I Solve All My Problems By Cheating Gia Adelard Closed

•──────────────────────────• Interacting: @Connie Dawson Mentioning: N/A Hex Code: #ac1f53 •──────────────────────────• Reducio Abilities: Evasive Maneuvers Stats: Sta 8 ⋆ Eva 6 ⋆ Str 3 ⋆ Wis 7 ⋆ Arc 5 ⋆ Acc 6 Credit: Moodboard made by Lucia Fox

17 January, 2021

A sudden call echoed through the deserted corridor, startling Gia. Looking around for the source of the noise, Gia stopped walking and waited for whoever it was to say something again. When the person didn't say anything else after thirty more seconds, the first year shrugged to herself and walked on. The Gryffindor Common Room was close by, wasn't it? Yes, she thought, it was probably just someone in there. Gryffindors could be quite loud, Gia knew — and yes, that did include her sometimes. Still, even though she'd come up with a completely plausible explanation for the loud call she'd just heard, curiosity quickly took over and the young girl peeked inside the next couple of rooms she passed, her feet light and quiet on the stone floors.

Nothing. . . nothing. . . nothing. . . There was only a few more doors in the corridor left now. No, still no. . . The last room left turned out to be the Transfiguration classroom. Wondering whether she would simply see the Transfiguration professor sitting there, Gia crept even closer until she was right outside the door. She was being slightly ridiculous and she knew it, but that had never stopped her before, and it wouldn't now.

To be honest, the brunette was probably just bored. She had recently gotten back from an exciting winter break and after returning to her classes, Gia had found that they weren't quite as fun as they had been before. She'd gotten used to having classes like Charms, History of Magic, and Transfiguration by now, she supposed, and now the eleven year old just wanted an escape—even if it was as simple as sneaking up on someone else and shouting out "boo!" when she jumped out.

Finally deciding to go ahead and see who was inside, Gia took a few more steps forward until she was standing directly in the center of the open doorway. At first, it didn't seem like there was anyone there. Then, upon hearing a small grunting noise and the scrabble of fingers on wood as they tried to get a good hold, the young girl's eyes scanned the room more thoroughly. Her eyes quickly landed on a girl who was trying to yank one of the professor's desk drawers open, muttering to herself as she did it. Raising an eyebrow at this unexpected sight, Gia quickly hurried over. "Hi," she said, probably startling the other girl with her sudden appearance. Then, unable to help herself, Gia asked, "Do you need any help with that?"

The eleven year old could tell from the hurried but eager manner the other girl was using that she wasn't supposed to be here, and wasn't supposed to be doing whatever she was doing. Sneaking around and trying to get inside a professor's locked drawers was definitely not allowed—not that Gia minded, of course. She had wanted something exciting to do, after all, and this was perfect, wasn't it? The first year eyed the lock on the desk carefully. "I think we need to pick the lock if you want to open it—what're you trying to get from there, anyway?" Yup, the side of her that was (sometimes) cautious wasn't present today, that was for sure. . . but the girl beside her didn't seem dangerous or like she was trying to do something super harmful, so what did it matter anyway? "Do you know how to pick locks?" Probably not, since the other girl hadn't tried it yet, but it was worth a shot to ask.

585 words

With her foot lodged against the wood and her fingers curled beneath the handle, Connie was far too absorbed in her task to notice anyone entering. The sheer frustration of trying to pull open the desk was clouding her judgement, getting her more and more worked up. Mixing the anxiety of a failing plan with the urgent need to prove herself against... the desk.

Should've brought an axe. There's some unlocking charm, right? I should've looked it up in the spellbook. Why didn't we start with that one?

Then, she heard the voice.

"Hi."

Connie jumped, falling back onto the floor as she looked up and saw the other girl standing there. Her cheeks glowed a hot, embarrassed red as she stared straight at the newcomer. "I wasn't doing anything. Nothing. What're you doing sneaking in here?" she rabbited quickly. launching straight into a defence before she could think through what the other girl had said. When it hit her, the defence dropped and Connie gave her a crooked smirk.

