WHERE has the quiet gone?

[Odette Stonewood]

The library. One of the few places in Hogwarts that was quiet, even when dozens of students were gathered. Madame Pince (not to speak ill of the elderly) was an absolute terror. Under her reign, students studied. For that reason alone, Odette was fond of the old bat – though she doubted the librarian held affection for any student. At the very least the Madame didn’t harp on her as much as some others, such as the group of loud Gryffindors who were currently occupying the table across from Odette, hers occupying a prime spot underneath a window. Madame Pince had been over there twice already, and Odette had no doubt that the next time the elderly librarian walked over, the Gryffindors would be out. They might have come to that realization as well; for the last ten minutes Odette had only heard soft murmurs from that quarter.

Now able to work in peace, Odette returned her attention to the Transfiguration essay before her. Thirteen pages on the history of animagi, and why the Ministry of Magic wants to keep tabs on them. This being an interesting topic, Odette was swiftly scratching words on parchment, settling into a steady rhythm interrupted only by the occasional peek in one of the numerous tombs propped open. The tips of Odette’s fingers were stained with ink, as well as the few tendrils of coppery hair that she was constantly pushing behind her ears. Despite her scruffy appearance, Odette was feeling particularly amicable as her quill flew across the paper, the satisfaction of doing schoolwork well curving the corners of her mouth into a little smile.

Tranquility lasted for about fifteen more minutes, and then came to an abrupt halt as a large crashing sound reverberated around the library. Odette stared in utter amazement as the chaotic scene unfolded before her.

[Olivia Zariah Ryall]

"Quiet can be easily achieved through.... ignorance."
With a small smile and a glint in her eyes Olivia directed her attention toward Odette. "The library isn't as quiet as it use to be." She set down her quill and parchment rolls across from Odette. "Your a complete and utter mess." Olivia figured that help was needed to tidy Odette's hair and fingers but her clumsy nature and back-firing of spells had her held back from acting impulsively. "I do believe Scorcify or Tergo would get rid of that mess on you."
Providing a few finished books from her bag Olivia treaded around the scene ahead replacing her books in the proper places. A few books repelled backward apparently angry with their placement, smashing Olivia in the face. "Ow." she muttered trying again of the placement of the book, though this time succeeding.
"So, Odette which class?"

[Odette Stonewood]

Odette rolled her eyes; an idiotic Gryffindor first year had attempted to doodle in one of the library books. Luckily (or unluckily, depending on who you are), Madame Pince had placed a rather… unconventional protective spell on this particular tome. A powerful gust of wind had shot out of the pages, sending the unsuspecting first year into a bookshelf. Fortunately, this one was against a wall and therefore could not be budged, though Odette imagined the first year would now sport a lovely bruise on his back. As a prefect, it was her duty to go over there and punish him for the misdemeanor, but Madame Pince was already on it. And in any case, Odette was being addressed by another girl, Olivia Ryall.

The witch nodded at Olivia’s comment on the disorderly nature of the library, that much was definitely true. It seemed that with every year that passed, each new batch of first years was louder than the last. At Olivia’s second remark, Odette quietly laughed; Olivia seemed to have a penchant for stating the obvious. It was unexpectedly decent of the other witch to offer help in the way of spells, especially considering their uneasy relationship. Glancing at the other girl, Odette responded mildly, “Yes, though I’m more inclined to Tergeo. Scourgify tends to work better with non-stainable liquids.” This being said, Odette made no move to fix her fingers or hair, instead choosing to steeple her fingers while regarding Olivia.

Some of the books in Olivia’s possession seemed to be a bit unruly, as demonstrated when one turned back to whack her in the face. Odette fought a brief battle to keep her facial features expressionless, a battle that was ultimately lost as a smile crept over her face. Really, Olivia seemed to be having massive amounts of trouble with a simple tome. The grin slipped away as Olivia regained control, and Odette was again the recipient of Olivia’s chatter, though this time she had been asked about her class; presumably the one she was writing the essay on. “Transfiguration.” Suddenly feeling obliged to elaborate, Odette added, “We’re currently studying the history of animagi.” Against her better nature, Odette impulsively asked, “Why are you here?”

