Magic vs Science Private Finished

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Ruby spent a large amount of her time reading – whether she was perched high up, curled up on comfortable furniture, outside, in a tree, in a library, whenever and wherever she got the opportunity. She made daily trips to the library, sometimes to stay and read, but always to get out new books and return the ones from the previous day or two. She flew through them, as it was one of the main things that occupied her time with. She had a deep desire for knowledge, and although this insatiable curiosity would never cease, she tried to satisfy it by learning as much as she could. Sometimes, she experimented as an alternative, doing hands-on activities that she set for herself simply because she was curious to find the result. She observed people and analyzed their behavior and everything around her to ensure that she had learnt as much as she could from being around them and seeing them. She did it both to learn more about each individual, but also to learn about human behavior as a whole and psychology. Occasionally, she would metaphorically poke and prod at people with her comments to see how they reacted.

Currently, she had already observed the people in the room and gleaned most of the information that she could from doing that. She had then delved into her reading. She had gathered a neat stack of books that was now perfectly positioned near her, and she was presently reading one called "Muggle Artifacts". To be fair, she just wanted to see what it was about and what wizards' take on it would be – for psychology reasons. For a pureblood, she was surprisingly cultured. She took interest in all kinds of things, and she was drawn to the Muggle world since she practically lived there when her parents were away, which was most of the time. She thought that the technology and science was fascinating, and she was far more interested in that than whatever pureblood etiquette her parents wanted her to learn.

Her eyes stopped darting along the lines of the pages for a moment as she paused to debate the reasoning behind an explanation she had just read, but before she could fully delve into it, she was interrupted by a thump on the bench beside her, bouncing it slightly. She resisted the urge to glare coldly at whatever individual had decided that such an action was appropriate, when an apology was spoken. Ruby finally turned her head to look at the student – a girl, by the sounds of it. The stranger was someone that she barely recognized – probably from classes, which meant that she was also a first year – and a Gryffindor. However, Ruby was surprised to see the same gleam of intelligence and curiosity in this girl's eyes that many saw in the Slytherin's own. How intriguing… She hadn't been staring, it was only a brief glance, but it was enough to see something that would set the girl apart in Ruby's mind from all the people in the room that she hadn't dubbed interesting/different enough to pointedly initiate conversation with.

“Oh, no. I assure you that it's not a problem,” Ruby said in response to the girl's apology. The girl had asked to see the cover of Ruby's book, so she obliged, interested as to what the girl would say after discovering that they were, in fact, reading the same book, judging from what the girl had shown. That was an extremely rare occurrence, and it seemed to have happened to two fairly similar girls – well, from what Ruby knew, there was the intelligence and curiosity that connected them both, but that was enough.

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Ruby watched the girl's reaction with an expressionless face, although when she commented on it being quite the coincidence – repeating the word "well" several times – Ruby couldn't help but let a smirk play across her lips. Calm amusement danced in her eyes as she agreed, “Indeed it is.” As she spoke the words, her eyes were still fixed on the girl, watching for anything that could tell her more about this Gryffindor, anything at all – whether it was a movement, a spoken sentence, or even one of those microexpressions that was over in an instant but could say so much. She noticed the way the girl looked back at her, and it took a lot of willpower to prevent the smirk from coming back onto her face.

Ruby considered asking questions of her own, but instead decided to hold off on them to see what the Gryffindor would do when she wasn't prompted. She didn't have to wait long before more questions were asked. They were interesting ones, likely intended to dig deeper and tell the girl more about Ruby than it would initially seem. She knew that, and if it had been someone else, then she would have probably dismissed it as totally innocent questions. However, she recognized the careful, almost strategic manner in which they had been asked and presented. She would still oblige and give the girl answers… this time. “Normally, those who expect something of me before they know me get defied or find themselves surprised. However, your questions aren't that bad – they're quite interesting, in fact – so I will fulfill your request,” she began evenly, not revealing too much while still stating enough to provide the girl with some information, something about her. She did not overthink what she would say, and although she would tell the truth, it all remained a matter of strategy.

“I read because I enjoy it, and because I want to gain as much knowledge as possible. I am indeed interested in Muggles and their world, much as I am about many subjects. I am mainly reading this not out of a lack of knowledge on the topic, but because I would also like to see the psychological piece of it – what was included and why, and how people of the wizarding world choose to describe it. And you?” She had maintained eye contact, her cold blue eyes meeting the gaze of the girl who had initiated it. That calm, icy stare of Ruby's was devoid of much emotion, but still carefully watched, analyzed, took everything in, leaving nothing unnoticed. It was like it was silently daring the Gryffindor to challenge her.

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Ruby maintained her analyses and rather cold demeanour, but she was beginning to develop some form of affection for this girl already. Her excitement at the situation was, quite frankly, adorable and contagious. Of course, there was a low probability of it happening anyway, but when the girl proceeded to explain that the book had been picked completely randomly, Ruby couldn't stop her eyes from widening slightly in surprise. “Well... that is quite an incredible coincidence,” she murmured almost instinctively, yet there was a slight gleam in her eyes and a smile crept onto her face.

