This summer was quite interesting, for the first time he would attend the camp as a duellist. Last time he had been at the camp, it was located at Hogwarts and he was only a co-captain in charge of moderating the duels of others, now thanks to Gryffindor having claimed the win, he would have a chance to show off to other schools. While Alan was not usual one to be overly prideful, this opportunity gave him a thrill of excitement. He would get to know some students from other schools and also redeem his recent loss against the Ravenclaw students.

As for right now? Alan was lounging, chilling, being lazy as he laid on the grass with Tiger curled up on his chest, weighing down on him. It was quite the hot summer for London and the boy felt like he was melting away. He had to smear on a thick layer of sun block this morning and wear a cap. Of course he spent time in the half shadow of a tree, close to the camp site, with a small smile. He had finally found a moment to wind down and cal his mind, which was usually difficult with the constant chaos of thoughts and ideas running through his mind nonstop. It truly would be a shame if something or someone were to interrupt this peaceful moment.

Move to England, they said. It'll be nice and cool, they said. Nice and cool his ass. If Bubba had been made of sugar, spice, and everything nice he'd have already melted by now. It was hot and he was not ok with this. At first, Bubba was going to try and chill in his tent, see if he could keep cool when there were no activities going on. He chose, poorly. Instead, the tent just trapped the heat in and left Bubba to sweat. This was not going to help him in the slightest. Bubba slapped on a liberal helping of sunscreen and opened his trunk, pulling out the coolest clothes he could find. He settled for a bright yellow shirt and a pair of tan cargo shorts. He slipped his flip-flops on and dragged his comb across his head. He wasn't really sure why he was doing it, the heat would make him look sweaty and greasy in about two minutes, still, he liked to put the effort in.

He went over to the area the barbeque had been held in and grabbed a big cup of iced coffee (extra ice) and a banana. He sat on a bench and ate the banana while he sipped his iced coffee, wondering where he should go to try to cool down. He grabbed a refill and decided to head out and find a nice tree to lounge around under. As Bubba walked across the field he looked up into the sky and watched one of the quidditch teams fly by. He wistfully thought of flying himself and wondered when he'd be able to move off the Ravenclaw broom racing team's waitlist. He dreamed of flying through the air, dodging his fellow racers and obstacles. As he was walking and thinking wistfully he unconsciously started to sing softly to himself, his voice a bit deeper than usual, "She call me Mr. Boombastic... tell me fantastic..." Suddenly he heard a soft meow and stopped himself, looking at the source of the sound he saw Alan sitting with a majestic cat sitting on his chest, "Hello there."

@Alan Vanes

While Alan was resting, it almost felt like he could simply fall asleep and give in to the temptation of just being completely lazy for the rest of the day. But there was no real rest for him and soon enough the proof for that arrived. Not that the Gryffindor boy himself would have noticed that, but it was Tiger who perched up, causing him to shift his weight uncomfortably as his paws were digging into Alan's ribs, before giving out a meow. Alan couldn't decide whether it was simply because Tiger was curious or because he actually wanted to alert Alan of an approaching figure. Alan cracked open an eye and winced as he adjusted to the sudden brightness of his surroundings once more.

"Hey," he would greet the kid that had strayed from the camp, perhaps to also escape the warmth and find a nice spot to rest. Alan glanced at the boy, acknowledging the fact that he had seen the kid around before, when he had interrupted George's detention. Well he did not actually interrupt it of course, it was Pei who had asked him to assist her there. But if he had known for whom the detention was, he would not have agreed to help due to bias, especially if he would have known in advance about the events that would have followed and the way the small detention escalated. He still felt a bit queasy thinking about it. Sadly however he had not managed to capture the boy's name on that day, which put him in an awkward position as he tried to figure out, if perhaps there was a chance that there would appear a nametag of sorts out of thin air, or if perhaps the boy had written his own name on his forehead with a sharpie. But of course there was no such luck.

