Library
 

for jennnn/maya <3
 

The library was probably Maya's favorite place in the entire castle. Being able to tutor in it only made it that much better. The Slytherin was always quite cheerful when it came to teaching others. And so, Maya Nam entered the library, hair tied up high in a ponytail and arms filled with books and parchment, as she went to meet with Apollo.

She glanced around the library and resisted the urge to go between all the stacks. Instead, she headed towards the tables, spotting Apollo already there by the fireplace. Oh? She was used to being the first one there and this caught her a bit off guard. Still, she turned slightly in his direction and took a seat at the armchair across from him. "Hi Apollo," she greeted, placing the books carefully on the table to avoid a loud thump. "Ready for some tutoring?" she asked, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

Was he focused on the fireplace and not on any surrounding people? Absolutely. Which is why, had the slytherin not greeted him, he likely would have not noticed her presence. There was something mesmerizing about watching the flickering flames, and also worthy of procrastination. But she had greeted him, and thus the Gryffindor turned his gaze toward her which wasn't difficult as she opted to sit across from him.

"Hey Maya. Oh, is that what we're doing here?" He glanced back at the fire briefly before back to her. "I thought we'd maybe start with some pyrotechnics. Although, you can't roast marshmallows or cook anything on this fire, so I'm not sure how useful studying it would be." That and he was pretty sure Professor Euka would frown upon food consumption in the library. And it would probably be the fault of Slytherin again if Gryffindor lost anymore gemstones.

She started to unpack her bag, gently setting her planner on top of the books and taking out all the muggle highlighters and pens - while she did enjoy using quill and ink she found using colored pens were much more helpful. When Apollo asked if tutoring was what they were doing there, she paused for a moment. She was ready to flip open her planner to verify that it was indeed today at this specific time that they were supposed to meet before realizing he was joking.

"Pyrotechnics?" Maya asked, looking at the fireplace.

... In a library? "If we were to set a fire here by accident, I'm sure we'd both end up getting expelled," Maya added. "Though if after this you wanted to make some s'mores outside of the library, I would say you deserve it." What was studying without a little reward?

Atlas hehehehe
 

Skirts. An article of clothing that Quinn had always been interested in wearing. He was able to have one of his old Muggle school friends (and by one of he meant only), Marianna, smuggle him some before he got on the Hogwarts Express, so now he would actually be able to try them out. However... he was still a bit nervous about it. He had never worn a skirt before and he wasn't sure how other people would react to it. So far nobody seemed to pay any mind, but he still felt like all eyes were on him.

He sat at a table in the library, researching magical plants they hadn't learned about in class. Quinn had gotten into the hobby of replicating the diagrams of the structure of the plants—it helped him to remember their different parts, and he was able to just look in his notes rather than come back to the library and find the same book. He was drawing with his right hand and picking at the skirt with his left, all three of the bracelets on his wrist shimmying around as his fingers pulled at the fabric. It couldn't have been much shorter than a regular pair of shorts, if it was shorter at all, but for some reason his legs still felt exposed. And he had to remember to keep his knees together or his legs crossed... girls had a lot to think about, didn't they?

He was teasing her and he hoped that she wouldn't take him too seriously. But it seemed maybe she had? Or at least for a split second hadn't realized his humor. He did chuckle a bit once she realized it, unpacking his own notes from his bag and flipping it open.

"Wait. Don't you mean if the fire was on purpose? I'm sure accidental fires wouldn't result in expulsion." Apollo frowned. They were, after all, just a bunch of teenagers honing their magical abilities. "Are you asking me if I want to make s'mores with you, Maya Nam?" He raised an eyebrow.

She opened up her textbook, looking up when she heard him chuckle, finding herself smile as a result. The Slytherin tightened the ponytail on her head before picking up a pen. "Even if it were an accident, what are the odds of the headmaster or professor actually believing us if we said it was?" Maya asked. They would probably look at the two and say it was intentional just because it was a Slytherin and a Gryffindor.

Based off of the number of points that Gryffindor had (or more accurately, the lack of points) after the start of term feast, Maya felt that was enough to back up what she said.

At his question and raised brow, she could feel her cheeks flushing pink though she wasn't entirely too sure why. "Well... yes...?" she answered, not entirely too sure of her answer. "I just meant that after studying, I usually go to get a snack and since you mentioned marshmallows, s'mores just seemed like a good treat after this." She was rambling. "But if you would prefer not to, that's fine too." There. Had she covered herself? She shifted uncomfortably in her seat and flipped to a different chapter in her textbook.

