Open Field of Study

[Theodore Westwick]

Somehow, Theodore had ended up with a girlfriend. Even though he and Zoe had started dating before the break, it was still sort of hard for him to believe it was real. Zoe had told him she liked him, but at the same time had asked him to change. Or at least, be the nicer self he was around her more often. It had alarmed him, hearing her call him mean, especially as it was something he knew wasn't false. He'd really been trying his best to be nicer, especially when Zoe was around, but he still didn't feel entirely prepared to actually date her. He would ask Edmund for advice, but the subject of romance was tricky between them. Had been ever since Theodore had broken up Edmund and his girlfriend. They had only recently recovered from this, and Theodore didn't want to rock the boat again. So he'd gone to do some research in the library. He hadn't actually expected to find much, but eventually he'd found a book called 'Twelve Fail-Safe Ways to Charm Witches'. It didn't seem like the sort of book a library would stock, but Theodore guessed that maybe a student had left it behind. It had been kind of hidden away between a few other books. After a few furtive glances around, Theodore had grabbed it and hidden away with it in a corner of the library. He made himself comfortable, opened it up, and started to read. Hopefully he would remain undisturbed.

 

[Professor Angel Castillo]

Angel had come to library with the intention of finding some information on the weird root rot he'd been finding on the geraniums lately, but he was quickly waylaid in his search when he spotted one of the Westwicks tucked conspicuously in a corner. The Westwick twins usually had this look about them like they would prefer to be left alone by default, but this one (Theodore was the one with the glasses right?), was practically radiating Do Not Disturb in such a way that Angel had to check it out.

"Twelve Fail-Safe ways to Charm Witches," Angel read out loud, making a show of ruminating on the title of the book. "Are you trying to woo someone, Mr Westwick?" He said, trying to not grin too much at the teenagers undoubted discomfort. "I may not be an expert in a lot of things, but if you need advice of 'wooing', or herbology I suppose, I can definitely help you there." Angel leant casually against a near by shelf, curious to see if Theodore would take him up on the offer. There was a chance he'd come on too strong and the kid would just spontaneously combust. Not everyone was as comfortable with their love lives, or as desperate, to ask a teacher for advice, but Angel hoped he portrayed enough of a cool, laid-back persona that Theodore would.

 

[Theodore Westwick]

Theodore was surprised by how helpful this book was, and was pretty absorbed in the text. He almost felt like he should be taking notes. So many of the things described in here were things he would never have thought of. And he was sure Zoe would like it if he did small things for her like pull out her chair or open a door, or if he complimented her. Not all of the tips seemed very fitting, though. The one about carrying things for her seemed to imply he was stronger than she was, which was definitely not true. He'd seen Zoe on the Quidditch pitch hitting bludgers around, and he knew he would probably die if he tried to do the same.

He was startled when someone started to speak, reading the title of his book out loud. Theodore cursed inwardly, wishing he'd hidden the book in another book. He looked up, only to realize with horror that one of his teachers was talking to him. About this. Theodore stared at him without any words. Was his Herbology professor really suggesting that he could give him love advice? Was this actually happening? Theodore had never before wished for the ground to open up and swallow him, but he now rather hoped that would happen. A long silence stretched between them while he stared at Professor Castillo, trying to think of something to say. Finally he looked away, moving his gaze to the book in his hands. To his mortification, he could feel his cheeks heating up. "I... I'll be sure to ask for help in Herbology if I need it." He said stiffly. "Professor." He added. He kind of wanted to throw the book across the room and pretend he'd never been reading it, but he knew it was too late for that.

 

[Professor Angel Castillo]

In the long pause before Theodore spoke, Angel was almost sure he'd broken the kid. Though he wasn't totally sure, the Westwicks did have a tendency to not blink sometimes he'd noticed. Putting his hands in his pockets, Angel shrugged when Theodore finally spoke, trying to brush him off. If he'd been a better man, he probably would have let Theodore take the out. But he wasn't. And besides, if Theodore really did have someone special, Angel wanted to help. "Are you sure there's nothing else? There's a lot more to this kind of thing than you can read in a book,"

"For instance," He continued on when it looked like Theodore wasn't about to immediately bolt, "I'm sure that book's got some generic advice on girls, but I imagine you're not interested in any generic girl either. You've got to tailor it for her," Angel figured it was a safe bet to assume anyone considering dating a Westwick was probably a little unusual themselves. "And you've got to be confident about yourself too, not point trying to impress anyone if you don't think you're impressive yourself." He added, pausing to check if any of this might actually be sinking in.

