Hard Way Out
THWAP!
Do you ever feel like a misfit?
✪ Everything inside you is dark and twisted ✪
The book fell back to the ground with a loud and imposing sound. Poppy had only barely managed to hop out of the way, narrowly avoiding a toe crushing in the process. She craned her head back, looking to the very top of the towering shelf where her camera still sat, undisturbed. Only the end of the lens was visible, as well as the strap she often used to keep it around her neck.
She'd hoped that if she could throw a book just right, it might tip the camera over and bring it back to the ground. Her efforts thus far had proven anything but successful – as evidenced by the camera that remained on its high perch.
Poppy reached down to collect the book before leaning with her back pressed against the opposite shelf. The girl let out a small huff of frustration as she considered her predicament. The camera was too high to climb for, her arm was beginning to ache from all the attempts at hurling the book upward, and she was certain that the next time it slammed into the ground, she would finally gain the attention of the librarian and promptly be put out – if not outright given a detention for the way she'd been mishandling school property.
But there was no other way.
That Ravenclaw and Slytherin pair had known exactly what they were doing when they levitated her camera atop the shelf, and they'd had a good laugh about it before heading off to find more entertaining trouble than a girl who only stared upward in dejection at her lost property.
She supposed it wasn't as fun if she wasn't screaming and kicking up a fuss. Now they were gone, and she was left to figure out a way that didn't include her scaling the shelves. Sturdy as they looked, and small as she happened to be, Poppy couldn't shake the feeling that the moment she set to climb, it would all comically come crashing down as it often did in the shows and cartoons she used to watch.
There wouldn't be anything funny about going splat.
Launching off the shelf, Poppy reclaimed the spot she'd been standing in earlier. She lifted the book toward the ceiling, closing one eye to narrow and sharpen her vision in preparation for the throw, but before she could send it airborne again, the sound of footsteps entering the aisle stopped her in her tracks.
Poppy's hand quickly dropped to her side, her fingers clenching tightly to the hard spine of the book. For the briefest moment, her entire head of hair went bone-white with terror before the rest of her could catch up to the fact it wasn't the librarian who had joined her.
Breathe.
"O—Oh... Skylar," she greeted nervously as the white slowly faded, returning her strands to their typical gold. "I—what are you doing here?"
...It's a library, Persephone.
Poppy shook her head quickly. "Never mind—it's...it doesn't matter." And likely wasn't any of her business. She stepped out of the way, expecting the girl to walk by and continue on to wherever she'd been headed.
Last edited by Persephone Grimsbane on 10 Mar 2026, 09:59, edited 1 time in total.
Encyclopaedia ✿ Metamorphmagus ✿ If the sun shines, that's reason enough.
Hard Way Out
꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱ ☾☼☽ +:｡.｡ ༺❀༻ ｡.｡:+☾☼☽ ꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱
Mentions: @Persephone Grimsbane WC: 445 My hex code: #0050b4 ꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱ ☾☼☽ +:｡.｡ ༺❀༻ ｡.｡:+☾☼☽ ꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱
✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧ ✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧
Skylar is studying. Or at least she was supposed to do. She tells herself that she is merely expanding her knowledge of the vast world, when in reality she just got distracted. Again. This always happens to Skylar, or more accurately, Skylar keeps doing this to herself. She would come into the library, hoping to do a productive study session, only to go down rabbit holes of endless knowledge and spend hours just wandering through the aisles.
Which is exactly what she is doing right now. Skylar runs her fingers over the old spines of all the various books. Charms, potions, history, everything is here. She hums to herself as she happily skips along the rows, a stack of floating books following behind her. The amount of books she had chosen were too much for her to carry, so she results to using the Levitation Charm.
Skylar was just reading about this interesting history on Quidditch when she suddenly heard a loud sound. She pauses and listens again.
THWACK.
Huh. That's odd. Skylar adds the book to her growing pile before going to investigate. She almost runs into a pair of Slytherin and Ravenclaw as she emerges from the aisle. The Slytherin and Ravenclaw were snickering to each other, rudely shoving past Skylar. Skylar frowns at the passing pair, an uneasy feeling sinking in her gut. She cannot help but think that they were the reason behind the noise.
Quickening her steps, Skylar finds the source of the noise and turns into the aisle, only to find... a girl.
