Mystery Girl (Tag Penelope)

"Piper! That's my shoelace! Give it back!" Jim's kitten already had an affection for Jim's shoelaces, or anything that resembled string, really. He moved with surprising agility for a little cat and managed to hide under the couch in the common room by the time Jim made his way down, with one shoe on his foot and the other in his hand, with only one shoelace in it. Jim groaned. "Piper, come on. Be mature for once," he said, peeking under chairs and behind curtains to see if his pet was there. When he finally spotted him under the couch, he yelled "Aha! Gotcha!" and reached out for him. Piper moved away from his hand though and Jim ended up having to crawl under the couch to get to him. "Come here, you little mischief maker," he said, not noticing that somebody had opened the door and entered the common room.

"Sherlock? Where did you go?" Penelope huffed, as she stood from looking under her bed. "I swear, if you're in the Owlery again..." she added under her breath. That cat liked to torment those poor birds, clearly amused by their reactions. She was surprised she hadn't gotten a letter from any of the professors about it yet... or the fact that he hissed at everyone except her.

Penny shook her head before slipping her feet into her black flats. She wore her uniform, as she normally did, and grabbed one of her books before heading down the stairs and into the common room. She could hear someone in there as she descended, but it wasn't all that unusual as there were many Ravenclaws and the common room was everyone's domain. However, when she entered the calming room, she couldn't help but notice an odd boy literally under the couch. She stopped, blinking for a moment.

Penelope parted her lips, an eyebrow raised as she tried to determine what the boy could possibly be doing. "U-uhm," she started, stuttering as she often did when talking with people, especially new people. "E-excuse me, b-but what are you doing?" she questioned, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear - her blue eyes never leaving the odd spectacles before her.

"Gotcha!" Jim yelled, finally managing to get his hands on Piper, who looked very put out at being caught. He gave a triumphant laugh, but he looked up when he heard someone talking. Or, more specifically, someone talking to him. "Huh?" He raised his head, trying to get up, but quite forgot that he was under the couch and ended up bumping his head. "Agh! Son of a..." He bit his lip to stop from cursing and just backed out from under the couch, grumbling under his breath. He looked up to see that it was a girl he didn't know that had addressed him earlier. Well, he knew who she was, sort of. He remembered seeing Todd talking to her at the ball, and that was about it. Piper took advantage of Jim's distraction and started gnawing on his shoelace again. "Piper, no, you can't eat shoelaces," Jim muttered, pulling it away from him. He looked back up at the girl. "Sorry. My cat's new and hasn't quite learned that shoelaces aren't to be played with. Had to chase him from my room." He brushed some hair out of his face, which was a bit red. No doubt he had looked pretty ridiculous earlier.

Penelope took a step back slightly as the boy crawled out from under the couch. She bit her lip slightly, trying to hold back her laughter. She couldn't help but notice how cute the kitten in his hands seemed to be and as it chewed on the shoelace, she couldn't hold it back the laughter for much longer. "N-no, it's quite alright," she told him politely, a small breathy laugh following. "I've, uh, recently obtained a cat myself; though, thankfully, he, uh, doesn't take to shoelaces."

Penny tilted her head to the side a bit. She didn't find the boy familiar, and the fact that he hadn't found her all too familiar meant that she had at least not forgotten him. So, she was meeting him truly for the first time. She offered a small smile. "I'm... Penelope, by the way... but you can call me Pen if you'd like." She was curious as to who the odd boy was, and she wondered if perhaps he knew Todd. Todd was, after all, one of the few people she knew - in a more relative term, as she didn't remember most about him - and it would be nice to meet people within the same circle.

"Lucky for you," Jim said, smiling. "Piper here loves anything that dangles in front of him. Maybe it's just because he's young. I'm not sure." He got to his feet, Piper still squirming in his arms. But he was easy enough to keep a grip on. Jim could probably hold him with one hand if he felt like it. The girl seemed nice enough, despite his awkward introduction. At least she didn't find it funny enough to make fun of. He had had enough of that over the years. "Oh, I'm Jim. Nice to meet you," he said. "I think I saw you at the ball, though it was from a distance, I suppose." He gave an awkward laugh. "Um, are you a friend of Todd's or something? Eva and I saw that you two looked like you knew each other well."

