I'd Do It Again PV Nicholas McCowan fin

For Nicholas summer had been dedicated purely to self-improvement, his inferiority complex had made sure of that. Building upon his social standing or his academic ability, however, had hardly been his focus. No, it was in the pursuit of stamina that he'd poured a majority of his efforts. Running had become a ritual, one that had seen his physique alter ever-so-slightly even over the two months in which he'd been on holiday. But it was internally that he felt stronger, like he could move mountains, it was a ritual that allowed him to disconnect from his problems for a moment.

So that morning he had left the Thestral cabin in high spirits, prepared to jog for as long as possible before the campgrounds became filled with too many people. After the spin the bottle, a game he regretted playing with just about every fibre of his body, it was only obvious just how much he needed to clear his head.

His clothes were hardly fashionable, but they were certainly of finer stock than his usual assortment of second-hand garments, a pair of slightly too long running shorts paired with the Ballycastle Bats supporters shirt he'd received as a late birthday present from his cousins. His hair, for once, did not fall over his face. A simple headband pulled it back, an accessory he still felt somewhat self-conscious about wearing. Not that it mattered, of course, he doubted he'd see anyone out the morning after the game.

Naturally, that meant the absolute worst person he could have seen was out and about. Aurora Ranvier, the girl who had glared at him the night prior had evidently been doing some exercise of her own, the panting made that obvious. Even the sight of her made him grimace, she didn't like him, the reason as to why however was a complete mystery.

He almost turned to walk away, to make sure his route would not coincide with the obnoxious sweet-tooth. But the desire to understand why she had glared at him so furiously the night before took over instead, he wanted answers, needed answers. Besides, with her obviously exhausted, he had the upperhand. The consideration of such was somewhat petty, but he couldn't bring himself to care. The world was cruel, he needed to learn to be cruel too.

"Ranvier!" He called out as he approached her, "You good?"

He could not hide the smug smirk that adorned his face at the sight of her wheezing. Still, he thought he had, and it didn't concern the question he wanted to ask.

Tactlessly as ever, he spoke "About last night. D'you have some sort of problem with me?" No small talk to soften the blow, no legitimate query as to if he had done something to offend her, just that same neutral tone that he defaulted to. Despite his intentions, or lack thereof, he almost sounded as if he was bored.

Stats: STA: 12 | EVA: 6 | STR: 8 | WIS: 6 | ARC: 4 | ACC: 6
Abilities: Foulplay | Statistically Relevant
Interacting with @Aurora Ranvier

Morning- 29th August 2021

Banner made by Winnie Harper

Mentioning None

Interacting with @Nicholas McCowan

Wouldn’t it be cool if someday Hogwarts has its own gym area? Not that Aurora would use it, of course, but the chance for it to happen in the near future is as high as her will to jog every single morning. Especially, knowing the fact the ancient school still rely on finger eater creatures called owls to communicate in the twenty first century, maybe when the robots take over the muggle world, Hogwarts just starting to use light bulbs. Sitting on the ground in a slightly uncomfortable position was a wheezing sweaty blob mess. The bottom area of her sweatpants and a little part of the bright blue jumper were probably covered in dirt. Once she realised that, the feeling of regret for slumping down the muddy part of the campgrounds. Then a voice came out of nowhere, calling her name. A way too familiar aggravating voice similar to nails scratching on a blackboard or a thousand babies crying non stop, but worse.

The ‘foulplay’ guy. The ‘bludger’ guy. The ‘wanted to kill me so bad but he couldn’t so he glare at me’ guy. What was his name again? Niki McSomething. Everything about him was illegal. To be fair, anyone taller than her should be move to Azkaban instead for making her look up all the time. Those people purposefully making the poor tiny eagle's neck sore. A comedian is what he was. How could he possibly think I am okay while it is so apparent that I couldn't breathe as a normal human would? Though the high pitched whistle sound was not as bad as before, it was still audible enough for anyone close by. Irritated by the question directed to her, the asthma girl pushed the metered dose inhaler once more, then proceeded to answer between wheezes. “Of course I am not you-“ Aurora rolled her eyes as she took a deep breath, “-you McMerollmyeyes” No pun intended.

