| Details for Not So Private Boathouse |
| Summary: | Samira goes looking for a private place to practice her dancing only to find that Gabriel and later Elise have also decided that the boathouse would be fairly private. And they're all wrong. |
| Date: | 1939-09-13 |
| Location: | Boathouse, Hogwarts Castle |
| Plot: | Headmaster from Hell |
| Related: | — |
| Characters |
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The rain roars as it lands on the boathouse roof. Samira casts aside her soaked school robes. They kept her dry enough as she flitted across the hogwarts grounds. She slowly looks around once more as she slips out of her shoes. Once she is certain no one else is there, Samira smiles, closes her eyes, and begins to dance.
Although some students have caught glimpses of her exercises, none have witnessed the fluid undulation of her hips or the snakelike movements of her hands and arms. She hums to herself, stomping her feet to make a slow beat.
Being small has its benefits. The tarp covering one of the boats in dry storage inches up and a spear of light flashes for a moment before its extinguished, leaving nothing behind but a pair of brown eyes peeking out from the small space between tarp and boat's gunwale.
A rare, genuine smile shines in Samira's features. She arches back far past the 90 degree angle. Her arms flow as if caught in an underwater current. Losing herself in the dance, she starts to pick up the pace. Her hips twist with sharp, extremely pronounced jerks. Impish laughter spills forth as the coquettish nymph dances like no one is watching. And dances quite well.
The eyes under the tarp get a bit shifty, looking away then looking back then away then back until finally a small embarrassed cough comes from the boat followed by a muffled, "You're very good at that. are you teaching that to Madeline too? Or is it a family secret?"
The rain is rather loud in the boat house and Samira is distracted. The small, muffled voice isn't quite enough to catch her attention at first. But, once little Gabriel makes more of an effort to catch her attention, she whirls around, wide-eyed and startled. Hands holding the fabric of her skirt tight at her sides, she takes a cautious, half-step back. "Who's there?" Her Egyptian accent is far more pronounced than it usually is.
The brown eyes are still visible under the tarp and now a low "Lumos" might be heard too, right before a bright yellow light starts to spill out of the gap and Gabriel raises his head a bit more so that he's visible in the light of his wand, "Hello Ms. Prince. Private places are in high demand lately and I needed to do some real studying instead of reading the dumb SCUMS book again." as if to prove his point he shows the top half of his Transfiguration book in the light of the wand, "I am sorry I interrupted but I thought that might be more polite than just watching some more…" His face is slowly starting to go bright red.
Samira's cheeks are quite warm, but her blush isn't as noticeable under her wheat-hued complexion. "Ah. Forgive me. Yes, I find private places hard to find. I don't know the castle so well. I can go. Or, if you like, I- I would be happy to help you with Transfiguration. You don't want to be too far behind once these policies fall."
Gabriel smiles a bit at the offer but shakes his head a bit as he climbs out from the inside of the boat, being very careful not to tip it. "Thank you for the offer but I'm actually pretty good at Transfiguration. I might take you up on that offer if you want to make it for History." Once he's out he slides down so that he's sitting with his back to the boat he was previously occupying, his book now in his lap. After extinguishing his wand he adds, "How have the last few weeks been going with you? Settling in well with the Sna… Slytherin?"
"Yes," says Samira, settling down on the wooden floor planks. She folds her legs to rest he tops of her bare feet just above her knees. "The snakes of Slytherin have welcomed me as one of their own. It has been nice." She smiles over at Gabriel.
Gabriel grins a bit as he tilts his head and says, "interesting. Because if I had to guess you're more of a cat than a snake. And cats eat snakes, don't they?" Digging into his pocket he pulls out another of those small, paper wrapped packets from the other day. Unwrapping it he offers Samira the option of taking some of the four Oreos in the pack, "Want some?"
