A Helping Hand... closed

Donny knew almost exactly about muggle happenings. He went to muggle school for most of his life, and he'd had all muggle friends. "Oh yeah! I was practically a muggle before I got my letter!" he said honestly. "I don't really need to take muggle studies to be honest," he continued. All his life was, was being constantly made fun of. By muggles and Wizards, he was teased just for being him. He was meanwhile sketching pictures of golden snitches on his extra scrap parchment. He glanced back up at Allie, a sentiment on the tip of his tongue. "What's your favorite class?" he asked her. His favorite was probably flying lessons, but to be literal, he quite liked astronomy. He loved to look up at the stars and point out all of the constellations and planets allure. "Mine's astronomy!" he said, before she answered. He didn't want to think about the list she'd probably have of favorite subjects knowing how she liked to spend her leisure, but he had to ask something. He continued to animate his parchment as he waited. The snitch was now being engulfed by a Thunderbird for the pure sake of it. He looked back up as Allie had made up her mind... 

     

Allie wasn't too sure what her favorite subject would be or if she even had one. She loved to learn anything and everything that she could, so everything seemed fun for her. "Hmm, I don't know if I can choose just one, but I guess if I really had to choose my top two favorite subjects, then it would definitely come down to Charms and Herbology. I think they would probably be my favorites, but that's probably because I know the most about them. My mom always practices Charms at home and my dad has a Herbology garden in our backyard that he lets me help out with. I hate Mandrakes though." She shuddered a bit at the thought of the shrieks. "Gnomes are pretty annoying too, but my cousins and I made a game out of who could catch more of them. I remember whenever I'd go visit my family who lives in the muggle world it was really hard not to talk to them about all the things that we did, but it was fun learning how to play soccer with them. I like being a part of both worlds because I feel like it helps me fit in."

Donny was almost too sure of what she meant. The muggle world was kind of boring, but considering he was part muggle, he couldn't really talk. "Yeah.." he said. He decided since they were talking on a personal level, he'd probably talk a little more about himself. "I don't live a very lively life I guess you could say. I'm really more just the stay inside and watch a live Quidditch game, or draw some pictures of goblins and gargoyles." he told her, kind of embarrassed about his boring life. "I wish I had a pet though...' he trailed off. "First years are kind of limited here." It was true, not only could they not have pets, but they couldn't even have brooms! "If you were to have a pet, what would you get?" he asked Allie. He'd always wanted a cat named Tigger. If he had a cat, only Merlin knows what he would do with it! He'd  probably take it with him on flights and even matches! 

He'd had a pet toad once before named Tod. He disappeared a week later after a run in with a street cat. He silently awaited Allies answer, hoping she'd keep the conversation going...     
 

Allie nodded her head in agreement. "Yeah, I get what you mean about first years being limited on what we can do, but it makes sense though. I mean, I imagine if we went to a muggle school, then there would still probably be rules on what we could and couldn't do. It probably helps from first years getting into things that they shouldn't be doing or could be dangerous. I mean, could you imagine what some of these students would do if we were all taught transfiguration in our first years?" Allie laughed a bit. "As far as pets go though, I've always been a cat person, so that's what I'd probably choose. There's just something about cats that makes me feel at ease. They're very... low maintenance I guess. We have a pet cat at home named Dina. There was a neighborhood cat who gave birth to kittens under our back porch the same day I was born, so my parents decided to keep one and give the rest to friends and family. Dina's mom still kinda lives with us. She comes around every now and then to get food and to give Dina a bath." Allie let out a laugh. "It's pretty funny to watch Dina's hair stick up when she gets a bath from her mom."

Donny knew cats didn't quite like baths. He just wanted a companion, something he could talk to other than a moving picture from an old Daily Prophet news clipping. "Yeah, my gran had about four cats at one time. It was kind of crazy how they would run from her when she even mentioned bathing!" Donny laughed. "I don't really think my mom would approve of a cat, as much as i'd want her to," he continued, slightly frowning at the subject. He was now folding small paper cranes and trying to make them fly. The study room had a distinctive feeling to it, one that made people feel uncomfortably bored. "Have you ever seen a Qudditch game?" he asked Allie, without bothering to look up as he spoke. 

