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Library https://s26.postimg.cc/bbp8vzqhl/library-banner.jpg A maze of thousands upon thousands of books, the library is heaven to any book-lover. Upon entering the high-ceilinged room, the smell of books, both ancient and new, hits you. There are many tall, narrow shelves neatly lined up, each divided into different sections -- charms, potions, Muggles, fiction, and so on. If you find a book you're interested in, simply make use of the sliding ladder or summon the book with Accio to retrieve it. |
Staring at the number of books, he entered the library, unaware that such a place excited. With high ceilings that reach towards the heavens and the fragrance of worn books throughout the room, this library could really be ancient. Quickly, he walked to the nearest armchair and lowered himself into the comfort of the chair. Pulling his back around from his back, he pulled out his trusted copy of ‘Matilda’ by Roald Dahl and flipped to where to where he had stopped reading last time. Despite the numerous books on offer, he couldn’t stop reading his current book now. Not half way through. Bringing the book up, he continued reading, completely immersed in the fictional book. Whilst reading, he couldn’t help but notice some similarities between the main character and the world he now found himself in. A young girl unknowingly uses special powers to thwart her oblivious family. |
Ewan Quinn wandered through the stacks, browsing the titles, trying to determine just where she wanted to start attempting to copy all of Hogwarts' vast library into her book, which was currently clutched, along with her wand, against her chest. If she was being smart, Quinn would have just started at one end and worked her way through systematically, but she didn't quite feel like being smart. Maybe she'd start with the magical creatures section? Quinn turned a corner, ready to make her way to there, and stopped. The Popper was there. But he was engrossed in a book so, she might be able to slip past without any interaction at all and... Then Quinn saw the title of his book, and paused anew. "You like muggle fiction too?" It came out before she could stop herself. |
For Hattie Curled up in an oversized arm chair by one of the fireplaces, Junia flipped through her schedule for the term. It was packed with classes, study hours, extra-curriculars, and absolutely no room for error. Actually, this was some of the last free time she'd been enjoying for a while, funny she'd chosen to spend it here. The quiet was nice, though. The crackling of the fire, smell of old books, and comfort of a well-worn piece of furniture was welcoming. It made her think of Sam... ...maybe it wasn't so funny she'd chosen to spend her free time here after all. |
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With a low chuckle, he turned to the next page. Awaiting him was an illustration of Miss Trunchbull, the fiendish headmistress. Despite his age, he still found the illustrations rather amusing. Mainly because she reminded him of one of his old primary school teachers. *Visibly jumps at the sound of a voice* Looking up, slightly startled, Ewan noticed Quinn, staring at him. HOW LONG HAD SHE BEEN THERE!? Rearranging his face to a puzzled expression, he answered her “Uh yes. I’m a muggleborn”. Unsure if he should continue or not for fear of reprimand, he plundered on “I grew up reading fiction. Do you know much of Roald Dahl’s books?”. Despite his caution, he was curious about his fellow first year Ravenclaw now. She knew muggle fiction. His fiction. Was she muggleborn? “I mean, I have my favourites too. I love Percy Jackson and the Olympians and obviously, I’m rather fond of the Hunger Games series too; there is something so good about Roald Dahl though”. Growing up at home, magic was often in short supply. In fact, it was practically non existent. Fiction was one of the only ways to really experience magic! There was something magical about curling up in front of a fire and getting lost in another world. Sheepishly smiling now, well aware of how childish he must look. Ruffling his hair now, a twinge of pink in his cheeks, he pulled the picture of his mother that he’d been using as a book mark and slid it carefully in between the correct pages and closed the book. She didn’t need to see that too, although he knew this particular Ravenclaw to be observant. |
