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Post by James Potter on Nov 9, 2010 18:12:55 GMT -5
James was glad he was actually in a class for once-- if he had been in a free period, all he would have done was sulked. He may have gone to the Quidditch pitch, but playing by himself would have been even more depressing. Normally he would be practicing with Gia, Zoe, or even one of his cousins. At least he could side-track himself with potions, even if he doesn't particularly like potions all that much. Frowning at Roxanne's repremanding he sighed, rolling his eyes and giving Ben a look before turning back to Roxanne.
"Give it a rest, Roxy." James growled, but it was a good natured one. They were both very close to one another, and knew eachother fairly well-- probably the best out of the Weasley kids. They were used to bickering like any brother and sister, so even though they fought often, it was childish bickering and never serious.
Ben was saying something about being seventh years, but James had zoned him out for the time being. Ben was a good friend, but sometimes he seemed a bit relient on him. Ben was his one good guy friend, his voice of reason most of the time, and James relied on him too. But when it came to someone he knew he could trust, it was a tough fight between Ben and Zoe. Zoe and he had so much in common-- she was fun, one of the guys, and, he admitted, relatively pretty. Plus she knew how to handle herself on a broom. James smiled to himself for a moment, his eyes glazing over for the time being, off in his own dream world.
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Post by Roxanne Weasley on Nov 9, 2010 22:47:34 GMT -5
Ben's reply boosted them back up on the scale. Free periods were amazing, and even better when they were legit. She coined the classes she skipped 'free periods', because technically, they were. "Well, I only hope we would, Ben," she mused. "I know, we're so old. I don't like it. At least the Firewhiskey's legal... soon." Growing up was a tough thing to deal with sometimes.
Zoe definitely appreciated her unnecessary help. Even if her friend was satisfied with just a nod, Roxanne would try and piss her cousin off even more. It was fun. "I'd say that's a cryptic-sounding yes, Zoe," she said, laughing.
If Jay had ever tried pulling off a nod in reply... it wouldn't be pretty. She prefer the long-winded and eloquent answers he gave her, even if half the words were ones she didn't know. Maybe the silence unnerved her. Emotions were better framed in sentence form.
"Well, why don't we use this free period to talk, or at least most of it," Roxanne suggested, shrugging. "Because James has to share you, y'know, and I'll never get you off the pitch once you're on it."
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Post by Zoe Thompson on Nov 11, 2010 16:15:20 GMT -5
Zoe chuckled quietly at James' response to Roxanne and Roxanne's snarky response. He was reminding her of a young boy being punished by his mother for eating too much candy, although he had the expression of a young boy with a stomachache from eating all of it. Still, Roxanne was right, as per almost always. She had a ridiculous amount of respect for Roxie, who always seemed to know exactly what she wanted and how to get it. Roxanne didn't let a crush screw her over, and the lucky boy that she was crushing on seemed to almost always feel the same way. In fact, some of the sixth years even had that kind of luck. Why the hell had it skipped over her? "Awwww, lay off him!" She responded finally, knowing that their teasing would eventually get old.
It was a cryptic yes, interestingly enough, although that hadn't fazed her until Roxanne made the comment. Casting James an apologetic look, she smiled, "You'll have more time to practice so you don't get your ass kicked entirely. Nighttime, maybe?" It would be for the best anyway, she'd get Roxanne time, time to prepare for their nighttime endeavors, nobody would be watching from their windows, and maybe James' mood would even improve slightly.
In the meantime, she needed an attitude improvement. After all, fair heart never won fair lady, and if she was as boyish as she was told, she could go with that expression. It was important to her that she prevail, and in this case, she'd already lost. Forcing a smile onto her face, she looked at him, hoping that her grin seemed real.
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Post by James Potter on Nov 11, 2010 16:38:25 GMT -5
James smiled, giving Roxanne a glaring look before turning back to Zoe. "At least someone has my back." He said, reaching out and grabbing her shoulder to pull her into a one armed hug. "No offense, Ben." he added quickly. James sort of nuzzled Zoe, kidding more than anything, muttering. "My Zoe, always got my back." he said before pulling away with a small laugh.
