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Tweak says, "It's a chiller thriller night!"

Halo's Cast (cast_no_shadow) wrote in mistaken_pieces,
@ 2009-01-25 22:38:00

Entry tags:

! ip, - 2020 september, - teachers lounge, [player: halo], [player: mandy], acevona sumner, ariana silver, darl rayne, neville longbottom

September 25, 2020 - Teacher's Lounge
Who: Ari, Ace, open
When: Evening
Where: teacher's lounge
Status: Open, ongoing

While Ariana could have graded her papers in her room, or her classroom, or the small office that had been allotted to her that she knew she'd never use, she found the teacher's lounge to be infinitely more interesting. Tonight, she had a test to grade for her third year class, and she wasn't looking forward to the abyssmal results. Despite a change in her curriculum, Ari thought they still weren't really catching on.

Which meant another revision in her third year syllabus to slow things down further, and amendments in future years for the ones that stuck with the class.

Exhaling, she let herself into the teacher's lounge, and she offered a smile to the woman already there. One of the other new staff members - the healer. "Evening, Miss Sumner," she greeted her with a bit of a tease in her voice.

"To you as well, Miss Silver," Acevona returned with a grin. The Muggle Studies professor had proven to be one of the people that Ace liked upon meeting. They'd developed something of a friendship, and she found herself occasionally seeking out Ari for conversation when things got ... crazy in the infirmary.

She eyed Ari's work, and decided that - unless the professor wanted to chat - she'd leave her to her work. She did, however, get her a cup of tea. Perhaps someone else would roam in? Ace smiled as she settled back in her seat with the newest copy of a magazine dedicated to new advances in the healing field - very interesting reading, that.

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unrulybehaviour
2009-01-26 05:13 pm UTC (link)

"Professor Longbottom, I do believe that you have been spending far too much time with those plants of yours," Darl said as he walked down the hall toward the Teacher's Lounge. "The spores are going to your head."

"I'm afraid I must disagree, Professor Rayne," Neville said, grin on his face. "You may be talented enough to brew Wolfsbane, but clearly you are not wise in the way of Muggle technology..."

"Of which you are an expert," Darl said with a smirk. "Forgive me, I was unaware. Here I thought I was the half-blood."

"Blood has absolutely nothing to do with it Professor Rayne," Neville said airily, starting to let himself and Darl into the lounge. "It all comes down to brains..."

He paused as he realized that he and Darl were not the only ones who'd thought they'd take a break from working and head down to the lounge. He grinned, a bit sheepishly. "Apologies," he said to the women there.

"Apology accepted," Darl said with a smirk, following Neville into the lounge, and discovering that Neville hadn't actually been speaking to him. "Ah..." he said somewhat awkwardly, wondering if their voices had carried, and suspecting they might've - but his eyes crinkled to show he wasn't overly concerned with it. He smiled warmly. "Apologies as well. I didn't mean to disrupt you. Neville here was just sprouting nonsense, and needed to be corrected."

Neville chuckled a bit and smiled. "Well, now, we'll just see who's the fool," he said, taking the device he was holding over to where Ari was seated. "I confiscated this from a student this morning - I've never quite figured out why they insist on continuing to fiddle with their toys in class, they're not going to work any better out on the grounds than in the castle - and anyway, Professor Rayne -" he shot Darl a teasing look, "- and I have been arguing over the pronunciation."

Neville handed her the device. "It's called an ippid, yes?"

Darl rolled his eyes, turning his attention to Acevona. "The man is deluded. I-P-O-D. Clearly, it's called an ippod."

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cast_no_shadow
2009-01-26 05:23 pm UTC (link)

"Don't they say, right in the letters, that Muggle things don't work here?" Though her classroom was, occasionally, excepted from the condition when she needed the wards negated for demonstrations.

Reaching out, she took the iPod from Neville. "Do I get cookies or glares if I say you're both wrong, and it is, in fact, pronounced eye-pod?" She turned it on, but she wasn't expecting to be able to see anything. Indeed, the display was mangled, and she chuckled before she powered it down again.

Acevona glanced up from her magazine, a little smile on her lips as she listened to the debate. Muggle things were generally beyond her, though she had grasped a few necessary concepts. Such as dressing like one. She could handle that, with flair.

"Deluded?" she murmured before nodding toward Ari. "Seems to me you were both off. Does that mean you're deluded as well, Professor?"

