Third time's a charm
Tuesday 20th September, 2022 - Midday
The walls in the abandoned classroom showed the pockmarks of abuse by its irregular visitors. Names, hearts, dates long past, and words long fallen out of fashion had been scratched into the plaster wherever the wallpaper had peeled off beyond repair. Scorch marks of misfired spells, hastily extinguished, spilled their way up to the crumbling ceiling like splotches of dark ink. In the corners, small hills of dust and paint chips had piled up, and the creaking oak floor was impregnated with susurrations of the past.
The gloomy spell was lifted, at least in part, by the arrival of a visitor carrying a wand, a book of charms, and high hopes for the day. Finnegan had considered inviting June to the Owlery's attic instead but decided that practicing spells did not warrant use of the secret place. Besides, it was much more convenient to remain within the castle walls, even though the weather was much milder today.
He cracked one of the windows open to let a breeze of fresh air sweep through the dusty classroom. The fragrance of chestnut and a drizzle of rain that had rolled over the hills that morning brightened the air and drew out a hint of aged beeswax buried deep in the pores of the floorboards.
He still hadn't decided if he would ask June to help him with the wand lighting charm or the levitation charm. The first seemed more useful to him, but he would make more of an impression on Professor Fresnel if he mastered the latter ahead of everyone else. While his impression of the charms Professor had improved somewhat, he remained unsure if she still thought of him as a sleep-deprived hopeless case.
Almost instinctively he rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand and silently wished George and his powder box would appear like Aladdin's genie to mask the light bags under his eyes. At the click-clacking of brisk footsteps approaching, he combed his hands through his messy hair, flashed a smile at his ghostly reflection in the window and tried not to burst with excitement the moment June Selwyn would step into the room.
Strange. He'd never felt anxious about meeting someone before, least of all someone he already knew. Growing up in Butetown had stamped out any bashfulness he might have possessed, yet the mere thought of seeing June again made him feel unbalanced like he no longer quite knew where to put his hands or how to stand.
Don't be ridiculous, he reprimanded himself. He'd made friends fourth years, with George, with Alec, and he'd gotten along fine with Alan too. All of them were many years above him, yet he had not shied away from talking to any of them. And now he'd be caught blushing and blinking because of a second year? She wasn't even any taller than him, and she'd been quite nice to boot, so what was there to worry about?
Oh yes, minor detail. The ball. The fall ball. The fail ball, more likely. She was definitely going to say no, it really wouldn't even be worth asking. Someone else probably had already asked her anyway, and why would she even want to be seen with a first-year? One that couldn't even manage the most basic of charms no less.
He had half a mind to ask her the moment she appeared, just to get it over with, but when she finally did show up, all he managed to croak out was a pathetic, "Hey." Great. Just great.
He pushed himself up from the window sill he'd been leaning against and motioned his chin toward the charms book and a collection of broken quills he'd brought. "I was thinking uh," he clenched and unclenched his fists at his sides, "we could work on the levitation charm? Or did you have something else in mind, Professor Selwyn?" He smiled faintly.
(Briefly) mentioned: @Zoë Fresnel, @George Henry
Interacting: @June Selwyn
"He's a dweeby chocolate bar lip smacking nerd" - Evelynn Decipio
Third time's a charm
JUNE SELWYN
*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧
Date: September 20, 2022 | @Finnegan Conner | Dialogue: X
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Date: September 20, 2022 | @Finnegan Conner | Dialogue: X
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June Selwyn walked towards the classroom with a spring in her step. She couldn't believe it, Finnegan Conner had actually taken her up on her offer to tutor him in charms! The feeling of having knowledge and to have others acknowledge it swelled June's ego just a tad, and had given her confidence over the past few days. Now all she had to do was not screw it up.
A small handful of red autumn leaves sat in her robe's pocket, ready to be lifted up to the heavens. When June reached the classroom, she paused a moment, taking a deep breath. You can do this, Selwyn. Just do a better job at tutoring than Maggie did, and you'll be fine. No hospital wing visits today.
When she pushed open the door, she was surprised to see Finnegan already inside, his books already laid out besides a pile of quills that had seen better days. June gave the boy a smile, her position of authority (no matter how small) lifting her spirits. "Good afternoon, Finnegan!"
She set down her own bag, pulling out her wand and the leaves from her pockets. "My thought exactly, Mr. Conner." June walked over to an empty desk, setting the leaves down in a straight line, adjusting the stems so they faced the same direction. "When people have trouble with charms, I find it's often because they haven't paid attention to the tree rules of charm casting. I think this would be a good way to measure how comfortable you are with the three without the risk of over-concentration and permanently damaging your wand with the lighting charm."