Quinn studied Ewan a long moment, as if reassessing him briefly. Muggleborn? She found that fascinating in that she wanted to bombard him with questions about what it was like reading all those stories about magic, while not knowing it existed? She had the authors' views on magic through reading the works of fiction herself. Being pureblood, she had never not know about real magic and thus could never get the perspective of reading a book with magic in it, under the assumption that magic wasn't real. What was that like? She had hundreds of questions, but asked none. Where would she even start? Perhaps down the line she might ask him. Ewan was looking at her hesitantly, maybe waiting for a response. Before she could consider one though, he continued and Quinn smiled. "I know Roald Dahl, yes. I've read Percy Jackson and the Olympians as well, and the sequel series. Didn't really enjoy Hunger Games, honestly, so I haven't read the other two." Quinn shifted a moment and then sat down, not all that close to him, but not exactly far either. "My favorites are stories like Peter Pan, and Alice's adventures in Wonderland," and Through the Looking Glass too, obviously. Her eyes flicked momentarily to the picture he was sliding in the book, but she didn't react. It was just a photo of someone. She was too far to make out details and even if she had, she still would have found of little consequence to herself. "I like the way muggles portray magic," Quinn said at last. "It's hopeful, and...wondrous and..." Whatever that last bit was she never spoke it. "Would you trade this for any of those worlds if you had a choice?" |
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Grinning now, he thought for a minute. She really did love muggle fiction. More than even he did. “What were you going to say? You didn’t finish your question”. He was curious. What did she not want to say? Answering her question now, he did after all owe her one answer, “No I don’t think so. I mean, I would love to experience them, maybe go on a summer program to Camp Half Blood! I mean, could you imagine flying on the Pegasus or being a half-blood? And the quests?... going on a quest with your best friends would be amazing!”. red-faced now slightly, he stopped. He’d never actually had friends at home that he’d want to take with him. His mind started to wonder now. Who would he actually take? Which god would most likely be his parent? “What about you? Would you snap your wand to jump into... Wonderland?”. He hoped he’d got that right. He had a feeling she might take offense if he got that wrong. Sliding his book back into his rucksack, he sat forward slightly and looked a Quinn out of the corner of his eyes. He’d never actually looked at her properly before. Mentally, he made a note of her ear rings and dimples, having never noticed them before. Honestly, he’d always tried to avoid eye contact with her. She could be intimidating when she wanted to be. |
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Honestly, she didn't care if he read them or not. If he wanted to miss out, that was on him alone. "Nothing," she answered. The shrug she gave, like that smile a moment again, was closer to an impression than a true shrug, yet somehow still managed to convey itself. "Not important." And again she watched him as he answered her, tilting her head in thought slightly as she did. He wanted quests? "Be careful of the wishes you make. There's always something happening at Hogwarts." Always. "Snap my wand for Wonderland?" She looked off into the stacks, silent and thoughtful. "No. Not for Wonderland. I'm not sure I'd want to be there permanently and I'm not going to snap my wand for anything less than permanent. Now, Neverland..." This time she did smile, dreamily. "If I could be Pan, as a girl of course...yes." But only if she could be a girl Pan. She glanced back, catching his gaze, hiding in the corner of his eye. Quinn returned to studying him in that intensely curious and mildly probing way of hers. |
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Dropping all pretences now, he looked up at her from his rucksack, a slight wrinkle in his forehead now. She was looking back at him. Probing him almost, just as he was to her, except she had been a lot more open about it. Tick, tock, tick, tock..... “Did you find what you’re looking for?” He asked finally, after a few seconds. He felt almost, strange. He didn’t feel awkward in the silence. He could tell that she was just... studying him. His question had been a sarcastic one, but now, he was genuinely curious. What was she looing for? For a first year, she radiated the mind of an older student. She really is a puzzle. *Sigh* Ewan always had trouble sleeping after he’d start a puzzle. Sleeping was for the weak. Those who couldn’t solve it. Those who couldn’t decipher the hidden meanings and make no mistake. Quinn was a puzzle. |
