Justice Candy Open finished

Sophia's pout was the cutest thing on earth.

He couldn't help but smirk at the expression and watched as she put her wand away.

Kim hadn't thought she would cast anything at him but even if she had, he was willing to be hit by whatever spell she chose. He didn't mind being a guinea pig for his friends.

It would also help him out in the long run, as he'd take down notes as to what kind of spells were cast on him in certain situations. Sophia muttered something at him but with the candy sticking her mouth closed, he couldn't quite get what the words were. But after she'd swallowed, she repeated it and this time he got it and grinned at her. "Heh. True." He said, glancing over at his mini basket full to the brim with goodies. Not to mention his pockets.

Both his pants and jacket pockets. He'd forgotten to empty them into the mini basket he'd picked up earlier. But then again, why should he? Then he'd lose some candy but this way he'd gained some! Kim really was a chocoholic, and maybe a candy-holic too. Perhaps even a sugar-holic. Anything sweet and Kim was right there. He looked up as Sophia came over and took a seat next to him on the grass. And then she started to rifle through his bulging pockets.

Probably for more candy, which made him chuckle.

"You know what's funny about the pot and the kettle? They're both gluttons." Kim remarked with a casual twitch of his lips. He let her continue to search.

And looked over to his right to gaze at Irish, who had taken a seat next to him. "What's wrong with that?" Kim asked with an arched brow. "Wouldn't you want to be surrounded by a delicious mountain of sweets?" He licked his lips and unwrapped a chocolate frog, popping it into his mouth before it had a chance to move. They were one of his favorite treats. Not his favorite but close to it. Kim looked over at Irish for a moment or two.

He was looking pretty good today and Kim let his eyes sweep over the other boy. Kim rolled his eyes when Colin called him the Prince of Sweets. Well, he wasn't wrong there. Even the boys back at home used to call him that. Not just sweets but ice too. Ice Prince, Prince of Sweets, Cool Prince, Prince. But so far, no one at Hogwarts had called him that yet, except for Colin. It was interesting to note. Kim glanced over at Sophia when Colin mentioned the girl.

And then once again he was blamed for something he hadn't done.

This was getting to be a theme.

And this was why Kim didn't tend to make friends often. Caring about what other people said and thought was hard to do on a regular basis. He wasn't usually friendly, social or outgoing with others. The social anxiety he had prevented him from enjoying things to the utmost. But he didn't let it hold him back from participating in things. It was just it was difficult for him to truly relax while doing so. After all, Kim didn't have anyone he trusted to help guide him.

He also didn't like being touched or having someone bring their face close to his.

Unless he was the one who initiated this.

Kim might have a few friends but being his friend and being trusted by him were two completely different things. For him at least. As of right now, there was no one he trusted.

A sigh escaped his lips as Colin and Sophia teamed up against him and Kim shook his head. "What are you talking about? I didn't curse candy, that's blasphemy! You can curse anything on this earth but never candy. Well, I mean unless the candy is supposed to be a joke or prank. But if it's simply candy and has no ulterior purposes and is just meant to be enjoyed by eaters, I don't think you should ever curse it. It's just good the way it is and no one should mess with it!" He told Colin.

He had no issue with people using food or drinks to mess with people. Curses or hexes or potions, go right ahead! But with pure candy meant to be enjoyed the way it was, one should never do anything to corrupt it. There were already some types of candy that were meant to mess with people, one didn't need to convert all candy to do the job. Yes, Kim was obsessive about his sweets. If someone tried to curse a piece of candy and gave it to him, he'd get upset.

But not for the reason one might expect.

He wouldn't be upset you played a trick on him and tried to curse him with the candy.

Kim would be upset because you contaminated a piece of candy that should have been simply enjoyed by the eater. He would have preferred if you'd taken candy that had already been altered by a curse, hex or potion and pranked him. While he might not get mad, he'd certainly be a little miffed for a time. Kim was a boy who took his sweets very seriously, something not many people knew about him. Unless they'd been around him for awhile and knew his habits.

He glanced over at Colin as he spoke to Sophia and teased him about being the culprit behind her caramel-closed jaws. "You want a chocolate frog?" Kim asked.

Colin snorked and rolled his eyes as Kim gazed at Sophia. Girls? Eww!

Colin smiled as he and Sophia talked. Kim was such an interesting boy. He was used to siblings and friends who were easily understood. Colin was beginning to think that Kim was more like an onion or a leek --- full of layers that needed to be carefully peeled. And quite possibly layers, that once peeled, would leave one in tears for the trouble!

