Different Angles

[Amber Chou Wilson]

After a year and a few weeks, Amber was really used to being a prefect. She loved it, as she enjoyed the extra responsibility and the opportunity to help others. Guiding the new first years to their dormitory at the start of the year was her favorite part of being a prefect, but there wasn't really anything she disliked about it. Not even late-night patrols. So far, she had never caught a student out of bed, which she was glad about. Though if she did, she was fairly confident she would be able to deal with them properly. Her two patrol partners for this year were as different as day and night, and also very different from herself. The two girls were both younger than her, and in different houses. Hayley she already knew, while Corrine was a new acquaintance for Amber. But even though Hayley was friends with Amber's girlfriend, Amber felt more comfortable around the other girl. Corrine, as far as she knew, had never kissed her girlfriend.

Ready to patrol at night, Amber was waiting for the other two girls to arrive on the first floor so they could work their way up the corridors on patrol. She had thought of some possible conversation topics beforehand, as she hated having to patrol in an awkward silence. The Hufflepuff was relentlessly optimistic, and convinced she would be able to befriend the two girls if she tried hard enough. And even if she couldn't, maybe she could help the two of them become friends. They were in the same year, after all. There was no reason they couldn't be.

 

[Hayley Elridge]

This whole thing was still bizarre to Hayley. She didn't mind being a prefect, not as long as she could use her position as a force for good, but it still baffled her why Professor Styx had chosen her. And so far her goal to stop bullying had met with little success, as she hadn't really come across any. Patrolling the corridors at night, though, was still one of the strangest things to her. The thought that wandering around at night, an activity which had always carried the thrill of the illicit, was now something she was supposed to do . . . she couldn't get used to it. And she didn't want to catch anyone out; the thought of having to punish someone for something she would do disturbed her deeply. She hoped they wouldn't find anything going on tonight.

And then there were her patrol partners. Hayley didn't know Corrine very well, but when she'd mentioned her to the girl gang they'd said she was a friend, so Hayley had high hopes that she might befriend her too. Amber, though . . . every encounter Hayley had ever had with Amber had been painfully awkward. And, of course, Amber was the one who was already waiting when Hayley climbed the stairs from the dungeons. "Hi Amber," she said, hiding her apprehension with cheerfulness, "how's it going?"

 

[Corrine Lagos]

Corrine had the furthest distance to travel to the meeting space the three prefect teens had set to begin their patrol of the castle. It was odd being outside of the Gryffindor common room after curfew, in an official capacity anyway. Her prefect badge gleamed in its place by her collar, but Corrine wasn't sure what to expect tonight. She didn't know if they'd just stroll up and down corridors to make sure they remained empty or if they were expected to seek out misbehavior. Corrine hoped it was the former, the thought of purposely going to look for students out of the corridors didn't sit particularly well with her. Corrine wasn't sure she could punish anyone even if they did find someone to punish. When she babysat over the break for some spending money, she been far more likely to threaten to tell someone's mother than to actually do it.

She also wondered if they'd actually talk during the patrol. Amber seemed nice. She'd been really friendly at the prefect meeting, and every time Corrine saw her in the great hall or throughout the castle, she just always seemed to be in a good mood. She was confident she'd get along with her this evening too, and Corrine found herself looking forward to getting to know Amber a bit more. Hayley was someone Corrine saw far more often during the course of a week, but she knew her very little. Hayley was friends with several of her roommates so she heard her name often enough and knew a few things about the Slytherin from that, but their interactions were limited to passing around papers in class and that one time Corrine had attended that revolution meeting. Rounding the corner from the last stairs she needed to go down, Corrine was relieved to see them both already there. "Hello" Corrine said quietly, a little formal in her manner as she stood and then gave the two a small wave.

 

[Amber Chou Wilson]

Amber waited for the girls while glancing at her watch. She knew she was a little early, so she didn't mind having to wait a bit. Amber was glad to be paired with two girls now, even if she had an awkward history with one of them. They were at least probably better company than Hayden had been last year, he hadn't been very friendly to her. It wasn't surprising Hayley arrived first, as she had the shortest walk out of all of them. The girl seemed cheerful, which Amber was glad about. She knew it was a little strange to be out after curfew, and she herself had been grumpy a few times because of how tired she was. But maybe Hayley was more of a night owl. "Hi Hayley, It's going well, thank you." She said politely, though it was a little awkward to be alone with the Slytherin. She knew she shouldn't dislike anyone just because they were Ainsley's friend, and she didn't actually dislike Hayley. But she didn't understand the girl, which made her uncomfortable.

