Like Peas in a Pod

[Desislav Zhefarovich]

Desislav sat on a bench in the courtyard, his legs swinging, his feet leaving a small trail through the dirt in front of him. The front of his sneakers were getting full of dust, but Desi didn't even notice. He looked innocent, his blonde hair and light eyes making him look angelic especially with how the sunlight was falling onto the bench. Anyone who thought Desi was an angel though would be quite wrong. The boy kept tapping his pocket every few seconds to be sure that what was inside was still there. It wasn't going anywhere but he had to be sure. He had paid a whole month's allowance for this and wasn't going to waste it.

Desi glanced over near the door, a broad grin crossing his face as Professor Kingsley headed for the door to leave the courtyard. He gave her a wave with his free hand, bidding her good riddance. Getting in trouble with his Head of House for this prank was not in his plans. Not that he had much of a plan. Really, he just planned on taking the dung bomb out of his pocket, chucking it, and running for the hills. It seemed like a great plan to him.

 

[Desideratus Lesley]

Desideratus Lesley had plans, plans that involved his pet (mini replica) dragon, Leo (A Chinese Fireball), a long stick, a piece of string, and his friend Soren. He had everything, except Soren, whom he could not find. It was completely unacceptable that the Hufflepuff wasn't with him, but there was only so much he could do about it. He had tried stalking around the Hufflepuff entrance, but had found that no, he could not just politely ask to enter. Nor could he steal someone's robes to break in. He had considered finding a window, but they all looked a little too hard to get into, and he wasn't even sure he was looking at the right windows. Since Soren didn't even talk - it wasn't like Desi could ask for him either. It was so frustrating! He had a perfect plan to break out and he needed Soren, and he was not here. The Gryffindor shook his head and looked at Leo seriously. "We're going to have to talk to him," he whispered, before petting Leo until the small creature tucked under his collar. He would need to do it himself.

He looked around the courtyard, but stopped his sneaking when he spotted a fellow Gryffindor - and then his Head of House. Immediately, he ducked for cover, having no idea whether the woman saw him or not, he slowly peeked out from behind a column, just behind and to the right of the boy near him. Probably some do-gooder, which would explain why he had never spoken to him. What was his name again? "Psst," he called, looking at the Gryffindor while simultaneously trying to not look suspicious, but still be partially hidden. He doubted that he managed it. "Is she gone? The professor?"
​

 

[Desislav Zhefarovich]

Desi’s false smile dropped as the professor left the courtyard. He heard a hissing noise and quickly looked around, his eyes dropping to the floor in search of a snake. He’d always wanted one! Searching around for another moment, the Gryffindor spotted a boy, one that he barely recognized from Gryffindor house. His eye’s narrowed as he took in the fact that the boy was hiding from the professor. “Yeeeeees. She’s gone. Are you in trouble with her?” he asked, already feeling grumpy at the thought that she might return to seek out this student. It wasn’t an overly hot day, but he was already beginning to smell the dung bomb’s stench through his pocket. If he didn’t get rid of this soon…it would not be good for him.

Shaking his head, Desi stood up. “On second thought, I don’t wanna know” he stated as he pulled the small stinkbombs from his pocket. He gave the boy a wicked smile. “If you are, you might not want to stick around” he added matter-of-factly. Over in the corner of the courtyard, a group of girls were oohing and aahing over a magazine. He spotted one of his cousins in the group. Excellent, Desi thought to himself as he glanced back at the boy. “Final warning” he sang, low enough for the boy to hear him without being overheard by anyone else.

