common people (liam)

[Deleted]

i am my own

THE RAVENCLAW COMMON ROOM EMMITED A WARM GLOW IN A SINGLE CORNER. The rest was lit merely by the painted night sky on the ceiling, stars twinkling gently. It was well beyond lights out, and as far as Tia knew every Ravenclaw was tucked tight in the rooms, dreaming in riddles. All bar Tia, who sat in her fleecy blue constellation pyjama's. A single lanten lighting her way as she dipped her quill in to an inkwell and scribbled in to a worn notebook.

"Wrong... again..." She muttered to herself, a wrinkle between her brows. She was working on a potions project. Of which was supposed to be completed in class - a safe and controlled environment. But the bottles in front of Tia were far from her potions class cache. A small row of them in fact, standing in a neat line with various degrees of tar like liquid bubbling inside.

"Specimen 3 has also curdled... too much lionfish spine?" She gritted under her breath as she wrote, her quill creating nearly ripped through her parchment. Eventually her quill stopped scratching and Tia slumped from where she'd been perched on her knees, notebook in her lap. Blowing out a strand of loose brown hair she looked down at her notes while running the soft peacock feathered quill under her chin. Deep in thought. 

@liam

NEVERLAND at ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0!

[Deleted]

Liam was done with all of his homework, of course, which meant he should be sleeping right now. Coursework wasn't difficult for him and, as a general rule, he didn't worry much about it. Anything he wanted to learn he could read in a book. After that, it became a part of the knowledge that he kept in different spots in his brain. Liam was a bit of a genius, though one wouldn't know that from talking to him. He wasn't the best at communicating with others, unless it was with his best friend. Well, normally he could communicate with his best friend, but apparently not about everything. He couldn't seem to tell Ethan that he had a major crush on the same girl as his friend. 

Despite the fact that he was lying in bed, Liam wasn't sleeping and after a bit he decided to get up and find some book to read. Since he already knew everything in his dorm, he made his way to the common room, surprised when he realized someone else was in there. He stood on the stairs to his dorm, looking close until he recognized the girl. Tia. She was in the same year as him and just happened to be the twin sister of the girl Liam couldn't stop caring about, even though he'd never spoken to her before. He'd spoken with Tia though. Not a lot, but she cared about learning just like him.

He tried to decide what to say to her, or at least how he should let her know she wasn't alone anymore. She'd want to know that, right? He wasn't entirely sure. Maybe she'd prefer he come in, get what he wanted and leave, but he was curious now. What was she doing? "What are you up to?" he asked, his tone extremely soft and a little nervous-sounding. He hoped she wouldn't mind a small interruption. If she did, he'd just have to leave.

@tia

[Deleted]

i am my own

TIA WAS DEEP IN THOUGHT WHEN A SOFT VOICE BROKE THROUGH. She jolted at the sound of it, a stark change from the sweet silence that had previously enveloped her.

"Nothing!" Tia said instinctively, adapting in to 'cover up' mode immediately as she slammed her leather bound notebook shut, her shoulders tense as she lifted her head to see who had intruded, while simultaneously trying to cover up her specimen bottles.

But, she was so busy trying to see who had caught her that she wasn't looking as she gathered up the little glass bottles. They tinkled as they hit against once and other, a few falling over. One in particular, of which Tia had previously had open, wasn't stoppered correctly and when it tipped over...

A black tarry liquid spilled out and on to the Ravenclaw carpet, marring the pretty blue fabric as it spread at an alarming rate. Tia looked down with a gasp, her mouth pinching as she watched the spill with a shaking panic. "No!" She hissed, using the sleeve of her housecoat, which had been pulled across her lap as a makeshift blanket, to try and halt the spread.

Looking up again, this time with accusation clear on her face, Tia squinted at the offending intruder. "William..?!" She snapped, as his lanky frame came in to focus out of the dark. They weren't friends exactly, but they'd more than once got to talking about a particular class when seated together. They had common interests. But right then Tia could only see panic and blame.

