What's It Called? PV Isadora Everridge Finished

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It's the middle of the week, and Dora's in the library between her classes. She's gotten pretty good at navigating the shelves, having spent so much time in here figuring it out. Too shy to ask the librarian for help, she often helped herself find whatever book she needed. Today, that's a Transfiguration book. Those classes have been getting more difficult lately, and there's some concepts that are hard to grasp.

Dora finds the shelf she needs, walking along the row until she sees it. However, there's another girl standing right there. She has purple hair, and is looking around the shelf intently. Dora doesn't want to be rude, so she decides to wait silently to the side until the girl is finished. It's easier than talking to her.

But, as the minutes wear on, Dora starts to wonder if maybe she should just ask. At one point, it seems as though the girl's about to move away, but she sighs and leans against a post, half in front of the book Dora needs. Weighing the options in her mind, Dora finally convinces herself to approach her.

"Pardon me.." She says nervously, hoping that she isn't bothering her, "May I please have that book?" She points to the Transfiguration book. "U-Unless you want it. Then, you can have it." She adds quickly, even though she really does need it.

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Nora blinked, confused as to what book the girl was talking about. Gilderoy Lockhart's Magical Me or...? Shifting her gaze towards the direction of her finger, Nora immediately felt awkward. The book rested just behind her, and it was obvious that she'd been in the Hufflepuff's way. She had probably had been lurking nearby for a while now, waiting to get it. In fact, Nora had thought she'd seen a pale girl with emerald green eyes just like her earlier. Stupid me, she thought, scolding herself. If only she wasn't so wrapped up in finding that book.

"Oh, uh, sorry," Nora muttered, practically darting off of the column. Too bad, it was comfortable. "The book's all yours." Reaching to grab it for the girl, she noticed the ornate title, set in silver. Something to do with... transfiguration? Argh. Now that made Nora feel guilty, but for an entirely different reason. The thing was, Nora herself had quite a bit of homework to do for that subject, and here she was, in the library, not doing it. Instead, she was on a mad goose chase for some book she's probably never find. Clearly, this Hufflepuff didn't have the same problem, being a "finder" and all that. Okay, that wasn't fair, but Nora was in no mood to nitpick her thoughts today.

"Planning on becoming an animagus? Or are you already one? She jokingly wondered aloud, in an attempt to relieve the tension. Of course, she immediately regretted it. The girl already seemed uncomfortable enough; was Nora trying to make things worse? As she twisted a finger around a strand of her hair, Nora realised she still had the book. Great. She smiled reassuringly, hoping she looked more confidant than she felt. Maybe years of acting classes would finally pay off, just this once, as Nora held out the book for the girl to take."My name's Nora. You?"

317 words. #420c55.

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"Oh, uh, sorry. The book's all yours."

The girl moves off the book, Dora feeling a bit regretful for disturbing her. She goes to take the book as quickly as possible to get out of her way, but pulls back awkwardly when the girl goes for the book first. She takes it off the shelf, glancing at the cover and Dora lingers there anxiously. Not for the first time, Dora wonders how she can be so terrible at talking with other people. She's always so cognizant of every weird movement she makes or every strange thing she says.

"Planning on becoming an animagus? Or are you already one?" Dora is overwhelmed by the sudden question. "Uh, no?" She answers, a bit confused. "I mean, I'm not an animagus. I'm just a first year..." Dora only realizes after she replies that the question was probably meant as a joke or something. Or maybe it was serious? Dora can't tell if she's embarrassing herself, and just wants to fade away into nothing for a long moment. "I'm just studying..."

The girl finally hands the book over, and Dora takes it, grateful for the chance to walk away. But she continues to speak, introducing herself with a smile. "My name's Nora. You?"

Well, now she can't just leave. It would be impolite. At least introductions aren't something that Dora's entirely horrible at. She just sticks to the practiced script. "My name is Isadora Everridge." Small talk is harder to do, and Dora searches for an appropriate topic. "...What are you doing in the library today?"

