Exploring the library ((Cavan & Tommy))

[Tommy Bryce]

Tommy entered the library cautiously, passing to the side of some older students as they left so he wouldn't get in their way or draw any attention. The room was massive - it was his first time into the library, and he was sure that it wasn't gong to be his last. He was dressed in a simple t-shirt and jeans, and if you looked closely enough you could see the thin, white scar on his arm that had been caused the one time his father had raised a weapon to him other than fists.

Hunting down the aisles, Tommy soon found a nice large section of books on astronomy. He had long ago exhausted the Hogsmeade library, and it was extremely rare for his father to give him any money.

Browsing at a somewhat leisurely pace, at least for him, and unconsciously keeping an eye and an ear out for anyone who might want to disturb him, Tommy soon found a thick book on constellations. Drawing it out, he winced slightly as his scarred arm jarred. His dad had never been great at healing spells, the few times he did actually use them, and the attempt to heal his arm hadn't been all that much of a success. Whenever he put too much pressure or strain on that arm, it twinged slightly.

Putting most of the weight of the volume onto his other arm, Tommy walked briskly over to the closest empty table and quickly put the book down, slipping into the closest chair. He still hadn't met an awful lot of people at Hogwarts yet, and was hardly the most outgoing boy himself. Turning the cover, he browsed the contents and turned to a chapter near the start, detailing the Swan Nebula. He didn't know much about that particular star system, but this was the first book he'd found with more than just a couple of paragraphs.

Settling back in his chair, Tommy found that he was almost at ease for once. It was quiet - just the way he liked it - he was doing something he enjoyed and, most importantly of all, he didn't have to look over his shoulder every five minutes to check on his dad's mood. Such was his contentment that he almost didn't hear the footsteps approaching.

[Cavan Mikal Weiss]

Cavan was exhausted, he'd finally figured out that napping during the day didn't give him nightmares when D'rorah seemed to go missing. She hadn't said she was leaving, in fact, she'd told him they'd speak the next day, that within the next few days they would travel to Diagon Alley together so he could get more books to help him translate. He hadn't heard from her and so he was studying twice as hard, unable to sleep, worried about his friend.

He'd moved on to a new language, having read the book she'd given him four times now, he had turned the beginning of his codex book and was starting on the first language. He planned to work his way through the book on his own and give her his notes and have them corrected when she returned. For there was no doubt in his mind that she would return, no matter the state of things now.

He made his way into the library ignoring the many older students who had a habit of staring at him, either because of his small stature or because of the outfits he tended to wear when not in class. Right now he was wearing his Slytherin hoodie, his Hufflepuff scarf loose around his neck. Underneath was a plain white button-up collared shirt and a striped, two toned Ravenclaw blue turtleneck. His pants were black corduroy that fit him well in the waist and were baggy in the legs. His shoes of choice for the day were a bright green that matched the green of his hoodie.

He was quick to gather the needed books, hefting his heavy messenger bag over his shoulder like it might be empty. When he went to find a place to sit, he found most of the tables filled with old students playing paper quidditch instead of studying or with no chairs left to fill. Finally Cavan spotted a table with only one inhabitant, and to his surprise, the boy seemed to be about his own age. Silently he approached the table and knocked on the wood lightly with his free hand, a bright smile on his face as he waited to be acknowledged.

When the boy finally looked up he continued to grin, "Mind if I sit here?" He would understand of course if the boy would rather study alone, but if would be awful inconvenient to have to find an empty reading chair and try and study with no real flat surface. He rather hoped that the boy wouldn't mind, he waited, not seemed the least bit hindered by his stack of books and managed to keep himself from fidgeting overly much.

(This is the hoodie I keep mentioning... I got one for Christmas and am obsessed... ^_^; www.hottopic.com/hottopic/store/product.jsp?FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302028386&PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524442168189&bmUID=1195819324984)

[Tommy Bryce]

Hearing the footsteps, Tommy was immediately alert, automatically tensing up. He knew he was over reacting, but that was another habit he had gained in the last two years.

