Closed Hide (From Responsibilities) and Seek

[Emma van Houten]

Emma had been studying with a few of her friends in the student lounge, when she had gotten fed up with it. They'd been studying so much lately, and they all deserved a break. That was how she had dragged her friends into a game of hide and seek, as well as Nicole's little brother and one of his friends. Nikko had been there too, and Emma had been happy to invite anyone who was also nearby and felt like playing a game. An older Gryffindor had joined them too, and Emma was glad. The more, the merrier! They now all gathered in the fourth floor corridor, and Emma took the lead in explaining the rules. "Okay, to play we have to follow these rules." She said importantly. "We have to stay on this floor. No going into the Hufflepuff common room, Connor." She said, looking at the boy in question closely with narrowed eyes. "And first one to be found is next to search. We can swap places then if we want, or stay. You have to count to twenty before you seek!" She said eagerly. She then looked around thoughtfully, then she closed her eyes and spun in a circle, pointing outward. She stopped, opened her eyes, and saw who she was pointing at. It was Nicole's little brother Ryan. "Alright, you're up first!" She told him. "Go stand over there, close your eyes... no peeking, and then you seek us. When you've find someone I guess you call that they've been found? And we swap searchers." She said. "Oh! And no magic!" She added as the rule popped into her head. "We've learned a spell that would help, but that wouldn't be fair to the first years." She said, unable to resist rubbing in that they knew more magic. "Okay, everyone go hide!"

 

[Nicole Fisk]

Nicole had been excited to go get some studying done today with her friends, even if she'd ended up bringing Ryan along too to make sure he'd done his homework. They'd gotten a letter from their parents to encourage them before exam season, but Nicole hadn't missed the pointed words from Mum about making sure Ryan didn't get too distracted. For whatever reason, bringing Ryan along had also meant bringing one of Ryan's friends along too. Nicole had almost been grateful for the new distraction when Emma announced they should play a game instead, she swore the little Ravenclaw with Ryan had been staring at her.

After Emma explained the rules and Ryan got picked first, Nicole knew there'd be no backing out from the game now, spending a moment to lament her poor books left abandoned before running off down the corridor, throwing a "Count slowly, Ryan!" over her shoulder as she did. Nicole had stopped playing hide and seek with Ryan sometime around the time he turned 8 and got really good at it, so she knew she'd have to find some clever spot so he didn't immediately catch her. Sneaking back the way she'd come as quietly as possible, Nicole slipped back into the student lounge where they'd been studying, frantically glancing around the room for a good spot before dashing behind the door just as Ryan finished counting.

 

[Augustus Westwick]

Augustus had gone to study with Ryan and his older sister, which had been pretty intimidating. Ryan's sister had a whole bunch of older girl friends, who were fairly loud and all very different. Augustus hadn't gotten much studying done, spending most of his time looking at the girls and observing their behavior. But before he really knew what was happening, he was dragged into a game. Bewildered, he followed along. He'd been planning to just stick with Ryan, but then Ryan was picked as the seeker. Augustus wasn't sure what to do, so he just quietly slipped into the library and stood around the corner, peeking into the corridor. if Ryan approached, he'd hide behind a bookcase.

 

[Iris van Houten]

Iris had perhaps not technically been studying for the exams, as she had been reading a Divination book for next year. But it had been very interesting, and it was a little frustrating to be dragged out of it by Emma. But she also knew that she would hurt Emma's feelings if she refused, so she went along with her game. It probably was good to take a break anyway. But Iris couldn't resist returning to the student lounge as Ryan counted, grabbing her book, and hiding behind one of the couches with it. She could still read a little while she hid, right?

 

[Connor Holland]

There was a degree of comfort in studying with friends that Connor had never expected. While his first year at Hogwarts his classes had terrified him, he was feeling more and more at ease now that he had people to go through the work with. Even if he didn't totally get something, maybe Iris would. Or Poppy, or Nicole, or someone else in their little study group. It made the whole thing so much easier, and he had been enjoying the peace and focus of the study group.

