying ahead means you’ll have loads of free time later, right? Very strategic. Very Slytherin of you, actually. I respect it.”

She gave him a smug little look, waiting to see how he’d react to that one. If nothing else, this was proving far more entertaining than writing that essay.

[Devereaux Gordon]

Devereaux felt a splash of color on his cheeks as Missy covered her mouth to hold back a laugh. The glint of amusement was clear in her eyes even from across the table that separated them. Her humor at his little personal epiphany only made his sudden self-awareness all the worse.

He grimaced slightly at the nickname as she spoke. Her grand gestures brought a small smile to his face, which melted into a conflicted frown as she finished speaking. “Well first of all..”, He paused for a moment, “yes I am just now realizing this. But regardless, I am confident that my system will see me through! I just need to…uh… adapt some things.” He said with faux confidence that he was sure she could see through. He ran a hand through his hair and squinted sightly at her. “I won’t be offended to be compared to a Slytherin either, some of the worlds best magicians have come from there.” He let out a breath and seemed to deflate a bit. He could tell she wasn’t really trying to be mean, just throwing out some friendly prodding. “Anyway,” He started, trying to change the topic. “What are you doing here anyway? I doubt you came to the library to read about quidditch. Seems more like a dorm room book.”

[Missy Dragonov]

Missy smirked at Devereaux’s reaction, resting her chin in her palm as she watched his attempt at confidence crumble under its own weight. She could see right through it, of course, but she had to admire the effort. He was really trying to sell this ‘organized chaos’ thing.

“Oh, sure,” she said, nodding sagely. “Just a little adaptation and everything will fall into place. You’re basically a genius, really. A true pioneer of academic strategy.” Her voice dripped with playful sarcasm, but there was no real bite behind it.

At his remark about Slytherin, she rolled her eyes but smirked. “Yeah, yeah, I know there’ve been some brilliant Slytherins. Doesn’t mean I wanna be one.” She leaned back slightly, giving him a mock-serious look. “Not that you’d have made the cut. You’ve got the brains, sure, but you’re way too… I dunno. Earnest.”

Her smirk widened slightly at his attempt to shift the conversation. “What am I doing here?” She scoffed, raising an eyebrow. “I do read sometimes, you know.” She tapped her fingers against the book she had set aside. “For your information, I was actually looking up a few things for Ancient Runes before I got distracted.” She sighed dramatically, waving a hand. “Not that it’ll help. My brain refuses to cooperate when it comes to this stuff.”

[Devereaux Gordon]

Working to regain his composure, Devereaux sat up a little bit as he listened to Missy talk. He managed a grin as she mocked his words. “It might astound you, but I’m hardly the first person to put effort into their studies. It’s actually a fantastic concept, you ought to look into it a bit.” His grin grew to a good humored smile as he spoke, feeling like he had regained his wits a bit. It seemed Missy was rather good at keeping people on their back foot. “I’m hardly a master on the subject, but you seem to be thriving as a Slytherin. You certainly have the sass for it.”

Devereaux looked at the book as her fingers tapped the cover. The gentle tap of nails on the hard cover was satisfying to his ears. “Ancient Runes?” He took a breath to continue but then paused, his eyes narrowing at her slightly. “I’m sure someone born to chase glory should have no problem managing a simple Ancient Runes text book.” He let his eyes drift away, as if something across the library had caught his attention. “Surely you don’t need assistance from an overly earnest summer child who enjoys to read, of all things.” The words sounded nonchalant as Devereaux feigned disinterest.

In actuality, Ancient Runes was one of Devereaux’s favorite subjects. He planned on taking it for as long as he could as one of his electives. The idea of forming runes to create long lasting magical effects brought him a great deal of excitement. He wasn’t a weak magician by any means, but he was aware that through artificlng he could potentially craft magic that would far outlive him. While most spells were fleeting, even the longer lasting ones were pitiful compared the longevity of high-quality rune craft.

[Missy Dragonov]

Missy’s smirk didn’t falter as Devereaux threw her own words back at her, if anything, it widened. She rested her chin in her palm, watching him with a glint of amusement. “Oh, now you’re catching on,” she drawled. “I was beginning to worry you hadn’t been listening.”

