Friends First

[Flavio Morales-Tipene]

Flavio was determined to have a much better, and brighter year than his previous years in school, both for Marcos' sake, and his own. He had realized the turmoil he put himself through in his first and second year, offering to do all of Rory's homework for him and generally working too hard for other people without thinking of himself. It had affected his grades in school, and generally lowered his self-esteem but now that he was due to begin his third year he was ready to change it. He still worried what Rory would say, and if they would still be friends when he refused to do the other boy's homework, but figured that his other friends would support him if it ever became a problem.

Amber was one of these other friends, and Flavio could not wait to see her again. She always managed to cheer him up and find something to be happy about no matter how sad or exhausted he was. It was such a contrast to how quiet Flavio usually was, but it made him happy all the same. He had agreed to meet with Amber in the student lounge as soon as both of them were free, and was currently sat in one of the arm chairs, waiting for her to arrive. They needed to catch up on how their holidays went as well as talk about the year ahead of them. Their owl year was still far away but Flavio knew his third year classes, and he electives he had chosen would be difficult. He hoped Amber thought the same and was eager to simply talk to his friend and find out.​

 

[Amber Chou Wilson]

Amber was excited to start her third year, but she did feel a bit startled that she was a third year already. She remembered how old they had looked to her when she first started in her first year, and she couldn't imagine she looked that way to the new first years. She knew for a fact her sister didn't think of her that way, she had made it clear to Amber that she didn't look up to her in the slightest. It bugged her a bit, she sort of wanted to be a good example but Sophie just seemed determined to do the exact opposite of anything Amber did. She hadn't even seen her sister since the sorting, she suspected Sophie was avoiding her.

Seeing Flavio again would be really fun, though, and she looked forward to it. He was one of her closest friends at school and she liked to talk to him. She did worry a bit about the situation with Rory. Maybe Flavio would feel like he had to pick between them as friends and if he did, maybe he would pick Rory. Her encounter with the Slytherin over the holidays had cemented him in her head as the person she currently disliked the most. Remembering his smug face made her angry, and she hated being angry. Maybe it would be best to keep the Rory talk to a minium.

It was easy to forget her worries when she saw Flavio in the Student Lounge. He seemed to have grown taller over the holidays, something Amber herself hadn't quite managed. She walked up to him and grinned. "Hi Flavio, how are you?" She took one of the other arm chairs and folded her hands in her lap as she turned all her attention on him. "Can you believe that we're third years already?"

 

[Flavio Morales-Tipene]

Flavio smiled as Amber approached him, then leant forward in his seat so he could listen to her properly. He was fine, his holidays had been much the same as they had always been, and his mood was also the same. He had spent his spare time with his family and at the park near his house so he could feed his duck friends and now felt properly rested and recuperated for another year of schooling. The only thing different about his holidays were that he spent more time with Marcos to prepare him for the school year ahead. Flavio wanted to see how Amber was and hear about her holidays more than talk about himself, but he was still happy to answer her question after he returned her greeting.

"I have been okay. My brother is starting Hogwarts this year, so I am very excited!" He said. "How are you? How were your holidays? I think they would be more interesting than mine." He asked, quickly laughing when Amber said she couldn't believe they were now third years. Flavio felt the same, and noticed how weird it had been to watch his younger brother get sorted into a house, knowing that he had once been a first year himself. "I can not believe it! All the first years looked so small, and scared. It is weird to think you and I were like that." He joked, leaning back in his seat slightly. Many things had changed since Flavio's sorting, Pia was now graduated and he had a small group of friends to spend time with. He also had grown taller and was now sporting a brand new uniform. The weirdest part of it all, though, was knowing that he could no longer be a helpless little brother, and was now supposed to look after Marcos and help him through his first year in school in the same way Pia had helped him.​

 

[Amber Chou Wilson]

Amber was surprised to hear Flavio had a younger brother joining Hogwarts this year. Especially because Amber's own sister was a first year now as well. "Really?" She asked with a smile. "What house did he get sorted in? I didn't notice him at the sorting." She had been too focused on Sophie to notice much else. "My sister is starting this year too, she's in your house." She added.

Her holidays had been mostly uneventful. She had been bored and waiting to go back to school for most of it, with some stress about her electives in between. The only thing that really stood out for her was the Rory incident, and she still didn't know if she should mention it or not. "My holidays weren't interesting at all, I'm happy to be back." She told him. "It's never boring here, and I can't wait to see what my new classes will be like." Amber had picked Divination and Ancient Runes as her new electives, and she was excited to learn. She agreed with Flavio on the first years and smiled. "They did look small and so unsure." Most of them at least, Sophie had scowled like she always did. "I remember the sorting so well, I was so nervous, and I kept getting lost at first too!" She sighed, Sophie might be feeling those things now but she wouldn't let Amber near enough to see. She worried about her little sister. "Maybe you've seen my sister around? Her name is Sophie and she's a bit quiet, usually frowning or generally unhappy looking." She paused. "Short, looks a bit like me."

