Recently one of the girls despite the weather and time of year has taken to covering herself up more, wearing a hat whenever there are people around, despite how much she seems to be uncomfortable and hot she feels. She's refused to take it off despite who asks and at night has covered herself in her duvet. Perhaps on a related note she has started to be less sociable and has more often then not retired early to her bed and leaves the dorm after everyone else, starting to either be late for  lessons or just managing to make it on time if she runs.

The girl in question is Akira Hericho a first year Ravenclaw student. It might not be the most noticeable thing for anyone who isn't a first year Ravenclaw but some may still see it and find it a bit peculiar. This is the first weekend in the last couple of weeks she has been outside of either the dorm or the grandhall for food. She is sitting in the shade near the lake. Reading a book with hat still on, despite it clearly not working with her outfit of a white shirt, unzipped grey hoodie and jeans.

The sun would be shining brightly in the sky with the rays of light sparkling majestically off the water of the still lake. Reflecting back as if the lake was made out of a liquid gold. A soft breeze whistles through the tree's causing the leaves to rustle, it is a quiet and serene scene. The sounds of birds chirping and occasionally flying off breaks the gentle quiet of the area.

As she sits there she hums very softly, reading what seems to be a book on Transfiguration, occasionally mumbling to herself as she is deep into the book. Oddly enough she would be reading a book meant for higher years then she is in, next to her are several other books. "No thats not it." She sighs softly to herself.

[1]

1.	Sorry if this isn't great for a starter or if this should actually be in another place. I don't really view what is up with Akira in this enough to to be a plot for her. Or enough to be much else then a conversation/rp starter x.x

Ariadne had been revising flat out for what felt like the last century. She’d been up early that Saturday (which meant it was drastic), revising and was finally taking a break to stretch her legs. June weather had become a little more favourable for Scotland at last. The Gryffindor prefect strolled and intermittently dipped into her jacket pocket to fish out her index cards to check a definition. Their NEWT exams began in two days!

Up ahead, sitting in the shade was a first year who Ariadne recognised. Her prefectly duties meant she had got to know the names of more students this year than any other. The Gryffindor first years were always keen to introduce the older students to their new friends. It had all been months ago now, and the year was starting to conclude. But she thought she remembered it. Began with A, like her own name.

“No that’s not it,” the younger witch uttered to herself, pouring over Transfiguration books.

“Hey … Akira… isn’t it?” Ariadne asked, greeting tentatively. She raised her hand to wave as she spoke. “How’s the revision going?”

She looked up, she seemed startled for a moment then relaxed. Her body rested against the tree once more. "Um...its going ok..." She said awkwardly as she tried to shuffled some of the books behind her, hoping that they hadn't been noticed. "Just...decided to do some reading in the sun. Its nice." She hoped to lie without making a mistake. She adjusted the hat and squirmed, seeming rather uncomfortable with it still, it also looks rather ridiculous having a large pointed hat on.

"Um...yes. You are the...um..." She studied for any sign of the house they were in. "Hufflepuff?" She says having a very quick glance to not seem weird. "Yes...Hufflepuff sixth year I got introduced to..." She looked about incase she didn't notice anyone else, seeming confident that she was partially aware of her surroundings atleast she looked back up at the Prefect. "Yes, I am Akira. Sorry, I was deep into reading and you...caught me off guard." The book rested flat on her lap, showing a page related to cats. "How is...wait. I don't think I met anyone from Hufflepuff who isn't in my class."

“Hufflepuff? Yes...Hufflepuff sixth year I got introduced to…” Ariadne smiled but didn’t jump to correct her, giving the younger witch a chance to speak. After all, it was hard to remember everyone in your year sometimes let alone another year or house.

“I’m Gryffindor actually, but being called a Hufflepuff is a compliment.” Ari spoke gently. “It’s Ariadne - Ariadne Gamp. I didn’t mean to interrupt, just happened to be in earshot and it sounded like you were stuck?” She gave a well-meaning shrug.

