Defiance [closed]

[Minerva Khulik]

Minerva Khulik had been so busy with class work, assignments, makeup lessons and exams that she had forgotten all about Halloween and the costume that her mother had put inside her trunk for her. The ghoulish representation of a werewolf would not have appealed to Minerva in the slightest but she had decided at the very last minute not to bother with the feast at all. Instead, directly after her transfiguration makeup lesson whereby she was supposed to change a teapot into a tortoise and had failed miserably at each attempt, Minerva had altered her direction and went to the library.

She knew everyone would be attending the feast, who wouldn't want to join in all that fun and games? Besides her that was. Transfiguration was unsettling her greatly and she wanted to get to grips with it properly, yet everything she thought she knew about the world seemed to turn upside down and inside out when in transfiguration class. Nothing made sense in it, sure there were laws and exemptions which she was only learning about this year but none of it she felt was enough to truly explain why people wanted to transfigure animate into inanimate or animate into animate or any other variation.

Conjuring and vanishing were fine as far as she was concerned but mutating something out of its own biological sphere to manipulate it into whatever you wanted it to be, seemed utterly horrendous to Minerva. It was like playing god, changing what was just because you could! Were there really any benefits in changing a teapot into a tortoise? She had never herself seen one so had been beyond confused as to the biological makeup of the creature, so of course she couldn't change the pot! Aghast she opened the door of the library and noted how still and quiet the place was.

Smiling to herself she walked between some rows of bookshelves watching to see where the librarian was, looking to see who else might be about but mainly looking to see how she could manage to get herself into the restricted area. Very slowly she began moving her way towards the closed off entrance, glancing about left and right to ascertain whether she might be stopped or not. Taking a book from a shelf she pretended to be interested in it but barely even looked at the pages of 'Stealing Moonlight: memoirs of a werewolf' as she continued to inch her way to where the red velvet rope was the only partition between her and proper books on transfiguration that she was certain were in the restricted section.

 

[Alistair Lancaster]

Halloween was decidedly not Alistair's favourite time of the year. Everyone dressed up and wore a costume, pretending to be someone they weren't for the night, but that was exactly what Alistair did every single day. At first it had seemed okay, easy to put on another mask and try to have a good time, especially with so many festivities, but every year it appeared as if one person or another thought it was funny to wear a werewolf costume, or pretend to be a werewolf hunter. Being around either made him feel sick in the stomach - seeing anything that even resembled a wolfs head left him sick in the stomach, and Halloween was always full of it. His biggest fears. His self hatred, all right up in his face. He didn't need that, and he couldn't enjoy himself at the feasts with those kinds of costumes around, so he'd decided to avoid it after two years of enduring it. Besides, Halloween was more of a friend-oriented event, a department Alistair was lacking in. It sucked, seeing groups of people hanging out and having a good time together, and it had made being in the hall feel worse than it already was. But that was just the way it was for some people. Not everyone could be popular, and the Slytherin didn't make any effort to. It was safer that way, safer for him, and safer for other people.

While the feast was happening, Alistair wandered through the rest of the deserted castle. He couldn't be sure he was even allowed to be out and about on his own, but no one had stopped him leaving. He supposed it had to be fine, it didn't make sense to keep everyone together in the hall, but since thats where the fun was happening, thats where almost everyone was. It was one of the few times Alistair could get away and be on his own, not have to worry about running into other people. The castle and its grounds were large, sure, but it seemed like nowhere he could go was completely devoid of people for more than a few minutes. It was a freeing feeling to know everyone else was together in one place, while he could go explore. Not that there was much left to explore, after two years of living in the castle, there wasn't many places left that he hadn't been to, yet right now, with everything so empty, it felt like an entirely new and different place.

Taking a portrait shortcut, the young werewolf ended up on the fourth floor, opposite the library. With nothing better to kill time with, he poked his head inside, looking out for any of the librarians, of which the school had four. It was an odd number to have employed. Despite how large the library was, he didn't expect it needed more than one or two people to oversee it, to checkout and catalog books. What else was there to really do? Seeing the towering shelves of books, it struck him that he'd wanted a specific book for a while now, but could never remember to actually go and look for it. Now was as good a time as ever, and he slipped inside, checking again for a librarian and wondering what would happen if none of the four were actually present during the halloween festivities, as unlikely as that was. Or perhaps it wasn't so unlikely, given how late in the afternoon it was, and he doubted simple librarians lived in the castle, too. Even most of the professors probably had homes to go to at the end of the day. Alistair missed home. Or more accurately, he missed having a room to himself to sleep in, a house not occupied by hundreds of other kids. The Lancasters weren't home anymore, and staying with the Hayes was still taking some getting used to, but he was grateful to have a more werewolf tolerant household to live in. He didn't know what he'd do if they hadn't taken him in, or where he'd even be, now.

