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From afar, one might think that the windows in the Slytherin Common Room just haven't been washed in twenty years. But when you get closer or look harder, you might see a fish flash before your eyes. Or maybe a kelpie. Or perhaps a tentacle of the Giant Squid.
The Slytherin Common Room resides in the Dungeons of Hogwarts, meaning they are underground. What else is underground, you may ask? Why, the Lake, of course. These windows give you a marvelous view of the Black Lake. Most creatures in the lake tend to like their privacy, so you won't see them all the time, but you can usually see quite a few mindless fish and other things swimming around. In fact, you could spend hours out here watching the creatures of the lake swim by and probably still miss a creature or two that lives in this vast underwater world! Just don't go tapping on the glass. You never know what might pop up to tap back.
Bathes in Maple Syrup | Dancing Lobster | Moy Pomidor | Seneca's Beard | That Is So Fetch!
While there was still much of the castle that Gillyweed did not know and had yet to explore, there were already a handful of places that she had taken quite a liking to. Naturally, the library, greenhouses, and lake had won her heart over, and she frequented those places whenever she could. But, of course, there was another special place that she was drawn to: the windows in her own common room.
The curly-haired curl had perched herself beside one of the windows this particular evening. Her and Drake's part-kneazle was lying on her lap, purring away, as she read A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration. Despite the fact that their lessons were only covering the earlier chapters so far, she was nearly three-quarters of the way through the textbook already.
Having reached the end of another chapter, her gaze shifted from the words on the page to the view of the lake. Allowing herself to get lost in the underwater world beyond, her brown eyes watched the fish scuttle by and the kelp gracefully sway. She wondered if the merpeople that resided somewhere within the lake ever made an appearance by the windows.
When Phoebe was at Stemp House, her favorite place to sit was the window seat. She loved to look out the window and watch the world go, especially when she was sad. Now that she was at Hogwarts, she had all sorts of big and overwhelming feelings, so of course she sought out a window like her special window at home. They all happened to be underwater, which Phoebe found upsetting. Why was this school denying her sunlight!? It wasn't fair!! Still, she found the fish entrancing, and she'd seen the squid a few times. That was her favorite and she always always waved.
She was perched at the window again, sitting with her green sock feet tucked up and her knees to her chest. She leaned her head against the window. Thinking. If the window broke, she'd die. Probably. They all would. That sudden thought filled her with panic, so she tried to distract herself. Her eyes fell on her dormmate, who she had been sitting with for a while but not engaging in conversation, and- "H-Hi Gilly, how are you?" The question was forced and abrupt and out of nowhere, and Phoebe was anxious. What if the window broke? What if Phoebe never saw the sun again? What if her dormmates all hated her? She was pretty sure they all hated her. That was another scary thought. She tucked her knees tighter to her chest, looking rather pale and staring at her dormmate with wide eyes.
Bathes in Maple Syrup | Dancing Lobster | Moy Pomidor | Seneca's Beard | That Is So Fetch!
As her dark brown eyes remained on the window, her thoughts began falling down a rabbit hole. Considering what she knew about merpeople, it probably wasn't likely that they came within such close proximity to the castle. Surely they had a village that they didn't venture too far from, which raised the question of where exactly in the lake it was, what it looked like, and how their colony functioned. None of her thoughts considered if the window could break, though she was confident that the magical wards were very much intact.
Her mind then shifted from merpeople to wondering what other creatures called the lake their home. However, those thoughts were fleeting as her attention had been unexpectedly pulled in a different direction that required human interaction. Her eyes shifted from the window to take in the dormmate who she knew also spent time at the windows.
"Hello, Phoebe," Gilly replied, already not enjoying the small talk. Nevertheless, she carried on with it because she really was trying to be more sociable -- you're welcome, Drake. "I'm doing alright. Just reading and window gazing. Yourself? See anything interesting out there?"
