Closed Eternal Minds

[Mazikeen Roe]

Mazikeen had found coming out to her parents to be a good thing. She had spent too much of the last semester worrying about what their reaction would be, but of course it had been fine, her parents being in a lesbian relationship themselves had been very supportive of Maze. She had the feeling they might’ve suspected something before she had said anything, but Maze was just happy to feel accepted, and her parents had been clear that all the changes in their family had no bearing on how they felt about her, she was still firmly their daughter, with everything that had been happening in her family, it was quite a relief. The teen had come back to school feeling far lighter and happier, she still wasn’t sure she wanted to tell anyone at school about it, she wasn’t sure she was ready for that, it would maybe take a little longer but she knew that if she rushed it, she might be left a little unhappy from it. The girl had been sat at a window sill on the fifth floor, the day had been supposed to be nice but some heavy rain had settled in, in the place for some nice summer weather. Maze was bored, and running out of care of magical creature books to re-read. It was then that she spotted Fleur heading in the other direction, ”Fleur!” the girl greeted warmly, and a little loudly, ”Whatcha up to?” she hoped she hadn’t caught the other girl at a bad time, but she was hopeful that maybe Fleur didn’t have anything to do and they could hang out again.​

 

[Fleur van Houten]

Fleur had been very surprised by the prefect's badge that had arrived for her over the break, but she was a bit pleased by it too. She wasn't entirely sure what she would do with the new responsibility, but was sure she would figure it out when it came to it. She was still as determined as ever to explore Hogwarts and its grounds, and the forest happened to be a part of that. Maybe she just had to be a bit sneakier about heading in there, though. She was wandering around on the lookout for her little brother. Their parents had sent her a letter, but had added some stuff for him to read as well. She didn't quite understand why they couldn't just have sent him his own letter, but had decided not to complain too much. They were way too proud of her for the prefect's badge, and Fleur wasn't going to ruin that. She hummed to herself as she rounded the corridor, but stopped as she heard her name be called. She turned, raising her hand in greeting as she spotted her friend Maze. The girl caught up with her, and Fleur grinned. "Not much, trying to find my little brother." She said with a small shrug. "But I'm pretty happy I found you instead, how have you been?"

 

[Mazikeen Roe]

Mazikeen smiled as the older girl made her way over, ”Oh! Is that a prefect badge!” she exclaimed, ”Wow congratulations Fleur!” the teen was happy for her friend having achieved this position, ”Does this mean if I ask if you want to go exploring in the forest you’ll say no and take points from me?” the Gryffindor asked her friend in an excited by joshing tone. She would understand Fleur deciding to no longer do things that might get her into trouble but she hoped that they could still just joke around about it. She’d never had any friends who were prefects, which made sense since only now were some of the people she was friendly with of age to maybe become one. ”You have a brother?” Mazikeen asked in surprise, ”I guess he’s not a Gryffindor then?” she was sure that if he was, she might’ve at least spotted Fleur with him. ”I’m good! It’s nice to go home, my cousin’s moved in with my parents and she’s a bit of a mess but it’s okay,” the girl admitted. Her sister was being homeschooled where Mazikeen was being sent to school. Her cousin was going through a lot and the decision had been made to stop her going to Hogwarts to be more hands on with it. ”How was your break? Did you go anywhere exciting?” the gryffindor asked with a curious expression.​

 

[Fleur van Houten]

Fleur laughed at Mazikeen's comment, she had almost forgotten she was wearing it. She was sure she would forget to pin it on her robes one of these days as well. "Thanks!" She said, glancing down at it. Then she smirked at the younger girl's question. "I'll only take points if you don't take me with you to explore the forest." She teased back. "I'm not planning on changing my ways. I mean, I'll try to be a bit of an example I guess." She paused. "I'll work on my table manners at meals? Do you think that counts?" She added, grinning. Fleur wasn't too worried about being a prefect. It was some extra responsibility, but she didn't think all that much would change. Mazikeen's surprise at Fleur having a brother made her realize she hadn't talked a lot about her family with the younger girl. It was strange, because she did feel very much at ease with her. They had probably been too focused on plans and adventures, not leaving room for personal stories. "I do, I have two sisters too but they're not here yet." She said, smiling. "And no, he's not a Gryffindor. He's a Ravenclaw and he's a second year." Fleur had been disappointed at first when Lars hadn't joined her in Gryffindor, but not really surprised. "Your cousin has moved in? Is she alright?" it seemed, likewise, that Fleur didn't know a lot about Maze's family either. Fleur nodded with a grin as Mazikeen asked about her break. "I finally got my parents to take us to the wildlife sanctuary, it was so great. I want to live there." She sighed, thinking back to all the amazing creatures she saw there. "I like Hogwarts, but sometimes I want to graduate so bad so I can do what I really want to do, you know?"

