Closed Extra Help

[Jordan Harris]

Jordie knew he needed some help. He'd tried studying on his own, he'd tried studying with Eoin. But he knew he needed more. He still felt like he was falling behind in classes, and that he wasn't really understanding what they were learning. After a lot of debate, he finally gave in and walked up to Professor Summers' office. He sighed softly, almost hesitant, before knocking slowly on the door. He wasn't sure if there would be any good to come of this, but it never hurt to ask. Right?

 

[Aeon Summers]

Aeon had been ruminating on his time at Hogwarts while he redecorated the interior of his office, opting for a black and white theme this term. A knock came at the door as he was finalising the transfiguration of the floor into a chess-like pattern, and he waved his wand to open it. "Jordan, come in! Excuse the mess." He told the boy, waving dismissively toward the parts of the room that had yet to be transfigured. It was a gaudy mess of colour, and he sat down at his partially-transfigured desk, the oak wood of his chair clashing with the ebony of his writing surface. "What can I do for you?" He asked, gesturing toward the other seat.​

 

[Jordan Harris]

Jordie walked in as the door opened, though came to a stop as he took in the state of the room. "Whoa, this is really cool," he smiled. He shook his head to clear it and turned to look at the Professor, offering a shy smile. "I, um... hi," he offered, rubbing his neck shyly. "Do you have a minute?" He asked without his usual gusto, staring at a checker space in the floor.

 

[Aeon Summers]

Aeon chuckled at the boy's compliment. "Thank you. It's a work in progress." He admitted. Whether it would remain the semester's theme, or change a day later, remained to be seen. He leaned back in his chair, smiling lightly when the boy took a moment. "I could spare a few. How can I help?" He inquired, glancing at the clock on his wall to check what time it actually was, only to find he'd forgotten hands when he'd transfigured it. Drat.​

 

[Jordan Harris]

Jordie swallowed nervously, staring at his feet. "I-i, um..." he stuttered, rubbing the back of his neck and scuffing his toe against the floor. "I was... wondering... if maybe, um... there might... be extra tutoring options available?" He finally managed slowly, staring at the ground and shoving his hands deep in his jacket pockets. "I-i... I've been trying, studying with Eoin and taking lots of notes," he offered quickly, but still felt the blush heating his cheeks and the frustration with all of it making his eyes water a bit. "I'm just... stupid, I guess, um... I... I don't really understand anything..." he admitted quietly, wishing the mismatched floor would open up and swallow him.

 

[Aeon Summers]

Aeon didn't want to rush the kid through what was clearly a difficult thing to admit, scratching his chin while he listened. "You're not stupid, Jordan. Don't say that. Like I often say, Transfiguration is a complex subject. People tend to have a harder time with it than other branches of magic, and not everyone realises how different it really is. It's all about your mindset." He told him. "You aren't the first student to ask me for extra tutoring. I'm happy to help you wherever you need it. How's...Thursday afternoons?" He asked, after a beat of consideration. "We'll have you turning rats into rabbits with your eyes closed in no time."​

 

[Jordan Harris]

Jordie relaxed just a little as the man spoke, slipping his hands in his pockets. His face was still flushed, and he wasn't able to quite meet the mans gaze. "Thursdays?" He thought over his schedule a moment. "I have Muggle Studies and Defense Against the Dark arts Thursdays. I could come over right after?" He offered, thinking about it a moment before peeking up to the man. He hoped that would be alright. Jordie was sure that he could manage it.

 

[Aeon Summers]

Aeon nodded his head. "Works for me. If you need to we can schedule another day. For now, pop by my office sometime after classes on Thursday and I'll have some study material prepared for you. I'll be here all afternoon." He waved his hand, as if to say there was no real issue. He was sure all he'd be doing was grading or lesson prep, and he could juggle both.​

 

[Jordan Harris]

Jordie let out a slow breath, nodding. "Alright, we can do that." He smiled shyly, twiddling his thumbs. "I, um, thank you," he smiled shyly. "Oh, um, I... was wondering," he hesitated a moment, brushing his hair back. "Transfiguration is... a really tricky subject. How did... y'know, you end up teaching it?" He asked, curious. "I mean, if it's okay that I ask," he hurried on, blushing again.

