Sketching an Angel

[Bryce Chamberlin]

The one thing that would bring some sort of happiness in a day was hanging out with his best friend, Roo. He called her Roo instead of Rosie, because that was how the non-hearing could give out names. One never chose a sign name for themselves. Only a deaf person could. His life at Hogwarts was fairly well, and he kept it hidden as much as he could to others that have not met him personally over what kind of person he was. Sure, he probably made some sort of commotion when he signed that Gryffindor Chaser something horrible, but who would know what he was saying? Bryce loved that the most about his life. He could sign and sign away that the person was the dumbest in the century, and no one would even know. And he could lie about it. Bryce found it enchanting. But what he found really nice was that Roo was trying to learn sign language. Him just writing to her didn't say everything that was needing to be said anyway. Sometimes writing kind of got in the way, and it took a while for him to write everything down. Perhaps he could actually talk to her. He knew how to speak rather well, since that's how he communicated with Liliana. So, he could do the same with her. Bryce was just a little nervous about it all though. Maybe he could see how sign language was working for her, and go from there on how he wanted to communicate. Besides, he was positive that she would be someone that he knew for the future. He sat next to her a lot in classes, and even greeted her on occasion with a hug or something small like that. Coming from a family full of sisters, one would be affected with how they acted from one to the other. However today would be the day that would be decided overall. This would be the day. After all, they had attended the Yule Ball together and whatnot. Even though they were just friends, since they were so young. Would that ever really change for them anytime soon? He doubted it, and never wanted it to change right now. As long as neither went too far apart.

Right now, Bryce was sketching. He could see Roo on the lawns, and she was just so pretty. He wanted to sketch her a drawing. However after he had the sketch complete, he added a pair of angelic wings, which around the drawing, he drew feathers flowing around her. He blushed as he continued, but in the drawing, she was dancing. She looked happy, majestic, and Bryce couldn't help but blush as he looked at the masterpiece. He motioned with his hand to get her attention before making a gesture for her to come over to him, where he had the picture waiting for her to see and waiting for her to be amazed. He was good at doing what he did. Although his skills overall were not shabby either. His Quidditch was impressive enough to get him a spot on the team. Granted no one else tried out, but that didn't take away from the fact that he got it anyway. He blocked many goals, but he didn't like his team anymore because he felt like he was doing a lot on his own. And the chasers could never score either. That was one of the worst games he had seen in his life. At least Slytherin and Hufflepuff both got some scores in, but not Ravenclaws. It always made him mad when he thought about that game. But right now, he wanted to show Roo his picture he drew for her. After all, the subject in it was beyond perfect for the set of angel wings. She acted like an angel to him. She helped him a lot. And she was his first friend, his best friend. There wasn't a day that went by when he didn't think of nice things for her.​

 

[Rosie Chamberlin]

Rosie was feeling a bit blue today. Not because she was a Ravenclaw and that was one of her house colors, but because she had gotten one of those disheartening letters from her parents. Well, her mother actually. Rosie didn't really advertise this to the whole world, but her family was quite poor. Rosie recalled that she was barely able to buy all of her school supplies this year. Thankfully she had just enough. All the extra things Rosie bought were Galleons that she had earned by helping her mother at their shop. Rosie was used to not having much money. So it usually never bothered her. But just yesterday, Rosie had received a letter from her mother about having trouble making payments on the house. Rosie loved that house. Even the smallest thought of losing it broke her heart to a million pieces. "I wish there was a way I could help them out. I could sell all of my books that I've already read. I'd hate to part with them, but if it mean helping my mom and dad, I'd do it. I'd do it in a heartbeat. I wonder if mum would even go for that though." Rosie thought to herself sulkily. This kind of stunk. Rosie was close to useless right now. Her poor mother was probably so stressed about this. Rosie's father was often away in a foreign country, so he didn't have the time or the room to worry as much as her mother did. Rosie sighed and plucked a few blades of grass from the ground. Perhaps she could ask Bryce for ideas. Or rather, write them down for him to see.Rosie had been working on her sign language, but she knew very little. A simple phrase here and there. Or commonly used words. That was about it. Rosie was learning as quickly as she could, but it was a work in progress kind of thing. When she had the money, she planned to buy a book that she thought would help her learn it more quickly. Or at least, learn how to sign more than simple words or phrases. Writing things down all the time got tiresome.

