Pleased to Meet You PV Cathy Finished

8:58 am.

Cathy strutted into the library, fingers fumbling together in a ball. A calming exercise for the young girl, one of the many nervous ticks she had. She walked into the library a jittering ball of nerves. Thoughts danced in her head, tormenting her poor anxious brain. Every possible thing that could go wrong was presenting itself in her mind, making the girl more fidgety. If it were the majority of days, she would have progressed to the level of pulling on her braids but today, like many other days since she started Hogwarts, she'd let her hair down. Some might say it was a showing of true self, a display of how Hogwarts has changed her. In reality, she just doesn't have the energy in the morning to do her hair in braids anymore. Her mother had been the one to do them, and send her off to school with a lovely caress of her face as well as a kiss on the forehead when she was finished. She will admit she does miss that life.

Yet, she held onto the strap of her tiny little messenger bag, a gift from her Grandmother, she was reminded of what she was here for. It was mainly a thing to carry sewing supplies in case of an emergency, two snacks taken from the Hufflepuff common room, a few band-aids (Though in a world where things can be easily healed with spells, is it truly necessary to have those?), and other little knick-knacks. Today, however, it held something different.

A navy blue scarf lay on-top of the usual items, acting as a makeshift blanket. Cathy made sure to check practically a thousand items, mentally securing it's location in her brain. She could not mess this up. She had spent these past few days working tirelessly on it, spending night after night trying to achieve perfection. Saturday was a bit of rush for her in terms of timing but she swore to herself she would make the quota. This boy had been so nice to her, so kind to her in every letter that it left her smiling. It felt good to have a person you could tell stories to, chat about your life, reveal your fears. He was there for her, and he provided his own advice (typical of a Ravenclaw to be knowledgeable she supposed). His thoughtfulness would not go noticed, she promised herself. So she knit and knit and knit until every little bit of yarn was in the correct area and she was left with a fluffy little navy blue scarf. It was a sign of friendship, her real first friend at Hogwarts. She gave a small smile at the fact she was going to meet such a lovely friend.

She wondered throughout the library, eyes darting about in a semi-frantic way, but that was probably due to nerves. She didn't see many people, only heightening her anxieties. Though, she calmed herself with the common sense that most people weren't early risers.

She had walked away from the main part, straying a bit further into one area, it was then she realized the vastness of this library. So many books, so many columns, so many places her friend could be. Worry filled up within her like helium in a balloon. She began to fidget again and her mouth formed into something resembling a squiggly line. Just before the level of fear increased, her eyes met the figure of a boy.

Short, curly, dirty blonde hair was the first thing that stuck out to her. She blinked twice before adjusting her eyes a bit, fully letting the boy's features enter her brain. His eyes were a bright, dark grey, a unique color of eyes she hadn't really seen before. He seemed small and a maybe an inch or two taller than herself, she vaguely remembered Gavin calling himself 'short'. He had a lightly tanned skin and face that was filled with concentration. Her eyes fell to where he was looking at and she took in what he was doing.

A sketchbook, huh. Gavin was artist type. She thought back to the letters, brain bringing up the details that he was into painting and that kind of thing. Uncertainty rose on her face and nervousness flooded her again. Oh dear, what if she bothered the wrong boy? Well, she's got a pretty good chance of it being him, might as well take it. Cathy reasoned that if it was the wrong boy, she'd just apologized and walk away, and then hope to fade into nothingness.

Her steps over to him were soft and quiet, much like the girl herself. She didn't want to startle the potential Gavin. She carefully trotted over to just in-front of the boy, where he was still sketching.

"Um, Excuse me?" She called out in a quiet voice, irish accent shining through her soft-spoken words. "Do you happen to be Gavin Faulkner by chance?" She questioned, voice shaky with fear. She managed to give a small polite smile though, she was trying to be friendly after-all. As she met the boy's eyes, she prayed that her intuition was correct and that she didn't have to stumble her way through a awkward apology.

