16 Dec 2020, 14:39
Assistance in difficult feelings
Interacting with @Simon Kincaid
English: #008000 | Parsel: #008080
Haley was on her way to the library, lost in thought, her shoulders drooping as she walked down the stairs one step at a time. Her eyes were on the ground, hoping she wouldn't bump into anyone, but she couldn't bring herself to walk more attentively down the stairs. Haley's mood had been depressed for a few days and her friends were starting to worry, asking her more and more often if everything was okay, but Haley kept waving them off. She knew that no one would believe her if she said that everything was okay, but she just couldn't and wouldn't talk about it.
Today she decided to make her way to the library, since she was sure that hardly anyone would be there. Today was an amazingly beautiful and sunny day and it seemed like every student from Hogwarts would be outside. And her expectations were met when she walked through the big door into the library - not a soul was to be seen here. Relieved but still with a drooping shoulder, she walked to the aisles, but remained standing in front of them and beeing kind of lost.
"Where am I going to start looking?" she whispered softly and at the same moment she was startled, this was happening to her more and more often lately. Now with her new realization, she forced herself not to speak lost in thought. Again she did not know in which language she had just spoken. But before she could fret about it any further, she was simply relieved to be alone.
She had already walked through three aisles, but still couldn't find a suitable book for her research. She briefly thought again about whether she should write to her mother and ask for help, but quickly dismissed that thought again. "No way." She said now, slightly annoyed, and again she was angry with herself, as she was talking again lost in thought. So now she stood there, her fists clenched and her head resting on the back of her neck. She closed her eyes and puffed loudly out of her nose. She did everything she could not to have an angry outburst and after a few seconds she noticed how her fists relaxed again.
After several more minutes and three books in her arms, Haley walked over to a round table and sat down. She started to browse through the first book, but after an hour she slammed it in annoyance. She had wasted an hour and learned nothing useful. She opened the second book and began to skim through it, but this time - to her delight much more quickly - she again found out that this book was getting her nowhere. She put it aside and reached for the last book, but she already knew how that would end.
She pulled her knees up to her chest and began to read. After 45 minutes she gave it up, again finding no useful information. "Damn it!" She almost shouted, "you've got to be kidding me!" Haley was incredibly angry, she was boiling with rage and at that moment she didn't care. She knew she was alone and even if she wasn't, she never cared less than she did right now. She looked at the book and read the title "Confronting the Faceless", without thinking any further she took the book and threw it a few feet away, when it hit the ground again it rumbled a few more times, flipped over and certainly had a few new quirks. "Stupid book."
Haley set her legs back down on the ground, put her head in her hands, her gaze fixed on the floor, and closed her eyes. She took a few deep breaths in and out - something she'd been doing an incredible amount of lately.
Last edited by Haley Rose on 27 Jan 2021, 14:56, edited 1 time in total.
The only one who fear death are those with regrets
16 Dec 2020, 14:55
Assistance in difficult feelings
Saving books from @Haley Rose
"Hey, now. The book only knows as much information as the author that wrote it and that the publishers decided to publish," the First Year Hufflepuff said, coming to the defense of the book that was just thrown across the library and landed on the floor.
Truth be told though he wasn't interjecting on the book's behalf though. While some of the books there snapped when you opened them and the like, he was pretty sure they didn't have feelings but what did was the girl in the library who seemed terribly distraught for some reason or another.
Simon resonated with people. He didn't even know this girl and yet with her being in pain, he felt pain and he wanted to do anything at all he could to maybe help her. Simon picked up the book and brought it over to the round table where the redhead was sitting and gently placed it down on top of the other two books that she had. He gave a small smile, trying to show he was just being playful but he also didn't make it too big because he knew she wasn't in the mood for a good mood.
"Confronting the Faceless, huh?" he asked reading the book's title and wondering exactly what section that book had been in. Was it the Magical Creatures Section? He wasn't sure if he had seen that title among the books he had looked at before. When he first arrived at Hogwarts, that was the first section that he investigated, rather amazed that there were all sorts of magical creatures that were real that he once thought were only fantasy.
"Sounds like pretty heavy stuff. Problems with trolls? A family member? An ex-boyfriend?"
