Soooooo... Cutty seemed to have gone from extremely interested and invested in this conversation, enthusiastic even, to... well, not. Not really, anyway. Tobias sensed the difference in his demeanour but was totally lost when it came to WHY. He was confused. But aside from that, Tobias felt weird, though completely unable to explain why or how. He put it down to uncertainty, to worry that he'd said something to upset his Slytherin friend.

"Cutty?" the Hufflepuff said uncertainly, unable to avoid noticing the long pause and change of enthusiasm. Was this a touchy subject or something? Maybe it was something he said. Also... Cutty had hold of Toby's robes... did he know? The third year reached out and gave his friend's shoulder a gently nudge. "We can talk about something else, if you want?"

Toby didn't care. But he felt uncomfortable and confused with this sudden change of whatever-it-was, and that was frustrating. And frustration, as some might know, was not an emotion Tobias dealt with well.

Cutty was about to get a grip. Loosen the one he had on what he could plainly see now were Tobias's robes and pick up some boring old biography and turn the pages to the photograph spread to take his mind off of Tobias and his stupid ambitions. But Tobias made contact and Cutty recoiled.

The twelve year old boy shifted his shoulder away in a violently quick manner as the expression on his face became polluted with anger. He wasn't mad at Tobias, he was just...frustrated. He had a problem that he could not fix and questions that he could not answer or even formulate. There was a silence that fell over Cutty's mind. A rare thing that had never yet happened to him before. A full six seconds or so of serenity in the lax of calculation and when it broke it left the secundo feeling the alien emotion known as vulnerability. He was not down with this.

"We can come back to it." But not here. Not ever. He took a breath meant to calm himself as he tried to figure where Tobias was. The Hufflepuff wanted to change the subject or thought he did? Fortuitous. "Why did you have the Herbology OWL, anyway. It aint like you need it, mate. Are there any subjects you're not good at?" He sort of thought he knew the answer to this and it was more of a question asked to distract and pull his mind away from the... Ibiza!parties.

Tessa shot the librarian a proud smile. She was very proud of her Quidditch background, and the fact that she was almost pro... so close... She sighed to herself and refocused on the conversation. "Nice to meet you Mr. Kitridge... or is it Professor?" she asked, leaning her head to one side in question. "Proper titles are very important," she offered, to explain her confusion. Granted, it would be funny to just call him Kit- but she doubted he would allow that. She just liked nicknames.

Was there any question she would try out? "Thank you, sir, I definitely will," she told him with a grin. "I hope you'll get to see a few of our games," she said with a grin. She would have said wins, but she had noticed some talent around the school. It was going to be a challenge- one that she was quite looking forward to.

She saw his frown and walked over to join him. "I'm guessing that shelf isn't supposed to be empty?" she remarked, leaning closer to look at the empty shelf. Oh! Was it a mystery? She liked those... Her nose wrinkled at the mention of that book again. "Any chance you can give me a summary?" she asked with a wide, innocent grin.

"Well, I wouldn't say I always demonstrate the best common sense," she joked with a laugh. "But I'd rather risk my neck for a stray Quaffle than for a book," she replied. "No offense to you, sir," she quickly inserted. After all, he was a librarian- she was sure books would be one of his favorite things.

As soon as Cutty pulled away, in that sudden and harsh manner, Tobias couldn't help but feel hurt. It mixed with the angry sort of vibes he was getting from the Slytherin, whose facial expression was enough of a clue for that piece of information. The third year withdrew his hand at almost the very second that Cutty pulled back, as suddenly as though his touch was like a powerful static shock and he was only just realising. But it didn't make sense, because Tobias was sure Cutty wasn't the kind of person that hated human contact. Toby had remembered their interaction in Diagon Alley and filed that information away, so was now more confused than ever.

