Look Both Ways PV | T. Annwyn

Taliesin wouldn't called herself nosey.

She wasn't nosey; she was simply observant with a healthy curiosity. There's a distinct difference. Nosey people want to know everything about everyone and every situation without a care of how it might come off to the people they're phishing information from or spreading it to. Nosey people don't care if its bad form to insert themselves into business that isn't theirs to be involved in.

Observant and curious people, on the other hand, know when something isn't their business. They collect the information that happens to be available around them, through no prompting of their own, and keep it handy if the need may ever occur to use it. They sit, they watch, they listen, and they keep their mouths shut otherwise. After all, people give up details much more freely if they think no one is paying them any mind. That is the kind of person Taliesin is.

Its a strange sort of superpower to not be terribly noticeable. 'Become one with the setting' as her Governess use to preach when she was little and her presence required at some boring function where her only job was to look neat and be quiet. In such a setting, one becomes good at people watching. Quietly learning the ins and outs of the small world around them where people engage in the same routines and slowly become as readable as her most beloved books. After all, people are creatures of habit, and when those habits and routines disrupt, she can't help but notice. And when she does, her curiosity is sparked.

Thus, how her eye was caught today as the herd began to amble its way to dinner, giving themselves plenty of time before to socialize or whatever other small errands they might have beforehand. Except for one curious character making a deviation. Livia Machavariani.

Livia, if Taliesin was being honest with herself, fascinated her. Mostly due to how to she seemed to effortlessly exude all the grace and elegance of a proper Pureblood lady. Everything Taliesin, herself, struggled with; and she both admired and envied it. As a result, it didn't take much more her to notice Livia. Yet, today felt a little different.

Any other day, she wouldn't have thought anything of the other snake going off someplace other than to the Hall. Taliesin also often skipped dinner in favor of the Library instead; but something felt, off. Maybe there had been some variation in expression earlier during some conversation the upperclassmen were having; a shift of the eye or turn of the head or some other menial slip she might've caught. Maybe it was that, Livia was dressed differently. Tidy and proper, as always, but not quite to the typical standard she'd noted before. Or maybe it was how the other was walking, shoulders set like someone on a mission. Whatever it was, even if she couldn't put her finger quite on it, Taliesin couldn't help herself but want to know what she was doing.

Her damned curiosity seems to be getting her into an awful lot of trouble these days.

At first, her intention hadn't been to fully involve herself as she quietly followed the other. That was, until she saw Livia slip into the Abandoned Toilets. There were many things she'd heard about that place. Some were fantastical stories from history or the War, but mostly, she knew that it was a place were people either got themselves into trouble or went to be alone. Which caused quite a dilemma.

On the one hand, she was fairly certain Livia wasn't the type to do something that might actually result in serious trouble; and if she was, it would be in her own best interest to stay away from it. On the other hand, if Livia was there because she was upset, wouldn't a good friend show up to try to help? Not that they were really friends, but still... but also if she wanted to be alone, Taliesin should respect that.

All this tumbled about in her mind as she quietly approached the bathroom and pressed an ear to the wood. It didn't sounds like Livia was crying. Actually, it sounded like she was...cleaning?

Alright, maybe now she had reached nosey territory, as she couldn't help but ease the door open, poking her head through as the strange sight of her housemate Scourgify-ing the sinks, "Livia?" she called, not wanting to spook the other if she hadn't been noticed yet as she slipped into the bathroom, "What are you doing?"

date: 15^th december 2025
time: before dinner
location: abandoned toilets


The discomfort skipping a meal caused Livia was not an unfamiliar sensation, so it did not impede her in her search. After her quick casts of scourgify, the dirt and grime would not act as an opponent, either. Clad in an outfit that hardly reflected her usual fashion, something of a slightly more androgynous style, she felt almost anonymous, almost free, something that only served to aid her. She did not halt a small smile from appearing on her usually-stony face, and she ducked beneath a sink, testing knobs and various pipes. She was so focused, so enamoured with her work, that she was most certainly unaware of the creak of the door as it was pushed open.

The sound of her name's utterance caused her to straighten her spine, which resulted in her head bonking against porcelain. 'Stone the crows!' she exclaimed, and then blushed, her fingers finding the now-sore back of her skull. She shuffled out from underneath the sink and stood, ensuring her posture was as perfect as usual before her attention landed on the red-haired girl she'd observed around their house a few times. Despite sharing classes, she remained uncertain of the girl's name. It began with a T, did it not? Tabitha? Tammy? Certainly not.

Whatever the girl's name, she had happened upon Livia during a moment where the girl was not at her most proper, something that was most often to be avoided. However, it appeared that the red-haired girl was here for purposes of observance – how curious. Livia offered her a clipped smile. 'Cleaning,' she answered, gaze blank to accentuate the playful, half-true answer.