He relaxed slightly upon seeing that it was simply another first year, although from which house he couldn’t tell. The boy seemed to be wearing an item of clothing relating to every house except Gryffindor, and was carrying a rather large stack of books which didn’t hinder him in the slightest.

"Mind if I sit here?"

Unprepared for the bright smile, Tommy was unsure of how to react to the other student. It had been over a year since he had last called anyone his friend; at least two years since he had actually tried to be friendly to someone in the hope of gaining a friendship. But this was supposed to be his new start, wasn’t it? Surely his dad couldn’t reach any friends he made here, so long as he never invited them to his house? And if he was careful in what he said, which he would have to be anyway, then no one would find out about what was happening to him at home.

“No, it’s fine,” he eventually replied, sending a small smile of his own at the other boy. “I’m Tommy,” he introduced himself, hoping that this new acquaintance of his would see fit to return the introduction. Of course, he may not want to have anything to do with Tommy – this could just have been the closest table to him, and Tommy had just happened to be there first. He couldn’t expect anyone to go out of their way to make small talk with him. As his brief spurt of confidence faded with these thoughts, Tommy lowered his eyes and surveyed the desk, fiddling with the corner of the page he had just started reading.

[Cavan Mikal Weiss]

Cavan noted that Tommy tensed slightly before looking and relaxing slightly at taking him in. He continued to smile brightly, as was he was wont to do. He absently noted that the other boy seemed to be interested in Astronomy as he waited for his question to be answered yay or nae.

“No, it’s fine, I'm Tommy."

He worried slightly at the pause, wondering if the boy was troubled or just shy. His smile brighten, if that were possible, when he was given a positive answer and a small smile. He didn't miss the sudden look of uncertainty and decided this boy needed a good friend.

He set his books down with a heavy flop and dumped his messenger bag in the chair beside the one he'd desided to claim before extending his hand, "I'm Cavan, first year Hufflepuff. It's very nice to meet you Tommy, what house are you in?" He ran his other hand through his shoulder length hair even as he greeted the boy, it was getting in his eyes again.

After he was seat, he opened his bag and retrieved his ink, quill, paper, and a box of muggle candy which he offered some of to Tommy, the bright yellow box read 'Raisinets'.

[Tommy Bryce]

To Tommy’s great surprise, the other boy’s smile seemed to brighten, as impossible as it seemed, when he said that it was fine. Of course it was fine; who was he to deny another student a seat?

"I'm Cavan, first year Hufflepuff. It's very nice to meet you Tommy, what house are you in?"

“Hi Cavan,” Tommy replied shyly, surprised at the friendliness being exerted towards him. “Nice to meet you too. I’m first year too, but Gryffindor… not sure why, though,” he admitted quietly. Why on earth had the Sorting Hat thought he was brave?! It was a crazy idea – he’d never been brave in his life! If he was brave, then he’d stand up to his dad instead of just accepting what was being done to him. But he really needed to stop thinking of that; Hogwarts is a new start, he reminded himself.

He blinked, surprised again, when Cavan offered him a bright yellow box labelled ‘Raisinets’. For almost as long as he could remember, Tommy had lived with his father in the wizarding world, and he had never seen any of these sweets before. He never had much chocolate, but he did have a very sweet tooth and almost couldn’t resist from taking a couple of them. “Are you sure?” he checked, not wanting to reach out to try to take some, only to have them snatched away. It would not be the first time that such a thing had happened to him, and he honestly couldn’t understand why Cavan was being so friendly.

[Cavan Mikal Weiss]

“Hi Cavan. Nice to meet you too, I’m first year too, but Gryffindor… not sure why, though.”

