Closed Solving Puzzles

[Freddie Lagowski]

Right inverted... Down inverted... Right... Up? Freddie turned the Rubik's cube over in his hands. That looked wrong. The white corner was supposed to flip up on top. Maybe he was supposed to do the sequence more than once? No, 'cause then it would just get even further away. He sighed, sliding down even further amongst the cushions on the sofa. Somewhere, in the bottom of his half-unpacked trunk, he had the instruction book. But he didn't want to need it. He wanted to remember.

 

[Juniper Veritas]

Juniper was had heard about the old bathroom that was out of use and had gone inside to check it out, but in all honesty she'd never made it inside the room because from the crack of the door it had seemed too dark and scary. Instead she had noped out fast and was now walking along the corridor. Spotting a familiar face Juniper approached Freddie who had something in his hands. Once she was close enough she noticed it was a cube of some sort. "Ooh, what is that?" She asked curiously.

 

[Freddie Lagowski]

Oh - it was Juni. She didn't ever see one of these before? That was weird. But it was kind of a muggle toy. "It's a Rubik's cube," said Freddie, removing his feet from the sofa, in case she wanted to sit down. "You have to turn the sides, like this, until you get all the colours on each one. Like, this all red, this all white, this all green." He ran a finger across each side. "It's kinda hard." It wasn't, actually, if you knew all the sequences, and stuff. But it made him feel clever to say it was. He held the cube up for Juni to take.

 

[Juniper Veritas]

Juniper smiled as Freddie removed his feet and sat next to him. She looked at the cube and then at Freddie who was explaining it to her, her stare was a bit blank because it did sound difficult. Taking the cube she turned it in her hands. "Oh, that sounds cool! Can you solve it?" She asked curiously, returning the cube to the Ravenclaw. She didn't know how to do it, but he seemed to.

 

[Freddie Lagowski]

“I ca-an,” Freddie said slowly, taking the Rubik’s cube back. He’d definitely got one of the steps wrong. “It’s been a while, though.” Could it be right inverted, down inverted, right, down? Freddie undid his mistake and tried that instead. Suddenly, the corner piece flipped the right way up. Yay. Now he just had to do it for the other three.

He leaned back a little, trying to get rid of the sudden tingling in his leg. “Do you like puzzles?” he asked, without looking up from the cube.​

 

[Juniper Veritas]

Juniper smiled as Freddie said he could solve it and took the cube back. "That's okay, no pressure." She told the boy as he said it'd been a while. She leaned ever so slightly closer to the cube, watching as Freddie worked on it with keen interest. "I- I suppose... I'm not the best at them though..." Juni admitted, a little shamefully maybe. She wished she was very smart and cool like some other people around the school seemed to be. Especially the Ravenclaws, they seemed like they were very smart most of the time but Juniper struggled with the easiest concept of friendship, never mind something as complex as puzzles.

 

[Freddie Lagowski]

The white side was done. Now Freddie had to get all the colours right in the middle section. There was a looong sequence for that one, but it was kinda ingrained in his head. You did it enough times, and you just couldn't forget any more. Hopefully. "Yeah you are," he said, frowning. Maybe Juni was crap at puzzles. But literally anyone could do a Rubik's cube, if you had the instruction book. "Five seconds... I'll show you." It took ten times longer than five seconds, but as soon as the middle band was done, Freddie tossed the cube at Juni again. A bit too hard. Harder than he meant to.​

 

[Juniper Veritas]

Juniper blinked a few times as Freddie said she was good at puzzles... How'd he know if she was, he'd been the one to have to explain to her how to figure out if someone even was your friend. Yet he seemed to think she was good at puzzles, she appreciated the thought. Before she had time to fully register what was happening the Ravenclaw had tossed the cube at her. There was a distinct bonk sound as the thing made contact with her head. If she was being quite honest Juniper thought she could hear it echoing inside her head... Suddenly she was alarmed what if her head was completely empty and that was why it was echoing.

"Ow," her words came as a little delayed reaction but she just blinked blankly at Freddie. Looking down to her lap where the cube had now fallen Juniper picked it up and looked at it. "So, one side is supposed to be completely just one colour?" She asked to confirm, still too stunned by what had happened to acknowledge it any further.

 

[Freddie Lagowski]

Freddie clamped a hand over his mouth. He hit her on the head. She was supposed to catch it! Okay, he threw it a bit fast, and he didn't warn her, but usually people just caught stuff you threw at them. He leaned forward, ignoring the twinge in his thigh, wondering if she was all right. She wasn't saying anything. Just acting like it never happened. Wait - did it happen? He swore he heard the bonk sound when it hit her. But now he wasn't sure.

"Yeah," he said, fidgeting with his sleeve. "So, um, if you hold it like... that. Like you are now. Yeah. Then this is the front, this is the top, bottom, left, right, back. Okay? The next thing you have to do is get a yellow cross on the top. So that one's in the wrong place. Turn the front face clockwise. Then the top face clockwise, if you were, like, looking at it from the front, so that way." He demonstrated the twist. "Then the right face clockwise, which is like this. Top counter-clockwise. Right clockwise. Front clockwise. And the yellow one should move up there. Should..."​

 

[Juniper Veritas]

It hadn't been that hard of a hit and had it not been for the echoing bonk she'd felt and heard she might have thought that it never happened. Then there was the small sting still on the spot the cube had made contact. As Freddie said nothing either Juniper decided he probably hadn't noticed. It was okay, he hadn't meant it probably. She was just not the fastest person when it came to reflexes, that was why she'd never even dream of trying out for quidditch. Well that and the fact that she was more likely to fall off her broom than stay on it...

Juniper listened to Freddie's instructions and did as he told her. Her brows pulled together as she frowned in concentration, trying her best to do everything that Freddie was telling and showing her to. "Okay..." She said quietly in between his explanation. The Hufflepuff bit the inside of her cheeks as she focused on turning the cube, only it wasn't happening what was supposed to.... The cube's sides weren't one colour.. "I think I messed it up..." Juniper said, her voice a little defeated. She'd been right, she wasn't smart at all. Freddie had been right there telling her how to do it and she'd done it wrong. "I swear I was trying to do it exactly as you told me to and showed.... but it I-" the second year cut herself off, pursing her lips together staring at the cube. "I think I messed up your progress too, I'm sorry..." Her voice grew smaller with each word, she was sure Freddie would tell her they were no longer friends now.