Meeting Future Colleagues (Zoya & Jake)

"Their old stuff is amazing too. So fascinating! All these little knobs and those spiky things they call cogs . So hard to source, but really rewarding." Zoya loved fixing up these old machines she kept buying at old muggle junkyards and her appreciation reflected in her tone. "Houses are okay I guess, but I live here. In the dorms." She replied pointing towards the general direction of her housing, pausing in her rapid progress through the pile of food.

"My bad, I thought with the whole American football fiasco you guys had come up with some weird ass variation of Quidditch too." She couldn't help the snickering that accompanied the words even though it was completely in earnest and meant as no insult. Even with her recent re-education she was aware of the importance and basic rules of Quidditch in the wizarding world and alternatively football in the muggle one. "Wait, you played nationals?" She broke in suddenly, whistling as she pured out her coffee. 'Wow. Then you mmust have been one of the greats. So tell me, oh-great-Quidditch-fitness-freak-player, does coffee also come on your list of 'banned' substances?" She asked cheerfully, "Come on, you won't make a pretty girl such as me drink alone now, would you?"

"I find gymming so mechanical. It seems like such a bleak prospect to go in a rom and excersice yourself artificially. It all seems so much less of a drag if there is open air to accompany it. Really feels like you are doing something." Other than the walks she was forced to take Snitch on, Zoya spent her time rollerblading around campus or even just cycling. It had been a comical few weeks for the residents to see her attempts at learning either of the skills. She had tried running too, but had given up when she found out that she was hopeless at pacing herself.

"I haven't planned that much yet, but I am guessing Auror is what I will stick to." The statement was in complete accordance of her usual sow of unconcern, further reaffirmed by her pushing her chair off its front two legs to balance on the rear ones. "Seems kinda pointless to suffer through this 2 year combat course if I cannot beat up someone when I get out. At the very least." She joked, looking around the cafeteria mock speculatively as if choosing her victims.

"Muggle? No, no. I am not muggle born. Didn't spend a lot of my childhood in proximity to them either." I guess. Zoya had to add hat mentally, because she couldn't be hundred percent sure. Judging by her family though, it wasn't that hard to guess that muggle interactions would have been low. "Oh no. Its a recent hobby. I find it feels great to really build something up from scratch." Taking a bite and looking up sheepishly, she added softly "I have been following the strict anti magic guidelines too, after the warning from the Ministry." Muggle 'realm' was an escape for her, where reminders of how much she still had to earn were few and awkward run ins even fewer. Thankfully, this one hadn't managed to turn so and she thanked her former self for not crossing paths with Jake before. "You should see my place. I bet I can get you to upgrade your apartment to calling it a mansion!"

"That's better than good mate, chill a little now." She insisted, rolling her eyes at the modesty which was an emotion beyond her spectrum. "How do you survive and how can you ever justify that your life is worth living?" Her questions were enhanced by her action of scooping up the last of the cake slice and swallowing it with an dramatically blissful expression. "There is only a few things this place makes right and you missed out on some knockout scores. On the bright side, at least you aren't averse to drinking. That at the very least, we can do together."

"I guess that makes sense." She mused, sipping her coffee. "If you find any in need of a beater, look me up. I bet I am horribly out of shape and I am pretty sure I will suck, but I did play for the school team so I cannot be all that bad either." She suggested excitedly, letting the chair drop and wondering briefly whether muscle memory counted.

"Hey, I am just working with what I got." She countered defensively, smirking all the while. "Okay okay Captain Ethics. I shall use this immense power only for the good and never let its use be above that required or against the good. May it forever be a tool to destroy evvvvvill!" Dragging the last word out and injecting a healthy dose of sarcasm, she finished the picture with some excessive hand movements to accompany the words. "About me? Um......what about me?"

The part of the sentence that struck Zoya the most was 'part magical bike', quite unsurprisingly of course; no one had ever accused her of being a good listener. "Other than the going very fast bit, what else does your bike do?" She asked, propping her head up on an elbow and sipping her coffee. "Magical stuff, I mean. Invisibility? Wait, generic. Oh! Does it shrink? Sounds like a useful ability, considering the time muggles spent cribbing on traffic and parking space." She mused, remembering the one time she had tried to build a radio from mix and match parts and had gotten stuck at one station with a lot of static disturbance. Fascinating muggle problems, really.

