I'm Drawn to You PV Clair Fernandez

Colin was soon engrossed in in his sketching. He worked a bit on shading a wolf's belly, then a fox's tail, then a niffler's back. But before long he was drawn back to the flying girl. Clair. He worked on the grains of her broom handle and the position of her foot. He decided that it would look really cool and swank if her toe pointed straight down. It would show confidence and grace in the midst of chaos and uncertainty.

A slight shift in the air caught Colin's attention. Someone was walking by. He didn't look up but in stead added a few tendrils of hair to his sketch, streaming out behind Clair's face. Faces were hard to draw well. He only hoped he caught her beautiful determination and controlled fierceness. And then it struck him. The shift of air had brought a scent of familiarity with it. The soft sounds of books being placed carefully on wood and the swishing sound of parchments made his ears perk up. The solid clack of ink bottle on wood and the soft rattle of quills could only mean that studying was about to take place.

Finishing with the tendril of hair, Colin looked up from his sketch book, then to left and right. His breath caught in his throat! He let out a surprised squeak. "YEEP!!" There she is! Sitting just up the table from Colin! "Oh my God!" he whispered; "She's right there! --- Whoah. Okay, lad, calm down! You can do this, Colin!"

He watched as Clair arranged her things on the table. Twas now or never! He wouldn't want to disturb her whilst she was studying --- but, before then? Colin bit his lower lip, then stood up on the long wooden bench. He walked along the bench until he stood across from her. He curled his toes on the edge of the thick wood.

"Clair? Um. Hi?"

Oof.

Why was this so hard? Hadn't they spent hours on the train talking? Hadn't he yowled for her at the feast? Twice! Hadn't he invited her to the kiss the bottle game. "Laddie!" he said to himself; "Ask her!"

"Er," he said louder. "Clair? Can --- Can I sit with you? Um. Maybe we can talk?" Colin's heart pounded in his chest, and he was sure she'd be able to see! He really hoped she's say yes! He hoped they could talk. While it was true he could spend eternity just contemplating Clair, he thought it would far grander to actually get to know her better!

@Clair Fernandez || @Sophia Nelson

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none of the art shown above is mine, it was all taken from Pinterest.
Also, Clair's art would be just a tad bit less nice, I could not find any that were not perfect

Oh my God! She said sure! Colin sat down across from Clair and the look of mild anxiety on his face was immediately replaced with one of abject despondency --- he had no idea what to talk about with her! His brain entirely fuzzed out on him, all memory was wiped clean! The only thing he could keep in his mind for more than two milliseconds right now was Clair's face. And Colin knew he couldn't very well chat with her about her face, right?

"Your eyes sparkle like sunlight on the loch at midday," he said. Oh blast! Laddie! We're not supposed to chat about her face!

"You like to draw?" she asked. Colin wondered if she'd heard him or not. She pointed at Colin's sketch book. At least Clair had the presence of mind to talk about something interesting.

"WAIT! Clair's face is interesting!" he chode himself. Colin blushed intensely and he felt sure that the heat from his face would burn the paper of the book! "That's not what I meant! Oh crap! I said that out loud!" Colin groaned at his own stupidity. "I mean it is interesting! Your face ---" He groaned again as Clair opened up her own sketch book.

"I love to draw, I'm not the best at it. Not yet at least."

Colin moaned and thunked his head down onto the heavy wood of the table in embarrassment. This wasn't going well at all! He was being all stupid today, and how would she ever like him if he were like this? She's a Ravenclaw! Sure she'd like an intelligent lad. And now Colin was being the ponderously dumb Slytherin.

Still she didn't seem to take any notice of his discomfiture. He wondered if she were simply oblivious to how badly he was crushing on her --- no! Much more than crushing! Or was she just being nice here in the hall and would go back to her dorm later and talk about the idiotic Slytherin boy that made such a fool of himself today.

Colin felt sick on top of his other --- issues.

