The Courtyard PV Bloom Silverton Finished

Walking out of the corridor, Bloom was holding a vial in her hand. It was given to her by none other than Marcus de Wynter, the first year Slytherin who started off her first year wrong. She had to take one sip out of the vial in order for the jinx to be broken. Her hair would finally grow back to the way it should be and she wouldn't be a bald eleven-year-old anymore.

Taking a deep breath, she took a sip of the potion and placed it in her handbag. Immediately, Bloom could feel the burn on her scalp. She itched her head and could all of a sudden feel her hair budding from the roots. In moments time, her hair finally grew out to her original length which was own to her shoulders. She sighed a sense of relief. Thank goodness, she thought, feeling better about herself.

Finally, she could be seen in public. She decided to make her way to the courtyard and enjoy the sunlight and new beginning of her appearance. As she walked out, she saw a Hufflepuff tacked to the side by another student. His books went flying and he stayed on the ground. Bloom's heart went pounding. Was he okay, she thought as she ran to the boy on the ground.

Bloom grabbed a book that was closest to her and knelt down beside the Hufflepuff who seemed like he did not want to move at all after the incident.

"I just saw what happened. You'd think they would stop and apologize or help," she said,  look at the Hufflepuff to see if he had any injuries. "Are you okay, though?" she asked, seeing him grab his glasses from on the floor. "I'm Bloom by the way."

Bloom smiled back at the Hufflepuff when he smiled at her when she grabbed his book. She was thankful that he was alright. Although sore and confused, there were no real injuries that needed them to go straight to Madam Pomfrey. Still knelt to the ground, Bloom saw the Hufflepuff get up and grab his other book.

He introduced himself and Bloom gave him a small smile. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Reid," she said, getting up from the floor. She watched him grab more of his books that were around them. The three students that ran by really made his belongings go flying. She felt bad that he had to probably reorganize all of his belongings the next time he needed to study.

"I don't know them. But I can already tell you that we shouldn't be in the courtyard between 11:20 and 11:30 of the morning!" she joked, adding a bit of a laugh at the end. Was it even funny? she asked herself. For some reason, Bloom did not want to leave this Hufflepuff's side. There was something about him.

Perhaps it was because he's not a Slytherin, she thought to herself. Her run-ins with Slytherins have been the worst so far. She got jinxed by one, lied to by one, and ran into during the study room by another. Seeing yellow calmed her down. Her overactive mind began to think of something to say to the Hufflepuff. She could ask him about his classes, but how Ravenclaw would that be? She needed to come up with something different. "So, other than getting tackled, what were your plans?" she bluntly asked him, wondering more about Reid.

There was no immediate hurry with his schedule today and he was always up for conversations when they sprung. So the boy's posture relaxed and he brushed his hair down to tame the ends that came loose. A suppressed laugh escaped him with how she worded her question, being tackled wasn't exactly his ideal evening. But then again, something new always seemed to happen almost every day. "Well aside from meeting the floor today, I was going to get some supper in a couple of hours. I was going to return these books too." he cheekly replied, tapping the cover of the text. 

Reid's elbow was still a little sore, surely he'd see a bruise or two form later on. None of that was invincible to the strength of a pack of ice though. None of this was truly enough to have him consider a visit to the hospital ward anyway, he wasn't that soft. "What about you? I don't think helping tackle victims was part of your schedule today." He had glanced about with the intent on actually finding a place to sit now. 

After the tiny adrenaline rush of being flung to the ground had worn off, the soreness around his hip was starting to set in. His hand came to brush his side and he looked back at the Ravenclaw, "Do you mind if I sit down for a second, Bloom? Maybe just over there, I think my hip is coming back into place." He was joking of course, just to make some light of his situation. 

Bloom admired the fact that the first year standing in before her was extremely calm. The fact that she was able to see someone who was relaxed at what had just happened to him made her feel calm, too. She remembered the Ravenclaw's at their table in the Great Hall and how most of them were yelling and screaming about the jinx. The result of their anger made Bloom go into an extreme case of an anxiety attack. Dealing with the Slytherin's made her feel as though she was shelled up and was unable to express herself. But with this Hufflepuff, it was different.

