Hide the Evidence

[Perseas Stratis]

The daylight had dwindled to a barely perceptible lightening of the gloom when Perseas Stratis left the castle to stroll at the school's grounds. He had waited for the light to be drained away and do his monkey business under the cover of the shadows. The school's residents had been feasting at the great hall but he was heading to the lake, accompanied by a hovering, sealed crate. The wand in his left hand had enchanted it to follow him as he moved swiftly and determined away from the ancient castle. He had a less lighthearted purpose than usual and it was something he had been considering for a long time. While his pranks and jokes were getting more and more noticeable by Hogwarts' staff, he had decided to remove all evidence that could potential betray him as the mastermind of many suspicious events happening in the castle. The crate hovering next to him was full of dungbombs, hiccough sweets, bars of frog spawn soap, a set of nose-biting teacups and other objects that could grant him a detention if found in his possession.

So far he had acted without being caught and he wanted to keep it that way. He had been waiting the right moment to get rid of the evidence. At first he had considered to take them as deep as possible in the forbidden forest but one day as he was daydreaming during a class, watching at the vast lake, a better idea hit him. He was planning to submerge the crate and send it to the bottom of the lake. No one could found it there nor it would cross their mind to search the lake, and at the same time he could summon the crate whenever he wanted with a simple charm. The idea of having his own stash of joke products at the bottom of the lake was intriguing him but his excitement was cut short when he reached his destination. A movement in the shadows had him frozen. Someone was already there, standing at the edge of the wooden pier.

 

[Doriana Strati]

"Go now. Enjoy your new home." She smiled as she let the two frogs in her palms to jump into the lake's serene waters. The amphibians jumped off her palms with a croak that Doriana received as a sign of gratitude and disappeared into the dark waters, leaving only ripples to ruffle the stillness of the surface. She sighed content with her action. Two more animals kept in a classroom's storage were granted the freedom they deserved. She had smuggled the little ones, keeping them in a jar she had brought at the last charms class. She was afraid that the professor would find out that he collected less frogs than he had provided them so she waited until the veil of the night fell over the grounds. Mission accomplished. Now hers and Ulysses' frogs were happily going to continue their lives in the comfort of their natural habitat. The sun had descended behind the horizon's mountains, dyeing the heavens with an explosion of fiery colors before becoming steadily dark blue. Her eyes had adjusted to the darkness and she was gazing from the pier, two lone stars, mischievously twinkling already on the chalky mauve canvas. She knew that her best friend would have already named the stars if he was there with her. The thought made her smile.

She was about to go back at the castle and join the feast. As she turned around to walk the pier back to the shore, the sight of another shadowy figure standing there made her heart pounding with surprise and fright. First thought that crossed her mind was for how long the stranger was standing there and if he had witnessed the release of the smuggled frogs. The distance and the darkness were reassuring enough to make her believe she wasn't caught on act. She started walking towards the shore, thinking that she would just get past him and continue her way back to the castle. As she was getting closer she started noticing that it was a guy, too young to be a professor but a lot taller. A relieved smile stretched on her lips when she recognized her cousin. "Perseas!" She sighed, really glad to see him there. Doriana had many cousins but she had a soft spot for Perseas. The boy could make you laugh and he was fun to be around.
"You really creeped me out. I though for a moment I was stalked by a professor." She chuckled and looked up at her cousin's pale eyes. He was tall, around 6'1'' tall and while all the Stratis had different shades of gray for eye color, Perseas had the most intense and piercing out of them all.
"What are you up to...again...?" She wondered and eyed suspiciously at the crate levitating next to him. Knowing him too well, she could bet he was up to no good.

 

[Perseas Stratis]

The shadowy figure remained still for a moment but then began walking towards his way. It was a younger student. He could tell she was a girl from the flawing shadow of the hair. He heard his name coming from a familiar voice and recognized the face in the crepuscular light. "Dor! Hey!" he greeted his cousin, a second year and Gryffindor as well. "You shouldn't be out here." he disapproved her imprudence. It was a ridiculous remark from his part but he couldn't encourage her to disobey the school's rules. He knew how to stealthily move around and escape, using the plethora of shortcuts he had discovered all over the years. She on the other hand could get easily caught. "Why would you think I'm up to something?" he asked but failed to keep a straight face. His eyes were flashing mischief, his mouth twitched, fighting his characteristic half smile that was about to betray him. He glanced sideways at the crate hovering next to him at level shoulder when she noticed it with suspicion and he just shrugged. "What? I'm practicing locomotion charms." he stated, murmured the incantation and waved his wand to renew the power of his spell. "Get back to castle Doriana. And for Gaia's shake, stop wandering around after curfew and stay away from the forest." he advised her something that he never really embraced. He had a variety of defensive spells in his arsenal, he could move unnoticed under the concealment of disillusionment charms. She was just a second year. "Chop-chop." he stepped aside and showed her the way back to the castle.