Be kind to one another. (*iNPC is Miles Thatcher)
16 Dec 2020, 15:33
Assistance in difficult feelings
Haley inwardly prepared herself to get up and get the book - after all, it couldn't help her current situation. But suddenly she heard someone talking and flinched. She thought she had been alone the whole time and looked up startled. She was so confused that she didn't notice what the boy was saying. She felt ashamed and warmth rushed to her face, she didn't want anyone to see her like that and think something wrong of her. Even if this was her, she was usually honest, kind, helpful and above all compassionate. So much so that she often felt the pain of others and suffered with them - this was probably why she was currently struggling so much with herself, she was just very emotional.Interacting with @Simon Kincaid
English: #008000 | Parsel: #008080
She gathered herself for a moment and closed her mouth as she continued to watch the boy who was picking up the book. She couldn't take her eyes off him, he was tall and looked older. Haley didn't assume he was in his first year. Her gaze traveled from his striking features up to his dark hair. She didn't know what to say, so she did nothing. A single phrase popped into her head - "He's so pretty." And at the same moment, Haley hated herself for that thought. She didn't want to be superficial and since when ever did she care about boys' looks. She shook her head, chasing the thoughts from her mind.
She picked up the book from the pile he had just placed it on and smiled slightly at him, expressing her thanks. She felt incredibly uncomfortable and hoped he wouldn't judge her on this one situation. She would have liked to say something, she would have liked to explain to him how awkward this moment was for her and that she didn't recognize herself, but she didn't have the words. As much as she forced her mouth to say something, nothing came out.
She had to laugh after his question, "I wish it was just a troll or an ex-boyfriend." Haley shook her head but continued to laugh. She looked at the book and turned it in her hand. She let out a small sigh and straightened up in her chair. "Actually I'm just trying to find out something, or rather..." she stopped for a moment because she wasn't sure how much she should tell him, but she didn't feel uncomfortable at that moment, so she continued "or rather I'm trying to find out something about myself. But since I've been unsuccessful for over two hours, I just had a little, well, slip" She smiled innocently and put the book back on the table.
She looked back up into his eyes "I'm sorry you caught my anger moment." She said softly and meant it. She smiled briefly at him and looked furtively at the floor.
The only one who fear death are those with regrets
16 Dec 2020, 15:45
Assistance in difficult feelings
Eager to help @Haley Rose
"Moment of anger..." he repeated her words for a moment. "Hell, great moments in history were probably achieved in moments of anger. I bet some of the best literature was thought up in a moment of anger. Most likely some of the best paintings had been created in moments of anger. Let's not call it a moment of anger - let's call it a moment of passion. You can then be among the greatest leaders, writers, and artists" he smiled and looked back to the book.
"You know, I've spent a lot of time in this library this year. You see, I don't come from the wizarding world. Well..." that wasn't entirely true. "Well my mum was a witch and she came to Hogwarts but she passed a long time ago and so I never knew about any of it from her so it's new to me, you know? I'm not the biggest intellect, I mean, I'm not even Ravenclaw," he motioned to the Hufflepuff tie under his uniform sweater, "but I've been researching a whole lot about this world. I find it all rather fascinating." The good, the bad, and the ugly.
He began with a rather in-depth search about werewolves and then moved on to elves, goblins, giants, dragons, unicorns, and currently was learning about gryffins and phoenixes. He even had gone so far as to create a list in a spiral bound notebook of various magical things that he wanted to look up - including who was the very first wizard known and how did he (or she) come to get her magical ability?
"I could help you with your discovery, if you'd like. Or...at least try? I mean, I am one of those super helpful friendly wonderful Hufflepuffs." He slid over one of the books she already rejected and opened it up but only got to the cover because he didn't know what it was he was looking for.
Be kind to one another. (*iNPC is Miles Thatcher)
16 Dec 2020, 16:24
Assistance in difficult feelings
Interacting with @Simon Kincaid
English: #008000 | Parsel: #008080
He sounded like a writer and Haley was amazed at his way of speaking, "Moment of anger" she repeated and had to smile. "I like that expression, I will definitely remember it." Haley noticed how her mood improved with every second and minute, it was good for her and the tension left her body. As she continued to listen to him, she indicated with her hand and a quick glance that she would like him to sit in the other chair.
"Oh, sorry to hear that." Haley didn't want to imagine what it must be like to lose her parents at an early age, but she didn't want to change the subject, he has probably heard that sentence hundreds of times in his life and just at that moment she was annoyed that she had reacted that way as well. But she was much more surprised about the rest of his words, he must be in his first year as well.
Astonished, she looked at him "Oh, so you're in your first year here too? You just looked a little older." She had to laugh a little at his statement, to her he came across as very smart "So if you have any questions about, well, this world, feel free to ask me and I'll try to answer them the best I can."
