Made of plastic and elastic

[Sapphire Bookchild]

Sapphire couldn't hum but she did have a song stuck in her head. She had no idea what it really meant but it sounded very cute so Sapphire kept repeating it in her head. Every so often as she walked towards the lunch table she would sign a word or two of the song getting strange looks as she passes. Sapphire didn't care much any more. She had good friends who liked her despite her little disability. Coin operated boy sitting on the shelf. She signed cheerily at the same time that she came in contact a very hard someone. A fifth year had been walking in the other direction and crashed into her. He yelled something at Sapphire but she couldn't quite catch it because the Great Hall was getting louder. Seeing that Sapphire wasn't really paying attention the fifth year kicked Sapphire's spilled books then walked away. Sapphire frowned as she tried to fish her school book out from under the Ravenclaw table. She would have used magic but she didn't want to risk sommoning up someone's shoe by mistake.

 

[Jeremy Thorne]

Jeremy had just finished the last sip of his orange juice when he felt something hit his foot. That was odd because books didn't usually go flying around the place. Not on the floor anyway. As he bent down to retrieve it, he noticed the girl that it probably belonged to. She seemed to be trying to reach it too, but he got to it first. The Ravenclaw rose back up from under the table and then turned to the girl. She wasn't anyone he knew from his house or year though she did look to be about his age, so he figured that she was either a year under him or a year over him. Holding it out to her, Jeremy said, "Uh, I think this is yours." He gave her a pleasant smile as he waited for her to retrieve her book.

 

[Sapphire Bookchild]

Sapphire looked up at the boy and smiled wide. She made to get up from under the table when she seemed to have miscalculated just how far it was so she hit her head on the table. Sapphire let out a soft 'muf' sound and rubbed the sore spot whole holding her head out for the book. It wasn't so bad that she though she was going to bleed but she knew she was going to have a bump for people to laugh at for a bit. Thank you She sighed without thinking about it. She didn't know whether or not he knew how to sign but it was all she could do at the moment. Sapphire looked around then back at the boy. You don't look like the Raven who though I was a freak. She signed again without thinking.

 

[Jeremy Thorne]

Jeremy winced as the girl went to get up and hit her head on the table. "Are you ok?" he blurted out, hoping that she was. As she took the book from him and held her head, Jeremy's eyes fell to her hands as she seemed to be making some kind of motion with them. It was odd, but before he could even figure out what she'd done she stopped. He waited, expecting her to say thank you or something and then she started with hand movements again.

He looked around wondering if anyone else saw what she was doing. Nobody seemed to be paying them any attention though. "Um...I'm sorry, but I don't understand what you're doing" he said, shaking his head sadly. Already, he was starting to realize that maybe she didn't want to speak or that she couldn't speak, but he had no idea how to tell what she was doing. He'd never met anyone who was deaf so he'd never seen any kind of sign language before.

 

[Sapphire Bookchild]

Sapphire quickly realized that the boy didn't know a thing about what she was doing so Sapphire went into her book bag and quickly took out her trusty notebook. Sapphire flipped to a clear page then removed pencil that she had taken to waring at the gap of her ear. Sorry about that. You see I'm mute. She wrote quickly then showed the boy. To make sure he understood Sapphire took down a bit of the scarf she always wore and showed him the scar with which she explained why she didn't have a voice. She could hear well she just couldn't speak.

Sapphire took back the notebook writing underneath Thank you for rescuing my book. My name is Sapphire. she presented this too to the boy with a large smile on her face. If he called her a freak Sapphire already had a move that she had wanted to try ready. That and her black marker needed some more action.

 

[Jeremy Thorne]

As soon as Jeremy saw exactly what she had pulled out of her bag, he realized that she did have some sort of disability. He glanced over at what she had written when she wrote it and then looked back at her. Mute, that means she can't talk, he realized, looking at her and not speaking as if he were the mute one. He looked at the scar she revealed and his eyebrows rose quickly.

As he glanced down at the next message she'd written, Jeremy began to reach in his bag for a quill to reply. When he realized that she couldn't speak but could hear, he shook his head at himself. "I'm Jeremy." He quieted for a moment and then spoke up again. "You're welcome about the book. How'd you drop it all the way over here anyway?" he asked as he reached for a muffin, realizing he was still hungry. He picked off a piece and stuffed it in his mouth.

 

[Sapphire Bookchild]

Sapphire wondered if she was allowed to get food from this table instead of her own table. It got kicked over here. There are some people that have a bit of a temper I guess. Sapphire wrote before gabbing a blueberry muffin herself and started to tare pieces from the top. Sapphire loved muffin tops even though the bottoms where good at times too. If she got in trouble for it then she would no not to eat here again. Did the book hurt you? She scribbled quickly when the thought came to her.

Sapphire studied the Ravenclaw table again and realized that 'Spider-Dork' was probably somewhere deep in Peter Parker's pants. The thought made her put her hand against her lips in a silent laugh. It wasn't a nice thought but then again he hadn't been to nice to her. Sapphire looked back at Jeremy then started to spell out his name with her hand. She could quite place the signs that she would have to make to say his name quickly so Sapphire was training her hand to make the letter signs as well as showing Jeremy what his name would look like in sign language.