It had been, of course, not to last. Connor never expected Emma to be able to sit still very long, but he hadn't expected her to turn the entire study session into a full blown game. He was a bit nervous that they'd get in trouble for playing games in the school, but Emma seemed confident in her plan and everyone else seemed eager to join in, so he didn't voice his fears and listened quietly as Emma explained the rules. Well, mostly quietly. He couldn't help a small, "Hey!" when Emma called him out, face flushing. Connor definitely wasn't going to admit that the idea of running away to the common room if the game got too much had crossed his mind, but now he had to abide by the rules, for sure. As soon as Nicole's little brother started counting he turned and bolted, sprinting into the student lounge and looking around. He quickly spotted a curtain that looked like it was probably long enough. Probably. He ducked behind it, trying to arrange the folds of the fabric to cover the ends of his sneakers that kept sneaking their way back out into visibility. Hopefully Nicole's brother wouldn't find him here.

 

[Emma van Houten]

Emma was glad when it seemed like everyone would agree with her rules without arguing, and once Ryan started counting she ran off to another part of the corridor. She hid behind a suit of armor, trying to make herself as small as possible.

 

[Poppy Perkins]

Poppy was enjoying her time studying with her friends. It was nice to know she had found a group to study with, but she also welcomed the distraction. It had been a while since she had played this particular game but she immediately went into the library and started to search for a good spot to hide. She frowned, there weren't a lot of obvious spots. "Yes!" she whispered when she found a full cart of books next to one of the desks. Quickly she climbed under the desk and rolled the cart in front of the desk so that she was almost completely covered.

 

[Knox Ivers]

The end of the semester was drawing near, and Knox knew he should have been studying and keeping ahead of his schoolwork for the sake of his grades. But being dragged into an impromptu game of hide and seek with the other students in the lounge and having fun for the first time that day after being bored going over his class notes was too fun of an opportunity to pass up, so Knox found himself running around to search for a hiding spot as soon as the one of the younger students, apparently named Ryan, began to count to twenty. Twenty seconds was hardly enough time for Knox to find a decent hiding spot, the realization he only had a few seconds left forcing him to duck behind a nearby curtain when there were no other hidng spaces nearby that sufficed. He figured the curtain was better than no hiding spot at all, until he noticed he wasn’t the only student that had the same idea, realizing that another boy was with him behind the curtain. “Ah, crap.” Knox said under his breath, quickly shifting to stand as far away from the other boy as possible although still hiding behind the curtain as it was too late to find a different spot to hide. He hoped he was far enough away from the other boy that it wasn’t obvious they were hiding in the same place, as he held his breath, waiting to see if the person seeking would find him first or not.​

 

[Nikko Blackwood]

Nikko still wasn’t sure how he managed to find himself here, as he spun around the fourth floor corridor looking for somewhere to hide. He had been reading in the student lounge when Emma, a second year he only really talked to once before had insisted that he join their game. Finally he made up his mind and went to hide in the student lounge. He looked around quickly trying to find any good spots when he spotted a closet in the corner and he rushed over, accidentally running into the couch. "Oh sorry." he mumbled, when he saw Iris hiding behind it with a book. But he kept moving until he was in the closet with the door firmly shut.

 

[Ryan Fisk]

Ryan knew exams were supposed to all important for everyone, but he didn't really get what the fuss was about. He knew that he understood the stuff in lessons, so he didn't want to have to waste time reading and writing down everything they'd already talked about all year. But Nicole had insisted he had to at least do some of his homework before she'd let him go back to poking around the lake, so he'd come with her to the student lounge, glad when Augustus had wanted to tag along.

Ryan had spent most the study time wondering if there was a more efficient layout for the student lounge when one of Nicole's friends, Emma, had decided they were going to play a game instead. Hide and Seek was a much better use of their time than studying, and Ryan was happy to join in, listening to the rules and grinning when he was picked to be seeker first. Nicole never seemed to want to play with him any more and Ryan was happy to get a chance to track people down again. Covering his eyes, Ryan began to count. "One, two, three-...Four... Five... Six..." Ryan frowned as Nicole told him to slow down, complying and pressing his palms tighter into his eyes as he tried to focus on the sound of footsteps. "Twenty!" He called out, immediately blinking a few times before scanning the hallway. He'd definitely heard someone go into the student lounge, so Ryan checked there first, frowning when he could immediately see someone's shoes poking out from under some of the curtains. Making his way over, Ryan stopped as he rounded one of the couches, blinking down when he saw Iris just. Sitting there. "That's not a very good spot," He told her bluntly. "Your turn, now," He said, looking around for a place to hide.

Making sure Iris had covered her eyes, Ryan scanned the lounge, deciding he definitely couldn't fit in one of the fireplaces, before hurrying out to the library. There was an old wingback armchair in a reading nook that Ryan knew would be perfect to wedge himself behind.

