Rachel was on a mission. Two, actually. Firstly, she wanted to get to know her Head of House a little better and secondly, she wanted to explore the library she had heard so much about. Her dark brown hair in two plaits as usual and bouncing against her shoulders, she made her way to Mr Kitridge's Office.

She observed the fishing equipment and instantly decided he was a fan of fishing. The girl found the entire setting quite homey which was both a good and bad thing at this moment since she was still missing her parents terribly.

She moved to the door of the entrance to tap thrice with her right knuckle. Rachel hoped Mr Kitridge was in but if he wasn't, she would pass the time by exploring the library and simply return later.

Leo was on his last swigs of coffee and answering some personal and official correspondance when he heard a tap, tap, tap on his office door. His first visitor of the year. With a glance to his kneazle sound asleep in her favourite pink and blue basket, a gift from Cassie he rose to go answer the door.

Before turning the door knob he pulled a hand through his messy dark curls and adjusted his dark red robes for the day. Finally opening the door, he peered out and smiled "Good day Rachel, what can i do for you?"

SPOILER!!: Mr Kitridge! <3

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nordic Witch

Leo was on his last swigs of coffee and answering some personal and official correspondance when he heard a tap, tap, tap on his office door. His first visitor of the year. With a glance to his kneazle sound asleep in her favourite pink and blue basket, a gift from Cassie he rose to go answer the door.

Before turning the door knob he pulled a hand through his messy dark curls and adjusted his dark red robes for the day. Finally opening the door, he peered out and smiled "Good day Rachel, what can i do for you?"

Rachel didn't have to wait a long time for Mr Kitridge to get to her. She smiled sweetly when he showed his curly haired head, her arm tightening around the porcelain doll she had found on the train. "Hello, Mr Kitridge. Am I disturbing you? I just thought I would drop by to see how you're doing and to get to know you a little better.'' He was, after all, the first adult she would go to if she ever ran into trouble and needed assistance.

"I also wanted to ask you about this.'' She indicated the doll. "Someone dropped this on the train and I was wondering how I can find the owner.'' She hugged the pretty doll. "The poor student must be wondering what happened to it.''

Shaking his head as he opened the door wider Leo responded with warmth "Not at all. I always have time for a visit for one of the eagles of my house." Turning slightly as if making ready to go back inside Leo said "I'm feeling quite splendid today actually. How are you doing Rachel? Are you settling in well in your dorm and finding all your classes all right?"

Leo let his gaze drop briefly to study the doll in Rachel's arms before he lifted his gaze to her eyes again. "Why don't you come inside? We can talk more about that doll and other things inside." He let Rachel walk in ahead of him before Leo closed the door behind them and followed her. The corridor always got a bit drafty. "Its a pretty doll i must admit. It doesn't have a name tag with owner information?" Leo wondered. At least his mum had always tagged all his belongings meticulously with his name, even his stuffed bear.

SPOILER!!: Mr Kitridge <3

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nordic Witch

Shaking his head as he opened the door wider Leo responded with warmth "Not at all. I always have time for a visit for one of the eagles of my house." Turning slightly as if making ready to go back inside Leo said "I'm feeling quite splendid today actually. How are you doing Rachel? Are you settling in well in your dorm and finding all your classes all right?"

Leo let his gaze drop briefly to study the doll in Rachel's arms before he lifted his gaze to her eyes again. "Why don't you come inside? We can talk more about that doll and other things inside." He let Rachel walk in ahead of him before Leo closed the door behind them and followed her. The corridor always got a bit drafty. "Its a pretty doll i must admit. It doesn't have a name tag with owner information?" Leo wondered. At least his mum had always tagged all his belongings meticulously with his name, even his stuffed bear.

It pleased Rachel tremendously that Mr Kitridge was not busy and was happy to see her. "That's great, Mr Kitridge.'' She smiled at him as he turned a little. "I am too. Yes, I am, thank you for asking. I do get lost at times, mostly when it comes to those moving staircases.'' So, the girl tried to avoid them at all costs but sometimes, it was impossible to do so. "The idea that students need to have a map of this school in their possession is stuck in my head,'' she added humorously.

