No One Puts Bertie In The Corner

Once again Bertie found himself sitting alone in the corner of the Ancient Runes Classroom. It was drizzling outside so most students had taken refuge to classrooms that weren't in use during the break between second and third period. Every Thursday Bertie had began to find himself sitting here in his spot from his Ancient Runes lesson beforehand. It was easier not to move, especially considering he didn't have anybody to meet with.

As of late Bertie had spent a lot of time alone. Initially it had been that, being alone, although not alone was starting to feel lonely and as much as he could delve into his imagination and write stories or come up with original points in his homework it was starting to prove to be a major downfall. The Ravenclaw was fifteen years old and only having one strong friend, who he no longer even saw that much, was getting difficult. Next year Vivianna wouldn't be here, Bertie would have been left behind with nothing but acquaintances he occasionally smiles at in the corridors. You could say the year in St Mungo's away from Hogwarts caused this but really it was Bertie, no one else put Bertie in the corner, he brought it all upon himself for being too nervous or shy to mingle and make friends.

Deciding he didn't want to continue the Ancient Runes questions the Professor had set during the lesson Bertie packed his work away and took the morning issue of the daily prophet from his satchel bag besides his chair and turned to the crossword, not looking up as a group of girls came into the classroom along, shortly followed by three third year boys who'd only come along because one of them probably had a crush on one of the older girls.

For someone who wasn't fond of academia, Celine spent an awful lot of time in classrooms. Sure, she wasn't exactly studying or doing anything remotely productive. Instead, the Gryffindor often came in to chat with her friends away from the prying ears of professors and other students. Every now and then she would enter this particular classroom to simply doodle or write a letter to her mum. Although her reasons for entering the classroom varied, one thing didn't. The blonde girl glanced over to the corner, and yep, there was the Ravenclaw boy.

Celine noticed that the poor boy sat there every now and then (or at least every time she had graced the classroom with her presence) and he always sat alone. If there was one thing that the sixth year believed in, it was that no one really wanted to be alone. Well, not most people. She had restrained herself before, hearing her mum's words in the back of her head. 'Celine, not everyone likes to be disturbed, some people like the quiet.' And that was fair enough, but the Ravenclaw had sat there alone and quiet a number of times before, he had definitely had his quiet time for now. Instead of leaving it be, she made a snap judgement and pursued her red painted lips and made a beeline for the corner.

Once she arrived at her destination, Celine rocked back and forth on her heels for a moment before speaking up. "Hello," she chirped, leaning toward the boy, "what's that you're doing?" It was obviously a crossword puzzle (something she hadn't seen someone enjoy since she was home with her father), but she needed a conversation started. Without much regard to space, she inched closer and peered at the paper, "Hm, 6 down is phoenix." The sixteen year old still had some learning to do when it came to boundaries, but she knew this was much more important than spoiling a silly crossword puzzle.

A plant that attacks upon being touched. Bertie read the hint that was nine down. Well that could mean a fair few plants: devil snare, the whomping willow. Counting the number of squares Bertie began to scribble both the plants down in the corner of the paper ready to count which one would fit before the sound of a girls voice interrupted him and somewhat startling him causing him to give 'willow' and extra 'l'.

Before Bertie could reply the girl had already leant in closer to examine the puzzle herself, not giving any consideration for personal space. Once Bertie had gotten to know someone he was fine with the closeness, in fact he was rather fond of the way Vivianna would ruffle his hair but when the hair off a girl that he didn't know brushed against his forehead it wasn't something that he particularly enjoyed.

Leaning back on his chair the Ravenclaw angled his head away from the girl and read the hint for six down: Bird whose years have healing properties.

'Thanks.' The Ravenclaw muttered before scribbling the answer din to the squares, slightly impressed that the girl sporting Gryffindor robes knew the answer. That's one reason why Bertie enjoyed the crosswords, it ensured that he learnt something new everyday and today the Gryffindor had helped.

Not sure what to say Bertie wrote in 'Devil Snare' for nine down as a means to distract himself from the effort of socialising with the girl he didn't know. Had he known the Gryffindor they'd be talking for hours but given the fact he didn't even know her name Bertie's barriers were still raised, something that saddened him for his biggest insecurity was his lack of confidence and fear of not being liked or misunderstood. After a childhood of not fitting in you can understand why but Bertie had hoped that would change upon arriving at Hogwarts where he had hoped to have been considered 'normal'.

Celine saw the boy shift uncomfortably and she felt an inkling of guilt. "Sorry," she shrugged, still smiling sweetly, "got excited. Most people aren't this keen on spending their free time doing puzzles." She didn't mean it as an insult, it was honestly interesting. It's not something she was personally fascinated with.. but to each their own right? "Is that what you do back here?" She was hoping to get the boy talking, she wouldn't be satisfied with just one word. This was slowly becoming her new project.

It was a good thing the Gryffindor knew how to talk, because she could most certainly do enough for the both of them. She settled into a nearby seat, doing her best to mind personal boundaries and whatnot. Her large earrings jangled as she adjusted her view. "I love these. My papa used to sit down at the table and test us. When we'd get something right, he'd give us a chocolate." She ran her hands over her skirt and smiled to herself as she remembered the fond memory.

"It's actually quite impressive," the blonde girl complemented, "very Ravenclaw of you!" She, of course, meant it in the best way possible. She figured the best way to get a person to warm up to you was to offer some complements and to show that you weren't a threat. Or perhaps she was mixing people up with hippogriffs... Well, it was practically the same.

"Oh! I'm Celine, by the way, nice to meet you!" She stuck out her hand for a quick shake. "Can I join you? I'm a little bored, figured I'd see what you were up to, I see you over here quite often." She didn't want him to think she'd be watching him extensively, she hadn't, she did have some form of life.. but he was noticed and she hated to see someone sit alone for so long.

(Ooc: sorry for my slow replies I have a few assignments that I need to do! )

The girl clearly hadn't been in the Ravenclaw Common Room. Maybe in Gryffindor crossword puzzles weren't a common enjoyment but up the tower of the eagles Bertie could guarantee a group of students would be gathered around the sofas all putting their heads together to figure the puzzle out. Maybe he should join in with them, he'd get to know his peers a lot more for certain, but there was the fact that the group had already formed a tight bond, something that Bertie always found hard to penetrate.

The girl, who called herself Celine, would have fit right in the Ravenclaw Common Room after dinner, well, if she loved crossword puzzles as much as she said. It certainly seemed as though she did, especially after reminiscing of the way her Father would give her a chocolate. It seemed like a wonderful thing to do and Bertie couldn't help but surpass a smile. Not that he was ready to be a Father right now but one day he hoped he'd be that sort of Father, the kind to do crosswords with their children and encourage them into learning with a treat or two.

'Thanks and sure, feel free to sit down. I'm Bertie.' The Ravenclaw said. Choosing to ignore the fact she 'quite often' saw him alone Bertie gestured to the seat across from her so that they could sit face to face.

'I'm guessing you don't get a group of students working on these in your common room every night then?' He asked, blinking slightly at how effortless it was to talk to her. For some reason it didn't seem that difficult to talk to the girl, maybe because she was doing most of the talking.

'Oh, four down you don't suppose it's the Knight Bus do you? I can't think of anything else that matches the description apart from the Hogwarts Express but that's too long?' He asked, passing the paper across to her so that she could read the clue: An adaption to a muggle form of transport.