Closed Helpful Revision

[Vader Hume]

Vader had agreed to help Ava study, so he’d set up in the arts room, where they spent most of their time to be able to study in some peace. He hadn’t slept much the night before, the worries of his exams, accio and the upcoming yuleball event with Isabelle weighing on his mind. He knew they’d have to go together but he knew also that he really didn’t feel what he was supposed to for her. Not at all. No matter how hard he tried. Vegeta seemed to have also decided to make his week even worse, Vader was sporting a bruise on his cheek and trying his best to not let anyone see it. He knew if Ava saw it she would probably be mad and he didn’t want to make her mad. He had his books and notes out and was waiting for her. He’d brought some water and he had a large pot of coffee for him. He needed it if he was to get through all of today, but, it was before lunch and he could drink coffee before lunch. He would spend as much time as Ava needed to go over things, he could see that she was struggling a lot and would want nothing more than to help her. She helped him so much this was the least he could do in return for her. Vader yawned tiredly and rubbed his eyes, knowing Helene wouldn’t be too far away now. ​

 

[Avaria Lockwood]

Ava was exhausted. But that wasn't enough to stop her. She rolled out of her bed with a groan. She had promised to meet Vader. But not for anything fun, no, he wanted to study. She wrinkled her nose in distaste. Sighing in resignation, she threw on an oversized Gryffindor sweater she'd taken from Vader and pulled her hair back in a messy bun. She should really hurry- he was probably already waiting. She grabbed her bag, pulling it over her shoulder as she darted from her room. The stairs always seemed longer when she was in a rush.

Eventually, she managed to reach the bottom. She bit into a muffin as she dashed to the arts room. "Timmmyyyyy," She called as she skidded into the room, shoving the last of her treat into her mouth. She chewed quickly, bouncing to her seat. She had no sooner dropped her bag in her chair then she saw the bruise on his face. "Vader," She breathed, reaching out and grabbing his face in her hands. "What happened?" She studied his face. "Did you fall? Are you alright?" She bit her lip, concern clear in her eyes.

 

[Vader Hume]

Vader looked up when the door opened and Ava dashed into the room and took a seat with him. He tried to keep his head down and his bruised cheek away from Ava but it was the first thing she noticed of course, taking his face in her hands and moving it slightly to look at the bruise. His cheeks flushed a deep red, he didn’t want to tell her about it, that would mean admitting something was happening, he didn’t want to say anything in case it made it worse, only he, vegeta -the bully and Jiguko knew about it and Vader really wanted to keep it that way. ”It’s fine Helene, it doesn’t hurt,” he said only mostly lying to himself, ”One of the other boys was just not paying attention to his hands, and they flew into my face,” the boy lied, a fist had hit his face but it had no been an accident and it had been someone in his dorm but it had not been an accident. It had been intentional and for no reason that he could find. Vader forced a smile, ”It’s okay Helene, lets just get to work,” Vader seemed to ask half pleading for her to drop it. Instead he just opened his book a little and then looked to her, ”Is there something you’re struggling most, that I can help you with,” Vader wanted to focus on her revision, on helping her, that was the point of today, he didn’t want her to get distracted and he didn’t want to linger on the bruise or what had caused it.​

 

[Avaria Lockwood]

Ava's brow furrowed. She didn't have the patience for this today. Maybe she was just too tired. "Vader," She started, "You're a terrible liar." She told him bluntly but released his face. She turned to her bag, pulling out her notebook. "I'll leave it this time but if it happens again I'll, uh... I don't know, I'll think of something. But whoever it is, it won't be pretty." She told him plainly. She sighed and ran both hands through her hair. "Well... there is that divination assignment where we're supposed to do readings together. We could do that? Or... I dunno, charms is hard. I'm worried about transfiguration next semester though." She winced. "What about you? What do you think?"

 

[Vader Hume]

Vader flushed a deep red colour when she spoke bluntly to him, letting go of his face and accusing him of lying. He ducked his head shyly, ”Sorry,” he said immediately but he didn’t go any further, didn’t offer any other explanations. He didn’t want to linger that much on it really. He didn’t want her to get involved, what if she did and it made it worse, or worse started targeting Ava, he couldn’t have that. Vader tried to give her a little smile but it faltered a little. Instead he just focused on what she was saying she wanted to study. He nodded along, ”We could start with some charms? Then we could do some divination work?” Vader thought it would be best to focus on it, bit by bit, do a little charms, then some divination and maybe wait until transfiguration came back around to really worry about that. ”With charms, do you struggle with the theory or the practical element?” Vader asked, his gaze moved quickly between her and their books. His hand shook gently as he reached out and opened the charms book, turning it to one of the spells they’d covered in the semester. ”We can cover both but which ever is weakest first,”​

 

[Avaria Lockwood]

Ava saw how he was acting. Evasive. Her heart twisted a little when he apologized, and the soft shaking of his hands didn't go unnoticed. With a sigh, she grabbed hold of his collar and tried to tug him into a hug, wrapping an arm around his neck and tangling a hand in his hair. She laid her cheek against his. She instantly felt better, at least. "You silly boy," She chided gently. "One word. One. And I'm there, okay?" She squeezed, burying her face in his neck a moment before sitting back and running her hands through her hair. "Alright, alright, studying," She complained. "Umm.... the practice of charms, I guess? I get what he's saying, I just... can't seem to make it work." She sighed. School sucked. "I... I know I'm not doing very good, Timmy, but I... I swear I'm trying really hard," She admitted weakly.

