With the Commoners

[Tholomyes Fontaine]

Tholomyes had his books in his hands as he headed into the great hall, he had planned to spend the next few hours following the tail end of breakfast spending a bit of time just reading away and he was looking forward to it too, but the young Ravenclaw had no idea where he wanted to begin that day and no idea what he was going to focus on, he knew that it was likely typical that he was going to end up having forgotten something or that he would be interrupted by someone who insisted that he do something more fun, even if he didn't care for that.

The boy was making his way up the Ravenclaw table, which happened to be beside the Gryffindor one, he was trying to spot if Emma was sitting anywhere, he liked spending time with her and the boy wanted to spend all the spare time he had with her, and not just because he lacked other people to spend the time with. However so focused on the fact that he was trying to spot he didn't spot the person who stood in the way between the tables, whom he promptly bumped into. The boy dropped all his books with a crash to the floor and he groaned annoyed but also in a way that he thought this was typical, like of course this had to happen to him, he looked to the person and his entire expression softened,

"Maddie?" he asked, this was the first time he'd ever met her outside of a school even setting it was almost strange if he didn't like the idea of becoming better friends with her, "It's good to see you," he couldn't hold back the politeness in his tone, the air of entitlement that the boy carried due to his upbringing, which without the extravagant costumes or formal clothes he thought would probably make her hate him.
​

 

[Madeline Walden]

Maddie was awake bright and early this morning, she didn't quite know what for. She didn't have anything particularly important to do today. But rather than stay in bed she got up, got changed and walked down to the Great Hall ready to consume the delightful food that was on offer for the morning. She made her way into the hall and it was already quite full of students, nobody she actually recognised though.

Maddie trudged down to the end of the Gryffindor table in quite a daydream when suddenly a body bumped into her. "What the..." she mumbled as she turned around to see who it was. Unfortunately, the person had dropped their books at the same time. "Oh, let me help. It was half my fault... I guess" she said bending down and picking up a couple of books. Maddie glanced at the person on the floor and realised it was the boy she had been dancing with at the balls. She turned quite pink as she stood up and handed Theo his books. She looked at the floor when he recognised her. "It's nice to see you aswell, Theo" she said quickly looking up from the floor, smiling.

It was the strangest thing to see him in this context, she didn't know if she ever would have to. Maddie noticed Theo's tone and smiled to herself, even without the costume and the finery he had the same attitude as if he were a member of the royal family and Maddie couldn't imagine him any other way.

 

[Tholomyes Fontaine]

Tholomyes had known he would likely run into her eventually outside of the formal situations but he had imagined it would be in classes, a part of the Ravenclaw boy was sure that while they got along at the yuleball and the halloween feast he couldn't help but doubt if they'd get along now, her issues with his politeness, his formality and his tone which usually gave the impression that he thought of himself as better were things she'd picked up on in the first instance that they meet had made sense. Now it didn't so much and he was sure she would probably hate them and then subsequently him and he really didn't want that to happen, he liked Maddie after all, almost considered her a friend and he definitely lacked those, "You want to have breakfast together?" he asked taking the books from her and then motioning to the table, he wouldn't mind if they sat at the ravenclaw table or the gryffindor table, he had never been bothered about the whole houses thing, "Unless you've already eaten," he added feeling a little nervous about if she'd want to spend time with him in this situation even if he was an arrogant, posh sounding boy.
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[Madeline Walden]

Maddie nodded at Theo's suggestion "yeah, that sounds nice" it would be interesting to get know Theo in this environment. Everything stripped back, no acting, no pretending (which was, admittedly, part of the fun.) "We can go to your table if you like?" she suggested. Although Theo hadn't told her which house he was in, it was pretty obvious from his robes that he was a Ravenclaw. The more Maddie thought about it, the more it actually suited him. He seemed quiet, here in the normal school atmosphere, compared to what he was like at the formal school events. Maybe he felt more comfortable at those events, which was fair enough Maddie thought. It was interesting to see where people felt most comfortable, where people could express themselves. For Maddie, it was being outside in a clearing with only nature to accompany her, it's where she felt most like herself.