She turned back to the sinks, this time focusing on the mirrors. Another, 'Scourgify,' left her lips, and not long after, the mirrors were shinier than they had been previously. Appeased, Livia turned back to the red-haired girl and gave her a once-over. Quiet, studious, generally proper. However, she was in the Abandoned Toilets, so Livia supposed the other girl really had no right to judge her. 'I assume you are aware of the castle's secret passageways. A few older students were discussing one in some toilets – specifically underneath an "abandoned sink", although, as you can see, I have made minimal progress here. Have you any idea of where such a thing might be, Miss Annwyn...?'

There – admitting she did not know the girl's first name was not something she would do, but she could recall one of the professors addressing the girl by her surname when she had sought to answer a question. Livia waited for a response, intrigued, wondering what Miss Annwyn would bring to the table.

Taliesin flinched and grimaced when Livia knocked her head against the underneath of the sink. That absolutely had to hurt.

Typically, Taliesin viewed the other girl as a picture of poise... however, the ginger wasn't quite sure there was a poised or elegant way to crawl out from beneath a sink before the other righted herself back to perfection once more and casting her gaze over. By no means was Livia an easy person to read, that much was for sure. Taliesin couldn't quite decide if the other was annoyed, embarrassed or bored with her presence.

Then the other offered a stiff smile; to which Taliesin wasn't sure if that meant she was officially in dangerous territory, or if Livia simply had such little experience with the expression that she couldn't quite achieve it comfortably. She really hoped it was the former. The last thing she wanted was an intentional repeat of what happened in the Common Room on the first day, "You're...cleaning?" that was certainly an odd way for someone of their background to voluntarily spend an evening. Especially during a mealtime.

As if to try to solidify the alibi, Livia carried on with another spell, magic-ing the dust and grime from the mirrors until they gleamed. Or, at least gleamed more then they had. Some of this muck seemed like it'd been there so long it had become one with the patina, and that nothing short of an acid bath might remove.

Then the other's eyes landed on her again, looking her up and down a moment. Gears seemed to be churning, but Taliesin wasn't sure what about. Nothing about this situation felt typical or natural. Maybe she ought to go. Livia might've come here out of need to be alone. Or maybe she was trying to meet someone here and now Taliesin had gotten in the way of it. She might not have known Livia very well, but that little voice in her head warned that her housemate was probably not someone who you should stand between them and whatever they were wanting. No...no, she should definitely go-

"I assume you are aware of the castle's secret passageways."

What? Taliesin blinked at the other, confused as the other started on about her actual plans for having come poking and crawling about the dusty sinks and grimy floors. Well, that certainly made everything suddenly make a whole lot more sense, "I suppose I have. Hogwarts is over a thousand years old. I'm sure there's hundreds of secret passageways and hidden rooms all over the castle." she mused. Then, deciding that the likelihood of Livia turning her wand on her today was probably minimal, she approached the sinks alongside her housemate.

Taliesin riffled through her memories, trying to place if and where she might've heard of such secret places, "I think I once heard someone in the Library talking about a secret passage to Hogsmeade." she offered, "Gryffindor's House entrance is behind a painting, so there's probably a ton of other paintings that also have secret passageways behind them." she suggested thoughtfully as she examined the sinks, trying to find some discrepancy to hint at whatever they might be looking for, "Hogwarts has so many odd ways to get into places, and even stranger entrances." even their own house required giving a password to a massive stone wall. That was another thought.

"What if its here, but needs a password? Every magical secret is usually locked with a password. Like the Houses. Slytherin and Gryffindor, even the Headmaster's office, use passwords. Hufflepuff has their knock, Ravenclaw has a riddle. If you haven't a password or a signal or something to trigger the magic to respond, even if this is the right place, we won't be able to open it." she observed.

date: 15^th december 2025
time: before dinner
location: abandoned toilets


The near outrage with which Miss Annwyn had reacted to Livia's admission only stilled Livia's features into further neutrality. She ran a hand along the crown of her head, gingerly feeling along her hairline to ensure no stray strands had gone awry. She resisted the juvenile urge to cross her arms over her chest, instead pushing her shoulders back to retain her rigid posture. Yes, she had cleaned, but that did not mean she was any less of a proper young lady. Surely being good at something was no cause for such outrage. After all, making things perfect was a skill not all possessed.

Nonetheless, Livia would still be willing to listen to Miss Annwyn – for now – and would even be willing to humour the red-haired girl's most astute (and certainly not clearly obvious) observation. 'Well, yes. Many of these passageways have been happened upon already. However, it is reasonable to assume that, within such a large castle, and its grounds, there is still potential to discover something new.'

