Unfriendly warning

[Harley Tsuji]

Of all the people from her old school to be here, of course it had to be the worst one possible. Harley had barely believed it when she heard Odette's name called during sorting. Getting away from that slimy pretentious queen bee had been one of the best things about leaving her old school, and Harley really wasn't excited to have to deal with that rodent for the next seven years.

Ducking into a bathroom, Harley decided to vent some frustration the best way she knew how, pulling a large permanent marker she had brought from home out of her pocket. Hopefully at least Harley could warn a few people, and Odette wouldn't be able to get away with the same kind of rubbish she had back home. Sneering, Harley twirled the pen in her hands a few times as she selected a section of wall, right between two mirrors where it would be easy to see. Pressing the marker to the wall, Harley smirked a little as she scrawled down her message on the wall.

ODETTE HARPER IS A DISGUSTING TWO-FACED

Harley paused for a moment of consideration, observing her work and trying to decide just what her final descriptor should be, there were so many tempting options, all of which described Odette's ugly personality perfectly, and she wanted to make sure she chose the right one.

 

[Odette Madison]

Odette could admit it to herself: she was lost. It was absolutely ridiculous, why weren't there signs anywhere in this enormous school? How was anyone supposed to find their way? She was sure a school in The States would have been a lot easier to navigate, why was she here again?

Grumbling, she opened the door to a bathroom. At least she had found one of those. She looked up, only to be confronted by her own name in huge, ugly letters scrawled on a wall. She blinked, thinking for it was some sort of weird magic. Then she read the rest of the sentence and her face heated up. What was THIS? "What are you doing?!" She gasped, both appalled and angry. Her eyes slid to the girl holding a sharpie and she took an involuntary step back, startled. She knew her. That girl was one of the more annoying girls from her old school. No one like that should be here. "What are YOU doing here?" She asked, her eyes wide and furious. "You're not a witch! You're just another No-Maj!"

Her mind was buzzing, was Harley Tsuji a witch? Odette had always assumed she was the only one in her class at the No-Maj school, quietly feeling superior to the others. But Harley, of all people? Why hadn't Odette noticed her at the sorting? After she had been sorted herself she hadn't paid too much attention anymore. Stupid! never underestimate your competition, watch and take note. Her mother had drilled that into her head in the days they still did pageants, she should never have forgotten. "Clean it off." She hissed, her hands clenching into fists in her anger. This could not be how her reputation got started in this school, she would not allow it.

 

[Harley Tsuji]

Harley had just begun writing an enormous and satisfying B when the door opened and interrupted her work. Harley whirled around quickly, standing a little defensively in case it was a teacher or older student, and she had to try to run for it past them. She was pleasantly surprised though, laughing a little to see the subject of her warning entering the room. Too late for Odette to stop her now.

"Wow, speak of the devil and she really does appear." Harley smirked, folding her arms. "I'm here to learn, just like you, didn't you see me at sorting? There weren't any mirrors around, so there shouldn't have been anything shiny enough to distract you." Harley sneered, watching Odette's face. Even if putting up with Odette's manipulative queen bee ways for seven years sounded like something of a nightmare, at least Harley could have fun messing with her, and there was no doubt that magic would only add to the list of possibilities there.

Harley laughed at Odette's demand, twirling the pen in her fingers. "Don't you know what permanent markers do? That's not getting washed off any time soon... people deserve to know what kind of person they're dealing with when they meet you, I'm just doing a public service." She smirked. "If you don't mind, I'm not actually done yet..."

 

[Odette Madison]

Odette glared at the other girl, trying and failing to hold her anger in check. Harley had the upper hand here, and Odette did not like it at all. In an attempt to appear calmer, she straightened her back and tossed her hair back. "I didn't see you at the sorting, no. I had more important things to do than to pay attention to stupid little delinquents like you. Like, I don't know, actually making friends and acting like a normal person." She spit, before stepping closer to her. She tried hard to hide her unease. Harley had never been even the slightest bit intimidated by Odette, and Odette had honestly always been glad to be surrounded by her group whenever she and Harley clashed. The other girl had no issues about playing dirty, openly. The glaring words on the wall behind her were proof enough. And having someone around that knew more about her than she was comfortable with was a big setback for Odette. Hogwarts was supposed to be a fresh start, but Harley knew all too well how Odette achieved her goals. Clearly, she was not wasting any time spreading that information.

