A Steep Learning Curve
September 4, 2025
@Isabella Bernard
Mentioning @Cassius Hirano
In the classically stereotypical way that most children of immigrants tended to be, Mercy grew up knowing that academics came first, family came second, and everything else was an afterthought. Now that he was at a new school with entirely different subjects, that seemed to be the case more than ever. So, although they were only three days into the semester, Mercy found himself in the library after his classes for the day had ended, textbooks open and parchment scattered across the table in front of him after changing out of those hateful robes he despised so greatly. Dressed in his favorite pair of baggy jean shorts, an oversized vintage Patriots jersey over a plain, long-sleeved white shirt, and his favorite high-top Jordans, he was certainly in his element fashion-wise, and he had hoped that dressing in some of his favorite things would help him feel more confident in his homework. Alas, poor Yorick, that was not the case at all.
Only centimeters from the brink of utter despair, Mercy’s head was, uncharacteristically, in his hands as he tried to slow his breathing down from the near-hyperventilation pace it was currently at. Nothing was making sense to him at the moment, despite his best efforts and tedious, meticulous notes from both class and the textbook. As a result, he simply could not cast this seemingly simple Green Spell Charm, and he didn’t have Cassius present to coax him into the correct wand movement and pronunciation and all that other stuff that went along with casting a spell correctly. He was moments from giving up at this point, ready to call it a night and vow to ask the professor more questions the next day, but there was a small part of his brain nagging at him to keep working at it. After all, he had never been one to settle for failure so quickly in the past.
He lifted his head briefly, mostly because all that blood rushing to his brain was giving him a bit of a headache, but also to survey the scene set before him. Granted, it was only the third day of classes, so the library wasn’t quite at its maximum capacity yet (he figured, like with most schools, that would come as assigned schoolwork gradually piled up), but there seemed to be a good amount of students already getting a running start on the new semester like him. Were any of them struggling the same was he was? Comparison may have been the thief of joy, but Mercy fell prey to its evil whispers more often than most would expect from the confident clench of his jaw, especially when it came to academics. He had no fantasy of being top of his class, but he did expect himself to earn good grades, which was seeming nigh impossible given that he had yet to master the very first spell being taught to them. If only he had someone to help him in this moment, someone to swoop in and frankly, save him from himself.
A Steep Learning Curve
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Isabella had been in the library the whole evening, just casually doing homework and studying. She loved reading and studying—especially now that everything was brand new and magical. Isabella had never learned magic in detail before coming to Hogwarts. She hadn't even read books about it, which was unusual given how much she normally read. But still, she was doing quite well. Something about the way magic was explained in class just made sense to her. It felt like learning a new language or picking up a complicated recipe—challenging, but exciting.
She was completely immersed in her Herbology notes when she noticed the boy sitting at the table across from her. He looked like he was really struggling. His head was in his hands, and his parchment was scattered everywhere, like he’d hit some kind of wall. Isabella paused, watching for a moment, unsure if she should say something. But then again, she was an extrovert. Starting conversations wasn’t hard for her, and he looked like he could use a friendly face. So, she stood up, walked over casually, and smiled gently.
"Hi," she said softly. "I don’t mean to interrupt, but…umm...you look really stressed. Do you want some help?"
| Isabella Bernard - Gryffindor | No pressure, no diamonds. |
No one is you and that's your power. |