Grand 500

[Dominik Perrie]

Dominik Perrie's first year of schooling was coming to an end. He was pretty worried about how his parents would react about his grades. He did not think they were going to ground him or anything, but they were going to be suspicious about what he was doing instead of studying. He was busy making friends and playing games. He needed to prepare for Quidditch next year! Gryffindor had managed to make a comeback with points. He had never expected Hufflepuff to be such a good house! Dominik walked onto the lawn with his tennis ball in hand. He was going to play catch by himself for a little while. He did not like when he had to entertain himself. He much preferred playing on teams or at least with one other person. The first year threw the ball high into the air. He tracked the ball and ran as the ball began to make it's descent to the ground. The boy held his hands out to catch the ball, but it slipped through his hands. "Man!" he pouted and grabbed his tennis ball before it could roll farther away from him. He tossed the ball in the air again. He normally was not such a bad catch. He guessed that it was because he was playing by himself.

 

[Soren Sedridor]

Soren needed to escape the castle for a while. With exams coming up, he'd spent most of his days attempting to study in the library or the Hufflepuff dormitories, though he knew it was more of an excuse to avoid people than anything. Truth be told, he wasn't doing all too well in class, his speech impediment stopping him from casting even something as simple as Lumos which set him back in his practical subjects by a fair bit. He was trying to make an effort, spending his free time trying out speech exercises, but none of it seemed to be working. It was absolutely no use.

In need of fresh air, Soren exited the castle and wandered across the school grounds with Flint, his enchanted pet rock, floating by his shoulder. The animated stone kept him company when he didn't have anyone else, which turned out to be frequently. The two made their way across the lawn and toward the pitch, with Sedridor hoping to perhaps do a few quick laps around to get some practice in. He didn't intend on joining the Quidditch team the following year, but he enjoyed flying for all that it was. As the boy veered toward the school's broom shed however, he passed behind a Gryffindor who looked to be in his year, playing catch on his own with a tennis ball. The kid had already fumbled the catch once, but as Soren made his way by, the kid fumbled another toss and reeled back to catch it, barging into him instead. The Hufflepuff shouted in surprise, as the kid's body colliding with his much frailer build sent him heavily to one knee, hissing in pain. This was one of the reasons he avoided people.
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[Dominik Perrie]

Dominik was determined. He was not going to fumble the ball this time. Once the ball was in the air, he tracked it as if his entire Hogwarts career depended on it. The ball had begun to make it's descent. The ball was so close to his hands, but he collided into someone before his fingers could grab ahold of the ball. Dominik's shoulder went into the other boy's chest. Within a matter of seconds, both the first the boys were on the ground. Dominik was worried for his victim. He didn't sound good.

"Are you okay? I hit you pretty hard. " he asked as he stood up and offered a hand to the other boy. Dominik was used to tackles and accidents such as this one, so he was okay. "I'm really sorry about bumping into you. I should pay more attention next time." he apologized. A sincere apology would crush any hard feelings. At least, he hoped so.

 

[Soren Sedridor]

Soren rubbed away at the dulling pain in his knee, feeling like he really needed to try and beef up a bit. He could barely carry a pumpkin during Herbology, though then again, most of the students had levitated their gourds, a feat he could not do. He brushed away at the grass stains on his leg, as the boy who'd collided with him asked if he was alright. Soren glanced up toward the Gryffindor student and in response, he simply nodded his confirmation that he was fine, glad that at least this boy was considerate. Even so, he was a little wary when he took the hand the boy extended out to him, so used to people feigning concern and just letting him go at the last second to drop back into the dirt.

As the Hufflepuff pulled himself to his feet, he realised that the boy wasn't so bad. After all, the Gryffindors he'd met so far had been friendly enough. He had even apologised and, not wanting to seem rude, Soren attempted a response. "I-it's o-o-ohk-kay. I sh-sh-sh-ould-d-dn't h-h..." He stammered, the familiar feeling of hopelessness returning as he tried to speak, his tongue refusing to work properly. He took a deep breath and continued. "ha-have got-t-t...-ten in yo-our w-w-way." He finished, dropping his head and covering his face in embarrassment. He was sure a simple thumbs up might have sufficed as a response.
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[Dominik Perrie]

Dominik was relieved that his peer was okay. He was not going to have to drag anyone to the Infirmary today, not that he did so every other day. He watched as the boy wiped himself off, and Dominik proceeded to help him stand up. He did not care about if his clothes were dirty. Dominik was not a dirty person, but he did not fuss about a few spots on him. He began to wonder why the other boy was here. Maybe they could do something together! Dominik could only be by himself for so long. The whole point of Hogwarts was to make friends!