 

[Vader Hume]

Vader was a little surprised when Helene grabbed at his collar and pulled him into a hug. He felt his arms wrap around her and hold her close. His whole body sinking into the embrace, embarrassed at the tears that welled slightly in his eyes - those were just tiredness, he was telling himself. He’d felt so on edge all morning, so exhausted, it was just nice to be reminded by her that she cared, that someone cared. That even though he simply couldn’t talk about it, it wasn’t like there wasn’t someone who might hear him out. He pulled away nodding his head to her words, not bothering to say anything against it, just nodding. He was pleased though that they did just quickly move back to the studying. He cleared his throat and rubbed his eyes quickly with his sleeve. ”Charms, okay,” He shook his head, ”I believe you Helene, you probably just need practice, or maybe to think about it differently,” Vader told her, ”How about we start with the quieting charm, the one that makes your voice super quiet,” Vader’s hands still shook lightly as he reached out and turned to the right chapter of the book, ”Maybe think about it like you have to tell someone a secret but you don’t want anyone but them hearing?” Vader suggested, he took his own wand, and after a little breath, he said the incantation and then spoke again, this time so much quieter, ”I’m lucky to call you my best friend,” not really a secret as such, but it highlighted that he was speaking quietly. ​

 

[Avaria Lockwood]

Ava saw Vader swipe his sleeve across his eyes and slid her chair closer, turning so she could throw her legs over his. She gave him a cheeky grin before peeking at the chapter again. She really didn't want to do this. She agreed anyway, though, knowing it needed done. She listened as he cast the spell, a smile spreading across her face as she barely caught what he said. That was sweet of him. With a sigh, she picked up her wand and attempted the spell once. "I- okay, no good." She grimaced and tried again. "Maybe- no, nope, not this time either." She sighed and sat up. "Okay okay one more." She took a deep breath and attempted the spell again. This time when she spoke it was barely a whisper. "I still practice my gymnastics routines every night before bed." She grinned widely as the spell worked. Maybe she could do this after all.

 

[Vader Hume]

Vader watched as she tried the spell, once, twice and on the third time it worked. He was trying to pick out what was maybe preventing her a little from casting the spells. He gave her a little smile at her secret. ”When you fail the spell the first two times, you could maybe stop and take a breath before trying again,” he said to her. He always thought stopping for a moment helped when he wasn’t getting a spell or when he wasn’t getting a picture. He reached out to the book and turned the page, ”The next spell is the opposite of that spell, it makes your voice really loud. You could visual us in that cave or in the tree house, yelling something to hear an echo or because whatever game we were playing demanded it,” he wasn’t sure if this was helping her much, he wasn’t sure if perhaps she just needed to be visual in her learning. He’d always been quite a visual learner, and he knew that as a creative sort of person it did help him. So maybe her too. He took his wand and after a moment did the spell, ”Echo!” his voice shouted across the room, enhanced by the spell. He felt more relaxed now, a little less nervous, his bruised cheek largely forgotten, he felt tired, but it was manageable. ​

 

[Avaria Lockwood]

Ava giggled as the spell faded. She nodded at Vader's suggestion. Maybe she was just rushing too much into things. She looked as he turned the page and started on the next spell. Aw, she'd been enjoying her success of the first one. She nodded as he told her to imagine herself somewhere. She giggled as his echo came back to them. "Oh, oh! Timmy, was it you I watched the Grinch movie with? With Jim Carrey?" She nudged his arm. "This was my favorite part, watch, watch," She giggled, then stilled and took a few deep breaths. Focus, Avaria, Focus. She cast the spell quietly before trying it. "You're an idiot," She giggled madly as it echoed back to her. Without a thought, she turned and threw her arms around Vader. "I did it on the first try, did you see did you see?" She chattered brightly, still giggling.

