Eat, Study, Sleep, Repeat (Clara)

Gabriel had yet to get used to the castle. Granted he'd only been there maybe a week or so, but still. There were many hallways and rooms that he had yet to explore, and much offered that he'd yet to do. But, there was only so much he could really give himself time to do when he still had some things to catch up on.

He'd heard from Lyra about how she'd gone to the ball, and done all this stuff, but was still quote on quote "slightly behind" in some subjects. The male couldn't bring himself to do too much of anything when he was behind, and was pretty sure he'd be caught up before his cousin at this pace.

Granted, she'd purchased the wrong books to start out with and had had to deal with some personal stuff, and Ilvermorny had been much more behind Hogwarts than Beauxbatons had, but it didn't change the fact that she was moving at a snail's pace. If she had just focused a little more she would probably be ahead in her studies by now, but instead she was still behind.

It was not a mistake Gabriel would allow himself to make. No, he gave himself enough time to relax in the evenings, and he had his quidditch, but for the most part he remained focused on catching up. The progress he was making was slow but steady, and lucky for him there wasn't much of it that needed done. Within a week or two he was sure he'd have it all completed and he'd have time to do other things, like get to know his dorm mates or go visit the black lake or Hogsmeade.

But eventually so much work drained you and wore you out. Nonetheless, there was work to be done, but he could at least relax as he caught up? With that thought in mind he grabbed one of the books he had checked out from the library and was due the soonest. Luckily for him it was in Ancient Runes, a subject he already knew quite a bit about.

He made the short walk into the common room, tossing himself onto a couch and stretching out as he opened the book. He really had intended to study, but he ended up reading the same paragraph twenty times over, so he instead rested the book on his chest and let his eyes close. No harm in getting a little nap in before he studied.

Clara needed a break. Just one break. One day where she didn't have to do anything. But honestly, she didn't know what she would do with herself if such a day ever came.

She'd probably just sleep right through it.

As it was, she could barely fall asleep in the first place when the very sight of her bedside table was enough to stress her out. The first thing she saw when she stepped into her dorm was the insurmountable stack of books she needed to read to review for her NEWTs, on top of which sat a bulging manila folder stuffed with paperwork she had yet to review, and a much smaller folder of the paperwork she'd already completed reminding her of the futility of her efforts. It was the last thing she saw when she closed her eyes, and her dreams consequently featured missed deadlines and unfinished homework every night of the week. She woke up most mornings before the sun, the only thing keeping her going at this point being the cauldron full of Wideye Potion constantly brewing in the corner.

She had never been more grateful for the privacy of the Head Girl dorm, despite the additional responsibilities of her position only furthering her descent into madness. At least nobody was around to witness when she muttered incoherently to herself, staring despondently at the wall and rocking back and forth in an attempt to stave off the pressure closing in on her from all sides. If she had to deal with dorm mates on top of all of this, she might legitimately go insane.

At this point, studying consisted of flipping through the pages of her textbooks and repeatedly whispering the information to herself as if in a trance as she watched the the pages fan before her eyes. Sometimes it stuck. Sometimes it didn't. The repetition at least calmed her down somewhat, if only for a short while.

Her grades were slipping. Granted, to the average person, it still looked like she was doing perfectly, but it didn't feel that way to Clara. She felt like she was barely hanging on, struggling to cling to the very bottom tier of perfection as the weight of her university acceptance hung over her head, contingent upon her final transcripts meeting the same standards she'd achieved in previous years. Everything had seemed so easy in previous years. This year, she was running on fumes.

She couldn't return to her dorm. Not today. If she took one look at the growing pile of papers on her desk she would fall into a state of catatonia and never be revived. She had to get out.

She'd been neglecting her Head Girl duties. She knew it was true, and she knew the Head Boy was currently taking on the majority of the work she'd been ignoring, but she really couldn't afford the effort of feeling bad about it at the moment. They were supposed to be helping the new students get settled - three new transfers from France who had arrived last week - but Clara hadn't even met them yet. One of them was even in her house and she just...hadn't bothered introducing herself. Honestly, it was very low down on her list of important things to do.

But since she wasn't going back to her dorm, she figured now was as good a time as any to get it out of the way. She just hoped he wasn't irritating.

Granted, just about everyone was irritating at this point.

She sharply pounded the knocker to the Ravenclaw common room.

"What has hands but cannot clap?" the eagle asked. Clara rolled her eyes.

"A clock."

The door swung open and she stepped through, glancing around the mostly empty space. Her eyes settled on the couch where she spotted an unfamiliar face. The kid was dozing, snoring softly, and a book lay open on his chest, face down. A flash of annoyance shot through her as she crossed the distance, snatching up the book and making sure none of the pages were bent before she closed it and dropped it back on top of him.

"You'll ruin the spine," she reprimanded him shortly, not waiting for him to wake up and get his bearings.

