Putting himself out there

[Brandon Coffield]

Brandon had left the solitude and privacy of the Slytherin common room and his own dorm and opted for a change of scenery. He only ever bothered venturing out for classes and meal times but thought that as his second year was nearly half way through he really hadn't made any effort at all in getting to know people. He had made the same mistake the year before and remembered the few students he had talked with on his first journey to Hogwarts on the express. It had seemed so easy then, he had been able to chat away without any reservation. For some reason now, ever since the hat had placed him in Slytherin it was almost as if he was trying his best to fit in to a house he hadn't felt he would ever truly belong to.

He sat down on one of the long benches at the Slytherin table and took out the letter he had received the day before from his parents. They had been Ravenclaw and had been surprised that their only son had been put into another house. They were well but there was an underlining current of something he couldn't quite put his finger on throughout the letter. He read and reread it, hoping for some eureka moment that would enable him to figure his parents out and himself. He was screwing up his time at this prestigious school and he knew it. He should be out there having fun, enjoying everything the school had to offer and yet he had spent the best part of a year and a half sequestered in the Slyterin house.

 

[Joceline Richarde]

Joceline was sitting in her dorm room, not studying because she didn't need to, and well she didn't want to, she was bored with it. Why do something you don't want to need to do? It's a waist of time, she thought to herself as she got out of her bed and closed her books once more and changed out of her Slytherin pajamas and into a loose white t shirt and some faded grey jeans with a soft black sweater over top. Joceline pulled her dark brown locks into a tight pony tail and picked up her wand and left the Slytherin house nervously.

She always felt so nervous when she was around them, as most of them disliked her because she was related to Aiden Lorka, a pig among pigs, she hated him, and couldn't wait until he was out of school and she could do as she pleased. She walked down to the Great Hall and her eyes scanned the area carefully, she smiled when she saw that no one was there that she could and would get into a fight with. She walked over to the Slytherin table and sat down not realizing that she had just taken a seat across from a boy she didn't know, with out a word. She made her a plate of some soba noodles with peanut sauce, and smiled, she quite enjoyed being a vegan, it suited her so much more then eating meat, and she really didn't like cheese any ways so it didn't matter to her if she was vegetarian or vegan.

When settled she looked upwards and her bright blue eyes shot down as they met a boys gaze. Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment. "I'm sorry," she began, "Would you like me to move?" She flashed the boy one of her best smiles, and her eyes danced gently, showing her overall shy, nice and intelligent character.

 

[Brandon Coffield]

Brandon watched as a girl younger than himself sat down directly opposite him. There was an entire table length and yet she had chosen to sit directly opposite him. He began folding away the letter and placed it back inside its envelope.
"I don't mind where you sit" he smiled back at her and he honestly meant it. His own ice cool blue eyes met hers and he glanced quickly at the plate she was eating from.
"What in the world are you eating?" he grimaced, it was probably some mad healthy stuff. Stuff his parents would have paid handsomely for him to eat especially when they weren't around.

 

[Joceline Richarde]

Joceline smiled once more then looked down at her plate self consciously and said with her strong French accent playing on each and every syllable spoken, "It's soba noodles with peanut sauce, it's delicious." She shrugged her shoulders as she added, "And healthy." She then realized that she hadn't introduced her self, "I'm Joceline," she said as she thought, Mama would be mad with me if I don't introduce myself politely. She wasn't sure if she should offer her hand or just nod her head like all the pureblood Slytherins seemed to do. Joceline, who much preferred the muggle way of life offered her hand to him sheepishly.

 

[Brandon Coffield]

Brandon reached across and took the hand she offered him, fascinated by her French accent.
"Healthy? I knew it. It just has that look about it" he grinned at her then released her hand again though he wouldn't have minded holding on to it for another minute or two. She was really pretty and the whole french thing seemed to just add to her whole persona.
"Hey Joceline I'm Brandon" his name seemed inconsequential compared to hers. So foreign sounding, so exotic and she had chosen to sit near him! He couldn't believe his luck.

 

[Joceline Richarde]

[Awh cute]

Joceline smiled and asked playfully, "Do you have a problem with something being healthy?" She put her hand back down on the table and glanced around for a fork as there wasn't one where she sat but looked up as the boy began speaking once more. "Pleasure to meet you Brandon," she said genuinely. Joceline had a feeling that she would befriend this boy with the utmost ease, not that she was all that hard to befriend, he just seemed like someone she didn't need to be shy around, quite the opposite of her best friend, Thomas.

