I need something soon | FINISHED

Ah, right. Trent had completely forgotten the Divination professor moved himself to the first floor. He glanced around the corridor briefly, before forcing himself to look to the floor to avoid eye contact with the Ravenclaw. Hell, he was teaching around the time this guy was, what? Fourteen, fifteen? Somehow that made things feel a bit worse, though he supposed he'd rather it be a fellow professor than an actual student. He would pretend he was fine, and the professor would go along his merry way, and the two could remain oblivious to each other's lives. That sounded peachy.

But the worst of it was that Trent had a... Discrepancy with Divination professors. Not because he disliked the class, nor did he believe it had no merit. He was simply absolute garbage in that area of magic. He failed out of his Divination class, because he tried beyond hard to try to get it right. He did not get it right. It was shameful, actually trying and still being a fucking loser. Since then, he avoided anyone associated with the topic. An ego thing, really.

But, alas. It was not Trent's fate to run from every seer he came across. The man approached him passively, and Trent pushed himself from the door, cheeks slightly flushed, eyes still looking anywhere but directly at him. He popped another kernel in his mouth.

“It’s open now,”

Trent finally made eye contact, and a crooked smile broke his embarrassment-- albeit, amused embarrassment. He licked his lower lip and jiggled the door handle a tad, before it gave way to the Gryffindor's hand. "Ah, an angel descends upon me on this day, by the name of Kei," Trent shoved the popcorn bag into his coat pocket, where he there felt the outline of his wand, and he paused momentarily to revel in how stupid he was. He didn't mention it.

"Can you believe this shit? I may as well be a muggle," He picked the soda can up from the floor, and pushed the door in further, avoiding thanking him specifically because Trent already felt like a dumb ass. He took a second to look the other professor over. Perhaps he should thank fate instead, that it brought such a cutie onto his doorstep. While he didn't voice this opinion, coyness dripped into his boyish smirk. "Aye, you busy? Anything I can do to show my appreciation?" Trent pushed further into his classroom, walking backwards to face the other professor, "I feel like we don't even know each other. Really though, come sit with me and enjoy this... Meal of crappy snacks we've both prepared for ourselves." He chuckled, and shoved a cat-shaped doorstopper against the heavy wood to keep it in place.

"Ah, an angel descends upon me on this day, by the name of Kei.”


Mirai laughed at his response. He’d heard a bit about the Muggles studies teacher, both recently and while he was at school. Though he never took the class himself, he’d hear it was an easy A. If he’d actually worried about getting good grades he may have taken the course, he’d spent enough time with his grandparents as a kid to know muggle stuff fairly well. However, what he’d hear most is that it was a safe space to spend time outside of class, without judgment, which endeared him to the professor more than anything else.


“Can you believe this shit?” Travis continued, “I may as well be a muggle.”


He smiled at that, happy the charm had actually worked. He may have taken N.E.W.T. level charms but he was still shit at silent casting, though he didn’t want to admit that. Professors were supposed to be somewhat competent in magic and while he was good at divination, he had very little else magical going for him. At least he could ride a broom. He chuckled at that, realizing the double entendre only after the thought had come up. He looked up at the other professor who was smirking.


“Aye, you busy? Anything I can do to show my appreciation?” he asked.


Miari couldn’t help laughing at that, “Well if you’re offering...” he replied with a teasing smile.

He watched as the other professor backed into the classroom. It struck him as oddly respectful, Travis could have just walked in past him and talked over his shoulder, instead he’d chosen not to. As the other continued talking, Miari followed him in, stopping to admire the doorstopper.

“You like cats, too?” he asked smiling, “I have a half kneazle who’s far to smart for her own good,” realizing he could take that question farther he continued, “Dogs are great too though, especially since it seems like cats often think they’re too good for you.”

He smirked, watching the professor, hoping he would realize he wasn’t just talking about cats and dog.

“Well if you’re offering...”

