Library Bookshelves
 

feel free to claim :3
 

There were legit tears forming in his eyes the moment he had entered the school library after a long time away. Of course the Ravenclaw Common Room had a small library as well but it was nothing, nothing compared to this place. Did no one else admire the beauty of it all? The tower high bookcases, the smell of parchment, the alphabetically arranged books, the many worlds and knowledge written in those thousands of books? How SOME people avoided this beautiful place like the plague he could not understand.

With a sigh of content, Mason walked to the first bookshelf on the right and after a quick look around he hugged the wood my precious before he took out an interesting looking book and opened it to the first page. He was at his second home again.

*does* :3
 

.................
.................................... Someone had seen him. He was certain of that because he felt eyes staring at him. You know, that feeling when you are being watched? Yeah he had that right now.

Mason turned his head and his feelings were confirmed when he noticed a young student staring right at him. He wasn't the type of person to blush when he got embarrassed but instead he unconciously rubbed the back of his neck.

What should he do? Admit it cooly? Lie and question the young Hufflepuffs sanity because he was clearly seeing things? Pretend he hadn't heard him? What?!

"What are you talking about?"

Wow...just...wow

How on earth was he going to get out of this? He didn't want to be known as 'the bookcase hugger'. Mason placed the book he had gotten from the shelf and placed it back. He then turned to look at the little Hufflepuff again but had to move to the side so that his back was to the bookcase when a flying book flew towards him. Once it passed , the Ravenclaw stepped forward again.

"No, the bookcase is not my girlfriend" he said with a tired sigh. How did this kid's brain even function? "I was simply trying to reach a book" he said casually. Totally a lie. "You're Derfael right?" he had seen him around at classes and just in the school in general.

For Kalen!
 

"Woah."

Olivia stared at the muggle section. Had this expanded? She recognized far more titles in the section which excited her. Yes good old muggle novels! This is exactly what she loved. She ran her fingers along the spines of the books, enjoying the feeling of them under her fingertips. Maybe she would start to like the library after all this year? Maybe it'd feel less like a dungeon and more like a nice relaxing place for homework and studying.

A book on the top of the bookcase caught her eye. Hmm... she glanced around looking for a ladder or someone to help propel her up but couldn't find anyone or anything. Bummer.

She folded her arms and began concocting a plan to get the book on the top of the bookcase. If only she were taller....

Kalen was moving towards the muggle section of the library, with a stack of books trailing behind them. Since the library seemed full of students he wasn't going to put them back without checking the aisles first..

He stopped in one section, the books coming to a stop behind him as he saw a girl there eyeing a book on the top shelf.

"Hello! Can I help you?" He asked as he flicked his wand at some books in the stack behind him and five of them went soaring off and settled into their respective places..

Magic was wonderful! He had to do this by hand at Cambridge.. which was..awful.

When the hufflepuff had been quiet for some time, the ravenclaw thought he would drop the bookcase hugging subject and he was about to turn around and grab a different book when he spoke again.

He wasn't sure which was worse. Derf having seen him hugging a bookcase or the fact that he knew about Dora and him. How many people had Dora told what had happened. Did everyone in the school knew she punched him a bloody nose? Oh Merlin's Beard.

"Kid, you got it all wrong" he said after a while. "Yes, Dora and i had a ....disagreement...at first but we made up during the holidays" at the bookshop in diagon alley ironically enough. "She's a friend of mine now so please don't tell rumors that we dislike each other" and to make it pefectly clear. "And i'm not hugging her either"

Alright. She was going to climb it.

Yes.

That was a great idea. She quickly eyed her surroundings and then faced back to the bookshelf. She readied herself when she heard an unexpected voice. Turning to look in the direction of the voice, she found a man there. An adult! Was this the new librarian? "Hello! Yes! I was wondering if it would be possible to get that book up there. I would use Accio if I had my wand on me... I left it in my dormitory. Rather silly of me." she was also super short which didn't help. Unfortunately she had left her wand in her dormitory since over the summer she had become used to not carrying a wand in the muggle world.

Kalen smiled down at the young girl and nodded. "Hello, I am Kalen Kennedy, the new librarian." He said with a smile, he needed to be proper after all. Introductions first, book retrieval second.

Kalen's green eyes flicked up towards where she was pointing and he nodded. "The one with the yellow spine, yeah?" He asked her, making sure he was going to get the right one and not waste this little trick he had on the wrong book, least the effect be ruined.

You see, Kalen had long ago learned non verbal magic, one learned things like that in Hogwarts of course, and he has taken to it like a fish to water, so naturally his next instinct was to learn wandless magic. Not many people could do it and the Slytherin in him had taken such pride in the thought of being able to master such an art.

