Classmate and Companion

[Professor Grace Holland]

Grace was glad for Sixth Year, it was a nice year in between two big exam years and though it was busy, it wasn't as bad as the Fifth Year had been. She actually had some free time lately, which was mostly because she was so on top of her studies and training. Maybe it was time to socialize a bit more, she hadn't made many connections in her first years at school because she had been so focused on her grades. Last time she had taken the time to talk to someone she had only known on a surface level, she had befriended Jessica who she now considered one of her closest friends. Maybe today it would be worth talking to someone else.

She spotted a boy from her year, someone she didn't think she had much in common with but who was friendly enough. It was worth a shot. She headed over to where he was sitting and took the seat next to him. "Hey Dominik, what are you up to today?" She asked him with a smile.

 

[Dominik Milne]

His love for dragons certainly had not died down in the last couple of years, in fact, he was pretty sure that he was going to work with dragons after graduating from school even though his parents were against him working with such dangerous creatures. The sixth year had been reading about the Chinese Fireball when he heard a somewhat familiar voice saying his name and asking him with he was up to. Dominik looked up and watched as Grace sat down besides him. ''Hey Cap.'' he said, smiling back at Grace. He put the bookmark between the pages he was currently on so he could continue where he left off later that day and then closed it, thinking that it would be rude if he would continue reading whilst she was talking to him. ''Just doing some reading on dragons as always.'' the sixteen year old answered.

 

[Professor Grace Holland]

Grace nearly laughed when Dominik told her what he was doing, she should have known. She smiled instead, shaking her head slightly in a fondly exasperated way. Everyone in their year knew about the boy's obsession with the creatures. Grace supposed she was the same way about Quidditch, but Quidditch didn't breathe fire and kill people. Most of the time. So far her plan to know more about the boy was failing, there were probably first years that could point out the dragon obsessed Sixth Year. But it could never hurt to be friendly. "I'm surprised there are still new books you haven't read yet." She teased gently. "Soon you'll be writing one yourself, just so you have something new to read." She looked at the book curiously. "So, what were you reading about specifically?"

 

[Dominik Milne]

Dominik grinned widely at Grace's comment. ''You know me, I basically almost trashed the library the other day to find a book about dragons that I hadn't read yet.'' he said with a chuckle. ''I would not be surprised if I ended up writing one, actually.'' Dominik said, shaking his head slightly whilst laughing. He shifted his body to face the girl when she asked what he was reading, happy that she had asked that question. ''So, my dad and I are going to visit a clan in Scotland, during the summer holidays, who are responsible for taking care of the Hebridean Black, and I'm reading about them in advance so I know what to expect when we get there.'' the boy told Grace. His face lightened up while he told the Chaser about his plans for the holidays, as he was already super excited to go to British isle. ''Anyway, I'm sure you wouldn't like to hear about dragons the whole time.'' Dominik said, knowning all too well that talking about dragons would eventually cause the other person to get up and end the conversation, as he barely gave the other person a chance to talk about the stuff they wanted to talk about out of excitement for the fascinating creatures. It was widely known throughout the school that the sixteen year old was obsessed with the creatures, and even though people thought that he was nuts for being crazy about them, he just couldn't help it. ''How's practice going?'' he then asked to change the subject to something that he knew the two of them would both enjoy talking about.

 

[Professor Grace Holland]

Grace laughed when he admitted to nearly trashing the library, his goofy grin along with it nearly made her giggle. "I think you would write a great book." She told him with a smile. "You know so much about it already." She listened to him talk about what he was going to do during the summer holiday, and she had to admit it sounded sort of... exciting. She hadn't known he was that involved in it, she had mostly assumed it was an obsession from books and pictures. "Wow,that's amazing." She told him honestly. "Have you been to see real dragons before or will that be that the first time?" Her father was from England, so she had been to the United Kingdom many times but never to Scotland. "You should tell me all about it when we're back at school.Will you be taking some pictures?" She was almost disappointed when he ended the dragon talk, though it was nice to see that he was aware that other people might not be as excited about the same things he was. The conversation went straight from his obsession to hers. They both liked Quidditch, but Grace was especially focused on their team this year. She smiled. "Practice is going well! Jessica's a great beater and we've been scoring a lot lately." She neglected to mention she hadn't scored yet during a practice. "I really hope we'll be ready for the big game soon. You'll watch it, right?" She paused. "Wait, do you play?"

