What are you doing here? PV Prat Pass

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Sunday, 20th April; Corridors

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He observed the Gryffindor girl standing right ahead of him with a furrowed brow, He had noticed her standing there, clearly not belonging to Slytherin . "Are you looking for something?" he inquired with a hint of authority in his voice, a trait he had naturally picked up upon becoming a prefect.

He softened his tone, realizing he might scare her. "I'm here to help, not harm. The Slytherin dorms are off limits to non slytherin, and it's not nice to wander alone." He offered her a cautious smile, extending his hand to guide her towards an exit. "I can show you the path to wherever you really intended to be, but be quick."

Even without further words from the girl, Prat's curiosity grew. Wanting to understand how the gryffindor girl had ended in such a predicament. After a brief moment of contemplation, he gently prodded. "How did you come to be here, if you don't mind me asking?" His eyes continued surveying the girl for any signs of deceit or mischief but all he could assume was embarrassment on her face.

Her response would be crucial; he needed to understand how she ended up there. It was unusual for non slytherins to end up here. Specially new ones.

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@Olivia WilliamsXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXNote

Olivia looked up at the Slytherin guy standing in front of her. She could see the prefect badge. Oh no, I'm probably going to get into trouble now! But when he smiled and held out his hand, Olivia was surprised. For a moment she thought about taking his hand but then hesitated. What if it was a trap? What if he wanted me to trust him just because he was going to trick me into going to the headmaster's?He is a Slytherin, after all.

Then he asked how she got there. What now? Should I lie or should I tell the truth? The truth, otherwise he would probably become even more doubtful and suspicious of me. Olivia quickly looked around to make sure no one else was nearby. "I was going to the library and tried a shortcut I heard some older students talking about. But when I came out, I was in this corridor and not by the library like they said. I figured they must have tricked me, I hate people!" Olivia said with a little more frustration in her voice than she intended. She glanced up at the Slytherin prefect, would he be angry because she almost shouted at him? But he seemed calm. Then Olivia remembered something and asked: "By the way, where exactly are we? We must be below ground level, but more precisely where?"

Olivia glanced up at the boy cautiously. She hoped she hadn't broken any rules or fallen out of favor with the headmaster.

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Sunday, 20th April; Corridors

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Prat looked at the seemingly lost child who carried an irritated expression on her face while she recounted the trickery of her peers to him. He wasn't much familiar with this feeling, being a victim of such trickery was something Prat had somehow managed to avoid in all his years at Hogwarts.

He cleared his throat, intending to offer a comforting and firm response to her. "I understand you were duped, but hate is a powerful emotion. One that clouds judgement, don't let it Consume you." He said as his voiced carried the weight of his experience. Introducing himself with a smile, Prat told her he was a prefect of Slytherin here at hogwarts.

The corridor she had found herself was suspiciously close to Slytherin dorms. It wouldn't take a scholar to deduct how someone dressed in Red did not belong in there. "Allow me to escort you away from here" He offered, extending an arm to escort her and show her the way.

He felt a bit of pity for her. Knowing how anxious kids could get around the idea of seemingly messing up or ruining something. The fear among students was huge, specially when it came to false propaganda spread about how evil and dark all slytherins were. Well...some of them were but that was just the lack of sunlight making them act up. "It's quite alright to get lost here." he told her. His attempt at lightening the mood, "It happens to the best of us. And it's not everyday one gets a personal escort in the form of a prefect."

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@Olivia WilliamsXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXNote

Olivia put aside all caution and smiled. She understood that she wouldn't get into trouble. She took his arm and smiled. "Then I'll take the chance," she said. "To be escorted by a prefect," she added in case he didn't understand.

They started walking. "My name is Olivia, Olivia Williams," she introduced herself, feeling like she wanted to make up for her earlier not-so-nice manner. "I'm a werewolf," she said then, but half regretted saying it. Her father had warned her and told her to be careful. But he was a prefect after all. "Sorry, I don't know why I said that," Olivia said and looked away, preparing herself for him to tear himself away and judge her. That was what her father had warned her about. That people would judge her, hate her, even want to end her.

Olivia had been told this all her life. Hide it and don't tell anyone! She never showed her scars, physical or emotional. Being a werewolf could get many different opinions. Some liked it, some hated it, others had no opinion. But Olivia was unsure if what her father said was really true. But when she got no reaction, Olivia decided to venture a cautious look at him.

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Sunday, 20th April; Corridors

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Prat blinked slowly when Olivia took his arm, registering her sudden shift from hesitation to ease. He didn't comment on the change, people were unpredictable like that but the corners of his mouth curled slightly at her remark.

"Fair enough," he said dryly, beginning to lead her away from the slytherin common rooms with calm measure steps.