 

[Desideratus Lesley]

Desideratus frowned slightly at the presumption that he would be in trouble. The young lion had never been in trouble for anything in his life, except with his sister, but that was different. Home stuff didn't affect school stuff, in his opinion. If he were to be in trouble, that would mean that he would have been caught doing something by the professors - which he had not. He had an acceptable school record, although his grades could do with a bit of picking up, he was well-behaved as far as the professors assumed. It wasn't like he went around causing harm to others, he just got himself into a few silly situations. It didn't matter, because in the end he had no cause to fear from professors. He still didn't want them sniffing around, however. They made him nervous. He looked at where the professor had gone, and decided that he'd place his trust in his fellow Gryffindor. After all, they were encouraged to stick together because they were in the same house and all of that hat stuff. He remained silent, however, as the other boy stood up, feeling that it wasn't the time to get chatting just yet. He wanted to know what he was up to.

Desideratus' eyes lit up when he saw what was in the other boy's pocket, and his lips curled. He liked this guy. Desideratus folded his arms across his chest, now grinning at him as he too spotted what he could only assume to be the intended target. 'Let it never be said that Desideratus Lesley would hide from adventure," he stated proudly. There was no way he was leaving now. He was going to see this happen, and help if asked. "If any professors come, I'll fake a sickness and keep them off your back." He wasn't sure what exactly he'd pull if the professor did return, but he would work something out if it came to that. He always did.
​

 

[Desislav Zhefarovich]

As a grin crossed the guy’s face, Desi knew that he’d found a kindred spirit. Even he wasn’t ready for how kindred their spirits were though, and he nearly dropped the dung bomb at his feet as he heard Desideratus’ name. The Gryffindor nearly amended his plans to give the guy a quick handshake, but knew that there was plenty of time for that. They were, however, losing time with their targets. The girls were still distracted by the magazine they were looking at, but he knew that could change at any moment. Desi couldn’t believe just how quickly it had become their targets, but Desideratus was already volunteering to help. “Thanks” Desislav stated earnestly, moving his fingers to grip the bomb for a better throw. “You’d just better get ready to run though. If you stick around, they’ll think it was you.” He sure hoped the guy was a good runner like he was. If not, it was going to be too bad.

Desislav played quidditch in the backyard of his home and had done his fair share as a Chaser. He had a pretty good arm because of it. As he reared back, ready to let the dung bombs go, Desi’s only regret was that he wouldn’t be around to enjoy the reaction of his cousin, her friends, and everyone else in the courtyard. Silently, Desi let the dung bombs fly. His heart soared with happiness as he turned on his heel and shot off towards the courtyard door. His plan was to head for the lawn. He knew if he made it there, he’d be home free as there had to be plenty of students there already. As he reached the doorway, Desi heard the first screams from the group of girls. The sound was music to his ears, and the blond laughed heartily as he continued running down the hallway towards the huge open doors.

 

[Desideratus Lesley]

The bomb had been thrown, and it was time to high-tail it out of there. The Gryffindor was rather good at running away from things, seeing as he often got into trouble at home, and his sister was less than forgiving if she caught him. After she had some time to cool down, however, it was usually fine. He snorted as he ran, hearing the screaming of the girls as (he assumed) the bomb did as was intended, and probably instilled a stench into their clothes that would take a very long time to remove. He had never been victim to a dung bomb, but he was sure the smell would hang around, even after a few washes. The Gryffindor ran beside his house-mate, keeping pace and seeing the doors in front of them. They were virtually gone already - there was no way that anything could go wrong - until he saw Professor Kingsley.

Did that woman have the power of flight or something? Where had she come from? This was not right, they'd run and kept out of people's way, and now their exit was blocked by their Head of house. He had no idea if she had seen anything, but what he was concerned about was the noise of the still screaming girls, and the possibility that the stench could creep through the floor and to where they were at any moment, surely suggesting that their running was for much more than a simple race between schoolboys. He looked at his fellow Gryffindor for a moment, before trying to come up with something. "Professor Kingsley!" he greeted, smiling as innocently as he possibly could. His heart was still beating in his chest. "Um, Professsor, we were just having a race to see who's the fastest - you want to judge for us?" Or maybe leave?
​

 

[Professor Cyndi Kingsley]

