Corridor Happenings Finished

Muriel listened to Bella talk about different jobs and became absorbed in her short story about her brother. "That's so cool that you have a brother that works for the Ministry of Magic! I bet his life must be really exciting!" She exclaimed with a spark in her eyes, along with her mind running wild on all the possible adventures a ministry employee might encounter. As for her opinion on Herbology, Muriel simply shrugged; it was true that the topic could get a bit tedious, but she still enjoyed it nevertheless. 

"Mhm, the moving pictures especially freaked me out when I first got here, but it turns out most of them were probably mixed with a potion called a 'Developing Solution' I read about in one of my textbooks." She replied, following Bella's change of subject. As for her comment about the door incident, Muriel laughed nervously with her. "Ya... I still feel really bad for doing that, but it must've been fate or something, because one of my main goals coming here was to make a friend too, and then you came along." She answered back with a genuine and warmer smile on her face. 

Muriel was in fact very happy to be having a good conversation, let alone actually talking, with a new face. Sure, the small town she grew up in had nice neighbors, but for a long time there was never anyone her age to hang out with. Along with all the misadventures she'd had, her parents even persuaded her to stay near home, which caused her to stay in her shell and never get out. But now, perhaps things could change for the better.

"I wonder what other secrets this castle is hiding... there must be so many considering its size and history. Maybe we could stumble onto something one of these days! Like a new secret passage or room! Or maybe..." She continued rambling about the subject until she suddenly gasped aloud and got the same spark in her eye again. "Have you ever wondered what's in the Forbidden Forest?" She asked curiously.  

"That's so cool that you have a brother that works for the Ministry of Magic!" Bella nodded in agreement, it was rather exciting.
"Most of my family work there. One of my other brothers works as an auror and my sister is in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement," Bella spoke fondly about her siblings. She added as an after thought "I've got quite a lot of siblings,"

Bella had also read that pictures came alive through developing solution while studying for potions homework. It was crazy how things like that worked and that muggles have absolutely no idea about it either. When Muriel mentioned feeling guilty about the door incident Bella gave a small laugh and brushed it off. It really wasn't a big deal for her. She had received worse injuries walking down these moving staircases. How has nobody died on those yet. And who would the family sue if they did? Bella shook her head at the pointless thought track she had gone down and returned to the conversation.

"Have you ever wondered what's in the Forbidden Forrest?" Muriel had asked, gleaming with curiosity. Bella had only given brief thought to the Forbidden Forrest so far, having so many things still in the castle and the grounds they were allowed to be on to explore. But when she did think about it, it was very interesting.
"I'm not sure. I've heard a lot of stories but you can never know which ones are true. I know its all 'forbidden' and everything but I would love to explore it one day. Apparently there's supposed to be Centaurs in there,"

"They all sound really successful. It must be nice having siblings to look up to like that..." Muriel had commented before trailing off. Unfortunately, she didn't have many well-known relatives, let alone ones that she knew had anything interesting about them. Not wanting to ruin the mood however, she took interest in Bella's answer about the forest.

"Centaurs...?" She repeated mostly to herself, trying to recall anything she knew about the creatures. "They're very respectable creatures right? I've read that they're skilled in healing, divination, and astronomy. And they live in forest? That's amazing!"  She answered back, her mind racing even faster now. They could teach us so much! If only the Forbidden Forest wasn't forbidden!

"...Are you going to work for the Ministry of Magic too when you graduate?" Muriel blurted suddenly, still wondering about Bella's previous statement. She wouldn't be surprised if she wasn't sure yet as they were both still only First Years, but she couldn't help but ask anyway. She was also somewhat interested in all the different departments mentioned by Bella; she never knew the ministry was divided into sections like that. Maybe that's how they handle all the work that comes their way. 

