Ghost Busting

[Minerva Khulik]

Minerva Khulik wanted a well earned and completely deserving break from her studies and assignments, she was up to date with everything and had decided on a whim which was so unlike her that she would go exploring the school. She had no idea where her friends Norton or Elly was otherwise she would have asked them to join her but figured as she moved from her house out into the corridor and down the stair case, that doing a bit of exploring on her own couldn't hurt.

She moved along the third corridor looking at various portraits before deciding she'd had enough and stepped on to the staircase again and made her way to the second floor. The pictures that hung on this floor were a bit more interesting and not all just of grumpy looking old men or sinister women. One had a small gathering of people around a table all pointing and looking at some kind of map unfolded upon it. Minerva tried to focus on the map to see what it was about until one of the men indignantly folded it up and told her not to be so nosy!

"Sorry" she muttered before turning away and as she did so she could have sworn she had seen the door just ahead of her closing. Was there a classroom around here? She hadn't thought there was, in fact she was certain one of the older students at the dinner table had said that the head of houses office was on this floor and the prefects room too but she really didn't think she had mentioned anything about a classroom. Minerva thought she'd mention it at the table that evening that the corridor also contained a rather pompous picture too and moved along down the corridor until she came to stand outside of the classroom.

There was a faded sign upon the door but she couldn't make out the lettering on it, she wasn't naturally curious so turned as if she would move on but suddenly a loud sound came from behind the door and Minerva turned her head to look. Glancing then up and down the corridor she wondered if she should open the door when another loud noise came from within. It was so loud that Minerva jumped back in fright, staring at the closed door as if she was still unsure to enter or leave it be!

 

[Alistair Lancaster]

Alistair was not enjoying his time at Hogwarts thus far, and as it was turning out, the second semester was already looking bleaker than his first. He was struggling with Transfiguration, and the actions of a few students within his house led to Professor Styx punishing them as a whole, a judgement the Lancaster boy definitely did not agree with. He'd personally done nothing wrong so far, but an old man like Styx was someone too stuck in their ways to see any sense, so there was no point even trying to argue the injustice with him. It wasn't fair. Why should he be punished for other people's wrong-doings? He still held hopes it was a decision he could personally bypass, as the Headmistress' nephew, but his aunt was always too busy to find the time to discuss it with him. It seemed like everyone was too busy to talk to him nowadays. As much as he didn't want to think about it, he couldn't help but feel that they all hated him now, whether they said so or not. His parents had made it clear how they felt, Verity wasn't writing much, Fenris and Lythande hadn't said anything at all since he moved away, and now maybe Katherine, too, believed he was just a freak of nature. He didn't know anymore.

Walking glumly along the second floor, his feet scuffing the stone floor with each step he took, feeling barely motivated to pick up his feet, the boy stopped at the sound of someone sobbing from behind one of the doors lining the corridor. Part of him said to just continue moving along, but he couldn't resist the urge to take the slightest look inside. Pushing on the door, it opened with an audible, and almost eerie creak, and he immediately stopped in case he drew too much attention. However, the small gap he'd allowed to open showed that at least half of the room was empty, and the sobbing appeared to have stopped. A sudden gust of wind pulled the door open the rest of the way, revealing that the remainder of the room, too, was devoid of anyone. A window on the far side of the room was wide open, its curtains slowly fluttering in the breeze, but he was on the second floor, surely a student hadn't left through there, unless they'd had a broom. Could it have been a ghost? He wasn't sure, anything was possible in the castle, and he imagined he'd be upset over being dead himself, so it didn't seem out of place.

The Slytherin was about to move on when a splash of red caught his eye, the only bright colour in an otherwise grey room. Upon closer inspection, he realised it was a bouquet of roses, carelessly tossed to the floor and surrounded by an array of loose petals. Valentines was around the corner, and Alistair had seen people delivering roses. Perhaps this had been the source of someone - or somethings grief? Why else would it be thrown to the ground? Cautiously, he stepped into the room and closed the door behind him, looking left and right in case someone was hidden behind the dusty old furniture. Figuring he was alone now, he walked up to the bouquet and lifted it from the ground, turning it in his hand until he found a letter tied to its stem, with what looked like a piece of folded parchment hastily stuffed back inside. Unable to help himself, the boy pulled it out and unfolded the paper, an act that immediately left him covered in a sudden spray of green slime. He yelled in surprise, hastily wiping the mess from his eyes with his cloak and blinking until his vision cleared. Being able to see again showed him what had been written on the trapped note, and he realised he should have known better.

