If at First You Don't Succeed (Kennedy or Scott)

[Jacob Baine H3]

One could say it was a guilty pleasure.

But with that came a lot of filthy, guilty, definitely non-pleasurable mental imagery that Jacob knew was not at all proper for a boy his age, let alone anyone any age. So instead of calling it his guilty pleasure, he preferred the term "mental health anchor."

Jacob was a Muggle. Like all Muggles, he liked to go through his day following a routine, a schedule, something fixed and set and almost tangible in its definity. However, Hogwarts was most definitely magical, and the thing about magic was that it never was defined or set, lord, definitely not set. This was partly why Jacob did not like magic---the other reason was that it seemed to replace human ingenuity, etc etc. (And also because it made pictures move and talk, and you could never be sure if you were really alone in the bathroom without some ghost walking in on your and making some comment.)

(Also because the staircases moved and sometimes made him sick. But no one needed to know that. Ever.)

In order to make himself feel normal, he had his mum send him Muggle things. He missed his Walkman and his radio and his tape cassettes and CDs, and if he could have them sent he wouldn't hesitate for them to be brought over. But electric things tended not to work at Hogwarts, and he was far to magically challenged (read: lazy) to think up of ways around this. So he had his mum send magazines and puzzle books and newspaper clippings. When he had first suggested this, he had (foolishly) anticipated the arrival of American Playboy magazines, but was instead greeted with Marie Claire. He had to answer a lot of (rude and unnecessary, he felt---where was that Hufflepuff fairness then?) questions that night in the common room, so he often had to take his things somewhere secluded.

Surprisingly enough, he grew to be rather fond of his Marie Claires, but what he liked best where the puzzle and game books. At the moment, he was filling in a "Finish the Quote" writing game.

"If at first you don't succeed," he mused, chewing on his quill. It was a habit he had observed Very Cool Upperclassmen doing, as they were in their natural habitats and, naturally, surrounded by Very Pretty Upperclasswomen, and he had studiously copied and perfected. At first, he only did it in places where there were girls, but that got him nowhere. Now, he did it unconsciously whenever he was thinking.

"If at first you don't succeed....then skydiving definitely isn't for you," he chuckled evilly.

[Scott Ryder G7]

Lately, Scott's mood had been a total contradiction. He'd wake up feeling like it was going to be a great day, only to have it be the worst day of his week. Or, he'd wake up in a terrible mood and then end up spending his entire day having a lot of fun with Lori and Theo. It was odd, really. He blamed it on the fact that his new friends were rubbing off on him, causing him to get lost in the whole change that life had thrown his way. Scott had been used to spending time alone, watching people from a distance. He didn't mind it, really. It could get lonely or boring, but he had convinced himself that he only needed one person and one person only: Scott.

As of the past few months though, that theory seemed to fly out the window with the entrance of two very good friends into his life. Theo and Lori were completely opposite of Scott, and a part of him became addicted to the time he got to spend with the two of them, whether it be in pairs or even as the group of three. With any good thing though, Scott realized he could only take it in small doses. Likely, that was the reason his mood and feelings had been so ambivalent lately. He couldn't make up his mind and was having a hard time balancing his new self with the old Scott. Somewhere in between though, he knew he'd find the perfect mix. It would simply take a bit of time.

Today, he was feeling rather homesick though. As the school year was drawing to an end, Scott recognized the familiar dragging feeling inside of him that seemed to happen every year. There came a point where he simply got sick of all the school work, and he just wanted to be able to spend some time at home with his family. Being close with his family was something that Scott was grateful for. Then again, this year would be different when the time came to go home for the summer. With the reward of getting a few months with his family, Scott would be saying a temporary goodbye to his new friends. He still wasn't sure how well (or how badly) that would go over.

With his laptop packed safely in its case, slung over his shoulder, Scott had set out in the castle for just a little bit of muggle time. When it came to electronics, Scott could sit for hours with his gadgets and so forth. That was one major reason he loved being at home so much. Luckily, his parents had purchased him is own laptop, and, though Hogwarts was known for blocking the use of such muggle devices, Scott had learned from a brilliant upperclassman that there were certain places in the castle where the charm which prevented such use could be countered. One of those places happened to be a small lounge in the highest room of the east tower. It was a secluded room, often empty, and Scott found it to be the perfect place to run his laptop using the proper spells and counter-spells.

