Welp.

How had she gotten here? It seemed like just a moment ago she had been in the library. And no, she wasn't adhering to that buddy system rule, obviously. It was likely not a great idea that she was going against the rules set in place, but Gryffindor. Heh. As the blonde took a closer look at where she was a small movement from her right caught her attention. She knew the suits of armour moved... but in light of the weird stuff that had been happening lately... she had to go investigate.

Obviously.

Squinting a bit, Dora moved toward the spot that she saw movement...

And let out a small yelp as it moved again. Hehehe. What an idiot.

Declan was kind of toeing the line with the rules but it wasn't in his nature to abide them. At least not all the time. He thought rules were there to benefit you. If they weren't benefiting him at the moment then what was the point of it?

He was currently finding something to do around Hogwarts other than homework, sleep, or following his instincts. Guides could just shut it for a day with their whispers he didn't always fully understand. It seemed; however, no matter how he tried to avoid 'the fates that be' he was always landing into 'coincidences.'

There was a movement out of the corner of his eyes. A girl that he didn't instantly recognize (what else was new) was in his field of vision. Declan popped two more goldfish crackers in his mouth.

"You alright there?" he asked as his standard greeting. "You seem a little on edge."

Being a Gryffindor... rules were more of a suggestion and well... she had a knack for wandering around undetected also. No one paid her much mind, or didn't want to face her one. She had yet to figure out which was the case, but it didn't bother her either way. It was great that she had the freedom to wander around undetected. Being on her own actually was a treat now.

Being so far into her head and lost in thought, she had not heard the boy approaching. Which was odd, because she was usually pretty sensitive to such things. And so... another yelp. This time accompanied by a jump. Had this been a romantic comedy, she totally would have leapt into his arms and gripped him tightly, but this was reality so it was more of an undignified shimmy of sorts. Awesome.

Her life was DEFINITELY one embarrassing event after another.

"Yes, yes. Thank you for asking," she replied as she turned to see him properly. OH! It was Levi's brother. She didn't even consider thinking of him as Althea's brother because she was dead to Dora Umbridge. Okay, not really, but she was a bit peeved with her and her attitude. "You have excellent bone structure. Has anyone ever told you that?" Just an observation. "So I am fairly certain how I ended up here alone... what's your story?"

Declan stared at the girl before him, half concealed in shadow, and blinked in stunned silence. Carefully, he reached into his little plastic baggy and grabbed a handful of goldfish crackers. He put the whole bunch in his mouth and chewed to keep himself from saying something stupid.

"I think maybe it's a trick of the light," he said, at last, in regards to his bone structure before quickly moving on the conversation. "I don't really have a story. I just don't like curfews. What's your story?"

Why did he just shove so many crackers into his mouth? Not that Dora wasn't a fan of a voracious appetite and all. Just most people tended not to eat like her seeing as she was compared to having the eating habits of a mountain troll. Watching the boy she gave him a big smile and a chuckle to boot. He was going to be her friend whether he liked it or not.

"Pssssh. You're handsome and you know it. And no, I am not flirting with you. Just making observations." She had a perfect Ravenclaw boyfriend after all. PERFECT.

Her story? Well she had a lot. "Well I was in the library looking for a book on advanced destructive magicks and when I didn't find what I was looking for I started back to my common room... and then I looked up and I was here. I was lost in thought or something." She had decided to let him off easy, you see. She could have given him a million different stories but normalcy won out for once. "Wanna walk together a ways? Buddy system and all." She was not going to be caught DEAD asking her Prefects to escort her anywhere. They were about as useless as a hairbrush to a mermaid... in her opinion anyway. Others might not agree.

Declan felt like he had stepped into an alternate realm. Had he without his knowing stepped into a portal? "I..." He knew that arguing or deflecting would actually just be a waste of his energy. "Well, thank you for observations." There. That'll have to do.

Her story was a much better topic in his opinion and he listened attentively. Declan nodded and offered up his baggie of goldfish crackers to her. "Advanced Destructive Magicks, huh," he repeated with raised eyebrows. "Why are you looking that up for?" Declan nodded and turned around to lead the way but waited for her to flank him. "I'll walk you. Your common room is not that far."

Not that Declan would be of much use he thought. He was decent at Charms, and decent at Defense Against the Dark Arts but he wasn't going to have a career in the Magical Law Enforcement that was for sure.

