Perking up Mr Prickles

[Leda Layton]

Leda and Mervyn had managed to make a brand new friend before they broke up for the semester. Mr. Prickles had been safe and sound in the blanket lined draw at the back of the library, stocked up with enough food to last the duration of his hibernation. The young Slytherin had done her best to make sure what they were doing was the right thing, and had even read a whole book about the behaviours of such an animal so that they could keep him alive and well. When they found Mr Prickles he had looked close to death, and there was no way that Leda and her best friend were going to let the poor creature suffer in the wild. Once they had returned to Hogwarts though and rescued the ill creature, they'd be less than pleased to find that it still wasn't looking its best, and that drastic measures needed to be taken.

Leda had had enough experience with Olive teaching her Potions as a child to know exactly what she needed to do. So long as they didn't get caught doing it, there should be no reason as to why they couldn't make sure Mr Prickles had a long and prosperous life. After meeting up with her partner in crime and going through the plan one more time, they'd arrived in the Dungeons, with determination the size of the moon. "Remember, she can't suspect a thing or she'll take Mr Prickles away. You're on distraction, I'm on borrowing." She nodded to her friend, hoping he was ready to put their master plan into action.
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[Mervyn Strangewayes]

Mervyn was at a total loss. He and Leda had done absolutely everything they could think of for Mr Prickles - given him a safe, warm home, food, and cuddles - and the hedgehog didn't seem to appreciate any of it. What more could he possibly want? The only reasonable explanation was that he was sick. Well, not to worry - Mervyn and Leda always had a plan, and in this case, they also had a sister with a potions supply cupboard. Mervn nodded, treating the mission with perfect seriousness. Mr. Prickles' health and happiness were hanging in the balance, here. "Roger that," he said, as they arrived at Olive's classroom and knocked on the door.

 

[Olive Layton]

Olive was looking forward to a new semester, and a new chance at putting the development she'd been working on with her first set of students to the next that would be arriving in her classes. It had been sad to see the oldest students leave, but she was hopeful for those that remained and she had a few favourite students that she hoped would be able to work upon the rare talents and skills that came naturally to them. Upon hearing a knock at her door, Olive stopped reorganising her supply cupboard for the fourth time that morning, and turned to see who was there as she spoke. Usually people would step into her classroom and knock on her office instead, and it was strange that whoever was behind it wanted her permission to enter simply the classroom. "Come in," she called out, turning and taking a few steps to see who was there.
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[Leda Layton]

The third year gave a reassuring nod to the Gryffindor, not waiting for a reply when he knocked on the door before entering her sisters classroom. It would be very strange when she no longer had classes with Monty, and when she would be under the instruction of Olive, but she hoped that her sister would treat her like the best student she was, of course expecting to be publicly named her favourite student. "Hi Olive," She greeted the redhead with the biggest smile. It was strange enough that they were there uninvited so their plan was going to have to work perfectly if they wanted to get away with no only stealing the ingredients to make the medicine for Mr Prickles, but that they did it with enough discretion that she wouldn't be on their tails when they left the classroom either. She glanced over her shoulder to Mervyn, waiting for him to perform his act so that she could make the move.
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[Mervyn Strangewayes]

Mervyn plastered on his most affable face as he followed Leda through the door, surprised, as usual, by how well organised Olive's classroom was compared to Professor Pendleton's. "'Ello," he said, taking a perch on one of the stools and pretending to be interested in a jar of scurvy-grass on the shelf beside him - the picture of perfect innocence. "Fort we'd come an' keep you company for a bit, didn't we Leeds?" he said, looking to his friend for agreement.

