Escapades

[Flavio Morales-Tipene]

Classes were about to start and in order to do well in them and achieve good grades, Flavio knew he needed to become familiar with many places in the school but in particular he needed to become well acquainted with the library. That was why the young Ravenclaw retraced the route he had been shown by Pia to find he library after stopping by the great hall to pick up a piece of fruit to snack on. He had an objective in mind to find a book about ducks that day in order to understand how each of the books were organized so when the time came for classes to begin he wasn't lost finding books that weren't categorized in his first language. When he arrived to the library he bit into his apple and chewed it as he began walking along the isles, browsing the shelves and scanning his eyes over all the spines of the books, finding nothing about ducks but noting their interesting titles anyway in case he needed to read them for classes. He searched nearly half of the library for a book about his precious ducks was tempted to give up when he found nothing but he figured he could at least ask someone for help before he did so.

He bit from his apple again and chewed as he looked to the area around him, frowning when he could not see an older student or librarian. Flavio was clearly not talented at finding things and understood now why the sorting hat placed him in Ravenclaw and not in Hufflepuff because he knew how to read books and gather information but could not find a book to save his life. He continued to chew on his mouthful of apple and swallowed it when he saw someone who looked close to his age. With a sheepish grin, Flavio approached the girl to ask for help. "Hello. Have you seen any books about ducks?" The question was not near as weird as it sounded, at least to Flavio so he was yet to feel embarrassed to admit that he could not find something as simple as a book on ducks by himself.​

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[November Albertson]

November was enjoying the library, there seemed to be more books in here than the bookstore. She wasn't surprised about that. It hadn't taken her long to get acquainted with the sorting system of the library and she had already skimmed through of the books from each section. She didn't understand everything she had seen in the books, but she was sure that she'd eventually understand things she had read in the books. The library wasn't very different from the library she had grown up in, her father having worked for the same library for years now. She heard a voice asking about ducks and she turned to see a boy eating an apple.

First November looked at the boy then at his apple and then back at him before daring to answer. She wasn't sure what exactly were the rules for this library but typically food was not allowed. "There is against the wall to the left of the door you came through to enter to library," November said looking down at the book she had in her own hands, a book she was almost finished reading about the life of Harry Potter. "I don't know if there will be books about ducks," she continued closing the book in her hands and looking at the boy, "but I can go over with you and look?" November offered the boy standing nearby.

 

[Flavio Morales-Tipene]

Flavio felt oddly uncomfortable as the girl he approached looked to his apple and back at him. It was like he was in trouble for reasons he did not know about and it caused him to shuffle slightly on the spot. He was glad to be given a sense of relief from that awkward moment when she opened her mouth to speak and answered his question. At her words he looked back towards the entrance of the library and frowned because it was one of the places he searched. When she continued to speak he shook his head slightly, not at her but at his own uselessness. Being in a new country where he suddenly needed to know his second language as well as he knew his first was difficult in many different ways and now he knew it made it especially difficult to navigate something as self explanatory as the school library. He was tempted to give up and find Pia but he was interrupted from that temptation when the girl offered to go with him.

It would be a great help to him, both on that day and in the future when he would need to use books in the library to study so he smiled and said "Yes, please and thank you." before turning to walk to the place she mentioned. He felt more gratitude to the girl for offering to help than he was letting on because he did not know how to express it in English. He wished he had confidence enough to say more than just 'thank you' to her but he unfortunately did not so he was left to stand awkwardly at the bookshelf to the left of the library door, waiting for her to show him where the book he was searching for might be.​

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[November Albertson]

November was trying to place the accent she heard from the boy's mouth as she told him about the animal section in the library. The library itself could seem vast to such small kids, but she had spent over two hours already collecting the whereabouts for different subjects. She started walking over towards the section for animals wondering who this boy was. Obviously he was a first year like herself, she couldn't imagine an older student not knowing the library. "I'm November by the way," she said turning her head to look at the boy. The trip over to the front of the library did not take them long. Looking at the shelves before them she wondered why he was curious about ducks. They didn't seem very important, but then again she knew hardly anything about the wizardry world, maybe ducks were gods here. All she knew were things her aunt had told her and what she had been reading in books her aunt bought her over the past few months. Most of them were about the biggest battle that happened before the turn of the century. It was long before she was born and her parents had been young then. They knew nothing about these events going on the wizardry world they had told her. It took awhile for her aunt to calm them down and convince them that it would be safe for her to go to school, after all the last war happened at another Hogwarts in Scotland. "Where're you from?" She asked the boy curious since this was the first place she had ever met anyone that was from outside the United States, besides her Uncle of course.

