Working hard or hardly working? [OPEN]

[william]

Will sat in the library, trying to concentrate on the transfiguration book in front of him. He'd only been back at Hogwarts a couple of weeks, but already he was working hard. He wanted to do justice to the school and the world they had fought to keep. A lot of people had died in that last battle, some of them were people Will had known for years, his classmates and people from other houses. For the hundredth time, Will pushed those thoughts out of his mind.

Will was a Ravenclaw, which seemed to go hand in hand (although not always) with intelligence and over achieving. But right now most of his fellow Ravenclaws were still excited at being back at school. The novelty of it hadn't quite worn off. And of course, most of the wizarding world was still in a state of euphoria over Voldemort finally being defeated (this time for good). No one seemed to be brought down by the fact that the ministry was in disarray, or that there were still Death Eaters on the loose. The general feel seemed to be that if we could handle Voldemort, we could handle anything. Everything would be ok.

So all this good feeling- nice as it was- meant that his fellow Ravenclaws weren't inclined to work quietly. And so, Will had left his common room in favour of the library. But he still couldn't concentrate.

He shifted awkwardly in his seat, and began tapping his pencil on the desk, stopping and smiling nervously when he was given a sharp look by Madame Pince. Sighing, Will leaned back in his chair, and surveyed the library.

[hermione]

Hermione practically ran into the library, her head already in a tizzy, her heart pounding with that familiar excitement that came along with late night studying. She couldn’t believe that she already had a parchment due in Defense Against the Dark Arts. They hadn’t even had a class yet and she was supposed to write at least ten inches? It was ridiculous...then again, she assumed that being away from school for a year hadn’t helped her work ethic any. Harry and Ron were sometimes a bad influence on her...but they were still her best friends, and she wouldn’t give them up for anything in the world.

As she reached the bookshelf containing books about Centaurs, she felt everything slow down into molasses. People had died here. People had died and she was just pretending like nothing had happened. She was going about her schooling career as if she was queen of the world. What about Fred? What about Tonks? And Lupin? They had rarely crossed her mind during her first weeks here. Guilt wasn’t something that Hermione did well...She often found that she wasn’t sure how to handle most of her emotions. But right now, she could identify the emotion clear and strong. It was guilt that was written all over her face.

Without another thought, she sunk down into the nearest chair. One that just so happened to be at William Byrne’s table. She didn’t even notice him at first as she buried her face in her hands. It wasn’t until she realized that someone else’s books were quietly shifting pages that her head shot up, ”Will-” She said, a little bit panicked that she had probably interrupted his studying, ”Merlin, I’m so sorry. I wasn’t even paying attention to what I was doing-” She said and a little squeak of laughter escaped her lips. She reached up to run her hands through her bushy brown hair, but the lack of hair surprised her. She would have to remember that she had gotten it all hacked off after the war.

[william]

Will started slightly as someone flopped into the chair opposite him. He wasn't entirely surprised that someone had managed to sit at his table without even noticing him; Will didn't like attention, and preferred to blend into the background. He was a pretty quiet guy. He looked up, and saw that it was Hermione Granger, looking as flustered as he felt. Will smiled. He had always liked Hermione a lot. She was a Gryffindor, in the year above him, and if things had gone differently she'd have left Hogwarts by now. But as it was, everyone was taking a year again. Hermione worked hard, and was even smarter then Will. And, of course, she had been instrumental in helping Harry Potter defeat Voldemort.

Hermione had cut her hair short, and it suited her. He supposed she, like a lot of people, had felt the need for a change after the war, a sort of rebirth.
"Hi, Hermione," said Will, slightly awkwardly "no, don't worry about it, I, um, well I wasn't really getting anywhere..." he prodded his book with a finger and tried to give an exasperated smile at Hermione, but stopped when he realised it probably looked more like a grimace. "I'm just trying to get on top of things, you know? I mean, well, there wasn't much actual work being done at Hogwarts last year... I'm sure you sort of, um, heard what it was like?" Obviously Hermione hadn't been at Hogwarts during the year when the Death Eaters ran the show.

"The common rooms pretty noisy," he continued, aware that he was rambling "everyone's just enjoying being back so much... but I thought I'd be boring-old-me, and get out of their hair with my books and the like," he gave a self-deprecating smile.