"Help me, please..." She said through gritted teeth, a desperate demand. In the bottle the liquid was only about 2 ounce, but for some reason the ingredients mutated in the warm common room air. It seemed unwilling to stop spreading, already soaking through Tia's housecoat and the carpet. She needed her wand, but her hands were too busy stopping the stain from becoming something of a massacre. 

@liam

NEVERLAND at ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0!

[Deleted]

Liam didn't move, simply watched as Tia went on the defensive. He felt himself tense a little, but he gave no indication of it. He was good at not showing emotions or thoughts. Growing up in his family, that wasn't a surprise. There were very few people that could get through his defenses.

She tipped over some of her bottles and they spilled. Liam took an instinctive step forward, wanting to help, but he also didn't know what was in all of her bottles, so he wasn't entirely sure what he could do or even if she'd want his help. His eyes widened slightly as he watched the spill increase as Tia tried to stop it. She glared at him and he shrugged, a little surprised when she snapped his name. 

He nodded, still not saying anything. She already knew who he was. What else was there to say? Then she was asking him to help and Liam felt a bit of relief flood through him. She wanted his help. He could do that. He stepped forward, pulling his wand out as he looked at the black liquid, which was still spreading. 

He swished and flicked his wand, non-verbally casting the levitating spell, but the liquid- whatever it was- would not leave the carpet. He looked at Tia sharply, his eyebrows furrowing in concentration. "What is this?" he muttered, not understanding why it wouldn't levitate. He tried again, muttering the spell under his breath just in case his focus wasn't good enough. Still nothing. 

He glanced at Tia apologetically and shrugged. He wasn't sure if she'd want him to do what he was about to, but he wasn't about to ask permission. "Evanesco," he muttered, pointing his wand at the stuff. Part of it evaporated, like it was supposed to, but only a spot directly in front of his wand. Liam groaned in annoyance and started moving his wand from side to side, vanishing the liquid as his wand pointed to each small spill. At least it was vanishing faster than it was spreading. Once he was done, with the spill on the floor, he turned his attention to her housecoat, vanishing that liquid as well. He finished and took a step back as he put his wand in his pocket and looked up at Tia hesitantly. Obviously she'd been working on something and him surprising her messed it up. "Sorry I had to vanish it," he started, hoping she wouldn't be too upset. "Was that the only one?" He hoped not. If there was more, she'd be less likely to really be upset with him for vanishing her ... whatever-it-was.

@tia

[Deleted]

i am my own

TIA WAS FULL ON PANICKING AS THE POTION SPREAD, her heart racing. She had asked William for help out of sheer desperation. Plus, he surely  owed her. It was his fault after all. At least, according to her.

As she scrambled, watching the spill spread, Tia briefly considered the idea that William might just up and leave. Let her deal with the mess on her own. But his shadow soon loomed over her, his wand swishing as he tried once, of which she replied, "I said it's nothing!", when he failed and asked of its origins again, this time with frustration. But after a second try, and then a third, they saw results. She was almost exasperated when they spill eventually began to disappear, but relief was a far more powerful feeling.

"Thank... goodness," She sighed, head hanging as a cold sweat stopped its descent down her back. "I thought I was in real trouble there." In the haze of relief, Tia forgot to be angry for a second. Her potion was gone, but she still had her notes. It was a disappointment, which she was sure to feel full throttle when the relief ebbed away. For a moment she was simply grateful and relieved, which promoted honesty apparently.

"I was... I was tweaking a pepperup elixir, okay." Tia said nervously, leaning back on her hands and looking at the square of carpet that had been stained moments before. "It was for a project, I thought I could maybe cut reactions down by at least 20%, and maybe even reduce the alcohol content." She had been so hopeful, so excited she hadn't been able to sleep. "But, I just mucked it up... They won't stop curdling and mutating without the high alcohol content."

With a long groan, Tia threw herself back on the floor, spreading her arms and closing her eyes. "Don't think I've forgotten this was your fault, Flint." Tia mumbled, pulling her housecoat up to cover her face. "I might be a giant failure, but you're a creep for sneaking up on me." 

@liam

NEVERLAND at ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0!

