Sneaky

[Corrine Lagos]

"Shhh" Corrine laughed, her finger to her lips as they slowly made their way to the Kitchens. The school year had only just begun, and already the young Gryffindor was risking trouble. They still had twenty minutes before curfew. Surely, that was plenty of time to avoid it. "Come on" she giggled as she slipped into the room, holding the door open for her friend.

 

[Aurora Night]

Rory honestly did try to stifle her laughter, but it wasn't something she did very often and as such it never worked very well. "Sorry, but I did tell you I couldn't make any promises." She grinned, quickly following Corrine into the kitchen and looking around for her intended target. She supposed they really shouldn't be caught, but she wouldn't mind too much if they were - she had some accidental point earning to make up for after all. "Alright, what do you want? I'm going for chocolate, the house elves must have some in here somewhere." Chocolate was always worth sneaking out for, and it was even better that her friend had snuck out with her.

 

[Vex]

Being as kind a spirit as he was, Vex patrolled the castle around curfew time in order to be helpful. Of course, he was currently having problems with the headmistress (one sided of course, he would cause he grief and she would ignore him) and with the closest professor nearby, Professor Potionslime. Seeing a few little lions scampering across the cobbled halls of the dungeons toward the kitchen certainly intrigued him, but the chaotic spirit followed them rather than kicking up a fuss. Yet.

If they thought they'd be able to creep in and out within the time limit of their curfew, these plans were most likely going to fail now that Vex glided through the wall into the kitchen, invisible. The lack of house elves helped (they, for some unexplainable reason, resented his presence) and he hovered on top of the roof above the little person (what was it? Firstie? looked like a firstie. Vex grinned deviously) and became visible and corporeal without a sound, before tipping his flower-covered kettle and pouring slime, trying to contain his cackling, but eventually failing to do so.
​

 

[Corrine Lagos]

Looking around at the rather empty room, Corrine was a little disappointed. She'd expected to see house elves milling around, but she suspected that they too sometimes took breaks, and with no meals expected until morning, it was probably that time. "Pie" she said simply. It had just popped into her head. She hadn't really been craving anything, but now that she'd said the word, nothing else would do.

Stepping further into the room, Corrine opened the first thing that looked like a fridge. It only held plates. She frowned, but continued to search. As something cold hit the top of her head, Corrine let out a little yelp and jumped back, slipping in a puddle of something and landing on her bum. "Ewwww...what is this stuff?" she let out, a lot more loudly than she'd expected to. Corrine heard laughter, but she was too busy trying to wipe the gross stuff from her face, a look of pure disgust on her face.

 

[Aurora Night]

Rory hummed in appreciation of Corrine's chosen snack. "Pie sounds good." Actually now that she was thinking about it, pie sounded really good. She wasn't sure where it would be kept though, or chocolate for that matter, and there didn't seem to be any house-elves to ask. Why were they never around when she visited? Probably because she was always visiting late at night, Rory thought with a shrug to herself. Following Corrine, she scanned the bench-tops lazily, planning to move past her friend and continue to search further along once the other girl had stopped somewhere. As it was, out of the corner of her eye she suddenly saw movement above Corrine's head, and before she could warn her friend the other girl was suddenly covered in slime.

"Eugh!" cried Rory, trying to leap back out of harm's way. However, she still managed to get splashed in the process, and Corrine looked to be even worse off. From her friend's position at her feet, Rory could see that the other girl had slime all through her hair, and she hoped the stuff wouldn't be too hard to wash out. How were they going to explain that in the morning? Unsure what exactly had just happened, or rather, how it had happened, Rory looked up to where the slime must have come from and gasped at what she saw. Hovering in the air, and looking much too amused with himself, was the poltergeist who had appeared at the feast after Sorting. She was torn between being kind of excited to actually talk to the spirit, and annoyed that he had just poured slime all over Corrine's head. They had just wanted pie; some chocolate - not a sneak attack. This was the second time time the poltergeist had come between Rory and her food, and that thought made her realise that she was definitely annoyed. "Yeah, thanks Vex, really funny," she grumbled at the spirit, moving forwards to help Corrine stand up.

 

[Podrey]

This late in the afternoon, the Hogwarts house elves were busy in different parts of the castle, helping to clean up and performing various other chores since there was no longer any cooking needed to be done for the rest of the evening. However, that didn't mean the very kitchens themselves didn't need to be cleaned following the student's dinners. Dirty plates, pots and pans all lined one side of the wall, next to an empty sink, its bowl also piled with dishes. Podrey was the first to return from his other duties, and appeared in the center of the kitchen with a faint pop, only to find he wasn't alone. It was occupied by two young students, no doubt trying to thieve from the pantry, and that pesky poltergeist who had done nothing but create more work for the house elves since he arrived. "No, no, no!" Podrey exclaimed, frowning at the slimy mess the spirit had created in the short time the elves had been absent. "You should not be here this late! The Headmistress does not like it! Especially you." He pointed a bony finger accusingly at Vex. "Out! Get out!"

