1820 hours, Library.


It was dinner time at Hogwarts and Raine had just entered the Library, her leather satchel weighed down by the burden of several tomes. The musty smell of paper was comforting and although the shelves were well-lit, an evening ambience was settling into the space. Daylight hours were so much shorter in the later months. Most of the students would be having their meals now- she could be rest assured that nobody would interrupt her returning some of the books she had borrowed from the Restricted Section a while ago. Not that a healthy interest in Animagi would be terribly suspicious but it was better to exercise caution. Sometimes.

The Gryffindor walked over to one of the smaller tables by the windows, glancing out at the overcast grounds before she began taking out several hardcovers. Not all of them were to be returned today, only one or two of the simpler texts, so that she could take out more advanced literature. She stacked a couple of them and paused, thoughtfully.

Practice in the transformation had made the process much easier, less painful than it had been a month ago. But of course she could not stay in form for longer than a day and had yet to attempt a change while moving, which was essential if the ability was ever going to be useful. Raine closed her satchel and ran a hand through her red curls as she sighed. Still such a long way to go.

"I wonder..." she murmured to herself and then glanced up sharply, hearing a noise. Oh. It was only Kiba, by the shelves. She would have thought that their resident house prankster would be having a merry time at dinner, this hour of the day. He certainly wasn't the sort to while away his hours studying here.

Spending dinner in the library had not been a good idea. Kiba's stomach grumbled, providing background noise in the quiet library. His eyes scanned the rows upon rows of books, looking for any Animagus book he hasn't read yet. The library was quiet and the section he was in now, was practically deserted. Kiba could read in peace, and not have to worry about being seen by anyone that might question his actions. He pulled out a dusty red book that caught his eye and thumbed through the pages.

Deciding after a few minutes that the book was useless, Kiba jammed it back into its spot on the shelf, frowning as he did so. Why was it so hard to find usefull books on Animagi? He thought angrily, an irritated look masking his face. Shoving his hands in his pockets, Kiba continued to another section of shelves and flinched inwardly at the sight of another person. Raine, he recognised instantly by her fiery red hair, was stacking a few books at the table near the window.

"Oh, it's just you," He grumbled, still irritated that he wasted dinner time at the library. He walked over to the red-head and raised an eyebrow as peered at the stack of books before her. "What's with all the Animagi books?"

Oh, it was just her? Was he expecting someone else?

Raine met her housemate in the eye with a wry expression, wondering if he was up to no good again. Planning an elaborate prank perhaps...? Certainly not one here. The faculty might be accustomed to his mischief but nobody with a brain would cross Morgan on his own territory. Although, really, this was assuming that Attwood had a brain.

But the thought floated away when he mentioned the books and the prefect glanced down as he indicated them. Right.

"Pursuing a curiousity," she lied smoothly: "It's a compelling subject. Not that you would know." Ever since Harcroft had used his animagus from in the First Task[1], it wasn't unusual to have students picking through the regular animagi texts.

"I'm surprised to see you here," Raine continued conversationally in an attempt to change the subject. She leaned lightly against the table, hands behind her back as. He had looked evidently annoyed, before. She could work with that. "Finally deciding to take an interest in our studies, are you?"

1.	Link to TWT thread here.

"That's a lot of books for just pursuing a curiosity," Kiba scoffed, rolling his brown eyes dramatically and placing his hands on his hips, "And who says I wouldn't know about this sort of stuff? I'm plenty smart."

Kiba clenched his jaw in annoyance. Having his intelligence questioned was one thing he couldn't stand. Sure, he may not listen in class and nearly fail everything. But he wasn't dumb, he just wasn't that motivated. If only they could see him study Animagi transformations, he'd prove them all wrong. But, he wasn't ready to show anyone what he could do just yet. Not until he had perfected it.

A mischievous grin slipped onto his face as he eyed the stack of books.

"Mind if I take this? You know, to 'pursue my curiosity' as you said," Kiba said, with his fingers making quotation marks in the air before he snatched up a book and flipped it open.

Was he mocking her supposed interest? Raine smirked at his claim to being 'plenty smart'. Perhaps so but intelligence wasn't worth much if unapplied... and planning tricks, while they could be most elaborate, was not sufficient application. At any rate, she didn't think three to four books were all that many.