"I think... he's just being a cat," Penny gave a small laugh. "At least he doesn't enjoy, well, terrorizing people. Sherlock, my, uh, my cat hates people." Penelope shrugged. It was ironic how she had a cat who hated people while she herself could never find it in her to truly hate someone else... well, maybe a few select people... like He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named for instance. That, though, was a very different story.

"Jim," she repeated silently to herself. Her blue eyes lit up. Perhaps this was the 'Jimbo' Todd had been talking about the other night. So, they were roommates then? The faintest hint of a blush crossed across of her face. "Oh, yes. Todd is... well... o-one of my only friends, I suppose," Penny gave an awkward shrug. It was the truth. She bit her lip for a moment. "I, uh, left Hogwarts a while back... but... yes, I knew him from before then." She smiled once more. Knowing him well, though, was not something she'd say exactly. She had learned more about him recently, yes, but it wasn't as if she remembered him... not completely anyway.

((Todd's calling Jim "Jimbo" now? XD That just cracks me up.))

"Oh. Um, remind me not to get near your cat then," Jim said, laughing a little. God forbid he get clawed by some random cat and add more scratch marks to his collection. He got enough of those during full moons. He idly scratched behind Piper's ears, making him purr. That seemed to relax him enough. He certainly liked the spotlight a lot for a kitten. Jim couldn't imagine what he would be like when he grew up. He listened to Penelope with interest. He had never met anyone that knew any of his friends before this year, with the exception of Leroy. But he didn't count. He was a jerk. Todd had seemed kind of on his own when Jim had first met him. Had he and Penelope had some kind of falling-out or something? She seemed to trip over her words a lot, which was usually his job when it came to talking with people. But he didn't want to press her or anything. He had ruined enough first impressions that way and he didn't want to do it again. "That's cool. I didn't really get to know him until this year. He, Brie, Eva, and I just started talking at the feast and bam, we were a group. I'd call it a clique, but that sounds, I don't know, a little snobbish?" He had never really liked the word much. He thought it was more appropriate for groups who acted nasty towards others. Or didn't let anyone else join their group.

[bahaha, yupp! xD]

Penny let out another small laugh. Yes, she really had to be careful who Sherlock interacted with. He seemed to keep to himself for the most part, but if someone approached him... well, all bets were off. Penny wasn't quite sure why he had picked her to be friendly with, but the Shop Lady had said something about him being her familiar, so she just assumed it had something to do with that.

Penelope smiled and nodded. Her eyes lit up once more. "O-oh, I met Brie... at the ball. She seems really nice." She had, though, there had been something off. Brie had seemed slightly upset by something then and Penny had only hoped that she was happier now. "That's pretty cool, though," Penny added, her voice soft as it always was. She hadn't had many friends before Todd, mostly hanging out with her brother, and those few that she had made were all forgotten to her now. "The, uh, the Ravenclaw Clique..." she shrugged, another small smile forming on her face. "I think it sounds pretty good."

[meep. well. I need to head to bed. I've got class bright and early~ night! <3]

Jim nodded. "Yeah, Brie is nice. You should have seen her after me and Eva got together. I think she was ready to start planning a wedding right then and there. She can be pretty excitable once you get her going." Although it seemed like Brieanne showed that side only around Jim and the others, and even that was considered rare nowadays. Jim made a mental note to check up on her soon and make sure she was alright. After all, Evaine wasn't the only one who was depressed and had family issues. "I guess it does sort of have a nice ring to it," he said, smiling. "Of course, anyone's welcome to hang out with us if they want. We already have Val hanging out with us more often. Have you met her? She's a fourth year, but she can act pretty mature for her age sometimes."

Penny smiled, laughing slightly once more. Eva sounded nice as well, and she'd love to meet her. She'd really love to meet anyone at this point, and if Todd was friends with them, she could only imagine she'd get along with them as well. She hoped anyway. "Val? N-no, I don't think I have," Penelope shrugged. If she had at any point in the last three years, she didn't remember. A light blush crept across her face and she scratched her head. "I, uh, d-don't really know anyone else," she let out a small nervous laugh. "I suppose... I was just... too wrapped up in my studies. I've, uh, really only ever hung out with... my brother," she gave light shrug. "And Todd, so, yeah..." If there was anyone else, she was unaware to it. Now, though, there was also Aladdin, though that confused and flustered her to no avail. She made a silent note to herself to try and be less introverted and actually make friends this year.

