A Little Help? pv: Katie Williams

When had they became friends? Didn’t it take at least two or three interactions to solidify a friendship? Acquaintances at most—… But, if it would make Katie happy to consider them friends, then the jump of formality was fine. However, in his innermost heart, he probably wouldn’t consider her a friend until he knew her very well. Although Oliver was friendly and polite, because he grew up with such a small circle of relationships, it was very hard for him to truly connect and bond with someone. Or, perhaps he did it as swiftly as anyone else, but didn’t pretend to like them beforehand. He didn’t know.

“Alright,” he said rather cautiously, but his voice became stronger as he continued speaking. “We’re friends.”

And wasn’t everyone, in some form of spirit, his brother and sister? They all lived and died beneath the same sun. Maybe it was too much to put some sort of limits or rules on how and when friendships can form. The affections of men are free flowing, and Oliver resolved to be more generous with his endearment towards others in the future. This wasn’t something he had had to encounter before, considering that he didn’t talk to other students terribly often, so he was glad he was able to cut it off at the pass.

Katie couldn't help but look at him, very pleased, for a moment or two, before saying "great." and then returning to her things. Truthfully, she didnt quite know how this whole friends thing was supposed to work. at heart, she enjoyed people's company, but was too afraid of losing everyone if she messed up a convorsation to actually seek anyone out. that was fine by her, too. most of the people who saught HER out were nice. but the crippling fear made meals awful for katie, and the sorting even WORSE. being in a room with 1000 strangers was awful. Having them all looking at you???

Let's just say it was a miricle a certain Williams girl hadnt suffered a heart attack.

"so... do you come to the library often, or just for studying?" she asked, snapping herself out of the train of thought of the worst days she'd had here, crowd wise. "I'm here for fun a lot. i like reading." And hiding from loud people. and being in corners nobody went to. And getting ahead on homework. And reading. especially reading. "I like reading a lot." she repeated, to enforce that. It was the one thing she loved a lot.

“I’m just here to study. I spend most of my free time on the grounds. I’d like to like reading, but the words never make sense, until I read them a couple times.”

Otherwise, it might be good of him to learn from the words of the greats, but he didn’t often trust what authors were saying. He always preferred learning from experience and reason over picking up a piece of inked wood and hoping he could trust it. But, he didn’t mind listening to books when they were read out loud and explained. It was just hard sometimes.

He really wished it was easier for him to absorb what was being said on paper. When people were talking, no matter what level of vocabulary or sentence construction they used, he could usually follow along really well, but as soon as he had to read, his IQ dropped about thirty points. It was very inconvenient for school, but he hadn’t needed to read all that much until now. Maybe that was his problem. He just needed more experience, and then it would be easier. The thought comforted him greatly. He certainly didn’t want to spend four or five hours every afternoon just on homework the entire school year.

“You’re dyslexic?” She asked. It wasn’t a judgment on his character, it was trying to assist him in explaining what was wrong. “My brother is dyslexic too, so I read his books to him. It works out well. Do you need me to help you read?”

But the grounds... “I go out there sometimes. The lake really is very beautiful, huh?” She has visited on her weekly escapade of going outdoors to read and complete her homework so she didn’t become a vampire. Not that that was how it worked at all, but those were her mom’s words. Not hers. Heck, if there were real wizards there probably WERE real vampires. Going outside the castle probably put you closer to them.

But she digressed, for her mother.

“And it’s usually quite pleasant there, just for sitting and thinking or reading.” But he didn’t much like reading, so she backpedaled a little bit. “and nobody comes by some of the more reclusive spots, so I don’t much have to worry about talking to lots of new people.” Maybe he could sympathize with her there, she wasn’t sure. All she knew is she hated people who she wasn’t comfortable with, and that’s that.

The word was unfamiliar, and while Katie didn’t sound like she had a negative opinion of his person for the assessment, there did seem to be a flash of pity accompanying it. But, then she blazed on to new things without even a second thought.

“Wait, what does ‘dyslexic’ mean?” Oliver said, suddenly concerned. Was it an illness? Was there something wrong with him?

His mind barely registered what she had said after that, but he did take notice of her desire to find secluded spots and avoid people. Even if she had seemed a little nervous, his first impression hadn’t been that she did not enjoy the company of her fellow men. Quite the opposite really, but perhaps she was just very good at pretending to enjoy someone until she actually did? He felt somewhat honored that this girl had decided he, Oliver, was worth her affections. But, she had given it so freely, that he wondered if her statement was as true as she believed it to be.

In any case, he just hoped that whatever ‘dyslexic’ was, it wouldn’t be too bad. Could he have been flawed his entire life and not even known it? The thought was terrifying. It showed just how limited one’s view is by one’s own experiences

((I actually didn't have him being dyslexic until now, but now that you've brought it up, it makes a lot of sense for his character. I think I'll use that.))

