Studying...? Locked

There is nothing in the dark to be afraid of; only me.
@Mellani Miller

The door was blasted open by an ebony haired Slytherin whose eyes were as dark as thunder. She walked in quite calmly, but eyes flashing menacingly. She selected a table to sit down and do her study; Transfiguration demanded a certain amount if time from her and she began flipping the pages of her pristine book with quick speed.

Anyone looking closer would see that she had written on them; post it notes attached from the top, middle or bottom and tips and tricks were scribbled in the margins. Once in a while, Duvessa Ember would jot another note down and continue feverishly finding the correct page. She hardly noticed anyone around her and did not care. What on earth could a bunch of Hufflepuffs do to her? She smirked to herself and began swallowed into the physics and science of Transfiguration as if there was no interruption in her thoughts.

The sight would have been interesting, a black haired Slytherin with robes fresh and not a wrinkle to be shown on them. Black patent shoes that were polished till they shone and a look on her face that most were afraid. She was slightly intimidating, especially for a small first year.

Mellani started at the sight of another girl wondering if she was a senior. Mellani had noticed the girl in the Slytherin Common Room plenty of times and had always been intimidated by her. Mellani had never approached her directly as she was always reminded of her experience with bullies when she looked at her.

Mellani oftentimes wondered whether the girl just looked intimidating or was actually rude. she sighed and wished that she was confident enough to approach her. But well, let's face it. She wasn't. Mellani wondered if she should make a dash for the door or should just hang around. She decide to hang around and continue going through books, her mind concentrating on how she would react if the other girl approached her instead of studying.

Mellani was silently flipping through 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them' scanning each and every page thoroughly, wanting to make sure that she came to know about the creatures and they would not hurt her if she ever came across them. She had slowly completely forgotten about the presence of the other girl as she slipped into her own world of books. She let her mind wander to thinking how her parents, brother and friends would react if she ever found and brought one of these 'beasts' home.

There is nothing in the dark to be afraid of; only me.
@Mellani Miller

Duvessa was reading with the speed of lightning. She often murmured to herself, but it was barely heard - even to her.

She noticed that there was someone sitting there, making her not alone. Uh, more people. Why was Cai the only one who could understand her? Well, she hoped that the girl would not approach her because she studied very hard and her cousins often grilled her with questions in the holidays to prepare for her end of year exams. Indeed, her parents were very proud of their child (well, her Mother was, anyway) and always wanted to make them "the best".

Duvessa once more flipped the page, before thinking that it would be easier to go to the Library and get a couple of more books. Yes....a few titles wouldn't be too bad. However, the presence of someone else, perhaps watching her made it almost impossible to concentrate. Who was that, anyway? A Slytherin, judging by the tie. She had seen that girl several times....yes, in the Common Room. But Duvessa never payed much attention to new First Years, only Cai and perhaps Lils got her full attention. Certainly not a random girl who seemed to be afraid to say "boo" to a goose.

Mellani felt someone's eyes on her and sighed. It was probably the other girl. The presence of her had become pretty unknown to her for a while, but now the girl was looking at her. She looked up and their eyes met for a moment.

The girl seemed to be glaring at her like she was a disturbance. Well, she probably was. Mellani wondered if she should get up and leave. But that would make her look weak, and she looked pretty weak anyways. Besides, everyone had access to the study room. She went back to reading but she couldn't get the other girl out of her head.

The girl looked at her yet again. "You know, you don't need to glare at me like that, right?" she says, not too loudly but loud enough to be heard. "You could very well leave the hall if you want to."

Wow, why had she said that? She was already uncomfortable enough with the other girl. Besides, she had also sounded pretty rude. She did not want to sound rude to an unknown person. She sighed. She had said what she had to and now was looking back at her book, still thinking about what she had said.

As Leo entered the room, he sighed in relief as it was the place he was looking for. He saw a familiar face. André Lebedev (@Andé Lebedev) from his dormitory was there and he walked up to him. “Watcha doing?” He was so focused on studying that he didn’t hear him. Leo shrugged and walked away. He sat down at a table near in a little corner facing the whole room. He felt like a spy. He could see anyone and everyone that came in and out of the room. He felt a rush of excitement. He started studying his charms and D.A.D.A. While he was studying, something caught his eye. A Slytherin with eyes as dark as a blackboard playing with black chalk (@ Duvessa Ember), was speed reading all her books. He cocked his head to the side, wondering what she was doing and, like, how? He wanted to go up to her and say hi, but he was super shy at this point, he just blushed at the thought of going up to her and saying hi, and stoped looking at her and continued studying. A bunch of thoughts rushed in his head. One, how was that girl reading so fast, and was he gonna make any friends? He would have to go up to people and say hi, just like to the Slytherin (@ Duvessa Ember). But he was scared and shy. Super shy. And he was normally that shy. He would at least have the courage to say hi or what’s up? But, now, this feeling was something different. He was extremely shy.

