A shelf full of... French? PV Ruby Cazares Finished

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It was a Monday and Ruby found herself in the library once more. Nothing unexpected, really. She had spent the past year doing almost nothing but studying, perfecting all of her skills, reading, learning more, and starting to learn the ways of nonverbal magic. Aside from the practical aspect of casting spells, these pursuits naturally lead her to the library, one of the only places where she could have peace and quiet. There was the added benefit of easy access to information, with the books right there for her, as well as the fact that she simply liked the library. How could she not? It would be hard for a knowledge-seeker like herself to not find a home in libraries.

She had recently preferred not to interact with people, choosing self-imposed isolation over the external anger and violence that had colored her previous years. Besides, she was more interested in her studies—she had big ambitions, and excelling in her academics and going above and beyond with her spellwork was what would take her there, not socializing with some random, likely inferior schoolmates. Still, despite that, humans were social creatures and she occasionally wanted to talk to people. Additionally, how could she get the other side of learning—the people-based side, the psychology side—if she didn’t interact with others?

So when she saw a girl next to her reading what looked to be a French graphic novel, she decided she would talk to her, if only to use her French again. Ruby was straight-backed in her armchair, posture as perfect as ever, not a speck of dirt or unnatural wrinkle to be found anywhere on her clothes. Her air of confidence and sophistication was present, chin tilted slightly upwards, cold eyes of ice cataloguing and analyzing her surroundings. She leaned forward slightly to address the girl in the next chair over. « Tu parles français ? » The rising inflection formed a question, eyebrows raised slightly. It was basic, simple, but a conversation had to start somewhere. She had considered using « vous » but this girl was clearly younger than her and she had little interest in excessively elevating the other student’s status.

Reducio

Translation:
Tu parles français ? = Do you speak French?

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A voice snapped Mahlioz out of her story. She looked up quickly to find a girl, seemingly five or maybe even six years older than her. A Slytherin too, from the look of her robes, but that didn't mean anything - the fact that she practically radiated superiority, on the other hand, did. Mahlioz was trying not to be terrified. After all, talking to people her own age already made her nervous; the age difference between her and this new person didn't exactly help.
Then Mahlioz, her ears catching up to her brain, realized she'd been spoken to. And in French, no less. She blinked. How did this girl- oh right, the book. The first year glanced at it for a second before trying to compose herself. (Why did she even have to compose herself? a voice in the back of her mind asked her. It was just talking, for goodness' sake! But she ignored it.)
"Euh... oui?"¹ she replied, feeling suddenly very self-concious - as one does - about her voice. Not for the first time. She cleared her throat. "Pourquoi? Toi aussi?"² Then she reddened. Obviously she knew French, she had literally just spoken to Mahlioz in the language! Goodness, what a fool... "Euh- je veux dire, bien sûr que- c'était évident- ah, désolée."³ She tried to fix her mistake but only stumbled over her words and gave up with a mere "sorry". What an idiot she was making of herself. She sighed and hoped this girl didn't judge too much based on first impressions.
Well, now that the fact that Mahlioz was a shy introvert was out, there really wasn't much else to be embarrassed about. Not to say she wasn't embarrassed - she was absolutely mortified. But the good thing was that it couldn't get any worse. So she decided to go with the flow. "Um... j'imagine que tu t'es rendue compte de ça grâce à mon livre? Il s'appelle De Cap Et De Crocs, je ne viens que de le commencer mais il est déjà super interessant. C'est toute une série, tu devrais l'essayer."⁴ She wasn't even bothering with being formal - she'd already accidentally called the older girl "tu" and, in all honesty, they were both students. If she wanted to be vouvoyé-d⁵ then she would tell her. It was extremely rare that Mahlioz gave up on seeming sane - or at least civilized - but at the moment she was sitting in one of her favorite places in the world, and it no longer really mattered what others thought of her.

¹ "Uh... yes?"
² "Why? Do you?"
³ "Uh- I mean, of course- it was obvious- ah, sorry."
⁴ "Um... I imagine that you realized that thanks to my book? It's called De Cap Et De Crocs, I've only just started it but it's already super interesting. It's a whole series, you should try it out."
⁵ Vouvoyer - The act of calling someone "vous" and not "tu". It's more formal

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Perhaps Ruby had made the wrong choice by choosing to talk to this girl. She seemed awfully shy—or maybe it was just the awkward self-consciousness of being a preteen—but either way, the girl beside Ruby appeared to be struggling through her words. She even asked Ruby if she spoke French. Obviously, since that was the language Ruby had spoken in when initiating the interaction. She struggled not to roll her eyes, reminding herself that the other girl was younger than herself and, additionally, likely hadn’t been expecting to be spoken to. The girl continued to verbally stumble, finally landing on an apology, to which Ruby responded « Ce n’est pas grave. » A gracious dismissal of the girl’s fumbling.