Sadly, Wandless Magic proved to be rather difficult for Kalen and he was still attempting to learn it to this day, there were however a few spells he knew really well, three in fact, Accio, Depulso and Alohomora.. Those three always worked for him, so he raised his hand and with a flick of his fingers, the book came down off the shelf and straight into his hand..

"Here you are. " Kalen said with a warm smile. "Is there anything else you need? " He asked her, his stack of books still waiting patiently behind him.

This guy was the LIBRARIAN? He didn't look old enough to be a Librarian. Seriously what was up with the attractive Professors at Hogwarts? Did they have a secret spell or charm or something? Olivia Holden had to know. Though. She wasn't going to blurt that out. Thank Merlin that she had inherited a filter from her parents. If not, her inner thoughts surely would have made for a... unique conversation. Ahem. Introductions. Right. "It's very nice to meet you, Mr. Kennedy." She paused. Should she call him Mr. Kennedy or Kalen? Well he was an adult.... Mr. Kennedy worked. She did, after all, call River Reed Healer Reed. Yeah. Great. She'd go with that. "I'm Olivia Holden. Fifth year." She paused. "Gryffindor" She wasn't sure what else to add. Perhaps a 'how do you do'? Nope. Nope. Too awkward.

Olivia nodded. Yes, her book had a yellow spine on it. "Yes, that's the one," she affirmed with another nod. Her eyes widened as she watched him retrieve the wand without climbing the bookshelves, using a ladder, or even a wand. Her blue eyes widened in amazement. When he turned to her, she smiled and thanked him. "Thank you. I believe...." She trailed off, still in awe about the use of wandless magic. Wow. Wandless magic. "I have a question if you don't mind." She paused for a while, waiting for a comment, and then continued. "How did you learn to do that?" she asked. Whoops. What did 'that' mean? She cringed slightly. Be specific!

Olivia went on to clarify. "How did you learn to use wandless magic? How can I learn that? Are there books on it?" she asked curiously. She wanted to know and had always been fascinated with wandless magic even when Healer Reed had brought it up when he was tending to her sprained arm last term.

Kalen smiled down at the girl as she spoke and he inclined his head as she introduced herself. "It's nice to meet you as well Miss Holden. " He said as he noted her year, ahh same year as his niece.. Perhaps she knew her? Kalen wasn't going to mention it though and instead got her book and smiled.

"You are most welcome. " Yes he had seen the amazement in her eyes as he did his wandless magic, that was what he had been going for. His Slytherin pride puffed up for a moment, until it came crashing back down when she said she had a question to ask him.

"Yes Miss Holden? " He asked her as he raised an eyebrow.

Ahhhh, she wanted to know how to do it?

Merlin! Now he might actually have to tell her that he didn't know much wandless Magic..

Ehh, what she didn't know cousins hurt her right?

"It takes a lot of concentration, and it's not easy, I will tell you that. " He should know.. he only had three spells that consistently worked, he could hold out his hand and think Incendio and he'd be lucky to get a spark.. Magic was amazing like that though.. it was a never ending learning process and one could always get better.

"Yes of course there are books on it, and I can find some for you, however I would talk to Peofessor Hirsch or Professor Marchand about it as well. They would probably know some practical knowledge on the subject. "

"Do you like Hogwarts so far?" she asked raising an eyebrow as she hoped that he was enjoying Hogwarts.

She nodded, listening to Mr. Kennedy speak about the art of wandless magic. "I'm sure. Non-verbal is hard," she said, nodding. She had only once been able to cast finite in her mind in a duel against Etta last year; however, she hadn't been able to cast the spell without a wand since then. Maybe something was blocking her? Or maybe she was just luckily and in the right zone to cast such a spell. It was strange. Trying to cast a spell without a wand seemed nearly impossible but she wanted to learn. Olivia was determined.

"If you could help me find some books on that, that would be great," she said with a nod. Then she pulled out a notebook and jotted down both Hirsch and Marchand's names on it. She knew Marchand well as he had been a former Beauxbatons Professor and she knew Hirsch fairly well because she had been a member of the dueling club last year. "I'll definetly go speak to them. When did you learn how to cast spells without a wand?"

Kalen smiled at her question, a tiny bit of nostalgia coming over him at her question. "I used to go here when I was younger actually, I was a Slytherin. " He grinned as he looked around the Library.. "I enjoyed the castle then, and I still enjoy it now. Though it's a little odd being back here as an adult. " He let out a soft chuckle as he looked down at Olivia.

"Mmmm, it is.. non verbal magic came petty easy to me actually, so I thought wandless would as well. " Whole different quidditch game though..making spells just come from your hand instead of a conduit was.. a whole different level of magic..

