Two Sides of a Tree

[Stefan Kozlov]

It was a cool afternoon the week before the exams. Not that he cared about it but Stefan decided to get out of the common room and made his way to the lakefront. With a notebook and a pencil in hand, he spotted a lone tree near the edge of the lake and sat under it. Everything was quiet and peaceful with very few students outside. It was a far opposite scenario from the common room which was loud, noisy, and crowded. He scooted to the other side to make sure he was well hidden from anyone who would glance in his direction.

 

[Lucie Vernier]

Lucie liked to change up the locations that she studied at. With the exams coming up soon, she needed some more variety. She decided going outside could be a good idea, and so she brought her backpack full of her textbooks and notes with her to the lakefront. It was quiet apart from the sound of some birds, and it was just the way that Lucie liked it. She spotted a shady spot underneath a tree, and so she walked over and dumped her bag down before sitting down next to it and beginning to get out what she needed to study. It wasn't until she settled down that she noticed another boy was already sitting underneath the tree too. It was a fellow classmate that she had seen a couple of times. He was always quiet and perhaps that also meant he was smart and could potentially help her. "Are you writing notes for the exams?" she asked, gesturing to the notebook and pencil he was holding.

 

[Stefan Kozlov]

The only reason for the notebook and pen was for people to back off, Stefan thought. However, a voice spoke up from his side, a bit loud against the silence made him stop. He glanced to see a younger student, probably by a year, in her green tie. Slytherin. Looking at her, Stefan realized she was waiting for his response. He grunted, shrugged his shoulders, and turned back to his notebook. Not that he was actually studying. He turned to a blank page and started sketching.

 

[Lucie Vernier]

Lucie watched as the boy simply shrugged his shoulders and went back to his work, supposedly too interested in what he was doing to worry about letting Lucie know. "Fair enough." she said with a nod, agreeing that they shouldn't be talking anyway whilst doing some work. She turned back to her textbooks, deciding to open up her Transfiguration one first. She liked the subject, but there was still a lot of theory work she had to do and familiarise herself with. She took out some pieces of parchment from her backpack that she had written some Transfiguration notes on. As she put them down, they flew away in the direction of the boy. "Whoops, sorry." she said as the pieces of parchment collided with him. She gathered them back up. "It's getting pretty windy out here with the colder weather on its way. I don't usually come out here but I thought it would be good to have a change of scenery."

 

[Stefan Kozlov]

Stefan was grateful that the girl seemed to take the hint that he was not up for some conversation. He sketched, even more, when there was a breeze causing some papers to blow his way. He caught one and looked at her as she scampered up after them. "Change is good.", he said in a low voice, unsure if she heard him.

 

[Lucie Vernier]

As Lucie heard the boy speak to her, she smiled, glad that he was speaking up. Yeah, it really is." she agreed, placing a textbook underneath the pieces of parchment so they couldn't fly away again. "That's why I wanted to come out here. Usually I'm in the library or my dorm. My dorm is kind of boring me though, and the library is quite busy now with everyone doing last minute study." she explained, picking up her quill and dipping it into some ink. "I'm pretty good though, I've got everything organised. Just don't what to forget anything." She began re-writing some notes on a blank piece of parchment, wanting to make this parchment a lot neater than the last. It was a shame there weren't many picnic tables around, as they would definitely be better for her to work on. She looked up as she realised she forgot to introduce herself to the older boy. "My name is Lucie by the way, Lucie Vernier."

 

[Stefan Kozlov]

Somehow Stefan regretted ever opening his mouth. The three words that he uttered were responded with five sentences. Yes, he counted. All he did was nod as he continued sketching. He sneaked a peek at what she was writing and saw that they were just class notes that he already had from the last term. She had clean penmanship almost similar to his but in a girly way. He just kept on staring when the girl looked up and he was met with her eyes. He almost jumped but was quick to catch himself. She introduced herself and seemed to be waiting for his. "Kozlov.", he replied simply. He did not know why but he preferred to just let people know his last name.

 

[Lucie Vernier]

Lucie smiled as the boy told her his name. "It's nice to meet you Kozlov." she said, still continuing to rewrite her notes. "Russian, is it? It sounds Russian." Lucie had met a lot of people from different countries at Hogwarts and she was glad for this as it meant she wasn't the only one of a foreign descent. She loved how multi-cultural it was. "I'm from France, but don't ask me to speak the language. I moved here when I was a baby." Lucie picked up her textbook, reading a passage out of it to make sure that she understood what it was saying. The notes she took during her classes were beginning to get confusing, and so she started referring to her textbook instead. "Sorry if I'm... bothering you." Lucie added, suddenly feeling a little guilty. She definitely wouldn't want someone talking to her if she was really concentrating. On the bright side however, at least he hadn't walked away yet.

