A Bench For Reading (Olivia)

[Mia Moretti S4]

Not far from the main streets of Diagon Alley an old yet sturdy bench sat comfortably in a small grassy clearing. The noises of shoppers and the cries of the shopkeepers advertising their goods were barely heard from where the bench was placed. It was surrounded by small dark green bushes, with a small gap between them all where one could slip through easily without having to kick aside any leaves. The bench was very old; it had no date upon the silver plaque which had been charmed into the centre of the back boards, but if you were an observant witch or wizard it would be obvious that this bench was older than old, and had seated many bottoms in it’s time.

Currently, the only bottom on the wooden planks of the bench was that of Mia Moretti. She was dressed simply in a pair of dark brown cotton trousers and a white vest top, with a dark green cardigan wrapped tightly around her shoulders. Her dark hair was down and unadorned, but around her neck hung a simple but beautiful silver necklace. She had dressed for the weather; the sun was just peeping through the grey-white clouds in the sky, though the wind was slightly more than Mia preferred it to be. It whipped her hair from her face as if attempting to tug it from its roots and send it off into the air; but of course it failed, for Mia soon tied her hair into a neat ponytail with a green band and it stayed obediently in place.

There was no real reason for Mia being on the bench, or even in Diagon Alley. She wanted to be somewhere busy at first, somewhere crowded. The large house she lived in with her father and a few house elves didn’t appeal to her that morning and she had taken the short journey to Diagon Alley as soon as her father allowed it. But on arrival in the busy streets she found the crowded atmosphere to be not at all what she wanted, and after purchasing a couple of good books on Charms that her father had recommended, she had walked the distance to the clearing she liked to spend time in.

Why she liked the little area so much, Mia didn’t know. But the gentle buzz of various creatures in the trees behind her comforted Mia, and she settled into the bench comfortably, took out one of her new books (Quintessence: A Quest), and took the opportunity to relax, and read.

[Olivia Dawson S6]

Olivia chewed violently on the stick of gum she had just placed in her mouth as she walked grumpily along the streets of Diagon Alley. It had already been two whole weeks since school had let out and since Olivia and her friend Jennie had made that bet. Olivia had had an entire two weeks without touching a cigarette, and compared to the more than six she would normally smoke per day, this was a miracle. Although, thanks to the sudden and abrupt withdrawal of nicotine in her system, Olivia hadn’t been doing so great. She was tired constantly, always falling asleep in the most random of places and moments. She looked pale and sickly, and she was constantly shivering from what she supposed was the annoying yet obviously expected state of withdrawal. The worst of all these withdrawal side effects was her significant change of moods. She became very irritable very quickly and became very impatient at times. Just the other day, Olivia was waiting for her turn on line at a small shop in Diagon Alley and after waiting for about ten minutes on line, she yelled at about five customers, the shopkeeper, and a small bratty child who kicked her in the shin. Olivia responded with a bit more yelling as well as knocking some stuff over.

But why would Olivia put up with all this? Why, after three full years of relying on her cigarettes with her life, would she suddenly decide to quit completely? Well, this is because of the simple reason that Olivia is stubborn. What with her pro-muggle anti-segregation beliefs, one would wonder why Olivia was even accepted into Slytherin house to begin with. After spending some time with Olivia, the reason for this choice of house is simple; minus the anti-muggle beliefs, Olivia has almost every single trait a Slytherin has. She has very high confidence, and believes she’s the best around. There’s no getting around that simple fact. Not to mention she hates when people tell her what to do. Olivia feels it’s her life, and she’s going to deal with it the way she pleases. However, the most important Slytherin trait that got her into this mess was her stubbornness and inability to back away from a challenge.

And so it was because of this trait combined with many more that Olivia was now walking down Diagon Alley grumpily in her ripped jeans, old sneakers and leather jacket. Olivia had no idea where she was going, as she wasn’t exactly in the mood for shopping. But her feet were tired and she needed a seat, so off Olivia was to try and find the closest bench, seat, or even tree stump to sit on. Olivia wandered for a total of ten and a half minutes (yes, she counted) before she found it. Not to far away from all the hustle and bustle of Diagon Alley was a small clearing. There were trees and grass and even an old looking park bench right in the center.