He nodded, understanding the surprise in house choices. “I know what you mean about that, my family was sure I’d either be a Ravenclaw or a Slytherin, so you can imagine how surprised we all were when I was put in Hufflepuff.” He didn’t doubt the hat though, he knew it knew everything there was to know about him and that it could see potential where others couldn’t. It’s much easier to know a person when you can see everything about them and not personally bias.

“Are you sure?”

He giggled slightly at the look Tommy gave the box of candy, he’d never met someone so shy, almost skittish, before. The question that came from the other boy however, completely through him off guard and without thinking he asked the first thing that came to his mind, which sadly started out a bit Slytherin in tone, but ended with him smiling apologetically, speaking more cheerfully again. “Why would someone offer something to someone else if they didn’t mean it? Do I look that untrustworthy or mean? Of course I’ve meant for you to keep them, eat as many as you’d like, the whole box if that’s your wish. It’s just candy after all.”

[Tommy Bryce]

Tommy also nodded in a serious manner as Cavan replied that he had been similarly surprised at his placement. He knew of all the misconceptions and stereotypes about the different houses, and Hufflepuff was certainly nothing like Ravenclaw or Slytherin. Unlike the boy sitting opposite him, Tommy did not agree with the Sorting Hat’s decision. He wasn’t courageous; he never had been in his own opinion, yet that was what the Hat had told him he was. Hufflepuff was probably where he should have gone.

He blushed when Cavan giggled at his question, unsure of what he had done wrong to promote any humour.

“Why would someone offer something to someone else if they didn’t mean it? Do I look that untrustworthy or mean? Of course I’ve meant for you to keep them, eat as many as you’d like, the whole box if that’s your wish. It’s just candy after all.”

He shrugged uncomfortably, not meeting Cavan’s eyes as he spoke. “I dunno,” he said quietly, apparently fascinated with the surface of the table they were sitting at. “No, you don’t look untrustworthy, it’s just...” he trailed off, rubbing a hand through his hair. It was getting too long again, he noted to himself, but it was unlikely that he would be getting it cut any time soon. “Sorry... thanks...” he finished, reaching out and taking a few of the sweets. As he’d suspected, they were very nice and soon he had finished the small amount he had taken. Not wanting to draw any attention to his lack of self-confidence by asking first if he could take any more, which would likely result in similar comments, he rested his chin on his hand and gazed at the open pages of the book, ignoring the yellow box of sweets that was so temptingly close.

He was intrigued by this other boy though, with his strange amount of friendliness. Surely he wouldn’t knock Tommy down if he tried to engage him in conversation. No one had been this affable in nature towards him in years.

“What are you reading?” he asked after a few moments of contemplation on whether Cavan would be open to further talk.

[Cavan Mikal Weiss]

“Sorry,” Cavan apologized, seeing the blush appear, “It’s just that you looked like the box might bite you… But really, have as much as you’d like, it’s just candy and I have plenty more back in my dorm.” Upon Tommy’s hesitant response, he knew he’d been a little harsh. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to be rude… You don’t know me, so you don’t know if I might not be that mean.”

“Oh, I’m reading a couple of books on different languages. My mom wants to make sure I’m not slacking on my normal learning just because I’m learning spells and things now. I have a tutor who normally helps me, but I haven’t seen her in a few days. This in my codex and this one is in Ancient Egyptian; I’m trying to translate it into some semblance of English. Wow, does that sound boring when I say it like that…” He glanced again at the book Tommy had before him, “What about you? What are you reading?”

He shifted in his chair, arranging his books, notebook and quills so that he could work and still move comfortably. Then with a big grin, he took a couple ‘Raisinets’ and a popped them in his mouth before replacing the box within reach of Tommy once more. “I love these things, they’re chocolate and fruit all at once. I don’t think chocolate covered grapes would be as good though, it’s got to be with raisins.”

[Tommy Bryce]

“It’s okay,” Tommy said, smiling again a little and relaxing slightly. Cavan did seem to just want to be friendly, as strange an idea as that was. He was just very, very over-cautious when it came to meeting new people, with good reason considering his general experience of what people could be like.

