Observations and Aspirations Open Finished

@Kona Mason
Isaac strode into the library, surprised by his surroundings. It was larger than any other library he had ever seen in his life, and full to brimming with old dusty books. Unfortunately, this was not where he was meant to be at the moment.

Before, he was confidently navigating the halls with his bookbag slung around his shoulder, sure he could find the potions area somewhere in the castle. But then, he had confused himself in walking upstairs instead of down, and now he had ended up in the library. Great.

Looking around, he seized upon a girl with braids who had just closed a soft grey journal. For a moment, he felt a nagging curiosity to read it, but shoved the thought away. Maybe she knew how to navigate around this cursed place. It was worth a shot.

"Hey, you. Do you have any clue how to get to potions?"

@Isaac Ambrose

Kona Mason was startled by the boys intrusion. She held on nervously to her notebook as though he was going to take it, but really it was an attempt to hide anxiousness. He looked like he could be her complete opposite, but her tension relaxed when he mentioned potions.

"p..p.potions?" Her eyes gleamed as she finally got the words out. Kona's voice returning to normal, "of course I do, it's my favorite class!" she exclaimed. Kona was struggling to find a vocal tone that was social normal for the situation.

A librarian tossed a glare their way, making her realized how quickly her volume had changed. Her cheeks flushed red and her head fell towards her lap. Clutching tightly onto the notebook, she looked back at the boy's face with curiosity.

"How did you stumble into the library trying to make it to the potions lab?" She asked with sincerity. "The potions lab is in the basement, it is really not too far from her."

Kona hoped she didn't come off as mean, but bit her tongue waiting for a response. She opened the notebook to a floorplan drawing. It was labeled 'Map of Hogwarts' and was a simple drawing of the Hogwarts floorplan. She reached into her bag and pulled out two bronze-knuts. Placing one on a box labeled 'library', placing another on the spot labeled 'potions'.

@Kona Mason
"I guess I took a wrong turn somewhere, and got really lost. Followed the sound of whispers after that and made it here." Isaac explained as if it were the simplest thing in the world. With a prideful smile on his face, he suddenly came to a realization.

"Really? Potions is your favorite class too? Well I'm about to get some before-class 'practice.'" His eyes deviously gleamed in a way that there was no telling what 'practice' meant.

He ignored the librarian's hissing 'shush' as he spoke. He never got why libraries had rules about quiet in the first place, when people would end up talking either way. Suddenly, he noticed Kona's grey notebook opened to a detailed page. Gazing with interest at the map, he exclaimed, "Ohhhh, so that's where the basement is!"

A second shush followed this remark, and he swore that at this point the hag was tempted to jump out of her chair and wrangle his throat. The librarian's eyes sparked with a familiar fury he had seen on many teachers before.

"Anyway, I'll be going down to the basement soon. But considering I'm here," he looked around craftily, "Might as well take a book or two of higher-level potions while I'm at it."

@Isaac Ambrose

Kona was intrigued when he said potions was his favorite class. A smile began to come across her face, she wondered if maybe they could be friends.

"Would you mind if I joined you? I'd love to get practice in before class." She said in kind of a rush, before she could take back what she said.

Kona was very kind and loved having friends, she was a great friend too; however, she is quite shy when beginning to know somebody. Cringing at the shushes from the librarian, she closed her notebook, replacing the strap the hold the notebook closed. With consideration, she rose from the table and looked towards the shelves.

"I don't think we are supposed to try potions that are higher than our level without a teacher present. " She looked around before lowering her voice to a whisper. "Are we going to get in trouble for looking at the books?" Kona never broke the rules and was always very conscious of what could get her in trouble, but the thought of learning more potions drove her wild. Besides, she was more of a follower than a leader anyway.

She was clutching even tighter to her notebook now as her heart raced at the thought of learning more potions. This is what you want. This is your dream! Not everyone who successful and honest is always a rule follower.

@Kona Mason
"We might get in trouble," Isaac whispered conspiratorially. He side-eyed the librarian. "But as long as we're careful, I don't think anything'll go wrong. Besides, who can say no to learning advanced potions?"

He didn't show it, but to be honest, he was pretty pleased at having someone to talk to and have an adventure with. No one had taken to saying much to Isaac, and the feeling weighed down on him heavily. He hated being lonely more than anything. Now, he'd have a chance to finally figure out how to brew 'felux-fulishis,' the potion a kid had mentioned in the Boys' Dormitory yesterday.

Sneaking behind a series of shelves, he gestured Kona over. Hopefully she would follow.

