Catch The Snitch

Isobel was up extremely early, her brain would no stop poking at her to get out of bed. She had so many things to do, so much homework and reading to do before classes. Not to mention she would have to get her butt into gear if she wanted to make good marks on her N.E.W.T.S. next year. She already knew what she the field of work she was going into after her time was finished at Hogwarts, but she had to get the marks to back up her knowledge in the Magical animal field or no one would be willing to take a chance on her. So, after she dressed in her dorm she slipped her shoes on and headed down to the common room to start studying.

On a normal basis, she would head to the library because the common room was too loud for her to get any work done. Her fellow housemates would be talking away and overall being disruptive. Not that she minded all that much, but it was different when she was trying to study. Isobel thought that it would be different at six in the morning though. When she reached the common room, she saw that her suspicions were correct. It was quiet, and she was relieved. She set her books down on one of the tables near the window and started to it. She first opened her potions book and started studying the different ingredients for the potions that they corresponded with, taking note of which ones were harder to acquire.

She had moved on to Transfigurations when she heard footsteps coming from the dormitories once more. It was early still, but perhaps she wasn't the only one that was an early riser. Hopefully, they wouldn't be too loud, or maybe they would just pass through and make their way down to the Great Hall for breakfast. She returned to her studies and took notes once more. When the footsteps came to a stop in the common room she looked up and saw a familiar face. "Laguna? Couldn't sleep or do you have somewhere to be this early?"

Laguna hadn't planned to be awake, but with the difficulty he'd been having to sleep lately, he figured it'd be best just to go ahead and get the day started. Of course, he thought he'd have the common room to himself at this hour, but he found that to be untrue when he heard Isobel speak. "Well, I couldn't sleep. Lucky for you, now you get to have some great company because of it," he commented as he continued on toward one of the sofas where he plopped down on it, lounging as she continued her studies.

"What about you? Do you always get up this early to have such...fun...?" He tilted his head slightly to see if he could make out what sort of book she had open on the table. "What is it you're working on anyway?" Part of him was curious, the other part was wondering if he'd forgotten one of his homework assignments and if he needed to frantically try and cram it in before the due date. He'd spent the night before flying around past curfew and neglected to tend to any of his studies due to his late night adventure.

Isobel was hoping to have a quiet morning and it had been so far but when Laguna made his way downstairs she knew that would change. He stated he couldn't sleep and now she would have company. She resisted the urge to sigh, not wanting to be rude to the other student. She offered a sweet smile instead. "I suppose I do." She watched as he plopped down onto the couch, perhaps he would just lounge and let her do her studies, so as soon as he sat down, she went back to her books to study some more. Her eyes danced across the pages as she took notes trying to prepare herself for the upcoming exams that would be taking place. Granted they weren't N.E.W.T.s yet but she wanted to get all she could inside her brain before the end of term.

His words rang in her ears and she looked back up from her books, her face blank for a moment as she allowed her brain to process his words. "No, not always. Sometimes I just go to the library to study, but I couldn't sleep either, and figured it was a good time to get up and study as it would be quiet in the common room since everyone is still asleep. Normally it's too loud in here for me to do any studying here and I like the fire crackles, helps me relax." She glanced down at the book in front of her and then back up at him. "Oh, just studying past curriculum, trying to embed the lessons in my head so I remember them later." She wasn't sure why he was asking but most people asked in case they had forgotten something. "Don't worry, no new assignments as of yet." She smiled at him once more.

It was then her stomach did a sort of rumble sound and she felt her cheeks warm up. "Sorry, haven't eaten much lately." She grabbed her stomach and nibbled on the edge of her lip. "Why haven't you been sleeping lately? Oh...I mean, sorry that's sort of personal, you don't have to answer. I just mean, there are some potions out there that could help you sleep."

"Oh? That's too bad. I don't know about you but I find it fairly difficult to get any effective studying done without sleep." He didn't seem to consider that his chatter might be distracting her from doing what she'd actually intended to come downstairs to do. When she confirmed that he hadn't missed any homework, he looked relieved. "I'm sure you'll do fine with the lessons. You're one of the top in our class..." He paused for a moment and then quickly added on, "At least that's what I've heard around school. What is it that you're studying to do anyway?"