Suddenly, another word filtered through her phase out, causing her to straighten up and blink in confusion. "Girlfriend? You have a girlfriend?" She was feeling another round of what she called the 'phantom feels'. They were basically feelings she felt she should be feeling as a reaction to the event. Feelings that the former her probably would feel. She hadn't yet figured out whether that actually was there or.....well, not. Realizing how weird she must be looking right now, first musing, suddenly saying a line and then going back to spaced out. Creepy Zoya, creepy. "Uh.....I mean, figures. Cool. Is she hot?" Now she was just spouting the first words that came up in her mind but thankfully, the question didn't sound like a whiny girlfriend going suspicious but rather like a friend congratulating another on a score. Sleazy, but works.

"That's one way to put it." Zoya answered, making a face, "The proximity helps though. I get to sleep more, so hah! But wait, I bet you are the morning kind. Wake up in he morning, hit the gym, go make healthy, sad food." She dismissed, only meaning it in a teasing way and in no way insulting. "Really man, I cannot imagine mornings without doughnuts. Or waffles. Or pancakes. Or chocolate shake."

"Don't go on the skinny looks mister! I pack quite a punch." She admonished, wagging her finger at the wizard and flexing her muscles. Sometimes, she really let the drama go. "Yeah, Hogwarts. Its the wee school us barmy Brits go to, milad." She couldn't hold onto the overplayed accent long and collapsed into a fit of giggles, forced to take a pause before she answered the next question. "Gryffindor, and proud."

"No fair bro. I began with easy questions and you just pop a philosophical one back at me?" Zoya had to calculate a bit before she continued, wondering how much exactly she wanted Jake to know about her. The answer to that, as always, was as little as possible. So she stuck to the easiest answer. "Not figured out much really. Getting obliviated a few months back really does put a question on your whole identity thing."

"Well, honestly I wouldn't now much. At the moment gutted tellys are all I seem to be able to acquire." Zoya confessed, "And radios, and car batteries." She added, counting off the items on her finger. She glanced down at the picture, surprising herself by immediately recognizing the girl in the picture. "Yeah, yeah! I know her. I mean, I have seen her around. She always looks like she is straight out of some advert." That was what her first association was with the witch. "Quite a catch, eh?" She teased, smirking at Jake as she handed the picture back.

"Sure sure." She mock agreed, rolling her eyes as she continued, "Not that bad? What did you have for breakfast today? Better yet, when was your last 'good stuff' and what was it?" She did have to give it to him, restraints like these were beyond her capability. She was very weak willed when it came to the topic of food. "I bet, it was a different brand of cereal or something." Zoya added, sticking out her tongue childishly, accompanied by the sound of Snitch's excited barking. It seemed that he had spotted another dog passing by and was busy trying to gain its attention.

"You can bear teaching? Nice. The thought doesn't sound very appealing honestly, I am sure I will end up as one those sour, irritable teachers who keep docking off points randomly if I even do get into this field." She didn't have enough patience to stick through with the kids and that was one of the most important traits of a teacher. so she knew she would be plain bad at it. "How are the students?"

"Oh don't be." Zoya answered, waving a hand dismissively. 'Not much help, is it? Feel'n sorry." She said it like a matter of fact statement, because that was how she took it. "It's not that bad really, just that my whole being was sort of....well, for lack a better term, wiped out and now I gt to choose a new personality. Well, almost."Her voice still remained easy, like it was no big deal which after so many explanations, it had ceased to be. "The sad part is that I had to re-learn everything, from writing to tying knots." On cue, Snitch gave one strong tug and Zoya's knot for the leash unraveled leaving Snitch free. Giving a joyful bark, he wasted no time and shot off into the direction of where that dog had gone.

"Which apparently, I have yet to master." Zoya groaned, jumping up from her seat and rushing through her pockets to get some money. Whatever she got she kept it on the table and without looking up, began explaining, "I think that should cover it. Will you help?" She rushed out, barely giving him a chance to answer before she took off after the extremely fast golden retriever. "GET BACK HERE YOU.....YOU......MUTT!!!"