It's not the ghost I'm afraid of. (Alice)

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Leonore, as the quiet, studious Ravenclaw that she was, was in the mood to pay the library a visit.  She really liked to read, for one, and the quiet and solitude suited her.  It wasn't that Leonore was a loner, although she really did appear to be one with the way she went about with things.  She was very shy and introverted, mostly because she knew that she was such an embarrassment to the public eye.  That was why she kept mainly to herself.  Leonore wanted to play things safe by doing practically nothing.  If she didn't move around so much or interact with more people, then those were precious moments in which she could actually look pretty decent instead of a stammering klutz.

She was already used to encountering the ghost called Peeves.  Therefore, she was not afraid of him, but his barbing and mischievous attitude made her really uncomfortable--and annoyed.  Leonore dared not feel annoyed by anyone because she felt that people had the right to be annoyed by her, not the other way around; however, this time she actually did feel some heat when Peeves bugged her.  So far she hadn't acted upon that irritation, but one day she might just react curtly to him if she didn't have the capacity to snap yet.  Leonore could never imagine herself being curt, though.  Well, at least not yet, and that was probably the most she could do to express anger...unless something extremely horrendous happened to make her succumb to a tantrum...if that were possible. 

Luckily for her, though, as she was walking along the corridor of the fourth floor, Peeves wasn't in sight.  Leonore hoped that she would make it safely to the library without having to be disturbed by his presence.   

Tag: @alice
Note: Sorry, it's bad.

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The stress of seventh year N.E.W.T.s had yet to get to Alice Longbottom. But with the holidays quickly approaching, she figured she would soon start to feel that keen sting of overworked stress. She was currently walking along the fourth floor corridor on her way to the library to study for her Transfiguration class when her head began to fill with thoughts of the holidays...

Holidays at Longbottom Hill. Alice loved spending the time with her family, even if she couldn't admit it. Both of her parents were actually home during this time and not caught up at work at the Cauldron. They would all gather around the fire in the den by the tree and just talk to one another. Nothing in particular would be the subject, they would just ramble on and on about random topics until they were all full on cookies and milk and began to fall asleep in the chairs. It was usually at that point that Hannah would announce bed time. It was odd, but that was Alice's favorite part of the holidays. Not the presents, not the food, and certainly not the music but rather... just the time she got to spend with her family. While it was normally awkward with her brothers, on Christmas it never seemed as strained and that was something Alice was truly thankful for.

Alice was a little too preoccupied with her thoughts of the holidays when she unexpectedly bumped into someone as she was rounding the corner near the entrance to the library. As always, Alice's first reaction was to put on a look of annoyance at the person who had ran into her, even if it was Alice's fault. However as Alice's eyes scanned the person in front of her from the bottom up, she set sights on the black and blue robes... Ravenclaw. A look of disgust was added to Alice's mix of emotions on her face.

"You should really watch where you're going," she spat at the Ravenclaw girl.

@leonore

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If two people bumped into one another by accident and one of those people happened to be Leonore, then it's most likely the Ravenclaw's fault, not the other person.  Leonore was clumsy and prone to such accidental mishaps, and unfortunately it proved to be so when she walked into another human being.

Perhaps Leonore should be thankful that she hadn't found herself standing in front of Peeves, but now she thought that she'd rather be trying to hug Peeves when, after stepping back abruptly with wide eyes and a gasp to see who she had offended, she saw that she was staring at the pretty blonde-haired Alice Longbottom.  Alice, who had always seem to dislike her.  Leonore was not sure if she had done anything wrong to Alice on a personal level, but the girl had the right to dislike her, of course.  Leonore always made herself look dumb and obnoxiously clumsy--because she was, so she could totally understand if Alice felt disdainful toward her because of that.

She was immediately scared.  It was almost as if she had encountered her boggart.  Maybe Alice was her boggart? Okay, Leonore always wished she could be witty on a regular basis, not wait until she was in her nervous and panicky mode.  Normally she would've been distraught into bumping into just about any person, but because this was a person who was callous, not to mention was reacting with hostility, she wished she could turn herself into a pile of ashes.

Leonore looked stricken.  Her face was deep shade of red, colored from the embarrassment she felt.  One could tell by the expression of her face that she was truly horrified with the sin she had just committed.  "A-Alice!" she squeaked--well, squeak stammered.  "A-Alice...Alice, I-I am so, so sorry.  This is really all my fault, it really is.  Y-you're completely right, I-I s-should watch where I'm going.  I d-don't know why, but I keep on doing this a-almost a-all of the time.  I think i-it must be because I'm r-really weird...please, f-forgive me!" While she was stammering and rambling on in her perplexity, she was looking entreatingly at the other girl.  She could be begging Alice to spare her life for all people knew.  

