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DaniDiNardo · #1 (**permalink**) 12-04-2018, 12:14 PM

As you continue along the second-floor corridor, you will eventually stumble upon a bust of a medieval wizard who is quietly muttering to himself in Latin. But it is the antechamber near this statue that draws in a lot of students because over the years this spot has been designated as a popular hang-out area. More often than not, those who need a break from schoolwork come here to play an array of indoor wizarding games.

Scattered around this small room are chess boards, decks of Exploding Snap cards, areas for playing Gobstones, and other wizarding games ranging from Snitch Snatcher to Wizard Cracker Pop-It to Wizard Skittles. If none of these games interest you, there is a small table where Runok Ko and Rune Riddle books can be found. Otherwise, you can go check out the suit of armour that stands off to the side -- maybe you will figure out that it is guarding a passage to a secret storeroom -- or, if you feel there's more of the castle for you to explore, take the stairway that leads up to the third floor.

Waddles · 01-09-2021, 01:03 AM

Mamie needed a distraction. She chose to go to the second floor corridor where she knew there were some games. At best, maybe there would be others there to play Snitch Snatcher or something.

At worst, she'd try some of those puzzles like they had in the Daily Prophet. One would probably last her all afternoon. There was no one there when she arrived, so she parked herself at the little table in the corner and opened up one of the Runok Ko books. Hmm... Yes, this would definitely take hours.

kayquilz · 01-14-2021, 10:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Waddles

Mamie needed a distraction. She chose to go to the second floor corridor where she knew there were some games. At best, maybe there would be others there to play Snitch Snatcher or something.

At worst, she'd try some of those puzzles like they had in the Daily Prophet. One would probably last her all afternoon. There was no one there when she arrived, so she parked herself at the little table in the corner and opened up one of the Runok Ko books. Hmm... Yes, this would definitely take hours.

Considering things, Aboli was having a pleasant-ish day. She had written a letter to her mother, something she was doing every day that she couldn't contact her. She had a stack of letters documenting everything she had seen, gone through, etc. and was ready to send or deliver them in PERSON to her mother once they were able to. She missed her so very much. She missed Liam. She missed her stepdad.

The Slytherin longed for dreams to connect with her mother through them, but it hadn't happened yet. It's because they probably don't know anything is wrong... she thought.

Sometimes Noah was in the arcade, and so Aboli went to check there for him. After peeeeeking inside, it seemed he wasn't there, but a younger student whose name Aboli had known last year. Unfortunately, the name had escaped her currently. Whoops.

"Hey." Aboli stepped inside. "Any good games?" she asked now that she had awkwardly popped in. She would feel kinda' bad if she came in and left once making eye contact with the girl!

Waddles · 01-15-2021, 02:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kayquilz

Considering things, Aboli was having a pleasant-ish day. She had written a letter to her mother, something she was doing every day that she couldn't contact her. She had a stack of letters documenting everything she had seen, gone through, etc. and was ready to send or deliver them in PERSON to her mother once they were able to. She missed her so very much. She missed Liam. She missed her stepdad.

The Slytherin longed for dreams to connect with her mother through them, but it hadn't happened yet. It's because they probably don't know anything is wrong... she thought.

Sometimes Noah was in the arcade, and so Aboli went to check there for him. After peeeeeking inside, it seemed he wasn't there, but a younger student whose name Aboli had known last year. Unfortunately, the name had escaped her currently. Whoops.

"Hey." Aboli stepped inside. "Any good games?" she asked now that she had awkwardly popped in. She would feel kinda' bad if she came in and left once making eye contact with the girl!

Mamie looked up from the puzzle book, relieved that someone else had come along. She was NOT good at logic puzzles. It was.. a Slytherin that she sort of knew. Abby or Napoli or something. Annapoli? Mamie couldn't remember.

"Hi," she said, putting down the book. "They have Snitch Snatcher, do you want to play?" That was definitely Mamie's favorite wizard board game. Currently her favorite board game, period, since there were no longer Muggle board games around. Mamie definitely preferred board games with other people, and chatting, to solo games that required brain effort.

kayquilz · 01-17-2021, 02:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Waddles

Mamie looked up from the puzzle book, relieved that someone else had come along. She was NOT good at logic puzzles. It was.. a Slytherin that she sort of knew. Abby or Napoli or something. Annapoli? Mamie couldn't remember.

