Pages Are Meant To Burn pv Closed

Isn't it odd? You look forward to something so much for years that when you do get it, no matter how amazing it is, it'll never live up to what you thought it could have been. That's the best way to explain how Reggie felt about Hogwarts. Magic was amazing, the classes were fun and interactive, way more so than the muggle schooling his mother forced him into to learn how to function as a human being. But every other aspect? Laughable. He sat near the great lake alone most days, simply doing the homework he was assigned to the best of his ability, with no time to go out and make friends. But you know what? He wasn't discouraged just yet!

"I'll make these years just as fun as mum made them out to be."

He had made his way to the library now. The perfect place to find friends, at least he thought so anyway. He had the same homework as other first years, and if he didn't use their shared suffering over charms to make friends, he was wasting it.

He began prowling the library, charms book, quill, and parchment all in hand. Ready to be used in his socializing endeavor. Lo and behold, after a few minutes of adventuring through the library he found his first victim, a boy looking at a charms book and seeming like he was losing his mind.

Reggie sauntered over, a small smile on his lips. "Professor Fresnel's homework?" he spoke out in a low voice, lest he get kicked out, as he pulled a chair on the opposite end of the table. Finally, he got a good look at the person. Slytherin, based on the clothing. But apart from that, he couldn't glean anything, nor did he try very hard. He's not here to analyze people.

𝖍𝖊𝖑𝖑 𝖆𝖑𝖜𝖆𝖞𝖘 𝖑𝖔𝖔𝖐𝖊𝖉 𝖑𝖎𝖐𝖊 𝖙𝖍𝖎𝖘 u l y s s e s —d r a k e . ——— date. [ 09/22/23 ]—— word count. [ 315 ] ———

	The Charms homework practically felt like another language when Ulysses read the same passage over and over without any comprehension of what or how he was supposed to even hold his wand to cast this particular charm. If he didn’t need the book for the rest of the year, Uly was ready then and there to chuck the whole book outside the nearest window. “ Huh? ” Ulysses was quick to answer as he spotted a fellow Slytherin, long haired and striking eyes making himself comfortable on his table, not that he minded much at all. “ Oh yeah, Professor Fresnel. ” He kept his tone low doing his best not to disturb any of the other library patrons from his sheer ignorance. “ She’s great and all but I don’t get half this sh– stuff. It’s been a tough transition. ” Uly usually wasn’t so open with his thoughts or chatty but, there was something about miserable homework that could easily bond two people and the other was a Slytherin, it seemed far and few to find other cool and interesting Slytherin boys who might want to meddle in some mischief and mayhem. He took another look at the man and paused on his features for a little longer, something felt so familiar when he looked at the other boy but it wasn't anything he could put his finger on quite yet. “ You often do your homework up in the library? ” Ulysses shot a question back inquisitively, curious if the other found the quiet and the isolation to be helpful to studying. Perhaps Uly had a little bit of ADHD but it seemed too quiet for him, the boy already casually shaking his leg at a speedy tempo trying to keep himself distracted from going mad and trying to focus on this damn assignment that he still barely made any progress on.

mentions. @Reginald Drake

notes. na-da

The theoretical aspects of magic were annoying. That, Reggie had decided the moment he stepped foot in Hogwarts. Thankfully, Charms was theory based on execution, something he wasn't too bad at, all things considered.

Reggie chuckled softly at the near slip the 11-12-year-old had made. I guess homework was annoying, magical or muggle. "Well, yeah. But we're expected to suck for a little as first years, right? We can't all be good at everything from the start."

After asking whether he often did his homework in the library, Reggie looked at him quizzically, furrowing his brows before whispering again. "Are you kidding? Of course not! I usually do mine near the Great Lake under a tree's shade. I just needed to tap into nerd energy for this one, and the library is full of it." Reginald grinned wide as he set his charms book on the table, parchment next to it, and quill in hand. This was going to be a long session.

