Stained Glass Windows
 

Fire and paper do not go well together. The library, therefore, features a reduced number of torches on the walls to minimize any danger to the books. A number of large stained glass windows, placed at regular intervals where the room is part of the outside wall of the castle, ensure that sufficient light gets in. Stretching all the way to the ceiling, these windows depict different famous witches and wizards, momentous historical occasions, and beautifully detailed magical creatures.

Relax on one of the cushioned window seats. Watch the floor and nearby shelves change subtly in color as the sunlight shines through the stained glass panels. Read a book under the calm gaze of Merlin or the fearsome scowl of a Manticore. Sometimes, it is difficult to stay focused here, but there are students who swear that, when sitting at the window of Rowena Ravenclaw, work gets completed faster.

All rules apply here, and although the glass can't be broken by simple spells or physical force, please be careful and respect the artwork on the windows. Remember to keep your voice down so as not to disturb those also visiting the library.

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e2...ol/dsfhsdh.gif

Anyone? I don't bite! :D
 

Emily's smile had faultered as she entered the library. This was her favourite place in Hogwarts. In the world! Yet after last year, bad thoughts clouded her joy for reading in here.

Still, if she wanted to do her ambition by the time she left she would have to get started now. So after carefully choosing a book on dragons she too her usual spot by th Ravenclaw window, and settled down to read. This place always helped her relax and concentrate. It was magical really.

Anna walked into the library and was amazed by all of the wonderous books that surrounded her. She was so excited to be in here. She noticed her friend, Emily, sitting in a chair near a window reading. She decided to go up to her and tap her on the shoulder. She startled her friend a little and then a smile lit up on her face. "Hello!" Anna whispered quietly so the librarian wouldn't yell at her. Anna was so excited to see a familiar face in the huge school.

Emily jumped abit as she felt the tap on her shoulder and dropped her book as she did so. But upon seeing it was only Anna she smiled. "Hi Anna!" she said giving her friend a hug. Why was she talking so quietly? OH! Library, quiet. She looked around. No sign of a librarian. "I don't think the librarian's around. We can speak up." She picked up her book and quickly found her place. "So how've you been? And your a hufflepuff I see!" Aw! She was very cuddly, so she should have seen that coming.

When Sarah noticed the big, cushiony window seats under the giant stained glass windows, she decided that she had just found one of her favorite spots in the building. She adored window seats :x3:

She lounged on a window seat and tried to make sense of objects outside the beautiful colored glass.

Anna turned red as she looked at her Hufflepuff badge on her uniform. "I've been great!" Anna said as she sat down next to Emily. "Hogwarts is so great! I mean I read about it so much and to see it all come back to life, being in it and everything! It's magical." Anna said with a giggle and pulled out a book from her purse and a chocolate frog. "Chocolate frog?" Anna asked Emily and she pulled out a second one from her bag. "What book are you reading?" Anna also asked Emily as she took a bite from her Chocolate frog.

Emily giggled as she noticed Anna turn slightly red. "It's alright that your a hufflepuff you know! Didn't you say you brother was one? It usually runs in families." Her sister was a gryffindor like her, though her mother had been in ravenclaw. Ah.

She quickly looked left and right again before taking the chocolate frog. "Thanks." she smiled opening it. As long as the librarian wasn't around, they were set.
"Oh, well I love dragons you see. It's called From Egg to Inferno: a Dragon-Keeper's Guide. I'm not planning to keep one obviously, but I think I would like to work with dragons after Hogwarts. They seem really interesting!" she nodded. Everyone seemed surprised when she told them what she wanted to do, but she found them facinating... well they were her favourite magical creature anyway.

For Alicia/Jory :glomp:
 

Although she had no homework to do yet, Ari couldn't let a day go by without reading something. A side-effect of growing up in her mother's bookshop, presumably. Making her way to the library, the girl remembered fondly about the plot of the mystery books she had received from her friend Jory, the last of which she had finished a few days ago on the Hogwarts Express.

The second year Gryffindor was delighted that she could find a free, and comfortable, seat in front of the stained glass windows. She left her bag there to mark that the chair was occupied while she went to look for a book. The girl eventually decided upon 'An Appraisal of Magical Education in Europe', being curious to find out more about other wizarding schools on the continent. Returning to her seat, she opened the large book and began to read, occasionally stopping to observe the other students in the library.

"Yes, Michael is also a Hufflepuff." Anna said. Michael, her older brother, was a fourth year. "True, Houses do run in families." Anna also said to Emily taking a bite from her chocoalte frog. "My mum was almost a Ravenclaw though, the sorting hat couldn't decide between Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw then gave in for Hufflepuff." Anna said. "And ooh dragons! Sounds so exciting! But also very dangerous. What place would you want to work with them? I know Southern France houses Dragons and also other places like Romania and South America." Anna asked Emily. Anna always thought Dragons were cool but her main interests were the Dark Arts and Charms. She picked up her spellbook and placed it next to her. She was already on Chapter 6, she read a good few chapters on the Hogwarts Express on the way to school.

