This will have to do

It took him forever to find an empty classroom. Even though it was the weekend, people were for some reason flooding all of the halls and empty rooms in the school. He found it rather funny how even in a large school such as Hogwarts, one could never truly find a place to be alone. The library and the study rooms were filled with students trying to finish their homework on time as well. So this was their only option left. It was a simple and empty classroom and that was all they needed.

Andrei took a seat at one of the desks and started tapping his feet on the floor lightly. He hated waiting and he wasn't a very patient man. With a glance at the clock, he realized it was time. She should have been here already and they could have started. But since she was late, Andrei continued to tap his feet on the ground anxiously.

Alice rushed through the halls on the fifth floor. She knew she was late and was sure that wouldn't make him happy at all. Being so tired after her classes and studying, she decided to take a short nap. Soon however that short nap turned into a few hour sleep session. When she woke up, she was already late for their meeting. Barely even remembering the bring the new books she got from Whight, she walked into the empty classroom looking like a mess.

"Sorry...I completely forgot the time" she said with an apologetic smile hoping he wouldn't be furious with her. "Here I brought some great study material" said Alice taking out the massive books out of her bag and placing them on the table. She had already gone through a large part of a few books, but she still wasn't even close to finishing. And that was just the theoretical part, she didn't even start practicing them. "I have marked the few spells I thought we should try out today. As you will see, I have came prepared" she said with a grin. It was exciting to think that she was truly improving in her defensive skills.

"So where should we start from" she asked looking over at Andrei as he examined the books she brought.

Andrei sighed when she finally came in. With a single glance at her, he became a bit worried. She looked like a completely mess. "Are you alright?", he asked wondering what the hell happened with her. He wasn't use to her being late, let alone seeing her like this. "Oh sure. Not it's fine. If you are sure you are alright", he repeated once more, questioning her answer and trying to figure out if she was telling the truth.

His attention was quickly turned to the massive books she has brought. Examining their tittle and covers, it was obvious they were quite old. "I've never seen such books in the library. How did you get these?", he asked rather curiously. They seemed like they would be a lot of help in this practice. "Let me guess, the librarian is very found of you so he let you roam the restricted section", Andrei guessed as that seemed like the most probable explanation.

"Oh you did? Hmm we shall see how well you did then", he said with a grin on his face. Andrei was glad Alice took this seriously and she did really want to progress in her skills. "How about from here?", he said pointing at the first chapter of one book which was about defensive spells. He took his position across her and waited for her to get ready. "Expelliarmus!", Andrei said sending his spell at her.

"Yeah I'm good. I was just taking a nap after my classes and I fell asleep for too long, that is all" said Alice hastily when she realized he was staring at her. God she must look even more terrible than she though. She rubbed her hands on her eyes and pulled her hair up in a more tidy ponytail than before. It wasn't much but it was all she good do right now. And at least it will help her not look like a homeless person from the street.

She chuckled at how he just assumed that she even knew the Hogwarts librarian. She did of course know him and he rather favored Alice but that was beside the point. At least it was a better explanation than it appeared at her doorstep. She couldn't mention Wight in this, so she decided just to stick with Andrei's assumption. "Yeah something like that" she said with a laugh.

Alice took her place opposite him and took a deep breath. She should be better at this now. He cast his spell at her and she quickly raised her wand and said "Finite Incantatum!". The light that was coming towards her quickly stopped and disappeared on the floor. She couldn't help but grin at her first victory. "Beginners luck I guess" she said with a big smile.

"That makes sense", he said with a smirk. She did look like someone who just woke up from a nap. Now at least he had a much more normal explanation for her tardiness than the things going around in his head. "You should probably sleep more at night then instead", he pointed out. \

He was ready to help her up if his spell hit her, he was even ready to use protective spells to shield himself in the spell backfired on him. But he didn't expect her to handle this so well. Before he knew it, his spell disappeared into the floor and diminished into nothing but dust. He chuckled at her wide grin and clapped his hands. She deserved it after all, it was a brilliant progress. She was much more confident with her spells now and demanding. This whole thing was going exactly like he planned it.

"Perhaps it is beginners luck as you said. Let's try it once more time then shall we?", Andrei suggested. He got back to his position and concentrated. He wanted to test Alice and push her to the limits. If she couldn't perform well enough under pressure, then she was no good to him. "Confringo!", he said pointing his wand directly at her chest and waiting for her to respond.

