All this, over a book? Open Closed

The spat had caused the boys eyes to well up with water, and Tatiana felt a twinge of guilt at the sight of hot tears streaming down his face. She could have said something, defended him, but she wasn't one to involve herself in matters that didn't directly involve her. Besides, she didn't know the origin of the argument, maybe he had said some particularly not nice things before she'd arrived, how was she to know? Either way, it wasn't her place to step in the middle of the two, she'd come to the library to find more resources to plan her future, not to play savior, and the feisty Gryffindor had the book she was looking for. If bravery and loyalty had been among her stronger characteristics, she might've been placed in the same house as Maggie, maybe even Hufflepuff. But Ravenclaws weren't known to be defenders of the weak, their pursuit of knowledge took precedent over everything else.

"Why Tatiana? Do ya’ think you could last ah’ round with me?" Savannah asked, leaning in over the table, a wide grin on her face. "I-," Tatiana blushed, averting her eyes until the girl had leaned back in her chair, laughing. "I mean, I don't know what sparked that heated debate, but there were good points being made," she shrugged, sitting more upright in her chair. She wasn't sure why, but being in Savannah's presence made her nervous, intimidated. And the truth of it was, she wasn't sure if she could last a round against her. She'd hardly managed to muster up a full sentence, much less any sort of substantial agreement or counter argument. "Look. The lad asked me if da statute of secrecy should be repealed an’ honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever been so startled in my life—," she began to explain, her response cut short by James' final remarks. Some teary eyed attempt to explain to her why it was wrong to judge muggles for being the flawed, complicated beings they were. After a last quip from Savannah, he marched off in defeat, stopping by the front desk to ask a question on his way out.

Was brushing passed him like he wasn't even there Tatiana's proudest moment? Surely not. But she had clearly chosen a side, even if unintentional, and Maggie's face revealed she seemed concerned, maybe even a bit disappointed, in her friend's apparent cowardice. If she had been so upset about how he'd been treated, why hadn't she spoken up? There had been plenty of opportunities, but in the end, she chose to stay silent just like Tatiana had. She looked back at her friend with an apologetic expression, her shoulders slumping, and she mouthed the words 'sorry', watching as Maggie ran off after the distressed first year. She caught up with him at the librarian's desk, and while she couldn't tell what they were saying, it looked like an apology for what had just transpired. But after exchanging a few words, she rushed back to the table, taking the seat next to Tatiana, her eyes growing wide at the daring inquiry into what had brought about such an altercation.

She observed the two Gryffindors interacting, introducing themselves, both giving off an energy that made Tatiana tense. At Maggie's inquiry, Savannah explained she was from Scotland- a detail that was already pretty evident in her thick accent- and a half blood, which came as a bit of surprise after listening to her distrusting take of muggles. Her eyebrows raised at the girl's confident declaration that she'd be Minister of Magic one day. An ambitious one, this lioness was, and so sure of herself. She had an assurance about her future that Tatiana could only aspire to. Her lack of certainty regarding her own was what brought her here today, just hoping to fumble through a few books and happen upon something that sounded like a good fit.

Before Maggie had interrupted, Savannah had been mentioning a few things Tatiana now realized she'd never considered before. Were there government aids for impoverished magical people? Did the ministry have any sort of social services agency for the needy, disabled, elderly or children? These all seemed like scenarios that there was undoubtedly a need for, but she'd never heard or read about any sort of such thing. "If there are any sort of aid services for less fortunate wizards and witches, that's something I'd be interested in pursuing. And if not, someone should organize them." Her brow furrowed, the idea made her question just how fortunate she'd been; two loving parents, one magic and one muggle, growing up with ample resources. Her family wasn't rich by any means, but she never really experienced struggle, not that they let her see anyway, and not in the way people all over the world were.