Once she was satisfied with the placement of the leaves, she spun around, facing her younger friend. Friend? Were they quite friends yet? Well, her younger... Peer. Acquaintance. Whatever they were to each other. "Right then, do you know the incantation for this charm yet?"
Third time's a charm
A faint smile tugged at the corner of his lips at June's beaming entrance into the classroom. She had entered with a noticeable skip in her step and seemed genuinely happy to be there. That makes two of us he mused to himself. Still, it didn't mollify the tingling feeling buzzing through his veins; he could still make a complete fool of himself by messing up his spellwork, or worse, swishing his wand around like an idiot without any tangible result.
Adding to his growing list of worries was her warning about permanently damaging his wand. He swallowed down a gulp. That was a possibility? Had professor Fresnel ever mentioned it? The downside of nodding off during class was that it made it impossible to tell what he'd missed, and he'd been too stubborn to ask anyone for help to fill in the gaps. In that regard, it was a good thing June had offered to help.
Without really meaning to, Finnegan had settled into tapping his wand against his thigh until June had finished setting up the leaves and turned back to face him. "Wingardi-uhm," he took a moment to clear his throat. "Uhmmm.... wingardium leviosa."
That was the easy part, though he had repeated the words so often in his head that it sounded slightly funny to him now. "Wingardium leviosa," Finnegan repeated once more for good measure, his voice a little firmer now. "That's it, right?"
More concerning was that June had mentioned there being three rules, yet he could only think of two. Incantation and wand movement, both of which he was quite certain he was doing right. "Right, well," he edged forward, readied his wand and shot a final, quizzical look at June. "Prepare to be disappointed."
Swish and flick, he remembered that bit. But when he incanted the charm, the first leaf was not sent up in graceful levitation. With a snap and a flash of light, the beautiful red leaf which June had probably hand-picked earlier that morning was blasted halfway across the room and had shriveled into a skeleton of charred fiber by the time it landed.
Finnegan turned to June with a guilty, apologetic look written on his face. "I guess it flew."
Adding to his growing list of worries was her warning about permanently damaging his wand. He swallowed down a gulp. That was a possibility? Had professor Fresnel ever mentioned it? The downside of nodding off during class was that it made it impossible to tell what he'd missed, and he'd been too stubborn to ask anyone for help to fill in the gaps. In that regard, it was a good thing June had offered to help.
Without really meaning to, Finnegan had settled into tapping his wand against his thigh until June had finished setting up the leaves and turned back to face him. "Wingardi-uhm," he took a moment to clear his throat. "Uhmmm.... wingardium leviosa."
That was the easy part, though he had repeated the words so often in his head that it sounded slightly funny to him now. "Wingardium leviosa," Finnegan repeated once more for good measure, his voice a little firmer now. "That's it, right?"
More concerning was that June had mentioned there being three rules, yet he could only think of two. Incantation and wand movement, both of which he was quite certain he was doing right. "Right, well," he edged forward, readied his wand and shot a final, quizzical look at June. "Prepare to be disappointed."
Swish and flick, he remembered that bit. But when he incanted the charm, the first leaf was not sent up in graceful levitation. With a snap and a flash of light, the beautiful red leaf which June had probably hand-picked earlier that morning was blasted halfway across the room and had shriveled into a skeleton of charred fiber by the time it landed.
Finnegan turned to June with a guilty, apologetic look written on his face. "I guess it flew."
"He's a dweeby chocolate bar lip smacking nerd" - Evelynn Decipio
Third time's a charm
JUNE SELWYN
*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧
Date: September 20, 2022 | @Finnegan Conner | Dialogue: X
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Date: September 20, 2022 | @Finnegan Conner | Dialogue: X
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With her mind and gaze firmly set on Finnegan's spellwork, June began to make a mental note of each thing he did while casting.
His pronunciation was fine, but when he didn't say it with confidence, his last syllable got a bit muddy.
His "flick" in the swish-and-flick movement could be more whip-like.
His eyes darted slightly when he cast the spell.
He didn't seem to be concentrating that much on the spell itself. It was as if something was distracting him, perhaps...
The leaf was sent careening across the room in a move that would have been quite impressive if it was intentional. She stood for a moment, quite honestly stunned by the display, before turning to face Finnegan. The look in his eyes set off a pang in June's heart. He looked almost sorry for messing up the spell. June smiled, trying to uplift the boy's attitude."I suppose it did fly a bit." June approached the now-charred leaf, picking it up carefully by the stem and placing it in the bin.