In a normal scenario, the common room would be full of students and commotion, making this interaction much less likely to happen. In fact, in a normal scenario, he'd probably be goofing off across the room with some of his quidditch teammates or really, he'd very likely be outside. They just didn't frequent the same extracurricular hangouts.

At the sound of her stomach, he gave a small smile, "Nothing to be sorry about." There was a short pause and then he continued, "I've er...got this," he pulled out a chocolate frog. It wasn't the most nutritional breakfast, but it was what he had to offer in the moment. "...And, now that I'm thinking this through, I realize it's definitely not the best thing to offer for breakfast," he gave a light chuckle.

When she asked about his sleepless nights, he debated telling. Then again, it was probably highly unlikely that anyone would take it seriously and the last thing he wanted was to let people get the idea that some silly cursed mirror reflection was actually taking a toll on him. "You'd not believe me if I told you." He shrugged the question off, though in the back of his mind he was envisioning the scene in the forest from just about a week ago.

"I don't usually have a horrible time sleeping. I wear my brain down by studying and it makes me tired. It keeps my brain from running wild I try to sleep." She didn't mind the fact that he was talking didn't really bother her. She had already done quite a bit of studying anyway and the company was kind of nice. "Top of our class??" She raised her eyebrows and red came to her cheeks. She was unaware that people were talking about her, especially in a positive manner. She looked down at her books and then back at him. "Oh, uh transfigurations. I already studied a few other subjects."

He wasn't wrong, they did not travel in the same circle. She didn't really hang out with many people and those she did hang out with weren't into sports and such. Sure, she attended the quidditch matches but for the most part she hung out with the other students from the choir and the ones she hangs out with when it comes to magical creatures.

She smiled a little shyly and shrugged. "I should be eating more, but it is hard for me to find the time to eat." She watched as he pulled something from his pocket and stated that he had...A chocolate frog! She grinned and quickly shook her head. "Oh no a chocolate frog is perfect!" Her face lit up and she held out her hand for the frog. "I love chocolate!"

His face got rather serious and she frowned knowing that something was going on. "Believe you? Try me, Laguna. I am a rather understanding person and believe in more than you think."

"Studying does that to me too. Only it takes just about half an hour before my brain wanders." He shrugged, a little hint of a smile on his face. "That's right, or is there another Isobel Evans that I'm mistaking you with?" His posture shifted slightly so that he could look over at her as he was speaking to her. "Even if we don't cross paths frequently, you are still one of my fellow sixth years. More importantly," he stressed, "One of my housemates. I'd be a terrible housemate if I hadn't at least some idea of who you were."

Laguna raised his eyebrows as she explained that she'd already gone over multiple subjects. "Is it anywhere near as impressive if I tell you that I've studied all of our quidditch plays just this morning?" There was a slight amusement at his own little attempt at humor. "If there's anything I've learned it's that you can't do anything on an empty stomach." Of course, that could just be true for him, but he was just going with the assumption that everyone needed a full stomach to operate at their highest potential.

"Aha! A fellow chocolate lover. And here I was thinking that you may be appalled that I was offering chocolate for breakfast." A big smile spread over his face as he handed over the chocolate frog. "Dunno if you're much for collecting the cards, but it's all yours if you want. Mum likes to try and toss mine if she catches them lying around anyway."

There was a long pause and then finally, he asked her a question before he revealed any real information about the situation. After all, this was no light business and he needed to know if she brought any value to the problem. He and Nautica had a silent agreement to be careful about saying anything to anyone. At least that was his impression. His eyes shifted around the room, as if he was expecting someone or something to pop up. "Do you have any experience with cursed objects?"

She smiled and nodded her head at him. "I suppose our brains all have different amounts of studying we can tolerate before it becomes overwhelmingly exhausting." She had trained her brain to handle tougher subjects and to study longer. She wanted to be able to provide for her family and help with finances when she was older. She perked a brow and shook her head. "I do believe I am the only Isobel Evans at this school." She sighed. "It's just, I never knew people actually knew I existed, let alone knew anything about me." She smiled and bit into the chocolate frog. "Ah, well I suppose that is true. I do know who you are of course. Your circle of friends and my....well me, don't really travel the same areas of Hogwarts, so to speak."