 

[Mazikeen Roe]

Mazikeen smiled easily, letting a little laugh through as at the very least Fleur was still good humoured. She wondered what it might be like to be a prefect, Maze knew that it was this year that they were picked for when they headed into fifth year, but she was pretty certain she wouldn’t get one, which honestly Mazikeen would be happy with. She nodded, ”I think so, working on table manners would mean everyone would see what a good example of how to eat properly is,” she joked back. She didn’t think prefects needed to be that much more responsible than anyone else, perhaps just more so in front of professors more so than students. She was surprised to hear that Fleur had three younger siblings, the brother, who by her saying Maze knew was a ravenclaw and two younger sisters. ”Wow, I didn’t realise you had so many siblings. How old are your sisters?” the Gryffindor asked her friend, she was now a little curious about maybe some of her other friends for who she also didn’t know much about their respective families. At the question she nodded, ”She’s fine, her parents are just a bit of a mess, having a pretty messy divorce,” The teen replied with a little shrug, Maze knew her parents were right to bring her cousin in, even if she felt a little threatened by it, since Maze was adopted and her cousin was technically blood related to one of her mums. But she focused on what Fleur was saying, and agreed in earnest, ”I went too! It was amazing!” she smiled excitedly, ”I love it so much there, I can’t wait to graduate so I can work there,”​

 

[Fleur van Houten]

Fleur was glad her friend had asked the question about the forest upfront, so she could quickly dismiss the idea. Fleur didn't want Maze to stop asking her on adventures because she thought Fleur was going to tell on her for doing things against the rules. She definitely still wanted to explore the forest with her friend. "Awesome. Then in exchange for setting a bad example with the forest, I'll set a good example with table manners." She declared with a grin. It was mostly a joke, as she knew no professor would think that was a good idea, but she was hoping to keep it light. Fleur wasn't sure if being in the forest was bad enough to lose a prefect's badge over, and she didn't really want to find out. It was nice to talk to Maze about her family, especially as she was missing them a bit after spending the break with them. Her sisters were growing so fast. "They are ten." She said with a smile. "They'll be coming to Hogwarts next year, crazy to think about. They're twins, so they're the same age." She added, as she realized that might be confusing without some context. "Oh, I'm sorry to hear that." She added as Maze explained why her cousin was living with her. "She must have been glad to have such a cool cousin to hang out with then." She added, nudging Maze slightly. It was great to hear she had gone to the sanctuary too, and Fleur beamed at her. "Wasn't it? Oh! We should go together next time!" She had basically dragged her parents and siblings this time, and it would be nice to go with someone as enthusiastic as she herself was. "I feel the exact same way, I don't know if I want to work there specifically yet... but something like it. I'd love to travel too, and do want to specialize in dragons... even if all creatures are wonderful." She sighed softly, wistful. "Do you think they'd need a dragonologist there?"

 

[Mazikeen Roe]

Mazikeen smiled at her friend, she had been a little concerned upon spotting the badge that it might bring an end to any fun that they could’ve had, either just in hanging out or in the forest. She liked Fleur and while they didn’t spend a whole host of time together, she would’ve still rather remain friends with her and continue as they always had rather than not. Maze just let herself smile, ”Good, there are still plenty of places in the forest we haven’t explored yet,” Mazikeen replied with a little smirk. She wouldn’t say no to another trip into the forest. However the conversation moved on to what Fleur was saying about her siblings. Twins, wow, that must be a lot. ”Wow, that’s exciting! Do you think they’ll end up with you in Gryffindor or with your brother in Ravenclaw?” Mazikeen asked, she was sure too that they might end up in the two other houses, but it was still worth it to ask a little bit about it. At the reference to her cousin she blushed, ”She certainly enjoyed her time with me, I’m always great company,” the teen joked lightly. Her and her cousin hadn’t really gotten along, but they hadn’t been around each other enough really. The teen agreed excitedly as they spoke about the sanctuary, ”Definitely!” she knew that Fleur liked dragons more than other creatures. She gave a little smile, ”I mean, working with dragons would be very very cool!” Maze said ”Maybe it would be possible to freelance a little, like you major in dragons and deal with dragons all over, while also working in the sanctuary?” the girl suggested, ”But I think they would probably need a dragonologist there yeah,” Mazikeen couldn’t see why they wouldn’t really.​