For example, Kim seemed to take his sweets very seriously. Prince of Sweets indeed! He noted that Kim rolled his own eyes when Colin had called him that. Interesting! I bet he takes notes on which sweets go best with what dinner or what time of day! He shook with silent laughter. For Colin, sweets were sweets. He didn't know the difference between one and another, and to be honest, he'd never even heard of most of the ones the other kids liked. Even the muggleborns knew more about that aspect of wizarding life than Colin did! For him, the only kind of candy that mattered was chocolate, and if it had Cadbury's written on it, that was all that mattered. Otherwise, he was more of a shortbread biscuit kind of lad.

Kim looked over at him, imperiously surveying his brightly wrapped domains. "What's wrong with that?" he asked. Colin knew by his expression, the way his eyebrow lifted, that he'd touched a chord! "Wouldn't you want to be surrounded by a delicious mountain of sweets?" he asked immediately after.

"No, your grace! I would not!" Colin said with a laugh and a wink of his eye. "I'll leave the heaps and mounds and hills and mountains of sweets to the Prince of Sweets himself. I don't even know what most of these things even are! I ate a choco frog once, and that was brilliant. But it wasn't Cadbury's, so --- But I don't know what these beans are everyone is talking about or jelly slugs or whizzing fizbees." He shrugged. "But at least I know who to ask!"

But what really caught Colin's attention was Kim's impassioned speech in defense of all sweets! He spoke about them the way one might talk about a favourite pet! His eyes widened as Kim went on --- and on --- about the wholesomeness of the very experience of candy. Hm. Kind of the way I think about magic: should be used for pure motives, not to be adulturated. He nodded as Kim wound up his speech. He sounded every bit the passionate prince defending his homeland and subjects. "I get that, Kim. It's like a sign of friendship or peace between two kids. The one who gives it should give it honestly, and the one it's given to should be able to trust the other's gift."

Colin's brows furrowed in deep thought for a moment. "Only problem is, I don't really know who to trust." He wanted to say more, but even that admission was probably too much and he knew deep down that he couldn't --- mustn't --- say more. Not now anyway. He liked Kim but, could he ever really be a deep friend with him? And he didn't know Sophia at all. Either one of them could end up turning him in. He sighed deeply.

"You want a chocolate frog?" Kim asked. Kim's voice brought him out of his reflection. He was holding a gaily decorated pentagonal box. He'd only teased Kim about cursing the frog Sophia had eaten, but how could the boy know the frog came from a reliable source? He did seem to know the girl who was giving out the sweets, which was a plus. He snuck a quick glance back towards Ileen. But --- she is a Slytherin, Colin was sure of that now. Snakes aren't to be readily trusted.

Colin eyed the proffered box and time seemed to slow down. He felt like he was inside an ancient tale where the hero is in the house of his sworn enemy and has to rely on his host's hospitality. Not that Kim was an enemy, but who knows how many hands that frog had been through.

Colin nodded, surfacing at last from his reverie. "Aye. Aye, I'll take a choco frog!" He'd made an important choice. Sometimes you have to give trust, even if the giving of it will hurt you later.

He took the wee box carefully in both both hands, wondering if he'd be able to somehow sense any dark magic or some baleful hex emanating from within. He shifted to a kneeling position and held up the box for inspection. He knew the frog would jump as soon as he flicked open the lid.

His finger touched the pasteboard tab and his eyes focused on the seam that separated box from lid. Time slowed again and all sound and all sight of things around Colin faded. His breathing steadied and his lips parted slightly. He flicked the lid open and for one brief second, his eyes met those of the choco frog within! It's eyes darted this way and that! Colin's heart suddenly pounded! --- Which way was the frog going to leap? You could never tell, and the eyes were no give away!

His eyes switched focus to the frog's legs, waiting for the magical twitch that would activate the enchantment laid on the otherwise normal piece of chocolate. His nostrils flared and the scent of his prey --- pure milk chocolatey goodness! --- filled his senses. One of the frog's toes on its right hind foot twitched! Colin dropped the box and leaped with a triumphant cry even before the frog's enchantment took full effect. His eyes never left the frog as it began its singular, once in a lifetime, and graceful leap towards the blue sky above!

Colin's fingers were already in place, ready for the catch! The frog sensed its error, but it was too late! Its head slid by Colin's waiting thumb and forefinger, and they began to close at its merest touch. The frog's torso missed by mere millimetres. But its hind legs --- Colin's eyes were on the frog's left hind leg and his forefinger and thumb closed with a snap!

