An active, character-driven Hogwarts experience set in the early 2000s. Unique items, plots, and features. Non-canon; this isn't Harry Potter's story, it's ours.
Amelia had rushed out of the Great Hall shortly after Jacob had left and she was beyond hurt and upset. Her face was red, her eyes still threatening to spill the tears that had formed from her friend not telling them the truth. Jacob was hurt and he was refusing to tell them what really happened.
'Fireworks?!' That was his excuse and she didn't believe it! Even if it had been real and overall foolish and embarrassing, he would have made a bigger deal out of this or so she felt he would have. Wiping at her face, she sniffled as the cold air stung at her face and she looked out over the land below the bridge.
"You Bloody Fool!" She screamed at no one in particular before she let a few more stray tears roll down her face.
Post by Lucas Mardling on Dec 23, 2020 2:53:36 GMT 10
Having fled the Alcove Courtyard as fast as he could, Lucas was soon out of breath before he'd even reached the Covered Bridge. He wasn't necessarily unfit, but his state of panic did him no favors. Apart from saving his hair, thankfully. He checked himself over carefully, grimacing at some ooze or whatever it was that had touched his shoulder.
'Tergeo,' he said, casting a cleaning charm on it and any other unsightly specks. No emergency hair shower was needed this morning. Sighing in relief, he unwound his scarf to once again function as a scarf instead of a hair-protective makeshift beanie.
Now he'd reclaimed his wits about him, Lucas was faced with a morning of free time. He stepped onto the bridge, but barely got far before he nearly had his second heart attack of the day. It was by now he spotted a figure along the bridge, one who surely hadn't noticed him yet.
A smug smirk in place, and hands shoved in pockets to keep them warm, Lucas curiously yet warily continued along the bridge. Once he was near enough to see who it was, his morning mood lifted considerably.
'Twiggs,' he said in casual greeting, hoping to startle her. Lucas had a skill for quiet approaches. 'Shouting at anyone in particular?'
Lucas was by no means civil, as it was clear he'd noticed her state of upset and relished in it. She was friends with that idiot Thatcher, after all. And she came from a family of muggle-loving blood traitors. He had no reason to care for why she was upset, except out of curiosity and hoping he could add to it. The fact that she was out here alone indicated it was probably quite personal so naturally he had to intrude.
A cool breeze touched her red cheeks and she leaned over the railing of the bridge, looking out over the ravine below before she heard the sound of her last name and her head shot up. Rolling her eyes at the smug look on his face, she turned away from him and back at the scenery below the bridge.
"None of your bloody business, Mardling." Amelia said in a cold, hateful tone before she stood and shoved her own hands in her pockets, walking in the opposite direction some, stopping only when she sniffled slightly and rubbed her nose to rid herself of anything else.
First, Jacob not saying a work of what happened and now she had to deal with this creepy snake. This was just wonderful.
"What do you want? Shouldn't you be all snuggled up with your little she-devil?" She snapped back, referring to the one and only Amara.
Post by Reena Ashworth on Dec 23, 2020 5:15:58 GMT 10
Coming from the grounds Reena had decided to take the Covered Bridge back to the castle. She had thought back to the nervous Ravenclaw boy she had seen at Snape's office and wanted to look for Spinrose as well. Her ingredients might be a bit randomly mixed together but they would do the job of showing Snape she was willing to climb trees (and smell dirt) to gather what needed to use the Student Laboratory.
Besides, she could always put them to use later on. When she arrived at the Covered Bridge however she spotted Mardling at the other end with a red haired girl (presumably a Twiggs) and suddenly wished she had not come here. But not to be deterred, she leaned over the frame of the bridge to see if she could spot any roses that would make for viable ingredients.
She would just have to push past the two fifth years blocking her path later or hope they had left in the meantime.
Perhaps due to the dreary weather or just her own misfortune, the fire Spinroses Reena saw were barely buds. The vines were in clear view and reach though, so venturing further along the bridge might shift her results. She needed to find some that were in full bloom, as otherwise they weren't viable as ingredients.
Post by Lucas Mardling on Dec 24, 2020 3:17:26 GMT 10
'Now, is that any way to speak to someone you owe a favor to?' Lucas leaned against a post, smirking at herin clear sign of enjoying their interaction. He loved holding their deal over her head though, as it was quite a treat to have a Gryffindor - let alone a Twiggs - indebted to him.
'Oh, you'll know what I want when I ask for it,' Lucas said, noticing they had company at the end of the bridge. A Slytherin, at least. 'And for your information, the lovely Seabrook is busy commanding her troops at the Quidditch Pitch. Well, "lovely" might be a stretch.' He shrugged, as he considered Amara might be offended by such a description.