Samira giggles impishly with a relaxed smile. Although her smile isn't quite as luminous as the one she'd worn while dancing, it isn't exactly fake. Offered an Oreo, Samira rises with that fluid, dancer's grace of hers and steps over to accept one of the biscuits. "Thank you." She nibbles on the cookie, peering down at the Ravenclaw boy. Tilting her head, she says, "You find me catlike? Well, in their sunken ship of a common room, the snakes are a welcoming lot." The transfer student stands barefoot, wearing her white shirt untucked from her pleated skirt. Her shoes and robe are discarded nearby.
From where he's sitting with his back to one of the boats in dry storage Gabriel smiles a little wider while taking on of the three remaining Oreos and twisting it open, "I do. Cat area famous for liking their games. So the Snakes are having fun in their common room, huh?" As he waits for an answer he pops the cookie that ended up with no cream on it in his mouth and chews it thoughtfully.
In walks Elise. And she immediately stops upon seeing that there are others in here. "Oh, hello," she says. She blinks her eyes a few times, still adjusting to the dimmer lighting. "Gabe," she says, giving him a bit of a smile. And then she recognizes Samira. "Prince, hullo." She'll nod and give the older girl a smile that's absolutely polite, but also tinged with that same strange guilt she seems to show whenever she sees the older girl.
Samira's eyes shines with impish mirth as she nibbles the edge of the Oreo. "Ah yes. Not without conflict. Such arguments between one of the magijugend prefects and the head boy. I have come at a fascinating time." Shifting her weight, Samira's left hip lifts as she glances over at Elise. With a smile that is far more amused than polite, Samira says, "Hello little one."
Gabriel grins at Elise and offers up his last two Oreo, "Hello Elise. Want a cookie?" then the interesting reaction the two girls have to each other starts to sink in. He looks back and forth between them, curiosity obvious on his face. "Interesting… What's going on?" King of the ambiguous question, Gabriel is.
Elise comes forward and accepts the cookie. She brings it almost to her mouth and then stops, and lowers it again, then tucks it into her pocket. "For someone who'll need it," she explains quietly to him. There are still the Muggleborns to think about, after all. At his question, she glances over at Samira, and then looks down, ashamed. "My great-grandfather tried to rob her ancestor's tomb," she half-whispers. "A sacrilege."
Samira waves her hand to dismiss Elise's words. "There is no need for that. You are suffering enough for your ancestor's crimes." Glancing to Gabriel, she explains, "This one will die young unless one from her bloodline does something to prove its worth." That impish smile of hers might not seem quite so harmless.
Gabriel leans back against the boat again, taking some time to lick the cream from the second half of his Oreo while he thinks. "Well, that's not good. Can anyone from the bloodline do something to prove its worth? Does it have to be someone specific, like a first born? What do they have to do to prove their worth? And why do you seem so happy about the whole thing, Ms. Prince?" After his bout of curiosity has run its course (for the moment) he goes back to licking the cream off his cookie and looking back and forth between the girls.
"I asked her," Elise says quietly to Gabriel, remembering when she was down on her knees and begging for her life from this alien girl. "She does not know." His last question, though, has her turning her head to look at Samira with curiosity.
Samira glances from one to the other. With a relaxed shrug, she says, "You will find that there are few things I take too seriously." Glancing to Elise, she adds, "And to undo the horror your ancestor brought upon his bloodline, one of you need to prove its worth. I cannot /tell/ you what such an act might be, because mere obedience would prove nothing. For me to tell you would rob you of your chance at life."
Gabriel pops the now cream-less cookie in his mouth and once again uses the time it takes to chew it to think. Once he's done he just shrugs a little bit since there doesn't seem to be much more to ask about Elise's curse so he goes back to the original topic, "What was going on in the common room? Sound like it might have been an interesting… conversation." Taking the last cookie in his hands he twists it apart like he did with the first one and pops the cream-less half into his mouth again.
Elise lets out an almost-silent sigh and sits down next to Gabriel. She wraps her arms around her knees and then rests her chin on top. "Which common room?"
Samira follows Gabriel to a new subject with ease. Eating the last bit of the Oreo, she nods slowly. "A number of interesting conversations. So many of the Magijugend are Slytherin. I got to watch an initiation. An interview. Black and… Gibbon, yes that was her name. She answered correctly. I can't imagine it would be hard not to. Predictable questions."
