Study & Sass PV Saskia

It truly was a beautiful day outside. Summer was coming to an end, and autumn was slowly starting to take over. Leaves were turning into various shades of brown, and the weather was noticeably cooler, albeit still warm enough to go outside. On a normal day, Saskia would be taking the time to wander around and find something interesting to do. Maybe she could have even run a few laps. It wasn't something she did often nowadays, but it was refreshing and it distracted her from the stress that was school and studying. This time, however, she was here for something else. It was quite the irony, considering she would normally go to the grounds to avoid studying, and yet here she was, about to have a study session.

Today, she would be learning about Transfiguration.It was perhaps one of Saskia's least favourite subjects so far. Granted, it wasn't that she hated it- the professor was good at teaching, and the class itself was okay. But it was safe to say that the Hufflepuff needed a lot of improvement on the subject. They did say that Transfiguration was one of the harder subjects, after all. It required absolute concentration and discipline, and one single mistake would have inevitably lead to disaster. Still, Saskia didn't know what exactly she was doing wrong. She may not have been the most studious child, but she thought she was good at concentrating. Her guess was that she might have been concentrating on the wrong thing, or she was messing up on a very small part of the spells she was supposed to cast.

Either way, she would find out what was wrong today. A fellow student noticed her struggles in class and offered a tutoring session earlier in the day. Normally, Saskia wouldn't be the type to get help in the first place, opting to do things on her own time, but she didn't want to be impolite. She also recognized this student as one of the smartest kids in her class, and if she could truly help her, she would have been extremely grateful. The last thing she wanted was another incident where she almost killed a rat with her incorrect usage of the spell.

After some time walking around and trying to figure out where her tutor was, Saskia caught sight of a particular blonde sitting by one of the benches. It wasn't very difficult to spot her, with the sun casting light on her pale hair and green sweater, as well as the fact that she was sitting by herself. It made her almost look angelic, seeing the light shining on her while all the other students were huddled in their own groups. Then again, she was quite an angel to tutor her in the first place, in spite of Saskia's usual annoyance at asking people for help. She just hoped she wasn't inconveniencing the girl in the process. After all, she was taking her time to help out some idiot who couldn't properly transfigure the most simple of objects, when she could have been doing something else.

Making her way to the benches, she continued walking until she was close enough to the bench where the girl was. "Hey. Hope I didn't keep you waiting for too long," she said, giving her a bright smile as she adjusted her schoolbag with her own study materials and supplies. It was better to come fully prepared, after all.

Between the warm rays, cool breeze, and beauty of the grounds, Angellica was lost in her own thoughts as she waited. Over and over she had practiced this session, preparing for every question that could arise. Of course smarts was one thing, a mix of books and cleverness she enjoyed from her love of reading, and the calming notion that certain things just didn't change. Transfiguration was a class one might think Angellica might not have enjoyed because of all the changes it required, but the discipline that went behind it, that definitely worked with her quest for perfection and need to control. Her mind had been going over various theories they had seen. It was early in the year, and there was still so much to learn, but until then the founding concepts reviewed she could help quite a bit for the classes to come.

A soft soprano had the blonde lift her chin to gaze upon her pupil for the day. A bright smile was matched with one of her own, and Angellica felt a swell of pride that the other came prepared. Those Hufflepuffs truly were unafraid of toil. It was good, it meant they could work in a number of ways without having to share tomes, not that she would have minded. Hands daintily crossed over the cover of her book, she released one to wave at the young girl.

"Not long at all, though in this weather, who could complain?" she asked with a gentle grin, flashing pearly white teeth.

It truly was a beautiful day, perhaps one of the last warmer days before the chilled bite of the wind overpowered the rays of the sun above. Still, it was comfortable, and with some luck they could finish their encounter in the great hall over a cup of pumpkin juice which was very weather appropriate. For now, there would be Transfiguration to assess. She felt a bit bad to just jump into business, but she'd practiced so much how to answer questions, she'd sort of skimmed on the whole people aspect, along with greetings and small talk, something she'd overthink about come nighttime.

"I hope you're ready for our study session," she added tapping the seat beside her for the girl to join. "I was thinking we can start with where you feel comfortable, and build on from there so we work to your strengths and you don't feel like you're drowning in information.

She wanted to gauge the girl's abilities, but also know where she felt at ease. If she started with where the other girl felt confident, she could build a foundation on that, and ensure she continued that comfort throughout. As a perfectionist, Angellica was constantly reworking and tweaking her own style of learning and applying said knowledge. Some day she'd balance it all, but for now she was an eleven year old girl putting way too much on her plate, and yet somehow managing it. At least academically.

"So, I before we start, what part of class do you feel more comfortable with?" she asked, crossing her legs as she tucked another stray blonde curl behind her ear.

While Saskia still wore a smile on her face, her smile was growing less certain as she started to realize what situation she caught herself in. It was, by all means, not a bad situation. She was here to get help from a student who just happened to have more expertise on a subject. And this person seemed nice and capable so far. They didn't seem like the type to judge her too harshly. So why did she still feel bad?

