Peace, Interrupted PV Novalie Moon

Novalie had spent the last few days exploring every corner of Hogwarts and its magic. There was still so much left to discover, which is why she didn’t limit her adventures to daylight - she also ventured out after dark. She might have had to run and hide from professors and prefects a few times, but her curiosity was unstoppable.

On this particular day, she had fallen asleep in a tree near the Great Lake. She had originally climbed up after hearing some rustling in the branches, acting on impulse. Once seated on one of the thick branches however, she found it surprisingly comfortable and before she knew it, the lack of sleep had taken a toll on her and her eyes had closed.

A few hours later, Novalie's eyes fluttered open, still hazy with sleep. Momentarily forgetting where she was, she began to stretch. In an instant, she lost her balance and, before she could even let out a proper scream, she was tumbling downward through the branches!
A small, almost inaudible squeak escaped her as she braced for impact. But instead of hitting the ground, she realized she had landed on someone. Her widened green eyes locked onto the boy beneath her, whom she had unintentionally knocked over. Her long, red hair cascaded beside his face and her cheeks flushed their usual rosy hue.

To a poetic soul, she might have seemed like an angel who had just fallen from the heavens. To a more practical mind, she resembled a clumsy bird that had forgotten how to land.

"Aw shucks...!", she whispered under her breath, more to herself than to him.
Despite the situation, instead of offering an immediate apology, she instinctively flashed her most innocent, charming smile - a reflex she had perfected over the years, especially in situations where she knew she might have angered someone.

"Thanks for catching me!", she added with a playful tilt of her head, her voice light.
"What's your name?", she asked, as if to distract from what just happened. She made no move to stand up right away, clearly in no hurry to end the unexpected encounter, her big eyes still locked on his as she waited for his response.

Novalie maintained her smile, though she could feel the tension in the air. The boy beneath her was clearly irritated and she couldn’t help but wonder if this might be one of those rare times when her charm wouldn’t be enough to smooth things over. Surely, he wouldn’t stay angry for long… right?

“Why were you in a tree…?” he asked, his voice strained with a mix of confusion and pain.
Now Novalie felt slightly guilty. She realized that her unexpected tumble must have hurt him more than she’d initially thought.
“I didn’t mean to catch you, I don’t think I could have even if I knew you were there…”, he added.
A flicker of amusement danced in Novalie’s eyes as her smile widened.
“Well, but you did!”, she said, her tone light and teasing, trying to dissolve the tension between them.

As she saw his expression begin to soften, relief washed over her.
He introduced himself as Marco Rinaldi. With a swift, graceful movement, she stood up and extended her hand to him, intending to help him get up,
“I’m also a Ravenclaw! Call me Nova.”

She thought a little bit about it.
“Rinaldi…”, she silently repeated to herself, the name lingering in her mind. It had a noble, almost regal ring to it and she couldn’t help but feel a bit awed by it. It sounded like a name a wealthy person would carry. Growing up in a run-down neighborhood where luxury was a foreign concept, Novalie found herself increasingly fascinated by this place, where so many students seemed to come from such different backgrounds.

As she was waiting for him to accept her help, she asked bluntly, “Are you, like, rich?”

“Oh, wow…! Yes, it sounds really wealthy!”, Novalie exclaimed, looking at him as if he was a rare gem, sparkling in the most wonderful light, “I’ve never met a rich person before! My friends told me that they can have literally anything they want. And that they eat caviar. I wonder what that tastes like…”

She started to twirl a strand of her red hair between her fingers, her eyes drifting upward as she mused aloud, “But my brother told me that rich people also have a stick up their a- Oh!”

She suddenly noticed a small spider crawling up her hand, likely having made itself at home on her robe while she had slept in the tree. It was tiny, jet-black and slightly furry. Smiling, she released her hair and let the spider crawl onto her palm.

“Cute! That reminds me -” she began, her focus shifting back to Marco. Her eyes, once dark green, started to brighten with curiosity and excitement, unknowingly triggering her Metamorphmagus ability. As her emotions intensified, the green in her eyes lightened.

“Someone told me there are spiders that can talk! Is that true?”, she asked, taking a step closer to him, her gaze never leaving his. The excitement in her voice was unmistakable and her eyes now shimmered in an almost white color.

“You must know, right? Tell me everything about it! What does their voice sound like? Where do you find one?”, she urged, her expression full of eager anticipation. In her mind, being rich surely meant Marco was also very smart and knowledgeable, ready to share his wisdom with her.

“Oh.”
After leaning in close with wide, curious eyes, Novalie casually leaned back, her gaze shifting to the spider crawling around in her hand. As her interest decreased, her eyes gradually darkened again, slowly turning to their naturally green color.

“Hm. I was so sure that boy was telling the truth about talking spiders, but I guess it was just a prank.”, she mused, a giggle escaping her as she recalled how easily she’d been fooled.
If someone as rich - and she was sure - as smart as Marco didn’t know anything about it, then it must have been a joke after all.

“But about that caviar…”, she continued, effortlessly switching topics as if they were discussing the weather, “Why is it so expensive anyway? Isn’t it just fish eggs? Shouldn’t it be even cheaper than fish itself?”

She couldn’t quite grasp why something as simple as fish eggs would be considered a delicacy, especially when it didn’t even seem to be filling. As the spider continued to crawl across her hand, she watched it with a contented smile.

Suddenly, she looked back at Marco and extended her hand towards him, the spider still making its way across her palm.
“Here!”, she said, offering the tiny creature to him with a playful grin.
She didn’t want to keep the fun all to herself and wouldn’t mind if he decided to keep it. With the adventures she was planning, there was no way she could care for a pet at the same time.

Novalie listened as Marco explained why caviar was so expensive. It made sense - fish was pricey, after all. She herself had only eaten it two or three times in her life, but she didn’t mind. It wasn’t her favorite dish anyway.
Still, learning that you could find cheaper caviar if you knew the right sellers sparked her interest. It felt like a quest: 'Find the right merchant for the exquisite caviar!'
She grinned at the thought. She wondered.. could she possibly find one of those sellers around Hogwarts?

To her disappointment, Marco didn’t seem to have time for a cute little pet either. Knowing she wouldn't be able to keep it herself, she made a quick decision. Without pressing him to take the spider, the redhead shrugged, knelt by a nearby bush and gently let the spider crawl from her hand into the wilderness.

“Bye bye, little Caviar!”, she said with a wide smile, waving after it, “Tell your friends to visit Marco and me soon!”

With that, she sprang to her feet and whirled around to face the dark haired boy, her energy renewed.

“Now that that’s out of the way - where are we going next?”,Novalie asked, already assuming they’d be hanging out together like close friends.
She looked at him expectantly, eager for an adventure!
A smart boy like Marco would surely show her places she hadn’t yet explored!