Raspberry Jam | #ChocolateFrogFamous | Ultimate Fangirl
It was another bitter October morning and Solomon didn’t much fancy venturing out into it. You would find him in the common room, with an obnoxiously thick dressing gown on, grey in colour, major floof alert, and an oversized hood up which made him look like a dementor. He wasn’t convinced that they were even real, you know… he had never seen one, but his dad always claimed to have although never disclosed to him HOW and WHERE.
Creepy.
Solomon situated himself beside the window, for some strange reason. The sight of the underwater lake always made him feel a little queasy, and he had no wish to look out for beasts floating around either. Instead, Solomon played with a fiddle toy he had accumulated and started to people watch as he thought of something fun to do.
Going back to bed was starting to sound like his best option.
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who could love me, I am out of my mind___________________________ _________________throwing a line out to sea to see if I can catch a dream
Rowan, being an early bird, had been up and about for over an hour. Up to the Great Hall for breakfast and then for a walk out to the lake – her usual morning routine since arriving at Hogwarts.
It was freezing outside today and she was happy to get back to the warmer, although not so cosy, common room. She made her way over to her usual spot by the window, taking off her coat and dumping it on the back of a free chair. She sat herself down, digging for her book in her bag. But her gaze settled on the student in the chair beside her. Not realising at first that it was one Solomon Duck, who was well disguised under a very large and very fluffy dressing gown.
Recognition slowly set in, her usual guarded facade dropped in that moment and she couldn't help an amused smile. “Good morning, Solly.” She greeted friendlily. “I like the Abominable Snowman look on you.” A very grey snowman. Poor boy did not look like he was ready to face the day.
Raspberry Jam | #ChocolateFrogFamous | Ultimate Fangirl
It wasn’t unusual to Solomon to be addressed in the common room, although the majority of his friends resided in other houses, but still - he jumped a little, then focussed on a familiar redhead coming nearer. It was Rowan, and she was super nice. Solly thought so, anyway. His plain expression softened into a pleasant smile, but he felt a little embarrassed over his attire suddenly, and flipped the hood back revealing his mop of hair. Probably better with the hood up, others might think.
“Hey, Rowan.” He paused, and laughed lightly, “Oh, thanks. Trying to give Bartholomew a fright.” He gestured to the window. Not really, because he wasn’t looking out there, but it was a funny joke that he must remember to use with Aurora since she was the squid’s BFF.
“How’re you? I keep forgetting to offer my tour guide services to you…” Perhaps a bit late to be offering that now, but it genuinely was something he had wanted to put out there, especially since Rowan shared his house. (Which was awesome, by the way).
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who could love me, I am out of my mind___________________________ _________________throwing a line out to sea to see if I can catch a dream
Oh dear, Rowan did not mean sneak up on poor Solly like that. She smiled at him in return, amusement in her eyes. “Sorry. I didn't mean to startle you.” She looked at his hair as he pulled back his hood - that unmistakable mop of curls was now sticking up all over the place resembling a tumbleweed. “Solly.. Your hair. Its..” She gestured at her own, making a motion to indicate it was sticking up and chuckled softly. It didn't really matter – his bedhead matched his attire perfectly.
She looked out the window at the murky waters to see if there was any sign of the squid. “Any luck seeing him? I've been searching but haven't caught a glimpse yet.” It was difficult to see anything out there at the moment bar her own reflection in the glass.
“I'm doing okay.” She replied. “I've been here for weeks now and I still feel a little lost.” She admitted. But she would get there, she was sure. The reason why she was here was for the exams, but it would be nice to feel like she was fitting in like one of the Hogwarts family along the way. Her mum kept telling her that these things took time and she would get there.. but Rowan wasn't like her mum. Verity had been a confident, extroverted Gryffindor: Rowan was the complete opposite. She was closer to her blood-father in terms of temperament.
