The Art of Vandalism

[Victoria Chase]

As people were in Brightstone, Victoria Chase found herself leisurely wandering around the castle in a slow pace. With her hands at her back and a wand, the young Gryffindor thought it was best to walk around Hogwarts while no people were around the hallways and everything was fairly steady. The usual roar along the hallways were minimized to a buzz that can be easily ignored. Victoria liked it that way because in that form nobody could ever bump into her accidentally, giving her a reason to get cranky again. She was content with what she was doing and that was navigating throughout the entire castle without any purpose. She wanted to know if there were portions of it were undiscovered during her four years in the school so she sought it out at her own pace. Victoria felt like she was simply roaming around her own home, since she was dressed in the most casual of garments with her Hogwarts robe draped around her shoulders lazily. It was a very uncharacteristic thing for the normally chic lady to do, but there were not much people around and the few who would notice would not even know her. Today was a day of simply not giving a flying damn.

Victoria took a left at an intersection and it led her to a corridor that was really empty save for one student who Victoria did not recognize. It was famous for containing the lavatory that was said to the be home of ghosts that loved pulling stunts on students or something like that. Vee felt the courage surge in and she walked slowly to the old wooden door that beheld the mystery that was inside it. With her sandal covered feet, she tried kicking it open but she ended up realizing that the door was partially jammed due to its oldness. With a heavy grunt, she forced her weight on her shoulder and with that, pushed the wooden door open. She whipped out her wand to ensure her safety, in case any sort of mischief bringing ghost decided scare the living lights out of her. After five seconds of just peering on what was inside, Victoria gingerly stepped in the musty smelling bathroom. She wrinkled her nose in disgust, but that did not stop her from coming inside. The inside of the abandoned lavatory reminded her of a bathroom during the 1990s that was featured in the Daily Prophet because of bloody murder. She sucked in a tight breath and her shoulders tensed as she walked silently closed the door behind her (but not locking it) and trudged to explore. She noticed that there was leakage everywhere and quite frankly, it was bigger than she originally thought. There was enough room for at least 50 students to fit in all at once. There were several high windows that allowed the light to stream in, and it lessened the spooky aura it naturally emitted. Victoria approached the dusty mirrors it had at the center of the bathroom and as Victoria Chase would, looked at her reflection.

The mirror was dusty and it had vandalism on the sides. There were words, curses, gossip and other petty things written on its side and Victoria felt her eyes drag itself towards those words. She read it and noticed that several names written were from the upperclassmen and that itself reminded her how old this bathroom was. She grinned and slid her hands inside her robes' pockets comfortably, when something metallic nudged her knuckles unexpectedly. Feeling for it, she realized it was some lipstick and Vee got it out and uncapped it. She remembered stealing it from her mother about 3 months ago. With immature childishness sparking her eyes, she found a massive unwritten space on the mirror and proceeded to draw a lion (that looked very much like a cat) with her lipstick, and under it wrote the words 'GO GRYFFINDOR!' with two underlines. Taking a step back almost 2 minutes later, she admired her masterpiece vandalism but didn't notice the silent creak of the door, announcing the arrival of somebody else.
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Out of Character:

to everybody: feel free to join bc i am in need of awesomesauce victoria roleplays!

 

[Theseas Stratis]

Theseas had chose to stay at school and not visit Brightstone. In his opinion, the all-wizardry village had nothing special to offer him after visiting it thrice already. He had believed that the castle was going to be more appealing with less people swarming around its corridors and he hoped he could find a nice, quiet spot with the view of the grounds, where he could read his book about magical creatures. The fourth year gryffindor hadn't any special talents or he just hadn't discovered them yet. He wasn't good at flying on a broom so quidditch was out of the question. Dueling was something he wanted to try but when he learned that his twin brother was going to participate at the tournament, he had second thoughts and eventually he didn't enroll. Magical creatures however, were his big love. He was longing to become a magizoologist like his father and maybe teach about the creatures roaming the world to the next generations of wizards and witches.