Apollo felt himself sadden at those words, because they were actually true. Even if it was an accident, professors and adults never seemed to believe children and seemed quick to hand out punishments. Although the points reflected in Gryffindor were ironically not really Gryffindors fault, which frustrated him even more.

"Oh. I mean.. uh .. okay... we can, yes." Also, were girls always that cute when they blushed? He found himself looking away so as to not stare because uh... Merlin. "So uh... history of magic. That new teacher. He's young, isn't he?" He wasn't so oblivious as to not hear the whispers being said about Professor Holden. Nor was he naive to realize how wildly inappropriate it would be.

Quinn was intensely focused on his notes and didn't notice anything was afoot until a little bundle wrapped in newspaper slid its way into view. He blinked and examined the parcel, then looked up to see one of his favorite people in the whole world, which obviously perked him up pretty quick. "Atlas, you really didn't have to get me anything," he said with a chuckle. He turned back to the present and gently unwrapped it, exposing the old book.

The cover may have been nearly falling off, but it was beautiful as anything. It was definitely very nice when it was brand new, but Quinn thought the age added character. As he opened it and flipped through the pages, he didn't see much he didn't already know, but the illustrations were extremely well done. And he hadn't ever owned a book like this... it was actually a very thoughtful gift. The smile on his face only got larger the more he flipped through the pages. "Atlas..." he said, turning back to him with a grin and a gleam in his eye, "I love it!" Quinn giggled and threw his arms around Atlas's neck in a hug. "Oh, thank you, thank you!"

He pulled back and started looking through the book again, then sighed. "Jeez, you always get me such cool gifts... all you ever get from me is yarn... I swear I'm gonna buy you a new Nimbus or something one of these days...."

She let out a quiet breath of relief when Apollo didn't laugh or anything of that sort to her response about s'mores. Good, they had a plan for post studying then. Maya was oblivious to him looking at her and smiled to herself for not acting completely dumb. "Professor Holden?" she asked, even though she knew who the professor was. She looked up from her textbook and tilted her head slightly. "I suppose he does look a bit on the younger side, but wouldn't that be a good thing?" Maya asked.

"He wouldn't get a job offer here if he weren't qualified, right?" Or maybe Hogwarts was being cheap and just hiring whoever would accept the lowest salary? That was a question for the headmaster. Maya had heard whispers about how some of the students thought he was attractive. "He seems to know what he's talking about... why?" She was curious as to what Apollo was getting at with this conversation. Was there something wrong with the professor? Was he hiding a deep, dark secret? Maya wanted to know all the details but didn't want to appear overeager when it came to such gossip.

For Ollie <3
 

It was weird to not have been spending as much time in the library like his previous terms. Or time stuck in books in general, now that he was making more effort to go to the pitch to kick around a ball with friends or spending more time outdoors doodling. But there was still something so calming about the library to him, and so on his particular days where he just... felt things, he'd find himself among all the shelves looking for something, if even to only peruse the pages for a few hours.

Currently he was in the Divination section, just sort of looking through some of the books. A few of his dreams from the previous term was still badgering him, and while he knew what they meant he was hoping to find a way to focus your dreams to prevent scenes he did not want from playing through his mind while sleeping. That would be an entirely useful skill to know how to do. Finding a book that looked of interest, he pulled it out before just lowering himself to the ground right there in the aisle and flipping it open.

After the previous outdoor divination lesson, Ollie was really interested in the class. Last term, she had pushed it to the side a bit, still working on it, just not as interested. But after the bug scavenger hung the class did, she wanted to read more up on the topic. With a bit of free time, she decided to go check out the library. It was a pretty big place, so she didn't spend too much time there. The snakette had always preferred smaller, cozier spots to relax and read, but she was thinking about embracing the ambiance of the library since she'd pretty much be studying.

She had made sure to throw on a sweater before leaving the common room since the last time she was there, it was a bit chilly. Soon, she made her way there. She nodded to some of her peers she saw as she pasted by and made her way to the divination section. She started skimming through the books, trying to find something that resembled last lesson. Nope, don't need to read on dreams. As she turned she nearly tripped over the boy sat on the ground, clearly very involved in his reading. "Evan! What are you doing down there? I nearly feel on you." She chuckled and offered him a hand to get up. He didn't need to take it of course, maybe he preferred the floor.

He had certainly thought his spot where he was sitting was protected from being in the way, as he didn't think Divination would get much foot traffic. So when someone stumbled near him, he jumped a little. Entirely surprised, as he'd been rather engrossed in his book. Glancing up, especially at his name, he pulled his legs in to make space for a pass. "Oh, hey Ollie. Sorry about that. I thought there might not be too many people back here." But wrong thinking.

