Curiouser and Curiouser

[Damide Snow]

Damide had never skipped lunch in order to fill in his school map before, but he'd reached the fourth floor and Hufflepuff House was supposedly nearby. The less students around to witness his snooping, the better, so he metaphorically girded his loins and darted through passageways in a slippery shortcut to the corridor. It was a long time before students stopped coming and going, and from his hiding spot behind a suit of armour, he couldn't quite tell which painting they were traveling in and out of. Eventually there was a lull, and Damide snuck forward with careful steps till he stood in front of a rather pretty oil painting of a piebald pony.

He and the pony stared at each other for a long moment whilst the Ravenclaw worked out what he ought to say to begin this little transaction. Of course he had to map the Hufflepuff Common Room, and how else was he to do that without getting inside? Perhaps Hufflepuffs were allowed to invite other houses into their dorms, but perhaps not, and anyway who would he ask? No way was he going to just sidled on up to a student and ask for a look-in; that would be suspect as hell.

"So ... do I need to give you a password, or something?" said the first year eventually. The pony simply snuffed at him and nibbled on a patch of delicately painted clover. "Am I even at the right painting?" Well, sh!t.​

 

[Soren Sedridor]

Not one to often eat lunch with the other students, Søren ate his midday meal alone, quietly munching away in a far corner of the library whilst flicking through the pages of an Arithmancy textbook. He had taken the subject solely based off of the fact that it didn't require a wand, and it gave him some small chance of being useful in the world once he graduated. His father pressured him enough as it was, but no matter how hard he tried, it wasn't enough. With electives being available this year however, he had hoped to be able to find something he was capable of doing. Unfortunately, the book contained a great deal of English words he couldn't understand, as much as he attempted to comprehend them, or find something similar. Few knew he came from Denmark, with English only being his second language. Normally he could follow a conversation fine, not one for really holding one himself, and read with only a few unfamiliar phrases, but this book might as well have been written in Mermish for all it was worth. If that wasn't frustrating enough, the vast use of numbers scrambled his head. It reached the point where he gave up and finished his food, before leaving the book behind him, along with his hopes of ever actually achieving a wizarding career.

With no classes for the next hour, Søren decided it was best to return to his Common Room rather than wander the castle and risk an encounter with the other students who didn't particularly like him. Having spent the past three years of his school life learning to avoid people, the Hufflepuff boy shifted aside one of the portraits outside the Library, revealing a large, rectangular hole behind a painting of a maiden atop a tower. She brushed her hair with slow, delicate strokes, while gazing longingly from the open window at a prince two paintings down the hallway. She never seemed to mind when the boy moved her aside, of which he was glad. When trying to avoid attention, it didn't help when they made a commotion. Creeping inside, Søren rotated her shut behind him once more, before continuing down the dimly lit passageway. His house was on the same floor as the library he had just exited, but a shortcut was a shortcut and he preferred to use them as often as possible. Rarely ever did he see another student in the passages. He turned a corner and reached the end, small rays of light trickling from the corners of the portrait that hid him. He reached out and pushed the portrait open, allowing it to swing free from the wall. Instead of the empty corridor he had expected, a boy stood on the other side, seemingly speaking to the painting he had just moved. Sedridor froze. "O-Oh." Was all he managed to stutter out, before attempting to slowly pull the painting closed again. Why was it so difficult to avoid interacting with other people? He missed being homeschooled. There was only one person to fear there, but it was better than fearing hundreds.
​

 

[Damide Snow]

The pony was being maddeningly unhelpful, but what happened next was a lot more enlightening. Damide jumped back when the portrait he'd been admonishing swung towards him, revealing a very flustered looking older boy wearing Hufflepuff colours. Success!
"Hold up, hold up!" cried the first year, jamming his upper body into the gap before the 'Puff could draw it closed. He looked around wildly, expecting plush chairs and a crackling fireplace, but all there was was stone walls and a long, dimly lit corridor. Another passageway? He tried not to be disappointed, since it was another shortcut that he could mark on his map, but he'd really wanted to see the Common Room. Time for Plan B.

