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 Posted: Thu Jan 08, 2015 2:17 am
 xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxTheo GibbsxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxGryffindor Sixth Year"Some are born great, some achieve greatness..." "Understandable," he admitted, shrugging his shoulders and diverting his gaze outside the windows of his Tree house, glad to see that it was beautiful out. It was really hot, but it was really nice to say the least. He was okay with the cold, but he was never quite as fond of it than he was the heat. Well...unless that heat was outstanding, such as the inside of his house right at that moment. A bead of sweat even found itself running down the side of his face, Theo wiping it away as fast as it came.
He listened to her for a moment, her rolling her eyes at his display of arrogance to which he was only joking, but he had no idea if she took it seriously or not. The girl never seemed to take a joke, but that opinion wouldn't be voiced, for an argument would ensue if he were to hint at even the slightest...or at least, that is what he thought would happen. The girl didn't even say anything about his joke about the intoxicating substances, to which he thought she would have at least something to say about...whether it was negative or...well...even more negative.
That's when they got onto the subject of calling a professor a cow...to which seemed far worse than what he did, but once again, he wouldn't point that one out either. "Ronna...I do understand. My year didn't take that professor very well either. I was one of the ones who more or less...didn't give an absolute s*** about anything; well, except that I was assigned to the same table as League, which certainly would've been interesting. Our personalities do not mesh together at all whatsoever so there would've probably been never ending arguments," he commented, reminiscing on the past year. "I think Tanya walked out of the class, to which I found the slightest bit amusing. I think that was as far as it went with us though."
He gave her a chuckle as she insulted herself, waving it off. "You are not that boring Ronna...only slightly," he joked, smiling at her. "But hey, do you want to go outside to the patio...it's a beautiful day outside and because of the bloody sun shining through that window over there, combined with my Air Conditioning not working, it is much hotter in here than it is out there. Figured it would be better to sit out there. Patrice and Eva should be home soon I believe. If you wanted to meet those two." He got up from his bed, hoping the girl said yes to sitting outside, because he was just about done with that scorching room. "And some have greatness thrust upon them"
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Posted: Thu Jan 08, 2015 4:47 am
 
"I think my year took it even worse. Especially when she lauded Kamenev quietly sitting down. But things went really down hill when she said it was amusing to keep the seating charts just to upset us," Ronna said shaking her head. "And then she had the audacity the next class to say my interrogation of her was 'bullying' and I pointed out I didn't have high enough authority to bully her and how she was decking points and shoving unreasonable rules at us because of some personal history or vendetta was actually bullying. She didn't apparently appreciate my general use of profanity-but I've never not cursed, or not that I remember- though I'm surprised that she didn't get upset about Jer or me throwing around the term 'mudblood'. I mean that is far worse probably than me calling the rules bullshit."
She rolled her eyes and said, "Ah, so you had to sit at the same table as League? I never had to really deal with him one way or another. I know Gypsy was apparently pretty horrified he became a prefect. She acted like it was almost as horrific as Kamenev in our year getting it. I doubt it is considering Kamenev is more likely to kill someone if given half a chance than League seems to be. I could be wrong though."
Ronna chuckled and shook her head and waved a hand in dismissal when Theo said she wasn't that boring only slightly and then invited her outside because it was warmer inside and the air condition wasn't working. "I thought my hair was getting curlier," She joked about the heat and said, "Outside is fine and it'll be interesting to meet Patrice and Eva. I forget if you got to meet Carl or not." Stretching she led the way back outside and added, "You know, it is unfortunate but I think I'm losing my boring label. I blame it all on Toby. But I'm sure Gypsy and Jer have something to do with that nonsense too. Gypsy more than Jer."
She turned once on the patio and said, "So what about you? What is your big plans after graduation-I mean that's the year after next. Are you still thinking of just doing dueling or something more? There's plenty of jobs with law enforcement such as being a Hit Wizard that can be pretty exciting and dueling would come in handy-or, more accurately, knowing a good variety of dueling spells. I doubt someone being hunted down by a Hit Wizard would be the type to go 'oh a proper duel using proper rules, sure... sounds great'. Criminals rarely play fair. There's other things too of course. I was just throwing out an example at random," She said with a smile. "Besides, I have trouble picturing you as the type to be the best at following orders like that department would require."
 
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Posted: Fri Jan 09, 2015 2:38 am
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxTheo GibbsxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxGryffindor Sixth Year"Some are born great, some achieve greatness..." Theo listened to her, taking in what the girl saying. "Wait, wait, wait...she praised Kamenev? Like...Dmitri Kamenev? That's horrible. I swear that kid makes me seem like a saint," he said, exaggerating a bit, but it was somewhat true. The dude was not really known around Hogwarts as the kindest of men. He had gotten into a fist fight with another student at a Quidditch game for what seemed to be no reason really. "Okay...yeah, now I realize why you all fought it honestly. One, the fact that a professor even said she was getting bullied is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard honestly. Like c'mon." He thought about it some more for the briefest of moments, shaking his head and chuckling. It sounded like the most ridiculous story and the worst part is, he could imagine the woman saying everything that Ronna said. It wasn't that he thought Ronna was lying, but human nature usually caused people to over exaggerate a bit, but based on the very little interaction he has seen, he could imagine it. It only made him wonder how the woman even became a professor, but he wouldn't question whoever was in charge of that, for maybe they knew something he didn't.