As Miss Annwyn approached, Livia's chin swivelled to face her, her eyelids lowering as she once again gave the other girl a once-over. Had she not understood? Nothing was to be gleaned from the grime-stained porcelain. Looking closer would certainly not yield anything but dust. However, as Miss Annwyn did not seem to hold within herself any detrimental intentions, Livia would once again humour her and listen to her speak. Agitation caused her muscles to stiffen – the passageways in the library, and the entrance to Gryffindor? Neither would be helpful here. However, the girl did have a point. 'That is why I assumed I might unearth something here. I doubt one would expect to find something beneath a sink, or even within a mirror. However, the search appears to have been fruitless.'

She returned her gaze to the mirrors, her voice flat. A single eyebrow, however, displayed her intrigue at the notion of a password. 'A password in a toilet? It sounds like a gossiping gaggle's worst nightmare.' Yes – if a group of girls were applying makeup while discussing their peers and a slip of the tongue resulted in a tunnel opening to Merlin-knew-where... well, it made for an interesting idea. 'Miss Annwyn, have you any considerations as to what such a "password" might be?'

It was difficult to gauge well if anything Taliesin had just said was either useful or positively stupid. If her tone was any indication, Taliesin was leaning towards the latter. Clearly if there was any hint of a clue to have been found by simply looking on a surface level, Livia felt that she would have noticed it on her own. It never hurt to try though, right?

Plus, couldn't the other girl cut her a bit of slack? After all, she'd just stumbled into all this blind and was working off a cold read and basic facts that anyone could collect. Its not like she's never gone out of her way to actually find out about secret passages. And, at least Livia had a bit of gossip to work off.

"If its a password in a toilet, then it must be a really good password. Not something that would just be accidentally said in passing. Nothing basic." whether she was talking to Livia or simply thinking out loud could be left up to debate.

Taliesin flicked her gaze towards her housemate through the mirror as her thoughts were further inquired upon, "Well," she started hesitantly, the gears of her mind churning, "If we knew a little bit more, like who made it, why, or where it led to, that would at least be a jumping off place. The problem with passwords is that they can be literally anything. A word, a phrase, a name, a gesture; and besides that, it could also be in another language. And depending on the language it might be useless to us because we couldn't say it. Like the one where people talk to snakes..." she wracked her brain a moment trying to recall it, pinching the bridge of her nose before it finally sparked in her brain, "Parseltongue!"

Turning away from the mirror, she leaned back a bit against the decrepit old sinks, "The fact is, just knowing its here isn't enough. Short of blowing the whole place to rubble until we find the passage, without more information there's no way to figure out how to open it. Did you hear anything else? Or know who it was who was talking about it? If they actually opened it or were they just speculating?"

date: 15^th december 2025
time: before dinner
location: abandoned toilets


Miss Annwyn remained an individual whom Livia struggled to understand. Livia had never been well-versed in the plethora of non-verbal affirmations of emotion or action; as much as she tried even now, she could not ascertain how her interaction with Miss Annwyn was going. The girl seemed keen to continue their search, though, given her outward musing. Slowly, Livia nodded, hoping that was a polite enough reaction to the other girl's words. She remained silent to give Miss Annwyn more room to speak.

Speak she did – eventually, at least, providing more insight. Some of it, Livia still considered quite obvious; however, she was intrigued as to Miss Annwyn's line of thinking. She lifted an eyebrow in her quest to portray interest. She herself thought she could hardly be faulted for having precious little to employ in the search, but she also hoped Miss Annwyn's intention was not condescension. However, upon hearing the final word of Miss Annwyn's monologue, Livia nearly smiled. She forced it down, instead nodding sharply, her eyebrows still drawing together as she considered it. 'What an astute consideration,' she murmured. 'I do not suppose you happen to speak Parseltongue, though...' Briefly, she considered crafting a whimsical piece of drollery; however, she stifled the impulse upon contemplating what Miss Annwyn's reaction to faux hisses might have been.

Miss Annwyn would prove erudite when she stated the obvious once again. Livia was unable to stifle a nearly-disappointed sigh. 'I can hardly fault your reasoning,' she said in agreement. 'It was some older student. I think a boy, somewhat tall, with dark hair. He was boasting about having entered it, but he did not name the destination at the end of the passage. It is entirely possible that it was all a farce meant to harass his friends... and, I suppose, by extension, us.'

The admission felt as if it hung in the air, pulled out of her by a barbed hook on the end of a fisher's line. The sensation caused small bumps to erupt upon her arms; although she wore long sleeves, she could feel them, and she crossed her arms over her chest. Despite her facial expression remaining largely the same, Livia was aware that this was the closest she usually came to pouting. 'If that was the case,' she started, not without hesitation, 'Then I apologise for unwittingly dragging you along on this... well, they might call it a wild goose chase.' At that, Livia offered a dry laugh sounding a bit too much like a harrumph for her comfort. Then, she gave in to the childish impulse from before: 'Since, unfortunately, I know no more Parseltongue than hiss hiss.'



OOC.
Apologies for the late response! April kind of blew up for me. I expect to be less swamped moving forward.