"This Library is amazing" Open Closed

@Ensley Rivera

Sarah entered the library after her Charms class, overly tired considering the day was only half over. She supposed staying up until all hours of the night to complete a Herbology essay last minute would do that to a young witch. Still, she never seemed to learn, repeatedly ending up in that same situation. She tried to convince herself that it was because she worked better at night, which was true for the most part. It didn’t, however, explain why she always left her work until the night before it was due. Perhaps she’d somehow developed a strange complex in which she enjoyed punishing herself with the overwhelming panic she always felt when trying to complete a three-foot essay in two hours. Still, she’d managed to complete the essay on time and had handed it in this morning with a proud smile on her face. It was a good system – well, perhaps good was a bit of a stretch. It was an adequate system.

After class, she’d been stuck between returning to the dorms to take a power nap, and going to the library to research her next Charms assignment. Charms being the one class she actively enjoyed completing her work for; the other subjects were just about bearable. In the end, the library had won, which is how she found herself stepping into the large room and inhaling the thick scent of old parchment and leather-bound books. She was admittedly very fond of books. They often seemed to bring out her inner Ravenclaw. She walked down the aisle of manuscripts about Charms, fingers dancing over the spines as she read through titles which interested her. She eventually settled on a book bound in deep red, reading ‘Quintessence: A Quest’. She knew it was an advanced book, one which she’d likely not understand half of, but her curiosity was peaked, so she grabbed the book and made her way over to a desk.

The library was busy today and there were limited seats available, no single desks which she would usually choose. Her eyes landed on a young brunette Ravenclaw who seemed to be ‘people watching’, an activity Sarah often took part in herself. She smiled to herself, put on her most friendly face – which granted with her sharp features still appeared quite intimidating – and made her way over.

“Do you mind if I sit here?” She asked the girl, already pulling out the chair to take the seat before she had a chance to speak. She offered her a bright smile and a hand. “Hi, I’m Sarah. It's nice to meet you.”

@Ensley Rivera @Hieronymus Cortland

The bubble of doubt which had settled in Sarah’s gut at the prospect of the girl – Ensley – rejecting her was quickly popped when her eyes caught sight of her smile. It was small but friendly and Sarah quickly realised that she’d like her. Sarah’s eyes flicked to Ensley’s hands as she set down her book, feeling slightly guilty for interrupting her reading. She would have apologised for as much had the girl not continued their light conversation. Sarah knew she was an intimidating presence, even without the knowledge of the status her name gave her. But Ensley didn’t seem deterred by her or her forwardness, something which was pleasantly refreshing. I think I’ll like you. She thought absently, before realising she should probably actually listen to the question she’d been asked.

“I suppose it is. I’ve always enjoyed studying Charms the most at least,” Sarah said, knowing had she not held such control over her emotions, she’d likely have flushed at the suggestion. She watched as the girl pushed a strand of hair behind her ear and subconsciously mimicked the action, slipping a lock of green hair behind her own ear. “I’ll admit I don’t understand half of what’s written here but I guess I like the challenge,” She smiled almost shyly – something which was surprisingly out of character for her, though it wasn’t often that she openly admitted she didn’t understand something.

“Charms is fascinating though, isn’t it?” Sarah said animatedly. “And I’m sure you’ll be brilliant at it. My mother used to say that just wanting to learn was half the battle.” Sarah was about to fall into a rant about how much she enjoyed learning – a trait a little less Slytherin than one might expect – when she heard a soft coughing come from one side. She turned in the direction the sound had come from and her eyes landed on a pair of pale green ones. She felt her head tilt slightly to the right, silently trying to work out whether he was about to ask them to quieten down or perhaps ask to join them. The slight hesitation in his eyes gave her answer as she realised it was the latter. Her lips curled up into a smile she hoped was warmer than her usual expression and nodded her head in the direction of her and Ensley. “Did you want to join us?” She asked, ignoring how easy it had been to refer to her and the girl she’d only just met as an ‘us’. Gosh, I need to make some new friends, she thought as she realised it was probably so easy because her lack of friends.

@Sarah Lightwood @Hieronymus Cortland

Ensley listened as the girl in front of her spoke about how she didn't understand half of what was in the book. “ I like the challenge too. It’s almost rejuvenating when I learn something new. Books have always been my go too.” Ensley has grown up with a thirst for knowledge which has sometimes led to teasing and trouble. Unlike her siblings she had wanted to know the practical side of things rather than diving right in. She supposed that is why she wasn't sorted into Gryffindor like her brothers. She often wondered if she wasn’t brave enough. With a slight shake of her head she pushed those thoughts away and focused on what Sarah had been saying.



“Charms is fascinating though, isn’t it? And I’m sure you’ll be brilliant at it. My mother used to say that just wanting to learn was half the battle.” Ensley thought fondly of her own mother. She had told her not to worry about schooling since she seemed to excel at it but Ensley had a tendency to overthink things. She often wondered if she would be able to make friends. Sarah had been kind and she hoped that the girl would consider her a friend. Ensley pulled herself from her thoughts as she could tell that Sarah had wanted to say more before the girls heard a soft cough come from the right. Ensley watched as the girl turned to face the boy standing near them. “Did you want to join us?” Ensley couldn't help but extend a smile when she was referred to as a “us”. This is the start of a great friendship. She was once again pulled from her thoughts as she gave a small shake of her head.


