Didnt See You There (Finley)

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Isaline was never sure of whether she loved or loathed being a member of the Ravenclaw house. She was fond of being seen as one of the most intelligent students in the school. Of course, she would have preferred to be THE most intelligent, but she had somewhat (not really) come to terms with the fact that sharing the title was better than not having it at all. The main annoyance that Ravenclaw provided its students with was an unconventional way of entering Ravenclaw Tower.

Despite being superior in topics such as charms and potions, Isaline had never been a fan of logic problems or puzzles, so imagine her disappointment when she was first informed that the only way to enter was by answering a riddle. Her first time hearing one of the riddles, she had stood outside of the tower, stranded for an hour and fifty two point seven minutes;she had been counting the seconds in her mind out of boredom. Her first choice of entertainment would have been watching males walk by and judging them on a scale of no-way-in-hell to what-a-fine-piece-of-man, but the only person she'd seen in those many minutes was the one who'd let her in. Counting the seconds was a final option of entertainment.

Today's riddle was one she had heard before, thank God. Perhaps the Eagle door knocker didn't have enough energy to irritate her properly today.
It had asked," What is the creature that walks on four legs in the morning, two legs at noon and three in the evening?" Isaline remembered the riddle from a muggle book she had read once. She may have been raised to keep her distance from muggles and muggleborns, but some muggle literature was too interesting to ignore.

This particular story was about a man who had tried to escape his fate. Isaline did not remember much about the story other than the fact that the main character failed miserably and ended up sleeping with his mother. She also remembered that he had answered the very same riddle that the knocker was asking. The riddle of the sphinx.

"Man," Isaline shrugged. When the door opened, the walked confidently into the common room.
"Take that, Eagle knocker!" she shouted, pretty sure that there was nobody else occupying the room. After a couple seconds of basking in her victory, she fixed her gaze on a figure that she had not seen.

There was someone in the room- a boy who seemed to be paying more attention to his books than to anything around him. Hopefully he had not seen her celebrating. Her blonde hair was now a mess and she was frozen in some awkard party position. Isaline fixed her posture and brushed her hair behind her shoulders with her hands. People were not supposed to see her in any light that may come off as embarrassing.

She decided that it may be a good idea to confirm that the boy had seen nothing. Once the Ravenclaw made her way over to him, she tried to keep a calm, professional demeanor.
"What are you reading?" she asked. She figured that he was studying, but the question was a good conversation starter. "Oh!" she laughed, realizing that this may have come off as quite forward."

"I am Isaline Charlot," she told him, extending a hand outward.

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It was a typical day for Finley, he had his books surrounding him, and he was slowly working his way through the different subjects, completing homework, and then checking he had the theory of each subject down to a tea. That was what Finley was good at, if anyone were to ask him, he was good at remembering a lot of information on the subjects they were given. He could recount it well, which was where he saved his grades over the years.

The only thing that worried Finley was the practical side, but, Finley knew he was capable, he would simply be working on that alone now.

However, Finley was not thinking about that in the moment, instead he was reading through his Transfiguration book more closely. Specifically, Finley was looking at human transfiguration and the complications of it. Mostly, this was revision, given that Finley was not an Animagus, but he found it interesting no less.

"Take that, Eagle knocker!"

The sound of a not-so happy voice made Finley glance up, taking in the witch who was not in the slightest bit happy. Though, his eyes moved back to the page a second later, because she seemed to have calmed down after the outburst.

The pros and cons of being an Animagus was where Finley had gotten to when the same witch spoke - this time closer to him - making him jump a little because he hadn't been concentrating on her movement. "Just a Tr-transfiguration book." Finley replied softly to her question, wondering (to himself) if this was some kind of test like many and more people in the school had tried on him before. If the subject wasn't to their taste... well, he hoped that the witch before him wasn't one of them.

"F-Finley Allen." He responded as she greeted him, taking her hand briefly to give it a shake, and then taking his hand away. Contact wasn't something he enjoyed, but some social norms, such as introductions, insisted upon the contact. "Nice to m-meet you." Finley added belatedly, a pause in the conversation ensuing for a moment as he looked around for a topic of conversation, before he motioned to the door.

"Giving y-you trouble?" He asked, wondering what the riddle had been for the girl before him.

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"Just a Tr-transfiguration book."