For the first time in awhile, a genuine smile appeared on her face. She hadn’t even been walking for all that long and already she was exhausted. She didn’t even care that someone was already sitting on the bench. “Hey, mind if I have a seat here?” Olivia asked, obviously exhausted. She didn’t speak politely nor did she speak rudely, but hopefully she hadn’t accidentally paired herself with some little brat from preppy-ville. However, with her rotten luck accompanied by her terrible mood and lack of energy, God was sure to be comedic and land her in a situation she wouldn’t like or appreciate.

[Mia Moretti S4]

The book was good; she could tell that from the moment she opened it. It appealed to Mia's way of learning by simply stating the essentials, not messing about with stupid facts and flourishes which she refused to do. Why add another flick at the end of your wand flourish for no reason, when the original simple movement gave perfect results? Scowling at the many books - and teachers - which insisted on making your spell look better , Mia crossed one cotton-clad leg over the other, leant back further into the comfort of the bench, and turned the page eagerly.
Charms was always, always, Mia's favourite subject. Her father had always been an excellent spellcaster- he once told her that his Charms professor in Durmstrang had confessed that Pascal Moretti had the possibility to be the best in the way of charms and spellcasting. The professor was Pascal's mentor and someone the seventeen-year-old Pascal looked up to- until he married a muggle at least.

Mia's lips curved into a smile as she thought of her father. Although he wasn't a perfect wizard nor the perfect father, she adored him and always had. The love they had was pure and beautiful; like their bloodline. As for Mia's mother... she wasn't worth the thought. Weakness and the lack of willpower to pull through something sticky were aspects of a person that could easily make Mia despise them; and her mother was all about weakness. Why else had she pulled out of a marriage to a great man, abandoning a daughter just because she failed to have a connection with her? Mia scowled, and wiped the thought of Maria Moretti from her mind, her dark eyebrows suggesting the hint of a frown. She couldn't think of such things right now. It was a nice day to a certain extent, she had two brand new Charms books, and she was alone; something that rarely occured.

However the latter couldn't last long. The rustle of leaves reached Mia's ears and she glanced up instantly. The first things she saw were a pair of old trainers, scruffy and certainly not as clean as Mia's own silver ballet-shoe styled shoes. Leaving the trainers, her gaze went upwards; similarly scruffy jeans with a terrible rip across one knee, and finally the leather-clad torso. But the blue-eyed face ontop of the messy outfit made the clothes seem edgy, and not infact all that scruffy. The face held an odd smile, and was quite pretty. But this didn't rule out the obvious fact that the girl was ill in some way. She was pale, with a clear sickly look about her.
Mia's mind raced, trying to place the face with a name. Her mind went to Quidditch first- something Mia certainly enjoyed. Yes; the girl was on the reserve team for Mia's own house, Slytherin. Immediate points for that. What else... by the way of age, Mia knew that this girl was older than herself. And an elder Slytherin was never someone to irritate.

'Hey, mind if I have a seat here?' The girl spoke. Mia liked the voice; it didn't threaten her or attempt to, but it was certainly not open and friendly- which showed the girl's common sense. For all the elder Slytherin knew, Mia could be anyone, of any bloodline.
Summing up what she had learnt about the girl in the last few seconds, Mia came to a decision. She spoke, in a tone which welcomed the Slytherin to sit without hostility. She knew that trying to add a harshness and unfriendly touch to her voice would possibly be seen as disrespect, and Mia was taught never to be disrespectful to older wizards and witches of her own house.

"Not at all." As she spoke, Mia shifted slightly to make a large gap between herself and where the girl would sit. And then she returned to her book; by the looks of it the girl would not want to be irritated further, and as Mia did not know her talking could provoke that irritation.