Professor Kingsley had been trying, unsuccessfully, to get to her office for the past five minutes. She'd run into an enthusiastic Ancient Runes student and had spent the last few minutes explaining to her the difference between Isa when it appeared right side up and upside down. She'd only just excused herself before the girl had another question when she was nearly run over by a group of boys. The shock on her face turned to a smirk as she registered the boys' names. She pointed towards the castle doors. "Desideratus. Desislav. Outside. Now! You know there is no running in the castle" she pronounced. It was then that the screams registered. "What the hell?" she blurted as she eyed the boys for a moment. "Out!" she yelled at the two boys as she moved towards the source of the noise, leaving the two very suspect boys behind and forgetting about them as she began to rush towards the screams and...the stench that smacked her in the nose.

 

[Desislav Zhefarovich]

Desi was sprinting, full throttle, and really had to put the brakes on when Desideratus stopped. Like a vulture, it looked like she had been waiting to nab them. Desi was breathing too hard to say anything to her. He leaned his hand on a wall and breathed. Luckily, his new friend took care of it. Giving his Head of House his most innocent expression, Desi waited, his heart pounding. As she yelled for them to leave the castle, Desi's eyes widened and he nodded quickly. Grabbing onto the other Desi's elbow, Desislav pulled him away as he began to jog to the doors. "No way was it that easy. No way" he breathed, giddiness catching up to him as they reached the castle doors with no further interruptions.

Stopping as soon as he reached grass, though he'd let go of Desi a while ago, Desislav crashed into the grass. "That. Was. Awesome!" he yelled as he pumped his feet and kicked his feet. It was a crazy sort of dance that made him look like an overturned bug, but Desi was too happy to care. "Desideratus Lesley. You are the man!" he added as he stopped and leaned up on his elbows.

 

[Desideratus Lesley]

Desideratus watched with his mouth open as the professor seemed to become annoyed, but fortunately, she seemed much more inclined to get them out faster. He was not one to keep talking when it could get him in trouble, but what she had said did stump him. Desislav? He looked at his fellow Gryffindor for a moment. His name was Desislav? However, he had little time to think on it, as his elbow was taken, and he matched Des' pace to the castle doors, and laughed quietly. "Just act natural and go with it," he panted back to his friend. He wasn't sure what would be considered 'normal', seeing as he suspected normal for his new friend was being a trickster, but he was sure he'd get his meaning. Desideratus took the chance and sneaked a short look over his shoulder to see where Professor Kingsley had gone. She didn't appear to be running back towards them - so maybe it was that easy? He smirked. Awesome.

He followed slightly behind as they headed to the grass, and followed Desislav onto the grass, laughing as his new friend cheered. He was totally right - it had been awesome. He felt about as excited as his fellow Gryffindor looked, and lay spread-eagle on the ground, his heart still beating heavily within his chest. He sat up as Desislav faced him, and grinned. "Thanks, Desislav!" he said, before shaking his head slightly. "That's what she called you, right? Desislav?" He hoped his name was Desislav. He really hoped it was.
​

 

[Desislav Zhefarovich]

Desi made a face. “She always says my name like I’m in trouble” he stated. He usually was just about to cause mischief whenever he ran into Professor Kingsley. She somehow seemed to have radar for him, and it had stopped him about half a dozen times. He supposed he should actually thank her because she had saved him from losing who knew how many house points and serving a number of detentions, but all Desislav could think about was the fun he wasn’t able to have because of her. Professor Kingsley was the queen of party pooping. “But most people call me Desi. You can too” he added with a grin as he sat up and crossed his legs under him. “I keep trying to tell that to Professor Kingsley too, but she refuses” he rolled his eyes.

Desislav looked around the grounds to make sure no one was too close before leaning in to Desideratus. “Do you really think we got away with it?” he asked, hopeful that his new friend would answer with an enthusiastic yes. Desi wasn’t afraid of a detention or losing some points, but if he didn’t have to do either one, he’d be really happy about things.