Happy Valentines,
Vex ♥

How could he have been so stupid? It was so obviously a trap, and he'd fallen right for it. That poltergeist was an absolute pest. Sighing, Alistair turned to leave and get himself cleaned up, only to slip with another yell on the puddle of slime at his feet, barely managing to catch himself on a dusty table. Alistair took in a deep, shaking breath, unable to believe his poor luck. As if he could have felt even more downhearted than he already was. The Slytherin wanted to get that mean spirit back for his shenanigans, but there was no telling where Vex had gotten off to now. Feeling defeated, he treaded carefully back to the door he'd entered, pulling it open and almost shouting a third time as soon as he did so, not expecting someone to be standing directly on the other side. Bringing his knuckles up to his mouth to stifle his surprise, the boy let in another calming breath before dropping his hand back down to his side. "Merlin's beard. Hey."
​

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[Minerva Khulik]

No other thought ran through her head except 'run' yet her feet would not move, what had they called this in one of the muggle books she had read ... flight, fight or freeze. She knew she wanted to do the flight part, wanted to take herself right out of harms way, out of any danger that might come through that door at any moment, but it seemed that the 'freeze' aspect was more in control and not letting her do anything but stand and be a target for whatever was in there. Yet ... Minerva didn't think she had a cowardly bone in her body, she did things logically. She thought logically, she behaved logically.

So fleeing for her own safety was simply ludicrous because all she had heard had been a loud noise, no correction ... two loud noises and one of which had startled her - but that was not enough to make her do something so cowardly as run for her life! Freezing wasn't necessarily what she was doing either, she was ... deciding and that was all she was doing between the logical necessity for entering the room and the one for ...not! What if someone was hurt? What if someone had hurt themselves so bad that they couldn't make it to the door? Minerva's mind was suddenly made up, it was better to have the facts than to stand here guessing. Her hand moved upward and she took a step forward to the door when suddenly it opened.

She didn't jump back this time but instinct and reflexes she had no idea she had, suddenly had her gripping her wand from her pocket and pointing it at whatever stood in the opened doorway. Minerva stared, then frowned, then stared some more all in the space of milliseconds before her wand slowly lowered. He looked familiar, he really did but he was all covered in gunk or some kind of thick gooey potion. She had to bite her lower lip to stop her entire features from wincing at the slight stench that seemed to emanate from the slime that was non too pleasantly oozing down over the boy. It was green but smelled like roses.

"Uhm ... hey" she said finally when it dawned on her in the same moment just who this was. He was a first year just like her but he was also the boy from the lake, the mer-peoples friend! The one who so comfortably could sit and splash them without a second thought.

"What happened to you?" before she could say anything else or do anything else, hysterical laughtered bubbled up from behind them and not one but several ghosts seemed to be hovering in the background. Minerva stared at them in disgust when a sound further along the corridor made her react without a second's hesitation. She pushed her way into the room and nudged around until she closed the door behind her. Leaning against it she pressed her ear to the door and motioned for ... Merlin's beard what was his name! Alac .. Alex... no it definitely wasn't Alex ... Altar ... Alistair. She sighed with relief that she had remembered it and then continued to motion to him to be quiet, this was after all the corridor with the head offices and prefects common room. What if they weren't allowed to be here?!

When she looked again, the ghosts had all managed to disappear and she could see the remnants of roses and more slime on the floor as she looked to Alistair.

"I thought I heard one of the ... you know authority figures about. Are we even allowed down this corridor?" if she got into trouble for this she would never forgive herself! She couldn't help in that moment leaning visibly away from the Slytherin boy and his slime.