When Ronna spoke about Gypsy's reaction to League becoming a prefect, all he could do was nod his head along with it, completely understanding why the girl had grew so horrified. "Ronna...the kids an extremely intelligent kid, but he has no limits in respect to how he treats people. He will insult you should you say anything that is partially wrong. It could be the littlest thing and he will come at your very being for it. I know in Transfiguration, I adapted the Formula to vanishment and misnamed one variable and he tried to embarrass me for it. I can definitely say I have never met someone that is considerably more confident in themselves than I am...until I came to Hogwarts and met that kid," he admitted, shrugging his shoulders. Theo tried to avoid the kid as much as possible, but David was Leo's boyfriend of course and Theo was somewhat close to Leo. Or at least, he definitely considered the girl a friend. "I personally do not care what he says to me, but he pisses other people off. Kind of like me in that respect." He gave a chuckle as he thought about it. So many people didn't like Theo...but the best part was, they were people that never have even spoke a word to him; so truthfully, it was something he never understood...and probably never will. "But no, it is not nearly as terrible as Kamenev getting it. I would assume David has limitations in other parts of his life where Kamenev, I suspect, does not. And quite frankly, I feel that it would be more horrific if I had been chosen to be prefect than David. So no, I do believe maybe being that horrified is an over exaggeration, however, it is somewhat justified." He shrugged his shoulders and then moved on from the conversation, not knowing what else to say. He made arguments for both sides, making sure she knew that there were reasons he was chosen, and why at times he shouldn't have been. It really depended on how the chooser looked at it.
Theo then chuckled as the girl joked about her hair, glad to hear that she was okay with outside. Theo loved the outdoors; so going outside was always something he looked forward to...especially when there was someone with him. "I did meet the man. Remember, he came in late or something," he assured her, nodding his head as he replayed the memory in his head to make sure he was remembering it correctly. "And it is good that you are losing that label Ronna. You are more interesting that you give yourself credit for. Or you could be..."
As they finally made it to the patio, he was slightly taken aback by her suddenly turning and asking him a question to which the answer he was unsure. Before he answered, he took a seat in one of the patio chairs, his head propped up by his arm, which leaned against his thigh. He then took a minute or so to think about the answer. "I don't know Ronna. I truly do not know. You've been rubbin' off on me lately. I've began to see Professionally dueling less and less...practical. But the problem is...yes...I do have a problem with authority at times. I do my own thing...a lot. It almost makes me want to do something where I am my own boss. Start a business. Do something. I have no idea," he said to her, running his hand through his hair, nervousness setting in. He had no idea what he wanted to do with his future. "And some have greatness thrust upon them"
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Posted: Sat Jan 10, 2015 6:50 am
"Theo, you don't know Kamenev like I do. You are a saint compared to that arse, and that is far kinder of a thing I can say about him than he even deserves," Ronna said. "I may be slightly partial to the matter considering I'm probably one of the people the Russian hates the most. It's debatable considering there's Jer. But, when it comes to me, I'm the epitome of the worst kind of mudblood. I am stubborn, way too outspoken, have damn good grades to back up myself, and obviously don't care one bit about the nonsense of blood purity and what not and have no special respect towards some rich pureblood compared to some street-rat mudblood such as myself. Well, technically I always held far more respect towards Jer than the Russian, so I guess I do have my preferences." She shrugged with a chuckle.
"I think the thing that bothered me the most was the fact she treated us like things of her amusement. That is what made me walk out in the end, but then again I have a low bullshit tolerance and an even lower tolerance for a misuse of one's authority like she was when she decided to try to use her position as a professor to screw around with us," Ronna said not bothering to censor her speech a bit. Obviously, she was still slightly irritated about the whole matter. Of course Ronna tended to hold grudges indefinitely.
As the conversation turned to David League Ronna nodded as she listened to Theo's explanation and smiled and started out half jokingly, "Well to be fair to Mr. League, one variable being misnamed makes the entire thing wrong in Transfiguration and you completely fail at whatever you were trying. Of course, I think Gypsy barely understands the Transfiguration equation and only learned it for her OWLs, and she's one of the best in our year in it. Then again, maybe it just comes more natural to her. Like I am better at charms or potions, I suppose. Though, the equation is why I am as good at Transfiguration as I am. I mean the math of it makes the magic just fall into place." She laughed and shook her head at herself and said, "But the League kid can't be all that smart if he's constantly making enemies of everyone unless that was really his aim. And I have trouble thinking people actually actively seek enemies no matter who they are."
"Ah, yeah, I guess it was a rather uneventful meeting," Ronna said of Theo and Carl meeting and then she turned around on the patio to face him when he talked about her label as boring and she raised her brow and said, "Is it that I am more interesting than I give myself credit for or I merely could be? I hardly see what is so interesting about me. I'm an open book and way too predictable and transparent to ever be interesting." She waved a hand and sat down in one of the other patio chairs as the conversation grew more serious no thanks to her prompting about Theo's future.
When Theo finally finished and seemed nervous about not having any idea Ronna smiled and said, "The problem with starting your own business is you need money to do that. Are your current guardians going to do that for you? And technically they could cut you off when you turn seventeen if they really wanted to. Since wizards become adults at 17, by the way, that does not mean your 17th birthday is an excuse to get completely drunk even if you can then legally drink. But, honestly, you act like they want nothing to do with you but look at this-" she waved her hand at the overgrown tree house and then to more of the grounds, "I'm sorry but I have trouble seeing you so much as the neglected child. I mean my Mum, she makes plenty, but Dad never saw a penny after she left. And, she's not going to pay Carl anything. Not that Carl would argue she should, he feels he owes Dad or was madly in love with the guy or something- I don't know... still, that's not the point. What you have is far more than they would ever have to do for show. So, is it they who want to cut you off or don't care a lick for you or is it you out of pride and petty resentment who want to cut ties so badly?"
