Plotter

March 21, 2014 12:59 AM
A strange stillness hung over the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom on the first Monday morning of term. It was that peculiar atmosphere created by the arrival of the students preceding that of the teacher, and settling uneasily in, unsure how much noise would be tolerated upon their professor's arrival. It was very strange, for the Professors of Sonora were normally punctual to a tee. However, the professor for this class was new (a new professor had been introduced at the feast, had they not? Or was it going to be Professor Valson?) and perhaps that accounted for their tardiness. Another possibility that could never be ruled out with this subject was that some sort of surprise was going to be sprung upon on them to test their reflexes. The room gave no other clues as to the lesson for that day, and that would certainly make a strong first impression... There were possible reasons, definitely, for the absence of a teacher. Although the longer that elapsed, the less likely any of these really seemed.

The minutes ticked by, threatening to veer out of merely late and into rude or, worse still, the class having bee forgotten. How long any class would bear up under this was very much determined by the individuals. One thing, however, was certain and that was that the longer any such absence of a professor continued, the more likely it was that the delicate atmosphere would fracture and that dissent and disorder would spill out, anything from outbreaks of louder-than-usual chatter to declaring the class to be clearly over and leaving the room. Paper aeroplanes could very quickly become involved.

Whatever course the students chose, whether allowing their behaviour to slide or waiting dutifully for the lesson to begin, there came a point when even the most devoted academic or strictest observer of rules would probably have to concede that no-one seemed to be coming.
Subthreads:
0 Plotter Intermediate DADA 0 Plotter 1 5


Effie Arbon

March 22, 2014 10:12 AM
Effie had begun fifth year feeling optimistic. For one thing, there was finally someone decent in charge of the school – someone with proper values. She knew that the governors were still a mixed bag and so was under no delusions that all the Muggleborns were about to be excluded but at least the school was heading in the right direction. She had also had the unexpected honour of being made a prefect. She had always seen Isabel as the more outgoing of the two of them and had been very surprised to get it over her friend. She wasn't really sure what it meant yet but she felt pleased to have been chosen. She knew her role in life was to get married and be a good wife but her teachers felt she had value unrelated to that. It was a strange feeling but she was rather enjoying it. Being deemed a suitable match was another reason that she was excited for fifth year... Hopefully the fathers of the male members of their year group would be discussing their sons' prospects with them soon. Although for one of them to say that they thought her a good match relied on her having made a particularly positive impression on someone. She had always wanted to feel attached to the person who asked for her hand in marriage, although she was rather worried that might not happen. It was confusing to know how such feeling was to be achieved when it wasn't really appropriate to spend time alone with boys. She supposed that was the benefit of the strange slightly altered rules of Sonora... There were times such as class, where one was most definitely not alone, but where one could speak to others in a more personal way.

Ordinarily, such ponderings were halted by the start of class. However, after a few minutes, she came back to earth of her own accord and realised that the time for the class to start was passed. She adjusted herself in her seat, readying herself for the no doubt imminent arrival of a Professor, and keen to live up to the badge on her chest. However, even after all the posture lessons that had been drummed into her as a young girl, it became increasingly difficult to wait attentively. After some time had passed, it seemed to become apparent that they had been forgotten...

She glanced apprehensively at her badge. As seemed to be the usual with school, none of her etiquette lessons had prepared her for this eventually, nor had anyone briefed her on it in her capacity as a prefect. She glanced around, her gaze settling on Anthony Carey. Not only was he also a prefect but he was male, and would thus be bound to have a solution. She slipped out of her seat and stepped noiselessly over to him. Between her pale appearance and her deportment tutor's finest efforts, Effie had something of the effect of a little ghost gliding about the room.

“Good day, Mr Carey,” she greeted him politely, for once finding herself standing when greeting a classmate and thus able to give a proper curtsey. “It seems as if no one is coming,” she stated, glancing around almost nervously as she did so. She did not want to be caught out of her seat and talking if the Professor chose that inopportune moment to arrive. However honourable her intentions, Professors could be awfully prone to jumping to conclusions. “What do you think we ought to do?”
13 Effie Arbon Approaching Mr. Carey (prefect) 238 Effie Arbon 0 5


Anthony Carey VIII and a bit of Henry

March 22, 2014 7:29 PM
Anthony had bit his lip as soon as he saw the empty desk, but had told himself it might just be that the new professor, or substitute professor, or headmaster standing in for a professor, or whoever was going to teach the class had not known where the classroom was. Sonora had, after all, been built to be bigger than it was; there were unused rooms, many floors, all sorts of ways to get lost for first years and new employees alike.

With that thought in mind, he sat down, trying not to fidget with the prefect’s badge on his robes. It was really just discomfort, the thing heavy on his robe when he wasn’t used to it, but it might be mistaken for trying to draw attention to it, for arrogance by some in the room. Anthony was pretty sure he had never done anything to make anyone think he was arrogant, but the name ‘Anthony Carey’ did have its meaning. From what he’d heard, just being a Mrs. Anthony Carey had done much to make his grandmother arrogant. He did not want people to think poorly of him, so he folded his hands on his desk and waited.

And waited.

And waited some more.

He glanced around nervously, wondering if anyone else was also nervous, and saw Effie Arbon gliding toward him. He swore quietly under his breath, making Henry, in the seat next to his, look up from the book he’d been reading and blink owlishly, no doubt only just then noticing that it was past time to start. Henry was not very good at keeping track of time in his head, one of the many things Anthony had to help him accommodate for without making it obvious he was helping. Obvious help would shame his cousin, however much Henry needed the help in question, so Anthony avoided offering that when he could.

“Good day, Miss Arbon,” Anthony replied, bowing in his seat. Strange, he thought, knowing, more or less, someone so long and never getting to first-name terms, but their year was like that, and he trusted none of the girls in it now that they were all old enough to notice each other. Eventually, he’d marry somebody for the good of the family, but he would rather not play the courtship game until the who was decided, unless it was with someone who wanted to play with him instead of just with his numeral.

The first answer to her question which came to mind was how should I know what to do?, but he knew he could not say that. He was Anthony Carey the Eighth. He would be head of a large, powerful, and unruly family someday. If he could not solve a problem like this, then he was not fit to be, literally, the man he’d been born to be. So he thought for a moment, then said the best thing he could think of.

“I think we should go check the other classrooms,” he said. “And tell a teacher that we don’t have a teacher.” He pressed his lips together for a second, trying to wet them without being too obvious about it. “And if they don’t have any, either, then we should go find Th – Mr. Pierce and Miss Bauer, or at least the sixth year prefects,” he finished, her formality making him formal, even though he had spent enough time around the Head Boy, at least, to think of him as Thad more often than not.

“Alicia will know what to do,” Henry muttered approvingly. Anthony suppressed both a flash of irritation over his cousin’s infatuation with the Head Girl and the desire to tell Henry to think with the brain in his head for a minute. Alicia Bauer was very nice to look at, Anthony would have admitted that himself if it had just been other guys around, and smart enough to be in Aladren, but he didn't see her leading between her and Thad and Henry had neither any business nor a chance of joining what Theresa sometimes called her harem, so Anthony thought he ought to give it up already.

“The chain of command should be respected,” he said to both of his Crotalus companions, figuring that was the most diplomatic response, since he was not going to start talking about any of what Henry’s comment had made go through his mind in front of a girl. “What do you think?” he asked Effie specifically, since she was another prefect, and the one who'd first proposed doing something in the first place.
0 Anthony Carey VIII and a bit of Henry Thinking of delegation 0 Anthony Carey VIII and a bit of Henry 0 5


Effie Arbon

March 23, 2014 2:11 AM
“I think that sounds like an excellent plan,” Effie nodded, after Anthony Carey detailed his strategy. Having been groomed for the position of patriarch all his life, it was only natural that he had been able to come up with such a reasonable plan and so quickly. Effie was sure he would be very effective at his future role.

She briefly considered the role that the other fifth year prefects should play in this operation. She didn't see either of them as particularly competent or reliable. However, most of that was determined by the standards of Pureblood society. Clearly the staff saw them as responsible students, which was the required skill set in this case... Still, Muggles were naturally violent people and she didn't fancy their chances if they let a Muggleborn get drunk with power. And Carter was an inevitable blood traitor who would invariably involve said Muggleborn. Unless Mr. Carey deigned to speak to them and divide the work load, she was more than content to leave them gormlessly staring into space.

“Perhaps we should check on the beginners first?” she suggested, surprised by her own ability to contribute to the plan. “They're less likely to behave appropriately without adult supervision and they haven't any prefects in their classes,” she reasoned.

OOC – feel free to move the thread (and Effie) around to different rooms.
13 Effie Arbon An excellent plan 238 Effie Arbon 0 5


Virginia Bellrose, Crotalus

March 23, 2014 9:17 PM
Ginny sat in her seat in the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom as she had done the years before. Since Professor Levy had left the school last year, she was curious to know who would be teaching them this year. Would it be Professor Valson or someone new? Ginny didn’t remember them introducing anyone at the feast aside from the new Medic, but that didn’t really mean anything because she could have missed the other introductions. This year would be one of those weird ones where they were no longer learning the steps, but not quite on par with the fifth years. They would have to choose whether they wanted to redo what they should already know alongside the third years or challenge themselves and work on projects alongside the fifth years. Ginny wasn’t sure if she was talented enough to be working on projects an entire year ahead of her, but she didn’t want to be working on projects that were equivalent to the talent of third years either.