 

[Alistair Lancaster]

If being coated in poltergeist slime, or ectoplasm, whatever it was Vex carried around to drop on unsuspecting students as if they were all participants of a Nickelodeon game show, wasn't bad enough on it's own, Alistair now had a seemingly trigger-happy Hufflepuff pointing a wand at his chest. "Please don't cast." The Slytherin breathed, eyes wide in shock. His hands immediately went up into the air to show that he was completely unarmed and extremely vulnerable. The last thing he needed now was a stunning spell taking him out, though perhaps it was better than the humiliation of walking all the way to the closest bathroom covered head to toe in viscous green whatever, and being laughed at by everyone on the way.

A sigh of relief escaped Alistair as the girl lowered her wand, thankful to have avoided a worse situation than the one he was already in. He must have surprised her just as much as she did he, though his first instinct was to freeze than pull out his wand. "Poltergeist. I uh, fell for one of his traps when I-oh okay" Was about as much of a response as the boy could get out before he was pushed back in the way he came, reluctantly stumbling back inside while Minerva closed the door behind them. He opened his mouth to question her, or protest being stuck in this dreadful room, he still hadn't decided which, until she frantically motioned for him to be quiet. Alistair immediately clamped both hands over his mouth, unsure of why she didn't want him to make a noise but unwilling to ask until the apparent "danger" had passed. Was she being followed by people? Had she witnessed something she shouldn't have? Had she attacked someone and was now on the run? After all, she had been quick to pull out her wand on him, so maybe she was the aggressor. Was he a hostage? Should he call out? His mind was in imagination overdrive at the endless possibilities, all without any explanation while they sat in silence and listened.

Finally, Minerva checked the corridor and broke the silence, talking about authority figures in a way that only fueled his agitated thoughts. Hiding from authority figures. That was worse than simply being on the run from other students. What had she done? "Yth?" Al said after a moment, before realising he could lower his hands from his mouth. He tried again. "Yes? ...No? I thought so but now I don't know anymore." Surely he'd been on this floor before without questions asked, or seen other students walking through it. What if they were all older and were allowed to, but first years weren't? Were there even any subjects on this floor? Katherine's office was along the corridor, so surely it was okay for them to walk through it. Finally, he couldn't help but try to put his mind at ease, so he had to ask. "Is that the real reason for closing us in here? You didn't do something? You aren't on the run?"
​

 

[Minerva Khulik]

She felt serious relief that it was only the boy and nothing worse but his own words had given her momentary cause for alarm. Would she have been able to cast a spell at him if he had been something sinister and dangerous? What would she have used a transfiguration spell? Try to change him into a box of sorts but she had never done anything big and not any thing animate into inanimate though she had certainly mastered the inanimate into inanimate and was moving her way up to bigger and heavier items all the time . What would she have done? A light and dark spell would have been completely ineffective, a levitating spell perhaps but she thought a banishing spell would really have been her only chance. Why didn't they teach them things that mattered here? Or would she be learning that sort of thing in her Defense Against the Dark Magic lessons?

She had listened to Alistair explain about the poltergeist and a trap but was unable to say anything in reply before she had been trying to get herself into the room. It was only when she knew the door was firmly closed and she could no longer hear voices that she exhaled and looked at the boy once again.

"I don't know the castle at all, this was my first real day of trying to explore it so I really don't know where I am meant to go and not meant to go" and Minerva if she could help it, did not break rules, that was a firm no-no in her book but this corridor she was absolutely unsure about and she would rather not get caught and lose house points until she was sure.

She moved a little further into the room to inspect the damage done by the poltergeist and was about to kneel down to check the consistency of the slime which she was highly impressed by when the boy said the weirdest thing. Glancing upwards at him she had a slight frown to her features.