"Why are you so obsessed with me?" Odette asked, eyeing her. "I was just minding my own business, we could have just ignored each other and gone on with our lives. I suppose you are so pathetic that you need to cling to the fact that you know me to have any shred of relevance at this school. I guess that comes with being unable to socialize normally, have you beaten anyone up yet?"She smiled a little. "I suppose not, or you would be in detention. But you will be soon enough anyway..." She trailed off purposely, eyeing the letters behind Harley again. "Bullying is not something they like at any school."

 

[Harley Tsuji]

Harley laughed, not stepping back as Odette tried to intimidate her. "Figures you were paying more attention to yourself than the people around you. Newsflash, this is a big school, there are a lot of people here, and you're not queen bee anymore, good luck trying to make yourself important with a thousand older kids around." She smirked, meeting Odette's eyes confidently.

Harley smirked through Odette's tirade, not letting the blonde phase her. "I wasn't planning to beat anyone up, but if that's what you really want, I'd be happy to start here." She said icily, taking a warning step forward. "It's not bullying if it's true, I'm not gonna let you use and hurt people like you did at home, you'd better watch how you act." She held Odette's gaze firmly, not backing down in the slightest.

 

[Odette Madison]

Odette smiled, knowing Harley was going to get in trouble for this. She dropped her confident smile and batted her eyelashes at the other girl, her lips forming a small pout."I don't want to be queen bee, I just want to have a fun time at school, make friends, and learn magic, but some girls can be so mean." She said, her voice purposely an exaggeration of innocence. "And I already am important, more important than you are anyway." She added in her normal voice, smirking at her.

"You see, I didn't actually call you a bully. I mean, everyone that knows the two of us would know that you can't take me even on a good day. I'm hardly shaking in my shoes at the thought of you writing something mean about me on a wall, because that's as far as you will go." She paused, tilting her head to the side. "But just consider for a moment what it will look like to a teacher. One angry girl with a permanent marker and a very mean message on a wall, another that has done nothing wrong and is very, very upset by the mean things that are unfairly being written about her. And not just teachers, what makes you think anyone will believe you? You don't have any friends here, you don't have any power." She held Harley's gaze just as firmly as the other girl did. "I always watch how I act. It's something you should consider doing as well."

 

[Harley Tsuji]

Harley scowled, glaring at Odette. "I know what you're like, I'm not stupid. You want the exact same thing you wanted at our old school, to mess with people's heads and cause fights and act like you matter more than anyone else in the whole school. I'm sick of it! Never having to see YOU again was supposed to be one of the best things about this place, but since you're here I'll settle for making sure I never see you make another stupid pecking order!" Harley snarled, getting closer and closer as she made her feelings known. She was beyond tired of girls like Odette, and didn't have the patience for them at all.

Harley couldn't hold back a laugh as Odette continued. "You really think I won't hit you? I've fought people bigger than you before, I doubt you'd even be able to touch me! I don't care what grownups think, I know what you're like. People are gonna see through you eventually, and I'll help them along as much as I want." She clutched the marker in her hand, eyes locked menacingly on Odette's.

 

[Odette Madison]

Odette rolled her eyes. "I know you know what I'm like. Though whether or not you're stupid is up for debate." She smirked. "What I'm saying is that it doesn't matter if you do. Who is going to believe you? It'll be a miracle if you make even one friend. And who else would listen to someone that dresses and acts like a common criminal? The pecking order isn't something I make, Harley dear. It's just something that exists in every school, I merely know how to play the game. And you do not. It must be hard, knowing you'll always be at the bottom. But no worries, Harley, I'm sure there will be some other antisocial losers lurking around. There always are."