 

[Doriana Strati]

One thing that Doriana Strati hated was to be bossed around. She had endured enough with her over-controlling father. The last thing she wanted was to be told what to do from the rest of her relatives who were many. The gryffindor wasn't expecting to hear Perseas in particular, telling her to stay out of trouble when he did the exact opposite. Her steel, grey eyes narrowed and placed her hands on her waist.
"I thought you were better with excuses." She shook her head disapprovingly but a soft smile revealed itself on her face.
"How disappointing." She disproved but her smile growing wider attested that she was merely teasing him. Of course she didn't believe him that he was practicing charms. He had to be up to something else and that's why he didn't want her around to see. Doriana frowned when he told her to stay away from the forest. She studied his piercing eyes and she could tell that he knew about her late night wanderings.
"How come you know?" She asked curiously but she regretted her response as soon as she realized that her cousin might have been fishing up information. She couldn't see how possibly he knew about her misdemeanors when she was extra cautious. Doriana folded her arms against her chest, really annoyed as Perseas prompted her to go back to the castle.
"You know what, I'm really bad with locomotion charms." She stated stubbornly. "I'll stick around and practice with you." She took out her wand, showing him that she wasn't planning to leave any time soon. "I'm sure you have more stuff we could practice on in the crate." She smirked and nodded at the floating crate next to him. She could jive him as well if that's what he wanted.

 

[Perseas Stratis]

Doriana pouted when he told her to get back to the castle and Perseas smiled cheekily, knowing that his younger cousin wasn't going to walk away unopposed. He let her deride his ability of finding good excuses while he waved his wand to make the crate orbit around him once. He just responded with a smirk which grew wider when she asked him how he knew about her guilty habit. "You're doing a sloppy job if you ask me." he began saying. "If you want to keep wandering after curfew you have to be more careful than that. I've seen you so many times. I was using disillusionment charms. And actually, I saved your @ss a couple of times by distracting the prefects who where about to found you." he said when he saw her puzzlement. "It's a miracle that you and your boyfriend haven't get caught while taking the animals out of the castle." he raised an eyebrow as his grey eyes glinted with mischief. He knew everything about her late night excursions. In some occasions he had even followed her to see where she was taking the animals. It wasn't a surprise that he ended following her and the other boy into the forbidden forest.

The girl was as stubborn as he was and she looked determined to stay and find out what's his business there by the lake. He felt comfortable enough to tell her and he also considered of making her his successor. She wasn't exactly the outstanding prankster he was but he could mold her into a good one. "Fine. Of course I'm not here to practice. I'll show you because one day you might need them." he said and flicked his wand while muttering an incantation. The crate's lid removed itself and levitated next to it. Perseas took the crate in his hands and showed to her its content. "Everything needed when you'll have a job escaping from professors or prefects. The best kind of stuff to create a nice distraction. Dugbombs, u-no-poo, decoy detonators, some canary cream, the demon box I've never used-be careful with that one, my Jinx-Off set - brand new I've never used it either, my personal favorite instant darkness powder, extendable ears, a box of pyrotechtrix and many more." he showed her some of the products on the top in their packaging. "Actually I'll take the fireworks with me. I might need them." he said and took off the crate the box of pyrotechtrix. He was planning to use them at his graduation so he was going to store it at the false bottom of his trunk. "I was intending to hide this crate at the bottom of the lake." he revealed as he flicked his wand with another incantation and the hovering lid sealed the crate again. "People have been suspecting me for many of the chaotic events taking place around school. I don't blame them." his half-smile was sinister in the half light. "So I thought that underwater was the best place to hide the evidence leading straight to me." he also admitted to her that he was the one behind the events. Not that she wouldn't have figured this out on her own.

He looked at the lake. Its vastness was fading out as the darkness descended but he could still hear the soft plash of the water that gently lapped against the wooden pillars of the pier. "I don't need them anymore. Well I think so. You can have anything in this crate whenever you want it. You know how to cast the summoning charm right?" he asked in a tease and stepped back in case she intended to shove him. "It will be your stash. Your boyfriend can use it as well, I don't mind." he raised playfully both his eyebrows a few times while wearing a devious smile. He just realized how much he had missed teasing Rhiannon. "I have also left a note about this crate at the Room of Requirements. The room I visited will appear only to someone in great need of such items so it would be hard to find. I have stashed mostly fireworks there and a few other items I couldn't fit in the crate." he disclosed as a wave of melancholy assaulted him. In a year he was going to leave the school but he was going to take with him a lot of unique memories. "What do you say? Would you like to tank the evidence together?" he winked at her mischievously and started walking towards the end of the pier with the crate closely following him in the air.