She was relieved to see Corrine appear and smiled at her with a slight wave as sheapproached. "Hi Corrine, how's it going?" She glanced at Hayley and back at Corrine. "Are you guys ready? It's really not very difficult. We'll just do a few rounds of the corridors, keeping an eye out for any activity. If we're lucky, nothing happens. So far I haven't actually caught anyone out of bed. I think most students know better.." Amber couldn't help being glad for that. She wasn't the biggest fan of confrontation, though she would do what was right if it came down to it. "If we do find anyone we'll just tell them to go back to their dormitory and alert their Head of House in the morning." Between the three of them, they could take points of almost any student except a Ravenclaw, but Amber didn't think that was up to them. Professors were the one setting the rules, Prefects were just there to help enforce them in her opinion. It would feel strange to take points from a fellow student, though she supposed she would if it was really necessary. Maybe if they refused to go to the dormitory after being caught? But unless something like that happened, she would let the Head of House decide what punishment any student out of bed would get. "Do you guys have any questions?"

 

[Hayley Elridge]

Awkward tension hung in the air between Hayley and Amber, and a silence fell. Hayley didn't know what to say to her. They hadn't really talked apart from that one weird encounter, and they didn't really have anything in common apart from being close to Ainsley. Amber seemed like such a goody-good, with such high regard for the rules, and Hayley was nervous about attempting to be a prefect alongside her, even notwithstanding the discomfort of their earlier interactions. Hayley was relieved when Corrine arrived, and oddly comforted that the Gryffindor seemed as awkward and anxious as she was.

Hayley listened with much more than her usual attention to rules as Amber explained what they were going to do. She was glad it was simple, and glad it would probably be quiet. This was going to be weird, and continue to be weird, but at least she probably wouldn't have to do anything. "Okay, cool." She paused, trying to think of any questions she could ask. She didn't really have any, but she wanted to at least seem like she was paying attention. "Um, what if we find people doing rule-breaking more interesting than just being up after curfew?" Interesting was probably the wrong word to use in this particular situation, but Hayley couldn't think of a better one for what she meant right now.

 

[Corrine Lagos]

Corrine gave Hayley a small smile before turning her attention to Amber who was explaining what it was they would have to do. The Head students had explained a little bit, of course, but this was much more detailed, and Corrine marvelled at the fact that she had managed to elude trouble during her post curfew travels over the years. Corrine didnt think their task sounded incredibly difficult and she was a bit relieved to discover that Amber had never actually had to punish anyone. That was her biggest concern. Corrine wasnt popular as it was, and though she didnt particularly care about her popularity level, she also wasnt eager to do anything that would diminish it any more. Corrine preferred no attention to bad attention, that was for sure.

Shaking her head as Amber asked if they had any questions, Corrine was eager to simply get on with it. She listened politely as Hayley raised a question. She hadn't even thought about that once Amber mentioned never having caught anyone, but it was a valid question. "Interesting like kissing in the halls or interesting like trying to break into an office?" she asked, an amused expression on her face.

 

[Amber Chou Wilson]

