Could You Not?

[Louisa Clark]

This place had become a refuge, though she'd stopped coming here for a while in her first year after an ill-fated interaction with current Head Girl. Eventually though, she had returned to the North Tower. It was the ideal site to escape social interaction, especially with her housemates. She hadn't met any other Slytherins she really liked, they seemed a cold lot. Not that she minded the lack of friends in her house. The only house she actively avoided was Hufflepuff. Her father was a Hufflepuff, and she didn't want to endure stories about the lovely smells of the kitchen in their common room, or be forced to look at the robes, a set of which still hung in her parents' bedroom. No, to this day she was eternally grateful that she hadn't been sorted into the House of the Badger, though it had once been a dream of hers. Lots of her dreams had changed, she'd once been impatient to come to Hogwarts, butt that had certainly changed.

She'd brought a book with her; one on the history of magical exploration, it was actually quite interesting, but she couldn't concentrate. Instead, she gazed out the window, sitting on the sill and wishing it weren't such a nice day. If it had been a bit more drab she might've made it out onto the lake. She rather got the feeling that her extra curricular swimming probably wasn't encouraged, but she didn't really care; they could expel her if they wished, it wouldn't cause her angry great grief, though it would've upset her mother. Ella Martin-Clark was always the barrier to her doing anything to jeopardize her schooling, she was the reason Louisa had started putting in an effort when it came to classes. Hurting her Mum was the last thing Louisa May Clark would ever wish to do.

 

[Lilyanna Hope]

After three years going to Hogwarts Lilyanna was still not used to the way everything ran. The change of routine made everything hard and confusing and Lilyanna just wished everything was back to the way it was before. Better yet, spending every weekend out of the castle in hopes that she could 'fix' whatever was wrong with her was wasting her time. The girl much preferred to study, even when exams were too far away to worry about. Luckily, Lilyanna had finally found some time to herself one weekend and knew exactly what to do with it. She packed her backpack with as many textbooks she could fit and dragged it along all the way from the dungeons to the North Tower. The North Tower was a place where Lilyanna knew not many people would be. Sometimes the library would be full, especially getting closer to exam time, and so the North Tower was the alternate place to be.

As Lilyanna finally climbed up all of the steps with her backpack clutched tightly in both of her hands, she noticed that she was not alone. There was a single younger girl reading a book on the window sill. Thankfully, she didn't seem to care about Lilyanna's presence and so Lilyanna sat on the concrete and turned her bag upside down, emptying it, all the while ignoring the girl. She opened up a divination textbook and took out her tarot cards, ready to do another reading. But as she looked up she became distracted by the title of the girl's book. It was about the history of magical exploration and Lilyanna was intrigued. Standing up, she tentatively walked towards the girl and stood a good metre away from her as she looked over her shoulder at the book. The fourth year simply stood there, not saying a word to the girl as she read all about the famous magical historical figures.

 

[Louisa Clark]

Louisa wasn't an avid reader, particularly. It took a very specific kind of book to draw the young Slytherin in, but this one was doing a good job in the grander scheme of things. Still, each time she tried to re-focus, she was failing. Her gaze kept being drawn outside, where people walked and laughed together. It was a strange feeling, being on the outside. When she was younger, she'd always been popular, but she didn't have any friends in this place. She didn't have an friends at all anymore. Her friends at home had all gone off to secondary school; they had new friends now, different lives. She envied them that, being able to just continue with their lives.

A noise alerted her to the presence of another student, but she didn't turn her head. Using her peripheral vision, he could see a girl around her own age, maybe a bit older, with a backpack full of books. Wow. Much more dedication than Louisa had ever exhibited for her school work. As the girl stood, Louisa frowned slightly, imperceptibly. What was she doing? After a moment of awkwardly pretending she hadn't noticed her companion, Louisa realised she was trying to read the book. The kindness in Louisa had never really died, and she moved the book closer to the girl so that she could get a better look. Having a companion oddly motivated her, and she began to zone back into the book.

