Still So Very Shy (Open)

[Brynn De Luca]

Byrnn smiled, excited about hanging out with Sirius and his friends. She let out a little laugh when he promised to be on his best behavior. "Sounds like fun," she said.

"I like to read, yes," Brynn said when Sirius asked what she liked. "And I really enjoy watching the quidditch games, I'm a little bummed that there aren't any this year." she said.

[Sirius Black]

Sirius nodded. "Yeah, I was disappointed about the quidditch team, too," he said. "James and I were gonna try oout this year. We were too young last year, so we were thinking we could try this year... but the Tournament is cool, too. My cousin is the Gryffindor champion, so at least I have someone to root for, you know?"

[Brynn De Luca]

"Alice is your cousin?" Brynn asked. "I didn't know that," she added. She rather enjoyed the tournament, the first task was really exciting and Brynn had found herself on the edge of her seat, just like if she had been watching a Quidditch match.

"You and James were going to tryout?" Brynn asked. "What position do you play?"

[Sirius Black]

Sirius nodded. "Yeah, the Prewetts... they're related to the Blacks. I can't remember just how... they were blasted off the family tree, which I don't even like looking at, anyway." He rolled his eyes. "My family is kinda... obsessive about the bloodlines. Like snobbishness and inbreeding are things to be proud of."

He shuddered slightly at this. Sometimes he liked to joke about the fact that his parents were actually first cousins, but whenever he thought about it, it sort of grossed him out.

"Anyway, the Prewetts are considered blood traitors. I'm not really supposed to associate with them, but then, I never do what I'm supposed to do."

He was glad to change the subject to Quidditch. "I was going to try out for Chaser. James was hoping to go for Seeker."

[Brynn De Luca]

"Chaser huh?" Brynn asked. "I could never fly very well..." she admitted. Probably something to do with her lack of self confidence and shyness.

She listened as Sirius went on about his family. "So you don't get along with them?" she asked. She wondered what that would be like, her father - who had always loved her dearly - hateing her just like he hated the brother she supposedly had that was never mentioned.

[Sirius Black]

'Well, we should work on that, too. Remus and Peter both want to work on their flying, too... maybe you could join us." He frowned, remembering how he had once given Kris a flying lesson, and she'd fallen off her broom and was nearly killed. Maybe they could start close to the ground.

he sighed at the mention of his family. "No... not really. I get along with everyone who's pretty much been disowned already. Like Alice, and Molly Prewett.... and Andromeda Black... she's my cousin, too. She just got disowned."

[Brynn De Luca]

"Disowned?" Brynn asked. "Thats a little harsh don't you think?" she asked. How could someone just disown a part of their family, their own flesh and blood?

"Yea, it sounds like fun," Brynn added when Sirius said she could join them for flying lessons. "But I'm sure I'll fall..."

[Sirius Black]

Sirius shrugged. "Yeah, well, my family loves to disown people. Or at the very least, pretend that they're not related to them. You should ask my brother Regulus if he's related to me. He'll probably say I was adopted or something."

When she mentioned flying, Sirius shook his head at her. "Well, if you start out expecting to fall, then you will," he said. "You need to go in there believing the best, not the worst. If you believe the best, you'll get the best. You can't start out with low expectations. I believe in you. You just have to believe in yourself."

[Brynn De Luca]

She giggle when he said she would fall. It frightened her, but it made her laugh as well. Brynn smiled when Sirius said he believed in her, and suddenly started to believe in herself a little more too.

"I'm sorry you don't get along with your family much," Brynn said quietly.

[Sirius Black]

Sirius shrugged. "Eh, it's OK. I'm kinda used to it, you know? My family... They're mostly snobs. I don't want to be like them. I just pick the people in my family that are worth talking to, and they're the ones I'll stay close to. But I also believe friends can be as close, if not closer than family. You can't choose your family. You're just sort of stuck with them. But friends... they're the people you want to be with. You choose them, based on what you have in common. That makes them better than family, in a way. Know what I mean?"