The entire trajectory of the frog altered, forming a perfect conjunction of chocolate and boy, both at the apex of their respective leaps! The change in centrifugal forces his delicate pincer manoeuvre had wrought brought the frog's head right into Colin's waiting teeth.

Colin bit down, the chocolate beginning to melt on his lips. The frog's head tipped onto Colin's tongue.

And time snapped back into its accustomed velocity and collocation. Colin landed silently in the grass, crouched for a moment still with a triumphant smile on his face and half a choco frog in his right hand. He munched and swallowed. He popped the rest of the frog into his mouth and sat back on the grass, leaning back on his hands and stretching his legs out in front of him. "And that, my friend, is how you eat a choco frog! It's not Cadbury's, but it's not half bad either! Thanks mate!"




@Sophia Nelson | @Kim Sato | Open to Others!

--- Date: 01/04/22 || Time: 13:00 ---

Sophia didn't know what she was watching. Kim and this other boy - Colin? - were going on and on about cursing candy or something along those lines, and Kim had passionately argued about the mere blasphemy behind such an action. Their conversation had twisted and evolved into such heavy topics as the joys of candy, Kim's new title as the Prince of Sweets, and even something about trust?

The redheaded girl was genuinely confused. Not because she was too stupid to follow the conversation, but because she wasn't paying a whole lot of attention. No. Her attention lay elsewhere. Specifically, in Kim's pockets. She knew the boy wasn't a big fan of people invading his personal space, but he seemed oddly okay with her actions, so she continued rummaging into his pockets, picking out every piece that looked even a little appetizing, hastily unwrapping them all, and shoving the candy into her gullet. Kim had called her a glutton, but that sin had already happened, and she was already going to confession later, so in for a penny, in for a pound, eh?

She continued stuffing her face, even as Kim offered the frog - that she had to fight the urge to snatch - to Colin. Somehow the strangely intense conversation carried over into actions too, because Colin didn't just eat the frog like anyone else would. Did he have a traumatic experience with the tiny chocolate amphibians too?

Sophia could feel a powerful tension about in the boy's posture as he delicately, and with no wasted motions, took the offered chocolate, unwrapped it, and devoured it handily, with a technique that quite impressed her. He relaxed on the grass, and Sophia would have certainly joined him had she not still been stuffing her gullet. Her belly was starting to feel woozy. She caught the last bit of Colin's statement, remembering Cadbury's chocolate longingly.

"Mmm," she nodded in agreement, mouth full once more, "Cdbry's amzng!"

Notes:

Reducio

Sorry about all your candy, Kim

Interacting:
@Kim Sato || @Colin McCoire
Mentioning:

Kim smirked at Colin's words.

He said he wouldn't but Kim felt as if those were just words with no temptation involved.

If Colin was really hungry one day and a mountain of sweets were offered to him, he'd probably take and consume them. Sweets really were too tempting to resist most of the time.

Well, for him anyway. Perhaps Colin was different and wasn't a choco-sweet-holic, which would be a shame. Because he was really missing out if that was the case. Cadbury. Why did that sound familiar to him? He'd mentioned chocolate frogs and then the name Cadbury afterward. So it must have something to do with a treat, which means Kim probably had looked it up before. Then again, Kim was more visual with sweets than about their names.

"Cadbury's chocolate, right?" He asked Colin, just to make sure. The boy nodded when Irish spoke about coming to him if he wanted to know about sweets in the wizarding world. "Yup, I know everything there is to know about sweets here." Kim confirmed. "I even know some muggle sweets too but the names tend to get lost for me sometimes." He admitted. "Wait, aren't Peeper Chicks Cadbury?" That was right.

Right?

Or was it something different?

"I think it's a name, not chocolate. Right?" Kim asked, slightly confused.

"Mm. If the sweet you're giving to others isn't known to play tricks on the eater, no one should make it do so. Don't mess with sweets, chocolate and candies!"

He tilted his head to the side when Colin spoke of not knowing who to trust and regarded him for a moment. There was something behind those words, he could sense it and as a result Kim's curiosity got the better of him. Okay, it was official, he was going to find out Colin's backstory one of these days. Colin had become his new target interest! Upon offering a chocolate frog to him, Kim's lips twitched. Was Irish really scared of the frogs? After all this?

If so, that was rather amusing to him. And then, Colin took the frog from him and went through a rather strange process of 'stalking' the frog with his eyes. Which then turned into a predator reaction. Kim found it kind of intriguing and odd at the same time. Irish certainly was a character, that was for sure. "I take it you've had them a lot before?" He asked with a smirk. Colin looked way too experienced for him to have only had it one or two times.

He wondered if Colin was a muggle, or a half-blood.