 

[Iris van Houten]

Iris had just started on a new chapter in her book when she heard someone apologize. She looked up to see the poor first year Emma had dragged into this, she hoped he knew he could say no if he didn't want to play. "No worries." She said quietly. Then she resumed reading until she was interrupted again, this time by Ryan. She nodded at his statement. "No, I suppose not." She said lightly as she slid a bookmark between the pages. She left her book behind the couch a little regretfully. "I'll go count now." She said, closing her eyes and counting to twenty. Once she was done, Iris looked around. It felt unsporting to go after Connor, whose feet were poking out from behind the curtain. Especially as she knew that being the seeker would stress him out a lot. There had been the boy going into the closet, but for all Iris knew he had moved again. And again, it didn't feel right to go after him right now. The girl wandered over to the entrance to the student lounge, peering into the corridor. She hoped she would find someone soon, so she could return to her book.

 

[Nicole Fisk]

Nicole held her breath as she heard Ryan stop counting, watching him enter the lounge through the crack in the door. It was always so hard to stop the urge to giggle nervously whenever she played hide and seek, and Nicole was glad Ryan moved on from her spot, seemingly having caught sight of someone else. It would have been so embarrassing to be found first by her little brother of all people, and Nicole felt herself relax, relieved as Iris started counting instead. Hopefully her spot held up during Iris' turn too, it wasn't like she could move now with Iris in the room.

 

[Iris van Houten]

Iris walked out of the student lounge and quietly slipped into the library. She looked around, trying to catch a glimpse of anyone. She peered under tables and desks and behind the bookshelves, frowning a little. After a while, she caught a glimpse of red hair and knelt down to get a better look. Squinting, she finally made out Poppy under a desk, though she was pretty well hidden. "Poppy, found you." She said softly, not wanting to disturb anyone in the library. "Maybe you should count in the corridor, so we don't bother anyone." She added under her breath, counting loudly in the library would probably get them in trouble.

@Poppy Perkins

 

[Nikko Blackwood]

Nikko quickly regretted his hiding place. The closet was small and there wasn't really anywhere to sit. He also couldn't really hear anything that was happening. He thought he heard some people talking and guessed someone was found and someone else was it. He figured he should probably stay put but he was getting a little bored as the excitement of anticipation started to ware off.

 

[Poppy Perkins]

Poppy had grown restless while hiding, it was exciting but it wasn’t like there was much to do, so she grabbed a random book off the cart in front of her and started to read it. She opened it to a random page as was reading about gillyweed when Iris found her. ”Oh hi.” she said, a little startled. “You did!” she said in an enthusiastic whisper. “That’s a good idea.” she agreed and climbed out from under the table.

Out in the hallway she looked around with her hands on her hips trying to decide where she would look next. Finally she decided to peak in the student lounge. She scanned the room and walked around quietly looking for anything out of place. Eventually her eyes landed on one of the curtains that seemed to have a spot where it wasn’t lying completely flat on the walk. As quietly as she could, she tip-toed over and at the last second dramatically pulled back to the fabric and saw Knox. “Found you!” she said triumphantly. “Ok, it's your turn now!”

@Knox Ivers

 

[Freya Song]

Freya had no plans to study for exams, and had instead been happily reading over her textbooks and taking notes by herself in her dorm. As much as she enjoyed her not-studying in solitude, Freya was beginning to wonder if anyone else was doing anything interesting. She supposed she should at least check on Connor and see if exam stress had made his hair morph into a fluffy Pygmy Puff yet. Armed with a Herbology book, which she'd cleverly disguised with a dust jacket as a boring muggle novel, so nobody would try to borrow it, she went down to the student lounge. Freya wasn't trying to be sneaky, because that would require effort, but she did overhear the little study group preparing to play hide and seek, and decided to slip into the room when they were distracted. She curled up in a comfortable chair to read her book, and tried to listen to what was happening. Maybe she'd neglected to inform anyone she was hiding from them, but the only way to win was not to play.

