Common Interests

[Bryce Chamberlin]

Bryce Chamberlin was actually enjoying his time here in Hogwarts New Zealand, and he thought that things just could not get better. Everything was going super well for him. Classes were going all right, and everything seemed to be in tip top shape. And now everything seemed to be going rather well for him. Even being deaf had its advantages. He was the most unique one in school with an actual disability, and already, he had more honors than anyone else. He had more titles to his name. And he was thoroughly enjoying the friends he had. Of course all of his friends were girls. Was there something wrong with that? He was positive that there was not though. He liked being here, and he was going to remain here anyway. Bryce wanted nothing more but to make a friend that could draw like he could, and could appreciate sketching and such as much as he did. He looked around the gardens before he found something pretty to draw. It was a bird humming around a flower. He wondered what it sounded like, but did not dwell on it. He got out his sketchpad and he started to draw it, starting with the body of the bird, and then with the scenery behind it. He did not know if it was a boy or a girl, but he did not want to miss the chance. Bryce managed to finish the outline of the bird before it flew away, but then he started to draw the scenery. The drawing would be amazing for Roo. He drew so many things just for her, but it was rare that he would ever give them to her. Bryce thought that some of his drawings were not that great anyway. But maybe she would like something like this. That was what he was hoping for when he would get finished anyway. Perhaps he could try some colors? It would really make the drawing complete with some colors.

The Ravenclaw finished with the outline of the sketch and he started to put in more detail and it was starting to come forth and really look like a suitable drawing for his best friend. She meant so much to him. She was the only one that he would actually talk to. Everyone else just got sign language, whether they understood that or not, and if they were friends, then they wrote back and forth to one and another, despite the fact that he can read lips. Sometimes reading lips was tiring, but he was pretty well balanced. He also did not want to lose the skill to read lips because it was something he desperately needed to continue doing. Or else he would not be able to attend classes, and he would not be able to learn anything. He needed to continue doing what he had always done, and reading lips was the key to learning everything he could. Bryce kept thinking about his good grades, and figured that he would make his parents proud by making straight Outstandings. Bryce was ready to do whatever he needed to continue. His parents were worried about him attending a school like this to learn magic because he was deaf, but he was proving them wrong. Last year, he was the top of his class. Not just his house, but his class! He was making a name for himself, and he could not wait until his parents knew everything he had accomplished.​

 

[Sofii Kyle]

Sofii was in the process of finding a good place to work on a drawing at. The common room was really crowded today and Sofii found herself unable to find enough to muse to even get through a brief outline. To a lot of people, Sofii seemed like she was cold and rude, but that was so far from it. Sofii didn't have the heart to be mean to anyone, she was just really shy and kind of plain. So even if she had gone to the common room to draw, she would have been left alone to do her thing, but the noise factor would have just killed it for her. Sofii didn't see any sign of Damon either, and he was one of the few people that Sofii had opened up to. He was really hyper and talkative, so he was pretty much the exact opposite of her. Sofii liked that though. He gave her someone to talk to that didn't mind how quiet and reclusive she could be. "If only I could get him to stop talking for like five minutes." It was pretty hard keeping him quiet for more than two minutes though. Sofii often had to fight to get a word in, which was rare enough for her. Sofii was pretty surprised that Damon even wanted to talk to her when she rarely said anything back. Sofii adjusted her sketch booked and exited the castle. It was a beautiful day outside, so Sofii knew she would be able to relax and get into the zone out here. Maybe she could even find some muse within the nature around the castle. "I think I'll start by the garden." Perhaps if her artwork was as easy as she hoped it would be, she could maybe even do a watercolor.

