Finding a Theory Open Closed

“Clearly not,” muttered Hailey. It was actually directed towards the notes she was reflecting on, having not yet realized that someone was standing before her.

Feeling a presence, she looked up and noticed a girl who was looking right back at her. Realizing that she had been spoken to, Hailey tried to recall any speech she'd heard. Though she soon realized how poorly her words could've been taken she didn't apologize.

She watched the girl for a moment. She was still intent on studying but she had been at it for what seemed like hours and a break, however momentary, seemed appropriate.

She offered a smile that was more a purse of her lips than anything else, gesturing with her eyes that the girl could sit down. Hailey wondered why she chose to sat with her. Maybe it was because they both bore the Slytherin crest on their attire, or perhaps it was something more. Nevertheless she had to admit that she didn't mind the companion.

She jotted down a few more sentences, eyebrows furrowing at the sight of how sloppy they were compared with the rest of her notes.

With a flustered air, she said, “I'm Hailey.” Her eyes wandered from the girl's choppy, black hair down to the cover of her book. It looked much more interesting than magical theories. “Dementors...what are they?”

She choked at the last part but hid it quickly behind a little cough. Maybe it was something she was supposed to know about already, well, at least regular wizards probably knew about them. At the very beginning of the year she had asked a lot of questions, ones that drew more attention than she wished for. She had learned to restrain herself, to do her own research. It felt like being born from muggles was odd and she wanted to prove that she wasn't at the least.

Still, she was very curious, the word sounded very... loathsome. Hailey angled her head to see the title better.

“Azkaban, is that a country?” she asked, quicker than before. She'd never heard of a place like it, but she hadn't believed in magic existing before either.

@Hailey Hinkle & @Dahlia Rowengrave

Maggie wasn’t really one to be in a library, like, ever, but today was an exception. She’d been trying to blow off her massive piles of homework for days now, but deadlines were inching closer and closer, and she didn’t want the first grade she got to be a “T”.

The library was filled with students, mostly ones like Maggie’s best friend, Tatiana, who would skip a party to study instead. Maggie was the opposite, but she supposed that’s why the two were such good friends. She glanced desperately around, looking for an empty seat. She spotted Carson, her other best friend, sitting with an older student.

Ah. He’d told her that he was getting tutored, something Maggie had laughed at previously but would appreciate now, actually. Sighing, she walked over to the nearest table, glancing up at the two girls there indifferently.

“Sorry guys, imma have to sit with you. This place is fuckin’ packed huh?” she dropped her pile of books onto the table unceremoniously, blowing her bangs out of her face as she slumped down into a chair.

“Azkaban’s a prison, by the way— kinda like Ryker’s, y’know?” Maggie commented, looking to the girl who’d just asked. She’d been eavesdropping slightly, just to make sure these kids weren’t nutcases. They didn’t look crazy, but you never know.

“Sorry. I was eavesdropping— wanted to make sure you two weren’t absolute nutjobs before I sat down with ya.” Maggie laughed, smiling at the two girls as she joked. One was a Ravenclaw— Maggie could tell. She had dark hair that was cut into a pretty bob and pale skin. The other was pretty too, really pretty. She had blonde hair and freckles, a look Maggie had practiced many times before.

“Once my friend Carson, the kid sitting over there, he was running from a Prefect, right?” she began, smiling a little to herself as she remembered the story. “He hid in the Abandoned Toilets, and a kid walked in with a book or something, which is like, weird in itself, but the worst part was when they started hearing noises from the stalls.” she paused, laughter taking over her ability of speech for a second. “Carson— carson opened it, and a bloddy girl jumped out and scared the shit out of him! She like, grabbed his shoulders and shrieked in his ear! Total stranger, too!”

Maggie laughed, hard, for a few seconds, her hair turning orange at the tips as she did so. It was a true story, one Maggie couldn’t help but crack up at every time it was told.

“That’s why I was eavesdropping, though.”

The appearance of this new girl startled Hailey more than she'd like to admit but she managed not to make a show of it. She merely frowned at the books she'd slammed down before looking back down at her notes, brushing her hair out of her face. Well, silence certainly didn't last forever.

Her eyebrows rose slightly when the girl cursed and she looked up a beat too late when she explained what Azkaban was. A prison? It sounds like it has dragons and a lot of evil things...checks off one place I'm never visiting, she thought. But what are Dementors?

Hailey didn't know where Ryker's was either but didn't bother asking. The girl seemed to love carrying conversations with little feedback, since she barely gave them a chance to respond. Hailey glanced up at the girl across from her, wondering what she thought of her.

This new girl went on about some friend of hers and how he was assaulted by a girl, or at least that's what she could get from it. Hailey feigned interest but she was really wondering if maybe it wasn't others who were crazy but the accuser themself.

What she wanted to say was: so you came to wonder if we were deranged because your friend fled from a staff member only to be troubled by a disturbed student, who you deemed crazy. For one, that sounded too uppity and rude, and it wasn't necessary at all. This girl was just too energetic for the current atmosphere and Hailey was tired from all of her studying with little to no rest.

