Rube had just taken ownership of his brand new kitten, Chavakook. The small and adorable cat with the glasses-like markings was perched on the soon- to- be- 2nd- year’s shoulder, and they walked through Hogsmeade proudly. As he walked through Diagon Alley, Rube became increasingly aware of how many people he recognized, now that he had spent just one year in the Wizarding world of the United Kingdom, as well as just how much he missed using magic. He was so lost in his thought that he almost didn’t notice as he crashed into someone. Rube got slammed down on the pavement, and Chavakook went flying into the air and landed on the boy’s head. “Um… Ow.”

Ollie hadn't been watching where she was going. The soon-to-be third year girl had been very afraid of coming to Diagon Alley, honestly- there were so many people, and it was almost impossible not to bother at least one person by being there!
And look what she'd done now- knocked someone over!
In utter panic, Ollie rushed over to clean the damage she'd caused. This was just awful! Oh! And there was a kitten, too! Oh no, oh no, oh no! What if Ollie had hurt the kitten as well! She'd never forgive herself! Finally finding her poor victim, a tall boy, with the kitten on his head, she knelt down beside him, and bowed her head.
"I-I-I-I-I-I-I'm s-s-s-s-so s-s-s-sorry, s-s-sir! P-p-p-p-p-please f-f-f-forgive m-m-me, s-s-sir, I-I-I'm s-s-so v-v-very s-s-sorry f-f-for n-knocking y-y-you o-o-over, s-s-sir!" Ollie felt like she might just cry. Her face was a ghostly pale from the horror of her actions. She then turned to the kitten. "I-I-I'm s-s-so s-s-sorry f-f-for h-h-hurting y-y-you, s-s-sir o-or m-miss! I-I-I'm s-s-so s-s-sorry, s-sir o-o-or m-m-m-" At that point Ollie did begin to cry. She couldn't stop herself- she'd done such an awful thing! But crying- no, that would just make it worse! Now, Ollie was probably bothering so many people!
This is awful!
She tried to hide her tears by ducking her head down once more. Perhaps she would just go unnoticed, then.

Rube was a bit startled when he realized who had knocked him over. “You’re that girl who wants to be a human house elf, right?” He laughed, not at her dream, but at the way she was reacting to him. “You’re name is Ollie, correct? Calm down. It’s all good. I’m fine, I was just a bit stunned. And Chavakook here,” he removed the kitten from his head and cuddled him, “is clearly okay. He’s still disoriented, but that’s not your fault, it’s because I just adopted him today. So don’t stutter so much, and don’t call me ‘sir.’” He ran his hand through his short-cut black hair. “Instead, we can just chill. Any interest in ice cream? My treat.”

Wha-?
This boy knew her name?! Oh no! Did this mean he had seen Ollie before, and she'd bothered him?! How many people had she bothered with her antics?! Ollie tried to sweep her tears away, and readied herself for a full-blown apology, as the boy continued.
"Calm down. It’s all good. I’m fine, I was just a bit stunned. And Chavakook here is clearly okay. He’s still disoriented, but that’s not your fault, it’s because I just adopted him today. So don’t stutter so much, and don’t call me ‘sir.' Instead, we can just chill. Any interest in ice cream? My treat.” Ollie was silent with shock for a bit, her head still down, and her face returning to full-blushing capacity. She was at an utter loss for words- If she tried to talk, she would surely stutter, and call him sir. I don't even know his name! He knew her's, and it was incredibly rude for Ollie to not recognize this boy! AND he had invited her to eat ice cream! That would be incredibly rude if she went, though- he would be paying for Ollie! That wouldn't be right at all! But if she refused, it might hurt his feelings! Ollie searched her brain for answers, for anything. Aha! She could pay for ice cream, and then it would all be okay! She looked up a little at the boy, then darted her eyes back down. She had to speak, or he might think she was ignoring him, and be upset! Ollie tried her very hardest not to stutter. She really, really did.
"I-I- n- I-I-" It seemed hopeless. It really did. Ollie's blush went deeper. She had to speak, but she couldn't. Shouldn't stutter, but couldn't not. Shouldn't call the boy "sir", but might explode if she didn't. Slowly, her eyes on the kitten, Ollie nodded her head. Okay.
Oh, what had Ollie done?

