Arithmos Manteia: October{Sixth Years, All Houses}

[Ethan Vanderhyde]

In her vague way, Meredith answered his jest, and he gave her a warm smile of his own. This girl freed from her engagement was a more enjoyable one to be around than the previous incarnation; Zabini ran with the sort of ilk he was doomed to as well, and while it was embarrassing for a public relationship to fall through (oh, how he knew the pains of that too well), he hoped his housemate was finding a silver lining. He came closer to look over her notes, skimming through half-formed plans as Meredith spoke of another front running idea. Ethan shot her a grin at her declaration, her self patting-on-the-back as it were. Nothing wrong with confidence well-earned. She abruptly turned to him, hazel eyes locking on green, and something gave her pause before she inquired about him. Not getting too close Meredith, am I? Smirking slightly at the thought, the boy smoothed his already tidy hair; he'd grown into his frame and ears over the last few years, features firming and muscles toning enough for him to catch the eye of the ladies of Hogwarts with good taste. Tripping up Meredith Mulciber was new, however - and fun.

"Well - possible relationships between curses and counter-curses will rank first until I experiment with it a bit," Ethan said, leaning back to take a look at his own notes for a moment. If his preliminary calculations found that there was no relation between the two, he'd have to try something different; a faulty hypothesis would hardly suit to engage his mind for two years. "But it could be interesting to compare the Agrippan and Chaldean methodologies, and how the different outcomes reveal differences in cultural significances, quirks of history..." Agrippan versus Chaldean, Europe versus the Middle East; the latter neglected the number nine in its calculations, leading to significant changes in letter arrangements. If he studied the works of prominent arithmancers of each region, redid their calculations using the opposite method, and found significant changes in interpretations...Could get too biographical, but there may be something there. History was an interest of his - not the way in which it was taught at Hogwarts, but in general. How could things have gone differently for those early wizards in power who put absolute faith in subjects like this, if they had used one method instead of the other?...

[Meredith Mulciber]

“Oh, right! I had forgotten, you are very good at Defense.” Meredith said, the words flowing from her mouth even as the thoughts formed in her mind. Initially, her brows had drawn together, curses and counter-curses? The blonde had been thinking that there were so many other more interesting, challenging things to explore. Then, she thought, not everyone’s interest’s were the same. That's when their shared Defense lessons had come to mind. And then she remembered something else, something Marc had said about Ethan once.  

’…ncy, pretty boy. ‘ Marc had been saying, as he entered the common room. Meredith had looked up from her studies; she remembered her eyes being blurry from working at equations for so long. She blinked a few times as Marc continued, turning to Charles and not yet noticing her, hidden as she was in the shadows by the fire.  ‘If he wasn’t so bloody good at dueling and Defense, damnit, I would challenge him on principal.’ Meredith remembered Charles giving a bark of a laugh and clapping her then fiancé on the back. ‘You are so full of sh-‘ Charles had begun but Meredith spoke up then, cutting him off. “What are you two on about?” She remembered Marc’s face: the way his head snapped in her direction, the way his jaw twitched, the way he had looked at her with his unreadable eyes. ‘Ethan Vanderhyde.’ Charles supplied with a grin. Meredith remembered responding with a grin of her own and her words for her fiance. “Ahh, 'bloody good' is he? Good enough to make you think twice?"

The memory swirled away, leaving a bittersweet taste when they were gone, and her eyes a little far away. They had had a terrible row after that. It wasn't their first clash and it wouldn't be their last. But they had always come back to each other after. Always. Not anymore. A pang of longing so deep struck her that it seemed to physically stab at her heart; she turned away from Ethan, not wanting him to see the sudden change in her. "I think that’s defiantly one for the short list.” She said, her voice jumping up an octave. She cursed herself and focused on her breathing. She rearranged her papers as her table-mate spoke again, finding herself becoming a tad too detached from the conversation. She was too mixed up in her own feelings. Meredith worked hard to bring her thoughts back around. Really, she just wanted to got back to her dorm and have Lydia play with her hair while she cried.  

“That might be fun.” she said after a while of collecting herself, with some effort. Meredith set her papers aside- having shuffled them about so much, she was sure Ethan knew she wasn't being natural. She turned her voice back to him, drinking observing the way he casually lounged back in his chair. He was all limbs, long legs and arms; lithe and stylish. Maybe, just what Winnie needed. “If you like histories. Personally, I think it's not enough for you. I prefer the curses and counter curses idea.” Ethan, from her knowledge of him, was an intelligent creature. Meredith thought he should push himself, as she did- as Bronwyn did, she admitted to herself. Especially if he had any chance to being formidable enough for her tenacious roommate. 