Kei was smiling playfully, and Trent couldn't help but mirror the coy expression. It would be presumptuous to assume they had similar ideas in mind, so he would let it pass along as an innocent joke. Like a, "haha, yeah, I'll grade your papers for ya' pal," kind of joke. A type of dry banter reserved for coworkers, that Trent never really enjoyed, but he would pretend for the sake of not getting a cat ornament smashed in his face moments after running into another professor. It was an act of maturity, holding his tongue was, that he had to learn to live within the adult world. But shit, was he tempted to string it along, even within seconds of finally meeting the Divination professor.

The seer stopped in the door frame, and Trent took a moment to place his things onto his desk, which curved in an L shape along the wall. It seemed Mirai noticed Trent's door stopper, something he had actually bought specifically for his classroom (and felt really productive for doing so) so that he could leave his door open. Of course, he could have always used magic, but that wasn't cute and nor did it have whiskers. "A kneazle? Color me envious, those buggers are the cat lover's dream," Trent admitted, avoiding calling cats cute or adorable for his own personal masculinity issues.

“Dogs are great too though, especially since it seems like cats often think they’re too good for you.”

Uh. Trent froze momentarily, green eyes tearing away from his desk and back toward his coworker. Was he... Was he talking about Trent? Was Trent the great dog? Was Trent a good boy? Merlin, wait. No. Trent snapped out of his trance, and began peeling his coat off with a puzzled expression. Did Kei know? Like, did he know about him? He wouldn't put it past a seer to simply see the haunted full moons that Trent endured. Or, hell, maybe even the stench that Trent gave off (wet dog, not his favorite). Maybe Kei just meant something about wizards and muggles? Maybe he was just talking about dogs! Maybe he thought he was jumping to conclusions!

Trent shoved some popcorn into his mouth to pretend he was eating and not thinking about the connotations behind this comment. Swallowing hard and nodding, Trent quickly broke the silence. "I love a good dog, oh yeah," He started, "I mean, I'm more of a cat person, but I guess we don't always get on. Dogs are a lot easier. They really do appreciate... kind gestures, for sure." If Kei was talking about what Trent thought he was talking about, hopefully that would suffice as an answer.

He threw his coat on the fancy wheely chair, and he offered it to his company. Trent himself sat upon the part of his desk that curved against the wall, where some useless graded papers resided. Mostly, he simply didn't feel right only giving him a shitty desk chair to sit in; simply wasn't hospitable. "Not to skip to cliches, but Divination, eh? Are you an actual seer then?" He began, cracking open his can, unsure if that was an appropriate question, "I know there's a difference between those who have the sight, and those who see, per se. If I'm making any bloody sense."

Travis seemed at a lost for words at the comment, or he was simply not speaking with his mouth full. Mirai wasn't sure. He was used to this game since his travels, rarely did people come out and say which team they played for, and his seeing was hardly Gaydar. Or Bi-dar. Well, being able to tell if the person swings your way. With the amount Travis was thinking about this however, either he did and wasn’t sure about saying so or he’d touched on something else. Regardless the other professor had finally started nodding.

“I love a good dog, oh yeah. I mean, I’m more of a cat person, but I guess we don’t always get on. Dogs are a lot easier.”


That they were. Women seem to need a lot more care emotionally and physically, but that was his personal opinion. While Mirai hadn’t dated much in school, or out of it, he’d had friends of both genders, and woman just tended to consume more energy.

“They really do appreciate… kind gestures for sure,” Travis continued.


That didn’t fit, so maybe it was something more. Mirai wondered, if this was a dog comment what would that mean… He had no idea and as curious as he was, he tried to respect other privacy, especially when it came to the sight. He’d lost good friends because he’d seen too much, and actively looking just seemed like bad maners.


Being offered to sit down, he took a seat in the offered chair and broke a piece off of one of the many chocolate bars he’d grabbed. As he popped it into his mouth, enjoying the sweetness Travis brought up the subject that he’d know they’d get to eventually.


"Not to skip to cliches, but Divination, eh? Are you an actual seer then?"


