[d i s t r a t i n g] s.t.u.d.y [h a b i t s]

[Emmeline Vance]

Sighing, a young girl pulled her long, curly, blonde hair up into a messy bun and picked up the books the had just put down moments before. The young Ravenclaw girl walked over to the table where her messenger bag was left, abandoned. She put the books down and slipped into a chair. Groaning silently at the fact she would much rather be out with Sirius or James reeking havoc on the school, she pulled her bag into her lap and searched through it for her quill. She found it and quickly began flipping through the topmost book. Why all her teachers decided to assign several different essays on the same day, "on a Friday no less!", was beyond her. The first essay she assigned herself to write was Transfiguration. Inanimatus Conjurus. She had to write two rolls of parchment on a bloody spell that wasn't even meant to be until the N.E.W.T. level. She honestly didn't even know how she would write that much on one conjuring spell. The scratching of her quill on the parchment was the only noise she heard. That was annoying her slightly, and she sighed. It was too quiet. She looked around the room for a distraction.

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[Celestina Flamel]

Of course, the good thing about Hogwarts was that distractions could always be found for just about anyone looking for them in any part of the castle. A young girl, probably about fifteen years old, carrying a messenger bag, entered the Hogwarts Library. The girl herself wasn't all that remarkable.. especially because there were hundred of other students walking around with bags and probably preparing to do their homework just as she was.

Celestina looked around nervously and swallowed hard. She pushed a thick, auburn curl from out of her face and tucked it surreptitiously behind her ear as she shifted the heavy weight of the bag to her other shoulder and looked for a place she could go work.

She had quite a bit to do, but it didn't bother her. Back at home she knew no such things as weekends.. they studied whenever there was something to be learned.. 4 a.m. for a conjunction of planets or a meteor shower - bring it on!, six at night up in the tower while Perenelle was forced to keep their dinner waitng- of course! Saturday afternoons after a trip into Paris looking for new odds and ends for their experiments- yes! That is to say.. she lived in a completely unpredictable world.. or well.. she had for all of her life thus far.. and she didn't expect Hogwarts to be any different. Her hopes hadn't been disappointed in her first week of classes at the castle. Thus far she liked Hogwarts, though she sorely missed Sir Nicholas and Perenelle, whom she'd never been away from since she was five years old.

Pull it together. She instructed herself, taking a deep breath before picking a random table and going over to sit down, opening her book to work on t he Transfiguration. She took a few quick peeks at the girl while inconspicuously pretending to be reading her Transfiguration text book.

[Emmeline Vance]

Emmeline had been sitting there for what seemed like an hour to her. Her essay was still only composed of one sentence. She sighed and leaned back on the chair's back legs, casually, as she often did in her classes. She groaned silently and rolled her eyes up to the ceiling. She crossed her arms, sighing. Biting her lip, she wondered back to the last time she had been bored. She shockingly had to go back to her first day of school of her first year. Even that only lasted several hours. Then she met Sirius and all them.

Glaring slightly at the single curl the fell from the tie around her hair, Emmeline cast her eyes up when she sensed someone around her. She blinked her sapphire eyes, blankly. Throwing the girl a questioning look, the blonde couldn't help but wonder. "How do I not know you?" she asked; she swore she knew every single person in the entire school, and yet.... Emmeline looked completely perplexed. Friends like the Marauders, it was near impossible to not know everyone. She could list every first year student and every seventh. So who was this person in front of her. Shaking her head, slightly, she remembered her manners. She dropped her chair back down to the floor and smiled. "I'm Emmeline Vance," she said, introducing herself.

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[Celestina Flamel]

Celestina looked up in surprise from her essay, which she had a few paragraphs on. Transfiguration was her strongest subject by far. Conjuring inanimate objects was something Sir Nicholas had worked with her on. This made her feel better. She had been worried that she might be behind, but over the course of the first week she'd learned if anything she was ahead - especially in Transfiguration and potions.. but in most of her classes she was right on track with where she should be and she gave a silent sigh of relief about it.

"Hello there." Celestina said simply in her soft voice a mixture of French and British accent. "I'm Celestina." She said. "I'm new this year." she said.

[Emmeline Vance]

Emmeline was far too curious for her own good. "You don't look like a first year," she remarked before she had a moment to think about that, it was already out of her mouth. Damn Sirius, rubbing off his lack of impulse control on her. Reaching up to the pile of curls on her head, she took out the small black band and her hair cascaded down her shoulders in thick layers of curls. Shifting her body slightly, Emmeline almost forced herself to smile. But she remained looking blank. "So why are you just coming to Hogwarts now?" she asked, running her hands through her hair in an attempt to untangle her hair. Which seemed rather pointless since her hair appeared fine.

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[Celestina Flamel]

Celestina bit her lower lip a bit nervously at the curiosity.. she'd expected it, been prepared for it she though.. but actually having it happen was quite the different story! "Well.. I don't look like a first year because I'm not a first year." Celestina said simply with a bit of a smirk on her face. "I'm a fifth year actually.." She said, skirting the last question.

