Open Mounting Pressure

[Rose Holland]

Rose still hadn't made up with her friends, and it was getting frustrating. But it was honestly no surprise if Hayley and Harley were half as busy as she was. The NEWT year was no joke, and with still no definitive idea of what she wanted to do after Hogwarts, Rose was starting to feel the pressure. She was fairly sure she wanted to go into Herbology like her dad, but what if that wasn't her dream after all? She needed other good grades too in case she realized she wanted to do something else. So Rose was trying to study for Potions, trying to remember all the different potions they had learned over the years. She knew that the NEWT exam would cover all years and probably ask for specific ingredients, so she had to memorize it. Rose quizzed herself on the ingredients of the Shrinking Solution, but realized she had forgotten the daisies. With a groan, she put her face down in her book and closed her eyes. She would never learn this all.

 

[Professor Adorah Zumwalt]

Adorah had wanted to read up a little bit more on Astronomy before the next class. She had just finished studying for Potions in the library when she went to search for a book about the constellations. There were plenty of students in the library, but she didn't know any of them. She was still much a loner at Hogwarts and had yet to make any strong bonds with students. Her roommates and she had gotten off to a bad start, and there seemed to be a group of them becoming friends while she awkwardly lived there. She made her way to the section that contained books about the sky and the beyond and looked at the titles. One that was on a shelf just above her reach had a silver binding with bright pink letters. She couldn't read the whole title, but it seemed to be calling to her. She stood on her toes to try and snatch a corner of the book, but no luck. Frustrated, she noticed a student at a nearby table that looked older (and taller) than she was. The student had laid their head in the book, but maybe they'd be willing to help her.

"Excuse me," she whispered to the girl, "could you help me reach a book? I'm too short."

 

[Rose Holland]

Rose was a bit startled by a whispering voice near her head, and jerked up to see a young girl standing there. Rose blinked, her worries slipping to the back of her mind as the young girl asked for her help. She sat up straight, wishing the girl hadn't found her literally with her face in a book. Rose was a prefect, so definitely able to help younger kids. That was one of the things she liked most about the position. "Of course." She whispered back with a friendly smile. Rose got to her feet, looking at the first year. "What book do you need?"

 

[Professor Adorah Zumwalt]

Adorah pointed to two shelves above her head. "The silver one with the pink letters. I'm not sure what it says because I can't really see it," she whispered. She felt bad for the disrupting the girl, but she just really wanted to read that book. She looked at the book the girl's head had been laying in and skimmed the first couple of words. "Why were you laying your head in your book? Is a magical book that does something when you lay your head in it?" Adorah wouldn't be surprised if there were true, as everything in this magical world didn't seem to make sense.

 

[Rose Holland]

Rose looked up to where the girl pointed, wondering why she wanted a book without knowing what it was about. But she didn't question it. "Oh, I see it." She said, reaching up to grab it for her. Rose wasn't very tall for her age, but definitely a lot taller than the first year girl. She handed her the book with a smile. The girl's next question made her blush and laugh a little. "Uh, no." She told her. "It's just a difficult book, and I was getting frustrated. I wish it would be magical though." She thought for a moment. "It would be pretty great if you could just put your head on a book and get all the knowledge into your brain automatically."

 

[Professor Adorah Zumwalt]

Adorah took the book from the girl's hands and looked at it. The book was entitled Astronomy and its practicality in your day to day life. It seemed interesting and relevant enough. She tucked it under her arm. "That would be pretty cool!" she stated excitedly. Maybe one day, Adorah would know enough magic to invent something like that. There must already be magic relevant to the subject that could help with the transference of knowledge. "I'm Adorah, by the way. Thank you for helping me get the book. I like to do additional reading between classes." She looked at the book the girl had previously had her head in. "So, what are you reading about?"

 

[Rose Holland]

Rose smiled as the girl seemed pleased with her book. "Are you interested in Astronomy?" She asked the girl. Her younger sister Diana had an interest in the subject, though she was a few years older than this girl. "It really would be cool. Maybe someone will invent that someday." She said, a little wistfully. Even if someone did, Rose wouldn't be able to use it to study. She was nearly done with Hogwarts. "No problem, Adorah. I'm Rose." She said with a smile. "I'm reading about Potions, I'm trying to memorize some of the recipes from the past years for my NEWTs. At least the ingredients." She said with a small shrug. On the OWL they had asked for ingredients of several potions, and Rose didn't doubt that the NEWT would be the same.

 

[Professor Adorah Zumwalt]

Adorah nodded her head and took a seat at the table the girl had been sitting at. "I really like it! It's so interesting to learn about worlds beyond our own, and I'm curious to learn about the correlation between magic and the stars." Adorah listened as Rose explained what she was studying for and looked down at the book again. Potions hadn't sparked an interest in Adorah yet because they really had only learned about a few ingredients. She wished they would brew their own potions, but as the semester was dwindling down, she was losing hope that this would happen. "We just saw a potion be brewed last class, and Professor Pendleton did it himself. It all seems rather complicated. I wish I could brew one myself." She realized Rose had mentioned something at a newt and wasn't sure what she meant. "Did you say you were learning ingredients for your newt?" She thought sounded a little odd, but maybe it was a magical newt.

