Searching Pt.2 Completed PV Virgil Lee

This place wins the competition for the gloomiest, but also the most ominous toilet Virgil has ever been, he notes as he continues to hug himself, listening as Adlai explains the reason for their meeting. All the sinks are arranged in a column, separate from the stalls. Everything looks old and mistreated — some sinks are broken and some stalls don't have doors, it certainly deserves its name. The abandoned toilet is bathed by this dark pale blue light. There are some places he can't see are hidden in the shadows, and, being paranoid as he is, Virgil cannot stop feeling a weird presence coming from there, but he knows it's just his mind playing games.

"So creepy..." He whispers as a shiver runs downs his spine. Unlike him, Adlai doesn't seem to care that much about the place, looking relaxed. Virgil stares at her as she takes out a folded piece of parchment. He takes it and reads the possible nicknames she had thought of, trying to get back at Isaac for the horrible ones he picked for them.

Bambi, Care Bare, Sparky, Dug, Worm... Virgil reads. Neither of those sounds as bad as Virgin and Fishing Rod, he thinks, giving Adlai an unsure look. Apparently, he's not alone, because the Hufflepuff says, leaning in against one of the stalls. "I know they're no good, but I had to give it a shot. There's just nothing I know about him that I could incorporate with the name."

Coming up with nicknames aren't his strong suit, but he tries his best to think of something. Just like her, Virgil doesn't know much about Isaac other than the fact that he was a Dhampir — and that he's a Slytherin, but he can't think of something related to that, as Isaac could simply use the same nickname for him.

"Hm..." He says, still very unsure. Vampires... Vampires... He repeats in his mind, trying to remember everything he knew about those creatures. Something clicks in his head. "Oh-oh! I know! M-Maybe we can call him Cullen. Like the— I don't know if you know this— It's, uh," He blushes a little, and plays with his hair. "A muggle novel... And there's this character: Edward Cullen. He's a vampire."

Adlai gives him a weak punch, after spinning excitedly. Even though it doesn't hurt or anything, Virgil lets out a surprised 'oof' anyways, blushing as the Hufflepuff compliments him, wandering around the toilets, seemingly too excited to stand still. Carefully, he watches her, worried she might get hurt in such a dirty and badly-treated place.

"I can’t wait to see the look on his face... But what if he doesn’t know what it’s referencing?" Adlai pauses, worried. Virgil looks down, unsure — he couldn't suppose that Isaac has read the muggle novel, Twilight based solely on the fact that he's half-vampire. He's about to suggest another nickname when Adlai laughs; a high-pitched cackle that surprises him, eyes widen, "I guess it’d make it all the more hilarious!"

Virge tries to imagine Isaac's lost face as both Adlai and him laugh at the silly nickname they've come up with for him, and it makes a small chuckle leave him; he covers his mouth, however, hating the way the sound echoes in the empty toilets. Adlai turns to him and asks about his day, which leaves him a little shocked, and, quite honestly, a bit flustered that she'd politely asked like that, as he's, obviously, overthinking that she only wanted to discuss a possible nickname for their Slytherin acquaintance and that's all.

"Oh, I— I've been good, I suppose," He says, unsure to come up with a more elaborate answer, as he runs his fingers through his dark hair, now a little more confident to walk about the toilets. "Surprisingly, I've met new people. I thought I was gonna be alone through the entire year..." Virgil laughs awkwardly. "I don't have much to say... W-What about you, Addie?" His eyes widen again and he covers his mouth, cheeks burning as he waits for Adlai's reaction. "C-Can I call you that? Addie?"

"V-Virgie is great!" He exclaims, a little louder than necessary, watching as the girl beams as well. When she giggles, face turning a little red, Virgil notices that Adlai's — Addie's! his brain corrects him — front teeth are crooked. There's a twist in his stomach and he bites his lower lip, trying to stop the smile that wants to make its way in his face.

Why am I acting like this? He asks himself, analyzing the toilets once more time, not wanting to look as affected as he felt. Virgil hasn't had many friends before. Other than his cousins — Sarah, Annabelle, and Hyechan — he never got the chance to interact with girls. Maybe that's why! His brain tries to explain the reason he's been extra flustered around both Adlai Rod and Robin Thompson.

But, now that he thinks about it, Virgil acts the same way around Isaac, too, so, perhaps he's reading too much into his situation — wouldn't be the first time, frankly — and, he's just being his weird socially awkward self. He covers his burning cheeks, and laughs again, hoping the Hufflepuff wouldn't think of him as weird.

"So, uh—" He coughs, not knowing what to say, giving Addie a quick glance, expecting her to talk about something else, so he could ignore his beating heart and flaming skin.

"I'm sorry you can't write to your parents. You could try using the Floo Network, by transporting only your head," He tells her, hoping to help with the situation — it must be hard not to able to talk to someone you miss. "Before I was accepted, my cousin, Trent, used to do that all the time. And, yes, I have family!" He shakes his head, finding the question rather funny for some reason.

Thing is he doesn't owl his parents — he only sent them one owl on his first night at Hogwarts, and after receiving their letters back, Virgil stopped writing. Mum and father were probably busy with their jobs, and he didn't feel like bothering them with his dumb stories. He doesn't tell Adlai that, of course, definitely feeling like an idiot. He can send as many letters as he wants, with no problem, and he doesn't do it. Mental note: write Mum and Dad!

"I owl my cousin," Virgil answers, remembering the long letter he wrote yesterday giving Trent all the information he wanted on his friends and how his wrist hurt afterward. He'd probably get the answer soon, as his cousin is so interested in his social life, more than anything else. "He's in Durmstrang."

Again, he finds himself imagining how much nicer things at Hogwarts would be if only Trent decided to attend this school. Virgil sighs, and messes with his hair once more, before remembering the girl's other question, "Hobbies... Hm, I, uh, I draw sometimes. And I sing, but I suck at it..." He laughs, embarrassed, as his brain forces the image of him singing quietly during the study session with Adlai and Isaac. "What about you?"

"I have no idea of what tennis is," Virgil admits once Adlai's done talking.

Unfortunately, he never got the chance to explore the muggle world and everything it had to offer. He only knew basic stuff from a couple of half-blood kids he met when he moved to Portugal with his mother after she got that promotion — like popular muggle artists, such as singers, or muggle literature. Most of the kids lent him some novels and they'd sing popular songs to him, but nothing in-depth.

Apart from Trent and uncle Jay, no one from his family was ever that interested in muggle culture, as they're all pure-blood very much in love with magic and use it for everything. However, ever since he could remember, Virgil's always been interested in the muggle world and even the simplest of things about it — they use brooms for cleaning, not for flying; their pictures don't move.

Small things like that always manage to make Virgil's mind blow. Once, Trent and uncle Jay decided to show him this muggle series about superheroes. He didn't like it that much, but he was very surprised to know that muggles made all those explosions and magical scenes in various computers, another great muggle invention!

It's fascinating to know that some people are able to live happy lives without any use of magic, whatsoever. He couldn't see simple tasks being done without magic! After all, his Mum, Blair, used magic for everything — cooking, cleaning, or simply making objects fly in her direction.

As magic is a part of his life since his birth, the thought of not using it or seeing was so weird to him — weird and strangely fun! Looking Adlai, he wonders how she reacted to this entirely new world that opened for her. He'd freak out, honestly.