The Fireside {Ravenclaws Only}

[Mac McCracken]

Mac faltered in surprise. Him? Interesting? "Thanks," he said, slightly embarrassed. "That's a new adjective for me." He thought for a moment. "You know, I had heard that us Ravenclaws were supposed to be cold towards other students and even fellow Ravenclaws. But I haven't really experienced any of that yet. Is that really how other Houses see us?" It was a pretty deep question for him, he knew, but he had been curious of the way students from certain Houses were seemingly supposed to act, and yet didn't.

[Barnaby Gumball]

"Well, that's a part of it; other Houses see us as cold and disconnected." He paused, trying to put his thoughts into words. "I prefer to think that we're more dedicated to our studies. Actually," he laughed. "The old stereotype goes that there are two kinds of Ravenclaws: those who are absorbed in their studies, and those who are very creative and whimsical!" He left off the part about those types also being regarded as strange, because he thought Mac might be offended.

[Mac McCracken]

"Ah ok, I think I get it. I have noticed that Ravenclaws are less likely to interrupt their homework to go do something than, say, a Gryffindor or Hufflepuff. I wouldn't know about Slytherins though, I haven't met any yet." He laughed at the last part as well. "I can guess which category I would fall into. My mother always says my imagination is too active for my own good, and for someone my age." He laughed again. "But I never would have known I was a wizard if it wasn't!"

[Barnaby Gumball]

"Ahahaha...well, Slytherins..." But Gumball decided not to elaborate. He nodded as Mac explained that he was more like the inventive Ravenclaws; Gumball had pegged him as that sort as well. "Hm? How did you discover that?" As someone who'd known he was a wizard for his entire life, he always found such stories interesting.

[Mac McCracken]

"I made my imaginary friend come to life when I was eight." Mac sat up in the chair, his body slightly stiff from being in its previous position so long. "What about you? I mean, I know you came from a wizarding family, so you probably knew you would be one, but was there anything that happened that just screamed 'Yep, I have magic'?"

[Barnaby Gumball]

"That's really fascinating!" He had never heard of someone making something come to life before; the boy must really have a precise imagination if he was able to picture things so realistically. Would that be classified as an illusion, or an animating charm? An animating charm depended on having a physical item to give life to, so--
He pulled his mind away from his analysis and considered Mac's question. "I don't think so. I've been doing little things for as long as I remember."

[Mac McCracken]

He nodded. It had been fascinating, but terrifying at the same time because he hadn't known about magic yet. Now he spent a lot of his free time trying to figure out how to do it again, so he could bring Bloo back. He listened to Gumball's answer but it became apparent that he hadn't had something nearly as spectacular happen earlier in life. "What was it like growing up with magic?" The question was out before he could stop it. He didn't want to sound like he was ungrateful being born into a muggle family, but his curiosity got the better of him. He wanted to know if people wouldn't of seen him as a freak if they all had magic too.

[Barnaby Gumball]

Gumball wasn't sure how to answer that. He shook his head, replying, "It was ordinary to me. I wouldn't know any other way." He continued, just as curious as Mac, "Was it exciting to discover you had magic?"

[Mac McCracken]

And the conversation had shifted back to him again, without so much as a sentence pause. "Sure, it was great at eleven, and I finally knew why I had something that was supposed to be solely in mind following me around. But at eight, I was terrified. I didn't know why Bloo, that was his name, was suddenly there. Let's just say it didn't make me very many friends." He paused to collect his thoughts, then continued. "But yeah, I do like being a part of this magical world. I'm certainly learning new things everywhere I go."

[Barnaby Gumball]

"Wow, you made him appear when you were eight?" That was even more impressive. He nodded with agreement at Mac's next statement. "Learning new things is fascinating. It's my very favorite part about being here."

[Mac McCracken]

"Yes, I suppose that's why we are in Ravenclaw," he said with good humor. Then the first statement registered for him and his eyes grew wide. "Wait, wait, is it abnormal for me to be able to do that? Is it wrong or something?" He still didn't understand everything about being a wizard, and he didn't want to be labeled a freak already because of something he did when he was eight.

[Barnaby Gumball]

"It is unusual," Gumball agreed, but seeing his eyes widen he continued, clarifying, "It's impressive. That's fairly difficult magic, and for you to perform it wandless at such a young age..."

[Mac McCracken]

Mac sighed in relief. "Oh, ok, I can deal with that then. I've tried to do it since, but no matter how hard I concentrate, it doesn't work. My next-door neightbor, she was a witch, and she told me that it was because as children, witches and wizards have a sort of raw magic that is given to uncontrollable moments. I don't really understand what she meant, but...I guess it fits. Do you? Understand what she said, I mean?"

[Barnaby Gumball]

"Well, I think it would be..." Gumball paused, twiddling his fingers together as he thought. "I think it's like this. Children can do things because they don't yet know it's impossible. In that way, they're much more powerful than adults."

[Mac McCracken]

"Which would explain why children can make unexplainable things happen even without knowing about magic yet, but there are even some adults that still need to use wands in order to cast spells. Yeah, I think I'm getting this. Thanks for clearing that up. The witch who lived next door was a bit on the nutty side, so I never really was sure I could believe in everything she said," he chuckled at the fond memory.