The Screams of Fresh Members A.S.P PV: Haley.R Fin

Englisch: #008000 Parsel:#008080

@Hanako Tone

Haley was the girl who was known for her laughter. Not only her laughter, but also her cheerful nature and warm charisma. And even though this description is true most of the time, there were days in young Rose's life when she was not the happy, loud laughing girl. Such a day was exactly today.

As if Haley had already gotten off on the wrong foot, the day was getting worse by the minute. First, she totally forgot to write an important paper, so in the morning, instead of getting ready and going to breakfast, she had to slide her quill across parchment as fast as she probably ever had. This not only caused a sore wrist, but also an empty, grumbling stomach that regularly made itself known during class.

Hunger - Haley couldn't stand being hungry for long without also getting moody at the same time. Her usual easy smile was gone after the first few hours, and if you didn't know Haley, you'd assume she was more in the "unfriendly and don't talk to me" person. But she also wouldn't be Haley if she didn't try everything to shake off her bad mood. So she decided to take a deep breath, relax over lunch, and let the rest of the day be a little more enjoyable.

Said but not done. While she sat hungry at the Gryffindor table, stuffing her stomach before she even joined in any conversation, she started to relax. The hunger disappeared, her mood seemed to improve a bit, and now less hungry she started talking to her classmate. It seemed like things were looking up until two boys, also first graders, just a few seats away from her, started playfully roughhousing with each other. Still nothing wild, but after returning her attention to a conversation, she saw something flying at her in the corner of her eye after a few seconds. She turned her head, too late to see what it was exactly, but it landed in the middle of her plate and the sauce and food scraps splattered in all directions, but mostly on Haley.

"You must be kidding me!?" she moaned through clenched teeth. She glanced angrily at the two boys, who looked at her apologetically, and stood up without saying another word. She ran back to her dorm, changed into fresh clothes and ran to the next class, where she also arrived late. The day didn't get any better and the mood dragged on throughout the day. It was almost as if she was cursed today. There her books fall off the table, the next moment she trips over her own feet - it didn't get any better.

Just at the moment when the barrel was about to overflow, she left the castle. It was raining, but she didn't mind. She needed to be alone before she exploded like a bomb in the middle of her classmates. Tense and both hands clenched into fists, she just ran. Her hair was by now soaked with the rain and her red curls hung wetly down her body. Her feet had unconsciously carried her to great Lake and now she stood there. Alone, wet and quiet. A quick glance told her that no one was around and so she walked towards the lake. On the way she saw a stone, against which she kicked during her rage, but also hurt herself in the process - Karma.

"OH COME ON." She now cursed loudly against the stone, which, as expected, showed no reaction. Her anger now uncontrollable she crouched down, picked up the stone which was heavier than she had expected and stepped the last few meters to the lake. With the extra weight she swayed slightly back and forth, but took a bit of a swing and threw the stone into the lake. Unfortunately, even this did not lead to any satisfying feeling. For a brief moment she thought about how the rock now landed on the quiant squid's head and Haley had now ruined his day as well.

"SORRY GIANT SQUID BUT MY DAY IS SHITTY!" she yelled without thinking further and in the same moment it had occurred to her that she had not spoken in her usual voice but in Parsel. Normally shouting would help, but now she was even more angry at herself because she had unintentionally spoken in Parsel for the first time in ages. "AAARGH" it came from her again loudly before she stood there quietly, looking at the restless lake with her eyebrows drawn together and breathing in and out heavily.

Before she could have thought about her further actions, she was startled when she suddenly heard someone shouting. Wide-eyed, she looked behind her and could see, not too far away, a boy sheltering himself from the rain with an umbrella. She couldn't help but smile at his comment and the corners of her mouth pulled up slightly. Something about this quaint situation made her laugh herself now, she didn't even blame the stranger for laughing at her like that. Who could have held it against him either? Haley was probably going to laugh at herself if she saw herself here like this.

"I'm alright Mister." Laughing now, she looked down her wet body and shook her head. But just as she relaxed a bit and forgot for a second how angry she had been a moment ago, she noticed that he had repeated her words. The words she had spoken in Parsel. That must mean he was one himself, or at least understood the language. She quickly felt her muscles tense again and her eyes widen. She took a few steps toward him, "Wait, you understood me?" she inquired cautiously.

