Avoiding (Lance)

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lancelot ray linley

The library was quiet, per the norm. Phil had thoughts of maybe catching a nap in one of the back corners, but homework and some dark feeling loomed over him and he determined to sit next to a window, right in the sunlight to get some work done. Unfortunately, since he got back from Brazil, he found that his coping skills were not as refined as they once were. He was falling behind in Defense Against the Dark Arts and History of Magic. It was beginning to look like today was catch up day. Goody.

He got out his books, parchment, quill, ink, and began reading. He read the first sentence. Then he read it again. After the fifth time reading it and getting no meaning from the words he leaned back in his chair. Maybe he should ask Andy to help him catch up. She would, and it would be more enjoyable than sitting in the library on his own. But he was already set up and here, he could try again. His wandering attention was caught by a young man entering the library, a large smile on his face. Actually, now that Phil thought about it, he recognized him. a Hufflepuff... Landon, maybe? Phil didn't know him well, obviously, but now was a great time to make a new friend.

He waved at the young man with a smile of his own when his attention was turned toward Phil's table.

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@philiplongbottom

Studying was boring. Lance knew that he had to do it though, or else papers and tests were going to be difficult. All that was left was this year and next; no more, no less. That thought alone was terrifying. So much had happened in the last six months, and so much more was about to happen in the next year. Apparently that was what growing up was all about? At least he had a year of school left. It was going to be bittersweet. Not many other Americans could say that they went to Hogwarts all seven years of school. There were plenty of transfers and exchange students that he had met over the years, but a rare few that were like him and Georgie. They were some of the oddities that comprised of the Hogwarts student body. The rest belonged in Gryffindor. As far as he was concerned, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw were all relatively normal. A couple strange birds lived in Slytherin, and everyone else was just tossed into Gryffindor. The lions of Hogwarts had all sorts of characters, and Lance unfortunately only knew a few of them. Most of his time lately had been spent sticking to his friends in his own house. The same ones that had helped him the most over the last few months. They were more like his family than any of his other friends outside of Hufflepuff were.

Regardless of what he thought about studying, Lance still had to go to the library. There were a few books that he needed to write a paper, and unfortunately they had become rather hard to acquire. The last few times he had checked into the library to see if they were on the shelves, a librarian had kindly told him that they were already out. He supposed that everyone was trying to do the paper last minute just like he was. Maybe if the professor had the forethought of telling everyone to buy them prior to the school year, this would have been done already.

Entering the library, Lance looked up to see a Gryffindor boy waving at him from a table. That was Phil Longbottom, right? The former Headmaster’s son? He was pretty sure they had talked a few times before and gotten along pretty well. Pushing the thought of getting the books he needed to the side, Lance steered his legs towards Phil’s table. “How’s it going? Phil right? Been a while since we last talked. How’ve you been?” Distractions never hurt anyone.

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lancelot ray linley

A distraction. That was exactly what Phil needed. Or a nap. He probably needed a nap more. Or a good nights sleep. Maybe ten of those. But a distraction would do just fine for now. He remembered a time, not so long ago, when he used essays as distractions. That was when he was counting down the seconds until he got to see his family and Andy. Now...

"Yeah, Phil. And you're Lance? Funny us both meeting here. You come for the eternal torture that is research as well?" He asked conversationally. Unfortunately for him, all of the professors seemed to have conspired to set their hardest and longest essays for the very end of the term, right before graduation. Something about working until the last moment. Phil would have loved one of those moments to just relax.

"I mean I've been waiting for these books for ages, now I have them and they are so dull I almost wish I have never laid eyes on them." He pushed some of his stuff to the side, making room for Lance to put his stuff on the table.

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@philiplongbottom

Eternal torture. Now that was one way to describe the library. The comment alone made Lance laugh. Some people sought solace amongst the pages and volumes of texts. Others found stress and depression. Phil must have been one of the latter kinds of people. “Something like that,” Lance responded as his laugh subsided. “I have a paper to write, and the professor required a book that wasn’t on the list at the start of the year. So…” he paused to glance around at the shelves of books. “…here I am. Hopefully it’s in today. Luck hasn’t exactly been on my side when it comes to this book.” Lance knew that the only other way to proceed with his paper should the book be gone again was to wing it. He hated doing that because it was lazy and always resulted in poor marks, but sometimes it was necessary. This situation seemed like one of the times where improvising was more worth the end result than not doing the paper at all.

Lance looked at the books next to Phil as the Gryffindor talked about them. He was actually looking forward to reading them? That was a little crazy, wasn’t it? Seemed more Ravenclaw-esque than Gryffindor. Taking what looked to be an offer to sit down, Lance finished pushing the books off to the side that Phil had started on. “You’re not leaving much to be desired for next year,” he joked. “But it’s required right? So there’s really nothing you can do about it in the end. Better to learn something than nothing.”