Practice Makes Perfect

[Albertus Vermeulen]

Albie sighed as he slumped over a desk in an abandoned classroom. He'd wanted to do a little bit of spell-practice, but he wanted to do it in the privacy of an empty classroom. Being two years older than everyone else in his year, he of all people couldn't afford to fall behind.

Still. He just wasn't feeling enthusiastic this year. He couldn't quite put his finger on why, he just supposed it was because he was soon to turn 17, he was stuck back in fourth year due to his parents ignorance and refusal to acknowledge that he needed to attend Hogwarts. He'd had to work really hard to catch up, and although he wasn't feeling the enthusiasm, he just had to keep going. It would've been too humiliating to fall back.

Idly, he levitated a pot of ink over his desk (with the lid on, of course), before looking over at the door at someone entering the room. The ink pot wobbled, and Albie snapped his head back, careful not to drop it. "Uh. Watch out."

 

[Jeremiah Raven]

Jeremiah brushed his hair out of his face as he walked through the castle. He didn't really have anything to do today. Usually he would plan his days and spend them happily. But today he skipped breakfast and missed the opportunity to plan his day. It was strange to have nothing to do. Perhaps he could locate Ai? Though he feared if he did that, she would be in some sort of situation. Whenever they met one of them was in need of 'rescuing'. The Gryffindor was not in the mood to play hero. Ryder virtually disappeared off the face of the Earth, while Khione apparently had some studying to do for one of her classes. Jeremiah could be studying, but he preferred to study in quiet places. No matter what anyone said, the library was not quiet enough for him. It was nearly impossibly to find a silent place in this castle. One of the only places he knew to be quiet was one of the classrooms on this floor. The last time he was here he was in an argument, but hopefully this time the classroom would be completely empty.

Jeremiah entered the abandoned classroom, but quickly stopped when he noticed someone else was in there. The boy looked older than himself, and he appeared to be levitating some ink. Jeremiah heeded his warning and gave him some space. "I apologise for interrupting you. Luckily, there is enough room for us both." Miah wasn't planning on making much noise at the moment. He understood how annoying Charms could be. It was not his best class at all, but he was trying. The Gryffindor sat down at a clean desk not too far from the boy. All the others were dirty and messy. He laid out some books and began searching through them.
​

 

[Albertus Vermeulen]

Out of Character:

gosh i'm really sorry i'm such a bad RPer

"It's fine, it's fine. I'll keep out of your way," Albie stated with a calm smile. The other kid seemed familiar - maybe he was in his class? He never paid enough attention to other people in his class. He was kinda lazy like that.

His thoughts caused him to lose concentration on the ink, which was currently hurtling towards the ground. However, Albie noticed it way too slowly, and the jar shattered, splattering ink on both him and the other guy. Albie swore to himself. This was exactly the sort of stuff he wanted to avoid. "God, I'm so sorry," he muttered, looking away as his face reddened. He was supposed to be the old, responsible fourth year, the one who didn't mess up. "Scourgify," he muttered, pointing his wand at the other boy to clean up the ink on him first of all. It was the polite thing to do, of course.

"No harm done?" he asked, his South African accent evident as he cleaned himself up. He reached in to his back for a book, figuring he didn't have the concentration at the moment for magic.

 

[Jeremiah Raven]

Jeremiah nodded briefly and returned his attention to his book. If he was to examine the boy, he would probably find something familiar about him. However, the Gryffindor had more important things to do than examining the faces of people he meets in abandoned classrooms. He flipped through a few more pages of his book. Jeremiah continued to read through the book, ignoring what the boy was doing. Both needed silence for their respective tasks. Besides, the boy was older and probably had very little interest in communicating with someone in a lower year. What could they possibly talk about? Speaking about classes was what usually started conversations in this castle.

Jeremiah jumped a little from surprise when ink fell on him. He pulled out of his seat and examined himself when the other guy in the room apologised. The pure-blood was about to clean himself, but he was beaten by the boy. Jeremiah smiled a little and nodded. "It is okay." He sat back down in his seat and faced the boy curiously. "No, there is no harm done. I will be fine. Thank you." The Italian pursed his lips a little and decided that he might as well abandon his plans of studying. "Concentration is something you are lacking, I suppose?" He didn't mean to be rude, but Jeremiah was not known for his kind conversation skills. "What year are you in? Do you not learn concentration skills in later years, such as fifth?" The boy had to be older than fifteen. Otherwise, Miah was in serious need of glasses. "Where are you from - sorry, I am asking too many questions. I will allow you some time to answer."
​

 

[Albertus Vermeulen]

Albie put a hand to his face, in order to hide his embarassment, slightly. He was usually pretty good at concentrating, he just had been having a hard time getting stuck in to his work lately. He wasn't finding anything that really grabbed him and made him want to devote all his attention to it. That, and he was just generally feeling sorry for himself. It was a pitiful state to be in, and he was horrified to find himself in such a way.

"I wouldn't know," Albie replied, quietly. "I'm only a fourth year." It was something of a sore point with him that he was so much older than the others in his year level. He'd never forgive his parents to subjecting him to such humiliation. Magic will get you nowhere, his father had said. I didn't go to Hogwarts, and I turned out fine. He'd had a lot of catching up to do. He hoped not to hear any laughter over the fact that he was nearly seventeen and only a fourth year. It wasn't his fault. "I'm from South Africa. I only came here last year," he added, explaining without explaining at all. "It's fine." He looked at the other boy for a moment, before recognition dawned upon him. "You're...you're in fourth year too, right?"