"Hi," she said, putting down the book. "They have Snitch Snatcher, do you want to play?" That was definitely Mamie's favorite wizard board game. Currently her favorite board game, period, since there were no longer Muggle board games around. Mamie definitely preferred board games with other people, and chatting, to solo games that required brain effort.

Napoli would be a new one, if the girl had said it aloud. The seventh year would never ceased to be amazed at just how much her name was butchered over the years. Damn her mother and her preferences in naming things. She couldn't really blame her mum, though. She was only naming Aboli after her parents' culture, and since Ziggy had been adopted well...that was that.

"Sure." She said before sitting across from the girl. "I actually...don't think I've ever played in here before. I also don't have much experience, either, so you may just kick my butt," she continued with a small chuckle. "Remind me of your name?" Her inflection seemed to phrase the statement as a question.

Waddles · 01-17-2021, 02:47 AM

Mamie hopped up from her seat and went to fetch the game. It had been her favorite game since she'd learned to play last year. Learning the rules of Snitch Snatcher meant learning the rules of Quidditch, which apparently everybody knew? She sat back across from Aboli and started unpacking the pieces.

"It's the board game version of Quidditch, except you don't need fourteen people," she reminded herself and the Slytherin, nudging the miniature goalposts into place.

She looked up at the question of her name. "Mamie." She was relieved the Slytherin couldn't remember her name, either. "You're...Ab...? Sorry, I don't remember your name either."

kayquilz · 01-17-2021, 03:27 AM

Riiiight. Quidditch. "I know the basics of quidditch, but I don't know ALL the ins and outs of it. You know, I've never been to a match before? Like a professional one, I mean," Aboli said as she shrugged her shoulders. She rolled up her robe's sleeves as she leaned over to peer at the board.

"Mamie. Nice to officially meet you. Aboli," she smiled and held out a gloved hand for the Hufflepuff to take. Today she donned the plum velvety ones because she liked the way they looked with her eyes.

Waddles · 01-17-2021, 03:45 AM

"There's a rulebook for the game," Mamie said, gesturing. She hadn't gotten it out of the box. She finished arranging the miniature pieces on the board. Miniature things were just cuter than full-size things, even things like a Quidditch pitch. "I haven't been either, I erm... my family doesn't like Quidditch, so I had to learn about it myself." Thought it was nice to know there was at least one seventh year that she knew at least one thing better than, y'know? Maybe Mamie was smarter than she thought she was.

ABOLI. That was her name. That was a prettier name than Napoli, in Mamie's opinion. She shook the older girl's hand. "Nice to officially meet you!" she chirped in reply. This board gaming felt almost normal. Aboli was wearing fun textured gloves, which almost made Mamie just...keep shaking her hand. She finally let go, only making the handshake slightly longer than a regular one. "Your gloves are pretty."

She fiddled with the pieces for a little longer, trying to draw attention away from the awkwardly long handshake. "Do you want to go first?"

kayquilz · 01-17-2021, 04:12 AM

"Do you...think I need it if you know the rules?" she asked curiously, laughing at the...veeeeery long handshake because it was kinda funny. "Yeah, thanks. I got them this past summer." She still couldn't believe how much she disliked first and second years last term. They were really not that bad, you know?

"My mum's not a huge sports person. So I wouldn't even be able to tell you ONE single famous quidditch player's name." One could probably dance in front of her right now, crazily, and Aboli would just think an adult had finally lost it and not know it was a FAMOUS PERSON.

Err, no. Aboli didn't want to go first. She dug the rule book out anyway. "Not really...you go," she said as she flipped through the pages earnestly.

Waddles · 01-17-2021, 05:15 AM

Well if Aboli didn't want to read the rules...Mamie wasn't going to make her. She didn't like reading, either. "I mean...you don't have to know the rules if you don't want to win," she said. That was a little confusing to little Mamie. It wasn't like she knew the rules well enough to explain them.