Dora couldn't help but smile brightly at him when he thanked her. "You're welcome! And I'm Dora. I've seen you around and I know your siblings, " she said with a giggle. Moving forward the Gryffindor slid her arm through Declan's and began to lead them down the corridor.

Shoving her free hand into the offered baggie she too took a handful and shoved them into her mouth. Just as he asked a question? Of course. After a few chews she sprayed a bit of cheesy goodness as she spoke, "I was looking it up because my wand is especially good with fire and destruction spells. And it's fun. Aaaaaand I am just looking for new spells. " ThE blonde let a shrug roll off of one shoulder as she grinned over at him. "What's your specialty? Like what are you best at magic wise? Everyone has something they do best. "

"You're such as gentleman!" Perhaps it was a bit gushy and chirpy, her tone. Hehe. It was purposefully done. And he didn't need to worry... Dora would totally protect them in the event something went down. "Keep your wand drawn, yeah? " Not that their wands would be much use against a portal that sucked people into an alternate dimension, but it definitely made Dora feel safer nonetheless.

Dora who knew his siblings. Declan felt a little uncomfortable. How did he introduce himself now if she already sort of knew him? "Well, I'm Declan. One of them," he muttered and waved a hand in the air. It was a little dismissive and his father would think he was being socially awkward--something that had been said before, but Declan couldn't really think of another reaction right now.


Especially as she had taken his arm as they walked down the corridor.

Declan kept his eyes on the path before him, and rotated his wand with his fingers repeatedly as he held it. His other hand was busy trying to hold the plastic bag full of crackers while Dora got her share. He blinked, and felt a bit of soggy cracker fall on his cheek. It fell off as they walk so he pretended it was never there to begin with.

"You can perform that kind of thing?" Declan asked with his brows raised. "It seems dangerous. If you can control it, though, I'm quite impressed to hear it." He'd be even more impressed to see it executed perfectly. "Hmm..." He hesitated. He didn't know if he was best at it or if he had a natural knack for it. Or was he, as sometimes he believed, just a hack. "Ancient Magic and Divination is more my thing."

His mind wandered wishing there was more he knew about the Ancient Wizards of Egypt. It was a better concept to focus on that him being a gentleman. His face felt hot and Declan spun his wand faster.

Little did Declan know, Dora loved AWKWARD people. Especially the socially awkward sort. Just ask Jacob! She was weird herself, so she always felt like she was amongst her people. Hehe. "But is that really how you identify yourself? Just as one of them? Or are you your own unique person?" The Gryffindor had a feeling that Declan Kenning was a very special person and he needed to embrace that!

Or she could be wrong. It happened sometimes. Not often, but sometimes.

And great. They were ignoring the fact that she spat that cracker at him. Good man, he was. "I can perform some destructive magic, yes. Bombarda, Reducto, and also several fire spells. Fire spells are my strong suite." And if he asked, she would DEFINITELY show him. "And I can definitely control it. I couldn't when I was younger, of course, but I can now," she said with an air of pride. Her years of practice and focus had definitely paid off in her favor. "Ancient magic? What specifically does that mean? Like... Alchemy? And I studied Divination with a former professor when I was younger." She didn't particularly care to touch on exactly why, but there you have it. Maybe he had even heard of Professor Kapoor. He was a famous author now and all.

"What do you plan to do after you graduate? Divination stuff?" Was he a SEER? Because that would be awesome. And terrifying for him.

Declan frowned. He didn't appreciate deeply personal questions. "I don't really understand why you're asking that," Declan said quickly still wearing a troubled frown. As she continued to talk Declan decided that she was very much like the kind of magic she practiced; all bells and whistles, explosive, demanding of attention. He didn't know if it was to his taste. The closest to fire magic Declan got was Pyromancy.

"Are you completely self-taught then? No one helped you master the fire spells?" He asked with a mixture of curiosity and shock. That was really advanced magic for anyone. He never even imagined a student at Hogwarts would be capable. Declan chuckled as they turned a corner towards the closest staircase. "I mean Ancient Magic, like Egyptian spells back when magic was closely tied to Gods and stuff. Binding magic." He didn't really dabble with that. "Amulets. Charmed artifacts. Divination. That kind of thing."

He nodded in acknowledgement of her additions. "That's cool."

He scratched a spot behind one ear as he hummed pensively. "I'm not sure yet. I like the idea of opening up an Apothecary."

OOC: post here next?

