Miss DiAnna Diaz
November 09, 2011 9:48 AM
First years' library orientation by Miss DiAnna Diaz
Last year's pilot attempt at offering first year students a tour of the library had gone well, and so the library orientation was being repeated this year. First years had barely even started their classes, and so many of them had not yet had chance to visit the library. Instead of attending class following breakfast one morning, the first year students were required to meet in the library, at DiAnna's desk near the entrance from the main school (the entrance to the Aladren commons was also concealed within the library, but that would be one landmark she would keep quiet from the rest of the students).DiAnna herself was waiting to meet the students. Some of them - most notably the Aladrens - had probably seen her around already. Those who hadn't might not be prepared to discover their school librarian was a young woman of twenty-five years, who was perhaps the Muggle fairytale pictoral representation of a witch (minus the warts, of cause). DiAnna's long hair was dyed black, she always wore dark eye make-up, and further whitened her already pale skin. Her wardrobe was composed almost entirely of black, with occasional flashes of purple and red, and was largely made of velvet and lace. Her feet were encased in high-heeled boots, that helped to put her above the height of the younger students (though several of the older kids were still taller).
"Okay, everyone," DiAnna called attention to herself. She'd gotten a lot more confident with addressing large groups of people since she'd accidentally become divinations professor for the past couple of terms. She was, however, pleased to be returning to her original duties this year. "For those of you who don't know me, I'm Miss Diaz, the librarian. This morning we're just going to have a look round the library, because it can be quite daunting when you don't know what you're doing." her words were undoubtedly more or less identical to those she'd spoken to last year's group of first year students.
"Before we start, you should know that you can take out as many books as you like from the library, as long as you're being sensible. They need renewing after a week or they've been charmed to find their way back to the library." How they did this had never been very clear to DiAnna, but they somehow all ended up on her desk without the students' involvement. "Obviously, if you keep having overdue books, you'll be allowed to borrow fewer at one time than someone who returns books promptly, which could get you into trouble at the end of the year when you need to study for exams." It hadn't been a problem before, but it seemed fair to draw their attention to the potential scenario.
"That said, you can stay and study in the librry until ten minutes before curfew, and use any of the books without borrowing them. When you want to check a book out, just find me or one of the library monitors." That was something else she needed to explain. "The library monitors are student volunteers - the sign-up sheet will be going up next week," she pointed to the noticeboard, "and first years are welcome to sign up, too, as monitors or assistants." That was the basics covered; now for the books. "Okay, so if you could all stay together for the tour, that would be great."
Walking round with the first years, DiAnna showed them where they could find all their subject-relevant textbooks and some age-appropriate fiction. She also pointed out the restricted section, and made it very clear that students were not allowed to enter without staff permission. At the end of the tour, she addressed the group once more. "Okay, now you're free to have a look round properly, and if you want to come and check some books out, or if you have any questions, I'll be at my desk."
(OOC: Remember to stick to site rules when you post. You will earn House points for posting here, just as you would in a class.)
Subthreads: Music to my ears. by Ephanie Lucore with Elijah Errant, Ephanie
... by Angel Shield - Teppenpaw with Jade Owen, Angel, Angel
What a waste of time by Gareth Whitebriar - Crotalus with Meggie Brownbriar, Gareth
Getting oriented and acquainted. by Alicia Bauer with Thaddeus Pierce II, Aladren, Thad Pierce
Smiling and Nodding. by Cepheus Princeton with Waverly Canterbury, Waverly
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Miss DiAnna Diaz
First years' library orientation
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Miss DiAnna Diaz
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Gareth Whitebriar - Crotalus
November 12, 2011 7:25 PM
What a waste of time by Gareth Whitebriar - Crotalus
While it was nice to get out of classes for the morning the reason was still mind numbingly boring. Really, what child didn’t know how to use a library? And even if they didn’t know, that’s what the librarian was for. I could have been exploring the gardens Gareth thought wistfully as he entered the library and found the group of waiting first years.His blue eyes widened a bit as he stared at the woman who was supposedly their librarian. She didn’t look like anyone who’d held that title Gareth had ever known. In fact, she didn’t look like any of the adult female’s he’d known. His nose crinkled in distaste at the excess makeup the woman wore. It was rather tacky. Gareth understood that ladies wore makeup, but really that was far too much to be considered decent. That and wearing all black just made her look too pale.
The library was of a good size, not as large as the Blackbriar ancestral library but it had enough selection to be beneficial for school work research. While Gareth wasn’t the most studious of children, he had been blessed, or cursed with very strict tutors. Because of this he was familiar with libraries and navigating them so he followed along with the other students giving her tour very little attention.
Once they were finally released to freely explore the library Gareth turned his back on the strange woman glad that he wouldn’t likely need her assistance in the coming years. Not terribly interested in exploring the stacks Gareth looked around for someone who appeared equally board to spend the remainder of the allotted time with.