In Cutty's moments of silence, Tobias felt a weird sort of confusiion and was able to come to a few conclusions:

1. He had done something to hurt or upset his friend at some point in the last few seconds
2. The Slytherin was angry at Tobias, for reasons unknown
3. Confusing emotions were happening, emotions that Tobias was not equipped to deal with
4. He should absolutely, to the best of his ability, avoid so much as even brushing up against Cutty Mordaunt again

Tobias wouldn't in a million years admit the rush of sadness he now felt as he stared, slightly wounded, at the younger boy. But Tobias was a master at putting on a facade, even though he didn't yet realise it. A neutral expression appeared on his face and he pretended like he didn't notice anything, and went back to searching through the books. But his mind was racing.

And Cutty was talking.

"I'm working my way through all the papers for all the subjects," Toby shrugged, talking to Cutty but almost seeming like he was addressing the books, the way he kept his attention on them. His usual peppy tone was back as well. "I'm good at Herbology, but not like fifth year kind of good." Was he? "I need to keep studying even the things I'm good at, and maybe I'll be ready to sit the exams when they come." It took a lot for Toby to become exam ready, after all.

As Cutty asked about subjects he wasn't good at, Tobias began scanning the books on the next shelf up. "Loads. I'm not great at History of Magic or Arithmancy. And I have to work harder than ever at Transfiguration, but it's manageable." He paused, then added, "Not so brilliant at Divination, either."

Then he looked at his friend again. "But I take every class." Because of the qualifications. Because he'd found that he was actually rather intelligent; they'd just had him in a Muggle school, where his abilities weren't even noticed, let alone allowed to flourish. "I've never asked... what about you? What's your best subjects?"

He listened to what Tobias was saying, but as before, did not fully believe him when he said he was not good at something thinking that it was Toby's high standards that were at work. Toby was, as he said in Botros's office, needlessly humble.

"Really? Not even when Professor Dursley was teachin' it? He was my favourite Professor, next to Professor Bellaire." The feeling started to subside as Cutty's thoughts were now on classes and he could feel his body start to relax a little. He was oblivious to the fact that he'd hurt Tobias. He'd found something that worked now all he had to do was master it. Cutty grabbed his book which mentioned Crouch exposing the one and Gobbledegook beneath it and readjusted in his position, opening the book as he boldly slung an arm around Tempus. "Look. Barty Crouch, Senior. Isn't he an amazing historical figure? I mean..." Cutty adjusted the book in his hand to turn the page looking it over with Tobias. "Look at all he did with his life. He was an ambitious wizard. Just like you, Tobias. He probably would've gotten to be Minister for Magic if people hadn't stood in his way. People often get in the way. Don't let that happen to you, Tobias. In fact, promise me that when you become a famous Quidditch player you will employ someone to watch your back."

"And, I'm not good at any of them." He said, spinning his casual lies in effort to get Tobias to see him as someone in need of mentorship. "Except for maybe History of Magic and Transfiguration." He tacked on a truth to make himself seem valuable so that a ruthless and ambitious person like Tobias would want to spend time with him and they could establish mutual gain. It was all so instinctual to the boy. His mind was anything but clear, though he seemed to know what he wanted.

Toby just kinda shook his head blankly. Last year's academics had, in fact, gone totally downhill when compared to his first year. The fact that he'd still been a star flower in his second year after pretty much burning himself out halfway through the term and then having to go home early was what drove home to Tobias that he really did have a knack for Herbology. Even half a terms worth of flagging hadn't dragged him down. But he didn't say any of that out loud.

By this point he'd stopped looking through the books again and was absentmindedly thumbing through the OWL papers once more. Next thing he knew, Cutty had an arm around his shoulder and a book in front of him. Tobias nodded and stared at the books as Cutty turned the page, vaguely acknowledging the comparison to himself. Ambition, sure. But what Toby was focused on was the sudden physical contact again. It was confusing, but he tried to push it to the back of his mind and listen about this Barty guy.

And then- wait.

"What?" Tobias didn't even hide his confusion anymore. "Why would I need anyone to watch my back?" It was naivety, pure and simple. The Hufflepuff never had any reason to believe that there were truly bad people in the world. At least, never in his world.