Theseas was in an extremely good mood that morning. His brother had left early along with the rest of their roommates for the village. Theseas had the dormitory for himself and it was the first time he could sleep for as long as he wanted without being woken up all the time by roommates entering and leaving the dorm. Later he left the empty common room for the great hall. Only a few students were having breakfast, most of them first years who weren't permitted to visit Brightstone. Theseas preferred this quietness over the bustle of every day life of the castle. He was actually finding this relaxing and he was planning to make the best of it for as long as it lasted. So after finishing his breakfast, the gryffindor left the great hall with his book in hand. He was planning to climb his way to the towers, find a ledge by a window and sit back for the rest of the day. With so few students in the castle, it was unlikely that he was going to bump into anyone.

Theseas wasn't like his troublemaker twin brother. In the past he might was associated with the pranks or the trouble that Perseas was causing but mostly he was framed by him, sometimes even being blamed for something he hadn't done. He had learnt his lesson by now. He wanted to keep a low profile and so he was avoiding staying around him. Perseas had thought that he wouldn't have to worry about his twin that morning until he saw someone that instantly brought him in his mind. It was the girl that Perseas dated once or that was what he had bragged about. It was at least suspicious seeing her wandering around corridors while the rest of their year was at the village. This made him believe that his twin hadn't really left the castle and he was up to something along with his partner in crime. Theseas might wasn't the same with his brother but still had the Stratis' fit of curiosity which was never satisfied. He silently followed the fellow Gryffindor, keeping a safe distance.

So far so good. The girl hadn't realized him following her. Soon he found out that she was guiding him straight to the antiquated lavatory. If there was a place in this castle were someone could indulge to illegality, this was the perfect place. At that moment Theseas was convinced that something was going on and his brother was behind it. He peeked from the corner as the girl entered inside the lavatory and the idea of giving them away, and mostly his brother, was getting more and more tempting. A moment later he was opening quietly the door and he was sneaking inside. He quickly took cover behind the round, column set of sinks and from there he spied on her. His brother was nowhere around and she didn't seem to be up to something nasty. She just used a lipstick to draw something on an old mirror. Theseas pursed his lips when he realized that nothing suspicious was going there and he was trapped. Now that the girl was writing on that mirror, she could see him if he was going to try and get out the room. Things got worst when the door he had forgotten slightly open, creaked. His heart sunk when it slammed closed.

 

[Victoria Chase]

The lion was not perfect but to Victoria, it was better than the works of that muggle painter, Leonardo da Vinci. Anything by her was a masterpiece in its own form so she grinned like any mischievous child would. She did not notice the small grunt of the door as it was pushed open by another intruder to its solitude. Her thoughts were completely focused on the one thing before her that proclaimed 'GO GRYFFINDOR', smeared with scarlet lipstick. She was about to add more detail when the slam of the door made her tense right on the spot, and all of a sudden a million thoughts ran through her mind. Did a ghost arrive? What if it was a prefect who could publicly humiliate her? Or what if the bathroom just decided to lock her in it? She stood up straighter all too quickly. "This is perfect," Victoria muttered sarcastically under her breath as she took a step back from the mirror with her vandalism on it. She capped the lipstick back and dropped it in her pocket before holding out her wand, ready to strike once the moment called for it. If a ghost was here to play with her, she wanted to immediately say that she did not want to partake in his ghastly games. "You're not scaring anybody here, so don't even try to." She called out to the quiet air, her voice sounding surprisingly daring. She expected that whatever unnatural being that slammed the door shut would now appear but when nothing happened for the next three seconds, Victoria decided to scout the vicinity herself.

Victoria first approached another set of sinks that was slightly away from hers. She held her breath for a surprise attack but what she saw there was more surprising than a ghost. His eyes had a great parallelism to somebody she [unfortunately] knew and she let out the tense breath she held in when his name came about to her. "Are you... creeping up on me?" She questioned, disgusted, and hoped that she was wrong. Victoria recalled the time of the Yule Ball last year, where she immediately thought that Theseas Stratis was attractive but never admitted it aloud. He was a fine young man, but she knew not much about him. Victoria thought he could be quite a bore, but she never really tried spending time with her fellow fourth year Gryffindor. Not that they'd be able to survive each other's presence perhaps, but it could be worth the try. She pointed her wand at him and with suspicious eyes, cocked her head to the side. "If you decide to pull a joke, just stop. What you're doing is lame." She nodded, agreeing with herself and hoping that he'd go along. Victoria never talked to this Stratis twin, but if they miraculously got along she would not mind spending some time with him. The thing was, nobody really got along with Victoria so easily. Another downside was, almost everybody got on her nerves except for Dominique, who she considered a sister. She never took her eyes off Theseas, surveying to see if he had any nervous tics to show.
​

