i didn't mean it | oona

[yvonne rae de snaijer]

harsh.

SEPTEMBER 2024

The transfer from Ilvermorny to Hogwarts affected Yvonne the most out of the De Snaijer family. While they were starting the year fresh in a new wizarding school, the three girls were pulled out of Ilvermorny before the twin’s third year concluded, news of their parents death buzzing in the magical community and thus the move to London alongside their Grandmother commenced. From that day back in early May, Yvonne swore to herself that she’ll never become like her parents – Aurors. Cowards. Especially after finding out how her mother died in comparison to her father. He was killed in action. Her mother however? Sobbed until she was found. And then killed. It was gruesome imagery for a young fourteen year old to take in, especially considering the last time the elder twin saw her parents was her birthday alongside Yvette back in March.

Though after their private sorting which inevitably showed the two twins and even their elder sibling that they were separated once more, the De Snaijer expected nothing less of it. But what she wasn’t expecting was her fellow peers from Ilvermorny to soon follow after her, following the vandalism that crossed the American Wizarding School. In the middle of the new September week, Yvonne accompanied by dark robes with hints of green crossing over them found herself wandering the halls of Hogwarts, her understanding of this wizarding school far from an expertise level. She wanted to just get away from her sister, who was ready to scold her for being rude to a student with yellow robes who seemed like they wanted help. She didn’t want help. She truthfully wanted to be alone. And so, the stairs is where the brunette took to, unsure of how many floors she had climbed.

Crossing into another unknown hallway, hazel eyes mainly focusing on the ground – it took Yvonne a few moments to even register the pair of feet that had entered her view, as well as even register that the brunette bumped into that exact same person, dark blue strips upon their robes. The usual human being would apologise or even turn the other way, but Yvonne’s lips twisted into a scowl, before she barked: ”Watch where you’re going!”

@oona & hope this works!

NEVERLAND at ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0!

[Deleted]

Oona had welcomed the arrival of the Ilvermorny transfer students to Hogwarts. It wasn't just because they were a brand-new source of knowledge for her—something that she greatly enjoyed—but also because, over the summer, she had learned something positively mind-blowing: Her American cousins were actually witches like her, and their stepbrother, Jace, was a wizard. For a Muggle-born like her, who had assumed that all of her family was as non-magical as they came, the reveal—which had come to them purely by coincidence—had been a weight lifted from her shoulders that Oona hadn't ever realized that she had had in the first place. With a little bit more of her family, besides just her parents, she didn't have to hide that she was a witch who went off to Hogwarts rather than some random boarding school in Scotland.

That there were more people in the castle than there had ever been since she had started at Hogwarts wasn't a bother for Oona, who had kept up her usual habit of walking around with her eyes glued to the page of her latest read. This time, it was a book that one of her roommates, Priscilla Rosier, had suggested to her because of the historical preservation society that she had started earlier in the term. While Oona couldn't say that she was especially close to Priscilla—nor had she ever been—she was glad to have found a common interest with the other girl. This particular book was on the history of Hogsmeade, and it was one that Oona was almost positive that she had skimmed at some point before she had gone to the village for the first time in her third year.

It was much more interesting now that she had even more History of Magic under her belt. She could contextualize events that much more easily, and—truly—Oona had barely put the book down since she had started it. Any spare moment that she had, she had spent it reading, and going up and down the castle's many staircases was no exception to the rule, either. Should she have been paying closer attention to where she was walking in an unpredictable place like Hogwarts? Probably, but the book had her attention, instead, and she was generally good about maneuvering around people and things before she collided into them.

Generally. Oona was a mousy girl, and—while a bit taller than a mouse—she wasn't exactly one of the tallest students at Hogwarts. For the most part, she blended into the crowd in the corridors; it was in classes that she made her presence known, usually by shushing someone who was talking over their professor's lecture.

Or when she got called out by another student for walking into them accidentally. It wasn't the first time that it had ever happened, though, when the girl scolded her, Oona realized that she was an Ilvermorny transfer student—and one she hadn't run into (literally or simply figuratively) before.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Oona blurted out, her Irish accent evident as she slammed the book shut from the fright of their collision. Of course, she thought, hadn't the other girl seen her walking towards her with the book in her hands and thought to move out of the way before they bumped into one another? It didn't really matter anyway, she thought again; she would just continue walking at the place where she had stopped reading… except the book in her hands was shut.