 

[Dominik Milne]

It made him happy to know that Grace thought he would write a great book were he ever going to do that. Dominik did know a lot about dragons, probably more than most students at the school, but writing a book would have to wait until he was a Dragonologist first so he could do a more in-depth study of the different types of dragons and their habitat since he wasn't really allowed to study the actual creature at the moment. He smiled brightly at the girl's comment on his plans for the summer holiday. It'd be amazing indeed. He had never seen a dragon in real life before so couldn't wait for the holiday to start. Dominik was glad that his father had been the one who had come up with the idea of visiting the MacFusty clan as he was sure that his both his parents would've never allowed him to go to the Hebrides Islands alone. ''It'll be my first time seeing a dragon in real life, yeah.'' The boy nodded. ''Are you sure about that? I think I could go on for hours about my time there.'' he chuckled. ''If I'm allowed to take pictures then I definitely will.'' Dominik listened carefully when Grace told him how practice was going, happy to hear that it was going well and that one of the beaters on the team was apparently so good that she deserved to be praised by the co-captain. ''I've seen one of the practice sessions, and from what I've seen, I think you're ready to take on the Hogwarts house.'' he said encouragingly. ''And of course I'll watch it,'' the boy grinned, ''I wouldn't want to miss my favourite captain scoring goals against the rival team.'' He nodded again when she asked if he played as well. ''I do actually, I play Keeper. However, because I was too engrossed by doing research, I didn't get time to try-out for a spot on the team.'' Dominik answered. Even if he had been there at try-outs, he would've never gotten that spot on the team since their other captain was the Keeper already.

 

[Professor Grace Holland]

Grace was enjoying her conversation with Dominik more than she had expected. She had never really talked to the boy for longer than a few minutes, and hadn't expected it to be so engaging. She was a little surprised it would be his first time seeing a real dragon, but that thought made her very excited for him. She knew how much he loved the creatures and could only imagine how happy he would be to see one. "Oh I'm sure! It sounds interesting." She smiled. "And I promise to cut you off when it gets tiring." She teased. "Though, do be careful. Don't get too close in your excitement and get roasted by a Swedish Short-Snout or something." She laughed softly.

She was flattered to hear he had watched one of the practices, and even more when he called her his favorite captain. She wondered if he was flirting with her, or was he just being nice? She eyed him for a moment before speaking. "Too bad, but on the other hand... If you were playing you wouldn't get to be in the audience cheering for me." She smiled teasingly. "I'll dedicate my first goal to you, my number one fan"

 

[Dominik Milne]

He smiled brightly when she told him that it sounded interesting. It really did, and Dominik was super excited to go to Scotland with his dad, not only to see a dragon for the first time in his life, but also to hear what the clan they were staying with had to say about the species they had been taking care of for centuries now. He grinned at Grace's teasing. ''That's probably a very good idea, yeah.'' he nodded agreeinly, laughing slightly. ''Yuck, you're beginning to sound just like my dad.'' Dominik said jokingly. ''But don't worry, I won't get too close.'' He wasn't planning on getting too close anyway since he wanted to see more dragons with his father if this summer went well. Dominik did a little ''yes'' motion when she said she'd dedicate her first goal to him, grinning widely at her. ''You know I'll go nuts if you score, right? I'm obliged to as your number one fan.'' he said teasingly.

 

[Professor Grace Holland]

Grace laughed softly at the comparison to Dominik's dad, she raised one eyebrow slightly. "I suppose your dad is a wise man." She told him with a shrug. "All I mean is that I would be sad if your face was burned off." She added with a slight smile. She was sure Dominik was smart enough to avoid that, though, and she really hoped he would have a good time. His grin when she told him she would dedicate her first goal to him made her laugh again. "I'll keep my ears open for your cheers." She told him. "I'll try my best not to let my number one fan down." She teased back, fairly sure they were in flirting territory now. "I will try not to get distracted by it either, though, that would be bad." She added. "I'll allow nothing to stand in the way of our international victory." She paused with an amused smile on her face. "Not even you."

