A Cloudy Day cont.

[Dylan Cooper]

Smiling, he began his ascension up the main stairs with Susan at his side. His stomach make a faint grumble of appreciation as he entered the Great Hall. The ceiling, he noticed, reflected the sky outside rather well, and it seemed they could not escape the horrid weather. "Oh..." he said, realising that Susan was not, in fact, in Ravenclaw.

He saw the hall was at about half of its total capacity, and was slowly filling up as, according to the clock nearby, it neared 6:30pm. "I'll come to Gryffindor, shall I?" he asked quietly, looking around and wanting to save her from sitting at the Ravenclaw table. At least, he reasoned, she wasn't in Slytherin. Most of that house didn't like him very much at all for some reason, excepting Keaira whom he'd actually become friends with.

Making his way over to the table full of students clad in red and gold ties, he found a semi-deserted spot and sat down, slightly nervous about his current situation.

[Susan Matthews]

"Yeah, I'd thought about that," Susan replied, referring to the fact they did not belong to the same house. Weaving through the many students entering the hall, they found a spot at the end of the table where there were few seated. Susan realized just how much Dylan stood out, he was clearly not one of her house. Susan had not meant for it to be awkward for Dylan. Trying to make amends she suggested, "We can sit for a while at Ravenclaw, too if you want?" It was only fair that they share this awkwardness of it all, right? After all it, was only one meal and there was no written rule saying students simply weren't allowed to sit other tables.

Susan found a spot on the bench across from Dylan and smiled happily at him. "I wonder what we'll have to choose from today?" Susan thought aloud, referring to dinner. She didn't have to wonder for long though. As the clock at the front of the hall changed to show the time 6:30, the plates and platters and goblets filled with the food so graciously provided by the house elves in the kitchens. There was quite a variety today. Spaghetti and meatballs, several types of salads, mashed potatoes, baked potatoes, twice-baked potatoes, sweet potatoes, and even more choices could be seen as the food appeared down the long table. Not to mention the various drink choices as well, including the ever-popular pumpkin-juice, water, and milk for those who wanted to be healthy.

Overwhelmed by the sudden choice of food, Susan didn't know where to start. She pursed her lips indecisively, and in the end, decided to start with a baked potato and a glass of pumpkin juice. This was going to be a good dinner, Susan could tel.

[Dylan Cooper]

"Nah, it's fine," he said with a smile as food appeared all over the table. Impressed as always with the selection available, he saw a few younger Gryffindor girls staring at him and ignored them, picking out his first course of dinner instead. Selecting some roast beef, a few baked potatoes, a large spoonfull of beans and pouring rich gravy over the whole lot, he smiled happily. He poured himself some pumpkin juice, it being a particular favourite of his, and dug in.

Noting Susan's baked potato, he smiled with his mouth full. Rather an accomplishment. Once he'd swallowed his first, delicious forkfull of food, he looked hungrily down at his plate, wishing heartily that he didn't have to waste time cutting it up. All others forgotten, he found himself glad to have someone to sit with on one of his first nights at Hogwarts. "So what classes are you taking?" he asked with a smile towards his new friend.

[Susan Matthews]

Susan was amazed to see the variety of food that Dylan managed to fit on to his plate. It was rather amusing to watch him go about eating his large amount of food. While Susan loved to eat, she could never as much as she probably should. After the baked potato, she might have a bit of salad but that would be it if she wanted room for dessert.

"So what classes are you taking?" he asked with a smile toward his new friend.

Susan's thoughts were directed toward the aspect of school. Actual learning--yuck! "I've signed up for a little bit of everything," Susan replied. "Mostly the standard classes, nothing too flashy," Susan smiled thinking of Muggle studies and Ancient Runes. Muggle Studies would be totally pointless considering Susan thought she was a muggle until her eleventh birthday. And Ancient Runes would be impossible for the fact that she had no idea what the class was even about.

"We've got to be in some of the same classes!" Susan commented excitedly, "We're both fifth years, right?" Susan was happy to have a constant friend at her new school. This year was going to be a good one. Better than her previous years. . . But she didn't like to think about that now. Her past was her past, it was her history. History isn't supposed to repeat its self. Susan could help but let a frown escape at a long lost sad memory. It was no use to dwell on what could have been, though.