A tour did seem strange so far into the term, but Rowan appreciated Solly's kindness and she nodded in the affirmative. “I'd still like to take you up on that.” There was still so much the redhead hadn't seen. “If you don't mind.” She had no idea how to get into the Room of Requirement she had heard about and it sounded like a most useful tool. “Do you happen to know where the Room of Requirement is located?” She asked her friend. And how to actually get in there..
Raspberry Jam | #ChocolateFrogFamous | Ultimate Fangirl
Honestly, everyone startled Solomon when he hadn’t preplanned meeting them, but especially when he was in his own head about something. I mean, who sat next to a window by themselves if they weren’t in a deep thought? “Oh, no… you didn’t.” Of course, he didn’t want Rowan to think of him as any adjective that could relate to scared in a thesaurus.
He would rather be know as valia- WAit…
What was wrong with his hair?
Solly’s hands immediately, like a reflex, started to pat down on top of his head. In all honesty, it did feel a little wild. How bloody embarrassing. “My hair? Look at yours.” He was joking and he hoped she knew it. He laughed it off as much as he could, but let his hands fall to his lap, giving up and totally owning his now flat hair that looked considerably worse than it did beforehand.
also, truthfully her hair was lovely.
“Nah,” Solly started, glancing very quickly to the outside world, “I haven’t seen him today… never do down here, really,” he knew others were luckier, or unluckier in his eyes. “He’s not all that good looking anyway.” Solly snorted. “Do you want to get closer?” To the window, that is. 0_0
Solomon nodded slowly. He understood fully, but appreciated it must be even harder for Rowan starting school in her fourth year. It had taken Solomon this long to treat this place like more of a home than his actual home. But that, he did. “You’ll get used to it.” He encouraged, giving a nudge in her direction but not actually touching her at all - an air!nudge. She was too far away and he was lazy. “I still get lost too, though.” So she wasn’t alone.
As for the Room of Requirment… “Eeeeerrrrr… no, I don’t know where it is, actually.” Well, he wasn’t really selling himself as a good tour guide, was he? “Maybe we should go looking for it together.” Solly shrugged.
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who could love me, I am out of my mind___________________________ _________________throwing a line out to sea to see if I can catch a dream
Rowan watched Solly as he began to pat down his curls until the were as flat as a pancake! Oh dear, they looked much nicer all messy and suited his whole aura – at least Rowan thought so. But karma came back and bit her right in the butt because, apparently, there was something weird going on with her own hair too. Her cheeks flushed bright red, matching it's colour. She reached up to feel it. “What's wrong with it?” She began to brush it through with her fingers. It hadn't been that windy out today. She smiled tightly, embarrassed, and she did move closer (to the window, not to Solly), to examine her reflection in the glass.
Her gaze shifted to the murky depths. In all honesty, Rowan was pleased she hadn't seen the squid at the window. The idea of him peering in at the students creeped her out a bit. Was it them watching the lake life, or the lake life watching them? “You should be careful. He might be hiding out there listening to you.” She laughed lightly at Solly's joke about the squid's looks. “If I lived in the lake, I'd avoid this window too. Imagine having a group of humans snooping on you all the time.”
'You'll get used to it.' That was what everyone kept telling her. Perhaps it was true, but Rowan was a cynic. Her mum had loved Hogwarts, but her personality was very different from her daughter's. She air nudged Solly back, amused by the gesture. “Did you know you'd be a Slytherin?” She asked her friend with interest. “I think green suits you very well.” She added with a nod.
Well darn, he didn't know where the Room of Requirement was. Rowan couldn't help a grin at this admission from her friend. Into his fourth year and he was still discovering new things about Hogwarts. She nodded to his offer. “I'd like that. Perhaps my tour guide will discover a few other new things in the castle.”
Raspberry Jam | #ChocolateFrogFamous | Ultimate Fangirl
Ahhhh, he felt so bad when she started showing self consciousness over her hair because of what he said. But they must look a right pair to the rest of the common room - both flattening their hair down in order to avoid being an embarrassment to the other. Solly shook his hands and laughed, “Nothing! I’m kidding, Ro, it looks fine as it is.” Hopefully she was just joking about his hair, too.