Gabriel actually managed to slip into a light doze. A light enough sleep he could be easily woken, but deep enough he didn't hear the door open. Didn't hear the footsteps crossing the floor towards him or feel the book lift from his chest. He wouldn't have known the girl was there at all in fact if she hadn't then dropped the book back on top of him, jolting him from his nap with a start as he sat up quickly.

"You'll ruin the spine," the girl said with a snap and Gabe simply rubbed his eyes as he tried to process what she was referring to.

How would he ruin his spine sleeping? Sure, the couch probably wasn't best for his back but... the spine, not his spine. He lifted the book that had now tumbled into his lap and looked up at the girl who'd so rudely awoken him. "Thanks," he muttered sarcastically, reaching over to set the book on a table as he swung his legs off the couch to make room for her in case she was planning on staying.

Merlin he needed more sleep. It seemed his whole life at this point consisted of make up work, keeping track of the twins, putting on a smile for them and Lyra, tossing and turning through the night when he wasn't awoken by nightmares, and on top of all that studying for his O.W.L.s. Because it was just his luck that he would have to transfer schools right before the exams.

"Though in all honesty, with everything else going on right now the book is the least of my concerns." He paused before correcting himself. "Not that I want to damage it, I should have closed it properly, but I just mean there are plenty of other things I have to worry about."

"You're welcome," she responded reflexively, completely missing the sarcasm in the boy's voice. She remained where she was, waiting for him to get his bearings before she proceeded with her duties. She watched him carefully as he sat up, processing his words with a slight frown. If he had damaged the book, he might have incurred a library fine, which only would have added to his worries. Still, the sentiment was relatable enough.

"You and me both," she muttered in response to his reported worries. "Speaking of concerns, apparently you're one of mine. I'm Clara, Head Girl. I was supposed to introduce myself earlier, but I was otherwise occupied."

She would have offered her hand to shake, but she rather hated shaking hands with people. She figured a lapse in courtesy just this once wouldn't do much harm. It wasn't like she needed to impress him or anything.

She racked her brain for what little information she had about this kid and his situation. He'd moved from France with his two younger sisters, who were both in different houses. He was a fifth year. His file was rather sparse aside from the basic information - age, grade, former school. The reason for his transfer had been left pretty vague. A family tragedy, from what she remembered, though if there were any details, she hadn't read that far. What was she supposed to say to him?

"Um, my condolences for...you know." She didn't really know herself what exactly she was offering condolences for, but that seemed like the right thing to do in response to a tragedy of any sort. "Officially, I'm supposed to offer my assistance if you have any questions about the school, or if you need help settling in. Unofficially, I'd recommend asking someone else first because most questions can be easily answered by just about anyone here, and I really am very busy. That being said, I'm here right now if you have any pressing concerns."

The initial response from the older girl only drew an eye roll from Gabriel, waiting for her to sit down, only to stand as well when she failed to do so. He preferred to be on the same level as who he was talking to. He scoffed lightly when she agreed with him, but it wasn’t against her. It was the kind of scoff that communicated he understood, or was on the same page as her, no hatefulness in it at all.

The introduction cleared up at least a little bit of why she found it fit to wake him, rather than just doing the polite thing and closing the book herself and setting it out of the way in clear sight so he could find it when he woke. “Gabriel,” he returned, though he assumed she probably already knew that much about him. After all, she knew enough to know where to find him, and that she needed to introduce herself to him. She probably was filled in on most everything the school had on him upon his arrival, if not before then.

His brain threatened to shut down as she offered her “condolences”, the threat of all of the feelings from the funeral and everything that had happened in the last few weeks rushing back enough to make it want to block the girl standing in front of him out immediately. He instead nodded, fighting to keep the frown from his face as his gaze drifted to the floor. “Yeah… thanks.” He wondered how much she knew about what had happened. Heck, she might know more than him for all he knew, nobody had really wanted to tell him anything about the accident. Just that they’d been in a car wreck. That it had been quick. That they hadn’t suffered. But how the hell would they know that?

He couldn’t quite tell if she was really offering her help, or if she was saying what she was purely because that was a part of her role. Either way, he decided it didn’t matter as he shook his head. “My cousin, Lyra, has been able to answer pretty much everything honestly. I think I pretty much have been shown around and everything, I know of where everything is, even if I don’t remember how to get there…” He let out a small chuckle, but more because he felt kind of awkward, as if he had to convince her that she didn’t need to worry, even though from what it sounded like, she didn’t want to be here anyways.

“So yeah, I guess I’m good?” He hesitated before adding in the only question he could think of, though the answer really wouldn’t affect whether or not he followed the rule behind the answer much. “Just, are students from other houses allowed in our dorms? Like, I’m pretty sure they are during the day, but are they off limits at any time?”

After all, his sister didn’t seem to care whether there was a rule or not, and if he was going to take the blame for them when they got caught trying to sneak in he at least wanted to know the rule behind it. They needed him at night especially, when all their eleven-year-old emotions hit them hardest, and he didn’t have the heart to tell them not to come, so he knew it wouldn’t help to know the rule in that sense, but if it was allowed it would at least keep him from worrying quite so much.