Seventh Year Boys Dorm

Hugh was up here, being his pimping self. He didn't have much to unpack - no posters, photos, personal memorabilia of any sort - so he'd just shoved his trunk under his bed and lay down with a journal he was currently reading. Some biography on a semi-famous wizard from ages hence.

"...FRIDAY FRIDAY GONNA GET DOWN ON FRIDAAAAY!" And with that for a meeting, Sophia burst into the room. The Slytherin boys just gave their usual nod and grunt for a greeting. By now, they had grown used to Sophia and her antics. She ran over to Hugh excitedly, and watched him unpack.

"Hi Hugh! Aren't you excited for Friday?! I am, even though today is Sunday! Anyway, don't you think it was fun herding all those First Years up to the Slytherin Dungeons?! I sure thought so! I felt like God when he was talking about leading all of the sheep!

"Unobjectionable," he answered, laying a ribbon bookmark between his current pages. He'd learned well enough that it was impossible to focus with this hellion around.

"Well, I happened to think that it was just peachy. Anyway, are you excited for your final year? What classes are you taking?"

Hugh then proceeded to list his schedule for that year. Among them was the rather insipid N.E.W.T. level History of Magic class.

"Ooooh! You're taking History Of Magical NEWT level too?!" Sophia clasped her hands together. "Everyone thinks I'm crazy for taking it, but I like history, and you get to study government in the NEWT level."

He hadn't expected Sophia to be taking it as well. In fact, he'd thought that might be the one class he WOULDN'T have stuck with her. "... Swell."

"What?! Government and history is exciting! I mean, think of all the wonderful things we're going to learn this year! In fact, I might come out of that class as a world class politician!"

"Best of luck."

The curtain beside Hugh and Sophia opened, and quite the annoyed looking Kyle stuck his head out. "Sophia, I believe some of us work better without you in here."

Sophia sat on Hugh's bed, twiddling her thumbs together as she waited for him to come back upstairs.

And, like every day before and likely tomorrow as well, he did. Also, as usual, he acted as though Sophia was the last person on the planet he wanted to see, let alone expected. "What do you want?" There was some reason to his discontent. The previous class had been rather testing of Hugh's patience; he had been stuck with the task of tutoring two rather dull third years through the week's charms lessons.

"Hugh, it's nice to see you!" Sophia jumped from his bed to see him. Her arms were hidden by her back, and she indeed looked like a little girl on Christmas just bursting from excitement.

"You know how I knit sometimes? Well, I made you something."

What she was hiding turned out to be a knitted 'hair bow', you know, a bow that could be worn on your head and it would look like it was tied up there. It was very well made, and it was even in the same ashy-black color of Hugh's hair.

"...I thought you were like it. It took me a long time to make."

There was a pause. "What is that?" he asked flatly, staring at whatever it was Sophia was offering him.

"It's a hair bow!" Sophia said, slightly disappointed that he was rejected the sentiment. "You wear it like this..." she demonstrated it's using by putting it on for him.

Hugh stared at Sophia, unsure of how to react. On one hand, Sophia, in all her sweetness and light, had taken the time to actually hand-knit him something. But she couldn't have expected him to actually wear it, could she? Let alone keep the thing! What if someone found it? "Thanks...?" That would have been the absolute pinnacle of shame!

"I'm glad you like it! It took me a long time to save up for the yarn... I had to keep all my spare change since I'm saving up for my big project." Sophia said brightly, completely unaware that she was guilt tripping him.

Hugh tugged on the knot that now held the thing to his head. Doubled; damn! "What might that be?"

"I... want to open my own school somehow, and give children a different opportunity for education..." Sophia's eyes grew a little misty, and she gazed at a very ornate tapestry of a large green snake, coiled up on a large gray rock.

"I thought maybe some people would want a change from Hogwarts-not that it's a bad school, it's truly quite wonderful, but, you know... just something new!"

He gave up on untying the gift. "How nice," he said blandly, letting his arms fall to his side in defeat.

"You don't care, do you?" she said, staring at him in the eye.

Seconds passed. "Well, I... It's a very... nice idea," he said again. "You don't think you could really pull something like that off, though, do you?"

"Of course I can!" Sophia replied briskly. "All you have to do is just set your mind to it, and you can achieve anything! Hugh, if you wanted to, you can be an powerful CEO or something."

Hugh twitched his head slightly. "I'll pass on that. Really, though. All things considered, that's a pretty lofty goal."

"You might as well aim high. Come on Hugh, do you see me sitting at a desk for eight hours working for some big guy that I will probably never meet no matter how long I'm working there?"