 

[Flavio Morales-Tipene]

Flavio nodded politely as the girl introduced herself. "My name is Flavio." He said, quickly following her lead and stating his name in as much of a simple way as he could before he bit into his apple again and chewed to alleviate the awkwardness he was feeling. When they arrived to the bookshelf Flavio merely waited, observing the shelf and then November as she asked what country he was from. Flavio swallowed, worried about how obvious it was that he wasn't from New Zealand. Pia warned him that being foreign was often seen as a weakness by bullies and she also said that Hogwarts New Zealand was not as 'bully or be bullied' as Castelobruxo. November seemed nice, and did not immediately turn him away when he asked for help so he was ready to assume she would not bully him for being foreign. He wasn't usually the kind of kid to take chances but figured it was worth a shot because no one else had asked where he was from. "I am from Chile." He answered, smiling politely. "Where are you from?" He asked her in return, not knowing how else to continue their conversation when they clearly were not looking for books about ducks anymore. ​

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[November Albertson]

November was picking through the books unsure if there'd be one about ducks. This library was unlike the one she was used too. All magical books here, not simple duck books unfortunately. He answered her question and she was trying to put Chile in her brain's map. She couldn't remember if it was the long country in South America, or if that one was Peru. "I'm from the United States, Pennsylvania. I guess we're both pretty far from home," November said looking at the bookcases in case her eyes watered because she was feeling sad. She didn't like being so far away from home. This is was the first time she had left her twin sister behind and it was a weird feeling not having the girl nearby all the time. "Oh!" She said as she spotted a book about birds. She pulled it down, though it was rather heavy for her tiny arms. "There might be something about ducks in here!"

 

[Flavio Morales-Tipene]

Flavio managed a small smile when November also admitted she was foreign. It reassured him slightly to know he wasn't the only person who left the comforts of home to be immersed in an entirely new place, with different kinds of people as well as a different culture to learn from. "New Zealand is very different, isn't it?" He said to make conversation. When she pulled a book on Birds from the shelf, Flavio looked towards it. He nodded as his eyes scanned the book before he helped November pull it from the shelf. The book was surprisingly heavy and when it was down he looked at the cover and then opened it to the front page. It was about birds that were native to New Zealand and while it wasn't specifically about ducks he was glad to have found something with November's help. "Thank you." He said as he kept the book in his arms and he looked towards the spot where the book once was, hoping that a book specifically on ducks would be nearby. "Can you see any other books on birds?"​

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[November Albertson]

November was beginning to wonder if she had found a new friend in Flavio. It was just her luck that he wasn't in her house however. She hadn't really met and gotten to know the students in her house which she was disappointed about a little. It made the common room fill a little lonely despite all the lovely warm yellow color everywhere that filled her with happiness. She was glad to be in the yellow house, she was thinking it might just have to be her favorite color now, so bright and cheery. "It's not like home at all, especially the part about living inside a castle," November admitted to the boy. She smiled at him as he thanked her for finding the book. She didn't mind and she hadn't been doing much before he was interrupted her, just enjoying the library. "I see something that has potential on the top shelf there, but it's too high for either of us I think. Are we allowed to use spells like the levitation spell outside of class?" She asked wondering as that would be the only way they'd be able to get anymore books down, that last one was hard enough even with Flavio's help.

 

[Flavio Morales-Tipene]

Flavio nodded, agreeing with November that being in a castle certainly was different to being at home. The castle was much bigger and more spacious than Flavio's home would ever be. It only aided in making him feel more insignificant and overwhelmed in an already intimidating environment. He looked up to the book November mentioned before looking to the book in his hands that they'd already retrieved. The one on the shelf was higher than the previous book. Clearly more difficult to reach and especially so without the aid of spells. Flavio shrugged as November asked if they were allowed to use spells outside of class before he opened his mouth to say "It's okay. I like this book enough." to reassure her that he was happy with their find. The book wasn't exclusively about ducks but he was sure there would be some information about ducks in New Zealand in the pages. It was more useful than nothing and nothing was what Flavio already knew about the birds in this foreign, unusual country. Smiling as he looked from the book in his hands to November, he asked "Would you like to read this with me?". She was a nice enough person and though the Chilean was terrified of talking to people he did not know without the comforting presence of his older sister, he knew he needed to make friends sooner or later. Talking to someone who had been so helpful to him seemed like a good place to start.​

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[November Albertson]

November was already thinking about the differences between home and here, since she had first arrived in New Zealand with her Aunt a few months ago. She hadn't seen her family since getting here. It was lonely being without them and without the constant friendship of her twin sister. The castle was large and it had taken awhile to get used to the scale of it all and the moving stairs. Looking back up to the book she shrugged her shoulders she was glad Flavio was set on the book. She didn't want to look around for a ladder or a taller person to get the book. November wasn't the outgoing twin and it made her wonder why she was one of the two that was gifted with magical abilities. It didn't make any sense but the young girl was excited about going on this adventure and learning more about the world. "Sure!" November agreed happily. She hadn't read a book with another person before but this was one of the first people who continued to talk to her after just a few words so she wanted to keep up their friendship that she felt was developing.