Haley still struggled a bit whether she should tell him all about this. She herself thought it was very cool at first that she was a Parsel, but she feared that many would react dismissively to it and see it as a bad trait. She had also struggled a lot with such thoughts in the last few days, which is why she finally wanted to learn more about it. But what could she lose? Either he helps her or he tells the whole school and condemns her. It's not so bad, she thought to herself sarcastically.
"You really did study the houses, didn't you? Intellect Ravenclaw, super helpful friendly wonderful Hufflepuff..." Haley couldn't help but laugh, and hoped he didn't take offense, because there was no malice in it at all. As he grabbed the book, suddenly all the thoughts came back "Forget that, that won't get us anywhere with my request. I think I just don't know where exactly to look to get the right answers."
She sat up straight now, her arms bent on the table and leaned forward slightly in his direction and began to speak softly, "Well, what I'm about to tell you isn't for everyone to know and I must be crazy to tell a complete stranger," she paused briefly and shook her head incredulously but laughed. "I'm Haley, by the way." She smiled broadly and her eyes sparkled, "but back to the topic at hand, I found out a few days ago that I'm a Parsel and I really need to find out more or I'll go crazy." She leaned back in her chair again and let out another sigh. "Oh, um do you know what a parselmouth is?"
The only one who fear death are those with regrets
16 Dec 2020, 16:35
Assistance in difficult feelings
No longer appearing so smart with @Haley Rose
She was a first year too and he was glad to discover that. In saying that he could come to her with questions indicated that she knew of the wizarding world before attending Hogwarts but being a first year meant that some of this was still as new to her as it was to him.
Not seeming bothered by his presence, as her laughter and smile both showed him, she invited him to take a seat at the round wooden table where she was investigating and he took her up on the offer, sliding it out slowly as to not disturb anyone else in the library that day.
Still, there really wasn't anyone else around. Maybe that was partially why she felt so comfortable in telling such information to a complete stranger. Luckily, it was done wisely as Simon Kincaid could be trusted with such a secret and unknowingly one day would have a similar situation happen to him - perhaps in years to come, perhaps earlier.
When she first told him she was a parsel, he was confused. Parselmouths were not something he had yet researched and therefore he thought she said 'parcel' like a package that one delivered in the mail and surely the attractive young redhead before him wasn't some brown paper package tied up with string. He was just about to ask for clarification when she continued on. "No. I haven't heard of that. Is it...." he paused a moment as his gaze naturally fell from her eyes to her mouth. There didn't SEEM to be anything wrong with it, "..is it serious?" he asked her softly, as if it was some sort of medical condition that was life threatening.
Be kind to one another. (*iNPC is Miles Thatcher)
16 Dec 2020, 16:59
Assistance in difficult feelings
Interacting with @Simon Kincaid
English: #008000 | Parsel: #008080
"is it serious?" Haley repeated softly and kind of confused. She wasn't sure if he had heard, but that didn't matter. Still, she didn't know how to respond, since it wasn't a disease. But she knew how confused one could be by all the terms if one didn't know them yet, so she quickly began to explain it all to him.
She gathered al her courage, now she still had the chance to decide against it and avoid a possible mistake, but for some reason she felt so comfortable in his presence that she decided to tell him everything. "So, this is all going to sound a little weird, I'm sure, but please believe me that I'm not a bad person or anything!"
Before he could answer, Haley continued, "Well, a Parselmouth is a wizard or witch who has the gift of speaking with snakes. It is said that only black magicians are parselmouths. But this is nonsense about black magicians. Nevertheless, I believe that many still have this thought." She stopped and looked fearfully into his face. She didn't know what to expect, but she was afraid that he would now think she was evil.
"Well, since I'm sure you've already researched everything about Hogwarts, surely you know Salazar Slytherin?" Since this was just a purely formal question, she didn't wait for an answer here either. "He is one of the most famous Parselmouths and also his descendants are too" but unfortunately Haley didn't know more herself. "That's all I know, though." She shrugged her shoulders and this time smiled a bit bemusedly.
"And no, I'm not a descendant of Salazar, before you ask," again she paused and had to laugh contemptuously "well, as far as I know, but that's another story." She rolled her eyes for a moment but didn't want to think further about this construction site and quickly shook her head to illustrate that she didn't want to talk about this topic today.
"Sooo, um, I hope you don't think, well, bad of me now?" She looked at him somewhat questioningly, but didn't know what to expect, after all, he was the first person she told.