Isaline nodded. Transfiguration was not a topic that she found particularly interesting, but she had nothing against it. It was a fine subject for those who wanted to learn it. The art of turning one thing into another was a useful skill. The only useless class within the walls of Hogwarts was Care of Magical Creatures. There was no point in learning about different animals within the wizarding world. Sure some students found it to be loads of fun, but if the class was meant to be just for fun then it should not be required. Simple as that.

Releasing her hand quickly after he'd taken hold of it, the boy introduced himself as Finley Allen. The boy was not bad looking. He had a very good looking head of brown hair and his eyes were a deep shade of blue.
'Those eyes could melt a girl,' she thought.
For a moment, Isaline considered pursuing the boy. He would probably be an easy target, shy as he was. The problem was, perhaps the boy was too shy. He was polite enough, but boys such as he tended to prefer books to people. Something she'd also noticed was that the boy had a stutter. She began to wonder how the boy was able to properly cast spells if he could not speak correctly. Perhaps he practiced nonverbal magic. If this was true, he'd be a good wizard to have on team Isaline.

There was also the issue of whether or not this boy was pure. Isaline assumed that he wasn't, because most purebloods were more prominent in their introductions. But she couldn't know for sure.
In the end, she decided she would not pursue the boy. She would just have a friendly discussion.

"Giving y-you trouble?"

Of course the boy had noticed her outburst. It had been a silly dream to hope that he hadn't.
"Not at all," she responded, trying to hide the fact that this was one of the only times she'd gotten the riddle straight away.
"I was simply celebrating the fact that I knew the answer. Tell me, Finley, What is the creature that walks on four legs in the morning, two legs at noon and three in the evening?"

Maybe book-boy was also good with riddles.

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No comment followed on Finley's choice of book, which made the original question rather curious. If you were going to ask a question such as that the witch had asked, surely it would be to start a conversation. Not to simply nod at. Wasn't it? Finley thought this strange, but decided not to comment on it. That, he was sure, would have been rude of him, and Finley did not wish to be rude.

With the information that the witch hadn't had trouble, Finley gave a small smile. "Good." He responded, his voice soft, but warm with praise that he meant. It was always a relief when you got the riddles right, so Finley now understood the small outburst that had occurred a few moments before. Triumph was always fun to deal with like that.

Isaline asked him the riddle, and Finley couldn't help but grin when he heard it. "That is an e-easy one." Finley responded. "Man. It's f-from Oedipus the K-King." He explained, though whether Isaline knew the play, Finley didn't know.

"You c-can sit with me... if y-you want." Finley offered, really late in the conversation. Company would be nice, though, as awkward as Finley might be, he did at least try to be friendly with people. Though, normally, people did want to be friends with him because of the way he talked.

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When the boy knew the answer straight away, Isaline tried to contain her disappointment. She had been genuinely proud that she'd known the answer. Perhaps Finley only knew because he had read the book. That was the only reason she herself had known the answer, but at least if the two of them got the answer from the same place, there was no fight for mental dominance.

"Oedipus the King!" She lifted her hand in a sort of "Aha!" movement.
"I'd forgotten the title of the book," Isaline confessed. "It's been so long since I read it." Isaline wondered if the title even mattered. Wasn't the story the part that really mattered? No. Without titles, no-one would know who their superior was. But if all they looked at was the title, wouldnt they miss the story inside?

Discarding the mental feud with herself that had just begun, Isaline realized that she must have spaced out for a few seconds. Next thing she knew, the boy was offering her a seat. With a small smile of gratitude, she placed herself in a chair across from the boy.

"Is reading all you do, Finley?" She asked, raising an eyebrow slightly. She had seen some Ravenclaws who always had books in their hands. She knew that there were people who did nothing but read, but she did not picture Finley as one of those people. There was probably more to him.

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When the girl knew the play, Finley couldn't help but smile. Books - which is where plays came from - had always been his thing, he knew a lot about books, and having someone that shared the passion for books made him happy. Okay, he knew many didn't read as much, or as deeply as him, but it did lead to some exciting discussions with people you met.

If you could discuss, of course.

"It's o-okay. It's not w-well known. Or, it is, b-but people over look it." Finley explained when she spoke of the title. He was just glad that his new friend had heard of it, and that he didn't look like an idiot for quoting something she didn't know about. Though, of course, any third party would likely have not labelled him the idiot for knowing.

