Of Course! PV Seren Yong Closed

Seren had come into the library, and had headed into her favorite corner for studying. She noticed another girl, in Slytherin colors, sitting in the same corner and considered turning and fleeing. She was still ever so suspicious of Slytherins... But she was trying. She had positive interactions, after all, with Ming and Avery, so perhaps she could give another Slytherin a go, at least to the level of sharing reading space.

She noticed that the other girl was deep in their reading, which made it much less scary, and so Seren settled down, grateful her favorite chair was not in use. She settled in, and put her bookbag on the table next to her, before she dug out her History of Magic text (along with a quill, ink and a roll of parchment), ready to get to work and maybe just get a bit ahead.

By the time she came to a stopping point, she had filled the entire roll's front half with notes, and she sighed, setting it down and stretching out her shoulders and arms. As she did so, she looked up, and realized that the other girl seemed to have paused at the same time... And now Seren was not sure what to do, because when the Slytherin had been glancing around, Seren had accidentally met her gaze.

The slender girl froze, her blue eyes a little wide, and she reached up to gently grip the tip of her (Currently pale blue) braid. She bit her lip, and then finally, realizing it would be rude not to speak, she said "Ah... Hello."

Not the most inspired of greetings, perhaps, and there might have been a hint of fear and shuness in the words, but they were an attempt, at least.

Accidentally looking at someone while they are looking at you is very awkward. Do you break contact and pretend it never happened? Do you pretend you were looking at someone else? Do you say hello? Laugh? Smile? Wave?

Say hello it was.

June smiled at the Ravenclaw girl who seemed quite nervous. Was June intimidating? She certainly hoped not. "Hello!" June gave a small wave in her direction. "It seems we both took a little break at the same time, didn't we? What are you reading?" June leaned closer and peered at the girl's book. "Ah, History of Magic. Revising for end-of-terms?"

June stuck a small bookmark in her spot and picked up her book to show to the girl. "I'm reading this. Have you heard of it? My father just sent it to me a month ago, I'm just now having the time to actually read it. It's quite good, though."

June caught herself rambling. Her cheeks flushed a bit, slightly embarrassed. "Sorry, don't know what came over me there. I just.. Books excite me," she chuckled nervously.

She sat there a moment, looking at the girl, another awkward moment passing between them. "Selwyn, pleasure to meet you. June Selwyn, first-year."

Seren's eyes went more than a little wide at the VERY energetic response from the Slytherin girl. She had not expected such exuberance, honestly, and she was unsure how to handle it. But Seren was not going to back down, oh no! That would be inconceivably rude, and she might get a nasty letter about it if the other girl mentioned it to HER parents and her parents knew Seren's... No, Seren was going to ride this out.

And maybe she would get lucky, too, and make a new friend. After all, Ming and Avery had all seemed kind so far.

The question about her book had her lifting it a little, and then she blinked at the question about revising. Her tone was shy and nervous, and a little fearful again, but she was truly trying. "N...No? Not really. I like history, when it's taught well. There's ever so much to learn from it. It's kind of like stories, but they're real."

She tilted her head, squinting a little at the title on the book, and she shook her head, slowly. Her cheeks flushed a little, and she said, in a tone that was clearly utterly apologetic, "No, I do not know it. I have... I was never given any nonfiction to read, and that looks like it's nonfiction. I hope it's lovely? I really would not know."

She blinked at the other girl's blushing and had to control the urge to giggle in response... Both because it would be VERY rude and because she did not actually want to offend the other girl, who seemed to be a fellow book lover. She did not respond in time, either, as the other was introducing herself.

This caused Seren to sit up, a little stiff but not in a way that indicated discomfort. More, it was the kind of thing that might read as 'I am being proper and polite.' Her tone, when she spoke, also conveyed that impression. "I am Seren Yong, also a first year. A pleasure to meet you."

And then her tone went back to a more normal one. "And no need to apologize for loving books... Books are wonderful."

June couldn't help but smile when talking about books and story. But then, in recognition of what Seren had just said, her smile faltered a bit. "You... You were never given nonfiction growing up?" June couldn't imagine a world without being able to read fantastic tales far away from her own reality. "Oh.. Well, I'm certainly enjoying it."

Thank. Merlin. Finally, another person who seemed to have manners. June's posture instinctively straightened when Seren introduced herself, her face settling into a slightly less genuine, more practiced smile. "The pleasure is mine, truly."

Seren Yong, Seren Yong... June's face blanched slightly. Oh no. This girl was in the study group where June made an absolute villain out of herself. June knew she looked familiar. Please don't recognize me, please don't recognize me, please don't recognize me.

