Nov. 4: Sorry Not Sorry: Medusas, Severus, Mary

[Lydia Avery]

▶︎ and it'd be nice of me to take it easy on ya, but nah...

"...all I'm saying is that if they're going to force us to stand at the top of a tower in the middle of the night, freeze to death while doing so, and have the gall call it education, then we should have the next morning off!" the fourth year reasoned, peevish as she fastened a fur-lined cloak at her neck. The heavy thing would cut the chill better than the heating charms their inept professor put over the open space, but Lydia was still loathe to leave the common room as she stepped out of it with her fellows. She would rather be cozying by the fire with Charlie, or reading while cuddled up in bed with her cat, or pleasantly asleep, but no, she was instead on the way to Astronomy. The long and arduous climb through the castle so late in the night was one that never ceased to put her in a foul mood, although the girl usually could hide it better. But she was irritable, the day having been a poor one with no end in sight, thanks to still having another class to go to.

The generally adaptable Slytherin had hit a wall in Transfiguration that morning, unable to perform as well as she knew she could under the scrutiny of their professor's eye, and she'd been unable to shake the feeling ever since. An awful way to begin the week, indeed, and sulking off to Astronomy early - she had sense enough yet and wanted the professor to check over her latest star charts before she turned them in - was doing nothing to help alleviate it.

But as luck would have it, perhaps there was a way to lift her spirits. Because her ails were temporary; she was betrothed, she had loyal companions, she had her wits, she had her family. This was in stark contrast to the girl who one of her Ravenclaw friends was determinedly smitten with, a girl who, for reasons known only to herself, was in their part of the castle. Adopting the Gryffindor's airy tone in mockery as they approached the potions supply closets, Lydia said as solemnly as she'd heard the daft girl in Divination that afternoon,

"I've never told you guys this before, but I'm a little psychic. Honey, the things I've seen - oh! Mary, I didn't see you there," she supplied smoothly as she transitioned back into her own voice, coming to a stop in front of the diversion. "But I do hope you have a good excuse for rummaging around the stores at this hour. Unsupervised. Professor Slughorn does not enjoy being stolen from - so strange, I know, but it's just how he is." The girl - red-haired, red-faced, and red-handed - had turned their way, but held what she'd been in the process of taking behind her back...

[Mary Macdonald]

There you are, alihotsy. Sneaky little buggar, what are you doing all the way up there? Mary levitated the jar down from its station and selected a handful of promising-looking leaves, holding them loosely in her hand. When used in potions, the leaves left the drinker laughing hysterically, but the fourth year was curious. What would happen if she added just a pinch of crushed leaves to her tea? Laughing left a chipper effect on people, after all, so if it induced some giggles or just gave that happy feeling, that would be quite marvelous. And if it didn't work, if she couldn't sort out the taste properly, it would only impact her taste buds. She'd had her first shift at Madam Puddifoot's two days before, and hadn't been able to stop thinking about adding her own twist on the expert's teas since then. There was nothing wrong with the sweet standards that were offered, the seasonal mixes that spiced things up, but Mary was already starting to dream. She loved the environment, loved seeing the townspeople spending time together over a pot of tea, old friends catching up, new loves on dates - and while the madam had her own preferred way of doing things and had so much to teach her...if you're to have your own shop someday, you've got to come up with your own ideas!

And all right, perhaps it wasn't the wisest idea she'd ever had to sneak into Slughorn's supply cupboards to fuel her ideas, but finding supplies she could use limited her to the dungeons or the greenhouses, and it was far too late in the night to sneak out of the castle itself! It was dreadfully cold all the way out there, and she didn't fancy walking on the grounds alone, not when there were nocturnal creatures in the Forest and who knew if they'd creep so close to the castle but if they did then surely it wasn't worth the risk...Roddy would've come if you asked, you could've told him about this. Mary felt that her boyfriend wouldn't be fully on-board with her plan, though, not wanting her to get into trouble. She'd figured that once she had some success and surprised him with her creation that she'd let him know...

