Friends for Essays pv Alan Vanes Fin

@Hanako Tone
Ability: Calming Presence

Alan was sitting at the table for breakfast and stared down at his plate, which was filled with tattie scones with a side of scrambled eggs and fried bacon strips and some small pan-fried sausage links. Zooming in and out of the conversation that was going on around him, the third year reached for one of the potato scones, cutting it in half before spreading a generous amount of herbed butter on it. The conversation was not quite of interest to him, them speaking about girls and stuff of the sort. Alan neatly placed the breakfast knife onto the napkin next to his plate, making sure that the melted drips of butter would not drop on the wood table as he did not want to make a mess. He placed the top part of the scone back onto it, before picking it up from his plate and taking a bite from it, savouring the taste of the molten butter on the fluffy tattie scones.

He ate a bit more of the breakfast menu he had filled onto his plate, especially happy about the option of scrambled egg and sausage links when another student joined their table and clearly Alan was being the one addressed. Alan's eyes widened in confusion. How does one look like a animal person? Alan was not quite sure about that, but he assumed that this might just be a way of a greeting for Alan. Perhaps someone had mentioned him liking animals? A frown appeared on his face as he thought back to his chat with Flash about creatures, but shook his head slightly. He could not imagine Flash having mentioned it to anyone, so he just glanced at the boy in front of him. The boy had some clear Asian features, such as the eyes who were slightly more narrow with a nice honey brown as color. His face was framed by jet black hair that slightly fell into his face.

As soon as the kid continued to speak, Alan was sure that something about him must clearly say animal person, since the boy continued to ask about magical creatures. Alan's eyebrows shot up, a soft frown appearing on his face that quickly turned into a light smile. He wondered what he would be able to tell him about creatures...

"Th-There isn't r-really a 'b-best creature' th-that exists", he mentioned with a light shrug. Every creature was special in some way and it clearly depended on the situation. All had their own strengths and weaknesses. "But m-my favorite is c-clearly the ph-phoenix", he mentioned, finally having an answer to offer to the boy who now sat next to him. Alan carefully adjusted his position, visibly distancing himself from the conversation of the group he had sat with before, shifting his attention towards the Slytherin student instead. "I-Is there a r-reason why you a-are asking? Are y-you perhaps i-interested in the C-Care of Magical C-Creatures?", he decided to return the favor of asking a question. He was simply curious what was the other students reason to ask about the creatures. He assumed that he was below third year, since else he would have known about creatures, generally his soft features made him appear quite young but Alan knew that the eye could fool the brain having met enough people who clearly did not look their age.

"I'm Alan b-by the way, Alan Vanes. It's a pleasure to meet you...", the Gryffindor introduced himself, before adding, "M-May I a-ask for your name?" His voice sounded soft, yet confident and kind of child like.

-
-

Hanako inwardly tensed the moment Alan finished talking. When Hana wanted someone easy to trust, he didn’t actually mean the whole package of ultimate kindness. Standing and smiling right before him was literally his worst nightmare stuffed in a tall pale body with kind emerald eyes that screamed approachable. As if his nightmare couldn’t evolve, his whole vibe taunted Hanako to feel comfortable around him. They urged him to smile back and whispered promises of security.

What the hell. This is just madness that he didn’t want to be involved in.

At the mention of the phoenix, Hanako got confused. He had heard of the phoenix’s before but was it actually real? Or was Vanes favorite creature is a mythical one? Many things he thought didn’t exist suddenly crashed into his world view last year.


So he did what he always did when he was confused about something.

“ Heh, don’t get me wrong. You just really do look like an animal person and that question was just short-lived curiosity. Poof~” he did a weird wiggle with his fingers. “ curiosity gone “. He reminded himself this was the guy he wanted to interview, so starting with something like this wasn’t really a good way to convince them to.

He was indeed curious about magical creatures. It was one of the things he didn’t mind learning about. In fact, Vanes and he would most likely have a jolly conversation about care for magical creatures. Hanako would be open about his fascination with the creatures he thought never existed and might have ended the conversation on a good note.

