7 PM

It was the first week of class and already assignments were piling up.  She liked the classes she chose, certainly, though had no idea what she was going to do at the end of it.  Part of her wanted to access her charms and transfiguration to do something with fabric, but she feared being woefully misconstrued as a seamstress that it threatened her desire to create anything for a living – in addition to its likelihood of failure as an economic venture, it just didn’t have the soundness that some other avenues had…

As it was starting to hit her how soon the real world was coming.  Two years was not a lot of time and most people, from what Jordyn understood, seemed to already know what they wanted to do.  She just took whatever she was good at, in hopes that she might make something out of all of it. 

That was why she was dragging her bag to the library and holing herself up to do some studying.  The common room at this time of day was going to be ridiculously loud, particularly as people were still in the spirit of caring about one another’s existence, and Jordyn certainly did not have the time to worry about it.  She made her appearances, now she was absolved of responsibility. 

She could enjoy the peace of the library – though the last time she was in a library she had almost been decapitated by a book… She did not assume something quite so traumatizing (or entertaining) was going to happen today.  Nothing like that happened when one’s only intent was to study. 

Placing her bag down on one of the tables in the library, she pulled out the seat and smoothed the back of her skirt before sitting.  She did not want to appear rumpled, after all, and unhitched the flap on her bag and reached in…

She felt around, each spine was unique, and she ran her hands over them – a determined look on her face.  She lowered her eyes to see that she had forgotten her charms book.  Frustrated, she stood up, smoothing herself again with quick hands, and pushed her chair back –she’d have to take one from the stacks. 

As much as Etienne felt Hogwarts failed to measure up to the standards he was used to at Beauxbatons, he did have to admit to himself that they had a decent library. A remarkable range of topics were covered, and that was even without gaining access to the Restricted Section. But if there was anything to be found in a library more interesting than its books, it was its occupants. So even as Etienne skimmed over the notes he had taken in that day's classes, his gaze overtly flitted from aisle to aisle, table to table, to take in whomever else was studying that evening. That being the case, it could hardly escape his notice when one of the Slytherin prefects passed by.

Etienne had made a point to familiar himself with everyone he shared a class with, though few of them were so far aware of that. This girl, he knew, was Jordyn Dimbleby. He wasn't sure of her blood status, but her social standing couldn't be too badly off, especially considering she'd had the privilege of escorting Seraphin Olivier around the school the previous month. From the way she held herself to the pristine way she was dressed, here was a young lady whose reputation meant something to her. She gave a damn about how others perceived her. Or at least, those was Etienne's deductions based on what he'd seen and heard of her. Sliding his notes nearly into his school satchel, he decided to put that assessment to the test, and see if he could build upon it.

Silently disappearing into the stacks, he took note of the aisle Dimbleby was heading for, and made his way up an adjacent aisle, taking care to look faintly lost so as to mask the purpose in his movements. When he reached the end of the aisle, he turned into the Charms section, managing to appear just a little ways off from where the Slytherin prefect now was. He carefully took no notice of her, apparently searching the shelves instead, until he had almost reached her, at which point he stopped short.

'Oh!' He backed up a few paces, though he hadn't been in any real danger of invading her personal space. 'Pardon, mademoiselle.' He smiled a little, affecting the air of one who was put a little off-kilter by social interaction. It would allow Dimbleby to assert control of the situation if she wished, and Etienne found it so much easier to assess people when they were in the more dominant position. 'What I mean to say is, my apologies for disturbing you, but--' He pretended to notice her gleaming badge for the first time. 'Ah! You are a prefect? Perhaps then-- might you be able to help me? There is a book I wish to find, but I think the librarian is busy.' He folded his hands in front of him, an automatic habit of his since he almost always defaulted to subservient. Though generally he spoke English without much of an accent, he let his natural French intonation seep through a little more; a bit cheap of him, really, but some girls did respond better to a nice accent and he was curious to find out more about this witch Seraphin had already spent some time with.