His fingertips traced book spines as the boy made his way down one of the aisles, keeping an eye out for the book he'd been looking for. He turned a corner, nearing a little too close to the Restricted Section, and almost yelped in surprise at seeing another person there. It was so quiet, as libraries usually were, but it felt even more so at this time, and he hadn't expected to run into another student of all people. As his heart stopped pounding, he realised who it was, still getting used to the slight differences in her features since she'd been gone. He smiled a soft smile. "H-hey. What are you doing up here?" Alistair tried to keep his voice quiet, in case he attracted the attention of anyone else. Even if the library had been deserted, it felt taboo to speak at a normal volume.
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[Minerva Khulik]

Minerva had finally noticed the librarian moving in routine fashion between a few shelves as she wiggled a finger here and there returning books to their proper shelves. She looked bored as if whiling away her time before she too could attend the feast. Minerva counted mentally as the woman moved one way, turned sorted books then turned another way, repeating her actions but on different shelves. Though the actions were similar, Minerva did notice that the time frame was not the same as she had obviously more books from some subjects to others. So engrossed was she that she did not hear any footsteps approaching and it was only when Allistair spoke did Minerva turn hastily, dropping her book with surprise before sighing with relief.

"Oh, hey Alistair" she smiled back stooping to retrieve the book and not even noticing this time that she was holding it upside down as she turned her gaze back to the librarian for a moment who was now gone right down an aisle. This was her chance, possibly her only opportunity. She sidled closer to the rope when she remembered Alistair and suddenly withdrew her hand that had been snaking out to remove the barrier.

"What am I doing?" her voice was just above a whisper but it still sounded as if she were slightly annoyed that her friend had just shown up out of the blue when she had least expected him to, "What are you doing here?"

She had always hated when her brothers answered a question with a question but saw their logic in it now, they often times distracted people from prying into their business by doing it and perhaps it would work for her in the same way. Maybe Alistair would just head on his merry way or something! Minerva wasn't used to having friends, being a year apart from the few she had made in first year meant her social skills were less than what they normally were ... which had never been great at all. Her tunnel vision which led to her being able to study rigorously for any subject and all her exams without getting distracted in any way, was what was goading her now to think only of getting in to the restricted area and getting her hands on all those amazing books! Glancing at him sideways she flicked a page in her book as if she were genuinely just reading.

 

[Alistair Lancaster]

Alistair stifled a laugh as Minerva dropped her book, evidently just as surprised to see him as he had been to see her, if not more so. Though, that amusement was short lived as the young boy was taken somewhat aback by his friend's slightly accusatory response, and he felt like maybe he'd bothered her during something important, study or homework perhaps. That being said, something felt odd about the whole situation, a feeling further spurred by the fact she seemed distracted from the conversation, her body movements seemed a bit awkward, and she was choosing to read standing up, rather than taking one of the more comfortable seats. It was all just a bit strange, but then again, so was she sometimes. "Um. I'm not feeling into the whole Halloween spirit this year, so I thought I'd just...I don't know, wander? There's a biography of a wizard I like and I thought I'd check it out while there's no one else here." He explained himself, even though she still hadn't answered his same question. It wasn't until the Hufflepuff turned a page in the book she was holding that he finally noticed that she'd picked it up the wrong way around. Alistair wasn't the most observant of kids, which he guessed came with trying his best to avoid people and keep to his own small bubble. Anything beyond it was usually just a tuned out blur. "Minerva, are you, are you pretending to read that book? It's upside down." Alistair frowned. In that moment, without all of the information, he felt a little bit betrayed. Surely she'd have known the letters were the wrong way around if she was genuinely invested in reading, and in their short interaction he felt like she didn't want him to be around her, but he couldn't understand why. What had he done? Why was she acting so weird? A familiar voice rang in his mind, his own voice, repeating the phrase, she knows over and over. It was a voice he heard constantly, the same phrase every time someone looked his way, but mostly he hadn't had that worry with Minerva. Everything had seemed fine, until now. Anxiety swelled at the pit of his stomach, as much as he tried to tell himself he was overreacting, as he always did. He couldn't help but imagine the worst possible outcomes to every situation. They had only recently learned how to identify werewolf traits in class, so he thought perhaps she'd caught on, and now she hated him, but she seemed genuinely happy to see him at first. Then suddenly she was looking at pages upside-down and acting suspicious, and he, as self-centric as he could be, thought the only reasonable answer revolved around him.
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[Minerva Khulik]

As Alistair spoke about not wanting to be part of the halloween feast and looking for a biography on a wizard, Minerva paid him little attention. Occasionally she nodded her head but her gaze was fixated on the aisle that the librarian had gone down. She would surely be back at any minute and what was Minerva to do then? Her gaze shifted restlessly between the entrance to the restricted section of the library and the direction the librarian had walked.