"You know..." Tobias started slowly, glancing at his OWL papers and books and then at Cutty. "I mean... I bet you are good at a whole bunch of subjects. You seem pretty smart to me," he pointed out. "But if you wanted to, I could always help you out with some stuff. And you could help me, if you can manage it." Tobias wasn't sure if he'd ever actually mentioned quite how difficult it was for him to engage in studying, after all.

And, of course, he couldn't have possibly known that any thing Cutty was saying was the least bit untrue or for his own gain. Didn't consider it even for a second, because what reason would he have to do so?

SPOILER!!: Brynn

Quote:

Originally Posted by emjay

On her way to sit with Altair and Haruka, Brynn caught the eye of another girl who seemed to be about her age. Had she said something? She thought she had heard something earlier but maybe she had been wrong. Although.. the girl was still looking at her.. What if she had spoken and thought Brynn was just ignoring her? The redhead didn't want her to think she was rude so she offered the girl a small but friendly smile as she met her eye again. "Hi, I'm Brynn. Do you want to come sit with us?" Maybe she had read the girl wrong, but it looked like she could use some friendly company. She knew how big and intimidating being one of the new kids at this ginormous castle school was.

Brynn turned back to Altair and Haruka. Surely they wouldn't mind if she invited one more over to join them, right? She didn't really think they would, but she hoped they wouldn't think her rude for not asking first. Leaving it up to the other girl if she wanted to join them or not, the redhead focused on the conversation in front of her.

She smiled widely at the girl as she introduced herself. So she had been correct - a fellow first year. It was good to get to know some of the kids in her year, she thought, figuring they were all in the same boat so to speak. The eleven year old was actually a little bit relieved that the other two hadn't done any more exploring than she had. It made her feel like she hadn't been missing out on something she should have been doing. No, it seemed like she knew more about the castle than they did. Though it didn't mean she was an expert.

"Really?" she tilted her head curiously at them both as she thought over their responses. "I couldn't help but to start looking around, there's so much to see. But I bet I haven't even scratched the surface yet. " She tucked her legs under her as she sat. They probably didn't know that her mother rarely gave her much freedom in that sense so she was taking advantage of the leeway she had here. She grinned a bit as they both mentioned the library, agreeing with their words. "I know. A girl I was talking to the other day said it was even better than Flourish and Blotts so I had to check it out. She was right." Brynn looked up at the towering shelves, leaning back a bit in her seat as she spoke. "This is the first time I've been in here," she admitted. And she'd probably go check it out even further in a little bit.

She listened to Altair discuss where he had already been and her smile slowly grew at his suggestion. "That sounds like a great idea," she nodded happily, somewhat excited by the prospect. "Always more fun with friends, right?" Things didn't seem quite as daunting then. Plus, after the blow up with her former best friend, she needed some friends. "Where should we go first?" Not as in immediately, but when they did set off on their exploration venture.

Grinning, Leah sat down next to Brynn and looked at the kids opposite her. "Hey Altair, Haruka." She greeted them, both whom she knew. Then she started making herself comfortable because the seat was really hard.

When she had arranged herself she caught Brynn's last sentence. "Ooh, an adventure? Cool." The girl said excitedly. "I really want to go to the grounds. Take in the fresh air... y' know." She said, shrugging. "I'd love to go with you guys whenever you like. What about you?"

Professor?

It wasn’t that he minded being addressed as professor Kitridge but it wasn’t his proper title and was just confusing. He didn’t teach anything if you didn’t count his book club meetings. "Mr Kitridge will do fine. I’m not a professor." A situation which he sometimes had to point out to student’s for some reason.

"I will do my best to come see some of games. Quidditch is a good spectator sport." He neglected to mention that he had played some quidditch in his youth too. Leo though had never dreamed of a professional career in the sport. He had always been more of a books person.

