Open Work hard

[Felix Layton]

Last time Felix had been in the library..

Felix realised he'd never been in the library, at least not until today. He didn't particularly consider himself a reader or someone who studied especially hard and as such he had very little reason to ever come in here. However, Felix now had a question, and given that this school liked to keep its students in the dark ages, it meant the fourth year had to resort to reading through dusty old books for answers instead of checking his phone. He hadn't been at it long, but now sat alone at one of the large tables with book open in front of him, although whether it had the answers he was looking for was currently unclear. All he did know, was that it wasn't a terrible height to be used as a pillow as the Gryffindor had already crossed his arms over the pages, and fallen asleep on his forearms.

 

[Mania Athanasiou]

Mania had been to the library a few times in her two and a half years at Hogwarts. It wasn't a place she frequented, frankly because she was too chatty and always got glares from some of the librarians because she forgot to whisper and was bordering on yelling. Today though Mania wanted to learn more about the potions that were used to treat certain magical conditions such as Lycanthropy.

She'd gathered a few potions books and was looking for a place to sit when her eyes spotted a suspicious view. Was that Felix sleeping.... on a book? Shrugging the third year walked over to his table and gently put down her books, she didn't want to scare him awake by dropping them with a loud thump on the table. Pulling out her chair gently and sitting down she stared at the boy for a few beats before eventually extending her hand and poking his side gently, to make sure he was alive of course.

 

[Felix Layton]

Felix was quite comfortable given the subject he was lying on, and while he didn't dream it was a restful nap. Even when he was poked in the side and his body flinched, his mind didn't stir. He was oblivious to the fact someone had joined him, nor that he was anywhere that wasn't his bed. As far as the fourth year was concerned, he was just very comfortable.

 

[Mania Athanasiou]

Mania's eyes narrowed as Felix flinched but didn't seem to stir further. At least the boy was alive, she'd done her part. Taking one of her books she opened it and began reading, if Felix needed a nap she'd let him have it and if anyone tried to wake him she'd tell them off. Put it this way, she was acting as his personal nap guard now. Opening the book to a page Nia realized she couldn't see well enough to read and with a sigh she grabbed her glasses from her pocket and placed them on her face before starting to read again, glancing at the sleeping boy next to her every now and then.

 

[Luke Lagowski]

Luke was a first year which meant he had a reputation to keep up. One that included that all first years seemed unable to part from their school books just incase he needed one and he didn't have it ready. By the time he made it to the library he had a hefty weight to his backpack, but after this trip he only planned to have more. He found a table that was only jalf occupied, figuring it would work well as a pit stop, and slipped his backpack from his shoulders to let it drop onto the desk. A brief glance to the older students at the table however suggested that may have been a mistake.

 

[Mania Athanasiou]

Mania was minding her own business, and partly Fifi's. Not that she'd admit it but she found it nice to just sit next to someone and read her own things as well as making sure the other one wasn't disturbed during his rest. There was a thump on the table and Mania's eyes shot up, wide with alarm. Casting a quick glance at the fourth year she found him still sound asleep, had she not been busy with this first year she might have marveled at his sleeping capabilities. Turning her attention back to the boy that'd just dropped his bag full of books on the table Nia's eyes narrowed a little. "Can't you see he is sleeping? you could have woken him up?" She whispered to the younger boy, trying not to sound too pissed off. "Next time put your books on the table quietly." She told him with a huff, somehow managing to keep her voice down to a whisper and not too angry.

gm approved on fifi's magical sleeping capabilities

 

[Luke Lagowski]

Luke's eyes went from the girl to the boys. He didn't really think anyone should have been sleeping in here in the first place, so it wasn't really his fault. His eyes narrowed however when he realised who it was. The Layton from last year that Monty kept blowing his whistle for. "He sleeps through thunderstorms," Luke told the girl, making no effort to move his bag when he realised he wasn't in danger of waking up Felix. The girl seemed to be quite protective of Felix but clearly she didn't know him very well. He glanced around the rest of the library but didn't see anyone else annoyed by him just putting down his books. "And don't talk to me like that," he added, believing he needed to stick up for himself, just like Freddie would.

 

[Mania Athanasiou]

Mania almost snorted looking at Felix, of course he'd sleep through thunderstorms. "Yeah sleeping beauty doesn't seem too bothered but you could still be more careful and aware of others around you. You never know whether you actually might disturb someone's sleep." She commented, her voice still low not wanting to take any chances. Her eyes shot from Felix back to the firstie that seemed to be telling her how to speak to him. Her brows shot up. "Then how would you have me speak to you? I was merely defending my friends nap time." She said a bit defensively herself, crossing her arms over her chest.