"You don't exactly seem like a library type of guy either, though. No offense." Reggie mentioned, finally looking up and taking in the boy's features. Tall, muscular. Probably plays a sport, and considering he's a wizard, definitely Quidditch. He will never understand why people are so obsessed with that game but to each their own. The only reason he'd ever try it was because ramming into people 100 feet up in the sky seemed like dangerous fun.

"Though, we're both Slytherins stranded in a library. You wouldn't mind if I stole you for this assignment, would you? Two brains are better than one." Reggie's eyes sparkled brightly at the thought of a study group, even if two people most definitely did not qualify, the young Slytherin didn't need to know that. As the words left his mouth, he was already opening up to the page they needed to paraphrase for their essay. The theory wasn't so much hard as it was annoying. He much preferred the practical aspects of magic.

"Oh, Name's Reginald by the way! Please call me Reggie. Please." He pleaded with the young boy, an undertone of comedy coloring his words. Not that it lowered from the graveness in his name from how much he hated the name that made him seem like a 65-year-old man about to retire.

𝖍𝖊𝖑𝖑 𝖆𝖑𝖜𝖆𝖞𝖘 𝖑𝖔𝖔𝖐𝖊𝖉 𝖑𝖎𝖐𝖊 𝖙𝖍𝖎𝖘 u l y s s e s —d r a k e . ——— date. [ 09/22/23 ]—— word count. [ 438 ] ———

	There was an energy radiating off of the other that felt so familiar, a flame lit and smoke wafting that Ulysses just simply couldn’t put his finger on. He knew he recognized it but that was as much as the young whelp could figure out. Scrunching his face in slight apprehension, the other had a point that they were still so new to learning magic that perhaps he should have a bit more grace to himself for how badly he had been messing up. " I guess so. " Uly had always felt this insurmountable pressure to excel from his mother's constant pressure. His father had wanted them to just grow and be but there was an expectation from Beatrice Drake of excellence. The eldest of her brood had never felt smart enough, he just didn't have the attention span to succeed in these types of circumstances. This kid really was something else. Uly had to stifle a laugh at him needing nerd energy and shook his head in disbelief at the audacity. Perhaps, there were actually some cool students in this castle after all. " Yeah, sorry. I'm trash at this, but points for trying? " That's what he hoped Professor Fresnel would think when he turned in his work at least. The other seemed a bit shorter but was perhaps more zealous and rambunctious than Uly was. There was a pendulum that swung for Ulysses from mania to apathy that had him either rushing as though on a Firebolt or absolutely still in motion and thought. Right now, it seemed subtle in its movements and his energy, luckily, had been slowly quieting to the task at hand. " Sure, we can figure all this out. I'm Ulysses, but I go by Uly. Guess both of our parents decided on names that were popular last century. " And with that, Ulysses Drake peeked over to make sure he was on the right page and then flipped his pages to the section they were supposed to be working on and grabbing his notes that he took during the lesson. " Well, bollocks. This ain't good. " Ulysses bursted out in laughter as he turned his parchment paper to Reggie where the first half had barely legible identifiers that this was Charms notes for the Mending Charm and Dancing Skeleton Spell but the bottom had many little doodles of skeletal remains being repaired and also dancing with funny little hats. " Let's hope your notes look better than mine do. " Uly let out a little nervous laugh, at least the other already committed to figuring it out together.

mentions. @Reginald Drake

notes. n/a

Reggie liked Ulysses, he decided. He felt like the boy understood him to an extent. At least when it comes to slamming annoying charms homework on the table anyway. People either flew through homework like geniuses born to wield a wand and quill, or are completely unable to focus on a single word said by the professor in class, and he had been lucky enough to be in the first category, though he still hated studying.

"Yeah! It's weird. I don't know why adults give such weird names. I asked my mum if I could change my name when I finish school, and she went ballistic." Reggie said, as he shrugged and smiled lightly. "Nice to meet ya, Uly. I haven't really had time to make friends. Homework and practicals have been taking up all my time!" He said as he stretched his arms way above his head, and looked at the boy in the eyes. Huh, Uly reminds him of his mum. Same hair color and eye shape. Is he missing home that much?