Rosie glanced over at Bryce and noticed that he was waving her over. He must have finished his sketch! Rosie smiled and stood up from the grassy patch she had been settled upon. Rosie's cocoa brown eyes peered closely at the sketch as she approached him. It took her a minute to take it all in, but then she realized that this was a picture of her. it was so detailed and nice looking! Plus in the picture she had angel wings! Rosie wanted to sign her happiness, but instead she pulled out the pad of paper she kept with her at all times and scribbled something down. "That is sooo beautiful Bryce! You have very talented artistic ability! I like the wings! It's a nice effect! Sadly, I'm nothing close to an angel...if that's what you were referring to." Rosie wrote down her message quickly and slid the notepad over to him. Hopefully he hadn't noticed that she looked both stressed and upset earlier. Rosie was afraid to explain to him that her family was poor. Which meant that she was also poor. Rosie looked over the drawing again. The fact that he had drawn such a pretty picture of her, made Rosie feel so much better. Bryce was such a good friend. Rosie sat down beside him and continued to look at the sketch. He made her look much prettier in the sketch than she knew she was in real life. Rosie didn't want to say anything, but she knew deep inside that it was true. ​

 

[Bryce Chamberlin]

Bryce thought that his drawing of her was accurate, and really hoped that she would love it too. Bryce wondered if there was something wrong with Roo. He knew her pretty well and could tell when she was feeling down. It was nice that she was learning sign language just for him too, but he needed to do something for her too. Was there something that he could do? Well, he could actually talk to her. But he didn't think that he would be very good at it. He could not express tones as far as he was aware, and he was positive that he would sound funny to everyone else that could hear him. He would have loved to hear his own voice, but alas. He was happy with who he was too, and thought of advantages to his situation. Bryce kept his eyes on her, and he wondered if he had included the emotions of sadness in his drawing, and he notices that he had drawn her happy, smiling like it was lighting up the world. It did light up his world, and he loved his best friend for doing that. She was the first one that accepted him into the magical world that was not his family. She started to come over here, and his smile lit up since she was on her way. Every time he was with her, he was usually smiling, even if it was somewhat crooked and almost goofy looking, but that was just the way he was. And it seemed like it did not bother her at all. Roo seemed to like him as much as he liked her. Not in the way that older boys and girls did, but they were best friends. She was doing well with the sign language to him, and he did not want to torture her too much with it though. It was not her fault that she was best friends with a deaf boy.

As soon as she saw the sketch, and she started to write something down. He waited for her to finish before he took the pad from her so that he could read what she was writing to him. He tossed the pad to the side, and he looked at her. He could easily tell that she was not in the best of moods. She did not think that she was an angel. He looked at her in a disapproving manner. He reached up and gently placed both of his hands on the sides of her face, and gave her a gentle kiss on her forehead. He pulled away and decided that now was the time, that he would have to actually speak even if he hated it, a lot. However he could not let his years of speech therapy go to waste either. He smiled, "You are an angel." It was the first words he spoke, to someone in this close of range, and actually directly to someone and not to a professor or for a spell. He pulled his hands away after he fixed her hair. He messed it up a little bit, but he fixed it right back. There was not much he could do when it came to the way he sounded, since it was monotone, and it was not the way that others spoke. He guessed that he sounded bored, and droned on and on when he spoke, but he was not too sure. Bryce looked down at the grass for a moment, and then back at her, to wait for her reaction to the fact that he was actually speaking. He was wanting to help her out a bit. He knew how to talk, she did not know how to sign that well.​

 

[Rosie Chamberlin]

Rosie watched Bryce carefully with her chocolate brown eyes as he read what she wrote. She figured that he wasn't going to like what she wrote, especially at the end. Rosie's musings were confirmed when Bryce tossed the pad to the side and approached her. Rosie blushed when she when given a disapproving look. Apparently Bryce was was unhappy with her. Then he reached up and gently placed both of his hands on the sides of her face, and Rosie lowered her eyes to the ground. She wasn't sure what Bryce was doing, but she didn't really want to look him in the eyes in case he really was that upset. Bryce then gave Rosie a gentle kiss on her forehead and Rosie found herself turning red again. Bryce was so much less shy than she was, so this sort of thing was something he didn't have too much of a problem with it seemed. It was sweet of him though. Rosie was about to apologize for being so negative about the picture, but the sound of someone speaking interrupted her thought process. Rosie glanced around and saw no one. Bryce had spoken to her? Rosie's face lit up. "Oh so you can speak! Bryce that is just.....amazing." Rosie didn't fully process what he had said yet. Just that he had spoken to her. Rosie knew that she didn't speak to many. So she felt lucky and privileged. Then it finally sank in that Bryce had called her an angel once again. Rosie didn't want to rain on his parade, but angels were beautiful, and....well technically they were also dead. Neither of which Rosie was. But it seemed that Bryce was driven and persisting on the idea. She smiled and thought for a minute. Rosie reached over to grab the pad again, she was aware of the fact that he could read lips, but she was unsure how much he could actually understand.

