She smirked and Gus tossed a look over his shoulder at the stack of essays that taunted him. In fact if he concentrated hard enough on them, he could hear the words on the paper laughing at him that he had to sit down, read and grade the papers before the end of the term. Gus might join her as a ghost with the cause of death of boredom. Would he die here? In his actual classroom? Or perhaps in the Great Hall where he sometimes tried to grade papers, because what better way to pass the time of being forced to grade than stuffing his face? His eyes kept going cross from reading the same words over and over again, with the occasional reprise from students who didn’t understand the assignment.

Her expression morphed and Gus grinned back at her. He glanced behind him again as she nodded, and as he turned back to her. “Afraid not. I’m not one for quidditch, and another professor here forbids me from jumping off things without a broom.” He laughed quietly, taking a small step away from her as she glided past him. He’d been friends with Basil Foxwood when they were in their final year at Hogwarts, and Gus had asked Foxwood if he thought he could summon a broom faster than he’d fall. Basil hadn’t been amused by the thought, and ten years later Gus still didn’t have an answer to that question. It was a theory he’d test sooner rather than later.


His eyes widened for a moment before he rubbed the back of his head. Was her death spot not… intimate? He wasn’t a ghost, so he wasn’t sure how he’d feel about showing people where he died. “If you don’t mind, the grounds would be my preference. I would like to hear about your life, if you’d like to share.” He smiled at her. Right now he was avoiding the library like the plague because he’d tried his best to befriend the librarian, but then she’d up and quit! He could only hope it wasn’t his fault for pestering her one one too many times.

“And, I’ll show my spot, and exactly why I’m not allowed to jump without brooms.” He laughed as he shook his head before he shuffled around a few pieces of paper to grab his wand from his desk. One would never be too sure when they’d need it, especially waltzing around the ground. He locked the door on his way out, just in case. Last time he’d left it unlocked, Gus had winded up with a baby mandrake on his floor.

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