(1938-10-17) Douglas Goes Fishing
Details for Douglas Goes Fishing
Summary: While Briar is willing to save Douglas from Ogg when she comes across him with a fish he 'accidentally' got from the Lake she's not above giving him a tongue lashing about his bad choices in becoming so Purist when the Medusa scented wind blew his way.
Date: October 17th 1938
Location: Greenhouses, Hogwarts
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Characters
BriarDouglas

Greenhouses Hogwarts
Thu Oct 17, 1938 ((Thu Oct 17 08:03:00 2013)) (G,5)


It is a fall night. The weather is freezing and fair.


On the side of the castle are the greenhouses where the Herbology classes are taught. Set all in a row the three greenhouses have statues of long, serpentine dragons running along the peaked roofs and are made entirely out of glass. They are home to many exotic and magical plants including some that are extremely rare, difficult to cultivate and maintain, or even dangerous. Greenhouse One is used specifically to teach first year Herbology and because of this it contains no dangerous plants of any kind. Greenhouse two is a multipurpose greenhouse. At times it is used for classes but mostly it's used by the faculty and staff to grow ingredients necessary for classes other than Herbology or even herbs and spices for the kitchens. Greenhouse three on the other hand is used for advanced Herbology classes and houses dangerous and hard to cultivate plants like Venemous Tentaculas, fully grown Mandrakes, and Devil's Snares.


Briar is in a NEWT Level Greenhouse, the window beside her is open and it's on the castle side of the building so it's protected from the very cold evening. A tray of sorts is kept on the sill of the window and on the tray is a hunk of meat. Who needs an ice box when this will do to keep the meat preserved. A butcher's cleaver and long prong meat fork in her gloved hands Briar rather skillfully works the large hunk into manageable bits.

Douglas is outside, in said cold, and rubbing at one arm as he approaches the greenhouses while in the other he's dragging what may be a very small dead body, breath clear in the evening air.

Briar sighs seeing Douglas dragging something. She points the sharp side of her meat fork at him. "So help me Macmillan if that's a dead body and you ruin my very nice day with your 'antics' I'm going to fucking feed you to the plants!" Her tone is more playful than accusatory, but his record does have her actually worried she's going to have to do the Prefect thing.

Douglas turns on his best offended face, gesturing to himself as though she cannot possibly be talking about him, before hoisting his prize, in this case it's a pretty decent sized fish, up for her to see. "Well, it is dead," he admits through the window. "Oo, what've you got there? Swap you meat for fish?"

Briar tilts her head and waves him over. "I don't know if they'll like fish… did you get that out of the Lake? You're lucky I spotted you before Ogg. You know how he gets when someone endangers the delicate balance of his little Hogwarts Ecosystem." She leans out the window more and looks around making sure Ogg isn't lumbering around. "Hurry before he sees you."

"Well, it started in the lake," Douglas admits as he hurries round and backs in through the glass doors, leaving a trail of scales behind him. "Then I think I might have made a bit of a mistake with a levitating spell, and it ended in the tree. Dead now, anyway, might as well use it."

Briar rolls her eyes and steps over to help him lift and put the large fish up on a work bench. "That is what the Charmitorium is for Douglas. Practicing those spells. Not the lake, alright? I am going to have to tell someone about this. But I promise I'll make sure they don't rake you over the coals…again. But seriously…" She washes the fish off with some water from the tip of her wand and then she uses the cleaver to rake over the skin and schluff off the scales. "…what is with your obsession with acting out? Is something going on with you? Or your family maybe?" She does sound genuinely concerned. "I won't tell a soul, but everything you do lately screams as some cry for attention."

Douglas leans back against a planter, tucking his thumbs into his belt. "I don't like it indoors so much," he explains simply. "So I practice by the lake where, well, usually, I can't screw anything up too badly if it goes wrong." He shrugs. "Seriously, I don't get how you can all spend all day trapped inside the walls here. Anyway, I'm not acting out! What d'you mean?"

Briar gestures to the glass house around them and then to the living vines of white edged ivy that's woven in her braids. "Try not to be so generalizing. Do I look like the type that likes being inside?" She shakes her head to answer her own question while smiling. "Oh please, don't act dumb. You have been starting so much shit and getting neck deep in it all over the place. The Duel fiasco, the dating Malfoy…seriously…Malfoy!?" Her expression is 'you could do so much better'!

Douglas holds up a hand. "I walked away from that 'duel fiasco'," he points out. "Because if it came down to it, there would have been a duel, he'd have pinged my wand away, and I'd have fucking chinned him." He mimes a headbutt and a right jab to prove his point. "And that would have been a whole heap more trouble than it was worth. I already got in shit for smacking Black about." He runs a hand through his hair, raising a brow. "And what exactly's wrong with Malfoy? You've got to admit, she looks damn good on my arm."

Briar shakes her head with a frequent eye roll as he explains himself as she fillets the fish down to size. "You're actually proving my point Douglas." She says with a smirk. Then she turns the fish lifts up one side of the belly and out drops the pluck. "That would look better on your arm Macmillan." She points to the pile of guts on the board. "It has more sense than her too." Can you tell Medusa is not her favorite person in the world. "If all you're after is pretty, there's plenty just as good looking if not more so. Because I'm sure you're just a pretty thing on her arm in her pea brain too. Had hope for you Douglas, it's a shame."

