Sept. 8: Snake in the Nest: Open

[Lydia Avery]

Even though her Charlie had graduated, that didn't mean that Lydia's time spent at Ravenclaw Tower was over and done with.

She would soon be missed if she didn't keep up appearances! Besides, the Ravenclaws truly weren't the most horrid of people to socialize with, and if none of her usuals were around she could always occupy herself with finding some new reading material for herself and the girls. And, while she loved the girls, things had been - ah - tense since their arrival a week ago. Meredith was still seething about Lily Evans being promoted to Head Girl, and no matter the spin on it that Lydia attempted to give, nothing satisfied her. The brunette was fairly certain Winnie and Mere would, eventually, try to go through with their plot from last term to murder the "redheaded usurper," but tonight she didn't want to fight that fight.

She wanted to relax, find a new book, and catch up with some of her Ravenclaw friends. And so, after their post-dinner-studies, she said her goodbyes-for-now to her roommates. The familiar climb to the Tower was refreshing, and upon reaching the bronze eagle, Lydia was ready for its riddle. While she let her girls be the loudest and the fastest in class, she was no less sharp than they - and the knocker knew it. With an ancient creak of hinges, it stretched its beak and shook its head, bronze feathers shaking against each other as its beady eyes considered her.

I'm waiting, she told it with a raised, expectant, brow.

"You cannot keep me until you have given me. What am I?"

"My word," Lydia said with a smirk after a few moment's thought, and with a nod from the eagle, the door swung open to allow her in. The petite seventh year flipped back her hair, most satisfied, and stepped inside the gorgeous common room. While her own House had its merits, she did envy the airy beauty of Ravenclaw Tower. The mottled light of sunsets filtering through the lake as well as it could was nothing compared to the bird's eye view these students got on the daily! And so she smiled, genuinely feeling at home - she'd made it a second one during Charlie's years here, after all - and headed towards the seating area by the windows, looking about for familiar faces as she did.

[Pandora Nott]

A new year, which meant new faces. New faces that had already learned that attempting to talk to her wasn't going to get them anywhere. They were good little children, but what did they expect from her? She was perfectly capable of helping them with their homework and not getting lost in the castle - but that was the fun part of school. Learning and exploring! She'd loved wandering around lost in her first years, stumbling upon interesting rooms and people to talk to.

So they had already given up, instead directing their attention to other older Ravenclaws that were more helpful. That was fine by her, it gave her plenty of time to sit and read in the common room and not be bothered. Which was going wonderfully until a rather familiar movement from the common room door caught her attention. What was Lydia doing in here? She'd spent a lot of her last years here since Charlie had been part of the house, but she hadn't expected to see her this year.

That - and the fact that Lydia was good friends and roommates with her older cousin. Pandora hadn't even known that she had other family until coming to the school. Bronwyn was in Slytherin and a year above her, and she was pushy. Always trying to get Pandora to hang out with the "right" type of people, inviting her to family gatherings. And something about some Sacred 28. She'd always ignored it, content to just be herself.

"Hello Lydia," she said with a tilt of her head as the girl neared her position.

[Deleted]

Sixth year. This was her year. She was determined.

The summer had been great. Dancing everyday, reading at the sunrise, the pure freedom her parents had finally allowed her. It would stand to reason that with a summer vacation so fantastic the following year would also be a marvelous time. So far it was like every other year, fine but nothing spectacular; Sylvie was not settling for that. She would make this sixth year /her year and it would be amazing. She was determined.

The only sore spot in her plan was her love life. Over the summer she and Tommy had just sort of...drifted apart. Sylvia was always just so busy with teaching the young ones all their basic ballet, her summer studies, time with her growing family -she was going to be an aunt!- the list seemed to go on forever. The sad part was that she had not put Tommy anywhere on that list. The Ravenclaw always felt a jolt a guilt now when she thought about her boyfriend...ex-boyfriend; he was amazing and she just couldn't make the time. It was easier when she was in Yorkshire, it's not as if Tommy lived around the corner there. Now that they were back at Hogwarts, things were a little different.

