A groan rattled in the depths of her chest, strawberry waves falling over shoulders as she ducks her head forward. “Sorry.” Mason certainly had to be over all her nonsense, but as always, he managed to brush it off as nothing; Never once complaining about her need to be overprepared. “I swear, once this is done brewing, we can head to the great hall for tea.” After all, it was the least she could do, seeing as they’d opted out of this week’s trip to Hogsmeade so she could waste-away studying.
“Huh…” Emerald peeks at him through thick lashes, lips parting to hang slightly ajar as she ponders his question. Of course, she’d heard him clearly, but the realization of the matter was; She hadn’t the slightest idea.
“It’s nothing.” A hand lifts, brushing off his inquiry as though it were nothing but a buzzing gnat. “Some silly puzzle or whatnot.” The Ravenclaw quickly adds before she’s abruptly rising from her perch.
“You know what, I think I’m actually ready for lunch now, what do you say?”
The word lunch was all Mason had to hear for him to start packing up his books and escort Elizabeth to the Great Hall. While they were walking, he couldn’t help but wrack his brain at how his best friend had so nonchalantly brushed his question off. He knew that she couldn’t stop gushing -- some would say a little too much, but he couldn’t fault her for it -- about the tournament, and yet this one question, perhaps the question that he was expecting the most detailed answer from, was the one that Elizabeth had chosen to essentially smile and nod in response to?
As the two of them sat at the table and put their bags down and began eating, all Mason could think about was how to phrase the question on his mind without seeming too abrasive. It’s just a puzzle? Whatnot? You mean to tell me they flew three other schools into Hogwarts for a puzzle? You don’t actually know what the task is, do you? All of these questions seemed too brash; he had to think about how to phrase it perfectly as to not add any extra stress onto what he knew she’d already been feeling.
After he’d devoured his lunch, Mason decided to just come up with something off the top of his head instead preparing anything. It seemed more natural that way, he thought.
“I know you’re under immense pressure, and I don’t want to add onto that, and I know I haven’t been as supportive as I could be, and I know that the tournament is as foreign to you as it is to me, and I know I can’t relate because my name got chosen, and--” he stopped to catch his breath. “Anyway, what I’m trying to say is, maybe I could help. You’re free to lean on me, you know.” Maybe he should have led with the last sentence.