| Details for Commotion in the Dungeons |
| Summary: | Some words are written in mud on the dungeon wall in which a gathering of students come to take notice with people helping to clean it off. |
| Date: | June 9, 1938 |
| Location: | Dungeons |
| Related: | — |
| Characters |
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The time is shortly after third period, and most students are either at lunch or enjoying the great weather outside. Arevan is currently standing at the top of the stairs leading down into the dungeons talking animatedly with some of her fellow first year Hufflepuffs. "and just put Binns' lectures on vinyl. See if I was doing it, I'd bring in Goblins to talk about the goblin rebellions, or Merpeople and Centaurs when talking about the 1811 definition of beings." She says, having obviously just come out of history of magic.
Artemis doesn’t stick around the Great Hall for long. After grabbing a sandwich she has left, munching on one of the halves, forcing herself to eat more than a few bites. As she heads cross the entry hall toward the stairs leading down into the dungeons, a bright smile flickers out over her lips, if somewhat forced, as she waves her hand holding the other half of the sandwich toward the younger housemates. “Hello,” she greets.
"But you couldn't even understand the merpeople if they were brought in." The other girl replied, "So? I'm sure there's someone who could translate. It would be cool, and maybe they have a different perspective." She says back, "But as it is, the key to staying awake are strategic bathroom breaks." The other girl nods in agreement. Both turn as Artemis Approaches them. Arevan gives the girl a smile as she says hello and replies, "Oh hi Gudinde Artemis. Where are you going?"
Artemis keeps a soft smile against her lips, slowing down as she approaches the girls. As she takes another couple of bites, she lifts a hand to her mouth as she chews quickly before swallowing. “Artemis,” she corrects, having no clue what she just said. She pauses just at the top of the stairs, looking to the younger girls. “Are the two of you not hungry? Did you eat already?” Her smile brightens a little as she shifts the other part of the sandwich closer to the two girls. “You can share this half if you’d like. Hmm?” Artemis glances down into the darker underground at the question, letting out a soft sigh before she responds, “I was going to wait near where I think the Slytherin commons were for a friend. We need to talk.”
"Artemis Artemis." Arevan corrects, not sure what the issue is. The one girl shakes her head to Artemis, "Thanks, but I was just about to head in and eat." She starts away then hesitates, looking back, "Coming Arevan?" Arevan is intent on Artemis, "Go ahead I'll catch up later." She says, curious about a Hufflepuff heading into the dungeon with food. "Hard to get excited about food given what's in our common room." Arevan says, "I'll come with you, I have potions after lunch anyways." She says, suspecting a possible ruse on Artemis's part. There's got to be a Minotaur down there somewhere, maybe she's going to feed it.
Artemis nods her head and withdraws the sandwich, taking another bite of hers. After she swallows she replies, “A lot of sweets.” She smiles softly and shaking her head. “Have you tried those chocolate fudge and white chocolate cookies?” She’s about to wave as she steps down one step, but ends up pausing and looking to Arevan. “Thank you,” she says, “I would love someone to talk to you.” She drops a few more steps down into the dungeons.
Arevan bounces after the older student on whatever adventure upper classmen get to go on. "The cookies?" She asks, trying to think of the multitude of stuff there is on the tables, "Probably, I try to have anything new that shows up. Were these recent?" She asks. If only it were a question on something other than sweets. She could recall if she had tried a new cheese dish or something. "So, why would your friend not meet you in the Great Hall?" Arevan asks, as if she didn't know, coughminotaurcough.
Artemis smiles warmly as she glances to the girl at her side. “My mama sent enough to share yesterday,” she replies. “As a post-exams treat,” she adds in. She nibbles off a few more bites from her sandwich. She slows as she takes a cloth out of the bag at her hip, wrapping the uneaten half up in the cloth. She sighs as she shakes her head, red curls sweeping around her face. “I don’t know if I can catch him before he leaves the Slytherin table and the tables aren’t that private.” Even though the school itself isn’t all that private, but what can you do?