 

[Corrine Lagos]

Corrine managed to see that Aurora was looking above her, and while she already knew that the grossness was coming from there, she was not expecting what Aurora said next. Slipping and sliding even with Aurora's help, Corrine had a feeling that they'd both be on the ground in a few seconds. "What is this stuff?" she asked as she brushed some more of it off. It was going to take ages to wash out in the shower. And there was no way she could eat pie now!

"So much for pie" she grumbled, hearing the faint pop but thinking that it was just Vex getting ready to do something else...until she heard the new voice. Turning slightly, Corrine's blue eyes fell on the house elf who was clearly not happy. The second year knew that Vex had just made a huge mess for them to clean up, and she was happy to see him getting yelled at for it. Aside from having to jump over puddles he'd left behind and other minor things, this was her first real encounter with the poltergeist. She would be happy if this was her last.

 

[Vex]

Vex didn't deflate in the slightest when his trick didn't seem to be taken well (and by Gryffindors, no less). One posed a question (Vex ignored the other girl, he wasn't going to acknowledge her nerd-like response) and the poltergeist was all too happy to let her know exactly what was slimed all over the kitchen. Dripping from counters, splattered all along the floor - it was quite the mess. "Sliiiiiime," he jeered, quickly decaying into laughter that was cut short abruptly when he was being scolded by one of the house elves.

Vex didn't know a lot about Podrey, but he did know that he had the fun capacity of a thimble. With a creature that was so cool looking and had cool powers, he had to be the single most boring individual in the entire castle (coming second only to Styx, whose permanent glare was nothing short of offensive in the poltergeist's eyes). He had tried everything to get the small creature to smile - nicknames, playing drums with the pans - he even made a sculpture of the house elf out of the school's supply of cheese over the break. Nothing made Podrey the House Elf smile. "Poddie!" he exclaimed, immediately ducking behind cupboard door. He was looking particularly cross today (obviously the fault of those Gryffindors). "It was their fault!" he accused, pointing frantically at the two Gryffindor students. "They came in, and slimed everything! I saw it, I did! They're covered in it, you can see it too, right Poddie? I was just telling them to get out."
​

 

[Aurora Night]

Rory was quickly growing more annoyed with Vex by the second, and was just about to give him a piece of her mind when she was interrupted by the sound of a house elf suddenly appearing in the kitchen with them. Although, trust her luck to get one that seemed to be worried that she and Corrine were breaking the rules - she didn't particularly like their chances of getting out of here with any food now. Maybe she could try talking the elf around to letting them take something once it was done yelling at Vex. Finding it amusing to watch the poltergeist hiding from the tiny creature Rory settled back against the bench to watch, and was quite enjoying the show until Vex suddenly started blaming her and Corrine for the mess that he had made. "You liar!" Rory said indignantly. She hated it when people refused to admit that they had done something wrong, or blame it on other people, and it was this development that tipped her over the edge of rationality. Not even pausing to think about all the possible consequences of engaging a poltergeist in battle, she quickly scooped up a handful of the nearest available slime - which happened to be on Corrine's shoulder - and flung it straight towards Vex's stupid face.

 

[Podrey]

Podrey folded his thin arms across his chest, waiting for both parties to comply with his request. Instead all he received was Vex's false allegations against the two young students. The house-elves large, bat-like ears twitched in mild irritation at the poltergeist's nickname for him. "You mustn't tell fibs!" Podrey accused with a shout, waggling his finger at the poltergeist to scold him. "Podrey knows of your tricks! Podrey has cleaned up enough slime to know it's you!" The poltergeist wasn't about to try pull the wool over his eyes, no sir. The house elf was too smart for his lies, but to the small creatures horror, one of the students proceeded to in fact start throwing slime around themselves. This would not do! The kitchens were where all of the food was prepared, they couldn't have slime contaminating it all. "No, no, no! You must all stop this at once!" He was jumping up and down now, and clicking his fingers wildly in an effort to clean up the mess being made. Pieces of slime erupted into soapy suds, one the tables and chair, on the girls themselves, and on the globule of ooze flying toward Vex, magically scrubbing away at a frantic speed.

 

[Corrine Lagos]

Corrine's jaw dropped for a moment, but she quickly recovered and joined Aurora. "That's a lie!" she yelled out, hoping the house elf would know better than to believe Vex. It seemed that he did, and Corrine couldn't help the smug smile on her face as the house elf told the poltergeist off. Boy was this going to be a fun story to tell in the common room. Content to head off now, even with no pie, the second year was about to say as much when her friend grabbed some slime and threw it at the poltergeist. Corrine let out a gasp, her hand going to her mouth. It became an attempt to cover her giggles, however, as the house elf seemed to be going into a fit with how upset he was. Reaching to her other shoulder to join the fun, Corrine attempted to throw slime but found herself with a handful of suds. "Aw c'mon Podrey" she said, wiping the suds from her hands with little success, she was full of suds now from all the slime she'd been covered with. "I wanted to try to get Vex too!"