The boy certainly seemed to know a lot more about muggle things than Kim tended to.

True, there were some wizards who specialized in muggles. Others even were obsessed with them and had become quite familiar with their products. But Colin didn't seem as if he knew much about wizard sweets, which meant one of two things. Either he was a pureblood or half-blood who had been away from the magical world for quite some time. But what on earth could be the reason for that? Or he was a muggle who had no knowledge of wizard sweets.

It had to be one of those two, because even wizards who didn't like sweets at least knew what they were. If only to protect themselves against the more hardcore candies. Colin was quickly becoming more interesting to Kim and the latter wanted to figure out what made him tick inside. Not to mention who he was. Of course, even though Kim wanted to know more about Colin, he also didn't want to tell Colin who he was. There was a very good reason behind this.

The name Sato was widely spread amongst the pureblood population and everyone wanted to get in their good graces. The Millers and Hunts were also part of the influential community of purebloods. And all of them were connected to the inner circle. If anyone belonged to the pureblood line, they would be well aware of Kim's surname. Many had approached him for favors in the past because of this, which was why Kim didn't make friends easily anymore.

It was also why he didn't tend to give his surname out when introducing himself anymore.

"Let me know if you find any Cadburys again, I'd love to try some." Kim commented. He was always up for trying new sweets and even liked old ones too.

Really, any sweets were good.

Like he'd stated before, you could never have too many sweets!

Speaking of which, Sophia was still going through his pockets looking for sweets. Kim looked down at her, rather amused by her antics. Sophia seemed quite familiar with this Cadburys. A muggle sweet for sure. He let his eyes flicker over her for a few seconds and then turned to rummage through his filled-to-the-brim mini basket of sweets. Finding what he wanted, a ginger newt, he presented it to Sophia. These sweets were delicious and healthy for you too.

Well, healthier.

"Don't eat too much at once or you'll get a stomachache. Here, have a ginger newt, that should make your stomach feel a bit better." Kim told her.

He kept an eye on the basket to make sure Sophia didn't see it and try to run off with it. That was something he wouldn't let her do. Kim had worked hard to get all those! Twining an arm through the basket just to be safe, he glanced over at Sophia again. "You know, if you want more sweets, that picnic blanket spread out over by the tree has mini baskets you can take. And then fill them with any sweets, chocolate or candies."

"There's a ton of stuff left right now." He told her. Or was she just too lazy to go do it herself? Kim hesitated and then decided if Sophia wanted them but didn't want to go grab them herself, he would do it for her. If it meant keeping her away from his own basket. He wasn't particularly attached to his current one, he just wanted to make sure he had one before he left. Unlike Sophia, Kim intended on saving all these treats and eating them slowly.

It would last for a long time this way for sure.

Kim was actually kind of glad Sophia didn't belong to Gryffindor at the moment.

Or else he would have been worried she might sneak into his room when he wasn't there, grab the sweets and take off and he'd find candy wrappers on the floor littering his room.

Levi would probably grumble at him upon seeing that particular scene. Or become more animated. However he might react was a moot point as this was not going to ever happen. Unless the day came when students could change the House they were sorted into, or be allowed to go inside the dorms of other students Houses. Then again, the latter was entirely possible. He'd heard of some students who had snuck into other student's Houses before.

Of course, with their permission.

It was an easy thing to say the password and let your friend come inside.

After all, it wasn't allowed but that had never stopped people before. Students had and always would tend to eventually break some rules.

Colin watched with amusement as Sophia kept extracting candy after sweet from Kim's pockets. He was glad no one had tried that on him! Colin kept lots of interesting things in his pockets, but candy was never among those things. He just shook his head slowly as the girl pawed this and that.

"Mmm," she nodded in agreement, mouth full once more, "Cdbry's amzng!"

"Right?" Colin replied.

"Cadbury's chocolate, right?" Kim asked.

Colin was genuinely surprised. "Wait! Are you saying there's sweets that the Prince of Sweets hasn't heard of? Our seanmamó goes into London a lot and sometimes brings us back these slabs of Cadbury's chocolate. It's a muggle choco, but it's really spanking! She says they make hundreds of different kinds of sweets. I don't know how anyone can eat that much candy, even if it is chocolate!" He shook his head in wonderment --- but then watched as Sophia kept unwrapping candies and Kim's pockets seemed to be bottomless troves of sweets. "Haha! I reckon if anyone can, it would be the Queen of Candy and the Prince of Sweets!"

