Suits of Armor
 

The castle houses several suits of armor but, this one seems to be a particularly popular place for meetings between friends.

Deerrell!
 

Theodore strolled along the second floor corridor towards the end of a long day of classes, his book bag and arms laden with tomes for his varied, challenging courses. Being a "smart" kid wasn't always fun and games, and those of intellect nearly always ended up with shoulder and back problems from the books that they constantly lugged around, but Theodore didn't complain. It was only this particular pair of robes, which always skimmed the ground and threatened to cause an embarrassing tumble, that got on the sixth year's nerves.

Just as he began to pass one of the large, rusty suits of armor, Theodore ungracefully tripped over a small crack in the stone floor. Landing flat on his back, the five, large tomes he had been carrying in his arms had gone flying here, there, and everywhere. It took the fifteen-year-old a moment to realize what had happened. It was only as he heard the squeaky, rusty, clanging laughter emanating from the suit of armor, and thus echoing inside of it's hollow depths, that brought him to his sense. He tried to move, but he struggled like a caterpillar in a cocoon: his overly-large cloak had wrapped him up like a burrito. Only Theodore's curly head peeped out from the black, satin tortilla that was his school robes.

He wasn't sure why he randomly had Christmas tunes stuck in his head, but he did. So Braeden Stonem walked down the corridor, on his way over to dump his bag and books in the Gryffindor tower, humming the cheery tunes to himself. Kinda made him wish it was that time of year again.

As he made his way down the corridor, Braeden caught sight of a large roll of dark fabric on the floor. Huh… Who randomly decided to leave their robes on the floor, like that? As he came closer to the robes, Braeden slowed his footsteps and looked around cautiously. No one around. Did the owner of these seriously just take them off, dumped them to the floor, and ran off like this was the most normal thing in the world? Sheesh. This term was destined to be a weird one; first that ship in the lake, now this…

The Gryffindor boy was just about to pick up the robes in the hopes of finding something in them that would help him identify the owner, but, just as he reached out to them with his right hand, the robes stirred and from them popped out a pale head covered in curly hair.

"AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!"

MERLIN! What the bloody he--
Braeden had jumped a few feet back back (and into the air, in the process), and now stood a safe distance away from the haunted robes, his heart beating so fast it felt like it was crawling up his throat and threatening to jump out his parted lips any second. Brown eyes wide, Braeden stared at the sight of the robes laying on the floor with a head popping out of them before realizing… Wait a minute… That wasn't just any head! It was… Theodore!

"Th--Theo?" stuttered out the frightened Cowardly Lion. He approached the figure a little cautiously, his eyes fixed to the blue ones of the American boy. Oh yes. This was definitely Theo. "Merlin! You nearly gave me a heart attack!" said Braeden with a sigh of relief, his lips curving into one of those goofy smiles of his. "You alright there, mate? What're you doing, just lying around waiting to prank some innocent bloke when he least expects it?" he asked, amused just by the thought of this because it seemed like such a non-Theo thing to do.

"AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!"

Theodore had shrieked in unison with the Gryffindor. His ears had picked up footsteps along the corridor, which had increased the tension in his burrito-wrapped limbs. The one who had been approaching had been silent and before the Ravenclaw knew it, an inquisitive head had popped right into his line of vision. His chest heaved up and down as adrenaline coursed through his veins, this minor fright having scared the poor kid out of his wits. Not sure of who this person, or thing, was, he wriggled about in his makeshift cocoon in an attempt to disentangle himself and escape before he was attacked.

Unfortunately for Theodore, he merely succeeded into rolling onto his stomach. He lay face down as a familiar voice reached his ears, one more soothing than the yell of surprise he had heard earlier. His head perking up, his blue eyes looked into the brown gaze of Braeden Stonem. Of course. Only this pair put together could be the epitome of clumsiness and misadventure. "Speaking of heart attacks..." He mumbled before deciding that it was better not to relate how frightening the sight of what he had assumed to be a lion had been moments before.

"Oh, nothing, nothing." Theodore mused, speaking in a playful, faux-serious tone that was only slightly laced with sarcasm. "I've really gotten into Herbology, Care of Magical Creatures, and the earthly studies. I figured the best way to learn about creatures that transform would be to make a cocoon for myself. While down here, I figured I could also study the bacteria that lies on the floor." He laughed heartily, a chuckle which died down into something pitifully helpless. Nearly no one understood his odd sense of humour, so why impress it on his acquaintance? Glancing from the stone floor and back to Braeden, he gave the fellow sixth year a look that said: "Help?"

