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[Hudson Worth]

Hudson always knew he was different from the other boys he was told to play with growing up. He didn't always like the same things and most of the time he just wished he could play by himself. More grown up now he was able to pick out some things that set him apart from others. He tended not to converse with many people but he enjoyed people watching and seeing all those around him. Sometimes he felt brave and spoke his mind, more and more he did so to his older cousin Fleur. But she still scared him enough that he hadn't ever really told her how two faced she seemed to him. Back at the castle, his main adjective of the year was to speak with Vivian again. He knew his feelings now were for more than just wanting to befriend the older boy. Hudson had a full blown crush and he couldn't but get joyful at the thought of seeing Vivian again. He hadn't found the boy on the train which had disappointed him, but he did see him at the Sorting Ceremony sitting at the Hufflepuff table. Then wasn't a good time to see Vivian and speak with him again and that next day Hudson had gone early in the day to their spot under the stairs in the Owlery but it seemed him showing up there previously had kept Vivian from returning to the spot. He was feeling slightly let down about not seeing the older boy outside of dinner the previous night. He hadn't even made it to breakfast this morning as he had been sitting under the stairs hoping Vivian would return there to start the school year off.

Hudson finally gave up and decided to leave it to chance and went down to the kitchens and grabbed a few things for snacks telling the house elves he had forgotten about breakfast that morning and couldn't wait till lunch to eat. They didn't seem to mind too much and gave him plenty to get by which he put a majority of into his rucksack and made his way up to the courtyard. It was winter in New Zealand but Hudson never really minded the cold. Plus Spring was breaking through and the days were beginning to seem longer and warmer, which was a nice thing. He took to sitting on a bench outside and began eating from his bag lightly munching while he watched various students going in and out of the castle, catching up with their friends.
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[Vivian Brackenstall]

With how much he had changed in the holidays, Vivian almost felt bizarre returning to Hogwarts. The more times his 'what would Tristan do' strategy helped him meet someone the more it started to feel right to him. Maybe this confidence had been laying dormant in him all his life. He still floundered somewhat, when it came to actually making conversation, but meeting people now felt like a piece of cake. The taste of what it could be like when things came to you as easily as they did to Tristan made his actions a lot more understandable, and Vivian was actually finding himself enjoying meeting and flirting with a variety of people.

Wandering through the courtyard, Vivian was a little surprised to spot a familiar face. He hadn't spoken to Hudson in a while, and seeing him now, their encounter felt like part of a different life, a conversation had by a different person. He weighed up whether or not to greet the younger boy for a moment, a small part of him worrying what he would think, having known quiet Vivian before confident Vivian had been born. But confident people didn't worry about things like that. Tristan certainly wouldn't. So he made his way over to Hudson, giving the boy a friendly smile in greeting. "Long time no see, mind if I join you?" He asked, already sitting down next to the younger boy. "Did you have a good holiday?"

 

[Hudson Worth]

Somehow, though Vivian was just the person Hudson wanted to talk to more this year, he completely missed the older boy’s approach. Startled by the voice Hudson turned and was shocked to see Vivian moving to sit down next to him. “Oh, yes, go ahead,” the third year replied brushing some of his long curly hair back from his face. Vivian had long hair like himself but it was straighter, Hudson was surprised how much older the fifth year seemed since they were last in close proximity. “I guess I did. I stayed in Obsidian Harbour for most of it, with my older older cousins so I wouldn’t need to return to England,” Hudson replied looking down at his feet. He could feel his stomach getting tighter and all the food he had previous eaten felt heavy now in his tummy. Somehow Vivian seemed different from the last time they sat under the stairwell. More aggressive, but not really in a mean way just more forward. It made him like the boy even more, though he was certain he couldn’t just tell Vivian about his crush, not right now. This after all was really their second encounter and he didn’t even know what Vivian wanted, he could just be speaking to him for the paper or something.

Hudson never really understood why people would choose to come up approach him, his cousin always told him he was weird and that was why he hadn’t many friends. “Er, and your holiday was..good too?” He questioned already mentally abusing himself for sounding odd. He hoped Vivian didn’t really notice but he was certain he sounded the same the first time they met, which would mean Vivian would think was the normal way of him speaking. That was an embarrassing thought, as Hudson knew he was completely capable of holding a really conversation, he just didn’t have the nerve to do so in front of his crush. Hudson did manage to get a smile out to the older boy mimicking the friendly gesture Vivian showed him.
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[Vivian Brackenstall]

Vivian was relieved when Hudson seemed pleased to see him. It was clear that imitating Tristan was making him more likeable. He should have done this years ago. He listened to Hudson talking about his holidays with interest, nodding. "Oh, that sounds fun." Vivian faltered for a moment, hitting the stumbling block he always seemed to recently. Greeting people with confidence was easy, but making conversation beyond that still seemed to elude him. "Er, is England nice?" He asked, for something to say. Vivian didn't know much about England, but it seemed like a nice place. The old buildings and thousands of years of history fascinated him, but it also seemed unnervingly busy. He nodded when Hudson asked about his holidays, smiling nervously. "It was. I stayed with my grandmother mostly, my mother works a lot." He said, as though it was a new situation. Vivian had spent more time away from home than usual though. He thought back to the holidays, realising with a jarring jolt that his encounter with the American boy had been in Obsidian Harbour. It was a big and busy place, surely Hudson wouldn't have chanced to see him kissing the older boy. That would be too much of a coincidence. It made him nervous though, and he wanted to change the subject away from the holidays quickly. "How... are you finding your new classes?"

