Closed Searching

[Sierra Woodlock]

Sierra had been at Hogwarts for a whole year and she hadn't found any secret places yet. She couldn't believe that Lucas had left without telling her any, and she couldn't find Braxton to drag him along with her. That was okay though. As much as Sierra loved her friends and being in their company, she also liked her own company, as long as it didn't last for too long.
For no particular reason, Sierra decided to start searching the Second Floor Corridor. She figured she should have at least started from the bottom up, or up down, but she didn't want to explore the Dungeons by herself, because they were way too scary. And this particular wall looked interesting. Sierra stood, one hand on her chin as she looked at the wall, before stepping a bit closer, putting both hands on at and pressing her face flat on it, trying to see if she could see through it.

 

[Lars van Houten]

Lars often enjoyed spending some time by himself. He had a lot of thoughts, and sometimes just wandering around while thinking about random things was a nice way to spend some free time. His sisters had never really understood this, but to Lars it had always been sort of soothing. So he wandered the corridors, keeping half an eye out for Blake or Tyler as he definitely didn't want to encounter them while he was alone. The Slytherin bullies hadn't crossed his path yet this year, and he wanted to keep it that was for as long as possible. He did spot someone else he knew, though, and paused in his step as he looked at Sierra. She was doing something odd, but Lars was never one to judge people for doing odd things as he was often doing odd things himself. He watched, puzzled, as Sierra pressed her face against the wall of the corridor. It seemed like she was trying to look at something. Was there perhaps something hidden behind the wall? Curious, Lars stepped closer. He was a bit taller than Sierra, so it wasn't hard to look at the wall above the girl's head as he stepped up behind her. He peered at it closely too, nearly pressing his own face into the stone. But he couldn't see anything unusual. "What are you looking at?" He asked the girl, glancing down at the top of her head. Only then did he realize how weird it may be for her that he was standing so closely. He hadn't thought of it that way, as he had simply been curious. Lars quickly stepped away from her, his cheeks turning pink. "Sorry."

 

[Sierra Woodlock]

Sierra knew that if she tried hard enough, the wall would show her the other side. There had to be a magical passageway here, it looked so peculiar! A voice spoke above her, however, and though Sierra didn't know who it was, she tried to stay focused on the wall. "The wall." She replied, seriously. Upon hearing a sorry, Sierra turned around and saw who it was, grinning and wrapping her arms around the boy in a hug. "Lars!" She exclaimed, before removing herself. "Why are you sorry?"

 

[Lars van Houten]

Lars fidgeted nervously, unsure what to make of the situation. "Oh. Why?" He asked her when she said she had been looking at the wall. He didn't always understand Sierra, and wished he could be half as carefree as she was. He yelped in surprise when the girl hugged him, awkwardly patting her arm a few times before she let go. "Uh, I was standing pretty close to you and I didn't want to make you uncomfortable." He said nervously.

 

[Sierra Woodlock]

Sierra ignored the first question from Lars, giggling at him when he said he didn't want to make her uncomfortable. "You couldn't make me uncomfortable, silly!" She said, before pausing for a second and looking up at her friend. "Oh. Is it okay that I hugged you?" Sierra asked, with slight concern, not really having ever been in a situation where someone didn't want a hug.

 

[Lars van Houten]

Lars was a little nervous when Sierra didn't answer his first question. Had he asked something stupid? But then she went on to say he couldn't have made her uncomfortable, and he shrugged. "Just... you didn't know it was me, before you turned... so..." He shrugged again, uneasy. Her next question made him blush and quickly nod. "That's fine! I didn't mean to say that... sorry." Lars bit his lip, feeling like he had somehow made this entire situation way more awkward than it had to be.

 

[Sierra Woodlock]

Lars apologized again, and Sierra giggled, giving him a playful hit. "Don't be sorry silly! I don't mind if you stand there. Or if you hug me." She replied with a shrug of her shoulders, before remembering what she was doing. "I was sure there was a secret passage here or something magical, but I can't see through the wall. Can you?" Sierra asked, quickly turning back and pressing her face against the wall again.

 

[Lars van Houten]

Lars liked Sierra a lot, and was glad she didn't seem angry with him for standing near her. He was happy to leave that in the past, so simply nodded when she said she didn't mind it. Her next words confused him a bit, and he looked at the wall doubtfully. "Why do you think so? Does it look strange in a different light? Or did it sound hollow?" He asked her, leaning closer to look at it. "I don't see anything odd about it."

 

[Sierra Woodlock]

Sierra frowned when Lars asked her about the wall, and she huffed, pouting. The Gryffindor girl turned around, and leaned on the wall instead, folding her arms. "I dunno it just looked magical. I wanted to find a secret passage." Sierra huffed again, before looking at her friend. "Do you know where a secret passage is? Ooooh - can you show me?! I promise I won't tell anyone!"

 

[Tyler Lee]

Tyler wandered around Hogwarts sometimes, looking for something to do. He knew he had to study, but it was boring and he preferred being active. He'd talk his parents out of being mad at his bad grades easily if he told them he had been making friends and connections at Hogwarts, they found that just as important as good grades. As long as Tyler didn't know what he wanted to do after Hogwarts, he didn't see the point in trying too hard. The boy was snapped out of his thoughts by a familiar voice, and he immediately scanned the corridor for Sierra. He had been hoping to run into her, though he didn't quite understand why. She was so nice and funny to talk to, even if anyone else that loud would annoy him. He hadn't taken too much time to examine his fascination with the girl, which suited him just fine. Tyler's eyes narrowed as he finally spotted her, and then spotted who she was with. Since when was Lars talking to girls? Let alone Sierra? Tyler knew this couldn't be allowed, and he made his way over. "Hey Sierra, Lars." He said, nodding at the boy before turning his attention to the girl with a small smile. "What are you guys doing?" He glanced at Lars significantly, hoping that the boy would be intimidated by him enough to just leave.

