Bookworms PV Lexi Medford Closed

Despite her feelings of unease regarding such a large new school, Lexi had found herself drawn to the sprawling hallways it offered. It was a bit overwhelming; the vast amounts of space and unknown rooms at each twist and turn. The one place she very quickly learned to locate, however, was the huge library.

It wasn't too similar to the one she had visited often in York. She may have even dared to go as far to say that it was the complete opposite of the cozy one back home. That warm and fuzzy feeling of tucking away with a book seemed almost impossible to achieve in such a massive location. The rows upon rows of books were exciting... but intimidating. With all this considered, and although not completely comfortable in this new place, the allure of reading surrounded by knowledge was too powerful to resist for the bookworm.

She found herself sitting at one of the less crowded tables in the room, book in one hand and parchment in the other. Her mother bought her this book only a few months ago, and was keen that Lexi took notes. It contained a lot of information regarding her Veela heritage, which was always exciting to learn about. However, Lexi quickly learned that the archaic writing style of this author was one she could barely understand. It wasn't a particularly interesting read because of this, admittedly, and she found her mind and eyes wandering away from the words inked on the page. This is when she noticed another girl- a Slytherin to be exact, one she estimated was around her age- sitting only a few feet away from her. The tome that girl was reading was more interesting than what she had in front of her (she would know, she had started it on the train), so she tried to strike up a conversation. Lexi was a sucker for a good chat about a book.

"Excuse me, I'm very sorry to interrupt... but is that Hogwarts, a History? I've barely started it. Is it an interesting read?" She gave a gentle smile, placing her own book down

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Mention(s): @Kaitlyn Connor

Time: Reducio Late Afternoon, January 15, 2024	Interacting with : Reducio @Lexi Medford
Outfit: Reducio As described in the post: impeccable Slytherin uniform Hairstyle: link	Notes: Reducio Speech: #3CB371 Thoughts: italics

As much as Katie enjoyed the History of Magic class, she enjoyed reading about the topics herself a lot more. It allowed her to go more in depth, at her own pace, and just to understand the wealth of information at her own leaisure. Plus, she could look at what she wanted to, when she wanted to, and not have to wait for when their class got to the information. As much as she liked to read textbooks, they weren’t always the most exciting to read. Plus, she had gotten multiple recommendations to read Hogwarts, A History from Flourish and Blotts. So, she figured it must be of high regard.

Now, for example, Katie was reading about the founding of Hogwarts. Her house’s namesake, Salazar Slytherin was one of the four founders. To her dismay, he didn’t want to let muggle-borns into Hogwarts, which mean that he would not approve of her attendance at the magical academy. Hopefully she could do well enough in her classes, and with magic in general, to show everyone that she could be a fantastic witch in her own right.

As Katie flipped the page, she heard a voice nearby talking to her. She looked up, and saw a girl about her age looking over at her. She had her own book with her, that she had placed down at the table. ‘Must not be the most pleasant book to read,’ she thought. “H-Hi,” she stammered shyly. “Ye-yes, it is. I ad-admittedly ha-haven’t gotten to-too far either,” she admitted with a shrug. “I wa-was just re-reading o-on the Hog-Hogwarts founding,” she responded, giving the girl a shy smile. “Um … I’m Kaitlyn, or Katie, wh-whichever you prefer to c-call me,” she said.

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Note: 287 words

Lexi didn't really expect the anxiety from somebody who looked so well put together, but she shook her head and quickly adapted to it. After all, usually she was the one panicking in a conversation, so this was a welcomed change of pace.

"Ugh, I love learning about the founding! Hogwarts is so seeped in magical history, it's amazing. I cannot wait to learn more about this school."

Lexi sighed, poking her own book begrudgingly. "Only thing this dreaded book is seeped in is... boredom." She shrugged her shoulders and crossed her arms. "I mean the content is interesting, I guess, but there's too much archaic language even for my own liking... and I'm a Shakespeare fan, so that's saying something."

She gave a warm smile at the girl's introduction. At least she knew she wasn't being too much of a bother. Before placing her hand out for a shake, though, she slipped her gloves on. She knew that her strangely frigid hands could surprise a person who didn't know her, so it was always best to keep comfort in mind.

"Well it's a pleasure to meet you, Katie," Lexi smiled, putting out her gloved right hand invitingly for a handshake. "I'm Lexi! Lexi Medford. And an absolute sucker for learning about history, if that wasn't obvious about my blabbing. Wizarding, muggle, any kind. Is it safe for me to assume you also enjoy it?" Her left hand gestured in the direction of the book. "Most people I know wouldn't be to keen to read about history in their free time, unfortunately."

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@Kaitlyn Connor

Time: Reducio Late Afternoon, January 15, 2024	Interacting with : Reducio @Lexi Medford
Outfit: Reducio As described in the post: impeccable Slytherin uniform Hairstyle: link	Notes: Reducio Speech: #3CB371 Thoughts: italics

Kaitlyn gave a shy smile, as she noticed this girl not mention her anxiety. She enjoyed dressing the way she did, and one benefit of it was that she looked more confident than she felt. She liked to hide her lack of confidence. Sadly, that did not mean her anxiety and lack of social skills were not on full display. She’d like the get better, but figured that it would happen with time, or so she hoped.