“Oh, I’m reading a couple of books on different languages. My mom wants to make sure I’m not slacking on my normal learning just because I’m learning spells and things now. I have a tutor who normally helps me, but I haven’t seen her in a few days. This in my codex and this one is in Ancient Egyptian; I’m trying to translate it into some semblance of English. Wow, does that sound boring when I say it like that…

Tommy was genuinely shocked by Cavan’s comment about his mum wanting to “make sure he wasn’t slacking”. His step-mother had of course praised him and his brothers when they had gotten something right for school, but most of the time she was so busy that she had little time for them, and his dad had never seemed to care about any of their educations. The idea of a parent actually checking up on their child’s schooling in that manner was a completely foreign notion to him. Without realising it, the lack of encouragement he had received was probably why he had never done particularly well. Trying not to let his confusion and surprise show, but probably failing, Tommy instead questioned the other part of Cavan’s reply. “Codex? What’s that?” He had never really tried to learn any languages before, especially ancient ones like what Cavan was translating. It sounded very complicated. “Who’s your tutor? One of the teachers?” He wondered if they would be willing to teach him a language as well, since he’d never had the chance before. His first year classes weren’t particularly taxing right now, and he was open to learning something new.

”What about you? What are you reading?”

Tommy turned the thick book slightly so Cavan could see. He was quickly warming to the other student as he began to realise that he was being friendly, just for the sake of being friendly, and wasn’t going to turn and snap at him.

“It’s an astronomy book, this is a section on the Swan Nebula,” he explained. “It’s in the north of Sagittarius,” he added, “near to Serpens Cauda. About five thousand light years away.” The mere distance and surrealism of the stars was what attracted Tommy to them – they weren’t affected by what happened on Earth, what happened to him; you could depend on them. They weren’t going to just disappear one day, at least not while he was watching. Back in their home in Hogsmeade, his room had been in the attic, with a window just above him which he would stare out of. Every night he would come back to them and become transfixed, watching as they moved ever so slightly each with the Earth’s motion.

“I love these things, they’re chocolate and fruit all at once. I don’t think chocolate covered grapes would be as good though, it’s got to be with raisins.”[/color]

Tommy grinned in response to Cavan’s enthusiasm at the sweets and, when they box was placed obviously where he could take some more, reached out cautiously and took another couple, eating them slowly to make them last. He didn’t think that Cavan would stop him, having clearly put them where he could also reach them and having told him that he could eat as many as he wished. Still, he kept an eye out for any sudden movements, knowing as he did so that he was being far too precautionary again. A hint of anger washed over his face for a moment. Why can’t I ever just enjoy anything without being scared?! he demanded of himself, not thinking for a moment to blame his dad for this feature of his personality. He would never admit it, but he always blamed himself instead of others.

[Cavan Mikal Weiss]

“It’s okay.”

He still felt bad for being so rude when he was trying to hard to live up to his Hufflepuff house. He gave Tommy another grin and opened his codex to the page he needed for this translation. He’d already finished his Akkadian, Aramaic, and Phoenician for his studying with D’rorah, so he figured Hieroglyphics might also be something she would like him to learn. He planned on learning every language in the book as quickly as possible; he promised himself that he would help her with whatever translating she was always doing, because now he knew what it probably pertained to.

“Codex? What’s that?”

He looked up at him, pulled from his thoughts of helping the school and the world for a moment and smiled. “Oh, it’s just a big book full of different alphabets and lists of words. It tells you how things are suppose to sound like and it tells you nouns and verbs and stuff. It’s like a big dictionary for lots of languages all at once.”

“Who’s your tutor? One of the teachers?”