But there were a few things that were bothering him that he took note off.

1 ) the uncomfortable comforting air that oozed out of Vanes
2 ) the stuttering yet soft voice Vanes used
3 ) this conversation looked like there were no insults to be spilled anytime soon

These things were all madness he didn’t want to be involved in. Dare he says, Vanes reminded him of his grandmother.

Yes.

An old wrinkly lady that oozes out the same warming presence Vanes did. It scared him that it happened way too quickly. His grandmother was irreplaceable and none of these useless ants around him could ever come close to her. Vanes and his presence was a threat to that.

He gave Vanes a loop-sided smile and casually said in a sweet tone, “ I didn’t ask this because of a slight interest in that subject, but I do have something I need you to help me with “. He made up his mind, that he was going to stay far away from this kid. Nothing scares people more than stone-hard blunt honesty.

“ So, it looks like I’m -” he paused as if he realized something. “ Oh, yes forgive me I forgot to introduce myself. Hanako Tone, soon to be out of your pretty brown hair “ He gave a cheerful smile, hoping the honesty would make Vanes realize the kind of person Hanako is.

“ I’m tasked with finding a few people to interview. Basically you tell me about yourself and I write a 300 word essay about you. Pretty simple, right? It’s a ‘ consent needed ‘ kind of thing, so forgive me if I dumped this on you so sudden..oh, wait. No nevermind I’m not sorry “ He laughed a little, amused at what he actually almost said. “ But, hey. It is what it is. So, will you be a dear and help me out~?” He grinned, a little too sweetly at Vanes.

This was just madness he didn’t want to be involved in. There was no way he wanted to help him with his task with the way Hanako spoke to him. He didn’t even care if Vanes would run around and warn people about a rude 1st year that wants a 300-word essay on people he didn’t even care about. Although he highly doubts that would be the case.

He already planned the whole conversation in his head. Vanes would at least be confused and if not, a little unnerved. He will leave and Hanako will be free of his suffocatingly nice presence. There was no way it would backfire.

Instinctively, he tapped his foot impatiently, eager to get out and find the next person to try his luck at.

@Alan Vanes

He stared at the other kid suspiciously, yet without any kind of ill intention. One could rather describe it as an expression of curiosity rather than him doubting the other boy. Why would he ask in the first place, if he was not actually interested in it? Had it been Alan who was boring him with the way he talked about it? "I w-would recommend r-reading about them, i-if you p-prefer that over st-stories", he offered with a light smile, before glancing down at his food. He was a bit reminded of his conversation with Jake, when the two had spend a whole train ride talking about creatures and how fantastic they were. "I w-would recommend Newt Sc-Scamander's Fantastic B-Beasts", he added after giving it some thought. It was a school book after all, so he would have to read it in his third year at the lastest. But even Alan liked this book, it contained a lot of useful information. Alan had no idea what it was, but something about studying with books just felt suffocating. He didn't have that problem if it was about creatures, rather enjoyed the random pieces of trivia he got by flipping through the pages. Of course he would not read each and every bit of it, he preferred to sometimes just look at the pictures and illustrations and hated if there were only little of them within a book.

"An interview?", he asked curiously, glancing at the other kid. "If y-you don't mind m-me asking... Wh-what for and why w-wouldn't y-you ask someone y-you already k-know?", he wondered in genuine curiosity. He was not thrown off by the question but he was not used to this happening. In fact this was the first time something like this has happened at school and he had no idea how one was supposed to react to it. Something about the way the other kid made him wonder however, what all of this was about and what the other kid's reasons were. Was he maybe part of the Hogwarts Headliner? He tilted his head slightly, taking in the profile of the dark haired boy, who had introduced himself as Hanako to him.

Alan had been told to be careful about interviews and how you answer them. He had been asked questions before, not that they were for anything important if he remembered correctly, after all he was an actual child back then. But his parents had made sure to prepare him for the interview and studied his replies for possible questions with him. Apparently it could have bad consequences if the heir would be making a mistake in answering the questions and Alan was not entirely sure about this essay, if he had no idea what it even was about. He also did not want to make a promise of answering the other kid's questions and then not do it, because of the subject of the interview being something the third year would rather not talk about.

