Taking a Break PV Rayne Chance Closed

Emma fiddled with her fingers wrapped around her butterbeer, the bottle cool but not freezing. Which was a nice break from outside. She was surprised that her family was able to bear the cold as long as they were but she also thought it was likely because of the excitement of the whole situation. Whereas Emma had sort of been living it for the past few months and some of the excitement had worn off or at least the newness. She was pretty sure the magical world would always have something up it's sleeve to surprise her but things had settled and she had become kind of used to the odd and unimaginable.

Emma grinned, happy that Rayne had agreed with her, not because she loved when others were agreeable, more so because it meant that Rayne didn't think she was peculiar for sharing an opinion. Really, Emma overthought everything anybody ever said so she'd probably second guess that agreement later.

"That makes sense, " Emma nodded. "That must have added to the weirdness of starting school then. You probably did all those things even when in muggle school but moving away for part of the year makes it difficult." Emma chuckled. "That's good that they're helping. I'm sure your parents appreciate it." Emma thought about her own siblings and wasn't sure they were responsible enough for a pet never mind that her parents had decreed that everyone would have to agree on a family pet but so far, it seemed that no one could agree fully on an animal. Although of course, when they came across the right one, it wouldn't matter, she was sure.


Emma clapped her hands together in excitement. "Excellent! Mum and dad have always said we have to agree on an animal and we've never been able to do so so no pets for us, at least not yet."

Softly smiling at Rayne's response, Emma just quietly said, "Thank you." Looking around, she tried to come up with a new topic of conversation to move away from the awkwardness. Grabbing a random thought, she asked "Have you got a favorite subject yet?" Internally panicking because she didn't have an idea of where that had come from or what she would answer if Rayne asked her, Emma made sure a smile was on her face.

@Rayne Chance

Rayne looked outside for a second, checking the make sure their mum hadn't come to drag them away. Thankfully, their family was no where to be seen. A couple stood outside, they looked young, mid twenties perhaps? They were holding hands and peering into the pub, perhaps deciding weather to come in or find a less crowded place of refuge. Eventually they left the window, in search of a different shop. Rayne had been so deep in conversation they had completely forgotten about their rather busy surroundings, and the general noise from everywhere. They didn't mind the noise though, it gave the place more atmosphere, and made the silences less awkward. Though, Rayne felt that the awkward air of the conversation was very much evaporating now, which was nice.

Hardly even noticing their own actions, Rayne started absently tracing their finger round the rim of their glass. It was about half empty. Rayne had always wondered about the glass half empty or half full query. Surely, it depended on the last action. If you had drunk from it, the glass was half empty. If you had re-filled it, the glass was half full. They saw a person's answer to reveal less about optimism, but about logic.

Rayne thought of their parents, and their siblings. It was highly possible that their parents would be less worried if they just cared for the animals themselves, it would save the concern of the twins poisoning them, or forgetting to give them water. Though, the twins could be responsible when they wanted, and Rayne had made them a daily checklist of care and everything. Potentially, this was slightly patronising, but it had given Rayne a slight feeling of reassurance.
'Yea, I don't think either of them would be entirely over the moon with being dumped with all the animal care,' Rayne laughed slightly, recalling the somewhat horrified face their dad had made with the realisation that Rayne wouldn't be able co care for the animals.

Emma when momentarily quiet, before breaking the silence with a comment about classes.
'Hmmm,' Rayne replied. 'I enjoy most classes, I struggle slightly with transfiguration, but it's still fun to learn about everything.' They gave themselves a moment to ponder the question.
'My top three have to be herbology, astrology and charms I think. Granted, that changes essentially every day though.' They laughed, never quite certain what their favourite class had to be.
'What are your opinions about it?' They asked after a long moment of thought.

Emma grinned at Rayne, understanding completely. "Probably not," Emma chuckled. "Though at least it's shared so not as much work individually." Emma added, grinning.

Emma began to think of the answers she would give if Rayne asked her the same question. She did like herbology but that should be a given. On the other hand, maybe not. Just because some Hufflepuffs enjoyed it didn't mean they all did. So that would be up there. Then there was charms, which was interesting but also not as much fun as some other classes. History of Magic didn't really make the list as she would rather be doing things than memorizing. Shocking considering it was much easier to get a higher mark with memorization rather than practical. But it was the truth. Transfiguration was always interesting, mainly because changing one thing to another was always a cool feeling. Care of Magical Creatures included some cute creatures, which was nice. Then there was potions. She could take it or leave it, although some of the potions she could see being very useful.

