Sorting my Priorities

[Daphne Dommino]

After spending what felt like an eternity locked up in these ridiculous classes, Daphne was finally free and able to spend some quality time away from her education. Her parents, currently residing in Australia, had deemed it appropriate that Daphne join Hogwarts in an effort to better her abilities, but what was so impress about being away to wave a little stick in the air? Being charismatic, approachable, and knowing how to handle yourself would be the way to get through life, and anyone who though books were the answer to their problems had another thing coming.

Daphne took a seat in the grass, after laying down a thin pink blanket on the ground, her black hair resting on her shoulders in the light breeze. Taking her bag from her shoulder, she removed a tiny vial of purple liquid, proceeding to remove the topper and a small brush. This was no task to be done in a dormitory. Her sheets would sink for weeks. As she painted her nails, she was pleased for the distraction that the view brought, hoping they wouldn't take too long to dry.

 

[Bradley Ahn]

Time was all just starting to blur together a little the longer he stayed at this school. He had tried to write to the Orphanage begging them to come and save him from this place, but he was convinced that the stupid owl had gotten lost as he had never got a response. Maybe he would have to put a message in a bottle and set it out on the lake, though he doubted that would do him any good. These kinds of thoughts were swimming through his head and keeping him distracted, so he decided to try and take a breather, finding himself wandering up to a location he had never been before.

Though, when he arrived, he noticed that there was some girl here already. He was about to turn and leave when he saw what she was doing. "What on earth is it with girls and painting their nails?" He couldn't help but groan a little, the bridge of his nose wrinkling up a little. Girls were just so... girly. Sure, he did know some who were the complete opposite, and they were the sane ones, he just really didn't see the appeal of doing your nails and putting on makeup or any of that. "Besides," he added with a shrug, "Don't think that's your colour."

 

[Daphne Dommino]

Soon her mother would be writing to her, no doubt to ask how her cousin was also getting on in the school. As though she actually cared or spend time with him. It seems her mother was more worried about her nephew than her own daughter sometimes. She slicked on another coat of paint across her nails, considering instead what she would talk about with her father. She missed seeing him laugh at their games together, and she always looked forward to the holidays when she would be able to visit him again.

Suddenly there was a voice nearby, one that was doing no justice to her hard work. "Remind me who asked for your opinion?" She said, attitude dripping from her words. She looked up to see a boy around her own age. Why did everyone have to disturb her? She didn't really care if he didn't like her nails, they weren't for him. "What do you want?" She added bluntly, hoping he'd just leave her in peace.

 

[Bradley Ahn]

Bradley just found himself shrugging a little at the first response he got, lazily stuffing his hands into his pockets. "No one asked, but that doesn't mean you're not going to get my opinion, anyway," and he didn't really care whether that was wanted or not. It was a free world and he was pretty sure that he could say what he wanted even if no one asked. "I just don't get what's so appeal about painting your nails is all," it's not like the paint had some magical properties and did something useful. It was just the same as all makeup and he really didn't see the point of it.

He shrugged again as he wandered a little closer, swinging his foot to kick at a small rock on the water, watching it skitter off. "Don't want anything," he told her simply, "just making conversation." Though it was becoming quite apparent that it was an unwanted conversation and this girl didn't really want to talk. And did he care about that? Not really, no.

 

[Daphne Dommino]

Daphne rolled her eyes as the boy said he was going to give his opinion regardless of whether she wanted it. "The appeal" She began, wanting to expain to this kid who clearly had no idea of what it meant to look good, what was so important "is that when people see how beautiful your nails are, they know you put time into how you look. They don't think of you as lazy or boring" She added. "Plus, they're much more interesting to look that than plain nails, and you can co-ordinate them with your outfits" She finished, the small nail varnish bottle placed carefully back into her bag.

She looked back at the boy, fury growing inside her as he just lurked about. "Well don't just stand there!" She retorted, hoping he would just sit down if he was planning on staying. "You're hurting my neck when I look back at you" She said. Perhaps he would make normal conversation, unlike all her current class and dormates, who had nothing more facinating to talk about aisdes from how great Hogwarts is and how they're doing in lessons.

 

[Bradley Ahn]

She did explain what the appeal of painting your nails some random color was, but he still didn't really understand why people wasted their time doing this particular activity. The first thing he thought when he saw someone was not 'oh they must be lazy because they haven't painted their nails', so really this all just made very little sense to him. But Brad couldn't help but look down at his own nails for a moment, just inspecting them. His nails were nothing special, normally a little grubby and he nibbled on them as well, which really didn't help them look nice, not that he cared. "If you say so, I guess," he just offered after a moment with a shrug of his shoulders.

