After a long day of classes and studying, Taylor Wright finds herself in the Great Hall, sitting down to a delicious meal prepared by the house elves. Usually she seats herself at the Gryffindor table, but not today. Today, Corey Lees, scum of the earth, is sitting at the Gryffindor table with his latest girlfriend, who happens to be a Gryffindor: Vanessa Whitmer–tall, blonde, and vacant. Thus Taylor is not sitting with her fellow Gryffindors. Rather she perches at the Ravenclaw table. Reactions to her seating choice vary. Many of the Ravenclaws whisper around her, but Taylor ignores them, choosing to brush up on her potions her text is open to the recipe for cheering potion, which, for some reason, she is trying to commit to memory.

Squealing and giggling as she and her sister run into the hall with their gaggle of friends, Josie Wexler is the epitome of over-excited twelve-year-old at this moment. “Do you really think she’ll do it?” she asks her sister, coming to the end of the table. The group bursts into giggles again quickly then disperses after a moment, going to sit at their separate tables. Josie plops down, ending up in front of Taylor. She scrambles for a moment as some jelly beans fall out of her pocket and skitter onto the floor behind her. After cursing under her breath quietly, she finally looks up at Taylor. “Hey, you’re not in Ravenclaw.” The girl is very tactful.

The book is snapped shut as Taylor is addressed. Wrinkling her nose, she tilts her head at Josie, “How. . . ” she furrows her brow as she carefully considers her words, “. . .perceptive of you.” She offers the younger girl a forced smile which warms slightly as she inspects Josie, “I’m Taylor Wright, and I’m Gryffindor.”

“Well, I am a Ravenclaw,” Josie tells the older girl in complete earnest. “I’m Josie Wexler. That’s my sister over there. We’re twins.” She grins happily and plunks her things down next to her on the bench. “So why are you sitting here? Aren’t you supposed to sit at the Gryffindor table? I thought we weren’t allowed.” The girl pulls a few jelly beans out of her pocket and chews on them a bit before reaching out and grabbing some things to put on her plate.

Taylor Wright offers the younger girl a smile. “I’ve always wanted a twin. My sisters are twins, but both are in Gryffindor.” She shrugs her shoulders and then sighs at the question. She glances over towards Corey (still sitting at Gryffindor), “That’s why I’m not over there. He is not a nice person. But then, what do I expect? He is male. And they are born that way. You know?”

“How are they born?” Josie asks the older girl, genuinely puzzled. “I mean, besides a little bit, you know, slower than girls and all, but mummy says they catch up eventually.” The girl pauses. “She says she’s still waiting for daddy to catch up, though, and he’s kinda old.”

“Well, they are certainly slower, but more than that, they are unfeeling, unsophisticated, immature prats who don’t know which way is backwards and which is forwards. And they try, at every turn, to make women less than they are. And eventually all of them fail the women in their lives–whether it’s through broken promises that they’d never intended to keep in the first place, or willfull abandonment when things get difficult,” Taylor states matter of factly. Her entire demeanor is stern. “And that, is how they are born.”

Josie is a bit shocked by the vehemence in Taylor’s statement, and she just stares for a moment, almost as if it’s taking a moment for the sentiment to sink in. “… oh.” She finally responds, and then is silent for just a moment, as if in serious thought. “But… my dad isn’t like that. He’s always taken good care of my sisters and brothers and me. Mum works at the candy shop so she can’t take care of us all the time.” Josie pauses. “But maybe Uncle Logan is like that. He’s kind of mean?” The girl’s voice sounds almost hopeful as she offers up this suggestion to the near-stranger in front of her.

A nod is given at the idea of a man being kind of mean. “He might seem kind of mean now, but once you’re an adult he’ll be an all-out mean. Men give up on things, they don’t care for people. And even if your dad stayed home he probably just wanted time off, you know? Like so he didn’t have to work. He’d rather be home goofing off with all of you than at work, engaging in something productive.” Taylor nods at this thought matter-of-factly.

“Hmm, I don’t know. He used to work at Zonko’s, so wouldn’t that be more fun?” Josie munches on some of the food from her plate, looking ponderous. “I don’t know. Boys don’t seem so bad to me. How do you know they’re so bad, though? Is it in a book? Maybe I should take a look at it. It seems like there must be something to back it up. My teachers tell me there has to be proof for something to be true.” Josie looks slightly sullen as she makes this admission, as if she’s had problems with this concept in the past.

“Well of course it can’t be printed in books because they have all of the power. Have you ever wondered why men dominate so much of the world? That so often women keep house and men work? It’s because they say so. That’s the nature of it,” thoughtfully Taylor considers the idea of writing a book on the topic and mentally puts that on the shelf. “Regardless, be glad that you are female! It’s a blessed state to be in. And you’re just as capable as any boy.”

As she finishes cleaning her plate, Josie looks quickly over at Hufflepuff table and catches her sister’s eye. The two exchange a rapid glance and then the girl starts to clear up her things. “I guess you’re right.” Josie admits this, then pauses in thought. As her sister stands up from her table, Josie grabs up all of her things and stands up quickly. “I’m going to… um, I’ve got to – and she’s waiting – so I’ll talk to you later!” With that, she manages to escape quickly, latching onto her sister’s arm as the two meet up. The girls heads incline together as they meet and it’s clear they’re talking and giggling as they run out of the great hall, their school things in tow.

Other Interesting Logs:

• Parker Wexler is Sorted
• Sorting Day from Josie’s View
• A Spontaneous Reunion
• The Wexler Twins Arrive at Hogwarts