Muggles discriminated against each other for much less, she couldn't even imagine how a muggleborn wizard would be treated if they were born into, say, a war torn and impoverished nation. Probably like a freak, a spectacle, or a curse- maybe even one to be eradicated. The thought made her shudder, she didn't like the way it made her feel to consider something so awful, and why hadn't she considered it before? Sure, she was aware, and full of concern, when she'd heard about all sorts of social injustices that occurred between Muggles. But, since she'd joined the wizarding world, she'd been so fascinated by the differences between the two, and had failed to recognize the similarities. Part of her just figured that with the existence of magic, problems like that wouldn't exist, or at least, would be less evident. But maybe they were just being ignored! And how awful a thing to ignore when one had the use of magic on their side, for Godric's sake! Realizing she'd been fixating on the idea, and probably stayed silent for an awkwardly long pause, she just reiterated how she felt, this time a little more solid in her resolve. "Yes, someone certainly should take care of that. I don't know exactly what I'd like to do with my future, but I now think organizing or assisting with programs like that must be a part of it."

Her response seemed a little off topic, and a little late in relation to the several minutes that had passed since Savannah had mentioned them. But since the words had left the girl's mouth, she hadn't been able to stop thinking about them. And even if it was an awkward and abrupt interjection to the conversation, she sort of hoped it would change the topic, maybe quell the potentially flaring tempers. Acknowledging it came out as a little out of place, she added, "And Minister, huh? That would be very impressive. And for some reason, I have very little doubt you'll achieve it, if that's what you want." With that much spirit and tenacity at such a young age, anything less would be surprising for a witch like that. Tatiana momentarily imagined a world with someone like Savannah at the head of the ministry, promising governmental overhauls and enacting plans to help wizards and witches who were unable to help themselves. She grinned, turning her face toward the table in an effort to hide it, it seemed like a future she'd like to be a part of.

Savannah tried to silently sort her emotions out, but de-tangling the knot in her belly proved to be harder than expected. What did she know? Well—only that she enjoyed talking to the one and only Tatiana Crane. That and the girl was pretty. She was observant and intelligent and honestly, the 11-year-old couldn’t ask for much else in a friend. And as one of the first pleasant encounters she’s had here within Hogwarts’ walls, Tatiana had earned her kindness and patience.

A rare feat.

"If there are any sort of aid services for less fortunate wizards and witches, that's something I'd be interested in pursuing. And if not, someone should organize them." Savannah hummed in agreement, silently wishing she had brought a snack along with her to the library. She had the strangest craving for red meat, despite having left the Great hall hours before for breakfast.

“Generally speaking, our wizarding society doesn’t do enough to take care of our own, and that makes me rather—” she searched for the words, lips pursed into a thin line and brows furrowed. Her dark brown eyes were distant. “--…Sad, I suppose.” She shook her head some, mind working so fast, that if you listened closely, you could hear the gears grinding from within.

She wished that there was a magical service she could report her mother to. To have decent witches and wizards come to collect her from that horrid, bitter muggle and take her away to live with a proper family. With a proper witch for a mother, who would love her all the same. “Well,” she sniffed and dragged her eyes away from Tatiana’s blue ones “—you ought to do it then. We’re witches after all, if we must drag our pitiful society into the future, we will do it.” Savannah’s voice was stiff, and she nodded her head along as if solidifying her own resolve.

"Yes, someone certainly should take care of that. I don't know exactly what I'd like to do with my future, but I now think organizing or assisting with programs like that must be a part of it." Now that made Savannah smile, dark eyes darting up rather sharply—the only indication of her surprise. She could see the small flame of ambition in the other girl’s eyes. It was enticing and Savannah had an abrupt desire to fan the flames.

“Well if it’s any encouragement, you already have my confidence.” Her voice was soft, head lowering just a little, as she watched the other girl. The bleach blonde looked more like a lion cub than a witch in that position, carefully watching this new creature in her territory through the tall grass. “Do you know what else I think is strange?” She chirped—sitting up rather abruptly as the thought entered her mind. “The blatant bias, Wizards and Witches have towards dark magic.” Savannah glanced up at Maggie, who still stood there looking as silly as ever. She wished the Gryffindor girl would take a seat and stop hovering like a concerned mum. It wasn’t like she was going to bite Tatiana. Well—so long as she wasn’t prompted.

