Sketchbooks and Chocolate Frogs (OPEN)

[Silver Blackwood]

Silver stood on the main street of Hogsmeade, two sketchbooks under his arm, his gaze on the candy shop across the way and a few doors down. He'd gotten the book he owed Dare, but he'd stopped short of getting those chocolate frogs for Cassie. Apparently, she owned the candy shop.

He'd been thinking about it off and on since she mentioned liking them so much, and it seemed like a nice gesture, but when he'd approached, he'd seen her inside, behind the counter, and he'd backed off. He couldn't very well buy chocolate frogs from her, then give them to her, could he?

[Adara Snow]

Adara had intended on going to see Emilian. It had been so long since she had seen him, and there were things they needed to discuss that could not wait. Since Emilian's article, Adara had begun reading the Daily Prophet, including the gossip column, more to stay abreast of what was allegedly happening than because she particularly believed any of it.

When she saw the boy, she nearly kept walking. Emilian would be waiting for her, possibly expecting a visit, if he was reading the paper as well. Still, the boy looked somewhat lost, pensive at the least, and Adara's conscience would not allow her to ignore him. She approached him, stopping at his side. "Are you all right?" she asked softly, almost afraid of startling him.

[Silver Blackwood]

Silver had felt her presence, but all the same, it still startled him when she spoke. Even with the crash-course the past days had been, it was still surprising being noticed. He turned to look down at the girl who went with the voice, taking a moment to still his reflexive physical reaction before managing a response. "I'm fine," he said, immediately cursing the cliche and himself for uttering it. "I was just...thinking," he added vaguely.

[Adara Snow]

Adara tilted her head a moment in thought. She knew that there was far more than that. Something she'd learned from Emilian was not to take everything at face value, to trust instincts she was still only beginning to learn she possessed. "My name is Adara," she said, introducing herself and leaving the boy to his thoughts for now. "Are you a student at Hogwarts?"

[Silver Blackwood]

"I am," Silver said. "My name is Sylvester. I go by Silver, though." He looked at the girl, then away, suddenly realizing how close to staring he had been. He wondered if he would ever get used to being in such close proximity to girls, or if this awkwardness would continue forever. "You're a student too, right?" he asked. She didn't look any older than he was. "I'm in Ravenclaw."

[Adara Snow]

Adara's lips curved into a smile that brightened her entire face. "I am also in Ravenclaw!" she said, excited at the prospect of meeting, not only a new face, but a Housemate as well. "Have you been at Hogwarts long? I am afraid I still have not met many people, so please do be patient with me."

[Silver Blackwood]

Silver's lips curved into a light smile. Have you been at Hogwarts long? He'd asked the question so many times lately that it was funny hearing it from someone else. "Only a couple days," he answered. "Me and my brother Dare, but he's in Gryffindor."

[Adara Snow]

"Dare," Adara repeated. "Is that a nickname, like Silver?" She had never met actual people with nicknames before coming to Hogwarts. There were always storybook characters, named for their beauty or such, but it was a slightly different concept when applied to real life.

[Silver Blackwood]

"Yeah, it's a nickname," he said. Silver paused a moment to marvel over the sheer number of girls he'd met since coming to Hogwarts. He'd thought it was a nightmare when Dad told them, and now he was beginning to wonder if he hadn't died along the way and ended up in some twisted version of heaven.

Silver thought for a moment, convincing himself he was in heaven, that his luck was some kind of reward for good behavior, then asked a question that would probably get him an incredibly odd look. "Do you...know many guys?" He couldn't even recall seeing one in his short time at the school.

[Adara Snow]

Adara blinked, the question striking her as strange, but otherwise gave no indication that there was anything unusual about it. She didn't want to seem rude, after all, and he'd been at Hogwarts such a short time. "Not many," she said, tilting her head again. "Why do you ask?"

[Silver Blackwood]

Silver looked away from the girl--Adara, he reminded himself--back down the street. "I just...I was just wondering," he said vaguely. He didn't want to sound like he was complaining, so he let the subject drop, cursing the social ineptness that had prompted him to ask.

[Adara Snow]

Silver was so very different from the other males of her acquaintance that Adara puzzled over him, wondering why it was that he seemed so unsure of himself. Curiosity being her greatest sin, she could not allow herself to walk away, not without learning enough to at least begin to understand him. "Is it about the Jewellery Shop?" she guessed, following his gaze. It was an honest mistake; the Jewellery Shop and the Candy Shop were both in the same direction, at least. But Adara did not know, and so her cheeks flushed, rose tinting the pale skin as she imagined that he had heard the rumors, that he might judge her if he put things together.

[Silver Blackwood]

"The Jewellery Shop?" It took a moment for Silver's gaze to find it, even as close as it was, but when he looked back at Adara to see her blushing, his curiosity was immediately peaked. "What's at the Jewellery Shop?" he asked. " I mean, besides jewelry..." It was obvious there was something.

[Adara Snow]

"Emilian," Adara breathed, as though that answered everything. She looked up at Silver, realizing by the look on his face that he did not know, and worried her lip between her teeth. "He is...a close friend of mine," she said. There was no other way to describe their relationship. She could not tell Silver that he was her lover; that was private, was it not? And he had not been her lover in so many weeks now that her body was protesting the loss of him. Adara decided that a subtle change in conversation would not be amiss. "Have you any friends yet?"

[Silver Blackwood]

Silver was a little confused by all this, and a little distracted by the motion of teeth against her lip, so it took a moment for her question to register in his mind. His eyes rose a little guiltily, and he mentally shook off his thoughts, for all the good it did, considering they came right back. "No, I'm...not really great at making them," he admitted. He'd actually met people and talked to them, though, so he was a lot farther ahead than he'd been at his old school.