 

[Flavio Morales-Tipene]

Flavio nodded as Amber asked about his brother, then smiled while he answered her question. It was still weird for him to think about his little brother finally being school aged, able to learn magic and to grow up as a person but at the same time, it was incredibly exciting. He couldn't be more proud of Marcos for making it this far and was happy to help his brother every step of the way in the upcoming years. "His name is Marcos, and he is sorted into Gryffindor! I am a little sad he is not in Ravenclaw with me, but Gryffindor does suit him." He said with a nod, soon tilting his head to one side curiously when Amber mentioned her own sibling was starting school that year. He had not noticed anyone that looked like Amber during the sorting ceremony or around the common room, but he would definitely keep an eye out for her now.

Flavio was still adamant that Amber's holidays had been more interesting than his own despite the fact she had said they weren't interesting. But he wasn't going to continue to ask her questions about it, and instead wanted to know more about her sister. He was glad that Amber continued to talk about her, and was also surprised to hear that her sister was always grumpy and frowning. "I have not seen her, but I understand why I haven't seen her, or noticed that you have a sister. She sounds like the opposite of you!" He nodded a second time when she said that Sophie looked a little like her, taking in the statement but not really believing it. "I think if she frowns she will look nothing like you." He joked, then added. "But I can look out for her, and try to make her less grumpy if you would like."​

 

[Amber Chou Wilson]

Amber smiled at Flavio's expression when he talked about his little brother. It seemed to her that he was really proud of his litle brother. "Gryffindor is nice, I wonder if Evelyn has met him." She told him. Evelyn was pretty much the only Gryffindor Amber knew well, she didn't have a lot of friends in that house. They often seemed very reckless and didn't mind breaking rules, something Amber wasn't really a big fan of. She would still like to meet Flavio's brother, though. He had to be nice like Flavio. She remembered suddenly that Flavio had an older sister too and she had been the Head Girl last year. Amber had never talked to the older girl but she had found her very admirable. "How is Pia doing?" She asked curiously. She was eager to learn what people did after they graduated.

Amber couldn't help but laugh when Flavio told her that her sister seemed like the opposite of her. She agreed with that. "She sort of is." Amber said with a small shrug. "I worry about her, though. She's not very friendly to strangers and I worry she won't make any friends." She sighed. "I've been trying to make her less grumpy for years, it doesn't really help. But if you want to look out for her I would really appreciate it." She smiled. "Shame Marcos wasn't sorted into Hufflepuff, if he were we could have traded."

 

[Flavio Morales-Tipene]

Flavio shrugged when Amber mentioned Evelyn, unsure if Marcos would have ran into the other Gryffindor. He wasn't sure how to respond to the statement either, because he had only spoken to Evelyn once when he delivered her a rose for valentine's day. He was glad when Amber asked how Pia was doing. His face lit up again as he spoke about his other sibling. "She is living away from home now, and training to be a healer. I'm so happy that she will be able to help people, it is what she has always wanted." He continued to smile when Amber said that trying to make her sister less grumpy was sort of a lost cause, finding it funny. Amber would of course do anything to make other people happy, and it was both unexpected and hilarious that she, of all people, hadn't been able to make her sister less grumpy. Flavio couldn't tell the future and did not know if he would have much luck in succeeding where Amber hadn't, but he was at least willing to try. "I could definitely find her, and try to be her friend. Do you know where she spends time?" He asked, intent on searching for Sophie when he had the spare time.

sorry this took so long!!​

 

[Amber Chou Wilson]

Amber smiled when Flavio told her what Pia had been doing. It sounded very interesting, though being a healer in training also seemed very difficult, she wondered if she would be able to do it. "That sounds amazing! It's really good work. I'm sure she's going to be great at it." Amber told him earnestly. She sort of wished she had an older sister like Pia instead of a younger one like Sophie. Still, she did love her younger sister even if she didn't always make it easy. Flavio's offer of friendship made her feel relieved because of this. She didn't think Sophie was making many friends, and quiet Flavio would probably be a good match for her. At least, as long as she didn't realize that Flavio was approaching her on Amber's behalf. She smiled. "That would be very nice of you." She said, nodding. "I would feel relieved knowing that she had someone looking out for her in her house. I don't really know where she spends a lot of time, I've barely seen her since the term started. Maybe she's in the common room a lot? I think she would like being somewhere I can't bother her." She shrugged and rolled her eyes a little. "In her words at least."

 

[Flavio Morales-Tipene]

Sophie did not sound like the most pleasant person to talk to, but even then Flavio wanted to try and find the girl for Amber's sake. Although Marcos was an open book, and would tell him anything, Flavio still would have liked to know that a close friend of his in Gryffindor was looking out for his brother. Even if Marcos wasn't having problems it would have given him peace of mind and that was truly what mattered, second to Marcos' happiness of course. "I know what you mean. I wish I knew someone that could look out for Marcos, too." The thought of getting to know Evelyn better for Marcos' sake occurred to him, but he wouldn't want to make a new friend simply for the sake of knowing if his brother was okay. That would be unfair to everyone involved. The thought that Pia had not faced such an issue when Flavio was sorted also occurred to him, since he was in Ravenclaw with her for the entire time they were at school together. Though no matter what his thoughts were, Flavio smiled to Amber and confirmed that he would keep an eye out for Sophie. "I can try and see if there's someone who looks like a grumpy version of you whenever I am in the common room." He chuckled, smiling wider as he said. "I hope she does not hate me, so I can talk to her and see how she enjoys hogwarts." ​