& words come easy; actions do not (Prof. O'Neill)

[lydianowan]

Late morning in Gryffindor tower, a small, barely audible noise could be heard. Lydia Nowan lay sleeping on her bed, moving around occasionally as it was evident that she soon would be coming into consciousness. Her long, thick, golden blonde hair all over the place, falling into her eyes as she rolled around in bed, she finally got the energy to open her eyes and use her arms to rid herself of the nuisance in her covering them. Lydia Nowan was not an early riser, and not one to have much energy upon first waking up. She sat up slowly, everything coming into view in a distorted manner. Rubbing her head as if she had a hang over, she slower looked around her. No one was there.

That's when part of it hit her; she'd woken up late; no one had bothered to tell her. A slow disappointment and disaffection with herself swept over her. She'd missed breakfast; that was the worst part. She'd have no energy until lunch. She slowly rolled out of bed and grabbed a hairbrush; running it through her hair. Last night had been a mistake. Then, she had been energetic and lively; she and her friends had taken it too far. They ended up hanging out in the common until two in the morning; at that point Lydia had fallen asleep down there. An hour later she had woken up and slowly dragged herself up to her bed, forgetting to set an alarm. And thus, this situation began.

As she spent a few more seconds combing her hair, she began to regain more consciousness and memory. There was something about over sleeping today that really was gut-wrenching...but what was it? There was something important today...but she couldn't remember. But then it all came back to her at once, as if a slap in the face. Of course, today was her first time with her new Professor in Divination! "Blast!" Lydia said in a groan, throwing her comb back onto her bed and rubbing her face with her hands. This was not supposed to happen!

Lydia wasn't the best student...well, perhaps that was an understatement...but she at least knew that she needed to make a good impression. Sometimes, a good first impression or a bad first impression could effect how a teacher treated one of their students for the rest of the year...and Lydia had blown it! Yesterday, Lydia had been determined...she'd even completed all of her assignments before supper...only afterwords had she hung out with her friends...which had lead to a late-night candy-throwing fight, and falling asleep in the common room. This was all her fault! Angry at herself, Lydia sat back down on her bed and hit her head with her pillow, only to yell into it.

~~Fifteen Minutes Later~~

Lydia made her way down the halls of Hogwarts, trying to navigate her way to the divinations room. All was lost; she'd missed the class entirely. And now she had to do the dismal of affair of apologizing to her new Professor and "reaping the consequences" of her actions. This was going to be "pleasant." Obviously having gotten ready in a hurry, Lydia's clothes were ruffled and her face looking tired. The usual sparkle in Lydia's eyes was far from the present, and the sixth year Gryffindor looked as if she was going to fall asleep.
She slowly continued on like this until she had found herself at her new Professor's office. Sighing to herself, and then taking another breathe, she finally knocked heavily and quickly on the door; coming across as if she was still confident with herself.

Here goes nothing, she thought to herself.

[Bridget O'Neill]

It was about fifteen minutes after the class had ended and Bridget was tidying up the classroom. All in all, she though the first class had gone rather well. She was amused by the reactions from some of the students, however. Some of them had obviously expected to be in a “soft” class and had been shocked by the reading list and homework. It was going to be a fascinating term for certain. Oh yes, indeed.

A knock on the door to her classroom and office interrupted Bridget’s thoughts. “Come in!” she called cheerfully, setting a obsidian scrying bowl back on its pedestal. The door opened slowly, revealing an over-tired and harried-looking student. The young woman looked like she’d pulled some kind of all-nighter and then tried to make class despite obvious sleep deprivation. Ouch. If she didn’t fall asleep on her way back to her dorm, Bridget would be surprised.

“Oh, my.” Bridget gave the young lady a sympathetic smile. “You look like I did after my first all-night watch in the Guardians. Nothing a few cups of coffee or strong tea can’t fix, but still.” The teacher sat down at her desk and gestured to the other chair. A pot of strong steaming tea, a pair of cups, and a plate of chocolate chip muffins appeared on the desk next to the teacher’s elbow. “Thanks, Noddy!” she called to no one visible. The red-haired woman turned back to the student at her door, her green eyes merry. “You must be the other Ms. Nowan. Care for a cup of tea and a muffin while we discuss what brought you here? Even without using divination, I can guess you haven’t had breakfast . . .”

[lydianowan]

As Lydia entered the room, she was pleasantly relieved that she had received a nice, warm, welcome. Lydia's reception by her professors greatly varied in each class, but she'd forgotten how lovely a simple, casual conversation with some professors could be. But Lydia had to remind herself...this wasn't going to be casual. Technically, she'd ditched class, and she would surely have to own up to it.

Lydia willingly made her way towards the seat across from her new professor and quickly sat down, fighting the urge to rub her eyes. She was trying desperately to stay alert, and was doing well considering her current shape; but she still felt tired, and that was rather annoying. But the sight of muffins made her pleased, tea, not so much. "Yes, thank you, Professor. But I don't drink tea." Lydia replied quietly. How odd that must sound! Did not everyone in the British Isles enjoy tea? But Lydia's family didn't, for many reasons which took far too long to explain. Elizabeth, her mother, had told her not to drink caffeine when she was little and it always had stuck with her, something in her family. Besides, caffeine wasn't good for health...at least, very much as an athlete. Yes, it was an odd trait to others indeed. And Lydia felt bad about rejecting her professor's offer...but the muffins looked quite appetizing themselves...