TEEHEEHEEHEEHEE!

A hysterical fit of giggling loudly followed the polter-kid the moment he left the Great Hall. Making his way into the Entrance Hall, floating above the moving staircases, and zipping through the opening to the third floor, Storm bonked the heads of anyone he passed with his feet and whacked the portraits so that they nearly fell from the wall, leaving the frames tilted.

His energy was pulsating rapidly. From the very moment he had put that Gryffindor and Ravenclaw in their place, he felt like doing only one thing: causing chaos. The boy felt like the school needed some livening up. Everyone was SO. SICKENINGLY. DREARY.

Spinning his way down the corridor, his eyes laid upon all of the shiny suits of armour ... and their shiny weapons. Grinning, he dove right through one and started stomping his way down the hall, the armor clanging with each movement.

"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! THERE'S A STORM COMING THROUGH! HEHEHEHE!"

The other suits of armour soon joined the show, stomping around and arms waving about. Storm was quite proud of all the racket he was causing!

Katerina was having another bad day, so right after her potions lesson, the blonde retreated to the third floor. Where she would sit in between two suits of amour. It was her hiding place for the past few weeks at least when she wasn't under the curfew then obviously she had found her own little corner of the Hufflepuff puff common room into a permanent makeshift blanket fort. At least this part of the corridor was quiet.

Or it normally was.

What in the name of Merlin was making all of that rack? "Helllooo?" Peering over the armour she was currently between, she seen a suit stomping its way up the corridor. And more suits following suits. Including the one next to her. It did a great waving motion and the process smacked her in the back of her head. "Hey. I'm down here." She said angrily, as she rubbed the back of her head. What was the big deal, Storm?

Soon Storm, hidden inside one of the suits, was in the middle of the clanking group. They all were still flailing about without a care in the world. This would have been a lot more fun had there been students around. It would have been fun seeing them try to pass by without being bopped on the head.

But oooooooooh. Was that a girl's voice he just heard?

Armoured Storm turned around just in time to see one of the suits smack a girl on the back of her head. "Hehehe! It sounded pretty hallow in that noggin of yours!" he exclaimed, floating out of the suit of armour upside-down. He watched as the suit knocked over into the next one ... CLANG! ... and the next one ... CLANG! ... and the next one ... CLANG! ... the falling suits were all heading for the girl.

"TIMBERRRRRRRRRRRR!" the polter-kid screamed with a high-pitched cackle. He kicked his feet in anticipation. Would she be buried beneath all of that shiny steel? Storm sure hoped so!

THAT WAS HER STORM BABY! Miffy could tell. She knew her DARRRRRLLLLLIIIIIIIING baby’s voice anywhere! Miffy sped off she wanted to see what delicious trouble he was causing.

“STOOOOORM DARLING! MAMA’S HEREEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!’’

Miffy squealed in delight. LOOK WHAT STORM WAS UP TO! HIS DADDY PEEVSIEPOO WOULD BE PROUD!!!!! Miffy ignored the girl that could be buried under the armor. OOPSIEEEEE.

Okay. Yeah that really hurt that armor was definitely not tin foil. She continued rubbing the back of her head. Oh yep that was going to leave a mark.

Almost in an instant Storm was out of the armor. She eyed the polter-kid, "If any ones head is hallow." She didn't get a chance to finish her sentence before she had to cover her ears for the squealing polter-mom.

How ridiculous? Miffy was now here. Great now they could just go on and have the polter-funnsies some where else. Between the high-pitched laughter of the polter-kid and the higher-pitched squealing of the mother, Katerina hand covered ears had failed to heard the armors clanking as they fell. Once she realized that it was falling, the only thing she had time to do was let out a scream. Then was too late the armor she was sitting beside was now on top her of. She was being buried alive by armor.

It seemed he was too late even if he felt his legs had carried him fast enough. There was a pile of armours one of top of the other and he saw Storm and Miffy enjoying the chaos they had created. Declan knew he had heard a scream that didn't belong to either poltergeist. Was the source underneath all the armours??

Declan brought back his arm and then forward, in a sweeping motion: "Repulso!" he exclaimed as two suits of armour flew and clattered against the opposing wall.

He had no words for the poltergeists at the moment and sent an exasperated look at his brother over his shoulder. "Levi, do you mind Brent?" What was the girl's name??

