Just Out of Reach

[Amber Chou Wilson]

Amber was determined to be prepared this year and do really well in her classes. Her grades last year had been pretty good, but she was sure this year it would be harder to keep it up. So, instead of relaxing and reading fashion magazines like she wanted, she was studying and feeling very proud of herself. She was sitting at a table in the library, surrounded by books and rolls of parchment. So far she was focusing on all the subjects she had this semester, which were Potions, Defence Against the Dark Arts, and Astronomy. She had gotten an O in each of those subjects last year, but wanted to make sure she did so again.

She realized that she was missing a book for Astronomy and got up to get it. She walked over to the right section, smiling to herself. That smile fell as soon as she saw the book she needed. It was really high up, and Amber was short, even for a twelve year old girl. She knew the spell Wingardium Leviosa by now, but her wand was still in her bag at her table. Amber bit her lip, a small frown appearing on her face. Maybe she could reach it? She stood on her tiptoes and reached as high as she could, but it stayed just out of her reach. She sighed and looked around for someone to help her.

Nearby was a boy with brown hair, he seemed a little older than Amber but not too much. She hesitated for just a moment before she approached him, telling herself he wasn't going to bite. "Um, hello." She said, giving him a shy smile. "I was wondering if you could help me, I'm trying to get a book and I can't reach it."

 

[Wyatt Finch]

Wyatt had a lot of work to do to catch up with the rest of his classmates. Not only as someone who was raised in the muggle world but because he had allowed himself to keep a less than perfect grade average over the last two years. Now this year he had something to work on to look forward to after his education so he had to work hard and that meant spending time in the library instead of doing something fun like he wanted. The boy was no hunched over his books reading about beast and creature alike for Defence Against the Dark Arts while he tugged at his hair amazed at what he was reading and how different the world really was to what he had 'known' before Hogwarts. It was at this point that the Gryffindor was approached and it took him a second to realize the voice was directed at him and when he did he smiled at the girl. He didn't mind helping her get her book so he grabbed his wand and asked, "Which book?" Though he was hardly the type of person to bound at the chance to get an additional book he didn't mind much helping someone especially someone who seemed so nice though he didn't understand why she seemed nervous to ask this of him.

 

[Amber Chou Wilson]

Amber's nervousness faded almost completely when the boy proved to be friendly, she relaxed a little. "It's the big one over there." She said, pointing it out. "The one about astronomy." She squinted at the title. "Uhm, The Planet Mars: A Magical History of Observation and Discovery." She said slowly, reading it from the spine. "I'm trying to read a bit more for my classes." She explained a little sheepishly. Now that she said the title out loud, it felt like a bit much.

Curiously, she glanced at the books he was reading himself. "Is that for Care of Magical Creatures?" She asked curiously, this boy looked old enough to have chosen electives, and she could see something about creatures on one of the pages. "Do you take that class? Is it fun?" She put a hand over her mouth and giggled. "Sorry, I'm firing questions at you. I'm just curious... I'm a second year now and I have to choose at the end of this year." She sighed. "I have no idea yet."

 

[Wyatt Finch]

Wyatt looked over to the direction of the book which the girl indicated and looked over at her amused as she read the title out. It sounded a bit of a dreadful read if he was truthful but he smiled and said, "That's good. Me too." He really was trying harder this year than he had in the last two years and understood why someone might work very hard to not be stuck catching up on three years of education like he was. Still he said, "Accio Astronomy Book," clearly indicating which one she wanted and as the book flew towards him he warned her to, "Mind your head," and the book was caught with his empty arm and he was very quickly reminded why he wasn't a keeper as he fumbled with it until he held it cover up and politely offered it to her. As electives were brought up he shrugged uncertainly, admittedly he didn't have much of an opinion on the classes so far except that there seemed to be way more information than he ever thought he would need and most certainly more creatures than he ever thought actually existed. "This is actually Defence Against the Dark Arts but it seems like Care of Magical Creatures is pretty similar stuff this year," Wyatt answered, hoping he was being helpful to her because he knew that otherwise he would've been completely lost without advice. "I only chose what Professor Kingsley suggested to me," he said sympathetically to hearing that the girl was unsure about her choices because he hadn't ever actually gone to the elective fair because that would've confused the daylights out of him if he had actually showed up.

