On a Saturday morning, a week after the eventful Quidditch match, Dream is walking through the halls of Hogwarts. His bag is slung over his shoulder, containing his notebooks, a roll of parchment, a quill, and a bottle of ink. Since there are no classes today, he wants to take the opportunity to finish his History of Magic essay. So, here he is, heading to the library.
He passes a couple of students, as well as Professor Eret. Dream waves at her and compliments them on their strawberry dress before moving on. As he walks past a row of classrooms, he hears voices from inside one. Curious, he stops and looks in.
Standing in the classroom are 3 third years, ranging from short to freakishly tall. From their robes, Dream can see one is a Gryffindor, one is a Ravenclaw, and one is a Hufflepuff.
"I honestly don't know how to describe it," the tall Ravenclaw boy says. He has white and black hair, split cleanly down the middle of his head, and heterochromia just like George, except instead of one blue eye and one brown eye, the boy has red and green eyes. He looks vaguely familiar. "You just do it."
"That's not very helpful, Ranboo," the blonde Gryffindor deadpans.
"Do it again," the Hufflepuff brunette says.
Shrugging, the Ravenclaw- Ranboo- points his wand at a dictionary that's lying on the floor. "Depulso!"
With a small bang and a flash of light, the dictionary shoots across the room and hits the opposite wall with a thud. Ranboo turns to the others and shrugs again.
"See, it's simple."
"Yeah, for you," the Gryffindor snarks. "You're a Ravenclaw. You're good at everything."
"Just try it again," Ranboo says. "Maybe you'll get it this time."
The Gryffindor scowls but obeys, pointing his wand at a throw pillow. "Depulso!"
The pillow doesn't move.
"Maybe you have to say throw pillow," the Hufflepuff suggests.
"I doubt it," the Gryffindor snaps. "I'm just bad. I'm never going to learn this spell in time for class on Monday."
"Maybe I can help," Dream interrupts, stepping into the classroom.
The 3 boys turn to look at him, and the Gryffindor raises a skeptical eyebrow. "You?"
"Well, yeah," Dream says. He learned the Banishing charm back at Ilvermorny, and he's sure he'll be able to do it now. "I know Depulso."
"I don't need help from a Slytherin," the Gryffindor snaps, turning away and trying again. "Depulso!"
The pillow, again, doesn't budge a single inch.
"Tommy, be nice," Ranboo chides. He smiles at Dream. "You can help."
"You're just sucking up to him 'cause he beat you," Tommy snarks.
"Says the person who spent the whole week raving about how good he is," the Hufflepuff points out.
"Oi! What the hell, Tubbo!"
Suddenly, Dream realizes where he's seen Ranboo before. "You're the one who scored the first goal, aren't you?"
"Yeah, that's me. You did really good for your first game."
"Thank you," Dream says, blushing slightly. "I honestly had no idea I could do that."
"Well, it was awesome!" Tubbo chimes in. "I was watching from the stands, and you were just hanging from your broom!"
"It wasn't that awesome," Tommy mutters, waving his wand again.
"Ignore him," Ranboo says in a stage whisper. "He's just in shock that he's speaking to his idol. Plus, he's scared about having to face you on the field."
"Idol?" Dream asks. Why would anyone look up to a regular 15 year old like him? Sure, that thing he did to catch the Snitch was pretty cool, but it hadn't been planned or anything- he sort of just did it.
"He's not my idol!" Tommy grumbles.
"Keep telling yourself that," Tubbo teases. "Anyways, Dream- your name is Dream, right?- can you help this idiot? He still can't do the spell."
"Sure," Dream says. "And yes, my name is Dream." He steps up to Tommy's side and reaches out. "May I?"
"I don't need your help," Tommy mutters again, but he allows Dream to stand there.
"Try the spell again," Dream says. "So I can see."
Tommy waves his wand at the pillow. "Depulso!"
Nothing happens, but now Dream can see Tommy's mistake. He gently grabs the Gryffindor's hand, which is clenched around his wand. "You're moving your wand wrong. Here, let me show you."
Tommy scowls slightly but doesn't move. Taking that as a go ahead, Dream shows Tommy the correct movement, which is a sweep. After guiding the Gryffindor's hand through it a few times, Dream steps back and demonstrates it himself. He sweeps his wand at the pillow and says, "Depulso!"
The pillow flies away and smacks against the far wall. Tubbo and Ranboo applaud politely.
"Now you try," Dream instructs Tommy. "Make sure to sweep your wand instead of waving. And make sure you focus on what you want to banish." He goes to retrieve the pillow and sets it down on the floor.
