Meeting a Pipsqueak (Tag Pippa)

Jim had finally gotten around to writing a letter to his parents now that a few days had gone by. He had told them all about his new friends and how his classes were going so far. Of course, he didn't mention the new enemies he had made as well. There was no use in telling them that kind of stuff. Hearing about the good stuff would cheer them up, though. He clutched the letter in his hands as he looked around at the assortment of owls, wondering which one to pick.

there was nobody Pippa really had reason to send a letter to. her parents were here with her, and her best friend. but her uncle might like to hear her adventures, the dragon and Hiccup would really intrest him she knew. humming Pippa skipped up the stairs, pausing at the sight of...Jim Hawkins, right? "oh, hello! you're a Ravenclaw right? sending a letter home?" she giggled. "hope there's just good things to tell"

Jim turned around at the unfamiliar voice and saw that it was a little girl speaking to him. "You know my name?" he asked, a little surprised. He wasn't exactly popular, and he was only famous among the bullies because he made a good punching bag. Was this the daughter of Flich that he had heard a few people mention before? She seemed to match the description of her: small, wiry, red hair. "Well, it's the good things that my parents want to hear anyway," he said, giving a wry smile. "No use bothering them with troubles when they're a million miles away."

she giggled. “yea, I’ve seen you around. You’re in the library sometimes when I visit mom. She told me who you were the first time I asked” Pippa shrugged. “I don’t think you’re any weirder than any other Ravenclaw, you just look like you sleep less” she beamed at him and walked over, jumping lightly over piles of owl pellets till she was by him. “that’s good, I guess. You can talk to my mom and dad if you have lots of problems. Dad kinda likes you, you don’t cause trouble. But he won’t admit it to anyone outside the family” she giggled. “just tell them you’re a friend of mine and you’ll be good”

Jim just gave a little shrug. Seemed logical to him. And he did make frequent trips to the library to do his homework, especially when final exams were coming up. "Is it really that obvious?" he muttered, wondering if the circles under his eyes had gotten any darker lately. Or if he shuffled around like a zombie more often. Or maybe people were just noticing him a bit more. He raised an eyebrow. Filch likes me? Great. I'm a favorite of one of the crankiest guys around the school. Not that he got in trouble much, but it was kind of the mindset of everyone in Hogwarts. Filch just wasn't that...likeable a person, even if you were well-behaved. "I'll remember that," he said, nodding. "Thanks."

Pippa scratched the back of her neck. "well...I know dad isn't liked around here, trust me. I'm his kid, lots of people avoid me. I just notice things. especially when I explore the secret tunnels and stuff, I see you, tottering around barely awake" she smiled at him happily. "good! because..we can be friends, right? you wouldn't mind being my friend?" she looked at him almost pleadingly. it was hard making friends here. Emily and the other pranksters were her friends, or, just Emily. Pippa had a feeling that they tolerated her because she was friends with Moses' apprentice. "I might not be the best study buddy, but I do know where most of the books in the library are, mom uses the same system at home"

Jim blinked in surprise. This girl certainly was observant. And that wasn't necessarily a bad thing in some cases. Most people were blind to what was around them. "Well, noticing things can be good and stuff," he said. "Like, if you're being a detective or something." His mother had talked about some book series that Muggles liked, Sherlock...something or other. He never got into them, although his mother had a few books stashed away in her bedroom. But she had said that the Sherlock guy could solve cases just by noticing things, and without any magic! Jim had thought that was pretty neat. "You wanna be friends with me? Really?" That was a bit...surprising. "Um, I'm not sure if I'm that fun to be around, to be honest. I mean, you've seen me. I'm practically a zombie half the time anyway."

she grinned. "like Sherlock Holmes? mom and dad didn't think I'd have magic, so I got educated in the way of the Muggle and I think being a detective would be beyond awesome!" she skipped and danced around him. "yea I wanna be friends with you, and I don't mind. one of my uncle's crew men, cuz my uncle is a sea captain and took me all over before I came here, is a werewolf, ro something, and he was tired too. he was a real good listener though so it was ok" she beamed at him

"Yeah, that guy," Jim said, remembering his name. Maybe Pippa could give him a hand in Muggle studies sometime. He knew some things about them, but probably not enough to do well in the class. Although his heart skipped a beat when she mentioned the word "werewolf". Did she know that he was a werewolf too? Jim, come on, stop overreacting. Of course she doesn't know. The only ones who know are Professor Rivera and Dumbledore. Stop being so paranoid! "A...werewolf? Interesting. Haven't...met one of those before." He tried to act casual, although he kinda failed at it.

Pippa grinned. "really? well, maybe you could meet him, my friend Andres. he's very nice. maybe a little awkward at times, but he's ok" she spun around on one foot. "I'm sending a letter to my uncle and the crew so they know how I'm doing. I hope everyone is doing alright..."

