Open Fifth Year Study Group: Second Meeting

[Alice Holland]

Alice had put off organizing this meeting for a while, and even considered not doing it. but with the OWLs around the corner, she knew it was more important than ever to work together. She just wasn't feeling very social lately, so it wasn't as easy for her to be in contact with her friends. She had spread the flyers as usual, but hadn't talked to anyone much about the meeting. She wasn't sure how many people she could expect today, as she figured everyone was busy. Maybe some fifth years would prefer to study on their own this late in the semester, but at least she would give people the chance. She had grabbed the usual table, and just got started on her studies. If anyone wanted to join her, she figured they would. She opened her Charms book, and started reading.


OOC: Am aware this is late in the year, but if anyone wants to join feel free! OSW style encouraged.

 

[Avaria Lockwood]

If there was one thing that Ava couldn't miss, it was spending time with her friends. She hurried into the room, dropping her bag in her chair and scooting extra close to Alice. "Hiiiii," she greeted, smiling brightly.

 

[Alice Holland]

Alice wasn't sure if she had expected anyone to join her today, but it seemed like Ava had gotten the message. She gave her friend a weak smile. "Hi..." She said, looking back at her book. "Glad you could join." She said quietly. She had been feeling lately like Ava had been growing closer to a few other people in their year, while Alice didn't really have the energy to be very social. She wondered if Ava would prefer to hang out with anyone else right now, as Alice wasn't the best company.

 

[Elsie Baros]

Elsie ducked her head around the door as she headed into the Student Lounge. She definitely needed more time to study since she wasn't doing so great on her own and this seemed like the best place to do that. "Hi Alice, Ava!" She called as she made her way over to the girls. Ava, she saw regularly as they were in the same house, but Alice, she didn't see a lot of outside of classes. "I can't decide if I'm dreading the OWLs enough to fake an illness or not." She said as she flopped into one of the chairs. She knew Rowan wasn't coming today, nor was Chrys, so she might actually get sh!t done today.​

 

[Alice Holland]

Alice looked up as the next person arrived, forcing a smile as she saw Elsie. She had nothing against the girl at all, but it hadn't escaped her notice that she and Ava had grown a lot closer lately, and she couldn't help a little bit of jealousy. "Hi Elsie..." Alice smiled and shook her head at her suggestion. "I suspect they might just have you take them later, if you are sick." She said, as she didn't think it was possible to avoid the OWL exams.

 

[Ilija Olaf]

Ilija had forced himself to come to Alice's study session. Partly because he knew it would be good for him to get out and study, and push his boundaries given that last time he'd practically run away, but also because he knew that even though Alice wasn't in the mood to be social, she was still hosting it, and to Ilija he thought must have taken quite a lot of determination so the least he could do was show up. He was hugging his Arithmancy book to his chest, trying to use it as distraction when he walked into the room, which was already a step up over the previous semester. He dropped Alice a small smile, although quickly headed into a seat by himself a little distance away from the others, but not so much that it wasn't obvious he was meant to be part of the group, hoping that he would relax sooner rather than later.​

 

[Elio Zephyr]

There was nothing that was going to stop Elio attending one of Alice's study sessions and that wasn't just because he need to revise for the exams. Mainly he loved it because it was a chance to hang out with someone of his favourite people. He actually had a bag with him for the first time in what felt like forever, full of books that he might be through if he was lucky, although his eyes lit up when he walked into the room to see the majority of his best friends sat around the table. He approached behind Ava, giving her a hug around her shoulders "Hey you," he grinned, kissing her cheek before letting her go and moving towards Elsie, ruffling the Ravenclaw's hair and sticking his tongue out at her. They'd grown closer for sure over the last year, and while they may have met primarily because of Rowan, he enjoyed the classes he had where it was just them too. After a moment he turned to Alice who still looked a little off as she had done since the Yule Ball. She'd not ended up going to Valentines with him, although he didn't hold that against her if it hadn't been something she was up to attending, although he hated seeing her without her usual spark. "Hey," he said, sliding into the seat on the opposite side to her and taking one of her hands in both of his. "Are you alright?" his voice was pretty low but she had all of his attention if she wanted it. Elio didn't want to insinuate that it was clear Alice wasn't herself, except he'd been around her long enough to know that she wasn't back to her usual self yet. ​