Arevan follows after the older girl with her typical bouncy stride, her hands clasped behind her back. "Oh, yesterday? No I don't think I've tried them yet. If we have time I'll stop by the commons after lunch and grab one. I wish my family could send me stuff to share." She watches the girl wrap up the food and nods knowingly to herself, "Isn't that a good thing? I've always heard you don't want to be alone with a Slytherin. I heard they have a potions lab for making poisons in their commons like we have the food."
Artemis smiles softly and nods her head. “My mama’s always cooking and baking,” she says. “I’ll send you an assortment over summer,” she offers as she glances to her again. “I always send a package to my friends.” And, well, /everyone/ is pretty much her friend, and everyone will just have to deal with it. She continues to walk along the dimly lit corridor toward where she’s sure the Slytherins appear from. She frowns at the younger girl’s statement about Slytherin, shifting a sharper look onto Arevan. “Now that’s just rumours and stereotyping. There’s nothing wrong with Slytherin House.” She sighs and continues on, “You can’t judge someone by looking at their colours. You see someone with red and gold and think they’re going to be brave and reckless?” Artemis shakes her head. “Maybe they hold off and think about a plan are then brave enough to pull it off.” She takes another bite from her sandwich, swallowing and eventually adding in, “There’s no way Professor Slughorn would allow students to play with poisons,” she assures the younger girl.
Arevan smiles at the offer, but it fades into puzzlement when Artemis goes off on her little tirade, "Not by their colors." She says, trying to cut in. By their house badges of course, anyone can wear red and gold. "Aren't we grouped by personality by the sorting hat?" She doesn't continue, sensing this issue wouldn't go well. "Are you sure?" The girl asks, sounding disappointed, "Then, do they have the giant terrarium's full of snakes, and connects to an underwater lake where the giant squid sleeps?" They have to have something interesting.
At the turn off to the deeper dungeons the torches on the wall reveal a regular, dark discoloration on the wall facing the approach to the potions lab. Its location makes it unlikely anyone leaving potions would spot it, unless they turned down the side passage or looked back. Approaching, the discoloration proves to be writing. In a hasty hand, are three lines written in dark mud:
PURE BLOOD SPILLS
AS EASILY AS
ANY OTHER
“It sorts people by…” Artemis trails off and shakes her head, having to think about it. After a moment she starts again, “By what is stronger? Anyone can be ambitious, but also be a whole lot different. Like my brother,” she goes on and smiles fondly at the mention of Dastan. “You can trust that he wouldn’t harm anyone, and he doesn’t much care for pranks. Hmm,” she murmurs in thought. “I don’t know, but I wish that I could enter. It would make finding my friends and brother a lot easier. Especially when I need to talk to him.” She walks along the corridor, eventually turning to continue toward the common room entrance, navigating the dungeons quite expertly for her. She scrunches up her nose when she notices the filth on the wall, but after a couple of steps pauses when she notices the words and ends up frowning deeply. She freezes with her sandwich to her lips, but not raising it any higher to take a bite. “This thing has got to stop,” she murmurs softly and takes out her wand. She draws in a deep breath, concentrating as she swishes her wand before flicking it. But the spell she casts, the cleaning spell, fizzles and only causing a spark at its tip.
Arevan doesn't want to argue, and she definitely doesn't want to say what she thinks. "As you say." She says neutrally. She falls into her own thoughts for a moment, picturing more and more fantastical things the house could have. "What thing?" She asks coming out of her image of spider web hammocks. "Oh, wait, shouldn't we…" she begins as the girl starts casting, only to have it fail, "tell a teacher?" She finishes, looking over the wall. "You've seen things like this before?"
