A New Chapter PV Ross Stephens Closed

@Ross Stephens

There was no helping the puckish grin that formed when Ross leaned in close. It felt like they were scheming something, even though he reckoned it was perfectly acceptable for the other boy to be sharing his sweets. While Maison would prefer the experience of having sweets delivered to his bedside on the daily, it was alleviating to know that it wasn’t the end-all-be-all if he were to be sorted somewhere else.

Maison’s brow furrowed slightly at the look of concern that flashed across Ross’ features. He wanted to ask what the other boy was thinking about, but ultimately decided against it, determined to stick to his ‘no personal questions’ rule. He didn’t want his new potential friend to think he was nosy (even though he most definitely was).

The conversation had shifted to discussing magical versions of muggle items, a category in which portraits apparently fell into. Maison’s face contorted as he tried to imagine how on earth a portrait could come to life. He remembered playing a video game where you could make your drawings come to life, but it was just that – a game. How could one measly drawing transform into something with a voice and a personality? Would said voice and personality be objective, or would it depend on the magic user who brought them to life?

He wondered if the portraits appeared to act of their own free will, or if it was more like a snapshot that looped repeatedly, sort of like a GIF image in the muggle world. Of course, he was only considering this from a scientific lens rather than a magical one. The thing about magic was that it just couldn’t be understood. It was the element of mystery that made it… well, magical.

Maison was jerked from his thoughts at the sight of Ross placing his very dirty glasses on the seat beside him. His eyes looked as though they were about to pop out of his head as he watched the other boy waved his wand in a calculated motion, shouting a silly word as he did so (which Maison soon surmised was the spell’s incantation). He narrowed his eyes at the pair of glasses that Ross was now presenting to him, aghast at the realization that they were now spotless.

“Whoa!” Maison exclaimed. “That’s—You just—!” Words eluded him. He was on the edge of his seat, practically bouncing up and down with excitement at what he had just witnessed. This was his first time seeing someone cast a spell up close. Ross was right – it was a rather complex thing for such a simple task. He was sure that it would have taken just as long for the boy to clean his lenses with a rag. Still, Maison couldn’t help his amazement, and it led him to wonder if such a spell could be used on a larger scale. He would have so much more time for video games if he could clean his room with just a wave of his wand.

“That was wicked!” Maison finally proclaimed after a few moments of gathering his thoughts. He was eager to see what else Ross could do but knew it would have to wait until a later time. He wondered if this meant that he could now consider the other boy a friend. He certainly hoped so. "It's complicated, I guess, but it probably comes in handy if you've got nothing else to clean your glasses with."

Maison grinned cheerily at Ross’ statement about Hufflepuffs being the best, nodding in agreement. Of course the other boy was biased; he hadn’t experienced being in any house except Hufflepuff. Every house was sure to believe that they were the best. But if the sorting was really based upon personality, Maison was certain that people like Ross were exactly the kind of people he wanted to surround himself with.

The conversation came to a standstill. Maison was usually uncomfortable with silence, but he was happily accompanied by his own thoughts. Ross had given him a lot to consider – from sentient hats to Hogwarts houses to talking portraits and cleaning charms. The muggleborn boy had a lot left to learn. The magical world really was far more complex than he could have ever dreamed, something that both terrified and enlivened him. He would just have to take it one day at a time, he supposed.