There was so much at Hogwarts to see. Their dorms for the year were in the castle- and he was glad for that. He hadn't been looking forward to spending a year in the dirigible. He had explored the castle for a while early in the morning- mostly by accident, though, because Colton had gotten lost on his way down to the great hall for breakfast. The stair cases moved, the portraits were... weird. It was a lot different from Salem, but in a good way. On the bright side he hadn't been the only one lost. (Even if most of the others who had lost their way were the kids new to Hogwarts that year.)

Colt was looking forward to finding Sophie, too. When they had run into each other at the welcoming ceremony, it had been awkward. Colton hadn't expected his pen pal to be as pretty as she was. And he hadn't known what to say. A summer of writing letters was nothing compared to meeting someone in person. But she had been very nice, and hadn't seemed to offended by his quiet nature.

His mother had encouraged him to take her a gift for when they met. She said girls like presents, and it was the appropriate thing to do. Colton had a few handy skills, and after talking about it with his mom and his sister, he had decided to make Sophie a keepsake box. It took him a long time to craft the box, he wanted to make sure it wasn't going to give her splinters after all. It was plain, made of light colored wood, and lacking. Colton had his sister decorate it for him. She was good at art, and was glad to be able to help. After the box was made and decorated, he had made copies of her letters to him and tied them up in a bunch and put them inside. His sister had also taken a polaroid of him which he put into the box, along with a friendship bracelet. His sister made the bracelet- and had insisted that he take it to the girl. She said girls like jewelry, and that it would be a nice touch to add with the box.

Colton hadn't had the box on him when he had first run into Sophie. But now he was carrying it in his messenger bag, and had been wandering the grounds, hoping to run into the pretty English girl.

After asking a few strange students, they had pointed him in the direction of the gardens to find her. The plants were strange but beautiful, and he smiled when he saw Sophie sitting on a stone bench midst a patch of flowers. "Miss Sophie!" he called out, southern drawl pulling at his words. "I've been lookin' all over for you!"


gift set

Sophie was in her favorite spot, soaking up what few bits of the dwindling summer sunshine there was to be found in Scotland. The gardens were her favorite place, both because they reminded her of home and she didn't have to worry about being too loud. She needed a bit of time to meditate on the last few days, the bonfire and the sorting ceremony. They had gotten some fair additions to the house, but overall she found herself wishing that either she had been harder working or Ollie had been more loud-mouth courageous so they could be in the same house. It was nice having her at school, a vast improvement over not having her at all, but it was lonely for Sophie. It was made more lonely by the fact that the reality of Deus was settling over her now and it just didn't bode well for her heart. It wasn't his fault, he had told her it was all just pretend. She should have listened.

Of course there were things to be happy about too - like meeting all of the new students! She had seen Colton in early August but it had felt strange. He wasn't strange, he was a very sweet (if a little quiet) boy. It was just strange to have spent so many months writing her thoughts and stories to someone and then have them suddenly be a flesh and blood person. She had had every intention of catching him at the feast the night before but things just hadn't worked out quite like that. They had all year though, and despite the fact he as here she had decided to keep writing him letters. They would really be more like notes, and she could give them to him herself but she liked that being a thing between them. She kept all of his letters in her trunk, bound with a blue ribbon. She was a sentimental sort of girl at heart.

She was actually digging through her bag looking for a spare piece of parchment when she heard his voice. Admittedly his accent made her giggle a little, not because it was funny but because it seemed so different to her ear. Her mother had had a subtle-refined-over-years-of-living-in-London accent, but when she got really worked up that thick Bronx Barrio voice would come out. Sophie just associated that with America and Colton was so different! Without thinking she hopped up and threw her arms around him (it never dawned on her that this might be a strange thing to do, made stranger by the sheer number of people she was apt to do it to in a single day). Sophie was a huggy, affectionate, short person. Hugging often involved hopping, "Colt! I was going to find you after the feast but it was a mad house with all the first years," she stepped back, smiling up at him brightly, "are you settling in alright? Not too lost"?

