entrancelogs | [OPEN MINGLE] Or perhaps in Slytherin

[OPEN MINGLE] Or perhaps in Slytherin

Who: Slytherin House! (And friends and visitors, of course!)
Where: Slytherin Common Room, Quidditch Pitch, various places around Hogwarts
When: Duration of the event
Rating: G (will edit as necessary)
Summary: Slytherin open log!
The Story:

The Slytherin common room was a long, low underground room with rough stone walls and ceiling, from which round, greenish lamps were hanging on chains. A fire was crackling under an elaborately carved mantelpiece ahead of them, and several Slytherins were silhouetted around it in carved chairs.

The common room has changed, somewhat, from its historical description, thanks to the decorative powers of one Mettaton. Though it still extends beneath the lake and thus retains a greenish, aquatic cast, it's much more brightly lit, its cold, damp atmosphere replaced with dazzling MTT-brand warmth. Even the giant squid, occasionally peering in as it does its rounds of the lake, seems just a shade more glamorous inside such a charming space.

Students - and a ghost or two - can be found nestled within its confines, plotting mischief around the fire, studiously doing their homework (as good students do), or perhaps trading Chocolate Frog trading cards. Though Slytherin is not especially well-known for its wide-open, trusting nature, Slytherins are known for not snitching on each other; if a guest or two were to creep in for a while, then odds are, nobody saw anything.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ katerina rolls her eyes. ]

[ she wishes to ignore the voice, and the person attached to it. it'd be easy; sometimes he makes it incredibly fun to do so, but he uses a version of her name that seems to only belong to him, and so she feels herself burst with irritation for it to only disappear as quickly. victor keeps things fun with being so predictable; katerina likes it, especially in the midst of her life picking itself up and becoming unfamiliar to her with all of its unpredictability. ]

[ pulling herself from where she rests comfortably in her armchair, she knows there's a good chance she'll lose it now with vasilka taking interest in the dark-haired quiet boy who has a raven katerina often likes to recite a certain poem to. ]

[ as she walks over to him, she does so: ]

Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December;
And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor.
Eagerly I wished the morrow;—vainly I had sought to borrow
From my books surcease of sorrow—sorrow for the lost Vasilka.

[ she comes to stand near poe, smiling down at him, before she tilts her head toward victor, then her eyes move to settle on vasilka. ]

Dobro momiche. [ why have a cat that could possibly outwit filch and not commend her for doing that? then, katerina rolls her eyes with a sigh, and it's not entirely for show. ] Vasilka, why do you trouble young Victor so much? [ she shakes her head, smile as sweet as her voice. it's evident she's trying not to laugh. she's in a good mood; she reaches out to scratch vasilka behind the ear. ] She wants to learn. You should teach her something.

_{[Poe hops a few inches closer to Vasilka and back again like a prize fighter sizing up the newest heavyweight champion in the ring, favoring Katerina with a caw and a flutter of wings at her approach. Both boy and raven have known the Petrovas a long time--this is an old routine between Elena's older sister and his familiar.

Victor won't shed any tears when his brothers finally graduate and stop taking up space in Gryffindor Tower, but it'll be strange when Katerina's gone. Not many walk around with poetry memorized; there won't be anyone around to recite it on the spot for Poe except for maybe Victor himself, but he doesn't have the same flair for it as she does. Not many people let him use their nickname or tag along to upperclassmen events, either, for that matter.

Every year he advances and more graduates leave, Slytherin House feels a little emptier.]}

The secondary side effects of a dizziness draught probably aren't what interest her. She knows Miller's going to demand a rewrite if she smudges my parchment now.

_{[He likes Potions, but everyone knows Professor Miller has the sympathy of a cement block to the face--and Vasilka knows it, too. It's no surprise she ended up warming the mantle of the Slytherin common room, she's an opportunist like any true Slytherin.]}

Did you ever think — [ katerina speaks as she sits, vasilka now in her arms and then in her lap. ] — that Vasilka is doing you a favour? [ she looks at him pointedly, brows raised. in truth, vasilka is simply annoying him for he's a kinder victim than most. he probably smells nice, or she simply wants to try and eat poe. she doesn't claim to understand her cat as much as aleksander pretends to have riveting and incredibly mature conversations with a cat that chooses to walk away from him mid-sentence. ]

[ she becomes comfortable in her chair, fingers scratching at vasilka's ears. ]

[ what she doesn't say: vasilka likes victor. there's something to be found in creatures with the same first letter of their names. vasilka likes to crawl all over everyone, but she barely keeps to a particular routine of showing aggressive affection as she does with victor. perhaps she can sense how lonely he feels, even if katerina simply ignores it. (what she doesn't know means it's not real — she's not leaving. not yet.) ]

You spend so much time with your nose against parchment that you miss out on the world around you. Live a little, Victor. You never know who's staring right at you.