With a loud sigh, Lydia began. "I'm so sorry I missed your class, Professor. Really, I did have the fullest intentions of attending. And I didn't ditch your class...I just kind of slept through it by accident." She said remorsefully. "Sorry." She muttered again, truly apologetic.

Lydia often times felt this way with teachers, after having done something disruptive or taken her discard of authority too far. She'd end up feeling remorseful about arriving late, talking to other students during class, or even talking back to the Professor (however, sometimes she felt justified) and spend the next night trying to "fix the problem" only to end up doing the same thing again. She'd fall back into her habit. But Lydia truly felt remorseful this time and wanted to make an effort never to miss this class altogether, period.

[Bridget O'Neill]

Bridget smiled as the young lady apologized. “Oh, I understand, believe me,” she said, humor mellowing her voice. “I missed a class or two back when I was a student. At least until I hit the Guardian Academy, that is!” Bridget looked at her roster, and nodded. “I assume you are Lydia Nowan then, since you’re my absentee for the day.” Bridget pushed the tray nearer to Lydia and called out to the thin air. “Noddy, may I get some pumpkin juice, please?” A goblet of the Hogwarts usual appeared on the tray as well. “Thanks again!”

Bridget gestured for Lydia to help herself, and broke a muffin in half, sniffing appreciatively. She watched the young lady, listening to her explanation. “Probably a late night study session that turned into hanging out with the housemates? And I’ll bet a Galleon you didn’t notice how late it was getting. Or that you fell asleep in a chair somewhere.” Bridget gave Lydia a conspiratorial smirk. “Or both, maybe? I’m not so far gone that I can’t remember my teen years.”

The professor turned away for a moment and got a few things out of the drawer in her desk. She put a small pile of books, two pouches and a small wooden box on the desk next to the tray. “Go ahead and munch on something while I explain. Luncheon’s still a ways off.” Bridget popped a piece of muffin in her mouth and chewed, washing it down with some lovely Irish Breakfast tea. “Now, I just went over a few things and then asked people to read the first chapter of this text by Di Amus, and write a short essay on whether they think Divination is an art or science. The pouches are a Futhark rune set and a Celtic Oghma set, and the box holds a Wizarding Tarot.”

Bridget turned back to her desk and pulled a green leather pouch out. “I also drew a rune for everyone who came to class.” The red-haired professor reached into her pouch and a stone grew warm under her fingers. She drew it out and smiled. “Ah! Now there’s a nice one. I drew the rune Berkano, the birch tree for you. It’s a rune that symbolizes rebirth and growth and good changes.” Bridget lay the rune down on the desk so Lydia could see it. The shape of the rune was like an angular letter B, and the gold lines glittered against the red-flecked green of the stone. “Now, just help yourself to some of Noddy’s goodies, and unless you have any questions, you can leave once you’ve eaten something. I don’t want you passing out in the corridors!”

[lydianowan]

Lydia smiled happily as her teacher humorously expressed her understanding of Lydia's situation. Nodding as Professor O'Neill spoke her words, Lydia's smile widened even further, only shortening it a little bit as the Professor concluded that she was the absentee of the day. She looked straight back into to the Professor's eyes, conforming the statement, although it was very much obvious regardless. Her eyes also widened as pumpkin juice appeared before her...good, something more healthy, and even more to feed her thirst for energy that would only come from food, drink, and sleep. At least she was getting the first three here...

Lydia was hit dead on as her Professor predicted her situation...although, for the first time, the Professor's words were not spoken in a harsh tone that Lydia was so used to when her teachers guessed what had caused her to fall asleep during class or show up late...She was finding this Professor very enjoyable, thinking that perhaps divination would be a class she would enjoy. The woman seemed intelligent, but fun as well. The latter of the two was most important of the qualities Lydia preferred in Professors; usually, those sort of teachers had more positive experiences with Lydia, as they brought out a better side of her. A dangerous thing, the way Lydia could trust those she supposedly "related to." Friends who she shared common interest with (usually as in, finding creative ways to enjoy oneself and possessing a bold personality) usually earned total loyalty from Lydia. This flaw in trust had not caused her much harm yet...but perhaps one day she would learn a lesson from it...or not...

However, Lydia's reaction to Professor O'Neill's words was merely a nervous smile. Although at the moment she liked the teacher, she still had taught herself to never reveal the exact details of her juvenile misbehaviors. Professors were not the same as students...and, in fact, Lydia rarely revealed anything that could her into trouble except to those already involved or had earned her total trust.

Lydia took her Professor up on her offer of offering food, but first taking a sip of her pumpkin juice before grabbing a muffin and slowly placing it into her mouth. She listened intently as her Professor presented her with a rune, quite intrigued what hers would be. It came a bit as a surprise to her as her rune turned out to be Berkano...how interesting...How odd...What was that supposed to mean? She surely had no intention of changing...or, did she?...

She smiled once more as her professor explained that she could finish eating before heading off. This made Lydia laugh, and she smiled even wider. "Thanks, Professor." She said, nearly in a happy laugh. After having a few more bites to eat, she decided to be on her way. It probably would be best if she didn't miss two classes today....Smiling, she stood up and headed towards the door...her homework and reading the last thing on her mind....