New Friends Open Finished

Dennis had initially ended up in the library when he had gotten himself lost and ran to the only room that looked vaguely familiar, walls lined with books and the same bored look on everyone's faces. He had been running his fingers over the spines of different books, wasting his time somewhere he felt a little more at home, when he overheard two students not-so-quietly discussing a way to get past Professor Griffith and in to see a Hippogriff. He couldn't help stopping and eavesdropping listening in as a concerned student. They seemed to only need a distraction, someone to keep the Professor busy until they could slip by. Maybe, if he was lucky, he could get him out of there long enough to slip past as well. No, what was he talking about? He couldn't risk getting in trouble, could he? What would they even do to them, detention? Detention was worth making a few friends and seeing a Hippogriff. 

"I can help! Name's Dennis." Dennis hadn't acknowledged his own feet moving until now, his upper body swinging around the bookshelf he had been listening through so that he was met with the faces of the other students. Gryffindor and Ravenclaw; what was Dennis getting himself into? "I can distract Professor Griffith. I never shut up, he won't know what hit him." A smile grew on Dennis' face, ear to ear as he rounded the corner to finally stand beside them, head nodding quickly. "I can keep a secret, too. He'll never suspect a thing." Raising his hand to his lips, he pretended to zip them closed and lock them shut, throwing the pretend key over his shoulder as he anxiously looked between the other two students.

Maggie grinned. She liked the kid, but she wasn’t sure... then again, who else did they have? “Fine.” Maggie said, “All we’ve got to do is find a Slytherin and we’re a team.” she laughed, but the idea intrigued her... “I’ll set everything up, all you’ve got to do is distract the Professor so he doesn’t notice me when I light the fuse.” Maggie winced as the words came out of her mouth. “That... came out wrong. Fireworks, the fuse for the fireworks.” Maggie clarified, sighing. “Anyways, the fireworks will go off, someone’ll let the ants out, followed by the Puffskeins of course, and the Crups’ll go wild, obvious—” Maggie sighed as she noticed the boys’ confused faces. “I’m losing you, aren’t I?” she sighed, “Listen, Dennis, all you have to do is, y’know, distract the Professor. I’ll light the fuse, Mac’ll let the bugs loose, and, hopefully, if Zeke says yes, he’ll take care of the Puffskeins. And,” she added with a grin, “We’re all from different houses, so there won’t be any use in taking any points from us.” The only problem is if they’re ballsy enough to do it. She said to herself, though she wouldn’t say that to their faces. She liked them and everything, sure, but she was worried that they, since they didn’t exactly have experience, might chicken out. Well, she’ll just have to see what happens...

Mac jumped at the newcomer's sudden intrusion. For a moment, he was sure that their little conspiracy had been nipped in the bud before they even had a chance to see it through. Surprisingly enough, however, the newcomer offered to help. Mac looked back at Maggie, waiting for her response. After seeing her approving grin, he rolled his shoulders in a shrug and flashed the Hufflepuff a smile.

"My name's Mac-" he said to the Hufflepuff, before gesturing to the Gryffindor in front of him, "-and that's Maggie. It's nice to meet you."

Huh. He hadn't considered the fact that they were all from different houses, but it was true, wasn't it? It was almost endearing to think that they were banding together like this. Despite their differences, they were all uniting under one common interest; breaking and entering into a faculty building. (Well... maybe it wasn't quite as endearing when he worded it like that.)

Maggie was right; she did lose him a few times, but the more he thought about it, the more it all made sense. Well, for the most part, anyway. "Ants..." he muttered under his breath, his brow furrowed as he processed Maggie's wild plan. "So... tell me if I'm getting this straight. The puffs'll go after the ants, then the crups'll go after the puffs? I'm sure that'll buy us some time. Then... the fireworks..." He paused. "What are the fireworks for?"

Dennis beamed at the quick acceptance, leaning in a bit to better listen to the actual plan. Being honest, Dennis hadn't even processed what it was they were doing, he just butted in to make a few new friends. Sure, he was aware he would have to distract the professor, oh and that they were doing it all to see a Hippogriff, but the extremes they were going to have to take to get there hadn't once crossed his mind. 

Her explanation made absolutely no sense to the boy at first, but Mac's quick and simple recap locked it in for him and suddenly, he was excited. It was going to be absolute chaos setting them all free, and he was right there in the room with Professor Griffith when it was all supposed to go down. Would he even have a chance to slip away? What if he drug him along and instead of a Hippogriff, he sees crups eating... puffs? Puffs eating crups? Well whatever it was, it would be no Hippogriff and sure to be followed by a lousy detention slip. And Mac was right, what were fireworks for? Dennis figured if the creatures weren't enough to distract the professor, this plan would be a failure anyways, fireworks or no fireworks.

