Quote:

Originally Posted by sarahlooo

Her poem reciting didn't last very long, as Derf was being extremely distracting (more than usual, too). Dropping his books and papers, taking his shoes off. And now extracting the dinner rolls from his shirt. Well, she couldn't complain. That was the reason they were 15 minutes into their study session with no work done yet.

They were about to be 15 minutes into their study session with broken noses if Derf didn't calm down his knobby elbows. "Derf!" Natalie exclaimed in a hushed whisper, dropping her book on the floor as she dodged his flapping arms. Natalie clamped her hands onto his arms to stop him from knocking them both off of the chair.

"You're doing it all wrong," she said simply, because she had been a bra wearer for approximately four months and that made her a professional. "My mum told me, 'bras are like Devil's Snare. They smell fear and you'll only get stuck if you wiggle too much.' But luckily we don't need fire to get them off." During her words, Natalie had reached over and freed Derf simply from the women's undergarment.

"There," she said with a helpful smile. "Now," she continued, looking around the bookshelves, "you might want to put that in your bag before the librarian comes back over."

If her hands hadn't stopped him then her description of bras would have. Devil's Snare. REALLY? Derf internally decided if he never saw another bra again he could be satisfied. So when Natalie pulled him free of the wand, Derf was tempted to toss it unceremoniously across the library where it could land on one of the bookshelves and hang off a book from the shelves by the strap. And it could STAY there.

Sentient undergarments. Only in the wizarding world.

But it technically wasn't HIS bra...it was Etta's...so back into his enchanted briefcase and then shoved his hands into his trouser pockets. "Wearing Devil's Snare...being a girl sounds like dangerous business," he grumbled while his ears reddened ever so slightly.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sweetpinkpixie

If her hands hadn't stopped him then her description of bras would have. Devil's Snare. REALLY? Derf internally decided if he never saw another bra again he could be satisfied. So when Natalie pulled him free of the wand, Derf was tempted to toss it unceremoniously across the library where it could land on one of the bookshelves and hang off a book from the shelves by the strap. And it could STAY there.

Sentient undergarments. Only in the wizarding world.

But it technically wasn't HIS bra...it was Etta's...so back into his enchanted briefcase and then shoved his hands into his trouser pockets. "Wearing Devil's Snare...being a girl sounds like dangerous business," he grumbled while his ears reddened ever so slightly.

There. All was well. Derf's comment about being a girl made her laugh just a little bit. Just having recently discovered the joys of female puberty, Natalie was experiencing... well, much more than Derf had with just that bra. "That's not even half of it," she said with a sigh, collecting her book off the floor again. She did hope he didn't ask what the rest was. Natalie had a feeling he didn't know ALL the things that girls had to deal with and she didn't want to be the one to try and explain it.

What was it about books that smelt so darn incredible? It didn't matter if they were old or new, stored or read, they always seemed to have an inviting smell to Holly. Sometimes it didn't even matter what was written inside it's pages, she could just sit down with a book and enjoy it's essence. Of course, she would look rather daft smelling a random book off a random shelf, which is why she left that sort of activity to her bedroom back home. But she wouldn't let that little nugget of information slip here anyway, it could thwaite her chances of making friends. Or so her older sister had told her.

"What do you know, anyway?" she muttered hoping nobody else heard her.

Now, here she sat in possibly one of the most comfortable chairs she had ever sat in, with a book not belonging to this library. No, she had bought along her own small collection of books to read throughout the term. Some of which were her sister's works. Though Holly would never admit it, Ashleigh had quite the knack for story telling. Holly distinctly remembered some of the bedtime stories Ashleigh had made up when the two were much younger. She had always admired that about her older sister. She aspired to be half the woman her sister was becoming, even more so with their mother.

She did miss her mother, very much so. But she was positive she would soon get into the swing of things here at Hogwarts soon enough.

The first year shuffled herself around a little in the chair to get herself more comfortable and opened the book to the first page and began reading. She'd read it before but this was one of her favorites, of course she couldn't resist reading it again.

"What do you know anyway?" were muttered words that floated into Laurel's ears as she walked around aimlessly among the hundreds of bookshelves in the library looking for something that she actually wanted to read. She had books in her tower yes, but none that right now made her want to snuggle up in a comfy chair with a warm blanket around her legs and feet. and a steaming cup of tea to drink, next to a burning firefly lamp.

Stopping to listen for more sounds the blond professor glanced around, but heard no more words but decided still to see if she could find who the voice could have belonged to. Laurel was there right now and she knew that Kalen weren't and besides she still had some time to kill off before she needed to go on patrol with Tristan.

Turning around on the spot Laurel went deeper into the library towards the window section where something told her that she'd find the person that had those elusive words. She first saw the back of a book and then the girl that read it. As she recognized her as one of the first years in her own house Laurel smiled kindly. "Hello Holly, are you reading anything good?"

With her head firmly engrossed within the tales she read, the blonde neglected to notice anything around her, least of all the person approaching her. She smiled slightly as she continued her way through the pages, each turn pulling her further and further into a whole new world she hadn't yet discovered.