Aside from all the informal parties her family had done over the summer, Ginny also had to go back to doing private lessons now that they were living in a home again. They were so boring, but there was no way out of it. The tutors weren’t so happy about her lack of Math and Grammar courses that were at Sonora, so they spent the majority of the summer working on those subjects. She supposed it could have been worse and she was able to get to know some of her cousins during these sessions. But, she missed the freedom that the community had given her. No matter how hard her parents had tried to keep her inside, the community just refused to allow it.

She realized after some time (and nearly dozing off with her head in her hands at her desk) that class hadn’t started when it was supposed to. This wasn’t necessarily a strange thing (she couldn’t remember a time when a professor was late, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t be), but looking at the clock, the professor was extraordinarily late. Her green eyes shifted from the clock on the wall to the other students in the class. She saw Effie Arbon and Anthony Carey VIII chatting together and Henry nearby. Ginny liked Henry. He was strange and quiet, but she thought of him as a lost soul. She hadn’t spoken to him often; he was nice when they did speak though.

Ginny faced forward again. “How long are we supposed to wait for a Professor?” Ginny asked the person nearest to her. “I mean, do we go asking around or just assume the class is cancelled for the day and no one thought to tell us?”
6 Virginia Bellrose, Crotalus Waiting around... 0 Virginia Bellrose, Crotalus 0 5


Rupert Princeton, Pecari

March 24, 2014 1:35 PM
Classes for Rupert this year needed to be taken seriously. He wanted to do well on his CATS and could not slack off as he might have done some years prior. He'd received decent marks, an E at the lowest, but there was more at stake than his marks this year. He was preparing for his future as well; he wanted to be a professional Quidditch player and play the sport for the rest of his life. His CATS could be instrumental in that, he didn't know. Walking to class was pleasant as he looked around the familiar path to the classroom, though there were more prairie elves than usual. Rup had marked that off as unimportant; prairie elves were free to roam if they wished, and perhaps they needed to take walks. In groups. Looking slightly frantic.

Rupert entered the DADA classroom with no idea of anything going awry and took his seat. The professor wasn't in yet and Rup was expecting Professor Valson to enter at any moment. It was almost at the hour for class to begin, and Rup, not wanting to look unprepared, brought out a piece of parchment along with a quill, ready to take notes. Note-taking had not been on Rupert's list of skills of late, mostly because he never looked at them after he wrote them down, but he was determined to change that. Professional Quidditch teams wouldn't accept dunces no matter how talented the students were.

The clock hand moved passed the hour a professor of some sort was supposed to be here and Rupert leant his head against his hand, growing bored. He began to doodle aimlessly, waiting for anyone to come in and tell them what to do. Stick figures, clouds, lightening, dogs, cats and flowers had been doodled by his untalented hand before Rup looked up at the clock again. They had been waiting for almost ten minutes. No professor that he could remember had ever been anything less than five minutes late. Rupert looked around at his classmates, wondering if they were perturbed as well at the absence of authority.

"What do you suppose is going on?" he asked his neighbour. "Do you think the professor's playing a big joke on us? Maybe this is a test." Rup raised his eyebrows dramatically. "What do you think the professor expects us to do? Cause havoc or stay in our seats for the duration of the class?"
0 Rupert Princeton, Pecari Perturbed. 0 Rupert Princeton, Pecari 0 5


Leo Princeton, Crotalus

March 24, 2014 2:02 PM
Leo had been feeling moody and irritable all summer and coming back to Sonora hadn't helped that mood improve. People were ridiculous and stupid and Leo hated dealing with them. He hated classes, studying, reading, playing Quidditch; all he really wanted to do was sleep and eat and play with his cat. But his parents were always scolding him, trying to instruct him in the 'proper way' to behave. Leo didn't believe they knew what it meant to really be proper. It was all subjective and the notion that there was one proper way to act was silly. Pure-bloods were the pure wizards, but other than that he didn't agree with any of that propriety nonsense.

His shirt was untucked, his uniform robes dishevelled, and he didn't care. Leo sauntered into the DADA classroom, five minutes late. He expected a detention and half wished for it just to express his rebellion and disdain for authority, but there was no authority in the classroom to sneer at. Leo was surprised and slightly disappointed. What was keeping his professor so long? Leo rolled his eyes at the absurdity of it (when was he ever earlier than a professor?) and checked the clock to make sure he hadn't made the mistake. No; it was five minutes past.

Slightly confused, Leo took his seat in the back and leant back in his chair, dropping his book-bag to the side. He was the portrait of boredom, but there was no authority figure to appreciate it. After a moment of waiting, he sat up, feeling uncomfortable leaning so far back like that, and looked around. There didn't seem to be anyone around and this was the perfect opportunity to cause some damage to Carter Browning while he had the chance.

Leo sent a Stinging Hex at Carter, having surprisingly good aim when it came to jinxes and darker spells, and watched as it met its target. It was in a classroom, so the perpetrator would not be seen right away. Besides, Leo always had the excuse of repaying Carter's unwelcome Quaffle-smashing throw during the Quidditch match two years ago. Leo never forgot a grudge.

The feeling of power in sending hexes at people was glorious and Leo looked for his next target, his blue eyes bright in the new power. There was his brother, but he wasn't angry with him and had no reason to hex him. He couldn't hex witches because they were weak and prone to sobbing fits. That did leave the new Prefects who were supposed to be the ones in charge. Leo smiled maliciously; it looked out of place on his cherub-like face. He had always been fantastic at playing the innocent lad.

With that in mind, Leo sent the Melofors Jinx right at Anthony Carey and whatever suffixes followed his name. As soon as the hex left his wand, Leo put his wand away and changed his facial expression to one of boredom once again. Leo was remarkably intelligent when it came to hexes and jinxes and the like, but no one was aware. In classrooms he played the slow learner and that was the front his classmates would know, incapable of knowing such hexes and jinxes when he could hardly transfigure a stone into a pillow. In becoming a spectator, it would be nothing short of entertaining to watch Anthony's head become encased in a pumpkin, though his classmates would assume Anthony's head was becoming the pumpkin and Leo would be all the more entertained by their horrified reactions while feigning horror himself.

OOC: The spell for the Melofors Jinx was found here for reference.
0 Leo Princeton, Crotalus Zap! 0 Leo Princeton, Crotalus 0 5


Henry and Anthony Carey

March 24, 2014 5:48 PM
Henry’s face was as close to blank as it usually was, but he was disturbed by the breaks in routine he had noticed today. Elves running around. People talking about the sky. Professors missing. Even Alicia talking at breakfast, though he had enjoyed the excuse to look at her, since this year, there was no Concert and thus no excuse to sit, at least on a regular basis, where he could see how the light played on her hair and hate Pierce for the way she smiled at him. She didn’t normally talk at breakfast, though, not to the room like that, and Henry didn’t remember any other Head Girls ever doing such a thing, which made it wrong. Out of order. Something that should not have happened.

Even Brandon, who did not like order, had known something was wrong. Henry, unable to think, had just muttered at him not to wander off on his own today before hurrying after Anthony, seeking his own security in his cousin’s shadow. And to at least give the illusion that someone was watching his cousin’s back, of course, though Henry doubted anyone who’d been in classes with them this long would think he was capable of it.

Beneath the desk in the Defense classroom, beneath the book he had tried to distract himself with before class, Henry turned his wand in his hands over and over again, frustrated, hating that if it was needed, he was sure it would be of no more use to him today than it had been yesterday, or would be tomorrow, or the next day, or the next. He was the crippled borderline Squib, after all. Not useful, not to himself or anyone else. He had accepted it a long time ago – there was no point in fighting what you could not change – but there were still times when it bothered him, and today was one of them. Things were not right, and there was nothing he could do about it, even if he had known in theory what to do. He didn’t do that, either. Which did not help.

Arbon came over and talked to Anthony about that exact problem, and Henry was embarrassed to realize that Anthony’s suggestion was, in fact, something he could have done. Arbon added more details, and Anthony was just saying, “Yes, that’s an excellent – “ when there was a flash of orange light and Anthony suddenly stiffened. For one second, he had an expression Henry recognized as surprised on his face before his head began to swell and bend and turn orange.

There was a noise, a yell, loud and unhelpful. Henry was startled to realize he was the source of the noise. He scrambled away from his cousin – and then the pumpkin - he thought he realized what it was a second before it happened - fully formed, exploded.

My fault, he thought. My fault. I just killed Anthony. I blew his head off. The Healers could have fixed it, but I just blew his head off. Henry was vaguely surprised, as he hovered on the brink of hyperventilating, to realize how clearly the words were running through his head. I killed him. I was supposed to watch his back and I killed him. They’re going to kill me. They’ll give me back to Grandmother. The thoughts became more frantic than his attempts to breathe when that occurred to him. Got to do something, break into the Potions storeroom, got to do something, I – I – I –

He had squeezed his eyes shut as the words began to race too fast for him to keep up with, not wanting to see all the blood and bone and brains no doubt liberally coating the desk, his own robes, Arbon, Anthony’s corpse, and the rest of the row behind them by now, since the Transfiguration might well have broken when the object it had been cast on did, and was startled when he heard sputtering.

