welcome to chimera!

[Roberta Weasley]

After an obligatory hour in the library with Waverly, during which neither of the girls had got anything exceptional completed, Bobbie parted from her friends somewhere in the upper regions of the castle, turning towards the Ravenclaw tower. Unlike Percy, she didn’t spend any of her time around other common rooms, and it took her a few minutes to navigate her way towards the Tower. She had a slightly grubby sweater folded over her arms, and was still in her uniform as she stopped outside the door to the Ravenclaw tower. She considered, in retrospect that she should have asked advice from Percy, as the doorknob began to ask her questions. Bobbie stared at the door and then excused herself to it, leaning against the stone wall. A first year passed by eventually and she caught their attention; after some convincing, the child gave the knocker a quick answer and ducked into the common room, promising to fetch John if he could find him, and leaving Bobbie to wait outside.

[John Homme]

Absorbed as he was in his Charms text, John found himself (rather embarrassingly) startled when the first year boy came up and tapped him on the shoulder. A thrice-repeated apology and a brief and rather vague explanation later, he nervously made his way to the door to meet her. The boy had mentioned that it was one of the Weasley twins, so he could only assume - only hope, really - that it was Roberta; if that was the case, of course, he had something to speak to her about anyway, if only because he had promised Percy that he would.

So, prematurely colored and grinning awkwardly, he poked his head out the door and glanced around for her. "Oh - Roberta?" he said, and opened the door fully. As he looked over her, he could see that it was, and his smile widened somewhat, even as his eyes settled on the sweater lying over her arm. "You don't have to stay out here," he offered, stepping out somewhat to hold the door for her. "Er, if you're not in a hurry, I mean. I don't want to - I mean - how are you?"

[Roberta Weasley]

It was a relief when the door finally opened, revealing John Homme himself, looking characteristically a little nervous, though friendly. She returned the smile easily, not bothering to disguise that she was pleased to see him and stepped away from the wall quickly. “Hello, sorry to bother you – I didn’t think about how I’d get in.” She laughed, mostly at herself, shrugging her shoulders easy, “I’m alright, thanks. You? I just had something to give back.” Although she glanced down at the sweater, she didn’t hold it out to him, keeping It hugged over her arm against her chest. Looking up again, she glanced at John and then at the door to the Tower, “I’m not busy,” she admitted.

[John Homme]

"No, it's no bother," he murmured, letting his own sentence die off and slip under hers as she spoke next. Smiling, a little surprised and embarrassed, feeling that he had interrupted, he ducked his head just a little before he replied. "I'm good," he said, mildly, and shifted on his feet as he cut his eyes away to look up the stairs - he was, if anything, fidgety. Though he nearly told her she could keep the sweater, he realized at the last moment that this might have been awkward to say, and instead went quiet for a moment that seemed - to John, anyway - much longer than it really was. However, he was resolved; he turned to look at her once more, a little uncertainly. "Er, do you want to come up anyway?"

[Roberta Weasley]

He was moving so much. It was impossible for Bobbie not to watch him, fidgeting and shuffling his feet. At least, she told herself that was the reason she was drawn to keep glancing at him. Bobbie was slightly self-consciously aware of herself (which was not too unusual for her), but far more physically at ease than John. When he spoke over, she laughed, a little too loudly, shaking her head and looking quite genuinely amused – if not at his expense. “I’d like that, thanks.” She could have just handed him the sweater there, though – she was quick to tell herself – that wouldn’t be particularly friendly. “I hear so much about Ravenclaw Tower from Percy.”

[John Homme]

Feeling very self-conscious, but simultaneously - well, comfortable chatting with her, John grinned through a gradually deepening flush."Oh," he said, as though remembering for the first time that they shared Percy as a friend, "yes." Now John smiled, and allowed her to pass in front of him before following her up the steps. "It is something of a second home to him," he added, a very feeble attempt at a joke, and felt his smile dim slightly as he mentally repeated it to himself.

[Roberta Weasley]

Feeling as if she still might be laughing, even once she had quieted to let him speak, Bobbie passed John up the stairs to the tower, shooting him a smile over her shoulder before she went., in answer to what she assumed was a joke. “Yes, I know,” she agreed as she walked ahead of him, “I can’t find him half the time, because you’ve got him. It’s really a wonder they haven’t turned his bed into an extra shelf back in his dorm.” Unperturbed by his apparent discomfort, she turned at the top of the stairs, waiting for him to catch up. “It is nice, though.”

[John Homme]

About to add onto it - to perhaps suggest that Ravenclaw add a bed instead - he rejected the idea self-consciously and instead offered a small, slightly scratchy laugh. "I do apologize for that," he said, though he sounded more light-hearted than sincere for once, and gestured toward a dark blue couch a little apprehensively. "Want to sit?" he asked, sparing as ever with his words.

[Roberta Weasley]

Always quick – if a little too eager – to laugh, Roberta joined him briefly and then fell silent quite quickly, pressing her lips together in a silent smile. “Don’t. You’ve a right to half of him, as much as any. Besides, I know he appreciates it.” It felt safe to talk about Percy – as their common ground – but she couldn’t help remember what he had told her about John, and quickly she was drawn to change the subject. She crossed to the couch, sitting as invited and bringing her hands and sweater to rest in her lap. “Thanks. What have I interrupted you from doing, this evening?”

[John Homme]

Grinning as he felt a similar comfort with the subject, he found the question catching him off his guard a bit. "Um," he said, uncertainly. Turning around, looking a little comical as he tried to locate his textbook, he forgot for just a moment about making a good impression on Roberta. "Just reading," he answered, distractedly, a little embarrassed by now for how scattered he must have seemed. He finally found and retrieved it from a chair nearby before sinking to sit beside her; he smiled a little, and fidgeted with the worn cover absently as he spoke. "Nothing important. What about you?" he said, and corrected himself a moment later, clearly nervous. "I mean, do you have plans?"

[Roberta Weasley]

Seated on the comfortable sofa, Roberta waited patiently as John looked for and then finally located his book. Not at all off-put by his scatteredness (she was always misplacing things herself, anyhow), she smiled as his attention returned to her, genuinely glad for it all the same. “For class?” She couldn’t see the cover of the book, but she twisted slightly so that she could see him. “Not really. I have a test to study for, so I guess I’ll meet Waverly at some point. But I haven’t made plans. I did plan to come see you though,” she added quickly, and then with a slightly sheepish smile, “Though not very well, since I couldn’t get in.”

[John Homme]

Setting the book aside, between them, John leaned forward and displayed his appallingly poor posture by resting his elbows on his knees and turning his head toward her. "No - Charms club," he answered, a little sheepishly, and shifted to stretch long legs in front of him. "What's your test in?" he asked, soft-spoken as ever but genuinely curious. Again, he offered her a good-natured smile before shaking his head. "Oh, no," he assured her, "the knocker is - I get them wrong a lot." He bit back an assertion that Percy was probably twice as good at riddles, Gryffindor or not, if only because he didn't want to drag them back to the same subject repeatedly.

[Roberta Weasley]

"Do they set you homework for it?" she asked, surprised as she glanced at the book he placed between them, but was distracted quite quickly to look at the boy across from her. She had dropped Charms after fifth year - for reasons vaguely contentious in her family - and the club had never occured to her as interesting. "Potions," she responded with a vague grimace, "I'm sure I'm not prepared for it." This bothered her only momentarily it seemed however and she shrugged, her smile returning brightly. "And I always thought that remembering a password was difficult," she commented lightly, scuffing her foot lightly against the floor and feeling slightly as if she were talking simply for the sake of it, but not finding that terribly uncomfortable.