Mondays Are For Beginnings PV Ross Stephens Fin

The Hufflepuff found himself healing quite well through the next day. Truth was he was pretty much ready to get out of that bed and continue doing what he needed to by morning, yet he continued to lounge around. He was not quite sure what kept him in that bed, but his best guess was the dread of having to get up and actually having to do things. Luckily for him, that next day had been Sunday so he had no classes to work with and the nurses had been rather lenient to him. Most kids would be passed out in their beds because of the ball. He heard that stuff could get chaotic, and Ross was not going to doubt that considering the fact the majority of the people he knew had at least punched a person once.

Through out the day, he simply laid back and read that book of Knox Stephen's over and over again as he normally did. While he regretted not just getting up and heading to the library in order to get some sort of wizard mystery novel, he supposed he learned more this way than any other way. It made him feel like he was genuinely doing something at least. Much to his surprise, he also received letters, flowers, and snacks as well from Alina. Not only was it sweet, it proved she was right. She had genuine money, while Ross was nearly flat broke saving up for a Rat. Still, it touched his heart in a way. While the quiet was nice, it was just a reminder there were nice people out there. Of course he responded to the confirmation OWL to the best of his capabilities, and that was with poor spelling and sloppy handwriting, but it was clearly an attempt much more similar to the singular unit he got O's in potions.

By late afternoon, Ross had gathered everything he needed and made his way back to his little cornered in dorm room. Most people seemed exhausted or were rambling about the events the prior night to notice the brunette, but that was fine by him. The day had felt refreshing like a spring breeze, and Ross slightly felt as if he needed it. He proceeded to pass out in that little bed of his, and he dreamed of the reminder that he needed an extra shoe.
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The Hufflepuff woke up early, as he regularly did. He was a morning person, not a night person. He always rushed to the Hufflepuff table, and today was no exception. He shoved on his clothes causing them to wrinkle and his hair to be an absolute mess. The only thing he bothered to put on slowly was his sock and shoe, which he had to use from his school clothes not his casual ones. Right before he left his room ,he patted down his hair until it felt untangled enough and darted through the door. Not caring if he woke up his fellow Hufflepuffs, his shoes clacked loudly on the stone floor until he made his way out of the Hufflepuff common room and into the peacefully quiet rest of the school. At that, he began to walk as he only heard the light chatter of those who were awake in the Great Hall from around the corner.

He made his way, continuing to walk until he saw the humongous room that stood in front of him. Few kids were there, and that was fine with him. He snagged his regular spot at the Hufflepuff table and grabbed himself some pumpkin juice and some eggs and bacon. It was not exotic, but it reminded him of home he supposed besides the pumpkin juice.

Ross had never sat with anyone at the Hufflepuff table truthfully. The three times he had were less than enjoyable, and he would prefer to never relive any of them again for the sake of his own sanity and well being. It was a surprise to even himself he asked the girl to eat with him at the Hufflepuff table. Then again, he die owe her. Of course, that was not the entirety of the reason but it was still enough of a motive for Ross to not consistently doubt himself if he was doing the right thing.

As he settled in, he felt hands on the top of his head.

Oh god, was it that kid again?

He sighed to himself.

"Not today, alright? I"m waitin' for somebo-" he cut himself off as he turned around. "IT'S YOU!" he exclaimed, that distressed frown of his turning into a smile. "Apologizes! I thought you were... anyways, c'mon sit down! he smiled, patting the seat directly next to him.

The badger actively seemed in much better spirits. The way he spoke was much more speedy and that dumb smile seemed to be more and more frequent instead of coming up only in memorable moments. He was feeling more himself, and while that meant more stories and more rambling it also meant more sudden thoughts that did not quite seem to belong through the whole situation.

"I'm doin' great! How 'bout you? Did ya' get somethin' to eat yet?" he inquired, throwing questions at her like it was a speedy game of trivia.

Ross was a little astonished considering nearly half the school was asleep in the morning. He had never seen anyone so high energy in the mornings, including himself. Though he was a morning person, even he could hardly really keep up with it. He imagined she could do wonderful at that 'broom flying sport' considering how she always seemed to have a goal in mind, while also managing to do it with haste and with an intense energy fans of sports seemed to like from what he could tell. If she considered it, she could probably be one of the most popular kids around.