She was just rambling internally now, and realized that Rayne was speaking. She managed to tune in as she mentioned transfiguration, luckily in enough time to catch their top three and laugh along with them. "Well, I agree it's fun to learn but I would say Transfiguration, Herbology and Care of Magical Creatures, though Defence Against the Dark Arts is very informative as is potions. I just like the idea of chaanging things from one thing to another, plants and animals. Or at least those are the basic reasons," Emma laughed. "I will say the homework is much more interesting than muggle school, and I'm glad there's no more proper maths. Maths was awful." Emma scrunched her nose, not even wanting to think of that cursed subject. "What was your least favorite class in muggle school? And I guess favorite?"

Favourite subjects with @Emma Wynn

Rayne was truly caught up by Emma's question. What was their favourite subject. They enjoyed everything. For some reason, they felt obliged to pick. Which one did they feel most excited for? Impossible to measure. Which one had the best homework? Depends on the assignment type. Which teacher was nicest? Impossible to decide, and nothing to do with the subject itself. They decided to let the thought drift off, certain they would see it again. Perhaps the question would pop up during sleep-scarce nights, or less interesting studies.

Maybe it didn't matter, maybe it was OK to not know. Surely it's good that they looked forward to and enjoyed all subjects. School would surely be dull if there were only one or two they genuinely enjoyed. I thought you were letting the question go! Rayne said to themselves.

'Your right about homework. Muggle homework always felt like a chore, but most of the time I genuinely enjoy most of the work here.'
It was much more fun to write out how to cast a spell, or brew a potion, or study the stars than write out maths problems.
'Muggle subjects, good question.' Rayne paused to decide. 'Geography. I hated geography. I could never understand it. I'm rubbish at pinpointing locations, or stuff like flags and capital cities. I'm not bad at map reading though, funnily enough.'
Rayne gently twirled their hair through their fingers.
'I think my favourites are anything creative. I like English, the writing parts mostly. We had art lessons once a week, I always looked forwards to those. I guess it doesn't really count as a subject but I always enjoyed acting. I used to go to a club on Saturdays.'

'I'm guessing you don't like maths, any others you particularly love or hate?'

Emma was happy at how things were going. It seemed that maybe, just maybe she was making a friend, someone who she could hang out with at school. She had made a friend or two in the four months school had been in session, but it was always nice to meet some more and learn new things about people. Especially within her own house. True to the words spoken at the opening banquet, she spent quite a bit of time with her housemates.

Emma grinned at Rayne's response. "Very true. Though I would argue that History of Magic truly feels very similar to some of my muggle classes. Though with more interesting subject matter." Emma added. She had been so nervous in her first lessons, but learned that she actually could do the things she was being asked and do it well. With some practice of course.

"That is a bit ironic, really. Geography was alright for me but I am terrible at putting things in the proper location or really pointing in the right direction. I'm hoping there's some sort of potion or spell that helps with the whole directions thing. Else I'll rely on gps for the rest of my life." Emma sighed dramatically before giggling quietly.

"Ohhhhh. Interesting. Was there any particular art form you preferred outside of acting? And what's your favorite piece you've acted out?" Emma eagerly rushed out, so very happy that conversation wasn't fizzling out.

Emma chuckled at Rayne's statement about maths. "You would be correct. Maths was the worst and I could never figure out how to deal with word problems specifically. As for love, I loved history, and science courses. I explored some languages but I was meh. With art, I liked it but wasn't very talented. Hate would be maths, and gym. Anything else was kind of meh, I could take it or leave it." Emma had spoken much longer than she anticipated.

@Rayne Chance

Talking about subjects with @Emma Wynn

'Very true. Though I would argue that History of Magic truly feels very similar to some of my muggle classes. Though with more interesting subject matter.'
Rayne nodded in agreement, thinking back to their History of Magic classes. They had always enjoyed history, even back in muggle school. They found it highly interesting to learn about different eras and practices. One thing they had particularly enjoyed learning about were the Salem Witch Trials. It was so fascinating, and in some cases heart-breaking.
'Mhm,' Rayne replied, 'And I think it's so fascinating to see how much muggle history actually is linked and explained by magic history.'Rayne added excitedly.