Colton was stiff for a moment when Sophie first jumped up and hugged him. He hadn't been expecting it, and he was still surprised by how pretty she was and he blushed dark red when he thought about that and thought about th efact she was hugging him. After a moment or two, he awkwardly wrapped his arms around her to return the hug. It didn't really offend him. It was just weird and awkward. Guys didn't hug much, and he didn't have a whole lot of female friends who went around hugging him.

"The feast was a little intimidating," he told her. "Lots of people were in the hall at once and all my friends were being loud and excited. And it was really neat to watch the..." Colton trailed off, looking for the right word, "the sorting? With the hat. That was cool. After the feast, though, I was hurrying to get to our rooms so I could settle in. It's weird to be packed in with people I'm not used to living with. But Bennett is one of my roommates, and we lived together back at Salem."

"So yeah, settling in fine," he said- realizing that he had given her more information than she had asked for. "Only gotten lost a couple of times. Your staircases move and some of the portraits don't give the right directions. I think they do it on purpose."

"But anyway- I was lookin' for you. Cause I wanted to give you something. My momma and my sister helped me with it," he said, pulling the box from his bag and holding it out to Sophie. "I made the box myself over the summer. I don't know a whole lot about buying girls stuff or giving them presents. My sister decorated the box. She said you'd like it." Colton stood there awkwardly, waiting on Sophie to open up the box he had made for her. He hoped that she wouldn't think he was dumb or stupid for the present. His guy friends sure had given him a hard time over it.

Sophie was, at times (without really meaning to be) a little audacious. She could feel Colton stiffen as though he wasn't totally sure what he was supposed to do with this petite girl he barely knew hugging him like he was her best friend. It had been a fair bit since she'd gotten a reaction like that from one of her hugs, even Dion had gotten used to it eventually. It never dawned on her that it might be weird for him because she made him shy, or that he thought she was pretty and intimidating. After all their letters and the things that she had told him, things she had trouble saying out loud to people who had known her a good chunk of her life even, she just felt like she knew him well enough that it wouldn't be strange.

They were friends, or a kind of friends anyway, and Sophie only knew how to be one way with people she cared about. That way just happened to be more affectionate that some people were used to. When she let him go, finally, she stepped back and shoved her hands in the back pockets of her jeans, smile bright as she looked up at him, "Yea, the feast this year was massive. I mean it always feels big; what with the first years and everyone shouting to catch up about what they've done over the summer. This year though, Gordic's Garters, the Durmmies are terrifying, like all the more intimidating parts of the Slytherin Monarchy and twice as cold," she gave a little shiver as if to demonstrate her point before plopping back down on the stone bench and making room for Colton.

She gave him a sympathetic smile, though there was a bit of a bemused laugh tacked on to it, "Yea, they'll do that to you - both the Portraits and the stairs, I've been here since I was eleven and I still manage to get lost and almost break my arm at least once a year on the stairs. Of course I'm a terribly clumsy person so that might have less to do with the stairs and more to do with me". She was glad he was settling in alright, and that he had enjoyed the Sorting. Hogwarts, for Sophie, was like home. It was nice to be reminded that it was still a wonder to some people. Of course she had also gotten the feeling their other guests were not necessarily as impressed. She was about to say something when he sort of started rambling and thrust a present at her.

It should be noted that Sophie was not often rendered speechless, in fact she quite often needed to be told to shut the hell up. But in that moment, taking the beautifully crafted box from the sweet faced boy who had listened to her blather on all summer about silly things and serious things, she did not know what to say. Opening it gingerly, her brown eyes grew wide and pricked with a strange sort of tears. She knew lots of people that cared about her, but there was something so earnestly sweet and lovely about the gift, the copies of her letters, the bracelet, his picture. She took a moment and a deep breath before looking up at him again, bottom lip between her teeth, "Colt," her voice was soft as she reached out to squeeze his fingers, "it's beautiful, and so thoughtful. I love it".

Colton grinned when Sophie said she still got lost sometimes, too. "Makes me feel a little better about things," he said. "I thought I was just dumb or somethin'. I mean, back home I'm pretty good at keeping my bearings. You get used to it if you're out in the woods huntin' or somethin'." Maybe he'd get the hang of it in a few weeks. Colt had a feeling his classmates were just as confused, probably just less willing to admit it.

