Though he had a sizeable library of his own potions and alchemy books downstairs, there sometimes came an occasion when he needed to refer to something outside of his collection. Today was one such time, after an in-depth discussion with one of his NEWTs students requiring some follow up research.

His lips were pursed thoughtfully as he moved between the shelves towards the potions section. He had a couple of tomes in mind that might have the answer, and he tilted his head as he perused the titles along the spines.

Valencia just received a box from home containing a few augurey feathers amongst other things. She wasn't quite sure what the purpose of that was. Was her mother trying to give her a gift? Did the feathers accidentally fall in?

If it was the first, she assumed her parents were aware she couldn't use them for quills so... was there something else she was missing?

She headed to the library (as one should always do when they have a question).

"Hello Professor." she said brightly before pulling a random book off the shelf and flipping through.

The Muggle Studies project wasn’t nearly as difficult as Carys would have expected it to be, considering things. Mostly, considering all her other expectations: keeping up her Quidditch training, prefect duties, and studying for OWLs. Eron helped with the Quidditch part, but the rest was on her and that was why she was found ensconced in an out of the way corner near one of the stained glass windows, nose buried in a History of Magic book while her baby was in a basket near her feet. One of which was gently rocking the basket even as she continued trying to study for exams.

Hopefully this was one project she’d manage to do well. Not to mention she was hoping to be ready for exams by the end of term, and also, she was hoping there wouldn’t be any interruptions from paintings or roaming founders. She had a ton of other subjects still to study for, so distractions were preferably not welcome. Unless they were necessary.

She needed to go to the library, but Mila was screaming. The doll had lungs and she wasn't feeling like she was doing a great job. She had a baby brother and now another baby was going to be on the way, ANOTHER SIBLING! How could her mother honestly think it was a good idea to have yet another baby? Wasn't she too old yet? Gunnar was eighteen for Merlin's sake and she would be of age soon too.

It was just ridiculous!

Coming into the library because she had to get work done her eyes stayed to the floor. Hopefully, no one would yell at her for some crying. They all had dolls now, they knew it was happening. Setting the baby down on the table she looked up to see Carys , "I swear I got the broken one. She cries so much, more then my brother did when he was a baby." In honesty she was at Hogwarts most of the time he was a baby, but she swore he didn't cry this much.

Surrounded by tome’s and various other ancient things, that was has Ewan Jones seemed to be spending his days of late. Sure, his NEWT’s weren’t until next year but it was never too soon to start studying right? Just your typical Ravenclaw doing Ravenclaw things. God, he hated meeting that stereotype but well, that was just the way he was. That and the fact the library was a great place for hiding peace and quiet.

Today, the Sixth-year prefect was shoulder deep in various books. From advanced defence against the dark arts to transfiguration and charms. He had everything. He’d even broke out the care of magical creatures notes he’d borrowed from a friend the previous year. Basically, he’d made a fort around him so it could not be misconstrued by anyone. He did not want to be disturbed. Not at all.

Despite the show, he was neither reading any of the books or flipping through the revision notes. He was simply sitting there, Green and gold hoodie pulled up over his head, curly hair sticking out, eyes closed with his head on the old, wooden desk. Sleeping? Nope. Just sitting there. His mind in a constant state of disarray although, if you were looking in from the outside, you would see nothing but serine calmness. Maybe he was a better actor than he initially gave himself credit for?

How was this term not over yet? They dealt with the founders, they dealt with babies or well dolls, but they were still at school and she wasn't any closer to being in her happy place. All she wanted was to fly and be on the pitch. It all was just getting to the point of too much. She had been going from her room to classes and back avoiding the common room at all cost and not having anyone come to her dorm since Candi had been there.

Heading into the library she just needed a few books and she'd be back to her room. She felt safe in the library that she wouldn't have any run-ins with anyone, but being a claw she should have known better, but she hadn't and soon she had a stack of books and turned the corner. If only she had been paying attention she would have seen a chair at an opposite table from the possibly sleeping boy.

When she tripped over said chair she went straight to the ground. Her books flying out of her hand and crashing against his table as she landed on the floor with a bang her head even hitting off the floor as she went.

"Ugh"

With his eyes closed and his mind on a happier time, it really wouldn’t have taken much to startle the curly haired prefect. Initially, he didn’t even notice someone had entered the library, let alone had walked close to him. He did however, notice the loud thump of someone hitting his chair, books hitting the floor and the sickly sound of someone’s head bouncing off of the cold concrete floor.