➵

When Gavin heard the nervous question, he immediately looked up. Standing there was a shy-looking brunette, eyes conveying her anxiety. Her hands were balled nervously and there was a small messenger bag over her shoulder that seemed to contain a number of items, if the silhouette was anything to go by. If he looked at it closely, he could see deep navy from within. "That would be me," he confirmed. "You're Cathy, right?"

He noticed that her eyes had glanced at his sketchbook briefly before he spoke, so he quickly figured that must have something to do with her nervousness. Well, there was probably more to it, but it might be a significant factor. After all, he remembered telling her that he preferred painting over drawing. To someone who was already nervous, witnessing something that doesn't entirely align with what they know of another could easily lead to such a conclusion.

He offered a comforting grin. "I like to sketch when I'm away from an easel," he said. Then, his smile turned wry. "Besides, lugging around everything for painting is far from convenient."

Folding the sketchbook shut, he set it on the table, he motioned to the other seat, waiting for the girl to sit down before speaking. "So, do I meet whatever expectations you have of me?" His tone was lighthearted, eyes glimmering. He may have a penchant for sarcasm, but considering the brunette's current demeanour, he figured he would hold off on it. He was excited to meet his friend and he didn't want to scare her off by accident.

Reducio

I get that. It's been quite the day for me as well. And no problem! Sorry for my own rather short post.

@Catherine Drea

➵

The boy looked up from his sketching at her words, and Cathy could feel the nervousness in her rising. She never quite liked eyes being on her, she was never good being the center of attention. She continued to offer the boy a shy smile, she wanted to make a good first impression. She practically heaved with relief the moment he revealed that he was indeed, Gavin. A large sigh of relief left her for a moment before she could stop herself though she quickly gained her composure again.

"Mhm, It's a pleasure to meet you, Gavin, well, in-person, that is" She remarked in a tone laced with sincerity, nerves slowly disappearing at the boy's confirmation. Her eyes fell again to the drawings on the sketchbook. She hadn't really looked at them in detail, but they were truly marvelous displays. Her eyes widened at the sight, she looked at the drawings with amazement present on her face. Hm, and she could barely draw a stick figure.

"You have a lot of talent, you know...with uhm-...your sketches?" She complimented, voice gaining a bit more volume as she grew more comfortable. Gavin's positive demeanour certainly was a big help in making her feel better that's for sure. Normally, she'd be much more of anxious mess when meeting new people, but Gavin was different, he was a friend. She held onto the strap of the bag, breaking the little ball she'd made with her her fists. It was always akward when she had to explain to people, that no, she wasn't holding anything in there, it was just her balling up her fists with anxiety. It always earned her pitiful looks, something that, honestly, just made her feel worse.

She held the strap of her bag, mentally checking to see if, yes, she did have everything. She was always the type of person to check everything a thousand times before being satisfied.

The boy-no, Gavin, Cathy scolded herself for not connecting the boy's name to the face by now, informed her that he sketches whenever away from an easel. That explains why he wasn't painting She thought to herself, and her previous worries were now silenced. She gave a small nod at Gavin's next comment. Having to drag all of those little pieces of equipment around must be quite the chore.

Cathy's eyes perked up the moment the boy had gestured to the other seat. Oh dear, where are her manners? Of course she should have sat down. She quickly moved into her seat, fumbling with her belongings for a moment. It took her a moment to settle and when she did, she let herself relax a bit, everything was going smoothly. She gave Gavin a thankful look, really he was being so polite!

"So, do I meet whatever expectations you have of me?",Gavin asked in a lighthearted tone. Cathy found herself eager for the question, it was a simple answer really.

"Well, I didn't really have many expectations, but umh-, I figured you'd be very nice and polite as you were in the letters, you proved me right," Cathy answered honestly, soft tone complimenting her shy nature. Despite the lack of volume, her words didn't sound unsure. She gave him another sweet smile. Then, memory hit her like a truck.

