Searching For Answers (Naomi)

Humphrey was more than a little frustrated and worried about Brooklyn now, the last time he'd seen her had been in the hospital and now the new school year had started and she wasn't even there. Perhaps she had decided not to come back to Hogwarts, or she had decided to get away from her dad and hide somewhere. He couldn't stop the worry and fear that she could be dead from speaking up now and then, though. At this point he didn't care that much whether she wanted to be his girlfriend or not, he just wanted to know that the best friend he'd made at Hogwarts was safe. Was that so much to ask for?

So here he was, looking through the dungeons for either the entrance to the Slytherin common room, or one of the students to question about Brooklyn. Hopefully one of them had heard something, but he wasn't sure that even if they knew they would tell him. Slytherins weren't exactly on the best terms with most of the school, and even though some of it was probably unfair stereotyping, some students like Dakota had given the other students cause to be wary. His wand was still in his pocket, but he kept a hand on it just in case it was needed. Hearing footsteps, he whirled around to see who it was. "Hello?"

Humphrey gulped nervously when he saw an entire group of Slytherin girls, not just one, and the one who was obviously the leader started addressing him. Putting on a determined expression, he eyed the group warily in case one decided to draw a wand. "Definitely not lost, I was actually looking for some snakes to talk to. You see, I have a few questions about a close friend of mine." he explained, wondering if he should go ahead and give the name. First, he decided to see how they responded to his statement about the questions, wade in to test the waters a little bit at a time instead of diving headfirst.

When she made the comment about snakes biting his eyes narrowed in suspicion, but he merely nodded. "You don't need to warn me about snakes knowing how to bite, miss. This year in Diagon when I was helping my sister shop for an owl we had a run in with Dakota, a fellow Hufflepuff I know said some things to her and they very nearly started casting spells right int he middle of the shop. Thankfully, no harm was done, but I'm not some kid who's new to Hogwarts and doesn't know who to watch out for." Humphrey explained calmly, one hand hovering over the handle of his wand in case it was needed. "But, there's no need to fight without cause, yes?" he asked.

During his talk, he kept his eyes on the leader and only occasionally checked his peripheral vision to watch the other girls. It would have been obvious to even the dullest of students at Hogwarts that she was the one in this group to keep an eye on. To her credit, though, she hadn't started attacking him just because he was in the way or in her territory like some others of the Slytherin students might have. He was trying not to judge them all by Dakota's standards, after all Brooklyn had been rather nice, really. A bit sarcastic at times and cold, but a good person.

Looking straight into her eyes, and nodded the affirmative. "If you must know, I thought she was more than a friend at one point." Humphrey said, deciding to be honest about his reasons for seeking out snakes to talk to. He wasn't a good liar, and really saw nothing to gain from hiding what he was here about. She would find out if he tried, and then she wouldn't answer anything because she would most likely not trust him because of it. She'd probably make fun of him for seeking snakes to ask about another girl, but he could take that if he found out she was okay.

To his surprise, she motioned for the other girls to leave her and soon it was just the two of them. Humphrey was rather grateful it was just one now instead of a full group, but the girl did look kind of mad. Never a good sign when a girl looks angry at you. "I wasn't trying to compare you to her, merely pointing out that I know snakes know how to bite. You've actually been rather neutral towards me so far." he said, with a shrug. When she called him honey he gave her a glare, but took his hand away anyways. "You don't even know my first name as far as I know, so don't call me pet names." he told her. Not the smartest thing to order a Slytherin, but it made him uncomfortable when she talked like that.

"Brooklyn Rae, have you heard anything about her? Last I saw her was Christmas, and I'm...well, I'm worried about her, okay. If she doesn't want to talk to me fine, I just...want to know she's alright." he said, trying to keep the emotion from his voice but failing, a few tears welling up before he wiped them away with his hand.

To be honest, he wasn't sure what to make of that eyebrow raise. Was it disbelief that he could actually get a girlfriend, or something else? Humphrey really had no idea, and not being able to get a read on her was unsettling. He knew he wasn't the best, but he usually had some idea. "What exactly is it that you see?" he asked, wondering what she thought about him coming here to ask about a girl. Did she think it was too emotional or silly of him to come here asking about a girl? It wouldn't surprise him.

"You're a rather moody person, aren't you?" Humphrey asked, chuckling a little but starting to feel slightly more comfortable. One moment she seemed fairly nice, but then she'd say something and he'd wonder if she was annoyed with him. Although, it could be simply a girl thing that he didn't understand. There were a lot of those, even Casey confused him sometimes though thankfully she was pretty straightforward most of the time.

The name buttercup caused an audible groan to come out, and he shook his head rapidly no. Then he saw that she was teasing and he stuck his tongue out at her briefly before replying. "Fine, my name is Humphrey Stephen Williams. What's yours, nosy?" he asked, giving her a nickname of her own since she wanted to play that way. Humphrey had to appreciate the humor, even if it was at his expense.