Last night? The Ravenclaw would say that she no memory of what happened in the spin the bottle game whatsoever. All she did was staring at the boy with a little passion of hate, of course that was nothing. “Dear the wizarding gods, I am surprised you don't know” There was not much interaction happened between the two kids other than the quite intense scrimmage a while ago. Despite the fact there should be no underlying reason for Aurora to dislike him, she did. Perhaps it was because he did a better job as a beater than her, which she will never admit, so instead, she used every little meaningless thing to be her reason. “I have a long list of problems that I have with you, I could show you after you help me go to my Cabin." If only there was another better option that would likely help carry herself to the cabin, anyone other than this particular curly haired Gryffindor cheater, she wouldn't ask him this next question. She was way too tired, however, and Nicholas was the only living being that was around. “Help me, will you?” With a little hesitation, the sweaty mess reached out her hands, waiting for Nicholas to take them and help the tired and sweaty girl get up.

Outfit Reducio

McMerollmyeyes? As far as insults went it was certainly one that Nicholas hadn't heard before. Had it been any other person, any other time, he probably would have been offended, regardless of how weak it was. Instead it came through chokes and wheezes and he felt somehow more pity than he did anger. Of course, he also felt superior, he was taking a sort of sick pleasure in seeing her struggle to make fun of him despite her condition while he remained perfectly rested and relatively contented. Regardless, it was still an insult and it did cause another half-grimace.

His expression fully formed into a grimace when she spoke to how she was surprised he didn't know why she was upset. How was he supposed to know? He hadn't done anything to her that warranted the behaviour and he certainly didn't warrant a long list of problems, as she had put it. His distate was plain to see, although he physically forced himself not to roll his eyes as he spoke, he wouldn't give her the satisfaction.

Yet the tour de force was when she requested he help her to her cabin. Not only had she insulted him, now she expected an act of charity. He paused a moment as she outstretched her hands, before sighing and hoisting her to her feet. Dear lord, was she sweaty. While he didn't particularly enjoy the idea of assisting the girl, he was also patently aware she wouldn't exactly let him know what he had done to offend her if he dropped her into the dirt. What had Falentra said? Bide his time? He'd bide his time then drop her on to the ground at a later venture, strike when the iron was hot.

"Sure," Was all he could mutter, "What cabin?"

Assuming that they took off toward her cabin together, Nicholas would barely go a few paces before speaking, hardly patient enough to wait until they arrived, "So? What's on your list? What could I have done to offend you so?"

He couldn't for the life of him think of what it could be. After all, they had barely spoken two words to eachother, and both of those had been during the quidditch scrimmage. Surely that wasn't it?

"You're not mad I knocked you off your broom are you? It's a bloody game," He asked, although the question was more akin to thinking aloud than a genuine inquiry.

Stats: STA: 12 | EVA: 6 | STR: 8 | WIS: 6 | ARC: 4 | ACC: 6
Abilities: Foulplay | Statistically Relevant
Interacting with @Aurora Ranvier

Morning- 29th August 2021

Banner made by Winnie Harper

Mentioning Vivian Fletcher

Interacting with @Nicholas McCowan

For a seeker killer, he was exceptionally kind hearted. Ignoring the fact that his face turned as sour as a week old seafood, Nicholas was still willing to take her hand and help her get up. A normal person would feel a pang of guilt for treating a nice person badly. However, this diaphoretic Ravenclaw girl was not and never will be in that spectrum, so of course, waiting for her to be in the right mind would not be worth the time. “Unicorn, the bright colours in my cabin will cleanse your muddy soul.”

A Liar. Surely, he knew what he was doing wrong, probably this was just his twisted way to get away with an attempted violation, at least that was the situation from Aurora’s point of view. And it was confirmed as the dishevelled boy spit out a question about what happened in the scrimmage. Both eyes went wide, stopping abruptly, while one finger pointed out right in front of the probably confused boy’s face. “Oh! So you just pretend you didn’t know, huh?” Fairly, the ex quidditch friendly seeker did not mind at all getting beaten by bludgers, she did not even hold the same grudge against Suzuki who basically did the same thing. This was almost a pattern for her, to hate people for silly reasons. Something was definitely wrong with the way she processes information, this young eagle needs some therapy sessions. “Well, It’s a BLOODY MURDER ATTEMPT! A premeditated one you chicken McNuggets!” Maybe it was just her extreme mood swings, or perhaps it was her goldfish attention span, the thought of delicious golden crispy food made the girl forgot she was in the middle of an argument. “Oh wait, I want chicken nuggies dipped in chocolate sauce.” The food combination wasn’t that appetising. But, knowing how Aurora usually stack an omelette, a slice of bacon, and a sausage in between two chocolate bars, who are you to judge?

