| Details for Marshmallow Mess |
| Summary: | After the 6th Year Potions class is chaotically dismissed thanks to an explosion of Molten Marshmallow, Gerald walks the goop covered Soleil to the Slytherin Dorms. |
| Date: | September 30th, 1938 |
| Location: | Labyrinthine Hall and Serpentine Maze, Hogwarts |
| Related: | 6th Year Potions Class: Volubilis Potion Prep |
| Characters |
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Labyrinthine Hall, Dungeons
The transition between to the above ground world of the school and the dungeons below is striking. The area below Hogwarts might as well belong to a completely different building. Dark Stone makes up the floor, walls, and ceiling, the oily, flickering light provided by torches in the tarnished bronze sconces along the wall seems to be sucked away by the lurking darkness. Some corridors seem to have collapsed some time in the past, dead ending in rubble and dirt. Down others, the torches have gone out for good, forcing any adventurous student to explore by wand light. In contrast, the main corridor is well maintained, the floor slightly worn by the tread of generations of students to and from potions class.
Gerald falls in with the escaping flood of students as they scramble to safety, but once outside the room, he slows his steps, taking the moment to adjust his stance, his cloths, and his calm. Call it inwardly waving away the bag vibes from moments ago. He also takes the moment to look over his things, counting them and no doubt, making sure he doesn't need to brave the chaos to reclaim anything. He doesn't, which merely adds to the self-confident smirk that plays across his lips before he begins to walk again. Gerald: 1, Giant Molten Marshmello Blob : 0.
Soleil lingered behind to help Slughorn keep the white gooey tidal wave at bay. So several moments after most have dispersed to go wash up or gossip and cackle in their common room out comes Soleil, finally. Absolutely dripping and coated in the stuff. "Ohhhh, it's not fair!" She cries and flaps her hands sending globs of goo this way and that. Shee gives a little simper and gives Gerald a pout, "So much for the heroes life."
Gerald chuckles, spotting the emerging Soleil. It's enough to slow his steps to a stop, "Yes well, since when is the life of a hero as glamorous as the stories?" He flashes her a grin, but he does back away a little as she flings the foamy mess about. Still, he was raised properly. He pries the robe off, using it to reach and bad at her arms. "Come onyou need to get cleaned up before you turn into, I dunno..a door mouse or something. I don't actually have a pet so, I'd be tempted. Can't have that now can we?"
Soleil makes a mental note to try to bribe Lucian later to hopefully get snuck into the prefect bathroom. "Well you got out relatively unscathed. So much for women and children first as they say." She has a dry wry smirk. "Are you planning on going to the Halloween festivities?" It's asked very casually as he helps clean her off.
Gerald chuckles, his grin sheepish as he's called out. "Yes well..I guess I'm just as shallow as the rest deep down." He admits with a small sigh. He continues to 'help' as best he can, patting at her shoulder with the black material before he simply offers it out. There's only so much 'petting' that can be done before he just looks like a creep. "I was thinking about it." He admits with a small shrug, "It..crossed my mind. But then so did the number of people that would be there." And thus, he fears it! "I may..maybe. Are you?"
Soleil notably doesn't protest or look creeped out by the 'petting'. "I have never seen a young man with intentions towards the M.L.E. with such a level of shyness. I certainly hope you won't be called for crowd control." She teases him with a little wry smirk. Her hand slides along her hair to drop a glop of the mess onto the floor with a *splat*. "Oh I don't know, I probably will be going, I do those costume potions you know, so it's good for business to model them."
Gerald chuckles. "It's not shyness, its restraint." He allows with a small grin, "Anyway, there's a difference between being assertive and being overly assertive. I'm just..not, under most circumstances." He tilts his face, watching her for a moment before his attention shifts toward the glob as it splatters across the floor, causing his brow to arch. "Admittedly though, I'm not very big on costumes."
Soleil ahhs in that slow, 'sure, right, I believe you, not really' way. "That's because you've never tried one of my potions." She says in that teasingly hauty way. "Once you do, you'll not ever dream of doing the boring usual way ever again."
Gerald chuckles, and no, he doesn't think she bought it. Not in the slightest. Maybe he's just girl shy?! "I Dunno..I excel at boring, usual ways." He notes with a shrug of his shoulders. "But I'll take your word for it. After all, you're the expert right?" He's teasing, in his own casual little way. "What are you going as?"
