Closed Halloween Stargazing

[Arvel Ayers]

Arvel never went to the Halloween feast, but he had never not gone to the feast as much as he wasn't going to the feast tonight. For starters, he was sure nobody would really want him there anyway, moping around and generally lowering the mood. But also, he didn't have a costume. The only thing worse than being the only person sitting around at the feast with nobody to talk to was being the only person without a costume sitting around at the feast with nobody to talk to.

So he had gone up to the towers instead. It was a clear night, perfect for stargazing - not that Arvel had done much of that since dropping out of Astronomy. He regretted that he hadn't tried a bit harder in that subject. Mostly he'd used it as an opportunity to nap. Now, standing by the railing, looking up at the stars, he could only spot and name two constellations. He sighed, trying not to think of how much fun everybody was having on the ground floor. After all, it was unlikely anybody was thinking of him.

 

[Jacob Kingsley]

Jacob's interest in the Halloween feast had waned as he'd grown older. He still enjoyed the food. Hogwarts food was always great which was why he'd shown up just as the feast began to grab a few snacks. But he didn't have a costume and didn't really want to hang out with anyone in particular so there was no reason to stay. Most of his friends were coupled up and being a third wheel for a school event was never fun. So the teen had decided to catch up on schoolwork. He'd already worked on his History of Magic course work. But he had hours ahead of him. So he'd picked up his snacks, telescope, and notebook and headed for the towers.

Jacob wasn't paying too much attention when he entered. He threw down his bag and then moved the telescope off of his shoulder to begin setting it up. That was when he realized he wasn't alone. Arvel was there. Jacob hadn't seen him since the duel. No, that wasn't true. They saw each other in class all the time. But it wasn't what he meant. "Hey" he stated. But that was a disappointing way to start a conversation. "Not a Halloween guy?" That was only slightly better but it would have to do.

 

[Arvel Ayers]

Either Arvel was going deaf, or sound travelled differently up on the tower, because he nearly jumped out of his skin when Jacob suddenly spoke to him. He smiled reflexively, before he could decide whether smiling was an appropriate response. Then he thought of Zennon and the parseltongue fight and the smile vanished. Did Jacob know about that? Judging by his friendly opener, probably not. But it was only a matter of time. "Not really a people guy," he said. "But... I thought you were. Why aren't you at the feast?"

 

[Jacob Kingsley]

Jacob cocked his head to the side, a look of amusement on his face. He supposed he was a 'people' person. It was funny Arvel didn't think he was himself. Jacob shrugged. "Didn't really feel like it. Figured I'd just do some star gazing" he continued, taking a look through his telescope and then adjusting it some before glancing up again. "I did pick up some snacks though" he grinned, giving his bag a small kick in Arvel's direction. "Help yourself" he added before he moved back to setting up his telescope.

 

[Arvel Ayers]

Arvel looked down at the bag of snacks near Jacob's feet. Even if he didn't know about the Parseltongue thing, this interaction was unusually friendly. It reminded him of their duel in the dungeons. Actually, come to think of it, maybe this interaction wasn't that unusual at all. Increasingly the Hufflepuff had noticed himself enjoying Jacob's company. Some days he even preferred Jacob's company to Analei's. She'd have killed him if she knew that, he was sure. But she wasn't here - she was at the feast, with Edmund - so what did he have to lose?

Dragging his hand along the rail, he wandered over to Jacob. He wasn't really hungry. He had been, a few minutes ago, but his appetite had suddenly vanished. Instead he watched Jacob with curiosity. "Can I look?" he asked. He'd never been any good at setting up his telescope, even when he'd been taking Astronomy. In hindsight, that was probably one of the reasons he wasn't allowed to take it any more.

 

[Jacob Kingsley]

Jacob had just finished when he heard Arvel's question. He looked up to see just how close Arvel was and found himself staring for perhaps a beat too long. Jacob tried to play it off with a joke. "Oh you meant through the telescope?" he grinned before taking a step away from it. "Yeah, sure. If you don't mess it up, you'll be able to see Mars" he added, moving a bit away to retrieve his candy bag. A piece of candy sounded good right about now and might prevent him from saying any other stupid things.

The teenager picked something out and unwrapped it, concentrating on his task as he made his way back, leaning on the railing. He took a bite of the chocolate ghost before speaking again. "Do you see it?" he asked, excitement betraying his voice.

 

[Arvel Ayers]

Arvel was pretty sure he'd said 'Can I look?', but the long pause made him wonder whether something more embarrassing had slipped out instead. When Jacob finally replied, he smirked and looked away. Later that night, lying in bed, he would probably think of ten witty responses to that comment, but in the three-second gap they would have been relevant they determined to elude him. That was the story of his life. Suddenly feeling hot, Arvel moved toward the telescope and looked into the eyepiece. For a second everything was dark and blurry, but once he stayed perfectly still the unmistakable shape of mars came into focus. "I do!" he said, feeling a frisson of excitement. "Wow, I can see - I can see the colours, and the clouds, and everything. Are those clouds? Wait, it's still a bit blurry. How do I-?" He lifted his hand to turn one of the knobs a bit, trying to remember what he'd purposely forgotten after flunking the class.

 

[Jacob Kingsley]

Jacob finished his chocolate, watching the top of Arvel's mop of hair and grinning at his reaction. Astronomy really was the best. Sure, class was sometimes boring but this part, looking through the telescope, realizing you were part of something so grand, was life affirming. Jacob's hand moved before he realized what he was doing. He put his fingers on top of Arvel's hand and moved them to another knob before pulling them quickly away. "It's that one" he said, leaning against the railing. "You're trying to focus, right?"