The girl seemed to be starting to find some footing in the conversation, gaining a bit of confidence as she started talking about her book. When she asked if Ruby deduced that she spoke French due to the book she was reading, Ruby nodded and responded with a simple « Oui. » The girl briefly enthused about her book, suggesting that Ruby should read it herself. « Je l’essaierai, peut-être. » A small nod accompanied her words, although she doubted she would actually follow through with it. It was practically a comic book, after all, by the looks of it. She preferred something more sophisticated, but she supposed she could see the appeal of it to an eleven year old. There was a lull in the conversation and Ruby made no effort to revive it, interest waning as she awaited whatever response would come.

Reducio

Translation:
Ce n’est pas grave. = Don’t worry about it/it’s fine. (Literally: It’s not serious.)
Oui. = Yes.
Je l’essaierai, peut-être. = I’ll try it, maybe.

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It was clear from the older girl's response that she was not impressed by Mahlioz's obvious lack of social skills. She was kind enough to let her first mistake slip by with only an "it's okay," which somehow made Mahlioz feel even worse. She was probably wasting the other's time, and even though she hadn't been the one who'd approached her in the first place, that was something she really did not want. Yes, older people intimidated her, but they also impressed her and she always felt the need to prove herself worthy to them.
The older Slytherin made a few short comments about what the first year was saying, but looked quite indifferent. Something in Mahlioz told her she ought to feel angry - why had this girl walked up to her just to look bored at what she said? But the twelve-year old couldn't help forgiving it, because she understood all too well how annoying people were, and she was "people" to the other.

The conversation died out after only a few sentences, and silence replaced it. She had so many questions - where was the fifth year from? how did she know french? - but she did not voice them, feeling it was not the right time, place and especially not person to be asking them to. The other girl seemed like the kind of person who did not enjoy small talk. Usually Mahlioz would have been relieved, because she agreed that small talk sucked, but right now nothing else could come to her mind and the silence was getting more awkward by the second. She didn't want to blurt out something stupid, like what she had a minute ago, but it seemed it was the only thing she was capable of doing. And apologizing profusely over and over again (which was what she felt like doing) was probably not a good idea either. In fact, nothing sounded like a good thing to say to this older girl.

"Euh, je...¹" Mahlioz cleared her throat, determined not to make a fool of herself again. "Et toi? Quels types de livres lis-tu? J'imagine qu'ils ne sont pas trop similaires au miens.²" Books felt like the right topic - they were in a library, after all. Maybe she'd even learn about some good books she could check out. Unless the older girl felt like she was too young and childish to be able to appreciate the kind of books she read. Mahlioz hoped that wasn't the case. But now she'd asked the question, and she was eager to know whether answering it would perhaps change the girl's disinterested demeanor.

¹ "Um, I..."
² "What about you? What kind of books do you read? I imagine they're not too similar to mine."

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Ruby was dimly aware that she might have been making the other girl uncomfortable, but, perhaps rudely, she couldn’t find it in herself to care. Honestly, it was impressive that Ruby had even bothered to talk to her, considering that she hadn’t gone out of her way to interact with anyone specific for the entire school year until now. Yet this first year French speaker had managed to grasp Ruby’s attention long enough for her to start a conversation, so that was saying something in and of itself, despite Ruby’s subsequent display of disinterest. Even if she wasn’t put-together enough to earn the pureblood’s approval, she was still intriguing enough to be granted a conversation.

Although, she did wonder why she chose to engage with this girl specifically, since foreign students from other schools had an increasing tendency to make appearances at Hogwarts for various events, and there were plenty of students at Hogwarts who were bilingual. Maybe it was something specific to this girl then—perhaps the air of someone studious, a trait that Ruby shared? She eventually asked Ruby what kind of books she preferred to read, if not graphic novels like the first year. « Je préfère lire des œuvres non romanesques parce que j’adore apprendre. » Her tone was not unfriendly, but her ice blue eyes would perhaps be a little intense, even though the statement was rather ordinary. « Qu’est-ce que tu aimes faire à part lire ? » she asked, finally showing some interest in the girl herself.

