Stay - Theodore Nott

History of Magic

History of Magic was the dullest subject on their schedule. Professor Binns, who taught it, was their only ghost teacher, and the most exciting thing that ever happened in his classes was his entering the room through the blackboard.

Ancient and shrivelled, many people said he hadn't noticed he was dead. He had simply got up to teach one day and left his body behind him in an armchair in front of the staffroom fire; his routine had not varied in the slightest since. Today was as boring as ever.

Kirra Potter who was sitting next to Jasper Rowle had a concentrated expression on her face as she used her quill and ink to draw multiple small pictures on Jasper's arm, she had been beyond bored as soon as they walked into class and she had taken to this activity as a pass time and Jasper clearly didn't mind as he sat there, his eyes shifting between the girl, his arm, and the board up the front as he tapped his quill on the desk and leaned back in his seat.

"You're really good" Rowle muttered to the girl as he observed the drawings, so far there was a realistic-looking badger, snake, niffler and a dragon, all of which looked brilliant. Kirra stopped for a moment and looked up at the boy who was smiling softly down at her, she was the only one that saw this side of him, the kind, smiley side instead of the cold, cocky one that everyone else knew him by.

"Thanks, J," she grinned and then went back to her drawing but stopped when she felt something hit the back of her head and then bounce off down on the desk in front of her. She looked at the white parchment ball and then picked it up in her hands and un-crumbled it and read the neat handwriting sprawled on top of it.

Did a niffler take off with your hairbrush this morning?

Kirra looked away from the note and self-consciously sank into her seat before putting the paper in her pocket quietly. She quickly reached up to her hair and began trying to flatten it down, but there was no use, it wouldn't go down, it was always messy and no matter how much she tended to brush it, she couldn't help it.

Jasper looked at her in confusion and then saw the corner of the note sticking out of her pocket so he grabbed the note from her pocket quickly, his eyes skimmed over it before his head snapped around behind them furiously as he looked towards a snickering Theodore Nott who was next to Malfoy, Goyle, and Crabbe.

Jasper let out a pissed of huff as he scrunched the paper up angrily and went to stand up out of his chair to go over there but Kirra grabbed his wrist softly and pulled him back down into his seat, shaking her head at him softly.

Theodore felt his chest burn as he stared at the girl's hand which was holding onto Rowle's wrist. Professor Binns opened his notes and began to read in a flat drone like an old vacuum cleaner until nearly everyone in the class was in a deep stupor, occasionally coming too long enough to copy down a name or date, then falling asleep again.

Kirra and Jasper had been talking softly and laughing while Theodore glared daggers into the back of their heads, not paying any attention whatsoever to the class. He hadn't even noticed that he had rolled his eyes multiple times in the past 10 minutes.

Binns had been speaking for half an hour when something happened that had never happened before. Hermione put up her hand. Professor Binns, glancing up in the middle of a deadly dull lecture on the International Warlock Convention of 1289, looked amazed. "Miss — er — ?"

"Granger, Professor. I was wondering if you could tell us anything about the Chamber of Secrets," said Hermione in a clear voice. Jasper felt Kirra flinch slightly next to him, whenever she heard the name, something about it had seemed so familiar like she had heard about it before this year.