 

[Luke Lagowski]

This girl was weird, "Then maybe if someone wants to sleep they shouldn't even be in here," wasn't like the didn't have their own bed elsewhere in the castle or anything. He wrinkled his nose at the idea Felix was called Sleeping Beauty. He hadn't seen the film but he knew that was a princess whereas Felix was probably more like a small wild animal that one of the princesses would sing at. He'd probably make a good Hedgehog or Mole.

Luke was a bit taken aback by the way the girl proceeded to ask about how she should talk to him. "I dont know," he hadn't really been prepared for a follow up question.

 

[Felix Layton]

Felix stirred.

 

[Mania Athanasiou]

Mania gave a shrug, "Maybe but he decided to sleep here." She stated. Not really caring if he could have slept anywhere else, he hadn't and that was that. At least this kid should be more aware of others. When he said he didn't know to her question on how to speak to him she shrugged again. "Okay." How was she going to speak to him in anyway if he told her not to speak to him the way she had but couldn't tell how he'd prefer to be spoken to. Were first years all like this? She didn't think her sister was. Nia's eyes shot to Felix who finally seemed to have woken or something.

 

[Luke Lagowski]

Luke muttered something under his breath but not loud enough for the girl to hear. Figuring she has no interest in stealing his textbooks, Luke left his bag on the table, pulling out a small piece of parchment from one of the pockets, before hunting down the materials he'd initially come in for.

 

[Felix Layton]

Felix came back to consciousness before opening his eyes. He hadn't meant to fall asleep here but he was even more surprised when he heard the voices surrounding him. It was Luke's he heard first, explaining he wouldn't wake to a thunderstorm. It was true. There had been a rough night or two during their family camping trip and Felix was the only one who'd been unaware it had even taken place. He hadn't expected Soos' little brother to remember who he was though.

Hearing Nia do her best to defend him though caught him somewhat off guard. Had he been awake, he doubted whether Nia would have even approached him. He didn't know for sure but he knew he'd been avoiding her after the events of last year, now that things were harder to explain between them, and frankly Felix didn't want to try to figure them out. She was however sat beside him now, and he wasn't sure of how he felt regarding her use of the word friend.

It was only when Luke had wandered off that Felix risked opening his eyes but he said nothing. Instead he let his eyes focus on Nia, and tried to recall when she had started wearing glasses.

 

[Mania Athanasiou]

Mania cast a weird look at the strange first year that muttered something she couldn't hear and then walked off. Blinking a few times after him she was going to focus back on her book but then remembered Felix had woken up. Daring a glance at the fourth year she wasn't quite sure how to act now that he was awake. She'd sat down not thinking much of it at all, had even stared at his sleeping form for a good while but now that he was awake what was she supposed to do? Fixing her glasses, that were perfectly sat on the bridge of her nose, she shifted in her seat. Averting her eyes from Felix to literally anywhere else.

Clearing her throat a little bit the third year tried to recollect his thoughts enough to make up something smart to say, or anything at all at this point. "Sleep good?" She asked him not sure what else to say.

 

[Felix Layton]

Felix figured he was making Nia uncomfortable by the way she kept shifting in her seat, although a small smile crept onto his face when she asked if he'd slept good, "better than some nights." He closed his eyes again, if not just so that Nia didn't feel like he was staring at her. "What are you doing?" He asked quietly, "I mean what are you doing here?" Whether Nia would take the question as he was curious what she was studying or not he wasn't sure. But that was certainly not what he meant.

 

[Mania Athanasiou]

Mania too smiled when Felix said he’d slept better than some nights, then defending his nap time had been worth it. “Good.” She said with a nod. When he asked what she was doing Nia’s brain went theough all five stages of grief. Had he pretended to be asleep and noticed her staring at him? She considered just blurting it out but then again how weird would it be? Oh sitting here. Staring at you while you sleep. Reading my book. The usual. Merlin’s sake she’d been actively avoiding the boy, yet she turned to look at him again. “Um sitting. Next to you, a nap guardian if you will?” She explained, if nap guardian wasn’t a valid term yet it sure was now.

 

[Felix Layton]

Felix wasn't sure he'd ever heard Nia say so little, although maybe that was an indication she was feeling as off as he was. It wasnt a bad thing so much as Felix felt as though he was under a spotlight, with every word and action being scrutinised and assessed. He shifted a little in his position, eyes still closed. "A nap guardian?" His smile was a little wider now. He wasn't sure he needed a guardian, but he was still touched by the idea that Nia had put herself in that role especially when Felix was under the impression she didn't want to be around him. He scooched a little closer on the bench beside her, so that his torso was now almost up against hers, still resting his head in his arms, "Thanks."

 

[Mania Athanasiou]

Mania wasn’t sure she’d ever said so little, while some of it was because she wasn’t sure what to say it was also partly because she was afraid she’d say the wrong thing like she often did. She didn’t think before talking like ever, but around some people she wished she did because she didn’t want to say the wrong thing.