Reducio

Translation:
Je préfère lire des œuvres non romanesques parce que j’adore apprendre. = I prefer to read non-fiction because I love learning(/I love to learn).
Qu’est-ce que tu aimes faire à part lire ? = What do you like to do apart from reading?

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Mahlioz was significantly surprised that the fifth year was still talking to her. She seemed really interesting, and Mahlioz was just... well, Mahlioz. There wasn't really too much to her, in her opinion. She felt both relieved and terrified - yes, the other girl hadn't just left because she though Mahlioz wasn't worth speaking to, but that meant the first year had to keep talking. And talking was hard. Especially with people who scared her.

Well, she would try her best. The older Slytherin actually answered her question, which surprised her for some reason (why? she wondered - it wasn't like she was going to ignore her and leave. That was rude. Then again, she had no reason to expect anything from this girl that she didn't even know). The answer made Mahlioz's eyes light up. Although she wasn't a big fan of non-fiction, she could understand loving learning, for the very simple reason that she did so as well. She wasn't sure how to tell Ruby how much she agreed without seeming too enthusiastic or weirdly obsessed.
"Moi aussi!¹" she decided on saying, before glancing down at the book she'd chosen. "Même si ça se voit pas vraiment de mes préférences en lecture... mais j'adore aussi apprendre.²" She smiled half-sheepishly, wondering if she'd said the right thing. The fifth year's blue eyes were amazingly piercing and she felt like she could see her soul. It was more than a little unnerving.

Then the older Slytherin asked what Mahlioz liked to do apart from reading, and she no longer felt in any way confident (not that she'd had very much confidence in the first place). Apart from reading? There wasn't much. "Euh...³" she said, before gathering her words in order not to look like an idiot. "Ben... pas beaucoup,⁴" she laughed timidly. "Je fais surtout ça, lire... Mais j'aime bien dessiner, aussi? Et faire du tir à l'arc, mais je ne suis pas hyper bonne.⁵"
She had not been expecting the older girl to want to continue the conversation, let alone ask the first year a question. She hadn't had time to come up with a good answer. And even if she had, it wouldn't have been much. She loved reading more than anything else in the world - why do anything different? "J'aime à peu près n'importe quoi qui m'apprend quelque chose.⁶" she finished, feeling a little disappointed at her pathetic response. She was sure that the fifth year would have something more interesting to say, though... "Toi?⁷"

¹ "Me too!"
² "Even if it's not super obvious from what I like to read... but I also love learning!"
³ "Um..."
⁴ "Well, not much."
⁵ "I mostly do that, reading... But I also like drawing? And doing archery, but I'm not very good at it."
⁶ "I like pretty much anything that teaches me something."
⁷ "You?"

Apologies for the very, very late reply!

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Ruby saw the girl’s eyes light up when she mentioned a love of learning, and she quickly agreed, confirming that as a shared passion. Well, they were both Slytherins who spoke French and enjoyed reading and learning, so at least they had some things in common, even if their age and demeanor were very different. The younger girl would be rewarded with a nod and a smile—genuine, surprisingly, as she was pleased to see a younger student so invested in learning.

She explained that she wasn’t interested in much outside of reading, which was a little disappointing. Ruby knew she would find it boring if the only thing she did was read. While reading and learning were her main passions and consumed a lot of her time, she couldn’t imagine doing nothing outside of that. She enjoyed drawing, spending time outside and going for walks, practicing duelling, people-watching, talking with the people she liked, playing with her cat, and much more. But the other girl wasn’t done—she collected her thoughts and brought up drawing and archery. Now that was interesting. See? Not so hard. « Ah, c’est génial, j’adore dessiner ! » she responded immediately with a small smile.

The younger Slytherin explained that she just enjoyed anything that taught her something and Ruby nodded in agreement. They were clearly on the same page with that. « Moi aussi. » While the other girl may have been disappointed with her own response, Ruby received it well, feeling quite the opposite. But the question was soon directed back to her. « J'aime dessiner, comme je l'ai dit. Je fais partie de l'equipe de duel, que j'adore. J’aime aussi être dehors, entre autres choses. » She wasn’t really sure what the girl was looking for in a response and hoped it was sufficient to fulfill expectations. It occurred to her that the conversation was progressing decently and she didn’t even know her companion’s name. « Alors, comment t’appelles-tu ? Je m’appelle Ruby Cazares. » Perhaps it was significant that she was finally introducing herself—a sign that maybe the girl had earned the right to know her name. Or maybe it was just polite.