"Of course! I can help you find plenty of books on the subject, in fact, why don't we do so now hmm? " He asked as he motioned with his head to follow him.

The green eyed man started to move down the aisle, the books floating behind him started to move into their proper places on various shelves, with just a flick of his fingers as they walked. "We just need to go down to the magic section. " He said as he checked on the stack of books behind him. He titled his head in thought as she spoke.. "17 I was able to cast my first spell, after a lot of hard work. " and a bet..

Which he had won..

Just sayin'

Mr. Kennedy had been a SLYTHERIN? Woah. No wonder he was as cool as her older brother, Simon, and a few of her mates in that house. Olivia nodded slowly at his comment of returning to Hogwarts as an adult. "I'm sure it must be odd.... Has it changed much since you were a student? Were there just as many dangers here?" she wondered with a wide smile. She didn't mind the dangers too, too much though the portals last term had been quite numbing to her.

Her eyebrows raised when he said that wandless magic hadn't come easy to him compared to nonverbal magic. Hmm... Perhaps the two forms of magic were more different than she had originally assumed? She'd have to do more research on this to determine it. Olivia was determined to become a more skilled wizard and thought that this would be an AWESOME way to develop her skills. Nodding her head, she followed Mr. Kennedy down the aisles and listened to his response.

SEVENTEEN? HE WAS SEVENTEEN WHEN HE LEARNED? Merlin. She was barely fifteen. To be exact, she was fifteen and TWO WHOLE MONTHS. That meant she had ten months and a year to learn it. That simply wasn't enough time!!! :whaa: "At seventeen? Wow. How often did you practice?" she assumed almost every day. Yikes, that would be a lot of work....

Kalen kept walking slowly down the long hall towards the magic section, at occcasional intervals, he would flick his fingers at the pile of books behind him and they would go sailing back to their spots, until only a few books remained hovering behind him.

He smiled a little at her question, "It has changed a bit of course, everything does. But for the most part it's still the same. " He said as he unconsciously touched his third finger.. some things weren't the same.. but that was okay.. He felt comfort in this castle.

He smiled down at Olivia as she seemed to be impressed by the age he had leaned his first wandless spell. "Well yes, but u had some motivation.. My older brother bet me that I couldn't do wandless magic by my 17th birthday.. so I proved him wrong.. " He said with a smirk as he turned down an aisle.. "Got a years worth of Fizzing Whizzbees for doing it too. " He said with a soft chuckle..

Olivia remained silent and followed Mr. Kennedy down the bookshelves, listening to him speak about how the school hadn't changed too much. She wondered what happened during his years at Hogwarts. The brunette clutched her satchel a little closer to her.

There was a bet involved too? That sounded like something she and her older brother would do. Merlin. She didn't even know if her brother could do wandless magic. They had never talked about magical abilities really. Well his abilities. Simon didn't like to talk about that and he always got her to talk about her school instead. She bit her lip, letting her mind slip to imaging Mr. Kennedy and his brother making that bet. Hmm.. " Mr. Kennedy, were you perhaps a younger sibling?" She chuckled. "That's a good deal. Could your brother do wandless magic?" she asked.

Mason turned around to grab another book from the shelf and as he had his back to the kid he rolled his eyes. Were every younger students annoying like he was? Had HE been that nosy? Yes, yes he had and he still was. He had read somewhere once that 'the thing you dislike is something that you , yourself do' Guess that the author was right about that one because he wanted nothing more than for Derf to leave him alone.

But he had the feeling that he wasn't going to leave that quickly and he refused to walk away himself. As he turned around to face him again, a new book in his hand, Mason shrugged his shoulders. "If you want the full story, here it is; Dora scared me, i threw a beverage in her face when i got startled, she got upset because her hair got wet, she told me to dry her hair for her, i refused, she got mad, i got mad, she punched me in the face, i hexed her back" He veeeeeeeeeeeeeery subtly let out the part in which he had NOT been able to hex her as she had dodged all his attacks and he had landed in the hospital himself. Ha. He had also left out the bit where she had tried to use him to get someone else, he felt like that, even if it had been a horrible thing to do in his opinion, he didn't want to make her look that bad. Especially since he knew that the younger students liked her. "But we both thought that fighting over something this trivial wasn't worth our time so we decided to become friends instead" there, happy kid?

And....he was still going on on hugging Dora? UGH , you know, he would do it just to shut him up but he didn't like it when someone came in to his personal space. He was fine with a handshake or a clap on the back or something, but a hug? No, he did not like that. "Don't you have classes to attent to?" or anything that required him NOT being in the library?

Kalen chuckled softly as Olivia spoke.. "I am indeed a younger sibling, I have two older brothers.. and one younger.." He said as he led them down a long aisle before stopping at a section.. He ran his fingers over the spines of a few books, muttering under his breath before smiling as he found the one he wanted..

