So She Does Talk

Lina was feeling a bit unsettled as she sat in the main commons. She already read her books at least a dozen times each, finished her homework for the week, and really didn't have anything to do. From the couch she was on, she noticed that all of the other students around her were all older than her talking to their own little groups. Just looking at them laughing with friends made her miss home. I can only imagine what crazy idea Mitzy thought up, or even jokes Yoli learned, she thought as she looked at her book that she was reading, maybe I should have gone to Casa Loma instead.

She attempted to continue reading, but she soon gave up with a sigh. Neatly putting her bookmark back in place, she closed the book, got up from her seat to straighten out her skirt, then headed up the stairs towards the girl's dorm. Once she got inside, she tossed her book on her pillows, and she belly-flopped on her bed. Letting out another sigh. After a few moments, Lina rolled over on her side only to shoot up when she noticed she wasn't alone in the room.

Emma was still have issues with sleep. A month gone by since the dementor attack, and nightmares were a problem that was leaving her slowly. She at least wasn't having to take one of the ready-made potions that Nurse Coraline had created to get her under: no, now she could fall asleep.

But once asleep, there was still that thing in her dreams. It showed, and it approached, and it reached out...

Most of the time she'd wake up, scared stiff, staring at the wall or ceiling. She was glad she wasn't one of those people who screamed when they had a nightmare, otherwise Lina would probably found another roommate by now.

And speaking of Lina...

Emma still hadn't figured this girl out. They'd not said more than a few dozen words since that first night, but it didn't seem to bother Lina. She was soooooooo quite. If it wasn't for her staying up late reading, Emma would never have known she had a roommate.

This time, though... Lina tossed her books on her bed and sort of flopped down, which was very un-Lina like. And then she sighed. Something must be up, Emma though, because Lina never sounds like that.

Emma slowly sat up. "Hey, you okay?"

Lina stared at Emma contemplating on whether or not she should tell her the truth. She had only talked to the girl maybe twice, once on the first night and the other during the Midnight Madness, otherwise, Lina kept to herself. If she's talking to me, then I'm sure she'll actually listen, she thought, mind as well tell her the truth.

Shifting to a kneeling position on her bed to face Emma, Lina took a deep breath and said, "I'm...I've...I'm just a little homesick is all. I got a letter from my parents, and it seems like I'm missing everything back home, and...well" Lina hesitated a bit before adding, "and one of my best friends ended up being accepted to Casa Loma, and...well...I didn't. Don't get me wrong or anything, Salem Witchs' Institute is a wonderful school, one of America's best wizarding schools, if not the best, but, the thing is, I think I should have gone to a Canadian school, not an American one."

"I sort of know that feeling," she said. "I live near Boulder, and my two cousins go to Sky and Summit, which is sort of where everyone on my dad's side went, 'cept for him." She thought for a moment, kind of shrugging off something. "He tried to get me in there--even though he's a legacy here--and they wouldn't take me."

Emma chuckled. "Then I come here and I can't even get sorted into my dad's Coven. When I wrote home, he was like, 'You're a Raven? What's wrong with you?' He made it out like it was the worst thing in the world, you know?" She stared at the foot of the bed. "Like I had any say in the matter."

Shrugging off the blankets, Emma slid to the side of her bed, so she could be closer to Lina. "I have a little brother; he's 8 right now. I just know he'll get into Sky and Summit, and people in my family are gonna look at me like I'm some kind of reject." Then she gave Lina a very soft smile. "On the other hand, no one here told them about my dementor attack, so having some distance from your family lets you--I don't know. Get independent? I mean, if what happened here had happened at S and S, my parents would have been over to the school like every weekend since checking up on me."

Emma looked as if she wanted to reach out, to move closer to Lina. In the end she stayed where she was, unsure of how her actions would have been seen. "It's okay to be homesick. I mean, we're 11; we're suppose to miss everyone." In a soft voice she added, "Even though I don't."

Lina kneeled in silence as Emma reviled personal information about herself. She understood the anxiety Emma was feeling about not getting into a school that she hoped to go to, but the feeling of being outcasted...that was beyond her. Lina always had support from her family no matter what she did, and as for friends...she only ever had a handful of friends, but they were always supportive of her, even now, they all want her to do her best at her school.