Kim began to observe Colin closely, as if he were suddenly interested. Colin couldn't help but tense up a bit; he shifted his posture just in case he had to make a quick getaway. His left hand drifted towards his robe pocket --- fingertips brushed the polished wood of his wand. He stole a few quick glances around --- just to see who was nearby and whether they looked threatening or not.

Kim changed tactics. "I take it you've had them a lot before?"

"What!?" Drat. Had he said something he shouldn't have? What was Kim asking about anyway --- oh! Must be choco frogs! Colin laughed nervously. "Oh! Um." He stuck out his thumb and began to count off on his fingers. "This one today is my fourth. The first one I tried leapt up and I missed. Hmff. But the second one I captured! I noticed they do this kind of wiggly thing before leaping. The third one I picked right out of the air!" Colin's eyes lit up and he mimicked the actions of plucking the frog from mid air with his fingers. He shrugged casually. Then he turned himself over on hands and knees as if he were creeping along through a woodland underbrush. "It's just like hunting, right. He pretended to grasp at something in the grass. "You just stalk! And then ---"

Colin froze. His eyes scanned Kim and Sophia. Oh shit. "Umm." Colin tipped back into a sitting posture, drew his skinny knees up and hugged them. "Er, never mind. You just, you know, grab the frog? Yummy!?" He smiled, hoping that didn't look too weird. He hunched over a bit and took a ragged breath, but after a few moments of terror managed to get a grip on himself again.

"Let me know if you find any Cadburys again, I'd love to try some" Kim said. Maybe he didn't notice? Or maybe he just thinks I'm weird? Colin thought.

"Um. Yeah! Next time my seanmamó sends some, I'll be sure to give you some!" He must have noticed! Was this just a ruse? Or a game of some kind? Colin let out a sigh of relief as Kim turned his attention back to Sophia. Colin wondered that there was anything left in Kim's pocket!

He wondered what was up between Kim and Sophia. As he watched them talking --- or rather, as he watched Sophia munch and Kim gently chide --- Colin scratched his head and wrinkled his nose.

Were they ---?

No. But what if ---?

But suppose --- nah, couldn't be. Right?

Maybe they were older ---?

I mean ---

Girls? Eww!





@Sophia Nelson | @Kim Sato | Open to Others!

Sophia watched Kim and Colin's interaction with fascinated eyes, now that she was able to openly enjoy the sweets in Kim's pocket. This boy was a wizard like Kim, but he knew all about Cadbury's, so he was alright in Sophia's book. She's mostly eaten the candy in the United States as a little girl, despite the fact that the stock of Cadbury's chocolate was rather limited in her home country.

She forcefully swallowed another mouthful of chocolate and resisted the urge to shove more in her mouth. She'd know better than to skip dinner next time. She felt awful.

"Haha! I reckon if anyone can, it would be the Queen of Candy and the Prince of Sweets!"

"If I'm the Queen of Candy," she asked, wiping her mouth with her sleeve once more, "does that mean I outrank Kim?"

She continued to pick through Kim's pockets, but now she was carefully sneaking pieces into her own pockets, for later. She only actually ate about one every six pieces or so this time. She still had to watch her figure, after all. Well, that and Kim was right. She didn't want a stomachache. She mostly focused on swiping Kim's stash as she conversed.

"This one today is my fourth. The first one I tried leapt up and I missed. Hmff. But the second one I captured! I noticed they do this kind of wiggly thing before leaping. The third one I picked right out of the air!"

"Yes! Oh my goodness, those frogs are terrifying the first time. I didn't know you could, like, enchant stuff, so when the little frog was moving and started looking me in the eyes, I just kind of froze. I caught it, somehow, but I couldn't eat the poor little thing. Kim snatched it and stole it from me!"

She pouted angrily, but didn't cease her snooping in the Gryffindor's pockets. So she was nosy. Sue her. Then realization dawned on her face.

"Let me know if you find any Cadburys again, I'd love to try some."

"Um. Yeah! Next time my seanmamó sends some, I'll be sure to give you some!"

"Wait. What's a sean-mahmo? That's Irish, isn't it?" she asked with a tilt of her head, but her curiosity was slightly undermined as she stuffed yet another of Kim's chocolatey treasures inside the hidden cave that was her mouth.

"Don't eat too much at once or you'll get a stomachache. Here, have a ginger newt, that should make your stomach feel a bit better."

Sophia smiled a chocolatey smile at Kim as he kindly offered her a ginger newt - which was, apparently, an actual thing. She ate it just as quickly as the chocolate, but it didn't taste as good. It probably wasn't supposed to anyway.

