The hunt begins PV Irina Shevel <3 Closed

Mahlioz couldn't have been happier with how things had turned out. This was the second hug she'd ever given to anyone outside of her family (well, actually, first, because she'd recieved the first one, not given it), so of course she had been nervous. Worried it would have been wrong. Maybe she didn't even know how to hug properly. But all her worries disappeared in an instant when Irina smiled and seemed to calm down.
They conversed about the stress she'd gone through, and chaos and learning, and Mahlioz was glad to see that her friend looked like she was doing better. Even she seemed to find that surprising. Thankfully, it was enough to get both of their brains back on track and ready to find out more about the Room Of Requirement.

Rereading the passages the two girls had found, Mahlioz voiced a mental list of all they had learned so far. "Okay, so - we know it's a room that's magic. We know that it's pretty much invisible. We know that it only appears when someone needs it." She frowned, wondering whether that meant they wouldn't be able to find it, because they didn't really need it, they just wanted it. "Um... we also know that it seems to transform into anything that person needs." That, too, was immensely interesting, and Mahlioz really wanted to know who the architect was.
She turned to Irina. "And finally, we know that it's on the fifth floor. Anything else?" She glanced down at the books. They'd been at this for a while now, and she was glad they had. All this information would make it a lot easier to find the Room when the time came. Otherwise, they might have been searching the school empty-handed with no idea what or where the Room of Requirement was.

She grinned at her friend's enthusiasm. Not only had they found a bunch of new information, but Mahlioz had realized how much she loved having Irina as a friend. Friends weren't exactly her thing - books were - but this kind of warmth in her heart, no book could procure. The Slytherin was more than glad that they had met.
"Hmm..." she said, pondering the question asked by her friend. It was a good one, actually - what would they do now? "I think we've spent enough time here. We know pretty much everything we need. I think... we should split up for the day?" Looking at her watch, she realized her free period was nearly over. "I have to get to class, too. But we should meet up again soon," she said reluctantly, not wanting to leave just yet. "To talk about everything? And then maybe we can get exploring," she finally added, with an excited gleam in her eye. She knew that was the part Irina was most looking forward to.

Irina listened as Mahlioz ran through the list of everything they knew, chewing on her hair thoughtfully. "We know it's kinda alive," added Irina, removing the strand from her mouth and pacing. "Cause that's what sentient means, right? Able to feel and think stuff. So the room is kind of . . . alive?" She grinned, her already hyperactive imagination going into overdrive. "Awesome," she whispered, eyes closed.

"Ah, man!" She slumped dejectedly on the table and sighed. "I know you're right though. I need to figure out where the heck I'm going next." Irina rummaged in her satchel and shoved her hands into her pockets, face screwed up in concentration. "I lost my timetable so I have no idea where I'm going."

By scrabbling around, she was trying to disguise the fact that she was pretty sad they had to leave the library of discovery and go back to the realm of reality. The few hours spent with Mahlioz had been some of the best she had experienced at Hogwarts. She glanced through her tangled hair at the Slytherin, thinking just how happy she would be to spend all of her time with her. To go on every adventure with her, to do boring and mundane tasks with her! Mahlioz seemed to make it all worth it . . . and interesting.

At the word ". . . exploring." Irina jumped up, eyes shining and a large smile plastered across her face. Inside, she danced a jig, whooping and screaming, but the little voice of logic (so rarely appearing) reminded her she was in a library. So instead, she gave a small fist pump and an excited, "YES!"
Irina looked at her friend as she picked up her satchel, preparing to leave. "I'm really excited Mahlioz . . . and I'm really excited to do all of this with you."

Mahlioz's eyes grew wide as Irina pointed out that the Room was, in a way, alive. She hadn't thought of that. It was slightly terrifying. Her friend seemed to think differently, whispering "Awesome" with her eyes closed, as though already imagining the room. Well, the Slytherin could definitely admire the craft. You had to be really talented to make a room that was kind of alive. But it didn't make it any less scary. What if the Room had ill intentions? What if it didn't like them? Maybe it didn't work that way. She could only hope.

Mahlioz couldn't help but laugh when Irina started searching through her bag for her timetable, in vain. It didn't exactly surprise her that she'd lost it, but it was still amusing. "I'm sure you can ask one of the teachers for another one - or your Head of House?" She didn't know any of those except for her own one (who, she had to admit, was also terrifying. Man, she was a scaredy cat). "Or maybe there's somewhere where you can find one? Or you could ask one of your housemates." She was too organized for this sort of thing to happen to her, so she had no idea how to help her friend. Unfortunately. She wished she did.

As she'd expected, Irina's eyes lit up with excitement at the mention of exploing, as she exclaimed "YES!" excitedly (which got her, once again, a few annoyed looks from the surrounding readers). Grinning, she even added how excited she was to do all of this with Mahlioz, to which the girl had to grin back.
"Me too, Rina," she said, remembering how the Gryffindor had said she could call her that the first time they met. "So... should we meet up on Sunday? The fourth, I think it is... at 10:30 or something?" She paused, wondering where they would meet up. "You know that big tree on the grounds, at the bottom of that hill? Should we meet up there?" It was basically the only landmark she remembered, apart from the lake of course, since she went outside so little. But the tree was rather noticeable. She was sure Irina would know what she was talking about.

Walking out of the library with her friend, she realized something strange. She wasn't tired, like she usually was when she spent too much time with other people. She didn't feel like jumping into her bed and reading until the world ended. Part of that had to be attributed to the fact that she'd spent a lot of the last hour reading, but she knew some of it had to do with just being around Irina. A large smile on her face, she turned to her friend. "I'll see you in two days, then. Can't wait!" And then they reluctantly parted ways, each going to their respective class. But Mahlioz couldn't get that little voice out of her head: You have a friend! You have a really, really awesome friend!

Mahlioz has left the thread.