Mabel Goldstein

Mabel. Mabel Goldstein. Isaac nearly hit himself in the face. Godric he felt awful. “Yeah, it is.” He smiled, trying to cover up the feeling of guilt for not remember who the girl had been. The resemblance was there. So much like her brother, Nathan. Godric, he was sure Nathan had even introduced them before. “Not many of the uh, other students were out, and I love the smell of fresh rainfall. So um, I’d thought I’d come enjoy it.” Another gust of wind blew through, and Isaac shivered a bit. That one had been rather chilly, especially when the sun was out. Autumn was coming on quick.

Mabel looked at the boy’s face and saw a trace of confusion when she said his name. For a brief moment she thought she had mistaken him for someone else, wouldn’t be the first time. She then realized he was trying to place who exactly SHE was. That seemed to happen often, Mabel didn’t mind, after all she wasn’t the most outgoing Ravenclaw. “I noticed a lot of people hanging around the great hall, I guess they are not so fond of this weather, or maybe they realized fighting this wind wasn’t worth it. Probably a wise decision…”

Quickly traversing the courtyard, he made for his next class, his robes swishing crisply in the air. Ah, it was certainly good to be outside once in a while. 

Being cooped up in the Castle made him a tiny bit loony, and there were times, his friends could accurately testify, that Darren went absolutely nuts for being kept indoors too long. Last time he checked, he was quite sure he didn’t have a fear of closed spaces but it was stifling to say the least.

Some distance ahead, there was a figure flailing around, their things scattering about as a gust of wind blew past them. He heard their cry for help, it sounded more of a demand, really and Darren thought he could indulge the person just this once. 

He snatched the parchment before it could be carried away and strode towards the other person.

As he drew closer, he noticed that he was dealing with a female, and almost instantly, as if by instinct, his charming nature was brought to the fore. Leave it to Darren Flint to flirt with everything that walked on two legs and had breasts.

“Oh merlin’s beard you are a lifesaver!” she called out to the boy as he steadily came her way. That’s when she noticed the boy’s green and silver tie swinging from side to side as he walked. A Slytherin. Fantastic. It’s not that she means to judge people based off their house and not their personality, but most Slytherins fit into a certain type of profile, one that she was not keen about. Arrogant and rude are usually the first two things that come to mind when dealing with a Slytherin.

Rain and bad weather were on the mind today everywhere he went. The smell of rain dampening the earth filled the halls as it died down and doors were opened to allow in a cool breeze. It felt nice, especially during lunch, which had been a very gut warming chicken and dumplings. It made the boy sleepy rather sleepy, but he wished to see the grounds. He loved the grounds after rain. Not a student in sight and grass glittered with beads of dew. Trees would creak and rustle under the breeze.

The boy had also seemed to notice the mess, adding as the muggles say, insult to injury. She shuffled to the side hoping that the boy would ignore the complete disaster that was her school things, but to no avail. Before she could say anything else the boy was already bending down and gathering up her things. “Oh uh thank-you. I can get it though, really… Silly that I, uh, you know, came out. With the err wind and everything.” Mabel cheeks flushed as the boy continued cleaning up her mess. “Oh well it looks like you have it under control I suppose...” She looked from the boy to the paper in her hand and was at a bit of a loss as what to say.

"It’s probably everyone who has ever gone to Hogwarts ever." Sera laughed. "Including the Slytherin who did it. Someone had to find out the spell was still there didn’t they." She pointed out. "I swear I have to use the bloody staircase to get to every class." She said sourly. "I’m surprised I don’t trip on it more honestly. I mean, it’s not like I’ve got long legs." She gestured to her short legs. She was short in general, so it’s kind of hard not to have stubby legs when you’re 5’2". Sera smiled a bit at the girl, feeling herself calm down. Or at least less sad and panic-y. "I would say you don’t have to do that, but it may be good for you in the long run." She said with a sigh. It was nice to meet someone who rambled just as much as her. A bit of a relief honestly. 

"No, I’ll be fine." Sera said waving her off and then plucking a light blue potion from her bag. She always carried one with her in case she or someone else had a panic attack. It didn’t happen often, but it never hurts to be prepared. She had actually only ever had one, but it was an experience she never cared to repeat. "Don’t ask." She said before drinking the potion quickly. Her favorite part was the taste of strawberries. She really only took it to calm the poor girl around. Maybe she should have brought another one for her…

Even though she had offered to take Sera to the hospital wing, Mabel was relieved that the girl happened to have the potion with her. Truth be told, she was not a fan of anything relating to that part of the castle. She had never spent much time there; just every now and then she would need to stop when she had the case of the sniffles. Even though she never had to stay long, she dreaded going. “Got any more of those in there?” she asked lightheartedly. Now that Sera had seemed to be returning to normal, not that she really knew what the girls normal was, Mabel began to relax and picked up her own bag off the floor that she had dropped in haste to check on the girl.