 

[Lilyanna Hope]

Lilyanna hadn't notice the girl bring the book closer. If anything, Lilyanna was too focused on what the book was saying than what was happening around her. Her eyes scanned the page quickly, and once they had reached the bottom, they began to drift away as she processed it. Most of what was written she had already learnt in History of Magic, but there were other things there that interested her, including the break between the muggle and wizarding worlds. Witch-burning was definitely familiar to the fourth year, but the fact that some muggles during the fifteenth century used their magical neighbors to their advantage was a bit absurd, especially if they were so scared of them. In some cases magic was quite useful but there were other ways to find a solution which Lilyanna strongly believed.

"People should not rely on magic. It is inappropriate to take advantage of magic when there are more logical ways to do things." Lilyanna said, more to herself than the girl. Despite this, Lilyanna still liked muggles more than witches and wizards. They were intelligent enough by themselves and should not have to rely on a supernatural force to get things done. Lilyanna's mind raced with many different thoughts as she waited for the girl to turn the page again, not caring whether or not she minded.

 

[Louisa Clark]

It felt oddly nice to have company, especially since said company didn't seem intent on questioning her about her location and why she was alone. People were altogether too curious, as far as Louisa Clark was concerned. Sometimes it was nice though, to not be alone. She did miss having friends, not that she would admit it, since her solitude was her own choice. People had tried to be friends with her, that Apollo boy had called himself her friend, but she'd run away. It was easier to not let yourself care about people.

The stranger's words rang true and Louisa found herself nodding. "People think magic has a solution for everything, but my Dad rarely used magic, and my Mum is a muggle." It was one of the first times she'd mentioned Matthew Clark out loud, but it was true; their lives had involved magic of course, but for amusement rather than for living. Her father made his living without magic, he used to charm bubbles to float around their living room at night, or lights, but he didn't need magic to survive. Her mother cooked without magic, obviously since she had none, but their lives had never depended on their powers.

 

[Lilyanna Hope]

Sorry this isn't very good!


Lilyanna almost jumped when the girl replied to her statement. She didn't expect her to be listening, let alone offer her own input. Better yet, what the girl had said actually intrigued the fourth year. The girl's mother was a muggle and her father was a wizard which meant that the girl was a half-blood. "Your mother is a muggle." Lilyanna repeated, as if she couldn't believe it was true. "What is it like having a muggle parent?" Lilyanna was interested and wanted to know more. To her, muggles were the most intelligent people there were and to be so closely related to one had to be a gift. Did that mean this girl regularly visited the muggle world and knew all about their secrets? Was she just as intelligent as them too? "How is electricity made?" Lilyanna asked, hoping she had the answer.

 

[Louisa Clark]

The girl's interest confused Louisa somewhat, she'd always lived in a world which contained both magic and muggle technology, the latter more often than the former. Her first comment was nearly received badly, until she elaborated. "It's the same as any parents I guess. My Dad didn't work as a wizard, he was a fireman, and Mum is a teacher for muggles, well a coach, she teaches gym, like exercise, to teenagers." It didn't sound unusual to Louisa. "Are both your parents wizards? What's that like?" She couldn't imagine not having anything muggle-related in her life. In all this time, she hadn't looked at her companion, her eyes fixed on the green outside the window. The electricity question took her a moment. She knew her teachers had mentioned this at some point, but it felt like it was an age ago. "I think it's magnets, or something. I know that there's a charge and circuits and things. And you can't put water near electric things or you'll die." Her grasp wasn't complete, exactly, but she felt pretty sure that the main points were covered.

 

[Lilyanna Hope]

Lilyanna beamed when the girl began to explain what her mother and father do for work. "A fireman!?" she exclaimed, wondering how muggles would cope taking out a large fire. No wonder it was a professional job in the muggle world considering how difficult it would be without magic. "My father just works as a curse breaker at the Ministry and my mother is a Magizoologist so she gets to bring home dragon teeth and stuff as a souvenir. But I'd rather be a fireman." Lilyanna smiled at the idea. The girl's father must be a really good man to help muggles take out fires the muggle way when he could just use magic. It was a whole new level of kindness and Lilyanna was glad that there were wizards out there that were willing to help muggles when they were in need. The Slytherin had completely forgotten about studying as she talked to the girl, listening as she explained how electricity worked.

