October 7th, 1976
Who: Benjy Fenwick, Emmeline Vance
What: Their first encounter :]
Where: Library



Ben couldn't find the book he was looking for in the Library. It had already been borrowed, and Madam Pince wouldn't tell him who'd checked it out that morning, so he had to start searching for a decent substitute.

He had been searching for a good twenty minutes, going through shelves in the Potions section without any luck, and was starting to feel quite annoyed. The only reason he took his studies so seriously was his average intelligence, and he often felt frustrated at the fact that some of his friends seemed to get better results without doing half the studying he does.

Crouching at the end of one of the wooden shelves, Ben tilted his head to read the book's title, and gave an angry sound when it turned out to be something he didn't need.

Emmeline was sitting at the table directly behind Ben, and hadn't noticed him searching the shelves because of how deeply she had been absorbed in her book...until he...well, growled behind her. It startled her, and she turned around to find the source of the sound. Seeing the student crouching behind her, Emmeline's mind swirled and could only think of the worst possible reason for why he was back there. Logically, he was in a library and probably looking for a book--but growling and squatting behind a girl's chair? No. Bloody. Way.

Snatching a rolled up piece of parchment, Emmeline swiftly smacked the boy in the back of the head with it, a searing gaze boring into him.

"What on Earth are you doing?" she hissed.

"Ouch!" Ben yelled out in protest at the unexpected thump, and ducked his head lower, in fear of getting another one. He looked up at the girl sitting behind him with a confused expression, half expecting her to apologise for confusing him with someone else.

"What the hell are you doing?" He was sure to lower his voice the second time, since the first had caused Madam Pince clear her throat loudly.

She turned fully around in the chair, staring at him with an incredulous expression. Did he not hear her--or did he think he was doing nothing wrong?

"What am I doing?" she repeated, putting a hand to her heart, "You're the one sneaking around hiding behind girls' chairs!"

Telling him what he had been doing infuriated her even more, and bopped him on the top of the head with the parchment again, letting out an indignant squeal.

"Wha-" Ben waved his hand over his head, as if to protect himself from her hits, "would you stop doing that?" The look he gave her was completely suggesting her insanity, and he stood up at last, making sure he kept his distance from this, clearly hysterical, girl.

"I wasn't hiding behind your chair- you're not that pretty." Ben pointed out once he got her meaning, though the second part was obviously a lie. "I was merely looking for a book on the bottom shelf." Ben didn't bother to hide how annoyed he was of her actions, and he folded his arms across his chest, waiting for an apology.

Her mouth dropped, but then she shut it quickly, but her eyes told a different story. How--ooh, that was rude! Just because--well, she knew she wasn't pretty, but--still! You don't tell someone that! No matter how much they annoy you unless you're a complete jerk and don't deserve to live.

"I--" she started, but found she was at a loss of words. Emmeline stared up at the boy (who was really rather tall, he had to be at least a foot taller than her). He wasn't the maniac she had orignally thought, but now he was proving to be just as rude. "Well--that wasn't very nice!" she blurted, feeling like a lowly first year.

"You know what would be nice?" Ben asked with a raise of his eyebrows, not looking concerned about her reaction. "An apology." He said the word loudly, and rather slowly, as if he was teaching a completely new word to a little kid.

He wasn't normally this rude, and he used to step back and avoid arguing quite often, especially with girls. But the situation now was quite different; he was more than angry about the valuable study time he wasted looking for a book, a book that he still couldn't find a replacement for- and on top of that, a random girl thinks of him as a pervert and whacks him on the head. Twice.

She had acted a bit harshly towards him, but it had been before she knew his true intentions. Surely he couldn't expect a girl to just let what she thought was a pervert get away with his...going ons! Emmeline rolled her eyes and let out a sigh through her nose, still not trusting herself to open her mouth--she might slip another stupid remark.

Her fingers rapped on her textbook, a potions text that was incredibly interesting and helpful for her O.W.L. studying. The book helped because Emmeline truly despised the class, and it made things seem a lot more entertaining than just putting ingredients into a cauldron.

"Sorry, then," she said, her glare not faltering. She was still annoyed at him for scaring her...and his comment.

Ben's attention was distracted for a moment as he dropped his gaze look at her tapping fingers, and something else caught his eyes. In less than a second, the reason why he was so annoyed with her was replaced by another- a bigger one, and her apology was practically unheard.

He pushed past her and leaned forward above the table, trying to make sure that he read the book's title right, then looked up at her with his fists clenched. "Why on earth do you have that book? Do you know how much time I've wasted to look for it? And you bloody don't need it, you're not a sixth year!"

Emmeline frowned so hard that her cheeks began to hurt. This boy was so incredibly infuriating! How--how dare he act like this! Bloody Gryffindors and their high and mighty attitude; how could they even think that Slytherins were the only jerks?

She slammed her hand on her text, pulling it to her. She had taken this book out fair and square, and she wasn't going to let some toerag take it away from her.

"For your information, I have O.W.L.s. this year," she spat, speaking to him in the loud and slow tone he had used with her just moments ago. "This book is rather helpful, seeing as I hate Potions."

Emmeline waved the book around slowly, a wicked grin on her face.

"Too bad you're a jerk, I might've thought of letting you borrow it." With that, she stuffed the book in her bag, and stood up. She stood up as straight as she could, looking up at him as if she felt just as tall--boy, was he tall--her shoulders thrown back. It was as if she was daring him to try and take the book.