 

[Ilija Olaf]

Ilija hadn’t intended to ear wig, but given that one of the professors was very loudly talking to one of the students about how to apparently woo a girl, the Hufflepuffs ears had pricked up as he tried to subtly follow their conversation. Of course no matter what they said, actually talking to the girl wasn’t something Ilija was going to do any time soon, but it didn’t hurt to have a little knowledge about what not to do. Hearing that he had to be confident though made the fourth year feel like he had no hope. He could barely look the girl he liked in the eyes let alone be confident about what he saying.

The Ravenclaw seemed just as embarrassed that he’d been caught out reading such a book, and Ilija could only imagine his pain. His sisters teasing was enough as it was without a professor getting involved too. He shuffled uncomfortable in his seat, wondering if there was anything he could do to stop him being so loud about their discussion. “Professor?” He piped up eventually, glancing to the older boy in an attempt to gauge if a distraction would have actually been appreciated, “erm, you teach Herbology?” He shuffled the book that lay on his desk, very aware he was actually studying Comc that afternoon but trying to rack his brains for anything to distract the professor from the other boys book, “Do you, erm,” surely there had to be something he could ask, “how.. are the mandrakes doing?” It was all the fourth year could remember from his time in the greenhouses, and how just over a year ago he’d spent a lot of time with those screaming plants. He felt stupid asking, but if it would help the other boy, he had to try.

 

[Theodore Westwick]

Theodore's look turned into one of disbelief as the professor just kept going. Hadn't be said he would only go to him for Herbology advice? Had that not been clear enough? Theodore said nothing as the man went on, giving him advice he didn't ask for. He kept staring at him, hoping against hope that it would make him go away. It sometimes worked on students, but it seemed like he wasn't very frightening to a professor. Or the man was just very stubborn. He blinked. "I... " He stopped, no idea how to end that sentence. "I have a girlfriend." He then blurted out. "I know. I just..." He shrugged and helplessly gestured to the book.

A curse nearly left his lips when he heard someone else talk. He turned his head and glared at the boy who had approached. Was he here to add to the horrifying conversation? How much had he heard? But the boy didn't mention anything about girls or dating, instead asking the professor about Herbology. Theodore relaxed a little. He didn't know if this was a distraction on purpose, or a coincidence, but he was glad about it. Theodore used the moment to put the book under a few other books on the table, so at least no one else would see what he had been reading. The professor would stop giving him advice now, right? He wouldn't do that with some stranger there too. Right?

 

[Professor Angel Castillo]

Angel had to admit it was a surprise to hear Theodore already had a girlfriend. He was little morbidly curious to find out how that whole exchange had gone down, but he had a feeling the kid would rather kiss a flobberworm than tell him any more personal details. "Oh, well congratulations, I suppose," He said, hoping he didn't come across as surprised as he felt. Angel was going to ask her name when another student interrupted. It was a Hufflepuff Angel didn't recognize, but to be fair he only really knew about the 20 odd kids he had in his classes at this stage still.
"Hello, yes, I teach the upper year classes," He said, straightening up a bit and giving the new arrival a confident grin. The Hufflepuff seemed a touch starstuck, fumbling to get his question out, and Angel was almost a letting disappointed when he just asked about mandrakes. "Oh uh, I suspect Professor Carter's got the new batch ready for the new year," He said breezily. It would have been a bit more fun to get to regale them about some of the more tricky plants he was handling down in the dangerous plants greenhouse, but he supposed mandrakes had their charms in a way. Very shriveled toe-baby charms, maybe. Turning back to Theodore, Angel raised an eyebrow when he noticed Theodore seemed to have done away with his book while he'd been distracted. He leveled Theodore with a knowing glance but decided it would be best to leave it. The last thing he needed was a student in his class who had it in for him because he couldn't help embarrassing the poor kid. "I guess if either of you ever have any questions. About anything. You know where to find me."

 

[Ilija Olaf]

Ilija was almost holding his breath as he waited to see if his plan had worked. Sure enough the professor turned to him and start to talk about mandrakes, as though he actually cared all that much. Herbology wasn’t his favourite subject and the only reason he was part of the wild patch club was to get closer to Alice without her hopefully realising. He nodded as he pretended to be interested, and once the attention was turned back to the Ravenclaw he smiled when he spotted that he’d managed to hide away the book that had caught him out in the first place. If this professor actually left them to it though, he wouldn’t have minded asking him what else was in that textbook. “Sure, thanks,” he said to the man, who seemed to have quite a confident demeanour, it was a little unsettling. We’re they have meant to know him?