“What in the – “ Anthony’s voice said, and Henry opened his eyes.

Anthony was wiping pumpkin seeds off his face. There was mushy stuff in his pale brown hair, which the juice had made darker than usual. His expression was now one Henry recognized as ‘furious’, and he had his wand in his hand. Henry, still panicking, immediately believed Anthony planned to use it on him, and that was when random inkwells began to shatter.
0 Henry and Anthony Carey Really not helping the situation 0 Henry and Anthony Carey 0 5


Dimitri Porter, Teppenpaw

March 24, 2014 7:45 PM
Dimitri awoke the morning of his first official class back at school and sighed lightly. It was a little disorienting being back at Sonora, but he knew he would be able to get back into the swing of things. He took a quick shower and dressed quickly. He had woken up a tad late and was afraid that he might not make it to class on time. He was coming down the stairs to the common room when he heard a peculiar sound. He stepped into the room and caught sight of what appeared to be house elves rummaging through the room as though they were looking for something. He was about to ask what they were looking for, but missed his chance when they disappeared.

That was weird he thought to himself as he turned to leave the common room. I've never seen house elves act like that before. He shrugged off their behavior and headed out of the room to class. He arrived to class a few moments later, but was surprised to see that while there were students present to class there was no sign of any professor. "Maybe the professor is tardy for a change," he mused to himself as he headed for his desk. Dimitri put his bag down on the floor by the desk and took a seat. He pulled his sketchbook out of the bag and one of his drawing pencils. He placed them both on top of his desk and began to silently draw as he waited for their professor to arrive.

He glanced up from his sketching a few moments later to discover that their teacher still had not arrived. Dimitri frowned to himself as he put down the sketching pencil. What the deuce? he wondered to himself as he glanced towards the door to their classroom. Did we get a new teacher who got lost or something? he wondered silently. Not really aware of what he was doing, Dimitri got up from his desk and walked over towards the door. He peaked out of it into the empty hallway and shivered a little at the eerie silence that stared back at him from the empty hallway.

He walked back to his desk and sat down silently contemplating what it all meant. It wasn't like the professor not to be on time let alone not show up at all. Dimitri made his way back to his desk and sat down again frowning slightly. He was about to ask one of his neighbors what they thought might be going on when Rupert beat him to it. He heard Rupert's initial question and found himself shrugging. "I have no idea," he replied honestly. "I've been trying to figure that one out myself." He regarded Rupert's next questions with a little thought. "If it is a big joke, its not a very funny one." He considered Rupert's final question and again found himself shrugging. "At the risk of sounding momentarily ignorant I really have no idea," he again replied honestly. "I would almost recommend sending someone to scout around for any of the other professors, but given the eerie silence coming from the hall outside my guess is that would end up being a fruitless endeavor." His thoughts trailed back to the elves in the dorm area and a thought found its way past his lips.

"Is it just me or does something screwy seem to be going on around here?" He asked wondering if Rupert got the same impression.
0 Dimitri Porter, Teppenpaw Hello perturbed...I'm disturbed 0 Dimitri Porter, Teppenpaw 0 5


Effie Arbon

March 24, 2014 11:23 PM
OOC – Leo, remember when targeting people with spells that it's up to them whether it hits or not. You can comment on the factors that make it likely to and what will happen if it does. As they would have had to be psychic in this case, and Anthony has run with it, then no harm done, but just bear it in mind for next time.

IC
Anthony's face turned a strange sort of orange and began to swell. At first, Effie thought he was turning apoplectic at her audacity in venturing an opinion but then the whole appearance became... well, much more like a pumpkin and she started to suspect fowl play. There was just time for the thought to flash through her head that it was probably the Melofors jinx (she had read about it the previous term and it had struck her as being exceptionally childish but also exceptionally nasty) but, that if it wasn't, she might kill him by trying to remove it. That was what was so devilish about it – the fact that it mimicked a transfiguration meant you could not act upon it with any certainty, for what if the person had performed a transfiguration hoping you would assume it was the jinx and would then proceed to blow up the offending object, which would be the person's real head ? Luckily it was a self-limiting jinx, and put only to a childish purpose, and she had only just had time to consider whether it was that or not before it demonstrated itself to be, in an explosion of seeds and (thankfully vegetable) flesh.

“Scourgify,” she stated calmly, neatly and efficiently sweeping Mr. Carey, herself and the desk clean of any debris.

“Don't rise to them,” she cautioned Anthony softly, as anger glinted in his eyes and he raised his wand. “They're clearly not willing to fight like a-EUGH!” her platitudes ended in a little squeak of surprise as something hit her in the back of the head. Her silky blonde hair now dripped with black and she trembled with fury and indignity. But ladies kept their calm. Ladies did not engage in brawling. And, as ink wells were shattering all around her from some unknown assailant, logic dictated that she was in a losing position even if they did.

“Like a gentleman,” she finished to Anthony, trying to sound as steady as she had before. “I think your plan remains a solid one. Besides which, it left two prefects in this class free. Why don't we make it up to them to keep order here whilst we investigate?” she smiled... almost sweetly. With her huge eyes, blonde hair and gentle manner, Effie's appearance was usually demure and angelic (or akin to a slightly startled deer). But now, between the dirty hair, and some subtle alteration in the eyes – the arch of the brow, perhaps, or the little glint in them – a slightly more wicked streak was suggested.
13 Effie Arbon Delegation remains the best course of action 238 Effie Arbon 0 5


Carter Browning, Teppenpaw

March 25, 2014 9:58 AM
Carter groaned at the sound of his alarm clock going off and lazily reached over to turn it off. His return to school had been a welcome one since it helped him half way forget about his embarrassing summer. He visibly cringed as he thought back on it. He had spent most of his summer in Ireland with Channon and her family and while it hadn't been entirely disastrous, there were parts of it he wished he could have avoided. He unwittingly discovered that while Channon may not quite like him very much just yet, she had a jealous streak a couple hundred miles wide where he was concerned.

He had written a letter to Wendy, telling her about his arrival in Ireland. He had sent the letter just shy of arriving and had been waiting for a reply. When the post arrived and there's was still no reply yet from Wendy Carter visibly became slightly bummed. Channon had noticed his behavioral shift and had asked him about it. Carter, not really thinking about what he was about to say, blurted out that he had been hoping for a letter from a friend back home. Then Channon had asked whom it would be from and again not thinking about his reply said Wendy's name. He had expected Channon to shrug off the information and mumble something like "whatever" under her breath before bouncing off to do some girly thing. He had not been prepared however for her jealous temper tantrum. "I can't believe you're writing to another girl!" she had screamed at him. She never even let him explain that Wendy was his best friend or anything else for that matter. She had continued to overreact and yell at him for almost ten minutes straight concluding her rant with "I don't want to hear another word about your little American girlfriend while you're here with your betrothed! " she had practically growled at him when she said it.

He showered quickly, got dressed and after making sure he had his book bag headed out of the dorm towards the common room. He was heading towards the door that lead out of Teppenpaw when he caught sight of the elves rummaging through the room whispering amongst themselves. He had only caught bits of their conversation before they disappeared, but what little bit he did hear made him very concerned. What did they mean by "they're missing"? he wondered as he left the common room and headed for his first class of the term. They couldn't possibly be talking about the staff, could they? he pondered. Nah, he shook that thought away as he made his way to class. The thought reared its ugly head when he arrived to class and discovered that the professor was not yet in attendance. "That's strange," he mused to himself as he passed by her empty desk. "Where are they?" The question followed him to his desk. Maybe the professor is just late for once he told himself trying to explain their absence. He nodded at his own reasoning and decided that had to be it. He put his book bag down on the floor beside him and folded his arms over his chest, stretching his legs out under the desk and crossing his feet at the ankles.

He waited for their professor to come strolling through the classroom door as he thought about the elves and their unusual conversation. At almost ten past the hour when their professor failed to appear, Carter began to wonder if they ever would. He slowly unfolded his arms and straightened up in his seat. The elves were telling the truth? The staff really are missing? What the heck was going on around here? Carter didn't have much time to contemplate those before the back of his right arm hurt like the dickens. It almost felt as if something had stung the snot out of him, like a wasp or something. He rubbed the back of his arm as it began to swell up like a grapefruit. He had no idea what color it was turning underneath his school robes and if he was lucky he wouldn't find out. He was pretty certain however that whatever color it was was pretty nasty.

He tried to put the swelling and throbbing out of his mind as he tried to figure out what might have caused the staffs disappearance, but it was pretty difficult. Judging by the amount of swelling and the throbbing it was causing, if Carter didn't know any better he would think somebody hexed him with a stinging hex. He couldn't really think of any reason why anyone would want to other than maybe doing it as a prank of some kind. He rubbed his arm absently as he glanced briefly around the room. He had glanced around initially to try and see if he might be able to spot his jinxer, but that idea went out the window when he spotted Anthony's head taking on the shape of a pumpkin. Or was there a pumpkin growing around his head? Carter honestly couldn't tell. He started to say something when the pumpkin seemed to explode covering everything and everyone close to Anthony in pumpkin guts. Well, maybe it just covered mostly Anthony and Effie, Carter couldn't be sure if anyone else was hit by the innards and seeds.