Being the oldest of the three girls, Amber felt a little in charge of their little group. It was a strange feeling, especially since she didn't think someone like Hayley would actually listen to anything she had to say. But hopefully she could be a sort of guide for the two girls without being overbearing. Hayley's question made her frown a little, and Amber turned to her. "What do you mean with interesting?" She asked, a slight hint of annoyance in her voice. Corrine seemed to understand her meaning, but Amber felt like it was a strange choice of words. She glanced at the two girls and huffed out a slight breath. "Well, if with interesting you mean a more severe form of rule breaking. I'd say it depends on the situation. We could take some points if someone doesn't cooperate, but I still feel like the disciplining would mainly go to the head of house. Unless it's very bad, I don't think it's worth waking one of them up for it so I would still wait until the morning. Does that make sense?" She wanted to get going now, though she was a little irritated with Hayley's question. It rubbed her the wrong way, partly because she had the feeling Hayley was the sort of person she might have caught out of bed on another night, doing something she deemed 'interesting'. It felt strange that a prefect would be so curious about ways to break rules, when it was their job to prevent that sort of behavior. Amber took a deep breath and smoothed out the frown on her face. It really wasn't worth getting angry over, especially because she would have to work with these two girls for the rest of the year. It had been a valid question, even if the word choice wasn't one Amber would have used. "Perhaps we should start, I can explain anything else while we walk." She said, pushing down a yawn. Amber liked being a prefect, but she really wasn't a big night owl. The late night patrols took a toll on her, and she already wanted to be back in the dormitory to sleep.

 

[Hayley Elridge]

Hayley sniggered at Corrine's question, and at the expression on Amber's face. She hadn't expected tonight to be much fun, but if it was this easy to wind Amber up . . . then she probably shouldn't, for Ainsley's sake. Damnit. "Yes," she said to Corrine. "Both of those. Or something like them." Hayley hadn't actually done either of those things herself - Lizzie wasn't as much as a rebel as she was, so they hadn't yet had the occassion to kiss in the halls after curfew (before curfew, certainly), and breaking into offices had never really appealed to her. Too much effort for too little reward. Hayley's version of interesting ran more towards harmless shenanigans than actual crime, but the fact that Corrine had thought of that was intriguing, and Hayley filed it away for further consideration. She was glad that Corrine was taking her comment in the spirit it was intended, even if Amber wasn't. Hayley nodded. "Yeah, that makes sense." She wasn't sure how much taking points would even deter a determined rule-breaker, if that was all they could do - it had never been important to Hayley, but then, she had about the least house pride of anyone she knew. She nodded, stifling a yawn of her own. Amber doing so was infectious, and it had been quite a while since Hayley had gone on any nocturnal adventures. "Let's get going." Hayley fell into step slightly behind Amber, so the older girl could take the lead.

 

[Corrine Lagos]

Corrine bit her lip to hide her amusement. She'd never spent much time with Hayley so was happy to learn she had a sense of humor. That would certainly make this more fun. Amber, on the other hand, didn't seem to, or at least this wasn't the kind of thing she found funny. The Gryffindor looked between the two, for the first time realizing that maybe, just maybe, the two had more history than she knew about. Amber's tone was a tad unfriendly though she did answer the question. Corrine remained silent, happy when they began walking again, staying closer to Hayley than to Amber. When she thought Amber wasn't looking, she glanced at Hayley, her eyebrows raised to silently ask what that had been about. She was quite obviously missing something here. "So...um...do you guys like being prefects?" she asked, hoping to fill the silence. It was bad enough the halls were quite and the lanterns dimmed as the school settled in for the night, there was no need for them to add their silence to the eeriness. "It's kind of odd having other Gryffindors expecting me to know the answers to their questions" she mused. Corrine was the youngest child in her family, so she'd never had to deal with these kinds of expectations, being a role model to younger beings. That and she'd only just a year or two ago been breaking rules herself and now she was expected to uphold them. She certainly wasn't going to mention that, however. Not with Amber's earlier reaction. "Not that I'm not honored that Kingsley chose me" she quickly added, not wanting to seem ungrateful. "It's just a bit weird" she finished, figuring she'd put her foot in her mouth just enough.

Out of Character:

So sorry for the delay! I'll try to be better. Please feel free to yell at me next time I've left this too long!!