[Brynn De Luca]

Brynn listened. What Sirius was saying was pretty deep, especially for a 2nd year. But Byrnn understood where he was comming from. "Yea, I get what you mean," she said, smileing. "You can't pick your family..." he mind went again to the estranged brother she apperently had, and wondering what he had done to make her father so angry at him. she probably would never find out.

Something crashed behind them, making Brynn jump and spin around, seeing a cat knocking over a trophy. She blushed, embarressed about being so startled. "Sorry," she apologized.

[Sirius Black]

"Yeah, you know what they say," Sirius said. "You can pick your friends, and you can pick your nose, but you can't pick your friend's nose." He laughed at his own joke. "But seriously... you can't pick family... you just have to deal with them. I'll deal with them until I'm old enough to run away, I guess."

At the sound of the crash, Sirius turned around, but not as frantically as Brynn. He laughed at the cat. "Hey, I think that's my cousin Andi's cat. Er... Professor Black, that is. Agamemnon! Here, boy!" He waved his fingers towards the cat, which was now winding its way around the trophies, as if he intended to knock them all down.

[Brynn De Luca]

Brynn giggled when Sirius recognized the cat. "Agamemnon is going to get us in trouble," Brynn pointed out as another trophy fell due to the cat Sirius was calling over.

(sorry, short)

[Sirius Black]

Sirius laughed. "Agamemnon!" he called to the black cat. He began to chase the cat around the room, and he crashed into a large trophy, knocking it down, just as the cat jumped up on a high shelf, knocking down even more trophies.

"Andi is going to be so upset with you!" he lectured the cat, as if it understood. He made another attempt to grab the cat, and this time he managed to capture him in his arms. "Gotcha!" he said triumphantly.

Then he looked around the room at the destruction left behind. "Um... oops...." he said, laughing.

[Brynn De Luca]

Brynn never laughed harder than when she watched Skirius chase the cat around the trophy room. She clutched her stomach and laughed out loud at the destruction that resulted form them. "Oh godric," Brynn laughed. She got up and stood next to Sirius, petting the cat in his arms. "You're about to get us in a load of trouble, Agramemnon..." she scolded, still laughing though from earlier.

[Sirius Black]

Sirius frowned. "I don't suppose you know any good clean up charms?" he said. "It doesn't look like anything is broken, but we need to put each of the trophies back in its rightful place. It's going to take us forever... I don't even know which ones go where, you know?"

He shook his head as he continued to pet the cat. "Maybe I should go find Andi and see if she knows any spells that would put everything back where it belongs..."

[Brynn De Luca]

"Tidying spells? Um, no..." Brynn shook her head. She pulled out her wand. "Maybe if we just levitate them..." She flicked her wand at the large trophy that Sirius had knocked over. It wobbled a little and then hit the floor again with another bang, making Byrnn jump. "Or...not..." she turned to Sirius. "Yea, maybe Professor Black would know..." she agreed.

[Sirius Black]

It seemed silly to run and get Andi just to help them clean up the mess. He was sure he could think of something. Only trouble was, his arms were currently full of cat. "OK, wait," Sirius said. "I'm gonna try something, but can you hold the cat for me? I need my hands free."

He moved over to where Brynn was standing and began to hand the cat over to her.

[Brynn De Luca]

"Sure," Brynn said, agreeing to let Sirius take a shot. She took the cat from Sirius and looked at him. "Look at what you did Armagedon," Brynn laughed, holding the cat up.

[Sirius Black]

Sirius laughed. "That's a good name for him... Certainly describes the mess he created, anyway."

He glanced back at her, holding the cat up to look at the destruction. The cat yawned with indifference.

Shaking his head, Sirius took out his wand and concentrated very hard. "Scourgify!" he said.

Unfortunately, this spell was only good for actual cleaning. So the dust that had collected under the shelves and inside the trophies disappeared and the surface of each trophy shone with mirror-like brilliance. Which was all very well and good, except that the trophies were still on the floor.

"Hmmm..."