The golden haired youth knew one thing for sure, and that was: He was bored.
Two more weeks of this. Just. Two more weeks and I can get back to the research, he thought as his golden eyes drooped.
His left hand held his head up on the desk, and, once again, the teacher droned on and on with the lesson on the board for the others forced to take the class. He himself had completed the course in minutes, shortly after he had had his sentence passed to him. The judge of this place gave him a choice: Summer school or juvenile hall. What choice was that, really?
He was beginning to think that the prison..Juvenile Hall..what was it with these weird names for the same thing?...would be just slightly more interesting. At least the last time he was a prisoner he had learned something new...namely, how to eat with his feet. He wasn't about to starve then just because his hands were chained to the wall. But that was a world away from here. This...utter...repetitive...dullness.
He glanced at those around him while the teacher's back was turned. They were a scruffy lot. Mostly the type he would call "street toughs".
Probably in here for the same reason as me. He thought.
Except, maybe the guy next to me. He looks too, well, neat.
The youth was tall. Had short dark hair brushed in a way for the bangs to cover a scar on his forehead. And he wore round eye-glasses. Green, sharp eyes. There was intelligence there, unlike with the "street toughs". He smirked.
Wonder what he did? He thought.
"Mr. Elric...?"
He blinked his eyes and quickly looked back to the teacher.
"Vha..?"
"Answer the question, please, Mr. Elric."
He carefully made his face blank, and raised his head slightly off his left hand. Trying to guess what the question was in the first place. He looked at the board behind the teacher...maybe that held a clue..?
Mercifully. The bell rang at that moment, and, instead, he got up to exit the class along with the rest of the group.
"Mr. Elric, and...Mr. Potter. Stay a few moments. I need to speak with you both."
He stopped walking a let out a sigh. Damn. He took the few steps back to his desk and flopped down into the chair, arms folded across his chest in irritation. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that Potter had remained seated.
Like he doesn't want to go in the first place.
Once the classroom was clear, the teacher crossed his arms and took a breath.
"You two. Remember you need my signature for you to get your records cleared, or it's juvenile hall. I expect you both to pay more attention in this class while it's in session. "
Ed took a breath. But before he could say a single word, the teacher continued.
"I know you've already completed all the assignments, Elric. It's the principle of..
"So. Vhat." Ed said. "This vhole thing is absolutely pointl..."
"You're in this class to get you to interact normally in society. Nor-mal-ly. THAT's the whole point of all of this."
Ed snorted and looked out the window.
"Vaste my time, vhy don't you." Ed said.
"Potter. You're his class partner, as of now. I expect you to make sure he participates more. From now until the end of the session."
The dark haired young man nodded and turned his green eyes to Ed's gold.
Great, Ed thought. Just what I need. Someone else who'll get hurt. Because of me.
Ed frowned and looked back out the window.
"Call me Harry."
Ed stood with his arms crossed over his chest, making Harry stand with his hand out for a few moments, unsure of what to do next. He eventually withdrew it, and placed it in his pocket almost sheepishly.
"Fine, Harry. Call me Ed."
Ed turned away and began walking, making Harry rush to catch up. To walk beside him rather than behind.
"Where you going? Aren't we..."
"I don't know vhere you're going, but as for me...I'm going to library."
"But..it's summer... You should.."
"Yeah, yeah."
Ed shot Harry a glare. His golden eyes like molten fire. Harry blinked, and nearly drew his wand. Remembering at the last moment that he was on Summer Break..And that magic was not allowed to be used by underaged wizards during this time.
This Ed. He was strange one. For a muggle. Almost wizard-like in that he didn't know how to act, well, "normal", and muggle-like. Always dressed in long sleeves and long pants, even in the heat. Gloves always on his hands. He even had long hair. Right now, it was pulled back in a braid, bangs an unruly mess. And those gold eyes. Harry had never seen gold eyes before. There was almost certainly something...
Ed stopped suddenly, which made Harry stop mid-step, and almost fall over. He looked over at what Ed was looking at. It was just a muggle woman. Blond. Brown eyes. Pretty. Carrying a bag of groceries. Harry looked at Ed's face and saw faint recognition there.
So...this guy IS human. Harry thought. This guy was pretty much as non interactive in the class as a person could get without becoming a..a piece of furnature or something.
"What? You..know her..?" Harry said.
Ed blinked and shook his head slightly.
"N-no. She..reminds me of somevone. " Ed said softly, sadness tinged his voice slightly.
"Then..maybe she's related to who you know..let's.."
"No!"
Ed suddenly continued walking, head down and both gloved hands in his pockets.
Huh. New in town, and yet he causes trouble enough to get stuck in that class right away. What a great start. Thought Harry.
At that thought, Harry sighed. He missed Hogwarts so much. He couldn't wait for school to be back in session. See his friends. Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was where he felt truely at home, he knew. Not here, with the Dursleys, constantly walking on eggshells over the tiniest little things that may upset his non-magical blood relatives. Not that they liked him all that much anyway. He was usually the one that did the cleaning and cooking in the household, forced to most of the time really, as a way to make up for just existing.
Harry saw movement. Glancing up as Ed's head move back to look forward. Was he just looking at me? He thought. For three weeks, as far as he knew, the guy hadn't spoken at all to anyone in the class. "So. What'd you do to get a waste of a class like that?" Harry said.
:::
Complete novel available!
You can now access all my latest crossover stories and exclusive content on Ko-fi! Visit ko-fi.com/queenofkings2000 to dive into new adventures and support my writing journey.
Thank you for your amazing support!