And one thing you could say about Avaline: She was 100% girl. In the best possible ways.
Of course she was a bit younger than ffleurbert, but this was more than made up for by.. well, not to make too much of it, ffleurbert’s inexperience. He’d never had a girlfriend. And, in fact, up until the day in the bamboo, he’d not so much as kissed a girl. Not properly.
So now it was his intention to do the thing properly.
He was pretty certain that girls needed attention, but not too much of it. Which suited him fine, he did have outside interests, be they ever so few. For one thing, the Pater had taken to sending him business reports, so he could get the idea of what was entailed in the transportation and resale of precious stones.
Especially charmed stones.
Frankly the finding of said stones interested ffleurbert more than selling the darned things but he had to show willing. But there is only so much information regarding the removal of garnets from the Hindu Kush that a healthy boy can stand.
The sun had come out, and knowing that the chances of that happening again grew less by the day, ffleurbert began his search where most of the inmates of Hogwarts were to be found: In the Courtyard.
Seeing Ava chatting to some boy or other, probably someone in one of her classes, ffleurbert walked up, in his sunniest mood.
“Hello, Ava, dear one,” He said, taking her hand. He turned to the boy. “Good bye, Oik,” He said without rancor.
Turning to Ava he asked the question that had been occupying him since the welcoming feast. “When is your birthday, sweet? It’s the kind of thing one should be aware of, don’tcher know? F’rinstance, should it be a matter of days, I have to cut along and buy a present or such.” His own, being the first of February, a cursed month if ever there was, was mercifully a long way off, so needn’t interest anyone. But for all he knew, it could be Ava’s tomorrow.
And missing a chance to give her a present was not to be endured.