 

[Fleur van Houten]

Fleur was glad Maze was still on board for exploring the forest, and she nodded with enthusiasm. "Definitely! I heard rumors about Acromantula. But I also heard there's centaurs. Wouldn't it be awesome to talk to one?" Fleur grinned widely at the thought. Honestly, a part of her thought it would be pretty awesome to be one. Just living freely in the forest sounded like a dream sometimes. Especially when she was stuck in a stuffy classroom. Maze's question about her sister made her ponder. "I think Emma may be in Gryffindor with us." She said after a moment. "But Iris is more like Lars, perhaps she'll be in Ravenclaw?" She shrugged. "But they are always together, so maybe the hat would take that into account. I don't know." She hadn't really put a lot of thought into that yet, and was curious to see what it would be. Fleur laughed a bit as Maze said she was always great company, giving her friend a small nudge again. "True, I'd love to spend a break with you. I think it would be a ton of fun, and the adventures would be awesome." She said with a grin. She listened as Maze talked to her about working with dragons, really and truly appreciating how seriously her friend took her question. She was quiet for a moment, then nodded. "That's true, I would like to explore a bit before settling down but I do think the sanctuary is amazing. Like, working there would be a dream." She smiled, then put an arm around her friend's shoulders. "Thanks, you gave me some things to think about. And thanks for listening." Fleur had always known she wanted to work with dragons, but now that she was in her fifth year it felt time to make it a bit more specific. "So, do you want to be a magizoologist?" She asked her curiously.

 

[Mazikeen Roe]

Mazikeen laughed lightly at the rumours of the spiders, ”Aren’t those meant to be huge?” the teen wasn’t afraid of spiders but she couldn’t imagine that seeing a spider that would be as big as those could supposedly get to would be. The girl just nodded in agreement to the centaur part, ”Yes! It would be so cool to speak to a centaur!” Mazikeen hoped that she might, that they might if they went back into the forest would be able to interact with a centaur. She had questions, questions about the stars and about what it was like. She knew also that one needed to be respectful to them. The conversation moved to Fleur’s siblings and nodded along. She wondered if being twins mayne changed something about where certain kids ended up but perhaps it didn’t. ”I wonder yeah,” Maze smiled, she would look out for them in the sorting they’d be involved in. ​

​

Mazikeen just smiled and nodded, ”Any excuse to visit the sanctuary again, especially with a friend!” she had spent some time at it during the last break and she would happily spend some time at it again. She had never wanted to explore much, of course she would do so if her job required her and the odd holiday to new places would always be welcome, but she didn’t have the same plans as Fleur to explore. She felt her cheeks blush lightly as Fleur put her arm around her. She wasn’t particularly use to such close contact. Fleur was a good friend and while Mazikeen’s feelings were a bit all over the place as she discovered and let them run a little wild, but she liked Fleur and wanted to be the girl’s friend more than anything. When the question was asked of her she nodded, ”Yeah, I don’t have a specific animal in mind, but working with any of them would be good. It would just be such rewarding work you know?” Mazikeen smiled, ”I’d work in any sanctuary but I would really love to work at the one in New Zealand,” She would be willing to move for work, as she was sure a lot of people probably were.​

 

[Fleur van Houten]

Fleur nodded. "They are, they get really old and I don't think they ever stop growing, so the old ones are huge." She said, thinking back to what she had once read in a book about these creatures. Fleur had always been interested in all magical creatures, even the dangerous ones. "They're not the most friendly, but they can talk too. Isn't that fascinating? It would be cool to find one that's kind of nice, so you can talk to it." Fleur knew it wasn't a very realistic dream, but she thought it would be awesome to ask about a Arcomantula's life in the forest. She nodded with a grin as Mazikeen agreed that it would be cool to speak to a centaur. "We'll have to look for one." She said firmly. "Just not giving up until we find one, I know they're out there somewhere."

