a little solitude never hurt anyone pv Jack Burnett Closed

"Couldn't agree with you more," a 5'2" Slytherin said, coming up behind Rhys. "Let me guess. Parents?" He smirked. "They alway seem to think they know what's best for you. But who would know that better than yourself?"

Jack had overheard the unfamiliar student talking to themselves and couldn't help but come over to add his own input. After all, he had heard them say something about making friends and boy did he have a strong opinion on that. Peering down at the table on which Rhys had been writing, Jack quickly deduced they must have been writing a letter to their parent. Their mom, specifically, if the pronoun of 'she' had anything to do with it. Well, that or an aunt or female guardian of some sort, but the point was they wanted their child to make friends and their kid didn't want to.

Smart kid, Jack thought, regarding them. He couldn't tell if they were a boy or a girl, thought. Perhaps both? Neither? Not that it really mattered to him.

"Why not tell her how making friends can be hazardous to your health?" the fourth year asked. "Tell her how friends are always prone to stabbing you in the back or, even worse, making you worry about them, especially at Hogwarts. You've got your hands full enough worrying about yourself, so what do you need other people to worry about for?"

As he spoke, his mind wandered bitterly to the people he had really cared about since entering Hogwarts and how they had each seemed to leave him one after the other. Friends just gave you the sort of heartache you didn't need, whether they meant to or not. People were better off without them - no matter how lonely it made them in the end. If you had friends and something happened to them, you were only bound to get even lonelier than if you'd never had them at all.

@Rhys Read

Rhys startled as a voice spoke up from behind them, instinctively covering their writing-- of which consisted only of 'Dear Mum,'-- as they turned towards the voice. It was that of an older student, standing in Slytherin robes behind the chair in which Rhys sat. He had hair like theirs, a sort of auburn or reddish-brown color, and hazel eyes that sparkled with mischief as he spoke. Rhys narrowed their own eyes as they listened to what he had to say, but then allowed themself to relax a little as it became more apparent that he wasn't there to mess with them, only to offer his own input and advice.

Advice, it seemed, that Rhys could actually agree with. They exhaled, shrugging as they pushed the scroll of parchment away and shook their head.

"Yeah, she's been pestering me nonstop about it. I guess my brothers have been spying on me and telling her what I haven't, because I've been avoiding replying to any of her letters." Rhys then paused to consider what the older boy had said afterwards, about friends being hazardous to their health, and whatnot. They got the feeling that he was speaking from his own personal experience, because he spoke with a certain sincerity and phrasing that, to Rhys, was believable enough.

It was true that Rhys already was busy enough with schooling to really worry about "making friends"-- they had applied to a few clubs that had interested them but were yet to really attend any meetings or gauge how they felt about them. And they'd only done so to have a reason to tell their brothers and mum to kindly piss off. But it wasn't enough, their mum wanted details about who they were meeting, and if she could count on being able to invite anyone over to their house for holiday break. Rhys shuddered just at the thought of even having anyone over to their house during winter break.

"Hm, that could work, but then she'd probably say I need counseling for being paranoid. She's never really had much of an issue with social anxiety, or anxiety of any kind, really... But it's not even just that, people now just don't walk up to each other, all 'hey, wanna be mates?'" Rhys rose their voice an octave, rolling their eyes and crossing their arms. ""And she's a real estate agent, so of course she's the overly friendly type, beyond just being friendly to try to get people to hire her to help sell or buy their house. If I had a dime for every time I heard something about one of her clients, I'd probably have about as much money as she does and not need to worry about finding a career after Hogwarts."

"Your brothers have been spying on you? Well that’s awful of them. I thought siblings were supposed to stick together, not rat each other out. I suppose they can be annoying sometimes, though," he murmured, thinking of his own adopted brother back home. "How come you’ve been avoiding replying to any of her letters, though? Is it that hard to talk to her?"

