A/N: Well, this was interesting...
Written For:
The MatchMaker Challenge- Character: Poppy Pomfrey. Pairing: Cuthbert Binns/Poppy Pomfrey
The Restricted Collection
Word count: 502
Cuthbert Binns loved teaching. It was his number one passion in the entire world. He actually stayed as a ghost so he could continue teaching! He could go on forever about it and he suspected he sometimes did. What he didn't expect however was for someone else to sneak into his heart. He thought his heart had only room for History and teaching. It had happened so suddenly that it surprised him.
"I didn't think you would come!" greeted Sir Nicholas. "Welcome, Cuthbert, old friend."
Cuthbert smiled ruefully. "I didn't think so either."
"Oh, Cuthbert, really!" she cried, fretting over him. "Go! You can't stay cooped up in that classroom forever!"
He frowned. It wasn't as if he was confide to the room. Besides, he went out of the room from time to time. "I don't stay in my classroom all the time."
She wagged her finger in his face. Her eyes narrowed, and her mouth set in thin line. "Listen here, Cuthbert! Socializing is good for everybody. You need it!"
He found himself rolling his eyes. It was so unnatural. He hadn't done that gesture in ages to be precise. Yet here he was, rolling his eyes at her. "However, I am not living. Those rules don't apply to the dead but to those with life."
She raised her brow at him. She huffed, placing her arms on her hips. "Those rules apply to everyone. Dead or not! Now, how many times are you going to make me tell you again?"
Cuthbert sighed, placing his chalk on the table. "Why do you want me to attend so badly?"
She glared at him. "I'm in charge of the well-being on everyone in this castle!"
"I am not a student," Cuthbert pointed out.
"I said everyone! That includes staff, too." She sighed, her eyes softening. "Look, Cuthbert. It would be nice if you socialized more. It doesn't do anyone good to be lonely. I worry for you, you know."
Cuthbert Binns was sure that if were alive, his cheeks would be blazing hot. To him, it seemed as if that fact were painfully obvious. He cleared his throat and nodded hesitantly. "Would it make you happy if I were to go?"
She beamed at him and nodded. She clapped her hands eagerly. "Yes, it would! Go!"
This was how Cuthbert Binns found himself at Sir Nicholas' annual Death Party. He looked over at the rotten fish and sighed.
"So how did you come?" prompted Sir Nicholas.
Cuthbert shrugged his shoulders. "I decided to come."
Sir Nicholas looked over at him dubiously. He grinned after a moment's consideration. "No one told you to come?"
Cuthbert knew his cheeks were on fire again. "No one. Now if you excuse me, the fish smells delightful."
Cuthbert floated over to the fish and sighed. No one had to know it was Poppy Pomfrey who had asked him to come. They already knew he liked her and did everything she said. This fact would only set them wild.