The girl was glad when Maze agreed to go to the sanctuary again, and she beamed at her. She dropped her arm from her shoulders. "Perhaps during the next holiday? That would be great fun." She said, smiling. Fleur liked summer, so she liked having an excuse to be in New Zealand during the Christmas holidays, at least for a day or two. She nodded when Mazikeen explained she would like to work with animals, in complete agreement. "It's so cool we both want to do that. I love all animals too, though I think working with dragons would be even more cool. I do think I would like to combine it a bit with different creatures too." She smiled. "Perhaps we'll be coworkers one day."

 

[Mazikeen Roe]

Mazikeen smiled excitedly, ”I wonder what kind of stories a giant spider would tell!” the girl couldn’t help but wonder as she considered the fact they could speak. She wondered at which point in the life of a giant spider they developed human speech and if it varied from country to country. Perhaps even if it varied between if they had or hadn’t spent time around wizards and witches. She had to think it would be wild if they did find one. She didn’t think there would be one in the forest here at Hogwarts New Zealand, but maybe there was! That would be so cool. Maze agreed more firmly with the centaurs too. That would be so amazing to meet one and to talk to them, though they too were dangerous and she would of course want to meet one of them on neutral turf. It would only be fair to. She nodded excitedly at the slightly firmer plans, ”Yeah!” the gryffindor agreed happily. ”That would be so much fun.” She would always want to spend time at the sanctuary and it would be good to spend the time with Fleur.​

​

”Plus it’ll be summer!” Maze added excitedly, the summer would be even better, it would be warm, hot and the sun would hopefully shine. As it moved on to what Maze wanted to do she smiled at her friend. She was glad that the prefect status hadn’t changed anything with Fleur and was quite happy that she’d run into her. Especially when they talked about being co-workers one day. She didn’t think that Fleur would end up exclusively in the sanctuary but any opportunity down that line to work with the other girl would be something she would happily welcome. ”It would be so cool to work there together! It would be like sneaking around in the forest with none of the sneaking,” since it would be fun and exciting for them, seeing the animals and having a good time. ”I wish we were in classes together! Especially care of magical creatures! That’s so the best class, isn’t it?” Mazikeen said.​

 

[Fleur van Houten]

Fleur grinned and then decided to pretend to be a giant spider. She put on a silly voice and made spider-like motions with her fingers. "Stories about eating young Gryffindor girlsssss." She said, then paused. "That's more a snake, but you get the idea." She said, dropping her hands to her side again. In truth, Fleur was very curious about what it would be like to meet a giant spider, but she also knew they were dangerous creatures that weren't to be messed with. It was more a cool idea in theory. Fleur nodded eagerly as Mazikeen said it would be fun, and then added that it would be summer. That did seem like the best time to visit the sanctuary, and Fleur felt excited at the idea. "That's awesome, let's do it!" She said, grinning. "Then we can also prepare for the future day when we are coworkers." She added, half-joking about that. She laughed at Mazikeen's comment and shrugged. "It would, but I also like the sneaking." She said with a grin. "We should do that too. For sure." She really liked Mazikeen, and wanted to spend a lot of time with the younger girl. It was good to see that feeling seemed to be mutual, as Maze said she wished they were in the same classes. "Me too, it's too bad we're not." She said, then laughed softly. "Maybe you can pretend you're older and sneak in sometime." She teased. "Actually, do you wanna hear stuff about fifth year Care of Magical Creatures? Or do you prefer for it to be a surprise?"

