A Bout of Quiet Exploration PV

Studying hard was always something Thomas was fond of. In school, he'd always been an unabashed academic try-hard, and in this new place with new subjects his curiosity was piqued beyond measure. Very early on in his Hogwarts experience, he'd found his way to the library. Despite the totally new environment, he managed to feel comfortable. It helped combat his thinly veiled homesickness, an ailment that he was irritatingly aware of. He felt oddly ashamed of it, feeling so sentimental. It made him feel like a sissy.

As the hush was broken by the smack of a book on the floor, Thomas looked up from his History of Magic homework. About to cast a disparaging glance to the freak who was causing the disruption, his expression softened considerably upon recognizing Sylvie. A smirk broke out on his face, even, as he noted the presence of his friend acting like an absolute fool. "Fancy seeing you here. What are you up to, Sylvie? I thought you weren't a neeeerd." The sarcasm and taunting tone dripped from his tone like candle wax, though it was clear he was joking. Sylvie was no stranger to Tommy's somewhat odd demeanor; he'd been an oddball ever since he was a kid.

• • •

A familiar voice that stood out to her through the hushed whispers of other students made Sylvie look around. When she saw who it was, she scrunched up her nose. It wasn't that she wasn't happy to see Thomas; On the contrary, she was pleased to see a friend amongst strangers. The reason her expression turned so sour was the fact that Thomas saw her in the library of all places. She had a reputation to uphold! She was no bookworm, she was an athlete! She was the rough and tumble kid on the block. Sylvie wouldn't let ber cover be blown. Not today, not ever.

Quickly she put the big book she had been examining back on the shelf and put her hands behind her back as she turned her nose up at the boy addressing her."I'm not a nerd. You're a nerd." She said through her teeth, walking over to where he was seated. "I'm just... Looking around. I heard the library was nice so I wanted to see it for myself." A flimsy attempt at a recovery. There was a moment of silence from her as she glanced around once more. "I don't think I've ever seen this many books in one place. Have you?"

• • •

Sylvie had actually been watching the Hufflepuff girl, who looked to be a bit older than her, struggle to carry the tall, wobbly stack of books. Should she help her? It didn't take her long to decide that it would be more entertaining to watch the balancing act taking place.
The only thing that really caught her off-guard was the wave that the stranger gave them. Or at least she thought she was waving to them. Just to make sure, she looked around to room at whoever else happened to be around, but nobody seemed to be paying attention to the girl with the curly brown hair. After she was sure that she wouldn't be embarrassed by mistakenly waving back at someone who hadn't been addressing her, she turned back, only to be met with the unfortunate sight of a thick book bonking her on the head.

She couldn't help but chuckle quietly, even though it was a bit rude. "Ooooh, ouch." Her hand reached up to scratch the back of her head. The stranger was obviously embarrassed, and that question was just... An atrociously awkward icebreaker. Nevertheless, Sylvie put on a kind smile. "A nice day, indeed. Are you okay? That book looked kinda heavy to me."

As Sylvie tried to come up with some attempt to cover up her positively GEEKY behavior, Thomas listened intently with a single quirked brow. He remained silent for some time, as if considering her words, before responding, "No, I don't think I have." Tommy decided to take her excuse at face value, not because he believed it, but because he wasn't in the mood to argue. "The library at home wasn't even close to this. Neither was the one at school. It's really cool to see all of the stuff going on here. A totally different world, eh? Could spend hours wandering the halls cuttin' class, though I do reckon you'd get caught right quick." Upon realizing he'd been rambling a bit, he abruptly stopped mid thought, only to notice Rosie's mild blunder.

Looking over at the girl, Tommy noted right away that she was clearly older. Not just in how she looked, but she seemed to carry herself with a level of confidence he hadn't seen from many first years (aside from the occasional, foolhardy Gryffindor). Thankful for the interruption that cut through the awkward silence that was threatening to form, he regarded her curiously, allowing Sylvie to take the lead in conversation. Still, he took the liberty of walking over, giving Rosie a painfully awkward nod in greeting before peering at the book in question. It was an epic tome, one definitely capable of causing brain damage. He seemed to look at Rosie expectantly, waiting for her answer to Sylvie's inquiry.

• • •

"Well, at least you're okay." Sylvie nodded as she watched her file away the book. This person seemed to get over embarrassment fairly quickly, unlike herself. Embarrassment and things of that nature never flew well with her, which is why she does her very best to avoid it at all costs. "Yeah, we arrived a little bit ago. My name is Sylvie. Sylvie O'Niell."She hesitated for only a moment, before holding out a thin hand for the girl to shake.

After a moment, Sylvie spoke again. "Are you a third-year student?" She couldn't imagine studying at Hogwarts for so long. That's an awful while away from home, and she was already having somewhat of a difficulty adjusting. It had only been a sliver time since they had boarded the train, and though she didn't make it obvious by any means, she very much missed her family and pet turtle who were all back home. Being sent off to school by herself was exciting, but there was still that small, nervous part of her that wished she had her parent's hand to hold and guide her through all the new experiences. At least the passerby's and authority figures she'd met here seemed nice enough. Making friends wouldn't be too hard if most of them had as much of a cheery disposition as this girl.

After Sylvie introduced herself, Thomas made no attempt to hold out his own hand for a shake. "The name's Tommy. Tommy Baines." he muttered quietly, attention still not diverted from some of the books the girl had been carrying. The struggle with an inquisitive mind and a library as vast as this was knowing where to start. As a first year, he had little context for the wizarding world as is, and with so much to discover he wanted to jump right into it as soon as possible.

Perhaps this mysterious (or not so mysterious, from what he could tell) girl could point him in the right direction. He was certainly up to date with readings for class, sure, but schoolwork was only so engaging (even for a Ravenclaw), and he wanted to learn more. In particular, the art of dueling had already piqued his interest, despite the fact that he'd only been there a short while. With any luck, this girl could at least point him in the right direction in regards to reading and research

Content with letting Sylvie handle most of the pleasantries, he idly opened one of the books Rosie had. Interesting stuff, indeed. Patiently, he awaited a moment in the conversation where he could butt his head in and ask the older girl a few questions.

Talulah flung the doors of the library open, barging into the quiet room after remembering Thomas had mentioned visiting it after the sorting ceremony. Her eyes took in the row after row of neatly lined up books with their spines facing outward, color coded with dots. The fiction section arranged in alphabetical order, the leather arm chairs that didn't look at all comfortable to her. The tables were a pretty shade of wood, with a couple class books haphazardly strewn across the surface. Some students were sitting at the tables, massaging their temples as they focused on their work. Tally pressed her lips into a thin line to keep herself from shouting for her friends. It was the last thing the working students needed, some loudmouth of a first year not minding her own business.

Taking a (figurative) page out of her cousin's book, she wandered around the library while looking for her friends. The muffled stillness irked her, as she wasn't used to such quiet surroundings at home. And now this was another thing she had to get used to. Passing the librarian at the desk, Talulah offered a bright, wide grin and an enthusiastic smile and walked by quickly to avoid a glare from her earlier entrance, the sound which punctured the hushed atmosphere.

The new initiate of Gryffindor was excited as she came across a table with her cousin and friend, a new face keeping up conversation with the two. Talulah snuck behind Thomas, grabbed his shoulders and gave him a little shake before plopping down on a seat beside him. "What's up, peeps?" She gave Sylvie and Rosie a wide smile before shoving a hand out towards the latter. "Name's Talulah, cousin of this loser," she stuck a thumb in Tommy's direction.