[Deleted]

Tia was panicking ... that much was obvious when Liam stepped in to help. He felt a little bad that it was kind of his fault this happened, but why was she so jumpy? Was she doing something she knew she shouldn't? He didn't want to judge her, but a part of him felt defensive. It wasn't his fault she tipped over her things. She lied, saying that it was nothing and Liam almost made some comment about how if it was nothing, she wouldn't need his help, but he bit his tongue. He didn't want to make the situation worse, or anger her.

She was obviously more than relieved when it was all taken care of, mentioning that she thought she was in real trouble. "You are fine," Liam answered softly, glad that she wasn't getting mad at him. He knew Tia could have a temper and he didn't really want to be on the receiving end of it right now.

Then she started to explain what she was doing. Liam's eyebrows rose as he listened to her describe her experiment, what she was doing and how it wasn't working. He thought for a moment. "Well, if it wasn't doing what you wanted, isn't it a good thing it's gone?" He didn't say the next part, that she'd be able to start fresh. That should be implied, shouldn't it. Besides, if she still had her notes, she'd even know what she shouldn't do. 

He watched her lie on the floor and relax, while hiding her face. He shook his head, even though he knew she couldn't see him. "Not my fault," he stated, rolling his eyes when she called him a creep. "I was trying not to wake anyone up, I wasn't sneaking and I had no way of knowing you'd be here. I spoke as soon as I saw you." He crossed the room to one of the shelves lined with books and scanned it, grabbing one that looked like it hadn't been touched in a long time. Should be interesting. "Came for this," he said, shaking the book he was now holding.

@tia

[Deleted]

i am my own

TIA SIGHED. Simply put, William was probably right. It was better off gone. But, Tia greatly disagreed. "No, not really," She said, huffing heavily. "It's a process of elimination. Now I won't be able to observe where I went wrong." But it was still better gone, especially since that particular specimen had been so reactive. In the same vein, it was exactly why it interested Tia all the more.    

Slumped flat on the floor, under the cover of her robe, Tia could almost imagine she was alone. William wasn't hovering and she wasn't mad that he'd ruined a good nights worth of work. Or rather, she had. He had. Tia couldn't decide who to blame. But when he defended himself she peeked out from under her blanket, watching him walk over and snatch a book from the shelf.

"You came for that dusty book?" Tia said dubiously. "At this time of night?" She raised her brows and refrained from smiling, thinning her lips. "Can't sleep, or are you lying?" She asked bluntly. 

@liam

NEVERLAND at ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0!

[Deleted]

Liam listened as Tia explained that it wasn't okay that the substance was gone and then shrugged. If it was so important, than she shouldn't have dropped it. That wasn't his fault. She could have been more careful with it. "Sorry," he muttered, even though he was quite convinced that none of it was his fault.

She seemed somewhat annoyed when he grabbed a book and he looked back at her, scowling at her tone. "Yes, a dusty book," he retorted. "Can't sleep and I thought I might as well do something instead of lie in bed awake for hours." His eyes narrowed when she asked if he was lying. "I couldn't sleep." Liam did not like the insinuation that he was a liar, especially by someone who barely knew him. She shouldn't be putting labels on him!

@tia

[Deleted]

i am my own

TIA COULD SEE THAT CALLING HIM A LIAR HAD UPSET HIM. She wasn't that socially inept. Plus, it helped that he was scowling, his retort steeped in indignant defensiveness. But it hadn't been her intention to be insulting. Sometimes that just happened, especially as a teen, she wasn't great around people. She didn't always say the right thing.

Eyes widening, Tia frowned as she watched him bristle. "Sorry..." She said sulkily, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. "I was just saying..." She crossed her arms, opening looking at him now from around her blanket. "I'm not accusing you of anything, jeez." And with that she sat up, the robe falling from her face and in to her lap.

"I can't sleep either." She said, as if reaching out in some odd way. Tia often struggled to sleep, her mind constantly running over time. But when she was younger she'd always been able to crawl in with her sister, waking her up so that they could suffer together. At Hogwarts it was different, and so Tia spent a lot of her time obsessing over potions and notes. And yes, sometimes books. "What book is it?"

@liam

NEVERLAND at ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0!