It was true that Saskia didn't like the feeling of being helpless. She never liked asking people for help because it sent the message that she was vulnerable. Ever since she was sorted into Hufflepuff, she was automatically the weak and useless one. It infuriated her every time she saw the looks on people's faces when they saw the colour of her robes. The familiar looking yellow and black that people have grown to look down upon. Was she not a person like them? What could she do to prove herself that she wasn't completely pathetic? Why would they never give her a chance otherwise? The only way she could try to fight back was by arguing back, and that only escalated the situation. It was hopeless sometimes, and the fact that she didn't have many friends to rely on didn't help matters. But she doubted that she would turn to them for help either. This was something she needed to do on her own. This was her problem.

But now wasn't the time to think about that. In fact, she shouldn't be overthinking this. This was just a simple study session. The girl wasn't looking to antagonize her, and Saskia definitely wasn't looking to start an argument either. Her focus was to get better at Transfiguration, and that was all she needed to worry about at the moment. She needed to give her undivided attention if she really wanted to get better at this tricky subject, and she couldn't afford to get distracted now.

Saskia took a seat beside the blonde girl, keeping her schoolbag beside her. After searching through her bag, she placed her ink bottle and quill on one side of her space on the table. Her Transfiguration notebook, which consisted of semi-organized notes she took from her lessons, laid beside her textbook. She wasn't sure what else to take out, but if she had to get anything else, it would probably be somewhere in her bag. But as prepared as the Hufflepuff was, there was still the matter of whether she was mentally prepared to take on this study session. She hoped she was, at least.

After opening her notebook to one of the pages where she wrote down her notes, Saskia turned to the girl to address her question. "I think I have a decent grasp on the theories of Transfiguration and the other concepts related to it. Things like the branches of Transfiguration and Gamp's Law, I guess. I've been taking notes and studying, but it would help if we took some of them up in case I missed something. It might also help with the other issue I have with the class."

The girl paused, trying to breathe so she wasn't completely out of breath while she tried to continue what she was supposed to be saying. She talked a lot, but it was important to be as detailed as possible if she wanted to know what she was doing wrong. "I think the one thing I'm probably struggling with the most is performing the actual spells. I've done it a few times, but they were barely a success. I think it might have something to do with my concentration- even if I try as hard as I can to concentrate, it doesn't work most of the time. I try not to get distracted either, but I feel like even that isn't enough. Although that might have to be something I could take up with the professor, but maybe this study session will help me figure out the problem," she continued with a sigh, letting her fingers drum on the surface of the table.

Being prepared was one of the best things a person could be, and seeing the hufflepuff beside her with everything she could need to take in the information, made Angellica happy. Honestly, she valued a good work ethic, and though she was willing to help others, they also had to be willing to help themselves, and the display she was seeing gave her great hope for what it was they were doing on such a fine October day. The warmth of the sun, the chill of the breeze, and knowledge laid out before them. It was exciting for Angellica, the first time she could to show off her knowledge, and test it.

As Saskia spoke, the blonde listened intently, nodding at certain intervals. Understanding the material, and what it was that was known by the other was definitely a first step in being able to help her. She looked over to see the girls notes as she pulled them out. They seemed pretty well in order from what she could glance, well written and organized for all intents and purposes. Obviously this one paid attention in class, which Angellica respected. She didn't see anything particularly jarring off the bat, and then the Hufflepuff admitted her main issue was casting spells, not so much the knowledge. If she understood the material, then perhaps it was just a little something that lacked.

"Alright," she nodded, taking a moment to herself to focus on how she was going to word her next statement without sounding completely weird. "We're going to do a few things. First you're going to give me a spell you have issues with, we'll review the theory about it, but before we do any of that, I want to make sure of something. If you say you have a good grasp of the material, than I have... I think I might have a...hunch," she began and reached into her book bag for a little kit she always carried around. It held a few things inside, mainly a carefully folded cloth and a bottle of polish.

"Do you have one of these?" she asked the other as she showed her her wand polishing kit. It was a hand me down from her mother, and very ornate, probably more than it had to be, but it definitely lived up to its purpose. "How often do you polish your wand? Or care for it? Or really just hold it? she asked. Of course there were simple guidelines with each wand. Polish every day for a week, twice a week for two weeks, once a week for a month and once a month from then on, with heavy suggestions to match it with the waxing and waning of the moon.

Wands were an extension of their owner, it was basic wand lore nothing out of the ordinary in knowledge, but something that was often overlooked. From the day she had received the length of wood that had chosen her, Angellica had taken great care of it, had deepened their bond as much as she could. Sometimes, she just held it to feel that power that rested in the hand of her palm, begging to channel through the length of chestnut and snallygaster heartstring that had called to her.

What she was getting at was that, perhaps Saskia needed more time with her wand. "Before we do anything, I want you to hold your wand and just focus on it. Close your eyes and remember the day you first held it, that warmth, the magic that it caused as it selected you." Angellica tried to keep her voice even and low. The goal was to guide not break concentration. Sometimes a little reconnecting was all a person need in order to succeed, and judging from what the other had shared, all she needed was a bit more time with her wand. It was not just a way to deepen the bond, but a way to understand the extension of oneself it was. Magic came from within, the wand channeled it, and to feel that unity, it made its usage much more palpable and easily done. "That feeling, that's what you need to hone to succeed in any spell,"