"Yes, books are wonderful." June quickly returned to the subject, hoping it would distract from any possible recognition. "My father is an author, actually. It would be a bit of a shame if I didn't think so, wouldn't it?" She laughed quietly, more to fill the air rather than finding her comment funny. "So, if you don't mind my asking, what do you read then, if you read only nonfiction?"

Seren's expression went a little masklike at the question about not being given nonfiction, because she did not know how to respond to it. Finally, she simply said "I was allowed to read educational books, of course, but no, I never got the chance to read any. But I am ever so glad your book is enjoyable."

Seren paused for a moment, a thought occurring to her... She had a strange feeling she suddenly recalled June's face or name, or even both, but it was not connecting to why. She considered that, and tried to find why, but for the moment, it was escaping her. She WAS quite pleased at the fact that she had met another person who seemed to treat politeness as something valuable. She always did appreciate that.

At the comment about June's father, Seren's eyes went ever so wide and she looked fascinated. "Oh? I have never met an author before. It must be very interesting, to grow up with one! I am betting your house is FULL of books, not just his. I can not imagine an author who would not love to read himself, after all!" The question made her blush, and she shrugged a little. "Whatever I find, to a degree? It is not that I am against non-fiction, I just have no idea where to start, really, since I have never read any before. When I peeked at the non-fiction section of Flourish and Blott's, I was very overwhelmed by how many kinds of stories they had."

June loved when people were fascinated by her father's work. She couldn't imagine anything more wonderful than living with an author, and not just any author, but Phineas Selwyn, the greatest, kindest, most supportive father in the whole world (probably).

The young Slytherin's face lit up. "It's wonderful! We have a library back home, of course, but I think there might be a collection of books in every room of the house..." June thought for a moment, running through the floor plan in her mind. "I think the guest bathroom on the first floor doesn't have any books, but that might be it." She smiled, remembering times in her childhood when she constructed forts out of all of the books they had. "My father is also a bit of a collector, so we have some interesting titles, that's for sure."

The thought of someone who hadn't read fiction before... June simply couldn't comprehend it. Her face fell slightly just thinking about it. She didn't know where to start, hm? June's eyes widened as she got an idea. She reached for her bag that she had tucked underneath her chair, and dug around for a moment. Surely she had a copy on her... "Aha!"

June pulled out her copy of Drainmuss and Death, flipped through it as a final goodbye, and handed the hardcover to Seren. "Here, you can start with this. I have multiple copies, I don't need this one." She offered a friendly smile. "It's his most popular one, I think you'll enjoy it."

Seren listened to June's description of their house, and her blue eyes went wide and fascinated by the idea of having literally every room in the house lined with books. It sounded like heaven, honestly. The only thing better would be if there was a room with a roof like the Great Hall's, so you could sit and read and then pause and gaze at the stars above. Otherwise, just books, books everywhere sounded like the most amazing thing ever.

"I wonder what the most unusual or rare book your father has managed to get is... Uncommon books are always fascinating. Like... Why are there so few? Were only a few printed, or did a lot of them go missing somehow? And if so, on either side, why? You know what I mean?" She said, looking fascinated, and the most relaxed and open she had this entire time they had been talking.

When June said Aha, Seren jumped a little in surprise, but watched with interest. However, when June pulled out a book... And just casually gave it to Seren, Seren's eyes went wider than ever, and her expression showed the purest astonishment. She almost robotically accepted the book, and stared at it in stunned silence for a long moment... Before hugging it to herself, like it was a precious object. In that moment, June Selwyn had elevated herself to a full friend, no questions asked, by being the first person who was not a friend of Seren's to give her a gift... And a book, no less. "Th... Thank you! I will treasure it, and I will definitely be reading this tonight. Oh wow... I... I have no words to truly tell you how much this means to me."

The corner of June's sight got a bit bleary as she watched Seren's reaction to her gift, a smile deeply etched on her face. "You're very welcome, Seren Yong." In that moment, June felt as if something had tied her and Seren together. Perhaps it was that they both seemed to value manners, or that they both shared a love of something that clearly meant a lot to them, or maybe even something else entirely, but June felt herself resonating with the young Ravenclaw.

"I hope you enjoy it. Perhaps we could sit down when you've finished it and exchange thoughts?" June liked the idea of a book-club, but she wasn't sure how well it would fit into her already-busy homework and revising schedule, especially once the new school year began. But the idea of discussing with just one person seemed more approachable, more feasible. And, quite honestly, more fun.

The only thing that would possibly stand in the way was if Seren Yong recognized June from George's detention, and then promptly decided that June was the most despicable person on the face of the planet who shouldn't be allowed near anyone ever. Seren probably wouldn't think that, she seemed a bit too level-headed for that train of thought. But still, it was a small seed of anxiety that sat in June's stomach.

She tried to brush off the feeling, taking a deep breath and painting on a kind look. "You know, this might sound a bit out of the blue, but I think we're going to get along swimmingly."