He watched her expression as she looked at the box, and wondered why she didn't look... particularly excited when she started to look at what was inside. She said it was beautiful and thoughtful, and then he realized the way she was biting her bottom lip.

He felt like a deer in the headlights as he realized that Sophie was on the verge of tears. "You sure you like it?" he asked. "I mean, if you don't, that's okay. My sister made the bracelet for you. I just thought, y'know, it'd be nice." He paused again, tilting head as he looked down at her. "Don't cry, Miss Sophie. It's not a big deal, really. It's just a silly present, that's all." He didn't mean to downplay the hard work he put into the gift, but thought maybe if Sophie thought it really wasn't a big deal, that she wouldn't cry.

Awkwardly, Colton put an arm around her shoulders and gave a gentle squeeze. "I can't stand it when girls cry." Even if it was his sister, Colton felt awkward and helpless when girls shed tears. He thought it was unfair the way they used them against men. It was like they knew it paralyzed guys. "You could just smile real big and be excited instead. That's a better way to feel, ain't it?"

Sophie looked at his panic and shook her head, smiling though her eyes still stung a little, her hand flapping in front of her face in the universal motion that said if-I-do-this-some-how-I-won't-burst-into-tears. She managed a little laugh and took another deep breath, "No, I love it. I really really love it, I just wasn't expecting..." she trailed off and shrugged her shoulders. He was going to think she was a certifiable crazy person, which was fair because she probably was. It was just so thoughtful, the most thoughtful thing anyone had openly just come out and done for her in a very long time. Hard work had gone into the box, it was obvious; and thought had gone into the contents. She didn't want to make Colton feel awkward but after weeks of playing dodge the meaning with Deus it was a little overwhelming to have someone just hand her a physical thing that was chalk full of meaning for her.

She let him wrap his arm around her, in turn she slid her slender arms around his middle and tucked her head so his chin could rest on it. She squeezed him tightly even though she was aware he was not so good with affection. She just wanted him to know she really was pleased with the present. When she finally loosened her grip she looked up at him, lips turned once again into a bashful sort of smile, "I'm sorry it's just... there are a lot of things, in those letters, about me... about my mom, and that you kept them and made copies for me," she gave a one armed shrug and shook her head, trying to get the bangs from her eyes, "like I said, you're the first person I ever had to tell about her, the first person who didn't know who or how she was. The first person I could talk about her death with and not have to worry that somehow just writing her name I was hurting you".

Placing her hand on top of the box, gently running her finger over the flowered top she let out a long breath, "And this box is a physical manifestation of that, of that friend that I needed and I get to keep it forever - so even when you go home I can open it and look at the picture - and all the other pictures I am going to force you to take, and all the letters that we write even after your gone and remember that you're more than just words on a page," she gave him another bashful smile and felt silly. Maybe things didn't mean much to him, maybe he didn't think of their friendship as something special but for Sophie having me materialize out of thin air, to know that he was a real, live, flesh and blood person just like her... it was a kind of comfort she didn't know she could have. Slipping the bracelet on she held it out for him to inspect, "your sister is very talented, maybe I will adopt her as a pen pal too. I kind of miss writing letters already".

Hugging Sophie like that sure was awkward, but he was distracted from that when he realized how nice her hair smelt. Awkward aside, it kind of felt nice to have her hug him so tight, and for his chin to rest on her head. But she let him go, and though he felt relieved, there was a small pang of regret. Like maybe he should have held on tighter or something.

But she explained that she liked the present, and why. And started going on about how she could keep it forever and how there would be more pictures and writing even after he left. Wow. That was a lot to take in all at once. And a little too much emotion going along with it. But she changedt he conversation, to his sister, putting the bracelet on her wrist and holding it up.

Colton gripped her hand gently as he inspected the piece of jewelry. "It looks real nice on ya, Miss Sophie," he said with a lopsided grin. "And she sure would love it. My mum and dad got an eagle so they could write to me, so she could write you back real easy without wearing out your owl." Reluctantly, he let go of her hand and rubbed the back of his neck, blushing slightly. Colton knew exactly what was going on and he wasn't sure he liked it. Sophie had mentioned in a letter there was a boy she liked...

