General The Ravenclaw Table 2018-2019

Becky had hardly any precedent when it came to people other than her Mother and Grandmother, and those that did precede weren't exactly gemstones. So, when this young girl, who couldn't have been a year older than herself, chased away a snide ghost, brushed the food Becky ruined off of her, offered her understanding, ignored Becky's pointed snub, and then had the audacity to offer her friendship, it's fair to say Becky was a little confused. Becky had been nothing but nasty, and she'd been nothing but nice. It was fairly off putting.

Becky watched her calmy find her page, and when finished, offer help to the house elves. She was stunned, to be frank. Becky realized several awkward moments too late that she'd forgotten to put her glare in the back drawer, and she suddenly felt ashamed that she'd been so harsh on someone who had only been kind. Looking down at her feet, Becky forgot her embarrassment, until she realized that she was still standing in her mess. A fresh wave of shame fell over her, but this time she didn't get angry. Instead she took a plate off the grand table and bent down beside the girl to help clean up.

After a few moments, Becky realized that this was probably where a person would introduce themselves.

"I'm Becky," she said, and paused before she barrelled into the next part, "thank you- I, uh, just wanted to say thank you, you know, for helping me. I'm sorry that I was so rude before."

Becky didn't look up as she continued to put ruined food onto the plate and tried to pretend that the world wasn't there. It's hard to admit when you're wrong; Becky didn't much like the feeling.

"thank you- I, uh, just wanted to say thank you, you know, for helping me. I'm sorry that I was so rude before."

Odessa was surprised to see the girl had also bent over to help her pick up the food from off the ground. She heard the girl apologize to her and could tell that it might not be something she was comfortable with doing. "Hey. don't you worry about it. It happens". Odessa didn't want her to think too much of it. After all the food had just about been picked up, she looked at the girl carrying a plate with food from off the floor and smiled. "Do you want to finish eating with me?" she asked the girl while noticing her stomach rumbling. "All of this commotion has made me slightly more hungry than before". Odessa hoped that she wasn't asking for too much. After all, the girl had just shown that she didn't really want to be bothered. Maybe she should've just let the girl go. All she could do was hope that her question turned out good. To be honest, the real reason she asked was because she really wanted a friend. Even if she seemed upset at first, maybe she would decide to be nice. All of these thoughts were flowing through Odessa's head as she waited for an answer.

Becky didn't like the taste of swallowing pride, but in this scenerio she knew that she'd been unfair to the girl, and guilt was a powerful emotion. She'd rather think to herself that anger wasn't an emotion she was especially prone to, but the truth can sometimes be a pesky reminder. When the girl was happy to accept her apology, Becky couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy. Likable people could be so irritating.

Shrugging her shoulders, she tried to hide her distasteful emotions behind a smile that was definitely, at least partly, geniune. It's funny how a person can be so torn. On one side was the knowledge that she could never be as simply, purely pleasant as her, and on the other, admiration for her selfless words and actions. Being a good person is a hard choice.

"Do you want to finish eating with me?" The girl, whom Becky still didn't know the name of, asked.

Pausing for a moment as she set the plate of dirty food down, Becky turned to look at her with a seemingly perplexed expression. From the outside it almost looked like she was calculating a sum in her head.

Nastiness/Apology + Kindness and Good Character = ???

Becky looked down where the mess she'd made had been, and noticed it was now shining from whatever cleaning enchantment the house elves did after she'd fallen. Messes can almost always be cleaned up, it occurred to her, and Hogwarts was a place of magic.

Beaming a true, wide smile Becky felt hapiness flush her cheeks and it appeared that the jealousy and failed pride had been cleared away.

"I'd really, really love to," she said, "honestly."

Sitting down on the bench beside where the girl had previously sat, Becky pushed the dirty plate aside and realized another one had, of course by some magic, taken it's place. As she started to load a great heap of mashed potatoes onto the plate's replacement, she introduced herself, finally.