Of course.. right where it should have been..

Kalen was rather persnickety about the placement of all the books in the library and he had spent a few weeks before school arranging the tomes to his liking..

"Here we are.. " He said as he handed her two books, they were both wandless magic basics.. but should be helpful.. in fact he thought he had used one of them himself..

"And yes he could do wandless magic.. not much.. but he could do some.. " He said with a smile.

With her hypothesis half-confirmed, Olivia chuckled quietly. It made perfect sense for some reason. She did wonder how old Mr. Kennedy was but she wouldn't dare ask. He looked sort of around Healer Reed's age. Speaking of Healer Reed, she owed him a visit but she would plan that later.

And now she had two books to help her study and less magic. They also weren't too, too heavy either which helped. Terrific. "Thank you, Mr. Kennedy," she said. She would keep them in good condition. A thought crossed her mind. Merlin. This would be the first set of books that she would ever take out of the library. Could she even take them out of the library? She didn't know.... "Can I check these out of the library or do I have to use them here?"

Kalen smiled warmly down at Olivia and he nodded his dark brown head, "You are very welcome Miss Holden, it's what I'm here for. " He said as his green eyes looked at her for a moment before the moved to scan the shelves a bit to make sure everything was how he liked it.

It was and with one last finger wave the books behind him moved into there places in the shelves.

Ahh, done with that.

"You may check them out of course, most books you can check out.. it's just the ones in the restricted section that need to stay here in the library. " He explained to her as he pushed his hands into the pockets of his trousers.

She knew it was his job to help students but she appreciated his help nonetheless. Glancing down at her books, she check d to make sure that she had everything. Yes..... yes... yes. Perfect! She had the books and she was all set. Olivia smiled. "Perfect then I would definitely like to check this out so that I can bring them with me and read up on this in my spare time."

Awesome! She could even check out the books now and bring them around the castle except for the ones in the restricted section. She wondered what kind of books were in there. Mr. Kennedy, what sort of books are in the restricted section?" she asked with a curious gaze over her shoulder towards the section. There wasn't anything too dangerous, right?

Kalen smiled warmly down at the younger girl and nodded. "Very well, let's head up to the front desk and I'll check your books, yeah? " He asked as he started to walk down the long bookshelf, hoping Miss Holden was following him.. He still has his hands in his pockets as he walked.. a comfortable position for him,,

Though as Oilivia spoke again, he chuckled softly. Ahh the restricted section, if he was honest, he would have gotten rid of that section, placed the less harmful books into the library and then placed the most dangerous ones somewhere else under lock and key.. It didn't seem fair to him that the students couldn't partake in all of the libraries books.. But rules were rules.. so..

"Well, there are rare books of course, books that don't have many copies left in exsistence. Valuable books as well.. So those are mainly being protected in there. " The green eyed man explained. "However there are some books on some very powerful dark magic, which is why we don't want the youngin's in there.. " He supposed anyways..

Olivia watched as Mr. Kennedy headed towards the front desk for a moment before realizing that she needed to follow him. Oh. She rushed a little to catch up (she didn't have too much ground to cover thankfully) and listened as to him as he answered her question about the restricted section.

Rare and valuable books being protected? That made sense why they were in the restricted section. She wondered what the oldest book they had was.... Did they have ancient texts? That would be awesome. She nodded at his explanation. "That makes sense. You wouldn't want a first year finding a book that released an enteral winter or trapped them into another dimension, I suppose... Are there books that can do that?" she asked and wondered. Maybe they did? Or maybe she just had an overactive imagination? Or both?

Kalen chuckled a bit as Miss Holden spoke and he shook his head a little bit. "Set off an eternal Winter hmm? That would be fun and very Narnia like. " He said as he kept walking.. "But as far as I know.. no, there aren't books in there like that. More like, ones that contain very powerful curses.. " He had glanced in there, but he still needed to fully catalog the Restricted Section..

Hmmm maybe he could have the kids help him with that later?

"I haven't fully gone through all the books in there, do you think people would want to help me when I do it? Just to see whats in there?" Kalen asked her thoughtfully.

She smiled at his comment about Narnia. The series had been a favourite of hers when she had been little and she had always fancied herself being Lucy. She didn't feel much in common with the other Penseive sister, Susan, when she was younger. However, she liked the Susan from the Disney adaptation of the series. Olivia grinned. "I'm glad to hear that there aren't any books that could do that." Powerful curses? That didn't sound good but Olivia wanted to know more about what kind of curses even if they were terrifying. It was intriguing to see what magic could do.