“Miss D’rorah has been helping me, though I haven’t seen her in a few days. She does a lot so we only meet once in a while. But she’s mostly just there to make sure I’m getting my translations correct… though I don’t normally have a habit of missing much. My mom calls me a sponge. I’m even working on teaching my little sisters and brothers French.” He hadn’t meant it as bragging, but he was after all proud of himself considering he was only a first year and D’rorah herself had said that he had an exceptional skill and that not many people could grasp languages like he could.

“It’s an astronomy book, this is a section on the Swan Nebula. It’s in the north of Sagittarius, near to Serpens Cauda. About five thousand light years away.”

He is impressed at the obvious knowledge Tommy has about astronomy and figures that like him and languages, astronomy speaks to Tommy in a way that most would not understand. “That sounds like a good distance away. Sometimes I wish they weren’t so far so that I could fly my broom to them. Do you suppose there might be a way to go into space, with magic?” It wasn’t something he thought of often, not normally interested in going very far from his books, it seemed like the right question to ask at the moment, though he didn’t know why.

After a few moments, Cavan grabbed a couple more pieces of candy, again leaving the box facing Tommy when he was done getting his fill. He didn’t know what it was about the boy across the table from him, but he’d already decided that they would be friends. If for not other reason than he didn’t have nearly enough and he was sure that this boy most definitely needed someone to give him snacks more often. He decided then and there he was going to owl his mum for something he had a feeling the other boy would enjoy. A big grin on his face he slowly began his translations, giving Tommy most of his attention and sparing only a fraction of his attention for his work, as long as he didn’t rush, he still shouldn’t have too many mistakes to fix later.

[Tommy Bryce]

((Sorry for that wait))

Tommy was equally impressed by Cavan’s knowledge of languages as Cavan was by his knowledge of astronomy, although he didn’t know it. A dictionary full of different languages?! The only language he knew was English. “How many languages do you know?” he asked, his amazement slipping into his voice as he spoke. "Do you read them or can you speak them all as well? Can you even speak hieroglyphics?" he asked, seeing and recognising the symbols on the page in front of Cavan.

“Miss D’rorah has been helping me, though I haven’t seen her in a few days. She does a lot so we only meet once in a while. But she’s mostly just there to make sure I’m getting my translations correct… though I don’t normally have a habit of missing much.

Completely misconstruing what Cavan said, Tommy presumed that this ‘Miss D’rorah’ was a professor at the school. “What subject does Miss D’rorah teach?” he asked curiously, not having heard of her before, for obvious reasons to anyone else. When, unbeknownst to him, he had actually met her in Ollivander’s, she had had to rush out and had not told him her name.

"My mom calls me a sponge. I’m even working on teaching my little sisters and brothers French.”

Tommy blinked again in surprise. A sponge? He’d been killed plenty of names, but never anything along the lines of a “sponge”. Moving on from that, he realised what Cavan had said about teaching his younger siblings.

“How old are they?” he inquired, finally having found some way he might be able to relate to the other first year. He wondered how his own brothers were doing, alone with his dad. Had his father started turning on them yet? Had Shane realised what their dad was like? Forcefully he made his thoughts turn away from that topic.

“That sounds like a good distance away.”

With what Cavan said, Tommy was able to relax even more so and talk about a topic that he enjoyed. He still didn’t understand why Cavan was showing such interest, but if it meant he could talk freely to the other boy then that was fine by him.

“It’s not actually that far, relatively. I mean... it is far, but in terms of space it’s not. It’s still in the Milky Way,” he explained, staring down at the picture in the book before him. “You can see stars more than two hundred thousand light years away, without even using a telescope. So really, it’s quite close.”

“Sometimes I wish they weren’t so far so that I could fly my broom to them. Do you suppose there might be a way to go into space, with magic?”

“Space travel is probably one of the few ways that muggles have overtaken us in. But if they can do it with their machines ecel... ecleciticitry... then we should be able to with magic, right?” he asked rhetorically, thinking about all he had seen in muggle books about rockets and the like. So caught up in the conversation was he that he didn't even blush when he stumbled over the 'muggle word'. “But wizards don’t seem interested in it,” he sighed. He had occasionally had fantasies about being the first wizard to go into space, but had quickly convinced himself that it was impossible. You needed really clever, brave wizards to make discoveries like that and try them out, and he was certain that neither of those words could ever be used to describe him; whatever the Sorting Hat said.

