"Very well. Then I shall have tea for the both of us," Risu said with another slight smile. He waved his hand lazily, and the large teapot lifted itself up from the table and poured some of its contents into Risu's cup. With a soft thud, it came to rest on the dark wood again. Risu, slightly proud of himself - this was one of the only household spells he could really do without difficulty - took a sip, then put the cup aside carefully.

He placed the tips of his fingers together and stared at the ceiling for a moment. This morning, the sky was a dark grey. The occasional snowflake could be seen swirling past, or perhaps it was just a forgotten dead leaf the wind had coaxed out from somewhere in the Forbidden Forest.

"Well... You are probably not aware of this, Brant - which is why I begin like this, but I only spent two years at Hogwarts. I was born in Sweden, and I went to a magical school there for a time. But we had to attend a school abroad, for at least one term, and I decided on Hogwarts." He smiled to himself, now beginning to get lost in memories. "I was quite keen on astronomy already at that time, and this school," he waved a hand around at the old walls, "was offering more in this regard than the old academy in Sweden."

He took another sip of his tea. "So when I arrived, that was really the only subject I paid any proper attention to. Some of the other teachers weren't too pleased with that, and I remember being forced to swallow this one potion or other of mine that I had managed to mess up. I had not, apparently, paid enough attention." Risu winked at Brant. "I learnt my lesson, though. Trying to walk with tentacles instead of legs was quite difficult."