Eyeing the gaping empty shelf again Leo almost jumped when Tessa leaned in closer to stare at the same shelf. Still frowning Leo nodded. "You are quite right. It should be filled with books related to the art of divination." Not that Leo was a believer or had the sight as Calista called it. Eyes widening in surprise he shook his head. "No, I can't give you a summary because it would take forever. You’ll need to read it if you are interested." There was no way that Leo could summarize Hogwarts history just like that.

"No offense taken dear. I would and have risked my neck for books and have also done so on one occassion." Yes, during the great fire for example. It still gave him nightmares.

He'd heard the words come out of Tobias's mouth and were he dealing with anyone else, Cutty would've agreed in a non-plussed manner about his own smarts, but something, perhaps his past dealings with others of Toby's house, told him that if he kept silent on the matter there could be more treasure to come. Bide your time, Mordaunt because every step matters now like it never has.

Cutty was confused by Toby's confusion. And this resulted in a slight raising of the eyebrows and a smile that could perhaps be called admiring if one were out of options for what to call it. Clueless? Was that the sort of boy Toby was? Well, excellent. It made Cutty feel like a million galleons.

"I'm sure we could work something out." His reply came a little too calmly and the arm he'd had around Tobias squeezed the Hufflepuff's body closer to his in a side-hug before letting go of him completely. "How's your transfig homework coming along?"

Tobias merely nodded at his friend's response and side-hug thing. When he was released, the Hufflepuff smiled at Cutty again and started going through his collected pile of exam papers and books to see how many he'd amassed so far, and did he need anymore.

Homework?

"Huh?" Toby looked up again. He always seemed to forget that there was compulsory homework that really was supposed to be done before the extra studying. Often, this homework was done in a last minute rush. "Oh... haven't started it yet," the boy admitted, compulsively straightening his pile of papers without fully realising what he was doing. "You done yours already?" The way Cutty had phrased the question made it sound like he'd at least started on it. Maybe Toby should too; he couldn't even remember when it was due to be handed in.

The feeling had completely subsided and to top it off, Cutty felt like he had asserted enough control over the situation that he could see more of Tobias and observe him. His methods, how he did things, and how he planned it all out. The kid was already thinking about his fifth year exams! Cutty thought he should too. "No." Oh, muhguhd the truth! But he had actually practiced it a little in his dorms that night.

The Slythie boy stood and offered a hand up for his Hufflepuff...friend. "We should probably get started. Got everything you came for, Tempus?" He asked, eying his own pile of books.

Understanding nod from Tobias. He could understand those who couldn't immediately start work after the class had been dismissed. With classes that required the kind of concentration that Transfiguration did, Toby always had to take at least a day or two or else he just could not even begin to focus on the homework.

But then Cutty was up and holding out his hand, and Tobias only hesitated for a second before grabbing it and getting up himself.

"Oh yeah," he grinned at the Slytherin. Partners, see? He'd let go of Cutty's hand and now stooped to pick up his books. "I reckon I've got enough to be getting on with." Toby still didn't know if it was okay to take the past exams out of the library but he supposed he was about to find out. He straightened up again with his collection of books and papers cradled in his two hands and smiled at Cutty, figuring they must be going somewhere that wasn't the bookshelves to do this. Maybe even the lake?

It was a very expensive 'let-go' in terms of how much control Cutty had to exert to make it look like it he wasn't thinking eight-hundred things he could do with that moment. But he didn't want Tobias to know. He didn't want Tobias to know anything at all. It was better this way. Or so Cutty thought as he hadn't yet learned this particular game he chose to engage in. What they don't know can hurt you.

Cutty used his wand to gather up his books, after picking up his bag and slinging it over his skinny little body. He could've felt self-conscious there and in many places where he contrasted Tobias, but Cutty didn't have a whole lotta shame. Apparently.

"Let's head outside, then." But was it ever really a question coming from Cutty Mordaunt? He indicated for Toby to follow and left Hogwart's cavernous library.