Carter gaped at the mess for a second and again glanced around the room. There was definitely hexing of some kind going on, but before he could ascertain who the culprit might be he was distracted by the shattering of glass. Carter's attention snapped to the left of him where the inkwell on his own desk had shattered, covering the top left part of his desk in blue ink. The ink was also currently on part of his robes and face by his ear. A quick self inspection revealed that he had apparently not been cut by any of the broken glass. Thank goodness for small miracles he thought to himself as he made his way over towards Anthony, Henry and Effie. By the time he reached them, it appeared one of them had managed to successfully remove all the pumpkin mess from their persons. Releasing a small sigh of relief he continued on towards them.

He arrived about the same time another ink well exploded, covering some of Effie's blond hair with black ink. If he didn't know any better he could almost swear he saw her eyes flash for a split second with what looked like anger maybe, but she had quickly composed herself so he couldn't be sure. He heard her suggestion to Anthony about them going to investigate and had to agree. He wasn't sure entirely what she was suggesting they investigate, be it their unknown assailant or the staff's apparent disappearance, but either way investigation appeared to be their best course of action at this point. Carter stopped just to the left of Anthony and voiced his agreement with Effie. "I think you're right Effie," he told her after asking if she was okay. He had heard her protest when the ink well had struck her and wanted to make sure she hadn't been injured by any of the glass. Once he was sure she was indeed uninjured he continued.

"I agree that an investigation is in order," he told her although he wasn't positive he knew what she had suggested they investigate exactly. Be it their unknown assailant or the disappearance of the staff. Either way they needed to figure out what was happening and quick. "I don't know about either of you, but I'd sure like to know what the devil is going on around here. Both inside this room and outside of it. Just tell me how I can be of assistance."
0 Carter Browning, Teppenpaw I couldn't agree more 0 Carter Browning, Teppenpaw 0 5


Anthony Carey

March 25, 2014 5:16 PM
Anthony wanted to try out some of the language he had heard Arthur use after one of the experiments his brother no doubt thought he didn’t know about had, evidently, gone very wrong (the strange black…stuff which had resulted had not completely come out of the carpet for three days, though whether that was because of its nature or Arthur’s unfitness for a career as a janitor was something he didn’t know) when the pumpkin broke away from his head suddenly, but he was pretty sure most of it wasn’t meant for times when you knew other people could hear you, and would offend Effie anyway. As she got rid of the remains of the pumpkin for him, he thought offending her was not really something he ought to do even aside from doing so being a breach of manners. His instruction in propriety hadn’t been as harsh as it might have been, but the family had still gone a long way toward working being a gentleman into his bones.

“Thank you, Miss Arbon,” he mumbled, turning red as he thought about just how stupid he must have looked. And with Malcolm here, too; no doubt he was already planning a not-quite-insulting remark to make at the first opportunity. In front of a girl, too – the most proper girl in the year, better yet. He was sure it could get worse, but in the moment, he was really having trouble imagining how.

He thought this might mark about the fifth time in his life that he’d really wanted to hex someone, but that was difficult when he didn’t actually know who’d cast the spell at him, so he was just stuck looking stupid, instead of angry and vengeful or at least something which was a little more likely to be impressive than angry and stupid Instead, then, he took a deep breath and nodded, putting his wand down again – he didn’t even remember grabbing it clearly, no doubt because his head had been encased in a pumpkin at the time – only to snatch it up again when Effie’s hair began dripping black, just in time for him to notice that Henry appeared to be seconds away from a meltdown.

A way it could actually get worse.

Scourgify,” he said, not liking the look in Effie’s eyes any more than he liked the choking sound Henry had just made. “Henry, I’m all right. Everything is fine.” Except that he didn’t even know who’d jinxed him, whether that person had done it just at random or had gone after him for a reason, his cousin was probably behind the destruction of his classmates’ personal property and might do worse if he didn’t calm down, and the person who was supposed to be dealing with this was conspicuously not here. And Brandon had been babbling something at breakfast about the clouds being purple, which was starting to sound more like something that might really have happened this morning instead of like the setup for a very badly-timed practical joke. The only good thing he could think of just now was that Henry wasn’t likely to be linked to the inkwells; since normally nothing here tried to hurt them and so didn’t stress him to the point of lashing out, Henry’s normal performances in class were both weak and controlled. “Or it’s going to be fine,” he added, since there limits to what anyone would accept, and he had to believe Henry was still enough like he had been underneath it all to see straight through that lie, anyway.

He was saved the problem of figuring out how to attract Carter and Wendy’s attention by Carter walking up to them. “Miss Arbon and I were just discussing a plan,” he said. “We were planning to go look for teachers in other rooms, or at least the Head Boy and Girl. She suggested you and Miss Canterbury might try to keep order in here while we did that.”

He couldn’t blame Carter if he balked at that, given the state of things in here, but he hoped it would work out. Because while things weren't really that bad, at least not yet, he had wanted few things in his life at all more than he wanted to be not one of the people responsible for what was going on in here.
0 Anthony Carey It's an excellent idea 0 Anthony Carey 0 5


Carter Browning

March 25, 2014 7:45 PM
Carter found himself nodding at Anthony's comment. It was as good of a plan as any at the moment and it made sense. He wasn't entirely sure how he and Wendy were going to keep the peace, what with the exploding ink wells and such going on. The fact that his arm had swollen up pretty badly didn't help matters any, but he was willing to do what needed to be done despite that small inconvenience. He hadn't made Assistant Captain by wimping out. He was not about to wimp out now.

"I agree," he told Anthony. "Wendy and I can try to keep the peace here while you and Miss Arbon are checking the other classrooms. Hopefully doing so will answer a few questions and give us a better idea of what we're dealing with." He wasn't entirely sure if it would help, but it was better than doing nothing. "Besides on top of everything else it would appear that we have a prankster here in the room," he pointed out. He knew it was probably obvious to his fellow prefects already, but he couldn't stop himself from stating the obvious. "This might give us the chance to figure out who it is and put a stop to it." He had dropped his voice a bit so that only Anthony, Effie and perhaps Wendy heard him (if she had decided to join them at that point).

"This way, if he or she should strike again, Effie won't end up with more ink in her hair or worse," he pointed out gently. Given what little bit he knew about Effie he was fairly certain she would not be very happy with anything else exploding on or around her. She had appeared to be less than thrilled when the pumpkin around Anthony's head exploded and the ink well hit her. Carter wasn't certain how much more she could take without cracking and to be honest he was hoping he wouldn't have to find out.
0 Carter Browning It is indeed 236 Carter Browning 0 5


Wendy Canterbury - Pecari

March 26, 2014 1:32 AM
Wendy had always been fascinated by prairie elves and had hoped to befriend one. They never seemed to be around very often, however, but today seemed to be the exception. It was with some misfortune that she had decided to sleep in and skip breakfast, as she saw troves of prairie elves wandering around in the halls. She was not a morning person unlike her older sister and that didn’t work in her favor on most occasions. Wendy was tempted to stop an elf and ask why it looked so troubled as she power-walked down the hall, but she was going to be late for class and didn’t want to begin her fifth year on the DADA professor’s bad side, whoever it was going to be. She hoped the elves would still be there when class got out and thought she might even be able to help now that she was a Prefect.

Receiving the position had been a large surprise to Wendy. Historically she had never cared t take on the position of authority, and she had never needed to. But she was happy that she had received it; it meant the professors thought her capable despite her consistent yearbook award of Most Dazed and Confused. Wendy was a Prefect along with Carter and that made her happy too. She hadn’t been able to respond much to him or to anyone over the summer. She was getting worse at writing letters and better at texting on her cell phone, and found much more amusement in exploring different thrift shops, traveling, and baking with her mom now that she was old enough. Big responsibilities were not often bestowed upon her since she was the youngest. That was part of the reason why Wendy hadn’t expected to be responsible for something at school; her sister usually did it all.

But Waverly wasn’t in her classes anymore and now Wendy, too, had the shiny badge on her robes that she had almost forgotten to pin on in her rush. As she walked into the DADA classroom, she found it odd that there was no sign of authority in the classroom. Wendy took her seat, slightly confused. In her experience, professors at Sonora were slightly obsessed with punctuality and school itself ran on a disciplined schedule. She looked around to see if anyone else found this strange as well. Effie Arbon and Anthony Carey were talking, and Wendy knew she would have to join them eventually, but put off the inevitable responsibility for just a minute more.

As she waited, she saw Carter flinch as if in pain, and as Carter approached the other two Prefects, Anthony’s head turned into a pumpkin and exploded. Wendy’s immediate reaction was to freeze and stare in shock, her jaw dropping. “What in the world!” she exclaimed and thought she’d better join them to find out what was going on before someone else’s pumpkin-head exploded. If both Carter and Anthony had been hit, there was some telling in who would be hit next. This person, if it was indeed a person, could be trying to get all the Prefects. Wendy gulped, but approached the other Prefects bravely. Maybe there was some loose magic in the school that was attacking all the authority figures. If all the professors were gone, then the Head students and Prefects would be next. Wendy was feeling a little nervous.