“Every book I’ve read thus far associates dark magic, with being evil. What an ignorant lot.” Savannah pulled a sheet of parchment out her bag and dipped her white feathered quill into black ink. “I look at it like this,” The girl drew a long-wet line across the sheet, writing dark magic at one end and light magic at the other. In the middle, she wrote grey magic. “In my opinion, dark and light magic are just two opposite ends of the spectrum. They both have their negative and positive uses. However, I also think witches and wizards who only utilize one area of magic, are crippling themselves.” Savannah wet her lips with her tongue and shifted in her seat a little.

If new faces approached, she didn’t notice—far too engrossed in her own mind. Savannah always welcomed spectators and never shied away from an opportunity to show off her own mental acumen.

“Your magic—a magical core, some authors call it, appears to function as a muscle. That’s why first years are only capable of doing certain spells.” She began, her free hand gesturing as she spoke. “On average, our cores are just too small. But as we advance in the practice of magic, our cores strengthen and increase size.” Savannah looked up from her parchment, to ensure that Tatiana hadn’t gotten lost during the first half of her spiel. Much to her own delight, the girl was as focused as ever. Savannah didn’t hide her smile and continued to scratch at the parchment, handwriting slanted and somewhat messy, as she hadn’t quite mastered the art of using a quill.

“If think that if you only use one type of magic, you’re not working out your magical core to it’s fullest potential. It’s like only lifting weights with one arm. Pretty soon, one arm will be pretty fuckin’ jacked—and the other will be noodle thin.” Savannah grinned at her metaphor, easily amused. Her lips were shockingly bare and free from dark lipstick. The same couldn’t be said for her eyes, the lids decorated with black and gold shadows.

“I speculate, that’s why the last Dark lord was bested by a teenaged boy. The man was insane and exclusively only practised dark magic.” Savannah grabbed her history book and flipped open to a page that featured a moving picture of the Wizarding world’s last savior. Harry Potter. “But if ya’ look here, it says here, that ‘arry Potter was a Horcrux. To me, that suggests he had a considerable amount of dark magic in his body…” Savannah had gotten excited, eyes bright as she grabbed another precious book from the floor. Yet another History of Magic text. She passed the book to Tatiana so she could skim the passage and locate the definition of a horcrux, if she didn’t know what one was already.

“It’s also why—Albus Dumbledore, merlin rest his poor soul, was killed so easily. He was an exclusive practitioner of light magic.” On the open page of the second book was a moving image of the late headmaster. Even through the yellow pages of the book, his eyes seemed to sparkle a clear blue. “You see? Both men were extremely powerful wizards. But their own biases crippled them and led to their downfall.”

“I don’t know about you, but I want to be strong. I’m not going to limit myself to only light magic because the world is too frightened to pick up a cursed book.”

To say the interaction with James had left her feeling drained would have been an understatement. She herself had been feeling under the weather lately, and she hadn't exactly been taking care of herself as her friends had always needed something. That is to say, she didn't mind comforting the boy, if anything it made her feel a bit better about herself, but nothing would be able to lift her spirits quite like a visit to the library would. She sucked in a breathe as she waved the boy off, making sure he made it down the hallway without any problems before she gently opened the library doors, creeping inside.

Even as she stepped inside, she felt that something in the air was off. She was usually the only one in here at this time of day, so seeing a group of students stationed in the corner hovering around one another bothered her a bit. Amelia sucked in a soft breathe and decided then that she had had enough socializing for the day, and although she could hear one of the Gryffindors talking rather loudly about something, she wasn't sure if she wanted to know what it was. Curiosity edged at her, but she decided against it and continued on her way, in search of something to read.

However, as she walked along the shelves she found that her head was throbbing from the conversation she had had earlier. The argument James had described to her made her stomach churn, enough that she had to stop for a moment to regain her surroundings. It made her sick really, to hear such words from a community that should have been so warm and comforting. She had dreamed of being a witch her whole life, and yet, as she stood there in the midst of an aisle of books on dragons, she wasn't so sure she wanted to be.