"I heard one of my housemates mention you, to be honest. But you sounded like a cool girl. You just gotta chill out sometimes, right? And, you know, not call people sir, or stutter. What house are you in? I'm a Ravenclaw. And I miss Hogwarts already. And the summer has only just begun! But now I have Chavakook here. Chavakook, say hello to the nice girl." The small grey kitten meowed softly and curled up in Rube's lap. "Oh, and I'm Rube, by the way. Ravenclaw 2nd- year- to- be. I honestly don't know many people outside my house and Gryffindor. Most of the friends I made before my first year at Hogwarts ended up in Gryffindor. I was the only one out of my little trio that didn't end up there. But now I'm rambling, which is just as bad as stuttering, if not worse. So let's go get ice cream." He picked up the cat, stood up, and offered her a helping hand.

Ollie turned an even deeper shade of red than before. This boy seemed to be, well, trying. And maybe that meant he did want Ollie to come? Putting aside her own worries for the moment, as she had been instructed to do, she listened to him. That was probably the best thing for her to do, anyway. Rube was the boy's name, Chavakook his cat's (she'd need to ask about that, when she could actually speak). And though Rube seemed quite friendly, Ollie guessed he must be lonely. Ollie didn't really have many friends, if at all, but she imagined it would be really hard to be separated from them like that. She gave another quick glance at Rube, fast enough to hope he hadn't noticed, and took the offered hand. She smiled at him, staring down at her feet again almost immediately, and gave a little nod. Perhaps this would be good for her, doing like this boy said... "chill out". Somehow, in all of the commotion, Ollie had lost the ability to speak temporarily.
Maybe it'll come back soon.
... Or maybe, if it does, I might just stutter again. Ollie didn't want to think about upsetting Rube with her stutter yet.

(OOC- So sorry it took long time xP)

Rube wasn’t really sure what to do, as Ollie wasn’t speaking, but he would make the best of it. “Um… yeah. Let’s go. I like ice cream. What kind do you like? I happen to be a huge fan of vanilla, but at the same time, I really like sorbet, because it’s all smooth and stuff. Chocolate’s pretty good, too. But nowhere near as good as vanilla or sorbet. What kind do you like? Aaaand… I’m rambling again, aren’t I…” He stopped talking and simply led her toward Florian Fortescue’s Ice Cream Parlor. “What flavor do you want?” He wasn’t sure why, but he kind of didn’t want his friends to walk by.

Ollie let Rube guide her to Florian Fortescue’s Ice Cream Parlor. This wasn't so bad, not speaking. Having someone to listen to. It worked pretty well.
Ollie smiled, more to herself than anything.
Rube stopped talking for a bit, and Ollie was saddened- she wished he'd talk some more.
And, all of the sudden, it was Ollie's turn to talk again. Come on, it's just a simple question!
She looked down at the ground, and, in barely a whisper, "V-vanilla, p-please." No! She'd stuttered! She'd gone, and stuttered again! In almost a retaliation against herself, Ollie pulled out her wallet. She tried to show it Rube, trying to relay the message that she wanted to pay.
Ollie had no idea if it had worked or not, but she couldn't risk stuttering again! That would bother Rube, right?

“Vanilla? Perfect.” He turned to the man behind the counter. “Two double-scoop cones of vanilla, please” He waved away Ollie’s wallet, and paid the man himself. “Oh, and could I by any chance have a small saucer of milk for my kitten here?” He took the two cones, handed one to Ollie, and accepted the milk saucer gratefully. “Florian Fortescue’s has the best ice cream I’ve ever had, even compared to muggle ice cream, which is really good. Like, Cold Stone Creamery. And Baskin Robbins.” He stared off wistfully, thinking about all those great things in the equally awesome muggle world. Not that he wanted to be a muggle or anything like that. So he just put down the saucer for Chavakook and ran his fingers through his hair before beginning to lick his ice cream.