Even so, it wasn't like Colt could help that was just so darn cute and he felt like he needed to protect the pint-sized Gryffindor. But he'd keep those thoughts to himself. They were friends. Besides, he hadn't known her long enough to have a real crush on her. Colton figured it was just the excitement of meeting her and the fact he thought she was pretty.

He wondered if she thought he was good looking, too.

"You ready to start classes tomorrow?" Colton finally asked. It was the best topic of conversation to resort to when you were lost for words. Especially since classes were going to be different for everyone involved.

Sophie was, to be blunt, an oblivious creature. She knew she was pretty in an abstract way, in the sense that her features fit together in a way some people might find pleasing. The thing was, after so many years of being everyone's little sister, of never being quite good enough, she understood "pretty" the way a House Elf viewed SPEW. It was some abstract idea that had no real bearing on the life she was living, but it was maybe a nice thought? It didn't occur to her that Colton might think she was pretty, and that in thinking she was pretty her overly affectionate nature might be sending mixed and awkward signals. It wasn't her intent in the least little bit...but then she had spent a year torturing Dion without having  a clue so the odds of her realizing Colton was interested without being bashed over the head were not in his favor.

"An Eagle huh? Fancy stuff," her tone was a little teasing as she nudged him in the side lightly, "she always sounded sweet when you talked about her in your letters, your sister not the bird," she lightly fingered the bracelet and then turned her face toward the sky, "Ruby was gutted at the platform. You'd think I was her sprog going off to my first year, rather than her sister running off to sixth. Honestly, I think she's a bit touched in the head since coming back from the States," again she sounded more amused than not as she thought of her older sister blubbering and waving to her from the platform. It was almost, completely, obscenely embarrassing. Of course it had also made up for the fact Duncan wasn't there, at least a little. It made her feel like someone besides the mutts would miss her, even if Ruby wasn't living back at #12 St. Mary's. With that thought it struck the petite sixteen year old just how weird her life was now.

"Classes? Oh, you know," she gave a shrug, "A bit nervous, really. I mean it's always been bad enough trying to keep up with the Ravenclaws - because you know they're all practically geniuses and they won't hesitate to let you know that either," she rolled her eyes a little, only partly joking. She tried to think of the best way to frame her worries, "I guess I'm just worried about the pressure you know? How well we do in these classes kind of dictates the sort of careers we might have. I talked about that a little in one of my letters, I think. I just worry I've made the wrong choices. I mean they're the subjects I'm best at but everything is just going to get harder from here on out so what if I'm not actually that smart at all"? It wasn't a real question but it hung in the air like one, her lips pursed to one side before she exhaled a slow breath, "Of course there is a very strong possibility I am a worrywart and borrow trouble where there isn't any to be found. Those Durmmies with their scowly faces have me a bit spooked. What about you"?

"We don't use owls," he told her. "But I'd prefer them. Eagles are huge and obnoxious. My parents have a hard time explaining away why they have an eagle as a pet sometimes, too. But it's easier for them to have one to send me stuff instead of having to wait on me to write." He smiled when Sophie said that his sister seemed nice. "She can be- but she's a pain in the butt just as often. But you've got sisters, so you know what that's like."

He looked at her, puzzled, when she told him her sister was gutted, something about a sprog, and then being touched in the head. They were phrases he wasn't familiar with. "What's all that mean?" Colton asked. "I ain't never heard the word sprog before, and I'm guessin' you don't mean someone took your sisters guts out. And what's being touched in the head? Is that like being crazy?" It was going to take him a while to get used to the weird slang that the Hogwarts kids used, even longer to get used to muddling through the accents of the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang kids.

Ravenclaws? He remembered learning a little bit about the houses, but couldn't keep it all straight. "I guess we're lucky not to be sorted out like that. We're just divided by year and our halls don't have anything to do with our personalities. Watching the sorting sure was a blast, though! Really, though, a whole house that's nothing but smart? I sure as heck wouldn't be in it. I mean, I'm smart enough, but I'm a lot more'n that. I'm sure you keep up just fine, anyway, Miss Sophie. You seem pretty smart to me."

