Talking to a Wallflower

Jonas had begged to go off into Paris and get his school supplies by himself. Gregory had said no countless times, but then Jonas pitched a very convincing argument about his inability to be responsible if he wasn't ever given an opportunity. It was an argument that hit home with Greg, so he finally agreed. Jonas had walked out of the pub looking confident with himself, to which Greg rolled his eyes. The kid was smart.

Greg was planning to just sit back and drink Muggle soda until it was time to meet the carriages, but that didn't last long.

A little red-haired girl had sat down across from him. He was caught off-guard for a moment, but he realized that she was probably a first year. "Uh... Hi," he said, feeling awkward. "Are you a new student this year?"

Kat had slid onto a bench next to a boy, not that she had noticed. She was too distracted reading the list of magical supplies she'd need to take with her to school, but when that got boring she decided to doodle on it with a pen (which seemed like a rarity around here). She squealed with fright when the boy beside her spoke. "Oh! I didn't even know you were there! Sorry! I probably just took a spot from your girl friend! Or your best friend for years! Oh my God, what if they think I took their place as your best friend and now they hate you forever!" The girl's eyes went wide and she jolted up. "I'm sorry! Again!" She rambled, her mind reeling. Then she realized the boy hadn't kicked her out of her spot, but asked some sort of question.

That was a problem. She had no idea what he'd asked!

"I wasn't really paying attention, to your question. What was it? What do people usually ask other people? What do they ask strangers? What if that stranger is a boy or girl? What if that person is also magical? Would you ask what your favorite spell is? I don't know any!" She exclaimed, panicked. "But I suppose names are good. I don't know your name and you don't know mine. Strangers get to know others names first then they're friends! My name is Kat. Or Katherine, if you prefer. I don't." She chuckled. "I'm new here, but you could probably tell that. Who are you? Do you like to draw too?" She asked.

Gregory was overwhelmed by the girl's random enthusiasm/panicking. "No!" he said. "You're okay! My non-existent girlfriend isn't the jealous type." He meant it to be a joke, but it didn't sound much like one. He was too serious.

He didn't catch all of the girl's questions, since she was talking so suddenly. "Well, Kat, it's safe to say that the people here are magic or know about magic. Asking someone about their favorite spell is perfectly okay. My name is Greg and my favorite spell the water-making spell, even though I don't know how to perform it. I'm not much of an artist. I'm a musician and a Quidditch player. Why? Are you?" he asked.

Greg was surprised he could get all of those words out. That was more than he could normally say in one sitting.

Kat blinked in confusion at his attempt at humor. She couldn't tell if she should laugh, smile or lament his lack of a girlfriend and tell him that he was handsome and sure to find one someday (which she deemed what A dotting motherly type would say while pinching his cheeks). Not that she knew if the boy was handsome or not. She had barely talked to boys before, let alone spent time comparing them. She was too impatient. Either way, she knew now that he wasn't waiting for someone, so she slipped back into her spot beside him, trying her best to listen. It wasn't something she was particularly great at, however.

"Well sure it's okay to ask that! So many weird things are okay here, it's only natural that weird questions would be acceptable too. But it would be a terrible question for me to ask! Just think about it! That would probably mean they would ask me the same question and I would just have to stare at them and say nothing! How awkward is that?!" She heard his favorite spell and her eyes sparked excitedly. "What does that do?!" Kat had never been one to catch the obvious. She also hadn't been completely listening to Greg. She had been too busy thinking about how terrible it would be to not have a spell in mind if someone asked what her favorite spell was, and made a mental note to remember the name of the next spell she was told. She hated not having something to say.

Kat next heard Greg describe his hobbies. "Music is totally an art! " she argued. "You are an artist too if you play an instrument, but especially if you make your own songs! Do you make your own songs? What do you play?" She kicked her feet, then realized she hadn't been looking at her new companion enough. She switched her position, so her head was now where a person's feet would normally be on the bench, her hair sweeping across the ground below her, her dark brown eyes staring at Greg. "Yes! Yes yes yes I love art! I love to draw! Look!" She handed him her offical letter completely covered in realistic looking eyes in different facial expressions, and then her list of school supplies that had a vivid picture of a snow covered building. "I draw when I'm bored. Which is a lot. Why does this list have to be so long? I'll never get all of those things if I have to stare at such a long list! My brain will go crazy!" She complained.

Greg coughed to disguise his chuckle. He scooted over more so he could face her a bit more. She was definitely like Jonas. All smiles and shiny eyes and random conversations. If she was a first year, she'd meet him eventually. He wondered if they were too similar to like each other or if they would become two limbs of the same organism.

"You wouldn't have to be awkward," he said trying to reassure her. "Everybody starts out not knowing much about magic. Four years ago, I just knew magic existed and that was it. That's the whole point of going to school, right?"

Greg didn't know why, but he almost felt like he was he was a big brother to the younger girl. He felt like he was acting like his older sister and he sort of liked it. He almost missed her question. "Oh, the spell? It makes water out of nothing."

Greg stifled a laugh again. "No. I don't write my own songs. My little brother does, though. He's your age," he answered, hoping that the conversation would turn to Jonas, rather than himself.

Greg winced when he saw the girl shifted in her seat. "Kat, your hair is going to get dirty being on the floor like that," he told her. He didn't know what to say to convince a girl to sit properly. Talking about hair seemed legitimate for a girl problem. He took the papers that she had produced and looked at them. He was impressed. He hadn't seen art like this from anyone, especially from an eleven-year-old. "These are really good, Kat," he commented.

