Open Blossoming Friendships

[Ares Kuya-Tine]

Ares had been having quite a good time at Hogwarts so far. Brotherhood had proved to not be a mistake at all and he was actually quite glad that he had joined such a club. Jordie seemed popular, which really helped Ares make some friends, even though they were all in younger grades. Quidditch had even been really good, and whilst Ares was still getting the hang of the beater position, he was glad that Slytherin had won their first game and hoped that his efforts really helped that. The teen knew that there was still so much that he had to learn at Hogwarts however, including some information about the house he was sorted into, and so that was what Ares was going to do.

Ares made his way to the library, which was a place where he didn’t think he would find himself in a long time, but he really wanted to check it out and find an answer to his question. All of the books in there were written in English, unlike all of the books at Beauxbatons, and he was eager to get his head buried in one. As he entered the room however, he quickly found a familiar face, and he smiled. He knew from classes that she seemed pretty studious, and so hopefully a friendship with her could be helpful. He sat down at the table she was sitting at, not caring if he was disturbing her from her studies. It was much too early in the year to be studying anyway. “Fancy seeing you here.” he said with a slight smirk. He didn’t remember her name, but he wasn’t about to tell her that. "Tell me, what can you tell me about Slytherin. Like, the house I’m in. Are there any books here about it?”

 

[Estella Fuentes]

Essie had been all over the place lately and she wasn’t quite sure why. She still kept thinking about her break and about the letters that she had sent to Nikko. She enjoyed writing them, and was glad that Nikko had enjoyed it too. Letters required much more effort and thought than an email, and perhaps Essie was starting to like them a little more, even if sometimes they could be a little boring. The girl knew she needed to focus on her studies however, and had an essay for her potions class that needed to be completed. She used this as a great way to distract herself. The teen sat at a table in the library, copying some notes from a book that could help her before she started writing it. She wanted to be as prepared as she could. As someone sat across from her and began speaking, Essie quickly looked up, raising an eyebrow as she tried to remember who it was. “Oh, Ares!” she exclaimed, a little too excitedly. She wasn’t usually good with names, but this one she remembered since she was able to pick its affiliation with Greek Mythology. She didn’t expect to see him at Hogwarts so soon. “Slytherin house? Well I don’t know, I don’t really have any friends there.” she told him truthfully with a shrug. “Why did you transfer here so soon? And why didn’t you say anything?”

 

[Ares Kuya-Tine]

Ares couldn’t help but feel a little embarrassed when the girl seemed to remember his name but he couldn’t remember hers. She seemed excited to see him too, which was of no surprise as he was sure it would be a bit of a shock to her. “Yes, it’s me. In the flesh.” he told her with a wink. “I apologise, but... Emily?” Ares knew it was wrong, but he just couldn’t get his finger on it, no matter how much he wracked his brain. As the girl seemed to shrug off his question, he sighed a little, before answering her own. “I told you that I didn’t like Beauxbatons. And why should I have to tell you? You have a crush on me or something?” Ares asked playfully, not meaning to sound rude. It touched him that she cared so much, and perhaps made him feel even worse for not remembering her name. “But let’s get back to what I asked before, okay?” he said seriously, sitting on the edge of his seat this time. “Slytherin House. Who is the founder? Surely there’s a book around here somewhere?”

 

[Estella Fuentes]

Essie couldn’t help but giggle as Ares didn’t seem to remember her name. “Close! My name is Estella, but you can call me Essie.” she said, not offended at all that he didn’t remember. After all, they only met once briefly. And they still hadn’t gone out for ice cream together yet. As he accused her of having a crush on him, she laughed. “Please. You wish.” she said, hoping that was the correct thing to say. She was never really good with being sarcastic, and truthfully she didn’t find him attractive enough. He seemed really determined to talk about Slytherin House, and Essie sighed as she stood up from her chair. “Fine. Give me a bit and I will see what I can find.” Essie left her belongings on the table, hoping Ares wasn’t cruel enough to steal them as she walked behind the bookshelves to find something that could help him. It didn’t take too long, and in no time she had brought back a History book on Salazar Slytherin. She dumped it on the table in front of them. “Try giving this a read.”