"My name's Becky- Linberg. That's me," she said with a charming bit of awkward, "I'm muggle-born. I don't really know many wizards or witches here." She looked up at the enchanted ceiling with raised eyebrows and a look of disbelief, "To be honest, this," she said with a nod up above, "is just about the best thing I've ever seen."

Laughing a little guiltily she added, "That and the ability to clean with magic- sorry for that, by the way- did any food get on you?"

There was something genuinely peculiar about this experience for Grayson. Typically, he would not have gotten a response to his question, and, if he had received an answer, he would nod it off; however, in a world where he perceived up as down and down as up, it seemed fitting that he find some stranger willing to associate with him. At each opportunity, it appeared that she was reading him, breaking him down. She is building a profile on you, Grayson... Predator alert! Well, I know that you ruled out the T-Rex and flesh-eating option, but her analysis... It is strange. You're a passer, a ghost... You do not interact, and they do not reciprocate... Where does her interest come from? Maybe, Grayson, you need to analyze her, find out what makes her tick, who she seems to be. It could be a filthy little masquerade for her. Thus, Grayson set out for analyzation in case he found out that she had some sinister purpose here.

As Grayson began to look her up and down, he realized one thing about his ability to read people: it was non-existent: entirely. As his eyes darted up and down, he saw nothing in each movement, no clues in her facial expression, no emotion in her tone. Every single detail was useless. If this were Behavior Analysis 101, Grayson would have failed the first class. There was no capability there; lack of social interaction was likely to blame. Wait, but if the diameter of the square root of a squaretangle is... Nope. That got you nowhere. Sorry, Grayson. I thought that I might be able to go off on a nonsensical thought train and get some whiff of her personality. Again, continue... If he could not collect information off of her, then what could he do. Would he merely roll over to expose his soft underbelly to gain safety without a backup plan? Or is that strategy too dangerous? Ugh... The game was afoot, and it was especially dangerous today.

She was so calm here, in this wizarding world, so willing to exist. This intense calamity had not graced Grayson's mind since he had shown signs of his... changes. It was all insanity from floating a giant oatmeal bowl to a talking hat psycho-analyzing Grayson. Then, the analyzation seemed to disappear. Had she decided to ignore him, continue talking with him, hit him with cake? The anticipation started to kill him. In the back of his mind, he played out his favorite cliched death scene in the hopes of modeling his after it. Oh no... My heart. I... I cannot... take this... Tell Darlene that I love her.

Again, she surprised Grayson with her willingness to interact. This girl seemed to do that a lot. She seemed to want him as a friend. Grayson, I was wrong. She is not a predator. She is an absolute nutcase! You are the worst person on this planet, and she wants to interact with you!!! Are you kidding me?!?!?!? Come on; this is not okay... Even though his inner self advised himself against the interaction, the prospect of a friend, a first friend, tempted him too much. Finding out that she was not from this world was calming as it was somebody who could understand his tendencies towards isolationism. Alright, you're ignoring me now. I do not like this Grayson. Just... Just.... Keep your guard up. I mean, you are treading shark-infested waters, and you might just be using one for camouflage.

When she fired back, he decided that it would be safe to tell the truth. She might be crazy; however, she meant well. In response, he told her, "I-I-I am muggle born t-t-too. No blood purity here, just m-m-m-mud. My i-i-i-incidents were rather-" He paused, flashing out a small toothy grin before continuing and stating, "u-u-unfor-unfor-unfortunate for others. It's b-b-b-been an adju-u-u-ustment." That sinister little grin floated away to be replaced by a moment of panic, but he could not help but relish the moment of dumping dozens of gallons of oatmeal on his teacher's head. A prized prank, a crown fit for a king. SIlence. He had lost the ability to continue the conversation. Oh no.... Oh no.... How do you continue a conversation Grayson/!?!?!? Damn you! What did I tell you about getting involved???

Rylet smirked at him as she finished off her food and leaned back. It sounded as if Greyson had also had some interesting incidents with his magic, if his grin was any indication. The way he showed his teeth, than let it slip away told her loads about his own less than normal appreciation of the things that had happened. Excited now too hear the war stories of someone else she propped her head on her hands and stared intently at Grayson, giving him the full attention of her stare and mind. She couldn't wait too hear this.

