Getting Acquainted [Closed]

Darcy walked out of her home in mid-town London because she had made some plans to meet up in Hyde Park. She had indeed received an owl from Lucy Malfoy to meet her somewhere, and Darcy was really getting excited. Lucy had seemed very rushed the first time Darcy met her, but she had taken the time to say a few really nice lines to Darcy despite the rushed mood. So Darcy was very keen to get to know Lucy.

She walked down the stone steps of her house and walked towards the underground station. Darcy had been at Hyde Park a thousand times, because it was only one station away. She thoroughly enjoyed studying there, especially at nice summer days like this. She left the Knightsbridge station on the Piccadilly line and reached Hyde Park Corner in a few minutes.

As she got up from the underground, the sun shone brightly and lit up her blonde hair. She noticed how people turned to look at her when she walked by and she sighed. She was glad she wasn't her mother... It must be hard to not be able to walk amongst muggles due to being a Veela. Darcy was luckily just half a Veela, and she was really happy about that sometimes. Especially on days like this.

She entered the park and strolled casually towards a nice spot near the Serpentine Bar and Kitchen, where she had suggested they'd meet. She took out a nice, green blanket, and placed it neatly on the ground, big enough for at least five people. Then she picked up her book and started reading, waiting patiently for Lucy to show.

Lucy had expected Darcy to come up with a more quiet, reserved, for their meeting, though she was excited to meet the girl. As an older sister, she was quite protective and encouraged Ryland to make as many friends as he wanted to, and she'd heard enough about Darcy to know she was one of his most loved friends. Despite this, her clothing was the worst decision she had to make today. Her closet was laid out on her bed, covering every space and showing off what she had recently bought. It was windy, but not cold, so she figured she could wear a dress. "What if I need to walk too much?" She wondered out loud, feeling warmth rise up to her cheeks. Why was it so hard to pick something to wear? Finally, she remembered she'd be on her broom so she opted to wear a pair of jeans and one of Wade' old black shirts paired with her usual sneakers. Now that her beloved cousin was no longer living with them, she missed him even more, meaning she wore his old shirts more often than before.

She met Ryland at the back door, where she kissed Phoenix goodbye. "Are you sure you don't want me to come?" Her father asked them. He'd been hesitant about this meeting due to the recent attacks at London. The Dark Wizards had been in Soho, prompting her father to worry about them even more. "I've got everything I need to protect myself in here." She smiled as she held up the small blue bag with the enlarging spell, a gift from Wade. She sighed at the thought and summoned her broom, mounting it as soon as she could to let go of her depressing thoughts. "We'll be back before sunset." she said as she flew away, feeling her worries slip into nothingness.

On the way there, they stopped by a secluded alley, in which she kept hers and Ryland's broom on her bag. "We better hurry up, I don't want her to wait too long." She said as she walked out of the alley and into the busy street. The sun caught her by surprise, sending a warm feeling all over her as she smiled up at the sky. Walking along her brother was always soothing and welcome, but this time she was more worried about what Darcy would think of them after this. Did she know Ryland's last name? Did she know he was adopted? Did she know he'd gotten in a fight? In many fights? Lucy's hands began to sweat a bit with anticipation and anxiety. No. Darcy was a sweet girl, or so she'd heard. She'd understand even if she didn't know by now.

They soon turned around to find Hyde Park only a few breaths away. There were a few people walking around, others reading or playing guitar, but a beautiful young girl with blonde hair caught her eye. There was no way a girl like that would go unnoticed in a park. Her thoughts were confirmed as a boy about her age walked by and glanced at the girl, who was reading a book, and Lucy walked towards her. "Hello Darcy!" she gave the girl a smile.

Ryland, unlike his sister, had quickly put on whatever he found and gone down to the kitchen to grab a few snacks. Now that he possessed certain qualities Phoenix and Lucy were constantly making fun of him for, he tried to eat the steaks alone. There were rare cases in which he could manage to do so, and thankfully today was one of those. He walked to the fridge, feeling an intense sense of relaxation. All in all, Ryland was a messed up kid. His fourth year had been hell. First, he beats Wade up. Second, he gets attacked by a werewolf. Third, he lets his anger out in front of people he cares. Fourth, he attacks Aylee under the Imperius only to get his butt kicked. And finally, his cousin leaves. As silly as it must sound, food was Ryland's only good thing at the moment.

"Don't eat too much or you'll throw up on the way." He heard a voice coming from behind him, Phoenix's voice. Ryland was caught red-handed, which made him laugh a little as he did have some blood on his hands from the steak he had just taken out of the fridge. "I'll keep that in mind." he took a bit out of his snack, a bit too wildly from the look on Phoenix's face. "Sorry." he muttered after he finished it and proceeded to wash his hands. "You know how I feel about this." Phoenix continued, still standing by the doorway. Ryland gave him a soft smile, "We'll be fine. I'm a tough wolf." Things like this were now becoming a joke in the family, simple comments to forget the incident. Phoenix had promised to talk to Professor Vega and the Auror, which only made Ryland regret telling him. Phoenix laughed and patted his shoulder, "Come on, Lucy hates to wait."