_{[His eyebrows form their own peak.]}

... Cat familiars?

_{[The answer is your cat, Katerina. Your cat is staring right at him.

Victor lets the rest go without comment, but he knows what she really means, of course; he hears the words and the good intention behind them even if they fall on deaf ears. People mean well when they insist this broken part of his heart will recover, that the world will regain its color, that his mother would want him to keep being the sometimes sweet, sometimes shy boy he'd used to be and not let loss change him.

He knows all of it, but he still can't stop. He doesn't expect others to understand.]}

[ katerina rolls her eyes. ]

[ it's an expected response from victor. he never quite takes her obvious hints to befriend others outside of his own kooky little circle. would it really kill him to reach out to a cute girl? maybe even a cute boy? she has a feeling it might actually send him to an early grave. ]

[ there's only so much katerina petrova can do before she has to let others sink or swim. she's great at all the types of swimming strokes. she could even survive a wild current towing victor along. ]

[ vasilka tries to prove victor wrong by not looking at him at all. she's too busy trying to twist in katerina's arms, possibly so she could be wrapped up in victor's or trying to eat his homework. either way, vasilka likes victor more than half the students in their house do, and that's partly because vasilka knows victor exists. ]

Maybe I should leave her behind, just so you have one friend who can stand your dull sense of humour.

[ it's all said kindly, with no viciousness in it at all. vasilka's tail swishes against her arm, making her feel ticklish. ]

_{[Someone has to spend time in graves, or else who will find a way to prevent others from ending up in them? It's as simple as that.

He looks at Vasilka doubtfully. He can't remember seeing Vasilka snug Katherina's company--after all, Katerina is the one person she responds to, except maybe with the exception of Elena who speaks Bulgarian like her sister--but the cat squirms restlessly. Silly creature acts like she prefers haunting his desk over being held by Katerina.]}

I didn't realize Vasilka felt anything for me and my notebooks besides contempt.

_{[He's pretty sure "Victor" and "friend" don't sit side-by-side together in Vasilka's limited cat vocabulary. So many years, so many incidents of cleaning up her paw prints, tracked all over his desk in ink.]}

[ doesn't he know vasilka's been pulling his pigtails all this time? it's what aleksander would say — and has. if someone likes you, they'll go out of their way to show they've obsessive over any small thing about you. vasilka likes to try and eat victor alive, if for only that reason. ]

[ sometimes katerina thinks it's a pity aleksander can't quite make his way to hogwarts. as a muggle, he'd excel further than those who had been born and raised in wizard households, spooned magic and tricks and all the sorts of knowledge one anticipates to learn in school. the only piece of him that lingers is that damn cat. she knows he'd like victor. ]

[ the only person vasilka loves more than katerina is someone whom she shouldn't love at all. perhaps her cat truly is her familiar, and her shadow. ]

[ looking down at her cat, she brushes her fingers through her fur. ] Perhaps she's helping you with your homework. [ she glances up at him, and picks vasilka off her lap so her cat can stretch and climb onto the table. she doesn't immediately pounce onto victor's homework, but she does eye the feather of his quill. ]

What are you boring yourself over, anyway?

_{[Victor is well-versed in having his figurative pigtails pulled... and notebooks stolen, and robes sabotaged, and food laced with hiccup powder (the list goes on), but perpetuated by brothers who he's almost certain don't care for him. Obsessive dislike, he might know a little bit about. Obsessive like isn't something he can say he's familiar with.

He's... still pretty sure Vasilka is out to get him. But because it's Katerina and Victor does like her, he lifts his gaze from the cat and says nothing, giving Vasilka the benefit of the doubt.]}

It's Potions. It's due tomorrow.

