An Empty Classroom.

[serinusniger]

This is how is goes: The common room is always, without fail, too crowded and busy to get homework done.
The library is too oppressive and filled with people going sssssssssh.

And the thing about the seventh year, with NEWTs on the horizon, is even someone who generally hasn't had the hardest struggle with schoolwork, might suddenly find herself being thrown in the deep end.

Which is why Dinah has snuck into an empty Charms classroom during a free period in which she can get to grip with her Charms homework.
Well, Charms right now. Potions and Defence against the Dark Arts next.

Comments

[aubergine_girl]

New teacher or no, Professor Brown's "students out of bed!" sense appears to be finely honed. Or at least, her sense of things happening in isolated places where they shouldn't be. Which is almost the same, right?

Funny how her robes don't make any single bit of noise at all. Only her breath when she sees it's just Dinah and drops the stealth, with a smile. Head Girls don't really get in trouble for bending rules to study.

"Hey, Dinah. Miss Lance," she corrects herself. "Couldn't study in the common room?"

[serinusniger]

Head girls get ALL THE LEEWAY. It's kind of awesome.

Dinah looks up, rubbing an eye, and smirks cheerfully at the teacher.

"Hey, 'Professor Brown,'" she says, quote marks slotting neatly around the title in a way she would never do in class. "Obviously you've never spent any amount of time in the Gryffindor Common Room."

[aubergine_girl]

Her quotation marks earn her a wide grin. "All I know of Gryffindors is that they like to blow things up. I don't think you could pay me to go in there."

She comes over to peer at Dinah's homework. "Need any help?"

[serinusniger]

"Well," Dinah says thoughtfully, leafing through the stack to her left. "You could do my Defence Against the Dark Arts homework for me, if you prommise not to tell the professor."

[aubergine_girl]

Stephanie considers this very thoughtfully.

"I could. But I already know the material. You'd have to make it worth my time."

[serinusniger]

"Huh."

Dinah puts her quill down, and thoughtfully leans back in her chair. "What could you be angling for?"

[aubergine_girl]

"I don't think there's anything you can offer," Steph says, grinning, leaning back against the next nearest desk. "You'll have to do the homework. I'd hate to be accused of favoritism."

"But you can just pretend you did it, if you like. And I'll pretend not to take points."

[serinusniger]

"Well, now I have a contender for worst teacher ever," Dinah says lightly. "I really thought Aquam was going to walk away from it this year."

Talking trash about the teachers. Scandal!

[aubergine_girl]

Steph reaches out to ruffle her hair, grinning. "You know, all that talk about Hogwarts in your first year, but you never told me just how many explosions there are around here. ... I'd accept 'someone threw an Aquam potion at my homework' as an excuse for not turning it in, if you like."

[fiss84]

Julie freezes at the doorway when she realizes the room she had hoped to practice in was already in use. Looks like she'll just have to find another classroom to practice that charm for Tyler. Carefully, she tries to close it without making too much noise.

Too bad she doesn't have much practice with this.

[serinusniger]

Dinah does in fact look up at the noise, and grins when she sees the Gryffindor first year standing in the door.

"Hey. It's Finster, right?"

[fiss84]

"Yes, ma'am," Julie says even doing a little curtsey. "I'm sorry, I didn't know you were using the room."

[serinusniger]

"Oh please," she says firmly. "Ma'am is for teachers. Come on in, what are you working on?"

[fiss84]

Julie hesitates but then this is the Head Girl or Gryffindor right?

"Okay," she says shyly and lets the door close softly behind her. "I was trying to get the Incendia lux lucis* charm down and I thought this would be the safest place to do it. Well any Charms room would due but I thought this one was empty."

[OOC-*I have no idea what year this charm would be and wasn't able to find it in the wiki. I found note of it for the video game. It basically makes firefly lights.]

[serinusniger]

"Come on in," Dinah says with an inviting flick of her head. "I need a brain break anyway. How're you doing with it?"

[fiss84]

"Okay," Julie admits, "except I keep losing control of the flies and can't get them to stay one color."

[serinusniger]

"Huh," says Dinah, resting her chin in her hands as she thinks. "Can I see?"

[mnt-leo.livejournal.com]

Leo would never own up to it, but he was doing rounds. When left to his own devices for too long, he had developed a nasty habit of pacing the interior of the castle. It was almost as if he were looking for something. Weaknesses? Perhaps.

It was during one of these rounds that he happened to come across the Charms classroom. Leo paused for a moment in the doorway to the room. The way he's framed by the door, and the way he's impeccably dressed, he almost looks like a model for Slytherin Chic.

[serinusniger]

Dinah does not hate all Slytherins.
Dinah does not hate all Slytherins.
Dinah does not hate all Slytherins.
If you say it over and over again to yourself like a mantra, it eventually loses all meaning.

She's aware of a shadow in the doorway, of course, and when it appears her quill pauses for a second. Then it finishes the sentence she was on and she lays it down to look up at him, a second before she smiles.

"Hi."

[mnt-leo.livejournal.com]

He nods a greeting, though for a second there it looked as if he was going to bow, but thought better of it.

"Hello."

Another moment passes, and he steps more fully into the room.

[serinusniger]

Had he bowed, she would probably have bowed in return before she had even noticed.

The moment is tangible; she waits patiently for him to step in, then she realises he's waiting for her.

"You're one of Raph's brothers, right? Uh... Don... no, Leonardo?"

She hasn't got them all straight yet. But she knows there's a Leonardo and it's not the Ravenclaw one. So maybe it's the Slytherin?

[mnt-leo.livejournal.com]

Well, she is HeadGirl. It's only proper to defer to her.
Isn't it? This is all...this school is so weird.

Leo nods again. "What has he told you?" Meaning Raph. And the long suffering tone in his voice indicates...well, long suffering.

[serinusniger]

"Not a lot," Dinah says cheerfully. "I haven't talked to him much, but I've seen him in the Common Room."

[mnt-leo.livejournal.com]

Sitting in the common room is good. That's like being social.
Sort of. If you squint.

"You have my apologies...in advance."

[serinusniger]

Dinah narrows her eyes, but she's smirking.

"Apologising for other people is a bad habit to get into. Even if they're family."

Says the only child.