Arithmos Manteia: October{Sixth Years, All Houses}

[Deleted]

The tap, tap, tapping of chalk on a board was all that could be heard in the full class room on the first floor of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Septima Vector in the short time that she had been a Professor had mastered the art of keeping her children in check. Well the older ones at least, the third and fourth years sometimes had issues sitting still and being quiet. Or containing their hormone driven outbursts, there was always teenage drama to contend with. However, compared to the loose way she had seen other classes run she was quite proud of the way her students behaved whilst under her eye. 

Someone behind her sighed, and she heard a paper shuffle, and then again; and though she never stopped her writing on the chalkboard she was paying extra close attention to who was currently sniggering behind her. They had to be close for her to hear them at all; mentally she was viewing the class, pinpointing everyone’s seats. Another shuffle of paper followed by a giggle and Septima finished a number five with an extra loud tap on the board. “Savage, Jones, kindly refrain from passing notes in my class. I would think by your sixth year in this castle you would know better, ten points from Hufflepuff a piece for your disregard for the rules.” 

The two girls had always taken her class and always been good friends, and always a little too chatty; but Septima knew a public reprimand and a loss of house points would set them straight. Professor Vector crossed her arms, leaned up against her desk, and surveyed her students. She had so far been drilling them on the things they had learned in previous years, a refresher course, back to basics. “Since you are in this class I’m going to properly assume that you plan on taking a N.E.W.T. in this subject, as your final in this class I will require a research paper. We will begin today with discussing theory. Any questions before we begin?” 

[Ethan Vanderhyde]

Ethan dutifully nodded along as the professor spoke of her expectations for them, his fashionably long fringe in his eyes, and gave a slight shake at the end; a research paper as a final wasn't terrible, he'd had far worse examinations in both Arithmancy and its more flowery sister, Divination. The practicals were the worst - give him a practical in Defense and he would ace it, but these? It was immensely and ridiculously difficult to keep all of the rules for all the different methods of divining straight from each other. He honestly wouldn't have continued with either but for his mother's insistence. As the woman hardly insisted on anything - most of the time she was too foggy to voice any strong or coherent argument - Ethan went along with it. He didn't find the courses awfully challenging on the whole - Divination was so woolly that he could hardly suffer through pretending to see omens in the mundane, but at least Arithmancy was based on numbers and letters, and those couldn't change their shape as the wind blew.

At least the class composition was better this year than in the past; those with no work ethic were gone, and almost all who thought they could get away with things had left as well. Vector had just caught some of the air-headed Hufflepuffs passing notes without even turning around; they'd probably be out within the month. He had been sitting with Meredith most days, suffering through rapid-fire reviews of the things they already knew. They were moving to some sort of theory today, apparently, and he gave the blonde next to him a slight raise of his brows as he re-inked his quill. As monotonous as review was, theory was simple in the beginning, but he wasn't looking forward to the endless and mainly circular notes that wound up comprising his sleeves of parchment for this course. He always had to go back after class, go through his notes with the textbook to make sure he'd gotten it right. But maybe this year he'd...

After scrawling the date on the top of his parchment, he wrote a small note on the other side, closest to Meredith, and without looking at her slid it towards her slightly.

    Deconstruct this later?

[Meredith Mulciber]

What bumbling idiots Hufflepuffs can be. Meredith would have given them each a weeks’ worth of detention, and taken twenty not ten points apiece. After all they were distracting class, she had defiantly been aware of their note passing. If you were going to pass notes at least do so subtly. Imbeciles.

The Professor began to speak and Meredith was enraptured at once. Oh the possibilities! A research paper, something she could expound on at last. She already had several ideas fluttering about her head and she quickly grabbed a sheet of parchment and began scribbling furiously. The hand not busy writing out theories shot up when Vector asked for questions, and when she was called she didn’t even bother lifting her head. 

“What’s the limit on grade potions when can experiment with? “ It was just one of her ideas, to explore the Draught of Living Death, break it down into numbers and letters on paper. See if she could deconstruct it, rearrange it, and make it a potion that would suspend life in a comatose state, indefinitely. It was ambitious for sure, maybe too ambitious for school. It was no matter she had several to choose from. 