Ah, so it was Ashworth. Lucas recognised her as she got closer, doing... whatever it was she was doing. Ingredient hunting, he presumed. At least he was likely to fulfill the deal they talked about earlier then. Ashworths were said to be pretty determined when they set their minds to things. He ignored her for now though, as it wasn't like she was perfectly in eavesdropping range anyway.
'I'm surprised you're out here alone.' Lucas eyed Twiggs, giving the stunning view of the mountains a brief glance. 'Where's the rest of your pack? Licking their wounds?' He smirked, remembering Thatcher on the ground at his feet where he belonged.
He was smart enough to keep his comments general, as it was hardly unusual for him to seem to just know too much, but it was too glorious a moment to not at least mention. Lucas was an expert at keeping himself away from drama, but that didn't mean he couldn't offer up a tease when the opportunity presented itself. And besides, she didn't have her back-up with her so he didn't feel too threatened - fiery as a Twiggs may be.
Post by Reena Ashworth on Dec 24, 2020 5:58:56 GMT 10
She huffed quietly to herself when all she found were buds and she was trying to question her basic understanding of plants- never seeming to find the ingredient she expected or at least in an unexpected place.
She was not yet deterred and changed the side of the bridge to look here for Spindleroses in bloom. Walking along the railing she did her best to ignore Mardling and the girl who she could recognise as a Gryffindor now. Assuming they were talking business she was not too interested in their conversation anyway.
Reena made sure to have a lookout for the vines and hopefully a viable ingredient to show the potions master and gain clearance.
Amelia rolled her eyes at his mention of the deal, glancing towards the other Slytherin who appeared to be looking for something, but likely was his worthless back up. Putting her hands in her cloak, she doubled checked to make sure her wand was where it was suppose to be and looked out towards the castle grounds, doing her best to ignore his poking and prodding.
"Oh yes... Our precious deal..." She snarled, rolling her eyes as she listened to him comment about what it is. "Oh, I'm sure I will..." She said as she looked away, glaring towards the other Slytherin, watching her to make sure she wasn't working with Mardling. At the mention of Seabrook, she rolled her eyes for the hundredth time. The guy was really annoying... If only the bridge didn't have an enchantment on it, then she would knock him off and hope he met his own world of hurt.
She had once had her own encounter with that charm, when she had been showing off her balancing act during second year. Amelia was a dare-devil and she had climbed into the rail and was balancing around, going between vertical beams. Some had been rather horrified of her actions... But one in particular had taken advantage of her fun, gave a good push and sent her over the edge... Amara Seabrook... The snake couldn't take her when she was on her own level, so she took advantage of her having some fun and balancing. Amelia had never gotten her back for it either...
At his mention her being alone, she glanced over her shoulders. "Unlike you, I don't hide behind another Snake..." She said, pulling herself up to full height and turning to face him fully. At the mention of licking their wounds, she glared at him. "What are you talking about?" The only person wounded was Jacob, the rest were fine... Stepping forward, she glared at him. She didn't fear him nor did she fear that little witch that he enjoyed being around.
"Don't think I'm scared of your or any of your slithering worms of the dungeon." She growled at him, glaring at him before she walked past him and back towards the castle. She was done with him...
Last Edit: Dec 29, 2020 21:50:22 GMT 10 by Deleted
Reena's luck improved, though only in the form of one spinrose so far - it was in full bloom, as required to be a viable ingredient, but was a bit out of her reach. She'd have to do some careful climbing if she wanted to pick it.
There was a chance of more, as the vines were rather thick and healthy at that part of the bridge, but she had a feeling she'd have to work for it.
Post by Reena Ashworth on Dec 25, 2020 9:41:47 GMT 10
Her eyes lit up when she spotted a pretty rose in bloom and she crouched down, trying to get to it through the gaps in the railing. It was just out of reach and pulling at the vine she soon noted that it was too ingrown with the bridge to budge and be movable towards her.
She thought about looking somewhere else for more roses but she had the strangest feeling she would have to work for the ingredient anywhere and since this one was almost within reach it might be the easiest yet to reach.
Looking around she saw the Gryffindor girl push past Mardling and felt glad that there was one person less to watch her awkwardly trying to get to the ingredient. Bad enough Mardling would see everything. But then again- he always seemed to know more than he should from what she had heard and seen of him.
Gazing down she hesitated. The bridge was really high and she was not sure it was worth the risk to get a single rose she could easily swap for something else. She had climbed trees before but bridges where different and she could not risk injury or worse when she was needed at home. Jaxen would never forgive her for being so careless.