"What other reason would there be?" she held up a hand and began to bend each finger down as she spoke, "One ...I did nothing wrong, I rarely do. It is not in my nature. Two ... how could a student be on the run in their own school? What would I be on the run from? So your answer to that question is also no, I am not on the run. I am in good standing with all my professors, there are no bullies as yet attempting to thwart my clean record here at Hogwarts. Three ... what other possible reason could there be for shutting us in? I did not consider the implications of us being alone together in this room, so the possibility that I closed us in here to be alone with you is also an incorrect one. Fourthly ... there was a sound upon the corridor, I genuinely did not want to get into trouble and have house points removed which is why I moved us further in and which I am sorry about. I should have given you the option to leave first" she paused trying to think of a fifth as she looked at the thumb still standing erect on her hand and then smiled looking back at the ooze and to Alistair still fairly covered in the stuff, "Fifthly ... we should perhaps leave our own trap or surprise for this poltergeist ... notice in all of that I did not ask you what you were doing in here all on your own with a poltergeist by the way. I do not need to know either, that is your own business but you do keep the strangest company!" she was of course referring to the fact that their first meeting had been with merpeople and now it was because of a poltergeist. Did this boy have any human acquaintances?

 

[Alistair Lancaster]

While Minerva questioned what he thought may have been the reason for her shutting them in the abandoned room, Alistair suddenly felt stupid for overreacting about it, realising how dumb his theories would have sounded out loud now that he'd gotten the chance to calm down. Instead he listened quietly, eyes on the girl's hand as she counted off all of her explanations and reasoning, though he wasn't sure he agreed with all of them. After all, it was a large school of magic, with lots of aggressive teenagers, a subject housing magical and intelligent creatures, and a dark, dangerous forest full of who knew what. It wasn't too far fetched to believe a student could be on the run, even in the castle. There were lots of places to hide, portrait holes, hidden corridors, secret rooms. The list was endless.

"That's okay." The boy responded upon hearing her apologise for not giving him the option to leave. Even if she had, he likely would have stayed, if only because he was worried about what might have been in the corridor after seeing her panic without explanation. Minerva was definitely an unusual person, there was something about the way she spoke that he found different from other people, more in depth and analytical. Thinking she'd finished, he opened his mouth to continue, but quickly shut it once more at her fifth statement, one he definitely agreed with, though he had no idea how to go about getting Vex back. Her comment on the company he kept, too, was one he hadn't considered before. It certainly seemed that he was more often than not surrounded by the more peculiar individuals of Hogwarts and its grounds. "Hah, yeah...it seems that way. I guess I'm still trying to figure out where I fit in." He admitted, not knowing what else to really say about it. It was a fact he'd have to give more thought to now that he was aware of it.

Moving on, Alistair wracked his brain for ideas on how to trap the poltergeist in return. He had no idea of what extent the spirits abilities reached. He knew it could fly, and become invisible at will, and physically interact with objects, unlike ghosts, yet he'd never seen anyone retaliate to its antics before. "Do you think its possible to lay out a trap for him? He's the master of pranking, he knows all the tricks." Alistair muttered hopelessly, unsure of how they could possibly pull it off. He scratched his head, thinking. "Then again, I don't think anyone's tried before, so he might not be expecting anything. Do you know if spells work against poltergeists? I can only think of the trip jinx, or the leg locking spell, but neither of those would work on him since he can fly around..." Stunning the being wasn't exactly prank material, and Alistair wasn't so sure as to whether or not doing so against the spirit was breaking the rules.
​

 

[Minerva Khulik]

There was something about how he said that he was still trying to figure out where he fit in that touched Minerva, she had been trying to do that very thing since she got here and if she hadn't found Norton or Elly, she would probably still be considering the real possibility of not bothering to return for the next year ... but she had found them and they had changed everything here for her. Perhaps she could do the same for Alistair, help him fit in so that he wasn't just hanging out with magical beings and being pranked on by the local poltergeist! She said nothing however other than give him a smile which was her attempt at empathising with him.

She began to pace back and forth, attempting to remember all that she had read about poltergeists and to see if any of that might be of use to them.

"Alright ... what do we know?" she asked, hoping that he could throw in some information of his own that might fill in some blanks of her own. She had to admit when he suggested spells such as the trip jinx or the leg locking spell, she was very impressed. Did he know those already? She had read about them sure but they hadn't even done a single hex or jinx yet in defense against the dark arts so she really didn't want to practice any of that kind of magic before doing so in class.