As the Slytherin kept talking tears started welling up in his eyes, and this time he didn't try to hide them or brush them away, he just let it happen. Humphrey could live with her thinking him weak, hearing that Brooklyn couldn't even tell him herself and chose to hide was more painful than anything he'd imagined. The only consolation was that at least he knew she was safe now. "I thought she actually cared about me, I was there for her when she'd nearly died and...crap, this hurts." he said, sitting down and bringing his knees up to his chest before resting his chin on them. It was the best way to stop from shaking too much as tears continued to fall. "A-at least at least she's s-s-safe. Thank you for being honest with m-me, more than Brooklyn did." he told her, his voice stuttering at times as he tried to talk through the tears.

A minute or two later, and he was still crying a little but wasn't shaking as much as before. When he felt a hand on his shoulder he flinched hard, shying away. "Sorry, I just...don't like being touched by people I don't know. It's not you." Humphrey assured her, having gathered himself enough so he could talk without stuttering at least.

Smiling a little when she told him he was wasting his time around here, he shook his head. "Not a waste of time at all. I got closure, and...if you aren't opposed, perhaps a friend? Or, call it an acquaintance for now if not a friend." he suggested.

Not getting a response irked him slightly, but he tried not to let her get under his skin too much. That was the real danger in talking to girls, Slytherin or not if they got under your skin you were in trouble. When Brooklyn and him had first met he'd been rather annoyed and irritated by her after all, and then they'd wound up going out. Perhaps it was better to steer clear of Slytherins, Humphrey thought to himself, but then shrugged because he didn't want to be that prejudiced and decided to go on a person-by-person basis. Dakota, definitely not, this person....possible friend? Once that was categorized in his head, he refocused on the conversation at hand.

"Didn't mean it in a bad way, I'm sorry if I offended you. It's just...well, one moment you act one way and the next completely different. What am I supposed to think? That it's normal behavior?" Humphrey asked, not really upset, just more confused and flustered than anything else at this point. Part of him wanted to know why he even cared what she thought about him, but the thing was he always wanted to make new friends. Even if it was somebody he didn't really necessarily like or understand, he wanted to befriend them, so he could. Something he'd learned that his sister had taught him was that there was always nice and good things in people, even if you couldn't always see it. So far, she had been right, in his experience at least.

"A pleasure meeting you, Naomi." Humphrey said, smiling a little. He said her name once more under his breath, thinking it was rather cute. "That's a pretty name, what's it mean?" he asked, looking at her curiously. The meanings of names was something he'd always been interested in, even if it didn't always match the person the name belonged to. A bit nerdy, probably, but he'd never really minded being called one. If he hadn't been Hufflepuff he was certain he would have been a Ravenclaw.

Crying in front of people he didn't know was not something he was comfortable with or proud about, and even though he'd learned her name she was still a stranger. Humphrey didn't like feeling weak or showing it to others, but he'd really cared for Brooklyn. That she hadn't even thought it worth her time to tell him herself or at the very least write an owl hurt just as much as the fact she didn't want him any more. Secretly, he'd always thought she was too good for him and their relationship was too good to be true, but it had started off so well that he'd started to hope maybe it was real and would last. Turns out he'd been dead wrong. They weren't happy thoughts, but the thinking helped distract him from the pain.

Hearing Naomi say Brooklyn couldn't have been that into him was like a slap to the face and he flinched again. "I don't know Brooklyn's reasons for her behavior, but she wasn't toying with me! She's not that kind of girl." he said loudly, not having his usual measure of self-control. "Sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you, Naomi. She was my best friend here, not just a girl I liked, you know? Hurts having somebody you cared about and trusted treat you like dirt." he mumbled, and then slowly stood up and rubbed as much of the salty tears away as he could with his hands.

The apology for touching him made him shake his head, and he smiled sadly at her. "Not your fault, you didn't know. No harm done." Humphrey told her quietly. "I'll probably go find my sister after this, she's the only one I really feel comfortable talking to about....feelings like this. Younger than I am, but she's always honest and figures out how to set my crooked head back on straight, and gives the best hugs." he told her, chuckling at how silly that sounded.

Blushing pink when she called him an odd boy, he tried to think of a reasonable response to that. "Heard it before, don't worry too much about it. I just be me, and if that's odd well I prefer odd." he told her with a shrug. Humphrey wasn't sure if that made the most sense, but hopefully she could understand what he meant. "Let's get one thing straight, it wasn't you who made me cry. That was Brooke, but apparently she's too much of a coward to be honest when she stopped liking me back. You've been rather straightforward, and I appreciate that. So, yeah, acquaintances and soon to be friends." Humphrey said with a wink, holding his hand out to shake on it.