First day of school, first day of homework Closed

backdate. Early September.
with @Taylor Lawrence

For about a week, Edmund avoided visiting the Library, even if he needed help with homework. He peaked inside once on his way to the Gryffindor tower, and it eerily reminded him of Quinn Manor's own library - thick, dusty shelves holding years of knowledge, the small corridors in between, and long tables.

He wasn't scared, mind you - but ever since he got locked in there as a child, he avoided them. And no amount of convincing would've managed to get him to enter the Hogwarts Library until he was handed his first Transfiguration homework.

He couldn't find the answers anywhere and, he would much rather face his fears than ask another Gryffindor for help - or worse, a Ravenclaw! So, sheepishly, tight grip crumpling his parchment, he entered the Library. Edmund placed his belongings next to a blonde girl, red and black robes indicating she was a Gryffindor, just like him.

Walking to the shelves, he searched for a proper Transfiguration book, before going back to place. He began working on his homework, dipping his quill on the inkwell, and writing his name down. Edmund peaked at the girl's parchment, reading a few words, realizing she was doing her History of Magic homework - the one he finished in less than 10 minutes.

"Do you need help with that?" He asked, bumping her with his elbow to get her attention. He offered a hand and a smile. "I'm Edmund. Edmund Dempsie,"

Taylor scribbled furiously on her piece of parchment, occasionally checking her textbook for information about the Gargoyle Strike of 1911, although she had no idea why she needed to know about a bunch of old rusty statues deciding they had nothing better to do than go to war against the witches and wizards, and get blown to pieces.
Suddenly, a voice shook her out of her thoughts. "Do you need help with that?"
Then, someone bumped her elbow. She turned abruptly, almost yelping out loud. She had been so immersed in her History of Magic essay that she hadn't even noticed it when someone sat down next to her. He wore robes of black and red, just like Taylor, indicating that he was a Gryffindor. He seemed to be about her age, most likely a first year, although he could have passed for a bit older. Long dark hair fell over his babyish face, just revealing a pair of brilliant blue eyes sparkling with mischief.
The boy offered Taylor a hand and a smile. "I'm Edmund. Edmund Dempsie."
Taylor forced a smile. Normally, she was quite friendly-just ask anyone who's talked to her!- but one thing she could not stand was someone suggesting that she couldn't do stuff on her own. However, she took the boy's hand, and shook it.
"I'm Taylor Lawrence. Gryffindor, just like you. And as for the help, thanks for offering, but no thanks."
@Edmund Dempsie

@Taylor Lawrence

It was clear she wasn't very fond of History of Magic, like most students. Edmund was surprised to find himself in the small group of first years that actually enjoyed those lessons and learning more about their past and how it shaped things into what they are at the moment. As purebloods, it was common for his cousins to dismiss the subject altogether, preferring the likes of Defense Against the Dark Arts or Potions are their favorite classes.

But he found it too entertaining, even when he already knew what the professor was talking about.

It was obvious she was trying to be polite when rejecting his help, too proud to accept it - like most Gryffindors would, himself included. For the sake of light-hearted teasing, however, Edmund tossed his hands up, in defeat, nodding slightly, lips pressed together in a thin line.

"Alright, alright, if you say so, Lawrence," He said, turning to his own homework, reading the first question himself and writing the answer down, making sure his calligraphy was perfect. He hummed, flipping the pages to find a more extensive explanation on why Conjuration was harder than Transformation. He had a faint memory of what the Professor's had said about it during class, but he didn't want to get confused. Placing his quill down, lips curling upwards in a sneaky smile, he asked the blonde Gryffindor, knowing the answer, "Do you like History of Magic?"

The boy’s reaction to Taylor’s answer was tossing his hands up in the air, nodding slightly, lips pressed together in a thin line, an action which Taylor found kind of infuriating.

‘Alright, alright, if you say so, Lawrence.’ He turned back to his own homework, with Taylor doing the same. As she continued working on her History of Magic essay, she wondered how a subject could be so very boring. What was the point of learning it? Could they change the past? No!

In the end, she came up with an answer, which was that the Ministry of Magic hated little kids and wanted to make their lives as miserable as possible. And as her thoughts came to an end, so did her essay. She was just going to set it aside and start working on her Transfiguration homework, when a voice spoke, ‘ Do you like History of Magic?’

Taylor turned toward the boy next to her, who had placed his quill down on the table, and was smiling a rather sneaky smile.

She bit her lip. ‘Of course I love it!’ She said sarcastically. ‘Listening to a teacher drone on and on about ancient stuff about slabs of rock and angry goblins, sitting in a stuffy classroom, thinking about all the things you could be doing at that moment instead of trying and failing to get not get bored to death! Awesome, isn’t it? What's not to love?’

