| Details for Furless Cats and Suits of Armor |
| Summary: | In which revenge is plotted. |
| Date: | 1938-09-09 |
| Location: | Armor Gallery |
| Related: | — |
| Characters |
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Armor Gallery (A.K.A. Pirate HQ) Hogwarts Castle
Tue Sep 10, 1938 ((Tue Sep 10 00:17:28 2013)) _ (Third Floor)
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__ It is a summer night. The weather is cool and clear. ___
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Empty suits of medieval European armor stand guard along every wall here, polished to a shine and proudly displayed upon low pedestals. Though ages have passed since any of these suits has been worn, there is something strangely lifelike about them, as if they could step down from their displays at any moment and start marching about the castle.
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"…it to Ruth," comes Elise's voice as she approaches down the corridor. "That way she can't have any babies, and maybe the curse will spare her for a while, yet. And then I thought you and I should wear one, too, just in case." She opens the door and leads Lucille in, and though her cheeks are pink. "I mean… not that, you know, there will be any need any time /soon/, honestly." She giggles a bit nervously. "But if we're already wearing them, maybe we'll live to see graduation. It certainly couldn't hurt, right?"
Cillian is settled on his stomach near some of the older suits of armor, quill moving over a piece of paper as he idly scribbles something…a couple of years above him obviously judging by the books around him but there's the faint smell of chocolate and peppermint that hints to there being more than just piles of homework to tackle. Cillian's removed his outer robes for now, wearing his uniform and nibbling on a peppermint stick as he works.
Clip-clop-hop. Lucille's shoe-clad feet make a staccato beat on the floor as she hop-skips alongside her cousin, her eyes wide with the rapt attention she's giving her. Clutched to her chest and looking somewhere between miserable and resigned is Winston, her furless black and white cat that seems to be sporting a fresh new knitted vest and bowtie. "That's actually a /good/ idea," she enthuses with a bright, cheery grin, "I mean - anything is better than /nothing/, after all." Her face falls almost as quickly as it perked up, though, and her brows crumple in concentration, "I don't think only babies can trigger the curse, though. I mean … there are /boys/ that die early, too, right? But surely one of the curse-breakers will find a way to get rid of it before she has to worry about it." she gnaws on her lower lip, looking pensive. She's so busy thinking that her feet nearly stumble over a bit of Cillian's spread out work. She does a stumbling sort of hop and rocks backwards on her heels, clutching Winston to her. She's surprised briefly, though her face soon transforms into a beam, "Oh - hey Cillian." She cocks her head to one side, "It must be awfully dusty down there. Do the suits of armor help in studying at all?" She seems honestly curious, troubled as she is with some of her own marks.
"Well… yes," Elise says. "But the boys usually live longer, and — and like you said, doing anything is better than doing nothing at all. Hullo, Cil," she greets him. She crouches down next to him and tilts her head this way and that to look at the papers scattered around him. "What are you working on?" she asks curiously. There is a faint hint of something floral about her, like she's just come in from tending to a flower garden - and knowing Elise that's entirely likely.
"Ahh, Mousie…Needle, c'mon then, 'ave a seat. I've got bonbons for the both of ye and a few other tings." Cillian rummages around in his satchel for a moment, biting his bottom lip. "I tink there's some fruit in 'ere as well." He looks up and peers at Lucille thoughtfully before getting to his feet and offering a hand to steady Lucille if allowed. "Easy there luv, and ah…the dust clears me 'ead." Then he looks to Elise. "M' doin' some homework for some others."
Lucille crouches down and then flops onto her backside, keeping Winston clutched in her lap. The cat gives a soft 'mrr' and, with a sigh, Lucille loosens her grip to let the cat curl up next to her instead. "Bon bons? Who'd want fruit when /that/ is available?" she gives a bright grin. "It's only the second week - it /can't/ be much homework for classes? Are you /that/ keen on homework to do others?" Then something seems to dawn on her, "Unless it's not homework for classes?"