"House points? Nope! You get an O for effort, though." He said with a grin, as he looked over the notes that the other boy had presented him while laughing. Oh. This was bad. He swept his hair away from his face, and pulled out a hair tie from his pocket. "Nah, these notes are fine. I have none." Okay, he didn't enjoy lying, but this was his first chance at meeting a student his age in a civil way. He'll be nice.

"If you want, we can start off with the 2 essays! That'll probably help us out with the whole casting part of the problem. Especially since we're doing that in 2 days anyway, so we have time." Reggie said, as he pulled at his wand and put it on the table next to his parchment, before picking up his quill.

"Both write an essay, then read it over, and steal the nice parts from each other rearranged?" He said with a smile that promised playfulness. He had done this in muggle school, though he never got large writing projects. It always worked!

<sub>- Word count: 365
- Notes: Reeee homework</sub>

𝖍𝖊𝖑𝖑 𝖆𝖑𝖜𝖆𝖞𝖘 𝖑𝖔𝖔𝖐𝖊𝖉 𝖑𝖎𝖐𝖊 𝖙𝖍𝖎𝖘 u l y s s e s —d r a k e . ——— date. [ 09/22/23 ]—— word count. [ 364 ] ———

	While Ulysses settled into his chair, the Slytherin couldn’t help but stare in the moments where Reginald had been ranting or furiously turning the pages of his book to figure out the homework. The uncanny feeling bubbled up in the pit of Uly’s stomach and almost fell towards eerie. The boy wish he could just shake it off but it felt stuck to him, as though it was much bigger than whatever he could properly realize at that moment. “ Ehh, I don’t mind Ulysses too much. I’m named after one of my great great grandfathers, from what I hear he was a pretty big deal, but don’t ask me the details cause I was not paying attention when my mom was explaining it to me. ” He couldn't be punished for not understanding that his origin story was something everyone at school was going to ask because of how peculiar his name was. He'd just have to ask his dad to tell it to him again when he went home for winter break, Uly didn't have the energy for his mother's icy disposition that he (as a twelve year old boy) just didn't have the attention span to listen to another one of her wordy tales. Ulysses' brain short-circuited in that moment when he heard two essays and it took the boy a few seconds to regain autonomy of his mind. “ You know what, uhh. As cool as that sounds, i'm probably better to just do two separate essays, but thanks for your willingness to help. ” He wasn't able to show that he was absolutely shit in school and get himself laughed out of Slytherin altogether. “ Actually, I think I have Flying Class soon but, we're in the same house so let's go grab dinner or something together. I'm in the Horace Slughorn dorms, Ulysses Drake. You really can't miss me. ” With that, Uly quickly picked up his things and offered a casual wave goodbye before he decided he would go back to his dorm to work on his essay, embarrassment and shame at sharing his thoughts riddling him with something he hadn't felt before quite like this — anxiety.

mentions. @Reginald Drake

notes. hehehe

PV: @Ulysses Drake

Reginald's eyes twitched as he heard a thread of frailty in the boy's voice, a weird occurrence considering how confident and boisterous Ulysses was before this. He reached out a small, skinny hand to grab his shoulder and stop him from leaving too quickly, though if he had wanted to escape, the much larger boy would have had an easy time.

"Hey. I'm sorry if I was weird. I just wanna be friends! I don't wanna scare you off, but I'm good at magic, or at least I think I am. Most of the kids here got bored by how much magic was used around them, except me apparently." He said with a sad smile on his face as if he regretted not being exposed to magic enough to get bored by it like every other damn pureblood in this castle.

"So, I want to help. You seem cool, and most Slytherins aren't when you just tell them your first name." He said, shrugging as if he intentionally kept his last name blank in introductions. Which, considering what he's about to say now, might very well have been the case.