Jumping up, half shocked, half angry, his expression now flipping from annoyed to worried, back to annoyed and then, as his eyes rested on the small blonde figure on the floor, understanding. It didn’t take him long to piece together the almost comical scene in front of him. It had to be Chloe didn’t it? It had to be her that tripped on his chair. It had to be her, the girl with already too many injuries to count with his fingers. The girl who hadn’t long taken a bump to the head. Getting up quickly, the tall Ravenclaw pulled out his wand and gave it a quick flic, sending the scattered books into a neat pile on the table before coming to rest next to Chloe on one knee. “Now what are you doing down here?” his voice a mixture of concern and exasperation as he gave her the once over, just to make sure there wasn’t anything broken. Even if there wasn’t, a trip to the hospital wing was surely a must with her checkered past?

The time spent at Hogwarts felt like ages to Curtis, the end was approaching, but that meant another thing. Exams. Was there such a thing as Fourth-yearitis? If so, that's the best term to describe what Curtis was going through. Exams were the reason Curtis made the trip to the library. No, he didn't have any personal motivation to study, but more so create the illusion of studying. His daddy's pressuring was one thing, but also the fact that he had some form of trace on him finally got the fifteen-year old Snake to make the trip to the land of the books.

Curtis was not surprised at all to see Ravenclaws in the Library. This was their dream to be in a world of books. Not that he looked down on Ravenclaws, don't get his thoughts twisted. After all, one of his parents was a Ravenclaw and he didn't think all Ravenclaws were the same. But still. The reputation of Ravenclaws was right here in front of his eyes that he couldn't deny. He thumbed along the shelves of the books, only to see majority of them were gone already. That's when he did a double-take on the scene of the two Ravenclaws in front of him. Ah, it's Chloe and uh... some Prefect. Wait, wasn't he the one who caused a scene in a class? Sweet. Scanning around, now he saw the reason why a lot of books were missing. He needed one of those Herbology books at the very least, but at the same time he had to know what was going on.

So Curtis crept slowly, like a Solid Snake, he pressed himself against a shelf to observe in a way to not be noticeable. What's Chloe see in that Prefect that I don't have? Sure, he's older, taller, and has a stupid badge. Duh. But I'm better looking. His eyes stared at them.

If she would have known he was there she wouldn't have even come near this area of the library. She had been avoiding him since the last time they saw each other and her eyes were probably still puffy from crying to Candi not that long ago, so they probably weren't puffy, but she felt they were permanently that way as of lately. She lay embarrassed on the floor, her head hurt a little, but she knew she was fine, it was her pride that was getting the best of her at the moment and when she heard his voice everything in her wanted to pretend she was unconscious.

Yes, that was exactly what she could do, wasn't it? If she just kept her eyes closed and laid still he would leave to get the nurse and then she could sneak away before he got back. Then she wouldn't have to speak to him nor would she have to see his dislike of her, the feeling she felt he would have. If she stayed like this though she would most likely cause more attention, people would come over, people would notice her sneaking out. It wasn't worth it so the blonde slowly got up into a sitting position.

"Checking to make sure the house-elves cleaned well today. I think they have." She reached up seeming to fix her hair, but really to rub her head where she had hit it. Honestly though, why did she have to look so dumb around him? Without looking up, so not noticing Curtis at all, she began to get to her feet.

As he looked down at his friend, someone he’d known since he’d arrived at the school, he momentarily forgot exactly why there was tension between them as worry took over him. He knew Chloe all too well and kind of figured it would be just like her to feign injury, especially with him around. He knew all too well that they were both avoiding each other because, being in the same school year and the same house, it was hard to actually not see someone in this school even if it is a big old castle.

Watching her carefully, his eyes continued to scan her as she sat up, one of his hands moving to her back instinctively to steady her now. “Are you sure?” one of his eyebrows raising now, giving her a look that simply said “Don’t lie to me girl, I know when you are”. “I mean, I know the house elves have been known to miss a spot or two but underneath my chair in the library?” a reluctant smile now growing on his lips “I may have upset the teachers this year but I don’t think they’d intentionally tell the house elves to stop cleaning around me”. He had a low opinion of certain teachers but they wouldn’t actually stoop that low.