 

[Amber Chou Wilson]

If anyone but Hayley had made the comment, Amber's reaction would probably have been more mild. But she knew Hayley and her group of friends weren't afraid to make trouble, and she would hate for her to misuse her prefect's position and breaking rules. But she had just been asking, and Amber reminded herself not to jump to conclusions. She sighed softly. Amber nodded at Hayley and started to walk, taking the lead. She wondered if she should have apologized for her reaction, but then decided she had been in the right. Corrine's question was a welcome change of topic, and Amber nodded immediately. "I do. It's been very fun." She said honestly. "I like helping others, though I agree that it took some getting used to, answering questions. But it's really very rewarding when you can help another student out." To Amber, who liked to meet and exceed expectations, the badge had represented how well she had been doing at school, how her teachers appreciated her. That had been why she was so happy to get it, because it felt like she had been doing everything right. She knew not everyone cared so much about doing the expected thing, and she also knew there were other ways of succeeding, but she was still proud of herself. She wondered if Sophie would get a badge next year, though she somehow doubted it. Not because her sister wasn't smart or good, but because she didn't care about authority the way Amber did. She smiled when Corrine hurried to add she was honored to be chosen. "It's really nice to be appreciated like that, isn't it? But it also puts some pressure on you. Do you get along with the other prefects in your house? That can help a lot." Amber hadn't talked much to Anthony over the years, but she knew she could rely on Eleanor if she needed any help. "You'll get used to it, though. Especially when there's new prefects next year."

 

[Hayley Elridge]

Hayley didn't miss Corrine's curious glances, but she wasn't prepared to act on them here and now - or maybe ever. She thought it was fairly common knowledge in their year that she and the rest of the girl gang had something of a reputation for breaking the rules. Beyond that, she wasn't prepared to discuss why things were complicated between her and Amber with someone she barely knew - especially while Amber was present. Hayley was relieved when Corrine changed the subject, and she was interested to hear Amber's answer. "Huh, I haven't actually had anyone ask me questions yet - except when we were showing the first years to the common room first night back." That had been a bizarre night, when Hayley was still shocked and confused about becoming a prefect, enough so that she'd opened up to Odette, of all people. "Honestly, I can't fathom why Styx chose me. And I'm not brave enough to ask him." Hayley did think of herself as brave - she would have liked more than anything to be a Gryffindor - but maybe foolhardy was the better word to descibe asking Professor Styx a question. "But as long as I can use my powers for good, I think I'm okay with not understanding." She listened to Amber's advice; anything an older, more experienced prefect could help with was definitely useful, but she didn't really think this particular statement applied to her. Hayley had spent most of her time at Hogwarts avoiding other Slytherins, as far too many of them were awful, prejudiced people. She'd talked to a prefect exactly once, back in first year, and that hadn't exactly gone well. Now . . . she wasn't sure she even knew the other prefect in her year.

 

[Corrine Lagos]

Corrine walked along, content to listen to the other girls speak about their experiences of being prefects. So far, she hadn't helped many people. The younger students seemed to gravitate towards the older students or the Head boy and girl, both of whom happened to be in her house. They were both friendly, so it made sense but it meant less work for her. Which she supposed was a good thing this year. With OWLs happening at the end of the year, she knew that she would need peace and quiet. "The other prefects are nice" she replied wanting to join the conversation in some capacity. They were, she was sure, even though she hadn't really spoken to any of them aside from her fellow fifth year prefect. "I can't imagine Professor Styx being exactly forthcoming about his decision. He'd probably be all 'Hayley...how dare you question me? Your badge. Now' " she mimicked the man, making her voice as deep as she could as she held a hand out for Hayley's badge.

 

[Amber Chou Wilson]

Amber was glad the topic had moved away from troublemaking and onto a more productive topic of conversation, the fun part of being a prefect. Amber loved helping younger students, though she also wasn’t entirely surprised when Hayley mentioned no one had really asked her questions yet. The girl had a rough manner that was probably kind of intimidating to young students, not to mention a reputation. But there was also the fact that she was the youngest of the prefects in her house, and that was what Amber decided to bring up. “Well, they probably tend to think the older students know a bit more, so they will go to those for the most part at first.” She said with a slight nod. “I’ve noticed a lot more students approaching me, even though I’m sure the fifth year Hufflepuff prefects are also very capable.” She didn’t know either of them very well, but they had seemed nice. “In a year, students will also be more used to you as a prefect. I’m sure you’ll be able to help many people in your house.” She smiled at Corrine as she mentioned the other prefects were nice. Evelyn was in the same house as Corrine, and Amber knew her to be very nice. When Hayley questioned why Styx had chosen her, Amber wasn’t sure what to say. It felt mean to agree, to say it was kind of unexpected and maybe even a bit strange. But it was also weird that Hayley was questioning it at all. Amber hadn’t really questioned her position when she got it, she had just been happy about it. There had been a time last year when she had thought November was angry with her for getting the position which had made her worry a bit, but that was all solved now. She was thinking of what to say to Hayley when Corrine made a joke, mimicking Styx’ voice. Amber couldn’t help herself, she giggled. Quickly, she covered her mouth and tried to recover. “I probably wouldn’t ask him either.” She said after a moment, amusement still clear in her voice. “He scared me a lot during my first few years,” she added, though she glanced around as if he could pop up any moment and get angry they were talking about him. “What is he like as a head of house?” Amber really liked Professor Pratt, and she felt lucky to be in Hufflepuff.