.Was he seriously still suggesting something related to creatures even after Hanako basically called him boring? Where was that age pride when someone younger blatantly insults you? Good gravy, he needed to get away from this kid before he did something he’ll regret.

At the mention of reading Fantastic Beast and Where to Find Them if he liked that more than stories, he pondered again once more.

Hanako had always used this tactic where he would act as if his interest were the complete opposite of the person he talked to. A prime example would be Kara, who he choose not to bond over their love for nature when they meet. It was effective to cut up any opportunities for him to bond with others.

But he didn’t really talk with enough people to meet one that genuinely disagreed with his interest. Assuming the reason the boy seems to love and recommend a book and mentioned how it wasn’t for ones who prefer sentences than pictures.

So, if he were to use his regular tactic, wouldn’t he be actually starting up an honest conversation with this guy? Which was just another thing Hanako had a problem with. Once again, he was conflicted.

“ Does it contain a lot of pictures then? That book you mentioned. Is that why you enjoy it? Not an avid reader eh? “ He halfly jokes with a smile.

If you don’t want to talk about yourself, then talk about. He liked this tactic as well. This kid had no idea this will just serve as material for an essay Hanako’s going to write about him anyway, with or without his permission.

‘If you don’t mind me asking?’. So not only did he speak like his voice was going to bring the world to its doom if it’s too loud, he was also polite? Great, just the kind of people Hanako loved to breathe in the same air with.

When he questioned the sudden interview, Hanako couldn’t help but feel like Vanes unintentionally roasted him with his last sentence. To Hanako, the older student had basically asked if he has friends.

‘ wouldn’t you ask someone you already know?’

‘ Sweetie, 99% of the people I know want’s me to fly a broom up to space and explode ‘, was what he was tempted to reply with. Get unintentional sass and get sassed back. But again, his goal was to leave early not stay and talk about his popularity among his peers.

He grinned at Vanes, but only for a short moment. “ Actually, I’m going to need people I never meet before. Would you believe me if I said it was some sort of psychology test? Determine how much information they are willing to share whilst knowing full well that the one questioning them is someone they share no memory with before this for the sake of just… I don’t know.. an experiment?”

Clearly, he was joking. Thats what his cheecky grin was for. A badly stupid joke he admit, but he was fueled by the desire to laugh if Vanes actually believed it. Plus he wanted to write about how hilarious Vanes is if he did believe it.

@Alan Vanes

He hummed softly, thinking about the words of the other kid, before he shook his head. That was not it. "I-I mean y-yeah there a-are pictures i-in it... b-but that's because they a-are supposed t-to be educational", he explained softly with a shy look on his face. Not that he was insecure in any sort at the moment, he just had this childish look on him. A soft face paired with a light voice and the stutter did not help either. But at least he was working on it. He was right however about the fact that Alan was not exactly what someone would call a reader. You could hunt him with extra work that would require him to read through long blocks of texts with the exception of creatures. He loved those and would read about them at any given time as long as there were enough visual aspects in the story.

He listened to the other child while he poked around in his food. As soon as the other kid had approached him, he literally forgot about what was on his plate and allowed his mind to wander and be part of the conversation the other kid wanted to lead with him. "Th-That's odd..", he mumbled in thought as he pushed a piece of bacon aside before stabbing some scrambled eggs with a fork. Alan had never heard about an essay like this before and even if he did not want to call the other kid a liar or something, he was not sure how to place that information. He did not want to be part of a project, his whole life could easily turn into a project if certain things were known about him. Enjoying a small moment of quiet, he took the bite of scrambled egg and glanced over to Hanako curiously.

"What i-is this experiment for?", he added once he swallowed all the bits of food and made sure there was nothing stuck between his teeth. Absentmindedly he reached for hi mug of pumpkin juice and took a sip, eyeing the other child over the brim of the cup.