After a moment, Ewan slowly moved his hand from her back, shuffling backwards to give her a little space, his mind now returning to some normalcy and with it, everything that had happened between the two of them this term. “So…uhh…” his voice trailing off now. Ewan wasn’t exactly one to get awkward or tongue tied but he wasn’t exactly sure what to say. This year really had put a strain on their friendship, leaving conversations strained and awkward at times. Or was that just his stupid male brain imagining things? Maybe. Taking a deep breath, he continued “You should still go to the hospital wing Chlo. I’ll come with you if you want?” his eyes now firmly meeting hers, and completely unaware that someone was in fact watching them (Curtis).

There was no way a trip and fall could cause damage in her head, right? It was more embarrassment than anything else, at least that was what she was going to tell herself. She was fine, yep fine, especially in front of Ewan, but she knew he would know better. Damn best friend ways. She felt a wave of warmth go through her when he had placed his hand on her back and her cheeks showed it by the color they were turning.

She tried to chuckle at his professor bit and the house-elf but it came out horribly forced and pained more than it should. "Well I guess they did their job and I didn't need to look." She went to reach for her head again but put her hand down. "I'm fine, my heads fine." She wanted to step away but she didn't want to make an idiot of herself either.

When his hand moved and so did he she looked down and stepped towards her books. Her eyes closed for a second as she felt her head hurt, had she hit the floor just at the right spot? This was not how she wanted to be and he was saying about the healer. Nope, no, she didn't need a healer involved. "I'll be fine Ewan, I didn't hit hard and everyone falls at times." Moving to the chair she said down before she might show that maybe she should have gone to the healer.

"I'm sorry I interrupted whatever you were doing, I'll get my things gathered and get out of your hair."

Curtis could barely make out what was being said through the shelves. Sure, the place was relatively quiet but their voices were as well. This was annoying him. He wished he had a pair of those plugs to make their voices more audible from his distance, but he didn't. So instead, he pressed himself up against the shelf even more.

I’ll......with you...you want?

I'm fine, my.... fine Ewan........ I'll get .... your hair.

"What?" Curtis whispered aloud. They weren't making sense. He pressed his ear against the shelf a little more. Unbeknownst to him, the shelf was actually moving close to them... at a tilt. That tilt was leaning even more before he could stop himself.

He’d called it all right. His eyes followed Chloe as she moved, resting on the hand that had moved to check her head but fell back down. “Why don’t you just take a few minutes in the chair? You know…give the house elves a chance to finish cleaning before you walk over their hard work again” If pretending that house elves were cleaning under her feet was the only way he’d get her to stay put then that’s what he’d do he thought as he leant back onto the table next to her, nudging her pile of books back, further out of her way.

Things might not peachy with the two sixth year Ravenclaws right now but he wouldn’t let her walk around with a concussion without putting up a fight and this Ravenclaw prefect knew how to fight dirty if he had to. Giving her his usual wide, easy going smile, he rested one hand on her shoulder, his warm brown eyes meeting her greens one’s for a fleeting moment as whispered in a low, husky voice “Just…stay and hang out with me for a bit. Help me…”

But he didn’t get a chance to finish his words as a loud clang echoed around the library and surprisingly, it was coming from behind him. Flinching, fearing that something heavy was about to hit him, the prefect slipped from the table and turned quickly, only to be left slightly confused at the sight that met his eyes. A book shelf laying horizontally on the floor, a pile of books scattered hither and thither and perhaps the strangest thing of all, a boy, standing there staring at them.

Either the bookshelf had just magically fallen or the boy had pushed it for some reason because things generally didn’t just happen for no reason around Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry. Briefly, he eyed the boy for a moment, taking in his jet-black hair and blue eyes, before eventually calling over “Can we help you with something?” in a way that was neither friendly or aggressive. It was simply a statement. A means to find out exactly what the little snake was up to, for his eyes had in fact noticed the green badge that resided on his school robes, his mind wandering briefly to Jillian (the Slytherin prefect). Maybe he’d have to mention this to her. Then again, who was he to really question other people’s behaviour this school year?

He was close and his voice, his voice sent goosebumps up her arm and her heart stepped up a bit with joy that he was wanting her to stay and ache for him and feelings that she couldn't express and had to keep away for good. All she wanted to do was stay and rest because her head was hurting and she wanted to spend time with him, but she knew that was a bad idea and she already could feel the tears fighting their way up towards her eyes. No, she needed to leave and head to the dorm where she knew she could keep away from all her feelings.