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unrulybehaviour
2009-01-26 08:39 pm UTC (link)

Neville chuckled. "It does, but inevitably every year we find one or two students who think they can break through the charms with their newfangled gadgets," he grinned a bit. "I let them keep them until they become a distraction." He looked at the thing. "Eye-pod? Really? What does it mean?"

He paused, eyes dancing with curiosity. "Or is it one of those Muggle nonsense words?"

Darl raised an eyebrow to Acevona, amused.

"Seems it does," he admitted. "Though I stand by my assessment - it should be called an ippod." He paused, before shooting a teasing look to Neville. "Besides, I was closer. I won the argument."

Neville laughed. "You were still wrong!" he argued indignantly, before his gaze moved between Ariana and Acevona. "I'm sorry, we're disturbing you. Perhaps we should take our childish games elsewhere."

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cast_no_shadow
2009-01-26 08:56 pm UTC (link)

"I don't mind," Ace murmured. "It's a welcome distraction. Two handsome blokes such as yourselves." She grinned lightly. "My reading can hardly compete with that."

"Well, it's a brand name," Ariana said. "So yes, one of the Muggle nonsense words. I'm honestly not sure that it actually means anything. Sort of like Pepsi and Xerox. Just words."

Chuckling, she handed it back before she glanced toward Darl. "You're right. It should be called that. You should write to the Apple company and demand they change the pronunciation."

Teasing, of course, but she'd laugh herself silly if he tried.

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unrulybehaviour
2009-01-27 12:59 am UTC (link)

Darl grinned, puffing up his chest a bit at the handsome comment, though he was fairly certain that Acevona was joking.

"Childish?" he snorted to Neville. "I imagine it would also be childish to owl this apple company, and... oh..." he grinned almost sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck lightly. "I'd have to actually write them, wouldn't I? Through the Muggle postage system?" he chuckled a bit. "Well, that puts an end to that thought."

"You were just looking for an excuse," Neville teased, but kindly. His eyes slid over Ari's notes a bit. "Grading papers?" he guessed. "How's it going?"

He'd meant to check in on her sooner than this, actually, but hadn't had the thought to do so at an appropriate time - until now, that is.

Darl turned to Acevona again with a small smile when Neville's attentions were otherwise diverted. "I've been rather good this month, wouldn't you agree?" he said, somewhat airily. "Aside from that... incident with the boils first week, which I still maintain was not my fault, there hasn't been a single potions-related incident," he paused, wondering if he'd forgotten something. "Has there?"

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cast_no_shadow
2009-01-27 01:13 am UTC (link)

Ariana laughed softly. "Yes, you'd actually have to write them," she said to him. "I think if an owl showed up with a letter, they'd have no idea what to do about it." Though she'd do it herself just for a laugh if she didn't think she'd get the Ministry down on her.

It was bad enough she messed with Muggle magicians as often as she could get away with.

"Grading papers," she agreed to Neville. "I have sadly overestimated the working knowledge of Muggles that the average third year possesses. Which means I will have to revise my syllabus yet again, and make a few alterations on the other years agendas, to ensure everything follows."

She paused. "Was it this difficult your first year?"

Acevona, for a moment, was uncertain what Darl was referring to. But she caught on through context, and she smiled. "You've been fine," she assured him. "Though Tristan manages to make it up after every one of his extra sessions claiming he's allergic to something. Honestly, I think he just likes pulling me away from my tea." She paused. "That, or you're lacing the ingredients with silver."

She paused again, pointedly this time. "I told him that was a very silly idea to have, but he seems to have latched onto it."

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unrulybehaviour
2009-01-27 06:45 pm UTC (link)

Neville smiled sympathetically. "First, second, third..." he chuckled a bit. "Each year is a bit different. Heck, I'm still making adjustments now!"

He grinned a bit before continuing. "On the bright side, overestimating what they know is usually better than underestimating. I find it's... more fair to the students to compensate for a test that was too hard by giving an easy test later than the reverse, you know?" he paused. "To make everything... balance out."

He wasn't sure he was being entirely clear, and he stared off into space for a moment thinking about what he was actually trying to say before he shook it off, turning back to her and grinning again. "I'm sure you'll be fine. It just takes a bit of getting used to."

A brief flicker of amusement passed through Darl's eyes before they went blank, and he looked at Acevona with an almost perplexed expression.

"I wasn't supposed to?" he asked, starting to worry his bottom lip briefly before the expression vanished - it wasn't fair to joke like that over something so serious. "I have not been, and I've looked over the ingredients but I have simply assumed that he was bluffing. It's... a difficult potion to master. I'm impressed that he's even attempting it. But he doesn't seem to react well to the... setbacks." He shrugged once. "I would imagine he's jokingly trying to get out of them."

