If I Could Be Anywhere Else | open

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If someone had told Cori that she would be spending her summer in England, she would have laughed and walked away, perhaps pointing them in the direction of the nearest mental facility. She had never been out of the states, and she didn't plan on venturing out any time soon.
But then Ilvermorny was attacked. Cori was left without a job, and without her home for the majority of the year. It was saddening. It was infuriating. It was madness. Cori had half a mind to rejoin the aurors just to find the bastards who destroyed her beloved school and show them what true pain really felt like. Her methods in the task force had always been a little unorthodox, but no one ever said anything about it.

So then Hogwarts decided to allow the Ilvermorny students and faculty transfer and start the new school year in England. At first, Cori had been loathe to accept such a hand out, but it was her chance to discover what secrets lie in England, particularly at Hogwarts with all of the...interesting occurrences that had happened there over the past couple of years. Perhaps it was also her chance to do more studying on the elusive Elaine Dupree. But first, priorities.

She was in...Flourish and Blott's? Cori looked up at the sign again. Yes, Flourish and Blott's. She wandered amongst the many shelves of books, looking for something that could serve as a suitable textbook for her class in the coming year. She didn't need one, of course. Dueling came from the heart and from the mind. A book couldn't teach students to move fluidly with their opponents, or how to properly flick the wrist so that the spell always hit its mark. But a little supplemental reading couldn't hurt. But as of yet, she was having no luck. "Shit," she cursed under her breath as she put yet another book back on the shelf.

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A pleasant saunter amongst the elderly stacks of Flourish & Blott's was always a welcome distraction for Evie. Today, especially, as she sought a second replacement copy of one of her favorite old tomes. Of course, these old stacks did remind her greatly of her father's own collection -now hers and somewhat untouched- but it remained one of the few positive ties she had to that old bastard. Knowledge and imagination were precious commodities. 

She noticed someone in the aisle adjacent when they spoke up, cursing under their breath. Evie continued her casual pace along the aisle and then around the corner to see a pretty, younger thing looking a bit frustrated. On second glance, she did seem a little bit older than immediate perception, though she hid it well. 

Evie clicked her tongue in a kind of amused concern. "Not exactly a reaction I ever thought to hear within these walls..." She said, smiling and crossing her arms. "I don't work here, though I've spent enough time and money in this place to kill a moose. What perplexes you, miss...?"

@corvina

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Cori was getting nowhere fast. She picked up another book, Magical Me, and immediately put it down with a disgusted look on her face when she saw the cheesy smile of the subject on the front. She moved onto the next set of shelves, feeling even less sure that she would find something here. She looked up when she heard a voice nearby, and upon finding the source of the voice, she realized the other woman was speaking to her. Cori had to bite her tongue to keep from rolling her eyes. She wasn't exactly in the mood for small talk. Instead, she went back to sorting through books, her mission reenergized in an effort to avoid small talk. Merlin, how she hated small talk. But the other woman didn't leave, and Cori couldn't help but glance over at her and raise her eyebrow at the witch's bizarre phrasing? Kill a moose? What did that have to do with book shopping? Realizing that she wasn't going to be able to rid herself of the woman by ignoring her, she resigned herself to a conversation, putting down another book. "Weiss. Corvina Weiss. If you must know, I'm looking for a suitable textbook on dueling. I'm the dueling professor at Hogwarts for the coming year as my school is currently in ruins," she said flatly, picking up yet another book and thumbing through it.

@evie

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The woman seemed to try to ignore Evie's intrusion, though she did finally give in, introducing herself and her conundrum. Evie made a pleasant hum. "Corvina! That is a lovely name. I am Evie Garran." She said, her voice keeping smooth. "And...I take it, you transferred from Ilvermorny." Evie continued, "Sorry that had to be your ticket to England." 

Evie had her own thoughts on the Ilvermorny matter. Quite frankly, she thought the whole affair had been sloppy and childish. Ransacking was one thing, but why didn't they raze the place? Evie saw only weakness and a lack of conviction with how it had happened. Had she been there, the whole grounds would have been barely recognizable.  

"But, perhaps it is fortuitous that we met." Evie said, smiling. "I've read and own a few books on the subject, and while I tend to prefer live demonstration and instruction methods, there are advantages to having books around. Have you considered the Practical Defensive Magic and Its Use Against the Dark Arts set?" she asked. "I got mine when I was in school. Those books got me into the idea of joining the Dueling club back then."

Now that she thought about it... those books were given to her by her father. They were probably one of the few good gifts her father gave her at all. 

@corvina