But as Mary heard voices coming down the dank corridor and hurried to return the jar and others from which she'd procured samples, Mary wished she'd thought more on the risk of being on this level. She'd anticipated running into a prefect, but the loss of a few House points was easily enough remedied, and detention was nothing to worry sorely about. But she knew the voices littering the hall, and they were not ones she wanted to see the owners of. Not like this. She'd returned the jars and was on her way to hiding within the cupboard - success unlikely, but she could possibly squeeze in - when they came into sight. The medusas, Lydia Avery taking it upon herself to be unnecessarily horrid, as per usual. Mary stood her ground, letting her classmate say what she needed to say, but her suddenly racing heart betrayed her.

Get out of here, Mary.

"I wonder what it must be like to make mockeries and uninformed assumptions out of spite all day long," the Gryffindor returned, doing what she could to not seem as concerned as she truly was. This lot had taken a liking to talking down to her, trying to get a rise out of her, and her warm bed in Gryffindor Tower had never seemed more appealing than this moment. "You should try having an original thought sometime, Lydia. Let me know how it feels. Until then, I advise you to mind your business." With that the girl stiffly turned to leave, wand in one hand, leaves protected in the other.

[Meredith Mulciber]

Meredith fastened the last button on her coat and took up her scope to place into her bag as she rolled her eyes at Lydia's words. The blonde did not like going out in the freezing dead of the night either, but they were witches, it was practically their mandate. Besides, it was a required class, Mere only ever got the best grades, and no darkness or cold was going to stop her from making the same in Astronomy. So it was a pointless venture to whine about it. But Lydia was her best friend and she tolerated a fair amount from the girl that she wouldn't take from anyone else. Some would say she indulged her... Avery did have a valid point though: "We should have the morning after free." she agreed as they made their way out of the common room...

And walked straight into a crime in progress. At first, Lydia's words confused her and she tugged on their linked fingers for an explanation -last she had checked, Lydia Avery was no seer. She exchanged glances with Winnie and Delia but there was no need to wonder long, she was soon clarified as she spotted McDonald and a smirk curved her lips as her friend went on. "I would hazard a guess that he wouldn't take kindly to this." Meredith said, tacking onto Lydia's words with clear amusement. The others joined in and soon they were all chuckling quietly at the Gryffindors predicament. This was turning in to a spot of good fun before class and Mere was happy for it. Life had been a little stressful lately, she needed a fun distraction. 

But the innocent teasing didn't last very long. At Mary's rebuke, Meres smirk fell and a cold fire lit behind her hazel gaze. A more logical part of her reminded her more dominate half that killing was against the law and it would not do well to go to prison at only fourteen. She would never finish her education then! So she settled for seething words hissed from behind a deceptively sweet smile. "And I would advise you to watch your tongue when speaking to your superiors mongrel or I will slice it from your mouth."

[Bronwyn Nott]

“I couldn’t agree more Lydia,” Bronwyn said, fastening the clasps on her cloak with annoyance. It wasn’t as if she hated Astronomy, she enjoyed learning about the stars and planets. But it was so unbearably cold up on tower, the heating charms placed by their teacher hardly enough to keep them warm. And to stay up so late, and then be expected to attend classes the next morning? It might not have been so bad if it wasn’t Herbology, a class she actually enjoyed. It was hard to enjoy digging in the dirt and helping the plants when you were suffering from a lack of sleep. Gathering her things, she followed her friends from the Common Room, sighing as they walked down the corridor.

The walk was relatively quiet between the four of them, the torches lighting their way. Until - that is - they approached the potions supply room. Lydia was going off about being psychic, and Bronwyn was just as confused as Meredith was as to what she could possibly be talking about until she noticed a certain redhead. Oh Mary, you’re going to wish you’d never been born. Why the Gryffindor was stealing from the potions supply shed didn’t matter, what mattered was that she was down here by herself at this hour. Lydia and Meredith were both as quick as ever with their words, and Wyn laughed as they teased the redheaded girl. Slughorn wasn’t the best teacher or Head of House, but he would certainly have to punish the girl from stealing from him.