 

[Vex]

That does it! Vex was having none of this - how dare they think they can cause more chaos than he himself? The poltergeist was taking no prisoners as he prepared another onslaught of slime, tipping his kettle (somewhat more dramatically than necessary) towards the girls - but all that came out were suds. His orange eyes fixed on Podrey the House Elf. He was clearly very cross, and making quite the spectacle of himself. Vex immediately switched gears and pointed at each of the Gryffindors again.

"See Poddie? They started it - they even tried to hit me again! Nevermind the tiny detail about the kettle - Vex quickly tucked it in the cupboard he was still cowering behind. "They'll destroy the entire kitchen! You get a professor, Poddie - I'll stop these students while you're gone." Vex made sure to put on his most innocent smile.​

 

[Aurora Night]

Rory was annoyed to see that the house-elf was cleaning up the slime she had thrown before it even got to reach its target, and turned to gripe at it, "Really? You couldn't have just let that bit hit him?" The elf looked like it was going to explode it was so upset, and Rory was stuck between trying to decide whether to laugh, like she wanted to, or whether she should try to calm it down. Doubting that she of all people could soothe such a determinedly enraged creature, she turned to start scooping suds out of Corrine's hair. "Well, that solves that problem at least," she said to the other girl. "I was beginning to think I'd have to tell everyone that it was me who slimed you if we weren't able to get it all out before tomorrow morning." She would have had no problem telling Professor Kingsley about Vex being the true culprit, except that that wouldn't explain why they had been out after curfew. And they definitely would have made it back to the dorm in time, too, if it hadn't been for this mess. Now they'd be lucky if a professor didn't hear all the noise and come running. Rory scowled as the poltergeist began trying to worm his way out of trouble again, but the house-elf was clearly having none of it and she knew who she'd bet on between the two.

 

[Podrey]

The two young girls seemed displeased about Podrey's efforts to clean their mess. Displeased indeed! In his kitchen! Running around like they owned the place and could do as they liked, contaminating food and giving the house elves even more work to deal with. While for the most part they certainly enjoyed the work they did around the school, there was no sense of accomplishment if young children and pesky poltergeists were undoing it all again. "You would be no better than the poltergeist if you stooped to his level!" Podrey responded to one of their complaints, absolutely appalled by their behaviour. No wonder a spirit of chaos had manifested in this school. At Vex's suggestion, the house elf almost apparated off to find a professor immediately, before quickly realising he had to stay and defend his kitchen. "Podrey will not be rid of that easily. You should go get a professor." He demanded of the poltergeist, unwilling to leave the being alone with the girls. If they knew what was good for them, they'd hurry and leave before a professor did arrive to catch them. He could only hope this would be the last time they tried to steal food so late at night.

 

[Corrine Lagos]

Corrine's jaw dropped as Vex blamed them for everything. He was such a little liar, though she should have expected nothing less. This was a poltergeist they were talking about. She nodded as Aurora began to remove some of the suds and began to help herself. At least, until the house elf spoke again, actually working with Vex. "We should go. Merlin knows what kind of story Vex will make up when he finds a professor" she rolled her eyes, annoyed at the fact that this had all gone down and she hadn't even had a bite of pie to show for it.

 

[Vex]

Vex was rather disappointed that Podrey didn't leave, but you couldn't trust a House Elf to do anything remotely along the lines of fun. Especially Podrey the House Elf. Saying he was a stick in the mud just didn't cover the house elf's true nature accurately. He took note of the girls, making sure to remember their faces. He hadn't quite finished with them, but tonight he might have to put them on hold. He had a headmistress to antagonise, after all.

The poltergeist gave a wicked smile as one of the Gryffindors hypothesised what he'd tell a professor. "The truth," he insisted, mostly to Poddie. He retreated from the cupboard and became invisible, flying past the girls haphazardly to go hollering down the corridors, "LIONS IN THE DUNGEONS. STUDENTS OUT OF BED. PROFESSORS COME QUICK!"
​

 

[Aurora Night]

Rory was utterly annoyed that what had started off as just a quick trip for a snack had now turned into this shambles. It was especially displeasing to also find out that neither house elves nor the poltergeist were any true fun. Sighing, she was about to agree with Corrine and begin making a weary retreat when she felt Vex suddenly whirl past them, the motion blowing a few stray soap suds into the vicinity of Rory's mouth. The taste was awful, and she was too busy coughing to be able to groan at what she could now hear the stupid spirit yelling. "Damn, come on," she gestured at her friend, heading rapidly for the door. "Now I really wish our common room was closer to the kitchens." She hoped they'd be able to make it the whole long way back without encountering the hassle of getting caught, now that someone had caused them to definitely be out past curfew.

 

[Corrine Lagos]

Corrine's heart began a frantic beat when she heard Vex announcing to what seemed the entire castle that they were out of bed. Because of the poltergeist, they were now past curfew. Nodding her head at Aurora, Corrine was right on her heels as they headed for the door. She broke into a jog, keeping up with her friend. She definitely agreed with her on that front. They had seven floors to go. "We can do it" she urged, cutting to a staircase that was hardly used. It was a shame that they hadn't gotten any pie, but Corrine knew that once they arrived to the common room she was going to think that this was a damned good story to share with the others.