𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐃 | 𝐌.𝐑.

17 | Pressure

EVELYN NOTT

warning ; anxiety/panic attacks

"You wanted to see me Professor?" I stood by the doorway.

Professor Flitwick looks up from his newspaper, "Yes, Ms. Nott, please have a seat."

I sit down in front of his desk, he ruffles through his files and pulls out a pile of stapled papers that was labeled my name.

He interlocks his fingers, looking at me disappointed, "You are a great student, Evelyn. You always have had straight A's in your past classes. Is there any reason you think you're struggling here?"

"What? My grades have been fine." I furrow my eyebrows in confusion.

"Ms. Nott you're barely passing this class with a sixty-two percent, it's come to my attention that you are taking too many classes this year." He elucidates.

Shaking my head with disagreement, "No. Professor Flitwick I'm just a little busier than normal. I can study more and I'll—"

"You have too much work to handle. You cannot focus on all the classes you have this year, I think you need to drop a class." He cut me off.

"I can get my grade up." I urged, "End of conversation Ms. Nott. It's your choice, but remember my suggestion. I don't want you to fail, you've always been a bright student." He pats my shoulder, putting his papers away.

He dismissed me from his classroom without another word, my whole life has revolved around academic validation, and without it I felt like a complete failure.

//

The door swing open, a brush of wind hitting my face. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"How do you do it?" I invite myself in, he closes the door behind him.

"How do I do what?" He asked phlegmatic.

"Tell me how you do it Riddle!" I yelled at him, not even caring about the last time I saw him was when he threatened to kill me and then almost stopped me from breathing, what a gentleman.

"You have a real nerve to come in my dorm, ask me random questions and then raise your voice at me. Do you not remember what happened last time?" I had pissed him off now.

"I just need to know, okay?" I was practically begging him for the secret.

"What do you need to know?" He angrily snapped at me.

"How do you take more classes than average and keep your grades up?" I was fastidious to know, I needed to know.

He chuckled, "You stormed into my dorm to ask me how I keep my grades up? I thought you were the smart one, hm?"

"I am! I'm supposed to be. Professor Flitwick met with me and told me to drop a class because the work was too much to handle for me." I fumed.

"I didn't ask for the story, neither do I care." He said, flipping through of a book, what a coincidence.

"I don't know what to do. And you seem to have no problem whatsoever by keeping up with classes getting straight A's." I said.

"Then maybe you should drop a class. Listen to the Professor, you can't handle the hard work. There's my answer, you can leave."

"That is not an answer. I can't do this. I'm supposed to be the top student of every class, and I can't do it anymore the pressure and the work is drowning me. I feel so despondent." I'm blabbering out of my mind, pacing around the room.

"What's wrong with you?" He fretted, opening his door and signaling me to leave.

"Everyone always asked me for answers and my notes and how I succeeded so easily in classes and now I'm a failure and I can't— it's too much I don't know what to do anymore." I felt like I was sweating so much, and my breathing grows heavier.

"Hell, where's your brother for this? Why are you coming to me like I give a shit about you and your grades?"

I couldn't open my mouth to answer, my ears rung loudly and I stumbled a bit. "Come on Redhead." He grumbled, slamming his door and taking a few steps towards me.

I feel his hands, he pushed me back and I stumbled back to sit on his bed.

He leans on his bedpost standing right in front of me, I bury my face in my hands, hiding the tears and tomato colored face.

"I can't believe I'm fucking doing this right now."He mumbled to himself.

"How do you do it?" I repeat my question.

"Ask me that again and I'll knock you out myself." He scolds, charming.

"I'm going to fail everything—"

He raises my chin with his finger, forcing eye contact, "Hey, do me a favor and shut the hell up. I can't stand your voice."

I sat there silently, letting the millions of thoughts run through my mind, and none of them made me feel better.

I feel the bed sink next to me, I look over and he was next to me, his eyes showed no emotion, he was impossible to read.

"Are you done having a breakdown on my bed?"

"I hate you so much." I groaned, forcing myself to stand along with the giant headache I had.

"When you hate someone you don't usually come to their dorm with tears flooding down your cheeks asking for advice." He spoke.

"I don't know what got into me, it was just a spur of the moment thing." I make it to his door opening it to leave.

"Nott, wait."

I turn around and face him, "Huh?"

"When you're not being an annoying know-it-all which is hardly ever, you're decently smart. I wouldn't give up on your classes."

I softly grinned, closing his door behind me and taking a deep breath.

I will never hear the end of this from him. I think that was the most embarrassing moment of my life.

I freaked out over academic validation, and then I made the decision to—

"Ev what're you doing here?"

//

CLIFFHANGER!!!

ALSO DOUBLE UPDATE:)

THOUGHTS?? I FEEL LIKE THIS IS MEH. I HOPE YOU ENJOYEDDD!