Nuisance

Wolfgang was bored and lonely. Both Cameron and Greg were busy and Aurora was no where to be found so Wolfgang spent his afternoon in the student commons trying to think of something to do. He lounged across the chair in a way that was hardly considered proper and made clucking noises. One of his muggle friends showed him a way to imitate the sound of a water drop by simultaneously clucking one's tongue and flicking their cheek, but so far Wolfgang wasn't having any luck with it.

His head rested on the arm of the chair, hanging slightly so that gravity pulled his long bangs up and revealing his eyes. It was then he spotted a better activity. Some girl was in the student commons with her nose facing down in some sort of work Wolf could only assume was something of the nature of homework. How boring! He decided to make things a bit more fun for her and quickly sat up and reached into his bag for a quill and some parchment.

He scratched out a quick drawing which took the vague form of a dog and then drew a speech bubble coming out of the dog's mouth. "Hello!" The dog was saying and with a simple charm, the drawing of the dog moved it's jaw and wagged its tail. Wolfgang grinned at it, proud of his simple work, before folding it into a paper airplane and sending it off flying towards the girl.

Isobel had been making a habit of going to the student commons to work. She did this partially to find other students to help her with schoolwork, but mostly to look at cute older boys. She wasn't ashamed of that fact at all.

But today was a work-only day. She didn't have much time to goof off. She needed to finish reading a passage on Fluxweed that was proving to be difficult.

She suddenly noticed a little airplane flying toward her. She caught it before it could fly over her head. She opened it up and looked inside. It was a little drawing of a dog greeting her. It was impressive, but also a distraction.

She looked up and around to see who could have thrown it, but she wasn't quite sure who it could be. there weren't a terribly large amount of people in the room, so she could narrow it down. Her best guess was an older boy who had been making moderately annoying sounds and was sitting in a chair incorrectly.

She wondered what she should write back. Isobel decided to keep it simple. She pulled her quill out from her bag and scribbled, "Hello. Why are you sitting like that?" refolded the piece of parchment, and threw it his way. If he hadn't thrown it, that would be a little awkward, but she was still curious.

Wolfgang resumed his reclining position as soon as he saw that his plane had hit his target. He waited with moderate patience before the same piece of parchment came gliding back towards him and landed gently on his lap. He grinned his infamous crooked-tooth smile as he fumbled to open it, hoping to see a response. As he had hoped, words in a handwriting that was different from his own were on the sheet. He chuckled at the question they formed and was quick to answer.

"Because it's comfy." He wrote in response, and then added a question of his own. "Why are you sitting like that with a book in front of you?" He probably knew the answer already, but he wanted to have a conversation with the girl he chose to pass notes with. He sent it back with a smile and waited for her response.

Isobel released the breath she had been holding in. She had thrown it to the right person. She looked back down at her book, pretending to read. A response came back quickly.

"Because Professor Ellis assigned the second years an incredibly boring lesson to read," Isobel wrote back.

She felt like there wouldn't be a very long response back to that one comment. What else should she write? The tapped the feather part of her quill against her face.

Then, it came to her. "What noise were you trying to make earlier?" she wrote.

She refolded the piece of paper along the previous creases, then sent it back.

He noticed that she had resumed reading as soon as she was done with the note, but Wolf wondered if she was actually reading. Was she actually one of those students who tried hard in class and freaked out if they received any grade lower than absolutely perfect? The only thing he had to go off of so far was that she went to the student lounge to study, which either meant she was just that dedicated or not dedicated enough to go to the library instead. His answer would come soon with the return of his note.

His eyes scanned her words and he grinned at them. He was betting she was hardly the perfect student. However, it was her question that made him smile even more. He was glad to know he had caught the attention of at least one of the occupants in the student lounge with his noises.

"Sounds wretched," He scrawled back, taking care not to write over his dog he drew before, but room was starting to get scarce on that side of the paper. "I was trying to mimic a water drop." He looked up and tried to catch her eye. When he did, he did the noise again, falling shy of how it was actually supposed to sound. "I'm still working on it." He added. "Do you like candy?" he finished off and then sent the paper plane back.

This was apparently going to be an actual conversation. She wondered if she should get up and sit near him, but she really liked passing notes by an airplane. It was a creative idea that she might have to recycle.

Isobel closed her text book, knowing that she wasn't actually going to read the assigned passage. She looked up and at the boy, who demonstrated the noise.

She didn't understand until he sent the plane back. The paper was mostly filled now, but there was still a little room.

"You'll get it, I'm sure," she wrote back, writing smaller to conserve space.