One excuse after another, trying so hard to make a meaningless point on why she felt some type of way towards the Gryffindor. Not the good kind, obviously. All Aurora did was going on and on about pretty much unrelated plausible scenario if she were badly injured. “Anyhow, I could have a concussion, amnesia, or brain damage! If I were dead do you want to pay for my funeral bills?” Now that her constricted airway was long gone, thanks to the inhaler, nothing could stop her from vomiting whatever words that popped up in her mind. “First, those spider monsters, that awful Hufflepuff lunatic, then the trees, and now you? Why is everyone wants to put bullets on my head?” Despite the shadow creatures, no one actually coming to get her. They had no reason to except her being an annoying kid. Other than that, it was just her sensitive and somewhat paranoid nature that made up these peculiar conspiracy theories. “And, you did not congratulate me when I won, and you did not even say happy birthday to me! I AM TWELVE NOW!” Ah yes, she did not just come up with that last justification roughly three seconds ago. Aurora couldn't care less if the boy didn't know her birthday. She just added it in the last minute for the sake of her furious feeling.

Outfit Reducio

Unicorn seemed to fit the girl, the chaotic energies of both what he had heard of the cabin and Ranvier seemed to be a match made in heaven. Of course, everything about the cabin had not appealed at all to the boy. That lack of appeal was only expounded upon further now that he knew that the diminutive girl was also bunking there, especially when she took the opportunity to insult him for no reason once more. Nicholas grit his teeth, visibly trying to keep his anger at bay while they walked. He just had to wait a moment and he'd understand the reasoning behind her irrational hatred, that reminder would keep him sane.

The fact that she'd taken an innocuous comment as a chance to insult him naturally played into her next rambling rant, both accusing him of murder and then going onto wish for chicken nuggets dipped in chocolate. Disgusting. Nicholas didn't know what a McNugget was but he assumed that based upon her line of reasoning it was some form of the poultry based food. Regardless, it was her desire to mix it with a cocoa-based dipping sauce that made him internally retch. There was something entirely wrong with this girl, maybe she wasn't all there.

As she continued to ramble, both accusing him of murder and somehow lumping him in with some crazed Hufflepuff and a series of supernatural attacks, it slowly dawned on him that there was no logical reasoning behind her hatred for him. She was just an absolutely abhorrent individual, one who had decided that the world was out to get her and that Nicholas's attempt at playing quidditch was somehow in line with legitimate attacks upon her person. Maybe those attacks weren't even legitimate, she certainly didn't seem intelligent enough to process anything as factual. How she had gotten into Ravenclaw was a complete mystery. House of wit? Certainly not.

The nail in the coffin though was her yelling about her age and how he had somehow demeaned her by not wishing her congratulations for such a feat. How on Earth was he supposed to know it was her birthday?

Still, he didn't bother speaking as she went on her furious rant, instead resigning himself to listening intently. Rage was building, that much was certain. She had simply decided to hate him for no reason, and now she had subjected him to a series of pointless insults. Moreover, he had wasted his time by even bothering to engage with her, every second he had spent speaking to her was one he would never get back. There was no straight answer, there was no point biding his time. Nicholas let the cold rage take hold.

As they walked he stuck his foot out, attempting to trip the shorter girl, part of him hoping that her earlier asthmatic episode would make the feat even easier. Regardless of success, it was his own time to launch into a tirade.

“Jesus Christ,” He spat, “Absolutely none of that has anything to do with me. What the absolute hell is wrong with you? Are you alright in the head? A few marbles loose?”

He gestured wildly with his hands, as if emphasising his growing rage and frustration, “Yeah, I tried to take you out with the bludger, that’s the game of quidditch. Hardly a murder attempt and it sure as hell as nothing to do with spiders or whatever crazy nonsense you’ve imagined up. Maybe get Nurse Brumby to take a look at your head because it’s clear that you may need a potion or eight to clear up whatever delusions have taken place there.”