"What can I say, I'm a very thorough person..." the witch shrugged off his comment nonchalantly. "Anything worth doing is worth doing well. I believe that is the saying."

Solid words to live by. Raine watched her housemate pick up one of the texts, only barely stopping herself from impulsively snatching it back. Godric's boots, did he have to play around? Not that she needed it anymore.

"Go ahead. I was returning them anyway," she replied curtly, indicating the rest of the books. "That won't be any use to you. It's rather technical, more for practical Animagi. A poor choice, on my part. Your curiousity," and here she couldn't help but laugh a little: "Your curiousity would be better satiated by more theoretical literature, surely."

Kiba perked up at her mention at practical Animagi. How long has he yearned for a book just like it, to teach him the correct workings of the transformation, to make the process quicker and less painful. He blinked a few times, standing completely still, barely composing himself from jumping for joy. Calm yourself, you look like you just ate an earwax flavoured Bertie Botts every flavoured bean. He thought hastily.

"Practical?" He said dumbly, with a boyish grin on his face, "As in actually doing it? That sounds... interesting. Well, more so than the theoretical stuff." Oh gosh, he sounded way to suspicious. Way to go Kiba.

He glanced at the prefect and couldn't help but smile at her as she laughed. Boy, did girls sound cute when they laughed. Kiba snapped the book shut and reached over to the books she indicated to.

"Don't mind if I do," He said as his stomach snarled viciously, that reminded him, "What are you doing here anyway? I thought you'd be at dinner, you could have returned the books at another time."

Now what was this...

Raine stared at Attwood, a leap more attentively than she had been a moment before. He might have been giddy, the way he'd reacted to that book. Ah, but he was trying not to be, maybe, or was it simply her imagination? When one kept secrets, every question was an accusation and every expression could mean so much more.

"I suppose if that's what you're looking for," she replied mechanically as he picked up the rest of the books. "Although from what I've heard, only an actual animagus would find it at all compelling." Raine watched his face carefully this time, not realizing that she was stood straight now. Alert.

And then, more casually, she shrugged at his question. "It was on my way down from the Tower. I can always visit the Kitchens later." Which wasn't strictly the norm for students but she had always assumed, without really consulting any rule book (why ruin a good thing?), that prefects could be flexible about such things.

Only an actual animagus would find the practical stuff compelling? Then why was Raine reading them?

Kiba's eyebrows furrowed in thought, he was about to open his mouth to speak when she mentioned the kitchens. She could get in to the kitchens? Kiba looked up at the prefect like a saint. He has tried and failed many times trying to get into the kitchens (which isn't too bad for someone who isn't very bright) and here he was, talking with someone who knew the secret of the glorious kitchen. He could have any food he wanted, unlimited food!

Kiba grabbed hold of the red heads shoulders and levelled his face to her own, looking deep into her eyes. "Raine," He said calmly, his voice masking the excitement beneath, "How did you do it? What's your secret?"

Finally, he could find out how to get into the kitchens.

Raine found herself exercising a great deal of restraint, resisting the urge to instantly push Kiba back. "How did you do it? What's your secret?" he blurted out, placidly enough, though clearly fired up about something. For a moment she thought he was asking her about an actual secret.

"Do what? What secr-- the kitchens? You want to visit the kitchens?" she stared back incredulously. Merlin, he was turning out to be... what was that word... a real nutter. How anyone could become so enlivened over food (not to mention school food) was beyond her understanding.

But it was an excellent departure from their previous topic of discussion so she played along reluctantly.

"Below the ground floor," Raine reached over and tactfully removed her housemate's hands, still holding his gaze. "You tickle the pear. I can show you but if I ever catch you there out of bounds, that's points off from Gryffindor. Don't forget."

This has got to be the most eventful dinner ever. One, Kiba had found a good book on Animagi. Two, he had found out how to get into the kitchens. He could have food whenever he wanted. He loved the food they had at Hogwarts. It wasn't any of that crazy organic vegan food-for-the-animals stuff that his parents made. Kiba smirked and his eyes lit up in excitement.

"Excellent," He almost sung as he hugged the Animagi book against his chest, "See you later, Red!" He called over his shoulder, dashing out of the library and towards the Great Hall, hoping to catch the end of dinner. He would investigate the kitchens later.

Spending dinner in the library had been an excellent idea.