Her fingers tapped idly on the book’s cover again, her expression far too pleased with herself. “And yet, despite my clearly stated talents, you seem shockingly confident that I’d struggle with a ‘simple’ Ancient Runes text.” She let out a small, exaggerated sigh. “It’s almost like you want me to ask for help just so you can gloat about it.”

Missy tilted her head, studying him. “But then again, you do love reading, don’t you? I suppose if there was ever someone who could make runes sound… not like an absolute headache, it’d be you.” She feigned deep thought before flashing a grin. “Alright, Summer Child. Impress me. Show me why you’re so confident that I need assistance. Unless you’d rather sit there and pretend you don’t want to show off.”

[Devereaux Gordon]

Devereaux continued to feign disinterest as she spoke. His lips seemed to quiver slightly as he strained to maintain a straight face and soon the corners of his mouth began to rise. Finally, he met her gaze again. With an overly dramatic sigh, Devereaux rolled his eyes and sat up in his chair. “First of all, I don’t need to impress anyone that isn’t able to grade an assignment. And second, it’s more that I would hate to see someone neglect an assignment in a subject as interesting as Ancient Runes.”

“Come over here,” He said as he waved a hand towards one of the other chairs at his table. “What exactly are the details of your assignment? Scrivener likes to give slightly different prompts to each of his classes. I think he just gets exhausted of reading the same prompt over and over again, which is fair.” While he waited for her to get settled, he began looking through his pile of books for his own Ancient Runes text. Having found it at the bottom of the pile, he quickly slid it out and propped it open on top of the herbology book that he had been reading.

[Missy Dragonov]

Missy arched a brow at his very noble reasoning, looking thoroughly unimpressed. “Neglect an assignment? No way, I prefer to think of it as… strategic prioritization.” She grinned, but after a moment’s pause, she exhaled through her nose and stood, scooping up her book. “Fine, fine. Let’s see if you can make this worth my time.”

She dropped into the chair across from him, setting her book down with a decisive thump. “Scrivener wants an analysis of the practical applications of three runes from the Elder Futhark,” she said, leaning back slightly. “Their historical uses, their magical properties, and—” she rolled a hand lazily in the air, “—how they could be applied in modern spellcraft. Or something like that.”

Missy tilted her head, watching as he fished out his own book. “Since you’re such a fan of the subject, I assume you’ve already got a few favorites? Go on then, Summer Child,” she teased, smirking. “Dazzle me.”

[Devereaux Gordon]

Devereaux returned an arched eyebrow at her, “Yeah, yeah, maybe strategic procrastination at the most.” He laughed and then nodded as she told him about the writing prompt they had been given for Scriveners class. It was essentially the same one that his class had gotten. There were enough runes in Elder Futhark that is was unlikely the professor would have to read too many essays that all used the exact same three runes.

Flipping his Ancient Runes text to chapter two, Devereaux found the table that held all of the runes in Elder Futhark. “Prepare to be dazzled Dragonov.” He said with a grin. “Let me start by saying, I’ve essentially already written the same paper, so I will be sure to talk through different runes with you, that way it’s not like I’m just feeding you the paper I already wrote.” He absently waved his hand towards a scroll that was tied shut with a thin string while his eyes stayed on Missy. “Are there certain aspects of artifice or runecraft that intrigue you? Obviously Ancient Runes is an elective so I assume you are taking it for some reason. I think you are probably more likely to enjoy writing the paper if we can identify things that interest you.” He seemed to think for a moment then snapped his fingers. “Actually, wait just a second.”

Shuffling through some of his parchment, Devereaux found his Ancient Runes notes slid them in between them both. After flipping through a few pages he found a small hand written table. It seemed to show all of the Elder Furthark runes, their name, and their meaning or magical association. “Maybe you can look through this table I made and pick three that seem interesting to you.”

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[Missy Dragonov]

Missy’s eyes lit up as Devereaux actually started helping her. She readjusted herself in her seat, rolling her shoulders back like a Quidditch player about to take a penalty shot. He was an absolute legend for this—maybe she’d even buy him a chocolate frog later as a thank-you, or at least won't jinx him just for the hell of it.

She leaned in, looking at the table he had drawn up in his notes, surprised by how neat and easy to follow it was. “Alright, I take it back, you’re not just a pretty face,” she teased, tilting the page slightly to get a better look.

