Studying in the Snowstorm (Rei + Open)

[Emma McKean]

Dinner was now coming to a close. Much to Emma's annoyance, the distant echoes of people exiting the Great Hall were gaining size as she studied, hoping to get her homework done before the library closed this evening. She looked up from the textbook that lay in front of her on the table and focused her attention on the window. The Christmas Holidays were definitely on the way; judging by the fluffy white snowflakes that were falling rapidly, she knew that the grounds would be covered with a thick white blanket by breakfast time tomorrow morning. A small smile crept upon her face, thinking about the events that could take place the following day. She was sure that there would be other first-years, if not many students, on the grounds having a snowball fight throughout the entire day. Provided she got more homework done in a timely manner, she was certain that the activities would be enjoyable, if not completely thrilling. This was, after all, her first winter at Hogwarts. The constant rain of autumn had come to an end, and now there was nothing but cold and snow ahead of Hogwarts for several weeks.

A noise snapped Emma away from her thoughts and back into reality. She blinked a couple of times before looking for the source, soon finding that the librarian was a little ways away reorganizing books on the shelf. She looked at Emma, and upon seeing her staring, gave the first-year a dirty look. Emma responded by immediately retreating to the pages of her textbook. The librarian had contempt for Emma ever since her first day at the castle. The library had been one place that she hadn't seen yet, so she had stopped by to take a look around after classes ended that day. Unfortunately, Eloise had hopped right out of Emma's bag, and the librarian had rather lost her temper with Emma. It was an honest mistake, of course; Emma had a high respect for the published word too, and she wasn't one to break regulations set out by school libraries. The librarian (whom Emma had christened "Madam Peeved"), however, was not impressed. In the few short moments that Emma tried to explain her mistake, Madam Peeved had taken her wand and bewitched several books to chase her out of the sanctuary. Since the incident, Emma had done her best to avoid eye contact with the woman, and was now finding it difficult to study with her hovering only several steps away from the table.

[Rei Quincy]

Rei dashed in the library earning a glare from the librarian. She could not help it. She was carrying lots of books and it was really heavy so she didn't have a choice but to move fast. She almost forgot to returned the books and she was sure enough that she would not just get a glare from the librarian if she really did forget. It was a little hard but she managed to returned all the books she borrowed without missing the due date. Now, off she goes to find some good ones to read later. That was one of her addiction, reading books. She would always feel that she was entering a new world every time she reads books. And she liked that feeling.

She would always do the same thing every time she was planning to borrow some books in the library and that was to pick the books that the title intrigued her first then sitting on one of the tables there to choose what to borrow. She started looking around and getting the books that triggered her interest and soon found out that her hands are again piling up with books. She decided to stop her round and start choosing. She looked for the nearest table and saw one but there was already someone sitting on it. Oh well, the table was big enough for them so she would try talking it out with her. As she walked to her, she noticed that the librarian was looking or more like staring badly. She was puzzled on why but then realized it was not her the librarian was glaring at but the girl on the table.

"Hmm, she didn't like you too huh?" she said once she reached the table. "Do you mind if I sit here?" she asked while putting the books on the table. She gently massage her arms while waiting for the young girl's response.

[Emma McKean]

Emma gulped. The girl who had now taken up residence on the same table seemed to have hard feelings toward the librarian as well. Personally, Emma was a little afraid that she had made that announcement a little too loudly, so she nervously glanced ever so slightly towards the librarian, prepared to put on a fake, cheerful smile if absolutely necessary. Thankfully, the librarian didn't seem to have noticed. The woman wasn't looking at her or Rei, and after a few moments she left the area, going back to her desk. Emma watched her walk away and waited until she was out of earshot before she spoke to the girl. "To be honest, I don't think she likes much of anyone but herself," Emma said truthfully. "And that makes it a right pain to even be in here if she's being nosy."