 

[Jeremy Thorne]

Looking at what she wrote next, Jeremy stuffed another bite of muffin in his mouth. "That was really mean. What was bugging that person?" he said, frowning at how mean the person was for doing what they had to her. He watched silently as she grabbed a muffin from the Ravenclaw table. He wasn't sure it was allowed, but he didn't see why it shouldn't be. It was just going to go to waste.

Shaking his head, Jeremy replied, "Nah. It only hit my sneaker." Finishing off the top of his muffin, Jeremy watched as Sapphire began to sign again. At first, he didn't realize what she was doing until he took a closer look and recognized one of the letters. It looked like a Y. "Is that how you sign my name?" he asked, trying to mimic the letter. His fingers didn't want to cooperate though and he gave her a sheepish grin before giving up and biting into the bottom part of his muffin.

 

[Sapphire Bookchild]

Sapphire nodded and did it again this time slowly so he could see the letter shapes. It's a bit tricky since there's no special sign for it but it works. Sapphire wrote afterwords then started to take apart the bottom of the muffin so she could eat the bits. It was a habit that she had gotten into within Bella-Donna Manor when she wasn't too sure about what she was eating. For all she knew Zeal could have gotten into their mother's poison cabinet again. She remembered Ruby throwing up for days after Zeal through it would be fun to taint her food. The new girls that Dympna had taken in where no better. It think the person was mad because I wasn't saying sorry for bumping into him but I did say sorry. I said it like this Sapphire wrote as she put the small piece of muffin into her mouth. She put the down the pencil she was using and made the sign for 'Sorry'.

 

[Jeremy Thorne]

As she went more slowly, Jeremy paid more attention and he was able to pick up the 'E' and 'Y'. He nodded his head at the note she'd written. "Cool...how do you sign your name?" he asked because aside from the 'E' none of the letters were the same. His eager to learn Ravenclaw side was coming out and he hoped she didn't mind showing him.

"Well that's stupid then" he said after she explained how her book had ended up reaching him. He watched as she showed him what she'd done. It was an interesting movement as she moved her hand from her mouth downward, her palm to the sky. "At least you tried to say sorry...I bet it was one of the oaf sixth or seventh years, right?" he guessed. "Some of them are jerks"he said quietly, not wanting any of them to hear him. They were much bigger than him after all. Finishing off his muffin, Jeremy looked around for a napkin and when he didn't find one, he quickly wiped his hand on his shirt. If his mother had been there, she would have killed him.

 

[Sapphire Bookchild]

Sapphire made the letter sounds for her name even though she usually went by just 'Saph' when she signed her name it was easier to do so. He seemed very curios about her language then again she imagined that she would be hard pressed to find someone who wasn't. Sapphire had been somewhat of a novelty in this school as a mute. She had heard that there where two deaf girls in the school now and it made Sapphire wonder if she could converse with them some. Sapphire sighed her name again for Jeremy so he could pick it up somewhat.

Sapphire nodded at what Jeremy said next. I don't think there have been people that don't speck in this school before. Sapphire wrote down She watched him as he wiped his mouth on his sleeve and tilted her head. Sapphire took out her wand and summoned over the nearest napkin not because she was being proper but because she wanted to show him a little of what she would do. Being unable to speck make it difficult for Sapphire to learn the spoken spells so her teachers had set her aside first year and started to teach her wordless magic. It was very hard but Sapphire had been able to master a few simple spells this way.

 

[Jeremy Thorne]

He watched her sign the letters realizing that some of them actually looked like the letters they were, like 'e.' It was actually pretty cool to speak without talking and he was sure that it was probably very useful in class where talking wasn't allowed but not so useful in the dark. He tried to mimic what she'd done from memory when she finished and even though he couldn't remember the 'h' or the 'r', he thought he did pretty well for his second try.

Jeremy shrugged. He had heard some of the kids whispering about a student who was deaf, so there was at least one other person. It obviously wasn't Sapphire though because her hearing was just fine. Probably better than his actually. "Me either" he began as he watched her summon a napkin. "Hey...you can do wordless magic already. I hear some adults still have trouble with that." He had the feeling that he would probably have trouble with it, especially if they had to do wordless transfiguration. He was terrible at transfiguration when he spoke so he could only imagine how bad he would be if he had to do it silently. He stood silent for a minute and then spoke up, a little of his old shy self returning. "Would you be able to teach me? Sign language, I mean. I figure I should get better at regular magic before I even try the wordless type." He realized he was babbling so he shut up and waited for her to answer.

 

[Sapphire Bookchild]

Sapphire watched Jeremy try to do what she was doing and smiled wide. She had never had anyone who had tried to learn from her before. Mostly everyone already knew what was going on or they just waited for her to write something. Or they called her a freak but Sapphire was ready with her marker if that boy came at her like that again. Sapphire repeated the letters with her hands for him so he could follow along then reached out her other hand so she could direct his fingers. Sapphire was having more fun than when she had met Oscar for the first time and he was teaching her how to ride a bike. Sapphire had a broom now so she didn't ride that much but she still wanted one of the two wheeled contraptions of her own. It was too bad that Dympna would never allow one in the house. Muggle things are for muggles, she would say.