"Oh. Well, she's nice and stuff. You'd probably get along with her." Although at this point, after his whole psycho Imperius curse episode, Jim wasn't even sure if he and Valerie were even friends anymore. She had seen him attack people, after all. He had to talk to her soon, before she decided to avoid him forever. She probably would if she felt scared enough of him. "So, does that mean you're really smart?" he asked. "I feel the exact opposite half the time. I keep wondering why I got sorted in here sometimes. History of Magic is the bane of my existence." Jim had never liked that class, mainly because of all the facts and dates he had to remember. It was hard enough when he was actually awake, but having that class after a night of turning into a wolf was practically like pure torture. "Oh, does your brother go here? Maybe I know him." Well, maybe "know" wasn't the right word. Before actually making friends this year, Jim just tended to observe people from a distance. He knew people's names, but that was about it.

Penny gave another smile. She was sure, as it was very hard for her not to get along with anyone. She was just an overall polite and friendly person. But Val seemed like a person she'd want to meet. She'd have to make a list, already having two names to add: Eva and Val. Penelope blushed once more.

"O-oh, y-yes, I, uh, I suppose so," she shrugged. She got really high marks in all of her classes, even the classes she did horrible in she passed with acceptables at the least. Though, there was always flying and potions... but neither of which she really wanted to talk about. Penny's smile returned to her face. "Oh, I love History of Magic; I find it quite interesting actually." Perhaps it was a muggle thing... she never grew up around the wizarding world, and perhaps that's why she took such a liking to it... that and her fascination to learn.

Penelope hesitated for a moment. "Well... he did. Uhm, he's... he's studying at home now, actually, b-but, uh, yes he did attend here. Michael Baudelaire, he's a Gryffindor... he was, uhm, on the Quidditch Team." That's how most people knew him. He was rather popular, always outgoing and eager to join the fun. He always tried to include everyone he could and could care less about house prejudices... obviously, as his boyfriend had been in Slytherin.

Jim shrugged. "Eh, it's just never really clicked with me. I'm terrible when it comes to remembering things. And History of Magic has a lot of stuff to remember." Maybe he could ask Penelope to help him sometime. He could always use more assistance when it came to remembering important wizarding wars and important discoveries in magic. "The Quidditch Team? Sounds interesting. I probably saw him during some matches and stuff. Quidditch is one of my favorite sports. Do you like it much?"

Penelope nodded, most people didn't really like that class. They thought it was boring or too much. "Well... if you, uh, ever need any help," she shrugged slightly. She didn't finish her sentence, already finding it hard to offer help like such to someone she just met. It was her nerves, really.

Penny nodded once more. "Yes, he loves Quidditch more than anything, I believe," she smiled. Oh, so Jim was into Quidditch as well? When he asked her, she shook her head. "Not particularly... I'll watch it... for the, uh, sake of Michael, but... no... I, uh, I don't... uh... like flying." She was terrified of it, really. Heights scared her nearly half to death.

Jim looked up. It sounded like an offer to help him, or so he thought. "I'd like that," he said, smiling at her. This whole "making new friends" thing was still kind of new to him, and it always surprised him when he managed to get along with someone well enough to consider them a friend. Maybe being around Evaine, Brieanne, and Todd had changed him, made him more approachable. Or maybe he had just gotten a little more confident about herself. Hearing about her fear of flight was familiar to him. "Eva's kind of the same. She won't set foot near a broomstick unless I'm with her. If you ever want to try getting on one again, I can help out if you like."

Penelope smiled once more, glad that she could be of some help to someone instead of just sitting in the corner of the library on her own, looking through dusty books that no one else dared to touch. "O-okay, wh-whenever... or wh-whatever you need help with..." Penny blushed slightly, she wasn't used to offering to help people like this, but she was glad that she was making herself interact. "I'm good at... most subjects." She smiled softly.

Penelope blinked at his offer before giving a small smile and shaking her head softly. "Oh, n-no. I'm... I don't... th-that's very nice of you, b-but I just... don't like heights. Heights and water," Penelope shrugged. "B-but th-thank you, though."

Was he making her nervous? Penelope was stuttering a lot. Maybe Jim was more socially awkward than he had thought. So much for getting improvement from Todd, Brie, and Eva, he thought as he ran a hand through his hair. "That's good," he said. "At least Eva won't go nuts now when I ask her for help in every subject." He gave a little laugh. Well, maybe Evaine wasn't really going nuts. She was always willing to help Jim with his homework. But he just felt guilty for asking her all the time. His brow furrowed a little. He wondered what had happened to Penelope to make her so afraid of heights and water. He loved both, although truthfully, he only came to like the water when he and Evaine had spent some time at the lake together. Thinking about that night made him blush and he cleared his throat, hoping it didn't show.