He wasn't particularly invested in her motives for being so out of bounds from her usual track. He had done worse, and so had many others. Being a prefect wasn't about moral superiority. It was more about ensuring people didn't make a mess of things he'd eventually have to clean up.

As they walked together, introduction came; Olivia Williams. He nodded once, acknowledging the name before their conversation fell into silence one again. He wasn't looking for excessive pleasantries. Still, she seemed nervous, in the way younger years often were when caught by someone in a position of school authority.

But then came the real slip up.

"I'm a werewolf."

There was a pause in his steps, brief, nearly imperceptible, but it was there nonetheless.

His expression didn't shift, there was no need to. He didn't look at her, didn't raise an eyebrow, scowl or narrow his eyes in judgement. The same unreadable calm lingered in his posture as if she'd told him she preferred pumpkin juice over tea. But inwardly, Prat found himself critiquing the decision.

That was quite unwise of her.

She apologized almost immediately, and he could hear the retreat in her tone. Fear, even. Prat didn't particularly care what anyone was, he'd grown up around pureblood ideology but had always viewed it as posturing. He preferred judging people by their utility, intellect and whether they knew when to keep their mouths shut.

"That's nice for you," he replied, tone nonchalant. "But next time, I'd suggest not offering that information to someone you just met."

He glanced sideways at her, only briefly. "Not everyone in this castle would be as... appreciative of such honesty."

It wasn’t a warning.

He resumed walking again, guiding her through the quieter halls, expression unreadable. If she looked again, she’d find no trace of disgust.

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@Olivia Williams

Olivia shook a little. She had let go of his arm. She walked with her eyes stubbornly fixed on the floor. But finally she glanced up at Prat. She felt relieved not to see any disgust. It was still a good sign.

She thought about what Prat had said. That it had been unwise of her to just say it because it could get such different reactions. She knew about it, of course she did. That was why she was so surprised that she had said it. Just like that.

She walked silently, but finally she couldn't hold it in any longer: "You're not going to tell anyone, are you?" The question escaped her and she stopped. She was afraid of the answer.

His answer could mean so many different things. Olivia's thoughts grew deeper. Of course he would tell, she couldn't stop him. She had heard how quickly gossip spread at Hogwarts. Was it possible that she would have time to get out of there before everyone knew about it. She would have to move, change her identity and live alone out in the middle of nowhere.

She was so deep in her thoughts that she hadn't noticed that she was shaking all over. Or that she was hysterically fingering her bracelet.

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Sunday, 20th April; Corridors

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Prat hadn't intended to ruin her excitement. His words were merely spoken out of caution, stemming from a place of caution and not cruelty. Still, the way her gaze fell towards the floor, with her steps growing quieter, it told Prat he perhaps had been too blunt. A shame that was, really; he admired honesty but not when it endangered someone's spirit.

Walking beside her, he glanced sideways, the faintest of crease forming between the raven brows. He'd seen people recoil upon revealing too much, a fragile shift from pride and intimacy to regret. When her voice broke the silence, it was small, trembling as Prat slowed down to match her pace.

"Tell anyone what, Exactly?" His tone was calm, unhurried, almost artificial in its evenness. "I heard nothing demanding a repeat."

Tucking his hand into his pocket, they continued, his gaze drifting to the quiet corridor ahead of them. "You should understand however," he added after a pause, "Hogwarts is many things, Unsafe is not one of them. Not for you, for anyone of mixed blood, altered nature or what some might consider to be peculiar lineage. The castle houses far more variety than most believe to be humane. Part-veelas, goblins, Seers and even dhampirs if one possesses the eyes to see."

With a softened voice, he continued. "The Head of Ravenclaw, himself is a werewolf. Hardly a secret, yet he remains respected, and even an admired individual within and beyond the confines of this very castle. That should be enough to tell you."

He glanced towards her once again, tad more deliberate this time. "Support here runs deeper than Prejudice."

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@Olivia Williams

“I guess so,” she said, running a hand through her hair. “It’s just that everywhere werewolves are portrayed as something bad, so I figured it would be the same here,” Olivia said and kept walking. It was true. Her father, books, and even ST Mungos had reacted badly to learning that Olivia was a werewolf.

“Werewolves are bloodthirsty beasts that deserve to be exterminated,” she quoted from a book about werewolves she had read a couple of months ago. “When that’s all you hear, read, and see, it’s hard to believe anything else.”

She looked up at Prat. “But that’s not you, is it?” she said, meeting his gaze before quickly looking away and clearing her throat. “Anyway, now I know not to listen to random Gryffindors suggesting mystical shortcuts. Always be critical of sources, as my father used to say,” she grinned.

She noticed that they had entered a quieter hallway. She recognized it, this was where she usually went when she needed time to think without a lot of distractions from all the students. “Well then,” Olivia said, shifting her weight from one foot to the other. "Then we were here," she said, waiting in case Prat would say anything more.