On Search For Something Interesting

[Charlotte Owens]

The new year had started and Charlotte was very excited. She was growing up now and, after a lot of arguments with her parents, she had successfully chosen the subjects that she wanted and hoped that they would not put any extra pressure on her this year, especially after the lecture she managed to get about improving her grades. Despite this, she was confident that she was going to do much better than last year and couldn't wait for classes to start. She found herself wandering around the castle, not really sure where she was going. She figured that she might as well just explore the castle by herself. Maddie and Hemi were probably off doing their own thing and Charlotte did not want to disturb them, especially considering that it was the start of the year and Maddie now had her brother to look after as well as herself.

As Charlotte began to make her way up the stairs from the Slytherin Common Room, she looked out for some places that she hadn't seen before. It wasn't until she made it onto the fourth floor corridor that she had found a door that she never before entered. Excitedly, Charlotte opened it to find The Student Lounge. What did people even do in The Student Lounge? There were house common rooms for lounging around and Charlotte did not really see the purpose in it. Nonetheless, she walked inside and looked around at all of the bookshelves and armchairs. There was even a fireplace in the room that was emitting flames but luckily no one was in there and Charlotte was free to do whatever she wanted. She began looking through the bookshelves and under the coffee tables as if she was frantically looking for something and would continue this until she found something that caught her eye. Her parents had always told her that Hogwarts held thousands of secrets and there was no way she wasn't going to find every single one of them during her seven years there.

 

[Avie Mitchell]

Avie was always looking for something to do, as a seventh year, a prefect and the team seeker one would think that Avie would never be bored but given how he was with classes, it was obvious that he would get bored, the boy had not interest in reading, he read in the dorm room, tried to, got his friends to help him, since at least there no one could see when he got frustrated with the words on the page. The teen therefore in his spare hours was always looking for something to do, and since it wasn't very nice outside with heavy heavy rain the boy was indoors and just searching for something that he could do. Generally boredom and Avie struggling to find something to occupy his active didn't lead to great things, it generally lead to smart decision making in the bored part of Avie who was always just always want to do something that would make him smile immediately more than once this had almost ended absolutely terribly for him, but Avie liked to think that he was careful, however in saying all of that his boredom today was exceedingly high and though Lucien was no longer doing that odd and disgusting kissing thing with Clara, whom he was sad to see graduate, today the other boy had just been took busy. Which left Avie to his own devices, as usual with Rockie perched on his shoulder and all his pockets just filled with rocks.

Avie was just racing around the school, moving between the floors as he tried to find what he wanted, the boy was sure that he was going to find something essentially or he was just going to tire himself out which wasn't really a terrible waste of his time really he quite liked running around. The teen however eventually stopped when he got to the library, and after taking one look in the place and he decided that place wasn't the place for him, and so he wandered into the student lounge and spotted a girl sitting near the fire, he moved towards the person and realised he knew who she was and so took one of the rocks from his pocket and then threw it at her, "CHARLOTTE" he exclaimed at the girl, rushing towards her as he did so, he hoped that she might have something fun to do that he could join her, there was only so much time that he had left at the school he had to make the most of it.
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[Charlotte Owens]

Charlotte jumped when she heard the noise of a rock being thrown at her and turned around instantly, almost instinctively grabbing her wand before realising who it was. The voice could have been heard throughout almost half of the castle and Charlotte smiled, glad to see one of her only Slytherin friends approaching her. "Hello Avie," she replied calmly, knowing that he probably did not mean to speak so loud. "What are you doing here? Surely you have better things to do for your last year at Hogwarts." She chuckled, glad that he was there nonetheless. She hadn't seen him much at all last year except for the Quidditch games, especially Charlotte's first one where he managed to catch the snitch before Charlotte even had a chance to get up into the air. She had a lot of fun the last time that it was just the two of them and hoped that they'd have even more fun today if Avie was willing to stay.