"Well, at least something actually happened, and we have a point to jump off of. Let's try again, but this time, try pretending your wand is a whip as you flick it downwards, like this." June cleared her throat, her mind blocking out everything except for the spell she was trying to cast. "Wingardium leviosa." June lifted one of the leaves off of the table, feeling quite proud of herself that her need for perfection was paying off. "See? It's a forceful movement down, and then quite gentle once you get it off of the surface." She guided the leaf up, up, up, before sending it gently gliding across the room and landing it on Finnegan's head. June giggled to herself. "Now you have a hat."
A good bit of time passed, filled with Finnegan doing what could only be described as his best. Though there were small improvements here and there, nothing could be classified as a "success". Yet. June could sense the young Gryffindor getting a bit frustrated, so after he finished his current attempt, June set her wand down. "I think we should take a break, try and refresh your mind a bit. You don't want to concentrate too hard on the spell, after all."
June pulled one of the chairs out, taking a seat as she took a breath. It was funny, June hardly knew this person, and yet she was finding her walls diminishing quite quickly around him. "You know, Finnegan, I think I envy you a bit." June sighed as she remembered how she felt this time last year. "It seems you've already begun to find your place here. You talk to people, you actually asked me for help, you're social... I only had one friend last year until the very end, and he doesn't even talk to me anymore." June looked Finn in the eye, trying to read his expression. "I think you're much more courageous than I am."
Third time's a charm
Despite his best efforts, he achieved every result except the desired one (though nothing as spectacular as his first attempt) and was growing more and more frustrated. He knew better than to show it, of course, but it was difficult not to let the disappointment show on his face. After the umpteenth failed attempt and having collected a veritable crown of leaves, he was all too eager to give up and plopped down on another chair opposite of her. It was hard to focus when she showered him with encouragement and cute smiles.
He was surprised when June spoke up and admitted that she actually envied him. What could she possibly have to envy him for? It was the last thing he would have expected her to say; she had everything going for her. She was pretty, she smelled nice (a bit like fabric softener) and he could not imagine that she had only had one friend in her first year.
"I don't think that's true," he said, shaking his head. "I'm still scared of wasps."
No sooner than he'd made his attempt at a joke, he regretted it. She sounded quite serious and he had no idea what it was like to be in her shoes. Maybe she'd be offended that he'd swatted her compliment away like a fly. Keen eyes roved over her, trying to gauge her reaction. He knew so little about her, yet he wanted to know more.
"I'm sorry your friend doesn't talk to you anymore," he said, leaning forward in his chair. "His loss really. So," he cocked his head to the side and chewed on his lips, "d'you reckon I can make up the difference? If I'm not going to be a wizard," he said, shooting a miserable glance at what remained of the leaves, "the least I can be is a friend."
He opened his mouth to say more, to bridge the gap to the question that had been on his mind the entire time.
Will you go to the ball with me?
But he remained silent. Where was his supposed courage when he needed it? Better to wait until he knew if she even wanted to be friends with a stupid boy a year below her. A sigh escaped him while he slumped in his chair and trained his eyes on the ceiling. Much safer to look that way than to look into June's pretty eyes right before she would storm off and call him an idiot for even thinking they could be friends.
Last edited by Bessie Barnes on 4 Jan 2025, 18:40, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Removed outdated and cringey image banner
"He's a dweeby chocolate bar lip smacking nerd" - Evelynn Decipio
Third time's a charm
JUNE SELWYN
*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧
Date: September 20, 2022 | @Finnegan Conner | Dialogue: X
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Date: September 20, 2022 | @Finnegan Conner | Dialogue: X
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I'm still scared of wasps." June didn't even notice the apprehension on Finnegan's face as she closed her eyes and let out a quiet laugh. "I didn't say you were fearless. Just... Brave." June couldn't help but roll her eyes a bit at her own comment about the Gryffindor who sat across her. "Not to be cliché or anything."
A sad smile danced across June's face as she found herself talking about Shawn McCarthy. Again. She looked at the floor, gently kicking her legs back and forth. "Thanks. I suppose he wasn't much of a friend." Her cheeks flushed a bit, a bit from Finnegan's compliment and a bit from the frustration of her former friend's abandonment. Finn's genuine offer of friendship took her a bit off-guard, her moving legs went still. Did he really feel that way, that he wasn't going to be a wizard? She looked up, only to find the young boy staring at the ceiling, poised as if he was wanting to say something.