Mirai forced a smile at that, he’d been told he was one, and the prophecy thing tended to confirm it. Even still he’d been know to make offhanded comments since he was young. He’d always seemed to see too much, notice thing he shouldn’t about people, know things he shouldn’t. He’d learned how to focus away from those around him since then. Though he still got an occasional insights that couldn’t have come normally. But for the most part his “gift” had stuck to telling him random things about the future, instead of thing about people he did or didn’t want to know.


“I know there’s a difference between those who have the sight, and those who see, per se. If I’m making any bloody sense.”


“You are,” Mirai said but decided to properly assemble his thoughts before continuing.


Continuing to partake of his chocolate bar, breaking pieces off and sucking them, he tried to figure out the best way to explain.


“It’s like a fifth sense, I guess. The prophecy part is a bitch but I’ve only predicted three so far. The first was I was twelve back in Japan, it happened during class too, I don’t remember much of it but the teacher was a hard-ass and apparently I yelled the entire thing, right in the middle of the lecture. Part of the reason we came here, if I remember correctly my parents were called in about me being a “disturbance” and that it was “hard for other kids to focus”. Of course that was before they realized what it was, they’d just thought I’d decided to yell in the middle of class. Then the stuff I’d said came true and well, Japan has an interesting mix of their own tradition and western traditions.

It’s a long story but we ended up moving here and since then I’ve learned how to channel that ability, and more importantly how not too. I used to get a ton of information I shouldn’t have on people and in a society like Japan, where politeness is so essential, a small strange child who knows secrets you don’t tell anyone isn’t exactly wanted. So we came here and I got sorted into Ravenclaw. They tended to take me knowing random things about them in stride. I’ve learned since then and have a fairly good grasp on not seeing to much of people’s business. I try to keep what I know of other people to what I hear of them. Seeing often makes things more complicated, and people don’t always appreciate it.”

There was a notable silence after Trent's remark about dogs, and he realized pretty quickly that they were not talking about the same thing. However, Trent rode this silence with unwavering confidence. Of course he felt silly for jumping to conclusions, but their veiled conversation kept things nice and secret for now. Being Trent, however, he did not catch on to Kei's true intentions. While he was closeted for most of his youth, once he stepped foot into his accepted reality he never really seemed to slow down. He was very used to flirting with straight men, and very used to not knowing anyone's actual sexualities. It was such a set in stone thing for him, that for once... Something so coy, something that he would jump onto like waving a treat before a dog, went right over his head. He was simply too used to it being out in the open, in-your-face, his tongue down the other man's throat before they even had the opportunity to talk about it.

Well... He'd learn in time. Maybe. Trent wasn't known for subtleties.

Mirai settled down with his feast of chocolate, before starting on what seemed to be his life story. Trent listened with quiet nods and sincere interest, munching his popcorn to keep his mouth shut, as he was rather prone to interrupting people with questions and personal comparisons. There was something about someone being so genuinely invested about their interests that was rather endearing, and Trent had a bit of a soft spot for moments like this. Of course, how can a seer not be invested in such a gift? At times, Trent could be rather flippant, waving people's passion off with the pettiness reserved for a shitty teenager. But, it was a special occasion when someone felt comfortable enough with him, especially during their initial meeting, to tell him about themselves. It was simply exactly what Trent asked, but wrapped up in a proper story. Some people he knew would simply have replied with, "Yeah, I'm a seer, dumb ass," and that would be that.

"I guess I understand why people would... Have issues with someone screaming prophecies in the middle of class," Trent replied once Kei finished, grinning boyishly, "And I guess I wouldn't be comfortable with someone, say, seeing me fuckin' up in the near future. But, in my honest opinion, I feel like it's less of a... I don't want people knowing, and more so having the comfort that said seer is a good enough person to keep that shit to themselves." He took a long sip from his can, to clear his throat, and to think for a moment. Would Kei expect him to follow his lead, tell him why he became a muggle studies teacher? Because Trent's wasn't nearly as interesting, and more so a big fat excuse to leave London.