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Gareth Whitebriar - Crotalus
What a waste of time
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Gareth Whitebriar - Crotalus
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Meggie Brownbriar
November 14, 2011 3:49 PM
I had to leave my room for this? by Meggie Brownbriar
Meggie put her light blonde hair up in it’s normal proper style the morning of their Orientation in the Library. Her blue eyes shone behind her glasses with a slight sheen of tears as she thought of her mother. A picture of the woman, Crystin Brownbriar was stuck in a corner of her mirror and daily eleven year old Meggie looked at it. She missed her mother more than anything and anyone in the world. Her mother was her best friend, her confidante, her other half of the diabolical pair.But now she was gone.
The clicking of the hands of her mother’s watch on her golden chain resonated through her body almost like it was her mother and the baby’s heartbeat and Meggie lived off of that beat.
In any case, that morning she, Gareth and the other first years would have Orientation at the Library so she had to forge through anything she was thinking. Besides, Gareth was her cousin and he knew her, that was better than nothing, she knew that. She turned away from the mirror and walked out the door and down to the Library.
She walked into the Library and met the other first years at the desk and waited to see what they would be doing. The Librarian DiAnna Diaz was young with long black hair, dark eye makeup and pale skin. She was wearing all dark colors and on her feet was a pair of high heeled boots. If Meggie was easily intimidated by others the woman may have scared her, but thankfully Meggie was not easily scared. The Librarian introduced herself, telling them what they would be doing that morning and the new Teppenpaw looked around at the other first years as she spoke on and on about Library rules and whatnot. Megan Aaliyah Brownbriar listened just as she should as the woman spoke, but a lot of it went in one ear and out the other as she looked around at the other kids like Gareth.
Speaking of Gareth, she spotted her cousin across the desk area from her and the Brownbriar girl shuffled along the others to make it to her Whitebriar cousin and stood by his side. She knew that he was bored, she could tell by the look in his eyes. They’d both been in much bigger libraries than this one so they were very familiar with how to find things so she sort of lagged behind with him paying almost no attention to it all. She looked to her cousin when the tour was over and whispered to him, “What was the point in that?”
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Meggie Brownbriar
I had to leave my room for this?
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Meggie Brownbriar
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Gareth
November 15, 2011 10:58 PM
It is a chance to catch up by Gareth
He hadn’t had a chance to talk to Meggie sense the carriage ride, so at least catching up with her would help pass the time. “Hmm, I suppose it is for the same reason that we have flying lessons. Perhaps the muggleborns don’t have libraries?” He pondered. It was possible, clearly they didn’t have brooms which lead to the assumption that they could be lacking in many other things as well. Perhaps sometime he would ask, but that could wait for a different day.As the only two attending Sonora at the moment Gareth felt responsible for Meggie. It was his duty to make sure everything was going well for his cousin and that she was settling in properly. He’d been so focused on his own sorting that he hadn’t caught which house Meggie made it into, though he knew she wasn’t a Crotalus. “Which house did you get? Are you settling in well with your roommates?” Gareth questioned.
Sharing a room was something quite new, and even with the numerous children of the Brownbriar branch he was sure they didn’t have to share. “I made Crotalus, and thankfully only have to share with one bloke. Cepheus is a fine roommate so far, I doubt we’ll have any trouble getting along.” Gareth stated.
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Gareth
It is a chance to catch up
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Gareth
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Meggie
November 29, 2011 7:16 PM
Can we catch a Quaffle instead? by Meggie
“Yes… I guess so.” Meggie answered her cousin. “Though where do they get their books to read then if they haven’t any libraries?” She asked him. Megan shrugged her shoulders. “Oh well. It doesn’t really matter anyway.” she added to Gareth before he would have a chance to speak himself.Which house did you get? Are you settling in with your roommates? Gareth asked her.
"Oh." she said. "I'm a Teppenpaw." she paused to decide how to put her time there at Sonora to him like a proper young lady. She didn't feel proper and didn't want to be for that matter. Ever since her mother had passed away she hadn't wanted to act like a young lady. She'd much rather spend her spare time roughing it up with the boys. If only her father would LET her! Meggie wanted nothing more than to fly and play Quidditch like the boys could do. But her father had expressly forbade her to go and do anything of the sort.
It made her mad.
Instead of thinking about that mess, she turned her thoughts back to what Gareth had asked her. She was sure that he noticed her pause, but she tried to fake a smile to show that she'd just been thinking of classes and whatnot and not how it felt to be a girl who wanted to do things like the boys. To be a girl without a mother to show her the right way for her to be a lady didn't help the situation.
"Oh yes, things are fine in my room. I have only one roommate. Her name is Morana. She seems alright so far. I mean to say, we haven't had any trouble..." she added before she actually looked into Gareth's eyes to try to read what he was thinking.