[Emmeline Vance]

Emmeline cocked her head to the side in a dog like fashion. Then, letting out a quiet laugh, she smirked. "You didn't answer my question. Though, I suppose I'll let it slide. It's your business after all." She leaned back in her chair again, resting on the two back legs. "When did you get here?" asked the blonde, twirling a single curl around her finger, the curl seemed to fit perfectly. Leaning back slightly further, she was on the verge of crashing to the floor, if that were to happen she would no doubt be kicked out of the library by the librarian for, yet another, act of disruption.

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[Celestina Flamel]

Celestina nodded, realizing whoever this girl was, she was too smart to fool that way, "Not that it particularly matters or anything but um.. I didn't go to school before." She said simply. Well.. it was true! She hadn't gone to a school persay.. "I got here Monday night with everyone else.. I came on the train." She said, putting her quill down to mark her place in her essay.

[Emmeline Vance]

Emmeline nodded. Leaning forward quickly, her hands met the table only moments before her chin would have. She flinched at the sudden noise and darted her eyes quickly around the room, searching for the blood seeking Irma Pince. The librarian who seemed to have it out for the blonde who was still looking around. She sighed and turned her eyes back to the girl in front of her. "What house are you in?" she asked, flicking er hair like a silk curtain over her shoulder.

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[Celestina Flamel]

"Gryffindor." She said. "The hat thought about putting me in Ravenclaw too..." Celestina paused, not wanting to think about that.. her Father might not have been able to handle that much of a surprise just yet.. and that could've been bad.. not because of his pride.. never something so trivial.. but his memories.. so she'd made sure to specify.. - Not Ravenclaw!

"What about you?"

[Emmeline Vance]

Not even noticing the question that was shot back at her, Emmeline's eyes lit up. "Gryffindor!" she exclaimed, quietly, "Oh you're so lucky. You get to see the Marauders on a daily basis! Grant I do as well, that aside." She shook her head, dismissing that. "I trust you've met them, or at least heard of them. I mean," she leaned forward and dropped her voice down to a stunned whisper. "They're like legends."

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[Celestina Flamel]

"Oh yes.. I've more than bloody heard of them..." She said, a note in her voice.. "They seemed to think that it would be... entertaining to dip my hair in BLACK ink halfway up my back and then cast a sticking charm on it so I had to go around with five inches of black hair all the way around all day and wonder why people were staring at me on my very first day of classes." She said, her voice sounding like she didn't find this amusing whatsoever.

[Emmeline Vance]

Emmeline raised a single eyebrow. Flicking her hair over her shoulder again she leaned back in the chair once more, acting as though she didn't notice the tone this new girl was taking with her. Correction. With her friends. That slightly seemed to make it worse. In fact, as she heard the story unravel, she wanted to laugh. Tucking her hair behind her ear, she couldn't help but smile slightly. Her smile fell as suddenly as it appeared. Turning her attention back to her essay, she stood up and collected her things, turning to the table behind her. "I have to finish this essay," she lied, She sat down and started writing. Though, it sadly wasn't an essay, truthfully, she didn't even know what it was. Just a bunch of words strung together forming lines. She'd stop the lines in various places over the paper and started a new line. She didn't even notice her words were taking the shape of the letter 'S'.

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[Celestina Flamel]

Celestina nodded, not even really noticing that Emmeline was upset. Celestina had been raised around adults.. she lived by adult principles in an adult world.. until now.. now she lived in a teenage world but she hadn't quite figured this out yet..

She went back to work on her own essay considering it carefully as she wrote and wrote, crossing out a bit here and there, then going on. A moment later she noticed Emmeline struggles.

"Do you um.. need some help?" She asked. "I know Min... er... I know Professor McGonagall- " -That was going to take some getting used to!- "Said that conjuring inanimate objects is very difficult, but I know how to do it .. so .. um.. if you want some help." she offered.

[Emmeline Vance]

Emmeline was at the point that the name 'Sirius' was written across her entire paper, written from various words that ran through her head. Most of them angry words seeing as she was still fuming pissed at a girl who had been in the school all of five bloody days and insulted the Marauders for pulling a prank! Emmeline refused to let that down. No one, especially someone who had been here five days, could get away with insulting the closest people she had to a real, caring, family. Hell no, Sirius, James, Remus, and, on occasion, Peter all defended her through the five years she'd known them. She crossed her arms as the new girl started talking.

"No," she said, her voice was cold and spiteful in every sense of the word. And she didn't care. "I do not want, nor do I need your help. When I need help, I go to my best friends. Because the Marauders will always be there for me no matter what I need." She turned around, grabbing the side of the chair to keep herself straight. "Always been, always will be. So no, I don't need your help!" she snapped, sharply before turning around and slammed her book shut, grabbing her potions book. She would be able to write that at the current time. She'd ask Remus to help her with Transfiguration later. She glared at the words on her book. Emmeline was a Ravenclaw, nothing was supposed to distract her from her studies. So what's wrong with this picture?

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