Keeping out of Mischief

[aelitaderrivalle]

The first day had been a relief, not nearly as bad as she imagined it too be, truthfully she thought it would have been much worse. Aelita had imagined there would have been a lot of stares, whispers, and so much gossip that she would be sick in till the winter. Yet it was not at all how she had pictured, sure some people had stared at her and she did catch a few hushed whispers but all was well. Some people had stopped talking when she walked by but most seemed to continue doing whatever they were doing like she didn’t exist and thankfully there had been no rumors yet. It was nice to walk down the hallway without worrying about a Beaux teacher glaring daggers through her back.

Being her first day here there was not much to do, Aelita had quite a bit of free time to go explore her new environment. Perhaps meeting her new roommates would have been the best thing to do, but she didn’t quite feel like that at the moment. All she wanted to do was venture through the grounds in till she could no longer feel the soles of her feet. The worst part about being at a new school was the fact that getting lost was quite easy and Aelita was definitely lost. Of course she really wasn’t heading anywhere specific, so perhaps the fact that she hadn’t the slightest clue where she was could be considered irrelevant.

Aelita wasn’t sure how long she wandered through the halls before, it may of just been her but it seemed like she had passed by the same group of students three times before she wandered her way into the library. The room was quite wide, perhaps even bigger then the library at the Beauxbatons Academy. Something Aelita should know all too well, she meant so much of her time in that library and she would probably spend even more time in Hogwarts library. After all, she had promised her father that her grades at Hogwarts would be perfect and he would surely hold her too that promise.

With a soft sigh, she ran her small hand along the books on one of the shelves scanning the tittles to see if anything interesting caught her eye. She had been so absorbed in her train of thoughts that she didn’t realize that she had already stopped at the end of the shelf. After coming back to the present she focused her eyes in front of her as a sign caught her eye, ‘Restricted Section’. Curiosity got the better of her and she walked a little bit closer examining the room a million thoughts running through her mind.

“I wonder whats in there…”

[alanah]

"Thanks, Padfoot!" called Alanah, racing out of the deserted classroom while clutching a piece of parchment to her chest. Her book bag flew out behind her like her cloak as she sprinted down the hallway and skidded to a halt at the top of a staircase that had, at that moment, began to move. Measuring the distance between herself and the staircase, Alanah decided against jumping across the empty space between herself and the moving staircase, as if she didn't make it she'd plummet a hundred feet and die a very painful death on the hall far below. Wiping a hand across her face, Alanah leaned against the banister and waited for another staircase to come along and take her to the library. The slip of parchment she clutched in her hand was concealed from unwanted viewers, pressed against her chest, and as she caught her breath a slowly moving staircase swung around to latch against the empty air in front of her. Stepping quickly onto the staircase, Alanah stuffed the parchment away hurriedly in her front pocket, then dashed along the staircase and raced to the library.

Several heart-pounding minutes later, Alanah stood in the apparently empty library, holding her slip in front of her as she thought it would ward of demons. Walking forward quickly and purposefully, she moved through the library, obviously knowing where she was going, and ended up at the Restricted Section, separated from the rest of the library by a a red rope. Alanah ducked under it, held up her slip to Madam Pince, the vulture-like librarian who had just stepped out of the shadows, and turned to the books. Strictly speaking, only seventh-years were allowed in here without a permission slip from a teacher, but Alanah was desperate. Her permission slip had been signed by Padfoot, who was exceptionally good at forgery, having had to have it done before. Hopefully Madam Pince didn't know the teachers' signatures too well. Alanah was in here, searching for a book she needed, which was, unfortunately, not located in the regular part of the library. No doubt, the magic was too advanced for younger students to understand.

Selecting a book from the shelf, Alanah riffled through its pages, then set it back with a snort. It was only then she noticed she wasn't the only one in the Restricted Section. Whirling around with her hand on her wand, she was confronted by a younger student who she could not quite put a name to. Alanah glanced at the emblem on her robe, then back to her face. A Gryffindor. Just what she needed. A stubborn lion. Turning around - younger students weren't worth her time right now - she began to search again for the book. She spied a title she recognized, written in spidery handwriting on the spine of the one of the books, and snatched it up, drinking in its contents greedily. She closed it with a snap when she realized the Gryffindor was still there, and, hands on hips, still holding her book, she growled, "And who might you be?" Truth was, Alanah wasn't in a great mood to talk to right now, and as she didn't recognize this Gryffindor, she treated her as one of the herd, someone who she didn't really want to talk to but had to because otherwise she'd be badgered all day. Narrowing her eyes and snorting, Alanah stared at the girl with piercing eyes, glanced around to make sure Madam Pince wasn't watching, then returned her hard stare.