 

[Theseas Stratis]

His heart started beating faster as if it wanted to burst out of his chest. Theseas looked around him for an escape route or another hiding place as her footsteps grew closer. While still crouched behind the set of sinks, he tried to move around them and avoid her. But the echo of her footsteps in the abandoned lavatory were deceiving and instead of moving away from her, he ended up facing her legs. Theseas stood up with the most embarrassed expression on his face and brushed off his clothes. "No, no! I...I was looking for someone else." He rushed to assure her, afraid that she was going to call a professor. He had after all sneaked into a girls' bathroom regardless if it was still used or not. He didn't know the girl well but her reputation preceded her. Hogwarts was swarming with rumors and gossips. No one could escape them and neither had she. Even without them, Theseas could see that she wasn't the kind of person you wanted to cross. It was better to have her by your side but this wasn't the case right now while she was pointing her wand at him.

His dark gray eyes studied her while he wondered how she could have dated his idiot brother. He didn't know if they were still in good terms the two of them but he knew that they no longer saw each other. Judging by her negative attitude towards him, she wouldn't really adore his brother. "You must be mistaking me with my brother. He's the lame one." Theseas stated and with his fingers softly pushed aside her wand's tip so it wouldn't aiming on him. He looked at the mirror and now he could see exactly what she had wrote on it with that lipstick. "Don't worry. I won't say anything about it." he affirmed that he wasn't planning to snitch on her for this artistic intervention. Theseas went closer to the mirror for a better inspection and smiled. "It's good but it could get better." he commented and took out his own wand. He casted a flashing paint charm on her drawing and the writing along with the lion, started flashing in different shades of red before eventually acquiring golden colors and back to scarlet. "Are you doing this often?" he asked with a mischievous spark in his eyes. Theseas was more subdued compared to his twin but this didn't mean he didn't enjoy wrongdoing once in a while. The castle was at his disposal, he wasn't interested in his book anymore and maybe he had found a partner in crime or someone to spend the day.

 

[Victoria Chase]

He was looking for someone else? Victoria snorted softly yet maintained eye contact, despite having the strong urge to roll his eyes at his ridiculous lie. What an amazing place to look for somebody - as if anyone would ever want to hang out in the old bathroom, that smelt of leakage and mustiness. Victoria thought that perhaps he was trying to set up a prank on her, just like his twin would always try to make her life miserable, but since he got caught so easily, he was covering it up. Vee absolutely hated things or people that would try to humiliate her and just because he bore the Stratis name, it allowed her to potentially think of him as a dull, carbon copy of his twin.

"I don't care. I bet it runs in your family anyway." She smirked in regards to his comment about her mistaking the lame trait to Perseas. Vee was unconsciously presenting him a challenge just like she would do to anybody whom she thought she disliked. If this had to erupt into an unfortunate verbal spat, she would make sure the victory was hers to take home. Although it surprised her when Theseas took a bold step forward and pushed her wand away from his direction. Vee reluctantly put her wand hand down and her gaze followed him to the mirror with the lion on it. She felt partially embarrassed that he had to catch her doing the act itself, but still, her drawing was pretty damn good if it was compared to an ordinary eight year old's drawing. She still felt cautious around Theseas, even if he seemed to give out a very casual air around him. He was too... nice. Vee felt uneasy about it and thought that keeping her guard up was still needed. She did not act surprised when he cast the flashing paint charm and she watched it change color. If she was still a child, she would have loved the brief show of different colors but now, she merely felt amused. She crossed her arms in front of her chest and her lips quirked when the drawing all came back to plain scarlet. "And here I thought you were going to erase it, then replace it with your own work." For sure, he must have better artistic skills than Vee could ever have. When she properly sketched, she only did it with clothes. Drawing a lion or any kind of creature was a new zone to her.