"You know, if you want more sweets, that picnic blanket spread out over by the tree has mini baskets you can take. And then fill them with any sweets, chocolate or candies."

"Can't you do it and just give me this basket?" Sophia asked, doing her best to throw on what many muggles affectionally referred to as 'puppy eyes.' The effect was likely lost due to the overwhelming amount of chocolate on her face and clothing, and she was probably more disgusting than adorable at this point, but it was worth a shot. Her hand slowly crept away from her friend's pockets and toward the basket of sweets.

Action: Sophia talks with Kim and Colin. Tries to steal Kim's candy. Slowly develops a stomachache!
@Kim Sato || @Colin McCoire

Colin watched as Sophia kept nicking sweets from Kim's pockets. He either knew and didn't mind or didn't know and she was a natural pickpocket!

When she asked if queens outrank princes, Colin gave her a surprised look. Who doesn't know these kinds of things? He couldn't place her accent, so didn't know where she was from. Must be American or something foreign like that. But he did laugh as she kept wiping her mouth with her sleeve. "Aye. Queens always outrank princes!"

Colin's eyes shifted suddenly to Sophia's own pockets --- wait! Are her pockets actually getting bigger? He decided to see if she was mining Kim's pockets only to shove the sweets into her own! He stifled a laugh. When she said that she didn't know things could be enchanted, he couldn't help but asking: "How can you not know things can be enchanted --- oh, wait! Are you a muggle born!?" he asked excitedly. "Bloody hell! I've been trying to puzzle something out about muggles since the beginning of the year and none of the muggleborns can explain it properly!" He leaned in closer: "Can you tell me what a --- a veedeeo game is? Blimey, but I had it figured out as a kind of muggle field glasses for watching sports, and then Quinn and me wondered if it wasn't some kind of game muggles play with moving portraits. But I tried with several portraits and they didn't seem keen on the idea. This one dude, kind of tall and ugly with a snakey face, he told me I was a mudblood. Pure gallus! Well, I told him if he ever called me, or anyone else in the school, that name again, I'd slash him right out of his frame. The cheek! But anyway! I still don't know what a veedeeo game is!"

He wondered: "I can see you'd be scared if you're a muggleborn. Muggles have brilliant kinds of magic, but they don't seem to understand ours at all and are often frightened by it." He shrugged. "If I were a muggleborn and lived around motor cars and omnibusses and high scraping buildings and and veedeo games, I don't think I'd be surprised by anything in the magical world! Except maybe magical creatures. I don't think muggles can see those well. Anyway, the froggies didn't scare me. They're just --- enchanting --- I can't help, you know, er ---" Colin licked his teeth and his eyes defocused slightly. "Do ye have another one, Kim? A froggo?"

Colin's mind was on stalking another frog when he heard something about seanmamó and Irish. "Wait. What? Sorry --- were you saying something about your seanmamó? I kind of --- er --- got you know --- thinking about choco frogs?"




@Sophia Nelson | @Kim Sato | Open to Others!

Kim made a face.

He didn't like not knowing about sweets.

"Well, I probably have seen or eaten about 90% of all the sweets out there. But sometimes I forget their names." He told Colin, which was kind of true.

As Colin explained about Cadbury, Kim nodded. He'd already figured it was a muggle sweet and probably chocolate related as they had been talking about chocolate. But the wonders of Cadbury made his mouth start to drool a little. Kim raised a brow when Colin gave the two of them nicknames. But at the same time, he kind of liked both titles. Coming from Irish, it seemed cool. The Gryffindor's lips twitched a little into what could have been a faint smile.

Kim wasn't used to smiling often. The boy's 'smiles' were more like smirks because he didn't really feel comfortable doing so. If it came naturally, they were cute and even adorable. But if he had to think about it, his smiles came out as forced and sometimes downright scary in some people's opinions. Colin's posture and body language suddenly changed and Kim's curiosity became even greater because of this. It was almost as if he was trying to hide a bit.

Could he have social anxiety too?

The Gryffindor completely understood if that was the case because he had a severe case.

And it was something he didn't want anyone else to know about because they might think it had something to do with them and get mad at him for it.

Those who didn't have it, didn't understand them. Only those were the same and shared the same 'curse' could relate. Could Colin be one of those? Kim felt himself get drawn even closer to Colin now. Even though he didn't know if this was the case. He was just going from how nervous Colin was when he seemed to get a little close to him. For now, he'd draw back. But later, he'd try to say something. Or send him an owl instead to make him a bit more at ease.

That way they didn't have to meet.

Chocolate frogs was a great topic to go back to. And it seemed it helped Colin.

