PrimalArcana

QUEST pocket (Here to ruin everything again!)

>Realizing that you have forgotten any materials for a torch, but wanting to explore the loot tunnel, you decide that lighting your new hair on fire is the perfect solution. Then your arms would be free to wield your sword with it on your head.

>This would later prove to be a mistake, as the smell of the burning bush on your head is poisonous and renders you unconscious for a period of time.

The Sting of a Double Edged Blade (A Harry Potter RP)

The train ride was long and boring, while I read a potions book (yes, boring), Alex mostly slept. It was hours before we finally got to Platform 9 3/4.

"Well, am I glad to be off that train. Now, while we could walk, I have a better idea," Alex said, a smile crossing his face that I was immediately suspicious of. He promptly grabbed my hand, and before I could manage to yank it away and just follow him, he was pulling me along behind him so fast I had to walk fast to keep up with him.

"Alex, where are we - " I started to ask, but he pulled us both through the portal to Kings Cross Station and outside to the nearest curb. The next thing I knew, he was pulling out his wand to summon - of all things - the Knight Bus. I'd never been on it, but I had caught a glimpse of it once.

Alex pulled us onto it and we sat down, the seats immediately sliding across the floor. I was nearly launched across the seats lying down, and grabbed onto the bottom of my chair. This was a mistake, as I tipped over entirely and hit Alex's legs. At that point, I let go of the bottom of my seat and sat near a support bar on the floor, hanging on and hoping not to get crushed by anything. I looked over as the viscous motions continued and shot Alex a filthy look at making me endure this.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity but was actually just a few minutes at most. When the bus came to a stop in front of what looked like a dilapidated old building, I stood up with shaky legs and ran outside to a garbage can, promptly heaving my breakfast into it. When Alex got off the bus, I turned to face him.

"Thank you SO much for that experience. I will never do that again," I said, meaning it. I turned and walked into the building, immediately greeted by a larger crowd of Wizards than I was expecting. Alex, of course, was right behind me.

When we finally managed to fight through the busy room to the counter, I waved the owner, Tom, over. "Hello, we need two rooms for 15 days," I said, motioning to the two of us separately.

The old gentleman looked at his ledger filled with disorganized notes and spidery handwriting. Shortly he looked up. "I'm sorry, we only have one room left at the moment. Lots of families in London with their students. But the amount of days is no problem. Payment is up front. 30 galleons for 15 days."

I chewed my lip and resisted looking at Alex. We didn't really have a choice, I hated commuting from Muggle hotels to Diagon Alley. Without a word to either Alex or Tom, I pulled out my money bag and counted out 30 galleons. The old man handed me a key and I tromped off, my face reddening.

Room 23. The old stairs were creaky as I headed up, making me wonder just how secure they were. Once reaching the door, I unlocked it and stepped in.

There were *thankfully* two beds, I would have conjured one or duplicated the one if I'd had to. As if sharing a room wasn't bad enough.

Tromping over to the one closest to the lavatory, I cast off my bag onto it and then flopped down, cheeks flaming.

"Well...that didn't go as expected," I managed to say in a small voice.

The Sting of a Double Edged Blade (A Harry Potter RP)

For once, I slept without any dreams. It was nice, especially since I'd only gotten about five hours of sleep, due to dormitory mates that stayed up late talking about their vacations. They hadn't seemed to have gotten the hint when I'd sighed loudly and drawn the curtains around my bed. Sure, they blocked out light, but not sound.

Yawning, I stumbled into the girls' bathroom in the dormitory and took a shower, the water finally being what woke me up. I darted back to get ready. Biting my lip, I threw on Muggle clothes for the time being, my usual winter combination of sweater, jeans, boots, plus my encrusting of bracelets on one wrist and a wristlet on the other to minimize any risks. I set my coat aside after checking that my hat, scarf, and gloves were firmly tucked inside a pocket.