Her face started to change to a rosy colour, her cheeks burn a bright red. "I-i'm so sorry!" She said awkwardly, she curled up seeming nervous. Her hat seemed to move by itself on her head as she did so, closing her book while looking down at the girls feet in shame. She put it onto the pile of other books she then struggled to push into her bag.

"Um...well I was just looking through the books. For anything that could be useful." She nods gently before adding: "You could maybe help...it could be useful I guess. Are you good with transfiguration?" She glanced into her eyes before she stared at her feet again.

“It’s fine!” Ariadne spoke gently, trying to be as unthreatening to this very nervous first year. “Gosh, I’ve been here seven years and I still don’t remember everyone’s name and house. You’ve been here five minutes, don’t feel bad.”

“Are you good with transfiguration?”

“I hope so,” Ariadne smiled, “Got my NEWT in it after the weekend. It is probably my hardest subject though, but a worthy challenge.” Two years ago the Gryffindor had received acceptable for her OWL, but had carried it on because despite the difficulty it still intrigued her. That, and it was awfully useful to change one thing into another in a sticky situation. Progress had seemed slow in her first year though, if she remembered rightly. But once you got to grips with wandwork in charms and some jinxes and hexes in defences transfiguration techniques usually followed. You thought less about how to produce magic or hold your wand right and more about your results.

Ari took a step closer and crouched down, twisting her head to try and see the books a little better. “What were you looking at in particular which might be useful?”

"Well...reversing things back to normal sorta..." She mumbled, seeming very nervous. "Like say I turned my pet owl...into something, and I need to turn it back. O-or I tried changing part of myself. And need to turn it back without telling any staff." She said taking care with how she speaks, her hat wiggled despite her head staying still. "That...sort of thing."

She would curl up and show a page on transfiguration into a cat, she looks down. "Well...I looked at a thing called an Animagus. And I wondered why you had to practice to be such a thing...or why there had to be a register for it. As obviously its really easy to turn into an animal isn't it?"

She would slowly remove her hat, something fluffy pops out. There seems to be a pair of stark white...cat ears? They are nice and fluffy, they would twitch in the air softly and she seems very relieved that they are not inside the hat. "Do you reckon...You can fix this without having to go to the staff?" She would start looking and sounding scared, obviously worried of others finding out. "If staff find out, I could be punished...some kids could bully me. And well...I can't keep it either as in muggle world. I tried finding way to turn back but...they aren't really in the books I read so far..."

"Well...reversing things back to normal sorta..." Uh oh, Ariadne thought, she remembered that kind of line from when she was that age... "O-or I tried changing part of myself. And need to turn it back..."

"Riiight..." Ariadne acknowledged softly, sinking down into a crouch, her hands gripping her knees as she listened, adopting a big-sisterly approach.

"Well...I looked at a thing called an Animagus... obviously its really easy to turn into an animal isn't it?"

"Not re-." Ariadne interrupted her own reply as she saw the furry ears which were sprouting out of Akira's head. They had been under her hat until then. The Gryffindor's face initially showed surprise and then eased off as she realised herself.

"Do you reckon...You can fix this without having to go to the staff?... I could be punished...some kids could bully me. And well...I can't keep it either as in muggle world. I tried finding way to turn back but...they aren't really in the books I read so far..."

"I can certainly try," Ariadne agreed, if only to reassure the younger witch. "And if I can't, you really won't get into trouble. Professor Singh is so used to us botching a spell when we learn, he really won't be angry with you. He's my Head of House, and very fair." Ariadne gave her kindest smile. "Have you tried reparifarge?"

Akira would nod slightly. "Its in the basic book. I tried it but nothing seemed to happen. Atleast for the ears." She looks down and seems to be slightly happy as she remembers something. "It worked on the tail. But its sad I lost it. It was so fluffy and soft. And felt nice too." She would gently look up at her again, appearing to be calming down from her nervous and scared self.  Apparently a lot happier now she isn't hiding the ears, of which they gently twitch again.