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And then she continued to laugh along with him. The more she did, the more relaxed she looked. Was it a better sight to see her like this than when he looked like she was ready to burn the world or more specifically, the squid? Not, really. He thought that it was maybe too early for him to have said anything. If he didn’t say anything and just watched, would she scream more funny lines? Something he may never know. But it did provide him more courage to get closer to her. Laughing lunatics were much more approachable than screaming ones after all. He was close enough to communicate with her without screaming but didn’t have enough heart to share his umbrella. Why the hell would he share the one magic umbrella he has? She’s already soaked anyway, sharing it would do no good to anyone- him especially.

“ Wait, you understood me?” she asked. While she took the initiative to step closer, Hanako noticed she kept her guard up, a cautious look in her eye. So it was not her intention to scream in Parselmouth. Smells like another case of Newbie Parselmouths. Honestly astounded him as to how many there actually are.

“ Well~. “ he began to say in a sing-songy tone like he was teasing her “It’s not exactly difficult for anyone to understand someone throwing a rock in that lake. Or, was it, other creatures, you were aiming for~? The merpeople perhaps? I’ll question your sanity if the latter was your target, Lady” he chuckled. " I hear they can be quite the aggressive bunch~". When she asked if he understood her, he came to realize there was some missing information on the job description. The other members told him to seek out new members, but they never really told him if he should reveal himself as one as well. Not that he wouldn't argue with them if he did. He was not like Mars, who was lax when it came to their Parselmouth ability. Unlike the other members, they didn’t have their own reasons as to why they didn’t keep it a secret. While Hanako never knew their reasons, he felt like it was just an unspoken rule that Parselmouth History wasn’t something to share easily. Even with another Parselmouth. He decided he would be flimsy and avoid any questions regarding his possible Parselmouth ability to the stranger. But he still needed to have her trust him, just enough to see a part of her character.

Numbers weren’t important to him. When he took the job, he promised to find quality members instead. There was no way he would offer it freely to a rock-throwing lunatic. What if she hated her Parselmouth? What if she hated it so much she was ready to expose other Parselmouths? While he never verbally expressed it, he was growing quite attached to the club and its members. Should harm befall them from someone he bought in, he didn’t think he could forgive himself easily. Plus, if he bought in a decent member, maybe he wouldn't need to search for any new ones for a while. The thought of skipping work brought a smile to his face. Unfortunately for him, he wasn’t a people person. He didn’t know how to ask the right questions. He just kinda wings it. And that’s what he will do.

“ Horned Serpents. Heard of them before? The cores, not the creature.” with his free hand, he lightly tapped on his wand. “ Vibrates whenever Parselmouth is spoken. I may not fully understand what you said earlier, but this little thing certainly did” he grinned innocently, hoping his dumb act would not fail him today. Perhaps she would let her guard down if she knew he wasn’t so unaware of parseltongue. Or maybe she’ll get more freaked out. Oh well, at least he tried. “ Ah, sorry~. Was this something you didn’t really want anyone to know?”
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@Haley Rose

Englisch: #008000 Parsel:#008080

@Hanako Tone

While Haley stopped laughing, she did not take her eyes off the boy who had now taken a few steps towards her. He looked frail and her gaze fell again on his umbrella. She didn't want to, but a little she judged him. He looked like someone who wouldn't get his hands dirty, he kinda exuded snob and rich people vibes. As much as she hated to think like that, she couldn't always avoid it. Even by the look on her face, a good observer might have recognised it. Just for a brief moment, she raised her eyebrow and surveyed him. Only for a brief moment, but it was there to be seen. She tried to chase the prejudice from her mind, just because she had no problem standing in the rain didn't mean someone was a snob just because they didn't follow suit.

Still, she was becoming more and more suspicious. Her laughter was gone and she tried to analyse him. He sidestepped her question and she looked at him in disbelief. What was he hiding? She was now sure from his reaction that he was also a Parsel. Why else would he behave like this? She could think of no other explanation and so she continued to rest on that suspicion.