_{[That said, he doesn't sound too concerned. Assuming his essay stays paw print-free, he still has a few hours of cram time left.]}

You're in luck. [ she smiles. vasilka doesn't do anything but let her tail sweep slowly, as though she's enjoying herself but not so certain that she is. it's almost like she's a cat that isn't known for embodying the traits of a slytherin: she's simply innocent, not at all cunning, not at all a predator who likes to poach victor frankenstein. ] That's what she's best at.

[ vasilka tiptoes along the desk, but doesn't venture toward victor's parchment just yet. it's almost like she's trying to show she's a cat who's turned over a new leaf — or she's being cunning, leading him to believe he's safe for now. ]

[ honestly, vasilka has a crush on victor. it's what katerina's convinced of. ]

[ katerina leans forward, resting her chin on her hand, and tilts her head to peer at his handwriting. ] Please tell me this is you being a nerd and rewriting a paper that would've been fine during the first edit.

_{[He wrinkles his nose. Are you having him on, Katerina? It's not nice to tease your underclassmen, you know. (It helps that he's an easy target, too smart than any boy should be in some areas, and too naive in others.)

Poe, his territory on the edge of the desk invaded twice now, jumps to high ground on Victor's shoulder where he watches with his bright black eyes. Victor, meanwhile, blinks at the older girl. She wants him to be an uber nerd and do three rough drafts for every paper? And here he'd thought she was allergic to associating with the freaks and geeks at Hogwarts.]}

No...?

_{[What's the right answer here?]}

It slipped my mind. You know Professor Miller. Unless it's a doctor's note, he doesn't care what your excuses are.

_{[Ergo, last minute rush job.]}

[ katerina doesn't associate with people who rub her the wrong way. if they're not worth her time, she ensures they know it. victor can be as much of a nerd as he likes, he'll never beat the one that's waiting for her back home. (how many times had aleksander gone through her textbooks and asked her question upon question, and then expected the same in return?) ]

[ she looks at poe, and wonders when vasilka will try and claim victor's shoulder as her own. she doesn't think she's wrong to believe her cat likes victor. he's lanky and bony and sometimes lets her have her own way — in vasilka's mind, of course. ]

It slipped your mind. [ when she repeats it, it sounds like she doesn't believe him. ] What were you doing that made it slip by Poe?

[ katerina petrova, your resident slytherin mom??? ]

_{[Aleksander has some impressive nerd cred to beat out this mini-nerd in the making. God help them all if Victor and Aleksander ever have a chance to spend an extended amount of time in each other's company beyond the odd photo of him Katerina shows around, or a phone between the two lovers heard in snippets while visiting Elena's house. They'll never shut up about magical theory.]}

Yes. _{[He squints a little. Does he sound convincing yet? Katerina and Elena sound remarkably similar when they put on that "disappointed school marm" tone.]} I got busy with other reading and lost track of time, but Potions has always come easily to me. You've helped Elena with draughts before, haven't you?

_{[Maybe if he distracts Katerina with her academic achievements she'll stop staring at him like that. He can only handle one judgemental stare at a time--and Vasilka's doing just fine as it is. Covertly, cups his hand around the edge of his parchment, making a defensive wall of his arm that Vasilka will have to try and climb over to get at the wet ink. (He really doesn't want to have to start from scratch.)]}

[ katerina isn't easily distracted. her favourite pasttime is people-watching. when her and aleksander are at a muggle cafe, they enjoy making up stories of the people who pass by. she has a feeling aleksander would create a great, incredible tale for victor, explaining his antisocial tendencies and vasilka's obsession with him. ]

Vasilka, ostavi go na mira.

[ her cat doesn't even acknowledge her, windswept and thick black fur remaining as suck. her yellow eyes stay on victor as she watches him carefully. the only sign vasilka gives that she's listened to the bulgarian is her tail stops sweeping along the table for a noticeable few moments before it starts up once again. ]

[ katerina relaxes her gaze, even though the corners of her lips curve upward enough to inform victor she's not so easily lead astray. ] I did. [ she sits up a little straighter, playing the part she thinks he's devised for her. if she puffs out her chest, she'll appear smug. ]

[ her smile forms into a properly sly shape as she teases, ] Are you asking for my help?

... What are you saying to her?

