How Cal and Will Met

PART ONE



Will sat at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall, staring into space. It was lunchtime, and although he should have been studying madly for his first transfiguration test of the year, he could not bring himself to care. There was a constant flurry of motion around him, with the other third years flipping through their books. Will felt strange being completely surrounded by people, yet being completely isolated by his lack of movement.

Through all the movement, however, one person in particular stuck out. A young Hufflepuff seemed to be moving slowly towards his table. The boy was small, and if Will did not see the intelligence in his eyes, he would have thought he was a first year. Will believed that the boy was probably in his own year, however; he looked vaguely familiar, and they had probably shared a class or two over the years.

Most people would have trying to divine the motives of the Hufflepuff as he approached them. He was not the type to cause trouble, and his interest in one of the most notorious Gryffindor pranksters should have seemed odd. Will did not think about it at all. He just watched. As far as he knew, the boy had nothing to do with him, and he had no reason to consider his motives. He was just another Hufflepuff, probably coming over to ask Lily for a study sheet.

The boy came and sat down right in front of him.

“Hello,” the boy said, his voice not at all fitting Will’s expectations. He seemed completely at ease in the loud room, as if casual conversation came naturally to him. “I’m Calvin Coughlin. Cal for short.” Will just stared, and the boy continued. “You’re Will Devlin?” Although he phrased it as a question, he stated it as if it were a founding principal on which the world was built. Will nodded. “Hello, Cal. Why are you here?”

Will was never one to beat around the bush.

Cal did not seem bothered by Will’s bluntness. Or at least, Will did not think he was. Will was not quite sure, as he did not know the boy well enough to decide. Will did not particularly care either way.

“To talk to you,” Cal casually reached over and grabbed an apple from the center of the table, and to Will it seemed like it was just to give his hands something to do. That thought made Will smirk, and he returned his attention to Cal, who seemed to have been talking the entire time. Oops.

“Anyway, I figured I should meet some of the people in other houses. So here I am.” Cal grinned, and Will suppressed an eye roll. “We aren’t that different in Gryffindor than you are in Hufflepuff, I’ve been told. Just a bit louder.” Although the sociable little Hufflepuff was a curiosity, Will would rather have been sitting alone to his peace and quiet.

Cal, however, was quite the determined kid. “I hear you’re quite the prankster, you know. You’re developing somewhat of a reputation.” With the conversation turning to himself, Will’s ears perked, and he started to pay more attention. “What have you heard?” Cal grinned, knowing that he had finally struck a chord. “Everything and nothing. There are lots of things going around about you, these days, but no one can tell just how much of it is true.” Will smirked, rather proud of himself, but he was not surprised. He had worked for years to develop a reputation. It was good to hear that, as a lowly third year, he had finally gotten the rumor mill churning properly.

“Speaking of which,” Cal continued. “That is really the reason I am here to talk to you. I have a certain amount of interest in your escapades.” Will raised an eyebrow. “What kind of interest?” Cal had his full attention at this point. Cal clearly had a secret, something that was motivating him to go out of his way and talk to Will. Around secrets, Will was like a child in a candy store, and this was no exception.

Will had an instinctual feeling that something very important was just about to happen. Maybe it was his own dramatic tendencies, or maybe it was the way that Cal was searching Will’s face, as if he was reassessing his conversant. Will waited for Cal’s response, completely forgetting his earlier desire for silence. “The kind of interest that is best not discussed in the middle of the Great Hall at lunch,” Cal replied, traces of a smile dancing across his eyes. “The kind of interest that requires meeting somewhere else.” Will frowned at the boy’s cruelty in leading him on, only to shuffle away his secrets for another time. He did not like this Calvin very much.