"What have you signed up for?" Susan asked Dylan, forcing herself to return to the current subject.

[Dylan Cooper]

More food entered his eagerly awaiting mouth, and he chewed away happily. Hurrying to swallow in order to respond to his dinner companion, he nearly choked on a mixture of meat, potato and vegetables. Quickly taking a swig of pumpkin juice, he only could laugh at himself.

"Well... I'm taking Charms, which I'm really looking forward to," he began, naming his favourite subject first. "Defence, as well, should be really interesting, and Transfiguration which is always good. Astronomy I can't wait for," he said, having fond memories of that particular class over the past few years. "Then there's Potions, always good, Herbology which I've kept up despite my less-than-impressive marks," he mentioned, referring to the Exceeds Expectations that he maintained as an average for the class. "Care of Magical Creatures because I do quite like animals and creatures alike. Hmm... what else. Oh, I don't do Divination, it's the only thing lacking on my timetable I think, actually. I'm keeping going with Ancient Runes because I love languages of any origin, and Muggle Studies because I think it's just fascinating to see Muggles from a wizarding point of view." He continued on his ramble, deciding to add an extra little something. "I grew up in a Muggle village, but we lived a little bit away from the main village so I don't really know much about the intricate details. Except from my background reading, of course," he added modestly, having done quite a significant amount of 'background reading' for each and every subject, and a few topics not even found in their curriculum. "Oh! And History of Magic," he said, almost forgetting the most boring subject in school. "As boring as I find it, it does come in really useful," he finished.

[Susan Matthews]

Susan was interested to hear that Dylan had grown up not far from muggles. A muggle-born herself, Susan was quite partial to muggle-borns and other muggles too, for that matter. Susan's whole family, with the exception of her cousin, Olivia who also attended Hogwarts, were muggles. Susan explored over the many memories that still seemed fresh in her mind. It seemed she would never look at them the same now that she'd been introduced to witchcraft. Trips in the family car, playing hop-scotch and basketball with her little sister, practicing card tricks, and watching movies. It was all different now that she was a witch.

"If you grew up close to muggles," Susan asked carefully, nearing the end of her potato, "Did you play many muggle sports?" Susan had nothing against the wizard sport of Quidditch, but it seemed that was the only game magic-folk ever played! In the world of muggles, there was basketball and bowling and soccer and baseball and football . . . The list never ended! Susan hadn't had much time to play any sports recently, considering she wasn't much good with a broom. Thinking of brooms, Susan recalled the fun make-shift game of "broom ball" she used to play as a kid.

"Have you ever played 'broom ball'?" Susan asked excitedly.

[Dylan Cooper]

Pushing his food around on his plate slightly, he smiled at Susan's comments. "Oh yeah, I love soccer," he said, remembering the days when he'd shoot goals in his backyard and play with his father. "Broom ball? Never heard of it," he said, forcing his fork into his mouth once more. Many people were surprised when they saw him eating; he usually acted like an absolute pig when he was hungry. Despite normally maintaining an image of being laid-back and easy-going, when something stood in his way of food, he could do a lot of things he wouldn't normally. His mother had often told him that it's one of his major faults, in fact.

"So, tell me about broom ball," he said, wondering what it was and smiling softly. The storm outside had obviously abated slightly, the roof of the Great Hall slightly lighter than before and the thunder and lightning having disappeared. Dylan was slightly surprised that he hadn't noticed the sound disappating, and thought that maybe he was actually quite absorbed in his current conversation.

[Susan Matthews]

Susan finished off her potato and began working on a salad. The Great Hall brightened a great deal as the clouds slowly began to clear. It was still raining pretty hard, but the thunder and lightening were gone. Susan smirked, Dylan probably hadn't heard of broom ball. It wasn't an actual sport. It was one of those games you made up as you go. There are no rules and anything pretty much goes. The more Susan thought about it, it might have been a muggle sport that people only played in North Carolina. She'd never heard of it anywhere else. Either way, Susan began to explain the amazing sport of broom ball.

"So, it's kind of like hockey," she began, "You know, the sport we, I mean, muggles play on ice with a puck and stick?" Susan gestured checking an invisible goalie and going for the goal. This was quite a feat considering Susan had remained seated an she still had forkful of salad in hand.

