You Might Just Be Interesting Enough (Wesley)

Guest

Madison and Melody had not been allowed to shop together, not after what happened the last summer. It didn't really matter all that much -- they still talked about what they would each buy respectively, so that they would match -- but it was still not a nice feeling to be shopping without Melody by her side.

In any case, Madison had been allowed to go by herself on the condition she behave, and without Melody there her promise to do so had been believed rather quickly. And so Madison had all the freedom to do whatever she wanted, so long as she met her dad at the allocated area at the specific time. With money in her bag and a shopping list that had nothing to do with school and everything to do with Melody and her upcoming year at Hogwarts, Madison was happy to spend her time browsing shops.

Hours later and with almost all her shopping done, Madison stepped into Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour. She'd heard from some of her posse that they'd recently introduced a new flavour, and she was curious.

The shop was rather full and as her gaze drifted over to the sign declaring a current promotion, she rolled her eyes. Of course on the day she wanted to get ice cream alone there was a buy one free one scoop thing going on. I'll just have to eat two scoops, then, she told herself, moving over to the cue and waiting her turn.

She ordered her usual, deciding that the latest flavour was not something she wanted to try, and found her way to an empty table. A couple times some people had asked her if she would mind sharing the table with them, as there were limited seats, but a simple raised eyebrow combined with a 'really' look had them saying 'never mind' rather quickly.

No, Madison only ever shared with Melody or someone interesting enough for her.

Guest

Wesley had been shown to Diagon Alley by someone from the British Ministry because his mother couldn't come to the Magical place. After being shown in to the street, and how to get back to Muggle London to get on a train back to Scotland, Wesley had been left alone. He didn't really have an opinion on being left alone, it was neither a good nor a bad thing.

Eyes downcast, the boy had made his way to Gringott's and he'd taken out a sizeable amount of money for his school supplies. New uniform was a must as his Durmstrang clothes were now redundant, and it had taken a while to get himself fitted in and amongst the copious amounts of eleven year olds buzzing with excitement. The lady had tried to get the boy to speak, but upon finding Wesley's responses both very short and unenthusiastic, she'd given in.

Only the part about his house stayed with Wesley... his house? He had no idea what she'd meant.

From the clothes shop Wesley had moved to collect his books, having to wait longer for his copies to be found because he'd asked for the Bulgarian editions. Wesley was bilingual, yes, but he was much more comfortable in the tongue of his father's country.

The shops whizzed by, until Wesley's stomach gave a growl. Self care, he'd been taught, was imperative not to allow himself a relapse. And though starving himself had never been something he'd done, the Bulgarian didn't wish to risk his mental stability. Noticing the ice cream shop, Wesley hurried inside, and took a menu, moving out of the way of everyone and scanning through it with minor interest. Translating the words back to Bulgarian for ease, Wesley decided on the gingerbread ice-cream, complete with little pieces of gingerbread in it. Moving to the counter, Wesley went to order, before being spoken over.

Being subdued, Wesley waited, glancing back down at his feet as he waited.

"What can I get you sweetie?" The woman asked kindly, and Wesley looked up with caution, finding the woman to be speaking to him.

"Umm... gingerbread ice cream, please..." The boy said, his accent inflicting the normally softer English words. It was glaringly obvious he'd only just transferred from Bulgaria and he was very, very conscious about it. The witch, however, didn't seem deterred and fulfilled the order quickly, before taking the money for the ice-cream and sending Wesley on his way.

The boy turned to find a seat, and found them all full. Grimacing at the inconvenience, Wesley's eyes faltered away from the faces around him, and he simply stood awkwardly, trying to eat his ice-cream, whilst also waiting for place to come free.

Guest

Madison watched the crowd as she ate, categorising people as they passed by and practising her body language skills. It was her strong suit, but there was no harm in practising; she was also practising her ability to read how people interacted. This one her sister was better at, not that Madison minded. After all, that's why they were twins; where one lacked, the other picked up.

There were a few people she recognised from around Hogwarts but she neither said hello or acknowledged them. None of them were, after all, those she considered friends. Still, it was interesting to see them outside of school, watching and learning their behaviour, looking for anything she could potentially use.

The problem with school currently was the lack of anyone remotely fun. Everyone who could be played with had already been played with, and the younger years were too young for them to toy with. Sure, they could use some of them to run errands and whatnot, but now that they were older, they looked for a different kind of fun -- and that was definitely not something an eleven year old could deliver.