With her remark of a 'breakfast cupcake' he could only smile and tilt his head in a way a puppy would in his best attempt to display confusion. He sort of got the gist, but also there was a thing called a 'breakfast cupcake' back at home with eggs baked inside. As a fan of eggs, he supported it. It did not hit him for a couple seconds, until the realization dawned upon him.

It was an American-Style Muffin.

The things were rather sweet. They actually sold them at the place his parents worked, and while they were exactly what any small child looked for he usually needed at least something on the side. For people who ran a bakery, his parents were pretty good at getting him to balance what he needed to eat. As someone who saw people exit and enter the bakery after school, one could tell a lot about a person based on what they ordered.

He laughed at her minor remarks, and as he started to ease down once more into himself she looked over at his book.

Oh how he needed a new novel.

He adored Charms, and all the fancy notes inside of Knox's book was fascinated certainly, but he was only to the skill level where he could do second year spells. Third year spells would take at least the rest of the summer, considering they were rather complicated. It was already considered an accomplishment he could get the second year stuff down either way. They were neat party tricks, and the only ones he really ever messed up with were fire or light based spells, though he swore he was ] was going to get a handle on it eventually if it took the rest of his life.

At any time though, he would need to go to the library once more just to get more spell options or something. He would like to relax his mind anyways, so perhaps maybe just Fantasy would be nice. Mystery or Fantasy would be living the dream right now, and not Wizard Fantasy: He was talking Muggle Fantasy. That was the good stuff. It had great plot twists, and not some magical stuff either. They were always a good read.

"They're alright, I s'ppose!" he remarked, placing the book down right next to his plate. "'ave you ready any good ones?" he inquired, secretly looking for recommendations while also hoping to learn more of the girl.

The girl went on and on on the books she had read, and to Ross' surprise he was far more intrigued than he had originally expected. He really kept to that own little picky genre category that he was introduced to at school, so listening to the girl ramble on authors she was interested in was something new. Ross only cared if the book did one thing, and that was ask questions. He was curious, and at home he had hardly had the chance to do it ever. It was mind-numbingly boring. He felt like an outsider in his own life. At school that was different; however, it did not change his passion for the books that had kept that little light of his life going.

"I really only like worms when it rains, but I s'ppose nature's alright I guess. Ross remarked."I do like books though! Well... mystery stuff mainly and maybe a lil' bit o' fantasy." he clarified, having difficulty showing how he was genuinely interested.

Ross was not lying. Nature was cool and all, but he would much rather stay inside where he was not being burnt alive or freezing to death. This even stood true recently, which of course made him hesitant to go outside in general. It caused him to miss out on several things his friends did that he had heard of, but he really could not care less. It was private time for them anyways, and it gave him extra time to do whatever he did. Ross did not even quite have a weather preference. When people asked what his favorite month, it really only seemed ridiculous. Each month was really just the same but warmer or colder. He really did not care much either way.

The chatter in the room got louder and louder through out the morning, the volume crescendoing. Normally he would be finished with Breakfast a little after everyone had settled in and he would spend the rest of the extra time he had exploring the school. The place never ceased to amaze him, so of course he would take the extra time to simply get familiar with what he was doing. The girl's mood seemed to shift, but Ross did not remark on it. He was not going to mess it up this early, so he was rather grateful when she inquired suddenly. It gave him a chance to get to know her more ,but at the same time it caused him to think for an uncomfortable moment. What WAS he going to do?

"Probably go home or somethin', I dunno..." He responded, his mood shifting as he began to think as well."I 'aven't really put much thought into it. How 'bout you?"

Most kids were excited for summer, but Ross was constantly neglecting that thought in his head. He should be excited, right? God, it was so confusing. What should he be thinking after the news was announced? Ross took a swig of the pumpkin juice that laid in front of him before directing his attention back to that engraved ring of his, wiggling it back in fourth as he began to fidget.