"Well ... we know poltergeists are non-human spiritous apparitions or amortal for a better word. They're completely indestructible spirits of chaos and this one is most likely here because of all the teenagers. He probably gets extremely bored during the holidays so becomes ever more mischievous during school term" she continued pacing, stopping again at the bunch of roses, "shame about those, they are beautiful ..." she shook her head slightly to bring her train of thought into focus, "they're not completely solid but they are enough to move objects and if they can move objects then spells can work on them. I would imagine ... I'm almost certain that I read it in Phantasm Weekly a magazine I used to get" she blushed a little having admitted to getting such a weird magazine that told all about various ghost hauntings and famous ghosts as well as poltergeists, "that hexes would be effective."

She turned to face Alistair then looking extremely serious.
"You know though, that if we cast a hex on this poltergeist that he will see it as an act of war and possibly come at us with everything he has" she couldn't help but put her hand into her pocket to pull out a clean handkerchief which she passed to him. Some day they would learn a cleaning spell but as yet, the ordinary things in life would have to suffice.
"Are you prepared for that?"

 

[Alistair Lancaster]

The Hufflepuff girl knew so much more about poltergeists than Alistair could have possibly imagined. Despite coming from a completely magical family, he'd never read too much into them, or even encountered a full-bodied one prior to arriving at Hogwarts and meeting Vex. Before then, he assumed they were just strong versions of ghosts that haunted houses and knocked things around, so hearing they were never in fact people to begin with was news to him. His knowledge came mostly from his interactions with the resident poltergeist himself, or stories overheard by other people. With the track record of the castle, it made sense in his mind that Vex had simply been one of the students who had died in the past, hearing now that he was just chaos embodied was a complete surprise, yet it explained a lot about the being's behaviour. The fact only made fighting him feel that much more difficult.

Making a mental note to subscribe to this Phantasm Weekly magazine, the Slytherin boy propped himself up on a cloth-covered table and accepted the offered handkerchief to clean himself off with, all the while continuing to listen. It didn't sound like it was going to be easy, and he was starting to have seconds thoughts on the matter. Then again, it was exciting to think about the possibility of getting even with Vex, proving to him that it was not so simple to prank witches and wizards. Alistair nodded. "I'm prepared." He said, trying his best to sound as sure as possible. But with limited spell knowledge in their first year, the hexes he knew weren't going to be enough on their own. They needed more, though his brief idea of throwing a giant net over the poltergeist didn't seem viable. "What if we tricked him into throwing an Ever-Bashing Boomerang? I saw those on sale in Brightstone. If we get him to throw it, I think it'll keep coming back and hitting him. If he tries to chase us then we can Locomotor Mortis his legs together. I think I learned about it in Defence Against the Dark Arts last semester...or from a book. Maybe it'll stop him being able to fly too well?"
​

 

[Minerva Khulik]

Minerva stopped her pacing for a moment as the boy took her napkin and sat on a table to clean some of the slime off, that was progress at least she mused before continuing to pace and speak at the same time. When she did finally come to an end and look at Alistair she wasn't quite expecting him to answer right away but he nodded and said he was prepared!

"You are?" she blinked in disbelief, it had all sounded grand and fantastical as she spoke but what exactly they could possibly do to a poltergeist being lonely first years was pretty slim in the realm of all possibilities, especially a poltergeist that got to reek havoc among so many teenagers.

Alistair spoke again and suddenly Minerva was smiling with a look of growing possibilities opening before, "That might just work" she sat on the table beside him, "I can pay half for the boomerang, that's only fair. How do we get him to throw that though?" she thought a moment more until a vague idea formed, "what if we were playing with an ordinary boomerang and making out like we were having lots of fun, that should bring him about, then we make a quick swap with the boomerangs, pretend to have dropped it or something, start up a silly argument so he thinks he has a clear run at getting the boomerang and hey presto ... he will hopefully throw it ... but what if he doesn't, taunt him?"

She had to admit this strategising was a bit of fun and it was nice not to be hovering over all her books every five seconds.

"I've never done that spell, we haven't gotten to it in class yet. Can you show me how and I can practice it so that we're both good at it, then at least that's two of us catching him with it instead of just one" she glanced at him, making a funny face as she watched a dollop of slime trickle down from his ear lobe, "looks like a terrible ear-ring but it might come into fashion some day" she grinned pointing at the ear lobe good naturedly so he would know she wasn't being nasty in any way.

