Jacob emerged from the common room, stopping briefly to take a look at the door knocker. He was still impressed by it every time he needed to go inside. His brain liked a good stretch, after all. Still, he was a little relieved to be going out rather than in right now so that he didn't have to answer any questions. He had a lot on his mind at the moment. Which was the problem! He generally liked to pace while he was thinking, but he could tell the others in his dorm were getting annoyed with him wearing a trail into the floor.

He took their sighs and eye-rolls as his cue to do some real walking rather than pacing. But where was he going to go? He hadn't decided yet...

The Gryffindor was, as usual, distracted by the book in her hand when she reached the bronze knocker. You'd think after her concussion and bloody nose she would have learnt not to read and walk.

Alas...

Luckily it wasn't a trip and fall kind of deal this time around. But before she knew it, she was bumping into the Claw. The Claw from classes... the one who showed off about as much as Charlotte Kettleburn. And that was saying something since her friend showed off all the time. Making a small squeaky sound she felt her cheeks burn before taking a step back she surveyed the situation and made sure she didn't hurt him. "My bad, " she muttered before tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. How had she never noticed that this guy was handsome?

He wasn't like Casper level handsome, no one was, but he was cute. This was amazing to the Gryffindor. She felt like they were going to be friends... and she was going to find him a girlfriend, if he didn't already have one! "You're Jacob, right? I have seen you in classes. Do you have a girlfriend? Wanna go eat lunch with me? I was on my way here to meet Sam, Sam Tyler, but since I ran into you... come on! " she said with a big goofy grin. Jacob Hawthorne had just made a new friend whether he liked it or not.

"Whoa," Jacob exclaimed as a girl bumped into him. It seemed like she hadn't even seen him, but he hadn't noticed her either. At least she had a book as an excuse for that. This was just as much his fault as hers, if not more. He was just distracted by his own brain. "Uh, it's fine," he answered her.

She was looking at him kind of intensely, and a furious blush began to take over his entire face rapidly. He, as always, silently cursed his cheeks' propensity to embarrass him further. Blushing was just so dorky. And then a sudden barrage of questions came at him, one of which caused his cheeks to burn even brighter. A girlfriend?!

"Um." His eyes widened in panic as the shy-awkward-person alarm starting going off in his head. SO. MUCH. HAPPENING. AT. ONCE. "I... Yes. Jacob. Yeah. You're..." He shrugged helplessly. He knew he'd seen the girl before plenty of times, but he didn't know her name. One of his faults. Too absorbed in books and notes and answering questions to pay much attention to other people in class. Some people might call that self-centered; he preferred studious.

"Lunch..." he trailed off. He was about to automatically say no, but he remembered his brother had told him if he wanted to make friends, he needed to make an effort with people. So instead, he came up with this: "I... Can eat. I guess. Food would be okay." What the heck, Hawthorne?! he scolded himself. That was barely a coherent sentence! Get it together! Wait, had he just committed to a full-on interaction (and one without a time limit, really) with a girl he barely knew? Ohhhhhh no. He rubbed the back of his neck a bit anxiously. Bad habit that he couldn't seem to break. Another thing that always gave him away.

As for the girlfriend question... He'd just skip that one and hope she didn't notice. Whatever answer he gave -- and as a rule, he didn't lie, so he would either say no or that he would rather not talk about that -- would get him into trouble, he just knew it. He could smell a setup coming on. He maaaaaaaaaybe could want a girlfriend, and he'd definitely seen some pretty girls around, but what would he even do with one if he had one? He got so nervous around new people anyway, he could hardly imagine what he'd be like with a girl he wanted to kiss eventually. Yikes.

Dora watched him with that bug eyed intensity that tended to make people feel a bit uneasy, but this was momentous, it was. She was going to teach this awkward Claw how to be more outgoing and how to talk to girls! NEW PROJECT! Plus it was a nice distraction from other Ravenclaw things AND he could help her study for OWLs.

Win, win, win!

But first. .."Hey. Okay. Calm down. You'll pass out if all the blood rushes to your face. And I'm Dora. " There, there precious one. There, there. The Gryffindor popped her book closed and linked her arm through his. They were definitely going to lunch now. And well... she could talK enough for the both them, so that wasn't a problem, his stammering about.

And his response made her smile over at him as she led them down the corridor. "I must warn you, I eat like a mountain troll. It's been known to be quite disturbing to lesser mortals, " she said with faux seriousness.

But really... she was a messy eater. Maybe he would need a poncho. Depended on what she ate though.

"Jacob, tell me about yourself. I already know you're smart and like to let everyone know. I prefer the opposite approach really. I let people underestimate me while I actually am quite advanced at magic. " Hehe.

Pass out? He felt pretty close already. Unfortunately, one of the things he'd learned in his fifteen years on the earth was that he could not will his face back to normal after a blushing attack. That didn't mean he didn't try, though.

Then suddenly this girl was TOUCHING HIM UNEXPECTEDLY. Before he knew it, he was being dragged by the arm down the hallway... Corridor... Whatever. British terms. In any case, he guessed they were for sure going to eat lunch together.

