𝒄𝒐𝒐𝒍 𝒌𝒊𝒅𝒔 - pjo x hp

xliii. muggle studies and astronomy

𝐑𝐀𝐘𝐀 𝐒𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇 𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐑𝐔𝐍𝐄𝐒 𝐓𝐄𝐗𝐓𝐁𝐎𝐎𝐊. She had to find the rune 'KwelKaash', but the only thing she could find that was remotely close was 'KelQash'.

After winning another Quidditch game from the bi-weekly league she'd set up, she hurried down to the library to work on her Ancient Runes homework. The only problem was that there were three runes left to translate, and she couldn't seem to find them in any of her textbooks.

Raya took a deep breath, forcing herself to remain calm as she studied the rune. She flipped through the pages of the textbook, ignoring the voices and whispering from nearby. Three more runes. That's all she had left.

"Excuse me," an accented voice said from above her.

Raya was so engrossed in her textbook, she nearly jumped out of her chair.

"Holy shit," she muttered, a hand to her heart.

"Sorry," Viktor said suddenly. "I did not vish to startle you. I can — I vill go now if you—"

"Please, shut up, Viktor," Raya said, trying not to laugh. "Calm down. I just wasn't expecting anyone to come over right now. What do you need?"

"I vas vondering ver to sign up for yer Quidditch games," he began. "I see you play often, and some of the participants are very good. You're very good flier, and so are the other Champions for Hogvarts."

"Cedric and Harry? Yeah, they're probably the best players in their house," Raya agreed. "And thanks for the compliment. There's a sign up sheet — first-come, first-serve basis. I can make one and send it to you for the Durmstrang kids who wanna play tomorrow-ish."

"Thank you," he nodded. He hesitated, but asked, "And the other player? Number sixteen on the teams? Vat is his name? He's one ov the best fliers I've seen in a long time. Very good at scoring goals."

Raya racked her brain, trying to remember who number sixteen was. She shook her head, "Sorry, I can't remember who plays that number. I'll get back to you if I find out."

"Thanks," Viktor said, turning away.

Raya turned back to her book, practically feeling Viktor grimace as he looked towards his table.

She followed his gaze to see a group of girls and boys huddled around the table he was at before, all waiting for him to return. Raya laughed slightly at the masked pain on his face.

"You can sit here if you like," she told him.

He looked at her.

"If you don't want to go back to where you were because of all of them," she motioned towards the group. "The rest of my friends are done, so I'm working alone. Take a seat."

"It'z alright," he said glumly. "They'll only bother you more here."

"They won't," Raya assured him. "I've got a very nasty glare, and I'm best friends with the Weasleys. They all know better than to get on my bad side."

Viktor hesitated, but took a seat.

The two worked in a comfortable silence, Raya trying to figure out her damn runes, and Viktor... well, Viktor was doing whatever homework he was assigned by his headmaster.

"Found you," Raya grinned, translating 'KwelKaash' to sunny day. It was hidden in one of the corners of a smaller textbook. She stared at the other two runes she still had to find, resisting the urge to slam her head against the desk.

It took almost half an hour for her to find the second rune, during which she noticed Viktor staring blankly at his parchment.

"You good?" she asked him, a little concerned.