 

[Brandon Coffield]

"What normal well adjusted kid doesn't have a problem with healthy" he laughed noticing she was looking about the table for something. He gathered it must be cutlery especially as she wouldn't seriously want to eat with her hands, he pulled out his wand and accio'd a fork and knife from the far end of the table. There wasn't anyone there to use them any how, so no-one would complain. He set them down infront of her with a smile. If he could say 'Dah-dah' with a flourish he would have, even the word 'voile' seemed very blase around her. Was Brandon, Mr. Cool and Aloof indanger of losing his wee heart here? Highly unlikely he thought, she was just so much younger than him. He blamed her frenchness on his attraction to her.
"So you're Slytherin too then?" he hoped on everything magical she wasn't one of the pureblood snobs that belonged to their house, he could just visualise her standing up and sticking her perfect French nose up at him for only being a half blood.

 

[Joceline Richarde]

Joceline smiled at his joke but didn't laugh along with him. She smiled as he summoned the utensils for her, then said appreciatively, "Thank you Brandon." She adjusted her weight in her seat so she could cross her left leg over her right softly and then picked up fork as she responded, "Yes, much to my surprise." She flashed him a smile before swirling the beige noodles onto her fork. She put it in her mouth daintily then chewed it carefully as she put the fork down on the plates edge. When she had swallowed she said, "First year to be exact, and yourself?" She gave the boy a smile as she fiddled with the noodles with her fork.

 

[Brandon Coffield]

Brandon watched her eat, he couldn't help it. He had never seen anyone eat so ladylike before. Every movement was like a well choreographed ballet, from the twirling of the noodles to swallowing them. He couldn't believe he was staring at a girl as she ate. Shaking himself a bit to snap himself back into reality he drummed his fingers on the table before pouring himself a glass of butterbeer.
"I'm second year and really a Ravenclaw. I just like sitting at the Slytherin table" he laughed hoping she would recognise this as only a joke.

 

[Joceline Richarde]

Joceline felt extremely self conscious because she felt Brandon's eyes on her as she ate. She playfully rolled her eyes at him and said, "So are you actually in your second year or was that a joke as well?" She flashed him a toothy smile as she waited for his response.

 

[Brandon Coffield]

He slugged back his drink and helped himself to another. Strangely Brandon had always found that he could survive on very little food once he drank like a fish.
"No, definitely a second year. Have the battle scars to prove it. How are you finding it here so far?"

 

[Joceline Richarde]

Joceline pursed her lips in thought at Brandon's question, she took a gentle breath when she finally decided on how to respond. "It's alright but a lot of the second years rag on me because of my brother." She sighed gently then shrugged he didn't matter, she was with a nice boy that seemed like he was actually interested in being her friend.

 

[Brandon Coffield]

Brandon gave her a quizzical look, amazed that anyone would want to give her a hard time about anything. Second years though, he would most likely know some of them if not all just to see anyhow. He didn't hang out with many after all.
"Whose your brother then?" he couldn't wait to hear who this person was, he couldn't place any French boys in second year though. Unless of course her brother was in another year but why then would any of the second years be bothering Joceline? Intrigued he rested his elbow on the table, propping up his head with the palm of his hand while his other hand fiddled with a spoon infront of him.

 

[Joceline Richarde]

Joceline pursed her lips in thought, she wasn't sure whether to share it with this boy, he after all could be a friend of Aiden's but he really seemed to nice to be one. "Aiden Lorka," she murmured quietly, she didn't want the boy to be mad with her, as he really was one of her only friends and she had just met him today, she felt so pathetic. When Brandon leaned closer to her she instinctively did the same, but pulled it off as adjusting herself in her seat. She smiled warmly at him as she waited for his response, which she of course assumed would be anger or worse. Then again Aiden never really hung out with boys, so it was anyone's guess.