To Mr. Kennedy's question, Olivia paused. She wasn't certain how people would take it. Most people would probably be intrigued by it because they woudl have never been allowed into that section of the library before. Though more cautious people may not venture in at all. "I'm sure some people would be interested in doing it. I know that I definitely would be," she beamed. "Though others could be scared by the Restricted section's reputation."

Kalen smiled down at the younger girl, "To my knowledge there aren't at least.. " He said with a soft chuckle as they made it out of the aisle of bookshelves and started to head towards the front desk.

He was thoughtful as she spoke,, "Mmmm, I can see your point. I would like to get us to a place where the restricted section isn't needed, but who knows if that will ever happen. Books should be enjoyed by everyone! " He said with a nod. "Well I'll try it out and see how it goes.. if there is a good reaction it might help me convince some people. " He said with a nod as the reached the desk..

"Okay! I can check your books out now. "

She'd keep her fingers and toes crossed for a good reaction from her peers and Professors. She liked his idea that books should be shared by everyone. Olivia nodded. "I agree with that. I like the idea that books should be shared by everyone." The more knowledge, the better they would be off if anything actually bad came after them, right? Olivia hoped so. Seeing the books in the restricted section would be a dream come true and something she could tease Simon about. She got to see those books before him. :p Well maybe if it all actually happened and was approved.

"Awesome! Thank you, Mr. Kennedy."

Kalen was pleased that at least one student thought his idea was a good one. "I'm glad to hear that you agree. I'm going to try to bring that mentality to Hogwarts. " He said with a warm smile as they headed to the desk and he held his hand out for the books..

"You are quite welcome Miss Holden, please let me know if you need anything else. " He said as he waved his wand over the books and then handed them back to her. "They are due back in three weeks. " He said with a grin.

She smiled at Mr. Kennedy. She was happy to hear that he was going to change the mentality towards the restricted section. It was time for a change for sure. Hopefully they change would be a good one. Olivia passed him the books and waited to be checked out.

Once the books had been returned to her, she nodded at his response about when they were due back. "Thank you! I will bring them back a day early. I promise. It was nice to meet you, Mr. Kennedy," And with that, she headed out the door and back up to her common room to start reading the books. She wore the happiest of grins.

late late late but semi starting to wrap us up? XD
 

For Erin/Dora! :)
 

Gaston decided that a good book might be just the thing to take his mind off of everything that was going on in his life. Unfortunately, he'd read all the books he kept in his office probably a hundred times before, so a trip to the library was in order. Time to find some new reading material!

He perused the bookshelves, eventually stopping at the section for muggle literature. He'd have to thank Kalen for expanding the selection the next time he saw him! He piked up a book from the nearest shelf and skimmed through it. This story looked pretty interesting! He picked up another book, then another, and pretty soon he had a stack of new books to check out. This should keep him busy for a while!

So she wasn't actually in the mood for muggle literature, but she had to pass those shelves to get where she needed to be. Ugh. Not that she didn't appreciate muggle lit, just now wasn't the time.

And then right smack in those oh a the middle of those oh at hehe aisle was.. her head of house. Sighs. They had not had the greatest track record of getting along and her lack of support had only compounded her feelings toward him AND others in her house right now.

Clearing her throat she made to step around him. She didn't want to bother him. And she didn't look well rested or very friendly at the moment, she was sure. She hadn't slept well following the competition.. and other things. Ugh.

"Excuse me, professor, " she muttered as she tried to squeeze past.

Gaston was so engrossed in the book he was looking at that he didn't notice anybody else nearby until an unexpected voice made him jump slightly. "Oh, of course. Excuse me," he said, quickly stepping aside. It was only when he closed the book and looked up that he actually saw who it was; his heart sank. Oh no, not her!

It was taking every bit of resolve he had not to turn the opposite direction and run away when he saw Miss Umbridge, but that would be unprofessional and not to mention, cowardly. Though the girl already thought he was a horrible head of house, if their last conversation was any indication, so he didn't see how leaving could possibly make her any worse of him than she already did. He heaved a silent sigh. It seemed no matter what he did, this girl would only see the worst in him and it hurt. But he knew there was noting to be done about it.

For some reason he didn't understand, Gaston decided to try one more time to be kind to the girl. "Hello, Miss Umbridge," he said with a polite nod, though he wasn't quite able to manage a smile. Surely, surely he wouldn't get another tongue lashing for just greeting her, right? He couldn't be sure; it seemed like he found a way to set her off.

"Please call me Dora. The formality of it all is exhausting, Professor Marchand," she said softly. Like she had already chewed him up and spit him out, metaphorically, he could certainly call her Dora now, yes?

And the girl didn't think he was HORRIBLE, per se. Just that he had a lot of room to improve and he didn't seem to want anyone's help with the matter... even people that had more experience at being Gryffindors than he. But that was his choice and she had other, more pressing matters to lose sleep over currently.