She pointed out how long the list of school supplies were. "This year, it's a long list. Next year, it's going to be so much shorter. You'll already have a wand and a cauldron and crystal phials. The only things you'll really have to get next year are books. And the best way to get all of it done is just to do it."

"Hey! That's the same as me!" Kat giggled as she heard him describe how much he had known about magic before coming to school. "My dad's a wizard, but he's a writer, so he doesn't use it very often. I think My older brother has a job where he uses magic a lot. Couldn't tell you what it is, though. He's not been around much ever since he graduated." An unexpectedly spiteful note entered the young girl's voice as she said this. "But you're right. I'm glad I'll learn a lot about it here. I'm hoping to be able to use it for my art. Imagine a 3D Painiting that can actually come out to grab you! Or a comic book that moves by itself!" She excitedly spoke about these things, and the irritable tone faded as fast as it had come.

The red-head squealed as she heard him talk about the water-producing spell. "That's so cool! You could use it to fill up a million water balloons at once! Or a entire pool in seconds! That way you would never have to worry about having icky water, you could just replace it all with fresh water!" Kat proclaimed excitedly, as if this was the best use for the spell and she was the first to discover it.

"Well that's okay." Kat shrugged as the discussion shifted to music. "You don't have to write your own songs. It's hard work, and a lot of times you get interupted when you're trying to write and can't finish a song because the idea just fades away." She wistfully spoke of this from personal experience. "I hate when that happens! That's why I hate school. The schedule is such a hassle; I can never finish a drawing or song when I go to achool. I skipped as much as I could when I was little if I wanted to finish a story or picture." She became curious at the mention of Greg's brother. "Really? What are his songs like? Do you play those? What's he like? Does he like to draw too? Is he super serious like you, or does he like to have fun?" She inquired bluntly.

Kat stuck her tongue when she heard him tell her to sit right, though she was smiling. "My hair can get washed, silly! It's boring always seeing the world one way. And besides, I can pay more attention to you this way. More blood to the brain and all." She hummed, obviously proving she was still distracted. When Greg complimented Kat's artwork, the 11 year old grinned. "Thank you Greg! You should see some of the things in my sketch book. Why don't we go do that and ignore that grubby list?" Kat propsed, though she sighed in defeat upon hearing his logic. Why does someone always remind her of the adult thing to do? "I hope it gets smaller. If it got any longer it would be a novel!" She was orginaly not going to budge on the subject of getting school supplies, but then her eyes sparked with interest. "A wand?" She squeaked eagerly. "You mean I actually get to have one now?" She whooped in delight. "Fantastic! I didn't even see it on there! All I read was blah, blah, blah school, blah blah blah books." She chided. "What else is on there? Anything interesting?"

"That's cool, Kat. My dad is a psychiatrist for wizardfolk and my mom stays at home," Greg replied. "You might be able to. There is a place in the castle where there are thousands of portraits. The subjects move. Some even talk. I bet you could make one, if you wanted to."

Greg had actually never seen any of the portraits. Maybe he'd visit the hall in his spare time. Just to see it. He and Kayla weren't the most artistic people, but she might enjoy it, too.

Gregory was mostly just listening. He felt like he had said so much already. What in his life was really worth sharing?

"Okay. Don't stay down there for too long, though. All the blood going to your head can actually hurt you. You could faint. And that wouldn't be good," he warned, feeling a little overprotective. "Yeah. You can get a wand now. It's the most important school supply," he answered. Gregory found wandlore fascinating, though he'd never admit it. "There isn't really anything interesting. But you can go to really cool places around town. There's a candy shop. You could also go to the Quidditch store. They have some neat things. Just stay away from Whisper Alley."

Gregory didn't even want to think of Kat getting lost down there. Or worse.

Kat giggled. "Oh! That's so cool! One of my older friends who's totally an adult and not a kid at all is a psychiatrist too! One of his patients thinks he's the devil. Can you believe that?!" She laughed brightly.

"Oh my gosh oh my gosh! That's so amazing! I would love to do one of those! I'll have to check them out sometime!" She cheered at the mention of the pictures. "I could have a friend! A real friend who'd never leave me.... Kind of like a kitty!" She remarked. She didn't have many friends, and none of them she could see very often now because she was going to a magic school.

"I'll make sure I don't faint." She smiled. "Thank you for worrying about me though." She appreciated the gesture, whether or not she listened. She jolted up at the mention of the shops. "Candy sounds really yummy right now! And I'd like to go anywhere so long as it doesn't involve school supplies!" She grinned at the mention of Whisper Alley. "If I'm not supposed to go there then that's the perfect place to go!"

Greg chuckled. He heard so many stories about his father's patients. The stories that he was allowed to share with people. "Yeah. But some people are actually sick. You have to remember that, too," he said getting serious again.

"There's a pet store, so you could get a cat, too, if you wanted. I've never been inside, so I couldn't tell you what they sell. My brother and sister are allergic. I can't have any fur on my clothes."

Gregory took a deep breath, "Kat, you could be in big trouble if you went down there. It's dark and not everyone is as nice as they are in this area. There could be evil things. But there are most likely hags. You aren't looking to get eaten by some old woman, correct?" he asked rhetorically.