26 May 2020, 11:37
I Saw It First
A faint smell of roast beef and chicken pie lingered about the surroundings of the Great Hall. It was almost dinner time at Hogwarts. Gerald picked up his pace, quickly covering the remaining distance that separated him from the Library’s entrance.
Pushing the grand wooden doors open, he made his way towards the Spells and Runes section. The room was practically empty, now, presumably because most students, as opposed to Gerald, were already headed for supper.
As he approached the crammed, tipping bookshelves, which nearly reached the ceiling, he pulled out a torn piece of paper from the inside pocket of his robe. 'Nomenclature of Medieval Charms: An In-Depth Study’ were the words scribbled across the note in his own spidery handwriting. Of course, it was the title of a book; a book Gerald was very interested in borrowing. His Charms class had been assigned a research paper on the history of a few incantations, and Gerald figured this particular tome, recommended as a follow-up read by Goshawk’s Book of Spells, would be of great help.
The boy scanned the rows of books before him, tilting his head to the side so that he could better take in the names printed on their spines. Because he had no clue what the volume in question was supposed to look like, the task of finding it became much more complicated than he had initially expected it to be. Gerald was usually pretty fast when it came to getting things around the Library; in the eight months he’d spent at Hogwarts, he’d frequented the Library enough to currently have a pretty decent idea of where everything was meant to be. That is mainly the reason why, upon entering the room in search of the book, he hadn’t even entertained the thought of asking Mrs. Wheeler, the librarian, for help. Now that a good ten minutes of fruitless searching had gone by, Gerald began to think he should probably have her fetch the book for him.
Before heading towards her desk, he let his gaze flicker through the bookshelf beside him once more. A thin, velvety blue spine caught his eye; ‘Nomenclature of Medieval Charms: An In-Depth Study’ was written in white, slim letters.
Just as he about to reach for the tome, another hand pressed against it, preventing him from taking it off the shelf. When he turned around, Gerald was slightly startled to see a short, blonde girl standing next to him; he had definitely not seen her approaching. She apparently intended to borrow the book, too.
“Apologies,” he said, firmly, keeping his hand on the upper part of the spine, “but I do believe I saw it first.”
@Callie Jensen
Gerald T. Fawkes
2 Jun 2020, 20:15
I Saw It First
Callie had always been a relatively hardworking girl but was plagued by her inability to stay focused which often resulted in last minute bursts of productivity. Today was one of the days where Callie had put off a specific assignment for far too long and was consequently spending her Friday night trapped in the library. This time she didn't have a great excuse for procrastination and had simply found herself wrapped up in a book that a fellow Ravenclaw gave to her on loan the week prior. Callie was simply unable to tear herself from the pages of the book in question and to her detriment had neglected her schoolwork for a number of days. It wasn't until a classmate reminded her of an assignment that Callie tore herself from the book to focus on her mounting stack of homework. Dinner could wait, there was work to do! Even if the promise of roast beef and chicken pie was tempting...
Being a muggle-born meant Callie often felt like she had to work ten times harder than her pure-blooded counterparts and this was no exception. After all Callie was an intense personality who didn't tend to do things in half measures which had brought her to hunt for one of the additional readings. More specifically Callie was on the hunt for 'Nomenclature of Medieval Charms:An In Depth Study' and no other book was fit for purpose. In Callie's head she simply had to track down the location of this elusive book but it was proving rather difficult to find. Things weren't helped at all by Callie's poor eyesight and half broken glasses which constantly slipped from her face. By this point the glasses were only still together thanks to a mixture of tape, glue and sheer luck. As Callie ducked and weaved past other students within the library she scanned the shelves for the book frantically. Occasionally Callie tripped over her own feet as she slid around corners but quickly picked herself back up and continued on her hunt for the book in question.
She was about to give up all hopes of even finding the book before a thin, velvety blue spine caught her eye with the just the words she was looking for: Nomenclature of Medieval Charms: An In-Depth Study! At last! Victory was in sight! Or at least victory was a thin blue and vaguely eligible mess of writing. That is until another hand brushed against hers mere seconds after she got a hold of the book. Under any other circumstances Callie would've likely offered the book to someone else but today was dire! She needed that book and she grabbed it first! Callie wasn't about to give in easily, especially considering she didn't like the boy's tone. She may have been taller and quite scary looking but now was the time to be brave! Callie let out a huff of frustration and refused to release her iron grip from the book. "No way! I totally grabbed it first! Snooze ya' lose buckaroo!" Callie exclaimed defiantly as he placed her free hand firmly on her hip."What do you need it for anyway? I bet its a totally dumb and unnecessary reason..I need this book! The situation is dire! Perhaps even apocalyptic! Let go already!" She continued with confidence despite the broken glasses slowly sliding down her face.