"Thank you,'' the eleven year old said as she passed through the door. She paused to look around. "Your office is quite lovely. It's warm and cozy too... just like home.'' Her shoulders dropped a little as she thought of her home with her smiling and loving parents.

But talk had resumed about the doll. Rachel shook her head. "I checked but did not see any. Professor Finch said I could keep it until we found the owner and that's what I've been doing. I won't mind doing so until we find out whom it belongs to.'' She paused smile at the portrait of Rowena Ravenclaw. "I'll ask around some more about it. Perhaps you can too?''

A map?

Taking a seat behind his desk Leo gestured for Rachel to take one of the comfy chairs in front of said desk. Hopefully they weren't too soft and big for her. "I'm glad your settling in well Rachel. You could ask one of the prefects to draw you a map of the school and how to best get to certain classes. TiaMarie has been here for seven years so she she'd probably be able to draw you an easy map to follow." At the mention of the moving staircases Leo shrugged unhelpfully. "The moving staircases still get me lost too. You just have to walk quickly on them I think." There was really no best way. If you get caught on the stair you just had to wait and then figure out where you had come. Awfully irritating if you were in a hurry.

Letting his gaze wander around his office Leo smiled "Thank you for saying that. I do like it here. It's become a very cozy and warm office since I moved in many years ago now." He didn't want to think about just how many years he had actually worked here. It'd make him feel old.

Ah, professor Finch had told Rachel to hang on to the doll and look for its owner. Made sense. Patting his clean desk surface Leo responded. "It's a shame that the doll has no name tag. Can you put the doll here on my desk Rachel so I can take a closer look at it? I just want to see what material it's made of and if there are any clues to its owner that you've might have missed. I promise to be very careful with the doll. I think its very pretty too."

SPOILER!!: Mr Kitridge!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nordic Witch

A map?

Taking a seat behind his desk Leo gestured for Rachel to take one of the comfy chairs in front of said desk. Hopefully they weren't too soft and big for her. "I'm glad your settling in well Rachel. You could ask one of the prefects to draw you a map of the school and how to best get to certain classes. TiaMarie has been here for seven years so she she'd probably be able to draw you an easy map to follow." At the mention of the moving staircases Leo shrugged unhelpfully. "The moving staircases still get me lost too. You just have to walk quickly on them I think." There was really no best way. If you get caught on the stair you just had to wait and then figure out where you had come. Awfully irritating if you were in a hurry.

Letting his gaze wander around his office Leo smiled "Thank you for saying that. I do like it here. It's become a very cozy and warm office since I moved in many years ago now." He didn't want to think about just how many years he had actually worked here. It'd make him feel old.

Ah, professor Finch had told Rachel to hang on to the doll and look for its owner. Made sense. Patting his clean desk surface Leo responded. "It's a shame that the doll has no name tag. Can you put the doll here on my desk Rachel so I can take a closer look at it? I just want to see what material it's made of and if there are any clues to its owner that you've might have missed. I promise to be very careful with the doll. I think its very pretty too."

TiaMarie! Rachel's face lit up in a smile. She had a soft spot for the older girl who had been so kind to her at the Platform. "I know she'll be happy to help,'' she replied, smoothing her clothing beneath her before taking a seat in the much too big yet comfortable chair. She sat the doll in it beside her. But hadn't Tia told her she started Hogwarts in her fourth or fifth year? Maybe Rach had heard wrong. "Thank you for that. I shall try walking along briskly the next time.''

"How long have you been at Hogwarts, Mr Kitridge? Did you start out as the Ravenclaw Head of House at the same time as well?'' This was the main reason she was here at his Office today; to get to know him better.

The first year expected no less from Mr Kitridge and his urge to help her seek the owner of the doll. "Of course.'' She removed the doll from the chair and placed it gently on his desk. She really did hope he would be able to find something.

The doll was set down, but without any warning, she suddenly fell to the floor, landing facedown, curls covering her face.

She was not broken. Perfect condition.

