The tip of her quill dipped back into the inkwell, and it was with the guidance of a practiced hand that it dashed across the scroll of parchment stretched out on the desk before her. The letters it formed could hardly be called letters - how misshapen and illegible were they - but they were nonetheless. Half a foot of parchment had already been decorated with her chicken-scratch handwriting, but she had still another six inches or so to go before the essay was complete.
After all, no time to do your ancient runes essay quite like when you were waiting for a flaky popular boy to finally saunter into tutoring.
When Professor Greengrass had asked her to tutor another student who was falling behind, Addie had tried to get out of it. She had used every excuse in the book. She was busy. She had a lot of homework stacked up for her other NEWTs. She was trying to research a rare magical item. Professor Greengrass would have none of it. And so, after the failure to negotiate her way out of the tutoring, she had simply given in.
It would be nice, though, if her pupil were to actually show up.
Addie wouldn't claim to know a whole lot about everyone here. She didn't care to. People - and friends, in particular - had never been her forte. Upon arriving at Hogwarts, she had decided that, while friends, and relationships, might be nice, she ought to focus on her studies for the time being. She'd have plenty of time for all of that later.
What she did know about Liam Fitzpatrick, from having attended classes with him for five years prior, was that he was a Hufflepuff - a prefect, as of last year, like her - and he spent his time trying to play "cool" and make people like him. She resented that. Also, she happened to know that he was bloody awful at potions - always had been, but apparently it was only now a big enough threat to his future for the professor to force him to be tutored.
She sighed, resting her hand for a minute and deciding that she would be better off leaving than staying in the abandoned potions classroom another minute, waiting on a boy who was fifteen minutes late. She could just tell Professor Greengrass that he obviously did not care for the tutoring, and his absence was enough to confirm that she was merely wasting her valuable time to no avail.
Britters
Level 72
The Eggstraordinaire
Joined: 8/25/2014
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Posted: 7/6/2019 at 1:36 AM
Post #3
Procastination was a skill. It really was, and Liam would argue the point eloquently with anyone who disagreed. He was quite certain the tutor awaiting him in the Potions classroom was bound to be on the opposing side of such a debate. They could wait, they could think the worst of him. After all, it was much better to be adored, or have the appearance of adoration at least, than understood. There were many things he would rather be doing with his time, and that he felt confident his tutor would agree on.
"Liam!" called a voice behind him, which Liam discovered belonged to one of his fellow Hufflepuff quidditch players as he turned around, "Where you off to?"
"Nowhere important, mate," Liam called back, casually walking backwards as he spoke, "Greengrass sacked me with a tutor to get my grades up." He grimaced, and his teammate gave him a groan of sympathy before waving and disappearing down a separate corridor
Probably headed to the common room, Liam thought to himself with a sigh as he turned around and carried on. He would truly give anything to not have to do this tutoring, and he had definitely tried. He had begged and pleaded and promised Professor Greengrass fervently to get his grades up on his own, but it had all been to no avail. He'd been making similar promises for far too long. It wasn't that he was didn't understand the subject, and it wasn't even that he disliked it, but his performances in class were shoddy at best...deadly at worst.
However, if Liam expected to make it through this year without major issues, having a tutor was going to have to be a fate he resigned himself to. Usually Greengrass herself would teach remedial lessons, but she didn't have the time. The only thing he knew about the person awaiting him was that they were on his fellow NEWT students. He hardly paid attention in Potions class, but he was generally good with faces. Not that he had any clue exactly who they'd asked....
Finally arriving at the classroom, Liam pushed the door open and strode in confidently. He paused several steps into the room, taking in the girl sitting at one of the tables. Her dark brown hair, angular face, he knew her but worried for a moment that she wouldn't remember her name. Of course, it came to him in the end.
"Riversong," he said amiably, pulling a chair out, spinning it backwards and sitting down with a grin, "So you're the one Greengrass roped into this...sorry for your luck." He pulled his wand out of his pocket and began twirling it about in his fingers, a habit most people saw as lackadaisical, but it was more something he did when he was nervous or antsy.
