A Nice Place to Read (open)

Lacey's eyes sparkled slightly at the idea of Humphrey bringing things from the lake for her to watch over. "Like a treasure keeper!" she said excitedly. "I like the idea of that," she added as she felt Shinra rest his head on her lap, having dropped the ball on the bench next to where she sat. Hearing that mermaids actually were real and existed in the lake where she had walked in the shallows, Lacey stilled for a moment. "Real mermaids? For real?" she asked in awe. Mermaids had been the a favorite character type in many of her stories when she was younger, and just thinking about how she might have walked right by one and not known it was amazing. Feeling Shinra sit and settle closer to her, enjoying hearing his girl talk to her friend, she began to stroke his head. Tipping her head slightly as she tried to form what a Kneazle looked like based on what she knew of cats and lions coupled with what Humphrey was saying, she thought it was an interesting looking animal. "Whatever they look like... I think they sound amazing. And, hey, if you got one, maybe it could sleep in bed with you," she said, brightly.

As he told her about his sister, Lacey smiled and dropped her unseeing gaze to her dog. "She sounds wonderful. It would be nice to....nice to m-meet....meet her one day," the blonde stammered, feeling her shyness take over at the thought of meeting someone new. She didn't care that Casey was a joking person. Just hearing how her brother seemed to adore her was enough. She trusted Humphrey, and if he said she was nice, then she believed him. Freezing and snapping her head to look in his general direction, Lacey was dumfounded. "Ceases to exist? Like gone forever and then brought back out of nothing?" she said, both to him and to herself, "Magic truly is amazing..." As the boy mentioned that a professor might know better than him about accidental magic, Lacey's cheeks went bright scarlet. She had been asking an awful lot of questions. Looking down at Shinra, who looked up at her and tipped his head, she said softly, slightly withdrawing, "Oh... I'm.... I'm so sorry, Humphrey. I, uh, I didn't mean to bombard you with so many questions..." Knowing that Shinra was done with his play, Lacey fumbled to find his ball so they might head in.

Humphrey smiled, the title was of no consequence to him. That's what they would were like anyways, so it fit perfectly. "Precisely a treasure keeper. It's your job so you can name it whatever you like, Lacey. Sometimes I'm not the best at labeling things, myself." he admitted. He had started to reach out to scratch Shinra again before he paused, realizing that with him on her lap it might not be the best idea. He settled for patting him lightly on the back before withdrawing his hand, trying to be conscious of her personal space. "Yes, real mermaids. Their language is supposed to be super complicated and hard to understand if they're above water, but underwater they are supposed to have beautiful voices." he told her. They were much more fierce than what most muggle stories depicted them as, so he'd always been careful to not encroach upon their territory. The thought was a nice one, but he'd have to learn about them more. In the past he'd always gotten along better with dogs than cats. "Perhaps, I'll have to give it some thought. Not sure our husky would be appreciative of a lion-like cat when I'm at home." Humphrey said, laughing upon imagining the scene of them meeting.

Meet her one day? Casey will be more than happy to make another friend. When the thought hit him though, he realized that she'd stammered and paused over a few of the words, like she had at the start of their conversation. Humphrey told himself he had to make sure not to push her along too quickly, because he really didn't want to scare her off. "Let me know whenever you'd like to. The trick sometimes is finding her, as she likes to hole up in unexpected places to sketch, but I can always find her at meals if need be." Humphrey assured her. "For the vanishing I think that's how it works. Conjuration I know isn't brought back out of nothing, has something to do with molecules and there are rules about what you can and can't make. Food in particular has a lot of limitations, I know. Would have to get you the book for that one." he admitted, scratching his head. Seeing her go red at his comment Humphrey felt a little stab of worry run through him, and also panic. He was about to say something even though he had no clue how to make it better, when he noticed her trying to find something next to Shinra...the ball. Reaching down, he picked it up and placed it carefully in her hand before stepping back. "Lacey, there's nothing at all to say sorry for. I love all the questions, really. If you want to wait just a minute, I'll go grab my book from the alcove and we could walk in together, if you want?" he asked, the hope in his voice easy to detect.

"Then a Treasure Keeper I will be!" Lacey said with pride, sitting up just a little bit taller. Sighing happily at the idea of hearing mermaids, above or below the water, the Ravenclaw wondered if she would ever get a chance to hear one. If she couldn't see them, hearing the mermaids was the next best thing! "I guess not," she said with a giggle as she thought about the cat-like creature and the big, fluffy husky not being the best of friends. Shinra, in agreement, gave his own little chuff.