The boy became excited over the chocolate treat and even went down on his hands and knees, imitating a predator stalking its prey. Kim smirked at him. He was kind of cute.

But the nervousness had come back again. Kim decided to pretend as if he hadn't noticed to make him feel more at ease. If he did, hopefully Colin would relax again. It tended to work for him, so hopefully it would also work with Colin. The boy spoke of a seanmamó and Kim's brow furrowed a little. What was that? He didn't know much about Irish or for that matter Scottish things. That is, unless it had to do with one of his main interests. But that word......

Colin had said 'his' seanmamó which implied it was a relative of some kind, perhaps a grandmother? Before Kim could ask, Sophia beat him to the punch.

He'd let the two of them converse together on their own for a time because Kim was the type of person who liked listening over talking himself. But when he had something to say, he was not shy about expressing himself and speaking up. The whole chocolate frog fiasco with Sophia had made his lips twitch though. That had been a memorable moment for him and he would probably always remember it from now on. It had been fate they had met on the train.

Really.

She was the first one he'd actually formed a decent connection with upon coming to Hogwarts. Someone who seemed genuine and not after a relationship with him because of his family name. And that made all the difference in the world to him. Sophia's chocolately smile when she took the ginger newt from him made Kim smirk. She was cute. Pretty ugly with her teeth, lips and mouth all coated with chocolate and candy but cute at the same time to Kim.

Of course, Sophia didn't want to do the work herself and wanted him to do it for her. Kim had expected this and Sophia fulfilling his expectations of her came as no surprise.

"Mm. Fine, you little glutton. Since you're a cute glutton, I suppose I can get another one and you can have this one." Kim told her with a shake of his head and reached over to pat her head lightly before he got up and headed over to the blanket beside the tree. As he went over to the tree, he found himself thinking about what Colin had said earlier about muggles. It didn't seem as if he was a muggle to him now for some odd reason.

The way he spoke about them...

Well, he wouldn't speak about them like that if they were his own kind, right?

But then, why was he unfamiliar with certain wizard sweets and chocolates? It didn't make sense to him. He'd have to ask him about it later on.

Kim spent the next few minutes gathering chocolate, candies and sweets from the ground again and placing them into his new mini basket. He also dumped a ton of chocolate frogs into his basket. There were still mountains of treats scattered everywhere, so he didn't feel bad about grabbing so much. And soon he had a full basket again. Returning to the place he'd vacated earlier where Colin and Sophia still were, Kim was just in time to hear Colin speak.

Asking him for another frog.

He really did feel like the Prince of Sweets now.

"Sure." Kim said and plucked a chocolate frog box off the top of his basket and handed it down to Colin. He glanced around, tempted to scoop up the rest of the sweets.

But that would make him a glutton just like Sophia. Kim decided to ask the girl how long she intended on staying there and then come back directly before she packed up. If there were any sweets left, he'd pick up the remaining pieces and carry them back. If not, well she'd achieved her goal of handing out free candy right? And he couldn't be called a glutton because all that he would be doing would be taking the leftover sweets around on the ground.

After all, it would be obvious that no one else wanted them and they would go to waste otherwise. So why not take them? They were free, they were the best kind of sweet. "I'm gonna take off for now." Kim told them, intending on leaving to head over to the girl to ask his question and then leave himself, to return five minutes before the deadline. That is, unless one of the two (Colin and Sophia) decided to try and stop him from leaving right now.

It seemed to Colin that Kim grimaced at him --- not really a smile, not really a snarl, but something hard to read. He'd said that he had seen or eaten ninety percent of all the kinds of candy and sweets in the world. That was pretty impressive --- Colin had only ever eaten Cadbury's chocolate and something called Skittles, which he spat out for being too disgusting to eat. Kim seemed to have an --- odd manner --- about him. Not like his little sister's, but, well curious all the same. Like he was looking for something in Colin. Is he waiting for me to say something or do something wrong?

Kim sat back a little, but Colin only wondered what the postural change could mean. If he did that himself, it would be in preparation to pounce on something! Or fight someone --- but Kim never seemed to be the sort who would pick a fight. But things change, as he well knew.

The he said something and gave Sophia his own basket of sweets. Just as Kim began to stand up, Colin shifted his own posture again, his knees bent and shoes firmly against the ground in case he had to scoot real quick! Kim patted Sophia on the head and Colin sat up straighter. He blinked as Kim went off, undoubtedly to scoop up any remaining sweets.

