TERM 6 - A New Friend - Gryffindor Common Room - Aoife O'Donnell, Hunter VanDerberg

Hunter let the girl cry, rubbing her back with one of his hands. He didn't think she was stupid for crying or anything. He knew how hard it must be for her to lose her grandparents. He released her when she pulled away, offering her a hopefully comforting look. Her giggle made him smile, and he nodded when she said that she was fine. He didn't ask her anymore about her grandparents, or mention his again, because he didn't want to make her upset again.

"I know, it's no fair," he agreed. "I don't see why we can't teleport." Hunter watched on in amusement as Aoife reacted to his Sheep Whisperer suggestion. "You could have your own TV show," he said enthusiastically. "And then you wouldn't even need to start a charity to raise sheep awareness, because you'd be famous and be able to do it yourself on television!" He laughed at his own words - this was an absurd conversation. But Aoife seemed to take it very seriously, so he didn't mention that to her. She asked him if he had any talents, and he shook his head. "No, not really," he said, shrugging. "I just no how to farm and grow things. But that's okay, I don't need to be famous. I could always be your assistant!"

"Fine," she murmured again, reassuring herself more than Hunter. Aoife wiped her eyes with her sleeve. Fine. Totally fine. That conversation never happened.

Mmm. Dramatic sigh. Aoife was good at those. Even if she couldn't act in any other way. She was STILL a drama queen, no matter what Hunter said. "WOW YES YOU CAN BE MY ASSISTANT YOU'RE SO GOOD AT COOL IDEAS HUNTER." TV SHOW BEST THING EVER NEXT TO SHEEP. But a TV show, starring her, AND about sheep? You couldn't get much better than that. "Maybe we could do a FARM show together? But maybe that'd be too boring, just us riding around on tractors and stuff," she mused.

Hunter grinned as Aoife enthusiastically embraced the idea of him being her assistant. "I think a farm show would be just a little boring," he agreed, nodding. Then, tilting his head in thought, he continued. "But, I think that your Sheep TV show has lots of potential. I mean, I'm sure there's tons of people out there having problems with their sheep that need help. And you could travel around the world and teach them how to understand their sheep and everything."

Where was this conversation going? Suddenly, Hunter started laughing. He couldn't help it, and as hard as he tried, he just couldn't stop. He didn't want Aoife to think that he was laughing at her, so he managed to choke out a few words. "How did we even end up talking about this?" he asked through his laughter. This always happened to him. He'd start laughing and not be able to stop. Once he started, absolutely everything seemed funny. "I'm sorry," he breathed, trying to hold it in and failing.

"I'm not sure," she said doubtfully, crinkling her nose. "That'd be a lot of people to help with their sheep, since the show would be so popular...but I could do a world tour! Big theaters and stuff!" Hunter WOULD be the best assistant ever. Even when he hadn't come up with an idea, he gave Aoife the inspiration for a GREAT one!

Yeah, how did this odd (but still great and totally realistic) conversation come to be? "Well, I asked you what superpower you had and then I said-" Aoife was cut off when Hunter burst out laughing. She tried in vain to frown but couldn't stop the hysterical laughter coming out of her mouth. When someone else laughed, she HAD to as well.

If anyone walked in at that moment, what would they think of the two first-years rolling about laughing for no reason? This thought just made Aoife laugh harder.

After a few moments more of laughter, Hunter took a few deep breaths to collect himself. It didn't work - her laughter sent him into another fit of his own. Okay, breathe. Finally, he got a grip and forced his laughter down. He shook his head slightly and ran a hand through his hair, ruffling it. His eyes glanced at Aoife, and he grinned at her. He was suddenly extremely glad he had run into the little redhead on his way out of the common room.

"Well," he said, a few chuckles still escaping from his mouth. "I think that we're definitely going to be the most awesome best friends that this school has ever seen!" He nodded, as though affirming his own statement. Then, as an afterthought, he added. "Well, at least for two weeks." With a shrug, he turned to look around the common room. It was nice to have a friend in this place.

"I was headed down to the grounds when I bumped into you," he said. "I don't like being cooped up in this place for too long. D'you want to come with me? I heard there's a giant squid that lives in the lake!"

"I know what you mean," Aoife agreed. "At home I spend most of my time outside, so being stuck indoors all day is terrible." It truly was TRAGIC. Why couldn't ALL of their classes be held outside? The grounds were big. It couldn't be that bad an idea, surely?

And going outside would be fun. "Sure, I'd love to come! Do you think there's really a giant squid or is it a rumor?" Hunter probably wouldn't know, but maybe he'd have some sort of idea.

ooc - Sorry for the rubbish post. So is this the end? It's sort of long now, so maybe it's a good idea.

"Great!" Hunter grinned. "And I'm not sure," he admitted. "I heard that it comes on shore to lay in the sun sometimes. Maybe we could lure it out. Only I don't know what Giant Squids eat..." he trailed off, shrugging.

"Come on," he said, inclining his head toward the portrait hole and stepping toward it. He was more than ready to escape the cold stone hallways of the castle. He was just glad that he'd made a new friend on his way.

OOC - No worries, mine is too. And yeah, I thought it would make sense to end it here. We can PM about a new topic if you want. Maybe one with some other people! We'll see!