Creativity
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Posted: 7/6/2019 at 7:06 AM
Post #4
It had helped Addie, throughout the years, to view things in steps, even when it came to something as simple as how a day would go. Step one, bathe. Step two, attend class. Step three, do homework. Step four, spend time in her room. Routines helped. In light of chaos and unpredictability, it was always better to just make a list, see the steps, take things one by one.
Step one, get up. Step two, dust yourself off. Step three, bandage your wounds. Step four, hide.
She didn't notice that her quill had stopped on her paper, her hand trembling just a tiny bit as her mind wandered far, far away from Hogwarts, to a home that never really was. She was hooked back to the present as the door to the classroom opened and in he strode.
Her hazel eyes slid over to him, unimpressed by the relaxed gait with which he sauntered. She put her quill down and carefully rolled up her scroll, tucking it into her satchel to finish later. Then, she dug through the satchel - which was, by the way, a complete mess - and finally acquired the sixth year advanced potions book that she knew she needed in order to teach Liam properly. She also withdrew fresh parchment and set it down in between the two of them.
"Yes," she responded to him slowly, dragging the word out as she finally looked back over to him, her eyes narrowed slightly as she took in the way in which he spun the vulnerable stick into which he channeled the most important thing in the world. Her hands itched to still it - her own wand was very safely tucked into the long inner pocket of her Ravenclaw robes.
"Next time you feel the urge to flaunt your appearance through wasting my valuable time, Fitzpatrick, I would suggest also surrendering your Quidditch position entirely, because failing any of your classes would result in quite the same. Might as well save some of your own time, you know."
Britters
Level 72
The Eggstraordinaire
Joined: 8/25/2014
Threads: 167
Posts: 2,034
Posted: 7/6/2019 at 5:49 PM
Post #5
If Liam was being totally honest, he was most upset that he was going to be wasting Addie's time with this tutoring thing than he was about wasting his own time. At least if it had been Professor Greengrass, he would have known exactly which buttons to push, exactly what to say to get her to release him out of frustration. He didn't know enough about Addie to be able to employ any such tactics, nor would he have wanted to anyway. He could only hope they could both get through this as painlessly as possible.
Had it truly been up to Liam, he wouldn't have chosen to take Potions as part of his NEWT curriculum, but it hadn't been up to him...not really. He had told his Head of House that he wanted to become Minister of Magic, and that meant taking a wide variety of NEWT classes. The more NEWTs he graduated with, the better his chances of getting an internship with a big, important ministry department where he could show off his skills. This was how he would eventually be able to work his way up to becoming Minister one day.
Of course, this was not what Liam wanted to do with his life, not by a long shot. This was not about him, though...it never had been.
"Appearances are everything, Riversong," he said to her matter-of-factly, ceasing his wand twirling very suddenly, "In that way, Quidditch is just as important as Potions. Its not my fault that one is easy and exciting, while the other is dull and overly complicated." He shrugged lazily, running his hand through his ash blonde hair, his green eyes clouded over for just a moment while Addie was busy pulling out the textbook and parchment.
The truth was, Liam hated Potions, and not because he really believed it to be dull and overly complicated like he'd just said. He could read every book on potion making he could get his hands on, and most of it he found fascinating. Unfortunately, when it came to putting all of his knowledge to practice it went right out of the window. When he stood in front of his cauldron, his heart would pound and his palms would sweat. His thoughts would get all scrambled inside of his brain and he would end up doing everything out of order...in short, it was always a disaster.
Not that this was something Liam would ever, ever tell anyone about any of this for as long as he lived...
"So," he said brightly, standing up and turning his chair back around, sitting down with his elbows on the table and giving Addie a large, charming grin, "Where do we start, professor?"
Edited By Britters on 7/6/2019 at 5:49 PM.
Creativity
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Posted: 7/6/2019 at 9:07 PM
Post #6
The main value of the Ravenclaw house was creativity. Creativity, wit, learning, and knowledge. The passion to learn. The passion to create. The magicking world was something that Addie had never expected, and yet, was fairly certain she wouldn't still be here without. There was only so much abuse that the human soul could take before it ceased to really live - to only survive, only that was death.
