Sunny with a chance of Sprinkles **Eryon**

[Matilda Nordstrom-Davin]

August 31st
7:30pm

Tomorrow. Term starts tomorrow.

How was it even possible that summer was coming to an end? Matilda was walking around Diagon Alley, a warm breeze in the air as the end of summer nears, waving at a few Hogwarts students she saw walking down the cobblestone street. Bram, Tilly’s Grandfather, was shopping in the bookshop while she went ahead to the Ice Creamery.

Standing in line, she heard the door open and a bell ring out, signaling that a new customer had entered the shop. Tilly turned, expecting to see Gramps, but instead saw another face she recognized. “Eryon! Hey, how are you?”

Eryon was someone Matilda genuinely liked. A good friend to Morgan and half of a scientific team that was determined to rid Hogwarts of cooties. It wasn’t an easy job, with all the snogging that happened behind the gates of Hogwarts. Matilda had been a small part of a recent experiment, one that still made her chuckle. Snogging for science? Sign her up.

The line moved up another person, but they were a good 7 people deep before ordering their sweet treat. “Are you ready for school to start tomorrow?”

[Eryon Thornley]

Summer had been great! Eryon had thoroughly enjoyed camp as weirdly scientific it had been, but it was time to head back to school now. He had been shopping for supplies when he had a sudden urge to have an ice cream, so this is where he was right now.

The boy hadn’t even fully entered the shop when he heard his name, the poor kid was startled so badly that he nearly let go of the door and bonked into it. Eryon rubbed his head, his cheeks warming up even before he looked up to see who it was.

"Tilly." Oh no, it was Tilly.

"Hi! H-Hi!" the kid blurted a little louder than he meant to. "I... I’m good." He waved awkwardly, trying to hide the fact that he had been nursing his head. The Raven managed a crooked grin at her, his heart beating awkwardly. Tilly was nice, too nice. She knew things. She’d even been there during the Snogging Incident of Scientific Nature. He still had weird-ish memories of that day.

The line moved forward and so did he, "Are YOU ready?" the boy asked in a whisper. Why was he whispering? He had no idea. "For school, I mean. Not the cooties apocalypse, because that’s it...." He paused and cleared his throat, he was the one supposed to be suave. "I... I packed my quills." The kid grinned at her, having shared his major life achievement.

[Matilda Nordstrom-Davin]

“Tilly."

"Hi! H-Hi!" Eryon blurted out loudly. "I... I’m good." Tilly smiled at the younger year, trying to make this encounter not awkward. The fact that a couple weeks ago she had snogged the boy standing in front of her could make this interaction strange. She could tell he was a bit nervous, so she tried her best to act cool and unaffected by the past events.

The line moved up, bringing them one person closer to the front. "Are YOU ready?" Eryon whispered, making her smile wider. Turning to him, eyes wide with amusement and fake horror, “I AM ready,” she whispered in an exaggerated tone.

"For school, I mean. Not the cooties apocalypse, because that’s it...." He said, clearing his throat. "I... I packed my quills."

Tilly tried to contain her amusement. Some of the statements that came out of his mouth were a little random, but she could follow his train of thought for the most part. “Shoot, we're on the verge of an apocalypse? I knew the cooties were spreading, but I didn’t realize we were reaching apocalypse levels.” Moving forward another spot, Tilly looked at Eryon seriously. “Well quills are very important. Especially in the pursuit of scientific endeavors. Do you think the potion was a success? For the record, I don’t seem to have any cootie symptoms. Do you think it’s possible that I don’t have them?”

[Eryon Thornley]

Eryon’s smiled, ithen quickly frowned, then the smile returned with a casual confidence that felt like cooties and kisses were just distant memories.

Feeling comfortable, the Raven nodded excessively, “Quills are crucial! Essential! You can’t do science without them.” Why did he mention science? This wasn’t science. She hadn’t mentioned anything about science. He had to escape this awkward situation.

“Uh, so, what do you do?” he asked hastily, “At school, I mean. Like, subjects or electives or—“ he trailed off, horrified at himself. “You don’t have to tell me. I just realized I have no idea what you take. Or do. At all. And that sounded like I was prying, but I swear I’m not trying to compile a dossier or anything.” The boy really needed to learn how to talk to people. Was she people tho? He thought to himself, they'd touched lips after all.