Kaite nodded. “I co-completely ag-agree. Eve-even just in he-here, yo-you can fe-feel the his-history,” she agreed. It was a lovely feeling to walk through the castle, its grounds, and whatever she could access as a first-year. She could feel the history from the different areas, knowing that many, many years of witches and wizards walked the very same paths as her. It felt great!

When the girl explained her lack of reading her book, Katie gave a small smile. “Som-sometimes, it fe-feels like some b-books ar-are writ-written wi-with the expectation it w-will not b-be r-read,” she stammered in agreement with a light joke. She glanced down at the table before finally thinking of a suggestion. “C-can yo-you find t-the s-same information el-else whe-where?” She asked. Her smile grew slightly. “I li-like Sh-Shakespeare, too.”

Katie glanced at the girl’s hand, noticing that she had put on her gloves. She hadn’t noticed anything different about this girl; then again, she tried her best not to stare at her. She didn’t want anyone to misinterpret her intentions. Yet, that did not stop her from being curious about the glove. Why did this girl need gloves? But, she knew it was none of her business. Not skipping a beat, she reached out with her left hand to shake Lexi’s hand, her smile growing again.

“It’s a ple-pleasure to me-meet you, to-too Lexi,” Katie responded. She flushed lightly and shook her head. “You don’t nee-need to apologize for blabbering. I do it all th-the time,” she admitted, noting her stuttering slowly improving. “And, ye-yes, I do. I want to kn-know as much as I ca-can,” she admitted with a giggle. She glanced at her book and shrugged. “I don-don’t mind being se-seen as weird fo-for that. I fr-freely read an-any of my text-textbooks,” she admitted with a brighter smile.

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Note: 381 words

Lexi smiled and nodded at the girl's question. There were plenty of books about Veela, though she couldn't help but notice how a lot of them felt like they carried a certain level of contempt in between the words. Maybe she was just reading too far into it based off past experiences, but it was bothersome none the less.

"There are definitely other places to find it, haha. This one was just specifically requested for me to read by my mum. Even asked for me to take notes on it, so I can't get out of it..." Hearing that Kaitlyn was a fan of Shakespeare too was a breath of fresh air. Her dad got her into his work.
"Call me basic but Macbeth is my favorite." Lexi felt her smile widen just mentioning it. Sure, it was brutal for somebody her age to read, but very well made.

"Anyways, I'm glad my going on and on isn't a bother. This is like the most I've talked since I got here," she stuttered a bit with a smile, "I just can't stop once I start." She placed her hands into her pockets abashedly, her face a little red with embarrassment.

Lexi nodded in agreement with her comment about her reading textbooks. She had already started almost all of them outside of classes, so it was a sentiment she could relate to.

After a moment of thinking, she shifted in her seat.
"Where are you from? I come from York in England." She chose her next words carefully. It was impossible to know the extent of knowledge this girl had on magical creatures, and she didn't want to sour the conversation by bringing up a heritage people have shamed others for in the past. It was unfortunate, but reality. "My entire family hails from magical origin, which is pretty cool. I grew up on history books, haha."

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@Kaitlyn Connor

Kaitlyn Connor wrote: 24 Jan 2024, 01:24

Time: Reducio Late Afternoon, January 15, 2024	Interacting with : Reducio @Lexi Medford
Outfit: Reducio As described in the post: impeccable Slytherin uniform Hairstyle: link	Notes: Reducio Speech: #3CB371 Thoughts: italics

Katie tilted her head to the side slightly at Lexi’s response. It sounded strict to make her read that one specific book. “Ah, so-sorry about that,” she frowned, glancing at the table again. “Um, I don’t know how much help I’d be, b-but if you need help with it, I could try to help you with those notes?” She offered, her stuttering noticeably fading away, a fact that she personally preferred. Less stuttering should make her sound better, hopefully.

“That’s a good choice. Romeo and Juliet is another good one,” Katie agreed with a smile. The contents of the plays were not suited for their age, and some of the phrasing went over her head, but she understood the overall idea. It was weird for her to enjoy it, considering the fact that she liked girls, but it was still a sweet and tragic story.

“Honestly, Lexi, you’re not a bother. I like hearing someone enthusiastic. It makes me feel less shy and happier when I hear you talking happily. And, I agree, I think this is the longest I’ve talked, too,” Katie responded, rambling to show Lexi that she didn’t mind. She smiled in a kind and friendly manner to Lexi’s blush. It felt nice that it wasn’t her flushing for once.

“I’m from Redford, England. It’s a suburb of London … um … I’m muggle-born,” Katie added for context, hoping that Lexi didn’t mind that fact. This meant that she had no knowledge of magical creatures, other than the little bit she read from books. “That’s cool that you have a magical origin. Did your family do anything special? When I talk to some of the other students, they give a grand story of their childhood,” she responded, before realizing how personal this sounded. “Sorry … you don’t have to answer. I was just curious. Um … the history books I grew up with wee muggle history books. As you can guess, very different than the ones we read here,” she responded.