She took another step towards him. Water dripped from her wet hair and it looked like she had just stepped out of the lake. Kind of creepy but she didn't care at that moment. Her eyes were on him throughout as he tried to talk his way out of it. At least Haley was pretty sure he was trying to talk his way out of it. She didn't believe him, at least not that he wouldn't understand her. She stopped, assumed an upright posture and crossed her arms in front of her chest, "So Mister," she intentionally accented it more strongly, she wanted him to know quietly that Haley wasn't as gullible as he probably thought. "I'm sorry, but I place a lot of value on honesty," she now began to speak in a calm, confident tone. It wasn't a lie, she hated being lied to. Normally it only bothered her with friends and family but in this situation she was more than annoyed by it. "And I have to be honest - I don't believe you. You can't tell me you didn't understand me." She said confidently now. A clear statement, no question, he shouldn't get the idea to talk his way out of it any further. "Even if what you say is true, I think it would be too unlikely since you have reproduced my sentence almost 1:1." She raised her eyebrow and looked at him demanding. It was clear to her that he couldn't talk his way out of this - checkmate.

She already knew that a lot of parselmouths made a secret of it, he was probably set that way too and normally Haley wouldn't push anyone into telling her something they didn't want to but this situation was different. He had made it so obvious that she couldn't ignore it. "I mean I might have just learned it from a friend. Vibrates whenever Parselmouth is spoken" she repeated his sentence, "Not when there's a Parselmouth around." She ignored his last question and decided to play the same game as him.

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Curses! Blast him running his mouth too confidently. He was a regular when it comes to using the dumb card. Perhaps it could have worked if he were more careful with his words. After all, there was a certain limit to how oblivious someone should be. And he completely messed up regarding that. The rain was making him dumb for sure. Now, how should he react to the redhead with a look that says ‘ I don’t buy your bullshit, Mister!’.

He couldn’t control the cold look he had on his face for a few seconds. Not to her, but to himself. He was having trouble understanding that he could make such a newbie slip up. Him? The one who paraded around the a.s.p with superiority because he actually knew what he was doing? That wounded his pride just a bit. Not for how he shamefully lied to a potential member and got caught, no. That was the least of his concerns. Just as he thought he had forgotten how to smile, a humorless chuckle escaped from his throat. His ever so innocent smile returned.

“ Honesty is valuable to you, Miss? Great~! We’re already learning about each other. You work quite fast~. On the way to becoming great friends, yeah?. Though…. Have you already guessed that I look at ‘honesty’ differently?” he snickered mindlessly. It wasn’t so important to poke at, but he couldn’t resist.” You don’t believe me~? I think you underestimate my guessing abilities. Would it really be that difficult to guess what a screaming-stone-throwing kid is saying? Screaming plus aggressive rock-throwing usually means someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed, today. What’s the most common creature to find around these parts of the Great Lake? The squid of course~. The squid won the popularity poll for the Most Popular Inhabitant at the Great Lake, you know? Can’t think of another creature that would be this near to the shore. Settle down, Miss~. I’m merely a good guesser~” he winked cheekily. His goal isn't to make him look innocent. He realized it’ll take a lot more than this lame excuse to convince the girl. To most viewers, he had already lost this battle. And he knew it! He was just being an asshat and taking up more of her time than needed. But if this little thing was enough to scare her away, then she probably wasn’t fit to be in their little club anyway.

"I mean I might have just learned it from a friend. Vibrates whenever Parselmouth is spoken" she repeated his sentence, "Not when there's a Parselmouth around.

He let out a hearty laugh, unable to control the slight bitterness to them. Nevertheless, he gave her a defenseless smile. “ Perhaps I guessed too early then~?” Bullshit! Non-Parselmouth has hardcore difficulty just saying ‘ hey ‘ in Parseltongue. She’s telling him that she learned ‘ Sorry giant squid but my day is shitty'?. That was an ungodly amount of S’s in that sentence and will take horrendous practice if spoken in Parseltongue. Was this what she was playing at? She was already suspicious of him earlier. He just didn’t know much. Did she think he was a Parselmouth in hiding or just an everyday lying asshat? He could very well be both. He decided to tread carefully from now on. At least….to the best he could.