However, he was still curious enough to play along. “When and where?” Surely Cal had something in mind, or he would not have proposed that they meet somewhere else. Cal beamed. “Would tomorrow after classes work for you? We can meet out by the lake—it is supposed to be a nice day tomorrow, and we can wander around until we find a nice, quiet spot.” Will did not really care. “Sure, whatever,” he said, impatiently. If he was not going to get anything more from Cal right then and there, he did not see the point in continuing the conversation. Cal seemed to realize that Will was losing interest, but he was brave in the face of Will’s immaturity. “Okay, perfect. I’ll see you then, okay?” Will nodded. “Bye,” he said, off-handedly.

Cal got up and left, and Will returned to basking in his own silent form of rebellion. Lunch was drawing to an end, and he had little time left to dilly-dally. However, his lack of concentration was completely shattered, and his ability to turn his thoughts off was gone. He could not shake the image of Cal’s face, earnest and amused, and hiding something.

That was one thing that Will was certain of. It may not be something big, but Calvin Coughlin was hiding something. Will was determined to figure out what.

Part Two





One day later, Will found himself wandering around outside by the lake. If it were any other situation, he probably would have blown Cal off. If Cal had been slightly less well-spoken, Will would not be standing there. However, the small Hufflepuff was not to be underestimated, Will decided. He seemed to understand instinctually how to catch Will’s attention; against Will’s better judgment, he found himself overwhelmingly curious.

Will had not yet seen Cal. Granted, Will had gotten to the meeting place slightly early. He felt like he should be prepared, and scope out the area beforehand. He did not know exactly what Calvin would be proposing, but he felt like he should give it a great deal of thought and preparation. It was not something Will was used to. He did not give ANYTHING thought and preparation. If something felt good, he went with it.

Finally, the small Hufflepuff approached, walking slowly from the school. He seemed to be alone, and he did not seem to be bringing anything with him. Will felt that him being a single, solitary figure moving forward should have made him look smaller, but the way he held himself did precisely the opposite—he seemed more sure of himself than he did at lunch, in a way. He did not have the same kind of ease that he exhibited in the mass of people in the Great Hall. In the Great Hall, he seemed completely at home, but he blended in, to a certain extent. Out by the lake, with few people nearby, he stood out so much more, and his sense of purpose and intent came to life.

Will leaned up against a tree and waited for Cal. He had plenty of time, but that did not stop an increasing sense of impatience from bubbling up inside of him. He had had to wait an entire day to find out what the meaning of this meeting was, and Will did not take kindly to waiting. This had better be important—if Will had gotten this worked up and curious about nothing, then he would not be happy.

Cal walked up to the tree, a smile on his face. Will would not have been surprised if that smile was there simply because Will had actually bothered to show up. “Hello again, Will,” Cal said, his tone pleasant. Will nodded back. “’Lo, there.” He did not leave Cal much time to respond before quickly launching into the heart of matters. “So, why are we here?”

Cal took Will’s impatience in stride. “We are here because I have a proposition for you.” Will raised an eyebrow. “A proposition? I don’t work for hire, you know.” There was no prankster honor in working for hire. It was the equivalent of being a thug.

Despite Will’s abruptness, Cal did not look deterred. “You don’t know the circumstances, you know. Besides, it’s not like I’m going to give you bribe money for pranks.” Will was not convinced. He almost got up and walked away. However, Cal looked as calm as ever, and Will got the feeling that he should stay and hear him out. Will attracted many sketchy people coming to him for help. It was just the truth of the situation. However, with most standard pay-off attempts, people started to get frantic after Will laid down the law. “Just hear me out,” they would say, and Will could tell they were desperate. Although Cal was more serious than Will had seen him up to this point, he did not look frantic. Instead, he looked more deliberate, more careful than before.

Will’s curiosity was piqued, once again. “Fine,” he said. “Talk.”

