Fandom: Harry Potter
Relationship: Friendship – Fay Dunbar and Sophie Roper
Warnings: alternate universe
Prompt: (Spell) Nox

Summary: OWLs were only months away, and Fay Dunbar wanted to start studying while Sophie Roper had other plans.

To Love a Lion
019. Deals

Yawning, Fay Dunbar tried to remain awake as Professor Binns droned on and on about some goblin rebellion or another. While she loved reading about history, listening to the ghost professor talk only made her tired, even after lunch.

She glanced around at her classmates, many of whom where sound asleep or failing to pay attention. Curiosity satisfied, Fay turned her attention to her notes. It was fifth year, and she had her OWL exams in a few months. Doing her best to block out the ghost professor, Fay started reviewing the key events of the witch trails.

The process was slow. By the time she was done reviewing her notes, class was ending. With a surge of energy, Fay leapt to her feet as she shoved everything into her bag. As quickly as she could, Fay rushed out of the classroom. This was her last class of the day, and she was eager to be anywhere else.

With a few hours before dinner, Fay headed to the common room. While she preferred to study in the library, she wanted to review her spell-work. Thanks to Professor Umbridge's numerous "Educational Decrees", it was against the rules to use magic in the library and in the hallways and in most of the abandoned classrooms. That left very few options, like the common rooms and dorm rooms – for now, at least.

In the common room, Fay was thrilled to discover her favorite armchair and table in the back of common room were available. With a skip in her step, Fay ran over and threw herself into the armchair. She took a few minutes to relax in the armchair before she opened her bag to retrieve her day planner, which led the review guide she created.

Flipping to the beginning, Fay started by reviewing the first year material. It made sense to start at the beginning and go forward from there. The first two spells was simple: Lumos and Nox. Reaching into her bag, Fay took out her wand. She ran her fingers over the smooth dark wood before moving her hand to grip the end of the wand.

"Lumos!" she said, flicking her wand. Fay watched as the tip lit. She keyed the bright tip for a few seconds before saying, "Nox!"

"Boring!" Sophie Roper declared as she dropped into the seat next to Fay. She gave her best friend a cheeky smile when Fay looked over at her.

Fay returned her best friend's smile. "What would you rather do, Sophie?" she asked, her tone sarcastic and monotone.

"Something fun," Sophie answered, "like talking about boys or reading Witch Weekly."

Humming, Fay turned her attention back to her study guide. "You should find Lavender or Parvati for something like that," she said.

Sophie pouted. "But I wanna hang out with you," she said.

"Well, I want to study," she told her friend, glancing over at Sophie. "OWLs are a few months away."

"But you have months," Sophie whined.

"Yes," Fay agreed, dropping her gaze back to her study guide. "All the more reason to start now."

"You're sounding like Granger," Sophie said in her whiny tone and with a roll of her eyes.

"You're making sound like there's something wrong with that," the blonde said, practicing both spells again.

"It makes you boring," explained Sophie, pouting, "and I don't like boring."

Fay casted Lumos and Nox another three times, ignoring her friend. Sophie regularly did this. She was more interested than learning and doing her homework. When it came to homework, Sophie waited until the last minute and she would panic as she franticly tried to complete it all.

"Fay," Sophie whined, "pay attention to me."

"I will," Fay promise, glancing over at her friend, "in thirty minutes when I'm done reviewing. If that isn't soon enough, you're welcoming to join me."

Sophie continued to pout as Fay returned to her studying. She made it a whole minute. "Fine, thirty minutes of studying then we do something fun," she said in a whiny tone.

"Sounds good," Fay agreed with a smile.

Returning the smile, Sophie grabbed her own wand. "So, we're practicing Lumos and Nox, then?"

This was written response to the following: (1) Build Your Cube Challenge, and (2) Shop for a Prompt Challenge from Harry Potter Fanfiction Challenges.
(1) Build You Cube – Orange: (Spell) Nox
(2) Shop for Prompt Challenge – Prompt: (Spell) Nox

Words: ~700