Skylar tilts her head to the side as she recognizes the Gryffindor. Persephone, she believes is her name. She seen her around the dorms and class sometimes. Really quiet, that one. Also kind of awkward from what Skylar could see with her interactions. In her hand was a book, which she held like it owed her money.
"O—Oh... Skylar, I—what are you doing here?" Persephone said nervously. Skylar narrows her eyes at the skittish girl. "Never mind—it's...it doesn't matter."
Now Skylar was really curious. Persephone doesn't seem like the type to do anything bad, but her reactions stirs up some concern in Skylar. She glances at the book Persephone was holding, only to notice that she was... aiming it. Looking towards the line of trajectory, Skylar spots a black camera sitting at the top most shelf.
"How about you let that book down before you turn it into another projectile, hm?" Skylar says as she raises her eyebrow. Pointing towards the camera, she asks, "Did you need help with that?"
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Hard Way Out
"How about you let that book down before you turn it into another projectile, hm?"
Do you ever feel like a misfit?
✪ Everything inside you is dark and twisted ✪
Poppy's gaze fell to the book she held at her side as a flush of warmth flooded her face and neck. It shouldn't have surprised her; the girl had been anything but subtle under the pressure of exposure and must have looked quite the sight with her hand suddenly dropping the moment someone else entered the aisle. It was suspicious behaviour 101, and she was currently sitting at the top of the class.
Before she could think to apologise, her housemate was already gesturing up to the camera that continued to taunt her with its distance.
Help?
"Oh—Oh, no, you don't... No, it's not necessary – I wouldn't want to put you out of your way – n—not that I think something like this would be too difficult for you. I'm sure it's exceedingly simple – you'd...it..." There was likely a correct way to be saying it all, a smooth cadence, sensible words strung together together in reasonable, and explanations that would've sounded more eloquent than the stuttering drivel that exited her mouth. Yet, it was all she had while her mind scrambled for a means of playing down the scene into something more manageable.
"I...it was a spell that went wrong. I wasn't...I wasn't concentrating enough, and it got stuck. I'm only trying to get it down."
Poppy slid the book into its original spot on a lower shelf, wanting to make a show of abandoning any further attempts at book-aerial recovery. She would have to find another way after the girl left, one that wouldn't draw so much attention to her efforts – or just books that didn't land with such heavy thuds. She would end up having to worry they weren't heavy enough to get the camera to budge or might end up getting stuck, too...
The small girl stepped back, craning her head up toward the camera again. She scowled at her predicament, worrying she may actually have to scale the shelves after all.
"H—How much trouble do you think someone might get into if...if they—not that I would, I'd never—but...but if they climbed the shelves?"
She cared more about Skylar's immediate reaction than whatever words she might offer after. It would help her gauge just how appalling of an idea her plan really was before she started the arduous task of convincing herself it was a necessary evil. Leaving the library without her father's camera wasn't an option.
Of course...getting detention also wasn't an option, but...but she supposed she'd have to cross that bridge when she got there and hope the price wasn't too steep.
Encyclopaedia ✿ Metamorphmagus ✿ If the sun shines, that's reason enough.
Hard Way Out
꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱ ☾☼☽ +:｡.｡ ༺❀༻ ｡.｡:+☾☼☽ ꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱
Mentions: @Persephone Grimsbane WC: 312 xxx Hex code: #0050b4 OOC note: Skylar listens and she judges your poor decisions lol ꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱ ☾☼☽ +:｡.｡ ༺❀༻ ｡.｡:+☾☼☽ ꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱
✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧ ✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧
Skylar raises her eyebrows even more at Persephone's stuttering reply. I was clear the girl was nervous, yet she seems hesitant for help. Skylar also does not buy the whole "spell gone wrong" excuse. Anyone can put two and two together and figure out that the mischievous pair she passed earlier were responsible for this mess.
Skylar sighs internally as she pulls out her wand. She is going to help Persephone no matter what that stubborn girl says, lest she get hurt from hurling another book. Just as Skylar was about to offer her help again, Persephone turns to her with a guilty look. Oh for Merlin's sake...
"H—How much trouble do you think someone might get into if...if they—not that I would, I'd never—but...but if they climbed the shelves?" Persephone tries, and fails, to appear innocent.