He rubbed the back of his neck and gave her a sheepish look. “I just… I’ve only really talked to Morgan all summer. Which is—“ he shrugged, half a smile creeping in, “a full-time job, honestly. But this is the first time I’ve had, like, a regular conversation. With someone who didn’t drag me into the lake to prove a point.”

His heart tried to skip beats.

“It’s nice.” Eryon looked away for a brief moment, "It's not that I don't like talking to her, I do." The boy clarified and forced himself to look back at Tilly, there was no way he would make any friends if he kept not looking at people he was talking to.

His cheeks flushed pink, "Sooo, Ice Cream?" the soon to be second year blinked, "What do you think of ice cream? Which one do you like?"

[Matilda Nordstrom-Davin]

They moved up another spot, getting closer to the yummy cold creamy goodness. She could see the flavors now, trying to pick her favorite.

“Uh, so, what do you do? At school, I mean. Like, subjects or electives or—“he went quiet for a second. “You don’t have to tell me. I just realized I have no idea what you take. Or do. At all. And that sounded like I was prying, but I swear I’m not trying to compile a dossier or anything.”

Looking at him with a smile, she held in her giggle. “Lets see, I take most of the regular courses, nothing super crazy there. I work in the Hospital Wing, as a greenhouse assistant. So I basically maintain the plants, keep the potion stores filled, water, pick weeds, the general things. I’m not a flyer or a dueler.” Her eyes returned to the vats of ice cream, deciding that chocolate was what her taste buds desired.

“Plants are kinda my thing. I have a garden back home that I love. If you ever need to find me I will be in one of 5 places. Gryffindor tower, the hospital wing greenhouse, the garden or one of the seven castle greenhouses or the kitchen. I love baking, so I go in there to make treats all the time.”

Up another space, Tilly could see all the offered flavors, she looked deep in thought as Eryon let the next bit slip. “I just… I’ve only really talked to Morgan all summer. Which is—“ he shrugged with a smile, “a full-time job, honestly.” This made Tilly laugh hardily, “But this is the first time I’ve had, like, a regular conversation. With someone who didn’t drag me into the lake to prove a point.”

That last part… What the hell. “Ok, so, two things. One, who the hell drug you into the lake? And two, yes, Morgan is a force of nature, you need to stay hydrated to keep up with that one.”

When he mentioned it was nice talking with her, she had to agree. She really liked Eryon, and even more loved seeing Morgan and him hanging out. They were a good match for each other. “It is nice, you should come hang out with me in the greenhouse sometime. I can teach you about all the plants. We have some crazy ones.” When he asked her about what Ice cream she wanted, she decided it was time to actually figure it out. “Well, I want chocolate. Maybe the Chocolate and peanut butter swirl. It’s one of my favorites. How about you?”

[Eryon Thornley]

Eryon nodded seriously at his ice cream choice, like he had just made a secret move in a game only he could see. “Chocolate and peanut butter swirl,” he repeated, mostly to himself. “Very stable.”

When it was finally his turn, he stared at the menu like it was an NEWT level exam, “I think I'll have the… Splish Splash, please,” he said, at the last second. “In a cone. No sprinkles.” A short pause. Then he looked at Tilly and added, “Actually… maybe one scoop of sprinkles. Just on top. For luck.”

It was finally their turn, the young boy stepped aside so she could get hers, and then carefully accepted the cone like it was glass. It was already starting to drip and he panicked for a second before licking it in the most ungraceful way imaginable “Thanks for talking to me,” he said after a moment, his voice a little more even now, more real. “I didn’t know if today was going to be weird or good and,“ he shrugged, a small smile pulling at the corner of his mouth, “it was good.”

He took another lick of his ice cream and then added, “If you ever need a break from greenhouses… or want to get more ice cream… I mean, not that you need tooooo, but, y’know. If you wanted to.” He looked up at her, hopeful but trying very hard to play it cool. “See you tomorrow, Tilly.”