A New Friend? Here? PV Rafal Devereux

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Rafal would very much have liked to confute the general Hogwarts populace's less-than-favourable impression of his house, but a number of factors made it rather difficult. For one, and perhaps the one he was most irked by, the location of their common room.

While he wasn’t exactly sure where the other houses resided, it had to be more cheery than Slytherin's. Don’t get him wrong, Rafal was quite relieved not to have to suffer through constant onslaughts of reds and yellows, but did they have to go so overboard with the entire dark and evil vibe? The place seemed like it was almost always cold, and quite literally being in the dungeons was probably the reason why.

At any rate, he was eager to get up to the library. As he headed down the twisting corridors, Rafal adjusted his satchel. The place was currently deserted save himself - made sense, since there wasn’t much reason for anyone but a Slytherin to be here, apart from Potions class.

Speaking of which… Rafal stopped short in front of the Potions classroom. Was he imagining things, or were there sounds coming from there? Trying his best to be as quiet as possible, he stepped forward and pressed his ear to the door. It was almost negligible, but there was definitely the distant clanging of pots and pans, along with a distinctly human humming. Someone was there, all right.

Briefly, he considered what his next course of action ought to be. Were they even allowed to use the potions room on the weekends? What if the culprit was some nefarious seventh year, who would hex Rafal upon discovery? That would be a seriously lousy way to spend his Saturday.

Curse his overactive imagination! Alright, what were even the chances of that? Steeling himself, the Slytherin quickly pushed the door open, flinching back reflexively when… Nothing happened.

He cautiously stepped through the doorway, relaxing slightly when he didn’t burst into flames or anything of the sort. Racing heart steadily slowing down, he looked around at his surroundings.

It was… Anti-climactic, to say the least. There were no human sacrifices, animal sacrifices or hints of dark rituals, and the only occupant of the room was a cute brunette girl, plopped in a corner with an assortment of supplies. Rafal titled his head slightly, studying her. She didn’t look like someone who would do anything bad, but she hardly appeared to be brewing a potion either.

"Uh, hey!" Rafal raised his arm hesitantly in a sort of half-wave. He struggled to think of what to say next. "What are you… doing here?"

Interacting with @Graci Laren

@Rafal Devereux --------------------------------------------------------------------------------Banner by the amazing Veda Lunar

"Uh, hey! What are you… doing here?"

To say she was shocked would be an understatement. Graci should've known there would be other people down here, especially so close to the Slytherin living quarters.

"Oh! Uhm," Graci had to clear her throat, she hadn't been talking virtually all day. "I was just making candles. Sorry, did I disrupt you?"

She hoped not. She hoped the clanking of her two small pans would be muffled by the walls and the doors, her humming might've been an issue, but surely it wasn't that loud.

She was tapping her foot now, seemingly in impatience, but it was just an outlet for her many many incoherent thoughts. Stop it, Graci chided herself, You're not in trouble, you got permission from the professor that so long as you clean up and are out by curfew then you're doing nothing wrong.

"Again, so sorry, but I do have permission from the professor... would you like to see? One of the candles, I mean. It's a pretty dusty blue, I think it's because I used a different crayon than I normally use for my blue ones."

If she was to have an encounter with a stranger, she might as well make a possible friend from it, right? And it was a pretty colour, she couldn't lie about that.

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Perhaps he ought to have tried to make his entrance known before speaking, for the girl was obviously caught unawares. At Rafal's question, she appeared awfully surprised, and cleared her throat before replying in a rather raspy voice. Had she been down here all day?

He headed further into the room, stopping by the brunette girl and her setup. Up close, her collection was even more curious - wax, oils, crayons. It was all arranged in a rather complicated fashion, reinforcing his previous assumption of this not being any sort of potions work.

"Candles?" In his keenness at learning about this peculiar activity, Rafal took no notice of the second part of the sentence. The Slytherin's natural inquisitiveness came into play just then, and he simply had to know more about the art of candle-making.

"Don’t say sorry to me, it’s hardly my business if the professor said you could be there." Waving off the girl's apology, Rafal circled once around the setup, carefully examining it from all angles. He looked up, a grin on his face. "This is really quite brilliant, you know. I’ve never seen anyone make candles themselves before."

Nodding quickly at the girl's offer to see her work, Rafal straightened up, excitement evident. "I would love that! Blue is a great colour." Then as an afterthought- "My name is Rafal, by the way. You?"

Interacting with @Graci Laren

@Rafal Devereux --------------------------------------------------------------------------------Banner by the amazing Veda Lunar

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Gracilia! A curious name. As curious as its owner.

"Nicknames, eh?" Rafal pondered it for a moment. "How about… Graci?" It was right there, after all. And the only other one that really came to mind immediately was Candles, and he suspected that wouldn’t come across too well.

Rafal listened intently as Graci explained the different types of candles and their making process. This was really a lot of fascinating information, and although his textbooks were taking a backseat for now, this was an opportunity that could not be passed up.

He leaned in closer as Graci showed off a particular jar, green patterns adorning the edges. The work was remarkably detailed, and Rafal was very much impressed at what this girl had achieved. "Wow, that’s brilliant." He commented.

As she moved to work on what was presumably the next candle, Rafal watched her process intently. He hadn’t ever thought much of where all those candles the wizarding world were so fond of had come from, and he wondered if his new friend would let him try his hand at one himself.

Rafal set his satchel down on a table next to himself as he mulled over Graci's question. "Uh, good question. Well, I guess I enjoy… cooking and eating?" Growing up, his mother hardly bothered much with home-made meals, and so Rafal had taught himself. There were only so many pickle sandwiches a boy could take, after all. On the plus side, he discovered he genuinely enjoyed the whole thing.