Skylar's eyebrows are basically nonexistent now as they rise up to her hairline. Yeah, there was no way she is going to leave Persephone alone. The girl may be shy, but she can make some very impulsive decisions. Like scaling the library shelves.
"Okay mate, I'm going to stop you right there. You are not going to be scaling those shelves, you hear me?" Skylar says as she approaches Persephone. Now that she is near the girl, she can clearly see where the camera is sitting. Raising her wand, Skylar points it at the object.
"Windgardium Leviosa!" She shouts clearly. Carefully, Skylar directs the floating camera down into her hands. Turning to face Persephone, Skylar hands over the camera.
"See? No shelf scaling required. Spared you from detention and a possible visit to the hospital wing." She says as she glances at the Gryffindor.
Then she realizes something. Narrowing her eyes at Persephone, Skylar tilts her head. "Wait, aren't you in my Charms class? We already learned the Levitation Charm, so why didn't you just cast it yourself?"
✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧ ✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧
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Hard Way Out
Do you ever feel like a misfit?
✪ Everything inside you is dark and twisted ✪
"Okay mate, I'm going to stop you right there. You are not going to be scaling those shelves, you hear me?"
"I—no—no...I wasn't...it wasn't—I'd never. I wouldn't dare." Poppy's face flooded with colour, a fierce blush spreading across her freckled features while she fumbled for words that could absolve her of her earlier self-incrimination. It hadn't escaped her notice the way Skylar's brows continued to rise, and it told her everything she needed to know about her poorly thought-through plan.
It wasn't a good idea. Somewhere, deep down, she already knew that.
While her brain scrambled to clean up her words, her housemate raised her wand, and just like that...the camera...was down. Her mouth fell open as she took the camera, noting at once how easy it had been in the end. Wingardium leviosa, the levitation charm. They learned that spell pretty early on. Not complicated, not requiring a great degree of effort like most of transfiguration seemed to with its matter and principles, and yet...it hadn't even crossed her mind to cast it herself.
"...Thanks," she said, somehow managing to gain even more colour. She hadn't meant to put herself in a position to need rescuing and was sure that, with a little more time, she could've eventually gotten it herself without having to put the girl out of her way.
Then Skylar said the quiet part out loud. Rather, she asked the question Poppy had been avoiding
Why hadn't she cast it herself?
"...Oh," was all she could offer at first. Poppy slipped the camera strap around her neck, using the moment to stall before being required to give an actual answer. She knew why, of course, even if she'd never said it aloud. Poppy was well acquainted with the hidden shame that kept her magic restricted to her classes and nowhere else. It was easy to rationalise it as obligation and expectation. She couldn't very well tell her professors that she refused to practise when they instructed the students to do so.
Outside of classes was...different. Outside of classes, it was a choice, one she knew she shouldn't be making and one she didn't feel comfortable making, so she avoided it.
If magic was no longer just something that she did to get through school but something she did for fun and to solve her problems, it made her everything her parents had warned her not to become.
None of that seemed like something to say to the person who'd just effortlessly gotten her out of a proper binding with the use of that very magic.
Poppy awkwardly moved the loose strands of her hair, hooking them behind her left ear. Another means of stalling.
"I'm...I'm not very good at magic," was the excuse she settled on in the end. It seemed the most plausible. "It's always on the fritz – always doing things I don't want it to. I figured, you know, the library – all the books – it might backfire or something. My wand doesn't seem to like me much, y–you see. " She gave a tight laugh, then cleared her throat, trying to rid herself of some of the nerves. "I don't reckon the librarian would – she wouldn't like if I accidentally set the place on fire over a camera, you know?"
Encyclopaedia ✿ Metamorphmagus ✿ If the sun shines, that's reason enough.
Hard Way Out
꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱ ☾☼☽ +:｡.｡ ༺❀༻ ｡.｡:+☾☼☽ ꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱
Mentions: @Persephone Grimsbane WC: 403 xxx Hex code: #0050b4 ꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱ ☾☼☽ +:｡.｡ ༺❀༻ ｡.｡:+☾☼☽ ꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱
✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧ ✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧
"I'm...I'm not very good at magic. It's always on the fritz – always doing things I don't want it to. I figured, you know, the library – all the books – it might backfire or something. My wand doesn't seem to like me much, y–you see. I don't reckon the librarian would – she wouldn't like if I accidentally set the place on fire over a camera, you know?"