Cal nodded, and proceeded. “Here’s the deal. I do not want to shove money at you. If that’s what you think, then I can understand your abruptness.” He paused for a second, seeming to reorient himself after the direction the conversation had taken. “The reason we are here today is because of bullies. If it were just me that was being bullied, I would take care of things myself, and I would not have come to you. However, that is not the case. I am constantly seeing people younger than me getting beat up and picked on, and I can’t stand it—“

Will cut in, his voice unsure. “That sucks for you. Why do I care about you and your bullies? If you’ve heard anything about me, you know I’m not one to care about the poor little defenseless kids.” He had to admit to himself that it was somewhat of an odd request. His reputation as a prankster had never led to anyone asking for help with bullies before. He was the type of person who was distrusted, generally, more than touted around as a hero for the weak. What Cal was asking from him was something he had never had to consider before.

Cal stared at Will’s face for a minute before responding, his expression completely unfathomable. “If I believed half of what I heard around here, I wouldn't be talking to you at all. Rumors aren't exactly the most reliable thing to go on.” He paused for a second, as if considering his words carefully. “Besides, I get the feeling that you do care.” His words came easier, after that, as if the hardest part of his sentences was over. “If you didn’t care, after all, why would you still be here?”

Will paused. Cal was trying to make him think. Clever little bastard. He should not care at all about the kid and his little Hufflepuff minions, getting beat up. He did not care about other people. They were supposed to take care of their business, because he only cared about his own. No one ever expected anything else from him, except this Calvin kid.

The worst thing was that Will WANTED to help him. There was something about Cal, staring at him with those unfathomable eyes, with his chin jutting out in determination. Will found the concept of this kid getting bullied ridiculous, because he looked like exactly the kind of person who could stand up for himself. Sure, he was short, and sure, he LOOKED young. But he seemed… capable. Will had to admire that. Sure, he was selfless. That was great and all. Will saw lots of selfless Gryffindor males, pumped full of bravado and a hero complex.

Cal did not fit his world, and when it all came down to it, Will’s curiosity took over once again. He did not want to spend hours thinking and debating. He did not have any concrete reason to help Cal, but he didn’t need one.

He did not operate based on logic. He went with his gut, and his gut said to go for it. That was good enough for him.

“What do you want me to do?” Will asked, resigning himself to his unlikely decision. Cal smiled and shrugged. “Your call. You’re the prankster, not me.” Will frowned. “Who am I going after?” “Dawlish and a few other Slytherins,” Cal responded. Will nodded approvingly. He could handle going after Slytherins. They could always be knocked down a few pegs. “You’ll have to tell me specifics on that later, you know. I can start with Dawlish, though.”

Will thought for a second. He could not think of many other things that he really needed to know, except for one thing, which had been niggling at the edges of his mind up until this point.

“Why me?” he asked, genuinely curious. He did not really expect much of an answer, but he had to ask. Cal raised an eyebrow, almost surprised by the question. “You’re Will Devlin. That’s why.”

Cal looked at Will once more before talking. “I said I won’t throw money at you for doing this, but if you want, I can pay you some other way.” Will looked at the kid. He would never accept money, as a matter of principle. He almost felt bad for considering accepting payment. However, he knew better than to completely turn down the offer. “No. Or, at least, no set payment. I don’t want your money and I don’t want anything else from you, really. Someday I might, though. The only payment I’ll accept is… a favor, I guess you could say. Sometime in the future, if I need something, and I think you can help, I’ll ask.” Will did not feel like he was saying things quite right, but he figured Cal would get the gist of it. “Does that work?”

Cal nodded, after thinking for a second. “That’ll work.”

Will finally stood straight, leaving his resting post on the tree. He felt like things were unsettled, so he did the most official thing he knew—he stuck out his hands. “Then, Cal, I believe we have a deal.” Cal smiled triumphantly, and they shook hands.

Will shook his head as he watched Cal walk away. Something about that boy drew his attention and kept it, which was an unfamiliar sensation for Will. People were there for his amusement—he flirted and he pranked, but he did not get to know people or try to get close to others. He didn’t care. After his initial interest, other people bored him. Something about Cal seemed different. Will WANTED to get to know him.

As usual, what Will wanted, he knew he could get.

If there was one thing that Will knew with absolute certainty, it was that this was not the last time he would see Calvin Coughlin.