She made SUCH a good point. “Yeah… you’re so right. Poor Bart.” He was in a nickname kind of mood, as you can tell. But in fact, they should barricade this very window up immediately to give the creature some privacy!!!
Solly appreciated the returned air!nudge and smirked a little, although her question was one that always had him stumped. He didn’t much agree to the labels and stereotypes that were thrust upon the houses, so he just shrugged, “because I’m a bad guy.” He SNORTED, but of course that was quite an outdated judgement for Slytherin house. “Nah… dunno really. I guess it’s the best fit but I think I could be in any house, really.” Truthfully, he wouldn’t.
The compliment took him by surprise but he didn’t get silly and embarrassed over it. “You think so? Thanks…” he paused before returning her question, kind of, “do you think you’d fit into any other house?” Not that he was doubting the sorting hat, of course.
“Sounds good,” he grinned, “I prefer the grounds, in all honesty.” But he had wanted to find some secret passages, as it was on his Hoggy bucket list.
Solly was curious as to what rowan wanted with the Room of Requirement, but he didn’t like to ask/pry… yet…
__________________
who could love me, I am out of my mind___________________________ _________________throwing a line out to sea to see if I can catch a dream
As her dark brown eyes remained on the window, her thoughts began falling down a rabbit hole. Considering what she knew about merpeople, it probably wasn't likely that they came within such close proximity to the castle. Surely they had a village that they didn't venture too far from, which raised the question of where exactly in the lake it was, what it looked like, and how their colony functioned. None of her thoughts considered if the window could break, though she was confident that the magical wards were very much intact.
Her mind then shifted from merpeople to wondering what other creatures called the lake their home. However, those thoughts were fleeting as her attention had been unexpectedly pulled in a different direction that required human interaction. Her eyes shifted from the window to take in the dormmate who she knew also spent time at the windows.
"Hello, Phoebe," Gilly replied, already not enjoying the small talk. Nevertheless, she carried on with it because she really was trying to be more sociable -- you're welcome, Drake. "I'm doing alright. Just reading and window gazing. Yourself? See anything interesting out there?"
Phoebe looked out the window, staring into the darkness. "I can't see anything right now." She hesitated. "What do you think the water pressure is? Do you think the window could break? Do you think that would be really bad?" She turned more than a little pale. That was NOT how she wanted to go, okay. This wasn't the reason why she didn't want to be a Slytherin, but it was contributing!! No other house had to worry about being suddenly flooded and not being able to get out!! Also, no other house was this GLOOMY. And SCARY. And CLOSE TO HUGE AMOUNTS OF CREEPY CRAWLY WATER. What if there was a shark and it bonked into the glass and then the glass all broke and-
Phoebe had to take big deep breaths to calm down. "I, um... I'mFine. School'sFine. I'm just... thinking and stuff. You know." She averted her eyes and went back to staring out the window. This school was a scary and lonely place. Everything was Wrong here. Phoebe just didn't want to tell Gilly that because it would be annoying.
Bathes in Maple Syrup | Dancing Lobster | Moy Pomidor | Seneca's Beard | That Is So Fetch!
Quote:
Originally Posted by astrocat
Phoebe looked out the window, staring into the darkness. "I can't see anything right now." She hesitated. "What do you think the water pressure is? Do you think the window could break? Do you think that would be really bad?" She turned more than a little pale. That was NOT how she wanted to go, okay. This wasn't the reason why she didn't want to be a Slytherin, but it was contributing!! No other house had to worry about being suddenly flooded and not being able to get out!! Also, no other house was this GLOOMY. And SCARY. And CLOSE TO HUGE AMOUNTS OF CREEPY CRAWLY WATER. What if there was a shark and it bonked into the glass and then the glass all broke and-
Phoebe had to take big deep breaths to calm down. "I, um... I'mFine. School'sFine. I'm just... thinking and stuff. You know." She averted her eyes and went back to staring out the window. This school was a scary and lonely place. Everything was Wrong here. Phoebe just didn't want to tell Gilly that because it would be annoying.