Time to pack. I went over and dug in my big trunk, pulling out a messenger bag that was large enough to fit my mini-trunk through the opening. Of course, like the trunk, it was charmed with an extension charm. After first throwing in the trunk, I put in a nondescript pair of black hooded robes to wear over my clothes, as I always did when dealing with shady people. After that, of course, I threw in some more Muggle clothes, as I didn't particularly want to wear these the entire time, along with my money bag. The last thing that I threw in was a bag that normally went to Potions class with me, containing my own personal stock of ingredients. I was taking this because A) I needed to restock, and B) I would be needing to use them.

I slung the bag over my shoulder, pleased when I felt what would amount to a "normal" schoolbag's weight, the charm deceptively hidden in this one by a simple compartment at the top that snapped to the side and held a bound parchment book, along with quill and ink. No one would be the wiser. Tucking my wand into my left boot, I snagged my coat and left.

Heading down to the Common Room, I wasn't surprised to find Alex already waiting there for me. What I didn't see on him was a bag of any kind, although he was wearing robes that would blend in nicely to what we were going to embark on.

"Er, Alex? Did you plan on changing clothes for...15 days? You don't have anything to take with you!" I pointed out, walking over. "I, on the other hand, I said smugly, "I'm ready. Look."

I opened the bag and pulled aside the compartment, you could clearly see my unexpectedly packed bag.

"Just saying, we might want to be prepared. Well, want to grab something and head to the carriages as we eat?"

I flounced out the door of the Common Room and headed toward the Great Hall, where I didn't bother to sit down, just grab some toast, spoon some eggs and sausages between the slices, and wrap it up in a napkin to take with me. I waited for Alex to grab something of his own, then grinned and struck up a nondescript conversation with him as we headed out.

Once we reached the carriages, I patted a thestral on the flank before climbing up into a wagon. It would wait until it was full before taking off, as it usually did. Then off we were on to the station, the Hogwarts Express, and finally to London.

True/False Game

False. Diversity (in relation to race and culture): It means understanding that everyone is unique, and recognizing that we are different. These differences include (but are not limited to): race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age, physicality, religious beliefs, political views.

T/F: @VarionusNW evidently doesn't know what "real-life application of a word" is versus strictly defining it.

The Sting of a Double Edged Blade (A Harry Potter RP)

"Er, Alex?" I asked. "I know that this situation stinks, but that doesn't mean that you should march into anyone's bowels to find the source. There are other ways, you know," I said, biting my tongue so I don't smile.

For a moment, I watch him toss his wand back and forth. "You know that confuses your wand, right? If you try casting a spell right after tossing it around, there's a possibility it might come out the back end and hit you. Try it if you don't believe me," I said. "Anyway, I'm glad, at least we're not stuck here for the entire year."

"My "connections" ARE shady, Alex. I won't even deny it. But if you want to be the best you need to have an open mind and watch your own back, not other people's back. That's how I got most of the things I have in my chest, if you really want to know." I shrugged, trying to pass it off. Truth be told, I had experienced a few scares, but with a few aids I was able to get around fairly easily. No one even knew the difference, which was fortunate.

I stood up after putting my essay into my bag. "Well, it's late, although I'm glad we did this NOW instead of waiting till the night before class starts again," I admitted. "I don't know about you, but I need to get my things ready if we're going to go tomorrow." It came as a bit of a shock when Alex stood up too.

We headed back to the common room, avoiding a big group of Slytherins that were shooting us dirty looks. I had been tempted to curse them, but resisted.

"Well...goodnight, Alex. I'll meet you down here at 9 tomorrow? That should give us plenty of time to...well...grab a quick bite and then dash out the doors to the carriages. But hey, it's late. I'm not getting my stuff ready tonight."

After shooting him a smile, I turned and headed up the stairs, the door to the girls' dormitory squeaking shut behind me.

True/False Game

Conflicted on this one...

False - because white people are still part of a world full of different cultures

True - because white people seem to be the most racially prejudiced people nowadays and end up spurning a lot of hate and violence toward other races. Plus, in reverse, there is a lot of hate toward white people. It's complicated it seems.

Meh.

T/F: Not to be disgusting, but sometimes when you've been holding it forever, it feels almost orgasmic in nature to relieve yourself.