A shift in her peripheral caught her attention but she refrained from looking at it until the Professor had answered, the blonde had nodded politely, and the older woman had looked away. ‘Deconstruct this later?’ It was a small note inconspicuously scribbled on Ethan’s notes.Yes! Meredith thought excitedly. However, the girl wrote simply, ‘Library, after dinner, tonight?’ in the corner of her own paper in tight flowing script and pushed it slightly off her stack of neat pages. 

[Deleted]

It was very rewarding when her students got excited about something, she was pleased to note that several of her students were just comping at the bit with the news of their project this year. It was pretty much a free for all. It was why she loved her job and her subject so much; she lived in the world of grey space and it gave her all the room she needed to allow her students to expand , think for themselves, really think.

It was more than reading from a book or simply working an equation to see what road John Doe takes. It was their chance and she was happy with the response. There was even a question. “Yes Ms. Mulciber?” Of course the girl couldn’t be bothered to look up, impertinent, studious, frustrating girl. Septima’s lips pressed into a firm line at her question.

“No one is to use any type of potion or spell above O.W.L. level. If anyone intends to use N.E.W.T. level materials they would need special permission from me first.” Septima eyed her class seriously, lingering on a certain few. For more assurance she added in her ‘do not trifle with me’ tone, “Do not test me, it is dangerous and I will know if you try.”

There didn’t seem to be many more questions forthcoming, it was all well, once the discussion picked up and their brains began working she had no doubt they would have many questions. In the mean time she stood and returned to the board. “For a reference, this is the result of my first published research project.” She tapped the board, reigning in her excitement expertly, but still smirking pleasantly. “My goal was to implement Muggle Algebraic equations into our own Artimanic equations to give us a new way to more accurately predict things like dates, times, coordinates. This took me years.”

Even to her own ears she sounded proud, which she was. “I don’t expect you to complete this project this year if even at all. I want you to think big on this one, really stretch your mind, the barriers of magic even.” She turned to face her class again, she could get really worked up over her subject. With a flick of her wand a stack of papers near her elbow began passing themselves out to her waiting students. “To help get the creative juices flowing I have drawn up a list of some ideas.”

[Ethan Vanderhyde]

At the first mention of the research project, Ethan's mind was drawing a blank. Sure, this was his fourth year of taking the subject, but to this point they had still been learning the basics of the complicated study. But now she was handing them the reins with little-to-no direction? As his pale blue eyes drifted from his parchment to his classmates, the Slytherin saw he wasn't the only one seeming perplexed. His table partner, however, already had her hand in the air with a ready question, her other hand busy scrawling ideas. Ethan was hardly surprised - Meredith, some days, seemed to live for this course - but it did strike his competitive nerve...

What are you good at, Vanderhyde?

Funnily enough, an answer, this time, came quickly - Defense. Given his father's second job, it was a rather ironic thing, but true. He had an aptitude for dueling, a mind made for the quick-thinking it entailed, and maybe he could figure something out using Arithmancy...break down and compare curses to counter-curses? See if they're inverses or have any sort of other relation? As Vector answered her pupil, Ethan wrote down a few notes of his own, his curiosity...piqued. The boy did make note, both mental and on the parchment, of their professor's no-nonsense warning - but they were being restricted to O.W.L. level spells? He couldn't help the flicker of disappointment downing his features at that. Maybe you could convince her - get some preliminary research in, see if she'll allow something more advanced, more interesting...