"What was that song you were singing?" he wondered curiously, "Also what's your name? I hadn't been able to ask last time we met?" His voice was calm and interested in what the other boy had to tell him. "Also feel free to sit down, the shadow 's quite nice," he offered.

Bubba was happy to see Alan waking up or, well whatever he was doing, probably resting his eyes. The cat was indeed majestic, he looked like a mini leopard and it was very impressive. He chuckled a little when Alan asked what he was singing, "Well," Bubba replied as he felt the sun soaking into his skin in a way that was uncomfortable even with the sunblock, "Calling that singing is exceedingly generous, I can't sing worth a damn." He was happy to accept his invitation to sit down, it felt at least 10 degrees cooler under the shade. He pulled up some stump and sat down so he was at about a 45-degree angle to Alan.

Bubba feigned being deeply offended when Alan asked him his name, "You mean you don't remember me? After I so expertly derailed George's detention. I am, deeply, deeply offended." He did his best to give him a look of the utmost loathing but it didn't last very long. "Bubba, Bubba McGarry," He said, extending his hand for shaking if Alan desired to do so. "Ravenclaw, and all around rabble-rouser and shit stirrer."

He surveyed Alan's cat again, he'd made his decision now. His father was coming in a couple of days to take him to Diagon Alley to get a pet. He had it narrowed down to between a ferret and a cat, but that cat was too damn cute. He was getting a cat. "What's your cat's name?" He then hastily added, "And that was Boombastic by Shaggy, almost forgot you'd asked."

@Alan Vanes

The soon to be sixth year was looking over to the boy, a small smile on his face. "It is about having fun, right?" he replied with a shrug. And he meant it. Alan also liked to sing, though he was actually half decent at it. Though he sang because he enjoyed doing so, not because he thought he was good at it. He was glad that the boy had taken the invitation and sat down with him, the company was truly welcome.

"I do remember you, just not remember your name there is a difference," he argued, though a grin showed that he too was not being serious. "Nice to meet you Bubba, so you often cause trouble?" Alan was still talking without any seriousness, watching lazily as Tiger climbed off him and headed to Bubba as if to greet the new face and possible treat giver. "His name is Tiger," he introduced the feline. He of course accepted the handshake. "Do you have any pet?" Alan wondered how Bubba would react upon Tiger approaching him, thought he doubted the Ravenclaw would mind, after all he showed quite the interest in the feline. Alan was sure that the kid must be a friend of cats as well. "Shaggy? Never heard of it, but it sounded funny. Is it non magical?" Alan had previously found out that he preferred a lot of muggle things over magical things, such as musics. Also Alan just loved movies! Perhaps Bubba knew some Muggle stuff and could recommend it? Well Alan was convinced he had asked enough questions for now.

"I dunno," Bubba said, as he let himself cool down in the shade, "Yeah, of course, I like to have fun but I also don't want to look stupid, my singing is best enjoyed at a low volume and when I'm the only one to experience it." Bubba enjoyed singing when he was by himself but he didn't want to traumatize anyone with his off-key. tone-deaf singing.

"In your defense, I don't think my name was ever mentioned in the detention." He said, stretching out his legs while making sure they were still in the shade of the tree. "Honestly, I remember trying to goad George into trying to flip me and then the other prefect practically threatening to throw me out." He looked wistfully out over the field. He wasn't sure what he'd done wrong, after all it was a detention and he was there to learn, it's not his fault that the other prefect didn't like the spell he chose. "I just don't understand, I mean, I was there to learn and he already sent that Slytherin girl into the lake so I figured I'd pick a spell to learn to know that he could do." He said with a thick veneer of feigned innocence.

"As for causing trouble," he began with a smirk, "People take such a dim view of it but, I'm just trying to have fun and provide stimulation in an otherwise quiet and boring atmosphere." He said in his most faux diplomatic voice possible, "It's really not my fault that my efforts aren't appreciated." He concluded before adding, "You know they say a truly great artist is only appreciated when they're dead."

