Closed A Circle of Friends

[Emrys Connelly]

Emrys was left to play by himself at a local park while his mother met with someone from the ministry to discuss his upcoming schooling. He had brought along a handful of his stuffed animals, laid out a blanket, and had them sitting in a circle around him. He was laying on his belly, his bare feet swinging in the air above him as he read his battered copy of the Hobbit to his friends. There might have been other children near the playground, but he was too busy in the patch of grass he'd settled in to really notice. The sun was warm, the wind felt nice in his hair.

 

[Yuelia Rossingol]

Yuelia wished she could levitate her dolls. That would've been so much easier to handle than carrying them awkwardly in her bag. After all, she couldn't have them falling over each other and uncomfortable. They would surely hate that, and she wouldn't want to upset the ladies. Mister Trumpets, carefully wedged under her arm, fared a little better at least. But he was far more relaxed and willing to go along with anything Yuelia said.

Hearing someone reading, Yuelia looked around and saw a boy reading to some stuffed animals. He seemed to read well, and Yuelia was quite intrigued. Without even realizing it, she'd approached and perched at the corner of his blanket, setting Mister Trumpets on her lap and almost carelessly putting her bag to the side, staring curiously at the boy while listening to him read. She wasn't sure whether she should say something to mark her presence, not really wanting to interrupt him.

 

[Emrys Connelly]

Emrys felt someone joining them, but he didn't look immediately, too caught up in the story. When he had finally finished the chapter however, he paused. "Can I have my water?" He asked, turning to look at the girl with a shy smile. "It's on the other side of you," He told her, pointing to the thermos that was sitting a bit away on the other side of her.

 

[Yuelia Rossingol]

Yuelia was pleased that the boy was unbothered by her joining him to listen, glad that he just kept reading instead. It would have disrupted the flow of the story if he'd stopped to tell her to go away, and she was enjoying it even if she'd missed some context. She almost wanted to question why he stopped until he asked her to pass his water. It seemed only fair, then, as she had been listening for a little while. She went to reach for her father's wand, but realized quickly it was actually with her father, and that she wasn't to use magic outside of home anyway, even if she'd been practicing moving things around with the levitation spell and thought she could do it quite well. Instead, she awkwardly leaned over, picking up the thermos and passing it to the boy.

"Here you go. Your reading is very nice," she added, as it was only good manners to say so and Yuelia had been taught to be polite to people unless they were rude to her.

 

[Emrys Connelly]

Emrys smiled at her, taking his water and sipping on it. "Thank you. Are you all enjoying the story?" He asked, looking to her assorted company. "We can start over if you'd like to hear all of it. Or I brought another book if you want to read a new one," He offered, looking back to her with a soft smile. "My name is Emrys," he introduced, before motioning to his company. "And here we have Hades, Vladimir, and Madam Alice," He introduced his stuffed animals as well.

 

[Yuelia Rossingol]

Yuelia couldn't help but feel relieved that not only was the boy not bothered by her but it also seemed like they had a few things in common. From what she understood, that was a good way to start a friendship and she was looking forward to having some human friends. Her father had promised that she would get a pet before going to Hogwarts, at least, but she was curious to understand how other people worked.

"It's very interesting. And different. What is it?" She tilted her head, pondering. "Do you have lots of stories like that?" She only had a few storybooks at home and it got quite boring reading the same ones over and over again. "My name is Yuelia," she added, bowing her head politely. She would have given a curtsey had she been standing. "This is Melodia, Harmonia, and Rhapsodia," she gestured to the three elegant dolls in her bag, matching in different coloured outfits with different coloured ringleted hair. "And this is Mister Trumpets. He has a hard time hearing sometimes because he's so old but he enjoys stories anyway. It is very nice to meet you all."

 

[Emrys Connelly]

Emrys smiled gently. "It's called The Hobbit." He explained. "I have lots of stories. Every story is unique." He shrugged. No two stories were ever the same. He smiled a little wider as she introduced herself, and her companions. "Would it help Mister Trumpets if I read louder?" He asked. He wouldn't want Mister Trumpets to miss any of the story.

 

[Yuelia Rossingol]

Yuelia couldn't help but smile, breaking the illusion of her porcelain doll appearance quickly. She liked this boy, she decided. He just seemed to get it. "Is that a muggle story? I don't have many storybooks at home. Everyone gets bored of them." She could only read Tales of Beedle the Bard so many times before crying in frustration, after all. "You don't have to read too loud. Your voice might get tired." Her own became hoarse when she'd tried to read louder, and her father had reprimanded her for shouting.

 

[Emrys Connelly]

Emrys nodded easily. "It is, yes." He told her. "My mother is a librarian." He offered. "You could come over if you like," He gave her a small smile. "You could check out a handful of books and see if you like them." At her mention of not wanting his voice to be tired, he just scooted closer to her. "If its alright with the two of you, I could hold Mister Trumpets?" He asked her. "He can hear me better if he's closer."

 

[Yuelia Rossingol]

Yuelia looked thoughtful for a moment, before nodding almost shyly. She'd never been to someone else's house before. She had no idea what to expect, really, or what she was supposed to do. But it was a little exciting all the same. New stories were something she really looked forward to. "That would be very nice. I...don't think my dad would mind too much." She loved her father but it was nice to have a little more time to himself now that he was working at St. Mungo's.

She looked down at Mister Trumpets, pondering for a moment before nodding, carefully handing him over to Emrys. He was a little old and tattered, repaired roughly in some parts, but she loved him all the same. "Well, since we're friends now, he says it's okay." She paused, pushing her hair behind her ear. "I've never had a real live human friend before."

 

[Emrys Connelly]

Emrys smiled, glad when the girl agreed. He took a pen from his pocket, intending to write his phone number on either her hand. "My mom won't mind, she likes having kids over," Not that he ever brought anyone over. But his mom made sure to tell him all the time that he could.

He smiled again as she offered him Mister Trumpets. He very carefully accepted him, reaching over and offering her Madam Alice in return. His smile turned a little shyer. "I haven't either." He explained, tucking his hair behind his ear. "People are... uncomfortable around my friends," He frowned, waving to the three stuffed animals.