entrancelogs | You might belong in Gryffindor

You might belong in Gryffindor

Who: Gryffindors! (+ Friends/Visitors/People sneaking in)
Where: Gryffindor Tower: Common Rooms + Dorms. Gryffindor Table in the Great Hall.
When: During the event
Rating: Label as you go
Summary: Gryffindor Mingle Log
The Story:

Common Room
The common room is a circular room where Gryffindor students can relax after a long day of studying. It is full of squashy armchairs, tables, and a bulletin board where school notices, ads, lost posters, etc. can be posted. The common room is decorated in several shades of red, which is associated with the house.

There are many windows that look out onto the grounds of the school, and a large fireplace dominates one wall. The mantle of the fireplace is adorned with a portrait of a lion. The walls are decorated with scarlet tapestries that depict witches and wizards, but also various animals. There are also bookcases located in the room.

Dorms
The Gryffindor dormitories are also located in the Tower, with two doors leading off from the common room that open to spiral staircases. One of them leads to the girls' dormitory, the other to the boys'. The stairs to the girls' dormitory are enchanted to become a slide if any boy attempts to climb them, but not vice versa, since it was deemed that girls were more trustworthy than boys... (Look don't blame me it's canon)

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[Yes. Yes there was. Now let us never speak of it again.

Zacharie did have an advantage of being fairly short to begin with so he didn't have to duck down to far. The bust is big enough to cover them both luckily enough so there wasn't a worry to be had in that department.]

Sadly not. Ran out a few days ago!

[You did not get in and out of the Transfiguration classroom without a whole lot of luck and then some. There is a reason why he tries to keep his relationship with Professor Dreemurr as neutral as possible.

The footsteps round the corner and yup, guess who? It's the janitor. Zacharie actually holds his breath for this one. After years of being here, the janitor wasn't stupid and probably knew what to look for in misbehaving kids. Hopefully nothing bad happens until he gets to the end of the hallway...]

[Well, if he were hooked on the stuff that might explain what the heck his deal was. Tim crouches there - he's on the shorter side as far as someone his age is concerned, just shy of 5'6", and thankfully experienced enough in slinking about so that he can curl up in silence for extended periods of time. Which is exactly what he's doing now.

And there's the janitor, in all his raccoon-esque, disgruntled glory. Shit. Shit shit shit. He's smart, he knows exactly how to spot kids who are out past their curfew...]

Move, [Tim hisses between his teeth.] Move back. Back, before he checks behind -

[Nope, had one too many incidents with someone close to him to take it to the point of addiction. But that's not what we're here to talk about.

Zacharie moves back as fast as he can and if the strings tying the mask to his face don't wack Tim in the face when he turns his head he might catch him with an elbow as the seventh year makes a grab for his wand, firing off two Disillusionment Charms as fast as he can. Reflexes like these came in handy.

But now was the time to just not move. Everything's blue now. Er, or not. Either way if there's too much noise despite the spell, then he'll check and he's probably not dumb enough to fall for the charm at that point.]

[Tim nearly gets an elbow in the gut for his trouble, and it takes him a few seconds to realize what just happened. The familiar tingle of a Disillusionment Charm creeping over his skin takes some adjusting to, but that's not a luxury he thinks he's got at the moment.

He almost yelps - almost. But he bites back the bark of alarm that coils up in his throat, eyes darting nervously to the sight of a bushy, striped tail slowing as it pauses just at end of the hall.

He holds his breath, not daring to budge, not daring to breathe.]

[All his life Zacharie has loved cats and for the first time he's wishing one would go away. He'd have to apologize to Pablo when he saw him next.

Nevertheless that bushy tail bobs out of sight after a few minutes that felt like an hour and Zacharie lets go of the breath he was holding in an undignified wheeze and raises his wand to remove the charm. Then he just...leans back into whatever happens to be behind him.]

Now that was close! I believe I am down to three lives now. How are you holding up amigo?

[Tim, likewise, can feel his heart racing at one-forty BPM, raking a hand through his hair as he tries not to look as rattled as he plainly, plainly does. The Charm lifts off his shoulders for the second time this evening, and he knows they should keep moving, and he should head back to the dormitory so he doesn't risk getting caught any longer, but he's also just...yeah. He needs a minute here.

Maybe two minutes.]

Three? Really? That took five off your proverbial list? I thought this was normal for you.

[Which handily allows him to avoid answering the question in earnest, because he's just - he's fine. He's fine, just trying not to feel tachycardic.]

Yes it is! But I have also the privilege of spending an evening with him listing to all the delightful things he will do if he manages to catch me again. Naturally that only applies if he catches me but I believe it is sufficient to explain why he took more off me than normal.