"That's real fascinating, though. Unsure if I've ever met someone of your caliber before. Very good to know. If I ever want my fortune told, perhaps I'll come knocking on your door," Trent told him with a wink, as if to add "and then some" at the end of his sentence, "Mine, of course... Is always open. Just so you know."

As if he didn't just fling more flirtations in his direction, Trent leaned over to scope out Kei's selection. The Gryffindor was nothing short of a Gaping Hole that he threw food into endlessly, and chocolate was always something of interest. He made no move, however, save for a pseudo-innocent smirk painting his lips in a shade of not-so-sly red.

Mirai hadn’t meant to say so much. He’d started talking and then hadn’t felt the urge to stop. Well, Travis didn’t seem to mind. All in all, the other professor was seemed nice, respectful of others or at least of himself, and while he had his own manner of speech, it wasn’t unpleasant. In terms of keeping whatever he saw to himself he’d reached a good happy medium, when he actually saw something, like when scrying in a crystal ball, if he knew the people he would only tell them about it if he felt it necessary. Though occasionally he slipped up, it was normally on little things, like commenting on someone’s outfit before they’d put it on, or blurting out that their ink was going to spill right before it did. The last one, he realized was less helpful than he’d first thought, since more often then not his comment was what would cause the accident in the first place.

“If I ever want my fortune told, perhaps I’ll come knocking on your door,” Travis continued.

Mirai had to laugh at that. He’d spent the better parts of the last few years getting by on reading people’s future, muggles and wizards alike. He’d stopped after realizing that especially with muggles it had less to do with an open third eye and more to do with open actual ones. But it had been a good way to get money while traveling. It was only after he laughed that he realized what the professor may had meant. He had winked at him, so maybe Travis did bat for the same team, or maybe Mirai was still reading too much into this.

"Mine, of course... Is always open. Just so you know,” Travis continued with the same flirtatious air.

“Is that an offer?” he quickly countered, before he thought better of it.

He never did seem to think before he spoke, and this was just evident of that. For a while he’d tried to think before he acted, and it had just caused him not to act or to get annoyed with himself when he inevitably did. As the other professor leaned over to snag a chocolate bar, Mirai was debating his options. When it came to this stuff while he was a terrible flirt, but wasn’t quite sure what to do when it can to what happened in between ripping each other’s clothes off and casual flirting. Normally he just went with what the other person did, whatever that was. For someone who could see the future he tried very little to effect it, though that could be a cause of seeing it. Travis was smirking however, and his cheeks were at probably as red as his own. Mirai moved forward in his seat, till his face was directly in front of the other professors then he stopped.

“Looking for something?” he asked, a smile darting playfully across his face.

“Is that an offer?”

Trent licked the base of his thumb, where resided remnants of butter from his snack. He was quiet for a moment. Things have... Never gone so well for him before. It was almost comical, how he was so used to rejection at this point. Hell, were these positive responses or simply neutral responses? Either way, it was better than most conversations he's had. Most people knew who Trent was: The foul mouthed smart ass that drooled over teenagers and told the lovely, kindhearted Herbology teacher to suck a dick on multiple occasions. He wondered, for a moment, if this was what happened when people didn't really know his past. Was this how people saw him initially, only to be disappointed later?

Maybe Kei did know. Maybe he didn't care. But Trent's lips remained curled in a smile, and he decided he would ride this twink train for as long as he possibly could. "Of course," He remarked, "But only I go in through the backdoor, you should know. Your fancy spells won't be opening mine up any time soon." With that, he tossed his bag of popcorn onto the desk, finished with this particular snack for now. The bluntness of his innuendo only a fraction of his true colors.

“Looking for something?”

Christ.

He hadn't expected Kei to give him a run for his money, but Trent honestly did not know what to say. Perhaps he really should simply stick with men, if they were simply so easily coerced and flirted with. Of course, Trent would never imply that Kei was easy. Unless Kei were to, of course, back down at some point. Then it's like second nature for Trent to ruin absolutely everything with his dumb bullshit feelings.

