The Fireside {Ravenclaws Only}

[Mac McCracken]

The sun had long since dipped below the horizon, and now that his stomach was full of delicious dinner food, Mac settled himself into one of the armchairs by the fire. He sat so that his back was leaning against one arm rest and facing away from the door, and his socked feet were propped up on the other arm rest and facing the fire. Having finished his homework awhile ago, the Ravenclaw decided to use this rare time to himself to start drawing again. Picking up the piece of parchment he had brought with him, he set it on his lap (on top of a book) and rubbed his chin thoughfully with the end of his self-inking quill. The colored quills he placed on the floor beside him.

Mac had had an idea for a new creation while in Potions and couldn't wait to start on it. Smiling down at the quill- he still couldn't get used to the fact that he was about to use a quill on this new drawing- he began to sketch. He made a mental note to congratulate himself on grabbing a long piece of parchment.

[Barnaby Gumball]

Humming to himself as he flipped through the thick textbooks and added the finishing touches to his essay, Bubblegum worked his way through his homework. As a sixth year, he was past his O.W.L.s, but that didn't mean he could relax! In fact, just the opposite was true. He needed to focus and make this the very best essay he'd ever written! But he just couldn't keep his mind on task, and it wasn't due till next week anyway. It was during one of those moments, when his mind was wandering, that he noticed the boy by the fire. He was a first year, Gumball knew, and his face was vaguely familiar...
After a few minutes of struggling with the essay he got to his feet and trotted over to the chair the boy was perched in, leaning over the back of it to see what he was doing. Was the first year focusing that much on homework? What a wonderful addition to Ravenclaw he'd be!

[Mac McCracken]

Mac was so absorbed in his sketch that he didn't hear the footsteps walking over toward him. The sudden shadow that appeared over his paper startled him and he looked up to see an older student leaning over the back of the chair, staring at his work. He was so close that Mac cried out in surprise and dropped his quill on the floor. "Sorry, sorry, I didn't see you there," he quickly apologized, in case he had startled the other as well. He picked up the quill and looked back at the drawing, where he saw with dismay that where he had been drawing his new creation's eyestalk, there was now only a squiggly line instead of a straight one. "Aw man, what am I gonna do about this?" And then remembering that there was somebody leaning over him he looked up again and quietly asked, "Um...so, who are you?"

[Barnaby Gumball]

Still leaning over the back of the armchair so that both of his feet were off the ground, Gumball blinked in surprise when the younger student jumped and messed up his drawing.
"Ah, did I do that? My apologies!" He couldn't help but laugh, however; his reaction had been pretty adorable. "My name's Gumball."

[Mac McCracken]

"No, It's okay, I just get startled easily, I guess." He looked back at his drawing. "In fact, this is perfect!" Mac added an eye on top of the crooked eyestalk. "Yeah, he looks much better this way. I'm Mac, by the way," he added, putting the quill down for the moment. "It's nice to finally officially meet another Ravenclaw."

[Barnaby Gumball]

"Officially? I suppose we can be somewhat antisocial." He didn't seem at all bothered by the suggestion, and leaned over further to peer at Mac's drawing. "That looks interesting. What is it intended to be?"

[Mac McCracken]

Mac scratched the back of his head. "Well, I didn't mean it that way, really. I mean, I know I'm pretty awkward at meeting new people, so that hasn't really helped either." Before he could start rambling, Mac focused on Gumball's question. "Oh, well uh, it's supposed to be a made-up friend. I draw them a lot, because they remind me of Bloo and Mr. Herriman from back home." Mac ignored, or more likely forgot, the fact that Gumball would probably have no clue who Bloo and Herriman were. He looked down at the new drawing. It was of a tall creature, with only half an arm and now a crooked eye. It also wore basketball shoes. "I call this one Wilt. He's overly friendly and overly helpful but he's pretty cool too. And he plays basketball!" He looked away as he realized something. "You probably think it's pretty childish though."

[Barnaby Gumball]

"He looks kind." Was that something one could tell from a drawing? Bubblegum squinted at the paper for a few moments until his face lit up with an idea. "Would you...draw me a unicorn?"
Surely a boy who spent his time making up creatures wouldn't laugh at his love for unicorns...right?

[Mac McCracken]

Mac smiled at Gumball's observation, glad that someone else was able to see some of the more hidden details in his drawings. When the other asked him to draw a unicorn, he seemed surprised at first. A boy...who liked unicorns? Then again, he was a boy who spent most of his time making up creatures. "Sure, I'll draw you one!" He rummaged in his textbook for another piece of parchment, setting aside the one of Wilt. "Just give me a couple minutes here." He took the quill and began to sketch. Wanting to keep the conversation going, he asked without looking up, "So, what year are you?"

[Barnaby Gumball]

Gumball made his way around the chair so that he could perch next to him on one nearby, instead of looming over him and casting a shadow on his paper.
"I'm a sixth year; you're a first year, if I recall correctly?" as a prefect, he made it his business to learn at least the faces of the firsties. He watched the younger boy draw intently.

[Mac McCracken]

"Yeah, that's right." Mac wondered how he knew that. He glanced over as Gumball moved to another chair, but then went back to the drawing. "So, a sixth year? That must mean you know a lot about magic by now. I'm still getting used to it, starting with these quills." He held up the quill briefly as if to indicate what he was talking about. The body of the unicorn was already done, and he was working on the legs. He had chosen to draw the unicorn rearing back, with its front legs pawing the air, as if in celebration of a victory or discovering something new.

[Belle~Ambroise]

Belle has totally been sitting in a plush chair situated where there is enough light to read, but also out of the way. She is absorbed in her book she cannot understand their conversation, but she does notice when they start speaking.

[Barnaby Gumball]

He was so excited about how wonderfully the unicorn was coming out that it took him a moment to register the other boy's comment.

"Oh! Yes, I suppose that's the case. No matter how much I learn though, there's always more to discover!" He sounded positively thrilled at the prospect, before lowering his voice and adding, "...Muggles don't use quills?" He didn't understand. However did they write?

[Mac McCracken]

The legs done, Mac finally moved on to the head. This was the most important part, and deserved the most attention and detail. He laughed at Gumball's comment; he figured the other boy must be from a wizarding family. "No, muggles don't use quills, unfortunately. These certainly are much cooler. Instead, they use, and I used to use, pencils and pens. Pencils use graphite, and pens use ink. Here, I think I have some in this box." He picked up the box of writing utensils from the floor and dug in it for a second, pulling out a pencil and a pen, and held them out for Gumball to take, should he want to. He continued drawing with the other hand.

[Barnaby Gumball]

Gumball took the pencil and examined it closely. It was wooden, with a shiny gray point on one end. The bright yellow paint and rubbery pink end looked familiar; after a moment, he realized he'd seen a diagram of just such an object in a muggle studies textbook last year.
"I know what this is," he informed the other boy, "It's Number Two Pencil." He pronounced each syllable carefully. He pressed the tip against his palm, but when he pulled it away no mark was there. Oh, that's right; the boy had mentioned it needed graphite. Was graphite something like ink?