Tommy obeys, staring straight at the pillow and sweeping his wand through the air. "Depulso!"
This time, the pillow shoots away, and although it doesn't fly as far as when Dream did it, it's definitely progress. Tommy cheers triumphantly and turns to face Tubbo and Ranboo. "See! I told you I could do it!"
"Yeah, you did," Tubbo says fondly. "Great job, big man."
"Oh, I am just so good at magic," Tommy brags. Dream giggles at the Gryffindor's remark. He finds it amusing how Tommy seems to switch so quickly between self-doubting and extremely confident.
"Totally," Ranboo says, grinning.
Tommy stretches his arms over his head. "I'm starving. Let's go eat lunch."
"You had breakfast 2 hours ago," Tubbo protests. "Surely you don't need to eat again already!"
"What can I say, it takes a lot to be as awesome as me," Tommy says, shrugging. "Come on, big man, let's go. You too, Ranboo."
"You two go ahead," Ranboo says, waving them off. "I'm gonna stay a bit to clean up. It won't take long."
"Okay," Tubbo chirps. He and Tommy jog out of the room.
"I'll help you," Dream offers. He bends down and begins to pick up the various objects scattered across the floor. Ranboo does the same, and they work in silence for a moment.
Finally, Dream decides to break the quiet. "Your friend is very outspoken."
"Who, Tommy?" Ranboo laughs. "Yeah, he is. Don't let it trick you, though. He's actually very sweet at heart."
"I can tell," Dream says. He had noticed how, despite Tommy's snarky remarks, the kid had blushed a few times, and he'd seemed so genuinely excited upon being able to do the spell. Dream assumes the loudness is just an act, and that Tommy really is sweet deep down.
"He actually does admire you, you know," Ranboo says. "He's the Gryffindor Seeker, and he's been ranting about how good you are all week long."
"Really?" Dream asks curiously. That's... that's kinda endearing, actually, that Tommy admires him despite seeming to dislike him.
"Yeah."
"Awwww."
Ranboo snorts. "Don't say that to his face, or he'll probably punch you."
"I won't." Dream suddenly remembers why he'd come here in the first place- it was on his way to the library. "Well, I gotta go to finish some homework, but it was nice to meet you, Ranboo."
"You too, Dream," Ranboo says, smiling.
Dream smiles back. He waves as he leaves the room and begins his walk to the library again. As he walks, he thinks about the 3 boys. Tommy, Tubbo, and Ranboo. He can tell that they're best friends, or at least very close, and probably extremely chaotic. Ranboo seems the calmest, no surprise considering he's a Ravenclaw. Despite how loud they are, though, Dream thinks that he likes them, even Tommy.
Soon, he reaches the library. He makes his way through the dusty shelves, filled to the brim with books. There are several round tables scattered throughout the room, many occupied. Dream glances around, trying to decide where to sit, when he spots a familiar figure. He hurries over. "Illumina!"
Illumina looks up from the roll of parchment he had been scribbling on. He's wearing a black hoodie and face mask just like the first time Dream met him, leaving only his gentle brown eyes visible. A tuft of chocolate-colored hair sticks out from under the hood, hanging over his forehead. He's cute, definitely one of the cuter boys that Dream has met.
Come to think of it, Dream has met an awful lot of cute boys, as opposed to cute girls or cute nonbinaries. Huh. Maybe he's omnisexual instead of pansexual, then. He'll have to look into that.
"Oh hi, Dream," Illumina greets. "You, uh, here to do some studying?"
"Pretty much," Dream replies, hitching his bag up. "Do you mind if I sit here?"
"Sure. I mean, no, I don't mind if you sit here," Illumina says, stuttering a bit. Dream giggles and sits down. He pulls everything out of his bag and sets it on the table.
"What's that?" Illumina asks, gesturing to the parchment.
"My History of Magic essay." Dream unrolls the parchment, revealing his half-completed essay on the Goblin Rebellion of 1612. "I'm almost done."
"Really? That's what I'm doing," Illumina says. Dream glances over at the brunette's parchment, trying to read it upside down. After a bit, he manages to read the title, written in neat, loopy handwriting: The Goblin Rebellion of 1612.
"Original title," Dream jokes.
Illumina shrugs. "At this point, I can't really be bothered to come up with something creative."
Dream can understand that. When it comes to essays, he can usually come up with an interesting title for the first and second ones, but by the time he gets to the fourth or fifth, his brain has no creative energy left.
"You have anything else to write after that?" Illumina asks, gesturing to Dream's essay.
"Nope," Dream says cheerfully. "This is everything I need for class next week."