Isobel hated the question on the paper. She always had to explain why candy wasn't appealing and it sounded like an attempt to get attention. And it really wasn't. "Candy is okay. I'll eat it, but it's not my favorite. Why? Do you like it?"

She looked at the words she had just written. They were legible, but barely.

She flipped the page over and wrote, "How much longer do you think this parchment will hold up?" It was starting to look a little sad as she refolded it. Isobel returned it, but it fell short by a few centimeters. Closer to him, she reminded herself, preventing her from running to get it.

It didn't seem like she understood the noise when he repeated it to her before sending the letter back. Perhaps she just found it annoying, but if that were the case, it would do nothing to stop him from doing it.

He liked this game of passing notes. It had all the benefits of a regular conversation but was much more fun and daring. He should try this sometime while in class. Waiting for an answer was always the best part. He wondered what went through her mind as she read each small thing he wrote to her. He simply could not remain still as he waited for the plane to return.

He watched with moderate disappointment as the plane fell short of where he was seated and paused for only a moment before retrieving it to see if she would first. He rose from his seat, picked it up, and returned to the chair, already unfolding it before he was seated. Her writing was nearly buried by past notes written, but he managed to find her answer eventually.

He grinned at her words of confidence that he would eventually figure out the water drop trick. "I could teach it to you once I master it," He wrote back, having to use the back of the paper. He was a bit crestfallen that she was not excited by the concept of candy. He, himself, loved candy more than actual food and had a bunch of it in his pocket that he was willing to share with her. Oh well, he thought. "Yeah I like candy a lot! I have some in my pocket. If you don't want any then I guess there's more for me." He wrote back and then set down his quill to dig his hands into his pockets. He found wrapped candy pieces between empty wrappers, lose change, paper clips and a hair tie. He placed it on the table before him and then addressed the last thing the girl had written to him.

"We could always get a new piece of paper. I want to keep the dog picture if you decide to go onto a new sheet, though. Or we could sit together and talk," Wolfgang suggested. "Let me introduce myself. My name is Wolf." He took up most of the back of the paper at this point but didn't want to shorten anything he said just to make it fit.

Isobel's annoyance level was decreasing the more notes she passed. Maybe she was supposed to be irritated with the boy's behavior. But she was surprisingly calm. What was happening with her?

When she got the plane, she skimmed it, eventually seeing that there was not enough space for any sort of response. But the suggestion of actually speaking to him was something she decided to act on.

Isobel collected her belongings and stuffed them in her bag, being careful not to spill anything or dump the bag completely.

She walked in his direction and in front of his chair. "My name is Isobel," she said, offering him the wrinkled piece of paper, puppy side up. "It probably wouldn't be a good idea for me to learn the sound. My family would be very unhappy with me making a noise like that," she answered, plopping down in a seat close to him.

Isobel could imagine Ryan rolling his eyes at her. She hated that feeling. Being an inconvenience was the worst thing she could be to anyone.

She glanced at the mess on the table, hoping that Wolf would throw it away or at least put it all back in his pocket.

"What kind of candy is it? And you should enjoy it. If you had fruit or something, I would take it from you. But not candy."

"So why did you send me a picture of a dog?" Isobel asked. She was glad that he had saved her from complete boredom and eventual frustration. She was curious, however. Isobel was often the conversation initiator, so being pursued was strange to her.

Wolfgang watched with curiosity as suddenly the girl was gathering her stuff together. Maybe she got tired of him and wanted to get away from him? but that didn't appear to be the case as suddenly she was moving towards him and dropped her stuff onto the table. "Hallo," He greeted toothily. He accepted the dog drawing and folded it carefully before placing it in his pocket. "That is all the more reason to learn it," Wolfgang replied, grinning. "What other reason would you need a noise like that for besides to annoy people?"

He poked through the assortment of candies laid out on the table, trying to find one he wanted. There was chocolates, dark and light, some filled with caramel, other nougat and there were fruit tasting candies. He grabbed one that tasted like strawberries and cream, unwrapped it and put it in his mouth.

"All sorts of kinds," He answered. He wasn't sure of the official names of any of them. They were just what they tasted like. He picked up an orange candy and held it out to her. "This one is citrus flavored," He offered, but that was as close as it got to actual fruit. "Fruit doesn't really stay well in pockets," Wolfgang noted. "They get all bruised and, worse case scenario, smooshed." Especially with his habit of forgetting to remove things from his pockets until after his trousers have gone through the wash, Wolfgang knew well what things stayed better and what didn't last. Finding fruit that had gone rotten was just about the worst of it whereas wrapped candy usually kept it's form.