[Zacharie has to hand it to him, the guy's creative. He stands up and dusts off his legs before looking at Tim.]

Are you truly fine amigo? We can take a moment if you need it.

Edited 2016-10-03 23:00 (UTC)

Don't worry about it.

[His breath's a bit short, but that's normal. He's got a shitty respiratory system and he knows it. One hand curls into a fist as he presses it over his chest, where he can feel his heart thumping madly. He just needs to not burst into an explosive chain of coughs, and he'll be fine. They can get back to the dormitories quietly and quickly and with a minimum of the hacking up of any lungs, problem solved.]

But, uh, yeah. He's a jerk. Agreed. Agreed, cosigned, concurred - I still dunno why he's allowed to do half the things he does.

[Zacharie keeps one eye on Tim and one on the hallway. He knew time was of the essence here but he wasn't so much of a jerk to yank Tim along when he needed to catch his breath. He did consider him a friend, after all.]

Perhaps nothing gives you a change in perspective on breaking the rules like a Boggart in the closet. Although I am fairly certain that he was in trouble for that, ah ah ha.

[He didn't mind too much the lake thing, as he found out exactly how big the squid was but he almost lost his mask. Not cool.]

I know a short cut back to the dorm if you wish to get back as soon as possible.

Yeah, all right.

[He'll take it. He doesn't know the castle's secrets half as well as some people he knows - and definitely nowhere near the level Zacharie's got to be acquainted with them, given his knack for turning up all over the damn place, even where he's not supposed to. He is kinda like a cat in that way, isn't he?

And like a cat, he just sorta ends up growing on you, whether you like it or not. Or, uh...maybe that's mold, actually. Either way, you're dealing with something fuzzy and oddly persistent and equally difficult to get rid of, so.]

Might be for the best. Unless you really wanna hospital wing escort.

[But it should be obvious from the wariness in his expression that he really does not wanna follow up on that.]

[That's probably one of the nicest things someone's thought about him in awhile.]

No, for that trip I am fine on my own. Thank you for the offer however! I'll more than likely stay at the dorm for a little while anyway. As for now, let us access the secret level.

[Down one more floor and Zacharie finds another bust of some other famous witch. One password later, it slides open and the seventh year slips inside. It's pretty cramped and the ceiling is kind of low, so sorry about your back. And watch your head Tim.]

[Honestly, Tim is just fine with that. This has been enough trouble for one day, and Miller's probably gonna flay him alive if he ever figures out that it was him who assisted Zacharie's raiding of those personal stores.

At least he's paired up with one of the few people who seems to know the castle back to front. Tim enters behind his...kind of friend, stooping awkwardly to cram himself into the space as the stone grinds shut behind them with the low grating sound of stone dragging over stone.

Tim threads his wand free from the pockets of his robes.]

Lumos. [And let there be light.]

[Zacharie blinks a few times as his eyes adjusts to the sudden change in lighting. He doesn't have to duck down that far due to his short stature at least and proceeds across the passageway. Luckily it's not that long so despite the rough nature of it it'll be a short journey.]

This is more than likely an inappropriate moment to bring this up but as a friend my curiosity is unmatched. How are things going, dear friend?

[He knows it's somewhat out of the blue but he feels a need to ask, for some reason.]

["Inappropriate" sure is one word for it. Another is "weird" and "kind of unprecedented" which isn't technically a word but rather is a phrase, but it applies. As accustomed as Tim is to Zacharie's...manifold quirks, sometimes the other guy manages to take him off guard.

Like now.

Tim is grateful that he's following Zacharie from behind, so the other man can't see the perplexed expression that flickers across his features.]

About as well as they can be, given that we've just broken like, a dozen school rules, [he says, with the rising intonation of mild exasperation.]

Ah ah ah. But isn't it better to stretch your legs? Metaphorically speaking, in this situation.

[Because yeah, no stretching in this place. He has to pause for a moment to bring up his mental map before starting off again. Shortcut yes, but there was more than one exit. Hopefully they don't wind up in the lake!]

Perhaps I am indulging a curiosity I do not normally. But as I tend to pop up when I'm needed and hear rumors often, sometimes it is hard to piece together someone's life from that. Hence my question.

[Har har. Hilarious, really.]

Sometimes stretching your legs gets 'em bitten off. Or cut off. There's a general amputation theme.

[He doesn't need to ask, really. "Rumors" are practically his currency, or his...secondary currency. Whichever. It doesn't really matter. He knows the thicket of rumors surrounding him is denser than anything, and there's no getting around it. It's just one of the perks of being him.]

What, a guy can't get meds by owl without people asking a few questions?

Apparently not. The strangest questions seem to fall for the most mundane acts.