Carter was talking about a potential prankster in the room and Anthony and Effie were going to leave to check on other classes. That meant she and Carter would be in charge to control all of these students. At least they were the older ones in their class. Wendy gulped again, unused to so much responsibility and fearful of the loose magic roaming around the room attacking the Prefects. That had to be it. She hadn’t seen anyone break the ink bottles, and while she knew of uncontrolled magic, she didn’t think that could be the reason. “What if it wasn’t a person that was responsible?” Wendy asked, looking at each of them nervously. “What if the magic that took away the professors is now trying to take away the Head Boy and Girl and the Prefects as well? It could be some kind of loose magic, couldn’t it? I mean, only Anthony and Carter were attacked and they're both Prefects. Maybe something broke and now it’s attacking all the authority figures!” Wendy squeaked out her last sentence; it wasn’t a completely crazy idea to her. Magic wasn’t always stable and could cause serious damage. She didn’t understand it completely and she was sure that her peers didn’t either, even the ones who’d grown up with it.
0 Wendy Canterbury - Pecari But...what if something big happens? 0 Wendy Canterbury - Pecari 0 5


Effie Arbon

March 26, 2014 11:29 AM
“You're welcome,” Effie replied softly, as Anthony thanked her for her tidying up.

“And thank you,” she smiled, as he found cause to return the favour moments later, removing the ink from her and their surroundings. If it hadn't been for the impending sense of catastrophe, she thought it might have been rather a pleasant moment. However, Anthony's attention was diverted onto his cousin, who seemed rather distressed by... well, whatever it was that was going on. She found herself nodding her mute agreement to Anthony's assertions that all would be well, even though she was quite sure Henry wasn't looking at her. When he had caught her notice strongly enough to make any kind of impression – which, she felt bad for admitting, was rare – he had struck her as rather a nervous creature, not entirely unlike Araceli. She felt an almost sisterly desire to offer him soothing words and reassurances but, if he was like her youngest sibling, those approaches from a stranger would only terrify and embarrass him, and thus she was stranded in this awkward land of wishing very dearly to be helpful and kind to him but not really knowing how. Her best guess had been to offer companionable and comfortable silence if they happened to find themselves together, such as in the common room.

Carter had approached them by this time and Effie tried not to look too surprised as he agreed with the suggestion that he should stay and maintain order, which she had really been planning to palm off on him without his having much say in matter. Of course, that was because she didn't think any sane person would volunteer for the assignment, which he just had. She was not sure whether this demonstrated bravery or foolhardiness. From her previous impressions of him, and the company he kept, she would have been naturally inclined towards the latter. However, his sotto voce remarks regarding her well-being caused her to re-evalute.

“Thank you. That's very gallant of you,” she commended him, feeling a little humbled that this person whom she had disregarded as a buffoon, and had wanted to leave to the lions, should show such feeling for her. She was also curious to note that he didn't seem to have the same protective streak over Wendy, in spite of being inappropriately fond of her. Perhaps he clearly knew the worth of different girls after all...

“Shall we?” she asked Anthony.

OOC – I've deliberately left off the part where Wendy comes over, as I'm thinking it might make sense to split here and have Effie and Anthony head out, and for Wendy to be making those remarks to Carter. Otherwise I can see us getting stuck in a discussion forever, without anyone moving, and the thread's getting pretty people-heavy. And, once again, I give Anthony permission to move Effie about the school with him. I have a feeling we're quite likely to bump into someone in the corridor, as a lot of people are heading out and about...
13 Effie Arbon This doesn't already qualify? 238 Effie Arbon 0 5


Carter Browning

March 26, 2014 4:27 PM
OOC: This entire account is written under the assumption that Anthony has decided to join Effie in leaving the room to begin their investigation of the other classrooms. It is not my intention to write for him or Effie in any way. I am merely writing this based on Effie's own words that she is preparing to leave the room, voicing her final question towards Anthony.

BIC:
Carter had returned Effie's commendment of his concern for her wellbeing with a pleasant grin and a small bow despite the throbbing pain currently still shooting through his very swollen arm. He glanced towards Wendy as Effie focused her attention towards Anthony and their investigation. Whether they had actually left the room after that Carter couldn't say. His attention was currently elsewhere and rightly so. While Carter was pretty sure Wendy wasn't prone to fits of hysterics, he worked to calm her down just the same. "I'm fairly certain we're not dealing with uncontrolled magic," he told her gently offering her a reassuring smile. He personally didn't have much experience with that sort of thing, but that didn't mean that's what they were dealing with.

"Besides, even if it was uncontrollable magic, how would it know who the authority figures are?" He asked gently and semi quietly. He didn't want to make her feel like he didn't value her opinion by asking his question. He was only trying to make a simple point with it. "At any rare, I stand behind me belief that those nasty doings were because of a wee Beastie trickster," he told her his Irish brogue sneaking in more than normal. "True the targets turned out to conveniently be prefects, but I dunna think that was due to magical mayhem. I think a Someone not a Something aimed those hexes at Anthony and me specifically," he told her his voice kept somewhat low. The nature of the hexes alone made Carter suspect that they had been specifically targeted towards certain people. The ink well that hit Effie may or may not have been just a coincidence. That was the one Carter was unsure about.

"The first thing we need to do is check the textbook for a spell or charm that will stop the remaining ink wells from exploding and clean up the ink already around the room," he instructed, hoping his effort to calm her down was working. He hoped that by giving her something other than their current situation to focus on she would be less likely to panic. "Secondly, we need to figure out who might be behind the hexes and deal with them as well," he said his voice low. He disliked having to be the bad guy for the last part, but sometimes being the bad guy was necessary. If he planned on being a great Quidditch captain he had to learn how to do just that on occasion. "Why don't you look for the cleaning charm and the nonexplosive charm and get those running while I keep me eyes peeled for our little hexer?" He suggested trying to sound as encouraging as possible.
0 Carter Browning I think it already has Wendy dear 236 Carter Browning 0 5


Wendy

March 26, 2014 10:42 PM
Wendy didn't like the idea of a trickster especially when magic was concerned. Magic was unpredictable in many cases; it was a high possibility it could just know who the authority figures were; after all, all the students in charge had shiny badges and the professors were all adults. Those were two distinctions right there. It was the same idea with animating inanimate objects; sometimes those objects had personalities and no one knew why. It just was and Wendy had accepted that part of magic. Things were just unexplainable sometimes and that was that. This whole vanishing act, she believed, was one of those unexplainable events, but she didn't say anything. Carter, even if he was her best friend, wouldn't be convinced. That was how a lot of things were for Wendy; people didn't always believe her or talked to her like she was a crazy animal or something. Like Carter was talking to her now.

"I think the ink wells just exploded because Anthony was angry," explained Wendy, frowning at Carter's gentle tone. She might be nervous, but she wasn't hysterical. "And I know what a Cleaning Charm is. We learned that in second year if not earlier." Wendy was hardly offended, but she was still hurt at her friend's disbelief of her abilities even if it was momentarily. She usually forgot her grudges or brushed it off over a short period of time, but that still didn't mean she was prone to feeling hurt occasionally.

Wendy turned and went to survey the mess on the floor right after her statement, leaving Carter no room to respond to her face. The ink would leave some stains, having been there for a little while, but at least she could clean the liquid up. "Tergeo," she said, and the ink vanished. The broken ink bottles were repaired with another wave of her wand and she folded her arms. "Did you see your betrothed a lot over the summer?" she asked, looking back at Carter, still a little peeved at him. She didn't like being ordered around either or looking around for someone who might not even exist.

As she looked at the rest of the students, she realized how pointless it was still being here. "We should just tell everyone to go back to their common room. It's useless just sitting here waiting for a professor and the weird magic might just be in the classrooms. Why did Anthony and Effie have to leave first before walking everyone back?" Wendy sighed and sat down on a chair, wondering if this crazy kind of stuff was what her sister actually liked to do. "Well, Mr. Browning, what else do you think we should do?"
0 Wendy I don't respond well to patronizing 0 Wendy 0 5


Carter Browning

March 27, 2014 1:38 AM
Carter realized about a half second too late that he might have stuck his foot in his mouth somewhere judging by Wendy's response to his suggestions on what they should be doing. I had only suggested doing those things didn't I? he wondered to himself as he watched her make a face at him and announce that she already knew a cleaning spell. He went back over what he had said in his mind and then grimaced when he realized he hasn't merely suggested anything to her. He had barked orders and probably made her feel like he didn't trust her. Ahh bloody bats breath he chastised himself. She was his best friend and he had spoken to her as though she were a green first year.

He sighed heavily at his own stupidity. It was small wonder she appeared to be slightly cross with him and rightly so since he had behaved like a horse's rear end. He resigned himself to the fact that he had some major apologizing to do once they got the situation in hand. He gave her a thoughtful look when she mentioned that the ink wells may have exploded due to Anthony's anger. That really wasn't something that had occurred to him. He wasn't entirely sure how something like that would have worked, but it made better sense than anything he could come up with. He watched quietly as she went about cleaning up the ink and broken glass as he had brutishly ordered.

He rubbed his arm absently having momentarily forgotten the throbbing due to her being cross with him. Wendy mad at him, that was a sobering feeling, one Carter discovered he didn't care for too much. He walked silently over to where she was seated having heard her suggestion on sending the others back to the dorms, her question regarding his betrothed and her question regarding Anthony and Effie. He decided it might be better to tackle the question regarding Channon last. He nodded in agreement over her suggestion. "I agree. It really doesn't make much sense to make everyone sit around here," he agreed with her. He found himself shrugging at her question regarding Anthony and Effie. "I wish I had a suitable answer for that one," he told her honestly. "Perhaps they felt we could handle it without them."

