Studying with Friends and Foes Open to first-years

Ivan's apperence

Ivan stalked the shelves walking around having a very hard time finding what he needed, really wizards and their thinking not having a central index and having to scour the whole place for a single piece of information it was beyond crazy and maddening, he already lost an hour trying to find a book about genealogy of the magical world or at least the DNA or what ever came close to it here.

Walking around the shelves he decided that this search was becoming a waste of time e would cut his losses and just go and find a nice lit up place and sit down to do his study, as he was walking around enjoying he smell of books something tickled his nose a smell of burning wood. He stopped looked around barely containing his yell of a single profanity he knew and thinking to himself who in their sane mind decided to put a fireplace of all things in a library, A LIBRARY! He decided to investigate this occurrence if he is going to waste his time might as well waste it exploring, wandering between the book shelves he walked slowly coming to the fireplace finally and looking at the peculiar site of a student not in a Hogwarts uniform or regular non magical outfit. Isn't it too cold for something like that?

Ivan approached slowly and said quietly "Hello? I am sorry I am Ivan Solarus, and I was wondering well firstly why is there a fire place in a library and now secondly who are you and are you not cold in your outfit?

Lizzy had gotten Akira's invitation to join him and some classmates for a study session in the library. Their meeting by the Great Lake had splendidly, and Lizzy had seen no reason to turn down his invitation. She had been eagerly awaiting the session, and still was. There was just the little incident that had happened only mere days before. Basically, Lizzy had tried to cut her hair, but had unwittingly used a pair of magical scissors for the job. Before she knew it, her hair barely reached her chin. Lizzy was trying to make the best of it, but it didn't help that kids kept teasing her about it.

Nevertheless, she saw no cause as to why her mistake would keep her from upholding her promise to come. Besides, Akira wouldn't make fun of her for it. Lizzy spotted him quickly, sitting at a table with only one other boy for company. Where was everyone else? Well, she had left Gryffindor Tower a bit early. Lizzy smiled and made her way through the assortment of tables to him.

She found herself thinking rapidly Please don't mention the hair. It really was, perhaps, the biggest mistake she had ever made, and she had made more than her fair share. Finally, Lizzy reached his table. "Akira, thanks again for inviting me!" No matter how she looked, she was glad to be in the library with a friend today.

Lizzy sat down in an empty chair and took out her own books. Turning to the other boy, she realized she had never met him, or seen him in the corridors before. Hi! I'm Lizzy Solace, what's your name?" Since coming to Hogwarts, Lizzy had been surprisingly getting better at talking to people and starting new friendships. The boy had a friendly look in his eyes, which may have been what compelled Lizzy to talk to him in the first place. This study session was turning into a thing with both old (ish) and new (hopefully) friends alike.

[font=Shining Like Stars]

[font=Shining Like Stars]Sakura Kobayashi Outfit : Purple Uniform Japanese English Thinking 27th October 2021

[font=Shining Like Stars]Interacting with: Akira Shimizu @Avery Chen @Lizzy Solace @Ivan Solarus

[font=Shining Like Stars]This morning, at breakfast, Shimizu-san told you that he would be at the library around 3 pm. As a picky, perfectionist girl who likes to do things early, you thought that getting a head start on your homework would be nice. The different schools are supposed to stay for about a month and you have a good pile of work to keep you on track. But how can you get bored in a place like this? Of course, it's not like the beautiful Japanese palaces. But the castle is still incredible.
At about a quarter to three, you left the lake where you had been sketching Hogwarts and headed for the library. A library. Will it be as big as Mahoutokoro? Will the books be as interesting? Will there be more? Will there be less? You had to ask two or three people for directions before you finally found the library. Wonderful!
You began by searching the shelves for a book on Mahoutokoro. Just to see how people here see your school. You would like to see their point of view. You move to another shelf, when you see Shimizu-san standing by a fireplace - it's true that you're a little chilly here. You see a boy coming and say something to him. As you walk towards him, a girl with incredible hair approaches. According to her uniform, she is in Gryffindor.
— Akira, thanks again for inviting me!
"Akira"? Either the girl doesn't know Japanese customs, or she knows Shimizu-san very well. You approach the trio with a smile and put your bag on a chair. The girl introduces herself. Her name is Lizzy Solace.
— Hello Shimizu-san. Nice to meet you, Lizzy. My name is Sakura Kobayashi.