He kicked the ground, sending dirt and grass flying in a clump, “I can’t believe I let you rant at me about your bloody made-up slights.”

His eyes met hers, unbridled frustration painted his entire expression, “And I don’t give a shit about your birthday.”

Nicholas hadn’t exploded in a while, he barely ever allowed himself to give into his anger in such a way, more often letting it boil over and simmer. But whereas he normally took out his frustrations upon himself, he had now let loose on the girl before him. Was it fair and justified? Almost certainly not, but he didn’t know nor care, to him the experience was near cathartic.

Stats: STA: 12 | EVA: 6 | STR: 8 | WIS: 6 | ARC: 4 | ACC: 6
Abilities: Foulplay | Statistically Relevant
Interacting with @Aurora Ranvier
Action: Attempting to trip Aurora

Morning- 29th August 2021

Banner made by Winnie Harper

Mentioning None

Interacting with @Nicholas McCowan

It was clear that the insolent brown ramen noodle didn’t know about the spider situation. What a rare lucky person, somehow it made Aurora even more irritated about the fact the darkness would not give any effect to him. How is it fair for me to be miserable because of those monsters whilst this horrid remains unbothered? If anyone thought that was the maximum level of angriness the girl could be, they are absolutely wrong. Once the word ‘made up’ being spit out from the Gryffindor’s mouth, that was when all hell broke loose. “Y-you think I-” She stopped mid sentence, trying to calm herself before her brain commanded her to do something she will regret later. A little too late, however, the feeling of both anger and sadness spiralled around and took control of her, physically and emotionally. “GO TO THE FOREST THEN AND SLEEP THERE FOR A NIGHT! IF YOU ARE NOT BECOMING A HUMAN KEBAB I WILL GIVE YOU MY CHOCOLATE LIFE STOCKS YOU IGNORANT DIABOLICAL GIT!” As harsh as it might sound to some, she didn’t actually want him to sleep in the forest, let alone being the Spider’s dinner. Nicholas would not be a nice meal anyway knowing how rotten his inside was, the poor spiders would die from food poisoning. Other than that, for her, no matter how bad a person was, they do not deserve to be tortured. Maybe hexes here and there, but not the life threatening one.

What is wrong with the mouth of people in Hogwarts? Swear words being thrown everywhere, she should make everyone their own swear jar and force them to put their sickles inside. Just imagine how rich everyone would be. If in a day an average Hogwarts student swears about ten times a day, they could save ten sickles a day. In a week, they will save seventy sickles which are roughly almost five galleons. And in a year, they will save at least two hundred and sixty galleons, they could buy a superior broom in just a year of swearing. How incredible. “SWEAR JAR!” As a matter of fact, Aurora did not understand the meaning of ‘shit’ in that context. “WELL, DON’T GIVE ME POOP! GIVE ME A PRESENT!” The girl said it in such determination, making sure Nicholas took a mental note that she indeed did not want poop for her birthday.


What was once meaningless banter became a violent one. It seemed like everywhere she goes, fights were always following. Perhaps she has the punchable aura radiating from within. Shortly after that, a rather strong force made her fall to the ground. Wet thick mud covered her entire bottom area and half of her jumper. “AH!” Emotionally distraught, one drop of tear ran down her flushed cheek but quickly wiped it off, causing some sludge to transfer to her face as well. “FIRST AN ATTEMPTED MURDER NOW A CHILD ABUSE!” With all the fire boiling her blood, one hand grabbed her wand from the pocket, pointed it at the boy, and said “SLUGULUS ERUCTO”

Aurora's Wisdom (wdc 11)
18 + 8 = 26
Aurora's Accuracy
8 + 10 = 18
Feel free to dodge :3

Sta - 5 | Eva - 8 | Str - 5 Wis - 8 | Arc - 4 | Acc - 10 Terrible Presence Evasive Maneuvers

Outfit Reducio

Sick satisfaction bubbled in his stomach at the sight of Ranvier tumbling to the ground, the particularly muddy patch staining her pants and a part of her jumper brown. Guilt erupted inside of him too, especially upon seeing her cry, a near-deafening voice in his head begged him to apologise, to offer her a hand up and to explain himself and his angry outburst. Maybe, he'd gone too far? He forced himself to part with those worries, he couldn't afford to be soft, not if he wanted to be successful. His family needed him to lead it in the future, needed a man with a spine of steel, not a weak liver, and Fal Black had told him of the importance of making sure no one knew not to mess with him. Rationality won out over petty emotion, regardless of how bad he felt for pushing the girl into the muck. So he stood, a small smile, half-smug and half-sad upon his face.

