“I don’t take Arithmancy,”

She’d been so preoccupied about, trying to say everything without actually saying anything that she didn’t know what Joel meant by that when he spoke up mid-explanation. So she had to trip back over the words that she’d said to him in order to find the relevancy of that, and in that time Joel Watkins continued to speak, completely befuddling the point she’d been trying to make, or rather the answer she’d been trying to give.

“Do you?”

“Well, yes but…” She had to pause for the interruption.

“I’ve heard it’s pretty good for finding out things. Better than tea leaves, anyway.”


Oh, well, she sort of liked divinations. Actually, their crazy Professor Trelawney actually seemed to think that she had quite a talent for it. So Joel’s words made her face flame and she put her hand over the cheek that was facing him in order to hide the sudden color that was likely erupting all over her skin. It wasn’t a pleasant look by any means, Hadley sort of thought that she looked like a tomato, since she was used to seeing her own pale skin with hardly any color to it at all.

“Alright…” She muttered uncomfortably, picked up her pickle colored feather and looking at it so she didn’t have to look directly at Joel.

“Did somebody predict I was going to get you into trouble? I swear Flitwick isn’t going to do anything to you. It’s me he’s after.”


Hadley did have to look at her seat partner when he kindly assured her that she wouldn’t be getting into any trouble. That was nice of him, mostly because a Professor looking at her cross-wise was trouble enough for the Hufflepuff. She’d never once had to stay after class, or write lines or even come to the office of Sprout after dinner to serve detention. Usually she was hard pressed to talk even this much in class but since those around them were chatting as they chanted their incantations. It didn’t seem as forbidden as it had been during their lecture.

“Not that’s not it…” The milky haired girl sighed, “We all have numbers, right? That’s what they teach you. But well, a lot of my friends are in the class and in the club and when we get together sometimes its fun to…do numbers, you see.” It actually sounded like a lot less entertaining when she was explaining it. Maybe because she wasn’t surrounded by a gaggle of girls who were giggling as the names and numbers were matched up to boys. And no one was throwing out their opinions on who would match up better with whom.

“T.J. did it.” This was said almost at a whisper, she didn’t want the girl behind her to hear. “Someone said your name, yours and Tuckers and a few other boys…” She was already horrified and blushed, so she supposed that she couldn’t look more embarrassed than she currently was, that was one good thing about continuing on with her muttered story.

“But, our numbers, they all matched.” She told him, and because he didn’t take the class, Hadley continued, even softer than before. “All of them, it’s really rare, you know. It’s a bit like going to a place you’ve never been, accidentally, and finding your soul mate has on the same jumper and is holding a sign with your name on it…but…numbers, you know?” Hadley couldn’t believe that the words ‘soul mate’ had left her lips, what was wrong with her?! This was Joel Watkins and next he’d start laughing at her, she just knew it, so she slid her hand over her eyes so she didn’t have to watch.

“I mean, it doesn’t mean anything. It’s just…no one is a perfect match…but us, and all the girls know.”