28 May 2023, 23:27
♬ The Never-Ending Library ♬
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So when the two first-years finally found the library, not only was Mahlioz in awe of its vastness and beauty, but she was also rather relieved. After thirty minutes of climbing stairs, walking around in circles and hitting dead ends, she was exhausted. Her fatigue was quickly forgotten, though, as she took a good look at the library she had dreamed about for so long. Her mother was right - no amount of words could describe it.
She almost forgot about Qrow as she slowly walked forward, reaching towards the bookshelves hesitantly as though they would disappear if she got too close. There were so many books - it felt like the amount was infinite. It looked like the library was never-ending. Which got Mahlioz humming the tune of "The Never-Ending Story" quietly as she took in the magnificence of the Hogwarts library.
Remembering Qrow again, she turned around to look at them with the biggest grin she'd ever worn in her life. "Isn't this... amazing?" She couldn't bother to come up with a better synonym, because this one described it perfectly. She could barely believe they had found the library. Who cared about not being in Ravenclaw when she had this many books to read? Who cared that her housemates were Slytherins when she could sit with her nose in a book all day? Nothing mattered anymore except for her and the books. And Qrow, of course. They were partly the reason she was here. But now she wanted to explore every inch of this library with them until she knew every shelf by heart and had read every book. And what a person to do it with!
15 Oct 2023, 14:41
♬ The Never-Ending Library ♬
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In all honesty, Qrowley was slightly amazed they had managed to find their way there; they were awful with directions. They and Mahlioz had been searching for around half an hour before arriving...
ReducioInteracting with @Mahlioz Evethisawe
Qrow | #064107 | Qrow's Thoughts | #11a513
The night before, they had agreed to meet up at 10:30 in the Slytherin common room, at the sorting ceremony. Their plan was to find the library. But only five minutes in, Mahlioz had seemingly lost all hope.
The stairs were leading them haphazardly from floor to floor, and they had absolutely no clue what they were doing. The paintings weren't much help either, along with the ghosts, who kept pointing them in the wrong directions just for fun (Qrow was almost tempted to ask one of their many cousins for directions, however after said incident with the ghosts, they realised that their cousins would very likely make things worse - if that was even possible to do…).
At one point they somehow ended up in the Astronomy tower when they still thought they were on the ground floor and how the pair had managed that, would haunt the redheads mind for a long time to come.
The pair stood somewhat awkwardly in the doorway. If they didn’t move soon, they were bound to be in the way of their fellow students, maybe even get knocked over by a rushing older year.
Their parents had said that Hogwarts had a library, but the descriptions really didn’t do it any justice, and the young Slytherin certainly hadn’t expected it to be quite this expansive. Of course, being raised in a wealthy pure-blood family, the first year had a library back in their own home, however it was nothing compared to this.
Qrow and Mahl weren't even fully in the room, but from where they were standing on a long stretch of carpet, the redhead (and also their darker haired companion) could see a border of seemingly endless bookshelves. Housed on these shelves were thousands upon thousands of books, all standing at the ready or whizzing through the air as they made their way from the shelves into students' outstretched, waiting hands. Each shelf nearly reached the ceiling - which was saying something considering how high they went up - though the young metamorphmagus couldn’t see any ladders to reach the books on the higher shelves. The library was lit by softly glowing lamps mounted on the walls, and at the centre of the far end, there was a large stone fireplace, situated near the sitting area. A spot that the young Slytherin had heard, was usually left vacant. Its hearth was lit and filled with merry, crackling flames near the ends of the days and likely during the colder months too.
Small corridors were dotted around the place here and there; in-between often being home to students darting about as they try to find the perfect book. Behind the shelves, a small sitting area, complete with a dozen or so armchairs and emitting a strong feel of hominess. On the other side of the corridor along the centre of the library was a neat row of small tables, each equipped with several rolls of parchment and a cup of quills.
Beside it, was a small fence, with only one break in it to serve as an entrance. A small silver plaque near the break read the words "Restricted Section" in a bland, uniform script. The bookshelves there were considerably shorter than their counterparts on the opposite end of the room, and many sported small chains or glass barriers to separate the books from the rest of the library- whether to protect the books or the students, Qrow had no idea. It definitely got their attention. In their awe, the metamorphmagus barely heard their companion’s quiet exclamation of "Isn't this... amazing?"
“I wonder what types of books were in there?” the redhead mused aloud, eyes never leaving the “restricted section”.