As Felix repeated the title she had bestowed upon herself she couldn’t help but notice his smile widening a bit. “Uhhuh,” she said with a nod, trying to ignore the smile. Then he made a move closer to her and for a moment everything stopped, including Nia’s breathing and heart. She wasn’t sure what she’d expected but for him to move closer to her and get more comfortable wasn’t it. Then when he thanked her it sent the third year’s brain into an orbit. “Yes.” Mania said first, too stunned to form anything else. “I mean, yeah of course no problem.” She amended, letting out a breath and feeing her stiff frame relax and even lean into Felix a little bit before picking up her book to attempt and study again. But it was just that an attempt because her attention kept going to the boy next to her she’d done so well to avoid this year.

 

[Felix Layton]

Felix wasn't sure how to feel as Nia relaxed against him. On the one hand of course he was glad she felt like she could, perhaps even that she wanted to, but on the other they were dangerously close to a line that the fourth year only knew as the one that usually ended up with him hurting someone.

"Nia..?" He asked, after what felt like an eternity of silence between them. He was so aware of every movement, every breath he took and how painfully close he was to the brunette. He didn't want to leave, to get up and move away from her. But staying would surely only end in one outcome. It wasn't worth debating.

Was it? No. It didn't matter what Felix wanted, there was no point. He knew how this would go. He'd seen it before. He could chat all day every day to his friends, flirt with the girls he thought were cute and had no qualms about who he shared his space with. But opening up enough and in the way that girls wanted him to? He wasn't capable of that. He'd proved as much with Esme, and not even one of his best friends had managed to break that barrier fully despite their connection. He didn't know why he couldn't just be like everyone else, but for Felix it was like there was a part of him missing. It had never been there and he wasn't ever sure it would be.

Despite the fact that Felix had been avoiding Nia, it was only because he didn't want to see her get hurt. Maybe that made him a bad person, because he should have been avoiding everyone in that case. He was striving to help others but what good was that if he was the one doing the damage? He hated it. He didn't know how he was supposed to fix it, nor if it was even possible.

He realised he'd not finished his sentence, although swallowed nervously as though he was back in the mask, the one that was a confident front and hid the way he was at a loss when it came to his emotions. "Are we good?"

 

[Mania Athanasiou]

Mania was trying to focus on whatever the pages of her book were saying. About dittany and and piffer-fish eyes and what not. She really was but she had to keep rereading phrases more than once because every now and then her eyes would leave the words on the pages in front of her and wander next to her.

When Felix spoke her name out as if it was a question she put the book down. “Yeah?” Nia asked, far quieter than she meant to. It’d been one thing to study, or pretend to, next to Felix when he’d been fast asleep. It was completely different to feeling comfortable sitting next to him when he was awake. It was maybe even not good at all. She was used to her parents uprooting their lives whenever they felt like life got too boring. She was used to people coming in and out of her life, only two and a half years ago had that changed and Mania still found it surreal. Still found it hard to comprehend she had friends for more than a few months, that she could hang out with them whenever.

What made her anxious though was still feeling comfortable and as though she didn’t need to pretend to be something else around Felix. It didn’t matter if she was supposedly studying in silence or being her loud, bubbly self. It was comfortable either way and the third year simultaneously liked and hated it. She was waiting for the other shoe to drop and this friendship to come to a crashing end and that was what freaked her out the most. She didn’t want it to end, didn’t want to lose any of her friends and people around her.

Turning to look at Felix as he finally finished his question Nia considered it. Had she been too harsh in her avoiding? Then again he’d sort of been avoiding her too. “Yeah, we are good. We’ll always be good.” She said with a nod, no longer sure if it was to reassure the boy or herself. It didn’t matter because she wanted to believe it either way.

 

[Felix Layton]

Felix felt like he was stuck between a rock and a hard place. If he stayed he'd hurt her, if he kept his distance, he'd hurt them both, especially if he let them get closer first. As Nia said they'd be good, always would be in fact, Felix wondered whether that was more to do with how she was best friends with his cousin. At events or birthdays, she would be there. They had to be good because they could sort of be deemed like family. It would make for a tense gathering or holiday if they were trying to avoid each other then. Even when Nia had been over during their party in the holiday she'd been there to support Fin, rather than trying to avoid Felix.

"Right, yeah. That's good." He echoed, trying to keep nonchalant about the whole thing. His eyes has reopened now although he still hadn't moved. He wanted to reach out with his hand, to find hers. To stroke the back of her hand as she held the book, but in doing so he knew he'd only make things more difficult. He needed to get a grip.

Sitting up enough that he could now see what was going on around him, he ran a hand through his hair, hoping it wasn't too flat. He had to stay on a safe topic. It was only middle ground they had. "Wolfsbane?" Felix asked, peering at the pages of her book, recognising a handful of the ingredients. They wouldn't learn it until their sixth year, but he wondered whether Nia had other reasons to check it out.

