As a firstie, the abandoned room filled with metal sculptures had been Cutty's favourite spook spot. He found it a pleasant experience, somehow to just stare at the sculptures in the dim lighting of the space and scare the crap out of himself. Kids, these days. Anyway, it had been a while since he'd visited the space and he wanted to see if any new sculptures had been added.

Angel had decided that she would see what was around Hogwarts, she was looking around when she spotted something with sculptures in and she decided that she would explore the place, she hadn't noticed that there was already someone else in the room because she was looking at all the amazing sculptures.

He noticed her. The little lap-sitting firstie from the trains and the opening feast. Angel. Angel Valentine if he remembered from the sorting. How silly was she. Not that he minded. There was plenty one could do with a silly minded individual. Did she ever deliver the chocolate to Cambridge? He'd have to talk with Alexa.

"Careful." He said, speaking to Angel as he drew a bit nearer. "They've been known to pop out and snatch up unsuspecting first years."

Angel nearly jumped out of her skin when someone spoke to her. "Hi Cutty." Angel smiled when she realised who it was. "What you doing here?" Angel decided that she might as well be nice to him, even if she was starting to think that he was using her to do his dirty work, like why couldn't he have delivered the chocolate what-ever it was to Alexa himself.

"Oh, I like to come here often. It's one of my favourite haunts, you could say." He spoke in a very mild tone as if just stating a casual fact. He came closer to the first year and took in the sight of her. Her hands were still the small and dainty hands of a child, he thought. She would probably remain small. "What about you? What are you doing in the Defense Sculpture Garden?"

Angel smiled at Cutty. "Oh you do, that's great." Angel was really starting to think that Cutty wasn't the sort of person she should hang out with if he liked dark places, maybe one day he would become a dark wizard and she could say that she knew him.

"I'm just looking around Hogwarts, want to find which place to spend the most time at and this place looked cool so here I am." Angel smiled at the older boy, she was beginning to think he should tell her more about this place.

"Oh, it is. It is, you won't be disappointed. Especially not when one of them comes right out at you." Professor Romanos' sculptures did move! Cutty would swear by it. "If they do that, you should probably run. You're quite small and we wouldn't want them to run off with you." But he wasn't going to make a big deal about it. She should consider herself warned.

"Have you been to the Astronomy Tower? There's a garden in there. Almost a park, really. It's quite nice and usually quiet. Not like the library, though." Of course the library had Mr. Kitridge in it whom Cutty found a moste useful fountain of knowledge on books. You bet he was trying to get on that man's goodside! "So, Angel, what classes are you most looking forward to this year?"

Angel glared at Cutty.

O___________________o

Was Cutty having her on here. "I might be small but if anyone thinks of touching me, I can bite." Angel just stared at Cutty, if he was thinking of running off with her she's bite his nose, he'd been warned.

"Oh I might go check them out latter." Angel beamed forgetting about what Cutty had just said. "I am also looking forwards to charms and muggle studies, I'll be good at muggle studies." Angel was sure of that since she came from a muggle family.

The smallest of smiles played across Cutty's lips. Ohh, baby kneazle has claws! Well that was a good thing, he supposed. He abhorred weakness. Her stares didn't both him in the least as he had moved on in the conversation, his mind considering other things.

"Muggle studies?" He said, trying to sound calm. "Oh, I'm taking that class this year. I haven't yet met the teacher. Why do you say you'll be good at it?" She might've been a muggleborn, but he didn't want to venture this guess. Let her tell him what she was.

Angel smiled at Cutty. "Oh I just love muggles you know, find them fancinating." Angel had a feeling Cutty wanted to know if she was from non magic parents but so what if she was and she was, it didn't mean anything less then anyone with magic from the beginning. "I just think it would be a good subject"

*glares*

Angel decided that she would glare at Cutty, she was beginning to wish she had picked someone else's knee to sit on because on the train, he had been nice but now here it was like he was a different person, like the dude from the film Grease, he had been kind in the summer but once he was at school he had changed into the most horrible boy ever and Cutty was sort of doing the same, it was like he was too important to hang out with firsties.

