The Accident and the Engraved Apple PV Mellani Miller Finished

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𝑀𝑒𝓃𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃𝓈: @ 𝐼𝓃𝓉𝑒𝓇𝒶𝒸𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃𝓈: @Simon Tilia

⟵ ---------------------------------- Thoughts | Speech

𝒪𝒪𝒞 𝒩𝑜𝓉𝑒 Reducio

It was Mellani's first day at the school and she was already trying to grasp how so much magic was possible. When the professor had come to her house, she'd thought magic would just be moving your wand and making things happen or something. She certainly hadn't thought that it might involve talking hats.

Mellani had overheard a few conversations which mentioned a library being there at Hogwarts and had immediately decided to ask someone for directions. Mellani had then followed the directions and entered the library. Finally, she could stay among nice, peaceful books. No magic. She really hoped that the books weren't magical too though. That would literally be the end of her. She needed to be somewhere with no magic for some time.

Mellani looked around. There were so many books over here. How was she going to find one that she wanted to read? That was when she heard a loud noise in the eerie silence of the library. SHe had to keep herself from not jumping out of shock. Mellani slowly went in the direction of the noise, her curiosity taking over.

It was then that she noticed a boy. All of his books had fallen to the ground. Mellani quickly rushed to help him, her kind part taking over this time. She picked up a few books, put them in a neat pile and handed them to him. She wasn't really confident enough to say anything yet, so she decided to do everything silently, hoping that she wasn't making anything awkward.

WIS: 8 ACC: 7 STA: 5 EVA: 5 ARC: 6 STR: 5
Fearless

Interactions: @Mellani Miller

He would have hoped that at least no one from his own class saw him. Unfortunataly, another first year was also in the library. He recognized her instantly; the long, brown hair and thoughtful eyes. She was one of the Slytherins. From the class earlier that morning, he had learned that her name was Miller. Mellani Miller, he believed.

To his surprise, the girl came to his aid; his impression was that Mellani was quite shy and not someone who had any ambitions of being in the center of attention whatsoever. Yet, her she was, helping him in cleaning up his minor disaster. The silence around them slowly turned into mild chatter again (to Simon's relief). He tried to see where his apple went but it had probably hit the wall and made a turn behind one of the bookshelves. He could get it later.

"Thanks", he said with a sigh and started packing the books in his bag from the pile that Mellani had made. He noticed how carefully she had piled them and thought she must be quite an orderly girl. Now he felt all the more stupid, giving her the completely wrong impression of him as some sort of clumsy fool. "You are Mellani, right?", he asked, somewhat embarrassed by the whole situation in which they had to meet.

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𝑀𝑒𝓃𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃𝓈: @ 𝐼𝓃𝓉𝑒𝓇𝒶𝒸𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃𝓈: @Simon Tilia

⟵ ---------------------------------- Thoughts | Speech

𝒪𝒪𝒞 𝒩𝑜𝓉𝑒 Reducio

Mellani looked at the boy as he looked around, clearly searching for something. That was when Mellani got a good enough view of him to recognize him. He was Simon. Mellani didn't really know what his last name was, but she didn't care much either. To her, family names didn't matter. What mattered was a person's personality.

"Thanks", he said. Mellani smiled at him, dimple flashing. It was then that she noticed his embarrassed expression. "It's not a problem. And... it's not your fault your bag decided to break today, no need to be embarrassed about it. Things like that happen all the time. Is everything in place, or are you looking for something else?", she asked kindly, ready to help him look for whatever he had been searching for.

"You are Mellani, right?", he asked her. Mellani nodded. "That's me. And you're Simon, right?", she asked, just to confirm. It would be really embarrassing if he said he wasn't Simon, but Mellani decided to take her chances. She wasn't very bad with faces and names and was usually right. If she wasn't, well, she'd think about that later.

She looked at the boy, hoping that she hadn't made him feel more embarrassed. When she had rushed to help him, she had done it with no second thoughts. Mellani really wished that she hadn't made the wrong decision while doing that.