"Soooo do tell, what every did you do?" She asked with a mischievous glint in her big blue greens eyes, hair cascading over one shoulder. She fancied herself too look like an imp in that moment, having always loved too imagine herself and others as mythical creatures. Well, now she really was, a witch, talking too a wizard. She never thought all of her fantasy reading would be anything more than fantasy. For all she knew imps truly existed. But what would Grayson be... hmmm. She eyed him critically as she thought, but nothing came too mind. With a pout she rested her head more heavily in her hands. This was going to bother her, she would be thinking about it for a while. Rylet dragged herself back too the delightfully entertaining happenings at hands.

"I'll tell you my stories after." Rylet promised, still as utterly delighted.

"My name's Becky- Linberg. That's me," she said with a charming bit of awkward, "I'm muggle-born. I don't really know many wizards or witches here."

Odessa was relieved that the girl no longer seemed to have fiery feelings towards her. Odessa didn't disdain her fiery attitude, and quite honestly, she wished that she could have it from time to time. She realized that sometimes her kindness could be a weakness for others to take advantage of her. Although, if she wanted to become a great witch, she would have to eventually get tough....or.. find a new friend that could be tough instead, so she didn't have to be. She heard the girl say she was a muggle-born and that made her excited. "Really?" she replied a little to eagerly. "I'm a muggle-born too! It's nice to know that I'm not the only one that seems a bit clueless around here." she said with a mouthful of sausage in her mouth. For how nice Odessa was, she at times could be a bit silly and lack manners when she gets excited. Out of the corner of her eye, Odessa could see the girl look up.

"To be honest, this," she said with a nod up above, "is just about the best thing I've ever seen.". "That and the ability to clean with magic- sorry for that, by the way- did any food get on you?"

Odessa continued to eat her food. "Oh yeah the enchanted sky, I know right?" she bit into another piece of sausage. She usually didn't eat while talking but she had just done an immense amount of studying and she had worked up quite an appetite. "Hey and don't worry about it. I only got a little bit of food on me but its no big deal, I have too many clothes to speak of" she replied with a smile as she had just finished her sausage. She laughed a little and then said, "You know, mum and dad never cooked like this back in London. Where are you from? You said you were muggle-born right? " she asked the girl.

"I'm a muggle-born too! It's nice to know that I'm not the only one that seems a bit clueless around here." she said with a mouthful of sausage in her mouth.

Becky didn't know how common muggle born wizards were, and upon discovering the girl's muggle born lineage she determined that she was going to research it. Knowing who she was always seemed like an important thing to Becky, which was often a terrible conflict resting on her adolescent mind, but it occurred to her now, in the profound way a realization sometimes ambushes you, that Becky was a witch. What a magical thing life could be, she thought, with a solid sense of irony. She wondered just how many other Hogwarts students were going through the same adjustment she and this girl were.

As she looked up at the enchanted ceiling, Becky remarked on how wonderful magic was- which reminded her of the wonderful magic of cleaning, specifically that of food in garments. Hoping that she didn't ruin her clothes much, Becky asked the girl if any food spilt on her.

"Hey and don't worry about it. I only got a little bit of food on me but its no big deal, I have too many clothes to speak of" she replied with a smile as she had just finished her sausage.

"Whew, okay. Good," Becky said, smiling and miming a dramatic sweat wipe from her forehead.

Becky wished she had the luxary of too many clothes herself. She'd packed in a hurry and behind her mother's back when she left for the wizard world. Her grandmother gave her money for supplies, but she'd never been much good with finances and Becky was finding the allowance a little tight. That reminded her, she needed to send an owl home. Her mother must be worried sick and she'd bet that her grandmother wasn't fairing too well under her mother's scrutiny for helping Becky go to Hogwarts.

