Thinking Of You

[Samuel Sykes]

Sam sat back onto the bench, abandoning his omelette to the rest of the post-breakfast mess. There was barely anyone left at the Hufflepuff house table. Sam just simply wasn’t hungry. Every other first year was ravenous after their huge day, with first lessons and exploring the grounds. He had done none of that. For some odd reason, he was with the most amount of people he had ever been with in his life and yet he was so desperately lonely. It was as though his individuality was gone, replaced with the chaos of diversity that usually made everyone at home. Most people had found a friend immediately but Sam, shy as always, remained hidden as though invisible. Now it was not only girls who frightened him – it was everyone.

His omelette remained untouched as his mind floated back to the only thing he had been thinking about these days; Siobhan. He didn’t even know her full name, yet he had never felt so free to talk and laugh with anybody else. Of course, Sasha was sweet as well, and she was introducing him to her friends. It seemed he would fit into a group before long. It wasn’t the same, though. Siobhan was a sprig of baby’s breath in a field of poppies; all so loud and colourful, but one, unique secret that remained his.
This was all Sam’s imagination though, and he knew it. He had caught glimpses of her from time to time, and not having the courage to call out, he witnessed this firecracker of colour and laughter float about the room like a butterfly. He couldn’t approach that sort of girl. So what was he to do? He absent-mindedly took a swig of pumpkin juice.

 

[Siobhan McGowan]

Siobhan was finishing her toast during her first morning breakfast after being sorted into Gryffindor. Somehow, she felt oddly different, like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders, but then again, a bigger one had been placed upon again. Take another sip of her pumpkin juice, she looked around. Her two friends that she had just met had already decided to head off to class, but Siobhan had decided to stay and spend some time to herself, just for a little while. All the commotion for the past two days of preparing and then riding here, arriving, and the Sorting had put her in such a rush she hadn't had time to clear her head.

Swallowing the last bight, she looked back at all the tables and noticed a familiar face, one among the Hufflepuffs. "Samuel?" she murmured to herself in a whisper. He looked lonely, and she didn't like that look, but seeing as how they had last and first met, Siobhan was only contemplating going up to him. She thought about the fun they had had, walking down to the beach and how he had shown her around. How he had gotten ice cream on himself and wiped it off her noise... this thought made her laugh out loud, and her laugh echoed around the hall. She covered her mouth quickly, looking down at her plate, but still smiling.

 

[Samuel Sykes]

Then suddenly, there it was. He was startled out of his lonely reverie with a familiar and very welcome sound. Siobhan's laughter drifted over to him from the Gryffindor house table, for it could only be her. It seemed like the day when they first met, only in reverse. This time it was her voice that delighted him.

"Siobhan!"

Whoops, that had slipped out. Even so, he swiveled on the bench, turning to see her face. Their eyes met.
"Well, hey!" he said with a grin. Some of the other first years stared at Sam. As far as they knew, he hadn't spoken a word the entire time he was there. The usually silent child was animated, smiling and waving and all that like a normal person. It was a happy sight to see. So much for not being able to talk with girls, for soon he was up and moving towards the Gryffindor table. Never mind the fact that it was another house with a whole other group of people he didn't know.

"There you are," he smiled softly as he reached her.

 

[Siobhan McGowan]

Siobhan looked up and her face drew back as he was about to come over to her. "Oh boy,"she said under her breath and looked back down again. She fidgeted with her robes and skirt, making them straight and then pushing a small strand of hair that had been left out of her ponytail behind her ear. When he approached her at her table, the Gryffindor table, she thought for a moment.

"Samuel, are you really allowed to be over here?" she asked in a worried voice. She didn't want to get the two of them in trouble.

 

[Samuel Sykes]

Sam laughed at this. "Of course!"

It was true. Everyone ate together, but when breakfast was winding down, people began to disperse and find their friends. He was a bit brave to come to the Gryffindor table by himself, but there was someone he simply must talk to at least once more. With him he brought a stack of potions books, and he pushed them to the side as he sat next to her.

"Well gosh, it's been a few weeks hasn't it?"

Anybody looking who was a bit more observant would have noticed that Hufflepuff first years didn't take Potions class this term.

 

[Siobhan McGowan]

((Meh, sorry. Life is getting in the way, yah know?))

Siobhan smiled at Samuel and made a nervous glance toward the head table, since she wasn't much of a rule breaker herself. "Okay, if you say so."

"It has been quite sometime," she said airly, remembering their first meeting with great detail and set her chin down in her hands as she turned toward him. "How did the rest of your summer go?" She took a look at the books he was carrying and noticed it was Potions. She picked up the paper to look at her schedule and noticed that her Potions class did not conceive of any Hufflepuffs. Darn.

 

[Samuel Sykes]

"Pretty uneventful," sighed Sam, answering her query. "I hope yours was a bit better." Suddenly he remembered something that was rather exciting. "Oh! I just remembered. I was contacted by a woman who's planning on setting up a shop somewhere in Obsidian. She's a potions master, and she saw one of my inventions in an old kids magazine that I entered into years ago. She wants to sell Blush-B-Gone in her shop!"

How had he forgotten to tell her that? It had pretty much been the most exciting thing that had ever happened to him in his entire life. Blush-B-Gone was his favourite potion by far, simply because he had to take it a lot. It got rid of a persistent blush in half a second, and was great for social events and public speaking if you were the embarrassed sort (which he was).

But enough about me, thought Sam. "What's been happening with you? It seems like an age since ..." Since he had kissed her cheek on the beach that day. Now he needed some of that Blush-B-Gone.