"I don't, actually," Bubba said looking Tiger over again, he really did look like a leopard in miniature. "My dad's coming over in a few days and we're going to do to Diagon Alley. Honestly until basically right now, when I saw Tiger, I was between and ferret but now seeing Tiger, cat it is."

Bubba thought for a second when Alan asked about the song. "Well," Bubba said with a smirk reminiscent of a Cheshire cat, "Just because it's made by a muggle doesn't mean it can't be magical." It was true in his opinion, music to him was its own type of magic, it could move you in ways that nothing else could. Sure it didn't involve wands but that still doesn't make it any less magical. "To be honest Shaggy isn't really even my type of music it just got stuck in my head, I'm more into rock and roll." He thought about the phonograph and records in his trunk, "I have a phonograph and records in my trunk if you want to hear some proper music but it's way too hot to get up and lug it over here," he then playfully added, "I mean unless you want to use a summoning charm."

Alan nodded, he got the idea of what Bubba meant. Even if he himself was not bad at it, he would never consider singing with an audience, his singing was for his own ears only. Alan tilted his head as he began to listen to Bubba retelling the events of the detention, more specifically the occurrence of him trying to taunt George into sending a Knockback jinx his away. "I... seee," he said with a mischievous grin. "Well if you need any help with spell practice, I'm sure I could help you out," he offered innocently. Though Alan was not actually intending to cast any harmful spells, and of course he wouldn't turn it into a proper duel. "Do you wish to join your duelling team?" he wondered curiously. He hadn't seen his name on the waitlist.

Alan had practiced duelling with a whole bunch of students, it was kind of his job and a fun free time activity. After all he was the captain of his team and was a duellist himself. "Why were you even trying to get hit by a spell, especially Flipendo is quite painful, you know?" But perhaps he didn't know and that was why he was curious. "If you truly wish to practice a bit, I'd recommend something like the laughing jinx or dancing legs". Those two also could hurt slightly, but it did not even begin to compare to the force of a knockback jinx, that would quite literally cause bruising and was able to knock the air out of someone's lungs.

Bubba also had an interesting view on causing trouble. "I mean I think causing trouble is fine, as long as you are not harming anyone or causing unnecessary stress for someone," he explained with a shrug. "But a lot of the rules are to keep people safe and out of harms way, but that doesn't mean you can't have any fun, just to be respectful" Alan offered, with an astute sideways glance at Bubba. When the younger boy mentioned that he now wanted a cat, it somewhat reminded him of his first interaction with George in the pet store, where he had influenced the badger's decision in what pet to get for himself. "Cats are incredible! That sounds like a whole lot of fun," he chirped in excitement, specks of gold fluttering through his green irises. Perhaps a trick of light?

"Again with the muggle magic? Someone told me about that before, but I was told its not true," he shook his head with a grin. He would not fall for it again. He stilll couldn't fully believe that Willow had once convinced him that muggle magic was an actual thing that happened. "Or do you mean like feeling magical? 'cause that I can get behind," he added quickly. Perhaps he had just misunderstood or spoken faster than his mind was able to catch up. "I could summon it, what records would you like me to summon?" After hearing the names of a couple of records, the Gryffindor took out his wand and first summoned the phonograph and then one of Bubba's records. It was not the best executed spell, but successful nonetheless. Alan blamed the weather. "Make it work?" Alan offered as he handed the other boy the record. He did not want to break something that didn't belong to him, who knew how precious this was to Bubba, if he even brought it to a summer camp.

Bubba listened to Alan as he talked, offering to "help" him with spell practice in a voice that was perhaps just a bit too innocent. He was going to disappoint him though, George was the only person he wanted to send him for a flip. He felt that George still owed it to him from the detention and he fully expected to collect one day. On the offer of joining a dueling team, however, he was happy to comment. "I appreciate the offer but that's really not my scene," he said, it was probably the first time he'd sounded remotely serious throughout their entire conversation. "I prefer to settle... well and start for that matter... things with words." It was true, Bubba's best assets were his mind and the associated quick wit. "Plus, I'm on the waitlist for the Ravenclaw broom racing team and two teams just seems a bit much."