Dominik shrugged. "Forget about it. It's all water under the bridge now." he smiled. The boy's stutter did not bother him. He was not interested in in why he had it either. He did not think he had done anything to make the boy hang his head. Dominik patted his peer on the back. "What's your name? I'm Dominik Perrie." he introduced himself. He wanted to know what he could call this person, in case he saw him later. "Where were you headed? My game of catch is totally dead now." he told the boy.

 

[Soren Sedridor]

A little surprised by the physical contact, but reassured by the boy's pat nonetheless, Soren let his hands drop back to his sides and gave a slight half smile. The boy didn't seem to pay any attention to his impediment, whether out of simply not being bothered by it or just being polite, he wasn't sure, but he was glad. He wasn't so glad though, when the Gryffindor asked his name. Sometimes the boy wished he were simply telepathic, and didn't have any need to open his mouth at all. He knew he couldn't expect to simply stand around in silence with anyone who wanted to talk to him, but it seemed so much easier that way. Which of course was why he avoided people in the first place. He did however have his notepad, courtesy of Desideratus. The two would write notes to each other rather than using verbal communication, but it had been a long time since they'd hung out.

Holding up one finger to gesture for the boy to wait a moment, he withdrew the notepad he used from his bag, as well as a overused, almost stub or a pencil. He burnt through them way too quickly. Scrawling quietly across the pads slightly bent pages, he wrote a response, briefly crossing out a word he unintentionally wrote in danish. Mit My name is Søren.

Finished, he held the paper up. He hadn't bothered with a surname, he wasn't sure why people introduced themselves with their full name. It was always something he figured you found out over time. Flipping the page he wrote on over, the Hufflepuff listened as Dominik said his game of catch was "totally dead now". Ouch. He frowned apologetically, miming the word sorry with his lips. He hadn't meant to interrupt. When the boy asked where he was headed, he scribbled across the fresh page, whilst Flint fluttered gently from one of his shoulders to the other, as if reading what he write down, despite being a rock. He turned it over once more. I was going to the broom shed to fly around for a bit. It read. He wasn't certain if Perrie was interested or not, but he definitely looked like the sporty type.
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[Dominik Perrie]

Dominik had no problem waiting. He watched as the boy pulled out notepad and began to write something. He must hot like the way he spoke. Dominik felt the way to fix stuttering was talking more, but he must have gotten teased or something. He was motioned to read. "Soren." he said. Dominik nodded his head. Soren spelled his name with a slash through the 'o'. He did not mind it. His peer said, well mouthed, sorry. Dominik shook his head. Soren must have misunderstood. "It's not your fault. It's just a way of speaking. It would be weird for me to go back to my game while you're here." he told the boy. Soren began to write again. He was going to do some flying? That sounded fun! Dominik did not fly very well. Soren could help him. "I didn't do well in Flying. Do you want to help me out?" he asked politely. This could be a potentially awesome learning experience.

 

[Soren Sedridor]

Despite the Gryffindor's attempt to tell Soren it wasn't his fault, he still felt to blame for completely ruining his solo-game of catch. But, he was happy to hear that Perrie wanted to join him in flying around the pitch, admitting that he hadn't done well in the subject. Soren wasn't too great either, but he got by. The only thing he couldn't master was the Up command, for obvious reasons, and he wasn't all that comfortable going too fast in the air, or too high, but other than that he was perfectly okay. It was a problem he was slowly working to overcome. He nodded his head enthusiastically in response to the question, rather than even attempting the word Yes, and turned to continue walking over to the broom shed. He gestured for Dominik to follow, not sure if he had his own broom laying around but guessing he didn't.

Once the Hufflepuff had opened the door to the shed and taken a broom out for them each, an idea hit him. He passed one of the two he held across to Dominik, not too happy with their condition but figuring it was the best they could do with what the school provided. He put down his own broom and flipped his notebook back out of his robe pocket, scribbling across its pages. Finished, he turned it around for his companion to view. Why don't we play your catch game while we fly? It read. He thought it might be a good idea to combine their two games, plus it was a lot more simple and safer than Quidditch so they wouldn't have any problems.
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