The only one who fear death are those with regrets
16 Dec 2020, 17:07
Assistance in difficult feelings
Rather amazed by @Haley Rose
He listened to her describe what she meant and go on to say a little about the perception behind it all and then brought up one of the Hogwarts Founders. "Oh yeahhhh," he said and nodded, "now that you say that, I think I did read that about him." But he didn't see how talking to snakes would be a bad thing or an evil thing. Were snakes supposed to be bad and evil? Granted, some people liked them more than others but that didn't make them bad...
Maybe it was his lack of knowledge around the stigma of parselmouths but it didn't seem to bother him in the slightest. Never once did he look away from her or even think about moving his chair further away from hers. She seemed like a nice person and this was just a super interesting fact about her! "If you want my full honesty...I think it's pretty cool you can talk to snakes and I don't see how it's bad. I mean, look at the Disney Princesses. Some of them could talk to animals."
Which got him on the thought of the parselmouths. "Would be hella cool to be related to a founder though, huh? Can you talk to anything else? Other reptiles? Lizards? Salamanders? Can you talk to birds or mice?" He was probably sounding like a total idiot here and that was NOT his intention. Rather, he was showing his enthusiasm for wanting to learn more about it.
"Can you say something? Like... Hey, I'm so glad I met you, Simon...in the parselmouth language?" He didn't know it was called parseltongue to use the correct terminology.
Be kind to one another. (*iNPC is Miles Thatcher)
16 Dec 2020, 17:35
Assistance in difficult feelings
Interacting with @Simon Kincaid
English: #008000 | Parsel: #008080
Haley was surprised that he had not even looked deprecatingly but all the more pleased that he did not condemn her for it or think badly of her. After all, many thought additional to Salazar directly of Lord Voldemort in the first course, since this was also very well known as one of his ability and especially for the many bad things he had done. But she didn't want to bring up the topic or rather the dark sides any further and quickly drove those thoughts out of her mind again.
Haley laughed a little, that was exactly her first thought too and she let him know that. "My first thought was also that this is pretty cool after all. But the more I looked into it, the more doubts and fears came up in me" Haley shrugged her shoulder, she didn't want to seem weak or scared but that's just how she felt. She smirked at his comparison to Disney princesses and had to mention a quote that didn't come from a princess, but from one of her favorite stories, "Oh, you can't help that,we're all mad here. I'm mad. You're mad."
She pondered his statement for a moment, "yes it probably would be, but I'm afraid it would be a bit more difficult besides the Parsel if you were related to Salazar." She was sure of it, after all he too had a dark history. "Uh, uh, I don't think so?" replied Haley, though it sounded more like a question. "As far as I know, you can only talk to snakes".
She thought about his question, she was sure she couldn't control the language yet, but also she had never tested it since she knew "I don't think so, it just always happened without me noticing, but since I know I haven't tried it yet." She looked down at the floor in embarrassment. "I don't know how to navigate speaking in Parseltongue, after all I only just found out I was one".
She thought briefly of the moments she had spoken Parsel, "Often it happens when I don't really think about it and just speak quietly to myself. Maybe you've heard it before too? It sounds a bit like a, um, hiss" she hoped this was true, after all she only knew this from her friend who had told her.
The only one who fear death are those with regrets
16 Dec 2020, 17:44
Assistance in difficult feelings
Ready to research with @Haley Rose
"Maybe you did it just a bit ago. I thought it was more a nervous sort of murmur since I kind of snuck up on you and all unexpectedly."
"So Alice, huh? Or rather I suppose it was the cat that said it," he said of her quotation. Simon spent a lot of his years reading. Book after book after book. When one couldn't go outdoors they found ways to occupy their time and reading had been one of his favorites so he knew the reference.
"If it's any help, I don't think you're mad. I think it's rather neat," and he smiled, having used the word neat. Really? He couldn't have thought of a better term? Oh well. His eyes fell back upon the books in front of them. "So what are we hoping to find out? What questions do you have? Think of me as your personal assistant, if you will. I'll help you to the best of my ability."
Maybe she wanted to know more about famous witches and wizards that were parselmouths themselves or maybe she was hoping to learn more about the general idea of it all. Maybe she wanted to find ways to practice it and perfect the language. New languages sounded fun. His school had always encouraged them to take a foreign language but Simon hadn't really ever learned one. He planned on taking some courses in his upper years but now that he was at Hogwarts that wouldn't be. He thought it was good though, because languages could open new doors.
How amazing it must be to have a conversation with a snake!
Be kind to one another. (*iNPC is Miles Thatcher)