"As for why I was trying to get George to teach me that spell." He shrugged like it was completely unimportant, "I told you, I, like to stir the pot, I heard he was in detention for using it on a student, so that seemed like the best way to stir things up." It was really Opelia's fault for asking him there in the first place. He had been well on pace or even ahead when he was invited so he figured he'd go to the detention and see what happened. "Now at this point I just want it done to me on principle. I'm sure it can't be that bad. As for those jinxes, I laugh enough."

Bubba was a little disappointed by what Alan had to say next, he thought he'd been a bit cooler than this. He tried not to show it on his face but he wasn't sure it had worked. He understood perfectly well what the purpose of the rules was, and his stirring of the pot was never done in a way that would get someone harmed. Bubba was a ballbuster who liked to get people going, things didn't get physical and he wasn't interested in making them physical. "Maybe we have different definitions of causing trouble, like I said, my medium is words, I don't do anything that puts people in harm's way, I just like busting people's chops, it's all in good fun."

As Bubba listened to Alan talk about his cat he thought he saw - something - his eyes must've been playing tricks on him. Had he just seen - was it gold? It was like a flash of gold in Alan's eyes, he'd never seen that before. For the time being, he decided to leave it be. Instead, he turned his attention to the phonograph. When he learned that most muggle devices didn't work at Hogwarts, he told his dad about it. His dad already had an old vinyl collection and told Bubba he could take some of them to school with him. He also bought Bubba some of his own to start building his collection. His dad always said vinyl was the best way to listen anyway. When they went to Diagon Alley for the first time, they'd found what could best be described as a wizard's pawn shop and found a magical phonograph there.

Bubba opened the lid of the phonograph, there was nothing in it, he didn't want any of his records to get damaged in transit. As he worked he responded to Alan's comment about feeling magical. "Good music invokes powerful feelings, but great music... great music takes you on a journey. It invokes feelings you would never expect it to be able to do. So, I wouldn't use the term, but sure, you could say muggle magic."

He turned his attention to the three records he'd had Alan summon, trying to decide what to start him with. The first album was Led Zepplin IV, it was probably the most mainstream and the most logical one to start with. The second was Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd, it was prog rock but still mainstream. The third album was Brain Salad Surgery by Emerson, Lake & Palmer. It's B side, the Karn Evil suite was prog rock at its most glorious. He decided on that and put it on the phonograph, setting the needle. He decided not to give him any primer whatsoever and just toss him straight in. The song would start to play and Bubba fell silent for a few minutes.

Bubba didn't speak again until Karn Evil Number 9 1st Impression Parts 1 and 2 had finished and the instrumental 2nd Impression had started. He decided to go with his gut, he had seen it, "When you were talking before, I swear I saw, well, gold, in your eyes?"

"Broom Racing, huh? Have you met Aurora then, you'd probably like her," he said with a grin. Both had a similar air of mischief and madness, in a good way, so they probably would get along quite well. "I personally don't really know much about broom racing though, it kinda looks a bit scary," he admitted. Alan had been a chaser, but still never fully got over the queasy feeling in his stomach whenever he flew. So he couldn't possibly imagine flying with so many obstacles and even some creatures thrown into the route they had to fly.

