Map of Argyllshire
 

K8!!!
 

THIS MAP WAS SO COOL.

The map reflected the clouds that were outside. Noah found it unbelievably awesome how sweet this was. This meant that he didn't have to leave the castle to check out the weather... well... He supposed he could look outside the window and that would suffice. But STILL having multiple options would help. But how the hay was he supposed to say that word. Argyllshire. How did you pronounce that? he wondered. ARGYLESHIRE? ARGRILLSHIRE? ARGILLSURE? AGILLSHIRE? He didn't know... Huh. Consider himself stumped. Maybe if he purposefully tried to sound British it would work.

"AHHHH-GILL-SUUUUURE?" he repeated. Yep. Obviously he nailed it. NOT. It sounded more like he was asking if Gill (whoever Gill was- he didn't know- he presumed it was short for Gillian) was sure...

What.

Was.

THAT?

Aboli was trying to pass through the corridor to get to her next class when she heard SOMEONE who sounded like they were ILL - so she turned to check on him, but noticed it was Noah. "Oh...hey Noah..." She said simply. "Are you okay? You sound like a dying goat." Did he know he sounded like that? Was he trying to sing? She hadn't even noticed the map yet, either.

She was just surveying him as if she thought he were CRAZY.

ABOLIIII was here. SMILE. A bright smile appeared on this boy's face but quickly was wiped from it and replaced with a blank stare when she told him that he sounded like a dying goat. "A dying goat?" he repeated, looking heartbroken or pretending to look heartbroken because he was finding it more fun to put an extra "oomph" into things (acting-wise). He was just trying to understand how to pronounce the really cool weather telling device here.

Maybe SHE knew how to pronounce IT. He pouted before becoming serious. "Okay, okay. How do you pronounce the name of this map?"

Heheheheheeee. Aboli chuckled to herself, and she glanced over at the map. "Oh! That is really cool!" she leaned in closer to get a better look. The name WAS difficult, to be fair to Noah. But she tried to look as seeeeeerious as possible as she replied.

"Okay, so, all the letters in this word are silent. So you don't actually say anything," she said VEEEERY seriously as she turned back to Noah. Was she pulling his leg a bit? Of course. It wasn't a completed day at Hogwarts without messing with Noah first.

Noah quirked an eyebrow at Aboli's response. This boy had started to learn when people yanked his chain. Yeah, this boy was not buying that at all. "Right. I'm Harry Potter and you're the Queen of Sheba... Yeah right... Aboli." he added before bursting into laughter. "Nice try... Not falling for thaaaat. [/b]"

Though to be fair, she looked to serious to be actually serious... Or was she?

Aboli flipped her hair. "Maybe I am the queen of Sheba," she said with a smirk. "And maybe you ARE Harry Potter....dun dun DUN," she chuckled and seriously glanced at the map again. "You actually weren't far off...pretty sure it's Scottish. Are-guile-sure." She said sloooowly. "Since you're American you might not say it right.

Again, she was teasing. She smiiiiiiirked to show him so.

"What does it do exactly -" She looked at it. "It tells the weather, then? I bet it looks siiiiick at night." With little twinkling lights and whatnot. She was actually sure she had passed it one night after dinner and hadn't given it a second thought. How often had she passed things like that here at Hogwarts? How many cool things was she just NOT noticing? She felt so much regret at letting her eleven year old self just decide to leave the school after her first weeks and not come back.

She had really missed out!

She was the Queen of Sheba? Noah played along- he played dumb quite well. "Then why don't you have a crown?" he asked pouting. "Every queen has a crown y'know..." Yeah duh, Aboli. He smirked when she said that he was Harry Potter. "Yeah but better looking, right?" Hopefully the answer would be yes. He'd also take a no from Aboli. They were friends- no good friends- he considered. A weird pairing that somehow made sense? And then she pronounced it and he nodded with a smirk. "Def sounds like a goat in pain." He paused. "Buuuuut. in a pretty way?" Yes, he was oh so slightly trying to redeem himself.

Noah nodded. "Do you think we can see all the stars? Imagine if the northern lights crossed over us? That'd be beautiful to see on this map and outside..."Perfect date idea, Nam. Keep it in the book, yeah?

Aboli snoooooorted. "Not every queen. If my regality is that strong, I don't need a crown to show off my queenliness..." making words left and right here, it seemed. "Honestly, my mum is the true queen. She puts up with me and my brothers. She deserves the crown!" She admired her mother so much. She would never SAY that aloud to her - MERLIN NO - but she did. "Don't tell her I said any of this. She'll just get all......weepy." And emotional and whatnot. Aboli didn't need the awkwardness that came with that in her life.

"Do the northern lights cross over Scotland?" she asked, eyebrows furrowed. "I can't remember. Merlin, you know what I've realized since starting here? I'm really not knowledgeable at anything...I don't know a lot of stuff about ANYTHING besides Divination. Like...I don't know history facts...I don't have a store of Charms or Transfiguration knowledge...and I feel so stupid in classes. I have to take so many notes. I don't think I'm actually stupid! I just...like...I guess I'm more of a practical magic kinda' person. And once I study I remember...I just don't magically KNOW IT beforehand." It was something she had thought about a lot recently. She had classmates spewing off the list of potions ingredients that all came from goats...classmates who could spout the theory behind Transfiguration spells...like...Aboli didn't KNOW any of that before going into the class. If she had, why would she be attending school?!

She had figured it all came down to her private tutor's style. He had cared much more about her application of magic and very little of the logic behind it. Aboli could SEE the why's of that line of thinking, but she was very glad she was here for her OWL year. She would have felt so behind otherwise.