From there, they would be were hidden enough to take a glance at the section that said 'HIGHER-LEVEL POTIONS,' plastered above another inconspicuous shelf. Isaac's mind was already cooking up a scheme of how to get over there without being spotted. All of a sudden, his pale eyes sparked. He had an idea. All they'd need was a good distraction.

@Isaac Ambrose

Kona's eyes were as wise as frisbees, or so it felt like. We might be in trouble? She had never really been in trouble before. The most she ever got in trouble for was quarreling with her younger brother, he usually deserved it. In fact, there was hardly any excitement in her house growing up, her parents get along great and even though her brother was annoying she loves him all the same. You'll never catch her admitting it though.

Doesn't think anything could go wrong? Everything could go wrong! We could get caught by a teacher, destroy equipment, get injured, the list goes on! She mulled it over in her head awhile, watching him head towards the shelves. But how can I say no to advanced potions? All I wanted to do since I have gotten to Hogwarts is more potions. Kona was never one to say no unless it came to rule breaking. Today was different, she wanted to observe people. She wanted to learn.

You will get to learn something new and get to observe a classmate. Maybe I can get some use out of breaking the rules just this once? She shoved her grey notebook into her bag and slung it over her shoulder. She realized she didn't even know the boys name. Had she forgotten everything she knew about observing and gathering information?

With care and paranoia, Kona walked towards him, hiding behind the shelves. "My name is Kona." She said in a nervous whisper. "I'm not saying I am going to break any rules, but I want to come on this adventure for purely observational purpose," Kona said sternly as though she was trying to convince herself. She wanted nothing more than to grab all the books and run out the door. The boy looked like he had an idea.

@Kona Mason

Isaac's eyes glittered with interest, much like a crow's. With a lofty grin, he introduced himself. "The name's Isaac, Isaac Ambrose. It's cool if you want to tag along for now. But I miight need your help to pull this off." Putting on his best pleading expression, he clasped his hands together. "You've gotta help me."

He noticed that Kona was apprehensive, and felt an inkling of doubt stir in his mind. But opportunity was so close that he could taste it. It was no time to let fear hold them back. Pointing towards a table by the higher level section, he subtly explained, "See those blokes over there?"

A couple of students were chatting vividly. From their faces, it was easy to tell that they were at least third-years, if not older. Every once and a while, they drew the librarian's gaze, whisper-shouting to one another.

"We've got to distract them somehow so they don't see us sneaking in to grab the books. The plan's simple. I'll rush out and make a fuss, and you grab the books. Then, we run."

In the shadows, he met her gaze, excited. "We can rendezvous outside the Potions classroom, since we both know where it is." He was confident about this plan. It was simple, and it wouldn't fail.

@Isaac Ambrose

Isaac was a cool name, lots of great minds were named Isaac. Kona thought to herself in a failed attempt at distracting herself. He was begging for her help and she wasn't sure what to do. You came to Hogwarts to learn, take risks, and grow as a person. Now is not the time to be scared to learn. Besides you are just watching, yeah?

Before Kona had the chance to answer, Isaac began to tell her the plan. She looked at the two students he pointed to, they look like they would be easy to help with a distraction unknowingly. Her stomach began to flip-flop with uncertainty. Kona clutched onto her bag tighter. She could probably carefully slip the books in her bag during the distraction without having to make a run for it. Now you are a part of the plan. You are needed and you can't back down. She repeated to herself and with a subtle nod of her head, she looked at Isaac in anticipation.

"What if we get caught?" She whispered. Her confidence in his plan was growing, but her nervous continuously pumped her full of adrenaline. I can't believe I am going to do this. This is so unlike me. What if we get caught stealing from the library? Wait, it's not stealing if we return the books."Promise me that we will return the books in the same condition we get them in?" She said with a pleading look in her eye.

@Kona Mason

"I swear it." he vowed to her, keenly aware of her hesitance in breaking the rules. It wasn't a huge loss to return the books anyway. All they had to do was sneak back in sometime and slip them back onto the shelves.

Suddenly, his mind drew to her other concern. Pondering the consequences, he mused, "If we get caught, I guess we'll get detention. But we won't get caught," Isaac added with an airy wave of his hand. He had already done some scouting of the building, and knew that if they were careful, the librarian, Filch and Norris wouldn't catch a sniff of them.

His mind whirred, flooding with cheery thoughts. This is great. It's been so long since I've had a partner. Everyone else usually runs away by the time I get to the plan.

Bracing himself to dash out into the open, energy flooded Isaac's veins, tingling like magic. He turned to her, an electric smile on his face. "You ready?"