Flirty Bookmarks

[Effie Croft]

Effie had heard of flirtation calling cards, though had never seen anything so cheeky when she'd been a young girl. Granted, she'd never actually handled calling cards, given her station, but she'd been familiar with them enough to know that they were not the norm. It had been startling to find one tucked into a textbook left behind in her classroom, even more startling was that it was highly inappropriate for the students to be romantically involved with each other. They were mere children!

So, she did what any reasonable adult would do. She scooped the card up, tucked the textbook up against her bosom and marched her way into the Great Hall where students had begun to arrive for an hour of study.

She stopped at the end of one of the house's tables, held the card straight above her and demanded of the group of nearest students, "Who does this disgraceful thing belong to?" Effie cast an accusing glance at the nearest male, "Was it you? Do you have any idea how inappropriate this is?"

  

[Clement Arden]

The clattering, urgent steps of students and teachers alike were white noise to Clement when he studied, a distant ambiance he'd rather do without, and often succeeded in ignoring. While, yes, part of him would be ever-irksome at the other, nearby presences that left him feeling oddly uncomfortable in the shared silence, delving into research was his sanctuary, and one he preferred enjoying without impediment. Even so, he was a patient young man, and he prided himself, in that moment, for not glaring at the Muggle Studies professor - Professor Croft, he amended - when her voice rung an accusation his way, and from just beside the Ravenclaw table. Instead, restraining a twitch at her tone, he offered the woman a somewhat forcibly polite smile, shaking his head and showing not the derision he partly wished to.

Then, he inspected the paper she held with a lingering glance, tilting his head slightly to allow himself a better view of what it depicted. Through her holding it high, he caught enough words to form an idea, and muffled a quiet snort at the thought of it.

"No, Professor," he said, feigning seriousness, of what she'd asked. "I'm unsure who'd have thought to send one of... those." A half-truth, he supposed; he himself was more curious as to why that someone would use a textbook, of all things, to send such a message. It certainly seemed easy to catch - Professor Croft had proved so much just then. Half-jokingly, and morbidly wondering of how angry a slip of paper could make the Professor, he glanced around his own table, then the other Houses', an amused twitch of his lips concealed when he turned.

  

[Effie Croft]

Effie narrowed her dark eyes in suspicion, "Are you sure that you are unsure Mr. Arden? Or perhaps you say that you are unsure because you are sure that you know whom it belongs to?" She had seen him glance about the room. Was he looking for his friends? Did he just pinpoint the perpetrator? She surveyed the other tables. It would be foolish to think that a student would leap from their bench and cry out that they were the guilty party, but she scoured the innocent - or not so innocent - faces anyhow. Somebody had done it. She just needed to find out whom.

She didn't know much about this Mr. Arden. Heck, she couldn't even think of what his first name was. Still - it was important to get to the bottom of this matter. She was itching to hand out a detention for it, if only because the woman really needed to find some kind of stress-releasing hobby that didn't involve punishing students. She'd tried knitting, but it had been far too dull for her. Gardening, perhaps.