Lost in the Library Together PV Juniper Evans Closed

@Shiawase Mamori

For Juniper, leatherbound books and the scent of paper being flipped paragraph after paragraph was a solace. Much like Shiawase she had been here to feel at home, and it was probably the one place she knew how to navigate... usually. That is, when she wasn't here browsing for something with a focus. Today the Gryffindor had come here simply to find something interesting to read... but finding the right section felt so daunting. So daunting infact, that she'd even forgotten what exactly she had in mind in the first place.

A book was slotted into the shelves awkwardly. Not quite what she was looking for, and not even the right section either. Fully aware that her sister Poppy would be laughing at her right now if she saw how lost she was, Juniper tried to gather her wits about her and knuckle down on her thoughts by retracing footsteps. And that was when another called over to her.

"Oh-" Gasped the skittish cub, tightening the grip on her own robes and blinking behind those shining retangular lenses of hers. "I didn't realise someone else was nearby... I-I-... I didn't disturb you, did I?" There was relaxation when she realised that the other girl was about her age, especially from what she was saying. Another first year. The blonde was startled, anxious that she probably nearly bumped into one of her peers and yet there was an ease in learning Shiawase was as fresh-faced here as she herself was.

"My name is Juniper," She said sheepishly, trying to remember just what she was here for and tugging out her Rememberall from her pocket to sort of fiddle with it, a red fog folding in on itself within the glassy globe. "Juniper Evans. I don't think I was looking for anything in particular... interesting herbology books if anything? Or- stuff on potions. Dad said I should try and get ahead on my studies."

Shiawase smiled kindly at Juniper.

"I'm sorry to have startled you. You haven't disturbed me at all. I just happened to be passing by."

She then nodded at Juniper's name. She then noticed the orb. It was an odd thing, wasn't it? Shiawase just had to learn more!

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Juniper," she said as she reached up to shake her hand. "If you don't mind me asking, what is that glassy orb in your hand? I don't believe I've ever seen anything like that before! It's simply fascinating!"[/b][/color]

She tilted her head as Juniper asked for interesting herbology books and stuff on potions.

"Hmmm. Potions, herbology . . . I mean, I personally am content to just read textbooks on the subjects, though they can be quite dry. How far ahead of your studies are you looking to get? Because as it happens, I also tend to get ahead on my studies as far as I can. Perhaps, we can be study buddies? We can tell each other everything we know and practice together!" She then blushed sheepishly. "Sorry. I'm getting ahead of myself. I just know that for me, personally, I can read all the books I want, but I know I'm at my best when I have someone to bounce ideas off of. You can say 'no' of course, to anything I say, including book recommendations. My personal favorite herbology book is Healing at Home with Herbs, but if you want something more stimulating for your brain, Sub-Aquatic Botanical Mysteries gives you lots to consider! As for potions, my personal favorite is A Collection of Above Three Hundred Receipts in Cookery, Physick, and Surgery, however, the writing in it is highly confusing. It's written in Medieval times after all, and I'm pretty sure it won't fully make sense until I've gotten further along in my studies. Still, the subjects of medicine, history, and food all intersect for me in that one, so I still peek at it anyway. I simply don't check it out. But a good book for you that might be more practical and more likely to advance your studies is A Humble Guide for Potion Brewing You Cannot Live Without."

@Juniper Evans

Good grief, this girl spoke a lot. It was a bit much for Juniper to digest at first; she felt as though she was at one of her family Christmas dinners, noise filling her ears that she was only able to pick bits out of. Fortunately, Shiawase was speaking on things that brought Juniper great interest which allowed her to register just a bit more than usual, though from the way she looked at the dark-haired Slytherin all of this intake was a bit... startling, to say the least. It would take her a moment or two to come up with a solid response.

With focus at first laying on the foggy orb in her hand it was easier for her to really parse through that information first. "Oh- this?" And for a moment she realised Shiawase couldn't be talking about anything else, feeling incredibly silly for speculating otherwise. Though it did make her wonder; was this girl a muggleborn? "This is a Rememberall; they're sold at Weasly's Wizard Wheezes. They help you remember when you've forgotten something." On that note, weren't these on the shopping list for all first-years? How come this girl didn't have one then? "In... Diagon Alley?"

Then there was... everything else. Thankfully the book titles jumped out at her as recommendations and she didn't feel like a complete airhead in responding.

"Sub-Aquatic Botanical Mysteries? That sounds rather enjoyable actually," Juniper smiled some, managing to relax; her speech was slow, timid, as though the slightest thing could spook her. And yet she held it together, forcing herself to converse. She may as well make some friends after all even if she'd heard before that not all Slytherins were the most friendly sorts. "Though the 'Humble Guide' sounds like it'd be great too. I-I've obviously got my own books, but I figure the more I read up in the library the better my grades in the end; though, I'm not even all that sure what I want to do when I leave school." All of that was so far away, and she was just a first-year! Maybe an Auror? Maybe running her own potions business. Or a travelling botanist... there were many options.

Then came a smile at the offer which she'd just registered in her head. "Honestly I think I'd be glad for a study partner... if you're sure you're okay with that and I wouldn't be a bother. It's been really difficult finding people to pair up with during free periods." Juniper quietly realised that it was probably because she was picky, and the majority of her housemates were more bold. Which, she felt she was supposed to be, wasn't she? Was it bold to form a study group with someone she barely knew?

Ah, how she overthought every little thing.

