Quiet Time Private Finished

Kona Mason shuffled into the library in search of some inspiration. She always found herself at peace in there and always found more time to study. Usually, she would find a round table to sit at towards the side, but today felt different.

When she looked around she noticed a girl sitting in the window sill, sketching on some parchment. I should go say hello. Kona wasn't much for introducing herself and definitely didn't know what to say to others. Today felt different, she felt more confident than usual and decided to be bold.

Kona approached the girl in the window before hesitating. What do I say? Realizing that she hadn't planned this very well, she stood in silence.

"Can I help you?" the girl asked, "It's rude to stare you know."

By this point, Kona's hands felt clammy and she regretted even approaching the girl. What were you thinking?

"I was just... I didn't... I wanted to say hello." Kona stuttered. "I like your drawing." She added softly.

I like your drawings? That's the best you got? Kona groaned to herself. She was never good at making friends and often preferred people to come to her. Desperate for friends, the girls pulled through the shyest smile she could muster.

Illowy looked the girl up and down for a moment as she stood there, still staring and stumbling out a clumsy response to her. For a moment, she tore her eyes from the girl to look back at her own drawing. It certainly wasn't be best she'd ever done, but after years of practice it wasn't terrible. All the same, the Slytherin couldn't help but still respond with a snarky tone.

"We go to a school that's over a thousand years old, with art from every century. In comparison, this might as well be a fridge drawing from a three year old."

She couldn't just take the compliment. Just say a simply thank you and move on. This is why she had such few friends. Illowy paused for a moment, however, looking back at the girl from the corner of her eye as she held her work a little closer to herself, muttering out a small, "Thanks, though..."

Leila entered the row, looking for a Potions book to read so she would be prepared for the year. She noticed two girls at the end of the aisle who looked about her age and, in a sudden bold move, wandered over to them. Leila noted the piece of parchment the girl sitting on the window sill was clutching and looked at it curiously before looking up into bright blue eyes. The other girl was smiling shyly at the first.

Neither of them could possibly be in Gryffindor, she noted as she looked at them, or I would know them by now.

She pretended to look for a book on the shelf before actually finding the one she wanted and grabbing the book. She flipped it over and read the back of it quickly before putting it in the crook of her arm and looking back to the girls.

"Hi," she said shyly, "I'm Leila, and I'm in Gryffindor. What're your names?"

She felt awkward going up and approaching the girls. She wasn't very good socially and she hoped she wasn't interrupting anything very important. She just hoped that they were friendly.

Mari hadn't anticipated stepping foot in the library, honestly, ever, but here she was, back again. There was nothing like the thrill of those goody-two-shoes doing their homework with smiles on their faces while you pretended that you were any good at school, yourself. Actually, take that back. It was incredibly annoying. But Mum had owled her yet again, complaining about her grades, and Mari knew that a trip to the library was inevitable. There was no winning when you tried to study anywhere else.

Always going the prim and proper route, she adjusted her robes as the bag rubbed against her, immediately undoing any straightening she had accomplished in the effort. With a deep, anticipating breath, she strolled casually into the library, looking for a proper spot. There were a few prime spots: one by the window, a table with a Ravenclaw girl hunched dutifully over her school work, a singular desk near a corner. And then...her eyes flickered. Something much more interesting. Two girls, one of whom had been sketching, conversing. The snake looked irritated, though, Mari knew, all snakes were just a bit irritated and irritating, so that was nothing knew. She moved herself just behind a nearby stack and listened, carefully. This was much more interesting than homework, after all.

From what Mari could only assume was the Slytherin's voice, she heard a snarky response. Mari had missed the Ravenclaw girl's opener, but from what she knew of Ravenclaws (minus her own mother, who was known to have a vicious tongue), it was very unlikely that she had been attacking. Granted, she didn't know many, but still. The girl was clearly a first year, putting further evidence to the hypothesis. If Mari was braver, she would have hurled herself from behind the stacks and attacked the Slytherin for being so rude. That would, however, only happen in an alternate universe. This was reality; Mari stayed put.

