Trouble With Charms ((Ariel))

[Jake Rainyar]

Jake lugged his book bag up to the student lounge. He could feel the strap digging into his shoulder. Man, he hated the fact that his professors that it was funny to load the 7th years with homework. Like they had time enough for that. They didn't need to be worrying about homework with all the real world problems going on. Jake was going to be applying for Auror training. How was he supposed to deal with all of that training, homework, the war against Voldemort, and his need to have a little bit of fun in his life? Jake sighed as he shook his head. He wished this whole war thing wasn't happening. However, he knew it had too. He remembered the day Voldemort returned. He saw Harry Potter arrive from the port key clinging to Cedric Diggory's dead body. Cedric had been in his house. He had talked to him on the occasion. That year had been bad and this year was worse. It always seemed that the Hufflepuff's were the first to be knocked off. That's probably why he was so enamored to be an Auror. He wanted to prove to the Death Eaters that Hufflepuff's were just as good if not better.

Jake shrugged and chuckled at his own thoughts. Sometimes his mind ran away with him. He just wished he didn't have to worry about those kinds of things, but he had to. He was a man now and soon he would out in the real wizarding world, trying to become an Auror, one of the most dangerous jobs anyone could attempt. He hopes he can achieve his dreams. Jake shook the thoughts from his head once again as he finally reached the student lounge and stumbled inside with his heavy backpack. He smiled at the fact that the room was empty. It normally was full of students, but he seemed to have hit it at precisely the right moment. Half walking and half limping Jake made it to the back table and threw his back on it. He sighed as he stretched his shoulder and arm out. A sudden thought hit him and he hit himself with his own hand on the forehead. He realized he could have fixed the whole thing with magic. That's was his father's side coming out in him. He enjoyed the fact that his father, who was muggle born, would sometimes do things the muggle way instead of using his wand. It just showed the truth: like father, like son.

Jake smiled at the thought. He missed his parents some times, but not today. He turned back to his back and took out his books setting them on the table. He was going to be practicing a summoning silent charm. He wasn't doing so well on this whole being silent thinking in your head while doing spells thing. He was much better at talking, but that wasn't going to help him if he had to do a silent charm. Jake looked at the top book he had pulled from his bag, Charms. How ironic? Jake thought to himself. He pulled out his wand and pointed it at the book. Thinking in his head he started saying Accio. The book didn't move. He shrugged his shoulders a couple of times and then looked back at the book. He kept repeating the word in his head until, "ACCIO!" The book came hurtling at his forehead. He ducked quickly as the book hit a table near the door...

[ariel]

Ariel sat down on her four poster with a sigh, the book Peter Pan open on her lap. It was a great muggle adventure, one that Ariel enjoyed taking again and again, as it never got boring. Just as she was moving on to where Captain Hook ties up Wendy, she heard a loud movement to her right. "Oreo!" She scolded, annoyed that she had been robbed of one of the most important parts. The kitten looked at her with that expression that nearly melted Ariel's heart. "Oh, I didn't mean it!" Poor Oreo. He always got yelled at for no reason, and always Ariel would end up apologizing. She closed the novel after placing a careful bookmark in her spot and got up to pick up her little Oreo. He meowed reproachfully at getting picked up. "Oh, shut it." Ariel admonished, shifting him into her left arm and the other one became busy doing the task of finding a place in her book bag for Peter Pan.

She always carried around her favorite books. No matter what happened, she needed to have them with her. The bag seemed especially heavy today, considering the strap cutting into her shoulder with a bloody lust. It felt like it would break her skin any moment. Oreo was being the obnoxious little runt he always way; trying to squirm his way out of Ariel's arms like a wild animal that didn't like to be held. "You're a domestic cat." She told him with a glare. "Act like one!" He wouldn't listen to her, the poor fellow, and continuously got jostled around by Ariel because of it. She paused on her tirade outside the door leading into the Student Lounge. It was a comfortable place; not as good as the dorm room for a good read, but still, it sufficed. She wasn't sure if it was a good idea to go in with Oreo, but what the heck? She opened the door just in time to see a book flying toward her. Yes folks, a book! Book! She stared in amazement, not even flinching as it landed close to her. All those bent pages.... the binding was probably suffering... Oreo managed to slip through her arms, falling to the ground in amazing feline grace, only to slink out of sight. Ariel didn't have eyes for him, however.