"Neverland is..." Her voice became wistful now, almost longing. "...the land of dreams. That's what it is made of. The dreams and imagination of children. So all this," she gave the same emphasis around them with a gesture, "it's still all new, and still more dream for you than reality. Sure, it's great, and probably will always be for you, but dreams are dreams and reality is reality and there's a reason fiction exists. To escape reality." Oh and now he was actually looking at her back, and not out of the corner of his eye either. Perhaps there... She tilted her head in thought at his question, then shook it. "You don't look for a specific something, you just look, and in looking let everything reveal itself to you." And there was always something being revealed if you stopped looking for it and just looked. Like that newly sparked curiosity he was looking at her with. She'd stumped him perhaps, or surprised him, or both. |
INVADING *attack hugs you both* (and open) the blonde hadn't explored enough so that was what she was doing now. Exploring, this was likely the highest she had been in the school save for heading to the Astronomy tower and y'know Divinations...she loved Divinations - even if it wasn't truly her favorite class it was Laurel's class and that made it even more special to her. Her hands held lightly on her magically charmed little music player that she had gotten from her cousin’s husband…god, she loved them |
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Ewan listened now with a new intensity. He could tell this meant something to Quinn, even if she wouldn’t admit it, and honesty, he’d used the magical world of fiction to escape so many times when he was younger. He could hear the slight longing in her voice when she talked about Neverland, the way she described it, almost as this place that only the purest of heart could visit. This, he understood. “I understand, I mean, when I first started reading, I would always end up...” Still looking at her closely. Could...he trust her with this? *” you’re easy lov—“* Ewan turned towards the sound in a flash, his last sentence all but forgotten. Unaware that there had been anyone else in the library, he listened closely. Had... someone been... singling? That was one thing, I mean, this is after all, a library. The strangest part was, he thought he recognised the chorus. Shaking his head, he waited for this ‘disturber of the peace’. Seconds passed as he looked in the direction of the approaching feet, his hands plucking thin air now in a particular order. He was sure he recognised that song, I mean, he even knew how to play it. *Sigh* He wished he’d brought his Ukulele now; Maybe he’d pop up to his dorm and get it; He’d heard this place had a music room. *Rolls his eyes* Honestly, if he didn’t know better, he may have suggested that they planned this little meet up. Around the corner came another first-year girl. Annabeth. With the tiniest of glances, he looked back at Quinn. Why did I mention that stupid book! His hands stopped plucking invisible cords now as she frowned at him, one eye brow raised. How dare she stroll over here, singing a song that HE liked and then accuse him of giving Quinn trouble? HE’D BEEN HERE FIRST READING QUIETLY! Taking a deep breath, he removed any trace of resentment before finally...laughing. Chuckling, he looked at her in the face. Giving her the smallest of winks, he turned back to Quinn before finally answering Beth’s question, deciding not to chew her head off “I’m not giving her trouble. Quinn was just filling me in on some muggle fiction she likes”. With a brief pause, he tagged on to the end “Don’t worry, you can stop impersonating the Rock. My popcorn stealing days are behind me”, A small smirk appearing for the briefest of seconds. He'd be surprised if either of them got that last reference. |
Whatever he had been about to say, it would have been interesting, she could tell that at least. That is, until Beth happened. Quinn tilted her head and looked up at her best friend with that annoyed look she always gave when Beth pouted at her like that since they were little kids. She leaned forward and kissed Beth's cheeks, one after the other and repeat, like they did in France. Then her eyebrow arched questioningly. "You were impersonating a rock?" Why? "Anyway, no he wasn't giving me trouble." In fact it might have been the other way around. "Actually," she glanced around making sure no one else was around, and then dropped her voice so that only Beth and Ewan would be able to hear, "I came for advice...about that missing persons poster we found in my attic? The one that..." Quinn glanced around again to make sure they were still alone, "...seems to suggest my parents might have stolen me from my real parents as an infant?" She glanced around a third time to make sure no one had happened along while she was whispering that last part. When it was clear they were still alone, Quinn relaxed visibly. She looked Ewan up and down again with that same probing intensity she always looked at others with. "He seems...smart-ish. Anyway, outside perspective as such." None of it would even matter if she could slip into Neverland and never return. |
