Too Many Words

[Charlotte Owens]

It was time for another year at Hogwarts and Charlotte could not contain her excitement. She had very much enjoyed her winter holidays and her cousins had sure enough liked the artwork she had made them with her new friend. Charlotte's parents were also pleased with the grades that she ended up getting and, admittedly, so was she. She just hoped that she would be able to get some of them up to make her parents even prouder. Charlotte felt a lot of pride whenever her parents had encouraged her to do something which was the main reason why she did many things. For example, she would be trying out for the Slytherin Quidditch team this year for that exact reason. Truthfully, she was unsure whether or not she would make it but as long as she enjoyed herself she didn't really care.

With a smile on her face, Charlotte skipped her way past a group of first years and through the library door. If she wanted to up her grades then the library was the place where she was going to have to spend some of her time this year. Charlotte had barely been to the library last year so hopefully going to it this year was going to be rewarding. She was not a baby of the school anymore and she realised that as she happened to get older that there was going to be more pressure on her to do her best. These next few years were going to be dedicated to getting the best grades that she could in order to get the OWL she wanted in her fifth year. Truthfully, she didn't know at all what she wanted to do when she left Hogwarts but she had time to think about it so was not worried at all.

Taking out a book from one of the bookshelves about ancient wizarding history that was for beginners, Charlotte found a vacant table and sat down at it. History of Magic was definitely her worst subject last year so perhaps she could do some quick light reading before starting her classes this year just to get a bit of heads up. She didn't quite understand most of the words but skipped them and continued trying to read it. None of it made any sense in her head and she just sighed, resting her head on the open book. Too many words gave her a headache and she knew that this was going to be a lot harder than she thought.

 

[Xiochtle Lief Morta]

Xio was stressing over everything. Literally everything. She stresses over happy looking students, unorganized things, she even stresses about trees. She was driving herself crazy. It all started when she got multiple 'Trolls" on her exams. Xio thought, if she isn't as smart as she thinks then she's basically nothing.

That scares Lief, a lot. She was not ready to go over another Panic Attack. She's sick of that, sick of being helpless. Every single time. She was about to cry but she knows more than that. She is stronger than that. Xio calmed herself down, put on her best mask and decided to roam the castle. Hoping that something might clear her mid.

Xio found herself in front of the Library. The smell of books engulfed her and immediately she felt a little bit better. "Finally. Something good." she mumbled to herself. Lief picked the most interesting and heaviest books she found and directly dived her nose into it. She searched for the nearest seat without being so conscious about her environment. Well apparently, the day won't end without her doing her forte. Being clumsy. She tripped on her stupid robe, dropped her precious books and fell on her butt with a great 'thud.' She tried to compose herself but noticed that someone was watching her. As she turned to look at the person, she felt her jaw dropped.

 

[Charlotte Owens]

Charlotte knew that if she didn't put any effort into studying this year then her grades were not going to improve. In fact, there was the possibility that they could drop and Charlotte did not want to risk it. Because of this, she managed to get her head back up off the book and continued reading. She could almost imagine both of her parents standing over her and telling her that she needed to try her best and scolding her because she wasn't. It annoyed her when her parents put so much pressure on her but she understood why and was not going to let them down.

Charlotte looked up abruptly when she heard a loud thump. She chuckled as she spotted a girl on the ground who had fallen over with her books sprawled out around her. Admittedly, she felt quite sorry for her but when the girl looked up at her Charlotte instantly recognised her and it seemed like the girl recognised her too. It was Lief. It was the one who had walked away from Charlotte at the beginning of last year, the one who had overreacted. Lief's jaw dropped when she caught Charlotte's eye. "Hey." she said simply, not sure if the girl had wanted to talk to her anyway. She wouldn't mind if she didn't. After all, she seemed like she was in the middle of doing something important and so was Charlotte.

 

[Xiochtle Lief Morta]

"Hey" the word rang into Xio's ears. A nostalgic feeling came back rushing. 'Charlotte', she was the very first student who is actually nice to her. And she blew it all off because of her... unreasonable thinking.. Of course, typical Xio. What surprised her the most is the fact that Charlotte, said 'Hey' to her even though she had been awful at her. Lief's mind was full of queries. 'Isn't she mad at me?' 'Is this an act?'

She just stared at Charlotte for quite some time, her mouth still hanging open which means she's just too shocked or she's inviting a bunch of flies to party in her mouth. The thought made her cringe and brought her back to reality. She quickly closed her mouth and quickly thought of something...bright?

"Uhmmm...Ahhh... I think this is a lie but...uhhh...okay."

 

[Charlotte Owens]

Charlotte stared at Lief quizzically as she continued to glare at her with her mouth open. Truthfully Charlotte thought that Lief was one of the most confusing people she had ever met and there was something about her that Charlotte didn't feel comfortable about. Nonetheless, her parents told her that even if you didn't like someone it was always polite to still talk to them if ever you saw them. Charlotte felt quite offended that she didn't greet her back. The world was full of many people that weren't likeable but there was nothing you could do about it so you simply just had to put up with them.

"A lie?" she said, raising her left eyebrow. What does she mean a lie? Could she read Charlotte's thoughts? The situation was just getting more and more awkward. "What's wrong?" she asked, wondering if the Ravenclaw's brain had been meddled with or something. Their last meeting was indeed awkward as well but the past was the past and Charlotte would forgive her. Besides, it was all Charlotte's fault anyway for being so nosey so there was no reason to be acting like babies. They were in their second year now and were maturing. There was no need for this.

 

[Xiochtle Lief Morta]

Xio should totally bury herself right now. She can't believe she said that out loud. Now she have to explain herself. She looked nervously at Charlotte however she doubt that Char could see that besides she lived her life perfecting the "poker face". She gulped and started talking...

Just kidding, Lief was stuttering with every sentence. "Uhmmm, uh... I... uh..." She was never a good talker but she tried. "Uh...I thought...that...you know...you would not talk to me like...you just did. After...w-what...happened" she trailed off.

She looked at Char again, thinking that maybe she will find clues on her expressions. Moreover, Xio definitely thinks that something changed about Charlotte. Something that she couldn't put her finger on.

 

[Charlotte Owens]

Charlotte knew that Lief was a bit awkward at times, but as she thought back to when they first met, she didn't seem that bad at all and was in fact a rather nice person when she wasn't stumbling on her words. Frankly, Charlotte did not care about what happened and would happily have another conversation with Lief if she wanted one. If she didn't then Charlotte would understand. But nonetheless she still didn't understand why Lief was acting so nervous and Charlotte's expression was still quizzical as she looked at her, confused as to what was really wrong with her.

"Don't worry about what happened! It was my fault. I shouldn't have kept asking you all those questions. I'm sorry." she muttered quietly, now looking down at the floor. Hopefully Lief would forgive her and accept her apology. Charlotte hated apologising because she hated it when she hurt someone's feelings and did not feel at all comfortable in doing so. There were many things Charlotte did not like about herself but she couldn't help it and if Lief didn't like Charlotte then so be it. Besides, she thought they weren't friends anymore anyway and she was only just trying to be nice. She couldn't control Lief's feelings and if Lief couldn't let go of the past then that was her problem.