Sylvia wanted to talk to him, to explain, to apologize, to be friends -she missed him!- but Tommy, was well, cold. It was obvious he was still angry with her for the dissolution of their relationship and it was futile to try talking to him as long as he was like that. Sylvia Davies just tried not to think about Tommy Wood at all, she just wanted to move on. She decided the best way to do that was to just leave it be for a while...

"...yet never grows?"

"I beg your pardon?" Sylvia said to the eagle knocker before her. So lost in her thoughts about Tommy she barely noticed the trip from the Library to Ravenclaw Tower. For all she knew she could have passed Tommy along the way. Though is was probably back in his own tower by now...Stop!

"Can I have that one more time please?"

"What has roots that no one sees, is taller than trees, up, up it goes, and yet never grows?"

"A mountain." Sylvia answered more quickly than usually. Maybe this year would be her year! And with that thought lingering in her mind Miss Davies entered the common room, a smile firmly in place. Almost immediately she spotted a familiar blonde head. She could probably spot every one of her roommates from a quarter kilometer a way. Pan and Caro were both blonde and so very dear to her; and who could ever miss Ava's fiery mane? Pandora's companion was not as easily spotted and Sylvia was already sitting down next to her roommate when she spotted the other girl. 

"Lydia!" she exclaimed, shooting her eyes to Pandora. "Hey there." she said to Pan, all thoughts of a easy conversation with her roommate out their homework flew out the window and turned her attention to the snake in their mists. Sylvia was intensely curious to know what these two were doing or rather talking about before she had arrived. "I didn't think we would ever see you again now that Charles is gone, what bring you to our little nest?"

[Lydia Avery]

Lydia didn’t much believe in luck. Yes, she had been born to a proper family. Yes, she had her brains and her beauty. Yes, the mate her parents had chosen for her ended up being a difficult but rewarding match. But she liked to think that she had earned most of what she had, and that luck had little to do with it.

That said, the slight brunette felt the tiniest twinge of oh, what rotten luck, when the first Ravenclaw to greet her was none other than Pandora Nott. Her lovely face wouldn’t betray the sentiment, though, and she let a natural smile spread over her features as she changed course slightly to sit in an armchair across from the younger girl. "Good evening, Pandora," she said, looking fondly at the “quirky” blonde. While the loved this Nott’s cousin like a sister, Pandora could hardly be termed as endeared to her. She was amusing sometimes, yes, but her “creative” way of thinking often went over her head was more difficult than should be to follow for simple polite conversation. And she was so dreadfully striking in her looks that it was such a pity that she wouldn’t let Bronwyn take her under her wing! The pair of them could have their pick of the pureblood men at Hogwarts! But Lydia felt that the peculiar girl was doomed - even if Pandora didn’t see it as such - to a life alone with her oddities.

Such a pity.

"I hope you have been well - did you get up to anything interesting over the summer? Knowing you, there had to have been some delightful discoveries and adventures," she said kindly, readying herself to take mental note of whatever stories were shared. Bronwyn deserved to know the sorts of things her relative said, after all.

Even so, it was with grand relief when she heard her name said with such joy! Lydia truly smiled as she looked up to see Sylvia Davies joining them, and she even rose from the comfy reading chair to give the younger girl a hug. "And that is exactly why I had to come!" she exclaimed with a laugh, sitting down and gesturing for the other to do the same. "I couldn’t let you all think it was just out of seeing Charlie that I came here so often - seeing him here gave me the opportunity to get to know all of you! I just had to come and say hello, just because he’s not here anymore doesn’t mean we can’t still be friendly. Please, my ears are all yours," she explained graciously. "Do tell me how things are going for both of you - Sylvia, how is that Tommy of yours? And Pandora, is there anyone catching your eye? I'm rather good at setting people up," she ensured with a conspiratorial wink.