Okay, her description of how she ate was funny... But all he could manage was a feeble smile. "Okay," he said. "I... don't. Eat like that, I mean. We can still keep several napkins handy..." Was that a stupid response? He was trying to joke back, but it didn't seem to be going well. There was too much happening for him to think clearly!

His eyes widened at her statement. "Do I?" he asked completely seriously. Was he a show-off? He had genuinely never thought about it. Sure, he liked to answer questions. And get them right. And get house points. But that was just participation, wasn't it? Wasn't everyone supposed to be doing what he was doing?!

What a terrible conversation on his end. He'd only managed, like, six words or something. Jared would be disappointed. Under normal circumstances, Jacob was socially inept, but not this socially inept. He guessed it had something to do with the rapid-fire questions and then the unexpected physical contact. The poor guy couldn't catch a break. But... Maybe it was good for him? Noooooo.

Oh man. This kid was SO LUCKY that Dora had run into him today. Literally. He needed some confidence and social skills and who better to help him with that than Dora Kennedy Umbridge? Yasss.

The answer was: no one.

As they got further down the corridor Dora was simply beaming as they moved along. She had also slowed a bit so as not to drag him. For a moment, the girl had forgotten how gangly and awkward 15 year old boys could be.

"Merlin, you're adorable. You know, my boyfriend was super awkward before. I mean... we've known one another since we were born, but still. He had a phase. I helped him through that and I'd like to help you, Jacob." She wasn't giving him much of a choice anyway... this was happening. Whether he liked it or not.

"Also, it's okay that you let everyone know you're smart. You should be proud if it. People expect the Gryffindors to be dumb, why not let people believe it? Makes it fun when I hex their faces off before they've even drawn their wand, " she said with a flourish of her hand. Like she was dueling, you see.

"Adorable..." Jacob repeated weakly, still looking a little panicky. "And you're... Helping me? With what, exactly?"

He looked over at the girl, suddenly remembering that her name was Dora -- because up to this point, he couldn't recall and had just been calling her "this girl" in his head -- with a look on his face that said she was crazy if she thought he was going to go along with this whole "helping him" thing.

But then again... Jared's advice to him had been to open up and let people get to know him and actually interact with them. This was a good opportunity for that. But it was a SCARY opportunity. But then again, scary opportunities were usually the ones worth taking, right? But they were also the ones that had a high chance of failing and/or being completely awful... And this one seemed a little awful.

Although at least Dora was nice. And despite her large hand gestures, he didn't think she was going to hex him anytime soon. Like... He could have been shanghaied by someone way worse than this. Not that she was bad. "Someone worse" made it sound like she was bad. But that's not what he meant. Merlin's beard, he was digging himself into a hole in his own head. He still blushed like she could hear his train of thought. Embarrassing.

"Thank you," was all he managed to get out, swallowing hard. He could feel his palms getting all clammy and gross and tried to wipe them on his robes discreetly. He wasn't even sure what he was thanking her for. That she was "helping" him? (Unlikely.) That she called him smart? Who knew? Why was he like this?!

Was he... not paying attention? She had already made her point hadn't she? She was certain she had... but then again, she could be wrong. "I am going to help you with your confidence, pal. And awkwardness. Which is quite endearing, by the way. So long as it isn't crippling." And she had a feeling his was. Just an inkling. Which was odd, because he didn't seem to have a problem speaking in class... so was it just people that freaked him out? Well, that could surely be fixed, she thought.

And she was indeed crazy... but not in a dangerous way. Just in the fun, cool way. Heh.

Dora Umbridge was of the school of thought, GO BIG OR GO HOME! Likely it had a lot to do with her Hogwarts house, but she thought it was inherited. From her mum. Her dad was quiet and calculated and she was sure he had never done a spontaneous thing in his life... without someone suggesting it first. But she didn't want to be like that. Planning every moment of her life. She knew that she wanted to go to uni and what she was going to major an minor in... and then her Masters concentration as well. But hey, she was still going to go on spontaneous trips and do fun things with her friends. She was sure of it.

Shaking herself from her thoughts she smiled over at the boy. "You're quite welcome. Now, can you tell me what it is that makes you feel most awkward? What makes you so shy?" Her former therapist would be so proud of her right now!

Jacob wasn't sure whether or not to be insulted by Dora's insinuation that he was socially crippled, so he didn't acknowledge that part of the sentence. Instead, still looking at her incredulously, he said, "What if I'm okay with myself the way I am?" He wasn't, but still. It was the principle of the thing. HEY! That was the longest sentence he'd managed to get out so far! GO JACOB.

But indignation could only take him so far in conversation. Once her rapid-fire questioning started back up, it was like his tongue was frozen to the roof of his mouth. "I... Um..." Okay, rocky start. He could fix this! He could prove he wasn't a social cripple!! "People..." Yes, good job! Keep going! People what, Jacob? People WHAT? "Are terrible. Mostly. And loud. And... You know..." He gestured vaguely, leaving Dora to fill in the blanks of what he was trying to communicate. (He wasn't even entirely sure what he'd been trying to say, so good luck to her.)

