#14 - Follow the (Blue) Spiders

It was a challenge, with the poor visibility and for someone who was less used to frequenting the Dungeons -- compared to several Slytherins who wandered by, giving her suspicious glances as they went.

Still, choosing not to conjure a light sourced worked in her favor as she'd come across two spiders so far (though not the kind she was looking for). And a rat, which had darted by without warning -- fleeing for its life.

Finally, Sarah found some cobwebs in a musty corner. There was a torch overhead -- not close enough to scare the spider, but helped her identify a spot of blue. The spider wandered along a brick's crack, unaware of being watched.

Christmas was a pointless time of year for Amara, despite some customary gifts from home. Nothing with emotion or meaning behind it, of course, but better than nothing she supposed. The morning was okay, as she'd spent most of it brewing potions or running inventory of her ingredients.

Deciding to stretch her legs, Amara headed out of her dormitory and the Slytherin common room. She strolled along the corridor, then halted as she heard something a bit odd. Frowning, she got out her wand and peered towards a wall -- stifling a yelp of her own when she saw the rat scurrying away, which had startled a Gryffindor too.

Leaning against a wall by torchlight, Amara curiously watched Albright... feel along the wall? It didn't seem as if she was trying to find the Slytherin common room but she looked ridiculous all the same.

'What are you doing?' she asked, tone full of judgement though her expression wasn't as hostile. 'Hunting spiders? Whatever for? Don't they feed you up in that tower?' Amara smirked.

Of course, being famously known as the "Slytherin Queen" and top of her class in Potions, Amara was well aware that the blue spiders were also ingredients, it was just that she highly doubted Albright had that kind of competency. 

"Calm down you little...," Sarah growled as she struggled with the creepy crawly creature. It tried to run away and nearly succeeded when someone spoke to Sarah, startling her and almost being an accessory to mutinous escape.

She turned around to answer the question or at least say 'hi', but Sarah's face fell down pretty quickly into a neutral expression when she saw who was talking to her. The Gryffindor didn't really look forward to the conversation. She wondered whether it'd be rude to just turn around and exit, stage left.

Not that Sarah ever had particularly bad experience with Seabrook barring general rivalry between Slytherins and Gryffindors. She tended to stay away from people who could murder her in her sleep, although that fear of death hardly translated into Sarah seeking out dangerous opportunities. She wasn't immediately hexed, so Sarah figured she might as well entertain the conversation.

"It's a new fad," Sarah nodded, patting her pocket where she safely stored the spider. "Low in calories, high in protein," she grinned rather hysterically, all the while screaming at herself to shut up. However, it seems that the connection between her brain and her mouth malfunctioned because she continued.

"Started by your Head of House actually," Sarah put on a conceited expression, batting her eyelashes. "Bring me five ingredients and I shall you the secrets to a slimmer figure," Sarah deepened her voice into a drawl, not unsimilar to how she imitated Professor Snape earlier in the day.

'Goodness, you do have a death wish,' Sarah panicked and started mentally recounting her possessions and to whom of her family and friends should they go if she perished in a freak accident.