Open Being Out of the Way

[Gregory Friend]

Gregory was trying his best, the first semester of his third year, by comparison to the other too had truly been a walk in the park, it had been easy. Easy to just live his life with very minimal bad things. He had even spent part of his break looking forward to the school semester. Gregory was still very uncertain and sure that at a moment's notice this new calm was absolutely going to change. He had come to the abandoned classroom, a usually empty and quiet place where he was just trying to improve his quill writing, it was out of the way and he was just wanting to do better than he had been.

 

[Audrey Beauchamp]

Just because Audrey's magic abilities were limited by her age and what the school was willing to teach her didn't mean she couldn't find ways to prank people. For instance, she had been experimenting with using dental floss as a kind of rope and pulley system to drop things on top of people's heads. However, without something like a hook over the door to hang the floss rope over, it didn't seem to work as well. So, levitating things, summoning them and dropping them was the best she could manage. It helped her practice her focus, at least, maintaining watch on her surroundings while putting most of her power into carefully moving an object. And her aiming, without having to get on a broom and hit bludgers around.

At least she saw a good target for practice. She was hesitant to torment Canary Boy, as he seemingly had the brain of a five year old and she couldn't handle the crying (and she at least kind of respected Teddy). But a boy who was sitting by himself in an abandoned classroom - it obviously wasn't that important because if he was doing an assignment he'd be somewhere with more resources. So, there was no reason for her to feel guilty about her levitating one of her real fake spiders, aiming...and then hitting a swift and quiet "depulso", landing the rubbery moving spider toy on the back of the boy's head with a thwap.

 

[Gregory Friend]

Something hit the back of his head, he glanced up and then brushed a hand through his hair, touching something. Gregory immediately pulled his hand back and stood up, the thing dropped to the floor and he gave a little scream at the spider that fell. It took him too long to note that it wasn't moving and that it was obviously a fake spider, but he was still terrified, with his heart hammering in his chest.

 

[Audrey Beauchamp]

Audrey cracked up laughing at the scream, wheezing as she entered the classroom - mostly to retrieve her spider. She had a jar of them, but didn't really want any to go to waste if she could help it. She could buy more, of course, but it was nicer to not lose things, even prank items. And she could spend that money on more single use pranks, like the glitterbombs. Make the most of her allowance. Audrey wiped her eye and gave the boy a cheeky grin. "Awesome! You, my good man, have provided me with extreeeeeemely valuable information." She practically drawled the words, mostly ignoring how terrified the boy looked. "Now all I need is a charm that can work on sense rather than me having to do it myself..." She scratched her chin, pursing her lips as she hummed thoughtfully. "Oh, and, are you okay and whatever."

 

[Gregory Friend]

Gregory was just about recovering from the fear as someone suddenly appeared. He glanced at the slightly younger girl, and took a small step back. he had no idea if this was a one time thing, or if she'd add insult to injury. He was ready to move, ready to run if he needed to, but the girl seemed almost apologetic about it, well..she was checking in so maybe not apologetic but something. "Yeah," he lied. His breathing wasn't settled, he had had quite the scare. He was still watching her warily. "I'm fine," he added, trying to add to appear totally fine.

 

[Audrey Beauchamp]

Audrey was, as ever, blissfully unbothered. She still let out a few stray giggles even as she seemed lost in thought, plotting and scheming things that were well beyond the abilities of a first year, even one as clever as she. "Like, can you imagine the look on people's faces if they go in to kiss at the yule ball and then bam, spider dropping from the mistletoe?" Audrey snorted with laughter, picturing it in her mind's eye. "It would be sooooo funny!" She looked at the boy again, tilting her head in confusion. "You aren't that scared of a little rubber spider, are you? Like, it's not like it was a bludger or anything."

 

[Gregory Friend]

Gregory wasn't sure he would find a fake spider dropping on a person's face when they were kissing at the yuleball all that funny. He wasn't sure why this girl did. He had never really gotten pranks, but he was currently the target of so many. "I'm sure it would be," he said, agreeing with her, believing firmly that sometimes it was easier and better to just agree to what was being said than explain why he disagreed. "I was just caught unawares," he was quick to explain not wanting her to make further fun of him just because of his reaction to something.

 

[Audrey Beauchamp]

The boy didn't seem especially enthused by pranks. Probably a Hufflepuff, they were boring and overly nice, in a sickening way that seemed rather...bland and fake. Like the kind of niceness you had to put on to talk to boring friends of your parents. "Like, maybe that's how the girl realizes the guy is tooootally not right for her and it saves everyone trouble, if you want to be nice about it." Mostly she just thought the reaction would be funny, though. "You need, like, an alarm charm or something. Like, something that can trigger a shield charm when someone gets behind you so you don't freak out and stuff." She glanced over at his work to be overly nosy and rude, making a bemused look. "And a training quill or just a pencil or something, sheesh. Maybe you need to know what you want to write before you try writing it?"

 

[Gregory Friend]

Gregory didn't think it was up to them to use pranks to help any relationship along, surely that people should make their own mistakes or something. "I guess," he replied, not quite agreeing, but not disagreeing either. Gregory didn't think an alarm charm or shield would go amiss, certain because sometimes he just didn't hear people approaching him. But she seemed to note his work and he blushed deeply. Reaching for it to hide it from her view. "I'm just practicing," he lied, "I'm not good at it, so these are practices, to get better," they weren't, they were his notes from class, ones where he was attempting to fill in gaps from what he hadn't heard, using the books and whatever else.