Empty Chairs

Noxienia had found herself inside, stuck doing schoolwork instead of roaming about the grounds like a wild child. She didn't mind doing her Charms work, but it required research that couldn't be done from the normal class text. No, the assignment required that she have at least three other sources quoted within her essay, thus a trip to the library had been inevitable. 

Most of time Noxie preferred to avoid the library or at least find herself a cozy spot in a corner where no one was going to notice or bother her. This was an unusually difficult task most of the time, as a lot of other students tended to gather in the library this time of day. Everyone needed reference books or a semi-quiet place to work away from the noisiness of common rooms and dormitories. It was still a bit above quiet, with whispered voices flowing thought the large stacks of books, but that was to be expected when you put over fifty people in an area, especially when they were mostly teenagers. 

Today had not been a very lucky day at all so far actually. First she'd bumped into an older Ravenclaw girl who was very full of herself. Then she'd managed to blow up the toad she was supposed to be transfiguring into a teapot in Tranfiguration class. Toad guts everywhere. That had not been pleasant. Now she was forced to be inside and even her usual chair hidden away among the very farthest and deepest, dusty books had been taken over by a couple snogging. At least she had managed to find a table more away from the general chatter of the other students and set far enough back in the library that most would probably leave her be. 

And then she heard it. Footsteps getting closer and closer. Her nerves automatically went on edge and she closed her eyes, looking down at her book and praying that whomever it was would just pass her by. 

Noxie Lmost didn't hear Ava's question. She was so taken aback by being spoken to that she jumped a little. Her eyes flashed upwards for a moment, taking in the other girl, noting that she was in several of her classes. A Slytherin who she was pretty sure she'd seen hanging around with one of the Hufflepuff boys whose name escaped her. 

Once the question sunk in, Noxie gulp and shook her head slightly. No, she didn't mind. Well, she did and didn't. It sucked being alone most of the time, but it beat having to look people in the eye or speak to them. However, the library was pretty full today and the other girl needed a place to work obviously. Far be it for Noxie to tell her no, that would be rude and unkind. She didn't like being rude or unkind.

Noxie kept her eyes glued to her work, focusing on the words but not really seeing them. Her whole being had paused, unable to continue working as Ava sat down. It took her a couple of moments to return her quill to the parchment off to her side, writing down a note from the book and the page it was on. Her eyes flicked upwards, not all the way up at Ava, but more at her book for a split second before she returned to staring downwards. Transfiguration. The hardest subject ever after Arithmancy. She couldn't remember there being any assignment for Tranfiguration today... Oh dear... Had she forgotten another assignment?

Noxie allowed her hair to fall forward over her face more, shielding it and giving her an extra sense of security. The quiet returned and she relaxed a little bit, but her mind was flowing with worry now. She would be in trouble if she missed an assignment... Especially as she couldn't chance having her grade drop in Transfiguration.

"Huh?" Her mind preoccupied, Noxie had hardly heard anything Ava had said. Her brain wrapped around the words that had been presented to her ears and she lifted her head slightly. Something about her name and Ava's name and... And... Charms! She lifted her face a bit more, but focusing on Ava's book again, instead of her face. "Yeah... Noxie." She nodded in confirmation. "Ava." That was right. Ava Winters. Of course that was her name. "S'good." Her words were very, very quiet, almost mumbled, flowing out rather hesitantly. She gulped and took a bit of a breath, nodding towards Ava's book. "T-transfig?" 

Noxie heaved a slight sigh of relief. So far this social interaction wasn't going badly. Ava seemed nice enough judging by her tone of voice... And there wasn't any homework for Transfiguration! Thank goodness. That had been a mini panic attack in the making. She calmed a bit, feeling less nervous now that there was at least one worry out of the way. She was prone to forgetting her homework when she didn't do well in class in hue huff first place. She would be so busy trying to catch everything the professor was talking about she would completely miss the homework being assigned. 

"It's good to have favorite things... Yeah. I like it." Noxie nodded, her voice still very quiet, but less mumbled now, She did enjoy class, but getting the complexities of the theories around her brain and having them stick.... It was like trying to glue two pieces of wood together with butter. It slipped and slid and never stuck the way it was supposed it and just got plain confusing, "I'm rubbish though. This morning I exploded a toad." She bit her lip, her anxiety level increasing. Her eyes stayed glued to her book now, but her hands had found her hair. The ends of it were already pretty frizzed up. She wrapped a bit of it around one finger, twisting it round and round title until she could go no further and let it drop before repeating the process. 

Noxie waited for the laughter and comments of how much of a dunderhead she must be in order to have managed to blow up a toad in Transfiguration. However, after a couple of moments, when no laughter came, Noxie chanced a gland upwards. Her eyes locked on Ava's face for a split second before she grew overwhelmed and had to look down. She smiled a little. Ava wasn't laughing at her nor did she look mean. Actually, she was grinning and that made Noxie feel very happy. She didn't get smiles very often. 

"Oh! That would be wonderful.." Noxie exclaimed, or well, as much of an exclamation as one could get from her when she was still extremely nervous and shy. She really could use some help in Transfiguration... "Philo." She nodded in understanding. She saw phill around the common room and he had always seemed pretty smart. "He's smart. Oh!" She shook her head, not wanting Ava to feel bad for her comment. "No one... No one can  be good at everything." She mustered up, still anxious, but feeling a bit better about interacting with Ava. She was just... She wasn't mean. She actually reminded Noxie a bit of her older brother, Carval. "Astronomy's my favorite."