Now, there was one thing that was impossibly true in this moment. That, that was Beth’s knowledge of Ewan’s musical abilities, clearly to her the child looked positively spaztic as his fingers twitched the chords of the song. Sure, from the look of it she was quite certain he was trying to pluck an imaginary instrument…still, she couldn’t fight the urge to sass him ”are you okay? It kind of looks like your hands are twitching” she informed him her tone was more careful and concerned than it normally was. Even her eyebrows knitted together with concern. |
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*” ...no, he wasn’t giving me trouble” * Snapping out of the rabbit hole that was his thoughts, he focused on Beth and Quinn again. Had he heard her correctly? Had she (Quinn) really just defended him? With slight incredulity, he listened more closely now. What!! And now BETH was apologising to him for suggesting it in the first place... Strange day he thought, looking down at the area in which Beth had lightly punched his arm. Beaming now, he sat back a little more in his chair, visibly more comfortable now. At least they didn’t come here to gang up on him. For the briefest of seconds, Ewan was about to pull out some the snacks he’d prepared earlier to share with the girls; After all, he did owe Beth some food. It wouldn’t have exactly been stealing but all the same... That was until Quinn dropped a big truth bomb on him. “My advice?... missing person poster?...parents stole you?” Spluttering now, Ewan couldn’t actually believe his ears. What seemed more likely, that Quinn had sought him out for advice or that she had been taken from her real parents! “Hold up... you mean... you think your parents kidnapped you?”. Taking a second to comprehend all of this information, he took a few deep breaths. If he didn’t know Quinn better, he’d think she was pulling his leg. Luckily, she didn’t seem the type to play a practical joke on someone. Looking around now quickly, he leaned in towards the girls “Okay... so say you were kidnapped” he continued, disregarding Beth’s panicked whispers about not sharing this info to anyone, “Why would they keep a wanted poster? I mean, isn’t that a little silly?”. It really was testament to how serious Ewan was taking this that he disregarded her remark about ‘muggle’ movies because he loved muggle movies. Again, he’d have to bring that up at a later date. In all honesty, one small part of his brain was toying with the idea of asking Beth if she wanted to make a kind of school movie quiz with him but now did not seem liked the time. |
"But...Hogwarts is supposed to be one of the safest places, right?" Quinn countered. From outside threats at least. "I don't think they can get to me here..." She glanced from Beth to Ewan, the worry she might be wrong clear on her face. Quinn shook her head to clear her thoughts. "We haven't been able to come up with anything. We need help. I need the help. And he's muggleborn, so I think he's safe." Finally Quinn turned to answer Ewan's questions. She hesitated slightly, eyes nervously glancing around. "I...I don't know for sure. I mean, all I have to go on is that poster, but none of the details lined up, you know? It was my photo, but the name given wasn't mine. Serafina Pekkala, that was the name listed. And the birthdate was in October and not May. And the parents' names listed weren't my parents." She took a deep breath, trying to visibly calm down some, and glanced nervously around. As she began to talk again, her eyes seemed to lock onto a small spot on the stone floor of the library, and fixate there. "I don't know why they kept the poster, but I'm not sure they intended too. It was with a bunch of other stuff in the attic that they never get around to going though, but Beth and I have discussed that a lot, and the best idea we've come up with is maybe it appeared in Chelsea, and my parents took it down before anyone that knew us could see, and took it home to get rid of it...but maybe something was going on, I don't know...and they couldn't get rid of it for good just then, so it got shoved with a lot of other things that no one ever looks through, and then eventually wound up in the attic, forgotten?" Finally Quinn looked up, first at Beth, and then to Ewan pleading. "I just...I'm not even sure what I'm supposed to do? Do I just pretend I never saw it and try to keep going same as always? What?" |