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Note: 334 words
Redford, England is fictional.

"I really appreciate the offer, but honestly I think I'm just going to tell mum I 'lost' the book. There's a first time for everything, right?"

Lexi felt happy hearing the girl stutter less. Hopefully that meant she was comfortable in this conversation. When the topic of heritage revealed Katie's muggle-born origin, she couldn't help but get excited.

"Muggle-born..?" Lexi repeated out loud, a smile slowly creeping it's way on her face. "That's so cool. I mean, I've met muggles obviously, but never a witch born from two of them." Lexi gasped excitedly, leaning slightly forward with an even bigger smile plastered on her face. "Does that mean you've gotten to use muggle technology before? Like a computer? My parents would never let me near that kind of thing!"

Lexi shook her head with a sigh and backed up a bit, collecting herself. "I don't know why some pure-blood families think such a thing is taboo. Muggles are brilliant, and I hope you can take pride in your heritage. The whole idea of your blood being used as a status symbol is hogwash."

She shifted a bit uncomfortably when her family was brought back up. Although, this girl was probably the most open-minded kind of witch relating to blood status one could talk to given her own background. Perhaps it wouldn't be so bad

"I'm actually a half-breed. Do you know what a Veela is?" Lexi picked up the book she oh-so-despised off the table to flip through to a diagram, turning the book around to show an illustration. "My mum is one of these beautifully deadly creatures. She's a good woman, but unfortunately her kind have a bad reputation and what not. My dad is just a regular old wizard though. She didn't need to enchant him for them to fall in love and have yours truly." She chuckled, placing the book back down. "Honestly I am proud of my blood. It's the other wizards who shame us."

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@Kaitlyn Connor

Time: Reducio Late Afternoon, January 15, 2024	Interacting with : Reducio @Lexi Medford
Outfit: Reducio As described in the post: impeccable Slytherin uniform Hairstyle: link	Notes: Reducio Speech: #3CB371 Thoughts: italics

Katie giggled quietly and nodded in agreement. “T-there are many possible m-magical accidents. I ju-just don’t want you to get in trouble,” she responded. Lexi seemed like a kind girl, so far. She’d hate for Lexi to get in trouble over something, especially if she could help.

A light flush bloomed on Katie’s cheeks as Lexi was excited that she was a muggle-born. It was a part of her normal life just last year. Even with the time spent at Hogwarts, she didn’t feel like being a muggle was anything weird. In her opinion, of course. “Th-thanks. Um, yes, I have. I have drawings of different types of muggle computers in my dorm room. If you want, I can show you them one day?” She offered, a smile on her face. Lexi’s enthusiasm was infectious.

Katie giggled quietly when Lexi backed away. “You can come closer next to me, if you want,” she offered in a friendly tone. “And I agree, I don’t know why either. I think it’s meant as a way to keep them superior? I don’t really know. I’m not ashamed of being a muggle-born. But, I do sometimes feel out of place as a Slytherin,” she shook her head.

When Lexi brought up about being a Veela, Katie tilted her head to the side in thought. “I think there was something about Veelas in one of the books I read ….” She trailed off, trying to remember. She couldn’t recall immediately and shrugged. “I don’t see how being part Veela is any reason to treat you any differently. You are bound to be a fantastic witch in your own right. I do think it’s cool, though, that your mum is a Veela. It makes you unique. In my opinion, anyone that shames you should be ashamed themselves,” she crossed her arms over her chest. She didn’t like bullies, or being bullied at all. It upset her even more to see, or hear, one of her friends being bullied.

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Note: 332 words

"No worries," Lexi assured, "I won't get in trouble. I think she would be more mad if she found out that I thought muggle technology was cool," she smiled. Her mother was a very traditional person; ink and parchment were the only friend you needed in her world.

On the topic of muggle technology, Kaitlyn's response was a bit of a surprise.
"Wait, sorry, drawings? Are you an artist?" Lexi asked in awe. She had always had a deep admiration for artists; it took a lot of skill and dedication that she could never find in herself. "Sure. I'd love to see them one day!"

At the other girl's invitation, she stood up and moved a seat closer. From her pocket she very carefully and quietly pulled out a small box of chocolate frogs, placing them on the table behind a stack of books and gesturing to them, subtly but invitingly. She had bought a few of them on the trolley while making her way to school, but really hadn't had the chance to eat them. It was just too sweet, not really a taste she could handle in excess. So, she figured, sharing was the next best thing Lexi could do. They would just need to keep it discreet from the library staff, since it was pretty obviously not allowed in the library.

"That's just a load of nonsense. Us non pure-bloods can be some of the best there is! If any Slytherin chumps give you trouble, keep your chin up high. It's just as much your house as anyone else's in there." She leaned back in her chair, quickly and quietly taking a bite of her chocolate. "I'm happy you don't mind my unique family situation... And I agree, shame to the shamers."

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@Kaitlyn Connor