The only thing Amelia could think to do was relate speciesism to racism. It didn't make any sense to her; to judge another living being based on something they couldn't control, and it upset her. She had read numerous stories of the accounts, and wasn't sure how to handle it herself, but that didn't change the fact it hurt her to hear about. As a muggle-born, she wasn't sure where she stood. Anyone that wasn't like her could very well be standing on some kind of pedestal, and she wouldn't know it. It truly bothered her, knowing her friend had been yelled at so thoroughly for believing the same thing she did, but she knew it was probably something they would have to learn together.

Although she wished with all of her heart other Muggles could know the wonders that she did, she would never, ever in a million years put the Wizarding World in danger like that. She shivered at the thought of the magic super weapons that could stem from the revelation, finding that she too was leaning more towards the girls' comments towards Muggles. She didn't support the ideology behind her statement, but the more she thought on it the more she wondered how Muggles would react to the disclosure.

She thought of an event that happened in the States, then, and shivered at the thought. If something like the Salem Witch Trials happened again, it would have ended up in a mass genocide of a whole race, whether it be the Muggles or Wizards. Something about the thought stuck with her as she wandered the library, her eyes dark.

"-but I want to be strong,"Amelia jolted out of her thoughts when she heard a voice and glanced around, realizing that she had unknowingly walked towards the girls huddled around a table,"I'm not going to limit myself to only light magic because the world is too frightened to pick up a cursed book."

Her eyes widened at the girl's declaration and she studied the table a second, at a loss for words. She had sworn to herself that she wouldn't get involved; she had had enough with people today. The girl's statement was just the icing on the cake. So, she turned her gaze away and gently ran her fingers along the spine labels, her focus drifting between the group and the books in front of her.

“It’s also why—Albus Dumbledore, merlin rest his poor soul, was killed so easily. He was an exclusive practitioner of light magic.”

“I don’t know about you, but I want to be strong. I’m not going to limit myself to only light magic because the world is too frightened to pick up a cursed book.”

@Elzabeth Gillan @Tatiana Crane

" 'cuse me Tatiana I would love to continue to 'ave this conversation with you, but it seems that we will just be continuously interrupted by rude ," she spat the word out as she turned to face the blonde girl, rising out of her seat as she did so. "--little," she neared ever closer "mutts." Savannah hissed temper boiling.

"Do ya' not have a mummy-witch at home to teach you manners? Hm, lassie?"

"Let me show you,"

"Hello. My name is Savannah Rose. As we are not friends, or even properly acquainted you should address me by my last name only."

"But If you would like information from me, you will turn on your heel and come back to try it again. You will properly and politely address me, introduce yourself and begin a polite and kind conversation with your fellow witches. This rudeness will not be tolerated. Otherwise, you can keep walking and if you do-- don't you ever open your mouth in my general vicinity ever again."

Dale had spent the majority of his day in the library, but not in his usual spot, it was a bit crowded and he just wanted to read in a bit of peace. He would've wondered over to the hill by the lake, but it was much too hot to even think about going outside today. Instead, he was laying down near the very back of the library, specifically right near the muggle book section. He was laying down on one of the empty tables of the library. He originally felt a bit strange for doing this but he had not seen a single soul all day today, and this is how he felt the most comfortable

Despite being right in front of the muggle section of the library, he was not reading them. He was reading some very special books, books sent by his mother and father. As soon as he entered school he had gotten an owl from parents telling him they are going to visit some of his father's old friend at Stanford University. And this morning he had gotten a very pleasant surprise, a new chemistry textbook, and a new mechanical engineering textbook. They were brand new, written by his father's friend, these where apparently the first one to be printed ever. Dale was very excited to read them

Alas even he got tired of reading, he had been in the same spot for hours now, and he wanted to go for a walk, maybe ask one of his few friends to accompany him. He got up and stretched his long arms into the air, he got down from the table and gathered up his large textbooks. He started to walk away from his spot, but he turned around and grabbed a book from the muggle section, The Oddesy, he had wanted to read it for a while now but didn't have the time to read it his first year. But thanks to his self studying over the summer, he had practically already learned the whole curriculum over summer. He continued walking through the library, he noticed it was much emptier than when he entered.