It was true, Zoe was always there for him, and he was looking forward to playing Quidditch tonight with her. "Whenever you want." James said, leaning his elbow against the desk and resting his head on them again, glancing up at her. "Maybe after dinner?" he suggested, looking at her questioningly. He smiled, remembering the first time they had ever played Quidditch together.
They were both good at what they did-- while Zoe was a faster, more agile player, perfect for a seeker, James was a more versatile player with with good hands when it came to catching and throwing the Quaffle. They had pretty much been rivals since first year when they both had joined the team, though seeker was more of a glamorous position. James had always tried his best to score as much as possible so that even if she did catch the snitch-- which he always expected she would-- James' team would still be up far enough to at the very least tie.
"We'll see whose ass is gonna get kicked." James said with a playful grin.
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Post by Ben Murray on Nov 11, 2010 18:02:58 GMT -5
Ben wasn't in the greatest mood at this point. He didn't feel like being awake or being in class, and he felt even worse because of what was going on with the people he was around. He felt a bit out of the loop with his friends, and he blamed that partially on the fact that he didn't play Quidditch, and partially because he had skipped the party last night. Everything today seemed to be all about the party, what happened, what might happen as a result of the party events, etc. He felt like he missed an entire month of his friends' lives instead of just one party.
And then there was the Quidditch, but also Zoe, which sort of went hand in hand. There was no doubt that Zoe was a great girl, and that Ben liked her a lot. However, with Zoe when it came to James, it was Quidditch this, Quidditch that, Quidditch Quidditch Quidditch. It was a bit awkward for Ben in the first place because almost every single person in his friend group played Quidditch, except for Ben himself...and the fact that he was generally quiet and slightly introverted didn't help that.
But that didn't even matter, because at least SOMEONE had James's back, right? It really pissed Ben off that James made that comment, clearly to put Zoe in a position above Ben. And then he tried to make up for it with the "no offense" excuse, which was generally complete bullshit in most situations.
Ben sighed quietly, pulling himself from his thoughts and back into the conversation. Of course they were still talking about Quidditch. Ben was neither angry nor upset; he was just annoyed and tired. He didn't say anything because he didn't want to make a fool out of himself by attempting to discuss Quidditch; Zoe and James were completely out of his league when it came to anything having to do with the sport.
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Post by Roxanne Weasley on Nov 11, 2010 20:37:53 GMT -5
A typical glare. It was canceled out with Zoe's manifesting amused look. Not that the glare meant anything, really. She'd find it strange if James hadn't sent one in her direction during a conversation. Roxanne knew all the right buttons to push, and knew them very well. The most fun, of course, was when she could sense the sexual tension between him and another girl (coughGiacough). But Zoe's request came off as innocent to her, so she let the issue be.
"Oh, alright," she replied, pretending to be offended.
Roxanne's eyebrow arched at the next sight. She had to resist the temptation to comment. "Perfect, it's settled," she interjected. "Not like you have another month or two before games start, anyway."
Quidditch was a bit of a... dry subject. She played for fun at home, obviously from a large Quidditch playing family, but it didn't interest her past that.
"Well, I'm certainly looking forward to free period now. Especially after some horrible potion we'll try and have to recreate in class. I certainly cannot wait," Roxanne sighed. "I have dibs on Zoe for my potions partner, by the way. We're a great team."
Besides, James and Ben needed more bonding time. And what better way!
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Post by Zoe Thompson on Nov 11, 2010 20:54:41 GMT -5
Zoe giggled, about to respond to James's sweet comment, but before she knew it, they were in this awkward nuzzle/hug thing, and it took every bit of strength she had not to blush, although her face pinkened slightly. 'My Zoe?' She was...his? What the hell did that mean? She wanted to ask, to comment, to say something, but as the words formed on her lips, he had pulled away, and she was forced to just simply chuckle, accepting that it had been his way of being friendly. "My James...always one for awkward hugs!" She responded cheerily.
He was always there when she needed him, which made her even more determined to reciprocate, and after all, she would never pass up a game. "Sure," she responded with a small grin, looking around to see the boredom on Roxanne and Ben's faces. A twinge of guilt ran through her, especially realizing how awkwardly they were talking about a subject that the other two didn't care about. True, James was the best Chaser in the school, and she the best Seeker, but that didn't mean it was all they could talk about. She shot the others an apologetic look before quickly responding, "Your ass is grass."