As he entered the room, he was a bit surprised to see that it wasn't empty. He had found other people there before, but he had a hunch that today he might be the only person there. Nonetheless, the boy he found sitting in the room seemed busy with his own work, and Scott didn't think he would be much of a bother. As he lifted the strap from his shoulder, setting his laptop on the ground at his feet, he inadvertently overheard the boy muttering a saying which was quite familiar to Scott. His mother had used the saying over and over again when Scott was a small boy, first trying things such as jumping rope and riding his bicycle. "...try and try again."

The words left his lips without much of a thought, and they were quiet enough that he wasn't sure if the boy even heard him. At the same time though, Scott heard the boy's version of the finished sentence, and he let out a quick chuckle at the humorous touch which the boy had purposefully added though it was obviously not the correct ending to the familiar saying. "True enough," Scott said, this time making it a purposeful statement as he walked over to the boy. There it was again: Scott was being social. Sure enough, it was something that had rubbed off onto him from Theo and Lori. The old Scott would have kept quiet and to himself. But, the new Scott was eager to at least catch the boy's name.

"I'm Scott Ryder," he said simply. "Fifth year Gryffindor." Finding a chair opposite of the boy, Scott flipped open his laptop and then looked up as the machine began to run through its initial setup. "What have you got there?" he asked, seeing that there was some sort of booklet in the boy's hand. Perhaps it was homework, though Scott thought that the printing of the booklet seemed to be a bit more muggle-like than wizard-like. Scott was fairly good when it came to deciphering between muggle products and wizarding products.

[Jacob Baine H3]

"True enough. I'm Scott Ryder. Fifth year Gryffindor."

As much as a jerk Jacob was, his first instinct was to run, hide, or possibly a fearful combination of both. He really had thought that he'd be alone here. He'd come here before to do his Muggle things, and he'd never seen anybody, let alone Scott Ryder, the fifth year from Gryffindor. Jacob was not a friendly person normally, and he definitely did not practice being friendly with fifth years, or Gryffindors. To him, Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors seemed a class apart, like mutts and pedigrees. It was always the Gryffindors who got the girls, the Gryffindors who got the glory, the Gryffindors who got the absurdly showy and strategically ripped muscle shirts (the last being a fact he always tried hard to burn from his memory). Hufflepuffs got badger-shaped crumpets, if they were lucky. Which, come to think of it, really wasn't all that bad, but still. He'd rather have girls and glory, although the Gryffindors could keep their shirts.

His caveman Id was telling him to show Mr. Ryder what true Hufflepuff spirit was, but his Ego really thought that he shouldn't create problems for himself. Especially when he had a Marie Claires mag underneath his puzzle books. And especially especially when the Ad-lib book that was half-open next to him was themed on princesses (which he had thought was rather fun when he filled it out).

"O-oh th-th-th-this?" he stammered, smiling uneasily. "Ha, its just stupid Muggle stuff. I, I, I was um trying it. I mean skydiving it. I mean, not filling it out, of course not but, um. Putting it away. Because, um, its Muggle stuff. Ha. Muggle stuff. Stupid," he blabbered hastily, stowing the puzzle book. But before he could feel relieved, he realized with horror that the Marie Claires mag had been under the puzzle book, and that it had been open. Worse, it had been open to an article titled "10 Surefire Ways to Please Your Man".

"Oooh," he said, pursing his lips and furrowing his brows down at the magazine. "Um," he said, looking up at Scott and touching his fingers to lips and then away nervously. "That isn't mine," he said finally, giving Scott a desperate look. "Must have been some girl that left it. And come to think of it, neither is this," he said, seizing Princess Addy's Ad-lib Magic Castle and flinging it away. It sailed across the room and out the window, which Jacob had opened just moments before.

He flinched, realizing he still had two adverbs to fill out.

"Um, is that a laptop?" he asked weakly, wanting to change the subject as quickly as possible.