Artemis tries again, gesturing with her wand and saying the incantation. She doesn’t exactly fail, but the spell only smudges the mud at the end. The fourth year frowns and huffs out a heavy breath. She starts to partially unwrap the half of sandwich she hadn’t been eating. “We should clean it before it offends anyone,” she explains, glancing to Arevan. She smiles weakly, obviously forced. “Maybe we can let a Professor know,” she ponders, “but we don’t know who did it. Here,” she says, handing the cloth to Arevan before taking out a handkerchief. The sandwich is dumped into a bag that she manages to rummage out of her bag before she starts to rub the cloth over the wall. She sighs, forcing herself to not think about the issues going about. “Pay no mind, Arevan. People are just angry and upset and are trying to find ways to handle it.”
The mud is mostly dry and crumbly, having been there for a while now.
Arevan takes the rag hesitantly, "Offends? It not insulting, it's… I don't know, a warning or a threat or something. Is it really ok to touch?" The young Hufflepuff asks uncertainly. Still she moves forward to wipe at the words with the handkerchief. "About the, uh, Triwizard thing? But I thought it was a pure blood that was killed, not a mud, er… not pure blood, who…" She says, doing her best to dance around this very sensitive subject.
“Many people would take offense,” Artemis states, letting out another sigh as she continues to do her best flaking off the mud with her handkerchief. “The- The special club for Muggles to go to talk to someone,” she says, purposefully not saying the name of it, “isn’t supposed to offend people.” The fourth year frowns, pursing her lips as she continues to flick at the dried muddied words. The words that someone has written in mud on the wall:
PURE BLOOD SPILLS
AS EASILY AS
ANY OTHE
With the ‘R’ having been flaked off the wall by the red haired Hufflepuff. “So if you see any other such vandalism, you can help by cleaning it too,” she suggests. Artemis suddenly pauses and withdraws slightly, drawing in a breath as she mentions the Triwizard thing. “Yes,” she says, forcing herself not to tear up /again/. “I really wish that I could just make everyone get along.”
It’s very rare, these days, that Ophelia gets lost in the castle. Tonight it meant a book she was so absorbed in that she forgot to take care of the staircases, and continued walking on her way to what she assumed was the great hall, reading intently from yet another book on adventures in wandmaking. She's been squinting at the pages for a little while now, as the light changes, but doesn't pause to look around until she hears the voices where for so long it has been quiet, and blinks around, frowning when she sees where she has ended up and what is on the walls.
Arevan pauses then hesitantly starts wiping at the A in Any. "It just feels like we're destroying evidence or something." What dried mud doesn't come off with her wiping, she uses a fingernail to pick off. She pauses for a long few seconds, "I was thinking of joining that club." She confesses, "Is that a bad idea?" Intent on the wall and talking to Artemis, she doesn't notice the approach of the silent Ophelia.
Having developed the habit of waiting until the halls are likely to be clear when she can, Elspeth is just finally leaving the potions classroom to go back above. Her fingers are clutched around the shoulder strap of her bag, and she walks with her eyes downcast, even of her head isn't exactly bowed. She pauses as she hears Emi's voice, but her eyes are quickly pulled to the writing beyond her friend, and her eyes widen, her greeting to her friend dying unspoken. She pulls her lower lip into her mouth and bites down hard on it, before she swings her satchel down to the ground, and reaches inside for a bottle she'd been working on in the potions classroom.
Gabrielle wasn't in class. Rumor has it that at some point over the weekend, she was brewing something for potions class and it exploded, leaving both hands hurt. She's on her way to the Potions Classroom to leave something for Slughorn. Both hands are bandaged, and she's only carrying her sketchbook and a few rolled up parchments. Her hair is down and she's clearly not slept at all. Walking slowly, trying to not draw attention to herself, it takes her a moment to realize what's happened in the hall. She'll sigh softly, moving her right hand towards her wand, but then flinching and stopping.
