"Harry Potter? Really?" Will dug around in the dirt, his fingers questing for Dog Rose seeds. Professor Sprout had them searching for seeds using non-magic methods, as many types of mystical herbs were resistant to spells. Ellen and Will were partnered up, the two having bonded over their passion for the less flashy sorts of magic. Will was oddly shaped, with thick arms connected to small hands and wide shoulders sloping into slim hips. His thick eyebrows almost obscured his narrowed eyes as he search, half paying attention to Ellen. Her contribution to the exercise thus far had been to hold the seed bag, missing Professor Sprout's cue to switch jobs.
"Yes. Honestly, if Dick just kept his attention on his studies, he'd be much better off. All of the projects don't do any good for anyone." Ellen chewed her lower lip in frustration. Will sighed, then tugged on her robes. She knelt down next to him. Depositing his findings into the bag, he gave Ellen a weary look. Time was running short in the class and they needed a certain number of seeds. The Dog Rose had certain healing properties when brewed into a tea and could even remove the effects of certain curses. Will's aunt had several sections in her garden set up specifically for healing herbs and his summers at her house had helped him a great deal in Herbology. It was important to do well in Professor Sprout's class and Ellen was making that increasingly hard to do.
Making her rounds, Professor Sprout examined the contents of each student pairs' bag and dismissed them. This had been an easy class after a series of difficult lessons on potting dangerous plant; she felt the class needed a 'breather' lesson. Drawing close to Will and Ellen, she swallowed a tiny sigh. Will had been trying hard and performed admirably, but Ellen had been distracted all class. Professor Sprout leaned over the pair and gently took the bag from Ellen. Peering inside, she brightened visibly. "Excellent job, Mister Belden. Miss Hawes, you would do better to spend less time talking. You two may go."
"Phew, close one. I thought she was going to take points off of me for sure. Anyway, Dick-" Will threw his hands in the air in an expression of surrender, silencing Ellen. He looked up at her, his expression a mixture of pity and annoyance. "For Pete's sake, enough about your fancy man! We've still got to get cleaned up for Charms. Plus, the Halloween feast is tonight and you'd have to be right wanker to miss that..."
Ellen fell silent. It wasn't like her to get stuck on a subject like that, especially if that subject was a boy. Still, calling Dick her 'fancy man' implied a deeper relationship with the Ravenclaw boy than she cared to probe. Her friendships were light and casual, like school chums were supposed to be. Not that she wasn't fond of Dick, she was, but she didn't want to get too close. The difference of Houses, the difference in personality. These things did not bode well for a long term relationship, platonic or otherwise. Not that that particular relationship will ever range into a romantic direction. Will tapped her on the arm and she realized they had made it to the portrait while she had been lost in thought. The Hufflepuff Common Room was close to kitchen and the air was thick with delicious smells; the House-Elves were busy preparing for the night's celebration. "He's hardly my fancy man, Will. I just think he needs to focus more. What about you and that Slytherin girl? Are you taking her to the feast?" Will rolled his eyes and gave the portrait the password. The pair entered the warm yellow room.
"Honestly, you need to give Slytherins a break. You can't judge by every Wendy Baker or Pansy Parkinson. Alice is a nice girl and you should give her a chance." With that, Will marched into the boy's dormitories, leaving Ellen in Common Room.