#4 Deals and Decisions [OPEN]

Sophia had no idea how or where to spend her free afternoon. She'd wandered around for a while, trying to decide, but nothing fun or creative came to mind. Normally she'd prefer to spend her time outdoors, but nowhere interested her. She knew Lucky had some training thing to do, but wondered where her other fellow Hufflepuff classmates were.

Tired of aimless wandering, Sophia decided to just hang out in the main corridor and hope someone would come to chat with her. She'd spotted Mardling not too far away, but kept her distance. She had no intention of getting into any Slytherin squabbles today.

Plopping herself on the floor as if it was just a big bench, Sophia yawned and leaned against the cold wall. Free time was a blessing they all yearned for, yet sometimes it could be really boring and uneventful. She was used to making her own fun, but Sophia was waiting for an entertaining to make itself known.

'Sophia's fine,' she said, preferring her "Soph" nickname to be more reserved for close friends. 'Ruby, right? Yeah, sure! You can totally hang out with me for a while.' She grinned at the girl, shuffling over to make room for her on the floor. It didn't occur to her that others didn't typically consider the floor to be an ideal place to sit.

It was a bit odd. Sophia was amused by the younger years, but she'd never really befriended one before or spent any sort of regular time with one. Ruby was cool, and they'd had a lot of fun, but it was a different kind of friendship to the one she had with those her own age. It was a new experience and she was quite curious about it.

'How's your afternoon been?' Sophia asked, ever one for conversation. 'I've no idea what you guys had. Was it a class or something? If it was Potions, blimey. You have my sympathy.' She laughed, reaching into her pocket for a bag of sweets. Boring ones - just little, round mint things covered in chocolate.

'Want one?' She offered to Ruby, as if any kid could possibly turn down free treats. 'If any 5th year Hufflepuff boys show up, I gotta hide them. I swear they inhale food to survive.' Sophia rolled her eyes. 'Teenage boys are always hungry. But you're okay.' She winked, being friendly and trying to show Ruby she didn't mind sharing with her.

Grace had collected everything the deal kid had said she would need, and she was proud of it, too. The main hallway seemed like a good idea, after all, it was the place to go. She caught sight of Ruby talking to an older Hufflepuff girl, and decided to steer clear. Wouldn't want to get caught up in that, plus it was fun having secrets.

"Deal kid!" Grace said in a whisper-hushed voice, "We got all the stuff." she grinned, a huge smile on her face as she pulled out a jar of honey to demonstrate this fact. Of course there were more things in her bag, but she didn't want to parade around with all the ingredients just yet.

Sophia placed the treat bag carefully on the floor between them, so either she or Ruby could snack from it at will. 'Noted.' She nodded, about the nickname, while chewing a chocolately mint.

'What? Oh, awesome.' Sophie grinned, her eyes lighting up at the mention of flying. 'I remember my first flying lesson. I fell off,' she said, in fond memory. It was an odd thing to have a fond memory of, but that was just how Sophia was.

She ate another mint. 'It can be pretty scary at first.' She nodded, hoping to boost Ruby's confidence a bit. 'I was rubbish at first. Madam Hooch said I was too eager or whatever. Now I'm a Chaser for the Hufflepuff Quidditch team. Practice really does help. I'm sure, with a few more lessons, you'll get the hang things and feel more comfortable on a broom. Hey, you might even be great at it! Everyone starts somewhere, right?'

Sophia eyed the other group of interest nearby, not that she could hear or see anything going on. 'What's Mardling up to know?' she grumbled, but decided to stay put. There were only so many younger students she could rescue from his stupid schemes. The Gryffindor girl had a jar of what looked like honey at some point. What the heck?

'Eh. Whatever. You know them?' she asked Ruby, though was more keen to focus on their conversation at hand. 'Oh and, of course, if you never really get comfortable on a broom and don't like it - that's fine too. It's a preference, that's for sure. I personally love it. Nothing as amazing as flying with the wind in your hair, and of course the views are stunning.' She grinned. Sophia missed it a lot. 'Ugh, I can't wait for Quidditch season to start!' She fidgeted in excitement.

Did Grace Find him? Hopefully he didn't lose her. He had to leave when he had to go to the Bathroom, but if he lost her, he didn't think he'd be able to find her until Dinner, and after that it'd be too late for anything.

Luckily, they were both there, and running over, he pulled out his stuff too.

As he was watching the Deal, he looked around. Ruby was talking to a Girl with Purple hair, which was interesting. Could they dye their hair? He'd like to get dyed hair one day. Blue or something like that seemed interesting.

Gerald Nodded, and went rummaging through his bag. "I know I have enough Gold for this. I've a lot of gold"

Lucas tried, and probably failed a bit, to keep his expression neutral. The fact he was just collectively handed 150 Galleons was difficult not to get excited about. He was born into wealth so it wasn't anything too shocking for him, but these were his Galleons now. His plans were coming together. Though, he was surprised by how quickly those first years got the items - and the fact they could actually afford to pay him.

He secured the gold in his magical pouch, which was small and clearly enchanted to contain a lot more than it appeared capable of. He blinked and looked at the Ravenclaw, who'd let slip he had a lot of gold. Well, well - did he now? 'What was your name again?' Lucas asked, casually though clearly interested.

'Eager, aren't you?' Lucas eyed the Gryffindor girl. Seriously, what were their names? Had they even told him? He should check his notes - they were probably written down somewhere. He didn't care to educate them on how long a Polyjuice Potion typically took, keen to get the deal over with now he'd been paid.

Lucas checked the items and adjusted them carefully in his back, then updated his notes. He let them wait, just because he could. What was the rush, anyway?

'I will reach out to my contact/supplier,' Lucas said. 'Meet me by the doors to the Great Hall at the start of dinner, and I'll deliver everything as promised. I give you my word. Though, it should go without saying, that we must be discreet. Make sure your pockets are empty when you arrive, and I recommend securing them somewhere safe immediately after. Once they're in your hands, I've got nothing to do with it. If either of you get caught with them...We never met, got it?' He fixed them both with a stern, intimidating stare.

Liability was a big deal, and for as accommodating as he was - Lucas needed to remind them he was the one with the power here. He covered his tracks well, so he wasn't too worried about getting in trouble, but only a fool wouldn't take additional precautions regardless.

'Is there anything else you need, or are we done here?' he asked.

"I like to know what's going on." Grace, said, crossing her arms and trying her best to look intimidating. The deal kid gave Grace an interesting impression, and she wasn't quite sure if he could be trusted. But if his word was good, she would trust him, for now. If he didn't show up with the potions she would know, but she didn't have a plan for how else to get into the other common rooms. This was their best bet, unless they wanted to wait until they got good enough at potions to make it themselves.

She looked at Gerald, then spoke, "I think we're done." she turned to start walking away, "We'll see you at dinner." Now that that was done, Grace was thinking about practicing her duelling skills again. If they really were super-special, it would do well for them to know a little more about defending themselves. "I'm gonna practice duelling." she said to Gerald, once the Deal Kid was out of earshot. She pulled out a flask of pumpkin juice and started drinking it. She should've eaten a little more at lunch, but her brain was going too fast to get a real snack.