How could she not smile though with his words about the elves, "Maybe for a moment, but then I do need to get back." Her voice barely a whisper because she was afraid it would fail her at any moment. When he looked at her and moved closer she couldn't help but search his face, did he really want her to stay? Could things just go back to the way they were with them? She knew the answer and frowned about to get up when the bang hit and she felt like she jumped out of her skin.

Her hand did head to her head with the noises and she squinted with the pain. She'd have to go see the healer even if she didn't want to, she could feel it at this point. When she lifted her eyes and saw Curtis she couldn't help but laugh, it was a weird time to start laughing, but the scene in front of her was so comical she couldn't help it.

"Hi Curtis" she gave a small wave before thinking of something, "Ewan you don't have to worry about me. Curtis can walk with me to the healer and you can stay here and study. He's trustworthy" and her way out of this without causing a fight between her former best friend and herself.

It all happened so fast, well actually, in a slow descent into chaos. As he felt himself tipping over, he cursed inside his head before backing off. And then.... BAM! Not only were the remaining books in the shelf have fallen over but a huge pile of dust kicked up in a form of smoke. He coughed until it subsided.

Well, this was great. Curtis was bothered by what was to come next. He had a feeling some adult authority figure was going to come running over and another detention for him. Now eyes were on him by the prefect and Chloe. Her seeing this for some strange reason made him feel mortified, but out of habit he shrugged as if not bothered. "I'm too short to reach for..." He crawled over to pick up a random book, "this." The book in question was about distinguishing fairy creatures. Definitely not the book he wanted, but he wasn't about to admit to purposely eavesdropping.

Curtis blinked though at Chloe suggesting he walk her to the Healer. Wow, talk about a gut punch to his head. Clearly whatever they were talking about was different than what he had in mind. He shrugged again, "Sure. I'll escort you there." That was his go-to-reaction, never look shocked but to shrug it off and look good. He eyed the left over shelf and the mess on the floor. Back to that Prefect's first question. "Help me take care of this shelf?" He was good but not that good with certain spells.

Ewan couldn’t help but give her that cheesy, wide, happy go lucky smile that very rarely came out these days as she agreed to stay with him for a bit longer. If only the stupid bookshelf hadn’t come crashing down. If he was being honest with himself, he really wanted her to stay but these days, he couldn’t even be honest with himself let alone with anyone else. How do you solve a problem like Ewan Jones? No one knew it seemed, not even him. “It’s okay, I’m not going to be here for much longer anyway. I’ve been revising for the last few hours so maybe a break is a good idea”.

As for the boy with the bookshelf in front of him, this did nothing to improve the Ravenclaw’s mood and deep down, he knew exactly why it bothered him but he was in no way, shape or form about to admit to this. Again, not even to himself. But he had to remind himself of who he was and some jealous bitter person is something he wasn’t. With a small sigh, he pulled his wand out and simply a flick, summing the books into a neat pile on the floor. Sliding off of the table, the tall Ravenclaw walked over to the fallen bookshelf and eyed it for a moment. What he really wanted to say was “Sort it out yourself bro. You made the mess so suck it up” but that wasn’t him. He was raised better than that. Maybe if his mood hadn’t dramatically changed, he would have noticed the wince as she touched her head but not now.

“You want to give me a hand lifting it up?” he finally said towards the Slytherin, sure he could lift it up himself but not wanting to do everything himself. Not really bothering to eye the book the boy had been looking for, he simply, bent down, ready to lift the shelf back up, his face blank and emotionless now. Just let him escort Chloe to the healer. What did he care….

There weren't many places that Carwyn liked better than a nice peaceful Hogwarts Library. It was such a shame that currently, the library was neither peaceful or - particularly nice. Having heard the rather ringing crash from the main desk, he had quickly moved through the stacks until he found the culprit. Or, culprits?

Blinking at a seated Miss McCarthy, and the two male students who were beside the bookcase, he frowned. The carefully stacked books didn't do much to temper his bad mood - did they know just how old these stacks were? How unique the books were?

"Mr Jones." He said, his tone sharper than it likely needed to be - but he didn't have any time for trouble makers right now. Not in the middle of exams. "Be so kind as to explain what happened." Crossing his arms, the Professor stood to his full height as he looked from Mr Fuller, to Mr Jones and back.

There had better be a good explaination. They could however, gaurantee that the books they had knocked free would be placed correctly on the righted shelf before they left or they would be spending some of their spare time with him over the coming days dusting down library books.

He was waiting.