He managed to lift his head and nod when she asked him if he liked to draw. He smiled bleakly. Colin looked at the pictures Clair had drawn. They'd talked about their love for horses while on the train, but clearly her love for domestic creatures far surpassed his! Colin liked wild creatures better. "Whoa! Those are really nice!" Colin momentarily lost his stupidity as he looked at the really nice drawings Clair had made. She really could draw well!

"I like to draw too! Not so much animals ---" Colin did like drawing wolves and fantastic beasts and magical creatures, though. He opened up his sketch book, and of course it opened itself onto several drawings of Clair! Oof!

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Colin's eyes widened when he realised how many drawings he'd made of Clair already! At least the book didn't open on the more obviously werewolfy pictures! If she turned the page, Clair would really be in for a surprise! He smiled sheepishly. "Er." He fidgeted a bit. "Th---they're supposed to be --- um --- I like drawing --- you."

Most sketches are of Bibi Blocksberg; picture of Mildred Hubble by SkyGuardy
@Clair Fernandez

The shock of not being able to go to the Ball with Clair was lessening. And while his heart still ached terribly, Colin was really happy that she'd agreed to chat and to show her some of his drawings. He was a little suprised that his book decided to open up on, of all things, drawings of Clair! It's not like his sketch books weren't full of owls and cats, and flowers and the mountains beyond the grounds; and family and friends and places he'd been; and even creatures and worlds of fantasy! No, it landed on some silly cartoony sketches of Clair!

Clair riding her broom (lots of those!). Clair riding her horse. Clair carrying a Christmas tree. Colin and Clair sitting together. Oof. Even a couple of wolfy Colin looking on!

Did I just say 'I like drawing you'? Out loud!? Colin thought. Oh no! She's gonna bonk me for sure! And sure enough, her whole demeanour seemed to change --- he couldn't tell what she was thinking but she didn't seem pleased.

"You what?"

Her head shook slowly, the long brown hair waving gently. Colin watched her wavy hair and thought how cool it would be to draw --- "Stop it Colin!" he muttered to himself. "Oh, crud." That he said out loud. She must think I'm an idiot, he thought. He was in for it now! She was staring at him. It was an intimidating stare. Colin felt certain that this was one of those moments where the intensity of the girl's stare had better be matched by the sensibility of the boy's explanation.

Colin fidgeted under the solar intensity of her stare. "W--- You see--- Er." He rested his hands on either side of his sketch book, the evidence of his crime there for anyone passing by to see. His stomach twisted up and he felt like he was going to be sick. "I like--- it's like this--- um. Well, ever since---"

He moaned in despair. Colin loved Clair! He was certain of it! Yet why couldn't he just say it? He drew pictures of the things and people he loved, and that made his heart happy. "You see, Clair, um. There's something---" Colin squirmed on the bench. He'd only wished to draw someone he had come to care for.

Under all the pressure, Colin sort of crumpled a little. He hunched over with his hands in his lap. "I --- I'm sorry I upset you Clair." Oof. That's not what he wanted to say! He licked his dry lips, searching for something to say that wouldn't get him bonked or laughed it. He looked down at the table, knowing that what he was about to say wasn't the real reason. "It's just that I like watching you fly --- you're a really good racer!" He shrugged. "I just thought it would be nice to draw you doing something you like." He knew he'd kick himself later for saying that.

He let out a deep breath, still looking down at the table. He didn't close the sketch book, and hoped that Clair wouldn't either. Mostly, he was hoping she wouldn't shout at him or tell him to go away because he's being creepy.

@Clair Fernandez

Colin wished he could have just looked the girl in the eyes and said I love you, Clair Fernandez! That's why! But no. He felt too down and too unsure about himself now. It seemed like everything he tried, everything that made so much sense in his own mind Clair just ignored. He was beginning to doubt, to wonder if maybe his heart was wrong after all. He knew well enough that he could make mistakes, even big ones. But this? It couldn't be, but --- What if I'm wrong about Clair and me? he said to himself.