Rayne's gaze moved around the hall quickly. The crowd seemed to be slightly thinning, tables becoming empty. For a moment, they were unsure what to do. Their first instinct would be to move, let Emma have some peace and quiet. Rayne also was desperate to stay put, because they were enjoying the conversation and so, they hoped, was Emma. After a moment of unsure thought, they concluded it best to stay put, and move only if their friend indicated it to be preferable. They listened absently to what Emma was saying, and laughed with her.
'Oh the torture!' They exclaimed dramatically. 'I couldn't bear to use GPS!' Rayne struggled to supress their giggles. 'Anyways...' They declared, looking around. One woman caught their eye, giving the pair the most odd look. Rayne couldn't help but burst into fits of laughter. They were only relieved that the pub was still rather busy and noisy.

Rayne pondered their companions question, mulling over their response. 'Well, as I enjoy sketching and painting quite a lot, I'll show you some of my stuff if you would be interested. I like music, I play and sing, sometimes I compose stuff too. And I guess I don't hate dance either. I like musical theatre. Oh and sculpting, I like working with clay.' Rayne fought the urge to say they weren't very good. They struggled with confidence sometimes, and was trying to take pride in their work. 'As for a favourite piece, my acting club performed a script about this post-war, apocalyptic piece. It was about an hour and we entered a competition with it as well. We won, which was super cool, and also got us a load of funding from the prize.' Rayne remembered it excitedly. It had been one of the best and most proud moments of their life. 'It was quite recent actually, at the start of summer this year, before I got my acceptance letter. Rayne smiled, brimming with an unusual sense of pride.

Rayne listened as Emma spoke about subjects, listening to the information. They had learned that people often appreciated it when you remember facts about them. Even little details. It was quite validating, an indication that they care.

Emma shifted slightly, becoming uncomfortable with her position, so she decided to switch. She glanced down at her boots, thinking that her boots must be close to dry now. But still, it would be rude to put her boots on the furniture. Deciding she needed to switch positions and could easily ensure her boot was set to drip off the side of the chair, she lifed up slightly, putting one leg under the other and ensuring her boot was hanging off the end. Much more comfortable at least until her leg feel asleep again, Emma settled back into her seat.

"That is interesting. I'm kind of looking forward to the Witch Hunts to see things from a different point of view. Especially because you have to think that the people who died weren't wizards or witches. They'd likely have figured some way out." Emma said, somewhat solemnly. After all, magic seemed to be able to do a lot. It seemed like the wizarding world would have come up with some way of being killed if they were ever caught.

Emma saw Rayne's gaze move around the tables. She hoped her new friend wouldn't leave but could understand if she wanted to move. Emma mentally sighed when Rayne continued to speak. Giggling she answered, "I know right? What could be better? Maps and a compass?" Emma couldn't help it and joined Rayne in her laughter.

Wiping her eyes as her laughter had caused some tears to squeeze out, Emma focused back on the conversation at hand. "That would be great! I'm sure it's excellent!" Emma exclaimed. Listening to Rayne speak about their artistry, Emma was glad that Rayne had that. Emma hoped they were friends by now or at least on the path and Emma was always happy when her friends were. "That is amazing that you've explored so much and found what you enjoy! I'm sure your work is amazing. Hunh, I wonder if there's some kind of club or something that is for artists at Hogwarts?" Emma put forth. Rayne would be an excellent candidate for such a club. Emma herself hadn't joined anything yet, still feeling a little imposterish. She was debating going for Dueling even though she didn't really like fighting, but she thought it would be good practice of spells and also to learn how to defend herself in a real situation rather than practicing in classrooms.

"Tell me more. I admit, my mind doesn't immediately jump to post-war, apocalyptic for genres as it can be a bit depressing or scary at times, but I'd be interested in hearing more about the play." Emma was also happy to listen whenever her friends wanted to share, even if it wasn't necessarily a subject she enjoyed. "That's cool! Especially considering you're so young, and were able to participate in something like that and do so well." Emma hoped Rayne didn't take that the wrong way. She was more saying it was amazing that she had been able to participate and succeed at a younger age rather than trying to disparage her success.

@Rayne Chance