 

[Olive Layton]

Olive knew Leda and Mervyn, and the level of suspicion was increasing the more that they played innocent. Unsure of what the pair were up to, and wondering whether Monty was right about Mervyn being a bad influence on her sister, Olive tried to keep both eyes on both students at all times. "Don't you have anything better to do than hanging around in the Dungeons?" She asked them, not budging from her position where she could see them both. They would never come and see her unless they wanted something, and it made the potions professor nervous.
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[Leda Layton]

Leda nodded at Mervyns comment, wondering if he was going to do anything more than just stare at a jar. That just wasn't going to cut it. "Merv, don't touch that!" The Slytherin did her best at improvising, and wandering across to the boy she stood in the eye line of her sister, careful to hide her hands from the professor as she proceeded to slap the jar out the Gryffindors hands, gasping in fake horror as the crashed to the floor and shattered around their feet. "Oh no.." She glanced up at Mervyn before turning to Olive, eyebrows raised, knowing that her sister would hate that she had just covered the pristine floor.
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[Mervyn Strangewayes]

"'Course we do," Mervyn said, turning the jar over in his hands. "That's wot makes us so nice, innit? There's lots of fings we could be doing, but instead, we came down 'ere to keep yoo- wot?" Mervyn looked up just as Leda stood in front of him, blocking Olive from his sight. Next thing he knew, Leda swiped the jar from his hands - it burst open on the stone floor with an almighty crash, shards of glass exploding over their shoes. "Wot the bloody 'ell did you-?! Oh..." Realising Leda had caused a diversion, he quickly re-assumed character. "Oh... no... wot a terrible pity. Sorry, Professor Layton. 'Ere, let me 'elp." Bending down, he picked up a single chunk of glass. "Ahh!" he said, suddenly flinging the glass away and shoving his perfectly uninjured finger in his mouth. "Professor, I'm bleedin'!"

 

[Olive Layton]

Olive wasn't buying it. They were certainly up to something but she just needed to find out what. She was even convinced when a jar smashed to the floor, that Leda had done that on purpose, "Hey!" she said alarmed, taking a few steps forward towards the students. She may have been the students sister but she was also her professor, and she wasn't going to have her misbehaving in her classroom. And Mervyn, well he was just a pain that she had to put up for the third year's benefit. Her annoyance however softened into more genuine concern when Mervyn tried to help. She really didn't need him to, she could easily clean up such a mess, however when he cut his finger on a piece of glass she knew things had just gotten a whole lot more complicated. She groaned in irritation, putting out an arm to bat Leda out the way, guiding the Gryffindor around the shards of glass and across to the sink where she could inspect the damage. She was no nurse of course but she could at least decide if it was bad enough to be taken to the hospital wing. "Don't you dare touch anything else," she warned over her shoulder, reaching to turn on the tap.
​

 

[Leda Layton]

Leda could have slapped Mervyn right there and then for giving away her ploy, but as soon as he regained character she smiled, and the Gryffindor even had him fooled for a moment that he'd hurt himself on one of the pieces of glass. The moment Olive was distracted, Leda shuffled backwards, purposly scattering the glass with her shoes to make it more difficult to clean up as she slid backwards towards the supply cupboard. With her sisters back turned she could finally hunt for the missing ingredient, but as she looked towards the small jars, all neatly labelled and on their shelves, she realised that Olive had reorganised them in such a way that it was impossible to find what she was looking for. Trying to keep the panic in her actions to a minimum, and determine to do her best for the health of Mr Prickles, she began carefully hunting through the vials, hoping to catch a glimpse of what they so desperately needed.
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[Mervyn Strangewayes]

Mervyn gave Leda a wink as he let Olive usher him protectively toward the sink. As he reached it, however, he realised he had a problem. As soon as he removed his finger from his mouth, Professor Layton was going to see that he wasn't bleeding - and then she was going to look around and see Leda rifling through her supply cupboard. Hesitating for only a moment, he ripped his hand away from his lips and quick as a flash shoved it under the running water. "I'm feelin' a bit dizzy, now," he added as an afterthought, hoping to buy Leda another thirty seconds or so. What was taking her so long?! "I fink I might be gonna faint, like." Unable to help himself, Mervyn flashed what he hoped was an inconspicuous glance over his shoulder.