Braeden listened with amusement as the curly-haired head that seemed to just sort of be floating on all the dark robes spoke, going on and on about a list of classes and the studies of bacteria and other creatures. All in all, Braeden got lost somewhere halfway through Theodore's joke, but that wasn't enough to wipe the amused, lopsided smile from his face. It wasn't the joke that was funny. It was Theodore and his… rather unusual, oddball personality. Kinda made Brae feel at home, since he himself obviously wasn't the most "normal" character in this school.

There was a silence filling the air when Theodore finished speaking and Braeden just watched him with amusement before realizing - oh! The boy needed help! Moving quickly, the Gryffindor boy used the position of Theo's head to assume where his shoulders and arms were, which he then proceeded to fish out of the mess of robes and then used to pull the equally lanky boy up to his feet.

"These robes look a bit big on you, mate," noted Braeden now that he had a chance to look at Theodore standing rather than all wrapped up like a burrito on the floor. "You sure you'll be able to make it through the day without ending up on the floor again?" he asked with an amused grin; clearly he was teasing. But he was also offering help. Maybe he could lend the American boy some of his old robes, the ones that were too short for him now?

Theodore, finally unwrapped from the entangle of of oversized cloth, shook off the embarrassment of the situation like a wet dog shaking off droplets of water. As his limbs loosened up, he lent a smile to his kind friend. "Thanks, Brae. Who knows how long I would've been stuck if you hadn't come along and saved me." At that moment, he had to resist flushing from embarrassment. The way he spoke, it sounded as if the Ravenclaw had been a damsel in distress and that the Gryffindor had been his knight in hipster armor. Oh, the humiliation: Damsel Dumble and Braeden the Lion-Hearted. So much for thinking before he spoke.

"Oh," Theodore, while bending down to grab his books once more, "I'll be alright. It's only this pair of robes that I bought that turned out to be a little bit... wonky." The American was still getting used to British lingo, his accent the same but his slang differentiating day by day from what he had been accustomed to. "I can probably fix them magically. I just haven't had the time. Busy first week at a new school, y'know." The sixth year laughed it off, getting used to the idea that he would probably always embarrass himself in one way or another in front of people that he wanted to impress.

Having finally grabbed the five textbooks from the floor, Theodore balanced them on one arm as he quickly adjusted the strap of his leather book bag on his shoulder. At the moment, it was digging into his shoulder with the weight of the books that it carried. No matter; he would make it to the dormitories soon without hopefully taking another tumble. "Oh!" He spoke out of the blue, making to fish one hand into his bag but figured it would be fruitless with the weight of his things. "I've been meaning to ask someone about... well, my head of house gave me a permission slip this week that I need to have my parents sign. What exactly is, erm, Hogsmeade?" Being a transfer, he had no idea what the village was and what sublime treasures it offered. Maybe it was an educational facility for older students? Or maybe a dance club?

Serena's was still panting when she arrived on the second floor. Well, she really needed to talk to her mum about her battery enhancing spells, they obviously didn't work! She was looking for Mordred, his Pan-Pipes were still in her pocket, she felt her face go red at the thought of yesterday.

"Fourth floor....Third Floor...just a little bit more Mordred..." Mordred thought inside his head, slightly panting. Half-way through the staircases changed. Mordred groaned inwardly. He knew he had to take a detour again to get to the dungeons. "Second floor." he said to himself and started to sprint. "Better run for it before the staircase changes again."

BAM.

Mordred bumped in to someone, and he slid across the floor. "What in Merlin's beard?!" he said as he pulled himself up. He wasn't in a good mood that day, from the gardens, to the bathroom situated up in the sixth floor and now he literally mopped the floor with his robes and school shirt. He looked behind him ready to lash out at this person.

"Will you look at where you're ---" he trailed off and saw who it was and immediately helped her get up. "Serena! Are you okay?" he asked.

Serena went red for several reasons at once. "Um, Hi" She said to him and then remembering why she was looking for him she pulled out his Pan-Pipes. "I found them in the Stu... In the Terrace when you and Daisy went off somewhere" She wasn't about to tell Mordred she'd heard every word. She hadn't been eavesdropping, just wanting to talk to them, then she had remembered Oklan and it had all come back to her...