Tommy became aware that once again the bright yellow box was facing him, and Cavan seemed to have left it like that on purpose. Maybe if he took just a couple more...? Cautiously he reached out and did just that, leaning back in his chair and pulling the book closer to him, a small frown appearing on his face as he concentrated on the small print on the page in front of him. His attention, unusually so considering the topic he was reading about, kept wandering however, right back to the boy sitting next to him, who was grinning broadly for some reason. He could not remember ever meeting someone so friendly; so willing to take an interest in him. It was a completely new experience for him and he didn’t know what to make of it.

[Cavan Mikal Weiss]

(Sorry for that wait...)(Needs editing)

“How many languages do you know? Do you read them or can you speak them all as well? Can you even speak hieroglyphics?"

Cavan paused to think, how many languages did he know now? There was French, Japanese, Brazilian Portuguese, English, Akkadian, Aramaic, Phoenician, Gaelic. Eight so far, was that right? "I think it's eight right now, but I'm trying to learn more. I haven't figured out the hieroglyphics, but yeah, when I do I'll be able to read them and pronounce the words too."

“What subject does Miss D’rorah teach?”

Cavan blushed, realizing he'd made D'rorah sound as though she were a Professor. He supposed she would be a rather fine Professor, but that wasn't what she was at the moment. She was many things, but not that. "Oh no, Miss D'rorah is a student here. She is a Ravenclaw I believe and she also works in Ollivander's Wand Shoppe as a part-time job." He told Tommy, thinking that he'd probably met his tutor upon receiving his wand before admission.

“How old are they?”

"They're all rather young, I have a sister who is 9, a brother who is 6, a brother and sister each 3, they're twins, and my newest brother is only a few weeks old. They're all being home schooled my my mom and dad. That way when it's time to attend Hogwarts, they'll be ready. I'm the oldest and the first one in the family to attend. My mom and dad were completely home schooled by their folks in America. Do you have any siblings?" He realized a little late that he was rambling about his family again. He wanted to learn more about this skid-dish boy so that they could be the very best of friends. After all, first years should stick together.

"It’s not actually that far, relatively. I mean... it is far, but in terms of space it’s not. It’s still in the Milky Way. You can see stars more than two hundred thousand light years away, without even using a telescope. So really, it’s quite close.”

“Space travel is probably one of the few ways that muggles have overtaken us in. But if they can do it with their machines ecel... ecleciticitry... then we should be able to with magic, right? But wizards don’t seem interested in it.”

Cavan listened intently, taking in everything that was said, enjoying the way Tommy spoke about it, he could tell there was a passion there. He made the decision that he would look into both muggle and wizard knowledge on space travel and spells and see if there were anyway a wizard could go to space.

He smiled to himself as his new friend tripped over the muggle word for man-made power... electricity, not that it was really any easy or sensible word anyways. He was just lucky that his upbringing involved a lot of muggle interaction so that he would be prepared for anything and could think more openly.

[Tommy Bryce]

Tommy’s eyes widened as Cavan admitted he knew eight languages already, and was trying to learn more! “Eight?” he breathed, shocked. “Bloody hell... When on earth did you have time to learn all of them?!” He’d never known anyone who knew as many languages as that. No one in his family knew anything more than English and “bonjour”. He’d never had the chance to learn another language, but was reluctant to ask someone to actually spend their time teaching him when he was sure they could be doing better things.

"Oh no, Miss D'rorah is a student here. She is a Ravenclaw I believe and she also works in Ollivander's Wand Shoppe as a part-time job."