There was something that clicked inside Lina when her roommate mentioning her dad not liking their coven. That something possessed the petite girl to get off her bed, get just a few inches away from Emma, grabbed her wrist, and pull her up into an tight embrace. "Your dad is wrong," Lina said flatly, "there's nothing wrong with being in Morrigan; if there was, my sisters and I wouldn't exist." Lina only paused for a few seconds before continuing, "My dad mentioned that he was sad that I didn't get into Åsgårdsreia, however, he was ecstatic to know that I was in Morrigan. I should also mention that Morrigan has been winning the Institute's Dueling Cup 8 of the past 10 years. Although our coven isn't the best at Quidditch, it' not like they were the worst. And I know that you're brilliant on a broom, if you join the Quidditch team, I know that we'll finally beat Ceridwen."

Lina gave another short pause to think of other things that Morrigan is better than Åsgårdsreia, but when she could only think of that, she couldn't stop herself from smiling and giving out a small chuckle, "And if you still don't believe me that your dad is wrong, then think about this: which coven has Ella and Anna in it?" Lina knew that that was mean, but she evaluated them for a month, and she came up with the conclusion that they were both as intelligent as a shoe, but that would have been insulting the shoe.

Finally letting go Emma, Lina looked straight into her eyes and said, "I really doubt that your family would reject you, but if they do, just remember that I would never do that." She gave a huge grin and added, "We're roommates and Coven sisters, so just like real sisters, we always have each other's back."

Emma had an interesting though when Lina mentioned Åsgårdsreia. "Our dads were probably roommates, you know that?" She smiled broadly. "I told them I like it here; I like the people, and I like having Professor Sladen as a Coven Leader--even if she is a little . . ." Emma didn't want to say "queer" and have the comment misunderstood. "Over the top."

As for Lina's other remark . . . "Yeah, I know what you mean about Ella and Anna. They're just total losers. But . . ." Emma dropped her voice into something more conspiratorial. "I've heard a couple of things about Åsgårdsreia . . . they have a lot of--trouble makers, I guess you can say, but they also have a lot of people into divination. And Professor Arrakis--" She leaned closer to Lina. "Someone told that you can be anywhere in their tower, talking about things, and all of a sudden there she is--and she'll tell you not to do what you're talking about, or how you could do something . . ." Emma suppressed a shudder. "It's like she knows what you're going to do before you do it. Then again--she is the divination instructor. I guess that's what a really good one does."

Emma reached out and gave Lina a soft pat. "I don't care what my family says. I like it here; I like the coven. I'm going to play quiddich and enjoy flying. I just need . . ." She giggled. "I really need to get better in class! Man, right now I sorta . . ." She rolled her eyes and sighed. "I gotta stop sucking at magic."

Lina returned the smile, "that's a huge probability. I checked out several library books about the covens during our parent's time, and of course, our dad's entered and graduated school at the same time, plus they were in the same coven, it would be odd it they weren't roommates. I was going to ask my dad, but I only knew your surname, and I didn't think that was enough information to give my dad, I mean, my surname is pretty common, I kind of though yours was too."

Lina's smile dropped a bit when Emma mentioned Professor Arrkis. "Please don't take this the wrong way or anything, but I kind of feel bad for Professor Arrkis. I have no doubt that she's beyond fantastic with divinations, and from what I've read, she's also a skillful duelist, but..." she trailed off to think her words carefully, "don't you think that that kind of gift can be a burden? Like, what if she doesn't want a vision, or if that caused her to be, I don't know, not treated well by others?" But almost as soon as she asked her question, she disregarded it, "On second thought, maybe not. She probably just uses her gift to keep her coven in check."

Lina listened to Emma sigh and say that she's has to stop sucking at magic. Lina didn't think much about it, until she remembered their classes together. Standing up straight, Lina announced, "well, there's no time like the present. What area are you having the most trouble in?"

Emma nodded in agreement about Professor Arrakis. "I wouldn't want to have visions all the time," she said. "I've heard stories about how the last few Divination instructors went crazy; something about the house out there." She shivered wildly. "I don't think I'd want to have that sort of stuff happen to me."

Emma lay back on her bed and considered Lina's other question. "Oh, geez . . . well, Potions I'm not that good. And Dark Arts I've really sucked in so far. I can't get a feel for Transfigurations yet . . ." She blew a raspberry into the air. "I'm okay in Charms and Herbology. And flying--forget about it. I've been on a broom since I was five."

She rolled over and looked at Lina. "I guess I just feel like I should be doing more, and I'm not. I mean, everyone can do charms--then again, some get to go to the advanced class right away . . ." She shrugged, then continued. "I've love to do Potions really well; that's something I've always been interested in." She propped her head up on her hands. "I'd work on Potions, I guess."