"You must fancy yourself a joke master," he spoke loudly to Storm. "But I'm sure I've seen Peeves do better. Don't you agree, Miffy?"

Nope…all the ruckus hadn’t in fact been coming from upstairs but instead further down the third floor in the armor gallery. That explained some of the sounds they had heard, the metal clanging in amongst yelling and laughter. Cassie came to a stop behind the Slytherin’s shoulder, her hand finally taking out her wand to be ready to face off the two poltergeists. She held off casting spells at the moment however as she debated the first move, the prank items in her possession ignored for the time being.

Her companion was working on getting Storm and Miffy’s attention, that left finding the source of the scream. It certainly hadn’t sounded like the spectral beings. “Anyone living around here?” the Ravenclaw called out, watching a listening for sight and sounds of someone she could help. She didn't just want to go about moving stuff and inadvertently causing more harm than good.

So this is where the poltergeist fam hung out, yeah?

Armed with dungbombs in hand, Brent followed the others and made his way into the thick of things. Brent paused, eyeing what he had happened upon in complete disbelief. So there really had been screams, and apparently Declan had discovered the source. Duuuude. There was a girl underneath all that!

Alarmed, Brent flicked out his wand and followed Declan's lead. "Repulso!" he called out. Another suit of armor flew off the girl. Could she get out now? Because Brent had a feeling if any of them stepped forward, they'd be buried in that pile of metal, too. Then what?

"Oh, yeah," Brent chimed in, "Peeves can do way better. I came from a different school and had even heard about him all the way from Ilvermorny." The dude was practically a legend! Now. Take our bait, and let's go cause some poltergeist energy!

A scream should have been enough of an indicative that things had escalated beyond what anyone would consider an average prank caused by one of the school's poltergeists. And yet by the time Levi joined his brother and the rest at the armor gallery, he nearly bumped against Cassie and felt his mouth open to form a perfect 'O.'

Declan hadn't missed a beat, and Brent only barely half of one, if that, while Cassie got busy trying to find the source of the very human scream. It took Levi ten seconds to spring into an action, and it only happened once his brother's words had not only registered but also settled in.

What was--what was the--??? Oh, right. "GUYS."

He pointed his wand at Declan, said "Protego!" Then he turned to look at Cassie and Brent and did the same.

In another moment this might have been hilarious; the idea that as a Gryffindor, Levi hadn't jumped straight into action and had chosen to momentarily stay back to protect the other three. But it was difficult to find humor in his present situation; because by the time he got around to casting the shield charm on himself, unused as he was to any kind of dueling--if this could be called that--, there was a touch of slugginesh to the way protego came over him, and Levi had the sinking feeling it probably wasn't going to hold on for too long.

Well. He'd just have to deal with that later.

"You MONSTERS." He fumed at Miffy and her brat. "No wonder even Peeves is done with the both of you."

Monsters seemed like a perfectly apt description when as he snooped around, trying to avoid getting too close to the falling armors, Levi spotted what looked like... a foot? Or leg. And hair. And--"HEY!" Levi called loudly, bracing against the walls as he moved towards the fallen girl. A piece of armor clanked against his arm, and though it didn't necessarily hurt him, Levi knew that the fact he had felt it was not a good sign. He crouched next to the girl, trying to position himself between her and whatever armor might try to fall on her. "Hey--we gotta move. I'd cast protego on you but--uh, I don't think I can." This was embarrassing enough to make him blush, despite the circumstances. It didn't matter if the girl was a stranger. "Sooo, I'm your best bet right now."

If he were human, Storm would have died of laughter. The sight of the girl being buried beneath the suits of amour was HILARIOUS. His eyes were even watering.

And even his adopted mother was there to see his accomplishment, his magnum opus! He wanted to tell her to to look and notice that there had been a victim amid his shenanigans, but she was already squealing in delight and he just couldn't stop laughing.

"HEHEHEHE!"

Then voices distracted him. Oooooooooh! More people to play with! ... And nasty ones at that. They certainly didn't say things that made Storm happy. The polter-kid went from laughing and having a grand old time to anger in about two seconds. Peeves was better than him? Clearly they knew NOTHING.

"Peeves is an OLD FART!" Sorry, Mama. He was. "And I am the best prankster there is!" He'd show them! ... Storm looked at his mommy dearest. Was she going to let them talk about him like that? She had better help him!