Tommy also blushed when Cavan explained who “Miss D’rorah” was. “Oh... sorry...” Squirming slightly, he glanced down at the floor so he didn’t have to meet Cavan’s eyes. “Yes... I remember meeting her now. But she didn’t tell me her name,” he added hurriedly, not wanting the Hufflepuff to think he hadn’t been paying attention.

"They're all rather young, I have a sister who is 9, a brother who is 6, a brother and sister each 3, they're twins, and my newest brother is only a few weeks old. They're all being home schooled by my mom and dad. That way when it's time to attend Hogwarts, they'll be ready. I'm the oldest and the first one in the family to attend. My mom and dad were completely home schooled by their folks in America. Do you have any siblings?"

Tommy nodded, listening intently as Cavan spoke about his family. “America? Were you born there?” he asked, curious. He knew little about other countries and was curious as to what this whole other continent was like. Were all Americans as good at languages as Cavan blatantly was? “Yeah, two brothers. Nick’s nine, and Shane’s six.” He said nothing of his parents or other members of his family, not really wanting to talk about it. He definitely couldn’t talk about the true style of relationship between himself and his dad. Once again, his thoughts wandered as he thought about how Nick and Shane were doing. Was his father looking after them properly? They’d promised to write to him at Hogwarts but he hadn’t received one letter yet. Was that because they were fine and had nothing to write about? Or because dad was stopping them from writing?

He was surprised when Cavan actually appeared to be interested in what he was saying, and the attention made him smile slightly. He blushed slightly when Cavan grinned at his obvious mispronunciation of the word ‘electricity’ – he’d never been able to say it properly, but had had no one to tell him how you were actually supposed to say it.

[Cavan Mikal Weiss]

Cavan giggled slightly at Tommy's obvious surprise, he supposed that was a lot of languages for a normal student their age, but he'd always loved to learn and now that D'rorah had told him could actually learn and translate as a scribe for a living, he'd been even more interested in learning as much as he could. The fact that knowing as many languages as he could might end up helping the lightfighters defeat their foes didn't hurt either.

“Eight? Bloody hell... When on earth did you have time to learn all of them?!"

"Well, like I said, my whole family is home schooled... My mom wants us all to be well versed so we have a chance at more jobs later in life. But mostly I just love learning new languages, or anything really, but I've always been really good and remembering and understanding other languages. I've learned three of those since I started school, and I surprised Miss D'rorah because of how quickly I grasped them. I've only had two lessons with Miss D'rorah, she had me learn two older languages, I learned the third because it was the base of the second and it made the other one make more sense."

He blushed realizing he was rambling, bragging, and probably not making much sense. He hadn't meant to go on so, but sometimes his mouth ran away with him. "I don't really do much but study when class is out... Miss D'rorah's really the only person I can consider my friend... "

“Oh... sorry... Yes... I remember meeting her now. But she didn’t tell me her name.”

He nodded, if he hadn't met her in the stationary store as well, he probably wouldn't have been able to get her to tutor him, or befriend him really. He was glad for happy accidents and coincidences.

“America? Were you born there?”

He nodded an afirmative, "Yeah, we lived there until I was seven, in Texas, then we moved to Kent. It's a lot different living on the outskirts of a town, in comparison to having a ranch, but it's nice. I like the snow here the most I think, we didn't get any on the ranch."

“Yeah, two brothers. Nick’s nine, and Shane’s six.”

He was rather surprised that that was all the information Tommy gave him on his family. He wondered if they just weren't that close or if there was something wrong at home that he was hiding. He shrugged, it wasn't any of his business and if his new friend wanted to share, he would do it on his own time.

"I just know that one of these days I'm going to insult someone with a giggle or a smile when they say some random muggle word wrong. I was lucky enough or unlucky enough, depending on your views on muggles, to have had a lot of exposure growing up with muggles. I honestly think sometimes that I should teach Muggle Studies, but it would have to be for all ages, to clear up all the silly misconceptions. Ecleciticitry... I think it might be harder to say that then saying it the right way." He giggled again and sighed, "If you ever want to know how to pronounce muggle words, you can ask me, maybe I'm better at it because it's like another language? Anyways, e-lec-tri-ci-ty does come in handy at times."

