Can You Reach This Book? PV Simon Kincaid Closed

Simon always had a goal to finish any essay or complete any studying he needed to do for Mondays on Fridays so that he could devote his two-day weekend break without classes to be - just that - without classes. So when he still had some research to conduct for a paper, he knew a trip to the library was necessary.

He first stopped at his dormitory where he removed his extra textbooks from his bag and check on his pet rat Rascal who lifted his head from his slumber when he heard the opening of the door. "Happy Friday, mate," Simon said to him gently and patted his head. Rascal gave him what seemed to be an appreciative blink before stretching out to wake up. "Come on, we're going to the Library." He knew Rascal enjoyed it there.

Fridays weren't too busy in the Library, as most everyone took their first opportunity of freedom for the week and caught up with friends on the Grounds. He finished his research which allowed him to finish the last part of his essay and then he wrapped it up with his conclusion, completing his work for the weekend. Simon shut the book and felt that familiar sense of relief of being completely free of scholarly obligations for the next two days and decided he would check out a couple of books on magical medicine to look over for his own knowledge.

As he was heading to the section to find such books with his enchanted satchel over his shoulder, he saw a girl trying to reach a book on a high shelf before abandoning her efforts. "Perhaps I can help?" he asked as he approached, hoping not to startle her.

Simon was probably taller - one because he seemed a little bit older than the girl, but also because he was rather mature even for his age. Sometimes he wondered if that was a dhampir trait or not. He reached to get the book but unfortunately his fingertips hit it first, pushing it back further and now out of his own reach. He looked to the girl and winched a little, as if it was actually painful and then smiled that bright smile of his. "Correction - perhaps we can help."

There was a crocheted sort of knit pocket on the outside of his satchel and he reached inside, bringing out a small gray rat who looked to the left, then looked to the right - quickly surveying its surroundings. "Rascal, I need you to knock that book up there to me," he said as he lifted the rat to the high shelf. "He loves knocking things off flat surfaces," Simon said and waited for Rascal to do his thing. "Go on. Go on, now. Help me and my new friend out," and Simon smiled up to the rat.

Rascal just blinked.

"I swear he knocks off books all the time...." Simon started to lose hope in his little rodent hero, "at least when I don't want him to." That gave Simon an idea, and one he didn't think would work. "Rascal, don't be up there knocking books off the shelves. You must behave yourself."

As if understanding him, his words but not the trick, the rat squeaked softly and tapped the book with his nose, causing it to come enough toward the edge that its center of gravity shifted and it fell downward. Easily caught by his dhampir reflexes, Simon took the book and now turned his attention to the girl sitting in the floor. "Forgive me, the summoning charm would have been quicker."

date: November 3rd, 2023
time: midday, afterclass
interacting/mentioning: @Simon Kincaid
OOC note:

Sage was on the verge of giving up completely and settling for another book. But then a boy's voice came out of nowhere and nearly made her jump out of her skin. Once Sage got over her initial surprise, she realized the boy was interested in helping, not teasing her for not being able to reach the shelf.

He was taller than her, which definitely had something to do with the fact he was older than her. Sage estimated him to be at least in his third, maybe fourth, year, if not higher. She hadn't interacted with him before that she could remember. Maybe a brief passing in a corridor or such.

"Oh! Thank you! That would be really helpful!"

She watched the boy attempt to grab the book, only to fail like she had before. He then revealed a rat from the bag he carried and began to speak to it. The rat ignored him.

Sage did her best to hide her laughter at the misbehaving rat. A small smile cracked through her attempts. The boy tried to tell her he always knocked books about, which Sage found amusing.

"I've never heard of a rat knocking things off a surface before. Sounds like something my cat would do." She craned her neck to watch the rat up by the books.

The rat finally decided to knock the book down after a few moments. Sage stood up to retrieve the book. "Thank you, Rascal. And thank you..." She paused for the boy to tell her his name.

She glanced at the cover of the book. Thankfully, it was precisely the book on healing she had been interested in. She extended her hand to take the book from the boy.

"Simon. Simon Kincaid," he said and tried to place her name. He knew she was a Hufflepuff and they had crossed paths several times either heading to the Hufflepuff Table within the Great Hall or in the Hufflepuff Common Room itself but he couldn't seem to think of it. Even as prefect it was difficult to remember everyone's name although he always tried to at least remember his fellow badger's.