Rosie was also not that skilled at signing. "You're an angel too. Not when you're eating though, you're kind of a human garbage can when you eat." Rosie drew a smiley face at the end to show that she was joking around. He was an angel most of the time. But when Bryce ate, he could freaking eat. She had no idea where it all went. But he could eat three times as much as she could. Half the time she wound up giving him her food too. Rosie then tore off the sheet and wrote something else down on the pad. "I'm sorry I seem bummed, I got a letter from my parents. Things at home are a little bit rough. My dad is always gone and my mom is struggling for money. I just wish I could help." Rosie handed the pad over to him. She wasn't sure if he was going to write to her, or if he was going to speak. But she wanted to know if he had a way to cheer her up. He was always good at cheering her up on a normal basis, she was sure he could cheer her up in other ways too. Rosie hated being poor. She hated that her dad was gone a lot, even if she loved the idea of his job. Rosie had forgotten if she ever told Bryce what her father did for a living. Probably. Because he probably would have told her what his parents did for a living, and she couldn't remember anything about them. Just about his sisters. Rosie heard that one of his sisters was blind. Which was kind of cool. That family was know a variety of communications. ​

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[Bryce Chamberlin]

Bryce noticed that she had turned red from the simple contact that he made, and thought that there was nothing to be blushing about. Bryce was affectionate. To girls, anyway. He was raised in a household full of females, with his father being the only male in the house to show him how to be a boy. Bryce however learned also how to respect women, and he was positive that Roo needed all of the best interest, and she needed to be treated with respect. Which was why he often displayed some affection to her. He smiled at her when she realized that it was he that had spoken to her. Her face lit up like a Christmas tree and it made him smile even more. She seemed like she loved that he had spoken to her. She said something and made sure that he read her lips so he knew what she was saying to him. He could speak. He always could, but he just did not want to. However he was willing to change his ways in order to get closer to her! Plus, there was also the waste of paper that they had done with various talking back and forth with it. He would teach her to sign easier, while he spoke, he often used sign language as well. Learning it like that was going to be easier, because it was a hands on experience. She was getting better at it, of course. He often was impressed with her skills. Everything she did impressed him, and Bryce was going to make sure that she knew that. He nodded, so that he agreed that he could speak. Although he did think it was amazing too. He had done so much when it came to learning how to speak and communicate with his family. They were not like him in many ways, so he had to adjust. They had to as well. And he was going to do the same for her.

Roo took the pad again, and before he could tell her not to say anything, she was already writing something down. So Bryce settled where he was, and he was going to have to wait for her to finish writing before he could tell her how he wanted to communicate. Soon, she handed the sheet of paper over to him, and he started to read. His eyes briefly went over to her and she was writing something else on it too. She had wrote down that he was an angel, but she was teasing him about eating so much. He was a growing boy, and he had a lot of growing to do. And he ate, a lot. Bryce smiled and he waited for the rest of the note to come over and let him read it. And the pad was passed to him, and he read that she was bummed, and she got a letter from her parents. She was struggling with money. She couldn't help, but she was too young too. Once more, he put the pad to the side, and he turned to face her. "I want to talk more. Years of speech therapy would go in vain if I don't. But... If you need something, anything at all, I can help you. Why does your dad stay gone?" It was a personal question, but he felt the need to ask it. He just hoped that she wouldn't keep something like that from him. They were best friends for a reason. He smiled gently at her, and placed his hand on her shoulder. He had to make sure to keep looking at her. Or else he might not catch what she says.​

 

[Rosie Chamberlin]