The girl was eating and appeared to be famished. In her hurry, she was talking with her mouth full of sausage, which Becky thought made her like this girl more. Proper was no fun, anyway.

"You know, mum and dad never cooked like this back in London. Where are you from? You said you were muggle-born right? " she asked the girl.

At the mention of her home city, Becky got excited, "Hey, I'm from London too!" Furrowing her brow, Becky leaned in pretending to examine this girl thoroughly, "Are you sure you aren't an enchanted mirror image? Or maybe wizards have learned to clone! You know what, I better take you into my secret government lab, these are just way too many coincidences... hmmm...." She pondered off into the distance. Then suddenly perking up, she asked, "Would you care for a refreshment that may or may not be poisoned for scientific research?" as she offered her a bright red drink.

"Hey, I'm from London too!"

"Well actu-". Odessa noticed the girl move closer to her as she seemed to be examining her. She wondered what the girl was thinking. The girl spoke again.

"Are you sure you aren't an enchanted mirror image? Or maybe wizards have learned to clone! You know what, I better take you into my secret government lab, these are just way too many coincidences... hmmm...."

Odessa looked at the girl sincerely confused. "What does she mean secret government lab? The ministry? And what does she mean too many coincidences?" she thought to herself. The girl seemed to really be in thought, pondering something and it made Odessa a little bit nervous. There was an awkward silence that had fell as the girl pondered. Odessa began to laugh nervously, then the girl suddenly perked up and spoke again.

"Would you care for a refreshment that may or may not be poisoned for scientific research?"

The girl offered Odessa a bright red drink. "Where the hell did she get that drink from" she thought to herself. "And isn't it against school rules to create potions without taking a class or you know, being good at it?" Odessa looked at the potion and instead of agreeing, she just asked a question. "What does it do?" she asked the girl. Odessa couldn't lie, she was slightly intrigued by the red potion. She was all for following the rules but if the girl had made a really cool potion, all it would take is a trip to the hospital wing if anything went wrong... But what would the teachers think..? She looked at the girl curiously for an answer.

The girl looked a little confused and a tad uncomfortable, and Becky mentally kicked herself for whatever breach of social etiquette she just made. Did I come on too strong, she wondered trying not to wince from the stink of social tension. Why does socializing have to be so hard?

Becky's hand was still held out, holding the random red drink she had picked up off of the table, she felt frozen in place. She'd been trying to be funny, but apparently it had come off as weird. Well, that's me, she thought bitterly as the girl looked at the drink.

"What does it do?" she asked.

Oh, Becky realized, she thinks it's a potion. Becky was still getting used to the fact that Hogwarts was a wizarding school. She smiled, crooked and sweet, while furrowing her brow, shy from her social failure.

"You know, I don't know," Becky said, as she brought the drink up to her face, and sniffed the red liquid. It gave off a fruity, zingy smell.

Becky's faced relaxed into a full smile as she laughed a little.

"I think it's just fruit punch. Do you want to try it or should I? I can never resist curiousity, it's just too dull otherwise." Becky asked, resting her elbow on the table.

"You know, I don't know," said the girl. She doesn't know? Odessa watched as the girl carelessly smelled the mystery liquid trying to gauge what face the girl made depending on the smell and probably its potential level of toxicity.

"I think it's just fruit punch. Do you want to try it or should I? I can never resist curiousity, it's just too dull otherwise." the girl said. Oh man what a relief. "But now I look stupid for thinking she had made a potion. Its only right that I take the drink now". Odessa laughed, "I really thought that was a potion. I won't lie, it would have been impressive if it was. Most pure-blood students can't even concoct a potion in their first year before classes".

Odessa reached her hand out and grabbed the cup. "I need this drink now after eating that food anyways" she said as she took a sip from the cup. She only took a small sip because in the back of her mind, she still kind of believed that the cup was still full of a red poisonous potion. It wasn't, it was fruit punch like she said, or at least it tasted like it. "Curious" Odessa said smiling, "you sure this isn't a poisonous potion? Because if I die from this, my dying wish will be that you fail potions class" she said jokingly.