"So, how have you been?" Maddie asked the Ravenclaw boy. Genuinely interested in what he had to say, she wanted to make a real effort in getting to know him better.

 

[Tholomyes Fontaine]

Tholomyes wouldn't have minded either table which they then sat at, but he motioned to the Ravenclaw table because there appeared to be empty enough seats for them to sit down, Tholomyes took a seat and then placed the books he'd been carrying down on the table, taking away the plate which had been sat at the table and putting the books down in its place. He looked up at her when she as how he'd been and shrugged, things had been normal in the sort of sense of the word really, he was trying his best to just be calm and deal with these opportunities as they popped up, "Good," he replied with a smile, "You?" he returned the question to her continuing to smile at her. It was difficult to know what to say he found mostly because of the fact that no matter how good they'd got along previously it had been within easier situations, now he sat as just Theo in front of her and he felt like this would never work, like this friendship would be doomed, but he wanted so much to carry on the friendship, "This is a little strange right, I feel like I should call you your highness," he couldn't help but state a whine lingering on his voice as he spoke.
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[Madeline Walden]

Maddie followed Theo to the Ravenclaw table and sat down beside him. She smiled at the Ravenclaw boy, here, in this setting, in this hall, he seemed different. More reserved and more tentative, it was strange to see him like this. She nodded at his question "That's good. I've been okay, I've been a bit bored to be honest. Never thought I would wish for classes to start again" she laughed. Which was true, she didn't like the lessons really but she liked seeing her friends in them. The holidays had been quiet and she missed her friends. Last semester was busy and exciting and she hoped the next one would be much of the same.

She took a deep breath of relief and grinned at Theo "Well i'm glad you said it!" she said. There was an elephant in the room and Maddie was glad that he was the one to point it out. "It is strange to be in school uniform in the Great Hall dressed normally." Her eyes wandered over Theo and how different he looked here "I think the royal costume suited you" she winked.

 

[Tholomyes Fontaine]

Tholomyes as a Ravenclaw had been waiting around for the classes to begin again, Theo enjoyed his classes as much as any other ravenclaw might although he had always excelled in classes which weren't taught at this school. Tholomyes nodded with her and smiled slightly, since he did agree with her about being bored, though he always looked forward to classes, "I'm looking forward to the classes, although, I always look forward to the classes," the Ravenclaw admitted a little shyly almost expecting her to dislike him because of this, it was easier at Halloween and the Yuleball, he could pretend to be someone else, right now, all he was was Theo wearing his school uniform. However, having expressed how strange he found it, Tholomyes couldn't help but be happy that she too appeared to feel that way. It was pretty obvious that while he really liked Maddie, having never spent time with her outside those situations had perhaps damaged their relationship a little bit, or made it a little different, because Theo couldn't imagine not being her friend, "Yeah, you too, although Gryffindor really suits you, more than the other costumes," he was sure that in the small amount of conversation they'd had, they'd discussed houses but there was something about the fact that she was in her uniform that seemed to make Theo think that absolutely that was right, "It's always nice to be king for the day, or evening," he shrugged at her, a small smile linger on his lips thinking of how much fun all that acting had been, "Pity there's no drama club, we'd make some pretty good royals in any production they were doing,"
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[Madeline Walden]

Maddie should have known Theo would have enjoyed classes, he seemed more and more like a typical Ravenclaw. She hadn't met many, she had only met one and she wasn't the friendliest of people. She found that Ravenclaw's kind of kept to themselves. She appreciated the fact that Theo wanted to talk to her though. "I don't like being kept inside, so I looked forward to Flying every week as a chance to get out!" she said to him "I'm looking forward to this semester though, we get more chance to work outside" she smiled. At least there was no more Defence Against the Dark Arts this semester, Professor Styx gave her the creeps. "Thanks" she said in response to Theo saying she suited Gryffindor. She did feel at home in this house, it was nice to be with people who were like you. Although, that could get a bit tiring and she was grateful that a couple of her best friends were from different houses. She nodded in agreement, it was nice to pretend to be royalty once in a while. It was also nice to pretend to be someone you were not too. Maddie's eyes brightened "Yes! Can you imagine? We'd be so good!" she said excitedly. She had never acted before but Theo had a point. They were very convincing at Halloween. "I wonder if anyone had ever thought of starting one."

