Have we met before? PV Samantha Salwis Finished

@Avery Chen

When Samantha had heard that one of the contestants wanted something to eats she had jumped on the opportunity. She knew some of the contestants and she hoped she could congratulate them on their performances or wish them good luck. But the main reason she wanted to go backstage was not for any of the people she knew, she wanted to see Avery, who she didn't really know yet.

She wanted to know why he had run away from her the day before. She had just told him her name and he had mumbled something and he had run away. The young girl had worked out multiple theories of which some made more sense then others.

The first one was that he knew she was cursed by the shadow spiders and he was afraid she could infect him. But this idea was very unlikely as almost nobody knew she was cursed. Samantha had only told it to her best friend, and she was sure Vivian wouldn't tell anybody else.

The second theorie was that Avery knew she was muggleborn and he wasn't allowed to hang out with muggle born students. The idea made sense as she knew some other kids that weren't allowed to be friends with a muggle born, but the theorie wasn't water proof. The thing was that Samantha wasn't that populair. She had no idea why anybody would tell his she was muggle born.

Except. That was what brought her to her last idea. Maybe Avery knew her enemy, and they had told Avery not to hang out with Samantha. There also was a fourth option, but Sam didn't believe this was even possible. The idea was as followed. Samantha could have a bad reputation and Avery might have heard about it and decided to stay away. But really, that was impossible! Samantha was the perfect student, the perfect friend, the perfect kid, nobody would want to avoid her. At least according to her, she was perfect. There was no way the problem had anything to do with her doing.

With a bowl of chips Samantha made her way backstage. When she saw who she had to deliver them to she smiled. "Hello Avery," She now knew his name. "I have something for you!" She showed the boy the food. "But first, I would like to know something."

She started talking, still holding the the bowl of chips. "Wait, I'm sorry. First of all, I really liked your performance! It was really good, well I don't know much about music, but it sounded really good and I think that is the whole goal of music." She smiled, she had enjoyed the music, well the parts where she had been able to hear.

"Anyway," She took a chip out of the bowl and eat it. "Why did you ran away yesterday?" She didn't understand it, and you could clearly see it on her face. "I mean, I am not that scary and I am really friendly! I even helped you get out of the water!"

Reducio

Outfit:

It seemed that it was just his luck! He heard someone approaching, and whipped around eagerly, leaving his violin case on the table. His dark brown eyes met the blue eyes of a girl about his height, with wavy brown hair. And then he froze. She looked strangely familiar. Wasn't she the Ravenclaw girl -- Samantha? -- that had saved him from his fall into the lake just yesterday?

Immediately, he broke eye contact. He felt his face and his palms get warm. His heart beat a little more rapidly as he wondered what to do next. Avery had resolved to never ever see this girl again, in hopes of hiding from her forevermore. How could it be, that just a day after his lake incident, he would stumble upon her again? Couldn't fate give him at least a month or two, so that everything could be forgotten, or at least become a little more fuzzy in their memory? In that case, he could simply pretend that she had found the wrong person, but was it impossible to fool her after just a day, when her memory was still likely to be fresh?

"Hello Avery," she said, ever friendly, and possibly merry in her victory of having found him at last. Avery screamed a little inside his mind, and his face probably showed a little dread. There was no pretending he was somebody else now! She knew it was him and she knew his name. "I have something for you!" He glanced at the bowl of chips in her arms. They called out to him in a tantalizing way. Crispy, fresh, and savory. It was just what he wanted...! His stomach growled again...if only he could eat them now.

"But first, I would like to know something," she said, unwilling to let go of the chips just yet. Oh no, was she going to hold the chips hostage until she had her answers from him? Avery's face fell a little further. He could almost taste the pleasant crunch in his mouth, but sadly, it was not to be just yet.

He listened as she interrupted herself and complimented his performance. As he heard her words, he brightened significantly and a small smile replaced his look of dread. So, she really liked it! And she seemed to think that he achieved a goal of music! "Thank you, Samantha!" he responded gladly, momentarily forgetting the events of yesterday. Well, now that he said her name, she would definitely know it was him and that he knew it as well, but he kept talking, since violin was always something he was willing to talk about, whether in joy or in tears. "I've been practicing violin ever since I was four or five, so it's been six years now," he said proudly. "But there's still lots to learn and I'm hoping to be really really good one day, maybe even famous." Being that good was one of his biggest goals in life. He had worked hard towards it for years now.

