PARKER AND HOLLAND IMAGINES

CH 3 PART 1: LEMON CRÉME BRÛLÉE

"This is bullshit," said Frankie during breakfast the next morning. The boy immediately froze up as Madame Burbage, who was walking past at that exact time, stopped to give him a death glare. "Shit. I-I mean, shoot! Sorry...I mean, this sucks."
"I told you last term you needed to study more." Oswin looked down at his schedule and sighed. She was in Greenhouse Five this year while Frankie was stuck in Level Three. "I'll see you in Astronomy, at least."
"Ah who gives a shit about that," said Franky while waving her off, "You're in Greenhouse Five with Michael Thorne."
The girl rolled her eyes at him and smiled. Of course he was talking about his little Ravenclaw crush.
"Let's switch schedules," He offered, "You'll pass Greenhouse Three in a snap!"
"Meanwhile you'll be stuck in five which you haven't the foggiest about," She said as she picked up her goblet of pumpkin juice.
"So gimme notes then, bitch! My husband's in there!" He hissed out.
Oswin very nearly spat out her pumpkin juice as she sputtered a laugh. Her best friend had to pat her on the back a few times as she laughed and coughed at the same time. She picked up her napkin and wiped her mouth, muffling a small chuckle as Frankie smiled and laughed while calling her a hot mess.
"I'll say," a voice muttered from behind them. The two friends craned their necks to see Penelope walking past with a small handful of her friends. They briefly looked in the two Hufflepuff's direction before looking forward and giggling. The minute they took a seat and had their backs turned, the two Hufflepuffs crossed their eyes and made derpy faces at them. After a few seconds the two of them hunched over and laughed before sitting up straight again. As Frankie turned back around to his breakfast, Oswin looked straight ahead with wide eyes. She looked past Penelope's head and saw Tom was sitting directly across, looking right at her with a crooked smirk on his face. the girl's eyes went wide and she whipped back around in her seat.