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18 Oct 2023, 14:51
♬ The Never-Ending Library ♬
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But the only one who could answer was Alarian - Hyltwis went to Beauxbatons, Pierre was a muggle, and Reltyl was only ten. So Mahlioz's poor mother was the one who had to answer the millions of questions the young girl had about the library. And, well, yes, the rest of Hogwarts too, but the thing that interested her the most was obviously the library.
So she'd heard of the Restricted Section a few times. It didn't really interest her all that much - she wasn't one to go around looking for rules to break - but she could tell Qrow was feeling quite the opposite. Their eyes never left the section as they wondered aloud what kind of books could be found there. Mahlioz already knew Qrow was more of an extravert, and always curious (they had a lot of hobbies), but she hadn't yet learned how ready they were to break rules and cause chaos. She couldn't help but worry now, about what being their friend would mean... They had already done a lot for her, and of course she was glad to be their friend, but she wondered what that would entail.
Mahlioz herself was not as interested in the Restricted Section as she was the rest of the library. She wanted to climb the shelves like a squirrel, reading every book she came across. She wanted to find the fantasy section especially, but also books on the spells and potions and things she would be learning. She wanted to devour every page in this room - if you could call it that. It seemed like it had too many secret passages to really be considered one room.
But for now, as much as she wanted to get lost between the shelves and read until the world came to an end, she decided not to. She'd come her with Qrow, her first friend she'd made here, and she wanted that to last. So she turned to the section their eyes couldn't seem to leave.
"I guess we'll have to find out," she responded to their query, before realizing that came out wrong. She had no intention to actually go in there. "I mean, we can go closer to try and see?" Maybe one day they could ask a teacher for permission, but Mahlioz wasn't about to go breaking rules, and especially not on her second day here.
19 Oct 2023, 14:06
♬ The Never-Ending Library ♬
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ReducioInteracting with @Mahlioz Evethisawe
Qrow | #064107 | Qrow's Thoughts | #11a513
"I guess we'll have to find out," she responded before seemingly realising a mistake in what she had said and adding, "I mean, we can go closer to try and see?"
Though, Qrow hadn’t been paying too much attention to that second part, much too focussed on what she had first said.
“I guess we’ll have to find out.”
Now, logically, Qrow Beithir knew that the part of the library labelled the “restricted section” was very likely off limits to students. On top of that, many of the books sported glass barriers or small chains holding them down and were therefore very likely not suitable for the likes of a 1st year. Hell, the metamorphmagus had grown up around magic, even having some magical items of their own at home that their parents had strictly forbidden them from touching; though unlike the ones here, there was an explanation as to why they couldn’t touch them.
Of course, some logical part of their brain - however small - knew that if these books literally had to be chained down, there was a very high chance of personal harm should said chains be taken off the books, and yet the Slytherin couldn’t stop the burning curiosity that was so hot in their mind it felt as if their head was at risk of exploding.
Qrow Beithir was nothing, if not a child with far too much curiosity, and the moronic stupidity and impulsiveness of an eleven year old that grew up with too much freedom to explore.
“I suppose we will have to find out, won’t we?”
They grabbed their companions arm, gently but swiftly pulling Mahlioz down the long stretch of carpet and towards the opening in the fence.
They had to know what lay behind that fence.
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21 Oct 2023, 19:00
♬ The Never-Ending Library ♬
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Qrow probably couldn't have heard it, but as they took her arm and dragged her towards the infamous Restricted Section, she let out a quiet "Nooooooooooooooooooooo..." This was not at all what she had had in mind when she'd been looking forward to the library. Of course she knew there was a Restricted Section, but she didn't need to know any more than that! It didn't interest her in the least - there was a reason it was restricted, after all.
What had she gotten herself into was the wrong question. The right one was what was Qrow going to get her into. She had no idea what to expect, having met them just yesterday. They'd seemed kind and civilized, but how chaotic were they? She had yet to find out. And she wasn't sure she wanted to.
As they approached the Restricted Section, and as she resigned herself to her inevitable fate, her own mind began to get curious. Of course she didn't really care what was beyond that fence. And of course she didn't want to go around breaking rules. But now that she was being forced to... maybe she could take advantage and learn something new?
Wait, what? Who was this and what had they done with Mahlioz? Suddenly coming back to reality, she turned to Qrow, worried. "What... what are you planning?" Please don't let it be rule-breaking. Please?