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[Rion Pendleton]

Id-iot, Id-iot, Id-iot. Rion descended the staircase in a two-step rhythm, chanting internally as she went. She'd had one job. One job! Return Elvera's book. Or rather, return Professor Le Fey's book. She had promised her granddad she would do it for him first thing. There was no way she could forget; she had arranged her suitcase purposely so that it would be the first thing she saw when she opened it. But of course, she had forgotten. Flung aside in her excitement to unpack, the book had been lying under her bed for two days when she came across it completely by chance and bolted out of the common room with it clutched in both hands.

First she had tried Professor Le Fey's office. Finding it locked and getting no answer, she hurried down, down, down the tower, pausing to take directions from any other professors who had recently seen their colleague. These clues led her at last to the castle's entrance, where, across the puddle-streaked courtyard, she spotted Elvera. As their gazes met, Rion grinned and waved the book. No doubt the lady would remember her; but if somehow she did not, she was bound to recognise the book she had lent her granddad and put two and two together.

Rion knew not to run on wet stone. It was a mistake she had learned, forgotten, and learned again, at the expense of both ankles and a baby tooth. But in her eagerness to greet a familiar face, she sped up ever so slightly, and six paces later she learned a third time, at the expense of her hands and knees. The book somersaulted ahead of her, sustaining a dent to the spine before landing open on the dirty ground. The thought to retrieve it didn't cross her mind. She was still in shock, lying on the stones, her gritty, grazed hands starting to throb.

 

[Professor Elvera Le Fey]

It was the start of a new year, a new semester, a rainy day. elvera had got everything ready for her fourth years class and headed down to get some food. there was always a chatter at the start of the year as students and staff were catching up after their holidays. in her early years of teaching she would have avoided the hall at these times due to all the energy but she had a good control now and could enjoy her breakfast without getting snippets of thirty different holidays past and future. she had decided to take a wander outside it was a rather mild day for September and a little bit of fresh air would do her good. she had had a pleasant walk through the garden. collecting a couple of sprigs of rosemary and sage as she had passed the shrubs and stopped for a moment in the courtyard not wanting to give up on the smell of petrichor just yet. she saw the front doors open, and a young student, likely a first-year fly across the yard landing on her... she turned around just in time to see the doors open. and there was indeed a first year a book clutched in her arms running across the yard. their eyes met but before she could let out a word of warning the girl was stumbling and landing awkwardly on the flagstones. She moved forwards. "are you okay?" she asked crouching by the girl only then recognising her. "Rion. that was quite a stumble. you okay" she asked again.

 

[Rion Pendleton]

"I'm okay," Rion said, as the shock wore off and embarrassment set in. Just bruised. Cheeks aflame, she rose to her feet, wiping her hands on her robes. Oh, crap - the book. She hurried to pick it up, but it was too late; the open pages were soggy and clumped together, the text behind bleeding through the translucent paper.

Don't cry don't cry don't cry. Rion turned to Professor Le Fey and held the book out. "Um... my granddad said he really enjoyed it, and, thank you, and, sorry he spilled a tiny bit of tea on it but it came out and you can't really tell, and..." She had rehearsed her speech so many times, it came out before she realised how ridiculous it now sounded. "I might have completely ruined it. Can you fix this? Please say yes."

 

[Professor Elvera Le Fey]

Elvera saw the girl stand up and then rush over to her book. there was no denying that the book was wet, and muddy. "It's okay Rion. its a spell book. most of them nowadays are charmed to repell water and dirt" she said. it wasn't until the girl held it out to her that she realised which book it was. there in riots hands was one of the books from her grandmothers collection a journal from a witch four hundred years ago an ancestor of hers and her trials of getting magical properties from plants at a time when more exotic plants were introduced to Britain. not the original, that was still safe in the family tower, but one of only a couple of copies. and a book that was certainly older than the textbooks that were kept clean.
"I am glad that mon- your grandad enjoyed it. and I'm sure it won't be the first tea stain on one of my books, he probably did a better job than me at removing it" she said. then she looked at the book again. "it isn't ruined. a few charms and a night somewhere warm and it will be as good as new" she said hoping that she sounded convincing. she may have to give Stefan a visit. he was probably one of the best people in New Zealand for repairing damaged books. and she was well overdue paying him a visit.

 

[Rion Pendleton]

((Heck, Elvera's never going to lend Monty anything again XD))

Rion was sceptical; the book looked well beyond hope of being restored to its former condition. But she was willing to believe Professor Le Fey, for the sake of her own sensitive conscience, that it wasn't completely ruined. "He also wanted me to say that he wasn't trying to avoid seeing you because of the tea thing," she added sheepishly. "I volunteered to give it back for him. I'm so sorry." So much for trying to be helpful.

She looked at her palms, which were starting to bead red where the grazes were deepest. Considering her track record, it was lucky she didn't mind the sight of blood. She brushed her hands together to remove the grit and stuffed them in her pockets. "Are you going for a walk?" she asked. "Can I come with you?"

 

[Professor Elvera Le Fey]

Elvera shook her head slightly. "I would never think that your granddad is avoiding me just because he spilt tea on a book, if it was coffee on the other hand i would feel greatly betrayed" she said. before chuckling slightly trying to lift the mood with a slight joke. but it didn't really work. instead the girls sad face made elvera feel bad. "It's okay Rhion, accidents happen. and i am sure we will be able to get it as good as new, even better than it was before." she said.
she saw the girl examine her hands and then brush them off. she held out her own hand, "May i?" she asked reaching for her wand. Elvera had never been particularly good at wand work. but she had found healing magic one of her stronger branches, and she was confident that she would be able to heal a couple of small scrapes. she had done it often enough on her own daughters hands. "I was just out here to get some fresh air. but if you want to go for a walk that would be nice, where would you like to go? thinking that a walk would do her good. " she said

 

[Rion Pendleton]

Rion sensed Professor Le Fey was trying to make a joke, but it was difficult to laugh with the weight of the guilt on her chest. Still, her light demeanour eased Rion's conscience. The young Ravenclaw took her hands out of her pockets and presented them palms-up. "Thank you," she said. "Please can we go to the gardens? Yesterday, I was looking out the window, and I saw some flowers that I don't have in my journal yet, and I was wondering, can I pick some? Not a lot. Just a few. Maybe one of each?" She looked at Professor Le Fey pleadingly. "It's for a good cause."

 

[Professor Elvera Le Fey]

Elvera waved her hand over rions palms once to clean them off and once to heal the skin. she hadn't really been intending to go for a walk but it would be good for her. and Rion id seem pleased by the prospect. she nodded "yes. ooh we will have to see about the flowers. it is important that they are still there for others to enjoy. just give me a second before we go" she said once again getting her wand and waving it over the book. it vanished in its place a small pebble appeared which she put in her pocket. "okay. are you ready" she said standing up and turning towards the garden. "so how are you finding Hogwarts so far?" she asked as a way to make small talk as she walked.