She carefully tended to the book, running her hands down the spine and flipping through the pages. She could feel a curse on her tongue, but she held it back with a sharp bite. Her dark eyes pursued who could have done such a treachery, and landed on a young man with a wand in his hand. Coincidence? I think not. She glared at her with such ferocity as she picked up tucked the book under her arm that she was afraid she would scare him off. He can't go; not until she had her say. "What did you think you were doing, tossing a book across the room like that?" Ariel pounced on him, her eyes searching his face. "What is the idea? Books can easily be ruined..." She thrust the book into his chest, making sure he had a good hold of it until she let go. "You better have some good excuse for that." She glared again, putting her hands on her hips to show she wasn't afraid of him and was angry too. Blasted hair. She had to stop her tirade to tuck the red strand behind her ear, but that only paused her speech for a moment. "Don't you think you could use a book for a different purpose besides a throw toy? Honestly," she cast a glance at the book title. "A charms book? Don't normal people use that as a study guide?" She knew she must look hilarious next to him; a little woman with hands on her hips, red-hot hair, and her short profile. If it phased her, it sure didn't show.

[Jake Rainyar]

Jake turned just in time to see a girl enter through the door. He winced as he closed one eye and squinted the other. That's all he needed today, was to hit some unsuspecting kid with a book. He was relieved to see that the book landed near her, but did not hit her. He was surprised to see that she hadn't even flinched. If he had walked into a room and seen a book flying toward him he would probably run as fast as he could in the other direction. However, when he saw the look on the girl's face he almost wanted to run right there instead of waiting for a flying book to come after him. The look on her face sent chills down his back. He took a step back as she started to glare at him. He glanced around himself. He was trapped! Trapped like a rat! What was this girl going to do to him? It was only a book.

Jake sighed in relief as the girl just started to scold him about the book. She was obviously in Ravenclaw. He couldn't think of any other house that would possibly care if someone threw a book across the room. Jake listened with a slight amusement as the girl continued on about the book, before she shoved it into his chest. He stepped back to accept the book and held tight onto it as he continued to watch the girl waiting for her to take a breath so he could have his say. He smiled at her. She was significantly shorter than he was, which made it difficult not to laugh. However it did seem that the comment about red heads having a hot temper did seem to be true. She definitely seemed to have a hot temper more often than not, but he didn't really know for sure.

Finally the girl stopped talking and Jake took a breath. "My name's Jake Rainyar, yours?" Jake asked. He had no intention to tell her why he had flown a book across the room. Really it had all been an accident, but that's not what mattered at the moment. The girl was intriguing. He definitely wanted to know who she was. Besides he had been trying to figure out the girl as soon as she started in on him. It would be interesting if he had gotten any of his assumptions right. Of course, Jake knew better than to assume something about someone. Many times people had made the wrong assumption about him and that had always annoyed him, but he felt he was better at it than others were. So with that thought Jake tossed his Charms book back onto the table with his other books and looked at the girl. He wondered if she would take offense at his lack of concern for his book. He enjoyed annoying people, especially girls who seemed to take offense easily. Besides he wasn't big into making sure his books were in perfect order. Jake stood and watched the girl with amusement waiting for her reaction...

[ariel]

Ariel watched with a smug expression as he looked frightened of her. Really, that's wasn't exactly the plan, but it worked out anyway. She knew that she could be a little strange sometimes, especially when it came to books. Books was something that had won her affection over years ago, when Summer first left. Even books she had never read - like that Charms book for example - had to be taken care of correctly otherwise she would throw a fit. She looked up at the boy, feeling frustrated at her lack of height. It would have been useful in a situation like this, yet she refused to grow. If only she could just grow on the spot. Obviously she didn't need extra things to make her more frightening. The boy already looked like he had lost his wits.

She raised an eyebrow at his sigh. What was that for? Was he sighing because he thought she was going to slap him or something? I should have. Ariel leaned back on her heels, crossing her arms instead of keeping them at her hips. She knew that was a sign of the arrogant to do that for a long period of time, and Ariel preferred to think herself as a spoiled brat who thought she deserved the big slice of the cake. As the boy introduced herself, Ariel's other eyebrow raised to meet the first. "Ariel Dahl." She replied, distractedly turning her attention back to the book. "You may want to take that to a book binder or something. It obviously has a few bent pages and the spine is just completely out of order. My father's a bookbinder, I prefer to call his the book doctor, and he helps people who really appreciate the value of a book." She gave him a glare that clearly sent the message, unlike you.