Clair continued to look at him. Colin could feel her eyes on him. This is where she was going to laugh at him and all the other Ravenclaws would join in and make fun of him. He shook his head slightly. No, my heart can't be wrong, can it? Colin's nostrils flared slightly. Love is the one pure thing I've got! My heart's got to be right!

"You did not upset me." she said.

"I know that's right!" Colin burst out at almost the same instant Clair spoke! Wait! WHAT!?

"I'm just confused as to why you'd want to draw me of all the people here, I'm hardly interesting."

Colin's head snapped up and he looked into Clair's bright blue eyes. He blinked. "Wait --- what!? You mean I didn't make you mad at me?" Colin was confused and his mind felt like like that stringy noodle stuff he saw in the muggle restaurant, stabeggy! "I---! Wh---? Y---" Not interesting!?

"If you like to see me fly, then why don't we go out for a flight sometime? you could bring your broom and I'll bring mine, and we could go for a nice ride. We could even race, maybe."

Colin's heart skipped about twenty beats when Clair said this! She actually wanted to race him!? Wait. Was she inviting him to fly with her!?!? Colin's jaw dropped. "But! The other day---" The sting of her rejection of his invitation to the Ball was still quite fresh in his heart and in his mind. And this really confused Colin. Why would she ask him to go racing and flying with her if she had someone already?

"I'm sorry about turning you down for the ball, I would have said no if I had of known you would ask."

Colin nearly died when Clair's declaration got through the entangled noodles that his brain had just become! WHAT!? Did that mean ---? It couldn't be, could it? Colin's heart jumped up into his throat when he heard what she'd just said. His face lit up and he gasped with the shock of it all! SHE WOULD HAVE SAID YES!!

So surprised was Colin that he rocketed up out of his seat, jumped up onto bench and crouched down, facing Clair. His eyes were wide and his hands clenched the edge of the table! "You --- you would have said yes!! Oh, crickey dick! How could I have been so stupid?" Colin couldn't decide between sobbing and laughing so settled on a moan in stead. It was too late now, but if only he'd asked Clair earlier, perhaps this chance meeting would have gone so very differently.

Clair didn't seem to be anywhere near as upset as Colin was. He wondered. Perhaps she was, and was simply better at hiding her emotions. Colin knew very well that he expressed his pretty openly. And now he was practically shaking with a mixture of excitement and bitter disappointment. He wondered who the lucky boy was. A horrible thought entered Colin's mind just then, a nasty, teasing thought. What if someone else were interested in Clair too? What if she liked him more than Colin?

She broke that despairing line of consideration, though, by asking him what he thought must be the craziest question ever: "Why do you like to watch me fly? Am I just that amazing?" She flicked her amazingly beautiful hair and gave him a playful smile.

He couldn't help but smile in return! "What do you mean? Clair! Of course you're amazing! I love --- ! I mean I love to watch you fly; I mean, you're a natural! Like, really graceful. And, what did you mean you're not interesting? You're smart. You read a lot. I bet there's all sorts of interesting things about you."

Colin sat back down on the bench and his bare feet slapped the stone floor softly. "Whoa," he said softly. He felt hot and excited. So much had just happened inside him he could hardly keep it all straight! He picked up his pencil in his left hand, flipped to an empty page in his sketch book and began to draw.

Soon a sketch of a three quarters Moon and two people sitting on a hovering broom was taking shape. "I always liked the Moon, Clair. What about you? What sorts of things do you like?" He looked up quickly and narrowed his eyes at the girl. He loved looking into Clair's blue eyes. "Besides goats and horses!" He couldn't help but laugh! Colin had the feeling that his greatest competition for her --- did he dare think it? for Clair's love --- would most likely be a farm full of livestock!

@Clair Fernandez || @AngelFyre McCubbin