She shook her head, "Sorry, it sounds hypocritical of me to talk about petty resentment. I'm horrid at holding grudges but that isn't a good thing. And, I think every Gryffindor in existence has some issues with authorities here or there. The point is to pick your battles for what is important. Just because you aren't the best at following orders doesn't mean there aren't plenty of career options for you. And you could become a craftsman if you have the finances to set yourself up. Or you could apprentice under someone first. There's a lot of options out there." She smiled, "It isn't like everyone has their entire lives mapped out at 16. It actually is kind of weird to actually have that be the case and will probably mean you are really disappointed a lot in your future."
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Posted: Sun Jan 11, 2015 12:25 pm
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxTheo GibbsxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxGryffindor Sixth Year"Some are born great, some achieve greatness..." Nodding his head to her, he took note of everything the girl said, getting the fact that Kamenev must've been a blood supremacist out of it. The way the girl had spoke the term mudblood practically said it all to him. And even later, she made the comment about not caring about blood purity; so naturally, he figured that that must've been a stab at the kid. "Blood supremacy might be the dumbest idea out there. I've seen kids who were muggle-born, half-blood, any blood other than pureblood for that matter perform better than those who were pure of blood. Look at you actually. You've performed rather well over the years and you are muggle-born. I never judge based on that...I judge based on merit," he commented, shrugging his shoulder. Theo himself was not sure what exactly he was. He believed he had a wizard parent, but he wasn't sure about the other. But then again, he didn't really care about his blood purity, because obviously his real parents didn't want him; so why even care about it?
Moving on from that conversation, Ronna had talked about her time with that professor and explained why it bothered her. And it was an understandable one that he really had nothing to say about; so he had just nodded along, making sure she knew he understood, but just wasn't saying much more on the subject. Well...he had nothing to add that wasn't already mentioned. He himself didn't say much to the teacher during their years class, for he didn't care about the professor at all. Their hasn't been many poorer professors than that professor to him.
As Theo thought about it, he recalled something. "Wait...no, I didn't name a variable wrong. I just didn't know one. Then he tried to embarrass me for not knowing it," he said, shaking his head as he thought about it. It really was uncalled for, which prompted him to argue it. "And besides...I see no point in an equation that should be assumed. I don't even think about the equation when I do it and do just that...I do it. I'd even go as far to say that it was easy. Sure, not caring about the theoretical side can't get through History of Magic, but I certainly can do it with anything that I use my wand in." He shook his head as he thought about it. Him and Gypsy were definitely alike when it came to not really knowing that equation but being pretty good at Transfiguration. Finally, nodding his head to what Ronna had said as her conclusion about the kid, stating that it wasn't smart of actively seek enemies, Theo was left with yet again nothing to say.
Theo nodded his head at the meeting with Carl, paying more attention to the second statement by Ronna, who presented him with a question to which he was unsure. "I'm not sure Ronna, but I do believe you are interesting in your own right," he said to her, shrugging his shoulders and looking around his yard, to which actually looked really nice that time of the year. Grass was as green as could be and the bushes trimmed to perfection...thanks to the landscapers that his adopted guardians were constantly hiring.
Theo shook his head as Ronna spoke, not wanting to take money from everyone. "I don't plan on taking any money from them. I only will acquire their help to buy an apartment when I'm out of school...that's it. Maybe I'll ask Belle if I could go work for her for a little while. Until I can figure things out. Oh wait...Belle is Annabelle, the dueling range owner. Sorry...didn't know if you knew or not," he commented, shrugging his shoulders. He would certainly ask Belle about it the next time he saw her. He then moved to Ronna's idea about being a neglected child, seeing that she didn't understand how he felt like a neglected child. "It isn't the fact that I don't get a lot. Ronna...I can't connect with them like I used to. Some muggles take the whole 'I am a wizard' thing well. My guardians didn't. I mean: why should they? Eva took it a lot better than Patrice even. I will say that Eva is very motherly and I'm not just going to cut times from run from them because of her solely. She still didn't take it well though. Patrice, I don't even want to talk about. I feel as if I was a business venture really. I was good at football and he seized the opportunity to get the money for it. The fact is Ronna...maybe I was wrong to say my adopted guardians don't care about me, because one does. But I still feel out of place here," he admitted, shrugging his shoulders and looking to the ground. He had nothing else to say really. So, he just took a drink of the water and returned back to his original position on the chair. "And some have greatness thrust upon them"
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Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2015 5:02 am
Ronna let out a short laugh when Theo said blood supremacy was one of the dumbest ideas out there. "It's like racism or say how the Protestants and Catholics fight over in Ireland. It is human nature: people like to feel better than someone. Sometimes the reasons suck and sometimes it is fluffed up to look nice, but people like to think they are better than someone for some reason," She said with a half smile before looking away and back to the grounds and the rolling too-perfect green grass. She hadn't really seen long stretches of lawn-or really any lawns besides at parks or a quidditch field in a while. It felt sort of odd.
She looked back at Theo when he mentioned it was actually he didn't know a variable and how David tried to embarrass Theo about it. Though, embarrassing any Gryffindor tended to be difficult, and as for someone with the ego as Theo had, probably near impossible. Then again Ronna had said the guy didn't seem that smart or at least not when it came to people. All she had to do is hope she didn't get headgirl and be stuck keeping some tabs on the guy since he was a prefect. When Theo said she was interesting in her own right she let out a short laugh, "I seriously doubt interesting is one of the descriptions used for me. Of course it is kind of hard to see yourself as others do, right?"
She smiled and then when Theo began on his plans and his family, the smile turned to a small scowl as she listened. Leaning against a railing, crossing her arms and tapping her fingers on her arm as she listened. Finally when he fell silent Ronna said, "Patrice is the worse businessmen ever if he thought to monetarily profit form you playing football of all things. Even if you did get paid for playing-which is a job- before you turned 18, he couldn't really do much with the money. Child protection laws do exist for that. And, furthermore, financially, children are a s**t venture and you are pretty much guaranteed to go in the red money wise more than the green. Kids are expensive."