Tracing a finger over a few of the runes, she tilted her head. “They kind of look like wand movements for some of our spell work,” she mused. Her eyes flickered to one in particular, and she wrinkled her nose, pointing at it. “Ugh, look at this one. Eihwaz. It looks way too much like the movement for Avada Kedavra.” She paused, then frowned slightly, reconsidering. “Wait—what does it actually mean?”

After a moment of scanning Devereaux’s table, her expression shifted. “Endurance and protection?” She let out a short laugh. “Huh. I take it back, that’s actually kind of cool. Like…a hidden strength sort of thing.”

As she stared at the page, the lines and shapes of the runes began to blur slightly in her vision, her mind wandering like it usually did when she wasn't on her broom. The runes almost looked like little stick figures—she could imagine them coming to life, brandishing tiny swords and wands, dueling each other in the margins of Devereaux’s notes. A particularly scrappy one, shaped like Algiz, raised its arms like a shield while another, probably Tiwaz, lunged forward with a sharp jab.

She blinked, snapping herself out of the daydream and grinning. “Okay, I’ll admit it, this is actually kind of fun. You’re a miracle worker, Dev.”

[Devereaux Gordon]

Devereaux smiled as Missy leaned in towards the notes and began reading over his table of runes. It looked like she was genuinely interested in them. He hoped that seeing them written out with a clear example of what they meant would help her. He found that organizing information in a clear way often made it much easier for him to internalize and understand. That was the whole reason he had spent his time writing the table in the first place.

“Well it’s exciting to know that I can add ‘pretty face’ to my resume when applying for jobs in the future. Is it okay if I put you down as a reference?” He asked drily.

She reached out and began tracing a finger over the notes causing his smile to return. “I have never looked into the origin of wand movements, but honestly something like that wouldn’t surprise me. Having the table with the potential magical significance was really helpful for me.”

He listened as she spoke, not sure if she was even talking to him or just to herself. “Yeah it is interesting. Almost like something you might see on a shield, maybe used for barrier or protection magic?” He responded quietly, not wanting to distract her.

Missy got very quiet as she was reading the table, he actually got worried she was actually just messing with him after a while. She finally seemed to snap out of her deep thought with a blink. “I don’t know about miracle worker, but I’m happy to help. Runes are extremely interesting to me, so I have been trying to make my notes as helpful as possible incase I ever decide to look back at them in the future. So are there any three that you would like to look deeper into? Once we identify them, we can begin making some notes for each one that cover all of the topics that Professor Scrivener wants you to discuss in the essay. It might be helpful for you to consider three that you think would have potential to work together. Then in your paper you could propose a potential use for all three of the runes that you chose. I'm sure Scrivener would enjoy something like that.”

[Missy Dragonov]

Missy blinked at him, her nose scrunching up as if he’d just suggested she eat a flobberworm. “You actually expect me to sit here and pick three runes right now?” she repeated, voice thick with betrayal. “Devs, I thought we had something special. I thought you understood me.”

Sure, Scrivener was terrifying, and she had no real desire to be on the receiving end of one of his disappointed stares, but that didn’t mean she was about to willingly subject herself to extra effort. She had done enough for now—she had engaged with the material, pretended to care, and even made an insightful observation. That was surely worth something.

Pausing, she glanced at his neat little table of runes again, tapping her fingers against the desk. Maybe she should at least pick one—just to show she tried—but then she shrugged, letting the impulse pass. With a dramatic sigh, she rolled up her notes and unceremoniously shoved the scroll between the pages of her Quidditch book, securing its fate as a ‘later’ problem. If she left it there long enough, maybe the words would seep into her brain through sheer proximity.

Leaning back in her chair, she stretched her arms over her head before lazily turning her attention back to Devereaux. “Alright, enough about my essay,” she declared, eyes glinting with mischief. “What about your work? The dittany research? Or have you abandoned that noble quest in favor of torturing me with academia?”

Potions wasn’t exactly her best subject, but she wasn’t terrible at it either—she managed to get by well enough without botching too many assignments. Some of it was even interesting, in small doses. And dittany was one of those ingredients that always seemed to come up in something, which meant Devereaux’s research probably wasn’t just some pointless side project.