Lacey smiled shyly when Humphrey told her to let him know when she was ready to meet his sister. Part of her wanted to right then and there, but a much bigger part was afraid. Coming out of her shell was still a new concept and after all she'd been through, little steps were best. As he mentioned that she drew, a twinkle of interest sparkled in her bright grey eyes. "Ok. I will," she answered softly, but with certainty that she would indeed meet Casey one day.

Being unable to find Shinra's ball, Lacey felt a gentle hand take hers and place the ball in it. "Th-thank you," she said softly and gripped it to herself. Lacey stood and slightly bumped into her dog, who stood ready to steady her if she needed. Feeling her panic start to ebb away when her friend assured her that her questions were fine, the blonde gently bit her lower lip. "Y-you're sure?" she asked timidly, hoping that her questions really weren't a bother. She didn't want to drive her first friend away because the world was completely new to her. When Humphrey offered to walk in with her, her small smile returned, and Lacey gave a gentle nod. She could hear in his voice that he hoped she agree. "O-okay. We, uh, we will wait for you here," she said, her confidence slowly beginning to offset the nerves that had taken over only moments ago. Shinra looked up at Humphrey and wagged his tail, pleased that his girl was making friends.

"Perhaps we can talk to a teacher or two and try to come up with a way for you to dive. It's entirely up to you. I think it could be a good challenge, though, and if it works than that would be really fun having you with me. You can think about it for a while if you aren't sure." Humphrey said, fidgeting himself. He didn't want to pressure her really, but he wanted to take his new friend to all of the cool places he'd found not just some. Hearing the sound Shinra made had Humphrey chuckling, and he gave him some more scratches in thanks. "Shinra gets it." he said, amusement in his voice.

The short and succinct answer as opposed to her talking more told him enough to know that trying to make another friend would be a big step. Humphrey could be patient, and Casey was younger so they had a lot more years at Hogwarts together than he would have with her. Humphrey was a little sad when that realization hit him, he only had two and a half years left. Sure, they could try and keep in touch after and he would if she wanted to, but...it wouldn't really be the same. They would have to make the most of that time together, before trying to find jobs and all that boring stuff got in the way. "Awesome." he said after a while, realizing he hadn't said anything in response after a bit of an awkward silence.

Humphrey smiled and crouched down a little so his voice would be coming from on a level with her. "Lacey, I am absolutely sure. This isn't charity or pity, you're a really cool girl. I want to hang out with you and talk about whatever comes up because it helps us both have fun. Well, at least I had fun. I can't speak for you. Does that make sense?" he asked. Hopefully putting it this way would help get through to her, but he was in over his head with this situation if he was being completely honest with himself. Nodding when she told him that, his steps could be heard as he rushed off to go retrieve the book. While he might not be as fast as his little sister he was still fairly quick, and was back before too long had passed. "Okay, let's go get warm. Maybe they'll have some hot chocolate tonight at dinner to warm us up." he said, smiling at the mere thought.

Lacey's eyes didn't really raise to look at Humphrey as she heard his voice come more directly at her instead of as it was. She could only assume that he was bent down or crouching lower to be more level with her has he spoke his assurance to her. As his words sunk in, Lacey shifted her unseeing eyes to sort of meet Humphrey's face. She had asked lots of questions, but he hadn't minded. He even enjoyed it! Smiling a bit, she nodded, "I enjoyed it, too. It was nice to be able to talk to someone who talks to me like a person." Giving a small chuckle, she added, "Thank you." Hearing his footsteps get further away as he went to collect his book, the blonde thought about what he had said about seeing if the professors knew a way for her to dive in the lake, too. It would be fun, but wouldn't it be near impossible since she couldn't see? It's not like magic could magical give her sight, and how would she even communicate under the water? As Humphrey returned, Lacey smiled at the idea of hot chocolate.

Gently gripping Shinra's fur, she began leading them back to the warmth of the castle. "Hot chocolate sounds great after being out here," she said happily. "Humphrey, do you really think the professors might know of a way so I could dive with you in the lake?" she asked, both unsure and hopeful that is was a possibility, "Because.... Because that really would be amazing...."