Her attention was drawn away by the entrance of a new person. He had shopping bags that seemed to be carrying school items, but he looked too old to be a first year -- no, he looked at least her age, if not slightly older. She didn't recognise him, and while it was possible that there were people in school that she didn't know, he was too awkward for her to not have noticed. After all, they were the fun ones. Quite certain that he was not from Hogwarts, she frowned a little to herself. He had a bag from the uniform shop, so obviously he meant to go to school... What was he, then? A transfer student?

She perked up a little at that notion. There weren't too many of those, but they always proved to be amusing. Lifting another spoon of ice cream into her mouth, she savoured the taste of honeycomb as she kept her eyes on the strange boy, watching, waiting, taking mental notes. From where she was seated, she couldn't make out his words, especially so with the chatter going on around her.

And then he did something really interesting. Instead of finding a seat or asking to join a table, he stood in the middle of the isle nearest to her, bags on his arm and ice cream in one hand... She let out the softest chuckle under her breath. Merlin he was beyond any kind of 'awkward' she'd ever seen. The word 'playtime' entered her mind again and she acknowledged it this time with a light, contented sigh.

It seems fun found her, after all. She only wished she had Melody with her.

Reaching over, she waved a hand in his direction, waiting for him to look over. "Hey, why don't you join me here?" she asked, when he did. "It beats standing, I'm sure, and I'm not expecting anyone else. I mean, I don't bite, sooo..." She trailed off, ending in a faked nervous laugh. "If you want to, that is," she added, playing the part of friendly to a t.

Guest

Wesley had, in truth, been quite happy, standing n his own, minding his own business, and not, for any reason, getting in anyone else's way. It was something he'd perfected, over time, to not get in the way, and to make sure that he never drew attention to himself. For the most part, this worked as well. Becoming invisible kept you from being noticed by bullies, and people who wished you ill will.

Except, today, his chameleon abilities - as he loved to call it - had not worked.

His eye had been caught by a movement meant to do just that, and the Bulgarian boy had only half looked up. Noticing a witch waving in his direction, Wesley had done a very small check over his shoulder for someone else, before settling that this girl wanted his attention. Stomach filling with dread, the boy. People were never nice without a reason for being so, Durmstrang had taught him to never trust anyone.

And yet, he never looked as if he was being suspicious, either.

Biting his lip, the boy gave a small nod - but only after the small, nervous laugh - to show his consent to the moving to sit with the girl. Well, he would sit, he doubted he would do anything else with the girl, because he was not very good in social situations.

Placing his bags on the floor, Wesley scooted in the empty seat until he was close to the window, eyes watching the people outside, but not necessarily taking any of it in. Before remembering himself, and turning back to the witch for half a heartbeat. "Thank you." He told her with a small, soft smile, before his attention was forced back outside.

It was rude, in every culture, he was sure, but Wesley just couldn't bring himself to create conversation with strangers. Much less in a foreign country. Much less when he was still adjusting to this new life. It was... too much.

Guest

Very carefully, Madison watched him as he accepted, his small nod telling her even more; he was painfully shy, and while she'd already figured that much out, he was now appearing even more so than she first anticipated. Perfect, she thought, hiding her smile in that moment. Already her brain was churning with ideas. The shy were always so much fun to toy with, so incredibly mallable and pliable to one's tune... What would she do? What could she do? There were so many choices, so many paths she could take, many of which were complete opposites.

Pretending to be preoccupied with her ice cream, she noted his movements, from the way he edged his seat to the way his eyes took in the people walking past. Was he observing them like she did, getting a read on them so he best knew how to play them? No, it didn't seem like that. Rather, it appeared to be that he simply did not like social situations in general, and that brought another smile to her lips.

To the thank you, she merely smiled, said "You're most welcome," and left it at that. She was still thinking, still plotting, and for a minute or so more she watched him, taking in his posture. There'd been an accent to his voice, but two words hadn't been quite enough to figure out what exactly it was. Still, if he was a transfer, that meant he was new entirey and knew nobody in Hogwarts. That revelation brought forth a slight glimmer in her eyes.

She knew, now, what she was going to do, should he prove interesting enough (that would be decided shortly, with a little more prying, and hopefully by the end of their meeting) -- she would make him the most popular boy in school. Or, at the very least, try her utmost hardest to do so.

It would be an experiment of sorts, seeing if it was possible to take possibly the shiest person she'd ever met and thrust fame and social life onto him. It would also be ridiculously fun to see him squirm and freak out over all the attention. Yes, it would possibly be the best game she'd ever done...

But before that, she'd have to figure out if he was a liable canditate.

So, looking towards him, she said (in as friendly a tone as she could muster without sounding fake) "Are you visiting Wizarding Britian? I don't mean to pry; it's just that you look to be my age and I can't help but wonder why I've never seen you around school..." She shrugged, popped another bite of ice cream into her mouth, swallowed, and continued. "I'm Madison, by the way, but you can call me anything you want. I'm not fussy." She actually was, but she wasn't going to tell him that. Not yet, anyway. "What's your name?"

