Closed Extra Books To Study With

[Emmanuel Okoye]

Emmanuel had spent a lot of time in the library over the last couple of years. He had always enjoyed the library and it's incredibly wide selection of history books, but this day he had a little more. He had decided over the break after the large amount of conversation from his family about his not yet perfect grades that he should do more. He was the first pureblood of his parents and he didn't want to end up letting them down. The ravenclaw had books for all the classes he had that semester, he needed to get ahead and get more books that just the generic ones. The ravenclaw found a spot in the library to work, it was easy enough given that they were so early in the semester, and they hadn't even had any homework yet, but he at least wanted to get started on some reading,​

 

[Penelope Marshall]

Penelope didn’t mind studying, but it also wasn’t her favorite activity. She needed to do it a bit more, though. Her grades last year had been disappointing. Her dad hadn’t been angry, but she could tell he had expected more from her, and that had hurt. Now, with Holden at Hogwarts too, Penelope felt like she had to do even better than normal. Not only would she have to make up for her own bad grades last year, she undoubtedly had to make up for Holden as well, in the hopes it wouldn’t result in as big a fight at home. So Penelope decided to make a study guide for herself. She was going to do some reading for all of her classes each semester in her free time, just so she could keep up with things and wouldn’t have to cram it all in her head around exam time. Penelope gathered a bit of extra reading material in the library and found a seat. She spotted another boy nearby. Emmanuel, a classmate of hers. They were two of the few people in the library, and Penelope worried he would think it was rude she had decided to sit near him when there were so many open places. She shot a tentative smile his way, ready to bolt if he seemed displeased with her presence.

 

[Emmanuel Okoye]

Emmanuel hadn't been sitting too long when someone else joined him at the table. He glanced up at her and then smiled at her. Penelope. He didn't know her that well, but she seemed nice, and she appeared to be studying too. ”Hey,” he greeted in a quiet voice. This was after all a library. ”How was your break?” he knew he was supposed to be studying but he would happily have a short conversation with her. It was the beginning of the semester, he wouldn't fall that behind. Absolutely not.
​

 

[Penelope Marshall]

Penny had been hoping for some sort of encouraging sign, to show her Emmanuel didn’t mind her company. What she hadn’t expected was for him to talk to her. She glanced around for any librarians, but they were quiet… it had to be fine, right? “Hi.” She said quietly, scooting a little closer to be sure he could hear her. “It was alright.” She said softly, though she had honestly not loved her break. But Penny didn’t feel like explaining all that. “Yours?” She asked instead.

 

[Emmanuel Okoye]

Emmanuel smiled when she scooted a little closer to him. They were in the library and thus he could get wanting to be quiet. "Also alright, the family want me to do better," Emmanuel told her with a little shrug and motioning to all the books in front of him. "Are you also studying?" he asked, motioning to what she was working on. For all he knew she was doing a book report or writing for the monthly. Any number of things that were not studying. ​

 

[Penelope Marshall]

Penelope was a bit surprised at Emmanuel’s words. She had thought from their classes that he was already doing quite well, was she wrong? Was it rude to assume Ravenclaws did well in their studies? “Mine too.” She blurted out. “I mean, my dad… he was kind of disappointed with my grades.” She said, looking down, embarrassed. She nodded at his question. “Trying to get a head start this year, you know?”

 

[Emmanuel Okoye]

Emmanuel frowned a little too, he knew that being pressured by family was never that fun. He didn't like that she was being pressured to do better. But he knew he was in the same boat. A few comments and he was studying despite it being so early in the semester. "I am trying to. You too? Want to maybe work together?" he offered, they would be able to work better together. It was better to work with someone, and would be more fun and interesting than doing it all alone. ​

 

[Penelope Marshall]

It was refreshing to talk to someone who understood Penelope’s position. She loved Marnie, but she never quite got why Penelope was as serious as she was. She didn’t understand that Penelope was trying to be extra perfect so her brother could mess up. She wondered if Emmanuel had siblings. Her eyes widened slightly as he suggested working together. She cast a glance at the librarian, though they were far away. “I- I would like that.” She said with a slight smile. ”Quietly.” She added, nodding at the librarian in the distance.

 

[Emmanuel Okoye]

Emmanuel was glad that she seemed interested in the idea of them working together. He didn't think he could get her to join his history club, though she might be interested, he wasn't sure anyone with pressure like he or she felt could dedicate more time to a history club. He ran it, and it was the most interesting thing he did with his school. Emmanuel smiled back at her and glanced up towards the librarian, giving a very quiet laugh. ”What are you tackling first?” ​

 

[Penelope Marshall]

Penelope felt quietly pleased. One of her goals for this year was to make more friends, talk to more people. And here she was, doing just that. And talking to a boy even, which was always a bit scarier than talking to girls. She glanced at her notes as Emmanuel asked her a question. “I was thinking of starting with potions, are you taking that this semester?” She asked, glancing his way. “What were you studying?”

 

[Emmanuel Okoye]

Emmanuel glanced towards her notes as she said that she was thinking about starting with. Potions. That seemed liked a good choice. He looked back at his own work and then back at her, ”I was starting with Defence Against the dark arts, but I can pivot to potions,” he told her. If that was what she was going to study, he was happy to just move on to that. Potions wasn’t a subject he struggled with, but it would be good to get ahead. ​

 

[Penelope Marshall]

Penelope felt a little awkward as Emmanuel changed what he was studying because she was, it felt a little weird. “You don’t have to.” She said hesitantly. “But I figured… maybe first repeating what we learned last year was a good idea, what do you think?” She asked softly, hoping he wouldn’t think that was a stupid idea.