"Oh oh oh! Right, umh-here, uh, here's your little gift of friendship? I'm calling it that atleast for now. I hope you like it and it keeps you warm. S-scotland has very harsh winters I've heard...um, sorry if it's not the best, I'm still sort of an amateur," She rambled nervously. She didn't want to disappoint her new friend of course. His welcoming attitude was helping to keep her grounded and she flipped open the messenger bag, hastily grabbing the navy blue scarf from the containment area and shut the messenger bag in a process that couldn't have been more than five seconds. Her father always used to joke that she could win every race of speed if they just freak out her first.

She held out the scarf in front of her after digging it out from her bag, holding it directly in Gavin's line of sight. She beamed at him, excitement and anxiety both present in her, an interesting combination.

"Umh, Do you like it?" She hesitantly questioned.

➵

When Cathy complimented the drawings, he laughed lightly. "Thank you. I can't capture as many small details when I draw, but I can shade really well." Shading was a nightmare at first, but his da was the drawing expert.

After taking a seat and answering his question - very sweet, definitely matched what she was like in the letters - she startled. "Oh oh oh! Right, uhm- here, uh, here's your little gift of friendship? I'm calling it that at least for now. I hope you like it and it keeps you warm. S-Scotland has very harsh winters I've heard...um, sorry if it's not the best, I'm still sort of an amateur," she stammered out, all the while pulling a navy blue scarf out of her bag with insane speed. Gavin couldn't help his eyes widening at the franticness. She extended it, beaming with a mix of joy and that same underlying anxiety that still seemed to permeate her, although a bit less than when she'd first come up to him.

Gently, he took it from her hands, observing the knitting. Maybe it was just his own lack of knowledge in that sphere, but it looked pretty good to him despite her calling herself an amateur. Running his fingers over it, it was soft as well and he imagined it would be warm. It wasn't scratchy either like he knew some yarns could be.

He was pulled from his observations by Cathy's hesitant question. "Uhm, do you like it?"

He looked back up at her, making sure to maintain eye contact while he smiled. "For someone who calls herself an amateur, I think that it's great. The texture and yarn are really nice and the colour is terrific as well," he complimented. "You definitely have talent."

@Catherine Drea

➵

Gavin's words hit her and she felt herself grinning at the compliment. She had impressed him, she did it! She sense of accomplishment went over her as she recounted the previous words in her head. A delighted smile fell upon her face, the previous hints of anxiety were lost as happiness filled her at the thought of her making a gift that he liked. It came from that instinctive feeling of pride whenever she helped someone, her stomach would fill with that mushy feeling of cheerfulness as she watched.

"Thank you, thank you very much!" She replied, tone not doing very well to hide her enthusiasm at his approval. She gave him a sweet smile, one that showed her contentment with making him happy.

Um- yeah, the yarn and stuff I get from my mam, she always picks the best, she sends them over in a care package every few weeks or so. She's real nice like that," She informed, tone growing fond at the mention of her mother.

"I got a lot of practice sewing and knitting things for Brian, my uh baby brother. We didn't really have too much so knitting was always much cheaper. When children are so little they don't really mind the difference in quality, he played with my homemade toys and ones from the store just the same," She spoke, an affectionate look on her face the entire time as she recounted the memories of her brother. She missed him, but she needed to be here, no matter how much it hurt to leave the family.

"I'll have to ask my mam how he's doing....H-He just started nursery and all that! So I guess we're both in big new schools now, though I don't think we have nap-time...."She commented, voice turning into something more playful at the joke at the end. Confidence was going in her, but still the underlying softness of her always would be there in her tone.

➵

Seeing a friend light up like Cathy did at the compliment definitely hit different. Gavin was never really close with kids his age, so he didn't really know what that felt like. However, this friendship thing was definitely good.