“We have plenty of room for you if you would like to sit and talk. “ Ensley said with a smile as she looked into the boy’s pale green eyes. She tried to put forth her sweetest voice in hopes not to scare him. She didn’t want to come across as overbearing. “We had just started talking about this book about Charms when you came over.” She said with a slight mumble at the end. Under the table she shook out her hands to relieve some nerves at the prospect of new people. Ensley has always loved to meet new people; she just had a hard time talking to them. Making sure to keep the smile on her face she moved her bag which had been resting in the chair next to her to the ground and pointed to it. “ Here you can have the seat by me if you like?”

@Ensley Rivera @Hieronymus Cortland

Sarah settled further into her chair, angling her body so she was almost head-on to the pair of Ravenclaws. She smiled as Ensley called them 'we', wondering whether the girl had had the same thought as her, about them not just being an 'I' anymore. She focussed on the Ravenclaws - Ensley and Hiero. She briefly considered how wonderful both of their names were, always having been interested in the unusual. The irony wasn’t lost on her, Sarah being perhaps one of the least original names in England – not that Sarahphina was any better. She wanted to say as much, complement their names, but bit back the comment in worry that it might come off sounding strange. Not that strange wasn’t a perfect adjective to describe the Slytherin, she just didn’t particularly want her potential new friends to know that just yet. Instead she settled on introducing herself. One step at a time, Sarah. Stop getting ahead of yourself.

“It’s really no bother,” She said, hardly about to suggest that interruptions were rude when she’d done the same to Ensley just a few minutes prior. “I’m Sarah, and I’m a Second Year,” She smiled. “And something cool? Like in general or about this book?” She asked quizzically, raising her eyebrow in a way she hoped looking teasing rather than taunting. Her conversational skills towards people of her age were lacklustre at best, having always been surrounded by adults who she’d wanted to irritate and rebel against rather than befriend.

“I was just saying that, as interesting as I find it, I’m not entirely certain I understand everything that I’m reading. Although the concept of a fifth element is pretty cool if you ask me. I overheard a sixth year talking about æther and wanted to find out more,” She said, momentarily nerding out. She managed to stop herself before she flew into a tangent about what she’d read so far and actually understood.

Ensley moved around slightly to get into a more comfortable position so she could see both – Sarah and Hiero- easily. After a few moments of shuffling she finally got comfortable and focused in on the conversation that was happening between the Slytherin and fellow Ravenclaw. She realized that while during her shuffling that the boy beside her had asked them a question. I should pay better attention next time. Pulling herself from her thoughts she smiled at him. “I’m Ensley and I’m a first year as well". Pondering at his second question she racked her brain for anything cool that she knew. All she could come up with was facts about the horses her family raised. Groaning softly she wondered how her conversation skills were so lacking. She never had trouble talking to her siblings.


“I overheard a sixth year talking about æther and wanted to find out more,” said Sarah from across the table. Ensley gave a slight tilt to her head as a look of confusion crossed her face. As quickly as it came it was replace but a neutral look. Ensley scolded herself internally. It’s okay if I don’t know something right away. It takes time. Deciding to push past the fear of not knowing something she looked to the Slytherin, “I honestly don’t know what that is? Could you explain it?” Hoping that it would benefit to ask instead of staying in the dark she gave a warm smile. This is a school, it’s okay to ask questions.

Sarah caught the curious look on Ensley’s face, noting that the slight tilt of her head was rather endearing. Despite only being a year older than the Ravenclaw, Sarah couldn’t help but think of her as adorable, immediately wanting to part any knowledge – even if it was still fairly limited – onto the younger student. She chose not to comment on the questioning look which had made her colourful eyes look wider than usual, still slightly worried about scaring away the potential friend. “I honestly don’t know what that is? Could you explain it?” Sarah smiled, more than happy to try and explain what she had learned.

“Obviously we all know that there are four elements – air, water, fire, and earth – but there are many wizards and witches who believe in a fifth element. This is the ‘quintessence’ which literally means the fifth essence, or element,” Sarah paused for a moment, looking across at her accompany to gauge whether or not they were still interested or if she’d lost them. She was spurred to continue upon noticing that neither of them seemed to be about to talk over her.

“Usually people don’t refer to it as the quintessence though, more commonly using æther. I actually once read a book about Norse mythology which mentioned it and how important it was for the Norse Gods, but that’s not actually relevant,” Sarah spoke admittedly, thought managed to catch herself before she started on the muggle mythology she’d read about. “Basically, it’s a fifth element which there’s not loads of evidence for but apparently a lot of wizards think of it as real.” She glanced back at Ensley, and despite her best efforts, felt her face heat slightly. Merlin, that sounded like a lecture. She cringed slightly, hoping she’d not just ruined a friendship by boring them to death.