OH NO!

Rachel gasped as the doll somehow fell from the table. She had been so careful to place it on the table. She got to her feet, stooping quickly to scoop the doll up. "It's not damaged,'' she informed Mr Kitridge in relief and giving it a hug. Yes, she loved toys. She straightened its attire. There was no dust to remove from it because Mr Kitridge's office was so clean but she did brush back the curls neatly into place with her fingers.

"I really ought to be more careful with it.'' But she had been, hadn't she? Just to be sure, she placed it on the table, further along in the middle this time.

Just as the little girl before her looked away, the doll fell over on her side with her head turned away from the two humans.

She blinked.

Just. Once.

Shrugging Leo said "It's worth a try but if the staircase moves when you are on it then just wait it out. When it has stopped moving, figure out on what floor you are and then go to where you intended." The moving staircases had a life of its own and it moved when it felt like it.

Leaning back in his chair Leo had to count backwards before he responded to Rachel. "I've been working here at hogwarts since back in 2077 so i'm into my 12th year of service now. I've been head of Ravenclaw for the last 6 years of them." He was trying to not think about his age or his years of service since it made uncertainties and fears creep to the surface. Leo did not want to go through a midlife crisis right now. He was getting married and having a baby. That was quite enough.

Before he had a chance to get a closer look at the doll it somehow fell off his desk and landed on the floor. Odd. Had he knocked the doll over or had Rachel? One of them must have unconsciously done something since the doll had fell off the desk. Leo reached out to touch the doll when Rachel had put it back on his desk again. Hearing a distinct sound he drew his hand back and commented to Rachel. "The doll seems to be made of porcelain. Expensive. Could be a doll that has been passed down from mother to daughter in a wizard family for many generations. You could put up fliers about it? Maybe even bring it along to your first class tomorrow or would you rather that I keep it and ask around?"

Rachel nodded at her Head of House's suggestion. It did make sense and she would try to do just as he had suggested. "Thank you once again. This tip will be very useful for me the next time.'' She was greatly appreciative of his help.

She watched Mr Kitridge take a moment to consider her question. "Wow. That's quite a while. You must love it here.'' Rachel was impressed. The man had put quite a bit of his time into the school and this made her look up to him even more. ''What are your expectations of your Ravenclaw students?'' This was something she was wondering about because she did not want to be a disappointment to him. "Forgive me if I am getting a bit too personal but do you have any children?''

Rachel had just climbed back onto her seat when the doll fell over again. She stared at it. This was weird. She had sat it down many times before, including on her bed, but it had never fallen over. She didn't think much of it but instead watched as Mr Kitridge take a look at it. "Does this mean it could potentially belong to someone from a rich family?'' That wasn't the only possibility. It could have been gifted to someone by a rich person. "Putting up fliers is a brilliant idea as well as taking it to class. I will take it to one tomorrow, Mr Kitridge. Is it alright if I hang on to it? It's such a darling thing that I don't want to part from it.'' Dolls were one of her weaknesses.

There was a comforting smell to the library, though it was interspersed with worry for Sam. All these books, and at the moment, she couldn't make best use of them. She wandered through the stacks, running her fingers lightly along the edge of the shelves, stopping here and there to look at pictures and names on spines that caught her attention.

If she was going to succeed in Hogwarts, in Ravenclaw, she needed help. Perhaps her Head of House might know where to start?

Taking a deep breath, Sam held up her hand to knock on Kitridge's office door, before apparently thinking better of it and stuffing it back in her pocket as she stepped and turned away.

C'mon Sam. You ne'er turn away from an'fing.

The sooner she got this sorted, the easier it would be, she reminded herself. She wasn't afraid of hard work, and she wasn't even that afraid of what others might think. Pretty much everyone she'd met so far had been really nice and welcoming. Well except perhaps that girl in the boat across the lake, but she hadn't been awful.

She took another breath, and before she could talk herself out of it, quickly closed the distance between her and the door and gave it a light tap.

Here goes nuffin'.