Then she got serious- talking about how her classes dictated her career and how she was worried if she made the wrong choices. He knew what she meant- things did get harder, and you did worry. "You'll be just fine. Heck, I graduate this year and I ain't give a single thought about where I'm going next. No idea what I want to do. I just know I don't want to go back to living a boring life out in the country- not after all I know and I've seen. I always figured I'd just get me a job doing something with animals or plants. I really like Herbology and Magizoology. Maybe be a magical vet or somethin'. But I mean, I guess I'll figure it out before the year is over." Hopefully that wouldn't come too soon.

"I just hope the classes here will match up with what I've learned back home. I hear those Durmstrang kids are light years ahead of everyone else. But I guess they're brutal like that out in Siberia, yeah?" Colt grinned a little. "Glad I get to be among civil and friendly folks. Must be awful to not be able to have fun or have real friends."

Sophie laughed and covered her face, "Sorry, I'll translate - I guess even in English we've got a big of a language barrier, eh"? She gave his shoulder a little nudge before turning toward him and counting off on her fingers, "sprog is another word for kid, usually a baby - it's a term here, sprog'd up? Gutted means being really upset, and yea, touched in the head meas crazy. Other words to look out for; wanker, bollocks, bint - don't ever call a girl that it's worse than the American B-word, bloody anything is sort of a swear but it's like that acceptable swear, and um... oh! If someone says 'ta' it's like thank you," her smile was cheerful when she finished, letting herself take a rather long breath, "there are loads more but that is Sophie's introduction to Englishisms 101". Maybe she'd made him an actual book to carry around with him, it'd be the only way he'd survive fast talking people like Figaro.

As they changed gears to the Sorting she gave him a nod, "you never really know though, I mean my friend Peyton is amazing at Quidditch but he just can't be bothered much with studies and he's in Ravenclaw. I think sometimes the Hat seeing something in a person they don't see in themselves, like I wouldn't say I'm particularly brave; just stupid sometimes. I was always the kid jumping off banisters and almost breaking my neck. i don't think that's particularly courageous. And Slytherins are supposed to be super ambitious and cunning, but my brother was a Slytherin and he's basically a professional drunk baboon. I suppose you could argue that he's quite cunning when it comes to getting out of things but I'm not sure that counts," she gave a shrug with a small laugh, "my sisters though they fit into the house stereotypes in a freakishly accurate sort of way".

Again her smile was easy as she tried to shrug off the seriousness of her classes and what it meant for the future, "Who knows, maybe I'll pack up with a guitar and tell fortunes on the side of the road for a living. Rubs thought she had it all figured and knew exactly what she was going to be doing and now...I think she's still sleeping on her best friend's couch," she rolled her eyes a little but expression quickly changed to one of interest, "I could see that, a magical vet I mean, or maybe working a Dragon reserve? I don't know that I'd want to work for the Ministry but I think about it sometimes, mostly when my Godfather brings it up. He's the department head for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. You'll meet him, probably. I want him to come give a talk about Werewolf safety, we had speakers last year but...they had an agenda all their own," again there was the eye rolling.

Sophie covered her mouth trying to stifle a giggle when Colt commented on the other schools, "Ollie is like entranced by the Beauxbaton's girls. I get the feeling to get any kind of attention from the Durmstrang crowd you have to be of pureblood and old money - which if you ask me is just ridiculous. Of course I'm biased because my mum was muggleborn and Da's a halfblood so my blood is all kinds of unfit. All that inbreeding can't be good for anybody, magical or not". That made her think of the inordinately short Professor Ó Móráin, who despite his general distaste for Gryffindors had warmed to her eventually, it also made her think of arranged marriages and how outdated parts of their culture were. "I suppose if it means I can love and marry who I want being a halfblood is better in the long run anyway".

Colton had a feeling he wouldn't remember all the words that Sophie just explained to him. British slang was really different from what he was used to, but then again, he had a feeling that the Hogwarts kids would react the same way to some of the stuff he said and his classmates would say. Especially the ones from the South. Kids from the confederate states had some really interesting phrases and sayings. "Right," he said nodding. He'd do his best to keep up, but he figured that it would take him a few months to learn and to pick up on things.