So, why did he run away? He thought about it for a second, unsure how to explain that feeling that happened to come upon him that second. Samantha was hardly a scary person. There were probably many more Slytherin upperclassmen who were just downright fear-inspiring. True, she had been very friendly the entire time yesterday, even trying to prevent him from falling in and helping him out when he did. Actually, did he even properly thank her? He felt he was probably too stunned and embarrassed by everything to say anything useful.

"Thank you for your help yesterday," he began, uncertainly. "I don't think I had a chance to really thank you." His face flushed visibly. He wasn't even really thinking anymore, just talking. "I guess I was too embarrassed by how I fell in and got stuck in the lake, and scared that others at the school would find out, I guess? Especially since I'm new to the school. I'm usually just so clumsy, so I was hoping that no one would ever know what happened." He guessed he explained the gist of it. "Gah, I don't know!" he laughed to himself and pressed his hands to his forehead because words were hard and explaining was hard, especially in his embarrassment.

"But you must've been so confused!" he exclaimed, half-chuckling by now at the absurdity of yesterday, which seemed pretty comical now that he reflected back on it. After all, he had just ran off and left her yelling to him at the lake by herself.

@Avery Chen

Right when Avery and Samantha made eye contact he had looked away. The fact that he broke the eye contact made clear to the young girl that he had recognized her.

Avery seemed really happy when she complimented his music, which made her feel bad that she hadn't listen to it with her full attention. When he said her name she was sure he knew who she was. This time he didn't run away, which she really appreciated.

After Avery explained what had happend Samantha took a moment to think if she would accept the answer. After a few seconds she nodded and gave the boy the bowl of chips, which she had kept hostage until the boy had answered her.

"You were embarrassed, of course. I already thought something like that." Samantha wouldn't admit that she hadn't thought of that, she didn't want to look like a fool. After hearing the explanation it made so much more sense. "I won't tell anybody about it, well my best friend already knows, but she won't say it to anybody. She would never, I promise!" After Avery had fallen into the water Samantha had told Vivian what had happend. She thought she maybe would need help from her friend finding the boy. In the end she found him all by herself, with a little help of the talent show of course.

Yes, she had been really confused. "Well, I mean. I wasn't that confused, maybe just a little but that's all. Beside, there is no reason to be ashamed, everybody has done something clumsy in their live. So it would be unfair for them to judge you on it." Some people might have told about a time that they had been really clumsy to lighten the mood. For Samantha that meant making a fool of herself and her pride was to big for that.

"And for the whole being new to school thing, it will work out fine, I am sure!" Now she had the answers on her question she started talking about less important things again. "Last year when I was new to the school everybody was really nice to me. And your whole class is also new so they probably feel the same as you. My parents are muggles, so not only the school was new for me, the whole concept of magic was new for me." She shrug her shoulders. Over the year it had become easier for her to talk about the fact that her parents were muggles. In the beginning she had been ashamed for it, but now she owned it like a queen. It was what made her who she was and those who had problems with it didn't matter.

Reducio

Outfit:

Samantha seemed to understand and sympathize with the fact that he had been too embarrassed to stay at the lake. At least, Avery was mostly grateful that she didn't just laugh derisively into his face or insult him for thinking that way. As she mentioned that her best friend already knew, his heart skipped a beat, but when Samantha reassured him that her friend wouldn't tell anybody else, he was able to relax a bit. "Who is your friend?" he asked, not able to contain his curiosity in case it was somebody he knew. "Hopefully not a Slytherin?" He finally got the bowl of chips from Samantha, and happily dug in and chomped away.

Avery guessed it was true that everyone probably did something clumsy at one point. Samantha's words reassured him that she would not judge him for it. "Thanks for understanding," he said, after swallowing a large mouthful of chips. "I must warn you though, if you see me again, I might do something else that's clumsy!" he laughed, half-joking, half not because Avery Chen was quite the master in clumsiness. Maybe he should just warn everyone he meets going forward, so hopefully they'll be as sympathetic as Samantha or at least not be alarmed whenever something embarrassing did happen.