"You're welcome Rachel," Leo smiled. He gave tips freely if he had any tips to give. He picked up on things and what he picked up on he tried to share with those he talked to if they showed an interest. The doll was interesting he had to admit but all things with a certain mystery peeked Leo's thirst to know more. Laughing warmly he responded "Yes I do love it here. There is never a dull year at Hogwarts." Hogwarts was like a magnet he reasoned. It drew both good and bad.

Placing his hands in his lap Leo answered thoughtfully. "I expect all eagles to work hard and put a lot of effort into their studies and to always be alert and be eager to learn more and of course read a lot of books. In classes I expect you to ask questions, be inquisitive, think outside the box and of course follow directions and just generally be active. Eagles have a innate thirst for knowledge and I hope you'll will do your best during the years you go here to acquire as much knowledge you can in a wide spectrum of fields." Ugh. Now he sounded like his old head of house that he had had in his youth. Drawling on. Hopefully Rachel hadn't dozed off.

The next question caught him off guard. Twinning his thumbs around each other Leo said "No, I have no children. I hope to become a parent very soon though." He was not admitting that when he meant soon he meant next month since Cassie was due in October. Eyes trailing over to the doll Leo shrugged. "It's possible that the doll belongs to a student of a wealthy family but is not the only possibility. It could just as easily have been a special gift for someone or been sold on the train by someone riding on the train." Plus several other possibilities which Leo didn't feel like guessing on. It was just a pretty doll. Nodding Leo said "Sure, hang on to the doll for now Rachel I think you'll have better luck to find its owner than me if you bring it along everywhere to classes and meals and ask around about it." He'd do the same but he was in the library most of the time.

Catching a glance at his watch Leo asked "Do you have any more questions Rachel? I need to go attend a staff meeting shortly." Meaning could they talk again some other time?



The library was busy and Leo enjoyed every minute that he spent looking for books, texts and reference material for different students eager to learn more. He also liked the visits and short chats he got with the students here and there about everything from how to pronounce an incantation to the latest student gossip. Leo had just retreated to his office and was about to sink down behind his desk with a roast beef sandwich and some coffee when there was a knock at the door. He'd just have to snack later..

Turning around he made the short walk to unlock and open the door. Spotting the young girl on his doorstep in eagle blue and bronze robes Leo beamed warmly. "Hello, what I can do for you Miss?"

She rocked forwards and backwards on her heels as waited, shoving her hands deep in her robes' pockets. She hadn't seen him as she'd navigated through the library, but maybe he had a staff meeting or something? Soon though she heard footsteps approach the door from the other side, and a look of relief swept across Sam's face.

"'ello Mr Kitridge, sir," she greeted. "Could I talk ta yeh 'bout somefin'?" She briefly glanced around the library. "...in yeh offis, I mean."

SPOILER!!: Mr Kitridge! <3

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nordic Witch

"You're welcome Rachel," Leo smiled. He gave tips freely if he had any tips to give. He picked up on things and what he picked up on he tried to share with those he talked to if they showed an interest. The doll was interesting he had to admit but all things with a certain mystery peeked Leo's thirst to know more. Laughing warmly he responded "Yes I do love it here. There is never a dull year at Hogwarts." Hogwarts was like a magnet he reasoned. It drew both good and bad.

Placing his hands in his lap Leo answered thoughtfully. "I expect all eagles to work hard and put a lot of effort into their studies and to always be alert and be eager to learn more and of course read a lot of books. In classes I expect you to ask questions, be inquisitive, think outside the box and of course follow directions and just generally be active. Eagles have a innate thirst for knowledge and I hope you'll will do your best during the years you go here to acquire as much knowledge you can in a wide spectrum of fields." Ugh. Now he sounded like his old head of house that he had had in his youth. Drawling on. Hopefully Rachel hadn't dozed off.