((Sorry if Alanah comes off as a little harsh, it's just the way she is. ^^))

[aelitaderrivalle]

She was not sure how long she had been staring at the Restricted Section; she didn’t even know when she had entered the room. Her eyes snapped too attention as she noticed another person in the room, a girl, from one of the house. Aelita wasn’t one to tell the houses apart just yet, but from the obvious silent treatment she was getting it was safe to assume this girl was not a Gryffindor. There seemed to be such hostility between the different houses, something she would never understand and never take part in. Noticing the girl to be somewhat bust Aelita decided the best thing to do was just leave her alone, not that she really had anything to say to her. She had a right mind to turn around and exit the room, but the old books intrigued her drawing her closer to the shelves.

Walking to the closest bookshelf she pulled out a book dusting it off before opening the cover. Not finding anything of interest she shut the book replacing it on the shelf before running her hands across the books searching for a title to strike her interest. It was not as if she was really looking for anything, she wasn’t even sure why she had decided to search through the books. Aelita had been about to pull out another book from the shelf when the voice caused her to turn around. It was the girl who was originally in the room before her, it seems now she wanted to talk. Judging by the tone in her voice she didn’t seem to happy which was irritating, Aelita had done nothing to her. Normally in a situation like this she would have been polite, but her attitude was uncalled for.

”Who knows, perhaps if you ask me nicely then I’ll remember” Aelita pulled another book off the shelf proceeding to ignore the rude female student in front of her. It was not her fault that the girl was in a bad mood and although she did feel a bit bad, she wouldn’t just sit back and take her attitude. Now that it had been settled she returned her attention back to the book, it appeared to be a book with various potions in it. Some looked quite interesting to try but she had a hunch that these books weren’t the kind you could borrow. She was probably not even supposed to be here, her father would be very disappointed if he found out she had already broken school rules on her first day. Aelita replaced the book and returned her full attention to the girl in front of her.

{ No Worries, it makes the thread interesting ^.^}

[alanah]

Alanah watched as the Gryffindor examined the books on the shelf. She hadn't seen her around before - was she new here and didn't understand the way things were run around here? The Gryffindor didn't seem to have a pass on her, but, of course, Alanah could never be sure, as she might of just stuffed it in a pocket or something. Clutching her own fake pass to her chest, Alanah dumped her book into her bag before returning to perusing the shelves. Taking another book and propping it open on her arm, she flipped through it with raised eyebrows before putting that in her bag too. Being a studious Ravenclaw, she had a positive thirst for knowledge, and any book here that could enhance her cleverness further was going to be read. Alanah wandered down the aisle, away from the other girl, taking out a book here and there and putting most of them back. Striding back, Alanah stepped over the rope and deposited her pile of books on a table not far from the Restricted Section. She was about to sit down when the other girl spoke.

Alanah plopped down with a sigh and threw back her long stream of raven black hair, deciding on the easiest tactic. "I'm sorry I was so rude, I tend to jump to conclusions," Alanah explained apologetically. "I'm Alanah Iresol. Who are you?" she asked, gesturing at the other chair. She knew she had been rude, and resolved not to be like that in the future unless she had good reason. 'Like Snivellus,' she thought, concealing a grimace of loathing when she thought of Snape. Taking a book from the pile, she opened it almost directly in the middle of the book, at the beginning of a new chapter entitled, 'Enhanced Spells'. Raising an eyebrow skeptically, she browsed down the page, finding at last what she was looking for. 'Protego Maximum - A much more powerful and complex spell than its predecessor, Protego Maximum is capable of extending even farther around the caster and surroundings than Protego, and is far more powerful, though it requires extreme magical knowledge from the caster and only the most competent wizards will cope with this spell.' Alanah smiled and looked up from her reading.