"And…" The Slytherin paused. All right, he couldn’t think of anything else on the spot. "What about you? Any stuff you like besides this whole candles thing?"

Interacting with @Graci Laren

@Rafal Devereux --------------------------------------------------------------------------------Banner by the amazing Veda Lunar

Cooking and eating. Very justifiable hobbies. Though Graci much preferred the eating part. She hummed in agreement, contented. This was the life. Talking to a stranger in the potions classroom. Couldn't find anything better to do.

And her hobbies? Well, she had a few. "Well, for a bit I was into sourdough, but not anymore. And I enjoy making fantasy maps, just with some rice and paper, really. Uhm, reading, writing, I am rather fond of volleyball... and that's about it. None all too serious."

She paused for a moment, "It's really a shame Hogwarts doesn't have more muggle sports. They really are quite fun, and with all these kids wizarding schools could have quite good teams, too."

"Oh! Can you pick the colour for this one? I am really indecisive about this one." She handed him the jar of crayon, any colour you could imagine. Her collection was kind of absurd.

She got to work, making sure the wick was just right in the center, knowing it was always off just slightly. The imperfections of humans making candles, she supposed.

"So Rafal, cooking, eh? Do you have a favourite dish to make?" It was a solid question. You could tell a lot about a person based on their favourite food.

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Compared to all the interesting hobbies Graci had, Rafal's singular answer now seemed rather forlorn. He made a mental note to make a list later, so that he could scrounge up a better answer the next time someone asked that question.

The Slytherin nodded thoughtfully. "Sourdough is a solid choice, but I much prefer to make more conventionally desert stuff, you know? Like biscuits or cakes." What could he say, twelve year old boys had sweet tooths.

"How do you make fantasy maps with rice?" he wondered aloud. "Like, use them to lay out the patterns or something?"

"Volleyball? What's that?" Rafal suddenly had a mental image of a dozen people standing in two rows across from each other, then one group whipping out their wands and launching brightly coloured balls at the other in quick succession. He blinked. Woah. That would actually be wicked cool.

From what Graci asserted, this 'volleyball' was a Muggle sport. That explained it, Rafal knew muggles did all sorts of weird stuff. The lot didn’t have magic, so apparently they were just coming up with anything to deal with the infinite boredom that came with a sad, magic-less life now. "Well, I suppose." he said hesitantly. "We’re a wizarding school though, so… magic sports."

Ah, colour picking. A very important job, and one Rafal was touched that Graci had entrusted him with so soon after meeting. Carefully examining that great collection of crayons she had presented him with, Rafal finally decided on a minty green. Had to root for the home team, after all.

Laying it out, Rafal leaned back against a desk. How Graci stayed on her feet for so long without seemingly getting tired was beyond him. Perhaps 'volleyball' was a very efficient form of exercise after all.

"Hmm, paprikash." he stated. "Besides tasting good, I just love saying the word. Pap-ruh-kash." He stressed the last syllable.

Interacting with @Graci Laren

@Rafal Devereux --------------------------------------------------------------------------------Banner by the amazing Veda Lunar

The boy had a sweet tooth. Another thing they could have in common. He was right on track for the map making thing, so Graci just nodded.

As for volleyball... that she couldn't excuse. "Well, let me lay it out for you, the basics, at least."

She got out a stray biece of paper from her bag and a gel pen. Not a quill, those stained her hand. Though she was never exempt from hand staining, being left handed and all.

She drew a line through the middle of the paper, "This is the net, it's about seven feet give or take. It's usually taller for college teams and stuff."

She drew six circles on each side. "These are the players, three in the front and three in the back. In the front there's a setter, who usually sets it to one of the other people in the front who spikes it." She demonstrated setting and spiking.

"I mean, it's no Quidditch but it's fun and no magic needed. It makes sense that magic schools would have magic sports, but none of them are really physically athletic except for Quidditch. And maybe broom racing too, but only a little bit." She paused. "I'm probably a bit biased though."

She blushed, embarrassed she went on such a rant. Graci took the crayon, already peeled (she was through like that, and snapped it a few times, plopping it in with the partially melted wax.

He answered her previous question, the one about his favourite dish. Paprikash. "I have to admit, Rafal, I've never heard of Paprikash. Describe it to me."

OOC Note: I said I was gonna not be online today, but I wanted to get most of my replies done before I go on my trip because I don't know how much I'll be able to do.

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Graci was left handed. Perhaps a trivial detail, but one Rafal noticed nevertheless. As she set about explaining the mechanics of 'volleyball', the Slytherin leaned in closer, following her words carefully. Truthfully, the whole thing seemed a little plain to him - no flying? Spells? - but he supposed it must have its charm if Muggles were so into it.

He leaned back as Graci finished her little demonstration. "Well, I don’t know about that," he mused. "Anything with brooms is pretty physically demanding, and for duels you have to be up on your feet the whole, dodge and weave, and stay alert. That probably isn’t for the overly delicate. Though I admit, I’m likely biased too." Rafal chuckled good-naturedly. "Out of curiosity, are you a part of any sports here at Hogwarts?" The first year suspected he already knew the answer.

What Graci said next made him bolt upright. "Seriously? You’ve never even heard of it?" Rafal stated at her in disbelief. "Let me tell you, you’re missing out. It’s… " he struggled to find the right wording. "Like this stew made from spices, most of the time you add chicken, but other stuff works too. It’s amazing." Rafal crossed crossed his arms - more in a casual manner than vexed. "So what foods do you like then?"

Interacting with @Graci Laren