[Tommy Bryce]

Tommy couldn’t help but smile in reply to Cavan’s giggle at his surprise, which in turn surprised him more. It had been a while since he’d smiled as much as he had done in this last quarter hour or so. It was quite a nice feeling, really.

"Well, like I said, my whole family is home schooled... My mom wants us all to be well versed so we have a chance at more jobs later in life. But mostly I just love learning new languages, or anything really, but I've always been really good and remembering and understanding other languages. I've learned three of those since I started school, and I surprised Miss D'rorah because of how quickly I grasped them. I've only had two lessons with Miss D'rorah, she had me learn two older languages, I learned the third because it was the base of the second and it made the other one make more sense."

Tommy was genuinely intrigued by Cavan’s family – it was a dynamic he’d never experienced before. Cavan’s mum, or “mom” as the other boy pronounced it, was actually supporting him; helping him with his studies. He didn’t remember his real mum, his step-mum had never really had the time, and the thought of such a thing coming from his dad was ludicrous. "What about your dad?" he asked cautiously, "does he help you as well?" He knew that his own relationship with his father wasn't the norm, nor was it what was supposed to happen, but he wouldn't how widespread it really was. Surely all parents disciplined their children in one way or another? he convinced himself. “Wait... you’ve learnt three languages in two lessons?” he asked incredulously, eyes widening even more. “That’s amazing,” he enthused, “you must have such a good memory!” His astonishment shone through his previous shyness, and as he became aware of it he blushed again slightly, glancing away once again.

"Yeah, we lived there until I was seven, in Texas, then we moved to Kent. It's a lot different living on the outskirts of a town, in comparison to having a ranch, but it's nice. I like the snow here the most I think, we didn't get any on the ranch."

Tommy nodded, not opening his mouth in fear that he would make another outburst like he had last time. Truth be told, he didn’t particularly like snow. When he was little he had, of course, loved the strange substance floating down every winter, but now it was just a nuisance. Any melted snow around the house would get on his dad’s nerves, and it had been a blizzard the night he gained the scar on his arm. Not to mention that snow clouds did a very good job of blocking out the stars at night. Rubbing it subconsciously, he listened as Cavan spoke again in response.

"I just know that one of these days I'm going to insult someone with a giggle or a smile when they say some random muggle word wrong. I was lucky enough or unlucky enough, depending on your views on muggles, to have had a lot of exposure growing up with muggles. I honestly think sometimes that I should teach Muggle Studies, but it would have to be for all ages, to clear up all the silly misconceptions. Ecleciticitry... I think it might be harder to say that then saying it the right way. If you ever want to know how to pronounce muggle words, you can ask me, maybe I'm better at it because it's like another language? Anyways, e-lec-tri-ci-ty does come in handy at times."

“I’ve lived in Hogsmeade for the last two years,” he explained quietly, “but my mum was muggle. Don’t remember her though.” A moment after he said it, he began to wonder at why he was revealing so much, in comparison to what he usually revealed to other people about his family. It must be because Cavan was actually listening; actually showing an interest in him. That hadn’t happened in a while and he was letting his guard down. At the rate he was going, he’d be pouring out all the deep, dark secrets of his life at home to a strange, albeit a very friendly one. Tuning back into what Cavan was saying, he caught the last few words. “Electricity,” he said slowly, repeating what he thought Cavan had said and wondering if he’d got it right. It sounded correct... “Is that it?” he asked “And yeah, it does come in handy,” he grinned. "I guess we'll get into space at some point," he sighed, glancing once again at the picture of the nebula he was currently reading about. To think that sights like that were out there, but wizards weren't bothered about getting into space before the muggles.