WHO: Megan Jones & Morag MacDougal WHEN: BACKDATED, Wednesday, 9 October WHERE: The courtyard. SUMMARY: Megan and Morag practice Disillusionment Charms. RATING: PG STATUS: Complete
Megan had been trying to live life as usual. In some ways it was easy enough that she felt guilty, in other ways it felt impossible not to go mad under the weight of it all. All she wanted to do was beg Ritchie for a joint and blow off all of her classes, but that would be irresponsible. No, instead she went to all of her classes and drew doodles to make it look like she was paying attention. That was clearly the mature thing to do. At least classes were over for the day, that was something.
Walking through the hallways she had the sudden realization that the last thing she wanted to do was go to her dorm. Or the library. Or anywhere around too many people. She also didn’t want to be alone. From up ahead she could spot Morag, and suddenly an idea popped into her mind. “Morag! Hey, wait up!” Megan darted ahead, a half run that was hardly more effective than simple walking. “Hi,” she added, finally falling in stride with the other girl. “Mind if I walk with you?”
Surprised at being flagged down by the Hufflepuff, Morag’s only invitation was to shrug. She liked Megan, or rather, Megan hadn’t done anything to warrant dislike and was decidedly less irritating than many of their classmates.
“What’s up?” Morag asked, curious if Megan was on her way somewhere or had approached her for a reason.
“Nothing much, just thought we could talk.” Megan shifted her bag on her shoulder, the heavy reminder of work to come promptly ignored. “I feel like we haven’t spoken much this year.” Not that they had ever talked much before. “I swear, if it wasn’t for the journals I wouldn’t talk to anyone at all. Okay, that might be a slight exaggeration.” If Megan was honest with herself she had chosen Morag to talk to because she was blunt and straight to the point. Megan had always respected that about the other girl. “How have you been? Pondering the evils of whatever part of society annoys you the most?”
“I’d never get anything else done,” Morag grumbled, but her lips curled slightly in a grin. “And I’d hardly call what anyone does in those stupid books talking.”
That wasn’t entirely true. Morag suspected they were all chattering merrily at each other behind Wards, which was both a relief and an irritation. She had less prattling to sift through, but nobody had anything to say to her they couldn’t just say in front of everybody else.
“They are a bit silly, but I like them. It’s a bit strange thinking the Carrows’ are reading them, but if they’re that bored then I hope they enjoy the show.” And that the wards hold up. She didn’t want to think about the fallout that would occur when they figured out what was going on under those things. “Certain people seem keen on giving them quite the show,” she sighed, a small smile giving away her fondness.
At this Morag could only scowl. They were nearing the Great Hall, but she was headed out of doors and slowed, as though to give Megan the opportunity to veer off, if she had somewhere to be.
“I wish they wouldn’t.”
“Me too,” Megan said simply, folding her arms in front of herself. “Do you want to get out of here? Go outside or something? I don’t really feel like being around people, except for you, of course. But if you have something better to do I completely understand.”
Morag’s expression was one of bald surprise at Megan’s exclamation.
“I was going to practice Disillusionment Charms in the courtyard, if you want to join me.”
It would be easier with two, given Flitwick wanted them to advance beyond inanimate objects to their peers.
“I’m game.” She had been trying to keep on top of things in Charms. It would be a tad awkward if she started failing Charms now that she talked to Flitwick on a regular basis outside of class. She knew he wouldn’t make a big deal of it, but she wanted to impress him. He was probably the professor she wanted to impress the most. “It sounds like a lot more fun than making a diorama.”
Morag groaned at the memory of their ridiculous project for Muggle Studies. She had the feeling it wasn’t the last enormous waste of her time to come out of that class.
“If only we could have Disillusioned that. I can’t believe she passed us.”
“I’m pretty sure we could have turned in a paper cauldron and we would have passed. They’re not exactly strict.” Megan could remember all the times in past years she wished she could be assigned arts and crafts instead of her normal school work. Funny how the universe comes back to bite you in the ass.
Dumping her bag onto the ground, Morag bent to rifle through it for her Charms text.
“Remind me of that, next time.”
Though if Alecto gave her a sharp object in the future, Morag wasn’t sure she wouldn’t use it to off herself and end the misery that was seventh year.
“Have you tried one on a person yet?”