"You've got the whole year to prepare for OWLs." Ben began in an impatient tone, looking as if he was holding back a few more insults. "I've got to hand my essay on Monday- I need this book."

Ben considered apologising for his rude behaviour and asking for the book in a nicer manner, he could have even offered her his Potions notes, but her attitude was bringing out a side he didn't know he had. Despite the fact that on every other day he would have been impressed with the way she stood her grounds, he absolutely hated her attitude.

"I need the book."

She eyed him carefully, trying to figure out if he truly needed the book, or if he was just trying to piss her off even more because that was his nature. Emmeline smirked; no, he wasn't normally like this, she could tell (but don't ask her how). He was just in a bad mood, even though that shouldn't excuse his behaviour.

With a loud, dramatic sigh, Emmeline pulled the book out of her bag and handed it to him, looking completely unwilling, but not fighting back.

"Here, just take it--I did hit you." She tried to justify herself, that giving him the book was more of an apology than anything, but really...Emmeline just didn't feel like having him as an enemy. Not that she was scared of him, oh no...she just didn't want him to hate her..

"Err-" Ben started, his confused expression back on his face. He knew that he was right and that his point was one-hundred percent valid, of course, but he hadn't expected her to give in so easily. She'd seemed so fierce and stubborn, that her action had thrown him off guard.

"Th- Thanks." He stammered, reaching out to accept the book from her hand. The possibility that he might have misjudged her was the only explanation to his, and guilt began to wash over his face, getting rid of the angry fire he had in his eyes only seconds ago. So, naturally, he had to apologise.

"Sorry for how I acted, I get quite unbearable when it comes to school work."

Well. It looked like he didn't hate her, at least. She had somehow won; she made him feel guilty and apologize. Emmeline was a bit proud of herself, for getting him to forget about the little nutcase she looked like minutes before. She absolutely hated being wrong, and then looking like an idiot for it--so maybe that was why she just gave in, it got rid of the horrible feeling of looking ridiculous.

"Everyone makes mistakes," she said, not accepting the apology outfront, but giving him a small, tiny, smile to show she wasn't putoff with him. "What's your name, so I can tell everyone to avoid you during finals week?"

Why on earth did she ask? Emmeline felt her face heat up, and quickly looked away, to try and keep her cool and calm demeanor.

The faint smile she'd given was enough for him to consider her reply a good one. He smiled back at her, not failing to notice that she seemed to look even more beautiful without her frown, something he wouldn't have thought possible a bit ago.

"Spreading the word seems like a good idea." He joked with a small laugh, holding the book in his left hand and extending his right one to shake hers, "Benjamin Fenwick."

"Emmeline Vance," she said, shaking his hand. She felt so small compared to him, a feeling she wasn't used to. It wasn't necessarily a bad feeling, just a...strange feeling. If he wasn't an obnoxious Gryffindor, she might even consider him as someone she'd like to get to know...

...oh, bollocks, that didn't matter when his laugh made her lips quiver with a smile. Emmeline was mentally screaming inside NooooooOOo! Boys are bad! Especially Gryffindor boys! Especially Gryffindor boys that room with them!

"I guess you should get to that essay," she said smoothly. Emmeline didn't exactly want him to leave, but she was feeling much too awkward for her own good, and figured that if he left, she'd be able to go back to normal.

"Well, Emmeline Vance, would you mind if I shared your table?" Benjamin asked casually, even though there were several empty tables around them.

There was something about her that made him want to stay, something kind of intriguing. And since she was nice enough to give him the book, he reckoned she might be a good enough company. "I promise I won't distract you from your work."

Shit. Damnit. NoooOoo.

"Yeah, sure, no problem, I needed to get some Charms work done anyway and my dorms are a bit noisey--" she rambled, then clenched her fists the moment she realized she was rambling. Emmeline Delilah Vance does not ramble. This boy was bad news! He was making her act so strangely, and he wasn't doing anything remotely out of the ordinary. Except maybe be a bit off when near a deadline, of course.

Emmeline sat in the chair she was previously occupying and pulled out her Charms text and...her journal. She had covered it in a plain purple cover, and it didn't look out of the ordinary...maybe he wouldn't notice that she was writing in her journal other than taking notes...he shouldn't be paying that much attention to her anyway, and she needed to get some things out.

Benjamin looked content that she'd agreed, and he flashed her another smile before going around one of the shelves he was behind earlier to get his bag.

He returned shortly after that and pulled out the chair next to her, then sat down and opened the book she had before in front of him. Unrolling a neat piece of parchment, he shot her a last smile before focusing all of his attention on his essay. He didn't look up her way at all when he began scribbling long sentences on his parchment, only removing his eyes from the text to dip his quill in the ink-pot. His ability to concentrate on his work when there was this really beautiful girl sitting so close surprised him greatly, but he didn't dwell on that thought.

She stared at him for a bit after he smiled, and watched him concentrate on the essay. He was certainely good at blocking out the rest of the world, something Emmeline wished she could do. If left alone, she could sit and read or write for hours, but once someone entered the vicinity and disrupted the peace, her entire mood was wrecked.

Sort of like what Ben had done, but now that it was all said and done, she wasn't half as annoyed as she thought she would be.

Staring at him for just a second more, with a curious look in her eyes, Emmeline turned back to her journal and flipped open the pages. She plucked her quill out of her bag, and began to write about this strange boy and the strange way he had bumped into her life.