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 Posted: Tue May 22, 2012 2:27 pm
Francis had been miserable all morning long. The pollen and dust that the other students had tramped in had his nose running and him sneezing like crazy. His mouth was all red and sore as well. It was definitely his allergies acting up again. He wished that he would outgrow them fast..instead of having to wait until he was in his twenties.
Apparently his dad had allergies when he was a kid as well and that's where he got them from. It was annoying how genetics could be your worst enemy in life.
At least he could look forward to being free of them..when he was in his 20s or perhaps when he was 18 like his grandfather.
Sure some allergies could be fixed with potions and healing herbs, but for Francis that wasn't a possibility. Unfortunately he had ever more severe allergies to the ingredients than to the flora and fauna that plagued him all the time. The first time they had attempted to use a herbal remedy he had puffed up so much in the face that he had looked like a chinese kid.
"Hey you there, no loitering around in the castle! It's a nice day you should be outside with the other kids." A teacher said pouncing on him and dragging him out of the corner of the great hall where he had been reading and rereading a page in one of his books.
"B-but I can't go out there." He protested, trying to slip out of the woman's grasp. "I have really bad allergies!" His speech was slurred and the words came out muddled because of his swollen and runny nose..but she didn't even notice.
"Oh nonsense..if you don't go out you're going to get pasty and sickly. Go out and get some fresh air, it will help! You shouldn't be wallowing in here with all the dust and dampness." The teacher, a slender but very strong woman retorted and shoved him out the side door. "And you'd better stay out there for at least an hour." She added firmly and dusted her hands off.
Francis almost immediately started sneezing like crazy. He glared angrily at the door and stomped down the stairs and onto the surrounding grounds of the school. Did the teacher actually think she was doing him a favor? The nerve of her! He shoved his book into his side bag and rummaged around for a spare handkerchief. He finally found one in the side pocket and drew it out and blew a long honking blow. Gods..his nose already felt like it was swelling up from the over exposure to the pollen that was wafting through the air.
"AUGH!" He cried, and felt a few hot tears run down his face. "Stinking bloody teacher. Why couldn't she mind her own business!"
Then he stopped and composed himself a bit. It wouldn't do any good to cry or scream about something he couldn't change. He'd just have to make the best of it. If only he had thought of bringing one of those scrub masks from his room..then perhaps he would have been able to stand the outdoors.
He was surprised to see how many other kids were around the grounds. His interest was piqued by one girl. She had short reddish hair and wore these strange arm coverings and leggings that matched. It almost gave the appearance of a full body tattoo. She was kicking a soccer ball back and forth looking around a bit sadly. Francis couldn't help but wonder why she was so sad.
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Posted: Tue May 22, 2012 2:51 pm
June was no stranger to odd looks and the occasional teasing- she'd gotten plenty of that when her and her family moved from the states to London. But here it was different, almost as though she were on an entirely different planet. She was suddenly in a world that didn't make sense to her, where things happened on a constant basis that her scientific brain couldn't explain. Even worse, she was on her own.
Some days she wanted to just go home, except every time she thought she was doomed to be a misfit forever, something would happen to make her feel like she just might make it in the wizarding world. But still, the feeling of being a sort of outcast was overwhelming at times.
She juggled her soccer ball around a bit, ignoring the odd looks she knew some of the students were giving her. At least she could pretend she didn't care that she stuck out.
A sudden sound from behind her caused her to lose her focus, and the ball rolled away into the grass a bit when she turned to find the source. She spotted Francis nearby, and nearly cringed when she realized the loud noise had simply been the boy blowing his nose.
When she noticed he was looking in her direction, she looked back down quickly, and resumed shuffling her ball back and forth once more.
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Posted: Mon May 28, 2012 1:06 pm
Francis adverted his gaze, somehow he got the distinct feeling that his looking at her had bothered her. Perhaps it was because everyone snickered and laughed about her behind her back, and sometimes right in her face. Kids were so cruel to outsiders; he remembered what it was like to be bullied in the public school he used to attend. He was grateful that so far he hadn't been subjected to any pranks or bullies at Hogwarts. He was still surprised he hadn't been targeted yet, seeing as he was a weak allergy ridden Gryffindor.
Francis found his feet were carrying him into her direction and reached down for his handkerchief when he felt another sneeze working its way out.