 

[Desideratus Lesley]

Desideratus shook his head slowly as his new friend mentioned how Professor Kingsley spoke to him. That was like, profiling or something, the Gryffindor was sure. You couldn't just assume that someone was up to something just because they were often up to something. That was just... rude. Soren usually kept him out of trouble - the Hufflepuff was too quiet and shy to be able to get into any trouble of the sort, and Des had to make sure that he stuck to him like glue so he could talk for him, seeing as his Hufflepuff friend had such trouble. His smile grew larger as he was told that he could shorten Desislav's name. It was a very awesome name. He had a sister named Desislava, and it was also very close to his own name. They were obviously meant to be friends.

"Awesome, I guess then you can call me Des, so we don't confuse people." His face then turned a little more devious. "Unless we want to confuse people. Maybe if we really, really push it, she'll one day just call us, like, the Desi's or something." He felt it was only logical to shorten their names, especially if used together. "I'm actually pretty impressed she said both of our names so quickly without messing them up." Not that he would ever tell her that though. Complimenting a professor to their face was the last thing he could ever see himself doing, unless it was designed to get out of trouble. He had yet to try it. "Maybe you should try only ever answering to Desi!" Surely she would have to eventually let up and call him by Desi, otherwise she would never ever get his attention.

Des too looked around the grounds, but had yet to lay his eyes on their Head of House. "I think so. We have plausible deniability." Well, he was sort of sure they did. He was not entirely confident in what entailed 'plausible deniability', but they had a cover story that he felt was possible. He chuckled excitedly. "She's probably over there comforting that group of girls, or gagging at the smell. Neither involves us!"
​

 

[Desislav Zhefarovich]

Desi nodded his head slowly. Des was a good nickname and one that not too many people called him, certainly none in the castle anyway. It would be a good way to keep them from being confused for each other. As his new friend’s face turned mischievous, Desislav found himself leaning in closer knowing that he was going to like what he heard. The Gryffindor was not disappointed. “I think we do” Desi responded promptly, liking very much the idea of being called the ‘Desis.’ Desislav had a new goal for the next few years, one that felt like it could be achieved. Desideratus had some pretty good ideas, and Desi found himself nodding his head again. “That could work. I’ll give it a try and report back.”

As the other Gryffindor boy continued on, Desislav tried to keep up with the conversation. He had no idea what the guy was talking about and wasn’t sure he’d even remember the words if he wanted to ask him what that meant (which he didn’t), but it sounded really good. The main point seemed to be that he didn’t think they were going to get in trouble, and that was good enough for Desi. “Hopefully both.” Really, whatever kept her from coming after them made Desi pretty happy. Desislav got to his feet, wiping at the back of his pants haphazardly. “It was good to meet you, Des. Catch you in the common room later tonight?” he asked, hopeful that they’d hang out again. Desislav had his twin brother with him in his house, but Marius was too busy hanging out with girls in the evening. It’d be nice to have someone to hang out with again.

 

[Desideratus Lesley]

Desideratus smiled broadly at his fellow Gryffindor and hoped that he could eventually get the professor to call him Desi. That'd be really awesome. He gave him a thumbs-up and once again looked back at the castle, still pleased to see that their Head of House was just rushing down to them right now. He looked back at Desi as he jumped up, and stretched a little himself, before scrambling to his feet. "You too, Desi," Des replied, brushing grass off of his own pants enthusiastically. "No worries, you'll find me there." He was pretty hard to miss anyway, seeing as he could get a little loud, and was frequently told to be quieter. He rolled his shoulders, having had them stiffen slightly from how he had rested on the grass, and waved to Desi. "Anyway, I've gotta go. I'm not really sure what time it is, but I promised my friend Soren we'd hang out today." Or more like, he had ran into Soren earlier, said a million words in half a minute vaguely alluding to them hanging out later that day, and ran off. But he was sure the Hufflepuff got what he said. "Don't go getting caught by Professor Kingsley. See ya!"​