Discreetly nipping off the Ravenclaw badge on his robe pocket, Damide affixed a lost and plaintive look on his face as he looked up at the taller student.
"Sorry for startling you," he said tremulously. "Can you take me to the Hufflepuff Common Room? I'm always lost." Well, saying he was always lost was a bit of a fib- Damide was never lost- but perhaps he'd be forgiven in pursuit of geographical exploration.​

 

[Soren Sedridor]

Søren swallowed his discomfort as the young boy forced himself through the portrait hole, a small part of him wishing he had of simply slammed it shut faster and took an alternate route, but it was too late now. Besides, he wasn't the type of person to do anything too quickly, or rushed. He took his time with everything he did, as fast movements more likely to attract attention. Walking, writing, even reading was done at a lengthy pace, which only helped in putting him behind his classmates, but he couldn't help it. The unease of being noticed felt worse than failing classes he already knew he couldn't excel in anyway.

The Hufflepuff stood in awkward silence as the first year glanced around the corridor, as if expecting another room entirely. Before he could attempt to slide past and climb out into the corridor, the boy addressed him and his stomach sank, knowing he wasn't going to be able to respond. Gå væk, He thought, stopping himself before he had even began to start trying to move aside. There was a hint of suspicion in Sedridors eyes as he glanced back at the boy, which generally he held for most people anyway, feeling as if everyone had an ulterior motive, but it was well into the second term of the year. It was a little strange that a first year still had problems finding his common room, as they returned there every single night, and as little attention as he payed other students, he'd never seen this one in the Hufflepuff Common Room before. On top of that, he lacked a crest on his robes of any kind. Still, he wasn't about to, and couldn't if he'd wanted to, question him, so instead gave the smallest shrug of his shoulders and gestured for the boy to lead the way back out of the portrait, with hardly enough space for them both to stand inside.
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[Damide Snow]

His rubbish acting didn't seem to be going down very well, but to his delight and with some trepidation, the Hufflepuff boy began to lead him to the Badger's house common room. Damide hopped out to let Søren through and decided not to chatter on the way in case he gave the game away. The Ravenclaw was a truly appalling liar, which was fortunate for his parents and teachers but not for just about everyone else.

Damide's eyes were quick enough to record their path as they went and he did so, knowing he wouldn't get a chance to mark it down until the Hufflepuff boy was gone. He noted from his school tie that Søren was a third year, which gave him cause for concern. Older students didn't tend to be as gullible as first years, and something told him that the 'Puff was just humouring him. He'd almost introduced himself before his brain caught up and reminded him that it was a terrible idea to give your name to someone who could easily dob on you; having said that, the 'Puff wasn't saying much of anything at all.

They seemed to be approaching an influx of students before Damide stopped in the middle of the corridor, his facial expression a mixture of delight and horror. "Desi?"​

 

[Desideratus Lesley]

Desideratus grinned brightly as he heard his nick name. Honestly, it really wasn't used all that much - considering his best friend was a mute and every other time someone called out to him it was because he had done something and they would go for his considerably long name. So, the Gryffindor looked around immediately for his cousin-brother-friend-nephew-uncle, and it didn't take him too long to find him. He was disappointed at Damide being a Ravenclaw - it really made them hanging out a bit of an issue, but they did have all of the holidays to hang out as much as possible.

"Damide! Hi!" He rushed up to the familiar, younger boy and gave him a hug, before he caught sight of an equally welcomed face. "Hey Soren! It's Damide!" He shook the Ravenclaw a little. "I told you about him - oh, Dami, this is my best friend Soren. He's great, you'd totally like him. He's a bit quiet, but don't worry, he's really good at listening." Which, really, was all Desideratus needed in a friend. It was then time to give Soren the down-low on Damide. "Soren, wave hello to Damide. He's probably up to something, but don't worry, his a bundle of laughs." He then finally released the poor boy, and ruffled his hair. "What're you guys doing, anyway? Have you already met? Soren - why didn't you tell me?!"
​

 

[Soren Sedridor]

