Details for Slytherins A'Hunting |
Summary: | Lorcan and Walburga go hunting for items that the pesky ghost Peeves has taken from Pringles. Much oddness comes! |
Date: | 1941-06-15 |
Location: | Hogwarts, Rooftop |
Related: | — |
Characters |
![]() ![]() |
Walburga steps out of the girls dormitory, there's a few girls with her as they enter the common room for the rest of the Slytherins. "Of course not, I nearly sent that stupid blood traitor flat on his back and to the infirmary. Lover's tiff? The only one for me is the one my family has arranged and that's Orion. -Everyone- knows that, so stop passing those rumors." snaps the Black to one.
A group of fourth year boys are clustered together, discussing some exam or other. "Stupid teacher phrased his questions all wrong and I didn't get them", a small blonde boy moans sulkily. "Eh, you're just a daft berk.", another one sneers at him. Lorcan's attention wavers when he notices the group and his ears seem to prick when he hears Walburga talk about "the only one for her". One eyebrow quirks upwards while at the same time he pretends to not have noticed the group.
Walburga on she walks until her eyes happen to float across the faces and fall on Lorcan. The boy guitarist from yesterday! She clips her trip to make the journey over to him. "Good day, Parkinson. Have you had any luck thinking of more lyrics to the elf song? I'm looking forward to hearing it on the train."
The forthright question baffles Lorcan and his ears turn a nice shade of red. "It's your guuuuuurlfriend!", one of the other boys teases him and he rolls his eyes at him before starting to walk, following the direction Walburga's friends have taken. "I have a first draft ready.", he explains with a little shrug, "I could… uh… show you later. I'm actually having an hour off now, I was gonna go to the library."
Walburga ohs, there's a look in her normal angry eyes that show she's impressed at his speed. "Interesting, of course you can show me later although…it might be better as a surprise at the train. I don't think you'd make a fool out of yourself or let down your family or blood by a bad song or performance." as she speaks her mind. On his mention of the library, Walburga asks "I was thinking of perhaps finding a few items that lovely Peeve's has taken and hidden around the school. It gets us house points, and this morning I saw Ravenclaw inching above us in points - we can't have that!"
Lorcan looks torn - for about three seconds. "I should be studying but… I suppose… I can do that later.", he says slowly and grins. "You're right, we can't have those muggles and mudbloods move above us. So let's go and find… whatever. You got any idea where we should go?", he wonders.
Walburga offers a smile, small and odd as it is, to Lorcan as he joins her. With a shake of her head, she says "No, if I took something from someone, I'd probably just destroy it right in front of them and not let them have any hope. Perhaps on the roof?
This actually makes Lorcan grin. "I was gonna suggest that. I quite like it on the roof. I … uh, sometimes I go there to be alone and work on a song. Makes me feel on top of the world with everyone at my feet." Realizing he's talking too much, he makes a dash for the stairs to avoid her eyes.
The ramparts of Hogwarts Castle are sturdy, massive constructions made of weathered granite, and provide an uninterrupted pathway across the roof's exterior. Past the ramparts is a bird's-eye view of the surrounding grounds. While these views are obscured generally, lovely stone gazebos called louvres have been constructed at three spots along the palisades. One to the south that has the best view of the Black Lake and cliffs. Another louvre looks over the viaduct to the southeast. A panoramic view of the Forbidden Forest can be gotten to via the northeast louvre. Raised palisade walkways are to the west and east.
The view is interrupted by the Astronomy Tower, whose walls are missing several stones and are riddled with cracks, and the Owlery. The ramparts themselves have chest height walls to either side that create a six-foot-wide corridor. Crenellations rise up another three feet, making the walls almost eight feet tall at their peak. Strong winds tend to blow along the ramparts frequently, making it a particularly uncomfortable place to be during the winter, though the weather is frequently quite pleasant during even the hottest summer days.
The girls that follow Walburga sort of go behind Lorcan as well and Walburga just cuts through groups of other students in front of her on the moving staircases until they reach the roof. The sun is shining, it's an early summer afternoon for sure and the pale face of the Black has her eyes squint to adjust to the brightness. "You girls go begin searching around, look to see if there are other students hunting and if so, don't hesitate to grab it from them. Lorcan and I will go over here." And so they begin setting off. Walking along the ramparts, Walburga says flatly, "That's Black Lake, have you been there?"
