Basil hummed as he fished around on his desk for the text he was going to hand the young Slytherin. Her explanation about her father seemed a little suspicious, but he supposed it could very well be true. As she accepted the book, he nodded. It was not surprising to the professor that she wanted to be a bat; he wasn’t sure why exactly, but it seemed fitting. “Well, best of luck with your research,” he replied. And he did mean it. Perhaps the girl really did just want to find some solace in flight through animagi.

“Don’t worry about a date,” he answered, moving back to his desk. “Whenever you finish that essay is fine.” Basil took a seat and picked up his quill once more. He was satisfied with how this little interaction had gone. For better or worse intention, he’d managed a student’s precarious desire to access something they very probably ought to keep away from and turned it into a useful learning lesson for her! He smiled at himself as he adjusted some of the mess he’d moved around on his desk, unearthing his original tomb.

Ms. Edevane called to him once more on her way out and Basil “Hm?”’d distractedly in response. Her quip and wink as he turned to look at her was unsettling and suddenly the professor felt dully uncomfortable. Basil frowned pointedly in her direction. Perhaps he had been too hasty in his congratulations. So it would seem, at the end of all that, she had been trying to sneak into the restricted section without any real (or honest) intention. As the girl stalked out of his office, Basil sighed and ran a hand through his too-long fringe. How troublesome.

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