The British Ministry of Magic claims that magical blood is dwindling in Pureblood families. This puts some students in awkward positions. Kris Averbach finds himself being dangled like a piece of meat in front of eligible Pureblood young ladies, but...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Calliope had been doing a rather excellent job of avoiding Xander for the past few days, which was remarkable considering that they were in the same House, and up until then, Xander had been acting as her shadow. She sat with Lavinia and Ishanvi during classes and meals instead of with him. In between and after classes, she changed up her normal routine and instead of studying in either the library or the common room, she huddled outside in the gardens, sitting on a bench that was hidden from view by some boxy shrubbery.
She just didn't want to face him. She was still smarting over her embarrassingly clumsy accident at the teashop and, more importantly, she still didn't know whether or not Xander had intended for it to be a date. When Tuesday night came and it was time for Dueling Club, she walked down to the empty classroom with Jayla and Caius. It was a little awkward being around them now because they were constantly holding hands, but she didn't have a lot of options. Neither Lavinia nor Ishanvi were in Dueling Club.
"So, Calliope," Jayla said as they strolled down the castle corridors. "Are you going to duel with Kris again today?"
"I suppose so. Unless you want to partner with me?"
"I'm partnering with Drew again," she said.
Calliope looked at Caius hopefully. "Yeah, I can– OW!" He turned to look at Jay, bewildered. "What was that for?"
"Didn't you say you'd partner with Tristan?" Jay said calmly, like she hadn't just pinched him.
"He and Kit have detention with Professor Avery," Caius replied. "So I actually do need a partner. Just go easy on me, eh, Calliope?"
"I will make no such promise."
Jay seemed put out when they reached the dueling room and took their positions, but Calliope didn't know what to say to her to ease her mind. Was she upset because Caius was her boyfriend? That seemed silly.
She put it out of her mind, focusing on her duel. She and Caius ended up being rather evenly matched. They were far enough away from the Slytherins that she didn't have to endure any jeering from them either. At the end of the class, two older students Calliope didn't know, one Hufflepuff and one Slytherin, had a competitive duel. The Slytherin student won, and Breese updated the bracket before dismissing them.
Calliope started heading back to the common room with Caius and Jayla when someone tapped on her shoulder. She turned around to see the last person she wanted to talk to. Xander held out a small book. "You forgot this."
"Thanks," she mumbled as she took it.
"I get the feeling that you've been avoiding me," Xander went on, walking next to her. Jayla and Caius walked a few steps ahead of them, Jay turning around from time to time as if checking on them.
"Well, I suppose I was," she admitted.
"Why?" His tone was curious.
She huffed and rubbed her hands up and down her arms self-consciously. "I was embarrassed."
"Because you spilled your tea? Or because you spit it all over me?" When she looked up at him, his eyes were dancing with amusement.
"Don't laugh at me," she said crossly.
"I'm not. I thought it was funny. But not in a laughing-at-you way, I swear. So can you stop avoiding me now?"
She chewed her bottom lip. "Well, I was also a little confused. About...your intentions."
"My intentions?" he repeated.
"Yes. That place...it was all couples, Xander."
"It was?" His tone suggested genuine surprise. He shrugged. "I guess I didn't notice."
"So you weren't trying to....take me on a date?" Her cheeks burned as she said it. It was a preposterous idea, but she needed to know.
"A date?" He chuckled. "Oh, no. No, no. Ope, you've got nothing to worry about on that front. I'm entirely asexual and aromantic. I don't date."
Calliope blinked up at him. "But you read all those romance books. Austen and...and Bridget Jones's Diary..."
He squinted back down at her. "I read them because I find them curious. Like an anthropological study, you might say."
"Oh." She suddenly felt much lighter. "Okay. Good. That's...that's really good." She exhaled and then smiled. "So...would you mind filling me in on Ancient Studies from Saturday?"
Xander grinned. "It would be my pleasure."
He explained McNeill's lecture to her as they continued to walk up the stairs to the Ravenclaw common room. Calliope eagerly discussed the new material with him. It seemed easier now, between them. Like a wall came down. Before they parted ways to go to their separate dorm rooms, he reminded her to read The Tales of Beedle the Bard when she had a chance. She promised she would.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
A/N: I can't believe I have 28 chapters and we're only about a month into the school year. I'm going to try to pick up the pace a bit, I swear. Also, the updates will probably start coming more slowly because I haven't been working on this as much as I should be.
If you're still with me, and you're enjoying the story so far, please vote (click on the star) and comment. It would mean a lot. <3
What do you think about this revelation with Xander?