"I read up a bunch on Quidditch last summer," Mamie explained. "All the rules, and tracking the teams, but...names are hard." She 100% understood Aboli not knowing famous athletes' names. Like how Mamie couldn't remember dates or famous people from History of Magic, plus it wasn't really useful to remember Quiditch players names if she couldn't go to matches.

Ready to take her turn, Mamie gave the miniature Quaffle to her miniature chaser and had her miniature beater send the miniature bludger toward one of Aboli's cardboard players. "Your turn," she said. "Now you can have your pieces hit the bludger back, or even get the Quaffle or the Snitch." It was really quite an open-ended game. Since real people couldn't get hurt in Snitch Snatcher, there were fewer penalties and rules than in grown-up Quidditch.

kayquilz · 01-18-2021, 01:34 PM

Aboli hooooted in laughter. You don't have to know the rules if you don't want to win. The girl wasn't even joking or being cheeky. She was deaaaaad serious. Aboli had a hand over her chest as she choooortled. "You're funny, Mamie. I actually don't care about winning games that much. I don't have that competitive drive...when it comes to this." There other things she had the competitive drive for.

"That's cool. I don't even know the TEAM names," she shrugged as she watched Mamie let her player get the quaffle... "Okay, but if I get the snitch, the game would end now, right? So what's stopping me from doing that if I reaaaally wanted to end the game right now?" she instead diverted the bludger back to one of Mamie's. And had her chaser's go after the one of hers who possessed the ball.

If this game were too open-ended, that could take all the fun away? What about winning-hungry people?!

Waddles · 01-19-2021, 02:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kayquilz

Aboli hooooted in laughter. You don't have to know the rules if you don't want to win. The girl wasn't even joking or being cheeky. She was deaaaaad serious. Aboli had a hand over her chest as she choooortled. "You're funny, Mamie. I actually don't care about winning games that much. I don't have that competitive drive...when it comes to this." There other things she had the competitive drive for.

"That's cool. I don't even know the TEAM names," she shrugged as she watched Mamie let her player get the quaffle... "Okay, but if I get the snitch, the game would end now, right? So what's stopping me from doing that if I reaaaally wanted to end the game right now?" she instead diverted the bludger back to one of Mamie's. And had her chaser's go after the one of hers who possessed the ball.

If this game were too open-ended, that could take all the fun away? What about winning-hungry people?!

Mamie reddened slightly as Aboli laughed at her. With her? Mamie cracked a nervous smile. "If you go for the Snitch, my tiny seeker could go after it, too," she said. She nudged her own tiny seeker toward the Snitch, then had her chaser with the quaffle throw it toward the goalposts and Aboli's keeper. She didn't do anything to the bludger.

"Now you have to block my shot!" Mamie said. Maybe Aboli...wouldn't notice she had also moved her tiny seeker, and would just worry about the quaffle.

kayquilz · 01-19-2021, 03:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Waddles

Mamie reddened slightly as Aboli laughed at her. With her? Mamie cracked a nervous smile. "If you go for the Snitch, my tiny seeker could go after it, too," she said. She nudged her own tiny seeker toward the Snitch, then had her chaser with the quaffle throw it toward the goalposts and Aboli's keeper. She didn't do anything to the bludger.

"Now you have to block my shot!" Mamie said. Maybe Aboli...wouldn't notice she had also moved her tiny seeker, and would just worry about the quaffle.

So this suddenly got REALLY complicated because Mamie had done sooooo many things at once, and Aboli wasn't as experienced with Quidditch rules as some people might be, so LOL WHAT. She looked around the board at every piece possible, trying to make note of tiny things that she could catch, but also wanting to be realistic with it.

"I'll....hit another bludger at you..." since the last one had made contact with one of Mamie's players. This time, though, she aimed it right at the seeker going for the snitch. She let the quaffle go through and clicked her tongue a little. "Man, my keeper won't be having a good day, I'm afraid. Poor bloke," she chuckled and had her seeker taaaaaail Mamie's seeker. "What's the name of your fake Quidditch team, then, Mamie?" she asked curiously.

Honestly, making up little stories about all of her fake players would probably be more than the actual Quidditch stuff going on.

