Done For {Open}

[alicelogan]

THERE SHE STUMBLES, FALLING TO HER KNEES
I T H I N K S H E T R I P P E D O N R E A L I T Y
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T

ap tap tap tap tap.

[/i] Alice's fingers struck the desk in the library with an almost hysterical rhythm. She ran her fingers through her hair, tapped her foot, banged her head against the wall, anything to translate her agitation into something physical. It wouldn't be long before she was clawing her eyes out. But then, of course, there would be no point in studying at all. In her frustration, Alice slammed shut the potions text and threw back her head, which only earned her a dirty look from the unusually fussy librarian.

Alice had been waiting since first year to drop Potions, until she learned that if she ever wanted to be an auror, she would need seven years of the class under her belt. Still, it was only the first week and she was already failing. If she didn't pass this test, she could very well see Slughorn kicking her out of the class altogether. He had threatened to on more than one occasion. Then what would she do with her life? Alice had only ever wanted to be an auror, like her father, so much that she couldn't imagine herself as anything else. She'd spent every year of her time at Hogwarts building her schedule around that plan. Alice wasn't about to let all that go to waste because of one damned test.

Letting out sigh of resignation, Alice reopened the text to the chapter she had been working on. It all seemed like new information to her, though they had been going over it in class for a week. She silently cursed herself for not paying better attention in class. What was it about this class that was so infuriating? She'd never been able to make any sense of it. It should have been simple. Chop up the magical plants and whatnot and put them in a cauldron. According to Slughorn there was more to potion making then just tossing a handful of ingredients into a pot. He was probably right too, because whenever Alice tried, the concoction always ended up... poorly.

She couldn't help but smile just a bit as she looked back on the time in her fourth year when she had nearly blown a hole in the ceiling of the potions classroom. Or in her second year when an ugly smoke had risen from her cauldron and the room had smelled like death for a week. Alice was convinced that potions in general had something against her. Of course, Alice was the one who couldn't stand the subject, which was clearly the reason she did so poorly. When Alice enjoyed something, she usually excelled in it, but when she didn't, she had a tendency to fail miserably.

Every twenty seconds, Alice would glance up at the clock expecting twenty minutes to have gone by. Her eyelids seemed to be gaining pounds by the second until they were sealed shut. She could have fallen asleep right there on the library desk. What time was it? It must be past curfew by now. Alice was just waiting for the librarian to come over and kick her out. Then at least she would have an excuse when she failed Slughorn's test the next day.

Having had quite enough of all this, Alice forced herself to jump to her feet and pace around the library a few times. She rubbed her eyes, to keep them from closing on her again. She soon noticed that she had a rather unhappy looking librarian were the only ones left in the library. Overcome by the awkwardness of having the librarian staring at her, she sat back down with her book. Alice scanned another page of words that really didn't mean anything when she put them together, but at least it made her feel like she was doing something.

Eventually she stared out into space and shook her head. I'm so done for. Alice groaned and slumped into her chair, resting her head on the book.
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WORDS :: 662
TAGS :: Open
NOTES :: N/A
CREDZ :: Song is "Perfect Day" by Collective Soul (ftw?). This template was made by the uh-may-zing (just kidding) xreebear of caution two-point-oh. Please don't steal and or use without credit (so.. steal).

[marlene]

Take me for what I am For Who I'm Meant To Be

And if you Give a Damn Take Me Baby or Leave Me

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Marlene gathered up all her books as she walked down the crowded Hogwarts hallways. She heard the whispers and laughter. Girls with their friends gossiping. Boys with their friends trying to seem so cool. It was quite a beautiful day out. Perfect for a walk or exploring the grounds. Marlene should be enjoying the nice outdoors. But instead she was going to the library. She had a huge exam in Potions she had to study for. She wasn’t the worst at potions. She understood it just fine. She just wanted to feel more confident about the test. Maybe that was why she was in Ravenclaw. Because she needed to feel confident before a test. Because of her intelligence in some subjects. Because of her creativity in everything she did. But then part of her belonged in Gryffindor. She did recall the sorting hat having troubles to decide whether she was a lion or a raven. Sometimes she wished to be a lion, they always seemed to have so much more fun. Plus, being a Ravenclaw gave people the idea that she was overly studious. That she was just a stick in the mud. But if they really knew Marly, they knew it wasn’t true.

She walked into the library. She noticed a familiar brunette pace around the library. Marlene gave an amused smile as she leaned against the wall and watched her pace. It was Alice Logan, a Gryffindor who was Marlene’s age. They were also very good friends. She must be here for the same reason Marly was. That dreaded potions test. Except there was one difference. Alice honestly needed to study more than she did. And the girl was obviously having troubles concentrating. This was when Marlene interfered. To make sure the work was done. That Alice wouldn’t be held back or failed. That may sound like an overstatement but if someone saw Alice in Potions class they would know what Marlene was talking about. On group days they would pair up and Marlene would do most of the work, letting Alice observe her every move and take notes. Even though Alice probably didn’t take notes. Marlene just didn’t want to risk Alice exploding the whole bloody place. But whenever Slughorn would walk by Marlene would tell Alice what to do and make her do it. Even though she always made sure it was simple. Maybe she should have more faith in her friend, but it was hard to when seeing her grades.

Alice awkwardly sat down and Marlene bit her lip to hold in a giggle as she shook her head amused. That librarian scared the bloody hell out of everyone, Even Marlene. Marlene started to walk to Alice as the girl groaned and slumped into her chair, resting her head on her book. Marlene walked and took a seat next to Alice, putting her own Potions book next to Alice. “That’s some quality studying you’re doing there.” Marlene said with a giggle trying to cheer up her friend as she offered her a smile. She knew she had to push Alice to study by making her get her stubborn mind onto getting it done, not finding a way out of it. Marlene put a brown strand behind her ear as she opened her own book an looked at Alice expectantly. “Now get up and pay attention. I am your tutor for the day. Because I don’t want you to fail and stay back.” She said teasingly as she stuck out her tongue. She was only kidding but truly she was kind of serious. It was time for Alice to try Marlene’s way. The successful way.

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Tag: Alice/Open
Words: 609
Notes: First Post =)
Lyrics: Take Me or Leave Me from Rent

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