Sneaking Apples Into The Library.

Charlotte sat crisscross on the floor, an apple in one hand, a book in the other. She was leaning back on a bookshelf in a corner somewhere, trying not to get caught eating. She liked to eat when she read, and she wasn't going to let some rules stop her.

She didn't feel like getting a card or checking the book out, that would require actually taking time to read it. She would finish it in maybe an hour, maybe two? No reason to go to her dorm and trouble herself that walk, to come back a few hours later, done with it.

She took another bite of her apple and flipped the page, causally brushing her long blonde hair out of the way.

Callissa walked into the library with a bottle of water and a copy of To Kill a Mokingbird.

She walked around trying to return the book. 'Where do I put this?' she thought.

Walking through the M-O section she saw a girl sitting in a corner. "Hey!" she called. "Wait aren't you that girl I sorted? Uh Charlotte?"

Charlotte's head sprung up from her book, mid bite of the apple. "Uh, hey." She causally tried to hide the apple behind her back. Wasn't that girl her sorter? She was probably close with the teachers if she was one.

"Yeah, you sorted me."

"I know," Callissa smiled. "I sure hope you like your house. That was my first sorting," she laughed.

"Whatcha eatin'?"

Charlotte sighed, seeing her efforts had fail. "An apple. Books are so much better with food."

"I agree," Callissa smiled, sitting down next to Charlotte on the floor.
"I usually come here with some popcorn or chips. Salty foods always seem better to me."

Charlotte nodded. "I like fruits or candy personally, but that's my sweet tooth talking."

"Wait so why are you hiding?" Callissa asked.

Charlotte grinned. "From the librarian of course. I only assumed food wasn't allowed in here, it wasn't a my old school either." Right when she mentioned Hogwarts, her smiled faltered a little bit.

"What are you doing back here?"

"We're allowed to have food in here," Callissa laughed. "I wouldn't bring it if it weren't allowed.

"I came here to return my book. I wanted to check it back in myself, but I guess I'll end up leaving it in the bookdrop."

"Oh?" Charlotte raised an eyebrow. "Wow, things are less strict here. Still, I like the silence, usually no one finds me."

"No one finds you because most people don't go looking at the corners of the library!" Callissa smiled.
"Most students don't read. A lot just sort of come here to socialize near the front of the library."

She held out her hand to Charlotte. "Not sure if I ever formally introduced myself," she said. "I'm Callissa, sixth year Erindale and sorter, also girlfriend of Milo Harrington."

Charlotte nodded and shook the girls hand. "Well, I'm Charlotte Rose, former Ravenclaw prefect, currently sixth year Octavia." She sat herself up and asked. "Well, what special powers do you have? Do you have any?"

"Yep!" Callissa nodded. "I can uh control fire. I'd show you but I'd rather not blow up the library."

Charlotte tried not to look surprised. "That's..uh..dangerous. Can you control it well?"

"Unless I'm angry or frightened I can control it," Callissa replied.

She looked at her hand intensely and a small orb of light formed hovering above her palm. "I can do this which isn't harmful...unless I hit you with it," she joked.

"I wish I had a power like yours. You know? Something I could use without hurting people. "

Charlotte shook her head. "The first time I froze time, I freaked out. It's a curse, really. You see everyone, mid life. You see that you've stopped them, and that you might not be able to resume. It's awful, when I get into a really bad mood. You burn them, I could stop their existence forever."

"I could too. At least someone with the same ability may be able to unfreeze them," she told her.

"If I incinerate someone they are never coming back."

Charlotte nodded. "We both got it pretty bad. But isn't that what this school is supposed to do? Make it not so bad?"

Callissa shrugged. "I've been here for six years and I'm still afraid of myself," she replied.