Emma gestured the girl to an empty chair while she surveyed the large stack of books she had brought with her. Emma liked to read a lot. Everyone who knew her thought she was a bookworm at heart. But at this moment, she wondered if anyone she knew had met this girl. Judging by the stack of books, this girl was a borderline reading addict. Emma had a lot of books, but she never accumulated so many at one time, even if she was at a library and could borrow them free of charge. She wouldn't even be able to carry that many books by herself. "Planning on getting some reading done before bed?" said Emma, looking slightly amused at all the books. "Are you sure we're even allowed to take out that many at one time? The librarian might kill over if she sees you with that many." Though, upon thinking about it, Emma supposed that if that happened, it would make the library experience much easier on the castle.

[Rei Quincy]

Rei noticed how the girl reacted from her statement. She was concerned if the librarian was still near. A smile crept into her lips. Must be a first year, she thought. Most of the firsties would always feel nervous around some Hogwarts staff. She was like that too when she was still new but then the years taught her well. She was also influenced by some of her friends. Sometimes, they would do something mischievous that will put them in detention but the fun was worth it.

"To be honest, I don't think she likes much of anyone but herself. And that makes it a right pain to even be in here if she's being nosy." Emma gestured the girl to an empty chair while she surveyed the large stack of books she had brought with her.

"Thanks," she told her before sitting. "And you should relax a bit. The librarian will not bother anyone if he is with someone. I'm not really sure why though. Because when I was alone, she would looked for something that could get me in trouble but when I was with my friends, she didn't bother me at all. My friends told me they were the same that's why we would always go here in group. Except today because I was in hurry and I find them. Actually, that's one of the reason why I wanted to share the table with you," she continued and gave her a smile.

"Planning on getting some reading done before bed? Are you sure we're even allowed to take out that many at one time? The librarian might kill over if she sees you with that many."

She looked at the books on the table. She did got a lot. She laugh a little before answering. "I can't really sleep early and that's every night so I just spend my time reading until I feel sleepy. And no, I'm not going to borrow all of it. I just want a wider amount to choose from," she explained while browsing the books.

"By the way, I'm Rei and a fourth year Gryffindor," she introduced before she forgot to.

[Emma McKean]

"Well, it's a bit late to be studying," Emma admitted. "I suppose that's why I'm more alone in here than I would like to be, so I was an easier target tonight. But truthfully, the reason she was staring daggers at me is because I had a little bit of an incident on my first day. I had come in here to see the library for the first time. Its size and wealth of books took my breath away, but that's another story. She sort of caught my toad jumping out of my bag, and she got a bit scabby with me. Whipped out her wand in the blink of an eye, and after that all I remember is running out of here with heavy books chasing me and hitting me in the head. She didn't even give me a chance to explain that it was my first day. I had only been to a few of my very first lessons, so I of course I wouldn't know all the school rules right then." Emma rolled her eyes at the thought of the woman. The whole thing was so silly, in her opinion. Why did adults have to make things so difficult? If they got off their pedestal once in awhile and stopped to think that maybe not everyone in the school was out there to cause trouble, they might make a fair few friends instead of turning 99% of the castle's students into their enemies.

By the way, I'm Rei and a fourth year Gryffindor.

Emma smiled, pleased to meet an older student who was so pleasant. Many of the older students (most of them in their fifth year or above) looked down on first-years with disdain. In the spirit of friendship, Emma held out her hand and introduced herself. "Emma McKean, Hufflepuff," she said. "And as I said before, I just started here."

[Rei Quincy]

Rei listened as the girl told her the story behind her and the librarian. She would always like to hear stories from first years. For her, the experiences of first years were always fun. She likes writing and that must be one of the reasons why she was like that. She was sometimes inspired to write by the things she saw, read and heard.

"A toad? Nice! Maybe I should ask my father for a pet, too. Then I'll let her messed around the librarian," she said and laughed at her idea. She was being childish again. If Gerald would hear her, she was sure she would scold her.

"Emma McKean, Hufflepuff and as I said before, I just started here."

"And I'm just kidding earlier. Though that would be fun," she smiled and shook her hand. "Hmm... So how are you liking Hogwarts now that you are here and experiencing its magic?" she asked trying to start a topic. She took a book and browse it while waiting for her answer. She needed to choose before the library closed.

