Ravenclaw tower had been her home for years and it looked like it. She had turned the common room into her own personal project, covered in a large map of the school, complete with documentation on every secret passageway that she could use to get around the rubble and spells she could use to melt into the walls where the protections against such a thing were weak. She knew where every hidden room was and how to access it, right down to the most absurd conditions placed on it, and how to make it fit to whatever her needs were.
There were more notes in other places about the monsters that roamed the schools. She knew where they nested and what the tribes of them were in the school. She studied them and learned their patterns over the years and knew now how to avoid the less pleasant ones. There were helpful ones and she had made careful note of just what food she could use to get them to do what she asked. When they were feeling in the mood to help. She had notes on how to do that as well.
In her years alone, there was sparse conversation, which suited her fine. She spent the time learning how to be her own person and she found a few subjects to subject to conversation. The monsters weren't very good with it, knowing little about many topics, but there was in the library that was lovely when Torana needed a new book. The house elves were around, though their grammar was atrocious. She understood that it was a dialect issue, but it still irritated her. This was why there were no house elf novellists. That, and they were never given the opportunity, even when she offered to help one of them with an idea they had.
Squirrels, though, they were plenty chatty. They came by initially to try and take the tower, but Torana talked them out of it and now they gave her information about what was happening all over the place. Not useful information, mind you, but they were at least able to give her some idea of what was going on outside.
"Stole my nuts to make a pie! Can you believe it?" Chitters demanded. "The nerve. Do you know how difficult it is to find nuts these days, with all those things in the forest trying to eat you just for collecting a little food?"
"You know better than to bring a chestnut near a house elf," Torana told him, looking up from her notes. She recently learned a new quirk of the fifth floor mens bathroom whereby if you tapped on the pipes just right, it would scatter the bats that nested in the hall. She suspected those bats might have some association with the vampires, so she was sure to make note of it. "Is there anything else? I keep thinking I hear things."
"Only the people. They didn't have any nuts."
Torana paused and looked at him with an eyebrow raised. "People?" she asked. There were a few people who came in and out, but she hadn't bothered to go out and see them yet. There was only one, usually.
"In the place covered in snakes," Chitters told her. He scurried over her maps until he reached the Slytherin common room, much to Torana's dismay and wild gesturing for him to get off of her work. "That one. There's a bunch of them in there. Heard them. They weren't talking about anything important. The house elves need to find more nuts."
Torana swept Chitters off her map and frowned. "Did you steal the chestnuts from the house elves in the first place?" she asked. "The ones they stole to make the pie?"
Chitters didn't look directly at her. Of course he did. She shook her head at him and let him scamper off, leaving Torana to stare at the Slytherin common room on her map. Well, so long as they didn't disturb anything, she didn't see a reason to bother them.
There were more notes in other places about the monsters that roamed the schools. She knew where they nested and what the tribes of them were in the school. She studied them and learned their patterns over the years and knew now how to avoid the less pleasant ones. There were helpful ones and she had made careful note of just what food she could use to get them to do what she asked. When they were feeling in the mood to help. She had notes on how to do that as well.
In her years alone, there was sparse conversation, which suited her fine. She spent the time learning how to be her own person and she found a few subjects to subject to conversation. The monsters weren't very good with it, knowing little about many topics, but there was in the library that was lovely when Torana needed a new book. The house elves were around, though their grammar was atrocious. She understood that it was a dialect issue, but it still irritated her. This was why there were no house elf novellists. That, and they were never given the opportunity, even when she offered to help one of them with an idea they had.
Squirrels, though, they were plenty chatty. They came by initially to try and take the tower, but Torana talked them out of it and now they gave her information about what was happening all over the place. Not useful information, mind you, but they were at least able to give her some idea of what was going on outside.
"Stole my nuts to make a pie! Can you believe it?" Chitters demanded. "The nerve. Do you know how difficult it is to find nuts these days, with all those things in the forest trying to eat you just for collecting a little food?"
"You know better than to bring a chestnut near a house elf," Torana told him, looking up from her notes. She recently learned a new quirk of the fifth floor mens bathroom whereby if you tapped on the pipes just right, it would scatter the bats that nested in the hall. She suspected those bats might have some association with the vampires, so she was sure to make note of it. "Is there anything else? I keep thinking I hear things."
"Only the people. They didn't have any nuts."
Torana paused and looked at him with an eyebrow raised. "People?" she asked. There were a few people who came in and out, but she hadn't bothered to go out and see them yet. There was only one, usually.
"In the place covered in snakes," Chitters told her. He scurried over her maps until he reached the Slytherin common room, much to Torana's dismay and wild gesturing for him to get off of her work. "That one. There's a bunch of them in there. Heard them. They weren't talking about anything important. The house elves need to find more nuts."
Torana swept Chitters off her map and frowned. "Did you steal the chestnuts from the house elves in the first place?" she asked. "The ones they stole to make the pie?"
Chitters didn't look directly at her. Of course he did. She shook her head at him and let him scamper off, leaving Torana to stare at the Slytherin common room on her map. Well, so long as they didn't disturb anything, she didn't see a reason to bother them.