[hermione]

Hermione noted the smile that he gave her at first. It was comforting to know that Will was just as friendly as he had always been. A little bit of a shy Ravenclaw, she had always gotten along with him. He was a good study partner when the need arose, although, with the pair of them being a year apart, the need wasn’t very often.

She gave a slight nervous laugh and then tried to look over his notes, straining to see what it was he was trying to work out, ”Transfiguration-” She noted with interest and then shot him a smile that was an attempt at calming his nerves. For being someone so intellegent, Will certainly had some funny quirks about him. His grimace didn’t even phase her, her brain was already too entraced with the ideas of 6th year Transfiguration. She loved that class just as much as she loved McGonegall, who used to be the teacher. Now she was Headmistress. She had to say, she missed Minerva, seeing her only occasionally when the need arose.

”I think It’s always wonderful to be on top of things. Gives you more time to be prepared for examinations,” She agreed and then looked around. She really should start work on that Defense Against the Dark Arts essay if she was ever going to finish it. But then again, she supposed that she always had time to talk to Will. Or someone in general. Harry and Ron had been slightly distant lately and she couldn't tell if it was something that she'd done or just...boys being boys. As long as she had known them, she hadn't quite gotten a grasp on her best friends. Well, best friend and boyfriend. Hermione felt a quick blush rise to her cheeks.

”I’m sure you sort of, um, heard what it was like?”

[/i]

Hermione’s eyes flitted up to meet Will’s and she felt the pit of her stomach drop a little bit. She had heard what it was like...seen it for herself in the short amount of time she had been here before all hell had broken loose. It had been horrible from what Neville and Luna had described. Something of nightmares. But that was all over now, at least she hoped, ”It’s best to move on.” She said and shook her head, trying to banish the nightmares that threatened to come back if she started dwelling on the darkness of the war.

”Well, I certainly don’t think that you’re boring. The library is my favorite place to spend the day.” She said and leaned back to grab a book off the nearest shelf. She set it down in front of her, ”You know-” She opened the book and started scanning the pages, ”If they keep up the parties, I’m going to have to bust them. Head girl this year and all.” She looked up and smiled at him, hoping that she was at least coming off as decently friendly.[/blockquote][/blockquote]

[william]

Will smiled gratefully, and nodded as Hermione agreed with him about the merits of being on top of your work. Most people thought that starting to work so hard this early into the school year was ridiculous. In fact, a lot of people felt like being back at Hogwarts this year was meant to be one big party, after the war. But Will felt differently, and he wanted to do well and try hard.

"Yeah," said Will, looking down at his Transfiguration notes, "I like Transfiguration, I liked Professor McGonagall, well, I mean, I like our new Professor too, and of course Professor McGonagall has to be the Headmistress now..." he paused, smiling "She deserves it, you know? To run the school... couldn't think of anyone better. She was so close to Dumbledore." Having Minerva McGonagall as Headmistress was the next best thing to having Albus Dumbledore back. But of course, Will hoped that Professor McGonagall didn't feel that way. She shouldn't feel like second choice; she was undoubtedly the best witch for the job.

Will could see that he had upset Hermione when he mentioned what things had been like last year. It was stupid of him. Nobody wanted to be reminded of that. She was right, of course. It was 'best to move on'. Will opened his mouth, about to start a rambling apology, when he stopped himself. Knowing Will, he'd probably just start talking more about the war if he didn't collect himself first. Will had a tendency to talk a lot when he was nervous (either a lot or not at all). So instead Will took a breath, calmed himself, and then said "You're right." He smiled, and leaned back in his chair again- he hadn't realised he had become tense.

A genuine smile spread across Will's face as Hermione said he wasn't boring, and he laughed as she said the library was her favourite place to spend the day, looking down and running a hand through his hair as he did so. Will ran his hands through his hair a lot. It was a sort of nervous twitch, and only added to its perpetual untidiness. "Oh, they're not partying." Will said, knowing that Hermione was joking, but also anxious not to give her the wrong idea "they're just, you know, in good spirits. Talking, laughing, that sort of, um, stuff." He looked back up at Hermione, grinning "You shouldn't start abusing your Head Girl powers, now." he said, wagging his finger at her jokingly.