If she had been a Gryffindor perhaps she would have just thrown caution to the wind and raced ahead regardless of all consequences but Minerva didn't behave that way. She ran her life by rules and regulations, routines and schedules - she needed them to help her get through an otherwise chaotic day and her chaotic mind. She got anxious, gravely so otherwise. Desperately she wanted to just do it, to push her way through and find what she was looking for but already her brain was putting up further obstacles, what would happen once there ... what shelf, what area of the restricted section should she look in? She surmised it would be as vast as the normal side of the library or partly so and she didn't think for one second that those books would be summoned as easy as the ones on this side.

It was then that she heard her name and turned her gaze to Alistair, beautiful blond, pale Alistair, who was her friend, had been a good friend and was now asking her if she was pretending to read a book upside down. Minerva was at a loss as to what he meant when she glanced down and saw that the book in her hand was indeed upside down. A blush flushed her cheeks and she did want to say something flippant like it was all the range to read upside down nowadays but this was her friend and she couldn't do that to him. She didn't do flippant, she did facts and truth.

A noise made her choose swiftly her own course of action, she couldn't bare it if she got him into trouble as well, so she gave one more cursory glance over her shoulder to the aisle, then to the restricted section, gave a slight groan and then gathering the book to her chest and then hurriedly moving off down another aisle, giving Alistair a frantic wave of her hand to follow her; as well as a frantic shake of her head in the direction she was going - Minerva stepped out of view of the librarian who would soon be moving back into view.
"Come here".

She would tell him what she was up to and maybe he could help her, he was a Slytherin wasn't he? Didn't that mean more than just ambition? They would sell their grandmothers to get away with stuff or so she had been told, though she had never imagined or suspected even for a second that Alistair was like that at all.

 

[Alistair Lancaster]

Alistair waited for an explanation that didn't come, and exhaled a small, sad sigh. For a moment it seemed like Minerva was interested in everything else in the library but him, but as she hurried off down the aisle and gestured for him to follow, the boy felt the growing emotional weight in his chest drop, lightening significantly to know she still wanted him to be around, despite how weird she was acting. He told himself that he should've known not to overreact, especially when it came to her, and though he had next to no idea what was up, her attention toward the restricted section gave him a budding idea. Quickly, yet as quietly as he possibly could for the silent atmosphere of the library, the blonde followed after his friend, looking more confused than ever. Before he could catch up to her, he happened to spot the book he'd come for in the very first place nestled on one of the nearby shelves, rather conveniently, and slipped it from its shelf to be tucked safely under one arm. Once he had in fact managed to reach her, he raised his shoulders in a slight shrug, a gesture not even close to conveying how out of the loop he was feeling. "What is going on?" He murmured quietly, looking around through the gaps in the shelves to check if anyone else was lurking nearby. "What's with all the sneaking around and, just, whatever this is right now?" Surely she wasn't actually interested in slipping off into the restricted section she'd been skulking around. There were all sorts of rumours about what was in there, spooky tales of things more than just forbidden books. After all, it didn't make a lot of sense to even have a section of books in a school that they weren't allowed to learn about under normal circumstances. But they were all likely just baseless stories than actual fact, yet he couldn't help but wonder what was inside. Even so, he couldn't be sure he wanted to find out.
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[Minerva Khulik]

Minerva waited as patiently as she could for him to join her in the aisle of books, it was lucky that he had moved in when he did for in that moment, the librarian moved from between the aisles further down and back towards her desk but not before turning around in their direction as if hearing a noise or sensing that someone was there. Lucky for them one of the school ghosts decided to glide past and the librarian rolled her eyes and turned back to sorting through the piles of books on her desk. Minerva who had been peeking out just a fraction to ascertain what their chances were, turned back and held her finger up to her mouth in a shushing gesture, about to get Alistair and herself to move even further away from the temptation of diving headlong through the doors of the restricted section but Alistair spoke, albeit quietly before she could move them away at all.

