Open Nose in the Books

[Sam Mackintosh]

It was OWL year and despite classes having only just begun, Sam was freaking out on the inside. She didn’t get prefect, which at the beginning had really upset her, but then she realised that she would get more time to study and she would rather impress her father with her stellar grades than with a badge, though she figured she could have still been an outstanding student with a badge and good grades. But one thing was sure: the fifth year wouldn’t have to worry about the time spent patrolling, or making sure students behaved, which would most certainly make her life more stressful. Not to mention she had to look out for her sister, to make sure she wasn’t out and about causing trouble wherever she went. At least she could watch Sabrina more easily since they were in the same house.

The girl grabbed her books and headed to the library, she couldn’t decide which classes to take so she had opted to sign up for all of them. Granted, it might not have been the smartest choice, however Sam liked to keep her options open. She went straight for the back, a quieter more secluded area, and found a free table, thankfully. She placed her bag on one chair and sat down on another; this would ensure a seat for her friend Sapphire for when she arrived. She got prefect, and the blonde couldn’t be happier for the girl. She deserved it without a doubt. She took out all of her books but waited to get started, she wasn’t sure what to do first. Sometimes, Sam really felt like pulling her hair out.​

 

[Sapphire Michaels]

Sapphire hated to study. But if there was one thing she hated more, it was studying alone. And with this being the year for the big tests, on top of her new appointment as a prefect and her respective freedoms at home riding on how she did this year, she knew she needed to improve. Which is why when Sam had offered a sort of... study group, Sapphire had been all for it. She popped her gum just before making it into the library. She had her bag over one shoulder, hand holding the strap and the other in her jean pocket. She smiled coyly as she approached the table where Sam sat. "Hey," She greeted quietly. "How's it going?" She asked, dropping her bag by a chair and pulling it out a bit to the side so she faced Sam at an angle. She plopped down, propping one combat boot on the chair next to her and draping her arm over the back of the one she sat in.

 

[Diana Hollis]

The library was now a place Diana had very bitter memories of, which made it all the more annoying that she had to got here to study for her OWLs. She knew it was very early to start studying, but both Rose and Phoebe had told her that she should get started with it. Normally, Diana might have ignored their advice, but she was willing to find any sort of distraction right now. She had to stop thinking about Simon and Charlotte and her broken heart. She did a thorough check of the library to make sure neither of them was there before she decided to stay. She spotted Sapphire, and instinctively drifted towards her before she noticed she was talking to someone else. It was just Sam, a girl from their year who Diana never spoke to. She ignored the small flare of jealousy she felt at the sight. She couldn't claim Sapphire for herself, and she needed more friends now that Domi had gone too. Sam had always seemed sort of nerdy to Diana, but she would do for some company. Diana walked over to the two and pulled the chair with Sapphire's foot on it back until her foot dropped to the ground, then she sat down. "Mind if I join?" She asked, then turned to Sapphire. "Congratulations on the badge, by the way." Diana had been both glad and disappointed it hadn't been her. The extra duties sounded boring, but it would have been fun to brag about it. Oh well.

 

[Sam Mackintosh]

Sam hadn't started to study yet before her friend joined her, and the blonde smiled. "Hey. All good...besides the fact that this year is going to be one hell of a year," she said, then nodded towards Sapphire's badge. "Congratulations, by the way, it's well-deserved." Sam honestly thought Sapphire earned it and she let the slight feeling of jealousy slide, knowing full well it might cause problems, though Sam didn't want to have any with the few friendships she had. She was about to ask what they should start with, but another person joined them. Sam didn't mind Diana, she'd never really had problems with her. Granted, the girl had hardly spoken to her in the past four years. "Hi," she greeted, it was the polite thing to do. "Of course you can. We were going to study together if you want to join." It might not have been the smartest choice to pick all the electives, but the fifth year really hadn't had much of a choice in her opinion. She had been indecisive and didn't want to be left jobless after graduation. "So...what should we start with?" she asked, addressing both of her roommates.​

 

[Sapphire Michaels]

Sapphire had just opened her mouth to tell Sam she didn't need to congratulate her when suddenly her foot hit the floor. She looked up, a small, warm smile flitting across her face as she saw Diana there. "Well hello to you too, Di," She greeted. She laughed as Diana congratulated her as well. "Thanks, guys, but if either of you wants it you can have it. Why on earth Styx picked me for it I haven't the foggiest." She shook her head, glancing to Sam as she asked where they should start. "Potions?" She offered. She thought the three of them all took it, but she wasn't sure.

 

[Diana Hollis]

Diana smirked a bit at Sam. "I figured you were going to study together, yes. The books and parchment gave me a bit of a hint." She teased. She hoped Sam could take it, but it wasn't her problem if she couldn't. Diana rolled her eyes at Sapphire. "C'mon, you know you deserve it." She was glad Sapphire had gotten it instead of Sam or Anastasie, she herself had never really been a candidate, she realized now. Sam asked them what they should start with, and Diana shrugged. "I don't mind, but I don't take Potions." She said as she glanced at Sapphire. "But that's fine, I can just look over Defence Against the Dark Arts stuff."