After another delicious meal had ended, Mabel opened up the massive double oak front doors and breathed in the fresh air. There were still raindrops clinging to the grass. With the sun now shining brightly combined with occasional bursts of wind, the drops shimmered like stars. Although sitting in the grass and working on her History of Magic essay was now not going to happen due to the dampness of the ground,still she was still happy to be outside. Mabel was always the calmest when she was outdoors. To her, nature was just as magical as anything she learned in her classes.

She made her way to one of the courtyards and found a nice dry spot on a stone bench. As she began taking her books out of her bag searching for the piece of parchment she had started her essay on, another gust of wind howled through the corridor. Unfortunately she had just pulled out the parchment as the wind came through; carrying the paper with it as it left.  Mabel stood up and in her haste knocked her books onto the ground. She noticed the paper heading in the direction of a figure coming along the path.

Sera closed her eyes and shook her head, as if trying to get rid of all of her thoughts. “I’m fine. I’m okay.” She said slowly, not entirely sure if that was true. She did just nearly fall off a moving staircase after all. Merlin, was she having a bad day or what? “Yeah, damn step.” She murmured, glancing back at it. “It was probably a Slytherin or something. Trying to prank a Hufflepuff. But they screwed up and never fixed it.” She said, a grin forming on her lips. Yeah, something was definitely wrong with her.

After a few seconds had passed the girl spoke again. At least she was forming complete sentences. Well kind of. Also the giggling had stopped. What were the symptoms of a head injury anyway? “Yeah I could see a Slytherin pulling some kind of trick like that. Not fair to the rest of us though you know? I wonder just how many people have stepped; er well, fallen on that step. I know I have. It’s silly really. I mean people come this way every day. A professor should have done something about it by now. I think I’ll have a talk with my head-of-house tonight…” Mabel knew she was talking too much. She does that when she doesn’t know what else to do, and she wanted to make sure this girl was okay. Maybe stay with her awhile, even if she had to keep up this ridiculous dialogue.  

2: Talk about your first kiss.

3: Talk about the person for which you’ve had the most intense romantic feelings.

4: Talk about the thing you regret most so far.

5: Talk about the best birthday you’ve had.

6: Talk about the worst birthday you’ve had. 

7: Talk about your biggest insecurity.

8: Talk about the thing you are most proud of.

9: Talk about little things on your body that you like the most.

10: Talk about the biggest fight you’ve ever had.

11: Talk about the best dream you’ve ever had.

12: Talk about the worst dream you’ve ever had.

13: Talk about a vacation.

14: Talk about the best party you’ve ever been to.

15: Talk about someone you want to be friends with.

16: Talk about something that happened in elementary school.

17: Talk about something that happened in middle school.

18: Talk about something that happened in high school.

19: Talk about a time you had to turn someone down.

20: Talk about your worst fear.

21: Talk about a time someone turned you down.

22: Talk about something someone told you that meant a lot.

23: Talk about an ex-best friend.

24: Talk about things you do when you’re sick.

25: Talk about what turns you on.

26: Talk about what turns you off.

27: Talk about what you think death is like.

28: Talk about a place you remember from your childhood.

29: Talk about what you do when you are sad.

30: Talk about the worst physical pain you’ve endured.

31: Talk about things you wish you could stop doing.

32: Talk about your guilty pleasures.

33: Talk about someone you thought you were in love with.

34: Talk about songs that remind you of certain people.

Sera walked down the steps and rubbed her temples tiredly. She was just so was not in the mood. Everyone was used to her being bubbly and peppy. Of course, she couldn’t exactly blame them. It was who she was outwardly. She never gave them anything else to expect. Honestly, she was just tired of it. Sometimes she wanted to snap at people, sometimes she wanted to yell or cry or something. Anything but smile and laugh. She couldn’t be happy cheery Sera all the time. She was used to just going through the motions of it, like a part she had played for years. Actually, that was exactly it. She had been playing bubbly Sera practically since birth. If she wasn’t, everyone acted like something happened. Like she was someone else or something. She didn’t want to act all the time. Some times she really just wanted to curl up in bed and marathon musicals. She missed home. She missed the internet and muggle books and the theatre down the street and she wanted to go home. She missed her muggle best friend and visiting what would have been her high school. She missed pens and computers and lamps that she could just plug in. Now, she didn’t mean to be “ungrateful” about Hogwarts. She was glad to be magical, she was. But that didn’t mean she doesn’t get homesick. What was she supposed to do? 