He heard a few voices, he expected that but these voices seemed angry, as he got closer and closer to the voices he saw who the belonged to. Two girls, one from Ravenclaw and one from Gryffindor. He was at a point where he could hear what they were saying "Do ya' not have a mummy-witch at home to teach you manners? Hm, lassie?"
barked the Gryffindor g "Let me show you, Hello. My name is Savannah Rose. As we are not friends or even properly acquainted you should address me by my last name only." Dale had also heard Tatiana's name in there somewhere, he looked around and there she was sitting with the Gryffindor, Savannah Rose he assumed, it had been a long while since they last spoke, but Dale was glad to see her. He didn't get the chance to say hello before the Ravenclaw said "Who do you think you are? You have no right to come up to me and grab my hand, or to call me a mutt. You preach manners yet you don't practice decency, and I think I can speak for a lot of people by saying being nice is way better than being formal." She looked like she was ready to throw a punch at the girl, "Oh god, I should probably try to stop this" he thought to himself. He focused all of his energy into activating his calming presence if that's even how that worked and walked in the middle of both girls Umm, hello Tatiana. He said with a kind smile before fixing his attention on both girls "Uhh, excuse me but you two might be disturbing some other students in the library, p-please try to keep your voices at a minimum." He calming said to the girls. "W-Whats the issue here?"

Reducio

Abilty used: Calming Presence

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The library could not be described as anything less than a treasure trove, countless leather-bound and age-cracked textbooks piled tightly together in neat rows over thousands of dark wood shelving that ran up near ridiculously high spanning the entire room in a spiralling maze of information ready to be discovered. Candlelight mingled with the buttery sunlight that poured over great expanses of the flooring through the wall of crystal clear windows stretching high above to the ceiling and showcasing the grounds of Hogwarts school. Dramatic carving drew deep shadows in the nooks and crannies between every row leading back to long-forgotten dust-ridden ancient historical literature that had perhaps been poured over by their writers only to be shelved and abandoned for the newer writings of the time.

This sanctuary of knowledge was a creative mind's heaven, endless amounts of experience to be taken off the shelves and read over for probably the millionth time in the past decade. Combined with the soft rustling of pages turning and enthusiastic shuffling of house-elves sent to fetch various books, it was quite easy to realize the reason why so many decide to retreat away from the bustling world outside and dive into the calmness of study.

And perhaps the low subtleness of the vast room was what kept Astrea still inside instead of slinking away into the grounds for the umpteenth time, sat by herself at an empty intricately carved table with quite a few slips of fine parchment marked up with looping handwriting and a thick book nearly to the end opened in front of her. An ink dipped quill rested in her left hand as she read through the last paragraph of the page with ease, her mind swimming with information taken in throughout the past few days.

She finished the textbook's last page with no real notes to jot down, closing the worn cover gingerly before collecting up the notes to place them upon the table once more, quill set down and inkpot corked. As she stood up and flipped it over to place it back, the tarnished gold title of 'Unforgivable Curses and Their Legal Implications' glared up at her accusingly, the paint gleaming off of the light a nearby candle emitted. Astrea scowled internally at the fleeting memory of her father coldly urging her to read up upon the subject of Darker Magic. Just in case.

She hailed a nearby house-elf keenly straightening out a few lower books, voice slightly rougher than its usual lilting tone as a result of long hours of constant disuse over the course of both the summer and the long hours of study she just finished. With a smooth lowering of her hands, she held out the second volume of the series in a clear invitation for the taking.

"The third volume of this book, please. From the legal sector." If she was curt from years of continual subtle judgement to all who surrounded her, the elf did not notice and proceeded to happily nod and dash away with the legal book in its hand, most likely seeking to find the third volume. The small elf returned hastily to present the Slytherin heir with another black leather-covered book, the size of the spine thick and heavy with dust. She took it from the creature with a nod, the heavyweight grounding and familiar in the way the previous volume was, and continued back to her table with soft footfalls.