Ranvier's spell dispelled the smile and then some. The wand was drawn and the hex fired before he could even register what had happened. This was not akin to duelling, there was no set start point, and his pitiful attempt to dodge failed. One moment, he was smiling, and the next a slug erupted from his mouth. The effect was disgusting, and his eyes balked at the invertebrate as it fell onto the ground, not far from the girls feet. Confusion won the day as far as emotions went, he did not know what or how to think about the fact that a mollusk had left his mouth, and before he could wrap his head around the reality, another one soon followed. He wanted to be sick, but he was certain that all that would come up were slugs.

He looked up from where he stood doubled over, his eyes aflame as he stared at the girl, "Christ, Ranvier, you-" another slug cut him off.

Talking was evidently pointless, lest he encourage more of the slugs to come up from his stomach and enjoy their time sprawled across the muddy floor. The speed to which she had resorted to magic shocked him, and only served to embolden his rage. Just as she had done, he too drew his wand, aiming it at the girl with a malicious glint in his eye.

Before another slug could make its way up and out of his gullet, he too cast a spell, "Flipendo." He had no time for petty charms of slugs or tickling, he had learned how to handle himself in a duel, and this would be no exception.

Whether it was the slugs, the rage, or some combination of the two, Nicholas did not know, but the spell backfired spectacularly. The magic that had been intended for the girl on the ground instead erupted backwards out of his wand, sending him flying. He hit the grass with a heavy thump, the wind temporarily knocked out of him. Now there were two children sprawled upon the floor, and both were entirely Nicholas's fault. He grit his teeth, rage settling in at his own incompetence. But more than that, embarrassment flooded through him. As if on cue, he choked up another slug. He brought his head up just high enough for it to erupt from his mouth and fall neatly upon his chest.

He could not let that slight go unpunished.

Stats: STA: 12 | EVA: 6 | STR: 8(-3) | WIS: 6 | ARC: 4 (-2)| ACC: 6
HP: 1030/1200 (-170)
Status Effects: Slugs 1/2
Abilities: Foulplay | Statistically Relevant
Interacting with @Aurora Ranvier
Action: Casting Flipendo at Aurora (backfired)

Rolls
rolled 10+6 evasion to avoid Aurora's Slugulus Eructo (FAIL)
rolled 4 for duration of slugs (2 ROUNDS)
rolled 1+6 for Flipendo wdc (CRIT FAIL)

Morning- 29th August 2021

Banner made by Winnie Harper

Mentioning None

Interacting with @Nicholas McCowan

People would think Aurora was the type of person who will be happy to see the others meet their doom. That was what she thought before as well. But as the spell hit, satisfaction was not the feeling she got from the sight in front of her eyes. Quite the opposite, to say the least. Seeing the slimy slugs came out from the boy’s mouth like a waterfall pulled the pity trigger deep within. Most of the relentless threats were merely a form of intimidation, to show people she was not scared and will never be even though sometimes she couldn't help but cast some spells or blind them with a pepper spray out of anger. But remorse always come shortly after. Surrounded with mud, the Ravenclaw needed some time to process what just happened. The last time she decided to cast the spell, it backfired badly. Even the memory still gave a bad aftertaste in her mouth. The morning sun put McCowan in the spotlight, not in an endearing way, enhanced his dishevelled self to be more.. slimy?