Well, this was just getting better and better. She cringed seeing a professor and that only caused her head to hurt more. She got up out of her seat when he started to speak to Ewan, but getting up to fast made her lose her balance once more and she grabbed onto the table. "Sir, I think I need the healer and they were going to clean this up and take me there. See Ewan was just hearing studying and I had a stack of books to do the same. I must have had too many and tripped over a chair falling and hitting my head pretty hard against the floor. I had a pretty bad quidditch injury a few years ago and if I hit my head at just the right force the headaches come back and feeling dizzy. I sat down to get my balance and Ewan was trying to get me to go when..." She looked at Curtis not wanting to get him in trouble. Both boys got themselves in enough trouble without her helping with a stupid fall.

"We were here at the table when the bookshelf fell. Curtis was near but after it fell, but I had my eyes closed and Ewan was talking to me sitting here so I'm not sure how it fell." She couldn't lie to get him out of trouble, but she could tell the honest truth of not having a clue how it fell. "Ewan and Curtis were just going to put it back up and fix the books before taking me to the healer."

Well, she ha said about Curtis taking her to avoid Ewan, but if he needed to get out of here too she would help. Her feelings hadn't changed even if she wasn't allowed to have them and in the end, he was still her best friend.

To be honest, Curtis wasn't intending to help the prefect out with the bookshelf. Why? One, he offered. Two, Chloe did say he should escort her to the healer and not knowing how her condition was, she probably shouldn't have to wait on this. He rolled his eyes and his mouth opened about to tell him the facts when... yep. Professor Eris was there.

Curtis then stopped and just about stared at Chloe as she stepped in. It confused him. Why is she helping me? The time at the bathroom was one thing, but first being dubbed as her personal escort and now she wasn't blaming him for the shelf? He blinked.. Maybe her hitting her head did something to her train of thought about him. Not that he was complaining, he was not going to deny it if it meant he spent more time with her. Hehe.

"... it was an accident, Professor." Curtis shrugged. He didn't seem sorry at all, and he wasn't. Why should he be sorry for an accident happening? Stuff like that brought insecurities and Curtis was not going to be made to feel insecure over something like this. If anything he was annoyed at being in this situation where he will without a doubt get into trouble.

"I needed a book, misjudged my strength reaching it, and this happened." He looked over at the Prefect whose name was Ewan. "And Ewan went over to help me put it back before I escorted Chloe." Even though he wasn't sorry for it happening, something in the back of his mind reminded him that it needed to be said. Especially if he wanted to get out of this situation already. "Sorry. We'll put it back your majesty." Curtis let the book in his hand fall out of his hands as he went over to Ewan to help with the shelf. He was scott free now, yes?

Leave it to him to try and help someone else and then end up possibly in more trouble. This really wasn’t a great year for the Ravenclaw prefect. Letting go of the fallen bookshelf, Ewan stood and gauged Professor Eris’ mood for a moment, briefly noting that he was actually as tall of the Professor now. Choosing not to antagonise the situation further, he simply stuck to the truth, simply agreeing for the most part with that Chloe was saying.

“Chloe’s got the gist of it, Professor. I was in here studying” he gestured now to the rather large pile of books on the table he’d been sitting at “And she fell and hit her head behind me. I was about to take her to the hospital wing when…” pausing now to cast a glance at the uhh…Curtis? “No idea what Curtis was doing before the shelf fell over” What did he know about the fourth year Snake and his comings and goings? He’d heard rumours of him being caught in the girl’s bathroom so it wouldn’t have surprised him one bit if he had in fact pushed the shelf over on purpose. He at least wasn’t going out on a limb for someone he didn’t know. Not when his own situation was as perilous as it currently was.

“I was about to help Curtis put the book shelf back when you came over Professor” He may have zipped the books back into a neat pile but there was no way he was putting them back on the shelf. That was a job for butter fingers over there. Typical Slytherin. Letting books drop to the floor as if they belonged to him. No respect at all.

Ewan stopped talking then as he noticed Chloe out of the corner of his eye and instantly walked over to her as she grabbed the table. He knew full well about her past head injuries. Sure, she was accident prone but she wasn’t the type to just go and fall over tables randomly. “Uh Professor, would you mind maybe taking a look at Chloe? Or maybe she could be taken to the hospital wing? I think she’s got another concussion” his face lit up with concern now for his Ravenclaw friend. Leave it to her to trip over a practically flat surface. He didn’t mind taking her or having someone else take her but this was surely priority over the bookshelf?