"It's ...it's not sneaking" she whispered vehemently, Minerva Khulik did not sneak. Hadn't she been walking about quite openly with no sneaking involved? "Alright ... if you must know".

Peeking out quickly once more and satisfied that the librarian was occupied, Minerva turned to face Alistair. They were unusually close in proximity but Minerva put that down to the situation they found themselves which meant they could whisper all the more effectively, though she would have preferred the use of no words at all and just get out of there. She could get back to the restricted section another time when she was less likely to get Alistair into trouble.

"I want to find extra books on transfiguration, I know they're in there" glancing in the direction of the restricted section, Minerva thought she heard a sound again. You could after all hear a pin drop in the quietness of the library and she believed their whispering most likely sounded like a riotous meeting at the moment. She peeked her head ever so slightly around the corner only to see the librarian moving from the desk once again and glancing down in their direction.

"Who is there?"
Minerva stepped back swiftly and wide-eyed and horror stricken looked to Alistair. They were about to get caught and that would mean detention, she didn't have time for detention and she certainly didn't want to land Alistair in it also. Her swift brain gave her all of one option which in the grand scheme of plans would give her pause for thought throughout the rest of that night and many to come.

Without missing a heartbeat, Minerva Artemis Khulik bridged the small gap between herself and Alistair, her slender hands reached up to cup each shoulder as her head tilted slightly and she kissed him. She who had never kissed anyone before, who would not have dared to even touch someones shoulders or hold hands was now instigating her very first kiss. Her lips did not so much as brush against his but almost imprinted on to his as if someone had used a jinx to lock their mouths together. At first her eyes were open, as if trying to convey in that moment to Alistair to simply copy her and she would explain all later.

"Who is there?" the librarian's voice repeated and Minerva's hands moved from Alistair's shoulders to wrap about his neck and her eyes closed. Again she would question herself later if that very motion had been because of the librarian or because all sense had flown completely out the window the moment her lips had met his.

 

[Alistair Lancaster]

Alistair chewed his bottom lip, looking almost skeptical at Minerva's protest of her sneaking, even if her frantic movements had been quite the opposite of what sneaking was, it was still something that was just a little bit off. He still didn't know enough about the rules surrounding the library this late in the evening to know if they should or shouldn't be there, but to him, there were worse places they could be. The party in the hall just wasn't for him, and he didn't want to be stuck down in the dungeons all night when he could have been doing something else. "Okay..." The Slytherin whispered back, trailing off to let his friend continue, quietly nodding along to her explanation, finally, on what it was she was doing. It sounded innocent enough at first, just some transfiguration books, but as he followed her gaze to where the "there" she had been talking about was, his face fell. "In there? The Restricted Section? You can't be serious. Who even knows what's in th-" He began, surprised she'd even consider sneaking out into the out-of-bounds area. One of their first proper interactions had been with her thinking one of the corridors was off limits, and she'd been worried about being caught. So, he couldn't fathom how she could think this was a good idea. Al couldn't continue his sentence, cut off by the voice of one of the librarians approaching them from somewhere behind the cover of the shelves. "Oh, here comes-" Alistair began, only to be cut off yet again by Minerva's hands on his shoulders. He shot her a quizzical look, followed by a far more startled one as all of a sudden, her lips were pressed against his.

This was new. Alistair had gotten so used to the idea of keeping a distance between himself and others that he'd never even considered the fact he might one day kiss someone. It had seemed like something that was just completely off the tables for him after being bitten. Who'd want to kiss a werewolf? No one he knew would be so willing, and he felt that if Minerva knew, she wouldn't be doing what she was doing now. Would she even be his friend to begin with? He didn't know, and he automatically assumed the answer for everyone was probably no. Not really knowing what else to do, Al stood there, wide eyed and slightly limp. It didn't help that Minerva's eyes were open either. All of this, the entire atmosphere since he'd run into her had just been so odd, and he'd never felt so confused in his life until this point. As the Hufflepuffs eyes closed, the Slytherin copied her, and the darkness was welcoming. His hands twitched restlessly at his sides, still unsure of what he should be doing with them, but his lips moved as Minerva's did, and the act became almost as natural as walking or breathing. The approaching footsteps stopped close by to them, and Alistair thought he heard a tut, before they moved on right past them, and he was left kissing his only friend in the middle of the library as if it was the most normal thing he could be doing, unsure when, or if, he should stop.
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