"Carl got saddled with the whole his best friend dying, getting stuck with his teenage daughter, and then finding out I was a witch in like a span of three days. Oh, and having to deal with the woman he hates the most and all the legal matters of my Dad dying-since he was Dad's and he is still my lawyer. You know what weirds him out about the whole thing the most and was the hardest to handle: the witch thing," Ronna said, clearly annoyed. "And Carl deals with weird well. I mean Hell-and mind you Toby will kill you if he knows you know this-he's walked in on Toby and I snogging and was all 'take it your room, Ronnie' on me. Carl is unnaturally calm about things and still didn't take the whole witch thing the best."
She shook her head, "As for feeling out of place, how the Hell do you think I feel all the time? I've never exactly been that traditionally pretty girl and I'm too tall and awkward in my own way, nevermind being a muggleborn witch, and before that when I was little I was constantly the subject of gossip-or Dad was-because its really bizarre for some mother to just bail on her own child and husband and divorce him via post... and you are sixteen, Theo. Teenagers feel out of place all the time, no matter if they have someone always around or not. It's what teenagers do. We've got angst." She rolled her eyes and spread her hands out in a rainbow like arc as she said her last statement almost as if she was explaining some dramatic story.
She let out a sigh and said, "Anyways, I plan to move out of Carl's flat after I graduate next year. When I turn 18 I get access to the money from the house in Hawkinge that was sold after Dad died. And I get a decent sum of life insurance... if you feel so out of place you can accept a loan from me. I can calculate the interest. Move into somewhere cheap-mind you flats where something horrific like a murder or someone dying is way cheaper-and get something small and after you get a job after you graduate you can start paying me back. I'd let you crash on my couch next summer, but I'm sorry, not happening. I'll be getting a one bedroom and I sure as Hell don't want you on my couch-and I know if I end up getting a roommate, yeah you crashing on the couch definitely isn't happening."
She shook her head and said, "But apartments are expensive, especially in London if you chose to stay there. That's where I'll be living, but still. You say you don't want to take their money, well don't. When you turn 17 you are a legal adult in the wizarding world. That's before you would graduate..." She shrugs. "Of course, just because I'd give you a loan, doesn't mean I won't charge you fair interest and won't think you're being ridiculously immature about the whole thing. I mean, seriously, Theo... you feel 'out of place', I bet even if you talked to the pureblood wizards in your class half of them would say they feel 'out of place'."
She let out a tsk and sat down and then sighed, "Sorry, I'm lecturing. I just know you aren't exactly one to talk about things... I have trouble seeing if you ever bothered to even bring up the matter to Patrice and Eva. I mean, have you ever tried? You do have a habit of isolating yourself from people, even at school."
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Posted: Wed Jan 14, 2015 5:21 am
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxTheo GibbsxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxGryffindor Sixth Year"Some are born great, some achieve greatness..." Theo kept quiet for a bit, letting her talk about the Wizard's form of racism and still doubting that she was interesting at the slightest. He really had no further to say about these, but just occasionally nodded to what she had to say, understanding everything the girl had said to him, just choosing not to really say much else about it. He felt bad for the girl really...not because there were people like that, but because such a wizard of pretty good skill had to be subject to hearing the word's 'Mudblood'. Theo, on the other hand, had no idea what he was; so really, he couldn't say if he was a pureblood...a half-blood. He did believe that his father was a wizard however, due to the fact that he one time received a letter from him back during his second year or something. Although, that thing could've been someone messing with him and he could be a muggle born for all he knew.
He then gave her a funny look as she called the man the worst businessman for profiting from a football wonderkid, like Theo was at his best. "Well...honestly Ronna, I was supposedly one of the best young players in the world in its entirety. They called me a 'wonderkid' for a reason. And really, football players nowadays make enormous sums of money. So, it was actually a great business venture. And truthfully, I was closer to them before; so naturally, I would have bought them whatever they wanted," he said to Ronna truthfully, shrugging his shoulder and following his eyes moving to the lawn again, a small smile on his face. He really had never talked much about this with anyone but Ronna, nor did he want to tell anyone else. Ronna is the only one who would even consider what he was saying, let alone answering in her own way.
"Yes, I understand that. But the problem is, my escape from it, which most teenagers have at their disposal, isn't anywhere near me. The only place where I have ever felt truly in place was the range or the pitch. That's why I wanted to be a professional dueler to begin with Ronna," he said to her, chuckling at her little display with her hands, giving it a really over dramatization of it all. It might have not been an exaggeration, but it was still pretty funny to watch.
He instantly shook his head at the idea that Ronna came up with, not wanting to do that at all. "No, that's fine. I'll figure it out. I've got two years to figure out what I'm doing," he said to her, shrugging his shoulders to continue. "Aw...are you serious? You wouldn't want to let me live with you." He said it so sarcastically that it seemed her knew the very reason why the two shouldn't live together. He could imagine the amount of random arguments both of their stubborn minds would come up with. And he'd imagine her and toby having nights together...to which he didn't want to hear about...let alone actually hear something like that. So, it really would not be a great idea to live in the same place.
"I'll probably see what kind of connections Eva has with the real estate agents around London. Guarantee she can at least get something for cheap. Well...cheaper than the asking price. I would ask Patrice, but like I've said before, I like Eva a lot better," he said, reiterating what he said to her about ten minutes ago, sitting back in his chairs and kicking his feet up on a footstool. He was hoping to at least get some kind of tan before he went back.