The wizarding god wasn't on his side. After the slug shenanigans, his own knockback jinx ricochet. A bucket of guilt washed over her, both because of the unfortunate fate the boy had to endure and the slugs. Those poor slugs had to swim around in that mouldy mouth. At a slow pace, Aurora got up from the ground, covered in the unappetizing melted chocolates that possibly had some extract of dragon dungs and whatnots, and crouched down in front of him. “I was not expecting it would hit, so, uh-“ He looked even more wretched up close. Eyebrows scrunched together in a response of disgust. “Ugh, you are revolting” If there was a treacle fudge to undo the spell, she would give it. It was an ill fated moment for McCowan, However. Think, Aurora, think. The spell list inside her brain suddenly got more blurry and hazy. In a time as crucial as this, the wit of the Ravenclaw rarely come to rescue. “You know what, nichoslug? Will this make you feel better?” Probably not, but at least she tried. No, it was not a counter spell, and no it was not a cleaning spell either. Instead of directed her dirty wand towards the slug vomiter, she put it in front of her face. Both of her eyes closed, Aurora breathed out heavily, then said, “Slugulus Eructo”

Aurora's Wisdom (wdc 11)
9 + 8 = 17
Round roll
5 = 2 rounds

This was not the first and probably would not be the last time the slimy slug messing around with her taste bud. A rare form of solidarity action from the young eagle, he should be honoured to receive such a thing. Between each gag and slimes, Aurora looked at her regurgitation partner, "We should-" A big slug came out from her mouth, "-make a slug farm!"

Sta - 5 | Eva - 8 | Str - 5 Wis - 8 | Arc - 4 | Acc - 10 Terrible Presence Evasive Maneuvers

Outfit Reducio

Nicholas rolled to the side, gathering what little purchase he could in spite of the slimy creatures that continuously fell from his mouth. He felt disgusting, he was sure he looked disgusting as well, mud and slugs were certainly not the usual accessories he chose to wear in spite of his relative lack of fashion or care for his appearance. Pure and undiluted anger turned his face into a snarl as he turned to look at the girl as she slowly approach him. She, too, was covered in mud, although it looked like more than a few chocolates had been mixed in which the water and dirt. His expression softened somewhat, perhaps she was coming to apologise, maybe he had gone too far to throw forth the knockback jinx.

Then she called him revolting. His face hardened again. What was wrong with her, why did she insist on trying to make him furious? What kind of game was she playing? Even as she asked what would make him feel better, she used a nickname that did nothing except make him angrier and angrier. Was she just daft? That was probably the answer, after all, nothing she had done had made any sense. He was terrible at reading people, he knew that, but he also knew that he was at least capable of understanding the logical threads that others used to reach their conclusions.

When she cast the slug-vomiting charm on herself, he knew that he was dead on the money, she lacked the trademarked wit of her house. The hatred on his face was vanished and replaced, for the umpteenth time that day, with complete and utter lack of understanding. He tried to piece it together, tried to understand her motivations. What was she doing? Did she just want the both of them to spill slugs? What on Earth was a slug farm? He opened his mouth to question her, and found that another mollusk slid out. He sneered and snapped his mouth shut, daring not let any of the pests escape. His mouth twitched a couple of times, a tell tale sign that he wanted to speak but could not summon the words.

"A slug farm?" The words were slow and deliberate as they left his tongue, only to be followed by another slug.

He blinked, then turned his eyes away from the girl retching slugs, and forced himself to his feet. He ached ever so slightly due to the failed flipendo, but it was hardly worth noting. He was still more than solid on his feet, it would take more than a bad knockback jinx to knock the fight from him.

Nicholas rolled his shoulders, and violently spit out the most recent slug to enter his mouth, sending it flying away from the pair of second year students.

"You make no sense," another slug punctuated the words, "Why?"

One word, one syllable. It seemed to encapsulate every emotion he was feeling toward Ranvier, every spattering of lack of understanding, every failure to wrap his head around her actions. She was pure chaos, a hurricane made flesh and bone, and she had seen fit to slam into him on her path. Nicholas understood chaos, at least he thought he did, he understood it as a frame of reference for when a situation was beyond control or logical reasoning. That did not mean that he liked it. It also did not mean that he liked it when it was given human form and pink hair. Was her casting of the hex upon herself some sort of attempted apology? Why then had she continued to insult him? Why had she seen fit to glare at him in the first place, building a rivalry out of nothing.

"Why?" He asked again, voice like steel, "Why are you..?"

He trailed off, unable to think of the appropriate word. Another slug vomiting forth serving as a would-be replacement.

Stats: STA: 12 | EVA: 6 | STR: 8(-3) | WIS: 6 | ARC: 4 (-2)| ACC: 6
HP: 980/1200 (-50)
Status Effects: Slugs 2/2
Abilities: Foulplay | Statistically Relevant
Interacting with @Aurora Ranvier
Action: "Why?"