 

[Tholomyes Fontaine]

Tholoymes hadn't really liked flying, he wasn't much of a sports guy, he liked arts and books, and the outdoors was just somewhere he could sit amongst the flowers and enjoy himself. The Ravenclaw nodded at her, he was looking forward to just more learning though he fully realised that he was unlikely to be learning anything like he had been before this place. He gave a small, slightly shy smile, "I'm not much of a sports guy," he admitted though it was pretty obvious that he wasn't with his slim and not sporty build. The Ravenclaw knew that there was an arts club, but he didn't know if they included drama, he could only think that they would since there was no specific drama club and that was where his mind seemed to say that if there wasn't one that at the very least Maddie and himself could set one up, "We'd be amazing," he agreed with her, his usually cynical mind quietening down ever so slightly, "There is an arts club, so maybe theres a drama section within that, maybe we could storm them with our talent," the ravenclaw wondered if that would be possible, or even what might happen if they did that, "Might be fun, this school does lack the arts," he commented with the smallest of sighs, since as much as he loved magic he did miss his old arts teacher and his old drama teachers, his literature teacher, all the arts he could think of.
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[Madeline Walden]

Maddie figured Theo wasn't much of a sports person, he was definitely a more quieter and artistic kind of guy. She was only now realising how deep that went. Maddie, however, was the opposite, she liked sports and being outdoors and being active. She loved being surrounded by lots of people and making as many friends as she could, quite the extrovert. But Theo was different, which was kind of nice and refreshing. To have someone, a friend, that could calm Maddie and make her think differently was good for her. She smiled widely when he agreed that they would be amazing, she nodded in agreement "I know right!"

Come to think of it, Maddie hadn't heard of a drama club at Hogwarts, Theo mentioned the arts club and that rang a bell but she didn't know too much about it. "Maybe we should join next year and see what the club has to offer?" she suggested. "We can blow them away and they'll have to either start a drama club or offer us the lead parts in anything they put on!" she said confidently flicking her hair over her shoulder. Theo seemed to soften when he spoke about the arts, Maddie wondered what his story was there, she wanted to find out, but maybe this wasn't the time. "It would definitely be fun!" she agreed.

 

[Tholomyes Fontaine]

Tholomyes was definitely finding talking to Maddie easier when things were a little more in his wheel house, although he definitely knew that despite of how much easier it was, it was rude, since he knew in any friendship he had to show an interest in her as well as allow to to show an interest in him, it was just a whole part of the way things were. The Ravenclaw nodded along, "Yes!" he agreed wholeheartedly, knowing that perhaps it was a little late to sign up now but was looking forward to being able to at some point in the near future, this would also give him an idea about what he could pitch, "They'd be stupid to not give us the main parts," there were elements of a whine within his voice as he said that as if whining over the fact they might not give it to him or her, but having shown an interest in what they mutually liked and what was far more him than her, the boy cleared his throat and then wondered about her, clearly more sports driven than he was, "Will you tryout for the team next year?" he asked her curious about her interests, knowing that it didn't matter that he didn't know much about the sport but that if she was interested in them, than he would try to show some interest even if it would pointlessly lead to him being utterly clueless and a little bored.
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[Madeline Walden]

This whole talk about joining a drama club made her really wish that they could. Maddie knew it was probably just talk but she craved that opportunity. It was an opportunity to express herself but it was also an opportunity to get to know Theo better, it was an opportunity to see into Theo's wants and ambitions and dislikes and hopes and dreams. He was an interesting and complex person that Maddie hadn't even scratched the surface of yet. She grinned when he agreed with her suggestion of infiltrating the society, they'd be like spies, it would be so great. Especially because she wouldn't be doing it on her own, she hoped he would be with her the whole way.

Surprised that Theo asked her about Quidditch, she was a little taken aback and it took a second for her to realise the question. "Oh, erm... I don't know really. I think i'm more of a watcher than a player. Competitive Quidditch playing sounds fun but I much prefer the social side of it" she explained to the Ravenclaw boy. "Have you watched any of the school games?"she asked him.