"Electricity is the flow of electrical power or charge." Lilyanna began, remembering her notes from muggle-studies last year. "In muggle-studies I learnt that some ways to get electricity involve burning coal or natural gas, but there are many other ways too. Yes, electricity can be deadly, and so it is wise to avoid allowing electricity pass through your body." Lilyanna paused for a moment, still processing what the girl had said about water going near electrical things being deadly. It seemed absurd, but it made sense that it was true. "What are... cer..cuts?" Lilyanna asked, glad that the girl was able to answer her questions.

 

[Louisa Clark]

The girl spoke in the present tense, and Louisa knew she wouldn't have noted her use of the past. People never did. Still, it was nice to talk normally with someone, without invasive questions. Just a chat. "Firemen's jobs are dangerous, and sometimes people die." The girl would do better not to wish for Matthew Clark's life. As far as his daughter was concerned, the fire was what had killed the man who'd been her father. He'd never been the same, not after the last fire, the one in the orphanage. That wasn't a fate anyone could wish for. "Is is nice, not having to hide your magic ever? I always had to be careful in school." She'd always had to hide her powers, until she'd come to Hogwarts at least.

"Yeah, you can get electrocuted." Louisa couldn't imagine being so fascinated by electricity. For her, it had always been a part of life. She hadn't done muggle studies, not thinking she needed, but this girl seemed to know more about electricity than she could remember. "A circuit is like, the circle between the power and what it's powering. So, a light gets power from the battery or the mains in a house, and then it has to go back, I think, to where the battery is to complete the circuit. that's why there are switches. When the switch is off, it's broken the circuit and when it's on, it connects again so it's complete and the power can go through." She knew there was a circuit board in their house, but she wasn't allowed to touch it.

 

[Lilyanna Hope]

Lilyanna did not understand why firemen died. She thought you might as well sign up for the army if you wanted to die doing your job. Besides, what was so life threatening about taking out fire? It was confusing to the fourth year and she simply shook her head, still wanting to know more. "What do you mean people have died? What people have you heard of that died taking out a fire?" she asked, wondering what kind of difficult things muggles would have to do just to take fire out. The younger girl's next question had to make Lilyanna think. The fourth year had never thought about it before and she wondered what the other girl's life must be like also. From what Lilyanna knew, they were two different people who just happened to cross paths. "I don't know." Lilyanna replied finally, shrugging her shoulders. She did not want to discuss further.

"Electro.. cuted..." Lilyanna repeated when the girl said the word. She listened intently as she began to explain what a circuit was and she imagined it in her head. A circle that went around over and over, emitting electricity once it's turned on, and then breaking once the light is turned off. "So, it is a path where electrons flow?" Lilyanna asked, eager to tell her muggle-studies professor what she had learnt when she saw her again. She didn't care if the younger girl thought she was weird for asking questions that were probably second nature to her and her eyes drifted away as she thought about it in her mind, imagining how intelligent you'd have to be to invent something so spectacular.

 

[Louisa Clark]

How could the girl not understand that fire was dangerous? "Fire burns, and smoke suffocates; it's dangerous." With a sign, she continued to explain, "Once, my Dad was working on a fire in an orphanage. Every member of his team died, and a lot of children too. Dad sometimes tried to use magic on the job, but he couldn't when there were so many witnesses, and most wizards don't care enough about muggles to try to help when things like that happen." Wizards were selfish, they kept their power to themselves. That fire had destroyed her father; he'd never been the same. "All they have are water hoses." Of course there were other things, but she didn't want to have to explain fire extinguishers to this incredibly curious girl.

"Yes, it's when a person is killed by electricity." This conversation seemed to be getting very morbid, but at least it was interesting. Finally, Louisa turned to face her companion, noting that she looked somewhat familiar. Perhaps she was a Slytherin? "Basically, yes. They go along the line together to make things work. Muggle things don't really work around magic though, which is a shame, they could use electricity here." No doubt about it. Louisa missed television, though she'd never really watched much of it. Those sort of things were foreign concepts to a lot of Hogwarts students, like this girl. "I'm Louisa," the introduction forced its way out of her mouth without her consent. She'd felt strange about calling her companion 'the girl' in her head.