[william]

Will laughed again as Hermione threatened to dock points from Ravenclaw. He didn't need to check the giant hourglasses in the entrance hall to know that not a single point would have been taken away; he knew Hermione Granger would never do that. Hermione had always stuck to the rules, although Will supposed that with all the rule breaking (more like law breaking) she'd done over the last year, she'd be a bit more relaxed. Will, along with the rest of the school- possibly the rest of the wizarding world- had heard about what Harry, Ron and Hermione had done in the past year. Of course, Will was sure some of it would be less then accurate. It wasn't as though they had released an official story. A lot of it was just gossip, and sounded too amazing to possibly be true. But, then again, a lot of amazing stuff had happened.

Will himself wasn't exactly a stickler for rules, per say. He wasn't scared of getting in trouble, and he didn't feel the awe-inspiring power that a written rule seemed to have over some people. But Will had strong morals, and tried to stick by them no matter what. He always tried to do what was right, even if that was the harder path. That was, in part, why he respected what Harry, Ron and Hermione had done so much. If even half of the stories were true, none of them had chosen the easy path.

He nodded as Hermione mentioned the importance of not abusing power. He didn't have to ask to know who she was talking about. But there would not be a repeat of history. Will was determined about that. He just hoped the rest of the wizarding world felt the same way. But Will sincerely doubted that Hermione Granger would turn out to be the next dark lord, even if she did dock a few points. Will almost said this, but stopped himself in time. Sometimes he blurted things out that he thought were funny, and regretted it later. Over time he'd gained better judgement. He was getting better control over his awkwardness.

"Well, you're a great Head Girl," Will said instead, thinking it was much more appropriate, and much more true. "and I... I think if anyone can help keep us all on the, erm, right path, its you. After everything you've done, and, everything... well, you know what I mean." He paused, staring down at the table.
"We need to make sure that what happened last year never happens again." Will felt the trueness of these words deeply, and his voice was much more assured now that he was speaking about something he was passionate about. "It's everyone's responsibility."

[william]

Will didn't share Hermione's convictions that nothing would happen now. He looked at her closely, but didn't say anything. She seemed to happy, so sure, so safe. He did agree with her that the DA could play its part, but it had to be more than that... what was that saying? 'The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.' Will firmly believed that. He thought it was everyone's responsibility.

And while the war was fresh in everyone's mind, while the horror of the battles and the grief over lost lives was still fresh in everyone's minds, Will didn't think that anyone would aspire to be the next Lord Voldmort. Not any ordinary witches or wizards, anyway. For the general public the divide between Muggleborns and Purebloods seemed trivial now. Everyone was still in mourning, and still celebrating. But Will didn't think it would take all that long for those states of being to wear off, and for things to start returning to normal. Especially if people just sat back and let it happen.

Will shifted uncomfortably in his chair. He was thinking about what Hermione said, about rebuilding lives. The problem was, the Death Eaters who had survived, who were still eluding capture, wanted to rebuild their lives too. Of course, some of the ones who had been less dedicated to the cause, the ones who joined Voldemort to save their own skins, they wouldn't try and pursue the goals they had set out to attain. But there would always be those who wanted to continue. And they were rebuilding their lives too.

But sitting now in the quiet Library, with its familiar shelves and books, the comforting air of dust, silence and knowledge surrounding them, and within the stone walls of a now safe Hogwarts, Will couldn't bring himself to voice any of these thoughts. And Hermione seemed so sure that good times lay ahead of them. He didn't want to bring a dark cloud over her happiness with his negative thoughts. So Will said nothing, but it was difficult for him, and he started tapping his pencil quickly on the table again, forgetting about Madame Pince. When she through him another sharp look he stopped abruptly, and cleared his throat, shifting in his chair and running his hand through his hair, looking down at the table.

He looked up again as Hermione brought out a large, leather bound book. Will did ancient runes, and so he recognised the writing on the front cover.
"The Tales of Beadle the Bird- sorry!- Bard..." he said, reading upside down. He grinned sheepishly. Will's parents had been a witch and wizard, but his mother was a muggle born, and his father had died when he was young. After that he had gone to live with his muggle family. So if he had been told stories from the Bard, he didn't remember them. "So, um, is it a good read?"

