The Coming Out Ball: another year at its conclusion. Basil was relieved his first year as Head of House was coming to a finale. The additional responsibility had been taxing but rewarding, and now he was going into the summer with a little more confidence that he was competent enough not to have muddled this entirely. It had been a difficult decision this year to attend the COB however. He’d only decided it out of responsibility to his Ravenclaws (and realized that as HoH he likely didn’t have much of a choice). Unlike years prior where he had taken part out of staunch duty and even danced with a handful of seventh year girls out of respect, this year Basil was feeling more flighty than usual. This would be his first social event since… the debacle, and certain someones he’d been avoiding like the plague might be in attendance. (He could hardly stomach the idea of running into Ms. Victoire still, and Atticus all but made him nauseous. Luckily the latter would be too busy to attend and the former… he would have to skirt as delicately as possible.) As for Lissington… well. He’d just avoid Skeeter altogether and be fine.
The Great Hall was large enough that it had many pockets in which to hide. Every year it reminded Basil of all the students that had passed through and gone on to build their lives after their schooling careers. Some, like Ms. Chang, were out there driving towards academic achievement. Others, like Ms. Dashwood, were driving towards more domestic goals. But all of them settled fondly in the professor’s memory, filled as he was with nostalgia. It was with this distraction in mind that Basil thought he saw something skitter along the refreshments table. Grey hues blinked quickly, then narrowed into a squint, disbelieving. Was that… Cecil?
The scene unfolded before Basil could think to intercede. People screamed, wands were drawn, spells flew left and right, then— with a crash, the transfiguration took place. He spotted it in disbelief before the poor creature had even landed. Oh bollocks.
There were a handful of attempts to manage the situation before Basil could fully cross the small space himself and grey hues watched as he neared, academic mind skipping from one course of action to the next based on the man’s reactions. He looked unsteady, flabbergasted himself even, at the sudden transformation. His behavior was still mildly feral, indicating it had been a long time since he’d been human, and he even gnashed his teeth at someone in an attempt to flee. Basil cut to the right to intercept the man before he could reach a doorway. Hands up in deference, wand still tucked into his waistcoat for the time being, the brunette hoped to stop the man in his tracks. Would Cecil recognize him in his disoriented state? He certainly hoped so. Basil had no intention whatsoever of harming the former hedgehog or startling him worse than he was.
“Please wait!” he called out as he stepped directly into the man’s path.
Aubrey Davis et. al <3