Appalled, Ariel gave him the same deadly glare she had before when he tossed the book onto the table. "A slow learner, I see? I was going to give you a chance to redeem yourself, but the chances of that are very slim now." She walked past him and looked at the book, tenderly letting her finger pass down its spine. "Books are like people, you know? They can break just as easily..." Her voice became soft, and with a last loving touch, she set the book down. Books were her life, her everything. She lived more in books then she did in this world, so it wasn't surprising to see how much she adored them. More then any other person. Besides Mort. Mort was even better then paper and ink, because he was real. She didn't brighten at all when she turned and realized Jake was still there, although she was slightly embarrassed. Most people never heard her talk with that kind of voice.

"Jake Rainyar. I like it." She said, tasting his name on her tongue. "It has a certain ring to it. Just like Tinker Bell. Have you ever read that novel? I hope not, after seeing what you do to just a Charms book." She added with a bit of spice. "Anyway, the way you cluck your tongue at the 'tink' part, the way you breath at the 'er' and how you make the movement with your lips at 'bell.' Almost like a kiss. Your last name is somewhat similar, but not nearly as good as Tinker Bell. Or Dahl for that matter. And it's not spelled D-o-l-l but D-a-h-l. Unique, isn't it?" Ariel always took pride in her last name. Even if her first, Ariel, had been given to her in reference to the Little Mermaid figure. Dahl had always suited her liking. Ariel... well, not so much. She gave Jake a glance with neither a smile or a glare. Just a glance that could be considered as curious. "So, Mr. Rainyar, didn't I ask you a question earlier before? About the book your so ungracefully threw across the room?"

[Jake Rainyar]

Jake smiled as she introduced herself. It seemed she was going to chat with him, maybe she'd get over the stupid book. The girl did need to learn a few things herself. You couldn't just live in books. You had to make your own adventures, write your own story. Jake knew from experience, his mother was a novelist for the muggles. She was always caught up in some form of book, either writing or reading, but she still had time to write her own life story. It just wasn't as great as some of her written books. The thought of his mother was quickly washed away as Ariel started in on the book again. "You have to be joshin' me right? You want me to take this to get checked out? It's an inanimate object, it has no feelings," Jake said as he watched her stroke the book he had just thrown on the table. She was talking about the books being real. But books weren't real, they were far from being real. A softness in her voice caught Jake's attention. He sighed at the comment, it seemed there was more to Ariel than she was letting on.

However, Jake had no time to contemplate what she was thinking. She soon switched the subject to his name. He raised an eyebrow and listened to her talk about how his name had a nice ring to it. She started to describe Tinker Bell's name. He smiled as she continued on. It was interesting to see what she thought. He was always so curious about other people. That's why he felt like he needed to serve them and protect them. He wanted to make sure that he could meet new and exciting people. She asked him if he had ever read Peter Pan and then immediately decided it was better if he hadn't. Jake shook his head at the comment, but waited for her to finish. "For your information, I have read Peter Pan. J.M. Barry is one of my favorite authors. It happens like that when your mum is a big novelist. She's always getting me to read the classics. Barry, is just amazing though. Peter Pan was his best. So, yes, I have and I treat the books better than you think I do. That's my charms book. I could careless if that book gets ruined. I'm doing fine in the class, it's one of my better ones, it's just the whole nonverbal spell thing. It's difficult to do. I don't expect you to understand yet, but it is," Jake finished. He winced at himself for the arrogance of his words and decided to start over.

"Look, I'm just not a fan of taking care of books. I want them to look used. I want to feel like I've actually opened the pages of them and read was inside. Haven't you ever felt like that?" Jake asked. He didn't really know where this conversation was going, but he felt he needed to say something to her about the book. He just needed this Ravenclaw to understand that some times people need to feel like they've made a dent in some part of their life, to make sure that they're learning and alive. Jake knew how Ravenclaws loved knowledge, his sister was definitely one of them. She was always telling Jake about how knowledge and understanding is important. She definitely took after Mum. The thing was that he didn't take after his family. He was the one wanting to go into a dangerous profession, where he might never come back from. Jake closed his eyes at the thought and then turned his attention back on Ariel, "So tell me, why are books so important to you?"

