Closed Reading

[Emily Hastings]

Emily was reading through her copy of the Vampire Chronicles, nestled in, in the student lounge. She had picked a nice couch near the fire, her shoes on the floor in front of her and her legs wrapped in a blanket. She was content, humming softly as she flipped through the pages. She had forgotten while she was away how cozy it could be here at school, if you were in the right places.

 

[Iris van Houten]

Iris had spend the morning with her sister, who was as energetic as usual. Now she was looking for some peace and quiet, and decided to curl up with a book in the student lounge. Walking all the way up to Ravenclaw tower was a bit too far, and Iris just wanted to read her book. It was something different than her usual books about divination, an adventure story she had borrowed from Lars. Iris found a spot near the fire and sat down in a comfortable chair. She smoothed down her skirt before opening her book, then scooted her chair a bit closer to the fire to warm up a bit after being outside all morning. There was another girl there, a Ravenclaw Iris vaguely recognized. Iris glanced at her, then glanced at the book the girl was reading. Curious, she decided to ask a question, even if it was a bit rude to interrupt someone´s reading. "Sorry to bother you, but that book... is it a book of true information or is it stories?" She asked her curiously. It didn't exactly look like a textbook about vampires, but it could be, she supposed.

 

[Emily Hastings]

Emily looked up when she heard a voice, smiling softly at the girl. "It's stories," she replied, tucking her hair behind her ear. She shut the book a bit, holding her spot with her finger. "It's a really compelling story about a vampire named Lestat," she drastically oversimplified, explaining it easily. "What do you have?" She asked, nodding to the book the other girl held.

 

[Iris van Houten]

Iris looked at the book curiosuly as the girl explained it was a story book. "I see. So I suppose you're not reading it for Defence Against the Dark Arts then." Iris said with a small smile. "At least I didn't interrupt any serious studying." She joked lightly. "Is it one story or multiple ones?" She asked, as the word 'chronicles' seemed to imply more than one to her. She then showed Emily her book, which suddenly seemed a bit childish in comparison. "It's an old book of my brother's, it's about these kids who travel to find a dragon egg." She said with a small shrug.

 

[Emily Hastings]

Emily chuckled. "I am not," she replied easily, looking to the girls book as she spoke. "That does sound interesting," she offered. "Have you read it before?" She asked. She was personally on her sixth re-reading of The Vampire Chronicles, but that was alright.

 

[Iris van Houten]

Iris wondered if this older girl was humoring her by saying her book sounded interesting. It felt a bit childish suddenly, but she wasn't going to admit that. "Oh, yes." She said when the girl asked her if she had read it before. "It's an old favorite of mine." She admitted with a smile. "There's something comforting about returning to a book like that, you know?" She wondered if the other girl felt the same way. "You're also in Ravenclaw, right?" She asked the girl. "I'm sure I've seen you around. I'm Iris."

 

[Emily Hastings]

Emily chuckled. "Oh, I completely understand. My mother sent me this during my first year here," she ran a thumb fondly over the cover. She looked up again as the girl introduced herself. Emily nodded, tucking her dark hair behind her ear. "Yes. I transferred out for a few years, but I came back. Emily Hastings," she looked at the girl a moment. "You're Iris van Houten, aren't you? One of Lars' sisters." Emily smiled knowingly. "I'm Lily Lockwood's cousin." she explained. She was close to Lily- though to be honest, everyone in the family was close to Lily. Lily was like the baby of the Lockwood clan, even if she wasn't the youngest.

 

[Iris van Houten]

Iris smiled when the older girl said she understood, even having a similar story to hers about her own book. That reassured her a bit. Iris nodded when the girl said she had transferred out for a few years, that would explain why Iris had the feeling she hadn't seen her around much. "Nice to meet you." She said when she introduced herself as Emily Hastings. She wanted to introduce herself as well, but it seemed like Emily already knew who she was. "Oh, I see." She said when she told her she was Lily's cousin. She knew Lily and Lars were close. "Well, then I suppose I don't have to introduce myself." She said. "Benefits of having a big family."

 

[Emily Hastings]

Emily chuckled, thinking a moment. "There are ups and downs," she spoke, looking to Iris with curiosity in her eyes. "Hey... do you want to trade books?" she asked. "I've found you can really tell a lot about a person by their favorite book," she smiled, thinking it was a grand idea.