(Some hours after the first SAWS meeting)

Freya wasn't really reading the battered copy of Stranger in a Strange Land on her lap.  She leaned against the massive stone wall, knees drawn up, while shadows played about the courtyard, warning that day was nearly done, though the dinner bell had not yet chimed.  Though she pretended to be engrossed in the paper-back propped against her knees, her eyes watched advidly the groups of students milling about the courtyard, the rough-housing, the jovial cat-calls and jeers as friends found one another and prepared to make their way into the dining room.

Freya remained completely still, except for her roaming eyes peeking up through too-long fringe and the tips of her fingers on the corner of the book she held pushed against her knees: fluttering the pages irritably, almost silently, in deep thought.  A frown creased her face, but that wasn't unusual: Freya's smiles were few and far between.  More likely than not, she wore an expression of sullen suspicion, when confronted with peers-- an outright frown was usually reserved for moments when she hid herself away to watch others having fun.  Which was precisely what she was doing now: though she hid in plain sight, her stillness and the fact that she often made herself part of the scenery rather than part of the student-body made her effectively invisible.

On this occasion, however, Freya's frown was not the product of her isolation.  Rather, she'd spent the afternoon ruminating on naivety: her own, and that of the SAWS students.

She wanted to believe that Snark had acted on good faith.  She had more reason to believe she had, than she had reason to believe she hadn't.  In Freya's world, adults were the "good guys" and she wanted to trust them.  No matter what she thought of the woman herself, Freya's world-view required that Snark-- who was entrusted with an entire school and all the students' lives-- was competent and caring.

The fact that Sasha had seemed to disagree with the students' motives and intentions only supported her suspicions that the rest of the student body was daft, naive, incapable of showing respect and support for those who worked hard to give them a safe haven and a good education.  Plus, the SAWS members didn't seem to even know why they were there...

Freya shook her head and dropped her eyes to the book on her knees again, reading the same sentence for the fifth time.  Not that she hadn't memorized the book, by now: it was one of her favorites.

Stupid.  She thought of Figaro, exuberantly bouncing in and offering to break Ollie out of prison.  At that memory, she shook her head, caught herself nearly smiling and deepened her frown instead to make up for the temptation.  They thought they were there to "uphold the rights of Werewolves everywhere."  Freya couldn't deny that was a worthy cause, but wasn't it misguided?  And disorganized... how could they accomplish such a lofty goal, if they didn't even know which rights were being violated, or even if rights were being violated?  Mightn't Snark have seen to it that Ollie's education was continued in a less restrictive environment?  If so, then Ollie's right to an education was being upheld.  Was she being deprived of friendships?  From the number of students who showed up, it was obvious that Ollie was loved and supported...

Shouldn't they ask Ollie what she wanted, and whether she resented her exclusion from Hogwarts?

Freya sighed, ruffling the corner of the book again, staring at the words marching across the page she'd been scanning for the past forty minutes.  She shoved the fringe from her eyes, shifted the book to one knee, and propped her face on her fist, her elbow on her other knee, pushing the corner of her mouth and one eye upward in a parody of a half-smile she neither intended nor felt.

((So sorry this took so long. I am trying to get my characters dusted off as well lol))

The SAWS meeting had not been successful in general terms. Too many arguments and off the wall suggestions had been flying around to come to anything conclusive. However, it was their first meeting and all in all, Maddie felt good about it. Though they hadn't made much headway, they made up for it with the mere fact that they already had several interested members and teachers involved. That was a good sign and Maddie was already planning the articles she would be writing once  she finally got the permission to start a school paper. She had a few teachers on her side so she doubted that Snark would make her wait too long.

One of those articles involved something someone had said during the meeting. She hadn't caught it herself, since there was so many people talking that she couldn't hear everything, but her quick note quills had caught everything. After reviewing the notes, Maddie had embarked on a search for one of the members, a Freya Jansdotter. She didn't know the Gryffindor very well aside from classes they shared together, so finding her was surprisingly difficult. Apparently Maddie wasn't the only one who didn't know much about Freya. Almost no one did. It took her at least two hours to track down the illusive blond, finally finding her reading in a secluded alcove of the entrance courtyard.

"You're a hard person to find, Jansdotter..." Maddie said as she leaned against the same wall Freya was resting on and crossed her arms, a smile playing at the edges of her faked scowl. "...Whatcha reading?" She asked, plopping down next to her without waiting for permission. A persons reading preferences could tell you a lot about their personality and Maddie was surprisingly curious about the tall slender blonds.

Freya's head jerked up in surprise-- not just that someone had found it difficult to find her, but that someone had bothered looking, and knew her by name.