Guest

Wesley had left the conversation at the thank you, more than happy to mind his own business, and watch people as they moved by. He'd heard the 'you're welcome' from the witch, but if he acknowledged that then a conversation would spark, and quite honestly, the Bulgarian didn't really want one.

No, he kept his eyes outside, even if they weren't taking anything in. That way,
it was almost obvious that he wasn't the social kind. His mother would likely berate him if she could see how he was acting in that moment, but Wesley's mum wasn't here, so he could do exactly what he wanted.

Or... so he'd thought.

The lack of conversation hadn't lasted, and Wesley's eyes (rather reluctantly) moved back to the witch as she spoke to him. The question about him visiting brought a small, wry smile to his lips, and he shook his head. Though, the witch continued, pausing only to eat a small spoon of ice cream, before she introduced herself and asked him his name.

Thankful of being bilingual in that moment, Wesley ran through the words once more in his head just to check that he wasn't going to answer incorrectly before he spoke. "My name is Wesley." He told the witch, very conscious now of his accent. His eyes flickered away from the witch for a moment, not sure on how to explain the situation he'd found himself in. So... he summarised.

"My family moved to England, from Bulgaria, over the summer. So, I will be transferring to Hogwarts in September." Wesley explained. He'd not lied, his mum was his family, and he would be moving to Hogwarts, but he'd left out a lot of information that wouldn't be necessary for a witch he'd just met. The boy's focus returned to his ice cream, though, because Madison - as he now knew her name -
was quite obviously English. She had likely been to Hogwarts the whole time.

Guest

Even as he watched the people through the window, Madison was scheming. How would she bring his popularity up? It was one thing to befriend him; sure, that would help, considering she was popular, but was that enough? No. She wanted to push the boundaries, see how far into the spotlight she could shove him -- and, if at all possible, leave him in -- without it being obvious that was her goal.

Parties. She could start by inviting him for a party -- Corbin's, naturally -- but the plus one was for special people. It would be too odd for her to be brigning a boy she'd just met, especially when most of her other friends worked hard to earn that position. Naturally, they knew that deal would stop the moment she got a...

Her eyes lit up, and she had to will away the gleam, focusing on other things instead. Boyfriend! That was it. She would make Wesley her boyfriend, somehow, someway, and anyone worthy of dating Madison Bishop (or her sister) was someone worth noticing. It was so simple, so devious, that for a moment Madison wanted nothing more than to gloat to Melody her perfect plan. But she bit back excitement, locking it away for later, and focused on the here and now.

There were even more questions now. How would she get Wesley to fall for her? It would be a long game, built up over time; it would be at least half a year before they could get together, or it would be too quick, too suspcious. If she played her cards right and the circumstances lined up, she'd have him on her arm by the sixth month; but circumstances, she knew, hardly counted, and mentally she assigned a year for this stage.

If it happened earlier, good; if it didn't, it wasn't an issue.

But before any of that could happen, she'd have to make friends with him -- and that alone was her goal for the day. As he began to speak, she pushed everything aside and focused sorely on him, looking for buttons to press and strings to pull. Bulgaria... That explained the accent.

She knew, automatically, if she wasn't friends with him she'd have been his bully; transfer students were the easiest to pick on. Could that be a way to his heart? It wouldn't be too hard to arrange for someone to tease him, push him around... She could step in, tell them off, apologise to him... Her lips twitched into a genuine smile.

"Bulgaria?" she repeated. "I've always wanted to visit that country; I've heard wonderful things about it. Do you miss it?" She paused, considering her options for a moment, and then added, "What year will you be in? If you want, I can show you around. I know how scary it can be to move to a new school. It might help to already have a friend waiting for you."

Guest

Wesley's attention was not being allowed to stay on his ice cream, something he was noticing with increasing intensity as the time passed. Obviously, the witch before him was a talker. Someone who thrived on conversation, or, that was what Wesley had summarised from their short time together. Whether or not that was a good thing was not something Wesley was sure about, though, so he simply allowed her to continue as he ate.

The comment on always wanting to go to Bulgaria made the boy raise his eyebrow slightly - in to his ice cream, not directly at the witch, though this would likely be easy enough for Madison to see - at that. Why would she want to see Bulgaria? It was pretty enough, yes, but it wasn't a normal destination to want to go to, was it? His mum had always said as much...

The question of missing his home country made Wesley shake his head without a second thought. "England is a much nicer place." Wesley replied. The fact is didn't play host to his brother was one positive. The second, being that Hogwarts was not Durmstrang. But, once again, Wesley did not elaborate on this point further than the words he'd said. He wasn't going to lay his story bare to a stranger, after all.