He tried to slow down, and stumbled over a root and went head over heels as the sneeze erupted out of his sore nose. He blinked and rubbed his head and then frowned when he saw where he had landed.
"Ah great." He muttered, and tried to pull himself out of the mud puddle he had landed in. Of all the places he had to fall into it had to be in mud.
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Posted: Mon Aug 27, 2012 9:49 pm
June heard the fall, and the subsequent mumble and looked back up to see the boy that had been looking at her the moment before. She let the ball roll away and jogged over to him, kneeling down at his side.
"Hey, you okay?" She glanced around, as if expecting to find a towel or something to wipe his face with nearby. Obviously not finding anything, June turned back to him, and offered a hand to help him up.
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Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2012 12:37 pm
Francis was a bit surprised to look up and find the girl he had been eyeing kneeling next to him with a concerned look on her face.
"Save for my pride, and my backside I'm perfectly fine." Francis murmured in response and watched her curiously as she looked around for something. Was she actually looking for something to clean him up with? A small smile crept onto his face.
"I don't think there are any towels around here." He quipped and then found another blasted sneeze working its way up.
"Ah- ah- AHCHOO!" he sneezed violently, turning his head at the last moment so it was directed into the mud puddle. "Fank you very Much." He replied his stuffed up nose causing his speech to be muddled.
He wiped his muddy hand off on a clean patch of his pants with a shudder and then reached out to take a hold of her offered hand.
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Posted: Fri Aug 31, 2012 1:43 pm
She pulled him to his feet and gave him a once over.
"Aren't there...you know, potions you can take for allergies like that? Seems like there's one for everything else. Or a spell or something."
A thoughtful look came over her face for a moment, as if she were pondering the possibilities.
"But anyways, don't worry. I don't think anyone else saw you fall. I'm June by the way."
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Posted: Fri Aug 31, 2012 6:15 pm
Francis was rather grateful for the hand up, as the mud puddle was slippery and he probably would have fallen down and gotten even more dirty if he had attempted it by himself. "Thanks for the help." He told her and shook his head to get the hair out of his eyes.
He nearly freaked when he felt mud sliding down into his shoes and his pants. He shuddered and examined his clothes. They were completely covered in mud. The whole backside of his pants were covered in mud, as was the back of his head. At least no one but she had seen him fall, that was a small kindness.
He grimaced at the girl's inquiry. "For most people it would. I end up so drugged from them that I can't do anything but lay around. So for now I just have to endure it. My father says I'll probably grow out of it like he did, he was the same way."
"Well I'm grateful for that. I'm Francis Caffrey." He replied and squirmed uncomfortably. "Well at least I have an excuse to go indoors now. Though I imagine I should wash this mud off first. Want to go to the lake with me?"
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Posted: Fri Aug 31, 2012 6:40 pm
"So not even magic can fix everything. That's a bit funny, in a way."
She looked down towards the lake, she hadn't yet managed to venture over to it since she had come to school, though she had been itching for an excuse to do so.
A curious smile crossed her face. "Sure! You know about this stuff right? Is it true that there are really mermaids and stuff like that in the lake? And a giant squid? Or is that just the other kids teasing? Someone tried to tell me last week that there really was a Basilisk in the school."
June walked back to her ball, and kicked it up and into her hands, then walked back over to Francis.
"....There isn't really a basilisk is there?"
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Posted: Fri Aug 31, 2012 6:56 pm
Francis was a bit surprised by her statement. "Well it can to a certain extent. If you're born a certain way, like without the use of your legs or without an arm you can't use magic to heal them or grow a new arm. I was born with a lot of allergies..so it's not like magic can take them away."
He could see that June was rather curious about the lake, and couldn't help but smile at her questions about what was in it.
"Well I know a bit, I've been learning a bit here and there from the older students. Oh there are mermaids, but they're not nice ones like in all those kids books you read. They're kind of mean and cruel. I believe there is a big cephalid in the lake, I don't know what kind though since no one has ever gotten a picture of it.
They can tease a lot, but there are a lot of things in the lake. It's not like I'm going to go jump in the middle of it. I'm just going to go clean up at the edge of the lake where nothing can grab me." Francis replied.
He stopped to scratch his head. He hadn't heard of there being a basilisk, but there very well could be. "I don't know, I've not heard of there being one until now. I sure hope there isn't. they're horrible creatures." He said with a shudder.