"Right." Mordred said as he took his pan flute. "Thank you." he added as he placed it inside his pocket. He wasn't dead after all. "I'm sorry about what happened back at the passageway. I should've just explained things." he then looked away. It still upsets him. Looking down at Serena, she seemed to be in deep thought, and her redness wasn't normal. "Are you okay? You don't look so well." he said.

Serena shrugged, trying to look nonchalant. "It's OK, really" She began to squeeze the acorn she still had from yesterday. She was about to initiate some kind of conversation when the suit of armour behind her rattled threateningly. Serena jumped back and looked at it. "D'you think there's a Boggart in there?"

Mordred stepped back as he took out his wand. "Could be." he said glancing at Serena. "It's best we step back." Mordred gestured her to step back still facing the armor wand at the ready.

Boggart... Serena thought Now what do I know about Bog... Oh No... Serena didn't just step back, she jumped backwards and tripped over her robes onto the floor. Swearing under her breath, Serena gingerly stood up.

Mordred looked behind him to see Serena trip on her robes and stand up. "You really don't look so well." Mordred faced her as he kept his wand under his sleeve. "What's going on Serena?" he said crossing his arms slightly tilting his head.

Still squeezing the Acorn tightly in her left fist she muttered "Wrong, nothings wrong, I'm really OK." She still could remember Johnathan when he had found out, he and Oklan, just sitting there, talking about her. Wasn't fair Serena thought Always me... Not fair. The Suit of Armour with the Boggart in it was still rattling, threatening to break free. Serena took another hasty step back. In an unnaturally loud and high pitched voice Serena said "Honestly, I'm completely fine" Then, without warning, she burst into tears.

Mordred looked behind him as the suit rattled. Mordred figured if the boggart did come out of the suit he'd know what Serena's afraid of. At least he knows what to do with it. He turned back to Serena to find her suddenly crying. Mordred stared not knowing what do.

"Great. A crying girl and a boggart." he thought.

He grabbed Serena's arm and dragged her to the second floor's corridor away from the cursed suit. If that boggart happens to burst out of it, he'd have to face it and clean up the mess after. And if he was unlucky, he might just lose house points for defeating that boggart.

Heh… heh… HEH HEH HEH… HAH… HAHAHAHAHA!!
Braeden tried not to, but he couldn't help snorting as he hid his laughter when Theodore thanked him for 'saving his life', as if the American boy had been chased down by a fire-breathing dragon and flying tarantulas before Braeden came to the rescue. Gee… Why couldn't all people see him this heroically!? Better yet, why couldn't the girls see him in this hero-like light?! Boo hoo… to everyone else, Brae would forever be Mr. Goofypants.

"I can imagine," said Braeden with a nod as Theo explained how busy he'd been lately, adjusting to the new school. Poor bloke, he seemed like he could use a nice, kind tour guide… Again!
And this is where Braeden Stonem came in!
Heh… YEAH. The Braeman to the rescue… again! he thought smugly to himself, a goofy little smirk curving his lips as he seemed to unconsciously take on a new, hero-like pose. Wind came out of nowhere and blew through his lion's mane, adding on to the hero-like effect.

The record scratched when Theodore spoke again, though, this time asking about Hogsmeade. Braeden's eyebrows raised as he eyed the permission slip. "Ah, Hogsmeade…" muttered the boy with one of his childlike lopsided grins. "Hogsmeade is nothing but the most amazing place in all of Europe!" Okay, maybe that was a bit of an exaggeration. "It's a little village that's near the school… It's pretty wicked, they've got the best candy and joke shops, you'll love it," he added with a nod. "Just get that permission slip signed and you can come with us - Riley, Rod…" he offered with a grin. It'd be so much fun! Braeden would get a chance to play Mr. All-Knowing tour guide at Hogsmeade again!! YEAH!

To say the least, Theodore was a little taken aback as Braeden posed in a comic-book-superhero sort of way out of nowhere. One of the house ghosts passed by, causing the slight breeze that ruffled the Gryffindor's brunette mane and gave the Ravenclaw the willies (he would really need to get used to the spirits of the castle; friendly or not, they gave him the creeps). Holding his textbooks tighter to his chest until the ghost disappeared through the wall, he raised an intrigued eyebrow at Braeden's show of enthusiasm about the small village of Hogsmeade. He had a flair for hyperboles, didn't he?