 

[Ares Kuya-Tine]

Ares nodded as the Hufflepuff told him that her name was Essie. “Essie. I’ll remember that next time." he said before repeating her name a few times over in his head. It wasn’t even that hard of a name to think of, but perhaps all of the hard French names that he knew from Beauxbatons were taking up too much space in his head. At Essie’s response to his cheekiness, Ares gasped loudly. “I’m heartbroken!” he exclaimed, placing a hand over his heart. Ares knew at least that he wasn’t that hard to look at, and Essie really had some guts responding to him in such a way. The Slytherin smiled as Essie began looking for a book for him. He was really starting to like this girl. She came back quickly, placing a book onto the table that was about a man named Salazar Slytherin. “Ohhh, Salazar Slytherin. I thought his name went something like that.” Ares said, nodding as he picked up the book and turned it over in his hands.

 

[Estella Fuentes]

Essie didn’t mind if Ares kept forgetting her name, but she was confident that he wouldn’t forget it now, especially since they were going to be in many classes together and coming across each other often. The Hufflepuff giggled as Ares said he was heartbroken. He had an entertaining personality, there was no doubt about it. The Hufflepuff watched as Ares picked up the book in his hands. “Yeah. I think we’re meant to learn about him in History of Magic next year or something. I found that amongst the sixth year stuff.” she told him, picking up her quill so she could continue with her essay. “You can stay here and read it if you like. I’m just going to finish this. It’s for potions.” Essie wanted to ask if he had already completed his essay, but something told her that he didn’t seem to be interested in that right now. Perhaps they could study together later on in the year. Study buddies were definitely something that Estella needed.

 

[Ares Kuya-Tine]

Ares listened as Essie said they would probably learn about Salazar Slytherin in History of Magic. “Well I guess that gives me a reason to keep taking the subject. I think History is fascinating anyway, don’t you think?” Ares didn’t want people to think he was a nerd, but he wasn’t as embarrassed about telling Essie as she definitely seemed like a scholar herself. “Oh, you’re doing potions work? I’ve never really been good at that subject. Either that, or reading potions instructions in French is just confusing.” Ares didn’t particularly think it was that important anyway unless he wanted to be a healer. “What’s your favourite subject?” he asked Essie, hoping to get to know a little more about her.

 

[Jordan Harris]

Jordie had been looking all over the castle, searching for Ares for the last few hours, before it finally occurred to him to check the library. He hurried in, and after a quick scan, Jordie quickly spotted his friend. Lighting up, Jordie ran over. He was in such a hurry that he lost his footing and stumbled, falling and tumbling until he smacked face first into the back of Ares chair. Jerking back from the pain, Jordie tripped again and landed flat on his back, holding a hand over his bloody nose and groaning. He melted into the floor, unwilling to get up yet. "Ow..." He whined.

 

[Estella Fuentes]

Estella nodded in agreement at Ares’s words. History definitely was interesting at times, especially when compared to present days. She expected Ares to get straight on to reading the book, but he seemed interested in her potions work now. “Oh that’s right, you would’ve had to read them in French. Don’t worry, it’s still difficult in English. I don’t think I will be continuing the subject next year. It’s too complicated.” Estella didn’t think it would be worth her time to put anymore work into it if she didn’t need it after school. She just wanted to complete her OWLs in all of her subjects first however before dropping any. At Ares’s question, Estella shrugged. “I don’t think I have one. They’re all good and bad in their own ways. If I had to pick one though, I would say maybe Muggle-Studies.” she told him, hoping he wasn’t one of those Slytherins that were against them. It seemed like a lot of people were against muggles and without any actual reason to be.

As a boy in the year below Estella began running towards them, she raised an eyebrow, wondering what he was running to them for. She recognised him from the quidditch team, but that was about it. As he smacked his head onto the back of Ares's chair, Estella gasped, staring wide-eyed at his bloody nose that he tried to cover with his hand. "Wha-" Estella was shocked to say the least. "Are you... okay?" She knew the obvious answer was no, but just couldn't find any other words to say.

 

[Ares Kuya-Tine]

"Yes, French is quite hard to read for me. I prefer English." Ares said truthfully, hoping Beauxbatons hadn't made him fall too far behind in his studies. As she said her favourite subject was muggle-studies, Ares nodded. "For me, I would have to say Care of Magical Creatures, or Defence. Both are quite important I think." he explained, feeling that they were the most practical out of all of them.

Ares didn't know Jordie had entered the library until he heard him smack his head on the back of his chair. The teen stood up almost immediately, bending down and placing a hand on his friend's shoulder to comfort him. He shot Estella a nasty glare as she asked him if he was okay. He definitely wasn't, and Estella didn't really seem to care in Ares's opinion. Ares hoped that brightening the mood would help. "Be careful next time. There's a chair there." he said sarcastically, chucking a little at his words. "We should get you cleaned up though. Trip to the hospital wing?"