Trent licked his lips and reached a hand over, lingering over Mirai's fingers for a moment, before he snapped a corner off of his chocolate bar.

"I'm always greedy for chocolate," Trent casually rolled out, popping the square into his mouth and leaning back against the wall, "Better protect that stash before I eat it all up, eh?"

As Mirai watched as the other professor licked his thumb, he licked his lips involuntarily. His mind darting to Trent using that tongue on other things, although he rained back those thoughts quickly. Taking another piece of chocolate and popping it into his mouth. Apparently, Travis was actually answering his question.

"Of course,” he started, "But only I go in through the backdoor, you should know. Your fancy spells won't be opening mine up any time soon."

Mirai chuckled at that. He’d expected as much; Travis did give off that alpha male vibe. He was slightly surprised that Travis wasn’t strictly interested in women. The fact he was a top was obvious, and it wasn’t like Mirai didn’t enjoy bottoming. Much like his sexual preference, he went both ways. It all depended on who he was with.

As Travis leaned over for the chocolate bar, Mirai moved his face right in front of his, smiling. As he watched the other professor lick his lips, his breath caught slightly. Travis’s fingers lingering over his own, before snapping a corner off of the chocolate bar that he’d been eating.

“"I'm always greedy for chocolate. Better protect that stash before I eat it all up, eh?"

Mirai smiled, his face flushed. He may have been the one to up the ante but that had been on impulse, however he was quite happy with the outcome.

“There’s always more,” Mirai replied smiling, relaxing into the chair, “And it’s not like the kitchens are far.”

It finally occurred to Mirai how little he knew about the other professor; he’d spoken an awful lot about himself, but had yet to hear Travis tell him much of anything. Anything besides shameless flirting, that is. Though he couldn’t bring himself to regret that.

“So, how did you end up as Muggle Studies teacher?” he asked, pulling off another piece of chocolate and popping it in his mouth.

Things relaxed quite a bit, and this was a bit of a... Relief? Almost? Trent always saw himself as an endless stream of boner quips, but perhaps he really was getting a bit, well, old. That was a preposterous notion, however. Even more preposterous was the notion that Trent was simply flustered from actual attention. He was a big, strong man, after all. Feelings!? As if Trent could feel a feeling, as if Trent didn't cry himself to sleep after watching West Side Story the other night. He swallowed the chocolate, still maintaining his smirk, but his cheeks were indeed flushed at this point. He couldn't let Kei think he was an old man, though. Now that would be truly unfortunate, albeit he probably already knew Trent's age.

The implication behind Mirai's words seemed to be, in Trent's mind at least, that he was cozy enough to stick around for multiple snack runs. And that was. Odd. But, alright? If he enjoyed Trent's company so much, Trent would simply have to swallow his self deprecation and enjoy having the rare adult company for once in this school.

“So, how did you end up as Muggle Studies teacher?”

"Christ," Trent blurted out, wiping his mouth on his wrist, as if to wipe away his embarrassment. "I was hoping I had seduced you enough to avoid this question," He teased, but his expression fell serious. Eyebrows pinched together, eyes falling to the desk in ponder.

"My story won't be nearly as... Interesting as your's. In my opinion, at least. Or whatever," Trent began, "I'm a muggleborn, yeah? My 'deep, dark' past being another story, I was tossed around muggle foster homes for a while, and I hold a lot of nostalgia for the few things I had. While I was spared the burden of being a shit kid through the Miracle of Magic, I just never wanted to lose that sense of myself. So, I did well in Muggle Studies. Fast forward to when I was, uh. Twenty... something... My girlfriend dumped my dumb ass, I was squatting in an office bathroom eating poptarts, and I decided I had to get my shit together if I wanted to, well, live like a normal fucking human being.

