Open Searching for Secrets

[Nicola Harvelle]

Nicola decided she didn't want to waste her time with learning all the time and she had heard from her cousin that the castle was filled with hidden passages and secret rooms. Nic had decided to start on the sixth floor corridor, since it was higher up there must be more paths leading this way right. Maybe she could find a slide so you could go down faster. With her length she could easily see hidden switches or traps on low places, but the higher parts were harder. She could only reach the lower bits of the wall and that made things harder. Nicola knew older years didn't want to give up their secrets, so she decided to search for them herself. She was following a corridor wall in the hopes she could find something. A hidden switch, weirdly placed book or even a hidden painting that harbored a door.

 

[Aubrey Miller]

Aubrey was out for a walk, slowly pushing out the boundaries of her comfort zone. She needed to be bolder, stronger, and now that she was used to the size of her class, she knew she needed to start making a name for herself. She walked the halls, head held high, when she spotted another girl nearby that seemed to be looking for something. Acting like she wasn't nervous, she sauntered over. "What are you doing?" She asked.

 

[Nicola Harvelle]

Nicola was still searching the wall for hidden doors. She was sure there must be something on this floor. Suddenly she heard a voice behind her and Nic turned around. She looked at another Gryffindor that was in her year. ''I am searching for hidden passages and hallways.'' Nic said while realizing how big this floor actually was. ''I am pretty sure there must be something around, a hidden door behind a painting or bookcase or something.'' Nicola wasn't sure what exactly she was searching for, but she didn't mind. Everything she would find was going to be awesome. ''Have you found any by chance?'' Nic asked the other girl.

 

[Aubrey Miller]

Aubrey watched the other girl. "I haven't, but I wasn't looking either," She replied simply, looking around the hall now curiously. "Have you found anything?" She asked, curious. She stepped a little closer, looking over the wall herself but not really seeing anything out of the ordinary. "I'm Aubrey, by the way," She added. "What's your name?"

 

[Nicola Harvelle]

Nicola grinned ''I haven't found anything so far, but I just started.'' Nic said ''I thought the sixth floor was the smartest place to start.'' It was high up and she was sure there must be something somewhere. The school looked gigantic from the outside and she was sure there were secret passages and hidden rooms that you couldn't easily spot. ''Nicola'' Nic said ''Do you have any idea for what we should look for?'' Nic asked Aubrey ''I was looking for loose books, banners or doors behind paintings.'' She smiled.

 

[Aubrey Miller]

Aubrey stuck her hands in her pockets, watching the other girl as she moved around. Nicola, she was going to need to remember that. She shook her head at Nic's question. "Well, the school is magical, so I would think that any hidden passageways were covered by spells," She stated simply. "There might be a chance you find an old passage that's out of the way and fairly unused, but any 'secrets' will probably require spell work to uncover," She shrugged.

 

[Nicola Harvelle]

Aubrey was probably right the coolest passages and secrets were probably locked behind charms and spells. ''Do you think alohomora would do something, or do we need some advanced magic we don't know yet?'' Nic was sure the headmistress didn't want students blowing up hallways in search for passages and tunnels, but maybe some other spell she didn't know yet could unlock the secrets of the castle. ''I should send a letter to my cousin she went to this school for a couple of years, maybe she knows how to find the good secrets'' Nic grinned. ''Although I wish I could find them myself, rather than getting outside help'' She didn't mind Aubrey helping her. She needed a friend to hang out with and Aubrey seemed cool. ''We could team up and try our luck and find secrets in the school and tell them to each other afterwards.'' Nic smiled.

 

[Aubrey Miller]

Aubrey shook her head. "No, I think they'd hide it behind more than that," she spoke decisively. Aubrey paused at the mention of family. "I could ask my older brothers, maybe they might know," she mused. She shook her head again though as Nicola suggested splitting up. "I think it would be more fun, and more productive, to look together than apart." She stated simply.

 

[Nicola Harvelle]

Nicola listened to the girl telling her she could ask her brother. ''Is your older brother still at school?'' Nic asked ''My cousin graduated this year, so unfortunately I never actually seen her here'' Nic did wish that she Len here. She could use the support of someone who was older. ''I didn't mean splitting up exactly, I meant we just start on a hallway together you would pick the left side and I the right or something.'' Nic paused ''And if we would find something that needs closer attention we would start together to solve the riddle.'' Nic looked around and an idea popped into her head. ''Do you think the paintings here would know any secret hallways, some of them are really old.'' Nic asked the Aubrey.

 

[Aubrey Miller]

Aubrey shook her head. "No, Thaddeus graduated a while ago." She stated. She considered Nicola's suggestion. "Well I suppose that makes sense," She mused. She shook her head though at Nicola's next question. "The paintings won't tell us. There are new children every year asking the same questions, they aren't going to bother sharing with every child that says 'please'," She shrugged.

 

[Nicola Harvelle]

When Aubrey said the paintings wouldn't tell them Nic was out of options. She knew that they could ask relatives, but where should they start now. It took a while to get something back from an owl letter. It wasn't exactly an express delivery. ''Too bad the paintings are out of the question.' Nic paused 'Its up to us then and some owl letters we have to send out,'' Nic knew how big the castle was and she was pretty sure there was going to be something, but she had expected it to be easier. ''I guess there is nothing left than just start and finding everything outselves.'' Nic grinned, she could never reach high objects, but she could use magic. ''The year is almost over, we got time to make a good plan to find secrets over the break'' Nic grinned.

 

[Aubrey Miller]

Aubrey smiled a bit as Nicola talked about making plans to find the secrets of the castle. That meant she had succeeded in making a friend. "Why don't we talk about it over lunch?" She asked. "I don't know about you, but I'm starving," she started to walk away, not thinking to wait to see if Nicola agreed with her before heading down the hall. This wasn't as hard as she had feared. All she needed to do was make more friends, pretend she was confident, and she could stop worrying all the time. Right?

 

[Nicola Harvelle]

When Aubrey talked about getting some lunch, Nic realized she was hungry indeed. Nic wanted to respond, but saw Aubrey already heading down the hall. ‘’I am hungry too, lets plot over lunch then.’’ Nic shot Aubrey a smile.