WIS: 8 ACC: 7 STA: 5 EVA: 5 ARC: 6 STR: 5
Fearless

Interacting with @Mellani Miller

"Yes. Simon Tilia. Apparently we're in the same class." He shook her slender hand and smiled politely. He wondered if all Slytherins were this kind. The girls that had led him astray before he arrived at the library were most likely having a laugh about setting him in the wrong direction. Mellani seemed nothing like that. From her soft handshake he wondered if she would even hurt a fly.

He looked at his loosened shoulder strap, reattached it to the bag and got up on his two feet. He made sure it was fastened securely and would not break again.

"I don't know what happened, really. This bag is completely new, but the shoulder strap unfastened somehow." He looked around the room only to notice two students on the upper floor, silently laughing, faces towards him, but they were gone as soon as he looked. He did not even get a proper look of their faces. (Did one of them have a wand in their hand?)

"Anyway. I'm really grateful for your help. Wait. Hang on a minute... I had an apple. It rolled over there somewhere." (Simon nodded towards the shelves on the other side of the room). "Could you help me look?"

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𝑀𝑒𝓃𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃𝓈: @ 𝐼𝓃𝓉𝑒𝓇𝒶𝒸𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃𝓈: @Simon Tilia

⟵ ---------------------------------- Thoughts | Speech

𝒪𝒪𝒞 𝒩𝑜𝓉𝑒 Reducio

Mellani shook the boys hand. She wasn't very used to physical contact, but she didn't much mind it from time to time. She looked at him as he stared at the leather strap on his bag. He seemed to be overthinking about everything. Mellani couldn't say that she didn't relate. She too seemed to overthink every single thing that she ever did.

"I don't know what happened, really. This bag is completely new, but the shoulder strap unfastened somehow.", he said. Mellani followed his gaze to see two seniors laughing from above. This did arouse suspicions, especially the fact that one of them hand a wand in their hands. What a great way to welcome us, Mellani thought to herself. She wanted to go and tell them to mind their own business, but decided against it. She didn't want to make a scene only on her first day here.

"May I see it?", Mellani asked Simon, gesturing towards his bag. She could see if it could be fixed manually first, before using any magic on it. Being a muggle-born, she was still used to the muggle way of doing things.

The boy then told her that he had an apple which rolled away near the shelves at the other side of the room and asked her if she would help him look for it. "Of course", Mellani said, going towards the other side of the room. She was glad to be helping somehow. She didn't care if others stared at her. She was a helpful, kind person and she would remain that way. No one could change that.

WIS: 8 ACC: 7 STA: 5 EVA: 5 ARC: 6 STR: 5
Fearless

Interacting with @Mellani Miller

Simon's slight embarrassment slowly wore off as he got the notion that the scene was perhaps neither his or the bag's fault, and because of the fact that Mellani so successfully played down the whole incident. It did not feel like the most convenient first meeting, however. He was curious about Mellani but this meeting was strictly technical with a clear means to an end; Mellani helping him clean up his accident. Soon she would return to whatever she was doing before his noticeable entrance in the crowded library. A part of him wanted to ask what she was doing here and whether she would like to study with him, but another part of him was afraid of a potential rejection.

"Of course", Mellani said.

"Great! Hey... Thanks, Mellani. I appreciate it", he said, put the shoulder strap over his shoulder and walked towards the shelves.

He looked around but could not see the slightest trail of the apple or any fruits at all for that matter. Just old dusty books on the shelves and piled on the floor, some of which were as big and thick as drawers. One of the titles read The Extraordinary Minds of Unicorns by Harold Hancocks. When he turned around he spotted the apple on the floor behind Mellani.

"Oh. There it is."

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𝑀𝑒𝓃𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃𝓈: @ 𝐼𝓃𝓉𝑒𝓇𝒶𝒸𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃𝓈: @Simon Tilia

⟵ ---------------------------------- Thoughts | Speech

𝒪𝒪𝒞 𝒩𝑜𝓉𝑒 Reducio

Mellani smiled yet again when she noticed that it looked like Simon's embarrassment had worn off. That was good. Now, at least, she hoped that he had come to the understanding that whatever had happened hadn't been his mistake. Mellani caught herself wondering how they would have behaved with each other if they had met under different circumstances. She guessed that Simon probably wouldn't even have bothered to talk with her if they had met normally. Besides, she herself knew that she wouldn't talk to him either unless he talked first. She wasn't one to start conversations and she wasn't sure that that fact would ever change. She sighed, trying to make the thoughts go away. It didn't really matter anyways. Mellani wondered if she should offer to read books or study alongside him, but decided to do it later. It would be a bit out of context if she asked right now.