 

[Knox Ivers]

Knox tried his best to stay still and quiet behind the curtain as he heard commotion around him, not wanting to be found so early on in the game. As more time passed he started to grow pretty bored with waiting and hiding, only realising this caused him to relax so much that his cover was blown when Poppy found him. “Dammit!” He exclaimed, laughing as he stepped away from the curtain. Knox soon moved to sit on a nearby chair as he closed his eyes, counting to twenty himself, and making sure to say mississippi in his head so he wasn’t counting too quickly and so he could give the other students hiding enough of an opportunity to find a new spot if they needed to. When he finally counted to twenty he opened his eyes, looking around the room and then heading out to the library. It was quiet but that told Knox it must have seemed like a good hiding spot to other students, so he looked around a little before searching behind different armchairs in a few of the reading nooks, eventually finding the first boy that counted. “Got ya! your turn to count again.” Knox announced before he stepped away from the chair and moved to find a new hiding spot himself, soon deciding to situate himself in a dark corner obscured by a bookshelf at the back of the library.​

 

[Poppy Perkins]

After finding Knox, Poppy quickly tried to find another hiding spot while he counted. Suddenly she was paralyzed with uncertainty. she had no idea where to hide. Knox was already half way through counting when she decided to just drop behind the chair he was sitting in. She tucked herself in as much as she could and made sure to angle herself so she wouldn't be seen if he walked towards the door to the corridor. She would be out of luck if he decided to just turn around but Poppy held her breath as Knox got up and let the room, only to sigh heavily when he was finally gone.

 

[Ryan Fisk]

Ryan had always enjoyed the seeking part more than the hiding whenever he'd played Hide and Seek before. And not just because Nicole sometimes "forgot" to come find him after a few rounds. Seeking was just more exciting. Hiding just meant you sat there and usually got cobwebs in your hair. Ryan was just peeking his head out from behind the chair to quickly scan his surroundings when one of the older boys they were playing with spotted him. He sighed, it was a rookie mistake on his part, but at least he didn't have to hide anymore.

Ryan barely made it to three counting this time before someone shushed him and he had to move out into the hallway, picking back up from there and counting back up to twenty. He'd had good luck in the student lounge, and statistically being a smaller area than the corridor or the library, it'd be faster to find someone in there, so Ryan decided to check in there again. He was scanning the room carefully when he made eye-contact with a blond girl sitting on the couch. She looked at him for a moment before nodding her head over to the curtain Ryan knew someone was still hiding behind from last time. He was a little miffed she thought he'd need help spotting their very obvious shoes and walked over to her. "If you know where someone's hiding then you must be playing," He announced, proud of his logic leap, and for discovering someone trying to be sneaky. That had been a lot more satisfying than 'finding' the person behind the curtains. "Which means I've found you, so you're it," He added, grinning at her before darting off to hide again. It was hard to find a good spot now, but Ryan decided to stay in the lounge, burying himself under a pile of cushions sat aside in one corner, possibly for forts, but most likely for sitting on the floor with. @Freya Song

 

[Freya Song]

Freya had never really played hide and seek as a child. She mostly liked making her brother count while she ran off to buy lollies at the dairy, and then returning a few hours later to share with a worried Soren. Having to hide from people who were actively looking for wasn't her favourite, but she grudgingly admitted that it almost nice in its own way. She looked up from her book when a younger boy entered the room, and absently flicked her head in the direction of where Connor was hiding. Freya blinked in surprise, and then smirked as the boy approached her. "Okay, super spy," she shrugged and got up, abandoning her book.

She covered her eyes and started walking in a small circle as she counted to twenty. It didn't feel fair to throw back the curtain and surprise Connor, as amusing as Freya would have found it. Besides, she'd already lost the game and may as well play properly. Bloody Ravenclaws and knowing things. She headed for the corridor and tried to look nonchalant as she wandered, hoping for an advantage against the hiders who didn't know she was playing. She paused, seeing a flash of red hair, and stepped closer and determined that it was the stupid red hair of Emma. Freya considered walking past and pretending she hadn't seen the Gryffindor, but decided it would be funnier to catch her. "Emma!" she sang, suddenly jumping over to the suit of armor. "I found you! Your turn to seek," Freya beamed and sprinted off to hide in the library. @Emma van Houten

 

[Emma van Houten]