 

[Avaria Lockwood]

Ava's smile faded when she saw how upset Alice was. She had just opened her mouth to ask when Elsie was there. Trying to pay attention to all her friends, Ava brightened. "Elsieeeeeeeeee!" She squealed happily, hugging her dorm mate quickly and giggling when she pulled back, humming when Elio kissed her cheek. "Zephyr!" She chirped brightly. She smiled when she saw him move to check on Alice, glad she wasn't the only one to notice. Ava noticed the boy who sat a little bit away. She squeezed Alice's hand and gathered her things, moving to sit next to the new boy. "Hi!" She chirped brightly, giving him her usual smile. "I'm Avaria, but everyone calls me Ava!" She introduced herself. She was a little offended that not everyone in this room was her best friend, and that could only be corrected by making him one of her best friends too.

@Elsie Baros @Elio Zephyr @Alice Holland @Ilija Olaf

 

[Elsie Baros]

Elsie smiled at Alice, before she was interrupted by Elio ruffling her hair. "Dude!" She called, smacking his hands away and running her fingers through her hair. She was supposed to be meeting Agnes after this and he was trying to ruin her date hair. What a d!ck! "I hope you realise I actually spent time on my hair this morning, Rowan would've been proud, and you've just gone and mussed my hair, hi Ilija," she called to him as she noticed him in the room. She hadn't even noticed him walk in. What book was he holding, was that Arithmancy? Couldn't be, he didn't take that class, she would know she was in it! "Dammit Elio, my hair!" She groaned again, pulling out her wand to summon her brush and slumping into her chair. "Ava are you good with hair? Alice? Either of you?" Not letting bloody Elio near her hair again, look what he'd done!​

 

[Ava Lancaster]

Social gatherings weren't Ava's main focus of the year, but if she was going to learn any more about the school, and anything it had to hide, then perhaps involving herself in group events was the way to gleam that information. She joined the other fifth years in the lounge, opting to take a seat near Alice. "Hello." She greeted. Her status as the Minister's daughter made her the most interesting of the bunch, a feat that wasn't too difficult by any standard, given what she had to work with. She only knew one of the boys there as someone who had managed to get himself disqualified during duelling, and the girls, unfortunately, consisted of her dormmates. Elsie had been an adequate competitor, she could admit, whereas Avaria made Ava shudder anytime she opened her mouth. It was going to be a long study session to endure, with a high potential for no reward.​

 

[Vader Hume]

With Owls within reach, Vader could admit that his stress was pretty annoying high. He had expected as much, between the exams and accio there was so much he needed to be doing, so many things he need to read and go over, and really only so many hours in the day. Thankfully the classes had drawn to a close so he was only doing those two things, but the stress of them, the worry and the nervousness, Vader hadn’t slept well at all, half the time he wasn’t even bothering, there was always something else he needed to get done. He had decided to cut his accio work down that day, as Alice had organised another study session, and he was going to that. He knew that studying with his peers would be a good idea, though he knew the very minimal sleep he’d had recently, the fact that he had a flask of coffee and that his hands were shaking lightly would indicate his stress. But he didn’t have time to think about it. He walked into the room and found a lot of people already there, most of them he knew. ”I brought coffee,” he held up his flask as a joke. He’d found it easier sometimes to joke about the obvious, he didn’t know how much it helped him but he felt it was easier. He found Ava easily in the group and sat down with her, though she was focusing on the others in the room. He spared a glance towards Ilija, but it was only for a moment, of course Padme had mentioned to Vader the break up. However that wasn't what he was here to do. He took out his books and notes and began looking things over. There was no time to waste.​

 

[Alice Holland]