Though he didn't think that Tristan was actually trying to. If the boy really wanted to stop learning how to brew Wolfsbane, he'd have found a way by now.

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cast_no_shadow
2009-01-27 06:58 pm UTC (link)

Ari nodded as she listened to Neville, wondering if he was aware he'd slid into professor mode. She did press a hand to her mouth to hide her smile. "I'm sure I'll be fine, too. Eventually."

She glanced back to her papers before she returned her gaze to him, studying his features briefly before she smiled warmly to him.

Ace tilted her head a little. "Well, he rather has to know, doesn't he?" she murmured. "He'd be a little limited in his pursuits, traveling and the like, if he had to rely on someone else for his potion. And that can always get dicey, if you don't know the bloke you're buying from."

Though she supposed Darl was unaware that she and Tristan had had interactions over the summer and she knew the boy fairly well - both from talking to him and from stories Landon had told.

"He's coming from a hard place to come from," she explained. "I'd rather see him joking and coming to see me after his lessons than ... the way Landon said he was before."

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unrulybehaviour
2009-01-27 07:41 pm UTC (link)

He paused a bit, regarding her expression, and then pinched the bridge of his nose.

"I'm teaching, aren't I?" he asked, running a hand over his face and sighing slightly. "You try so hard to get away from it in your free time and it just slides right back into place, doesn't it?"

He paused, shaking his head. "Let's... talk about something else, if I even can." He paused. "How has... everything else been going?" he said, somewhat weakly.

Darl waved it off. "I don't doubt it," he said, wondering if he'd given the wrong impression. "And he is doing remarkably well for a boy of his age and stage..." he paused. "Well I assume, anyway - I don't know that I've ever taught anyone his age before. Frankly, I was surprised when I was asked to."

Surprised, and a tad eager about it, to say the least.

"But you're right," he said with a nod. "It is a useful skill for him to have, in his current living situation.

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cast_no_shadow
2009-01-27 08:51 pm UTC (link)

"Just a little," she said. "Everything else that isn't teaching has been going well. Acevona dragged me out to Hogsmeade last weekend for drinks, and that was fun. You should join us sometime. Apparently I'm quite amusing with a few drinks in me."

She paused, glanced to Ace, then turned her eyes back to Neville. "Actually, we were talking about venturing into Muggle London later this week. There's a magician performing at the theater? And I do adore watching the Muggles that pretend they can do magic."

She also enjoyed disrupting the tricks of some of them - the ones she felt were good at playing around unusual happenings. "You're welcome to come along with us," she added, since she hadn't exactly made it clear she was inviting him to that as well.

"You've never taught anyone his age?" Ace murmured, amusement gleaming in her eyes. Oh, she assumed he meant that potion specifically, but the phrasing made her grin.

She did overhear Ari's conversation with Neville, and she grinned at that. "So you're leaving me to be a third wheel then? Very nice, Miss Silver."

"Clearly, you are experiencing a failure to see openings when they're left for you, Miss Sumner," she replied before she glanced pointedly toward Darl.

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unrulybehaviour
2009-01-27 09:01 pm UTC (link)

Darl opened his mouth, partially confused before he closed it and half rolled his eyes to the side before he turned them back to give Acevona the eye. "I've never tried to teach someone he's age how to brew Wolfsbane," he amended, only pretending to be annoyed by what he assumed was her deliberate misinterpretation of his statement.

Neville grinned somewhat bemusedly at Ari. "You mean to say they are only pretending?" he asked, feigning shock - and not terribly well - for a moment before nodding his head. He did spare a glance to Acevona, and hesitated a bit before saying, "While I'd love to join you, I wouldn't want to intrude if you had plans..."

Darl didn't really grasp what Ari's look was about, and tried to subtly look around him, as if to determine what she was getting at.

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cast_no_shadow
2009-01-27 09:28 pm UTC (link)

"So, I should bow out then?" Ace replied, eyes gleaming before she glanced back to Darl. "I do believe our dear Muggle studies professor is trying to set us up. You should run now while there's still time."

Ari laughed, rolling her eyes at the pair of them - though it seemed Ace had caught on. "We don't have anything set in stone. I just thought it would be fun and didn't want to go alone. So I bribed her into it. But it'd be more fun with more of us, if Darl and Acevona are interested in accompanying us."

"There, you see?" Ace said to Darl as Ari more or less made her point for her.