 

[Olive Layton]

"No no no," Olive wasn't sure what she was meant to do if a student was actually going to faint on her. Maybe she should have requested the nurse come to them instead? "Here, come and take a seat," she said, pulling out a stool for him to sit on before he ended up on the floor. She didn't need another situation like Monty's. Potions would be known as the cursed subject from here on out if both a professor and a student collapsed from the same department. Rummaging around in the cupboard, she cursed herself for putting things away quite so tidily as she struggled to find a cup that would be suitable to drink out of. Perhaps if he had some water he would feel better.
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[Leda Layton]

Leda smiled at herself as she heard the commotion going on behind her, knowing that Merv was doing his best to keep her sister distracted. Eventually her eyes came across the ingredient she needed, and sliding it carefully out the shelf, aware that if it were to touch any others on its ascent that it would alert Olive to their plan, Leda had a controlled squeal as grasped it, clear of anything that would ruin this moment for them. Tucking it into her trousers, she turned and headed back the way she came, nodding in her best friends direction to signal that the deed was done. Mr Prickles was going to be okay.
​

 

[Mervyn Strangewayes]

Pulling his hand away from the water and tucking it under his armpit, Mervyn sat down. The concern on Olive's face made him feel a little guilty - it hadn't been so long since Professor Pendleton collapsed in the hall - but it couldn't be helped, and he wouldn't have done it if it hadn't been completely necessary. Just this once, Mr. Prickles' life was more important than Olive's feelings. Catching Leda's signal, Mervyn smiled and hopped off the stool. "Actually, I'm feelin' all of a sudden much recovered, Professor," he said, fast-walking over the broken glass jar and toward the door. "Fanks for 'avin us - good-bye!"

 

[Olive Layton]

Professor Layton was used to looking after students, and while she may have taught the elder years that didn't mean she no experience with those in the younger. She frowned the Gryffindor as he suddenly hopped off the stool, wondering whether Montys words were closer to the truth than she initially anticipated. "Stop." Something was most definitely not right here. No child hurt themselves and immediately walked away. With one hand up she'd managed to close the door of the classroom, stopping her sister and her friend from leaving the premises, and taking a few steps towards Mervyn she refused to take her eyes off him. "What's going on?" she questioned outrightly, expecting nothing but the truth.
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[Leda Layton]

Leda had almost made it to the door before she saw it move, closing in front of her face with a tiny gust of wind only a dungeon could provide. She turned her head slowly towards her friend, although he was further behind her than she'd initially anticipated. From the looks of things though it seemed that it was Mervyn she suspected the most. Wow, she really wasn't the smartest, even for a professor. Even Monty could have worked that one out. Debating whether it was better to leave Mervyn to Olive for the sake of Mr Prickles' life, or to support her best friend without whom she wouldn't have even been able to get this far, the Slytherin glanced between the door and the others, remaining silent in the background in case she could save both.
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[Mervyn Strangewayes]

Mervyn could almost taste victory when suddenly the ajar door swung closed, trapping him and Leda inside. He turned slowly to face Professor Layton, heart skipping in his chest. They were so completely busted. All Olive would have to do was look at the open cupboard behind her, with its jars now conspicuously disorganised, to realise that Leda had been rifling through them while Mervyn kept her back turned. A nervous smile spread its way across Mervyn's face as he tried and failed to keep himself from glancing at the cupboard. Why had Leda left it in such a mess? "Weeeee wassss jus'tryna'elp'an'edge'og," he said. "S'a long story, Professor; we'll tell you anuva day." Willing to elbow Leda out of the way if necessary, Mervyn made a lunge for the door handle.

