Open Student Lounge Sofa Rally

[Solomon Tofilau]

Sully needed a break. He knew he needed to take his classes at least semi-seriously this year, but also he didn't have any exams or anything to prep for this semester, so he figured a little slacking was in order. After spending far too many hours in the student lounge already this year, Sully had had an excellent idea. He'd spent plenty of time messing around at his old primary school on the rolly chairs, and while Hogwarts didn't have any those, it did have plenty of couches. And he had magic.

Clambering onto one of the sofas, Sully did a quick check for any prefects before addressing the room. "Who wants to race!" He called, pointing across the room. "First one to get themselves on a couch to the other end of the room and back using locomotor wins," He said, trying to gauge who around the room was interested and grinning. As soon as some challengers had lined up in their sofa of choice, Sully was ready to get this thing started.

Out of Character:

Extra details and discussion can be found in the PD post here

 

[Juniper Zumwalt]

Juniper wasn't one to spend a ton of time in the Student Lounge, but all the Ravenclaws studying in the Common Room could definitely make on feel a little suffocated. She had brought some of her painting supplies as she worked on her designs for the Yule Ball. She was thinking pants but also thought she might pull of the pant/skirt combo look. As she sat in her own world, she heard a bunch of commotion around her and looked up to see a boy talking about a couch compitition. She wasn't quite sure why this became a thing all of a sudden, but it seemed fun. She looked around for others she knew in the room and stood up, leaving her sketchbook on the seat. "I'll lead a couch! What's the prize?" she asked curiously. Even if there wasn't a prize, she'd still play. But it would make the game that much more fun.

 

[Michael Newton]

Michael was still having fun exploring all the different parts of the castle. Most it was the same, but there were things and minor decorations that differed from Scotland. He had entered the student lounge when he saw his roommate instructing people to ride couches. Unsure if this was an annual occurence, he moved near Sully, wondering if he should take part in the game or just watch. If teams were already decided, he could be a cheerleader for a team, seeing as he didn't know many people here yet.

 

[Emma van Houten]

Emma had been trying to study in the student lounge, but that had somehow changed into doodling on her parchment while daydreaming about her future Quidditch career. She looked up when she suddenly heard a familiar voice calling for a race. Emma frowned as she looked at Sully, she hadn't really cared about anything he had to say since their terrible date, but this did sound interesting. She exchanged a look with Lysander before jumping up. "I'm in!" She yelled, sure that Lysander would also want to do this. "Can we be a team?" She asked, not sure how this game worked but she knew she wanted to beat Sully at it, and preferably do that together with Lysander. Emma jumped up on a nearby couch, claiming it quickly.

Godmod approved

 

[Harper Alston]

Lately Harper had taken to doing her homework in random areas of the castle. The library was a bit too quiet for her; she needed some background noise while she worked. Today she was trying to write an Astronomy essay in the Student Lounge, but she was quickly growing bored. They were going over the solar system in class, something she'd already learned about in primary. She didn't really want to write another planet essay.

Thankfully, she didn't have to. Harper looked up with a start as an older boy jumped onto a nearby sofa and shouted something about a race. Now that sounded much more fun than her essay. She set down her pencil and sat up straight. "I'm also in!" she called out to the boy, who she vaguely recognized as another Gryffindor. "But what's the locomotor spell?" She hadn't learned that one yet, but maybe one of the older students would teach her. She was always down to learn more magic, especially if it could be put towards something fun, like a race.

 

[Lysander Summers]

Lysander was bored, finding himself once again in the student lounge, under the pretenses of studying. He'd been doing anything but, mostly sorting through his card collection instead, or peeking at the doodles Emma had drawn. He was, not for the first time, roused from his bored stupor by Sully, with the best ideas as usual. He cast a hesitant look at Emma, unsure if she'd want to join in on Sully's shenanigans, and quickly brightened when she seemed to be all for it. "Me too!" He shouted, running over to join her on the couch before they'd been given the go-ahead to be a team. He whipped his wand out of his pocket, ready to locomotor their way to victory.​

 

[Solomon Tofilau]

Sully grinned when a few people seemed interested, scouting out a few solid looking couches he could point out to people to use. The one he'd ended up on was a lumpy, blue looking one that he'd always suspected was made out of denim but was too worn to be sure. But it was comfortable and Sully was sure it'd make an excellent steed for the race. "Uh, I'll give you a discount at Gambol's if you can beat me," He told Juniper. A prize on the line would make things more interesting. And he could always just give himself the discount if he won. Amy wouldn't mind. Probably.