Cutty looked up toward the ceiling, took a breath and then regarded the little lioness as he considered her comment on Muggles. His calm face was usually one of two; snooty or droid. This time it was the snooty one. Were they fascinating? Muggles? Yes, he supposed they were. He wondered how resourceful anyone else would be if their magic were suddenly taken from them out of nowhere. Somewhere, someone had to have invented a potion for that. Or, maybe he could be the first. He hadn't heard anything from MESOP, though, and he'd written them in July.

"You have something near your eye." He said creeping just a bit closer on the palms of his feet. "It think it is an eyelash. Close your eyes." He said holding out a finger.

Angel looked at Cutty. "I think your nice though Cutty, deep down." Angel beamed, seriously deep down this guy was amazing though because of his friends maybe he had to act tough, but Angel had seen the better side of him and she loved it and she hoped they could stay friends. "I have a present for you." Angel beamed as she handed over the parcel that had the chocolates she had got for him in. "I know you liked chocolate, so I've got some twix and mars bars in there for you."

Angel then closed her eyes, she had no idea why she had done it but she trusted the guy with her life so she closed them. "Okay then I'm ready." Angel hoped he would be quick and move whatever it was out.

The shiny wrappers made them look like precious metal and they were worth as much. "For me? Really Angel, you shouldn't have." This whole thing was gonna be easier than he thought. He was about to ask her some questions on the topic, but he'd paused to take his extended finger to her face and wiped the spot where he'd indicated with his gaze that the non-existent lash had fallen.

"Got it." Now she could glare at him again. All the live long day if she wanted. "So, these sweets...Are they Muggle sweets?"

Angel smiled at Cutty. "I thought you deserved a present." Angel then waited for Cutty to move whatever it was that was bothering him because she didn't seem to think there was an eye-lash loose or she would have felt it.

"Thanks." Angel smiled as he said that he had got it. "They are sweets that other people eat yes." Angel loved them, but she also loved chocolate frogs and things like that.

She thought he deserved a present. Well, he thought she was right about that. And so he took the chocolate and put it away in his bag. "Thank you, Angel. That was very thoughtful of you." Isn't that what people said? She must've come from at least a half muggle background then if she was familiar enough with their sweets to have picked out two. Or not? Let's find out.


"Other people? You can call them Muggles you know? It's not a bad word." He raised his brows as if in surprise by her response then turned his attention over at the Clabbert suspended from on high.

Angel smiled as she heard what Cutty was saying. "Yeah other people." Angel didn't like the word muggle, she might have been on herself but still it didn't seem nice, it made her think about juggling and no matter what Cutty did she would not say that word. "So what you doing next?" Angel decided to be a bit cheeky and wiggle her eyebrows at the boy in front of her.

Other people. Other people. Interesting.

The boy's expression shifted from snooty toward neutral for a brief moment as he considered what this meant.


"Actually, Angel. Now that you mentioned it..." The smallest of smiles, or maybe it was more of a smirk at this point came into being returning that slightly haughty look about the boy. "I should head back to my common room and study. Wouldn't want to lag behind you in Muggle Studies now would I? Tah." And with that he turned and left the sculpture exhibit.








A whole two months had gone by before Cutty was able find a moment to return to the scene of the twix exchange with Angel. Again, the place was quiet and he was starting to wonder if anyone even knew about it. Maybe he could start giving tours of the school, what with all the new faces 'n all. If he charged a galleon per head, he'd probably come out alright. Yes. It was an idea. He'd start making the advertisements as soon as he got back to his Slytherin hidey-hole.


He strolled through the sculpture garden and knelt down close to a metallic squirrel. The detail on them was actually quite impressive as it was on the other figures. That in conjunction with the lighting gave the sculptures a sense of motion which suggested life. Spooky. Eerie. Life. From his kneeling position, Cutty caught a glimpse of the hinkypunk sculpture. How'd the artist get the metal to look all smokey like that?

Reading through a report, Medea rounded the corner towards her office and looked up just in time to see the figure of whom she assumed was a student entering her sculpture exhibit. Certainly weren't skipping a class were they? Though not thinking too much of it, it was only after she'd placed the folder of information in the locked cabinet in her office did she decide to take a little break herself and head to the quiet room parallel from hers.