 

[Theodore Westwick]

Theodore wasn't sure what sort of reaction he had expected from the professor after telling him he had a girlfriend, but something about his congratulations just made everything more uncomfortable. He didn't know what to say or do, so he did nothing. As the professor talked to the younger boy, Theodore grabbed a different book off the table and pretended to read it, hiding his face behind it entirely. He ignored the professor's suggestion about coming to him with questions. Theodore had never been likely to seek out a teacher, but now he definitely knew he would avoid Professor Castillo as long as he was in school. He hoped the other kid would leave too, he wanted to be alone. In truth, he wanted to rush out of the library and hide in his dorm room, but he couldn't do that until they had left without looking pathetic.

 

[Professor Angel Castillo]

Angel liked to think he was pretty good at reading people, and he knew when a conversation was over, if he could really count what had transpired between him and the Westwick kid a conversation. He was fairly sure Theodore would be happy enough to never speak to Angel again. "Welp, guess my work here is done," He said, rubbing his hands together and pushing away from the shelf. "If you guys ever need anything, either of you, I'll probably be pottering around the greenhouse." He said, nodding his head at the Hufflepuff who'd valiantly been running interference as well before making his exit. He wondered if the other boy had been a friend of Westwick's maybe. Angel hadn't thought he had many friends, but he also hadn't thought he'd had a girlfriend, so he supposed the students were always full of surprises.

 

[Ilija Olaf]

Luckily the man seemed to get the idea that his job was done, and the professor left the students to it. He was still unsure too as to whether or not the older boy had even wanted his help, so when the professor had left them to it he reverted his eyes back to his book, nervous that he was going to get told off for it. It was bad enough he’d even had to say anything at all, but at least he’d helped him a bit. Maybe. He shifted a little in his seat as he became aware of his situation, feeling exposed to not just the student but everyone else in the room too. This was why he usually stayed quiet, it was easier for him to hide by himself than to make himself uncomfortable by putting himself out there.

 

[Theodore Westwick]

Theodore’s shoulders sagged in relief when the professor said he was leaving. He watched him go with a frown, completely certain he was never going to seek him out for any sort of advice on anything. After the professor left, Theodore turned to the younger boy with the same frown. “Why did you do that?” He asked him, as he guessed the boy hadn’t really needed advice about mandrakes. His frown turned into a glare as a possibility came to him. “If you tell anyone about that, I’ll make sure spiders will sleep in your bed with you until you graduate.” He had no way to actually make that happen, but the boy didn’t need to know that. Theodore hoped that no gossip about the book he had been reading or the professor’s weird advice would leave the library. He rather hoped the boy hadn’t seen the book in question, but he guessed he had. It was always easier to be intimidating with the two of them. Something about their combined stare seemed to unnerve most people.

 

[Ilija Olaf]

Ilija hasn’t expected the boy to turn on him once the professor left; he’d only been trying to help him out after all. The Hufflepuff then slunk even further down into his seat as he began to get scolded for distracting him, “I’m not going to tell anyone,” he had no reason to spread news around the school, he’d only done it because if it had been him in that situation, he would have appreciated someone doing the same. He kept his eyes on his own book in an attempt to avoid the glare that he could feel radiating from him, “sorry,” he added quietly. He didn’t really have much of an explanation for why he’d done if the older boy didn’t realise why he’d done what he had. The fourth year wasn’t sure he’d actually put a spider in his bed either, but he wasn’t about to risk it. He stole a few glances across the table, wondering whether it was now a fruitless task to engage someone who already hated him, but on the other hand it would have been a wasted opportunity not to try, “Does.. does it work?” He asked nervously, hoping to Merlin that the boy understood what he meant, and wasn’t angrier still that he saw what it was he had been reading. He really did like his bed the way it was.

 

[Theodore Westwick]

Theodore was gratified to see the boy sink into his chair. It seemed he was still able to intimidate students, even if younger Hufflepuffs weren't really a challenge. "No. You're not." Theodore said with a nod, though he was frustrated that the boy had apparently seen. He was ready to ignore him now, and grabbed a different book at random to seem busy. But the boy asked him a question that made him stop in his tracks. Slowly, Theodore's head turned until he looked at him again. He stared at him for a long moment before speaking. "I don't know." He said. "But read it if you must. I already have a girlfriend." He had said this to the professor too, but wasn't sure if the boy had heard it. "Take it. It's not mine." He added, shoving the book at him.