'What kind of question is that? She's obviously looking for a book, what else do you do in a library?' She inwardly scolds herself, waiting for Nora to say something.

Interacting with @Isadora Everridge

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Oh, thank god, Nora thought, grateful she hadn't scared the girl off. Sure, she'd probably been a little too enthusiastic, but energy's a good thing, right? But now she had to answer Isadora's question. What was Nora doing here? She certainly wasn't studying, though she should be. She wasn't peacefully reading either, though she wanted to be. No, instead of all of those wonderful sounding things, she was looking for that mysterious book. With a sigh, Nora resolved that she should probably just be honest. No point lying when Isadora could probably be of help, right? But should she even be bothering someone else with her troubles, especially since the girl's clearly trying to study? The selfish part of Nora said yes, while the rest of her screamed no. The selfish part won.

"Actually, I'm looking for a book. It's greyish blue, and really old. Like really old." Nora winced at her own stammering. For once, she wondered what she sounded like to others. Probably like a blithering fool, she thought pessimistically. Nora winced again, but tried to bring the image of the book back into her mind. "It's thinner than I would usually check out, and said something about... beetles? On the cover?" Ugh, this was going terribly. What else could she remember? She tapped her foot nervously, racking her brain. Beetles and... toads? Croaks? Beards? Bards? Bards! That was it!

"Beetles and bards!" she exclaimed, but immediately put her hand over her mouth. Had she really just yelled that? Out loud? To the whole library? Today was really, really not her day. Chuckling nervously, Nora ducked her head and amended, "Or something like that."

276 words. #420c55.

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Nora starts stammering about a book she's looking for, and Dora tries to keep up with the description as it goes by quickly. She's glad her attempt at small talk wasn't a disaster, but now it's launched her into a full on conversation she's not prepared for. Then, Nora stops for a second and seems to have an epiphany, loudly exclaiming, "Beetles and bards!" Dora winces, looking around at the scathing glances of annoyed students. Nora, though, looks equally embarrassed about the noise, probably not having meant to raise her voice. "Or something like that."

'Beetles and bards?' Dora thinks, realizing. "Do you mean 'The Tales of Beedle the Bard'?" She remembers Avery thinking it was 'beetle' as well, before Dora corrected her. So, this girl is looking for that book? "I... actually know where that is." Dora offers shyly, "I can show you, if you want." She motions Nora to follow and begins walking to the fiction section.

It's strange. At the beginning of the year, Dora had been so afraid to admit her fondness of the book, thinking it was too childish. But then Avery told her it wasn't, and Dora's pretty sure she saw Anna Blackrose dressed up as Amata at the Book Day event. Now, here's another girl equally unashamed to be seeking it out in the library. It makes Dora feel a bit relieved.

Curious, she asks, "Did you grow up in the muggle world?" as she leads Nora. She only asks because Nora hasn't seemed to have heard of Beedle the Bard, which would be surprising for someone who grew up in the wizarding world. She's careful not to mention blood status, though, as she doesn't wish to be rude.

Interacting with @Isadora Everridge

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Did you grow up in the muggle world? The question pounded in Nora's brain, and she didn't know quite how to answer. It was obvious what Isadora really meant, blood type and all that, but that just made it trickier.

Nora was a half blood, and she always knew about the magical world. But that wasn't to say she grew up in it. Her father, ever secretive, rarely shared information about his past, and when he did, it was very vague. Sure, he shared stories about magic itself, but always he talked about the wizarding world as if it was a far off land, and not something he was a part of. He went to work for a wizarding graphic design firm every day, for goodness’ sake, but when Nora asked how it was, he simply replied, "Okay," or, "The usual." It frustrated her endlessly, and no matter how much she wanted him to, he wouldn't involve his family in magic.

So, yes, Nora had a wizard for a dad. But that wasn't the question. The question was whether she grew up in the muggle world, or not. But Nora didn't know the answer. Did she grow up in the muggle world, or the magic one? She supposed both, but neither was really true. Ugh, it was in times like this where she felt like she had a foot stuck in both sides, half in and half out. Half blood. Guess that's where the name came from, she thought self-deprecatingly with a sigh. Debating what she should say, she ran her fingers through her hair before answering.