Thinking of, Meredith glanced around for the girl, wanting to bring her into the conversation. It would definitely garner her points with Lydia if it appeared she was helping in the quest to find Winnie a suitable man. But then a thought struck her and she whipped back around to Ethan. “What about Unforgivable's? Not all of them, just the one, the Imperius. It's the most benign of them all; they may let you play with it, for academic purposes of course.." Meredith paused to glance about again, her mind coming around to the suggestion she had just made. It was easier for her brain not to think about Marc when she was forcing it to think about two things at once. Find Winnie and bring her over, and, keep up conversation with Ethan. One was harder than the other. "What am I thinking, they will  never let you do it, and besides, it would probably take years. Now, where is Bronwyn Nott?"

[Ethan Vanderhyde]

A satisfied smile bloomed on his face at the compliment, the acknowledgement of academic superiority one he felt he quite deserved. His talents in Defense were something his father was excited about, because the better you knew your enemy, and what your enemy knew, the better chance you had at defeating them...The future was something the sixth year did his best to not dwell on, knowing the uncomfortable place he'd be in once he was out of school, but looming thoughts were always ready and waiting when his mind strayed from tasks at hand. He was tempted to reply, but Meredith's keen gaze had gone unfocused; Ethan was curious, naturally, to what was going on inside of the blonde's brain, but too properly bred to inquire. And so he busied himself with reorganizing his initial list of possibilities until she brought herself back, although the mental note had been made. When you think of me and defense, what does that make your mind go? His brows quirked at the newly high pitch of Meredith's voice, but he simply nodded. "Yes, I think so too." For emphasis, the boy drew a circle around it, sending her a small smile before she started analyzing his second idea.

It was interesting to watch her mind work, and Ethan did so this time, now that she was focusing on him and not on whatever had distracted her. Well - she had been focusing on him, why was she suddenly messing with her parchments? He stayed relaxed in appearance, not wanting to bother her more than she apparently already was. Was that it? She was distracted by him? His lips twitched at the idea, and he let out a chuckle as she shot down his suggestion. "Not enough for me? What's that supposed to mean?" The Slytherin was more intrigued than offended, truly; what was his housemate's perception of him?

Before long at all, she was launching into an extension of his original idea, and had his hair not been smoothed back from his forehead, his brows would've been lost beneath the fringe. Unforgivables at Hogwarts? When Vector won't even let us use above O.W.L. magic? Perhaps he was too much of a distraction for the girl, if she was voicing thoughts like this. He eyed her as she went on, curiosity near to bursting as she started looking about again, and was rather relieved when she negated her own idea, ridding him of the need to.

Are you quite all right? Ethan nearly inquired about his companion's health, and in his surprise at her sudden change of tone let the shock show on his face. "She's - er - she's just there." Ethan caught the girl's eye as she finished speaking with their professor and nodded her over to their table, a wan smile on his face as his mind puzzled over what exactly was happening here. He'd been enjoying this chat with his table mate quite well, but had Meredith grown uncomfortable with him? Or grown so aggravatingly tired of him that she required the intervention of her roommate? Not so unusual, you've heard her snip at people before. But Ethan felt he'd had the attention of the girl (well, sharing it with their project ideas), and was not too keen on giving it up. She was a quality person to be in the good books of, and while they'd never been close, much of that was likely her ex-fiancé's doing. Zabini was nothing but coolly polite to him, but there was a nefarious undertone in their conversations that Ethan couldn't kid himself out of denying. Old habits catching up, Meredith?

[Bronwyn Nott]

Aggravated was hardly a word she liked to use to describe herself, but Bronwyn Nott was unable to think of another one at the moment. She let her gaze linger across the room, flicking between her roommate and Ethan. She couldn't decide if it was because she wanted to be the one sitting next to Meredith, or the one sitting next to Ethan. You know you would rather be around her. Crossing her legs under her desk, she snapped her eyes forward, forcing herself to listen Professor Vector. Thankfully, the woman was finally getting to her point, and Bronwyn was picking up her quill, quickly scrawling down the details.

Class had been relatively boring up until this point, simply going over old things they had learned. And of course, Meredith was quick to ask a question, one that had Bronwyn smirking. What are you thinking, Meredith... Surely her roommate had something interesting she was thinking, and Bronwyn simply had to know, and do something better. Unfortunately, Vector was talking about muggles, and Wyn had to roll her eyes at her notes. That would at least be something worth discussing later.