The girl who called herself Dahlia suddenly questioned her. Hailey knew that it was coming but she wanted to know about the wizarding world she lived and wasn't going to let any insecurities about her bloodline hold her back.

“My parents don't exactly talk about such things...” She decided to tell the truth but not all of it. She wasn't sure about how to respond if they questioned her family but for now this was enough. Hopefully. She braced herself, waiting for the louder girl to query her, picking up her pen to continue writing. Hailey was glad that she wasn't blushing or doing anything else that tell-taled her growing discomfort.

@Hailey Hinkle & @Dahlia Rowengrave

“My parents don’t exactly talk about such things,” The blonde who hadn’t yet introduced herself answered, blushing a little and looking down towards her paper. Maggie had noticed how the girl hadn’t really liked her, but the Ravenclaw seemed cool.

“Huh.” Maggie commented, suspicion lacing her tone. “Yeah, I get it— I think, at least. I was so clueless when I got here, being a muggleborn and all.”

“I’m Maggie Parker, by the way.” Maggie began, introducing herself with a grin. “You’ve got a cool last name, by the way. Sounds like it’s from a book or something.” Maggie commented, nodding at Dahlia as she did so.

“What’s your name?” Maggie asked, raising her eyebrows at the blonde girl. “Oh yeah! What are your houses, too? I haven’t seen either of you around much— you first years or something?”

Maggie twirled her pencil around her fingers, laughing a little when Dahlia spoke about Dementors with a dramatic flare. She liked this kid— she was funny.

“Oh! I know her— isn’t she that dark witch from like, a decade or two ago?” Maggie grinned, tapping the desk rhythmically as she spoke. “Yeah, she was badass. Evil, but like, totally badass.”

Maggie laughed again, thinking that she could maybe make friends with Dahlia. This blonde girl, well, not so much. She seemed to hate Maggie the moment she’d sat down. That was cool with her— just, don’t expect an invite to the next party she’s hosting, that’s all.

OOC: sorry if this seems a little broken-up, I had like half of this finished and then Dahlia replied so instead of scrapping it and starting over, I just added on to my original message.

Hailey felt heat crawl into her face. She knew it was beet red and she cursed internally. The girls knew something was off about her, was she that easy to read? It had to be a witch thing, because her seven brothers and sisters never knew what she was thinking or how she was feeling, at least not when she didn't want them to.

Dahlia explained how Dementors were the guards of Azkaban. How she described them...it sounded like they were sort of like Grim Reapers. The only difference was that they weren't there to gather souls but to take them.

A shiver ran down her spine.

Though she didn't react to the Slytherin's theatrics, her head popped up when the new girl mentioned that she was a muggle-born. Her lips parted, about to repeat what she said, asking you're a muggle-born? but she just stared at her for a moment before her eyes wandered out the window.

The girl asked for her name and Hailey reluctantly turned away from the view. “I'm Hailey,” she answered, addressing her with a genuine smile. She thought she was okay, if a little bit too talkative. “I'm a Slytherin, apparently, but I can't speak for this one.” She sent a pointed look across the table. She meant it as a joke, though her face didn't show it.

Dahlia mentioned a famous name and though she, once again, had no clue about this person she feigned recognition. Following Maggie, she said, “I think I saw her in...one of the archives.”

A dark look passed through her face. She couldn't forget that bad encounter she had in Diagon Alley, where she met someone who showed her exactly what it meant to be a muggle-born in the wizard community.

Hailey cleared her throat and closed her notebook. She was done for now with Magical Theory. Unfortunately she didn't have any other books with her, planning on going back to her common room to rest but now she had two people to talk to.

She realized that she really shouldn't be ashamed of her background. She was learning about magic and how to use it, so she could come just a strong or even more strong than anyone else, as long as she put her mind to it. That way she wouldn't have to fear her safety. And she honestly she didn't care much about other people's opinions anyway, it was only daunting when she was a novice surrounded by people who grew up with magic... well, at least some people had. Maggie was apparently just like her.

Turning to her, Hailey asked, “So how did your family react to finding out that you were a witch?” She watched her, waiting for a negative emotion to pass through her face, though she didn't really expect one.

@Dahlia Rowengrave & @Hailey Hinkle

Maggie raised her eyebrows at the Slytherin girl, who’s attitude towards her seemed to do a one-eighty in a matter of seconds. She wasn’t really into that, so she decided to file Hailey under “disliked”, but only a little.

“They thought it was a joke until they saw Diagon Ally. Honestly, I did too— but they were chill about it after they figured everything out.” Maggie explained, remembering her first year. Her younger brothers, Andrew and Aiden, had pestered her for months after she’d got home, and she felt a bit of homesickness prick at her emotions as she rembered the two.

“There are some kids here who are total bitches about muggleborns, though. Don’t let them get to you— they’re all pricks with nothing better to do. Like Max Avery— Christ, does he get on my nerves. I got into a fight with him once, too.” Maggie realized that she didn’t know wether either of them were muggleborns or not, so she decided to ask.

“Wait, are you guys muggleborns?” she pondered, tilting her head as she interrogated the pair. She was more than ready to offer some advice on how to get around the school if they were, even if she didn’t like Hailey all that much.