My Only Comfort is Here. on Library

Maximilian Joshua McLachlan

April 10, 2012 11:26 PM

My Only Comfort is Here. by Maximilian Joshua McLachlan

Gathering his books and packing them into his bookbag, Josh was grateful that the Aladren dorm was within the library. It made his trips very easy and he didn't have to travel long ways through empty corridors especially later in the evening. Walking too long made thoughts begin to come to the surface, thoughts he wished to forget. He was all right when he was in the library. Even the library back at his previous school had been his home, more so than his common room. It would be the same here.

Josh exited the common room and stepped into the warm library. Books had always been his friend. At his grandmother's mansion, there had been a library where he would escape from the troubles of the world. He had been young then, but had taught himself to read at four years old. Seeing him read, his grandmother had finally decided to hire tutors for him, thinking he could be useful after all. Of course, tutors lasted only as long as his grandmother lived, which was until he was seven. Her sudden death had brought about the trouble of his placement. It had also ended his tutelage as none of his relatives were willing to spend their own money to tutor an orphan. An orphan whose parents had eloped, no question.

However, he had never liked the lighting of libraries, but he wasn't one to complain about something that trivial. Or about anything at all, really. He sat down at a small, empty table and pulled out a textbook. He began to work on his Charms and allowed himself to get lost in the complexity of some of this spells. Difficult, but his wand could handle it.

He placed his wand on the table; 13", red oak, phoenix feather. It was a handsome wand, so the wandmaker had told him. He had since learned that everyone lied and he had retracted his trust in fleeting compliments. Logic was the answer to everything. He flipped through his textbook to begin working on his essay, trying to find the pages to copy down notes.

Someone bumped into a chair across from him and Josh looked up. He had a cold look on his face then, slightly annoyed at being disturbed. The face looked innocent of cruel intent, however, and he relaxed slightly, though not allowing his guard to go down at all. "Can I help you?" he asked stiffly.

19 Maximilian Joshua McLachlan My Only Comfort is Here. 184 Maximilian Joshua McLachlan 1 5

Cepheus Princeton

April 11, 2012 11:21 AM

Must it be the library? by Cepheus Princeton

Cepheus was feeling tired. He hadn't slept very well the night before and had classes all day. As much as he enjoyed classes like DADA and Potions, he didn't enjoy sitting in classrooms working on things. Admittedly, it was much better than working with tutors. He had to go to the library, however, and work on his homework since the Crotalus common room was a bit too noisy for his concentration.

He entered the library and looked around, wanting to know if there was anyone he knew to sit with. An unfamiliar bloke caught his eye and he cocked his head to the side for a moment. He remembered seeing him along with the other first years getting sorted, but he looked much older than them. If Cepheus knew what a transfer student was, he would have assumed that right away, but he hadn't heard of such a person before. It had to be something to do with his family, he surmised. It would be interesting to talk to him.

Cepheus self-consciously walked over, deliberately not sitting with the bloke immediately. In walking purposefully across the library, his leg hit the chair, nudging it and making a loud noise as it skid a little across the floor. The older wizard certainly looked irritated. Cepheus had a somewhat innocent-looking face. He liked to say he looked almost like a cherub with bright blue eyes and blonde hair. His mother liked to say that, anyway.

"Can I help you?" the wizard asked, and Cepheus nodded.

"I was wondering if I could sit with you? The rest of the good tables are taken." The wizard didn't have to know what the good tables were. Ceph, as a second year, had decided which tables were the good ones which amounted to very few, but then again the boy didn't need to know that. "Cepheus Princeton, of the Surrey Princetons," he continued, sticking out his hand to shake.

40 Cepheus Princeton Must it be the library? 216 Cepheus Princeton 0 5

Josh McLachlan

April 12, 2012 1:08 PM

Yes. The library is a haven by Josh McLachlan

The name was familiar, and he knew of Surrey. Heard of it, at least. He shook the boy's outstretched hand briefly. "Joshua McLachlan." He paused after retracting his hand, wondering if he would really mind the company. Finally, he said, "Sit down if you must," and turned back to his work. After a few moments of writing in his careful penmanship, he looked up. "Is Surrey in Central England?" he asked, wondering if Princeton knew of his McLachlan relatives in Birmingham. They had been awful and he wouldn't wish them on anyone, but nevertheless, it was always good to know the areas to avoid in England.

Josh had lived in England himself for only six months before being moved to Australia. His uncle had been an absolute monster in the house. To society, he was well-kept, clean, a respectable gentleman; to his family, a violent, ill-tempered wizard and a chauvinistic husband. His uncle had almost come after him a couple times, but Josh was witty enough to get himself out of the situations and avoid them altogether. His aunt, however, was not so lucky. It was fortunate that it was his aunt that was his blood relative. Not so that she had married such a man. She had a heart, however, and she had carted him off as soon as she could. She had five children herself and though Josh would have been a help to her, he was more of a burden than anything to the family. They had all acknowledged that.

"My mother was a Princeton, you know," he said, just to hear it said out loud. His family never spoke of it. "Not related to you, of course. She was an American." It was an excuse as to why he had never seen this boy before. He knew of the Princetons and knew that his family knew them. In what context, he didn't care to know. He'd been out of the United Kingdom for a long time and out of that circle.

Wanting to get work done more than conversing, he looked down at his work again and began to copy down more notes for his essay. He wrote down the magical properties of the spells and began to wonder what sort of magic was needed in order to create spells. He put down his quill and turned to the index in his book and scanned the list of spells for fourth-year students. They were complex, but Josh wondered if he could invent a spell himself. His grey eyes traveled to his wand that was still sitting on the table and went back to his textbook. It would take time, he knew, and lots of practice, but he was certain he could do it. What kind of spell was another thing, and Josh put the thought away to think about at another time. These thoughts wouldn't help his current essay. He began writing notes again, his handwriting neat and scrupulous like his thoughts.