There was a small grouping of three at a table near her own- three girls and a single male she could only distantly recall faces or names, but not very heavily. Normally she was able to recognize even vaguely another's face, whether from passing through the halls or seeing them around, but it seemed that her normally commendable memory had failed her at that moment. She took a seat at the empty table she had taken for herself and placed the voluminous bound information upon the dark wood with a flutter of papers, face a mask of cool indifference and posture primly stiff with unintentional learned behaviour.

Yet her attention could not be absorbed by the small print, constantly caught by the conversation of the female trio to her right. After having to re-read the same paragraph near three times over, she finally halted her reading to a stutter as the words 'Minister of Magic' drifted its way toward her. She tilted her head to the side slightly as she kept it down, hands clenched under the table suddenly for no discernible reason other than the confusion over the lack of disdain the confident voice held. The Neptune-Chou snuck a subtle glance up toward the four with the gleam of interest sparking in her eyes.

Fascinating.

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"Uhh, excuse me but you two might be disturbing some other students in the library, p-please try to keep your voices at a minimum."

"W-Whats the issue here?"

Savannah wasn’t surprised when yet another student approached. When her temper flared, it tended to garner attention. A boy approached her, and they were nearly the same height. Upon careful examination, Savannah noted he was taller. By an inch. Although he stumbled over his words a little, he was polite and his voice was firm. How interesting. She wondered if he had only recently discovered self confidence or if he had always teetered between being shy and bold. Savannah narrowed her eyes at him a, before deciding that she liked the brown haired boy. He possessed, at least, basic manners.

How refreshing.

“I’m sorry,” she offered gently. After all the boy wasn’t the one who at stoked her ire. “It’s exhausting, dealing with rude students. I appreciate your politeness.”

Savannah offered her hand to the boy to shake. “My name is Savannah Rose, and yours?” Perhaps if the petulant first year girl couldn’t be manually taught manners, she’d just have to show her. “I’m afraid I have little patience for disrespect. But I’ll try to keep my scoldings at a room volume.” She offered the boy s slight smile, before turning her gaze back to the shrimp sized blonde.

“Niceties and formalities, eh? You possess neither. And if you feel inferior, that’s no one else’s fault but yours. After all, no one can make me feel inferior, without my permission.” Savannah’s voice had been lowered to a soft drawl, her expression now bored. “And I promise you,” the drawl morphed into a venomous hiss, the irate 11 year old curling her lip into a slight snarl “you haven’t seen terrible.”

With a disinterested sniff, she allowed her gaze to fall back on the male. The girl quickly lost interest and that could be said about anything. Not just arguments. A sharp mind but a fleeting attention span. She was able to focus in short bursts of intensity that nearly boarded on obsession.

However, the sleight boy who dared to interrupt her—and politely no less, he was worthy of her attention. She hoped that he was at least interesting.

“You can leave me now, you silly little girl.” Savannah waved her hand, dismissing the blonde child once more. The fox faced witch gestured towards her study table, where Tatiana sat and Maggie stood.

“You’re welcome to join us, I’m eager to meet more people as pleasant as your housemate here.” Savannah walked the boy back towards her table, a little smile on her lips and the sudden spat already forgotten.

She had a quick temper and a short memory. A usually deadly combination of rage and apathy.

“Allow me to introduce you to Tatiana Crane. She’s a very observant witch. We were just discussing the lack of public government services that our wizarding administration offers, as well as the innate magical biases that have invaded our precious school.” Savannah explained coolly. The more intelligent minds she was surrounded with, the happier she was.

“You are welcome to join in on our discussion.” Savannah sat back down, her parchment with the scribbled notes finally dry. She looked up at the boy, one brow arched curiously. “Are you familiar with the British Ministry of Magic, or the history of dark magic? If you have an informed opinion, I’d like to hear your take on things.” Savannah rested her head on her chin, black clawed fingers curled neatly beneath her chin.

“You know, I think I’m going to create a club. Where we can have conversations just like this, start movements, initiate change —free from the rude interruption of ignorant second parties.” The girl added thoughtfully, scribbling down the works ‘Create a Club’ on her sheet of parchment paper.