Something not-quite-friendly flashes across Elise's face when Cillian calls her cousin by such an endearment, but she quickly squashes it down. "Fruit sounds lovely," she murmurs as she finishes the crouch to kneel and then sit on the cold stone floor, carefully spreading her robes out around her. She shoots Luci an amused look and shrugs. "You shouldn't do other people's homework," she tells Cillian softly. "It's cheating. You'll get in trouble, and so will whomever you're doing it for." Lucille brings up a point - that it might not be for classes - which she hadn't considered. She gives her cousin an approving nod and then looks at Cillian expectantly.
Cillian settles back down and snorts softly as he rummages around in his bag, pulling out a small wooden box, opening it slowly to expose the golden wrapped bonbons and he pushes it against the floor towards Lucille and Elise and he eyes Winston for a few moments before chuckling softly and looking between the two as he pulls out an apple, offering it to Elise with a small smile. "Hm? Its not all my homework." Cillian shrugs and then looks to Elise and back to Lucille. "Ahh…sometimes it be for classes, sometimes it not…sometimes its for information and sweets, and sometimes its just because I want to be knowin' more than we learn in our classes. So…easiest way, is to be doin' their homework. Mostly though its taking their notes and copyin' out their answers more clearly for their classes…not /doin/ the work for them." He explains slowly before biting his bottom lip. "Well now, 'ow are two of me favorite girls then, classes doin' ye okay?"
Lucille eagerly snatches up a bon bon and starts to noisily unwrap the candy. As she munches happily on the chocolate, she crinkles the bit of foil into a little ball that she tosses at Winston. With a tiny growl, the hairless cat paws at it and snags it with one claw, seemingly happy with his catch. "Don't listen to Elise," Lucille chirps after swallowing a mouthful of chocolate goodness, "She can be a wet blanket when it comes to rule-following and homework. But she means well. I mean - if their handwriting is /so so SO/ bad that you have to re-write it for them .. shouldn't they be practicing? I mean … what if they get a job in the real world and all their letters look like an owl walked over a parchment with ink on its talons?" She wrinkles her nose thoughtfully, "Stupid that. But good of you to help them in a non-cheaty way." she brightens at the mention of classes, "Some are boring - some are fun. I can't /wait/ until we get farther along in Transfiguration. I should try to practice a bit outside of class if the professor is going too slow."
"That seems like an awful lot of work," Elise says after Cillian explains himself. "But if you're not really cheating, and you're just trying to learn more, then it's admirable, really." She beams at Cillian and takes the apple. She polishes it on her sleeve and takes a bite of the crunchy, juicy fruit. "Classes are fine," she answers. "I'm eager for the Ravenclaw Quidditch tryouts. I really think I have a chance at making the team, this year." She sticks her lip out when Lucille calls her a wet blanket, though, and glares down at her apple. "I just don't want him to get into trouble," she murmurs around her mouthful of fruit.
"Wet blanket? Bah…she's just one of them very pretty and very smart lasses that dun be wantin' their captains to be taken away." Cillian winks and shakes his head before carefully finishing a sentence in that painfully neat handwriting that he has and he then eyes Elise at the mention of Quidditch. "Aye, ye'll make the team, ye be enthusiastic enough about it." And he points to Lucille. "And then ye 'ave yer Transfiguration, so it seems the years startin' good for ye both."
Lucille crinkles another bon bon wrapper as she munches on another round ball of chocolate. "Mmmf," she makes an agreeable noise before adding once her mouth is free, "True - having you taken away, while adventurous and dashing and pirate-ish and all that - would /not/ be good. Who would re-write everyone's homework to be painfully eat?" She grins, letting Winston play with her second bon bon wrapper. "Don't the professors recognize your handwriting and suspect?" she asks, cocking her head to one side as she peers down at Cillian's work. She looks a little queasy at the mention of Quidditch, her nose wrinkling, "I'll be happy if I can just fly a broom and stay /on/ i/. I don't think Quidditch is something I want to tackle." She brightens at the mention of Transfiguration, though, "Transfiguration - I'll be able to make things even /prettier/ and turn really ugly things into pretty things. And /Charms/ are going to be great, too." She makes a face, "If only we didn't have to take stupid /Potions/ and History of Magic. Blech."