[/blockquote]

[Logan Kings]

Logan was tired of being bombarded with questions from his team. No matter where he dashed off to, there was one of his teammates, demanding to know how long or when the next practice would be, what manuveurs they would use against the Slythereins, if he had any idea which broom was btter, a Firebolt 2009 or a StarShooter 2009. Quite honestly, he was utterly sick of it. Sick of being on a Quidditch team, sick of being captain. Longbottom is far better suited for the job, so why didn't he just resign?
Because your team is accustomed to you, Kings. His mind shot back. They'd never listen to Longbottom, even if he was better for the job.
So, even though he'd never give it up, Logan needed a break from his team. And the one place they'd never find him, was the library. Did he mention he was behind on his homework? All of his homework?
He frowned as he pushed into the library. All of the tables were occupied, most of them by the obnoxious Gryffindors, each who jeered at him, boisterously as he passed. Ravenclaws were not the fanfavorite for Quidditch. The only table which was slightly empty was one occupied by Odette and Olivia.
He rubbed his eyes, and took the empty seat, placing his books down on the table. "Afternoon, ladies" He greeted, begining on his Herbology report on the uses of Dragongrass. He wondered, in the back of his mind, why the girls were even sitting together. Even the most oblivious student knew about their strange friendship.

[Olivia Zariah Ryall]

"I thought it was in order to do something polite for a change. Studying for O.W.L's like any other fifth year." Olivia replied coolly her eyes narrowed. It wasn't as if Odette had even given the slightest effort to be polite. She unrolled a piece of parchment deciding to tackle her Potions essay. Before starting Olivia turned toward Logan grinning. "Good afternoon, Logan. How are you fairing today." Happening to ignore the placement of her chair Olivia's butt managed to land on the ground, surely to cause bruising. Giggling she picked herself back up brushing a few crumbs off of her robes.

[Odette Stonewood]

Hmm, it would seem that Olivia had interpreted her question differently from what Odette had meant. Reflecting back, the phrasing of ‘why are you here’ could probably have been expressed better, but now it was too late to fix. Ah well, it would seem that their little chance at renewing a previous friendship was out the door and down the hall. Odette was surprised to feel a wee bit disheartened by this, though she quickly banished the feeling. Regrets were for wimps.

Fortunately, Odette was unexpectedly saved from awkward silences by the arrival of one of their fellow Ravenclaws; Logan. As captain of the Quidditch team, Logan was pretty well known in Ravenclaw. Beyond his name though, Odette couldn’t tell you anymore about the lad, they had not interacted before. She did, however, laugh at his greeting. It was a soft laugh, but one nevertheless. Odette hadn’t thought boys could still say ‘afternoon, ladies’ with a straight face, and yet here it was. Odette’s laughter might have subsided soon enough, if Olivia hadn’t managed to miss her chair, an act that sent fresh waves of mirth bubbling through the sixth year. Amazingly enough, Olivia didn’t seem fazed in the least by her utter klutziness, instead getting back up with a giggle. Odette did suspect this was partially for Logan’s benefit, but then again, she wasn’t exactly an expert when it came to Olivia and her emotions.

Taking pity on the poor chair; which had been knocked backward by the force of Olivia’s unforeseen landing, Odette drew her wand underneath the table and murmured a simple summoning charm, positioning the chair right behind Olivia so that when the time came for the other girl to sit down again, she would not miss. Thoughtful? Perhaps. But it wasn’t as if Odette would ever admit it.

[Logan Kings]

"Careful, shortie" Logan teased, looking up from his half-done report. "And as for fairing, I'd say I've had worse days." He shrugged, with a smile. He silently scribbled out a few lines, with his quil, wondering silently why he couldn't just use a pen? Surely it was much easier than dipping a feather in ink.
"Studying for O.W.L.s? I certainly don't miss those days. Logan raised an eyebrow as Liv's chair slid forward slightly, so that she wouldn't fall again. What was strnage was that neither himself nor Olivia had done it, from what he'd seen. A secret smile formed upon his lips and he gave Odette an impressed look. Was she actually being thoughtful?
Like anyother student, Logan had been listening to school gossip, and from what he had heard, Odette Stonewood -or Stoneheart, as some prefered- wasn't the most pleasent perosn to be around. It really didn't help that she was a prefect. Maybe she wasn't as bad as so many seemed to think. Or maybe she was just really good at acting.

