… Neville smiles back at her “I’ve always seen you as a good person.”
She gives him an appreciative smile “I know, Plant Boy,” she places both her hands against Neville’s chubby cheeks and adds in a a much softer tone, “Thank you.”
Neville inhales sharply, leaning forward and eyes fluttering shut, he wants to kiss her so badly. Aurelia smiles at the serene expression of Neville’s face before leaning in and kissing his nose then she quickly pulls away. Neville grins goofily, placing his hand over her bandaged hand and suddenly Aurelia’s eyes widen and she pulls away, jumping to her feet “Oh, shit!”
… “Dying is easy … Much easier than what I’m going through now.”
“You don’t have to face this on your own,” Neville says, “I’m here for you … So is Olivia, Susan, and Hannah. You never have to go through this alone, we can help … I want to help.”
Aurelia smiles sadly, wishing more than anything she can tell him everything (he’d certainly change his mind then!), she leans over and kisses his cheek “Thank you.” …
… Aurelia goes back to her work only to be interrupted hardly ten minutes by none other than Neville, he gives her a sheepish look after poking her shoulder “Hey, Ari, can you help me with this, uh, question here?”
Nervously, Aurelia glances at Neville and the parchment in his hands. His round face is bright red and his hands are shaking, she nods her head “Aye, sure what is it?”
“Why are you ignoring me,” Neville says quickly, almost in one breath but he gives her a determined stare.
Aurelia blinks, smiling slightly “Wow that was — wow, well played, Plant Boy.”
Neville gulps but the sly smile on Aurelia face makes the bold question on the tip of his tongue easier to say “I think the, um, answer is supposed to be, uh, longer than that.”
Aurelia laughs, smiling widely, she gives him finger guns and wink “I’m sure you’re right, Plant Boy but Sinistra is staring at us and I’m sure she knows just as well as we do the answer isn’t one she wants discussed on her watch.”
“After class then,” Neville says, it’s not really a question, Aurelia can tell he wants answers and he deserves them but she can’t give him truthful ones.
“Aye, after class, Plant Boy.” Aurelia agrees, smiling fading as she instantly regrets saying yes to this. What if he knows, what if Lyra actually told him and he’s going to —
“I’ll hold you to it, Sunflower Girl,” Neville say …
… She blinks, startled by the fact that he’s genuinely annoyed. In the time she’s known Neville and Aurelia, he’s never been anything but patient with her and to see him act like this, it leaves a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach, Abigale frowns and scuffs her feet against the snow-covered ground.
“Well, it’s not that she’s confiding in me or anything, like, we’re not even hanging out for fun. I’m teaching her Legilimency and Occlumency, she needs it because of Professor Black, who’s like a total twat,” Abigale says quickly.
Neville’s annoyance fades back into concern “What did Lyra do to her, is that why she hasn’t talked to me?”
“Well, Longbottom, it’s up to her to tell you that. And she will, she doesn’t want to lie to you, she’ll tell you anything — anyway, I’ve got to, like, go. I will tell her to talk to you, don’t worry, Longbottom, I am rooting for you,” Abigale says, winking at him. …
… Apparently all the professors were told by Dumbledore to pass the message along to Aurelia because on the way up she passed Professor Flitwick and Professor Sinistra both tell her a similar message. And Aurelia finds herself very uneasy and angry by the time she gets to his office. She doesn’t understand why he wants to speak with her, she hasn’t done anything wrong.
Entering the office she’s met with sight of Dumbledore and Umbridge — ah, fuck this can’t be good. Aurelia shakes in both anger and nerves as Dumbledore and Umbridge leer at her, they both look feverishly excited about something and that makes Aurelia feel very queasy. She scuffs her feet against the ground, biting her lip and she wants to stand tall but she feels very small “Why am I here?”
“Did the professor who told you I needed to see you not tell you why I’ve requested to speak with you,” Dumbledore questions, sounding slightly exasperated as he spares a glance at Umbridge, Aurelia shakes her head.
Dumbledore doesn’t look like he’s going to explain but it’s not like he would get the chance to because Umbridge clears her throat and pulls out a long black envelope with the Ministry of Magic emblem on it in gold ink. …
The Waves is often regarded as Virginia Woolf’s masterpiece, standing with those few works of twentieth-century literature that have created unique forms of their own. In deeply poetic prose, Woolf traces the lives of six children from infancy to death who fleetingly unite around the unseen figure of a seventh child, Percival. Allusive and mysterious, The Waves yields new treasures upon each reading.
Book Update #21-Doing it, Let’s Talk About Sex, by Hannah Witton
Figuring out how to build and maintain healthy relationships - with your family, friends, romantically and with yourself - is a crucial part of being a teen. It’s not easy though, particularly in a digital age where information and advice are so forthcoming it can be hard to know who or what to believe or trust. Porn is everywhere, sexting is the norm and messages about body image are highly mixed. Hannah combats this by tackling subjects ranging from masturbation and puberty to slut shaming and consent in an accessible, relatable and extremely honest way. She is unembarrassed about bringing little-discussed topics into the open, and as such empowers teens to have the confidence to conduct relationships on their terms, and in a way that they feel comfortable with.
Book Update #20-Fully Functioning Human (Almost), by Melanie Murphy
Irish YouTuber Melanie Murphy regularly chronicles the ups and downs of her life on her popular channel, discussing topics such as sexuality, skincare, social media and self-esteem. Now, in her first book, she looks with her trademark humour and down-to-earth honesty at the experiences that have shaped her. From learning how to manage her online life, to giving up on the idea of perfection, living with anxiety and the lessons she has learned about relationships, Mel shows us that difficult times can teach us the most about who we are, and by learning to value ourselves, we can overcome whatever life throws at us.
When it comes to drumming, Leah Burke is usually on beat - but real life isn’t always so rhythmic. An anomaly in her friend group, she’s the only child of a young, single mum, and her life is decidedly less privileged. And even though her mom knows she’s bisexual, she hasn’t mustered the courage to tell her friends - not even her openly gay BFF, Simon. So Leah really doesn’t know what to do when her rock-solid friend group starts to fracture in unexpected ways. With prom and college on the horizon, tensions are running high. It’s hard for Leah to strike the right note while the people she loves are fighting-especially when she realizes she might love one of them more than she ever intended.
Gideonalways has a plan. His plans include running for class president, becoming head of the yearbook committee and having his choice of colleges. They do notinclude falling head over heels for his best friend and next-door neighbour, Kyle. It’s a distraction. It’s pointless, as Kyle is already dating the gorgeous and popular head cheerleader, Ruby. And Gideon doesn’t know what to do… Kylefinally feels like he has a handle on life. He has a wonderful girlfriend, a best friend willing to debate the finer points of Lord of the Rings, and social acceptance as captain of the basketball team. Then, both Ruby and Gideon start acting really weird, just as his spot on the team is threatened, and Kyle can’t quite figure out what he did wrong…
Thank you all so much! Your support means the world to me and genuinely has gotten me the confidence to ever even think of taking a step like this. There’s nothing there yet, but I really want to get started on it now!
I’ve had this idea for years and years around Greek Mythology because I love it so much. Diving into the complex characters of Greek Gods, Titans and other characters and also developing some original characters with obviously some smut, slow burn, action and clever dialogue. You guys can hold me accountable now!