"Um, kind of? It's hard to explain," She said, hoping she wasn't talking too fast, "My dad's a wizard, but he kind of keeps that aspect of him to himself, if you know what I mean?" She sighed again. Maybe it would be better not to explain.

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"Um, kind of? It's hard to explain. My dad's a wizard, but he kind of keeps that aspect of him to himself, if you know what I mean?"

Nora answers, ending with a sigh that Dora fears might mean she crossed a line. She really tried this time not to ask a stupid question, and yet here she is. And again, she inadvertently pressured someone to admit their blood status. It's like she can't help herself! Hoping to alleviate some of the damage, Dora apologizes.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have pried. I didn't mean... Well, I meant... it's just.." She stumbles over herself, shaking her head. "It's just a popular book, I mean. With wizards." Is she helping? Is she just making things worse? Dora keeps her head down and her mouth shut as she leads Nora the rest of the way.

"Here." She offers, taking the book out of it's place on a shelf. It's like how Nora described it, a thin greyish book that's a bit old looking. It makes sense, having been around for a while. Even magic can't disguise how old some books are, she thinks. Even if it looks new, it smells old and feels old, if that makes sense. After giving it to Nora, she lingers awkwardly.

"Um.." Dora hesitates, unsure if she should just walk away. But, feeling bad, she tries to explain herself one last time. "I'm sorry, again. I don't know too much about muggle books, because all my family are wizards. I was just wondering if it was the same, but different, for you.. if that makes sense." It doesn't. She should leave before she makes a bigger fool of herself.

Interacting with @Isadora Everridge

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Nora examined the book in her hands, momentarily lost in thought. It was almost exactly as she remembered it, save for a few details on the side. She wondered if many other people had read it, already knowing what’s inside. From the sound of it, it seemed like it the book was a popular one in the wizarding world. Maybe she would know that, if it weren’t for her dad. At least she had it now.

Suddenly happy, she smiled warmly at Isadora. “Yeah, that makes sense.” Nora flipped through the small, book landing on the page she had ended on last time. After a second, she pulled out a piece of paper from her pocket and bookmarked her page. She would have just dogeared it, but some people didn’t like that.

“Can I call you Isa?” Nora asked, tucking a strand of her purple hair behind her ear. She loved nicknames, especially nonsensical ones. She used to call a friend of hers Clarissionium, when her name was Clarisse. However, this time Nora felt a subtler name was in order. Like Isa.

“Or Dora, that’s fine too.” Nora sighed. Usually she didn’t give so much leeway in name picking, but she was feeling a bit nervous. “Or just Do.”

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“Yeah, that makes sense.” Nora replies with a nice smile. Dora inwardly sighs with relief that she doesn't seem to have offended her after all. As the girl starts flipping through the book, Dora glances at the familiar stories. For so long, she's been so embarrassed to be seen with her copy at school. But, time and again, someone's reassured her that it's okay to like this book, even if it's meant for children. There was a whole Fall Ball where the theme was faerietales, and everyone from year one to seven went and enjoyed it.

'Maybe Bradley was lying.' Dora thinks, 'Just teasing me about my book.' Whatever the case, she thinks she might stop hiding her copy under her textbooks in the dormitory. Her dormmates probably wouldn't tease her about it, they've all been so kind.

Grateful to Nora for the inadvertent comfort, Dora decides to share one of her favorite stories. "I really like the Fountain of Fair Fortune." She points out the page, "I think Hogwarts put on a school play based on the story once, I read about it in the notes, but it didn't go well." Maybe they'll try again one day, though. That could be nice.

“Can I call you Isa? Or Dora, that’s fine too. Or just Do.” Nora asks, and Dora is taken aback for a moment. They've only just met, and a nickname is so familiar. Surely her grandmother wouldn't approve. But then, she does like being called Dora, like how her uncle calls her. Deciding for a moment, she replies, "Dora is alright."