 

[Tholomyes Fontaine]

Tholomyes was already thinking of how much fun they would be able to have when they were a part of the drama club, or whatever club, he wasn't sure which they would fit into but he felt like it be very enjoyable, there was nothing at this school which reminded him of his last school apart from quite possibly the drama society and even if there wasn't really one, he was sure they could make one. He wanted to continue talking about it but he had moved the conversation on and he felt annoyed at himself for doing so but it seemed right at the time, Maddie perhaps was only a little interested in the drama club stuff and was humouring him, but as she spoke he realised that maybe she wasn't as interested in the sport and he'd first assumed she would be which was a mistake on his part, "I've watched them," he told her with a nod, but he didn't like them, "It's difficult to follow," he shrugged at her, the whine in his voice clear as if it wasn't his lack of knowledge about the sport which was the issue, "I assumed you'd be more into it, my sister always says that Gryffindors really love sports and specifically quidditch," he added with a shrug, "I prefer muggle sports to begin with but even those aren't exactly that fun either,"
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[Madeline Walden]

Maddie nodded as Theo spoke "maybe we should go to one together sometime? Maybe when Ravenclaw and Gryffindor play each other again" she suggested to him. It would be an interesting situation if Theo went with her. Especially because she got the impression that he didn't care for it that much. "If you're not used to the game I guess it is quite confusing, yeah" she agreed. "It's great fun when you get used to it though." She shrugged her shoulders "I suppose so, though I know quite a lot of people in my house who do not really care for Qudditch so..." she tried to explain. Maddie hadn't played much muggle sport, she was mostly home schooled and her parents tried to get her to engage in the magical world as much as they could. "What sports did you play, if any? or enjoy?" she asked Theo.

 

[Tholomyes Fontaine]

At the suggestion of going to the game with her, Tholomyes just grinned, unable to really hide his excitement at such a prospect, he knew he would likely support his own house, years of house pride being instilled in him meaning that would happen,but he would still happily attend the game with someone who was not in his house, since he did enjoy her company quite a lot and despite him supporting the opposite team he was very interested being able to watch the game with her, "That would be great!" he nodded happily and said it as an agreement that maybe not all the people were very interested in the sport much like how not all Ravenclaws spent all of their time reading, "I think it'll help to watch it with someone, I won't get as lost and confused over it" he agreed, feeling like that really would be a good idea, and always keen to spend time with her, more friends who were willing to put up with his whining tone. At the following question he nodded, since the weekends at his school had been filled with sports, "I played football, but I wasn't very good," he admitted with a small shrug, "I was a lot better at Polo, although not by much" he gave her a smile, "Do you play other sports?" he returned the question, not remembering if they'd ever talked about life prior to school and whether or not she'd attended any.
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[Madeline Walden]

Maddie was extremely pleased that Theo agreed to watch one of the games with her, she was a bit worried that he would say no because he didn't seem to be much of a fan of Quidditch but she was grateful for the effort and enthusiasm he offered. She smiled at him and nodded "i'm sure you will pick it up in no time." It was nice to see Theo excited and engaged on a subject, even one that he probably wasn't that interested in. "I don't think i've heard of Polo, what is it?" she asked him. She knew what football was, but some 'muggle sports' went under her radar. She shrugged at his question "not really, I didn't have a lot of time back home to play lots of sports. We had horses on the farm so we used to ride them when we had some time off but that's it really. I suppose you could count swimming, but nothing competitive" she explained.

 

[Tholomyes Fontaine]

The first year often forgot that most people didn't know the muggle sports that he might've once played, it was easy he found to forget that not everyone was from a muggle background or had attended boarding school before this place. He just smiled at her, "Polo is a game played on horseback," the Ravenclaw explained though it wasn't really much of an explanation and more of just a stating what it was, he hadn't been particularly good at it and he didn't spend too much time really thinking about it. Tholomyes looked at Maddie as she spoke about what sports or really a lack of sports of what she did, he shrugged at her, "I went to boarding school before this, sports were almost all weekend long," he explained trying to justify the fact he had played sports where she hadn't. It wasn't really a necessary thing to do, but he felt the need to. Tholomyes knew that she'd begun speaking to him because of his pompous air and he was sure that talking about his days before hogwarts at a different boarding school and things like that would make him seem pompous, his accent helped nothing, and he wanted to be friends with her, not make her hate him because of what he'd been born into, "What were going to do today?" he asked hoping to move the conversation along so that he could move forward and not linger one what he'd said.
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[Madeline Walden]