Waddles · 01-21-2021, 01:53 AM

Mamie sat up straighter in her seat. Aboli, for all she said she wasn't a master Quidditch strategist, seemed to be winning. Maybe? Given Mamie had never been to an actual Quidditch game, she wasn't sure who was winning or losing. If it all came down to the snitch, though, it seemed Aboli had the upper seeker.

She hmmed for a moment, trying to decide if her beaters could save the tiny seeker. "Yaay, ten points for me," she said sadly, since Aboli had let the quaffle go in favor of focusing on the seekers and the itty bitty cardboard snitch. "I'll... try to block the bludger, I guess..." She hurried her beater over toward the seekers and aimed the bludger at Aboli's nearby seeker. "Do you think our beaters can just pass it back and forth forever?" Then nobody would lose.

As to the name of her fake Quidditch team, Mamie had that on the tip of her tongue. It had only taken one round of the game before she had come up with what her Quidditch team would be called if she could name it. "The Turov Tailwind," she replied. "Do you want to name yours?"

kayquilz · 01-21-2021, 11:07 PM

This game, no offense to Mamie, seemed pretty dumb to Aboli. But the younger student was enjoying it immensely, and so Aboli wasn't about to ruin her fun. "Umm...they probably could unless one of our bludgers hits someone." Which she might let happen soon just for fun, ha.

Aboli paused a moment to think of a name. "I love your name, by the way," she chuckled. "The Boli-wood Basilisks," she smirked. "Get it? Bollywood...my name is A-BOLI," hahahaha! She was slapping her knees in laughter. But maybe wouldn't even know what Bollywood was. Aboli was VERY familiar since her grandparents were both Indian in heritage.

She was quite proud of herself for that one!

Back to the game, though! Mamie blocked the bludger, and she eyed it to see where it was going. In the meantime, she had her seeker KNOCK Mamie's almost off their broom. "Playing dirty, eh, basilisks? Tsk tsk." She smirked.

Waddles · 01-22-2021, 03:31 AM

Mamie was having a grand ole time playing the pretty dumb game. She was determined not to lose the bludger hot potato, so she focused on not letting the bludgers hit her tiny players. She beamed proudly at Aboli's compliment.

"I like yours, too," she said. "Al-ll--allllliteration is important when naming Quidditch teams." She struggled to get that word out. Too many L's all together. "Are you named after...Bollywood?" She was not quite sure what Bollywood was. A person? Place? A thing?

She yelped silently as the tiny seekers got in a tussle. "I didn't know you could do that!" Was her tiny seeker okay? She halted its chase of the snitch to check, losing track of the bludger. The tiny seeker might have been okay if not for the bludger, which knocked it all the way down. "Yikes, my seeker is down!" she said, throwing up her hands.

Did that mean Aboli won?

kayquilz · 01-23-2021, 08:44 PM

"Well, thanks, Mamie. I agree. Alliteration," she flashed her a smile. "Ah..no. I'm named after my mum's aunt. Her name's Aboli," So technically her great-aunt. Whom she hardly got to see because it was rare they went to India these days. If she lived through this term, she soooo wanted to visit. "Bollywood is an Indian thing, though. Spelled differently than my name!" She laughed softly.

Whoops, though.

"Noooo! Your seeker is hurt!" she was smirking. Why? It was amusing was all. These weren't real people. Her seeker grabbed the snitch...and Aboli nodded. "I guess I won. Not fair and square, though," she shrugged and hugged her knees to her chest. "Sorry. I didn't think I'd win from that."

Waddles · 01-24-2021, 09:18 PM

Mamie definitely understood the whole "being named after a relative" deal. She was glad to find more ways to relate to the older Slytherin. Especially since she was still not sure what Bollywood was. She'd have to look it up, if she could remember...next time she was near a computer. "I'm named after my grandmother," she said, nodding in agreement with herself. "Marguerite. She's not called Mamie, though, that's all mine."

She sighed in disappointment, as Aboli did win the game. However, she did not think she needed to apologize, so she shrugged it off. "It's good to lose sometimes," she said softly, trying to reason with herself. "It keeps you centered and makes you better." Her Babulya had said something like that the first time she beat one of her older brothers in a game. It was good advice.