"What about you?" she asked him.
I made Crotalus and thankfully I only have to share with one bloke. Cepheus is a fine roommate so far. I doubt we'll have any trouble getting along.
"Great!" Meggie went on. "So what's it like in Crotalus? Who's your favorite teacher? Class? Are you going out for Quidditch?" she threw question after question at her cousin for many different reasons.
Firstly, she wanted to take the focus off herself. Secondly she wanted to be sure he (if he noticed) forgot her pause altogether. Thirdly, because she really wanted to know. She waited patiently for her answers standing there watching her cousin.
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Meggie
Can we catch a Quaffle instead?
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Meggie
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Gareth
December 01, 2011 10:45 PM
You know that’s not allowed by Gareth
His cousin’s sudden barrage of questions made Gareth chuckle. “Hold on a moment Meggs! Let me answer the first question before you ask ten more.” He said, smiling to take the sting out of the words. “Crotalus isn’t bad at all, the rooms are smaller than home, and of course we have to share but it isn’t too terrible. My housemates are mostly Purebloods so that’s great, although we do have a girl as our Quidditch Captain.” His voice made it clear exactly what he thought of that little fact, but being on the team was expected of him, so he would do his best to keep his opinion on the matter to himself.“I wouldn’t say I have a favorite teacher yet, but the DADA class is pretty good, and potions.” Gareth said as he gave her questions some thought. Getting use to having a Professor for each subject instead of a tutor who taught all the subjects took as much time to get accustomed to as the fact that he was learning with other students and not just his brother. It was different, but not necessarily in a bad way. He’d found that having a professor for each subject lent itself well to them being experts on their chosen subjects. With the tutors they knew each subject of course, but they knew some better than others. It was pleasant to deal with people who had in depth knowledge about each subject.
“Of course, there’s an open beaters position and an open chaser. Those are the ones I’m best at so it shouldn’t be too difficult to get one of them.” He said, finding the question somewhat odd considering that the males of the families always played. Even if they are completely unsuited for it they still attempt to make the team Gareth thought. There were times when he wished Quidditch wasn’t such a strong tradition in the family. Had he the choice he would have preferred to keep his feet on the ground. At least my fear of heights doesn’t really affect my ability to play He thought, and he wasn’t bad, on the contrary he was fairly skilled at both beating and chasing. It simply wasn’t something he enjoyed much.
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Gareth
You know that’s not allowed
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Gareth
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Meggie
December 04, 2011 1:54 AM
I know... And I'm not happy about it! by Meggie
Meggie had sent a barrage of questions at Gareth and it looked like it had done its magic. It didn't seem to her that he'd caught her pause, though if he did he didn't show it. He chuckled, called her Meggs (which was his endearing nickname for her) and told her to hold on a moment. She nodded to him and waited for him to answer her first question about Crotalus house. He told her about the size of the rooms, the fact that there were mostly purebloods in his house, how the Quidditch Captain of their team was a girl.Megan Brownbriar knew exactly what her cousin thought about that, but she thought the exact opposite. "A girl? Really? Well then why can't I play!" she said, interrupting him. She felt bad about it for a second, but then she really wanted her question answered. "I mean really, if she can do it, why can't I?" she said, pausing. "And don't tell me because the Briar brothers say so. What's the big deal, anyway!?" she asked him. She wanted to bring him back to reality. The Brownbriar girl wanted her opinions known too. She was better than people could make her out to be and she knew it.
He went on, almost like he was ignoring her. Meggie knew his thought on it, but he was a boy! There was a difference in her mind from the Whitebriar branch and the Brownbriar branch. It wasn't all because she was a girl and he a boy though either. Meggie had a feeling that at least one of her siblings agreed with her, though she wasn't positive on that fact. Gareth went on to tell her that he didn't have a favorite teacher yet, but that he liked Defense Against the Dark Arts and Potions. She knew that he was reflecting on how his tutors differed from the teachers there at school, but she didn't care. Her thoughts were running away with her and it was then that she knew it.
A part of her wanted to try out for the Teppenpaw team anyway, even though her father had forbade it.
He went on to talk about the Crotalus Quidditch team having an open Chaser and Beater position and she nodded in a faraway fashion. The eleven year old wished that she could be Seeker. It was a dream of hers which she knew if she wanted to stay a Brownbriar she needed to ignore.
She hated that.
"Great!" Meggie said with a fake enthusiasm which she'd been perfecting as of late. Meggie knew that Gareth hated flight. His little fear of heights was something she'd discovered months before, but she'd said it to nobody and wasn't planning on giving his little secret away. It seemed to her that the pair should just switch completely! She wanted to play and he didn't, what was the matter with that?
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Meggie
I know... And I'm not happy about it!