Biting the inside of her lip, Jordyn scanned the stack to just find the standard textbook.  She did not really care to look into any private research matters – merely wanted to get her homework done and be on her way.  She might linger later, but for the time being, she was not in the mood to lollygag around without purpose. If she could focus on small tasks, always having something to do, she didn’t have to focus on the fact she couldn’t really control anything that wasn’t a little task. 

Truth be told, she did not even notice the young man in the stacks.  She hardly noticed anyone when she was on a mission, and it was difficult to get her to pay attention, unless of course, you practically knocked into her – and as it occurred, Jordyn blinked, stepping a bit out of the way, adjusting to the sound of a voice that was not English.

Shaking her head briefly, she looked up at Etienne Miroux.  He was in a few of her classes, he seemed quiet.  He was also friendly, or at least appeared friendly, with Séraphin.  Now, it was not as though Jordyn had real hope anything would happen there… but it did make her stomach do flip-flops to even consider the possibility. She swallowed down her embarrassment and nonchalantly waved her hand, “No matter – think nothing of it.” 

Of course, he didn’t just go after asking her pardon and Jordyn was confused.  It wasn’t as though they’d ever talked before, and she certainly wasn’t the one that sought attention out of her group.  She worked quietly and mostly without eyes on her.  Of course, the more he talked, the more Jordyn understood. 

That made much more sense and she nodded curtly, clearing her throat.  “Of course,” she agreed, glancing up at his eyes – she wasn’t truly shy, by any means, and considering she did not know him, it might be beneficial to decipher whatever motives he might have had.  “What are you looking for?”

So far it didn't seem that Étienne had misread the prefect; there was an almost business-like quality in the way she answered him that seemed to affirm she took her title, if not her social standing in general, seriously. From what he'd seen of her in class, she didn't seem to draw too much attention to herself, but she wasn't so reserved that she didn't look him in the eye. So, assertive, at least. Promising so far.

Étienne held Jordyn's gaze for only a moment before breaking eye contact; he was fond of subtle affectations of shyness like that when it came to meeting new people. Anything to aid them in underestimating him. 'It was referenced in our charms textbook,' he explained. 'I was hoping it might help me understand the subject a little better. It is A History of Spatial and Temporal Charms, by Idris Tarrigan.' He wasn't making that part up, at least; he had seen the title in one of the footnotes. It might even be rather an interesting read.

'I suppose it might be in the History section, rather than Charms,' he added, continuing to look a little nervous about the whole matter. 'Does it sound at all familiar to you, Miss--' He paused. 'My apologies again, I am afraid I have not learned everyone's name yet.' All right, that was a blatant lie. But it was true of enough visiting students that Miss Dimbleby was unlikely to realise Étienne had, in fact, taken the time to make sure he knew who was who. Étienne never did like to deny anyone the chance to introduce themselves.

Jordyn hadn’t had a chance to look at the footnotes, but she assumed he knew what he was talking about.  He seemed to be the bookish sort, not far off from herself, maybe even more so.  In fact, Jordyn couldn’t really remember who he was on his own accord.  She only recognized him as part of Seraphin’s group. 

Nodding slowly, she pursed her lips in thought, trying to imagine where the book could be.  She didn’t necessarily forget about her own textbook, she felt it was important to help a visitor first.  What would Head of House Morgan say if he found out one of the prefects was not being hospitable – or worse, Headmaster Reid?!  “Most likely history,” she agreed, discreetly biting the inside of her lip. 

Raising her eyebrows as he admitted he could not remember her name, well, that seemed odd – considering they were actually taking most of their classes together.  She wasn’t shy when it came to participating, but she decided she wouldn’t say anything for fear of being rude and gave a tight smile, “Jordyn,” she introduced herself, “Dimbleby. It’s a pleasure to meet you…”

She trailed off this time, “Beg my pardon, I myself haven’t gotten the chance to know everyone either…” This was, in fact, true.  She did not know this boy’s name – and to indicate him as just one of the Beauxbaton boys that walked around with Mr. Olivier would probably be a damning mistake. 

