A collector, yeah, Toby was definitely getting that vibe. He nodded and glanced around at the stuff again, but then went ahead and sat in the proffered seat. "Oh, I know a little about organised chaos," he replied with a wry smile, thinking of both his section of the dormitory and his bedroom back home. The result of having a sort of chaotic mind, maybe. "Though I'm pretty sure my parents would argue against the 'organised' part, in my case." ... Probably rightly so, too. It really was just... chaos.

He picked up the cup of tea and took a sip, forgetting as always that the liquid would be hot and therefore that he should probably wait. You'd think, after all the times drinking tea with Botros, that that would be something he'd remember. Toby blew on the surface for a moment or two, listening to Moxley speak. He nodded again, and listened. And...

...

... oh.

"I'm..." he began, not really knowing where that sentence was going yet. He trailed off for a moment, then tried again. [b]"I'm usually better at..."[b] Toby paused, and tried to think. Usually he went through great pains so that nobody noticed that sort of thing (generally this meant hiding until he was happy again). Apparently he'd dropped the ball a little bit. "I'm sorry. That I was like that in class, I mean. I'm usually happy, like, all the time. I swear. Y'can ask any of the other professors, they'll tell you." Though even as he said it Toby wondered if he'd been the same around any of them. Merlin, how obvious had he been? "Everything's okay though. Just a bad day or something." He finally took another sip of tea, and avoided eye contact for the moment. That was not strictly true, but then again not really lying either. One bad day or a hundred bad days, it was technically all the same thing. He'd find a way to fix it, in any case.

Meredith laughed lightly, nodding her head. "Not everyone is able to cope with this type of set-up. I actually find it quite comforting. I'm glad I'm not the only one." The brunette looked around the room with a thoughtful expression before brown eyes rested on the boy in front of her once more.

Sipping on her own tea, the professor felt instantly relaxed. The warmth always helped to put her as ease and she hoped it was doing the same for the Hufflepuff, as he seemed to be struggling with something. As for his explanation, Meredith understood.

"I'll take your word for it, Tobias. No need to ask the others." She gave him a soft smile and continued. "And it is certainly okay to have an off day. Merlin, I've had plenty of those in my time! I just wanted you to know that if you do feel like you need to talk about whatever it was that was causing the bad day, my door is always open." Because keeping feelings on the inside was carrying a heck of a weight on your back and Meredith knew students had a lot on their plates already. "Or even if you just want to come by and check out my treasures. I can't promise that'll be as fun as chatting with me but I'm willing to let you hang in here and I'll even occupy myself with other things if you're not up for talking." So the offer was out there.

More nodding from Tobias happened, as he was sort of relieved at that response. She believed him, she didn't think he was usually a sad sort of person. As the professor spoke, Toby duly listened, feeling more at ease by the second. Eventually, he smiled.

"I'd really like that, Professor," the Hufflepuff replied, finding that he'd subconsciously sort of leaned forward in his seat while the professor had been talking, and now sat back again. He realised it had been at least a couple of minutes since drinking any tea, and took a gulp of it now before continuing. "I mean, I think it'd help, y'know? And, I mean, talking's always... you seem real nice, so... y'know?"

Realising he was making about as much sense as... well, something that didn't make much sense at all, Toby blinked, thought for a second, then repeated himself. "I'd really like that." Aaand another smile for sincerity.

Moxley simply smiled. She knew what he meant and she also knew words could be hard, especially when your professor freaked you out by inviting you to her office without giving a reason for it before hand. Half of the fun of teaching was being able to freak the kiddos out a bit, yeah? But this one deserved to be let off the hook. 'Specially if he was having a tough go of things as of late.

"I'm catching what you're throwing out there, Mr. Fuller-Thompson." The brunette smiled and then gulped down the rest of her tea with impressive speed. "Thirsty." She added sheepishly.

"How do you feel about muggle comics, Tobias?"

Oh. Okay. Well. That was a relief, because rambling tended to happen with Toby, most of which made no sense at all, OR made a little too much sense, and both of those were scenarios the Hufflepuff was keen to avoid.