[Deleted]

She seemed a little surprised by his response to her accusation, but not really apologetic. She seemed more annoyed by the fact that he was being defensive. Liam, on the other hand, didn't relax his defensive position. He wasn't particularly good at interacting with people- mostly because he overthought everything- but in situations like this he was pretty good at standing his own ground and standing up for himself. He rolled his eyes as she continued, saying she wasn't accusing him of anything. Then he decided to try and lighten the mood a little. "Not even of ruining your project?" Liam asked, arching an eyebrow at her. 

She added that she couldn't sleep and Liam felt himself relax a little. At least he wasn't the only one. He shrugged when she asked about the book. He hadn't even looked at the title. Liam glanced down at it and exhale, a hint of a smile touching the corner of his lips. "It's a book about defensive charms and spells," he told her, glancing up to see what she thought of that. It wasn't entirely out of character for him, since Liam was very good at dueling and that sort of thing, but he hadn't chosen this book intentionally either.

@tia

[Deleted]

i am my own

AS SHE SAT UP, TIA PULLED ONE KNEE UP TO REST HER CHIN AGAINST IT. She had meant to clear up any assumption of accusation, but it seemed to do very little physically as William still held tension in his frame, as if ready to snap defensively should Tia misstep once again. But, when he opened his mouth, Tia was surprised to find he was... kind of funny.

Suppressing a smile, she shook her head. "Oh, no, that wasn't an accusation," She said, her lips threatening to curl upward. "That's a cold hard fact." She was running her nail against a bobbled thread on the knee of her pyjama pants when she allowed herself a smile, just as long as she couldn't see him catching it, looking down instead.

It was unfortunately true that to get a little, you had to give a little. And Tia watched her admittance of weakness relax William a little bit. It made her loosen up slightly, as well. Just slightly. He turned the book over in his hands, and she saw when he smiled at the title. It made her curious and she strained her neck as if she might be able to catch it from across the room.

When he looked up suddenly she forced herself to slacken, turning her head so that he might miss her snooping. At least he told her. "Oh..." She sighed, expecting something a little more exciting. "Isn't that a little redundant?" She sniffed, though her lips were still pressed in to the ghost of a smile. "Everyone and their granny knows you're good at duelling." She shrugged, realising it was admitting she'd heard things about him. And worse yet, that she'd listened at all. "Plus, you seem defensive enough to me, already." She said, trying a joke out for herself.

@liam

NEVERLAND at ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0!

[Deleted]

Things didn't seem as tense now. Tia wasn't exactly smiling, but she didn't seem as hostile as she had moments before and Liam smiled. Maybe he'd accomplished his goal in lightening the mood a bit. He rolled his eyes when she said it was a cold, hard fact that he'd ruined her project. "Maybe you should be more careful with your projects then, so you don't have to blame me when things go bad with them," he suggested with a smirk. This was interesting and not quite normal for him because Liam was saying whatever popped into his mind instead of thinking before he spoke. He kind of liked it.

She asked if it was redundant that he grabbed that book and Liam actually chuckled, though he felt proud when she said that everyone knew he was good at dueling. He shrugged, "I didn't necessarily grab this one on purpose. I just grabbed a book that had lots of dust on the cover." He made a face at her when she told him he was defensive enough. "Well, I guess I'll have to believe you, since you're the master of defensiveness," he retorted. 

Then he strode back to the bookshelf. "How about you help me find a book that would be more interesting than this one?" She didn't have to, of course, but if she was going to criticize his book choice he might as well let her try to help in choosing a better one.

@tia

[Deleted]

i am my own

THOUGH IT WAS ALSO HER OWN FAULT, Tia found no appreciation on William's stubborn intent on thwarting her blame. She scowled as he retorted whip fast, tilting her head and scrunching her face petulantly as he spoke. "You give a lot of advice for a person creeping the halls for reading material." She sniffed, curling her lip slightly, but still smiling a little. She wasn't mad yet, just surprised that he was talking to her like this. It was all highly unusual.

