#16 Still Focused on his Future [OPEN]

Hearing someone use his first name and in genuine greeting, he glanced up to see Reena approach him. He smiled, eagerly setting aside his History of Magic textbook.

'Of course.' He scoffed, knowing how efficient he was. 'Here you go, as promised.' Lucas stood to locate the unsightly vials from inside his bag, then handed to two Polyjuice potions off to Reena.

Why was it such a gross colour and texture, considering it was meant to be drank? Amara probably knew why, but he didn't dare ask in case it was actually a rather obvious answer and she'd give him one of her classic "you're a moron" faces she typically reserved for others. As her boyfriend, that would just be embarrassing.

'Any plans for the afternoon... oh, never mind.' Lucas shook his head, figuring whatever she was up to probably involved those potions. And he'd rather not know about those plans, tempting as it was. 'Well, I should get back to studying. Whatever happens, always stay on top of your OWL prep. It's never too early.'

Lucas sighed at himself. What was he doing? Did he want Reena to stick around for a bit? Probably, but she had things to do and he really needed to finish the next three chapters at least. Maybe he just wasn't used to people being friendly around him.

Lucas nodded, glad she'd given it some thought. Why did he care? He gave up trying to understand. He liked talking to Reena, so he'd just leave it at that. Did it really matter if he didn't understand it? They were allies, at least. It was allowed.

'Well, good luck,' he said, watching her leave just to make sure she didn't need anything else.

Lucas updated his notes, and frowned at a Fanged Frisbee he had sitting there. He had a fair few of those. It took up space though, and he was bored. Anything was better than reading more of his History of Magic textbook even if it was necessary. So he flung the Frisbee, which went quite far and disappeared to the distance.

He wasn't about to get into trouble for it, so quickly sat back down and grabbed his dreaded book. Lucas sighed, trying to focus. Important as it all was, he couldn't study every bit of free time he had or his brain would surely call quits. Maybe tomorrow he'd do a bit of exploring -- check out the Spiral Tower or something?

For now though, he was stuck here. Reading. Waiting.

Lucas glanced up, spared from reading more boring historical events he had zero use for remembering apart from his exams. It was a Ravenclaw firstie, which was a good sign for him making some Galleons today. He sat straighter, rather pleased with the description she'd been given of him as he took pride in his wonderful hair. Fluffy, though? Someone needed to expand their vocabulary. 

'Not just potions,' he said, rather smug yet still charming and easy enough to approach. Lucas set aside his book, though didn't stand as he'd end up towering over her. Were they always this tiny? 'Anything, really. What are you looking for? Either I'll have it or I'll know how to get it.' 

It was a bold claim, but first years would believe it and weren't one to challenge that much anyway. He had a good idea of the sort of things they tended to seek, even the suspicious and illegal stuff like Polyjuice, so Lucas was more than confident in taking his chances. 

'Name's Lucas Mardling,' he added, though didn't offer his hand. Who knew where she'd been? 'And, you are?' For his records, of course. He couldn't care less who she was.

Flattery... was hard to resist. He smirked at her praise, though first years were easy to impress. He grimaced at "Mr Mardling" as that sounded like his father, who he hated, but ignored it for now. Better to get down to business so he could unfortunately return to his boring textbook.

And as expected, she wanted Polyjuice. And three, as well. One for each house, was his best assumption. Sneaky little firsties.

He was intrigued about her being sure of asking for other services, so got out his notes and marked her down as a potential repeat customer. Right, needed to make sure this one went smoothly then. Luckily, illegal and complicated as Polyjuice potions were, Lucas had become quite impressive at handling these deals by now. Barely had to check his notes anymore.

'I can get it done, easy,' he said, though gave MJ a warning look. 'Assuming, of course, that you understand this is to be kept between us? Quite a consequential potion, you understand.'

As if she would understand, being a first year. But hopefully his point was clear enough. 

'All right. You have a Potions Kit? The non-class one.' Lucas awaited a confirmation, and was glad that was one less thing to get done. Not that it was his problem, but still. 'I have a contact who can get these as soon as possible, but you'll need to make it worth her while by replacing some of what she used to make them. This is my price. When you pay it in full, I'll give you the potions.'

He wrote down the full list of what MJ needed to bring him -- also using it to buy time, considering her request regarding the Duskcaps. It was becoming a repeat thing. Were they really that hard for people to get? He'd have to check in with Amara later and find out if it was worth adjusting or if all these kids just can't be bothered.

'For the Duskcaps... I'll waiver it, but you'll owe me a favor,' Lucas said, rather reluctantly but wasn't in the mood to spend too long negotiating. 'Do we have an agreement?' He raised an eyebrow.

Lucas nodded, a bit distracted taking notes. 

'Honey? You should try trees where there's more grass or wilder patches,' he said. Of course he would know this; he was dating Amara Seabrook, after all. 

She accepted the deal, so that was a good start. And she'd just agreed to the favour, with minimal concern or suspicious -- at least, as far as he could tell. MJ looked fine with it, anyway. Also very promising for future dealings.

'I'll be here all afternoon.' Lucas shrugged, then shot his textbook a dreaded look. 'But otherwise, I'm usually easy to find. Just ask around. You found me already, right? Figure it out.' He finished up his notes, with some added sidenotes. 

There was nothing left to discuss, so he gave her a curious glance to confirm there was nothing else she needed. Lucas retrieved his book and found the passage he was up to, sighing in defeat as he resumed his extensive reading. OWLs were no fun, and he wasn't looking forward to moving on to NEWTs after this.

Reena was getting tired of running around. She had woken up sore and tired and only the thrill of accomplishment had kept her going.

It was still keeping her going but she could tell her pace was a slower one and her thoughts drifted towards Dinner ever so slightly.

Nevertheless she was glad to find Lucas where she had left him earlier and smiled to herself about how her friendly Housemate seemed to be the solution to a lot of her problems these days.

“Hello again,“ she greeted. “Have had a good afternoon study?“

She came to a halt, still smiling. She actually hoped that he had gotten to study and not too many students had bothered him this afternoon.

“It appears all my roads lead me to you,“ she started. She lowered her voice as she continued: “I hear you‘ve got a book from the Restricted Section on loan? An Advanced Translation of Ancient Languages by Rowena Ravenclaw. Mind if I take a look at that? I think I may have discovered something amazing.“