"It sounds... fun." He shrugged rather awkwardly, attempting not to become imbalanced from the weight of the books that he was supporting. "Oh... erm, Riley?" The teen's voice lowered as Mr. Sinclair was brought into the conversation. "I like Roderigo, but... Riley is different." Gulping rather nervously, he leaned his head to the side, checking over Brae's shoulder to see if Riley happened to be around the corner to hear the conversation. "He's just..." Biting his lower lip, Theodore struggled to find the proper word. "I guess he's just hostile? Or maybe I'm overreacting?" Looking to Braeden for a response, he wasn't sure if he had said the right thing. Would he relay this information to Riley? That would only dig Theodore into a deeper hole with the bully.

Braeden was all goofy grins and smiles until Theodore expressed his dislike for Riley. Oh? Oh… The goofy Gryffindork seemed a bit surprised at first, but it wasn't long until realization had dawned on his features. Riley, Riley, Riley… how typical of him to have scared Theo off already.

"Don't worry 'bout him," said Braeden assuringly, "Riley's like that to everyone. He comes off as mean and a bit of… a diva to those who don't know him, but trust me, you get to hang with him long enough and he'll start to grow on you. He's a really nice guy when he wants to be." Helped me a lot during that time Deus almost broke up with me… sniffle. "Anyway, your parents will let you go, won't they?" asked the boy, eyeing the permission slip for a moment before turning his gaze back to the boy. "To the Hogsmeade trip, I mean."

Oakey walked past a suit of armor that started to move, he turned back curious as to what was making the noise inside the immobile armor so he walked back towards the thing. He knocked on it twice and something burst out of it. He couldn't get a good look at it first but that didn't matter anymore. His Foster Father, Harvey. Was standing over him, with the cruelest of glares on his face. I HATE YOU!Harvey shouted. BECAUSE OF YOU I CAN'T PLAY QUIDDITCH ANYMORE, IT'S YOUR FAULT! Oakey dropped to the floor he didn't know why and he didn't know how but Harvey had appeared out of no where and began yelling at him. Harvey continued putting him down, HOW DARE YOU EVEN SHOW YOUR FACE TO ME! I SHOULD HAVE LEFT YOU TO FREEZE IN THE COLD OUTDOORS! These are things that would never come out of Harvey's mouth, even so he was here and saying all of this. Oakey was frozen on the floor while his Foster Father kept spiting insults in his direction.

ooc. whelp that's my boggart experience, how awful... somebody please help poor Oakey

Shrugging and giving a curt nod to Braeden, Theodore answered in an attempt to appear nonchalant. Or, as nonchalant as was possible while carrying five books in his arms and five books in his overloaded satchel. "I suppose. I guess I shouldn't feel like I'm being, well... attacked. Thanks." The corners of his thin lips curved upward into a small smile. Roderigo and Braeden definitely knew Riley better than Theodore did, so what was the sense in being worried about making an enemy now? Things would change for the better. They had to, for nervous Theo's sake.

"Oh, right." Theodore blinked a few times, awaking from his reverie. He had been staring straight at the Gryffindor without even realizing it. "Well, that's what I need to do today. I need to go down to the owlery to send the slip to my parents, but..." He glanced from the stack of books in his arms, which felt as if they were numb, and back to Braeden. "I need to take these all the way back to Ravenclaw Tower first." Sighing, he continued, "I'd better be on my way now before my arms can't take the weight anymore." Truthfully, his lack of biceps caused the small muscles in his arms to want to cry out in pain, if they had voices.

After his talk with Serena, Mordred overheard someone shouting hysterically. He ran back up the stairs to see a boy on the floor with a man towering over him. "Hey!" Mordred shouted as he pulled out his wand. The boggart turned in to a werewolf. Mordred dragged the boy away by his collar and out into the corridor as fast as he could.

"What were you thinking!" Mordred said looking at the boy with sweat forming on his forehead. He kept his wand under his sleeve and went sprinting down the stairs towards the ground floor.

Oakey was now now lying on the floor looking upwards at the Castle ceiling sweating and panting, gasping for breath with is eyes wide open not blinking at all. Who had pulled him away from that thing impersonating Harvey, how did it become a werewolf and why he still frozen stiff on the floor. That had to have been the most terrifying experience Oakey had ever encountered. He had to get up and find the person who had pulled him away. But all he could do at the moment was grab his Rabbits foot at the end of his wand and rub it's paw. He wanted to say something to his savior, but the boy was gone now, and to be honest Oakey wasn't thinking anything.