[ariel]

Ariel raised an eyebrow at him, trying to ignore how he seemed to think it incredulous or perhaps amusing that she thought books were important. They were! She should know, she always knew everything. She bit her bottom lip and looked down at her feet, which were currently attired with long stocking socks that were colored with Raven colors and brown sandals with no backs to go with. She adored the stocking socks, even if you could only see them through the sandals, and the rest was covered with her baggy boot cut jeans. It took some time for her to look back at Jake with a clear, expressionless face. She always hated when people did not recognize the importance of books and even worse, when they laughed at her for it. Jake had come very close, and she did not appreciate that.

"You're impossible!" She muttered crossly when she met his eyes again. Without any other remarks, Ariel sat back on her heels, a smile slowly crossing her face until it was very bright. "Yes! You aren't such a hopeless case as I thought you were!" She cried, and almost felt like throwing her arms around him, although that would be very uncomfortable and embarrassing. "I don't happen to meet lots of people who have read it, let alone like it!" Ariel gave him another smile and some color came to her porcelain face. Mort always said she looked like a fragile doll, which was often misleading, as she was a tough cookie, as he liked to call her. Ariel didn't like that any more then she did being called the Little Mermaid. She was glad Jake hadn't resorted to that quite yet. Most of her friends were the speakers to this, and it was all teasing. She waved away the comment that had been spoken with arrogance, a factor Ariel could completely understand.

"You're older then I am. So I should have more trouble then you doing it." said Ariel with a careless shrug, her smile slowly losing it's brightness. It hurt to smile too long, and even the fact that this careless book-tosser had read Peter Pan didn't make this any special occasion. She nodded to him slowly as he asked if she ever got the feeling. "Of course I do. I never let dust settle on my books, and the pages are always best worn." She could have chugged on and ranted about many other things, but Jake didn't seem the type to want to listen. She had thought she had gone too far with the Tinker Bell thing too, since he never commented on it. "Oh, I have my reasons." She said with a bit of a mischievous smile, even if it was faint. She hoped that would dismiss it - the reason for her love for books was the same reason her heart was incomplete, that she always felt she was missing something. Jake was an acquaintance and barely so - he didn't deserve to know the personal facts on Ariel's life. "Would you like some help with your nonverbal spells? I think I'm done ranting about the book since I'm losing your interest. But I would like to see what it's like. I can't really help, I guess..." She paused and then let a smile cross her face. "Just as long as you promise to not test it out on a book again. Charms or no. At least not with me around." She was finally ready for some real conversation.

[Jake Rainyar]

Jake bit back the smile that was bordering on his lips when Ariel tried to scold him again after he threw the book again. He didn't want her to feel so upset, but he wasn't going to lie, he was doing it on purpose. He did that many times to just about everyone he knew. He loved to be a pain. It made him happy. He sighed silently to himself as she became excited over the fact that he had read Peter Pan. That was a very small detail in his life that didn't seem so important. However, he was happy that he seemed to gain back a few points in her book. However, it wasn't enough points to make up for the book thing. Hopefully, with time she would forgive him for mistreating his books. Jake didn't figure she would, but he couldn't help but wanting her to. He would find some other way to bug her if they became friends. If not then her loss.

Jake nodded as Ariel talked about how she probably wouldn't be able to help with non-verbals since she was younger than he was. However she did offer to help which was of great use to Jake. Maybe she would be able to help. He just had to come up with a way to show off. He didn't want her to think he was horrible at them. He just wanted to make sure he was somewhat decent at it so he didn't look too bad in front of her. Normally he wouldn't care, but since they weren't really friends yet it was difficult for him to trust her completely and totally. It was the same with everyone. He'd be completely cool with them, but they didn't know too much about his deeper side. Jake laughed to himself at his own thoughts.

"I get it, you don't want to tell me about your thoughts on books. I'll let it go for now, but I hope that someday you'll tell me why they are so important to you. If you want to stay and help that would be great Ariel," Jake said and suddenly a thought hit him. "Ariel? Isn't that the name of that Disney character about those fish things, what are they called? Mermaids?" Jake thought the name sounded familiar, but it had been a very long time since he had watched that movie. It was one of those his dad showed him, because mum wasn't that big on the American films that came out, especially Disney. However, Dad had lived in America for a while and had loved watching those stupid cartoons with Jake and Janet. He thought they were awesome. Jake didn't care for them much. He looked up at Ariel as a song came back to him from the movie. "Under the sea, under the sea..." Jake sang softly with a smile. He wondered if he was pushing his luck with Ariel, but he couldn't help it. He had to say something, even if she wasn't named after the mermaid, they still had the same name, which meant he had to say something about it.