"Someone probably should at least mention this to a prefect, if not a professor." Ophelia murmurs softly, closing her book with one finger to hold her place as she steps closer to get a look. Gabrielle and Elspeth are each given a glance, with a frowns of concern and indecision taking over her face when she sees the bandages. School vandalism, or her friend's hands, which to worry about first…
Elspeth pulls out the bottle, and nods to Ophelia. "This is being true. But I am thinking it is being more important to be washing it off before anyone else is seeing it. Things are already being bad enough…" she trails off as she uncorks the bottle, and holds it out to Artemis as she reaches into her bookbag for a rag. "I was making this… for some of my things…" she keeps her face straight as she finally locates a rag. "I can be making more later." She is not wearing any bandages, but lately, no matter how warm it has been, she has always been wearing her long sleeved uniform shirt, and never rolling up the sleeves. At the moment, being focused on the wall, she isn't aware of anyone who hasn't actually spoken.
Artemis forces a weak smile as she glances over to Arevan, not wanting to upset her younger housemate by breaking down again. “I can stay and clean while you run and find a staff to bring down? Maybe they can clean it up faster.” Artemis frowns and goes on to say, “Well, I’m hoping that I can talk Miss Crocker into cancelling the club since it offends so many-“ Artemis turns when there’s another voice, and she offers a smile to Ophelia despite everything. Then she notices the others and sighs, wishing that she wasn’t so bad at casting spells. She waves a hand tentatively to Gabrielle, her blue eyes looking with a frown at the Ravenclaw’s hands, and then looking to Elspeth. “Oh, Elspeth!” she bounces over to hug her arms around her friend.
Arevan jumps at the first sound of someone behind them and turns wide eyed and with a guilty look on her face. This isn't improved by seeing three people there, "I, we were just, trying…" She look over at Artemis, hoping she will explain. Though, it does no longer seem necessary. She lets out a little sigh, hands shaking, "I guess we're lucky it wasn't a Sly…" She breaks off, looking at Artemis, "a pure blood." She grins weakly.
Gabrielle will frown slightly, crewing on her own tongue. This is all too much, with everything else. She'll glance to Ophe, and doesn't even try to force a smile, just a nod. "Someone needs to get a prefect." Her voice is hollow and it's hard to tell if she's upset out this or not. Her eyes do narrow some at Arevan's almost slip of the house name…and then the pure blood comment.
Ophelia turns back to the wall briefly, the mention of Briar's name calling her attention, "From what I know of her, it will only make her more determined to hold the club. Lucky who wasn't a pureblood?" She steps a little closer to the wall now, taking over Artemis' place when the other girl moves away to greet Elspeth. Reaching up with one finger, she tentatively touches the mud of the 'P' in 'PURE', then turns back to nod at Gabrielle.
Elspeth hugs Artemis rather awkwardly with one arm as she holds the other arm away to keep from spilling any potion on her. "I think she is meaning it is lucky we are not being purebloods who would be using this as an excuse to be hurting muggle borns or members of the club of Crocker." She sighs as she lets go of Artemis, and pouring out some of the liquid onto the cloth she starts scrubbing at the word 'blood'. "Ophelia is being right. There is really nothing that can be dissuading Crocker from her club, and this is - would only make her more resolved." Glancing towards Gabby, she doesn't look to the girl's hands, not needing to after the rumors. "Maybe you can be- you can find a prefect or a professor? One who is not going to - fly off the doorknob?"
When the mud is poked the dry crust breaks from a bit of wet mud underneath.
Artemis pulls away from Elspeth, giving her a little smile. “I’m sorry,” she says, her blue eyes looking around to everyone who has gathered. “I tried to use a spell to clean it.” She frowns, looking down at herself. “But I’m so useless.” She sighs, pushing back a few red strands from her face. She looks toward Ophelia and to Elspeth, sighing at their assumptions on her Prefect but saying a soft, “Thank you,” for the help cleaning. She looks over to Gabrielle again. “Are you okay?” she asks in concern before she adds in, “I can go find Mister Quinn.”
