People Watching

[Edmund Westwick]

Of all the places in the school, the Student Lounge was one in which the twins had spent the least time. It was crowded and noisy and full of not only their own (usually blessedly quiet) housemates but unfortunately also the rowdy assortment that the rest of the school seemed to house. It was an altogether much too busy and noisy environment for the twins to enjoy spending any time whatsoever there under usual circumstances.

More and more in their time at this school though, Edmund was discovering that he enjoyed people-watching. Making up stories about the dull inane things their classmates were no doubt doing, and giving the stories his usual gruesome endings amused the boy endlessly, and he knew that it entertained Theodore at least somewhat, even if he was less fond of their classmates than Edmund was. But crowded places were the best ones to people-watch in, and also the most difficult ones to get Theodore into.

And so, the boys had gotten up early, early enough that there was nobody in the lounge yet. Edmund had spent the better part of an hour rearranging chairs and tables into a comfortably sized cube, blocked off on all sides except for a small slit for the boys to peer through and watch others as they came and went. It was by no means the best disguised people-watching hide, but hopefully it looked odd enough that nobody would actually want to bother them, and they could peer and judge at their schoolmates in peace, in their own quiet, dark, isolated chamber, just as they liked.

 

[Theodore Westwick]

The student lounge was one of the least appealing parts of the entire school, in Theodore's opinion. It was a place were students of all houses came together and chatted noisily. Something he had very little interest in. If it were up to him, he would stick to the common room. Sure, it was still filled with people, but at least only one fourth of the school could be in there. And it tended to be a quieter population. The dormitory was even better, though there was no total privacy to be found at this stupid school.

But Edmund enjoyed watching people, and so did Theodore to an extent. He enjoyed coming up with bloody stories about them, at least. Though their actual actions and social interactions never managed to thrill him in any way. Edmund had managed to talk him into this plan, though, and he tried not to be too nervous as they made their fort in the soon-to-be crowded room. He worried some students would come investigate their hiding place at some point, but didn't say so to Edmund. He watched through the gap as the room slowly filled with students, disgusted by their cheer as he watched them talk with each other and be silly children.

 

[Diana Hollis]

Diana Holland was starting to get bored of Slytherins. The common room was always full of the same people, and none of them did anything remotely interesting or scandalous. She needed some gossip, especially now that she had Domi to share it with. It wouldn't do to be behind on all the news going on at the school. So the student lounge seemed like a good solution, more students would be there but they wouldn't all be studying and boring like in the library. She headed there early on a saturday, and was disappointed to find it largely empty. Maybe if there was nothing interesting going on, at least she could find some friends? But as she scanned the room, she noticed something odd abouot some chairs and tables. They looked like they were rearranged. Curious as she was, Diana stepped closer, a frown appearing on her face. She could've sworn she just saw movement. After hesitating, she knelt down and peered underneath the tables. Startled by the sight of two pairs of eyes staring back at her, she recoiled a bit. Then frowned, pushing one of the tables aside slightly to get a better look. "What are you two doing in here? Hiding all weird like that?" She asked loudly. The two boys were clearly twins, and clearly strange.

 

[Edmund Westwick]

Edmund didn't realise their observation fortress was being approached until there were eyes directly peering into his. Well, this could be interesting, though he doubted that Theodore felt the same. Edmund's curiosity was tinged with annoyance though, when the girl immediately began attempting to disassemble their fortress. Well, that simply wouldn't do. He grabbed onto the table, holding it firmly in place to prevent her from moving it. "Don't touch that!" He snapped, glaring at her through their viewing hole. "We're watching." Edmund scowled, gripping the table firmly. "Leave us alone."

 

[Theodore Westwick]

Theodore resisted the urge to hiss in anger as a girl peeked in and immediately tried to disassemble their fortress. How dare she? This was their space, and they had clearly made an effort in creating this separation. How dense was this girl? "Does it seem like we want you in here?" He snapped angrily. "Leave us alone, you stupid girl." He glared at her as hard as he could, wondering how someone so annoying had escaped his notice before. Hogwarts was filled with annoying people, though, so it wasn't a huge surprise. He gripped the table too, holding it in place to mostly hide himself and Edmund.

 

[Diana Hollis]

Diana had figured the two boys were weird, but it still surprised her how hostile they were to her. She scowled at them, and stubbornly kept trying to push the tables apart. "You can't do that. I'll tell someone." She told them with a haughty tone. "If the professors wanted the tables to be in this weird setup for your weird freak-fort, they would have put them this way themselves." She said with a sneer. "You're only making yourselves look strange, you do realize that right? People will talk about you." She informed them with a tone of superiority, smirking slightly. Even if no one was talking about them yet, Diana would from now on.

 

[Edmund Westwick]

Edmund glared at the girl as she continued to insist upon trying to damage their fort. As was usually the case, Edmund was glad to have Theodore by his side, as he doubted he would have had a chance holding the fort together on his own. The two of them though, were enough to hold the table in place for the moment. "Let go!" He snapped. "There's no rule against rearranging the furniture, people move chairs all the time. Leave us alone!" He scowled at the girl's comment about people talking. "Well I don't care. If people want to talk that's their business. We're minding our own business, you should try doing the same." He snapped.

 

[Theodore Westwick]

Whoever this girl was, Theodore disliked her immensely. He didn't like many people, but this girl was especially horrible as she seemed to have no sense of when to keep her nose out of things. Her curiosity was making them stand out, and he hated that. "Just go away, before we curse you." He said with a glare. As far as he could tell, the girl was a first year. That meant she would have no idea how few curses they would actually know as second years. He helped Edmund hold the table in place, rolling his eyes at the girl's words. As if they cared other people talked about them. Other people barely mattered. "It must be exhausting to live with yourself, having such a dreadful personality." He snapped. "Stop disturbing us with it. Just because you're all alone, doesn't mean you get to bother us. We don't want you here."

 

[Diana Hollis]

Diana could tell both boys had to work together to keep her from dismantling their little freak-fort, which she found sort of funny. Here she was, a girl a year below them, and she was easily their match in strength. "If you wanted to be left alone, you shouldn't have made such an obvious spectacle of how badly you want to be left alone. It sends a mixed message." She said sweetly, though she stopped trying to push the tables apart more. She snorted. "Don't pretend you're just minding your own business. As if you're not sitting here to spy on others, please." She rolled her eyes. It was a bit rich coming from him. "If you curse me or cast a spell at me I'll just tell on you and you'll get in trouble." She said with a small huff. She knew that wasn't allowed, and wouldn't hesitate to tattle if it came to that.