It must have been a quiet day in the depths of the lake, considering she too hadn't seen much besides the occasional fish scuttle by. Then again, it was possible that she had missed something as her nose had primarily been stuck in the Transfiguration book. But it seemed like she hadn't missed out on much if Phoebe hadn't seen anything.
Speaking of the dormmate, her response caused her head to tilt to the side. The first question she found intriguing as she didn't know what the water pressure was. Such a thing was added to her mental list of things to look up in the library later. As for the other questions, she didn't have concrete answers, but she was confident enough to state the following: "It certainly wouldn't be good if the window broke. However, I don't think that'll be happening any time soon. I am certain that there are numerous enchantments and wards to prevent such a thing from happening."
The paleness of Phoebe's face was noted, though Gilly didn't point it out. Something didn't seem right, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. She wished Drake were here right now as he was drastically better at reading people's emotions than she was. "'Thinking and stuff'?" she repeated. "About what?"
It must have been a quiet day in the depths of the lake, considering she too hadn't seen much besides the occasional fish scuttle by. Then again, it was possible that she had missed something as her nose had primarily been stuck in the Transfiguration book. But it seemed like she hadn't missed out on much if Phoebe hadn't seen anything.
Speaking of the dormmate, her response caused her head to tilt to the side. The first question she found intriguing as she didn't know what the water pressure was. Such a thing was added to her mental list of things to look up in the library later. As for the other questions, she didn't have concrete answers, but she was confident enough to state the following: "It certainly wouldn't be good if the window broke. However, I don't think that'll be happening any time soon. I am certain that there are numerous enchantments and wards to prevent such a thing from happening."
The paleness of Phoebe's face was noted, though Gilly didn't point it out. Something didn't seem right, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. She wished Drake were here right now as he was drastically better at reading people's emotions than she was. "'Thinking and stuff'?" she repeated. "About what?"
Phoebe stared out into the dark water. She felt all trapped down here. She wanted to see the sky. "I wish they would tell us what the charms are. I don't feel safe like this." Phoebe didn't trust this school, this unfamiliar and overwhelming place. Phoebe didn't really trust anybody, not fully at least. "How can I feel safe without knowing exactly what they're doing to protect us?"
She pulled her sweater closer around herself, turning her gaze to make eye contact with her dormmate. "Nothing, really. Just... the adjustment to this school. It's been a little hard for me. I thought I'd like Hogwarts, but I guess I don't." She shrugged, looking a little disappointed. She really thought she'd make more friends. But she didn't, and she was having a hard time sleeping, and the sleeping problems made it hard to focus in class, and she wasn't even good at school, and so on. "I'm sure I'll get used to it." Maybe. "How are you liking school so far?"
Bathes in Maple Syrup | Dancing Lobster | Moy Pomidor | Seneca's Beard | That Is So Fetch!
Quote:
Originally Posted by astrocat
Phoebe stared out into the dark water. She felt all trapped down here. She wanted to see the sky. "I wish they would tell us what the charms are. I don't feel safe like this." Phoebe didn't trust this school, this unfamiliar and overwhelming place. Phoebe didn't really trust anybody, not fully at least. "How can I feel safe without knowing exactly what they're doing to protect us?"
She pulled her sweater closer around herself, turning her gaze to make eye contact with her dormmate. "Nothing, really. Just... the adjustment to this school. It's been a little hard for me. I thought I'd like Hogwarts, but I guess I don't." She shrugged, looking a little disappointed. She really thought she'd make more friends. But she didn't, and she was having a hard time sleeping, and the sleeping problems made it hard to focus in class, and she wasn't even good at school, and so on. "I'm sure I'll get used to it." Maybe. "How are you liking school so far?"
