He had seen that attempted restraint in the other boy’s face, and although Ari might have already let the glimmerings of a sense of humour out in his company, here he kept his smile serene, as though he had been serious all along, and was surprised to hear it.

“‘Fraid not,” Ari answered, keeping his eyeline trained on Ben’s leg as they walked. “I’m a fourth year now,” he offered, too used to being the eldest sibling of many not to hold that up as the power it could be. “Hufflepuff,” he added. Still, he hated to say it, but - based on the broom stunts and everything else, Sterling did seem slightly... cooler.

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The sooner he learned how to take a joke, the better it would be for all of them. That still didn't prevent Ben from pursing his lips in consternation. "Well, bully for you," he grumped, exhaling harshly to keep a stray curl from drifting towards his nose. "I bet you're brilliant at finding things, aren't you?" Though devoid of any sort of malice, it was hard to keep the edge out of his voice with his ankle smarting.

As they limped into the castle, Ben found it a bit easier to let the other boy take his weight. It was lucky that of the two of them, the Hufflepuff seemed more sturdy.

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The following 1 user Likes Benedict Sterling's post:1 user Likes Benedict Sterling's post
   Ari Fisk

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Merlin, Sterling was quite grumpy underneath all that energy, wasn’t he? He’d look tough for the audience, but he expected when he only had the school nurse for company he’d be a right baby if it meant being doted on. Ari decided it would be uncalled for to grin about it, so he kept that hypothesis to himself as they stumbled their way up the stairs like it was part of a three-legged race.

He raised an eyebrow at the last remark, though. “I found you in the bushes, didn’t I?” He teased, but relented by pointing out the door at the end of this hallway, as if that were more proof of his brilliance. “And there’s the hospital wing for you. The nurse’ll have you fixed up in no time, I’m sure.” He would say something about finding him sometime later to see it, but thought better of it, so just knocked on the door for him with an abashed smile. They didn’t know each other, after all. Best not to go getting too attached.

(It was a little odd, how the other boy’s arm felt so comfortable leaning on him like that, Ari considered. But probably best not to examine that too closely, either.)

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He was equal parts relieved and disappointed that they'd already reached the hospital wing. His curiosity was piqued the more he talked to this boy, and it was coming dangerously close to telling Fisk that he'll suffer through the ankle. The twinge in his foot said otherwise, however, and he reluctantly nodded. "I'm sure I'll be good as new come dinnertime." He replied, looking through the doors. Sure enough, there was a healer waltzing their way to come get him from Ari.

"I'll see you around then, Fisk." Ben replied, saluting the Hufflepuff and winking before he turned to take the hand of the healer."Maybe I'll hop out of the bushes and scare you one day."

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