A huge yawn left the girl now. The kind that caused the eyes to water and a hand to cover the mouth. For what felt like forever. "Yawns are caused by a lack of oxygen to the brain," she said sleepily before she started to blink the yawn tears away and scan the titles nearby.

moving here from the first floor corridor :3
 

Vivian kept walking and began moving up the moving staircases, occasionally looking back at Evan to make sure he was still following her and not getting lost. "Think you'll be able to find your way back down later?" The Slytherin beamed at the boy. It was sort of a challenge, but was partly a joke, too. He probably wouldn't have remembered how to get back down, anyway. After all, the library was in the fourth floor. They had to cross four sets of moving staircases. It took her long to master them, anyway, so she was most likely going to guide him back down again later on.

"Wait, it's colder here than in the US?" Vivian asked. She had never been there, though she wanted to visit soon, but it was kinda cool to learn more about other cultures and places. She's done so about Romania and Durmstrang with Andrei through letters, so perhaps it would be just as interesting. "Cool kids?" She blinked at this statement. What did that mean, anyway? "A definition would be appreciated."

The blonde moved over to the second floor corridor, waited for Evan, and kept her eyes on the moving staircases. Once the set of stairs that was going to lead them to the third floor and up positioned itself in front of them, Vivian signalled him to follow. "C'mon," she said and made her way up. Well, yes, waiting for the right staircase to position itself required a little bit of patience. For sure, Evan knew that by now.

Once they had reached the fourth floor corridor, Vivian made her way to the library. "We're almost there." Just so close! Evan was still very much alive, right? And... "Tadaaaaaa!" The Slytherin said, in low volume so she didn't disturb the people inside and anger the librarian.

Smiling at Evan, she went over to the bookshelves. He needed a reference book for a subject, right? "I'll help you find the book you need. What subject is your homework about?"

Thankfully he bumped into Vivian today and she wanted to accompany him to the library. Evan had no idea where would he end if he's still wandering around the first floor of this castle. He let out a small chuckle as the girl asked if he could find a way back after this. "I hope so. After all, it's easier finding a way back rather than to here." As an occasional hiker, he spoke based on his own experience following his uncles hiking around the mountain and forests.

"It is quite colder for me." The Ilvermorny boy answered. And about the cool kids, it's not that he put them into a stereotype but it's just... Well, those group of students that seemed cooler than him. "Hmmm... Like those who has better looking, always up for social events, popular..." He slightly nodded. Heh, it's totally not him. Most of them were either Wampus or Thunderbird guys who belonged to that definition.

Following the blonde girl, finally they made it to the library! "Thanks uh... It's okay, I think I could find it by myself." Evan refused politely. Honestly he had no idea how long he's going to be here and probably Vivian had other agendas. Plus, van just loved working his homework by himself.

Blink, blink. Now that was the last thing Gaston had expected Miss Umbridge - no, Dora - to say! He dropped his gaze for a moment to hide the shock in his eyes, but he was able to manage a small smile as he replied, "Alright then, Dora." Did he dare to hope that he wouldn't accidentally set her off this time?

He couldn't help but notice how tired she looked. The thought crossed his mind to ask if anything was wrong, but he decided against it. He didn't want to make her angry again. He looked at her with concern as she yawned, nodding slightly as she explained the cause of yawning. If he didn't know better, he'd think she was trying to justify her yawn to him, but that didn't seem possible. He knew by now that Dora Umbridge didn't justify herself to anyone.

The long silent pause that followed was making Gaston nervous. He ran a hand through his dark hair, causing it to stick up at odd angles, and looked back at the Gryffindor girl and started to say something he should've told her a long time ago, "Dora, I know we haven't exactly seen eye to eye in the past, and I don't know if this'll mean much to you but..." His voice trailed off, but he forced himself on. "I just wanted to say congratulations on your performance in the first challenge; you did a wonderful job." Both of the Gryffindor champions did, and he'd be sure to tell Mr. Kenning as well.

He tried to gauge the girl's reaction, hoping against hope that he hadn't accidentally offended her with the intended compliment. What would be the consequences of what he just said?

Vivian didn't mind making new friends. In fact, she loved doing so! When Evan replied to her question regarding finding his way back, the blonde couldn't help but grin. Technically yes, what he said was true in all honesty. Vivian herself found it better just finding her way to a certain location. It already gave her a heads up on what significant trademarks to remember in case she lost her way. "Well, the only advice I'll give is that you should be patient with the staircases, for the right one to position itself," she said with a nod. "But let me know if you forget, while you still can." If they were to part ways, then now was probably the best time to ask about directions.