 

[Rose Holland]

Rose smiled at the girl. "You sound a bit like my sister, she loves Astronomy too." She told her, and chuckled. "It's nice to have subjects you're passionate about." She added encouragingly. It would certainly help keep classes more interesting and fun if you liked what you were taught. She laughed a little as the girl said she wished she could brew one herself. "Now you sound like my other sister, she's in Ravenclaw. She got in trouble in her second year for brewing a potion before it had been taught to her." She shook her head at the memory. "Nearly got hurt, too. You'll learn to brew one next year, don't worry. And don't be as impatient as her" She said with a smile. The girl looked confused about Rose mentioning her NEWT, and Rose realized she probably had no clue what that was. "Oh! That's just the abbreviation for the seventh year exams. I don't even know really what the letters stand for. But they're big exams before graduation." She shuddered. "I'm in my last year." She explained.

 

[Professor Adorah Zumwalt]

Adorah listened as Rose told her about her sisters. She never even thought about whole magical families. "I definitely wouldn't try to brew a potion before we're taught, but I just don't know if I can wait much longer," she said, slightly bouncing up and down on her seat. The idea of learning practical magic made her very antsy. "What's it like to have so many sisters attend Hogwarts with you?" Seeing as Adorah was the only known child in her household that held any magical ability, she wondered what it would have been like growing up with other witches and wizardes. Maybe she wouldn't feel so alone. When Rose began talking about exams, Adorah was a little worried at the thoughts of really big exams, but she supposed it made sense. "That sounds a little scary. Do you have to take them for every subject at Hogwarts?"

 

[Rose Holland]

Rose smiled as the girl said she wouldn't try a potion before it was taught to her. That was a smart instinct. It seemed like this girl didn't have Phoebe's arrogance, which was only a good thing. "Smart. And I get that, but don't worry. Professor Pendleton makes all his lessons as interesting as he can." She told Adorah confidently. It made her miss her old professor a bit, Professor Mowry had none of the warmth of Professor Pendleton. "Oh, it's nice. I feel like I always have someone to hang out with, you know?" She told the girl. Though truthfully, she didn't really know what it was like to go to Hogwarts without her sisters. Only in her first year had she been alone at Hogwarts, and she had made a few good friends immediately. "Only the subjects you still take by that time. I've dropped a few along the way. You have OWL exams too, in your fifth year. Those grades sometimes determine if you can keep taking a subject or not." She realized she might be saying something scary for the girl. "But don't worry, you get plenty of time in the lessons to practice things and study what you've learned."

 

[Professor Adorah Zumwalt]

Adorah thought about what Rose was saying in regards to the big exams and smiled. "I guess that means I should be very diligent in my notes from now on." She was worried about her current exams a smidge and realized that maybe she should be studying. "Would you actually mind if I sat at the table and studied with you? I won't bother you, but it might be helpful to have someone who can answer questions if I need to. The other girls in my house that I'm sure know everything aren't the friendliest." They sure were friendly with each other, but she had yet to really bond with many Ravenclaws. Maybe it was just her destiny to be friends with people from all other houses.

 

[Rose Holland]

Rose smiled a little at the girl. "You shouldn't be worried about your NEWTs yet, you still have ages." She told the girl, hoping to reassure her a little. She couldn't imagine how stressful it would be to worry about these exams for seven whole years. It was way too early for Adorah to be to concerned about them. "Of course I don't mind, I'd be happy with the company." She told the girl earnestly. She smiled a little sadly as the girl said the other girls in her house weren't the friendliest. Ravenclaws could be know-it-alls, her own sister proved that, though she could be friendly as well when she felt like it. "I'm sure they don't know everything." She told the girl reassuringly. "But I'd be happy to answer any questions you have."

 

[Professor Adorah Zumwalt]

Adorah pursed her lips and looked down at the books in her bag. Was she too ambitious? She didn't feel nearly as ambitious as the other Ravenclaw students and felt like she was constantly trying to play catch up. She knew that they would have to choose more classes to take next year, and she was worried that she would choose the wrong ones. Obviously, she should choose ones that would help with a future career rather than just pursuing her interests, but that meant she should know what kind of career she wanted. There were so many wizarding careers she had yet to even discover - she wasn't sure she could make the right choice just yet. She looked back up at Rose and gave a little smile. "I guess you're right." She wanted to trust this seventh year student, but at the same time, she didn't want to risk making a mistake. She took a seat at the table and pulled out Transfiguration book and reread a few pages about theory. "Thanks for taking the time to help me," she said to Rose with a big smile.