The girl took the book from his hand and he smiled, showing it was no trouble at all and now his hands were free to try and retrieve his meddlesome little friend. "Come on down, Rasc," he said as he looked up to the rat on the shelf who was ignoring him. "Come on, now. We'll great a treat," and at the last word the rat froze and then looked quickly in the dhampir's direction. "Yes, treat. AngelFyre got you more of that tonic you like," and Rascal was now scurrying down towards the two Hufflepuffs.

Simon placed his bag down on the nearby wooden table that could hold up to four people and began to get out a small dropper bottle. He opened it, giving the rat three drips of it and Rascal then began to lick his lips to get every last bit while Simon placed out a Hufflepuff striped scarf from his bag onto the table. It once belonged to Rascal's first owner and was still one of the rat's favorite places to nap in. "I swear there's some kind of sleeping draught in this stuff. He's ready to drop minutes after this stuff but he loves it so much." The small rat got comfy inside the scarf and closed its eyes.

Simon looked around the Library and noticed just how busy it had gotten. There seemed to be no tables left. "If you'd like, you can share this table with Rascal and I. We could talk some about medical magic if you're interested in it," he smiled, not having met many who were like he was. "Or you could tell me some about that cat of yours. Or both. Oh, and you're welcome........." he paused in the same fashion she had, hoping she'd share her name.

date: November 3rd 2023
time: midday, afterclass
interacting/mentioning: @Simon Kincaid
OOC note: banner by Winnie Harper

"Simon," Sage repeated. "Nice to meet you."

She watched the boy- whose name she learned was Simon- talk to his rat. The book retrieving creature raced to his owner at the mention of treats. Sage cracked a smile.

"Geez, he really is like my cat; they both are food motivated." It was true, Sage's cat Casey loved food, especially chicken. Food was pretty much the main way Sage was able to rescue him.

Simon's rat snuggled up inside a scarf. Sage was more of a cat person than a rat person, but she had to admit that the little guy looked pretty cute all cuddled up like that. "Aw, he looks adorable," she told Simon, watching the rat.

"Hey, at least if there is you have an easy way to calm down if he ever starts acting crazy!" Sage suggested with a soft laugh. How did a rat act if they had too much energy anyways?

Simon suggested they share the table where he had set his bag. Sage looked around the library to find that practically all the tables were suddenly taken. Sage shrugged, not seeing another option. Plus, she was curious about this boy and his pet rat.

"Sure! And I'd be happy to talk about healing or my cat with you! Maybe if you were ever interested you could meet my cat, his name's Casey. Although, maybe it would be best to keep Rascal away from him..."

Sage set her book down on the table and took a seat. "So, Simon, how long have you been interested in healing?" She paused, realizing she still hadn't told him her name. "Oh, I'm Sage Willows, Hufflepuff first year!"

"My best muggle friend back in London had a cat - not the nicest of creatures, would hiss and claw a lot and those claws were sharp! Get you snagged right on your skin so that it burned for days." Simon hadn't really been around other cats, although he had seen them wander around the castle there at Hogwarts with classmates. Most of them seemed alright. And there had been David Beckham - the stray cat his Aunt Maggie had saved along with AngelFyre's family in Scotland. He was sweet.

"I should think it's only right I meet Casey sometime since you met Rascal," he said as he came back to the table and brought out a hufflepuff scarf from his bag and placed the rat on top as it rested coiled on the tabletop. The scarf had belonged to one of Simon's former best friends and Rascal's original owner. He didn't think it would smell like her anymore - as it had been far too long since her passing - but the rat was still used to it as one of his favorite places to slumber.

"And pleasure to meet you Sage," he said as they both sat down across from one another. He looked down at his book there on healing. "I've been interested in healing for about a year now - little more. I was waiting at the train station for my girlfriend to visit over break when I heard that her train was delayed so went to a museum across the street. They had an exhibit on medicine - muggle medicine - but even that is pretty fascinating with all the science. My favorite subjects here are Potions and Herbology and well, that just lends itself quite nicely to magical medicine. It's just one of the things I'm passionate about," and maybe perhaps one day he would pursue a career in it. "What are your interests and hobbies?"

date: November 3rd 2023
time: midday, afterclass
interacting/mentioning: @Simon Kincaid
OOC note: banner by Winnie Harper

"Oh!" Sage exclaimed at what Simon told her about his friend's cat. "Was it a feral cat? Or just a big hater of people?"

"We'll definitely have to plan a time for that! Maybe the Common Room, if you're a Hufflepuff, that is," she offered.

She nodded along as Simon spoke, subconsciously flipping the pages of her book while paying attention to what he told her. At least she could be happy to know there were others interested in healing like she was! Maybe she'd be able to learn some tips from them.

