Open Attempting to Make Friends

[Ivy Ashworth]

Open after Marijke posts with Ana Sofia

Lately, Ivy had been wondering if she had messed up in her early years at Hogwarts. She had been so focused on trying to be perfect and better than everyone, that she had hardly made time to make friends. So far, she still mostly spent time with Brooke and Delilah. Unfortunately, Brooke had become kind of frustrating to be around ever since she had been skipped over for Liusaidh for the prefects badge. And Delilah had been weird to hang out with because she had been made prefect, which made Ivy pretty jealous. She had decided to do her homework in the student lounge instead of the library, in case it would help her socialize a bit more easily. Part of her was hoping to run into Flynn, who seemed more likely to hang out there than in the library. But as she entered the room with her books tucked under her arm, she didn't see him anywhere. Maybe it was for the best. She did spot another of her classmates, someone she had spoken to before. She had been nice, as Hufflepuffs were supposed to be. Ivy remembered with some shame how she had dismissed that house in her early years at Hogwarts, seeing it as a useless one. Her thoughts on that had changed a bit, she doubted anyone in Hufflepuff felt as lonely as she did sometimes in their own dormitory. Ivy hesitated before heading over, pausing near Ana Sofia. "Is it alright if I sit here?" She asked the girl, hoping she looked less awkward than she felt.

 

[Ana Sofia Burleigh]

It was no surprise that Ana Sofia was more nervous for fifth year than she had been for any other year she had already been at the school. Fifth year meant OWLs and OWLs meant a lot more studying. A lot more difficulty. She had never been good in class, always barely passing and the idea of failing her OWLs scared her more than she had thought it would. Especially when so many of her classmates were doing so well. She knew she had friends who would help her out when she needed it, but part of her also wanted to do things herself. She didn't want to be dependend on her friends' notes, even if she knew she likely would be. In an attempt to do better Ana Sofia had set out to the student lounge with a few of her books and settled down at one of the tables. She had opened her book with all good intentions but it didn't take long before she was starting to doodle on her paper rather than taking notes on what she was reading. It took even less time for her not to be reading anymore, rather just focussing on drawing the creatures she had found in the book. Completely lost in her own drawing Ana was slightly startled when a voice spoke up close to her. She looked up to see Ivy, shooting the girl a small smile. "Yeah, sure! Go ahead." She responded, casually shoving her paper full of drawings under her book a little as she tried to make it look like she had actually been reading.

 

[Ivy Ashworth]

Ivy wasn't surprised when Ana Sofia said yes. She didn't seem like the type of person to ever say no to someone, she always seemed so nice. Ivy smiled at her gratefully and sat down. She glanced over at what Ana Sofia had been doing, as she assumed she was studying. But the girl shoved her paper under her book, making Ivy frown slightly. Had she been doing something else? Something she didn't want Ivy to see? Maybe she had distrurbed her and Ana Sofia had only said yes to be polite. Ivy glanced at her. "Were you... studying?" She asked hesitantly.

 

[Ana Sofia Burleigh]

Ana Sofia had tried to study, she had, it just hadn't worked out. It never did. There were just too many words crammed together on every page and she got completely lost everytime she tried to make any sense of things. It didn't matter which class she was reading for either, it was all the same. Difficult and confusing. Ana could feel her cheeks flush at Ivy's question, sure the girl had seen her shove her papers away. She hadn't been too subtle about it either. "I was." She responded, trying her best to sound confident in her words but quickly getting that icky feeling she normally got when she wasn't being completely honest. "I mean I was trying to? I just get.. easily distracted." She added with a small shrug, feeling slightly uneasy about the subject since she knew Ivy was a lot smarter than she was. If anything, that's what she perceived the other girl to be.

 

[Ivy Ashworth]

Ivy nodded when Ana Sofia said she had been studying, wondering if maybe she had been worried IVy was trying to steal her notes or something. Her grades had dropped, who knew what that had done to her reputation. But then Ana Sofia admitted she got easily distracted, and Ivy nodded again. That made a bit more sense. "I see, I understand that." She said softly, though she didn't really have the same problem. "Wouldn't the library be a better place, then? It's a lot quieter there." Though she then immediately winced at her own words. She sounded critical and like she thought she knew better, she was no good at this friend thing.