When asked about reading, Finley took a pause for a moment. Reading was his favourite thing to do. It always had been because it meant he could get away from being him. He could take on the persona of anyone in another world, and forget for a while. This answer, though, was boring and it took a few minutes of thought for Finley to come up with an answer for the witch before him.

"I l-like video games, but I c-can't play them here." Finley explained. Whilst technology was moving forward in the magical world, Hogwarts had not yet caught up completely. Not to mention his parents would never let him bring his console to the school. "But, I also l-like animals." The latter was added as an after thought, before Finley remembered something else.

"I s-studied to become an A-Animagus, too." He admitted sheepishly. It connected to the animals thing, and hopefully this would be something the girl before him found interesting.

"B-but, what about you?" Finley added, hoping she had a lot more to say than he did, because his list was both boring, and geeky, even to him.

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Isaline's eyes grew warm as she ran her hand through her blonde hair. "That's a shame," Isaline responded when the boy mentioned that Oedipus The King was well known, but overlooked. "What is the point of books if people aren't going to read them?" Isaline did not read much, but when she did, she found herself absorbed within the pages. This was one of the reasons why she did not read often. She was not a huge fan of the feelings that consumed her when she connected with a story on an emotional level. She didn't want her emotions to be that open, even to a story.

"Video games," she repeated. She was now positive that the boy was most likely muggleborn. She was sure that there were wizards who "gamed," but it was far more popular among muggles. If she was not mistaken, Isaline figured that it was probably one of their favourite past-times. She knew within this moment that she should not be talking to this boy, but it didn't seem to bother the young pureblood.

She already knew that mentally, she was far superior than most others. Perhaps this had to do with the fact that she was a pureblood. Perhaps it didn't. Throughout her entire life, she'd dodged muggleborns for no particular reason other than the fact that they didn't deserve her time. Finley seemed worth her time. If her parents knew she'd befriended one of his kind, though, she'd be a goner.

"Animals are good companions," She responded to what the boy said after declaring an interest in video games. Her tone of voice was now a bit more distant, though still friendly to an extent.
"I myself have an Angora cat. I do believe that learning about animals in settings such as Care of Magical Creatures class is useless, but I will spare you that rant."

Ending her statement with a shrug, Isaline was not prepared for the next comment.
"I s-studied to become an A-Animagus, too."
"Did you succeed?" she asked. If he had ended his studies early, what a shame that would be. Though regardless, Isaline was not sure that this boy was not a waste of time. Someone who studied animagi and had an interest of transfiguration could be of great use to her. This, she decided, was what she wuld tell her parents if they ever found out about this friendship.

"I am part of the royal family of Monaco," She responded when Finley asked about herself. "Though I will never be heir because I am not the eldest. I enjoy reading, as you know. I mainly study and plan my outfits for the next day." She sounded like a bore, she realized. What was she supposed to say?I like books, boys, and clothes?

'Am I really that generic?" she thought.

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The witches attitude to books made Finley nod along with enthusiasm. "I h-have often wondered." Finley responded thoughtfully to the question - he knew it was rhetorical, but it did make him wonder if books would become redundant one day, in place of technology, a paper version of a book would not be needed. Except to the avid bookworms such as himself, perhaps.

No conversation came from video games, which was okay with the Ravenclaw, he knew that they weren't everyone's cup of tea. Like reading, there were only a few who really understood. "N-not in a crazy way." Finley added, trying to redeem himself. He wasn't the kind to dress up as a video game character, or go completely nuts if he lost, he just enjoyed a game or two when he was at home.

"I h-have an owl, call Sp-Speedy. Though... I d-don't really use him." Finley explained when Isaline told him about her cat. Why he had gotten an owl in his first year, Finley would never know, but Speedy was useful, on the odd occasion, at least. "I like C-Care of Magical Creatures... Headmaster Jameson is q-quite good!" The prefect defended, hoping that he wasn't speaking out of turn. Even if Finley did think the man mad for giving him a prefect's badge, Finley still respected the man.

When asked if he succeeded, Finley gave a small nod, his cheeks flushing. "Only f-for short period of t-time. So far."