Douglas steps up to scoop the guts into a bucket, noting, "I'll have that for the owls." He shakes his head. "She's not stupid, you know. I mean, sure, we're both pretty useless at Potions, but that's nothing new. But it's hardly about that sort of thing, is it? I mean, next year, who's going to care what you were like in classes, as long as you can do the job you're hired for, right? Anyway, Malfoy's doing me a massive favour. She's giving me a hand getting my business started. Show me anyone else who'd do that for me, eh?"

Briar just looks at him as if she believes he's imperius'd and has no control over what's coming out of his mouth. "Uh… I would. I've been researching business and how to start up my own since I was nine. If you're talking about her helping you 'financially' you may as well be asking Al Capone. Or some other loan shark out for a pound of flesh. Though I'm sure she's using you to look like she's goose-stepping back into her purist buddies good graces. She's maybe not stupid. But she's an idiot, an ignorant idiot. Well done, nice catch Dougie. Next year you might find yourself trapped in some marriage contract with her. Because she did help you out after all…" She sarcastically bats her eyes. "It's called getting her claws into you." Duh! She grunts and rolls her eyes, again that expression of disappointment in him plain as day on her face.

Douglas just raises an incredulous brow. "So first she's stupid, and now I'm stupid, too?" he queries, rolling his eyes. "Look, it's not like I've never been out with a girl before. And somehow I've managed to avoid getting trapped into a marriage contract with all of them. I mean, I'm still friends with, well, with most of them." He sets the bucket aside, brushing his hands down and moving up beside her to eye the filleting. "What's she done to upset you, then? I mean, other than steal me away, obviously," he adds with a sidelong grin at her.

Briar groans and chuckles. "Yes, you are stupid. I did have hope for you, like I said, but now… you're acting like an idiot. Not sexy, at all. Now you want sexy…Xander, he's sexy. Smart, very good looking, even if he's as British as the day is long. He's got really good taste in girls. He likes girls that aren't manipulative vapid little bits of last years stale arm candy. You never dated a Malfoy before darlin'. You're so fucked and you don't conciously know it. But there's some part of you that's screaming for help with all these antics of yours. Dating Malfoy was just the peas de la resitance of said stupidity." She leans over to place a friendly peck on his cheek. "When she chews you up and spits you out, you know who to come crying too. Thanks for the fish. Sorry about the points." She apologizes for the points he'll no doubt lose when it's heard he went 'fishing' and 'deforesting' all at the same magical time.

"Aww, come on, the fish was totally an accident," Douglas pleads, resting his elbow on her shoulder and trying his best smile. "How about nobody needs to know about it, and I treat you to a butterbeer and dinner next weekend? And I promise you as soon as she chews me up and leaves me a broken, pitiful pile of man, I'll come running to you first."

Briar smirks and angles her shoulder so his arm slides right off. "You really are stupid if you think you have a chance now that you've had some Gorgon on you." She talks like it's some venereal disease, but for Briar, that's exactly what it is. "When I said I had hope, it wasn't in any sort of way to get swoony over you. I dated Kaiden, I'm over the type now. However, next weekend if you want to hang out, I think that could be arranged. You can get labeled a Blood Traitor just like your girlfriend for hanging out with me, my boyfriend and the rest of the Mud Club. Won't that be fun!?" Oh the sarcasm is rampant! "And after graduation Medusa and you can have big fat Blood Traitor babies. And raise them to be idiot bigots. Wooo!"

"She has /really/ done something to piss you off, eh?" Douglas notes, ever perceptive. He shrugs broadly, palms upwards. "What can I say, I'm just a man, a sucker for a pretty face, and easily manipulated by the evil machinations of the Malfoy empire. Anyway, look, no offence, but I'm sticking clear of the Mud Club and all that political stuff. I mean, I even mention muggles in front of some of them and it's wands out at the ready, determined to cause a big scene. Not really my thing."

Briar snorts, "Now you know how Muggle-Borns have felt for generations. The Mud Club isn't about politics, it's about support and protection. Some place where the bullied and beaten on can go to feel less alone in this prejudiced world. It's not us that is making anything about politics. We don't think the pure-bloods are anything more or less than we are. Safety in numbers, that's what the Mud Club is about. Just thought you might be someone that would stick up for the little guy. Not suck face with the poster child for what's wrong with the wizarding world." She shrugs, "Guess I was wrong. It's fine. Go feed the owls before that turns. Or you'll get assigned the clean up of the projectile shit." She smirks and winks and then tosses a fillet over and a large green bud with red 'lips' snaps and devours the fillet. "Guess they like fish."

Douglas holds up a finger. "I will stick up for anyone who's getting in crap for no reason," he points out, "but I'll also stick up for women. And that includes Malfoy. Sure, she's not perfect, but name me anyone who is. And she's way calmer this year, too. I'm a good influence."

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