"That sounds so cool! Maybe sometime I could get some notes on healing from you?" she asked. "Well, for me, I don't do a whole lot, but I like running. I would have joined a track team back home if I went to Muggle school. I also like gardening and Herbology, my step-mum and I have a garden at our house. I like Quidditch, too! If I could be on the team I think I'd be a beater. I really like the idea of becoming a healer some day, so I'm trying to find more activities to tie in with that. Sorry, that was sort of a rant." She flipped through the pages of her book and held it up for Simon to see. "Have you read this?"

"I think that cat liked Gabe and no one else," Simon said after giving it a moment of thought. The cat didn't even seem to like Gabe's mum very much. He had heard of attack dogs, maybe this cat was Gabe's attack cat. He shrugged, not really sure. All he really knew was that cat didn't like him - at all.

"You should definitely join the healing internship with the Hospital Wing. I'll admit there's some days where you're doing nothing but organizing supplies or just sort of waiting around to see if someone comes in but this is Hogwarts - people are getting hurt allllll the time. Those days are few and far between. Usually, you're kept quite busy and it gives you ample opportunity to practice some of your basic healing spells."

He tossed that in and then listened about her hobbies and interests. He wasn't really one for running, although with his dhampir build he looked like he did some sort of workout to keep himself in shape. Maybe running wouldn't be so bad to pick up. "Quidditch is fun. I tell myself that I'm all about broom racing but in reality .... " he paused as if he was telling some big secret and leaned in, "....if there had been a spot open on the Hufflepuff Quidditch Team years back, I would have probably joined that over broom racing," and then he smiled as he brought his finger to his lips, as if silently telling her not to tell a soul.

"I only skimmed through that one," he said as he looked at the cover. Simon glanced up over his head at the books in the section where they were. "There's a lot here I haven't read. I devoted my previous years to learning all I could about vampires and halfbreeds and so forth." He hadn't gotten into even a quarter of the books on magical medicine yet.

date: November 3rd 2023
time: midday, afterclass
interacting/mentioning: @Simon Kincaid
OOC note: banner by Winnie Harper

"Yeah," Sage laughed. "Some cats are like that. Casey is. Kind of. He's super shy, but never mean. That cat doesn't have a mean bone in his body." She didn't ask who Gabe was; Simon would tell her if it was needed. That was one thing she knew better than some.

Healing Internship? Now that sounded right up Sage's alley! There was only so far she could get with the teaching of Cassie and books. How nice it would be to have someone actually teach her who knew the art of healing. Yes, that's right. Art. Healing was art. No one could ever convince her otherwise. Saving people, that took talent. That took guts.

"I would totally be up for that! How do you sign up, is there a prerequisite or anything?" She'd have to put it on her list of things to do. Maybe someday she'd actually accomplish everything on that list, daunting as it may be.

"Wish I had more time to see some games! If homework is this bad as a first year, I can't even begin to imagine how horrible it must get once you get to... What year are you in?" she asked. "I swear, transfiguration homework will be the death of me. And I'm a Metamorphagus! Shouldn't it be easier for me?

That was, dreadfully, accurate. She'd only managed one O in the class so far. The rest... Let's just say they weren't her usual range. She loved Herbology though! Potions, she could do better in, especially since that would be here future: making potions for healing. Astronomy was a passion, too, related as limited as it may have been to her ideal career.

"What about you? Do you have a favorite class?"

When Simon told her he had yet to read the book, she replied to say, "I'll have to give you my review! Maybe I could bring my cat along with me for the adventure?" she offered, eyebrow raised in question.

Simon told her more about the Healing Internship, how one can sign up but they must be within their third year to do so but he encouraged her to and explained more about what they did during it. It had been a great program and it only strengthened his desire to want to go into medical medicine after leaving Hogwarts - helped him on his future career path.

"I'm Fifth Year - still favor Potions and Herbology over my other classes. I think partially it's because both align with helping others, or can, but also - dhampirs and wandcasting don't always work well together unfortunately." He had read up as much on the books he had been researching. Maybe it had something to do with the dark magic that originated the dhampir/vampire line. He wasn't entirely certain.

He smiled though when Sage said she was a Metamorphagus. He was glad that others, not just witches and wizards, existed there within the walls of Hogwarts along side him. It could be tough - as some had their prejudices and it was always nice to meet someone that might understand that special races were more like those other witches or wizards than they weren't.

"I think I'd be brave enough to meet Casey," he said of her cat with a kind smile. "I'd like to meet one who's not mean - change my opinion about the species," he agreed. "So until next time and I'll let you get to your reading or want to tell me anything else that's on your mind? All statements are safe with me."