Beth’s eyes widened when Quinn mentioned Hogwarts being safe! She knew the stories she’d heard things ”Quiiinnnn its not that safe you remember hearing about that portal creature that ate the old caretaker?” she asked a concerned look playing about her face because Beth wasn’t playing, that thing could have eaten her mother. |
Furrowing his brow slightly now, he turned to Quinn, “Okay...so umm... fill me in a little here. If this photo is you, how old were you when this was taken? How long have you lived with your parents for? Are they muggles? purebloods? I mean, if they’re muggles, I can do some snooping. I know a few people back home who are great with these kinds of things!”. It was strange now how his old life was somehow overlapping with his new, shiny bright, magical life. Despite the glamour of the wizarding world, he did miss a few things back home. The mountains that surrounded his home, his father and, his friends. They may be muggles, but they were excellent at digging dirt up on people. As the conversation moved on, Ewan started to struggle to keep pace. Was it his memory, or did he simply not know who Voldemort was? “I don’t know about Voldemort, but you don’t have to worry about me” He replied, giving both girls a reassuring smile now, “I’ve got your back! Although...” his smile switching to that of an embarrassed expression “I’m not sure how much help I’ll be”. Briefly, he glanced Beth as she left before finally turning back to Quinn. What was she looking at on the floor? Was she searching for something again or simply avoiding his eyes. Either way, he had to fight back the urge to move her eyes back to his. “Look, only you can choose to forget this or not. Can you live with it? Not knowing?”. Deep down, he had a nagging suspicion that she wouldn’t be able to, but he thought he’d better lay it out on the line for her now. “You could end up tearing apart your family if you’re right. Hell, you could even if you’re wrong. Maybe you should weigh this out for a day or two?”. With a brief smile, he turned his head towards Beth, “Sorry B, I have no idea. I mean, if the family in that poster are magic, it might be worth checking to see if their ancestry? See if we can find out a little more about them”. After all, the more they knew, the better off they’d be. |
"I'm three in the photo." She kept her voice low, but not quite as quiet as she had been. Save for the three of them, the library seemed quite empty. Still, Quinn's eyes were always shifting, hunting for anyone that might be listening in. She shook her head. "We're pureblood...at least the people who raised me are. Not exactly the good kind, either. I think my great grandparents might have been Deatheaters. I don't know about the people the poster lists as my parents though. The picture in the poster didn't move. That's a muggle thing, right?" The pictures and art in her muggle fiction never moved; only in her wizarding fiction books it did. "But why kidnap a muggle child and raise her as a witch? How would they even know I was magical if I was born a muggle?" She looked up in surprise when he said he didn't know who Voldemort was. "Dark wizard. Perhaps the darkest ever. A hundred years ago he tried to wipe out all muggleborns and half-bloods, leaving only pureblood wizards. He was defeated right here, in Hogwarts. Deatheaters were his followers..." She paused to let that sink in with an earlier statement she'd just made and turned to Beth. "I don't think he's the third coming of Voldemort, Beth. And that's my point. All Hogwarts' threats come from inside Hogwarts." Or in the case of the portal, other dimensions. "Hogwarts isn't exactly safe, it's just safe from outside threats." Like her parents. "Besides, we haven't had any luck figuring this out on our own." She watched Beth head into the stacks and sighed, dropping her head into her hands and running them through her hair. It was something she always did when she was emotional, and she did it now. "I just don't know what to do. I don't think confronting my parents would be safe. They can be...." She shook her head, letting the rest go unsaid. "Maybe...maybe your plan is the best. I've looked for the name Pekkala before, but I've never had access to the Hogwarts library either. How about Beth and I try that front? And..." She reached into her bag, all the way up to her shoulder, even though the bag shouldn't have even reached her elbow, and pulled out a quill, ink, and parchment. When she was finished writing out the name for him, she tore the piece of parchment off and handed to him. Written in shimmering scarlet ink and immaculate handwriting was the name SERAFINA PEKKALA. "And you can use your muggle contacts to search on that end?" Quinn quickly returned ink, quill and rest of the parchment into her bag, along with her book. "I am going to go look through the stacks, see if I can't find a reference to Pekkala. And please keep this to yourself." Quinn stood up, giving him one last pleading look befor turning and heading into the stacks. |