Thankfully, after writing his discreet note to Meredith, the girl was quick with an agreeable answer. She was near expert at this discipline, or so it seemed, so hopefully would think his idea for the project wasn't all bad. Sure, he'd be daft to not expect amendment upon amendment, but it'd only help him out in the long run, if he could suffer through the beating his original idea was like to get. Not one to hold things back, that Meredith Mulciber. Underneath his original message, Ethan wrote so she could see - Arithmancy nook, see you there. - before turning his attention back to the blackboard, where the professor was - bit puffed as a peacock, as it were - showing the results of her first publishing. The lanky boy sat a bit forward as he tried to make out the intricacies of what she'd done, but the complicated mathematics would take more than the brief glimpse they were allowed to take in and understand fully - and as the woman continued, he sat back in his chair, interest turning into an unimpressed affect. He was surprised she'd used muggle mathematics - was she not a graduate of his House? She didn't strike him as some sort of muggle simpatico, but why else would she bother digging into that world? The muggle mathematics couldn't possibly compare to what they did as witches and wizards - why would she have wasted her time with it?

Personal feelings aside, Ethan snatched a pair of the parchments from the air as they came by, sliding one to Meredith with a pleasant smile to the blonde. Oh but if they could only speak freely here! He knew the girl at his side had been raised with values similar to his own - what would she have to think about the professor of her favorite subject favoring muggles enough to use their equations?

He took a few moments to glance at the list before looking back to the front and getting the professor's attention. "Professor," he said with a hand slightly raised, "in continuing to the N.E.W.T. level, will we carry this year's research with us?" If they were, he wanted to make sure he wasn't dedicating all of this time and effort to something that would drive him mad by the end of this term - his curse and counter-curse idea should be interesting enough to keep his attention though, right?

[Meredith Mulciber]

To say Meredith was disappointed at her Professors answer was an understatement. Only being able to use O.W.L level potions and spells was going to narrow the scope of possibilities by quite a bit. Feverishly the blonde began scribbling notes on new ideas that didn’t require so many dangerous materials. Still she thought with a little persuasion Vector would let her use N.E.W.T level; she was perfect apt.

 At the Professors next bit of showing off Meredith cut her eyes to Ethan quickly, her face carefully blank. She knew he must be thinking the same thing, muggles? She would have thought better of the young teacher; she was one of them after all. But Mere submersed quickly that it didn’t matter much the Arithmatician Mistresses affiliation or affection for the filthy non magic simpletons.

She was a Professor, a prestigious position, and very important to Meredith’s future. The girl could not treat the woman any differently and risk Vector not recommending her to Max. She needed as many letters of recommendation she could get and this Professors word carried the most weight. It was a complicated game, the real world, but Meredith thought she was getting a pretty good head start. She already understood the intricacies of politics.

She returned Ethan’s smile with a small one of her own as he slipped her a page as they went around. Briefly she skimmed the list, listening the Ethan as he inquired about the exact same thing she was thinking now. Several of her ideas would take years to come to fruition. She smirked to herself, but it was really for the boy next to her. It was nice to have someone with similar thought process around.

“And how will we be graded? Is this project the only assignment we will have this year?” she asked forgetting to raise her hand. As the Professor spoke of course Meredith recorded everything she said, her eyes catching the last words Ethan had scribbled at the top of his page. ‘Eight o’clock don’t be late!’ she wrote back underlining the last bit with a sharp stroke of her quill.

[Deleted]

It was a treat when one’s students were so interested in what they would be learning the coming year. Septima perched on the edge of her desk as Vanderhyde half-raised his hand and asked a question, then another half-raised hand, then just a question and another and another until she was being peppered with inquiries from what seemed her whole class. The questions then lapsed into an open discussion among the students.

The Professor smiled, that warm feeling she got when she felt she had done something good invaded her. Silently she raised a hand and the class quieted down immediately as she spoke. “Yes, you will continue your work next year and yes this will be the only project for the rest of your time at Hogwarts in this class.” She answered in her practiced voice, looking at the students who had asked those questions each in their turn.

“And no this is not a group project, and no you cannot do your paper on the exact same thing.” She added, eyeing the two girls who asked such silly questions with a quelling glare. Turning back to the class at large, her face relaxed and she clapped her hands before her and hopped to her feet. Septima made her way down her desk where the other stacks of paper lay, as she walked she tapped a stack with her wand until there were four separate pamphlets floating around the room.