Emma grinned as she watched the game progress, shrinking back a bit every time someone passed her hiding space. She was doing very well, if she said so herself, and enjoyed that she hadn't been caught yet. When Freya approached, she wasn't too worried at first, though she scowled in annoyance. She hoped the girl wasn't going to help her get caught by Ryan, who had been searching. But then she said she had found her and that it was her turn to seek, and Emma gasped indignantly. "What!?" She yelled, pushing out of her hiding place to point at Freya. "But you weren't even PLAYING! That's not FAIR!" She yelled, but Freya was running off. Emma knew the only way the game would keep going was if she would search now, and she scowled. Stupid Freya, who had given her permission to play Emma's game, anyway? She grumbled and headed into the student lounge, as Ryan had gone in there and she wanted a word with him for letting Freya play. But there, she spotted a pair of shoes peeking out from under a curtain. Glad she had found someone so quickly, Emma opened the curtain with a flourish. "CONNOR! GOTCHA!" She yelled, grinning. "You count now!" She ran off, back to the corridor where she had hidden before. It had been a good spot, so Emma hid behind the same suit of armor again. The only person who knew she had hidden there was Freya, but Emma thought she had probably outsmarted her. Freya would never expect her to hide in the same spot.

@Connor Holland

 

[Connor Holland]

Connor's hiding place hadn't felt especially secure when he had chosen it, but as he listened to the sounds of the game going on around him, he grew more and more certain in its genius. Who would even look for him here?! It was perfect. Until it wasn't. Connor jumped in shock as he was uncovered, squinting as his eyes adjusted to the sudden blast of light all around. "Fine." He said in dismay, pouting slightly at Emma before covering his eyes to count.

Opening his eyes once the count was over, Connor wasn't entirely sure where to start. He looked around the room, seeing a few areas people might be hiding in, but... it would be silly to spend all his time in one room, right? When they were supposed to be playing in the whole floor.... heading for the door, Connor decided he was going to check the library, stopping as he got close to the door. Was that... really? "Nicole!" Connor called out, moving the door out of the way. "Got you!" Relieved that it had been easier than he expected, Connor waited for Nicole to cover her eyes before carrying on the direction he had been going, running to the library and ducking under an unoccupied desk.

@Nicole Fisk

 

[Nikko Blackwood]

Nikko’s restlessness was starting to get the better of him. He had spent several rounds in the closet of the student lounge and he was ready for a change of scenery. He pressed his ear on the door and could hear someone counting, that much he couldn't tell. As quietly as he could he reached down and tried to turn the door knob to get out. Nikko felt the knob turn but when he began to push the door open it resisted way more than he remembered. He hesitated for a moment to try and hear if whoever was it was still counting and tried again with more force behind it, but again the door didn’t move. “Oh no.” he mumbled as he realized he might be stuck. It would be one thing if the door locked, because he had heard there was a spell for that. But a stuck door? He wasn’t sure if there was a spell anyone out there knew that could help him now.

 

[Nicole Fisk]

Nicole was a little surprised when she saw Ryan back at seeking, smirking that she'd managed to stay hidden enough without moving that he'd been found already. She smirked even more when he managed to pull in Freya into the game, though Nicole didn't even know the other girl was playing. She hoped Ryan hadn't annoyed her by doing it. As the seekers changed hands, Nicole still didn't have a chance to move much, most of them loitering around the student lounge still until Connor finally spotted her behind the door and Nicole let out a laughing sigh. "It wasn't a great spot, I know," She said, waving him off to go hide so she could start counting.

Figuring she'd had a pretty good view if anyone was still in the student lounge, Nicole moved off into the hallway, scanning it with a shrug before moving into the library. It felt a little silly to be playing a game in the library while everyone else was busy studying, and Nicole was about to leave when she spotted Ryan's weird little friend loitering by a shelf. "Ah, Augustus,. Found you," She said in a hushed whisper. "Come count in the corridor though," She added, herding him into the hallway before scuttling off to try and find another spot. There was a small alcove in the corridor with some windows, and while it wasn't the greatest spot, Nicole hoped if she crouched no one would notice her there. @Augustus Westwick

 

[Augustus Westwick]

Augustus was hiding in the library, and had assumed he would be found pretty early on. But the game kept on going, and no one found him for a long time. Finally, Ryan's sister found him. Augustus blinked up at her shyly. "Oh." He said, then nodded and followed her out into the hallway. He gave her a small smile, noticing that she was pretty. He wondered if that was a strange thing to think. Then he started to count, putting his hands over his eyes as he counted out loud. When it was time to search, he headed into the student lounge. He tried the door of the closet first, but it seemed to be locked. That meant no one was hiding there, so he moved on. He spotted a flash of red hair, and spotted one of the older girls behind a chair. Augustus headed over and tapped her on the shoulder. "I found you." He said quietly.

@Poppy Perkins