But the woman redeemed herself as she started answering questions. Two years! This would have to be something she could really immerse herself in, and work on relentlessly. She hadn't planned to stay in this class, but she was not going to lose to Mulciber. No matter how much it might drive her insane to continue to be in this class. It was a sudden flurry of students, grabbing pamphlets and forming a line to speak to their Professor. Gathering her notes, she got in line with the pamphlets in hand, looking through them as she tried to drone out the idiotic questions that her classmates were asking.

For once, her fellow 6th years didn't seem to be taking up too much time, and before long she was at the front. Setting her notes down, she gave a sigh as she launched into her frustrations about the restriction on only O.W.L. level spells, especially seeing as it would make more sense to allow N.E.W.T. level given the length of the project. It was in the back and forth that she noticed Ethan giving her a pointed look and nodding her over. Gathering her papers, she headed over, a bemused look on her face. "You'd have thought most of these idiots wouldn't have made it past their O.W.L.'s, yet here they are," she said as she approached, sitting down at the desk in front of the pair. "At least we've finally got something interesting to do."

[Meredith Mulciber]

Recollections and resurgences of Marc were not getting her anywhere, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t get him out of her mind. He was stuck there in her head, as he had stuck himself in her heart. She was a fool to think she was over their split, a fool to ever believe she could go back to that girl she was before their engagement. She would forever be different now, not herself, not the same. He had ruined her! Unbidden the rage filled her. Meredith breathed it in thankfully, welcoming it into her soul. Anger was so much easier to deal with than the pain, the loss, the feeling of always being without a vital part of your personhood. And why shouldn’t she be angry? He had left her, he had not loved her enough, not nearly as much as she had loved him, and so, he deserved all the painful things she could think of. Meredith held onto the feeling of righteous fury as she re-focused her attention on her housemate, noting the circle he drew around her favorite idea of his and his charming wink.

The blonde leveled the boy next to her with a serious stare at his question, slipping easily into the comfort of schooling someone. “What it means,” she began pointedly, as this seemed a silly question to her; Meredith thought she was perfectly clear in her meaning. “Is that, you are more intelligent than this.” Here she tapped at his notes with a careless finger; this time it was her doing the invasion of personal space. “This hardly seems a challenge for someone of your stature. Surely, it is your endeavor to always be better, that hardly seems better to me. You are capable of more, I believe, unless of course I’ve understood you all wrongly. In which case, enjoy your mediocre project.” Merlin that had felt good! For a moment she had felt a little of her old self seeping along the edges of her being. More of herself joined in at her –admittedly quite ridiculous for the time frame and restrictions- suggestion of asking permission for the use of Unforgivables. She felt ripped and raw from the inside, but outside, she was still Meredith Mulciber and that made her smile. 

Winnie finally gracing them with her presence also made Meredith smile, for completely different reasons naturally. This was the second part of her plan; get Bronwyn into Ethan’s good graces to advance herself in Lydia’s esteem. Normally, she would never concern herself with such things. Gossip, boys, and beauty were not her forte. Lydia thrived on the woe’s of others, and Winnie loved garnering amusement from other people’s misfortune, and they were all exceptionally beautiful but Meredith, for her part, tried to stay away from such things. Especially with the recent gossip surrounding her among their circle; no, she definitely wasn’t one for such things. But this was different, she could exert herself for her friends, she could do that much. 

“I know!” Meredith agreed with her roommate, her face scrunching up into one of distaste. “There really should be stricter standards. But true, at least there is this." She made a sweep of her arm, indicated her and her tablemates notes. Alright now to business. Meredith told herself, fixed her face into a dazzling smile. She had been watching Lydia use her charisma on people for years; she was sure if she just concentrated enough she could do the same. She could charm Ethan and Winnie right into courting each other, she could. "What's top of your list, Wyn? Well, your new list, as I'm sure your little chat with Vector didn't go your way, and now you have to throw out half of your amazing ideas. Ethan here has some pretty good theories as well. Curses and counter-curses, sounds fun, right?"

[Ethan Vanderhyde]

Ethan Vanderhyde did not have a delicate ego.

There had been times, of course, due to circumstances, where it was higher or lower. His various failings in his father's eyes did nothing to help it, constant stress of living up to his potential did wear him down...