She rolled her eyes as several students made a mess of trying to snatch one up as they whizzed by. Annoyed, she bent swiftly and plucked one up as it floated to the floor before her. “Five points from Gryffindor, be more care this is not a playground.” She admonished the boy and she slipped the paper on his desk and began moving around the room.

“Make sure you each have a list of project ideas, a deadline schedule, list of prohibited materials and spells, a pamphlet of how much research you have to have done for every deadline this semester, and a list of helpful books and journals which can all be found in the library or purchased by owl.” Septima took a deep breath as she completed her circle and stood again before her students.

This was going to be a tough year for them all and in turn for her as well. They however only had to do it once; she had to do it every year just with a new and different class. With everything passed out, Septima took a seat behind her desk gratefully. “The rest of the period you may talk quietly amongst yourself; you may approach my desk one at a time with any further questions.”

[Ethan Vanderhyde]

Ethan's carefully lidded distaste for their professor's choice of research was reflected in the hazel eyes of his tablemate. Although he and the girl weren't incredibly close, they weren't daft - they knew of the right sort of people, and each was the right sort of person. That being said, it didn't take more than a simple look to affirm to the other that yes, their professor was disappointing them. Their silent communication continued with an exchange of smiles as the papers were handed out, and Ethan was glad to note she was seeming in a good mood today. Hopefully it would last through their meeting after dinner, and they'd be able to make some progress with this project. It was always good to get ahead of the game in classes like this, after all, and Ethan didn't want to hurry to scrap something together late in the term - no, if this was to be done well, it had to be started now.

His question seemed to have sparked the class' attention, as a clatter of voices followed his, inquiring about this or that in regards to the long-term project. Some questions were voiced to the class at large, some whispered to friends, some questions of quality and some questions of idiocy that made the Slytherin wonder just how his classmates had passed the O.W.L. Ethan waited, growing peeved, until the professor shut down the conversations and answered his question, giving a nod as she did. He drummed his long fingers on the table in thought as Vector sent piles of neatly stacked pamphlets to levitate around the room. If it's going to carry through until graduation, really has to be something you won't tire of...curses versus countercurses, will that do it? The studious sixth year was brought back to present with a sharp reprimand from the professor - thankfully not aimed at him, but some well-deserving lions. The corner of his mouth twitched up into a smirk, and he belatedly caught sight of Meredith's neatly scribed reply. He subtly tapped her writing in affirmation as Vector gave instructions, detailing what the pamphlets were and how they were to spend the remainder of the period. Once she had finished, he stood, grateful for the opportunity to get out of the chair too short for his legs, and motioned for Meredith to stay seated. "I'll get them for us both," he said simply before moving away to pluck a pair of pamphlets from each stack. It took some doing, as some of his classmates had, apparently, never learned to form a queue. But after a short enough time Ethan was back, separating the pamphlets and handing Meredith her set as he settled back into the chair with covered-up difficulty.

It was hard to be carelessly elegant when you were as knobby as a bowtruckle.

Not that he'd ever admit it.

Ethan leaned back in the chair, crossing an ankle over his opposite knee, and flipped open the "list of prohibited materials and spells" to see just how much of their creativity would be outlawed. After a few moments of reading, he let out a sigh, quietly commenting, "She really did mean nothing above O.W.L. - how are we to challenge ourselves if we can't use challenging potions and spells?"

[Meredith Mulciber]

Meredith had always been taught that staring was impolite. One should never let their eyes linger too long on one person if they weren’t engaged in direct conversation. But she couldn’t help but watch Ethan as he went to retrieve their work material from the front of the class. At least she knew there was one boy in this school who wasn’t a complete cad. And not too bad to look at either.

Meredith blushed at her thoughts and looked away to the line forming before their Professors desk to distract herself. She wondered briefly what half of these airheads would come up with, surly not anything interesting. Ethan returned in good time and she gave him a bright smile of thanks as he folded his long form into the chair made for a person her size, before shifting through her own stack of papers and pulling out the prohibited list. She read it, then read it again, sorely disappointed.