Okay, Harley was getting quite close now. Odette really didn't want to, but she took a step back. She knew she was superior to Harley in most ways, but she had no illusions about who would win if it did come down to a physical fight. As much as she would love the evidence to show a teacher how mean a bully Harley was, it wasn't quite worth getting a black eye over. "Civilized people don't fight." She said, tilting her chin up slightly and looking down her nose at the other girl. "I suppose if you want to get kicked out of this school as soon as possible, you can try." There was a slight hint of nerves in her voice that she hated. It was hard, dealing with someone that really didn't care about the threat of a teacher. But even Harley would hesitate with the idea of being kicked out of Hogwarts, right? A part of Odette was urgently telling her to turn and go, but she did not want to give this thug the satisfaction of seeing her flee.

 

[Harley Tsuji]

Laughing, Harley stepped closer to Odette again. "I don't CARE about being on top. I don't think I'm better than everybody else, just better than you. I've got my ways, I'll make sure people know what you're like." She put her finger in the centre of Odette's chest, giving a firm jab. "Even if they don't believe me at first, they'll see."

Laughing, Harley got right in Odette's face. "What, are you scared of a little scuffle? Afraid I'm gonna muss up your hair? I've been in a real fight before, have you? I know what I'm doing." She smirked, meeting Odette's gaze, the challenge clear in her expression. She didn't think physically fighting Odette was the smartest plan, but it would definitely feel good, and maybe people would think twice about Odette if they could see someone disliked her enough to thump her one.

 

[Odette Madison]

Odette was starting to feel cornered. This was not good. She couldn't let herself forget she was on unfamiliar ground, and that she had less to lose than Harley. The other girl clearly did not care about her reputation, and Odette very much did. It would be wisest to go now, though she hated the thought of looking like she was running away. "Right, Harley. You're boring me to tears." She said, trying to smirk again. "I'll believe your powers of persuasion when I see them."

When Harley got in her face, Odette's mask cracked. She winced, hating herself for it at once. "Stay away from me, you freak!" She hissed. "I'm not going to fight you, I'm not an animal." She backed off again, glaring at the other girl. "You'll regret this, Harley." She spit at her before turning around and leaving the bathroom. She wasn't going to run, but she was going to walk slightly faster than normal. Harley wasn't normal, she would actually physically fight, and Odette was not about to let that happen. But neither was she just going to let the other girl get away with this. She would have preferred to get to know her Professors before she had to go to one to tell on someone, but Harley was asking for it. Odette would get her in trouble for this if it was the last thing she did. And that wasn't all she would do, her mind was already coming up with ways of retaliating. Harley Tsuji would soon discover what happened if you messed with Odette Harper.

 

[Justin Cliffeton]

Professor Justin Cliffeton had been drawn to the old lavatory on the Fifth Floor by a couple of concerned students who had heard some kind of commotion. He knew that there was a chance that it was just two people playing around, but it was definitely something that he didn't want to deal with either way. On approach, he heard the sound of two arguing teens and he sighed deeply, taking a moment to compose himself before he went inside, stopping one of them from exiting as he walked inside. Noticing that they were both first years, he couldn't believe that one of them was being this stupid. He caught the tail end of the conversation, and sighed deeply. "What the damn hell is going on in here?" He said with an angry look on his face.

 

[Harley Tsuji]

Harley was opening her mouth to laugh at Odette's sudden cowardice, maybe call her a fraidy-cat, when the door opened, and a teacher entered the room. Crap. Harley had pocketed the marker, but she was definitely going to get blamed for this, and it was all Odette's stupid fault for interrupting. Thinking fast, Harley could only see one potential way out of this, and taking quick action she opened her mouth and screamed at the top of her lungs.

"TEACHER SWORE AT ME!" Harley shrieked, glancing at Odette as she did, hoping for once she'd prove not to be so useless and get the message to join in. The way Harley saw it, this was an issue to deal with between them, she wasn't interested in teachers intervening. Grownups wouldn't understand their issues, and just maybe if she screamed loud enough he would back off. "TEACHER SWORE, TEACHER SWORE, TEACHER SWORE!" She shrieked, nudging Odette with her elbow.