He started walking towards the lake, trying to be as careful as he could to not trip and make another embarrassing spectacle of himself. "You coming?" He called over his shoulder at June.
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Posted: Fri Aug 31, 2012 7:15 pm
She jogged a few steps to catch up to him.
"There was a Basilisk in one the...you know...books. I thought that I should read them, cause I didn't know much when the lady came with my letter....Anyway, one of them fell out of my bag in the hallway one day in front of some of the older kids, and they teased me about it. And well, the girl's bathroom on that floor -is- kinda creepy."
She stopped for a moment, embarrassed.
"Sorry."
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Posted: Sat Sep 01, 2012 7:57 pm
Francis waited for the girl to catch up, watching as she jogged up to him.
He couldn't help but wonder if she was hot in the leggings and the long sleeved shirt she was wearing under her short sleeved shirt. The first time he had seen her in them he had thought she had been tattooed, a double take had confirmed that he was wrong.
He wondered if the other kids teased her for her odd choice of clothing. It was more than likely. It seemed kids were just mean like that. Especially towards people who were different. So much for the whole, "Be yourself." thing that parents told their kids.
Francis' forehead crinkled as he tried to figure out what books she was referring to. Then it hit him. "Oh those books," he said with a small laugh. "I really am not sure if it was just made up by the author of one actually did live in the castle. My guess is it was just made up for the books. Half of the stuff in them was made up for the dramatic effect. There are some creepy places in the castle though," He agreed.
"I don't mean to be impatient or anything," He told her as she finally caught up. "I just don't want anyone seeing me like this."
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Posted: Sun Sep 02, 2012 5:15 pm
She moved a bit faster to keep pace with him.
"What about all the stuff about wizards that hate Muggle borns? Is that true?" Her face looked a little troubled.
"I mean, do people really act like that?"
June jogged a bit more to match his step.
"But you know...I'm pretty sure those people over there playing Quidditch are probably a lot more muddy than you are. I'm sure no one really minds."
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Posted: Sun Sep 16, 2012 6:22 pm
Francis was felt rather bad for her, apparently she hadn't been told much about the magicking world and now she was trying to figure it all out.
It wasn't really smart to just plop a kid down in a world like this witthout some sort of guide to go by.
"Well there are some wizards who dislike muggleborn, but it isn't all wizards who feel that way. My parents taught me that blood line doesn't matter, what matters most is how you treat people. And unfortunately there are people who act like that. You just have to avoid them as much as you can. Just surround yourself with nice people and you'll be good." Francis hoped his 'Pep' talk helped her enough, but he figured if it didn't she could always ask someone else that did know.
"I am sure there are people who are muddier and much worse off than me." Francis looked down at the ground thinking about if he should tell her his real reason why he didn't want to be seen.
"You see, there are these Slytherin kids who are constantly picking on me and they'd have a field day if they caught me looking like this. Aha, there it is." Francis exclaimed happily as he saw the lake just up ahead. "I didn't realize it was this far away," He added.
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Posted: Sun Dec 23, 2012 5:58 pm
June followed him to the lake, listening attentively to what he said, and nodding, until he mentioned the Slytherins, and then her face turned to a frown.
"So do something about it. If someone is being a jerk to you, don't just take it. Turn them into frogs or throw mud at them, or kick them in the shins or something."
She looked over to the lake, not having had the chance to wander this close to its shores just yet.
"Or push them in the lake."
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Posted: Fri Dec 28, 2012 11:46 am
Francis was rather taken aback by her words. He turned to look at her, with one eyebrow raised in a questioning look. "Just how would you deal with two older slytherins constantly calling you Princess and ripping pages out of your books when they catch you alone? We're not supposed to use magic against each other. Even if I could, they'd use more cruel spells against me as they know more than I do. I've tried avoiding them, I've tried sticking to groups but still they find me. I've tried to tell teachers..but they don't believe me. If I kick them they just kick me back harder or punch me. What I really need is an invisibility cloak, then they wouldn't be able to find me or make me so miserable."
Francis sighed and then walked slowly into the lake wading up to his knees and then splashed the water over his muddy pants until the mud was off of them. The lake water was frigid and Francis suddenly got an idea. "If I were to lead them to the lake and had a friend waiting I could probably push them in the lake. Want to help?"
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