 

[Ana Sofia Burleigh]

Ana Sofia was glad Ivy understood what she meant. Or at least she said she understood, she didn't know the girl well enough to know for sure but she liked to see the best in people. In her mind, Ivy had always been good in class but perhaps she had gotten that wrong. Perhaps she struggled as well. "Probably, yeah." She replied with a soft laugh when her classmate mentioned the library. "I wasn't that set on studying though." Ana added honestly with a small shrug. Had she wanted to try? Sure. But the year had only just begun and it was hard to feel like she was behind already. That'd probably happen in the next week or two, which would mean she then really had to start studying or ask someone for help. "Did you come to study too?" She asked curiously, eyeing the books Ivy had with her.

 

[Ivy Ashworth]

Ivy blinked at Ana Sofia when she said she hadn't been that set on studying, then smiled a bit. "You were hoping for something to distract you?" She asked knowingly. She did understand that. During her first few years at Hogwarts she had spent most of her free time studying, it had always been a bit of a relief when something interrupted her and forced her to take a break. "I can be a distraction as well." She said, flipping her hair back with a slight smile. "Or I can help you study, whatever you want." Ivy sighed and glanced at the books she had taken with her. "Sort of, I was kind of hoping to hang out with someone instead." She admitted.

 

[Ana Sofia Burleigh]

Ana Sofia gave a small shrug at Ivy's question. She hadn't specifically been waiting for a distraction but it had seemed inevitable that she would get distracted sooner or later. She always did. "I wasn't really hoping, I just get distracted a little too easily anyways.." She replied as she got her drawing filled paper out from the book she had shoved it underneath as a way of demonstration. Ana was surprised to hear Ivy was willing to either hang out with her or help her study. In all honesty, she had figured her classmate had only sat down with her because she needed a seat at a table and hers had been the closest to empty. "We can totally hang out!" Ana beamed when Ivy mentioned she hadn't been fully planning on studying either. "If you want to." She added quickly in case her classmate had specifically been looking for someone specific to hang out with that wasn't her.

 

[Ivy Ashworth]

Ivy smiled a bit at the sight of the paper full of drawings. Not too long ago, Ivy had silently judged kids in class who doodled during lectures, but she was trying to be a bit more open-minded now. Besides, the drawings were better than anything Ivy could do. She had liked to draw when she was small, but her dad had always told her it was a waste of time. "At least you make something pretty when you're distracted." She said after a moment. She was a bit surprised by the enthusiasm Ana Sofia showed at the prospect of hanging out. Ivy had figured Ana Sofia had real friends she would much rather hang out with. "I'd like to." She said with a smile that bordered on shy.

 

[Ana Sofia Burleigh]

Even though Ana Sofia had headed out of the common room with the best intentions to study she knew that was unlikely to happen the second she decided to take the turn into the student lounge rather than heading for the library. There was still plenty of time to study later on in the year though, so she was certain she'd be fine. It wasn't like she had any grades to keep up either. Really the only way her grades could even go was up. "Thanks." Ana beamed when Ivy complimented her drawings, always getting a comfortable feeling whenever anybody complimented her art. Even if it had been absent-minded drawings. "Cool." She nodded when Ivy actually agreed to hanging out with her, shoving her lose papers into her book and the books into her bag since she wouldn't need those anymore. "So, uh.. what do you like to do? Like outside of class?" Ana started, immediately lost at what to talk about with Ivy when she realized she didn't know her classmate all too well.

 

[Ivy Ashworth]

Ivy smiled back at Ana Sofia, glad her compliment had made her happy. She sometimes felt like she had no idea how to talk to other people without pissing them off, but this conversation was going okay so far. She put her own books back in her bag when Ana Sofia put her own books away as well. The Hufflepuff asked her a question she kind of dreaded to answer, as she had spent so much of her time studying that she didn't really know what else she liked to do in her free time. "I like to read." She finally said hesitantly. "And.. take walks, I suppose." She thought for a moment. "I enjoy duelling." She added a bit more confidently.