Denial was not a pretty feature, although Victoria knew she had to deny that she indeed vandalized in some places in the castle. They were not big as they were tiny little drawings of some other animals and some random thoughts carefully etched onto wooden surfaces. Vee was not proud of it, but she had nothing else to do when she was in an uninteresting lesson. "It's inappropriate, so I don't. You just happened to catch me this once." The lie came out smoothly but judging by her lack of eye contact, a meticulous inspector could detect the falseness. She was now looking at the lion on the mirror and she retrieved her lipstick, uncapped it, and signed her initials at the bottom of the drawing. "Think you can do better than me?" She offered him the lipstick, so he could do his take on drawing. "You scared? Don't be. Just draw something," Vee prodded and softly snickered. She wanted to watch him and see if he really could trump her artistic talent.
​

 

[Theseas Stratis]

Theseas smirked to himself. Now he could see why this girl had attracted his twin's notice. Get on Perseas' nerves and you had his attention. His brother couldn't ignore snipes or quips. He always had to answer back and have the last word. Theseas on the contrast wouldn't bother to respond. He never valued other people's opinions. "I didn't ask you if you care or not. Keep you opinion to yourself." He said calmly but his eyes had turned into cloudy skies ready to unleash storms. He was a tolerant kind of guy but a few things could really bother him. Things like someone talking bad about his family. Despite her disrespect, Theseas liked her sassy attitude for some reason. "What's your name again?" He asked her. Surely they were introduced at the Yule Ball but it was a long time ago and his attention wasn't exactly on her. When she gave him her name, Theseas nodded. "It's pretty good Victoria. I wouldn't like to replace it with my own. Especially when there's plenty of space to create on." Theseas stated.

His soulful eyes scanned the lavatory and stopped at empty spaces on the walls and toilets' doors, which could feature new writings and drawings. In the end they focused on her. He didn't try to hide the grin that was triggered by what she said. "Yeah, right." Theseas doubted it was the first time she did this. "I bet you are behind most strange events happening around school. Along with my brother of course." he hinted that the two of them were partners in crime but the truth was, he just wanted to find out what was really going on between them. Surprise flashed in her eyes when Victoria offered him her lipstick. Theseas looked at it for a moment before flashing a smile. "Your drawing might be good but yes, I can do better." He stated confidently. "Not in the slightest." He replied when she asked him if he was scared. "I just don't need your lipstick. Keep it for your creations. I have my own tool." He said and after pocketing his wand, he drew from his hip pocket a marker with fat brush tip. "I use it to note down passages." He showed the book in his hand but his grin of mischief was suggesting differently.

Theseas uncapped his marker and screwed the cap onto its back. Accepting her dare, he left his book on the sink and started moving past the toilets' doors. When he noticed that one of them had room for something to write on, he stopped and pondered over what he could leave there for the rest of that door's existence. Theseas bit his lower lip as he started writing something. In the end on that door was written with black ink the words Sorting Area. "I was just warming up." He stated and walked over to the wall between the last two toilets. Nothing was inscribed there. Theseas started drawing with confident motions the outline of a much more sophisticated lion head. With the marker it was easier to get more details than with the lipsticks. Then he started shading the space between the deep outline. Finally the brick wall was adorned with the head of a roaring lion. Theseas took a few steps to admire the dashing drawing. In some way it looked somewhat intimidating, as if it was guarding a secret there from the other houses. "There. I bet you can't outdo this." He dared and screwed back the cap. He leaned against the wall and crossed his arms against his chest with moderate smugness.

 

[Victoria Chase]

Vee immediately thought he was a somewhat sensitive guy to deal with. She didn't mean serious harm, but she saw the effect of her comment in his eyes. She looked at him pointedly and replied, "I didn't ask for your permission in the first place." Perhaps it was a signal for them to move on from the topic, like to introductions. They never had an introduction that was just the two of them together, despite living in the same common room for 4 years straight and attending several classes together. "Victoria." Her name hung on the air as she contemplated asking for his. She already knew it, so she decided not to. Vee unexpectedly winced when he used her name, as if practicing it. It sounded terribly odd coming from his lips, she noted.