“ You have my apologies for my hasty assumption then, Miss” he definitely didn’t sound sorry. “ I got too excited at the thought of you being a Parselmouth. You can say I’m a bit of a ...Parselmouth Fan~” he smiled innocently. “ I’m adept enough to know when it is spoken but not what is said. And I would never dream of confidently speaking it. Goddess, the dream!” he awed childishly. “ You’re right about how my wand is no Parselmouth tracker. But even so, please believe me when I say that it rarely even does vibrate” he sighed dramatically, eager to show how disappointed he is. It wasn’t necessarily a lie. This counts as the 2nd time he had found another Parselmouth with the help of his wand. “ Parseltongue isn’t a widely spoken language here, you see. Shame! For shame! Such a wondrous language. So...forgive me for assuming you are a Parselmouth. But...then…” as if he was an actor that was paid too little, he gasped. “ No! Don’t tell me! Are you a Parselmouth Fan as well!? Is that how you knew how to speak it so confidently?” He wanted to gush on more and ask more questions. Play out the perfect Parselmouth Fanatic Role he wanted to be. But he wasn’t exactly the best at acting as someone so passionate about Parselmouth. Or anything for that matter. But there was no denying the obvious curiousness in his eyes.
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@Haley Rose

Englisch: #008000 Parsel:#008080

@Hanako Tone

While Haley was sure she had won this battle, she stood there and continued to analyze the umbrella boy. For a brief moment, she was startled when his expression changed, his gaze almost blank. She tilted her head slightly and looked at him with her eyebrows drawn together. It was as if he wasn't here anymore and had blanked out everything. Had she broken him? At this thought she had to smile but quickly returned to her confident look.

And suddenly, as if a switch had been flipped, he began to grin again. And people think I'm crazy, Haley thought, rolling her eyes, and just as he started to speak, she looked at him with wide eyes. Was he serious? This was a clear checkmate, but he didn't admit it. She shook her head and scoffed as she continued to listen to him. Becoming great friends? Excuse me sir but you are weird, she thought but did not say it out loud. But he was not finished with his lecture. Haley put one hand on her hip and shifted her weight to the other leg and continued to look at him incredulously. He really meant it. He just wasn't accepting his defeat and now it was her who was chuckling.

She barely had time to think about what her next move would be and she was sure he was lying to her again. He knew exactly that she had lied - shame on her - well, she had only put it in the room, never claimed that she had learned it. But unspoken it was clear to both of them that it was bullshit. To say such a sentence as a non-Parsel, she didn't know if that would ever be possible.

Parselmouth fan - yes, yes it is clear sir. But at his last remark she couldn't hold it back anymore and started laughing. Would she be a Parselmouth fan too? He wasn't serious? They both knew full well that it was all bullshit and she was sure they both knew full well what was the truth and what wasn't. "While we don't have anything in common when it comes to honesty," she began, looking at him with a raised eyebrow, "we do have one thing in common - we're both bad actors." She winked at him and before he could have said anything back, she continued speaking, "A good way to a greaaaaat friendship." She emphasized great on purpose and put on a fake smile before turning around.

She had to decide on a path now, should she keep playing the game or would she let it go? The smarter one gives in and all that? No, today she would not be smart and with a devilish smile she turned around again and took a few more steps towards him. "Since I guess the squid won't be my friend anymore, this is certainly a nice alternative." She teased him, still the smile on her lips. "A Parselmouth fan, then," she spoke to herself, "Doesn't value honesty, though." She mused further, simply ignoring the previous conversation. "Mhhh." She tapped her index finger in rhythm next to her mouth, pretending to think sharply. "I guess that's just too little information to make a final decision, don't you think?" she now looked him straight in the face again, and the corner of her left mouth slowly pulled up. "What added value would this friendship have for me?" she now brazenly inquired, eager for his reaction.

She could have let it all go, but she was curious. Curious why he had that thing on his wand. Why did he really want to find Parselmouths? Why didn't he admit that he was one? Why did he engage in Haley's obvious bullshit reasoning? Even a non-Parselmouth could surely have argued that she could never have learned that from another Parsel. And something inside her urged her on, it was a whole new side to her. A side she didn't know yet, but she quickly found her liking for it.

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“ Oh~ I knew you’d see it that way~” he beamed enthusiastically at her fake smile as she sarcastically agreed to his idea of them being good friends. To her luck, she was getting less boring the more she talked. “ But on the contrary, Miss…” he trailed off and eyed her unfashionable wet hair “ Droopy- I like to believe that I’m quite the proficient actor.” He had no shame shown on his face as he said that. While he said made no comment about her acting skills, the impish grin he had clearly got his silent message across. There was no use to saying a few extra words for the obvious. They had chatted quite a while and she didn’t seem like a complete idiot. Hanako was eager to trust that she would understand him perfectly well.

