She was at it again. Quill poised over the longest bit of parchment she could find, eyes pouring over a huge tome called, Potions, Poisons, and Pretense, and stomach growling, incessantly desperate for sustenance, Leo was in one of her frenzies. It wasn't that she wanted to be here in the library, studying until her eyes started to rot, but she had to be. Otherwise, her grades would fall and then where would she be?

"You could have done so much better, Leonora."

"I expect better from a Strauss. You disappoint me."

Oh, she could hear their snide voices already, eating away at her from the inside out. The remarks they would make about her not living up to the Strauss name, her disappointing them beyond measure, her not being good enough to be their daughter, she could hear them all clearly as her eyes roamed over the words that were beginning to blur together. When was the last time she ate? She didn't care. All that mattered was her potions test the next day. She had to study or else she would fail. She knew she would fail if she didn't, she just knew it. Another growl from her stomach proved to be difficult to ignore. There was a tight clenching in her stomach, a sharp pain that had her tearing her eyes from the book and slouching over, grabbing at her stomach. Then, just as suddenly, it was gone.

Now where was she? Leo straightened and got back to work. Her vision blurred and her eyes ached, but she was relentless. Once she finished reading a passage, usually two or three times over because of her eyes, she would scribble furiously against the parchment. It was only the beginning of the year but the amount of work already piled on the sixth years was amazing. Leo was determined to be at least two weeks ahead in all her classes.

Another sharp pain from her stomach told her that it was time to stop. Sighing in defeat, Leo began to pack her bags and roll up her parchment. She couldn't remember the last time she had eaten and she hadn't slept at all the night before, opting instead to get her Muggle studies and transfiguration work done. She cursed her body's weakness and stood from her work table. There were a few other students studying quietly in the library but Leo paid them no mind as she stumbled towards the exit.

Leo didn't know how she ended up on the floor but a large bruise developing on her bum told her that she had in fact fallen backwards and a dull ache on her forehead told her that she had walked right into someone in order to do so. She looked up at her victim sheepishly, a blush creeping over her cheeks, a rare occasion for Leo.

"Sorry," she grumbled, in an off-hand way.