He shifted uncomfortably on his feet in front of her as he decided how best to say his next statement. He let out a deep breath and just went with it. "Look...I'm sorry if I came off as bossy a few minutes ago," he lamely apologized. "I dinna mean to make you angry with me for it. I kinda thought that since you seemed a bit...startled by the situation that giving you something else to focus on might help somehow," he told her. "Truth be told I mentioned the textbook mostly for me," he continued grimacing a bit. "While I might be good at Transfiguration spells, I'm complete rubbish at remembering any other spells," he admitted weakly. He offered her a weak apologetic smile. His smile faltered a bit when he realized he had yet to answer her question about his betrothed.

It had been hard enough telling her about Channon in the first place, now wasn't any easier. He coughed nervously into his free hand. "Aye...unfortunately," he admitted. "Me parents made me spend most of the summer holiday with her and her family in Ireland. Not exactly what I would have chosen to do, but I canna really complain." His expression became slightly amused for a second. "Well that's not exactly true. I could have complained, but it wouldn't have done any good. No one would have listened." He shook his head slightly. He laughed to himself a bit when he thought about Channon's last words to him. "I dunna think she likes me very much," he told her still chuckling. "And...um...she's apparently really jealous of you lass," he told her grinning. "She told me she dinna want me mentioning my American "girlfriend" while I was with her. She dinna give me the chance to tell her you were my best friend," he told her.

He rubbed his aching arm again as he listened to her question about what they should do next and visibly winced a bit when she called him Mr. Browning. That was a first, but considering the fact that she might still be cross with him he couldn't blame her for that one. "Why don't we give it a few more minutes and see if any of the older prefects show up with some more information for us?" He suggested. "If no one shows up by then, would you like to be the one to dismiss everyone else or would you prefer I do it?" He asked diplomatically. He knew his next question would probably make him sound like a weenie, but he was willing to risk it if she could help him. "I know this might sound a bit daft, but you wouldn't happen to know a counter curse for the stinging hex would you?" He asked pitifully. "Me arm feels like a watermelon and hurts like the dickens," he mildly complained.
0 Carter Browning Would it help if I groveled? 236 Carter Browning 0 5


Rupert

March 27, 2014 3:51 PM
Rupert didn't know Dimitri Porter very well; he hardly knew him at all, really, except on the pitch, but making small talk in class did not require a strong knowledge of the other's background. Not to him, anyway. Other pure-bloods were a different story.

Dimitri also had no idea what was going on. That made two of them. Rupert shrugged his broad shoulders and sat up in his seat, staying alert for any sort of professor. Effie (he thought briefly of her sister) and Anthony, two of the Prefects, gathered and were talking about it all. In the silence of the room, it was easy enough to hear what they were saying if one purposefully eavesdropped. “I thought that was obvious,” he replied to Dimitri’s observation, keeping his ears open to what the Prefects were saying.

Carter soon joined them as well as Wendy—ah, Wendy—, but not before Anthony’s head was suddenly encased by a pumpkin and exploded. The explosion was shocking and Rup’s mouth dropped open before he had to press his lips together to keep from chuckling. He quickly turned around to hide his traitorous face, but the image of the startled classroom and the head of a pumpkin on Anthony’s body was at least a little funny. There was the sound of inkwells breaking behind him and more voices. All the Prefects had gathered and Rup kept his ears open again even if his back was to them.

Once Rup calmed down and tried not to think of everyone’s face at the sound of an exploding pumpkin, he turned back to Dimitri. “What do you think happened?” he asked. “It seemed like a well-aimed hex.” His words rang in his head suddenly and Rupert’s first thought was his brother. He didn’t dare do anything to give any indication that he was suspicious of Leo; he couldn’t get his brother into trouble like that, especially when there would hardly be any mercy shown at this hour. He wasn't even certain, anyhow; Leo was not a very handy wizard when it came to spells. “It sounds like Effie and Anthony are going out, but I agree with you. I don’t think there will be much going on in the corridors except for frantic prairie elves running to and fro. Though…I do suppose someone ought to check on the beginner classes. You don’t suppose they’re running amuck, do you? I hope not.”

Rup turned back to look at the Prefects again, this time only Carter and Wendy there. He was tempted to get their attention by calling out to them, but he held back. “What would you do if you were a Prefect, Dimitri?” he asked, keeping his eyes on Wendy. “Would you be willing to take charge even if it meant getting your head encased in a pumpkin?” The image of Effie’s horrified face and pumpkin bits everywhere returned and Rupert let a little smile show on his face now that those two Prefects had gone. Those two were a little stuffy, he had to admit, and much of the tension he’d felt at the uncertainty of the situation had dissipated with the distraction.
0 Rupert Confusion loves company. 0 Rupert 0 5


Wendy

March 28, 2014 2:09 PM
Not having Anthony and Effie here would make it a little more difficult to walk their classmates back to their common rooms. She and Carter certainly couldn't take the Crotali or Aladrens back to their respective common rooms. They would have to take volunteers or something. Wendy didn't like being in charge, that was for sure, even if it was a new experience.

Carter seemed apologetic, but Wendy pretended not to notice. She didn't like being upset and was very rarely angry, and apologies solved all of those emotions easily. She wasn't very difficult to please even in a somewhat alarming situation. "Apology accepted," Wendy said. "Thanks for your concern, but I'm a big girl too. And you should know I'm really great at Charms." She was really good at Transfiguration too and COMC, but not so much in DADA and Potions. Carter's poorness in spells as a fifth-year was slightly surprising, but Wendy didn't comment on it. Everybody was different; that was just a fact.

The whole betrothal business boggled Wendy's mind, and Carter's betrothed didn't seem very nice. "That's silly to be jealous of me," she said, "though I guess we do spend more time together than you and she do." Girlfriends and boyfriends were such a mess for some people. Wendy couldn't help but notice it now, but it didn't seem like any of her peers had any significant other. There was a lot going on with the seventh years according to Waverly, but not so much for her class. Wendy wasn't sure if that was supposed to be a good thing or not since her older sister had gotten her first boyfriend at fifteen. Oh well. Wendy wasn't nearly as concerned about it was Waverly had been at her age.

Carter seemed to be rubbing his arm a lot and she looked at it curiously before answering his question, her previous hurt feelings forgotten. "Sounds good. I think we should walk them back. My sister said that it's never good to trust a group of kids like us to get back to our common rooms without losing a few mischievous people on the way. I could take the Pecaris, you could take the Tepps, and we'll get volunteers to be in charge of the Aladrens and Crotali. Responsible volunteers."

The next thing Carter said made sense as to why he was rubbing his swollen arm. "Oh my gosh, let me see! What happened? Are you okay? Hold on, let me get my textbook for that." Though they had learned Stinging Hexes a little while ago, she still wasn't completely sure of the countercurse. She flipped through it rapidly, hoping Carter's arm wouldn't swell to a pumpkin (and explode!). Unfortunately, there was no countercurse and Wendy returned to him sheepishly. "The swelling will go down in a bit," she said, looking at his arm again. "Does it still hurt? Here, maybe ice will help." Wendy conjured ice with a spell and transfigured a piece of paper into a small plastic bag to put the ice in. "Here; just hold that to your arm for a little bit."
0 Wendy Maybe a little 0 Wendy 0 5


Ava Fletcher, Aladren

March 29, 2014 3:18 AM
When it became evident that Medic Eir was not coming, Ava sighed and left the Hospital Wing, dejected but slightly reassured that she wouldn't be marked as late for her first Intermediate class. If Medic Eir wasn't in then the teachers probably wouldn't be either. Nevertheless, she shouldered her bag and ran down the hall towards the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom just in case. As she arrived, she saw two prefects hurrying away from the room and lots of talking coming from inside. It was strange, it seemed as though it was going to get chaotic without the teachers there and Ava almost didn't want to enter the classroom and instead head to the library to hole up in her room or a nice couch and read some books. Get ahead in the healing books and self-educate. However, she decided it would be best to at least pop her head in and see what was going it. Perhaps the teacher had sent the prefects to fetch something though they certainly didn't look as though they were on a mission for a teacher.

When she entered, she found the room in a state of disarray. There seemed to have been an exploding pumpkin- which explained the two prefects she'd seen earlier. Ava cast her eyes around the room wondering what she had missed and searching for a familiar face to bother. Her eyes fell on Dimitri who was talking to an older student, a Pecari if she wasn't mistaken. Ava quickly smoothed out her robes and hair before making her way over to Dimitri's table. "Hey, she said as she sat down. "Sorry I'm late, what'd I miss?"

As she waited for the boys to respond, Ava combed out the tangles her hair had gotten from rushing down the hall to the Hospital Wing from Cascade Hall and also from the Hospital Wing to the classroom. She unwrapped the ribbon she'd put around her wrist so that she wouldn't loose it and tied her hair back. Her prediction, it would seem, was right. Everyone was gone and it didn't seem to be a joke at all. "You know, Medic Eir is gone too- the new medic who's filling in for Medic Bailey," she explained in case the other two didn't remember her introduction at the opening feast. "I was really disapointed too as I was quite looking forward to asking her a few questions about some medical texts I read over the summer."

