Extra Practice [Claire//OPEN]

[potterholic22]

Ethan was having a rough week. He wasn't normally a straight-O student to begin with, but his grades had started declining since Quidditch season had started up. His mother were murderous, and even worse, his sister was exceptionally smug, her last letter to him proclaiming, 'I always knew I was the brains of the family!'. Ethan had requested a break from Quidditch, something he dreaded doing...in order to, could he dare utter it? Study.

Well, practice.

It had been Charms and Potions in which he'd become rusty. He was excellent at Transfiguration, never having anything below an O in that class..but unfortunately, it was the only O he could keep a grip on right now. Defense Against the Dark Arts wasn't quite an O but it was close enough. A few more in-class exercises and he should have it.

Charms wasn't as bad, but his grade had dropped two letters and it made Ethan to cringe to think of where he'd be if he didn't get some practice in. Potions was worse; Ethan had never fully grasped the 'art' behind potions. He was a bad cook, too; perhaps they were more related than the professor lead on. Both were boring and not his kind of thing. He still needed the passing grade, though, and he'd die before he took remedial-anything.

So this empty classroom was his only refuge. To practice in the common room was a joke. If it ever got quiet enough for him to concentrate, he still wouldn't practice there for knowledge that he'd never hear the end of the ribbing he'd get for being behind.

He decided first on Potions. That was the hardest part, so he'd get started on it. He had to be able to make a perfect Draught of Peace by the end of the term. 'Yeah, right.' He grumbled inwardly, unloading his bag onto the table. Where to start?

[claire]

Claire's attempts to study in the Gryffindor common room were not going as well as she might have hoped. Even though she wasn't the most social of butterflies, she was still well-liked, and was being constantly interrupted by people attempting to start conversation, just being loud in different parts of the common room, or first and second years asking for help, knowing she had a hard time saying no when asked for help. Giving up on studying in the common room anymore, the short brunette witch packed up her books and wand, slipping out of the common room and into the corridors. Standing outside near the Fat Lady, Claire contemplated her options. The library was sure to be crowded, so she took that off her list of places to go. It was a bit windy to go out by the lake without fear of notes being blown away, and she assumed the Room of Requirement was probably already in use. There was that empty classroom downstairs that she went to sometimes... Of the places on her list, that seemed the most likely to be unused, so Claire headed down the stairs towards the classroom.

Opening the classroom door, she stopped short. The room was already occupied by a taller, older boy. A Hufflepuff named Ethan Stiles, who she had limited contact with. She looked at the books on the table in front of him, words coming out of her mouth before she could ask herself it they were tactful, "You're studying?" She asked incredulously. The quidditch star studied? That was a new one.

[potterholic22]

Ethan's head snapped up at the sound of the door opening. Dread flooded into the pit of his stomach; had one of his housemates come to look for him? Oh, the ribbing he would get if one of his dorm-mates found him down here! It would be almost as bad as actually taking a remedial course. Almost.

Relief came over him when he noticed that it was a Gryffindor girl, not one of his housemates. However, it wasn't long before he recognized that face, and a new emotion took over: annoyance. Ethan knew this girl, albeit not on a personal level. Claire-something, he knew. Or was it Claudia? Or Clarice? Cara?

No matter the name, she was a thorn in his side. The first (and only) encounter he'd experienced with her, she had corrected a Transfiguration spell he'd been working on. Transfiguration! His strongest subject, something he was very proud of. And this girl, at least a year or two younger than himself, was correcting his wand-waving. How absurd. What did she want now? To show him how to brew a seventh-year potion?

She spoke, and it became obvious that this was not going to be a very good study-session. Feeling a little embarrassed that he was studying, he puffed up a little, trying to mask his distaste for being nerdy.

"We-we-we're at school, aren't we?" he quipped with mild sarcasm. Ethan was typically an overly-nice guy...sometimes though, his bitterness forced its way out through the medium of sarcasm. He soon realized how rude he was being though, and his ever-present guilt washed over him. Was it really that she was annoying, or was he taking out his self-frustration on her? He had turned to look down at his potions book, flipping to the right page. He looked back up.

"Yes, I'm stu-studying." he added with a note of apology to his voice. He knew he didn't owe her one, but he still could not stand to be rude to girls. Well, that might change. She still annoyed him...should she prod further into being a know-it-all, Ethan's friendly resolve just might snap.