Tag: @alice

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Leonore. Yes, Alice had ran into Leonore before. The girl was a known klutz, always running into things or falling or the like. It truly was no surprise that Alice ran into this girl, of all people. But the fact that she had to run into anyone at all? Much less a Ravenclaw... it really ticked Alice off. So she was ready to chew the poor girl out if need be. But with Alice, she never needed to get mad at people for simply running into her accidentally or breathing too close to her... she just did get mad. Alice had a bad temper, and this was universally known by the way Leonore began stammering apologies at Alice.

Leonore had never done anything to personally offend Alice, unless you count her being sorted into Ravenclaw. It was known by few that Alice did not like most of the Ravenclaws simply because they were sorted into Ravenclaw and she wasn't. Growing up, Alice's family had all praised her for her intelligence and raved about how she would certainly end up in Ravenclaw. Alice developed a love for the house before she even came to Hogwarts. But when she was sorted into Hufflepuff... well, a sort of "vendetta" against the ravens just kind of developed. That isn't to say Alice doesn't like her house. Alice loves Hufflepuff. After all, her mother was a badger herself. It just took Alice a few years to really love her house and understand what it meant to be a badger.

The Hufflepuff simply rolled her eyes at the Ravenclaw. Stammering and weak invididuals annoyed Alice, though she was usually quiet and kept to herself. It was a little hypocritical, but there was no hope in telling Alice Longbottom that. She surely wouldn't listen. Part of Alice wanted to shout at Leonore to have a backbone, for Merlin's sake. She was always cowering whenever Alice came around. Alice knew she wasn't a terribly mean person but the way Leonore always reacted to her when she entered a room made her feel like some evil being or something.

Alice let her face relax as she simply just slightly narrowed her eyes at Leonore. "You should have," she stated, agreeing with Leonore that she should have been watching where she was going. But then... Alice could have, too. If anything, Alice had some blame to claim as well, but she was much too proud for that. Alice stuck her nose up in the air slightly, appearing very condescending to Leonore. Alice often did this to those she thought were not as superior as she was and she felt she had some power over. In short, people like Leonore.

@leonore

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The funny thing was that while Alice felt like Leonore was treating her as if she were a monster, Leonore believed that Alice was in the right, and that she should bow down to the Hufflepuff.  Sure, she was afraid of Alice, but that was because she had too much cowardice in her than was usual.  She was the abnormal one, not Alice, so in her opinion, Alice shouldn't be branded as a monster.

Leonore quickly nodded her head in agreement when Alice said that she should have.  "Y-yes, of course."  Afterward, Alice didn't say much, much to Leonore's relief.  She had been afraid that the other girl would've started snarling and growling at her, but that just showed that she didn't know Alice all that well yet.  Leonore was too afraid to try to, though.  She just assumed that whoever was not peachy with her would start trying to murder her or something.

Yet, even though Alice hadn't said much, Leonore could tell that Alice still wasn't happy with her.  The look on her face, the way her eyes narrowed and her chin was lifted.  She was most likely judging Leonore, which was not new.  She was often judged, and with cause.  Who in their right mind wouldn't find her funny?

She glanced down guiltily at the floor.  The silence was eating at her.  She didn't mind if Alice was contemptuous; not at all.  The whole world should be.  But was she still upset over being bumped? That was what mattered to Leonore.  Swallowing, she summoned the bravery to ask.  It was nagging at her brain, too much for her to stay silent.  "Are...are you still angry?" she asked timidly, stealing a nervous glance upward to look at Alice's face.

Tag: @alice

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Why was this Ravenclaw so shy and weak? What had happened to her that made her so afraid to stick up for herself? Many Ravenclaws that got in Alice's way, she ignored completely, simply because if she started anything with them it would be a bit of an argument. They weren't as wavering as Leonore. Alice felt kind of bad for a moment as she looked Leonore over with a judging look. Her brow was furrowed at her as she did so. She wasn't looking at Alice and she seemed to almost be cowering from her. It was like she was looking at some poor puppy that had gotten into the cupboard or something. It made Alice... feel guilty. As she stammered some words out at Alice, Alice looked away from her for a moment.