Yikes. Okay. At least he tried to explain. Sort of. Although he hadn't really answered her questions... Maybe he did need her help after all...

It wasn't an insinuation, per se. More of an observation? Okay, maybe she was insinuating something. And his question wasn't something she had necessarily expected, you see. So she did stop short and ponder for a bit before responding. "If you are, then I apologize and will still have lunch with you and never mention this again," she said sincerely, offering him a genuine smile. And she had noticed that was a full sentence. Good for him. "Most times I don't stop to think about what I say or do affect other people. It's a flaw," she said with a shrug.

A little laugh left her at his next remark, though. He was funny. Did he know that? She could work with funny... if he was still interested in her makeover thing. Hehe. "People are terrible. Really terrible. They can be so hurtful and insincere sometimes. It's like some people are so self involved that they don't even realize that they could possibly be hurting you." Oh wow. Where had that come bubbling up from? Probably had a lot to do with a certain former friend who got herself a badge and a new best friend and never spoke to Dora again. Hmph.

That was fine. She had Jacob now! FRAND.

"Do you like fire? And bacon?" Important questions.

Judging by Dora's reaction to his failed attempt at a sentence, Jacob didn't figure he needed to say that he was only speaking hypothetically with the what-if-I'm-okay-with-myself thing. Clearly he needed some assistance, and he was beginning to think she might actually know how to help him, although he'd be darned if he said that out loud.

He stopped in his tracks as she did and listened to her talk about people with a slight frown. "Yeah," he said. "I mean, all of that's true, people do suck in that way, but that's not exactly what I meant." WHOA. Another coherent sentence. He was on a roll. If rolls were... Choppy and not connected and didn't come one right after another...

"I just mean people are so obnoxious and loud, and most of them aren't very smart, but they talk a lot anyway." He nodded definitively, then suddenly realized she might think he was talking about her -- which he wasn't, for the record -- and then began to blush furiously once again. Foiled by his red cheeks. He had actually thought those couple sentences had gone pretty well until the blushing thing. Oh well. There was only so much a boy could do. You doofus, he scolded himself, think before you say things that might come across as rude! TACT!!! Is a thing! Use it! Big fat dumb dummy!

"Anyway," he said, trying to recover from his inner monologue berating him and secretly hoping she couldn't read minds. "Fire and bacon... Are fine?" Okay, that one had a weird inflection, and he did a sort of strange half-shrug thing since Dora was still gripping one of his arms, and it all-in-all looked pretty awkward, but HEY, he'd answered the question. In a whole entire sentence!

IN FACT he had not trailed off or mumbled incoherently EVEN ONCE in the last thirty seconds. It was the little victories. He was just going to pretend the blushing thing hadn't happened...

Of course the Gryffindor knew how to help. Who better to teach one confidence than a Lion? I mean, the two things often times went hand in hand, right? RIGHT! And he didn't have to say anything, Dora kind of just SENSED that he was dealing with the situation now.

Dora let a shrug roll off of her shoulder that didn't have a Jacob attached to it. People mostly only sucked in that way to her. She had her fair share of fair weather friends since she had come to Hogwarts. Meh. And his next complete sentence made her frown slightly and side eye him. If he was talking about her.. well.. he had some guts. Especially at this range. "People say I am loud and obnoxious. I disagree. Heartily. I am not obnoxious." For the record, you know. But the blush on his cheeks meant he likely wasn't talking about her and was now mentally berating himself. Bless. He was precious, he was.

"Then we can definitely be friends if you like fire and bacon. They happen to be two of my favorite things." And explosions. Which kind of went along with the whole fire thing, but anyway. "Have you ever kissed a girl? I need to know what kind of experience you do or do not have." And no, she was not offering herself for this. Casper would not appreciate that.

"K-kiss?" Jacob's eyes shot wide open as the blush spread even more, creeping across the tips of his ears and down his neck. And he'd been doing so well, too... Sort of.

Well, the answer was no. He had not kissed a girl. BUT that was embarrassing to say. Most people his age had DEFINITELY kissed other people. Right?! But not this shy kid. Nope. No kissing for the big dumb dummy who could barely talk to girls, let alone put his mouth anywhere in the vicinity of one of their mouths.

"Uh. Well, I... Um." was his answer to Dora's question. She could probably figure out what that meant. "I mean... Why? Does that matter?" Even he wasn't quite sure whether he was asking two different questions or just one with a weird inflection in the middle. Hmm... Really gotta work on that inflection thing. The weird voice heightening made him sound like he was hitting puberty all over again, and he'd already done that, thankyouverymuch.

Oh precious soul. This child was pure and innocent and Dora was going to do her best to change that. Hehe. But seriously, Jacob Hawthorne was simply the bees knees. And when he blushed Dora couldn't help but smile over at him. "Shhh. No. It doesn't matter." The blonde patted his arm and smiled gently. There, there, sweet boy. THERE, THERE.

"I guess the most important question is: Do you WANT to kiss a girl?" the Gryffindor asked softly. She also made sure to look away so as not to embarrass him further. See, she had some tact!