Regina Avery does not throw tupperware parties. (prettily) wrote in caged, @ 2013-10-03 00:57:00 |
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Entry tags: | ! 97-10, [ log ], hannah abbott, regina avery |
WHO: Hannah Abbott and Regina Avery.
WHAT: Working on the finer points of Dark magic.
WHEN: Wednesday, October 2; afternoon, during Dark Arts.
WHERE: Dark Arts classroom.
WARNINGS: Digit cruelty and hostility.
STATUS: Complete.
There was a reason, quite frankly, why Regina had chosen to return to her book initially rather than cast her gaze around the classroom to see who had struggled with the spell. Dark Arts as a whole came naturally to the Slytherin, and this spell - rudimentary, she thought with a bored expression the only clue to her thoughts - was one she was no stranger to. Tutoring sessions with her father had given her a Dark Arts curriculum to refer to long before the Carrows ever came to Hogwarts. At Professor Amycus Carrow’s encouragement to assist those around her, however, the young Avery exhaled an annoyed breath, nodded and gave a sweet smile to him; but once he stepped away and was well distracted, turned to Hannah at the desk next to her, who looked rather like she might be sick in Regina’s opinion, and, after watching for a moment, gave the indifferent instruction, “Flick the wand first.” Hannah thought this exercise was highly disgusting. Fingers? Wiggling at her? No thank you. She had been trying to think of her bear as just a tool, and she didn't like that it was doing more lifelike things to her than she had ever expected. It was bad enough that it moved when she cursed it. And it was bad enough to have to sit next to Regina, much less have to hear her harping on. The other girl had no problems taking care of her dark magic. In fact, she was at least among the top of the class. Professor Carrow always seemed pleased with her. While Hannah hadn't earned his ire as easily as she had his sister, she knew that he wasn't altogether happy with her work and that she had been managing decent marks instead of spectacular ones. She didn't really care to change that. "I know," she said with more than a little annoyance. She tried to show off that she was able to do the spell, but instead of actually performing it, the finger she had been pointing at swelled to a greater size than severing off. "I know how to do it," she said, but she had only four fingers down and six more to go. Without hiding her disinterest in Hannah’s success, or her exasperation at being asked to assist those around her, she observed shrewdly, “There’s hardly fifteen minutes left in class, you’re inept when it comes to coursework, and we’re working on removing appendages,” with a deliberate glance to the finger that had only gotten larger in the last few seconds, “not enlarging them.” Then, crossing her arms as she studied the Hufflepuff, she asked, “But if you know what you’re doing, that begs the question of why you aren’t doing it.” "Because I'm not excited about Dark Magic like you are," Hannah muttered. She performed the spell again, another digit dropping to the ground like a large limp noodle. She gave a shudder, wondering if she'd ever be able to eat pasta again. "You just love it, don't you?" She tried to spell again, and it didn't work. This dratted dark magic. She knew very well why they were making them learn it -- at least, she assumed that she knew. But that didn't change the fact that she still wondered about it. After all, it wasn't as though it was going to ever be useful. Hannah didn't have any desire to go about slicing off limbs and she knew she wasn't likely to start. "I am trying, you know," she shot off to Regina. “Love what, Abbott?” she asked, her voice anything but interested, a mix of bored disinterest and obvious distaste. “Succeeding? Yes, I’m rather fond of being adequate. You might be too if you managed it.” She gave a noncommittal nod at Hannah’s next severed finger, but could barely keep from rolling her eyes when the second attempt at the same thing was ineffectual. “Keep your eye and your mind on the digit,” she said sharply, “not on me,” her tone changing from disinterested to commanding. “Picture it, and flick.” "So," Hannah said. "You like picturing severed fingers?" She glanced at Regina's, thinking about making a disparaging remark on the girl's digits but decided it wasn't worth it. After all, Professor Carrow was nearby and she didn't need him giving her any problems because she had decided to be snippy with Avery. Her hand still hurt from yesterday's marathon detention and she knew that if she made trouble for herself, she'd be making trouble for her hand. "Flick," said Hannah, doing it. But she wasn't doing it right. Oh, bloody hell. "Flick." Still no. Then she looked from Regina's fingers to the teddy bear's. "Flick." And it took. This time she didn’t try to hide it: she rolled her eyes outright at the accusation. Voice heavily sarcastic, she said, “Yes, Abbott, it’s all I ever think about. Clearly what you don’t think about is what’s expected of you. Was it always your ambition to be a criminal and a failure?” Keeping her own eyes on Hannah, then looking between her and the bear, she repeated harshly after the first attempt, “Again.” The second try was met with a colder, sharper, “Again.” And when Hannah finally managed it, left with only four fingers wiggling charmingly at her from her plush ursine, Regina coolly returned her eyes to the Hufflepuff, saying simply, “Good. Again.” Hannah's eyes widened. She wanted to turn her wand on the witch herself. Not to remove her fingers; she was not so far gone as that. But she wanted to direct agitation toward her, that much was certain. She didn't like being talked to as though she were a child, and she knew that Regina was enjoying talking to her like that as though it were her business. It was absolutely awful. "I don't need your help," she said. "You told me to flick. Professor Carrow had already said that. And I just showed you that I can do it. Why don't you bother someone else?" “I told you to focus,” came Regina’s voice, irritated already even in just the few minute she’d spent working with the other girl: honestly, as if she’d rather be over here interacting with her rather than anything else. “And in the last two minutes, you’ve deprived your bear of two fingers - in the past forty, you’ve removed four.” Then, crossing her arms and positively glaring at Hannah, she went on, “I realize you’re having difficulties, but surely you can see what that might mean for your potential to succeed.” Heaving an annoyed sigh, she went on in a very restrained voice as if she were trying to contain her emotions, “But if you’d rather attend tutoring this evening, by all means.” And gave a dismissive hand gesture. There went another finger. Hannah's shoulders slumped as she knit her brow together, irritated beyond words at the girl's voice. She had a grating one, Hannah decided, that just wouldn't let up because she was so awful. It was like torture, listening to her. Hannah didn't know if she'd rather Regina take off one of her fingers or keep talking. She was starting to lean toward the removal of a finger. "I'm not going to have to attend tutoring. I could get this on my own. Are you just so lazy that you don't want to go and assist someone who actually needs your help? Her eyebrows raised a fraction of an inch - then she answered, cool and unaffected can be, “Best of luck, then.” It was no surprise that her tone was less than genuine. She swept away a moment later, rolling her eyes even as she found another idiot to look after. |