“I’ll make a diorama with the quote in the middle so you’ll never forget. You can set it at the foot of your bed, that way you can see it when you wake up and when you go to bed. I know you’ll thank me at the end of the year when you get an O.” Megan dumped her stuff on the ground, pulling her wand out as she got ready for whatever it was they were about to do.
“Not on a person, no.” Megan had the decency to look slightly guilty as she smiled. “I did try it out on my bear. You?”
Morag shuddered at the thought of her bear, which she’d taken to keeping locked in her trunk. Seamus was a bad influence.
“I tried it on myself, but it didn’t work. It’s difficult to get the casting right, when you’re using your own head. I know we haven’t done a practical in class yet, but,” and Morag paused, lips pressed together in thought. If Megan cast it on her and it didn’t work, there wouldn’t be any lasting damage. If Megan cast it on her and it did, there was lots she wouldn’t mind taking advantage of with near-invisibility.
Not infiltrating the Prefect bathroom.
“Want to give it a try?”
“Why not? I’m happy to be your experiment. Don’t go rogue on me and we should be just fine.” Megan trusted Morag not to kill her, or seriously injure her for that matter. That was good enough for her. Morag had the right thinking, it was only a matter of time before they began doing practicals. It would be nice to have a head start.
“Aim away.”
Morag did just that, squaring her shoulders and as she pointed her wand and imagined that Megan was already invisible, as Professor Flitwick had instructed. With a flick of her wrist, she spoke the incantation.
And nothing happened.
She tried again, and a third time, even trying looking at Megan only out of the corners of her eyes, as though she could trick her brain into believing the Hufflepuff were less substantial than she was.
“Damn,” Morag muttered, dropping her wand arm to her side and shrugging at Megan.
“I’m thicker than I look,” she said with a small smile, hoping to be helpful. “Don’t worry, you’ll figure it out. I can’t tell you how many spells I’ve failed the first dozen times I’ve tried them.” Megan pursed her lips together, trying to think of an idea to help Morag without knowing how to do the spell herself.
“Maybe you should try imagining me as a ghost. Here, but not here. It might be easier to picture me completely invisible that way. Take all the time you need, there’s not any rush.”
Smirking appreciatively at Megan’s ability to poke fun at herself, Morag lifted her wand again. Megan’s suggestion wasn’t the stupidest thing she’d ever heard, so she tried it, imagining the Hufflepuff a little fuzzy around the edges. It helped to squint.
She cast the spell again, but she couldn’t exactly see her, it was as though her eyes just couldn’t focus and drifted away. Morag supposed that meant it had worked.
For a few seconds, anyway.
“Did it work?” Morag wasn’t swearing, so she took that as a good sign. She hadn’t felt any different, but she hadn’t been looking at herself either. “I tried sucking in. Thought I might take up less room, but I’m sure your casting was nice, too,” she teased, trying to gauge a reaction from the other girl.
“Although you if you really want to see a disappearing act, just put me in the middle of a party. I can vanish in three seconds flat.”
“This is too bizarre,” Morag said as Megan’s voice emanated from the space where she’d been standing, but the girl was nowhere to be seen. The effect faded in less than thirty seconds, but Morag considered it a success all the same.
“I’m rarely invited, thought I suppose that’s more of a failure to appear as opposed to a disappearance,” Morag replied, deadpan but with the hint of a smile playing across her features. “Did you want to give it a try?”
“Are you kidding? This is awesome. I’ve always wanted to be a spy without any of the actual risk.” Not that the spell would last long enough to any actual spying, but it was a fun thought all the same.
“You’re just too cool for parties, I get it,” she teased, knowing that parties weren’t for everyone. The only ones she really enjoyed were the ones over the summer. It also helped if she knew who was invited. There were some people she just as well avoid. “I’m amazed you’re even talking to me now.”
“Why not?” Megan tried imagining Morag fuzzy around the edges, aiming her wand before firing off the spell. “Well, that didn’t work at all.”
There was one thing to be said for the Hufflepuff. The girl could chatter.
“I’m sure we’ll get more practice in class. Or you might try imagining I’m somebody you don’t like. I’ve got a long list of people I wish would disappear,” Morag said wryly.
I’ve had enough people disappear. Megan simply smiled, holding her wand straight. “That’s just it, the people you want to disappear never actually do. Hold still, I’m doing this until I get it.” And she did.