Emma van Elst
second meetings? 𝜗ৎ Y1
TIMESTAMP ; september 2, 2025. evening MENTION ;@Lena Lott
𝔈mma’s first day of classes had gone well, thankfully.
There wasn’t much to say about it other than the fact that she was horrendously overwhelmed. The castle was HUGE, and she did most of the navigating completely by herself (her own fault, really. She was too proud to ask any of the older kids for help, and it wasn’t helped by an annoyingly indecisive staircase). Which resulted in two classes she was almost late for. And she really, really needed to make some more friends. At least then maybe she could get around the castle a little better.
But how she ended up in the Hogwarts library that evening, instead of sulking in her dorm like she intended, was preceded by a string of events which had only dampened her mood.
It started like this: she hadn’t had any homework that afternoon, thankfully, so she had decided to go to her dorm, flop on her bed, and read. But, within minutes, Emma’s need for peace had only heightened when her dormmate had entered a few minutes later, and who, (to no fault of her own, Emma is simply very picky about her reading atmosphere) was being very noisy.
So she decided to find a quiet corner of the Slytherin common room… to no avail. Students high on the excitement of the second day back, were funneling into the commons in packs, only making the very echoey room louder. It didn’t help that everyone was inside because of the persisting rain outside.
So, with a frustrated huff, Emma had stood, taken her book, and left.
She’d debated where to go– the downpour had prohibited the courtyard, so that was a no-go.
As she thought about it, she reminisced on her favorite reading spot at home– a big, cushy armchair by the window in her family’s library.
The library!
And that brings us to now.
After a few minutes of pure ogling at the sheer size (and book capacity) of the place, she went to find a quiet place to sit down.
But as she was walking, she came across a familiar face, one that she recognized from the previous night’s sorting.
“Lena?”
Last edited by Emma van Elst on 23 Jun 2026, 18:00, edited 3 times in total.
second meetings? 𝜗ৎ Y1
Date; 2 September, 2025 Mention; @Emma Van Elst
Lena was in the corner, near the window, on the floor, curled up with her nose in a book, like always. She sat there, soaking in the warm rays from the sun, like a sunbathing cat. Lena jumped slightly as she heard the familiar voice, looking up from her book. She gave Emma a soft smile. "Hey." She scooted over, to make room for her if she wanted to sit next to her, though the floor probably wasn't the most comfortable spot.
Lena hadn't really talked to many people, so it was nice to see a familiar face. It wasn't long before Lena's nose was back into her book. She thought to herself, Emma's really pretty, and nice. I really hope she likes me. Lena was afraid of failure and rejection, due to her parents constant shielding and the weight of being the best, like her dad.
Lena glanced up at Emma, seeing what she was reading. It was a book she recognized, and one that she has been wanting to read. Lena said quietly to her, "I've heard good things about that one, I want to read it eventually. Do you like it? Lena was trying to put herself out there more, but it wasn't really something she wanted to do, partially because she didn't mind being known as the quiet girl, who went mostly unnoticed. That how it had been most of her life.
She knew being the girl that always had her nose in a book, definitely caused whispers. It was something she was used to, however. She had always loved reading, due to her father reading to her, since she was little.
Last edited by Lena Lott on 8 Jun 2026, 17:05, edited 1 time in total.
‧₊˚✩
✩˚₊‧ "She lives in day dreams" ‧₊˚✩ ✩˚₊‧
Emma van Elst
second meetings? 𝜗ৎ Y1
TIMESTAMP ; september 2, 2025. evening MENTION ;@Lena Lott
“ℌey.”
Lena had smiled and scooted over a tad, maybe as an invitation for Emma to sit next to her. Emma responded with a soft smile in return, but her eyes momentarily drifted towards the window over Lena’s head, noticing that the persistent rain clouds had parted, and the sun was peeking through, casting a warm sunbeam into the room.
"I've heard good things about that one, I want to read it eventually. Do you like it?”
Emma was brought back to the present moment by her question.
“Yeah, it's a classic,” she replied, opting to scooch next to Lena and sit, her agitation at the previous hour fading away as she soaked up the warmth of the first sunbeam she had seen that day. She didn’t even seem to notice that the two were sitting on the floor, rather than one of the tables. It was a little odd, but the sunbeam was too warm to pass up.