Meredith turned to Ethan with a curious brow when he spoke, her eyes darting to the paper in his hand. Of course they would both know which instructions were most pertinent. Again she thought it was nice having someone who thought as she did. Another smile for her work mate, she was doing that a lot today. “I’m sure with a little coaxing Vector will come around.” Meredith whispered slyly, covering her words with the shuffling of papers. Meticulously she spread them out on her corner of the desk and picked up her quill running the feather bit over her chin as she contemplated her notes and her instructions.

“I’m glad we have a couple years to work on this, so at least there’s that.” She said after a while and organizing her thoughts. “I think I want to explore extension charms, well I’m not sure, I also want to experiment with Veritaserum, and about a million other things.” She really needed to narrow it down. Hopefully her…friend  they were friendly enough to be friends right? would be able help with that. She was oddly looking forward to her time in the library later with Ethan Vanderhyde for some reason. “Have you decided on a thesis yet?”

[Ethan Vanderhyde]

Today, it seemed that nothing he did made Meredith Mulciber do anything but smile, and it was a nice change. The young man wondered what had her in such a good mood - cockily presuming that it was him - and sat with her quietly as they went through the paperwork. At his complaint he had to work to hold in a laugh, for she was a devious little thing, wasn't she? The pretty face and good breeding distracted from it, but Ethan was starting to see that there was more to this girl than met the eye, or that went around school.

"Decided on a thesis yet?" Ethan returned, chuckling as he shifted in his seat to better face his companion. "Correct me if I'm wrong, Meredith, but I believe we only just received the assignment - won't you give me until our meeting tonight to nail down exactly what I'm studying, as well as my well-informed opinion of it?" He was only teasing the academic witch, and hoped she'd take it as such, especially as she'd just listed a variety of topics she was interested in. "Those all sound fair, I've got one solid investigation forming so far, and that'd be to determine if there's any sort of pattern in the relationships between curses and their respective counter-curses. Could dig in to magical theory and all that, how spells are properly made...we'll see, I'll do some preliminary work to see if anything comes of it, if it's worth researching through the end of next year." Ethan, having made a pile of his own pamphlets, reached across the long desk to tug at her copy of the project deadlines so he could peruse it, nodding as he did.

"I should have enough time to do some testing and come up with a back-up before the first deadline," he commented quietly, more to himself than to his table-mate, as he returned the pamphlet to its previous alignment and sat up. "And you're thinking...extension charms or Veritaserum? Good luck finding test subjects if you go with the latter," he teased lightly with a playful raise of his brows, although he would worry - if she decided to go with that plan - about sharing meals with her in the coming months, given that she could easily use their mealtimes as experiments.

[Meredith Mulciber]

Upon further inspection, Meredith thought her thoughts were leaning a little to vicariously toward the side of having ‘rebound’ feelings for her table mate. She herself had never experienced this so she wasn’t sure. But she had heard her roommates talk about it enough to know that if you dated anyone too soon after a break up it was often considered a ‘rebound’ and more than not, only lasted a couple weeks. Given the blonde had only had the one relationship, and the pain of it was still throbbing and raw, she didn’t want to go looking for anything romantic any time soon.

She simply liked Ethan, they were study friends. He was charming and smart and she only felt platonic affection for him. Her thoughts were just being wayward. She made a mental note to reign them better in future and she nodded along as Ethan spoke, the boy hardly aware to her rapid thoughts. Meredith hide a smile by leaning over to write scratch out some ideas. A lesser man may have jumped at the opportunity to impress her and come up with a thesis on the spot, but no, not Ethan. “Very well then, I can hardly blame you.” She gestured to her page of theories now liberally marked through and turned her hazel gaze on him. When had he turned to face her? “I have so many excellent ideas it’s hard to choose. Tonight we shall both have it nailed down to no more than two theses and our well informed opinions on the matter.”

Ever the organizer Meredith pulled a separate piece of paper to begin writing her own schedule, comparing it to the deadline list as Ethan chatted. Normally too much talking grated on her nerves but she was actually interested in his ideas. “That sounds challenging and useful.” She remarked, looking up from her script just as her fellow Slytherin reached across her to retrieve the deadline schedule she had just been consulting. All at once she was assaulting with the smell and warmth of him. It was quick but enough to make her freeze up and her pulse to quicken.