"You think I'm pretty?" Elise asks, looking torn between happy and embarrassed with just a tinger of bittersweet. "Thank you." She takes another bite of the crisp apple, letting the characteristic sound fill the little space they're in. "Don't worry, Luci, I'll help you with Potions and History of Magic," she tells her cousin. "But you have to cheer for me at Quidditch games, even if we're playing Hufflepuff," she bargains. "Will you cheer for me?" she asks Cillian.
"Hmmm, History and Potions are me best subjects." Cillian finally admits, after all he did get an award of something for the previous but he just waves a hand vaguely and wrinkles his nose, looking back between Lucille and Elise, listening and just nodding slowly with a soft chuckle. "If I go to a game, I'll be cheerin' for me friends, aye." A pause before he just looks back to Elise. "Of course ye be pretty."
Lucille wrinkles up her nose in thought, one hand absently running over Winston's back as she does. "/Weelllll/," she hedges, "I'll cheer for you, even if you're playing Hufflepuff. /But/ I have to be able to cheer Hufflepuff, too, and wear Hufflepuff things. Even though that /doesn't/ make /any/ sense at a Quidditch game. I can blame you for making me cheer for both teams." She froms at Elise, "What position are you going for anyhow?" She giggles at Cillian's words, "You seem to be good at the boring subjects then - I'm sorry. The Potions classroom smells like rotten eggs and dead things. And the History of Magic classroom just … doesn't smell like much at all. It's /that/ boring." She adds hastily, "Not that I blame you for liking them - everyone likes something different, after all."
"You can cheer for both," Elise says, giving Luci the out so she won't be shunned by her House. "People should understand - I am your cousin, after all." She smiles at Luci. "Seeker! Or… yeah, no. Definitely Seeker," she says. She giggles at Luci's description of the smells of the classrooms. "You're right!" she laughs. When Cillian acknowledges that he thinks she's pretty, she blushes and looks down at her apple again. Fascinating fruit, apparently. "Ithinkyou'rehandsome, too," she blurts out quietly. And then in a hurry to maybe pretend that she didn't just say that, she says, "Maybe we can all study together."
"Well…" Cillian muses this over. "I wouldn't be a good treasure hunter if I didn't history well, to know where the best treasure be." He smiles a bit and shakes his head. "I dun really care what people tink about 'em, I enjoy them aye." He quirks an eyebrow before hmming softly as he regards Elise for a few moments, blinking and then he quickly shakes his head. "Ye'll all be very good at whatever ye put yer hands too, so aye. Studying will be good."
Lucille suddenly jumps to her feet, staggering a little as she stands and causing one last bon bon wrapper to bounce away from her. "Ah /flobberworms/ - I forgot something in my last classroom!" She uses the word like a random epithet, her brow furrowed in sudden worry. She hops from foot to foot briefly before starting down the hall at a hopping gait. "Look after Winston for me, 'Lise? Good luck on the Seeker tryout thing! And good luck on the homework stuff, Cillian!" She bounce sup on toptoes and gives a very enthusiastic wave that nearly takes the head off of the nearest suit of armor. She looks chagrined at the clanking and near mess she makes, though quickly bursts into giggles before escaping out the door at a half-run.
Elise smiles at Cillian, unable to /quite/ meet his eye. Then Lucille bounces up, crashes against the armor, and runs away. For several long seconds all that's heard in the room is the echoing sound of Luci's retreating footsteps. Elise slowly turns her head away from the door. "Here, kitty kitty," she says to Winston.
Cillian waves after Lucille a fond expression on his features as he giggles and shakes his head. "Bye Needle!" Then he looks back to Elise and gets to his feet to carefully steady the suit of Armor and brush some dust off of it for a moment. "I applied to join the Magijundy folks ye know. So we know what they're really up to and all…and then we 'ave 3 bullies to see to."
Elise wrinkles her nose at the mention of the Magijugend. "We could use a good spy," she agrees. "But… you're not in the Mud Club are you?" she asks. "I'll bet my good hat that no one can be in both." Winston inches closer to her wiggling fingers and quite carefully sniffs them, before rubbing his head against her hand. "What three bullies?" she asks curiously. "The ones that knocked down Andrew yesterday?"