Alice was not a kind person. Any Ravenclaw would particularly know that. She looked at the wall next to her, averting her eyes from Leonore as she thought for a moment. She bit her lip, trying not to feel the instant guilt that was chewing away at her conscience. Alice would never feel bad for talking that way to a Ravenclaw so... why did she feel bad for speaking like that to Leonore? As Alice kept looking up and down at the wall next to them, out of the corner of her eye, she saw Leonore sneak a glance up at her. Then she spoke again, timidly asking Alice if she was still mad.

The Hufflepuff rolled her eyes at Leonore as she folded her arms across her chest and turned her head to look at her again. She quickly realized that all of the anger and malice she was feeling five minutes ago was no longer present, but replaced with just minor annoyance. "No," she said, a little more harshly than she meant to. "I'm not mad anymore, just... watch where you are walking." Alice shrugged at her. She would have walked away righ then, but Alice wanted to to make sure that the poor girl wouldn't melt away into a puddle or something if she just left her there after the little fright Alice had just given her.

@leonore

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When Leonore looked at Alice, she saw that the Hufflepuff no longer looked angry.  Instead, Alice merely looked annoyed...somehow, Leonore could sense that the worst was over, and usually she was one who saw the worst in the slightest of situations that were not happy.  But she was actually relieved that Alice had been placated somewhat.  Normally one would be irritated at having someone roll their eyes at them, but she almost smiled when Alice did.  She'd take mere irritation any day now over sheer anger.  But, of course, smiling would just make it worse, and so she continued to look somber.

"I will, I really will," she agreed with Alice readily.  "I'm sorry that it happened, but from now on I'll...I'll really watch where I'm going.  I mean, I'll try my very best, but that shouldn't be an excuse to repeat myself.  I promise."  It seemed that all that was needed to be said between them had already been said, and she felt uncomfortable to continue standing in the presence of Alice Longbottom.  She was afraid that Alice would take it amiss if she pardoned herself, but then again, she wasn't sure what else she should say.  It was awkward.  She was sure that Alice didn't want to talk to her either, and that she was in Leonore's presence only because Leonore had bumped into her. 

"A-Alice...may...may I go now?" she asked.  Obviously, she found fault in what she said.  Oh no, she sounded too rude! That sounded sarcastic and as if she was suggesting that Alice was cruelly stopping her from leaving.  "What I mean is, I'm just going to, um, excuse myself and go to the library just to read! I hope you don't mind that! It's just, well, I like to read, and I'm in the mood to do so...I do like your company too, though, but..." Oh wow, how would Alice believe that? Why did she have to say that? Obviously Alice would know it was a lie and look down on Leonore even more.  What was wrong with her? Why couldn't she just sound normal like everyone else? Who panicked when they wanted to excuse themselves? Sometimes she wished she could just be brusque, but that was a far away dream.  Leonore sighed and slumped her shoulders, not really wanting to talk anymore lest she just say something utterly comical and idiotic.   

@alice

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The Ravenclaw began to mumble apologies again and Alice averted her eyes from her. It was annoying, hearing this girl babble apologies to her so easily like a little puppy. Alice wanted no more than to just have a go at this girl to make her really regret bumping into her but the girl was already so quiet and weak sounding that Alice couldn't bring herself to. She almost reminded Alice of... herself oddly enough. Alice shook her head at the thought and waved a hand in front of her to dismiss the Ravenclaw's apology. "It's fine, it's fine," she said a little harshly. She crossed her arms in front of her chest, again not looking at Leonore.

As Leonore began to babble on once more, Alice finally looked at her. Actually, Alice kind of stared at her in slight awe and confusion. She was actually asking Alice for permission to leave? This poor girl. She was so frightened by Alice that she felt she had to ask her for permission to leave. Alice felt kind of bad for a moment. Did some people really view her as some evil villain to be feared like Leonore? Alice's brow twitched and she bit her bottom lip as she looked away from Leonore again, really at a loss for words as to what to say to this girl.

Finally Alice looked up at Leonore. "Just go," she said, waving her hand again. "But... do me a favor?" Her tone still had a harsh vibe to it. "Next time this happens," she raised both of her eyebrows at Leonore, as if she knew this would likely happen again before Alice graduated at the end of the year. "Try to stand up for yourself more. Think you could do that, Ravenclaw?" She hissed at her, though she didn't really mean to. It just sort of happened. Alice really wanted this poor girl to grow a backbone. She didn't like that Leonore was so frightened of her the way she was.

@leonore