Gabriel nods as he follow along with Samira's comment, licking away at the cream on the other half of his last cookie. "So what about this fight you were mentioning. And don't worry about Elise being here. She's a Pirate. Any Pirate is 100% trustworthy." Using his teeth he scrapes about half the cream off the cookie, carefully making sure no crumbs fall on the book in his lap.
Elise makes a bit of a face when Samira starts talking about the Magijugend. Then she lifts her head and stares at Gabe. Her eyes go from him to Samira and back again. Then she puts her head down, apparently trusting her co-pirate.
Samira shakes her head with an impish giggle. "Wasn't worried. Malfoy and Shafiq - there is a lot of tension there. Ever since Malfoy lost the first points of the year. And who was it… Parkinson? She was trying her best to calm the tensions." She shakes her head with a grin. Such a damper on Samira's entertainment.
Gabriel pops the last of the cookies in his mouth then starts up with one of his newest gesture, rubbing his chin. "interesting… I don't remember, is Shafiq a Magidunderhead or not? He seems to be very neutral about this whole mess the Headmaster has created."
"Shafiq is nice," Elise comments regarding Zayn. "From what I've heard. We've never really spoken, that I can recall." Of Abraxas she says nothing, though her mouth twists unpleasantly.
"Neutral is a good way to describe him. He seems to be simply trying to live up to the responsibilities placed on her shoulders. He places a high value on justice as well as generosity. He is not a Magijugend, nor do I expect him ever to be." Samira slips her hands into the pockets of her skirt. Rather entertained by the questions, she rocks back and forth on her heels.
Gabriel hmms, looking a bit disgruntle at hearing about a decent Slytherin. Such a disappointing world… "Have any of the Slytherin spoken out against Flint? It would be interesting to see if we can expand our information gathering network…" He glances down at his empty cookie wrapped and sighs. Making the paper disappear back into his pocket and comes back out with his old, worn baseball.
"Justice is a far better thing to value than what a lot of Slytherins appear to value," Elise says. "Blood purity," she says, her lip curling a bit. "Superiority. Personal power." She rolls her eyes. But then she's nodding at Gabriel's idea. "If he's interested in justice, he might be interested in joining out cause. What Flint is doing to the Muggleborns is the definition of injustice." She shivers.
"I can't imagine Shafiq is pleased, but I also doubt he will speak out against Flint. Nobility doesn't always come in the form you'd hope. And justice can be subjective." Samira pauses as she balances on her heels. "I have gotten the sense that Eibon - the Gryffindor's brother, is more that displeased. But, I haven't seen him much. If you like, I can ask the cats. I might persuade them to pay attention to whether certain students seem upset with recent events."
Gabriel jiggles his foot around as he thinks, needing to put a hand on his book so it won't slide off his lap. "Asking the cats would be a great idea." As he thinks about the comments on the Eibon brother he realizes that there's two of them she could be talking about, "I hear Noalan is a decent enough person. For a Slytherin. And I hope you're not talking about Angelus. For a Gryffindor… For anyone, he's a right bastard. Causing trouble for Madeline as much as he can, since he can't really match up to the older Gryffindors." Remembering the flirting he witnessed in the library the day before he adds, "I would be careful with that charming front of his, if I was you."
"We should have more Hufflepuffs, too," Elise says. "They're supposed to be about loyalty and friendship, but what have they really done since Flint's draconian new rules?" She crosses her arms and frowns thoughtfully. "Who could we speak with?"
"Loyalty is another sword with two edges. Loyalties might lay elsewhere. You are both fortunate that I hold loyalties to individuals, rather than ideologies." Glancing to Gabriel, Samira adds with a bit of a grin, "And from what I've noticed, Angelus has been met with a fair bit of antagonism himself. The fight is not one-sided on his part. But, thank you. I intend to be careful." She nods.