He knew very well he'd seen plenty of Quidditch games, live or not, the action still makes him turn in his seat with every movement of the players. He'd been trying to teach a dear friend Ruka how to fly, knowing he was scared out of his wits of being off his feet. He looked back up, sighing as he stretched and yawning. "Sorry," he said. "Just... tired!" he said, laughing at himself now...      

"She really had four cats at one time?! That's really amazing. I can barely handle one cat, to be honest. Dina is very dependent on my parents and I. She's really affectionate all the time, so she's constantly rubbing her face against mine and stepping in front of my books when I'm trying to read." Allie let out a laugh before shaking her head slightly in response to his questions. Allie watched him fold spare parchment into cranes. "My mom used to do that too. It's called something right? Origami or something like that. She used to make flowers and stuff like that for me to use as bookmarks." Allie sighed a bit. She was beginning to feel a bit homesick. "Oh, not really. I've read about like what teams are which, and whenever England wins my dad is always in a good mood, but I've never really been interested in sports or anything, so I've never really had the desire to keep up with Quidditch." She stretched her back slightly. "I feel you on the tired thing. Homework can be so tiring, especially if it's a subject that you have to be very specific with like with Potions or Transfiguration."

Donny was glad he and Allie were on a good level. Sure, she wasn't the biggest Qudditch fan, but not everyone will be. He nodded his head in agreement as she mentioned the word 'Origami'. "Yes, that's the word!" Donny said looking back down at his assortment of paper cranes, or Origami rather. "I learned how to do it back in muggle school," he told her, looking back in his mind for a bit. "It takes a little time..." he continued, creasing another spare piece of parchment, "But anyone can get the hang of it really." He looked up at Allie, noticing she too needed something to do rather than chat in a boring study room. "Here," he said, passing her a sheet of parchment. "Fold this in half, and i'll show you some Origami," he said, biting his tongue as he finished his last crane. 

He'd only known how to do Origami for no more than two years, and what better to do when your bored and have little time to spare? He took out another sheet for himself and folded it in unison. "I'll show you how to make a paper hat! Considering class starts soon, i'll make it quick!" he added, smiling...      

Allie was glad to have made at least one friend so far in her time here. It wasn't often that she was able to sit down and talk with someone like this. She usually spent most of her time doing homework, or just staring off into space with her nose stuck in a book. "You went to a muggle school before you came here? How was that? I've heard about what that's like from my cousins and stuff. They think that I go to some fancy private school since they're not allowed to know that I'm actually a witch." 

She shrugged her shoulders slightly. "They send me letters every now and then. Of course, they have to give it to my parents to send to me because they can't use owls, but it works out in the end." Allie leaned her head on the back of the chair, using her hand as a sort of makeshift cushion. She perked up a bit at Donny's offer to teach her how to do the paper folding. "Really? You'd really teach me how to make something as cool as that out of some pieces of parchment?" She took the piece of parchment that he had offered her and followed his directions in folding it carefully.

Donny smiled, and continued to fold his paper accordingly, doing it extra slow for a guide. He pondered about his next answer. "Well...muggle school was okay but for me it was quite difficult actually. They were never quite find of me there, and my mum went to school there before Hogwarts as well, it might be prejudice, but I'd never be sure why, she made top grades even before she became a Witch." he said, his eyebrows furrowing with confusion. "Anyways, I like to do this stuff, in fact, it helps me cope sometimes even more than venturing out on the grounds." he continued, creasing his paper aggressively to get his point across about creasing being a crucial part in Origami.

"So...what is your favorite part of Hogwarts? You know-other than studying, like-fun wise?" he asked Allie, trying to keep a conversation as it was near time for them to get to classes, his being his least Transfiguration of course. He meanwhile was also worrying about potions class, he'd forgotten to get his scales out of his trunk, and he wasn't really allowed to crawl back up to the dorms, so there he was, empty satchel and all ready for his classes...