Her passion to create laid in something far more mundane than that which was often found in the wizarding world. Music. Only that made Addie really feel alive. Back home, though... Back home, it was forbidden. Perhaps that was the thing she loved the most about Hogwarts. There was a place she could go, a place where she could express her passion, and her creativity...
"Appearances are nothing," she combated Liam's insistence with the instantaneous remark. Whereas she was often insecure when she spoke, his statement went against everything she believed in. Appearances were nothing more than ugly covers to mask what a person was truly like inside.
Sitting on a desk, a few meters away, Iris watched them, patiently waiting her turn with her owner. Addie cast her a small glance before standing up and heading over to the ingredients cabinet. On the way there, she stroked the cat behind her ears, but didn't pay her much more attention than that. She grabbed the necessary ingredients for a draught of living death - a particularly difficult potion - and brought them back to the table with a cauldron.
"We start with a draught of living death," she told him casually, pulling her own potions book out of her satchel and placing it in front of him. "You're going to follow the instructions, and I will observe."
Britters
Level 72
The Eggstraordinaire
Joined: 8/25/2014
Threads: 167
Posts: 2,034
Posted: 7/7/2019 at 8:32 PM
Post #7
Now, its important to note that Liam was not a poor student. He was an excellent example of true Hufflepuff, in that he was extremely hardworking and dedicated. He maybe didn't get the highest marks in class, but they were enough for him to get by and he gave a lot of effort. Everything he did he tried to do to the best of his ability, and sometimes he still failed but that was okay because the important thing was that he tried.
Besides, Liam was taking a larger number of classes than the majority of his peers, and that was on top of regular Quidditch practices and games, so he felt he was doing pretty well all things considered...
"What?" he exclaimed suddenly, his voice coming out somewhat squeaky as Addie gave him her instructions, "But...I mean...I..." His stammering words tumbled over each other while he stared at the open book as though it were a venomous snake coiled up to strike at him.
It was embarrassing to have had such a reaction in front of someone, but Liam couldn't help himself. This was not what he'd been expecting right out of the gate. He tried clearing his throat, straightening the front of his shirt and running clammy hands through his hair in an attempt to pull himself back together. He reached out and slid the the book towards him. For a moment the words seemed run together as his panic rose, but he fought it back to a dull enough roar thay he could at least read.
"Guess you don't adhere to the easing into things method," he said to Addie with a wry smile, trying to use humor to diffuse his own tension, "Not that I mind or anything..." He added the last bit somewhat hastily as he tried to focus on the brewing recipe in front of him.
Whatever his feelings about the subject, Liam would not refuse to try...even if he ended up sending them both to the hospital wing.
Creativity
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Posted: 7/8/2019 at 2:35 PM
Post #8
Addie had grown up with a father who always rode under the pathetic guise of "tough love". She might've believed it, too, once upon a time, had Rosalie not been there to set her straight. Had she not had the letter from her mother. Had she been completely and utterly alone in the world. Then, maybe - just maybe, she'd have believed that her father loved her.
There was one thing she did learn from him, though, and that was that sometimes, you just had to dive in headfirst and hope and pray for the best. That wasn't really something that she had the guys to practice, but she had taken it into consideration for when she needed to be a hypocrite - like now.
She rolled her eyes in annoyance at the popular boy's worthless sputtering. He seemed almost like he was afraid of creating the potion. But that was silly, she told herself. Why would he even be taking Potions as a NEWT if he were afraid of them? She attributed the stammering to just a simple case of neuroticism and decided to leave it at that.
"Easing into things?" she asked, looking at him as if grown another head, or turned into Lord Voldemort himself. "What do you mean, easing into things? The draught of living death isn't easy, of course, but am I supposed to help you read the textbook? You've taken Potions for five years?"
Addie hadn't meant for the last statement to come out as a question, but it was an awful habit that she had. It was due to a lack of security, really - she hadn't the confidence in what she would say, and so, it would come out uneasy and inquisitive. Even the simplest statements could come out as a question, and people would often just make fun of her for it. Instinctively, she took a small step back, even though he was still sitting and she was towering over him slightly.