"I was just looking for something to entertain me. You've been at Hogwarts for longer so do you know if there's something worth looking at hidden in this room?." she asked him, wishing she had as much experience at the school as he did. She couldn't wait for her seventh year but she was not looking very forward to graduating and having to find something to do after she left. It was too far to think of now and all Charlotte wanted to do was focus on the present. "I've never been in this room before so that's basically why I came in here. There are so many things hidden inside of the castle and I just wanted to know if that included something in this room. Have you explored much during your time here? I've tried my best to explore everything I can and so far it's been kind of good to me. Recently I found the Rosebush and it surprised me that a girl who was only in her first year died here. It's kind of bizarre isn't it?" Charlotte continued to ramble on, not really caring if the older boy was listening to her or not. It felt great to talk about what she was proud of and was obviously very excited to see her only older friend standing in front of her.

 

[Avie Mitchell]

Avie approached her with a happy expression on his face and just smiled at the girl he had gotten to know, shrugging at her question, "Looking for something to do!" he replied, "It's raining and it looks like it could get really heavy and that means I can't go swimming," the boy informed her before adding, "Plus I have an entire year left, that's plenty of time," the boy informed her with a decisive nod, since he knew that a year was a long period of time, and there was so much that Avie could fill in a day, that of course he could fit it into a year. Plus in Avie's mind spending time with the people he liked was the best things that he could do, he loved hanging out with people, he didn't much enjoy being alone at school any more, so he was always happy to surround himself with people as he made his way through the school. The teen smiled at her, especially as she spoke of something hidden, thinking of his conversation with Marcel, they hadn't yet found the secret room, but perhaps with a fresh set of young eyes they would be able to easily find it. Far more easily find it, if it did exist, which Avie was more than sure that it did.

Avie smiled at her, "I don't know if there is anything hidden in this room," he replied with a little smile on his face, "But I do know that there is a hidden room, I haven't yet found it, but I want to find it," he told her, lowering his excited tone to something above a whisper, "I've been looking for it for years, but haven't found anything yet," and then just let Charlotte continue, and he thought it was funny that she hadn't really explored, "But exploring is the most fun?" he had a questioning tone, as if asking why she hadn't gone exploring, finding the tale about the dead girl not that interesting, although that now added up in his head about the small note at the rose garden, "Exploring is the best thing, I love exploring," he told her, "I don't like classes, since I can't really read, but exploring is the best thing, you see so much, and I love running into the ghosts," the boy told her, really not understanding why Charlotte wouldn't spend all of her time exploring this vast and amazing castle.
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[Charlotte Owens]

The happy buzz from the older boy was beginning to rub off on Charlotte and she couldn't help but continue smiling and nodding at him after everything he said. Despite not really doing it herself much, swimming really did sound like fun and she was eager to do that in her own free time when she had the chance, most likely in the lake considering there was really nowhere else to go at Hogwarts. She wondered if she should perhaps ask Avie where he went swimming but decided against it as he began talking to her about a hidden room. She hadn't heard of something so great before and if it really did exist Charlotte wanted to be the first to find it, even if it meant using the time she used to study to do it. The third year jumped up and down on the spot at the thought of being able to find it. "I can help you!" she exclaimed, unable to control her excitement. "If more than one person tries to find it then maybe it will be easier." She looked up at him eagerly, hoping that he'd want Charlotte to help him. It seemed like a challenge that the girl would happily take and she wasn't going to miss out on any sort of opportunity like that.

"Yes, exploring is very fun! What makes it even more fun is that Hogwarts is so big and not even someone like you who has been at the school for almost seven years can find its secrets so quickly." Charlotte told him, agreeing wholeheartedly with his opinion. "But I've never really ran into any ghosts. The only time I really see ghosts is in the Great Hall during celebrations. Even then, the ghosts never talk to me." Charlotte tried her best to not sound so disappointed but she really was. Ghosts seemed like such interesting creatures and she really wanted to know what it would be like to be friends with one of them. They have lived at Hogwarts for much longer than Charlotte so maybe they knew a secret or two about the castle? She added talking to ghosts to her bucket list. There was no way she was going to leave Hogwarts without meeting one.