Lorcan is a little surprised when the other girls tag along and watches them more than actually scanning the area for potential items. But when Walburga heads off into another direction, announcing he'll be with her, he follows like a happy puppy. "Yea, we sometimes go there. Dicky once claimed he could walk on water. Didn't really work out for him.", he explains with a little smirk.
Walburga smirks. "Walk on water? I suppose a combination of a few charms could do the trick, but I'm not sure. It'd just be hilarious to watch someone try it. We could charm some shoes, do the walk and then remove the charm when they're deep enough so they fall in."
"Yea we could.", Lorcan agrees, "Sounds like fun." Their idea of Slytherin fun. He abruptly starts heading towards one corner and bends to pick something up, but then lets it drop again with a grunt when he realizes it's just an owl feather. "I guess someone else picked the area clean already", he grunts.
Lorcan has found Pringle's Fishing Pole!
Walburga continues looking, and while Lorcan is picking up an owl feather, she continues walking along the ramparts until she finds an odd looking thing. "It's not a wand." says Walburga, but she doesn't touch it. "Parkinson!" she says, raising her voice to get his attention. She holds out a hand and points with a finger to the object. "What -is- that?"
Lorcan heads over to where she is and eyes the item for a moment. Then he snorts and picks it up. "It's a fishing rod. Or pole or whatever you wanna call it. You catch fish with it. When you're a muggle and can't enchant fish to hop into your bucket. Or you simply like sitting around for hours, doing sod all while you wait for a fish to bite."
"They SIT around of hours with that wand looking thing? It seems so…inconvenient. Why would they just sit around when you can easily just enchant a net or something?" replies Walburga, raising a brow in bewilderment about Muggles. "Don't touch it with your hand!" but too late, he picks it up. Shaking her head, Walburga says "You'll have to go to the infirmary to get something to wash away whatever Muggle disease is on that fish…pole…you know Muggles are the reason magic is being destroyed. Those who are blood traitors? They can't realize that they are responsible for wrecking our world, taking magic out of it."
Lorcan almost drops the pole at her warning, but then he exhales and snorts. "Heck, Black, it's been out here in the open, in the rain, whatever was on it will be washed off. Besides, it's only that old dude Pringle who has it. It's something old men like to do. Gives them a feeling of being useful while being totally useless I suppose.", he shrugs and holds the pole out to her with a smirk. "You found it, you take it back"
Walburga nearly flinches as he holds the muggle item out to her. She stares at it, but then shakes her head. "I don't think I'll touch it, I don't want any potential contamination. Muggles, you can't trust them! Besides, you have it already." giving an excuse for the other boy to keep holding it. "Old men need better things to do than sitting around doing nothing. I hope you don't turn out that way, no Black I know does nothing….even when they're old."
"When I'm old, I'll be a super rich rock star.", Lorcan explains with some confidence, "I'll still be writing songs of course and I suppose I shall write my memoirs - A Magical Life of Rock - it shall be called.", He begins to walk on, idly twirling the pole around in one hand.
"A…rock..star? I didn't know rocks were that special." replies Walburga, completely missing anything relevant to what young people find cool it seems. She moves closer towards him but keeps a wary eye on the pole he twirls so it doesn't touch her while she continues to walk. "Memoirs though would be good, outlining the deeds and details of your life's exploits. I hear they can sell very well to those with dull boring lives who don't dare to do extraordinary things."
Lorcan blinks and looks baffled. "Rock music… it's like… um, sort of jazz and swing, but cooler. More guitar, less saxophone. I'm telling you, it's the next big thing in music. And I'll the biggest. And I'll have millions of fans who'll be buying my memoirs! After they bought all my records of course."
"I find most music to be an assault on the senses, I don't think I've really heard anything about jazz..or swing..or whatever it is you're talking about. It sounds suspiciously like muggle stuff, be careful Lorcan. They'll deceive you into liking what they do." replies Walburga. She points to the louvres, "We can check these one at a time, go slowly. Peeve's could have just put things to throw us off the track too."