“You’ve never heard of it?” She knew wizards didn’t have the greatest understanding of muggle discoveries, but with such a prevalent disorder she would think they would’ve bothered to learn it so they could assist people who had it. Otherwise they would just be labeled as slow and written off, which wasn’t fair to ANYBODY.

“It’s not bad. It just means your brain is wired a bit different than everybody else’s, so it takes you longer to read things because you have trouble processing them. You’re not stupid, it just makes reading and spelling more of a challenge. Have you tried audiobooks? And for writing, make letters bigger with larger swoops on the letters that have them. It helps. If you need me to read anything for you, or help with assigned reading, I can.” She smiled. “I can help you practice writing in something that’ll be legible to you, if you want.” She didn’t want him to get a bad impression of dyslexia. It wasn’t slow kids, or dumb ones. It was people who legitimately had trouble reading. Not thinking.

“My brother is dyslexic. He just needed a little help to get learning strategies that worked with the way his brain did, not against it. He’s super smart and fun.”

This new revelation was striking. To think that there had been something that changed the very way he processed information his entire life, and he had never known about it. The fact that he was somehow fundamentally… disadvantaged from the rest of the world hit him hard. Even Katie’s words of encouragement didn’t really make an impact, because no matter what he was able to do to overcome this advantage, he would still be forced to rely upon something else other than his own mind in order to succeed as quickly as everyone else.

The thought horrified him. It challenged the entire philosophy he had been raised with, that he could do anything he could put his mind to. But his mind was fallible, at least in this respect. The way Katie spoke of it made it sound like it could never be cured, so this meant that he would never, even if he was the most diligent student in the world, even if he threw his entire heart and soul into his work for hours every day, no matter what he did, he would never be able to be as good at reading as everyone else.

He attempted to stifle how much of a revelation this was on his face, but it showed in a passing flicker across his gaze. He didn’t want to make a big deal about how… concerned he was, because Katie seemed to think it wasn’t a big deal. He was overreacting. He was fine.

If anything, he shouldn’t burden someone else with some irrational emotional response.

“Y-yeah. Okay. That-- that would be nice,” he said in response of her offers to help him.

"hey..." she said, calmly. Katie was a very perceptive girl, when it came to new people's dishappiness. "hey, it's okay. there's nothing bad about it. it's not like you arent as good as anybody else. you can still DO everything, just... you have to find a way of reading that makes sense to you. bigger letters, and writing with bigger swoops. like..."

she pulled out a pen and a sheet of paper, writing her name in normal and her name in the way she would for her brother, with the letters a tad larger and the swoops of the letters more exaderated. they were easier to read for someone with dyslexia. "here. like this. is it easier?"

she really didnt want him to feel less than. the importance of a diagnosis was it meant that it wasnt your fault. it wasnt your fault that you couldnt read as well, or walk as long, there was something different inside you. knowing that was the first step to learning to work alongside it instead of against it, so you could do everything everyone else could. that was all katie wanted, to make him feel okay.

"this doesnt make you useless, or different. Dyslexia is very common, especially among boys."

She didn’t understand. And if she didn’t now, he doubted she would.

It did make him different. It did make him worse, although he truly didn’t understand how he hadn’t noticed. But, he didn’t want to bother Katie with it. So, he nodded slightly, and drained all of his discomfort from his face, leaving only a passive geniality that would fool most people.

There was no use of making a fuss about it if it couldn’t be helped. No use in having someone else worry unnecessarily. If he was to be a good neighbor to his fellow man, then he shouldn’t force them to support him. He would figure out ways to survive on his own. At least the whole ‘dyslexic’ thing didn’t seem to interfere with his other ambitions. He wouldn’t need to read to train horses, or become an Animagus, or be a man of good character, but it was always there. The fact that he couldn’t achieve something. He hadn’t cared about being a particularly good student before now, but it was the fact that it was forever out of reach that made him crave it all the more.

“Yeah, of course!” His voice was brighter now, and he tried his hardest to make sure nothing of his facade slipped.

Katie was happier as he began to trust her, and it shown on her face. a little more brightness in the eyes, a little more raising of her lips. "yeah, see? nothing to be scared of, nothing that effects anything. you can still be the smartest kid in school, or the bravest, or whatever." she left a little smile forming on her face as he trusted her more. or at least, as she THOUGHT he did. she was very gullible as well. she couldnt see through his new lies.

"do you wanna work on homework together?" Katie was all done with hers, but she didnt mind helping someone else do some work, or getting ahead on next week's work. or the week after that, or just reading and offering help to a soul in need. she loved working quietly, it made her feel safer. no scary new people, no social situations she didnt know quite how to navigate. just work. math and science and reading and spells. right and wrong. simple. Katie liked simple. "I can help you, if you'd really like." or maybe he would just leave her alone. not that that was what she wanted, but it was a possibility.