Glancing at her offered hand, he reached up and grabbed it. "Thanks. How you've been?" He had yet to make the time to seek her out, but had also been looking for a minute to get a chance to catch up. In particular to see how her summer had gone.

Honestly he probably did really even notice he thoughts about the s'mores because it was just a post-studying thing between friends, right? Although he was still contemplating about Professor Holden and Maya's thoughts about him teaching and tried to figure out if it was a good thing or not. Younger professors would mean harder to command respect, right? Maybe? He'd already seen several of his peers and how rotten they could be on a normal day, so with someone they could take advantage of... he was sure a younger professor was prime target, weren't they?

"I mean i guess so... it's just. Well, I'm pretty sure he's my mom's age and it's just weird to think of my mom teaching here, even though i guess technically she could." Yea, that was all. Like, Professor Holden could be his dad. Technically. Although most of the professors could be his parent, which was weird, but maybe in a way, they kind of were his parent away from home?

Glad to have moved onto another topic, the Slytherin tilted her head slightly. It seemed like Apollo was still trying to wrap his head around the Professor Holden actually getting hired thing. Maya wondered what was going on in his pretty head. Were the cogs and gears turning? Was she staring? Well that wasn't very professional was it?

The Slytherin quickly averted her gaze to her textbook, flipping to yet another page until she heard him speak again. "We could always ask Professor Holden how old he is and what his qualifications are," she pointed out. It would be a rude question but it would help solve the whole mystery wouldn't it? She was certain that between the two of them, they'd be able to find a kinder way of posing the question to the professor. "Maybe he also just doesn't look his age?" Maya offered. Her eomma looked way younger than she actually was. As did her appa... and her brother. So it could be that he just had very good genetics - lucky him.

"If this is a distraction tactic to avoid having to actually study, it's not going to work," Maya added on, with a slight smile on her face to show that she was just teasing.

It was a good thing if she was staring now because he was completely lost in trying to contemplate how old his parents were. He was like 95% sure that he recalled the name from reunions and such, but that didn't mean they were the exact same year, right? Also males were a lot less sensitive when asked about their age, so Maya did have a good point there. "I ... do we have to know his qualifications? I mean ... well, i guess worse, less qualified people have been hired, so maybe it is a good idea." Particularly since History of Magic was mandatory until fifth year. Maybe they needed to speak to the board that seemed to be lurking around these walls frequently.

He cracked a smile at her last comment. "So i guess asking to go to Professor Holden now is out of the question?" He pulled open his book randomly

Anyone wanna talk to a first year?
 

Max had found the library in this big castle. What was he looking for? He had no idea really. He just wanted to find somewhere quiet to be. He walked along the many many rows of books. He had no idea where to start. It was after a bit that he decided to talk to the librarian. Now where were they?

for Valentin!
 

V had sought out books once earlier this term concerning wandlore; the readings had been far above her level, and she had tried her best to understand it, but in the end she had given up. She'd have to try to read more about her wand later in life when she was a lot smarter. That day had not yet come.

But THIS issue...she didn't think she would find in a magical library. Regardless, she had her parents' letter in hand as she scoured the spines of books old and young alike, scoffing in disappointment as she finished each row to no avail; her plight continued!

"This is utterly ridiculous," she murmured to herself.

Valentina almost never studied in the library. Maybe once in a while - but she liked the common room better. She found the library to be too quiet and dull. But here she was. Heh.

The blonde looked around for a bit before finally spotting an empty seat by the window. She headed over, noticing a familiar face nearby.. "V!" She exclaimed with a little smile. "Hi!"

Well, V almost never studied at all, so Valentina had Victoria beat there. This term was better, of course, because of the study sessions she and Olive had begun, and with a lot of help from Lisa, too. She wasn't having luck finding books she needed, but then again, she wasn't looking for the right word. She didn't know she wasn't looking for the right word, but yeah.

She sighed as she heard her name.

"Oh. Hi, Valentina. How're you?" She pulled out a book about women's history in the magical world and flipped to a random page. Hmph hmph.

Valentina slowly walked down the aisle, pulling out a book now and then to read the back - losing interest after a couple of minutes. It was all so boooring. She should actually start studying but - "I'm good, I suppose. How are you?" She looked at the book in V's hand curiously. "Are you looking for something in particular??"

is this an open post? (idk, is it??????????????????????)