 

[Mazikeen Roe]

Mazikeen laughed lightly at Fleur actions. The teen could imagine that they were good story tellers though perhaps like Fleur had said were just a little less snake like in tone. ”That would be still a story,” she joked lightly. It would be pretty horrible but it wasn’t like those spiders weren’t immensely dangerous and thus if you ever got close to one you’d need to be very careful to not get eaten. She agreed with her friend about how it would be good and how they could of course prepare for working together in that place. ”I wonder if they have like part-time jobs like the shops do,” she didn’t think they did but oh how she would’ve loved to do that. Maze didn’t think she would want to do any other work, or work in a job that she couldn’t enjoy in the same. Perhaps also she was being a little too selective too, but her parents made enough money that she hadn’t ever had to worry. She could agree that she loved the sneaking about too, it was good fun. ”If I snuck into your class then I’d have to do the OWL work and that’s blehh,” Mazikeen grinned at her though, even though she definitely thought it would horrible to do OWL work early. ”But, tell me about it! That way I can prepare even better! I’ll get the best Care of Magical creatures grades in my year,”​

 

[Fleur van Houten]

"That's true, perhaps they would tell it before eating you." She joked easily about the spider. It would be a different story if she was actually in the dark forest and seeing a spider, she was sure she wouldn't be as flippant about it then. But it was all in good fun for now, and Fleur smiled easily. She sighed longingly as Maze talked about having a part time job at the sanctuary. "That would be incredible, but I doubt it..." She said a little sadly. "I think working at the Magical Menagerie would be almost as fun, though." She added with a small smile. "Or something similar." Fleur had always been drawn to animals, and that didn't seem to be changing. She laughed a little as Maze said she wouldn't want to be in her classes because of the OWL work, and that it was 'blehh'. "It is that, for sure." She said with a small chuckle. "But for Care of Magical Creatures it's definitely cool. In the first lesson we got to see unicorns, real ones." She said, excited just thinking back to it. "There were mature ones and little ones, and the older ones only liked girls so the boys didn't get to go near. They were beautiful." She said, a little wistful.

 

[Mazikeen Roe]

Mazikeen smiled at her friend and nodded in agreement, the menagerie was probably pretty close to working in the sanctuary only the sanctuary wouldn’t sell the animals, and she’d always be left to wonder if the creatures she sold went to actually good homes. Maze just wouldn’t know. She didn’t know if she would want to work in such a place or if she would be happier working elsewhere, as like a weekend or holiday job. Her parents made enough money that she didn’t need to do it, so it wasn’t something she’d really ever considered doing. The teen smiled when Fleur agreed that the OWLs were bleh, since they were. She was not envious of Fleur for being a fifth year and having to do them, even if they were also rather close for Mazikeen. She’d had to do them in the following year and she was not looking forward to it at all. She had managed to do quite well over the years to keep her grades consistent and good, but the OWLs would be harder than any other year she’d have to really work so much harder. But instead of even thinking about that she focused on what the other girl was telling her about what they did in Care of Magical creatures, ”Wow, that’s so cool,” the teen said, definitely something she could look forward to when she was in fifth year. ”Did you get to feed them?” Mazikeen said.​

 

[Fleur van Houten]

It was easy for Fleur to chat to Mazikeen about things because they had a lot of interests in common. The fact that they both wanted to do similar jobs after Hogwarts only seemed to bring them closer, at least from Fleur's perspective. It was pretty nice to be able to tell her younger friend about Care of Magical Creatures, as she didn't seem to be tired of Fleur babbling on about the subject yet. "It was really cool." She said with a grin. "And yes, we did. We go to feed them carrots. I swear, even the toughest boys had their hearts melted a bit by them." She said with a small laugh. Personally, she thought it was pretty silly that boys felt like they were too cool for cute things. No one was, in her opinion. What was the point in pretending? "Do you want to know more? About the other lessons?"

 

[Mazikeen Roe]

Mazikeen couldn’t help but marvel a little at the fact they would get to feed the unicorns. That would be amazing. She shook her head at what she asked, knowing that there were unicorns was enough to keep her eagerness for the class at bay. It was exciting for her. She was keen to be able to do the class but she could wait. Certainly she would be able to. ”No, it’s okay, shall we go get something to eat?” The gryffindor asked, she hadn’t been sure where Fleur had been going but perhaps it was be good to continue this conversation over something to eat. She liked Fleur and would enjoy any extra time that they could spend together. They had always gotten along and she always found it so easy to talk to Fleur, they just got along. The teen would be happy to spend a little additional time with her, if of course, the girl was free to. ​