 

[Vader Hume]

Vader smiled and nodded at her question, ”Yes,” he agreed with a smile, though that film hadn’t even cross his mind when telling her to think of other things to help the spell. He watched as she seemed excited by it and he hoped that she could harness the excitement, and she did. He laughed lightly when she said a little line from it, his cheek twinging in pain as he smiled widely but it didn’t matter. He couldn’t help but feel her excitement as she then threw her arms around him and exclaimed loudly. ”I did! Well done Ava,” he told her with a sense of pride in his voice. He was proud of her, after all, he didn’t like seeing her so upset. She deserved to be happy and managing well. He pulled away from her and smiled. He ”That’s really great Helene,” he wasn’t sure if she would want to just move straight on and so he reached out and turned the page, they could try to get through another spell. ”Muffliato. The best way to describe this spell is that it muffles the noise so they can’t make out what you're saying, but the person next to you could. Sort of like creating a perfect bubble around you, keeping in the sound.” Vader explained. ”Maybe think of it as a bubble or as if you were on one side of a double glazed window and I was on the other,” he told her. Vader scouted his chair back slightly and cast the spell, he spoke saying, ”Can you hear me?” and then took the spell off and motioned for her to go. ​

 

[Avaria Lockwood]

Ava almost pouted as Vader pulled away from her. She knew he would want to move on to the next spell. A bit more optimistic now, she turned and looked at the next page with him. She listened as he explained and watched as he pulled back, grinning when she saw his lips moving but not hearing anything. She scooted her own chair back and without hesitation said the spell. "Can you hear me?" She asked, miffed when the spell obviously hadn't taken. She sighed. "Okay, hold on." She stopped, shut her eyes, and focused, before trying the spell again. This time, she swore she could feel it set in place. "Timmy? I love you," She tried, peeking an eye open to see if he heard her.

 

[Vader Hume]

Vader could see her pout, but he kept going, if he was going to help her, they needed to just keep going, doing everything one after another. He would spend as long as it took with her, but he just wanted Ava to feel confident when doing the spells or just doing the magic. He watched as she scooted her own chair back and tried the spell, he nodded when on the first occasion it didn’t work, but didn’t say anything. He watched as she did the spell, taking a moment to focus a little and then trying again. He watched her as she spoke again, not actually opening her eyes much. He didn’t hear anything other than a muffled noise, like a ringing,, but he certainly saw her mouth move. It had worked! He shook his head excitedly. Trying to indicate that he hadn’t heard her, ”I couldn’t hear that,” he said speaking likely a little louder than necessary. He was definitely proud of her, maybe she just needed a little more time with these spells than the lessons were giving her. He held his thumbs up in excitement. He would spend all day with her if necessary but it would be nothing. He always had time for her. ​

 

[Avaria Lockwood]

Ava giggled, letting the spell drop. She and Vader continued to study for another hour or so before she finally reached out and snapped the book shut. "That's it! No more charms! Let's move on to something else Timmy, please." She sighed, reaching into her bag. She squealed and quickly pulled her hand back out as a mouse poked it's head out and blinked up at her with beady black eyes. She stared at it a moment before pulling it from her bag. "Ohhhh, he's so cuuute," She ran her finger lightly over its fur. She giggled and set him on the floor, waving goodbye as the little creature scurried away. She turned to Vader with a mischevious smile. "I bet that was Arthur again. Silly boy. Have I told you about Arthur yet, Timmy?"

 

[Vader Hume]

Vader found working with Ava, going over things rather simple, they worked steadily and he was a little surprised by how much they were covering, until after about an hour, Ava closed over the book. He looked up at her and nodded, already reaching for the book to put it away. He was a little surprised by her reaction and even more so by the mouse that appeared in her bag. He watched her settle it on the floor, before shaking his head a little. ”I don’t think so,” he was sure she hadn’t but he would feel bad if she had and he’d just forgotten, he started writing things down which he forgot or really needed to remember. He pulled out the divination book and the cards and placed them down on the desk in front of them but did focus his attention on Ava, she clearly wanted to tell him something about whomever this Arthur person was and he’d always listen to Helene. ​

 

[Avaria Lockwood]

Ava's jaw dropped as Vader said she hadn't told him yet. "What?!" She squeaked. She spun in her seat, completely ignoring whatever book he'd pulled out. She grabbed him by the shoulders, shaking him slightly in his seat. "Timmyyyyyy." She looked at him with her eyes wide, doing her best to be dramatic. "Papa went and did it to me again!" She draped herself dramatically in his lap. "First there was Emily, my dark little storm cloud. And now, there's a first-year Gryffindor. He's quiet, small, and incredibly clever. His name is Arthurian." She sighed dramatically, hanging her head back and letting her fingers brush the floor. "That's two of them now, Timmy. I'm worried there's going to be a new sibling every year," She giggled. "At least we're even now. You have two younger siblings. Now, so do I." She groaned.

