Open Not Quite Ready To Go In

[Apolline Fontaine]

Apolline had had an odd day to say the least. She had enjoyed the defence against the dark arts class, it had been interesting. Though she was a little concerned about Professor Waldgrave, and whether he was there to spy on her. But it had been the conversation afterwards with the boy that had thrown her more. It surprised her that she was upset about it, and Apolline wasn't even sure what exactly it was about the interaction which had upset her. She would need to continue to just work hard, she had to, she had to do right by her parents. Apolline was glad that at least that was one of the few classes she shared with Slytherins, and hopefully by the tme they go to third year when the classes combined, they'd be over rivalries that came at this point. Apolline was just a little outside the gryffindor common room, just hoping to collect herself a little. She sat on a window sill, with her defence book in front of her, but she wasn't really reading.

 

[Teddy Pirrip]

As Teddy strolled by to get to the common room, he noticed a first year sitting by the window. Teddy wondered if she needed help, like she had forgotten the password or something. He took a moment, wondering if he should just leave her to it, then in the last moment approached with a sense of newfound second year responsibility—or at least, an attempt at it.

"Hey," he greeted cheerfully, leaning casually against the wall, trying to look older and wiser than he felt. "Do you need some help getting into the common room? They have comfy armchairs in there." Teddy offered, fully aware that he wasn't exactly the epitome of responsibility, but he could act for this younger student.

 

[Apolline Fontaine]

Apolline had been just trying to calm herself down, make herself be a little less reactive to what had just happened, but she wasn't alone for too long, as a boy approached, leaning against the wall. He was older than she was, not by much. "Oh, no," she said, "It's okay, I'm not ready to go in yet," she said, without offering an explanation as to why. She gave a small smile, attempting to be polite to the boy, not wanting someone else to get annoyed at her for essentially nothing.

 

[Teddy Pirrip]

Teddy smiled, "No worries," he replied, "As long as you're alright," he said, offering an understanding nod. "Do you want me to leave you to it?" He asked, he didn't want to be overbearing or intrude and to be honest even though this first year wasn't ready to go into the common room, Teddy on the other hand, was.

 

[Apolline Fontaine]

Apolline gave a little jerky nod to the assumption that she was okay before trying to decide if she wanted company or not. Company would be nice perhaps, a way to help her stop thinking about what had happened but alone she could just deal with it on her own. "I wouldn't mind a little company, if you don't mind," She added the last part in case he hadn't really been offering it and was mostly just trying to be polite.

 

[Teddy Pirrip]

Slightly surprised that she wanted his company, Teddy nodded and responded, "Sure, I don't mind." He offered a friendly smile and continued, "By the way, what's your name?" Teddy inquired, trying to break the ice. "And how come you're not ready to go into the common room yet?"

 

[Apolline Fontaine]

Apolline was quite relieved that the boy wanted to stick around. "Apolline, yours?" she asked and then moved a little where she was sitting so that he might be able to sit with him if he wanted to. She shrugged a little at the question. "Something weird happened after my last class," she said, not elaborating.

 

[Teddy Pirrip]

"Apolline? I've never heard that name before. Do you have any nicknames?" Teddy asked "I'm Teddy. It's short for Edward." Teddy took the hint and sat down in the window sill beside her, listening to her answer, "Okay." He said slowly, he wanted to know what happened but Apolline did not elaborate. He decided to ask, "So, what weird thing happened?"

 

[Apolline Fontaine]

Apolline wasn't surprised that he'd never heard her name before, from what she knew it wasn't a common name. "It's the female version of Apollo," she explained before shaking her head. "No, no ones ever given me any," But she thought it was interesting that he introduced himself, and clearly went by his nickname rather than his actual name. "Teddy," she repeated. The gryffindor shrugged a little. "Some boy just accused me of stealing his question, like we both raised our hand and the professor picked me to answer, but this boy said it was his question, that I stole it. But I didn't,"

 

[Teddy Pirrip]

"That's cool" Teddy replied, he didn't know anyone with the name Apollo either. As Apolline explained her situation, Teddy's expression shifted to one of mild confusion. "Well, that doesn't sound right," he said, trying to grasp the situation. "I mean, if the professor picked you to answer, it should be your question, right? What's this boy's problem, anyway?"

 

[Apolline Fontaine]

Apolline shrugged a little not sure that it was a cool name, but she just accepted it. She was glad that upon telling him about her current issue, he seemed to be very much on her side of thinking it wasn't right, or odd. "I think he wants to...win...at classes," she said, from the little more he had said, she figured that he just wanted to be the best. "He told me to not take more of his questions, but I said, I'd answer them, if I was the one picked,"

 

[Teddy Pirrip]

Teddy nodded enthusiastically, "Absolutely keep answering!" he chimed in. "Keep answering those questions, even if it's just to show him who is boss around here." Curious for context, he asked, "Is he a Gryffindor?" He had a hunch that the student might be if she was hesitant about returning to the common room.

 

[Apolline Fontaine]

Apolline felt reassured by this boy's reaction. Knowing that she would try, that that had been her plan, but just being uncertain about if that was the right course. If he gave her more bother, it might be easier to just..let him, but she also really didn't want to do that. "He's a slytherin," she said with a little shrug. Not entirely sure why it was relevant but perhaps this boy just had thoughts about which houses competitive people were in.

 

[Teddy Pirrip]

Teddy scratched his head, a bit confused about why she didn't want to go into the common room if the person was in a different house. "Slytherin, huh? Yeah, I know they can be a bit competitive." He pondered for a moment but decided to change the subject. "What are you reading there?" He nodded towards the book Apolline had in her hand.

 

[Apolline Fontaine]

Apolline nodded. "Yeah, that's what I've heard," she agreed. Not mentioning anything about the common room or discussing why she didn't want to go in, especially when he didn't ask about it. Instead moving the subject on to what she had in front of her. "Reading is a bit generous right now, I was mostly just staring, but it's the defence against the dark arts textbook," She said. "I felt like I needed to read it,"