The next question caught him off guard. Twinning his thumbs around each other Leo said "No, I have no children. I hope to become a parent very soon though." He was not admitting that when he meant soon he meant next month since Cassie was due in October. Eyes trailing over to the doll Leo shrugged. "It's possible that the doll belongs to a student of a wealthy family but is not the only possibility. It could just as easily have been a special gift for someone or been sold on the train by someone riding on the train." Plus several other possibilities which Leo didn't feel like guessing on. It was just a pretty doll. Nodding Leo said "Sure, hang on to the doll for now Rachel I think you'll have better luck to find its owner than me if you bring it along everywhere to classes and meals and ask around about it." He'd do the same but he was in the library most of the time.

Catching a glance at his watch Leo asked "Do you have any more questions Rachel? I need to go attend a staff meeting shortly." Meaning could they talk again some other time?

Rachel giggled. "I hope I can have an exciting first year.'' Drawing from what Mr Kirtridge said, it seemed like she would. She now listened attentively to his expectations of his eagle. She nodded as he listed them all, making up her mind to live up to these expectations. Asking questions and being inquisitive was something she was already good at. "I will do my utmost best to make you proud, Mr Kitridge,'' she told him as she realised he had become on of her favourite persons.

Rachel smiled at him again. "You'll be a great papa.'' She was positive about this. His child or children would be very lucky. "I will do that. I hope I can find the owner very soon.'' She picked up the doll and held her close after climbing to her feet. "Thank you for your time, Mr Kitridge. I'll drop by to speak to you sometime soon again.'' She smiled before turning to leave, not wanting to make him late for his meeting.

Beaming Leo commented."I'm sure you will. Hogwarts is an exciting place." Sometimes too exciting but he wasn't going to say that. There was no reason to scare Rachel. Nodding he said. "I'm sure you will make me proud Rachel. Just be yourself!" And hopefully she wouldn't let her friends get her into trouble.

When Rachel picked up the doll to leave Leo responded. "My door is always open for a chat." He watched the first year girl, leave before he gathered his things, locked his office and left for the staff meeting.



Smiling Leo responded. "Of course, Samantha, right? Or do you prefer Sam?" They had met at the Ravenclaw commune/furry creature attack but he hadn't really had time to properly ask for the girl's name. There had been quite a lot going on. "How is your pygmy puff doing?" Leo asked as he beckoned her to follow him inside his office to talk about what was on her mind. He assumed that Sam would shut the door after them.

Taking a seat in one of the comfy chairs in his meeting alcove Leo gestured for Sam to take the other asking. "Would you like something to eat or drink?" At least when he had something he wanted to get out he always got hungry.

His smile was reassuring. "Yessir," she responded to her full name, "Bu' ev'ryone calls me Sam." She hadn't been called Samantha in as long as she could remember. Well, at least, until the Sorting Hat had called her that at the start of term feast. "She's doin' lright. Gets alon' real well wiff my rat Ollie." It was pretty cute, seeing them curled up together.

She closed the door carefully behind her, before taking the seat Kitridge gestured to. "'m okay actually, 'm not used tah eating so much." At home she sometimes barely got one meal a day, so having three was quite the luxury. "'nless yah 'ave an 'ot choc'lit?" Because hot chocolate, she'd quickly decided, was awesome. Especially with marshmallows on top.

And she should probably say why she was here, shouldn't she? "I didn't grow up wiff many books," she started. "So I'm nervous 'bout de reading wiff my classes." As in...she couldn't read very well at all.

"Sam it is then." Leo repeated with a beam. He'd only call her Samantha if the situation called for a more formal address. Nodding still smiling he said "That's wonderful to hear. I didn't know pygmy puffs got along well with rats but your duo seems to be an excellent example that they can." Leo guessed that it was another story if the other creature saw the pygmy puff as its next meal.

Focus on Sam he had to admit that she surprised him. But he had gotten some information about her living situation. Smiling broadly he said "I do have hot chocolate and chocolate chip cookies." Getting up he arrived back some minutes later with one steaming cup of hot chocolate and a tray of cookies. Putting the mug down in front of Samantha he said "Here you are Sam, drink, while its hot and eat some cookies!"