 

[Ana Sofia Burleigh]

Ana Sofia nodded when Ivy mentioned she liked to read. Personally, she dreaded opening any sort of book. Which was a huge inconvenience considering the fact she actually lived at her school. It wasn't as if she didn't like a good story either, she just wasn't a strong reader. Something that made her a little sad at times when she felt like she wanted to know a story but knew it would take way too long for her to get through the book. "That's nice." She responded genuinely when Ivy added more things she liked to do to her answer. "Well we could always go for a walk sometime! I like walking through the gardens when they're in bloom and everything's all pretty and colourful." Ana smiled at the other girl, eyes widening a bit when Ivy mentioned duelling. "Are you good at it? Like do you take part in the duelling tournament? I've never watched it because I hear it can get pretty heavy." She stated honestly, not completely seeing the appeal but still curious as to why Ivy might like it.

 

[Ivy Ashworth]

Ivy smiled slightly at Ana Sofia's suggestion of going on a walk in the gardens sometime, it meant she didn't hate spending time with Ivy so far. Of course, there was still a chance she'd ruin it at some point. "Oh, that's a good idea," Ivy said with a smile. "I enjoy the gardens too, though I'm no good at actually taking care of plants. You're in the Wild Patch right?" She asked, guessing Ana Sofia was a lot better at Herbology than she was. Ivy shrugged slightly at her questions about the dueling. "I'm alright, not... the best, but not the worst either." She admitted. "I got pretty far last year." But not as far as she had wanted to. "Do you watch the duels?"

 

[Ana Sofia Burleigh]

Ana Sofia hadn't spoken with Ivy much before and even if she didn't like to assume things about others she had always thought the other girl would be a bit distant. Talking to her right now though, she didn't particularly think she was. Which was good. "I am." She nodded when Ivy mentioned the Wild Patch. "I'm not exactly a hero at it either though." She added with a soft giggle. The Wild Patch was nice and she enjoyed the club but she was sure neither she, nor some of the plants, would've survived if she hadn't gotten a lot of help from her friends. "Who knows, maybe you'll win this year." Ana responded encouragingly when Ivy spoke about the duelling tournament. She shook her head at the girl's next question. "No, I - uh, I don't do too good seeing others potentially get hurt. Or throw up slugs.."

 

[Ivy Ashworth]

Ivy smiled at Ana Sofia and shrugged. "I'm sure you're better at it than me, though." She said, sure that Ana Sofia was just being humble. Ivy grinned slightly when the other girl said she might win this year. She hoped so. "Maybe." She said. "There's plenty of tough competition though, I mean, they made Flynn the new club leader for a reason." She said, thinking about him for a moment with a slight smile. She had lost to him last year, though she was at least glad she hadn't made it an easy battle. Ana Sofia's next words snapped her out of her thoughts. "Oh." She said, blinking. "I guess I can understand that." She added though it was clear she hadn't considered that possibility. Ana Sofia really was such a Hufflepuff.

 

[Ana Sofia Burleigh]

Ana Sofia wasn't sure how to react when Ivy seemed confident that she would be the better one in taking care of flowers so she just smiled at the other girl. "Oh, right." She nodded when Ivy mentioned Flynn becoming one of the club's leaders. "Did he win before?" She asked curiously. Surely, the defence association had more specific reasons for making someone a leader than some of the other clubs had. It would be strange to pick someone to lead the club who had never won a duel. "Is it actually bad though?" Ana questioned. "Maybe if it's not that bad I might come and watch." She added with a smile. The idea of a duelling tournament didn't specifically sound like her cup of tea but then again she had never been, which meant she couldn't be sure if she would feel uneasy watching it. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad. Or maybe she'd head out the door two spells in. There was only one way to be sure.

 

[Ivy Ashworth]

Ivy hesitated when Ana Sofia asked if Flynn had won before. She had usually been mostly focused on her own matches, but she took a moment to think back. "He definitely won last year." She said, frowning slightly. "Pretty sure he won the year before that too." She didn't remember their second year, but she supposed winning twice was already pretty impressive. "He's pretty good." She said grudgingly. She shrugged when the girl asked if it was bad. "Honestly, it's not too bad usually. Most of the duels end in a stunning spell or disarming." She said casually. "Sometimes someone gets like, set on fire or covered in boils, but there's always a professor there to make sure it doesn't get out of hand." She said lightly.