Upon hearing her question, he shook his head. "No I haven't. Nor do I plan to. I don't plan on burdening Eva with my problems. And Patrice...just no," he said to her, shaking his head as he thought about it. "And I know I isolate myself. I mean...the more I isolate myself...the less people there are to know anything about me. The less people that know anything about me...the less people that can stab me in the back," he said, finally revealing exactly why he acted the way he did. The kid was a Gryffindor through and through. He was brave...stubborn...a leader when he truly wanted to be...but he was a Gryffindor with major trust issues stemming from being abandoned fifteen years ago. "And some have greatness thrust upon them"
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Posted: Wed Jan 14, 2015 10:03 am
She let out a sigh as Theo argued about football and the sums of money they made and that it was a good business venture. Pulling out a scrap of paper and a pen from her bag she scribbled down various numbers on either side of the paper and then the odds of return and return numbers all in pounds and held it out to Theo, "On one side, is assuming you did make it and become one of the top paid sports stars in Europe and how much Patrice would likely get a return from when calculating in personality and what not and legality of not making it look like pure exploitation which would be costly legally. The other side is the amount of returns you could make off betting on various teams. Both have odds of the best return with both of them. You could make more as a gambler on football than investing in a kid who is a 'wonderkid' that hits the jackpot in the sport."
She shook her head and added, "I could add the arithmancy to that and make it even more accurate-magical math... but..." She shook her head, "You know me. You should at least be able to trust my math. Which, mind you, is in many ways looked at as a useless skill in the magical world just as much as being good at football. I suppose I did get given something decent from the harpy-I got her math skills. Not that Dad was stupid, it was one of the reasons Mum walked out. She was annoyed Dad didn't want to pursue greater ambitions than just being some bobby. I guess if she got her way Dad would probably still be alive though."
She glanced away, her eyes cold as she still held the paper out to Theo and she listened as Theo began about where he could escape his problems and only felt in place at the range or pitch. Glancing back she said with half a smile, "Oh? Theo, why do you think I'm here? Do you really feel in place only there. I doubt it. You always are pretty at ease with me. And Leo. Actually, I would be sort of careful on that whole thing considering Leo is dating that David guy and if he's as big of an arse as most people say..." She shook her head as she trailed off and let out a sigh, sitting down again.
"Anyways, Theo, I love you, you're my adopted little brother-Hell, I'm a million times closer to you like a brother than my two half brothers-but I can't see anyway in Hell you'd make it worth my while to put you up in my place for anytime more than a couple nights," Ronna laughed. "But, sure, when I move out on my own go ahead and ask Toby if he's cool with you crashing for a couple nights. I'm not getting involved in that one. But I can tell you now from quidditch the guy isn't exactly a pushover. Jerk has given me enough bruises and a broken bone at least from practices and what not. Granted I did break his ankle the year before last in try-outs, partially because I wasn't going to pull any of my hits towards him that year at all."
She shrugged, "I was annoyed. What can I say? A few broken bones is normal in quidditch after all. At least for beaters." She sighed as the conversation went on to Theo's parents-well adopted parents. When Theo admitted to not talking to either about feeling out of place and then about his reasons for isolating himself Ronna let out an exasperated sigh.
"Well if you aren't willing to talk about it with them you can't exactly complain about them not getting how out of place you feel. I don't talk about my problems with other people, but you don't see me complaining about those people not getting it. Some people would rather deal with things on their own, others not so much. Maybe you aren't as much of a lone wolf or whatever at heart like you think you are," She said. "And even I don't isolate myself from people. I don't show my weak side to people, not really, because I can't afford to be weak and I always wanted to be that heroine that saves the day with pretty hair and awesome heels and costume-and those women aren't weak- but I do know that while isolating yourself completely may free you from worrying about Brutuses stabbing you in the back it means you only have yourself to watch your back."
"There are people who'll stab you in the back who never even would pretend to be close to you, they don't need to," She said, leaning forward in the chair she was sitting. "Theo you are too old for this. You need to get your s**t together. If you are going to isolate yourself you've got to be aware of the consequences. Most people, and especially you, can't be an island. If you look you can find people are there to hold out a hand to help you, but you are building walls, but they are getting too tall and are unstable. When they come crashing down they may very well destroy you before anyone who would half want to pull you from the rubble could save you."
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Posted: Thu Jan 15, 2015 11:12 pm
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxTheo GibbsxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxGryffindor Sixth Year"Some are born great, some achieve greatness..." He watched as the girl scribbled down something on the paper she had in front of her, wondering what it was she was writing down exactly, but was instantly answered as she showed him. He looked at the numbers, shaking his head as his eyes traveled along the page. "The difference between the gambling is the fact that one has to know who they are gambling with. Certain places have their limits on the bets that could be set. Yes you could make more, but really, you could only make an exceedingly better amount unless you somehow bet on longshots and get them right every time. Say I was watching a Champion's League quarterfinal and it was say...Paris St. Germaine and a dark-horse team FC Shaktar. No one in their right mind would go for Shaktar in that matchup. So the more people bet on Paris St. Germaine, the less the payout. I'm sure you know all of this, but that alone would decrease your winnings by a considerable amount. So, unless you somehow predict a world upset and you are within a pool of high-stake rollers, you aren't going to make major, major money. Where say me for example. Yes, say you pay two million for me over my lifetime. By mid career...if I followed the path that I was expected to go on, I could have been making two-hundred thousand to three hundred thousand Euros per week. I would easily be able to triple what they gave to me. So yes, you could per say make more gambling, but you'd have to be betting on huge upsets and in high-stakes, you make one mistake, it is all over," he commented, knowing that she probably knew about it already, but he had done a few numbers in his head as well. He may not have taken arithmancy, but he was decent at math. Not enough to go into percentiles and what not, but good enough to know numbers.
