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.
Post by Reena Ashworth on Sept 30, 2022 22:16:24 GMT 10
Reena's mind had drifted towards a nice, hot shower more than once, but the more she thought about the vision she had had, the more she felt she had to postpone it. She couldn't do it during lunch either, she had promised Lindsey she'd meal with her.
Instead she thought it best to continue to follow her gut instinct about the potion she had seen in her vision. She could have easily gone to the Trophy Room, but if her suspicions were correct, it would be rather foolish not to bring the potion with her.
She hadn't headed to the basement directly however.
She had taken the time to quickly write a letter to her mother while the echoes of the Hufflepuff mirror were still fresh in her mind. She'd send it later.
Her eyes had barely just adjusted to the darkness as she started searching the remote corners of the hallway she was on, looking for the silvery threads of blue spiders.
Last Edit: Sept 30, 2022 22:27:09 GMT 10 by Reena Ashworth
Even with the flaming torches, the Dungeons were poorly-lit for the most part. Yet the silvery webs made by the spiders in question tended to catch the glow of the flickering light now and again -- enough for Reena to spot an area where they were most likely hanging out between cracks.
A few Slytherins passed by, but being a member of the same house they hardly paid her any notice. Nothing to be suspicious of, apart from her keen interest in a random corner.
It took a moment, but soon some blue legs poking into view. Then a spider crawled out of a crack and wandered the wall. She'd have to be sneaky, then fast, if she wanted to secure it for use in Potions.
Post by Reena Ashworth on Sept 30, 2022 22:46:52 GMT 10
Her attention was caught by the reflection of silvery web and she ventured deeper into the dark, not paying any mind to her housemates that passed along the corridor.
She got excited when she saw a hint of a blue leg, yet as the spider emerged from the crack in the wall, she jolted backwards.
Eww.
It looked a lot worse than anticipated now that she was up close to it and she wished she had brought one of her brothers with her to catch it for her. She tried to ignore the shudder that ran down her back at the thought of those eight legs crawling onto her skin or getting into her hair.
Collecting all her courage, she lowered herself down to submerge herself into shadows as she edged in closer on the spider. She quietly pulled a jar out of her bag, unscrewed the lid and held it in her right hand, ready to strike.
Once she had it raised to the same height as the spider sat, she quickly moved it forward against the wall in order to trap the spider inside it.
The spider was caught off-guard, causing a delay in its reaction -- which made Reena's task easier, as she acted quickly and was able to secure the viable ingredient. Having sensed danger, a few nearby spiders scurried out of view.
Post by Reena Ashworth on Sept 30, 2022 23:00:37 GMT 10
"He!", she made as she caught the spider inside the jar.
Now onto the problem of securing it. She couldn't just push the lid back on, she'd have to make a crack big enough for the spider to escape.
Instead she rummaged in her bag for a loose piece of parchment and her hand touched the envelope of one of the letters that had been sent to her following Jaxen's interview in October.
How she had missed it in between her school books was beyond her but she was glad to use it this moment as she shoved it between jar and wall, forcing the spider to be trapped for good.
"Ew, ew eww!"
She squealed and hopped backwards after securing the lid onto the jar to keep the spider. She shook it rather violently too before double checking the lid was closed shut.
"Eww!", she squealed again. "Not even Peeves is as disgusting!"
Reena raised her voice as she put the spider jar away. She then looked around the hallway as though the poltergeist could appear at any given moment.
She also checked that there were no more students nearby because if they could hear her, they had to think her mad.
"No, Peeves could never even compete. A lap dog in comparison."
Post by Reena Ashworth on Sept 30, 2022 23:11:10 GMT 10
When nothing happened, Reena peeked around the nearest corner again for any sign of life.
She was already cringing at what she was about to do next. Of course Peeves never showed up when one wanted him to! No, strike that. No one ever wanted Peeves to show up.
He was just a big inconvenience to everyone.
Reena cleared her throat.
"I said Peeves is just a lap dog," she said even more loudly. "I bet he can't even aim. He'd miss a bulgarian horntail from a three-feet distance."
In case just calling and taunting him wouldn't do the trick, Reena started cackling a humorless cackle and jumped up and down.
She got a hold of a torch and took it out of a holster, waving it around her head as though she was playing swords with it.
Reena was feeling rather like a hooligan. Or her version of it, anyway.
"Peeves couldn't even see me if I had the only torch in a thousand miles. Ha haha!"
The moment she turned or shifted her focus in any way, something splatted her directly in the face. It was cold, gooey, and somewhat fruity. Purple, as much as she could see -- not having had time to shut her eyes. It was all over her face, and awfully sticky.
Her only clue as to what just happened was a telltale cackle floating some several feet above her.
Post by Reena Ashworth on Sept 30, 2022 23:20:34 GMT 10
"Ha-eurgh!", she wiped at the sticky goo that had splatted all over her face, rubbing at her eye as she glanced up at the cackling above her head.
"Ohh, he can see me!", she fought hard to keep her tone. She swung the torch like a beater's bat once, twice, before she forced a grin onto her face to cover up her nervousness at facing off against the poltergeist alone.
"But can he hit the mark again if I'm prepared?", she challenged him, torch still in hand.
She was offering him a game to play and she hoped he would accept it. Then all she had to do was be quick enough to somehow catch those gooey berries he liked to throw at faces.