Luckily for the Gryffindor girl, the Slytherin seemed to have a change of heart and mumbled a small thanks. Mari was flabbergasted; in all the conversations Mum had forced her to have about Slytherins, she had never once mentioned that Slytherins had the capability to apologize. Maybe hell is freezing over, Mari wondered to herself.

Before she could wonder more about this "hell freezing over" business, another voice emerged. This one was shyer than the Slytherin, much less bold in her behavior. Mari wondered what had brought her over to what could only be described as a one-sided conflict. One would think that a shy girl like this new voice (who identified herself as Leila) would hide in the stacks herself. She peered just around the corner to see a girl whom she had maybe seen before, though Mari couldn't place where. She was blonde, blue-eyed, and appeared to be a first year, herself.

As she hid herself back in the stacks, however, tragedy happened for someone who was trying to hide themselves: her hand swiped a book just a little too quickly and it plopped on the ground. The sound was dull, but it was very likely the girls had heard. To make matters worse, before she could stop herself, Mari uttered a quiet, but loud enough, "Drat!"

Had they seen her sneakily catching glimpses? Had they heard the book fall or Mari's utterance? She wasn't sure, but what she was certain on was she probably should have followed her mum's advice in the first place and studied her schoolwork instead of studying the scene in the library.

Leila was waiting for a response from the other girls when she thought that perhaps she had been a bit too forwards. She was just contemplating leaving when she saw heard a small thud that sounded like something fell.

She didn't think much of it until she heard a quiet voice say, "Drat!"

It sounded as though it was coming from right around the shelf. Leila peeked around the shelf and saw a familiar looking girl standing there, staring at the book on the floor wide-eyed. She appeared to be a first year and looked as though she had been caught doing something she wasn't supposed to be doing. Leila narrowed her eyes minutely but didn't say anything about it, just picked the book up and handed it to her.

"Don't worry," she whispered to the girl, "if you were listening, I won't say anything."

She didn't know why she felt compelled to protect the girl but the Slytherin's expression as Leila had been walking up had made her feel that perhaps it would be for the best if she didn't know that someone was listening to their conversation. Leila didn't want to judge before she knew the girl but the Slytherin didn't appear to be very kind. Perhaps it was just her appearance. Leila knew that some people just came across as rude.

Hopefully the Slytherin wouldn't come to the same conclusion that Leila had.

Bright blue eyes flicked to the next blonde to appear. Blondes. Why did it seem like is was always the sunshine blondes that wanted to come up to her, she thought to herself. Of course, she kept such a comment to herself... she was out numbered after all. She looked over the girl, trying to decided if she'd seen her before in any other classes, or simply around the castle, but she wasn't ringing any bells. Before she could answer the Gryffindor, however, her attention quickly went to the direction of a heavy book thudding to the ground. Illowy watch steadily as Leila poked her head around the corner, picking up the book for whomever must've been around the corner, just out of her sight.

No matter, but she noted it in the back of her mind. Illowy was a fairly observant girl, at least, she tried to be. She liked knowing what was going on, and she wasn't fond of surprises, "I'm Illowy. Slytherin." she replied to Leila's initial question towards herself, eyes flickering back and forth between Leila and where the book had fallen before, as though waiting for anything else odd to happen. For a moment, it crossed her mind that perhaps someone was spying on her, or perhaps all three of them, and she was even less fond of that idea. To avoid looking paranoid, especially in front of people she didn't even know, she'd wait until she was given a reason to believe that were true.

Kona was lowered her head and her cheeks flushed ready. The school did have lots of really cool art. The artistic girl muttered out thanks and Kona lifted her eyes again. 

“I am sorry if I bothered you.” She said hesitating to leave.

A blond girl wandered over to the girls and introduced herself. Kona was slightly taken aback. She did love that she didn’t have to make the first introduction. Kona wasn’t used to being in group social settings.

THUMP

A book had landed nearby that seemingly got the trio of girls attention. Leila had peaked around the corner. Kona couldn’t hear much of a conversation. She looked at the artistic girl as she introduced herself as Illowy. Kona took a few deep breaths and opened her mouth to speak.