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Meggie
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Gareth
December 07, 2011 11:08 PM
You don’t have to be happy, just behaved by Gareth
Gareth’s eyes flashed when Meggs started to rant about why it wasn’t fair that she couldn’t play. The unhealthy obsession his cousin had for unladylike things wasn’t unknown to him and Gareth refused to dignify her angry words with a reply. Instead he continued answering her prior questions and hoped she’d just let it drop. Just as the males of the line were required to play or at least attempt to make the team the females were not, that was how things had always been and to break tradition had its consequences.Her ‘Great’ sounded quite forced and Gareth could tell she was still brooding about not being permitted to play. Why would she want to play anyway? It’s dangerous and as a girl she’s far more likely to get hurt. He just couldn’t understand her thought process. If he could he would avoid playing but here she was still upset that she wasn’t allowed to play. After the fiasco with Nydia Redbriar joining her house team and how willful she became Gareth didn’t know why any of the other girls would want to follow in her footsteps. Especially in light of her premature demise.
It was very tempting to just let it go, and pretend like Meggs little outburst hadn’t happened, but as the only male of the family at school it was his duty to look after her and make sure she didn’t do anything foolish. Reaching out, Gareth grabbed Meggie’s wrist and tugged her deeper into the library so they could talk without being overheard. “Look Meggs, I know you’re feeling rebellious but don’t do anything stupid alright? I’d hate to see you end up like Nydia, not that Uncle Wyn will react so harshly but you know he’ll pull you out of school and leave you to tend the babies until you get your head on straight. Is that what you want?” He asked harshly. Though the words were not kind, they held worry for her.
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Gareth
You don’t have to be happy, just behaved
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Gareth
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Meggie
December 26, 2011 3:40 PM
Why? by Meggie
Meggie saw Gareth's eyes flash when she started her rant, but she didn't stop. Why should she stop doing something because she knew he didn't like it? She was a woman of her own, wasn't she? He ignored her ranting though, which sort of made her mad. Why is he making my feelings out to be nothing more than pure stupidity? she wondered angrily. Instead he went on answering her other questions. She replied to him in her fake glee at his chance of Beater or Chaser for Crotalus and wondered without really caring, if he'd noticed. Why couldn't she play? Nydia had done it, sure, she'd been sent away from the Redbriar line for doing it, but she was good. The Teppenpaw couldn't figure out why she couldn't play, after all, she knew that her cousin was good at it and she was a girl!Out of nowhere Gareth reached out and grabbed her wrist. He tugged her deeper into the Library and spoke in an almost angry tone. He was harsh with his words and all she could do was glare at him. "Look Gareth, it's different for you. You don't know how it feels to be where I am, to feel what I feel, remember what I had..." she started, pulling her mouth into a tight circle.
"Yes, I'm feeling rebellious. What else can I do? I have no Momma anymore to teach me to be a lady. What have I got? You? Come on Gareth, you're a boy! You get to do all the fun things in life. What do I get? That's right, take care of the babies. You're the girl Meggie. It's all up to you... You're the one they look to, you're the one they go to. It shouldn't be me Gareth! It should be Momma!" she finished, breathing deeply and hammering her hands down on the nearby desk.
Finally it was all out... Her feelings were all out there like dirty laundry right in the middle of the Library.
Now what?
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Meggie
Why?
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Meggie
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Gareth
January 13, 2012 4:02 PM
Because that is your duty by Gareth
“Enough.” He said sternly. They were new to the school, and it was their duty to show these Americans that the Whitebriar, and Brownbriar lines were worth a place here, that it would be good to make connections with them. That would never happen if Meggs didn’t keep quiet about her family’s private matters. Some things just weren’t spoken about in public. In fact he probably shouldn’t have brought up Nydia. While it was likely no one in America had heard of the eldest Redbriar’s shame, and her suspicious death, it wouldn’t do to risk it. They had to present a strong face to the other Pureblood families and not reveal such weakness. That was the whole point of coming here, and Grandfather would be angry if they messed it up.“Look, I know things haven’t been easy for you. But you have to keep it together Meghan.” He rarely ever used her real name, and using it now just underlined how serious he was about this. “We have a duty to our families to prosper here and not make a spectacle of ourselves. Obviously I can’t teach you how to be a girl but Megs, there’s plenty of proper girls in this school, just watch what they do.” He said with exasperation. It didn’t seem too hard from his point of view, just be polite and don’t do things that clearly weren’t lady like, such as Quidditch.
He gave her another stern look, clearly trying to mimic their older cousins when one of the littles got too far out of line. While he wasn’t sure how successful the look was, he hoped it got the point across. Uncle Wyn wasn’t terribly strict with his children, Gareth knew, perhaps that had been a mistake. Merlin, keeping her in line is going to be so troublesome.
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Gareth
Because that is your duty
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Gareth
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