"Yeah, everyone I've met so far seems really nice," he said, thinking about a few new friends he made over the past few weeks. "Oh, your parents are muggles, too?" he asked, glad that he was able to get to know another muggle-born. "Muggle-borns seem pretty uncommon here, I think. And I heard on the train that a lot of wizarding families think muggle-borns can be a problem. I haven't experienced anything negative like that personally, though," Avery said, relieved. "Have you?" He remembered what pure-blooded Hildegard said on the Hogwarts Express as she tried to warn them about those certain types of wizards and witches.

"Everything is so new to me," he mused. "All the classes seem really cool, though, but I just hate homework." Some things never changed, it seemed, wizarding world or not. "I think I might give up on writing with a quill and just use a pen instead." Those feathers weren't very easy to use.

@Avery Chen

My friends name is Vivian Fletcher, she is also a second year. She has blond hair and is really nice. Well, if she wasn't nice she wouldn't be my friend." Samantha giggled. "She is no Slytherin, she is a Hufflepuff!" Hufflepuff was Samantha's second favorite house, Ravenclaw being in first place of course. Hufflepuff was her second favorite house, because her best friend was in it, not the best reason.

"If you will be clumsy next time we meet at least it will be funny. Except when you harm yourself because of your clumsiness." Samantha's face was now serious, she didn't want Avery to hurt himself. "As long as you don't hurt yourself that's good."

"Yes, both of my parents are muggles. My whole family is really, even my sister." When Avery started about negative experiences because of being muggle born Samantha sighed. "I have, but you don't need to listen to anybody who says anything bad about you because you are muggle-born. You just have to stand your ground and don't listen to them."

Samantha thought about Cash, the older student had been picking on her just because her parents were muggles. Samantha always stood her ground and she wasn't going to let Cassandra bring her down. The second year's eyes narrowed as she thought about the beater of Slytherin. "They just want attention, they just are little bullies that don't have anything better to do. So never listen to them! You are perfect just the way you are, okay?"

This had turned from a delivering of chips to a powerful message about being yourself, not exactly what Samantha had in mind when she walked into the room.

He hated homework? How? Samantha loved it, it was just amazing. You could learn so much from homework and it was something nice to do. You could train your brain and get smarter everything you do it. How could you hate that?

"Writing with a quill is pretty hard in the beginning, but it is so much more fun. And it feels so much more special, you just have to practice it. Just keep trying the quill for a little longer and you will love it!" Samantha's eyes were fixed on the bowl of chips. It was like they were calling her, she wanted to eat one.

Samantha quickly picked one out of the bowl and ate it before Avery could stop her. "Thank you for the chips, sir." She smiled, she knew that he hadn't given her anything. She had just eaten it.

So, Samantha had only told a Hufflepuff girl named Vivian Fletcher, who was fortunately not a Slytherin. He decided to remember her name in case he ever ran into her, but hopefully she was a nice girl, if she was in the Hufflepuff house and was a friend of Samantha's. Avery would breathe a sigh of relief at this point.

Samantha agreed it'd be quite funny if he was clumsy next time, which made him grin because he could totally see how it'd be funny. However, she also seemed quite serious about not wanting him to hurt himself in the future. "Well, I have quite a hard head, so no amount of pounding could hurt me much," he admitted, tapping a few knuckles on his head for good measure. It was a head that was trying to get itself onto the quidditch team, after all, where bludgers flew like crazy monsters in the sky. Not too much in terms of a challenge could scare Avery Chen. "That's why I'm trying out for quidditch, which sounds like the coolest sport ever!" If Avery liked anything else besides music (sometimes), it would be quidditch, now that he had learned that people could fly on brooms while playing a sport, which was the coolest thing in the world.

So, it seemed that Samantha had actually encountered one of those bullies against muggle-borns, but she seemed really determined to stand her ground against them and not let them intimidate her. He looked at her in awe as he admired her mettle, then clenched his fist as he listened to her encouragement. "Gotcha! Let's never stand down or let them make us feel bad about ourselves!" Somehow, he was beginning to feel like he'd found a growing friend and ally in Samantha.