 

[Mania Athanasiou]

Every second that ticked by Ni grew more scared she’d crossed a line saying they’d always be good. It was a big thing to say but unless someone truly hurt her she would never turn anyone away or consider relationships tainted. Especially not with those that’d looked out for her and in his way Felix had. He might have pissed her off with his stupid bludger sh*t but he’d also checked on her last year when that firstie had gotten under her skin and to Nia it meant more than she’d let show.

Blinking a few times Mania realized she’d been caught up in her own thoughts as Felix said a name of a potion. Confused at first she gazed at the book that indeed had said potion on the pages. “Oh, yes.” she said blushing a little. “Professor Adler mentioned how it was expensive and difficult to brew, thus at time inaccessible to those who need it.” Nia began explaining. “I don’t think that’s a good thing." She said it like the fact it was. She didn't like the thought that someone who'd been turned into a werewolf, whose life had been thrown into that sort of chaos, had also worry about figuring out a way to get a potion to help with it. "It’ll be some years before I learn it but I want to one day try to make it more accessible, even if I don’t need it or don’t know anyone who does, doesn’t mean I shouldn’t care about the accessibility because there are people that need it and I like potions enough so might as well dedicate my life to try and help." She finished with a shrug. Sure she didn't want to be a healer anymore but slowly she was paving her way and figuring out what she wanted to be. What she wanted to do was help, in any way possible. "Long story short, I figured it wouldn't hurt anyone if I did some extra reading on my own."

 

[Felix Layton]

The moment Nia told him she didn't think it was a good thing that the potion was inaccessible to those who needed it, it was as though something switched in his head. He'd already chosen to help others, give a voice to those who didn't have one, to stand up for what was right. Hearing Nia wanted to brew potions that would also help those in unfortunate circumstances, made him more so in awe of her capabilities and ambition. He may not have wanted to make things more difficult between them but in that moment as Nia was explaining what she wanted to do, he knew he was screwed. The third year had no idea of the power she now held over him as Felix wanted to see her succeed. There were so many things running through the boys head, it was hard to hear through the noise. Only, it wasn't loud noise. It was excitment and appreciation, the words were things he wanted to share.

Felix was watching her now with bright eyes, as though someone had turned on the light behind them. "Not that.. my opinion counts for much but, I think that's amazing Nia," he told her honestly. "You're brilliant at potions, I think you'd do a great deal of good."

 

[Mania Athanasiou]

It wasn't that Mania was expecting Felix to laugh at her or who knows make fun of her thoughts but she was so used to the dismissal from her mum, of the you'll never be able to do that. The constant doubting of her capabilities and dismissal of her wants that the third year snapped her head around to fully stare at Felix. Hard enough to make her wince as she probably gave herself some degree of whiplash.

He'd said not that his opinion mattered, but to her it mattered. Nia had to fight hard not to have her jaw drop and eyes bulge out. There were a few people already in her life that believed in her, there was Monty who'd not given up on her even when her mum had told him how difficult she was to work with. There was Pim who was now more a father figure than her own father had been. there was Amortentia who'd helped Mania to realize she didn't have to be like her mum to essentially be enough. All that and it still made her very surprised that yet another person in her life thought she was great, that she was capable. It was difficult having him look at her that way, like she was something good.

"You think so?" She asked, hating how unsure she sounded. Sure she put up a confident front, she was good at that. But deep down she didn't think she was great at all. The way her mum always used her as an example of what not to do was so deeply ingrained to her that it was difficult to believe otherwise. She also hated that he thought he saw her that way because it meant there was yet another person she'd eventually disappoint. He'd see she's nothing more than chaos, incapable of doing things seriously and eventually no matter how far down the line, he'd see her the way her mum did. Too much but never enough. "Thank you, it does count." She finally got out, fidgeting with the page of the book.

 

[Felix Layton]

Felix had still never known Nia to be so quiet, and a small part of him wondered whether it was because of him. Perhaps he'd already missed the boat on what they could had had, ruined it the day of the club event or the time he'd walked out of the room when he'd seen her on the floor. Usually Nia was so bubbly and loud, bouncing off the people around her except, she didn't seem to be doing that right now.

"I know so," he replied, no blinking and no hesitation in his response. As Nia turned back to her book, Felix wasn't convinced though that she believed him. "Hey," Felix nudged her with one arm, unable to let it sit that she was unsure. "I mean it. You care about other people and you want to look out for those who needed help. I'm sure there's werewolves out there who would do anything to know someone like you, to know that there are people like you out there looking out for them. Wolfsbane is a hard potion, but you're smart. I've seen you at the club Nia," so much for pretending he wasn't paying her any attention last time they met. "If that's what you want to do, I don't see any reason why you wouldn't be incredible at it."