"Muggle Studies was the only class I did decent enough in. No shit, I guess? I got the job because no one else was taking it. And I'm probably the worst professor here, but you know? I'd rather be a bad professor than a homeless nobody," He shrugged uneasily, but that was that. Normally, he wouldn't indulge anyone in even that basic of information about himself, but Kei had already done the same. It was only courteous to give a personal story in return.

He chugged the rest of his orange soda, shoving the can aside with a curt hand. He looked Kei in the eye, waving the shame aside. That was simply who Trent was, after all. "Not to be a total buzzkill," He added, forcing himself into a lighthearted smile yet again.

“Christ,” Travis responded to his question.

It struck him as odd at first, Christ? Then he remembered some of the information he’d learned in his time among muggles. They used that word the same way wizards used “Merlin”. Well, similar. He’d never heard anyone say “Christ’s beard” before.

“I was hoping I had seduced you enough to avoid this question," Travis continued.

Kei watched as Travis grew introspective, his eyebrows knitting together in as he looked away. Then he started to talk. He listened patiently as Trent told a highly summarized version of his life. Mirai very much disagreed that it wasn’t interesting.

He was surprised at first, not that Travis was muggleborn but at the man’s life before Hogwarts. Mirai had been a very wanted child, his parents were overjoyed when he was born, so much so that they’d traveled to Kyoto to see a naming seer, which is why he’d gotten the name he had. His early years had been spent with a loving caring family, not having that… He'd seen enough of the world when he’d gone abroad to realize that not everyone was as lucky as he was, with parents who accepted and were proud of him. His heart went out to Travis hearing his story, the hardships in his childhood all came from outside his family, he couldn’t imagine having to deal without his parents’ love and support. Though they’d become more insistent the older he got. He kept his sympathy to himself however. He was pretty sure Trent would see it as pity, and Travis struck his as the type of person who hated being pitied.

“Fast forward to when I was, uh. Twenty… something…” Travis said.

Twenty-something? The other professor seemed hesitant about sharing his age, just how old was he anyway? He didn’t look much older than mid-twenties. In Mirai’s mind it wasn’t till you hit forty that you started getting old, which was a good thing since he’d spent a good four years traipsing across the world without a plan in mind. Mirai smilled when Travis mentioned squatting. He’d started doing that a bit in the more recent years of travel. His parents would have sent money if he’d asked. But it came with more and more strings attached every time, so eventually he’d just stopped asking.

“And I'm probably the worst professor here, but you know? I'd rather be a bad professor than a homeless nobody," Travis continued, “Not to be a total buzzkill.”

“You’re not,” Mirai replied, popping another piece of chocolate into his mouth, “And you’re most certainly not the worst professor here. A lot of students need a place where they feel accepted and wanted, from what I’ve heard you provide that… which can mean everything to a kid.”

Back in Japan after his outburst in class and before it was realized as a prophecy, he’d been alone. The students all eyed him carefully, and most of the professors eyed him with distain. There’d only been one professor he’d actually been able to talk to. Saito-sensei treated him like any other student, he’d spent most of his time in the man’s office in order to avoid everyone else. Mahoutokoro was very focused on how well you performed and how good you were at magic. Since Mirai hadn’t done well in either he’d been a nobody, before his outburst, and became a pariah afterwards.

“I was lucky to get the job here myself,” Mirai confided, after Travis had admitted he hadn’t done well in school he felt more comfortable admitting his deficiencies as well, “I’m still shite at transfigurations. You know how people joke about getting a Troll on their O.W.L.s, I actually did in that class."

He’d leaned forward when saying that, his voice quieter than normal. Pulling back, he readjusted himself in his chair.

“That subject was hell,” he finished, looking away with a slight tinge to his face, he never talked about this stuff.