He had that mix of pricey cologne, soap, and something all his own –all Ethan- that something in her seemed to agree with. Meredith thought she heard him saying something but she was still recovering and then, unbelievably, it happened again. This time she was a little more prepared when he leaned over to slip the page back in its place, but that only meant she had more of a mind to silently enjoy to heat that all humans gave off - mixed with that ode-du-Ethan that she seemed to like so much. He didn’t seem nearly as effected by being so close to her as she did him.

Meredith reminded herself that Ethan Vanderhyde did have something of a reputation with the ladies. Didn’t all the good eligible pureblood males? Something so simply and everyday would hardly be anything to him. Why did it matter anyway? They were friends. Work buddies. And what was wrong with his own identical stack of papers? She was thinking too much about him again and remembered her earlier vow to manage her thoughts so to distract herself Meredith straightened her stack of papers as her -as if it needed repeating- friend spoke. She was determined to be formal, alas, she was not able to help the sly smile that popped up at his last or her tilted words. “Well test subjects can always be acquired, if one doesn’t limit themselves to willingness.”

[Ethan Vanderhyde]

"A solid plan as any," Ethan assented, unable to keep from smiling at her unbridled confidence. It was rare to be in the company of such a girl - so often the purebloods he associated with were split into blatant followers or leaders. The followers were meek and obliging, the leaders unapologetically cruel to gain such loyalty. But Meredith and himself, they knew they were better, and better off, than many others they shared the castle with. They knew - but did not flaunt, and did not have to. They knew - and could understand each other, and naturally excel. They did not have to simmer down their talents to follow, they did not have to go out of their way to lead. Their intelligent choices had led them to the good standings they were in, and he, for one, found himself wanting to get to know her better.

Usually that sort of thought came out of a more primal urge than what he was currently experiencing.

Perhaps to test where he stood with her, Ethan invaded her metaphorical personal bubble after she'd complimented his idea, and had to hide a smirk at her immediate stiffening. Girls usually had some sort of reaction to him, and it appeared that not even Meredith Mulciber was immune. The sixth year wasn't quite sure about how he wanted to play with that - he needed to keep her on his side (her mind would be useful in progressing this project, and she was becoming more pleasant to engage with), but it was something to think about. To tuck away. And possibly utilize later.

And so, watching the pretty girl with his undivided attention, he cracked a smile as she spoke about how to find test subjects, almost as if she'd read his mind. "That said, I pray you won't take offense if I refuse any sort of drink you offer me...for the next two years. However, if you'd like a second pair of ears around for any of your trials, do let me know if I can be of assistance." The opportunity to hear - without consent - whatever secrets he wanted? From anyone in the Hogwarts population? The idea coming from a prefect, no less? How could he not offer to be involved?

[Meredith Mulciber]

Meredith nodded primly, inclining her head slightly in his direction. All of her plans were of the solid sort. The Slytherin was not, by any means, a 'fly by the seat of your pants' type of person. Whatever that meant. She always had a plan, a well thought-out plan, a plan fit for success. Maybe Ethan hadn't known that about her. Meredith suddenly felt that she wanted him to know. She wanted him to know all about her. 'Stop!' the voice in her head was harsh, reminding her that she couldn't wobble down the steep path that was the 'rebound'.  

Studiously, the blonde focused her full attention on their academic discussion. Well as much as she could as he was leaning over her, and then again. But she remained firm with herself. She would not create something out of nothing. It was nothing. They were friends -that was that- and managed to bring her mind back to the conversation quickly enough. She gave a wicked smile at Ethan's words. “How foolish would I be to offer it myself, do you think?” Meredith left the implications up to her table-mate. If she wanted to slip someone truth serum, well, they would never be the wiser would the?