Arevan shrinks a little at the sudden, unfavorable attention, "I mean… you know… uh, someone who'd get all angry and start raging or something." She says timidly, "I didn't mean to insult anyone." She adds quickly. She gives Elspeth a thankful smile as the girl explains for her. "Yes, exactly." Arevan steps forward at the suggestion someone goes to find a prefect or a professor, "I could do it if you'd like." The younger girl says on top of Artemis' offer, eager to be helpful.
"The handle, Elspeth, I think you mean the handle." Ophelia murmurs, almost absently, as she steps away from the wall again to stand near Gabrielle. She smiles quickly to Arevan, though, her eyes kind, "Not to worry. I don't think you've insulted anyone."
Gabrielle’s frown stays on her face when they speak of Crocker. She’ll not add anything else, as it won't help the situation. She'll shift her hands on her book and nod softly to Elspeth, “I can." She'll start to turn to go, not going to say anything else, then stops as she's addressed by Artemis. She's pause a moment, trying to find the words, "No…but I don't think anyone is going to be." She'll nod to Ophe again and start to leave.
Elspeth turns a soft smile to Gabby as she agrees to go for a prefect or professor, her eyes solemn as usual, but with a tinge of sad understanding. "You are not b- useless, Emi," she adds to her friend. "Off the handle," she repeats after Ophelia corrects her. "Off the handle, off the handle," a few more times under her breath as she scrubs. She holds the bottle out towards Arevan. "If you are having… if you have your handkerchief with you, you can be using some cleaning potion, too. She's made some amount of headway, erasing the B and starting on the L.
Artemis turns to Elspeth to take a little bit of the potion onto the handkerchief. “Thanks,” she says before she turns to look over at Gabrielle. Another, “Thanks,” is given when chooses to go looking for a staff. Then she turns to the wall and moves back to the word she was working on of ‘OTHE’ and working at the ‘E’.
Arevan smiles a little when Ophelia reassures her. "Thanks. I guess things are a little tense around here lately." Hearing everyone's reactions to what Artemis had to say Arevan can't help but ask, "You make it sound like Briar wants to start a fight." The group of girls is currently standing not far from the Potions class room, the focus of their attention on some words written on the wall in mud. The writing currently saying:
PURE #LOOD SPILLS
AS EASILY AS
#NY OTH##
Gabrielle’s actually turning, leaving the group. Her head is down, and her sketchbook is pulled to her chest, almost protectively. Both hands are bandaged, and the rumor going around the school is she had some potion blow up on her over the weekend. She looks nervous, almost jittery.
"Briar… " Ophelia looks away, closing her eyes for a moment as though remembering an old pain, "I think she simply believes in standing up for what she believes in. No matter /what/ her opposition is." As she opens her eyes again she sees Gabby leaving, and takes a step toward her friend, one hand out as though to reach gently for her arm. Barely touching her fingers to Gabby's shoulder, she asks, "May I speak with you later? In the tower, perhaps?"
Jackson makes his way down the hall, his backpack thrown over his right shoulder and his left hand buried deeply in his pocket. He continues down the labyrinthine halls without a second thought, having left footprints in this dust for years. He stops not-too-far from the others, glancing towards the message on the wall. He glances around and then shakes his head, "Atrocious. Absolutely atrocious." There is a moment's pause before he continues, "The author displays a lack of a fundamental grasp of artistic expression in making statements. I can see them finding a lucrative career in advertisements for products not actually intended to be sold."
Scrubbing at her portion of the wall, Elspeth is quiet for a bit, then she shakes her head. "I am not thinking Crocker is wanting to start a fight. She thinks she is preventing a fight, but she is being so…" she furrows her brow and shakes her head. "I cannot think of the word. She is defying some people so much that it is appearing that she - expects a fight. I am thinking this is why some people are be- are willing to give her a fight." With the L now gone, and part of the O, she turns to look at Jackson, studying him silently.