Sofii noticed someone else had also claimed the Garden and bit her lip. It was Bryce too, the deaf boy that was in her year. Sofii had never spoken to him, even though she knew some sign language, mostly because he intimidated her. Sofii hoped that being here wasn't going to bother him too much, she didn't want to cause any problems for him. When he looked up at her briefly, Sofii shyly smiled and opened her sketchbook. There was a patch of flowers that looked like they would be fun enough to draw. Sofii was grateful that she had been gifted with the talent to create art. Even though she could barely call herself a professional, at least she was good enough to have her art look appealing. Sofii had seen some people's artistic ability and it was just atrocious. Of course it probably wasn't their fault. People were gifted with different things. Like Bryce for example, who was merely feet away from her right now, he seemed to be good at many things. Quidditch, school, and even making friends. Sofii made sure not to let Bryce see her glance at him every so often. He would probably think that she was being rude, or creepy. What if he told on her to one of the Professors? Sofii wasn't a stalker but she was kind of curious to see how they dealt with them at this school. Sofii bit her lip and looked back down at the art she had been working on. The sooner she finished this, the sooner she could start on something else. ​

 

[Bryce Chamberlin]

Bryce finally finished his sketch and he was ready to begin another. However the moment that his eyes looked up, he saw someone else mere feet of him. He didn't know her, but he wanted to. Making friends was really important to Bryce, and he seemed to attract more girls than boys. The reason being might be because he was somewhat gentle, and he was a Part-Veela. He was attractive, even if he did not think so much on his looks. His eating behavior was not attractive at all since he could eat a lot in one time period. But how would he approach her? He decided to wait for a few minutes, and try to find something else to draw in the meantime. Bryce did not even find her glancing every now and then at him, but he was doing the same when she was not looking. He thought that she might be a really good subject, but would he actually draw her without her permission? He thought that he could anyway. He closed his sketchbook and he walked over to the girl after he struggled a bit getting onto his feet. He approached her and then he tapped her on the shoulder. He gave her a smile and he hoped that she would be able to let him draw her. Though first he would like to talk to her for a little bit. He flipped to a blank page and he started to write. He hoped that she would know that he was deaf and why he had to write things down for communication. Once he finished what he was writing, he would show it to her, not knowing that she already knew who he was to begin with. After all, he did not know if he was well known or not.

"Hey, I am Bryce. I don't know if you can read sign language, so this was a good way to communicate." He looked at what she was doing, and realized that she was one of those people that could do some artistic things too. Just like him. He was good at photography, obviously since he was Co-Editor in the Accio! yearbook. He took pictures of people frequently, and he was getting really good at it. He hoped that the picture quality he took, that no one would accuse him of sending pictures to RHI. He would never, under any circumstances, work with authors that would be as horrible as they were. He did not know who took those pictures, but they were pretty good too. He just hoped that he was not friends with one of them. Then again, his friends were normally really nice. Deciding to shove those thoughts to the side, Bryce opened up his sketchbook even more to show the Hufflepuff girl what he was drawing. He would ask her to be his subject later, but maybe if they shared their art styles with each other, then they would make a good friendship by doing that? He was really hoping for something like that anyhow. He wondered if she knew sign language. That would really help if she did. However he doubted it since most people would not bother to learn sign language unless it was absolutely necessary. And who in the school would out of pure curiosity? Rosie was learning, but they were best friends too.​

 

[Sofii Kyle]

Sofii lifted her head when she felt someone tap her shoulder. There had been no one around other than that boy so she wasn't all that surprised when she saw him hovering over her. Sofii was about to say hello when the boy started to write a note to her on his pad. Why was he writing her a note? He must not know that she was able to communicate via sign language. It was a skill she had picked up because her uncle was hard of hearing. Sofii waited until he was finish writing and she was able to read the note he had written to her. Sofii lifted her hands and slowly began to sign, "Actually....I can sign perfectly so you don't need to write to me." Sofii bet it got annoying for him to always have to write to people to make sure they understood what he was saying. He could have just tried to mouth it, but a lot of people couldn't read lips either. The little girl Sofii always saw him with didn't seem like she knew sign language, but perhaps Bryce was teaching her to sign. Rosie was her name? Not only did she seem like she had the brains of their year, but she was also quite sweet from what Sofii gathered. Sofii set her sketchbook down and thought for a moment. While she could sign to some degree, she wasn't a master at it and it took her a moment to remember how to sign certain words. The last thing she wanted to do was sign something really weird and have Bryce become confused. The young Hufflepuff wanted to question Bryce over the sketchbook she had seen him drawing in. He must have liked art to some degree too. Would he let Sofii see his work?