Freya knew Maddie, by reputation at least and by the fact that the dark-haired girl had figured prominently in what Freya considered the ill-fated venture at the Hospital Hut that day.  She raised one eyebrow dramatically as the girl slid in beside her, in what might be considered friendly welcome if one knew Freya's typical greeting.  The fact that she didn't insult the newcomer immediately spoke volumes that Freya considered her a "not-stupid"... though she was still reserving judgment since her speculation was based on rumor and not personal experience.

"You should have stuck around the Hospital Hut to see Madam Nagde," she said wryly, moving just a fraction to avoid physical contact with the other girl.  "She could fit you with spectacles and save you some trouble."  Freya slid a scrap of parchment between the pages of her book, though she needn't bother since she had no idea what she'd read the past hour.  "I've been here all afternoon."

'Whatcha reading?'  She slid down next to Freya and again Freya shifted her weight away from physical contact unconsciously.  At least she didn't have to crane her neck to look up at her anymore, but she scowled anyway.  It was an irritating question, one that usually translated as, I really have nothing intelligent to say but I thought it would be fun to bother someone and you were available...

"Heinlein," she said gruffly and shoved the paperback at Maddie.  "Want to borrow it?  Or are you still at the ninth grade reading level?"  It was a Muggle term, one the other girl probably wasn't familiar with but one of her favorite insult back home.  Why Freya liked to sit at the mall to read when the local girls thought she was so weird and came to prey on her there was a mystery.  Maybe she liked insulting them as much as they liked insulting her, especially when she was quite certain that their perception levels were so far below hers that they wouldn't know a handmaiden from a handbasket...

"Sorry," she said, though she wasn't quite as contrite as she should be.  "Robert A. Heinlein is a Muggle Science Fiction author.  My favorite is a story about a sapient golem who runs a revolution and frees... um..."  She tried to think how to explain it to a wizard child and failed miserably.  The only reason she knew these books was because they'd been found in the attic, among her father's things.  She didn't actually even think they belonged to him, as her grandmother's comments led her to believe the man had never read a book larger than a thimble.  "If you're actually interested, you can borrow one," she finished lamely but much more sincerely than before.

She book she shoved at Maddie had the picture of a man on the front, his hair streaming above him, arms crossed on his chest as if meditating but done all in blue and clearly underwater.  A blue woman hung above him, her hair streaming as well and tiny bubbles rising as she kissed him chastely.  It was greatly worn, the back was torn off, the corners creased, but it was a newer edition than the one from her father's trunk which hadn't had a cover at all, but the large, red word "GROK" emblazoned across the back...

"You should have stuck around the Hospital Hut to see Madam Nagde, She could fit you with spectacles and save you some trouble. I've been here all afternoon."

Despite Freya's obvious discomfort, Maddie settled in next to her as if they were old friends. She understood the concept of personal space but frankly, she didn't really care. Perhaps it was tactless on her part, but it wasn't like she had any disease or smelled bad. Besides, it was a free world, she could sit where she wanted. Freya was lucky she didn't sit in her lap.

"Heinlein, Want to borrow it?  Or are you still at the ninth grade reading level?"

"Ex...Excuse me?" Maddie said, surprised by the girls almost vicious frankness. She didn't feel she did anything to deserve such an insult, especially one that targeted something that she was proud of (her reading ability in this case). Fortunately, or unfortunately in Freya's case, Maddie appreciated people who said what was on their mind and Freya's obvious attempt to drive her away was quickly shrugged off. " I would Lo--" Maddie started, reaching for the book when Freya suddenly pulled it back.

"Sorry, Robert A. Heinlein is a Muggle Science Fiction author.  My favorite is a story about a sapient golem who runs a revolution and frees... um... f you're actually interested, you can borrow one,"

"I know who Heinlein is." Maddie said testily, insulted a bit more by the other girls assumption that she was some sort of idiot. But then she realized that Freya was under the assumption she was from a wizarding family. "Er... I should say that I should know of him since both my parents are muggleborns..." She offered a bit sheepishly herself, "Though I am ashamed to say I haven't read his works... Sounds good though! Books about oppressed underdogs overcoming their oppressors are my favorites..." She grinned, feeling that she was finally making headway with the rather difficult to approach Gryffindor.

Accepting the book, she stared at the cover for a moment, pondering her next move, before she spoke again "... It's your thing too huh? That's why you came to the SAWS meeting today..." She turned from the book to latch an unblinking and analytical stare on the thin blond "... You never seemed like the type to give a damn about other peoples problems, so I wondered what was up with you being there... Something personal?" Ah Maddie, never able to successfully beat around the bush. She much preferred uprooting it straight out. It hadn't dawned on her that perhaps Freya didn't wish to reveal said personal reasons, but then Maddie wouldn't have stopped anyways. Wasn't her style.