"I guess everything just takes some time for adjustment, huh?" he asked as Samantha said that quill-writing came more easily with practice. Her open mindset seemed very different from that of his best friend @Hui Ming, who refused to write with a quill and always carried his muggle fountain pen instead. Whereas Ming was a resolute boy who refused to let go of any aspect of his muggle upbringing and hated the idea of being 'forced' into the magical world, Samantha was similarly resolute but in the opposite way; she was determined to show the wizarding world how quickly she could adapt to new ways without losing her muggle-born pride. It was all very interesting seeing how the muggle-borns at Hogwarts differed. Somehow, he could understand both points of view, despite the fact that he was also more willing to throw himself into the world of magic. He just needed a bit more time to get up to speed with his wizard-born peers, after all. "Did it take you some time to get used to things here?" he asked, wondering what Samantha's experience was like. "It's such a big change! I'm coming here and everything is like strange and scary or like WOW!" Like mind-blowing and stunning and surprising at the same time, really. "Normal is like, not normal here." It was hard to put into words. Kids had wands that could set things on fire, but they could also fix things that had broken like it was no problem. Plants tried to eat you.

He noticed that Samantha had reached over and playfully snatched a chip. "Hey! No stealing!" he called out jokingly, pretending to protect the bowl from her. "Are you trying to be scary to first-years now?" he laughed. "Everyone, Samantha Salwis is scary!" he mocked calling out to an invisible group of first-years with a cupped hand.

@Samantha Salwis

@Avery Chen

"Quidditch is a really cool sport, but I wouldn't say that it is the coolest. Dueling is amazing. But what position are you trying out for?" Samantha thought quidditch was really cool, maybe a little bit to aggressive, but still cool.

Samantha grew up as a muggle so she hadn't know about quidditch for the most part of her life, but once she heard of the game she read some book to understand it. She had also been to all of the quidditch games of Ravenclaw in her first year, so she understood the game pretty well.

Avery asked about Samantha's experience adjusting to the wizarding world. "I am a pretty quick learner, so I got used to everything a little faster then it would take most people. Of course it did was a really big change. Just the concept of magic was so unreal to me, but after a while I got used to it. It was just so much at once, you know." Samantha took a little pauze, so she could think about what had helped her. "Vivian, the friend I told you about earlier, she also grew up as a muggle so we got to learn the magical world together. It helped having somebody who also needs to learn about this whole new world." It had actually taken the young girl a couple of months to get used to many things in the wizarding world, but she was to proud to admit that.

"Normal is like, not normal here." Avery said. Samantha nodded, "That is so true! But I am sure you will adjust just fine here, and if there is anything you would need help with you can always come to me!" Samantha smiled, she would love to help Avery. It would also give her a change to show her knowledge and look really smart.

Her eyes widened and her face turned red, why was Avery yelling that she was scary! "No! I am not scary! Besides who are you even-" She had wanted to ask who he was even talking to, but she realized he was joking.

For a second she thought that he really thought she was scary and was warning others about her scariness. Now her face was extremely red, how hadn't she noticed he was joking. "Never mind," she mumbled, which was followed by a little giggle.

"If you keep calling me scary, maybe I will really turn scary one day! You never know it with magic, maybe it is a secret charm. If you call somebody scary a hundred days in a row, they will slowly become more and more scary." She grinned, "Or maybe the person who calls the other scary will be the one who ends up really scary. So if I were you I would never call anybody scary again." She added jokingly.

Quidditch wasn't the coolest sport? Really? "What sport can be cooler than quidditch?" he asked, surprised. It was difficult for him to comprehend that any sport could be cooler than flying around on a broomstick scoring goals and catching flying balls. If there was a single sport cooler than quidditch, he would need to know.

So, it seemed that Samantha got used to the wizarding world rather quickly, especially thanks to her best friend Vivian. Instantly, he thought of Ming, who was also muggle-born. However, it seemed that Avery was more likely to help Ming get used to this new world rather than the other way around. His Chinese friend was quite stubborn, actually, and not very receptive to all things Hogwarts.