She paused a moment, giving him space to say what was on his mind. When it didn't come, June broke the silence. "Finnegan Conner, I'd be honoured to have you as a friend." She smiled, feeling as light as a feather. She was doing it, she was really doing it! June Selwyn was being social, making friends, and creating a reputation for herself, and it hadn't even been a full month of the new school year.
June let out a soft chuckle. "You know, this is probably the easiest friendship-establishing I've experienced so far. I didn't have to fall off a broom or lose a bet or eat a gross jelly bean or anything." She looked her new friend in the eye. "I think I quite prefer this way."
Third time's a charm
Honored to be his friend? Now that was a phrase he'd never expected to hear. Then again, making friends wasn't usually this business-like, it just kind of happened all by itself, effortless like breathing. With all the grace of a brick, Finnegan's gaze left the ceiling and landed back on June, arching an eyebrow at her. His experiences making friends had not involved beans or brooms. There was a story there, but no matter how tempting it was to ask about it and put off the inevitable, he knew that asking her out to the ball would only get harder the longer he waited.
"Please just call me Finn," he said. "Unless you want to make me hairs stand on end, makes it sound like I'm in trouble," he grinned at her. "I'm glad to be your friend too."
Well, it was a start at least.
He got up and began packing up his bag, which he almost immediately regretted. Not only had he yet to ask her out, but now he'd put himself on the clock too. He groaned inwardly. Why was it so hard to just turn around and ask her the question? Some witch or wizard had to have invented a spell for this exact problem, right? He promised himself he'd learn it if he ever came across it.
He turned back to her, a sheepish smile on his face. "So, uh, listen June," he began, wringing his hands nervously. "I was wondering..."
He paused and took a deep breath as though he was preparing to plunge himself into an ice bath.
"Wouldyouliketogotheballwithme?" he blurted. It would be a miracle if she got any of that. "I mean..." Something tightened in his chest. Somehow he had no trouble doing loop-the-loops dozens of feet off the ground on a broomstick, but asking June out to the ball made bile rise to his throat. Falling off a broom in exchange for not having to ask The Question didn't sound like such a bad deal now.
He cleared his throat. "I mean, would you like to go to the fall ball with me?"
This was just as hopeless as his spellcasting. "Oh, uhm, sorry, you're probably already taken, I'll just...yeah...never mind" By some miracle, he kept the telltale signs of embarrassment from showing on his cheeks, though the way he hastily turned around and slung his bag over his shoulder was a dead giveaway. He was only seconds away from courageously fleeing the scene, and then he'd have to find a higher-year willing to cast a memory-wiping charm on him.
"He's a dweeby chocolate bar lip smacking nerd" - Evelynn Decipio
Third time's a charm
JUNE SELWYN
*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧
Date: September 20, 2022 | @Finnegan Conner | Dialogue: X
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Date: September 20, 2022 | @Finnegan Conner | Dialogue: X
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Finn. June nodded at the permission to use a nickname. She wondered if she would ever have a nickname from someone... Probably not, there weren't a lot of ways one could shorten "June".
She watched as Finn began to pack his bag, a small pang of disappointment ringing in her that he was seemingly giving up on this tutoring session. Perhaps he was just done for the day, and would want to continue another time? Hopefully it was that and not that he was disappointed in her ability to teach him. Or that he thought he was a lost cause.
He turned to face June, something clearly on his mind. June leaned forward in her seat, waiting to hear what he would say. Not that it mattered, because what came out of his mouth was a garbled string of sounds that she couldn't understand at all. Ah, perfect, he had provided his own translation.
June was shocked. The ball? He wanted to go to the ball... with her? "I-" June wasn't able to fully compose her thoughts before Finn seemed ready to burst out the door. If June wasn't mistaken, he seemed embarrassed about this whole situation, but she couldn't quite figure out why.
"Finn, wait." June stood up, grabbing her bag and her wand, and walked over to her new friend. "You'd really like to go to the ball with me?" A mix of flattery and confusion danced across June's face, before it settled into a gracious smile. "I'd love to attend with my newest friend." A beat passed. "That's a yes, in case that wasn't clear," June blurted out. Still, there was something about the whole situation that June couldn't quite decipher. In fact, that "something" had been present in her first few interactions with Finn, too. Hopefully it wasn't something too important. Probably not.
She quickly picked up the remains of the leaves that were piled on the nearby desk, tossing them in the bin before running back. "And don't give up on your Charms work. I'm here if you ever want another tutoring session." June pushed open the door, holding it open for him. "Some friend I'd be if I didn't offer to help you out."