It was obvious that he doubted her denial and she simply shrugged and said no more. To be fair, she thought of the drawings and words she placed on the school's property. It was the effect of monotonous classes that went in one ear and immediately exited through the other. What took her by surprise was when he associated her with his twin, suspecting they caused strange events within the castle. Her lips quirked and thought that she wanted nothing to do with Perseas Stratis. "Oh you know, your brother and I can burn the school down in ten minutes." In two minutes they'd ignite their moderate verbal lashes, in the 3rd minute they'd initiate serious ones that would just go round and round. The fourth minute onwards would serve as their time to literally try to burn each other. It was a fast paced process yet Victoria made it sound they were sort of partners-in-crime.

Theseas accepted her challenge, and Victoria was amused at how the mischief brought an entirely different mood to his eyes. Vee placed the lipstick back in her robe pocket as Theseas took out a marker of his own. When he placed his book down, she thought that perhaps the book was the one he noted passages down from. It caught her curiosity and without permission, she got it and followed him to where he was now stationed. Vee leaned on the wall a few feet away from him and flipped through the book's pages, catching a few words here and there though not absorbing anything at all. The noise in the air was now from the friction between the marker and wall whilst Vee waited patiently.

Seconds passed and he was done. Vee closed the book softly and walked to where the drawing was and felt her eyes momentarily widen at its appearance. It was ferocious and the air around it had this sort of drama that enhanced the approach of the roaring lion. It was a sure win for him and Victoria was not going to argue about that. After a long sigh, she nodded. "You're right. You win." She did not feel bad for herself, because it was just a silly drawing contest after all. "Who knew Reader Boy was not bad at drawing and could make a better use of that marker? Or, did you get the idea of the drawing from this book?" She waved it at him, making him clearly see that she was able to pick it up from the sink. "So, do you deserve some praise? What should I call you now? Master of the Arts? My lord?" Vee questioned mockingly, with a teasing smirk. "Next time, I'll beat you with another skill. During that time the competition will be serious."​

 

[Theseas Stratis]

Theseas was slightly surprised with what he had created. He used to draw on his textbooks during classes out of sheer boredom but he hadn't realized he was good at it until now that Victoria pointed it out. "Too bad I don't know how to charm it. I would make it roar at anyone coming close enough." He said as she declared him winner. Theseas hadn't really thought of it as a competition. More like a makeover of this lavatory. "It's not something I say often, but if only Perseas was here...he's better with enchantments." He admitted his brother's mastery in most things but never did so in front of him. It was pretty easy to turn Perseas' head after all.

He dismissed the thought of enchanting his drawing since he hadn't the skill and Victoria didn't pass as a studious one as far as he could tell. "Reader boy?" Theseas repeated with a chuckle the nickname she gave him and blushed slightly on his cheeks. His amusement vanished when he noticed his book in her hands. It was titled The Last Griffins and the the oval picture on its cover was depicting a man flying on the back of a griffin. The man was his father and beneath the title was inscribed in smaller letters his name. Asterion Stratis. It was the last book Theseas' father had published before disappearing. It was diary logs from his father's and other magizoologists' attempt to rescue from extinction the decimating population of wild griffins in the countries of the Mediterranean. It was more than a book about magical creatures. It included journeys, adventure, even risky encounters with poachers. This book made him dream and it was the only thing left from his father. Despite its importance, he didn't feel like snatching it out of her hands. "In that case, I would have drawn a griffin." Theseas replied when she wondered if his source of inspiration was that book. He still didn't try to take it from her. He didn't want her to notice the author and start asking. She didn't look fond of books so she was going to give it up pretty soon.

Listening to her attempts of finding him a proper title for his artistic accomplishment only made him flash a genuine smile. As she continued with the promise of beating him with another skill, his smile transformed into a smirk. "I hope we won't compete in who will come up with the most original nickname, because honestly you're better with lipstick drawing." he sneered and folded his arms on his chest again. Theseas was never good at figuring out people and it was no different with Victoria. He couldn't imagine in what she was good at. "You challenge me, then you weasel out of it?" he raised an eyebrow and leaned again against the wall. "Why not now?" The smile that played upon his lips was a devious one. "What? Scared that the Master of Arts is going to win again?" His playful, mocking gaze met her eyes.

