Arcturus Black (arcturusfirst) wrote in onewaythreads, @ 2018-02-11 19:05:00 |
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Entry tags: | arcturus black, will byers |
Who: Arcturus Black and Will Byers
What: Meeting in person
Where: The Kingsby Tavern
When: Saturday
It was Saturday afternoon, and that meant that Arcturus Black had gone out for his regular visit to the pub. His cousin Cassiopeia, with whom he was living, was under the impression that he liked to go for particularly long flying trips on Saturdays, to keep up his stamina for Quidditch. It wasn't entirely a lie, Arcturus told himself. He did fly to the Kingsby Tavern, and besides, it wouldn't do to upset Cassiopeia by arguing with her. Sometimes it was simply better to leave things be. There was nothing wrong with it. His father had never forbidden him from going into pubs, or from drinking beer – only from getting inebriated and behaving foolishly, and that was quite different.
Today was unusual because Arcturus had invited someone to join him. Will Byers. He didn't know that he could bring himself to call the fellow just 'Will' when they met, as if they were cousins, or very old friends, so had resolved to avoid the matter as best he could. Arcturus wasn't yet sure what to make of him. They were the same age, which was a point in his favour to begin with – but he was a muggle. Arcturus was inclined not to trust muggles. This Will didn't seem to be a bad one, though, and the young wizard recollected what his elder brother had told him about the mudbloods he was going to meet, just before he'd started at Hogwarts. Cygnus had said that some of them were fine, that they admired magic and respected wizards and wanted to learn what they could. Others were objectionable because they kept droning on about boring muggle things that they liked better, and they wouldn't do as they were told.
Cygnus had been a prefect, with reasons to make such remarks. Arcturus hadn't any reason to tell Will what to do, because he certainly wasn't going to teach him any magic, but all the same he hoped that the muggle boy was closer to the first sort. It would make him far easier to get along with. He liked comic-books about wizards, and that seemed to be a good start.
Arcturus had brought along some of his sketches for his comic-book characters, safely contained in a brown leather briefcase which now sat on the floor next to his chair. He had taken the seat nearest the wall, so that he could prop his broomstick up against it. Ordinarily, he liked to sit in one of the big armchairs near the open fire, but mindful of what he had been told about Will's fears, he had chosen the opposite end of the tavern. While Arcturus believed very strongly in having courage and not letting silly fears trouble him, that wasn't a view to press on someone he hadn't even met. Perhaps Will was a soft, frightened sort of boy, in which case Arcturus' efforts to help him overcome his apprehension might have quite the opposite effect. While he wasn't the most sensitive, sympathetic boy, Arcturus wasn't intentionally cruel, either. Not unless someone truly deserved it.
It was a little colder further from the fire, and so he kept on his warm black over-robe, buttoned down the front. His old-fashioned starched collar and white shirt were visible above it, and his hair was a little untidy, having been blown about by the wind as he flew. In front of him on the table was a mug of beer, mostly full – he didn't pass for eighteen, but they cared less for what he would have termed 'silly muggle drinking laws' out in Everdale, where so many were from times and places where no such laws existed. Every so often he glanced towards the door, hoping to catch sight of someone who might be Will.