The Fireside {Ravenclaws Only}

[Mac McCracken]

Mac nodded, setting the pen down on the floor so that he could grab the paper and twist it a bit while he worked on the mane. When he had looked up to hand Gumball the pen and pencil, he had caught notice of a girl sitting in a corner and reading. His social awkwardness around strangers grabbed hold of him again, and he concentrated hard on the drawing. But then he thought of something, something from his own dreams of unicorns, that he thought he should ask Gumball before he finished the sketch. "D-do you want your unicorn to have, um, wings?"

[Barnaby Gumball]

Oh, that was a very important question. Gumball tapped his chin contemplatively as he thought.
"It can fly without wings, don't you think?"
He noticed the boy was glancing over into the corner, at a brunette girl who was reading quietly. He didn't know who she was was, which was odd; she was obviously younger than he was, and not someone he'd seen in previous years, but try as he might he couldn't remember her face among the first years.

[Belle~Ambroise]

Belle felt like she was being watched and looked up curiously from the pages of her book. She looked around and noticed the two across the common room at a table conversing. She didn't want to interrupt so she returned to her book silently.

[Mac McCracken]

That was a wonderful idea! Why had he never thought of it? "Right, of course it can!" He chuckled and went back to the sketch adding in a few stars to the long, flowing mane. Next came the horn, spiraled and pointed. And finally the tail, long and curled at the end so it just barely brushed the ground. He added in a few ringlets, a couple more stars, and a crescent moon shape right where the tail connected with the unicorn's hindquarters. He signed the bottom with a tiny, cursive Mac. "There, done," he announced, holding it out to Gumball for his approval.

[Barnaby Gumball]

Gumball took the drawing, a huge smile spreading across his face.

"It's beautiful!" he exclaimed, admiring it. Mac really had done a good job with it, and Gumball was pleasantly surprised. The general expectation was that first years had no talents to speak of, but this kid at least was an exception.

[Mac McCracken]

"Thanks, I'm glad you like it." Mac smiled, proud of himself for another drawing well done. He picked up the one of Wilt again, reminding himself to place it in his trunk upstairs when he got the chance so that he would remember to bring it home to show Madame Foster. She loved seeing his new imaginary friends. There was a question that had been nagging him since the boy had introduced himself, and he really wanted to ask it but was afraid of sounding rude. Bracing himself, he said, "I was wondering about your name. Gumball. It's definitly not a common muggle name, so I was wondering if it was common in a wizarding family?"

[Barnaby Gumball]

"But of course!" Gumball looked surprised for a moment, but then remembered the boy was muggleborn so there was bound to be some things he didn't know. "My family has owned a rather well known candy shop for generations. It's on Diagon Alley; perhaps you saw it while you were getting your supplies?" He found himself wondering how different school supply shopping was for muggleborn students.

[Mac McCracken]

Mac vaguely remembered the candy store he was talking about. He had been so busy looking at all the magical items stores that he hadn't paid attention to sweet stores. Of course, there was no point in him going in them anyway. "Yes, I do remember that candy shop, now that you mention it. But I didn't go in; I can't eat candy, so I didn't feel any need to go inside. Maybe I'll check it out next summer. What kinds of candy does your family sell?"

[Barnaby Gumball]

"You...you can't eat candy?" Gumball looked utterly devastated. "But why?" He ignored the other question in favor of gaping at Mac and waiting for a response.

[Mac McCracken]

Of course he would find that comment weird, Mac thought to himself. Nervously, he replied, "Well, if I eat a piece, I go into this crazy sugar-high. I can't think straight and I do things I regret later, just to get more candy. So I avoid sweets as best I can. I have found sugar-free candy to be quite delicious though," he added as a side note, trying to keep the conversation relatively light.

[Barnaby Gumball]

"That's terrible," Gumball said, before realizing he was probably being very rude and might even upset the first year. "Well, sugar-free candy, that's...nice, that's good I suppose." He didn't really think so, but he didn't want to hurt Mac's feelings. He made a mental note to write to his father and ask what sort of sugar-free candy they sold.

[Mac McCracken]

"You get used to it," he shrugged. He hadn't been too upset by Gumball's reaction, but he did want to get the conversation off of himself. So, he directed it towards the girl still sitting in the corner. "I haven't met her yet. I think she was in my Muggle Studies class. Should we try and get her to come over here and talk?"

[Barnaby Gumball]

"I don't recognize her either, but she wasn't among the first years." Gumball was still puzzled about that; the information he had didn't really add up. "Shall we invite her to sit with us? She looks busy."

[Mac McCracken]

"If you don't know her, then we should definitly invite her over. But only if she wants to; I don't want to keep her from homework or anything." He briefly remembered that Gumball had come in to do homework as well, and expressed his concern. "I haven't been keeping you from it, have I?"

[Barnaby Gumball]

"Of course not," he replied absently, still looking at the girl. "I came over to talk to you because you looked interesting, and I wasn't disappointed."