He smiled a little as Moxley gulped down the lot of the tea, then took another mouthful of his own. He was still doing this when the topic of comics came up, which made his eyes go wide and a little shiny. Toby swallowed the tea and immediately began talking again

"Muggle comics? They're neat. I was brought up kinda sorta muggle and all, see, though I'm technically not muggleborn, so I know a bit about muggle stuff and experienced it and all. And when I was a kid I couldn't focus long enough to really read anything, so a teacher at my old school gave me some comics so I'd read something, and I loved them, the ones I saw, anyway, and..." He trailed off, and now it was his turn to look sheepish. "... that was probably way more detail than you needed. Uhh... sorry." ... "I like them, basically."

Toby looked into the cup he held and eyed the tea. Caffeine? It was usually best to blame caffeine.

Meredith laughed, shaking her head. She was terribly amused. "You're something, Mr. Fuller-Thompson." A good something, she meant. Hopefully that much was evident by her tone and bright smile. "The reason I ask is because my husband is a collector and he thought some of my students might be interested in comics too." The brunette stood up and headed towards one of the shelves to her right. Once there, she shuffled stacks of paper around on her search for said comics. "I know they're here somewhere."

"AH-HA!" BINGO. FOUND THEM. Moxley was pleased and waving her free hand around like she'd won the lottery. BIG WINNER right here. "I know you're probably busy with your studies but if you're interested in reading something for fun, you can take your pick. I've got..." She sat again, looking through her stack. "Watchmen and Fantastic Four, looks like."

Tobias gave a smile that was just about bordering on sheepish, but not quite all the way there. That certainly wasn't the first time he'd been told something like that. It was good though, at least... he liked to believe so.

Drinking down more of his tea, Toby listened and watched as Moxley went to look for the comic books, finding himself more enthusiastic but somehow not daring to assume that she meant to loan him any. Like... it could've just been a conversation point, see? No need to assume.

Except when Moxley sat down again and then actually really did offer, Toby's eyes shone with enthusiasm and he looked at the stack, and then at the professor again, and back a few times.

"Really?" he said eagerly, though he had no reason to believe that Moxley was having him on, after all. He was grinning properly now, and leaning forward slightly in his seat without realising. "I'm not too busy. Not like I was with OWLs or anything, and all," Toby added quickly. "Fantastic Four sounds... pretty good, yeah." Yeeeaaahhh? Yeah.

Shiny eyes were still in full effect over here.

"Really truly!" Moxley was pleased that her offer had been received with such enthusiasm and it showed in her smile and the way her eyes lit up too. Seeing students happy, even if it had nothing to do with being in your classroom, was rewarding. ESPECIALLY if you were Meredith Moxley and had played a part in it. SHE WAS AWESOME.

"Fantastic Four, it is. I hope you enjoy." Moxley handed over the comics and sat back in her chair, pleased with herself and their talk in general. "And feel free to come back for more once you're done. My door is always open." Well, except for when it wasn't but he KNEW what she meant, yeah?

Really truly. Awesome.

Toby was smiling big and proper now as he set down his now empty teacup on the desk and took hold of the comics in an almost reverent sort of fashion. He had to really work hard not to start flipping through them right away, but managed to remember his manners and refrain.

"I'm sure I will enjoy," the Hufflepuff replied, visibly happier and more relaxed than he had been when he stepped into this office earlier. He looked back up at Moxley and nodded again. "Okay, yeah, I will. For sure." Grin. "Thanks, Professor."

"Anytime, Tobias!" The fact that he was in a better mood because of her was extremely gratifying and YES, she was taking ALL the credit since SHE had provided the comics! Even though the comics themselves were clearly the most exciting part of the visit.

"Now why don't you run along and enjoy those, yeah? Go on, SCOOT!" The brunette grinned as she shooed him out, knowing he probably wanted to go do student-y things. She TOTALLY got kids. She was a COOL professor.

Yes. Yes he WOULD go and enjoy these. Toby held the comic books in his hand and straightened them so they were lined up in his hands, then stood up again.

"Okay, cool," he said with a smile, choosing the interpret the shooing as good-natured rather than 'omg pls just get out' (which was progress and positive and yep). "Thanks again, Professor. And for the tea and chat, too." A quick salute, and off he went.