Reducio

Translation:
Ah, c’est génial, j’adore dessiner ! = Oh, that’s great, I love to draw!
Moi aussi. = Me too.
J'aime dessiner, comme je l'ai dit. Je fais partie de l'equipe de duel, que j'adore. J’aime aussi être dehors, entre autres choses. = I like drawing, as I said/mentioned. I’m part of the duelling club, which I love. I also like being outside, among other things.
Alors, comment t’appelles-tu ? Je m’appelle Ruby Cazares. = So, what’s your name? My name is Ruby Cazares.

*.·:·.☽✧ ✦ ✧☾.·:·.*

Mahlioz was completely taken aback when the other Slytherin smiled - actually smiled - at her. It wasn't that she didn't believe she could smile. It was just that she had been nowhere near expecting to receive one. Okay, so maybe they both had a few similarities, but it seemed to Mahlioz that they had a lot more differences. She wasn't complaining, though. It felt like somewhat of a small victory. Besides, the fifth year's smile was surprisingly beautiful.

The older girl seemed less than enthused when Mahlioz pointed out there wasn't much else she liked to do than reading, but changed when she added she liked drawing and archery. Mahlioz wasn't sure why she was so relieved by that - she wished she was less reliant on others' approval. She wished the only thing she needed was her own. But she wasn't that sure of herself.
The fifth year stated that she also liked drawing, which, for some reason, Mahlioz had not expected. Appearances were definitely not everything, she knew, but with someone who seemed so confident (and, to be honest, scary), it was hard not to judge a book by its cover. The girl gave her another smile - a small one, sure, but a smile nonetheless. Mahlioz wasn't sure how she was earning so many of them.
"Vraiment? Je, euh, j'en suis contente, ce n'est pas tous les jours que je rencontre quelqu'un d'autre qui aime apprendre et dessiner.¹" Hoping she wasn't intruding too much and just adding to the conversation, she added, "Qu'est-ce que tu préferes dessiner? Pour moi, ça serait probablement les gens.²" Ironic, since she tried to stay away from them outside of her drawings.

Thankfully, the other Slytherin didn't find Mahlioz's response as measly as she had. When the question was, in turn, asked of her, he said that she enjoyed reading, duelling and being outside. Mahlioz nodded. "Ça sonne super intéressant, surtout l'équipe de duel... je - j'aimerais aussi en faire partie, un jour. Par contre, je ne peux pas dire que j'aime être à l'extérieur autant que toi.³"
She much preferred staying inside with a nice cup of hot chocolate than spend time in the great outdoors, where you never knew whether it would rain or hail or wind in the next two minutes. But, well, there were the rare days where she had the urge to run around outside, when it was sunny. So she could understand. A little.

The conversation was definitely going somewhere. In fact, Mahlioz was amazed she was speaking so much. The girl talking to her was... frightening. Imposing. The first year had not expected to be able to speak to her without stammering all over the place, until her words were no longer coherent. But here they were... speaking of learning and drawing and duelling. And Mahlioz couldn't help raising her eyebrows when the other introduced herself. Had she earned it somehow? She did not know, but she definitely did not take the gesture for granted. She smiled a little. "Je... je suis Mahlioz Evethisawe. Ravie de faire ta connaissance.⁴" That was no lie. As terrifying as the girl named Ruby could be (that had not changed since they had met)... Mahlioz was intrigued, and slightly in awe of, her.

¹ "Really? I, um, I'm glad, it's not every day that I meet someone else who likes both learning and drawing."
² "What do you prefer to draw? For me, it would probably be people."
³ "That sounds super interesting, especially the duelling team... I - I'd also like to be part of it, one day. On the other hand, I cannot say that I like being outside as much as you do."
⁴ "I... I am Mahlioz Evethisawe. Pleased to meet you."

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The girl explained that it was rare for her to meet someone who enjoyed both learning and drawing and Ruby nodded. « C’est la même chose pour moi, » she commented, which was really more of a polite affirmation than anything else, although still said with a positive tone. It was always pleasant to find someone with shared interests, even if their acquaintanceship was only surface level.

