Hogwarts Mystery [HP APPLY FIC]

year two, chapter twelve

Camille took the scenic route to the meeting, wanting to enjoy the sunshine while it lasted because this was England, and good weather could turn into a thunderstorm at the drop of a hat.

It also gave her time to wonder what was going to occur in this meeting, because if she was quite honest, she had no idea.

Nearly Headless Nick had insisted the participants in the Ghostly Apprenticeship scheme gather in the Great Hall so he could check in with them, but Camille didn't know what she could say about her experience that the Bloody Baron hadn't already told him.

It would be nice to see how the others were getting on, though. She hadn't spoken to Nadine in a while, and she'd never talked to Barnaby or Evan, so she wasn't sure what their experiences had been like.

When she'd inquired this morning, Tulip had offered little on the topic, so Camille presumed she was doing alright.

"Camille! Wait up!"

She frowned, turning to face an out of breath Barnaby who had clearly run all the way from the... honestly, she had no idea where he'd come from.

"Good to see you," he grinned, running a hand through his tousled hair. (Seriously, what had he been doing?)

"Um, y—you know who I am?" She stuttered, cursing herself for sounding so uncertain.

"'Course," Barnaby had the nerve to sound offended. "You're friends with some people I'm friends with."

Camille thought it better to nod and move past it. Other than Nadine, there wasn't much of an overlap in their social circles. (It was probably something to do with the fact that Camille didn't hang around soulless bullies, but she wasn't going to say that out loud. Barnaby himself seemed nice, after all.)

"Have you, um, got any plans for the summer?" She tried. It was almost the end of their second year at Hogwarts, and talking about the six weeks of freedom ahead was a fairly safe topic of discussion.

"What? Oh, nah. You?"

Camille startled. Even though she'd gone through this charade with other people, it was the first time someone had asked her what her plans were in return. "Oh! Well, I might go to France and visit my family over there if my parents can take the time off work."

"France is nice."

"You've been?"
"Not once. Never even seen a picture of it." Barnaby's face lit up as if he'd suddenly thought of something incredible. "Hey, you should write and send me one!"

"Um, okay," Camille agreed, making a mental note to get his address from Nadine at some point. "I can do that. Sure."

He grinned at her, and she found herself blushing.

It was only when he turned around and walked through the entrance to the Great Hall that she realised they'd arrived.

He strolled in without a second thought, leaving Camille to awkwardly shuffle over to stand next to Tulip.

Tulip offered her a small smile in return, but didn't move to start a conversation.

Oddly enough, the only people Camille had seen Tulip relax around were Tonks and Merula, neither of which were obvious choices for her.

From what she knew of Tulip's personality, the other girl was quietly rebellious and would rise to almost any dare she was presented with.

(On second thought, maybe Tulip had more in common with Tonks and Merula than Camille had previously assessed.)

Barnaby offered Tulip a fist bump that she refused and Evan (who was on the other side of the hall) a 'what's up!' that came off as more of an exclamation than a question.