Open A helping hand

[Ilija Olaf]

The Hufflepuff was shaking in his seat as he waited to see who would turn up to one of his discussion sessions. Since the beginning of the year, Ilija had tried to bring himself to talk to more people around the school, and ultimately felt as that was going quite well. Of course he still had his awkward moments where words would get stuck in the back of his throat, and he would be nervous wondering what others thought of him to really say what was in his mind, but looking back over the last few weeks he would have said it had at least been a definite improvement. The Bulgarian had been considering his future job prospects too with his OWLs coming up next year, and after careful consideration he decided to try and push towards helping others, and one way he could do that was by talking to them.

Whether it was a nervous first year who hadn’t felt as though they’d quite fit in yet, or a second year who was anxious about having to choose their electives, Ilija wished he could be that ear for them. Growing up with two older sisters, they’d always had the limelight in the eyes of their parents and the youngest Olaf had more often than not been left to his own devices. It had been hard, not to have anyone to turn to or to know someone was even listening, but maybe he could be that for someone else, even if he didn’t have the right words to say.

Trying not to make too much of a scene for he didn’t need everyone turning up to the lounge that afternoon, there had been a single poster outside the Great Hall to advertise that he would be there, sat at the table in large comfortable chairs just after lunch, ready to talk to anyone who wanted to voice their own troubles. If nothing else, perhaps he would be able to put someone’s mind at ease for something his had once been confused over. The fourth year sat quietly, waiting to see if anyone would have wanted to come along.

 

[Hattie Thorne]

After spending a whole year at Hogwarts, Hattie was starting to feel a little bit more comfortable with it. She had joined a new club that year in hopes she could make some new friends, but even then she knew she had so much more to do to help her get out of her shell. She wasn't shy, but making friends just seemed a little challenging for her, especially since she was young and there were so many students that were older and were much more confident than her. When the Ravenclaw saw a poster in the Great Hall that was inviting people to go and talk to someone, she did not hesitate in planning to go, especially since she wasn't dong anything after lunch that day. When it was time, Hattie made her way up to the student lounge, hoping she wasn't going to be the only one there. As she entered the room she smiled at an older Hufflepuff boy. "Hey, is this the thing that was advertised outside the Great Hall?" she asked, a little bit too nervous to sit down with him. She had never really associated herself with older students before and so couldn't help it.

 

[Ilija Olaf]

Out the corner of his eye, Ilija was aware of someone approaching his table but not sure whether to assume it was him she was looking for, he kept glancing up and her and back to his table; the only thing in the room that wasn’t going to judge him. Perhaps she was going to tell him he wasn’t allowed to do something like this, or maybe that he wasn’t capable of helping anyone else if he had his own struggles. Before he could lose himself in his thoughts too much, he nodded at her question. “Yeah, the place to talk,” he clarified, just in case she’d actual read there was a party or something. He did want to let her down. Remembering his manners he stood from his chair, gesturing that she should take a seat, “I’m Ilija,” he added with a smile as confident as he could muster, given the fact he was about to try and chat with a stranger.

 

[Juniper Steele]

There wasn’t much at this school that was actually keeping Juno from leaving. Purely the prospect of abandoning Apollo and a few of her new friends was the reason the blonde was powering through. She wanted to be rid of the expectations that had been placed on her, and she hated feeling trapped and useless in her own bedroom. After finding out that one is the older students was holding a discussion, she had made her way down to it in the hopes that she wasn’t the only one who felt that way, and perhaps she’d find another student in the same boat as her. Ditching her robes, the first year entered the room in an oversized shirt and some leggings, and slid into a chair next to two students introducing themselves. “This better for the chat or I’m gonna look like a right muppet,” she said, her thick welsh accent more prominent than ever.

 

[Hattie Thorne]

Hattie smiled at the older boy as he clarified what the meeting was for and introduced himself as Ilija. He seemed extremely nice and Hattie was glad she had entered the room. She hoped he would help make her feel a little bit more comfortable with everything. "I'm Hattie." she told him before finally taking a seat next to him. It wasn't long before a younger Slytherin student had also entered, seeming to be there for the exact same reason she was. After a moment, Hattie spoke again. "So, how is this going to work?" she asked, in what she hoped wasn't rude or intimidating. She was just curious, and didn't want to waste her time there if it wasn't what she hoped it was.

 

[Ilija Olaf]

Ilija was about to get started when another student joined them, and he smiled politely. “Yes,” he hadn’t really known what to call the event officially, but if he could help people then he would try despite names. He looked back to Hattie, glad that she’d joined him. “I’m Ilija and this is Hattie. What’s your name?” He introduced, asking the new girl before turning back to the first, “Well, I thought we could have a discussion,” he looked between the girls. If only one person had appeared they could have been one on one, but maybe it was even better that they could all help each other. “Do you have anything your struggling with? Or maybe that you’re worried about?” He asked them both, wondering if they’d open up to a stranger. In theory it had been advertised as such, but he knew better than most that sometimes I was hard to do something when the time came. The Hufflepuff swallowed nervously, doing his best to lead them through a talk. He didn’t really speak to many of his own friends though because he thought it would be a bit awkward or weird, so perhaps it would help them too to talk with someone who wasn’t part of their daily lives.