Etienne allowed a smile to spread across his face. 'Oh, of course! Miss Dimbleby! Yes, I should have realised.' The look of pleasant surprise the young man affected was not entirely put on; of course, the surprise was not real (and Etienne always made sure to have a well-rehearsed look of surprise on standby), but there was definitely something distinctly pleasing about interacting with someone new for the first time. There was always that slight sense of anticipation as to how a virtual stranger would respond to any given prompt; almost like working the strings of a new marionette.

'Believe me, the pleasure is all mine. Etienne Miroux.' He ducked his head in an informal bow; best not to lay it on too thick. Seraphin would probably be able to get away with a sweeping bow, or, more likely, kissing a girl's hand, but Etienne was a bit too stilted for that, even if he was a good actor. 'There certainly are a lot of new faces to get used to, are there not?' Had he really not known Dimbleby's name, Etienne supposed he would feel relieved, or even grateful, that the girl was just as unfamiliar with his. As it was, he merely felt satisfied that he had kept sufficiently below at least one of his new classmate's radars. The less that was known about himself, he always thought, the better.

'Although, I gather that you have already made the acquaintance of one of these new faces? A fellow Beauxbatonian of mine, Mr. Seraphin Olivier?' He didn't mind if it seemed as though he had temporarily forgotten the Charms book; the worst that would happen would be that Dimbleby would simply remind him of it. Right now, Etienne was a lot more interested in how she reacted to the mention of Seraphin.

Etienne.  Jordyn vaguely remembered that name from class.  Nodding, she was glad he did not go out of his way to be ridiculously formal, it drove her completely mad, the way some of the boys felt the need to show off how cultured they were – mostly because she tended to dislike being touched by anyone.  “There are,” she commented back, pleasant but not overjoyed.

Unlike some of the girls in her year, she wasn’t going to die whenever anyone talked to her – and he seemed businesslike, which suited her for conversation.  She didn’t know how to respond to compliments and her flirting was awkward, at best.  While she might have been better at it before, an increased sensibility about her social standing and the implications of rumors (clearly exhibited with Waker from the previous year), Jordyn had buttoned up and took great pains to take care of herself and her image. 

She felt her heart hitch in her chest though, when he commented about her knowledge of Seraphin.  Clearing her throat, she couldn’t help but have to take a minute.  She had been mentioned?!  “I gave him a tour before the school year, yes,” Jordyn clarified, trying to hold no secrecy – it wouldn’t do well to appear shy and startled, it would probably get back to him and he’d laugh at her for being so quaint and silly as to think he was actually serious when he spoke of going on another tour or spending more time with her.

Jordyn had analyzed everything from that meeting – and clearly, he was just very polite and the language barrier was playing a part in it.  “I trust he hasn’t gotten lost since then?” She added with just a hint of cheek in her smirk, moving past him, only to stop a few steps forward and glance over her shoulder, “But, I think we digress – that history book you wanted…?”

Mentioning Seraphin's name had the desired effect; Etienne noted a definite pause before Jordyn responded. But what exactly did that indicate? Regardless of what he implied, Etienne actually knew very little of the interactions between Seraphin and this Hogwarts student. He only knew that the tour had been given. Jordyn Dimbleby, however, wasn't to know that, and Etienne's standing as one of Seraphin's close friends (lackey would probably be a more accurate term) leant some credence to any reactions he might attribute to Seraphin.

So now the trick was to deduce Jordyn's opinion of his schoolmate. Etienne did have an inkling, but he tried not to rely too much on gut feelings. She owned up in no uncertain terms to the circumstances of their acquaintance, and if she was particularly pleased to hear she had been mentioned, she masked it well. Perhaps she was simply caught off-guard, and was fairly indifferent... Or perhaps she carefully composed her response in order to maintain a good image. And this was, after all, almost certainly a girl who cared what others thought of her.

Miss Dimbleby was steering back towards the topic of books now, though, which Etienne would need to remedy. 'Oh, yes, of course! Oh, but...' He turned to face her, and an apologetic look crossed his face. (Anyone who knew Etienne well could tell Jordyn this was a rarity.) 'When I interrupted you, were you also looking for a particular book? It would me remiss of me to drag you away from this section before you have found your own book.'