"If you say so..." She sang, and she was about to accuse him of being a show-off when he fired at her about being defensive. She stopped short, snorting in surprise. "Oh yeah..." She laughed, shaking her head at the cheek of him. "Haven't you heard? I'm top of the class." It wasn't like her to go along with a jab at her very character, but she figured she deserved it. Since she was still steadfast in her judgement of him. Plus, it was surprisingly easy. To go back and forth with him. Maybe it was the lack of company, the quiet in the common room.

From where she sat, she watched him march back toward the bookshelf. Curious to see what he would do next. But then he asked for her help, and she suddenly didn't care whether he was being serious or sarcastic. She hopped up anyways, her blanket and bottles abandoned as she shadowed him to the bookshelf. "You're lucky I'm feeling charitable," She joked, her face straight as she muscled past him to get a good look at the displayed shelf.

The thing about a Ravenclaw bookshelf is, there's always something worth finding. With a 'take one, leave one' mentality in place, there was always a new find waiting. From defensive spellbooks, all the way to muggle fiction. It was a delicious display Tia had often poured upon.

"There's some really good muggle poetry here." She mused, side-eyeing him to see if he would judge her for reading muggle works. "It was mine. I left it last year when I finished it." She ran her finger along the spines, catching dust on her knuckles. "But if you're looking for spells, there's a super annotated Herbivicus spellbook somewhere. It's kinda funny." She squinted as she looked up the stacks. "What'll it be?"

@liam

NEVERLAND at ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0!

[Deleted]

Liam rolled his eyes at her retort. He really didn't want to argue with Tia, especially since they seemed to be getting along quite well, despite all the bickering. Actually, he felt rather comfortable talking with her, which wasn't really normal. As a general rule, Liam didn't really feel comfortable to talking to anyone except Ethan. Maybe Dom and a few others occasionally, but he mostly preferred to be on his own or with his best friend. She was almost smiling so he was sure she felt as comfortable as he did so far.

Now she was singing at him? It was different and Liam wasn't exactly sure how to respod, when she started snorting about his teasing. Good. They were on the right foot then. He chuckled when she said she was top of the class about being defensive. At least he wasn't the only one. "Glad to know I'm not alone then. I figure you and I can fight for that title." 

She came over when he asked for suggestions and Liam smiled, though he didn't look over at her. He didn't want to offend her by being amused so easily, or have her think that he was laughing at her when he wasn't. "So lucky," he responded sarcastically when she spoke about feeling charitable. Still, he stood back and let her look at the shelf. He lifted his eyebrow when she mentioned muggle poetry. "That sounds interesting. Will it maybe help me sleep a bit? The poetry, I mean." Liam hoped that wouldn't offend her, but really he just wanted something that would help him get some rest. Hopefully this would.

@tia

[Deleted]

i am my own

TIA NARROWED HER EYES AT WILLIAM. Fighting for her place? As if. It didn't matter that it was for something that was considered quite negative, that same instinct to compete flared in her at his challenge. "You may be good at duelling, Flint, but that's a fight you'll lose." 

At least there was peace in talking about books. It was a happy pastime for Tia. Bar plants, and being praised for good work, she found great pleasure in simply discussing literature. It was why she spent so much time in the library. It was peaceful, and the words in a book never changed. No matter her perspective, Tia could always go back and consult the pages and feel... familiarity.

She'd offered William poetry because it was a favourite of hers. Excluding textbooks, Tia liked poetry. "Oh..." She said when he asked about it helping him sleep. Privately disheartened at having her suggestion shot down. She felt the need to fight her corner, but instead, she lifted a hand and tugged on her bottom lip absently. "Um, well that depends." Watching him from the corner of her eye, she continued to pretend she was perusing the stacks. "Do you find poetry boring?"

And then, rather than wait for an answer, she reached up and grabbed a heavy tome from the stacks. Balancing it in both hands. "Here," She said while turning, unloading it in to his hands before he could protest. "Outdated book on Divination," She informed him, dust from the untouched cover tickling her nose so much so turned her face to sneeze in to the crook of her elbow. Sniffing she finished, "Nothing like endless horoscopes and crystal balls to send you right off to sleep." 

@liam

NEVERLAND at ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0!