[william]

Will was pleased when Hermione said that he could read The Tales of Beadle the Bard when she was finished with it. He liked to read a lot, and would find something like that fascinating. Especially as the original stories hadn't been translated before now. Any versions of the stories he may have heard as a child would have been altered. That happened a lot with fairy tales. The ones told to children were usually all sweetness and light, with happy endings and minimum gore (well, as you could imagine).

But if you looked at the original story the ending was often different, and much more gruesome. There were also clear morals in fairy tales. That was something Will liked about them. He wished that there could be a fairy tale for each and every moral dilemma that arose in life. Something to be a guide as to what you should do. But, of course, life just didn't work like that. Nothing was ever that black and white, and no two situations were ever the same. Most fairly tale morals were general ones, such as 'treat others as you want to be treated yourself'. Never 'if you're in situation A, do B'.

Will could have read the untranslated version, though it would have taken him longer, and he might have messed up in places. But he thought that would be rude. Hermione was putting a lot of effort into translating the book, so to just read the untranslated version after all that just didn't seem right.

"That would be great," he said grinning "I'd love to read that, it looks fascinating. As soon as you're done with your translation, let me know. Well, I mean," he said, suddenly a little flustered "if you want to, of course, and if no one else wants to read it before me, and if you don't want to, um, keep it for a little while, its your book, after all, your translation..." he stopped abruptly, aware again that he was rambling. He gave an apologetic sort of grin, then ran his hand through his hair, looking down at the table once more.

[william]

"I'm sure your translated version will be even better," Will said, smiling sincerely. One of the great things about Will was that he was unfailingly kind. If someone else had said what he just said, it might be taken as sucking up, or sarcastic, or in any manner of ways. But Will really meant it, and anyone who knew him knew that. He didn't mind at all waiting until Hermione had translated the book. He wasn't in a rush to read it; he just thought it might be interesting.

"Its nice, having things to do, um, like hobbies," he said "I mean, its nice that you want to translate it, just for yourself." He looked back down at his transfiguration notes with a sigh, running his hand through his hair again, "I wish I enjoyed transfiguration as much," he said, grinning. "I mean, I enjoy it, but sometimes it still feels a lot like... well, a lot like work." He was starting to get tired of attempting to work, but he wasn't too sure if he wanted to go back to the noise and bustle of the common room.

"Still," he added "got to keep working, keep on top of everything. Our Head Girl sets some very high standards," he smiled at Hermione "its the dream of every Ravenclaw to beat her in a test!" He was only half joking; most of the Ravenclaws firmly believed that the sorting hat had been put on backwards when Miss Granger was sorted. She was so smart, and always got top marks. Surely she would have made an excellent Ravenclaw? Will thought that her bravery probably outstripped even her intelligence.

[william]

Will brightened as Hermione said he could sneak a peak at her translated version of The Tales of Beadle the Bard. It felt like something special, which always made him happy. "Sure," he said, enthusiastically "if that's okay with you, don't feel like you have to show me anything," Will wouldn't be offended if she chose not to show him, and he didn't want her to feel like she was obligated to, out of being polite, if she didn't want to. It might be a real inconvenience.

Will raised his eyebrows as Hermione said she 'wasn't that smart', and chuckled slightly to himself. Hermione was borderline genius. Ravenclaw was packed with students who worked their butts off and were meticulous with homework, but just didn't have extraordinary natural intelligence. So Will was an expert on those types of students, and Hermione was not one of them. She was naturally intelligent, and all she did was apply that intelligence with a great work ethic. Hermione all but confirmed this herself when she said she just worked hard. One of the things Will liked about her was her modesty, and he didn't want to ruin that by telling her everything he'd been thinking just now. Hermione was naturally intelligent, something rare, which should never be allowed to be destroyed by ego.

When Hermione mentioned his essay, Will looked back down at the parchment he'd been 'working' on. He'd almost forgotten about it. "What, this old thing?" he said, jokingly holding up the paper between his thumb and forefinger. "Nah, not worth it... of course, it would score me major points with my fellow Ravenclaws if my essay had a stamp of approval from the Head Girl herself," he grinned at her mischievously. Of course he'd love Hermione's help on his essay; he was just joking around with her. The longer Will spent with someone the more he relaxed, and without even noticing it he became more confident, and his sense of humour came out more. Of course, the moment he did notice it he would become self concious, and the awkwardness would start up again. "Better be sure not to give me too much of an advantage, though, or they'll be calling foul play."