Sera adjusted the heavy bag on her shoulder, still walking down at the stairs. She wasn’t really focusing on them. She was barely aware of her feet slapping against the marble. Maybe the Room of Requirement could help. She could read some muggle books, and maybe she could even get a tv working in there. Sera adjusted the bag again, her shoulder groaning against the weight. She had tossed a few extra books in there, and yet her body was acting like she had filled it with bricks or something. She felt her stomach turning over slightly, and her body was filled with a slight chill. Was someone following her? She resisted the urge to glance over her shoulder. She had just been reading too many muggle mystery novels. Yeah, that was it. 

She knew this year would be the most stressful one thus far, especially with O.W.Ls being at the end of the second term. She already knew what she wanted to be when she completed her time at Hogwarts, but there was always that small voice in the back of her mind, taunting her and telling her she wasn’t good enough.  Sure she had made excellent grades, always attentive in class and asking questions but one slip up and she could kiss her career as a Wizarding Lawyer at the Ministry of Magic goodbye. She had never mentioned this to anyone, but she had always had an idea in the back of her mind that if she were to fail at Hogwarts, she could maybe try going to one of those muggle academies. It would definitely be interesting to study the laws they have in place.  Mabel knew no matter what happened, at the end of day she would stand up and fight for what was right. She wanted to help people. Whether it be the muggles or Wizarding folk… Maybe even both.

He took note of her nervous actions while his hands snaked deeper into his pockets. Mabel.. "Mabel?" He repeated aloud, "Mabel. I like it." He held he removed his hand from his pocket and held it out to her, offering her a sheepish smile.  Please don’t let her deny my hand shake! Please don’t let her deny my hand shake! " I’m Lysander. Lysander Scamander. It’s nice to meet you." 

There was something Lysander was taking a liking to with Mabel. The way she talked about her favourite portrait was beyond breathtaking. She described it so perfectly that Lysander could see it all. Who cares if she rambled, he liked when girls rambled. Mix in the fact that she did it with so much care and life… It was enough to make the Scamander twin smile brightly. He no longer paid any attention to Madeline which probably annoyed her, but he swore to himself he’d make it up to her. “Now you have to show my that portrait you speak of.” he said honestly. “I mean.. You can’t describe something like that and then not show me. That would be criminal. ” He bit his lip for a second as he tried to think about which portrait was his favourite.

"Well.. Besides her.." he gestured to the girl he was talking to. "On the Seventh Floor, there’s this portrait of this… Spring landscape. There’s flowers of various colours. Pinks, blues, yellows, reds! A sky as blue as can be with these pig, puffy white clouds. They move slowly but not too slowly, just enough to make a difference. In the center of the portrait are these two kids. One’s a boy in a white and blue sailor suit, with little gold buttons. The other is a girl, who looks about two years younger, dressed in a white dress with a white straw hat that has a blue sash.  Both are wearing no shoes. The boys has brown hair, the girl does too, I think they’re siblings..  They play together all day with no worries or cares… They’re just so.. Happy…  It’s quite amazing, really.  I guess that’s why it’s my favourite. " 

“About the whole surprise thing, it’s good. I like it. It’s… sweet that you take the time to get to know them, the portraits I mean. Do you think they get lonely?” Mabel hoped the boy didn’t think that was a stupid question. She usually kept most questions, outside of school work of course, to herself. Always worried that she may make a mockery of herself, but asking Lysander questions, well, it felt different. Like she could ask him anything and he wouldn’t criticize her. It was lovely.

Once the handshake was over she fumbled around with her hair, placing a few strands that had sprung out at awkward angles back behind her ear. Unsure of what to do with her hands now, she rubbed them together. “Goodness it seems to have gotten a bit chilly” Mabel looked around to see if a ghost was nearby, they always bring the temperature down. “So you have a twin brother? I have always wondered what it would be like to have a twin, or even a younger sister. Instead I got stuck with an older brother. ”

Mabel listened intently to his description of his favorite portrait. He described it in brilliant detail; Mabel closed her eyes for a moment and let his description of the painting wrap around her. It was also lovely. She decided then and there she could listen to this boy speak all day. Mabel opened her eyes “Sorry I zoned out there for a minute. I would be delighted to show you my portrait, well not uh, my mine, but yeah you know what I mean." her cheeks blushed again, she definitely no longer felt chilly. "But only if you show me yours. Thanks to your narrative I think I have a pretty good picture of it in my head but I still want to see it; it sounds charming.”