Her question brought a laugh from his throat. "Isn't it obvious?" He quickly retrieved the note and showed her the picture again. "It's me saying hello! Remember I'm Wolf?" He explained. "Also I really like dogs," he added proudly while returning the picture back into his bag. "What about you? What do you like? Besides pretending to read books in the student commons," He joked.

"Annoying people isn't one of my hobbies," Isobel answered, crossing her arms. "There isn't any fun in it for me."

Isobel watched as Wolf popped a piece of candy in his mouth. When he offered one to her, she took it. She looked at it in her palm and wrinkled her nose. She was tempted to put it in her pocket, but she convinced herself that it couldn't be that bad.

She unwrapped the candy and put it in her mouth. It tasted a bit like orange, but it was still too sugary. "It's okay," she said, about the candy and about Wolf's lack of fruit. "That's the good thing about the castle: You never have to carry food with you. There's a kitchen with every food inside. It's probably the best part about Beauxbatons."

"Okay. That does make sense," she said. A representation of him saying hello seemed reasonable.

"I was reading!" Isobel defended. "For some of the time I was sitting here." she corrected. "I'll just have someone read it to me. It'd be easier." She could have a classmate do that for her.

"I like dogs, too!" Isobel said excitedly. "My dog's name is Rocky. He's really small and when I'm at home, he sleeps in my room and protects me from intruders!" She ignored the second part of the question. Isobel assumed everyone knew that she was a Quidditch captain. After all, she wore her badge with pride.

"What a shame it isn't. It can be such fun," Wolfgang relayed, though he had only obtained the habit of being a nuisance from his desire for attention and how easily he got attention when he was causing trouble. Sometimes it made him feel guilty. But most of the time, he got such a thrill.

He smiled as she accepted the candy. He didn't really mind if she didn't want it or wanted to spit it out, but only wanted to offer in the first place. He giggled as she told him about the kitchens. "As a boy reaching puberty who wants to eat all the time, of course I know about the kitchens!" He laughed. He got such great treats from the house elves who were so generous. Plus, the desserts they made were to die for. His mouth was already watering.

As strange as it sounded, he liked it when Isobel got all defensive. It was almost as if that was an indication he was getting to her and it created such a response that he found pleasurable. He decided then that he liked being around Isobel, even if only to bother her. "Yeah, sure," he replied, through laughter. "Or you could be like me and don't do the reading at all!" He suggested, which was very bad advice to be giving but he wasn't worried about grades yet.

Wolfgang perked up at the mention that Isobel had a dog. He listened intently as she spoke of her small dog Rocky and couldn't help but go "awwww" when she told him Rocky slept in her room and protected her from intruders. How great were dogs? "Do you have any pictures of him?" Wolfgang asked, very much wanting to meet this dog. He wanted to meet all sorts of dogs, though.

"I'm sure it is," Isobel said. She'd rather be a flirt or be mean. She got in less trouble that way. She liked having attention, but going to extremes to get it wasn't really her style. She continued to wonder why she worked so hard for Cameron when it was clearly going nowhere.

Isobel wrinkled her nose. She hated the word puberty. She wished there were a prettier word for it. But a horrible word for a horrible period of a life seemed appropriate.

"My father told me I have to at least try to do my work. Otherwise there will be 'repercussions', whatever that means," she said, rolling her eyes. "How have you made it through school if you don't work for it?" Isobel asked. She didn't know the boy's age, but he wasn't in her grade or in Sophie's grade. She knew most everyone in those grades.

"I don't have any pictures. But he looks like a regular Yorkshire Terrier. You know. The brown and blue-ish-gray fur?" Isobel replied. Wolf probably knew what they looked like. They were fairly common.

She realized that she hadn't really explained how he protected her. When she pictured a dog protecting someone, she thought of a dog attacking, which wasn't one of her five-pound dog's abilities. "Rocky isn't very big, but he makes a lot of noise if he thinks someone is going to hurt one of his friends," Isobel iclarified. "Do you have any pets?"

Though Wolfgang's parents loved him very much, they weren't always the most responsible of parents and hardly ever paid attention to his grades. They depended on him going to them if he needed help with anything, but he wasn't worried about school and without the pressures of his parents, he didn't need to be. "Grades don't really matter until fifth year," He replied with a shrug. No use in getting all worked up over assignments if they didn't even matter until later on.

His candy had dissolved down to a size where he could chew it without breaking any teeth so he did that and swallowed the remainder before grabbing another piece. This time it was a chocolate, thinking it'd taste even better with the aftertaste of the strawberry candy he had before. He pouted his lip slightly as she said she didn't have any pictures. What a shame. He loved seeing dogs. But he nodded along with her description of her dog. That definitely sounded like a Yorkshire Terrier to him.