If it was colder for him here, then perhaps Vivian might find the US to be warmer. She had never left the continent, anyway, so she was pretty much accustomed to the climate here in the UK. She nodded at this reply, but then looked at him with squinted eyes when he began describing what a 'cool kid' was in Ilvermorny. Better looking? Always up for social events? Popular? "I wasn't aware that you guys had some sort of classification." It surprised her, rather. She didn't think that was a thing here at Hogwarts, or maybe she just wasn't paying too much attention.

Oh? Did he not want her to keep his company? Vivian understood that, yes, but she didn't really want to leave yet. "Are you... sure?" She asked. Maybe he was trying to push her away? Err, she didn't know.

Aslan
 

Aslan Evans had no idea she was being asked for. She'd been boarded up in the library since her return from break, only leaving when she needed to for the occasional lesson or food.... Showers, the like. She was keeping up the illusion of her humanity all while her mind took precedence over her body.

The cause, naturally, were impending NEWTs and a deep desire to put aside some uncomfortable feelings that had deigned to show their faces- Emotional faces, that was an idea, a spell that would show you the pain of another through their complexion like a mood ring. Perhaps a potion would have been better suited, similar to Weasley's Glow in the Dark Tonic. The book the Gryffindor held in hand was going unread, her eyes glazed, it was obvious that although the body of Aslan Evans was leaning against a wall in the library of Hogwarts School of witchcraft and wizardry-

her mind was elsewhere.

Okay. This was already proving to be exhausting. Like moreso than usual really. The tone with which he had said Dora indicated that he had not taken anything she had said to heart... or if he had, he wasn't using any of it to move forward in life. Like really what else did she have to do to show the man that she was trying to help him.

"Thank you, sir. And you should have maybe congratulated us sooner than this... I mean. I went into the challenge thinking no one in my house supported me. Not even the Head of House. it's a miracle I didn't let any of that affect me while I was in there." And she wasn't being dramatic or mean. Just honest. Not that he seemed to appreciate that particular trait about her to be honest. "But really... thanks," she said for good measure.

Of course, Aslan had no idea if Levi had passed her once or a hundred times. Her book still lay limp in hand, yes, but her mind had drifted her from skin-changing tonics to the complexities of potion-invention to the deep symbolism of ingredients like Wolfsbane, gillyweed and dittany and somehow, this had all led to her current line of thinking that flowers, weeds and plants of the sea were under-researched and underestimated for their possible contributions in potion making and general healing properties.

Healing magic was not something she had ever had a keen interest for but in regards to flora and fauna the practice could have been updat-

Oh. Someone was speaking to her. Aslan blinked at Levi, her expression similar to someone slipping out of a deep sleep. She quickly tried to catch up to his words-

Whole school looking-

Feathers-

Disappointment-

"Why were you looking for me?" Aslan asked, eyes still glassy. She tilted her head to the right and took him in. Levi Kenning looked brighter than he had after the competition and brighter still than after their summer break and Aslan wondered what had come along to lighten his spirits. Happiness, in her opinion was very often dropped onto people without warning. "You look different." She mused aloud, it was not quite a question.

Gaston's heart was pounding so loudly, he could barely hear Dora's reply. He braced for a potential barrage of hurtful words to follow, but to his surprise and relief, none came. Granted, she had called him out for not congratulating her sooner, but it wasn't as bad as he thought it would be. And she'd accepted the compliment; that was a good sign! He began to relax a little.

He was silent for a moment as he debated the best way to reply. The thought had crossed his mind to explain why he hadn't said anything sooner, but he decided against it. The last time he'd tried to justify his actions, he wound up making her angry. It was probably a better idea to just accept what she said and move on. "That's a fair point," he said, nodding slightly. Her next words came as a huge shock to him, and his expression turned sympathetic. He knew all too well what it was like to feel like no one believed in you!

"I... I'm sorry for anything I did - or didn't do - that made you feel that way, Dora," he said once he'd found his voice again. And he meant it from the bottom of his heart! "You're right, I should've said something sooner, but I want you to know that I do support you." It was his job to support both of his Gryffindor champions, and no animosity they'd had in the past was going to stop him! "You're a very talented witch, and you're strong; I think you'll go far in the competition."

Dora wrinkled up her nose as she watched his emotions play across his face. He seriously had no poker face whatsoever. It was almost endearing if not a bit annoying.

More annoying than anything. But whatever. Could be worse.

And now the blonde shrugged and tossed her curls anything bit. "Well lucky for you I'm used to people underestimating me and trying to tear me down. Doesn't mean I don't still give it my all. " Meaning he or her housemates none would ever deter her from reaching a goal even if it did hurt sometimes. And she did let it get to her too often.

But... here lately she let it fuel her hate fire. Metaphorically speaking.