The girl was obviously intelligent, and that was a step in the right direction. There was something about the rest of her presence too that just… appealed to Ruby. Despite having met mere moments ago, Ruby had unwittingly allowed herself to like this girl. Why not? She had already shown signs of fulfilling Ruby's desires for traits in a friend.

There the girl was, asking more questions. A kindred soul in their shared curiosity. Again with the well-placed, thoughtful questions. “I'd love to do your question justice and give it a proper answer, but I can't pick just one—or even a few—topics that would interest me most at the current moment. Of course, some things are more interesting than others, but I really did mean it when I said that I want to learn as much as I can. My apologies for the vague answer, but I can't choose. Do you have one?” She was speaking the truth, there was nothing else that she could say. She couldn't even think of where to begin with deciding on something… Why bother limiting oneself to a single thing? There were so many possibilities, and boxing oneself in even by choosing a favourite subject or voicing that aloud could be harmful. Another person could have a chance of holding them to it, and it could hinder potential learning. That wouldn't be good.

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Ruby saw the girl look up and put the book away. Gaining someone's full attention could often be intimidating, but it felt different this time. Her companion's eyes met her own and it felt… right. It felt like she was meant to be here, meant to be friends with her. It was a welcome feeling, but part of it was intimidating. She wanted to be friends with this girl, so she couldn't mess up. However, she reminded herself that everyone made mistakes. She wasn't perfect, and neither was her companion. If they could accept each other's flaws and mistakes and like each other for who they were as a whole, then that would be friendship, likely long-term.

For now, the girl made an interesting conversation partner. It hadn't gone on for long yet and this was just the beginning of their acquaintanceship, but already it was one of the most unusual, pleasant meetings that Ruby had had since her arrival at Hogwarts. She was looking for other intellectuals, people that she could make intelligent conversation with but also relax around. This girl seemed to be similar to Ruby—not entirely, as that would be boring anyway, but enough to capture Ruby's attention and make her wonder if she had found a kindred soul.

Conversations with people her age often bored her. She was interested only at a superficial level, only wanting to learn more about subjects or about human psychology, not really caring about the rest of it. If someone couldn't provide her with anything new, she lost interest. She didn't mean to be rude or cold, but it was as simple as that. The people whose conversations and demeanours were different were the ones who really interested her, who would make good friends. This was different, this was one of those times. This girl matched her, she seemed like an actual equal. She seemed to analyse Ruby as well, she would respond in a similar manner, she was intelligent. It was impressive.

Ruby nodded. “I agree. Interests can last for a day or as long as most of a person's life. It depends on how powerful the passion for it is, I suppose.” A smile played across her lips as the girl explained her current interests. “That sounds fascinating. Maybe you could teach me a thing or two, as well,” she replied softly. “Simply agreeing all the time is a bit boring, but I'm afraid that I'll have to go with Transfiguration for now as well. Are you willing to share some of your thoughts on the topic? You mentioned that you're interested in the scientific aspect of it.” She spoke as calmly as always but this time with a new warmth in her tone and a shine in her eyes, which were fixated on the girl.

She acknowledged the next statement with a brisk, understanding nod. “I'm Ruby Cazares, it's a pleasure to meet you,” she said in turn, accompanied by a grin. Meenauh stretched out her hand, so Ruby—a pure-blooded child—was obliged to shake it. She did so, firmly and briefly, keeping it short. It was a shame, though, that such an unusual, pleasant encounter had to proceed with something as standard as a handshake. Yet Ruby simply could not think of an alternative in time, so she resigned herself to her fate, deciding that it was not the worst thing that could have happened.

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Ruby was interested in how Meenauh would respond. She nodded as the Gryffindor spoke, and was leaning forward slightly to show that she was engaged. “Of course, we'd learn some spells along with that, I expect. Getting a feel for something like Transfiguration and being able to maintain focus is certainly important, though,” she agreed.

“That's a respectable goal. Have you started any research on it yet? How do you plan to go about discovering this? I agree that chemistry is connected to it, but I find it interesting that you point out that part. I think that many different types of sciences are linked to Transfiguration, but those are just semantics. I'd say that biology is connected to the cell structure part, and physics plays a big role in how Transfiguration works in practice. Quantum physics and Transfiguration are quite similar in what they study. I would be interested to know what actually makes things like this… work. Magic can be explained from a scientific standpoint, right? Or are there simply areas where it just doesn't line up and we have to accept what works regardless of how?”

She felt slightly sheepish for not having done more research on the mechanics of Transfiguration and other branches of magic and how the sciences did or didn't explain it. Despite pondering over it before, she hadn't quite got around to researching it in depth, but planned to. She wondered if Meenauh had. After all, the girl did say that she had studied chemistry. The conversations they could have together with their intellect and desire to research… it would undoubtedly be amazing. They couldn't possibly talk about it all now, and the Slytherin found herself hoping that they would meet again and stay in contact for a while to come. And then Meenauh made a proposal. She offered to have Ruby as her research companion. Happiness and excitement filled her and threatened to make her burst.

She leaned forward a bit more and looked Meenauh in the eyes. “How far would I go to learn something? As far as it takes,” she murmured. Her eyes shone, widened, and then a grin spread across her face. She said sincerely, “I think I'd really enjoy that, if you're willing to have me.”

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