Casual Chat? (Closed)

Tor was starting to think that Morgana actually didn’t like him. It was a completely unrealistic and frankly ridiculous idea, but her hostile nature really was starting to be a setback. Over the summer, when he thought about the year he had left with her, he was tempted to give up but he realised that he simply needed a simpler, smarter strategy. If she was going to play hard-to-get, then he was going to show her that he could easily take a step back and be less eager too. The plan had started off great. At the opening feast, he didn’t glance at her once, however he was sure she was swooning over him the whole time. He would know if he looked at her but that defeated the purpose. Since the feast, Tor hadn’t made an effort to talk to her once. It probably made it look like he was focusing on these stupid NEWT exams which made him look smart. And it would intrigue her. Genius.

Now, though, the time had come for him to approach her, maybe talk casually about the weather or something. He had to wait for the right time to come. After what seemed like forever, the time did come. Most students were in classes so there were only a few of his older housemates in the Slytherin Common Room, the love of his life included. Tor only spent a few minutes flicking through his DADA book before getting up and walking casually over to where Morgana sat, looking beautiful like usual.

“Hey,” he whispered, not wanting to disturb the quiet, calm atmosphere in the room. “How’s the studying going?” This was good, yes. That relaxed attitude that made it seem like he wasn’t so bothered. Tor wasn’t going to lie though, it was difficult to keep up when he just wanted to give her flowers and chocolate and make her love him like she definitely should. He thought of his brother. That boy would never be so stupid as to gush over his future girlfriend and although he never wanted to follow in his brother’s footsteps in any way, maybe his natural approach was better.

Spoiler:

Having had the time to settle in for the year, Morgana was relieved to see that most people had finally learned to get off her case. She was left alone for most of the time, and she couldn't be more pleased about that. The feast had been perfect. She had taken a seat all the way down by the end, and she had been left completely alone, the closest person three seats away, which suited her fine.

What was even better was that the weird, lovesick Durmstrang transfer had also lain off. Morgana figured he finally understood where she was standing; she wasn't interested. And this made her feel as if she could study in the common room with no disturbances, not even from him, which made her almost feel happy. Almost. Currently, she was located in the Slytherin common room.

The final year was upon them, and she took the NEWTs very seriously, and had already studied half of her books, not keeping to the schedule of the lessons at all. She had bought the books early summer and had read through all of them once, some twice. Her backpack was stuffed with parchment full of notes, and she had everything under control. She was going to do all the lessons perfectly and the exams would not at all be a problem.

Halfway through her potions book, a quill, ink and parchment laid out in front of her, she came to realize how wrong she'd been. And she didn't like it. Tor had approached her. She grit her teeth. But then he was all casual as if they were friends. Morgana almost snorted, but thought twice of it. If he was going to be pushy either way, this was definitely an improvement. And to keep it like this, she would probably have to reply to him. She looked up at him, cold, green eyes drilling into his.

"It was going well," she said, unable to hide the annoyance in her voice, but she put the quill into the ink bottle and crossed her arms, leaning back in her chair and looked at him. "How about you?" she deadpanned, not at all interested in the answer.

That hostility and uncaring, evil exterior. They were what Tor loved about Morgana. And her eyes, that scary look he got sometimes. That was always pleasant. It was probably just her way of showing affection for him. Obviously in public she couldn't let people see that she was actually nice deep down so these looks and actions were like a secret system which showed him he loved her. At least, that was what Tor told himself in the hope that he could convince even himself if he acted certain enough. 

"I'm sorry," he said sincerely, although the glint in his eye suggested that he wasn't sorry at all. There was of course a but. "But you're always studying. You definitely need the occasional distraction." What was that shitty saying about work and play that he couldn't remember? "Besides, we both know you'll get top marks in everything, whatever you do," Tor smiled, trying not to sound jealous. It was his fault that he didn't get good marks because he didn't work hard here. He was trying this year, though. 

Perhaps she planned on actually participating properly in this conversation. It seemed like it from the way she was putting away her quill for the time being. Or perhaps she was just dipping it in the ink so that she could start writing again.

It came as rather a surprise when she returned the question but a welcome one all the same. "I like to think it's going well," Tor answered vaguely. By that, he meant that he was keeping up with pretty much everything, that he had read a few pages ahead in his Potions book. However, he imagined 'going well' could hold quite a different meaning to Morgana because she was so intellectually superior to him, he didn't even want to know about what she had achieved in studying.

Tor realised that if he didn't keep conversation going, she might decide it wasn't worth her time and return to studying so he talked again quickly. "What are you planning on doing after you graduate?" This question had been playing on his mind a lot recently. Even his mother had sent him a letter regarding what he wanted to do and whether he was going home. He didn't have a clue. But he most likely would stay in England, away from his family.