"Um...sure. I can deal with awkward." Especially since he was a little awkward himself. Jim could deal with that. "I'm sure they're doing fine," he assured Pippa. "You said he was a...sea captain, right? Has he been, like, all over the world?" It did sound pretty interesting, going all over the world by boat.

"yep! he's been everywhere. he moves the really dangerous magic stuff from one place to another, wildlife preserves and stuff. did you know the Hogwarts forest was one? it's got all these amazingly rare creatures that can be really dangerous, that's why people aren't allowed in there. mom and dad and uncle wouldn't let me go along on those trips, but maybe they will now..." she giggled. "Emily is going to travel with me during the summer, you can too if you want"

"Wow. Sounds pretty adventurous." Sounded like one of the books Jim would read as a kid about people who went off to do daring stuff. It was just something to dream about, though. Jim doubted he could actually live a life like that. His personal life was too hectic, he couldn't adventures to his already heaping plate. "I'll...think about it," he said. "Thanks for the offer."

she giggled. "yea, that's fine. and no problem, everyone should have at least one adventure to talk about, right?" she walked to an owl and gave it the letter. Pippa leaned in and whispered to the owl a moment before it flew off. she spun around on one foot. "I like it up here, it's nice"

"I don't know, sometimes life itself is adventure enough," Jim said, thinking about how this year was already crazy and unexpecting. He was dealing with conflicts and feelings he had never experienced before, and that was a challenge sometimes. He gave a little chuckle. "You spin on your feet a lot. Training to be a ballerina or something?"

"I haven't had that sort of feeling yet" she giggled. Pippa shook her head. "nope, it's weird being on solid ground when you're used to a boat, and I always wanted to be a bird or something, I like moving around and know I'm moving" Pippa beamed at him.

Jim nodded. That kind of made sense, even though he hadn't been on a boat much. He got the same sensation when he spent a few hours on his broomstick. He always felt weightless for a while afterwards, despite being on the ground. He often wished it wouldn't go away. He enjoyed any chance he could to feel light-weighted. To often, he felt heavy, like he was carrying a burden on his shoulders. "Have you gotten a chance to fly on a broomstick? If you get going pretty fast, you can practically feel like a bird."

Pippa shook her head. "no, I haven't had flying classes yet, and dad keeps putting off buying me a broomstick, he's scared of flying you know. he's worried I might get hurt" she sighed. "I stand at the stern of a ship without losing my balance, I think I can be ok, but what do you do?" she spun around again. "dancing gives one the same feeling, sometimes, but I wouldn't do it in front of people"

Jim gave a little laugh. "Yeah, if you can do that, flying should be no problem," he said, smiling. "Although they don't start off teaching you much the first few lessons. Heck, half the time, the teacher barely lets you go over his head. But as time goes on, you start learning the cooler stuff. If you ever get impatient though, we can meet up at the Quidditch field and I can give you some private lessons." Jim was surprised to find that he didn't feel too awkward offering to teach Pippa some moves. He did feel a little more confident about his flying ever since he had met Nani's approval. She was an expert after all, and if she said Jim was good, then he believed it.

she giggled. "yea, I know. I've heard all about it. I don't mind, I do think flying would be loads of fun" her eyes lit up and she grinned happily, hardly believing her ears. "you'd do that? for me?! thank you!" she ran over and impulsively gave him a hug, backing away after a moment, blushing and for the first time in her life embarrassed. "sorry. you must think I'm really weird and stuff..."

Jim was taken aback by her eagerness for a moment and found himself freezing up at the hug a bit. But it looked like Pippa was feeling a little embarrassed herself and he laughed to put her at ease. "Everyone's weird in their own way. Some just don't worry about it as much as others. But at least you're happy and stuff. Some people get so worked up over how weird they are that they end up being miserable." Jim had been guilty of that on multiple occasions, but he wasn't about to admit that now.

she tilted her head. "why would I do that? I like being weird, I was just worried you'd freak out" she smiled. "I think you should deliver your mail now, Jim. I'll see you next week on the field if that's ok. later!"

"Oh, sorry. Didn't mean to get all...philosophical." Jim gave a little laugh, blushing a bit from embarrassment. He was thinking too much again. "Yeah, totally. I'll be sure to get a broomstick for you and stuff." A barn owl gave a little screech above his head, and he fumbled around with his letter for a second as the bird approached him. "See ya!" he called over his shoulder as he tied the letter onto the owl's leg and let it fly off into the sky. He found himself smiling a little. Maybe he was actually good around younger kids. Then again, Pippa was the first younger kid that he had actually had a conversation with. But she seemed to like him well enough. Maybe he was on a roll with making friends this year.