At her explanation about the yarn, he hummed. "That's real neat," he said, grinning. The fondness that the brunette spoke with was contagious.

It was interesting to listen to her talk about her family, the way her entire expression softened and the tension seemed to melt away. He found himself nodding in understanding, interlocking his fingers and resting his chin atop them.

When she mentioned nap time, he smirked. "The days of nap time are long gone, unfortunately, my friend," he lamented. He never participated in it much himself, but that was when he was a little kid. From what he heard from upperclassmen, the older kids really needed more sleep.

"Well, I can't say that I understand having to look out for a younger sibling myself, but Andy - the one I mentioned in my letters, taught me how to play the piano - tended to worry about me whenever I got injured or into trouble," he commented. Hmm... he missed the black-haired boy.

He then remembered why he'd brought the sketchbook with him in the first place. "Do you want to see some drawings? If you see anything you like, you can take the page. It's the least I could do since you knitted me a whole scarf," he remarked. He would admit, he enjoyed showing people his art. Although his paintings were his pride and joy, any of his art he would gladly show.

@Catherine Drea
This will probably be my last post for now, but I shall be back tomorrow (aka about 7 hours or so).

➵

Cathy let out a small smile at Gavin’s supposed interest with her explanation of the yarn. It was nice that she managed to capture his attention fully from talking about yarn.

As she began to ramble about her family, she saw him nod with an understanding. He was a good listener.

After her little joke, she heard him declare, ”The days of nap time are long gone, unfortunately, my friend”. His tone was dripping with amusement of his own and Cathy could not stop herself from giving a playful reply of her own.

“Oh believe me, I know” She responded, tone more reflective. There were certainly some days she felt the effects of waking up early, mainly after a late night of studying. Sometimes she would exhaust herself just to perfect a certain spell, she was hard on herself like that. The light-hearted nature she had displayed previously was a little muddled at the thought of her previous suffering but it was quickly cut off by Gavin’s next few words.

He began to talk about his own experience with the older student he had befriended- the one he had mentioned in the letters. Cathy gave a warm smile at the mention of that kid, he seemed nice from the way Gavin was currently talking about him.

“Older siblings do tend to worry, I was always fussing over Brian. He’s a little fire-cracker, he has sort of an impulsive attitude that I fear would get him into trouble…but I’ll do whatever I can to help him, just like Andy for you. It’s good that you surround yourself with people who care about you like that,” She enlightened, tone still quiet and soft. The soft tone complimented the gentleness of her words, giving a certainty serenity in her presence as she gave him her thoughts. Gavin then asked her something that caught her attention.

“Do you want to see some drawings? If you see anything you like, you can take the page. It’s the least I could do since you knitted me a whole scarf,” Gavin offered and Cathy felt herself melt a little inside. He was so sweet.

”Thank you, that’s very kind,” She announced, giving him a softhearted smile. She really did appreciate his good nature, it felt good to have a friend who was being so nice to her. She didn’t really have many friends at all, so to have such a considerate one was certainly a blessing.

“What sort of things do you draw?” She inquired, her mind peaked with curiosity.

➵

Gavin snickered at Cathy’s response. He fell asleep pretty quickly and then stayed like that until morning, nothing able to disturb him. His mother said he slept like the dead. Well, what was death but a particularly long sleep anyway? Besides the fact that they wouldn’t ever wake up… hopefully. Was necromancy outlawed? It should be. Who were they, mere mortals, to meddle with the laws of life and death?

Cathy’s statement about older siblings made him smile. She definitely sounded like an older sibling, with the softness of her voice. Her brother was lucky to have her. “Yeah. It’s good for healthy growth to grow up with a good support system,” he said. That statement didn’t come from nowhere, either. He remembered reading an article that summer, in fact, about how growing up with a healthy relationship with your family could improve cognitive development.

As he was opening his sketchbook, he heard her ask, ”What sort of things do you draw?”