Kei listened to Trent as just as patient as he had been, and he couldn't help but respect that. But. 
"You’re not," He spoke so sweetly. If anything brought a tint of red to Trent's cheeks, it'd be this. He stared at the professor for a moment, to gather his thoughts. He wasn't sure where it was coming from. "Fuck, man," He spoke with a laugh bubbling beneath his words, "That's right, uh, kind of you to say. I guess it's easy to stomp all over myself, eh?" He hard a hard time believing Mirai, in all sincerity. But Mirai was a student under Trent's career, and he watched from afar these few months. Maybe Trent shouldn't shove himself away.

But he was very used to being the worst of the bunch, the unwanted shit eater. That was all so very negative, wasn't it? He didn't want to be thinking like that when he was hanging out and trying to relax. But it was rare for him to hear such gentle things, and it could probably be blamed mostly on himself. His thoughts went back on the idea he had before: Was this what it was like to get along with someone, without worrying they thought he was a disgusting monster? It was weird to think about.

"I’m still shite at transfigurations. You know how people joke about getting a Troll on their O.W.L.s, I actually did in that class."


Snatching a chocolate bar, he began to peel its wrapper unceremoniously. He couldn't help but laugh, even if he could tell Kei was a bit ashamed of himself. "Merlin, that class can be rough as hell though. People like to talk it up like it's one of those super important classes, but honestly? If you don't well in it, who cares? It's not for everyone," Biting a rather large chunk from the bar, he nodded and chewed, looking Kei up and down. He knew fully well he was pigging out to hide his feelings, as Trent was so very wont to do. It felt good slathering "I'm a shit professor" in candy until it drowned itself.

"But. Hey, listen. I failed Care of Magical Creatures, right? Animals hate my guts, I just can't Care for these Creatures because they want nothing to do with me," Trent laughed at himself this time, unashamed of this fact, "Isn't that ridiculous? I mean, I'm exaggerating, I'm just really shit with handling things, but that was the ongoing joke. Now I got a cat that hates everyone except me. That's the kind of thing I need as a pet." Truthfully, he talked very little about his grades. They were a mess, as he cared little for school. But he passed most of his OWLs with flying colors, much to the confusion of all his professors.

Trent did well at things, he just chose not to (CoMC notwithstanding). And he was starting to understand that about himself, as it was starting to show up in every aspect of his life. Social interaction as well apparently.

But, he took another bite of the bar, grinning stupidly to ease Kei's mind. If there was anyone who understood the woes of failure, it was the Gryffindor sitting before him.

Kei found himself loosen up as Travis laughed, which surprised him. Normally he’d tense up having his ineptitude placed on display, but he felt comfortable here. He smiled as Travis disparaged the subject. It was rather unimportant in everyday life. Though as a teacher being unable to untransfigure something, or someone, might become a problem. He’d deal with it when that came though, if it did. No point in working about it now.

As Travis continued to talk about how he’d done in Care of Magical creatures, Mirai smiled. He could see a lot of animals not being able to stand someone coming on full force, like he imagined Travis did. He’s calmness around them was part of the reason animals liked him so much. He loved animals, taking most things they didn’t in stride, being kicked, bitten or stung, and seeking to learn as much as possible from the sentient ones. Though the centaurs he’d met in his travels hadn’t wanted anything to do with him. He laughed as he heard about Travis’s cat. It seemed the type of animal that Travis would get along with, someone as unapologetic as he was. Mirai took note to not make apologize for who he was around him. Saying things as they were and how he meant them would be best.

He watched as the other professor smiled at him, as he broke another piece off of his fifth chocolate bar and he couldn’t help but grin back. Really with the way he ate he wouldn’t be this skinny for long, he should start flying again. An idea struck him at that point, as ideas often do when you’re not looking for them.

“You said you might be interested in seeing your future?” Mirai said, “Want me to look?”

Normally he didn’t do this, for anyone. He’d occasionally read a person’s palms or do basic stuff like reading patterns, things that didn’t involve actually looking. Those were great ways get basic information from a person, and move closer to them, but this time he was actually offering. He wasn’t sure exactly why. Curiosity, probably. He wanted to know more about the other man. But he didn’t want to do it without him knowing.