But even so, the well-groomed boy found himself wishing he'd let Meredith's comment lie. Why poke the bear? For Meredith - in very pre-engagement-fiasco manner - was shutting his idea down in a blaze of flame. And he was more intelligent than that idea, it was a starter idea, they'd only been thinking about this for a matter of minutes! Ego bruised, he stiffened in his chair, giving her a sardonic roll of the eyes before slicing the idea from his list with a swift stroke of his quill. It was with some relief that he saw Bronwyn take up his signal to come over; while he'd been enjoying his time with Meredith, if this was how she would treat any "sub-par" idea...a buffer isn't a bad call.

Meredith went from scowling to shining in a moment, and Ethan was once again struck by the talents of his female counterparts. Pureblooded women really were a breed of their own; clever and beautiful, save for those far too inbred, they forever kept you on your toes. Were they going to play the docile socialite, the well-mannered daughter, or the viper going for the kill? They handled their various facades smoothly, slipping into one or the other as easily as changing their shoes. Was it something innate within them that told them how to act, where, and when? Or was it the girls only classes in etiquette school that were to be commended? He knew better than to ask, naturally; vipers, both of the blondes, if asked something so invasive...

He smirked as Meredith complimented both Bronwyn and himself, shooting the latter a subtle wink before giving a raise of the brow to the former. What are you playing at? "Fun? And here you were assuring me I wasn't a dullard just moments ago. I hardly know what to think anymore," he jested lightly, shifting in his seat to lean towards the newcomer. "What are you thinking of pursuing, Bronwyn? We've been doing our best to find loopholes over here - advertised as free, but this is absurdly restrictive, isn't it? How are we supposed to keep this going for years when we aren't permitted to use N.E.W.T. level anything?"

[Bronwyn Nott]

Making herself comfortable at the desk, she had to grin as Meredith agreed with her. Getting along with the fellow blonde wasn’t always easy, but this class was the one thing that seemed to keep some sort of peace. Even if it was a competition for them. And Ethan was giving her a wink, something she filed away to bring up with Lydia later. She needed to have something to report to her friend.

While Arithmancy was a useful class, she found she had much more fun with Divination and Xylomancy. Fun, but not practical. A snicker from behind her drew her gaze sharply to the Hufflepuffs that had been passing notes earlier, and she had rolled her eyes as she focused back on the two competent people in the class. She pulled Ethan’s paper from him gently, scanning the ideas he had written down. Curses and counter-curses did sound fun, but it was rather boring. Would it be enough to keep him busy for two years? Regardless of how many they were Ethan was far too brilliant. This would be boring for him. “Meredith is right. It sounds fun, but you should aim for something more challenging.” But considering they would be in N.E.W.T. level next year it was absurdly restrictive.

Pulling her own parchment from her things, she nudged Ethan’s things out of her way to make room on his desk for her, giving a sigh as she glanced back to Professor Vector with annoyance. “I was hoping deconstruct the Imperius Curse, figured it was the least risky. But I seriously doubt she’d let us anywhere near an Unforgivable.”

[Meredith Mulciber]

Meredith was momentarily distracted from her mission of getting the two people before her to like one another by her roommate's words. Hadn't she just told Ethan the same thing? And hadn't she just suggested the Imperius curse as a potential project? Something it was eery how much she and Bronwyn Nott were alike. It was both good and bad. They bashed heads, a lot. Each one wanting to be better than the other, each wanting to win out as the supreme. But they were also quite different in many ways and that made it possible for them to be friends. Right now, shewas really liking how well their brains were working together.

Leaving the part about Ethan being capable of better work aside -it would be unwise to make him feel stupid when she still had her mission to complete, that behavior would not meet her eneds- she nodded her head at Winnie's last. "I had thought something of the like. It is the most harmless of them all and it would be sufficiently challenging." Here she scowled a bit, displeased with the restrictions that were being placed on them. "But we've agreed they would never allow it. Ethan's right, it's going to be difficult finding a project that's worth spending years on within our limitations." Better mark this date Vanderhyde because you won't hear me say that again. 

As soon moved some of her things into neater stacks to make room for Bronwyn on their desk, a plan began to form in Meredith's mind. No way were they going to have a meaningful discussion now about their projects, they needed more time to mull things over, come up with new ideas. Like Ethan had said, maybe find a loophole that would open up more options. "Bronwyn, Ethan and I are going to the library after dinner to talk about this more, come along would you?" Yes. she thought. You come along and then I won't and then it will almost be like a date for you two. Meredith was pleased, Lydia would be so proud when she told her of her brilliant scheming. Bonus: She hadn't thought about Marc in ten whole minutes.