Given that she hadn't bookmarked her place, she would have to flip all the way back to where she was reading. The longer she delayed, Oona knew, the harder it would be to recall where she had left off. Glancing back up at the girl she had run into and then back down again at her book, she paused. There weren't many reasons for a Slytherin—at least, not a non-prefect—to be on the fifth floor, unless the girl was planning to go to the Room of Requirement… or to find someone who was in Ravenclaw in their common room.

Although Oona wasn't a particularly helpful person in the sense of being altruistic, necessarily, she knew a lot about a lot of things—and that included how to get around Hogwarts. "Are you looking for something?" she asked the frowning girl, out of sheer Ravenclaw curiosity. "Someone?"

yvonne rae de snaijer

[yvonne rae de snaijer]

harsh.

The apology meant nothing to Yvonne, but the accent that left the other’s lips was something the American wasn’t expecting to hear. Most people around her had that strange…British or Scottish accent, filled with different words that the De Snaijer was used to – especially in reference to clothes or items. Dark eyes looked down at the book held in the girl’s arms before crossing back to meet her own gaze, her eyes cutting as she decided to look past her.

Tempted to continue her walking in the direction of her unplanned path, Yvonne turned at the sound of the girl speaking once more – her brow raised in her direction. Giving her a certain look as her eyes glanced up and down – noticing the blue colours in her robes, but not exactly remembering the House or the traits for it – her hands clasping together while her head cocked to the side, confused as to why the other was even speaking to her.

”Neither.” She began, straightening herself. ”I’m…Lost.” She admitted, in somewhat of a twisty lie. She knew that Hogwarts had Prefects who provided Detentions and knew she didn’t want to her Hogwarts experience to start off badly. ”I was just…Walking. And found myself here.” She stated with a shrug.

@oona

NEVERLAND at ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0!

[Deleted]

The girl said that she was looking for neither something nor someone; rather, she answered her, she was lost. She had just been walking, she added, and had found herself there. That kind of thing happened a lot, Oona knew. Sometimes even she was surprised by where she ended up if she walked around enough. There were shortcuts all throughout the castle, and Oona knew that she had no way of knowing where they all were. Some of them were behind portraits, while others were hidden by statues. It hadn't made much sense to her at first, since most people didn't have paintings that doubled as entrances in the Muggle world, but she had gotten used to it.

"I was just… walking," the girl shrugged. "And found myself here."

Oona nodded her head at the explanation. "It's easy to get lost around here, but this floor might be the most interesting," she informed the other girl. The Ravenclaw Common Room was probably the best part, but students of other Houses were generally kept out of it. There was also the Prefects' Bathroom, into which neither of them could go, although Oona knew that it, too, was supposed to be amazing.

The Room of Requirement, however, was also there. "Do you know about the Room of Requirement?" she asked the girl, who must have been in her year or the one below her. She hadn't seen the girl in any of her classes, so she assumed that it must have been the latter case.

yvonne rae de snaijer

[yvonne rae de snaijer]

harsh.

Hogwarts itself was a confusing place, filled with long hallways that led into other areas – areas Yvonne didn’t even know that it existed. While she was in fact an Ilvermorny transfer, she knew when the day struck that the American Wizarding School was deemed worthy to return to, all three De Snaijer children wouldn’t be returning. America simply wasn’t their home anymore. But as the clueless transfer she was, she knew it would be rather reckless to wander amongst the castle, noting that a Prefect could stop and hand a detention over at any moment but Yvonne knew she simply didn’t care.

It was strange though, especially when Oona mentioned that this floor was an interesting one. Each floor that Yvonne had wandered through had felt exactly the same, filled with classrooms, statues and an excessive amount of portraits. Yikes. ”How so?” She questioned, a brow raising while she crossed her arms. ”The room of…What?” She asked, a snort not too far from leaving her lips. ”Room of Requirement? That wasn’t mentioned during the Welcoming ceremony.”

@oona

NEVERLAND at ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0!

[Deleted]

"The room of… What?"

Oona almost laughed at the girl's reaction. She seemed to think that she had been tricked.

"Room of Requirement? That wasn’t mentioned during the Welcoming Ceremony."