"Thanks, sir. But I don't share your view. I doubt I'll go much further. But I'm also not obsessed with winning so it doesn't bother me. I'm also not one to sit idly by and let a bunch of games dictate what I do with myself when I am morally opposed to something. " Perhaps her words seemed convoluted and vague, but really she meant them to be that way. Never one to show her true intentions off the bat and all.

"But maybe you should tell Levi you are rooting for him. I appreciate it and did need the reassurance, but he'll likely be your prize pony so to speak. " Her voice didn't convey any emotion one way or another, and the smile she gave thE man didn't give much away either. And really it wasn't some self deprecating nonsense... as most would assume it to be. Maybe she WANTED everyone to doubt her and root for others so she could slide in like the underdog... OR she had other things in mind.

"I truly hope you have a wonderful rest of your day, Professor and I do so appreciate the kind words. " And with one last smile the girl turned in a wave of blonde curls and jetted off to the exit, all thoughts of books leaving her as she went.

No need to keep reading up on things when something MAJOR just cropped up in her mind. Time to seek out her uncle on this one!

just a tinge startled by Levi's volume Aslan jumped a little, awkwardly stepping back against bookcase behind her. she glanced backward, for a moment absurdly, she worried she had knocked over the bookcase and sent the whole lot toppling over into infinity- This was not the case. The shelves were fixed, possibly magically to the floor and Aslan was well aware of the fact. Clearly, Aslan had been deeper into her mind's stupor than she knew.

She too, cleared her throat. "It has been some time." Aslan agreed, pausing as she tried to remember when their last study session had spontaneously occurred. "Before you were crowned." Since then, she'd found herself seeing more of his sister. It was natural, of course.

"Yes, I do say so." It was a joke, mostly, but also something of an established fact. He seemed sheepish, a feeling Aslan being Aslan had not felt very often - save for in her much younger years - and could not exactly understand in this instance. Where was the source stemming from? Had her observation perhaps been too personal? the witch didn't believe so, not when considering his earlier comments on her unusually normal appearance and his following mention of her wearied features. "No, not at all. Sleeping isn't something I've ever been very good at, I'm afraid. Especially lately." NEWTs had something to do with it, but general insomnia was the prime culprit.

Gaston looked back at Dora with an unreadable expression for a moment, not because he was trying to hide his emotions - everyone knew by now that he was useless at that - but because he wasn't sure how he was supposed to feel. Really, he was more confused than anything. Had his words come across the wrong way? He wasn't obsessed with winning or looking for a "prize pony". Of course he'd be lying if he said he wasn't hoping for a Gryffindor victory, but that wasn't why he said he thought she'd go far. Win or lose, he believed in her; he was only trying to be encouraging.

He wasn't sure if he'd accidentally made her angry or not, but if he had, she wasn't going off on him. He took that as a hopeful sign! He was silent as he tried to riddle out the vague words and the lack of emotion in her voice and her smile. Was there some ulterior meaning there? The only clue that jumped out at him was what she said about being morally opposed. "I... I think I understand," he said. He'd probably feel the same way if he was expected to compete in this competition! "No one can force you to stay in the competition of you don't want to, and it would be wrong to try." He certainly wasn't going to, and he'd challenge anyone who did. "It's your choice; I'll support you no matter what you decide."

He smiled when she thanked him and wished him a good day. "You're very welcome, Dora, and thank you," he replied. But before he could say any more, she was gone. Well, that was unexpected! he stared blankly after her, debating whether or not to follow her, but he decided against it. She probably needed her space right now. With a sigh, he picked up his stack of books and headed toward the front desk.

Aslan had found herself thinking more and more on the concept of worthiness, on deserving and receiving but none of it felt... Real. the universe didn't work based on the principals of give and take- there was only cause and effect. Perhaps the hat had decided Levi was worthy, but it was, in reality, only a hat with the mind of a great wizard imbued into each seam and sinew. What could a hat know? what could a wizard from hundreds of years past know? he'd built this school with three others but aslan sincerely doubted Godric Gryffindor's ability to judge others and their motives.

"Yes." she agreed, tucking back a lock of her dark hair. There wasn't quite a smile, but there was something ironic to the curve of her lips as he quoted. "You could, but this is hogwarts. That was always a possibility." Aslan shrugged, her tone light despite the topic of conversation. She did not attempt to comfort Levi Kenning for a myriad of reasons, chiefly because he was not the kind to want a soft-spoken lie and she was not the kind to utter one.

"Lately, no. I haven't. I've never got the hang of them." Potions, once upon a time had been her easiest and most favored subject, boredom had changed the sooner and lack of practice had changed the latter. Aslan paused, dark eyes no longer glazed. "That would be alright." she finally said, a slow smile. "How long would it take you."