CAIUS SCAEVOLA: CIRCA 1956
Caius grinned madly at the boy next to him, shaking his head to discourage him from whatever insane idea had popped up in his head. "Hey, McGonagall, no!" He hissed, even though the grin on his face was too wild to pass off as scolding.
"Scaevola," A voice behind them murmured, high and annoyed. "Shut up."
Caius only tilted back in his chair, ruffling his uniform and sticking his tongue out at his angry peer. Allison Hansley only rolled her eyes at him and stared stubbornly forward. Caius made the executive decision to scoot his chair back ever-so-slightly, ensuring he was sly about it so he wasn't caught by the professor. "You didn't want me to shut up before holiday at the party-"
"Satan below, you're so bad!" Allison pushed a hand forward, an attempt to create space between them (as if the giant wooden table wasn't enough for her?) as well as become a diversion to the red flooding her face.
"You've almost gotten hornier than Leatherwood," McGonagall whispered, reaching his arm out to tug Caius' straying chair back to it's rightful place.
Behind them, Caius heard Lyra Pugh whisper: "You- And him?!" To which Allison Hansley groaned and hit the table.
Their professor's head snapped over to their side of the room, eyes narrowed like a hawk. "Would you four like to join the rest of the class, now?"
"No, ma'am." Paul McGonagall was perhaps the bravest man Caius had ever known. Known past tense, because their professor was sure to murder him now. That would be quite a sorry gravestone. Paul McGonagall the second. April 15th, 1940 - January 10th, 1956.
"Then you'd like to join me in detention tonight, Mr McGonagall?" Their professor's eyebrows raised so high up that they could no longer be seen under her hair.
Paul made a face, shaking his head solemnly. "No, ma'am, I'm quite busy tonight. See, I've got a date."
"With who?" Their professor's voice sounded skeptical, which made Caius grin widely.
"Miss Pugh back there has been thinking about me all day, hasn't she?" Paul sighed wistfully, wincing when Lyra leaned forward to hit him on the back of the head.
"She has not!" Lyra scoffed, and Caius could no longer hold back his laughter as he heard her plop back onto her chair. Paul gave him a betrayed look, but he couldn't find it in himself to care.
Across the room, he made eye contact with Kiernan Morningstar's familiar, the cat. Caius didn't know his name, hadn't ever really spoken to Kiernan (she stayed around the mortals more than she did the witches and warlocks, Caius admired her for the bravery; but he supposed she had purebloods like Poppy and Nick to protect her). Still, the cat's watchful gaze stole the laughter from his throat. Sent an icy chill down his back, and suddenly he felt his face falling. Nothing was funny anymore, not with that nightmare of a cat staring at him.
"Thank Lucifer that's settled," their professor hummed slowly, her robes flowing behind her as she turned to her desk. "Now we can get started on our assignments!"
Paul groaned dramatically, but Caius was still in some sort of staring contest with that horrifying cat. Until it blinked and looked to Kiernan (maybe she was saying something to it), and Caius was free once more.
"You alright, Scaevola? Look a bit...pale." Paul chattered next to him, staring at Caius instead of the chalk board that held their assignment instructions. Conjuring was always Caius' least favourite subject, so he couldn't find it in himself to look at the board either.
