The Wicked Walk On Every Side

Chapter 5

Wolfbane exhaled softly as he locked eyes with the stranger. He was so unbelievably intriguing to Wolfbane, although he couldn't fathom why. Was it his hair? No, it couldn't be, they practically had the same haircut minus a few differences. His clothes maybe? It couldn't be that either, they were both wearing school uniforms.

"Hello?" Mr. Handsome said bemusedly, waving his hand with an annoying smirk on his face.

Wolfbane wiped at his eyes some, and broke out of his internal investigation. "Hi there?" Unbeknownst to Wolfbane, his twin sister was practically dying inside next to him from holding back laughter.

She loved him to death, but he could be a little daft sometimes. Atropa could see plain as day that the Gryffindor was being effortlessly charming and also a flirt.

"I wasn't aware that the headmaster had hired guards for the Great Hall, but I suppose that the safety of the students must be upheld and all that," Mr. Handsome (as he had been named inside of Wolfbane's head) said, chuckling slightly at the joke he had just made.

Wolfbane blushed, and his hands were suddenly busy with fixing his tie. Clearing his throat, he said, "What's your name, anyway?"

"Woah there, spitfire, I didn't mean anything by it! My name's Ryot, I just transferred from some other school or whatever this year, it's not important. Does your name match your pretty face, or is it more like your feisty personality?" Mr. Handsome (or Ryot, Wolbane supposed, although he liked Mr. Handsome better) said, holding his hands up in mock surrender.

Atropa rolled her eyes bemusedly and decided that she had better butt in before Wolfbane decided he liked to commit homicide. "My name's Atropa, and this unhappy camper is my twin brother Wolfbane."

Ryot's attention turned to Atropa. "Well hello there," he said, holding out a hand from Atropa to shake. After his mannerly duties were done, Ryot refocused on Wolfbane. "So, it's a mix of both, I suppose."

"What are you on about?" Wolfbane replied, eyeing the hand Ryot had extended towards him.

Ryot had a huge grin on his face as Wolfbane took his hand. He flipped Wolfbane's hand and planted a soft kiss on the back (which caused Atropa to fake gag privately to herself). "Why, your name, of course. It's elegant and gorgeous, just like you, but it also packs a nice punch. I like it."

At that moment, Mordecai opened the door, followed by Belladonna. "Wolfy? Atropa? I hate to cut in on an important conversation, but what's taking-" Belladonna cut herself off as she saw Ryot, who still had Wolfbane's hand in his, and was still bowed slightly at the waist.

Ryot straightened up and turned his smile, which had deflated some at the pair's interruption, towards Belladonna. "I'm sorry for holding them up," He brought his hand up as though he were telling a secret, and began doing a stage whisper, "You see, they were standing in front of the door, and I thought that the headmaster had hired some incredibly adorable guards, but I suppose I must be wrong."

Belladonna laughed nervously, and was about to reply to Ryot when Mordecai opened the door further and fully stepped out. "Are you stupid or something? Of course they're not guards!" The tiny first year said.

Ryot let out a shocked barking laugh. Belladonna's laugh sounded a little strangled, now, and Atropa and Wolfbane both let out conspiratory giggles.

"Oh, how ridiculous of me!" Ryot responded through the last of his dwindling laughs. Mordecai just gave him a look that could only be described as 'Well duh!'.

Belladonna turned her attention back to her siblings. "What I came out here to say is that the post has come in. That, and you're missing breakfast! The most important meal of the day!" The last remark was a joke on Belladonna's part, but her younger siblings knew she was only partly kidding. It was, truly, the most important meal of the day.

Belladonna held the door open wider so that the group of the younger kids could file through. She didn't know how she felt about this new kid flirting with her younger brother, but that could just be because she was rather protective of him, she supposed.

It was rough, because she wasn't quite ready for Wolfbane to truly grow up, which was probably weird to say because not only was Wolfbane thirteen, but she was only a year older than he was.

Wolfbane and Atropa linked hands as they started to walk through the door. Belladonna gave them both a kiss on the forehead (much to their fake disgust), and walked over to her table, Atropa squeezed his hand before she left, and Mordecai had already rushed over to his spot beside Maxentius (who was keeping an eye on Wolfbane since he had reentered to Great Hall). Wolfbane made to follow after him, when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

Ryot, who had been all swagger and charm only moments before, now looked almost bashful as Wolfbane turned around.

"So, um, I know we literally just met, but would you like to be my friend? I know the question sounds childish and all but-"

Wolfbane, who knew all too well the sting of friendship rejection, cut off Ryot mid-ramble with a simple, "Of course," and gave the Gryffindor a small smile before heading off to sit in between Mordecai and Maxentius.

As Wolfbane sat down, he realized (though he had no reason to doubt her) that Belladonna had been telling the truth when she had said that the post had come in. Peppermint sat in front of Wolfbane's plate, looking about as miffed as a peregrine falcon can with his mail in her beak.

"She's been sitting here waiting for you. I tried to get the post from her so that she could go back and roost, but she would make a strange strangled chirp at me every time I tried," said Maxentius from Wolfbane's left. He looked as elegant as ever while he buttered his toast.

"Oh! I'm sorry-" Wolbane started, but Maxentius cut him off. Peppermint dropped the post, still looking miffed, and flew off to roost. Wolfbane picked up the post (one from his parents, along with a copy of the Daily Prophet), and turned fully towards Maxentius while he spoke:

"It's quite alright," He said, and the feather in his hat quivered slightly. He took a dainty bite of toast. "What were you doing out there anyway? You left with just the girl and came back with a little Gryffindor stray. How odd."

Another bite.

Before Wolfbane could explain, Mordecai wrapped his skinny little arms around Wolfbane's shoulders and peeked around the blonde's head.

"I think the Gryffindor was flirting with Wolfbane! He called Wolfbane adorable, although he also called the girl adorable as well, so I'm not sure. I'm pretty sure the Gryffindor was flirting. Calling someone adorable counts as flirting, right? Anyway, I saved him from the Gryffindor!"

The longer Mordecai rambled, the more sour Maxentius' expression grew. He quickly righted it when he realized what he was doing, though not before Wolfbane had seen it. Odd.