[ariel]

Ariel shrugged. "I don't think so." It was blunt and a little mean. So what? No one knew much about her mother, in fact most people assumed she had one. Sad stuff, that. Which meant that she wasn't about to pour her heart out to a stranger. Which was what Jake was. So far, she only knew him as the book thrower, the uncaring aspects that had shown through when he tossed it around twice and continued to wonder about why she loved it. Couldn't he understand how thoroughly exciting the world of paper can be? No, that couldn't be. It showed through; he just couldn't see past the ink and paper into the world beyond, the little door Ariel was always able to open. Even if he had read Peter Pan, he still couldn't see the magic of books, and that was surely a disappointment.

"Excuse me?" Ariel raised a haughty eyebrow, getting edgy as Jake started to mention her name. And then it happened. He realized her name origin, and began to sing. Yes, sing. It was shocking and upsetting at the same time. Clenching her fist, Ariel gave Jake a rough shove in the chest. And not a playful one. "Stop! Don't go any farther unless you want to be cursed into oblivion!" She hissed, hoping her shove would push him into the table or perhaps the bookshelf. Table was better. Bookshelf could be dangerous. For the books I mean. Glaring and taking up the formidable position with her hand on her hips, Ariel turned her neck to look at his face. Hoping he had gotten the hint to shut it quickly before she actually carried out the threat.

"I wasn't named after any bloody... fish!" She muttered, angrily casting a glance around the room. "So drop it, got it? I'm always willing to test out a few spells." She threatened, and with a sigh leaned back on her heels, not regaining her composure in the least. That was her. Call her the Little Mermaid, sing a song about her, she would start bouncing off the walls. She knew it, she realized her fault, but did she stop it from happening? Of course not! He deserved it anyway. Talk about harassing! Narrowing her eyes as the anger began to sink deeper, she took a deep breath and forced a smile. "Get serious, okay? So, about those spells... I think you wasted enough time already. Get that charms book you so ungratefully threw around and your wand." She ordered, desperately trying to find a way to get revenge while she calmly took control of the situation.

[Jake Rainyar]

Jake raised an eyebrow at her response. She wasn't really light hearted was she? That was the problem with most Ravenclaws. They are so caught up in their books and knowledge that they forget to have fun. He had finally broke his sister of the habit. She was finally living her life instead of reading it. Of course she was always a bit more inclined to write her life story instead of reading it, but Ariel seemed to be different. She seemed to be one of the major Ravenclaws that never would go anywhere without a book. One that thought fun and adventure were found in books. She seemed to be one of the Ravenclaws that found real adventure scary. So caught up in her books that she would never experience the real adventures of life. Jake shook his head at the thought. Maybe she wasn't like that. Maybe she just came off like that, but she was really a fun loving individual.

As Jake sang a few words from the song Under the Sea the look on Ariel's face changed and he almost wished he had stopped himself from starting the song at all. He was slightly caught off guard when she shoved him hard in the chest. He step back a few steps running hard into a chair and tumbling over. He looked up at Ariel in surprise. "So went a little far did I?" he asked innocently. He knew he shouldn't be trying to make light of the situation, but he couldn't help it. It was who he was. However, now he knew not to associate her name with The Little Mermaid ever again. Unless of course he really want to grind her gears, then he would probably hum the song whenever he was around her, but he definitely would not do so until they could at least consider each other friends.

Jake didn't move from the floor until Ariel had calmed down. She took a deep breath and he took that to mean that she was somewhat calm. He got up from the floor and sat the chair upright again. He looked at her. "Sorry, couldn't help it. You know you're much stronger than you look. Quite irritating really. On any other occasion I would not have been moved, but you took me off guard," Jake said trying to defend his own ego. He realized it was no use. He had looked like a wuss more than once in front of this girl. He couldn't help it though. It wasn't like he was exactly scary looking. He was quite humble really. Well, sometimes. His attention turned back to the spells. "Okay, so I'm not using books to test my spell out on, but what can I use?" he asked as he looked down at Ariel. It wasn't like he brought anything else of good use. He had always planned on using the books, but with Ariel trying to help him, he wasn't about to get into another row with her. He might find himself the victim of a few curses he had probably never heard of. Somehow he didn't think that spending the rest of the day in the hospital wing would help him very much.