As interesting as the school was, Ross had already attempted to solve things. He asked questions wherever he went, but really the only fascinating part of the school was the people. Sure the portraits could talk, and he loved to watch them move around and chatter to each other; however, they really just seemed like normal people. It sounded like a history teacher question if anything, which he had been meaning to inquire of for quite some time. Each classroom had a personal use, and as much as Ross tried to look into the empty classrooms he overall came out with absolutely nothing to be proud of. Still, he had a yearn for adventure. Sure the majority of the adventures he had had as of recent involved getting him emotionally or physically harmed, but a good old mystery would do him well in any case. Even so, somehow his doubts were managing to bring him down.

"Ah, that'd be marvy!" he remarked at the first thought of it.

It would be living a dream of his to be some sort of detective. It was exactly what he wanted to do when he was older, though there was a likely chance that would change. His fascination with people and mysteries and just the thought of discovering something new made the thought just so appealing. It was his apple in the garden of eve, as it consistently taunted him as something he could do. Sadly, there was always that one question.

What could he investigate?

An investigator was no investigator if there was nothing to investigate. Without the investigate, he would just be an 'or' and that was no fun. He really did not wish to waste his time, but he would love to be the one to stumble upon a mystery. Not just some lame magical mystery that was due to a spell, but something that had clues and such.

That was what people had, at least.

When people slipped up on their words, Ross always grew more and more curious. They were the mysteries he planned on solving, even if it was just some twisted way of getting to know someone. Through his time at Hogwarts, he had gotten information out of people he never planned on getting details out of. It was sort of a confirmation to him that he could genuinely do it.

Perhaps he could actually do this.

"Alright, i'm in! But erm.. We don't exactly got ourselves a mystery, do we?"

Perhaps there was something else they could do that involved the exact same set of skills.

The girl seemed to know a lot more than Ross did, considering he did a lot of investigating himself. Perhaps it was more into genuine people, but the more she talked the more clear it became to him that he had hardly heard of anything that was going around the enchanted school.

"NO FIRE!" he interjected.

He supposed he really was not over that whole fire thing yet, but then again who would be? Besides, he had not even heard of it. A fire at Hogwarts? Considering his own actions, he would have guessed it was probably just another kid just as he was. He set a girl on fire by accident, but she came out pretty much unharmed by the first degree burn at most. He had just concentrated too hard on lumos was all, so it really was not a big deal. It was probably a frequent place at Hogwarts either way. As she mentioned the forbidden forest, he got clearly uneasy.

"I dunno... isn't that sorta breakin' the rules? I thought ya said we were startin' off small." he joked, but in actuality he sincerely did not want to enter that place.

Sure the creatures were fascinating, but that would require two things. One of those things was breaking the rules, which Ross was not too keen on. He was considered an average kid back at his old school just due to the fact he hardly did anything, and Ross was not ready to give up on that prestigious reputation.

She was going rather fast, so he attempted to keep up as she continued to ramble on what could be possible for them to do. He supposed the difference between the two was Ross was not a high achiever. Well, more of he never had the chance to. Words to describe Ross were 'reckless, curious, and never sure when to stop talking' which could all be easily mistaken for high achieving, but if anything Ross was accidentally 'high achieving.' He did not get too upset when he screwed something up, just nervous.

"I like the flyer idea, but I dunno maybe we should just... look around or somethin sometime? The best stuff 'appens in the book when you least expect it! That's what happens in some detective books, or else it'd be sorta boring." He exclaimed, his eyes lighting up as he spoke about the fictional world of mystery.

The thing is, he always felt people hid the mysteries. Sure when there was an actual case, one would need to find clues; however, one was not going to get anywhere without talking to people. Perhaps that was one reason he was put in Hufflepuff, or perhaps his intentions did not always lay in the possibility of mystery. Ross had never thought of it or thought of the reasons he was sorted into Hufflepuff in general, and now was certainly not the time either.

As she moved onto fashion, he was a little taken aback. He knew little to nothing of fashion. Most people just wore really bright colors and called it a day in his school, so the fact this girl even knew anything of it was intriguing to him.

"I dunno where i'd get it, but I still need an extra shoe so i might be farther behind than yesterday."

There was a short pause as he attempted to imagine himself in a Sherlock type of style.

"I'd be willin' to consider it, but it'd be a lil' weird." he decided as he watched her cross out the idea.

At least she was putting as much thought into this as he was, as he was not even certain if they could get their hands on a mystery in the first place.