" But still, the drawing must've been really nice, huh~? " He couldn't help but add when Vanes had rejected Hanako's previous assumption. " Fantastic Beast's and Where to Find Them, right? If the curiously about creatures ever come back to me, I'll check it out." He grinned, secretly taking note of this book. He was definitely interested in creatures but there was no way he'd show Vanes that. He glanced down at the food Vanes had previously abandoned, feeling slightly guilty that he was making Vanes spend it on him instead.

" Maybe I can come back with a favorite creature of my own ". His tongue slipped out, but it seemed to go unnoticed by Hanako as he glanced back at his company and gave an innocent smile.

A future where he would actually seek out Vanes and talk about creatures to him was looking quite dim. But he did not deny that having an older, possibly more experienced friend to find about common interests with was tempting. Maybe one that would tell him he did a good job on whatever he was doing and encouraged him more. One that would give him a warm smile and pat him on the head in a caring way.

Once again, Vanes reminded him of his grandmother. He just couldn't shake off the feeling that Vanes would be precisely the kind to do that. Which serves a bigger reason to get away from him. Hanako didn't want to feel safe around someone else other than his grandmother.

He convinced himself the calm air around Vanes was just effective because of how long it had been since Hanako visited his grandmother and he was having hallucinations. Yes, that explains it.

Not only that, but Hanako was scared of the way he replied to him. Why had he not called him out yet? Why was he still allowing him the chance to explain? There was no way after the way Hanako talked, was he viewed as trustable in the boy's eyes.

But yet, here he was asking more on the ' experiment '. His trusting nature scared Hanako as well as it made him pity the older boy. What an utter waste of time to give him another chance.

He took a breath in.

" Look, I just need to get a few essays done about people. I don't exactly have a pristine reputation here and I don't really know a lot of people that are willing to help me. I'm a boy with friend issues and one that will lose some important stuff if I don't do this so uh-” He stood up from his seat with a tight smile.

“ I’ll just be heading out now~ “ He lightly tapped his fingers on the table as he gave Vanes a sweet smile. “ This has been a rather odd meeting. I would’ve stayed longer but your whole vibe kinda creeps my young and fickle 1st year heart. Which is most likely the reason why I came here in the first place ~. “.

He won’t deny Vanes somehow intrigued him. He had never felt so calm around someone other than his grandmother that it scared him how this guy suddenly showed up being all nice and stuff. Hanako wasn’t willing enough to stay longer and find out why. The mystery would remain unsolved for all he cared. He just wanted to get out and forget this ever happened.

He took his hand off the table and moved it up to Vanes check and patted it softly. “ Now that I said it out loud, it’s kinda weird huh? Thanks for making my morning a bit different than my previous ones. I’ll be heading out to find another student I can restart this whole conversation with “. He moved his hand away and gave him an innocent smile.

Now this was sure to make him leave. Please just let him leave. If he still wants to talk to Hanako after this, he really would be at lost what to say. Would he resort to violence? He tried to kill the part of his brain that screamed in protest.

@Alan Vanes

The third year could not help but nod at the question directed at him. They were nice illustrations and he was glad for them to be there. Why teach about creatures if you don't show how they look like anyway? A soft hum escaped his lips as he looked at his plate with a soft smile, lost in his thought for a moment as he thought about all the magnificent creates that existed in this realm. He was happy to hear that the other kid did seem to show some interest after all, that he obviously hadn't bored him if he intended to look the book up and possibly even read it. "Sh-Should be s-somewhere in your t-trunk anyway, it's a sch-school book a-after all-", he explained helpfully, a smile curling the corners of his lips upwards as his eyes sparkled with mirth. "L-Let me know i-if you h-have any further qu-questions about c-creatures o-or the subject", Alan offered before he took a bite of his food while he listened to the other student talk.

At the cheeky proposal of the other kid to come back with a creature of his own, he smiled slightly with a nod. He would like to hear about the result. It did sound like an interesting task to be fair and Alan was quite the curious individual, now wanting to know this little detail as soon as Hanako had made up his mind about the topic.

