People-Watching (Gavin/Andy)

[Andy Moreau]

Andy wasn't sure whether he wanted to run into Castiel Catalyst again, but it was a moot point because so far he hadn't. The Great Hall had been a mass of activity and Andy wasn't in regular classes, even if they'd been in the same grade, which he wasn't sure about. Had he wrecked things by running off? Was Castiel the kind of guy he should have avoided? Did he care? Andy had certainly never been pursued before, and wasn't sure whether to trust it in the first place.

For now, he stood in the entrance hall, schooling completed for the day. There was homework, but he was ignoring it for now. People-watching was a lot more interesting. He'd seen a set of androgynous blondes walk by, seen a boy whose hair was shifting colors seemingly of its own accord, and seen a professor or two who could have passed for students if not for their robes. No one seemed to see him, or at least to notice the slim jeans and fitted shirt he wore, and he wondered if he could have gotten away with more. He'd seen a girl with a scarf around her hips like a belt and loved the look of it. This place was overwhelming and weird, but he loved it.

[Gavin Kent]

Since classes were over for the day, Gavin wanted to get a better look at the grounds. He'd seen maps, but they were nothing compared to what he'd seen out windows and doors, and what he could see was nothing compared to actually walking along the shore of the lake. "Hello," he said when he came upon the slender blond.

"I get the feeling you're new like me. There's so much to see, isn't there?" As if to prove his point, a girl with what appeared to be actual cat ears walked by, though the ears with their purple color just missed realism. Perhaps it was a transfiguration assignment gone wrong.

[Andy Moreau]

Andy started at the sudden voice beside him. Dang, was there anyone in this school who wasn't good looking? Andy felt flustered, but this guy didn't seem anything like Castiel, so he needed to calm down. "Uh, yeah. It's really different from... Muggle school." Which he'd just been calling school his entire life. Why was this guy talking to him? Aside from Castiel, did anyone ever talk to him except to mess with him?

[Gavin Kent]

"Yeah, I went to muggle boarding school until this term, and I didn't think it would be so different. Just having magic makes the smallest thing different," Gavin said. "Even the bath is different. I heard that one of the girls' toilets is haunted." There was also the fact that each house had not just a normal animal mascot, but a ghost.

[Andy Moreau]

"Really?" Andy asked. Maybe this guy was just one of those people who needed to be talking to someone at every second or they withered away. "I don't really know that much. I like, just got my wand." And he didn't even carry it on his person like everyone else, because he had accidents like a little kid. Maybe he shouldn't have said anything about his wand, especially to a fancy prep school guy. He hoped he wasn't blushing.

[Gavin Kent]

"I've had mine a few years, just never got to come to school," Gavin said. "I'd say you fit in a little better than I do, though." One of the professors even had blue hair, which had been a definite shock for a first magic class ever. Maybe he should dye his hair. Oh, his mother would be livid. "I mean, with the hair, you know."

It was only then that he really took a look at the guy, and what he saw was well, interesting, to say the least. The slim-fitting clothes wasn't something he was used to seeing on guys, and he couldn't help but be a little curious about it.

[Andy Moreau]

Andy reached up to touch his hair, and only as his fingers brushed platinum and pink did he really think about it. There did seem to be a huge number of students with super cool hair and clothes, and even other guys who wore makeup. Then there was that professor, Dare. If the professors did it, maybe it was like a normal wizard thing here instead of something only freaks did. Andy had never been normal before.

"I didn't even think about that," Andy said. "It's so weird. You don't like, stick out or anything, not in a bad way." He felt like such an idiot.

[Gavin Kent]

"I suppose Hogwarts isn't as interested in everyone looking the same," Gavin mused. The letter had called for uniforms, but he didn't really see many people actually wearing them. Well, at least not wearing them how they were meant to be worn. "Why did you dye your hair? Are you going to play around with transfiguration now you're not in muggle schools anymore?"

[Andy Moreau]

"No, I just... like it this way," Andy said, blushing slightly. If the question seemed a little rude, at least it felt backed by honest curiosity and not distaste. He thought, anyway. Now that the moment had passed, he wasn't so sure. "And I don't know any Transfiguration yet. I'm not in classes, I'm getting tutored." Maybe Andy wanted to push the guy away now instead of impress him. If the guy was going to ask questions, he may as well answer them like he wasn't ashamed. He forced himself to look the guy in the eyes.

[Gavin Kent]

"Being tutored isn't so bad. I was tutored on holidays before I came here. Sometimes, it's better than class, because you don't feel like you're annoying the other ten guys in class with your questions," Gavin said. He was excited to be in a classroom, definitely, but he had to admit that tutoring had its merits. "Plus, even if you don't know any, we all live together, right? We can always ask for help."

[Andy Moreau]

What was with this guy? He was just acting all nice and patient and optimistic. People weren't like that, especially not to him. And we all live together? We can always ask for help? Who said things like that? "Are you a professor?" Andy asked warily. The guy didn't look old enough at all and unless he'd lied, he'd been at a boarding school last year, but he talked like an adult and maybe some people looked freakishly young.

[Gavin Kent]

Gavin's eyebrows drew close in confusion. "No, I'm a fifth year," he said. "My name's Gavin Kent. Wait, do I look like a professor? I don't want to look old." The confusion shifted towards worry. He wasn't at all used to the young professors at Hogwarts, and old men in tweed still came to mind when he heard the word.

[Andy Moreau]

"You don't look old," Andy said, off-balanced by the sudden insecurity he felt from... had he said his name was Gavin? Probably not, Andy knew he was terrible with names. "I just, like... people don't really talk to me, so like..." Ugh. "I'm sorry?" Now Andy's head was even more mixed up. He'd thought the guy was cute, then wondered if he was being messed with, and now he was trying to reassure him that he didn't look old? What was going on here, and why were they having what had to be one of the most confusing conversations he'd ever had in his life?

[Gavin Kent]

Gavin reached up to smooth his hair into place, feeling a tad off-balance himself. "Oh. I just saw you watching people, and I enjoy watching people, too. It's nice, there's always something interesting to see," he said. "I've never been around a lot of wizarding people. Everyone at my old schools looked the same."

[Andy Moreau]

Andy's brows drew together. Was that really it? He might have dismissed the whole thing, but that kind of meshed with what the guy had been talking about. Just school and people. He looked away from the guy, whose name could be Gavin, and back into the milling crowd. "I've only gone to Muggle school," he said softly. "My wand got broken when I was eleven, so I didn't have it long enough to learn anything. I have a new one, but I can't use it without a professor around." Because he had accidents.