"I'm actually not too sure why I never took Arithmancy. I actu
ally thoroughly enjoyed math as a kid. Hated history though...kind of like now," he admitted to her, chuckling as he thought about it. He hated anything that had to do with history back when he was in muggle school. That really just translated into the wizard world.
Looking at her as she began to talk about why she was there, to which he gave a small smile to her because all of it was true. He did feel better when he was her and Leo...but especially her. He knew that she had an understanding of his situation because she herself didn't have her parents just like he did...the only true difference was that she knew who her parents were. "I know Ronna. I do feel at ease with you. I honestly thought you took that as a given," he said, chuckling, before listening to her start to say some sentimental stuff to which made him smile slightly yet again. He was really surprised to hear the words "I love you" quite honestly. He hasn't heard it from anyone except Eva before actually. It made him feel a bit awkward to say the least. He lacked the right words to say. So he stayed quiet and nodded.
He let the conversation move, still a little lost on his words. He had no idea how to respond to the notion truthfully. He knew he should say it back, but quite frankly, he didn't really know how to. So, he just moved on through the conversation, answering what she had said next...after the silence. "I don't know Ronna. I'm a bit of a lonewolf to be honest. I'm not going to lie to myself and say I'm not. There is you and Leo...maybe that Rory girl in our house is okay, but there is no one outside of that really," he admitted to her, shaking his head as he thought about it.
"And some have greatness thrust upon them"
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Posted: Fri Jan 16, 2015 4:59 am
"The thing is Theo, you would make that maybe later in a football career but you are no way obliged to ever pay back anything to your former guardians-or they would be at that point. With betting, there's more of a guarantee. Besides, a great deal of things can be figured out-even surprising upsets-with enough patience and calculations," Ronna replied shaking her head, "Besides one in the hand is worth two in the bush. You could have got hurt early on too... plenty of things could have happened so you'd have been useless as a player and that some stupid football career would never materialize." She paused and said, "Sorry, I shouldn't call that stupid, but..." She trailed off shaking her head and glancing away.
"Arithmancy is a lot of homework and book work at that. I have trouble seeing you want to sit still long enough to put the time in," Ronna said with a smile. "You were more interested in being some awesome dueler or what not. Spending hours crunching numbers isn't exactly the best way to spend your time to do that. Maths are my strength-I was way ahead of all my peers before Hogwarts and probably could take Muggle A level exams in maths and still do decent enough-and I still was putting a few hours of homework a week in. And I can do arithmancy in my sleep. Hell, when I'm playing quidditch, up there as a beater I'm constantly calculating odds and trajectories and what not. It is awful and horrifically nerdy of me."
She smiled and crossed her legs under her as Theo said he felt at ease with her and thought it was a given and then went on to claim he was a lone wolf and listed out the few people who stuck around him. "You do a pretty shitty job of being a lone to be a decent lone wolf, though," Ronna said. "I mean if you were seriously going to try to 'drink away your sorrows'-and if you claim that was what you were doing at the Yule Ball I swear I will beat you to a bloody pulp here and now and make it look like an accident-it would have been smarter to have not gone to the Yule Ball. Drink solo, right? But you came down to the Yule Ball even though you claim to be a lone wolf. And by doing so you risked getting caught. Hell, if you would have just smuggled the bottle to the library or something during the ball no one probably would have been the wiser."
She unfolded her legs and stood up and stopped in front of Theo who was sitting, crossing her arms and looking down at him, "Your problem is that you think you know who you are but you don't. Honestly, I think you are afraid to look in the mirror and recognize what your weaknesses are. For example, look at Batman, the guy is like one of the biggest lone-wolfs in the comic book universe, and even he picks up sidekicks and he always has had Alfred with him, and the list of women he's shagged is astronomical but Bruce Wayne puffs himself up as this mysterious lone wolf type guy. But, if you think about it he isn't. He needs people to survive and seeks them out. You are the same way," Ronna said, "Well minus the awesomeness of being Batman and shagging so many women you probably should be tested or neutered or both."
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Posted: Sat Jan 17, 2015 2:45 am
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxTheo GibbsxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxGryffindor Sixth Year"Some are born great, some achieve greatness..." "I would have at least gave them double of what they paid for me. I would've been thankful for getting away from that hell-hole orphanage that I was stuck in. Of course, I don't remember much about it because I was five years old, but I do remember they were terrible days," he said to her, assuring her that he would actually have given his adopted family money for it, knowing that they didn't have to put him through all those camps and whatnot, but they had. "But who cares if I got hurt...I am a wizard. I can fix any of those minor injuries when I had gotten home from a game. As long as I didn't go breaking my leg in two or back...I think I would have been fine in that department." It was one of the reasons he took healing in the first place. It was so he could eradicate those small scale injuries without having to worry about the lengthy process to get back to health by sticking it out.
As the girl moved to Arithmancy, he nodded his head along with her. "Yeah, I probably wouldn't like the Homework," he instantly agreed, hating that homework was even a thing, but he wouldn't get into that argument with Ronna...due to the fact that he figured she would take the other side so they would have something to talk about. "I do remember though in Muggle School, I wasn't overly skilled, but I was much better in math than most other subjects. Of course, I was eleven and the math learned wasn't too hard." He chuckled as he said this, finishing off the water bottle that he had gotten out of his fridge some time before that.
Theo chuckled as the girl moved back to his drinking episode at the ball. "I basically said that to Harlowe, but that was a complete lie. No, I did it to have a good time. Was a little stressed...that's really it. And it wasn't a bottle...it was a flask...and a small one at that. I would've been fine had not been for that other chick making it a group effort," he commented, shaking his head and sitting back just to see what the girl would say. He was sure she was going to call him stupid or something. Maybe say he would've been caught anyway. But like he had said, it was a small, easily concealable flask. Also had it not been for prefect of the year Ravenclaw guy, they would've been alright.
