Study hall was not a thing Bran did, he preferred to do his studying in the quiet of the library or the privacy of the dorms, or common room. Besides, there were so many other things he could be doing in that time, none of which anybody should be privy to, of course. A lady didn't kiss and tell. Much.

Today, however, he wasn't feeling up to much, so he decided a visit to the Great Hall was in order. What better way to people watch, than when said people were engulfed into their studies and gave no mind to their surroundings, or to him staring away and making appreciative or disgruntled little noises. He walked lazily through the tables, tapping his fingers against the handle of his bag as he eyed the occupants at each table curiously, taking his time to decide where he would sit.

And just then, little Ravenclaw, Kelvin Watkins popped into view and Bran smiled satisfied, changing his course towards where the boy was sat. This was certainly an interesting turn of events. Bran had been somewhat intrigued by young Mister Watkins ever since the incident in the library with that ridiculously unfortunate little boy by the name of Figaro. Ugh, he needed no reminding of that. With a positively radiant smile Bran towered over him, shadow casting over his books, until the boy turned around.

"Why, Mister Watkins, what a pleasant surprise" he beamed, clasping his fingers around the handle of his bag at his back. "Would you mind if I join you" he asked with a small smile, tilting his chin to the empty spot next to him. He wasn't so much waiting for an invitation but testing the waters, he wasn't quite sure how he had left things with little Kelvin since the last time they met.

Kelvin was in the Great Hall studying.  It wasn't for any particular class since he had already done everything but proof-read his last few essays, which left him with spare time, and at the moment no distractions.  He had a book his brother had sent him about enchantments and how to counter them.  Apparently required reading if he was to live with his cursebreaker brother over the summer.  He wasn't sure why it mattered, since so far there had only been a couple of counter-curses that he was sure he could cast.

He was about to try one of the more difficult ones when a shadow fell over his book and didn't keep moving on.  "I'm already..." He stopped as he turned and saw that it wasn't a professor, though a professor would have been better.  "Uh sure."  He managed as the older boy sat next to him before Kelvin said he could.  "Um, did you need something?" He asked quietly.

When the Ravenclaw gave his assent, Bran placed his bag on the table and opened the uniform cardigan before he sat down, to avoid creasing his shirt under it. At the boy's next question Bran chuckled softly, and turned his head to watch him through focused, narrowed eyes. His face relaxed  immediately an he smiled charmingly, crossing his legs and resting his elbows on the table.

"Why, only the pleasure of your company" he said quietly, with a little smile, leaning in closer to him, so close one might say boundaries had been passed. "Unless, that is... you're busy?" he asked all honey, big blue eyes open and lips slightly parted, before he gracefully retreated back into his own space and straightened his back.

Casually placing one hand on the bench between himself and Kelvin, he leaned back a little, looking absently at some other kid hunched over his studies. "I must apologize for how our last meeting went. I'm afraid you got caught in a petty little... argument" he said after thinking about his words for a second. "Sellaphix and I... we don't really get along" he turned his head to Kelvin and smiled sweetly at him. That was such an understatement.

"Still–that was more drama than a van full of drags on a wig sale" he giggled a little, raising his eyebrows slowly, only to let them drop immediately after. After a few moments of silence and careful analysis of the boy's features, Bran smiled fondly and nodded at something. "I hope you and Connor patched things up."

"Uh, no—I'm not busy.  Just reading, I finished all my work already."  Kelvin said nervously as the older boy leaned well into Kelvin's personal space.  He was about to put some more space between them when Bran finally moved.  Kelvin wasn't unused to people invading his space, plenty of his friends didn't understand the idea but they were his friends.  As far as he understood, Bran was not his friend.

"It's okay, uh, I guess."  He wasn't sure what to say beyond that.  That had been a while back and his own mortification at what he'd shared with Fig and inadvertently Bran overshadowed most of the rest of that night.  The billywig stings didn't help.  Funny how quickly embarrassment and worry can replace the good feelings.  Though neither of the older boys had said anything as far as Kelvin knew.  "I'd gathered as much."  The dislike between the Hufflepuff and Slytherin had been pretty obvious.

Full of what?, he wondered confused as the silence began to drag on.  Kelvin shifted uncomfortably under Bran's scrutiny, and was about to say something when the Slytherin nodded and smiled and asked about Connor.  "I—we did.  We're friends."  He finished defensively, remembering what Bran had said about the situation back then in the library.