He gestured to the shelves as if to indicate she should feel free to continue her own search before aiding in his. 'Oh, and-- Seraphin indeed has not become lost here yet-- at least to my knowledge.' The trace of a smile appeared in the corner of his own lips. He thought he had detected an almost teasing tone when she had asked after Seraphin. It implied a degree of familiarity with him. 'But that is hardly surprising. From what I hear, you are an excellent tour guide.'

When her own book search was mentioned, Jordyn shook her head.  “It’s no matter – I just needed to borrow a textbook – I forgot mine in my dorm,” she explained lightly, not overly embarrassed, as it was not something to really be embarrassed by, and it also indicated that her needs were not to come above those of the people she was supposed to help, and in this case, he was one of them. 

“I’ve already done half of the assignment anyway,” she lied – she had looked at in the dorm, but didn’t do anything on it yet.  It wasn’t necessarily look bad to be on top of things, and she wouldn’t mind if it got around that she was studious and productive (oh the things Jordyn Dimbleby wanted said about her!). 

Of course, she stopped moving when he added in another comment about Seraphin.  This time the poor prefect could not stop the immediate blush that lit up her cheeks.  She hoped that this natural reaction to mortification was hidden by the dimmed lights and shadows in the stacks.  It wasn’t a big compliment, but she was a good tour guide!  If her heart could have leaped out of her chest, it might have. 

She had to think of something cool to say though!  Quickly, she racked her brain, a little panic in her head and sweat on her palms.  “Well, you know I didn’t get picked for the job for nothing.”  That was lame. She instantly realized she was lame.  She knew she wasn’t the coolest, but right now, she was lame. And that sounded lame.  Everyone would find out that she was lame. Oh God, she could see it now.  Jordyn Dimbleby, shamefully plain and lame…

Taking a deep breath, she composed herself.  “I imagine you got a tour as well?” she asked, “Who did yours?”

If Etienne hadn't been well practiced in keeping his face a mask, he would have had trouble suppressing a smirk. The compliment, off-handed though it was, had elicited just the kind of reaction he had been suspecting it would. Dimbleby had not only stopped in her tracks, she had blushed. It wasn't terribly noticeable in the shadows cast by the stacks, but Etienne had a good eye. Seraphin had, probably inadvertently, snagged another young heart. That the girl then changed the subject suggested that she didn't want to let on about that. But then, who would? Affairs of the heart were not subject matter to be discussed with any old stranger. Etienne, however, wasn't just any stranger.

'I have not had the pleasure just yet,' he said, letting the topic swerve away from Seraphin for the time being. It was best not to press the matter all at once, lest he actually sound nosy. 'But I am scheduled to be shown around this Saturday by a seventh-year prefect named Evelyn Kelly. Perhaps you know her?' He was aware Kelly was in a different house from Dimbleby, but that they were both prefects indicated they might be familiar with one another. Besides, asking what one person thought of another was an effective way to get the measure of one, if not both of them. Etienne folded his hands behind his back and adjusted his mildly-scrutinising gaze into one of polite curiosity. He looked ready to follow Jordyn if she led the way to the History section, but unlikely to start walking of his own volition.

Jordyn was glad when he followed up with the topic she introduced. She didn't want to talk about Seraphin - it made her crazy.  She analyzed their interactions, realized she was absolutely insane, but couldn't help but have her breath hitch in her throat when she saw him.  He was stunning, but overall, far too good for her - pauper that she was.  If anyone ever found out, it would be the end of her.  She didn't intend on letting on about it, at all.

She raised her eyebrows carefully at the mention of Kelly though, "A good prefect," she said mildly, remembering their earlier years.  She wasn't always the prefect she was today, and Jordyn vaguely remembered she didn't like the rules when they were younger.  Sometimes, Jordyn felt like she was the only one who respected the rules since the beginning. "I'm sure your tour will be informative," she smiled a little, knowing that would be true.  She did not want to say too much, but she did not think Kelly was the sort Etienne might find himself around.