 

[Avie Mitchell]

Avie had been searching for this room since he first arrived at the school and became aware of the moving hallways and this secret room, he was always looking for it, had become certain that he'd found it once even though he actually hadn't and all he'd really found nothing since he'd never refound that room, but it didn't matter to Avie, he spent a lot of time running around trying to find what he wanted just because it didn't always end up with him getting it didn't mean the boy stopped trying, he never really stopped trying that much was certain, whether he was searching with only Marcel, or if he was searching by himself the boy knew he would not give up until he had graduated, at the point where he finally said goodbye to the school would be when he would give up the chance of finding the room, however since Charlotte was younger than he was she could carry it on, "I don't know how to find it, admittedly," he told her a little embarrassed smile upon his lips as he spoke, "But i try and find it almost every day! You can definitely join, and when I graduate I expect you to continue looking!" he then added his entire face perking up at this statement.

Avie didn't understand her logic, how could she not want to find everything immediately, why wait when there was so much to explore so many rooms to play in, so many areas of the grounds to be at, Avie did a lot of exploring and he thought it was the best thing ever. Well that was after rocks, spending time with his friends, quidditch, and dogs, but it was one of the best things ever in his mind, "But how can you not explore everything immediately, there's so much to see, and it's all so much fun," he insisted and then gave a slight shrug, "The ghosts are fun, or well, Vex is, the other ghost can be mean, and they like talking in riddles which means I never understand," he told her, essentially in his mind warning her about the dangers of the ghosts and how they were when it came to questions, which he was sure she might ask, "But I explore all the time! And because of my exploring in the lake, looking for better rocks, I met a mermaid!" he told her excitedly, there were very few people who by this point didn't know about Avie's encounter with a mermaid but he would continue to tell people it regardless.
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[Charlotte Owens]

Talking to Avie had always made Charlotte excited. Whenever something involved him it usually ended up turning out to be lots of fun. Her younger cousins had quite liked the artwork that they made together last year and it was definitely a memory that she would cherish forever. Despite only knowing him for a year, Charlotte was really going to miss Avie and she felt a sense of pride in knowing that he trusted that she would carry on the tradition of finding the hidden room. She made it her duty from that day to find it and if she did end up finding it after Avie left she would let him know that it existed and would tell him all about it the next time that they met. But she hoped that they would find it before then so they could explore the room together and so Charlotte didn't have to do that part on her own. "I will make it my goal! And as soon as I find it I'll tell you what it looks like and where it is." Charlotte told him, knowing perfectly well that with a little bit of help she would definitely be able to find the place. Exploring was her favourite thing to do and she was not going to rest until she found the hidden room.

The fact that the ghosts in the school were mean made Charlotte wonder whether or not she really wanted to meet them. She hoped that Avie was lying as she had such good expectations for them and she did not want them ruined just because the ghosts were mean. "What makes Vex different from all of the other ghosts? Why doesn't he speak in riddle too?" Charlotte asked curiously, not knowing before that ghosts tend to speak in riddle. It was quite an interesting fact and she made sure to keep note of it in case she ever saw a ghost. Perhaps she could make up her own riddle and let them figure it out? That way, the two of them could have fun together figuring out each other's riddles. "A mermaid!?" Charlotte exclaimed, struggling to believe that the mermaids would actually talk to the students at the school. "I thought mermaids didn't like talking to students. How did you get it to talk to you?"

 

[Avie Mitchell]

Avie had always liked Charlotte, though he was aware that Esme had some issues with the girl he didn't often let when his close friend thought of someone influence how he thought of someone, only the weird James one who had just graduated, but he hadn't liked that boy anyway, he was odd, and was definitely not as fun as Charlote was, and Avie did not often spend any time with this girl but he knew the search for the room, that he and marcel had failed to do would be in much better hands with Charlotte, he would be endlessly jealous if she managed to find it during her time at school where Avie had not, but he knew that it would be good to know that the room itself at least existed and wasn't just some farce like the corridors moved idea, the stairs moved, but the corridors as he had been countlessly informed did not, the room however no one really denied existing. The teen smiled easily at her, just nodding his head excitedly, "You'll find it I'm sure!" he told her, pure assurance in his tone that he believed that she would find it, that she would manage where he had not.