Cillian just sighs and shakes his head. "Nah, not in the Mud Club. Not in any of the…other things like that." His lips purse as he writes something else down on a piece of parchment. "And m' not a spy..just…" He frowns and sighs. "We'll see what happens. Nah…three bullies from the train."
"The train?" Elise asks. "I didn't see that. What happened?" She tugs one of his documents closer, frowns at the messy handwriting, and reaches for a blank sheet of parchment. Elise, having been raised in a stationary shop, has very tidy handwriting, herself. "Who were they?"
Cillian shakes his head. "I wrote their last names down in the book." He eyes Elise and the parchment for a moment before pushing a parchment towards her with messy handwriting. "Here, is second year charms…got all of 'em right, but needs to straighten out her numbers…" A long pause. "I dunno iffen ye should be doin' this though, I get paid for it." He worries his bottom lip before blinking and ahaing! "Oi! I almost be forgettin', 'ere…me Da got this for ye…" He rummages in his bag and pulls out a thin book, offering it to Elise. "You probably 'ave read it all before, it just came out a year or so ago though…s'called the Hobbit."
"Alright," Elise promises. "I didn't get the names of the three from yesterday. Anyway, how are we to 'see to' the train bullies?" She takes the list of second year charms and starts copying it down. "I like helping you, Cil," she tells him softly. "Besides, you're my friend." She glances up at him to bestow a smile on him, and catches sight of the book. "Oh," she says, and takes it. "The Hobbit, by J. R. R. Tolkien. I've never heard of this." She examines the cover for a second before flipping it over to read the back.
"Isa Muggle book…but I personally tink a wizard must've helped a bit with it. Me Da loves it personally, so I thought ye may like it too. Seein' as ye like to be readin'." Cillian chuckles and nods before getting back to writing. "Well, probably somethin' about iffen folks like callin' folks 'mudbloods' they should have a taste of their own medicine. Ye work alot in the greenhouse right? We'll need lots…and lots of dirt."
"Thank you for this. It's about Muggles?" Elise asks. "What kind of Muggle is a Hobbit? Is that a country I've never heard of?" She frowns and sounds doubtful. "I thought my geography was good." She looks back up at him and blinks a few times. "There's fresh manure in the compost," she finally says, an evil little grin spreading across her mouth.
"Its not about Muggles but..its…its about adventure." Cillian tries to explain. "I dun tink they are muggles /in/ the book though. There be wizards in it too!" Then he thumbs the side of his nose before nodding slowly. "Ahh, now we're talkin'. But we'll 'ave to be very crafty 'ere. So makin' me plans, it'll take all of us to pull it off."
"I shall read it soon," Elise promises, and tucks it away into a pocket of her robe. "We could… hide it in their food," she suggests. "Or Transfigure a pile of manure /into/ food. Candy, perhaps? And then get them to take it from us and steal it for themselves. Just when they're holding it, just when they've all taken big bites - maybe swallowed a couple - we'll turn it /back/ into manure!"
Cillian just blinks owlishly. "Eat it? Well that's…one thing, but it doesn't make a real statement I dun tink. Anyways…lots of ideas are good ideas." He points at Elise.
"What would make a statement?" Elise asks curiously. She tickles the bottom of her chin with the feather of her quill. She opens her eyes wide when he points at her, and blinks. "What?"
"No no, I want to 'ere ideas from /ye/. I already have me own ideas. So give me yer ideas, I must 'ave them!" Cillian chirps before winking and writing something else down.
"Ummmm," Elise says. She tickles her chin, then her lips, then her chin again while thinking. "I've got nothing."
Cillian chuckles and shakes his head for a moment, studying Elise with a small smile. "We'll tink o' somethin…" He looks up suddenly. "But we better get prepared for dinner…I'll pack up tings here, and we'll plan for an official meetin' with the crew later on in the week." He winks and works on packing up all the homework business with a soft laugh. "Ahh, its good to be back in school."
"It is good," Elise agrees. She reaches out with her quill and uses the feather to try to tickle his ear, giggling a bit. After she hears him laugh, she'll help him pack up.