Closed Frogs and Toads Around the World

Freddie Lagowski

professional posturer
 
Messages
705
OOC First Name
Clairey
Blood Status
Half Blood
Relationship Status
Too Young to Care
Wand
Curly 12 1/2 Inch Rigid Willow Wand with Fairy Wing Core
Age
11
There was a time, believe it or not, when Freddie hadn't been cool. It was but a brief period in his life, an inexplicable lapse in his character, if you will, no more than three months from beginning to end, probably preceded by a fever that hadn't fully come down. Nobody talked about it. They didn't dare. Not to his face, anyway. The mere mention of a frog was enough to set Freddie on edge, and he was edgy enough at the best of times.

It all began when he was seven. He was playing near his uncle's pond one afternoon when he discovered a family of frogs living amongst the lily-pads. On each subsequent visit to the pond that week, the frogs rose to the water's surface to greet him. Like most seven-year-olds, his imagination was easily excited by simple things, and he soon arrived at the conclusion he must be some sort of frog-whisperer. Nobody could prove that he wasn't and he spent the next few months telling everybody, in solemn detail, about his magical powers. The fantasy came to an end quite suddenly when one afternoon he leaned a little too far over the water and, losing his footing on the slippery bridge, found himself covered in frogspawn.

However brief this era had been, it alas continued to haunt him. His dear aunt Thalia, who liked to capture life's precious moments, had managed to snap a photo of Freddie holding a bullfrog. He was beaming ear to ear as he held it up to the camera. Dimples. Front teeth missing. He was, quite frankly, adorable. Which was why Thalia had submitted the photograph to the publishers of Frogs and Toads Around the World, who had thus immortalised it in the 2060 edition of their coveted annual*.

Freddie wasn't worried about that. The chances of anybody in the wide world connecting him to the gap-toothed boy in the photograph were probably zero. What did concern him was the way Susie had grinned when she'd seen him at breakfast that morning. There had been added to the library, she told him confidentially, a rather niche collection of annuals. They might interest him, she said. He might want to take a look, she said.

The chances of somebody at Hogwarts connecting him to the gap-toothed boy in the photograph were still fairly close to zero. But a fairly close to zero chance of his reputation being tarnished forever was enough to send him straight to the library, where he made a bee-line for the Care of Magical Creatures section. He paced up and down the shelves until - there. Thank Merlin. The stupid thing was just out of reach, but that was all right. It was as good as his now, anyway. All he needed to do was figure out how to get it down.

*Coveted amongst frog enthusiasts, at least.
 
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Meeting Ivara, you might think she was interested in frogs all her life - that it came down to a early infatuation. You'd be wrong. Frogs were just something in a long line of obsessions for Ivara that shifted as easily as a bough in the wind. Still, her passion couldn't be denied, whatever she had her sights on. She was therefore excited to see what books might be on the shelves at Hogwarts. As soon as physically able, she visited the library to look for new or even old familiar books. There was another boy there but she didn't pay him any attention - her focus was on one of the books in particular. Frogs and Toads Around the World was indeed a book Ivara wanted to get her hands on. In fact, that was an understatement. She needed it. Unfortunately, she wasn't the tallest. Still, Ivara got on her tippy-toes anyway to see if she could maybe coax it off the shelf, rudely stepping in front of the boy. The chances he was after the same book was slim, after all.
 
What the hell-? Freddie stepped back, not politely, but in sheer disbelief at what he saw. Disbelief that she could possibly want the exact book he had come to take away, and disbelief that she would step right in front of him to get it. Without thinking, or rather, thinking only of the irreparable damage about to be done to his reputation, he shouldered into her. Could he reach it if he climbed the bookcase? He didn’t want to try, but he didn’t have much choice - he had to be quick. Gritting his teeth, he mounted the lowest shelf. The 2060 annual was wedged in pretty tight between 2059 and 2061. He couldn’t get a good grip on it. He pulled, but it only slid out half an inch. Aargh.

(You have permission to godmod if Ivara wants to do anything to get Freddie out of the way!!)
 
((sorry this took me so long to get to!))

Ivara blinked, taken aback momentarily. Did he just shoulder her? Wait, and was this kid mounting the shelves? Seriously? She needed that book. He couldn't possible need it more than her. "Hey! That book's mine!" she called out, pushing him a little gently to try and nudge him out of the way without hurting him. It didn't do much, but she then tried to copy him and tried to climb up onto the lower shelf to get to the book. This was ridiculous. Who was this boy anyway?
 
"No it's not - it's a library book," said Freddie. He tried to push her off, but in letting go of the shelf, he lost his balance. Pain shot through his ankle as he landed awkwardly on his feet. Yeah, he wasn't doing that again. He watched the girl, wondering if she'd manage to grab it. "I just need it for one second. You can have it after."
 
Ivara knew he had a point but she wouldn't concede. She reached for the book, almost getting it, then felt a pang of guilt. The boy had fallen down after all. She grabbed the book, managed to get down, and then looked at the boy with concern. "Are you okay?" she asked gently, approaching him, her grip loosening on the book, making it an easy target to snatch off of her.
 
"I'm fine," Freddie said. It was just a sprain. OK, it hurt quite a lot, but he wasn't a baby. He snatched the book, spinning around. Which page? It had to be somewhere near the back - no way they'd put his stupid picture near the front. He swiped frantically through the North America section. No, no, no - where was it? Come on, why was this so hard?!
Still have permission to godmod if you need :'p he's not holding it tightly and his pic is definitely in there somewhere
 
Ivara frowned, a little upset that he'd taken advantage. "Hey!" she interjected as he took the book, and turned away from her. She approached so as to face him, and tried to take the book back by grabbing onto it and giving a tug. If this wasn't going to work, maybe a tackle was in order, she reasoned. "What's so - important - anyway?!" she asked between tugs.
 
Freddie tried to turn his back on her again, but she was holding onto the book, and he didn't want to give her a papercut. Maybe the photo wasn't even in here any more. Maybe they took it out. "Let go," he said. Her fingers were making it hard to turn the pages. "I have to find something." Oh, wait - he was right there! The picture was smaller than he remembered, and his hair was way different now, but it still looked like him. He roughly tore out the page, then shoved the annual at her, letting go whether she took it or not. "See?" he said. "Told you you could have it after."
 

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