In this situation, she had the upper hand. She had to remind herself of that. She could quit the tutoring with no skin off of her back, and no punishments whatsoever. She could deem him merely... unteachable. Or unfit for Potions. And yet... She still feared what he could do to her.
Britters
Level 72
The Eggstraordinaire
Joined: 8/25/2014
Threads: 167
Posts: 2,034
Posted: 7/8/2019 at 7:04 PM
Post #9
This was fine, this was all totally fine. Despite his trepidation, Liam could totally handle this, he was sure of it. All he had to do was pay attention to the instructions and everything would be just...fine. He knew that Addie couldn't possibly understand what his reaction was all about, since she was a typical, academically inclined Ravenclaw. This stuff all came as easily to her as breathing. He knew that didn't come close to excusing his poor marks in Potions, but he was trying
"Technically five and a quarter," he corrected her simply, not looking up from the textbook, "If you count the half of a term thats already gone by." He may not be happy about wasting Addie's time, but pushing her buttons a littl? Well, what was life without a little fun?
Now that Liam's full attention was on the task at hand, he surveyed the materials in front of him. Making sure he had all the correct ingredients was always the easy part. There was the powdered Asphodel root, the wormwood, the sloth brain, and the bean looking things with the long name. He had his tools, and he had his cauldron, which was already full with the standardized amount of water. Yeah, this was going to be a piece of cake, no problems at all this time...
Of course, just ten minutes later Liam was realizing just how fully wrong that assessment had been. He had cut up the sloth brain instead of the beans, requiring him to go back to the closet for another one, and he added several beans in whole before remembering that he was meant to juice them instead. Not to mention the very specific stirring directions the book had very clearly given him seemed to have gone into his brain and then slid right out again because he was feverishly stirring as though his life depended on it.
Almost an hour had passed, during which Addie had merely observed him, and the cauldron which say in front of Liam was nearly bubbling over with a concoction that was a rather marvelous shade of puce and looked like the consistency of snot. Finally deciding that he had done quite enough damage for the time being, he pulled his wooden spoon out, wincing at the loud suction noise it made as it withdrew from the potion, and set it down on the table. He then turned his green eyes up to Addie.
"So," he said, trying to sound casual as he leaned back in his chair, "How did I do, professor?" Horrible, he had done absolutely horrible and he knew it full well...but thats what tutoring was meant for, right?
Creativity
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Posted: 7/8/2019 at 9:14 PM
Post #10
It was absolutely horrendous. The way in which Liam concocted his elixir... It made her wonder how he'd made it this far - or gotten a high enough score on his O.W.Ls to even be in the Potions NEWT class... It was honestly hard to even keep up with all of the mistakes he was making.
The sloth brain had been cut instead of the sopophorous beans, and far too early, too. His stirring was honestly a mess - stirring was one of the most important parts to making a perfect potion! Everyone knew that! Or, at least, Addie thought everyone should no that. At least, everyone that had Potions as part of their NEWT curriculum should know that. After five years - no, five and a quarter, he had corrected her - he should surely be able to follow a simple set of instructions better than he was displaying to her.
In all honesty, she kind of expected it to explode, especially when he stirred haphazardly. If he had done so in the other direction than he did at each give time, she was certain it would have exploded, the juice of the sopophorous beans mixing unfavorably with the powdered asphodel instead of the easy introduction that counter-clockwise was supposed to give them.
When he was finished with his godawful potion, she stared at him, just barely able to maintain her composure. Slowly, she shook her head as he asked for assessment.
"Oranges and lemons."
That's all she could manage at first. Sighing and pinching the bridge of her nose, she tried to calm herself before taking the cauldron and going to the waste chute, where the failed draught could be properly disposed of without causing harm to anyone.
After that was done, she returned to him, stress weighing down on her as she realized that tutoring him would be no easy task. By then, she had recovered her voice enough to speak more than the simple phrase she remembered from when she was a toddler. "Fitzpatrick, do you not know how to read? Is that the issue?"
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