Reena stood still for a while, the cold creeping into her more and more with each passing moment while she debated herself about her next move. She had never heard of a student falling off the bridge and seeing that the castle was packed with Gryffindors there had bound to have been accidents here. There had to be a protection charm on it? Reena thought she had heard the current fifth years talk about it some years ago.
She waved at Mardling whom she suspected to have remained on the bridge. “Hey, Mardling! Do you know if there’s a protection charm against falling off?“
Post by Lucas Mardling on Dec 29, 2020 0:09:59 GMT 10
Lucas wasn't bothered by Twiggs' tone and eye-roll, as it was basically how people greeted him anyway. He was intrigued by her suspicion of Ashworth, if he was reading her expression correctly. A flush of annoyance surprised him, as of course a Gryffindor would just assume any Slytherin in the vicinity were o b suspected of something awful.
'I'm hardly hiding,' he said. 'If you're implying she's go anything to do with me, I'd say you're sound rather paranoid. Not overturned any stones you should have left alone lately, I hope?' He was smug as could be, but had to bite his lip to avoid gloating.
It was better to keep things vague, as it was Thatcher who'd be to blame for the details getting out. Lucas was confident it would take a while though. Lions were known to be stubborn. He was still on a power high from it though, so simply enjoyed the moment.
As she walked by, intending to leave, he smirked.
'Too bad your so-called friends don't trust you,' he said. 'It's why you're really out here alone, isn't it? Can't say I blame them. Get too close to a Twiggs and you get burned, right?' Lucas seeded the doubt, knowing it was reasonable since Thatcher hadn't spilled the beans and likely the others would have noticed such a loudmouth attention-seeker being quiet and evasive.
He stepped closer, using his height as an intimidation advantage even though Twiggs was by no means short herself.
'You're not scared because you haven't learned yet what happens to people who are foolish enough to cross us,' Lucas said. 'I suggest you think about that before you get all hypocritical. But even so, your lot are really good at finding trouble without our help. It's only a matter of time.'
He didn't explain, but stepped back to glance at who called his name.
'Yeah. You'll be fine,' he said. Lucas wasn't usually one to give up information for nothing, but house loyalty won out his time and it wasn't losing anything by saying. 'You'd know all about that, wouldn't you?' He added to Twiggs, with a knowing smirk of amusement.
Amelia didn't know the girl at the end of the bridge, but being that they both showed up here at the same time, it made her suspicious of the girl. Maybe she was being judgmental, but at the moment, it didn't both her. Maybe she would find out for herself later. At the moment, she just wanted to leave now. Not because she was scared, but because she had come here to be alone and being around Mardling was not being alone.
At his mention of overturned stones, she crossed her arms and looked at him firmly.
"If I overturned stones concerning you and your snakes, I'm sure you would know... Wouldn't make a secret about it." Amelia said, knowing she had no issues poking and prodding the snakes she had spent the last five years with. They were annoying and she didn't really care about them or their brood.
As she walked, his next words put a slight hiccup in her step and she glared at the bridge before her. 'Don't trust me? No... That is ridiculous, they trust me plenty and I trust them... With my life.' Looking up, she turned around and her eyes were on fire as she looked at him.
"My friends trust me plenty... It none of your business why I was here... But I don't doubt their trust in me for one second." She said to him, stepping forward herself while he did, though she didn't shrink back at him, but stood firm, looking straight into his eyes as he looked into her own. If he was trying to intimidate her, it wouldn't work. She wasn't scared of him.
"I'm not scare of you and I never will be scared of you or your worthless group... And I will cross whatever bloody line I want to cross and that is my business, not yours." She growled in response, not daring herself to step away from him, but to push herself closer. To be honest, she was likely inches from him, but she didn't back down from him. Maybe it was being the eldest or just her fiery temper, but she didn't shy back from a fight.
As he called back to the fourth year, she glanced over his shoulder at the girl and then looked back at him, a smirk coming to her face before she answer. "Yeah, I do... It's the only way Seabrook can knock me down... When others are at a disadvantage... It's the only way she can win... Having an unfair advantage over the other." She said before she took her steps back and left, heading back to the castle with the last word. If he said anything else, she wouldn't be listening or even hearing him.
Last Edit: Dec 29, 2020 21:53:13 GMT 10 by Deleted
Post by Lucas Mardling on Dec 29, 2020 23:12:41 GMT 10
'If you say so.' He shrugged at Twiggs' insisting that her friends trusted her. 'Not what I heard, but if you're that confident, I'm sure it's nothing...' He smirked, knowing how to plant seeds of doubt like the best of them.
