February 23rd, 1892 - Hogwarts Grounds
Lester Hatchitt c/o Cassius Lestrange

Sloane was nothing, if not predictable. When she was avoiding the common room, she was only one of two places; the pitch or the docks. January had come and gone and as usual, she had no idea why the month bothered her so much, but she had been sullen and withdrawn. It lingered farther into February longer than normal, but she supposed it really didn't have much to do with Sawyer anymore. Sloane simply felt like there was too much beyond her control and she didn't know what to do about it.

Things between her friends seemed alright, though Alice had been a little distant since Christmas and everybody seemed preoccupied with their own things. She was too, but she noticed more than usual. Things with Cameron were... better. Better than this autumn and certainly better than last summer, but something was still off and Sloane couldn't tell if it was all in her head or if her expectations were too high, or if maybe things just weren't meant to be, but she found herself slipping back into the routine of not seeking out time with him. He seemed stressed and she didn't want to add to it.

So here she was, in her usual thinking spot at the end of the boat dock, watching  flock of ducks on the surface of the lake. At least it was sunny, if cold. All wrapped up in her scarf and cloak, she felt fine as long as the sun stayed visible and not behind the clouds. It was a good place to take some time to sort out her thoughts, not that she was getting very far, but the attempt had been made. Now she just kind of felt like she was daydreaming about nothing in particular. Footsteps behind her belatedly alerted her to someone approaching, but she didn't even turn to look; it was likely to only be a few people at this point in time and any of them were better company than her own head had proven to be.

"Fancy seeing you out here." She chuckled when she realized it was Hatch.

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Lester actually felt like he was caught up on schoolwork, which meant that he was going on a walk. It was important to leave the castle sometimes, and it actually felt almost like spring today.

He'd found Sloane on accident, and walked to the end of the dock when he spotted her hair.

"I'm always good at finding you," Lester said, because — well, he was. (It wasn't hard — Sloane was always either here or on the Quidditch Pitch, and even if Lester hadn't gone out today intending to find her, he'd swung by her thinking spot anyways.) He settled down next to her on the dock. If she didn't want him here she would tell him, and Sloane was so pensive lately that Lester felt like he ought to spend more time with her.

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set by Fallin!

Sloane sighed softly as Hatch sat down, relief spreading over her, immediately better for his presence. She breathed in deep, cold crisp air hitting her lungs as she leaned into him, head finding his shoulder automatically. She wished all of her friendships were as easy as the one she had with Hatch. And Ned for that matter, though she did worry more with Moony if she was disappointing him at any point. The thought of disappointing Ned was almost unbearable and the only reason she put in effort into some of her classes.

Hatch was Hatch though, friends since childhood, unassuming and easygoing. They could go days without talking, though that was highly unusual unless it was summer, and pick up right where they left off. He was normally who she sought out in the common room when she needed a person. Hatch was her person. "Thank Merlin for that." Sloane was immensely thankful for his innate ability to be around when she needed him most. Not to mention in times like this, she didn't need to say much at all. Closing her eyes, she sort of rubbed her cheek against his cloak and sighed again, this time in contentment.

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Lester grinned; he was pleased with himself for being here when she needed. They spent a moment in amicable silence. He wasn't sure what to say; Sloane obviously wasn't doing well, but he didn't know how to call her out on it. He didn't want to upset her. He also didn't want to continue to act like nothing was happening.

"Do you want to talk?" he asked, at the edge of the docks, after another beat passed.

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set by Fallin!

Did she want to talk? Sloane wasn't really sure. She honestly didn't know what was wrong with her. On the surface things seemed to have settled, but she didn't really feel much better about anything. January had worn her down and things with Cam were... well, alright, she supposed, but it still felt weird. It was so hard to explain and so she didn't think she even wanted to try.

"I wouldn't even know where to start, so maybe not?" Her answer was wishy-washy at best, but it left it up to Hatch. He certainly had listened to his fair share of her drama over the years and frankly she wouldn't blame him if he'd reached capacity one of these days. Sloane was pretty sure she'd reach capacity on her own bullshit. "You going to survive this first year of OWLs alright?" She asked instead, choosing to forge on and maybe save him from having to make the decision himself. When it all boiled down, Sloane would be perfectly happy to sit here in silence with him. They'd been friends for long enough that it wouldn't even be weird. Not to mention she should probably check in with him anyway. She didn't want to be the friend who never reciprocated after all.

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Lester frowned at her, but decided not to push. (At least — not right away. There was still time to push.) "I'm going to make it," he said. He wasn't that worried, even though it was hard. This year he didn't really have the exams that mattered, so — Sixth Year was the time to make mistakes.

"We're gonna make it," he added. "How do you feel about exams?"

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set by Fallin!

It was a lame topic of conversation and Sloane knew that, but there was on everyone's minds these days. "I'll have no problem with Creatures, Herbology and Transfiguration," Three was the minimum to continue on, which was good. "And Ned's been giving me Defense lessons, but I think I might need to go see Lissington for extra help." Ned was a good tutor, thank Merlin, but she may need professional help at this point. "I'd like to pass Charms, but I'm not sure it's going to happen." She shrugged. Five OWL classes should be manageable. Potions was out, there was no way, and she didn't think she needed it, even if she wanted to go into magizoology in the future. She might pass Astronomy with some concentrated effort, but as much as she enjoyed it, she wasn't sure just how useful it was in the long run. Probably better to focus on the more practical things.

"I'm studying hard though, promise." She chuckled to break the tension she felt. Honestly she was most worried about disappointing Ned of all things. He always worked so hard with her and gave up so much time to work with her, she would hate to let him down. More so than herself or even her own brothers. Hopefully she would make it. "Feels like between studying and quidditch I don't have time for much else." Which was good, because it felt like, once again, her friendships were dissolving around her.

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"Seeing Lissington should mean you're set," Lester said. He felt like Sloane would be able to do it; and if she couldn't, office hours went a long way.

He frowned at her final sentence. "It's okay if you don't have time for things during your O.W.L. year.," Lester said. He believed it, too — but that didn't make it easy to deal with.

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set by Fallin!

Sloane hadn't ever really been good about asking for help; when it was thrust upon her by people she knew cared about her, that was one thing, but to make the effort to go seek out office hours from Professor Lissington was another thing entirely.

"Yeah, we'll see. She shrugged. "Hopefully with less classes next year, I'll have a little breathing room." Maybe the summer would help. Who knew. She sure as hell didn't know what she was doing. Whatever it was she was doing now clearly wasn't working, but she really didn't know what else she could possibly do either. "Something's got to give eventually." She could only bend so far before she broke.

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Lester sighed. "Something always does," he offered. Lester tried to resist it for as long as he could, and then — and then, things gave whether or not he allowed them to. He didn't really know how to help Sloane, except for when he made her study. But even that couldn't ever be enough to fix everything.

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set by Fallin!

"Something always does." Sloane echoed in a soft sigh. She was slightly terrified to see what it would be, but only time would tell. Until then, she needed moments like this, with those she could count on, to get her through. "We'll figure it out." Hopefully anyway. He had plans for after school and she had no doubts he would be able to do whatever it was that he wanted to. She too had plans, but two wildly different options and one wholly depended on how these exams went.

She let another few minutes pass in comfortable silence. They were good at that. She wasn't sure what else to say, but knew she didn't exactly have to say anything either. Lester didn't need her to fill the gap in conversation with things that didn't matter, which was a huge relief. They could sit like this for an hour and it would be perfectly delightful.

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