She let out a soft giggle. "To be fair, yes that is impressive. I don't know a lot about the game myself and to think that you studied the plays, and I'm guessing, memorized them. I would consider that to be impressive indeed." She grinned once more and had to agree. "You are right. An empty stomach can be quite bothersome when trying to do anything." It was especially difficult when trying to sing and her stomach would protest.

"Oh my yes!" She said with a mouthful of the chocolate frog. "Chocolate is one of my vices. It is the best creation on the planet if you ask me. Cures aliments and tastes so wonderful." She looked down at the chocolate frog card and shrugged. "I guess I never really thought to collect them." She reached over and handed it to him. "Don't really know anyone who does either. So as thoughtful as that is, you can have it. Just keep it out of your mums sight?" She grinned.

After finishing the chocolate frog, she carefully shut her book. Her brain had enough studying and besides, it was quite pleasant to have someone to talk to. Her eyes widened at his question and she frowned just a bit. "I have read several things on cursed objects. I haven't had experience first hand but I have read about them. Are you...Did you find a cursed object?"

"I've always been more of a hands on kind of person, myself." It was true. Though he could read and was intelligent, Laguna scraped by with maddening skill on the bare necessities and somehow still surpassed the performance of many of his classmates. His mother found it infuriating that he "wasted" his potential. Growing up, his father argued that it was just being resourceful and prioritizing his time--a fine skill for someone who would one day be a powerful leader. Neither was wrong, it was a mix of both and surrounding himself around people that he knew could help him on his journey. "We do not travel the same areas," he agreed, seeming pleased that his offer of the frog was going over well.

"Have you never played the game yourself?" He asked, curious. In his mind it was something ALL magic folk had at least tried in their free time. "Do...you fly at all?" Now he was second guessing his whole thought process on others using brooms as often as he liked to think. "Anyway, it's a lot more strategy than you'd like to think. And you've got to understand people. For example, last year I knew that if I got close enough to one of the Ravenclaw chasers, they'd dodge in a panic and then I could knock them right after the dodge. Or, our keeper my first year. Bloody quick...could save anything. As long as you didn't approach him from the left side." He chuckled. "Just a game of observations and anticipating moves. I do miss beater, but it's been fun getting to work more on seeker." Now he was rambling. It took a minute before he realized he'd started and that this was not likely the target audience to appreciate his rambles.

"Ah, anyway, yeah chocolate is one of the best creations. Though I prefer having a butterbeer over it if I'm pressed for time." Laguna said, referring to the frequent trips to Hogsmeade in mind. When she gave the card back, he accepted it with a shrug and looked down at it, tilting his head. "Potter." Then he tossed it onto the side table. Some first year would appeciate it.

What is the best approach...? His mind went over all the details and finally he proceeded. "Lets say you have this friend. And said friend discovered an object in the middle of the woods where they saw something peculiar about what they saw inside of the object. Something to do with seeing their self, but...different. Seeing exactly what they don't wish to become." Laguna rubbed his forehead as he decided he was doing a terrible job with being vague enough to cover what they witnessed and still descriptive enough to explain why he thought he'd encountered a cursed object.

"I found a mirror." Nautica left out, check. "And I saw something that was odd. Maybe I have been having hallucinations of my own reflection around school lately--but it seems so real. Like it's haunting me."

"That is actually very common. A lot of people learn better when they can be hands-on, and studying from books or notes is a lot more difficult. I think hands-on help people visualize what the problem or matter actually is." Isobel always had supportive parents, her mother was proud of her no matter what she did and was willing to support her in her dreams. Even when it was something as silly as being a circus performer. Her father stood by her and was always reminding her that nothing comes from being lazy and that hard work was its own reward. But he was never mean about it, never scolded her for not studying enough. Yes, there we expectations but they weren't unreasonable.