The Room of Requirement wasn't something that was heavily advertised, probably considering that it could be just about anything for anyone—as long as what someone required was able to be created through transfiguration. Most commonly, it seemed to be used by others as a party venue. Personally, Oona saw that as the waste of a perfectly good room. If the room could turn into a massive library, for instance, filled with books, why would anyone want to use it for hosting parties? Then again, even that wasn't pointless. There were very few spaces in the castle where students from different Houses could congregate for very long—and not for a party, unless it involved the school's approval.

"It's not far from here," Oona stated matter-of-factly. "It used to be on the seventh floor, but—like most things at Hogwarts—I think it changes sometimes." Maybe it had gotten bored of being in the same place for so many years. Maybe someone had required it on that floor and hadn't moved it back. Maybe there were multiple versions of the room, just waiting to be discovered. That was a thought, and Oona sort of hoped that it was true.

Whatever the case was with the room, Oona knew precisely where to find it at the present time—not that it always showed up. The other girl must have thought that she was insane already for mentioning a seemingly non-existent room, but Oona knew better and would be happy to prove her wrong.

It would take some explanation, however. "The Room of Requirement," Oona continued, "is exactly what it sounds like." That was the case with most things; either the four founders or somebody else hadn't strayed too far from the point. "It's a room that gives you what you require. Most of the time, it doesn't show up. Only if you need it," Oona elaborated to the American girl, although her voice went slightly sour, "or if you want to have parties in there." Lily Potter usually invited the entire school to hers, so the place wasn't exactly a secret anymore.

"I don't think it shows up on any maps," Oona added thoughtfully. It was one of those places that a person had to know about. "But it's useful," she noted, not that by she would rely upon its existence. Was there any way of guaranteeing that the room would always reveal itself? She would have to take her chances, she supposed.

yvonne rae de snaijer

[yvonne rae de snaijer]

harsh.

The Room of Requirement seemed to be a place that could potentially be useful to Yvonne in the near future. A place of escape from her sister’s, her elder and even her younger twin. Ever since her parent’s death things took a turn for the De Snaijer. Her attitude worsened, her tone colder and even her facial expressions that were once easy to read like a book, closed and even folded in half. She was a complete different person. ”How do you even know these things?” She asked the other girl. If the room was easy to understand from the name itself, had she used it before? ”Have you been inside of it before?” The question still stood. How did she know so much? And why would someone want to have a party here?

It was nice that the Ravenclaw informed Yvonne on the room but the look on her face didn’t reflect that appreciation. Instead she remained quiet, her arms folded as she listened in concentration. ”Useful how? Does it literally provide you with a thing you need? Something you ultimately require?” Exhibit A: Her parents. Exhibit B: Her old life back.

@oona

NEVERLAND at ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0!

[Deleted]

"How do you even know these things?"

Well, for one thing, Oona considered herself to be intelligent—seeing as she was in Ravenclaw—and, for another, she had been at Hogwarts for years longer than the girl with whom she was speaking, whichever year she was in. Also, she did read a lot of books. There was no such thing as too many books, as Oona saw it, and a perfect example of that was what had led her into her conversation with this new girl in the first place.

There were books written specifically about Hogwarts, which were useful especially for someone who was Muggle-born like her and who didn't have any older relatives who had gone to Hogwarts whom she could have asked about the school. No, she had just had to ask around once she had gotten there. It was much easier to learn things, Oona had figured out, by taking that route. Even now, as a fifth-year, she was looking forward to what she could learn about magical history from someone like Priscilla Rosier.

"Have you been inside of it before?"

Oona nodded. "A better question might be who hasn't, really," at least by that point. Lily Potter had had one of her parties there as recently as Halloween, although Oona hadn't been in attendance. "From everything I've heard," not that she particularly cared—although it wasn't hard to overhear Priscilla gushing about things, since she did share a dormitory with her—"the parties are a bit…" To say that they were "eventful" was probably most accurate. They were what Oona guessed most parties that weren't made up solely of Ravenclaws were like. "Firewhisky and loud music and dancing." Not really her style, in other words.

"Useful how?" the Ilvermorny girl asked her. "Does it literally provide you with a thing you need? Something you ultimately require?"