[Pandora Nott]

If Pandora was being honest, she wasn't fond of Lydia's betrothed. He was loud, he had anger issues. He was a bully, and she had avoided him for the most part. Lydia had always been kind, although there was a nagging feeling that perhaps there was more to the snake than she could see. Lydia and Bronwyn were fantastic friends, and her older cousin was not the nicest person in the world. Still, there was no use judging someone based on the company they kept, especially when Lydia was being friendly to her.

"Oh, no summer wasn't all that exciting. We did go down to France for celebration of my O.W.L.'s," Pandora answered, tapping her head thoughtfully. Sometimes her parents took her on grand adventures, but those days had long past since she started school. Now she mostly was just content with her books and her house and the sun shining outside. It was the arrival of her dorm mate that pulled her out of her thoughts, and she smiled at Sylvia.

Her roommate had seemed to be down, and through snippets of conversation it seemed that Sylvia's relationship with Tommy had ended. Pandora hadn't asked, she didn't want to be nosy. But Lydia was asking and Pandora bite her tongue to keep herself from blurting out what could just be a rumor. She did hope think that Tommy made Sylvia quite happy. "Well it's lovely for you to come and see us, but no. I don't really think I have time to be dating. Or any desire to, really."

[Deleted]

Sylvia accepted the hug she was offered, returning it with equal pressure and warmth. Some people were wary of the Avery girl, and perhaps they had good reason to be. For the most part, however, Sylvie thought Lydia to be an alright sort of person; mostly people just judged her because she was in Slytherin, which was honestly not very fair. Sylvia liked judging people on character, and she thought hers and the other dark haired girls were complimentary to each other. Just like hers and Pan's.


She smiled back at the other girl as she sat next to her, both of them listening to Lydia wax on about wanting to remain friendly. Sure, she was a little extravagant at times, but, why should that mean she wasn't genuine? Sylvia thought she was, so she answered the girls enthusiasm with her own. “Oh, that's so great to hear! Besides, it's going to be so much more fun without the lot of boys hanging around.” Personally, Sylvia didn't care much for Charles, Lydia finance. But he had never been cruel to her... he was never very nice either, so she may have been a smidgen glad to be rid of him. She knew Pan was very glad he was no longer lording over them all and Sylvie didn't blame her roommate one bit.
 

It was Lydia's next topic of conversation, not the girl at all, that caused the wave of unease that washed over her. Sylvie glanced at her roommate, painfully aware that she had yet to really fill her dormmates in on all the details of her split. Or even that there was one. “Not,” she said, keeping her voice carefully leveled. “my Tommy anymore.” There, that wasn't so hard at all. She managed to say it with only a slight sting in her nose and an uneven beat in her heart. She gave the girls her best smile and turned to Pandora for distraction. “Pan is much to much in her own head to be worrying about the opposite sex, right now; who needs boys when you have books, right?” Sylvie said affectionately, before steering the discussion into a saver zone. “And really, we should all be focusing on our studies right now anyway. Especially you Lydia. N.E.W.T.'s this year for you all. Does Meredith have you on a strict revision schedule yet? What have you shoved off to come visit us today?”

[Lydia Avery]

"France though, how lovely in the summer," Lydia gushed, latching on to the most interesting tidbit of what the spacey unique Ravenclaw shared. "Whatever did you get up to there? I've only ever been once, when I was quite young, but I remember eating my weight in cheese!" Thankfully she didn't need to converse about food for long, seeing as they were joined by one Sylvia Davies. A charming girl, to be sure, and one who sweetly returned her hug without question. She had to laugh at the other brunette's apt description, rolling her eyes. "I know, I know - they can be rather dreadful when they're cooped up," she admitted with a knowing air. "I hope it's been comfortable for you are so far this year, has it been nice coming back together?" Her attempt at an amusing topic of conversation, however, did not have the impact she desired. Pandora was quick to brush her off, and Sylvia...Sweetheart, boys are much better than books.