Apparently Bryce wanted to talk more. Rosie actually wasn’t all that surprised either. If Rosie was ever in his situation, she would want to try to do stuff as normally as possible too. Bryce was pretty good at speaking. Apparently he had been taking some speech therapy to help with that. "I know you will. But, if it costs money I’d rather you not. The last thing I could ever want is for you t have to spend money on me. Especially when it’s money you could be spending on yourself." Rosie admitted. She would feel really bad if he had to waste money on her because she couldn’t afford to pay for something herself. Rosie was much too shy and kind of a person to do that to someone, particularly someone like Bryce. He had done lot for her, by merely just being her friend and giving her someone to talk to when she needed to vent. "I wonder how old you need to be to get a job as one of the assistants at the shops in Brightstone or something." Rosie needed a way to earn funds if she ever expected to get her own things for the Yule Ball. Right now, Rosie knew she was a little bit too young for a job or any sort of thing like that. But if they would allow her, she would accept a job in a heartbeat. Maybe she could tutor students and get money from that? Did people even use tutors anymore? Rosie hoped Bryce had gotten all of that. Speaking slowly when she was upset was kind of hard, but since Bryce refused to write to her until she knew some sign language. Bryce could be so stubborn sometimes. If only Rosie could yell at him and have him actually understand what she was saying to him.

"My dad is an archeologist. He is studying about the ancient civilizations all the way in Egypt. He comes to visit a few times a year usually, but with me being in school, I only get to see him on Christmas usually.” Rosie glanced down at the ground below her and sighed. Normally, she didn’t care when it came to things like money, or her daddy being away all the time. In the end, it was all the same to her. She knew her dad still loved her, and would be around when he could. Rosie also knew that money wasn’t as important as people liked to make it seem. But right now, it was all getting to her. Without another word escaping her lips, Rosie sighed and leaned over to rest her head on Bryce’s shoulder. Right now she couldn’t talk to Bryce because he wouldn’t be able to see her mouth and read her lips. That was fine with her though, she didn’t really want to talk right now. Rosie just wanted things to get better for her. Rosie’s head remained on Bryce’s shoulder for a couple more minutes before she pulled it off and looked at him blankly. "Your older sister is blind right? How in the world do you two communicate?!" Rosie decided to shift the subject a little bit so it wasn’t all about her. This was a question that had been bothering her for some time. How did a deaf and a blind person communicate with one another? Rosie didn’t think they even could. But, Bryce would clear up any questions she had likely. Rosie was also curious as to why that family had two kids with severe disabilities. Not that they had done something wrong. It just seemed like one of those terrible occurrences that never really seemed to happen to people like that. Good people like the Chamberlins anyways.​

 

[Bryce Chamberlin]

Bryce looked over at Rosie and he smiled even more. She was going to do what he wanted to do which was speak. He would have to. For a while now, he was positive that no one knew that he could speak, but he could. He might have sounded weird without any sort of accent, but at least he was understood as long as people spoke English. He could not speak another language. He read what she was saying to him, and she seemed to be feeling bad over what she was saying. He looked down for a moment, knowing that she would not speak without him looking at her face. "If it is something you need, then I can help. But I don’t really have anything I want, thus I kind of put any sort of galleon I make back. I really think that I can help you. Only if you want it." He did not want to press his luck anymore than what he was doing right now with what he was offering. She looked as though she did not want his help, but he did not help but frown at the mention of his friend in bad shape. "The one girl in Ollivander’s could not be that much older than us, so I think any age." He would not mind ever going into a job like in a shop around here, but the issue was really simple. He would never hear the door open or close. He would never know if a customer came in unless he had seen them. Bryce thought that it would be too troubling, so he was not even going to bother. Maybe he could if Rosie really needed some assistance, and anything he earned, he would gladly give it to her as long as she had everything she needed. That included food to eat.

Reading her lips, Bryce understood that her father was an archeologist, and that he was studying abroad. He was in Egypt? That sounded like a lot of fun! Bryce would have loved going there one day. Then he understood what else she had said, she only got to see her father around Christmas. That was sad. He reached forward and gave her a hug. He felt really bad. He pulled away and made sure to keep eye contact while speaking, "That must suck, but I bet he had really interesting stories to tell you when he gets back. I hope he writes to you often." That was the only way he could think to say it. When she rested her head on his shoulder, he rested his own head on top of hers. He would not know if she was speaking. He might be able to tell with the movement of her head, but otherwise, he would not know what she would say. He sighed and continued to rest like that. It felt nice to be able to be able to be with a friend like this. A few minutes had passed and then she moved her head and then looked at him she asked if he older sister was blind, and how they communicated. Bryce grinned and he answered, "I turn her head to look at me while she speaks, and I talk to her like I talk to you now." Their relationship was incredibly strong, despite the age difference between them and how she was blind and he was deaf. They got along famously. Bryce liked the relationship that he had with Liliana. It made others wonder how they got on, and it amazed others as well. He had a good relationship with his siblings and parents. However when he was in trouble, he would purposely walk away from them so he could not read what they were yelling at him about.​