Grinning at Roxanne, she gave her the best 'we need to talk' look that she could...Roxanne needed to know about James. "Ooh, I've been called? Awesome, love, we'll leave these two in our dust. Literally. We'll be making dust from what we explode," Potions wasn't a subject she had any sort of talent at, hopefully Roxanne would be better, "Free is going to rock! I seriously can't wait...this classroom gives me the creeps." Roxanne's Quiddich comment rolled off her back, the two would discuss other things later--she wasn't married to the sport. Hopefully, Ben wasn't too miffed, although looking at him, she saw some aggravation for sure.
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Post by James Potter on Nov 11, 2010 21:14:09 GMT -5
James frowned as he turned away from Zoe to examine his other friend. He knew something was wrong, and assumed it was for the comment he made. That or Ben was just bored by the Quidditch discussion. He turned the conversation back to something Ben could relate to. After all, he could talk to Zoe about Quidditch any other time, but he hadn't spent much time with Ben, especially after last night.
"So dude, I heard some ridiculous thing about a research project in Charms this year." James said, obviously acting annoyed for Ben's sake. "I mean, it's our last year here, and they have to give us some ridiculous assignment like that?" James wasn't exactly the best at making small talk, and this was the best he could do at the moment. He owed it to Ben to distract him away from his own problems, because it wasn't fair to his friend.
He would make it up to him later on, he promised himself that. Ben had always been a great friend, and he deserved better than the way James was acting.
--sorry, really short bad post.-- |
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Post by Ben Murray on Nov 11, 2010 21:42:03 GMT -5
Ben was watching and observing, neither of which were unusual things for him to be doing. At the moment, James and Zoe's little nuzzle hug had caught his attention. He wondered vaguely what Gia would think of that; she probably wouldn't be mad about it, considering Gia didn't seem to have one angry bone in her little body, but would she be upset? It all came down to how Gia felt about James...that seemed like it was going to be the question of the year. It was true that James had always thought of Zoe as one of the guys, but then again, Ben seriously doubted that James would've nuzzle-hugged HIM. And if he did, that would just be weird.
The Quidditch conversation seemed to be over. It wasn't that Ben really minded it, but it got a bit annoying when the Quidditch King and Queen of Hogwarts could speak of nothing else. Ben glanced over at Roxanne, who seemed to have been just as bored with the topic as Ben was. Like Roxanne, Ben couldn't help but have a small amount of Quidditch experience, given the people he hung out with...but other than that, it wasn't exactly his favorite thing to do, or talk about, for that matter.
"Damn, a big project already? It's only the first day," Ben said, but he secretly didn't mind. Homework and school stuff like that had never really bothered Ben that much. He was a smart guy and was also pretty patient, so he'd probably be better off than most of the people in his year. But still, it seemed a little bit soon to be working on assignments like that.
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Post by Roxanne Weasley on Nov 11, 2010 22:00:07 GMT -5
The rest of the Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors in their year trickled in as the minutes until their deaths -- err, class -- neared. It was especially cruel to put such a brain-wracking class during first period. Even if... drinking on a Monday night had resulted in a new all-time low for her. The headache was making her brain go all fuzzy, or it could have been the 'wrackspurts' Lorcan and Lysander Scamander told her about.
But Zoe's look about free period cheered her considerably, especially when the news consisted of note-worthy gossip. And maybe a few embarrassing stories about James if she was feeling mean at the moment. Not like he'd find out, anyway.
Roxanne nodded fervidly. "Um, of course we will! I managed an 'E', which says a lot for me. Plus if we're competing for a prize... we're taking it home!" she said, grinning.
She recalled the many competitions for convoluted potions that no one would ever attempt outside of class. Totally worth it.
"I can't wait either," she mused. "Imagine, talking in broad daylight!"
Oh, the dungeons. At least class was about to start.
