#6 A Bit Of Light Reading

He strolled lazily through the corridors of the library, no real destination in mind. Tom wasn't a big reader, although he did enjoy books by magizoologists and dragon researchers and other adventurers who put their lives in danger and then lived to write about it. The Hogwarts library was vast, filled to the brim with books of all kinds. Some seemed to be eerily ancient. Most of them would probably bore him to tears.

He had some homework to get done but not an overwhelming amount. He was always the type to finish his assignments at the last minute... some people found that stressful, but Tom found he couldn't be properly motivated unless a deadline was staring him straight in the face. He worked better under the pressure of a bad grade.

As he meandered among the shelves of books, he turned a corner and found himself face to face with another student. Tom recognized her face: Elara, a 4th year Hufflepuff. Being the quiet and observant type, he pretty much knew the name of every other 4th year in the school, regardless of house- even if they didn't know his. He caught himself staring for a few seconds and thought she noticed him looking, but he couldn't be sure.

He had considered calling out and saying hi- he had determined that this was going to be His Year, after all- but he bailed out at the last minute. He had never spoken to her before, and maybe she didn't want to start talking to him now. He quickly turned his back on her and started thumbing through the shelf behind him as if he'd come to this part of the library in search of something specific.

He felt his heart begin to beat a million miles an hour as she asked him her pointed questions. She wasn't being rude, per se, just very direct. And well, maybe a little rude. He could feel himself sweating. Tom had always been kind of an awkward kid, not knowing what to say or how to approach people. Especially girls. He always felt like a nerd, like he wasn't cool enough to have lots of friends. Well, when he started this school year he determined that he would be different. How could he expect anything to change if he never put himself out there?

"I didn't mean to stare, sorry," he said to her in a voice that was barely a whisper, so low she must have barely heard it. The nerves seemed to have a dampening effect on his voice. He loudly cleared his throat and spoke up, this time addressing her in too loud a volume. "I didn't want anything," he spoke-shouted, horrified with how awkward he was being. The next sentence he dialed down and finally spoke at an acceptable volume: "Do you always sit alone in the deepest corners of the library to study?" He hoped his tone came across as jovial and friendly, not judgmental. 

Against his better judgment, he actually took the seat. He hoped the girl didn't notice how violently his hands were shaking. The reasonable, rational part of him told him to calm down and play it cool; people sat down across from one another and have conversations all the time! Why shouldn't he? Still, for him this was somewhat of a step. It was one thing to sit down next to someone in a classroom when you both had to be there. This was a different matter entirely.

"I didn't mean to disturb you." He meant it. He personally hated being disturbed when he was studying or writing an essay. It was difficult enough for him to focus on homework. Throw in any unnecessary distractions and it was pretty much over for him. Then again, Tom reasoned that Elara was way smarter than him. She probably didn't have to worry about that like he did. "And yeah, I mean, don't all the cool kids hang out in the library?" He smiled. This was going better than he anticipated!

He opened his robe and pulled out a roll of parchment, scrunched up and crinkled all over. Oh well. Guess this would have to be a rough draft only. It was an essay for History of Magic, a research paper on the Salem Witch Trials in America. He opened one of the books he'd gathered and started to put quill to paper. He had to admit it was kind of nice working together in silence with her, although if she wanted to keep talking he certainly wouldn't have minded. 

For a brief moment, the two 4th years would be acutely aware of Madam Pince watching them like a hawk nearby. Her frown seemed more directed at Tom, likely from his raised tone a moment earlier. There was something in the air that almost felt like they were being judged for something much harsher than raised volume and crumpled paper. That wasn't unusual though - it was Madam Pince, after all.

As they weren't currently causing trouble that she could scold them for, Madam Pince eventually wandered away to return to her librarian duties - or at least was no longer in view and it didn't feel as if she was staring at them anymore.

Elara smiled at Tom when he formally introduced himself to her, then went back to writing as if he hadn't said anything. "I saw you sitting with Hanna during class this morning..." she said hesitantly, not looking up from what she was doing- but her quill had notably stopped moving across the parchment. "Did she say anything? About what happened yesterday?" it wasn't the question that she really wanted to ask, she'd wanted to ask 'did she say anything about me' but she thought that might come across as odd, especially since Tom didn't know anything about her or her relationship with Hanna.

Elara lowered her gaze back to her work when Tom told her about what Hanna had said during Defense Against the Dark Arts that morning. She couldn't help but feel a little disappointed that the Slytherin hadn't spoken about her- but why would she? Hanna hadn't said two words to her all day, it was as though they weren't even friends anymore. "Yeah... It was pretty scary for everyone involved" she muttered, unable to keep the bitterness from her tone as she closed her textbook rather forcefully.

She found it strange that Hanna would rather talk to a random boy than to her- she was her best friend after all. "I think... She's punishing me, by ignoring me" she admitted as she began to pack away her things. She was giving Hanna some space, it wasn't a decision she'd made consciously but it was one that she felt was important- because she felt that if she confronted the Slytherin about her behaviour at that given moment, then she would say some things that she'd later regret.

Smiling at how flustered Tom seemed to get when she brought up the idea that he'd been a little too loud earlier, she shook her head. "Don't worry about it, we all have moments like that" where they lost control and did things without reason or explanation, she could hardly fault him for being human. Tilting her head questioningly when he mentioned the frequency in which he visited the library, she was confused- because she'd never noticed him before or ever attempted to engage in conversation with him before today.

"I've never seen you around here before? How often do you come here?" she was just about ready to leave but didn't want to leave the conversation unresolved and she was genuinely curious about his answer. She liked to think she was a pretty observant person- but then, she was usually busy with her head in a book whenever she was in the library.

Elara was definitely a little surprised by the revelation that Tom visited the library often, maybe she would seek him out next time she visited- then again, maybe not. She did prefer to study alone to eliminate the risk of idle chatter and distraction. "There's nothing wrong with that" she answered him when he seemed to show signs of embarrassment at telling her that he tended to keep to himself when in the library.

"I prefer to study alone most of the time too, that way I can focus without someone trying to talk to me" if she stopped studying every time someone spoke to her, then she would never get anything done- then she'd be no better off than some of her friends who refused to put the extra effort in. "Not that I don't welcome the company sometimes!" she added quickly, not wishing to give him the impression that she hadn't enjoyed their talk- she had invited him to sit with her afterall.

Nodding at his words, she got to her feet and slung her backpack over her shoulder "Sorry, I just have other places I need to be" she apologised, genuinely sorry to ditch him when they were just getting to know each other. "Maybe I'll see you at lunch?" she left the suggestion hanging in the air, an open invitation as she turned and left- her pace brisk and hurried.