There is nothing in the dark to be afraid of; only me.
@Mellani Miller

"You know, you don't need to glare at me like that, right?" The voice broke the silence. It was Mellani Miller speaking. Duvessa looked up. Eyes blank. Face pale. No more the color of it's thoughts.
"I'm aware, thank you." She said, her voice surprisingly tight, and tone dripping in sarcasm. Not that she was trying to hide it. Why was she such a magnet to students?
"You could very well leave the hall if you want to." This time quieter. But Duvessa was gifted with an excellent hearing.
"Oh, I'm aware of that too, you know. It's not every day that people tell me that, but I figured it out after a while." She continued mercilessly, eyes torn from her books. "If you've got nothing to say, than neither do I. For I'm pretty sure the Professors love such 0-standing students." Duvessa said pointedly, ignoring the other people in the room. Perhaps she should resolve to write to Dagger; a thing she only did when she was desperate - as if asking help from a devil snake. Not someone you could trust, but not the person that you could hate entirely. What would she put?

The girl had said some pretty mean things, and as much stressed as Duvessa was, her unruly tongue was always at the ready to attack. No bouquets handed out today, for sure.

Mellani shrugged when Duvessa said that she was aware, "Well then, please stop." Mellani said, ignoring the sarcasm. This time, her tone was much kinder. She had realized her mistake of being rude earlier, and she wasn't going to do it again. Not even if the other girl was being rude to her. After all, she was always kind to others. She still didn't know why she had been so rude earlier.

"I'm pretty sure they love kind students too" Mellani replied to the girl when she made the comment about professors loving o-standing students, rolling her eyes. God, she had felt like scoffing at that one, but then again, she didn't want to be rude. After all, she was one of the 'o-standing' students too! Just not someone who bragged about it as much.

She gave a sigh and went back to reading, trying not to look at the other girl and make assumptions about her just now. Besides, she was the one who had been rude first. If the other girl was being rude to her, it was mostly her fault. She thought of apologizing several times but just didn't know how. How was she supposed to say sorry? How was she supposed to apologize to this girl who didn't even look like she would understand?

Mentions: @Duvessa Ember

OOC note: Who's Dagger? Sorry, I have no idea...

There is nothing in the dark to be afraid of; only me.
@Mellani Miller

The last comment made Duvessa really angry. Who was that girl talking back to her? A menacing look came over in her eyes, dark as coal. The girl returned to her books, and Duvessa was about to do it too; although the Slytherin had every intention of snapping back.
"Well, unless you have anything else to say about branches of Transfiguration, then kindly," Her voice grew cold, wanting to say "shut up". But playing it nicely, she continued smoothly, "Be quiet." She took out her quill and began jotting down notes.

Damn, Transfiguration was never one of her favorite subjects. But they grew as thick as thieves over the first few lessons and she grew to love the challenge and the way it was never dull around when she was doing her classwork or extra work. She meant to get good grades, and was prepared to do a lot to excell in all of them.

As her mind stopped thinking about work, it went back to the girl.
"What would Dagger do?" She muttered to herself desperately, and nearly surprised herself for saying it. She looked up, hoping the girl did not hear. It was embarrasing to remember the mighty Dagger in her own school years so Duvessa grew to hate her.

Her thoughts turned to her sister, Lorie. At once, memories flashed back....under the bed, giggling and holding each other tightly as the storm crackled...sharing the delicious fudge that mother baked so well....the Slytherin was lost in her thoughts, text blurred and quill poised in mid-air.

Mellani smiled at the other girl's question. Transfiguration, huh? She didn't really like the subject but it was actually pretty easy for her. And she knew all about the branches. "I do, actually. Have something to say regarding the branches of Transfiguration. There are four branches of transfiguration - Conjuration, meaning making things that have previously been vanished appear; Vanishment, meaning making things vanish; Tranformation, meaning changing the shape or size of things and Untransfiguration, meaning getting things that have previously been transfigured back to normal." Mellani was pretty sure she had just managed to sound like a professor.

She was in an exceptionally good mood. She was going to turn twelve the next day. She guessed it would be a pretty lonely birthday but she didn't really care much. At least she wouldn't be eleven anymore. And, it would also be her first birthday at Hogwarts.

Mellani gave the other girl a curious look. She looked like someone who wasn't as intimidating or rude as she looked. Mellani knew she was only acting nice but, at least she was acting. Most people didn't even do that. And then she spoke. Mellani had good hearing so, even though she hadn't been too loud, Mellani did hear what she said. She seemed to be thinking what someone else would do if they were hear. Someone named Dagger apparently. Who was that? Mellani really wanted to know. She was shy to ask but in the end, her curiosity was stronger. "Who's Dagger?" she asked. Should she have asked that? Probably not. But then, it had already been done. And it couldn't be undone.

Interacting with: @Duvessa Ember