Søren walked in silence toward his common room, avoiding eye contact or any open indication for further conversation with the boy trailing along with him. Even as the youth finally spoke up, the Hufflepuff didn't stop until a second voice cut through corridor. He paused mid step, slowly lowering his foot to the ground as Desideratus approached and - to Søren's surprise - embraced his smaller companion. He frowned, a little unsure of how to react. Of course Desideratus had other friends but for some reason it made him feel a little downhearted seeing him hug someone else, someone who was a complete stranger to Søren, instead of him. He'd never actually met anyone else the Gryffindor was friends with. Usually the two spent time with only each other due to Søren's social ineptability, so the current situation was both new and uncomfortable. The crestfallen expression did not remain on his face for too long, he was quick to wipe it away and replace it with a smile as Des acknowledged his presence, too.

The more Des spoke, the more Søren understood who the younger boy was. He'd heard about Damide on multiple occasions before, and their confusing cousin-uncle-nephew-brother-but-sort-of-not-really relationship. All he could really recall was that Damide's dad was the only one who's name didn't start with a 'd'. Complying, Søren raised his hand in a small wave toward Damide, their first proper introduction despite being together for the minute or so. The wave turned into a hand gesture of so-so as he was questioned as to whether they'd already met. He couldn't really explain it, but at least Damide could voice what they were doing and where they were going instead.
​

 

[Damide Snow]

Damide couldn't see for a few seconds after he was enveloped in a hug, and when he finally thought to return it, it was taken away. He could tell it wouldn't matter though, because Desideratus was already on a roll. He stood in silent bemusement as his brother (forget all that other cousin-brother-mate crap that Desi liked to complicate things with) introduced him to the Hufflepuff boy, and then in growing horror as his 'cover' was blown. The Ravenclaw gave a supremely guilty look to Søren, but he didn't appear to have taken any notice, just gave him a wave which Damide returned shyly.

The longer he stood through Desi's tirade, the more confused he was at the pair's supposed friendship. His Gryffindor brother was the loudest person he'd ever met, and so far it looked like Søren wouldn't say boo to a goose. Desi told him he was good at listening and that cleared up a lot for Dami. He himself was adventurous like Des but quiet like Søren, which made for a decent friendship when his brother wasn't derping up his exploration plans. He could not be quiet when the situation required it. Damide endured the shaking and the hair ruffling good-naturedly and offered the Hufflepuff student a small smile.

"Søren was being kind enough to take me to Hufflepuff house." Dami dug his elbow into Desi's side a little so as to not give the game away. Fat chance - Des would out him as a Ravenclaw in seconds, but it was worth a try. "How'd you two become friends, then?" He had to ask. Damn, they were a curious pair.​

 

[Desideratus Lesley]

Soren was silent as always - and that was quite alright to the Gryffindor. Nothing out of the normal. His head tilted slightly, however, when Damide managed to get a word in. He couldn't fathom why he needed to know where the Hufflepuff Common Room was, being a Ravenclaw and all - and who wanted to go there anyway? Boooooring. He said as much to him - inadvertently throwing his brother's plan out the window, and rubbing where he had been elbowed - still completely oblivious to the Ravenclaw's foiled plans. But there were more interesting things to talk about, and he beamed at Soren in anticipation. It was the best story. "I ran into Soren when he was taking a letter, and then I tripped down the stairs and he helped me get patched up. Didn't ya, Soren?" Naturally, he didn't bother waiting for a response, and rubbed his arm affectionately in acknowledgement. "And then we started hanging out - Soren keeps me out of trouble." Which was amazing really, considering he tried to get into a lot of trouble, often taking Soren along for the ride.

"Oh!" There was barely a beat before Desideratus was thinking of a new thing for them to do - standing around in the corridors wasn't his idea of productive, or fun. "We should totally go check out the grounds - it's so nice and sunny outside. We can hang out together, and get some air. Come on!" He had both in hand, and no qualms in dragging both away without another word - they could all talk together at the lawns.
​

 

[Damide Snow]

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~ FINIS ~​

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