 

[Amber Chou Wilson]

Amber was glad the boy was so helpful, though she also worried he now thought she wasn't capable of doing magic by herself. That would be a bad first impression. She was distracted from that fear when the book came sailing through the air, and she ducked her head to avoid it. She blushed a little, that had been clumsy. The boy seemed to have a bit of trouble himself as he nearly dropped the book, which oddly made her feel a little bit better. She took the book from him, wrapping both arms around it as she clutched it against her chest. "Thank you!" She said, giving him a big smile.

It turned out that she had made a mistake in what subject the boy was studying, but he didn't seem to mind. "Oh, sorry." She said quickly. "But you do take Care of Magical Creatures too?" She wrinkled her nose. "I'm not... very good with animals, so I don't think that's a good subject for me." She sighed, remembering how much trouble she had even posting a simple letter. "Well, I'll just have to ask a professor like you did. I hope they'll give good advice." She bit her lip, thinking it over. "Which electives did you end up picking?" She asked. "I mean, I know you probably haven't had many classes yet, so I won't ask too many details. I'm just curious." It then occurred to her that she hadn't introduced herself. She awkwardly adjusted the book in her arms, nearly dropping it, to hold out her hand. "I'm Amber."

 

[Wyatt Finch]

Wyatt smiled at the girl as if to say that it was no trouble because well and truly it wasn't. He didn't mind helping out anyone, especially when it meant he could take a few moments away from his studies to do so. He was good at studying when he wanted to be however that did not mean he liked it by any stretch of the imagination. It was really no surprise that he was in Gryffindor rather than Ravenclaw besides he was glad to be in his house as it meant he had more time with one of his best friends and because he didn't have to walk all the way up to the tower from the kitchens any time he wanted a snack - which was quite often. He was nothing if not constantly hungry. Even the thought made him peckish.

As Care of Magical Creatures was asked about he listened to the girl and shrugged. "I do. We haven't actually met any creatures so far... It seems like a lot of fear mongering about beasts," Wyatt said - admittedly unsure if any of it was all that true because he knew his family had a werewolf part of it for a time before she died and they said nothing but kind words about her so he could only imagine that some degree of it was a lie on the other side as he had blind faith in his aunts and uncles. "Your head of house should help," he suggested with a smile. He hadn't really interacted with Professor Kingsley much before that date but he felt entirely grateful that he had because he could now be in a medical field which was closer then he thought he was ever going to get. "I chose just Care of Magical Creatures. The rest seem silly and not really important to what I want to do," he said honestly. He might've taken Muggle Studies as an easy class if he didn't think that it was likely that they would get anything right. Wyatt didn't hold a lot of salt for what wizards thought of muggles purely based on the way his Squib dad was treated as a child and how many students said awful things in the corridors. He couldn't take a lecture on that because in some ways he had left that world behind but in others it was such a big part of who he was that he could never truly abandon that loyalty or that way of thinking. More then that he likely knew everything to be said in the class already. As she introduced herself he smiled and put his wand down to take her hand and shake it as well. "Wyatt. Want to take a seat?"

 

[Amber Chou Wilson]

Wyatt, that was this boys name. Amber felt somewhat special he seemed to like to talk to her, at least enough not to shoo her away as soon as he had helped her with the book. It was an older student, an older boy, that was something Amber had no real experience with. So it was only a year difference, it was still a year.

"Really? Is it scary? Do they tell you very scary stories?" She asked about the Care of Magical Creatures class. It really didn't seem to be her kind of thing, but she wasn't sure what was her thing. He told her her head of house would help and she nodded, she had never really talked to her but maybe she should go look for her at some point. Amber had found she looked pretty nice. "I'll ask her." She said with a nod. "Thanks for all your help, though. I at least know I won't like Care of Magical Creatures much, if I want to sleep at night at least." She said with a small laugh. Muggle studies did seem like an easy subject, because her father was raised as one. It would be fun, but maybe that was cheating?

The boy introduced herself and she smiled at him and nodded at his offer to take a seat at his table. "Oh, if you don't mind." She said quickly. "I don't want to interrupt your studies."