Closed Ducks in a Row

[Elliot Briar]

Elliot was pensive as he looked across the lake, absently fidgeting with the bag of bread scraps he'd managed to get relinquished by the house elves in the kitchen. He was waiting for Adorah so they could catch up and maybe try to feed some of the ducks he saw sometimes around the lake. At least he hoped they were ducks and not some other magical creature. Or worse, geese. He could see a few nearby and chucked a handful of crust out onto the water in hopes of coaxing them over while he waited, watching it drift slowly. Hanging out with Adorah was nice, Elliot found he kind of enjoyed having a friend a little younger than him, even if barely. She was easy to talk to and even though the holidays weren't for a few weeks still, Elliot had been fretting a lot about the upcoming winter break and being stuck spending almost three months awkwardly pottering around his dad's house. He knew he could talk it out with Lars or Lily, but they both had a pretty good family and Elliot hated the idea of maybe making them feel awkward about it. Snapping out of his daze, Elliot smiled quietly to himself when he saw some of the nearby ducks spot the crusts, watching their swim closer in interest.

 

[Professor Adorah Zumwalt]

Adorah wrapped herself in a parka and made her way down to the lake to meet Elliot on a very breezy day. She enjoyed the low key hangout sessions they had. She felt the least pressure with him than anyone else at Hogwarts (besides Juniper). She walked down a hill and noticed Elliot attempting to feed the birds at the lake. She was a little wary of birds but walked slowly to his side to join him. "Hey, Elliot. Are they enjoying their snack?" she asked, gesturing to the intimidating creatures.

 

[Elliot Briar]

Elliot checked over his shoulder when he heard someone approach, smiling as Adorah joined him. "I hope so.. I'm not really good at uh, reading them. But they're eating it so that's got to count for something, right?" He said, watch the ducks peck fairly enthusiastically at the bread. "You want some? To throw, I mean," Elliot offered the bag of crusts to Adorah, chucking a few more pieces out onto the lake and watching them float further away. "How's the semester treating you? You ready for exams soon?" It always felt like the second half of the year really snuck up on Elliot, and despite all his planning and notes, he never really felt ready for exams. He knew it didn't really matter for any of them until they got to their OWL or NEWT years, but he still wanted to do well. And after exams, the holiday's loomed too.

 

[Professor Adorah Zumwalt]

Adorah reached into the bag, smiling at Elliot, and threw a few pieces into the lake. "I've heard that you're not supposed to feed them bread because it swells up and makes them explode or something," she said, off-handedly. She realized after she said it that he may not have wanted to hear that and looked down at her feet. "Sorry if that was weird," she muttered, kicking some dirt around. She pushed a piece of hair behind her ear and nodded at Elliot's question. "Yes, I think I'm ready. I'm still not quite sure what classes I want to take next year. What third year courses did you add to your schedule?" None of them really stood out to her, but she figured that she would have to make a choice eventually. "Do you feel ready for the end of the semester?" She knew she was doing a lot better than her sister, who slacked off a lot last semester, but Adorah was helping her get back on track.

 

[Elliot Briar]

Elliot returned Adorah's smile before rifling in the bread bag himself for a moment, pausing when Adorah mentioned that it might not be so good for the ducks. "Oh no.. Maybe we should feed them something else?" He said, peering at the nearby ducks warily as if they might already be visibly affected by the bread. "I don't know what's good for ducks, sorry," He said, gesturing with the bag a bit limply before calling out softly to the ducks. "Um, maybe you shouldn't eat that, guys! Sorry..." He gave Adorah a sheepish smile though he could have sworn at least one of the ducks appeared to have heard him.

"Oh yeah, electives time now uh. I did Ancient Runes and Divination. But I also didn't drop anything yet. I think you can change your mind though until like 5th year if you don't like something," He'd ended up enjoying both subjects well enough, though Divination still stressed him out more than he would have liked. "Not at all ready," He admitted with a laugh, deciding to set the bread bag down and just watch the ducks instead now. It was a little easier to talk staring out at the lake. "I'm kinda dreading the holidays to be honest. I've not spent the winter in New Zealand for ages and.. I dunno it might be a bit awkward with my dad," Elliot said, shrugging and tucking his hands in his pockets, unsure what to do with them without the bread bag to fidget with. "Are you gonna do anything over the break?"

 

[Professor Adorah Zumwalt]

Adorah felt bad when Elliot started to talk to the ducks. "I'm sure they'll be okay," she said and grabbed another handfull of bread crumbs before they resigned the activity. She tossed them in the lake and crouched dwon onto the ground, plaching her legs out in front of her. It was a nice morning, and the ground was relatively dry. She was a little surprised by Elliot's hesistation talking about electives. It seemed like such an exciting topic, but maybe he felt the pressure she currently did where no class felt quite right for her. "I've thought about taking Ancient Runes, but I'm not sure what I want to do when I grow up. What if learning that doesn't help?" It seemed scary to choose your life path at thirteen. "Did you like those classes?"

She had never heard him talk about his family, but she felt the vibe he had. "Do you not get along with your dad?" Adorah hoped she wasn't stepping on any toes asking him about his dad. She shrugged her shoulders in response to his question. "I guess I'll just go home and hang out with my sister. I'm really not feeling the holidays this year." Most of that had to do with the fact that she and her parents still werne't talking very much, but she didn't bring it up.

 

[Elliot Briar]

Elliot nodded slowly when Adorah assured him the ducks would be fine, though now the thought had been raised he was still a little worried for them. But any ducks living around the school had probably seen a lot worse than a few bread crumbs so Elliot tried to let it go.
It was almost a relief to hear that Adorah was worried about some of the same things Elliot was when it came to picking classes. She wasn't that much younger than he was, but it felt a little easier to work out his own worries if he could reassure someone else about them. "I think it's a bit early to be worrying about wasting time on anything at least.. You should do what sounds fun. I liked runes well enough. I think your first few years are supposed to be you trying the subject out, though it will probably make your OWL's easier.." Elliot trailed off, thinking about his own class choices and if he was going to struggle later if he changed anything now. "Guess you could always take all them," He added, mostly jokingly. Not to say he hadn't also thought about that.

Staring out as the ducks bobbed on the lake, Elliot mulled over Adorah's next question. "No, we get along, kinda. He's not mean or anything, he's just a muggle and it's.. Awkward? I don't think he knows what to do with a wizard in the family," He said with a shrug, turning to smile at Adorah so she wouldn't feel like the conversation was getting too heavy.
At the mention of Adorah's sister, Elliot vaguely remembered another Zumwalt running around, figuring that was probably her. It wasn't a super common last name. "Oh right, you have a little sister here too, right? How'd she fair this year?" Elliot was glad Adorah was also in the same boat with him when it came to being less enthused about the break coming up, it made him feel less like a downer complaining about it.