Angie gathered her books, stuffing them neatly as she could into her leather book bag and slinging the heavy bag across her shoulders. She shifted the strap so it didn't dig into her skin as she hopped down the stairs and towards the library. She needed to get an insane amount of homework done, there'd been enough to do yesterday, so she'd put most of it off until today.

Resisting the urge to break the silence, Angie wandered through the stacks until she found a place to sit. In front of a bunch of books with titles like, "Unveiling The Mystery of The Fae," or "Half-Bloods In Modern Society." Angie assumed they were probably designated for a core of magical creatures class or something.

Her mind wandered as she pulled out her potions homework, and she looked around, noticing there weren't many other people sitting near where she was. It was rare that students would go to the library right after dinner to study or do homework, most of them wanted time to spend with their friends. Angie bit her lip as she thought on the topic of how few friends she had at the moment, it was distracting enough that she completely de-focused from her homework and was staring off into space. Or so she thought, when someone else walked into her staring spot.

Amara had decided to make a quick trip to the library and get some more books on thestrals for her Care of Magical Creatures assignment. She was fairly knowledgeable when it came to the creatures, she had been able to see them for quite some time. She witnessed the passing of her great aunt, Andreea, with little to no reaction whatsoever; the woman was suffering from a terminal illness, and had been sick most of her life, her death had come as a blessing or so did her grandmother, Alina say. It came as a shock, to realize that there had been a small herd of the skeletal winged horses living on the lands of the Báthory estate in Romania, so she became interested immediately. Still, she wanted to be prepared to care for Layla as best as she could.

She made her way through the library like a fury, as she always did, straight for the location of the COMC books. She knew where almost every book could be found, and so she wasted no time diddling around. She wanted to get the book, check it out and go read it in her alcove on the fourth floor; there were too many people in the library tonight. She rounded the corner to enter the section she wanted and went straight to the bookcase containing the title she was after. She set about scanning the titles, so focused on the job, that she didn't realize she was about to walk straight into someone.

Angie hopped out of the way of her classmate Amara as she came plowing through, looking very determined to get to where ever it was she was going. "Oh! Sorry," she said, not wanting to get in the slightly-intimidating Slytherin's way.

So Angie did what Angie did best, she smiled after apologizing. "What are you looking for? Maybe I can help you find it," She said, knowing this library like the back of her hand. "Are you working on your COMC project? Because that's the only kind of book you'll find over here."

She suddenly stopped in her tracks as she heard the voice of a girl and turned to come face to face to the person. She looked surprised for a minute and wondered how she could've been so caught up into her thought that she wouldn't realize her presence. She looked her up, and identified her as a fellow fourth year, a -Hufflepuff?, but she couldn't quite remember her name or anything in particular about her. Although, she might've seen her in the Hufflepuff quidditch team, but she wasn't a regular at the matches and usually never paid attention to what actually happened on the grounds.

"I'm fine, thank you, I know my way around the library" she turned back to scan the aisle and barely registered her next comment. "Yes, I'm looking for a specific book on thestrals for Care of Magical Creatures, it should be here" and she pointed at the empty spot between two other books "I suppose it's borrowed, already. Pity..." she added while still looking through the titles, the other girl's presence completely forgotten.

Angie listened patiently as Amara spoke, realizing that this girl really didn't want somebody talking to her, she did have a task a hand anyways. But she was a bit annoyed at the way she had just brushed her off like that, like she didn't mater. Angie was used to it though.

"Have you seen the thestrals on the grounds before?" Angie questioned, her sea-green eyes wide with interest. "A lot of people think they're quite scary, but I think they're sort of beautiful, in an I-can-only-see-you-because-of-events-in-my-past way. What do you think?"