Penny smiled, giving a small laugh. Well, she was definitely glad to be of help. Jim really seemed like a nice person, and she could see why Todd was friends with him. She studied him a bit, noticing that he furrowed his brow slightly. She was curious as to why, but withheld questioning... she wasn't one to do that. She let out a small sigh, looking down at the ground. She didn't have much else to say and suddenly felt very aware of that. It wasn't as if she could well elaborate on her fears, she was simply just afraid of heights, it was how she was and as for the water... that was just a mystery to her. Plus, that wasn't really what someone brought up at a first meeting. Penny looked up, an eyebrow raised as she heard Jim clearing his throat and noticed the very pale blush that appeared on his face. "U-uhm, so," Penelope finally spoke up, trying to break the silence. "Do you... uhm, d-do you play on the Quidditch Team?" She questioned, not sure what else to say.

Oh God, an awkward silence. Jim hated those, especially when he met someone new. He always had no idea what to say in situations like these and usually ended up blurting out something random and stupid. Penelope seemed to be feeling somewhat the same by the look on her face. Come on Jim, you dolt. Say something intelligent for once! But Penelope beat him to the punch and kept the conversation going. Jeez, my social skills must be lacking if I get so worked up over a chat with someone. Jeez, I'm such a noob. But he couldn't beat himself up about it for long. Penelope had asked him a question. "Um, no. But I hope to. As soon as tryouts are announced, I'm signing up. I'm hoping to get Seeker, but I guess that's up to whoever's in charge of our team."

Penelope smiled and nodded. She knew enough about the sport, having read up on Quidditch when she first arrived here and Mikey took an interest in it. "I'm sure you'll make it," she told him encouragingly, though she hardly knew what kind of flyer he was to make that decision. Still, though, she had a feeling he was very good at it. Penelope bit her lip, the silence having come back. She looked down, shuffling her feet slightly. Oh, what else could she say?

[bahaha, putting two socially awkward people together is quite hilarious. xD]

"Let's hope so," Jim said. "Nani says I'd better or else." He laughed. "She was nice enough to give me some tips shortly after school started." Piper gave a little meow, pawing at Jim's hand. "What, tired of someone hogging the spotlight?" he teased. Piper just meowed again and climbed up onto Jim's shoulder. "Ow. Hey, no, Piper, stop it." Piper just nuzzled against Jim's cheek though, making the boy sigh. "Drama queen," he muttered. He turned back to Penelope, who looked as if she was thinking about something. "Um, wanna hold him?" he asked, taking Piper into his hands again. "He's friendly, just likes attention a little too much."

Penelope smiled. "Well that's good; it's always nice to have help from people." Penelope had loads of help from family and the occasional friend after her accident. At first it seemed a bit overbearing, but in the end she had appreciated all the help she could get. Penny let out a small laugh as Piper, the kitten, meowed. "O-oh, uhm, sure," she smiled, placing her book down on a nearby table so that she'd be able to hold Piper. He did seem like such a cutie-pie.

Jim nodded in agreement. Help was something he had come to appreciate a lot this year. And to think, he had been so adverse to it during his last four years. Always being on his own, never seeking anyone out for help or to tell them his problems. But all that had changed when he had actually made friends this year. Now, he didn't know how he had gotten along without them before. Piper gave an excited meow as Jim handed him off to Penelope and immediately started batting at her hair with his paw. Jim smiled in amusement.

Penelope let out a light laugh as Piper batted at her hair. "Hello Piper," she smiled, scratching behind his ears. Penelope wasn't much of an animal person, but cats seemed to have an exception. They were intelligent and cute and often were fine on their own. Most of the animals she was afraid of were larger, more terrifying animals. She didn't particularly like dogs because of this reason. Penelope was just easily frightened was all it really boiled down to. Penny glanced back up at Jim. "He's quite adorable... like a baby," she chuckled.

Jim laughed. "I think that's what Eva was going for when she picked him out for me. She's already calling it our love-child." Jim still found the concept very amusing, even though he might have seen it as embarrassing a few months ago. But he was just glad that Evaine was helping him take care of Piper. He'd probably freak out if he had to handle him all by himself.