 

[Aeon Summers]

Aeon dismissed the boy's thanks with a friendly smile. "It's no trouble." He said. He patiently listened to the boy's question, considering it for a moment. "I'd always wanted to be a professor, from the moment I stepped into Hogwarts. Transfiguration was the obvious choice for me. Some people are naturally gifted at different kinds of magic, and that's the case with transfiguration in my family. I have great-grandparents and ancestors who were animagi, and I suppose you could say that having that background shaped my interests. It's what I know best, so its what I ended up deciding to teach." He hadn't had to think about it in some time, though he could remember how much he'd wanted to be a teacher himself while in school. "Why do you ask?"​

 

[Jordan Harris]

Jordie smiled, listening to the Professor and slowly relaxing as he spoke. He chuckled lightly, rubbing the back of his neck at the question. "I'm just curious, really," He told the man. "A lot of the time, people forget that Professors live outside of the classroom. I just... I don't know, I guess I just wanted to know more about who you are," He admitted shyly, shifting and putting his hands in his pockets again. "Sooo, Thursday then?" He asked, backing up towards the door and raising a hand in farewell.

The next Thursday, Jordie arrived to his lesson nervous and uneasy. He spent the better part of an hour studying hard, before finally caving in and slumping on his books. "Ugh, my head hurts," he whined softly, rubbing his temple. "I didn't think it was supposed to be this hard," he grumbled, mostly to himself.

 

[Aeon Summers]

The next Thursday rolled around sooner than Aeon had expected, and he'd had to come up with some last-minute prep work. He sat at his desk, scribbling notes, and glanced up when Jordie began to complain. He chuckled. "There's potions for that." He said, though he had to imagine that headache tonics wouldn't help here. He did not miss studying in school one bit. "It's not supposed to be easy, either. Come on, let's take a break from reading and try to put it into practice." He got up from his chair and walked over to the boy, tapping his wand to conjure a teapot for him to use. "Let's start with this. Show me what you can do and we'll go from there." He suggested.​

 

[Jordan Harris]

Jordie glanced up, blushing as the Professor spoke. He knew the man was right, of course, but it still didn't help the frustration building up. He let out a deep breath, almost jumping out of his skin as the man put a tea pot in front of him. He wanted Jordie to do what? Jordie swallowed nervously, but pulled out his wand nonetheless. He took a moment to breathe before attempting the spell. All he could think of off the top of his head was to try and turn it into a hen. To his surprise, the teapot shuddered and sprouted feathers, and the spout shrunk into a beak- it even clucked! But it didn't move anymore, and the feathers had the same coloring the teapot had. Jordie blushed deeply, looking down and feeling his eyes prick with tears as shame swirled in his gut. He really thought he had it that time. "Sorry..." he managed softly, folding his hands tightly in his lap.

 

[Aeon Summers]

Aeon raised his brows in surprise by the boys attempt. That was not entirely what he'd anticipated. "I have to admit, I expected a tortoise. This is..." He tried to find a word that was helpful. "Creative. It's creative! Let's try something else." He said. He tapped the weird, clucking, feathery teapot with his wand and transfigured it back into a regular old teapot. "Remind me to set you up with some revision notes on Torte before you leave today." He paused, frowning at how defeated the boy already seemed. It was awful to see. "You're alright, Jordan. Chin up. There's no need to apologise, it's only your first session. Take some deep breaths, alright?" He suggested, voice touched with concern. He grabbed a book from one of his shelves - one of his least favourites, to be safe - and set it down. "Let's dial it back a bit. Why don't you try gemelitiar? You can take all the time you need, you don't have to rush here. Just try to clear your mind and visualize what you want as best you can."​

 

[Jordan Harris]

Jordie took a few moments to try and breathe as the Professor spoke about revision notes. A tortoise, of course, why had he tried to make a chicken? He swallowed nervously, shifting in his seat and trying to calm down. He nodded, shutting his eyes and thinking more of the kind of jewelry box he wanted. He did his best to focus, taking several long moments to try and focus his energy. Eventually, he reached out and attempted the spell. He peeked at it, pleasantly shocked to see it had shifted to a... well, a book like box. He bit his lip, leaning over and lifting the book cover. It was empty. He let out a sigh. It was shaped properly, but still had the appearance of a book. He looked up to the Professor, biting his lip.

 

[Aeon Summers]

Aeon took a seat nearby the boy while he waited, clasping his hands quietly together. When Jordan did manage to transfigure the book, the results were less than stellar for his age. He held back a frown, and reached out to get a better look at the book box. "It's functional!" He noted encouragingly. That was the whole point, after all. "This is a tough one to practice, I'll admit. There aren't very many books that aren't important to try it on. I'll set you up with some more next lesson." He offered. There were plenty of cheap "aesthetic" books people tended to buy to fill their bookcases with that the school could spare the expenses for. He slotted the book-box back into his own shelf for the time being. "Intention and belief means everything with Transfiguration, Jordan. Do you believe in what you're trying to do?" He asked. It didn't seem that way, Jordan's defeated looks and lack of confidence in the subject may well have been what was contributing to his struggles.​

 

[Jordan Harris]

Jordie listened to the Professor, shifting nervously in his seat. It could have gone worse. But it... Could have gone better, too. He bit his lip as the Professor asked about his belief, looking down and twiddling his thumbs. "I believe in the spell. And in my wand. Just not- not in me, really." He tried to explain, "I know I'm not the smartest, I struggle in class. And in Quidditch. And my personal life. " He winced. "I know I'm not like- smart or talented or anything, but I- I'm still trying, it's just... Harder," he admitted, staring intently at his thumbs.