Ruby got the sense that the younger girl was quite bright, and with a little more confidence which would likely grow naturally over her years at Hogwarts, maybe she would turn out to achieve great things. She was a Slytherin, after all, so surely she must be ambitious as well. But who knows. Such speculation was uncertain, with the future having not happened yet, and meeting this girl one time was unlikely to cause Ruby to be invested in the other’s journey. But it didn’t mean she hadn’t regained interest in the conversation during the discussion of what the pair enjoyed doing.

The girl had asked what Ruby preferred to draw. « Je dessine à peu près tout : des gens, des animaux, mon environnement. J’aime le réalisme et utiliser des dessins pour compléter mes observations de ce qui m’entoure. » Observations and analyses had been a key part of Ruby’s life for nearly as long as she could remember. She was very calculating with the way she approached things, preferring to distance herself from other people and analyze them whether they knew it or not.

Back in her early years at Hogwarts, she had voiced her observations a lot and had analyzed people rather intensely, but after a multitude of reactions which were typically in the negative range, as well as finding better things to do with her time, she had backed off a bit. Still, she remained curious about the world, her intelligent and inquisitive nature driving her to always be learning and pushing herself to understand everything that she could from what she came in contact with.

The younger Slytherin responded to the interests Ruby had listed by explaining that she was also interested in duelling. « Ah bon, tu devrais t’entraîner alors. » It was only natural that one interested in joining a sports team would want to practice, even if it was by exercising magic instead of one’s body. Control over magic was much harder to gain, being arguably a much more expansive and powerful field than physical activity. It could be especially difficult for first years, given they were likely relatively new to the use of magic, regardless of whatever blood status they held. Many of them could use all the practice they could get, particularly since there were no years at Hogwarts below them and thus they could only face opponents of the same year or higher.

With all the shared interests, it was mildly disappointing to hear that the younger girl didn’t enjoy being outside. An appreciation for nature was something Ruby prized, and fresh air was always a nice feeling. But no matter. They were far from the same person, obviously their opinions would differ. « C’est pas grave, tout le monde aime des choses différentes, » she responded. Anything else would’ve been disproportionate to the situation—something so small was nothing to argue about, at least not when she wasn’t in a bad mood.

When Ruby asked for the other’s name, the girl raised her eyebrows and smiled. Was it really so surprising and wonderful to be asked one’s name? The response came after a few stumbled words: Mahlioz Evethisawe. It was a pretty and unique name, although Ruby didn’t recognize her surname, meaning she was likely not a pureblood, or at least not one from this general region. Not that she placed too much importance on those kinds of things, but it was still something that she noted. « Enchantée. » Ruby gave a brief nod.

There were other things she wanted to ask—what were the girl’s origins, why did she know French?—and she wouldn’t mind talking more about their shared interests. However, it was getting later and there was a pressing feeling that she should be studying, or that she should at least get out of here. It had been a long time since she had had a notable interaction with someone after isolating herself for the past year, and she wanted to take things slowly if she was planning to talk to more people again. While she generally preferred deeper conversations over small talk, she was far from ready to open up to Mahlioz about anything beyond surface level facts about herself, and thus wanted to leave before it could get to that point.

She decided to switch to English for her final comments, perhaps as an extra signal that the conversation was over. “I have to go now, but it was nice talking to you. Good luck making the duelling team.” Ruby rose from her chair, giving Mahlioz a nod of acknowledgement, and then left, collecting a few more books on her way out. Maybe they would meet again—Ruby wasn’t opposed to it. While one largely surface-level conversation was not enough to encourage fondness or a particular liking of Mahlioz, the younger girl had made a mostly good first impression. But if they wanted to meet again beyond circumstance, Mahlioz would have to be the one to reach out. The soft sounds of the library slowly faded behind Ruby, quiet footfalls accompanying her further through the corridor. Back to studying.

Reducio

Translations:
C’est la même chose pour moi. = It’s the same case for me.
Je dessine à peu près tout : des gens, des animaux, mon environnement. J’aime le réalisme et utiliser des dessins pour compléter mes observations de ce qui m’entoure. = I draw pretty much anything: people, animals, my environment. I like realism and using drawings to supplement my observations of what surrounds me.
Ah bon, tu devrais t’entraîner alors. = Ah nice/ah good, you should practice then.
C’est pas grave, tout le monde aime des choses différentes. = That’s okay, everyone likes different things.
Enchantée. = Nice to meet you.

Ruby has left the thread.

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