Quote:

Originally Posted by sarahlooo

Natalie didn't notice that he was watching her, she was just trying to pronounce it right. What if she tried to say something to the mermaids and said it WRONG and it was something OFFENSIVE? Then they'd never let her swim in the lake and all of this would be a waste. But suddenly, she felt fingers pinch her face and move her mouth.

"OOoooh!" she said (as it was the only thing she COULD say with her lips in such a position) and then she swatted the boys hand away from her face. "Hey!" Natalie eyed the boy with furrowed brows and rubbed her cheeks where he pinched her. "I can make duck lips without your help." Just so he knew.

Natalie lightened up significantly when he said that his dad could speak Mermish. "Really?! So he's talked to, like, real mermaids?" she asked, her eyes sparkling with curiosity and excitement.

Grinning from ear to ear are her improved pronunciation - YOU'RE WELCOME! - the Hufflepuff pinches his own cheeks to loosen them up a little. It was hard you know, speaking a language not your own and sometimes you needed to help your face muscles out a little. He was working on his tongue still for Parsletongue - an activity he often fell back on when he couldn't quite get himself to fall asleep at night. "I know," he nodded. Never thought she couldn't. "But s-s-some people learn ki---kines---" Eeeeer...what was that word? "...learn better if they get s-shown directly. My cheeks-s-s us-s-sued to be S-SO s-s-s-sore after dad's-s tutoring."

Getting comfortable in his chair again, legs crisscross applesauce, Derf nodded his head. "YUP!"

Noelle grinned at the girl and took her hand, pulling her up. "Im a klutz all the time. So we are in the same boat." She said with a little smile as she made sure the girl was okay. "Yeah... i'm working on something." She didn't know how much the girl knew about what was happening around Hogwarts so she didn't want to startle her. She took the book that she was given and looked at it. Not hers. She'd put it up anyways.

"Im Noelle Grace Summers." She said smoothly. She always gave her middle name. It was something she'd always done. "What are you studying?" She asked, being polite. She did sorta but not really tripped the girl. She needed to get back to her research though....

Elliot smiled as the Noelle helped her up. She brushed off her clothes and gave a laugh at the Noelle's klutz statement. "I'm lucky I don't trip my whole way up to the common room every day." She had almost taken a plunge when the staircase moved on her once. It was terrifying.

"Nice to meet you, Noelle," Elliot said. "Um, well it's a book on the founders of Hogwarts. I'm researching their impact on today's students and their house selection. It's mostly just for fun." Yes, fun. For some reason weird things like this has alway interested Elliot. It was probably her father and his statistic babblings that got her to think the way she did. "How about you?" She was curious as to why someone needed that many books for a project.

He was a very strange boy, Natalie thought. She didn't know why... But he just wasn't like other boys. Or other girls. He was just a little different in a few ways. She did think it was pretty cool that his dad taught him Mermish though. Her dad just had an American accent, so now she had a weird, Irish, English American mixture that just made her words sound different than anyone else.

"Why do you talk funny?" the young Slytherin asked suddenly, curious about his speaking.... problem? It was strange. He stuttered a lot. There must have been a reason behind it.

Noelle glanced down at her finally realizing the girl was a Gryffindor. "Youre a Gryffindor right?" She recognized her. Sometimes it was hard to remember all of the lions. "I think it's a trait of ours. " She said teasing.


Impact on the founders and the impact on today's students. Hmm. What a research project. "Well what have you found out so far?" She guessed that she was in the library to do the research on the founders, and then probably interviewing students for their views on things. And... did she say she was doing it for fun?

"Im trying to figure out a way to beat the portal." Noelle said casually. Yep. The portal.

Elliot smiled at Noelle. "Yeah, I am. You, too, I'm guessing?" She asked. It was always nice to meet fellow Gryffindors. "It probably is, but I think its gotten worse since I've been here," She said with a laugh.

"So far... not much at all, actually. I'm starting to get bored reading about them and people aren't really wanting to answer my questions. Not that I have much more than 'what do you believe is your houses' most important trait?'" She grinned sheepishly.

Did she say portal? What portal? The school had a portal? "Hogwarts has a portal and you're trying to beat it?" Elliot was officially confused. She had been in this library for way to long.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sarahlooo

He was a very strange boy, Natalie thought. She didn't know why... But he just wasn't like other boys. Or other girls. He was just a little different in a few ways. She did think it was pretty cool that his dad taught him Mermish though. Her dad just had an American accent, so now she had a weird, Irish, English American mixture that just made her words sound different than anyone else.

"Why do you talk funny?" the young Slytherin asked suddenly, curious about his speaking.... problem? It was strange. He stuttered a lot. There must have been a reason behind it.