[Emma McKean]

Emma smiled at Rei's toad idea but kept silent. Rei had stated that she was from Gryffindor, and Emma was now making the assumption that the girl must be one of those students who set off dungbombs in the corridors and all the other things that landed them in detention. Emma wasn't really that type, but it didn't bother her. A lot of Hogwarts students liked to pull pranks, but from the rumors she had heard around the castle, no House pulled more pranks than those who had been sorted into Gryffindor.

"Oh, no matter if you're kidding or not," she replied. "You would probably end up in detention, but I kind of think that the librarian would deserve it. Especially if she treats everyone the same way she treated me. That's not the proper way to get acquainted with people at all, least of all new students."

Hmm... So how are you liking Hogwarts now that you are here and experiencing its magic?

"It's wonderful," she gushed, though still making sure to keep her tone's volume low enough as to not annoy Madam Peeved. "I've lived somewhat apart from the wizarding world due to my family. My father's a Muggle, see, as are all my friends back home. Even though my mum's a witch, I never saw as much magic around the house as you would think."

[Rei Quincy]

"Oh, no matter if you're kidding or not. You would probably end up in detention, but I kind of think that the librarian would deserve it. Especially if she treats everyone the same way she treated me. That's not the proper way to get acquainted with people at all, least of all new students."

Rei laughed at Emma's reply. She probably know that lots of students do pranks in Hogwarts. "Cool! I'll let you know if we succeeded," she said and winked. Doing pranks was another thing she liked in Hogwarts. She and her friends are always in detention. It started when she was in second year and one of her friends asked her to help them. She agreed because it was a fun idea and their pranks wouldn't hurt anyone. And they still do it even though they were getting older for it.

"Ah yes, detention," she started. "It was actually not a bad idea you know. We always got a group detention so me and my friends are always together. We do detention... in a fun way as much as possible. Though we are bit worried because we heard that the new caretaker is very, very strict unlike the old one. We are always caught by the caretaker or the staff will always give us detention with the caretaker. Have you seen the new one?" she asked. He was a bit scared of the new caretaker because he really looked scary with his body and all the tattoos and piercing he have.

"It's wonderful. I've lived somewhat apart from the wizarding world due to my family. My father's a Muggle, see, as are all my friends back home. Even though my mum's a witch, I never saw as much magic around the house as you would think."

"Really? I'm actually amazed with the Muggles especially their gadgets even though I'm a pureblood. I have a lot of them in my house because I always ask my father to buy me," she explained. She got a lot of Muggles friends and they were all good to her. Makes her wonder why some pureblood especially those in Slytherin doesn't like them.

[Emma McKean]

Emma merely smirked and rolled her eyes at Rei's statement. Yes, she and her friends would probably succeed in pranking the librarian. And yes, they would probably all end up in detention for the action. But for how long? Pulling a prank on a teacher was one thing; all educators expected some pranks to an extent. But Emma had a feeling that the headmaster wouldn't look too kindly on a group of fourth-years pulling some sort of practical joke on an old woman whose only job at the castle was to keep the library in order.

"He's absolutely frightening," said Emma in a somewhat hushed voice. She was referring to the caretaker. "I've never seen anyone who looks like that except on television. He's a bit, eccentric with his body, isn't he?" she added thoughtfully. He was another person in the castle that Emma figured was not to be taken lightly. Luckily, she hadn't done anything yet to make the caretaker upset, but she had heard rumors of the things he did to students who angered him. Whether or not they were true was another story.

"I'm so glad that electronics work around the castle. Mind you, I don't use them much, if at all. But I think it's wonderful to have the option. From what I've read in recent wizarding history, it was impossible to use electronics in areas with a high concentration of magic up until several years ago. Some wizard who was fond of Muggle trinkets invented a spell to make them run off magic. From what I've gathered, the Muggle world has begun to dilute the wizarding world a lot more than it did about 10 or so years ago."