"Yo, Newt, you should get in on this!" Sully called when spotted their new transfer lurking nearby. Emma and Lysander were also on board, and Sully gave them a thumbs up when they wanted to team up. "Yeah, as long as you both stay on your couch, you're good," He said, making the rules up on the fly. He dropped down into the cushion of his couch when a younger student called out about joining too. He doubted she'd be able to manage the spell yet, so he patted the spot next to him instead. "Don't worry about it if you don't know it. You can be my co-pilot or something," He told her. "Just don't fall off, aye."

 

[Emma van Houten]

Emma was glad a younger girl also wanted to join in with the idea, the more the merrier, right? But she was mostly glad Lysander seemed happy to be a team with her. She grinned, holding up her hand for a high five. "We're definitely winning this." She told Lysander. "And maybe we can try to knock Sully over, just once or twice." She added innocently. She kind of was over the annoyance she had felt after their terrible date, but it was still fun to make jokes about it. And knocking Sully over with their couch would actually be really funny, at least she thought so.

 

[Lysander Summers]

Lysander was down to win, especially with the offer of a discount on the table. "Victory is ours!" He agreed, high-fiving Emma. He got into position, trying to find a comfortable way to sit next to someone else. He nodded at her suggestion to knock Sully over, giving her a conspirational wink. "I hope you brought a spoon Sully, because you're gonna be eating our dust." He taunted with a teasing grin. "Is it cheating if we hex his sofa?" He continued, more quietly. Just a little one wouldn't hurt.​

 

[Harper Alston]

Harper was a bit disappointed that the older boy didn't offer to teach her the spell. She was sure she could manage it. But she wasn't about to argue because then she definitely wouldn't be able to participate. At his invitation to co-pilot, Harper smiled and shoved her books aside before climbing on top of the faded blue sofa. "I won't," she assured him, confident in her balancing skills. Besides, it was hard to imagine these heavy couches going faster than a steady amble.

Harper watched the other students claim their sofas, noting that most of the competition were older. But she was pretty sure her team would still win — even if she wasn't completely sure how this was supposed to work. She turned to the boy, lowering her voice so that she wouldn't be overheard. "So what's our strategy? Should we come up with a team name?" She might not know how to do locomotor, but maybe she could do something else to help them win.

 

[Michael Newton]

Michael screwed up his face in a comical manner in reaction to his apparent new nickname. He had never been given nicknames by friends, only by his little sister Amelia. He laughed a little and then shrugged. "Sure thing, boss! What can I do for ya?" he asked, rubbing his hands together and moving into a huddle like the other group. Most of the faces around looked familiar although he didn't know their names. "So, do we all do the spell at once and hope for the best? I think we should add a flag. To show status, you know?"

 

[Juniper Zumwalt]

Juniper noticed that teams were starting to form and wasn't sure she'd win on her own. Two people doing a spell allowed for extra power. Sully's team seemed to be going, but she looked over at the others and frowned. They only had two, but she didn't want to work with Lysander. She was still a little peeved about Ravenclaw's loss even if she did get a hit at him. He was the main reason their seekers kept getting hit. She reluctantly walked over to the two Gryffindors, slightly sulking. "Uh, hey," she started and then realized she should probably show more confidence. "Could you use another person?" she asked, totally okay if they said no. She'd figure out how to manage, but she wasn't sure she could stand the thought of losing to Lysander again. @Lysander Summers @Emma van Houten

 

[Solomon Tofilau]

Sully snorted as Lysander's smack talk, making a show of getting more comfortable on his couch. "Yeah, we'll see, aye," He said with a grin. "Team names are only allowed if they're good couch puns. And our strategy is get to the end first," He decided with a nod, turning to his new found co-pilot. "What's your name again?" He recognized her from around the common room but Sully was always crap at keeping track of most of the younger kids if they weren't in the Brotherhood or on the Quidditch team. He just hoped she was good with a wand in any case.