Gabrielle freezes when she feels a touch on her shoulder and will silently turn to look at Ophe. She knew this was coming, having dodged her up till just now, "Yeah, We can talk in the tower." She'll force a small smile, that doesn't reach her eyes. She'll glance over, frowning slightly at Jackson's arrival, and readjust her hold on her sketchbook. "…I should get going."
Scrubbing at the OTHE, the ‘E’ pretty much gone, Artemis pauses in her cleaning to bow her head, pursing her lips. For a moment she stays poised like that, drawing in deep breathes and letting them out, before she shakes her head and pulls away from the wall to look at the others. “I’m sure that no one really wants to start a fight, they’re just trying to find a way to deal with things. We just have to be understanding, and offer our support.” She looks to Elspeth, giving her a look as if just glancing to her friend gives her strength. Then she’s looking at Jackson and is piping up immediately. “I’m sorry, I hadn’t meant for so many people to see it before getting it cleaned-“ She cuts off in surprise, trying to figure out if he’s making a joke or not.
Ophelia's eyes flicker up to the approaching Jackson, then away again before he finishes speaking. She nods to Gabrielle and steps back, letting her friend and trying not to let her worry show too much. "Briar has always had my support." She murmurs, fingering her wand with her free hand and looking back to the wall, "I would join her club, except that I am certain she doesn't want me there."
Arevan nods, looking down. "Oh. It just seemed, with all the stuff that's been happening, it would be good to have allies… just in case." flinches as another student arrives, each new arrival possibly being trouble. His first words don't help that impression. His later words just baffle her, she looks around at the other girls as if hoping for an explanation. "Why would you advertise a…" It takes her a moment but the girl begins to giggle. Since it's a nice release to the nervous tension that's been building, she giggles harder and longer than the joke probably calls for, a few tears even coming to her eyes.
Jackson tilts his head to glance briefly towards Gabrielle, giving her a nod of barely-acknowledgement before he looks towards Artemis, "Don't apologize, unless you wrote it." He glances towards Arevan, and smiles sweetly, "Oh, you never know when you absolutely want to tank something. When such a situation comes up, you either send one of two people. Me, or Mister or Miss I Scribble English Good." The last is said in quite a brutish manner. He then asks, "The author isn't really clear as for target audience either. Are they making a threat? Are they advocating Hug A Pure Blood Day at Hogwarts?" He then adds, "Speaking of, have you all hugged a pureblood today? The takes his hand out of his pocket, spreading his arms as he looks around for any takers.
Gabrielle mutters back to Ophe, "Briar can be an idiot." She'll nod again, seeming to put on a calmer face, "I'll let the first prefect or teacher I can find know." She'll turn and leave, wanting out of the room.
Elspeth's eyes widen slightly in amusement at Jackson's offer, and she half giggles but isn't brazen enough to take him up on his offer. However, Ophelia's words bring a frown to her forehead. "The club is being a bad idea," she mutters. "It is reinforcing the idea of muggleborn versus pureblood, making people take sides and that is not going to help us work together or be-" she scrubs extra hard at the letter 'O'. "It is not being a good idea." She repeats, blinking her eyes.
Ophelia waves to Gabrielle, offering a small smile of thanks. Then it’s back to the wall again. She steps closer now, setting her book against the far wall and pulling out a handkerchief, then taking some of the potion to help with the cleaning.
She looks to Elspeth as she works, sighing softly, "Though I hear that her intentions are the opposite, as I think it turned out with her 'looking for a fight' this club is being viewed far differently than intended. But don't worry. There are plenty of us, of all /sorts/ of backgrounds, who know the whole thing is ridiculous."
Artemis sighs, looking around at everyone’s faces. She blinks, her expression faltering as she has a moment of weakness, before she manages to bring back her soft smile. Her blue eyes flicker over to Arevan and she points out, “We should all be allies, friends – there is no room for enemies, after all.” Her eyes turn to Jackson and her smile increases a little before she lets out a giggle. “Well Miss Evans looks like she needs a hug,” she says, turning to look after the departing Ravenclaw. She tilts her head as she looks back to regard Jackson.
