Open Playing It Safe

[Doyle Mooney]

After Halloween Doyle was a little wary to see what awaited him to the great hall even if there was no way a Christmas themed dance would be as crazy. But as he stepped inside he realized he was wrong, it as just as crazy but not spooky this time. The enchanted snow would have been enough to leave his jaw on the floor, but then he saw the ice rink and the giant tree and realized he needed to stop underestimating this school. He shuffled his way inside and looked around for maybe one of his roommates or Peregrine to come save him from looking like a total idiot. Finally he made his way to the snack table and relaxed a little. It felt like an island of normalcy in a sea of bizarre sights.

 

[Huw Carew]

Huw arrived at the Yule Ball wearing a black tuxedo and bow tie, with his guitar strapped behind his back. It wasn’t exactly needed at the ball since they had music, but he liked the look. More importantly, it gave him confidence he wouldn’t have had otherwise. If no one spoke to him at the ball then at least he had his guitar, he thought.

He thought that the winter wonderland theme was cool although outside, it was summer and the season change threw him. Not really knowing where to go, he decided a drink was a good place to start. He made his way over to the snack table, where another student he recognised from some of his classes was already standing. It felt rude not to say hi. "Hi," Huw greeted, picking up a goblet and pouring himself some pumpkin juice. He hesitated for a moment before holding up another goblet. “Would you like one?”

 

[Doyle Mooney]

Doyle hadn't realized he had spaced out staring at a plate of sweets until someone spoke to him. He looked up and saw a boy from his year. He looked at the goblet of pumpkin juice and gave him a small smile. He had quickly learned that it was a favorite beverage for wizards but he hadn't quite acquired the taste for it, but since it was already poured he took the cup. "Sure, thanks." he said genuinely even if he only took a tiny sip at first. Then he noticed the guitar on the boy's back and he got much more excited. "Oh woah, you brough your guitar? That's so cool." he said enthusiastically. "I only have an electric guitar at home so I couldn't bring it." he admitted sadly. He missed playing a lot and was hoping to play lots when he got home soon.

 

[Huw Carew]

Huw handed over the extra goblet and picked up his own. His eyes visibly lit up when he said his guitar was cool and that he had an electric one at home. Huw had never played an electric guitar before so didn't know what he was missing. "No way, that's so cool too!" He said, "A relative gave it to me just before I came here and I've been playing every day since." He told him. He couldn't think of anything worse than being at Hogwarts without it but he didn't say that. "How long have you been playing?" His initial nerves about the Yule Ball were fading and all it took was a conversation he actually cared about to ease him into it.

 

[Doyle Mooney]

Doyle smiled as the other boy returned his excitement. "Oh that's awesome." he said when it was mentioned his guitar was a gift. "My dad got bought mine off one of his friends so its a little old and worn in places but it still works great." he explained. "I got it for my birthday a couple years ago. I haven't taken lessons or anything but I've learned a lot by watching videos and just trying to copy songs." Doyle felt like he was rambling and maybe he was but he hadn't gotten to talk to anyone about music in a while.

 

[Huw Carew]

Huw nodded along, happy to have found someone else who had learned in a casual way like him. "I haven't had any proper lessons either," he replied. "Although my roommate has had lessons and he’s shown me a few chords. And another one of my roommates is working on trying to get his computer to work at Hogwarts. If that works out then I'd like to check out those videos too." Huw kind of hoped Aaron would figure out how to get muggle tech to work but last time he asked, he hadn't had any success. "Anyway, cheers to music," he said, lifting his goblet of pumpkin juice up and offering a toast "I'm Huw by the way." He figured a shared love of playing guitar was as good a reason as any to be friends.

 

[Doyle Mooney]

Doyle was glad the other boy wasn't weird about him not having lessons before. He had talked to some kids at his old school that had given him a hard time about it. "Oh, lucky." he gushed when he mentioned his roommate teaching him some. But he had to laugh at the mention of someone trying to get a computer to work. "I'd like to see that too." he said with heavy skepticism. He had also struggled with the lack of technology at school but he was learning to adapt. "Do you have an email? I can maybe send some to you when I get home." he offered and eagerly raised his glass too. "Oh, I'm Doyle." he said once Huw introduced himself. He hadn't even realized they hadn't done that yet.

 

[Huw Carew]

Huw was not convinced that muggle technology could work at Hogwarts especially after he tried to help. He was pretty sure he’d only made things worse so steered clear these days. When asked if he had email, he hesitated. He hadn't heard that word in a very long time and wasn't even sure he would remember how to login to his email after so long. Even before Hogwarts he had hadn't used computers very often.

“Uh, yeah, I think I still have one. It’s been a while though. It’s um. Okay don't laugh, but it's HuwLetTheDogzOut. That's dogs with a zed, at…” He trailed off, thinking how immature his email was. "Actually, I should probably write this down for you so you don’t have to try and remember such a dumb email," he said a little flush in the face from embarrassment while he looked around for a quill. “Do you have a quill?” he asked eventually.