"One more time, then! Nice to meet you, I'm Reginald Drake. Would you mind doing some homework 'together' this time?" He said with a bright smile on his face as he stood up and offered his hand to Ulysses, looking straight at him with his icy-blue pupils, as if seeking his soul for the answer before it left his lips. He didn't know why he tried so hard with the boy in front of him, but all he knew was that something inside was asking him, begging him to get closer to this person. As if his blood was boiling at the thought of leaving his new friend to deal with whatever just happened to him on his own.

Word count: 318
Notes: N/A careful now. It gets spicy.

𝖍𝖊𝖑𝖑 𝖆𝖑𝖜𝖆𝖞𝖘 𝖑𝖔𝖔𝖐𝖊𝖉 𝖑𝖎𝖐𝖊 𝖙𝖍𝖎𝖘 u l y s s e s —d r a k e . ——— date. [ 09/22/23 ]—— word count. [ 367 ] ———

	Ulysses wasn’t expecting for the kid he just met to stretch an outreach hand to stop him in his tracks. The whelp recoiled slightly at the touch, turning his body to face the other boy in both surprise and welcomed kindness. “ No, it’s whatever. ” The boy was quick to dismiss his attitude and sweep it under the rug as though it hadn’t happened. Uly certainly wasn’t about to be vulnerable and share that he was struggling in his classes, that was something that would have to be pried from his icy draconic claws. There was this strange attitude in the other, a vulnerability that the snakes often chose not to show for the fear of being seen as weak or incapable. It was the very reason Uly threw some lame excuse for him to struggle with his homework alone and in absolute silence. “ Listen, the snake pit is filled with idiots, so I get it, but. ” That’s when Reginald’s icy blue gaze pierced through and it felt like he was being incredibly genuine and vulnerable. “ Merlin, you really know how to lay it on thick don’t you, kid. ” Uly let out a very awkward laugh, fingertips finding the back of his neck and taking a deep breath to try and reset an otherwise tense pleading moment of one kid who just seemed like he needed a friend by his side. “ You’re a Drake too? Huh. ” How suspicious. “ Must be some strange coincidence, but I was thinking how you felt so familiar. Nah. ” He quickly dismissed the thought, there was no way since he knew all of his Drake cousins from how often that side of his family gathered for general camaraderie and dragon shenanigans. Ulysses decided to return to his seat and took a real good look at the other, he didn't not look a little bit like him and his brothers. “ You're not playing some dumbass prank on me right now, right? " He just had to be sure before he ruled out anything else, Drake did seem like it could be a very common last name outside of the wizarding world.

mentions. @Reginald Drake

notes. n/a

PV: @Ulysses Drake

Reginald's eyes widened as he sat back down with the boy. Drake...How did he just gloss over that? His blood turned cold as he thought back to all the horror stories his mother had told him about the family. About how they were elitists who hated her for running away. About how they would hate him for being their bastard. A child born of a nulled marriage in the wizarding world. A child with tainted blood. The self-proclaimed Lion in the Snake's pit had felt fear for the first time since entering Hogwarts, and to his surprise, it was towards a boy his age. A polite boy who hadn't even insulted him once yet.

"N-No pranks. You're from...the Drake family? Nobles...Dragon tamers?" His voice began to break as he spoke. The confidence that had seeped into his tone as he offered help and guidance to the boy in front of him shifted and cracked as if a hammer was brought onto the mirror known as Reginald Drake. He wanted to meet this family he had as a child, but now, being a rational boy who understood danger, he also knew that he was a nuisance to their reputation. A nuisance without his own magic to protect him.

"Y-Yeah, My last name is Drake. I don't know much about this whole nobility thing, though. I was raised in the muggle world for most of my life." Sweat began to line his brow as his hand shook below the table. What would Ulysses do? Would he rat him out to his family? Could the Drakes somehow expel him from Hogwarts?

"Does the name Irelia Drake...ring any bells?" He said as he clenched his jaw, and held a firm gaze this time. His mother was something he could talk about. And as the topic shifted towards his guardian, He palmed the wand that was in his holster, trying to gain some semblance of strength from the invisible connection he had with the only family he believed still loved him.

Word count: 336
Notes: We're chefs, and the library is our kitchen. COOK.