 

[Olive Layton]

Olive followed the boys glance to her cabinet, and noticed it was not left in the way it was a few moments prior to their arrival. She'd been working hard on it all morning she after getting her placement finally correct, it was obvious that it was wrong. Before the professor could question Leda however, the younger boy made a dash for the door, although crossing her hands over her chest she knew there was no way it would open until she were to release the hex on it. She tilted her head to the side, waiting for them to explain, wondering why they'd decided to foster an 'edg'hog and why they needed to steal from her.
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[Leda Layton]

Leda's mouth dropped as Mervyn made a dash for the door, watching him attempt to abandon her and their plan for the sake of at worst, detention. Slapping at his arm and calling him the worst names under the sun she could think of in the instant, she took a few steps away from him, her hands on her hips as she waited for her friend to give up trying to escape. Couldn't he tell he'd just completely ruined their plan for them? And it wasn't enough them that would suffer most! How were they meant to look after Mr Prickles if they couldn't get his medicine to him? "Now she knows!" Leda yelled, as though she had totally been buying it up until that point.
​

 

[Mervyn Strangewayes]

Finding the door locked, Mervyn cursed beneath his breath, but what left his mouth was nowhere near as colourful as what Leda yelled at him next. He blushed as brightly as his house crest, humiliated and angry. How in Merlin's name was this his fault?! "You's the one 'oo left the cupboard lookin' like it got 'it by a blastin' curse, you broom'ead!" he retorted, forgetting Olive was even in the room, or that he was meant to be explaining what was going on.

 

[Leda Layton]

Mervyn may have been a partner in crime, but even he wasn't able to escape her wrath when she was angry. "How dare you!" she yelled, no longer registering that she had her sister watching over them, nor a glass vial tucked into her trousers, and proceeded to take a couple of frustrated steps towards him, ignoring the fact he seemed to be blushing harder than he ever had before. After all this time she thought that the Gryffindor had her back, and it had hurt to see him try to walk away. It was like the situation with Monty all over again, and she wasn't going to let him just disappear a second time.
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[Mervyn Strangewayes]

There was no way Mervyn could fight a girl, and even if he'd wanted to, he definitely wouldn't have fought Leda. He hadn't been in the entrance hall the day she'd incapacitated James, but she'd taken great delight in telling him about it later, and the provoked imagery had been so vivid that it flashed before Mervyn's eyes again now as she began to advance upon him. The Gryffindor cowered, taking a step back into the wall and instinctively covering himself.

 

[Olive Layton]

"Stop it. NOW. Both of you!" Olive shouted, more loudly than she'd ever had to since joining at Hogwarts. Watching her sister fight with her best friend was both disappointing and shameful. "I will never have you speak to anyone in that way again," She told Leda, closing the gap between the trio and using her arm to move her sister away from the Gryffindor, who seemed to be cowering up against the door to try and get away from her. "I don't know what you think you're doing, but this stops now." She told them both, "I don't care if it's for a hedgehog or the Ministry of Magic, you do not speak to one another in those tones or words and you certainly do not strike out against anyone." Olive had regret not being firmer with her sister after the incident with James, and sibling or not she wasn't going to give the girl any special treatment if she found out she laid so more as a hand on another student. "Now, since you've spent the time and trouble stealing from my cupboard, you will tell me what's going on right now or you will be heading straight to your heads of houses." She'd sent many students to theirs last year and wouldn't hesitant to do the same again.
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[Leda Layton]

The Slytherin had been about to take another swipe at her friend when she was pushed back by Olive intervening as always. She glared at them both, fuming but silent as her sister scolded them both. Mervyn was going to be sorry for ruining it for them. The redhead turned to sister. "It's like he said. We found a hedgehog. It looked dead so we're fixing it." she blurted out in a sarcastic tone. The cat was out the bag, and as Nugget moved away from the scene, Leda didn't care about who heard them now it was all over. "We needed this to make him better, but now we can't because someone was too obvious about their injury." It had been a stupid injury anyway. Who cut themselves on a piece of glass?
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[Mervyn Strangewayes]

Mervyn had never heard Professor Layton shout before, and it frightened him nearly as much as Leda. He flattened himself harder against the wall, cowering beneath Olive's wrath. They deserved what they were getting, but that didn't make it any less upsetting for Mervyn, who had the most laid-back grandfather in the world, and who had never been scolded so fiercely before. He felt tears creeping into his eyes, and looked down to hide the sheen, unable to defend himself against Leda's remark or say anything to get himself out of trouble. All he'd wanted to do was help Mr Prickles. Now everybody was angry with him.