[It's not like he hasn't heard. From ranging to the natural - "He's probably just sick." - to the absurd and that it's the "wrong" kind of drugs. You'd think if that was the case he wouldn't bother with sending them in via owl since that's a stupid act. But no, for a guy who seems pretty darn average, there were a hell of a lot of rumors.]

But again indulging into my pool of curiosity, would it make you happy to have those rumors spontaneously disappear into the void?

[Rumors only grow, yeah. He knows how that is. He's not exactly a guy with a bastion of friends clustered around him to fend off the vultures when they get hungry. He lets them have their way with him, mostly. It's easier. Simpler.]

Dunno how that'd work out. [He makes as if to shrug, which is a rather more complicated feat in this cramped tunnel-like space, thinks better of it, and forgoes the action.] People don't usually care what the truth is. It's the story they're interested in.

[The story of the weird, quiet, self-isolating Muggleborn who had unlabeled medication flown in by owl. He'd had to get that approved by the headmistress herself. But magic, while it can do many things, evidently can't fix the things that in him that are wholly and irrevocably broken.]

Eh eh eh. But there are more interesting stories out there and people can be convinced. I am quite a good talker, as you know, and can cook up rumors of my own. Bigger and better ones than that strange, mundane one.

[Because he wasn't in the business of getting into fistfights on behalf of friends, this was the next best thing. Zacharie was not one to get riled up by this and that, but there was something...irritating about that rumor. Perhaps it had to do with a girl he knew, and her own pills and rumors.

Maybe, but he's not going to say it.]

I've got a bad brain.

[He says it shortly, tiredly, abandoning the effort it would've taken to maintain some kind of bizarre story, and there's no point in keeping it concealed. Zacharie might be a lot of things, but "judgmental" isn't the vibe he'd say he gets from him. Maybe that's an error in Tim's own perception, but he can't bring himself to care.]

Just born wrong, I guess. So my doctors gotta mail my meds in so I don't have a fit in the middle of class. Only Hogwarts doesn't take normal post, so it's gotta come in by owl.

[There's no small measure of disgust in the words. He knows. He knows what he is, and he loathes it, and there's no point in pretending otherwise. He's not, and never will be, normal. That's just not in the cards for him.

Never was.]

['a bad brain'.

Zacharie doesn't judge much. He had his moments but they fell to the apathy that not many knew he possessed. Tended to keep things cheery. It's better that way.

But there are just some lines that shouldn't be crossed. And there's no mask that could hide the subtle edge in his voice when he speaks.]

I suppose that would happen. Nevertheless, I cannot truly do much about the rumors people may spin. However...if people decide to make your life difficult over this then I will be happy to have a chat with them.

[Or dunk them into a vanishing cabinet. Either or.]

[That offer is greeted, for a moment, with a long stretch of uncertain silence. He's not sure what to make of it. What Zacharie could possibly get from that. It's not any of his business - why would it matter what other people think of a guy he only knows peripherally, whom he occasionally drags off to get into myriad trouble. This is easily one of the most personal discussions he's ever had with the other guy - maybe even any other person at all, period.

After a long moment, a continuous extrapolation of a glaring quiet, Tim finally responds, simply:]

Why?

I had a friend.

[A good friend, perhaps something more if that was possible for someone like Zacharie. Didn't need a mask for that one, she knew what he was thinking anyway. Yeah, she was one of the closest people he ever walked away from. For the worse.

Speaking of walking, they've arrived. Another password later and they're outside, a skip and a hop away from the Gryffindor dorm. Now isn't that exciting.]

I believe I should find a way to clean that tunnel out. Quite musty.

[Ah.

Tim doesn't need much more of an explanation than that. He stops dead for a moment, considers the words quietly, and then - moves on. Keeps going.

The fact that Zacharie doesn't elaborate means a lot, he thinks. An awful lot. He scrambles out of the passageway and follows along to the portrait of the Fat Lady, the looming entrance to the common room he remembers.]

I appreciate it, [Tim says, at last.] Thanks.

[The sad thing is that once this event is over and done with, he'll never bring it up himself again. But he has no memory of that for now, so let's move on.]

Not a problem amigo. It is not an easy thing for anyone subject to it.

[A game locked on hard mode, but it's not quite fair to use game logic on it. Instead he gives the Fat Lady the password and endures her grumbling of being woken up in the middle of the night before they're back in the safety of the dorms.]

I plan on leaving after a quick nap so if I do not see you in the morning, see you sometime soon?

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postictal - 2016-10-08 02:12 (UTC) - Expand

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catinthemask - 2016-10-10 00:42 (UTC) - Expand

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You might belong in Gryffindor

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cw vague internalized ableism

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