Gently and quietly shutting the door behind her to the exhibit, she stayed still for a moment, just glancing around. There ought to be some new editions to the collection, yet inspiration had been low. Artist block. Taking a stroll herself, it wasn't long before she came across the Slytherin. "You a fan of the arts, Mister Mordaunt?"

Cutty jumped. He wasn't scared. No. He looked offended, though. As if the voice had done it on purpose. Sneaking up on him, that is. His expression only softened when he registered the accented vocals of his Defense Professor. Oh, it was Romanos.

"Oh, yes. Yes, I am." He began spinning this steaming pile with an Abraxan manure eating grin. "These all look like they were done by the same artist. Do you collect all of his things?" Spooky they were.

He was sort of glad to see her, as it had been why he came up to the Defense classroom. He had just decided to step into the exhibit for a while beforehand to kind of clear his mind and get his story straight. He'd debated, back and forth about how he was going to ask his questions about certain dark creatures they'd gone over in the last class.

She knew them. Up and down, sideways and forwards, Professor Romanos could tell you anything about any monster, Cutty figured from their past lessons. They must have been an area of specialty for her. And what if it turned out that he did have some sort of dark creature in him? Or was one himself? Would she be able to sense it? Would she have him removed from the school? On the one hand, her lessons suggested that the further they strayed from weird, dangerous creatures the better off they were, but on the other, she was good friends with Professor Flamsteed. And, so maybe she had a built-up tolerance?

His answer resulted in a smile from her. Not often did one hear of a student appreciating the arts apart from present day music and doodles in class. Though the confusion on the creator was amusing to say the least. Taking a glance around the sculptures nearby, quite proud of their turn outs, she gave a slow nod. "Yes, you could say I collect their vork." Swiping a little bit of dust off an octopus creation, she made a note to dust in here later. "They are made by myself after all."

Rolling the dust between her fingers, letting it fall to the ground, her gaze settled back on the third year. Would she need to ask if everything was alright or would he tell her himself?

"You did these, Professor?" A very sudden smile came about and was gone from the boy's face within an instant as he realized how much money they could make.

THEY.

He could be an art agent. What was there to it but supplying a target buyer and organizing shows. She was one wealthy buyer away from being set for life. Maybe Bev's dad liked art? Maybe even the good and clever Mr. Cambridge?

Anyway, looking a bit surprised Cutty stopped and asked her, "Why don't you become an artist and tour the world, Professor? You're already multi-lingual." Although, he couldn't place her accent, he was sure it was indicative of some Easternly way.

"Oh, and also, I came in through here to talk to you about monsters. I think I might have met a cold one before." Totally straight faced. He was completely serious.

With a little nod of confirmation, she smiled sweetly from the compliment. He was a nice young man, indeed. "Thank you, for the vote of confidence, Mister Mordaunt...though I'm not a participant in the arts for money or acknowledgement." The stress relief and inner peace process however, was up her alley.

Oh, she didn't need to ask anything at all.

"Haff you?" she asked in surprise, eyebrows raising. Was he sure? Questions. So many questions that were held back.

Cutty nodded. Would she dismiss him if he sounded anything less than 100% sure? But if he sounded too certain, and his supposed experience proved to be an impossibility that would also not do. "Yeah, I think I might have."

Quickly, he added, "Or something very similar. He didn't have the blue tinge or anything like that, but he certainly..." How could he say it without triggering suspicion and doubt in his teacher? "...Didn't seem to feel a thing." Emotionally, at least, and not as often as Cutty observed was normal for other children his age. Sometimes physically as well. He seemed, overall, less sensitive when he looked at the picture as a whole.

"It's sort of what I meant by 'something in the middle', when I brought that up in our last class, Professor." He explained.

Slowly nodding a few times from his explanation, because she did remember him bringing it up in class, his suggestion was far too vague for her to make a proper answer. Or conclusion for that matter. "I see." she replied sincerely, hands folded in front of her. "Though, vould it be too much for me to ask if you expanded on the matter? There is a table and chairs tovards the back here so ve can sit, if you so vish."

Not the most comfortable, but it was something.