Gabriel nods to Elise, "I am surprised we haven't heard more from the Badgers. But they might be working on their own side of things." His foot goes back to jiggling as he thinks about Angelus and he finally says, "I think if Angelus was treated a bit better he might be turned around… He is just reacting to how he was treated first, after all. But he's still wouldn't be fully trustworthy without some strong demonstrations of an honest desire to switch sides…"
Madeline is alone - and she is soaked! That's why she's alone, in fact. What are the odds she's going to run into a Magijunde while running about and splashing in puddles? Apparently having had enough of the rain, though, she slips into the boathouse, giggling loudly, and closing the door behind her. She doesn't realize anyone else is there until she turns, and for just a moment she looks anxious - until she recognizes the trio. "I'm soaked!" she declares brightly. "Has anyone seen Mischief?"
"Who might those individuals be?" Elise asks Samira curiously. She nods thoughtfully at Gabriel. "I've heard they always have lots of food in their common room. Perhaps they can share with Muggleborns from the other two houses." Excluding Slytherin, since there really aren't any Muggleborns in Slytherin house at the moment. She opens her mouth to say more but Madeline's giggle interrupts her. "Copper!" she greets. "Come here, sweetling." She shakes her head to answer the question about Madeline's bird, though.
Samira arches a brow at Elise's rather bold question. Leaning forward, Samira's wide smile is a touch sinister as she answers. "No one." Glancing at Gabriel, she straightens up and nods. She notices Madeline's entrance with a bit of a grin before answering Gabriel. "If Eibon found acceptance rather than scorn and fury from his fellow house-mates, indeed, his views might have shifted. But I suspect that his recent treatment has confirmed all of his assumptions about Muggle-borns and their allies. That will be extremely difficult to change."
Gabriel gives one crisp nod to Samira, smirking a little at her answer to Elise's question, "Its all about the entertainment, isn't it, Princess?" Calling a girl Prince is getting a bit weird. "And you're right, it would be hard. But not impossible. And someone needs to take the first step." As Madeline enters and gets a greeting from Elise Gabriel also grins at her then says, in only a mildly teasing tone, "Of course we haven't seen her. That raven of your has more brains than you do sometimes and she's probably staying out of the rain."
"She probably is! Hello!" Madeline sloughs off her outer robes - letting them fall to the docks, rather than hanging them as she likely oughtta. "But it was fun, anyways." Smiling at Elise, she adds, "Oh, the Hufflepuffs have been bringing me pastries. I don't know how I would manage otherwise. Umm - has anyone tried smuggling food from the Slytherin table?" And here her eyes naturally go to Samira. She really wouldn't mind some more proper food - if Samira didn't mind smuggling a little out, sometimes. Seeing as she was still refusing to eat in the Great Hall.
"…are we talking about Eibon again? You know even his cousin's given up on him? And they were raised together!" Looking at Gabriel she adds, "And he did tell Flint he thinks I put up the poster. Told you he would."
"You said that we are both fortunate that you hold loyalties to individuals rather than ideologies, yet you state that you have loyalties to no one, in fact," Elise says to Samira. "Does that mean that you have no loyalties of any kind? If so, then why does that make us lucky? What happens when you decide it would be…" she glances at Gabe and runs with his suggestion. "…more amusing to side with the Magijugend and Flint?" She gets up and picks up Madeline's robes and drapes them over a handy surface to dry.
Samira laughs with impish mirth at Gabriel's shrewd observation. Glancing at Elise, she tilts her head. Her smile only widens. "Mm. Now that /would/ be interesting." Might she be tempted? She glances at Gabriel and once again, her laughter spills forth.
Samira laughs with impish mirth at Gabriel's shrewd observation. Glancing at Elise, she tilts her head. Her smile only widens. "Mm. Now that /would/ be interesting." Might she be tempted? She glances at Gabriel and once again, her laughter spills forth. Noticing Madeline's eyes upon her, the Slytherin girl glances over, but doesn't respond. No, she doesn't seem too inclined to smuggle food.