Sure, she was a pureblood but that didn't mean much when you were the black sheep.  With that, Jordyn started to walk toward the history section - not worried about her own homework for the time being.  She always got it done, regardless.  "Have you met any of the other Slytherins?" she asked with a bored tone, not giving away her interest either.  If there was anyone worth knowing, it was their crowd, and Jordyn would like to hear what he thought. 

Etienne raised his eyebrows a little at Jordyn's comment that his tour would be informative. The way she smiled when she said it... Did she know more than she was saying? Etienne couldn't help but smile a little in return. He did so like people who knew things. Particularly people who knew more than they let on. He found them to be such an interesting challenge. Perhaps there was more of interest here than just a prefect badge and a schoolgirl crush on Seraphin.

He considered her question as to whether he'd met any of the other Slytherins yet. 'I cannot say I've had the pleasure,' he said mildly as he followed her along the aisles. 'Not outside of classes, anyway. Although I am technically acquainted with Gracie Slant. My mother and her grandmother are cousins.' Technically the cousin of Sylaise Abernathy was Etienne's grandmother, not his mother, but Etienne could count the number of people who knew who his real mother was on one hand. One of the many joys of being born out of wedlock. 'I must admit I have been looking forward to meeting her classmates.'

Another truth, but Etienne was careful to continue keeping his tone on the reserved side of polite. A 'shy' persona worked a lot better with new people than a 'manipulative social climber' persona. (He could count the people who knew that about him on one hand too.) From what he'd learned about Hogwarts, and observed so far, Slytherin house generally seemed to be the one of best breeding. And the one that seemed to care the most about breeding. There were exceptions, of course, but Slytherin boasted a Wiedman, a Tawse, a Whitman, an O'Doherty... People worth knowing. More specifically, people with families worth knowing.

'Are they all as helpful and well-mannered as you?' he asked, still skirting well clear of over-familiarity. He'd hate for anyone to think he was attempting to flirt. Etienne Miroux did not flirt. Besides, he wanted to make a good impression; Jordyn was edging her way onto his People Worth Knowing list, even if she did go weak in the knees for a wizard who was probably too upmarket for her. Well. At least she had good taste.

"Ah, Gracie," Jordyn smiled serenely, not one to let her actual feelings and thoughts - she liked Gracie, but it was a bit strange.  The young lady was dating Jordyn's friend, Jordyn's friend who had seen her drunk at a nightclub - who really knew some of her situation.  She hoped Huxley did not have a big mouth.  She did not want that part of her life to become public knowledge.  It would be the ruin of her, for sure.  No longer would she be able to boast about her 'designer' ensembles as purchased privately, but rather her own creations - she'd only make it known after she was famous and wealthy - a huge shocker.  It was her plan.  "Well I suppose breeding goes a long way," she laughed lightly, shrugging her shoulders casually.

Of course, she couldn't help but be slightly... just slightly... devious.  He hadn't met any of them, and that meant she could have sway.  She knew exactly who she would point out as one to avoid.  "Miss Kitty Li will surely want to know you," she said demurely, flicking a casual glance over her shoulder as she started to walk.  Her tone was light, but dismissive, "She tries to know anyone worth knowing, if she can get her claws into them."  Nothing like starting a rumor.

She doubted that he would be keen to spread it, but Kitty had taste - even if Jordyn hated her, she was impeccable.  She would set her sights on one of the Beauxbaton elite, Jordyn was sure, and planting the seed of an idea in the head of the ally of most of the upper echelon would certainly thwart her efforts if they were to consult him. 

And she laughed prettily when he asked if any were as helpful as she, rolling her eyes she turned quickly on her heel and deftly walked backward, having walked this library what seemed like thousands of times.  "I should let you judge that for yourself," she pointed out, making the way into the history section.  "After all," she smirked, mischief felt like it was bubbling in her mind, reaching her eyes, "I wouldn't want you to miss out on any of the fun of finding out." 

She turned toward the bookshelves and focused her attention on finding the book.  She was certain that she would see more of Étienne in the near future, and she was going to do her best to keep him on her side - make an ally of him, ensnare him, maybe, and ultimately benefit both of them.