LIONHEART ❃ george weasley

014 | game time

Albany blinked. "My bad," she apologised after a moment, though Carly didn't seem too concerned with the lack of other people present to talk to. Instead, the Beauxbatons student glanced pointedly to the windowsill, and Albany nodded, allowing her to sit down opposite her.

"I know I have seen you only once or twice," Carly continued, smiling, "but you don't look stupid to me."

"Um, thanks, I guess."

The girl let out a breathy laugh, pushing her square-framed glasses up her nose. "Sorry. I understand that it's none of my business."

"It's alright," Albany assured the girl, however awkward. Her gaze fell upon the blocky object she had been holding behind her back; it now lay in her lap, and the girl's tongue poked out of the corner of her mouth as she toyed with it. Curiosity got the best of her. "What's that?"

"Oh, this?" Carly held it up to her, looking slightly embarrassed as a red blush took to her tanned cheeks. It had a small dark screen and numerous buttons; Albany knew enough about Muggle technology to recognise that that was what it was, but didn't have a clue beyond that. Carly elaborated. "It's a Game Boy. I hoped I could work it here, but... I guess not." She smiled, returning it to her lap.

Albany stared at her blankly, though her interest was piqued. "A what?"

For a moment, Carly stared back, baffled, before shaking her head with a smile, bringing her curly hair to bounce around her heart-shaped face. "Sorry, I forget that not everyone knows Muggle tech. I'm Muggle-born, you see." She began tinkering with the Game Boy again, pulling a short tool from her bag to twist at the screws. "It's a game console," she explained, and glanced up to meet Albany's confused expression. "For playing games. You know... Super Mario? Kirby?"

Albany's eyebrows had risen halfway up her forehead. Carly seemed to understand that the pure-blooded girl was only growing more bewildered, and laughed.

"It's really fun!" she said with a grin, and her French accent came out much stronger when she spoke excitedly. "I would like to show you, if I can work it here. You play little characters, and you have to finish the story." She paused thoughtfully. "Well, you don't have to, but I think it's better when you do."

Albany smiled, feeling a little lighter in the discussion of the Game Boy. It was a surprisingly welcome distraction. "Did it work at Beauxbatons?" she asked curiously, aware that most technology failed at Hogwarts due to the magical atmosphere.

"Oh, non," Carly assured her with a laugh. She pushed up her glasses again, beaming. "I brought it with me as a project... in case I got bored." She laughed again. "I should be able to combine magic with the technology, but I don't want it to break. C'est difficile."

Albany smiled. "Best of luck with it."

"Thank you," Carly replied, grinning. "If I become the Beauxbatons champion tonight, I won't have time for it. But there is a lot of us. I guess my chances are pretty low."

Albany felt her stomach turn ever before the inevitable question was asked.

"You have entered, yes?"

She swallowed hard - what was she supposed to say? She wished she hadn't, which meant saying yes was incredibly awkward, but on that sliver of a chance that she did get chosen, to say no was a blatant lie. "Um... it's complicated," she said after a long moment, biting her cheek.

Carly blinked in confusion, but didn't push it further, which Albany was grateful for. She was decent company, for a foreign stranger; when they conversed, she happily did most of the talking, and when there was silence, it wasn't uncomfortable. Albany wondered vaguely if she had many friends who had come with her, as most of the Beauxbatons students had stuck to themselves in tightly knit groups.