He was happy to answer, of course, beginning to flip through the pages as he narrated, working from his most recent drawings. “I draw a lot of what I see. I got this sketchbook when I got my Hogwarts letter, a gift from my parents for getting accepted. Because I’ve mainly had this for the school year, I’ve drawn some of the architecture, people who have allowed me to draw them, etc. The earlier pages, however, the ones from before coming here, are animals I saw in the forest and scenery from back home. Most of the scenery is accompanied by pictures.”

The pictures, taped in the corners of the pages, made the sketchbook rather thick despite him only being about halfway through. The difference between the pages he’d used and those he hadn’t was stark, the edges a bit wrinkled. There was duct tape on the back of the cover, keeping tears shut so they didn’t get worse. Some drawings had colour, mainly the ones of animals, although some of the forest ones had colour as well if only to differentiate between the different greens and browns. There was a drawing of a cardinal with the background drawn in pencil, but the bird itself was coloured in a vibrant red. There were several different lakes, drawings of the common room, various classrooms and hallways. There were a lot of cardinals and bluebirds and the occasional raven or crow. A few of Oxford. There were also chipmunks, squirrels, and other animals that were commonly found in the forest. Usually, there were several drawn on one page for convenience’s sake. He didn’t have scissors on him at the moment, but if she wanted one of them, he was pretty good at tearing paper.

Reducio

Okay, so I punched this out before school started, but what I said in the owl is officially in effect now.

@Catherine Drea

➵

Cathy felt a warm feeling rise in her at Gavin’s snickering. Just the idea of being able to make someone laugh was a feat that she rarely accomplished so it was nice to see that she managed to complete the task for her first real friend at Hogwarts.

She felt herself a nod at her friend’s comment regarding support systems. She had been lucky to receive such loving parents, some children hadn’t been able to receive a pair of good parents, a fact that hurt her heart. Her mother had always reminded her of the fates of other less fortunate children when she was picky with something, saying she should be grateful for what she has. It was a lesson that stuck in her mind.

When she has asked about his sketchbook, Cathy was expecting a brief overview of everything. But, Instead, Gavin had gone into a rant, beginning to narrate everything about this book. Cathy found herself hooked to the boys every word, her interest peaked in this special little hobby of his. She could understand that feeling, that overwhelming sense of pride and enthusiasm for the one thing in the world that granted you more joy than others. She let a small smile fall on her face as she listened attentively.

“I draw a lot of what I see. I got this sketchbook when I got my Hogwarts letter, a gift from my parents for getting accepted. Because I’ve mainly had this for the school year, I’ve drawn some of the architecture, people who have allowed me to draw them, etc. The earlier pages, however, the ones from before coming here, are animals I saw in the forest and scenery from back home. Most of the scenery is accompanied by pictures.”

Her eyes grew to the size of saucers as she watched the boy and she drew in a breath. These pictures...were amazing. Cathy let her mouth hang agape for a few moments, looking with such a sincere awe at these photos. Such beautiful references, what lively colors, how realistic. She looked at him, admiration in her eyes for a moment. She was looking at true artist, there was no doubt about it.

From the way he talked, he was knowledgeable and the feats he was mentioning made the art even better. HE took those photos, he went out, he scoped the land, he did ALL THAT. He put all of that work into this masterpiece of his.

To say she was impressed was an understatement.

"This...this is....," She stumbled, words unable to form proper words. She continued to stare at the drawings, eyes taking in every detail of their beauty.

"This is absolutely incredible...I don't even-..oh my, these look so lovely," She praised, tone mixed with the type of calm excitement, almost as if she was in disbelief at what she was seeing. Her eyes fell and she pointed to a picture of a red cardinal.

"This- This bird's color is so vibrant...how did you do this?" She questioned, astonishment present in her voice. She continued to look over the drawings, a feeling of exuberant wonder appeared in her. She let a little chuckle of delight emerge from her, blank face of pure shock turning into a wide grin.