"Lucky," Illumina sighs. "I still have to do Astronomy and Potions. My fault for not doing them earlier, I guess. I think I'm the only Hufflepuff in history to ever procrastinate."
Dream laughs. "I get that. Sapnap told me that I'm the first Muggleborn Slytherin in Hogwart's history."
"You're Muggleborn?" Illumina exclaims, brown eyes wide. "That's- yeah, you probably are the first."
"That's what Sapnap said." Dream shrugs as he dips his quill into the ink well. "I honestly don't get it. Why can't Slytherins be Muggleborn?"
"It's not that Slytherins can't be Muggleborn," Illumina says carefully. "It's just that a lot of Slytherins grow up to become Dark Wizards, or their family practices the Dark Arts. And almost all Dark Wizards are purebloods who hate Muggles and Muggleborn wizards. So being a Muggleborn Slytherin is kinda like contradicting yourself, I guess."
Dream frowns, feeling slightly upset. He likes being in Slytherin so far, but now he's not so sure. If Slytherins hate Muggles, including his own parents, does he really want to be one anymore?
Then again, a lot of Muggles are horrible, Dream's parents included. He doesn't exactly hate them, but he wouldn't be terribly upset if they died one day. Maybe Slytherins have good reasons to hate Muggles. But what if they hate Muggles just because they don't have magic? That wouldn't be fair.
Illumina must've read his expression, because the brunette quickly says, "I'm not saying that all Slytherins hate Muggles. That's actually not really true anymore. 10 or 20 years ago it was, but things have definitely improved since then. It's just that the impression has stuck around. Most Slytherins now are completely cool with Muggles, and they're not evil either."
"Oh," Dream says, relieved. "That's good." He'd been slightly afraid that he'd wake up one day to Punz turning evil.
"Yeah. So don't worry about it. No one will care that you're Muggleborn, or at least they won't care in a negative way."
Dream nods, no longer upset. He looks down at his essay, considering what to write. After a moment, he puts the tip of his quill to the parchment and begins to scribble away.
"This is going to take so long," Illumina groans, leaning back in his chair. "I'm not even halfway there."
"Do you need help?" Dream asks. "I'm almost done."
Illumina shakes his head. "I'll probably be fine." He flips open a textbook lying on the table next to his essay and glares at it. "Whoever wrote this must've had a microscope or something, because this handwriting is tiny." He squints down at the the pages.
"You can borrow my notes if you want," Dream offers. He slides his notebook across the table. Illumina gratefully takes it and flips it open. His eyes widen slightly.
"Wow, you take good notes."
Dream blushes slightly at the praise. "I try my best. I kinda have to, since all my friends take terrible notes. Even George, and he's a Ravenclaw."
"That's a first," Illumina says.
Giggling, Dream dips his quill in the ink again. "Yeah, it probably is." He writes down a few more sentences, then leans back to check his work so far. At this rate, it'll probably only take him another half hour to finish it.
Across from him, Illumina groans again and slams his forehead against the table. "I hate this." His voice comes out muffled.
Dream reaches out and pats the brunette's shoulder sympathetically. "I'm sorry. Really, I wouldn't mind helping you!"
With a long sigh, Illumina lifts his head up. For some reason, his neck has turned pink. "Nah, it's fine." He looks down at his essay and rubs his eyes. "I don't think I can do any more of this right now, though. I think I'm going to go eat lunch and finish it after."
Dream nods. "Cool. I think I'm going to finish before I go eat, since I'm almost done."
Illumina looks a little disappointed, but he nods as well, rolling up his essay and standing. "Alright, then. I guess I'll see you again sometime?"
"Sure!" Dream says, smiling. "Bye, Lumi." He blushes when he realizes what he just said. "Sorry, can I call you Lumi?"
"O-oh, um, yeah, of course," Illumina stutters, his neck turning even pinker. "Bye, Dream." He waves before leaving the library.
Huh. That was interesting. Dream wonders why Illumina's neck had been pink near the end. Maybe heat? It is pretty hot in the library, or maybe that's just the stuffy librarian. Whatever the reason, it probably doesn't matter. What does matter is that Illumina seems like a very chill and nice person, and Dream likes him.
After stretching his arms above his head, Dream returns to his essay. He focuses extra hard and manages to finish it within 20 minutes. Once done, he reads it over and begins to fix minor mistakes. Satisfied, he rolls it up and tucks it into his bag, doing the same with his other materials. Then, he heads off to lunch.
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-2511 words
٩(ര̀ᴗര́)ᵇʸᵉ nuggets~