Perhaps her interest in the medical field bordered on obsession, but that's how Ava was with many things- she threw herself into everything that she did, be it her friendship with Dimitri, or her painting which oftentimes resulted in creating a large painting mess in her hair, clothes, and the surrounding area. "What do you suppose we're to do about lessons?" She didn't care if it was a stereotypical Aladren thing to ask but it did matter. She had to get top marks if she wanted to continue on to become a Healer like her mother.
10 Ava Fletcher, Aladren Good thing too, it seems as though we're all in this boat 0 Ava Fletcher, Aladren 0 5


Anthony Carey

April 02, 2014 8:20 PM
Anthony smiled vaguely at Carter, sure that any attempts at investigation would really just make things worse but deciding it wasn’t his problem. That was not the most honorable way of thinking about it, but at the moment, he felt more like Arthur’s brother than Arnold’s. If he could have, he would have demonstrated that allegiance by going to Mexico, where he thought Arthur still was, right now and strongly suggesting that they leave for another continent as quickly as possible, but he would settle for getting out of this room.

“Excellent,” he said, happy to pin everything that had happened on a prankster and let Carter deal with that as he saw fit.

Effie seemed to agree, and Anthony smiled again. “Yes, of course,” he said. “To the first years.”

It occurred to him, as he got out of his desk, that he might not be jumping into a better situation than he one he was in. If his class couldn’t hold it together any better than they were holding it together, then the first and second year class must have been a true disaster – if there wasn’t a teacher in there, of course. Maybe there was. Or at least something, someone, they could report to.

Most of the Advanced students would be in Professor Fawcett’s class, if it was meeting, but some would be wherever they wanted to be around the school, taking a free period to study or sleep or socialize, as they chose. He wasn’t really sure if he wanted to run into one just now or not, since all the ones he knew were in Potions, or supposed to be. “It’s Charms the beginners are in this morning, right?” he asked, more to say something than for information. With three classes meeting, it wasn’t hard to remember which ones were meeting when he had family in all of them, but he hoped to distract Effie from saying anything about Henry following him out. On balance, Anthony thought that was for the best, but he'd rather not explain it.

OOC: Sorry for the delay! Continued in Potions
0 Anthony Carey I think it does 0 Anthony Carey 0 5


Clara Abernathy, Pecari

April 07, 2014 6:01 PM
Clara listened briefly to the rest of the conversation that was being said before she heard Thad agree with her vvolunteering. She had nodded briefly when he requested that she send the other fifth year prefects his way as she grabbed her bag and headed out of the Potions room. She walked as quickly as possible towards the DADA room hoping that when she arrived she didn't find the room in a complete state of chaos. She had to hope that the prefects in the room were able to keep a small measure of order.

Clara arrived to the DADA room to find that most if not all of its occupants appeared to still be intact. She spotted Carter and Wendy over towards the back and made her way towards the front of the room so that she could be heard. She set her bag down on the professor's empty desk and faced the slightly younger students. She leaned up against the edge of the desk, planting her hands firmly on the edge and cleared her throat.

"Ehem...If I could get everyone's attention please," she called out clearly and politely. "My name is Clara Abernathy and I'll be supervising this class until the professor returns." She glanced around at everyone before she continued. "I realize that you all might be wondering what is going on at the moment and I assure you that myself and the other Prefects along with the Head boy and girl are trying to figure that out." She gathered her thoughts before she continued. "For those of you who wish to do so, you may either work quietly in small study groups or you may head back to your houses for the time being and consider this a free period for today. For those of you who opt for the free period option please proceed quietly back to your houses once I have finished," she instructed.

"For those of you who wish to stay, you may either partner up or work alone going over some of the material in the next chapter in preparation for the RATS tests you will eventually have to take. I will be staying to help you all out if you have any questions or concerns either with the material or the situation at hand." She gave them all a reassuring smile and finished up her brief "lecture". " Those of you accepting the free period option please feel free to talk quietly amongst yourselves or return to your houses at this time."

She watched quietly as her fellow schoolmates decided on what they were doing before making one final request. "Can I have any of the prefects still here in the room please join me up front? Thank you." She glanced towards Carter and Wendy hoping that they would get the hint and join her at the professor's desk up in front of the room. Once they had she would brief them on the meeting in the other room and send them towards Thad in the Potions room.
0 Clara Abernathy, Pecari Not the Professor, but here to help 232 Clara Abernathy, Pecari 0 5


Carter Browning

April 07, 2014 7:03 PM
Carter nodded at Wendy's suggestion on the volunteers subject and was trying to concentrate on a reply as he rubbed his arm. He was about to say something in regard to it when his mouth snapped shut upon the arrival of what appeared to be an older prefect. He saw her glance towards himself and Wendy as she made her way to the front of their class. He ignored her briefly as he watched Wendy flit around helping him with his arm. He remained silent as she flipped through their textbook trying to come up with a possible counter-curse for the Stinging Hex.

He found himself nodding absently as Wendy commented about his betrothed being jealous of her. He had to admit he could slightly understand why she might be since he did spend a lot more time with Wendy then he did with her, but considering the fact that he went to school with Wendy and not Channon he really couldn't see how she could be. He mentally shrugged it off. He waited patiently as she checked their book, listening sort of to the Prefect who had entered their room. He sighed a little disappointed when Wendy confirmed what he had been afraid of. "I suspected as much," he commented lightly. He grinned when she offered him the ice for his arm and accepted it gratefully.

"Thanks," he told her turning his attention slightly away from her and towards the Prefect who was talking. He sighed a bit when her heard her name. It figured it would be the weird Abernathy girl, but he wasn't about to look a gift horse for assistance in the mouth. "It would appear we have some backup," he said lightly to Wendy nodding his head towards their new arrival. "From the sounds of it, the older Prefects seem to have a better idea of what they're doing and what's going on around here," he commented lightly, his attention back on Wendy. "I dunna know about you, but I have a few questions I want answered to." He was pretty sure Wendy would agree to that given their current situation, but he didn't want to assume and be full out wrong.

He heard Clara ask the remaining Prefects to join her and glanced towards Wendy. "I guess it couldna hurt to see what she has to say," he thought aloud. He pressed the ice pack tighter to his arm as he made his way towards the older prefect. He hoped Wendy had decided to follow him as he stopped just short of where Clara waited for them. He silently hoped that what she had to say was more encouraging than what he was thinking right at that moment. "So...what the bloody blazes is going on around here?" He inquired upon reaching Clara. He glanced towards Wendy as he waited for Clara's reply.

OOC: I'm posting this under Wendy's post, but might I suggest we move the thread under Clara's post from this point on and continue from there?
0 Carter Browning Then I am happy to do so 236 Carter Browning 0 5


Dimitri Porter

April 07, 2014 7:36 PM
Dimitri had been contemplating Rupert's questions briefly and was about to respond when another voice joined their conversation. He knew that voice anywhere and grinned when he noticed that Ava had joined them. He found his grin falter however when she mentioned that the new Medic appeared to be missing on top of all the other staff members. "Not entirely surprising considering the fact that all the other staff members appear to be missing," he commented. He coughed briefly into his closed fist as he thought about the best way to answer her other question. He glanced towards Rupert slightly amused before he told her just what she had missed.

"Well...let's see," he began, trying not to grin. "Carter's arm appears to be swelling up like a grapefruit for some reason. Anthony Carey appeared to be growing a pumpkin for a head until it exploded all over him and Effie. And ink wells around the room began exploding, one of which did so all over the back of Effie's head," he concluded fighting back the urge to laugh at Effie and Anthony's expense. "Other than that not much it would appear," he told her. He turned his attention to Rupert and answered his question, having gave it some serious thought.

"I'd like to think I would be brave enough to take charge," he tried to sound confident with his answer. "I can't say it would be all that great to have a pumpkin for a head, but I'd be willing to risk it I think." He nodded to himself at his insistence that he could lead if he had to, but he was glad that for the moment their wellbeing didn't require for him to do so. He was sure that if it ever came down to it though he'd at least be willing to try. "What about you Rupert?" he asked the slightly older boy. "Would you be willing to take charge if it meant having an exploding pumpkin head?" he inquired. He still had to fight back the smile that found its way to his face whenever he pictured poor Anthony's head.

"I have to agree that it was one heck of a hex," he agreed with Rupert. "But who do you suppose did it and why?" he inquired lightly. He really couldn't see who would dislike Anthony enough to encase his entire head with an exploding vegetable.
0 Dimitri Porter I'd rather be drifting in a boat with friends than drifting 0 Dimitri Porter 0 5

Charlie B-F-R, Teppenpaw

April 09, 2014 12:20 AM
Given that it was the start of term, Charlie was in a fairly perky mood. He and his sister had had a breakfast pancake picnic (his idea) and though he felt a little guilty about the calories, he couldn't deny that they had perked up his mood. Plus he'd had plenty of blueberries with his, which had anti-oxidising properties and were virtually fat-free. Unlike Henny, he'd enjoyed the crazy purple clouds overhead. They were beautiful and dramatic, and hadn't seemed to cause them any harm. Perhaps it would rain later but, so long as he didn't have to be outside, he didn't mind.

