- Messages
- 3,636
- OOC First Name
- Camilla
- Blood Status
- Muggleborn
- Relationship Status
- Single (Not Looking)
- Wand
- Curly 13" Rigid Pine Wand, Meteorite Dust Core
- Age
- 18 (21/9/2043)
set in the Y44 mid-year break (posted in here to avoid time pressure), admin approved
With all of the extra free time she now had (i.e. the exam cram could be put off until a mad panic in May), Aine had taken it upon herself to do a little of her own additional study. Apparently, rather than just taking a normal workload with dropping a course, she thought it best to fill the time with more work, as one does. It was, in fact, something that had been rolling around in her mind all year, ever since fourth year Defence Against the Dark Arts. (She was still uncertain why the school was determined to stick to a northern hemisphere schedule because it sure did make explaining things to relatives really weird and meant that the long break was over winter, but it wasn't like she could fix that...yet. The advantage was hibernation over the winter months, she supposed.)
But ever since the Imperius curse class, Aine had been determined to find a way to protect her mind from breach. Sure, the unforgiveable was an extreme case and she probably wasn't likely to face it - though with the importance placed on fighting dark forces, apparently, maybe it was more likely than she thought - but that didn't mean magic couldn't breach her mind in other ways. And there was nothing Aine dreaded more than anyone having access to her inner thoughts and feelings. That was her space, and her battle alone. She was already on the back foot in so many ways; muggle family, difficulty communicating, overthinking everything. Much less pretty and talented than every other girl (and even a lot of the boys) in the year (in her opinion). The perils of being sixteen turned up to eleven. Any way she could claw back self-control and gain an upper hand on anyone trying to bring her down, she would take it. Anything to protect herself and learn to deal with her emotions better. Preferably by smothering them down so far they couldn't make a sound. (As a moody teenager would think it best, naturally.)
And now, as a new decade dawned, Aine was convinced she had found the answer. Although there was only so much the school library had to offer, so the true first step was to take the Occlumency book up to the extremely terrifying looking man at the counter and buy it without a hint of fear. She didn't know what it was about him, and she knew she shouldn't be judgmental, but perhaps because of the school's insistence on teaching defence as a priority she felt alert and on her guard. Aine supposed she should have just been glad it wasn't anyone she knew working at the counter. It wasn't like it was shameful, but if she did try and study this seriously and didn't succeed, having people she knew ask her about it would've been totally humiliating. She wouldn't have been able to look Monday in the eye if she failed - she had already dropped classes before he did, which said his determination, or perhaps foolishness, trumped hers. "Just this, please," Aine said, politely, avoiding meeting the shopkeeper's eyes as she scrounged in her bag for the galleons.
With all of the extra free time she now had (i.e. the exam cram could be put off until a mad panic in May), Aine had taken it upon herself to do a little of her own additional study. Apparently, rather than just taking a normal workload with dropping a course, she thought it best to fill the time with more work, as one does. It was, in fact, something that had been rolling around in her mind all year, ever since fourth year Defence Against the Dark Arts. (She was still uncertain why the school was determined to stick to a northern hemisphere schedule because it sure did make explaining things to relatives really weird and meant that the long break was over winter, but it wasn't like she could fix that...yet. The advantage was hibernation over the winter months, she supposed.)
But ever since the Imperius curse class, Aine had been determined to find a way to protect her mind from breach. Sure, the unforgiveable was an extreme case and she probably wasn't likely to face it - though with the importance placed on fighting dark forces, apparently, maybe it was more likely than she thought - but that didn't mean magic couldn't breach her mind in other ways. And there was nothing Aine dreaded more than anyone having access to her inner thoughts and feelings. That was her space, and her battle alone. She was already on the back foot in so many ways; muggle family, difficulty communicating, overthinking everything. Much less pretty and talented than every other girl (and even a lot of the boys) in the year (in her opinion). The perils of being sixteen turned up to eleven. Any way she could claw back self-control and gain an upper hand on anyone trying to bring her down, she would take it. Anything to protect herself and learn to deal with her emotions better. Preferably by smothering them down so far they couldn't make a sound. (As a moody teenager would think it best, naturally.)
And now, as a new decade dawned, Aine was convinced she had found the answer. Although there was only so much the school library had to offer, so the true first step was to take the Occlumency book up to the extremely terrifying looking man at the counter and buy it without a hint of fear. She didn't know what it was about him, and she knew she shouldn't be judgmental, but perhaps because of the school's insistence on teaching defence as a priority she felt alert and on her guard. Aine supposed she should have just been glad it wasn't anyone she knew working at the counter. It wasn't like it was shameful, but if she did try and study this seriously and didn't succeed, having people she knew ask her about it would've been totally humiliating. She wouldn't have been able to look Monday in the eye if she failed - she had already dropped classes before he did, which said his determination, or perhaps foolishness, trumped hers. "Just this, please," Aine said, politely, avoiding meeting the shopkeeper's eyes as she scrounged in her bag for the galleons.