Open Yuletide Boredom

[Eric Holland]

Set during the yule ball

It was evening, and nearly everyone in the castle was in the great hall right now. Twirling around in stupid dresses and suits like idiots. Eric didn't want to join, as the ball had never appealed to him, but staying inside the Gryffindor common room on his own had felt a little pathetic too. He had taken his permanent marker with him, thinking he might as well try to get some revenge on Sydney while most of the teachers were busy. He was thinking he could write a mean message about her on one of the walls in the corridors, where people were bound to see it. But when he had found a good spot and had uncapped the marker, he hesitated. It would be kind of lame to do the same thing he had done on their first encounter. Sydney had been hurt by it then, but now she would probably mock him for being unoriginal. And she wouldn't even be wrong. Eric lowered the marker, when suddenly someone else popped into his mind. The professor who had helped break up the fight all those weeks ago, the new one who had announced loudly to everyone listening that Eric clearly had anger issues and needed a counsellor. It had made him angry at the time, and remembering it made him angry all over again. It had been humiliating. Maybe he should see how he liked being humiliated. Without stopping to think any longer, Eric scrawled onto the old stones of the corridor wall. "Professor North stinks!!"

 

[Juniper Steele]

Juno hadn’t wanted to attend the ball and realise once again how out of place she was. Instead she was going to make the most of the peace and quiet in the towers; one of the places she felt most comfortable and where she would have happily spent all her time if she could. The first year was walking along the seventh floor when she actually saw someone drawing straight onto the walls. Well, writing. Plus his handwriting was awful. The blonde was just going to leave it and keep going when she realised what exactly the boy had written, and the girl stopped in her tracks. “Oi,” she shouted, wondering if he would just run now he’d been caught. She knew Professor North as Apollo’s family, and given he was one of her closest friends at the school she wasn’t going to allow this to continue. She slid her hand into her pocket, drawing her wand from her trousers.

 

[Kasim Safir]

Kas hadn't quite made up his mind about the Yule Ball yet. On one hand, the whole thing seemed kind of tacky and dumb, but on the other hand, Kas loved making fun of tacky and dumb things. The plus side of everyone being down in the hall at least, was that the rest of the school was deserted, giving Kas plenty of time to wander aimlessly. It was pretty relaxing to just be alone with his thoughts for awhile after spending every waking moment of school being surrounded by other students one way or the other. His blissful solitude was shattered by someone shouting down the corridor however, and Kas wasn't one to let the sound of potential drama go uninvestigated.

He shouldn't have been too surprised to see Eric was the one being shouted at, and by Juno no less, considering all the gossip he'd heard about him this year. Kas had to laugh though, distracted from the girl yelling at him by the message Eric had scrawled on the wall. After a moment of petty giggling, Kas focused back on Juno, who'd actually draw her wand for some reason. Stepping slightly away from what he guessed might be the jinx splashzone if she had a go at Eric, Kas watched curiously, ready to see how this might play out.

 

[Eric Holland]

Eric was just underlining his text, a little annoyed at how crooked some of the letters were on the stone, when he heard someone shout at him. Eric took his time putting the cap back on the marker before turning, his eyebrows raised. A girl was standing there, clearly younger than him, and Eric mockingly crossed his arms even though she had drawn her wand. What was she going to do, she was clearly a first year. "Oi." He mimicked in a mocking tone. He spotted a familiar face in the corner of his eye, and wondered if Kas would take his side or not. For all Eric knew, this girl was a friend of his. They were in the same year.

 

[Juniper Steele]

Juno frowned as the kid turned round and mocked her. Who did he think he was? He didn't look like he was apologetic at all nor worried that he'd just been caught out. The blonde raised her wand, "Move," she told him, now slightly nervous that he might have actually tried to jinx her or something. He probably knew more spells than her anyway and she didn't want to end up in the hospital wing in her first semester. All she knew was that she wasn't going to stand there and let her best friends family be defaced across the school walls, and she hadn't expected to find anyone so disrespectful in this school so early on. There was always one like this though. Eager to cause trouble because he didn't get enough attention. It was quite sad really. She peered at the text on the wall behind him, and cleared her throat.

 

[Kasim Safir]

Eric's response to Juno seemed perfectly fair to Kas, and he had to stifle another laugh again, still trying to minimize his own chance of becoming a target of Juno's sudden vigilante streak. "I think she's bluffing," He said in a stage whisper to Eric, raising his eyebrows exaggeratedly. He had his doubts Juno was planning on actually doing anything, but besides their brief chat on the train, he and her hadn't really hang out besides in class, so for Kas knew she was a secret dueling savant or something. "Are you like an honorary prefect? Pre-prefect? Is that a thing?"Kas asked, still making a point to keep himself pointed away from the end of Juno's wand. He just didn't get why she seemed so uptight about Eric's little joke, it wasn't really a big deal to him and it wasn't like she would have to clean it up or anything.