 

[Alistair Lancaster]

The Slytherin boy nodded thoughtfully while listening to his Hufflepuff companion, he hadn't even considered who would be paying for the boomerang itself, so he was pleased to hear her offer to split it between them. The subject of deceiving him however, was one he didn't feel certain about. Alistair didn't know the poltergeist well enough to say with any confidence what he may have fallen for, or if he'd even bother trying to throw an ever-bashing boomerang. It was possible he'd have no interest in it at all, though Minerva's suggestion of taunting him if he didn't go for it was a good one. "I, um, don't know how to throw a boomerang, so I don't know if pretending to will work. Plus spending time trying to swap out a normal boomerang for a bashing one might be a bit risky to do, what if he sees us exchange it? He can be invisible, after all. I think we might have to find him instead, so we already know where he is, and what he's doing, and then maybe we can...we can come in talking about how much fun we've been having throwing it around, and then challenge him to see if he can beat our made up record?" He suggested lamely, not actually sure what idea would be best, but he didn't want to risk the poltergeist sneaking up on them while they prepared. "In any case, if he doesn't...we can say he's too scared, or, or that poltergeists probably couldn't throw a boomerang that well anyway." Surely, Vex would want to defend his pride, and his chaotic amortal existence.

Before he could comment on teaching Minerva the leg-locker curse, she mentioned an ear-ring of his. Alistair looked puzzled, but it wasn't long before it dawned on him as to what she was referring to. "Ick, it gets everywhere." He complained, dabbing at his earlobe until it was clear of the viscous green gunk. Vex couldn't have chosen something less messy to use as a weapon? "What was I saying? Oh, yeah. I'm happy to teach you the spell. It's kind of difficult, but if we practice it won't be too hard to hit him with it. Just let me know when you're free to learn." He shrugged his shoulders, still picking his brain for whether he'd read about the curse or learned it in class. All he knew was that it took a few tries before he got it right, and even now he hadn't tested it on anyone to know how long it lasted.
​

 

[Minerva Khulik]

Minerva unfortunately did know how to throw a boomerang, they had gone to Australia on holiday and had stayed with a wonderful Aboriginal tribe that Kuru, her father's business partner and close friend of the family had put them in touch with. They had eaten grubs and other strange outback food, had camped out under the stars instead of a tent and walked everywhere instead of apparating or using the floo network. It had been an interesting holiday but for a long time afterwards, Minerva was convinced that all muggles lived like that. One of the men had shown her father the boomerang, explaining how he used it to hunt and she had seriously thought the man was bonkers but he showed them how it worked and she stopped thinking less of his mental faculties after that. She had only been eight years old but all the grown ups had thought it a good idea to know how to throw it properly and so she practiced with a few of the children of the tribe, a little each day until she was actually very good at it. On their way home however, she insisted on clarifying to her parents that she would never use a boomerang to take down an animal, perhaps she should also have stressed people too.
Alistair spoke a lot of sense and she swung her legs a little back and forth listening to him and weighing up their options, her hands cupped the edge of the table as she did so.

"That sounds so much better and far more plausible" she told him, when he spoke about taunting the poltergeist instead of trying to switch the boomerang out, even as she had suggested that, it had sounded a little mad in her own head but every option had to be viewed and carefully ticked off.

"I'm free most afternoons when classes are done, I mean I study and do my assignments but I can make time. Should we practice inside or outside? Is there a practicing room?" far too many questions again, she just hoped that Alistair could answer them or there would be far too many blanks to fill. Something he had said earlier stuck however and made her uneasy and she glanced about her before lowering her voice.

"What if ... what if he is still here, invisible! Watching who got pranked by his trap and is listening now to every word we say?" she let the words linger, "what do you think?"

She couldn't help doing it but slowly slid from the table and let her wand slide into her hand just in case. She knew charms and transfiguration spells but nothing as yet to protect herself or Alistair though running would be good too if the poltergeist came at them.