 

[Brandon Coffield]

Brandon placed the spoon on the table and picked up his wand again. Slowly and methodically he began to move the spoon up and down the table practising some spells. When Joceline said the boys name, Brandon thought long and hard. He had heard the name in his classes alright but it meant nothing to him, so he shrugged and gave Joceline a smile.
"Your safe from my wrath then I don't know him from Adam" he winked at her, he hoped she was somewhat reassured by this bit of information.
"I wouldn't pay too much attention to the other second years, I know I don't".

 

[Joceline Richarde]

Joceline blushed when Brandon winked at her and said, "Good, I'm barely able to spend time in my own common room because of it." She flashed him a pretty smile and ran her fingers through her long brown locks as she asked with a playful air to her, "How come I haven't seen you around the castle at all?" She blinked her blue eyes as they twinkled happily.

 

[Brandon Coffield]

What will I say to her? That I was busy in my first year having a massive crush on the strangest looking girl in the school only to have her disappear on me and return again this year. Brandon sighed as he thought about the girl Andromeda, he had spent alot of time in his dorm, doing classes and assignments and only the odd time venturing into the common room. It had only been when he had seen the amber eyed red head last year that he had decided to be more adventurous and follow her around a little. The same had happened this year when he had seen her but of course when she all but disappeared again, he had returned to the seclusion and sanctuary of his dorm.

He had once upon a time in his life found it easy enough to make friends but after being segregated into Slytherin discovered that making friends in that particular house was so not easy.
"I keep pretty much to myself" he told her at length, "was trying to keep my head down and just get through the next several years without too many mishaps".

 

[Joceline Richarde]

Joceline smiled at Brandon and said, "Well you're going to have to change that, now that you're friends with me," she paused and flashed him a pretty smile before joking, "Sorry you're stuck." She smiled and ran her fingers through her brown hair and asked, "Are you going to the ball?" Joceline was not hinting to it in the least, she wasn't even sure if she wanted a date she was just asking, because that could be a way for Brandon to make more friends, perhaps they would have similar friends.

 

[Brandon Coffield]

Brandon's hand stopped waving his wand, his head lifted from his other hand and looked at her.
"I wasn't planning on it, I didn't bother going last year either. Why would you like me to take you?" he knew it sounded ridiculous the way he had put it but truth be told he wouldn't actually mind taking her. It might actually be fun going to the ball, he could dance that was for sure. His parents had invested in stupid dancing lessons for him ever since he was eight years old.
"I'd be quite happy to escort you if you'd like?"

 

[Joceline Richarde]

Joceline shrugged her shoulders at Brandon's first words and said, "I was just thinking it could be a place you might make some friends." Then her cheeks flushed to soft pink when Brandon said that he would be happy to go to the ball with her. She smiled politely at him, as she thought, I might as well, he seems nice, and he's cute, and Thomas will be with Autumn so I've got no one else to spend my time with. "Sure," she answered sweetly. "That is.. if you'd like to, I was going to go anyways," she added on with a smaller shrug then the last.

 

[Brandon Coffield]

Brandon couldn't believe she had said yes to quickly, he looked about him thinking she might be saying it to someone else but nope, there was just him.
"Great well that 's a date then. Should I pick you up in our common room or would you prefer me to just meet up with you in the entrance hall or the great hall?" he had never done this sort of thing before so thought he'd leave these kind of details up to herself. Girls were funny about the little things or so his mother had always told him.

 

[Joceline Richarde]

Joceline flashed Brandon a pretty smile before saying honestly, "It really doesn't matter much to me." She thought it was funny that boys had a preconceived idea that all girls were funny about this sort of thing, Joceline had never been the norm, but she hadn't really realized that that was the norm, mainly because she never noticed boys, it just wasn't her strength, not yet anyways.

 

[Brandon Coffield]

Brandon smiled sitting up straight and pushing his glass aside, before then putting away his wand.
"How about if I meet you there? In the entrance of the Great Hall, say about eight or so. I'll make sure I'm there first so you can make a grand entrance" he flashed her a bright smile, though it looked more like a cheeky grin.
"I have to start heading off now, so I'll see you then yeah" he stood up and pushed himself away from the long bench he had been sitting on.
"I'm looking forward to this now" he smiled again, "be good Joceline".

He waved a slight farewell before checking his watch. Swearing over the time, he picked up his pace and ran from the Great hall. Loads to do and very little time to do it in, Brandon had now a suit and dress robes to sort out as well as everything else on his list.