A few suits of amour suddenly shot up from the floor and started their way toward the rude students who couldn't appreciate a good prank when they saw one. While that was happening, he floated above their heads and dove down, kicking at shins and even grabbing one by the robes and dragging them down the corridor and back.

"YEEEEEEEEEEE-HAAAAAAAAAW!"

She hadn’t been too concerned about the first depulso as it had sent the suits of armor against the wall away from them. But as the other Slytherin caught up with them, joining in with the insults and the spell and more suits went flying, Cassie raised her wand arm to shield herself just as a shield was cast on her. What in Merlin’s bea--? The Ravenclaw had looked around curious only to see Levi as the culprit and the others shield as well.

“Thanks…” she said, moving to help the Gryffindor go after the partly hidden girl. The Ravenclaw crouched down beside them and managed to pick a few pieces off the her. Hearing what Levi said about not being able to cast, Cass caught onto the fact that he had weakened himself by casting all those shields. “Protego!” she cast herself on the other girl…Hufflepuff if she was indeed catching sight of the gold she was wearing.

Unfortunately, Cassie didn’t have much time to dwell on that fact before Storm decided to act out on them all. She saw the suits coming towards them and moved to raise her wand in to cast in defense only to be interrupted by the poltergeist’s own movements. The fourth year ducked and swatted to no avail before it being her turn to yell as she felt a tug on her robes and was dragged back and fourth down the corridor.

“Ahhhhhhhhh! Let me go!!” she exclaimed, trying to get an aim on the poltergeist with a spell or another.

Was she dead?

Or maybe the armored smack in the back of the head had only just caused her to think that the other armor had fallen on her. Kat fell around for her wand and found it. Now to get the all of this armor off her and take care of Storm. Boy was that Polter-kid and polter-mama going to get it now.

She raised her wand, but a pain in the back of her head. Ouch..... She grabbed the back of her head. Lucky for her Kat heard more voices arrive. They were going to get this armor off of her, right? They had heard her scream as it came tumbling down, Yeah.

Apparently so or someone was quiet tidy. First off she heard one of the Kenning boys, he, Brent and Cassie had used repulso and the armor was off of her. THANK MERLIN. And the other Kenning boy was there as well. Katerina pulled her over to her bag, it was a good thing she had been feeling bad for the past few days and had been carrying around pain potion for her headache. She took it and was about to pop up and let the others know she was okay.

When Storm what in the name of Merlin are doing to Cassie... The fourth year popped up from between the suits of armor she was nestled between. "Skurge" There now Storm take that you menace.

Declan's wand swept again, and again, and tried to banish as many suits of armor without getting crushed himself. His feet were quick and he dodged a falling suit just in time by hopping to the right. Levi was quick and Declan glanced at him quickly wanting to thank him but another falling suit of armor was coming for him and the fallen girl: "Repulso!" he yelled at last not wanting to test his brother's ability to hold up multiple shields at once; at least not today.

Brent and Cassie were also quick thinkers and Declan tried to move towards them thinking there was safety, for once, in numbers and they could work best if they were all back to back.

Declan grabbed at his brother's arm and yanked him towards him. "Protego!" he shouted with his wand out as armors came flying towards them now. "Oi!" He was too slow. Storm came at them in a way that brought honor to his namesake. Before he could react further, he was dragging one of them away.

"Why don't you pick on someone your own size, Storm?" Declan asked it, slightly annoyed. "What are you? Scared?"

Oh, POOEY! Miffy glaaaaaaared at the boys (Levi and Brent) “MY STORMY IS JUST A BABY. HE’S MATCHING UP TO HIS DADDY. You wont be able to do better EVER. WHEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!’’ Miffy looped-the-loop over the students head with a LOUD cackle. Miffy LOVEEEEED her Peevsiepoo but Stormy can match up to his daddy. “SHOW THEM WHAT YOU’VE GOT STORMY!”

Miffy pulled a cheeky face. *GIGGLEGIGGLE* “THIS IS FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUN!!!!!’’ Miffy cackled and cackled! Look at her baby dragging around the wheeee student! Miffy lopped-the loop about. She was an expert at dodging spells. Miffy flew directly up to that annoying student’s face (Declan). “STORMY is NEVER a coward so watch your mouth!!!!!’’ She blew a LOOOOUD raspberry in his face before cackling and zooming off after her baby. She zoomed around and around and around with Storm and the ravenclaw. She followed him wherever he went and there was a loud giggle ever so often.