[ariel]

"A little far? I ask you! You've gone beyond the point of return!" She grumbled. Okay, so she hadn't expected him to fall over a chair. But it all worked out smoothly. Hadn't she said before that she had hoped he would tumble over something? What a clumsy fool. She would have been able to stand her balance. Her anger simmered at his innocent look. How she hated it. Not that she was necessarily pointing it out to Jake; she hated the whole "innocent look" in its entirety. Jake already h ad to learn that much about her; yet she felt like more then one lesson had been learned in the course of this conversation.

"I'm glad you feel that way." She replied. Irritating? Well, that wasn't anything she hadn't heard before. More like annoying, selfish prat. Yep, that was one that came up often, especially in the muggle world. Ah, well, Jake would get used to it, if he planned on hanging around here. "Of course. I hope you remember the rule though; a gentlemen can never attack a lady. Or don't you go by those standards?" That might have been a tad over-done. She could have just stayed with the rule instead of adding on the really mean after thought. What's done is done, she supposed. Jake would do what he wanted. Whatever.

"What can you use?" She repeated dully. "No books. So - a chair? Your bag? My necklace?" She motioned toward the pendant she wore around her neck. She adored it, actually. But, now that she mentioned it, Ariel hurriedly covered it up. Mort had given it to her and she had kept it since the age of three. It was a mermaid that was holding a crab in her outstretched hand. Why had she mentioned it? Making sure it was under her t-shirt, Ariel tried to shrug it off. "Never mind. I don't want you using something as valuable as that. After seeing what you did to the book... So your bag, a chair, maybe even the table if you're feeling daring." She advised, sitting down in one of the chairs that was closet to him.

[Jake Rainyar]

Jake bit back the smile of his ego. He knew that he could go pass the point of no return a little too easily. He had really done so with Ariel and rather quickly. Hopefully she'd let him make it up to her. He really didn't want her to think of him as a giant arrogant, well for lack of a better term, jerk. He prided himself on at least trying to be humble. He hated being arrogant, but he couldn't always stop himself from being that way either. Jake ran his hand through his hair as he listened to Ariel's response. He opened his mouth wide to respond with hurt, but shut it and thought for a few seconds. She's deliberately trying to get at him or she's just not thinking before she speaks. For being a Ravenclaw she's not really the best at thinking before speaking. He sighed.

"Look, how about we start over. I don't want there to be this constant strand of insults between us. So, I'm Jake Rainyar, a 7th year Hufflepuff. Hence, the using of a book to practice my spells. However, I will never use another book in that way again. You are?" Jake asked. He had no idea if Ariel would follow his lead by reintroducing herself, but he hoped she would. It was just getting to the point that insults all the time would just be hard to handle. Besides the whole woman beating remark had really gotten to him. He had never laid his hands on a woman for any reason and he definitely wasn't going to hit a woman. They deserved respect. "And just for the record to hit a woman is beastly, savage, and devilish. I would never. Women deserve love and kindness, not a beating to keep them in line," Jake said before he turned his attention back to the task at hand.

"Okay so let's start with my bag. I don't want to do anything too big, though my thoughts are that it doesn't matter how large an object is it takes the same amount of will power. Anyway...so I can use either accio or wingardium leviosa right now. I'm up for either really. I just need to get the stupid nonverbal thing down. That's what has been the most difficult for me. I'm not really sure how you can help me with that, but maybe you can figure something out that I've been neglecting. If you want you can read up on the nonverbal charms part in the book that I inadvertently threw at your head," Jake said with a shrug. He wasn't sure if she wanted to read about it, but it didn't hurt to offer.

((Sorry it took so long to reply, but I really am enjoying this post so I'd like it if we could continue on with it if you're not too busy.))

[ariel]

((Sure, we can continue. I enjoy this post as well. ))

"Start over?" She looked at him uncertainly. "Are you feeling well? How can you 'start over' when you've already start - oh." So he was doing the thing where they pretended to start over. She saw how it was. Ariel sighed, held her tongue, and replied without much enthusiasm. "My name's Ariel Dahl, a Raven fifth year. It's a pleasure to meet you, for the second time." She shook her head and sat down in a chair. "I will keep you up on that, Mr. Rainyar. If I ever see a book being misused at your hands, you shall...er...pay?" She wasn't sure how that came out to be a question. You shall pay seemed a little over-rated. I mean, what could she do to him over a book? Not much, except for treat him like he treated the book. Which in this case would involve throwing him across the room. It would not be any easy task. So she just dropped the thought. Probably best to start over, like he had said. Finally, she was agreeing with him.