"This was fun."

kayquilz · 01-24-2021, 11:34 PM

"So is your name Marguerite or just Mamie?" Aboli asked curiously. Mamie seemed more like a nickname when she really thought about it, but even if it were her real WHOLE name, that was cute. Mamie was a cute name.

What a Hufflepuff way of losing. Aboli loved it, ha. She grinned over at Mamie. "It's nice to play games with people who aren't sore losers. They're the wooooooorst," she said as she picked up her seeker and scrutinized the figure curiously. "But I agree. Winning isn't everything. It's what you gain from the win or the lose. What did you gain from losing just now?" she asked as she set the figure back down, fixing her stormy-blue eyes on the younger girl.

It WAS fun. Aboli definitely agreed. She kind of wanted to play a different game, but she wasn't going to suggest it. It was nice to see some of the younger ones come out of their shells without those horrid Alliance members around.

Waddles · 01-25-2021, 12:38 AM

She sighed. "It's Margaret. They wanted to be different." She knew she'd have to go by her full name eventually, or when she was in trouble, but it still felt too stuffy to her.

Mamie smiled back at Aboli. What a nice Slytherin, not a sore winner either. Most people didn't apologize for winning, and clearly Aboli was not like most people. But...errrm, what did she gain from losing? Mamie wrinkled her nose as she considered the question.

"I think...well, you definitely showed that a newcomer can take down somebody with more experience, if they do something unexpected," she said. She wondered if that applied to magic, too. Would the students be the newcomers, or the Hood Squad?

"Should we put the game away?" she asked. There was only so much losing once could take in a single day. Mamie did not particularly want to see if she would win or lose in a rematch.

kayquilz · 01-26-2021, 12:04 AM

SOoO Mamie was named after someone but being named ALMOST the same name as that someone. Interesting way of naming??? not naming? a person after another person.

See? Aboli smiled as Mamie spoke. "Yeah...and I learned that playing dirty is sometimes the way to go if you're willing to do it," she laughed to herself as she leaned back on her elbows. "Yeah...we should. Did you wanna play something else or just chill? I should be doing some spellwork but...." she shruuuuugged. "Eh."

OH! "Do YOU need any help with homework?! I loooove tutoring people." See? She was nice. SHE WAS NICE.

Waddles · 01-26-2021, 02:38 AM

Mamie nodded in agreement. "Yes, playing dirty is sometimes good," she agreed. She was learning so much from spending time with Aboli.

She was no longer wearing her usual Muggle watch, so when Mamie looked at her wrist to see how long she'd been there and if she had time to play another game...all she saw were freckles and hairs. She opened her mouth to suggest another game, but then Aboli mentioned spellwork and Mamie felt g u i l t y.

"I always need help with homework," she said, her previous cheerful disposition dropping. She could practice spells all day (wasn't magic fun?!) but any homework involving reading] or writing or 'rithmancy always felt out of her league. But if Aboli wanted to help, she would glaaaadly accept.

kayquilz · 01-28-2021, 12:20 AM

"Remember, only SOMETIMES. And you gotta' know when." Aboli thought it a fat chance that a Hufflepuff would ever naturally play dirty, but whatever. She would pass on what she thought was best. Mamie could take it or leave it.

HA!

Her response to Aboli's question made her laugh gently. "Really? Awww, Mamie! I can help! I make pretty good grades and I'm in NEWT level classes so..." she shrugged. "I also try to master each new spell we learn nonverbally. It takes extra practice and an enormous amount of concentration. But I'm happy to say usually I have nooooOOoo trouble. So. If you need help, I'm your girl!" she nodded and wiggled two of her fingers in Mamie's directions.

Waddles · 01-30-2021, 01:45 AM

Yeah. There was absolutely no chance Mamie would ever play dirty with a stranger. Probably not even with Aboli. Maybe her brothers, if she ever got to leave Hogwarts and see them again.

"I will be sure to ask you for help then," Mamie said with a firm nod. It was a matter of when she would show up outside the Slytherin common room, then, not a matter of if. "How did you get so smart?" It was a sincere question. Did she have tips on building brainpower? A secret potion? Good genes? Mamie needed to know.

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