Hearing her say someone who talks to her like a person had Humphrey clenching his fist, but he decided not to say anything. It didn't matter that she was in a different house, the Hufflepuffs were ones who were supposed to be welcoming and kind to all and he felt it as a failure that nobody had done anything. Some of it could be put on not knowing about her, but somebody would have had to and still ignored the problem. He didn't want to cause a scene and make things worse though, so he really didn't know what to do aside from just this...being her friend. "Well, you are Lacey. Everyone is different, but that's no reason to treat people badly. And you're always more than welcome to track me down for a chat even if it's nothing serious." Humphrey told her, before going to find his book.

Humphrey smiled at the thought of it himself, he was definitely looking forward to that part too. Her question about the professors maybe knowing a way was one he wasn't sure on. "I really don't know, I've never read anything about it but they are a lot smarter than me. We'll just have to hope for the best and ask. There are lots of other cool things fo find if it doesn't work though, I promise." he said, giving a nod to Shinra as they went to find some hot chocolate to warm them back up.

It made Lacey feel all warm and fuzzy inside to know that Humphrey would be there for her, no matter what. In such a short time, she had made a new friend: the first one in a very long time. Maybe.... Maybe she could make more just as easily! Still.... One step at a time.

As they walked, the Ravenclaw thought about asking her Head of House about the possibility of her being able to dive in the lake. But, even if she couldn't, her new friend assured her that there was lots of things she could do, and she looked forward to it! "Humphrey, where should we meet tomorrow for our adventure?" she asked, her excitement coloring her voice just a bit.

Humphrey thought for a little while, trying to think of one she would really like. Then he remembered the house-elves having talked about something called the come and go room that was next to this painting of a wizard called Barnabas the Barmy. He'd only gotten it to work once or twice, but he had to imagine that if anybody was a master of imagination and picturing what you want it would probably be Lacey. Definitely couldn't hurt to try, they could go somewhere else if it didn't work. "Meet me on the seventh floor. Ask the portraits to direct you to a painting of Barnabas the Barmy if you don't know where it is. He's quite the character so they should all know. What time do you want to do it? Doesn't really matter to me." he said, having the full day open.

"The seventh floor, next to Barnabas the Barmy..." Lacey repeated so she could better commit it to memory. She would certainly need the portraits' help in finding this particular one as she didn't know much about any of the paintings. Thinking about when would be good to go adventuring, the blonde offered, "How about after breakfast? That way we won't be hungry while we explore."

"Sounds like a great plan to me. Can I get another hug before I head off to Hufflepuff land?" he asked hopefully. Humphrey didn't want her to have any doubt that she'd made a friend she could come to if she needed something, and hugs were always good...at least in his opinion.

Pausing when Humphrey asked for one last hug before they parted ways until the next day, Lacey faltered for a moment. Her inner self was screaming to hug the boy, but her careful self was unsure. Shinra, sensing her uncertainty, gave her an encouraging nudge with his head. Apparently, that was all his girl needed. Taking that nudge to mean that it really was ok to hug her friend, Lacey smiled and said, "Of course." Reaching out to her side to find him, the blonde opened herself to a hug, happy to give and receive one from her friend.

Humphrey smiled, waiting patiently while she fought with herself before she finally moved towards him. Wrapping his arms around her he gave a big squeeze before letting go. "Thanks for all the fun today, and we'll have more tomorrow. And remember, the world is always better with more hugging." he said, leaning down to give Shinra one and letting him lick his face some before letting him go. "See you tomorrow, Lacey."

Humphrey smiled, waiting patiently while she fought with herself before she finally moved towards him. Wrapping his arms around her he gave a big squeeze before letting go. "Thanks for all the fun today, and we'll have more tomorrow. And remember, the world is always better with more hugging." he said, leaning down to give Shinra one and letting him lick his face some before letting him go. "See you tomorrow, Lacey." he told her with a smile.

As Humphrey wrapped his arms around her, Lacey carefully returned the gesture. When his arms gave her a good squeeze, the blonde smiled, resting her head against his chest and squeezing in return. Hugs we're nice, amazing even! Releasing her friend, her smile remained, just as bright as ever. She could handle more hugs, most definitely! "Thank you, Humphrey. I really did have a good time, and I can't wait for tomorrow's adventure," she replied, happily. Shinra, happy to so be included in the hugs and friendly mannerisms, gave the boy a happy wood and tail wagging as he bade them bye. Placing himself next to his girl, he gave his version of a smile with his mouth open and tongue hanging out in a soft pant. "See you tomorrow," Lacey returned as she placed her hand on Shinra and they headed back to Ravenclaw Tower.