 

[Victoria Chase]

Hearing Perseas' name made her want to wrinkle her nose, but she did not do so. Instead, she let her eyes linger more on the lion, thinking that indeed, putting some sort of animation to it would make it better. Hell, his was majestic while hers was a masterpiece of a ten year old's. She had to admit though, he was not bad at this at all. Even if she tried mimicking his drawing, she would not have mastered the precision of his strokes. He was good and definitely, the skill planted in him could be further improved. Victoria however, knew that she should just stick to clothes, manipulating, scheming and perhaps musical instruments.

A griffin? Of course, the animal on the front cover was a bloody griffin. Victoria looked back at the book and squinted to examine the creature closely. There was a man flying on its back and she immediately knew that it was the authentic thing. The book had aged and she smoothly ran her thumb along its spine as she tried to figure out how old it probably was. As she did, she noticed the name of the author and she did a double take when she noticed the surname was Stratis. Coincidence? Vee bit her lip and blinked, thinking that her eyes were deceiving her. However, it truly was printed on the cover of the book and it was a name of a man with the same last name as Theseas. Well, it must be a distant relative of the young boy - perhaps a grandfather or something similar. She tore her eyes off the book, deeming it not so important after all.

The Master of the Arts teased her about being a coward which was not surprising, as he thought that he would continue with a winning streak. The situation was actually nothing too serious and Vee immediately wondered, was it in the nature of the Stratis members to be so eager to jump into challenges? She walked to him and feigned an exaggerated expression of fear. "Oh, I'm trembling," she said dryly, putting a hand on her chest for an extra effect. "My knees are about to give out and I think I'm about to bow down to the Master! I don't think I'll challenge him anymore, in fear that his smugness might start dripping." The last word came out a more pronounced. She was close to him now and she connected to the book to his chest, holding it in place. "Now here's your book and I'm going back to exploring this wreck. Looks like you've got more reading to do.” She released the book, knowing that it wouldn't now fall to the ground. Truly, she came to the bathroom for one purpose only – to get a better look around the place and if she was lucky, find something greatly interesting. "Now if you hear a piercing scream, no need to rescue me. I can defend myself." She was joking about the piercing scream, but it came about more humorlessly.
​

 

[Theseas Stratis]

Still leaning against the wall, Theseas watched Victoria as she put a scared expression on but her words were dripping irony. Theseas let her make her pretence of adulation, finding her quite entertaining. "Such a sycophant." He shook his head and his smirk wiped out of his face when something hard hit his chest. He took his book as she released it against his chest and left him watching her walking away. "Oooh brave. A true gryffindor." He gibed her when she asserted she could fend for herself. Theseas had no idea what she was expecting to find in that mess. The castle was housing a profusion of secrets but he couldn't imagine any of them located in an old lavatory. Not even the usual surprises a toilet could keep would be found there as the particular lavatory wasn't really used by students and school's staff.

Despite his lack of interest, he decided to stick around and join her search of whatever she was expecting to find. "What are you expecting to find in this shi- I mean, in this...place?" He asked her and reluctantly pushed the door of the toilet he had wrote on minutes ago. It was no surprise when he discovered the remains of what used to be a toilet basin, now lying on the wet floor in pieces. Theseas then softly kicked the door of the opposite toilet and saw the ugly graffiti swearing at all members of Gryffindor house. "Apparently Slytherins find this compartment charming enough to express their love for us." He commented and took out his marker to change the recipient of the graffiti's message.

 

[Victoria Chase]

With him behind her, she was sure that they were going to find something... strange. At least she hoped they would not find anything bizarrely wrong or else, she'd never set a foot in this bathroom. Ever. It was just the energy around him made her think of situations that were of the extremes. Like, they'd fall into this 80-year old hole that's a hundred feet underground or they'd unleash a troll anytime soon. It made her uncomfortable but her pride did not let her run away. She was going to do this like what her initial plan told her to. Also, Theseas Stratis was surprisingly tolerable... but if he screwed up, Vee was going to make sure she would show him her distaste and its amount that mankind has ever known. Victoria heard a soft kick from behind her and she stopped to look back. More words were on the walls and this time, the lovely Slytherins had it on the Gryffindors. "Our number one admirers, huh," Vee said dryly and waited for him to finish whatever he was doing. "My brother was a Slytherin and he always made sure to be friends with the Gryffindors. I think one even threw a shoe at him." She smirked, recalling the memory of a very pissed Benjamin Chase who believed that sulking with Vee was going to do him good. But was that student really a Gryffindor? She couldn't remember - but she sure knew that his patrol partner was a Gryffindor and they were always so... snappy. That was years ago and she really did not know why she was telling Theseas this. It seemed funny and appropriate for the situation, she assumed anyhow. "Come on, stop that. Let's go," she called out before moving forward and listening if she would indeed hear footsteps behind her following.

