Library Lock-In Ravenclaw Closed

Midas hurried through the hall, not wanting to get stuck in the hall at night. As he rushed through the corridors to the Ravenclaw Common room, he couldn't help but think he was forgetting something. When he passed the Library, he saw a bunch of Ravenclaws waiting in there. "I wonder why they're waiting in the Library... Is there some event going on?" he quietly murmured... 

Suddenly, it clicked - there was the lock-in he signed up for! "Right! I signed up for that! I completely forgot it was today!" Midas broke out into a sprint, drawing many eyes as he sprinted down the corridor. "I need to grab some stuff before I go in!" Midas ran into the Common room, and quickly went into the dorms. He took almost everything out of his bag, and began grabbing things. "Let's see... what do I need... this... maybe this..." he quietly said to himself as he shoved items into his bag. He made sure to grab a pillow and also a thin blanket.

When he finished filling his bag up, he also grabbed a book. It was one that he had already read many times, but whatever. While this was a "social event", he knew that he was going to be one of the people along the side just not doing anything, so he needed something to occupy his time. He began running back down the halls until he finally reached the Library. There seemed to be a lot more Ravenclaws than before. He quietly slid into the Library and looked around. There were some people reading books, some chatting with each other, and there were two girls playing chess. He didn't really know anyone here. Midas didn't even know whom his dormmates were!

"What to do..." he thought as he observed the Library. He began slowly walking toward the side of the Library, deciding to just wait over there while reading his book. Besides, he would need somewhere to put his stuff down, preferably away from others. He walked over to the side of the Library, and walked near a bookshelf, and put his stuff down. "I guess this'll work..." he quietly muttered. He grabbed his book and turned around to sit down with his back facing the wall. Upon turning around, he saw a girl also standing by herself around the edge of the library looking around. 

He looked down at his book. "I've already read this many times... It's getting kinda boring..." He decided he would rather not read this again, and looked at the girl again. "I guess talking to her would probably be more exciting than rereading this..." Midas walked over to the girl, and rather hesitantly "H-hi, I'm Midas. N-nice to meet you."

Jeronimo found that he disliked spending time with this girl. He mentally clarified his position. Emma was lovely, and very nice, and had been receptive to him and seemed quite smart. But every time Jeronimo deflected responsibility, she deflected it right back. How cruel of her to force him to - shudder - make decisions.

“Um,” Jeronimo managed to say.

He weighed the choices in his head. On the one hand, he would be able to continue this conversation and remain in a socializing state. On the other hand, he had literally just had a cupcake and wasn’t in the mood for anything else. But surely Emma would enjoy Jeronimo’s company more if he complied with her suggestion. After all, she wouldn’t have suggested it if she disliked the idea.

Fortunately, Jeronimo’s plight would end soon. Another girl approached them.

“Hi!” Jeronimo said, badly hiding his surprise, “Um... yeah, there were some cupcakes. And brownies and Jaffa cakes and things. Some crisps, too. I can show you, if you’d like.”

The boy pointed at where he found the snacks, which he discovered were still plenty. Either the others weren’t eating or these were self-refilling as well.

“Right there,” Jeronimo said, “I’m alright, though.”

Jeronimo watched the chess game again from afar, bewildered.

“Wait, so are the players doing that, or do wizard chess pieces just... do that?” he whispered, “Is it the same rules as norm- erm, Muggle chess? Do- do the pieces actually die or something?”

Jeronimo looked at the other two apologetically.

“Sorry, still adjusting, I guess. We can go get snacks.”

He turned to the newer girl. “What’s your name, by the way? I’m Jeronimo Khan.”

Emma felt slightly bad for pinning the decision back to Jeronimo, but she could never make up her mind for always overanalyzing everything. She found it a bit weird that it took him a bit longer to adjust to people, longer than she did. She jumped slightly when another girl had, thankfully, intervened with their conversation that really wasn't getting anywhere. 

The brunette waved to the girl that had recently approached the two. "Hi, I'm Emma." The words seemed to flow off her chest. It was much easier talking to a group than just to one person, nevertheless a person of the opposite gender.

“Sorry, still adjusting, I guess. We can go get snacks.” Yet Emma shrugged it off, she hadn't really played Chess enough to know the basic fundamentals to talk about the game. She didn't really know why he was apologizing to them, it seemed a bit strange. After all, what had he done? She walked over to the snack bar, she was craving something sweet, even though they had just come back from eating dinner. 

"Did you guys ever get something off the Hogwarts Express? You know, something sweet to pass the time?" Emma took a piece of fudge off the table and took a small bite off of it, after all, she didn't want to stuff her face when there were men around. "This is amazing, you have to try some, do you want to go and watch the Chess game?" I wonder if this food is magically enchanted, Emma decided to leave that last part out, this time taking a slightly bigger bite.

She seemed to have surprised Jeronimo, but the girl met that with a smile and tried to reassure him. He gestured towards the snacks - she hadn't realised he had a cupcake in his hand already - and spoke about the wonders that were waiting for them. Given that they were in Hogwarts, even the most boring crisps were bound to taste... well, magical.