Being a muggle-born meant Callie often felt like she had to work ten times harder than her pure-blooded counterparts and this was no exception. After all Callie was an intense personality who didn't tend to do things in half measures which had brought her to hunt for one of the additional readings. More specifically Callie was on the hunt for 'Nomenclature of Medieval Charms:An In Depth Study' and no other book was fit for purpose. In Callie's head she simply had to track down the location of this elusive book but it was proving rather difficult to find. Things weren't helped at all by Callie's poor eyesight and half broken glasses which constantly slipped from her face. By this point the glasses were only still together thanks to a mixture of tape, glue and sheer luck. As Callie ducked and weaved past other students within the library she scanned the shelves for the book frantically. Occasionally Callie tripped over her own feet as she slid around corners but quickly picked herself back up and continued on her hunt for the book in question.
She was about to give up all hopes of even finding the book before a thin, velvety blue spine caught her eye with the just the words she was looking for: Nomenclature of Medieval Charms: An In-Depth Study! At last! Victory was in sight! Or at least victory was a thin blue and vaguely eligible mess of writing. That is until another hand brushed against hers mere seconds after she got a hold of the book. Under any other circumstances Callie would've likely offered the book to someone else but today was dire! She needed that book and she grabbed it first! Callie wasn't about to give in easily, especially considering she didn't like the boy's tone. She may have been taller and quite scary looking but now was the time to be brave! Callie let out a huff of frustration and refused to release her iron grip from the book. "No way! I totally grabbed it first! Snooze ya' lose buckaroo!" Callie exclaimed defiantly as he placed her free hand firmly on her hip."What do you need it for anyway? I bet its a totally dumb and unnecessary reason..I need this book! The situation is dire! Perhaps even apocalyptic! Let go already!" She continued with confidence despite the broken glasses slowly sliding down her face.
6 Jun 2020, 16:56
I Saw It First
"Excuse you," Gerald hissed, grabbing a firm hold on the tome's upper corner. Piercing blue eyes narrowed at the freckled girl, glaring. "My reasons for borrowing this book are not dumb nor are they unnecessary."
Under different circumstances, the other kid's choice of words for describing the apparently desperate situation she was currently undergoing would have amused him; perhaps even got a chuckle out of him. Now, however, with a very wanted book suspended in between the two and none of them willing to give in, he merely raised a brow at her peculiar vocabulary.
Annoyed, he let out a huff. What were the chances of another student intending to borrow that very book on that particular evening? Judging by the accumulated dust on the blue cover, the volume must have sat untouched on the shelf for months in a row. This was purely bad luck.
Gerald assessed the girl carefully. Might have seen before, he thought. In class? At a Quidditch Game? Whatever the case, he did not have the faintest idea of what her name was. For a moment, he felt tempted to ask, but then opted against it. Formal introductions were reserved for formal meetings, not pointless library quarrels. His gaze wandered about her messy hair and reached her pale blue eyes. She certainly was not too big or intimidating-looking and, although appearance could be deceiving regarding an individual's strength, Gerald told himself he would have easily won a back-and-forth-pulling battle should they have started one.
"Do you mind?" he said impatiently, tugging the book towards him just a bit. "I've very specific homework due."
It was then that Gerald caught sight of the girl's tattered glasses. He wondered why some Professor or older student hadn't had the good grace to fix them for her.
"There are plenty of other books about Charms for you to borrow," he continued, "If not, the first-year spells textbook is good enough. You might want to give it a read. Oculus Reparo is in the third chapter, I believe?"
@Callie Jensen
Gerald T. Fawkes
15 Jun 2020, 12:46
I Saw It First
@Gerald Fawkes
"Excuse me? Excuse you!" Callie responded defiantly to Gerald's rather nasty reply, all while maintaining her hold on the book that had caused the situation in the first place. "Whatever, I need this book! It's life or death!" The situation very much was not life or death but Callie certainly believed she needed that book as soon as possible. While her work ethic certainly wasn't consistent, when the urge to do schoolwork appeared it was intensive and Callie rarely ever did anything in half-measures. When Gerald raised his eyebrow Callie's resolve to stand up for herself was cemented and she barely resisted the urge to mock him for such a gesture.
At the mention of his own homework a part of Callie felt bad for the boy, even if his attitude left a lot to be desired. After all Callie likely wasn't the only student keen to do well academically and to claim otherwise would've been selfish. Callie vaguely recognised Gerald's face, likely from a class the two shared, although she couldn't quite place a name. In any usual situation she would've properly introduced herself and asked for his name in kind, although thus far Gerald hadn't proven worthy of such courtesy.
At the mention of Oculus Reparo, Callie suddenly got incredibly self conscious of her glasses which were in a decidedly poor condition. The glasses themselves were regularly repaired although Callie was incredibly clumsy in nature which meant the glasses rarely ever stayed in good condition for long. Part of her wished she didn't need glasses in the first place as it would've saved her a lot of hassle. "Don't try and change the subject here!" She huffed as she straightened her glasses with her one free hand. "I need that book! Rock, paper scissors for it! Like any mature adult would do! Unless you're too chicken...?" She taunted with a grin.