The Slytherin prefect knew that the ghosts were annoying, they spoke in ways he didn't understand them in the slightest, Vex was fun that was the difference in his mind although Lucien had told him the real difference, "Vex is not really a ghost, it's a..." he paused a deep expression of thought on his face as he tried to figure out what it might be, "Pol...palter...poltergistie...," he began very clearly trying to remember how it was supposed to be said, "Pol-ter-geist, poltergeist! He plays pranks!" he said, and with a clearly pleased expression he just looked at her expecting her to understand what it was, since he didn't want to have to repeat himself multiple times, especially with a word he clearly didn't really know how to say. But thankfully the conversation moved along to the talk of the mermaid which Avie had met, "I was swimming in the lake, collecting the best rocks, and she just swam up beside me, real fast, and then she showed me where there were even better rocks, " he told her, with a smile on his face, the mermaid had been incredible, "She was amazing fun! I haven't seen her since but I figure if I swim in that bit of the lake I'll see her eventually," he informed her as if it was just a matter of fact that he would meet another mermaid, or the same mermaid again, "Have you not seen one?"
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[Charlotte Owens]

Charlotte was pleased that Avie was sharing her enthusiasm for the search of the room. She knew that she would find it eventually and the encouragement from her friend was greatly appreciated. She was willing to get only her bestest friends involved in the search of it, and with a little bit of help from other people, the Slytherin was confident that she'd end up finding it, even if it took up her whole time at the school. Perhaps the ghost Vex knew where it was? Charlotte didn't quite understand what Avie meant by a poltergeist and she wasn't sure that he knew much about it either. Nonetheless, she still wanted an answer. "Are poltergeists still kind of like ghosts?" she asked, wondering if there was much of a difference between the two. She would probably have to ask one of her professors if they knew anything about it or, if she ever had the chance, she would ask Vex himself if he let her.

Charlotte smiled as Avie explained to her his encounter with a mermaid. She always thought that all rocks were the same and was slightly confused when he mentioned that the mermaid showed him 'better' rocks. "Did you get her name?" Charlotte asked, wanting to know more about it. Maybe if she stood at the lake and shouted out her name then she'll appear for her? It was an experiment that Charlotte was eager to try when she had the chance. "The only mermaids I've seen are in textbooks but I'm sure they look even better in real life." she replied, imagining a long colourful fish tail with a pretty girl on top. From what Charlotte was hearing, mermaids seemed extremely nice and she added meeting one to her small bucket list of things to do before she graduated.

 

[Avie Mitchell]

At the question Avie just shrugged at the question, since he had very little idea about what the difference was, all he knew was that Vex was a fun ghost, and the rest were boring and frustrating. That was the difference to him, the real difference had been explained to him by Lucien but it didn't matter Avie hadn't understood so he hadn't replied or tried to say anything. The teen looked at her and let a smile settle on his lips, "Lucien explained it to me, but I didn't really get it, so I don't really know," Avie gave her a little shrug since he had no other way of explaining it to Charlotte, he was sure that if he got Lucien or Esme to come explain it to her then she would understand it, above that perhaps she'd get it if she looked at a book, which was obviously not something that Avie could do, all the advancements he'd made were as clear as day, but he preferred to not have to try, that pleased him more, he didn't like reading and not just because he wasn't very good at it but because it was boring to him, he had to sit still, where was the fun in that.

At the question about the mermaid Avie easily grinned, looking at her and just smiling, "Rain," he replied to Charlotte excitedly, "They were amazing, and beautiful, and knew all the best areas for rocks," he could make the point about the better rocks enough, and just smiled at her, "I'll show you, in the dorm, I have most of the special mermaid rocks sitting with the rest of the good rocks, I really want more of them, but it's really hard to get to them, and then sometimes the bubble head charm fails, so generally I stick close to the shore," Avie explained to her in likely far more detail than she was interested in, but he felt it very necessary to explain it, on the off chance that she decided she wanted to try to find either the mermaid or the rocks. Unlike Charlotte since his aversion to books was pretty real, he'd really only seen real mermaids or the ones from that cartoon that Jon let him watch, "They are so much better in real life, I'd love to be a mermaid,"
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