With Michael on their team they'd need a bit more oomph to pick up speed, but Sully agreed if they both cast the spell at once they should probably have a leg up (or a couch up) on the other team, who it looked like Juniper was joining as well. "Yeah, I reckon that'll work, aye? You got a flag on you?" He asked curiously, squaring up the competition before deciding they should get the show on the road before anyone tried to stop them. "Already, ladies and gentlewizards, get ready to start your engines," He called over to Lysander's team, making a show of settling onto his couch and drawing his wand. "We cast the spell on three!"

Out of Character:

Anyone else wanting to jump in late is still welcome to! Otherwise, to our two couch teams, I'll start the race in my next post in a day or two

 

[Michael Newton]

Michael nodded when Sully explained the game, and the goal was simple enough. He thought about the flag, glancing around the room and noticed a rogue robe. He grabbed it and threw it up in the air and waved his wand. "Wingardium Leviosa!" The "flag" was rather sad, but he blew really hard so it wobbled a little. "Maybe we can have the co-pilot help since that's an easy spell," he suggested, hoping she was old enough to have mastered the levitation spell already. If the girl didn't they could probably do without a flag. He jumped on the couch behind Sully and let the flag fall as he readied his wand. He wasn't sure how fast they could actually make the couch go, but if they were making up the rules as they went, he wondered if someone assisting from behind would get them across the finish line faster.

 

[Harper Alston]

"The Couchampions," Harper said immediately before frowning slightly since it didn't exactly roll off the tongue. "The Couchions? The Chairpions?" The name could use a bit of workshopping. Maybe she should just wait until they won and then they could just call themselves the straight-up champions. "I know, but should I try and stun their couch? Or finite it? I could try the trip jinx?" She craned her neck to see if the other team's sofa had legs. Her repertoire of spells wasn't the biggest, but she was determined not to let that stop her. At the very least, she could toss pillows in the other team's path to slow them down. "I'm Harper," she said, turning back to her co-pilot, whom she was fairly sure Lysander had called Sully.

"Newt" joined them, and Harper watched as he levitated a robe. It was not exactly the most inspiring image, but she didn't have any better flag substitutes at hand. "The name's Harper. I can do that." While playing cheerleader wasn't really what she'd had in mind, it was at least something to do. And maybe she could wave it around the other team's heads and distract them. As Sully and Newt prepared to do locomotor, Harper levitated the "flag" in the air, while keeping an eye on the other team. If she had thought of jinxing the competition's couch, she had no doubt they'd had the same idea. It was a good thing she knew protego; she'd be ready for any spells that came their way.

 

[Solomon Tofilau]

"We can workshop it," Sully said with a grin as Harper tried to come up with a few team ideas. Puns were not his forte, but winning usually was, and Sully was eager to get going. He raised an eyebrow at Newt's flag choice, but there was nothing wrong with a little style. "If you get a chance to jinx the other team, I'm not saying you should, but I'm not saying you shouldn't either," He said to Harper, leaning down and lowering his voice so Lysander's team didn't hear them.

"Right, hold on tight," Sully said to Newt and Harper, giving Lysander, Emma, and Juniper a wave to make sure they were ready before raising his own wand. "On the count of three, aye?" He said, making eye contact with Newt as he began to count so they could both cast the spell in time. "One. Two. Three! Locomotor!" Sully lurched back against the couch cushions as the couch shot forward, letting out a whoop as they knocked a nearby coffee table over as the couch slid forward. He hadn't really thought about steering, but they could figure that out as they went.

 

[Emma van Houten]

Emma grinned as Lysander mentioned hexing Sully's sofa. "I don't think he set any rules, so.... it's far game. " She decided. Emma nodded as Juniper tried to join them on the couch. She wasn't sure what Lysander thought, but more people probably meant more chance to win. "Sure thing, c'mon!" She said, gesturing for her to jump onto the couch as wel. Emma grabbed her wand, holding it ready for the race to start. She listened closely as sully counted. Then let out a victory yell sa she cast the spell on the couch. "GO GO GO!" She yelled, then aimed a quick stinging Bat Bogey Hex at Sully. That would hopefully give them an advantage, if it hit.

@Lysander Summers @Juniper Zumwalt @Solomon Tofilau