Saturday, 3rd of December 2011
10:30am
Puddifoot's, Hogsmeade

"Zeta! C'mon! We're going to Gladrags!" Zeta's usual shopping squad were waving at her to join them. They were all bundled up for the long chilly walk down the hill and through the woods to the quaint wizarding village of Hogsmeade. It was the rare (but regular) weekend where lucky students of the right age and possessing the right paperwork had a weekend of sweet freedom away from the castle grounds. It wasn't much, but it was theirs.  Zeta normally spent it with her friends in the shops or laughing at the big booth at the Leaky Cauldron or trying to get admitted to Signature.

But not this time.

"You go on without me," Zeta called. "I'm doing something with Kelvin."

She bounced in her bright red boots holding her bag to her chest. Sweet Kelvin. Studious Kelvin. Kelvin whose homework she'd found in the library that was covered in little drawings, Kelvin the unsuspecting.  Puddifoot's was having a special event (which they often did for the students on Hogsmeade weekends), and Zeta had been unsuccessful in roping in a friend to go with her.

"Our Kelvin? Uh, okay...! Byeeeee!" The rest rushed out into the wet winter morning. Zeta and Kelvin weren't known to be chums, although they both got along with most.

Zeta had to wait a little longer, but trailing a pack of Ravenclaws came the kindly dark-haired boy.

"Kelvin!" Zeta sidled up and bumped shoulders with him. In addition to her red boots, she had on a gold and black ombre wool beret, a chartreuse peacoat, and harlequin patterned leggings.

"Headed to Hogsmeade?"

Kelvin had a plan, there were things he needed to get for the last few weeks before the term ended.  Snacks mostly.  But also his preferred ink and quills.  And then he was going to spend some time enjoying the offerings of the Three Broomsticks.  In a corner, away from everyone else, while he finished all the classwork he could.  With a nice butterbeer.

And hopefully with fewer distractions since everyone else would be distracted.  The Ravenclaw common-room was never as distraction free as he would like.

He was walking mostly by himself, he'd fallen behind his housemates as they got closer to the village, when he was bumped and surprised out of his thoughts by Zeta.

"Zeta.  Um.  Yeah.  Are we allowed to go somewhere else?"  He asked dryly.  "Do you have plans for the day?"

"I've a few ideas," said Zeta. "Here, I found this."

She produced from her heavy shoulder bag a piece of A4 parchment folded in half, and gave it to Kelvin. It was a page of someone's Charms class notes and Zeta had recognized it as relevant to what the sixth years were grinding away at. (Pulverizing, grinding, and other abrasive, erosive, and otherwise chafing charms...)

"It was tucked in that big charms compendium under 'M'. This is your writing, isn't it?"

She'd, hem, attempted to reference Kelvin's work a few times with neither attempted guile or much success. But she was sure it was his.

"I didn't know you knew how to draw. In the margins - brilliant."

Kelvin took the parchment from Zeta, quickly recognizing the page that had been missing from his notes.

"It is.  Thanks.  I've been missing that page for like a week."

He folded it back up as she pointed out the margin doodling and pushed it into a pocket. "I don't.  I just...it helps me focus is all."  It wasn't that he was embarrassed he just didn't consider his doodling drawing.  It was just something he did when the professors droned on about things he already knew or answered his classmates's more obvious questions.

"But thanks," his cheeks reddened, "it's really nothing."

Zeta laid a hand on Kelvin's shoulder and furrowed her brow.

"No, Kelvin Watkins. Your art is valid. Like my dad says," who else but the famous portraitist Octavius Montgomery Pepper, "when you make a mark, you've made a mark, haven't you. Haven't you."

The flamboyant sometimes irreverent Pepper-in-Charge suspected she wasn't coming off as sincere. She was, though. Art snobs were the worst; she certainly wasn't among their ranks.

"Look. Don't say no, yet. But there's an art class thing at Puddifoot's. Just costs a couple sickles and they provide like paints and paper and that. Not a class really, more like a studio. Cross between a class and a studio. Tell me you'll come with me. I'll even pay."

She looked at him expectantly. What she wasn't telling him was the, erm, subject of the art class. Because, well, that's why she couldn't get anyone else to go.

"It'll be fun. You know, proper zen, right? Relaxing."

Zeta nodded her head, hoping that Kelvin would join her. In the nodding. And then the class.