He was confused when the other kid mentioned that Alan was creeping him out, had he done something wrong? He couldn't think of anything and just smiled at the kid, hoping no harm was done. "H-Hope to see y-you around, Hanako. I h-hope you find s-someone for your interview, h-have a n-nice day!", the Gryffindor chirped. As the Slytherin left, the older boy would focus back on his food not even bothering to pay attention to the conversations around him. He just had quite a pleasant, if not slightly confusing one, himself.

@Alan Vanes

Well...that was easier than he thought. Oh, who was he kidding, if he asked this guy to be his friend the chances that he’ll be accepted are disgustingly high. But this was what he wanted, right? Vanes soft nature had been gnawing on him since the moment he opened his mouth. It was only natural he’d leave after that. There was no more point in being here. Hana had failed to use Vanes nice nature to his own use and he had been given permission to leave.

There was something irritable about the situation. Despite it being the outcome he was itching for, he felt like this would be a situation he’ll think for a week. Remembering the words said and what could’ve been said.

And the worst part of it? Even now Vanes decided to be a goody-two-shoes and let him leave without a single scar to his ego! Everyone wants to scar his ego! Why doesn’t this old man want to bruise Hanako’s Ego! It was immensely infuriating and he doesn’t think there had been anyone he met in this school that was more annoying than this Alan Vanes.

Tone Kinmokusei. A flash of his grandmother appeared once again and it added a few extra logs to the burning fire in his mind called Hanako’s anger. And why the hell does this lickspittle act so much like his beloved grandmother?!

His choice in words just reminded Hana of the hidden disagreements between him and his grandmother. They would have a small argument about it once but it always ends the same. With her yielding. Loved her as he may, it was aggravating him to the core.

The disagreements were simple. He could not see why she was willing to be a stepping rug and she could not see why he would not. They were the type of people that unless mindset would change, they could never understand each other.

Alan Vanes was a reminder of that lack of understanding. Of course in his egoistical mind, Hanako was right. Why would you cover up an already tainted world with something mere and kindness? It was idiotic to think it could change someone. He would never change. He won’t let himself.

He stood up. With his mind made up and blank, he took the opportunity to swiftly grab Vanes untouched glass of water. Without a word, he hovered the cup over the senior and tilted the water out, later to find out that it was pumpkin juice.

It actually took a while to find out it was pumpkin juice. The boy didn’t like it thus he wasn’t familiar with the scent but he did admit, it was a nice color on the Gryffindor. There may be a few people nearby that gasped at the scene, but it fell on deaf ears as he had much more interesting things that deserve his reaction.

“ Still want me to have a nice day? “ he hummed with cheerfully irritating voice and he set the glass down

“ I don’t understand both of you. I clearly called you a few unsettling comments. Are you seriously pretending I never did? Or did you choose to ignore it? Entertain me, please. By the way, you look enchanting with that pumpkin juice~”

Lickspittle ( cuz I want to be fancy ) : boot-licker /people pleaser

The third year had just turned back to his plate in order to eat some of the leftover food on his plate that must have been cooled down or even cold by this point, when he heard a sudden splash and felt a chill liquid pour over his head. It quickly drenched his hair as it climbed down his strands of hair and finally dripped from the tips of his hair onto his black school robes. He froze slightly, before he slowly turned around again to stare at the snake in slight disbelief. He stared at him with wide eyes as the sugary drink dripped down his face as the juice got caught in his eyebrows but also trailed down a small track to the tip of his nose only to drip down.

As the younger student quickly went on a rant that Alan had no idea what it was about, the third year slowly reached for a napkin on the table and wiped it through his face and wrinkled his nose slightly at the sugar from the juice that clung to his face and made it feel all sticky. When the kid was done talking the third year lowered the napkin and stared at the other kid in confusion and tilted his head.

"A-Are you o-okay?"

He stared at the other kid and he tried, he really did but he could find no reason why the other kid would have done something like he had just done. Why? He shook his head slightly, in a little bit of disbelief at the other students actions. What had that been about? He wanted to be mad that the other kid drenched him in pumpkin juice, but he was more confused than angry and so he stood there, staring at the first year as he awaited his reply.