He supposed if she was the type of mother to always pester and nag about the same old things, he could understand that. But he also knew that not writing to mothers just made them worry more which made them more desperate to get in contact with their child and thus made them do more desperate things - like get their other kids to spy on their unresponsive one.

When the younger student told Jack their mother would probably say they needed counceling for being paranoid, he paused a moment, then laughed. Yeah, he supposed he could see that. "Alright, then, how about this? Tell her you met me. Hi, my name’s Jack Burnett. We don’t have to be friends or anything, but at least you can let her know you’re trying by meeting and talking to people, right?"

Hearing their mother was a real estate agent, his eyes grew wide. "What? No way! My mother’s a real estate agent, too! I know exactly what you mean!" Jack said, laughing. "Mind me asking if you’re muggle-born? Or does the wizarding world have real estate agents, too?"

@Rhys Read

"Oh. That's tough," Jack commented when Rhys said they didn't know what to write because their mom seemed to know everything already. "Maybe there are things you think she knows that she doesn't, though. Or, even if she knows them, she'd prefer to hear about them directly from you rather than from your brothers. There are some things even they can't tell her about you, right?"

He listened to the kid talk about their twin brothers, presumably Rhun and Rhain. It seemed that Rhun was the more mischievous one as well as being the elder of the two. Jack grinned when the Gryffindor said they loved them both, but that they were exhausting. "Yeah...my adopted brother was a lot like that, too, so I know the feeling. I guess that's just how siblings are." He couldn't imagine having twin brothers, though.

When the kid began to smile, Jack's grew as well, glad he could provide an acceptable solution for them. He was surprised when they mentioned something of a 'mentorship', having never really thought of himself as a mentor before, but he was already in his fourth year at Hogwarts. That had to count for something, right? Why not be a mentor, then? Especially to this kid who seemed to have a good deal in common with him?

"Alright, sure," he agreed, thinking about how in his younger days he probably wouldn't have agreed to such a thing if he hadn't gotten something in return. But you are getting something in return, he told himself. You're getting someone to keep you company. Someone who you don't have to worry about getting too close as friends to. After all, Rhys didn't seem interested in making friends, so he was safe there. Still, they seemed to get along, and that was nice. It certainly beat trying to make enemies in order to avoid being lonely.

"The pleasure is mine, Read," he answered to Rhys' introduction. "And...well, I'm honored you mean them even slightly, then," he said, laughing yet again. "As for not disliking my company, I'll take that as a compliment. I don't think I'll dislike yours, either."

Noticing Rhys nod toward the seat next to them, Jack took the hint and sat, happy to have someone to talk to for a little while longer. "Nah, you're not disappointing me," he assured Rhys when they explained they weren't muggle-born. "That's crazy, though. Your father is really a pureblood? And he married a muggle? That must have taken a lot of courage and guts. I'll bet his family wasn't too happy about it." He sounded to Jack like a pretty clever guy, though, especially if he could win arguments as a lawyer, so he was sure the man had probably been able to stand his ground fairly well when it came to deciding who he wanted to marry even if it was against his family's wishes. Unless, of course, for some reason his pureblood family hadn't minded him marrying a muggle.

"Six of you?! Bloody hell, I could barely stand having a brother and two parents!" Jack exclaimed, running a hand through his hair. "But yeah...I'm muggle-born. I was an only child until my first year at Hogwarts when I met a second year by the name of Ruka Tan. His dad had died the previous year and he had no mum, so after we got really close that year, my parents took him in and adopted him." He sighed then, missing his brother. "He decided to quit attending Hogwarts shortly after and I miss him, but it was his choice to make. I imagine it was hard enough just studying muggle stuff and catching up to his grade level since he didn't attend muggle school when he was younger."

@Rhys Read

"Oh...yeah, I can understand that," Jack sympathized when Rhys explained it was difficult to tell their mom things that even their brothers didn't know. It was a shame Rhys didn't feel comfortable enough to tell their mother certain things about their life. She was their mother, after all. Then again, maybe that was part of what made it more difficult to tell her things. Maybe Rhys didn't want to worry her unnecessarily or live with her judgement hanging over them.