Hanako took her extra steps towards him as a good sign. Would he be too hasty to assume she would be interested in a club like theirs? He liked to think that he cranked up his annoying meter quite a lot since they talked. Yet, she still hasn’t backed down either. Not only that, but she had done so while being clearly aware of his parseltongue ability. In fact, she probably knew he knew she was one as well. Not that he was trying desperately to not be found out. But he paid more attention to how she continued to stay anyway. From that, he could assume she doesn’t have a desperate desire to keep her parselmouth a secret. That fact was important to know. No one would be willing to join a parselmouth club as a parselmouth if they never had any intentions of being found out in the first place. Trusting random strangers to keep your long old history of being a parselmouth to avoid personal circumstances? Who would join such a club? Him and 7 other people apparently. As of right now, there seemed to be a high possibility that number could go from a 7 to an 8.

Second, she didn’t seem to want to attack him. Bickering and silent insults? Sure. Seeing him as the next rock to throw in the Great Lake? Unlikely. She had not once shown any hostility or malice. He could’ve easily picked that up from years of experience. Haters came in with the package of being a purposely asshat, after all. At the mention of learning parselmouth, she didn’t seethe or disapprove. In conclusion, she didn’t hate Parselmouths. As one, you had to know there were going to be people who hated you for the simple reason of being a Parselmouth. With all these ticked off the box of requirements to join the A.S.P, Droopy Kid has shown potential and is free to join. The requirements were way too low. But then again, she had survived talking more than a few minutes with him. To lose a kid like that would- as much as Hanako’s ego doesn’t like to admit- be a great loss.

He pondered deeply on her last question. What added value would this friendship be for her? He then changed the question to, ‘ What made you join the A.S.P’. For the first time since this conversation started, he stopped smiling. Whatever answer formed in his head, it was enough to make him look oddly serious. He pursed his lips and gazed at the rain that was still pouring over them. “Would that value look small compared to if you didn’t have that friendship?”

Unfortunately, he wasn’t as ignorant as he wanted to be. While he was lucky with his parselmouth grandmother, not every parselmouth had someone to look up to and seek guidance from. How would it feel to have an ability that was feared for centuries and have no guidance? It can be scary, he assumed. To be scared of a talent with dark history, fully convinced it was enough to represent the morals of one person. What a shame that would be. Hell, even Hanako had those thoughts sometimes. It was so easy to pin the blame on something you could never control. But during those little meetings with the other parselmouths, -as chaotic and disastrous they may end up- was a little reminder of how he was definitely more than his parselmouth. Not to mention he got reminded that it was cool as heck to talk to real snakes. A genuine chuckle escaped from his mouth, one he didn’t seem to notice or pretended not to.

Was that small reminder going to leave if he made the wrong choice here?

She had nothing on him. If he was wrong about her, he could just bullshit his way through. Who would believe a cute guy like him would be a parselmouth? Not to mention she had no other proof but this current verbal conversation. Was he ready to risk his club for the possibility that another one could share the same memories as he did? While he was a full asshat majority of the time, he knew at the very least that he wouldn’t be the only one that might appreciate Droopy’s existence. “ Quiz time!” he beamed brightly to lift up the almost somber mood. “ Are snakes really as antisocial as they are quickly assumed to be? What are your personal feelings on this, Droopy? Do you feel that this information is legit? Please kindly share your thoughts~”

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Englisch: #008000 Parsel:#008080

@Hanako Tone

Haley could hardly believe the self-confidence of the snobby boy in front of her, but a devilish smile escaped her. This little fight between the two of them was fun in some way. Either it would all end well and they might even laugh about it in the end, or it would escalate to the point where she thought about throwing a stone at him. Of course she wouldn't do that, probably.

She noticed his look, there was something dismissive about it and she rolled her eyes. Snob. It's only water, she thought to herself. STOP. Had he really just called her Droopy? For a moment it all fell out of her face, but she didn't dwell on it, pretending she hadn't heard, not wanting to give him a chance to do it again or reveal that it bothered her. She scoffed at his remark, "Probably too full of yourself rather than a good actor." She whispered it, not speaking directly to him but still doing it loud enough that he could have heard her if he wanted to.