 

[Rosie Chamberlin]

Rosie immediately shook her head. As sweet of Bryce as it was to offer up something like that, him using his own money to buy her something felt wrong to Rosie. "That's so sweet of you Bryce, but no. It's your money, you should save it for something nice." Rosie suggested, hoping that he wouldn't be upset with her for not taking the money from him. A part of Rosie wanted to, the greedy side of her that was tired of being poor. But the other half of Rosie, the side that was stronger, knew that it wasn't right for her to ask for money. Rosie figured that it would be another year with her not going to the Yule Ball again. Which was fine with her because she really didn't want to go to a dance all that much anyways. Hopefully that wouldn't stop Bryce from going and having a good time though. "Maybe soon. I can get a job or something. That would really help me get some money." Money didn't matter as much to Rosie as the things she could buy with it. Rosie could already imagine the piles of books, the school supplies, the dresses, even the tickets to travel around the world. They were all at her fingertips if she only had the money to buy them. Rosie sighed and ran a few of her tanned fingers through her thin brown hair as she thought about how much this stunk. Rosie thought it was unfair for people to be born in such different ways. How was it fair that some people had so much money they didn't know what to do with it, while other people barely had enough to live off of. Rosie had seen plenty of students here with more than enough money.

"He usually does! In fact he likes to bring me presents home too. He doesn't write as much as he used to, but I still get letters from him from time to time. It's probably because I'm in school and he's still not used to the whole wizarding thing yet." Rosie admitted. Bryce knew that she was muggle born, and he also knew that her parents knew little to nothing abut magic. Rosie had never told him this, but there were days where she worried that her parents were uncomfortable with her being a witch. They seemed to support her and tolerate her ways, but they rarely ever asked questions about it. It was like they had forgotten all about it. The only to ever really ask questions or show some interest was Bruno, who seemed like he wanted to know a lot about this world. "Wow, so you two actually manage to communicate. That's pretty cool. How many siblings do you have all together?" It was pretty cool that Bryce and his sister still found a way to talk to one another despite her being blind and him being deaf. Rosie was pretty sure she remembered Bryce telling her that he had other siblings too, but Bryce still hadn't spoken about his family much. Rosie hadn't talked about hers much either. Someday soon she hoped to have Bryce meet her big brother Bruno. They seemed like they would get along really well. Plus she was sure Bruno would have a hundred and one questions for him when they met too. Wizards and witches were enough to get him interested, let alone someone who was deaf but still able to do magic just as well as someone who couldn't hear. ​

 

[Bryce Chamberlin]

Bryce sighed and knew that no matter what she said, Bryce would not change his mind. He could be rather stubborn. He read that it was sweet of him, and how he should save it for something nice. He replied, "I will. For you." He gave her a smirk to show that he could not be convinced otherwise. He could get her little things like clothing. He had shopped enough with his sisters to know what girls liked, but Rosie, she was different. He knew that in the bottom of his gut. He read that she could get a job or something, and it would help her. He nodded, sure that someone would be glad to hire someone like her. He did not say much about it, but he thought that it would be something good. He knew that he would be bad at owning a shop, or working in one, so he would just leech off of his parents until he became a photographer or something. He had yet to decide. He was still really young after all! Bryce nodded a bit when she spoke more about her father. It must be tough for a muggle to get used to the wizarding thing. At least he does write to her. "Give him some time, he will get used to it." Bryce grinned a bit, as if to reassure her. His own dad was muggle-born, and went through something similar, just not so poor. He was middle class or something, Bryce was not sure. He just knew that he did not get everything he wanted, but everything he needed. The therapy to teach him to speak and for Liliana was not cheap though. Bryce read that she was asking about how many siblings he had all together. He had two other sisters, and knew that he would have to tell her. "I have two other older sisters. Tatiana and Zinnia. Both don't have any senses taken from them. But I think Zinnia is in love. She and this nurse here at school... A guy nurse." He was not sure, but at least he could talk to Rosie all about his sisters now, as he continued to do, to hang out with his best friend.​

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Fin​