He couldn't help but smile as she explained how her little dog protected her. He knew Yorkshire Terriers were on the smaller side and therefore couldn't do much physical damage, but he found it charming that despite his physical disadvantage, Rocky still put effort into keeping his loved ones safe. "That is so adorable," He couldn't help but say. "Dogs are incredible." They were, to him, the best animal there was.

Wolfgang heaved a sigh as naturally Isobel would ask him if he had any pets as well. "No," He replied, wistfully. He had Scraps for only a brief amount of time and had to give him up to Aurora or else he'd let the poor dog starve, but other than that, he had no pets. "My parents won't let me have any pets," He clarified.

"Really? They don't?" Isobel asked. That was good news to her. She could mess up as much as she wanted and it would be fine for three more years. It's not like she had any ideas for careers. Grades weren't a big deal anyway. "That's amazing and exactly what I needed to hear today!" she said, thinking about her dumb assignment. She'd still probably do it, since she already started, but she was less concerned about translation errors.

All this talk about Rocky was making her homesick. "Yeah. They are special little things."

Isobel skipped the next comment. What would she say? Sorry? She wasn't sorry. It wasn't her fault that the boy's parents were strict about pets.

"Random question: what do you want to be when you grow up?" she asked, trying to move away from a moderately sad topic. She could weasel herself out of most emotion-related situations. Or, if a conversation could not be salvaged, there was that lying option that she could use.

Wolfgang hadn't given too much thought about the future, being that he was more of a 'go with the flow,' laid back type. However, given his interests, he did have some vague idea of what he wanted to do when he was older.

"I heard sometimes wizards are evil and mistreat dogs and sometimes use magic on them and hurt them," Wolfgang started, frowning slightly. He remembered seeing that rescue dog in the pet shop back two years and it still really affected him to that day. "I'd want to help protect dogs and other abused animals," He finished. He wasn't exactly sure what that was called, but he'd figure out the name for that sometime in the future when it was a bit more relevant. "What about you?"

"So, an animal rescuer? Or an animal doctor?" Isobel asked. She couldn't think of what that kind of job would be called. But she also couldn't imagine someone just being mean to animals for no reason. "Does that happen a lot? People really just use magic on things that can't protect themselves? That's not really fair," Isobel said, getting kind of huffy."Why can't people just use magic to help themselves?" she asked, rhetorically. Maybe that was the Muggle in her speaking, but it was the truth.

And there she went again. Getting emotional when she had tried to avoid it. Feelings were worthless.

She was annoyed at herself enough to almost miss Wolf's question. "Who? Oh. Me," Isobel answered her own question, which made her blush."I'm not sure. Probably something like my brother. Do you have siblings?"

"Animal police, or something," Wolfgang said, with a laugh. He wondered if there was a department for that with the aurors, which sounded mad cool to him. Aurors were the toughest witches and wizards. How cool would it be to be one?

He pouted slightly as Isobel found it hard to accept that wizards and witches were occasionally cruel to animals. "Sadly it happens a lot in the wizarding world that people abuse their magic. People can be so cruel. But that's why I'm gonna stop them and no dog will ever be sad again!" Wolfgang stated, determined.

He rose an eyebrow as Isobel answered she'd follow in her brother's footsteps. "What does he do?" He asked, given that he had only just met the girl and most likely knew none of her relatives. "No, I am an only child," and probably always would be one, given his parents recent file for divorce.

Isobel smiled at the thought of dogs being sad. Not because sadness was a good thing, but that dogs had feelings. Isobel's mother sometimes said that Rocky missed Isobel and waited at the door for her occasionally while she was away.

"Ryan doesn't know what he want to be. But I'm sure it will be a cool job," she answered. She had been suggesting jobs to him, but he mostly ignored them or just smiled at her like she was silly. "And if it's cool enough for him, it's almost too cool for me."

Isobel knew what it was like to be an only child. When she lived with her real parents, she was the only kid in the house. But she was never too lonely. Her parents didn't work and she had many friends.

"Who is your best friend? Best friends are almost exactly like siblings. The only difference is that you have different parents. And you practically share a house because you pick one house or the other and stay there until you're bored, then you switch."

Isobel couldn't exactly do that since her best friend was a boy and they lived in different countries. It made things difficult, but she wouldn't pick another best friend. Nobody else ever tried to understand her. And she'd still like Cameron, even if he didn't try to.