Unfortunately, it seemed Mary wasn’t capable of keeping her mouth shut. Meredith was quick to rebuttal, and Bronwyn slipped her wand from her robes and held it tightly in her hand. “Perhaps we should teach her a lesson ladies. Show her what happens when mudblood mouths off.” Stealing from the potions supply was one thing, but insulting one of their own? “You never should have come down here MacDonald.” This would be far more interesting than their Astronomy lesson, that was for sure.

[Deleted]

The munchkin was blabbing again, and she could only roll her eyes at the words her housemate was spewing. As annoying as it was that Lydia wouldn’t shut the constantly pie-shaped hole on her face, Corry had to agree with her. There was nothing she hated more than waking up the morning after an astronomy lesson. Except for other people’s happiness. The change in tone from her tiny friend was the only thing that could possibly make her look over - but she was happy she did. For standing very much in a place she shouldn’t be so late at night was a certain redhead. Even compared to the time she had stolen all of Lydia’s clothes and thrown them into the Great Lake, even compared to the reaction her friend had had the next morning when a grindylow swam by their viewing window wearing her bra - even those times did not compare to the times when she could bring a MacDonald down a peg.

With a smile that could outdo a cheshire cat, Cordelia slyly pulled her wand free of her robe. They could make quick work of a girl like her, and still be on time to class. She thought about leading with the freezing charm, but where would the fun in that be? “Impedimenta.” She stepped forward to circle the slow moving girl, and a laugh escaped her at the pathetic mess she saw, “Stand clear ladies, she can still shoot a spell.” A Mudblood b*tch raising her wand at them was a threat no matter how slowly she was doing it. Maybe teaching her a lesson really was what she needed.

With a sharpness only she possessed, Corry grabbed her and pulled her back against her, wand at the ready for when her spell wore off. “Such a pretty little lion, all alone in the dark.” She looked to her friends as she bit the Gryffindor’s neck lightly, “Who wants the first go of her?”

[Lydia Avery]

You filthy little brat!

Lydia knew she'd catch some hell for this encounter. Even if the girl was nothing on her own, she had friends who were more, and if she'd learned nothing from Hogwarts except that almost every hothead was in Gryffindor House, that would be enough. Her friends would not be pleased that she'd said something to their precious Mary, even if the other girl was completely in the wrong here.

Lydia bristled at the girl's words - she was the uninformed one, was she? - and hardly cooled when her friends stood by her side. Meredith and Winnie were quick to speak up, Mere with a smile with the power freeze Medusa herself and Winnie with a ready wand. And Cordelia...I may even let the wardrobe affair go after this. That none of her friends had hesitated to defend her and put Mary in her place only raised Lydia's own feeling of importance, put all thoughts of the day's earlier failure out of her mind, and concerns about repercussions diminished.

It was comforting to have such friends, wasn't it?

It didn't matter that Mary was only a halfblood, not as thieving as the mudbloods taking wands that weren't truly theirs. It didn't matter that the girl looked to only have a few leaves in her hands and pockets, something she wouldn't likely even get a detention for if Slughorn was in a good mood. It really was lucky that it was just her and the girls to teach Mary a lesson, wasn't it?

Because it wouldn't be just words, no, that possibility had come and gone already. For Cordelia, lovely Cordelia, had not only stalled the girl. She had the redhead quaking in her grasp, at her teeth, all but powerless under the jinx. Mary was scared now, as she should be, but the jinx wouldn't last for long. She could send a spell, or yell, otherwise draw unwanted attention...

"Here's to seeing if she's mastered any non-verbals, ladies - silencio!" Lydia smiled, the fix to that an easy one, and felt a much-needed release after adding her own charm to the mix. It was unlikely that they'd be in any danger after this, unless someone happened upon them - and if Meredith had progressed enough on her advanced spellwork (or needed a lab rat, one that they now had so handy), perhaps they would be safe from everything.

[Mary Macdonald]

Mary turned her back on her classmates and started away. Maybe she shouldn't have been there, maybe she shouldn't have insulted Lydia - but why was it that they could speak exactly how they wanted and got away with it, calling her and others horrible names and insinuating the worst, and she couldn't call them out for what they were? Full of misdirected hatred and greed, never told no, seeing themselves as better than anyone because of the accomplishments of their families, when so little good had come from any of their names -

Now isn't the time, Mary.

