May 17th, 1894 — A study classroom

She had come out of her Potions practical and returned to one of the study classrooms, although they had all weekend now before their next exam on Monday – which was Transfiguration for Mattie. (She knew she would do well, regardless – but she would only be truly satisfied if she did better than Miss Adebayo.)

She sighed aloud at the table she was at, tiring of her companions’ continued Potions debriefing. She wished she had cut up her sopophorous beans a bit faster, but otherwise she was content. And they were overdue for a change of subject. “Please, let’s talk about something else,” Mattie demanded; it was all crying over spilled milk now, and she was still confident of her Outstanding in Potions that she would never need use again. “Only a week and a bit before the Coming Out Ball,” she provided, because this was the only other topic that was so all-encompassing and nerve-wracking (for some) to be entirely distracting from exams.

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open to (one or more) someone(s) in years 5-7!

  

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Bee is an absolute dream! <3

Benedict had retired after a his history of Magic exams and felt confident, history was a subject he enjoyed and made up much of the personal reading that the book club president undertook and sometimes suggested to the other readers. The next exam wasn't until Monday but was potions, so Benedict sat there quietly reading his potions notes whole mostly listening in to the debrief from the NEWT students, what sort of mood was the professor in when they wrote their exam papers. It was information that didn't actually affect his own exam, but he was curious how the older students had faired.

Matilda Farris interrupted the lamentations of some of the more nervous students and tried to steer the subject elsewhere. "Quite right Miss Farris, we have all weekend to worry about our next exams." he laughed and nodded at the older girl, a member of the girls book club. "The coming out ball should be very beautiful, I was sad that I wasn't old enough attend Tori's." his older sister, Victoria, had graduated last summer and as a fourth year he was not allowed to attend. She did look lovely in her dress though.

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“Who’s worrying?” Mattie said rhetorically, just to tease; indeed, it felt as though everyone around her was, and the air was tense and fraught with everyone else’s nerves. Young Mr. Hunter oughtn’t be too worried for himself – he was only in his OWL year, and didn’t have a coming out to care excessively about like most of her classmates – so she supposed he would be a conversational breath of fresh air?

He certainly sounded keener about getting to attend the Coming Out Ball for the first time than Mattie suspected most of the boys of his year would be. (They would be excited about the prospect of seeming adult enough to attend a proper party, probably, and be in the vicinity of alcohol in a school-sanctioned space, but otherwise it was probably rather a slog for them, wasn’t it?) “That is a shame,” Mattie said, although – having no siblings of her own – she couldn’t entirely relate. “Are you looking forward to this one, then? As an appreciator of beauty?” She arched her eyebrows, purely to tease. (The artistic aesthetics of the Great Hall transformed to ballroom, or to ogle all the girls in pretty dresses?)

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   Benedict Hunter

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Bee is an absolute dream! <3

Ben laughed a little at the rhetorical question, everybody? it didn't need to be said. It was a shame that he had not been able to attend Victoria's but he was actually excited to go himself, it was new, it was interesting, he could rub shoulders with all manner of grown ups and pretend for a moment he was one. But he had other plans too.

"I am, yes and, erm.. I guess its something like that. Getting to see all the girls dressed up, and you are kind of... hmm," how to word it? A champion of hogwarts, and emissary to the outside? "leading the way into the real world. And as none of you sevenths are there to bag themselves a lowly fifth, we can just relax and enjoy ourselves." he gave a broad and playful grin to the older girl. He was certain she would look wonderful in her dress, and likely have men twice his age trying to court her attention. There was also something of a wager amongst some of the gryffindor boys as to which of the girls would marry first, but it wouldnt do to be spreading that about.

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Matilda Farris Elias Grimstone

  

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“Ah, I see,” Mattie declared, just as playfully. A chance to get in his female yearmates’ good books, and to let their hair down, as it was. Getting a front row seat to the new debutantes’ drama also felt like it would be entertaining for the uninvolved observers.

(Mattie did not intend to have any drama of her own, but she would not mind if Mis Adebayo had a minor misfortune or two on her first evening out.)

“Have you thought about your own graduation much yet?” she asked, because it was his OWL year, and less-fortunate classmates of his would be thrust out into the real world soon enough. Boys did not debut in the same way; she wondered what his future would look like. “What you’ll do after school?”

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Bee is an absolute dream! <3

The Gryffindor looked thoughtful as Mattie asked him about his own prospects. It was something he thought about quite a lot, but as a middle class boy his oppurtunies were very much dependant on his successes at school, he doubted there was a secret Hunter dowager about to pop off and hand him a fortune.

"I suppose unless something changes I shall go into Dad's business, I get on well with creatures so yeah, guess that makes most sense." he thought a moment more, his father had expressed an interest in Benedict expanding into his own domain, it was why his parents had scraped together the galleons for teo more years at school. "But that will depend on my NEWTS, which of course will depend on my OWLS... but then that would be exam talk again would it not, Miss Farris?" he teased with a friendly expression.

He did wonder something "It must feel strange that you will be seeking a husband from men you habe likely never met." He carefully phrased it as a statement to not seem improper asking a personal question, but he hoped she might indulge him.

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Matilda Farris Elias Grimstone

  

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