» Set Fire To the Rain

[Ezra Curtain]

Ezra stood before the fire place, his parchment crumpled up in his left hand, a quil in his right, dripping with ink. The brunet was stuck on what to right to his father. Five years have almost passed since the boy has seen the man whom raised him, and it hurt to think that he hadn't gotten a letter back in that time either. The blue-eyed boy threw the parchment into the blazing fire, watching it catch quickly and turn to ash.

Taking a few steps back, Ezzy sat in the large armchair before the fireplace and took another piece of parchment out. Scribbling away, the boy heaved a sigh, and slammed the quil unto his thiegh, effectively breaking it. Ezzy sighed again, letting the pieces loose from his hand and letting them fall to the floor. Maybe it wasn't worth writing anymore if he wasn't going to get a response at all.

[Egeria Rivers]

The diminutive Egeria Rivers sat in one of the heavily plushed seats in Gryffindor common room, her feet stretched out before her to rest on the ottoman that she'd pushed right beside the seat. Her legs might not reach the floor but she was no going to suffer either having them swing out in the air, nor sitting so far forward that her back didn't even reach the back of her seat. Her positioning was comfortable and as she lent over a piece of parchment that thanked her great grandmother for the sweets she'd just recieved and informing her that they'd arrived two days before her birthday and not late as the old woman had feared.

Her hazel eyes darted upwards and widened at the boy who stood infront of the fire, and she watched him throw his letter upon the flames. She blinked slightly bemused and realised that it really was none of her business. Her eyes darted down to her own parchment but at the sound of his sigh her curiousity got the better of her and she looked up again to watch him.

"Are you okay?" She asked, her eyes wide, as the paper touched the floor. She was quite proud of her question. She'd said it clearly, without any stutter, and she was sure he could hear it across the room.

[Ezra Curtain]

Ezra heard a small voice, a distinctly female voice from across the room, and turned towards it to see whom it was. He recognized the girl, but he had long forgotten her name by now. She seemed like a nice gal, and this was proven by her asking him how he was. This stunned Ezzy, no one really asked him, and he never asked anyone else.

"I...I'm alright, thank you. Just a tad frustrated is all. I don't recall your name, little miss. I'm Ezra Curtain, but you can call me Ezzy," the brunet said solidly, adding in his introduction so that maybe he didn't sound rude.

He scooped up the slivers of the broken quil and threw them into the fire to burn as well. He had leftover quils in his trunk in the dorm room.

[Egeria Rivers]

Ada pursed her lips. She'd gotten better since the beginning of the year at accepting the fact that everybody, or at least every Gryffindor she met, were overly comfortable and familiar when it came to names... but she was still uncomfortable about it.

"My names Egeria Rivers." She said introducing herself, and forgoing his pattern of speech by introducing her nickname. If she were to give it she would givve it further down the track when she was more familiar with the other boy. She didn't like it when people addressed her so informally without her permission - indeed it was one way to earn her enmity. Marigold Corsica had been one girl to earn such feelings.

But... he'd extended the offer... it would be rude to not take him up on his offer surely?

"Um... okay... Ezzy." She said pulling a face as she said his nickname, unable to fully throw off the uncomfortable feeling. Her hand reached out involuntarily as he threw the slivers into the fire. It was such a waste. She thought rather sadly, especially when a simple repairing charm could make the quill as right as rain.

"Did something happen?" She asked instead.

[Ezra Curtain]

Ezzy smiled dispite himself, watching Egeria make faces as she tried to call him by his nickname. "Don't hurt yourself, Miss Rivers. If it's that hard to call me Ezzy, you don't have to force yourself. Go with what is comfortable for you." The boy let out a chuckle after speaking, never having met a girl, let alone person, quite like this. He was used to people being overly familiar, not pained at the idea of it.

He sombered up quickly though, having her ask him what had happened. He would talk about it, he just had to take a moment to find the right words. They never came easily. He was open with people, he didn't trust people though. The brunet didn't want her to take anything he said in a different way, so the boy sat silent for a moment thinking. His blue eyes wondered to the fireplace once more, and he tilted his head to the right.

"My father is a muggle. I haven't seen him for five years now since he is afraid of me getting hurt by going home. I've been writing him once a week for the past five years, and I have yet to receive any kind of response. I've grown tired of writing him. I miss him greatly though. I get packages on holidays addressed to me from him, but it isn't his handwriting. I'm truly worried," Ezra explained as shortly as he could. Now he wanted to get the subject off of himself. "May I ask whom you are writing to, Miss Rivers? You seemed quite content until I inturrupted you." The boy smiled lop-sidedly, looking back at the girl he was addressing.

[Egeria Rivers]

Egeria let out a sigh and smiled thankfully until she realised that perhaps she'd shown her emotions on her face. Stiffly she closed her mouth and tried to control her features.

"Thank you Mr. Curtain," She said stiffly, "I apologise... my grandmother taught me manners rather strictly... I'm just not used to addressing people informally." She wondered how ridiculously she sounded or looked - what with her feet stretched out infront of her on the ottoman and her letter writing materials placed on her lap.

She tilted her head to the side, her eyes wide as she listened and processed what he was saying. The fact that his father was a muggle made her nervous - for while her own great grandmother was a muggleborn, and muggles worked in her family's orchard. She wasn't used to dealing with muggles or muggleborns - though he'd said his father was a muggle. The clarification made her wonder if it wasn't the case for his mother. She couldn't think of anything to say and decided to allow him to change the subject though she kept running his words through her head. It truly made her sad - She hadn't had parents in quite some time but she tried to imagine what she'd do if any of her family members ignored her letters or cut communication. She couldn't and it annoyed her, just like her inability to think of something to say to comfort Ezra.

"It's okay you didn't really interrupt me. I'd just finished writing to my Great Grandmother in Ireland. She lives isolated out on the moors so she was worried that Tara - that's the speckled barn owl over there - " She stopped to point at an owl that was sitting by the open window. " - wouldn't arrive in time for my Birthday."