 

[Eric Holland]

Eric stared at the younger girl impassively, raising one eyebrow. "Why?" He asked her. "Are you going to clean it up? You haven't even learned the cleaning spell yet. Are you going to try to make it float?" He mocked, a grin spreading over his face. He was only a second year, but that meant he knew about twice as much magic as she did. The worst she could do was disarm or stun him, but he was betting on this nervous little first year not to dare stunning someone in the middle of the corridor, even if everyone was at the yule ball. He was pleasantly surprised when Kas jumped in and was clearly on his side, and laughed at his comment. "That's just called being a teacher's pet. You don't even know Professor North, he teaches third year and up." Eric wasn't in third year yet himself, but the girl didn't need to know that.

 

[Juniper Steele]

Juno was ignoring the boy behind her who kept trying to egg them on. She didn't care what he thought but he wasn't even part of what was going on. The angry boy however kept trying to intimidate her, unfortunately for him it didn't really work. She took a few steps forward, mumbling something under her breath. It was true that she hadn't learnt the cleaning spell yet, but that didn't mean that she hadn't picked up a few tips and tricks over the years while living with her family members. It was a little poem that she'd heard some of her cousins using when they were trying to hide the evidence after a particularly heavy night out, although she hadn't been around long enough to see whether it actually worked. As she recited the words she remembered them saying, she waited to see if anything would happen. After a second she realised she must have just been imagining the words fading, and a frown stamped on her face as she realised, not for the first time, that her family must have played her as a child. "You know just because you're not the teachers pet, doesn't mean you have to be disrepectful. And for your information, I do know Professor North, so how about you learn to read and get your facts right before you start bullying first years," the blonde said angrily, shoving her wand into her pocket before turning and trying to wipe the marker off the wall with her sleeve.

 

[Kasim Safir]

Kas was greatly enjoying the back and forth between Eric and Juno, though he had to hide a flinch when Juno started muttering something he didn't recognize, suddenly impressed that Juno might actually be going through with throwing a spell or two at Eric over this. But he had to blink when Juno seemed to give up on the magic and just went straight for trying to scrub the marker off the wall. Anti-climatic to say the least. It was a bit sad to watch and he looked at Eric, raising his eyebrows again at him, nodding his head to Juno, shrugging. "Why are you bothering? Just let one of the grounds guys clean it up," He said blandly, peering at Juno's progress. Now that no one was about to get hexed, including himself, Kas was a bit bored with the interaction. "Besides, Eric can probably rewrite that a lot faster than you can scrub it off." He said with a quick glance at Eric, still armed with his marker.

 

[Eric Holland]

Eric snorted at the girl's words, and he wasn't going to budge from his spot. He laughed as she said she knew Professor North. "Well, I know him too, and he stinks. Sorry to say." He told her casually. "And I'm not bullying you. You're the one bothering me, I wasn't doing anything to you." The girl started to wipe at it with her sleeve and he laughed. "Do you think I'll use a marker you can just wipe off like that? I'm not that dumb." He stepped closer, more bold now that she had put her wand away. Kas' words made him smile. "That's true. I bet I could cover the whole corridor in messages before you clean this off. Hey Kas, what other things could I write?" He was happy to involve the other boy a bit more, make the girl really feel like it was two against one. Maybe she would get the hint and leave them alone.

 

[Professor Elvera Le Fey]

Elvera was making her way down to the great hall. she was late attending the ball as she had been helping to set it up and had then returned to the tower to shower and change. She was just receding the spiral staircase from the divination tower when she heard a commotion. she listened as she descended she could pick out three voices one girl and two boys. it was slightly muffled but she got a general idea, someone was insulting someone and the girl was standing up for him. and it sounded like there was some form of mess.
she took her wand in her hand and stepped out into the corridor. she was not usually a strict professor and didnt relish on getting students in trouble. she had enough following up on then when she had been deputy. but she also could not let blatant rule-breaking such as vandalism go unnoticed. "I will be taking that thank you" she said waving her wand and summoning the pen towards her. "can one of you please explain what is going on here?" she asked. she didn't want to jump to conclusions though she had heard enough to get a general idea, that the boy with the pen had written something on the wall that had caused the disagreement, what she could see confirmed that, and the extra information her powers managed to get off the pen pilled in the gaps. " and for your information, It is not the groundskeeper's job to clean up after students. especially ones who deliberately make a mess." she said. an unusual sternness in her voice.