"Well aren't you a good little... student" Bran quipped with an amused little chuckle, pausing at the last word for good measure. While telling Kelvin he was a good boy would certainly not be an untruth, Bran decided to hold on to that particular little appraisal for another time. And another setting. And another context.

Bran merely smiled and nodded his silent thanks at Kelvin acknowledging his apology. Surprisingly, it really had been meant as such. An apology that was. Which Bran didn't really do. He was certain that particular conversation would've went a lot different if the little Hufflepuff pest hadn't been there. "We have very different views on most things" Bran offered, looking back at the studious Gryffindor he had been watching, just a table away. Again, that was very generous and ridiculously mild. He and Sellaphix were miles away, with no chance of ever actually crossing paths in the real sense and Bran was perfectly fine with that.

Bran laughed softly at Kelvin's vehement statement on his current relationship with Connor Todd. Oh, he was simply adorable! "Good" he finally declared after a few moments of silence, with a cryptic little smile. He turned his head away again, humming a little tune under his breath, fingers sprawled on the bench, tapping softly at the rhythm. "So, is Connor your usual type?" he asked perfectly casual, still not facing the Ravenclaw. It was maybe a little early for Kelvin to actually have a type, but still... it didn't hurt to know.

Kelvin wasn't sure what was more unnerving about Bran, the silences, the laughs, or the smiles.  Regardless, Kelvin was off-balance.  Not as much as he used to be around Connor, but that was an easy bar to clear.  "Usual type?"  He parroted back to the older boy before going silent.

He'd been too preoccupied by Connor for so long, one of the consequences of a crush on a best friend and roommate who he'd always been around, and he wasn't really sure if he had a type.  Or if Connor was his type.  Or wasn't.  "I don't know.  Doesn't a type require more than one person?"

"Hence why I'm asking, Kelvin, darling" he smiled surreptitiously and leaned forward, body turned towards the boy as he let his head fall into his palm. "I can call you Kelvin, can't I?" he tried for worried and innocently curious as he opened his big blue eyes wide. "I'm not implying that I would like a list of all your, hmmm— romantic interests, that would be ridiculously rude of me" he scoffed a little, placing his free hand on his chest. The over dramatic gesture was ended with a fond smile and a little wink.

"Was Connor your first crush?" he asked after a moment, raising his eyebrows high and lips spreading in an excited little smile. That would be so adorable! Kelvin was just as cute as a button, wasn't he? "You don't have to tell me if it makes you uncomfortable" he continued, with an almost invisible pout, but of course the way he had told it, left no doubt that not answering wasn't exactly an option.

He really just wanted to see him blush and squirm for some reason. The reason, obviously, was simply that he was Bran Blackwell and he lived on that sort of thing. And Kelvin was adorable.

"You can." Kelvin said quickly.  He also thought it strange when people his own age, well not that Bran was his own age but he was close enough, called someone who wasn't a professor by their last name. Mister Watkins was his father, well actually his father was Dr. Watkins.  But he never said anything to witches or wizards about that.  Enough had a hard enough time understanding that doctors were the muggle equivalent of a healer without then trying to explain that his father was not that kind of doctor.

"Was Connor your first crush?" Bran asked, before adding that Kelvin didn't need to tell him.  Though Kelvin was pretty sure there was no way he'd be able to avoid answering the question. 

"What?" Kelvin said.  "I'm not uncomfortable," he continued while the blush creeping across his face gave truth to the lie, he certainly wasn't comfortable. "Um, yes, I guess.  I mean my first real crush I think.  I, there were some of my father's students.  They were always nice to me, there was a TA that I really liked."  In a rush, he said much more than he'd intended, and he was sure someone had cast a warming charm on his face.

The way Kelvin so bravely denied being uncomfortable, with that lovely blush spreading over his cheeks... it was simply delicious! Bran wondered just how far his blush blossomed. He smirked minutely, raising his eyebrows at his bravado. It was endearing in a way. And, yet, the Slytherin wanted to see more of that blush.

"My, my, Kelvin. A TA? And your father's, at that?" he said teasingly, a bright toothy smile on his face, leaning closer to nudge the younger boy with his shoulder. He chuckled a little, head lowered, furtive playful glances thrown Kelvin's way. "How naughty" he finally commented, with an arched eyebrow, tip of his tongue caught between his teeth as he grinned.