Alice returned Ilija's smile as he sat down, feeling a little sad that he was sitting further away from everyone. But she respected that he wanted some space, and she simply waved at him in greeting. Elio arrived next, kissing Ava's cheek and ruffling Elsie's hair. Alice was a little surprised Rowan wasn't with him, but maybe she was coming later. She was also surprised he came to sit close to her, taking her hands. Alice quickly smiled, pulling her hands out of his grasp after a moment. "I'm alright, Elio." She said quickly. "Just... OWL stress, you know how it is." Alice both appreciated him asking her, and sort of wished he hadn't in front of everyone. But she appreciated the gesture. She saw Ava go over to Ilija, and winced a little. She hoped he didn't mind her cheerful presence, she knew Ava could be a lot to anyone who didn't feel very happy themselves. Alice mutely shook her head when Elsie asked if she was good at hair, which was a lie. She was alright at it, but right now she wasn't in the mood. Her own hair had been pulled back in a messy ponytail for most of the semester, and today was no different. More people joined, and Alice smiled at Ava Lancaster as she took a seat near her. She was glad the girl joined, happy to help her mingle a bit with her classmates. She had no idea how the girl had enjoyed her first year at Hogwarts, as she hadn't spoken to her much. "Hi Ava, nice to see you here." She said, before greeting Vader as well. She smiled a little at his joke, but was still mostly worried about him and how much coffee he drank. He seemed at least aware of it, though, if he joked about it. "Are you all feeling ready for the OWLs?" She asked the group in general, attempting to sound chipper as usual.

 

[Ilija Olaf]

Ilija was perfectly content to sit by himself and just listen to the group talk amongst themselves. Just being back in the same room as them had him on edge but he was taking it as a personal victory. The fifth year was beginning to relax when suddenly one of the girls stood up and sat herself beside him, the Hufflepuff's cheeks turning scarlet and he realised she'd specifically come over to talk to him. He was painfully aware that because they were just a small group, there was no escaping Ava and that if he spoke, he may as well have been talking to the entire group given that his voice didn't have to travel too far. "Hi," he gave her a small smile, hoping that it would be enough to tide her over without encouraging her so much that it was obvious he enjoyed her sudden company. "Ilija," he added, glancing back down to his book. He'd actually known Ava for years, she was at all the events but he was aware she usually hung around the others in their year. Was he surprised Ava didn't know who he was? Not really, although it was a painful reminder of how absent he clearly was to his classmates. He stole another glance back up to Elio and Alice, trying to resist the tiniest of smiles when he realised Alice had pulled her hand out of the Gryffindors grasp. ​

 

[Rowan Baros]

Rowan wasn't supposed to be attending the study session, but honestly, it wouldn't hurt and after all, she didn't really want to spend her whole day alone with Chrys. She'd not been able to find Ilija either and she knew Elsie was going to be there so she had basically no choice since she wasn't allowed to just hang out in bed by herself since she'd basically been banned from doing that. "Chrys, do you have to walk so close to me?" She asked as he crowded her. She knew it was on purpose, because he thought it was hilarious that she was so short, but that was hardly the point. "You don't even like studying, why are yy even coming?" She huffed, spotting the door into the Student Lounge. She'd thought Chrys didn't come here anymore because it reminded him of Onyx, but apparently he'd gotten over that. She looked around as she entered the room, spotting, Elsie immediately worried about her hair before her eyes found Elio and Alice, she tried not to let the twinge in her chest bother her and swept over to Ilija, whom she gave a happy little wave to. Chrys, was staring at Elio from what she could tell, though she ignored it for now as she laughed at Elsie. "Do you want me to fix your hair?" She asked, not quite sure what had happened to make it messy, or why she cared.​

 

[Chrysander Kaster]

"And she agrees with me, I was totally in the right," he said, leaning over Rowan to talk into her ear almost directly. He'd managed to find her when he was looking for Luna and had realised that she wanted to be anywhere but near him at the moment, which of course meant she was exactly the person he was looking for. "Luna is so wise, don't you agree?" He realised she'd stopped listening two floors back, but he hardly cared, he was enjoying his discussion. "Yes I do," he answered, grinning down at her, though he could tell she was less than pleased with the answer. Oh well, it wasn't like it was his job to care if he was annoying her or not. He knew she loved him really. Even if she did punch him more than most other people. He wondered if Elio knew how good of a hitter Rowan was. He should probably let him know at some point maybe. "Duh, because you're going... so I thought, how can I annoy Rowan today? And boom, follow her wherever she goes." He was chuckling as they stepped into the room and he noticed his dormmate, Elsie and then, of course, Elio who clearly wasn't expecting to see either of them. As Rowan stayed with Elsie, Chrys hovered near her, unsure of his place now that he'd actually gotten here. "Els, babes, your hair is a mess." He said, trying to ignore Elio as best he could, but catching himself staring.​

