Didn't want to take potions, anyway (Castiel/Diantha)

[Hyacinth Duprel]

Hyacinth turned to look at the girl and his eyes widened. He closed his mouth so he wouldn't gape, then quickly dropped his gaze. "It is nice to meet you, Diantha," he said. Ohhh, he needed to go. He needed to go, and he needed to start preparing for confession tomorrow. He reached for his rosary.

[Diantha Delagardie]

"Nice to meet you, too," Diantha said, smiling at Hyacinth. Her house didn't have nearly the same ratio of good looking guys. "That kitten is adorable. I love seeing all the pets everyone's got." Of course, her Raring was still the best, naturally, but the little fuzzball with Hyacinth was definitely high in the cuteness rankings.

[Hyacinth Duprel]

Hyacinth blushed and nodded. "Her name is Remiel. Ah, I must go, I have a lot of homework." He had a transfiguration essay. But he needed to go calm down somewhere. He made his goodbyes as quickly as possible and headed for the nearest staircase.

[Castiel Catalyst]

Castiel watched Hyacinth leave, then gave a shrug. "He's usually not in a hurry like that unless it's between classes," he said. "He's like the nicest guy ever, so don't go all Slytherin on him." Castiel gave a look that he hoped she took as I'm just messing with you, then gestured for them to keep walking.

[Diantha Delagardie]

"I promise I'll be nice," Diantha said, putting a hand briefly over her heart as she stepped forward. It wasn't like she had to be mean to be a Slytherin. She eyed the professor's door as she passed, adding it to her mental map. "The professor offices don't move around, do they?" That would get rather annoying, hopefully nothing actually important enjoyed changes of scenery.

[Castiel Catalyst]

Castiel shook his head. "No," he said. "This floor is the Tranfiguration professor and three classrooms. Muggle Studies," he said, pointing toward each in turn, "History of Magic, and Defense Against the Dark Arts. The Defense professor and the Transfiguration professor are married, so we usually don't bother calling them by their names when we're talking about them."

[Diantha Delagardie]

"The Blackwood-Hardts are famous," Diantha said. "Two powerful families, and their daughter is practically German royalty. I still can't believe they just teach." If she had that much money and status she would never work. Surely she could find enough to keep her busy throughout the day. And they were even teaching in the summer, when no one was required to do anything.

[Castiel Catalyst]

"I heard they didn't even want all the money and Society stuff, and that they donate their Galleons to charity in the summer," Castiel said. "They only do Society stuff because they have to for their daughter." Castiel might not talk to anyone anymore, but he sure as heck kept entertained listening in on nearby conversations. As long as he didn't talk about other students' personal stuff it was fine.

[Diantha Delagardie]

"Even back home we've heard of them heading back into Society, turning the poor Englishmen's heads upside down because they're both men," Diantha said. Not many details, but the first openly same-sex relationship in Society made waves. "I'd love to go to a ball they're at." Maybe balls could be fun if she wasn't overshadowed and strictly controlled by six older siblings and countless other relatives.

[Castiel Catalyst]

Castiel's sidelong glance lasted longer this time before he turned his gaze forward and headed for the ground floor. He might be able to make that happen, but wasn't willing to say so. It turned out that he had a connection to Society events in his brother's girlfriend, but he didn't want to give Diantha a boost because she'd just ditch him. And yet, what did it matter? She'd get bored of him sooner or later, probably sooner, so he may as well get it over with.

"I'll see what I can do," he said simply. "Come on, the entrance to the owlery is this way."

[Diantha Delagardie]

"You don't have to do anything, Castiel," Diantha said. She wasn't going to make him her chauffeur to everything involving the British Isles. "I'm a big girl," she added with a brief wink. Her name meant little to nothing in this country, but she was sure that if she tried hard enough she could worm her way into something. "Although...it is better having someone along for the ride." 

[Castiel Catalyst]

Castiel firmly ignored that wink. If she was flirting, he wasn't going for it. If she wasn't flirting, she was doing a terrible job of it. "I know I don't have to do anything," Castiel said. "And if you'd asked, I'd have said I couldn't help."

After a moment he stopped and faced her. He'd just say it and get it out of the way. "Listen, I'm bored and I've got nothing better to do. My best friend ditched me for a hand job, I'm lonely, and this isn't putting me out. If I'm bothering you, ignore me. Otherwise, I'm fine. I'm okay, really."

[Diantha Delagardie]

Diantha looked curiously at Castiel for some moments before she gave a short nod. "Then let's go not be bored, I doubt an owlery filled with birds could ever be boring," she said. "Plus, doing it together means neither of us is lonely." Without giving herself a chance to think about how she had managed to be lonely with such a large family, she lightly linked an arm with him and started back on their path.

[Castiel Catalyst]

Castiel caught that neither of us is lonely, but tried not to think about it as she took his arm. No, he would not let himself work off the knowledge that she was lonely. Or slightly rebellious. Or interesting. Alone Forever, he thought. That was it, right? If she was alone forever and he was alone forever, then they'd just be alone forever.

[Diantha Delagardie]

Diantha fell into silence as they walked, but it was only a short distance to the owlery, which was fairly quiet due to the time of day. "Oh my," she breathed, looking up at the sheer number of birds in the room. What if she couldn't find her Raring at all? "There must be hundreds." For the moment, her arm lingered in his as she took in the room.