[Olivia Zariah Ryall]

"Consider yourself lucky, Herbology I will surely fail. " Returning to her essay she explained each other ingredients of Draught of Peace pausing only to sneak a glance at Logan's parchment. "Herbology? And, what might you be learning?" Olivia smiled cautiously, not wanting to seem like a book worm. Out of reaction she directed her gaze to Odette flashing a small smile. Unlike most students it seemed that Odette didn't try which slightly irked Olivia. No matter how hard she studied or tried it seemed she failed at Herbology. Maybe it was her lack of compassion for the plants or over excitement when a new specimen is added to the greenhouse. "Perhaps you could help me on my Herbology later, since you already took the course I mean." Smiling softly Olivia turned her hair allowing her red-hair land over her pink tinted cheeks. "If you want of course..."

[Logan Kings]

"Yeah, Liv, I'll help ya. Fair warning, though, I wasn't exactly the best at Herbology. I'm not even sure why I'm taking it"
He shoved the finished report into his textbook and pulled out his next assignment. An essay on the acomplishments of Muggles. He rolled his eyes, cheerfully. Muggle Studies was one of the few classes he always aced. Maybe it was just the fact he was Muggleborn.
Unlike Odette, and so many of his fellow Ravenclaws, Kings just wasn't the brightest crayon in the box. Half the time, he felt like one of those dull browns that was never used. That was why he played Quidditch with so much vigor. He had to downplay his bad grades by being the best Seeker he could.

[Odette Stonewood]

Odette was just about to return her attention to the Transfiguration essay when she caught an impressed look from Logan, clearly directed at her. He had probably figured she was the one who cast the summoning charm; it didn’t take a rocket scientist to deduce that much. Raising an eyebrow, Odette returned his look with one of her own, as if to say, ‘who, me?’ Again, Odette attempted to begin a new sentence on her essay when she glimpsed the small smile sent from Olivia. Really. Even Olivia had thought to thank her with a grateful gaze. Was my spellwork really that obvious? Making a mental note to work more on her nonverbal spells, a slightly flustered Odette finally returned to her essay.

Olivia and Logan’s next exchange was almost enough to send Odette into yet another laughing fit. Olivia’s inquiry and Logan’s subsequent reply rather odd to hear – perhaps they had chosen to ignore her presence at the table. That suited Odette just fine; she did want to finish her work before the library closed and students were ushered out.

She had gotten one good paragraph in when a first year came running past – incidentally, the same one that had caused the earlier racket – and accidently bumped into their table. This probably wouldn’t have been a bad thing, if the jostling hadn’t tipped over one of the open inkpots resting in the center. In a flurry of reflexes that would have done any Quidditch player proud, Odette snatched her papers up, reducing the damage to only one page; even then it was only a seeping stain on the upper edges. Simple enough to rewrite. Glancing at the others, Odette checked to see how their papers had fared.

[Logan Kings]

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me!" Logan exclaimed, angrily, as he did his best to dabbed the ink splatters off of his text book, and almost finished report on Muggles. He growled, and plucked his wand from his pocket, "Scourgify!" He snarled, in annoyance. Luckily, the spell removed most of the ink, and Logan turned his attention to Odette.
"You're fast. Have you ever thought of joining our Quidditch team?" He asked, not sure whether her wanted her to say yes or no. He silently memorized the first year's face, so as he could deal with him privately, and not infront of so many -Logan chuckled as he thought the word- witnesses.

[Olivia Zariah Ryall]

" Wonderful." Olivia muttered sully as she flickered her wand once lazily murmuring "Scourgify" as if it was a hassle to save her work. Again her attention was driven back at her essay completing it with such ease where Professor Snape would have been impressed. Tossing her supplies in her bag Olivia stood, dazed from the sudden change, trying to adjust to the upright motion. " My head needs a breather, I'm about to take a walk Odette, Logan, would you like to join me?" Giving in to a smile she nodded in Logan's way, " Maybe try Odette up on the Quidditch Pitch, I could use a few shots for my collection." Olivia's head tilt sideways, grinning ear to ear of which looked shockingly like the Cheshire cat. It was true that since O.W.L's had come up watching Quidditch and photography was slid to the back burner. It was a opportunity that Olivia needed to have for her sanity's sake.