Lena had her nose back in her book, but Emma replied to her question anyway. In her few interactions with the girl, she didn’t think she had ever seen Lena without a book, or not constantly reading. It must be nice, being so constantly in your own world. You probably worry less about what's happening around you, and worrying was something that Emma was very good at.
“It's like, my third time rereading it, so if you ever wanted to borrow it, just let me know. I could probably recite it from memory,” she laughed.
Last edited by Emma van Elst on 10 Jun 2026, 02:57, edited 1 time in total.
second meetings? 𝜗ৎ Y1
Lena at her, that was an offer she couldn't pass up. She would do anything to read more books, they were the one thing she could never get enough of. "That would be nice." She said with a soft smile, not really looking up from her book, glancing up every so often at the girl next to her, her smile lingering as she read.
Date; 2 Septe
mber, 2025Mention; @Emma Van Elst
The conversation wasn't over, at least not intentionally, but words had never come as naturally to Lena. Silence was something Lena never saw as awkward, she quite always enjoyed it. She tuck a strand on loose hair behind her ear, turning the page carefully. Her eyes flickered toward, lingering there for a moment, before returning to the page.
Though it seemed like she had never listened, she always listened, she struggled with what to say after. The gloom from the earlier rain had been soaked up, the sunlight stretching farther than before now. Without even realizing, she had scooted slightly closer to Emma.
"Three times? It must be your favorite." Lena said, her head tilting slightly. After Lena read a book once, it lived on her shelf, unless it meant something to her. She held her finger in place of where she was reading, looking around the library. It made her a little homesick, reminding her of the bookstore her father owned, however she didn't want to think about it really.
‧₊˚✩
✩˚₊‧ "She lives in day dreams" ‧₊˚✩ ✩˚₊‧
Emma van Elst
second meetings? 𝜗ৎ Y1
TIMESTAMP ; september 2, 2025. evening MENTION ;@Lena Lott
ℑt really was her favorite. A wizarding classic, written all the way back in the 1800s– a love story between a pureblood witch and a muggleborn wizard and a struggle against the girl’s family’s prejudices against him.
Her family, among others in the pureblood circle, have always regarded the story with distaste, but Emma found it completely romantic. It was the first of her (long, very long) list of books she’d be bringing with her to Hogwarts.
Still, books were meant to be passed on.
“Here," she held it out for Lena to grab, “keep it for as long as you’d like. Just give it back someday.”
She regarded the girl with a nod of her head, signaling: take it!
“I would say bring it back in good condition, but I think were already past that point. Anyway, I think you’ll really enjoy it. I know I did.”
Oh, she did. Some pages had to be reparo’d because they’d fallen out from wear. The cover was worn, the spine was cracking– the love she had for it was very visible.
Emma loved rereading books. She found that whenever she wanted to distract herself, she’d come back to her small shelf of favorites. She sort of regarded the books as friends, as well as the people in them. She wondered if Lena did the same.
“Go on, take it.”
second meetings? 𝜗ৎ Y1
Date; 2 Septe
mber, 2025Mention; @Emma Van Elst
Lena smiled softly at the girl, gently taking the book from her hands. "Thank you. You're too kind." Their hands slightly brushed against each other as she took it. She looked down at the book, studying it's cover, her fingers tracing the covers. She softly whispered the title of the book, reading the blurb on the back.
"It looks really interesting!" She smiled, looking back up at the girl. She started to study her face, how her blonde hair fell perfectly in her face, how her eyes shined as she talked. Lena had always been more of a listener than talker, noticing details in the small things.
The way the girl gave away her favorite book so easily, made her feel something she had never felt, like she meant something to someone. She kept glancing down at the book, her gaze meeting Emma's once again. She scooted slightly closer to her, as the sunbeam that was shone through had grown thinner. "It means a lot that you trusted me with this.." She said softly at her.
Lena only ever had one true friend that she did everything with, Emma kind of reminded Lena of her. She hugged the book close to her chest, smiling. She didn't really know what it meant to have a friend, but she hoped Emma would become one.
‧₊˚✩
✩˚₊‧ "She lives in day dreams" ‧₊˚✩ ✩˚₊‧