 

[Hudson Worth]

Hudson was a bit nervous now talking with Vivian, the older boy was much better at him at conversation, he figured. Plus the fact Hudson was pretty much head over heels for the older boy made not blushing very difficult. He hadn't ever really felt that way over a girl before, he couldn't even really think of a moment where he really crushed this badly on a girl. "I guess it's nice, I mean I never really went places unless it was to another family's manor," Hudson said replying about England, he knew only stories of England's past and mostly about the dragons that once roamed free all over the country. He thought they would have been a very cool sight to grow up with, but he knew muggles would never appreciate dragons the way wizards did. He nodded listening to Vivian talk about his own break, half wondering why the older boy decided to talk to him again and half not be able to believe he was listening to the boy talk again. "Classes are alright, I guess. It seems like pretty standard stuff I would suppose," Hudson said looking down at the food in his hands unable to take another bite. The conversation had seemed to start well but now it seemed like it was failing. "Uh.. have you thought about Halloween and if you'll go dressed up as something?" He asked curious and also trying to keep the older boy interested in talking with him. Though he knew now that he asked he couldn't figure it out another way and go as a similar thing, he wouldn't be able to copy Vivian in order to have a conversation at the feast about it. He wondered if Vivian even liked boys, he thought he had heard rumors about some boys a few years older than him kissing in the hall and breaking another boy's heart but he wasn't sure if that was Vivian or not. He hardly saw the older boy to begin with.
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[Vivian Brackenstall]

Vivian didn't really know what he expected England to be like, but hearing Hudson talk about manors surprised him a little. He didn't think he had ever been anywhere so fancy, save for Hogwarts itself. To hear manors talked about so casually made him wonder what Hudson's home life could be like. "Oh... that sounds fun." He said a little uncertainly, glancing at the younger boy. "Does your family live in a manor too?" The answer worried Vivian a little - although things were better than they used to be his family were a long way from well off, and he didn't know if Hudson would care about that. Hopefully even if he was from a more wealthy family he wouldn't be too concerned about it. "That's good... are you taking any electives?" Vivian barely remembered classes from his own third year, he had never paid as much attention to school as he probably should, but he knew Hudson was probably taking some new subjects this year. The boy's question surprised him and he shook his head quickly. "Oh... I wasn't planning on it, I'm not... really good at thinking of costumes." He said awkwardly. "Are you going to go?"

 

[Hudson Worth]

Hudson shifted in his seat unsure to how to act around Vivian who seemed to be questioning him a lot. He didn't mind too much since the older boy was actually talking to him which surprised him greatly, but he also wanted to know more about Vivian. "The Worth Manor, my Uncle's, well I guess father since they adopted me after...well after my parents died," Hudson said glancing away, it'd happen so long ago now, he'd been at the Worth Manor before he even came here but sometimes he wished his uncle and Aunt were the ones who died rather than his own parents. Not that his Aunt and Uncle were cruel, but he knew for his younger siblings it would have been easier on them since they had been so very little. "I suppose my parent's estate will be passed on to me when I'm older, but I'm not very interested in going back there any time soon," Hudson said pausing for a moment realizing the conversation was taking a darker turn than he wanted. "I, yes I'm taking a few, which did you add?" Hudson question, finally finding a moment where he could ask the older boy a question about himself. "I think I will go, as a Jester, though the colors in the outfit are kind of darker so maybe like a Dark Jester, like an evil clown type of character," Hudson said shrugging his shoulders wishing Vivian said he'd go.
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[Vivian Brackenstall]

Vivian immediately regretted the questions he had asked as soon as Hudson responded. Oh no. This wasn't going how he had hoped at all. "I'm sorry..." He said quickly, worried that he had made a complete mess of things now. "I didn't mean to bring up something painful..." It sounded as though Hudson had had a difficult life and he didn't know what to say now, it seemed there wasn't anything appropriate to try and comfort the younger boy. He was relieved when Hudson spoke about classes, glad for the less serious topic. "Just Ancient Runes. I've never had much of a focus on my studies." He confessed. Vivian enjoyed a lot of the things they learned at school, but he found it hard to pay attention, his mind would wander too easily and he would compose sonnets instead of taking notes. He smiled a little at Hudson's description of his costume, wishing he had the kind of creativity to think of that sort of thing. "That sounds nice..." Vivian said, imagining what Hudson had described. As he was thinking, a small thought from his inner Tristan piped up in the back of his mind. "I bet you would look good in that..." Vivian added, doing his best to emulate Tristan's effortless confidence.