[Odette Stonewood]

Logan and Olivia had dealt with their papers fairly quickly, preventing too much damage from spreading. However, someone was at loss for an inkpot. Odette watched, intrigued, as the ink that touched the oak table seeped down into the wood, forming a starburst in the center. The process was rather absorbing, and thus it took a minute for Odette to register what Logan had asked. About to respond with a firm, absolute denial, the witch had just opened her mouth when Olivia spoke, beating her to the punch.

A walk outside. That couldn’t be too bad; the air was cool but not freezing, and homework breaks did occasionally allow for more vigorous work later. However, the choice of companionship was somewhat less than ideal, in Odette’s eyes. She didn’t pretend believe that the other Ravenclaws held any sort of fondness for her, and that the invitation was probably just a courtesy gesture. Indeed, Olivia’s grin certainly did unsettle Odette, her suggestion of flying even more so. Odette had absolutely no interest in Quidditch, though she had occasionally enjoyed the flying class all first years were required to take. And Olivia was supposed to be a good photographer; she could doubtless take photos that wouldn’t make Odette to appear to be a total fool. Oh Odette, why are you even considering this?

Hesitating a few moments, Odette made a snap decision that was so totally out of character, she shocked herself. “That doesn’t sound too bad.” Blinking a few times as she mulled over the words she had just uttered, Odette hastened to add, “Though it can’t be too long; I do have schoolwork to complete.” Dignity – hopefully – restored, Odette began packing up her scrolls, quill, and books, carefully avoiding her companions eyes.

[Logan Kings]

Logan nodded, and smiled at Odette. "Perfect" He said with a twinkle in his eye. "Our team needs another Chaser, and I believe you could be it. Unless you'd prefer a spot as a Beater. That'd be rather interesting. He picked up his schoolbooks and dumped them in his pack, which he carried almost always.
"So, the Pitch, ladies?" He asked, getting up, and frowning at the lack of work he had completed. He would very likely fail if he wasn't such a Quidditch buff. Teachers, even royal pains such as Avero and Duros, always took it easier on you if you were on a team. Unless, of course, you were a Gryffindor, which he luckily was not.
Half way to the door, he paused. "Odette, do you even have a broom?"

[Odette Stonewood]

At Logan’s following words, Odette snapped her head around to face him. Where exactly had he gotten the idea that she would be joining the team? And while Odette could fly, she was quite certain that there were plenty of Ravenclaws out there that could play Quidditch better. For heaven’s sake, the witch didn’t even know all the rules! Narrowing her eyes, Odette was poised to bring Logan back to reality with a few sharp words when a little voice in the back of her mind cautioned her to stop. So what if Logan assumed she was interested in the Ravenclaw team? The decision was hers and hers alone, and not even the captain of the team could force her to play. And thus, Odette relaxed, content to know that she had regained control of her situation.

“The pitch indeed.” Odette had considered ordering Logan to stop calling her a lady, but decided that that would foster unneeded resentment. As ridiculous as the chivalrous gesture was, Odette figured that there were some things that she would just have to accept and move past.

Upon registering Logan’s inquiry about a broom, Odette smiled. Sweetly she returned his question with one of her own, “Now why exactly would I have one if I’m not on the Quidditch team? Not all of us have stockpiles of galleons waiting for us at Gringotts.” Listening to herself speak, Odette realized she was coming off as rather… bitter, and to compensate, she threw in another sentence, this one unlaced with malice. “I’ll borrow one from the first years’ flying class.” Classes for the day were over, so she shouldn’t have any trouble acquiring a broom.

Turning back to Olivia, Odette regarded her with a level expression. “Do you need to fetch any equipment before we head out?” Odette wasn’t sure what the other girl would need – didn’t professional photographers carry a whole assortment of lenses and gadgets to make sure they got the best quality picture? Unsure, Odette didn’t voice any of her thoughts aloud, instead waiting for Olivia to reply.