 

[Dominik Milne]

''I don't think I'm even allowed to come close to the dragon in the first place, the clan that's looking after it is pretty strict about those things according to dad.'' Dominik told Grace. He wouldn't come close anyway if he was allowed to do so, but imagined that it would be awesome to see such a creature from up-close especially for research purposes. Dominik chuckled when she told him that she'd be sad if his face would be burned off by coming too close to the Hebridean Black. ''Yeah, it'd be such a shame if you wouldn't be able to look at my face anymore, wouldn't it?'' he said teasingly, a grin appearing on his face. The sixth year smiled brightly at Grace's comment. ''I would cheer for you so loudly that if you were on the other side of the pitch, you would still be able to hear me rooting for you.'' Dominik said. For a moment he wondered why he hadn't spoken to Grace more often. She was pretty funny and the two seemed to have something in common they could both talk about for hours on end. ''Oh, I wouldn't want you to get distracted by little old me either.'' he replied, grinning once more.

 

[Professor Grace Holland]

Grace was somewhat relieved to hear Dominik wouldn't actually get too close to any dragons. It made sense, and she couldn't help but feel a little bit silly for being worried about it at all. Still, even from afar they weren't something to be messed with, but she was sure Dominik knew that better than she did. His teasing made her blush a little, even as she grinned at his comments. "It would be a shame." She agreed with a small shrug. "About your face, I mean." She tilted her head. "I'll try not to let it distract me during the match, though." She wasn't really sure what else to say, wondering if they were really flirting or if she was imagining it. She needed to talk to Jessica about it, she was better at this sort of thing. She smiled apologetically. "It's been great to catch up, Dominik, I don't know why we don't talk more often but I would like to change that. Unfortunately, I just realized I should go write and mail a letter to my parents today, so I should get going." She hesitated. "Maybe we could write each other over the break?"

 

[Dominik Milne]

''As if you could still see my face during the match,'' he said, ''It'll be covered with the school colours and I will probably write 'Go Grace' in black block letters on my forehead because yeah, that's what a number one fan does, I suppose.'' Dominik told her with a grin, thoroughly enjoying this little teasing thing they had going on during their conversation. ''It has been indeed,'' he nodded in agreement, though wishing that she could stay a little longer because he was having a great time talking to her. He was a little sad that she had to go but knew that they would talk to each other again soon enough. Dominik nodded again when she suggested writing to one another over the break and smiled brightly at Grace. ''I would love to do that, I could tell you all about my stay in Scotland!'' he said excitedly, already looking forward to writing her.

 

[Professor Grace Holland]

The idea of Dominik's face covered in the school colors with 'Go Grace' on his forehead was enough to make her laugh again. "Oh wow, I'll hold you to that." She said, pointing at him with a grin. "If you don't have that exactly, I'll be very disappointed." She said in a warning tone of voice, wagging her finger. She regretted her hasty departure, but she had said she had to go now so she should. She couldn't help but think his grin was pretty cute, she had always thought he was nice looking but this was new.

Thankfully he agreed to write her over the holidays, which she was already looking forward to. "I'll write you as soon as we get home." She said honestly. "I'll probably be going to New Zealand to visit family, so whenever my little cousins give me a moment of rest I'll try to write about it." She said with a grin. "I look forward to hearing about Scotland and dragons, though, I doubt my trip compares to it. Though some of my cousins could probably rival a dragon in energy and danger." She shouldered her bag. "Well... I'll see you around, then?"

 

[Dominik Milne]

His eyes wrinkled as he smiled. ''Oh, believe me, I will have exactly that written on my forehead.'' Dom didn't have anything he could use to write it on his forehead nor to paint his face with the school's colours, but he was sure that he would figure something out when they got closer to the match. ''You should tell me all about your cousins, Grace, I would love to hear about them.'' he said with a friendly smile. ''Let's hope the dragon doesn't fry the owl though.'' Dominik chuckled at his own comment, finding it rather funny. ''Definitely. Oh, and if you walk into a trashed library... It wasn't me.'' he shook his head and winked at her.

 

[Professor Grace Holland]

Grace lingered as she listened to Dominik talk, a wide smile on her face. "I look forward to it." She told him with a small tilt of her head, surprised to find she meant it. "I'll write you soon, I look forward to that as well." She felt her cheeks flush slightly at the sight of his wink and averted her gaze. "Well, I'll see you around, Dominik." She said before heading away to send her letter. Happy with this entire conversation, but feeling a little nervous about these feelings she was having as well.