"I noticed that you were drawing as well. Do you like art?" Sofii was worried that he would begin to notice how dull and boring she was aside from the fact that she liked art and tea. Damon was always on her case about how she needed to talk more, and do more. But that was his thing and Rosie didn't really think it would be right if she just went and started acting exactly like him. Plus there was the little fact that she almost didn't know how to be exciting or cool. Sofii had grown up with really strict parents. They hated noise, and they hated really doing anything a kid or a teenager would consider as fun. No theme parks, no dances, no parties. Absolutely nothing but quiet. Hogwarts on the other hand was so lively and full of life, Sofii loved it. It was her favorite thing about this castle, aside from all the cool magic she was able to do. Plus she had made a friend. Sure he was a little bit on the obnoxious side, not to mention he talked so much, but Sofii enjoyed his company. "I'll admit, I'm not very good, but I really like to draw and paint things." Sofii glanced down at her open sketchbook and sighed. There was a huge chance that her artwork would never be seen by anyone else other than her friends. It took a lot to become an artist, and Sofii didn't think she had what it took to become famous for it. There wasn't even a style of art she was really good at yet, she tried them all in an attempt to find her calling, but so far nothing really took place as her official trademark. ​

 

[Bryce Chamberlin]

Bryce watched as she read the short note that he had written to her, but then again, she did not even start writing again to tell him anything, which was a little troubling. Did that mean that she did not want to talk? What if she did not want to get to know him and share interests? Bryce was starting to freak out a bit, but then she lifted her hands and signed him a message. He was so shocked that he stared at her with those wide, hazel eyes that looked somewhat gray as of the moment. His eyes could appear so many colors (natural colors), but that was the beauty of hazel. Her sign message took a moment to register to him too. The Ravenclaw finally smiled and he started to sign right back, "Really? Wow I did not know that you could sign. I am glad I do not have to write and waste my paper now." He most definitely was relieved, and he could not resist smiling. There was something about her that made him really want to know her more. She seemed to be an artist, or an aspiring one, and she knew how to sign. Plus she was cute too, so he was definitely not going to screw this up. He normally attracted girls to him anyway, whether it was his personality, or his good looks thanks to the Veela gene within him. However once he had kids, he knew that he would end up being prettier than they would since he had more Veela blood within him. That would not change how he would love them though. But right now he was simply way too young to be thinking about children. He did not even have a girlfriend he wanted to marry! The Ravenclaw was thinking too high.

Sofii signed asking if he liked art after she had noticed that he was drawing as well. That was nice. She actually noticed! "Yeah I love art. I admire just about everything artistic. I cannot paint or anything like that, but I take pictures and sketch." His hands moved to sign the words, and he gave her a light smile. Sofii was really cool, and he could not thank her enough for being so cool. Sofii also hung around with another guy from what he knew. What was his name, Damon was it not? That was what he was thinking, and he had to remember what their relationship was so that he did not overstep his bounds and end up with some jealous guy on his hands. He often saw Damon running his mouth so fast that Bryce could not read his lips. He did not know how anyone could understand anyone that talked that fast, but it must be different for the hearers. Bryce made sure to look at her hands while she signed, and she admitted that she was not very good, but she loved to draw and paint. Maybe she could teach him how to paint one day? What could he say, he wanted any excuse to make friends with her. "From what I can see," signed Bryce, "you are good for your age. I think that you are totally better than me. Have a look." Bryce made sure to show her some of his not so finished sketches of plants and fireplaces. He had a thing for drawing different sorts of fireplaces, either from things he had seen himself, or imagined out of his head. Bryce hoped that she would like the sketches that he drew, even if he did not think they were the best.​