"Ohhh! I recognize it now. I have one, too. I just never saw it fog up like that. Huh! So that's what it does. I was just like, 'pretty orb, that's cool, I guess.' I mean, I was told it did something, of course, but I never saw it in action. Also, I can't exactly easily hold it and check it, so I usually don't. See, because I have to wheel my wheelchair, so I need my hands unless I'm stationary, but when I'm stationary, I'm busy with something else that requires my hands. To be fully honest, I hadn't really looked at mine since I bought it. Maybe I should look now, huh?"

She produced her Rememberall from the school bag in her lap. But it was just a clear orb and didn't fog up.

"I suppose I'm good right now then." She stowed it away. And then gave her her book recommendations. She smiled when Juniper seemed to latch on to two of them.

"Yeah, they're both really enjoyable! I can show you where to find them." She then nodded as Juniper mentioned not being sure what she wanted to do when she left school. "That's still so far away, but yes, I know what you mean. I was so sure I knew what I wanted to do with my life, but then I got accepted here and now everything's been turned upside down. I wanted to be a doctor. See, my mom's a doctor, a general practitioner, actually. And while she's great at her job, I wasn't sure I wanted to take her path. I do want to be a doctor, but I was thinking more along the lines of being a surgeon. Fixing people's problems, or at least, making them more manageable. But to do that job, you need a strong stomach and steady hands. I have the steady hands part down but I'm not so sure I have the strong stomach part. Anyway . . . that was my plan, but now . . . ? Now I'm going to this magic school and getting introduced to like, this whole hidden society, and . . . I learned that magic can cure the things I would have wanted to fix as a surgeon. And the magic isn't being used on anyone who isn't magical, which . . . I can't fathom that! Everyone should have a right to the health care option that's best for them, whether it's magical or not!"

She was getting fired up . . . too fired up. She needed to calm down. And talk softer. She took a deep breath.

"I mean, I know there's a reason for it, I just don't believe there's a good enough one. I should drop it. It's not appropriate conversation for a library."

She perked up as Juniper said she'd be glad for a study partner.

"There is no way you'd be a bother to me! If anything, I might be the bother to you. I mean, I have read a lot since I came here, trying to make sense of this world, trying to figure out how to do things . . . but my knowledge is very limited since I'm not part of this world, you know? So you may have to answer stupid questions of mine." She cracked a smile. "I'm lucky to have found you, because I hadn't had much luck finding people to pair with for studying, myself. I mean, that's not to say I haven't met people or anything, I just wanted to make sure if I paired with someone, they wanted to be ahead in their studies, like I do! And since you do, well, I'm relieved you said 'yes,' we'll just say."

@Juniper Evans

Once more, half of the words that Shiawase spoke went over the Gryffindor's head as she tried to swim through a lot of the unimportant information to get to the main tidbits here and there. Maybe that was an exaggeration, a lot of what she'd said actually registers this time now that the fright was dimming down. Still, it was good to know her hunch was right; this girl had been born among muggles, raised in a muggle world. Despite the fact she had her own remembrall it was pretty rare she'd met someone who didn't know how it functioned; then again, she'd lived her whole life within the wizarding world, with nary a mind paid to the outside. Not that she minded of course - it actually interested her greatly given there were muggleborns and half-bloods married into the family - but not all wizards or witches were as open to muggleborns as she had been raised to be.

"We can always talk about it later? The um- the doctor thing," Juniper's voice took on a slightly more hushed tone at that as if she wasn't entirely sure whether what she was discussing was actually all that super secret or not. A lean in, but then she stood a bit straighter again. "I've... sort of never really been exposed to any of that. I've been surrounded by other witches and wizards my whole life, and mum was always good with remedies for broken bones and such so..."

She'd trail off there for just a second and then smiled wider, forcing a subject change.

"I suppose in that way though we'll be able to help each other? I-I mean- we'll both have different perspectives on it all. If you're okay with it we can come back here for our study sessions sometimes. Or I suppose there's the great hall." Another nudge of her own glasses upward, she'd brave a grin at Shiawase and tuck her Remembrall away. "Though I've kind of grown fond of the courtyard during warmer days."

"Yes, we could absolutely talk about it later. I just didn't want to risk raising my voice here, you know?" She then nodded and smiled widely. "I think we would be able to help each other in that case! I know so little of how things are outside of what little I've been exposed to here. There are so many things I take for granted back home that I don't know how wizards do it. I suppose, going back to our conversation before I started rambling about health care, I don't even know what job options there are in this world. I just figure, if I make sure I'm good at everything, then I can do anything when I graduate! And it's hard for me to tell if I have my heart set on being a healer because I don't know what other options there are or if it's because I genuinely think that's the thing I want to do for the rest of my life."

She then nodded eagerly again, leaning forward slightly.

"We could study any of those places! But the courtyard sounds like the best one, provided the weather's nice! It's good to get some fresh air as much as possible, you know? Plus, we could have some food set out, like a little picnic while we work! I know some of the best foods for something like that! Assuming I'd be allowed into the kitchen to work. I'm sure the staff wouldn't like me getting in the way, but there's just, something about making food for myself that's more satisfying than when it's just handed to me, you know? I've been itching to cook again." She then cleared her throat awkwardly. "Though I suppose a picnic while studying might be a bit distracting. So, you know. We could just. Study. Without that other stuff I was talking about. I think I might have gotten carried away again, a little." She smiled coyly.

"Picnic or no picnic, I think it'd be great to study with you!"

@Juniper Evans