 

[Vader Hume]

Vader rolled his eyes a little at her dramatics, he didn’t think she needed to be, but he listened as she told him about what had happened, another sibling. He had to admit he was beginning to think that Ava might have endless siblings. He was always glad that his parents had stopped after Leia, knowing that more kids and more awful names would’ve just been awful. But he smiled at her, ”I can look out for him in Gryffindor if you want?” The boy offered to her, he knew he wasn’t likely going to be much help, he didn’t know how she dealt with all of these hands from her father. But he just smiled at her, he was glad that she seemed happy, that she didn’t seem to be too upset about the second sibling, though perhaps she had gotten over it. ”That’ll be a lot of siblings. I’ve always thought three siblings is more than enough,” he told her, definitely counting Ava as a sibling of his. ”Leia will be sorted next year, once she is, we’ll get a big group family picture of all our siblings,” he figured if Ava was his family, but extension her siblings were his too. He didn’t know them well, but he’d want to make sure, like with his own siblings that they were okay. ”Shall we get back to work? Some divination? Or shall we take a break and get some food?”​

 

[Avaria Lockwood]

Ava giggled. "He'll be more likely to catch you in some silly prank before you see him. If you see him." She sat up again. "But that's sweet, thank you." She smiled brightly as he called her one of his siblings. "And now I have two brothers." She giggled. "You know, which one of us is older?" She asked. She groaned as he suggested more work. "One reading each, and then it's lunch." She twirled in her seat, pulling her cards from her bag. "What kind of reading should we do? A simple one so we can eat?" She asked him, ready to be done with the studying.

 

[Vader Hume]

Vader was never much of a fun of pranks, they tended to end with him being the butt of the joke, or where he was pranked and it was fun to everyone but him. He didn’t know how much he could really help arthur when he could barely help himself, but he would still offer to look out for him. He nodded, ”I’m older!” he declared, since he knew when his birthday was, and when her birthday was, she was in 2035 and he in 2034 so he had to be older. At the suggestion he smiled, ”We can do a three card draw, where you ask a simple question and draw three cards,” The boy told her, he took his tarot cards and shuffled them lightly as they’d been shown to do, before he looked at Ava, ”Ask a question,” he told her, he didn’t want to ask any of his own questions, this was about help Ava learn she wouldn’t learn if she didn’t ask the questions. ​

 

[Avaria Lockwood]

Ava giggled, clapping her hands. "Yay! I always wanted a big brother." She smiled brightly at him, though it faltered as he told her to ask a question. She knew she could really ask anything and he wouldn't judge her. Things she couldn't ask in class. And there was one thing she hadn't dared ask before. She shifted nervously in her seat, looking up at Vader from under her lashes. "Is... Is it ever going to be okay for me to love Philip?" She asked quietly, hoping Vader understood.

 

[Vader Hume]

Vader smiled at her as she exclaimed so happily that she had always wanted a big brother, he already had two little sisters, and he had never wanted a third, but he had one now. He had Ava and he was very thankful for her. He watched as she seemed to pick what question she wanted to ask and Vader felt a little conflicted, he wanted to answer instead of the cards but she wasn’t looking for what he might say, she was looking for what the cards might say so he nodded and then drew the cards being very purposeful in his gestures to ensure that she was seeing what he was doing, so that she could from it learn had to do a simple three card reading. ”Sometimes the cards order, as in the order you draw them will mean affect when it is, so the first card might be the past, the second the future, but for this reading it doesn’t mean anything,” Vader told her as he laid the three cards out, ”Can you see what the cards are? What do you think it means?” he asked her, he wanted to see how much he might have to go over in teaching her the cards and what they meant.​

 

[Avaria Lockwood]

Ava bit her lip and looked at the cards. "Well... the first one is the five of swords..." She racked her brain. "Doesn't that one mean, um...." She thought a minute, then pulled over her textbook. "Oh, um, it means a couple of things." She read through it. "But this 'us-against-them mentality' bit does sound like him. When he made me try to choose between you two." She shook her head, frowning. That bit still made her mad. "Okay, so that's definitely past. The present card..." She turned to look. "Staying nonactive, accessing the unconscious, seeing the potential and sensing the mystery." She read aloud and furrowed her brow. "Um... staying non-active, I guess?" She looked at the last card he'd pulled. She blushed and flipped it back over, hoping Vader hadn't seen it was the lovers' card. "Alright, forget it," She squeaked. "Enough studying. Lunchtime!"

 

[Vader Hume]

Vader watched as she described the cards, nodding at each one, and then didn’t say anything about the last, just declared it was lunch time. Vader nodded and just agreed, it was easier most days to just agree. He packed up his stuff, putting all of the books and notes away into his bag. He yawned lightly when he was done and then looked towards her, ”Let’s go to lunch then,” he said to her before beginning to head out of the arts room, knowing that Ava was just behind him int heir trip to get food. He felt like the revision session had been rather productive and he felt a little more calm about the light bruise on his face from his discussion with her. ​