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unrulybehaviour
2009-01-27 11:36 pm UTC (link)

Darl's eyes twinkled softly, and he made a move as though preparing to run before he relaxed, stretching out his muscles.

"It isn't every day one's company is requested by two beautiful women," he said with a grin. "I'd love to attend, if you'll have me," he added, tilting his head toward Acevona.

Neville chuckled a bit.

"I suppose it would be rude of me to refuse at this point," he said. "Of course I would love to attend and watch the muggles be astounded by the simple trickery." He smiled. "Which day is this magic act supposed to be on? I may have to rearrange my schedule..."

Darl snorted once to indicate that he didn't think Neville had much to rearrange, and ducked his head slightly at the glare that he received for it.

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cast_no_shadow
2009-01-27 11:43 pm UTC (link)

"Thursday or Friday evening, whichever works better for you. We were planning on Friday though."

"Because someone was planning on having a few drinks afterward," Ace murmured.

"Yes, a few drinks. Though now that we'll have company, maybe I should cut back on the intended number of drinks." Ari smiled to both of them. "I get a little silly when I've had a few drinks."

"That's not what I heard," Ace replied, but she didn't elaborate on what she had heard. Because that was Ariana's story to tell - not hers.

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unrulybehaviour
2009-01-28 01:21 am UTC (link)

Darl raised an eyebrow, smirk on his face, and he gazed between Acevona and Ariana curiously. "Is there an interesting story that I am not partial to?" he asked, amused.

Neville chuckled, and rolled his eyes. "Friday sounds like an excellent idea. We can leave our options open. Even if we choose not to go out and drink."

"Well I don't know," Darl said, crossing his arms. "If there's going to be silliness and funny stories, maybe we want to go out for drinks," he pointed out.

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cast_no_shadow
2009-01-28 01:26 am UTC (link)

"It's a funny story that isn't suitable for young ears, and one I don't think bears repeating in the teacher's lounge." She paused. "It may, however, bear repeating over drinks on Friday evening."

"Perhaps with enough drinks we'll get a reenactment?" Acevona inquired, an impish gleam in her eyes.

"I very sincerely hope not," Ari said with the faintest flush in her cheeks.

Ace just grinned. Ari, she was finding, was tremendous fun to be around, and she was considering asking Isaac if she should recruit professors to the 'watchers while she was here.

She could watch them for a year, see how things went, which way the currents flowed, and let him know if any of them were likely. "So it's a date then? The four of us, off to watch a Muggle pretend he can do magic, and then out to drink a bit?"

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unrulybehaviour
2009-01-28 08:12 am UTC (link)

Neville chuckled again, and wondered if he'd have to watch her, to make sure she didn't do anything that she wouldn't be proud of the next morning. He wouldn't mind holding back a couple of drinks if it proved prudent to do so. He didn't find other's embarrassments terribly amusing.

Though perhaps he was understanding wrong. Perhaps Ariana simply relaxed after a few drinks and became the life of the party, and it wasn't overly embarrassing for her.

He nodded his head to indicate that he was interesting in going still, smile on his lips.

Darl chuckled, and nodded his head as well.

"Seems like it," he said out loud. He had not seen a magic show before. "What is he going to attempt to do? Transfigure a hat into a rabbit?"

That sounded somewhat familiar, at least. Or perhaps he was pulling the rabbit from the hat. Darl wasn't certain.

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cast_no_shadow
2009-01-28 09:21 am UTC (link)

She chuckled. "Mostly card tricks, illusional things. Like suspending people with no wires, making coins and birds appear out of no where, string tricks. It's all sleight of hand and done with hidden compartments, but it really is ... entertaining to play a bit with them. Give them a rat when the think they're getting a dove, for example. Some of them roll really well with it, incorporate it into the act - and you just know they're scratching their head and wondering which assistant flubbed up."

Ace listened; she'd never been to one either. If it proved to be interesting enough, maybe she'd take Lan and Tristan to one over the holidays.

Then she had to wonder if Ariana really did magic at a magic show, and wondered if she realized how dangerous that was - from a 'the Ministry might notice' aspect.

Maybe she'd try to caution her against it.

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unrulybehaviour
2009-01-28 11:30 pm UTC (link)

Neville chuckled a bit.

"Nothing serious, I hope?" he asked. "You don't actually saw their assistants in half?"

There was something vaguely unsettling about doing magic in front of Muggles to him, but he reasoned that he was just being a spoilsport - it was all in good fun, wasn't it?

Darl laughed outright.