Sitting down in his chair again as Sam shared with him why she was there. Smiling Leo responded choosing his words. "Firstly its brave of you to come here and talk to me about what your nervous about Sam. Secondly if you want I can help you become better at reading? Give you some tutoring help? Does writing come easily to you?" Reading and writing was inter-connected after all.

"Fanks," she replied with a grateful smile. She'd already noticed that some Professors preferred 'Miss Tyler', and that was just weird. She nodded at the comment about Ollie and her as yet unnamed Pygmy Puff. "Nei'ver did I, sir, but dey're super cute when dey snuggle up toge'ver." Maybe her rat was just too lazy to think of the pygmy puff as a meal. Or, more likely, Ollie had gorged himself on other, less fluffy, food. He, like his owner, was being far more spoilt with food here at the castle than at home.

He had hot chocolate? Then clearly her Head of House was awesome. She twiddled her thumbs as she waited for him to return, enjoying the warmth of the fire nearby as she let her her eyes wander over the contents of his office. "Smells amazin', Sir!" she exclaimed, wrapping her fingers round the mug and closing her eyes momentarily as she raised it to her nose to inhale the chocolatey goodness. "Can we 'av sum in t'common room?" It was a long way to walk down to the kitchen before bed, and she didn't yet know any heating charms to save the walk and bring it up after dinner to re-warm later.

She took the opportunity to snag a cookie as he sat down, dunking it in her hot chocolate before taking a nibble. "I'd 'preciate dat, sir," she said, relief flickering across her face. She couldn't think of anyone better help her, really, than the librarian. He'd know exactly where she should start amongst the many shelves of books. And then she might be able to read what she was meant to be doing in class, rather than just copying the others. As for her writing? She cast her eyes down at her mug. "Me 'andwritin' ain't awful, but me spellin' ain't good." Phonetic mainly.

It was nice that it worked out for Sam and her pets. Gesturing to his own sleeping kneazle lovingly, Leo said "I've never had either a rat or a pygmy puff. I've just had muggle cats and kneazles." It was just how it had become. He was a feline person and he liked it.

Pondering to get a cup of hot chocolate for himself too Leo pulled his eyes away from the fire in the hearth to Sam. Nodding he said smiling. "Sure, I'm sure it can be arranged that you get hot chocolate in the common room. I just need to talk to the house elves." But didn't he already have a hot beverage machine put up in the common room? He vaguely had a memory of that but he'd have to double check when he went on his usual nightly visit to the Ravenclaw den around curfew.

Taking a cookie Leo started to nibble on it at as Sam supplied him with more information about her difficulties. Scratching his chin Leo said thoughtfully. "You're spelling I can help you out with right way. Think you can start doing your homework assignments in the library? That way I can help you with your spelling and also check your work before you hand something in to one of the professors."

Gesturing to his many shelves of books Leo said "To become better at reading you need to read more books it's how you enhance your reading skills. What kind of books do you read now? Books with a lot of text and no pictures or books with less texts and pictures cut in?" If he knew that he'd know what to suggest.

Sam smiled as he pointed out the sleeping kneazle. She wanted to stroke it, but didn't so as not to wake it up. "Cats'a fun. Dere's plen'y strays 'round where we live, pretty friendly when yeh get to kno'em. Ollie plays wiff 'em sumtimes." She'd adopt one if she could, but a rat had been plenty in the grand scheme of things.

Hot chocolate in the common room? Oh YES! The trip to see her Head of House had been totally worth it, if only for that. "Wiff mars'mallows too?" she asked, excitement already shining in her eyes. "If s'not tah much, I mean?" Though she supposed she could always stockpile those from the kitchen herself. She could even turn it into an enterprising activity...hmm.

She dunked her biscuit in her drink again as Kitridge seemed to consider her options. "'m not 'fraid to work, Sir," she commented quietly, before eating the now-soggy part of her cookie just as it threatened to fall completely apart. "Sure, I can do it 'ere instea'." She didn't see any reason why she shouldn't do her homework in the library, and it'd be good to make sure she didn't hand anything too embarrassing in. Maybe Dora would come keep her company too. "It's prob'ly silleh sir, bu' is dere such a fing as a book dat can 'elp me like...look up 'ow to spell fings?" Just in case the library got busy, or he wasn't around to help her.