_{[Note to self: make more of an effort to learn Bulgarian. If he ever has to translate a Bulgarian text on raising the dead, it could come in handy... along with maybe translating those eerie, unblinking stares of Vasilka's.

To be quite honest, when he'd first been introduced to Katerina's familiar all those years ago when Vasilka had looked to his child eyes like a giant, fluffy carnival toy, he'd thought she must be a nice thing to hold at night like a stuffed animal, but he's since seen her hunt mice and unruly first years alike. She's like a fluffy carnival toy that could take your eye out if provoked.

Victor, putting on his best assuming expression, gazes up at Katerina. Come now, is this the face of someone who'd try to game the system? He would, but not over this.]}

Just with Vasilka. If she's in one of her mischievous moods, I'd appreciate it if you kept her off of my books.

_{[Please? Pretty please? Has he mentioned you're one of his favorite Petrovas?]}

Edited 2016-10-25 08:30 (UTC)

[ what she's saying to vasilka will remain her own little secret. it's the one thing she'll take from her family, the bulgarian she had been raised to live and breathe. perhaps it hadn't been a good idea to speak to her cat in bulgarian when she was an overly fluffy kitten, but it'd been katerina's instincts that had done the walking, and it meant she had the ability to assert power over the slytherin menace. ]

[ she took pleasure in the small things. ]

[ katerina would like to believe she can see right through victor, but it's neither here nor there if he so much as has left his work to the last minute. how does it affect her, anyway? she'll be long gone by the time he seems to develop a better habit of keeping on top of his work. ]

What will you give me in return? [ her smile isn't quite as carefree or teasing as it could be. katerina likes to barter, even if it's for something small like time. ] She's a very stubborn cat.

_{[This is starting to smell like extortion. He half-wonders if Katerina had sent Vasilka over here on purpose just to bug him--that wouldn't surprise him. His and Elena's siblings share a few things in common, and that includes making their lives hell sometimes.]}

My gratitude?

_{[Poe swivels his head and chirps as if to second that motion. What else could Victor give her that she'd actually want? He doesn't have any personal belonging he'd imagine she'd be interested in borrowing, or any rare ingredients in his trunk that she couldn't go out buy herself. He can't put her in touch with any interesting people, considering that the Petrovas count as the few interesting people he knows. Not to mention, a seventh year already has more privileges on school grounds than a fifth year.]}

What do you want?

[ truthfully, katerina had barked at vasilka to go torment some gryffindors who had been giving one of the younger slytherins trouble. her cat has already completed her task, even if katerina is impatient to see the results. (eating things, harassing owls, stealing robes, socks, photographs. vasilka's as cheeky as katerina once had been, if now she's much more worse.) as for victor, vasilka simply likes him. it's annoying, yet good for katerina when she needs to find her cat and locates her stalking victor. ]

[ vasilka's taste. it's almost the same as aleksander's — poor. ]

[ with her brow slightly arched, she watches him in amusement. ] Your gratitude is as weak as your excuses. [ she doesn't say it as unkindly as she could, merely stating it as one would reminding another water is wet and magic outside of hogwarts is frowned upon. ] But you're good at potions, aren't you? Or will you lie and tell me you're good at nothing at all?

_{[Ouch. Katerina has her claws out today, it would seem. Victor takes a fortifying breath to steel himself in case her price is using him as a scratching post.]}

You've known me all this time. Do you think I would lie about something like that?

_{[Maybe when he was younger, a more shyly naive boy quicker to modesty. Not anymore. There's a hard determination to the way he views his capabilities now--and he's no longer shy to insist he has more potential than most of the students in his year put together.]}

Top of the class. Why?

I need the student who's at the top of the class to do something for me that could or could not be illegal. [ katerina shrugs her shoulders, and flippantly adds with some flair, ] I don't know.

[ katerina purposefully doesn't answer his question. does she think he'd lie about something like that? she knows he'd consider it. would he lie to her? possibly not. katerina's gone out of her way to know the strengths and weaknesses of the people she considers to be decent company, and victor's not an exception. ]

[ she arches her brow, and tilts her head. ] Does that sound like you?

[ vasilka, as if needing to ensure that victor thinks highly of himself, moves in a bid to nudge him — or quite possibly begin to eat him alive. she's the type of girl who'd do that, after all. ]

_{[He wrinkles his nose, unsure. Hypotheticals are suspect when he can only see the tip of them, like an iceberg concealing its real shape and size underwater.]}

I don't know, either. It would depend on what you want and what you're asking.