She scoffed at his question and shook her head. "No, I've never really played the game. I have been to the matches, but to be honest, I'm not that great on a broom. I like to keep my feet firmly planted on the ground. Sort of....terrified of heights." She wasn't a fan of being that high up in the air with no way to protect her from falling off the broom. One big gust of wind could knock her off her broom and then where would she be? Six feet under that's where. She couldn't imagine using a broom as the best way to travel. Not when there were trains, busses, and apperation.

"Well I can believe that takes quite a bit of strategy up there on those brooms. Not to mention trying to catch and throw a ball, protect your teammates against balls that want to smash your bones into dust..." She shook her head again amazed that the game was even played. It was incredible how they had no fear up there. "It's honestly amazing how you all stay up there in the air, flying about, full of confidence and ready to take on the sport. I think I'd pee my pants just trying to get up in the air."

"Oh, YES. Butterbeer is amazing. It's a perfect balance of sweet and warm. Makes me feel cozy." She giggled when he tossed the card. Harry Potter, the boy who lived. He had his own card now. Oddly enough. "Not a Potter fan then?" She stifled a laugh and closed her books. This conversation was much more interesting than the studying she had been doing.

"An enchanted mirror that sends your own reflection? Not good." She pondered over it for a moment. "I've heard other things like this before. Not in mirrors though. Haunted objects that feed off insecurities, and energies, they try to suck the joy, sort of like a dementor, out of everything. Has this reflection done anything...not so lovely?" It was concerning that a mirror like this was found on school grounds. She shook her head and pushes herself from the table to join him on the couch. "Laguna, I don't think these are hallucinations. It is manifesting your fears, of whatever you are afraid of becoming. Boggarts do something similar, but this sounds...more. Different. Have you told anyone else about this?"

"I suppose everyone does have their own way of processing information. I do appreciate being able to visualize what's going on in front of me. It's different when you can see something or touch something." He thought back for a moment to his childhood and the way his mother would use her magic to make the stories she read come to life. Even then he'd been more inclined to retain the stories when they came to life. For a moment his memories lingered there and he felt just a little homesick.

Laguna chuckled and nodded, "I guess being scared of heights could deter one from pursuing a game that is purely flying around on brooms and having people try to hit you with bludgers. Surely you follow the Quidditch World Cup?" He inquired. Didn't everyone? "A lot of strategy," he agreed.

"Huh? Oh.." His eyes moved to the Potter card and he tilted his head. In the grand scheme of things, Potter wasn't a popular name in his household. "He's ...Harry Potter I suppose. Not the card I'm looking for though," he answered.

His eyes continuously checked the room. You never knew when a first year was sneaking around the corner. They were so small you'd barely notice them coming in from the dorms sometimes. "Not good." He statement in agreement. "Well...not intentionally. I was with someone else when the mirror was discovered. And then with two others recently when we saw something similar again." He thought to himself for a moment. "Surely it will settle down soon." That was just his way of justifying that the situation was fine.

"I wonder though...if someone left it there to be found."

"That makes a lot of sense. I mean, I do pick up on things quicker when I can see them first hand, but I also study the notes. Sort of a way to insure I grasp the concept completely, ya know?" She looked over at him and saw the dreamy look in his face and a sort of pain in his eyes. She didn't comment on it but she knew he had something brewing under the surface. She felt calling it out would make matters worse, so she left it alone.

"Most definitely. I can't imagine going very high on a broom, flying class scares the hell out of me." She chuckled nervously before nodding. "Well of course I follow the world cup. Who wouldn't follow it? It's only one of the biggest events that's held." She grinned over at him. "Yes, quidditch doesn't take strategy and a lot of focus. No arguments on that from me."

"Oh, I see." Harry Potter was a well known name in most households but perhaps not his since he was from a different sort of family. She didn't think about it when asking the question and almost felt stupid for asking it in the first place.

She frowned a bit and squirmed a bit uneasy in her seat for a moment. "It sounds rather ominous. I mean, why would have been there in the first place." His next comment was exactly what was on her mind. It was like he was in her head for a moment. "But why would someone leave it there to cause havoc on the school? Seems sort of cruel doesn't it?"