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Post by Zoe Thompson on Nov 11, 2010 22:15:26 GMT -5
Ben's harsh glace was beginning to freak her out, although she understood why he was probably feeling slightly resentful. James /was/ his best friend, after all, and between her and Gia, his attention was split, not falling on Ben as much as it really should have. That wasn't the best situation to be in, and of course, she wasn't helping. It was beginning to seem as if she deserved a large medal proclaiming her "Most Unhelpful" or "Generally Useless", after all, she just seemed to be causing a ridiculous amount of awkwardness. Luckily, she was distracted by the last trickle of students who wandered in, shuddering at their return to the torture chamber.
"Damn, an E? I think I probably barely passed..." Zoe wasn't particuarly good at remembering her grades, but she knew for a fact that she didn't deserve to be in this class, considering that Potions was by far her worst subject. She'd studied her ass off to pass the OWLs, the only time she'd really put in a large amount of effort into her work, and was proud that she hadn't failed. Overall, she didn't care much for academia, and since her mother didn't really care about her grades, as she didn't understand what classes she was taking, there was nobody really putting pressure on her to succeed.
The project was probably going to be unpleasent though. Zoe disliked research papers, as she always tended to mess up the footnotes and lose a plethora of credit. Sighing, she commented, "Maybe he'll forget for our class?" It seemed like a potentially good thought--their Professor was practically a living ghost in terms of his age. In the end, she cared more about living in the moment, so as the class began, she fell silent, hoping not to ruin anything with her terrible Potions abilities.
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Post by James Potter on Nov 15, 2010 14:23:43 GMT -5
"Yeah, I know man. What was Flitwick thinking? Must be starting to go senile." James said, rolling his eyes and pouting a bit. He knew that if he asked, Ben would probably help him out with the project. Ben didn't mind school work as much as James did-- then again, James would be happy never to go to any class or do any work besides Quidditch practice and maybe Defense Against the Dark Arts. Despite this, James was pretty good at Potions, and the thought of a possible competition in the class got him pretty pumped.
"You two are going down then." James said certainly. James had always been the competitive type, something he assumed he had inherited from his mother and his namesake. Slughorn had waddled in like some elderly overweight walrus at this point and was already telling them to get into pairs. James slid his chair closer to Ben, dividing them from the girls so that the competition could begin.
They were supposed to be making a beautification potion, something that Slughorn definitely needed, he supposed. He got to work cutting up beetle wings for the potion, glancing at Ben with a smirk. It was nice to see his best friend again-- they hadn't visited eachother during the summer, which he regretted now. He had spent the entire summer with his family, and he wasn't sure what he was going to do when it came to next summer. The idea of a life outside of school, having to find a job, was a bit terrifying for him, but he figured he'd be able to manage. |
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Post by Ben Murray on Nov 18, 2010 21:19:12 GMT -5
"I know, right...he could probably be our great great great grandfather or something," Ben said, but he didn't mean it in a bad way. He liked Flitwick enough, but he had always wondered how it was possible to teach for so long without getting completely bored with the job. He supposed it had something to do with the fact that magic was a hell of a lot more interesting than other things to be educated in, but still. Teaching the same thing over and over again for so many years had to lose its excitement after a while.
Ben was glad that James had at least settled with him for a partner and not Zoe. Not that Ben minded Roxanne, because he definitely didn't mind her at all. But he obviously preferred his best friend to his just-a-friend, if that made sense. He got uncomfortable slightly when he felt like people were watching him, and he was just more comfortable with James in general. He would probably work better. He wasn't horrible at Potions but it wasn't his favorite class. He didn't really hate any of his classes anyway, with the exception of herbology, which was just completely pointless to him.
"Dude, we have to beat them for this," Ben muttered, smirking back at James while he opened his book to figure out what they were trying to do. Roxanne and Zoe were smart enough, but he and James worked together really well, at least when they weren't screwing around and being idiots, which was something that seventeen year old boys tended to do a lot. He was still just a bit curious about whatever was going on with James and Gia, but he didn't want to ask right now because James didn't seem like he wanted to talk about it. He knew it would be a bad idea to ask Gia in case it was still weird for her, so he decided to bring it up with James later. Ben wasn't a nosy person, but he cared enough about James, and even Gia, to want to simply confirm that everything was alright, or at least that it would be in the future.
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