Unseen Realities ~ Edmund x Reader Hogwarts AU

Baby Steps

(Image not mine)

Y/N'S POV

"Hey, Pevensie,"

Edmund jolted up, swiveling around to meet my eyes. He looked tense and worried, but when he saw it was me he let out a relieved breath. Turning back around, he whispered in annoyance, "No need to sneak up on me, L/n."

"Sorry," I chuckled, setting my bag on the desk and sitting next to him. "I didn't mean to."

"What are you doing here?" He asked, not taking his eyes off of the stack of papers in front of him.

"I needed a quiet place. Everyone in the Hall is too loud."

He nodded, not saying anything. I leaned over slightly to see over his shoulder. Immediately, I recognized my handwriting on the notes in front of him. For some reason, it surprised me that he was actually taking studying seriously. Though, now that I looked at it, it seemed like he was struggling.

He was completely absorbed in the material, biting his lips and scrunching his eyebrows occasionally. His fingers ran through his messy black hair. "What are you staring at, L/n?" He asked suddenly.

I leaned back, now aware of how long I had been observing him. "You're struggling," I remarked.

"How on earth did you know?" He looked at me with an eye roll. "It's your fault I'm struggling in the first place. I don't see how anyone can understand these notes."

I laughed under my breath, trying to stay quiet in the library. "Here, give me those."

He passed the parchment to me and I glanced over it. It made perfect sense to me. But I guess that's because I wrote them. Placing the papers on the table in between us, pointing to the first few notes and diagrams. "This here is a model of the constellation Canis Major. And these are its most common meanings during the different seasons."

"So that's what those random dots mean."

"Yes, now pay attention," I gently whacked his arm. "We are beginning our second lesson of tea leaf reading tomorrow. This is what we covered in class yesterday, it's just the basics."

He looked over the list of topics we covered and their most important points. I could see a hint of understanding in his eyes now. After explaining the notes a bit more, I sat back and let him go over the material on his own. Quickly getting bored of just sitting there and waiting for him to get confused again, I stood up and scanned the books on the shelves around us.

The desks we sat at were at the end of two long rows of shelves which effectively isolated the space from the rest of the library. That made it easier for me to walk up and down the aisle carelessly, running my hands over the books. When one book stood out to me, I pulled it from the shelf and flipped to a random page.

A complete guide to frogs. Can't say I would ever read that in my free time. I put the book back on the shelf and reached for another. This one had a purple leather cover so I thought it might be interesting. Unfortunately, it was only a biography about a wizard who specialized in aquatic biology. Shoving it back in its place, I returned to my seat next to Edmund.

He noticed my boredom, "You don't have to stay, you know."

I shrugged, "I'd rather be here than the Hall."

"Do what you will," he smiled. Then he sat up rather abruptly, "Hold on, what's today?"

"Thursday?"

He slammed his book shut and stuffed the parchment and his quill in his bag before standing up. The chair screeched against the stone floor as he pushed it out and grabbed my arm, pulling me with him. I hastily grabbed my bag as I stood, "Where are we going?!"