"I guess," Kelvin said.  If he sneezed with a quill in his hand, he'd make a mark.  Didn't make it a drawing.  Didn't make it art.  But Kelvin knew better than to get Zeta started anymore than he already seemed to have just by walking into Hogsmeade.

It took him a minute to comprehend what he was being asked to do.  The words made sense, but he didn't understand why she was asking him.  It was a logical jump that only a Hufflepuff would make.  He was technically already ahead on his work. His plan had just been to get even further ahead.  It wouldn't hurt to take an afternoon off.

And he did like drawing.  He just only ever did it in the margins.

Kelvin had never taken an art class before either.  It could be fun.  "Sure.  I've never actually tried to draw something on purpose before.  Just tiny sketches.  And I can pay.  Just... It's for beginners right?  I don't want to go to some class and look like I'm finger painting and everyone else is... I don't know, just not."

Pepper squeaked with joy, went for a hug, but thought better of it. No need to press her luck.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you. Yes, beginners, sure. It'll be cool. Ugh, Kel, you're a life-saver. For real."

It wasn't much longer that they were in Hogsmeade proper, jingling the festive bell on Puddifoot's door. Signs pointed the way down the steps to Puddifoot's versatile event space. The room was warm and well-lit. Two dozen easels stood in a circle around a make-shift platform with an empty chair.

"Anywhere you like, senorita," said a happy short man with an incredible mustache and thick black-rimmed glasses. He took Zeta's sickles, and Kelvin's. "It'll be a few minutes. Have some punch."

"Brilliant, look at all this!" Their stations were decked out in all kinds of media. Tubes of paints, stacks of colorful chalks and pastels, cans of colored pencils, and vials of shimmering something. Zeta found them a spot and began shucking her outer layers.

"Honestly, after Defense lately, I cannot wait. I'm dead. Truly dead. My sister's having loads of fun in London and we're all stuck here."

"It's not a big deal," Kelvin said feeling awkward as she thanked him. 

He followed her through Hogsmeade to Puddifoot's.  He'd never actually been to an event at the shop before and took the opportunity to look around.  The space was nice and it looked like the class was going to be relatively small.  But not too small.  He wouldn't get too much attention.  Just enough.

He walked over to one of the stations and dropped his bag.  Looking at all the supplies, he nodded in agreement with Zeta.  Supplies alone made it sickles well spent.  He looked up at the chair on the platform. Had Zeta said what kind of class it was?

"Honestly, after Defense lately, I cannot wait. I'm dead. Truly dead. My sister's having loads of fun in London and we're all stuck here."

"I don't know, I've been enjoying classes lately.  We are finally really getting into the serious stuff."  The turn had started last year with O.W.L.s but things had really accelerated.  Getting into some of the questions he'd always had.  "My brother's back in London for the holidays already."  Ready yet again to share his flat with Kelvin.  Though Kelvin had considered staying at Hogwarts and working on his own projects.  Who knew, if this class went well there were probably others he could take in London.  Muggle and magical.

Zeta made a half-smile realizing she and Kelvin didn't have academic exhaustion in common probably but found she was glad he was getting along well anyway. She settled in on the funny stool and poked through all the supplies on the little table. The remaining seats were slowly filling - had people of all ages there. Some looked very serious, others like Zeta and Kelvin were just there for diversion.

"How old's your brother? What's he do?" she asked. Having older siblings meant someone else was always doing something more exciting. But it was good as well, because there was always someone ahead of you to lend a boost.

"Theta's in the Department of Mysteries." She'd just finished Hogwarts from Ravenclaw, like Kelvin.

Kelvin looked up from his own examination of the art supplies. He didn't resort to counting on his fingers, but it took him a moment to do the math, "He's 26. He works for Gringotts.  Cursebreaker."  Except for the few months when Kelvin stayed with him during the summer.  He wasn't sure what Patrick did for Gringotts during the summer.  Now that he thought about it, it might be the last summer he stayed with Patrick.  Or at least the last he technically needed to live with an adult.

"She's an unspeakable? That makes sense."  He'd only shared a couple years with the older Pepper.  But he was never really surprised when a former Ravenclaw ended up in that department.

He looked around, watching as the stations started to fill up.  He was surprised by the mix of people.  They all didn't exactly scream art class types.  Not that he was really sure what that type was.  Or if he or Zeta fit it.  "What kind of class is this?  I don't think you said."