After a few moments of quiet contemplation, eyes raking insistently over the Ravenclaw's features, Bran's face settled into a less... predatory smile. "So—" he drawled the word, feet bouncing off his knee, hand on the bench, drawing further closer to him "you like people being nice to you?" he asked more seriously, staring holes into Kelvin's head. After a few seconds his gaze drifted to nowhere in particular and he let out a little hum.

"Funny. Somehow I don't see Connor as the nice type." He mused absentmindedly. "All that energy... Bound to be cocky and just a little rough. But the nice kind." At this he turned to smile lazily at Kelvin, followed by a wink and a barely constrained chuckle. Now, where was that blush he loved so much?

"How's that naughty" Kelvin said before he realized that he didn't really want to know the answer, especially not the answer the older boy was likely to give.  He wasn't sure which was worse the moments of silence or the looks Bran gave him during said moments.  Or maybe it was Bran's questions.  Or just his own word vomit in response.  And someone was definitely casting a warming charm on him, or maybe just a blushing charm on him at that point.  Was there a blushing charm? Kelvin wondered before filing the question under things to look up the next time he was in the library.  If he didn't die of embarrassment before then.

"Doesn't everyone like it when people are nice to them?" He asked too seriously.  "And Connor's not...well yeah he is.  But he's a good friend."   A friend and nothing more.  And he'd accepted that.  He was moving on.  How'd he end up talking about this in the middle of the Great Hall.  It had to be officially the worst place to talk about this.  Well, the library would probably be worse.  And the common room, though the conversation couldn't happen in the common room, at least not with the older Slytherin sitting next to him.

Kelvin's obliviousness was rather endearing, but it did make teasing quite... quite a task. He supposed all the boy needed was some growing up, or some experience. But Bran was a rather impatient person, so that left one of two options. And he was perfectly fine with offering an assisting hand with that. He took a second to  admire his blush, a tiny smirk forming at the corner of his lips. He simply shrugged, wagging his eyebrows just a second in response to his question. Guess he'd just have to work it out after a bit of that experience.

"Oh, but you see Kelvin, sometimes being a little mean can be very nice" he offered cryptically, with an innocent little smile and an arched eyebrow. "For everybody involved" he added with a casual shrug. He accepted his comment on Connor with a tight nod. There wasn't any point pushing that button if it no longer caused the reaction he was after. After a moment of silence, Bran sighed deeply and lifted his hand to mindlessly check his manicure. "I can be nice" he almost hummed, voice soft and warm. "I could be good to you" he said in a lower, more serious voice, turning to look Kelvin deep in the eyes. "If you'd like."

Kelvin was smart, but it still took a while for some of comments Bran was making to click into place.  And when it did, the blush disappeared, taking the normal color with it, leaving the young Ravenclaw white as a sheet.  "Ummm.  Thats—uh—that's okay...I mean thanks.  I think."  His brain and mouth seemed to be in a disagreement about what exactly to say.  Nothing he thought made it to his mouth, and whatever he was saying didn't make it to his brain.

It was time to go.  Definitely. He was done with his work, and there was surely something else he needed to be doing now.  "Um.  Thanks" He said again, before picking up his bag. "Uh, I—I need—I've got to go.  Something..." Kelvin looked to the doorway of the Great Hall. "Yeah.  Thanks.  For—uh the chat."  He stood and stepped away from the table.  "See—Bye." Turning, he did his best not to hurry toward the exit.

When Kelvin started paling, Bran hid a little giggle, tucking his chin in his chest. Then the stuttering came and Bran couldn't help the amused little sound that escaped his lips. "Well, that's okay then, I'm sure you're very busy" he snorted, eyebrows raised at the Ravenclaw. "It was my absolute pleasure" Bran continued with a wide, sly grin, tip of his tongue caught between his teeth as he gave another little snort.

"Ta-ta, little Kelvin" he said in farewell as the boy stood up and stepped away from the table, waving his fingers at him. "Make time for a cup of tea with me sometime" he yelled after him, a perfectly innocent face as curious faces turned towards them. Oh, he wasn't anywhere near finished with young Kelvin Watkins. He was barely starting... How exciting!