His head started bobbing in a slow nod, lifting to meet Maggie's eyes as he pointed a thumb to the boy next to him. "Yeah, y'know, he's got a point." He adds on belatedly, a bit confused over the fireworks himself as he finally catches up to the conversation.

Maggie smirked. “For dramatic flare, of course. We can’t make a name for ourselves if our first prank ever is bland.” Maggie grinned devilishly. She was a witch now, and she intended to use her newfound powers to the best of her ability. “We can use Vermillious and Periculum for the Gryffindor and Slytherin colors, and I’ll talk to the DADA Professor and the Charms Professor to see if we can make them yellow and blue, too.” She was excited, to say the least. This would be one of the greatest pranks she’d ever pulled. The only thing that she was missing was a Slytherin. And a few Puffskeins and Crups of course, but mainly a Slytherin. “I’ll owl the plan to you guys, in detail, of course. Again, if any of you know any Slytherins that would, y’know, help out a little, that’d be great. If you have any ideas or anything, obviously you can let me and everyone else know...” She grinned at the two boys, walking backwards and away from them as she spoke, “Until then,” she smirked, “Au revoir!” she turned the corner, out of sight, and walked back to her common room, whistling a cheery tune. Today was a good day.

He stood there dumbly, speechless as he watched Maggie turn the corner and leave the library with a spring in her step. Wait, so now they were trying to make a name for themselves? And here Mac thought they were trying not to get caught. He supposed there was no use in getting cold feet now, though. From the way Maggie was talking, this was going to be the first of many pranks to come, and he'd gone and wrapped himself up in it.

He grinned to himself as he bent over to pick up the books he'd left on the floor. Despite his better judgment, he couldn't help but be excited for what awaited them in the future. He wondered if they'd be able to find a Slytherin who'd actually be willing to pitch in. He hadn't gotten the chance to meet many members of their house, but the few that he had met didn't seem like the type to pull pranks.

"Dennis..." he started almost sheepishly as he picked at the spine of the book in his hands, which was beginning to deteriorate from decades of use. "Do you think we're in over our heads with this?" His tone had a playful lilt to it, a small smile coloring his features. "I mean, I'm not gonna chicken out now... but Griffith might kill us."

Dennis watched with a grin as Maggie skipped away, her overall confident demeanor making him feel as if they would never get caught. With an attitude like that, getting caught is nothing but a pebble in the road. His dad had always warned that pebbles were the one thing to be scared most of when riding down the hills on his bike back home, but what's the worst that can happen in this scenario, they can't get expelled for this, right? 

Hearing his name snapped him from his thoughts, eyes still glued to the end of the library shelf where Maggie had disappeared. "Huh?" He turned to Mac with a distant look, falling back to reality quickly as his new partner in crime continued on. "Oh no, I wouldn't worry about it. People like Maggie, they're real naturals with this stuff, aren't they? Best not to get ourselves too worried over old Griffith, yeah?" He raised a hand to plant firmly on Macs back, smile growing from ear to ear again. "Why don't we scope Florean Fortescue's Parlor for a willing Slytherin participant? I'm sure Maggie has her hands full with the real planning of it all." Dropping his hand, he nudged Mac's side with his elbow and gave him a wink. Not waiting for an answer, Dennis instead mentally prepared himself for the moving stairs and maze of corridors as he headed confidently down the aisle. He had to admit, this confidence wasn't his own, but after hearing Maggie so perfectly describe to them such a fragile and shaky plan, it was hard not to ride an almost euphoric wave of confidence right behind her. Something told him Maggie's confidence came to her naturally, that's why she made for such a good Gryffindor. Dennis fit well in Hufflepuff for his own reasons, but he gladly took a lesson from Maggie in confidence after that interaction. 

Dennis Harris has left this thread. 

Though it likely shouldn't have, the pair's confidence rubbed off on Mac. Maggie, in particular, had an unshakable confidence that was nearly contagious. It was no wonder she was sorted into Gryffindor, the house of the daring. This prank certainly wasn't going to go off without a hitch like they thought it would, but that was the last thing on Mac's mind as he followed after Dennis with a grin.

"I'd love to." Already, it seemed that both of his new friends knew his soft spots; sweet desserts and magical creatures. The ice cream parlor was the perfect place to hunt for a willing Slytherin participant, and certainly not just an excuse for the two of them to sneak off and get lunch.

The books were heavy in arms, and he realized that he couldn't just walk right out the door with them. Not without checking them out, at least. "I, uh... I need to put these away, sorry," he mumbled as he slowed to a stop, then turned around to hurry back to the shelves. He had no doubt that the staff had noticed all the racket they'd caused, and he didn't have the courage to face them right now. After returning the books to their proper places, he came to join Dennis' side as they left the library.

Mac has left the thread.