Sapphire let out a sadish sigh at her thoughts but then smiled. She nodded then picked up her pencil again. The teachers had started teaching me because of my condition. I can't do all the spells the people who speck can yet but I'm willing to work hard to catch up to them. Sapphire wrote then made a determined face. Just because she didn't have a voice didn't mean that Sapphire had to give up magic right now. She put her hand to her lips to signal she was laughing then nodded. I can teach you sign language if you'd like. I can also teach you wordless magic when we're older if you'd like. The teacher that first discovered that there was a way for me to learn magic said that it would be a miracle if I could learn more than a few simple spells wordlessly. Sapphire wrote to make Jeremy feel better.

 

[Jeremy Thorne]

Jeremy let Sapphire direct his fingers and found that when she helped him, his fingers actually listened. When he tried to do it on his own, his fingers were a mess. He read what she wrote about why the professors decided to teach her wordless magic and then nodded. "That's really cool. Maybe I can help you practice spells in exchange for the sign language lessons?" he asked with a shrug. Her offer to teach him magic wordlessly was awesome. He'd come across some really nice people in the school, but Sapphire had to be one of the nicest. It made him feel protective of her. There was no reason for someone to be mean to someone who was as nice as she was.

"I'll probably take you up on that one day. What year are you in anyway?" he asked curiously. "I'm a third year and I know I haven't seen you in any of my classes" he stated.

 

[Sapphire Bookchild]

Sapphire nodded excitedly. She wanted so much to learn the magic that alluded her so much because of her condition. Her language seemed like a small price to pay for it too. Sapphire put up her hands to show him which year she was in by making the number two. This was why he hadn't seen her yet. Sapphire was usually with other second years or hidden somewhere in the corner drawing. Jeremy was a nice Raven like a lot of other Ravens that she had met. She hoped that she would be friends with him for a very long time. Looking at Jeremy them up and around Sapphire thought of something then turned to a page in her notebook that she had been doodling in during one of her classes.

She showed him a picture of bunnies hopping in a formation then dug in her trusty bag to take out her sketchbook and a magical music device that she had gotten off one of her friends. She put on "Fasten you Seatbelts' by Pendulum then flipped through the pages sideways so that they seemed to be moved on their own. The song always reminded her of a circus act and she hoped that with the animation and the music Jeremy could see it too.

 

[Jeremy Thorne]

Jeremy's grin showed just how happy he was at the idea. It would be fun helping Sapphire practice some spells and it wasn't like the practice wouldn't help him. He was getting better every day, but practice never hurt anyone. Since she was a second year, he knew that he knew more spells and charms than she did. "I'm in my third year" he mentioned as she continued to write.

When Sapphire began flipping through pages, Jeremy sat back and wondered what she was doing. He was just about to ask when she held up a picture of some bunnies hopping. He looked at the picture for a second and then his new Hufflepuff friend, a confused smile on his face. It was a good picture but he didn't know why he was showing her. As she pulled out a music device, he was really confused but decided to wait it out. When she put an unfamiliar song on, he listened and looked back to the book that she was now flipping through rapidly. If you looked now, it was as if the bunnies were moving across the page almost as if they'd been enchanted to move across the page. "That is soo cool" he said, a grin reappearing on his face. "You're a good artist Sapphire and this music...It reminds me of those muggle thingies with the animals and the clowns. Circles?" he asked not sure if that was the right word. He had a feeling it wasn't actually.

 

[Sapphire Bookchild]

Sapphire smiled wide. Jeremy had gotten it! He had gotten that she was trying to make them like a circus. Though the word for it had somehow slipped her mind. Because of it Sapphire took back the notebook she had been writing on and started to make notes. Circles, circuits, Circus! She circled the word then had Jeremy look at the page. Sapphire tapped the paper at the circled word her eyes say in that's it. Sapphire bit her lip then pulled on Jermey's hand. Let's go outside. It's a good day. She wrote to him. She was happy to make a new friend but Sapphire was feeling restless and didn't know if she could find a quite corner and start drawing again.

 

[Jeremy Thorne]

When Sapphire began to write, Jeremy waited impatiently trying to peer over her shoulder to see what she was writing. He had a feeling it was the word he was trying to think of. He knew it started with a 'C' and when she held out her notebook, a word circled, he nodded his head eagerly and then laughed. "Circus...of course."

As she grabbed his hand, Jeremy wondered what she wanted. Thankfully, Sapphire was patient enough with him that she didn't even hesitate to write him a message. With a quick glance, he shrugged. It wasn't as if he had any other plans for the morning and Sapphire was proving to be quite entertaining. He nodded his head, "Sure...wanna go to the garden?" It had a lot of free space and they'd be able to sit and relax there easily.