Jackson drops his arms as he comes to the conclusion that nobody is going to participate in Hug A Pure Blood Day, "Fine, but I sincerely urge you all to take part in Hug A Pure Blood Day's counterpart, Huggles For Muggles Day, which should be any day now. Just have to find a willing Muggle." He then says as an afterthought, "I should write that down." He then adds, "Well, good luck with this ladies. I must go prepare for Potions class. Today's concoction is french onion soup." He peers towards Artemis, then towards the direction Gabrielle exited, then back towards Artemis, "Not only has that ship sailed, but it was subsequently sunk by the HMS Change Everything About You with all hands lost."
Arevan finally manages to quiet herself; she has to take a few moments to try to catch her breath. Finally she lets out a long breath and wipes her eyes. "I suppose you could tie a Muggle up in the entry hall for everyone to hug on the right day, but that might send mixed messages." She says her hand to her chest, she takes another breath, "If it's all right with the rest of you, I need to head up. I promised Amyah I'd at least spend part of lunch with her." She looks over the mostly erased message. "Should have erased just parts so it says 'Pure Pills Sily' or something."
Ophelia looks over to Artemis, eyeing the girl and shaking her head in a silent warning at the suggestion that Gabrielle needs a hug from Jackson. Then she turns back to the wall, scrubbing for another moment before stopping, frowning at the wall, and stepping back. "I'm going to go help her find someone. This can be done far more quickly with a professor's help, and I think that the fewer people see it the better." She glances at each of the girls as she stuffs her handkerchief back into her pocket and goes to collect her book, "I'll send someone as soon as I can, if Gabby hasn't found anyone yet." She looks to Arevan, eyebrows lifting, and offers, "I'll walk you up, if you like."
Elspeth can't help smiling at Jackson's antics, as she finishes her 'O'. She scrubs off the second 'O' as she listens, and shakes her head to Ophelia. "Any time you are making a club that is being for one kind of people and their friends, you are telling some other people that they are not being good enough to be in your club. There is being very little difference between making a club for pure bloods, and making a club for muggle born. Both clubs are separating people. You cannot be making allies when you are separating people." She continues to scrub hard and nods absently to those leaving, becoming engrossed in the work as she 'fights' something that she can actually do something against. She doesn't show any sign of letting up on her efforts anytime soon.
Ophelia turns to leave, but pauses just before going around a corner to reply, "It’s not because I'm pureblood that she doesn't want me. I was told, at the beginning, that purebloods were welcomed to join." Then she goes, holding her book tightly to her chest.
Jackson glances right and then left, seeming for all intents and purposes about to do something which would get him in trouble, "You know, ladies, between you and I? I've slung a lot of mud in my day. I don't mean gossip, I mean actual mud." He then reaches to his wrist, drawing a wand from the sleeve of his shirt, "Thing about mud is it’s mostly dirt, water and other trash." He points the wand towards the writing, "Take away the water with, say…" His eyes focus and he calls out, "Aridus!" The wetness of the mud seems to fade away, loosening the bonds of the dirt. Reaching out with his hand, Jackson wipes the offending dirt off the wall, and then cleans his hand on his slacks, "…leaves the mal-intentioned writer to learn some English and try to do better next time. Good day, ladies." He hefts his backpack, moving along the halls.
Artemis looks over to Ophelia to give her a little nod, smiling softly. “Cleaning it up quickly would be ideal, I tried to-“ She sighs and shakes her head. “I just couldn’t cast the spell.” But her blue eyes sweep onto Jackson when he pulls out his wand, her eyes widening. “Thank you!” Her handkerchief is tucked into a pouch on her bag as she bounds after him, trying to give him a brief, grateful hug and another, “Thanks,” before she can head down the hallway to where the entrance of the Slytherin commons are about.