The Sting of a Double Edged Blade (A Harry Potter RP)

After I got my book back, I was just turning to put it in my chest, when I was swept into a hug. I immediately flushed and had no idea what to say after that. I merely nodded and gave a semi-smile in his direction. I gathered up my things, slinging my bag and chest over a shoulder. Peering out of the door, I didn't see anyone and started to sneak back to the Ravenclaw Tower - since it was a little after curfew. I bid Alex goodnight and disappeared.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In the weeks that followed, some semblance of a routine was established. Alex and I sat together at the Ravenclaw table, attended our similar classes together, and studied. A lot of days, we went into the "come and go" room, but sometimes we just couldn't get in, no matter how many times either of us walked back and forth. There was no way I was going to just study the dark books in an open area.

Instead, we talked about some of the things I was interested in. Alex seemed to be interested in wandlore, although my knowledge clearly outstripped his by a wide margin (which gave me secret satisfaction). It was like...well...I had a friend. It was a really strange concept but a happy one.

We had both been researching his mother (with no luck) and I was just about at my wits end. Just about the time I would normally start tearing my hair out, it was Christmas break. Now, I didn't want to go HOME (I never did), but if Alex wanted answers then this was a great opportunity.

We were in the study room just down from the library completing some DADA essay that Snape had given us (the jerk). It was late, and the next day was when departure for break was.

"You know, just one day I'd like to just walk into class, and say 'did I write your essay? NO Professor, I did not, because you're about as warm as Merlin's excised left NUT, and I flat refuse to work this hard during our breaks!" Alex said, stuffing his parchment into his robes before adding, "How are things coming along for you? Better than ME I hope. I'm just not in the mood for this right now."

I burst out laughing, startling several other students and getting a few dirty looks before calming down. "You know, I could almost see you saying that if it weren't for the fact that I KNOW you have some respect for Snape."

The smile stuck on my face for a moment before I rolled up my own essay (finally finished) and looked up at him. As I stuffed it in my bag, I started talking.

"You know, Alex, tomorrow is the Holiday break...how would you like to escape Hogwarts for the duration? I know a few places we might be able to get some answers. Now I don't want to go home, no way, but we could go to the Leaky Cauldron and stay there. My..." I trailed off for a moment, unsure how to put this.

"My connections," I emphasized, "are either IN Diagon Alley, or have contacts there." I realized how shady that sounded, but that was exactly what it was, to be honest. I put my elbows on the table and played with the bracelets on my wrists alternately, waiting to see what he would say.

The Sting of a Double Edged Blade (A Harry Potter RP)

After a few moments, Alex nodded at me and took the book in his own hands, starting to thumb through the pages. I remained sitting next to him and watched his gaze follow the words, but I was curious about something else.

Standing up, I walked a short distance away and stretched out on the thick carpet, lying on my stomach. I got out my own reading material, setting my vault next to me. It was a well-worn book about wandlore that I was fond of. There had always been something about wands I found enticing. Once, I talked to Mr. Ollivander for a while about the art, and he had tested me the next year on all the things I'd learned and felt about them. I hadn't actually MADE any yet, but I was pretty decent with wand identification.

The vibes I'd gotten from Alex's wand, plus just the way his whole life was, it made me curious to know as much as I could about the possible connection, about the meaning of it all. Propping myself up on an elbow, I started to thumb through my own book.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was a while later when I finally looked up, having gone through at least two-thirds of the book. I leapt to my feet, wondering what time it was. I dashed over to the window and was surprised to see that it was dark outside.

Looking over to Alex, he was still reading as well. I walked over to the small couch and touched him on the shoulder. "Hey, er, Alex? It's dark out. I don't know about you, but I'm pretty tired...want to continue this another time? I promise you can still look through my books."

As if to emphasize my point, I went to put my own book away, holding the open chest in my hands and sitting down next to him.

"Are you...are you all right?" I tentatively asked, not sure if I really wanted to know the answer.

True/False Game

False - DRUGS not hugs!

True!

T/F: You're wondering just how crazy and screwed up this thread could possibly get.

Member Q&A!

@FreyaRoseJane

Would you ride a gamer to save a Chocobo? ;)

@LoneSilverWolf

Depends on the gamer. Why, you interested? ;)