She quirked an eyebrow, waiting. “Or, better yet, have you finally uncovered some grand secret about it that’s going to change the face of healing forever?”

[Devereaux Gordon]

Deveraeux rolled his eyes at Missy’s sudden change of pace. He had a feeling that he would be rolling his eyes a lot if he spent much time with her. Although her behavior was strange to him, something that he couldn’t really imagine doing himself, it didn’t surprise him too much that she felt that she had done enough already and would get back to it later. He only hoped that his notes had at least given her the brief insight she would need to do a decent job.

“Understood you?” Devereaux raised his eyebrows in mock astonishment. “Missy Dragonov I think you will find yourself much happier in life if you go ahead and assume no one will ever understand you. And if someone says they do, you probably ought to call them a liar and run.” He laughed while watching her seal away her notes with finality.

Devereaux relaxed back into his chair as she ended their unscheduled tutoring session, which he had to admit didn’t last nearly as long as he expected. “Dittany? Oh, right. No I wasn’t actually working on any assignments.” He said, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment. “I was just reviewing the lecture from my herbology class and adding some details to my notes.” He couldn’t help but roll his eyes again. “Torture? They will need to add melodrama to the list of Slytherin traits at this rate!”

“Dittany was actually my last entry for those so I was finishing up when you decided to distract me.” He smirked at her. “How about you tell me about your quidditch fascination? I actually took flying my first three years, this years I switched out for art so I could branch out some. I really enjoy flying but the advanced flying classes didn’t seem necessary since I've never played quidditch.”

[Missy Dragonov]

Missy gasped, hand flying to her chest in exaggerated offense. “Excuse me?” she demanded, eyes widening as if he had just committed a grave insult. “Are you calling me unrelatable? Unknowable? An enigma wrapped in a mystery wrapped in a—” She cut herself off, squinting at him in a mockingly suspicious manner.

Then, a slow smirk curled across her lips. “So, by your own logic,” she drawled, tapping a finger against her chin, “if anyone does say they understand me, they must be a liar. And what did you say just before? That you understood me?” Her smirk widened as she leaned in slightly, eyes gleaming with amusement. “Devereaux, that doesn’t sound very Hufflepuff-like to me.”

She settled back in her chair, watching as he scratched the back of his head, mumbling something about reviewing his herbology lecture. Oh. That made more sense—she had assumed he was working on Potions, but now that she thought about it, dittany was more of a herbology thing. Either way, it made sense that he was the sort to actually study the material beyond what was strictly necessary. It was kind of annoying. And kind of impressive. She wasn’t going to tell him that, though.

Instead, she arched an eyebrow as he rolled his eyes at her again. Merlin, he really was going to strain something at this rate. “Careful there, Devvy-pie,” she quipped. “If you keep rolling your eyes like that, one of these days they’re just gonna pop right out of your head. And I am not responsible for finding them if they do.”

But all teasing was forgotten the moment he brought up Quidditch. Just like that, Missy was alive. Her whole face lit up, posture shifting from relaxed to fully engaged, hands moving as she spoke.

“Oh, you have to take advanced flying,” she said, practically vibrating in her seat. “It’s the best. I mean, I get it—art is nice, creative expression, whatever—but flying.” She sighed, shaking her head as if he were a tragic lost cause. “It’s not just a way to get from place to place. It’s freedom. It’s control. It’s power. There’s nothing like the wind rushing past your ears, the stadium roaring, that perfect moment when you make a play and everything just clicks.”

Her hands gestured wildly as she spoke, as if she could physically grasp the feeling she was describing. “Quidditch isn’t just a game, it’s a battle. Strategy, skill, adaptability—you have to think and react in the moment. And the rush of it all? Nothing compares.”

She exhaled, finally pausing long enough to glance at him. “And you—” she pointed at him, a new spark of mischief glinting in her eyes. “You’ve never played? Not once? Not even for fun?”

A slow, wicked grin spread across her face. “Well, we have to fix that.”

She leaned forward, eyes practically glowing with excitement, slamming her hands down on the table. “Devereaux, I am going to teach you how to play Quidditch!”