Even if said stranger was portraying a nice person, Wesley was not quite so naive as to believe her harmless. Durmstrang had taught him much better than that.

"I'll be going in to my sixth year." Wesley told the witch with a small smile. "There are tests, I believe. I don't know what you call them here, though." Wesley added, not knowing the British equivalent. The offer made Wesley consider the witch for a moment, trying to decide if she was toying with him, before he nodded slowly. "That would be nice. If... you don't mind, of course." Wesley replied, a small smile of thanks on his lips.

Pausing to take up a mouthful of ice cream, eating it, and then turning back to Madison, Wesley asked. "And, what about you? What year will you be in?" He asked, wondering if she was his age, or slightly younger, not that it mattered to him either way.

Guest

His slight movement, although hidden, was one Madison caught at once. It wasn't hard, after all, when one was particularly looking out for facial expressions and body posture. Besides, she knew people who were much better at hiding emotion, and so to have someone who didn't know she read people like an open book before her made it challenge-less. She didn't falter, though. Perhaps her statement had been a bit too far fetched, even for someone as simple as Wesley.

But that wasn't a problem. He had no reason to be suspicious of her, and she didn't think he was the type to read into situations or people well. There were people around whom she lied more carefully, of course, but she did not think Wesley would be one of those people. It was only a matter of keeping track of what she told him -- and that was Melody's speciality, so all Madison would need to do was go back and tell her of the events of the day.

"I wouldn't know," she commented. "I've never been to Bulgaria, so I can't judge!" She paused, giving off a thoughtful look. "I mean, my friend's mum has told us lots about it when I'm at her place, and she's shown me pictures, but I've never been."

There, she thought. Now she'd given a reason as to why she wanted to visit Bulgaria that was plausible but not something that could readily be verified. She did, after all, have a lot of friends, not all of whom were attending Hogwarts.

He was her age, then, and she smiled, both to herself and to him. That was good. She had two years to play him, and if it was to be a long game she would definitely need time. "You've come into a stressful year," she told him, secretly glad of this fact; the more stress, the more he'd need someone to... help comfort him. "There are loads of tests and homework, or so I'm told." She paused to smile at him. "That's what friends are for, right? If you need help, I'd love to. It's not a bother at all. Why would I mind being friends?"

She let him have his moment of silence, using it to mull over things, wondering how she could make him doubly stressed so he'd have to come to her without making it obvious she was doing so. Perhaps she could recruit a couple of her more trustworthy friends? Or was too risky? She'd see how things played out later on.

Turning her attention to the question posed, she smiled. "I'll be in the same year as you." She paused. "Do you have a house you think you'll be in? If you know what those are in Hogwarts, that is. I can explain, if you want."

Guest

The explanation from the witch - which Wesley hadn't asked for, but had been given nonetheless - was one he simply filed away. He doubted the information would be returned from that file to be used at any point. It was just simple facts of why Madison had found Bulgaria to be interesting. "Maybe you will get the chance, one day." Wesley commented, though he wasn't pushing the topic further, just kind of rounding the conversation off.

That way, the topic of Bulgaria wouldn't come to bite him in the backside, as it were.

Being told that the year would stressful wasn't a surprise, they were reaching the end of the schooling life of a wizard, which meant exams galore - but Madison confirmed that much anyway, and Wesley pulled a slightly peeved face about having to take so many tests, but he would deal. Madison's words of being friends made Wesley's eyes move to hers for a moment. There was caution in his eyes - they'd only just met, could she be trusted? Instincts (from Durmstrang) told him not to jump at the opportunity. And yet.

"I'd like that." Wesley commented, giving the girl a small smile before focusing back on his ice cream once more. Whilst he might like that, he was still socially awkward.

The question of houses made Wesley frown slightly at his ice cream, trying to remember the houses. It took a few moments, before he spoke. "My mother was a Hufflepuff." He told the witch before him, using the overly formal word for his mum because his brain had had a momentary lapse on how to English. "But... I don't think I will be there. Slytherin..." The boy added, grimacing at the idea. His brother Aleksander would most certainly have been placed in that house. He shook his head at that.

"Gryffindors are brave, I have heard, and... I'm not. So, I imagine I will be left in Ravenclaw." He summarised, glancing up at the witch with an expression on his face that said he simply didn't know. But, it was an answer, he supposed.

» Meeting up with Wesley (Wesley and Alexei)
» Wesley Tonkov
» To Be A Friend (Wesley)
» A Whole New World (Wesley & The Twins)
» A Helping Hand (Wesley)