He headed to his first class, taking a seat next to Carter with a cheery smile and a 'hello.' He liked the older boy (as a friend) and happily chatted to him whilst waiting for class to begin. And waiting, and waiting. At about ten past, there was the uneasy sense that no one was coming, and he jumped as Carter winced and clutched his arm. Upon enquiring, it seemed that something had stung him. Or, Charlie thought, with an uneasy prickling on the back of his neck, someone.

Charlie glanced around. No one was obviously looking at them... But he hadn't seen a wasp or anything near by and he couldn't shake the feeling that it had been done on purpose by a classmate. He knew first hand how cruel kids could be to each other, and with no teacher in the room... He was just giving up hope of catching anyone out, when a movement in the edge of his vision caught his eye. He turned ever so minutely, watching out of the corner of his eye. There was no doubt about it that Leo Princeton was waving a wand. The fact that seconds later, Anthony's head swelled up like a pumpkin seemed like much too much of a coincidence...

The trouble was knowing who it was and knowing what to do about it were two very different problems. He could certainly think of a few nasty spells to send back in Leo's direction but two wrongs didn't make a right, and he had no wish to hurt the other boy, just to stop him from hurting others. Oh, what he wouldn't have given to know a silencing charm! He'd have liked to see Leo trying to cast spells without a voice. However, that was a tricky spell even for intermediates, and they had never worked with anything bigger than a mouse. Performing it on a person was much harder. He was still trying to decide when the ink wells began exploding. Although he hadn't caught Leo at it that time, that was the final straw.

“Dexteritus deliterus,” he whispered, subtly angling his wand a Leo under his arm. Hopefully the Butterfingers Jinx would do the trick. Leo would struggle to keep a hold of his wand and, even if he managed that, aiming it without very obvious fumbling would be nigh on impossible. Charlie turned back to the front, easily playing the angelic student. His floppy blond hair and blue eyes helped with the cherubic image, but he was also well known to be friendly and caring. He felt a little bad for turning his wand on Leo but it wasn't in a way that was going to hurt the other boy (beyond, perhaps, bumping into things more often for the next hour) and he didn't want any of his classmates hurt.

OOC – God-modding of Carter with permission from his author.
13 Charlie B-F-R, Teppenpaw A taste of your own medicine 252 Charlie B-F-R, Teppenpaw 0 5


Rupert & Leo Princeton

April 12, 2014 5:51 PM
Leo was feeling pleased with himself, having cast two spells without getting caught and having put his wand away before the pumpkin had swelled up over Anthony’s head. It was extremely entertaining seeing the pumpkin explode and the anger evident on Carey’s face. All three of those students looked taken aback by what had happened, the quieter Carey in particular, and the explosion of inkwells was just the icing on the cake. Leo tried his best to stifle his laughter and put his head to his arms to hide his amusement. When his head rose, Leo strove to pick up a quill to begin doodling, a favourite pastime of his, and found it impossible to hold onto his quill. He tried twice before realising he’d been had and it irritated him again. Why couldn’t he have his fun?

Though he had been subject to a spell of someone else’s, Leo found that it made it easier to play the victim. “What is going on in this classroom?” he exclaimed, his voice half-fearful. He made to grab his book bag and it felt to the floor with a clumsy but loud thump. Leo looked over at Rupert who usually strived to keep the peace when he began to get out of hand, but he hardly thought his brother was paying any attention. Instead Rup was chatting with other students and staring at a muggle-born. Perhaps there really was something wrong at this school that was addling his brother’s brain. It was time to save his brother from doing anything idiotic like getting up and talking to the muggle-born.

Ever the little brother, Leo walked over to Rupert, leaving his things at his desk because of his unfortunate hands, glad that he had put his wand away beforehand. "Rupert, look what happened! Someone’s casting all these nasty spells and they got me too."

Rupert had been chatting with Ava and Dimitri, enjoying the two younger students. They seemed to be mates and Rup nodded as Dimitri filled Ava in with the news of what had happened. “Dramatic stuff,” he added with a little smile, “but nothing detrimental. I’m Rupert, by the way. Rupert Princeton.” Though Rup came from a very prestigious pure-blood family, he had never liked adding his origin. He liked being a normal person to everyone else and not sounding so pretentious.

Dimitri was brave, wanting to still take on a Prefect position despite what they had just seen. “I wouldn’t be afraid either,” replied Rup, “but I suppose I won’t get the chance this year. Wendy earned the Prefectship, but there’s still hope for Head Boy.” Rup smiled, half-hoping nothing happened to Wendy or Effie. Effie didn’t do very well with ink in her hair; he couldn’t imagine what an exploding pumpkin would look like on her and her reaction to it. Rup didn’t want to think of how Wendy would take it or how he would react seeing that happen to her.

Ava’s question about class went unanswered by Dimitri; she was clearly addressing the wrong audience. Rup smiled and endeavoured to give some sort of comfort to the Aladren by saying, “I’m sure the Head students will work something out.” Dimitri seemed interested in who the perpetrator was, but before Rup could reply Leo came running up, surprising him. Generally in public Leo didn’t go to him unless there was something wrong. Rup’s attention shifted to his brother, looking for any noticeable injuries. “What happened?”

“My hands are useless in picking anything up,” pouted Leo. “Anthony’s head was encased by a pumpkin and now I can’t pick anything up." Leo stamped his foot. "Who do you think would be mean enough to do these things?"

Rup was less inclined to believe Leo was guilty now that his brother had clearly been jinxed. Leo would never subject himself under his own hex, that much he knew, which meant there was someone other than Leo in the room who certainly knew interesting hexes and wasn't afraid to use them. That was a scary thought. “I don’t know,” replied Rupert, slightly confused. Who else in the room would be vindictive enough to want to torture Anthony and Effie and apparently Carter? Rup looked over to see Wendy tending Carter’s wound and Rup felt slightly jealous. He turned his attention back to Ava and Dimitri. “I’ve really no idea who’s behind these tricks,” he said honestly. “Here Leo, sit here. The jinx will wear off after a few minutes.”
0 Rupert & Leo Princeton I never really liked boats 0 Rupert & Leo Princeton 0 5


Leo Princeton

April 12, 2014 5:52 PM
 
40 Leo Princeton Running to my Rupert's thread. (nm) 263 Leo Princeton 0 5


Ava Fletcher

April 14, 2014 1:29 AM
Ava grinned rather childishly at the thought of inkwells exploding over the prefects. She supposed that it was rude of her to think that funny but when she routinely spilled paint on herself she found the idea of other people being covered in color for a change appealing. "It sounds like things are getting out of hand with the professors gone," Ava frowned. "This is so weird, like something out of the Black Lagoon..." She shook her head fondly thinking of the weird picture books she had read as a child. Even though the situation regarding the teachers was different the situation still had this weird, eerie vibe to it. "I'm glad it's nothing permenant though, it would be horrible to have injured or ill students without a proper Medic. Nice to meet you too, Rupert, I'm Ava Fletcher." She knew the last name Princeton, but as Rupert and Dimitri were chatting casually and he had introduced himself to her in just a casual manner Ava felt at ease using his first name. She had always thought some of the the pureblood ideas were weird and was glad that her mother had left that side of the family enough ago that Ava herself didn't have to deal with any of that nonsense.

It was kind of admirable the way Dimitri was talking about taking charge. The thought hadn't particularly crossed Ava's mind. Though she had started considering career options and studying for them already, she also was still enjoying being a child and not having to delegate her time to different responsibilities. If she wanted to paint or study medical books that was all her choice and if she didn't feel like doing it at that moment then she didn't have to. Being in charge was something that one always had to do, it was something that had to come first before other things because it was something that would put others well-beings into your hands. Ava knew she wasn't ready for something like that- at least not yet, and she felt bad for the Head Boy and Alicia as they probably hadn't been prepared for this when they got the positions. After both Rupert and DImitri said they would be in charge if they had to, Ava felt a little selfish for not feeling the same way so she just nodded and opted not to declare what her nod meant. As far as she knew, nods were non-comittal. She could be agreeing with their opinion or simply showing that she was listening. She liked neutral gestures like that. "Mmmhmm," she said in a low tone.

Hearing that homework and schoolwork would be up to the Heads made Ava feel a little bit better. Both the Heads were from Aladren, which (she decided) could only mean that they would prioritize the mind. This was good, though she hoped it wouldn't just be practical stuff. She liked the hands-on lessons as they helped her be able to put gestures and results to mind which in turn helped her to remember what spell did what. "I'm glad," she said. "I would hate to fall behind, it would mean that the next semester would be full of extra greuling schoolwork and then the Seventh Years mightn't graduate on time and everything would be thrown off!" And there was that, too.

Her and Dimitri's classmate, Leo, came up to them and Ava linked his last name together with Rupert's in her head. She listened to Leo whine and stamp his foot and tried to resist the urge to roll her eyes. What kind of thirteen-year-old* behaved that way? She followed Rupert's gaze to Carter and noted his arm and winced (in excitement and also pity for Carter). "What I wouldn't give to be Wendy right now!" She exclaimed. "That looks so interesting and fun to do!" Perhaps the jinxer would do more while she was here so that she might have a chance to inspect. Not that she could do anything, she was only a third-year but it was still interesting to look at and she could make notes in her medical journal.

*OOC: Guessing Leo's 13 since he's in third year... Apologies if I'm wrong!
10 Ava Fletcher Really? I love 'em! 258 Ava Fletcher 0 5