[For Hermione] First Week.

[halfscarlet]

Though too distracted by exploring their new surroundings with Teddy to remember school on the first day of winter, Billy makes an effort to show up for his next day of classes, with only a few stops along the way. Though he and Teddy had followed the little map and found the compound and other familiar but not buildings around it, Billy was still fascinated by the change. He'd spirited Teddy away to a few places back home thanks to his magic, and though they'd done London one date night, it had been all modern -- nothing like the kind of creepy, Victorian, boxed in London they found themselves in.

But Billy tries to keep his mind on normal things like school (as far as anything can be normal, when you're suddenly attending classes in a school building that had probably been built in the 1700s), and makes plans to meet Teddy up at the compound for lunch before his afternoon classes.

Dressed in a lot more layers than he was accostumed to under his black great coat, Billy barely feels the chill when he opens the main school door. The wind bites at his cheeks and nose and his red scarf flaps behind him, but it's still a thrill, hearing the sounds of a city (old and fake as it may be when looked at too closely) instead of the rustle of trees and beach.

Comments

[halfscarlet]

"Well, you went to school in a castle," Billy points out, smile bright as he remembers the hellish, thrilling time he'd spent at Hogwarts himself as part of whatever Harry's mind trip had been. Nothing like the time he'd spent in Erik's mind, but that's something he's been doing his best not to think of.

"But yeah, it's kinda great being out there. I really missed wandering around a city."

[cleverness]

"With moving stairwells and mischievous paintings misleading the whole way," Hermione agrees with a nod, eyes falling to a close longer than necessary as she thinks about wandering through the halls, hearing her steps echo against the arches, or the soft murmur of students and the swish of robes as everyone makes their way to class. "I really wish that you'd gotten to see it... in its better days. The castle's beautiful even in the midst of war, of course, but there was more of a whimsical type of magic to it when class was underway. Endless, endless fields of grass in the spring, the clouds white overhead. The island's just not the same. I appreciate the beach, and the practically relentless sun, but there are times when you just want to have sturdy walls around you and a fair roof over your head. The huts always feel a bit different."

Her smile widens. "Well, to the rest of us, at least. Not all of us are as fortunate to have a house like your own."

[halfscarlet]

"Call it the luck of the draw," Billy says with a grin, knowing full well he'd been lucky enough to ask for a cottage ahead of time once they began to take shape. Of course, it all was thanks to Billy simply wanting to catch a glimpse of a shirtless, sweaty Clark Kent from time to time, so there was something to be said for giving in to teenage instincts.

"But being here makes me realize how much I still miss New York," he says, "even if we're like, a century behind the times."

[cleverness]

"It's a very different atmosphere, indeed," Hermione nods, eying Billy's grin for a couple of seconds before she shrugs and shakes her head, her gaze spanning over the city with a soft fondness. For all its shortcomings, Hermione had to admit that the change of pace was one that she appreciated as well. "I suppose we had the chance to return to a more urban setting with Rapture, but for all that we still find ourselves among ghosts and spirits, I find the relative calm of this place greatly preferable to the other. Seeing the destruction of that other city was... well, it was rather terrifying."

Brown eyes skirting over to meet Billy's, Hermione exhales softly, breath slipping from her lips. "I can't imagine what it would be like to arrive down there. Teddy's really quite brave, managing to keep his calm in Rapture."

[halfscarlet]

The mention of Rapture still makes Billy's stomach turn; it'd been terrifying enough exploring it with Harry, but he still remembers Teddy's story and the bruises on his body for days after. The sight of them had been a shock, a reminder that they're just two teenage boys with no power and no defenses on the island.

"He is," he says, smiling a little. Teddy would die to hear Hermione say that, knowing the other boy is already as fond of her as Billy is. "He's something special."