“I’m Mason. Ravenclaw. Kona. “ She stumbled as she spoke. “I mean Kona Mason, Ravenclaw.” Feeling slightly overwhelmed by the number of people and the noises, she clutched the strap of her bag tighter. This was a nervous habit that she had developed at a young age.

Kona's attention glanced nervously back at the bookshelf, wondering if another person was going to appear or if it was a completely unrelated scenario. She didn't enjoy having much attention on her and was hoping by looking away, the other's eyes would match.

Luck was on her side, for once.

Mari had expected one of the three girls to notice her creeping behind the stacks; she hadn't expected that only one of them would investigate the noise and furthermore leave her be. If you were listening, I won't say anything. Mari nodded silently as she resumed her position, listening.

She didn't trust the Slytherin. She never trusted Slytherins. Call it a prejudice, but it was how she felt.

Silence engulfed the situation. The Slytherin merely stated her name - Illowy - and house without any further embellishments. Just as Mari was sneaking another peak, the Ravenclaw, Konia, stumbled over her words in a way that Mari couldn't help but laugh audibly. It was okay, it didn't matter. Leila had proven she would protect her.

There was no way that the others could have missed her now. She would have to emerge...in a minute. For now, however, Mari would take her sweet time. Leaning against the stacks, still staring at the group of girls, she threw her wild, curly hair into an even messier bun. The seconds that she had taken to do so gave her more confidence than usual, so she waited a few more seconds. Attempting to straighten her robes once again, she tugged at them somewhat awkwardly while the bag still undid her efforts.

Ah, well. Even if the physical effort had been futile, her internal intent was successful. Fueled by distrust and confidence, she moved closer to the girls, making an effort to smile at Kona and Leila. Illowy, however? She would have to see. Mari knew that the look she gave, when her eyes skimmed the dark-haired girl from head to toe, was that of coldness. Normally, her embarrassed, awkward nature would conceal such emotions, but it was as if Felix Felicis was on her side, though she did not entirely understand how it worked, knowing it only be name and its association with luck.

Her eyes remained locked on the Slytherin as she murmured, "Mari Haynes." They would know what house she belonged to by her robes. She did not need to elaborate further. Figure out the Slytherin first before she showed any signs of vulnerability. It was unfortunate that the other two would be introduced to Mari in a way that was so unlike her true personality, but she hoped they would understand that she was trying to protect them. It was incredibly silly, she was such a small girl, but after all, thanks to Leila, she felt different.

She felt as if luck was on her side, for once.

After the nervous Ravenclaw stumbled out her name, a sharp laugh took Illowy's attention once more from the same direction as the thump had before. No more dancing around it, someone certainly wanted to be known. She closed her drawing within the pages of her book, setting it aside on the window sill as she rose to her feet, eyes narrowed with suspicion. The Slytherin didn't appreciate eavesdropping, much less spying for no reason that was clear to herself.

Looking past the Leila, the brunette approached the direction of Harriet the Spy, crossing her arms over her stomach as she stopped just before the end of the row, waiting for whomever was lurking there. Blue hues were cold, uncaring; just who thought they had the right to come spy on her, and then had the nerve on top of that to laugh at someone.

As the stranger finally allowed herself to emerge from the shadows, Illowy watched her intently. A smile towards Leila, then to Kona, and then the girl gave attention to Illowy. All the same, the girl didn't allow for stone gaze to falter.

The Hufflepuff spoke her name, and without missing a beat, the Slytherin responded, "No one asked." steady eyes flicked the girl up and down, "Just like no one asked for you to spy on us, or laugh like a high nosed child on the playground. I don't appreciate it, I'm sure Kona didn't appreciate it, and I'll give Leila the benefit of the doubt." she liked to think Leila was just an innocent with an overly tender heart in the situation, but she had been aware of Mari's presence after all. She's have to be careful though. She didn't really know any of these girls, and for all she knew she could have been outnumbered in some kind of sneak attack.

"That being said, I think it might be best you be a smart little Huffle, and leave." her chin lifted a little, almost as though giving a subtle square up. Wither this might've been some kind of set up or not, she certainly wasn't in the mood to deal with drama, and even less in the mood to deal with some child who might've only been there to try to bully or intimidate herself and the other girls.