Glancing over to Ewan Beth just gave him a dumbfounded look. ”you don’t know? Voldemort was the main reason Hogwarts had to be rebuilt a almost a century ago honestly…” she paused and disappeared again before grabbing Hogwarts, A history and dropping it in front of him. ”you should really pay attention in history…sometimes, dark wizards rise up and try and kill. Off muggles or like last year they try and kill off purebloods like my family” she gave a slight nervous look as she remembered hearding that conversation. |
Quickly, he reached his rucksack and pulled out a notepad and started to scribble down some notes about the whole ‘situation’. He’d have to remember this! Looking up at the sound of ‘dark wizards’, he stopped taking notes. Ignoring her tone, he listened carefully to Beth drone on about a dark wizard. Did Hogwarts really come under attack? What was he getting into... “Okaaaaaaay.... does this happen a lot? Because I feel like someone should have told me about this before I came here” With a small nervous laugh, he continued to make notes. Ewan couldn’t help but look up when Quinn stopped talking. Watching carefully as she ran her hands through her hair, he had to admit... she really was in a bit of a pickle. And what’s worse, she couldn’t confront her parents! *Sigh* Making a mental note to read his copy of Hogwarts: A History, he finally looked up at her. “Sure, they’ll be happy to help. Maybe something was mentioned in the muggle newspapers or something... if it’s there, they’ll find it”. Giving her an encouraging smile, he reached for the piece of paper now before finally folding it and tucking it into his rucksack along with his notepad. As Quinn left, he couldn’t help but feel a slight twinge of anxiety for his fellow Ravenclaw. She really did look anxious. Pulling his rucksack onto his back, he turned and walked towards Beth as she sat down and opened a book. ‘Manipulate people?’ what a strange comment to just throw out there. Sometimes, Beth really did confuse him at times. Leaning in now, he whispered “Look, I’m going to send an owl, or post a letter, to my friends back home. Keep an eye on Quinn; She looked...desperate when she left”. With a quick glance down at the book she was reading, he turned headed for the exit. Stooping as he reached the exit, he called back “Hey B, you better not use that stuff on me”. He wasn’t sure if they were ‘officially friends yet’ but he didn’t fancy being manipulated. Not even by Annabeth. |
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So the blonde made a small detail, heading over to the fire place, and where her fellow seventh year was. "Hey Junia! |
It didn't take the old elf nearly as long to get up to the fourth floor as it would have the students. Not to mention Algamus was irritated and looking for that baby elf, which only made him quicker to appear at the bookshelves. "Where is heeeee??" Algamus boomed in a voice way too loud for the library, beating his broom against his long, bony fingers, glancing around. |
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....... ........... "What on earth....?" Jessa took in the head house elf from her window seat nearby, scowl firmly in place at his level of noise, unsure what she was really looking at. There was visible hostility as he moved--case in point, the broom he was beating against his palm--but....why? Was THAT how he kept the other elves in line? "Where is who?" She asked calmly, not at all inclined to help if whoever it was would find themselves on the wrong side of that broom but the elf was being loud, and she was trying to learn. Surely they could discuss this in a voice more conducive to a library then he could be on his way. "And just what do you propose to do with them?" The more important question as blue eyes drifted back to the broom. |
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*POP*"Library is dusty, yes it is. Schmoop cleansies, he does." And the elf known as Schmoop does just that. Schmoop uses the feather duster in his hand to dust the shelves containing books, taking care not to mess up the covers. But who was that? It was the angry head elf. And there was no doubt who he was looking for. "Schmoop hasn't seen him lately, he hasn't. Not since he broke the snake tank, sir." Not that he had been looking for the younger elf. In fact, he had been avoiding him for this very reason. |
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