New Term, New Chores, The ever-growing workload

[Kievan Tao Ordlay]

Kievan touched the shiney badge on his chest and felt a swell of pride. He'd nearly choaked on his breakfast when he read his letter from the Headmistress which stated his position as Head Boy.

Now, as he made his way from the Great Hall where he'd just finished sorting out the subjects he would be studying at NEWT level, he reached out for the brass doorknob and pushed the door open. His door.

A smirk spread across his face as he walked into the room. A smirk which soon disappeared as he saw the pile of parchments on the oaken desk. Damnit, he thought, having given no thought to the responsibilties that would undoubtably come with the position.

Summoning up a mug he magically filled it with cocoa and sat at the desk, ready to shuffle through and make up som e sort of To-Do list. Just then, there was a knocking at his door.

[Pandora Kavanaugh]

Pandora hadn't been at breakfast that morning, because she'd overslept. She'd needed the rest, not just because of the typical start-of-term hustling, but because the past summer had been... not the worst, but certainly not the best. She'd collapsed in her bed the moment she'd gotten to her dorm room, and hadn't awakened until about an hour ago.

Of course, her morning routine of hiding her secrets and polishing her overall appearance was a lengthy one, so that was why she'd missed breakfast. But it was worth it, because she actually looked normal. She had on her pristine uniform, though minus the robes, her hair was pulled back neatly away from her face, and her face looked fresh and glowing from all of the magical creams and such that she'd used to hide everything.

She was aching to see Kievan, but also fearful to the point of making herself sick as she usually was when returning from the summer holidays. She was always scared that something had happened while they were apart. Mostly those thoughts consisted of another girl who might have come along to steal his heart, or something else that would have caused an about-face in his affections. But there were other things that could drive them apart--freak accidents or changes in circumstances.

When she'd overheard some of the girls chattering about the new head students in the common room on her way out of the tower, she'd naturally snapped to attention at hearing Kievan's name. He was Head Boy this term? Her heart had soared at hearing such news, but she wouldn't believe it until she had made her way down through the castle to the offices of the head boy and girl.

And now, she stood outside the head boy's office, Kievan's name gleaming down at her. She smiled. Of course he deserved it. In her mind, he deserved that and so much more. She forced down the swell of fear as she lifted her hand to knock on the door, hoping he was in there. If not, she'd have to hunt him down, but this was as good a place to start as any.

She paused a couple of seconds, but when she didn't hear anyone speak from beyond the closed door, she decided to test the knob to see if it was open. It turned easily in her hand, so she pushed it open a crack, poking her head through it just enough to peek around it.

When she saw him sitting behind the desk, her heart skipped several beats, but her lingering worries wouldn't allow her to move from the doorway...