0 Josh McLachlan Yes. The library is a haven 0 Josh McLachlan 0 5

Cepheus

April 14, 2012 6:24 PM

Some haven this is. by Cepheus

Cepheus knew the name McLachlan; at least, his father knew of it. They were prominent in Scotland, so he knew. That much he could perceive from the surname. The question about Surrey surprised him. He knew people didn't know where it was in America, but if Joshua McLachlan was from Europe, he should've known, or at least have some idea. "No, it's in Southern England," he replied, his British accent coming out strong. He was proud of it; despite the fact that there were several international students here, he enjoyed being one of the few from England.

He sat down, assuming he was invited, and was beginning to unpack his things when Joshua said his mum was a Princeton. Cepheus froze. He hadn't known any Princetons were in America. Of course, he didn't think that the name Princeton could be a popular name. It didn't occur to him. For Cepheus, the only Princetons were those in his family. "Really?" he said curiously. "What was her name? Where was she from in the States?" He sounded a bit nosy, but Cepheus didn't mind right at the moment. He'd definitely have to ask his father about it. Princetons in America? It was blooming preposterous, and Cepheus relaxed. Still, he'd write home about it. Father would like to know.

Cepheus watched Joshua get back to his work and so followed suit. He did want to get work done which was the reason why he had come here at all. However, he couldn't concentrate on the spells he was trying to memorize. The name Princeton continued to ring through his brain, and he wondered what sort Joshua's mother had been. It made him wonder exactly how Joshua was related to the McLachlans, blood-wise. Was he a pureblood? It was difficult to tell, now. Perhaps Father would give him a clue.

0 Cepheus Some haven this is. 0 Cepheus 0 5

Josh McLachlan

April 15, 2012 4:26 PM

Obviously you don't know better by Josh McLachlan

Southern England. It didn't make a real difference where Surrey was. Every county on the little island called England was close enough together that the pure-bloods heard everything about everything. It was a mistake to ask. His Scottish accent gave his origin away, as did the lilt of Australian imbedded within it. Here in America, he stuck out like a sore thumb as did Princeton here. It was inevitable, but he liked America so far. It didn't hold good memories, but he was far enough from the "bad states" to make new ones here. A state was like being in another country, surely.

Princeton was too curious about his mother's origin. He knew he should have kept his mouth shut. Josh mentally chided himself, his expression darkening as Princeton asked questions. He looked up at Princeton, his grey eyes inscrutable. "That's none of your business," he said sharply, wishing he could take back his words. Instead he turned back to his work, slightly annoyed at himself. He was sure Princeton could perceive his irritated aura.

The story about his dead parents that had been fed to him went like this: Josh’s parents were two strong wizards and strong-headed as well. His father, however, was the better dueler and charmer and was superior to his wife. His uncle told him that Josh’s mother was jealous of him and though she didn’t know what branch of purebloods she had originated from, she was still very proud of her skills and was annoyed that a European could be better than her. She detested him for it and she wanted him dead. However, six months after Josh was born on the night of the attack, certain warnings and messages were not heeded and she was killed as well.

His grandmother had told him bits and pieces but kept the details out, adamantly claiming that she didn't know. It had been his uncle in Australia who told him the "full story," and he had believed it. Then the fiasco with her and her sister and dark magic at school happened and Josh had realized just how awful his uncle could be. When things were good, his uncle was nice, but when things were bad...

Josh knew there was much more to his parents' short, mysterious life together and the reason for their deaths, but it was all still very foggy. He had never searched his mother's background and family and had only one shabby photograph of her. Of course, living with his father's family, he'd heard nothing but good things about him before he'd gone and "wasted his life" in America. Carlisle McLachlan. The prodigy of magic, if there was such a thing. And his mother, powerful in magic as well, though none of his relatives would give her credit for it. Josh looked at his work, needing to orient himself once again to focus. He cleared his mind as if he was practicing Occlumency once again and allowed himself to be sucked into Charms once again.

0 Josh McLachlan Obviously you don't know better 0 Josh McLachlan 0 5

Cepheus

April 17, 2012 4:18 PM

Honestly, I don't really care. by Cepheus

Cepheus frowned at Joshua's harsh tone. He glared for a moment at him before deciding that the best revenge he could get on being snapped at for no reason was to write the letter to his father right in front of the older boy. Without his knowledge, of course.

"Fine," he said casually, and propped his book up in front of him as a sort of barrier before pulling out a piece of parchment fit to write a letter on and began to write a letter to his father. He thought for a moment of how to phrase it. His father expected updates on his schooling usually anyway. He never knew how to begin it, however. His father was a rough wizard, not a fan of endearments and small talk like his mother.

Dear Father,
I've recently met a McLachlan here at school. He's a fourth year transfer from Scotland, as perceived from his accent.

Cepheus paused and thought about what else he could write. Thinking quickly, he knew he'd have to get more information about the bloke without asking him directly. He would do some snooping around himself and find out. It would be easy enough, right? Cepheus packed up his things and stood up. "Thanks for letting me sit with you," he said, still casually and smoothly. He was hiding his mischievous thoughts behind an easy facade. "Aladren, right?" he guessed, assuming so because he seemed studious. "I'll see you around."

0 Cepheus Honestly, I don't really care. 0 Cepheus 0 5