Imogen’s fingers toyed with Benito’s hair as he napped, his head resting in her lap. She was lost in thought, thinking back on the night before and how she had effectively ruined their date with a panic attack. He had been so kind to her, but it was clear he didn’t understand. She didn’t even understand what had come over her. The commotion between Professor Sprout and that nice Auror was a welcome distraction, and she watched with amusement as her fellow Hufflepuffs chimed in. It wasn’t long before Benito jumped up to join them, Imogen hot on his heels. Her boyfriend could be obnoxious at the best of times, and while she found it endearing, she knew that others might not. Namely, Professor Sprout. His sharp whistle had her rolling her eyes as she reached to slap her hand across his mouth. Nodding at Astrid, Imogen turned to give Professor Sprout and apologetic smile. “Please excuse my obnoxious boyfriend for interrupting.” She said pointedly, flinching when she felt Benito’s warm, wet tongue lick her palm. Still, she kept her hand in place, fighting the urge to pull it away and wipe it on his robes. “Oh ho, don’t you start that game with me.” She warned quietly, ready to lick him right back in retaliation.
Alex had been keeping her distance from student, giving them their space. Which was also what she was doing with Dom when she noticed him talking to Professor Sprout. Sure she hadn’t been a Hufflepuff, but she’d still taken Herbology classes. Plus the woman had never been shy when it came to helping out any students, regardless of their house. She couldn’t help but think that the two of them looked nice together. She was also pretty sure that she’d never seen Dom actually smile before, which was why she decided leaving them alone would be best. It seemed that the other students had some other ideas though, as they popped into the conversation. “Well that’s great!” She smiled, popping up from behind Dom and standing next to him. “Dom knows the best places to eat dinner. Which I’m sure he’d love to show you sometime soon Professor.”
Loretta had just walked out of her room when she saw a group of people had gathered in the common room. She didn’t hear the initial interaction between her head of house and the Auror but she quickly was able to catch onto what was going on. Although usually this was the type of situation she would stay out of she decided to stick around and see what was going to happen. Loretta didn’t know anything about the man but Professor Sprout was her favorite teacher.
From across the hall, Edward had noticed Dom talking to Professor Pomona Sprout. Truth be told, he hadn’t thought much of it at first, other issues weighing heavily on his mind. Charlotte Fawley’s betrayal, Emmeline’s pregnancy, his son’s scheming, all vying one another for his attention. When minutes later, the two seemed to be surrounded by a group of students, however, the commotion caught his interest. He studied his partner’s stance, the expression on his face, and found himself grinning. It had been many years since he’d seen that look on Dom’s face, but there was no doubt about it, his brother was smitten with the herbology professor. Edward couldn’t blame him, she was an extremely kind and beautiful woman after all. Now that he thought about it, Edward quite liked the idea of them together. Figuring it was about time to rescue his friend from the mob of excited students, Edward made his way over. Clapping one hand on Dom’s shoulder, the other on Ted’s, he couldn’t help but chime in as well. “Right you are, Alex. Though he’s not a bad cook either.”
Pomona had been taken aback by the question at first, and almost certainly looked like a fool, standing there with her mouth agape - as if the dressing gown and sloppy braid weren’t silly enough. But then before she could even begin to respond, they were interrupted. And again. And again. Until she just gave up, as one after another of her students came to join them - and then Aurors. She looked from the students to Dom, hoping he wouldn’t be frightened off. He wouldn’t be the first; there was a reason she hadn’t found anyone serious yet, and that reason was few people seemed willing to adopt the entirety of Hufflepuff house the way she did. Her gaze finally landed on Edward Bones, one of the Aurors she felt most comfortable with and she offered a small smile in his direction. “That’s very nice to know. And the children are correct,” she added with a slightly flustered look at Dom. “I do like dinner. Most meals, really.“
Ted wanted to wince at the awkwardness of the whole exchange but there was no denying how alike Professor Sprout and Dom were when it came to dating, as was now evident by their complete lack of composure in setting up a date. It was understandable, especially considering the small crowd now here to witness their conversation. Ted himself was actually quite awkward at times as well, but his more recent practice with Andromeda had done wonders for his confidence. That being said, if he’d been faced with so many witnesses, he was sure he would stumble over his words too. At least in his case Bellatrix would murder him and spare him from any enduring embarrassment, though he decided he would be much kinder in assisting his Head of House and his honorary uncle. “Well that’s perfect! Dom will send an owl with the details then, won’t you Uncle Dom?” He asked pointedly.
As soon as the words had left his mouth Dom had realized just how awkward they had been which was undoubtedly due to the fact that it had been twenty-three years since he had last gone on a date and that hadn’t necessarily gone well. He was almost relieved when the first student jumped in to save the situation. What he hadn’t expected was for one student to rapidly to turn into a crowd. It became more and more difficult to school his features to hide his amusement, especially when members of the department and his nephew popped up in the crowd that gathered around them. His eyes caught Edward’s as he gave the man a near indiscernible nod of thanks for his encouragement. They’d have to speak later. “My nephew’s right” he began, putting a hand on Ted’s shoulder, “It’s alright to send the owl here, right?”
Height truly did have it’s advantage sometimes, especially when it meant you towered over a rather vast majority of the room. It certainly helped with keeping an eye on the frightened little chickadees fluttering about every which way, and definitely called his attention when a little flock surrounded his little Bean Sprout. That wasn’t so unusual, she was a Head of House after all! What was unusual was how incredibly red her skin appeared today and how utterly incapable of proper speech he was. Something was wrong with his precious little Jelly Bean! Silvanus made his way closer, slowing as he caught bits of conversation as he came up behind his best friend. “Lamb pie!” he said in what he believed was a whisper, but most certainly was not, “You go on dates? Since when? I didn’t even know you liked boys....not that he’s a boy! I mean....Mr. Trench Coat Guy is definitely a man”