Ivan sighed and mumbled not quiet enough as to not be overheard "I swear when I am back i am using my allowance to print out a hundred business cards with my name on it" taking a deep breath and focusing he put on his charming smile an bowed to Lizzy "A pleasure to meet thee lady" as he straightened up he heard another voice from behind him cursing for not being on guard he smiled and bowed to Sakura as well "A pleasure to..... Okay no I am done with theatrics, It is nice to meet you both, but I am not going through whatever Vicotrian pureblood customs there are and Imitating Shaekspear to everyone who comes along it will get old really fast. I am Ivan Solarus, now can any of you tell me why on earth is there a fireplace in a library are magicals completely off their rocker?"

Sighing and pinching his nose he shakes his head "My apologies, but a fireplace does not belong next to burnable objects especially tomes of knowledge aged for who knows how long, I mean what where they thinking of all things, A fire place? I guess I should be glad It's not candles for lightning like in the Great hall." once more getting away in his rant he takes a deep breath and takes of his book satchel sitting down on a free spot unceremoniously

Bluebell poked her head out from behind a bookshelf and gave the boy a weird look. “Umm, magic?”, was all she managed, before realizing the boy could be Muggleborn and that she was just being plain rude. “Sorry, are your parents muggles or were you raised in a muggle environment? I wasn’t, so I’m very sorry for forgetting that you’re probably new to this world and all.” She paused. “Oh! And of course for eavesdropping, that was incredibly rude of me! But, umm, I might as well introduce myself! I’m Blue.” Bluebell smiled at the boy and noticed a few other students around him. Where did that boost of confidence come from? It was surely going to be gone in a few seconds and she’d start rambling!

Three.

Two.

One.

Bluebell’s smile didn’t falter. Weird. She chuckled awkwardly: “So, umm, mind if I sit here? I like books but I’ve been standing for a while now and it does feel good to sit down once in a while, right?” The confidence was still there and it started to make Bluebell nervous. So she probably wasn’t that confident as she had thought.

Apparently she was acting thatway, because she cockily asked: “No Shakespeare bow to me?” Okay, that was it. Why was she acting like herself in front of those people? Wait, that sounded weird. Why was she acting like she did around her best friend in front of those students!?!

Interacting with @ Avery Chen @ Ivan Solarus @ Lizzy Solace @ Lin Evanvleck

Ivan sighed pinching the bridge of his nose taking a few deep breaths counting in his minds to 15 before finally opening his mouth

"I deserved that one, but I think that's the more of answer to how rather then why a fire place exists in a library, It's okay to forget we are all still kids, but I can't believe we are allowed to carry what would be as good as a weapon around with no consequences" he fumbles around his satchel and pulls out his wand after a bit "From what I have read this can kill, maim, hurt, torture and knock someone out, and yet a bunch of kids is allowed to carry it around and have it on their person and potentially use it without any consequences" as if to accentuate his point and rant his wand blew out a few purple sparks and that fell slowly dispersing half way before they managed to touch anything.

The wand is 32,5 cm cherry wood wand, seemingly well kept if unused.

Ivan glared at his wand "Oh so now you decide you want to work, oh isn't that very nice of you, when i am trying to prove a point that these shouldn't be handled willy nilly you do something" he sighs once more using his wand to rub his forehead before finally addressing the newcomer

"Pleased to meet you Blue, I am from the non magical world, raised by non magicals possibly even born by them don't know, not sure, I refuse to go into more detail at this point in time until I am certain. The bow you wish for is only done standing up and it may be considered and insult to do so sitting down can't say for sure only went to a couple of plays, if you want to risk it I am willing to bow for you even if it could be perceived as an insult. Lastly if your ears did not carry my name over to you I am Ivan Solarus."