Gabriel shrugs a little bit and adds a smirk to it, "Well, being on the side of the underdogs is the bigger challenge. And I'm betting that for someone like you challenge equals entertainment." His foot starts jiggling around again as he focuses on Madeline and gives her a serious nod, "Yes, we are talking about Angelus again. I still think that if people start showing him little respect he might realize that he's playing for the wrong team. But right now we're living up to everything that the Magidunderhead's have told him we are. And we /did/ start it, after all, when one of us threw his stuff out the window." He then takes a deep breath, preparing for the very possible explosion to come…
Madeline meets Samira's gaze for a moment. …no. She doesn't expect she's getting anything off the Slytherin table. Then her gaze quickly shifts to Gabriel. "We did not start it!" Madeline insists, looking galled by the suggestion. "He already treated me like this all last year - and this summer! And Adam too - you can ask him. If his cousin thinks he's a lost cause, what make you think you can bring him around?"
The look Elise gives Samira is, for once, completely unreadable. No guilt or shame or apprehension or curiosity or polite friendship. Just nothing. Her dark eyes regard the girl with no hint of what she's thinking. That passes in just a moment, though. Then she blinks and looks at Gaberiel. "I heard about that," she says. "Not a very nice thing to do. Even if it was for payback." She takes a breath. "We have to be better than them, remember," she says. "We have to be unassailable. That is how we beat them at their own game. Don't forget."
Samira watches Gabriel with interest, her smile relaxed. But, noticing Elise's utterly blank look, her amusement deepens. She doesn't try to interject as debate and arguments fly regarding Angelus. Instead, she turns and starts to slip on her shoes.
Gabriel holds his hands up in a classic surrender pose while tipping his head towards Elise, "Ok, ok. Maybe I'm not completely up to date on what he's been doing. But that still doesn't make any difference to what I said yesterday morning and what Elise is saying right now. We can't just let go of our values and our moral standards just to go down to their level. We have to be better than them, in every way." The baseball that had been forgotten for a while next to his leg gets picked up and he starts rolling it around in his hands, for lack of something else to do with them after he's put them back down.
"I am better than him," Madeline mutters quietly, her arms folding over her chest. "I don't harass and threaten people, or turn them in for stuff they ain't done, or try to use family against each other. And I passed all of my classes." Still - behind the defensiveness - there's the smallest hint of guilt.
Elise crosses to Madeline, and rests a hand on her shoulder. "The best of us never have to tell others of the fact," she says gently. "For actions will convince them, never words." She nods encouragingly at the girl, and includes Gabe in that as well. "I have an umbrella just outside the door," she tells the two pirates. "Shall we walk back to the castle together?"
"Ah, retaliation. Such an excellent fuel for chaos." Samira glances at Madeline with such amusement. "A spark is not enough for a fire. It needs fuel. Each side has its prejudice. Each side feels superior and righteous over the other. Tell me. What exactly did Eibon do to for his housemate to fling his possessions from the roof?" She watches little Madeline with keen focus.
Gabriel nods at Madeline, "You are better than him. Mostly. For now. Be we all have to be careful. Like Samira says a fire needs fuel and we need to be careful not to be fueling it. And its easy to do it because the wrong path is usually easier to take than the right path…" After a moments' thought he puts his ball in his pocket and picks up his book, bowing to Samira, "I've kept you from practicing for long enough. See you soon." and then makes his way over to Elise and Maddie.
Mostly? Madeline frowns at Gabriel. It's remarkable how quickly her good mood can vanish in the face of a mere mention of Angelus. "Well - I think it was that night in the common room - I think it was the first night or two of school. He was accusing us of being whiny spoiled babies. All entitled to be upset over not getting what others had. He was insulting me, and threatening me - again, like he always does - and claiming to be 'Emperor Eibon' and that we all better treat him properly now that he was a Deputized member of the Magijugend. Ain't like he didn't earn it." But then the others are ushering her way, and she lets out a sigh. "I just came in from the rain," she complains quietly, reaching for her hanging, dripping robes.