 

[Juniper Steele]

Juno was bothering because she’d had enough. Enough of people acting like some were beneath them, and that they could be treated however someone wishes just because they weren’t the same. She was tired of the constant arguments, and it seemed as though she’d found someone in the school who liked nothing more than to make other people’s lives harder than they needed to be. If she could, Juno would find a way to make things easier, not the other way round. “If yous knows him and has a problem with him, why don’t yous just go speak to ‘im?!” She continued to scrub at the wall even though the boy with the marker tried to underestimate her. He was dumb though, any wizard his age should be able to cast something that would have been more effective than a marker, it was lazy really but at least it would make cleaning it easier. With the prospect of the boys adding their mess, the blonde was about to try and do something that would attract the attention of a prefect or Professor, but before any more words came out of her mouth, one appeared at their side. She glanced over briefly to see her take away the pen, but continued to tirelessly rub at the wall. “Someone got too excited about graduating from nursery and wanted to show off their latest vocab” she mumbled, not really sure whether the professor even heard her, but the explanation wasn’t for her, and she would have love to hear what the boys had to say for themselves.

 

[Kasim Safir]

"At least he's still using his words, right?" Kas said when Juno suggested Eric try to sort out his beef with Professor North in person. Some might consider Eric's solution more constructive, if Eric's current rep was anything to go by. Like modern art. "He's expressing himself,"
Kas was about to open to his mouth with a few suggestions for Eric when a professor swooped around the corner and he closed it with a click. He frowned over at Juno again, she hadn't struck him as such a goodie-good type, but then again, he clearly didn't know her very well. For a moment, Kas considered lying, or maybe even just booking it, but something about the professor's tone and her weird eyes made him reconsider. He didn't want to sell Eric out though, so Kas reverted to his tried and true method of dealing with trouble at home. He kept his mouth shut, and shrugged.

 

[Eric Holland]

Eric cursed under his breath when the marker was pulled out of his hand, and he looked up to see a Professor that looked vaguely familiar, but he didn't know the name of. Well, he was busted. Eric considered pretending the girl had made the mess and written on the wall, but he knew that wasn't going to be believed when he'd been the one holding the marker. Eric knew by now that he'd get in trouble, but there was no point in dragging Kas along with him. "I was expressing myself." He said, borrowing the words Kas had used. "And they were trying to stop me. But if you think about it, I'm really doing a public service. Like a warning to the school." He said with a shrug. " Not my fault both of them are bores." He hoped Kas would be smart enough to play along, and that the girl wouldn't kick up too much of a fuss as long as he got in trouble for insulting her precious Professor North. He crossed his arms and shrugged, waiting to be dragged to someone's office and get some points deducted along with a lecture.

 

[Professor Elvera Le Fey]

Elvera heard the girl mumble something about showing off and nursery school and nodded. that didn't really explain what was going on. one of the boys started to speak. saying that he was expressing himself and that he was warning the school, as he said that the others were trying to stop him she let out a hmm that hadn't been quite what she had heard. "there are better ways of expressing yourself than writing on the walls. I believe the conglomerated arts club may be a good place to go if you are looking for the expression" she said. the club was not so much a club like it had been when she was a student. but it was still a room with a selection of different areas such as craft rooms and music booths. "as much as I implore trying to keep your friend out of trouble. you should be aware that empty corridors tend to echo." she said. beofre looking at the boy who had been quiet up until now. "would you like to explain what is going on mr..." she said inviting him to speak. wondering if he would tell the truth or let himself be covered for.

 

[Juniper Steele]

Juno stopped scrubbing at the walls for long enough to turn and watch what would happen next. The professor seemed to realise that the boys were the ones in the wrong, although she couldn’t discount herself yet. She shot a glance towards the second boy, wondering if he was the one she’d met on the train to Hogwarts, who’d questioned her about her music. He’d seemed alright then, only a bit of a snitch now. So far her experiences around the school weren’t going to plan, and she didn’t know how much longer she would be able to stick it out without seeking some sort of help.

 

[Kasim Safir]

Kas looked at Eric intently as he spoke to the teacher, surprised when Eric seemed to be willing to take the fall entirely on his own. In fairness, Kas hadn't really done much, but he appreciated Eric not even seeming to consider throwing Kas under the bus when he easily could have. Juno didn't seem to be about sell them out either, so maybe she really just liked Professor North or something. The professor they were dealing with right now didn't seem very ready to just let it slide though and Kas frowned as she pressed him for another answer. "I think Eric got the gist of it," He said with another shrug, sliding his gaze from the marker in Eric's hand and up somewhere near the ceiling, just to avoid the professor's unnerving eyes. "I was just passing by." Not technically a lie, Kas hadn't actually done anything but talk, so he figured that was safe to say.