 

[Lars van Houten]

Lars wasn't sure what had looked magical about the wall, but he smiled at Sierra a bit. "I don't..." He said with a small shrug. "Maybe my sister knows, she's more adventurous than me." Lars had never really gone to explore before, as he liked to wander around the corridors, even if it took longer than a secret passage. Lars was enjoying talking to Sierra, but then Tyler approached and Lars' joy faded. He didn't like Tyler, at all. Blake was bad enough, but Tyler had bullied him without even knowing him. Something about the boy seemed cold and mean, even more so than Blake. Blake was clearly in charge of the two of them, but Lars thought that was perhaps only because Tyler let him be. He swallowed, nervous about the look Tyler gave him. It seemed like he didn't want to be mean to Lars in front of Sierra, but it was clear what he wanted. "I... I uh..." He stammered, glancing at Sierra nervously. "I have to go, actually... we'll ask my sister uh, together, later. Okay?" He stuffed his hands in his pockets, his shoulders hunching a bit as he tried to make himself smaller. He was the tallest of this group, but simply being near the Slytherin made him feel small. "See you later." He muttered to Sierra, then he walked away quickly, sad that the conversation had been cut short, but glad to be away from Tyler.

 

[Sierra Woodlock]

Sierra's eyes lit up when Lars said his sister would know about the secret passages. "Who's your sister?!" Sierra asked excitedly, ready to go seek her out and find a Hogwarts mystery! A new voice joined the conversation, and Sierra turned to see Tyler had approached them. She grinned at her friend, throwing her arms around him in a hug to greet him. They could all go searching together! The more they had of them, the more chance they would find something! But then Lars said he had to go, and Sierra frowned. She didn't even have a chance to ask him where he was going before he walked away. "Come find me when you've found your sister!" Sierra shouted after him, wondering why he suddenly decided to disappear. With a frown, she turned to Tyler. "We were going to go looking for secret passages. He must have forgotten something else." Sierra said to her friend, looking towards where Lars had left before quickly focusing on Tyler again. "Do you know of any secret passageways?!" She asked, hopeful.

 

[Tyler Lee]

Tyler watched in satisfaction as Lars clearly became nervous in his presence. He was glad the boy found an excuse to leave instead of admixing that Tyler was the reason he left. It would be better for his friendship with Sierra, assuming Sierra liked Lars for some reason. The thought alone made Tyler jealous and angry, and he was glad the guy had left. Perhaps he should make sure Sierra didn't like Lars anymore, somehow. "Kinda weird how he left like that." Tyler commented as he watched him go. "Is he your friend? I heard he's weird and not very nice. He was mean to my friend Blake." Tyler shrugged, as if he didn't really know much about it. "I'd be careful around him." He decided that was enough, and instead he focused on Sierra's question. He was glad her attention was on him, even if it made him nervous. "I don't..." He shrugged. "Maybe we can go look together?" He felt hopeful as he asked.

 

[Sierra Woodlock]

Sierra nodded her head in agreement when Tyler said it was weird that Lars left - she wished he hadn't left, but hadn't thought it 'weird' until Tyler said so. She made a point to try her hardest to remember to ask him when she next saw him. Tyler kept talking and Sierra frowned at what he was saying. She had nodded her head with a smile when he asked if Lars was her friend, but it quickly changed when he said he was mean. "That doesn't sound like Lars..." Sierra said, looking back in the direction that Lars had gone to, but she nodded her head when Tyler said she should be careful around him. She wasn't sure what she had to be careful about, but Sierra knew she wasn't always the type of person to understand when someone was even being mean. But her thoughts were distracted when Tyler asked if they could go look together for secret passageways. "Yes! Yes please! I thought this wall was one, but I don't think it is anymore..." Sierra trailed off again, looking at the wall suspiciously, before spinning around and looking at the other wall. "Maybe it's this one?!"

 

[Tyler Lee]

Tyler knew that insulting someone's friend was a tricky thing to do, if you wanted the other person to believe you. But the doubt on Sierra's face gave him hope. "I dunno, just what I heard. He's quiet, but I heard he can be really mean behind people's backs. He spreads mean rumors and stuff. " He shrugged and gave her a small smile, as if to say he didn't really know either. He was glad she was happy that he would now help her, and smiled fondly as she said she had thought this wall had been a secret passage. He looked over at the other wall, which seemed ordinary to him. "Perhaps we should look behind tapestries. I think they're likely hiding behind things." He told her with a confidence he didn't quite feel. He wanted her to think him smart and competent.

 

[Sierra Woodlock]

Sierra wasn't entirely sure what to believe, as Tyler spoke about Lars. She tried to think back over their interactions, and couldn't recall the boy ever being mean to her - or anyone, but she figured the only way to know for sure was to ask Lars. "Okay." Sierra said, her brows furrowed in concentration. "I'll talk to him about it." She replied, before looking back at Tyler. "Thank you for looking out for me. You're a good friend!" Sierra said, giving him a hug. When Tyler spoke about tapestries, Sierra's eyes lit up. "You're a genius! Where's a tapestry?!" Sierra asked excitedly, looking around.

 

[Tyler Lee]

Tyler was pleased with this conversation, and quite pleased with himself. The doubt on Sierra's face made him think she probably hadn't liked Lars that much anyway, if it was that easy to convince her. "Alright, be careful though." He told her, implying Lars might be mean to her if she did that. She then hugged him, which Tyler had no idea what to do with. When her arms wrapped around him, he froze in place, not moving again until Sierra let him go again. "Uh." He said, blinking. "I think there's one at the start of the corridor." He said a bit weakly. "We can check it out?"