Anthea Lestrange is so unlike the rest of her family - a kind Hufflepuff and diligent student of Muggle Studies - and is constantly trying to prove that she is her own person.
{Philosopher's Stone - Deathly Hallows}
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The prospect of attending their first Care of Magical Creatures lesson had all the third years that had elected to take the subject practically giddy with excitement.
Professor Kettleburn was renowned by the student body for his particularly exuberant approach to his subject, and his dedication was made all the more apparent by the numerous prosthetic limbs that he had amassed through the years, through various magizoological incidents. Before the school year had even begun, he had found himself the victim of a Chimaera and had had to push their first lesson a week back into the term as a result.
"It's not like Malcolm to be late for a meal," Anthea mused at breakfast that morning, sneaking a piece of bacon off Tamsin's plate before she had the chance to stop her.
Across the table from the girls, Cedric chuckled. "He said something about going to visit the library before class."
Quirking a confused brow, though looking towards the doors of the Great Hall, Marlene muttered, "Oh, bloody hell." The others followed her gaze, watching as Malcolm paced up towards them, a large, leather-bound book tucked under his arm. "Someone pinch me, I think I'm dreaming."
With a large grin, he slid onto the bench beside Cedric, slamming the heavy tome onto the table with a crash that attracted the attention of other nearby Hufflepuffs. "Morning, all," he greeted, flicking open the yellowing pages of the book and beginning to read as he shovelled cereal into his mouth.
Looking between themselves with baffled expressions, his four friends held a silent yet highly animated exchange, mainly consisting of jabbing fingers and tilts of the head, about who was going to ask. After several seconds of debate, Cedric let out a sigh and fixed a smile, before gently poking him on the arm.
"Hey, Mac?" he asked, slowly withdrawing his hand. "Are you feeling alright?"
Malcolm hummed in response as he looked up. "Yeah, why?"
Adam's apple bobbing as he gulped, Cedric said, "Well, it's just that we couldn't even get you into the library to revise for the end-of-year exams. And now, you're... reading."
Sliding her hand discreetly across the table, Anthea picked up the corner of the cover to read and mumbled, "The Creature Compendium: An Introduction to Magizoology."
Malcolm jokingly slapped her hand away before shutting the book. "I just thought that this might be my subject," he admitted quietly, running a hand through his hair awkwardly, "seeing as I live on a farm and everything."
"Hey, that's great," Tamsin chimed in with a wide smile.
Cedric patted him on the back as Marlene leant over the table, saying, "If you're thinking about it, I'm sure I could get Charlie to look into job openings."