But they were getting off topic. Haley still wanted to know what he was doing here, why he was obviously looking for Parselmouth, which he refused to admit. Her curiosity urged her to find out more, but she had to be clever about it. But how? How could she do it most smartly? There had to be a reason and she wanted to know it. She wondered if they were still getting to the point where they were both admitting the obvious. They were both Parselmouths, they both knew they had lied. It was obvious and they both knew it. An obvious lie that all involved were aware of but did not state.

How did these two such different personalities come to clash? He caught Haley at that moment and managed to make her laugh, but at the same time made her suspicious, both lying to each other and throwing little insults at each other. It was almost like a long-standing friendship in fast-forward. But what would come next? Would they bash each other's heads in? Would Umbrella boy run away from her while she tried to feed him the squid? Would her curiosity be satisfied today? Would they actually end up being friends? Questions upon questions, but the answer remained elusive to Haley, at least for that moment.

She noticed how his expression changed, the smile was gone and he suddenly became so serious. Had she said something wrong? She had simply asked him a question, teased him as they had been doing all along. She tilted her head at his counter question. What did he want to hear from her? Was it in value just to be friends with him? Was he really that cocky? She hadn't meant her question seriously, of course she didn't need benefits in a friendship but now she was unsure, what was he getting at? Her eyebrows drew together, she was now visibly confused and thinking, no answer came from her.

She was slightly startled when he changed his mood again from one second to the next and now had the idea of doing a quiz in the pouring rain. The boy was crazy, Haley thought to herself and a slight smile formed on her lips while she shook her head in disbelief.

But she was ready for his quiz. She laughed at first, then scowled when he called her Droopy again and shook her head again. He was asking her all these questions as if he were a presenter on the afternoon show of a Muggle show. All that was missing was the microphone. But okay, she decided to play along.

"No they aren't!" she replied harshly, almost insulted. She hated that prejudice. Towards Slytherins, even though she was a Gryffindor herself, towards snakes and towards Parselmouths. The memory of all the dismissive looks from the students came back to her mind. How some were afraid of her just because they had heard that Haley Rose was a Parselmouth. Same with snakes, why were they so negatively tainted? She had already spoken to one and it was more than just a pleasant conversation. "In fact, they can be very social." She continued now. Immediately she knew this would lead to more questions. How does she know that? Yes, Mister, I have already had a conversation with one. How did I do that? I'm obviously a Parselmouth, surprise surprise. You knew it, I knew you knew it and we both know you're one too and we lied to each other. Classic icebreaker.

"I just don't know where all this prejudice comes from and I hate it. It doesn't matter if it's snakes, Muggle born or even Parselmouths. It's pointless and has no basis." She rolled her eyes. It was pointless to say everything in such a way that the boy in front of her would not get the idea that she could be a parsel. She was one, he knew it, she knew it. Done.

"And stop calling me Droopy, umbrella boy!" she finished her statement, but a slight smile was visible.

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Droopy’s enthusiastic response was so hilarious that he couldn’t stop himself from laughing. He didn’t expect immediate confirmation of her Parselmouth ability when he asked that question. In fact, he genuinely wanted to know what she thought about snakes. Only because the little fact that snakes were actually social blew his mind. While he was a Parselmouth himself, he didn’t talk to plenty of snakes. Before doing a quick search on the web, he thought most snakes naturally kept to themselves. With the truth being the exact opposite, it stuck itself to his brain. Since nothing was verbally confirmed about her Parselmouth ability, there was still that 5% doubt that she was a normal kid. But with how offended she looked after hearing his question? Her odd choice of adding additional information about prejudice? And here he thought he had to explain to her that snakes actually were social. He seldom gets to act like a smart ass with actual facts but it doesn’t matter since her response was entertaining itself. He did have to change his choice of words from now, for sure.

But there really wasn’t anything to hide is there? She’s a parselmouth. How could she not be? Looking as if he asked if she were the one that was rumored to be anti-social. While that was pretty dangerous if it were anyone else, this only made him more confident about recruiting her.