Peeves blew her a slobbery raspberry, then vanished.
A moment later, Reena got splatted on the back of her head with another berry -- oozing it through her hair. Peeves cackled again, having no issue playing dirty to prove her wrong.
'Ashy Ashworth, playing a game she can't win,' he taunted. 'Berry doesn't fall far from the tree, Peevesie says.' Enjoying his own joke, Peeves vanished again.
He then slid through a wall, armed with Inkberries. Surprising her was fun, but he'd already proven he'd win from ghostly trickery alone. So now he simply wanted to just throw berries at her and see if she could dodge it. A game, after all.
'Batter up,' he declared, eyeing the torch which would surely be getting quite heavy by now. Peeves tossed a berry -- then another, and a third.
How many could she catch or dodge? He was quite keen on splattering her again.
Post by Reena Ashworth on Sept 30, 2022 23:39:58 GMT 10
"Eek!"
Reena almost dropped the heavy torch when she was hit by another berry into the back of her head. It was a disgusting sensation, having the sticky goo run through her hair, she was glad she at least had it in a ponytail.
"What do you mean?", asked at his comment about the berry from the tree.
Had he played this 'game' with her mother or - her father - before?
She wanted to throw the torch away in frustration when the ghost vanished again but he surprised her when he returned with a load full of inkberries and she braced herself. Although she could barely lift the torch anymore at this point, she readied it to swing at the first berry he had tossed.
She missed by far, her movement way too slow, being dragged down by the weighed of her 'bat'.
The berry splattered onto her uniform and she cussed under her breath as she finally did drop the torch. She managed to barely dodge the second one and struck out both her hands to catch the third - she did.
No one was more surprised than herself when she did.
She quickly pocketed it and then turned to Peeves again, feeling only somewhat confident.
"If I manage to catch three inkberries, you gotta tell me what you've meant that the berry doesn't fall far from the tree, deal?", she said.
Having caught one berry, she was almost certain she could do it a second time. But how many did she really need? Perhaps it was better to walk away. But his comment had struck her curiosity.
Having caught the berry, Reena realised it was more like a cluster of star-shaped grapes. They seemed sturdy in her hands, ready to be stored away safely for later use in Potion-making, yet seemed to splatter very easily when thrown. Perhaps that's why Peeves chose them?
Assuming the poltergeist ever had a reason for the things he did.
He blew her another raspberry at her offer of a reward for winning their new game. Even if he had doubts of her catching another two berries, Peeves wasn't keen on telling her anything. Why should he? Talking was boring!
'Ashy Ashworths, always talking. Boring. Boring. Boring,' he whined, readying another berry to toss. 'But if you want to catchy catch, then I'll tossy toss. Ready, set--' He threw it before finishing his words.
Post by Reena Ashworth on Sept 30, 2022 23:57:37 GMT 10
"Boring?", she repeated as though offended. She did wonder however, whether he had reffered only to her or if had truly given her parents trouble back in the day.
When he tossed the first cluster of inkberries, she was too slow to catch it. She had raised her arms in time but it just splattered on the palm of her left hand and she breathed in through her teeth as she thought about how now everything she touched would be sticky after.
She was not sure whether he had agreed to her game but he was throwing the berries. That was a start.
Reena moved quickly and caught the next cluster but they were coming in such short intervalls that she soon realized she was out of her depth and she backed away while he still bombarded her with more and more inkberries.
"Okay, okay, stop!", she shouted at him and made a sharp motion to the right with her arm, miracilously catching a third cluster of berries in the process.
She was not cool enough to play it off as intentional however and started laughing and pointing at it.
"Look! Come on now, don't be a spoil sport! Just tell me," she said grinning up at him. She was fully expecting another cluster of inkberries to splatter onto her face at any moment but she had to at least try.
Peeves was having too much fun throwing berries at her, so he gave her a moment break when she said to stop -- then resumed his fun. Splattered all over in purple, sticky berry goo, Reena was quite a mess. Peeves cackled and celebrated, clearly have no intention of holding up any end of the bargain he'd never really agreed to.
Yet he was out of berries. Huffing, he considered her state and laughed some more. In appreciation for such fun, and for being a good sport, Peeves decided to give her something.
'Tell you what?' he asked. 'What's to tell? Peevesie doesn't know.' He shrugged, making her work for it because of course even when she was getting what she wanted, how could he ever just make something simple?
Post by Reena Ashworth on Oct 1, 2022 0:14:02 GMT 10
She took a moment to realize just the state she was in, not certain she would be able to clean it all with the cleaning charm. She had been thinking about that shower anyway.
She just hoped it would all come off her uniform.
Reena's grin turned genuine when she noticed that the ghost was out of berries. Splendind. Not that he ever lacked the imagination to cause trouble in a different way. But at least no more sticky berries would be flung at her.
She creased her brows when he gave her a non-answer. Her first instinct was to ask again but she was not sure this was the best way to approach. He was all about having fun - even if she did not quite like his idea of fun.
So if he said he didn't know anything, she would have a hard time she decided she would try one more thing before she gave up and left to get herself clean and brew that potion - or go to lunch, whichever happened first.
Reena picked the torch back up and held it like a bat once more, since that seemed to have sparked the poltergeist to drop that comment.
"Riddle me this: I hold a bat. I call for Peevsie. I am similar to this Ashworth but I was here before. Who am I?"
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