[OPEN MINGLE] Or perhaps in Slytherin

[fulllifeconsequences]

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.

Comments

[determinedest]

Duh.

[Their smirk is one-sided, laden with an excited bent. They're not about to tell Mom or Dad, of course - but Chara's an exception to every rule. Even if they're sure they're meant to be included in the scope of that "anyone" phraseology.

But Chara isn't just anyone.]

[eatsyourscience]

[Souji eyes them. Having been their quidditch captain for awhile now, he knows how Frisk and Chara function as two halves of a whole.]

You know what I'm saying here.

[determinedest]

And I said, duh.

[Their proverbial fingers are crossed, but c'mon. It's not like Souji's gonna have to worry about it after he graduates.]

[eatsyourscience]

[SIGH.

Well, Souji can hope for the best. He really does trust Chara for the most part--they just tend to do stupid and/or violent stuff at times. Frisk, being the calmer of the two, can at least leverage some about of control over that kind of thing. He hopes.]

Alright, then. Whenever you're ready.

[determinedest]

I'm ready now.

[Check, checkmate - they don't care anymore. They've lost all interest in the game. They've got their gaze fixed on Souji with a bright intensity.]

What's the first step?

[eatsyourscience]

The first step is to find somewhere other than the common room.

[Souji gets to his feet, retrieving his book.]

Come on.

[determinedest]

[Game abandoned, Frisk gets to their feet, leaving the pieces in whatever configuration they left them last. They try not to skip delightedly as they follow Souji - they might be a second year, but they don't have to act like a kid.]

Where were you thinking?

[eatsyourscience]

There's a storage room a little further down below ground. Rocket barely ever uses it, so it's a good place for this kind of thing.

[And there are rats and spiders, so it's an especially good place for this kind of thing.]

[determinedest]

[Woah, surprises all around. A room of the castle they've actually not heard about. Still, it benefits everyone involved rather nicely, so Frisk follows with an eager resolve to their steps. They don't bother to keep the mild surprise from their voice.]

Didn't know this was down here.

[eatsyourscience]

I'm surprised.

[He'd always figured Frisk and Chara knew everything there was to know about hiding places.]

I've done a lot of exploring, though.

[When they reach their destination and Souji gets the door open--it doesn't want to cooperate and shrieks a little in the process--several rats skitter out of the light coming in. Souji nods after them.]

They'll be good practice.

[determinedest]

[They certainly would like to think so, but two second years with a couple of stern parents have considerably more limitations on where they can go than they'd like, sadly.]

For the curses?

[Their shoulders tighten with resolve. This might be dark stuff, dangerous, but that's not about to stop them. They're determined to learn what they can about these sorts of things. They could end up being the difference between life and death.]

So where do we start?

[eatsyourscience]

[Souji nods.]

You have to have something to practice on, and I don't intend to let you practice on me.

[He actually starts out be using one of the curses: the imperium curse. There's a rat that hadn't had the sense to hide fully, and now Souji's got it walking over toward them, unable to resist.]

That depends on which one do you want to learn first. They can all be easy, but the one you can learn the most easily can depend on you yourself.

[determinedest]

[That's a good point. They certainly don't want to learn how to - how to kill anyone. At least, not...not like that. Their eyes light up as Souji gets one of the rats to patter over their way with a flick of his wand, watching eagerly.]

I guess...that one, then. The one you just used.

[It seems the least - well, maybe the most forgivable of the unforgivables. Or is that paradox?]

[eatsyourscience]

[Souji would agree with Frisk - unless the caster is an asshole, it doesn't typically cause the victim pain.]

The Imperius curse. The spell for it is "imperio." [One wonders how Souji got good enough at it to not say that when he cast it on the rat.]

Tell me what you know about it.

[determinedest]

It controls the mind of whoever you say it to.

[But that's common knowledge, as far as they know. Though they don't really know much, and that's why their here.]

I also hear that you...um, you have to mean them. The curses, when you say them. But no one really explains what that means.

[eatsyourscience]

You understand once you use them.

[Souji has never used the killing curse, but the other two? He's not innocent when it comes to their use.]

Have you ever wanted someone to hurt? It doesn't matter the reason. You just want them in pain. Any kind of pain.

1/2

[determinedest]

[A momentary darkness flickers across their features. Is it like...like a reverse Patronus, maybe. Instead of summoning the happy memories, you think of the bad, the dark, the ugly. You rake away the ashes concealing those live coals and let the fire creep up into your soul in a scalding inflorescence.

Think of the people they want hurt.

Think of the people they want to burn for what they did.

Think of the people that laughed when they cried, kicked them when they opened their arms, set them down on a park bench and said they'd be right back.
* I just couldn't handle the responsibility.
Think of the people that hurt them.]

[determinedest]

[Frisk raises their wand, and says without hesitation:]

Imperio.

[The rat jerks under their control and, with a vicious, savage excitement coiling in their cut, Frisk tells it to roll onto its back and play dead. It shivers against the order, trembles on the flagstones.

"Don't you dare fucking talk back to me, you little ░██▒█."

And then the rat flips onto its back obediently, paws curled comically over its chest.]

[eatsyourscience]

[Souji lowers his wand, watching this. Frisk certainly has the idea.]

This curse can be pleasant for the one under it. They don't have to worry about any responsibility for their actions. But that doesn't mean their actions won't hurt others or them after it's removed.

[He's imagined it in many ways, how much someone being controlled could ruin their whole lives. It wouldn't matter that they had no choice: the damage would have been done and couldn't be undone.]

[determinedest]

[Good, Frisk almost says, viciously. But that'd be creepy. So they don't.

They keep the rat where it is, unsure of what to do with it next. Whether to just relinquish control and...let it go.]

Is there a way to turn it off? Or does it just...go away on its own?

[eatsyourscience]

"Turn it off..." That's probably the best way to put it. You have to stop controlling them of your own will.

[Though there's something that bears mentioning.]

This curse can be resisted. Not often, but by some powerful wizards.

[determinedest]

Not something like a rat, then.

[They twitch their wand. It lashes its tail once, then obediently rolls onto its feet.]

It would take...practice. To resist it. Wouldn't it?

[eatsyourscience]

[Souji nods. He doesn't think he could, if he had to. He won't say that though.]

Animals are easier than humans to use this spell on, but you can still do harm with them, if that's your intention.

[And while they still have control of the rat...]

Do you want to stop here for today? Or do you want to learn the next one?

[determinedest]

What's the next one?

[He already knows their answer. Some part of them, if admittedly a small part, wants nothing more than to give in. But most of them rejects that notion utterly. They don't give up. That's not what they do.

So they keep going.]

[eatsyourscience]

The Cruciatus Curse.

[Raising his wand again, he takes advantage of Frisk's hold on the rat to cast the spell. This time he does have to speak the word - crucio - out loud. He's less skilled with this one, because, really, he doesn't like to inflict unnecessary pain. But he's certainly used it.

The rat writhes, squeaking at first, and then giving a high pitched, animal scream of pain. Souji keeps it up, waiting for Frisk to speak. Do they really want to go on?]