Bella felt slightly awkward when Muriel trailed off but the sheer curiosity and excitement that bounced off her in waves when she spoke about the centaurs suitably distracted her.
"Yeah. Well that's what I've heard anyway. I've obviously not been in there yet, though I would like too," The Forbidden Forrest seemed to be quite a big deal amongst the older years and Bella was sure that it would be the kind of fun that would suit her perfectly. So much to explore and so many potential adventures she wouldn't want to miss. She made it her mission that she would go there one day.

"Are you going to work for the Ministry of Magic too when you graduate?" Bella thought about the question. Truthfully she wasn't sure what she wanted to do. She had thought about it but never anything serious and, being so young still, she wasn't really sure what she was truly good at yet when it came to magic.
"I don't know. Maybe. I mean there is so much to do there, there are so many options. I reckon that anyone would be able to find something in that place that interests them. But I don't think I will ever really be sure what I want to do when I graduate until I get out there and experience it ya know? What about you anyway? What do you want to do when you're older?"

"Me too! I hope what you heard was right, it'd be really interesting to meet a Centaur one day, or any magical creature in that matter! Though I'd still be a bit cautious in case the forest has any other creatures that are aggressive towards humans." Muriel added briefly while waiting for her to answer her other question. As predicted, Bella wasn't sure what she was going to do, but her answer did make her think of hew own when the question was thrown back at her.

"Well, I was thinking to go into healing once I graduate. My mother is a Healer at St. Mungo's, and I was thinking to follow in her footsteps since I do like the idea of helping those who are hurt. But I haven't even taken my first Herbology lesson yet, let alone all the other classes needed to become one, so I'm not even sure if I'll be good at healing. Maybe I'll just take it slow for now until I know my strengths and then choose for sure later." She said, realizing how much of a better of a plan that was once she thought about it.

Perhaps Muriel was thinking too much about the future; Hogwarts was supposed to be a place for learning. And now the talk she was having with Bella seemed to lift off a ton of stress she didn't even know she was carrying. "For now, I guess the fun is figuring out what we're truly good at!" She concluded as she did a quick twirl of happiness.

Bella was impressed when Muriel spoke of her mothers job at St. Mungo's and she also thought, despite having only met her around 10 minutes ago, this place really is crazy, that Muriel would be really great if she did follow after her mum.

The two girls faded into a companionable silence once Muriel had finished speaking. Maybe this truly was going to be the start of a real friendship, the kind that Bella had been so hoping for. She realised with a sad glance at their surroundings that they were at the end of the corridor. At least she recognised where they were now. They were near the stairs and right were they would need to be to head towards the library. Bella really didn't want to end the conversation here, she had finally found somebody that she was comfortable around and wanted to get to know her more.

"We could, uh, go up to the library or something if you would like? I mean you don't have to or anything, I just thought maybe we could talk some more. We still have a little time before we need to head back to our dorms," Bella had stuttered a little, nervous that Muriel would shut her down or reject the offer. She gave a nervous smile as she waited for her to reply.

"Hmm?" Muriel said confusingly, now just noticing how far they've walked. "Oh wow, we are near the library! Time flies by so fast when you're having fun I suppose!" She stared at Bella, tilting her head slightly at her stutter. "But ya sure, I love the library! And I don't want to go back to my dorm yet, I just left from there." 

Indeed, she'd left from her dorm after meeting her other roommates and introducing herself due to the lack of activity. Her dorm was pretty quiet in all honesty, with most of the girls just laying on their beds reading books or doing homework, with maybe a small conversation starting up every now and then. While Muriel didn't mind that at all, she still had to admit that after doing her own heart's content of studying, it got a bit boring. So, she'd wandered far from the tower where the rooms were held and traveled all the way... here.

"It's quite big isn't it? The library. When I got my first tour around the castle, I was shocked on just its sheer size! And then with all the books! It was very overwhelming, but in a good way! Maybe the dense shelves around us could lessen the volume of our voices too, so that we don't disturb anybody." She added as she hopped up the first few steps of the staircase.