Lizzy smiled at Sakura as she introduced herself. She noticed that Sakura greeted Akira as Shimizu-san, similar to what Akira had called her when they had first met before she told him that he could call her Lizzy. She vaguely wondered if she was seriously messing up the Japanese customs that they must be so used to.

Lizzy laughed a little at Ivan's introduction. He seemed to start off really fancy, but then stopped and finished his introduction normally. At least, normally to her. She had no idea if other people introduced themselves like that. Having a fireplace in a library was a little odd to her though. Around all the flammable books, and students who could accidently burn a book or purposefully perhaps. Lizzy had met some pretty nasty people at Hogwarts so far, who she was sure wouldn't hesitate to do something like that.

Lizzy smiled at Blue, a Ravenclaw who she had met briefly before down by the lake. She turned back to Ivan. "I'm glad I'm not the only one who has thought something like that. Letting students carry something around, that is basically a weapon, sounds off to me as well," Lizzy said with a small smile. It was true, how many times had she thought how.... different it was that teachers let kids carry a weapon around with them, and, on top of that, taught them how to use it. Maybe it wasn't taught how to use it as a weapon, but still, if she had learned anything from the duel between her and another student, it was that in certain times it could definitely be utilized as one. Lizzy supposed it wasn't the object that made a weapon though, it was the person who held it.

Roleplaying as Akira Shimizu from Mahoutokoro
Outfit: Navy Uniform

His lack of effectiveness or focus of any sort seemed to be an open invitation to what looked like a Hogwarts student, which was actually effective in itself. In fact, he was hoping to invite or welcome other students to join him and his Mahoutokoro classmates, perhaps for some friendly cultural or knowledge exchange. However, he couldn't be certain if the boy was from Hogwarts, because he was not wearing a recognizable uniform of any sort; rather, his plain turtleneck and slacks seemed to be standard, casual after-class wear. Well put together enough, Akira observed, because immediately judging people by their appearance was something that came naturally to a boy who took care to keep his own appearance tidy.

"Hello? I am sorry I am Ivan Solarus, and I was wondering well firstly why is there a fire place in a library and now secondly who are you and are you not cold in your outfit?" the boy introduced himself and asked his questions. Akira frowned at not one, but both questions. He glanced back to the large fireplace behind him and almost laughed at both the absurdity of the question. However, Akira was way too polite to do that -- so it came out as a sharp exhale through his nose instead. Even while scoffing, he did not forget his manners. "Akira Shimizu, nice to meet you," he introduced himself. "Please call me Shimizu," he added, deciding that he wasn't going to allow any random kids asking about fireplaces call him by his first name just yet. "Why don't you try to approach the fire and put your hand inside? It's not going to burn you, by the way, if you trust me with that. I know that it must be magical, because it wouldn't be here otherwise," he explained simply. His father had a similar fireplace in his own study, so he was quite sure. If he was wrong...well... "Also, no, I'm not cold, because of what I'm wearing. I'm wearing at least two layers under my haori indoors, so whether that's enough is for you to judge." This blasted place was so cold compared to the island that Mahoutokoro stood upon, but was Akira going to admit any discomfort that could be taken as weakness? No.

Soon, he glanced up to see Lizzy Solace approaching -- or was that Lizzy Solace? It must be, because she thanked him for inviting her. But, something about her was different. Finally, it clicked. "Hello, Lizzy-san, did you cut your hair? It looks..." he paused. How was one supposed to describe girls' hair? He didn't really know, since he had never thought about it. Perhaps if he knew Lizzy was going to come with short hair today, he would've prepared at least a few phrases of praise to choose from, because he was never under-prepared for anything, but his mind blanked. "It looks like it frames your face very well," he finally responded genuinely, because it did. It gave her a chic appearance that matched her defined features.

Sakura Kobayashi arrived soon after, and he greeted his classmate with a nod of his head. "Kobayashi-san. I hope you had an uneventful walk here?" Hopefully, she didn't get dreadfully lost like he did. Maybe they should've made the trek together.