 

[Alistair Lancaster]

Alistair was pleased to hear Minerva agreed with his suggestion for their course of action when it came to entrapping the poltergeist in their scheme. He nodded his head in response to her letting him known when she was available to practice the spell he'd learned, and thought for a moment about the best place to try it out. "We, um, we could practice outside on the lawn, but it's quite open. The duelling chamber could work? They had a tournament down there recently, and I know if we ask a staff member to watch, we're allowed to practice spells whenever we need to." The Slytherin suggested. It was close by to his common room, and he doubted the poltergeist would happen to see them there.

When the Hufflepuff voiced her concern that Vex could still be present in the room, Alistair looked around nervously, expecting the spirit to pop out at any moment. "It's possible...then again, he's kind of dramatic, isn't he? I think if he were here, he'd already be laughing at the mess he made." He tried to reason, hoping that they were as alone as they'd believed to be until now. Surely, the poltergeist couldn't contain himself for this long, judging by how he acted throughout the year. "Maybe we should get out of here, before he does come back and finds us making a plan against him?"
​

 

[Minerva Khulik]

Minerva had never willfully broken rules before, nor had she ever purposefully gone out of her way to illicit revenge upon a person - but this was not a person, it was a poltergeist, a nasty vindictive prankster who needed a dose of his own potion so to speak.

"The dueling chamber it is, maybe after one of the classes we share we should just head down to the chamber" she hadn't even known that the school had a dueling chamber but would be plenty eager to see it and know of it's location for future reference, "I don't mind which professor we get to help us ... providing it's not Professor Styx ... I don't think I'd shoot a spell straight if he was supervising us."

Sliding off the table Minerva's hand brushed against Alistair's leg and she blushed slightly at the contact before crossing her arms before her and trying to look nonchalant about it all.
"Yes, let's get out of here" she agreed moving to the door but glancing about her as she did so, "I don't know this Vex, I've never met him thank Merlin but if you think he's the dramatic type - I believe you!"

Opening the door quietly she peeked her head outside and hurriedly looked up and down the corridor, it was empty thank goodness and she beckoned the fact to Alistair before she stepped out of the room.

 

[Alistair Lancaster]

Alistair had to agree that if anything, Professor Styx would not be the one to supervise them while they practiced the spell in the dueling chamber. He didn't think most students would have welcomed the idea. There was nothing comforting about the presence of the Slytherin Head of House. "Definitely not. He creeps me out." He agreed, thinking the girl lucky to be in Hufflepuff house, or any other house away from that cold, grim man. All of the other heads seemed much friendlier in comparison, though he'd not personally met any aside from Cliffeton, so far, and those interactions were limited to flying lessons. "We both have Potions on Sunday if you wanted to go then. It's already in the dungeons and the dueling chamber is just down the corridor." He offered, since it was coincidentally the most convenient way for them to get there. Everything was working out it seemed.

The Slytherin was surprised by the brief contact as Minerva got hopped down from the table, and her reaction left him awkwardly looking down at his feet, with a slight touch of pink flushing his cheeks. He followed after her, more than happy to get out of the room he'd already spent too much time in after becoming the victim of one of Vex's pranks. Closing the door behind him, the youth glanced up and down the corridor, breathing a sigh of relief to see it was empty. He still needed to wash the ectoplasm out of his uniform, but he was grateful that he'd been able to at least get rid of some of it, and even more so that he had someone to help him get justice for the incident. Their next Potions class was the first thing he had to look forward to all semester.
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[Minerva Khulik]

Minerva agreed with Alistair's estimation that after potions class would be the perfect time for practicing the spell. She had learned so many spells this year but this would be the first that meant harm in any way, she didn't consider transfiguration as harming the inanimate objects that they practiced on but perhaps that would change when she had to practice the animate to inanimate spells. A shiver ran through her spine but she dismissed it before nodding her head to Alistair and smiling slightly at him.

She turned then and quietly made her way back up along the corridor to where the stair cases were, she had something to look forward to that wasn't of the norm and she liked that. Her life had been turned upside down as it was here at Hogwarts and the friends she had so far made were wonderful and strange in all their own way. As she made it to the stair case and stepped up on to the one that would bring her up to the fourth floor, Minerva cast a last look at the blonde boy before racing back to Hufflepuff, all thoughts gone from her head of exploring the castle now, she had other things, better things on her mind.

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