As for reading? Sam frowned. When she say she hadn't had many books...well, she meant it. "I'd like tah read me textbooks," she replied. She had them upstairs and she'd looked through the pages with diagrams on to tried and understand as much as she could. "But I only really gone froo me Pa's order an' accounts books. Wouldn't say dem's 'ad a load of text or pictures, if 'm 'onest, Sir." And after that, the thing she had read most often was the Florean's ice cream flavours list, dreaming about the times when she actually got to have one.

"A rat is food to a cat." Leo kindly pointed out, as he stole another glance towards his sleeping kneazle. She looked so peaceful. If only he could figure out why she had acted like she had done off late. Focus back on Sam he smiled. "There are indeed many stray cats out there that deserve a good home. But for Ollie's sake I don't think you should adopt one." It could end in tragedy. It was possible that Sam could by some miracle get a cat that didn't want to eat her rat or pygmy puff but it was highly unlikely. Cats were programmed by nature to look at rats as food.

Using his wand Leo fetched his cup of steaming hot chocolate. Gripping it in his hands he took a sip from it almost burning his tongue. Smiling broadly at Sam he said "Sure, you guys can get marshmallows too." As an afterthought Leo added. "I hope you all will keep eating dinner though and not skip it for just eating marshmallows." That was what marshmallows were basically lots of nice tasting sugar.

Sipping on his chocolate and nibbling on a biscuit Leo commented quietly to Sam. "That's good to hear. To improve you'll need to put in lots of effort." Improving in something required that you put in the work and time needed. It didn't come by just lifting a finger. Leo was glad that Sam agreed to do her work in the library. It'd make things easier for him since he didn't like to leave library unattended.

Raising his gaze to the ceiling for a moment as he pondered Sam's next question Leo asked "Do you want a dictionary or a phonetics book? Or maybe both even?" He had a selection of them he knew but they were rarely asked for. Probably he reasoned because the students textbooks like the one in Charms usually wrote the phonetics out.

Eyes on Sam again he said with a smile pursing his lips. "Don't be discouraged! We'll find books for you, don't you worry! Can you tell me something about your interests? what kind of book genres have you read in the past? Adventure, thriller, horror, romance, fantasy, creatures?"

"Not if yeh give the cat a reason not teh eat the rat," Sam pointed out in return. Either in the form of food or attention. Usually the second worked sufficiently well; in her opinion, cats tended to be greedy for affection. Especially stray ones. "Don't really need teh adopt 'em when dey're just...dere," she said. "'nd turns out dere's enough in our dorm wiffout anodder one." Adoption would only happen in other circumstances than her current ones, for sure.

She full on beamed at Kitridge at he confirmed the presence of marshmallows. "Fanks Sir!" She was super excited to tell the other girls in her dorm that they could now have hot chocolate and marshmallows in bed! Hmm, a diet of just marshmallows? It was a thought, but not a sustainable one, on the whole. "Nah, the 'ouse elves cookin' is teh good teh ignore just fa marshmallows."

Of course she was prepared to work. She'd come to him first, hadn't she? Things would be easier once she could read and write properly, not also for her classes, but also when she went back home in the summer to her dad. She could help keep track of things better, and maybe even get a job for herself. The effort she put in was going to be more than worth it for the long term rewards.

She sipped her drink again, somewhat hiding her confused face at the words the professor had just used. Words that presumably described the type of book she'd just asked about? "Both I fink, sir. Given I dunno what the diff'rence is." Maybe something to do with how the words were written down?

Discouraged? She wasn't that. A little overwhelmed, perhaps. There were so many books, even just in this office, that how was a girl meant to know where to start even when she could read fluently? She thought about what she might like to try readin most, other than her textbooks. "Erm, I like lookin' at the sports pages in the Daily Proffit." There were lots of pictures of Quidditch stars on brooms like the ones in the window of Quality Quidditch Supplies in those. "I like goin' on adventures though, so mabbe one of those."