 

[Odette Madison]

Odette was surprised to be stopped by a teacher, but it wasn't the worst outcome. At least she obviously looked like the innocent party here, because she was. Besides, Odette had been about to find one anyway. Though, he seemed more annoyed than she would have liked. Still, there was no way Harley was going to get out of this. Odette made her eyes wide and her expression sad and slightly scared. It was an eternal annoyance to her that no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't make tears come to her eyes at her whim. No matter, those weren't necessary in this case, she hardly needed to do anything. Harley did it all on her own.

But before she could even start telling the teacher how incredibly mean Harley Tsuji had been to her, the other girl apparently decided to make things worse for herself. She started shrieking at the top of her lungs, making Odette jump and look at her in genuine shock. What was she thinking? Odette covered her ears with her hands, wincing at the sudden racket. If Harley thought this would get her in less trouble, she was obviously mistaken. "Sir, she's being awful." Odette told the teacher, wincing as Harley started nudging her. Did she want Odette to join in? Not in a hundred years. "See what she wrote about me?" She tried to say, half drowned out by the shouts. "And now she's... well, doing this!"

 

[Justin Cliffeton]

Justin looked at the Slytherin, a little bit perplexed. He had no idea why she was yelling at him like that, maybe she was just trying to get him to go away. "Be quiet, you silly girl. I'm not going to be sent away that easily." Turning to the other girl, he gave her a smile. At least she seemed to be civil. "Please fill me in entirely on what happened. That includes everything you did. I'm sure your friend will happily clue me in if you lie, though." He turned to the other girl, and then looked at her little mural on the wall. "Nice penmanship, it'll serve you well when you have to write lines for me for defacing the school." He said with a smirk on his face. There was no doubt in his mind, however, that the other girl was just as guilty as her for this predicament, but he'd rather find out what happened before he punished them both further./font]

 

[Harley Tsuji]

Harley had to resist the urge to roll her eyes as Odette began sucking up to the teacher instead. Of course she'd get up to her usual slimy ways, instead of making herself useful for once. Worthless. Harley ignored her and kept up her chant, hoping to distract the teacher enough to make a break for it and slip past him. "TEACHER SWORE, TEACHER SWORE, TEACHER SWORE!"

Harley was yelling loud enough that she almost couldn't hear the next thing the teacher said, but it didn't quite slip past her. Had a teacher really called her a name?! What kind of school was this? "Don't call names!" Harley snapped, glaring at the man. "Teachers can't insult kids!" Of course, what else did she expect? Adults always treated her like rubbish, why should a new school be any different? Still, none of her old teachers had been as rude as this man, they certainly didn't use language like him around kids, and it was a bit of a shock to the system.

 

[Odette Madison]

Odette was starting to get a headache from Harley's shouting. Didn't she understand that she was just making it worse for herself? This professor was clearly not amused, and even if he did swear, telling him so wasn't going to help either of them. She wished she could tell Harley to quit it and let her do the talking, but there was no way to say that without it being obvious.

The teacher called her silly, which Harley seemed to mind a lot. Honestly, Odette probably would have as well. It wasn't the nicest thing to say, even if Odette herself had said a lot worse about the other girl, but she wasn't a teacher. She wished she could just go, this wasn't her fight. He would just have to punish Harley for defacing a toilet, but Odette herself hadn't actually done anything. But reacting to his request, she started to tell him what happened. "Sir, I went in here because I was looking for a bathroom and I found Harley writing mean things about me." She said, looking up at him. "We know each other from our old school, you see, and she was always mean to me. I tried to get her to remove it but she wouldn't. That's all."

 

[Justin Cliffeton]

Justin sighed. He couldn't stand this girls insistence on trying to get out of trouble. There was no reason for her to act the way that she was, he had barely even said anything that bad. He gestured for the other girl to leave. "You can go," he started. But he then turned to her friend, "You, on the other hand, will serve a detention on the weekend, and you'll be losing 20 house points. I'd love to see you explain that to Professor Kingsley." He said with a small smirk on his face, it was fun to imagine her doing so. He flicked his wand towards the mural on the wall and wiped it clean. "Consider yourself lucky I didn't make you scrub it the muggle way. I'll see you on Saturday." He said, leaving the bathroom.

Out of Character:

Rowan, PM me and we'll sort out the detention.