Wow, Samantha seemed pretty nice, actually, offering to help him get acclimated if he needed help with anything. "Thank you, Samantha!" he said, grateful for her offer. "I can't think of anything right now, but I'm sure some things might come up later." He briefly thought back to the first night of school on September 1, when a dead boy named Victor was not so dead when he came into the Slytherin common room, but somehow his memory was a little hazy surrounding that night, or maybe his brain just chose not to remember all of what happened. His small face would be a bit confused at this point, like he was struggling to remember something not quite so pleasant.

However, as Samantha snatched a chip from his bowl, any feelings of a struggle evaporated and was replaced by a mischievous grin on his face. "No! I am not scary! Besides who are you even-" Avery chuckled as he saw that Samantha turned beet red and hadn't discovered he was joking yet, but then she finally paused and giggled as it finally dawned on her that he was joking. Had his encounter with the second-year at the lake affected her so much that she was now actually afraid of seeming scary?

She came up with a clever comeback of her own, threatening that maybe she'd become truly scary if he kept saying it, or maybe he'd even become scary himself. Briefly, he wondered if she was truly joking or maybe there was the tiniest chance that magic could make it real. He blinked as he contemplated this possibility deeply, since he didn't really know how magic worked. But the grin on Samantha's face told him otherwise -- she was definitely joking! "Well, there's no way I could ever be scary!" he protested. "I think I'm too nice and fun to be scary!" He paused, wondering if it might actually be helpful to be scary sometimes. Maybe scary people can more easily get what they wanted. Hmm! Now that was a thought. "But I guess there are some benefits from being scary, though, which I'm sure you've experienced personally, being scary as you are, you know," he mused.

An idea popped into his mind. "Okay, tell me how scary this is on a scale of one to ten," he said, readying himself to be as scary as he could. He clenched his fists and mustered every ounce of scariness in his body and mind, ready to let go and astound Samantha at the last second. "RAWR!" he roared, baring his teeth and narrowing his eyes, but somehow it came out more like a kitten's screech.

On the other side of the stage curtains, the audience would likely wonder what they just heard.

@Samantha Salwis

@Avery Chen

"Dueling, of course! It is amazing!" Samantha grinned. "I'm on Ravenclaw's dueling team." The dueling season hadn't begon yet, but she was already looking forward to her first official duel.

Avery told her that there was no way he could be scary. "You think that you are too nice and fun to be scary, but that's what you think and what you think isn't always true." She didn't think Avery was scary, but it was fun to tease him. He deserved it, he had also done it with her.

"But I guess there are some benefits from being scary, though, which I'm sure you've experienced personally, being scary as you are, you know," Avery said to her. Samantha gasped and acted like she was hurt. "So mean, so mean," she mumbled. "But I guess you are right, whenever I want something I just have to give people a mean look and they will get it within seconds." She added jokingly.

Samantha burst out laughing when Avery tried to be scary and horribly failed, or at least she thought he failed horribly. He didn't look scary, he looked like a fool. Samantha quickly placed her hand in front of her mouth, trying to mute her laughing. She had forgot they were backstage and if they were to loudly the audience would hear them.

Still giggling she rated the scariness of Avery, "That was so scary, I don't think I will be able to sleep tonight," she quietly laughed, "I would rate that a 10, seriously, it was so scary. I think even the greatest Auror will run away screaming at the top of their lungs once they see you like that. Maybe you should have participated in the talent show as the scary man, you would have defiantly won, you are that scary."

That reminded her, she needed to go back to the concession stand. The show had already begun, so everybody would already have a ticket, but maybe people still wanted to buy something to eat or drink. She didn't want to seem rude, but she really had to go back. She was suppose to be at the concession stand, which she had left to bring the chips.

"I have to go back to the concession stand. It was nice meeting you, well meeting you again," she smiled, "I wouldn't really call the last time we saw each other a meeting, as you ran of rather quickly."

She was happy she had gotten backstage to bring the chips. She had been able to get the answer on her question and had made a new friend. Before she waved shortly at Avery. "Bye, I hope you will win, I think you did great."

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