"Well I think you're pretty courageous, Miss Sophie. You've done a lot of brave things from what you've written to me about. I mean, going out of your way to help with SAWS and support your friend, even when other people disagreed- that's brave. I think that's what real courage is, anyway, doing what's right no matter what the consequences are. You gotta stand up for what you believe in and what you know is right. My dad always told me that's what makes a real man, anyway. I know I've gotten into trouble more than once doing what I thought was right." Colton wasn't the sort to make a habit of getting into fights, but sometimes you had to do it. One summer he'd gotten into a lot of trouble when he got into a fight with one of his sister's boyfriends- but he'd done his sister wrong, and he'd deserved it.

Colton grinned a little when Sophie said her friend was entranced by the Beauxbatons girls. "A lot of them are really pretty. There's something different about the way they walk. But I think they know they're pretty- and there's nothing worse than a pretty girl who knows it." Modesty was a trait that Colton found very attractive. Vanity was often what you found with girls who were beautiful. It wasn't something he liked much. The girl next door was his type. "But I think I like the kids from Hogwarts best out of the ones I've met. You all mostly seem to be pretty normal. But I guess that depends on the kid, like it does everywhere else. But I've only really gotten to talk to some Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs." He'd heard some bad things about the Slytherin house in the short time he'd been at Hogwarts.

"I can't imagine having my parents pick out who I'd marry," Colton said in complete agreement. "I'd rather be able to marry and hang out with who I want, too. I guess it'd be real hard to date someone who wasn't magic, though, even though I grew up that way. Cause it's a big secret to keep and it's almost like it ain't fair. Keepin' secrets is a lot like lying, I think. So I figure I'll end up marrying a witch. But I got time to think about that. I'm not even graduated yet, and I don't want to get hitched right out of school. I want to figure out my life first, so I know I'm ready for all that responsibility."

Sophie actually blushed a little as the boy rattled off the things he thought made her fit in the House of Gryffindor, "I guess, when you put it that way. I just don't think about it like that. Doing the right thing because it's right is just how people should live their lives. I mean you have to be able to live with yourself, with the choices you make. I try to make choices that won't make me any more uncomfortable with myself than I already am... and right is such an ambiguous term anyway. The people who fought so hard to keep Ollie out of school did it because it's what they believed it was what was right, what was safest for everyone involved. It would be really easy to villainize them, but I can't because I know in most cases it isn't out of malice, you know? Life became so much more complicated when I realized life wasn't just separated into right and wrong," she sighed a little and looked up at sky, complicated barely scratched the surface.

Sophie was kind of surprised by Colton's thoughts on the Beauxbatons' girls. She assumed everyone would be enamored with them. They were so...pert and polished, like the Monarchy but somehow even more of everything than the stylish Slytherin girls. Sophie looked down at her faded jeans and the toes of her brown boots, she considered the large owl printed on her tank top and the feathers in her ears; she was fairly sure none of the European delegates would think much of her wardrobe. It wasn't that she cared so much as it was another set of people to compete with, that many more eyes begging Deus attention. She wouldn't let herself think of that though because then she would have to admit she cared and caring was for suckers when it came to Deus Deres. She glanced back at Colt with a wayward smile, "I guess I just assumed that was what most boys like. Merlin knows my brother does".

Of course Johnny also liked to get drunk before he played a show and had once almost burned the garden down because he fell asleep with a lit cigarette next to a pile of Daily Prophets so, maybe he wasn't the best example to hold other boys up to. She found herself nodding in agreement with the American, though her gaze settled on some hazy middle distance, "I'm not in any rush to don a white dress and veil... but it works out for some people. My mum was only ninteen when she married my dad, barely twenty by the time she had Johnny. They were really happy, I mean they seemed happy. I guess maybe sometimes you just know. He managed to win her heart after he threw Firewhiskey up all over her favorite boots, so. True love wins in the end"? There was sort of a laugh tacked onto the end of that when she finally looked back at the Salem Senior, "So, Mister Outlaw, are you putting your name in the Goblet"?