"I can just imagine!" he said, chuckling and wiping at his eyes - though whether it was for effect or because he was genuinely crying from laughter, he wasn't going to admit it. "Poor things, confused an bewildered because they somehow managed to perform real magic."

He chortled again.

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cast_no_shadow
2009-01-28 11:49 pm UTC (link)

"No, nothing like that," she assured Neville with a grin. "Just...an occasional bit of transfiguration or something. Nothing big," she said pointedly as she glanced to Acevona.

Ace had a very 'I'm not your mother but I wish I was' expression, and Ari had an idea of where it was heading. She'd gotten the lecture often enough from friends at the Ministry. "Nothing that will get me in trouble."

Ace lifted her hands defensively in an 'I said nothing' gesture of surrender. It did sound amusing, and if Ari really wanted to risk herself ... well, so be it.

"It's a real laugh," she assured Darl, since he, at least, seemed to appreciate the idea of it.

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unrulybehaviour
2009-01-29 04:39 pm UTC (link)

Darl nodded. "I wonder how they justify it," he mused lightly. "Likely half of them convince themselves they did it deliberately..."

He chuckled to himself, though he did feel vaguely guilty for being amused at the muggle magician's expense. It wasn't as though it was their fault that they didn't understand.

Neville grinned incredulously at Darl. "Well what would you do, if you were onstage in front of a crowd, and reached into a top hat intending to pull out a rabbit and pulled out a chicken instead?"

Darl raised a finger into the air triumphantly, and brought it down to point at Neville. "Exactly," he declared.

Neville chuckled to himself, and shook his head.

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cast_no_shadow
2009-01-29 04:47 pm UTC (link)

"I've actually done that before," she admitted, almost sheepishly. "But he was really good about the whole thing. A real showman. Made it up like he'd meant chicken the whole time." She paused. "Those sorts are the only ones I'd do that with. Not the real nervous ones, or the ones likely to be upset by it. Swear to Merlin," she said at Ace's look.

Ace shook her head. "I wash my hands of it. If someone from the Ministry happens to be there, it's on your head, Miss Silver."

"And what a pretty head it is," she said with a grin and a little laugh before she dropped her eyes to the papers she was pretending to grade.

Then, because she was feeling high spirited and just a little impish, she rolled her shoulders before reaching back one hand to rub at them while the other held her quill over the papers she was grading.

Ace lifted her magazine slightly to hide her smile. Good lord, the woman clearly had no shame at all.

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unrulybehaviour
2009-01-30 07:40 pm UTC (link)

Neville watched her movements, partially concerned. "Are you all right?" he inquired gently. "Sore shoulder?"

Darl turned to Ace with a small grin.

"The Ministry has no sense of humour," he declared. "Changing a rabbit into a chicken is hardly hurting

He didn't really believe that. Well. To a degree. But for the most part, he was just being difficult.

Neville rolled his eyes, deciding not to get into it with Darl, and stood up slowly looking mildly concerned. "I could try to rub out some kinks, if you'd like?"

He was only half as naive as he was pretending to be.

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cast_no_shadow
2009-01-30 08:15 pm UTC (link)

Ace snorted back a slight laugh, wondering if she should leave the pair of them alone. "Well, I'm sure it would give them a bit of a headache if they had to figure out how many people saw Ari's wand under the ... table."

She exhaled a faint sigh, then decided she'd spent too much time listening to the kids if she was thinking about wand jokes. Good lord. She did sneak a glance toward Ari and Neville, but she had a feeling she couldn't stay here and not giggle.

"I should ... probably go see if anyone else has managed to walk into a bludger today ..."

Ari tried not to grin, though Ace's repressed giggle wasn't helping. "Well, if you wanted to," she said to Neville. "I certainly wouldn't mind."

That comment eked another laughter-sound from Ace, and Ari glanced over toward her with a grin.

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unrulybehaviour
2009-01-30 11:12 pm UTC (link)

"I would hate to see you suffer," Neville said, perfectly calmly - as though he were stating a fact. Which really, he supposed he was.

Darl didn't catch on right away, but after turning his head from Ace to Neville and Ari a few times, he picked up on it, his understanding washing over his face along with the clear sense that things had just gotten awkward for him. He cleared his throat, and shuffled his feet a bit.

"Need a hand?" he offered to Ace. He didn't really intend to walk with her back to the infirmary - he just wanted an excuse to get out of there.

Neville was still pretending like he hadn't cottoned on yet, eyebrows up in an entirely innocent expression as he started to move closer to Ari so he could rub her shoulders.

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