Before he new it, another girl had poked her head out from a shelf and introduced herself cheerily as Blue. My, my, wasn't this a big little group now! Akira was glad that his intent to find a few fellow Hogwarts students seemed successful. After all, he was here at Hogwarts for the purpose of cultural exchange, so he might as well meet as many Hogwarts students as he could. He squashed his introverted side down for now. "Yes, of course, Miss Blue, feel free to join us, we have plenty of room and will likely begin soon. I'm Akira Shimizu, please call me Shimizu. I'm thinking of tackling my potions assignments first, if any of you have potions to work on as well," he offered for a bit of context, in case others had a mind for potions as well.

When the conversation turned from fireplaces to wands, Ivan pulled his out of a satchel. Was that... a cherry wood wand? Akira stared. It was quite the coveted wood for many Japanese students, the sacred cherry wood, and someone like Ivan Solarus should have it. And how could the boy treat it as if it were a stick? Stuffing it into a satchel where it could knock against all manner of things, and then use it to scratch his head? Akira's own aspen wand was safely tucked into a leather holster at his side. The Japanese boy balked, but refused to let too much of his emotions show. He would merely turn to Ivan and say, "Mr. Solarus, I'd encourage you to take better care of your cherry wood wand, whether it's a weapon or not. You wouldn't want your wand to disobey you for being disrespectful to it. I'm sure your wandmaker has told you that. The most recent Hogwarts Headliner has a great article on how to take care of your wand, by the way." Surely, the boy at least read the school newspaper? Akira was a foreign student and even he did so.

At Lizzy's agreement that it was strange for students to carry something that was like a weapon, Akira thought about it more deeply. After all, he respected Lizzy-san and her opinions, as fiery as they might be sometimes. "Yes, it can be dangerous," he agreed. "However, that's why wizards and witches alike must be trained to take good care of their wands and use them wisely." He glanced pointedly at Ivan.

Bluebell smiled at Ivan. “Do as you please, but I certainly wouldn’t consider it rude. You see, in so called ‘pureblooded families’ - Loads of rubbish if you ask me - it’s kinda rude to not bow, so at first I thought you might be raised by a similar community”, Blue explained, leaving out the fact that she actually came from one of those families. After all, that would be kind of rude, right? And she didn’t curtsy before them, even though she was raised that way! But here at Hogwarts, basically nobody did that, so she quickly abandoned those customs.

A boy, who introduced himself as Akira Shimizu, told her she could join them, so she sat down in an emoty chair. “Thank you, Shimizu”, she smiled and boom(!), suddenly her usual awkwardness was back. “So, uh, if you, if your customs aren’t-” she cut herself off and took a deep breath. “I don’t know much, actually, I don’t know anything about your customs at all, but if that isn’t considered rude, then you may simply call me Blue or Bluebell, no need for Ms. Of course, I will respect your customs, Shimizu.” There, that was better!

Blue flashed Lizzy a quick smile, she was already acquainted with her, as they had met by the Great lake once. Another girl was seated at the table and Blue nodded her head at her: “It’s a pleasure to meet you, would you like to introduce yourself?” Before the girl could respond, Blue blurted out “Floo Powder!” She turned to Ivan to explain.
“Flooing is a way of wizarding transport. You grab a handful of Floo Powder and drop it into a Fire. Then you simply name your destination and step into the - now green- fire. You end up in another fireplace. I just realized that that might be a purpose of the fireplace here. I can’t be sure of course, because you should only be able to floo into the teacher’s offices and not anywhere else in Hogwarts, but it might be. It could also be to talk to family. You poke your head through the fire and it appears in the other fire. Then you can talk.”
Bluebell waited eagerly for Ivan’s response, but then turned to the other girl once more. I’m sorry, I kind of didn’t let you respond.”

Interacting with @ Avery Chen @ Ivan Solarus @ Lizzy Solace @ Lin Evanvleck