His smugness wavered a moment as she rose to his challenge, which was not ideal. Her face was very close to his and, for a moment, Lucas got caught up in that like the teenage boy he was - even though he had zero attraction to a Twiggs, of all people. He gulped, refusing to back down despite his instincts screaming at him to save himself. He could be stubborn as well, and he didn't fear her either. Especially not when she was alone.
'If kissing me is a line you're trying to cross right now, I'm not interested, love.' Lucas smirked, ever the brat. He couldn't resist commenting on it, not when their faces were that close. He said it mostly to annoy her, while forcing his mind to focus on the conversation at hand.
It was tempting to give her a peck just for the hell of it and to make her go away, aside from the dignity loss and gross factor. Even Lucas was respectful enough of personal boundaries to consider it a very uncomfortable idea.
He ignored whatever else she babbled about. Her reaction to his tease wasn't something he was blessed with though, as she left rather quickly after that. He released a breath, gulping at how close a girl's face had just been to his. Why did that only happen with the mean ones, not the ones he actually liked?
He glanced over at the younger Slytherin. 'What on Earth are you doing, anyway?' Lucas asked.
Post by Reena Ashworth on Dec 29, 2020 23:52:20 GMT 10
Reena had to wait a little for an answer since Mardling was still talking to the Gryffindor girl. She had thought the girl had wanted to leave but suddenly they stood really close together, like really close and she did not quite know where to look, a little confused by the situation.
She must have read it wrong, she had always thought Mardling and Seabrook were 'close'. But Mardling was not all that easy to read and she found herself surprised by the easy answer he gave her. No deal involved nothing. Perhaps she had been too prejudiced against the fifth years. First Dawson had helped her and now Mardling. Maybe Jaxen did not know them as well as he thought he did.
Just because Reena would give Mardling the benefit of the doubt that he did not in fact want to have her killed did not mean she would start lending Seabrook the same trust. Her brother usually was a good judge of character and if he thought something was off with Seabrook there probably was. Perhaps Mardling and Dawson just showed her kindness because of House loyalty. Who knew.
She put her bag down and took off her scarf when the Gryffindor left for the castle. When Mardling asked her what she was doing she paused in undoing her robe. "I'm getting my potions kit so I can get clearance to look for the actual ingredients I need", she explained. There was the tiniest hint of annoyance in her voice as she would have loved to collect honey right away to get the polyjuice potion as soon as possible but it seemed she would have to work for it.
"Watch my stuff?", she said as she put down the robe on her back, checking if the air was clear before swinging her leg over to railing to climb towards the rose in bloom. Reena was careful and tested the ledges thoroughly before putting her weight on them and soon found herself near the viable ingredient.
She carefully picked it which took her a whileto do with only one hand and she held it between her teeth as she climbed back. It was only when she was back on the bridge and she felt herself relax, out of danger that she realised she had pricked her finger and had a small drop of blood run down her hand.
"Eww", she said. Putting the rose away she could feel a small pain on her index finger and she tried to get her clothes back on with her left hand, trying to keep her blood off of it.
"Guess I'll have to wash that off", she said with a shrug and started walking towards the castle, picking up her bag in the process.
Last Edit: Dec 29, 2020 23:54:41 GMT 10 by Reena Ashworth
Post by Lucas Mardling on Dec 30, 2020 0:31:57 GMT 10
Oh, that made sense. For a moment there, Lucas had forgotten she wanted something from him and probably had to go about it this way. He was surprised when she asked him to watch her stuff, though. It wasn't as if she trusted him, just likely that he was a fellow Slytherin and it could be assumed he had her back in some regard. Still, it was nice to be treated as if he wasn't awful and suspicious, so he nodded and lazily kept an eye out.
He was bored while she reached for the rose. Despite knowing about the spell, Lucas stepped closer and readied himself to grab her if she looked about to fall. He peered over the bridge and shuddered. No, on second thought, she could fall for all he cared. No way was he going down with her - think what the wind would do to his hair!
He grimaced at the sight of blood.
'Here, for Merlin's sake.' Lucas handed her a clean cloth from inside one of his pockets. He fished out a blue Band-Aid as well, one of those self-adjusting/sticking ones that healed fast. 'Blood's hard to get out of clothes. Take it, or people will think I'm being mean to you.' He sighed.
Lucas wanted to remind her the cleaning charm would do just as well, but whatever. He was done here. He didn't offer her a parting glance or word, simply turned and headed off towards the grounds.
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