For Maria :)
 

Jory had absolutely no idea why he was heading to the library. It was not as if he had any homework to do. As usual he had his book bag so he figured he would read one of his text books.
Jory made his way to the stained glass area. He had a strange fascination for the things since he was younger. Reaching there, he spotted a familiar face.
"Ari!" he exclaimed happily rushing over to her. "How come I didn't see you on the train or at the feast?'' He remembered how he had seen everyone he knew except Ari since being back at Hogwarts. "People turn up the most when you're least on the lookout for them,'' the young Hufflepuff thought.

"Yeah, my sister was also a Gryffindor. But my mum was a Ravenclaw." she smiled as Anna told her what happened. "The same thing happened to me! It was a choice between ravenclaw and gryffindor, but I guess it decided I was more like my sister." Her smile faded slightly thinking of her mum. She was so glad she wasn't like her. "I'm not su-" Emily started but Anna was away, talking about different places she could go. "Wow, you seem to know a lot about it!" she laughed looking up from her book. "I think Romania would be cool. You can go to dragon sanctuarys and study them there in the open." Which would be so cool! "What are you reading?" she asked, first noticing she was holding a book.

As soon as she hear her name being called by a familiar voice, Ari put the book down and stood up to hug Jory. 'Hello. What's up?' she greeted, implying her desire to know what her friend had been doing since they've last seen each other. 'I got at King's Cross pretty early,so I was amongst the first to board the train, which then became too crowded. That's why I didn't leave my compartment. Not even to go luck for the trolley lady.' the now second year Gryffindor explained.

'At the feast, I talked to our new Prefect, and was very engrossed in conversations about house elves at our table. Speaking of which, do you have any idea why the kitchens are closed? Your Common Room is nearby, after all.'

Jory returned Ari's hug. "I looked for you as soon as I got on. I got on about five minutes before the train left.'' He listened to Ari and remarked ''You've been busy on your first day back.''
Jory had heard a bit of talk about the kitchen being closed but of the reason he had no idea. He told this to Ari.

"Since our outing at Florean's, I got around Diagon Alley buying all my supplies. Then the day before we were due back here, my parents and Grace came back to Leaky and stayed the night. They came to King's Crossing with me. I was hoping to see you so you could meet them. What were you up to, anyway?''

The young Huffie paused before giving Ari good news. ''My parents want to talk to your mom about the trip. When can they meet her?''

Genuinely sorry they haven't met on the train, Ari tightened the hug, which lasted for a few minutes! 'If it makes you feel better, the books from you kept me company. I read the last one on my way here.' the second year Gryffindor chuckled.

'Oh, ok. I thought you knew more on that since you live close to the kitchens. I hope everything is fine. My first thought was that they might be on strike or something, but then they showed up to remedy the situation and seemed to regret what happened. So I don't know what to believe anymore.' Ariadne explained. However, it wasn't so much concern as it was curiosity. She did care about house elves, but she was also wondering what was going on at Hogwarts. There was some weird happening every year, it seemed.

'I was hoping to meet them too. I promise to organize a get-together during the Christmas vacation. Your parents could talk to my mum then, but if it's urgent, they could meet up in London. Mum goes there pretty often these days, to see her new boyfriend.' Ari cringed at the word boyfriend. Though she was truly happy for them, she didn't understand why they insisted on calling each other girlfriend and boyfriend, since they were almost 40!

'On Diagon Alley, I finished my shopping and then we returned home earlier than expected, as we had an emergency. There was a fire in my mum's bookshop. Luckily, no books or furniture were damaged, but they still don't know who's fault it was. I sure hope it was an accident and not something intentional.' Ari got goosebumps at the thought that someone might have wanted to hurt her family deliberately.

Not wanting to worry Jory, she changed the subject almost immediately. 'Anyway, it's good to be back, isn't it?' she said, considering Hogwarts her second home.

Jory was just about to gasp out that he was loosing his breath from Ari's tightened hug when she let go of him. He was delighted that she read all the books. "I hope you enjoyed them,'' he said.

"Did you visit the Kitchens since you got back?'' Jory asked. He thought about going later. He enjoyed visiting the little creatures. "I wonder what caused the problem,'' the Huffie mused.

Christmas. Jory's favourite time of the year. He was looking foward to all the decorations and food. "Its not urgent,'' he told Ari. "But we don't know how long it'll take to convince her. She's not...er...stubborn, is she?'' Jory hoped Ari would not be offended by what he said. He noticed Ari cringed at the word ''boyfriend''. "Is everything ok between them? Do you still think things are going too ''

Jory was shocked and sorry to hear about the fire. "I'm sure glad to hear there wasn't any damage. I'm sure it was an accident,'' he reassured the Gryffie. "What kind of books does your mom deal with?''