"Of course! Practice makes perfect" said Alice with a smile. She got back to her position in front of him and waited for his spell. As soon as she opened his mouth, she pulled out her wand in front of her. With a smile Protego spell, Andrei's bounced of the shield that she cast around her. It even surprised her that it was strong enough to withstand Andrei's spell, because usually their strength would just crush her shield into bits. But not this time apparently. "Third's a charm?" she asked with a teasing smile.

Alice was quite enjoying this, beating Andrei. She could get used to it quite quickly. Although she was sure he wouldn't be so fond of it if it continued. "There is nothing wrong in taking your assignments seriously" she said simply. This assignment was more for her mentor than for Andrei, but either way it benefited them both.

"I have only gone through some parts of the books though. The later chapters I can barely follow let alone understand" she admitted. But for now it was enough. Tomorrow she will try again as her meeting with her mentor was getting close and she wanted to be prepared. "Come take a look" she said motioning him to come and see the pages she was taking about. Maybe he would know some of it, he was older than her after all and had a lot more experience with magic, especially this kind.

"I think you have proven yourself enough in this department", said Andrei laughing. Again she was pretty damn good. It seemed that she knew how to take directions well and work hard on it too. But wasn't that the definition of a Hufflepuff? He would add naïve to most of them as well, which of course was one of Alice's traits as well. And loyal too, a trait he was still waiting to see fully in her.

He walked towards her and looked into the books more carefully. Some of it sounded familiar, but most of it were things he had never heard of before. "Where did you get this from again? This is very advanced", he said quite impressed. A book like this could be very handy. "Do you mind if I borrow one? Just scribble down some things I see and explore it thoroughly", Andrei explained.

"But why are you taking a nap in the afternoon again? We didn't have classes in the morning today", he said quite suddenly changing the topic.

"No!" said Alice rather hastily when he asked if he could borrow them. She wasn't sure of the exact worth of these books, but she was sure she wasn't supposed to just give them away like it. Even if it was for a short while. In fact she was sure she wasn't even supposed to show these to anyone in the first place. But it was the only way Alice could truly learn and practice. Hopefully her mentor wouldn't mind that much, not that she was planning on telling him after all.

"Well I had to wake up early and go through these books and study, didn't I?" she said trying to avoid this subject all together. But Alice knew he was suspicious of her explanation otherwise he wouldn't ask in the first place. "I don't get a lot of sleep lately" she uttered honestly. It was terrible. Alice was used to her at least seven hours of solid sleep to have a functional day. Anything less than that would make her all jumpy and tired. She would now wake up in the middle of the night at least three times because of her dreams. It was a silly reason, but it was something she couldn't get rid off easily.

Andrei was taken back by her harsh answer. He just wanted to borrow the books, not eat them. "Alright, alright - sorry I was just asking", he said with a shrug of his shoulders. Her reaction really didn't make any sense to him. But then again a lot of things girls do doesn't make sense to him. Perhaps Alice was just that, another girl he couldn't quite figure out. Although he had to admit she was a lot more shy and pleasant to be around than the ones he knew. For some reason he attracted mainly heartless girls, the ones with the cold soul and an uncontrollable attitude. They thought he would like that for Merlin knows what reason.

No what he preferred was girls like Alice actually. The little quite lambs, who you could shape as you wish. They could be broken down and brought back up by a single smile. Girls like that were much more easier to control. And whether he admits it or not, he had a serious controlling issue. It was the only way he felt absolutely secure and safe. He need to be sure that everything was under his control, everything.

"Nightmares again?", asked Andrei, not liking the sound of that at all. He was hoping they would have disappeared by now but obviously not.

"I just mean that it was really hard for me to get these books in the first place. And I promised the librarian that I would keep them safe and by my side at all times that's all" Alice explained hoping he would understand. She was risking enough just by showing him these books, but she couldn't let him take them from here even for a day. That would be just pushing her luck.

"Something like that..." she said trying to avoid the issue all together. Her nightmares weren't that bad they were just plain annoying. And the worst thing is they were disrupting her whole day afterwards. She was too tired in class to pay attention and she would often have to take naps instead of studying. More than anything she was worried about how it would affect her grades.