_{[Hypothetically speaking, of course. He's not adverse to illegality if breaking the rules serves a purpose, but he's also fifteen and reliant on his family's allowance. He's not in much of a position to turn himself into a wizarding criminal mastermind if he still wants to have a future by the day he comes of age.

A bump to his arm startles him; Vasilka butts her head against his forearm like she's emphasizing the point. Accept this mission or we'll kill your family. He's pretty sure he's seen this scene play out in a muggle movie once, only Vasilka was six feet tall and covered in tattoos.]}

[ vasilka's the godfather of all cats. brushing the side of her face against victor's arm, she begins to move, letting her cheek trail against his skin as though he's merely the bottom skirting of a couch. ]

[ she watches her cat for a moment, wondering if vasilka will try and take a bite out of him, and finds that she doesn't care. if vasilka does, it'll be amusing to see how victor takes it — with either a scream, yelp, or attempting to appear as though he has little to no nerve endings beneath his skin. ]

[ studying him for a moment, she breaks when she rolls her eyes. ] I need you to make me a potion that's inspired by forget-me-not.

_{[Vasilka, what are you doing. Going still on the cat's ministrations, Victor gives the older girl a look as if to say this wasn't part of the deal.

Getting sandwiched between a cat familiar and witch really, really isn't how he saw his night going.]}

But why would you need me for something like that? You have the skills for it.

_{[As far as he sees it, Katerina could easily take care of potion by herself with less fuss. It doesn't make as much sense to outsource talent when you have enough to get the job done alone, as far as Victor's concerned.]}

[ katerina sighs, exasperated victor isn't catching on. for such a smart boy, he's a little thick. ]

[ leaning against the table, she folds her arms and looks him dead on. it almost kills her pride having to voice it aloud, although she knows victor will never be able to use it against her. it's still a weapon, and it's a weapon katerina prefers to keep up her sleeves and in her own possession. ]

[ but victor's her friend. she doesn't ever need to feel like she can't trust someone who wouldn't exactly go out of his way to call her his own. ]

Because if I make it I'll feel guilty. If you make it for me, then I won't feel guilty if I ever have to use it.

[ as if trying to help victor piece together the very dense pieces of katerina wishing to create a plan for making someone forget her, vasilka, the cat given to her by her muggle boyfriend, begins to lick his hand. ]

What?

_{[Was that supposed to be an explanation? Forgetting all about Vasilka for a moment, he draws his brows together. On his shoulder, Poe joins in, turning his head to fix her with one beady black eye.

It's not the kind of answer he was expecting, and he doesn't know quite what to make of it. Students aren't supposed to be making memory potions due to the risks, but it's not as though they're one of the Unforgivable Curses. Since when are the Petrova girls intimidated by anything?]}

Why would you feel guilty?

_{[And more importantly, who is she planning on using it on? That would be his next question if not for Vasilka drawing her rough cat tongue along the back of his hand in an almost strangely affectionate manner. Victor doesn't seem sure who he should be paying more attention to--Katerina or Katerina's shadow.]}

[ katerina rolls her eyes. men. ]

[ she hates she needs to spell it out. her intentions should be clear, even though they're hidden beneath a murky surface. victor only knows what she lets him, and katerina has forgotten, only a little, that she's kept her cards very close to her chest for a reason. if she has to end things with aleksander, she wants it to be clean. a clean, nice cut, like a sharp axe splitting a neck nicely open. it's not a thought she gives much oxygen to, but katerina has become more worried, needing to layer plan upon plan like she's creating a stacked cake, just in case something were to happen. ]

[ still. victor should just know. ]

[ on impulse, she leans forward even more closely. vasilka takes this as an opportunity to start nosing victor's wrist, searching for his pulse. ]

[ giving him a look of exasperation, she speaks slowly and condescendingly, her voice remains hushed. ] Because if I need to leave Alek, I need him to forget everything. You need to make it so I won't feel horrible about my actions. [ she looks to vasilka, finally noticing her cat's attempting to leave her mark on victor. ] Mŭzhete sa glupavi.

[ vasilka doesn't agree. ]

[OPEN MINGLE] Or perhaps in Slytherin

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