 

[Sam Mackintosh]

Sam rolled her eyes playfully as Sapphire told them that either her or Diana could have the badge, of course her friend deserved it and the sooner she realised that, the better it was...for her own self-esteem, anyway. "Well, you must have done something good, right?" she pointed out, glancing at Diana and wondering if the other girl agreed. Otherwise, Styx wouldn't have picked her. She smiled at Diana's response, not really bothered by it, she sort of knew what the brunette was like which didn't affect Sam. At least, not yet. "I'm sure it did," she replied, going along with it. The fifth year was about to agree with Sapphire but Diana got there first, saying she didn't take Potions. "Oh, I take Defence too. I honestly don't mind what we start with," she added, unsure as to what other classes Sapphire took. ​

 

[Sapphire Michaels]

Sapphire nearly laughed as the girls told her she deserved it. "Sure, I just punched a prefect in the face last year." She muttered softly so no one else could hear her. "I'm sure Styx never heard about that. Or the time I disarmed an actual prefect- prince playboy whats-his-face... Tristan or something and got between him and Arvel." She shrugged. "That's perfect prefect material. Defiant and snarky." She teased. She popped another gum bubble as the girls seemed to veer more towards DADA. "I take Defense too. Might as well study so old Styx doesn't murder us all with a single glance." She offered.

 

[Diana Hollis]

Diana snorted at Sapphire's summary of herself. "Well, I bet Styx doesn't know about half of that. The prefect deserved it anyway." She said. Mervyn was someone she wouldn't mind getting back at for Sapphire's sake, but she also knew her friend wouldn't appreciate it if she did. "Defiant and snarky was probably the best option he had." She said after a moment. "Can't give it to me, my grades are too bad." She didn't sound very concerned about it. "From what I heard from Rose, it's a lot of annoying work though. Patrols and stuff. Boring." Diana nodded when everyone agreed to do Defence Against the Dark Arts. It seemed to be the only subject this semester they all had in common. Diana took out her book and sighed simply at the sight of it. "Do we have to study? It's so boring. I could do your guys' nails instead?" She asked hopefully, though she knew the answer would be a no.

 

[Sam Mackintosh]

Sam giggled at Sapphire’s story of events. She vaguely remembered her cousin Dan telling her about a Prefect in his year who went looking for trouble in order to get revenge on someone for one of their best friends. Even letting the said friend punch them in the face. That had been some story, the way he’d told it. He hadn’t been there himself, but it hadn’t gone unnoticed by professors, or the headmistress herself. She nodded along to what Diana was saying. "Yeah, even though Styx portrays himself as intimidating, I doubt he even wants to know what goes on half the time. Student drama doesn’t suit him," she smirked slightly, whispering that last bit in case she was going to get told on by an eavesdropper just for saying that. Sam recalled that Tristan boy. "You know, he kind of came across as arrogant. I didn’t know him, not personally, but from what I heard, he deserved it." Sam didn’t much mingle with those much older than her. Three years difference in school was quite a lot. ​

The blonde didn’t mention anything about her grades. Last year, they had been more than humiliating and the girl didn’t want to share any of that information with anyone. This year she planned to do as well as she had four years ago. "You gotta do what you gotta do," she shrugged in response to Diana’s opinion on Prefectship. "I guess even if you don’t like it, you have to deal with it, somehow." She smiled when she took note of Diana’s lack of interest in studying. Perhaps her and Sapphire could encourage her. "Sometimes it helps to study with other people," she said with an attempt at lifting up Diana’s spirits about memorising textbooks. She considered her idea. Since it was OWL year - yes, they really did need to pass, hence the endless number of hours spent in the library. For Sam anyway. "How about this. If you study with us, you can do our nails," she propositioned, hoping they could all get their way and manage to do both things.​

 

[Sapphire Michaels]

Sapphire blew a bubble in her gum, popping it quietly as she listened to the girls. "Fair enough, Styx probably doesn't care. How am I better than you, though, Di? My grades are just as bad," She told the girls with a small smile. When Di mentioned that patrols would be boring, she propped her feet up on the table nonchalantly. "Boring is hardly the word I would use for my patrols. More like tense, awkward, a little quiet." She met Diana's gaze straight on. "It makes sense, though, since they have me patrolling with Mervyn." She had been saving that bit of news, knowing Diana would appreciate a dramatic delivery.

She turned back to Sam. "Tristan did deserve it. I met the guy he'd been secretly dating after it happened- talented, gorgeous, I adored him. I don't see how Tristan could be ashamed of a guy like that." She shook her head.

She laughed at Di's hesitance to study and booed Sam's proposal. "Lame. Why not just do both? See how much we can get through before Di's done with our nails. Bet we can get a few chapters in if we let her go wild. She has some really awesome nail designs." She winked at Diana. She liked her idea a bit better than Sam's, and it would keep Di interested.

 

[Diana Hollis]

Diana thought Sam was probably right about Professor Styx. She couldn't imagine him listening to gossip and having any sort of opinion about it. She hardly thought he knew who anyone in his house was, and would be surprised if he could name more than a handful of students. "Yeah, I bet he has bigger things to worry about." She agreed. Diana shrugged when Sam talked about the prefect Sapphire had disarmed. "I meant the one she punched." Diana said with a slight smirk. She was still glad to hear Sapphire had punched her annoying ex boyfriend in the face, she kind of wished she had done something like that herself. Her smirk disappeared when Sapphire said she had been paired with Mervyn to patrol. That was just cruel! "Why didn't you fight it? Complain? I bet the head boy would change it in a second, he's soft like that. He's dating my sister, I bet I could put in a word for you." She told her with a frown. "Ew, I can't believe you have to spend time with Mervyn on your own." She shuddered. Sam encouraged her to study, while Sapphire encouraged her to do their nails instead. She was tempted, but then sighed in defeat. "I'd love to, but I have to study too. If I don't get at least an A for my OWLs, I'm afraid my mother is going to ship me off to Azkaban or something." She joked with a roll of her eyes. "Or at least get mad, and she's kind of scary when she's mad." Diana smiled a bit. "I'll do your nails later, if I don't die of boredom first."