Colton listened as Sophie talked a bit about right and wrong. It occurred to him that he felt like she shouldn't have to know all of that. Young people- like himself, Soph, and the rest of the students- should be given more of a chance to live in innocence before having to learn life's hard lessons. But then again, it made you a better person if you learned them sooner rather than later. "That's awful big of you, Miss Sophie, to look at things that way. Most people don't bother to try to think about what the other side must be feelin'. They just think they're right and there's no arguin' that fact."

"My ma-maw always told me that if everybody liked the same thing, there'd only be two people going out for dates on Saturday night. I guess a lot of guys do like the same thing, but that's not what I'd call the marryin' type." Not that Colton had a lot of experience with relationships. He'd a few girlfriends in his seventeen years, but nothing he'd really consider serious.

"I know it works for some people. It's how most people do things where I live. I live in a real small town and people marry their high school sweethearts and they have babies and they get dead end jobs and struggle to make ends meet. It's harsh, but that's the honest truth to how things go there. Ain't nothing wrong with it, if that's the life you want, I just want something more'n that. I want to be able to have a real good job and enough money to make sure my family don't ever struggle for anything. It's hard, when you're growing up, and you know that your family ain't got money. Especially with me going to Salem and always needin' stuff, makes me feel like I'm draining the family more than I should." Colton frowned a little, thinking about his family. They'd all made sacrifices for him and for his sister. He was looking forward to no longer being a burden, and maybe one day being able to help them out.

But talk turned to something less serious, and he was relieved. "I don't rightly know," he answered. "I've thought about it, and I feel like it'd be a waste of a trip if I didn't, but I've never seen myself the champion type. I figured I'd just come along and root on my friends, and support them while they competed. It wouldn't hurt to try, but I don't expect to be chosen. What about you, Miss Sophie? You goin' after eternal fame and glory?"

Sophie gave a bashful and dismissive shrug, "I didn't used to be so altruistic, or I guess fair minded would be a better way to put it. Before my mum died I think I was really naive about the whole thing, about how dangerous it was. It was so much more personal, it was about one of my best friends being sent away. Sometimes it still feels like that, I still worry about Ollie and what she'll have to go through, how she'll cope with some how being inherently 'other' than just a sixteen year old witch... but I'm also aware of the other side. I'm aware of the cost when mistakes are made. I'd give anything to have learned another way, but life doesn't give you those kind of choices - just the choice of what you do after," it was so easy to say that now, she didn't know that it would be easy to keep living it once school started in earnest.

Sophie knew about places like Colton had grown up, it was where her da came from, why his da had run off on them, but she understood it in the abstract way you understand a landscape. It's there, you see it, but you don't really understand the feeling of it. Whatever struggles the Flickwicks had had over the years money was not one of them. Prior to this summer tour Duncan hadn't made as much as say the Weird Sisters, but between his producing career, Mandrake Siren, and Ramona being a Senior Werewolf Liaison they made enough for the seven of them to live comfortably. There was a lot to admire about Colton Outlaw, besides his completely boss name.

She made a slight face as he turned her question back around, just shaking her head, "No. With my luck it'd be a wandwork heavy task and I'm rubbish with a wand. Put me in front of a cauldron, in a garden, or with animals and I'm your girl. Ask me to transfigure something and it might blow up," there was a note of laughter to her voice. She was exaggerating, a little at least but she really didn't do well under pressure and she couldn't imagine pressure worse than competing with a Durmmie breathing down her neck. Glancing down at her watch she looked up at Colt with a grin, "S'almost time for tea, we could head in and I'll point out some of your classes along the way"? She didn't wait for an answer as she stood and carefully placed the box in her bag, offering Colton her hand, "Come on then, tea is a very important part of the British experience".

Colton flexed his fingers before taking the hand that Sophie offered him. He hoped his palms weren't too sweaty. Holding hands with pretty girls wasn't something that Colton made a habit of doing. "We drink tea where I live!" he told her proudly. Though he had no idea that his idea of tea- full of sugar and ice- was not the way that they drank tea at Hogwarts. "My family probably drinks at least a gallon of it a day." Maybe this British experience wouldn't be so awful after all.

And he could use some help with the classes. He smiled at her again- probably the millionth time during their short conversation. "Thanks, Miss Sophie, for being so nice and helping me out," he said- voice much softer now that they were strolling back toward the castle hand in hand.