She turned to her, woken out of her reverie as the girl spoke again, and eyes her cautiously while listening to what she had to say. "Yes, the youngest foal has been assigned to me for the creatures project"she answered carefully to the first question. This girl was very talkative, and very sociable... and bubbly, that was a word Amara did not assign to many. She was slightly irritated, but realized, that she had bothered her in the first place by nearly colliding with her, so she'd have to indulge her for the sake of social conventions.

"They are beautiful, because they are majestic creatures with high intelligence and a remarkable history. I don't think the beauty of another creature ought to be filtered through one's own experiences, it would be rather disrespectful to the creature in question, wouldn't you say?" she answered with her brows furrowed. Ridiculous, really. "And rather selfish" she thought to herself. This girl was curious.

It was quite obvious that this girl meant business, and that Angie's words seemed to offend her. "Sorry, I don't mean it like that really. I'm not trying to fit them into a box or anything, just trying to explain... I don't know, why I'm not scared of them."

This was more than a little awkward, it was clear that Angie would have to watch what she said in the future, and right now. "My friends would call that an 'Awkward Angie' moment," she said brightly. "It happens a lot..."

As if she just couldn't take a hint, she pushed on and asked a question that could be deemed even more awkward than where the conversation already was. "You're part veela right?" She asked, without any restraint. "It's just, I think your gift is so cool. But it's also a curse, right? Or from what I've read about it, it seems like a double edged sword. What do you think?"

She nodded to acknowledge her apology, but wondered what had made her apologize in the first place. It was a matter of perspective and she was just as entitled as Amara to her opinions. On another note, she did however admire the fact that she wasn't scared of the thestrals, they were really such gentle creatures and often very misunderstood.

She tilted her head slightly to the right and looked at her with an arched eyebrow as she went on to describe her "awkward Angie" moment, so she noted her name was Angie and stored in her mind for future use. She was amusing in a sort of endearing way; she reminded her of Emilia, she had her own awkward moments. She straightened her head immediately at her next question however and threw a piercing glance at her.

Of course, it was common knowledge for those who cared to investigate that she was part veela, but it was rather... rude, or perhaps blunt, to just ask away like that. Her tension dissipated a little at the explanation that followed, however and she was suddenly intrigued. "Cool? She doesn't know what she's talking about -ah, yes, curse, that's more like it she thought to herself while she listened.

"Yes, I am three quarters veela, and yes it is a double edged sword, a very, very sharp one at that" she said to her as she crossed her arms over her chest. She supposed, she wanted a more in-depth explanation, and it wasn't like she actually had anything to do, she was ahead with her studies for at least two weeks and the girl's interest intrigued her. "It has its benefits, but it's usually more trouble than it's worth. For someone who enjoys being in the spotlight, and being assaulted with attention, it wouldn't seem like a curse, but for the rest of us human beings, that understand the concept of privacy, it is mostly a curse" she explained matter of factly, without the least bit of malice. "Learning control over it is also quite a battle" she added suddenly while grimacing, remembering her own struggles.

Angie listened intently, eyes wide with curiosity as Amara explained her gift/curse. Angie had always been interested in Veela charm and things like that; Metamorphmagi, Seers, Legilimens or Occlumens, but especially Veela. She couldn't quite explain the fascination, but it was her latest craze, the most recent book she'd read, and basically what she researched in her spare time.

"What do you mean by control?" She asked, more cautiously this time, trying to formulate her words before asking. "Is it really hard for you to not charm people all the time?" Angie was glad that her classmate was less hostile now, or at least she seemed to be more at ease than before. It was weird trying to talk to someone who obviously didn't want to be talked to, and oh so very awkward.

By now, she was so engrossed in her explanation, that she completely forgot she had no inclination whatsoever for social activities, such as talking. So she carried on explaining her abilities.

"It's not only a matter of restraint, and controlling when the charm is active and when it is not, but also about the power behind it, its duration, the individuals it affects and lastly, balancing your magical and veela abilities so that you don't deplete your magical core. In the beginning it requires a continuous state of concentration, to avoid having outbursts, and oftentimes the outbursts can happen to even the most experience user of the veela enchantment. It's all rather tiring, but the enchantment varies from veela family to veela family and from generation to generation, so I can only speak about my personal experience and the veelas and part veelas in my family" she finished with a sigh.

