Of Gryffindors and Ravenclaws [Bo]

Bo loved the library at Hogwarts. It was a place she spent most of free time--if not advancing her intellect, then certainly to avoid her peers. She was an anomaly in a sea of rather typical young witches and wizards. Everyone practiced their magic, learned new skills, prepared for their futures to the fullest extent. However, they also socialized with one another, and that was a skill that had sadly not been picked up by the young Ravenclaw. Bo had spent so much time growing up by herself, ignored by her mother, abandoned completely by her father, she had practically raised herself. It had taken years, but she finally managed to build a wall around herself, not seeing a need to connect with anyone else. With all this in mind, there was no wonder the quiet, secluded library was a favorite of hers.

Like any true Ravenclaw, Bo had finished her homework hours ago. She wasn't one to procrastinate, especially when it came to her studies. Her presence in the library was purely recreational. She could often be found here, holed up in a nice corner seat, nose in a book. It was how any of her few friends could get hold of her should they need her.

Today, she was feeling particularly lighthearted which was somewhat unusual for the sarcastic, pessimistic young woman. Bo had been perusing the shelves of the history section, looking for something with intrigue. Sadly, most of these volumes she had already read at least once, and no one, not even Isabeau herself, wanted to read about the Goblin Wars more than once. Once she had selected her choice, rather than wait until finding a seat to start reading, she opened the tattered old book and began scanning the pages. It was not unusual to see Bo fumbling through the library, bumping into a desk here or there while reading. She couldn't help herself, really. Reading, well, it was a passion.

Such a passion that she was completely unaware of another, much larger figure, coming towards her from another angle. Without warning, Bo felt herself running into something quite solid and moving at the same pace. With such a small frame to begin with, she knew she would be hitting the ground in a matter of seconds. Only, she didn't fall completely this time. Instead, about midway from the floor, Bo felt a strong hand catch her arm and pull her upright, steadying her on her feet. She was surprised and relieved at once. It wasn't until she heard a voice speaking to her that she looked upwards and saw a new face. The young man holding onto her arm was new to the school--odd since he was about her age and Bo knew everyone in her year. His accent was odd as well, clearly not from the United Kingdom at all. If she had to put a guess to it, Bo would definitely deem him from North America. A little far to be a student at Hogwarts, but it wasn't a topic she would broach.

Bo felt herself smile slightly as he bashfully blamed himself for the run in, and almost embarrassingly release her arm. Reaching down, she picked up her book and looked around at the other texts lying on the floor. Either he was incredibly studious and looking for a leg up in academia, or this newcomer was trying to catch up to his peers. "No need to apologize," Bo spoke softly, trying very hard not to let the Scottish rise up in her accent, "I had my nose ina' book, and to yer' credit, I am a little low to the ground." Breaking eye contact, Bo set her own book on the table next to them only to kneel down on the floor and begin gathering up the boy's materials. "Seems we've made a little bit of ah mess, doesn't it?"

Mentally, Bo was telling herself to stop blushing and get a grip. The heat on her skin burned her cheeks as she helped gather up spilled school supplies. She was definitely not used to this kind of reaction when running into people, especially men. Bo didn't really have the experience in talking with others for long periods of time, but small talk? She could do small talk quite easily without making much effort. She had watched her mother do it for years, and that woman could effortlessly talk about absolute nonsense and still make it sound like groundbreaking news. Refocusing herself on the situation at hand, Bo smiled again. "Aye, don't feel too bad 'bout it." She nodded towards the small stain of ink upon the library's floor, "My first year, Ah nearly took out tha' charms classroom my first year in school." Bo thought back to the memory, and had to laugh a little when she pictured her old charms professor's ash covered face staring at her in shock. Needless to say, she didn't really have a lot of volunteers for partners after that incident.

Bo relinquished the rest of the school supplies to him and watched as he set everything down. It must be difficult being the new kid, especially when you're from over the pond. Bo couldn't even begin to comprehend what it was like for the new boy to not only switch schools, but switch continents. The irony was that she was actually staying to have a conversation with him as opposed to shyly running off like she usually did.

Again, she scolded herself mentally for blushing, and she had to look away from him. For whatever reason, when he took the rest of his school supplies from her, all Bo could think about was his strong hands keeping her from slamming into the ground. The thought caused her to blush all over again. Persistent till the end, Bo managed to keep talking through her embarrassment. "It's nice ta' meet ya'" She took his hand gently, cursing herself for nearly melting to the ground given the size difference between the two. "I'm Isabeau, but most people jus' call me Bo."

Dropping his hand rather suddenly, Bo's eyes darted from looking into his to looking into her school bag. She took a step over to the table and set her bag down, digging through it. Wrapping her fingers around one of the two viles of ink, she placed it on the table with a triumphant smile. "Two questions fer ya', Zander. One, is there anythin' else I can help yeh with while yer orienting to a new school ? And two, what exactly is a hoser?"