“ Umbrella boy? Couldn’t be a little more creative with that, D r o o p y~?” he mocked gleefully ” Well, I praise you for trying. But I would prefer it if you called me Hannah. Or actually… perhaps another name you’ll hopefully find out soon” he muttered the last part barely audible for the other to hear, but if she chose to observe him, he was smiling. As if purposely hinting her at something she didn’t know. Yet.

“ I apologise in advance if I sound like a cult leader. It’s basically my first time doing this but do know that I’m only doing this because you amuse me, Droopy. Say, what you said before. About how prejudice can d-word in a ditch?” Not exactly what she said but it meant the same thing, Hana was sure. “ Well, I know a few others who think the same as you. Some because it only seemed the most logic. And more because they have been a victim of it. A dislike for prejudice isn’t the only thing we have in common as well, you see? I’m sure you can guess what it is~” he gave her a quick wink, knowing that she would catch on although she would most likely not admit.

“ We, folks...stick together because not a lot of others would. It can be seen as dangerous, scary, a disgrace..” the more he talked, the more he seemed hyper-aware of his surroundings. As if making sure no one was near them. “We simply wants to remind each other that we aren’t alone. Snakes are pretty sociable, no? They may not hunt in packs but bonds can be formed despite that~” He carefully studied her face for anything unusual. Vague may be a description of his words but he needed to be sure the other wasn’t that dumb. “ So.. if you don’t plan to spend another rainy day with the squid who might’ve hated you by now, would you like to come back to the castle with me? I can’t offer you my umbrella because there is simply no space for the two of us but I can offer a spell that would dry your clothes in an instant. I could lead you to them if you want.”

He paused for a second with a prideful look on his face before adding, “ And if you reject, well that’s no problem. You’ll simply see my cute and adorable face every day from now on~” He replied sweetly. In a way, he was giving her a sort of warning. If she was smart, she would see that this was his way of saying that he would keep an eye on her. And there's no telling that the group he mentioned earlier wouldn’t join in as well. “ Well~? Have you thought about it? I'll give you time to think about it”. He took a quick glance at his nonexistent wristwatch " And, times up. Answer now so your fate may be sealed, Droopy~"
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@Haley Rose

Englisch: #008000 Parsel:#008080

@Hanako Tone

Did he just seriously laugh at her? Not very nice umbrella boy, especially when you want to make friends. Haley rolled her eyes and tried to put on a scowl. She was only moderately successful and tried to keep the twitching corner of her mouth in check as it tried to turn into a smile. Somehow, despite everything, his laugh was infectious. But as she had too many times before, she was reacting far too emotionally. He had never insinuated anything, it was just a question and while Haley was protective of Slytherins because she thought it was simply unfair, she had nevertheless already experienced by herself that just because you are different, you are quite quickly treated differently and unfairly. For example, a Parselmouth.

Haley scoffed, umbrella boy was definitely more creative than droopy. She wanted to give him the finger when he reemphasized the nickname he had chosen for her but then he had actually introduced himself. Confused, she looked at him, "Um-hm, you can call me Haley. Which I would prefer, by the way." She had quickly regained her composure and put her attitude back on, giving him the same smile he had on his lips.

Haley listened intently to his words, unable to suppress the smirk this time. There it was again, the unspoken obvious truth. Both Parselmouths, both knew it and yet they pretended to talk about something completely different. But it wasn't just curiosity that prompted Haley to take him up on his offer, it was also the opportunity to be surrounded by others like her. There was no way she could turn down this offer.

She shook her head, Droopy again, but she didn't dwell on it. She now left the last meters that lay between the two behind her. With a confident walk she now joined umbrella boy and looked at him seriously. "I wouldn't stand to see your cute and adorable face every day." On purpose she had said it in a way so Hannah could tell it was pure sarcasm. So nothing new, their whole acquaintance was apparently based on sarcasm. "And don't ever threaten me again." She added seriously, before winking at him. She had immediately understood that it was meant to be a warning but even if Haley had decided against it, he would have had nothing to fear.

She now took a few steps towards the castle before impatiently turning to look at the boy with his umbrella. "Well what now? That was a yes." Haley laughed to him now, waiting for him to join her. It seemed like a switch clicked in his head, like he understood her in the first place but just wanted confirmation for good measure. He had it with this. He kept his expression, smiled at her and answered in his snobby way "Good choice, Droopy. You probably won't regret it."

FIN