@Edmund Dempsie

@Taylor Lawrence

It was obvious from the way she did her homework that the girl, Taylor, did not feel as immersed in the past as he did. He could see why some people wouldn't want to learn about parts of history, even though he loved it. The past had shaped the present, and what better way to save the future than by learning what went wrong before?

"It's actually my favorite class," confessed Edmund, with a shrug, forgetting about his Transfiguration homework. The way she spoke got on his nerves a little. She sounded so full of herself - as if her opinion was final. To him, she wasn't putting any effort, nor giving History of Magic a chance to show itself as one of their most fascinating classes. "Slabs of rock, you say. It's the gargoyle strike you're working on, huh?" He tilted his head, cynical. "You know they're sentient creatures and not rocks you kick and watch roll down the street, and they were being killed by their owners. How's any of that boring to you?"

When their professor began their first lesson, Edmund knew he'd love everything they were about to learn. He had been so engaged by that piece of history that he couldn't help but feel excited about what was to come.

The boy apparently did not like her comment very much.

"It's actually my favorite class," he confessed, shrugging. His tone suggested that he was not extremely pleased with Taylor. "Slabs of rock, you say. It's the gargoyle strike you're working on, huh?" He tilted his head, cynical. "You know they're sentient creatures and not rocks you kick and watch roll down the street, and they were being killed by their owners. How's any of that boring to you?"

Taylor pierced her lips. She really wanted to tell this boy exactly why History of Magic was the most boring subject ever, but she knew that she really wasn't making a good first impression, and didn't want to make it worse.

With much difficulty, Taylor bit back her retort. "I'm sorry if I've offended you," she muttered. "Everyone has their own opinions, and I shouldn't have made it so clear that I thought yours was wrong."

She paused. "Anyway, really sorry. Next time during History of Magic class, I'll listen more carefully, and who knows? Maybe I'll find it isn't so bad after all."

"And I think we might have gotten off on the wrong foot.How about we started again?" Taylor smiled. "Hi, I'm Taylor Lawrence. You?"

@Edmund Dempsie

@Taylor Lawrence

It was more than fine, really. Taylor didn't need to apologize. He wasn't trying to pick a fight or prove to her he was right and she was wrong. She hadn't offended him in the slightest, too - it wasn't a personal attack on him for liking History of Magic, so he wasn't angry.

Every student had the right to their opinion on which class was their favorite, and which they liked the least. He wouldn't walk around dictating what people could or couldn't like. Personally, he wasn't fond of Potions. As much as he studied and read all about it, things never turned out quite like it was expected of him. He wanted to be amazing but was barely decent at it. Edmund could only hope it was the sole class he had problems with. His mother had never had problems at Hogwarts, acing every exam she had taken, especially her O.W.Ls, and he didn't want to be any different.

Still, he laughed when the Gryffindor backed down and introduced herself again. He pretended to erase the last five minutes of his mind, playing with his hair, and said, "Edmund. A pleasure to meet you,"

Then, he turned back to his Transfiguration homework, controlling his pride. "Any chance you're good with Transfiguration?"

When Taylor backed down and introduced herself again, Edmund laughed, and, playing with his hair, pretended to erase the events of the last five minutes from his head. "Edmund. A pleasure to meet you."

Then, both he and Taylor went back to their homework, both of which, Taylor noticed, were for Tranfiguration class. Taylor continued writing about the transfiguration formula, which she mostly remembered from her class, but occasionally checked her textbook to make sure she got her facts straight. She wasn't exactly particularly fond of any of the classes, like Edmund was so protective of History of Magic, but Transfiguration was one of those that seemed better than most, easy.

She wanted to do well in all of the classes, and thus get as many OWLs as possible and do well on her NEWTs as well. So far, she seemed to be doing fine, although she had to admit, she really wasn't the best at Herbology, or Care of Magical Creatures, or any of the classes that were done outside, actually. She's never really liked the outdoors.

Suddenly, Edmund spoke again. "Any chance you're good with Transfiguration?"

Taylor slowly turned to him. "I'm all right. Why do you ask?

@Edmund Dempsie

@Taylor Lawrence

Edmund was dedicated.

He put a lot of effort into classes he didn't understand from the get-go, like Potions and Transfiguration. It drained him, though, because he'd be exhausted by the time he considered his homework decent. It wasn't hard, per se, but it didn't come to him as easily as Charms or Defense Against the Dark Artes.

He was usually good with his words - he had gotten an O in Potions, after making sure everything was perfect, triple-checking it before handing it in. He promised himself the lowest score he'd ever get was an E... Which is why he was so worried he wasn't making any sense right now.

He scanned his answer and slid the parchment towards Taylor.

"This homework requires joint effort," He joked, as that was his unique way of asking for help. "Would you mind reading this? I need to make sure it's making sense. Like, I think it is because I remember most of what our professor told us during class, but at the same time, it feels like I'm throwing random words and hoping it's right, you know," Edmund shrugged, because, honestly, it wouldn't be the first time he did that - except he had been right.