[Devereaux Gordon]

Devereaux’s eyes slowly rose up his forehead as he watched Missy transform before his eyes. Her eyes lit up as she sat forward slightly and began using her hands as she spoke. For really the first time since they began taking, she looked genuinely excited. He smiled as she began talking to him about flying. It made him happy to see how much she seemed to love, not just quidditch, but all things flying. She described some of the things that she enjoyed about flying and he had to admit that those were some of the reasons that he had taken flying for three years to begin with.

Then she transitioned to talking about quidditch specifically, and he couldn’t deny it, the way she described it made it sound absolutely fantastic. He didn’t have any friends who liked to go play quidditch for fun, so the opportunity to play had just never presented itself. “Well, no I haven’t. I’ve never really had the chance. But I do really enjoy flying!”

Devereaux felt a little knot of nerves building in his stomach as a devious grin spread across Missy’s face. He jumped slightly when she suddenly leaned forward and slammed her hands down onto the table. “Uhh, well I mean, I’m sure you’re way too busy to do that. I don’t want to distract you from your training. There’s no reason to waste your time on me!” He spoke rapidly and lifted both of his hands up in front of him. “You really don’t need to worry about it.”

His mind shifted to his broom. He just had whatever standard broom he had bought when heading to school. Never having any reason to change it, he hadn’t bothered to upgrade over the years.

[Missy Dragonov]

Missy’s grin only widened as Devereaux tried—and utterly failed—to talk his way out of her brilliant idea. Too busy? Waste her time? He really didn’t know her at all, did he? She lived for this sort of thing. The thrill of the game, the rush of the wind, and now? Now she had a mission. And it made even more exciting to be able to share it with someone.

“Oh, nonsense!” she declared, far too loudly for the library’s liking. Somewhere off to the side, the Librarian’s sharp shhh! cut through the air like a whip, but Missy barely heard it. She was already shoving her books and parchment into her bag in a flurry of movement, not even bothering to fold anything neatly.

“Come on, pack up,” she ordered, snapping her fingers at him as if she were a captain barking at a lazy teammate. “It’s perfect weather outside, and my feet are itchy. That’s a sign from the universe, Devereaux. You can’t argue with the universe.”

Another shhh! from across the room, but Missy was already slinging her bag over her shoulder and physically nudging Devereaux’s stack of books. “Hurry up, hurry up,” she said impatiently. “We’re going now.”

She didn’t wait to see if he was actually following, because of course he was. No one ever really said no to Missy when she had this much momentum. Instead, she all but marched out of the library, her energy barely contained in her stride. The moment they were outside the doors, she whipped out her wand, twirling it between her fingers before flicking it in one swift motion.

“Accio Firebolt!”

A heartbeat passed, then another, and then—a whoosh! The distant roar of something cutting through the air had her spinning on her heel, eyes bright with anticipation.

“Oh, you are in so much trouble now,” she said, practically bouncing as her Firebolt soared toward them at breakneck speed. She snatched it out of the air with practiced ease, turning to face Devereaux with a wicked gleam in her eye.

“To the pitch, Hufflepuff.” She jerked her head toward the path leading down to the Quidditch field. “It’s time to have some fun.”

[Devereaux Gordon]

Devereaux's resistance crumbled under the sheer enthusiasm pouring off of Missy. With barely a blink, Missy had shoved all of her things into her bag and began pushing his pile of books towards him. "Woah, woah, okay I'm coming!" Devereaux flinched as a sharp 'shhhhhh' came from the Librarians desk. Nevertheless he began stacking his books into his bag with his notes in-between the pages.

"Missy I need to...." but she was already halfway out of the library. "Ugh.." He groaned as he slung his bag over his back and quickly pushed their chairs back under the table. He mouthed S-O-R-R-Y to the library as he rushed to the door. Right as he stepped into the hallway he heard Missy summoning her broom.

With a huff, he finally stood still beside her. "Okay, okay, I will come to the pitch with you. Let me swing by my room to drop off my books and change into better riding robes. I'll see you at the pitch in 10 minutes tops." He flinched slightly as her firebolt came shooting down the hall right into her hand. "You're a lunatic Dragonov. I'll see you in a minute." He said before quickly turning and heading towards the Hufflepuff common room. He couldn't help but wonder what on earth he had just gotten himself into.