Ollie turned a light pink as Rube waved away her offered wallet. Now what was she going to do? As he put one of the ice cream cones in her hands, she listened to him talk about different kinds of ice cream. They sounded familiar, like she'd heard Mum say them before. Thinking about Mum - and ice cream - brought a funny memory forward.
It was so long ago, but Ollie still remembered it. She'd woken in the middle of the night, and heard noises from downstairs. Entering the kitchen, she found her Mum, spooning out vanilla ice cream into a bowl. She watched from a distance, hidden in the dark, as Mum took out pretzels and started to mix them with the ice cream. This was odd to the little Ollie, and she called softly to her Mum. Mum had laughed, and Ollie had pretzels and ice cream for the first time. She'd fallen asleep after that with Mum, just on the sofa.
Ice cream and pretzels was Ollie's secret favorite food.
"P-pretzels..." Ollie wished she could be allowed to stutter. She had something to say- Wait. What if that was the point? Her stuttering- all so that she didn't need to speak, or be noticed? She just looked up at Rube, hoping he would talk some more.

“Wait, what? What about pretzels? I’m confused now.” The soft sound of a kitten lapping up milk was music to his ears. Perhaps there was an interesting story about pretzels, that would no doubt have something to do with ice cream, seeing as they were at the ice cream parlor. Perhaps she would even manage to tell the story without stuttering. But it was hard, just sitting there without her talking. He didn’t really have much to say, either. So he simply resumed the licking of his delicious vanilla ice cream.

(OOC: Sorry this is short. You didn’t give me much to work with, what with almost no talking at all.)

Ollie was now more than stuck - she was trapped. Not talking didn't seem to be making Rube very happy, and if she continued, he'd end up bothered! And then, she remembered:
Before leaving for Diagon Alley, her Mum had given Ollie a plastic bag, filled with pretzels.
"For the car ride, if you get hungry." Ollie, as fate would have it, had nearly forgotten all about them. Reaching into her pocket, Ollie felt around for the bag. Cringing at the sound of her fingers reaching the bag, the plastic crinkling, she pulled it out. The pretzels were crushed a bit, probably from knocking into the boy and his kitten, but Mum would have crushed them anyway, if they were to go on ice cream. Shyly, she held out the bag to Rube, opening it. Ollie blushed, realizing he might have no idea what she meant by it, so she took some of the broken pieces and sprinkled them atop her ice cream. Offering the bag once more to Rube, she somehow managed, out of either bravery, or still being distracted by the memory of pretzel ice cream, to whisper, "I-it's g-good, w-with i-ice c-cream."

Pretzels? Now Rube was really confused. “What are they for?” She was (apparently) randomly holding a bag out towards him, holding crushed pretzels. But before he had even finished his question, she had rescinded her offer of crushed pretzels, sprinkled some of the contests of her little Ziploc bag on her ice cream, and once again offered him the pretzels, which he took, figuring that there was nothing wrong with trying something new, and sprinkled some on his ice cream. He licked it, and his eyes lit up. “That’s good!” For someone who’s dream was supposedly to become a house elf, Ollie was a cool girl. In fact, for a normal kid even, Ollie was pretty awesome. She ate pretzels on ice cream, and it tasted good! And now she had him doing it, too.

He'd put them on his ice cream! Before Ollie'd even had the chance to realize that she'd said something that sounded like a demand, Rube had sprinkled some of the pretzels onto his ice cream, and, better yet, he seemed like he enjoyed it. Ollie smiled at no one in particular, and blushed. She'd done something good, maybe. Maybe everything was going to be okay. But, before she could stop herself, she whispered to Rube.
"I-I'm n-not r-ready y-yet. T-to 'ch-chill'." Covering her mouth, Ollie looked at her ice cream. I'm all her worrying, she hadn't fully appreciated the kindness of the boy - he had been knocked over by her, and yet had gone and bought ice cream for the both of them! Ollie peeked up at him once more.
"Th-thank y-you f-for t-the i-ice c-cream, R-R-R-" Ollie couldn't bring herself to address him by his name. Not yet. "sir."