"I know its...a bit odd to ask considering I want to get rid of them...but could you also give them a quick scratch? It feels really nice but its not well...scratching them myself kinda takes me out of it." She gave a cute puppy eye look, which given the cat ears seemed a bit odd.

"You want someone to scratch them?"  Kelvin asked overhearing the last part as he approached the pair.  He had his bag over his shoulder bulging with books, and his arms were laden with even more.  The plan had been to get outside and study, since the Ravenclaw common room could get a bit stifling this close to exams. The plan had not included a cat-eared first year from his house.

"The ears look good though, not a bad transfiguration."  He said as he sat his bag down and put the books on top of them. He could afford to take a bit of a break.  Though not a long one.  His first O.W.L. was on Monday after all.

At the suggestion of scratching transfigured cat ears, Ariadne was a little relieved to have someone interrupt. Kelvin was burdened with more than a few books, deeply into revising for his OWLs which, like NEWTs, began on Monday. Akira would not know the horrors for a few years yet. She just had the odd end of year test, and the worst was to be taken out by one of Professor Storm’s curses.

“Apparently so,” Ariadne replied gently to Kelvin, trying her best to balance surprise at the request and polite response to what a younger student perceived to be normal to ask. Hogwarts was never very normal though…

“Did you leave any books in the library there, Kelvin?” Ariadne asked, temporarily changing the conversation topic. “I was just saying to Akira about reparifarge…”

Akira looked at Kelvin and seemed nervous again; she curled up and looked down: "U-um hi..." She mumbled quietly. her confidence wavered as she took the hat and planted it on her head again. "I-i think I saw you in the tower before. i'm not great with remembering people though." She said in a soft and quiet voice, difficult to hear but most of it can be made out from the general sound.

Akira took up her books and hugged one. "Please don't tell anyone.." She said to both of them as she hid behind her book. "I'm trying to fix but...I don't know half the stuff from some of these. Like switching, or..." She trembled as she curled into her book.

"That's why we're offering to fix it," Ariadne reasoned gently. There were timid Ravenclaws, and then there were ones she was surprised could even enter the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom...

"I bet Kelvin's been wrongly transfigured before. I know I have - someone gave me ears like a rabbit, but the teeth too. Ow, man they hurt - I couldn't open my mouth. Thank goodness it could be fixed." The Gryffindor pressed her fingertips to her own mouth in memory.

"So, reparifarge then?" Ariadne offered, producing her wand.

"Kelvin,"  He said, and he nearly reminded her he was one of her prefects.  But given how...scared she seemed, he kept it to himself for now. 

"Ambrose made me grow fur."  Kelvin offered, not all that helpfully.  But they had all transfigured or been transfigured at one point or another.  Hogwarts was like that.  Then again, the few times he'd been to Mungo's, it was likely all wizards and witches were like that.

He nodded at Ariadne's suggestion of a counter-spell.  "Though if that doesn't work, one of these,"  he lifted the books a bit, "might have a counter-spell for it."  He doubted it though.  The books he'd grabbed didn't cover human transfiguration.  If Ariadne wasn't also a prefect, he would have just said they should go to the hospital wing.  Or to Singh.

Akira slowly nodded before sitting upright, she lowered the book and took a deep breath. "Ok...use it on me." She said in a calm voice. Some trembling could still be heard behind it but she seemed to be calming down atleast, or trying to hide her fear. "I'm not too...good at aiming. Took me a few tries to even remove the tail. Plus. I can't see my ears only feel." Both of her ears would of wiggled about on her head as she said that.

She took her wand out of her pocket, either holding it as a good luck charm or to calm herself with something familiar. She would of  let out a deep breath before holding as still as she possibly could, so its easier for whoever is casting to get the ears and not hit another part of her body.