They headed to the back door, with Ryland already holding his own broom to meet Lucy. Though his sister had sort of a license, she hated driving. It was the only muggle thing Lucy hated as far as he knew. Ryland mounted his broom and watched the small conversation between his father and his sister. The old man was clearly worried. Soon enough, Lucy was flying away as if running from something she didn't want to face. Those little actions had become common now that Wade was gone; Ryland could easily tell how much she missed him. He followed, gripping his broom tightly as to not fly off and kill himself by accident. Though he liked flying, he hated the landing. He always got a little light-headed as he landed, making him remember how easy it was for him to lose balance.

"Are we there yet?" Ryland asked as he had no idea where Hyde Park was, or what it looked like. They walked a few streets until they finally reached a beautiful green space. It was like a French garden, but better. Ryland smiled brightly as he caught up with Lucy who had hurried him up because of their timing. He got distracted by a few muggles that were walking around when he noticed how the sunny day made everyone look even more beautiful and natural. He turned to Lucy, who was glancing at a girl nearby. "That's Darcy." He stated the obvious. He walked towards her, smiling, and waving at her.

Darcy had just finished the third page of her book when she heard someone call out to her. She looked up with a big grin plastered on her face. She waved to Ryland and Lucy. "Hey guys!" she greeted happily and closed her book, scooting a bit over to make room for the two of them. She patted the blanket and looked at them.

Ryland looked much like he always did, though there was something about him that seemed to be worrying him. Darcy had no idea what, though. She looked to Lucy and smiled. "I love the outfit," she said, really liking the whole wearing things that were bigger than your normal size. "So, what have you guys been up to until now?" she asked, thinking of the holiday.

Hearing Darcy compliment Lucy made him smile. Why did girls always have to bring clothes up as a topic? Was it a gender thing? Ryland turned to his housemate as she asked about their holiday, at this, he grinned. "I've been listening to this girl scream her favorite songs. She says she's singing, but I doubt that's what it's called!" He flashed her a smile, a sign that he meant it as a joke.
Now that they were all here, he found his worries about flying completely forgotten, and his smile even brighter. After last term, he was glad that his eyes were still green, and that he was free to do what he wanted without being forced to so. He allowed himself to indulge in the simple pleasures he was being given.

Darcy had to laugh at Ryland's comment, and looked at Lucy. "I do the same thing. I love to sing at all the songs in the world, even though I miss every note," she said, grinning sheepishly. She grinned back at Ryland then and tilted her head to the side. "What flaws do Ryland have, then, Lucy? Does he sing way out of tune, or does he eat like a dog, or does he simply steal all of your products to make his hair look like that?" she asked, ruffling Ryland's hair at the last statement, and having no idea of what a jackpot she hit when she said 'eat like a dog'.

She grinned at them and she felt really happy to have someone to talk to. She was planning on sending a letter to Evan in not too long, as she hadn't heard from him, even though it was only the second week into the holidays. She had about nothing to do and it was starting to get way too boring. She had read two books already...


OOC: I totally wrote down those things completely randomly, and when I saw that I had written 'eat like a dog' I was like: WOAH! Subconsciousness strikes again! Really fun!

Lucy blushed at Ryland's com,went, only to smile as soon as he smiled at her. Soon realizing it was a joke, she laughed along with Darcy and let her insecurities go. "Well..." Lucy was about to begin a list of Ryland's flaws but realized Darcy wasn't finished and she didn't want to interrupt. It was a great decision that she didn't because Darcy's comment turned out to be priceless! She quickly turned to Ryland, "Does she know?". Lucy's smile became bigger as she answered her own questions, "Ryland's kind of part dog, so he definitely eats like one. He eats steaks raw! You should see him sneaking around every night for a snack." She was still grinning when she thought of something else to embarrass him. "And he's practically in love!" She glanced at him, "Can you say puppy love?" Lucy made a face as she turned to her brother.

Definitely a gender thing, he thought as Darcy ruffled his "I have no flaws, I am perfect." Ryland was sure everyone knew he was the least perfect person, possibly the most screwed up, but he smiled nevertheless. He thought about how Darcy had unknowingly joked about his condition, and smiled at her before looking down at his hands. Before he knew it, Lucy was already explaining everything to her. "I did tell her." He muttered, only to see the mischievious look on his sister's face. "Are  you kidding me?! I am not in love. Love is a terrible emotion." Ryland shouted worriedly, not loud or angry, playful actually. His green eyes flashed to Darcy, "Don't listen to her. She's crazy. Let's talk about how the sun makes your skin glow. Girls like that, don't they?" he pushed Lucy to the side.

Darcy grinned at them. She really enjoyed talking to them, they were so close. Sometimes she cursed being an only child. She would love to have a sister or a brother. Or both. But her one chance at getting a sibling had been destroyed as her mother gave birth to a stillborn. Her parents had been wrecked by that and they never tried again.

Darcy blinked and returned to the subject at hand when Lucy said that Ryland was part dog. She raised an eyebrow thoughtfully. There was something about the way that Lucy said it that made Darcy think it wasn't just a choice of words. She then remembered back to the clocktower. Her eyes turned wide. "That... that werewolf scratch, it affected you?" she asked, her voice low and worry exploding through her body.

But the way they seemed so used to it, made her feel a bit more safe with it as well, and she couldn't help but give a snort as Lucy said 'puppy love'. "Sorry," she apologized, but gave a sneaky look at Lucy, saying something along the lines of 'oh, he's got it good'.

She raised her eyebrows at Ryland's miserable try to change the subject. She then sighed. "It is. Just not for people who are part Veela," she said with a shrug, "Because that's just our nature, and I kind of don't like it that much..."