"Well! That's much more like it." Ariel said with a smile. "Never hurt a woman. I totally agree with everything you said. All the way." Mort would like him, she decided, very much. Perhaps she could get to like him too, if she tried. Ariel was finding it quite difficult to get past the book scenario though. Jake had good intentions.... well, perhaps not. Throwing a book out of anger was not good! "Great. The bag idea, I mean. And actually, no - a bigger object would take more will power, because your mind would believe it to be harder and probably impossible to do, so you have to work harder to achieve it. Did that make any sense whatsoever?" She frowned. "I often confuse myself, if not others. So just tell me if I'm babbling, but I don't think I am. Yet. As for nonverbal spells being stupid, they are not. You just think it is, because you can't do it. If you could, you'd think of them as splendid, correct?" She tilted her head to the side, a curtain of red hair falling over her face in the process. "I don't know much about nonverbal spells, but if I were you, just say it in your head. Pretend that your doing it aloud except with double the intention. Surely that will help." She could just imagine before, Jake attempting the spell repeatedly until throwing the book. For some reason, she became amused just by imagining it; a small smile crossed her lips. "So, give it a try, Mr. Rainyar."

[Jake Rainyar]

Jack bit his lip and waited to see if Ariel would understand his meaning. It seemed to take her a while to catch on to what he was meaning. He smiled when she did though. A slight grin fell across his face at the mention of 'second' in her introduction. She was being a good sport though and he wouldn't have it any other way. He hated making her feel bad and he definitely didn't want to worry about getting reprimanded for the book thing again. He now understood why most Ravenclaws were the way they were. Books were their livelihood and in Ariel's instance it was the only thing she cared about, at least that's what Jake thought. He didn't worry too much about his opinion though. It was always changing and it always would. It happened that way when your mind wasn't always on the same topic when it should be.

Jake smiled as Ariel began to lecture him again about non-verbals not being stupid. He nodded in agreement. He had not quite stated what he meant, but he didn't want to correct her either. She was finally helping him with the spell and that was a great bit more useful than her scowling at him over the book he had thrown across the room. Jake listened intently to what Ariel had to say about non-verbals. It was something he had never thought about really. Double the intention... It might just work like that, Jake thought to himself. He turned to look at the bag fully though slightly taken back by the use of Mr. Rainyar, but he let it pass. Most professors didn't call him that anymore, mainly because he had been so opposed to it in the beginning, but coming from Ariel it didn't seem so bad. He smiled at the random thought and then realized he was supposed to be working on non-verbals. Turning his attention back to the bag he thought the words wingardium leviosa. He imagined the bag lifting. He concentrated hard and watched as the bag slightly lifted from the table, hovered for a few seconds, and then fell back down.

Jake shook his head. "I don't know why I can't hold that thought. I had it. It was floating, even if it was just inches above the table. The fact was that it was floating and then BAM it stopped. Maybe I'm over analyzing this?" Jake said out loud, but more to himself than to Ariel. He pulled out a chair and sat down with his elbow on his knee and his hand on his face, the classic 'thought' pose. He was doing something wrong, but what was he doing wrong. He could have sworn he had concentrated enough that last time. He sighed. "I don't know, what do you think?" Jake asked as he turned his attention back on Ariel. He didn't know what to do and it was good to know that someone else was there to give him advice or insight into what he could do, even if she was younger than him.

[ariel]

"Practice, practice, practice!" Ariel said passionately. It was one of her favorite lectures to recite. "Practice makes almost perfect. It can hardly make you perfect, now can it? But it will help you in the long run. I suggest you keep on having a go. Try again the same way, only don't let your mind slip. I'm surely not distracting you, am I?" she asked. It hadn't meant to come out like it had: a coy remark. She looked at Jake emotionless and began to swing her legs. A horrible habit she got when put in an uncomfortable situation. She opened her mouth to take it back three times, but nothing came out. Related to anything, Ariel Dahl looked like a fish out of water. She hardly ever - in her life - made remarks like that, yet here she was, enjoying herself with Jake, and it slipped. She bit her lip, looked at him, the bag, her swinging feet, back to him. "Uh... Look - um... good luck with your charm. I hope you get it. But I really should be going. I don't feel that well - obviously. Not in the right state..." Lame excuse, she knew it, but she stood up anyway. Time to leave. She didn't meet Jake's eyes as she gathered her things and steadied herself. Her mind still reeled with why she had said that - it made her want to vomit. Only someone very unlike the Ariel Dahl she had made - the foundation she had created after Summer left - would say such a thing. She did feel sick. Turning, she made to leave.