 

[Aeon Summers]

This kind of discussion was not quite Aeon's forte, and he wiped as hand over his face as he considered how best to respond. As a student, he'd not endured the same kind of struggles in the learning department as Jordan appeared to. His friendships had been something of a mess, and he'd quit Quidditch when he realised he wasn't that good at it, but his schoolwork had been where he'd excelled the most. Almost arrogantly so. The conversation did remind him of his son, and his struggles trying to be more like him. "You need to believe in yourself, Jordan. That's the only way you can turn those things around. There is no spell without you, and that wand is just a stick without you. The mind is a very powerful thing, and only you can control how much you struggle or don't. If you think of yourself as not being smart or talented, you won't be. You have to lift yourself up!" He said. He conjured a new book, fresh, with empty pages, and set it down on the desk. "Try it again, but this time don't worry too much about it being any old box, or whether its functional. Picture what you want it to look like, something that suits you. Any shape, any colour, any style of box that you would actually want to have for yourself." He suggested, sitting back slightly in his chair.​

 

[Jordan Harris]

Jordie listened to his Professor, biting his lip and nodding slowly. He was probably right. He swallowed nervously as the man set a new book down. He let out a breath, closing his eyes a moment and trying to focus. He could do this, couldn't he? He took a few moments to relax, trying not to think of how badly he had done and instead just focusing on the box. After a moment, he tried the spell again. He peeked at it with one eye, and sat up straighter, his eyes shooting open. "I did it!" He sounded surprised, and he reached out, opening the ebony box. He was surprised that there was a nice floral carving around the lid, and when he opened it, it was a proper box. He smiled brightly, looking up at the man.

 

[Aeon Summers]

Aeon subconsciously held his breath while the boy attempted the spell again. There was a tension in the air, a guilt creeping in the back of his mind that he'd been failing his student, not realising how much he'd been struggling in class. It was difficult to keep up with everyone in a room of thirty. He released the breath when, with a sense of relief, Jordan managed to produce something that could be considered quite beautiful. He smiled and gave the boy a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "Well done! You see? You are smart and talented, Jordan. You just need to believe in yourself. It will make you a world of difference." He reassured. "Transfiguration is all about belief, and patience. I don't want to hear any more self-deprecation, alright? If we were in class, I'd be giving this box an Outstanding." He continued. This was good work, and a step up from the start of their session. "Here, now I want you to take this teapot when you leave today. Between now and next session, I want to see it transfigured into a tortoise. You can do it. You've got a whole week to take it at your own pace." The man said, passing over the teapot the boy had attempted to transfigure earlier. "How do you feel now? Any more confident?"​

 

[Jordan Harris]

Jordie blushed at the Professors words, laughing shyly and rubbing the back of his neck. He bit his lip as the Professor handed him the teapot, swallowing and nodding nervously. If he messed up, he would get Kiara to change it back. It sounded easy enough, right? He let out a soft sigh, cradling the teapot in his hands. "Right! Right, I can totally do that," he tried to sound confident, doing his best to look determined. He gave the man a shy smile and nodded. "I, ah- I think I'm getting the hang of things," he offered with a nervous smile. "I- I'm still behind, but- but I can totally catch up! I think. Can we do this next semester too?" He asked, feeling silly as he asked it but knowing he probably needed to.

 

[Aeon Summers]

It was reassuring to hear that Jordan felt, if anything, a little more confident in himself. "You'll catch up in no time!" He agreed, though there was still a long road ahead of them. "Absolutely, we can carry on into next semester, or as long as you need to. My office is always open." He said. A glance at his wristwatch, however, contradicted that. "Except when it's not. That's all we have time for today. The Great Hall's going to be serving food before too long. No use studying on an empty stomach."​

 

[Jordan Harris]

Jordie relaxed visibly as the Professor said they could continue the next semester. He felt guilty that he needed the extra help, but he was determined to try and do his best. When the man said that was all the time they had, Jordie was quick to get up, gathering his things. "Thanks, Professor," he gave him a shy smile. "I'll study hard this week. Next time I can totally do better," he promised, slinging his bag over his shoulder. "I'll see you later!" He waved, starting for the door.