Jeronimo launched into some questions about chess following that. "The rules are like Muggle chess," she explained, drawing from that old set they had back home. She hadn't played it much though - Clarisse wasn't a fan of chess in Muggle or magic varieties. "You just tell them where to go. Oh, and they have some sort of sentience. Like, they can talk, and give you advice and stuff." She paused for a second, deep in thought. "Do you think they're sentient enough to be passed under that law.. .the one passed after the gargoyles? How do you even make them sentient anyway?"

She shrugged, glancing over to the other girl. "They don't die, they just break. I think," she added, hoping she wasn't excluding her. Probably best to go for those snacks.

Following the girl who introduced herself as Emma, she made her way to the snack bar, devouring everything at sight. Jeronimo was right about the selection. He hadn't said, however, how it made it impossible to choose. Eventually deciding on a cupcake to match the boy's, she spun back round, dipping her finger in the icing and licking it.

"I'm Clarisse by the way. Jeronimo. Emma." She nodded at each in turn, making sure she had remembered their names. It was good to make sure she knew their names. It would be embarrassing if she slipped up. She licked up another piece of icing before breaking off some of the sponge and popping that in her mouth too. "And of course I did. The trolley lady's things are amazing!"

She extended her cupcake out, gesturing for Emma and Jeronimo to try some if they wanted, before taking a little piece of fudge.

"Why is this so good?" she wondered out loud, beginning to move back to the chess again, "I don't understand how everything is so delicious."

Cecily still stood quietly on the outskirts of the emptied space, watching more and more Ravenclaws enter the library. There were already two girls playing chess, and a small group hitting the snack table. Cecily had just about mustered the courage and willpower to join them when a blonde girl Cecily Queen set her stuff next to Cecily's. Excusing herself and claiming she would be quiet, the girl pulled out a worn copy of The Tales of Beedle the Bard and began to read. Cecily almost asked what her name was, but then thought better of it-- she hated to be interrupted when she was trying to read, and assumed that this girl probably would, too.

Nodding and smiling at the girl, Cecily looked back towards the snack table. Though she had just eaten a few hours ago, the sweets looked irresistible. Cecily did her best to mentally preparing herself for the social interaction as she began to take a step in the direction of food. However, before she could move, a boy across the room began to approach her. He introduced himself as Midas, and Cecily did her best to put something of a smile on her face as the interaction came sooner than she had expected.

"Cecily," she said. "Nice to meet you, too, Midas." The girl's eyes flicked back and forth between the boy and the food, like a cornered rabbit. Should she invite him to go with her to get snacks? Was that a thing people did with someone they had just spoken to for the first time ten seconds ago? Would that seem to straightforward?

Making up her mind, Cecily spoke up once more. "Um...I was just about to get some snacks. Care to...uh...join me?" Cecily inwardly cringed at her stuttering. She had been getting better at the whole socializing thing in the time she had been at Hogwarts, but she still has a long way to go.

About to take a step, the girl stopped once more, thinking again. She asked herself why couldn't she just go get food, why she had to over think things, as she remembered the girl at her feet.

"Hi...um, I'm Cecily. Would you like to come get food with...us?" Cecily said to the girl, trying to be inclusive in this event that was supposed to be social. She just hoped that she didn't seems too awkward doing it.

"I like your surname. Holloway. It sounds a bit American. Where are you from?" Valerie asked. Carmen smiled, Valerie was so calm and made it easy to respond. Usually, Carmen would have been annoyed someone was talking during a game of chess but not now.

"I'm from Dublin," Carmen responded. "Holloway is the English version of my last name. My actual last name is Ó hAilmhic," she explained to the girl as she moved her bishop forward a few spaces. "As for my first name Carmen, it is from Celtic mythology. My mother hated Ireland so she named me Carmen, though she spelled it wrong. In Celtic Mythology Carman was a goddess who destroyed Ireland with the help of her three sons." Carmen was surprised to find herself talking with ease. She took her blonde hair and pulled it back into a ponytail.

She wondered herself where Valerie was from. When she spoke Carmen could here a thick French accent. She wondered if Valerie spoke French. Carmen herself spoke many languages including French. She hadn't quite enough courage to ask Valerie a question yet. She really liked Valerie and the calmness and ease she had at speaking to people. Her older brother Matthew was that way. She didn't want to just play chess with her this night and then not speak with her ever again but she didn't know how to make that clear. Valerie moved another piece and as she did Carmen did something she immediately regretted. "Do you want to be friends?" Oh, God! Why did she say that! Out of all the stupid things she could have said! Now she just waited for Valerie's answer.

Valerie was immediately fascinated when Carmen pronounced her Irish last name. While she wasn't overly talented in languages beyond the two she spoke herself, Valerie has always been fascinated when hearing words in a tongue she didn't know. Everything sounded ten times more interesting if one didn't understand a word that was said, in her opinion.