Jory agreed. "'Definitely,'' he said. "Still eager to explore the Castle?''

Anyone?
 

Her favorite place in the whole school was riiiight here in front of the stained glass window depicting Godric Gryffindor. Oh yes indeedy. Lexi meandered over and gingerly sat down at the table in front of it. Smiling up at her founder she then pulled her rucksack off her back and started to dig out her Yearbook notes and such. What she would rather be doing right then was wasting time on a beach somewhere... alone. Sighs for life.

'Sure did.' Ari smiled. 'Muggles have a way with words, I tell you. Suspense stories are brilliant.' The ones Jory gave her had sparked her interest. 'I have an idea! Let's exchange books! I'll lend you some magical books to read whilst you give me some Muggle ones. It's win-win, eh?'

'I wanted to, but there's a sign on the door which reads No students allowed. Maybe the Headmaster could fix this, but we students...Well, there's not much we can do.' Ariadne pondered.

'Err...She's quite stubborn, actually. I must've inherited that from her.' Ari's thoughts rambled, and the brunette started to wonder whether her father was stubborn or not. 'Oh, no, everything is fine with Matt, I like him and I'm happy for them. I haven't seen mum so cheerful in ages.' she replied without hesitation.

'Yes, I think so too. Anyway, it wasn't a charmed fire, it was a regular Muggle one. Besides, we don't have any enemies.' Ari was sure of that. 'Magical books only. All kinds of magical books.' she replied.

'You bet! I've heard there are some new places on the grounds ready to be explored...'

She was beginning to find herself in the library a lot this term, going over notes or just wanting to read in silence, and as much time as she'd spent in here, she'd never sat near that window. THAT window. Besides, it was time she had a change of scenery right now.

With her bag over her shoulder, filled with notes from previous terms, and a her charms book in hand, Evelyn stared at the ground as she made her way over to the stained glass window, not aware that the place was already occupied-

o__________O

NOPE! No. No no nonono. Back track. Suddenly turning back around, she TRIIIEEED to get away unnoticed. The Slytherin was not in the mood to deal with Lexi at the moment.

Lexi heard the footsteps and the scuffling of shoes and she looked up from her notes and actually DID NOT sigh or scowl. I know, weird huh? Smiling slightly she said, "You don't have to go. In fact, I would like to ask you something if you have a moment, Evelyn."


Seeeee? She wasn't ALWAYS out to rile the girl up. Nope. Just MOST of the time. Heh.

Meep...

Stopping where she was, the Slytherin sighed quietly, hanging her head slightly for a second or so before glancing over her shoulder and narrowing her eyes. Hmmm. What was this? Taking an extra moment to STARE at Lexi, Evelyn turned halfway towards her, adjusting the bag on her shoulder and leaned against one of the bookcases.

"Yes?" What was the question?

Lexi had gone back to working on her article with the notes she had taken... and decided not to look back up. This was not the greatest conversation to have with someone else...

"I was just wondering... how Salander is doing... with the Head Boy stuff and all?" she asked quietly. If Evelyn made one stupid comment about her asking she WOULD NOT hesitate to set her hair on fire. NO, she had NOT seen Salander since the train left the station except in class. NO, she was not happy about it. And NO, she was NOT in any mood to have Evelyn make a snide comment about her asking.

Raising a brow as the Gryffindor went back to doing what she was doing, Evelyn half expected the girl to not answer her at all, but then she did. Huh.

That definitely deserved the second eyebrow to raise as well.

Blinking, her gaze shifted to the stained glass window for a moment before moving back to Lexi. This...this was weird. "Why don't you just ask him yourself?" He was her boyfriend after all. Unless they didn't do that whole 'being honest' thing with eachother. Was Lexi telling her to SPY!?!? Because she totally would...n't.

"He is clearly busy... with stuff. I figured you would know how he was adjusting to things. I know he was really nervous," she said softly. She didn't want to tell Evelyn that she hadn't seen him much lately... that SHE was no doubt spending more time with him than she was.

"Besides, I dun want to go hunt him down. I am busy myself," she said a little sadly. She wasn't BUSY, she just didn't want to go find him. He would have to find her. HMPH.

This was all becoming rather shifty to the Slytherin girl. Lexi was talking to her AND she was asking about her boyfriend. This wasn't weird. This was awkward and abnormal.

"You two don't make time to see eachother?" It was a question that sorta slipped out on it's own, and Evelyn cleared her throat, trying to pretend she never said it. That was just...that was a 'friend' question. She didn't do 'friend' questions with Lexi, and she'd rather know less about the girl's personal life as possible. "Well if he was nervous, he doesn't show it."

Meaning he was doing just fine in her opinion. Could she go now?