[Jake Rainyar]

Jake smiled knowingly at the words that began to come from Ariel. How often he had heard them from his sister. She was the Ravenclaw of the family and was quote into announcing them at the top of her lungs when Jake wasn't working hard enough for her. The thought made him think of something to say, like he normally did when Janet was going off, but it slipped his mind when Ariel finished her thought. He smiled slightly at the question. She was slightly distracting, he wasn't going to lie. He looked at her thoughtfully as she began to swing her legs. Jake wondered if she was uncomfortable now that she had said that. Why should she be? It was only a question. She shouldn't be so uptight about things, especially when it came to this kind of a situation. However, it seemed that she was uncomfortable, because she started packing up her things ready to leave.

Jake's smile faded as she gave him a lame excuse. He even rolled his eyes at it. The girl needed human contact, for she obviously hadn't gotten much of it, if she was uncomfortable at the first sign of flirtation. She was about to leave, but it was here that Jake decided not to let her go. He was just going to let her have her moment and leave, but she needed to hear what he had to say. Turning around quickly he lightly touched her shoulder. He didn't want to stop her completely, just let her know that he didn't want her to go. "Do you have to go?" he asked in a soft tone, but changed it immediately hoping his reaction hadn't been to wild. "I mean I just really don't want to be alone for certain reasons and you took my mind off of the things that were bothering me. If you leave then I'll be troubled again and I don't really want to be troubled." Jake winced at the words when he finished. They weren't the greatest, but it was true. There had been plenty of things that had gone through his mind before she had come in and they weren't happy thoughts. He withdrew his hand from her shoulder and looked straight into her eyes waiting for her response.

[ariel]

Ariel grimaced. "I'm not an object, Rainyar," she said. "I'm not something in which you use. I'm no tool to keep you entertained." By now she was turned away from him, brushing the red hair off her shoulder. "I have no time to do a show and keep you off your troubles, which no matter how bothersome - I really don't care about. I've given you my advice, now you have to use it. As for now, good day. I have better things to do." She bit her lip hard - drawing blood in fact - and narrowed her eyes. She had half a mind to sit and tell Jake some excuse, but the thought made her tremble. She was not about to tell some... some stranger she had just met about her life, which by the way she had never even told her closest friends. Sure, she had a good time with him until now, but there was no way she was about to take back her words. She couldn't, however, resist looking back. She tried to refrain from showing her emotion, especially in her eyes. Her eyes always gave everything away.

"I'm sorry," Ariel said quietly. Her eyes were flint stones, glinting in the light and... avoiding his gaze. " - but I have to go." She paused for a fraction, her eyes softening in confusion and frustration. Then she turned, stormed through the room, opened the door and slammed it shut. Only when she was out in the hall, on her way to the Raven common room, did she let the tears fall. And she ran - in case either Jake or batty Madam Pince had a mind to stop her.

((Okay, I know Ariel is completely and utterly the strangest being on earth, but I'll explain it to you later through PM. Which is my favorite way to ramble to you about how much I love this post. *pokes* ))

[Jake Rainyar]

Jake listened in utter confusion to Ariel. He didn't understand anything she was going on about. He had never said anything about her being an object whatsoever. It had never even crossed his mind. She wasn't an object, but with the way she was going he might have to disagree with himself. It seemed that if she were a older she would definitely be the one Tennessee Williams modeled Laura Wingfield after in his play The Glass Menagerie. For Ariel seemed just as fragile as Laura was within that play. He would have to be careful, if ever they crossed paths again, to make sure he didn't break her glass unicorn until he was sure that she would not need it any longer. He watched without moving as she bolted from the room. Shaking his head against the thought of giving chase he turned his back on the door and pointed his wand at his bag. Accio! he thought in his head and with some strange miracle the bag flew into his outstretched hand. He would never have gotten it without her help, for that he was sure. He sighed. The girl needed to loosen up, but he wouldn't help her with that. He figured that would be the last time they spoke. He shrugged to himself as he gathered his books and placed them carefully into his bag. At least she made a lasting impression, he thought to himself and with that he let the door of the student lounge close behind him.