Skylar tilts her head at Persephone. Huh. A witch who does not like magic. However, her wand not liking her also makes her fear more understandable. Setting the library on fire would in fact not be good. Skylar chews the inside of her cheek as she thinks of a way to help Persephone.
"I think I have an idea." Skylar proposes. "How about I help you with spell casting? We can go down to the training grounds and you can practice your spells. No hazardous objects will be in your way. The more comfortable you get casting spells, the better your control over your magic will be."
She then shrugs as she turns towards Persephone. "Your wand probably does not accept you because you will not accept yourself for who you are – a wizard. And now thinking about it..."
Skylar furrows her brows as the gears in her brains start turning. "What is your wand type, per chance? Every wand has a different personality and characteristic. Like mine is a 31,1 cm walnut wood and unicorn hair. Longer wands, like mine, are drawn to those with a more lively personality and tendency for the dramatic, like me. Shorter wands are for those who wish to produce a more refined magic and are 'shorter' in personality."
"The unicorn hair core I have is known for producing the most consistent magic and is the least subject to fluctuations and blockages when casting spells. It is considered to be extremely loyal and moralistic, so it's hard to be turned towards the dark arts."
"The walnut wood commonly pairs with those with high intelligence are unusually versatile and adaptable as well. Unlike some other wands, it would perform any task its owner desires, as long as you're smart enough."
Skylar looks up at Persephone and cocks her head to the side. Perhaps once Persephone knows about the personality of her wand, she can cast spells in a way that would please it, allowing for better magic control.
✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧ ✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧
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Hard Way Out
It should've worked.
Do you ever feel like a misfit?
✪ Everything inside you is dark and twisted ✪
Poppy drew for the easiest and least obtrusive excuse that she could think of. Lots of the students at Hogwarts were actually bad at magic, and just the week before, a second-year named Dennis had set a small fire in the herbology section. The girl had drawn for what she knew, expecting to receive the same reaction that nearly everyone else did. A cheeky smile maybe, some gentle ribbing about trying to be better, maybe even a reprimand about being too cavalier when it came to her studies. Those were all things she prepared for and thought she could handle.
She wasn't expecting the offer.
At no point in what Poppy had considered 'carefully laid plans' did the first-year expect her housemate to decide the answer wasn't a gentle tease but an official offer of services.
"No hazardous objects will be in your way. The more comfortable you get casting spells, the better your control over your magic will be."
"Oh...I...uh...--"
"Your wand probably does not accept you because you will not accept yourself for who you are – a wizard. And now thinking about it..."
Her mind was still scrambling for an excuse that might get her out of spell practice when Skylar sprang that next set of incomprehensible words at her. Poppy's entire expression contorted with confusion, her brows folding in while she tried to make sense of the girl's abrupt conclusion.
"I...I...beg your pardon...?" she finally managed. Poppy's gaze fell to the wand in its holster. Did that really...was that something that...
Huh...?
She shook her head, trying to dispel the thick cloud of bemusement that had slowed her mental processing ability. "I never...I'm sorry...what?" Poppy couldn't help but think she'd missed something somewhere along the road their conversation was driving along. She had no idea how they'd gotten there, and a part of her dreaded to think of how Skylar had even come to know something so intimate. A flash of heat spread along her neck and out to her ears.
She'd never told anyone...
How...?
Before she had a chance to spiral any further, Skylar launched into a full series lecture on wands and cores. Poppy's mouth fell open as she listened, trying in several places to interject without success. How Skylar even knew that much about wands was beyond her. Comparatively, the 12-year-old knew very little. She...she remembered the wandmaker trying several wands before settling on the one she had now, and...and she supposed he'd told her things about it but everything had been so overwhelming, and the details hadn't seemed particularly important at the time.
"I...why ... do you know...all that...?"
Was it in a class she'd missed?
Encyclopaedia ✿ Metamorphmagus ✿ If the sun shines, that's reason enough.
Hard Way Out
꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱ ☾☼☽ +:｡.｡ ༺❀༻ ｡.｡:+☾☼☽ ꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱
Mentions: @Persephone Grimsbane WC: 398 xxx Hex code: #0050b4 OOC note: Skylar is going to drag Persephone to hell and back lol
Maybe we move the RP to the Grounds?꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱ ☾☼☽ +:｡.｡ ༺❀༻ ｡.｡:+☾☼☽ ꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱
✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧ ✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧
Once Skylar finishes her explanation of wands and all, which had admittedly way too much details, she turns to see Persephone looking like she saw a ghost. Confusion etches into Skylar's face as she wonders what could have caused Persephone's more than shocked reaction.