Meredith and Bronwyn's threats didn't bounce off of her as she would have hoped she'd have the strength for by now; they sunk in with teeth, reminiscent of childhood bullies whose words had never fully left her psyche. They're full of it. You're not less than unless you believe them. Just get moving. A prefect has to be around. A ghost, even, one of the house elves, someone is nearby. They won't - 

Move, Mary.

    I can't!

Then think. Think!

The impediment jinx. Was there a way out of it? Besides simply waiting? None that she knew of, or could think of when Cordelia began circling her like a shark. Don't panic. She was forcing her wand arm to move, painstakingly slowly, when Cordelia pulled her against her. Is she biting me?! Gooseflesh replaced her freckled skin, a sluggish shudder rocking her as her wide hazel eyes moved from girl to girl. There were no friendly faces, no sign of remorse, of thinking they'd given her enough of a scare -

Are you f*cking kidding me, Avery?

Silenced, she struggled against Cordelia's hold as well as she could with her mainly unresponsive body, because no, she hadn't "mastered" post-O.W.L. level Defense content, thanks. Did it give them satisfaction to see her like this? Were they so little in their own minds that they had to push others down to rise up? Forcing her into this embarrassing show of "muggle dueling" because they refused to see her as the witch that she was? 

[Severus Snape]

"Stupid, stupid, stupid." Severus muttered insults to himself as he jogged as fast as he could back down toward the dungeons. Not 10 minutes ago he'd been sitting on the steps to the Astronomy tower waiting for their professor to arrive, deciding to review his star chart before the lesson started. The only problem? He'd left the blasted thing on the table in the Slytherin common room where he had been studying earlier. No longer would he be early for the lesson, but he would very well be late by the time he made it all the way down to the common room and back again. "This is why no one wants likes you, you idiot." He scowled to himself but as he came around a curve in the corridor he skidded to a stop.

The context of the scene he had come upon was lost to him, but he knew the players and could infer what was happening. "Slumber party getting out of hand?" he drawled sarcastically, not sure whether he ought to stay or simply carry on as though he'd not seen any of this. It wasn't his fight, but would he now be considered complicit just for his presence? 

Tagged: Lydia Avery Mary Macdonald Meredith Mulciber Bronwyn Nott
Outfit: bad student

[Meredith Mulciber]

Meredith could feel it all building up inside her, her classes, the expectations of her parents, the need to live up to the reputation she had made for herself; it was like an elephant foot on her chest sometimes. It made her irritable and quick to curse and unfortunately for poor Mary she had gotten herself in the crosshairs. Her roommates were beside her, deftly immobilizing and silencing MacDonald before she could dig herself any deeper into this hole she had found herself in. It was a favor to the little lion really, if she had kept talking Meredith would have made good on her promise and who knew what the others would do. Now that she was quiet and very much in their power, she would only receive a light reprimand for her flippant tongue. The blonde shared a smile with Bronwyn. “Winnie, you have the best ideas. Shall I start?”

Naturally, the question was rhetorical, of course she would draw first blood, so to speak. Lydia was one of the few people in the world who she cared for, who she loved, and she wouldn’t tolerate any sort of disrespect on her name. Not to mention directly to her face. Not when she could do something about it. She stepped up to Mary, getting an odd sense of satisfaction at the way her eyes darted about, and if she was a more fanciful sort she might have said she could smell the fear on her, but she wasn’t and really the wretch just stunk of dirty blood. She was trailing her wand along and underneath her victims chin when a new voice interrupted.

“Snape.” she said, whipping her head in his direction and managing to make his name sound like a swear. “Very clever. Be quiet or kindly move along.” The appearance of another made her nerves fray, it was one of their own now but they were so exposed here, anyone could come wandering by. Another student, one of Mary’s friends, a prefect or Professor. Suddenly the anger and stress was coupled with urgency, it crashed inside her like a typhoon, she had to do something. So, she did. “Imperio.”