 

[Emmanuel Okoye]

Emmanuel gave a little shake of his head, "it's all good, I promise," he assured her quickly, before nodding. "That's a good idea Penelope," he told her. From his books he found the potions one, and then grabbed some of his notes from the previous year and then placed both down in front of them. "These are my notes from last year, shall we combine them with yours to then go over them?" He didn't know what her method of studying was, but this to him seemed like the best way to do what she wanted to do. ​

 

[Penelope Marshall]

Penelope was reassured by Emmanuel’s kind tone, she gave him a smile. She grabbed her notebook and leafed back through it, going to her notes from last year. She placed them next to Emmanuel’s notes, wondering if he thought they were silly. She liked using different colored inks, adding small doodles to her notes and color-coding things with highlighers, it made it more fun and also easier to remember. “Last year we went over a lot of ingredients, mostly.” She said, pointing to the list of ingredients she had written down. She had made small drawings of them along the side, with a line from the drawings to the names of the ingredients.

 

[Emmanuel Okoye]

Emmanuel looked at her notes, thinking they looked cool. They weren't like his notes which were more formal, and less colourful, but he knew people studied in different manners. He glanced at her notes and the drawings. ”Your drawings are really fun,” he told her honestly before nodding in agreement to what she said. ”Knowing ingredients is useful. Maybe we could do some flash cards, with an ingredient on one side and what it does on the back, maybe a potion that it's in,” he suggested. He knew there would be theory elements to their exams when those eventually rolled around, and flash cards could be really useful. ​

 

[Penelope Marshall]

Penelope smiled, feeling a glow of pride as Emmanuel noticed and commented on her drawings. She knew it was silly, but she enjoyed studying so much more when she could make things pretty. It also helped her remember. “Thank you.” She said softly. “It helps me to remember them better, taking the time to draw them properly.” She said, tucking her hair behind her ear. “And I also just enjoy it.” She admitted.

 

[Emmanuel Okoye]

Emmanuel smiled at her, "I can see how that would be useful," he told her. It wasn't the manner in which he tended to study, but just because he did something a different way, didn't make it the right way. "That's cool," he answered. "I wish that I could draw like that, but I can't, and I'm actually not much of a visual learner, I read and absorb," he said. Knowing everyone was different, but even with their differences, they would manage to study together. ​

 

[Penelope Marshall]

The more they talked, the more Penelope felt at ease. Emmanuel seemed so secure in who he was, it was enviable. She gave him a slight smile. “That also sounds useful. I have to keep my hands busy or my mind just drifts into daydreams if I try to study for too long.” She explained sheepishly. “No wonder you’re in Ravenclaw. Is everyone in your house so serious and studious?” She asked, then blushed. “I mean it as a compliment.” She added quickly.

 

[Emmanuel Okoye]

Emmanuel had never been one to fidget or to get easily distracted. His mind was always most at ease when reading or surrounded by books and notes. He didn't daydream unless he just really wasn't focusing and then he would just get himself to focus. The ravenclaw gave a quiet laugh and shook his head gently. "I will take it as a compliment, but no, some are and some aren't," He replied. "Though Ravenclaw is a house for smart people, it is also for creatives, those with sharp minds and quick wit, they are less serious and studious," ​

 

[Penelope Marshall]

Penelope smiled when Emmanuel laughed and shook his head. He looked so self-assured, Penelope couldn’t help admiring it. She wondered if that meant she liked him. The way Marnie got crushes seemed so foreign and dramatic, but if it was something like this Penny could imagine it. She blushed, shaking her head. She wouldn’t linger on that now. “I see. Does that mean there are kind of two groups within Ravenclaw?” She asked curiously. “In Hufflepuff, I don’t think there’s a big distinction like that. Almost everyone just gets along.” She said with a small smile. It was one of her favorite things about Hufflepuff.

 

[Emmanuel Okoye]

Emmanuel gave a little nod, ”I think there are, of course there is some overlap,” he replied, though he was sure that someone would disagree with him, and say the two groups were one group. But he wasn't going to debate that, and he was giving view and opinion on it. ”There is nothing wrong with everyone getting along,” he said, because truly there wasn't. ”I've always heard that Hufflepuffs are hard-working, and the quidditch team is good too,” he added. ”Maybe that hard work, creates a good environment for people to get along,” ​

 

[Penelope Marshall]

Penelope nodded as Emmanuel explained there was some overlap. For a moment, she wished she was a Ravenclaw. They sounded so mysterious and cool, especially compared to herself. But as Emmanuel spoke about Hufflepuff, Penelope suddenly felt rather good about being one. She blushed. “I am on the Quidditch team.” She admitted. “But only an alternate.” She added quickly.

 

[Emmanuel Okoye]

Emmanuel smiled excitedly, ”That's still really cool!” he exclaimed. He had no interest in playing the sport, but he did try to make the games whenever he could. It was a fun sport. ”What position do you play?” he asked. Emmanuel didn't mind if the person was an alternate or not, they were still probably a lot better than he might be at it. He thought it was cool to have another friend on a team. Though, he'd now be torn about who to support at any given point. ​