 

[Eric Holland]

Eric nodded as the professor said the conglomerated arts club room would be a better place to express himself. He bit his tongue before he could comment about writing on the walls there instead. There was no reason to get in more trouble on purpose. He was disappointed but not too surprised as the professor didn't believe him about Kas. He glanced over at the Hufflepuff with an apologetic shrug. Kas pretty much backed up his story, and Eric nodded. "Well. He didn't do anything. I was the only one writing." He said, which was true. He was glad the annoying girl was at least quiet now.

 

[Professor Elvera Le Fey]

Elvera knew that the boy was not as innocent as he made out to be. but as they continued to back each other up she knew it would be harder to get the truth out. "if you were just passing that is great, you may have seen the other person as I am sure I heard three voices one was your friend with the pen, one was the lady and the last was talking about the groundskeeper job," she said. pretty sure that was the boy. if she really wanted to find out she could threaten them with using her powers on the pen but it was a bit of a waste of her skills and it was hard to focus too closely on a specific event. not that they needed to know that. "what were your names and houses?" she asked. no matter what the outcome was she would have to report her findings and suspicions to each students head of house for them to record.

 

[Juniper Steele]

Juno listened, a little confused to what the Professor was saying but she didn’t want to end up in any more trouble than she already was. This professor didn’t actually know her however, so maybe there was still hope. “Juno Steele. Ravenclaw,” it was worth a shot, right? Besides maybe the ravenclaw head of house would be more understanding her own and the headmistress.

 

[Kasim Safir]

"Well you heard me talking, professor. That's all I did," Kas shrugged. The teacher was a little unsettling, but Kas wasn't actually that scared of getting in trouble. It was a surprise though when Juno gave up her name so easily. He supposed it wasn't really worth trying any grand deception at this point, though he could have sworn he hadn't seen Juno in the classes he had with Ravenclaw. "Kas, Hufflepuff." That should be enough, Kas was pretty sure there weren't any other Kas' in his house. And if they were losing house points it wasn't like it would matter anyway, the teacher could do some legwork. He did spare a thought for Eric, he knew the other boy had already lost a bunch of points and some people were jerks about it. Who cared about some dumb house cup anyway. He'd have to see Eric later and reemphasize how dumb it all was.

 

[Professor Elvera Le Fey]

Elvera listened as two of the student's gave their names up, or at least did in part. she looked at the boy who had answered her quiestion first. "Well Mr Kas, I will be deducting five points from hufflepuff. for disrespect of the schools staff. Mr's James, Morales and Prius our maintenance staff have enough to do in the castle without having to clean up after children. be aware i will be have to inform professor Carter about this, but as I don't want to draw him from the yule festivities you are free to go as soon as you give me your last name." she said. she looked at the other boy. "I must be getting old as I didn't hear your answer" she said knowing full well that he hadn't said anything. she then looked at the girl. "and Miss Juno. I would like to have a private word with you afterwards" she said. her tone a little less strict but hopefully not too soft that the boys would tease her about being a professors pet. to be honest she didn't like being strict.

 

[Eric Holland]

Eric was trying to think of a way to get Kas out of this, but it seemed impossible. He sighed as the boy and girl both gave their name and house, and apparently wasn't fast enough because the professor started to speak again before he got the chance to say who he was. He wondered if she knew him already, Eric suspected most professors had heard about him by now. The thought made him angry. Eric sighed as the professor pretended she hadn't heard him, when it was obvious to everyone that he hadn't spoken. He snorted. "Eric Holland, Gryffindor." He said, as if she didn't know that already. He crossed his arms, knowing that he wouldn't get away with a few house points or a 'private word'.

 

[Juniper Steele]

Juno was pretty sure that this professor didn't think she was in trouble, or had anything to do with what the boys were doing. She'd been trying to clean up after all and she had no intention of defending them. The idea however that she would be heading back to her office though for a private word, put her on edge. Juno didn't have anything to talk to this professor about. At least she didn't think so. Her heart was hammering in her chest as she gave a simple nod, hoping she wasn't already in trouble. She liked to keep out of the centre of attention, not put herself in it. Waiting for her to finish with the boys, the blonde remained silent, trying not to make the situation any worse or more difficult than it already was.

 

[Kasim Safir]

Kas tried to keep his face neutral when the teacher deducted him some house points, even though internally, he was pulling as many ridiculous faces as he felt this situation deserved. "It's Safir," He said sourly, already taking a tentative step away now that he was apparently dismissed. He caught Eric's eye though, not wanting to totally bail out just yet, who knew if Eric was about to get in even more trouble considering Kas just lost points for talking. They must have hit a sore spot or something, insulting another teacher.