Lina was beaming, "well, that's a simple solution; we'll just go ask Professor Sladen for help. To top it off, she's our Coven Head, so it should be simple as walking to her office and asking. When we had to pick plants to plant in Herbology, I wasn't too sure what type of potions some of the plants I've researched were in, so I asked her." Lina gave a nervous laugh before stating, "of course, I was nervous the entire time. I've never been alone with a teacher except for when I had to take that remedial class. Anyway, as before, there's no time like the present, so let's go ask her together."

Emma began laughing. "Lina, it's getting late!" She flipped her legs around and sat on the edge of her bed. "Professor Sladen's probably back over in the Instructor's Residence by now, too. We can do it tomorrow." She swung her legs around, smiling. "You get excited pretty quick when you do get excited. I've never really seen you like this."

She fell back on the bed and stared at the ceiling. "I would kill for some ice cream right now! I could stand some strawberry with honey and sunflower seeds, just like I have back home." She began rubbing her belly. "I'll make sure to get some tomorrow; I've had a strange craving for it of late."

Emma looked at Lina down the length of her body. "Hey, how you doing on dueling? After the practice we had in the Astronomy Tower during our attack, I decided I need a lot of work before I duel. It was sort of fun, but . . ." She chuckled. "I got beat up sort of bad."

Lina didn't realize that it had gotten this late. It wasn't all that surprising though, she always stays up late reading about something; the only mystery was that she was rarely tired when she wakes up for class. Hearing Emma mentioning that she's never seen her excited, Lina's only reply was, "really?" Lina was pretty loud and outspoken at home, and when she went to town with Annie and Kerry, she felt that she was comfortable talking to them, that she found it odd that she never talked so much around Emma. Then again, Lina didn't care much for Quittage or flying, so she didn't have much of an opinion of the subject and remained quiet when they were in the store, and Lina knew that Emma loved flying, but after the attack on the school, Lina didn't want to cause her any trouble after she learned that she was attacked, so she just remained silent.

When Emma mentioned how she really wanted ice cream with all of the works, Lina couldn't stop laughing in agreement. But when Emma mentioned dueling, Lina's smile dimmed a bit. It wasn't like she was terrible at dueling, just the opposite, and that unnerved her a bit. It wasn't a secret that Lina was the daughter of two Dueling club captains, nor was it a secret that she really wanted to be a Valkyrie. The thing that unnerved her was how she would hear the older students in the covens making her out to be prodigy, that she simply was not. To keep the good-mood atmosphere alive, Lina replied, "It could be better, I'm just about average for our age."

Rolling over on her bed, Emma said, "Maybe some time we should go out to the Manor and try a few things." Her eyes grew wider as she said, "I did manage to lock legs one time... and I think I can do that voice-taking spell."

She rolled over on her bed, but didn't get under the cover. She looked at herself. "I should do my nails tomorrow," she said, staring at her toes. "I haven't done that since I left home. Mom made me take off all the polish before I came here." She gazed up at the ceiling and sighed. "I need to go into town, first, and get some. I don't think any of the older girls will let me borrow theirs."

Lina nodded in agreement when Emma said that they should go to the Manor to practice. She didn't have the heart to tell her that she already mastered the Leg Locker curse and Conjure sparks charm, and that she almost mastered the Silencing charm; rather, she complemented her on her success.

Then Emma mentioned that she wanted to do her nails. "Why didn't you say so?" Lina asked as she walked over to her trunk. Once she opened it, she moved her books and other items out Tongue lock hex: the way to pull out a smaller, cherry wood box. She walked back over to Emma to opened the box only to reveal several small bottles of nail color. "Let's see... I have: cherry, plum, eggplant, grape, orchid, lavender, carnation, strawberry, bubblegum, magenta, salmon, lime, spring, clover, fern, moss, flora, sea foam, spindrift, teal, sapphire, sky, turquoise, navy and clear. You can borrow any of them if you like," she said as she held the box in front of her roommate.

Emma's eyes went as wide as they were when she encountered the demontor. "Oh, Oh, OH!" She sounded almost as if she were gasping for air. "I didn't know! If I had . . ."

She held out her right hand. "I would love to try lime! That'll look so cool!" She started laughing. "Not that we'll be able to wear sandals soon! But, still . . . That sounds like so much fun!"

"I'm glad you like it." Lina said as she put the box away, "there's a store in Metrotown that gives them away as 'thank yous' after buying so many items. I think that I got their entire nail collection within two weeks." It took her a few moments to realize that Emma probably never heard of Metrotown, so she quickly clarified, "Oh, Metrotown is the main mall everyone goes to in the Vancouver area; it's huge! "