Soleil drolls out, "Your parents must be terribly proud. Excelling at boring and usual." She manages to school a smile keeping it entirely deadpan. "That I am. I haven't decided upon that yet. If I go with a partner, I plan then, possibly going with a duel them. Such as last year, I went as an angel and Balty was supposed to go as a demon. Something such as that. I'm the one that helped Lucian and Ria put together their Day and Night costumes."
Gerald ahs, nodding but he does manage to narrow a subtle glare toward her. He lets the small insult slide by though. Instead he counters it with a compliment. "Well, you shouldn't have any trouble finding a date." Take that! "I'm sure you'll pick great costumes." He shifts his books under one arm as they move, balancing his attention between the girl at his side, drips and all, and where he's walking. "…When is this again?" Nope. A social butterfly he is not!
Soleil is leading him deeper into the dungeons, because she is headin for her Dormitory. "The Halloween Feast? I shall give you three guesses." Oh the droll jaded humour continues! She glances his way and still manages to school her lips keeping the teasing smirk hidden away.
Gerald chuckles, "I don't know..whats today again?" He offers yet another sheepish grin her way before his eyes roll upward toward the ceiling in thought. "I'm assuming….next month." He stabs at the guess with a chuckle. "I've been so distracted lately. I can't even give a good reason why, just one of those weeks I guess." He shrugs, but seems contempt to walk her toward her dormitory…for as far as he's allowed of course.
Soleil crisply responds, "The 30th of September, yes, exactly a month and one day from now." Then her tone warms as much as her tone ever warms. "It's no wonder that you are distracted. You are taking NEWT level courses that could see you become an Auror, Gerald, which is about the heaviest curriculum load one can take besides the requirements for Healer. It's a wonder you know what direction you are walking. Or do you?" Now she gives him a teasing smile.
Serpentine Maze, Dungeons
Once past the Potions classroom the dungeon passages quickly start twisting and turning, doubling back on themselves and in general becoming confusing enough that someone without an intimate knowledge of their workings tends to end up right back where they started. As if the complexity was not enough the dungeon passageways are ill lit by guttering torches as well as being eternally chill. At the bottom edge of some of the walls found in the dungeon are carved with slithering depictions of snakes stretched out along the floor. In one dead end the snakes are carved up the corners of and edges of the dead end. On the flat of the dead end wall which there is a bas-relief of a man in medieval robs with a point goatee and a bald head. Most of the mans features have long been worn down. Dewy condensation glitters on his stony bald head.
"That may be it." Gerald admits with a small grin and an easier chuckle. He also lifts his brows as she ducks away toward the maze. He follows of course. "You're on to something though, it could be possible I've been sleepwalking all day. I remember a third of it." Understatement, but he doesn't dive into that now. He does however slow his steps as he lifts his eyes to look over the area. "I think this is as far as I go." He then adds with a faint smile, "If you have no further need of me, of course." It's a joke. A bad one, but a joke still!
Soleil nods her head as she is quite sure that she is onto something indeed. But then when he stalls in their walking she gets quite a different look about her. An appearance of some sensual demoness trying to lure her pray into her own little nook in hell. "What? Afraid that I'm going to lead you into some trap or get you so lost you'll be graduating when you turn fifty? You don't have to worry too much, you're Pure-blood after all. The traps Slytherin set only will entrap and kill half-bloods and mudbloods if they are idiotic enough to venture too deeply into the maze."
Gerald chuckles, "Actually I was sure you were sick of my bad conversational skills." Or maybe not. He grins anyway, his steps loosening as he lingers in his tracks, "But now that you mention it…I'm not exactly hot on the idea of being lost in a maze full of deviant traps. I'm a nice guy..we finish last after all." Fifty year is waaayy to 'last' for him!
Soleil smirks a little and shrugs in a 'your loss!' manner. She turns around and starts to walk down the short passage before it cuts off in a sharp corner, "Especially last when they don't seize the opportunity to ask a girl to a dance." She calls back over one goopy shoulder and her playful if poignant barb echoes a bit through the dungeons. "See you later Gerald." And with that she turns out of sight.
Gerald chuckles, though his brows are upward slowly as she speaks on. He looks mystified, to say the least. "You could at least dress up for me when you're discretely flirting!" He yells aster her, trying to sound frustrated, falling short. "Or shower!" He raises his voice to echoes after him, though he lets it go from there as he turns on his heels to leave. He pauses for a second, his lips parting, closing, and parting again. "You..have my robe." He mutters after her before turning and heading away. Back to the world were things make sense!