She too was interested in all of the enchantments that had been placed on the windows, as well as the school in general. However, Gilly was willing to bet galleons on the two of them having different reasons for wanting to be privy to such knowledge. "That makes sense. Maybe Professor Liu or even Headmaster Winterbottom could provide some information about that?" If immediate answers were wanted, of course. Otherwise, she was confident answers could be found in the library.
There was a moment of silence as she sat in the chair, taking in the fellow first-year's next set of words, and did her best to think like Drake would. The direction the conversation was heading was reaching a point where her bank of factual knowledge wouldn't be of much use, and she knew herself well enough to know that she was not the best with emotions. "I'm sorry you feel that way" was all she could muster without the silence lingering for too long.
Gilly couldn't say she felt the same way about Hogwarts. "I quite like it here," she replied honestly. "Classes are going well, though they are a bit slow for me personally. But I've found a few places that I spend time at to pursue my studies further and when I need some me time." Which was quite often, though that detail went unsaid. "Plus my brother and a couple of friends from primary school are here too." Overall, she had no reason to complain.
Ahhhh, he felt so bad when she started showing self consciousness over her hair because of what he said. But they must look a right pair to the rest of the common room - both flattening their hair down in order to avoid being an embarrassment to the other. Solly shook his hands and laughed, “Nothing! I’m kidding, Ro, it looks fine as it is.” Hopefully she was just joking about his hair, too.
She made SUCH a good point. “Yeah… you’re so right. Poor Bart.” He was in a nickname kind of mood, as you can tell. But in fact, they should barricade this very window up immediately to give the creature some privacy!!!
Solly appreciated the returned air!nudge and smirked a little, although her question was one that always had him stumped. He didn’t much agree to the labels and stereotypes that were thrust upon the houses, so he just shrugged, “because I’m a bad guy.” He SNORTED, but of course that was quite an outdated judgement for Slytherin house. “Nah… dunno really. I guess it’s the best fit but I think I could be in any house, really.” Truthfully, he wouldn’t.
The compliment took him by surprise but he didn’t get silly and embarrassed over it. “You think so? Thanks…” he paused before returning her question, kind of, “do you think you’d fit into any other house?” Not that he was doubting the sorting hat, of course.
“Sounds good,” he grinned, “I prefer the grounds, in all honesty.” But he had wanted to find some secret passages, as it was on his Hoggy bucket list.
Solly was curious as to what rowan wanted with the Room of Requirement, but he didn’t like to ask/pry… yet…
Rowan's expression softened and her hands dropped to her lap, a small wry smile for Solly. “You.” She said, narrowing her eyes in gest. “I guess I deserved that.” She smiled and nodded her head. Poor Bart indeed. It would be like being trapped in some reality TV show. An introvert's nightmare.
Her eyebrows raised. If Solly was a bad guy, he was a pro at hiding it. Rowan thought he was one of the chillest people she'd met at Hogwarts. “If there's anything bad about you, it's your jokes.” She teased lightly. “But I've heard we have a reputation. You seem pretty smart. And determined to get things done. I saw what happened in Potions when it all went wrong for you. I'm not sure I'd have had the patience to start all over again.” Perhaps that wasn't altogether true – Rowan's favourite subject was Potions and she had aspirations of becoming a Potioneer when she graduated. Any other subject and she would have rage quit (all internalised rage of course).
She nodded unembarrassed. It was a fact - green suited him very well. “Hm.. I thought I was going to be a Ravenclaw.” She admitted with a light laugh. “Even my own mum thinks I study too much. But the sorting is much more nuanced than that I feel.”
A trip out to the grounds sounded like a great plan, and a great place to start their exploration. “You're an outdoorsy sort? Do you like flying?”
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Lake Windowsss 
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Open! 
