symptoms of madness

She jumped slightly as the other girl actually gave her back a retort — interrupting the usual mumbling alone tradition of Lara Avery. Listening to her opinion with her eyebrows arched in curiosity, she wanted to beg to differ, but instead, she let Rose finish her sentence. “I’m not aiming for a good grade.” the Hufflepuff started explaining in an articulate, slightly offended kind of way. That she didn’t care about grades wasn’t any of the redhead’s business, but accusing her of wanting to get them easy still made her frown. “I just think it is interesting, not that I would believe in it. I think I just need to form opinions on everything before judging it and here is where my interest for Divination ends.”

As the brunette began to reply, it slowly dawned on Rose that what she said - the way she phrased it - could very well be seen as offensive. Though her intentions had been innocent - just making a pointless observation to partake in some small talk - the way one intended things to be was not always how it was perceived. Opening her mouth as if to interrupt Hufflepuff, she ended up closing it again without uttering a word, letting the other girl finish. "Ah, shit, sorry - I didn't mean that you only study Divination to get an easy grade. I just figured that some people might study it for that reason if they have no interest in the subject. I didn't mean to offend or make assumptions about you, I apologize. Getting the facts straight before making a judgement seems like a wise way to go about it, though - something I should keep in mind more often, in fact. And it's always good if you're interested in a subject you study, even if only partly; in my experience it makes it easier to deal with the coursework."

     ”That’s my goal, actually. Well, more so to talk to them, really. I’d rather not have them mess with other people. I’d just be making it so the ghosts scare some other person. But, that is an interesting thought.”

     ”If that's all you want, that's up to you. It does prove quite useful to have them on your side, though - if not to mess with others, then just to get some information. Some of them can be quite knowledgeable. Others... not so much. I s'pose you'll just have to decide which ones you want to get to know and which you'll ignore. I'm curious, though - if you didn't have ghosts at Beauxbatons, what did you have?”

"Aye, and how embarrassing would that be," Mercer asked with a cheeky grin and a nod. "It’s bad enough getting beaten to the last piece of pie - getting bested in the Great Hall blindfolded, well - I don’t think a bloke like me would live it down." The boy couldn’t help but glance longingly down at the girl’s full plate as she took her first savoury bite. "Aye, it’s an utter shame. That would be downright decent of you," the boy offered, scratching his head as he shrugged. "I won’t hold you to it though - it tends to be the best dish of the night."

"Not to worry, I wouldn't hold it over you for too long," Rose reassured him with a lopsided grin. "Just for a reasonable amount of time - until you graduate, or something like that. If it's too much for your pride to handle, though, that's alrigh'.  We can skip that battle for the time being." Rose took another bite and nodded in agreement, using her fork to point towards him as she continued to speak. "It'd be very decent of me, and that I would hold over you. Or not. Some decency and kindness is needed every now and then, I think. Besides, I always feel like you deserve something nice once you've finished your work, and food is the perfect reward for that." 

Fear can’t hurt you,” she said. “When it washes over you, give it no power. It’s a snake with no venom. Remember that. That knowledge can save you.

                        ❝  do i want to know ?  ❞

            ❝  well, they say that ignorance is bliss.  ❞

"I’d say that I’ll fight you for it, but you’re wiry and have those eyes that just scream ‘Try me, mate.’. Somehow I wouldn’t doubt you could take me." The boy chuckled before looking down longingly at her plate of food. "I tried to, honestly! Had to finish up my bloody potion," Mercer muttered in a falsely bitter tone.

The corners of her lips tugged up into a smirk. "Wise call. I could probably take you down blindfolded, but that might just be my confidence talking." As it turned out, the pie tasted better that night than Rose could recall it ever having before. Whether this was because she beat someone to the last piece or because the house elves had outdone themselves that evening, she couldn't say for sure. Either way, she decided to keep that piece of information to herself. "Ah, schoolwork. Always getting in the way of fun things, innit? How about this - if you're caught up in your potion work next Wednesday as well, I'll make sure to save you a piece. Out of the kindness of my heart."

"Anything for the fans."

"Now, don't get too cocky. Confidence is always good, but if you take it too far you'll just end up looking like a twat."

"I should have dropped Divination last year — now she is making me carry around three different times of dreams dictionaries and I have long decided I’m not interested in finding out what dreaming of a headless grindylow means.”

"Huh?" Her head snapped up at the sound of Avery's voice, and for a moment it was hard to breathe - her mind couldn't seem to process what she was saying, instead jumping to it's own incorrect conclusions. At the realization that it was nothing worthy of alarm, she let out a small sigh and smiled slightly, though her hands still fidgeted with the strap of her bag. "Oh, that sucks. Y'know, I've never understood why anyone would want to study Divination; it seems complete and utter rubbish to me. Though I've heard that it's easy to get a good grade in, so I s'pose that explains it."

        i just want what i can’t have

"Out of my way."

"Honestly, Malfoy, we're in a fucking corridor; there's more than enough space for you to move around. Don't be so lazy. You only have to take one step to the side and then you can be on your merry way again."

"First thing tomorrow, I’m going to be up all night at this rate."

"Don't stay up all night - all the info you cram into your head won't do you any good if you're falling asleep during the exam. Though if you have a potion to keep you awake I suppose it's manageable."

"I should’ve guessed. I do?" He questioned, the surprise in his voice genuine. "I had Quidditch a while ago." Reaching up, he rubbed at his forehead. 

"Mhm. There's still some left. Right here." Rose brought her hand up to her own forehead, motioning above the left eyebrow. When he explained what he had been doing, a small smirk began to play at the corner of her lips. "Some practice is always good to get - you still won't be able to beat us, I'm afraid, but I'll be a much happier girl if there's tougher competition involved. Winning without a fight is just a bore."

Clarabel let out a scream of surprise as yet another ghost decided to run through her. Or, rather, it seemed that way. At least this time she had been holding onto her books and things for dear life instead of dropping them on the ground like she usually had when this happened.  Clarabel Moreau seemed to have no grace when it came to maneuvering around the ghosts of Hogwarts.  And now she was frustrated. Why? She didn’t appreciate being taunted harshly by Peeves or followed by Sir Cadogan— several times a day. While the other ghosts were much more mild, as far as she could tell, they were definitely not one of those. 

There was a certain amusement brought on by the misfortune of other students' interactions with the ghosts of Hogwarts. It was a rare occurrence that they got the upper hand of an older student; after years of experience most grew neutral to the chill that traveled down their spine as one of the ghosts moved through them or the way they would pop up somewhere without making a single noise. It was mostly the younger students that were caught off guard by their presence - and now, the new transfer student. Still, Rose couldn't exactly blame the girl - there were times when even the ginger despised their presence, especially in the middle of night when they observed events and breakdowns that were meant to stay hidden. 

"Trust me, I'm more than aware of all that's wrong with me. I may be a bit too stubborn for my own good, but I won't turn a blind eye to my faults - well, most of them, at least. And no, tasteless isn't the word I would use to describe myself with. Since it doesn't seem like you'll be too much of a bother, you're free to stay for as long as you please." She sent him a smile, gone in a flash as she brought the cigarette up to her lips to take another drag. She raised an eyebrow at him when he refused the lighter, but didn't make a comment - it was only natural that most wizards would choose magic over muggle means. Exhaling the smoke and returning the package to her pocket, she let out a jealous sigh at the thought of living by yourself. "Godric, I'd kill for my own quarters. Not that my roommates are all that bad, but - well, you know. Some privacy would be much appreciated."