"Yup. Unspeakable. Unspeakably brill," Zeta said a bit proud.

Just as Kelvin was asking what they were actually getting into, the witch in charge called that they'd get started in just a few minutes.

"Just as soon as our model gets settled."

Zeta bit her lip and looked at Kelvin. "Drawing."

A lithe middle aged witch with her black hair in long braids stepped out from another room wearing a light silk robe. She stepped up onto a small platform and adjusted the chair. The witch running the class levitated a few warm lights in place that were sure to cast some dramatic shadows.

"Nude? Drawing?" she whispered, testing the words out on Kelvin, seeing if he was going to bolt.

Kelvin closed his eyes and took a deep breath.  Of course it was a nude drawing class.  Why would it be a nice still life class?  With an eccentric teacher telling him not to draw the vase in front of him but the vase inside of him.  Maybe he read too much.  But if the teacher told him to find the nude model in himself, he was going to draw someone in ten layers of clothes.

"Of course it is," he exhaled.

The lights were fixed into place by the woman in charge and the model took off her robe and took a seat.  Kelvin made a quiet noise in the back of his throat somewhere between a whimper and a groan.  At least it wasn't a wizard he found attractive. Though, considering the evil eye the wizard next to him was now giving him, his groan had been misinterpreted.

He turned to Zeta and gave her a flat look, "This is why no one else would go with you?" He sighed and shook his head, "you owe me."

He didn't go for the door, so that was something. He did, however, look like he might perish on his stool. Zeta kept smiling at him with what she hoped was an appropriate mixture of penitence and encouragement.

To his question, she just made a little noise. "Eh...!"

She shrugged and unzipped her pencil case. The model had posed herself in the chair, languid and relaxed. Zeta appreciated that she didn't look like the witches in the magazines with their perfect everything. Zeta turned her head from side to side, trying to decide how she wanted to start. A moment later she began lightly sketching.

"Cheer up, Kelvin. Now you've done something no one else at school has done. It's an adventure."

In front, the facilitator was sharing some tips like moving quickly at first to get the major shapes and lines in the right place, then do details later, and all that. Nearby, a very old wizard was already caked to the wrists in black charcoal. He seemed to be drawing the shadows instead of the model.

"At least it's not a bloke, right?"

Kelvin looked down at the supplies set out for them and opted for the charcoal. From what (little) he knew, it was better for beginners.  Though it would be messy, but that's what his wand was for.

"Every time I have an adventure, I end up in trouble."  And it was never his idea.  Just like this wasn't his idea.  Though he wasn't sure how he would get in trouble and he wasn't going to write off the possibility until he was back safely in the castle.  He started to sketch the woman, big broad strokes.  That;s what people did with charcoal, right?

"I—"

If it had been a bloke, Kelvin wasn't sure what he would have done.  The woman was good looking he supposed, but there wasn't any attraction there.  If it had been a bloke that he was attracted to, it would have made it impossible.  Would it have been worse if it was an unappealing man? An art class wasn't where he'd expected to see his first naked man or woman.  Not that he'd expected to see the latter ever.

"Yeah.  That would have been...awkward? Eh, it still is."  Kelvin really had no idea what he was doing as he continued to try to at least get a humanoid shape on the paper.  "Am I doing this right?"

It seemed getting Kelvin to do something fun was only half the job - getting him to enjoy himself, Zeta may have bitten off more than she could chew. (Or indeed, young Pepper, you ought not have bothered the boy at all.) But they were here, and they were both drawing, and Zeta was happy.

"I would have no idea what to do with a bloke even if he was sitting naked in front of me," Zeta said sharpening a pencil. Her sharpener looked like a niffler, and crunched happily on the end of her well-used instrument. Her delivery of the line was crispy-dry but she knew exactly what she meant.

She leaned over to peek at Kelvin's paper, since he'd asked, all to eager to play tutor with the Ravenclaw who she had often relied on for homework help. Zeta nodded.

"Oh brilliant, Kel. Brave start. I like this bit here especially. ... Just... missing... here, can I?" Zeta didn't wait for permission. With a practiced and careful hand, she picked up a stick of Kelvin's charcoal and deftly added something that was lacking: a truly impressive handlebar mustache.