 

[Hayley Elridge]

Hayley nodded at Amber's comment; it made sense to go to the older prefects, who knew what they were doing, rather than the younger ones who - as far as Hayley could tell, at least - didn't. And by the look on Amber's face, she was also thinking what had already occurred to Hayley: that she wasn't exactly anyone's first choice for a prefect, including her own. Hayley didn't much care about that, and she certainly wasn't going to change who she was because of a badge . . . but as they had this conversation, she was increasingly starting to think that the side of being a prefect that was about helping people wouldn't be so bad. After all, that was where she was coming from with the revolution: she wanted to change the world so that it was better for people like her, and for anyone else marginalised and bullied by the status quo. "I hope so," she said, and was vaguely surprised to find that she meant it. "Seems to me the best part of being a prefect should be helping people. Being able to do something about bullies, and help people who need it." If her first exposure to pureblood prejudice had been an explanation from a sympathetic prefect, rather than insults from that ass Lycus, maybe things would have been different. Hayley giggled at Corrine's Styx imitation, and realised suddenly it was the first time she'd laughed along with Amber. Maybe they'd found something they could agree on, even if it was only Professor Styx's impenetrability. "I actually made a sketch imagining his expression if I asked him about it," she said. It was still weird to Hayley that that had been Odette's idea, of all people, but hey, it was hilarious. "He's . . . intimidating," Hayley admitted. "I haven't actually had much to do with him - I think most Slytherins avoid him unless they have to - but I got called to his study one time . . . not for anything bad, surprisingly, but that was . . . pretty weird. You can never tell what he's thinking."

 

[Corrine Lagos]

Corrine was happy to walk and listen, and she was grateful that Amber wasn't one of those older students who thought she was above talking to younger students. It was nice to be talking about something other than OWL exams, and she was enjoying getting to know her patrol partners a bit more. Corrine remained silent, finding what Amber said pretty logical sound, and with as busy as she was,she was perfectly fine with the older prefects doing more work. She was pretty pleased when they both laughed at her imitation of the Slytherin Head of House. "I think most students avoid him unless they have to" she corrected quietly. She sure did, though she also avoided her own Head of House. Professor Kingsley reminded her too much of her mom, so she was always partially afraid of doing something to disappoint her, especially now that she was a prefect. "So do prefects do anything fun together, or is it just boring meetings?" she asked, hoping the prefect lounge was used for parties. She wanted to get to know more students.

 

[Amber Chou Wilson]

Hayley answered her question and Amber nodded but didn’t ask more. He did seem like a very mysterious person, and she wondered if the other professors liked spending time with him. Somehow, it was hard for her to imagine him hanging out with the other professor’s, though she didn’t voice these thoughts. Instead, she focused on Corrine’s next question. Her brow furrowed slightly when she called the meetings boring, but she also didn’t say anything to the contrary. They weren’t the most exciting thing, sure. But that didn’t mean they weren’t important. “There’s just the meetings.” She said, though she was now pondering this. “But perhaps we could ask Professor Alicastell if we can organize some sort of fun event for the prefects next year? I think that’s a really good idea.” She gave Corrine a bright smile, thinking this through now. “I’ll try my best to remember so we can ask, okay?” It really would be nice to get to know the other prefects better in a less formal setting. Patrols were nice, but they were only with a select group of people. Corrine had stumbled upon a brilliant idea, and Amber was eager to see if there were possibilities for this.