 

[Stefan Kozlov]

Stefan shrugged noncomittally. "I'm not sure about it but Kozlov's my last name.", he responded, his eyes still on his paper. He paused to listen to Lucie's narrative, nodding to let her know that he was listening. He glanced sideways, looking at the girl reading her notes. He noted the frown on her face as she became increasingly confused. "It's fine.", he said lowly. "Do you... need some help?", he hesitantly asked, closing his notebook.

 

[Lucie Vernier]

Lucie nodded as the Hufflepuff boy simply said his last name was Kozlov. "Oh so what's your first name? Or do you just want me to call you Kozlov?" she asked, wondering what he preferred. She didn't mind either way. It was fairly easy to pronounce, and most people who preferred people calling them by their last name often had a difficult first name. As he then asked if she needed help, she was a little shocked, as it was definitely not what she expected from him. She nodded. She didn't think she needed the help, however thought it might be a good way to make a friend. "Do you take Transfiguration? I'm just writing notes on Transfiguration and its limitations."

 

[Stefan Kozlov]

Stefan looked at her once before replying, "Stefan." He played with his pencil, tapping it on his notebook. He may not be an achiever in academics but he made sure he did his homework. It was even kind of Lidiya to pass her notes to him. So, his classes were a breeze since all he did was just look at what she wrote. "Well..", he pulled out his wand, saying, "Accio, Lidiya's notes." He put his wand back in when soon enough, a zooming sound could be heard. He looked up to see the notes flying their way. He caught them and passed them to the girl. "I am not really good at memorizing but this might help.", ending his sentence on a questioning note. It was uncommon of him to just lend notes to anyone, let alone talk easily and for a longer time than necessary.

 

[Lucie Vernier]

Lucie smiled and nodded as the Hufflepuff boy clarified his name. His name was Stefan, and that definitely made it a little easier. As he summoned someone else's notes to them, Lucie raised an eyebrow. "Who is Lidiya?" she asked, wondering if it was his best friend or sister. She was yet to meet anyone who was also a twin and a part of her hoped that he was as then they would have something in common. Lucie took the notes as he gave her them, smiling slightly at how organised they were. Lidiya definitely knew what she was talking about. "Thanks." she said to him simply, grateful that he was willing to help her. "I'm not too good at memorising either, but I like to think I'm good enough. I mean, I've done pretty well in my classes so far." She couldn't help but be a little jealous at how organised the notes were compared to her own. "These are really good. Do you mind if I copy them?"

 

[Stefan Kozlov]

Stefan just merely glanced at the smile Lucie gave him. "My sister. Older sister.", he replied as he handed the notes to her. He watched her, a bit fascinated at how easy for her to connect with people she just met while he, on the other hand, needed to make an extra effort just to introduce himself to people. The girl was right though, Lidiya's notes were good, not to mention her penmanship was more legible than his. "Take your time. Just return them whenever you're done.", he shrugged. He may be quiet and aloof to people but he was not selfish.

 

[Lucie Vernier]

"Oh, you have a sister?" Lucie said as Stefan mentioned the notes were hers. "What year is she in?" She wondered if they were twins just like her and Louis were. It wasn't everyday that Lucie came across a twin just like her. She smiled as Stefan said she could take her time. She got out a new piece of parchment and began copying the notes down. It helped her soak the information in and it was much easier to read in her familiar handwriting. It took a while, but soon enough Lucie was done, and she handed them back to the older boy. "Thank you so much for that. You're really nice." she said genuinely, really meaning that. There weren't very many nice people at Hogwarts, and so Lucie was glad that she finally found someone who was.

 

[Stefan Kozlov]

//Apologies for the super late reply//

Stefan shook his head. "She already graduated. She was in Gryffindor." This made him wonder about her and whether she had siblings in school. He just leaned back on the tree and watched her copy them down. She was fairly fast at writing, something he always admired in a person. So it was no surprise that while they sat there for fifteen minutes, she was able to copy down all that she needed. "Oh, you're welcome.", he said in a low voice, accepting the notebook. He had never been told nice but then again, he had never socialized enough in the previous years.