"The... the Royal F-Family?" Finley asked, shock setting in to his features as he looked at the girl before him. She didn't look like a royal... "You m-mean... like a pr-princess?" Finley asked, not believing the words were leaving his lips as he said them. Could he actually be talking to someone of that high a station? He knew Purebloods were well to do, but Royals? Finley had not heard of such things. The other things went over Finley's head, because he did not know how to process the royalty part yet.

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Isaline nodded knowingly when the boy responded to her statement about books and their titles. She hadn't expected a response to come from that philosophy, but she welcomed the one that she was given. She figured that this boy could have spent the entire day talking about books, as could she, but she wanted to know more about this boy. That kept the conversation rolling past literature.

"N-not in a crazy way." the boy had said when his enjoyment of video games sparked no conversation between the two. Isaline gave the boy a small note of not-noticeably forced laughter. She felt as though her lack of a response worried Finley. She did not want to discuss this topic because first of all, she had no interest in video games. Her choice of entertainment was not digital. Second of all, the fact that he enjoyed a muggle past time most likely meant that he was a muggleborn and Isaline was doing her best to escape the voices of her parents within her mind.

'mudblood filth' the words were ringing in her ears, spreading heat within the depths of her soul.

'A proper pureblood lady has no business speaking with those of such an upbringing'

Quickly, she dodged the subject and jumped to animals.

"Speedy is a nice name," she responded. She knew that owls were probably not of much use within the castle. There weren't very many letters to send. Her deep blue eyes rolled at his defense of Care of Magical Creatures.
"I have nothing against the teacher," she said, sounds of irritation crawling up her throat. "I just find the subject to be a useless waste of my time."

"Only f-for short period of t-time. So far."

The thing about the Allen boy that had really intrigued Isaline was the fact that he'd studied to be an Animagi. She herself had never thought much of animagi. She had no interest in becoming one. There was just something about looking into the eyes of someone who'd put in that much work to something. She wondered why he'd wanted to become one.

"How interesting," she remarked. "You must feel quite the rush, no? Being the you you've known your entire life for one second and then the next moment becoming something else."

Isaline wished that Finley hadn't lingered on her mentioning the Palace of Monaco. Yes, she was technically a royal. But no, she would most likely never be in the high position of her parents. She was simply a member of the family. Throughout her life, Isaline had focused on finding greatness elsewhere and she had done that. She was the smartest of her family (Alexande would argue this, but Isaline was sure she was the intellectual superior). She was the most desirable.

"As we mentioned before," Isaline began, hoping that bringing books back into the conversation may change it. "I do not linger on something like a title. I am a member of the royal family, yes, but I do not see that as defining me. What is a girl if the only thing people see is the greatness she inherited? I'd rather be amazing all on my own...and I am."

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"Well... I t-think that Care of M-Magical Creatures is great." Finley replied, giving a small shrug of his shoulders in that moment. Everyone had their own opinion on things, and Finley respected that, but he loved Care of Magical Creatures, and he was currently debating a career involving animals. Animals, for Finley, were much easier to deal with, so it would be a job he would be comfortable in, rather than one with a lot of human interaction.

"I b-bet you have lots of people t-to do that for you, in M-Monaco?" Finley added in respect of the idea of caring for animals. It was meant as a joke, Finley didn't believe people still had servants running around after them, but, truthfully, Finley was a little naive to the wider world and what people did.

"Oh, it's g-great!" Finley replied enthusiastically about being an Animagus. "You can d-do so much more! And, it's f-funny seeing the world through d-different ways. Like smells, a-and things." The boy explained excitedly, though he didn't give up what his Animagus form was, because he was quite sure Isaline would laugh at him. A puppy was not exactly the best of Animagus forms, but it was a lot of fun. "You don't f-forget yourself, though... Or, I h-haven't. You s-still have your mind."

By the time Isaline had finished her speech on how being from the Royal Family of Monaco did not define her, Finley's mouth was slightly agape at her. She was quite right in what she had said, but Finley couldn't help but feel like he had just had his eyes opened a lot. "That... is s-such a good way to look at t-things..." The Ravenclaw Prefect responded, thinking over the words again. "And, no, the r-royal family doesn't define y-you. But... it's i-important." Finley added, pausing for a moment before asking a serious question. "Sh-should I bow, or something, when I f-first address you?"

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» Ready, Aim... (Finley)
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