It was with some trepidation that Lydia awaited the rest of the other brunette's response; there was a subtle shift in the fair girl's demeanor, a meaningful glance towards Pandora, and the Slytherin all at once felt like she'd said the wrong thing. It was purely awful to make a social blunder, even in the company of nice girls like this, and as Sylvia spoke...Oh no! While it perhaps wasn't the most useful thing for her energy to be taken up by, seeing as the relationship was merely one between two good looking halfbloods, her heart still ached in the moment for Sylvia. The girl was doing well in carrying on - she looked lovely, and she had a ready answer for both her roommate and herself - but if Lydia's memory was correct, the relationship hadn't been a fickle fling...

She gave a gentle smile, shaking her pretty head at mention of her own roommate. "I gave her an hour before coming to 'diversify our reading material,'" Lydia said with a wink. It was true that she would leave the Tower tonight with at least one new-to-her volume, and perhaps these girls would be sweet enough to give suggestions. "It's a big year, I know, but it's only the start! I hope you two aren't already stressing with schoolwork!  You will be marvelous this year, I know it. And Sylvia, dear - I'm so sorry, I promise I didn't know." Lydia's apology for bringing up something so uncomfortable was sincere, and she patted the other's knee with sadness in her deep brown eyes. The brave face that the younger girl was putting on was tremendous, and she hoped that Sylvia wasn't still hurting too deeply about the breakup. 

[Pandora Nott]

Lydia was always so cheerful, something that was confusing to Pandora. While there was nothing wrong with being happy, there was something about Lydia that Pandora couldn’t really put her finger on. It was unnerving, and Pandora tried to ignore it as they spoke. “Did you really eat your weight in cheese?” she asked with what she hoped was a genuine seeming smile, “I read about a Nogtail terrorizing a village there. I was hoping I would get to see it.”

Sylvia’s arrival made the conversation easier, her roommate much better at talking to people than she was. The two of them were discussing the boys, something she was glad to stay out of. Charles Selwyn and his friends were cruel as far as she was concerned, and their house was much better off without them hanging around.

Pandora felt terrible as Sylvia caught her eye, before confirming the rumors Pandora had been wondering about. She did hope that Lydia felt bad about bringing it up - but the Slytherin seemed to love gossiping. It would just be one more thing for her to talk about to someone. It seemed best to move the conversation away from boys and heartbreak, and she was quick to pipe up at the topic of school. “I think our homework so far this year has been lighter, but I finished some assignments over the summer. If you are looking for a book to take back, I have some excellent reading on Nogtails I purchased this summer.”

[Deleted]

She could feel the silent agreement with her roommate to drop the topic of the most recently graduated Ravenclaw's, this was something that didn't require words, and Lydia seemed to agree. Sometimes Sylvia envied the Slytherin's way of breezing past things, her skill of directing a conversation or event. Lydia turned next to Pandora, asking about her summer trip, and she listened along as the other girls spoke, smiling as her roommate mentioned one of her many magical creatures she often spoke of. Really, she was just happy Pan was feeling up to engaging in conversation with the snake among them. It didn't matter to her if they talked about cheese and Nogtail's. So much so that she failed to mention how potentially dangerous that could have been if she had spotted one.

"I'm surprised that worked." She said to Lydia's excuse to her best friend. The girl's roommate was a notorious slave-driver when it came to her studies, and most everything else. But she also had to admit to herself that it actually was a good excuse. They had a great many books here in their common room that they didn't have anywhere else, and Mulciber was determined enough to want to know everything. She didn't have a chance to admit this new logic though or comment on how surprisingly not stressful sixth year was, as Lydia was pulling her mind back to the one place she didn't want it. Thomas.