"I...why ... do you know...all that...?" She stammers.
Ah. She probably overwhelmed Persephone with all that information. "Well, I just liked doing my own research and my tutor kind of went over it back then. Sorry for overloading you with all this information..." Skylar says sheepishly. However, Persephone still seems nervous. Like very nervous. She looks as red as a tomato and on the verge of hyperventilating. Skylar cocks her head to the side and narrows her eyes on Persephone. Why does she seem so... scared? In fact, ever since the start of their interactions, she just seemed panicked and worried, like something was about to happen. But, if it was the whole "My wand does not like me and backfires my spells," why is she so hesitant to try to fix it?
Perhaps Skylar is looking at it wrong. Persephone might have had these incidents one too many times and does not want to repeat it. Yes. That must be why she is so timid to use magic! She is also a muggle-born, so she must feel uncomfortable to this new life. Determination sets into Skylar as she puts her hands on Persephone's shoulders.
"Persephone, I do not know why exactly you are so afraid to use magic, but I can help. Practice can offer you more control over your magic, so hopefully your wand will not backfire on you anymore." Skylar says stubbornly as she looks into Persephone's eyes. Suddenly, Skylar lights up with an idea. She glances at the grand clock in the library, noting that they still have quite a bit of time till dinner.
"You know what, Persephone? Let's just go practice right now! You and I have at least two more hours until dinner time. Come on!" Skylar exclaims passionately as her hand grabs Persephone's. She know that there was probably no way Persephone will willingly go to the training grounds, so Skylar was going to make it so she cannot refuse. Attempting to drag a panicking Persephone behind her, Skylar makes way to the library exit. She was going to help Persephone, even if that stubborn girl refuses it.
✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧ ✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧
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Hard Way Out
Tutors and her own reading.
Do you ever feel like a misfit?
✪ Everything inside you is dark and twisted ✪
Oh.
Poppy supposed that made sense. The girl had had a tutor as well: her mother. Celeste Grimsbane knew nothing about wands and the magical world, certainly nothing she could pass on, and she suspected that even if her mother did, she'd sooner swallow her tongue than pass it onto her. The woman would never contribute to such propagation of what she truly believed to be a cancer on the world.
That Skylar came from a starkly different family didn't actually surprise her. She'd been at Hogwarts for months now and had run into all sorts. Diverse as their backgrounds all were, Poppy hadn't run into anyone whose upbringing even vaguely resembled hers.
Did it mean she was the only one like that, the only one who'd been taught 'the right way'? She couldn't say, but it had left her more...reticent when it came to talking about her home and her family. The little girl had enough trouble settling in without the strange looks she'd come to expect on the few occasions she'd tried to share something she thought was perfectly normal, only to find...was not at all...how nearly anyone else saw it.
For the most part, it worked. Poppy had grown good at giving excuses and half-truths to explain away some of her 'stranger' beliefs and actions. Usually, people were content to leave her be.
Skylar was not.
Her housemate wanted to help, and Poppy found herself grappling with a new problem. What would she do when they got outside and the wand she'd thrown under the bus turned out to be far more compliant and obedient than she'd led the girl to believe?
Persephone hadn't been banking on actually having to prove she was bad at magic. Her word, in her mind, was enough. And if Skylar found out that she could cast just fine – despite the occasional accident courtesy of her overzealous dragon-heartstring core – what would her excuse be for having lied and unintentionally leading the girl on?
Suffice it to say, this wasn't the day Poppy saw herself having.
The small girl yelped involuntarily when Skylar grabbed her by the hand, and by then, it was already too late.
"H–Hey...w–wait. Skylar—I—we—another time, surely we—" Poppy stumbled over her protests the way she stumbled over her own feet, barely managing to keep up with the girl that might as well have been a hurricane.
"I...I have homework – a lot of homework – we...we have a test on Monday."
Was...was she even listening? It didn't seem that way as she forcefully dragged Poppy from the sanctuary of the library and the easy cover it had provided for her lack of inclination toward the use of magic.
Merlin, help her.
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