"Expelliarmus!" Penelope quickly flourished her wand, watching with a satisfied smile as the wand in her opponent's hand flew across the room. As the Ravenclaw boy (Devon-something. Desmond?) hurried to go and grab it, Penelope returned to her small group of housemates leaning against the wall. Professor Flitwick, the Charms teacher and a tiny little wizard who had to stand on a pile of books to see over his desk, applauded in sheer excitement at the display.
"Splendid! Well done, dear!"
Penelope gave him a little nod before looking back at Tom expectantly. He was propped up against the wall looking somewhat bored. His head was against the brick and his eyes were half-lidded.
"Are you alright, Thomas?" She walked up to him and inspected his face closely.
"Hm?" After a few seconds he finally lifted his head and looked at her, looking much more alert. "Oh yeah, fine. Just tired."
"Harrison's the same way too," She flashed him a fond smile and giggled, "He says you're a snorer. Kept him up all night."
The Slytherin boy couldn't help flash a smirk and scoff. It made her heart race.
"He would say that, the prat," He muttered. Just then there was another resounding "Expelliarmus!" and his attention went to the center of the classroom. Two Hufflepuffs he'd seen scuttling around Oswin's little circle of friends managed to disarm each other at the same time. The two students stopped to watch as their wands flung over to the opposite ends of the room before looking at each other and laughing.
"God, they're annoying," Alice Glass, a Slytherin girl in his year muttered beside Penelope. The brunette girl agreed wholeheartedly, her freckled nose crinkling at the sight of them.
"They're so obnoxious sometimes," She muttered back, "I bet there's something funny in all those plants you see Professor Sprout running around with."
"That'd certainly explain the dungy smell emanating from half of them," A Slytherin boy quipped beside them. The three let out a small snicker as the Professor called for two more students to perform. Tom stayed silent and watched as the two Hufflepuffs went back to the opposite wall. They chattered excitedly to each other about something. No doubt giving words of encouragement or something happy-go-lucky like that.
"Mr. Holland!"
Tom looked over and saw the tiny teacher holding a small hand towards to the opposite side of the room. "If you please."
"Yes sir," The boy pushed himself off the wall and slipped out his wand. He walked over to his respective spot and faced forward. Justin McMillan, another Slytherin was already ready and waiting. As the Professor counted down bit by bit, Tom's fingers curled themselves around his wand and watched his opponent closely. Just as the boy was starting to shift, and wasting no more time, he pointed his wand straight at him and shouted, "Expelliarmus!"
A jet of silver light hit Justin in the stomach and he doubled over, wheezing. Tom immediately flinched and let out a loud "Shit!"
"Language Mr. Holland!" Professor Flitwick screeched. He looked over at the student on the floor, "Mr. McMillan, are you alright?"
Justin slowly shifted and raised a shaky arm to give a thumbs-up. A couple students as well as Tom rushed over to make sure he was telling the truth.
"Justin, I'm so sorry, man." The brunette quickly knelt and helped the guy to his feet, "You sure you're okay?"
After a few quick coughs he finally croaked a small "I'm fine." and gave his housemate a solid pat on the back. "Should've known better than try to take you on."
Tom let out a sigh of relief and patted the guy on the chest. "You did good, man. Really."
Professor Flitwitck stood up on his stack of books and clapped, "Excellent work today, students. Well done. That's all for today. Remember your assignment: one scroll of parchment summarizing the first three chapters Miranda Goshawk's book. An easy read!"
"Easy read," Penelope scoffed as she gathered up her books, "That's 90 whole pages."
"You read the first half and I'll read the second?" offered Alice as she grabbed her backpack. The two girls nodded and briefly shook on it. Alice left with Justin hand in hand. Penelope lingered behind a little to wait for Tom as he gathered his messenger bag and books. They left the classroom side by side and walked together down the corridor. Students were already starting to leave classrooms and pile up into the hallway.
"I feel bad about Justin," He admitted casually as they weaved around a group of Ravenclaw girls chatting in the hall.
"I'm sure it's fi— Move, please! —I'm sure a bit of snogging with Alice will keep his mind off things,"
Tom let out a small laugh as he stepped to the side, avoiding an incoming Gryffindor who was going against the crowd.
"You'd think they were—excuse me, sorry—you'd think they were attached at the mouth, the way those two carry on."
The two of them took a sharp right into the open corridor and cut across into the courtyard. The area was far more spacious and the fresh air was welcoming. They stopped in front of the stone statues for a moment to chat.
"Hmmm I don't know, I'm kind of envious," Penelope sighed, "Being so romantic with someone."
Tom's insides twisted a little as she gave him a knowing look.
"Penn," He ran a nervous hand through his hair. "...You're really sweet and all—"
"But you're not interested," She quoted, the faint smile still on her face, "I know, I know....I'm still hopeful you'll change your mind."
"Not likely," he thought to himself.
"Your family likes me,"
"My family likes anyone whose pureblood." He thought.
"Your parents and mine think we'd make a smart match," She bit her lip a little as she smiled at him, "I think so too."
The twisting sensation in his stomach got worse as Penelope continued to stare at him like he was a meal. He waved off his nervousness with an awkward laugh followed by an 'oof!' as a body knocked into him.
"Tom!" Harrison barked, laughing at his best friend's startled reaction. The dirty blonde slung an arm over him and pulled him in close by the neck. "What's up, man? You ready to get dirty?"
Thomas felt instant relief at the sight of his best friend, but casually played it off as annoyance as he wriggled out of the guy's grip.
"Jesus, Haz," He reached over to playfully punch him in the arm before re-shouldering his messenger bag, "See you later, Penn. How was Art?"
"Pretty c—See ya Penny!—Pretty cool, actually," said Harrison thoughtfully, "We're starting to learn how to make enchanted photographs. Your brother's in my class, too."
"Harry?" He watched as Haz nodded. "Of course, he is. I imagine he already taught the teacher a thing or two."
"Oh, most definitely. Lost our house 10 points," Harrison laughed. The two boys walked on together out of the courtyard and took the stone path that stretched around the castle. They met up with a few of their Ravenclaw friends and walked with them towards their next class. While Harrison was busy talking about his summer trip to Australia, Tom was looking straight ahead at the students starting to pool in towards the greenhouse.
"Brace yourselves, lads," One of Harrison's Ravenclaw friends said, "We're entering Badger territory."