After class

[Nina Patrokov]

Nina, still in her Hufflepuff uniform from Defense Against the Dark Arts, made her way to the library. As she walked through the familiar isles she loosened her yellow tie around her neck so it hung in a loose knot just on her chest. Today, she was feeling in a great mood so she let her finger's glide along the spines of the books as she walked further. She smiled as she felt the soft touch of paperback books and the more angular shapes of hard cover.

How Nina would miss having a large library when she left Hogwarts but she knew that Zach wouldn't mind if she made theirs more extensive, he after all was a Ravenclaw alumni. Coming across what felt like a mistreated book she turned sharply and looked at it, frowning frustratedly. Her largest pet peeve was the misuse of books. She loved them, thought of them like people as she had always used it as a means of escaping her dull life back at Hogwarts Scotland, home and even Hogwarts New Zealand. She took the book out, and began reading the small print, recognizing it as muggle poetry. Most likely a Pure Blood that doesn't understand the worth of the literary arts, she thought.

 

[Crispin V. Cold]

Crispin studied the card catalog, a frown upon his weary face. He hadn't slept much the night before. He was used to going without sleep, even thrived on it most of the time, but since he'd been back at Hogwarts he'd started to unwind. It was starting to feel like home again and therefore safe. Last night though he'd rolled over and woken up, someone was standing over his bed. Startled, he'd yelled out, swearing it was Arcturus back for revenge. But when his wand tip lit up, it'd merely been Ashton going to the loo. Needless to say it'd put both of them in rather a foul mood.

He'd grabbed a few books to help with his studies but there was one he wanted to read for pleasure. He followed the numbers on the shelves until he reached the right one. A young woman, perhaps his age, stood there. Crispin took a moment to study her. She was lovely...was there an unattractive girl in this school? he wondered. If so, he had not met them yet. His mismatched eyes flicked from her to the shelf in front of her, the number on the books, the empty slot then down to the book in her hand.

"Excuse me. Are you checking out that book?"

 

[Nina Patrokov]

"Excuse me. Are you checking out that book?" Nina turned her head towards the voice, her eyes instantly looking up at a boy. She smiled shyly at him before looking back down at the book. "No, just appreciating it, it seems that it is in need for it," she said, her light German accent flowing through her words, with a hint of an English accent as well. She offered the boy the book, looking back into his eyes.

As the young woman looked into his eyes she wondered what made his eyes mismatched but to refrain from staring rudely, she said, "A fan of Gorenko?" She smiled at the boy, warmth radiating through her pure hazel eyes, that currently looked like granite under water.

 

[Crispin V. Cold]

Crispin took the book from her hand, his fingers brushing against hers accidently. Frowning slightly he nodded, turning the book over in his hand. "I do. I had not thought to meet anyone else here who enjoyed her work." His eyes scanned the back of the book before he placed it with the rest of the books in his arm. He turned back to the young woman.

"Thank you. I'm Crispin, I just transfered back here." He held his hand out to her and used the time she took to respond by studying her. She was very pretty, with bright eyes and lovely hair. Yet it was the spark of intelligence that made her attractive to him.

 

[Nina Patrokov]

Nina had felt the tentative touch of the boy's fingers on hers and she looked down at them, goosebumps forming on the nape of her neck, that thankfully was covered by her strawberry blonde locks, not that he would have noticed. She looked back up at the young man as he spoke, smiling at him. "Yes, she is rather underestimated," she stated as she thought back to the first time she had read Anna Akhmatova back in Hogwarts Scotland.

"It's lovely to meet you Crispin," Nina said, as she gave her hand to the boy, clasping his softly. "I'm Nina. Transferred here a few years ago," she stated, for his knowledge, assuming that if he was a Seventh Year he wouldn't have recognized her because she really did not recognize him, aside from Charms when she vaguely remembered taking a seat beside him. The Prefect often got flustered by males touches but it seemed that she had grown because her cheeks were just flushed a soft, healthy pink rather than a darker pink of extreme embarrassment that the had always been the case since she noticed boys as more than friends or annoyances in her second year of schooling.

 

[Crispin V. Cold]

Crispin turned the book over in his hand again before he thought to put it in the pack he had slung over his shoulder. Pulling down the flap he slipped it inside to check it out on his way out. Setting it back on his shoulder, he held the straps lazily with both hands and regarded her. "It's nice to meet you too." He offered a small grin, still feeling a bit out of touch in his own skin. "So what field are you going into?"