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[indent][indent][indent] Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, an academy that boasted about its current standing as "the finest magical school in the world" while by the sheer mention of its name one could get just as many warnings as encouragements. The biased parallels were admittedly pretty interesting. However, even despite those who hesitated sending their child towards the secluded castle, the halls still bustled like most years. Older students were easy to identify-- they wore the brightest grins while intertwining arms with their supposed friends-of-choice, while their juniors held their books too tight to their chests and didn't frequently dare to lift their eyes from the ground. Among the constantly moving bodies was a first year who had no books in hand, a stark contrast to her peers around her. 

Rather than rushing to and fro in a speedy attempt to find her classrooms, she was taking her time roaming around the countless hallways that made up this academy. The way she glided through the building made it seem as though time itself didn't even exist; not to her, anyway. She had perused  her schedule earlier in the morning and her only reaction was a slight nose crinkle. No doubt that every single one of them was just going to drone on with a well-rehearsed [i]Welcome to Hogwarts[/i] speech... No, instead of having to listen to [i]that[/i] repeatedly until classes ended, she had decided to dedicate some time to more properly getting the lay of the land. This castle interested her far more than an introduction to recycled curriculum.  

Geneviève took notice of every suit of armor that she passed, the angles of every window, the side of the outdoor courtyard, what material the walls were made of... It was quite obvious even to the untrained eye that this castle had mysteries yet unsolved-- or at least she thought it [i]should[/i] be. Most of her summer had been spent wading through books about the academy's history as well as the recorded incidents about the surrounding area. She had already theorized that most of what she would be looking for was in the depths of this ancient place. Holding out her hand, the witch let the tips of her fingers grace the rough stone wall while she walked before stopping in front of a mirror that gave her a fantastic view out over the lake leading into what many referred to as the Forbidden Forest. 

With a small smile, Geneviève brought her hand up to the glass and placed her palm against it. Hardly registering the coolness invading her hand, she almost refused to take her eyes off of the trees in the distance. There hadn't been many books - at least not that she could get her hands on in France - that said anything about the forest beyond: [color=red][b]DANGER[/b]. [b]FORBIDDEN TO STUDENTS[/b].[/color]

The long and short of what she knew was that beyond those dark branches were mysteries that many didn't dare to see for themselves. How they could ignore the opportunity to see things that others would never be able to? The idea was ridiculous. Far out into that forests were worlds untouched because they were allowed to be. She didn't want to [i]disturb[/i] them just... She just wanted to see. She [i]would[/i] see. There was no room in her heart [i]or[/i] her mind for secrets. Geneviève barely resisted the urge to rest her chin down on the windowsill and linger there for awhile more. With a soft sigh, she waved past her faint reflection as if someone unseen out there was staring back right towards her from the ground. It was a nice thought to have-- some being just as curious as she was that would spend their life searching for answers. After all, that was how Nicolas Flamel had become the remarkable wizard and alchemist he was. He hadn't just sat around and allowed things to flow past him. He had worked so hard to make his own discoveries, and ended up putting together concoctions that no one had even [i]dreamed[/i] of! 

The very thought of her idol made the redhead grin to herself while squeezing her eyes shut-- an expression she usually made when she was struck by passionate happiness. One day, she wanted to create an artifact just like he did, just like the [i]Philosopher's Stone[/i]. Something that people heard rumors about and weren't ever sure was [i]real[/i]-- something everyone would want to see and touch and [i]hold[/i] but it would be too powerful to ever be put in the hands of another wizard. Geneviève's expression stilled at the thought and began to fall into a faint thin-lipped smile. That was her goal... It was something that she had thought about ever since she'd held a wand and yet, she could never tell anyone why. She wanted to make an impossibly large name for herself but also keep it all [i]for[/i] herself. That thought made the witch chuckle a bit under her breath while she brushed some of her unruly red hair over one eye. Those really were all [i]odd[/i] thoughts to have.

Continuing down the hall, the girl idly wondered how she got to the moving staircases again. It occurred to her that it would probably be good to go back down to the Slytherin common room if only to stop by and see how Diodore was settling in; that, and the light up here was starting to bother her eyes. Last night she had actually gotten better sleep than she had originally thought she would. The dim artificial lights had suited her quite well, and being able to see into the bowels of the lake by just peering out one of the large underwater windows were just a few perks that definitely pleased her. It was kind of ironic that this was where she had been sorted considering her avid adoration of snakes... Perhaps that had even played a part in her sorting? Although, according to most lore, her ending up here surely meant that she would become [i]some[/i] sort of dark wizard. As if sharing in her own private joke, Geneviève turned a random corner before her eyes caught onto something new. Several students, most of them appearing to be first-years like herself, all filing into one room. Normally she would shrug it off as there was still more searching to do in this giant building, but it seemed that for the moment she was curious enough to see what was going on.

Wondering if it was some sort of secret meeting, Geneviève curled her fingers around the door frame and leaned over to peer through the opening... And then, all she ended up seeing was someone's [i]back[/i]. Tilting her head, she brought the rest of her body to stand before the opened door and stepped around the boy placed smack in the middle of the entrance. One look at his face made her recall a memory from the previous night's sorting ceremony. 

[color=#fe354a]"You are zat ozzer one... [i]Rory.[/i]"[/color] she murmured, sounding more like she was whispering it to herself. He was one of the startlingly few other children to get sorted into Slytherin. After a quiet moment, she bowed her head a bit and offered him a polite, [color=#fe354a]"bonjour"[/color], before meandering over to a table and wordlessly taking a seat. When everything settled, it was the normalcy of it all that actually surprised her the [i]most[/i]. Yes, there was a fairly large group beginning to buzz about inside but they hardly seemed to be doing [i]anything[/i] at all... Not to mention that the room itself was the textbook definition of [i]ordinary[/i]. Though, that made her question why the one familiar face in the room seemed to be backing [i]out[/i]. Had she walked into someplace where they didn't belong? 

[color=#fe354a]"Why are you leaving?"[/color] She asked rather blatantly, looking straight into his eyes as she asked the question, [color=#fe354a]"Is zis somezing private?"[/color] Following a brief pause, Geneviève shifted herself so that she was addressing the rest of the group as well. [color=#fe354a]"May I ask what it is everyone is even doing gazzered 'ere?"[/color][/indent][/indent][/indent]