Marigold took advantage of Dyl putting his hands up to poke playfully at his sides, giggling. She had missed this second year over the summer, so she hugged him again, ruffling his hair. She nodded enthusiastically when he said he liked sci fi. "Umm," she began bashfully.. "I actually have been reading this old series 'Doctor Who.' Have you heard of it?"

As Cutty used magic to gather his books, Tobias, by contrast, went ahead and picked his own pile up, choosing instead to carry his in his arms. His back was already on his back, as it was a lot easier to keep it there as the sometimes forgetful boy would end up leaving it everywhere. Once he had all his books and papers and was certain none would fall, Toby followed Cutty through the library (stopping only to check out his books and load them into his bag) and out into the corridor.

West was book hunting. While usually he'd be in what he normally considered the only section that mattered -the Quidditch section- today he was not. In fact, today he wasn't even sure which section he'd find what he needed. A mixture maybe? Muggle Studies? Music? Electronics and Electricity? Or was that under Muggle? He frowned to himself and quested through the shelves, long fingers caressing along the spines at elbow level. He was very much off guard and lost in his own head. There wasn't anyone around anyways, right?

There WAS someone around.

Olly was sitting on top of one of the small desks in the very aisle West was currently in, a book in her lap and her back resting against the bookshelf behind her. She wasn't reading though but instead was looking down at her own hand. It looked weird. Both of them actually. She rubbed on a spot, first thinking it was dirt but...it didn't come off.

Was that an age spot? No it couldn't be. It was probably just a mole. Though she was pretty sure it hadn't been there a couple of days ago.

"Does my hand look weird to you?" Olly held it up without prior warning, eyes resting on West. Also, hello, yes, I'm here too.

He didn't quite jump, but he did pause mid-step and give Olly a look that was something like a deer in headlights, or would've been had West any experience with such things. Maybe more like a cat caught in the light of a lumos spell, by the way he blinked at her and then, once deciding she was safe and worth note, strolling casually over.

He took her hand and angled it to the light to examine it, since the library was all shadows thanks to the huge shelves.

Huh.

Weird.

West was fairly familiar with Olly's hands, for reasons, and he'd not seen any weird marks like that before.

"Its not contagious is it?" He gave her a suspicious look but didn't let go of her hand. He eyed it again instead, taking his time examining the funny marks before eventually letting her hand go.

"You doing homework?"

Yes, hello, had he really not seen her earlier? She'd been in this same aisle ever since he'd entered the library.

Olly stared right back at West, waiting for him to come closer and take a look at her hand. Which he did a second later. She willingly allowed him to, glancing back and forth between his face and her own hand a couple of times.

Aaaaandddd?

Contagious? "I don't know...?!" Really? Her hand looked weird and all he was worried about was whether or not he could have just caught it too?! Okay, that would have been her first thought too, to be honest. "How would I know?" She frowned at West, putting her hand back into her lap after he'd let go of it. Strange. Should she go see the Healer about this?

"Mhm." Olly replied vaguely, her eyes lingering on her own hand for a few seconds longer. "What are you doing?" At this she did finally look back up at him again.

"I dunno. If it feels weird or anything? I'm no healer." Shrug. "Maybe you have that weird old-people thing that is supposedly going around." Not him though. See how pristine he was? No grey hairs, no wrinkles, back straight, joints in perfect working order, and certainly no weird marks on his hands.

What was he doing?

... "Research." Pause. "Squish over." He nudged her with his hip, intending to sit down right next to her.

No healer, yeah. She wasn't either. But he agreed that there was something weird about her hand. HandS really. Actually, skin in general. Ugh. "I feel weird in general." Not just her hands. All of her.

Olly frowned at West. She'd successfully avoided thinking about that possibilty up until now. Though it WAS the only explanation really. "But how?!" Again, she had been very well-behaved the past few months so she had absolutely no idea what could have possibly brought this premature aging thing on.

Whatever the reason, she wanted it to stop.

Research. Okay. Seeing as it was obvious that he was going to get any research done right NOW, Olly didn't ask him to elaborate. Instead she just nodded and moved slightly to make room for him on the small desk. She reached for his hand now and held it up close to her face. "Yours seems fine..." No fair. Why was he allowed to stay pretty while she got old?

