Taking Advantage

[Veronica Willows]

It seemed that the closer exams drew, the busier Veronica got. Now that lessons were finished, she tended to first herself scuttling back and forth between only three places - Ravenclaw Tower, the library and the Great Hall, the latter being one she was often prodded to remember by her growling stomach. But Veronica couldn't help it - she needed to prove herself after the disaster of her illicit potion brewing incident with Phoebe. She felt like her professors were always watching her, shaking their heads in disappointment when she wasn't watching... she had been such a promising student, she imagined them saying. What a shame she broke the rules so terribly. It was a thought that made her work even harder than she had before, staying up later than she should to read just one more obscure (and only vaguely related to the lesson material) book. Veronica knew she was punishing herself, but it just felt... necessary. She wanted to earn back the respect of her professors.

So concerned was she with all these thoughts as she hurried along a corridor, turning them over again and again in her mind as they distracted her from mentally running through the main points of her history classes, it wasn't until Veronica had walked straight into someone that she realised she hadn't been paying any attention to her surroundings. The girl she had collided with looked like she was younger than herself as well - could she do nothing right? "Oh no, oh my gosh, I'm so sorry! I didn't, I mean, I wasn't... I... Are you alright?" Finally managing to find her words, Veronica's hands fluttered uselessly as her face flushed with shame and worry. All of her previous concerns had temporarily disappeared as she focused her attention on only one thing - making sure this girl was okay.

 

[Athena Rey-Martinez]

Athena's first semester at Hogwarts was almost over and soon she was going home, and although she missed her parents and godmother she was not looking forward to it too much. There were going to be family events to meet her cousins properly, Athena was not used to being the youngest, having a twin, so she wasn't exactly pleased when she found out she was related to other students. She also found that her youngest older cousin tried too hard to get to know the twins, and Athena hated it. She shook her head to clear it, there was no way she was going to let some unknown relative ruin her last couple of weeks. Not to mention that exams were soon and the girl hadn't even organized herself yet. She was not going to be a failure. Impressing people was what she always aimed for. Athena was headed to the student lounge to see if she could get some studying done. She hadn't realised, however, that someone was walking in the opposite direction, towards her. It was too late for either girl to notice as they both bumped into each other. The Slytherin was already annoyed as it was. She didn't need to be not seen by others, too.

She stopped herself from making a rude remark, though, when she saw the other girl's expression and she set off into a series of apologies. Athena kind of felt bad for her, she figured the girl had no want in any trouble with her so Athena put on a friendly smile instead and adjusted her school bag strap over her shoulder. She was older, Athena couldn't recognise her from any of her classes. "I'm alright," she confirmed, reassuring the brunette. "Are you okay?" Athena only felt right to ask in return. Besides, maybe she could befriend the girl. Especially as she was older, or well she looked like she was, which was always a good thing. "Sorry about that, I mustn't have looked where I was going." Although she knew exactly what happened, Athena wasn't going to put the blame on the other girl, she seemed to need to relax. She didn't see any harm in playing nice, that was a lot better than scaring her and telling her it was her fault and to be seen as a fire-breathing dragon in future. Who knew who the other girl knew in the school. Athena's reputation could be at stake.