alone at a table for two [open]

[lina trishelle brokenridge]

Lina had her head down in one of her textbooks trying to study, or at least trying to look like she was studying. She didn't want to chance catching anyone's eye because she didn't want anyone coming up to her and questioning what side she had been on during the war. Being back after a tragedy like that.... it was hard. It had been hard. And with the great big green badge of questionable wrapped around her neck and body and on her chest, people looked at her in question. What she one of the bad guys? Did she even deserve to still be at Hogwarts after all her kind had cost the school? Her kind being Slytherin of course. Because of course all Slytherin were blood purists. Yes, there were a great number that were but not all of them had been on Voldemort's side.

Lina cringed just thinking his name. It wasn't taboo anymore so saying out loud wouldn't bring about any destruction but just thinking his name gave her a headache. Like there was still magic attached to it. Like there was still a living entity going by that name. She turned a page in the book, staring at the words and not comprehending any of them. And to think it was only the beginning of the year. She knew she was going to have to communicate with others, clear the air and let them know that she wasn't on the losing side. What of her housemates though? Who would look at her as if she betrayed them? She didn't fight for any side and even that would push people off who were on both sides. She groaned quite audibly which earned her looks from other people around her. Great. The year was looking up already.

Tag; @open

[minerva mary mcgonagall]

In Ginny's opinion, it was far too early in the year for her to find herself in the library. OK, so Hermione practically lived there all year round, but the redheaded Weasley girl could think of many more interesting things to be doing with her time. But, as each and every professor seemed to be intent on reminding them every day, she was in her seventh year now, and that meant one thing. NEWTS. And she was already pretty certain that for her, they would be living up to their Nastily Exhausting name. Considering that Ginny usually avoided both revision and homework with a passion that most people would devote to some hidden talent, this year was certainly not going to be easy for her. It wasn't going to be easy for any of them. The castle might have been rebuilt, but there were illnesses in the mind that took far longer to repair, and they certainly weren't helping the concentration of either the students or the professors. Considering that she'd fought in the Battle of Hogwarts and had survived completely unharmed, she would have thought that she should have got an automatic pass in Defence Against The Dark Arts at least, but apparently this was not the case. How unfair was that!

So here she was, in the library already. Bag on her shoulder weighed down under the sheer number of books inside it and a sheet of parchment hanging from one hand, Ginny made her way through the aisles of the library, selecting relevant books and tucking them under one arm, and finally made her way towards a table. Her arm was aching under the strain and she didn't have the energy to look for another table, so she merely shot a smile at the Slytherin who was already seated there and asked "Mind if I sit here?"

[lina trishelle brokenridge]

She had a headache now. She really wanted to get some studying done but it seemed as if she wasn't going to get anything done at the rate she was going. She felt like she was going to suffocate. She took a deep breath to see if that would help the anxiety she was feeling. A second went by. Two seconds. Three. Nope, she still felt like right crap. She found herself glaring at the words in the book before she shut the book closed roughly. The sound a little louder than she expected and she earned a scolding look from the librarian.

Resting her head on her hand, she tried to hide the fact that she was looking around the room at others, not wanting to catch anyone's eye. That was when she walked in. The hair told you exactly who she was and she kind of sucked the life out of the room. Not it a bad way, it was just... you knew who she was and you knew what role in the war she played. Ginny Weasley walked into the library. Great. Ginny freaking Weasley, war heroine. That was the kind of thing that made you great to some and enviable to others. For Lina, it just made her feel... itchy.

If she'd been worried about being questioned before, her nerves shot up just a little bit more. Some people in the room noticed and began whispering to one another. She watched the red head from the corner of her, trying not to be too obvious with her scrutiny. She looked normal, not like someone basking in the glory of helping to defeat one of the most dangerous people known to wizard-kind, bloody Gryffindors and their bloody recklessness. Her bag looked heavy though. She disappeared in the bookshelves and Lina released a breath she didn't know she was holding in. Good. She picked up her book once again and tried to distract herself from trying to search out the girl again, to study her and pick her apart. It was a few minutes later when someone spoke to her. "Mind if I sit here?" The voice was a bit strained and so she looked up, mid shrug, to see the Weasley girl standing near her table with a few heavy looking books in her arms. Just wonderful. "Sure. Rather, no, I don't mind," she averted her eyes and looked back down at her book. Of all of the tables... Lina was on high alert now. She wondered what excuse she could come up with or how fast she could escape the library. Nothing like impending judgement to just sink you.

Tag; @ginny

[Deleted]

"Thanks." Ginny gave the Slytherin another smile for good measure, since she figured that House rivalry wasn't strictly necessary until later in the year, or at least until Gryffindor were winning, dropped her bag with a thump that made her wince and worked her way into a chair, where she paused for a moment to catch her breath and to let her arms recover. The dull ache began to fade, and Ginny breathed a sigh of relief. She looked up, her eyes flicking briefly across the Slytherin girl opposite her. Ginny had never had much to do with... whatever her name was... but she couldn't recall ever hexing her, so she was on a fairly safe footing there, just so long as she didn't annoy the girl too much while she was sitting here. Unless she'd somehow contrived to offend the snake at some point in the past without actually speaking to her, which the redhead might well have considered to be an admirable feat at any other time, but which certainly wouldn't be helpful in the slightest at present.

It did happen, though. And Ginny didn't want to discriminate between Houses, but it happened with a greater frequency in Slytherin House than in any of the others. Students who had had Death Eater parents, who might well now be in prison as an indirect consequence of what they saw as being Ginny's actions. As a matter of fact, Ginny hadn't done much in the way of being helpful, but everyone who was everyone, and quite a few people who weren't, knew about her... thing... with Harry. Guilt by association was the term, she believed.

The silence was stretching on, and it was making Ginny somewhat uncomfortable. There were people who appreciated the value of silence and could sit for hours on end in thoughtful, peaceful contemplation. Ginny was not one of those people. Growing up in a house with six brothers meant living in an atmosphere of constant turmoil and uproar, and as a result of that conditioning, Ginny couldn't stand silence. She cleared her throat gently, then again, but stopped hurriedly as she saw the librarian's sharp gaze flicking in her direction. She'd swear that that woman had better hearing than a bat... Maybe she just had her own personal Ginny Radar. Her brothers certainly did...

"So..." she began, and paused. She didn't actually have anything worthwhile to say, but neither was she so obsessed with the sound of her own voice that she would begin a conversation about absolutely nothing. Which left her somewhat stuck.