The sound of her name pulled her from this new world and back to the reality before her. She looked up at the lady in front of her, finally clocking that she had been asked a question. Marking her page, she turned to face the lady she recognized as her head of house. Though the two were yet to formerly meet, it was impossible not to know who the professor was. She had heard other students mentioning her around the common room.

"Hello Professor, at the moment I'm not quite sure. It's a book my mother bought me and I've only just gotten to read it" was her response. She glanced at the back cover and skimmed the blurb for anything that could jump out to describe it's contents.

"I think it's going to be a mystery of some kind" she added. "Is there anything on the shelves you would recommend?"

If only Kalen had been there to see what Laurel saw. It was something extra nice to see a girl so engrossed in the world described on the books pages that she first didn't see or hear Laurel approach her. Calling her by her name though broke the girl's concentration and she almost felt bad for doing that. But she had a reason for going that. She wanted to get to know Holly better and she was curious to know if she had uttered those irritated words that Laurel had heard.

Walking closer she said with a smile. "Books bought for you by your mother are always nice. They always know what books we might like." Laurel's mother had a special knack for that. "Is it a muggle or magical mystery?" Turning to skim the shelves for a moment Laurel turned back to Holly saying "Unfortunately I'm not as good as Mr Kennedy at recommending books, but I can try. Have you read the Tales of Beedle the Bard or maybe some of Gilderoy Lockmans works?" Never mind that he had been exposed as a fraud by the famous trio back in the days. His works were still readable.

"So how do you like it here at Hogwarts Holly?" Laurel asked as she sat down in one of the empty comfy chairs next to the much younger girl.

Holly turned herself to face the professor properly, allowing her feet to fall to the floor and swing slightly to her right. Stretching them out, she pointed her toes up to get at least a little circulation back. As comfortable as sitting with feet under her was, it quite often left her with numb limbs. But it was always worth it.

Placing the book on the table beside her, the first year leant forward slightly, her arms wresting on her knees. "They really do, I guess it's a perk of raising us. My sister has a knack for it too" she replied. She moved her gaze from the professor to the many shelves surrounding them and back again. There really were a lot of books for her to read, but then she had plenty of time to get through them.

Then another question was asked. She glanced back at the book searching for what she remembered from the pages she had already read. "So far it's quite magical, but I think it explores both worlds. It depends on the interpretation" she answered, turning her attention back to her head of house.

"No, I haven't. My mum teaches English in a school back home so she's never really introduced me to those stories. But I really should read them sometime" Holly smiled to herself, the prospect of reading something so well known among the wizarding world excited her. Perhaps a little more than most young students but then most young students in the wizarding world hadn't grown up with the same books and stories as Holly had.

She snapped herself back to the professor, her smile still remaining but now slightly faded. "So far it's been fun, there are so many different classes and the people here are totally different to what I'm used to. I like it" she replied, a little sparkle in her eye. Hogwarts had been so completely alien to her when she first arrived and she was enjoying exploring it's many crevices and hiding holes. She wouldn't have nearly enough time to explore the whole castle. Let alone the whole library. But she would give it a darn good go.

Watching Holly's stance brought back some memories from her childhood. It had been years since Laurel had sat like that in a chair with her legs under her. But never mind that focusing on what Holly was saying she nodded. "Well motherhood must have some perks." Or it would make you wonder why people had children. Surprised she asked. "You have a sister? Does your sister go here too?" If she did then Laurel had probably met her unless the sister didn't take Divination or was sorted into another house.

The conversation turned back to the book which now laid closed on the table so that she could read the title and author which sounded very muggle to her. Blue eyed gaze shifting to Holly again. "I see, well I hope the book will be a good read." It was the sensible thing to say given that she had read no works by that author.

So Holly was a muggleborn or halfblood? It seemed like a reasonable conclusion since she hadn't read those books that Laurel had mentioned which most magical kids read and thus it begged the question. "Are your parents muggles?" At that moment she couldn't remember what stood in Holly's personal file in her office.

Beaming Laurel said "I'm glad you like it here. Hogwarts was my second home when I went here." And it was in part why it had been easy to come back when offered a teaching position some years ago now.

Holly listened to everything the professor had to say. This conversation may have only been their first but first impressions, in Holly's opinion, made everything. The woman speaking to her would be her first port of call should she need anything through the year. "Parents are great, they're some of few people who love you no matter how badly you behave" she replied. She knew her mother had been there through some of her most terrible days. Although how terrible could an 11-year-old really be. She had her attitude, that she wouldn't deny. But she vowed she wouldn't do anything too horrible, not if she could help it.

She shook her head at the next question. "She used to go here, she graduated a few years ago though. I'm the last to come here" was her answer.

Glancing back at the book, she nodded. So far it had been an okay read, but she hadn't really had chance to fully get into it yet. "Fingers crossed it's worth a read"

The professor's next question seemed to take Holly by surprse slightly, although there was no real reason for it to. She'd never been asked it before, but she had also been raised to believe there was nothing wrong with the way her family was or to be ashamed of her own heritage. And she was sure she would never have to. "Mum's a muggle, although she's pretty magical in her own way. She certainly works her magic in the kitchen" she answered proudly.

The conversation fell back to school, and what a remarkable place it had already proven to be. "I miss home sometimes, but then I remember I live in a huge castle with loads of places to explore. And the professor's are kind of like a second family"