She smiled then. “I'm sure I can find plenty of other test subjects, if of course, I choose that project. I'll keep in mind your offer of assistance should any of them prove difficult.” Meredith consulted her notes on the particular subject, comparing it to the list of other possible projects. It was a very good idea, but Meredith wasn't sure if all her mind was in it. What if she got bored with it? What if something else was far more interesting? Meredith let out a huff. “This is going to be difficult.” she assented. “Picking just one.” Meredith turned to Ethan with a sigh and a slight roll of her eyes at her last. “Perhaps you will be of more help than I'm expecting and I'll actually choose one tonight. If not, I'm sure Bronwyn will have opinions on the matter.”

[Ethan Vanderhyde]

You’re clearly one to watch, Ethan thought with a stifled laugh, the girl next to him giving him the most conniving of smiles. As long as he could keep the other snake on his side, the sixth year saw no harm in encouraging any malice he saw on her. It was entertaining to see and hear, and - if he was being honest - made her more attractive to him. There were plenty of well-bred girls who were beautiful and boring; one could never say the latter of Meredith Mulciber. ”Do you have a team of lackeys under your employ that I know nothing about? If so, bravo,” he mostly said in jest, eyes bright with his withheld laugh.

As his classmate went on, the boy gave a nod of assent, finding the thought of helping her get secrets out of the school population an amusing one. While she looked more closely to her notes, still unsatisfied with her most talked-about idea, Ethan took the few moments to think in a decidedly off-topic manner. He was feeling well about his project idea after all, but there was something different about his table partner. This wasn’t the first time they had agreed to pair up on something, to use the other’s trusted brain to think things through, and he’d known she was available - their whole circle knew how badly things had ended between her and Zabini - but he hadn’t ever taken much time to know her. Perhaps because she’d been unavailable until recently…and as she did not give off the vibe of being game for anything casual. It would be fun, though, Ethan could tell, to break her out of her carefully walled-up self…

When she spoke up again, obviously displeased, Ethan felt his lips tug up into a small smile. He’d experienced the same sorts of frustrations himself throughout the years, but when she brought up her roommate, his confusion was something he attempted to disguise. "I’m quite certain we will narrow it down to one on our own," Ethan assured her, pride rather pricked at the notion that Bronwyn Nott could be of more assistance, could be more decisive, than he could. Not that he had anything personally against the blonde, they occasionally got on very well actually, but there was something undeniably irksome about Meredith not thinking he would be sufficient. "Let me see," he said, moving his chair closer so he could look over the parchment with her. "Which of these can you not live without?"

[Meredith Mulciber]

Ha! As if she had little nobodies at her beck and call. Meredith wishes she did, but most people were either too frightened or too loathsome of her to get too close. There was a few of the younger children that were scared of her just enough, and even some older ones, who for the right price would do anything. But she wouldn't call them her 'lackey's'. “I manage.” is all she said, finding no need to correct Ethan's thinking. 

The next bit of conversation between herself and her table-mate pleased Meredith very much. She loved all things academic, and Arithmancy being her favorite subject; well, she obviously enjoyed discussion of it more than any other subject. Ethan seemed to love the area of study as much as she did, and she knew from years of classes with him, that he was intelligent. She was very much looking forward to their meeting later. If it didn't prove fruitful, then there was always Bronwyn... 

Meredith looked at Ethan sharply, hearing something in his statement she couldn't pinoint. Was it the mention of her roommate? What if Ethan liked Bronwyn? Lydia would be pleased if that were true, hadn't she just put Ethan top of the list for potential suitors for Winnie? Meredith found she was not so pleased with the idea -maybe what she had heard was his aversion to the other blonde- but she pushed that feeling away when Ethan's smell filled her senses as he leaned toward her, looking over her list. She wanted to put her hand over her notes, they weren't ready for other people's eyes! 

But she refrained, he was just trying to help. “Draught of Living Death. But that's going to take years. The real problem will be with the antidote. But, I digress, what plausible by the end of Hogwarts...?” Meredith paused, thinking very hard, and then huffed out a frustrated breath. “I'm not sure yet. They are all go good, they all require so much work, so many equations and endless numbers.” She sighed and turned to him fully, successfully not outwardly reacting to how close he was. Friends. “What about you? Anything you just might die if you don't get to explore?”