The Hufflepuff had only recently become aware that he had a unique speech pattern and that was only because of spellcasting and the disastrous results his stutter and lisp had on more than one occasion caused. Up until then...he had been entirely unaware. Mum and dad had never mentioned it. Jessa hadn't - which was somewhat amusing to him now that he thought about it because surely she would have performed some experiments on him because of it. Hazel hadn't either...nor Emma...nor Simon...nor...

Well...congratulations...girl-who-he-still-did-not-know-your-name. You are officially the first to ask.

"I jus-st do," he replied with a small shrug.

.... "Oh."

She was expecting more of an answer than that. Maybe he didn't know why. Or maybe he didn't like to talk about it because it made him different. That was fair. In any case, Natalie decided not to press the matter further just in case he didn't like it.

"So, what's next?" she asked, looking back towards the book, her feet wiggling off the edge of her seat. She still had to become FLUENT in mermish so she could talk to them. "How do you saaaaayy.... 'please let me swim in the lake without eating me'?" Because that was important.

"Oh yeah. Definitely a Gryffindor. Im a prefect actually." And how did she not know this? Poor girl must be stuck in her books. "I think its the side effect. Once you get around other Gryffindors, they rub off on you." She said with a grin.

She moved her books to the side so that Elliott had a place to sit if she wanted. "Are you asking me what my most important house trait is or are you giving me an example?" She asked with an amused grin. "Because Id say bravery. Always bravery. You can be smart and still be a Gryffindor. The brave of heart." If that answered her question.

And where had this girl been?? 'yeah. The schools on lockdown because of the portal. Its been grabbing students. Prefects are to be leading everyone around and curfew is at 6pm now." It was a hassle to be honest. But safety mattered.

Noelle was a prefect? How'd she not know that? "Sorry, I don't spend a lot of time outside the classrooms, library, and my bed." She said. Now that she said those words out loud, she new she needed more socialization. "I definitely need to get out more." She added. "Oh, definitely." She agreed. Gryffindors and clumsiness go hand in hand.

Elliot laughed. "I have no idea. But I'm glad someone doesn't have to think twice about their trait. I asked a Ravenclaw and she literally sat there for five minutes staring at me like I had just given her a test and she didn't know the answer to the first question." She said. "It was quite entertaining and then she finally sputtered out intelligence before going back to her book. She was very kind about the intrusion."

"A portal is swallowing up students?" Elliot blinked. This girl had to be mad. Why hadn't she heard about a portal? "Did they make an announcement about it?" If they had she kind of knew why she hadn't heard it.

Okay. Noelle was taking this Elliot girl under her wing. The poor girl was going to take this girl under her wing. "OKay. OKay. Yep. Come here. Sit. Lets talk. I need to update you. Plus I don't want you getting hurt." Because that portal was scary.

Noelle moved her books over. She could do research another time. "So you don't know anything? About the portal and such?" She wanted to know how much she knew so that she could give her all the information possible.

The stained glass windows in the Library would always hold a special place within Olivia's heart. So many nights had been spent beneath these beautiful multicolored glass panels; with Rooney holding her while he read whatever book had been decided on that week. And since her return, the Gryffindor had found herself drawn to this familiar location, with all it's wonderful memories... hoping to pay his kindness forward. Not in the same respect, of course. Never. Not with anyone other than him.

.... And unlike with her Ravenclaw, Olivia would not be reading Les Misérables aloud to any assembly of ickles. The content was way too mature for that type of audience. She did, however, have a wonderful collection of Nancy Drew novels... as well as the Hardy boys. She'd always enjoyed those when she'd been younger. So muggle. Her mother had not been amused. Psh. Mystery was good for the developing mind.

So, that's where she could be found on this Sunday: reading Nancy Drew aloud for the enjoyment of others. Cause... you know, it was just the way the blonde rolled lately. Who knew why?

Listen.

Listen.

Listen.

One thing Abey knew, and had always known actually, was that books and stories actually were pretty good actually, especially when he wasn't the one that had to read them. Sometimes he could persuade one of his family members to read with (meaning 'to') him, and Abey especially loved it when Mama or Lilian were the ones he could convince, and Juni of course , but outside the family he didn't ask anyone. Just in case he got laughed at, or ignored, or laughed at, or rejected, or laughed at.

SO, when someone else was doing the whole reading to other people thing without even needing to be asked, Abey JUMPED at the chance to get in on the action. He missed hearing stories perhaps more than he had realised. He misssssssssed iiiiittttttttt.

Was he late to the party, though? Abey wasn't sure, because he didn't have a watch, and anyway actually reading the time from watches was difficult anyway. But he was THERE, anyway, appearing from behind a towering bookcase at the right place, huge hopeful grin on his face as he approached to take a seat. "Hi." Cue a sheepish but no longer so incredibly shy smile.

Hi Olivia Phillips. Hi Birthday-Sharer and Pretty-Smile Bearer. Hiiiii.