Jack smiled when Rhys seemed to automatically call him by his last name. Perhaps it was because he had called them by theirs, but he was glad of it. He felt a little embarrassed sometimes having to explain his whole thing about why he referred to people by their last names and why he preferred getting addressed by his own. Maybe Rhys already understood why considering they also weren't eager to make friends out of anyone.

When Rhys' smile faltered somewhat, Jack wondered if he had said something he shouldn't have. Rhys didn't seem to mind explaining about their father's side of the family and their stance on him marrying a muggle, though, so Jack listened. He grinned again at the comment that their grandparents were pretty bitter towards their mother until Rhain and Rhun were born. It was funny what children did to grandparents.

"I think it's really cool that you're a half-blood. I kind of wish I had been born one," the Slytherin commented offhandedly. "That way you could learn about both the wizarding and the muggle world. Neither would catch you by surprise as you got older. And you could choose for yourself what you liked best of both worlds. I still feel really weird only having learned about the wizarding world the week before my 11th birthday."

He nodded in understanding when Rhys explained they never really got along well with any of the other kids and that they got into a few fights here and there. "And what about you?" Jack asked. "Do you think Hogwarts is just the change you needed, or is it more or less like your old muggle school?"

@Rhys Read

"I think it's really cool that you're a half-blood. I kind of wish I had been born one," Jack commented. "That way you could learn about both the wizarding and the muggle world. Neither would catch you by surprise as you got older. And you could choose for yourself what you liked best of both worlds. I still feel really weird only having learned about the wizarding world the week before my 11th birthday."

Huh, Rhys hadn't really thought about it that way. Being half-blooded had always felt like a pain, and though they doubted that this perspective would really change that, it did help a little bit. They frowned in thought as Jack continued.

"And what about you?" Jack asked them. "Do you think Hogwarts is just the change you needed, or is it more or less like your old muggle school?"

"Hmm," Rhys said, chewing their lip as they crossed their arms and slumped back in their chair. They had well and truly achieved the sense of being comfortable around the older student, and they tilted their head as they considered his words. While they weren't exactly a fan of constantly being surrounded by people, it was nice to not constantly be surrounded by their family, who could be just as, if not more, overwhelming. Even with Rhain and Rhun doing their so-called "reporting" on Rhys back to their mother, they weren't always in the 11-year-old's space like when they were all at home. "All things considered, I suppose Hogwarts is a welcome reprieve. I'm yet to really get into any trouble with anyone, so it's still pretty early to be making any real comparisons to my old school." They shrugged, waving a dismissive hand. "But it's still September. I have plenty of time between now and winter break to either prove my mother right, or disappoint my father. The possibilities are endless." Rhys cracked a smirk, before shifting. "Though I suppose I won't go looking for trouble.." Rhys conceded, pausing. "Trouble just always seems to find me."

@Jack Burnett
OOC

Reducio

Holy cow, I apologize that this took me so long

Jack regarded Rhys as the other student thought, slumping back in their seat after crossing their arms over their chest. In a few minutes, they responded with the statement that, all things considered, they supposed Hogwarts was a welcome reprieve and that they had yet to really get into trouble with anyone, so it was still too early to be making comparisons to their old school. The Slytherin nodded slowly in acknowledgement and understanding.

The Gryffindor went on to say they still had plenty of time to either prove their mother right or disappoint their father and that the possibilities were endless. Well, that was for sure. One never knew what could happen, especially at Hogwarts. When Rhys said they supposed they wouldn't go looking for trouble but that trouble just seemed to find them, the older boy had no trouble believing it. Trouble seemed to find a lot of people pretty easily.

"You said there's time to prove your mother right and I assume you mean the fact that she thinks making a friend or two would be good for you. But what do you mean about disappointing your father?" Jack wanted to know. "You mean like with grades or something?"

@Rhys Read