Mystery Meeting

Maelys did not intend to end up in the abandoned toilets. Really, there were very few places she would prefer less. However, with the complication of moving stairways, fakeout doors, and confusing passages, the Hogwarts castle made where you ended up more fate than preference. She had counted the staircases this time after the dueling room incident. The third one ought to take her down to the Slytherin dungeon. However, unsurprisingly, as most things did in an enchanted castle, it behaved erratically. That or the young witch's math skills had been off. Mae refused to acknowledge the latter as an option.

Instead, the young witch got distracted. She had been staring at the stone walls and willing them to give her a sense of where the hell she was when she caught site of two figures, both approaching the same door. Maelys was not the exploring type. She stuck to the same routes and routines with little deviation: classes, great hall, library, courtyards, common room. That was it. She did not go gallivanting around the castle on her own. Who knows what she could get into? The Japanese girl had entered the magical world mere months ago. She did not trust the castle's corridors not to contain various creatures, booby traps, or who-knows-what-else.

Still, Maelys was, on occasion, an optimist. She wasn't dumb at the very least. Two people going the same way probably meant it was the right way to go. Perhaps the two she had seen knew where they were going and could offer her advice. The Slytherin took purposeful steps as to catch up quickly.

Maelys came to a door after a short while. It seemed vaguely unassuming in nature. They went through here, no? She caught a faint whiff of something unsavory. Was this a storage closet for potions ingredients? Why would they have gone in then? Her curiosity got the best of her so she stepped inside— an unfortunate decision.

"This is not a hallway!" The intonation of the Slytherin girl's voice rose as she processed her surroundings. The first thing Mae noticed was the disgusting odor, then the toilets, then the sinks. This couldn't be a bathroom currently used by Hogwarts students. There was grime everywhere. She took a careful step forward, keeping her body far from anything it could possibly touch. She wouldn't want any of this on her clothes.

Both of the blurs she saw were present— girls of around her own age. What were they doing in here? This was not a place to hang out with friends. It was barely a place at all. Still, as to remain her composure, Maelys transformed her face of disgust into a hesitant smile. "What is this place?" The question was inevitable given her first reaction. "Why is it so gross?" She chewed on her lower lip. Hopefully she hadn't interrupted anything major. Rational thought told her that she ought to turn around but her curiosity got the best of her. Besides, it would be rude to leave without waiting for a response.

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Was she lost? What did the girl think she was doing here? Having a party? She, unlike other people apparently, did not hang out in the midst of stinky toilets on a regular basis. The question in and of itself provided sufficient information to confirm that the curly-haired Gryffindor wasn't lost. She knew about this place and was consciously choosing to spend time in it.

Maelys gave her a glance of suspicion but swallowed her first thoughts. They were rather rude. On the other hand, telling them that she was lost looked lame. It was like painting the word 'INCOMPETENT' on her forehead in big, block letters. "Well, this really lame moving staircase kind of dumped me here instead of at my common room," she started, "So there's that." The Slytherin let out a small, stifled chuckle, shifting her feet awkwardly. It was a white lie, potentially, if a lie at all. She had omitted the word 'lost' specifically but the meaning was there.

She turned her attention to the other girl. Long hair, blue eyes, also a Gryffindor... She seemed upset, as if she had been crying before the other two had entered. One one hand, this provided further reason to leave. It didn't seem like she wanted to be surrounded at the moment.

However, on the other hand, she couldn't leave the girl in good conscience. Seeing others upset made the Slytherin upset. Besides, Mae didn't yet trust the curly-haired Gryffindor's ability to give good advice off of the first impression she got from the girl. (Mind you, said impression was less than a minute long. Maelys was decisive.)

Hence, she stayed once more. Maelys took a few steps towards where the others were but stayed quiet as she waited for the second Gryffindor's response. Hopefully they didn't plan to be in here for too long. The filthy surroundings were wearing on her.

@clodagh o'donnell & lilith darcy | outfit