He listened to the next part of what she said, and he was the slightest confused by it. "What do you mean, I don't know who I am? I know who I am. And I know my weaknesses...I just make sure that no one else knows the worst of them. I'd rather be known as the arrogant kid than the kid who has major abandonment and trust issues like I do. No one needs to know about me. I am not some outstanding individual," he said to her, shrugging his shoulders as he thought about it. He knew his weaknesses, but his whole life he made sure to cover the worst of them by amplifying a more superficial weakness, such as arrogance. It was a weird tactic to say the least, but it worked for him.
"And some have greatness thrust upon them"
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Posted: Sat Jan 17, 2015 6:39 pm
Ronna let out a sigh and glanced at Theo and said dryly as she stared steadily at her junior classmate, "There was no guarantee you would have paid them back at all though. Gambling on human feelings are risky. You should know that having those 'trust-issues' that you do."
"Also," Ronna added, "the fact that you would be stupid enough to use magic to heal injuries when you got back from a game is exactly why wizards and witches aren't allowed to play muggle sports with muggles-at least not professionally."
"And, you aren't the only orphan out there. I could count at least a couple who'd rather put up with your 'plight' of being here and 'not understood' than where they were or stayed for much longer than you ever did. And, they sure as Hell wouldn't be here bitching about the situation you have. It might mean more to them if you actually stopped complaining about your adoptive parents and actually feel thankful towards them-regardless of what their motives may or may not have been or be- instead of just trying to shove money at them," Ronna added. "Of course, maybe they are really secretly abusive or neglectful of you... Hell, I haven't met them, yet."
Shaking her head she unbraided her messy fishtail braid her curls was already trying to escape from and said, "Oh, I think they had me looking at a few pre-calc stuff when I was that age, but they had some correspondence teacher come in once or twice a week. I guess it is kind of like there was someone who would come in regularly to teach French to those who were interested. I just wasn't that great at French and didn't have much interest." She sighed combing out her hair with her fingers as she listened to Theo as he spoke about the Yule Ball. She thought about saying something, but decided to just settle for a raised brow at him and a pretty judgmental look that showed she was very unimpressed with his reasons or justification of being caught. He was just lucky she wasn't the one who caught him-though, maybe she was too. She probably would have decked the kid which would not have looked good considering she was prefect.
"Theo..." Ronna said, turning and leaning back against the railing, putting a foot up against one of the bars holding up the main rail, "Who do you think you are talking to? I have my own trust issues and abandonment issues, too. My own mother ditched me because it was inconvenient for her. Well, me and my Dad. My younger half brother is less than three years younger than me. I was one when she left-you do the math on how quick that happened. The thing is, I had Dad. And his friends. They are like those crazy uncles you always wonder about but they have always been on my side. Even Carl is and he knows about the witch thing-he just avoids the witch subject as much as possible. But, can't the same be said for you? Look at you, Theo. At five someone did take you in. And they don't like the whole magic thing-well a lot of muggleborn kids have to deal with that. I'm not going to say get over it-that's not practical advice-and people don't just get over stuff, but damn Robin Theo Gibbs, you are almost a legal adult-as a wizard and in the muggle world. And you basically run your own ship for however long..." She waved a hand at his personal treehouse, "Toughen up, and if you are weak, well fake it and fake it properly. Don't be an arse and act like a man who can stand on your own. Look at what you have and be thankful for that."
"Theo, I have a low bullshit tolerance, you know that," Ronna laughed, "but I put up with you. It's because I every now and then see that weakness in you and want to protect you, because being the Knight that saves people is how I deal with my own insecurities and form my own identity... I prefer you being insecure and admitting to your issues-and the list is long just like anyone's-than to act like some over-entitled-whiny kid." She smiled a bit and said, "Look, you can count on me. After all, I'm loyal to a fault. I like to totally blame Victor for rubbing his Hufflepuff-ness onto me."
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Posted: Thu Jan 22, 2015 10:38 am
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxTheo GibbsxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxGryffindor Sixth Year"Some are born great, some achieve greatness..." He just nodded at her as she said there was no guarantee that he would have paid them at all. But knowing him back when he was eleven and playing the game, he knew that he would, but the point of arguing that was miniscule, because the girl did make a point when it came to it...a valid point. So, he dropped it right then and there; that is, until they got onto the subject of injuries to which he shrugged his shoulders. "Let's be serious...I wouldn't heal major, major injuries. I'd just play through the smaller ones and act as if I wasn't hurt and just sore. The major ones I would have had to serve the time just like anyone else, but those muscle strains and whatnot, I would have been fine. Just call on a sub and deal with it later," he admitted to her, shrugging his shoulders again. It wasn't actually that bad of a plan to say the least. Of course, it would never be played out because of the statute of secrecy, but he figured he might as well think about it because he had nothing better to think about at that point.
He listened and nodded in agreement, not saying a word more on it, knowing that there were other orphans out there that maybe had it worse. But at least he had his adoptive mother, who was much more pleasurable than Patrice was.
As the conversation started to move toward her math background, he found it interesting that she was to learn pre-calc at such a young grade. Usually the math would've been learned a few years after that age. Indeed, she was accelerated...accelerated by about 3-4 years. "That's quite impressive actually Ronna. Pre-calc at that age I'd imagine would be impossible to understand by the average," he commented, nodding his head to it. It was indeed one of the more impressive things that he heard her tell him.
He then listened and pondered what the girl had said next. But he instantly noted to himself that she was just restating the reason why they understood each other. "Ronna, I know we have extremely identical situations," he commented before shutting up again. He did consider what the girl had told him, his eyes staying focused on her the whole time. He might as well give her his undivided attention since she was trying to give him advice.