Sylvie looked into the older girls eyes, aware of her roommate sitting close by. She had so wanted to tell the girls privately before word got around about her split, but that was her problem wasn't it? She didn't make time for the people that mattered. Trying not to get down on herself right now she refocused on Lydia, feeling the other emotion coming from the girl. The beauty across from her had never been cruel to her and Sylvia truly believed she meant well in her apology; if Lydia had known she wouldn't have brought it up in such a way, she was sure of it. She offered the other a smile. "Think nothing of it." she assured her, reaching out to briefly grasp her hand before turning to Pan as the other spoke. She grinned at yet another mention of Nogtail's, Sylvia had spend years with Pandora Nott as a roommate, and as a result had learned a lot about the fantastic beast of their world. Pan so loved all these strange creatures and Sylvia was learning to love that about her. However, she doubted Lydia would love a book about a random beast. Did Lydia even take Care of Magical Creatures? The younger girl doubted it, so, she made her own suggestion, while still acknowledging her friend's offer . Max would call it being diplomatic. She preferred to view it as friendly conversation. "Demon-pigs right? That sounds like an interesting read but if you're looking for something more closely related to what you might see on your exams Lydia, I can show you some sections with really good seventh-year material in it. You can always tell the best ones you know, they're always in the worst condition."

[Lydia Avery]

In moments like these, Lydia needed to remind herself that there were a variety of intelligence types. Witches and wizards could be gifted with spell- or potion-work, memorization or practical application, song or sport, and so much more. Pandora Nott had her gifts - she must, to be in Ravenclaw and to have gone on holiday in "celebration" of her O.W.L.s - but the gift of conversation, of the use of figurative language or jests, did not seem to be included in her particular set. Being a literal sort of person was not all bad, and certainly there were bountiful circumstances ahead that would allow the blonde to flourish.

"Oh Pandora, you are a riot," she proclaimed with a bright smile back to the younger girl. "I was just being facetious, darling, but I did eat enough of it to upset my stomach. Nicholas was hardly sympathetic to my plight! Have you ever experienced something like that with your brother, Sylvia?" Lydia turned to the other beauty with mirth in her dark eyes at the thought of her elder brother. "Love them or hate them, they are forever ours," she continued with a knowing laugh; before it had faded completely, the Slytherin had returned her gaze to the blonde with more than slight interest. "But Pandora - a nogtail? Truly? Demons are nothing to be trifled with and, no offense meant, please, but I cannot see you hunting one. What was your plan if you had come upon it?" While she may not have seemed the sort - proper ladies did not dirty their hands, after all, and few of her childhood playmates saw the appeal, or were confident enough to admit they did - Lydia had continued her Care of Magical Creatures studies into this, her N.E.W.T. year. Experience with creatures outside of the confines of Hogwarts had hardly occurred, however, her family not the sort to galavant around the countryside looking for potentially dangerous encounters. Was this sect of the Nott family so dissimilar to her beloved roommate's, though?

Speaking of beloved roommates, Sylvia was not initially taken with her excuse, which Lydia did her best to laugh off before directing the conversation back towards the topic of school. She'd committed a horrible blunder and needed the moment to recover her standing with Sylvia who, graciously, did appear to accept her apology without pause. Lydia returned the squeeze to her hand with a look of affection and smiled, noting in the back of her mind how prompt the pair of girls was to direct her to the books. In fairness, she should return to the dungeons with some, and Ravenclaws were hardly known to keep quiet once reading materials were mentioned, and these two were kind hearted and likely only wanted to help - but perhaps it was the extended time she'd kept in the company of snakes which made it feel like this was a smooth way of helping her to the door, not to knowledge. "I believe I will have to take both of you up on your offers, thank you," Lydia declared, rising and smoothing the rumple of her skirt as she looked across the room to the towering bookshelves. "I love the way your mind works, Sylvia," she went on with a light laugh, reaching for the girl's hand. "The best books are in the worst conditions, I'll remember that. If you can help me find something on Xylomancy that would be divine - I took it up as a lark with Ethan last year, but to be honest, Divination of any sort is not where my strength lies."