magic is just magical

“i’m sure they would move if you asked them nicely. there are window seats all over the library. if it is where your most comfortable i’m sure they would understand.”

“do you know how ridiculous it sounds to ask someone to give up a seat?  i was hoping she’d get the hint after i stood there glaring at her.  these children are getting spiteful.  and bold.”

     “right.” she hesitantly agreed. evelyn was one of the few people at hogwarts to not get too annoyed by lockhart’s arrogance. a part of her secretly wished that she had even the slightest bit of his confidence. “oh, well, maybe they will move.” until she realized that the seat she was using could very well be the one he was talking about. “or do you mean this seat?”

“oh, no.  not at all.  my seat is the one on the other side, close to the window.  very cushy.  some third-year is in it and wouldn’t take the hint.  rude, if you ask me. “

“ — NAH, i already know i’m lame. ”

“that’s a rather defeatist attitude then.”

     “you tend to have an effect of scaring women?” evelyn raised her brow in concern. he didn’t seem all that scary when he was in the light, but before in the shadows his figure looked quite menacing. “are you looking for something in particular?”  

“not specifically women.  my presence just seems to startle people.  i guess they’re just surprised to see me — i am a sight to behold, aren’t i?”  he shook his head, chuckling.  “just browsing, mostly.  waiting it out.  someone stole my seat, you see?”

“Yeah, I don’t know. I like facts. I like knowing that what I’m learning can actually be used someday, but I’ve to admit History of Magic is boring.”

“facts are just things someone else decided to be true.  anything could be a fact.”

“Hey…” He said with a small grin. “I like all three of those things. Those are probably my top three favorite things…well…that and animals.” He said with a little scrunch of his nose. 

“that’s my point.  they’re all very important.  you’ve gotta prioritize, mate.”

                maybe she’d heard him wrong. her brow folding curiously, sucking at her teeth as she returned to her questioning of the portrait.   ❛    &&.  gildy,  … .   of course.    ❜   she agreed, giving his arm a light pat in hopes of soothing his pride, which in that moment, was all too present.   ❛    he wants to help question all the portraits about what they saw too, isn’t that right ?   ❜   eyebrows rising in silent question as she turned to look at him, looking for confirmation that   ‘ of course ‘   he was interested the most dull part of any investigation. canvassing. or in this case, casting a wide enough net to hopefully pick something up. 

is that why they had come here?  intriguing.  truth be told, he had only been half listening when she declared where they’d be going.  “of course! i—”  he nearly told the portrait that this had been his idea  ( a reflex, truly )  but he was moderately aware of the fact that rita would probably skin him alive, right here and now.  “—i couldn’t think of a more productive way to solve this mystery.”

“ — ugh. lame. ”

“i want to see you write a book on top of all your n.e.w.t.-level classes.  then we’ll see who the lame one is.”

   it was late at night in the castle. evelyn had decided to take her discreet place in the corner of the library instead of going back to her dormitory. one of the girls she shared the room with had gotten back together with her ex ( whom she had broken up with four times prior to this ) and had kindly asked that the others find somewhere to spend their time for the next few hours. they were probably done now, but evelyn wasn’t taking her chances. instead, she chose to finish her copy of the great gatsby. she had thought she was the only one in the library until someone’s figure caught her attention. “oh gosh!” she exclaimed almost leeping out of her skin. “i didn’t see you there— almost gave me a heart attack!”

“my apologies,” he said, though truthfully he hadn’t even noticed the girl there.  he was just roaming around the library.  his favorite seat  ( near the window, it had the best cushion )  had been taken, so he had decided to wait it out until the offender left.  “i suppose i tend to have that effect on people.”  his fingers danced along the spines of a couple books, feigning interest.  ooh, herbology.  perhaps no longer feigned. 

❛   … . and what is  your  opinion ? overwhelmingly positive ?   ❜   a silent laugh splitting his expression with a wide smile, the emotion spreading to his eyes before fading just as quickly.   ❛   i’m sure we can agree the first step to success is self confidence.   ❜

“my opinion of myself?  of course it is.”  gilderoy smirked, arching an eyebrow at matthias.  “self-confidence is but one of many areas in which i excel.”

She felt her face grow hot and cleared her throat to clear her head. “ —- umm, right of course. Though what kind of dangerous creatures have you fought and found?” she wondered what he could mean, they were still students after all.

“i’ve seen my fair share of creatures in the forbidden forest — but i wouldn’t want to frighten you or anything.”

“Why has it got to have a use besides you liking it though, that’s my question. Just because you are talented in something doesn’t mean it’ll make your life complete. I mean, if that was true, I feel like no kids here would ever have sex and would just do underground duels for a living.”

“amadeus, you silly boy.  if i pursued every subject i was good at, i wouldn’t have time to breathe.  or play quidditch, or eat, or anything else i enjoy.”

a simple roll of the eyes was not nearly enough to properly display her disdain. “And why is that, Lockhart?”

“well, we’re not supposed to be alone.  ever.  which is a terrible invasion of privacy, don’t you think?  anyway, i don’t see anyone else around.  and i don’t particularly feel like losing points for my house today.  do you?”

“A silly one.” THe brunette teased lightly. He leaned back as he listened to the other, folding his arms as he thought about it. “But shouldn’t you take all the joy in life? Do what you love? I mean….that’s why I do care of magical creatures and quidditch. Everything else is great fun too, but why not be passionate about something.”

“i enjoyed divination a lot — and i was very good at it, if i do say so myself — but i could never figure out what use i might have for it after hogwarts.  i’ve got plenty of other talents to follow up on, though.”

“Wait–so you just toped doing the work because you think she doesn’t like you because you are too good?” He said before snorting lightly. “Why wouldn’t you just prove that you are that good rather than giving in?”

“no, of course not.  what kind of student do you take me for?”  he was indignant, although the boy hadn’t been entirely wrong.  “when it came time to decide what i wouldn’t be continuing into n.e.w.t.-levels, i had to prioritize other subjects over divination.  it’s a shame, because i enjoyed it.”