"I've heard it can be just about anything, if you need it badly enough." Oona shrugged. "Gamp's Law still applies," she noted, "so that's no food, for example, unless you're bringing it in yourself." That was slightly frustrating, though Oona, like most people, just went to the Great Hall for meals. "I've used it for books, mostly, or for exam revision. But I've heard it can be used for toilets, even," Oona noted. That would probably be helpful to someone in a pinch.

yvonne rae de snaijer

[yvonne rae de snaijer]

harsh.

If Yvonne bothered to care about her surroundings, the traits of each house or generally anything about Hogwarts, she would’ve had some understanding to the other female’s blue stripes, with some knowledge that she was in fact in Ravenclaw. Know for their intelligence and the need for absolute knowledge. But to the De Snaijer, she saw everyone differently. Some people too kind, others too brave, some too nerdy while others…Like herself..Simply right. With a scoff, she listened to the girl’s responses, a brow rising on her forehead.

”Clearly I haven’t” She somewhat muttered, unfolding her arms as she mockingly laughed at the existence of such a thing. Parties were once a thing the young brunette also enjoyed but now refused to even attend many after the death of her parents. Considering the last time she had spent time with them was during her birthday. While it wasn’t exactly a party it was a grand celebration, nevertheless. But Yvonne felt her lips twitch and twist into a small smirk at the mention of Firewhiskey. It was one drink she used to sneak having a taste as a child in the home of the De Snaijer’s. ”Parties tend to suck.” She shrugged.

But learning things about the Room of Requirement seemed to interest the young De Snaijer just a tad bit. She explored the floor with no knowledge of where she walked and now she would be leaving with a lecture filled mind. How interesting. ”Huh.” The brunette muttered. ”One day I’ll actually care to give it a test drive.” She responded, a fake smile sitting on her lips.

@oona & she's bitter about life

NEVERLAND at ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0!

[Deleted]

The girl continued to sound highly skeptical of her and of the Room of Requirement, but Oona hardly cared. She knew that what she was saying was true and that the room existed. Besides, even if the Ilvermorny girl didn't believe her, she guessed that she would probably find out for herself at some point that it was real and that the girl who had told her about it—that was to say, Oona herself—hadn't been trying to trick her.

The one thing that they seemed to have in common with one another was that they both thought that parties were a waste of time. "Parties tend to suck," she shrugged her shoulders.

"I would rather be reading," Oona commented in response to that, smiling a little.

As she went on to explain the room and its possible uses further, the other girl seemed as though she might have been a little more interested in it, only to say something about how maybe she would care about it enough one day to test it out.

"When you do," Oona offered her, "walk past three times whilst thinking about what you need. And, if you can't remember that, just ask around for Oona."

yvonne rae de snaijer

[yvonne rae de snaijer]

harsh.

Knowing that her curiosity would eventually get the best of her, Yvonne ran a hand through her hair turning back and forth in front of the girl. Behind her was the stairs she had came from while in front of her stood not only the Oona girl but different doors in the hallway, with the ending wall filled with minimal decorations. She groaned softly, her hand covering her face as she thought — truthfully knowing that she wanted to explore the room today rather than wait.

Though, when Yvonne realised that the two had the same idea about parties, her hand moved and a smile cracked on her lips. ”They’re loud. Too many people and truthfully? A complete waste of time.” She shrugged, her lips returning to the thin line they once were.

Noticing that she was probably being…a bit of a jerk to someone she really didn’t know, Yvonne sighed and looked up at the girl with the blue striped robes. ”I’m…Sorry for coming off as rather harsh.” She muttered. ”Will it give me anything I require? Or are there certain…limitations?”

@oona

NEVERLAND at ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0!

[Deleted]

Oona was pleasantly surprised to hear the American girl call parties a waste of time. She had heard of people having anti-parties before—that was, parties to protest the idea of holding a party—which seemed to defeat the purpose of the "not having a party" aspect of it. The library was the closest thing she got to partying, Oona supposed, though she hoped that the Society for the Preservation of Magical Heritage that Priscilla had started would be a good way to get to know more about some of the people she had seen around Hogwarts for years.

The girl then sighed, telling her that she was sorry for coming off as harsh. Oona hadn't been too offended; she'd dealt with worse before, though most of the students who had bothered her in the past had left school or would be in a few months' time.

"Will it give me anything I require?" asked the girl. "Or are there certain… limitations?"