"Wait...how am I acting like an over-entitled kid? Seriously though...I don't understand that argument. I'd like to think of myself as a generally calm individual most of the time. Hardly even talk much anymore. Only when someone tries to speak for me is when I get angry," he admitted, not understanding how he was acting over-entitled at all. Arrogant at times...yes, he would say he did act at times, but over-entitled? "And some have greatness thrust upon them"
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Posted: Thu Jan 22, 2015 3:23 pm
Ronna raised a brow when Theo argued how he wouldn't heal major injuries but just heal minor ones. She sighed and said, "So you would be a dirty cheat then. You know the argument for wizards not playing muggle sports isn't just about the Statute of Secrecy, which at least you have enough sense to abide by-not that I doubted that much of you, ever-, but it is also about fairness. You'd get a leg up that muggle players wouldn't if you healed anything."
She turned around and said, "I do boxing over the summers, but if I got injured at all, I'd have to keep that injury. And, quidditch..." She shrugged, "I'm weird for this, I know, but I actually don't bother with healing potions or going to the hospital wing most of the time for things like bruises. And, mind you, I've got some pretty nasty ones. There was this one on my thigh... it was there for like a month. And that was during school and I could have gone to the hospital wing or got it healed but I didn't. Granted, it just was a bit sore, but still... the thing is you would be cheating if you healed anything you got in a muggle sport if you are playing against muggles, no matter how minor the injury was. I would have liked to think you have a bit more honor than that, but..."
She sighed trailing off and shaking her head and listened as Theo marveled at her mathmatics skill or talent. She hadn't really talked much about where she had been in muggle maths because it wasn't all that useful for most of her classes or anything. Well, she used physics and statistics some in quidditch, but the only one else she had ever heard think of the position of beater in any way mathematical was Xavier. But Xavier was a Ravenclaw and a very logical and grounded Ravenclaw at that generally. "People have learned that much at much younger ages, Theo," Ronna answered with a shrug. "Besides it sin't worth mentioning much. But, yeah, I had and have a knack for maths. It probably would have been fairly easy for me to get into a pretty impressive university studying maths. But, I'm a witch, and Hogwarts diplomas don't exactly work for Cal Tech, or Cambridge, or Harvard, or MIT, or Oxford, or anywhere else for that matter." She smiled, "Theo, you aren't the only one who has plans in their life change once they found out they were magical. Of course, that gift I have for math makes a cover story for me going to Hogwarts more believable. The story is I got an academic scholarship to some fancy all girls boarding school and focusing on studying maths."
She began to tap her finger quietly on the railing she was leaning against and took a long deep breath, and managed to keep her expression neutral as Theo was offended by her words and argued that he was calm and he hardly talked anymore. "Not talking is seen as sulking, Theo. Kids sulk. Not being able to hold your temper when people talk to you is seen as being angry and over emotional. Also something associated with a bratty kid. You complain about what you have lost in life a lot. It makes it sound like you aren't thankful at all for any of the good in your life-and you do have it. Everyone does, some far more than others. Being ungrateful sounding, especially, when right at this moment I can list at least a handful of people who have had horrid things in their life or far worse things happen for them than you who don't complain about their circumstances and do thank aloud the good they do have, is a trait of a bratty kid who is way over-entitled."
"Theo, I have a favor to ask you, and honestly it'll benefit you way more than me," She said. "I want you to actually listen and pay attention to what others say when they speak to you. Start being able to list at least one good thing about every person you meet, no matter how huge of an arsehat he or she may be. For example, Kamenev, he hates muggleborns and especially outspoken ones like Jer or me, but he does have enough sense to respect the talent we do have."
She smiled, "And you should know by now I bloody hate the Russian and yet still I do recognize his good traits... start doing that, at least for me, alright Theo? Start doing that... and Hell, there was the starts of like a group therapy club or whatever, maybe you should try to start one up. Might be hypocritical for me to say, but talking about things that bother you. Actually sitting down talking about them... and also listening to others, actually listening not just hearing and acknowledging something was said on a matter, it's pretty helpful to be honest."
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Posted: Fri Jan 23, 2015 2:03 pm
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxTheo GibbsxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxGryffindor Sixth Year"Some are born great, some achieve greatness..." Theo chuckled as she called him a dirty cheater, shrugging his shoulder and sitting back in his chair, a smug smile on his face. You call it cheating...I call it, finding the strategic advantage," he joked, looking at her for a few seconds before waving it off. "I'm kidding Ronna...although, not to sure if you believe I am kidding or not. Because apparently you don't think I'm too honorable." He kept a joking tone in his voice to so she knew he wasn't really taking it too seriously. Nor did he care that much about it. But the truth was, he probably would heal small injuries if he had them...just because he didn't want to deal with them in game. Of course, he never would have to then...speaking that he couldn't play, but hypothetically speaking, he would.
She then began to speak of her cover story, which was somewhat believable. Of course, if her mother ever up and decided to try to get back into the girl's life, then he had no idea what Ronna would even think of saying; although, he did very much doubt that Ronna would even let that happen at all. "Seems believable. Believable enough to ward off anybody suspecting more I guess," he commented, shrugging his shoulders and looking off in the distance. Not really saying a word in what she said next. He kept a brief hiatus until she asked a favor of him.
He took a few minutes to consider her favor, thinking whether or not it would have any personal gain from it, but the least thing he could do for her for dealing with him all these years. "For you, I'll do it...okay? It is the least I can do for you dealing with me with a level head all these years," he admitted to her, a small smile on his face as he said it, wondering if it would be as big of a help as she said it was. He personally couldn't see how it would help all that much, but maybe he'll be surprised by some kind of revelation while doing it. "And some have greatness thrust upon them"
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