It wasn't jealousy he felt, but something deep inside Colin rather fancied the idea of someone patting his head, too! Whew! That was something he could never let slip to anyone, even if they were friends! He shook his head briefly which seemed to clear his mind. "Say, Sophia, are - are those candied newts, you know, actual newts? I mean, um, I've never heard of them. I was just wondering, you know. Do they --- like ---" Colin's voice got real quiet and he blushed intensely. His heart was racing suddenly. He looked down at the ground and hugged his knees. "Like, are they alive? Or ---" It was about then Kim came back with another huge basket full of sweets.

He shook his head again to clear his thoughts and changed tactics. He talked about other things with Sophia as Kim returned. Almost without thinking he asked Kim for a second choco frog. Part of him winced --- why would you ask? But another part, the slyer part that had grown up smart in the Slytherin dungeons said to other shut it! We know what we're doing!

As Kim handed Colin the box he sat up straight. His lips parted and he stuck the tip of his tongue just between his teeth. He breathed in gently and blinked a few times. Then he whuffed the air out of his nose and took the box very delicately by its five corners. He sniffed at it carefully, top and bottom, memorising everything about it.

He only faintly noticed that Kim had said he was leaving. After a moment he whuffed the air again and looked up towards Kim. He scooted back a little --- it was like looking up at a huge statue! "Oh!" said Colin. "Um. Thanks for the froggo!" He carefully stowed it in his own pocket. "Have some fun with that later!" he said to himself.



@Sophia Nelson | @Kim Sato | Open to Others!

Sophia blushed as Kim patted her gently on the head. It felt good to feel physical affection like a headpat, especially from someone like Kim, who didn't normally like hugging or cuddling or handholding. (Not that Sophia would ever consider handholding. She was far too young for that sort of thing, unless she was dragging her friends here or there.)

She gratefully accepted Kim's candy basket and had to struggle to keep herself from pulling him into a big hug. Not because of his problems with physical contact. More because she didn't wanna cover him and his pretty clothes in chocolate. And caramel. And, well, whatever else she'd been eating.

As he wandered off to gather more candy, she turned her attention fully to Colin. When he'd surmised that she was muggleborn, she mentally prepared herself for the most offensive questions possible, but she was surprised - and overjoyed - when, instead, he only asked her about video games of all things! She beamed. This was a question she could answer.

"Oh my goodness, I can tell you so much about video games! It's like, imagine the T.V. - sorry, I mean telly. You guys call it a telly, right? - and it's like showing videos! You know, like moving pictures! And the videos are like, I dunno, telling a story or something! About a hero killing a dragon, or a witch fighting a ghost demon thing, or even just a man living his life, going to work, paying his bills, or whatever! Now, like, imagine you have the ability to control the actions of the people in these videos! So like, you're not watching the hero slay the dragon, you're controlling him as he slays the dragon and absorbs its soul! Or, like, you're controlling the witch fighting the demon ghost! Or, uh, well, I, uh, I can't think of another example, but these are all things you can do! You can be a, uh, a soldier! Or a witch - er, wait, bad example! I am a witch! Or you can be a survivor in post-apocalyptic America! There's so many things you can experience! And all from the safety of your couch or bedroom!"

Sophia blushed as she realized she'd been rambling. She didn't mean to, but whenever someone asked her about muggle things - especially ones she was interested in - she got so excited. Not to mention the fact that video games were one of the hobbies she'd shared with her Daddy when he was alive. She couldn't be more excited than she was when talking about hobbies she'd shared with her parents.

Then Colin asked about the Ginger Newts, and Sophia's face fell. She'd eaten it with no hesitation, assuming it was just like the chocolate frogs. A normal pieces of candy that looked like a creature. What if she'd been wrong? What if it had been alive?

"Oh Lord," she said with a cry as she crossed herself, "I hope it wasn't! I assumed it was just like the frogs! It can't be alive, right? Surely it's not?"

Before she could become frantic, Sophia was thankful to see Kim return. After handing Colin another Chocolate Frog, and shooting Sophia a slightly bemused, yet surprisingly judgmental, look, the stupid older boy was already leaving!

Sophia liked Colin already, she really did, and part of her wanted to scratch behind his ears out of pure instinct, but she didn't want Kim to leave. He was her anchor to familiarity. He was one of her three best friends in the whole world, and she couldn't stand to see him leave. She grabbed his arm with her free hand as he turned to leave and shot him a look with pure, honest, pleading eyes.

Pure, honest, pleading eyes that were on a face covered in chocolate, but their honesty and vulnerability could not be denied!

She didn't say anything, but she was sure he'd get the message. She was getting really good at getting what she wanted from Kim, after all.

Interacting: @Colin McCoire || @Kim Sato