"Sorry, I thought you were coming to tell me off. You don't happen to know the unlocking charm, do you? That'd be really handy right about now," Connie said, looking towards the drawer again. There was a tiny lock, just situated to the side of the handle. It was hard to imagine quite what kind of key fitted that kind of lock, let alone with could pick it.

"Nope. Never picked a lock before. Something about a paper clip and a thin bit of metal maybe? That's what they do on the telly," Connie replied, sucking her lip as she thought about what to do. "I could maybe use a ruler in the gaps at the side?" She wasn't certain at all, but it was worth a shot. She was already fishing in her bag for a plastic ruler before she even thought about answering.

"Oh... I want the answers for the homework," Connie admitted casually, like it was no big deal. She ran her fingers over the edge of the drawer, searching for the best spot. "I need like, 6 more inches of parchment and I've got no ideas." With a determined push, Connie shoved the ruler against the gap, wedging a little of the plastic in there. "You didn't hear me say that though!" she said, gritting her teeth as she tried to work the plastic deeper and avoid too much obvious damage.

"I'm Connie, by the way!" she said brightly, giving the new girl a smile as she kept trying to wiggle the ruler a little deeper. "Keep your eye out! Don't want a professor wandering in with their coffee right now."

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January 17, 2021 | Transfiguration Classroom
@Connie Dawson

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Gia raised an eyebrow in amusement at the other girl's first comment. It was obvious that she wasn't doing nothing. . . but luckily for her, Gia wasn't there to get her in trouble. No, it was just the opposite. The first year wanted to help out instead. Opening her mouth to repeat her question, she hadn't even begun to speak when the other girl gave her a smile and apologized. "It's fine - I would probably have done the same thing. What're you doing, anyway?" The girl seemed distracted, though, and didn't answer this question right away. Instead, she asked about the unlocking spell.

"Oh, uh. . . well, I should, but, uh. . . I don't really." Gia laughed sheepishly. "I mean, we did it in class a little bit ago, but I'm so horrible at it right now. It'd probably backfire, like, super badly if I tried to do it." The first year shrugged. "You probably don't know it either then, huh?" Picking the lock crossed her mind then, and she asked about that instead. Who knew? Maybe the other girl - a Gryffindor, from the looks of her robes - had just forgot to try picking the lock first before deciding to try and pry it open with her fingers. Sure, it probably wasn't likely, but still.

At the girl's reply, Gia nodded. "Yeah. . . something like that. I kind of know how to, but I've never actually, like, done it well. I think you need to hold something down with one piece of metal and then twist with the other?" When the other student started using a ruler this time to try and get the drawer open, the first year giggled, saying, "We could try picking the lock instead, if you'd like. The ruler might, uh. . . damage the drawer enough to be noticeable." Realizing she still had no clue about what the other girl was trying to do since her question from before hadn't been answered yet, Gia asked the same question again. This time, she got an answer.

"Ah, got it," Gia said, a knowing smirk appearing on her face as she started nodding. Glancing around once to make sure they were really alone and that there was no one else coming down the hall, the eleven year old dug in her bag and took out her Transfiguration homework, admitting, "I have a little bit already written down here - I still need a bunch more, too. . . getting the answers would definitely be helpful." Her muggle teachers used to have a sheet of answers on a paper that they kept way out of the reach of students. Gia had stolen it multiple times to get the answers when she'd had no clue as to what to do. . . Why hadn't she thought of doing that very thing again here, at Hogwarts?

Stuffing the parchment back in her bag in a way that would crumple - and possibly even rip - it, she turned her full attention back to the situation at hand. The other girl was still trying to wedge the ruler in between the cracks of the drawer, she saw. "Here, I can try picking the lock for you if you'd like. . . d'you have a paper clip?" Hearing the girl introduce herself then, Gia smiled. "I'm Gia." Spotting one of the thin metal pieces in her bag, the eleven year old pulled it out and examined it, trying to remember what exactly she was supposed to do.

Word Count: 570 words
Abilities: Evasive Maneuvers
Stats: Sta 8 ⋆ Evs 6 ⋆ Str 3 ⋆ Wis 7 ⋆ Arc 5 ⋆ Acc 6

Reducio

OOC: So sorry for the wait!