Standing there, watching Reid fix his hair, she tried to hide her smile by looking away ever so slightly. She thought it was adorable the way he was fixing his hair and glasses every second he could manage. She shook the thought out of her mind when he asked her if they could sit. She nodded and walked to the nearby cemented bench that was near the rose bushes.

"Honestly?" She started, not knowing where to start. "I just got my hair to regrow back thanks to a Slytherin's jinx and I was planning on hiding from the Ravenclaw's. So not much is planned for today," she said, not knowing which he was going to ask about first. Both were honest situations that she dealt with, but they were both vague. She felt as though she needed to explain the latter.

"Have you ever felt misplaced? I honestly don't think I'm a Ravenclaw. All our conversations are about classes, homework and exams. I'm not that. The thought of studying for hours at a time... I just think the Sorting Hat made a mistake," she said, hoping that this gave him a better understand as to why she wanted to hide from the Ravenclaw's. Bloom loved her house and the girls that she's met in them, but she felt that life was more than getting outstandings and standing out.

Bloom saw that he left room for her next to him. Should I sit next to him or away from him? She thought to herself. She was over-analyzing the entire situation. Bloom got up from the other side of the cement bench and sat next to him where he made room. She noticed the distance between her and Reid and scooted a little away to leave some breathing room. Although, she did enjoy being close to him.

As Bloom was expressing her struggles, she noticed the way he was listening. His forehead would crinkle where there were two lines and he seemed to be a very good listener. It was the first time that she was listened to solely by another person. So far at school, everyone was going through their own story that taking the time to listen was not on their to-do list. And at home, Bloom was the middle child and her parents often scolded her older sister for rebelling against authority or paid more attention to her younger sister who was the baby of the family. Bloom had middle-child syndrome and just having time stop and seeing someone listen to her made her more than happy. It made her feel validated.

"There are some other first years that seem to have their minds set up for this world, huh? I have no idea either. All I know is that I'm not supposed to be a Ravenclaw. I know I'm meant to be a Hufflepuff just like my dad," she said.

Bloom smiled at his optimism. She liked that. The fact that he was able to see something positive in all of her struggles was astonishing. Her heart took a turn at that moment. She didn't know what was happening, but she felt as though the space between her and Reid was way too far. Her hands on her lap, she began to nervously play with the ends of her skirt, pulling it down to her knees like a shy girl would, and slowly, but surely, moved half an inch closer to Reid.

"Thanks for being a great listener. You didn't need to know all that. I mean, we just met," She added. It was true. Bloom literally spilled her thoughts and feelings at a complete stranger. What if he wasn't the listening type? But one thing was for certain, she was glad to meet him.

Her stomach fluttered every so slightly, figuring out what was happening to her. She was eleven-years-old and the concept of liking someone more as a friend ever so quickly was a stranger to her. Was she to just hide this feeling and pretend it never happened or was she supposed to act on it? She had no idea.

Bloom wondered if he noticed that she moved closer to him. Did he feel uncomfortable? Was he okay with it? She didn't know. It seemed, though, that he ignored her movement. Bloom had no idea if his ignoring of her move was a good or bad thing. She tried her hardest to get it out of her mind.

"The entire Ravenclaw table got jinxed by Marcus de Wynter, a first-year Slytherin. At the time, we didn't know who. We thought it could have also been Erin Ryan, but he happened to have the cure. I wasn't wise and I made a deal with him. He'd give me eleven cures for me and the other Ravenclaw's and I would owe him eleven favors...," Bloom paused, realizing that she said all of this in one breath. Bloom reflected on her story about how dumb she was for not going straight to a professor and instead, dealing with it on her own. She made a deal with a Slytherin. It was like making a deal with the devil. This only evidenced her reason of why she shouldn't be a Ravenclaw.

"So, long story short. It was random," she said, laughing at the fact that she could have just said that instead of her long summary. Bloom felt her regrown hair. It was shinier than what it was before, which she was pleased with. She just hoped that the cure was not a dud. The last thing she needed was her hair falling out of her scalp again. It was nerve-wrecking, and to have it happening in front of Reid would be worse.

What am I feeling? she asked herself. She had no idea but she looked at his hands and felt like she wanted to touch them. Her thoughts were creeping her out. Why would she want to touch his hands? She had no idea what was happening in her mind, but she had the need and want to be in contact with Reid. But how?