"Hm," Oona began. "'Anything' is a strong word. As I said, there's Gamp's Law…" Surely they had studied that in America, considering that it was basic Transfiguration. Still, there was a lot that even she couldn't say for certain. "I've never checked if I could get books from the Restricted Section," she mused, "but, now that I've mentioned it…" She turned her attention back to the girl in front of her. "Is there something you were thinking of doing?" she asked her, intrigued.

yvonne rae de snaijer

[yvonne rae de snaijer]

harsh.

Parties were one thing that while Yvonne had recently come to hate, there was one time in her life she truly enjoyed them. Valid, she was young and still had her baby teeth but her parents usually hosted parents for the strangest of things, aside from Christmas and Thanksgiving as a whole. But with her parents gone and her mood forever turned sour, parties were also a thing that would follow all the other hobbies, activities and things Yvonne once enjoyed. Things of the past.

”Gamp’s Law?” The brunette repeated, a brow raised in confusion. And this is where the line between actually paying attention in class and catching up on her lonesome became evident. While she did like reading books, she enjoyed reading them when they weren’t exactly needed for a class. But then the answers laid somewhere in her mind and as if a light switch had suddenly turned on, so did Yvonne’s realisation. ”Oh! … Gamp’s Law.” She added. Yvonne knew there were five different exceptions. Food and money were the ones she knew of, but there were a few other exceptions she had no clue of.

”Not entirely…” She trailed off, looking away from the Ravenclaw. ”Maybe I’ll think of a heap of books for myself. Since I’m sure the Room of Requirement can’t bring back a dead loved one.” She added, rather bluntly. But that’s just how Yvonne simply was.

@oona

NEVERLAND at ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0!

[Deleted]

"Gamp's Law?"

Oona was fully prepared to repeat herself. She probably could have lectured the girl on some of the most important aspects of Transfiguration, though she was relieved that she didn't have to once the girl realized what she had been talking about all that while.

"Oh! …Gamp's Law!"

That was kind of important, Oona thought, though she didn't call the girl out on it. She was, however, interested in knowing what the girl had she thought that she had been talking about.

The likely cause of the girl's distraction became apparent soon enough, however. She said that maybe she, too, would decide to use the room for some books, "Since I’m sure the Room of Requirement can’t bring back a dead loved one."

Dead loved ones weren't something to which Oona could relate, per se. She had known a few people who had died over the years since she had started attending Hogwarts, but the same could be said for nearly everyone who had been there for the same length of time. Death was one of those strange things that even magic had yet to solve. Ghosts, of course, were real, and they could pass on to Heaven or wherever they actually went. They couldn't be brought back from there, though, which was either a dilemma or a good thing. That didn't mean that people hadn't tried it from time to time—or tried to evade death entirely—but they hadn't solved bringing people back to life. It would probably happen in time; someone would eventually figure out how to make it happen. Until then, however, the dead were dead for good.

Oona waited a moment before speaking. "Who did you lose?" she asked, probably not as stunned by the revelation as most people outside of—well, most of magical Europe by that point would have been. Death was sad, sure, but it had happened enough—and to enough students like her, Muggle-born Ravenclaws—that the same sort of shock that even a Muggle would have had just… wasn't there. Death was a constant anymore.

yvonne rae de snaijer

[yvonne rae de snaijer]

harsh.

Transfiguration had always been a class Yvonne De Snaijer didn’t particularly enjoy. Back in Ilvermorny, she saw it simply as a class she knew she had to pass — in order to please her parents alongside Charms and Potions of course. While she knew of Gamp’s Law, the minute that it took for her mind to swim at the topic at hand showed how little the young fourth year really cared about her studies. What was the point anyway? Her dreams had died when her parents did so, refusing to become anything like them in contrast to what she wanted as a younger wizard.

With the question leaving the other female’s lips, Yvonne looked up from the area she peered at, blue eyes trailing to find the other girl’s. Wasn’t she somewhat surprised by the reveal? Most people generally were. Surprised that a girl, as young as Yvonne was could speak of death and killings so bluntly, as if it meant nothing. But from her parents death, the brunette realised how their un-brave acts before their death truly brought shame. Shaking her head to rid her mind from processing what the news had once blurted out, the Slytherin played with her fingers.

”My parents.” She muttered. ”Not that it mattered. Aurors usually tend to die faster than most of us.” She shrugged. ”What else does Gamp’s Law limit me to? No food, no money, no dead people…”

@oona

NEVERLAND at ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0!