Polo sounded interesting, Maddie was rather impressed. She imagine playing a sport on horseback would be incredibly difficult and take a lot of skill. Something that Maddie suspected she lacked, it took a lot of skill to play Quidditch and she didn't think she was too good at that either. She sighed, she loved being active and watching sports but when it came to actually participating in them she got incredibly nervous and didn't do too well. When Theo revealed he went to a boarding school before Hogwarts it did explain why he had played so many different sports. She wondered what it was like to have attended boarding school before Hogwarts and the differences between the two. Maddie had been to a public primary school so it was a little different to Theo's upbringing. She didn't pursue the subject though as he seemed keen to move on with the subject. Home life was a touchy subject with some people, Maddie had learnt that the hard way.

She shrugged her shoulders at Theo's question "I'm not sure really, I suppose there is always work to do, so the library would be the sensible option. But who cares for the sensible option?" she said laughing. "It seems a nice day outside, maybe go for a walk around the grounds? I like being outside. What about you?" she asked her friend. Surely they were friends now, right?

 

[Tholomyes Fontaine]

Tholomyes was pretty pleased when she seemed to ignore the sort of in towards his previous school life, which the teen was eternally glad for since he really didn't want to have to bother with it. He found it nice that she didn't linger on the part that he had honestly felt most others would've lingered on, made fun of him for it, and she hadn't she'd not done that which he was honestly thankful for, and since the conversation moved on, the Ravenclaw was able to just push it out of his mind and think about what she was saying, the sensible option to him sounded like fun, but to her, it appeared that she might not agree with that. She liked being outside and Theo enjoyed the indoor with his books, perhaps they were never destined to be friends, that was only thing his mind was saying, but he was rather keen to attempt to become better friends with her and in doing so spend time doing things outside his comfort zone, "Well, I was going to study, but we could have fun outside?" he asked her tentatively, unsure if an invitation had been there and not wanting to force himself upon her. The boy had hoped to run into Emma, but he was perfectly happy with Maddie, Emma he would look for another day.
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[Madeline Walden]

Maddie nodded at Theo "that would be nice" she replied smiling. She could tell that probably wasn't Theo's idea of fun and what he wanted to do with his day so she was grateful for the suggestion and the effort on his part. She decided she should probably meet him in the middle, that's what friends did. They did things the other wanted to do, or at least tried to incorporate the two. "How about we study... outside?" she suggested, her eyes sparkling. Personally, she thought it was a good idea, it incorporated the things they both liked to do. "If we get bored we can always find something else to do outdoors, like... take a look around the garden?" Maddie stretched out her arms and let out a small yawn, they had been sitting in the same spot for a while, she was starting to get restless.

 

[Tholomyes Fontaine]

Tholomyes smiled at her with a small smile nodding slightly, realising that she was different and maybe didn't enjoy his idea of fun, that she didn't agree with what he thought was fun and though she was clearly trying as he was, that there was just this division between them which would be more difficult to move or change. The Ravenclaw looked at her suggestion and then elaboration he just nodded, it sounded like a good idea, he gathered the books up into his arms, "I can show you the wild patch," he told her with a smile of agreement, thinking that would be a good thing for them to do if she so wanted to do that. The boy smiled at her, and just nodded, "Come on, let's just go now," he got to his feet and shifted the weight of the books in his arms as he then waited for her to lead them out of the great hall and out to the gardens.
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[Madeline Walden]

Maddie's eyes sparkled with anticipation, this wouldn't be so hard after all! They didn't have much in common but they both seemed to be open to negotiation with regards to the activities they did together which was good. She liked having a friend that had different interests to her, it made her think about things a lot more and made her be more sympathetic to different points of view. She nodded at his suggestion of going to see the wild patch "that sounds good!" she said truthfully. She stood up with Theo and walked out of the Great Hall in the direction of the grounds, she flashed a smile behind her as he followed.