Closed Studying

[Niklaus Eliot Easterling]

Nick spent a lot of time in the library when he wasn't in the common room and it was only because it was always quiet. He was able to actually do some proper studying not just reading something and then forgetting it almost immediately just because he managed to overhear someone's whole life. So here he was, with his arithmancy book. Again. They were totally inseparable and he didn't even care about the fact that it was a sixth-year book. He was just reading some theory and writing down a brief overview about it, absolutely enjoying the silence and his time alone. Actually, he has been a mess for some time now, his sister got sorted and she was a Ravenclaw, they spent more time together now and he actually was enjoying it, even if he always acted tough. Also, he understood that his brother would be almost the only Easterling in the school by the time he was going to get sorted while Nick had almost all of their family with him. Well, no, he was probably going to have Roxie and Evan for some time. However, it totally wasn't what he was thinking about because his attention was absolutely on Arithmancy.

 

[Brooke Townsend]

Brooke generally tried to make her studying look as effortless as possible, but sometimes there was no getting around the need to be in the library. Just because she wanted to focus on making more friends this year didn't mean she could let her grades slip either. It was a balancing act and Brooke wondered if maybe she should try to kill two birds with stone.

She spotted Niklaus sitting nearby and figured now was a good time to test that approach, sitting down across from him with a smile. She'd never really talked to the Ravenclaw much, but if she was right, he didn't really talk to anyone besides his cousins anyway. It gave him a sort of cool, broody air, but at the very least Brooke know he wouldn't bother her if he proved to be a boring conversation partner. "Hey, Niklaus, what're you working on?" She said, leaning forward a bit to see his work. "Oh, Arithmancy, do all those numbers make sense to you?" She said with a small laugh. Truthfully, Brooke rather enjoyed the subject herself, but she knew a lot of people found it boring, so it wouldn't pay to look like she was too into it.

 

[Niklaus Eliot Easterling]

Nick was expecting only learning but when Brooke sat next to him, he sighed without any real noise. At least she didn't change the subject to anything else except his work. "Hey," he gave a light half-smile and then put up his book to show her that it was actually a sixth year Arithmancy. "Yeah, they do. We are in the same Arithmancy classroom, aren't we? I thought you were good with numbers too," he lightly frowned while trying to understand why she actually came over. "Uhm, do you need anything? We just haven't ever talked, why now?" Nick was quiet but he liked when everything was clear to understand and so far, he didn't understand anything of what was going on.

 

[Brooke Townsend]

Brooke raised an impressed eyebrow to see that Niklaus didn't seem to just be reading ahead by a few weeks, but more by a few years. "Well, clearly not as good at you," she said, tone joking but her smile a bit strained as she moved her head to glance at the book. She wanted to see if she was actually as good as Niklaus and if she could understand anything on the page. Pretending to just be effortlessly good at a subject was one thing, but knowing someone else was potentially years ahead of her at it was another entirely. "Just doing some light reading to do you want to be an Arithmancer later?" She asked, trying to come across as politely curious though she very much wanted to know. Niklaus' brusque response to her talking to him took her aback though. "I figured since we hadn't talked there was no time like the present. I can leave if you want," she said, trying not to get defensive. She had assumed Niklaus' quiet personality would be an asset in talking to him, but maybe there was a reason he never spoke to anyone.

 

[Niklaus Eliot Easterling]

Nick felt kinda good as he saw that Brooke seemed impressed. Not like he did it to impress anyone but getting approved anyway felt excellent. "I just really loved math back at the time I still lived in States," yes, he moved to New Zealand only like two months before he started Hogwarts. It was like several years after twins moved there. Tho, he still kept his look on Brooke to see how she was going to react to what the book contained. "Uhm, yeah, I was actually considering it," he gave a light nod and moved book a bit away, to pay more attention to Brooke. "What do you want to do after school?" He felt like he was obligated to ask it, but maybe he was actually interested in that. Brooke kinda seemed like an overachiever, so he was interested in what was actually her plan for a grown-up life. "Nah, it's good, you don't have to unless you want it. I was just kinda confused, you seemed to talk only to popular people," and he totally wasn't popular. But it wasn't like he was disappointed in that, no, he was actually pretty proud about it.

 

[Brooke Townsend]

Brooke raised her eyebrows at Niklaus' explanation, nodding slowly. "Funny, not many people would admit they like maths," she said with a small laugh. "Everyone's always going on about how boring it is." Brooke hadn't ever really heard Niklaus talk enough to realize he was American either, but listening a little closer she supposed she could pick up an accent there. "Oh, I'm not sure yet, maybe something with the ministry," Brooke said, brushing her hair behind her hair as she considered it. Truth be told, Brooke had already narrowed it down to several ministry departments, her OWL year playing a lot into where she picked, but she didn't want to let on just how far in advance she'd prepped her own life just yet. "Arithmancer can be very interesting though, a lot of companies employ them these days, you know," she noted. "Though I guess you're considering it just because of the maths thing," Brooke added with a smile.

It was a relief that Niklaus wasn't completely brushing her off, though Brooke did quietly wonder about his opinion of her with that comment. She didn't mind if people thought she was popular herself at least. "I talk to everyone. I thought you were the quiet one here," Brooke said, propping her chin in her hand and giving Niklaus a bright smile, despite that being not entirely true. Brooke only spoke to people if she had a good reason to, though this year she had downgraded what counted as a good reason. Previously, she probably would have considered it a waste of time, but Brooke was quickly learning being a top student with no friends wasn't all it cracked up to be.

 

[Niklaus Eliot Easterling]

Nick lightly chuckled, it was probably the closest someone could get out of him that at least somehow reminded of a laugh. "Their problem, they're not good enough to understand how easy it actually is. You just have to have at least some brain cells," the last sentence was actually quietly whispered out, unsure if Brooke could actually hear it or not. However, if she actually listened to him a little closer, she may actually pick up a light accent in the way he talks. "Hm, Ministry. It's actually pretty cool," he gave an approving nod and then focused on that arithmancer thing she talked about. "Well, yeah, I chose it because of maths but it's not like I didn't look forward, I wouldn't choose a job that isn't required," he said more than he actually thought he even could say. Nick was actually that sort of person who could choose a job based on the fact that it's required even if he wasn't exactly interested in that. He knew what he wanted and he was ready to sacrifice his interests if they stopped him from reaching his goal.

"Maybe," he lightly tilted his head with a slight half-smile. "But well, I guess I just wasn't really interested in making friends. With having siblings and cousins everywhere, I didn't exactly bother with communication. They are social butterflies," Nick let out an amused chuckle. He was absolutely convinced that with all his cousins he already had too much communication and not enough time for school, and it didn't matter that he had enrolled in only two lessons. "You are going for a prefect, aren't you?" he had to admit that he had never even wanted to become a prefect, he preferred staying unnoticed but it didn't make him hate or feel anything bad towards people who wanted to become prefects.