A few moments later he found himself facing the very suit of armor the boggart had housed himself in. It's a shame Mordred didn't follow him up here to see his spectacular show of his first spell. He liked Mordred. He seemed really nice and caring, but in the end the slytherin in him showed its slithery self. Oakey figured Mordred was more concerned with his house points rather than helping a friend.

Even for Oakey this seemed way out of character, here he was bravely facing the suit of armor like a Gryffindor. But Oakey truly knew why he was here it wasn't just to bravely face that what scared his pants off minutes ago, but to help Mordred. Who saved him the first time from the boggart and faced his fear of werewolves, to get Oakey to safety. That's where his Hufflepuff shined through.

Oakey walked up to the armor and started banging on it loudly. Get your stupid ugly butt out here you boggart! Nothing happened. Oakey banged on it some more faster and louder, What?!?! Don't tell me you're afraid of ME now?!?! Taunting it, yeah that would bring it out, he was sure of it.

The Armor began to rumble, It seems Oakey really did anger the boggart this wasn't the small bumps it was doing earlier, it could have been a mini-earthquake for all he knew. A second later, the boggart burst out of his hiding spot, and quickly to shape of Harvey once again.

WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH YOU BOY! The Fake Harvey Shouted. CAN'T YOU SEE I WAS TRYING TO SLEEP! He continued, YOU'LL NEVER BE AS GOOD AS I ONCE WAS! YOU CAN'T PLAY QUIDDITCH, YOU COULDN'T EVEN CATCH A SNITCH LIKE I COULD! YOU'RE JUST TOO DAMN UNLUCKY!

Oakey backed up three step and hit the wall behind him as the Fake Harvey closed in on him, it looked like the boggart was going to win again and put Oakey out of his misery. It was then that Oakey finally thought of his funny thought. He pulled out his Linden wand with the rabbit foot attached to the end.

Riddikulus! Oakey shouted as loudly and happily as he possibly could and pointed his wand directly at the boggart. The Fake Harvey shut up, his head was now growing two times it's normals size and slowly transformed into a ducks head. On the the sides of his head moose antlers began to sprout.

For Oakey this was indeed the funniest thing in the world, a human body with a oversized duck head with antlers. Oakey fell to the floor laughing histarically. This looked funnier in person than it did in his head. The boggart retreated away from Oakey, and darted off down the the rest of the second floor coridor.

He did it, He scared off the boggart, Oakey thought he would have gotten rid of it. He expected it to explode, pop, or just plain old disappear. All he did was scare it off. It won't be around here anymore, and if it did show itself to Oakey again, He knew now he could handle it. Oakey wanted to get up but the spell wore him out. Sitting down on the floor still facing the Suits of Armor he let out a sigh of relief. This is something he would never forget he picked up the rabbits foot at the end of his wand and kissed it's paw.


ooc. just sittin here, waitin for some action... wheeeeeeeee

WOAH?! Shouting. LOUD shouting. As in really really really really really loud, as in louder than Sammy and Amy put together when they were hyper. Louder even than Amy when she was shouting at her parents because they hadn't bought her something. Not that she was spoilt..course not. But this, THIS was loud. REALLY loud. Too loud, so loud it was splitting her ears. And she had to be the mature fourth year didn't she. Cuz it was wrong to start screaming and shouting apparantly.

She jogged down the corridor to the source of the noise and saw a boy. What he was doing, she wasn't sure, hey?! She called out, striding over to the firstie, holding her wand. Are you okay? She asked

Mature Amy. Weird

Oakey turned his head to see a fellow Hufflepuff girl running towards him. He wasn't sure of her name but he knew she was in his house, he's seen her around the common room.

He wanted to tell her that he just scared a boggart without any training, would she believe him. No one was around to see him do it and the only other person who knew what he was doing didn't follow him up here.

He smiled a huge smile. I'm Perfect he told her. Better than I have been for the last year and a half actually. He decided he would tell her anyways. There was boggart in there Oakey pointed to the suit of armor that was slightly damaged now from his and the boggart's banging on it. Someone told me how to say the spell so I came up here to get revenge.