"Music's great, no matter where it comes from.", Lorcan shrugs, "I mean muggle music can never be as good as ours as they lack the proper instruments and enchantments. A human saxophone player can never keep up with an enchanted sax. But anyway, it's fun. You should try it, you know. Having fun." He follows her into the louvre and looks around curiously, poking one ashen chair carefully with the fishing rod to see if it might crumble."
"A saxophone?" repeats Walburga as they enter the large lake view louvre. She peers upwards as if expecting muggle artifacts to drop on her as she slowly moves. The girls though are checking chairs and moving items. "No, I doubt I'd find it fun. My type of fun is different I think than your type of fun." explains the Black, although not in a way that is mean. "I don't have time to play instruments."
"Saxophone. Big thing, made of brass, making noise.", Lorcan replies, perhaps teasing a little. He pantomines playing a sax, humming a tune along that some might recognize as being a recent hit by Jimmy Dorsey. "What's your idea of fun then?", he asks once he's done, "Standing on the mind-blown roof of the school?"
Walburga peers underneath a chair that a girl moves for her, and she pauses in silence…thinking.
Lorcan decides to let her think in silence and goes to have a closer look at the room.
"Doing what I need to do to further my family. If that means me volunteering to be Seeker for our quidditch team to not let Gryffindors win? I did it. If it means focusing on subjects because it will get me to the Wizengamot one day? I do it. If it means hurting someone to keep them in line with proper society? I'll be sure to do it. I think our lives are slightly different, Lorcan." using his first name. "I'm a Black, my life is already set, I merely follow the footprints on my map."
Lorcan abandons his half-assed search whhen she speaks and leans against a wall, arms crossed in front of his chest. "Isn't that terribly dull though?", he asks softly, "Following a plan someone else has mapped out for you? What of your own hopes and dreams?"
"Hopes and dreams?" repeats Walburga, the tone rising as she's confused. "I think it's wonderful that everything is set, it gives me purpose and lets me focus on things that aren't going to distract me from my goals. Most though don't get that about us Blacks, they think we do things merely out of fancy I suppose. Like that fight I had with that stupid Gryffindor boy yesterday afternoon. I had to do it."
The girls finish their searches and look to Walburga. "Alright…we'll continue in a moment." says Wally.
"While I'm all for beating up gobby muggle-loving Gryffindors, I wonder… I'd want to be doing things for myself and not because someone expects me to…" He hesitates for a moment and waits until the other girls start drifting off out of the room, before he asks quietly: "Is it true, your family has your husband picked out for you already?"
The group begin walking into the Forest View louvre, and to Lorcan's question Walburga says easily, "Of course, it's my cousin Orion. He'll be the one I marry and look after the Black family…I thought everyone knew. You don't think I have eyes for that stupid boy do you? Because I don't."
"For which stupid boy?", Lorcan asks curiously, "I… uh, I didn't even know you really until a few days ago. I know your family of course, as you know mine…" He shrugs and lets it go. "I don't know many people, really. I don't care about them. Most of them are tedious."
Walburga smirks, "Tedious, indeed. Just make sure you make friend with those who are worthwhile instead of just fleeting feelings and you'll do fine. And that stupid boy? Anson or whatever his name is, thinking he'll turn that lame house's quidditch abilities around singlehandedly. I can't wait, I have a few tricks we're training for on the team to beat him soundly." After an exhaustive search, she turns around and heads to another louvre.
"Well, yea, there's no need to lecture me, I've sisters who do that.", Lorcan mutters, wrinkling his nose. His eyes glaze slightly when she begins to talk about Quidditch. "I so don't care for that kind of stuff. It's boring.", be claims and begins to walk after her. He steps into the smaller louvre and peers down into the abyss curiously. "If it crumbles under our weight, we'll be dead.", he announces cheerfully.
Walburga says "We could then haunt students here, that wouldn't be a terrible fate!" as she actually grins at the thought. She stomps her small foot on the floor, listening to it groan a little. A sudden gust of wind though blows through, her robes fluttering behind her and her skirt swishing as her hair flies back too. "How many sisters do you have? Are they older or younger?" she asks.
Walburga points to the girls, "Keep searching here, it's smaller so you ought to do it quicker."