And then she snapped at him a little and Bradley could just stand there looking offended for a moment. Well, that was no way to talk to someone, though he didn't actually say this, just shoving his hands deep into his pockets again before walking forward a little so he was just standing beside her. He really didn't have any intentions of sitting down. "Better?" he did have to wonder, looking down at her, "I don't want to hurt your neck or anything." Yes, he was being sarcastic about that, how could you tell?

 

[Daphne Dommino]

It was still bugging the Gryffindor that he stood beside her, as she'd still have to look up at feel the flare of the sun in her eyes if she was going to look at him. That being said she ignored it, and just hoped he'd sit down soon. He looked quite scruffy, and she had no idea why he'd even bothered coming to talk to her. She hadn't exactly hung a sign above her head asking for company. She made a noise under her breath that one could only take as a signal she was dealing with his sarcasm, before closing up her bag that lay beside her.

"So, are you going to tell me now your opinions of the school? Your new friends? Quidditch perhaps?" She offered up, her own attitude showing a clear lack of real interest. "Maybe you should go and find your friends?" She added. Maybe he didn't have any friends, she thought. That had to be why he was bothering her. Daphne had of course a number of people around the school she could turn to, but she didn't feel like talking to anyone at the moment. Her hand reached up to play with a small necklace that hung around her neck. She missed her home, her cat, and most importantly her father.

 

[Bradley Ahn]

He hadn't exactly come here for some thrilling conversation himself, but there was simply nothing else going on so he had decided he might as well. Who knew, he might end up annoying this other girl, which was always a pretty fun thing to do, he had found. It was a darn sight better than thinking about being friends with her, anyway. He wasn't friends with anyone for good reason and he wasn't about to change that. Besides, she didn't look as though she wanted to be friends with him anyway, so that was fine. This was just two strangers having something you could call a conversation.

Bradley just snorted a little, shaking his head. "Hogwarts is a load of crap, I don't have friends and I wouldn't get on a broom even if you paid me," and that was the end of that. He just wanted to go home and back to the weird normalcy of his life. His old school with people he recognized and none of this magic business to bother him. Sure, magic was interesting to a lot of people, but he just found it weird and unnatural and he simply had no intentions of incorporating it into his life if he could help it. He would simply get this school out of the way and go back to living life like nothing had happened. That was the plan, anyway.

 

[Daphne Dommino]

Daphne turned to look at the boy when he explained his thoughts of the school. "Well you certainly don't need to be telling me that." She didn't want to be here either, and she had no interest in learning magic. "I wouldn't even be here if my parents hadn't forced me" She added. The only reason she'd caved in was because her dad had asked her so nicely, and if there was one thing she hated most it was upsetting him. Her mother on the other hand had been less than sympathetic to her feelings, and had demanded she attend the school her uncle and cousins were at. It was easy for her mother, she was a muggle. She didn't need to get involved with the baggage that came with having to practise a new skill.

At least Daphne had seemed to find the one person in the school who agreed with her about the place, even if he happened to also be the most annoying. "Brooms are ridiculous" Daphne agreed, nodding her head. Whoever came up with the idea that flying on a piece of cleaning equipment was insane, and now she was finished with her flying lessons she planned never to step in the same room as one. She lightly blew some air on her nails, hoping they'd be dry soon. No doubt there was a spell for that, but who had time to learn which stupid little incantation did what. It's not like she wouldn't be able to survive without knowing any magic. She was too exhausted with the situation she was in to bother telling this boy to leave, and it was seemingly impossible to change the stubborn students mind. "Who are you?" She asked, looking up at him. She'd never seen him before in her life but now she couldn't get rid of him.

 

[Bradley Ahn]

Bradley paused his train of thought for a moment, brown gaze moving back to the girl as she admitted that they had something in common. "Same," he just told her with a small nod of his head, "I don't want to be here, either." But clearly the matron had just had enough of him at this point and wanted to get rid of him. He supposed that some weird magical letter arriving and offering to take him for most of the year might have seemed like a godsend at the time. And that was just slightly depressing to think about, the small frown settling back into its normal place on his face. Maybe he was just destined to be alone for the rest of his life, it was clear that no one wanted him around. He was never going to get adopted.

And this girl continued to surprise him when she went on to say that brooms were ridiculous as well. "I'm pretty sure that everything at this school is ridiculous," he offered, testing the waters just a little to make sure they were on the same wavelength, "I mean... magic. Honestly? It's just stupid and has made me even more of an outcast than I already am back home." He doubted any of the other boys were going to talk to him, not now he was gone most of the time. Not that a lot of them talked to him anyway. But he wouldn't be surprised to come back and find that a bunch of people he might have liked had found new homes and he was never going to see them again. "I'm Bradley. Who are you?"