"A bit of extra knowledge never goes amiss, does it?" she asked, grinning and prodding the page with her finger. Snapping the book shut, she stuffed it in her bag and glanced at the four other books she'd picked up from the Restricted Section, glanced down at Padfoot's forgery, and kissed it, promising silently to thank Sirius for it properly later. Alanah pulled her schedule out of her bag and groaned. Today was a Friday afternoon, so she didn't have any more classes today, but... "That is the worst Monday I have ever seen," Alanah said out loud, pointing at the schedule. History of Magic, Potions, and Muggle Studies! How did her parents ever convince her to keep Muggle Studies? That was the most boring class ever, besides History of Magic, and anyway, if she was going to be an Auror, she didn't need to know about Muggles. Shaking her head, she put her schedule back in her bag and turned to the girl, twiddling her thumbs together and smiling.

[aelitaderrivalle]

Aelita watched the girl curiously; this all meeting had been rather awkward and still seemed to be a bit weird. She did feel a bit bad, sure the girl had been rather rude to her but it was usually not like Aelita to be rude back. Sure the girl could just normally be rude to everyone or she could just be having a bad day. Regardless she didn’t like to be so rude; perhaps she should go apologize to her. Her eyes glanced at the restricted books once more before she headed for the exit stepping over the rope. Going towards the table where she had deposited her books earlier, she scooped them up and walked over to the girls table. ”Excuse me…”

She watched the girl sigh, Aelita suddenly doubted if she should of bothered the girl at all. She was about to retreat when the female student spoke. Aelita listened quietly as the girl spoke and accepting her invitation sat down in the chair she was offered. That proved it, the girl was definitely nicer then she had first seemed, perhaps it was all just a misunderstanding. “It’s alright, I am partially to blame for appearing out of nowhere and surprising you like that. I really wasn’t supposed to be in there, my curiosity will be the death of me one of these days.” Aelita let a warm smile slip onto her face as she outstretched her hand towards the other girl, a hand shake may have been old fashioned but it was something she was brought up too do when meeting someone new. ”It’s a pleasure to meet you Miss Alanah, My name is Aelita Derrivalle…I just transferred to Hogwarts from Beauxbatons Academy.” She waited for Alanah to shake her head or until she realized she was holding her hand out in the air in vain.

Opening one of her books she flipped through the pages, none of the books she had were from the restricted section. Sense she was not supposed to be there she decided not to take any even though she had really wanted too. Aelita looked up from her reading as she heard the new statement; she smiled and nodded her head. She would definitely have to agree, there was no harm in extra reading or some added knowledge. She went back to her reading or most would say she went into her own little world once she had a book in her hands. Once again Alanah spoke which caused Aelita to look up from her reading to ponder what she had said. ” I would have to agree Muggle studies is quite boring and I’m not a fan for Divination.” She chuckled softly watching the girl before her, she was certainly entertaining, she would actually enjoy future run ins with her. “Pardon me for saying but you’re an interesting person, that note you had must be important. Is it from a boy that you have a crush on?” Aelita's French accent slipped into her voice as well as a hint of curiosity to how Alanah would respond.

[alanah]

Alanah tapped her book impatiently with her quill and flipped it over, sighing heavily, and slipping it and the other books she'd taken from the Restricted Section into her bag. Sliding her eagle-feather quill through her fingers, she glanced up, smiled sheepishly at the younger student as she took a seat, and then returned her attention to the quill in front of her. She'd been quite rude, she knew, but she usually didn't pay younger students much heed unless her friends did. It was interesting to note that most of her friends were in Gryffindor, and several in seventh year, including Padfoot. A dreamy look crossed over her face, and she took the slip of parchment from her pocket and proceeded to fold it over and over again in her hands, forgetting all about the Gryffindor until the younger student spoke. Jumping violently, Alanah stuffed her parchment back into her cloak pocket with shaking fingers, then turned as casually as she was able to the Gryffindor.