"More than I want really.", Lorcan grunts and withdraws from the chilly wind a bit. He seems scontent to let the other girls do the hunting for now. "Once's older, one's younger, both are a pain in the backside. "Sunny and Polly." He might say a bit more, but the girls retrieve a really strange object and he loses his train of thought.
Lorcan has found Pringle's Bagpipe!
"More than I want really.", Lorcan grunts and withdraws from the chilly wind a bit. He seems scontent to let the other girls do the hunting for now. "Once's older, one's younger, both are a pain in the backside. "Sunny and Polly." He might say a bit more, but the girls retrieve a really strange object and he loses his train of thought.
Walburga says, "I'd never name my children sunny or bright or flower or anything of that nature, it's jarring to the senses." The girls bring something out and it alarms Walburga, so foreign and odd as she whips her wand out defensively. "What -IS- that? Is it alive? Put it out of its misery!"
Lorcan narrows his eyes at the strange object too. "I've seen it before. It's a Scottish thing. It makes noise.", he explains and smirks. "I think the Scots consider it music, but it really just sounds like torturing house elves. Never thought that old geezer would have one of these lyigng. I think they're called Windbags."
Lifting her brows, she says "Torturing hose elfs?" with a rise in her tone sharing some interest there. "Oh, lovely! How does it work? Does it stretch their ears as they hang in the air suspended? Or perhaps you have them beat themselves with all those wand looking things." as she puts her own wand away.
Lorcan groans a little. "No. You don't use it to torture house elves. It makes noise which SOUNDS like someone's torturing a house elves." He's not afraid to take the 'Windbag' from the girl who's found it and tries to get a handle on how it's held. After a few minutes' of struggling with the various pipes he gives up. "Eh, I have no idea. Maybe we could bring it to make a sound.", he suggests and reaches for his wand.
Walburga says "Oh, it's one of those things that Peeve's took? Hah, wonderful. I think I might like an enchanted pair of windbags if it'll keep house elves in line. I have my own house elf, my grandfather gave him to me during yule last year - his name is Kreacher. I usually don't like them, but he is good. Perhaps this summer you can come over and see him, we can make him do things to himself."
Lorcan hands the Windbag back to the girl who found it. "We have our own house elves really, it's not like I need to look at one. But maybe I could come visit anyway.", he says hopefully, "Are you going to be in London for the whole break?"
Walburga says "No, we'll probably go off to Africa to explore some ancient ruins, or maybe Central America. Again, ruins. Lots of danger, but excellent to practice your magic in. I think the family will be hosting a very large event too this summer, but I'm not sure…I'll probably know more when I return home."
Walburga says "I want one of those enchanted windbags though, so if you ever find one, just buy it and let me know, I'll have it paid for."
"Well, what's the point in inviting me if you're not home?", Lorcan teases, "Sounds good though. Adventures, ruins, far-away countries… must be fun. We usually just go somewhere lame in Europe. Dad likes to pootle around the mountains and bogs and whatnot to find stuff for new potions." He looks a little dejected and pushes himself off the wall. "C'mon, break is nearly over, let's walk over there for another look, then go back, ok?"
Walburga nods, "Alright." to him saying to move on. "Girls, move out. There's one more I think before it's time for class." and out the group goes.
"You could always bring your guitar and practice, or perhaps bring a broom. That might be even better while they go off doing whatever potion stuff they're doing. Of course, you could always owl me."
Walburga steps out and she looks to the east and to the west. Which one? "Lets go over there." as she points to the east ands on. "You could always bring your guitar and practice, or perhaps bring a broom. That might be even better while they go off doing whatever potion stuff they're doing. Of course, you could always owl me."
The girls continue looking across the eastern parapet, although a few begin to talk about gossip. Occasionally, they bring things back to Lorcan such as a bucket, or a scrubbing brush to see if it's something potentially stolen by the Peeve's.
Lorcan shakes his head at their offerings and despite their earlier success he looks bored with things. "Better get back now. We could do another search some time?", he suggests and holds out his hand for the Windbag again. "Gimme, I'll take it both back to Pringle, okay?"
Walburga nods to Lorcan. "Alright, we better get back and I don't see anything around here. See you after class."
Down they walk until Walburga passes them by the great Counter. She peers at it, studying the grains and the numbers above and with a satisfied smirk and nod she says "We're winning, that's how it should be."