"Great! Hey... Thanks, Mellani. I appreciate it", he said, thanking her yet again. Mellani nodded, a kind smile on her face. She was glad that she'd been able to help someone. Mellani wasn't really used to being thanked that many times in a day. Mostly, people just walked away with nothing more than a nod in her direction when she helped them. Mellani wondered if all the people here were this good, then quickly shunned the thought away. She'd seen how the older students had acted. Simon was just one of the good people, and she was glad to have met someone like him on her first day at Hogwarts.

Mellani hustled over to help Simon with looking, never noticing that the apple had been behidnd her the whole time. When Simon pointed it out, she blushed, embarrassed that she hadn't seen it before and let out a nervous laugh. She picked it up and handed it to Simon, wondering if this was the right time to ask her question. After pondering over the thought for quite some time in her brain, she decided to wait for some more time. She was still scared that Simon might decline, and she wasn't sure how she would react if he did decline.

WIS: 8 ACC: 7 STA: 5 EVA: 5 ARC: 6 STR: 5
Fearless

Interacting with @Mellani Miller

Simon noticed a slightly red tone spreading across her cheeks as she picked up the apple and handed it over to him. He gave her a confident smile to set her at ease. The fact that Mellani was quite shy made him admire her actions all the more, because despite this shyness she had actually rushed to help him, and still – here she was, without giving any queues that she wanted to leave.

Simon looked at the apple in his hand.

"Wait", said Simon. "This is not... my apple." Simon examined the apple and frowned. He thought about it for a second and then understood what was going on. "Oh, but it is. Of course..."

He spun the apple around and showed her. Someone had made an inscription in the apple, probably with the help of magic. With crooked letters the inscription said:

WeLCome tO HoGwArtS

"It's fine. Really", said Simon with a deep and reassuring tone. "There are a lot of people like that back home where I come from. Best you can do is sometimes to just ignore them... Hey. Since we have the same homework, would you like to go somewhere else? Perhaps we could help each other out?"

He juggled the apple in his hand, awaiting her response.

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𝑀𝑒𝓃𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃𝓈: @ 𝐼𝓃𝓉𝑒𝓇𝒶𝒸𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃𝓈: @Simon Tilia

⟵ ---------------------------------- Thoughts | Speech

𝒪𝒪𝒞 𝒩𝑜𝓉𝑒 Reducio

Mellani looked away shyly as Simon gave her a confident smile. She felt slightly less embarrassed. She looked at Simon as he looked at the apple carefully, then proclaimed that it wasn't his. Mellani almost laughed at how serious he sounded when he said that. How could he know which apple was his and which wasn't? Did he sign his apple or something? Her curiosity only grew as he then said that it was actually his, handing the apple to her.

Mellani looked at the apple, at first realizing nothing and wondering what had gotten into Simon. Then, her finger brushed an uneven surface on the apple and she took a closer look. She then realized that words seemed to be inscribed on the apple. Seriously? An apple of all things?, she wanted to ask. She wondered if she would ever understand that ways of magic. She held the apple at a distance to clearly read what was written.

WeLCome tO HoGwArtS

That's what it said. Mellani looked up at the ceiling and sighed, wondering when the weird welcomes would stop. At least this one was a bit better than the strap breaking. When Simon said it was okat, Mellani's tense form looked more at ease. If he had accepted it, it was time for her to do so too.

It was then that he asked her if they could do homework together. "I thought you'd never ask", she said, her eyes sparkling and her smile back, more genuine this time. Mellani hadn't really thought that Simon might have been interested to do his homework with her, and she had been wondering whether to ask him when he'd asked her. Maybe he was just doing it out of kindness, or maybe they could actually be friends. Mellani hoped that it was the latter, although she very much knew that it was probably the former one of the two options.

WIS: 8 ACC: 7 STA: 5 EVA: 5 ARC: 6 STR: 5
Fearless