"No, it's all mine," Alanah assured the Gryffindor. "Though it is true that you're not supposed to be in there without a slip signed by a teacher." She tapped her pocket where a slight bulge showed the hastily shoved in piece of paper. A furtive, almost guilty look crossed her face for an instant but she quickly shifted to a shaky smile, hoping the Gryffindor hadn't noticed it. Taking the proffered hand, she smiled, a bit less shakily, and shook it before releasing the surprising small hand. As Aelita spoke, a real grin spread across her face. "Well, that explains a lot," she said, before remembering herself and wincing. "Forgive me," she said. "I can't help myself. And please don't call me Miss. It makes me feel like a teacher." She smiled ruefully and shrugged. "Well, welcome to Hogwarts. I hope my less-than-warm greeting didn't make you any less eager to study here."

Still a bit jumpy from her near discovery, Alanah stood up and began browsing the shelves around the little table where Aelita was sitting, not really looking, but simply for the sake of something to do and to not reveal how nervous she was. She hadn't had a good chance to talk with Sirius since when she'd bid him good-bye on the Hogwarts Express - having traveled with the Marauders, despite their rowdiness - and she was sorely missing his comforting company. She'd known him since before she'd straddled her first broomstick, which was when she was three, and her last encounter with him had been brief, with her asking a favor of him, Padfoot complying, and then, with a wink, adding that she'd need to return the favor one day. She loved that little wink of his. It was so, so... Alanah couldn't describe it, but nor could she describe her best friend since childhood. Aelita's next comment brought her sharply back to earth. "Yep, Muggle Studies isn't the greatest, but my parents made me took it. They actually think I'll learn from it." She rolled her eyes.

But her next words made Alanah turn around slowly in the spot. Quickly recovering herself, she plopped down in her seat again, and, with her hands cupped around her head, she explained softly, "I suppose I am an interesting person. You see, I, er-" she glanced around furtively for Madam Pince before continuing "-have a best friend who's a boy, and he signed this for me because I didn't have time to look for a teacher." She sighed, not about to admit to someone she barely knew that she had a crush on Sirius Black like every other girl in this entire school.

[aelitaderrivalle]

Aelita raised an eyebrow as she watched the Ravenclaw girl before her, she certainly was an interesting girl. She wondered if Alanah remembered that Aelita was sitting beside her or if she had completely gone into her own little world. She listened to her words nodding her head with a smile, ”I’ll remember that for next time, I’ve got to try and avoid getting on the teachers ‘Those to Keep an Eye’ list.” Aelita continued to watch the girl in front of her wondering what topic to being up for conversation, she really was horrible at starting conversations. Her eyes returned to Alanah again hearing her voice when she finished Aelita rubbed the back of her head with a awkward smile, ”Sorry about the miss, it’s just an old habit from Beaux that I haven’t been able to get rid of yet.”

Her eyes returned to Alanah and she let a small chuckle at the welcome and her comment, ”Thank you and actually your greeting makes me more excited to be here, it shows that students here have a lot more personality to them” She shook her head remembering a lot of the students at Beaux, at least she had finally gotten away from that school. Hogwarts would definitely be a pleasure to attend even if she didn’t get such pleasant greetings. She actually preferred them; she would rather get the harsh truth then the false lies hidden by a sweet smile. She napped back to attention as Alanah revealed her own disapproval of Muggle Studies, ”It’s so hard to pay attention in the class and the teacher doesn’t help any by making the class even more boring.”

Aelita lifted up her book starting to read again after asking Alanah about the note, she figured she would give the girl some time to think up whatever answer or excuse she wanted. If the girl didn’t want to tell her the truth then she wouldn’t push the subject anymore then what was said. Besides, they had just met and Aelita was considered still a stranger to Alanah, so it’s not like she expected the girl to reveal all her secrets to a new transfer student. Aelita set her book down as Alanah began explaining the note in a quiet tone, she nodded her head softly. ”He must be a great friend, I’m sorry for inquiring, I really shouldn’t be prying into other peoples matters.” She glanced at the clock to check the time, she really had to be going, it was time to bid ado to Alanah. Standing up she collected her books before turning to Alanah with a smile. ”I’m sorry to leave like this but I must be going, your secret is safe with me, bye miss…….bye Alanah. I hope we can talk again sometime.” Not wasting another second Aelita maneuvered between the book shelves and exited the library.

ooc: Last post is yours, hope you dont mind me ending the thread.