 

[Jordan Harris]

Jordie heard the girl speak. He grumbled something unintelligible response, only opening his eyes when he felt Ares' hand on his shoulder. He pouted at the joke, letting Ares help him up onto his feet. "No, no, I'm fine," He waved his free hand dismissively. He dug into his pocket and pulled out a handful of sweets. "I've been looking everywhere for you," He told Ares, before holding out the French candies as an offering. "I got these for you," He told Ares, looking at him gently and smiling warmly. "I asked Amelie to send some, I thought- you know, this is a big move, I thought you might be missing France," His voice was undeniably soft as he smiled shyly at Ares.

 

[Estella Fuentes]

Essie scoffed at the glance Ares gave her, not sure why he was looking at her that way. The boys were clearly close. She watched as the Hufflepuff denied a trip to the hospital wing before then offering him some treats from France. "Oooh, they look good! Tell me, what are they? What do they make their sweets out of?" Essie asked Ares, stepping forward to get a closer look at them. She loved learning about other cultures, and was unaware that France even had their own special candy. "Who's Amelie? Is she your girlfriend?" Essie couldn't help but be curious. After all, she was liking Ares and wanted to know more about him.

 

[Ares Kuya-Tine]

Ares frowned as Jordie denied the hospital wing. He didn't push it for now, but would definitely get him there eventually if he happened to show any signs of a concussion. After all, he felt partly responsible. As Jordie offered him some French sweets, the Slytherin couldn't help but be touched by them. "I can assure you, I definitely am not missing France. Maybe I miss Amelie a little, but not France." Ares said. "But thank you though, these are great." he smiled at the younger boy, loving how thoughtful he was.

Ares couldn't help but find Estella's questions annoying, especially now that Jordie was there and he just wanted to talk to his friend. Despite this, Ares didn't find her questions surprising at all. She was definitely the nosy type. "They're just like... sweets." Ares said, picking up a packet of caramel candies from Jordie's hands. "This one here is called Carambar. They're just... chewy caramel things." Ares shrugged. "Did you guys want one?" he asked the both of them, happy to share. At Essie's next question, Ares was quick to shake his head. "No, no. She was my only friend at Beauxbatons. She introduced me to Jordie."

 

[Jordan Harris]

Jordie smiled at Essie, wiping his bloody nose on his sleeve to try and clean it up. He chuckled as Ares said he didn't mess France aside from Amelie. "Well Amelie is pretty great," He agreed without too much thought. He blushed, smiling a little goofy grin as Ares thanked him. "Well, yeah, of course, yeah..." He offered almost shyly. When Estella spoke, he jumped on that, trying to distract himself. "He's right, I don't know much history. If you want though, my brother lives in France with his husband, and Onyx makes the best Pain au Chocolat," Jordie offered immediately.

Though at her next question, Jordie's heart dropped through the floor. Ares... and Amelie? He looked to the other boy, a little wide eyed. That made so much sense, of course it did, he and Amelie were both so great, why wouldn't they like each other? He hesitated a bit, scuffing his toes on the carpet as he thought about it. "I should- ah- I'm gunna go clean up," He offered, giving them both what he hoped was a friendly smile. He waved, backing up quickly. "Bye guys!" And with that Jordie turned and tried to run away before the distinct feeling of his heart breaking in his chest got to him and he started crying.

 

[Estella Fuentes]

Essie hesitated a little before accepting the caramel treats that Ares had. She slowly popped one into her mouth. "Oooh!" she exclaimed, raising her eyebrows as she tasted it. "I don't usually like caramel sweets, but these... they're pretty good! Thanks!" Essie was thankful for Ares and happy that Jordie had brought some new sweets for them. It definitely helped the conversation, even though Essie still had homework that she had to complete. Sometimes distractions were good. "Oh, what's that!?" Essie asked Jordie, wondering what it was that his brother made. It sounded delicious and fancy. As Jordie awkwardly dismissed himself, Essie just shrugged, figuring it was best he cleaned himself up anyway.

 

[Ares Kuya-Tine]

"No worries." Ares responded as Essie ate the caramel treat. It wasn't one of his favourites, but he was glad that Estella liked it. He would have given her all of them if Jordie wasn't there. As Jordie's mood suddenly changed, Ares was quick to notice it, and he wasn't sure why Jordie was suddenly acting this way. "Hey, don't leave!" Ares called after his friend. He began to follow his friend out of the library before turning back to Essie. "Thanks for your help. I'll see you in class." he told her. He turned back around, running after Jordie so he could help him clean himself up.