"Is it weird that I find all of that fascinating?" Angie asked, tilting her head to the left in a questioning fashion. "I mean, I do hope you don't tire yourself out or deplete your magic, that would be bad."

"Sorry if I'm being a bother, and you don't have to answer my questions if you don't want to, but I think I just have one more." Angie said, pausing a quick moment before continuing. "Have you ever purposefully tested your charm out on somebody just to try it? Or would that be bad?"

"I suppose it is rather fascinating from an outside point of view" she said nodding before she scoffed at her next statement. "Well, I thank you for your concern."

She listened to her prattle and nodded affirmative at hearing another question, but when the other girl was finished her stance suddenly tensed and her brows furrowed. She had been practicing her charms on unsuspecting victims, since she had arrived at Hogwarts, but that was only out of necessity. The ROR did not provide her with the appropriate dummies for the veela enchantment. It needed a sentient being, a true human in order for her to really asses her progress. So she set out to practice in a manner that most would frown upon. She wasn't about to share this particular information... But, the elders back in Romania, always provided her with a willing test-subject for her training, she could tell her that.

"My family is very strict in training. We have a long history of unions with veelas, so it has been tradition for the elders to help the heiress and the younger of the family to control and further their veela abilities. And the only way you can test your abilities is by enchanting a being responsive to the charm. So yes, it is actually demanded that you train or test your abilities on someone" she took a deep breath and looked at the girl calculatingly. "It is however, implied by common sense and unwritten laws of society conduct that your test subject ought to be willing." There, that was vague enough.

It was odd to be talking so freely with Amara for once, or at least that's how Angie felt. She'd always thought the girl to be cold and distant, she knew her but she never really knew her. But what also amazed her was the way Amara was just going on and on about her Veela charminess, it seemed strange that she could get the Slytherin to open up so quickly.

"Sounds... interesting." She said, leaning so that she was perched on the edge of counter jutting out of the book case. "So, you can't train while you're in school, right? I don't see a whole lot of people begging to be your test subject every day." She remarked, somewhat carelessly. "I don't mean it like that though, I just mean that it must be hard to get anything done with your ability when you're here."

"There are... certain ways around that small issue" she said thoughtfully. The girl was quite perspicacious, she though perhaps she'd just drop the subject completely and be satisfied with her explanation, but she was pushing the matter forward, and Amara's rule to always carry out a conversation as long as knowledge might be imparted on either party was now giving her quite some trouble.

"There are certain parts of one's life, that one might want to keep private, or be reluctant to talk about" she explained,  putting the words 'this is none of your business' into a fancy form. "My veela abilities are one such private matter. Of course, most know of my Veela heritage, and so suspect I might have the abilities, but unless asked, or in a situation where information about the situation might be required, I am not one to go talking about them. So, yes, 'people begging me to be my test subjects' is not something that ever happens. So, as unethical as it might be, I occasionally test my abilities on... unsuspecting victims. I do not impact them directly, I merely analyze their behavior from a distance. I also make sure at all times that the power of the charm is moderated, and that it only lasts a few seconds. Most of them don't even know what happened and just shrug it off as hormones" she waved her hand at the air.

She looked at her with a silent threat in her eyes. "I trust you realize the sensitive nature of what I have just said, and for the sake of this little -intellectual conversation we have been having, you will not pass it along to anybody else."

"Of course," Angie said, nodding her head up and down. "Cross my heart and hope to die," she said, crossing her heart with her finger and crossing her fingers in a promise.

She felt a bit threatened by Amara's glare, but Angie was a Hufflepuff, she'd had her fair share of them. "I'm serious though, I will not tell a soul."