"Dublin..." she repeated after Carmen, thinking. "Ah, yes, there is that beautiful library right? Trinity I think, I saw it on pictures in the newspaper once. It looked amazing, and it's hundreds of years old too! Were you ever there? Of course you were, I guess. Silly question."

She was honestly impressed with the deep meaning behind the other girl's name - especially since her mother had both written it wrong and named her after a goddess that had wanted to destroy their place of origin. The thought seemed alien, but Valerie couldn't really know if it was that strange. She didn't even know what her own name meant, just that she'd gotten her second name, Phoebe, from her grandmother.

The moment she picked up her own bishop Carmen suddenly asked her if they wanted to be friends. "If I wanna be your friend?" asked, a little confused. "Uh... sure, I'd like to be your friend! I don't know many other students yet, so it would be nice if we could be friends!"

She grinned at Carmen, unsure where the sudden offer of friendship had come from, but happy that the blonde girl wanted to be friends with her nonetheless.

Out of the corner of her eye, Cecily watched as the boy and the other girl started to get up.

Well that was a fail trying to make a friend Cecily thought, shaking her head. She had wished she had introduced herself to the girl, but Cecily of course was too nervous.

When the other girl introduced herself as Cecily, Cecily brightened up.
"My name is Cecily too. I'd love to come," Cecily said, gently putting her book down. Cecily knew she probably should start studying her school books, but she couldn't help wanting to make friends with other people.

Cecily, because she was so focused on her school, was very afraid and nervous to make friends because she thought they would distract her.

This is a Lock-In Cecily thought as she followed the other Cecily and the other boy, Midas. I can't be reading all the time!

Cecily smiled as she confidently followed the two over to the snack table.
As they grabbed some snacks, it was quite silent between the three.
"Thanks for inviting me, by the way," Cecily said, hoping to make the situation less awkward.
Cecily continued, "I'm sorry if I appear very shy and nervous. This is my first year here, and I am very nervous about school. I know this may sound silly, and a little mean, but I have always thought that if I had any friends they would distract me. That's why I'm so shy and nervous. Although I think having friends is good. And it's even better to meet someone that shares the same name!"
Cecily turned and smiled at the other Cecily.

"Don't eat sugary things," Jeronimo's mum had said. "It'll make you fat," she had said.

Yes, mum, Jeronimo thought to himself, chewing on the fudge.

"That seems unnecessary," the boy thought to himself, "Why not just make it chess? It'd be faster, for sure. You can just kinda..."

Jeronimo mimed swapping chess pieces.

The conversation moved back to snacks and Jeronimo wiped his hands.

"I... didn't try anything," Jeronimo shrugged, "I didn't really know how wizard money worked when I was on the Express."

Jeronimo looked at the other two. They were pretty, to be sure. He wasn't sure what to make of it. After all, they were... girls.

Jeronimo mindlessly reached for another bowl, this time full of black candy. The boy scooped up some and poured it into a cup. All of a sudden, he felt a bite on his finger.

"OW! What the-" Jeronimo yelped as he slammed the cup's open end onto the snack table. He could hear rattling and scratching from the inside. He looked up at the other two girls, absolutely terrified.

"What- is that supposed to happen?" the boy shuddered, "Why- why does that exist? Is that supposed to be funny? Why are they even serving those? I-"

Jeronimo scowled. "I don't understand. Moving staircases, ghosts, candy that bites you. Do wizards not care about self-preservation?"

Emma jumped back as Jeronimo exclaimed, she wasn't sure if it was by pain or by surprise. Either way, it had definitely taken her aback. She looked shocked for a minute, unable to comprehend what had just happened. She had never known any sort of candy to bite, hop maybe, even float off the ground a few inches.

Instinctively, she asked about his physical health, not what they were. "Are you okay?" Emma looked at his hand trying to find the source of the insignificant injury. She kept her distance, though she took a step closer to observe his hand.

The brunette watched as he stuttered. "I going to guess that was supposed to happen, maybe for a good, but cruel, laugh?" She was sure to add her words of disapproval of the sick joke, somehow this was a bit worse than the pranks she pulled. 

She bent over to look at the bucket he had just pulled from. Indeed, squealing sounds were heard from within the container. Then, something clicked in the back of her head. 

"Licorice Snaps? Uhm..." Emma paused collecting her thoughts, "Take back everything I just said, sort of..? I've always heard you need to chew before you get bit." She looked down at the bowl, a part of the brunette told her to pick up one, for empathy. Then another told her that she was about to experience a bit, if not a lot, of pain.

Reluctantly, she picked up a candy leech. Well, a leech that only bites for a mere second. Raising it slowly, she waited for it to bite. "C'mon you st-  CRAP!" Emma had been shaking the leech when she started on her command to the Licorice Snap that had bitten her to early for her liking. Emma smiled nervously, as she watched the Snap that had just landed on the table crawl back into the bowl. That was extremely unsanitary...