Again, she could feel herself blushing, especially when he complimented her name. Her name had been the irrational choice of a high society-raised mother wanting some ecclectic given name for her only child. Again, everything usually came down to status for her mother whereas her father was just plain oblivious. The poor soul, he had no idea what he was getting his muggle-self into when he met his ex. Let alone that their romance would lead to a child. Still, every now and then having a different sounding name paid off. For example, when a cute Canadian boy complimented you on how beautiful it sounded.

Composing herself once again, Bo politely thanked him before averting her eyes to stare at the ground. "Well, the last thing we want is for you to get lost." She assured him, remembering how difficult it could be to navigate the halls of the castle. Especially when in either Ravenclaw or Gryffindor house. The two towers were on opposite ends, but both caused the students belonging to them to cross through numerous corridors and the ever annoying changing stairwells. "Getting lost wouldn't be all that bad, though," She assured him with a kind smile, "It took me almost a whole year to map out alternate routes to my common room just from the changing stairs alone." A small laugh exited from between her lips as she remembered her youth. That short (although it was hard to imagine her any shorter than she already was at barely five feet tall), braided haired, nose-in-a-book first year desperately trying to jump from shifting staircase to stationary corridor.

It was a thrill hearing him speak in his accent. Bo wasn't unaccustomed to accents. That was just part of going to a boarding school, and one of the most prominent in Europe. However, her father lived in the United States, and the few times she had spent with him she was surrounded by the crude sounding American accents, especially the New York accents where her father lived. Zander's accent was different from the Americans, and she was intrigued.

She was intently listening to how he pronounced his words, she almost missed his explanation of the word 'hoser'. When he tried a comparison, her eyes went bright and widened. "You mean like a prat!" Bo exclaimed a little too enthusiastically. Again, she averted her eyes, completely embarassed at her excitement, but Bo liked to learn new things. After all, her dream was to travel once she was out of school. "Sorry. That was...embarassing." She was thankful when Zander went right back to her first question and took her on with her offer. With a sigh of relief, she moved closer to the table.

"You're in luck!" She told him with a thoughtful smile, "Charms happens to be one of my best subjects, and I happen to always have time. Unless, of course I have quidditch practice, but I'm willing to work with schedules." Bo set her own bag down, placing the book she had been reading on top, letting the large dusty volume loom over the other objects surrounding it. She gave the book a nonchalant wave as Zander worried about interrupting her. "Oh, don't worry, that was just a bit of pleasure reading on the Goblin Wars." Realizing how utterly sad her pasttime life sounded, Bo glanced warily at the book and her smile began to fade, "Sadly, my life doesn't excell more than quidditch and school."

Bo couldn't stop the laugh that escaped from her when Zander looked up at her. He just looked so proud, like a little boy on Christmas who just received his first bike, and before she knew it she was laughing. There was that same look of determination in his eyes she knew she had when in a classroom of her peers. There was something to prove, something to be gained by doing everything correctly and with ease. It was astounding to see on someone else rather than herself. Bo's laughter only increased as the quill began spinning out of control, covering the desktop between them in ink. In one fluent motion, she got to her feet and pointed her wand at the quill, "Finite incantatum!" She called out in an authoritative tone, and watched as the quill dropped to the hardwood surface. Another flick of her wand and the mess of ink had disappeared as well.

"Alright," She breathed out while running her fingers through her hair, only pausing to unclip the small bits she had pulled back away from her face. She ran her fingers through once more to reunite both sections of hair and allow them to fall over her shoulders. Bo walked around to the other side of the table, her eyes fixated between the quill on the table and Zander's wand. She was determined at this point. "That was very good, but we need to make sure you're holding your wand firmly with the quill. Think of it like training an animal. You always have to remain firm with your instruction but also ease off enough so that the quill can move and write easily."

Without thinking, Bo placed her hand over his, closing his fingers tighter on his wand and moving his hand outward just a bit. She simultaneously spoke the enchantment while making the wand motion with his hand, holding steady towards the quill as she ended. She hadn't even realized how close she had pressed her body near his as she did so, she was too focused on the end result. "See? Now hold tight as you tell it what to write. When you're finished, simply flick your wand at it and the quill will stop."

A new smile now spread across her lips as her eyes trained on the object in front of them. Sometimes Bo completely forgot how much she enjoyed magic, and how wonderful it could be. She had the inane ability to get stuck in the details, her nose in a book, looking up the history behind something rather than enjoying the small pleasures performing magic actually brought. Not many sought her help, either, and perhaps after getting to know her even Zander will become wary of her, but for now Bo resigned herself to enjoy the moment.