 

[Elio Zephyr]

Elio grinned at Elsie, knowing that she wasn't super mad at him, not really, "It's beautiful Els," he added, not really thinking that he'd done too much to it for it to be needing a fix, so much as a run through with a comb. Elio didn't resist nor say anything when Alice pulled away, not thinking it had been a big deal in the first place to even consider it as strange that she had. Elio was still watching the Hufflepuff when she claimed she was just quiet because of the OWLs, proceeding to change the topic entirely to the group almost immediately. Elio wasn't buying it, but he didn't want to push it right here. "Look, if you need any help with your.. OWLs, after this session, let me know alright?" he said quietly, hoping that Alice was understand where he was coming from. Elio was by far one of the weakest in the group when it came to his grades, so he hoped it would be obvious that he was actually there for her for whatever was on her mind. Vader and the girl that had managed to hurt Rowan considerably in the duels turned up, and he gave half a chuckle when his dorm mate said he'd brought coffee. Elio was pretty sure Vader no longer had blood in his veins, just the warm liquid that would hold him back from sleep. The Gryffindor didn't expect to see Rowan nor Chrys either as they walked through the door together, and he couldn't help but wonder what Chrys had told her. Their group was pretty large at this point, and the prefect glanced around at the general chatter going on, feeling more at home than he usually did at the castle. Maybe it was stupid to some people but moments like this was all he really wanted from his time at the school. Not the grades or the magic, but the people. He didn't need his camera with him to know he wasn't about to forget this scene for a long time. Elio purposely didn't acknowledge either Rowan nor Chrys, thinking that it wasn't going to help if he let himself get distracted by their company. Instead he turned to the girl who'd taken up position beside Alice. "You're a transfer right? How are you finding Hogwarts?" @Ava Lancaster ​

 

[Caspian Lavish]

Caspian was stressing about his OWLs so he was glad to hear that Alice had arranged another study group session. He made his way along to the student lounge with his books in his arms and approached the small group that had assembled so far, a few familiar faces already there. "Hey guys," Caspian greeted them, smiling at Elio. He was glad that things weren't weird with his dormmate, he had helped him to figure somethings out and they still remained friends. "Transfiguration keeping anyone else up at night?"

 

[Alice Holland]

Alice saw Ilija and Ava seemed to get along okay, and she relaxed a little. She trusted her friend to be nice to him, and she hoped it would help Ilija feel more at ease. Then Rowan and Chrysander arrived, and Alice waved at them both in greeting, though they seemed more occupied with Elsie's hair. "Hi guys, glad you could join." She said brightly. She smiled gratefully at Elio, knowing he was offering her his company and listening ear, rather than help with the OWLs. She was really surprised by how big the group was, though she supposed everyone was now feeling the OWL stress. She saw Elio went to talk to Ava Lancaster, and hoped they would get along. The girl was very quiet, and Alice hoped she wasn't feeling overwhelmed with everyone here. "Hi Caspian," Alice said, pushing a few books away so he had more room to put his things down. "Transfiguration is definitely up there, though I've been having nightmares about being crushed by a giant history book myself." She said, trying to joke lightly.

 

[Ava Lancaster]

Ava offered Alice a weak smile. "It's nice to be here." She said, managing to avoid completely grimacing at her own words. This was fine. Not quite the study group she was expecting, given how much fussing was going on over someone's hair. She wrinkled her nose at the group and turned her attention to one of the boy's speaking to her. Oh, heavens no. She hadn't come here to make friends. "It's fine." She responded, biting back a sarcastic comment about how long she'd been at the castle. She did wonder if he'd believe her if she lied about having been there the whole time. "It's certainly no Hogwarts. Rather cute, in that second-hand way." She remarked with no small amount of distaste. Hogwarts was grand, with a rich history that spanned over a thousand years. HNZ, on the other hand, was a poor imitation missing key features that made Hogwarts what it was. She smiled a forced smile. "How do you find HNZ?" She asked him back. He'd been there a lot longer than she had, and she was interested on his thoughts, lacking as it no doubt was when it came to comparing the school to other academies.​