Lana quietly headed toward the direction of any potions related books she could. The strangest fear of failure had overcome her the moment she had awoken and she couldn't shake it. Perhaps the realization that she would actually be seating her NEWT had hit her and she should probably be more focused for the term ahead finally sank in. Potions were never gave her much trouble, but there was still that sinking feeling that she had from her mistake in class. She was aware that she was better than that.

Rounding the last set of shelves, her eyes landed on the area where potion related books were. Of course, she had no idea where she was going to even start, but that wasn't going to really stop her at the moment. She had brought all her potion journals with so her plan of action was really to go over them all and then perhaps rewrite notes with the help of the texts. It had sounded like a good plan at the moment, but if she had really thought it completely out she would have just gone down to the dungeons and worked on her technique. Perhaps that would be her next stop after her review session.

Standing looking at all the titles, she studied them as she attempted to pick out the ones she needed. Moments like this, she really did wish she paid a bit more attention to details in class.

Tessa nodded in understand at the man's clarification. "Mr. it is then," she said with a smile. "Do you go by any nicknames, or do you not like those?" she asked. After all, Kitridge could be turned into a few things... "I hate it when people call me Theresa," she explained, making a face. "Tessa is just more... me," she said with a soft laugh.

Her smiled widened at the librarian's mention of coming to a game. "Have you ever played?" she asked, bouncing on her toes slightly. After all, most people had- she wouldn't be surprised if he had done a little bit. "Are there any books you would recommend on the subject? That is one of the few subjects I can't put down," she told the man with a grin. Any knowledge she could get, she wanted.

"But they're missing?" she clarified with a frown. Her eyes lit up in excitement. "Do you have a mystery on your hands, Mr. Kitridge?" she asked. THat could be fun to track down a book thief... although why someone would want to steal books was beyond her. Most likely, someone had just misplaced them. SHe nodded in understanding as he mentioned the Hogwarts, A History. "I figured that was the case," she replied with a nod.

She looked at the man, wondering if she should ask about that occasion- but his expression was haunted, so she thought better of it. "Well, if it's something you truly care about, it makes perfect sense," she told him with a nod.

Justine wasn't sure what she was looking for, only that she desperately needed a good, well written book to ease her loneliness, no. Her boredom, to ease her boredom, because Justine was not lonely, or sad, or feeling alienated, certainly not.
She was French, she didn't do sentiment, or loneliness.

Okay, maybe she was a bit lonely, just a small, tiny bit.
It was hard, being in a new school, in a different country, with no friends, could anyone blame her for feeling so alone.

With a heavy sigh she picked out a large, leather bound tome at random and read the cover; Dragon Snot and Dung Uses, a Beginners guide by Trolian Mafalda. With a snort of disgust Justine hurriedly put the book back and picked up another title which turned out to be equally unpromising. Before the young girl knew it, she was surrounded by a small sea of inadequate books, and no more the happier for it.

Hmmmmm. Charms, charms, charms... Ah! Here they were.
Louis was making his way down the aisle of bookshelves at a sluggish pace, large blue eyes reading over the titles on the spines of almost every book he passed by. He was in search of the Charms section, where he would hopefully find an entire volume dedicated to appearance-altering charms.

The boy was so focused on each book and its titles, that he didn't notice the sea of other books scattered across the floor. As he continued to move blindly, his right foot ended up kicking a rather nasty book that began to bounce around down the aisle after it was touched, as if it had been disturbed from a peaceful nap.

"Ah!"
Louis gave a startled little jump, watching as the book scattered away on its pages. What in the world were all these books doing on the floor?! That's when he spotted a pair of feet standing in the middle of the mess. He lifted his gaze to spot the girl that stood there, looking bored and unbothered by the mess he was sure the librarian would have a fit about.

Um.
"Are these all your books?" he asked softly, eyebrow raised.