After Susan was sure Dylan understood the term hockey, she explained the rest of the rules per say. "Except instead of wearing skates, you get to wear tennis shoes so you can slip and slide around, with out worrying about not know how to skate right." She paused, trying to think what next, "Oh yeah, then you go the brooms and the ball! You use the broom as a hockey stick and the ball as a puck which you try to get in the goals!"

Susan smiled with excitement, reliving her muggle-childhood inside of her head. She recalled the many times she'd fallen, how she'd checked her dad, and teaming up with her little sister.

"It's really fun, kind of like an advanced version of kick-the-can," Susan described. Thinking about kicking things, Susan remembered Dylan mentioned soccer. "I'm not much good, at soccer," Susan returned to Dylan comment, "I learned how to play of course I'm muggle elementary school, but I was never much good with my feet." Or directions, Susan continued silently in her head. She remembered scoring for the opposing teams several times. . .

[Dylan Cooper]

Having just demolished his full plate, Dylan searched for seconds, his eyes roaming over many dishes and wishing he could have them all. Except for the Mint Humbugs, which seemed oddly out of place. His eyes lit up as they passed over each choice, and after reaching out several times he'd finally acquired a couple of chicken drumsticks, mashed potato (yes, yes, he likes potatoes), peas and a bread roll that he promptly buttered. Finding an altogether well balanced meal before him for the second time that night, he was extremely glad that he had someone to talk to. It improved his mood so much more, he found, if only he were talking to the right person.

He found that he actually quite liked the girl seated before him. She was energetic, fun, bouncy, and playful. All good qualities, and many that he shared whenever he managed to find a friend. While that didn't happen often, or at all before this year, he had discovered a whole new side to himself that had never been evident before. First Laine and Xiulin in Diagon Alley, and now Susan. All of a sudden, whether because of himself or the endearing qualities of others, he was a much friendler, happier guy.

Ever since his father had died, the closest (human) friend that he'd ever had, he had closed himself off to the world. While he hadn't exactly been the most social kid around before then, he'd still made an effort and had a few friends. After his father had died, everything had been different. He'd become more introverted, not even opening up to his mother anymore, and being transferred to the blacksmith's, thrust into a completely unfamiliar environment had most certainly not helped at all. He'd been teased to no end by his foster brother, eventually resulting in the scar above his left eyebrow, and had genuinely not enjoyed life much. Instead of making friends, he'd done what his father had always taught him to do, believing that it could instill some kind of relationship back to his father. It had never worked, but it had stuck with him, the focus and determination he'd been taught.

He was snapped back into the present by Susan's description of what appeared to be a childhood game and he produced only a small smile, his father still lingering in his mind. "It sounds like fun," he said, never having played hockey or anything vaguely similar himself. He'd only ever read about most sports, afterall, but when he did try them he usually enjoyed them, and found that he was actually quite good with most.

[Susan Matthews]

Susan smiled softly at Dylan. She could tell something was troubling him. Now that she was finished with her description of her childhood sport, she focused back on Dylan. Susan discovered at a young age, as a part of being a people pleaser, people love to talk about themselves. Susan usually used this fact to get people to like her, to want to be friends with her. Now, she realized, she wasn't using it at all. Susan put another bite of her salad into her mouth. It tasted like wet paper. She slowly chewed her food just enough to swallow it, then put her fork down.

"Are you alright?" Susan asked carefully. A very vague question, Susan left it open for Dylan to decide how he wanted to answer. She knew more than anyone it could be hard to talk about the things that hurt the most. But while it hurt, it also has a sense of releasing yourself. Susan remembered her old school. Thoughts flashed through her mind as she recalled the horribles occurrences that caused her to leave. She didn't expect Dylan to tell her everything. She didn't expect Dylan to tell her anything. They had after all just met that afternoon. It was worth a try, though Susan thought.

[Dylan Cooper]

Unable, finally, to produce a smile he looked up at Susan once more. "Oh..." he began, not exactly sure how to reply. While he wasn't in the best of moods all of a sudden, it was a regular occurrence to become a bit blue whenever he thought of his father. No-one at this school knew about it as of yet, and he wasn't quite sure how he felt about that. It was true that he absolutely detested the thought of receiving pity, but he instantly wished for someone to talk to.