Alan grinned. "I don't exactly know why he got in trouble, no one got hurt to my knowledge and I am sure hurting the girl was not in his intentions either, but for Pei it was probably the principle," he explained with a shrug. Alan probably was too lenient with letting troublemakers get away with minor offenses to the school rules. But seriously, he hadn't really been a lamb either. He had gone to Hogsmeade a fair amount of times and broken curfews more times than he could count. Not that he had to tell Bubba about that, or anyone prone to troublemaking, right? "It depends on who casts it on you really, I had people cast it on me and it barely tickled, but I've been told that when I cast it, that it can be quite painful... of course it also depends on your tolerance to pain, there are many factors that play into this so I have no way of telling if it would hurt you specifically," he continued to explain to the boy with a lazy shrug. Then again people who had seriously tried to use the spell on him, barely ever had hit him because he was known to be quite evasive when it came to spells.

Alan realized that he must have said something wrong and gave an apologetic smile. "Sorry, I didn't meant to insinuate that you were causing that kind of trouble, I think being a prefect is rubbing off on the way I talk," he said jokingly, giving the boy a crooked grin. He hoped with that things were alright again.

The song disc that Bubba started playing began with a song that started rather calmly, at least more calm than he had expected based on the cover and name, but that didn't mean bad. It got more lively as soon as the song actually started and since Alan didn't know the lyrics he could only slightly bob his head to the rhythm. The tune however was quite catchy and he liked the instrumental a lot. Both Bubba and him were sitting in silence for the first part. Then the second part started and they were quiet once more as they listened, the second part started quicker into the song but had a different feel, yet it was similarly catchy. Alan quietly tapped his finger on his knee and glanced at Tiger who was investigating the phonograph. It was only when this song was over, that Bubba began adressing him and Alan glanced over at him and cracked a smile. "Yeah, not surprising," he said just a tiny bit awkward. "It's a metamorph thing, not sure if you learned about those yet though," he said and brushed away a strand of hair from his face that had fallen while he was bobbing his head earlier.

"I'm sure I've met Aurora in passing at least but I can't say I really know her," Bubba replied. The truth is he didn't really know many students at the school at all. Sure, he knew them to say hi to and whatnot but he had very few real relationships. When he'd gotten to school last year he was focused on doing as well as possible, and he felt like he'd done that. It'd been a bit of an adjustment but in no time at all, he'd been finding his way around and he'd done well in all of his classes. All in all, a great success on the academic front, but he wanted to try and be a bit more social than last year. "I mean there's danger in it, no doubt," he had certainly considered the danger but Hogwarts wasn't exactly a paragon of safety in the first place. "I'm a half-blood. My mom and dad agreed that I'd go to muggle school and learn muggle culture til I went to Hogwarts. My best friend's dad did some rallying." He wasn't sure if he needed to explain and figured he should at least give a basic one. "A rally is a race from point to point following a set route. It's along windy roads and there aren't many guardrails, so, pretty dangerous." His friend's father had taken him on one of the stages in his own personal car one day, they weren't going as fast as a real rally but they were moving. It was thrilling and a little scary. "If broom racing is anything like that, it'll be terrifying, and that just makes it more fun."

He listened to Alan talk about George and his detention. He'd imagined that George had had many misadventures and that flipping June had just been the tip of the iceberg in a sea of what he'd gotten away with. A role model to be sure. "My understanding is that he apparently flipped the girl out of a tree. She was fine, don't really see the problem." He said with a hike of his shoulders. It was all just a bit of fun and Pei had ruined it. "As for the pain of a flipendo, I think I'll be just fine. Last year I got poisoned and was tough enough to drink a little more and projectile vomit over my poisoner. Trust me, I can take a jinx." He would not soon forget what Hunter did to him. He would love to learn flipendo to have a chance at payback. All in good time. He'd get him eventually, when he didn't see it coming.

Then he heard that Alan was a prefect. Ah, it had been going so well. "Oh man... look you seem nice and all but... a prefect... I dunno if I can hang out with a prefect. It might damage my street cred." He said with a crown and made to get up. He got to his feet and started acting like he was gathering the records. "Nah I'm just kidding, you're alright," he laughed as he leaned back against the tree. "Unless. You're not a Slytherin, are you?" He made a mental note to ask him about the metamorph thing but he wanted to see just how far he could pull his leg.