The bathroom was very large and she wanted to get a good look at every corner. Somewhere far away from the window, there was a darker row of cubicles aligned with each other. Despite the daylight, it was not as bright as the other spots of the lavatory where the sunlight could freely hit it. Without hesitation, she went further and noticed that the doors at the far end were jammed. At least they seemed to be eternally closed. With her curiosity piqued, she approached the doors and listened for any distinctly strange sound. "These doors... why are they jammed?" She asked to no one in particular and it came out as a loud whisper from her slightly parted and wondering lips. Plus, there was no lock on it so that meant no Alohomora. If she blasted it, that would be destroying school property. Quickly deciding, the skinny brunette heaved the weight she had on her shoulder and pushed one door, trying to part it open. What she received was a blast of fresh pain and she gasped. "Sh*t," she breathed and nursed her shoulder almost immediately, relishing the physical hurt. "All of them are just... jammed like that. Someone must have kept it closed. So that means, there must be something in there right?" Her theory must be correct and now she was panting. There must be a hidden message in there!
​

 

[Theseas Stratis]

While processing how to alter the nasty graffiti in favor to the Gryffindors, he was also listening Victoria who revealed that her brother was a Slytherin. "Sounds like the two of them really bonded." He commented with a hint of sarcasm when she mentioned an incident between her brother and a gryffindor, including a shoe. "But let's be honest. They love to hate us and we love them for the competition they are giving us." He talked about the two houses' relations and continued. "Hufflepuffs are too nice, you don't really enjoy beating them at quidditch and Ravenclaws...Ravenclaws are so quiet, they almost make you believe that only three houses exist." He commented about the rest houses and tried to at least scribble over the inappropriate message's recipient. He had to do his bit as a gryffindor but unfortunately, his marker had ran out of ink and just a faint, black line barely covered the word 'Gryffindor'.

Theseas still didn't know what she expected to find but regardless, he joined her search party counting now two curious Gryffindors. From his experience with his twin brother, curiosity was an inquisitiveness which mostly brought trouble. This time around he wasn't partners in crime with his brother and his new companion didn't seem reckless. Casually he looked around not expecting to find anything worth of his attention until Victoria pointed something out. He approached and saw her attempting to open on of the toilet compartments but the door looked like it was stuck. "Yeah, another toilet. Maybe even a nasty gift inside the toilet left for us to discover." Theseas replied sarcastically when she wondered what could be behind the jammed door. Not really believing they were doing this, he slammed the door with his shoulder. Since she seemed so determined to find out what secrets kept the jammed door, he decided to help her out of chivalry. Theseas'first attempt to make the door open failed with a sore shoulder but he insisted and the second time he slammed on the wooden surface, the door resisted no more and banged loudly on the side of the compartment. "See? No corpse here." He mocked her and stepped aside to let her have a look as well. As Theseas massaged his soon-to-be bruised shoulder, he noticed that the toilet's cover trembled slightly.

For an inexplicable reason, Theseas pulled his wand again and pointed at the toilet. The charm he casted caused the toilet's cover to open and three blue blurs darted out of the toilet's bowl. The three pixies circled overheard, squealing maliciously now that they were free. They still had to find a way out of the old lavatory. Theseas attempted to point his wand at the pesky creatures but his hand was empty. One of them had managed to snatch it out of his hand. "Son of a... hey! Give it back blue piece of sh*t!" He bellowed furious that a mere pixie managed to disarm him. He stormed towards the sinks where the pixies were swarming and passing his wand from one another. One of them landed on a sink, turned on the water and splashed water on him. The pixies started giggling menacingly at soaked Theseas and swooped down upon the Gryffindors to grab them from the ears.