Putting down his fork, however, his old habits came into play and his barriers came up. "Not really, but I'll be fine," he said, his mouth forming a small, unconvincing smile. He felt bad for not telling her, despite it being his own decision, but he did trust her for some reason. Even though they'd only met today, he really did consider her a friend, and someone that he trusted. It seemed that this year, the walls that he'd so painstakingly raised ever since his fathers' death were crumbling down around him, leaving him open and vunerable to attack. Dismayed at the though, he wondered why this could be, this apparantly very strong desire to have people suddenly around him. Assuming that perhaps he was finally breaking by being all alone in this world and hence letting people in, he picked up his fork and began to eat his mashed potato once more.

[Susan Matthews]

Susan smiled in response. She respected the fact that Dylan didn't feel comfortable talking about it, whatever it was, yet. Sometimes it takes a while to let it all out. It must have been big, whatever it was, considering it caused Dylan to stop eating for the moment. She hoped she hadn't made it too awkward for them.

Susan sighed, she couldn't expect Dylan to tell his secret. When Susan, in fact hadn't told hers to anyone yet. Everyone is entitled to their secrets. A little jingle rang in her head 'Secrets, secrets are no fun, unless you tell everyone!' A horrible song, Susan thought, disgusted with herself for singing years prior, to get her sister to confide in her.

Susan decided to change the subject to one they could both relate. "Are you trying out for Quidditch, this year?" Quidditch was always a safe subject.

[Dylan Cooper]

"Quidditch?" he repeated, his fork halfway to his mouth. "Oh yeah, definitely!" he said happily, his tone perking up considerably. "I've been the Ravenclaw Keeper for 3 years straight so I hope I get it again!" Just the mere thought of the fantastic wizarding game usually sent him into a tangent of thought that couldn't make him happier, and tonight was no exception.

"What about you? Will Gryffindor be graced with your abilites this year?" he asked in a joking voice. Promptly returning to the duty of feeding his stomach, one chore he didn't mind doing at all, he found his plate rather clean and empty. Frowning slightly, he saw their meal disappear before them and, realising what that meant, his frown faded extremely fast to be replaced by a look of ecstasy as the desserts appeared in force. Looking around excitedly for a moment, he decided on a bit of everything, eventually acquiring an extremely full plate.

[Susan Matthews]

With the subject of Quidditch now at hand, Susan was posed with a familiar question. Would she be trying out for the Gryffindor Quidditch team? Susan's cousin, Olivia, was a world-class flier, when it came to brooms, and had been a star on the past Quidditch teams. So why wouldn't Susan try out?

Susan's thoughts were interrupted by the disappearance of her nearly-finished salad. Susan smiled, ready for dessert. She let her eyes peruse of the selection before deciding on a slim piece of whipped cream-topped cheesecake. Susan laughed to see Dylan's place in it's enormity. Dylan was definitely feeling better now.

Now that deserts were in order, Susan decided to move back to the aspect of Quidditch. "I'm not the best flier," Susan explained in better terms that thought. Her last experience with Quidditch was far from joyful. "It couldn't hurt to try out though," Susan voiced spontaneously. It might be a good thing to face her fear. Maybe she could finally get over the horrible past that plagued her. She opened her mouth to say something more, but placed a fork-full of cheesecake in her mouth instead.

[Dylan Cooper]

Seeing Susan's mere selection in comparison to his own plate, Dylan couldn't help but laugh. "As you can tell, I like food," he said, creating perhaps the biggest understatement of the year so far. Starting on some of his preferred treacle tart, he listened to her comments on her own flying abilities and smiled, comprehending well how difficult it might be for some people to stay upright on a broom. He smiled as the thought brought back memories of his first flying attempts. A little boy with his eyes was attempting to clamber onto a broomstick and having not too much success. Finally resigning for only a moment, he walked inside and found all of the Quidditch and flying books in their library and read them in their entireties, non-stop, his mother coming in every few hours to feed the hungry little boy.

Smirking at the memory, he saw her about to speak, but then place some more food in her mouth. Wondering about it for a moment, he realised that after her lack of confidante status for him, he should hardly expect her to open up about anything.